Taken by the Alpha Wolf (5 page)

Chapter Five

She could barely breathe, her skin felt tight
and hot all over. A slow throbbing began between her legs. Her
nipples ached and chafed against the lace of her bra.

Desire became a steady drumbeat, echoing her
heart. Etienne was no more able to control his sexual craving than
she was. The link forged between them remained strong as steel
cable.

She placed a palm on his muscled chest,
feeling his heart beat steady and strong. The chemistry between
them jumped and sizzled, crackling like a live wire. He was strong,
purely male, tanned skin stretched taut over muscle. Instinct
pulled at her to mate, to join her body to his.

His gaze became heavy-lidded as he stared
down at her mouth. She licked her lips and then reached up and
kissed him.

With a heavy groan, he sank into her mouth,
deepening the kiss. Etienne fisted a hand in her hair, his mouth
brutal and yet tender, tasting and claiming. It felt so good, so
right.

Then he fumbled with her blouse, cursing at
the tiny pearl buttons. Cindy helped, and shed all her
clothing.

She took the edge of his towel and yanked.
Fascinated, she stared at her mate. Even naked, he had a commanding
presence bred into his blood and bones, marking him as an Alpha.
Etienne was all hard muscle and sinew, his body lean and strong.
Dark hair covered his chest, marching down to his taut, rippling
stomach and then flaring out to the thick nest at his groin.

She glanced down and saw his erection rising
thick and straight. Cindy drew in a breath, and touched the rounded
tip. A droplet of moisture clung to her finger. She brought it to
her mouth, tasting him. He smothered a curse and tore the duvet off
the bed with one hand.

Together they tumbled into her prim white
bed, kissing with frantic hunger. Etienne deepened the kiss,
tightening his hold on her nape. She mapped his body, tracing his
warm, firm skin with her hands, testing the tensile muscles and
sinew. Cindy relished the hardness of his body, the rich, dark
scent of him.

His fingertips trailed over her slender
shoulders, caressed the knobby points of her collarbone, the curve
of her neck. Bending his head, he kissed her throat, inhaling her
scent.

You smell so good. I can get drunk on your scent. I
want to lick you all over, make you come until you scream, Cyn.

Etienne nuzzled her neck, tasting her and
then nipped. She groaned, winding her arms around his neck, rubbing
her body against him.

Savoring the newness of her first sexual
experience, she ran her hands over his firm back, cupped the
firmness of his taut behind. Etienne lowered his head to her
breast. When he encased her hardened nipple with his mouth, she
gave a startled cry and arched. He licked and suckled, rasping his
tongue over the peak. Her hands fisted in his hair, holding him
against her as heat pooled between her legs, the warm suction of
his mouth making her body grow taut. Her skin felt hot and tight
and she began to pump her hips upward.

Etienne placed a palm on her stomach, lifting
his head with a smile of pure masculine satisfaction. “Easy,
chere
, I promise, you’ll get there.”

He stroked and caressed, feeling each curve,
the small ridge and indentations of her ribs, the roundness of her
hip. And then he slid a finger inside her.

“Damn, you’re so tight,” he muttered.

Cindy arched in delight as he stroked and
teased, finding the tiny nub at her center. Her tiny, excited cries
seemed to inflame him. Moisture slicked his finger, preparing her
body for his deeper intrusion. She writhed and wriggled as his
finger thrust in and out, accompanied by steady strokes of his
thumb.

He increased the tempo and then the pressure
between her legs built until it became a hot, heavy throbbing. She
clung to him, her rock, her anchor in the crazy tidal wave of hot
pleasure. Cindy arched and sobbed, writhing with nameless, urgent
need.

“Shh… let it happen, sweetheart. Come for
me,” he crooned.

Cindy let go. Her body went taut as piano
wire and then she shattered, crying out his name.

As he slid off her, she gulped down a breath,
dazed and barely able to move. And then she felt him shift, mount
her, nudging her thighs apart and settling between them.

His silky chest hairs rubbed over her
achingly sensitive nipples. He raised his head, his gaze hard and
glittering with fierce desire. An enormous hardness probed the
sensitive hollow between her legs. Then he pushed the tip of his
erection into her. Heavy pressure between her legs turned into an
uncomfortable, burning sensation.

“Hold onto me,” he whispered.

She dug her nails into the hard muscles of
his back as he pressed deeper. Her body resisted, the tiny muscles
clamping down against the hot intrusion. Discomfort gave way to
pain and she instinctively pulled away. Supporting his weight on
his elbows, Etienne brushed his mouth against hers.

“Let me in, sweetheart,” he cajoled. “Stay
with me.”

His smoky voice rubbed over her like warm
velvet. She listened to the soothing reassurances he murmured, and
gulped down a deep breath.

“Ready?”

She nodded. He pushed and then gave a mighty
thrust forward.

Arching upward, Cindy bit back a cry. His
gaze was tender as he looked down at her. Etienne remained utterly
still. Deep, ragged breaths and coiled tension in his muscles
warned her how far to the edge he’d been pushed. How much control
he exerted. A fine sheen of sweat glistened on his brow.

Experimentally she rotated her hips and felt
herself ease around him. Etienne growled and began to thrust
slowly. His body slid in and out of hers as she clutched his thick
muscles, holding onto him. He murmured something soothing in
French, and kissed her again, his mouth sealed to hers. Face tight
with pleasure, Etienne broke the kiss. Groaning, he angled his
thrusts, increasing the delicious tension all over again. She dug
her fingers into his arms and wrapped her legs around his pounding
hips.

A drop of sweat rolled off his forehead,
splashed onto her breast.

Nothing mattered but this, his passion for
her, claiming her in the flesh. Nothing existed at the moment but
this moment and Etienne, the sharp bellowing of his lungs, the
glittering intent in his blue eyes, the firmness of his hard body,
the heavy thrusts of his penis sliding in and out of her body.

A sudden twist of his hips sent her spiraling
over the edge again. He went still, shuddering, his head thrown
back, jaw grinding as he gave a rough shout of her name and
released his warm seed deep inside her.

After, they lay entwined in each other’s
arms. Drowsy with satisfaction, she refused to think of the future.
Oh it felt wonderful and soothing to be held like this. As if
nothing else existed, only them.

She pillowed her head against his broad
shoulder. Cindy played with his silky chest hairs, traced a ring
around the puckered scar.

“You got this as a SEAL?” At his nod, she
drew in a breath.

His gaze was steady. “I resigned my
commission to pay full attention to you, Cyn. Something I couldn’t
do as a SEAL. I was gone too much.”

“Why did you join the Navy, anyway?”

“My dad forced me into it.” He gave a cocky
half smile, showing a deep dimple on his left cheek. Cindy’s heart
jumped a little. Etienne was so cool and collected, the dimple made
him appear boyish.

“I was a little wild and he told me the
military would teach me leadership and I’d learn to blend with
humans. Wasn’t easy. Sometimes my energy levels ran low, because I
couldn’t get enough fresh protein.”

“Or sex?”

He caught the teasing, but uncertain tone of
her voice. Draicon replenished their magick and their energy by
eating protein or indulging in vigorous sex.

“Never after we met. I haven’t been with
anyone since meeting you.”

She went silent a moment. “It must have been
hard, having those powers and not able to use them.”

“I used them, when I got away with it. Not
during BUD/S, the training to become a SEAL. Wouldn’t have been
fair to the other guys. But I did have sound reduction devices
surgically implanted to dull the noise.”

“Gunfire is pretty loud. That sharp pop,
pop.”

He gave her an amused look.

“I have a .357 magnum in my nightstand. Six
inch barrel. I don’t mess around.”

Etienne arched a brow. “Be still my heart.
Way to turn me on.”

She gave him a light, mock punch. He clasped
her wrist, pulling her across his chest and gave her another one of
those heart-stopping deep kisses. When she surfaced for air, he
pushed back a lock of her hair with a finger.

“Mate me, Cyn, for life. We can make this
work. I don’t believe in no-win scenarios. We’ll get your powers
back.”

She couldn’t think of the future. Not while
lingering here, in the wonderful pleasure of the moment.

“You’ll like my family. We’re very close.
Fight like crazy sometimes, but always loyal to each other.”

She gave a sad smile. “Sounds like my
brothers. I miss…”

Them.

Cindy closed her eyes, remembering the sharp
sting of hurt when her parents rejected her. Making love with
Etienne had dulled a little of the pain.

But not all of it.

Etienne stroked her hair, loving the soft
silk against his fingers. She lay in his arms, all warm female, all
strength and purpose. Cindy had courage and spirit. He knew males
who would have fallen apart after being dismissed so coldly by
their families.

And despite her mother’s cold insistence
Cindy was trash, the proof of her innocence now stained the white
sheets. He’d been her first, he thought with primitive male
possessiveness.

“I wish I knew they dismissed me like that.
It just hurts so much,” she whispered. “All my life, they’ve loved
me, Etienne. Why do they hate me now?”

He felt her pain like a visceral ache.
Etienne cupped her cheek, hating her father all over again.

“
They don’t hate you, chere. They just pushed you
away because of me, they wanted you gone because I’m a
Cajun.”

“But Dad didn’t say that. He objected to you
being a SEAL. And it makes no sense because you’re not a SEAL
anymore.”

Etienne didn’t answer. His mind was coolly
clicking like a clock, whirling over Parker’s words.

Parker wanted Cindy gone. He wanted Etienne
to take her away.

“A SEAL who thinks he’s invincible, always
coming to everyone’s rescue.”

And then he remembered the men who’d
accompanied Parker. Odd that Cindy’s father would drag all those
Draicon with him for a very personal matter. From what he’d seen of
the man, he prided himself on professionalism.

“
I was in the middle of a business meeting with
their employer, George.”

“Did your father have any clients named
George?”

She frowned. “No. The only George I know
would be a friend of mine, Jorge Hernandez, but he’s away on a trip
right now. He would have informed me about a business meeting with
a new client. I scheduled all his appointments.”

“Jorge,” he said hoarsely. “Son of a bitch.
Jorge. Not George, the English pronunciation. Jorge Diaz.” His
voice trailed off as realization hit him like a wrecking ball.

Cindy sat upright. He’d always been so
careful to watch his language around her. And then her eyes went
huge.

She made a strangled sound. “Oh sweet mercy,
Etienne, that’s why he said those things. He wanted me away from
here. He’s in trouble!”

Etienne scrambled out of bed, reaching for
his pants. He dressed in a hurry.

“They wanted me out of there to save me, it
was an act, my parents were trying to protect me.”

“Calm down, Cyn. Calm down.” He grasped her
wrist as she bolted out of bed, her lungs grasping for air in giant
gulps. “Breathe. Just breathe.”

He guided her over to the bed, where she sat,
her hands shaking, her jaw slack with shock.

“But it doesn’t make sense. If Jorge wanted
to kidnap me to put pressure on my father, why would his men let me
go? Because you were there and they wanted no witnesses?”

Etienne rubbed her hand, trying to calm her.
Trying to corral his own whirling thoughts. “No. There was
something else… an undertone. They wanted you gone. And your
father, he wanted you safe. Jorge Diaz usually disposes of problems
with a bullet to the brain, so there has to be something else.”

The intel had been partly right. He ruminated
over facts about the drug cartel. The brothers were human. And yet
they had dangerous system of protection… rogue Draicon
werewolves.

He only knew of one species that could
control Draicon wolves.

“I have to get you out of here.”

Cindy resisted as he pulled her to her feet.
“I won’t leave my parents. Diaz will slaughter them.”

She did a firm foot plant, not budging.
Impressive, considering she was barefoot, hell she was bare all
over. Etienne concentrated on the situation at hand.

“Your father wanted me to get you the hell
out of Miami. I’ll take you to my home, our home now, and return
for them.”

“By the time you get back, they’ll be dead. I
have to help them. I can do it. The Diaz brothers are only
human.”

Etienne felt his iron control slip a notch.
“The Diaz brothers aren’t human.”

They’re demons.

The instant that particular telepathic
thought hit, blood drained from her face. Her pretty skin went gray
and she swayed on her feet. Etienne reached out to steady her.

She gulped down a few deep breaths. “I’ll
faint later.”

His admiration for her grew as she regained
her usual composure. Etienne stalked to the window, surveying the
yard as Cindy dressed.

“What kind of demons are they?”