Wild Nights with a Lone Wolf (4 page)

“We shouldn’t...” Even as she said the words, her fingers tightened around his arm.

Heat pooled in Ash’s gut as he pressed close. Dammit, things were always easier without clothing in the way. “Should I let you leave and get back to your life, Sherri?”

“No.” From the sounds of things Sherri was having as much trouble breathing normally as Ash. “But why would that guy tell me to come here? You two clearly aren’t best buddies.”

“Hmm-mm.” Ash worked his hand under Sherri’s shirt, spanning his fingers across the taut plane of her stomach. “No. Half brother. Hates me. I’m sure he saw you and I leave the bar together last night, and he knows I don’t see the same woman twice. Probably one of his many ways of trying to fuck me over. Maybe hoping you’d get clingy, or I’d get pissed. Who knows?” He popped the buttons on her blouse, one after the other, slowly and with purpose. Each inch of silky, exposed skin got him harder.

Sherri’s throaty laugh reached down to caress his balls. “Guess the joke’s on him.” Her shirt fell to the floor.

Ash went for the zipper on her pants. “You think so, eh?”

Sherri smiled and lifted her head from where it had fallen back against the door. “I told you I’m not in town long. Even if I was, I recently ended a terrible relationship. We both know what this is.” She stood before him wearing nothing but a lacy bra and underwear set, and one wicked smile. Smiles like that drove men to their knees.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.” Ash snarled his pleasure. “Or we will be, when you lose the underwear. And...” He pointed to her kicked-off shoes, a pair of black, suede high heels. “I’d love it if you put those back on.”

Sherri’s lips curled upward as she reached for the shoes.

***

S
tanding in the middle of a small, cluttered office, wearing nothing but her shoes, Sherri felt... awkward... vulnerable... mind-blowingly decadent.

She gasped when Ash’s fingers brushed that sensitive spot along the side of her right breast, along her ribs. Her gaze flicked to the office door. “Lock that, would you?” She was pretty sure the thrill would be gone if one of his employees walked in on the two of them naked and indecently exposed.

Ash stretched one arm back toward the door. Had she still been wearing any underwear, that molten stare of his would have seared it right off.

One tiny click of a lock engaging and her chest tightened, her breath coming in careful sips. Crap, they hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff. She was thinking maybe he’d spoiled her for humans.

Shut up. That’s crazy.

Ash stood a hair out of reach, watching. It felt odd not to have anything to do with her hands so she stepped forward, anxious to explore all those ridges and planes. He surprised her by touching each of his palms to each of hers and threading their fingers together. One kiss, then another, to the tips of her fingers.

“I can smell Jojo. I don’t like that his scent is on you.”

“He wrote this address on a napkin. I crumpled it and threw it in the trash. I think we’ll all survive.”

“I do enjoy your spirit.” Ash grinned. “The lighting is much brighter in here. I can see all of you. I enjoy that, too.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, well... Fluorescents aren’t exactly the most flattering—”

Ash pulled her arm, hard and fast, until their bodies fused together. The kiss was swift, firm, and blistering. “You’re beautiful. I like to look at you. Do you like it when I look at you?”

God help her, she did. “I... Yes.” Glory hallelujah, he’d left her speechless. No man had mastered kissing so expertly. Ash knew how deep to probe, how much pressure to use, and what rhythm to use for each stroke. And that was only his tongue.

“What about when I do this?” Two fingers trailed over her collarbone. Two became four when he stroked the top of her breast. He added a thumb when he reached her nipple, rolling it back and forth between his fingers.

“Oh, hell. Yes.” She grabbed his wrist. The maddening, unrelenting touch sent tingles straight to her core. “This isn’t fair.” She gestured up and down at herself, and then at him. “You should take off your pants.”

“You’re right. I should.” Another kiss, a series of them. Light and quick, then deep. Hard. “First though...” He reached for the clip in her hair and pulled it out, tossing it with a loud
clink
on the metal desk. Fingers combed through, pulling the strands over her shoulders. “You’re gorgeous this way. With your hair down. Wild.”

Sherri laughed to cover her rise in body temperature. She found herself wondering if she’d fallen into an alternate dimension. His erection pressed insistently against her hip, and she went back and forth between frustration and elation so fast her head spun. Turning on a man like Ash was exhilarating stuff. Yet, the question remained, “So are you going to then? The pants thing? Removing them?”

He laughed. “Turn around and put your hands on the desk. Then I’ll take off my pants.”

She turned to take a good look at the heavy, metal object of his instruction before looking over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. “The desk? Seriously?”

The hand on her hip sent tingles up her back, tightening her nipples and stealing her breath. “There’s the floor if you prefer. Or the door. Or we can always stop if you’d rather not play.”

Not play.
She shivered again. Looking down at her shoes, she asked herself when in history that particular clothing item had been the only thing she’d worn. When a desk and a wolfish hunk of a guy would ever again be something she could refer to as “play.” Never. “No,” she said. “I like the desk.”

“And I like
you
.” The husky whisper filled her ear as he pressed behind her, teasing her with his fingers, urging her legs wide.

Sherri held on, pressing her fingers into the desk to keep steady. She closed her eyes and let the sensations take over. The fur of his chest hair against her back, and the way he nipped her shoulder as he entered her set her nerves on high alert. The easy slide and gentle ache when he filled her shouldn’t have satisfied as much as it did.

He paused when he thrust inside, kissing the back of her neck and breathing against her skin. His hands cupped her breasts, gently but firmly. Everything throbbed. Everything burned. The good girl in the back of her brain shouted that she needed to shove Ash away, to forget about him and everything he stood for, before she put her career and her moral code in jeopardy. She needed to get on with her quiet vacation of shopping for knickknacks and reading trashy novels.

Instead she said, “I like... you, too.” Sherri reached back, willing Ash to move. “Please.”

He withdrew and pushed in again with a fierce growl. “Good. I want you to say my name when you come all over this office.”

Oh, Lord.
“Ash...” Screw knickknacks and romance novels. Who needed vampire billionaires and the human virgins who loved them when she had this guy, live in the flesh?

Not that she had him exactly. Whatever. Minor technicality.

“When you come, I said. Are you going to?”

Sherri’s knees jiggled. “Not long.”

The fingers of one hand made circles around her nipple. First lazy and slow, then faster. The fingers of the other did the same to her clit. How did he do that and still keep rhythm?

Tension wound through her core. Over and over, she gasped desperately for air.

“Turn around.”

Ohmygod.
“You’re kidding.” This time, Sherri was the one to growl.

Ash pulled back, out, and stepped away. “Turn. Lean back.”

She rolled her eyes, but complied. “You’d better be planning to get back in—” Oh, he sure as hell was.

With one swift move Ash thrust inside her, deep in a way that caused a satisfying ache. His hands went under her thighs and stayed there as he licked a trail up her chest and neck. “Put your arms around my neck,” he murmured.

She hooked her arms around him, holding on for dear life. He stood and lifted her, pulling her against his body as if it were nothing. The up-close view and the bright light in the room made his eyes appear warm and swirled with honey.

He kept his gaze on hers as they crossed the room. She tightened her legs around him and hoped he knew where they were going. When her back met the door he sped up, releasing a snarl that exposed his sharp canines.

He thrust faster, and with ferocity. It didn’t hurt, but he held her body in a grip that might leave marks, and she’d bet she’d have bruises from the door. Good.

A glance over his shoulder stopped her breath. Hanging from the end of a shelf full of binders was a picture-sized mirror, and for a frozen moment Sherri saw a woman she didn’t recognize: flushed face, swollen mouth gasping for air, disheveled hair spilling over her shoulders.

Who was this woman? Old Sherri had been structured and careful. Was this someone new, or someone she’d always been? Someone hidden until meeting Ash?

Ash kissed her again, and she didn’t care.

“Sherri, I’m so glad you came back. I didn’t realize...”

Didn’t realize what?
Don’t wonder.

She loved the way he kissed. Sensation enveloped her, the velvet of his tongue against hers, and his stubble caressing her chin. The warmth of his skin brushed over her, hard muscle and soft chest fur, moving in bursts of energy that ratcheted her need tighter and tighter.

Their lips were close enough to share breath. Sherri couldn’t take her eyes away from his.

Footsteps approached and somebody knocked on the door as Sherri’s orgasm hit. She buried her face in Ash’s shoulder, hoping his body would absorb the noise.

With his shout of “Coming!” he pulsed inside of her with deep staccato thrusts.

Sherri sank her teeth into Ash’s shoulder to keep from laughing at the absurd timing of the moment.

“Shh.” Ash chuckled. “Who’s there?”

“It’s Mary. Stop sending strays to my kitchen.”

He smiled as he set Sherri down on the floor. “This is my restaurant, Mary. Can you use her or not?”

“Maybe. I’m telling her to come back tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry.” When he turned to speak, Sherri was already grabbing her clothes.

She smiled. “It’s your restaurant. I should be apologizing. I should also let you get back to work.” She rushed to get dressed.

“You don’t owe me any apology. I dragged you back here. Hell, you wouldn’t be here at all if not for Jojo.”

“Your little feud aside, I’m not sorry he sent me here.” She paused in the middle of fastening her blouse. “He really hates you?”

Ash pulled on his pants and walked over, carelessly ignoring that the fly was open. He kissed her again, like he meant to taste her. “The feeling’s mutual,” he said. “I’m pretty sure Jojo inherited all of the stupid and crazy in the family. He’s young, reckless, and greedy. I think I also mentioned stupid.” Ash laughed as he pulled on his shirt. “He’s also next in line to take over as pack alpha, so I fear for everyone’s future.”

Sherri tried to put it all together in her head. “Is that why you left your pack?”

He shrugged, suddenly looking more guarded with his arms crossed over his chest. “In a way. I had another brother. Pack business got him killed. One of my father’s illegal ventures. One of Jojo’s harebrained schemes. I love my pop, but he’s blinded by arrogance. So my other brother, Jett, he and I got out.” Leaning back against the door, Ash flicked against his leg with his thumb. “I’d be alpha after my father dies if I hadn’t walked. I don’t give a shit. I don’t want the job of leading a band of thieves.”

Sherri thought of her sister, who’d still be alive if not for her parents and their misguided ideals. “It’s hard. Sometimes the people who are supposed to love us make it easy to hate them.”

His palm grazed her cheek. “You understand.”

She allowed herself a moment to press back before saying, “I think I do.”

Another knock at the door. “Hey, man, I gotta talk scheduling with you when you got a minute.”

She cleared her throat and then reached for the doorknob. “I should go.”

“Hey.” He caught her waist with his hands. “Maybe we could do this again while you’re in town. If you want.”

Oh, there were not any butterflies in her stomach. There just weren’t. She ought to say no. Really.

That shiny devil popped up on her shoulder again. It reminded her of her former partner’s lecture.
Do whatever you have to do to get your mind off of this thing with Ryan.

It was as good a rationalization as any.

“You know where to find me,” she said.

D
etective Jett Hughes stood over what had probably once been an attractive young woman. The amount of flesh now torn from her face made it tough to say for certain. Shit. This was bad, really bad, and positively fucked-up.

Across the way, where the girl’s left shoe had landed, Jett’s partner knelt shaking his head. “I guess we’ll have to see what the ME says, but I’m guessing cause of death was getting shredded from here to Guaymas.” He leaned in to get a closer look. “You think this was a regular wolf, or one of yours?”

Jett cracked his neck and leveled a glare at Detective Parker. They’d only recently been put together, and Jett hadn’t determined if the young detective was a fur-phobe or simply ignorant. Humans were still coming around about their kind, but Jett wouldn’t tolerate that shit for long. “Neither. The size of the bites suggests something larger than a Mexican Gray Wolf, and ligature marks on her remaining wrist indicate that she was bound. I’m unaffiliated, Parker. Can’t wear a badge, otherwise. If this is pack related, it did not involve ‘one of mine.’”

Detective Parker rubbed his forehead. “No need to be touchy, Hughes, you know what I meant.”

“I know exactly what you meant. Given the tendency to link pack affiliation to gang violence I hope you can understand why I don’t appreciate the association. Now...” Jett leaned close and took a long sniff. “We’ll want to get official confirmation, but it smells like she was roofied. There’s other stuff, too. Mint and something flowery. Lavender? Not a common smell for this area.”

Parker squinted. “You smell anything that would give us the sick fuck that hurt this girl? And aren’t roofies supposed to be odorless?”