Part 28 (2/2)

The water sluiced over her shoulders and b.r.e.a.s.t.s, pouring down her waist and lower as he grabbed a bottle of sweet-smelling soft soap, the refres.h.i.+ng fragrance of tangerines and limes heavenly.

He began soaping her up, while she went straight for his package, thick, curved, and ready for action. His member jumped in her hands, and he sucked in a deep breath. He cupped her face with his slippery hands and kissed her mouth roughly, as if he'd been deprived of her affections for way too long, as if he was afraid he'd lose her again soon.

His kiss was anything but gentle--demanding, pressuring, conquering. She nibbled at his lips, his tongue, her hands sliding all over his hardened planes, his chest, his waist, his hips. G.o.d, he was perfection. Her sea G.o.d. Poseidon. Seducer of women, only she was seducing him instead.

Raw pa.s.sion blazed through her as she wrapped a leg around his, hooking her heel around his own, and rubbed her s.e.x against his thigh.

”You're so wet for me, Ca.s.sie, aren't you?” he murmured against her lips, his eyes glazed with desire, his voice rough-hewn, the baritone quality sending s.h.i.+mmers of need racing through her.

”Always,” she whispered back, pressing her body tightly against his, rubbing, making every bit of her so much more sensitive to his touch, her nipples teasing the light hair of his chest, her feminine lips caressing his taut thigh, her hip playing with his rigid s.e.x.

He groaned and gave her a roguish grin. She had hunted and captured him and he was hers, for all eternity. He leaned down and slid his hand around her backside, lower until he'd found her feminine lips and slipped his fingers inside. ”Warm, wet, and willing.”

Her skin felt feverish between his touching her and the heat of the water. Only the cool air from outside kept her from burning up on the spot. He dipped his fingers in deeper, priming her even more for his penetration.

Or maybe he had captured her! She meant to prolong the exquisite way he was touching her, stroking her with wild abandon until the slow burn built into a bonfire, the flames flickering heavenward as she neared the peak. Arching away from him, she concentrated on the wicked way he touched her until she exploded with fiery sensations of exquisite bliss. Her body trembling with spent pleasure, she wanted him inside her now. She spread her legs farther apart, rubbed harder against him, and whispered, ”If you're done torturing me...”

He chuckled tightly. ”You are the one who is making me suffer.” He lifted her legs around him, pressed her back against the shower stall, and entered her with one swift move.

Heavens above, she was in ecstasy! Her own body still convulsing with o.r.g.a.s.m, she tightened her hold on his thrusting c.o.c.k. Deep inside he plunged, his hands holding her tight against him, penetrating with savage urgency.

With a frenzy not his usual style, Leidolf drove again and again, coupling with the woman he loved, expressing the yearning he had for her that could never be extinguished. With every thrust, he took her for his own, his mate forever.

Her silky skin rode against his, every curve of her body a tactile delight. He tackled her mouth again as she breathed hard, her eyes half-closed with desire. He thought again about boosting her over the fence at the zoo, his fingers slipping into her wet cleft and how hard that had made him, despite their predicament.

The woman was an aphrodisiac for him, no matter where they were or what they were doing. She moaned, just as his seed spilled inside her, and for a second, a wicked thought flashed through his mind. Her pregnant, her belly growing with their babies. He groaned as he released the rest of his seed, loving her and wis.h.i.+ng she'd never want to leave him.

After letting her down and gently was.h.i.+ng her off, he grabbed a towel and began to dry her sweet body, flushed with arousal.

”I wanted you from the moment I saw you,” he said, taking a deep breath, his gaze fixed on hers.

She smiled and lifted another towel off the hook and began drying his skin. ”You thought I was human.”

He smiled. ”You loved wolves. That's all I needed to know. If I'd learned what you were, you'd never have gotten away from me.” He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed, figuring on sleeping for a while, or not. Depended on whether Ca.s.sie could handle more loving tonight. The way she was teasing his taut nipple, he suspected she wasn't quite ready for sleep.

Until he heard someone rus.h.i.+ng toward his bedroom door. h.e.l.l.

Chapter 26.

Heavy knocking at Leidolf's bedroom door was followed by Pierce saying, ”Elgin sent me to tell you that Thompson is here. Elgin told him to come back at a decent hour, but the man insists that if you don't speak with him, he'll get a judge's order to have the place searched.”

Leidolf cursed under his breath and set Ca.s.sie on the bed. ”Stay. I'll be back shortly.” Then he yanked on a pair of jeans and tugged a s.h.i.+rt on. b.u.t.toning it, he left the bedroom, shut the door none too gently, and stalked toward the great room with Pierce at his side.

”Sorry, Leidolf. I know you didn't want to be disturbed, but Elgin said if we didn't handle this right, you'd really be p.i.s.sed.”

”It's not your fault. I knew this would eventually come back to bite us in the b.u.t.t one way or another.”

Elgin hurried to meet Leidolf before he reached the great room. ”I've got him waiting in the den. But Thompson is here to see you about the red wolves. And that wolf biologist? Alex Wellington? He's with him.”

”h.e.l.l. That's probably how Thompson knew about us. All right. Warn Felicity and everyone else at the ranch.”

Leidolf met Thompson standing in the den and stretched out a hand, giving a firm handshake. Thompson's blue eyes studied him in return, measuring him, categorizing him. Like a wolf would a.n.a.lyze his potential enemy. Leidolf offered a small smile. Despite the guy tranquilizing him, he admired him for wanting to protect the wolf kind. ”Leidolf Wildhaven.”

”Henry Thompson.” The man looked over at Alex.

”We've met. I'm Alex Wellington. Where's Ca.s.sie? You said you'd tell me when you located her.” Alex sounded irritated, but he would realize he'd lost whatever chance he thought he'd had with Ca.s.sie, once he'd learned of Leidolf's claim to her.

”She's sleeping.” Leidolf motioned for Thompson and Alex to take a seat on a sofa in the den. ”What can I do for you?” he asked Thompson.

”I was told you have some wolves on the premises. Rare red wolves.” Thompson glanced at Alex, confirming where he'd learned of this.

Leidolf gave Alex a look like he was not surprised.

When Thompson and Alex had settled in place, Leidolf sat down on his recliner, the only piece of furniture Laney had talked him into selecting. As if it was his throne, he was the only one who ever sat on it, even if he offered for others to sit there. They didn't dare.

Pierce and Quincy joined Leidolf as if they were his backup, along with Sarge, who they were still guarding. He'd better keep his mouth shut. Fergus soon joined them also.

Thompson eyed them briefly, probably wondering why Leidolf seemed to need so much muscle. But pack dynamics being what they were, he wouldn't keep his people in the dark about a potential problem. If he had to turn Henry Thompson and the wolf biologist, he would. And his people had to know the reason.

Thompson leaned forward. ”Let's get down to why I'm really here.”

Leidolf seized the opportunity to turn the scenario around to suit his pack. ”You learned we could use your help, right?”

Thompson closed his gaping mouth and sat up a little straighter.

Leidolf shrugged. ”A cougar's been killing our newborn calves. Three of them already. We could just take it down ourselves, but we'd heard you were interested in preserving wildlife whenever possible. Elgin was supposed to have gotten hold of you before this, but we've been trying to track down the cougar without success in the meantime.”

”A cougar.” Thompson was clearly thrown off the wolf trail momentarily. ”Elgin didn't say anything to me about a cougar. But I did tell him I wanted to talk to you about the red wolves you have on your ranch.”

Well, h.e.l.l, guess the wolf tracker wasn't so easily misled.

”You're not interested in the cougar?” Leidolf sighed dramatically for effect. ”I'd hoped you might find a home for it. I'd rather not have to...” He shuddered. ”...kill it.”

”So you own rifles, Mr. Wildhaven.”

”Of course. Living on a ranch way out here makes it a necessity.”

”You wouldn't happen to have tranquilizer darts, would you?”

”Yes. We hoped to take down the cougar ourselves. Peaceably, if possible.” Leidolf stretched out his legs. ”Who mentioned we had red wolves out here?”

Thompson hesitated to say, as if drawing out the suspense. Then he leaned against the sofa back and waved at Alex. ”He finally came forth and said he was the one who found my friend and me tranquilized in Mount Hood National Forest. Do any hunting out there recently? Maybe searching for the cougar? But hit something else by accident?” He raised a brow.

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