Part 10 (1/2)
”Put your arms around my neck and lift your feet.”
”Okay, but why-? Whee!”
With one arm tightly around her waist, he went wolf-speed up the stairs and plunked her down on the island in middle of the kitchen as she panted and laughed.
He dragged his fingers through the ma.s.s of silky red hair, pulling it back from her face so he could gaze at her, and she quit laughing.
”I can't ever look you in the eyes, can I?” she asked quietly.
”No.”
”Because you're an alpha and I'm not your mate.”
”Right. Does that bother you?”
”I don't know.” Her eyes were downcast, her hands restlessly stroking his arms. ”It's-it's very unusual for a werewolf to find a mate, right?”
”Right. Extremely. As in, most werewolves never do.”
They didn't need to have this conversation right now. Hooking his thumbs in the belt loops at the back of her jeans, he pulled her hard against him and heard her breath catch in her throat as he pressed her legs around his waist. He dragged his hands slowly over the smooth, worn denim on the tops of her legs until his thumbs met at the hot juncture of her thighs. She closed her eyes and took a deep, unsteady breath, her hands tightening on his face. Closely watching her expression, he pushed ever so gently against the seam of her crotch and was rewarded with a soft gasp. Her eyes flew open.
”Bryan, I-”
Before she could say anything else, he took her mouth, plunging his tongue into the sweet, soft recesses, and she squeezed his hand tightly between her legs and flexed against him. He reached up to run a thumb across her nipple. She rewarded him with the sweetest sigh. Her hands clutched at his biceps as if for support and her mouth trembled against his.
He was so hard he couldn't stand it, his hips grinding against her with a will of their own, and he felt like a teenager standing there humping helplessly against the island, but he didn't want to move, didn't want to break contact long enough to pick her up and take her to his bedroom. If he'd known back in Luxor how good she'd taste, how sweet and hot and tender she'd feel as she slowly came apart in his hands, he never would've asked her out in the first place.
As much as he liked her, as much as he admired her character and respected her strength, appreciated her intelligence and enjoyed her company, if he'd simply had the sense not to touch her for the first time two long months ago, he might've gotten out okay. But now? Now that his head was swimming with her scent and her taste and her soft, strong body melting into his, now that her hands were tangled in his hair as her mouth went crazy under his, consuming his kisses and returning them with just as much heat, just as much need?
”I wanted to do this a long time ago,” he murmured against her neck before trailing his tongue down to the valley between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She pushed him away long enough to take off her T-s.h.i.+rt and toss it aside. Then she sat up straight and put her hands behind her back, thrusting her perfect t.i.ts at him with a wicked smile.
”Well, isn't that pretty,” he murmured, spanning her ribcage with his hands and dragging his thumbs across her nipples, hard and pink and perfectly visible through the sheer green lace. ”I like the little roses. And the front snap.”
”Thank you,” she purred. ”I wanted to do this too. Friday night, as a matter of fact.”
”Uh-huh.” Enchanted with the sheer, lacy slip of lingerie, he'd already forgotten what he'd said. He ran his tongue just under the scalloped roses edging the top of the bra, pus.h.i.+ng the straps down her shoulders to give his mouth un.o.bstructed access to the soft, tender flesh. The bra was beautiful wrapping paper, but he couldn't open the present quite yet.
Not until he knew...
”Sara, listen, I need to make sure. Are you drunk? I mean, have you had so much to drink that you can't-?”
Her wicked grin was enough to make a wolf forget his honor. ”What? That I can't do it?”
”No! Don't- Smarta.s.s.” He pinched her b.u.t.t and she yelped. ”I mean I don't want to take advantage of you. Okay, yeah, I do want to take advantage of you-hard-but not if you're too drunk.”
She locked her ankles behind his back and laid her forehead against his. Very slowly, with only a little bit of a tipsy giggle, she whispered, ”I hereby give you permission to take advantage of me. Signed, Sara Mae Hedges.”
”Sounds consensual to me. Let's go.”
Lifting her off the island, he carried her out of the kitchen. She was unhooking her bra, and he was deciding that they could just do it on the stairs, when his left jeans pocket began to vibrate and a mechanical voice intoned, ”Nick. Wargman. Calling.”
Why hadn't he left his G.o.dd.a.m.ned phone in his saddlebag?
Sara froze in his arms. He stopped at the foot of the stairs, panting and cursing.
”Nick. Wargman. Calling. Nick. Wargman. Calling.”
”Do you have to-?”
”f.u.c.k. Yeah, yeah I do. He's my- He's Nick. I have to answer.”
She took a ragged breath, and he was startled at the expression on her face. She looked like she might cry.
”Sara, angel, it's-”
”It's okay. I understand. You need- You need to put me down.”
He set her gently on her feet. ”Wait a second. This won't take long.”
”No.” She took another deep breath. ”No, it's okay. I'm gonna go take a shower.”
She darted around him, grabbed her bra, and fled up the stairs before he could think of anything else to say.
”Angel?”
All he got in response was the sound of a door closing.
Smooth, Keeton. Real smooth. When had he turned into such a dork?
He pulled his still-intoning phone from his pocket. ”s.h.i.+t.”
”Excuse me?”
”Oh. Sorry, Nick. Didn't realize I'd hit talk.”
Nick Wargman chuckled. ”Am I disturbing you?”
Smart wolves didn't tell their Alphas they were too busy to talk. Smart wolves let phone calls go to voicemail and made excuses later.
But his little head was still drawing all the blood away from his big head, leaving his brain deoxygenated, so he replied, ”Yeah, actually you are. Or were.”
There was a shocked silence on the other end of the phone. Then Nick sucked in his breath and said, ”Oh! Oh s.h.i.+t. Aw, h.e.l.l, B, I'm sorry. You want to call me back later tonight?”
Bryan sighed. ”No. No, it's all right. It's my fault.”
”You should've let the call go to voicemail, wolf.”
He sighed again. ”I know. What'd you need, Nick?”
”I want to see you in the morning. You and Sara. Say ten-thirty?”