NocC 023 - The Ancients 05 - Bonnie Vanak - Incubus Wolf - Harlequin 2012-09 Read online

  Growling, Dominic bent over her, the crisp hairs of his chest rough against her sweating back. “Oh, that’s good, that’s so good, sweetheart. Now Alexandra, come with me.”

  Clenching hard around him, she climaxed on a scream. Dominic shuddered against her, pumping deep inside.

  For a minute, they stood. He was still deep inside her. Alex glanced up at the mirror, saw blue fire in his gaze, the cords in his neck stretched taut. Then he slowly pulled free, backing her up until they fell onto the bed together.

  Alex panted, feeling her lungs bellow, her heart race. So this was what it should be like. What it felt like to have sex in blazing light, instead of insisting on the cover of darkness.

  Wrapping herself around his muscled body, she felt the sweat on their bodies begin to cool. Beneath her ear, his heart beat steady and strong. As if this hadn’t exerted him, hadn’t left him wrung out and spent…

  She expected him to look smug with masculine satisfaction, but his gaze was thoughtful. Alex traced the line of his firm jaw with a finger. Tousled and silky, his black hair looked tempting to touch. She hooked her fingers through it, loving the silk sliding across her skin.

  Dominic looked at her solemnly, as if expecting her to speak. Alex twirled the little hairs on his chest and tugged. He was masculine beauty, from the thick muscles in his shoulders to the rounded firmness of his ass, to the flawless perfection of his skin….

  Sitting up, she patted her cheeks. Flawless, as she was not. It was all a ruse that would fade, she realized in dismay.

  The cold, hard shell descended on her once more. Alex cleared her throat. “Deal is a deal, wolf. We’ve made love, and now you leave with me.”

  “Sex, Alexandra. That was not making love.”

  “There’s a difference with you?”

  “I could feel it,” he whispered, and for a moment, his gaze looked haunted.

  Hurt spiraled through her. She couldn’t make love. Not ever again. Because it meant giving her heart and that precious organ must be guarded at all costs.

  The pink silk camisole lay crumbled at the bed’s edge. Alex picked it up, rubbing it between her fingers. So pretty and delicate and lacy. Feminine.

  Not like her. At all.

  She had a job to do. And the sooner she did it, the faster she could get on with her life.

  She was running out of time.

  Chapter 7

  For the next two days, Alex managed to avoid Dominic as she carefully planned his capture. He’d given her free rein of the lodge. So she inventoried all the knives, tucking one into a homemade sheath strapped to her arm inside her long-sleeved shirt.

  It was already the fourth day and she was no closer to bringing him in than before.

  He’d promised to return with her after they had sex, and broke that promise. Like he’d broken his promise to return for her. He’d always break promises.

  She couldn’t trust him.

  It was nearly dinner. She had to act now, before the pack came in from tending to the livestock and the garden.

  Alex went into the kitchen, rubbing her cheeks. A chill ran through her at the coldness of what she planned.

  Alive… or dead.

  Bringing him in alive to the wizard proved impossible. He was too clever and powerful.

  She could not kill him either. But if she disabled him, enough to drag him out of here…

  In the kitchen, she bit into an apple, relishing the hard crunch, the juice on her tongue. She moaned loudly in sheer enjoyment.

  Knowing he listened.

  A hand removed the apple from her grasp and set it down. Dressed in a tight black shirt that molded to his muscular chest and jeans that hugged his taut ass and cupped his sex, Dominic looked sexy enough to eat.

  Alex’s heart skipped a beat at his smoldering look.

  “Tempting me with an apple, my lovely Alexandra?”

  Licking her lips, she watched his eyes widen as he tracked each movement of her tongue. “I was hungry… perhaps you have something else in mind?”

  Alex unfastened the two top buttons of her shirt, feeling the heat flare between them.

  Dominic unbuttoned the plain navy flannel shirt and slowly drew it off her. His eyes widened.

  Beneath the shirt she wore the pink silk camisole.

  “Sweet. I do adore the color pink,” he murmured.

  He moved closer, his gaze intent on her mouth. Alex shivered. Now. She could not allow this wolf to seduce her. He’d gain all the power and she’d be left… crippled. Emotionally and physically.

  The thought gave her strength as he lowered his head, his mouth on hers. The kiss was warm, authoritative and demanding. Alex’s fingers glided over the smooth handle of the knife tucked into her sleeve.

  Got it.

  He cupped her face, kissing her with avid hunger, his tongue sweeping inside her mouth. Long, slow strokes that aroused every nerve ending. Oh, this was bad, she wanted him all over again, craved his touch. Alex fought to maintain her composure, her wits, in the sensual tide of pleasure. Sliding the knife into her hand, she raised it.

  I’m sorry, she thought, in a moment of pure sorrow. Her hand quivered in the air.

  I can’t do this.

  Dominic seized her hand, never breaking the kiss. He drew back, his mouth red and wet. Oh hell. His savage expression warned payback was going to be a real bitch.

  Sunlight winked on the shiny blade as he forced her to drop the knife on the counter.

  “You like to play dangerously, Alex. A knife in the back is not fair.”

  Her heart pounded hard, loud enough for his sensitive wolf’s hearing. “You’d heal, after I brought you in. And nothing in life is fair.”

  A faint vulnerability shadowed his eyes. He cupped her face, his blue gaze intent and fierce. “Yes, you’re right. But you will learn that some, like me, aren’t out to hurt you.”

  But he could. Dominic Farrell could hurt her, badly, even worse than others had. “You have an eloquent tongue, wolf. In more ways than one.”

  Cocking his head, he considered her. “I’ve got a better game in mind. A much fairer game. Winner takes all.” His eyes narrowed at her. “Or are you afraid of the challenge and that I’ll beat you?”

  “I always win.” Her heart pounded, and she wished she could calm the frantic beat. She always won after what her stepfather had done, because she wouldn’t ever put herself in a position to lose again.

  He picked up the knife and clasped her wrist. “Come.”

  “Where are we going?” Fear stroked her spine as he led her out of the kitchen to a small landing and touched a light switch. He tugged her down a set of steep stairs.

  Oh no. Not this place—a place where she would lose her very self.

  The basement…

  She tried to yank free, but his grip was iron. At the bottom step, he turned and commented. “The den of my inequity. I know you’ve heard about the rumors.”

  Alex stared in bemusement.

  The basement was lined with dark-paneled wood and looked ordinary, with comfortable furniture arranged around a large, flat-screen television. A polished mahogany bar with a rack of wineglasses sat in the corner.

  The only unusual display was a wall covered with gilt framed photographs. She went to examine them and reeled back with a horrified gasp. Michael, with his torn eye socket. A terrified Carla, thin and desperate. And all the others looked wretched and thin. Some were scary. Others simply haunted.

  Dominic stood next to her.

  “It’s my people, all of them, as they came to me. I framed their photos so they would see themselves as they once were and not be ashamed. Because there is nothing to be ashamed of.” With the knife’s tip, he tapped the photograph of Carla. “I did it as a means to honor them and their scars, and what strength those scars represent.”

  Alex touched her cheeks with trembling fingers. “Did it work?”

  He watched her with a hooded gaze. “For some, yes. A few left, unable to bear the si
ght of themselves.”

  He gestured to a row of framed photographs of women. Some were breathtakingly lovely, a few others homely and scarred. “These women all left… even though I tried to convince them to stay.”

  It was as if he pointed to a photo of her, and her own internal longings were reflected in the haunted eyes of each woman in the photographs. A heartbeat of silence passed. She wanted to trust him, and open to him as she’d never done before.

  She could not.

  “What’s this all about, wolf? Why did you really bring me down here?”

  At her blunt tone, Dominic’s expression shifted. For a moment she thought she’d seen fleeting hope there. Then it vanished.

  Beneath her bare feet, the soft wool carpeting felt lush and seductive. Dominic pointed to the floor with the knife and went behind the bar.

  “There. I challenge you to a wrestling match. If you win, you march me back to the Society in triumph, in these…”

  He reached behind the bar and set a pair of steel handcuffs on the counter.

  “So that’s where you keep all the toys. And what do you get if you win?”

  “I get to tie you to the bed and do whatever I please.” A wicked smile, filled with promise.

  “Fine.” She could deal. Alex had bested the Society’s strongest hunter. “When do we start?”

  “Now.”

  With a graceful move, he vaulted over the bar. Dominic moved so swiftly that he pinned her beneath him before she drew her next breath.

  Lying limp, she waited for him to react. Then she brought her knees up and slammed them into his butt. He rolled gracefully, freeing her.

  The hot look in his eyes warned her. He was toying with her.

  Anger became a hot blade. Alex spied the knife lying on the counter, grabbed it and rushed him. He sidestepped and tackled her, pinning her yet again.

  This time, his muscled weight held her down and he forced the knife out of her hand.

  Panic clogged her throat. She hated being helpless. Memories surged of Edwards, her stepfather, tying her to the table, the flaring pain as she slowly gained consciousness and saw the colony’s Enforcer with the needle hovering over her face.

  “You don’t like to lose control, do you?” he asked softly. “But you will learn with me that surrender doesn’t mean giving up. It only means giving in to your greatest desires. I would never hurt you, Alex, not in a way that would cause you anything but pleasure.”

  “I can best you, wolf.”

  “Perhaps. But I’m not returning to prison, not at your hands or anyone else’s.”

  “I had sex with you.” Panting, she tried to free herself.

  “Sex,” he agreed. “I said making love and there’s a difference. Making love is with your heart and emotions, not merely giving me your body. I want all of you, Alex. Including that part you hide from the world.”

  He rose off her body. “Two minutes. I win.”

  Shaken, she stood, wondering what he wanted. She watched as he went to the far wall. He pressed a button and a dark panel slid back.

  His gaze glittered fiercely as he turned to her. “It’s time.”

  A huge bed dominated the space. White candles lined a mirrored credenza by the far wall. She expected whips, chains, leather hanging from pegs on the walls, but instead she saw only mirrors.

  “Kinky,” she murmured in appreciation as he took a box of matches and began lighting the candles. Alex glanced up at the mirrored ceiling. “Seems like a little too much vanity, even for you, wolf.”

  “It’s not for me.”

  Dominic opened a drawer and withdrew four pink velvet ropes. He gave a small smile. “I told you, my favorite color. Get undressed and lie on the bed.”

  Memories lashed her with cruel vividness. Tied up and helpless to the table as Edwards had watched the artist slice her tender flesh… Alex shook her head, fear cutting through her as she gazed around the room, half expecting a tray of sharp instruments.

  “I can’t do this.”

  “You will. I won’t hurt you.” His gaze turned fierce. “I know trusting me is hard. So trust yourself, your instincts.”

  Alex closed her eyes, using all her honed hunting instincts. The scent of cinnamon, honey and sex. The quiet flicker of candles. A taste of wild pleasure and abandonment. Nothing cruel or evil or painful.

  Her eyes flew open to regard Dominic, still standing quietly with the ropes in hand. Gone was the sensual cruelty she’d witnessed earlier. Instead he looked watchful.

  Trust your instincts. Alex undressed, climbed onto the bed and lay on her back.

  He bound her wrists with rope and tied them to the bedposts, doing the same to her feet. She was outstretched, her limbs spread wide open, her sex exposed.

  His to do with whatever he pleased. Alex fought against the tiny fear prodding the edges of her mind.

  Dominic shed his clothing and stood before her, muscles gleaming in the candlelight. Sensual anticipation chased away fear as he remained motionless, allowing her to look her fill.

  She studied the bristles shadowing his jaw, muscles rippling beneath his flawless skin, the hard curve of his shoulder, the muscled contour of his long limbs.

  A pulse jumped madly at his throat. He smelled of sex and long, dark nights spent tangled in passion, where he’d made women moan and cry with pleasure.

  Expression fierce with intent, he joined her. Dominic knelt between her outstretched thighs. Never had she felt more vulnerable and exposed. But his gaze gleamed with appreciation as he studied her.

  He slid down her body, kissing her belly, laving his tongue inside the indent of her navel. The sweep of his tongue felt like wet, rough velvet. Then he settled between her thighs.

  “Relax,” he murmured. “Let go of all your fears and inhibitions. Trust me.”

  He parted her soaked folds and then dipped his head. A hot stroke of wet velvet between her legs. The first lick of his wicked tongue made her gasp. And then she started to moan.

  Each seductive sweep over her folds had her writhing, helpless to resist the carnal pleasure. When he swept his tongue over her clit, she cried out.

  Then he bit very lightly.

  She screamed.

  He suckled and licked, coaxing out the rich scent of her own salty arousal.

  Dominic slid a finger inside her, very slowly, testing her inner passage. The delicate tissues clenched around him. He lifted his head. Fire danced inside his irises, turning them dark as sin. Alex squirmed, desperately needing his mouth again.

  “One finger,” he said softly. “You’re very tight. You’re almost ready for me, sweetheart. Ready for my cock. I’m going to drive hard and fast into you until you beg me to stop. Or not.”

  The sweep of his tongue once more, licking and suckling her as he slid a second finger inside her, stretching her open.

  Alex arched back, her body taut at the ropes holding her prisoner. Moisture wept from her as his fingers moved deep into her passage. Pleasure built higher and higher. A loud sob wrenched from her throat as he found a spot and stroked. She screamed.

  “Yes,” he murmured with satisfaction.

  Dominic pressed down. Hot pleasure exploded in her loins. The orgasm wrung tears from her eyes, her inner tissues squeezing him tightly as she writhed.

  “Good girl,” he crooned.

  She watched, eyes heavy-lidded as he brought his fingers to his mouth, licked them slowly. “You taste delicious. I think you’re ready for my cock now.”

  A smile curved his mouth. “Or not. Let’s try for two.”

  The beast. He slid two fingers deep inside her again, withdrawing them slowly. Circling her clit with his thumb. Her body jerked against the rope.

  He leaned closer, his eyes blazing. “How bad do you want it?”

  Wordlessly, she gulped air as she closed her eyes. Tension coiled inside her until she wanted to beg. She, who had remained mute during her tribal tattooing, was ready to beg this man to take her.

  “Pleas
e,” she begged, her hips pumping. Desire became a relentless master, driving her to wild excess.

  “I smell your arousal, Alexandra. I want to lick and suck you again and make you come again and again.”

  Squirming as his fingers stroked harder, she dug her heels into the soft mattress.

  “Look up, Alexandra. Look at yourself, flushed with passion, with desire. See how lovely you are.”

  When her eyes remained closed, his voice became a whiplash of command. “Look.”

  Alex opened her eyes and stared into the ceiling mirror. A rosy flush tinted her naked body, her mouth was parted on a gasp.

  “So beautiful,” he murmured.

  Frustration bit her with daggered teeth. On the edge of an orgasm, she pushed against his hand.

  “Tell me. Do you want to come?” he commanded.

  “Yes,” she sobbed. “Please. Make me come.”

  He watched, his gaze capturing hers as she bit back a cry. “Don’t hold back. I want to see you come, hear you cry out. Look upward, at yourself, Alexandra. Look at yourself as you come.”

  Her body grew taut as a bowstring, she looked upward. He pressed on her clit and the tension shattered her into shards.

  Alex stared at herself in the throes of orgasm, hair spilling over the satin pillow, head bent back, eyes filled with tears, mouth parted on a scream of his name. She saw the dark-haired man kneeling between her legs, his thick penis rising from a nest of dark hair. Rich with satisfaction, his gaze caught hers in the mirror. He bent his head to hers.

  “Give me your mouth,” he commanded.

  Alex parted her lips, tasted her musky arousal on his mouth. He cupped the back of her head, holding her steady for his possession as his tongue thrust inside.

  Then Dominic pressed soft kisses across her belly and breasts, splaying his hands across her rib cage. Touching her, tasting her as if she were indeed beautiful. Alex began regaining a sense of power as he worshipped her with his mouth. Cupping her breasts, he kneaded them, flicking the hardened nipples with his thumbs. He encased one taut nipple with his mouth and suckled her, licking the peak.