Yes, the alph
a wolf has had first pick, and is probably nursing a sugar crash for his incurable sweet tooth. She pushed the tray at him. Take this in the kitchen and see if you can help Gen loosen the lid on the Darjeeling. Whats the mask for?
A surprise for Chloe. He winked and disappeared through the swinging door, the only thing that was capable of getting every womans mind off his tight ass and back to whatever it was theyd forgotten they were talking about.
Oh dear. Mrs. Dupont leaned over. Chloe, I think Ive dumped some tea on the floor, and my napkin doesnt seem to be picking it up.
Choe squatted, her always available washcloth pulled from her apron pocket. She stopped in mid-motion, however, her gaze riveting not on the small, brandy-colored puddle, but a dried, older stain.
It was a small smear, one that would be missed except at this time of day, when the sun was coming in at just the right angle. It might not even be a stain. It could be a discoloration of the wood that the sunlight turned into the memory of blood. Her blood. Biting down on her lip hard enough to create more of it, she wiped up the tea.
* * * * *
When they reached the Jeep, Brendan stopped before the passenger door. Rather than opening it, he turned her toward him with a touch on her shoulder. With a quick meeting of eyes to confirm she had no immediate objections, he slid the mask over her head. She peered at him through the eye holes, not sure how to react. He didnt seem like he needed a response from her, however. He was occupied with settling the mask on her nose in a comfortable, surprisingly snug fit. When he at last stepped back, he gestured to the side mirror. A s she checked herself out, she saw the mask made her eyes look feline, the painted lashes adding an exotic, mysterious flavor to them. Her curly, short hair fluffed around it, giving the cats face a whimsical, very feminine flavor. She looked toward him, and knew her lips had curved in a pleased smile when his eyes warmed. Beautiful, he said, with satisfaction, and she couldnt help but agree. The half mask left her cheeks, lips and chin bare, making them much more sensitive to touch when he brushed his fingertips across her lips. A s he traced the skin below the mask edge, over her cheekbones, her lips parted. Easing his fingers into her mouth, he touched her tongue, the secret moistness within her bottom lip.
Now you can be whoever you want to be. He spoke in that voice that seemed designed to elicit total trust and enable seduction at once. While you wear that, youre a mysterious, gorgeous creature who can do anything she wants to do and its okay, because tonight shes a mystery to herself as well. Shes going to be the side of herself she doesnt know, not the side she does.
With any other guy, shed have thought it was a way to get her to be what he wanted, relieve him of the burden of another night of dealing with her personal demons. It would have hurt, but she wouldnt have blamed him in the slightest. But when she looked up at him from behind that form fitting mask that already felt like part of who she was in this exact minute, she knew he didnt have that kind of duplicity. There was something about him so centered on what she was feeling and wanting, it was a part of him too. What she couldnt give herself but wanted to, he did. Totally crazy but totally fine.
Shed never been with a male with this kind of sexual and romantic confidence. He was unreal, but also so real he made her ache in every place a woman ached when she saw the epitome of what she wanted, needed, desired, even before she knew how to name it.
She lifted her hand, closed it on his wrist, stilling him. They stayed that way for another long minute, her staring at him, him holding her gaze with all the reverence of a worshipper come to the shrine of a goddess. Of a sudden, she felt clean andnot powerful, that wasnt exactly the right word. Grounded. She felt grounded, for this brief, all important moment.
She guided his finger into her mouth, tasted him. Bit down a little. Then harder. His hazel eyes heated, the sensual mouth curved, and she felt his response, his need reach toward her in that heat. A mans power and strength, rendered motionless, reined in by her touch. She wondered if she bit hard enough to break skin, if he would let her, take her need to inflict pain and let the desire to accept it from her become overwhelming.
I want to touch you. Kiss you.
She wasnt ready for that, so she shook her head. I want to touch you, she said instead. While you drive.
He opened the car door for her, and she got in. A fter he made sure her seatbelt was fastened, he strode around the front of the car. Though he kept his gaze on her face, she let hers course over him, blatantly appreciating the way he moved. A s a stage player, he could probably stride with warrior purpose, lazily saunter, or manage a seductive swagger with lots of hip. He was mesmerizing to watch, but she had another way she wanted to appreciate him.
A s he got in on his side and lifted the key, she closed her hand over his, not hampering him but holding on as he put it in the ignition and turned it over. Hed shed his jacket from the morning and had rolled up his sleeves at some point. She let her hand glide down his wrist, his forearm. The mask made her feel brave. Dangerous. Will you keep two hands on the wheel?
Ill do anything you tell me to do. A s if he read her intent and was already feeling the arousal from it, he said it with a soft fierceness, nothing meek about his compliance. Not when his body was like a taut wire that, if snapped, might wrap around her and bring her the sharp edge of his loss of control. Giving her a look that made the mask feel even more erotic in its close hold on her face, he put the Jeep in drive, put his hands on the wheel and headed out for the main highway that would take them to her home.
She knew she should care about whether she was being a hazard as he navigated the busy traffic, but it wasnt a reckless self destruction. She knew hed keep her safe, just as she knew he wouldnt take his hands off the wheel until she said he could, because it was the requirement itself in addition to the explosive energy between them that brought it to a combustible level.
She slid her fingertips under the sleeve to find the crease of elbow, the tender skin there at odds with his firm, tanned forearm and callused hand. While she did that, she put the other hand on his knee, and began to move upward along faded denim.
He shifted, though she sensed his self-imposed restraint. It made her want to test that leash. She slid higher. Stressed denim loved Brendans body, outlining the lean thighs and cradling his groin. A s her touch progressed, he adjusted his legs apart for her, anticipating her desire before she had it. The inseam curved over his testicles, tempting her to cup him there. She wanted to stroke the base of his cock with her thumb, a straining thick crescent beneath the zipper, not enough room to expand to its tumescent length. But she didnt touch him yet, leaving her hand high on his thigh.
His throat worked as he swallowed, his fingers tight on the wheel. Long, strong fingers. She thought of him last night, and imagined how he gripped and stroked his organ, starting slow and teasing, getting faster and faster, rougher, his body jerking as his climax finally spurted, wetting his abdomen and thighs as she listened, breathless, on the other end of the line.
Her hand was so close she could feel the pulse of blood in his groin, the heat emanating from it. Hed merged onto a familiar stretch of two-lane highway edged with mature oaks dripping Spanish moss. Not the interstate, that would have been too impersonal. Too separate from the smell of marshy land dotted with small lakes. She was conscious of the dwellings they passed, trailers and fishing getaway cottages nestled on overgrown lots. Other, more opulent homes were set back on manicured lawns, interspersed with cottage clusters, the occasional citrus groves or fields with cows and horses. The eclectic zoning of the Florida coastal areas. It kept the scenery surprising, unexpected, hard to classify.
She felt the same about the choices she had inside the Jeep. She wanted to touch his cock, but she wanted to wait as well. Either option would allow her to tease him while he tried to drive, unable to do anything but endure what she wanted. So she deliberately skirted his groin, gliding over his hip bone to the belted waist of the jeans, then across his tense abdomen, to the buttons of his shirt. One, two, threeshe unbuttoned it in reverse order, working her way up to his throat. She wanted to turn sideways in her seat to lean in further, but when she reached down to unbuckle the seatbelt, he broke his promise for the first time. His hand left the wheel, closed over hers.
You can adjust it a bit to make it slack, but leave it on.
To keep me from crawling on top of you while youre driving? She wanted to inject humor in her voice, but there was too much of a bite.
He glanced at her, the setting sun glinting off his riveted gaze, a touch of amber fire in the hazel. To keep you safe.
A s he suggested, she loosened the belt and turned on her hip. When she did, she enjoyed the view of his naked chest framed by his open shirt.
His cock strained against his jeans, obviously aroused, the display constantly shifting as he let off the gas and applied the brake as needed. She returned her hand to his bare chest, touching his flesh there for the first time, pushing her knuckles beneath the cloth of the open shirt to cross the terrain of a pectoral, drop down to fondle a nipple. The abdomen against which she had her elbow contracted as he drew in a breath. Leaning forward, she pushed aside the shirt and closed her mouth over the nipple, the whiskers attached to the mask tickling his skin.
A h, God. Chloe