Reflections of the Wolf (5 page)

His wolf was ready to just take her home and fuck her against whatever solid surface was available, but the human side of him resisted. His body wanted her, no doubt about it, but he just wasn’t sure he could accept a mate into his life. Not after everything he had been through with Roxy.

“I would have been fine at my own home, you know. You are just an arrogant bully,” Tina said, watching him like he was going to jump across the seat and maul her.

“I am a werewolf, and once we have scented our mates we feel a need to stick close and take care of them.” He glanced at her as he drove and wished he could wrap her in his arms and ease her into this huge life change. “Look, I’m not trying to force you into anything, but I am concerned about you. You just watched a man almost rape and murder your best friend in your living room. You were almost raped and murdered in your own home! I don’t think it will do your mental stability any good to face that right away. You need a little bit of pampering until you have a day or two to heal. We can talk more about the mating process when you are ready, and if you still want to go back home tomorrow, I will take you there myself.”

She looked at him like he had just grown a second head and then snorted in laughter. With a shake of her head, she slouched down into her seat.

“Believe me, this isn’t the worst thing to happen in my life. I will manage just fine without a babysitter. In fact I think that my therapist will be delighted to hear that I will have need of her services for a bit longer. And for the record there will be no
mating
as you so sweetly put it. I have no interest in taking an animal for a lover and certainly have no interest in becoming one myself.”

Therapist?
His heart softened when he heard the sadness in her words. She had been through something painful at some point, and she evidently struggled with trust. He was going to have his work cut out for him with her.

“We’ll see, Sweet Tina. We’ll see.” She looked like she wanted to smack him, so he gave her a flirty wink hoping to bring the fire back to her eyes and erase the sadness. Her eyes narrowed at him, and her mouth opened for a moment, but she seemed to change her mind and it snapped shut. She turned back to the front, and they settled into a tense silence as he drove them the thirty minutes to his cabin at the family den.

* * * *

Tina pretended to doze as they drove to wherever Liam’s home was. She thought it was a little strange that he would live so far from the main part of Kansas City when he worked at the fire station smack dab in the middle of town. He had at least a half-an-hour commute just to get to town for work. She shivered slightly thinking about her past life with Esteban. Esteban was addicted to his career and happily made the commute to St. Louis every Sunday evening and then commuted back to Kansas City every Thursday night to spend his weekend with her. At the time it irritated her, but she loved him so much she felt like she could overlook it and let it go.

He was driven and motivated to give her and their future children a better life. She appreciated his determination and thought that it was a good quality in a husband. Six years later, looking back at him through a woman’s eyes instead of the rose-tinted eyes of a twenty-two-year-old girl, she could see the supercilious and narrow-minded traits he carried as well. He had believed that he was invincible. That he could have whatever he wanted just by bullying people into giving it to him. He sought to create what he thought was the perfect life, and that included molding her into his perfect bride. No, he wasn’t a prince, but as imperfect as he was, at that moment in her life he had been Tina’s heaven.

The day she watched his coffin lower into the dirt was the day that she realized life didn’t always give you what you wanted, and some things couldn’t be earned or worked for or even taken back by force. She had been broken and lost in the days and weeks after his funeral. She fought guilt for control of her life, and her mother finally interceded to dose her with chicken soup and soul-cleansing words.

She reiterated to Tina one of her favorite sayings in life. “Life always gives you a second chance. It’s called tomorrow. Honey, you will have to get up and continue to live, because I won’t let you follow him into death.” It was her mother and father and her older brother Thomas that kept her from the edge and gave her a reason to live and thrive. A year later, at twenty-five years old, she enrolled in nursing school. That was where she met Caroline Trainor, and their connection to each other over lost loved ones had turned into a lifelong friendship that she savored. They both knew personally how quickly a loved one could be lost, and it gave them strength and motivation to go forward.

Tina was so proud of what she had accomplished for herself. She had a career that she loved where she could genuinely help people. Working in the pediatric unit of the hospital, she was able to watch families bond with their children and share in their joys as well as help to buffer their fears and pains. She felt needed as a nurse. In her personal life, she felt lonely. Sure, she had managed to purchase her own home and build herself a life where she occasionally dated or went out with friends, but most of her time was still alone.

She allowed herself one true passion, and that was her love of dance. She spent two evenings a week at the local ballet studio teaching young girls to spread their wings and let dance help them to fly. It was where her heart was.

Esteban told her repeatedly that he loved her, but he had never loved her dancing. It was a waste of effort in his mind, because she had no intention of making it a career, and it didn’t help his career in anyway to have an aspiring dancer as his girlfriend. He couldn’t understand her need to twirl and arch across the dance floor in time to a beautiful piece of music.

Watching Liam out of the corner of her eyes, she ached for the solitude and freedom of the dance floor. At this particular moment, she would give anything to have an hour with her toe shoes and an empty studio. Dancing allowed her to be relaxed and completely free of every worry in her life. When the first notes drifted into the air, her mind slowed and blocked out every sound around her except for the music. Her body would writhe and stretch, telling a story only it knew. She sighed heavily as Liam turned the truck off of the highway and onto a stretch of gravel road that led back into thick trees. She felt his eyes skim over her face, looking for any signs of discomfort before he spoke.

“We’re almost there, Sweet Tina. Just a few more minutes to the house. Rafe and Ryley are still back in town, so we have the house to ourselves for now. This way you can have a long soak in the tub and get relaxed before I put you in bed,” he said quietly.

Her heart fluttered at the concern in his voice, and just as quickly her belly balled with need at the image of him putting her to bed. His hands shifted on the steering wheel, drawing her attention to the ripple of muscles in his large forearms. She fisted her hands in her lap to keep from reaching across and running her fingers along the veins that corded them, just to feel the blood pulsing through him. He was sexy with a capital S, and she hadn’t slept with a man in a really long time. Her body wanted him, but after his comments about her being his mate, she just couldn’t relax enough to let her inner slut out. She couldn’t do a relationship yet. Not a long-term one, anyway.

“You live with them?” she asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

“Yeah, it’s a way to keep us all out of trouble. As bachelors we haven’t needed much, and we’ve always been close. I moved in with them after…well, a couple of years of ago, when I moved back to the den. I wanted to be closer to family when I wasn’t at the firehouse.” He explained, expertly maneuvering the truck down the dirt and gravel road through the blackness of the forest. They passed by several gravel offshoots that seemed to be driveways, but the houses were too far back in the trees for her to see more than a wink of lights here and there.

She turned back to look out the front window just as they pulled up to a quaint little cabin. A large front porch, with a cozy-looking porch swing that needed new cushions, stretched across the front of the cabin. An overgrown flower bed lined the stone pathway up to the steps. The cabin was embedded in the forest, but she could see a small garage off to the side in the back, and the lights of other cabins twinkled between the thick trees. It was like a private mountain retreat, but without the mountains. Even with the signs of bachelor neglect, she could still sense the warm comfort of family from the structure. She didn’t even realize that Liam had gotten out of the truck until her door opened, and he was there reaching to unbuckle her seat belt for her.

“I can get it,” she said irritably.

“I know, but I want to. You have been through a lot tonight. Relax and let me take care of you, Sweet Tina,” he responded softly, and she pulled her hand back, watching him apprehensively as he unlatched the buckle and settled it into place.

Chapter 4

Their eyes met as she turned to climb out of the truck, and his hands went around her waist. She figured he intended to help her down out of the truck, but she never found out. She was entranced by his blue gaze and quickly found herself lost in a haze of desire. She could see his own hot need in his dilating pupils, and her body started to hum. His grip at her hips tightened slightly, and he pulled her forward, stepping between her thighs at the same time. She could feel the moisture gathering in her panties again at his proximity, and her breath caught when his nostrils flared.

“God, you smell fantastic, apple cinnamon and hot woman. I want to taste you so bad,” he whispered.

His breathing was rapid now, and his eyes were glowing now with his desire, making his eyes look more animallike. She let her hands drift over his chest, unable to restrain them. His muscles shuddered and bunched everywhere her fingers touched. His hands slipped from her hips to cup her ass cheeks, pulling her tight against him. His lips hovered just millimeters away from hers, and they shared a breath before she leaned into him. Before she could rethink the intelligence behind the move, she was grinding her pussy against his tight abs and locking her ankles around his trim hips.

Liam pulled her completely off of the truck seat and held her easily in his hands as he devoured her mouth. His kiss was demanding and empowering at the same time. His growls and heavy breathing matched her gasps and whimpers as she melted into him. Her hands were tight on the back of his head, holding him to her so that she could absorb him. He tasted like sin and sex, and she could feel her own body trembling with need. Energy zipped over her skin as she rubbed her now-aching breasts hard against his broad chest. His mouth drifted from her mouth, across her jaw, and down her throat. She threw her head back and moaned when he suckled at her collarbone, and she arched her back to give him more skin. She felt thoroughly bewitched by his touch.

“Please…” She groaned, digging her fingers into the tight muscles of his shoulders.

“Sweet Tina, you don’t have to beg. I will give you what you need,” he said as he lifted his head to look down at her. His jaw was tight with restrained need, and her inner female was giddy with the knowledge that she pushed his control to the limits.

She didn’t protest when he carried her into the house and directly into a bedroom. She wasn’t really sure her brain would have worked if she wanted to argue. Pressed so tightly to him and licking her way down his jaw and neck, she couldn’t see much of the room, but she knew it had to be his. It smelled like him, like the woods after it rains. God, he smelled good. He tasted even better.

Easing her down his body until she had her feet under her, he kept his arms around her and his hands fondling her ass. She sighed with relief when he whipped her shirt off over her head and his mouth closed over her lace-covered nipple.

“Oh, Lord have mercy!” she cried as he pulled the bra cup down and sucked her swollen nipple deeper into his mouth. His hands went to the clasp at her back, and she felt the lace drop from her body. A small voice in her head told her to stop him, but her body reacted intuitively to him. She pushed her own small hands up under his tight T-shirt, finally getting her first feel of his hard torso. His nearly hairless chest was hot to the touch, and she followed the smattering of hair down his pecks all the way to the button of his jeans. “Mmm…that’s delicious.” She moaned to him as she ran her hands back up over his washboard abs.

His soft growl of pleasure urged her on, and she pushed his shirt up and off of him. She bent to lick his flat, brown nipple before brushing her naked breasts across his skin, moaning at the contact. Her nipples puckered even tighter at the sensuous caress. Her hands explored every inch of his chest, shoulders, and thick arms, pausing to trace the colorful tattoo on his shoulder. She couldn’t believe how sexy that ink was adorning his golden skin. She rubbed her thighs tightly together, attempting to force much-needed friction against her throbbing clit. His fingers went to the top of her sweatpants and pushed their way underneath to the top of her slit before delving into her moisture. She gasped and gripped his shoulders tightly as her knees buckled.

“Damn, you’re so wet for me. Let’s get these clothes off so that I can see you, sweetheart,” he said tightly as he pushed her pants and panties off of her slim body. He took a step back from her to gape at her nude form. “You are so beautiful.”

She flushed and let her gaze drop to the bulge behind his zipper. “You’re still dressed…” she said, and he hurriedly jerked his own jeans off. He stood proudly and let her eye take in his perfect form. Her eyes drifted from his golden chest along his curved groin muscles that pointed downward. Damn, those muscles were sexy. She reached out and ran her finger tips over them letting her nails scrape across his skin. He shuddered and growled, his eyes snapping with heat. She licked her lips as she stared at the thick cock that jutted from his groin. He was massive. A ripple of apprehension went through her, and she jerked her eyes up to his.