Sex Symbol (24 page)

He looked like a feral Adonis. Sweat glistened on his skin in the candlelight, reflecting every curve and hollow of his body the way only an artist could ever recreate. My words pale. Images came to mind, his hands on my body, his lips roaming up and over my skin. And the hunger burned. My need for him was like a living thing, consuming me from inside out. The only way to calm this demon was a sacrifice of flesh.

I stepped forward and lowered his pants to his knees, exposing his cock and the magnificent curves of his thighs. All this time I had been admiring him in jeans, never understanding what a crime it was to cover him. A body like this was meant to be appreciated. No, worshiped.

I took his cock in my mouth and Eramus moved his free hand to the back of my head, guiding me slowly as he continued to tremble beneath my touch. My mouth strained to contain him though I continued to move up and down, wetting his shaft for what was to come.

“Yes.” His voice was something between a whisper and a cry for release. Caught between man and beast, pain and pleasure.

I lifted my head and found his amber eyes watching me.

“The taking of Beauty is a fantasy among lycans, something I have heard of for years.”

His voice had become strained with desire and I’m sure my own expression reflected that same burning need for release.

“And what about when Beauty takes Beast?”

I put my hands on his shoulders and with agility I hadn’t know I possessed, leapt so that my legs were wrapped around his waist, securing my feet against his thighs. He put his arm around me, the other visibly straining around his braces.

“Sex brings out the beast,” he moaned. “I don’t know how long I can—”

“Long enough.” And with my interruption I positioned myself directly over his throbbing erection. His cock felt like a brand against the lips of my pussy, burning me even before he was inside. I knew that I was wet enough to take him fully, but I wanted to savor the feeling. To relish the sensation of him slipping inside of me. I watched the expression in his amber eyes as I stroked him. I had waited so long for this moment and now all I wanted to do was make it last. I wanted to savor the feel of his hot flesh in my hand and the hard body pressed against mine. I squeezed lightly, excited by the way his breath quickened.

“Your cock feels so good in my hand.”

Eramus smiled, showing a little bit of fang. “Wait ’til you have it in your pussy.”

I rubbed the tip of his cock up and down my wet lips, teasing myself as much as him. I used his throbbing flesh to rub my clit, stroking in slow circles until I shook from the effort it took to keep from sliding him inside.

I lifted myself up, as close as I could get to being face to face, and with a shuddering sigh against his lips I lowered down onto him, watching the way his eyes changed when he was inside me. He went from the look of one who seeks to touch to one who seeks to possess.

The sounds that came from him were more animal than man as I began to move. I hooked my feet around his thighs, pressing my breasts against him. This allowed me just enough leverage to wiggle my ass. I ran my tongue across his nipple as I bobbed my ass up and down, pulling him in and out of me at a deliberately slow pace.

“You’re so tight.” His voice sounded strained. It excited me to know he held the beast at bay so we could enjoy this moment. Knowing he could harm me just as easily as he could bring me pleasure was thrilling.

I took his nipple in my mouth, sucking on the tender flesh until he growled. I slammed against him as hard as I could, taking his cock as deeply as possible. When I growled too, I thought he might break his chains.

Up and down I stroked him, grinding my body against his, using his torso for leverage. I climbed his body as if he were a ladder and my pleasure awaited at the top. Touching him was like a fever, it spread throughout my body, taking all in its path and leaving only my soul in its wake. But that too belonged to him. All he had to do was ask.

I continued to move slowly, delighting in this slow, grinding torture. I could feel his breath against my skin and his struggle against his bonds to thrust deeper inside. I ran my tongue up the side of his throat before nipping gently just below his ear.

His smell was intoxicating. He didn’t smell like sweat, even though his body was slick with it. His natural sexy scent was getting stronger, so much so that I couldn’t resist running my tongue over his chest. I wanted to see if he tasted as good as he smelled.

I reached down to touch the base of his cock, and stroked my pussy.

“You’re going to make me come,” I moaned.

He growled softly as he nipped at my ear the way I’d done his. The soft pinch sent a shiver of pleasure through my body, making my pussy clench.

“It hurts,” I said. “I want you so bad my pussy hurts.”

“Stroke me,” he commanded. “I like to feel your hand between us.”

I used the barrier of my hand to keep from taking him fully as I moved. The slow gyration of my hips was driving me crazy. And yet I didn’t want to move faster. I wanted to grind my wet pussy against him until I couldn’t take any more. I growled again as I grasped the base of his shaft and squeezed.

I lifted up enough to pull him out, teasing him by letting him only halfway back inside.

“Does that feel good?”

“Yes,” he moaned. His voice barely sounded human anymore and still I wasn’t afraid. The more it seemed he might lose control, the more it drove me wild.

“Do you want more?”

“Yes.”

“Say please.”

Eramus bent to kiss me again and moaned the word into my mouth. I moved my hand at the last second, taking him fully again. This time I ground my body against him with complete abandon, holding nothing back. Our bodies were slick with sweat and trembled with the effort it took to keep from coming. I had to hold on tight so I wouldn’t slip. Eramus put his hand on my ass, helping to move me up and down at a faster pace.

Wet hair slapped against my body as I threw back my head. The look in his eyes was something I’ll never forget. No one’s ever looked at me the way he did, not like he wanted to be inside me, but like he wanted to be a part of me.

“Finish it,” he growled.

Eramus moved his hand to brace against the wall rather than touch my ass.

“Touch me.” My words were both a command and a pleading request.

“I can feel the change. I may scratch you.”

“Do it. I want your hands on me. I want to feel you…” But my next words were lost to pleasure. He put his hand against my lower back, pushing me down as he drove his hips upward, thrusting so deeply inside me that I screamed.

My climax was unbelievably strong and I clung to him for fear of falling on the floor as I came. My muscles contracted so long and hard that I thought the next pulse of release might never come. I screamed again, grinding against him, getting every last drop of pleasure I could.

“I’m close,” he whispered.

Knowing that he was about to come seemed to make my orgasm last even longer.

I felt him go stiff in my arms and knew he was coming just by the sound of his breath against my ear.

He threw back his head and howled.

“Please, Lucy. I love you too much to—”

His voice became another growl and I slipped from his body, withdrawing a few steps as the change finally overtook him.

He turned more easily than anyone I had seen so far. His hair became longer, spilling over his shoulders in a wild, dark tangle. He growled again and his fangs lengthened. In that split second, caught between man and beast, he was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. Nick’s transformation had been horrific and so was Ron’s. But Eramus didn’t look as if he was in pain, at least not in the way they had been. It was the pain behind his eyes that broke my heart.

Eramus looked down at me before throwing back his head with a howl. As he did this his chest expanded and a carpet of dark fur spread over and down his abdomen. The bones of his lower legs lengthened and his feet became gigantic paws. His face began to lengthen as well and in a few short moments his transformation was complete.

I stood there in total disbelief. At first I thought that nothing remained of the man I had known. But then he looked at me and I recognized Eramus behind those amber eyes.

“Eramus?”

I moved closer, but not close enough that he could touch me, just in case he was not in control. The moment he looked at me, I knew everything was all right. I didn’t see a monster before me, just a werewolf. Just because he was one didn’t mean he had to be the other. I was still naked, but it was impossible to be cold next to him. Heat radiated from his body and by the time I was close enough to touch him, I was completely warm. I was already short compared to him. Normally I reached the middle of his chest. Now I was on eye level with his abs.

I put my hand against his stomach and gently stroked his fur. The hand he put over mine was enormous and covered with hair just like the rest of him.

“You’re not afraid.” He sounded amazed. His voice was deeper. But instead of sounding evil like Ron or Nick, his voice sounded powerful.

“And you’re not a ravening monster.”

He laughed and it seemed so strange coming from a wolf’s face.

“Just wait ’til I get started.”

I was so relieved to see that he was still Eramus and so overcome by all that had happened that I hugged him without stopping to think about it.

“Well, you’re taking things a lot better than I expected. No one’s ever hugged me like this before.”

I started crying into his fur and Eramus wrapped his free arm around me. It wasn’t like me to break down crying. Then again, it wasn’t like me to hug werewolves either.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened,” he said softly. “You said someone was chasing you.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Obviously they haven’t found the door.”

I leaned back and wiped my eyes. “I almost didn’t find the door. I thought I was going to get eaten alive.”

“Sorry about that. I thought I told you I changed it.”

“You did. I just didn’t remember you changing it to a rock.” I hugged him again, desperately needing the comfort of his nearness. “Eramus, I’m so scared.”

I repeated for him everything that had happened since he left my house that evening. He stiffened when I got to the part about James showing up. Other than that he showed no reaction. Halfway through my recap I realized I was having a conversation with a werewolf and suppressed the urge to laugh. Maybe shock was settling in along with some mild hysteria? I tried to remember exactly what Ron had said in the barn and repeated it word for word. I didn’t know how important each detail was and didn’t want to leave anything out.

When I finished he asked, “Do you think James might still be alive?”

I shook my head. Fresh tears fell down my face. “I don’t think so, but I’m really not sure.”

He sighed. “As much as I don’t like your ex-boyfriend, I can’t leave him out there to die. If you come over to the machine, I can tell you the combination to get this off.” He rattled his chain as he spoke.

“You’re serious. You really mean to go out there? What about Ron?”

He growled and suddenly I realized just how ridiculous it was that I’d hugged him. Werewolves were among the most dangerous creatures on earth and I’d just used one as my personal teddy bear.

“I can handle Ron. I’m more concerned about James. Besides, I want to find out what this Ron knows about you being marked.”

“About that—”

“It’s your tattoo,” he interrupted.

“What?! But I didn’t go to any shaman to—”

“Where did you go?”

“Crazy Wolf’s. It’s over on—”

“I know where it is. Did Crazy Wolf do your tattoo himself?”

“Yes, but I’ve known him since I was a kid.”

“He’s a werewolf and obviously he’s the pack shaman.”

I had to sit down. I pulled the one chair over and placed it between Eramus and the machine that kept him chained.

“Are you telling me that he mixed the ink for my tattoo with an alpha werewolf’s blood?”

My voice was calm, but the menace it held surprised me. I had known Crazy Wolf since I was about thirteen. He was a tall, dark, good-looking Native American. And yes, Crazy Wolf was his real name. I’d even entertained a few fantasies about him over the years. Now I was fantasizing about breaking his neck with my bare hands.

I was so angry I couldn’t see straight. Twice tonight I had learned of betrayal by people I thought were old friends of mine. Obviously those ties were broken. Or maybe they were never my friends at all.

“Are you sure it’s the tattoo?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

“I knew the instant I saw it. Like I said, the rose is symbolic. I’ll explain it all later. If your friend is still alive, we’re wasting time.”

“Shit.” I stood up and pushed the chair out of the way, kneeling in front of the machine. “I’m sorry. It’s not every day I find out shit like this. I guess I’m not so good at getting this kind of news.”

“You’re not doing too badly. I’m surprised you don’t want to kill Crazy Wolf.”

I looked back at Eramus and could feel my lips curling into a snarl. “Whoever said that?”

His eyes widened. Maybe I shouldn’t have let him know what I was thinking.

“I understand, but murder is a serious crime. Even more so in the lycanthrope community.”

“It’s not as if I go around killing people over just anything. The way I see it this motherfucker took my life into his hands without consulting me. He deserves to be punished.”

“No argument there, but do you really want him to die?”

Eramus’ advice was softly spoken, but it had a sobering effect. Even if I had the opportunity, I wasn’t sure that I could kill Crazy Wolf, or anyone else for that matter. I wanted to hurt him, but I’m not a murderer.

“No, I’m just upset. Tell me the combination to this thing.”

Once Eramus was free I started putting my clothes back on. Getting back into wet clothes is a bitch.

“I could leave you here,” he said. “But I’d just worry about you the whole time.” I rolled my eyes and he added, “I’ll make it up to you later.”