Wolfen (22 page)

 
Goosebumps rose all over her at his leisurely exploration. Her heart began to beat a frantic tattoo against her chest wall.

 
He paused, lifting his head when he reached her shoulder. When she glanced at him, she saw he was scowling at her neck and abruptly remembered Balin had bitten her hard enough there to leave a mark. He met her gaze after a long moment. “He marked you,” he said tightly.

 
The comment connected with something in her memory, but it was only a hazy connection, eluding her grasp because it also raised her temper. She pushed at him and slipped out from under him, landing on the floor beside the couch. “Like I said,” she said tightly. “Obviously this isn't a lighthearted game we can play and still be friends."

 
He followed her, grasping her arms and drawing her to her feet as he stood. “Is that the only one?” he demanded in a low, growling voice.

 
Danika stared at him in stunned surprise at the abrupt transition from teasing flirtation to deadly serious in little more than the blink of an eye. “What?"

 
He let go of her wrists, grasping her waist instead and pulling her hips against his when she leaned away from him. His erection was instantly obvious, digging into her belly. “Does that feel like a game to you?"

 
She frowned at him. “It feels like a cock—and you look like a man looking for a place to put it."

 
His lips tightened. He released her so abruptly she staggered back a step. “And you figure any place will do for me, is that it?"

 
She studied him with a mixture of uneasiness and anger when she caught her balance. “It looked that way to me the other night."

 
"Damn it! Because those fucking
weres
...."

 
She frowned at him when he broke off abruptly. “Wares?"

 
He scrubbed a hand over his face and then raked his fingers through his long, dark hair in an almost agitated manner. Danika used his distraction to put a little distance between them, moving around the couch. His gaze zeroed in on her the moment she moved. He planted a hand on the back of the couch and swung over it like a gymnast dismounting from a parallel bar, startling her when he landed in front of her. He used her surprise to his advantage, catching her and drawing her close again. “We've got a few things we need to get straight between us."

 
She gave him a doubtful look. “I see you've got
one
thing you want to get straight between us,” she said tartly as he bumped his erection against her again.

 
He grinned at her wolfishly. “I do at that.” He leaned closer. “There's only place I'm interested in putting it, though, regardless of what you believe."

 
A shiver of warmth skated through her as his heated breath caressed the side of her neck. Doubt warred with want. She certainly wasn't needy—shouldn't have been. She'd been just fine before she encountered the biker quints, she thought irritably, and it had been years since she'd been with a man.

 
It didn't escape her that her emotions were a tangled, conflicting mess. If it was merely an adventure, it couldn't be serious at the same time. If she wanted it to be nothing more, she shouldn't be complaining that they were only using her. It was either mutual or not.

 
"If I give in,” she said uncomfortably, “it isn't going to cause any trouble?"

 
His eyes gleamed. “That's not your problem, and I'm not worried about it."

 
She had the feeling that she'd been outmaneuvered and it
was
her problem. Con and Balin were both going to be angry with her, but then they were already. She didn't owe them anything. There hadn't been any discussion about ‘exclusive’ usage, on either side—because nothing was, or could, come of it. It almost felt as if sealing that understanding was a better idea that allowing any doubts to remain in anyone's mind—especially hers, because she'd begun to realize the casual sex thing, even though she'd talked herself in to it, wasn't for her. She couldn't feel casual about it.

 
She could act like she did, though, she assured herself. She could lick her wounds later, when they were gone back to where ever they'd come from and she had gone home.

 
Pulling away from him, she went to her bedside table resolutely, took a condom out and tossed it to him. He caught it, stared down at it in tightlipped silence. Ignoring the obvious signs of obstinacy in the set of his jaw, she stripped off her t-shirt and panties and climbed on the bed, turning on her side to look up at him expectantly.

 
He looked torn, furious, and at the same time desirous. His fist closed around the condom packet, tightening until his knuckles were white. Uttering a curse under his breath, he placed one knee on the bed and a hand on her shoulder, pushing her to her back and settling on top of her. “Lady, you really know how to piss a man off. You know that?"

 
She could see that. Guilt flickered through her and discomfort. She had made it feel like a transaction and it didn't make her feel any better than it made him feel. She averted her gaze, unable to hold her anger in the face of his. “If you don't want to practice safe sex, that's fine. We won't do it."

 
He caught her jaw, forcing her to look at him. Some of his anger abated when he'd studied her face for several moments. “This isn't about sex,” he growled. “I think you know that."

 
She swallowed with an effort. “What is it about, Dakota? I don't understand any of this. I thought I did, but I don't. It was just supposed to be about having a little fun fooling around, wasn't it? Because that's the impression I got ... that all of you had just decided I was handy and you'd take turns and everybody could go away satisfied."

 
He frowned. Shifting slightly to one side of her, he propped his head in one hand and stroked his fingers lightly over the mark in the crook between her shoulder and neck almost thoughtfully. “Maybe that's the way it started out, and maybe it was just a lie we all told ourselves,” he muttered. “I'm not sure I entirely understand it myself.” He uttered a sound somewhere between a snort and laugh, though it lacked humor. “It's not a situation I ever expected to find myself in and I'm pretty fucking sure none of the others did either—which means we still haven't resolved it in our heads. I know I don't like this worth a fuck, though."

 
She looked at him in confusion, wondering if he was referring to the mark on her neck or the situation or both. “So it isn't just that your straw came up?"

 
His black brows snapped together over the bridge of his nose, but she could see from the look in his eyes that the suggestion wasn't entirely new to him and that it was something that had at least been considered. Amusement flickered in his eyes after a moment, though. “Actually, everybody figured you were still so pissed off after last night that it would be ‘safe’ to leave me to guard the hen house alone while they took care of business."

 
She stared at him, torn between amusement and irritation. “And you figured you might as well have a try with the hen?"

 
He grinned at her. “Not exactly. I figured they were right. I just couldn't resist trying,” he murmured, gliding his hand down from her neck and over the slope of one breast to tease the nipple that rose to greet him by tracing light circles around it.

 
Warmth stirred to life inside her instantly, currents that eddied pleasantly through her.

 
He met her gaze. “Woman, if you had any idea what you do to me...."

 
Her throat closed at the look in his eyes. “What?” she asked breathlessly, wanting to hear more.

 
He grasped her hand, carrying it to the front of his jeans, curling her fingers around his erection, and guiding it in a stroking motion for several moments. “This is just for me?” she asked teasingly.

 
His gaze remained serious. “It is ... every time I look at you, get near you, catch your scent, or hear the sound of your voice.” He leaned toward her slowly, catching her lower lip between his and sucking at it lightly. “No woman ever had this effect on me before,” he murmured as he released the tender flesh and nipped at her upper lip, “and I've got a bad feeling no other will."

 
He played with her lips almost teasingly, alternately brushing his lips along hers and then plucking at them. He lifted his head slightly after a moment to look down at her. Sensing his watchful gaze, she opened her eyes with an effort and looked back at him.

 
Unfastening his jeans, he dragged the zipper down and then took her hand, guiding it to his cock. The wiry pelt that surrounded his cock was a sharp contrast to the silky skin of his member that delighted her. She wrapped her fingers around the thick, hot shaft, exploring it from root to tip and his eyes slid closed, his expression tightening. Fascinated, she watched the pleasure contort his face as she stroked him, reaching down after a moment to cup the soft sacks beneath it. He caught his breath. “That feels good, baby,” he said in a husky whisper that heightened the arousal stirring to life inside of her, evoking a cascade of stippling skin to lift her awareness of every point where their bodies touched.

 
She looked down at his cock when she stroked up the underside of his member and encountered a small, rounded, metallic object, catching a glimpse of a bar piercing just beneath the ridge of the head of his cock. He placed the edge of his hand beneath her chin, nudging it upward and matching his mouth to hers.

 
It was no gentle tease as his first kiss had been, but full of heat and hunger. He opened his mouth over hers and thrust his tongue past the fragile barrier of her lips, in one motion laying claim to the heated cavern of her mouth. His essence filled her like a strong tonic as he stroked his tongue along hers, producing an instant high and enervating every muscle in her body at the same time.

 
Desperate for more of the taste of him, she sucked his tongue greedily. A shudder traveled through his big body that thrilled her even more. Grasping one thigh to move it out of his way, he slid over her, wedging his narrow hips between her thighs. The rough brush of his jeans against her tender nether lips as he undulated his hips against her added another stimulating texture to the sensations pelting her—the hard, silk sheathed root of his manhood, the tickle of the hair that surrounded it, and the press of his bare belly and chest against hers.

 
Lifting her arms, she explored his back with her palms and fingertips, enjoying the smoothness of his skin and the hard muscles beneath it. His weight felt good against her, right in a way she didn't take the time to explore. She didn't want to think about anything except the way he made her feel and the comfort and excitement she derived from his nearness. The eagerness of his touch made her feel wanted, needed. The solid strength of his large frame made her feel feminine and desirable and protected all at the same time.

 
Wanting every inch of contact she could manage, she curled one leg around his narrow hips, stroking her foot along his long, jean clad legs—wishing he'd taken the time to take them off.

 
She supposed he hadn't been certain enough of his welcome.

 
She
hadn't been certain if it came to that.

 
She didn't know if it was his deft touch and practiced kisses or something more integral to him—an unanticipated chemical reaction between them—but the only doubts that flickered through her mind was whether she could bare to wait longer for the deep connection with Dakota that her body craved. She spread her thighs wider at the thought, cupping his sex with her own, arching against him in encouragement.

 
He ignored the lure, breaking the kiss to explore her further. The tug of his mouth on her breasts took her breath away, sent her fever higher until she was writhing restlessly beneath him, panting for breath, too dizzy and desperate for thought of any kind.

 
Anticipation hammered inside of her when he shifted to push his jeans further down his hips. She reached eagerly to help him, shoving a hand down his back to cup his buttocks and urge him on. A moment of doubt slithered along the fringes of her mind as he guided the head of his cock into the mouth of her sex, but slipped from her gasp as her focus shifted sharply to the feel of his flesh penetrating her, stretching her in a way that made her ache wonderfully for more. She curled her hips eagerly to receive, braced herself to counter his thrust and hold herself still until he'd burrowed deeply, withdrew and pushed again.