Wolf's Capture (16 page)

His turn to shudder.

“Brody.” She sighed his name. Her body shuddered at his touch. Her sweet sex continued to heat and seep honey against him.

He could wait no longer. He had to have her. Needed to sink into the velvety heat that awaited him.

It took only a tug to rip the panties from her body. Then she was pressed against him.

Wet flesh against his turgid cock. The moisture of her arousal covered him, and it was his turn to shudder.

“Lift yourself just a bit, sweetheart,” he murmured.

She obeyed, lifting her body on her knees so that her sex was poised above his cock, which bobbed forward, seeking the source of heat.

He guided the tip of his dick to her sex, probing her and hearing her exclaim as he dragged the head back and forth against her.

She trembled.

So did he.

He wrapped one arm around her waist while his other hand guided his shaft into the warmth of her body.

The barrier he soon encountered took him a moment to comprehend. He understood what it meant. He’d more or less expected it after her claim she’d never kissed another, but to feel the actual proof, to have it stand in his way?

Mine. Only mine.
Untouched by none other. His.

He couldn’t have described all the emotions suddenly coursing through him, but the strongest one of all was thanks. Thanks he’d found this woman. Thanks she’d waited until this moment to gift her most precious of gifts. But he also had some regret because such a precious thing deserved better than a forest floor, on the run, and exhausted from escape.

Too late to stop now.

He thrust up as he pushed her down, tearing through her innocence, knowing swift was better than prolonged.

She cried out and recoiled, not far though, as he held her firmly anchored.

For a moment, he didn’t move. He let her adjust to his size and get over the shock of losing her maidenhead.

He captured her lips while he waited, stoking the flames of her passion, relaxing only when she began to respond again. He cupped a breast as he kissed her, stroking his thumb over the tip until her body began to rock. Intentional or not, the motion drew him deeper into her body.

So deep into that tight cavern.

So warm inside her sex.

So fucking incredible, he fought to hold on.

Her rocking motions took on some speed and strength as she pushed down against him, grinding and squeezing and taking and…

Thank god, coming!

Her muscles spasmed around his cock, and he let go with a rumbling growl of satisfaction. He let his seed mark her womb, something he’d never done to a woman before.

He made her his. Placed his claim.

It was an intense moment. But as the scent of blood mixed with passion tickled his nose, being a man, he of course ruined the moment.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were a virgin.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t figure it out,” was her tart reply, tart because she was basking in the glow of her first time and he just had to ruin it.

“I guess I knew. I just didn’t really know, know until you know, we um—”

“Had sex? For a smart guy you’re awfully dumb,” she retorted as she tried to move away, but he wouldn’t let her go. He kept her seated on his lap, his arms wrapped around her, locking her in place. His shaft, while it had softened since his release, remained within her, a thick reminder of what they’d just done.

As if she could forget. Her own flesh pulsed still, the force of her climax not as easily quelled.

“You say the sweetest things,” was his dry response.

“Says the guy who still calls me Bait.”

Far from unabashed, he grinned. “You have to admit you are a tempting morsel to dangle in front of a man.”

Pleasure blossomed at his compliment. “I hate you.” She said it by rote, but it didn’t hold any heat.

“You know what they say about that. It’s akin to love.”

“Love?” She snorted. What an odd word to bring up. “Love is something for fairy tales and romances.”

“You don’t believe in it?”

“I’d like to, but, in the end, I think self-interest is the stronger emotion.”

“I disagree.”

“Don’t tell me you believe in a forever-after love and soul mates and all that?”

“Of course I believe it.”

“Then you’re a fool.” Layla had seen too much in her lifetime to ever think that the pure love she read about could actually exist. She’d certainly never seen it.

Yet how do you explain your odd emotions where the wolf is concerned?

He was intriguing. Different. He aroused her. It meant nothing. He could leave now, and she would go on her way without looking back.

But I would remember.
And why did the thought of him leaving hit her with a sharp pang? Surely she wouldn’t miss him? He was annoying and bossy and…still talking.

“Just because some people have hurt you, or broken your trust, doesn’t mean everyone will.”

“What is it with you and your need for me to trust you?”

“You
can
trust me. I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“Then let me go.”

“I can’t.”

Can’t. Wouldn’t. Because like everyone else, he needed her for an agenda. In his case, to bring her to his clan alpha.

“I know what you’re thinking, that I’m doing this to thwart your old captor. But you’re wrong. I care for you, Layla.”

“Sure you do.” She’d heard that lie before. There was only one person who ever truly cared for her and that man, her father, was dead.

“I do. And I’ll prove it to you.”

“Before or after you deliver me to your alpha? You know what, I don’t want to hear your answer.” Or his lie. “I’m tired. If we’re going to stop moving, then we should get some sleep.”

This time when she moved off him, he didn’t stop her. She felt his eyes tracking her, though, as she stooped to put on her gown. As for her panties, she doubted the scraps she spotted hanging from a bush were salvageable.

Finding a mossy patch, one that didn’t have a sprawled naked man on it, didn’t prove hard, but it sure wasn’t as comfortable as his lap. She lay down, facing away from him, utterly confused, despite her words to the contrary.

Layla no longer knew what to think. One moment Brody acted as if she was nothing more than his prisoner, a person of interest whom he was bringing to Kodiak Point for questioning, and the next, he made love to her as if she meant something to him. As if he wanted to claim her and keep her and…love her?

What utter nonsense. Layla might have been a virgin; however, she wasn’t gullible.

Falling for her newest captor because he was attractive—and made her body sing with pleasure—was dumb. Worse than dumb, it would hurt her in the end when he betrayed her. Because in the end, didn’t everyone betray her?

Her innate power, which everyone wanted to use, made her valuable, but no one ever seemed to realize the skill she wielded resided in a human body rife with human emotions and frailties, such as the ability to get her heart broken.

Did Brody not grasp how his mixed signals toyed with her? On the one hand, he asked her to trust, he showed her he cared. He caressed and said sweet things to her that implied a future. Then, on the other, he reiterated her lack of choice, the danger she posed.

How to reconcile the two?

I should escape.
Despite his assertion he’d track and get her back, like he’d already done once, she wasn’t convinced. Despite the strange terrain, she would survive because so long as there was life she’d have help.

But the bigger question was, did she want to?

If Brody spoke the truth and this Reid guy who ran the clan in Kodiak Point truly could keep her out of the master’s clutches, then should she take the chance and attempt a shot at a normal life? Find a measure of happiness in the small town?

I could give it a try.

But what if it failed?

What if it was just another trap, one she walked into blindly?

It was hard to imagine the man who’d just caressed her and spoken to her with such earnestness and seeming honesty would betray her. Yet sweet words so easily masked false ones.

Do I really want to go through my entire life never trusting again?

At some point, not everyone was evil. Or so she hoped. But she only had to recall her father’s words to wonder.

“Don’t ever reveal who you are because even friends will be tempted to use you for their own gain.”

She had to wonder over the next few days about that tenet because while Brody asked many things of her—walk where I walk, hold still, kiss me, scream for me—he not once asked her to use her power. Not even to scout for the enemy.

There were none—she knew because she’d commandeered a few avian creatures to act as her eyes in the sky—but she didn’t tell him that. She waited for him to ask. Waited for him to order her to bring them dinner or find some shelter or prove she could wield her power over anything in the animal and insect kingdom.

He didn’t. Never even alluded to it, leaving her more confused than before.

And, more disturbingly, falling for the wolf.

Despite their lack of equipment, Brody seemed to have no problem getting them where he wanted and supplying them on the way. The man fashioned himself a loincloth of sorts from the vegetation, braiding and twining the fibers. He found them roots they could gnaw on safely, leaves as well. He hunted and built them covered fires, hiding the glow and smoke, and keeping it lit only long enough to cook the meat he hunted.

They never lacked for water because he possessed a knack for always locating a source. He kept her warm after the first night, mostly because every evening, despite her determination to resist, he seduced her then held her cradled in his arms until morning.

Despite her qualms, she loved it.

Even if they didn’t have the most basic of amenities and the food situation proved less than ideal, Layla couldn’t help but revel in the freedom. It was the longest stint she’d enjoyed in a long while, and when they finally caught sight of the signs of civilization from a bluff, she was almost sorry to see their journey end.

The small settlement they came across didn’t boast much, a couple dozen houses and a store, which they had no money for, but it did have a phone, which the guy let Brody borrow to make a few phone calls.

Who wouldn’t, given the sad tale Brody weaved.

“The missus and I were honeymooning in the woods, just a minding our business and doing our business if you know what I mean,” Brody confided with a wink to the old codger who ran the store. “When we were attacked by a bear. We managed to get away, but had to leave all our gear behind. We waited a while in the moods until we figured it was safe, but when we tried to go back, well, we kind of got lost. So we started walking south until we found your town.”

The old fellow who owned the place snickered, but he bought it. He gave them a few supplies and loaned Brody his phone after securing promises of payment.

She assumed he called the alpha of Kodiak Point and other friends, but she didn’t bother to eavesdrop. Now that their trek had ended, reality forced its way back in.

What would happen now?

The moment of truth was almost upon them.

Soon she’d find out if the illusion Brody had built would solidify or shatter.
Am I truly free or about to become a prisoner again?

The owner of the small store offered them the use of a room, not a big space, but it had a twin-sized bed with worn blankets and a pillow, which, after days of moss and leaves, seemed like heaven.

Their host also gave them the use of his bathroom with its shower, which she luxuriated in, the hot water a welcome treat.

She’d dressed in some castoffs and was towel drying her hair when Brody joined her, also freshly showered and dressed in clean clothes. She wondered for a fleeting moment if she should have taken his absence as her chance to flee, but quickly squashed it.

Whatever the future held, she wouldn’t run. Yet.

Let’s see what happens in Kodiak Point.
She’d give the town, and Brody, a chance.

“Members of my clan should be here for us by morning. They’re setting out now.”

“So we stay here?”

“For the night at least. Then we go home.”

Home. Now there was a word she’d like to use.

“And me?” The query emerged soft, questioning. Vulnerable.

“What about you?”

“You spoke to your alpha. What are his plans?” She studied his face closely as he answered, trying to remain alert for any signs of lying or evasion.

His expression betrayed nothing untoward. “I told him I was bringing back a new resident.”

“You didn’t tell him about my powers?”

“Time enough for that later. I told you. I’m not taking you in as a prisoner. Although…” He shot her a wicked grin. “I wouldn’t be averse to holding you down so I could have my way with you.” He laughed, a throaty rumble that shot shivers down her spine.

“Why hold me down when I’m willing?” No denying it. He just had to smile at her with the promise of pleasure and her just-donned panties were wet.

“I keep forgetting how innocent you are,” he murmured, one step in the small room bringing him into her space.

Sitting on the edge of the bed forced her to peer up at him, that or stare at a rapidly growing part of his anatomy, which bulged the material of his jeans.

“I don’t think anyone could call me innocent.” She’d seen too much in her life for that.

“In some ways, you are. Like when it comes to lovemaking. There are so many things we’ve yet to explore. Try. Enjoy…”

Given his position, she could think of something she’d like to try. Something she’d heard of but never attempted. Her hands went to the button and zipper of his pants and undid them.

“What are you doing, sweetheart?”

“Expanding my horizons.”

“Are you sure?”

His cock sprang free from the confinement of his pants, long and hard. While she’d seen it before, this close, she truly got to examine it, from the way the head of his shaft formed a big bulb, darker in color than the rest of him. As she watched, the slit at the tip emitted a pearl of liquid. She touched it, rubbed it around his crown, and was gratified to hear him suck in a breath.