He offered me the bottle and I shook my head. With a sigh, he said, “I’ll answer your question if you take a drink.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “So it’s like that, is it?”
His waggling the bottle was my only answer.
Glaring at him, I grabbed the bottle and took a small sip. Calder merely shook his head and gestured for me to take another. Grunting, I took a deeper drink, feeling the trail of warmth from the excellent Scotch as it slid down my throat. I handed the bottle back to him.
“I was there the day Donna and Conner rescued you and your friends.”
I blinked at him. “I don’t remember you.”
He took another pull from the bottle before handing it back to me. It wasn’t until I drank that he replied, “We didn’t meet that day.”
Perplexed, I passed the bottle and asked, “Then how do you know me?” He paused, as though weighing his answer. “Just tell me the truth, Calder.”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure you’ll understand my answer.” He sipped the Scotch.
I didn’t hesitate to drink when he handed the liquid back to me. “Try me.”
After another pause, he finally continued, “You understand that wolves have a highly developed sense of smell, right?”
Rolling my eyes, I nodded.
“Hey, just checking,” he said defensively. “Anyway, the day we tracked you down and rescued you, I could smell you. It wasn’t the same as it usually is when I’m tracking. Your scent seemed to....call out to me. I could smell your anger, your fear, and it enraged me. I’ve never felt that way during a hunt before.” He turned his green eyes to me once again. “It was as if your very essence was imprinted in my soul.”
I wasn’t sure if the trembling that ran through my limbs came from his confession or the liquor I’d so rapidly consumed. Either way, I couldn’t control it.
When he continued, the warmth created by the Scotch transformed into a different sort of heat. “I think I would recognize your scent fifty years from now, even if I never saw you again. It’s as if a part of you lives inside me now.”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Calder’s as he set the bottle aside and reached for me. Slowly, as though he didn’t want to frighten me, he rose from the table and moved to stand in front of me. I stopped breathing as his hand lifted and he slid his fingers along my cheekbone, below my ear, and to the back of my neck. His touch was light, but confident, and it left tiny sparks dancing along my skin.
Completely entranced, I watched as his face came closer. I knew he was going to kiss me, but what surprised me the most was how badly I wanted it. He was a walking sensual promise and I wanted a taste. In fact, I wanted the whole fucking banquet.
Chapter Four- Calder
My body tightened to the point of breaking when Ricki sighed against my lips. Jesus, this woman managed to push every single button I had. First, she was feisty and now acquiescent. It was as if she knew exactly what to do and when to do it in order to make me crazy with lust.
I wanted to wrap her long, wild hair around my fist, yank her head back, and devour her mouth the way I wanted to devour her pussy. Somehow, I held back. Ricki was a human woman, not some bitch in heat. It had been a long time since I’d fucked a human, probably not since college. Vaguely, I remembered that the last human girl I’d been with liked slow, soft kisses and gentle touches. She complained if I was too rough or demanding, saying it frightened her.
As I took Ricki’s mouth for the first time, I focused on keeping the kiss light, almost chaste, rather than ravenous the way my body demanded. However, the urge to take remained, bubbling relentlessly beneath my skin.
When her tongue darted out to swipe my bottom lip, I couldn’t hold back the low growl that crawled up my throat before I opened my mouth over hers and plunged my tongue inside. Her whimper brought me back to myself and I pulled back slightly.
We were both panting as we stared into each other’s eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Ricki asked breathlessly.
I shook my head and lowered my mouth to her neck, kissing the soft skin beneath her ear and down her throat. Once again, she grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled hard. My head snapped up and I bit back a snarl, not of anger, but of enjoyment. I loved it when my partners played rough.
“What?”
Ricki studied me with narrowed eyes. “Why are you holding back?” she demanded.
“What?” I asked. I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Earlier, you bit me hard enough to leave a mark, but now it’s almost as though you’re afraid you’ll break me. What’s going on here?”
“I thought human women liked their partners to be gentle,” I answered defensively. Why in the hell were we having this conversation? I lowered my face to her collarbone and licked. When she shivered in my arms, it took everything I had not to yank her hips against mine and grind my aching cock over her pussy.
The damned woman yanked my hair again, this time even harder. Before I realized what I was doing, I growled and pinned her flat on her back on top of the table. When I saw her wide eyes, I felt disgust with myself.
To my complete shock, she smiled smugly and stated, “That’s more like it.”
Certain I was hearing things, I asked, “What?”
My spine arched as her hand moved from my hair to beneath the hem of my t-shirt and she dragged her nails down the skin of my back. I knew there would be marks, but she didn’t press quite hard enough to break the skin. I was going to go out of my fucking mind if she didn’t stop touching me like that.
“You’re not going to break me, Calder.”
I shook my head, trying to focus so I could explain that I could, in fact, break her. I could seriously injure her if I lost all control. “You don’t understand-”
She made a frustrated sound as she interrupted, “No, you don’t understand. I like a little pain with my pleasure, Calder. In fact, sometimes I like a lot of pain.”
I lifted my head and said the first thing that came to mind. “Like BDSM?”
Ricki shook her head. “Not exactly. I mean, I don’t get off on the idea of someone whipping me and I’d probably swat your nose with a newspaper if you tried to boss me around. But I like it when my partner is rough or gives me love bites. I like looking in the mirror the next day and seeing finger imprints bruised on my wrists or thighs. It turns me on.”
What she described was how wolves fucked. Wild, rough, and intense. I wanted to do each and every one of those things to her and a hell of a lot more. I had to close my eyes when her nails dug into my lower back again. If she kept it up, I would lose what little control I had left.
I blew out a breath. “I understand what you’re saying.” I opened my eyes to find Ricki staring up at me, an uncertain expression on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“You think I’m a freak, don’t you?”
I shook my head. “Hell no.”
“Then why are you staring at me like that instead of kissing me?”
“Because, if I kiss you, I won’t be able to stop until I’ve fucked you raw.”
Chapter Five- Ricki
At Calder’s bold statement, I felt as though the blood in my veins had turned molten. My entire body was burning. My hips moved restlessly beneath his and I moaned as he ground his erection against my clit. I couldn’t believe I’d said all those things to him. I had confessed my deepest desires to someone I’d only met minutes ago.
This was insane. I didn’t even know this man but my body was begging for him to do exactly what he threatened to do; fuck me raw. I wanted it and, if I closed my eyes, I could see it. His naked body stretched over mine, sweat gleaming on his golden skin, as he drove into my body hard and deep.
Green eyes intent on my mouth, Calder began to lower his head. My heart was beating so hard and fast, I felt as though I were seconds away from passing out.
Just before his lips touched mine, I whispered, “Wait.” I could swear I heard him whine, but
he stopped, our mouths less than an inch apart. Calder tilted his head so our foreheads touched. I sucked in a shaky breath. “This is happening too fast. I don’t know what in the hell I’m doing.”
As though it hurt to move, he moved off the table, his hands grasping mine and pulling me up into a sitting position. I managed to get to my feet and stagger to the bottle of Scotch Calder had set aside earlier. Even though my head was spinning from a combination of liquor and lust already, I took a huge drink, coughing as the amber liquid seared my throat and stomach.
My knees gave out and I grabbed onto the table to catch myself. Putting the bottle on the table before I dropped it, I waved Calder away when he moved toward me. “No, please. Don’t touch me right now. I can’t think straight when you’re touching me.” I rolled my eyes at his satisfied smile. I needed to think before I opened my mouth. That wolf already had a healthy ego, it would be a bad idea to continue feeding it.
I moved to the wall, leaning back against it, still taking quick, shallow breaths because my lungs were so constricted by the corset. I really wanted to loosen the laces, but it would have to wait. I was fairly certain that the leather bustier would end up on the floor if I untied the knot in the front right now. Calder’s eyes were still hot with lust and his face was flushed.
Talking mostly to myself, I asked, “What just happened?”
Though I hadn’t expected him to, Calder answered, “I think it’s called lust.”
I shot him a narrow-eyed look to let him know that his flippant remark wasn’t appreciated. “I know that. I never, and I mean never, behave like that. I’ve known you, what? Five minutes? The most contact I have with people I’ve known for minutes is a handshake.”
Calder laughed softly. “Took you by surprise, huh?”
I nodded.
He crossed the room and stood in front of me, his eyes studying my face intently. He lifted a hand and wrapped a curl of my hair around his finger. “We can go back to the party. You can drive me crazy by rubbing that incredible body all over me on the dance floor and we’ll get to know each other.”
Shocked, I stared up at him. “Huh?”
It was his turn to look off balance. “Yeah. Why do you seem surprised?”
“Well, uh, most men would be a little upset if I put on the brakes just as things were getting intense.”
Calder’s mouth quirked slightly in a small smile. “I’m not most men, darlin’.” He tugged the curl he’d wrapped around his finger and released it. “So, you wanna go back to the party?”
I decided to take a risk. “Not really.” When his brows rose, I continued. “It was nice sitting in here and talking to you. If we go back to the party, it will be loud and crowded.”
I watched as Calder went to the table and grabbed the bottle we’d been drinking from, then he went to the liquor cabinet and picked up two glasses.
Gesturing to a small sofa, he said, “Then why don’t we sit here, drink, and talk?”
Smiling, I straightened from the wall. “Sounds good, but I’d rather have vodka than Scotch.”
“Then I’ll drink the whiskey and you get the vodka.”
I went to the liquor cabinet and poured a good amount of vodka into a glass. I would have preferred some sort of mixer or at least some ice, but I could tolerate it if I took slow sips.
As though he read my mind, Calder pointed to the end of the cabinet. “Conner had a small ice machine installed a few months ago. Thought it was a stupid idea until now.”
I smiled gratefully and opened the door he’d pointed out. After I added a couple of ice cubes to my glass, I joined him on the sofa. When I realized that he’d chosen the smallest couch in the library, I shook my head.
“What?” he asked innocently.
I settled into the cushions, my body brushing his with each movement. “I’m onto you,” I muttered.
I choked on my drink when he quipped, “I’d rather you be on me.” He patted my back, laughing as I coughed. “Are you okay?”
“Are you trying to kill me?” I wheezed.
His shoulders shook as he tried to hold back his laughter. “No, of course not.”
I found myself smiling at him, despite the fact that my eyes were watering and my throat was raw. “Then maybe tone it down on the suggestive comments before I choke to death.” Finally, I felt as though I could breathe. Glancing over at Calder, I asked him a question I’d been wanting to ask one of Donna’s friends since I found out that supernatural beings existed, “So, what’s it like to be a werewolf?”
“What?”
I nudged him with my elbow. “I’m curious. What’s it like to be a werewolf? Do you change whenever the light of the full moon hits you? Do you run through the forest, howling? Are you an actual wolf when you change or do you become a sort of wolfman hybrid?”
Calder lifted a hand. “Whoa, slow down, woman. You just asked me four questions without pausing for an answer.”
I shrugged, my nice buzz preventing embarrassment from rising. “I’ve been dying to ask these questions for months. This is the first time I’ve had a chance without the risk of offending someone.”
“How do you know you aren’t offending me?” he asked teasingly.
“Well, you want to have sex with me, right?”
I stopped when he shook his head, but laughed when he said, “Having sex is not how I would describe what I want to do to you. Making you come so hard you scream would be a good start.”
I shifted in my seat as those words caused heat to streak through my body. Damn, this man was going to bring me to orgasm with sweet talk alone.
I sipped my vodka to wet my suddenly dry throat. “I just thought that you’d be more open to answering my questions since you’re interested in spending naked time with me.” I giggled at the expression on his face.
“Naked time? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
“Kids? Just how old are you, Grandpa?” I asked, heavy on the sarcasm.
“I’m forty-seven.”
I felt my eyes widen. “What? You’re joking, right?”
Calder smirked and shook his head. “No. I’ll be forty-eight in a couple of months.”
“Okay, now I’m not sure if I’m okay with lusting after a man that’s almost twenty years older than me or grossed out.”
Calder stared at me as though a third eyeball had popped out of my forehead. I managed to hide my giggle behind my glass as I sipped my vodka.
“Wolves age more slowly than humans.” His voice was a tad defensive and he actually looked a little miffed.
Deciding I’d teased him enough for the time being, I asked, “What’s the typical lifespan of a werewolf?”
Eyeing me warily, Calder sat back on the couch and propped his feet on the ottoman in front of us. “Usually five or six hundred years. So, by wolf standards, I’m practically still a pup.”
Unable to resist, I asked, “So, in werewolf years, you’re, what, 16?” He growled at me, but I only laughed. This was too much fun.
“No,” he answered, his voice gravelly. “I would be considered to be in my prime. Would you like a demonstration?”
Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I shook my head.
He finally relaxed into the cushions, his arm coming around me and pulling me tight against his side. “Tease,” he grumbled.
Letting my weight rest against him, I wondered how I could be more comfortable around Calder, a person I’d met less than an hour ago, than I was around people I’d known for years.
Chapter Six- Calder
I couldn’t believe that this little human woman was so blunt and unafraid. The fact that I could kill her without breaking a sweat didn’t seem to faze her in the least. Most humans, male or female, would give me a wide berth, never mind tease me about acting like a horny teenager.
She nudged me with her elbow again. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
Her tone was annoyed when she responded. “What’s it like?”
/> “Well, I wake up in the morning and go find a fire hydrant to piss on, then I eat and scratch myself before I take a nap. Unfortunately, I can’t lick my own balls unless I’m in wolf form.” Ricki smirked, but I could tell that she was disappointed with my cavalier answer to her question.
“What about fleas?” she asked. Though her words were flippant, her tone was flat, devoid of humor or even curiosity.
Unable to deal with her crestfallen expression and the loss of her exuberant attitude, I poured more Scotch into my glass and took a healthy swallow. “Do you want the honest answer?”
Ricki rolled her eyes, tossing her tangled curls over her shoulder. “No, I want you to make it all up. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want the truth.”
I placed my glass on the table next to the sofa and leaned back into the soft cushions. Since humans were rarely invited into the shifter world, I’d never had this conversation before. I wanted to laugh at the fact that I was nearly fifty years old and I hadn’t given much thought to what being a wolf truly meant or what it felt like. I simply existed.
“Being a shifter is like....” I paused, weighing my words carefully, “it’s like having another being inside your body and mind. When I’m in human form, I’m mainly in control. Though, I’ve learned the hard way not to ignore the other part of myself. One moment of inattention or slip in my willpower, and he can take over when he wants something badly enough.”
She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, then shut it quickly.
“Did you want to ask me something?”
“What do you mean take over?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Well, if I ignore the needs of my animal side or fight my instincts too hard, I’ll shift and I won’t be able to stop it or control it.”
“Who’s in control when you’re in your, uh, wolf form?” The question was hesitant, as though she was concerned that she was offending me.