Текст книги "Shiver : 13 Sexy Tales of Humor and Horror"
Автор книги: Belle Aurora
Соавторы: Penny Reid,Ruth Clampett
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Текущая страница: 38 (всего у книги 39 страниц)
Chapter Nine– Ricki
I couldn’t move. It seemed Calder had done exactly as he threatened. I was definitely going to feel him in the morning. I let my body mould to his side, my leg curling around his. I studied his torso as I traced a finger across his chest. Now that I wasn’t blinded by lust, I could see little white scars etched in random patterns all over his body. It appeared as though someone had clawed and bitten him everywhere.
What truly caught my attention was the bright red bite mark on the firm curve of his pectoral. Propping myself up on an elbow, I leaned forward to get a closer look.
“Did I do that?” I asked.
He smiled, his eyes still closed. “Oh yeah.” Still, he flinched slightly when I ran my finger over the perfect imprint of my teeth.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured. I’d never done anything like that before during sex.
His lids opened slowly and he watched me with languid green eyes as an expression of satisfaction settled on his face. “I’m not. It was hot as fuck.” He lifted a hand and put a finger on the side of my neck. When I sucked in a sharp breath at the sting of his touch, he winced. “I marked you.”
He rolled so we were chest-to-chest, tucking his face against my neck. At the first hot, wet swipe of his tongue on my throat, I jumped. Calder continued to lick my skin with slow, long strokes of his tongue. It felt weird.
“What are you doing?”
He paused and I felt his lips form a smile against my throat. “Licking you. I broke the skin in a couple of places and my saliva will help it heal faster and dull the soreness.”
“Uh, ok. Apparently, there’s a lot I didn’t know about werewolves.”
He chuckled against my throat, causing me to jump for a different reason. How could I be feeling the first stirrings of desire after two mind-altering orgasms? Calder cupped my ass and pulled me closer. My eyes widened when I realized that he was already getting hard again.
Noticing my reaction, he rolled his hips against mine. “There’s one other thing you should know about shifters, darlin’, we can go all night without a break.”
My body stiffened when I heard the muffled sounds of people passing outside the library door. Shit, it wasn’t locked. I didn’t take another breath until the voices and footsteps faded.
“Maybe we should get out of here,” Calder suggested.
I felt my heart drop. An echo of Donna’s warning about the nature of werewolves and their tendency to screw anything that had a vagina.
“Conner gave me one of the guest rooms for the night.”
The rush of relief I felt at his words alarmed me. I’d only wanted to flirt a little and somehow I’d ended up having the best sex of my life with a man I barely knew.
He said you’re imprinted on his soul.
I flipped off the little voice whispering in the back of my mind and told her to shut the fuck up. Thoughts like that would only result in one possible outcome; me, broken-hearted.
Calder was watching me intently with serious eyes when I emerged from my frantic thoughts. He rolled to his feet, using a tissue to wrap up the condom and dump it in the trash basket. Without speaking, he bent down and picked up his shirt. I felt my heart sink again as he pulled up his jeans, which we hadn’t bothered to remove. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, without a clue as to what that might be. When I realized there was nothing I could say, I sat up and started gathering my scattered clothing.
He scooped me up from the floor and I squeaked, clutching my clothes to my chest. I stared at his jaw, watching as it tightened as though he were gritting his teeth. Carrying me as though I weighed nothing, Calder headed toward the door to the library.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice shrill.
“Taking you to my room,” he answered abruptly.
I started struggling then. “You can’t just carry me through the house NAKED!”
With a low growl, he set me on my feet and wrapped his shirt around me, tucking my arms through the too-long sleeves as though I were a child. Since most of the buttons were now scattered all over the library floor, I clutched the material together over my breasts with one hand and cradled my clothes with the other.
“Look, I think I should just go-“ I murmured.
“No.”
“Excuse me?” Surely I heard him incorrectly.
“No. You’re not leaving.”
I scowled up at him. “Listen, I can do whatever I want and right now I want to leave.”
He stared down at me, something working behind those beautiful green eyes. Then, without another word, he leaned down, planted his shoulder in my belly, and straightened. The world tilted as he settled me over his shoulders like he was carrying a sack of flour.
“Put me down!” I hissed.
“No.”
I tried to kick him, but he just tightened his grip on the back of my legs. Balling up my fists, I aimed for his kidneys and hammered him on the back as hard as I could. All he did was grunt and continue out of the library.
“Put me down,” I demanded, “or I’ll scream for help.”
His answer to my threat was to smack my bare ass sharply. “Hush.”
I’ll be damned if his high-handed behavior didn’t make me wet. It didn’t matter. He had no right to treat me like this.
“Calder,” I said, warning heavy in my voice.
I hadn’t been paying attention to where we were going. I heard a door open, he stepped into a guest room, and shut and locked the door behind him. I began to squirm, trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation, when his hand connected with the other cheek of my ass with a sharp crack.
That was it. I sucked in a huge breath to scream, but it left me in a quiet whoosh when he threw me down on a massive bed. My clothes went flying and his shirt fell open so that I lay on the bed, completely exposed.
“I want to leave,” I stated firmly.
“Liar.”
I pounded on the bed with my closed fists. “Stop giving me one word responses.” I sat up and tried to scoot to the opposite side of the bed. When he grabbed my ankle and dragged me back, I lost it.
I tried to kick him in the balls, which made him smile. The bastard smiled. Then I tried to punch him, which he dodged easily before lunging at me. With very little effort, he pinned my wrists down to the bed and forced my legs apart with his knees. As angry and frustrated as I was, I was also incredibly turned on. How many times had I wanted my partners to take control, to be a little bossy? Maybe I was more submissive than I’d realized, because, as much as I wanted to hate this, I fucking loved it.
Calder stared down at me, our bare chests pressed together. I was panting but he didn’t seem to be exerted in the least. “Do you really want to leave?” he asked me quietly. “Tell me the truth.”
Abruptly, all the fight went out of my body and I melted beneath him. “No. I want to stay.”
He nodded and lowered his head, running his lips across my collarbone. “Good, because I wasn’t planning to let you go anytime soon.”
I lost my ability to think or respond when his mouth closed over my nipple and he began to do wicked things to my body with his hands. If this was my only night with this man, I would make it count.
Chapter Ten– Calder
For the first time since I’d lost my virginity at fifteen, I couldn’t get hard. I literally had nothing left in my body. In the last three hours, I’d fucked Ricki in as many positions, and as many times as possible.
She lay on her stomach next to me, her hair tangled around her head and her face turned away. The sheets were rumpled low around her hips, barely covering her ass. I could see small bruises on her flesh and realized they were from my fingers. The mark I’d left on her shoulder was obvious. I examined it after we finished the second round and realized that she would probably have a scar. The thought filled me with triumph. If she carried scars from my bite, others males would know that she belonged to someone else. To me.
If it hadn’t been for my enhanced hearing, I wouldn’t have heard her mumbled, “Am I dead?”
I didn’t even have the energy to laugh. “I think we killed each other.” My voice came out a dry croak. I needed water, but the nearest source was the fridge discreetly built into the enormous dresser. Conner didn’t do things by half measures, or at least his decorator didn’t. All the guest rooms were richly appointed with the best linens money could buy and a myriad of amenities, such as small refrigerators, single cup coffee makers, and toiletries from the most exclusive spas and stores.
Every time I spent the night here, I felt as though I were staying in a five-star hotel. I’d been threatening to move in since the first night I slept here. I quickly changed my mind. Conner was a control freak of the highest order. Everything in its place and a place for everything. I couldn’t stand how clean and perfect every room in the house seemed. It reminded me too much of things better left forgotten.
Now, I only stayed for a night or two when absolutely necessary. Tonight was a necessity. The Pack and The Council were discussing mutual enemies. For the first time in decades, weres and vamps were getting along. Still, it was a fragile truce, poised to go either way. Years of bad blood stood between the species. Personally, I had no problem with vamps, witches, or humans, but there were many members of our pack who didn’t share my tolerance.
At the moment I was feeling more than tolerant toward one particular human. Especially when she rolled to face me. I catalogued the marks on her body. When I realized how hot it made her, I didn’t hold back. Small red patches decorated her upper chest and breasts where my stubble had rubbed her skin. I’d also left a hickey on the inside of one breast and another on the flare of her hip. In addition to the mark I’d left at the base of her neck, there were several other love bites on her torso.
I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth. She said she enjoyed looking in the mirror and seeing the marks her lover left on her body, remembering the pleasure. Well, I made damn sure that she wouldn’t forget me any time soon.
“God, I’m thirsty.” Her voice was husky.
“Hang on.” Somehow, I managed to roll off the bed and stand up without falling. I went to the dresser and opened the mini fridge door, pulling out two bottles of cold water.
When I handed one to her, she smiled and said, “My hero.”
She sat up in bed, not bothering to pull the sheet up. I liked how comfortable she seemed with her nudity. The few humans I’d been around were modest, especially the women. Ricki wore her skin the same way a female shifter would, confidently and casually.
I cracked open my bottle and settled next to her on the bed, leaning against the padded headboard. We drank our water in silence.
This was a new experience for me. Usually, after fucking, female and male wolves would dress and go their separate ways. Females going into heat would sometimes have multiple partners in one night. It was the only way to keep them from going feral. While in heat they craved sex, needed it. Without it, their hunger would shift from a sexual one to the need to feed. Females denied sex would shift and hunt any and all prey that crossed their path, including the human kind.
Finally, I broke the silence. “I want to see you again, Ricki.”
She fidgeted with her half-empty bottle. “See me, as in have sex, or see me as in a date?”
I may not have had a lot of experience with human women, but I recognized when I should watch my words carefully. “Both. Either. I don’t care as long as I can see you again.”
Shit, I was fucking this up. Running a hand through my hair, I turned toward her, trying to figure out what I should say. Instead of looking pissed off or upset, she was smiling at me.
“Really?” she asked. “You just want to see me again? I could tell you I wanted to go to a yoga class, no sex, and you’d go?”
While yoga wasn’t how I liked to get my exercise, only a dumbass would refuse to go. Women in tight or skimpy clothing, bending over and twisting themselves into elaborate poses? It sounded fucking hot.
I nodded. “Absolutely. Though I’d probably drag you out of there after the first downward facing dog and fuck you in the closest bathroom.”
She snorted with laughter. “Okay, so yoga’s out.” Eyeing me speculatively, she asked, “But you would still want to see me, even if we weren’t going to have sex?”
I met her gaze levelly. “Yes.”
Her smile widened. She opened her mouth as though she were going to say something, but someone with a death wish chose that exact moment to pound on the door. I saw the knob jiggle and jumped up, shoving my legs into my jeans, and leaving them unbuttoned.
“If you open that door, I will rip your throat out!” I yelled.
There was a moment of silence, then, “We have trouble.”
Shit. Fuck. Shit. I should have known this would happen. The first time in years that weres and vamps were together, something was bound to go wrong.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Ricki shrugging into my shirt. It covered her from neck to mid-thigh and I knew her skin would smell like me for the rest of the night. I liked that idea.
Whoever was outside chose that moment to knock again.
“Ricki, do you mind going into the bathroom for a few minutes?” A hurt look crossed her face and made me feel like a complete ass. “Do you want to stay in here with a strange man, wearing only my shirt?”
Her eyes grew big and she shook her head. “I, uh, I’ll just…” she trailed off and scurried into the bathroom.
Goddammit. I would have to talk to her later, make her understand that I didn’t want her gone, I just didn’t want my packmates leering at her.
Jerking open the door, I snarled, “This better be fucking important.”
Brian, one of the younger pack members, stared at me with wide, frightened eyes. There was a bruise on his cheek and blood rimming one of his nostrils.
“Kyle got into it with a wolf from the Austin pack,” he said quickly. “I can’t find Lachlan or Conner and things are getting nasty.”
Jesus fucking Christ. Kyle was hot-tempered and slow-witted, not a good combination. I’d noticed him throwing back the booze earlier, but had gotten too distracted by Ricki to tell him to lay off or head home.
I looked at Brian. “Call Lachlan. Text him. Leave a fucking message, I don’t care. Just be sure you do everything in your power to get in touch with him. I have a good idea where Conner is, so I’ll grab him and meet you downstairs. Do the best you can to keep the pack members calm. Tell them to stand down or they’ll deal with me.”
Orders shot out of my mouth as I went to my duffel bag and yanked out a t-shirt. I pulled it over my head and noticed Brian was still standing in the doorway.
“Go. I’m right behind you.”
He nodded once and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
I went to the bathroom door and knocked lightly. It opened immediately, a sign Ricki had been listening to whatever was being said.
“I have to go. There’s trouble and our alpha has disappeared, which means I’m in charge.”
Her expression gave away nothing of her thoughts. “I understand.”
I needed to hurry, so I decided to go the blunt route. Stepping into her space, I used her hair to tug her head back so that she looked into my eyes. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I want you here when I come back.”
Something flashed in her eyes, a mixture of defiance and an emotion I didn’t recognize. “You can’t-”
I kissed her hard then, nipping her bottom lip sharply. When I lifted my head, she didn’t try to speak. “Please.”
Her only response was a nod.
Releasing her, I moved to the edge of the bed and pulled socks and boots onto my feet. Her eyes stayed on me the entire time. I went to the door, opened it, and paused. Facing her, I said, “Try to sleep, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I didn’t wait for her response. I stepped out, shutting the door behind me, and took off down the hall toward the staircase. If I had known what I would find when I returned later, I wouldn’t have left that fucking room, even if the house was burning down around me.
Chapter Eleven– Ricki
After Calder left, I took a long, hot bath in the huge tub. As I dried off, I glanced in the mirror and froze, my mouth falling open. I knew Calder had been rough with me, in fact, I’d gloried in it, climaxed because of it. However, I wasn’t prepared for the marks that covered my body. I had beard burn, love bites, a few small bruises, and TWO hickeys. I turned slightly to see if there were many more and giggled when I saw ten little bruises where his fingertips had dug into my ass.
A thrill ran through me. He was the first man I’d been so open with about what I wanted and needed. It surprised me how comfortable I was with Calder though I barely knew him. Somehow, we just seemed to be in sync.
My lips twitched when my thoughts about syncing led to me hearing Bye Bye Bye on a loop in my head. Feeling silly, I wrapped the huge bath sheet around my body, dried my hair, and went back into the bedroom. I felt tired and deliciously sore. I decided to take Calder at his word and sleep in his bed.
I hesitated at the dresser, not wanting to invade his privacy, but also not wanting to sleep naked in case someone came looking for him in the middle of the night. The house was full of vamps, weres, and witches and I really didn’t want to be in my birthday suit if someone showed up.
Deciding that I’d rather be clothed and risk annoying Calder than flashing an unsuspecting stranger, I yanked open a couple of drawers until I found a neatly folded stack of t-shirts. I shook one out and pulled it over my head.
A wave of fatigue hit me hard enough to have me swaying on my feet. A glance at the clock told me it was nearly two a.m., well past my usual bedtime. I flicked on the bedside lamp and switched off the overhead lights. I drank a little water and tried to keep my eyes open while waited for Calder, but it was a lost cause. Within minutes, I drifted off.
Something jarred me from sleep. I lay still for a few minutes, trying to figure out what woke me. Down the hall a door slammed, followed by another. That was probably it. Blinking to clear my vision, I glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost six a.m.
Rolling over, I reached out, thinking maybe Calder had returned without waking me. The other side of the bed was cold and empty. He’d never come back. Crazy thoughts assaulted my mind, worries that he was hurt or in trouble. Heart pounding, I climbed out of bed and yanked on my snug leather pants. Without the aid of the baby powder I’d used earlier, it was tricky, but I managed it.
Slowly, I opened the door to the hall and peeked out. I wasn’t sure why I was trying to be so quiet. I was an invited guest, a friend of Donna’s. Then again, all that partying the night before might have made some of those vampires hungry. Rolling my eyes at my own wild thoughts, I walked down the hall, my bare feet silent on the carpet. I reached the staircase and took a couple of steps down when I heard the quiet murmur of voices.
Instinctually, I crouched down on the steps, partially hidden by the railing on the stairs. God, I was being silly, acting as though someone was going to chase me down and throw me out if I was seen. I recognized the low rumble of Calder’s voice.
Happy he was back, I smiled and was about to push to my feet when I heard a woman’s low, flirtatious laugh. I froze. What in the hell? Craning my neck, I watched as Calder walked into view, shirtless and barefoot, his back covered in scratches that looked like….were those fingernail marks? The woman appeared a moment later, wearing only a miniscule pair of lace panties and sheer matching bra.
Oh, shit, shit, SHIT. My stomach twisted painfully as she rose on her toes and pressed a light kiss to Calder’s cheek. The ache faded into numbness as I watched his hands curve around her waist to the small of her back.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying over the roaring in my ears, but their body language said it all. Their attire, the way he was touching her, only a blind fool wouldn’t know what had happened. Considering I’d become adept at reading signals much more subtle than those during my teenage years and, later, when I dated a series of compulsive cheaters, this was like a slap in the face.
When the roaring finally subsided, I heard Calder say, “I need to get upstairs, I have someone waiting for me.”
The woman chuckled. “Lucky girl. Before you go, I do need to give you one more thing.”
Calder didn’t reply verbally, but that wide, wicked grin I’d seen so often last night spread across his face as he followed her out of sight.
Feeling as though I was going to vomit, I crept back up the stairs on my hands and feet. When I reached the top, I stood and swiftly walked back to Calder’s room. Though I just wanted to leave, to get the hell away, I didn’t want him coming after me. I went to the desk in the corner, grabbed a pen and paper and scratched out a quick note. I wanted him to understand that I was gone and I wasn’t coming back.
When I finished, I left the note on the nightstand and grabbed my boots, shirt, and corset. I was back out the door and moving toward the staircase on the opposite end of the house at light speed. I only stopped long enough to snag my purse and keys out of the mudroom off the kitchen where I’d left them. Somehow, I managed not to run until I was out of the house and in the driveway.
My bare feet slapped on the cement as I dashed to my car, unlocking it with shaking hands. As quickly as possible, I shoved my key into the ignition. I didn’t even clasp my seatbelt until the car was rolling toward the front gate. The guards at Conner’s were well-acquainted with me and my sporty little Mustang, so they merely waved at me and opened the gate.
As I drove home, Donna’s words about staying away from the werewolves echoed in my mind. I had barely given them a thought last night while I’d been naked against the library wall or in his bed, but now, they were all I could focus on. She tried to warn me, but, as usual, I acted impulsively. I’d actually thought that Calder wanted more than a one-night stand. He seemed interested in me and not just for the sex. I enjoyed our verbal sparring and his smart-ass remarks. His request that I wait in his room for him, sleep in his bed, it seemed so sincere. Just like all the things my father said to my mother and my lying, cheating exes had said to me.
It seemed that, even after years of experience with men like Calder, I still hadn’t learned my goddamn lesson.
I held it together until I reached my townhouse. Incredibly grateful I lived in a unit with a single car garage, I pulled inside. I shut off the car and then closed the overhead door before I climbed out. Though it was fairly early on a Saturday, people were already out of their homes, jogging or doing yard work.
Still barefoot, I went inside my townhouse and straight upstairs to my bedroom. As soon as I passed the open doorway, I began shucking my clothes, leaving them in a haphazard trail behind me. Though I’d bathed a few hours before, I felt an uncontrollable urge to take a long, steaming hot shower. Since I’d spent the night in his shirt and his bed, I could still smell the warm tang of Calder’s scent on my skin and in my hair. I needed to eradicate all traces of him from my body and mind.
I turned on the shower, making the water as hot as I could stand, when my naked reflection in the mirror caught my eye. Suddenly, all the marks I’d been cataloging earlier seemed to mock me.
Stepping under the scalding water, I finally allowed myself to cry.
