Laird Wolf Read online

  “You’re being awfully forward.”

  Mischief danced in his eyes as he straightened, sturdy wall that he was. His muscular body was relaxed but alert, and she took a moment to appreciate every solid inch of him. He was built like the finest of wolves. Strong muscles, not bulky, but enough she wanted so much to run her fingers over him, stroking his smooth, marble-like surfaces. Smooth but for the dusting of hair at the center of his chest and the line that led from his belly button down into his kilt…

  And why on earth had he pulled off his shirt again? Her legs didn’t seem very stable all of a sudden.

  “I’ve already seen this.” The shaky oh my God instant lust that hit her came out sounding slightly sarcastic.

  Damon flashed a wicked smile. “Behind this wall is the next thing we’re going to do for a break.”

  “And it involves taking off our clothes?”

  Oh boy. That wasn’t the question she should’ve asked, not only because it sent him prowling toward her, but because everything in her was jumping up and down with delight, instantly wanting to strip. “I should get back to work,” she teased.

  He moved within touching distance, stroking her arm as he looked her over from top to bottom. “Tell me you don’t know everything you just saw, from the sundials to the medallions in the grass. You’ll add it to the inventory, right?”

  “So I’m not really goofing off. I’m working.”

  Damon nodded. “You need to do a thorough search”—he jerked a thumb behind him—“including what’s in there. I’ve already checked it out, so I know exactly where we need to end up. Tag. You’re it.”

  He whirled away before she could protest, disappearing behind a heavy wooden door he left propped open. Addie laughed out loud, the noise echoing happily off the stone walls.

  Perfect. Oh, so perfect. Damon had played right into her hands.

  She peeked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. Then she stepped into a small alcove, stripped off her clothing and piled it neatly on the nearby bench.

  Addie shifted, embracing the wolf side of her. She needed to track her quarry, and this was the best way. The sweet sensation of changing left her more ready to find him, shaking her fur into place before sniffing the air. The normal scents of wilderness greeted her, like the small animals that lived nearby, and the songbirds going off in the nearby tangled rosebushes.

  And Damon’s scent, wild and intoxicating. Hunger of a specific kind took hold, and Addie pushed aside everything else and let her wolf take charge.

  She raced through the doorway, refusing to be distracted by the scents left by passing rabbits and stray raccoons. Damon had twisted and turned around bushes that rose higher and higher over her head, and she realized they’d entered the labyrinth.

  Every step she took revealed new secrets hidden in small alcoves notched into the living walls of the maze. They would’ve been set up as markers for humans wandering through, but she didn’t need them. She had Damon’s scent clanging through her head, a rich, sensual aphrodisiac.

  Addie sped up. Racing toward him as if being pulled by a magnet.

  Her wolf functioned on a more basic level, and while there were times she disliked its straightforward thinking, there was nothing wrong with what was currently on the beast’s mind.

  Craving, lust, a desire for satisfaction.

  A desire to play. Damon would not only rock her socks off, he’d put a smile on her face while he did so.

  The touching they’d shared over the past couple days gave enough reassurance she wasn’t about to step off a cliff into dangerous emotional feedback. How he was controlling it, she had no idea, but the only thing she’d ever felt when they touched was desire, not pain.

  She wanted to give in return.

  Addie rounded the corner so fast her hind legs skidded on the path. He’d made his way to the center of the labyrinth. Ahead, a low concrete bench surrounded a fountain that shot water skyward, droplets shining like liquid sunshine as they fell with a splash into the pristine pool.

  All that was taken in with her wolf senses. The human side was focused on the blond god standing to one side, hands resting on his lean hips as he smiled in her direction.

  No holding back, no need to resist.

  Maybe she was making a huge mistake, but she’d find out soon enough. She ran straight at him, muscles bunching as she accelerated to full speed. One final crouch then she leapt, changing to her human form in midair.

  Damon moved instinctively to catch her, twirling as momentum brought her upper torso in full contact with his. He’d barely had time to peek at the small, perfect curves of her breasts, with tiny brown nipples that were now pressed against him.

  He’d been holding back and taking it slow, but secretly, he’d hoped this would happen. Having her naked in his arms was the most perfect thing he’d ever experienced.

  “You found me,” he teased, bringing her to the edge of the fountain. He sat on the wide concrete bench, draping her over his lap as he cupped her chin in his fingers.

  “It’s a treasure hunt. I expect a reward.” Sheer delight in her tone.

  He could work with that. For now he took what she offered, holding her face steady as he leaned in to connect their lips. A wave of sensation rolled over him, and he warned his wolf to stay in hiding as his excitement built. “Tell me. The instant you need to, tell me and I’ll stop.”

  “We’re fine. We’re…oh, yes, this feels so good…”

  She moved against him, undulating in place so their naked torsos rubbed together as he took control of her lips.

  Damon slipped his free hand around her, spreading his fingers wide over her lower back and locking her in place. The heat of her sex centered firmly over the wrought-iron shaft behind his kilt.

  God, he loved the Scots.

  All it would take was two moves and he could be inside her. One to push away the fabric, and the second to slam her hips down as he thrust up, and he wanted that so badly, but first…

  He lifted her. Hands wrapped around her hips as he hoisted her in the air and stood her on the bench beside him. She ran her fingers through his hair, a secretive smile folding her lips.

  Damon twisted on the bench and caught hold of her butt, squeezing his fingers into the soft surface as he pulled her close enough to press a kiss to her belly button. “That was a very good bit of tracking. You have a lovely wolf.”

  “Thank you. I like her too.” She petted him again. “I’d like to meet your wolf, as well.”

  He didn’t want to be distracted. “Right now I have other things on my mind.”

  It was the first time he got to touch her breasts without anything between them. He thought he’d enjoyed himself before, but the sensation of his tongue against her soft skin—sublime. He teased and tasted, nipping before closing his lips around the tight points and sucking.

  An extraordinary variety of sounds escaped her lips as he drifted a hand down her body, slipping a finger gently through her folds. Wetness greeted him, and he brought some up to slowly circle her clit until she was squirming.

  Suddenly he was the prey instead of the predator, Addie dropping to her knees on the grass in front of him.

  She looked up, eyes sparkling, running her hands down his thighs and over the kilt until she connected with his knees. “You’ve really embraced the Scottish tradition, haven’t you?”

  Under her fingers his kilt bunched together as she bared more of his legs, inching the fabric toward his groin. “Are you asking what you’ll find under my kilt?”

  “Oh, I already know what I’ll find. Something tasty…”

  He totally cheated. He ignored the button and the buttonhole and simply ripped back the tartan aside to leave himself naked and at her mercy.

  Addie’s eyes widened as she slipped her hand up and caught hold of the root of his cock. “For me?”

  “All for you.”

  He clamped his teeth together to stop from shouting in surprise. He’d expected
her to go slow. She was supposed to tease him the way he’d been teasing her for days, but she seemed to have an entirely different agenda. Addie lifted the head of his cock, aimed it at her mouth and then damn near swallowed him whole.

  Damon leaned back and clenched the edge of the concrete bench, his fingers tightening on the solid surface as wet heat enveloped him. Her mouth was heaven around him, and when she pulled back, applying wicked suction, he saw stars.

  She was full of surprises. Instead of moving over him in a steady rhythm, she wrapped her fist around the base of his cock and jacked him hard while using her mouth and lips on the sensitive head. Stroking with her tongue before drawing in rhythmic pulses. Every touch an assault on his senses that gave him nowhere to go except straight into a boiling cauldron of need.

  Somehow he cracked open one eye to check she wasn’t continuing on in spite of being in pain.

  Nope. Addie noticed his gaze and tossed him a wink, increasing her speed another notch until he was one second away from losing control.

  He reached down and pulled her off, desperate to take the next step.

  Addie pouted. “I wasn’t done with that.”

  “I need to use it,” he panted, laying her out on the concrete platform, his kilt spread to protect her from the hard surface.

  Beside them the fountain provided a serenade, the falling droplets striking the water’s surface like tiny bells while small gusts of wind covered them with a fine mist. She caught hold of his shoulders and attempted to pull him on top.

  He shook his head. “My turn.”

  The past couple days had been a salute to his creativity, finding ways to have a sexual relationship without actually touching, skin on skin. He’d enjoyed himself—listening to Addie climax was addictive. Only he’d gotten to touch but never taste her, and he was about to correct that.

  Damon dropped his head between her thighs and put his mouth on her sex, slipping his tongue through her folds and taking a deep lick.

  Oh, hell, yes. It was worth the wait.

  “I might be here a while,” he warned.

  Addie laughed, the sound turning into a groan of pleasure as he found her clit and teased it with the tip of his tongue. “Poor, tortured me,” she complained.

  He took his time, lapping up her sweetness, stroking too gently to set her off. Slipping his fingers into her and teasing her until she was quaking, her hips rattling in time with his slow thrusts.

  When he finally put his lips around her clit and sucked, she called his name and came, core tightening around him—a precursor of what he had to look forward to.

  Damon rose over her before changing his mind, turning her relaxed body in his arms and settling her in his lap the way they’d started. Only now, hallelujah, his kilt was gone and her wet core was right against his cock.

  Addie rose and fell in a leisurely fashion, gripping his shoulders as she offered him a satisfied smile. Damon gritted his teeth and held back as she played, her fingers dancing in the hair at the back of his neck as the heat of her sex danced against his aching length. Teasing. Taunting. Getting him wet, but no farther.

  “This is fun,” she whispered. “I like touching you. Feeling you against me. I loved your fingers inside me.”

  “Time for my cock,” he demanded. “I want to feel you around me, all wet and needy.”

  He lifted her hips and helped position her, then he slipped his hands up to cup her breasts as he stared into her eyes and let her take control.

  She’d guessed right about so many things, but the most important was—oh, my goodness, he was built like a tank. Everywhere. Addie pushed down another fraction of an inch, savouring the slow stretch as his thick cock filled her a little more with every motion.

  She was wet, not just from the climax, but from sheer anticipation. Sheer appreciation for the drool-worthy man in front of her. When her butt finally landed all the way in his lap, she wiggled forward, rubbing her clit against him, and sighed happily.

  He caught her chin. “Everything good?”

  She double-checked, but the entire time she’d had nothing but her own emotions whipping though her system. “We’re great. Honest.”

  He nodded, then that look of mischief flashed in his eyes. “I hope you don’t think you get to be in control the entire time?”

  “Hardly. But I do get to do this whenever I want.” She tightened her internal muscles, clamping down hard on his cock and smiling in satisfaction as his eyes rolled back in his head.

  He snapped to attention, evil anticipation shining out. “That’s mean. Do it again.”

  As if in retaliation, he thrust a hand between them and found her clit, placing his thumb over it and giving a hard pinch.

  A shot of sheer pleasure raced through her. She squeezed.

  He rubbed harder.

  Addie pumped herself on him, using him like a dancing pole. Damon picked up the rhythm, rocking his hips upward until both of them were a split-second away from coming. And then no longer a split second, but roaring through the moment.

  She closed her eyes and let the wave of pleasure drench her. Intimate contact without overwhelming pain was a gift beyond measure.

  Her pussy pulsed around him, squeezing so tightly it dragged another gasp from him along with her name as he lost control. The fingers of his left hand pressed hard into her hip, and she wondered if she’d be bruised. She didn’t mind one bit, not as aftershocks rocked her over and over.

  Seconds later…

  Minutes?

  She had no idea. They sat there, tangled together, until their breathing returned to normal. He stroked her cheek, and she caressed his shoulders, determined to stay where she was as long as possible. Bodies connected, warmth passing between them like an erotic heater.

  “That was fun,” Damon breathed out.

  “I had a wonderful time,” she confessed.

  “And no troubles?”

  “None.” She didn’t want to analyze why. The only thing she wanted?

  Was to do it again.

  Chapter Nine

  Addie reached into the air, stretching hard to loosen some of the kinks in her body.

  Instantly Damon was there, his firm hands working the knots out of her neck and shoulders, thumbs digging in just the right amount until her brain turned to mush.

  “You shouldn’t do that to me,” she complained.

  “Do what?” His hands slipped down her arms until they settled on her hips. He moved in closer, tucking his face against her neck as he breathed in deep then licked her skin.

  A shiver ran over her and she wiggled free, laughing as she turned. “Distracting man.”

  “Delicious woman,” Damon returned. “Fine. I’ll be good. For now.”

  After giving her a wink that promised more later, he sat at the dining table and pulled out his phone to play a game.

  She went back to work on the china cabinet tucked in the corner of the room, glancing every now and then at him, a smile on her lips the entire time.

  No, this wasn’t how she usually spent her days at work, but she wasn’t about to complain. Not about the extracurricular activity they were getting to enjoy, or about how his presence made her feel so safe.

  The Sterling-Wylde boys continued to slip in and out of her peripheral vision, but for the most part they stayed out of the way. There were no more secret-peek-hole occurrences—Damon had warned her about the possibility, and they’d made sure to identify them in each new room she worked. Alastair had tried to make nice a couple of times, but Damon stood at the ready like an avenging warrior, ready to defend her at the slightest wrong move.

  Alastair took it as a challenge, talking for at least five minutes before giving Damon a final defiant glare then drifting away.

  Niall had been scarcer. She wasn’t sure what Damon had said to him that day in the library, but he seemed to have taken it to heart. The most she saw was the rare glimpse of him stomping through the hallways, the tails of his long cloak swaying as if he were hu
rrying off to a banquet at Hogwarts.

  Only his scent was often in the room when she came in to begin work. She didn’t bother to tell Damon because he had just as good a sniffer as she did, but it bothered her, and made her doubly grateful for his presence.

  “Ten minutes until our break,” Damon reminded her. His eyes flashed with the promise of another limb-shaking, satisfying excursion.

  “Thank you.” The words burst out.

  He tilted his head in question at her out-of-the-blue reaction.

  “I feel safe because you’re here. I want you to know how much I appreciate that.”

  He stayed where he was, leaning back his chair and propping his feet on the edge of the antique table. “I should be a gentleman and tell you it’s no problem, but maybe there’s a bill to be paid.”

  Damon wiggled his brows like some comic-book villain, and she giggled. “You also have a terrific sense of humour. I like that about you.”

  “Who said I was joking?”

  Addie hesitated. He had to be joking. “You’re not about to charge me bodyguard hours.”

  He leaned forward, the feet of the chair coming to rest with a solid clunk as his elbows hit the table. He admired her hungrily as if she were the main course at a dinner banquet. “You’ll find my bill is as creative as I am.”

  “Whatever it takes to get the job done.” Addie shivered from the intensity of his stare.

  “Don’t talk about ‘jobs’ right now.”

  It took a second for her to figure out his meaning, then she couldn’t resist answering in kind, dangerously poking her favourite wolf.

  “I wouldn’t want to blow my chances.” She breathed out the words before moaning as if she were on the edge of an orgasm.

  He growled. “Get back to work, woman, so I don’t feel guilty about ravishing you later.”

  A polite knock sounded at the door, and Alastair appeared, peeking his head around the corner. He smiled at Addie before tensing as soon as he realized Damon was glowering at him.