“You’ll be the perfect bride,” she says.It sounds more like a threat than a compliment.Each day is whipping by faster than the one before. When the wedding was two weeks away, it seemed like a lifetime. Like anything could happen in between to call it off.But now it’s only three days away. Then two. Then, it’s actually happening tomorrow, and I’m waiting outside my house for Imogen’s stupid town car to pick me up, to take me to some spa day that I neither want nor need.I know they want to pluck me and exfoliate me and rub off all my rough edges, making me some smooth, soft little wifey for the scion of their family. The great Calester Green. He’s their JFK, and I’m supposed to be their Jackie Kennedy.I’d rather be Lee Harvey Oswald.Still, I stuff down all my irritation and let the driver take me to a posh spa on Walton Street.It’s not so bad to begin with. Calester really did book the works. The aestheticians soak my feet and paint my fingers and toes. They have me sit in a gia
I love the idea of her being primped and cleaned and waxed to my specifications. Like a little doll, built just the way I like it.I’ve already showered and shaved, so now it’s time to put on my tux. But when I check the hook in the closet where I expect it to be hung, there’s nothing there.I call down to Marta, one of our house staff.“Where’s my tux?”“I’m sorry, Mr. Green,” she says nervously. “I went to the shop to pick it up like you said, but they told me the order had been cancelled. A box was shipped here instead, from Ms. Gerald.”“A box?”“Yes, shall I bring it up?”I wait impatiently in the doorway while Marta jogs up the stairs, a large, square garment box in her hands.What the hell is this? Why is Julia fucking with my tux?“Leave it,” I say to Marta. She sets the box down gingerly on my couch.I wait until she’s gone, then I open it up.On top is an envelope, with the messy handwriting I can only assume belongs to my fiancée. I rip it open, pulling out a note:Dearest
“You look amazing,” she whispers, snickering.“I’ll get you back,” I inform her calmly.“I was already getting you back for that bullshit you pulled at the spa,” she hisses back at me.The priest clears his throat, wanting to start the service.“When you’re married to me, I expect you to maintain yourself at all times,” I inform her.“The FUCK I will,” Julia snaps, loud enough to make the priest jump.“Is there a problem?” he says, frowning at us.“No problem at all. Start the ceremony,” I order.Julia and I continue to snipe at each other in muttered tones, while the priest drones his way through the vows.“If you think I’m gonna be some little porn star for you—”“That’s just bare minimum standards—”“Yes, it certainly was bare—”We break
“I’ll show you your room,” she says.I follow her up the wide, curving staircase to the upper level.I’ve been here once before. I already know what lies to the left: the girls’ rooms, and the master suite belonging to Imogen and Fergus.Imogen turns right instead. We pass the library, which gives no hint of smoky ruin. I can’t resist peeking inside. Looks like Imogen already renovated, replacing the carpet and repainting the walls. They’re pale blue now, with shutters over the windows instead of curtains. Even the fireplace got a facelift, with a new white stone facade and a glass enclosure for the grate.“No more accidents,” Imogen says drily.“Much safer,” I agree, not sure whether to laugh or be embarrassed.We walk down a long hallway to another private suite, similar in size to the master. When Imogen opens the doors, I realize we’re in Calester’s room. It&rs
Christal was already cleaning away their lunch. Cursing, he watched her pack everything as the men of the collective alphas walked off the elevator. He counted five men. They were not all there. In fact, he saw at least one missing. Riley was the name, the one who had forced the issue of John’s outlawed status.“Too late.”“Dick, I see you’ve already informed John of our visit.”John recognized the man who spoke as Charles, one of the oldest men of the group. He didn’t look a day over forty, but John knew he was close to seventy years of age.“What warning? Dick was arranging to come to my house for dinner tonight. Christal’s an amazing cook, and he is always looking for an excuse to visit.” He gave Dick a pointed look, entering the office. Christal stood by his desk with a smile plastered to her face.The five men entered his office as Dick took a seat.“I’ll see you at home tonight. I’ll do my famous chicken curry,” Christal said. She was nervous. Reaching out, he held her face, sla
He cupped her cheek, holding her close. “If you wish to leave to join your pack, you may do so. They’ll take care of you giving you a home.”“Do you want me to go?” Only a minute ago he’d been telling her how much he loved her, and now he was telling her this. Christal felt torn in two on what to think.John held her face, staring into her eyes. She saw the pain in his dark brown depths. “No, I don’t want you to go, but I don’t want you to feel forced to stay here. I love you, Christal. I want to mate with you. This is a choice you’re going to have to make.” He kissed her lips, pulling away. “The curry smells amazing. I need to run,” he said, turning toward the door.Unable to stop him, she watched him tear his clothes off and change within the next second.“He’s scared,” Dick said, bringing her attention back into the room.“Scared? Scared of what?” She was confused, and she hated the feeling.“John is outlawed, and he bought you. I know you didn’t have the best start in this relatio
She stroked her nub, and seconds later she climaxed. Even as she was caressing her clit, John fucked her hard. The desk moved under the force of his thrusts. He didn’t care. Finding his release was all he cared about. Plunging inside her, John stared into her eyes. She was so fucking beautiful. He’d die a happy man being inside her.The stirrings started, and he plundered her tight heat spilling his cum into her waiting folds. She took every drop, moaning as he held her tightly.No one was taking her away from him. John would kill every last one of them if they even thought to take her from him.****Later that night, Christal padded back to the bedroom. She had brushed her teeth and washed her face. The whole of the night had been spent with John inside her. Christal’s folds was sore, but she didn’t care. The feel of John’s hard shaft inside her was more than worth it.“Your breath smelled fine to me.”She rolled her eyes and climbed on the bed beside him. Before brushing her teeth s
Three days later John was staring at his computer screen. Christal was at home after a marathon of sex. She was probably happy with the reprieve. His nerves were totally fried at what their future was going to be. Whatever happened was up to her.He tried to focus on his work rather than on what his woman was going to do. The last three days he’d held back claiming her. The mating heat had been between them during most of their fuck fest, but he held it back. John didn’t want them to blame the mating or him for Christal staying with him.In the space of one month he’d found his woman, hurt her, taken her, fallen in love with her, and was now on the verge of losing her. His parents were not lying when they said wolves moved fast, refusing to waste a single moment of life.Leaning back, he turned his chair to look over city life. When he was first outlawed he hated the city, but then he had come to love it. The hustle and bustle of activity stopped him from thinking about the pain of ev
Our kisses continued. It was as if once we started, we couldn’t stop. I managed to unbutton several of the buttons on Lyca’s dress and, when I slipped my hand inside it, I made a delightful discovery. “You…you aren’t wearing a bra!” I whispered between kisses.“I know, I feel so naughty,” Lyca whispered in reply. Her hand slid up my leg and encountered my swollen organ, which was straining uncomfortably against my slacks. A smile formed on Lyca’s lips “What’s this?” she murmured. She gently moved her hand over it.“Uh!” I moaned softly. I knew we had to be careful because we certainly didn’t want the other passengers waking up and seeing what we were doing. “What...what do you think it is?” Delightful sensations were sweeping through me as a result of her gentle caresses and kisses.Lyca kept stroking me, making me even harder. At the same time, I was caressing her breasts and nipples, which had grown erect. I could feel her shudder when I flicked my thumb over one of them. I slipped m
It was a while before either of us had enough strength to move. Finally, Lyca put her arms around me and laid her head on my shoulder. “You are incredible!” she murmured. “I...I can’t get enough of you. The minute you touch me I want you!”“I feel the same way about you,” I told her.She looked at me and smiled. “You know, we should really get out of the shower before we wind up looking like a couple of pink prunes,” she giggled.We finished washing, then got out and playfully toweled each other dry. While Lyca finished doing what she needed to do in the bathroom, I went back to her bedroom and got dressed.Wearing the purple robe, Lyca walked into the bedroom a few minutes later. “After I get dressed, I’m going to call the travel agent,” she said.“All right,” I said. “I love you.”She smiled at me and said, “I love you, too.” Then she walked across the room and hugged me fiercely. “I didn’t ever think I’d say that to anyone,” she said softly. “You can’t imagine how wonderful it feel
We got up. Lyca began clearing the table while I rinsed off the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. After I put the last of the dishes in the machine I dried my hands on a dish towel, walked over to the table, which Lyca had just finished wiping. I put my arms around her, and kissed her. She returned the kiss avidly.After the kiss ended, I cupped Lyca’s delectable bottom in my hands and pulled her middle against mine. Then I turned her around, backed her to the kitchen table, lifted her up and sat her on it.“What on earth do you think you’re doing?” Lyca asked.My lips again covered hers and I untied the belt that held her robe closed. My hands slid inside the robe, onto her soft, warm skin, and I cupped her breasts and my thumbs tweaked her nipples to full, tingling erection.My penis grew erect and tented the front of my slacks as I worked on Lyca’s glorious breasts. I spread Lyca’s robe even farther apart, moved between her bare, silken legs, cupped her buttocks, and pressed a
Lyca rolled over and was kissing me, hugging me, and babbling excitedly. "I love you! Oh, God, I love you!" she gushed. "That was fantastic! I never knew making love could feel that wonderful! God! I love you! I love you!""I love you, too," I told her, returning her kisses. "What just happened was the best it's ever been for me."Lyca gazed down at me, her eyes wide and filled with adoration. "Was it really?" she asked, looking surprised. "Not even with your wife?""It never came close to that with Natalie," I told her. "I never knew making love could be that wonderful." I kissed her again."I'm glad you came back into my life," she whispered. "You can't imagine how glad." Her hands were traveling over me and her face took on a serious expression when she touched the bandage on my shoulder. "How is your shoulder?" she asked."It's getting better all the time," I replied."It terrifies me to think you could have been killed," she said as her hands continued moving over me."It kinda s
My emotions were in turmoil. From dreading what she was going to say I'd gone to a state of near-euphoria. "I...love you, too," I stammered. I took another sip of my coffee, another deep breath, then said, "I'm in love with you."Lyca gazed at me, her expression unreadable. My heart thudded like a jackhammer. What was her response going to be?She squeezed my arm, smiled, and said, "I'm in love with you, too. I knew it the minute you walked back into my life the other day."I couldn't breathe. Lyca had just told me she was in love with me! I couldn't believe it! My fondest dream had become reality!Then, for some reason, things seemed to get strained between us. For some reason, having admitted our love for each other left us not knowing what to do or say next. We at there on the sofa, looking at each other.It was clear to me nothing was going to happen unless one of us did something, so I slid closer to Lyca. She kept staring at me.When I put my arm around her shoulder, she sighed
“No, and I’m not sure I want to again,” I replied. “I’ve never seen anyone as wild as Gleason was.” My ribs still hurt like mad. I winced when I opened the door of my car.Harkins shook his head. “You ought to get those ribs looked at,” he said. “He coulda broke one, kicking you like that.”“Probably did,” I said. “Maybe I will stop at the hospital and have them checked.”“You take care,” he said. “I’m not sure I’d have done it the way you did, but you got two prime assholes out of our hair this week. I’d say that’s enough for anyone. Take it easy for a while, OK?”“You have my word on it, Lieutenant,” I said.The doctor in the emergency room told me my ribs were seriously bruised, but not broken. “Take it easy for a while and you’ll be just fine,” he said. “And I’d stay away from strenuous exercise for a week or so.”“Doc, I plan to sleep for a week or so,” I told him.I left the hospital and drove home. I wanted to see Lyca, but I needed rest, too, and she probably could stand some
I dropped the binoculars, stood up and, standing in the combat position, aimed my pistol at him. He fired another shot. Before he could work the bolt action on his rifle, I yelled, “Freeze, Gleason! Drop the gun!”He stiffened, turned, and continued working the action on the rifle. I fired at him, aiming for the middle of his body. The rifle flew out of his hands and he went over backward.Moving carefully, I approached him, holding my gun on him. I was pretty sure I’d hit him. I seldom miss what I’m shooting at. He laid there on his back, very still, with his eyes closed. I peered at him, trying to see where the wound was. I couldn’t, so I stepped closer. Too close.Gleason suddenly came to life. His leg came up quickly, too quickly for me to avoid it, and he kicked the gun out of my hand. The next thing I knew, roaring like a wild man, he was on me, his weight carrying me back, taking me off my feet. When we hit the ground, the wind was knocked out of me and, before I could get to m
“Noticed that he checked the brakes,” Moose said. “You’d think he’d trust a couple of trustworthy-looking guys like us.”I handed Moose a hundred dollars.“What’s this?” he asked.“A bonus for doing a good job today,” I said.“What do you think he’s going to do when he hears that tape you put in the car?” Moose asked.The only thing I did to Gleason’s car was put a tape I made up in the tape deck. It was set to run quietly for a while before the message kicked in, so he’d be well away from the building before he heard it. The message said, “We could have gotten you again today, but we didn’t. This is your last warning. Leave Mrs. Wilkins alone or we’ll get serious. We’ve already proved we can get to you any time we want. By the way, have you gotten your place cleaned up yet?”“I hope he cans this shit he’s been pulling on our client, but I don’t think he will,” I said.“So that shit you planned for tonight is still on?” Moose asked as he wheeled the van through traffic.I nodded. “I t
“You want me to call the police, Mr. Gleason?” the security guard asked.Gleason looked at the guard, then at me. I tried to look impatient. Moose shuffled around, looking as if he wanted to go, too.“They’re not going to find anything, any more than they did yesterday, the incompetent fools,” Gleason said finally. He looked at the car, then at me. “You sure you can have it done and back here by three?” he asked.“No problem, Mr. Gleason,” I said. “Me and Moose, we’ll do the job ourselfs, won’t we, Moose. We’ll tell the boss it’s one ‘a them priority jobs, right?”“Yeah, we’ll do that,” Moose said.Gleason looked at the security guard. “File a report on this with the police, but tell them I sent the car to be repaired and they don’t have to come over,” he said. He turned to me. “Go ahead and fix it. If I have the damn lease company fix it, they’ll just charge me extra and they probably wouldn’t get it fixed today.”“Where do you want me to bring it at, what, three?” I asked.“Be out f