“Ah’d rather stay in this room and let those strangers get me,” the old man quipped.
“Then Alistair will watch over you. Your bickering should keep you both wide awake and allow you to hear their footsteps should they enter the house,” Luke suggested. Zeke scowled, but liked that proposition better than mine. “In the meantime, Becky and I will go to bed. Try not to argue too loud with Alistair, or none of us will get any sleep.”
“Ah expect ya don’t get much sleep with yer mate around,” Zeke commented.
We didn’t argue, but we did leave him in the care of poor Alistair. Unfortunately, Zeke’s teasing turned out to be worth less than the hot air he’d used to suggest it. Luke was too distracted with the note in his hands to do much more than slip into his pajamas and sit on the end of the bed with the paper clutched in his hand. I slipped into my nightshirt and sat down beside him. I set a hand on his shoulder and gave him a little shake. “Really worried about Baker?” I wondered.
He gravely nodded. “Yeah, and those men who chased Zeke. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they’re happening at the same time. Lance is making his move and using Simpling’s position to give their enemies something to fear.”
“You really think Baker killed this Protector?” I asked him.
Luke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not sure, but if there is a Protector dead then God help the suspects. The Protectors are very protective of their own, and any murder of their partners is seen as a crime against all of them.”
“So if the Protectors think Baker killed one of their own then they might kill him, too?”
“Exactly. That’s why we need to get out of here as soon as possible and get to Baker before the Protectors do,” he told me.
“What about Zeke?”
“He’ll be fine by tomorrow, but as grouchy as ever after being cooped up in this house,” he replied.
I wrinkled my nose. “He thinks this place is a coop? What about that shack he lives in in the woods?” I countered.
Luke shrugged. “He’s fond of the shack, but this place. . .” He trailed off as his eyes wandered over the walls and ceilings. “This place is different for him.”
“You mean civilized?” I teased.
He chuckled. “There’s certainly that, but I suppose we should talk about this another time.” He yawned and stretched his arms. “I’m kind of tired.”
A sly grin slipped onto my face, and I stepped off the bed to stand in front of him. I leaned down to show off the drooping collar of my nightshirt and turned on my most sultry, seductive voice. “You sure you’re tired?” I coyly wondered.
Luke had a good view down my shirt, and all I wore was that nightshirt. He raised an eyebrow, and showed off his own crooked grin. “Not anymore. You have something in mind?”
I slid onto his lap with his legs trapped between mine. “I was hoping for a treat after all that training,” I playfully pouted.
His hands settled on my hips, and his fingers traced soft circles along the hem of my shirt. “Perhaps I have enough energy in me for a little fun.”
I smiled and ran a finger beneath his strong chin. “Just a little?”
“Just a little. We have some work to do tomorrow,” he told me.
I pressed my inquisitive finger against his lips and brushed the tip of my nose against his. “No more talk of work, training or intrigue. Let’s just have some plain, dirty old fun.”
Luke chuckled. “The oldest fun known to man.”
“And werewolf,” I added.
His teasing hands slipped beneath my short nightshirt and glided up my quivering sides. He cupped my swollen breasts and massaged my eager flesh as his hot lips left soft, sweet trails down my neck. I groaned and shifted in his lap, and my hot, wet center pressed up against his evident need beneath the thin cloth of his pajama bottoms. He stiffened and jerked his hard body against me. His hands pulled me close to him and his head rested on my shoulder. I felt his hot breath on my neck and his tongue flicked out to taste the sweat that trailed down my body. “You make it hard not to take you hard and fast,” he growled.
I shuddered at the feral tone in his voice. My hands grasped his shirt and I longed to tear it in two. “Maybe that’s what I want,” I groaned.
Before I knew what had happened I lay on the bed with Luke atop me. His eyes glowed with an orange, feral light. They devoured me with their thorough gaze, and I felt naked before him. I sensed my Beast rise within me. She pleaded for his seductive hands along my smooth curves and his hot mouth over my breasts. I squirmed and whimpered, eager to rid myself of my flimsy clothes.
Luke did the chore for me, and in a moment I was naked beneath him with my clothes torn and tossed aside. I took care of his shirt myself except for the pants. He was forced to separate us for just a moment to discard them, but then was right back on me. His tense, muscular body pinned me to the bed as his gentle hands and hot lips delighted me with their lustful touches. I wrapped my legs around him and thrust my heated center against his stiff member. He grunted and pushed me down to hold me still. His ragged breathing told me I’d succeeded in arousing him to the point of breaking.
I glided my hands across his back and rubbed my thighs against his hips. My fingers stretched and lengthened as the wolf inside me became manifest. My feet thickened and the toes melded into one another for greater balance. Hair sprouted all over my body, covering me in a luscious carpet of fur that glistened from my sweat. I growled and whimpered, and nuzzled my growing snout into his cheek. He wrapped his arms around me, and positioned himself at my hot, wet opening. In a moment he thrust hard and deep into my heated center, and I leaned my head back and howled in glee. He grunted and penetrated me again and again, pushing deeper and faster.
I gasped and clutched onto him. My hips couldn’t follow his flurry of lustful, impatient thrusts. My moans and cries filled the air, mixing in a chorus of pleasure with his groans and growls. Our thighs slapped against each other in a furious effort to become one, to meld together and be of one mind, body and soul. He pushed and thrust against me, pulling out every bit of pleasure as he slid against my sensitive clit. My walls trembled and my harsh breathing quickened with each penetration.
The peak came in a rush of blinding light and glorious pleasure. I howled and was soon joined by Luke as he, too, achieved his climax. A few more thrusts and he spilled every last drop into me, then fell over onto the bed beside me. I growled softly to show my pleasure and petted the thick fur on his own transformed head. He turned his head, but I saw his eyes were closed and his breathing had evened out. He’d fallen asleep.
I smiled. He really had been tired. Now so was I, so I, too, slipped into slumber.
4
The next morning I woke up sore, tired, and exhilarated. By my side was the sexiest werewolf in the land, and he was mine. Well, if he’d been by my side. I rolled over to find the spot beside me empty and cold. The clock read ten which was an early hour for Luke to be up. The door opened and I frantically pulled the sheets up to cover myself, but it was only Luke with a breakfast tray.
“You’re up already?” I asked him.
He sat down beside me and placed the tray on my lap. “We have a trip to make,” he reminded me.
My shoulders slumped. “So more traveling?” I’d had my fill of traveling going to and from Sanctuary.
“I’m afraid so.”
“Any chance I can sit this one out?” I pleaded.
He smiled and a teasing glint flickered through his eyes. “Well, you could stay and guard the place with Zeke. I’m sure he’ll need the help with all those werewolves hanging around the forest.”
I cringed and glanced out the windows at the woods. “On second thought maybe I need a change of scenery.”
“I thought you’d see things my way. Now eat and, unfortunately, get dressed. We’ll see what plans we need to make to get to Spatia.”
I ate with all the hunger of a werewolf starving from sexual exertion, and dressed myself with Luke close at hand trying to ‘help’ me. After the sixth time of batting away his hands so I could get my bra on I exiled him to the hallway, finished my dressing, and stepped out to find him gone. I followed the sound of voices downstairs to the study, and there I found Luke, Alistair, and Zeke deep in conversation. Zeke was still bandaged, but he sat comfortably in one of the chairs in front of the desk.
Luke sat behind the large wooden desk and his face was grim. “I was afraid of this. They don’t want us leaving and helping Baker.”
“Afraid of what?” I wondered.
“Zeke and Alistair saw shadows on the lawn last night, and they only disappeared into the woods when the sun rose,” he told me.
I plopped myself down in a chair and frowned. “So we’re still surrounded?”
“So it seems,” Luke replied.
“So what do we do?” I asked him.
Luke shrugged. “I have no idea. We can’t leave without being noticed, and being noticed means we’ll be followed to Spatia. We’ll be less useful to Baker if we have unwelcome followers.”
Zeke crossed his arms and chuckled. “Ya got to start thinkin’ with that brain of yers,” he suggested.