“Stop,” he ordered softly
His aura hit me, snatching my breath, making my legs feel boneless. He was heat and longing and need, and I’d never felt anything so potent in my life. It had me ready for him in an instant, but the unease I’d felt in the car earlier increased. What he was projecting couldn’t possibly be natural
“Strip,” he continued in that same, flat tone
I kicked off my heels, then, with his gaze a fever that flamed my skin, did a little, teasing dance as I took off my sweater, skirt, and undies. By the time I’d finished, it wasn’t just his aura making me ache, but my own desire
He took a deep, shuddery breath, then reached for the champagne and poured two glasses. “Walk to the desk.”
I strolled toward him, provocatively exaggerating the sway of my hips. The closer I got, the stronger his hunger burned, until it hit my senses like a blow and made my head spin
He slid a glass across the chrome. “Down it.”
“You don’t have to get me drunk to have your wicked way with me.”
“This is the best champagne you will ever taste, and it will fuel the evening I have planned for us.”
There was nothing seductive in his words—they were said as a statement of fact, a choice in which I had none. And while in some ways it aroused me all the more, that deep-down sense of unease grew
“I’m due at work by nine.”
“Then you are mine until eight-thirty.”
I couldn’t help a smile. Given the heat he was projecting, the next hour and a half was going to be one wild ride. I picked up the champagne, raised the glass in toast, and downed it as he drank his. It might be the best champagne ever made, but it went down as badly as the cheap stuff and made my head buzz even more
He offered me another and I shook my head, knowing I’d probably throw up if I had a second glass
He pressed a small button on his desk. A slot opened close to me, and a folder appeared. “Your information on Evensong and its owner. But you can look at it later. Right now, I want you. Come here, little wolf.”
At that moment, I felt like a lamb confronted by a very large and hungry wolf, and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t sure I actually liked the sensation. Or that I wanted to be there, with him
Or was it simply a matter of the champagne affecting my head more than I thought?
Swallowing to ease the burning in my throat, I walked unsteadily around the desk. His golden body gleamed under the caress of the lights, and hunger slipped through me, mingling uneasily with reluctance. There was no emotion in his face, nothing in his eyes beyond lust, and his erection seemed positively huge. Huge and blurry. I blinked but it didn’t seem to ease the sudden fuzziness. He grabbed my hand and pushed me back against the desk. As my rump hit the cold metal, he nudged open my legs and thrust into me, deeper and harder than he ever had before. I groaned, trapped between pleasure and pain as he began to pound into me. The heat of him, smell of him, swirled around me, through me, and sweat broke out across my brow. The champagne sat uneasily in my stomach and I knew if he didn’t ease up, I’d throw up
“Talon, stop.”
He grabbed my hips, his fingers digging into my flesh as he held me still and kept grinding into me. Even the wolf in me was beginning to dislike the sensation. I grabbed his hands, intending to push him back, but my grip felt weak and there was a strange buzzing in my head, making it hard to concentrate. Worse still, the light and the office seemed to be fading in and out of existence
He came, and that was the last thing I remember clearly
Chapter 5
When the fragments gradually returned, they formed a picture of rising pleasure. I drifted on silk, writhing and moaning, my skin on fire and every muscle screaming with pleasure. Hands stroked me. Heat filled me. Every inch of me quivered under the relentless assault, until I couldn’t even breathe because the need for release was so strong
I woke, to discover it was no dream. Talon was on me, in me, and I had the oddest sensation that I’d just been betrayed in some basic way. But the thought quickly fled as the convulsions began, curling through me like a tidal wave and pushing me into rapture. He came with me, but still he pounded into me, as if determined to ensure that every last drop of his seed spilled into me
Eventually, he collapsed and rolled to one side. “You are amazing, little wolf.”
I didn’t feel amazing. I felt confused. Looking around revealed red walls instead of blue. Bedroom furniture rather than office. When had we moved there? I glanced at the clock on the bedside table, and saw it was close to eight-thirty. An hour and a half had passed and I couldn’t remember any of it
“We’re in your bedroom?”
He turned on his side and rested his hand on my belly. “We’ve also been in the living room, the games room, and even tried the kitchen, because you said you were hungry.”
There was an ache behind my eyes and a bitter taste in my mouth. I frowned and rubbed my forehead. “This is going to sound strange, but I can’t remember any of it.”
He grinned. “I think the champagne went straight to your head. You were pretty damn wild for a while there.”
He was rubbing my stomach, his gesture possessive more than sexual, and for some reason, it disturbed me
I grabbed his hand and threw it off me, and even that small movement had an ache rippling through my muscles. He obviously wasn’t lying about the number of times we’d made love. But he was lying about something, I was sure of it
I flipped the silk sheet aside. “I need a shower, then I have to go.”
“En suite’s to the right.” He paused until I found the right door, then added, “Come back later tonight.”
I turned on the taps, then, once the water was steamy, stepped into the shower. “As I told you before, I promised to be with Misha tonight.”
“So come back afterward.”
There was no way I was coming back to this house. It might contain the warmth of many colors, but it was cold. And I had the uneasy feeling something beyond sex had happened here, something I
“I promised Misha I’d stay with him.”
“Then I pray something distracts him, because I want you to be mine, and only mine, this phase.”
“Exclusive?” The thought made my body ache more than it already was. “I don’t think so.”
“Just one phase, not forever. I have a desire only you can fulfill.”
I snorted softly as I washed off the soap. “Me and your seven other lovers.”
He walked in as I turned off the taps. He tossed me a towel, then crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. “The others haven’t hair your magnificent color. Nor do they have your strength.”
“Which is why I imagine you have seven of them.”
He grinned. “And they certainly don’t have your lushness. I want that lushness. I want—” He stopped, and his sudden smile was distant
I had the strangest feeling that at that moment, he wasn’t really with me, that he was lost somewhere in dreams that just might have dire consequences for my health. Which was daft. Talon was often ruthless, but I didn’t think he’d hurt me
“What I want, I get, little wolf.”
He wasn’t getting anything more from me. Not this evening, anyway. I tossed the damp towel into the hamper, then said, “Are my clothes still in the office?”
