dimple. I used to love watching that dimple when you’d smile. Always had the urge to…” He leaned close and ran his tongue around the small indentation.
Tia shivered and backed away. She had to force a smile. She didn’t know whether she wanted to rip Luc’s clothes off him and haul him to bed, or tell him to leave. “Please don’t. I know where that leads.”
“So do I.” Luc rocked back on his heels and stuck his hands in his hip pockets. His expression looked relaxed, untroubled. He grinned, transforming himself from dark and dangerous to boyishly sweet in a heartbeat. Tia wasn’t certain which one was the more attractive.
“One of these days I’m going to lead you as far as I can take you. You know it’s where you really want to go.”
“You think so?” Tia cocked her hip and rested her knuckles at her waist. Luc still grinned at her. Her thudding heart finally settled back into its normal cadence, and her smile felt more like the real thing. “So, you were checking out my dimple when I was just sixteen, eh? There’re laws against people like you.”
He wagged his finger under her nose, teasing, playful. “I just looked. Didn’t touch. Rule number one: never, ever touch the boss’s underage daughter. Knowing your father, that most likely would have led to a drastically shortened life span.”
Tia rolled her eyes. “I know.” She gave Luc a serious up-and-down look and licked her lips. She still tasted him. Still wanted him. Felt as if all her senses were full of him.
“This…us…it could get ugly. I’ll always be his little girl.”
“Delightfully all grown up.” Luc stepped closer, once more invading her space.
Tia grinned and shoved him in the chest. “Tell that to my father.” Her dry comment hung between them. She wondered if she’d just issued Luc some sort of ultimatum.
Luc’s hands covered her fingers. His light grasp felt warm, strong. Comfortable. Not at all threatening.
“Maybe I will have a talk with your father. Maybe he won’t be so surprised after all.” Luc grinned, a lopsided smile that went straight to Tia’s heart. “Get some rest.” He leaned close and kissed her cheek. The soft, almost brotherly brush of his lips against her skin made Tia smile, especially after what they’d just been up to.
Luc turned away, opened the door, and stepped out on the front porch. He stuck his head back inside the partially opened door. That same lock of hair fell forward, an upside-down question mark over his left eye. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Get some sleep. You’re gonna need it.” He winked, flipped the lock on the door handle, and shut the door quietly behind him.
Then he was gone.
Tia stood in the front room for a long time after Luc closed the door. She wasn’t certain exactly what had happened this afternoon, had never experienced the deep, soul-shattering desire for another human being she’d felt for Luc. Somehow she sensed things were not as they seemed. No man could be so perfect, so overwhelmingly passionate.
Not so perfect. There’d been that moment of fear, as if Luc had tossed his humanity aside and let his inner beast, a feral side she’d not recognized, free. Tia hadn’t been all that far away. Was it Luc who frightened her, or Tia’s own uncontrolled response?
He hadn’t touched her breasts. Hadn’t groped between her legs. He’d brought her close to climax with nothing more than a kiss.
But, hot damn, what a kiss!
Tia touched her lips with her fingertips, reliving the feel of Luc’s mouth on hers. Then her stomach growled and she yawned. She’d missed lunch and had been up since three in order to catch her flight. She yawned again, exhausted as much from the long day as the aftermath of passion. Sleep won out over food.
Smiling, imagining Luc joining her in the big four-poster bed, Tia headed in to take a nap, undressing as she went. She left a trail of travel-worn clothes on the floor behind her.
Luc closed the car door behind him and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. Damn. He’d almost shifted, right there in her bedroom. He couldn’t recall ever feeling so turned on, so needy. So damned out of control.
She was perfect. Everything about Tianna Mason called to him, even beyond the fact she was Chanku. Her physical beauty, her intelligence, her sense of humor. He had to bring her over, convince her to embrace her birthright. He had to do it without scaring the crap out of her.
Luc stuck the key in the ignition and pulled out onto the street. He needed a shower. He hadn’t even slept with her and he still smelled like sex. For that matter, he needed to jack off and get rid of some of the tension that had kept him hard as his damned name ever since his first look at Tia.
His balls ached. His muscles hurt like he’d run a mile, and if he hadn’t been hanging on to the steering wheel like a lifeline, his hands would be shaking.
Luc laughed out loud. “You poor bastard. That little girl’s got you by the balls.”
So true. He should have guessed this would happen. Shit…he’d picked her luggage off the baggage carousel by scent alone. Thank goodness she had her name tags on the bags or he would have had a devil of a time explaining how he’d known they were hers.
He’d never even noticed the tags, not until she asked him how he’d chosen her luggage. What if he’d told her the truth? Told her both bags were rich with the scent of her heat, redolent with the essence of an alpha bitch in her prime?
After she knocked him on his ass, she probably would have called the police.
Shit.
She shouldn’t be this recognizable as Chanku, not without the supplements. Her scents should still be human, her sensuality levels not nearly as powerful.
Luc glanced at the bulge in his slacks. Try telling that to his cock.
The poor fellow hadn’t stayed this hard this long in years. All Luc could think of was burying his needy length in that hot, tight pussy of hers. He knew she’d been wet and ready, had smelled her sex like a dose of heavy perfume. It hung in the room, clung to him even now. He groaned aloud, shifted his butt around in the warm leather seat and then glanced at the clock on the dash. Time to get home, shower, grab a quick bite to eat, and put on some clean clothes. Time to figure out how he was going to deal with one Tianna Mason.
Damn. Ulrich’s little girl was definitely all grown up.
Chapter 4
Why, when Tia saw the wolf this time, did she immediately think of Luc? Tia’s chest felt tight, as if there were no room for air in her lungs. The muscles in her lower abdomen clenched and she shifted to her back, sliding softly on the slick bedspread, raising her knees in invitation, opening to him.
He stood at the end of the bed, his big paws resting on the footboard, tongue lolling, amber eyes glinting. He seemed to be trying to tell her something, but she wasn’t sure what he said. All Tia could see was his upper body, the broad wolven shoulders covered in thick, black fur, the beautifully formed head, thick ruff of fur around his neck, the intelligent eyes.
Her pussy wept. She felt the cool brush of air across her damp and swollen folds, the trickle of lubricating cream as it coursed slowly over her perineum and down the crease of her ass. Her muscles clenched, begging, so needy.
She touched herself, trailing her fingers through the moisture, finding her distended, sensitive clit and shoving back its tiny, protective hood. The wolf watched, blinking slowly, its gaze penetrating, perceptive. Tia circled her clit with her fingertip, then spread her labia wide, showing him the way.
The wolf leaned closer, his sharp ears, slightly rounded at the tips, pricked forward. His eyes gleamed and his mouth opened, exposing his long, pink tongue. He swept his tongue over and around the side of his muzzle, then sat still, panting softly. The sound seemed overly loud, almost echoing in the still room.
Though