The Wolf's Heart Read online

  When she’d said that he was Marcus’s pet, he knew it would be fine, at least for now. Then there had been the drying off… He’d almost shifted then and taken her, especially when she bent over to dry her legs. Jesus, the woman gave him a case of the blue balls.

  She sighed in her sleep and buried her nails in the scruff of his neck before moving on to the ears. He whined softly. Hell, the woman was diabolical.

  Chapter Six

  Marcus woke in mid-snore. He was still a wolf, but he’d been about to shift back to his human form. He opened his eyes and snuck a look at Lainie. She lay flat on her back, asleep, with her mouth half-open. His heart flipped. She looked angelic and innocent, all the things he wasn’t.

  Did he have the right to spoil her with his touch? He slipped out of the bed and padded over to the connecting door. The answer was an unequivocal no. Would he do the honorable thing and keep himself from her? Probably not. He’d never been someone who denied himself what he wanted in life.

  Marcus moved into his room and headed for the bath, intending to wash off the results of a night spent running in wolf form through the desert. He stood in the bathroom and looked at the mosaic tiles beneath his paws. He couldn’t actually see the colors, not as well as in his human form. He concentrated and the bone-grinding shift began.

  Slowly, the greens and yellows of the tiles came into focus, then the blues and finally the reds hit his vision. He flexed his fingers, and then his toes. He stood and stretched, his joints popping back into place effortlessly. With a small sigh, he shook himself and stepped into the shower.

  When he emerged, he put on his boxer briefs, intending to go back into the room with Lainie; he’d share her bed as a human too. She’d be less inclined to freak out if he at least wore his underwear, though he preferred to sleep nude. Then he put on a pair of silk pajama bottoms with the idea that the more he had to take off, the more time he’d have to think.

  He stared at the door, undecided. If he took this final step, there would be no going back. Once he had her, he never intended to let her go.

  Ten years was a long time to carry a hard-on for one woman, but he had. He stalked toward the balcony door instead of the connecting one. Ten fucking years. He sighed as he stood outside looking at the stars.

  Marcus leaned on the rail, wishing he could go back and change what had happened the summer Lainie waltzed into his life. Now he thought of it as the summer of his awakening. What a fucking joke.

  The Lainie he remembered before that had been tiny and cute, a little girl who aroused his protective instinct. His lips quirked in a half smile recalling that as teen she’d aroused something else entirely.

  He’d been her knight in shining armor, not that she really recalled the incident involved. He remembered it vividly and rage burned in his chest. Uncle David or more than likely, Joanna, had wiped that horrible night in his father’s lab from her mind…or had they? Maybe it was lying in wait, ready to jump out at the worst possible time.

  Lainie had been his friend, his ray of sunshine, innocent and sweet. She’d had a serious case of hero worship for him. One that made his chest swell with pride. When they were kids she’d come to visit every single summer. He looked forward to those visits for the whole year. Hell, he’d been innocent too until she came to visit that last summer.

  Marcus, his cousin, Jordan and his two friends, Ben and Stephen, were in his room the day she arrived.

  “Hey, man, I hear a car.” Jordan peered out the window then did a double take. “Who in the fuck is that?”

  “Who?” Marcus didn’t move from his slouched position by the bed.

  “Hell, I don’t know, but I want me a piece of that.” Jordan grinned and wiggled his brows.

  “You don’t know what to do with that,” Stephen breathed, peering though the crack in the curtain. “But I do.”

  “Shit, both of you are idiots.” Ben lay with his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. “Neither of you have ever gotten lucky.” Good-natured ribbing and jibes flew back and forth until someone called his name.

  “Marcus?” He rolled his eyes at the sound of the voice he heard at least once a week on the phone.

  “Man, it’s just Lainie.” He made a face at the other boys and turned to catch her when she hurled herself into his arms. His blood turned to ice, before fire and a feeling of possessiveness foreign to him quickly replaced it.

  “Marcus!” Her eyes glowed with happiness. “I’m here!” Her arms tightened around his waist. She buried her face against his chest and giggled. “Did I surprise you? I came early this year.” At that, she danced away, whirling around, arms out from her sides.

  He stared. She wore a pair of simple cutoffs and a white tank top. But what she did to that outfit was surely illegal. Her breasts had ripened to full mounds that strained the thin fabric, and the denim hugged the firm curves of her ass. In a word, Lainie was hot.

  “Uh,” he managed before she flew back at him, smiling in that trusting way she had. She gave him another hug and his dick went berserk.

  “How you been? What ya doin’? Oh, hi.” She noticed the others in the room. None of them slouched or lounged now, they all sat up straight and stared at her.

  “Hi there, sweetheart.” Ben was the first to break the tension-laden silence. He pushed his hair out of his face and smiled at her, his blue eyes sparkling.

  “My name is Lainie, what’s yours?”

  “Oh, sorry.” Belatedly Marcus remembered his manners. “This is Ben, Stephen and that’s Jordan, my cousin on my dad’s side.” He glared at them all but that only made it worse. “This is Lainie.”

  “Yeah, we’re practically family, Lainie, come sit over here by me.” Jordan patted the window seat.

  “Oh, okay, but I need to go and put my stuff up first. See y’all in a little while,” she promised, going up on her toes to kiss Marcus’s cheek. “I missed you.” With that, she breezed out of the room, unaware that she’d started his blood pounding in his veins, particularly below the belt.

  “Damn! Dude, where the hell you been hiding that fine piece of ass?” This remark from Stephen brought guffaws from the other two, but it only made Marcus burn with rage. Something clamored inside him at the sight of her. Lust, hunger and desire all rolled up in a package of possessiveness that howled the word mine.

  He’d had sex, hell he was almost eighteen. His dad had chosen one of the pack bitches for him. But Lainie had just burned the other woman’s image from his brain.

  “Dude.” Ben laughed. “Set us up.” He jerked his head in the direction Lainie had just taken and it was all Marcus could do not to leap on him and tear out his throat. They wouldn’t touch her; he’d kill them if they did. The irony of it was, neither would Marcus.

  The next week was hell for Marcus. The only thing that made it bearable was that Lainie remained oblivious to his attraction to her. All of it went right over her head. He was suspicious of her innocence now, but back then he’d only felt guilt. Surely the little brat hadn’t been that unaware.

  The day it happened was hot and sunny. And he’d been desperate to get away from her, the smell of the lotion she put on her skin, her own sweet scent beneath, so he’d gone to help the groundskeepers repair the fence behind the house.

  The workmen had long since gone and a storm cloud was brewing by the time Marcus quit digging postholes. He was tired, sweaty and in a pissed-off mood, all because Lainie was in the pool in a bikini.

  Well, that wasn’t the real reason. There was also the fact that his friends were more than likely still there looking at her in that silly excuse for a swimsuit. When he’d left, they were all hanging around just to gawk at her. She’d been chattering about some music video she liked.

  It was a testament to how hot she looked that the three admitted to liking the Backstreet Boys. It was at that point that he’d left before he killed them or threw up, or both. Teenage boys did not like boy bands or they didn’t admit it out loud.

  He’
d left the pool, with their laughter ringing in his ears. He imagined her kissing one of his friends or even letting him sneak into her room. He wouldn’t set foot in her room now. He couldn’t risk it. Too damn bad, she didn’t feel any compunction about slipping into his room and bouncing up and down on his bed to wake him.

  He shoved the posthole diggers deeper into the hard-packed earth. “Fuck it.” He sat in the shade of a small, weathered old pine that held on for dear life on top of the hill.

  The wind blew from the east, the same direction of the house. He raised his nose and inhaled, happy for the cooling sensation on his sweaty skin. However, on the breeze, there was a smell. Lainie.

  Marcus sat with his shoulders hunched, curling his body in on itself. His stomach cramped, radiating from his abdomen to his thighs. He made a sound between a whine and a howl. But she kept coming closer, unaware she was stepping into a hornet’s nest.

  “Hey, Marcus, I thought you might be thirsty.” She stood right behind him before he knew it. “There’s a storm brewing too, you better come inside.”

  The storm brewing above paled in comparison to the one inside his body. He looked over his shoulder and took in the long tanned legs exposed by the yellow dress she wore. The wind pressed the fabric against her body, delineating the soft curves of her thighs and breasts.

  “Marcus?” She looked around and spied the towel he’d brought out with him.

  He sat in silence while she smoothed it out to sit on so as not to get her dress dirty.

  “Are you all right? Here’s your tea.” She handed him a large lidded cup.

  He tried to thank her for her thoughtfulness, but couldn’t get the words past his throat. Instead, he chugged the tea down, hoping to quench his thirst for other things. “I’m fine,” he finally managed.

  “Do you think maybe we could go to town later?” She twisted her fingers in her skirt, drawing his attention to her legs again.

  “No.”

  “Oh.” Her head bowed and he felt like an asshole. “That’s okay, I’m sure you’re tired. So, you want to come on home? We could go for a swim, that would cool you off.” Not if she wore that damn bikini, it wouldn’t. He smiled at her and something must have shown in his face then, something that scared her.

  Lainie’s eyes widened and she froze in place.

  He leaned forward and tugged on the hem of her dress. “Somethin’ wrong?”

  “N-no,” she whispered back, but he heard her heart speed up, and watched when she wet her lips with her tongue.

  “I like the dress.” He inched the hem up a little. His whole body screamed for him to take her and the only thing that kept him from doing so were the memories of the way she used to be.

  “Thanks. I got it last week when Ms. Sarah took me to town.” She smoothed the skirt down and flipped her hair back.

  Marcus just stared at her, smiling when she flushed and looked away. His hand slid closer and she jumped when it met the skin of her thigh. She turned her head and opened her mouth, probably to ask him what the hell he was doing.

  She never got the chance. He pushed her down on the ground and lay on top of her. He wedged his body between her legs and grabbed her wrists with one hand. “Why did you come out here?”

  “Get off.” Her hips bucked in an attempt to push him off her. She only succeeded in pressing herself against the bulge in his jeans. She froze, watching him closely.

  “Why?” he ground out.

  “To bring you something to drink.”

  “I want something else, and I think you do too.” He leaned closer.

  “What?” Her voice was faint.

  “This.” He kissed her, softly, tasting the sweetness of her lip gloss before he delved inside and tasted her own heady flavor. His free hand moved to the top of her dress, pulling it down to expose her breasts to his gaze. “You are beautiful.”

  Soft creamy mounds trembled with each breath she took, the dark pink, nipples hardening before his eyes. He leaned down and took one into his mouth, moaning at the taste. He watched her eyes as he sucked hard, flicking the tip with his tongue before biting it. She gave a high keening cry. He plumped her other breast in his hand, squeezing it.

  “Marcus.”

  “Shh.” He rocked his pelvis against her. “You want it, I can smell it. You’re wet for me. All for me.”

  “I am not.” She sounded shocked to the core.

  “Yes. For me.” His hand left her breast to trail down to the end of the skirt. He pulled it up, slowly exposing a pair of pink lacy panties. He slid his fingers down the front of them, encountering the soft, springy curls covering her sex. Just as he thought, she was wet and warm, ready. He flicked his thumb up the center of her slit, rubbing against the nub of flesh hidden in the silky folds.

  She sucked in her breath, drawing his attention back to her breasts. He groaned and latched onto her nipple, biting and sucking, at the same time cupping her pussy in his hand. Gently, he pushed a finger inside and she went wild in his arms. The scent of her filled the air around them; she inadvertently aroused him even further.

  She screamed, but he only pushed harder, another finger joining the first, stretching her, sliding in and out. Her desire spiked, he smelled it. She tightened around his fingers. He circled her clit and her pussy tensed again. Her mouth fell open and her eyes closed arching her hips upwards. “Oh God, Marcus.”

  “Mine.” He moved his hand to his pants. He pulled his cock free and pressed it against her. She opened her eyes wide when he slid her panties to one side. Slowly, he began to enter her.

  She kicked at him. He pulled her a little closer, holding her despite her struggles. He eased farther into her tight, slick opening, and she clenched around him again.

  Finally, one foot found purchase, and the grinding pain in his thigh snapped him out of his lust-filled haze. Marcus raised his head from her breast and the mark he’d left there to meet her panic-stricken gaze. Her innocence was there for any fool to see. Ice sluiced through his veins, banking his desire instantly. Regret took its place. “Oh, God, Lainie, I’m so sorry.” He gathered her in his arms.

  She tried to get away at first but she must have realized whatever happened was over, because she stopped fighting and just held on, her whole frame wracked with sobs.

  He righted her clothes and rocked back and forth, cradling her in his arms, his hand rubbing her back soothingly. “I’m sorry, so fuckin’ sorry,” he whispered, hoping to make it right, but knowing everything had changed forever.

  Seconds later, he knew just how they had changed. He looked at his hand and saw to his horror that fur was sprouting on it. He was going through his first shift, now, at the worst possible time. “Lainie.” His voice thickened. “I want you to go to the house, right now. Go to the house, honey. But don’t run.” He sounded desperate even to his own ears.

  She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. But she nodded and moved to stand. He did so as well, wanting nothing more than to throw her back down on the ground and finish what he started.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered and turned. Despite his warning, she did run.

  He started toward her, only to fall down on the ground in pain. He gritted his teeth, groaning in agony. Suddenly the clouds let loose what they’d been promising and rain drenched his fevered form.

  He stared in fascinated horror as his arms shortened and twisted. He crossed his eyes watching as a muzzle appeared. Slowly, he put his hands to his ears and felt the points. Fur sprouted from his skin, black and thick. His fingers clenched before forming into paws. With a low ripping noise, his jeans gave way as his spine bowed and shortened. The last thing he screamed was her name in a voice that that became a howl at the end.

  The wolf sensed prey running in the distance. He lowered his head and sniffed the ground. Despite the rain, he could scent his quarry. He leapt forward, his four-legged stride eating up the distance between them. But, something strange happened when he got closer. He didn’t want to hurt her at a
ll. The wolf sniffed the air again, hung back, and watched instead of attacking as his first instinct told him to do.

  She slipped and fell on one knee and sobbed with terror.

  He hid behind a bush when she turned to scan the way she’d just come. He would find her again. There was no hurry; the wolf was much more patient than the man—in this at least.

  Marcus came back to the present with a raging hard-on and a pissed-off disposition. The source of all his angst resided in the next room. She was his and had been for a long time. Of course, he’d made himself stay away from her since that day. His uncle had sure had spent a lot of time with her though.

  He narrowed his eyes and wondered at their relationship. Deep in his heart, he knew David Crow would never take advantage of the child Lainie had been. Unlike some people, Marcus included. “What a dumbass I’ve been.”

  To hear her tell it though, she hadn’t been all that afraid of him that day. More afraid of how they’d been together, how they’d reacted to one another. “You’re all grown up now, Lainie, let’s see just how much.” He stalked across the balcony and pushed her door open.

  Chapter Seven

  The moon illuminated the room and the woman lying on the bed well enough for him to see her chest rise and fall with even breaths. She snored slightly. He smiled at how sweet she looked. “Lainie.” It was only after he whispered her name that he realized it was late. She might not appreciate being awakened at this hour, especially for what he had in mind.

  He turned to go before she found him looming over her like some psycho. In his haste, he hit his toe on the bed frame. So of course, she woke up right as he yelped and started hopping around the room on one foot. Oh yeah, dead sexy.

  “Marcus, what time is it?” She tried to see the clock, but her hair kept falling in her eyes, despite her repeated attempts to rake it back. Finally, the red numbers on the clock came into focus. “It’s two in the mornin’.” She swallowed to clear her throat. “What do you want?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I know you didn’t wake me up for some damn booty call.”