Wolf love, p.111
Wolf Love, page 111
“Wouldn’t even dream of it.”
He held out his hands and Liddy rested hers atop them. Erik closed his fingers around her hands and tugged her closer. “I liked today.”
Those three words filled her with joy. No matter what else happened during her stay here as a human, at least she’d gotten day one right.
Erik liked today.
“Me too.” Today had been so different from all the days she’d had as a goddess.
“For some reason, I feel as if I’ve known you much longer than a single day.” Erik let go of her right hand and traced her jaw with his index finger. “Why is that?”
“Because I’m like every other lass you’ve met?” Or you’ve already met me.
“Definitely not. I’ve never met a lass like you.”
She closed her eyes as his finger wandered down her neck and along her collarbone, making her shiver. “Surely other lasses can paint a boat.”
“But none of them look as good doing it.”
Liddy had a moment to be melted by his words then his lips captured hers and nothing else mattered.
****
Kissing. Aye. This was what Erik wanted to be doing the entire time they’d been painting the boat. Having Liddy on the other side of the craft had driven him wild. So close yet so far. As he’d painted, he could see her feet every now and again and had become fascinated by them. Of course, he wanted them locked behind his back as her legs wrapped around his waist, but he’d kept those wishes to himself. It was too soon to be wanting anything like that from Liddy. They’d only spent one afternoon together.
And now an evening.
Maybe that was enough time. Maybe he could have her in exactly the way he wanted her. She sure kissed as if she wanted the same things from him.
He angled his head a bit and deepened the kiss, loving when she met his fervor with her own. Her arms snaked up his, her hands resting on his shoulders, locking him in place.
As if I want to escape.
Erik wanted the exact opposite of escape. He wanted Liddy to chain him up in her boat and have her way with him. Multiple times. He wanted her to rip off their clothes and meld her naked body with his. He wanted her to chant his name over and over again as he plunged into her. He wanted to make her breakfast tomorrow morning.
A seagull screeched overhead and Liddy ended the kiss by taking a step back. They were both breathing heavily, but Erik was encouraged by the huge smile on Liddy’s face. When she licked her lips as if she’d eaten a sinful dessert, he nearly came.
“Those lips, my knight...” She shook her head then turned her attention to the seagull. “What can I do for you, lad?” Liddy stood silently, her eyes closed as she listened. “I’m sorry, friend, but I’m not sure how I can help with that.”
“What does it want?” Erik asked.
“He lost his mate. He said they were flying together, landed on the beach then went their separate ways to scout around. His mate never returned to their landing spot. He’s been looking all day for her.” Liddy crouched and put her hand out.
The seagull waddled right up to her and let her run her hand along its back feathers. Even animals knew how powerful her touch could be. Erik was actually jealous of the bird.
“Don’t seagulls mate for life?” he asked.
“Aye, so he’s particularly upset over not finding his lass.” Standing, Liddy turned in a slow circle. “It’s hard to see...” She stopped speaking and closed her eyes. Her arms spread out to her sides, her face turned up to the dark sky.
So kissable. Erik could think of nothing but getting back to the kissing. Liddy was positively enchanting standing there with the night sea breeze ruffling her black hair about her flawless face.
That seagull had to go.
Erik started looking around for Mrs. Gull, but the only things on the beach were dark piles of dried seaweed.
Liddy opened her eyes and marched over to a garbage barrel, peering inside. “Oh, sweet lass.” She bent in half, reaching deep into the barrel. When she righted herself, her hands were full of seagull.
Soft cries came from the bird as Liddy brought it in close to her chest.
“I know, lass. I know. It’s scary at the bottom of that barrel.” Liddy brushed her hand over the seagull, cleaning bits of food and other debris off its feathers.
“How did she get stuck in there?” Erik called over the screeches of the male seagull at his feet.
Liddy was quiet for a moment, listening. “She says she was on the rim and a boy came by and pushed her in earlier today.”
Erik puffed out a breath. “That sounds about right. Some of the kids that come to this beach run wild. Their parents don’t keep an eye on them and they get into everything. Thomas once had to drag two kids off someone’s boat and return them to their parents who were sunbathing, completely oblivious that their children were missing.”
“She’s been in that bin all day, poor lass.”
“Why didn’t she fly out?”
Liddy listened again. “Gum?” Her brows furrowed.
“Like chewing gum?” Erik carefully lifted each of the seagull’s wings. He growled when he found what he’d suspected. “Wad of gum stuck to her feathers. Probably upset her too much to get liftoff.” He nudged the hard glob with his index finger. “Let’s bring her up to the lighthouse.”
Liddy cradled the bird as she walked beside Erik, the male seagull flying ahead of them right for the lighthouse.
“Did you tell him where we’re headed?” he asked.
“Aye. He’s beside himself with worry.”
“Hmm. Didn’t think seagulls worried.”
“Over their loves they do.”
“Romantic.”
Liddy smiled. “You’d be surprised how many animals are romantic.”
“You’ve experienced animals in love before?”
“You could say that.”
He had a feeling a story hid there somewhere, but they were already at the lighthouse. He led them up to his floor and pointed to the small kitchen table. “Set her there.” He soaked a dish towel in warm water at the sink then rung it out. “Is she going to let me near her?”
Liddy kissed the top of the gull’s head as the male gull cried outside the large window facing the sea. “I told her what you’re going to do. She’s okay with it.”
Erik glanced at the window where the male gull literally paced along the railing on the small balcony out there. “Better be quick before that lad completely loses it.”
Examining once more where the gum was stuck, he carefully worked the wet towel over the area until the sticky ball came free. He threw it away and tossed the towel to the counter while Liddy cooed to the bird and wandered deeper into his home.
“Do these windows open?” she asked.
Nodding, he slid one open and they both jumped back when the female seagull took off directly from Liddy’s arms. Instinctively, Erik wrapped his arms around Liddy from behind her, drawing her away from the open window. He expected her to tense at his unexpected touch, but she leaned against him instead. Her hair smelled like summer nighttime air and was silky against his cheek. Her body fit in his arms perfectly, as if it belonged there.
“She’ll be all right now,” Liddy said, not making any move to free herself from Erik’s hold.
“Three animal saves in one day,” he said. “Impressive or is that the norm for you?”
When she didn’t answer right away, Erik wondered if perhaps she hadn’t heard him.
“You accept that I can hear the animals?” She turned in his hold so she was facing him.
“Of course. People can do all sorts of things we can’t explain.” Like shift into wolves.
She narrowed her eyes at him and for a moment, he was convinced she knew he could do something unexplainable. This was it. The end of whatever was happening between them because no woman would willingly choose to be with a werewolf.
“Humans don’t have all the answers, do they?” She ran her index finger along his lips, tickling them and arousing the rest of him.
“They like to think they do.” Why did this conversation sound as if neither of them were considering themselves to be totally human?
She slipped from his hold and walked slowly around the hexagonal room he called home. “Cozy place you have here.”
“It keeps me dry.” And it was far cozier than the stone fortress he had lived in during his warrior days with Reardon or the small, drafty cabin Rianne and her mother lived in.
Liddy stopped in front of his unmade bed, the sheets and comforter all twisted about. “And this is where you sleep?” She sat on the edge and Erik almost forgot how to speak. She looked as if she belonged there.
“When I do sleep.” He took a few steps closer, nearly desperate to join her on his bed.
“The tumultuous state of your bedding suggests you didn’t sleep peacefully last night.” Her facial expression hinted at... guilt?
“I dream,” he said, giving in to the pull to sit beside her.
“Not all those dreams are good ones, aye?” She cupped his cheek, her thumb gently rubbing along the scruff on his cheek.
“No, but if this is one,” he tugged on the purple ends of her hair, “I like it.”
“I like it too.”
When she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, a hungry growl vibrated in Erik’s throat. He reminded himself to keep his wolf in check, but gods, this lass made all his primal desires rush to the surface. Kissing her on his bed was testing his control.
He stopped kissing her, though it pained him to do so.
“Is something wrong?” Her gorgeous blue eyes looked wounded.
“No.” He raked his hands through his hair. “But if we keep kissing here like this, I’m not going to be able to stop myself from wanting more.”
She grinned as her gaze slowly combed over him, making him feel as if she’d caressed him. “Who says you can’t have more?”
A breath hissed out of Erik. “Decency. The rules of being of gentleman. Society.”
“I’m not one for rules, and I’m not exactly feeling decent or concerned with society at the moment.”
“What are you feeling then?”
She plucked at his T-shirt with her index finger and thumb. “I’m feeling that I’d love to see what’s under this shirt again. The peek I got earlier was far too quick for me to properly appreciate.”
“If you want to see it, you have to unwrap it.” Gods, he loved everything about this conversation.
“A challenge, aye?” She slid off the bed and stood in front of him, her long legs on either side of his knees. “I love challenges.” Her eyes darkened to a midnight blue as she leaned down and grabbed the hem of his T-shirt.
He helped by raising his arms above his head as she slowly peeled the cotton along his ribs, her fingers grazing his skin and causing explosions of arousal throughout his body.
She guided the shirt past his chest, over his shoulders and head, then tossed it on the floor beside her feet. “I’m sure many lasses have told you that you’re a work of art.”
“None that mattered.” He rested his hands on her hips and pulled her forward so she had to straddle his lap. The heat between her legs only made his erection harder, longer, more ready to bury itself inside that warmth.
“Do I matter?”
“Aye. I’m not sure how or why, but you do matter. A great deal.”
She blessed him with a sweet smile that quickly turned seductive as she ran her fingernails along his shoulder blades. “Then I say we enjoy ourselves.” She reached for the hem of her T-shirt, but Erik stopped her.
“You leave that to me, my lady.”
He nudged her hands away and slid his under the thin fabric. Her stomach muscles tensed when he flattened his palm on the soft skin there.
“Your hands are cold.”
“So warm them.” He inched her shirt up, up, up until it had nowhere to go except off her completely. Tossing it with his shirt on the floor, he took in the incredible view.
Liddy’s breasts swelled over the top of the deep purple lace of her bra. The soft, pale mounds beckoned to him and he wasted no time in freeing them. Starting at her collarbone, he dropped light kisses in a trail that led him to her bosom.
“So beautiful,” he whispered just before his mouth closed around her left breast, his tongue massaging her nipple to a hardened bud.
A moan slipped from Liddy’s throat that only served to make him more aggressive, more possessive in his tasting of her. He wrapped his arms around her back and slid farther onto his bed. Rolling them, he turned Liddy so she was beneath him. He took a moment to study her as he rested on his elbow, looking down at her exquisite beauty.
“What’s wrong?” Her voice was breathlessly sexy.
“Absolutely nothing. You’re perfect. Tonight is perfect.”
She cupped his face. “It’s about to be.” She reached between them and flicked the button open on his shorts.
He sat back, unzipped, and removed his shorts along with his boxers. Completely naked before her, he enjoyed the way her eyes widened and surveyed and appraised.
“Everything meet your approval, my lady?”
“Aye. So far.” She shimmied out of her jeans, leaving only a pair of lace panties that matched her discarded purple bra.
Her slender waist caught Erik’s attention first and he bent to nip at the curve of her hip. She wriggled slightly beneath him so he steadied her with a hand to her other hip.
“As hot as your underwear is,” he began, his lips ghosting across her stomach, hovering above the waistband of her panties, “it has to go. I can’t have anything in my way when I devour you.”
Her body shuddered as her gaze locked on his. “Bon appétit.”
As if someone had fired a starting pistol, Erik practically ripped off her panties. He had no explanation for why he wanted her so badly, but it was as if his only point in life was to make love to Liddy Dyra. Where had she come from? Why had she crossed his path?
How could he keep her?
Chapter Seven
Liddy never expected to be naked in Erik’s bed so quickly, but she was thrilled at the pace. If they started making love on day one of her month as a human, they could make the most use of her time. They could make love every day.
Until I have to go.
She buried that thought which was easy to do right now as Erik made her body come alive with each kiss, each caress, each low growl that sounded from deep in his throat. Part of her wanted him to shift a little, to unleash the wolf’s wild abandon, to be his true self with her. If he shared his secret with her, their bond could grow stronger. Then it would be only one of them with a secret.
“I hate that Donald and the other lads were hassling you,” Erik said between nips along the rim of her left ear, “but I love that I got the chance to meet you because of them.”
“We would have met anyway.” Her whole point in being here was to be with him. She would have found a way to meet him today no matter what.
“How can you be so sure?” He propped up on his elbow as he gazed down at her, his bicep bunching as he supported himself. His eyes were thin green and brown swirls about wide black pupils and Liddy could actually smell his arousal. It was the best scent in the universe.
She shrugged one shoulder. “We were meant to. Don’t you think so?”
“Aye. It sounds ridiculous, but I do think we were meant to be right here, right now.”
“Good.” She pressed her hands to his cheeks and drew him down to her. “Let’s not waste a moment then.”
“What’s the rush?” He cocked an eyebrow at her, his mouth turning up on the left side. “We have all night. I want to make sure you don’t forget a single detail of what we do here tonight.”
Not likely that I will, my knight wolf. But she loved his determination.
He slid down the length of her body and parted her legs with a hand to each of her thighs. The sexy expression on his face changed to one of extreme concentration and her body rejoiced when he trailed open-mouthed kisses along her inner thigh. His breath was hot against her skin and she quivered in anticipation of having his mouth exactly where she wanted it.
“Erik, please.” Goddesses rarely begged for anything, least of all for something from a human. Erik, however, had what she needed, what she wanted, what she’d been dreaming of since Reardon had made Erik a werewolf and she’d become aware of him as one of her wild things.
Only he was never like her other wild things. From the start, there had been something more to Erik Rheagan. Something she couldn’t ignore. Something she’d been willing to give up her goddess powers for to become human and explore with him.
Something that had led her to this very moment.
When he tongued her, Liddy let out a moan she feared Thomas would be able to hear downstairs in the lighthouse, but that hadn’t stopped Erik. He stroked her with his tongue and fingers until she bucked and writhed on his bed, her body barely able to keep up with the sensations Erik caused. The man had magick in his touch.
Tension built up in her core and before she knew what was happening, she came in a shower of sparks behind her eyelids and a symphony of moans in her throat. It was a cruel trick, she realized now, for gods and goddesses not to take part in such pleasure. Eternity would be much more bearable if making love were allowed.
“I love the sounds you make, my lady,” Erik whispered as he kissed a path from her belly button, through the valley between her breasts, and along her throat until he got to her mouth.
“Time to see what sounds you make, my knight.”
Liddy reached down between them and wrapped her hands around his thick, hard arousal. She laughed when his eyes closed and another wolf growl vibrated from deep within him. She ran her hands up and down his length, eliciting more growls, each one louder and hoarser than the one before it. She desperately wanted to tell him he sounded like a wolf and that she liked that very much, but she figured he might not like that very much.
Biting her lips to keep them closed, she focused instead on bringing him to the edge. She had never done this before, but there was something instinctual about it. She increased the speed of her strokes then closed her mouth over him.
