Page 31

L ucian lifted me onto the desk and wedged himself between my legs. Behind him, a chest-high long shelf divided half the room. It seemed like an odd placement.

I pushed him back to arm’s length. “Baby, you can’t kiss my body with that onion breath. Someone might catch a whiff and figure it out.”

His hooded eyes and sharp canines were an erotic visual that made me lose my train of thought.

Lucian stepped back and unbuckled his belt. With a hard jerk, he yanked it out from the belt loops. The leather cracked and knocked over a glass sitting on top of the desk. With a look of irritation, he flung the belt in the other direction, and the buckle broke one of his monitors.

It should have been funny, but his feral desperation was too hot.

After sliding off the desk, I drifted to the other side of the shelf and stared slack-jawed at the mattress on the floor. “You sleep in here? I thought it was your surveillance room.”

Lucian eased up behind me and traced his fingers down my body. “I don’t need much.”

“You need a breath mint. Why do you eat raw onions like a snack?”

“Imagine if you could smell everyone’s anxiety, lust, fear, anger, jealousy, and excitement all mixed up.” He softly caressed my belly. “Clubs all smell the same, so I can handle it fine. But a peace party is like the Fourth of July in my nose.”

I’d never thought about that before. “So that’s why Chitahs are always chewing on mints at parties or excusing themselves for some fresh air. Is that the real reason you eat onions, or are you trying to scare me away?”

“You made the no-kissing rule, so it doesn’t matter.” His hands slid up my dress until they rested on my bare thighs. “I need you, female.”

A coil of desire tightened in my belly.

Suddenly another fragrance swirled in the air—a subtle but heady scent mixed with a hint of cinnamon. I breathed in. “Something smells wonderful in here. What cologne is that?”

Lucian slipped his hand inside my panties. I leaned against him while he circled his arm around my waist and tortured me with featherlight strokes.

Did he do this with other women? Was he as passionate and attentive?

Lucian pulled my panties down.

I discreetly kicked them aside before facing him. “I’ve been missing your touch but didn’t want to push things.”

He placed his lips on the shell of my ear. “Push.”

When he ran his palm up to my waist, I slowly unfastened his pants.

Lucian growled low while I stroked the head of his shaft, the warm skin stretched hard.

I kept the strokes teasingly soft. “You’re ready for me. Aren’t you, baby? You missed my touch.”

“Where do you want it? The desk or the bed?”

“We have to be quick before they come looking for us.” I bent down and sucked on the tip of his cock, then delivered a seductive glance as I prowled onto his mattress and got on all fours. I swung my hips side to side. “Are you waiting for an invitation?”

Lucian fell on his knees, lifted my dress, and stroked my slick opening with his shaft. My inner animal roared as I waited for my lover to take me hard and fast.

With one hand braced on my back, Lucian slowly entered me.

I rocked back and forth, grinding into him. He grunted, barely holding on to my hips as I took charge. When I moaned, he seized my hips and pounded into me with feverish urgency.

Everything about this encounter felt forbidden. I was the upstanding Councilwoman who always maintained a professional attitude, not someone people would expect to be sneaking off into a bedroom at a peace party to fuck my secret lover.

My orgasm rushed toward me like a car on a racetrack, fast approaching the finish line.

Lucian rocked faster and faster until I became dizzy with need.

I clawed the pillow, the slick heat building between us. Had he flipped his switch and let his animal take over?

God, the very thought turned me on even more.

I broke his rhythm by slamming into him, desperately seeking my release. “Lucian,” I whispered.

A growl tore from his throat.

When his hand swiftly touched my clitoris, I bit down on my scream as pleasure engulfed me.

The door suddenly opened.

“Lucian?” a woman called out.

Still inside me, Lucian draped himself over my back.

Thank God for the bookshelf.

Though we were completely silent, his hand kept working me over to the point where I was biting my lower lip to keep from whimpering. When I caught another whiff of his heady cologne, I clenched his shaft.

Lucian nipped my shoulder with his fangs.

“He’s not in here,” she said before the door slammed.

When her footsteps receded, Lucian’s voice was raw with need. “Stop moving—you’re only teasing it out. I know what you like.”

He rose up on his knees and smacked my ass. Then he plunged into me with a steady tempo, like he was claiming me.

This time his thrusts were urgent.

He definitely knew what I liked.

“Baby, I’m coming.” I groaned.

The desire pulsing between my legs created an endorphin rush. Pleasure surged through me like a tidal wave, crashing against the walls I had built around my heart.

After Lucian wrung out my last orgasm, he slowed down, sliding in and out, harder each time. I looked over my shoulder to excite his inner animal.

“ My female ,” he growled quietly.

I braced my hand on the wall.

As a fever washed over me from another wave of pleasure, Lucian groaned and suddenly pulled out.

I collapsed onto my side. Out of breath, I watched this beautiful man hunch over with a look of ecstasy before he lowered his head. Lucian had finished off in a T-shirt—the same one he’d worn the night we were chained together.

After adjusting my skirt, I sat with my back to the wall and faced the bookshelf. My heels were still on, and it made me laugh.

Lucian pulled his jeans up and sat beside me.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Feels like my heart is going to jump out of my chest.”

“Why did you pull out?”

“I didn’t want to ruin your dress.”

“You’re sweet. You know that?”

I gripped his thigh and luxuriated in the afterglow.

While this was only the second time we’d been intimate, a powerful force tethered me to him.

Not just the sex, but every time we were alone, all I wanted to do was curl up in his arms and talk.

I’d never felt so comfortable around anyone this quickly.

When I raised my head to look into his eyes, he leaned in. I thought he might break the rule and kiss me. Instead, he rubbed noses.

“Sorry about the onion breath,” he said. “I didn’t use to eat them as much, but wolves have unpredictable emotions even if they don’t show it. Chitahs control ours better. Being too emotional can be a weakness.”

“Well, if you’ve ever had trouble getting dates, try eating ginger instead. It’s not smelly, but it’s strong enough that it’ll knock out all the emotional stuff. Then you won’t scare off the ladies.”

His eyes fixed on my hand, which was still on his thigh. “I don’t care about dating.”

That struck me as odd. “Why not?”

He raked back his hair, messing it up even more. “How did you wind up in Storybook?”

Lucian wasn’t as masterful as he thought when it came to deflecting a question he didn’t want to answer. I put a pin in it since he was under no obligation to reveal his innermost secrets about his relationship with women.

I brushed his leg with my thumb. “People were moving out here. Without leaders, there was a lot of conflict. Someone sent a request to Councils across the state demanding that Storybook was large enough to form their own. I worked in one of the territories on the northern side of San Antonio. City life was wearing on me, and I wanted a challenge. Plus I thought this would be a place for my tiger to roam in the wild. It’s difficult to find land outside San Antonio since they dole plots out to larger Shifter groups.

My cat always had to shift indoors, and believe me, I had to replace more than one sofa.

When I contacted the higher authority to see if they had any land available for an individual, I realized this place had a real opportunity for growth. ”

He picked fuzz off my dress. “I thought maybe you broke a rule and were being punished.”

I laughed quietly. “No, moving here wasn’t a punishment.

Not many people volunteered for the position, so that’s why we only have three.

It’s manageable. If we keep this town growing and thriving financially, it’ll be easier to convince experienced officials to relocate here should we need more members. You can’t just hire anyone.”

He traced his fingers over my hand. “Have you always been a Councilwoman?”

“No. I’ve done a great many things in my life, and those experiences prepared me for this role. I was born up north. Jobs for black women in the eighteen hundreds were a travesty among humans, so my father and I focused on Breed communities where race didn’t matter.”

“It always matters,” he offered while folding his arms. “Except with us, we’re divided by Breeds.”

“Definitely. A lot’s changed, but there’s still work to be done.

When I was around seventeen, I started working as a messenger, which was a great way to network in my community.

It also paid well. Still does. My father thought I was perfect for it since I’ve always been outgoing.

A Mage noticed my ambition and took me under his wing. ”

“A Mage?”