A Virgin for the Wolf (3 page)

“Are you sure?” Now she had kissed him and been
touched by him she knew, however crazy it seemed, that there was
something between them and she would regret it for the rest of her
life if she didn’t at least try to understand what the connection
was between them.

“I told you, you are my mate. If anything it pleases
me more that I will be your first, and only, mate,” he said, his
voice full of raw emotion.

He pulled her close, still standing between her
thighs and she felt the length of his cock press against her. Nat
was not lying; he wanted her, his arousal evident by his stiff
length.

“I want you, Ellie, right now, more than you can ever
imagine. But your first time should be special; I want to take my
time with you. That is not going to happen tonight, with your
brother coming home, so I will try to control myself until
tomorrow. Will you have dinner with me, and stay the night
afterwards?”

Disappointment and loss swept over her, she didn’t
want him to leave, what if he came to his senses overnight and no
longer wanted her? Then the practical side of Ellie kicked in,
wasn’t this a good thing? At least if he changed his mind it would
spare her the heartache she had shied away from all her life.

For Ellie, romance and relationships were an unknown
land she had never set foot on. At least if he backed out she would
not end up pregnant, and alone like her mother had. Yes, this was
the safer way, let him go, after all the whole thing was crazy, and
now she felt stupid for going along with the whole thing, no doubt
this was a billionaires idea of entertainment, seduce a poor woman
with tales of everlasting love, and then dump her.

Yet when she looked at him, and felt his body against
hers, there was nothing that seemed further from the truth. He
looked as though he wanted her, and she felt his need as though it
was a tangible object, and when she looked inside her heart he was
all she wanted. But it couldn’t be real, her head screamed, this
kind of thing doesn’t happen to girls like her.

His arms were still wrapped around her, she wanted to
stay like this for ever, but Tom could be back soon, and she wanted
to have some space to think the whole thing over. She pulled away
from him; it made her feel as though she was tearing a part of
herself in the process.

His arms momentarily held her in place, and then
slowly he relinquished his hold and she slipped away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, will you come into the office
in the morning?” he asked, moving towards the door.

“I thought I was fired.”

“Those were your words, not mine.”

“So I still have a job?”

“For as long as you want it.”

“If I sleep with you?”

He turned and looked at her sharply. “No, there is no
condition attached to the contract. Mrs Pierce will get you to sign
it first thing in the morning, I already have. I have included
insurance for any of your dependants too.”

“Why would you be so generous?” Ellie asked, she was
not used to people going out of their way to help her.

“Because you are my mate Ellie. I said I would not
force myself on you, instead I hope that our relationship will move
along rather quickly, and you won't need the job. In the meantime
though I want to make sure you are well provided for.”

“It means that much to you?”

He came towards her, his face close to hers. He
kissed her on the lips, the now familiar feeling of electricity
passing between them. He did not touch her in any other way, it was
as though if he did he would not be able to control himself and she
would lose her virginity tonight after all.

“You mean that much to me Ellie, and in some ways I
am being selfish, if things had gone differently tonight then you
may already have had my child growing inside you, at least this way
he would have some security.”

She took a step back as though he had struck her.
“This is for real, isn't it? You are not playing with me? I mean a
child is such a huge thing, something in fact I have never
wanted.”

“You do not want children?” This was a surprise to
Nat; he had been brought up knowing it was his duty to have
children to strengthen his bloodline. That was not to say he had
ever considered conceiving a child with anyone other than his true
mate, which would be unacceptable.

“No. I have seen first hand what happens when
children are conceived with no thought for their future.”

“Is that what happened to your mother?” he asked
quietly.

“Yes, she was not very good at saying no to men.
Nature takes its course and before you know it you are having a
baby, with no thought as to how you are going to manage.”

“She chose to keep you, and your brother, so she must
have loved you.”

“Yes, and in that I feel very fortunate, at least I
am not alone, I have Tom.”

“And now you have me, and an extended family that
will always be there for you.”

His words seemed strange to Ellie who had spent her
whole life looking after herself and her brother, there were many
times when she had taken care of her mother too. To be offered the
chance to be part of a family, a large family was both exciting,
and daunting. It was not something she had ever expected, her and
Tom had become self sufficient and self reliant, giving it up was
going to take some getting used.

She looked at Nat and saw how earnest he was, and
questioned if she actually had the courage to do this. It was mad,
and even though she had inexplicable feelings, and trust for this
man, it would take time for Tom to get used to the idea of her
being with a man. Especially when Nat obviously expected things to
move so quickly.

Nat could read her troubled expression. He lifted her
chin, and looked into her eyes, the depth of her soul open to him,
his mate. “We will make this work.”

“What about Tom? How is he supposed to understand all
this?”

“One step at a time, one step at a time.” He kissed
the top of her head, and then moved away from her, while he still
had the strength. He paused at the door, suddenly unsure. “I will
see you tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Shall I pick you up in the morning?”

“No, I’ll go and draw some money out and catch the
bus as usual, I don’t want people gossiping about us.”

“You gave Tom the last of your money?” He remembered
the overheard conversation.

“It’s OK, I’ll be at work on time.”

He reached into his pocket and took out his wallet,
removing a crisp note and passing it to her. “Here.”

“No, I can’t take your money.” She had never taken
charity from anyone.

“Yes, you can, what is mine is now yours, a life long
commitment that is what I am offering you, starting from now.” He
placed the money on the table. “Look at it as my treat for Tom,
because he did me a favour by going out. Is that OK?”

“I guess,” she said. “Yes, that I can live with.”

He smiled, and her body melted, she wanted him to
stay, to make love to her now. She gripped the back of the sofa,
willing herself not to move because she knew it would only take the
slightest encouragement from her and he would lose control, his
need for her was so great she could almost feeling him pulling her
towards him.

“Goodnight, Miss Carter,” he said.

“Goodnight Nat,” she answered, and then added, “And
Nat, I think under the circumstances you can call me Ellie.”

“Goodnight, Ellie,” he said, emphasising her name. He
left her then, but she was sure she could hear him laughing quietly
to himself as he walked down the hallway outside. Ellie found she
liked that sound, she liked it a lot.

***

Tom returned home, full of the excitement having
watched a great movie, something that had only ever been a special
treat for him, usually on birthdays. It was only after he had given
her a blow by blow account did he seem to remember why he had been
allowed to go.

“So how did it go with the big boss? You look happy
so I guess he’s not going to cause us any trouble.”

“It depends on what you mean by trouble,” said Ellie,
realising it would be unfair not to tell Tom at least some of the
truth, she ploughed on. “He wants to take me to dinner tomorrow
night. Will that be alright with you?”

Tom looked concerned. “Is he pressuring you into
something?”

Ellie smiled at Tom to reassure him, and then felt a
little sad, did he think that was the only reason anyone would want
to go out with her? “No, Tom, he’s not. He is a nice guy,
really.”

“I don’t understand, he fired you this afternoon, and
now he wants to take you to dinner.”

“That’s not quite what happened, it seemed I jumped
the gun, he didn’t fire me. I just assumed he did. Guilty
conscience I guess. He came by tonight to tell me they would be
offering me a full time position, if I wanted it.”

“You're sure everything is OK?” Tom still sounded
suspicious.

“Yes, I am sure everything is going to work out.”
More like she hoped it would, she still didn’t know how she was
going to break the news to Tom that Nathaniel Greystone,
billionaire, thought she was his mate for life.

Tom, however, was still young enough to be able to be
reassured and happy without much persuasion. He got up and planted
a big kiss on her cheek. “You go and have fun. I can’t remember you
ever going on a date, so I guess it is about time. I can go and
sleep at Jimmy's, so there's no need for you to be home by twelve
Cinderella.”

She laughed, “Thanks, Tom. Now let’s go to bed, it’s
been quite a day.”

***

“If you could sign here, and here, Miss Carter, we
can get you back to work.” Mrs Pierce stood watching Ellie while
she signed the contract.

Ellie had spent some time going over it, making sure
it was all Nat had said it was. Part of her had been convinced the
job and Nat’s promises were not real. It had been a struggle to
even come in this morning, convinced the whole thing was a hoax and
she was going to get into trouble. Yet she could not deny the
emotions that seemed to pass between them, so she had forced
herself to get into work on time.

Then when Mrs Pierce had appeared with the contract
and asked her to come to her office and sign it she had wondered if
there was a hidden clause in it so that when she signed it she
would belong to Nat in some way.

There wasn’t, in some ways Ellie was disappointed,
she would not have minded belonging to Nathaniel Greystone, heart
and soul. In fact, she was sure she already did, last night she had
dreamed of him, a strange dream where a wolf had approached her,
and she had tried to run, but it had pursued her until there was no
air left in her lungs and she could run no more. At the moment he
had run her down, and she was at his mercy she had woken up.
Strangely the feeling left over from the dream was one of desire,
not fear, the same emotions she now felt for Nat, although she
still felt she shouldn't, he was too far out of her league.

“All above board, Miss Carter?” Mrs Pierce’s voice
woke her from her reverie.

“Oh, yes. It is fantastic; I can’t thank you enough,
Mrs Pierce.” Ellie swung around and smiled at the older woman.

“Nonsense, you have done this on your own merit. If
Mr Greystone had any doubts he would have sent you packing,” Mrs
Pierce said, making Ellie feel a little awkward. The older woman
had no idea what had truly happened between Ellie and their
employer. “But Mr Greystone is a good judge of character; it’s like
a sixth sense, so I am more than happy to have you working
here.”

Ellie finished signing the contract, and handed it
back to Mrs Pierce. “Shall I get back to work now?”

“Yes, I’ll leave these papers on Mr Greystone’s desk.
He can look at them when he returns in a few days.”

Ellie felt as though she had been punched in the
stomach. “Mr Greystone isn't here today?”

“No, he phoned in to say something had come up,
family matters I expect. It often is, but then he does have a large
close knit family. They live in the country somewhere. All I know
is there are a lot of trees and mountains, and phone reception is
terrible. He'll be back in a few days, don’t worry, he signed them
before he went, your job is secure.”

Half in a daze Ellie got up to go back to her desk,
as she was leaving she remembered how much Mrs Pierce had stuck up
for her. “Thank you, Mrs Pierce, for giving me this chance.”

“You are welcome, don’t let me down.” Mrs Pierce had
already moved onto her next task, she was very efficient at
managing Greystone Holdings when the boss was away.

Returning to her desk Ellie sat down feeling unsure
about the whole situation. Nat had said he wanted to take her to
dinner, and later...well best not to think of that while at work.
Trying to stop the heat that had already begun to spread through
her body at the thought of what she wanted Nat to do to her, she
instead contemplated how let down she felt.

He had promised he would be there for her, that he
couldn’t wait to make love to her, but now it seemed he had gone
away without a word of explanation. She thought he had made it
clear how important she was to him, his true mate, but the rest of
his family still seemed to have precedence. She wondered if that
was something she would have to learn accept.

***

Time dragged by, she tried to feel happy about having
a well paid secure job, but as the day wore on she had to admit to
herself she had fallen for Nat in a big way. It was a new feeling
for Ellie, and one that frightened her, she needed to keep a level
head on her shoulders, with all the sacrifices she had made there
was no way she could let her life unravel because of a man. She was
stronger than that, and there was Tom to think of, she had to
continue to be boring Ellie and not let emotions get the better of
her.