Alanna (When Hearts Dare Series Book 2) (22 page)

The old man shrugged again. “She never asked. I raised him—took him everywhere with me. He knows no other life but this.”

Wolf swiped his face in frustration. “I feel like crap.” Old Chinese opened his mouth to speak, but Wolf waved him off. “Winston saved my life, and I treat him like—”

“It’s called jealousy,” Old Chinese responded blandly.

Wolf shot to his feet and headed to the window. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He watched the couple below turn to head back toward the main house.

“You wanted to know about the
Book of Erotica
, Wolf, and why all my students are required to study it.” Old Chinese spoke softly. “Even though they are, for the most part, celibate, my students will one day teach others of the sacredness of sensuous relationships. Most Westerners are ignorant of such ways.”

“Then why are your students encouraged to become celibate?”

“In order to use the great passion of the sexual center for healing purposes. They are not particularly discouraged from seeking a mate.”

Wolf flashed a derisive look at Old Chinese. “Does that go for you, as well?”

The older man gave a deferential nod. “As well.”

Wolf went back to staring at the manor house. Desire stirred uncomfortably in every fiber of his being. His mind raced. The eroticism held within the pages of those sacred books, Alanna Malone—he could no longer separate the two. His loins ached.

He turned to Old Chinese. He should have known when he’d found the books on his pillow; the old man did nothing carelessly. “What are you going to do about her staying over there?”

“Nothing,” Old Chinese responded.

Wolf stomped back to the pallet and stared daggers at Old Chinese.

Old Chinese stared back. “What is it
you
feel like doing about it?”

“Like dragging her ass back up here.”

Old Chinese said nothing, only raised the mug to his lips once more.

Wolf shoved his bare feet into his boots and disappeared down the stairs.

 

 

At the slam of the door, Old Chinese scrambled to his feet and scurried to the window like an old woman gathering gossip for her next whist game. Wolf stormed over to Winston and Alanna. Stifled laughter rumbled in the old man’s barrel chest as he observed Wolf’s animated display of anger.

Old Chinese laughed aloud when Wolf grabbed Alanna’s hand and headed back to the barn, only to halt. Backtracking, he swept the dog up in his other arm and marched forward.

Winston shot a glance upward to Old Chinese.

“Yes, yes, yes.” Old Chinese clapped. “I told you this would work.”

Reading his lips, Winston nodded in agreement. A wide grin settled on his face before he turned and climbed back into the sleigh.

“Mea culpa.” Old Chinese chuckled as he sucked on the final draught of ale, pulled on his overcoat and headed for the stairs. He passed Alanna and Wolf along the way. Wolf’s wide-eyed expression nearly made Old Chinese laugh. He didn’t slow his pace as he loped down the stairs and hurried into the sleigh.

Wolf was right behind him. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

Old Chinese nodded to Winston at the reins and snapped the door of the sleigh closed. “Back to Boston to check on a few things for you.”

“What about your goddamned pork and chicken?”

“Winston packed the chicken for me; you eat the pork. Back in three days.” Old Chinese tapped on the roof and the sleigh slid forward.

“Son of a bitch!” Wolf grabbed at the door, but the handle slipped from his grasp. He kicked snow at the sleigh and swore at the top of his lungs. “You can’t leave Alanna here alone with me and that
Book of Erotica
. Are you daft?”

Alanna paced in front of the window, her focus on the woods. It was nearly dark and still, no sign of Wolf. What the devil could he be doing out there all this while? She folded her arms around her waist, as if the act would warm the chill plaguing her insides. He’d barely spoken two words to her before he’d practically dragged her to the barn and stomped off in a wild rage. And what had all that cursing at Old Chinese been about? Well, hang it all, she’d go looking for him if she had to, but she’d not walk the floor all night wondering.

Just when she was about to toss on her coat, Wolf emerged from the forest, his strides long and purposeful. She heard the door below close, and then he appeared on the stairs, his cobalt gaze fixed on her with a glimmering force she had yet to encounter.

Suddenly, she knew why he’d been out there so long. The chill inside her melted. She had a strong feeling her world was about to change. Irrevocably.

Nothing existed for her but Wolf and his slow, deliberate climb up the stairs. Flames leapt from her belly, seared the rigid tips of her breasts, and scorched the breath trapped in her lungs.

“You were a long time in the woods.”

With pantherlike ease, Wolf balanced on one foot while he paused to study her. Then slowly, he rose to the next step.

“Yep.” His voice, a husky rasp, washed through her like hot waves lapping the shore. She tried to swallow. Impossible.

“You must be frozen.”

A sultry grin tipped a corner of his mouth. “How could I be when I’ve been thinking of you?”

He climbed another step. “And us.”

Another step. “Naked.”

Blood thundered in her ears as his lusty words sank in. Her hand splayed over her stomach, forcing her breath to her throat. “That . . . that night . . . at the Searses’ party when you said you didn’t want me . . .”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“Oh.”

He approached her with those unwavering electric eyes and halted directly in front of her, so close his heat banished the cold air he’d carried in with him. His lazy grin returned as he regarded her.

She heaved in a shaky breath and exhaled. His subtle musk flowed around her like warm honey.

His own lips, lush and full, parted slightly. “I do believe it’s about time you took your hair down for me, Miss Malone.”

Arousal wound its way from her womb and snaked through her. Fingers trembling, she pulled the pins from her hair. They fell unheeded to the floor. She tugged at the thick coils. They gave way and tumbled about her shoulders. The sharp intake of Wolf’s breath, the flaring of his nostrils, sent a dizzying current running through her veins.

His thumb traced her jawline as he backed her against the wall and braced his arms on either side of her. “I missed you.”

The length of his body connected with hers. God, she didn’t know if she could stand up much longer. “And I you.”

A sultrier look swept over him. “What would you do if I made love to you right now?”

Oh, God.
She crushed a fierce urge to close her eyes. “Right here? Against the wall?”

He chuckled. “Eventually.” He nodded toward the screen fronting the bathing tub. “But at the moment, I have other things in mind.”

Lord, Wolf, whatever you want!
She reached up and touched the plump center of his bottom lip. The pulse at the base of his throat swelled as though his heart had risen from the depths of his chest.

His finger curled under her chin and tilted it upward. His head slanted slightly, directing his mouth over hers. He brushed his lips lightly back and forth. “I’ve wanted this since I first laid eyes on you.”

The vapor of his words settled deep in her lungs. A slight tug of her chin, and her lips parted further. His soft, moist mouth settled fully on hers, sweeping fire through her belly. His tongue dipped in and traced the inside of her mouth. That
Book of Erotica
—it failed to cover this sweet, almost painful bliss that made her want to crawl inside his skin.

A moan filled her throat—but whose? And how had her hands found their way to his back to hold him tight against her? When had her fingers dug into him with such feverish intent?

He pulled his head back and studied her through lazy lids. “Every time you took care of me back in Boston, when you bent over me to change my bandages, to shave me, you drove me wild. I wanted to do wicked things to you. Did you know that?” He took her by the shoulders and turned her around. “I’m going to undress you now.”

She pressed her forehead to the wall and bit her bottom lip to stifle a moan. Her limbs quivered as he cleverly worked the top of her dress past her shoulders. Sweeping her hair aside, he traced the curve of her neck with his mouth, and nipped softly.

“Oh, dear God!”

“You like that, do you?” He ran his tongue along her skin. “There were nights aboard ship when I couldn’t sleep wondering what you tasted like. Everywhere.”

For a long moment, Alanna wasn’t sure her feet were on the ground. Surely, the pounding of her heart was audible. The heat of his fingers barely skimmed her shoulder, yet his touch sent another round of fireworks exploding inside her.

Her breath had been crushed from her, and Wolf must have heard it, for it seemed to draw out a feral energy in him that intensified and reverberated through her to her very marrow. She was surrounded by his scent as he pressed the length of his hot body against hers, his hard arousal searing the curve of her bottom. A delicious shudder ran through her already quaking thighs.

“Oh, Wolf, please.”

He turned her around and used a knee to spread her legs. He rocked into her, pelvis to pelvis. And then he cupped her breast and worked his thumb over the nipple. His closeness, like a drug, overwhelmed her senses and sent giddy pleasure coursing through her veins.

His lashes lowered and his lips touched hers once again. He swept them ever so lightly across her mouth, the stubble of his chin rubbing against her cheek. “I need a shave, darlin’. Just the way you used to do while I was recovering.”

Had she heard him right? No, she couldn’t have. “You can’t mean that. Right now?”

His low laughter vibrated against her mouth. “Oh, but I do.” He lifted a brow. “When I lay helpless, I had wicked fantasies. Now, I intend to bring them to life.” He regarded her with a curve of his mouth, his countenance filled with sensuous resolve.

“But I—” The timbre of her voice shifted downward and she ceased speaking as the possibilities dawned on her. With a slow, secret smile she yielded to him. “All right.”

“First this,” he murmured and pushed her dress and crinolines from her hips until they pooled at her feet. He slipped his hand beneath her chemise and cupped her breasts.

A jolt from nipples to womb seized her. His supple fingers stroked the small erect buds jutting through the fine fabric—but then he tugged the chemise free and settled his mouth over one swollen globe. He sucked and drew his teeth over the rigid tip.

“God help me.” Her head arched back, exposing her throat to his searing touch, sacrificing whatever restraint she had left to his tender mercies.

“Oh, Alanna.” Gently, he swayed her back and forth, planting tender kisses over the top of her head and about the curve of her neck. He touched his lips to hers again, and undressed her completely, slowly. Tugging loose the brown belt holding the top of his gi together, he cast the tie aside, slipped the garment off him and onto her.

She looked down at herself, at her naked belly and nest of curls exposed, at her breasts and the curve of her hips hidden beneath the garment. “Another fantasy, Wolf?”

Quiet laughter rumbled through him. “Wicked as hell, aren’t they?”

That lusty chuckle wound its way through her, and the secret place between her thighs wept more moisture. She raised her gaze to his bare chest—so golden and glorious. He’d worked hard on it since last she’d taken care of him, for his flat belly was strapped with new muscle, his chest broad and taut. She pressed her palm to his flesh and ran it along his rigid stomach.

A raw current of lust shot through her at the feel of his smooth skin against her hand. With trembling fingertips, she traced the jagged scar at his side. “When you were unconscious, I wanted to touch far more than your wounds. How wicked was that?”

He cocked a brow. “I would’ve liked that.” Despite his casual words, his breath hitched.

Her fingers roved every inch of his bare, sinewy chest. “It wouldn’t have been the right thing to do. To have you unaware—”

He reached up and outlined the tip of her breast. It surged and grew tauter. “Well, tonight is for nothing but pleasure, so do what you will.”

Lord, but she wanted to know that part of him that was still secret to her. Slowly, her fingers traveled lower until they met the barrier of white fabric set against the proof of his hard arousal. A groan escaped his lips. He took her hand and gently guided it beneath the material.

“Oh . . . oh!” she stammered, but her fingers remained in place to circle and explore the silken, hard flesh, the smooth plump tip, slippery on the end. Liquid flames devoured her already vanquished loins. She closed her eyes and settled her full attention on his erection—skin so soft against a stiff thickness she doubted could fit inside her. Her fingers explored, sliding slowly, deliberately up and down.

He sucked in a breath and retrieved her boldly exploring hand. “That could be a very dangerous move about now.” He nodded toward the gilded screens sheltering the bathing tub. “We’ll be taking a bath now, darlin’.”

She laughed, low and throaty. “I did a bit of my own dreaming about that tub.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Did you, now?” He brushed the stubble of his chin against her cheek. “About that shave.” He moved slowly backward, drawing her toward the bathing tub. “Only this time, it will be the way of my desires—my fantasies.”

Sultry sensuousness filled his countenance as he set candles alight. He drew water from the pipe above the black and gold encrusted fixture into a shallow porcelain bowl. Setting it on a narrow stand, he let the steamy water continue to gush into the majestic tub.

 

 

Dragging a chair in front of her, Wolf sat down and gave her a razor and soap cup. And then he parted the gi she wore, exposing her nakedness to him. Raw desire crawled down his belly and tightened his groin. “That’s right. Just how I want you.”

“You can’t mean to . . . why I would surely slice through your skin if . . .” And then she paused, razor in hand, a seductive smile slowly growing. “All right then,” was all she said, but the way she spoke, sultry and with her entire being, caused Wolf’s senses to leap up to meet hers.

Her closeness, the familiarity of her movements as she soaped Wolf’s face, were poignantly reminiscent of when he was helpless even to try to touch her. But this time, damn it, he was healthy, robust, and free to allow a slow and total seduction to take place—something he’d once only dreamed of.

He reached for her creamy belly, which lay bare to his touch. She paused, the razor in midair. He leaned forward and swept his tongue in a small circle around her navel.

“Ahh,” she groaned.

He grasped her hips when he felt her knees buckle. “Oh, no you don’t. I intend to have my fill of you, Alanna.”

“Oh, please,” she murmured. “Let me have mine as well.”

“Don’t give in to it yet.” His mouth slid down low on her belly, where the gi gaped wide.

She buried her free hand in his hair and held on. “I . . . I cannot stand much longer, Wolf. Let me sit awhile on your lap.”

“Not quite yet.” He drew his head back. Their eyes locked as he purposefully matched his breathing to hers. Their intimacy shifted. “Let’s take our time, Alanna. Let’s make the best of memories, enough to last a lifetime.”

She nodded as his tongue touched the satin of her belly once again, then swept upward, circling the hard nub of her breast before his mouth settled lush and warm over the tip. Her body responded with erotic tremors, racking her at his teasing of her breast. Another soft moan escaped her lips.

Wolf pulled Alanna’s head down until his mouth captured hers, demanding this time. He felt a quickening in her as her hunger invaded him. He pulled back and looked into her eyes. There was a spark of something indefinable in them, a curious, deep longing far greater than sexual desire.

Something he didn’t recognize pulsed through him and left him feeling vulnerable. Too vulnerable.

“Wolf?”

He laid his cheek against her belly. This was no time to hide. They’d come too far. “You were right about what you said when you came to my hotel room in Boston.” He paused a beat, uncomfortable with the sound of his voice. “I’ve always been afraid of the inevitable ending of a relationship.”

“I would never leave you,” she whispered. “That is, if
you
decide to stay.”

He brushed a gentle kiss across her hip, then leaned over the tub and halted the flow of water. He didn’t want to talk about such things any longer. He nodded for her to resume shaving him and swept another kiss across her mouth.

“I think you are driving me quietly insane.” He reached up and wiped a fleck of shaving cream off her cheek.

She picked up the brush from the cup and soaped the side of his jaw again. “Did you have such thoughts of me back then, as well?” Her voice was honey-soft, her breath falling sweet against his cheek.

“Yes.” He slid his hand up the satin of her hip, letting his thumb come to rest at the edge of the mass of dark curls at her pelvis. With a squeeze, his thumb pressed her flesh in small concentric circles.

“And that as well?” She obviously enjoyed her seductive control of him. Well, that would be temporary.

“Uh-huh.” He leaned forward, his mouth replacing his thumb, his tongue tracing up her hip, nipping at firm, sleek flesh. “Getting soap all over you,” he mumbled as he trailed his mouth around the side of her, traced his tongue down the tender curve of her hip, and slipped a finger inside her. “And I’m not apologizing.”