His Perfect Wolf (Mystic Wolves Book 2) (4 page)

Sighing, she quickly
washed and conditioned, then reluctantly shut the shower off.

In the full length
mirror, she looked at herself for the first time since Niall had brought her to
his home.
“Oh, my, God.”
No wonder he could totally keep hi
s hands off of her. She was a hot-mess.

Chapter Three

Niall’s wolf beat at his skull as he got his first glimpse
at Alaina’s body. Not that she wasn’t perfect in every
way,
his body reminded him in an obvious reaction. Niall
adjusted his dick before he risked permanent damage. He and his wolf were in
complete accord, wanting to hunt down those who had caused the damage to the
woman in his bathroom. His deck wrapped around th
e
entire back and one side of his house in an L-shape. When she’d stepped out of
the tub, he hadn’t meant to look, hadn’t expected to see her. She’d stood up
like Aphrodite coming out of the sea, and then he’d seen her bruised and
battered body. His canine
s dropped, his fur had
erupted from his skin, and it took all his control to call his wolf into
submission. Niall had never had that reaction before.
Never.
He’d seen his friends busted
up,
bleeding and needing medical attention,
but he’d never lost contro
l of his wolf. He didn’t
like it.

Even now his gums
ached with the need to shift and hunt. He curled his hands into
fists,
his nails had retracted, finally. He
thought about calling Z and Cora, and asking them to come and get the unknown
woman. An image of
her on his floor, cowering in
fear, put an end to that call before he could even pick up his phone.

He listened to her
moving around, the sound of her bare feet approaching the sliding glass doors
gave him a few extra seconds to compose himself. The steak
s had taken only a few minutes to defrost and a few more to
sear on the grill. Baked potatoes would’ve taken too long, and he was
exhausted, yet wired. Her pert little nose sniffed the air as she walked down
the steps onto his patio.

“Have a seat and I’ll
get the steaks out. Do you want any condiments?” Damn, he
almost asked her if she wanted a condom. He thought of the words he’d said to
his brother Zayn just a short while ago. If he could keep his own dick in his
pants for the duration of her stay it woul
d be a
miracle, much less his fangs. The last thing he needed was a mate who didn’t
know who she was. He pictured the smirk Zayn would have while he recounted his
exact words to him. Lord save him from little brothers with attitudes, who
would have no prob
lem saying
I
told you so,
or
in this case,
Keep your dick in your pants and your
fangs to yourself.
Niall
shook his head at the image of himself saying those ominous words to Zayn when
his son had accidentally bitten Cora.

“I think I usually do,
but these
smell fantastic.” She indicated the plate
with the meat piled on it.

Niall nodded, worried
if he opened his mouth he’d embarrass himself and say something about how good
she smelled. Walking back inside he grabbed the bowl of pasta salad he’d made
the day
before, for him and Nolan.

“I hope you like pasta
salad. It’s my son’s favorite, and one way I can get him to eat broccoli and
cauliflower.”

Her big brown eyes
flew up to his. “You have a son? Where are he and his mom?
Your wife?”

He gritted his teeth,
th
e familiar ache like a knife to his heart. “Nolan
is with his grandparents. My wife passed away many years ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

She looked on the
verge of tears. The last thing he needed or wanted from this woman was her
pity. “It was a long time ago. Let’s
eat before our
steaks get cold.”

They’d eaten their
steaks, him two and her one and demolished what was left of the pasta salad,
when he heard one of his pack members howl to let him know all was clear. The
sound, reassuring to him, did just the opposite t
o
his companion. Her shoulders stiffened, the chair she was in skidded across the
deck, and she was on her feet in a fighters crouch.

Niall wasn’t sure what
to make of her reaction, other than she must be remembering the attack by the
three rogues, and wor
ried they were near.

“Easy, it’s okay. I
won’t let anything hurt you.”

Her chin trembled.
“Can we go inside now? I want to go to bed.”

He placed his hand on
the back of her head, making her look up at him. “Everything will look better
in the morning.”

She
snorted. “It’s almost morning now.”

Her inherent humor
always seemed to break through. “Yes, but if you pretend it’s not until you
open your eyes, it’ll be whenever you wake up.”

“Is that what you do?”

Niall thought about
his answer. “It’s what I try to do
.” He tugged on her
hair. “Come on, let’s get some shut-eye. I don’t know about you, but I could
use a few hours of rest. I lugged a woman around the woods tonight.”

“Hey!” She laughed.
The joke got the desired effect, and got her moving forward.

He held
the door open while she carried the empty bowl and he
brought their other dishes inside. They worked together to load the dishwasher,
and when he led her back to his room, intent on sleeping in the guest room, her
hand on his arm stopped him. “Will you sta
y with me,
just to, you know, sleep. I don’t think I could sleep alone, and I don’t think
I’m the kind of woman who sleeps around.”

Her rushed words sent
all the blood south to his cock. He knew he should tell her no, but damned if
he didn’t nod and follow
her inside his bedroom. The
room he’d never shared with his Emma. When she’d died he’d turned the guest
room into the master bath and built on, turning the master into the new guest
suite. They’d planned to build on and have more kids, but life didn’t alw
ays do what you wanted.

“I’m going to grab a
quick shower, why don’t you climb in and get comfortable and I’ll be out
shortly.” After he rubbed one out in the big stall, but he didn’t say that.

She nodded and headed
to the bed, while he went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Fuck.
How was he supposed to
sleep next to her and not touch? He imagined her skin beneath his fingers, his
tongue, and his dick was ready to go out and say hel
lo.

The sound of seams
ripping had him slowing down so he wouldn’t ruin a pair of comfy jeans. He
tossed the ruined shirt in the trash can, stepping inside his state-of-the-art
shower, and set the temp to just above freezing, hoping it would stave off his
need.

Niall braced his hands
on the tiled wall. The water did nothing to abate his hard-on. He imagined his
mystery guest lying in the middle of his bed with her curvy body, and even the
icy water couldn’t cool his ardor. He grabbed some soap and washed qu
ickly, but his cock had other plans. Picturing the gorgeous
woman’s hand wrapped around him, he pumped his fist up and down his shaft,
closing his eyes.

It only took a few
slides up and down of his hand, before he felt the tingling in his spine. He
squeeze
d his eyes closed, locked his jaw in place to
hold in the yell as his cum flew out the tip. The orgasm shook him, but still
left him feeling empty. He’d rather be between the thighs of the woman in the
other room. Not happening. She could be married.

Grabb
ing a towel he dried off and realized he’d not brought in
anything to put on, used to sleeping nude, he opened the door, prayed she was
sleeping. She had her back to
him,
the steady sound of her breathing
reassured him she wasn’t awake. Niall drew on a pai
r
of boxer briefs.

He made sure the
security alarm was set, eased into the bed, careful not to touch her. The bed
was a super-king. He figured they could get through five or six hours without
touching. He exhaled as he relaxed into the soft bedding. His ey
es closed, sleep usually coming easily to him.

Niall’s eyes flickered
open,
the sound of breathing interrupted his
attempt at REMs. Orange blossom and ginger tickled his nose, making his mouth
water for a taste. He stacked his hands under his head to keep
from reaching for her, exhaustion be damned.

She rolled into him,
her head finding his shoulder as naturally as if it did it every day. He
unlocked his fingers, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and brought her
closer to him. Niall figured this was what
hell was
like. Being so close to heaven, but not being able to touch, or suck, lick, or
kiss.
Yeah, he was in hell.

* * * *

She woke to find
herself snuggled up against a very warm, hard body. She blinked, trying not to
let the man holding her know she w
as awake, wanting
to look at him while he slept. The good Lord was in a great mood when he
created this man. His reddish-blond hair was cut in a short spiky do that even
in repose stood on end. His beard was the same color, making her hand itch to
run acro
ss his jaw. She thought he’d look more boyish
when he was sleeping, but he still looked fierce. Like the alpha she knew he
was. However, she didn’t have a clue
who
she was.

“Good morning, babe.”

His voice should come
with a warning label. She knew he could
smell her
arousal, she just didn’t know how. Rubbing her legs together she said.
“Morning, Niall.”

“We need to get up, or
we won’t be getting out of this bed for a long time.”

A little devil made
her lift her leg and run it up his thigh. “I think somethin
g is definitely up.”

“You don’t want to
start something, little girl, you can’t finish.” Niall’s hand held her leg
against him.

She felt him twitch
against her inner thigh. From the feel of his dick, he was definitely size
appropriate. The man was large al
l over. Lifting her
head up, she saw desire in his laser blue eyes. “I don’t know who I am.” Until
she knew who she was, where she came from, she couldn’t give herself to this
man. Although every fiber of her being wanted to see if he was truly as big as
h
e felt.

“Come here.” Niall
took the decision out of her hands, and pulled her up his body. “I’ve been
dying to taste you, just a taste.”

Bending her head, she
licked at the seam of his mouth. His hands tangled in her hair as his mouth
crushed hers to him.
His cock was trapped between
them, separated between her borrowed sweats, and his thin boxer briefs.

She was five rubs away
from coming. Gah, she wanted to come with him inside her.

With a growl, he
flipped them, pressing his body into hers. She moaned int
o Niall’s kiss, smoothing her hand up his back to his neck.

He rocked between her
legs, and she was seconds away from coming. Niall separated their mouths, his
breathing ragged. “Shit, we need to stop.”

A whimper escaped her.

He buried his face in
her
neck, breathing deeply while she stroked his
shoulders.

“You’re right,” she
said without conviction.

Niall laughed. “You
should try sounding a little more convincing.”

Could she come by his
deep voice whispering across where her neck and shoulder met, she
wondered. “Hmm, I think you are the one on top, big guy.”

Niall thrust his hips.
“I’ve got your big guy, but you are also the one with her legs wrapped around
me, not that I’m complaining.” He lifted his head and upper body up, holding
himself on his elbow
s. His
smile letting her know
he enjoyed their positions.

She traced the tattoos
on his chest and down both arms. She was sure she loved a man with tattoos. Did
she have any? “Do I have any tattoos?”

“I don’t see any
sleeves like mine, and last night all I
saw was a
whole lotta bruises.” Desire turned to worry as he looked at his body lying
over hers. “Fuck, babe, am I hurting you?”