Reflections of the Wolf (11 page)

The music came to a halt as the band made a few adjustments, and they watched as Cash took the stage. His tall, muscular body drew the attention of every female in the bar, and he knew it. His large wolf’s-head belt buckle glinted under the lights, and his black cowboy hat gave him an air of danger. She couldn’t see his brown eyes under the shadow of his hat, but she could imagine that they were filled with laughter. He was a born flirt, and apparently he knew how to work a stage.

“Well, hello, ladies!” he said into the microphone, and his deep baritone voice rumbled through the speakers. “Oh, yeah, and gentlemen, too.”

The crowd laughed with him, and Tina felt Liam chuckling as he pressed against her back. His hands came around to rest on top of hers, holding her in his embrace as they listened to Cash on stage. It was a warm, comfortable place to be, and she let herself relax in his arms.

“I’m going to play a request from a very special little lady that may soon be joining my family,” Cash announced, and his eyes met Tina’s. She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, but she could sense Liam’s grin behind her. “And then I’m going to sing a request from the gentleman that hopes to make her his. So let’s get this party started!”

The crowd cheered and clapped as the band began playing the song Tina had jokingly suggested. Cash belted out the lyrics to “A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action,” and Tina could see the smug look on Liam’s face as he swung her into the movement of a two-step.

“I didn’t know you requested a song,” she said to him over the music. He shrugged and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“Mine was requested for you. Was yours for me?” he asked, and she could see the lust burning in his eyes.

“Just one of my favorites,” she said, flushing. The twangy country song slid into another with a slower tempo, so she let her arms wind up around his neck. The move lifted her breasts to press tightly against his broad chest, and every sway of their bodies caused her nipples to tingle as they rasped against him.

Pressed against him, she listened to the words of the love song, and her heart lurched. The song, “Shameless” by Garth Brooks, was the same song that her parents had played at their twentieth wedding anniversary. Her dad sung it to her mom on a regular basis, telling her that it said the words he could never say. She tipped her head back to stare at Liam.

“Did you really request that he sing this?” she said in astonishment.

Liam nodded and smiled at her. “Yeah, do you like it?”

She had to look away as she nodded. She couldn’t tell him how emotional her reaction to the song was. Hearing the words as Cash sang them and realizing that Liam was trying to tell her something was almost too much to absorb. She chided herself in her head for becoming so caught up in one song. Liam couldn’t love her yet, he just lusted after her. This was just like a cheesy pick up line for him. The thought calmed her rioting insides and helped her reinforce her defenses against him. She swayed with the music, feeling her arrogant shields slide back into place.

“You look hot as hell, Sweet Tina,” he said softly into her ear, and she shivered as his hot breath blew across her skin.

“Thanks, hotshot, you look pretty good yourself. So what exactly brought you here tonight?” she asked as she pressed her face closer into his neck. She had to grit her teeth to resist licking his neck.

“You,” he said, and she pulled back to look at him. His face registered honesty, and it surprised her.

“Huh?” she asked, and her body paused its rhythm. He gently tugged at her hips, forcing her to move again, before he answered.

“I asked Caroline for help. I wanted to see you again, but I didn’t have your number,” he said.

“Oh. Okay,” she said, and she looked away from his gaze. She was unsettled that her best friend would work against her when she had told her she wanted nothing to do with Liam.

She scolded herself for being angry when she was even now happily ensconced in his strong arms. She really had wanted to see him, and when he hadn’t fought for her to stay the other night, she had taken it as a rejection. Instead it was more like a comedy of errors. They were both bullheaded and apparently had trust issues. They would need to work on that if they were going to make this work.

Chapter 8

Tina’s heart virtually stopped, and her body froze in motion. Her subconscious, automatic acceptance of their relationship sent a tremor of trepidation running down her spine, and her eyes met his confused gaze as she stepped away from him.

“What?” he asked.

“You want me?” she said in a hesitant voice.

He grinned and winked. “Are you just now catching on? Damn, I should have rubbed harder against you, because I’ve been hard as a rock ever since I caught of glimpse of your sexy long legs under that too-short skirt.” He laughed, but paused when she didn’t.

“No, that’s not what I mean. You are scared of me, because you want me,” she said shaking her head in disbelief. A flush of embarrassment colored his tan cheeks, and his smile became more tentative.

“Maybe a little, but I like to think that I prefer to keep a tight rein on my own destiny. I want time to get to know you, but, sweetheart, you have me completely baffled. I don’t know if I’m coming or going when you’re around. I missed you as soon as you walked out of the front door, and it took every bit of strength I had to let you leave. But the truth is that I’m not sure I want forever either. I have baggage,” he said.

She was startled by a rambunctious dancer stumbling into her, and she realized that they were both standing in the middle of the dance floor frozen. Before she could second guess her own decision, she grabbed his hand, and tugged him along behind her.

“Come on,” she said without any indication of where they were going.

She led a surprised Liam to the back of the bar and down a small hallway. They went directly out the backdoor and out into the alley behind the building. She spun around once the door shut and made sure there was no one else close before she stepped into his arms. He reflexively closed them around her pulling her against him willingly.

“Not that I mind, but what’s going on here?” he asked as he cupped her rounded hips in his hands. He squeezed, enjoying the softness of her body under his fingers.

“I’m not saying forever, but for now, I want you Liam. You want me, and I
definitely
want you.” She reached up and kissed his shocked lips. They held firm and unmoving for just an instant before he softened and joined her in a passionate battle. Licking his tongue with hers, she let her fingers fist into his short black hair, pulling him closer. His hands drifted to cup her ass as he lifted her against him, rubbing his hard length tight into the V of her thighs. Shivers of anticipation went zipping over her skin, and she pressed her thighs tighter around his lean hips. Using her grip on the back of his neck and her strong core muscles, she rocked against him, relishing in his loud growl of pleasure.

“Sweet Tina, you keep on surprising me,” he said as she kissed her way over to his earlobe and gently played with his diamond earring with her tongue. Her breath was coming out in heavy pants as he ran his fingers under the thin G-string between her ass cheeks, his fingertips brushing at the sensitive skin between them. “Ever had a cock here, Sweet Tina?”

Her pussy clenched and dripped moisture as he skimmed his finger over her puckered opening, but apprehension caused her to clench her muscles. “Yes, but it wasn’t particularly fun, so I’m not sure I want to repeat it.”

“That just means the stupid men you were with didn’t prepare you first. I promise you, when I take you there, you will love it. Not tonight, but soon,” he spoke against her collarbone, and then stepped closer toward the building resting her back against the concrete wall. His hands free of supporting her, he ran them over her body, pressing hard and then soft on each sensitive spot he could reach.

Using one hand to hold her, he tugged the straps of her dress off of her shoulders so that he could free her breasts. His mouth descended to lick at her hard nipples, and she gasped and pressed her pussy against the swollen bulge in his jeans. As he suckled on her breasts, his free hand moved down her body to tug the flowing material of her dress up above her hips. He leaned back as his fingers skimmed over the G-string and he growled loudly.

“Shit. That is so fucking sexy.” His fingers traced the G-string over her hip and down the thin string that parted her ass cheeks before his hand came back to slide over her sopping wet mound.

“Help me get it off,” she said, her voice sounding husky with need.

In an instant he snapped the material of her miniscule panties and dropped them to the ground. She moaned and arched her back, lifting her breasts closer to his face. He obliged her by bending to take one dusty-rose-colored nipple back into his mouth. Sucking hard on her breast, he let his fingers delve into her wetness and flutter softly before sinking as deep as they could inside of her.

“Lord have mercy, that feels good,” she whimpered as he switched to the other breast and pushed a second finger into her.

“Damn right, it does. It’s never felt this good before. I’ve got to be inside of you, Sweet Tina.” With that he lifted her ass with one hand, his fingers still deeply embedded in her sopping-wet pussy and opened his fly to get his hard cock out.

Settling her back down, he moved both hands to her hips and helped guide her down onto his stiff erection. They both groaned as his thickness was swallowed up into her softness. Fire seemed to just emanate from their joined centers as he began to pull back and thrust forward again. Her fingers dug deep into the muscles of his shoulders, and she threw her head back against the wall behind her looking for stability. It felt like the entire world underneath of them was rocking with their motion, and the intensity stole her breath.

One hand supporting her as he thrust his cock deep into her warmth, he used the other to gently scratch at her back hole, teasing her with the forbidden tingles of new sensation. It felt deliciously dirty as the tip of his index finger pushed through the tight ring of muscles and began to mimic his thrusts into her pussy. Tina had never felt so hot in her life. It was empowering to feel his thickness pressing her against the hard concrete wall behind her, holding her firmly in place.

He pounded into her, and she pushed back against him, soundlessly begging for more. He met her every movement with one of his own, and the whole time he kept her from banging against the concrete too hard. He was amazing.

Liam’s blue eyes had darkened, and they were glowing in the dim light of the alley way. She could even see the sharp points of his canine teeth. Who knew canine teeth could be so sexy? When he let out a vicious growl, it sent her over the edge of control, and she felt the waves of orgasm crash through her body. The clenching muscles of her slick sheath milked his cock until he too shuddered as he came. A sound resembling a whimper and a growl rumbled from his throat, and for the second time in her life Tina felt like lighting had struck her. She languidly held onto his broad shoulders, and she let herself believe there was some truth to the whole wolfy mating thing.

* * * *

Liam was screwed in every possible way. When he felt Tina’s climax, he had to bite into his bottom lip to avoid sinking his teeth into her shoulder and claiming her. His own blood filled his mouth now, and his hands were shaking with need. His wolf was going out of its mind with desire to claim its mate, and he was ready to forget every reason he ever had for not wanting a permanent mate. At this moment he wasn’t sure that any of them were good enough to keep him away from this woman. She was perfect. She was assertive and confident, but at the same time she had a vulnerability about her that triggered all of his protective instincts.

Pressing his lips to her pulse point in her throat, he could feel her limp body draped around him, and the trust she had for him shown like a beacon of light. She had just let him take her body against the side of the bar. She let him be rough and demanding, and she just held on through it all. Now she let him hold her and support her completely as she drifted back into reality from the hazy clouds of passion. He felt his heart swell with love for her. He was absolutely in love with Tina.

At that second he wanted to scoop her up and carry her back to his place where he could tie her to his bed and love her until she loved him back, but instead he let her legs slide slowly down his until she stood unsteadily on her feet. Her forehead rested on his collarbone, and her hands still gripped his T-shirt.

“Sweetheart…” Liam started, but the bar door slammed open, surprising both of them. He instinctively moved to block the intruder’s view of his half-naked mate.

“She wouldn’t have left without saying something, and she was so upset with Liam. I’m worried that something happened…” Caroline’s voice was full of panic as she and her mates pushed out into the alley looking for Tina.

Liam felt Tina gasp and scurry to right her clothing, so he stepped back a step to give her room. He tucked himself quickly back into his jeans and pulled his shirt down over his bulging zipper. Their eyes met, and he smiled at her flushed, disheveled state. Her cheeks were pink, and her lush lips were swollen from his kisses. Her perfectly styled hair was mussed, and her thighs had red splotchy hand prints on them. She looked absolutely delicious, but he didn’t want anyone else to see her like this. He turned and stepped even further in between her and the other three to completely hide her from their view.