Blood Wolf, page 4
“Damian?”
“Hmm?”
“What’s wrong with your back?” Suzanne pulled away from his embrace and climbed over him to the other side of the bed.
“Oh!” She clasped her hand to her mouth. What she saw was both beautiful and terrible. Deep scratches and oozing scabs knifed through a large tattoo of a black and silver wolf howling at the moon. Despite the mess, Suzanne couldn’t help but stare at the tattoo. The wolf’s green eyes looked almost…human. “What happened to you?”
“It’s nothing.” Damian turned over, hiding his back from her.
“It most certainly is not nothing,” she said. “Who did this to you?”
“It’s not your concern.”
“Of course it’s my concern. If you expect me to share your bed, I expect something in return. I expect your honesty.”
“I am being honest. I’m telling you that it’s not your concern.”
“Are you in pain?”
“No.”
“Does this have anything to do with what happened to your hands?”
“Enough! There will be no more talk of this!” He pulled her on top of him and thrust his erection against her body. “I’ve waited long enough. I’ll have you now.”
Suzanne shrugged. She couldn’t give into his demands, no matter how much her body craved it. “I won’t sleep with you. You promised you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“I have no intention of hurting you. I’ll get you ready first.”
“No. Please. No!” She scrambled off the bed and into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. She turned on the faucet to hide her soft sobs, splashed some water on her face, and then looked around for her robe. It wasn’t there.
“Suzanne?” Damian’s dispirited husky voice cut through the wooden door that separated them.
His agony touched her, but Suzanne didn’t answer.
“Love, talk to me.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“I’m sorry. I just want you so badly…” His forehead thunked against the door. “I don’t understand what’s happening to me.”
The anguish in his voice was unmistakable. Despite being terrified he might take her against her will, Suzanne felt an uncontrollable urge to go to him, to comfort him as he had comforted her last night. Her hand levitated over the crystal doorknob for half a minute, and then she grabbed it and turned.
He stood against the wall, naked and beautiful, his ebony-lashed eyes tormented with sorrow. “Forgive me.” He held out his arms.
As Suzanne went to him in a haze, she had a sense of watching herself from the ceiling. She saw herself tilt her head and offer him her mouth. He took it gently and wrapped his strong arms around her curvaceous body. He caressed her shoulders, her arms, her back, her buttocks. She watched him kiss her lips, her cheek, her neck and shoulders. As his mouth descended to her breast, she smiled.
But when his tongue touched her nipple, she careened back into her body with full force, and a fiery shock slammed through her.
“Oh my God,” she moaned. “Oh, Damian.”
“I know, love.” He pressed his mouth to her other breast. “I want you, too.”
“This is insane. We can’t. We shouldn’t. I shouldn’t.”
“It’ll be okay. I promise.” He bent his head and sucked her nipple harder.
She threaded her fingers through his silky hair as her body undulated against him. Nectar slid from her and dripped down the inside of her thighs. Her womb throbbed. As if he could read her mind, Damian reached down to her mound and laced through her thick bush to find the swollen nub. She gasped as he flicked it, rubbed his hand in her wetness, and circled her clit.
“Oh God.” Suzanne closed her eyes and leaned back, arching into him. “Oh, God. Oh my God!”
“Come,” he said, his voice low and husky. “Come for me, mo cridhe.”
Suzanne’s body burst into flames as throbbing heat enveloped her. Her mons spasmed against his hand. The electric current spread into her legs and belly, to her arms, to her head. Even her eyelids tingled as she panted and thrust against him.
“Damian,” she whimpered. “My God, Damian.”
He lifted her in his arms, carried her to the bed, and laid her upon the soft mattress. Embarrassed, she turned her head into the pillow.
He gently pulled her face back toward him. “Look at me, Suzanne. Don’t force your eyes from mine. We belong together.”
She blinked, and a lone tear fell.
“What is it?”
“I—” She gulped. “My fiancé. He never made me feel like that.”
Damian’s green eyes smoldered. “Then he didn’t know how to love you properly.”
Words failed Suzanne. She simply nodded. She had no doubt that Damian knew exactly how to love her.
“Please, love. Let me.” He explored her bare skin, teasing and caressing.
She no longer had the strength to resist. Her body—and her heart—ached for him. “Yes. Go ahead.”
Damian kissed her body, running his tongue and lips over every inch of her skin. He teased her nipples and sucked them, tugging and biting until she arched and moaned, begging for more. He licked her belly, her navel, her hips, and gently parted her legs. Crouching between them, he buried his nose in her triangle of curls and inhaled deeply.
“Your scent is like springtime,” he said. “Springtime, after the last snow melts, as the flowers push up through the earth and the leaves bud on the trees. Everything is green. Green and fresh and reborn.” He inhaled again. “You smell alive. So alive. I’ll never tire of your scent, mo cridhe.”
“You don’t think I’m too…”
“Hmm?” His face was still buried in her curls.
“Hairy.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m too hairy down there.”
His head popped up. “What?”
Suzanne turned into the pillow. “You heard me.”
“Why would you think that?”
“My fiancé. He used to—”
“Never mention him again.” Damian did not yell, nor was his voice stern, but its tone left no doubt he meant business.
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You don’t upset me. You upset yourself when you speak of him, and that upsets me. He has no place in our bedroom, mo cridhe.”
“I—”
“Besides, your hair is beautiful. Every part of you is beautiful. The hair on your head is thick and strong and lovely. So of course, you will have an abundance of hair on the rest of your body. Look at me. I’m the same way.”
“Yes, but, you’re a man.”
“So?”
“Damian, you know what I mean.”
He tilted his head and gazed into her eyes. “Do you still have feelings for your fiancé?”
“Of course not.” Suzanne turned away. “And he’s not my fiancé.”
“That’s how you’ve referred to him every time you’ve brought him up.”
“Oh.” She swallowed. “Old habits are hard to break, I guess. We only ended our relationship a few weeks ago. But no, I don’t have feelings for him. Not anymore.”
“Then why do you keep mentioning him?”
“I don’t know, actually.”
“I do. I think you do have feelings for him. I think he hurt you badly. But there’s one thing you need to realize.”
“What?”
“You’re mine now, and I won’t tolerate you talking about him.” Again, his voice wasn’t stern, but he clearly expected to be obeyed. “I won’t tolerate you even thinking about him. Is that understood?”
“Just who the hell do you think you are?”
Damian didn’t answer. Instead, he buried his face between her legs and began to suck her. Relentlessly. No teasing and caressing. He dived right in.
“Oh my God.” Suzanne groaned. It was good. So damned good.
Then a knock on the door.
“Shit.”
“Tell whoever it is to go away.” Damian’s voice was muffled as he continued to lick her.
Suzanne said nothing as the knocking continued.
“Suze?”
“It’s Isabella,” Suzanne said. “My cousin.”
“Get rid of her.”
“Damian.” She tried to move, but he held her down. “Damian!”
“I won’t stop. I need you. I need this.”
She gasped as his tongue circled her clit. A few seconds more, and—
“Suze, open up. It’s me!”
“Damian.”
No reply. Her orgasm was imminent. God, I want to come. But Isabella wasn’t leaving. She took a deep breath and then forcefully scooted backward and broke the suction of Damian’s mouth.
“Just a minute, Bell.” Suzanne jumped off the bed and began rummaging around for something, anything, to cover her body.
“Damn it!” Damian’s bellow vibrated in the still air of the room.
Suzanne turned to him. His green irises swirled around his black pupils.
He left the bed and went into the bathroom, slamming the door. Suzanne heard the rush of the shower.
Quickly, she pulled on some sweats and opened the door, just barely. Isabella appeared well rested and radiant. “Morning, Bell.”
“Are you okay? I swear I heard a guy in here.”
Suzanne gulped. “A guy?” She shook her head, hoping like hell her cheeks weren’t flushing. “Of course not.”
Isabella raised her eyebrows and let out a short huff. “If you say so. It’s ten. Surely you’ve gotten enough sleep by now. Let’s do something today.”
Suzanne cleared her throat. “What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know. How about we go into town? I’m dying to explore.”
Suzanne bit her lip. She had no desire to return to the village where she’d nearly been raped. “I don’t know.”
“Oh, it’ll be fun. Get showered and dressed. I’ll be back in half an hour.”
Suzanne closed the door, frowning, as Damian stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. His hair was a mass of dripping black waves. She went to him and pushed back a stray curl. Cold. Ice cold. He had taken a cold shower.
“Oh, Damian, I’m sorry.”
“What did she want?”
“She’s coming back in half an hour. She and I are going into town.”
“No.”
“You can’t keep me here.”
“You’re not safe out there.”
“Come on. It’s broad daylight.”
He cocked his head, obviously thinking and then put on his jeans, leaving his boxers and shirt on the floor. “Fine. Go. I’ll stay here and move my things back into this room.”
He couldn’t possibly still be on that kick. “Um, about you moving in. Don’t you think we should talk about this?”
He opened the bedroom door, his skin still wet and glistening from the shower, the muscles in his bare chest flexed.
“Aren’t you going to answer me?”
“No.”
6
Suzanne squirmed with unease in the passenger seat as Isabella drove into Padraig. How had the Beetle gotten back to the castle? She’d ask Damian later. No doubt he’d be waiting for her in their room.
Their room.
Suzanne shuddered.
“You’re quiet,” Isabella said. “Is something wrong?”
“No. Actually, yes.” Suzanne cleared her throat. “I went into town last night.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, after dark.”
“You went into a strange town by yourself after dark?” Isabella shook her head. “That isn’t like you, Suze.”
Suzanne jerked her head suddenly. It wasn’t like her. Not at all. What on earth had she been thinking?
“Oh, Goddess,” Isabella said.
“What?”
“It was the lunar energy. I should have warned you.”
“About what?”
“When you drew in the energy of the Goddess the other night, you drew in her power also. It makes you feel invincible.”
“But I didn’t feel invincible. I just didn’t really think about what I was doing.”
“It’s not conscious, Suze. The first time I drew down the moon, I went sky diving the next day.”
“But you’re terrified of heights.”
“See what I mean?”
“Lord.”
“At least you’re all right. We can be thankful—”
“Uh, actually—”
“Dear Goddess, what happened?” Isabella turned her head, looked at Suzanne, and then turned back abruptly to keep her eyes on the road.
“I’m fine. Really. But I did run in to a bit of trouble.”
Isabella pulled the Beetle over to the side of the road. “Tell me.”
As the words poured from Suzanne’s mouth, she found herself weeping. How had she managed to get herself into such a horrible position?
Isabella stroked her arm.
“Thank goodness you weren’t hurt. The power of the moon must have helped you get away. It doesn’t make you invincible, but it does give you a little boost that you might not otherwise have. But you still need to use common sense.”
Suzanne shook her head. “It wasn’t the Goddess. It was Dougal’s son.”
“What?”
“He rescued me. He… From out of nowhere, he came on a Harley.”
“Damian?”
“Yes. Have you met him yet?”
“No, but I’ve talked to Dougal about him. In fact, Dougal talks of nothing but him. He’s a doting daddy.”
Suzanne said nothing.
“There’s still a simple explanation. The energy of the Goddess called to Damian, and he—”
Suzanne shook her head. “He said he smelled me.”
“Pardon?”
“He smelled that I was in danger, and he knew exactly where to find me.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
“Neither have I, but truthfully, I didn’t much care at the time. I still don’t. I’m just thankful he showed up.”
“So am I. Goodness.” Isabella turned the key in the ignition and started the engine. “I see now why you didn’t want to go to town today. We can go back if you want.”
Back. It was tempting. But Damian would be there, and Suzanne wasn’t up to facing him just yet. “No. I’ll be fine. We need to get to know this town anyway since we’ll be here for a while.”
Isabella nodded “And you need to report what happened last night. Or have you already?”
“No.”
“Suze, you know better than that.”
She did know better than that. But for now, she wanted to forget it. She didn’t respond to Isabella.
“Oh Suze, I’m so sorry I brought you here,” Isabella said. “I wanted to get you away from the memories of Wade, but I’ve only made things worse.”
“None of this is your fault, Bell.”
“I should have thought to warn you about the power of the moon. Especially here. The energy was magnified somehow. I’ve never sensed anything like it. If anything had happened to you, I’d never have forgiven myself.”
“Nothing happened. I’m fine.”
“Yes.” Isabella didn’t seem convinced as she maneuvered the car back onto the road. “At least you got to meet Damian. Tell me what he’s like.”
Suzanne stared at her cousin. Where to begin?
7
When Damian had finished moving his belongings back into his old room, he found his father in the study they shared. They had, unbeknownst to Merlina, wired a room in the cellar with electricity for the sole purpose of using the Internet.
“Anything new?” Damian grabbed a can of soda out of the small refrigerator plugged into the wall.
“I’m afraid not,” Dougal said. “I was just checking the web site and the e-mail account. No one has replied to our posts.”
“Damn.”
“I’m sorry, lad.”
Damian let out his breath and furrowed his brow. “Our posts aren’t specific enough, Da.”
“We’ve been through this before. If we get any more specific, we risk attracting every lunatic in the British Isles. And the white coats may come after us as well.”
“Aye, well—” Damian paced around the small room. “I need to talk to you.”
“What is it?”
“A few things. First of all, last night, I had a run in with a few bloodsuckers in Padraig.”
Dougal shook his head. “Did you never listen to Merlina and me? You know better than to mess with those creatures.”
“I know, I know.”
“What were you thinking?”
“It’s a long story. I had to go. I was needed.”
“What?”
“I’ll explain it all, but first, I need you to check something out on the net. When I was knocking them around—”
“You knocked them around? How many were there?”
“Three.”
“Crivvens, Damian, you could have been killed!”
“I’m fine. I took them out.”
“How were you able to take out three vamps?”
“I had incentive. I’ll explain later.” He ignored his father’s questioning gaze. “Right now, I need you to research something. One of them said something as he scented me, a word I’d never heard before.”
“What was it?”
“Vodlak, or something. I’m not sure how it’s spelled.”
“It’s probably just some vamp swear word.”
“Could be, but I got the feeling he was saying it to me, or about me.”
“Still could be a swear word.”
“Aye, but check it out, will you?”
“Of course.” Dougal began punching letters onto the keyboard. “Now, tell me, what were you doing fighting three vamps?”
Damian sighed. Honesty was important if he and his father were ever to solve the mystery of his existence. “I scented a female I wanted. She was in trouble.”
“I see.”
“It’s nothing I’ve ever sensed before. I mean, I’ve desired females before, but this one was different. I had to have her. I had to save her. I actually…”
