Brink Of Passion (Alpine Woods Shifters) (15 page)

Laurie leaned down and licked the head of his cock one more time before rising. She moved back, putting distance between them. Confusion lit his gaze.

“Laurie?” He reached for her but she avoided his touch.

“Uh uh, not yet. You can look, but no touching.”

Her hips swayed as she danced to music in her head. She pulled her shirt out the waist of her skirt, exposing a flash of skin before dropping it down. Sure enough, his eyes were glued to her stomach.

“Look up, Max. Wouldn’t want you to miss the show,” she murmured, infusing her voice with a sexy purr. His cock twitched, and Laurie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning.

Puckering her lips into a pout, she unfastened one button. His gaze left hers and dropped to her hands. She slid them over her breasts, thrusting her chest outward and letting a small moan slip past her lips.

“Dear Lord,” he hissed from the couch as she continued her strip tease. The whispered words and the heat in his gaze galvanized her forward.

She reached for the second button, slipping it open. Then the third, revealing the lace beneath. Never taking her eyes off Max, she swept a finger along the edge of her bra, and watched his hands clench on top of his thighs.

“Touch yourself,” Laurie commanded. His gaze collided with hers, questioning, contemplating.

Would he do it? Until she uttered the words, she hadn’t known she wanted to see it, but now the idea of him jerking off as she stripped for him brought a rush of heat.

She gasped as he reached for his erection. Watched, mesmerized, as he fondled his balls. After a moment, he cleared his throat, bringing her gaze to his. He merely raised his eyebrows, a silent directive to continue what she’d started.

With a smile, she trailed her hand down her front, opening buttons along the way. When she reached the bottom, she turned, giving him her back as she slithered the shirt over one shoulder. Her lips skimmed her naked shoulder as she looked over her bared back at him. Fire lit his eyes as his hand pumped once. Twice.

Still staring at him, she exposed her other shoulder, holding the shirt up by her elbows.

“Turn around.” She did, letting the shirt fall the floor and leaving her in a see-through lace bra. He groaned. “Please tell me that’s a matching set.”

She laughed, a throaty chuckle that sounded sexy even to her own ears.

“Wanna find out?”

He reached for her once again, but she dodged his hands.

“Not yet.”

Not that she didn’t want his hands on her. But first, she wanted to drive him wild with desire. He growled, but she ignored it.

Showing him her back, she reached for her zipper, sliding it down tooth by tooth until the skirt fell at her feet. She smiled at his groan, never more grateful that Julie and Samantha had talked her into the sexy see-through lace bra and thong set. Sexy underwear wasn’t her thing, but judging by Max’s reaction, she’d need to stock up.

She slowly spun, showing him the front of her set, before reaching back and unhooking the bra. Her nipples were already pebbled, and she saw his gaze locked onto them. His erection jerked in his hand.

Watching him stare at her sent heat flaring through her veins. Inspired, she ran her hands over her breasts. Hunger spiraled from her nipples to her pussy. She pinched both at the same time, groaning as the intense pleasure rippled down.

Unable to resist much longer, she slowly slid her hands over her stomach and lower, catching the edge of her thong and slipping it over her hips. It fell to her feet and she stepped out, moving to where Max sat waiting.

She turned when she reached him, pressing her back to his chest and sliding flesh to flesh. The contact drove them both wild, their groans mingling in the air around them. She felt his erection in the crease of her butt, and undulated her hips backward.

Reaching back, she circled his neck with her arm and buried her hand in his hair. Perhaps sensing her need, or acting on his own, he clutched her hips and lifted her away only enough to line his cock up with her pussy. Then he brought her down, filling her completely in one brutal thrust. She cried out in pleasure as an unexpected orgasm slammed into her. She clenched around him over and over as wave after wave assailed her.

She came back slowly. His mouth sucked at her neck. His hips were still as he waited for her orgasm to recede. She opened her eyes and saw the almost panoramic windows before her. The lights of the city glittered like stars in the night sky. The thrill of being so exposed, but still hidden in the mass of nameless, faceless strangers of the city electrified her.

Her hips jolted as Max ran his hands from her waist to her breasts, following the trail hers had traveled earlier. Just as before, he circled her nipples before pinching them at the same time. Laurie shuddered as pleasure bombarded her. His lips trailed over her shoulder and neck, sucking, then biting. An endless assault.

Desperation for release built once again within her, coiling inside until she thrust against him. His hips met hers thrust for thrust.

She stared into the night as they raced toward the peak together.

“Touch yourself,” Max echoed her command from earlier. Unable to resist, she ran her hand up the inside of her thigh. First, she moved lower, brushing against Max’ s cock and the place they were connected. He growled against her shoulder, thrusting harder inside her. Laurie moved her fingers up, finding the nub of pure sensation and rubbing against it until…

The world exploded in a blaze of color. The lights of the city blurred together as tears pooled in her eyes. Sensation after sensation assailed her. Vaguely, she was aware of Max thrusting furiously into her as she seized against him. Of his own roar of release as his seed flooded her. But she was too wrapped up in her own pleasure for more than a passing awareness.

She came down slowly, Max’s hands drawing circles on the exposed flesh of her belly. Sensing her return, he placed a quick kiss against her shoulder.

“Shower, then bed.”

It wasn’t a question, but she nodded anyway. When she started to rise, Max clutched her hips for a moment, preventing her escape, before releasing her with a sigh. Then he stood, swept her into his arms and carried her upstairs.

Chapter 8

The shrill ring of the phone woke her. She groaned, burrowing deeper into Max’s warmth. For his part, Max seemed to be of the same mind. His arms pulled her close, one big hand petting her from the base of her neck to the curve of her butt before settling there.

The ringing stopped for a moment, before the trill started up again. Laurie opened her eyes and gazed at the far wall, but still didn’t leave the comfort of Max’s embrace. A growl rumbled in the chest under her ear, the only sign the second call had disturbed him at all.

Once again, the ringing stopped only to start up again a moment later. Max turned, jolting her as his arm slid out from under her, and roared at his cell phone sitting on the nightstand. If only that would actually work.

Alright then. Not a morning person. Still he made no move to pick it up. With a huff of a laugh, Laurie crawled over him and grabbed the phone.

“Might as well answer it. I don’t think they’re giving up until you do.” His glare would have frightened a lesser woman. Lucky for both of them, Laurie didn’t scare easily. She’d never backed down from a fight yet. After a quick peck on his cheek as he took the phone, she scrambled out of bed. Neon green offered a glowing 4:00 from the clock on the nightstand.

She barely suppressed her groan of frustration. Getting back to sleep would be next to impossible, despite barely three hours. But she supposed that was just the hazards of mating with a Premier. And unless Max’s pack had a habit of bothering him this early in the morning for trifling problems, something Laurie couldn’t see Max putting up with, they’d probably need to be up regardless.

Heading to the bathroom, she pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste, keeping one ear tuned to Max in the bedroom as she brushed her teeth.

Wolf hearing was good enough that she’d have heard both sides of the conversation if she’d stayed in bed. But even though they were mates, her place in the pack was still up in the air. It had only been a little more than a week since she’d moved to New York. Despite the strides they’d made in their relationship, especially the night before, they still didn’t know each other that well yet. Listening too closely would feel like a violation of privacy. Besides, she wanted Max to come to her with his problems, not to hear them by eavesdropping.

Still, she’d never claimed to be a saint. So she listened to Max’s side of the conversation from the bathroom. An illusion of privacy.

He’d been concerned at first, confirming her suspicions that he didn’t let his pack run to him with petty arguments at all hours of the night. But his tone had quickly changed. Max was asking questions. Unfortunately, one-word questions.
When, how
, and
what
, didn’t give her any clues about who was on the phone or what they were discussing.

Rinsing out her mouth, Laurie grabbed Max’s shirt off the floor and pulled it on as she moved to the doorway to lean against the frame. The light from the bathroom illuminated the bed. A lot had happened in the past two weeks since meeting in Tucson, but Max had always seemed content to go with the flow. Now, tension radiated off him. His jaw twitched as he clenched it. His hand curled into a fist on top of the covers.

Laurie ached with the need to go to him and ease his stress. To fix whatever problem had caused him such strife. But she had no means of doing any of that. So instead, she walked out of the room and to the coffee bar, opening the cupboards until she found the filters and beans. She’d been making an effort to eat with the leap in the restaurant downstairs and had yet to use the machine. Something told her they would need something to help wake up. She might not be able to help with the problem at hand, but coffee she could do.

While the machine percolated, Laurie went back into the bedroom to see Max pulling on his jeans. She’d heard him hang up but had decided to give him a moment to himself.

“Coffee should be done in a minute.” The pot held just four cups, enough for one, maybe two people, not more. She’d seen a larger one in the cabinets downstairs, no doubt used during family gatherings.

“No time,” he called back.

Biting her lip, she stilled the questions prickling the tip of her tongue. Not bothering with underwear, Laurie grabbed jeans from a drawer and pulled them on. Then hurried to the bathroom to pull on her bra. Underwear she could get away with skipping. A bra? No way. She might not have huge breasts, but she wasn’t twenty-two anymore. Some support was necessary.

She turned and caught Max’s stare. He looked tired. Not the kind of tired caused by lack of sleep, but the kind brought about by experience.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, no longer able to hold back the question.

“Ryan’s awake.”

Laurie’s spirits lifted, until reality crashed them down. If his brother had woken, why did Max look like war had just broken out?

“And…” she prompted when he didn’t offer more. There had to be something missing to the story.

“He doesn’t remember anything.”

“Oh, Max.” Laurie’s heart broke for him. For his whole family. The Ryan she’d met in Tucson had been sweet, kind, and overall a strong, loyal friend to his brother.

Her legs carried her forward until her arms could wrap around him. She clung to him, putting every ounce of sympathy and support she could muster into her embrace.

Slowly, his arms came up and enveloped her. She felt his lips brush the top of her head.

“Thank you.”

They stayed like that, taking comfort in each other, until Laurie pulled away. She took his hand and squeezed.

“Come on, let’s go see him.”

*****

“We need to talk. Alone.”

Max assessed his brother. Lying in bed with tubes coming out of his arm, he looked tired, but there was alertness Max hadn’t expected.

Thank God it hadn’t been as bad as he’d expected from the phone call he’d received. After the word amnesia, he’d tuned everything else out. Buzzing had filled his ears and brain, so he hadn’t heard the words Retrograde or Lacunar, not that he would have understood what the words meant even if he had heard them. He’d have to talk to Tyler about how he delivered news. The important things needed to be first. Like the fact that Ryan hadn’t lost his entire memory. He remembered everything up to the incident. He was lucid. Most importantly, he was still the big brother Max depended on for support. The knowledge of that nearly overwhelmed him.

But he could see the seriousness in Ryan’s expression. Read the significance in his eyes. He transferred his gaze to his cousin leaning against the wall before landing on Laurie, curled into one of the chairs beside him fast asleep. Most of the family had left a few moments ago seeking a cafeteria, but when Laurie had moved to join them, Max had squeezed her hand in silent appeal.

The strength of his desire to have her beside him had been surprising. The leopard inside hadn’t wanted to part with her.

Colin leaned against the wall kitty-corner to them. Max met his eyes briefly, saw the curiosity, but he knew enough not to question his Premier.

“Why don’t Laurie and I go find a Starbucks?” That he would watch her and protect her with his life went without saying.

Turning, Max crouched down and ran a gentle hand over her hair. Still asleep, her cheek nuzzled against him.

Tenderness welled inside him. She’d been through a lot the past couple weeks—leaving her home, her family—yet she hadn’t hesitated to come with him to the hospital, nor had she complained about the lack of sleep. She’d been there for him, and somehow he knew it wasn’t because she felt an obligation as his mate. It was simply because she cared. About him, yes, but he suspected she would have done it for anyone in the leap.

Some of her brothers’ stories about Laurie whirled through his mind. Even though she’d never held a leadership role in her pack, she’d been loved. It had been obvious from her interactions with the people in town before they’d left. People looked to her for support. And she gave it without thought or expectation. She cared, but more than that, she protected.