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“Yes,” she blurted before she had time to think of all the reasons she should say no.
He stood and slipped the jeans off his hips and down his legs, stepping out of them
and into the tub with her.
Her eyes widened. “That wasn’t what I had in mind!”
Ignoring her, he settled into the water at the opposite end of the tub. “Then what did you have in mind when you asked me to get naked?”
A valid question. One she didn’t have an answer to other than the immediate desire to see his body completely uncovered. What had she expected would happen? He’dundress, prance around her bathroom like a fashion model and show off his assets?
She giggled, feeling strangely giddy considering the ramifications of all that had occurred tonight.
Conner leaned back against the tub and maneuvered his legs along the side, fitting his feet next to her thighs.
She tried to draw her knees up, but he caught her ankles, placing them in his lap and massaging the bottoms of her feet. Okay, that didn’t feel so bad. She leaned against the rolled pillow attached to the back of the tub, closed her eyes, and let him work hismagic.
Thankfully, he seemed content to massage her feet without speaking, allowing hertime to regain her bearings and give tonight’s events some thought.
How had it all gotten so out of control so quickly? How stupid to think she couldignore him when her body wept for his touch. Her arrogance had cost her tonight. Shedidn’t doubt for a moment that he’d expect her to submit to him now.
He was wrong.
“You’re thinking again.”
She opened her eyes and met his half smile. “How do you know I’m thinking?”
“You frown when you’re in thought. And you bite your bottom lip.”
He was right. “You’re very observant.”
“It’s my business to be observant.”
“You examine too much. You interfere.”
He shook his head and continued to rub the bottom of her feet. “Tell me about the Carpathian wolf population.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything. Who’s involved, who’s endangering them. Tell me about yourgovernment, about the hunters.”
She heaved a sigh. “Wolves have been fighting for survival for centuries here. Though the killing isn’t as rampant as it once was, there seems to be a resurgence over the past decade.”
“Why?”
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“Fear, mostly. The numbers of wolves are exaggerated by government groups who bow to pressure from the hunting lobbies, making it easier to authorize free hunting to reduce the population.”
“To protect farmers’ livestock from wolf attacks.”
She snorted. “It’s more likely that the hunters are using that as an excuse to do what they do best, what they love to do.”
“Aren’t wolves protected as an endangered species here?”
“They’re supposed to be, but keep in mind that in wolf form we are inherent roamers. We cross borders. Protected in one country can mean hunted in another.”
“We have a lot of work to do.”
She wanted to object, tell him that she had everything under control, but arguing with him while they both sat naked in the tub wouldn’t be a good idea. As it was, she felt more vulnerable than she liked. He already knew more about her than anyone ever had.
She couldn’t quite figure him out. He was alpha, that was certain, yet there was an underlying tenderness that confused her.
Most men she could predict. Not Conner Devlin.
That made him dangerous.
Especially the way he touched her, sliding his hands ever so slowly from her feet to her ankles and higher. The sensuous way he massaged her calves made her libido once again rise up and demand to be satisfied.
She tried to concentrate on making polite conversation, which was difficultconsidering the way his gaze roamed over her body. Her nipples puckered and peekedup out of the water.
He glanced from her breasts to her face and grinned.
“I want more,” he stated.
She did, too. A revelation she found quite disconcerting.
“But not tonight. You’ll be too sore.”
She fought back the disappointment at his statement. He was being logical. Ofcourse she was sore. That didn’t make her desire lessen.
Nor his, considering his clearly visible erection.
He was right anyway. She shouldn’t want him, shouldn’t think with lust instead ofher brain. Taking a step back to gather her wits was the smart thing to do. The last thing she needed was to end up lost in this man’s magnetic charm.
Just because she’d been fucked didn’t mean she had to change her entire life. Conner might think he was in charge now, but she hadn’t given up control just yet.
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Chapter Eight
After he’d pulled Katya from the bath, Conner grabbed one of the large towels and dried her off, trying to ignore the urge to take her again.
Because he knew “again” would lead to more “agains” until she’d be so sore she’d regret letting him touch her.
But with her skin flushed pink and warm from the bath, the high color in her sculpted cheekbones and the way her gaze raked over his naked body, he began toweaken.
This was his mate, after all, the woman who answered his primal urges. He
couldn’t help but want her.
When he lifted her in his arms and carried her from the room, she pushed against
his chest.
“Conner. I am not injured. I’m perfectly capable of walking.”
Had no one ever romanced the beautiful princess before? Cherished her? Obviously
no man had fucked her before him, but there was a lot more to a relationship than just
sex.
“I know you can walk. I like the feel of you in my arms.”
She blinked, seemingly at a loss for words.
Good. He made a mental note to keep her unbalanced. She already spent way too much time thinking. Logically, too, he’d bet, instead of listening to her body, her heart.
Not that her heart was involved in this, any more than his. Like the arranged marriages of the old days, what they did was because they were required to, not because they’d dated, got to know each other and then made the choice to be together.
No, the lupine way was much different. It was entirely possible for two people to loathe each other and still be unable to resist the urge to mate.
He placed her on top of the covers. She sat up and curled her legs to one side, staring up at him.
“I thought we might…explore each other a bit.”
One perfectly arched brow lifted. “Explore?”
“Yes.” He climbed onto the bed and she scooted back a bit. In answer, he moved
closer and picked up her hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss her palm.
Her breath hitched when his tongue touched the inside of her hand, her fingers
curling around his jaw. He licked her palm, and her pulse quickened.
“There’s a lot more to sex than penetration,” he explained.
“Yes. I know. You licked my pussy and I came.”
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His cock jerked to life at the memory of her sweet taste against his tongue. “Yes,there’s that, but I was in a bit of a hurry earlier. Now, we have time.”
“You mean we’ll be doing it again?”
“Not fucking, no. I was pretty rough with you tonight and I don’t want to make you sore.”
“I liked it rough.”
Christ. Katya was full of surprises. “You did, huh?”
“Yes.” Her voice lowered to an almost whisper, as if she regretted revealing her intimate thoughts.
“I’m glad. I enjoyed fucking you. Your pussy is tight and hot, Katya. You were made for my cock.”
The pink in her cheeks deepened. “You are very strange.”
He laughed. “Is that good or bad?”
Her lips curled in a grin. “That remains to be seen.”
Feeling relaxed for the first time since he’d started this journey, he moved closer, reaching out and caressing her cheek, mesmerized with the satiny feel of her skin, the way her breasts rose and fell and the utter innocence reflected in her brandy-colored eyes. When her lids drifted shut, her long, dark eyelashes brushed the tops of her cheekbones.
The woman was absolutely perfect and completely beguiling.
He was in deep shit here. He wanted her with a fierce desire that was foreign to him, as was the protectiveness that came over him whenever he looked at her.
She was his. Not like a possession, but like a mate. A soul mate. His woman. God, the thoughts in his head would drive him insane if he took time to analyze them.
He’d always gone with his gut feelings. And his gut feeling told him to take her again, plant his seed within her, build a dynasty with her.
Fuck. He hadn’t counted on this.
“You’re thinking again.”
He looked up, not realizing he’d drifted off into some weird zone of deep thought.
Recalling that he’d said the exact same thing to her earlier, he nodded. “That I am.”
“About…?”
Somehow he doubted she really wanted to know what he was thinking. “I was
thinking about you.” And that was as much as he’d tell.
“What about me?”
“I’m just wondering about your experience with men.”
“Oh. That. I have none, as you well know.”
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Was she worried that she’d disappointed him? Hell, she’d nearly killed him. If she was this hot while still innocent, she’d be the death of him once she gained more experience.
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, tasting the brandy that still lingeredon her lips. “Baby, you were amazing. You did notice that I came buckets inside you, didn’t you?”
There was that blush on her cheeks again. “Yes, I did notice that you seemed to enjoy it. But I thought men came regardless of the woman’s experience. Isn’t one orifice just as good as another? A tight squeeze and you’ll get off?”
“Whoa. You don’t pull any punches, do you?”
She frowned. “I don’t understand. Punches?”
“It’s a phrase that means you say exactly what’s on your mind.”
“Oh. Then yes, I do.”
“Well, you’re wrong. There’s coming and then there’s
coming
. When it’s really good, a man can come so hard he can feel it down to his toes.”
She glanced down at his feet and he had to force himself to hold back a laugh, knowing she wouldn’t understand. “Yeah, you did that to me.”
And if she kept looking at him like she wanted to eat him alive, he’d have an orgasm just like the first one very soon.
As a matter of fact, that wasn’t a bad idea at all.
“Touch me, Katya.”
She curled her fingers into her palms, her gaze roaming from his face to his feet.
When she looked up again, curiosity filled her eyes.
“Anywhere you want to,” he answered in response to her unspoken question.
She started at his hair, tangling her fingers within it.
“I’ve wanted to do that since that first night outside the hotel. Your hair shines in the night like it has a silver halo surrounding it.” When she tugged on the back, he groaned, wanting her to do that when he fucked her.
But he held still, allowing her to explore, to learn about a man’s body.
His body.
Starting at his face, she traced the line of his jaw and ran her fingers over his lipsbefore moving down to his neck. When she reached his chest she moved closer, tangling her fingers into the crisp hairs there. He sucked in a breath when her fingernails lightly scraped his nipples, making them stand out.
“Your nipples get erect, just like…”
“Like yours? Yeah. I like it when you touch them. Makes my cock twitch.”
Her gaze followed his statement and she circled his nipples, keeping watch of his cock. He teased her by making it jerk upward, laughing when her eyes widened.
“Your cock feels the touch of my fingers on your nipples?”
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“Yeah.” Hell, his cock felt every one of her caresses, hardening, throbbing, lengthening. But still, he didn’t move to touch her, although he was dying to toss her onto her back and bury his shaft in her hot cunt.
When she bent her head toward his chest, her little pink tongue darting out to trace
the flat nipples, he dug his fingers into the coverlet, forcing himself to hold still.
She swiped one nipple, covering her lips over it and suckling it gently.
“Oh fuck, that’s good,” he said, fighting to breathe through the erotic sensations.