Wilde Magic (Wilde Women Book 3) (22 page)

Ah. Excellent. ‘tessa had a weak spot. Her neck. Fanfuckingtastic. It would be his absolute pleasure to ravish those few inches of flesh until she was consumed with aching want and dripping from desire.

Grazing her skin with his teeth, Cal nipped and chewed on the delicate soft skin normally shielded by hair. At the base of her neck, he left slow, wet tongue licks along her collarbone until she quivered beneath his touch. And then he bit her. Hard. In that spot where neck meets shoulder.

Her whole body shook, and the hands that had been glued to his arms fell limply onto his thighs. Cal yanked her forward. She was like a rag doll by that point. Another lick, this one from ear to shoulder. The small whimpering noises she’d been making turned to harsh, husky growls. He bit her again and felt her start to go under. He’d subdued and then conquered her before his tongue got into her mouth. She. Was His.

I’m …

Oh …

Please …

Yes …

Oh …

She was lost. Couldn’t see. Or think. Her heart pounded. A steady hum in her ears turned out to be his endless growl of pleasure and control.

Ty.

She needed—desperately—to be kissed the way only he could. That greedy desire to surrender to his ravenous assault on her mouth made her mind fuzzy.

She needed …

She needed …

And then his lips were on her neck. Oh fuck. Charlie shook with an emotion that went so far beyond need she couldn’t define it. Not now, while her mind was clouded with lust.

But her neck. Holy mother. If he bit her, then shit would get real. And fast.

His nose rolled against her skin. She felt his breaths in short, rapid huffs of warm air. Welcoming the grip he had on her face, she melted into his strength and simply held on.

Unsure how long he feasted on her skin, Charlie doubted her ability to stop what they were doing when he licked the length of her neck with the flat of his tongue. The sensation was spine tingling and erotic as hell.

Oh God. Please, she mentally begged. More.

He did it again, only this time along her collarbone until his nose was deep into her nape. Slow, steady and wet, his tongue did wicked things to her flesh that made Charlie quiver. A fire bolt of red-hot lava exploded at the juncture of her inner thighs, flooding her undies with proof of her shocking arousal.

None of the boys she’d made out with ever gave her this aching feeling.

All was lost when he bit her in that spot. His teeth sank into her skin. She gasped. He grunted. Her hands went limp and she hung there held up only by the strength of his hold on her head.

She felt him pull her closer. Charlie didn’t stop him. Couldn’t. Then he licked her from ear to shoulder and she surrendered completely. The primitive creature deep in her soul that was so much a part of who she was began to growl. The sound was feral and sensual at the same time.

And then holy mother. He bit her again—like an animal claiming its prey—and she went someplace she’d never been. A place where being taken by this man became more crucial to living than taking her next breath.

Seeing her weakened from the drugging effect of his hungry offensive on her neck made it hard for Cal to keep his shit together. She was perfect. Her surrender before he’d properly kissed her triggered an appetite for his ‘tessa that revealed a craving and lustiness he thought was romantic bullshit before now.

Could he have her naked and spread out under him—here on the sofa? In a mother fucking heartbeat. But screwing her in the living room had no appeal to Cal. He wanted the whole deal. The entire enchilada. With her, there just couldn’t be any other way.

So he stood up, bringing her body with him as he easily scooped her into his arms and crushed her against his chest. If they were going to do this, he was going to make damn sure they got it right. No goddamn way was he okay with a crude sofa fuck.

This situation, a god-send from his point of view, called for the antique four poster bed and a couple of flickering candles in his downstairs bedroom. There, he could crack open a window to let in the soft breeze of a beautiful fall evening that would make it easier to catch their breath when the air around them became thick and passion-soaked.

As he headed to the stairs, ‘tessa wrapped her hand around his neck and started kissing the top of his chest at the unbuttoned collar of his shirt. He was on the third or fourth step when she licked his Adam’s apple. He very nearly dropped her as an uncontrollable convulsion of pure lust shook his body.

“Kiss me, Ty.” The gentleness of her plea unnerved him.

“Is that what you want, little girl?” His eyes locked on hers. Thank God he could make it to his bedroom blindfolded or they’d be bouncing off the walls like a pinball in motion. “Is that all you want?”

Her answering stare was clear-eyed and very much present. Cal was relieved. She wasn’t drunk off her ass ‘cause that would suck balls and put a quick end to the evening. She knew what she was doing. Thank God because he wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to muster the control he’d need to stop if things went south.

“I like the way you smell,” she murmured and then buried her nose in his neck. The grip she had on his nape was firm and unwavering. If she didn’t stop wiggling in his arms he was gonna drop her to the damn floor and take her fast and hard where they stood.

Shoving open the bedroom door with his foot, he carried her swiftly into the room and headed for the bed. But before he could lay her carefully on the dark green bedspread and feast his eyes on her innocent beauty, she slid from his grasp and landed gracefully on her toes.

“Oh Ty!” she gasped. Her hand flattened on his chest, and then clutched at his shirt. He studied her, curious to discover what caused her exclamation. And then he saw what she was looking at and a big happy grin spread ear-to-ear on his face.

The bed. She was checking out his bed and from her initial reaction, it was safe to say she liked what she was seeing. So did he. The antique four-poster was his most cherished acquisition. It was big and solid—like him. The carved head and footboards showed the highs and lows of every grain and design in the wood.

He’d never met a woman who was uneager to be in his bed, but seeing ‘tessa run at the humongous design element like a kid set loose in a pet store—adorable and so in keeping with her unabashed, open personality—was like throwing starter fluid on a log fire.

“Do you sleep on this?” she asked. Her incredulous tone was funny.

“No. It’s just for show. I sleep on the floor in the corner.”

What was her reaction to his flip reply? She actually looked at the corner where he pointed as if expecting to find a pillow and a blanket to back up his claim.

She rushed him, laughing and slapped both hands on his chest. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” She chuckled. “Go ahead and add gullible to my fascinating attributes. By-product of being the youngest. I fall for everything.”

For real? Cool. As a matter of fact it was more than cool. Meant he’d have no trouble getting her to fall for him.

Instead of backing away, she put her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder—observing the distinctive bed in silence. After a minute or so she squeezed him tight.

“It’s magnificent.” She pulled away and looked at him briefly before lowering her gaze. “Just like you.”

“Well,” he drawled. “I do look pretty banging propped against the headboard reading the newspaper in my birthday suit.”

“Wouldn’t mind seeing that,” she muttered.

Cal replayed taking her face in his hands and just like before, hers came up and held fast to his wrists.

“That can be arranged,” he told her. “And just so we’re clear, there will be no cab calling ‘tessa.”

“Ooooh,” she quipped, surprising him with her lighthearted attitude. “Is this a sleepover then? I didn’t bring a toothbrush. And no change of clothes.”

“You don’t need either,” he growled. “I’ll take care of you, babe.”

With those few words, lighthearted took a hike and desire slid into the shotgun seat.

“Do you mean that?” Her playfulness from just seconds ago was replaced by a breathless tension zapping him in the core of his manhood. He felt the power of his masculinity taking control of her exquisite femininity.

“Yes,” he solemnly answered. Gently kissing the corners of her mouth till she was gasping for air, he finished by saying, “That bed is centuries old and who knows when the last time was that it witnessed what I’m about to do to you.”

“So you were serious?”

Hmmm. He was dead serious, but she was referring to something else.

“You said you never bring anyone here. That this is your private refuge.”

Cal nodded and wrapped his arms around her body, pulling in for a full body clinch. “No one else has ever been in this bed. With me.”

He wanted to say she was the first and maybe the last. Wanted to whisper crude, dirty things about everything he planned to do to her in that bed. Even thought about threatening to chain her to the big end posters and keeping her as his bed slave. A worthy scenario for such an old and magnificent historical object. But he kept all that shit locked away inside his head. Plenty of time for that kind of fuckery later. Right now he had an innocent to seduce.

S
HE KNEW PRECISELY WHAT SHE
was doing. Absolutely certain that it wasn’t the vodka acting, Charlie felt completely at ease with what was undoubtedly about to happen.

Just because she was a technical virgin didn’t mean she was a sexless being with no desires or needs. She’d just never known anyone worthy of being the first. Was it weird that she was in her twenties and without a string of hook-ups and fuck boys on her sexual ledger? Sure. No doubt about it, but she wasn’t like everyone else.

Emotionless sex. Scratching an itch. The very thought made her squeamish. Letting a man into your body had to hold some sort of special place in a girl’s life—at least, that’s the way she’d always seen it. Until Cal Tyler swept into her life with his jug of peanut butter and titillating spider and fly flirtation, she’d barely come close to wanting anyone as much as she wanted him.

And she did. Want him. Plain truth. No bullshit. She wanted this complicated man to show her what all the hoopla is about.