Chapter 4
4
Cody pushed open his front door quietly and carried in the bags from Walmart. The house seemed quiet, and his sensitive ears detected the slow sigh of breath from Melissa in the bedroom. Still asleep. He was glad—she needed it.
He’d slept less than an hour all night. When he’d smelled her tears from the bedroom the night before, he’d been horrified. If they’d come during the spanking, it would have been bad enough, but for her to cry after he thought he’d eased the tension between them—or at least her sexual tension—made him want to smack his head into a metal beam.
He didn’t know the first thing about comforting a woman—had never tried it in his life, but the compulsion had been overwhelming. When she’d fought him off, confirming his fears that she’d never forgive him, he simply couldn’t get up and walk away.
His mate was in need. He had to provide.
That was how it felt, anyway. But he didn’t think of Melissa as a mate. Not even close. She was human, and not his type. They didn’t even get along.
But the chemistry between them, or at least his for her, was off the charts. Once he’d comforted her, he’d been unable to sleep or even rest. Something about her nearness had his blood singing. His brain had gone around and around in circles—about his inexplicable attraction to her, about the trouble she was in, about how he might win her trust so she would follow his orders and he could keep her safe.
He wondered what her ex-boyfriend was like and he experienced violent thoughts toward the guy for putting her in this situation.
He put the milk and other staples in the refrigerator. Finding he had no idea what Melissa liked to eat, he’d stalled at the grocery store, then ended up buying everything in sight.
Behind him, he heard the rustle of movement from the bedroom and then the flush of the toilet. The door pushed open and the soft pad of bare feet sounded behind him.
He continued shoving groceries in the refrigerator to stall as he tried to figure out what to say.
When she didn’t speak either, he turned and reached for one of the bags from Walmart. “Here are some clothes. I’m sure you’ll hate them.”
She reached for the bag. Somehow she managed to look even more beautiful with her hair all rumpled, her cheeks still stained with sleep. His eyes traveled to her lips, which looked bee-stung, swollen, and oh-so-kissable.
He tossed her a second bag. “There’s a burner phone in there. And a Chromebook, so you can work.”
Her jaw dropped. “You bought me a phone and computer?”
“Just a Chromebook.”
“But I can’t afford that,” she said immediately, then blushed as if she didn’t want him to know. Her words surprised him, although he should have gathered that from the location of her house. She had acted so stuck up that he’d assumed she came from money. But no, she was a wanna-be rich girl, the type who spent all her money to look rich, and fell into credit card debt to keep up appearances.
“Your brother-in-law can,” he said gruffly. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t want to tell her it was no sweat off his back, that he had plenty of money and didn’t mind buying her things. Possibly it was because she had been so stuck up about Walmart and his place. Like she’d been too good for him.
He didn’t want to impress her with money, because she was a superficial girl who cared about stuff like that.
There was a flaw in his logic, but he didn’t care to tease it out at the moment.
She rolled her eyes and snatched the bags, opening them. She looked back up. “Thanks,” she said grudgingly.
“What’s missing?” He could tell she wanted to say something but had bit it back.
“Makeup,” she mumbled.
He frowned. “You don’t need that.”
Her eyebrows lowered. “Whatever. You’re the one who has to look at me.”
He laughed. “What I see looks just fine, baby. More than fine.”
Pink tinged her cheeks, making the blue of her eyes pop. Yeah, that girl did not need a drop of makeup.
“I got a bunch of food. I didn’t know what you like to eat, but you should be able to find something. I gotta go get some work done.”
She raised an inquisitive brow. “What kind of work?”
He hesitated. “Construction.”
“Mmm.” She looked properly unimpressed, as he’d expected. “Is there coffee?”
Damn, he hadn’t thought of coffee. “No coffee,” he grunted.
She stared at him in surprise, like he’d denied her a basic right, like the use of a toilet or something.
“You’ll have to suck it up, princess.” He entered his number into her phone. “My number’s in there. Call me if there’s any trouble. Do I have to put a guard on the house, or are you going to stay put?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’ll stay put.”
He stared her down for a beat, alpha style, but since she was human, she didn’t quite get it. Her eyes never lowered, although an adorable blush did start to creep into her cheeks.
Though he knew it was unwise to get too close to her, he couldn’t stop himself. He stalked around and leaned one hand on the table in front of her, bringing his face nose-to-nose with hers. “If you set foot out of this house, I’ll spank your ass again,” he warned in a low voice with a flick of his brows.
Her eyes dilated like she loved the idea. Well, that was one thing they had in common. He inhaled her scent before he walked away, and smiled when he detected the beautiful musk of arousal.
He headed out, calling Ben as he walked the few blocks to his current house project. He just had a few more rooms to paint and then molding to put on around the floors.
“This is Stone.”
“Cody Steele. Checking to see if you found anything out on your end.”
“My pack mate Mark Ruhl is DEA in Denver. He knows the guy Rabago that you saw. Word on the street is that someone stiffed Rabago on a huge shipment to Colorado Springs. He’s coming down to question Melissa, but he already has an APB out on Jeremy, her dickwad ex-boyfriend. Best guess, Jeremy or one of his friends was behind the bad drug deal and they think he has the money. I’m willing to pay it off to get the hit off Melissa, but we need a plan to contact him and make the offer. Do you have any connections to this guy?”
“None.” His pack mates weren’t angels, but he’d helped most of them become semi-contributing members of society. He’d know if any of them were into anything that deep.
“Okay, I’ll keep working on my end. You just keep Melissa safe, and try to get your hands on her asshole ex.”
The alpha in him bristled at Stone giving him orders, but then he experienced a stab of doubt about leaving her alone at the house. Maybe he should’ve put a guard on her.
“What are you doing with a human wife, Stone?” he blurted.
“Fuck you.”
“No, really. I want to understand.” He sounded rude, but he couldn’t explain to Ben Stone that he found his sister-in-law utterly intoxicating. He just had to know if Ben had felt the same about Melissa’s sister. Had he wanted to mate her right from the start?
“She’s part wolf,” Ben growled.
Cody stopped halfway up the walk to the house he was working on. “She is? Melissa too?”
“They’re twins,” Ben said drily and it pissed him off he didn’t know that. He didn’t know anything about her, really, and that annoyed him, too. He didn’t plan to have this conversation with Ben, though. He’d ask Melissa, for fuck’s sake.
He unlocked the door to the house and headed in to prep the house for paint.
Knowing she was part wolf changed everything. Explained everything. There wasn’t something wrong with him—she had wolf blood that sang his song. It still didn’t make her a worthy choice for a mate. He needed a she-wolf who could produce pups, not human babies. But at least he understood the attraction now.
He stretched out the drop cloth and shook a can of paint, wondering if he’d bought anything she liked for breakfast. That was stupid. He shook his head to clear it of thoughts of her. What did he care if she liked what he bought? It wasn’t like he was courting her.
Melissa made an omelet for breakfast. She followed it up with a fruit smoothie, since Cody had bought fresh blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. Funny, she didn’t think a guy like him would buy fresh berries. He seemed like the boxed cereal and canned meals type. Were they for her?
She didn’t want to cancel any of her appointments that week, nor her volunteering commitments with Big Brothers Big Sisters, but she couldn’t see any way around it. She called into the office on the burner phone and told them she was going to work from home because she had a sore throat. It rang again just as she finished eating. She wasn’t sure if she should pick up, but then she recognized her sister’s number.
“Hey, how’s it going? Cody texted Ben your new number.”
That was nice of him.
“Did you survive the wolf domination?”
She snorted. “Okay, first of all, you weren’t kidding. He spanked me!”
Ashley laughed. “Are you okay? Did you…”
“What?”
“Have sex with him?”
She choked on her coffee, spraying it across the kitchen table. Grabbing a napkin, she mopped the dribbles. “Not exactly.” Her voice sounded strangled.
“What happened?” Only a twin would have zero boundaries with demanding every dirty detail.
“He, um, brought me to orgasm.” She laughed.
“Nice. Was it good?”
Why was she blushing when her sister couldn’t even see her face?
“It was good.” That wasn’t true. It had been spectacular. Cody had done more with his fingers than any guy had done with his mouth, fingers, or manhood. The orgasm had been explosive.
“Just good? What aren’t you telling me? Did you hate the dominance? Is that why you’re upset?” Ashley probed.
“I’m not upset. What makes you think I’m upset?”
“Maybe that’s not the right word, but your voice is all tight like there’s something you’re not saying.”
“I’ve got guys trying to kill me, I’m being held semi-prisoner by a wolf who spanks, and I can’t meet with clients or show houses, so I may miss out on some important deals. Is that enough to make my voice tight?”
“It’s something about Cody. I know it is.”
Damn. Sisters were hard to fool.
“He’s hot. And grumpy. He unnerves me. I can’t quite figure him out. One second I decide he’s a cocky redneck laborer and the next he’s comforting me or doing something thoughtful and all the while he’s turning me on, making overt sexual come-ons that should totally piss me off, but instead have me soaking my panties . It’s just all too much. I don’t know what to do with it.”
“Wow. I wish I’d met him. I don’t know whether to advise you to stay the hell away from him or not.”
“I think I should keep my panties on and my legs crossed. He’s got the same kind of appeal as Jeremy, and you know how badly that went.”
“Ugh. Yeah, I do. Then you’re probably right. Steer clear. Don’t provoke his dominance, because sexy times will just complicate things.”
“I've arrived at the same conclusion.”
“Ben’s working on this end to get things figured out with that asshole who’s after Jeremy. He will pay him off or his buddy will arrest him. Either way, they’re taking care of it, ‘kay?”
She exhaled, releasing some of the stress she’d been carrying around. “Thanks, I feel a little better. I’m sorry if this is ruining your honeymoon.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m on the beach getting a tan and drinking a banana daiquiri, but if you want us to come back, we’ll be on the next plane home.”
“No. Please, stay. Hey, Ash?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t want Jeremy to get killed. Could you tell Ben and his friends that? I know they don’t give a crap about him, and this is his fault and everything, but…”
“What, you still feel like you owe him something for saving your life?”
“Yeah.” She knew Ashley would get it.
“Okay, I’ll relay the message. Take care of yourself.”
“You too. Have fun with that wolf of yours.”
“I will. Hasta luego, hermana .”
Melissa laughed at the horrible accent. Her sister’s Spanish sucked. “Talk to you later. Love you.”
She hung up smiling and flipped open the Chromebook Cody had bought her. It was surprisingly easy to set up and in no time at all, she had accessed her email and listings. Maybe working from Cody’s wouldn’t be all that bad, so long as she could conduct all business over the phone, rather than in person.
And working in her pajamas wasn’t half bad either, although she was ready for a shower. She stood and stretched, grabbed the bags of clothes Cody bought, and headed to the en suite bathroom.
Like the rest of Cody’s place, the bathroom could use a good cleaning. She wrinkled her nose at the mold growing in the corners of the tile and the ring around the tub.
Nasty. She wasn’t setting foot in that thing until it had been disinfected at least three times.
She looked under the sink and found cleaning supplies. With a pair of rubber gloves pulled up to her elbows, she broke out the Ajax and got on her hands and knees with a scrub brush.
An hour later she deemed the bathroom passable, and took her shower. Of course, the shampoo was total crap and there was no conditioner. Plus, she hated— hated —deodorant soaps. Yuck. Now she would smell like sudsy grass all day.
She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body before dumping the bags of clothing on Cody’s bed.
She snorted when she picked up a four-pack of the ugliest set of pastel granny panties she’d ever seen. He must’ve been joking with those. Maybe he was hoping it would kill the attraction between the two of them. Oh wow, purple leggings. She laughed out loud when she saw the tanktop that read Princess in fuchsia across the boobs. “Very funny, wolf man,” she muttered.
Some normal stuff was in the pile, too. He’d bought jeans in a size five and seven—she supposed he didn’t know which size would fit her. Several solid colored t-shirts and cute cotton panties that actually might fit. Nothing she would ever buy on her own, but it was better than wearing his shirt and boxer shorts.
She held up a very long pair of black and white witch socks that would probably serve as thigh-highs. He must’ve bought this stuff on purpose to goad her.
Perfect. If that’s what he wanted to see her in, she’d give him a show.
Cody unlocked the front door and pushed it open. And then stopped dead. Melissa was scrubbing his kitchen floor on her hands and knees wearing… holy shit.
He swallowed, his body temperature rising five degrees just looking at her. Melissa wore a pair of black and pink panties, which tragically covered most of her ass, but the backs of her thighs flashed bare above the long black and white socks he’d bought.
She turned and stood up on her knees, looking over her shoulder like a pinup star. On top she wore the Princess tank top with no bra, the peaked tips of her nipples plain through the thin fabric. She’d pulled her hair into pigtails—pigtails, dammit—and she rocked the Harley Quinn Suicide Squad thing to a tee.
He groaned, readjusting his cock in his jeans to ease the ache.
She twirled one pigtail and affected an innocent voice. “Were these the clothes you wanted to see me in, Cody?”
His mouth went dry. He backed against the door, not trusting himself to get anywhere near her. “I warned you what would happen if you played this game, didn’t I?” His voice rasped scratchy and low, hands tightened into fists at his sides, fingernails dug into his palms.
“It’s clearly your game. You dressed me.”
“You’re going to get yourself fucked so hard you’ll forget your own name.”
She stood up, lifting her chest, the perky tips of her breasts pointed directly at him. “You bought the clothes.”
Well, she was right about that. Except he’d bought them as a joke. Never in a million years had he imagined she would turn them into a sex kitten getup that would keep him perma-hard.
Do not move from this door. He willed his body to stay in place.
“You have three seconds to run for the bedroom and lock the door. Don’t come out until you’ve changed into…” he cleared his throat, “something I can handle seeing you in.”
She didn’t move, her blue eyes wide.
“Stay here and I’ll have you bent over the arm of that sofa with my cock buried between those fucking gorgeous thighs in less than five. Go. ”
She edged sideways, keeping her eye on his face. When she reached the bedroom, she threw herself inside and slammed the door. Not until the rattle of the handle told him she’d locked the door did he breathe.
He stabbed his fingers through his hair. Fucking hell.
“Don’t come back out,” he yelled at the door. Not for a week, at least. He didn’t know how he’d get rid of his raging hard-on. He rubbed a hand over his eyes, trying to erase the image of her scrubbing the floor in that outfit, which had been permanently burned on his retinas. He wanted her so badly.
He stared at the bucket and scrub brush on the floor for a long time before he realized she had actually been cleaning. That hadn’t just been for show. A quick glance around his place revealed vacuumed carpets, dusted surfaces, papers straightened into neat piles. Even the furniture had been vacuumed.
Well, I’ll be damned.
He wasn’t sure how to reconcile the hard-working housecleaner with the stuck-up snob who sneered at clothes from Walmart.
She’d busted her ass to clean his house, which he appreciated. He had to admit he didn’t do a good job around his own place. If he lived with other people, he would pull his own weight, but since it was just him, it hardly mattered. He spent all day fixing up houses for other people, making them perfect. He didn’t feel that inspired about doing it for himself. But now, seeing his place through her eyes, he cringed. It had been pretty bad. Certainly not the place you’d bring a girl to impress her.
But he’d done absolutely nothing to impress this girl, had he?
He headed out the back door to fire up the grill. He’d bought a couple of steaks and the idea of cooking for her after she’d cleaned his place suddenly seemed important.
“You can come out now,” he called out when he returned, pulling the steaks out of the refrigerator and slapping them on a plate to douse with seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. “ If you’ve put something else on,” he added hastily.
She emerged, dressed in a pair of jeans and a bold, hot pink t-shirt. He winced. “I see.”
She folded her arms across her chest. She had a bra on this time, saving him from the pain of staring at her nipples. “What do you see?”
“I should have let you pick out your own clothes.” She still looked hot—because clothes didn’t make or break a female like her—but the outfit didn’t fit her right; the jeans were too big and the shirt too small.
She laughed softly, a gorgeous smile lighting up her face.
“Come here, Melissa.” He crooked a finger, half expecting her to tell him to fuck off.
She didn’t, though, and the swing of her hips as she sauntered over undid all the effort he’d put into calming his raging libido.
He caught one of her wrists and spun her toward the kitchen counter, placing her hand, along with its mate, on the edge of the countertop. “Spread your legs, baby,” he murmured in her ear.
Shockingly, she obeyed.
He brought his hand down hard on one jean-clad cheek.
She gasped, but didn’t break position.
He smacked the other side, just as hard. “You know what that’s for, princess,” he growled. With far less force, he brought his palm up to spank her pussy.
“Oh!”
He shoved his hips up against hers, reaching around and rubbing the seam of her jeans against her clit. “Thank you for cleaning my house,” he murmured against her ear, then nipped it with his teeth. “That was nice of you. I’m sorry it was a mess.”
He didn’t often apologize, and it wasn’t easy, especially not with her. Fortunately, she didn’t get high and mighty on him. Of course, she may not have even heard, because his finger kept working the seam of her jeans right up against her clit and she squirmed against him, her breath coming in quick sharp pants.
“I found out why you smell so good for a human.” He licked along the shell of her ear. “You have some wolf blood in you.”
“Does that turn you on?” The husky purr of her voice nearly made his cock turn bionic as it tried to punch right through his jeans to nail that sweet little ass she kept grinding against him.
His vision domed but he drew deep breaths to keep the beast at bay. “How long do you think it would take me to make you orgasm right here, with those jeans still on your hot little body?”
She trembled beneath him, grinding her pussy on his fingers. When she didn’t answer, he gave her mons another slap. “Hmm?”
“I don’t know,” she moaned. She sounded close. Very close.
He slid his hand up under her shirt and kneaded her breast. “Thirty seconds? More?”
She reached back and grasped his neck, digging her nails into his skin. The she-wolf move made him roar as once more the beast surged to the surface, so ready to mark her.
He rubbed his knuckle over her clit, slapped her pussy hard and fast.
She squealed, yanking on his neck, hanging from it as her legs gave way.
With another firm grind of her jeans into her clit, he growled, “Come for me, baby.”
She snapped. Her hips bucked wildly and he had to hang on tight to keep the pressure where it counted. Her head thrown back on his shoulder, she scratched at the back of his neck, cried out over and over again while her entire body shuddered with release.
His own body trembled, the effort of holding back his desire so great. He whirled her around, pinned her back against the cabinets. His eyes had changed color, he knew by the way she stared up at them, fear and fascination warring in her expression.
“You… shouldn’t do that,” she said breathlessly. Even though she was right, it offended him. He wanted her sighing his name, falling against him with blissful gratitude.
But of course that wouldn’t happen. Not with Melissa and the lofty standards he’d never meet. With great willpower he pushed away from her and stepped back.
He grabbed the plate of steaks and stalked out to the backyard to throw them on the grill.
Like the last time Cody had brought her to climax and then abruptly left her, she felt unmoored. Her body missed his heat, his masculine scent, his growly voice hot in her ear. Her clit throbbed, raw after his torture.
He’d seemed offended as he stalked away.
What was he trying to prove? That he could control her as easily with sex as he could with the threat of punishment? Or could he just not help himself?
She secretly hoped it was the latter.
She’d seen the blatant hunger on his face when he first came in and saw her getup. His hands had closed into fists and he’d stayed glued to the door, as if he feared getting too close to her.
She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the fixings for salad, automatically getting to work as her mind turned over her six foot four inches of solid trouble.
Maybe this was the wolf form of courtship—hot sexual encounters littered with threats of far worse. And she’d rejected it with her warning after she climaxed. Which was probably why he’d stalked away, that tic in his jaw showing she’d succeeded once more in irritating him.
Their exchanges had almost become a game to her. Except it wasn’t one she was sure she wanted to win. Not if it meant Cody thought her a heartless bitch who only cared about herself, which she knew was how she came off.
But she didn’t need to show him her real self, either. This wasn’t a relationship—she’d already decided it couldn’t go anywhere.
By the time she finished putting two salads on plates, Cody returned with the cooked steaks, still looking pissed.
“Mmm, that smells heavenly,” she said in an attempt to ignore the tension between them.
“So you do eat meat?” he asked gruffly.
She wasn’t sure if it was another innuendo. Was he complaining that she hadn’t reciprocated with a blowjob yet?
She darted a sidelong glance at him and settled for an ambiguous, “Yep.”
He glanced at the plates she’d set out. “Thanks for making salad.” He sounded grudging, like it cost him to thank her for anything, or like manners were unfamiliar territory. It tugged at her heart. Was he actually making an effort to be polite?
“Thanks for the steak.” She tried to keep her voice light and friendly.
He added steak knives to their place settings and sat down on the sofa with her. “How much blood?”
She knew what he was asking—about her wolf heritage. “A quarter. My grandmother got involved with a wolf in Cheyenne. He had to leave her because she was human, and he never knew she was pregnant.”
Cody frowned. “Your grandmother couldn’t find him to tell him?” Surprise crinkled the lines of his forehead.
She stabbed a piece of steak with her fork and popped it in her mouth. “Mmm.”
Cody stopped eating, staring at her lips as she chewed.
“This is heavenly.”
He seemed to forcibly look down at his own plate for a bite of steak.
“She didn’t try. She said his pack made him leave her, so she didn’t want to interfere. He’d already made his choice.”
Cody wiped his mouth with a napkin. For some reason, she found herself surprised by how refined and cultured his table manners were. She’d assumed him to be a sort of redneck, but instead, he’d placed his napkin in his lap straightaway, chewed with his mouth closed, and ate neatly for such a big, hungry man. Not huge feats, but ones that neither Jeremy, nor any of the guys she’d dated in the past, had managed.
“It would’ve changed things,” he said matter-of-factly. “She should’ve told him. A wolf takes care of his own.”
Curiosity flickered, curling in her chest. She wanted to know how a wolf took care of his own, not in the hypothetical sense, but specifically, how a playboy wolf like Cody, who seemed terminally single, would take care of a female if he accidentally got her pregnant. She shook her head to clear that errant thought from her mind. Where were these thoughts coming from?
Cody went on, “He would’ve protected his female and that pup with his life, provided for both of them. Whose father was he? Your mother’s or your father’s?”
“My father’s.”
She swallowed another bite of savory meat. Cody had seasoned it and just seared the outside, so the rare meat melted in her mouth. She found herself vaguely surprised that he knew how to cook a gourmet steak, expecting him to be more of the type to drown it in barbecue sauce—or God forbid—ketchup. Instead, he’d produced better steak than she’d find at the best Colorado steakhouse.
“Your dad never shifted?”
“No, and he doesn’t know. Ashley and I didn’t find out until Ben marked her.”
Cody watched her lips again, that look of hunger flickering on his face before he dragged his eyes to meet hers. “What happened?”
Part of her didn’t want to tell him, it was Ashley and Ben’s story, after all. But some part she didn’t want to examine too closely thought he should know—that he needed to know, in case it became relevant for… them.
“It happened accidentally. Ben lost control and bit her here.” She indicated the place where neck met shoulder, remembering the horrific marks on her sister right after he’d done it. “She recovered much faster than they expected, which led one of his pack mates to question whether she had wolf blood. We realized we’re never sick or hurt and our father used to brag he’d never been sick a day in his life. Also, that the father line is blank on his birth certificate. So Ashley and I drove up to Wyoming to ask our Grandma Jane, and she told us her story.”
“Wyoming, huh? What’s his name?”
She shook her head. “She didn’t tell us. Why, do you know wolves in Wyoming?”
Cody nodded. “Yeah. The wolf community is small.” He’d finished his steak and salad and now he wiped his mouth again and set his fork and knife on the plate, like he was at a restaurant. “The Wyoming pack is coming to Estes Park next month for the annual games. Maybe you should go.”
She gaped in surprise. “Are you going?”
A muscle in his jaw jumped. “No. It’s my father’s gig, and we don’t get along.”
She filed that information away to chew on later. Somehow it didn’t surprise her that he didn’t get along with his dad. Even though he must be nearing thirty years old, he carried that ‘rebel’ vibe like a badge.
It was in her nature to serve, even a male who didn’t deserve it, so she stood, picking up both their plates from the coffee table and carrying them to the kitchen. Without checking, she knew Cody’s heated gaze followed her and she had to admit she loved it. She’d never been with a guy who made her feel so desirable. The fact that Cody seemed unable to control his desire—despite his obvious dislike for her—gave her a sense of pleasure and power.