Touch of Seduction Read online

  They’d been sharing some quiet conversation about little things, from movies to music to their favorite drinks at Starbucks, but no matter how hard Olivia tried, she couldn’t keep her eyes off Aiden’s bedroom door. Couldn’t stop remembering how he’d looked when he’d faced off against the Casus that afternoon. He’d been vicious and violent in his fury, but breathtaking, too, in a beautiful, visceral way. She desperately wanted to go to him, but feared his rejection. He hadn’t even spared her a glance when he’d come in, making it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her. When Kellan had caught her shattered expression, he’d told her not to worry about it, claiming that Aiden was just crashing after the adrenaline high. But she wasn’t convinced.

  She hadn’t forgotten the look in his eyes when he’d slid that last dark glance toward her and Jamie, before dragging the Casus away to kill him. There’d been fury there, as well as something more. Something that had reached into her chest and fisted around her heart like a physical pain.

  And it was still hurting. Aching.

  Carefully lifting the mug that Morgan had set in front of her, Olivia took a sip of tea and winced from the throbbing in her wounded arm…then winced again as a muted crash came from behind Aiden’s door, a strange, almost animal-like sound bleeding through the walls. “Something’s wrong with him,” she whispered, tightening her fingers around the warm mug.

  Morgan gave a delicate snort. “Yeah. He had the crap scared out of him today. As far as wake-up calls go, this one was probably like a knife in the ribs.”

  Olivia chewed on the corner of her mouth as another strange sound reached their ears, this one pitched low, as if something were in pain. She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened when he’d been alone with the Casus. Had something been said that upset him? Something about her sisters? Or Jamie?

  Morgan leaned forward in her chair, bracing her crossed arms on the pine tabletop. “You should go to him, Liv. I’m sure today was rough on him. Ade doesn’t handle things very well that have to do with kids.”

  Her gaze flew toward the other woman, wide with curiosity. “What do you mean?”

  “He tends to lose it when he sees a child hurt or in danger. I know any sane person would, but it gets to him in a way that’s hard to explain.”

  Olivia recalled touching his scarred wrist in the truck and how he’d said the marks were made when he was young, as well as his claim to have killed the ones responsible, and though she’d been doing her best to fight it, an idea began to take form in her mind. One that was too horrific to even contemplate. But she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What happened to him?”

  Morgan leaned back in her chair, clutching her tea against her chest, her eyes sad as she stared at the red poppies decorating the mug’s surface. “It’s Aiden’s story to tell. But he’s more than just a pretty face and a smart-ass attitude.” She lifted her gaze, her mouth curling in a lopsided smile. “If you want my opinion, he’s used a long list of nameless bimbos over the years to try and help him forget, but it hasn’t worked. He locks it down, but eventually something happens that makes it all come bubbling back to the surface. Something like today.”

  “Used them? You mean for sex?”

  Morgan gave another soft, feminine snort. “You know how guys think, as if the answer to everything is hanging between their legs. And for a Prime, like Aiden, it’s even worse. Their sex drives are legendary among the clans, rivaling even that of the Merrick and the Deschanel.”

  So many questions rushed through her mind, tripping over themselves in their eagerness to be answered. What was a Prime? Why did it make his sexual needs so intense? But the one Olivia found herself asking was “Are you saying that he needs sex tonight?” The words came out shaky and low, her mind suddenly filling with the memory of how easily he’d dragged the Casus out of the clearing that afternoon. Shuddering, she broke out in a piercing wave of chills. She knew that Aiden would never hurt her, but she couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to experience even a fraction of the power he was capable of.

  “I’m saying that he needs you.”

  Knowing Morgan could probably read every ounce of longing on her face, she looked toward his door again, then back toward the sofa where Jamie was cuddled up sucking her thumb, her small arm strangling the teddy bear Aiden had bought for her.

  “Go on,” Morgan said in a soft voice. “I’ll stay here and keep an eye on Jamie for you.”

  “Thanks,” she whispered, her heart beating like a hummingbird’s wings as she pushed back her chair and stood up. One more question lingered on the tip of her tongue, since she still wasn’t sure exactly what kind of animal Aiden carried inside him. But she was too nervous to get the words out. The Casus had called him “kitty,” but that still left open a world of head-spinning possibilities. Lions. Tigers. Leopards. Jaguars and pumas and panthers.

  As if reading her mind, Morgan said, “Whatever you find in there, don’t be scared. Sometimes, after a fight, it’s necessary for our kind to unwind a bit. But it’s still Aiden, and you know he’d rather die than hurt you.”

  Olivia gave a slow nod as she moved across the room on trembling legs, wondering exactly what Morgan meant by “unwind.” Without giving herself time to worry about it, she took hold of the doorknob, twisted and walked into his room. Darkness stole her sight, but she pushed the door shut behind her. Pale slivers of moonlight peeked from around the edges of the drapes, and as she waited, her eyes slowly began to make sense of the shadows. She could hear the harsh, heavy staccato of Aiden’s breathing on the other side of the room, but couldn’t see him. Not yet. Then he stalked forward, moving into one of the milky streams of light, and a massive orange-and-black-striped tiger filled her vision, its huge paws padding silently over the carpeted floor.

  It came to a stop in the center of the room, and all Olivia could think was Oh, my God. Ohmygod…Ohmygod…Ohmygod…

  The animal’s massive head was cocked a little to the side, and its bright amber eyes stared back at her, sharp with intelligence, glittering with awareness. As he stood there in the pale glow of light, she had the strangest sense that he wanted to come closer, but was wary of how she would respond. Of frightening her away.

  It took a moment to find her voice, but she finally managed to say, “So I g-guess I was more right than I’d realized when I c-called you a tomcat, huh?”

  He chuffed a rough sound under his breath, almost as if he was laughing. But there was a shadow of something dark hanging over him, the intensity of his emotions blasting against her like a physical force. She could see the longing in his eyes. Could sense how badly he needed comfort, someone to hold on to him, and her fear melted away like snowflakes beneath the burning warmth of the sun.

  With her back braced against the door, Olivia slid down to the floor and stretched out one hand, calling him to her with the silent offering. He came forward slowly…cautiously, until his fur-covered head nuzzled against her chest. She funneled her fingers through the soft, thick fur on the back of his strong neck, feeling the powerful shift of muscle beneath his hot skin as he drew in a series of deep, ragged breaths. And then, like a dam cracking apart, allowing the rushing waters to flood through, she began to cry. Fat, salty tears that she had no hope of stopping or controlling. She wasn’t even sure she could explain what the tears were for, understanding only that they were as essential as the air shuddering in her lungs, the blood coursing through her veins.

  Then the unthinkable happened, and Olivia could have sworn that he started to cry, too. The sounds were rougher than human tears, rawer, like something angry and hard being shredded inside him, and her heart softened in a warm, breathtaking wave of tenderness, until it was nothing more than a hot, burning glow in her chest. “It’s okay,” she whispered, stroking his fur as she curved herself over him, around him, cradling him in her arms. “I’m here. I won’t leave you.”

  Hours could have crept by, or perhaps only a handful of minutes. Olivia didn’t know, and s
he didn’t care. She was content to be where she was, whispering to him in the darkness, careful to keep her voice soft…soothing, gentling him until his breathing had grown calm. Eventually he lifted his head, the tiger’s face close to hers as he stared deep into her eyes. He cocked his head a little to the side again, and she gave him a trembling, watery smile.

  “You’re so b-beautiful,” she whispered, running her fingertips over his face, awed by the sheer, miraculous wonder of him. She had thought she would be terrified if she ever saw him in his animal form. That the beast would be foreign…unknown. But it was no stranger who stared back at her through those golden, hypnotic eyes. It was Aiden, and in that instant the horrifying realization burned through Olivia’s mind that she was falling in love with him. The crazy, rushing, head-over-heels kind of falling that she couldn’t defend against, couldn’t fight. “I think…” She swallowed, working for her broken voice. “I think you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  He gave a deep, rumbling purr, then licked the side of her face.

  “Uck,” she groaned, laughing as she wiped away the tiger drool, and again she could have sworn the rough sound he made deep in his chest was laughter. In that moment, everything inside her churned into a desperate, needy ache that only he could ease, and she knew that she was tired of running from the inevitable. Tired of fighting what she wanted so badly to happen.

  Olivia ran her hands down the sides of his face, his throat, her voice trembling with raw, devastating need as she said, “Change back, Aiden. Now. Change back for me.”

  He looked away, tensing, and she grabbed his thick fur, pulling until he was staring at her again. “Change back,” she whispered, holding nothing back, letting everything she felt inside bleed into her expression. “I need you here with me. Right now.”

  He shuddered beneath her hands, then pulled away, slipping out of her hold. Panicking, she scrambled to her knees, ready to chase him down, until she realized he was already shifting back to his human shape, right before her eyes. It felt as if she’d fallen into some kind of magical universe as she watched thick fur melt into sleek, silken skin, his bones cracking as they reshaped themselves into the familiar, breathtaking body that never ceased to dazzle her, melting her down into a thick, molten burn of hunger and lust. As his muscles rippled beneath his skin, he fell away from her, sprawling across the floor on his back, the pale streams of moonlight illuminating his dark, dangerous beauty.

  Before he’d even fully completed the change, Olivia crawled over him, straddling his ridged stomach, her hands reaching for his damp face. He shuddered beneath her, his golden eyes suddenly popping open, and he grasped her wrists, locking them in a manacle grip before she could touch him.

  From one instant to the next, his expression turned savage, and he curled his lip. “I can’t believe I let that happen today.” The words emerged in a low, seething snarl, and he grasped her upper arms, giving her a little shake. “It was so stupid. I should have kept you locked in the truck. You both could have been killed. I could have lost you!”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” she argued, fighting against his hold, mindless of the pain in her arm. “Damn it, Aiden. Let go of me and let me touch you.”

  His eyes squeezed closed as his head fell back against the floor, tendons straining in his throat from the arched position of his neck, his hands still gripping her arms, holding her away from him. “You shouldn’t want me.” Dull, emotionless words, as if he was the one shutting down now. “Not after what happened. Not after tonight. After seeing me like this.”

  Frustration welled up like a froth of lava getting ready to explode. “Why? Because you’ve shown you have emotions like the rest of us?” she burst out in a hot, angry rush, struggling against his hold even harder. “God, you alphas are so thickheaded sometimes! Now, let go of me before I scream!”

  He released his hold on her arms and opened his eyes, his expression painfully grim as he dropped his hands to the floor. They curled into hard, tight fists, his body rigid beneath her, caught on a knife’s edge between need and rage. “Get out of here, Liv. Now.”

  She lifted her chin, refusing to budge from her perch on his stomach. “No. I’m not going to go running just because you’re in a foul mood. So you got upset? So what? What’s the big freaking deal?”

  “It’s dangerous to let out what’s inside me.” His breath jerked in his lungs, lifting his chest, his golden eyes burning with frustration and fury and lust. “Trust me, Liv. It isn’t all teary and tender. Most of it’s ugly and raw and black. Most of it would scare the shit out of you.”

  “You don’t scare me, Aiden. In fact, I’ll show you just how not scared I am of you,” she snapped, caught up in a complicated, powerful knot of desperation and love as she leaned down to press an openmouthed kiss against his left nipple. He reacted with a sharp jolt, as if he’d been struck by a crackling surge of electricity.

  “What are you doing?” he snarled, staring with narrowed, suspicious eyes as she began to scoot back, kissing her way down his beautiful, muscular body. His massive erection jerked and pulsed between them as she kissed her way over his ribs, lingering on a smooth, curving scar. When her tongue dipped playfully into his belly button, the guttural sound that crawled up his throat was only part man. It should have terrified her, the sheer animal savagery of that sound, but it didn’t. If anything, it only made her hotter…hungrier.

  “Answer me, damn it.” He was drenched with sweat, his eyes flashing between those of the man and the beast as she dared a quick glance up at his face, watching as his anger reshaped itself into something dark and erotic. “What the hell are you doing, Liv?”

  With his hot male scent filling her head, she scooted lower, pressing a tender kiss to the healing welt on his thigh. The mind-boggling length of his erection bobbed at the edge of her vision, rising from its thick nest of caramel-colored curls, and she couldn’t wait to touch it. Hold it. “You’re a smart guy, Aiden. Figure it out,” she said in a low voice just as she wrapped her cool hand around the heavy, vein-ridden shaft. His body went completely rigid, held in a straining vise of control, his eyes shocked wide, still red from his tears, but it only made him sexier, that ragged edge of emotion adding a fierceness to his features that spiked her need even higher. Or maybe that was just the excitement of holding him in her hand. The heady anticipation of knowing that she was going to take him into her mouth. Her body. Or maybe it was everything. God, all he had to do was look at her and she was ready, more turned on than she’d ever been before.

  Salty drops of moisture leaked from the shaft’s swollen, plum-sized head, and she used them to lube her hand, making her palm wet enough to glide along his length in a smooth, slick pumping action that had his lips pulling back over his sharp white teeth. His powerful body shuddered beneath her, his thick, ropy muscles defined in sharp relief beneath the burnished silk of his skin. And his eyes…his eyes burned with a hunger that was so savage and raw, she could only marvel at its existence.

  “Last chance, Liv. You need to get up and walk out of here. Right now. Or it’s going to be too late.”

  “It was too late for me the second I set eyes on you,” she whispered, feeling as if she’d been caught up in a whirlpool that was sucking her down deeper…and deeper. But she wasn’t fighting the current. She wanted to be pulled under. Wanted to be battered by the waves, crushed by the stunning force of the currents. She wanted to be swept away. Lost. Taken.

  And she wanted it now.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she told him, holding his burning gaze as she leaned down and licked the heavy, glistening head of his cock, the resulting tremor that shot through his body making her smile. “Not until we’ve finished what we’ve started, Ade.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  WONDERING WHERE the shy, stammering kindergarten teacher had gone, Aiden glared down at the stunning seductress, who was driving him out of his mind, her touch so damn good his eyes were nearly rolling back in his head. �
�You put your mouth on me again,” he forced out through his gritted teeth, “and I won’t be responsible for what happens. You understand me? And you’re not ready for it, Liv.”

  “Like hell I’m not.” A flash of temper sparked through her violet gaze, along with a heavy dose of frustration.

  Reaching down, he fisted the fingers of his right hand in the silky strands of her hair, his voice a rough, guttural rasp as he tried once more to give her fair warning of what she was getting herself into. “I won’t be able to control myself, which means it’s not gonna be some sweet, easy ride. It’s gonna be me covering you, holding you down, buried about a mile in your body, going at you as hard as I can.”

  “Good. Because that’s how I want it.”

  Aiden eyed her warily, afraid to believe what she’d just said. The staggering implications behind her husky words. That this was actually going to happen, here and now.

  He was too on edge to handle it, still reeling from the crazy, chaotic storm of emotion he’d been dealing with since the moment he’d realized that she and Jamie had been taken. The stark, chilling terror that had ripped him apart. Then finding that bastard with his hands on her. Hearing the vile things he’d said. It’d been like slipping into the most excruciating, heinous depths of hell, and now he’d been transported to heaven.

  It made his head spin. Made him feel as if he was going to burst from his skin.