Wolf King (Wolves of New York #1) Read online

  Our people eventually learned that many could learn to control the flash in their eyes, making the glow of an untrustworthy Pathfinder suspect.

  Just like any other gift, it can be perverted or used for personal gain.

  But not when the gift is so new the gifted doesn’t even know it’s happening. At least for now—for tonight and until she’s trained—Willow will be my window into the future, and her intentions, without even knowing it.

  Resting my hands on her shoulders, I exhale, thoughts racing as I try to choose the best question to test my little wolf.

  And just like that, it comes to me.

  This “little wolf” isn’t as little as she seems.

  And she might know more about her own destiny than even she realizes.

  “I’m going to ask you a series of questions,” I say, “and I want you to answer honestly. Can you do that for me, Willow?”

  “I’ll try,” she murmurs, her breath coming faster than it was before. But whether it’s because of nerves or the electricity humming between us, I can’t say.

  That’s another thing about Pathfinders, they’re alleged to be absolutely irresistible in bed.

  Not that I’ll ever find out.

  Because I’m not going to sleep with Willow, no matter how much the smell of her getting turned on as I rub gentle fingers into her tight muscles drives me wild.

  “First, open your eyes.” I wait until she looks up, meeting my gaze as I lean forward over the back of the chair.

  Her lips quirk. “You look different upside down. Is this part of your plan to make me so nervous I’ll do anything you tell me to do?”

  “You should do anything I tell you to do regardless,” I remind her, but it’s hard to sound intimidating when I’m getting hard for her. Just from looking into her damned eyes. “First question. In your ideal future, where do you see yourself fitting into our pack?”

  Her expression sobers. “Well, like I said, I have my master’s in chemistry, and I’m good at what I do. I think I could be useful to—”

  “No,” I cut in. “I don’t mean your profession. I mean, do you see yourself as an Omega, fulfilled by selfless service, as a Beta facilitator of your pack leader’s vision, or as an Alpha, helping to lead and protect the people?”

  She hesitates a beat, and I remind her, “The truth. Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear, tell me what you truly believe. You won’t be punished for that. I give you permission to speak freely.”

  She pulls in a breath and lets it out slowly. “I know this isn’t a trick question, but I’ve never…”

  I hold her gaze, hopefully making it clear partial answers aren’t an option.

  “I’ve never said it out loud,” she adds in a rush. “To anyone. Even myself. Until this exact minute it’s only been in my head, but…” She takes another breath, bites her lip, and then says, “I’m an Alpha, Maxim, not a Beta. I’ve suspected that for a while, but now, I’m sure of it. I know I’m not the typical big, badass defender type, but…that’s what feels true.”

  I nod, keeping my expression carefully neutral as her eyes begin to glow gold around the pupil again.

  Hypothesis tested.

  Results conclusive.

  And illuminating in their own right.

  “Not all Alphas are big and badass on the outside,” I say softly. “Some are big and badass on the inside.”

  Hope mixes with the light in her eyes, making them look even more beautiful. “Yeah?” Her lips quirk. “You think I’m an inner badass?”

  “I don’t know you well enough to say for certain, but my instinct is…yes. It takes bravery to run from everything you’ve ever known and jump off a bridge in the middle of the night.” I arch a brow. “And, for a Beta, you spend an awful lot of time shooting challenging looks my way.”

  “Does that bother you?” she asks, nibbling on her lip again.

  “Not as much as that.” I reach down, gently urging her lip free from her teeth before smoothing the pad of my thumb across the warm skin.

  My swollen cock grows even fatter, thicker in response, further tenting my thin robe and making me grateful for the chair in front of my hips.

  No need for Willow to know how much I want to bend her over the couch cushions and take her from behind, how much I want to drag my teeth over her neck, her shoulders, and to feel her pussy gripping me tight as she comes for her Alpha, the only one strong enough to top her.

  How much I want it to be my seed inside her instead of Pax’s.

  I’ve never thought much about children, never felt the urge to breed a woman—any woman—but this little wolf does things to me. If the stars hadn’t given her to Pax, I would wonder if maybe, just maybe…she was meant to be mine.

  “Stop biting my lip,” she whispers, her mouth moving against my skin. “I’ll work on that.”

  “Good.” I brush my thumb back across the sweet fullness again, longing to push between her lips, to feel her suck on the digit the way I want her to suck on something else.

  An image of Willow on her knees, begging for me to fuck her mouth, flashes on my mental screen and a wave of desire courses through me.

  It’s so intense I’m not sure I’d still be standing without the chair to hold me up. And when I look down at Willow her breath is coming faster, and her nipples are beaded tight beneath the fabric of her dress. Her thighs press together and release, seeking friction, and the scent of aroused female is strong enough for me to smell the salty sweetness teasing at my nose.

  And even though I know I shouldn’t, that this isn’t what I need to learn from her, I can’t help asking, “And what about us?” I whisper. “What do you see in our future, little wolf?”

  Her throat works as she swallows. “Don’t. Please. Don’t make me answer that.”

  “Why not?” I ask, knowing I’m playing with fire, but unable to stop myself. “Are you planning to kill me in my sleep? Or maybe my father, instead?”

  “No, I would never do that to you, or anyone else,” she says, with a flash of light in her eyes.

  I didn’t truly suspect her of anything ominous, but still, it’s nice to get confirmation that she truly means me and mine no harm.

  Maybe that’s enough for now.

  Maybe I should let her off the hook, stop stoking this flame and get her back to her own quarters before things get even more complicated.

  But I don’t say a word.

  I wait, holding her gaze as I whisper, “Tell me, Willow.”

  Her breath shudders out. “I can’t.”

  “You must. And you will, or you’ll be punished.”

  “How will you punish me?” she asks, clearly weighing her options.

  “In a way you won’t enjoy. Not even a little bit.”

  Her lips press together, but after a beat she sighs. “Fine, I see us becoming friends. Maybe even…good friends.”

  I narrow my eyes on hers, which are still beautiful, but not glowing. Not even a little bit. “You’re lying.”

  “How do you know? You can’t read minds, can you?”

  “I can read yours,” I say, pushing on before she can speak again, “Last chance to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Don’t be afraid.”

  “I’m not afraid,” she says softly. “I’m…embarrassed.”

  Fuck, if she says what I think she’s going to say, the chances that I’m not going to do something rash are slim to none. This is my last chance to slam on the brakes before we go zooming off the road and into the canyon.

  Instead, I issue a soft challenge, “We’re not children. Or human. And shyness doesn’t become a woman who wants to take her place in Alpha leadership.”

  A mixture of irritation and shame fills her striking green eyes, but it slowly morphs into pure determination as she whispers, “All right. I’ll tell you what I see, Maxim. I see you on top of me and behind me and in a dozen other positions I didn’t even know existed until you asked me that question. I see your hands all over me, your mout
h on mine, and your—”

  I’m on her before she can finish.

  I don’t remember circling around the chair, but suddenly I’m kneeling between my glowing girl’s knees, cupping her face in my hands, and dragging her down for a kiss.

  The second her lips crash into mine, I know I’m never going to let her go. She might have been mate claimed by another, but from tonight until my last night, she’s mine.

  Mine to taste and seduce and fuck and pleasure until she knows that her place will always be by my side. In my bed. Under me and over me and all the places she fits so well because she was made for me.

  I’ve never had such an instant, profound reaction to a woman before, but as I guide Willow down to the carpet and roll on top of her, our mouths mating with a hunger that makes my bones ache with the need to possess her, I don’t question that this is who we are now.

  Her glowing eyes confirmed that we’re going to be lovers, and why put off something so fucking irresistible, when I can be balls deep in her tonight?

  Unless…

  “Will it hurt you?” I growl against her lips as my hand drags up her thigh, moving beneath her dress.

  “Will what hurt me?” she pants, moaning as I cup her sex through her panties.

  “Are you sore? Injured from—” I cut off. Her “mate” isn’t worthy to lick the soles of her shoes, let alone have his name spoken when we’re together like this. “I don’t want to hurt you, little wolf. There are no punishments for you when we’re together like this. When I fuck you, you will feel only pleasure and the sweetest kind of pain.”

  She tenses beneath me, her thighs clenching together, trapping my hand on her hot sex, before they release just as quickly.

  She scoots a few inches across the carpet, away from my fingers. “I can’t, Maxim. Not yet, I-I’m not ready. I want to, want you, but I…need time.”

  “Because you’re in pain?” I stay where I am, not ready to release her just yet.

  She feels too good like this, under me, submissive to me.

  Mine.

  “No, not physical pain,” she says. “I just need some time to adjust to the fact that you’re not a monster who’s going to steal my baby and kick me out on the street.”

  I grunt. “Who said I wasn’t?”

  Her eyes go wide, and her jaw goes slack. “So that’s still on the table? Seriously? After you’ve been so nice all night?”

  “I haven’t been nice, and I don’t intend to be nice.” I shift forward, knee her thighs apart, and settle my hips between them, relishing the way her breath rushes out and her eyes dilate as my bare cock presses against her core through her panties and my open robe. “I intend to do what’s best for my pack. If that includes making a place for you, so be it. If that turns out not to be so, however, I won’t hesitate to kick you out.”

  “Is that so?” she challenges, shooting daggers at me with her eyes even as she begins to move beneath me, grinding against my dick.

  “That’s so.”

  She huffs. “You’re being an Alpha-hole again.”

  “But you still want my cock in you so badly your pussy is dripping, little one,” I whisper. “Don’t bother denying it. I can smell you, how ripe and ready you are for me to fuck you.”

  Her breath shudders out. “Physical attraction doesn’t mean anything. I can hate you and want to sleep with you at the same time. Apparently. Thanks for introducing me to the weird and not-so-wonderful world of wanting to kiss a person I can’t stand.”

  “You want to do more than kiss me.” I skim a hand down the center of her chest until I reach the V neck on her dress. I hook my finger under it and drag the fabric down, down, holding her gaze until I’ve tugged it far enough to reveal the black satin bra beneath. Only then do I look down, gliding fingertips over the top of her full breasts above the fabric as I murmur, “You want me to touch you here, to lick and suck and bite your nipples, to make you wild and shameless enough to beg for what you want.”

  “I don’t,” she lies. “I want you to let me go back to my room so I can take a shower and wash the stink of you off of me.”

  “Tell me you love the way I smell, tell me my scent makes you wet every time we’re in the same room.”

  “You told me not to lie,” she shoots back, but she squirms beneath me again, rubbing against my cock, her breath catching as I thrust forward, giving her a taste of the friction she craves.

  “Tell me you can’t be near me without getting wet, and I’ll get you off,” I say, plucking at her nipple through her bra, not missing the hitch in her breath as her lips part.

  “The only ‘off’ I want to get is you off of me,” she says, but her voice is weak, thin, and she’s rocking more shamelessly against me now, losing the battle against her own desire.

  “Tell me and you could be coming in seconds.” I jerk the cup of her bra down, revealing her abundant breast and a tight rosebud nipple that’s practically begging for my attention. I answer its silent plea, capturing it between my fingers and rolling it in slow circles that draw a strangled, hungry sound from low in her throat.

  “Damn you,” she breathes, bucking into me as I grind deeper, pinning her to the carpet with my dick.

  “Last chance, little wolf. Tell me what I want to hear or I’m going to send you to your room without relief, and with your hands tied behind you so you can’t even take care of yourself. And then I’ll come visit you later.” I pinch her nipple harder. “And play with these exquisitely sensitive nipples a little more, just to make sure you dream of me tonight.”

  She moans low in her throat as she fists handfuls of my robe in her hands. “Fine, I’ll say it, but I don’t mean it.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that.” I circle my hips, grinding my throbbing erection against her clit as her breath comes faster.

  “I love the way you smell,” she says, her bottom lip trembling and her pupils so large I could drown in them. And there it is, that glow that proves she means every word. “I love the way you look at me. I love the sound of your voice, so deep I can feel it vibrating against my skin.” She whimpers low in her throat and her arms begin to tremble as the pace of our delicious, adolescent dry fucking grows faster, more urgent. “I might as well stop wearing panties altogether because every time you look at me, I get wet. I’m constantly hot and aching and….oh God…” She gasps. “Oh God, Maxim. God!” She bows beneath me, shuddering and shaking as she comes so hard, I swear I can feel her pleasure echoing in my skin.

  I’m dying to rip the soaked lace between her legs from her body and get my cock inside her. The need to fuck her, claim her, mark her with my scent and my come is as fierce and primal a thing as I’ve ever felt.

  The human part of me wants to honor her wishes, to wait, but my wolf is wild with hunger. He’s frantic, frothing, half mad with the need to rut and spill himself inside this soft little wolf, whose pussy smells like the best thing in the entire world.

  I honestly can’t say which side of me would have won in the end.

  I like to think my civilized, compassionate, always-in-control Alpha would have asserted itself the way it usually does, but I’m not positive that would have been the case.

  I should be grateful for the urgent pounding on the door and Hermione’s voice insisting there’s been a development and I’m needed right away.

  Instead, it’s all I can do not to verbally rip my second-in-command’s head off.

  Exerting Herculean control, I growl, “I’ll be down to command in five minutes.”

  “Make it three,” Hermione says, proving it must be something big. “And I’ve sent for your father, too. He should see this.”

  Very big, then. And serious.

  My father is still fragile, weak, and exhausted by eight o’clock most nights after spending hours every afternoon with his physical therapist. If Hermione wants to drag him out of his bed then this is next level shit that requires not one, but two Alphas.

  And preferably one with upwards of thirty y
ears’ experience managing this pack.

  “I’ll be there,” I shout tightly as Willow rearranges her dress, covering her breasts once more.

  Which is absolutely for the best, but I still have to fight the urge to jerk the fabric down again and insist she stays bare to her Alpha as long as her Alpha wants her to be bare.

  “If you want me to escort Willow back to her room, I can do that now,” Hermione says, proving she’s fucking psychic.

  But then, she can probably smell us through the door. We’re both keyed up and giving off mating scents like crazy.

  Crazy.

  That’s what this is, what she’s making me feel, and the sooner I remove myself from her company the better.

  That’s absolutely the right call, but I have to fight to force the proper response from my lips, “Yes. She’ll be there in a moment.” I add in a softer voice to Willow. “I’ll have the phone turned on in your room. Press 0 for the operator. They’ll connect you to room service so you can order something to eat.”

  She nods, still dazed and breathless, but when I stand, adjust my robe to cover myself as best I can, and reach a hand down to help her up, she doesn’t take it.

  She scoots back on her bottom, then stands on her own, brushing her hands nervously over her dress to smooth it. “I don’t think we should touch,” she says, looking everywhere but at my face. “I…I don’t know what that was. I’ve never felt so out of control from kissing.”

  “Then you haven’t been kissing the right men,” I say dryly, feigning calm, though I’m still hard as marble and about three seconds from rushing her, wrapping her legs around my waist, and nailing her against the wall.

  I’ve never felt this out of control either, but there’s no time to analyze the issue now.

  I have a pack to take care of.

  I motion toward the door. “Hermione’s outside. Go. I’ll check in on you later if I’m able. Tomorrow at the latest.”

  She nods and runs a trembling hand over her hair. “Okay.” She starts to go but spins back before she reaches the door. “Maxim? If it’s something about the cat shifters, if they’re behind the attack, will you tell me?”