Chapter 23

"Come on in." Riley opened the door and stepped aside so Lia could precede him.
"Wow!" was all she could say.
The architectural design told her it was an older home but, obviously, Riley had put his heart and soul into it. The hardwood floors gleamed, reflecting the rays of late day sun slanting in through the wide, multi-paned windows and warming the rooms. Comfortable furniture in beige leather and the same green as the trim faced a fireplace and the big screen television hanging above it.
Of course. Men and their toys.
Riley tossed his keys into a pewter dish on a little table by the front door and, before she could ask to see the rest of the house, pulled her into his arms.
"Now I can give you a real kiss," he told her.
Tunneling his fingers into her hair, his hand clasping her head, he took her mouth in a kiss she felt in every tiny part of her body. There was nothing tender about this one, nothing tentative or testing. This kiss stole her breath, heated her blood, and sent an urgent message to her.
I want you. Now. Every way I can take you.
If the walls of her pussy had vibrated with desire before, now they clenched with a need so intense it was almost painful. He coaxed her tongue to dance with his, rubbing and twining until she wasn't sure where hers ended and his began. His other arm banded around her, pulling her tight to his body so the hard, thick ridge of his cock was evident even through the barrier of their clothes.
He ground himself against her, unashamed of the strength of his desire, as if he knew she wouldn't resist. Her wolf was raging to get out, turning her body into a furnace, but she seemed to have little control over her response. The kiss went on and on, stealing their breath until they had no choice but to break apart,
Riley stared into her eyes with his dark ones.
"I think you've bewitched me. I can't remember the last time I felt like this with a woman, ready to rip off your clothes and ravish you here on the floor." His warm breath fanned her cheeks. "But I don't want to take you that way, at least not on the floor."
"I don't care." Had she really said that? She certainly meant it.
"I do." He lifted her easily into his arms, cradling her to his chest. "Maybe we should have that glass of wine first."
Lia wound her arms around his neck, pressing herself against the hard, muscled wall of his chest. She was shocked when an unfamiliar feeling raced through her, a feeling she had come home. Home? With this man she had just met? Again the word mate slammed into her, and her heartbeat sped up erratically.
"Later," she whispered, then repeated it. "Later."
Riley strode down a short hallway, kicking open a partially closed door. Lia had bare seconds to glance around at his bedroom, but she had a vague impression of the same warm earth tones highlighted by forest green. Then Riley set her on her feet next to a very large bed, ripping back the covers before he stopped and took a good, long look at her.
"Beautiful," he whispered. "Gorgeous."
No man had ever made her feel the way Riley's words and the heated look in his eyes did. Eating her up with his eyes was suddenly more than just a phrase to her.
He ran his hands slowly from the slope of her shoulders to the swell of her breasts, over the little curve of her tummy, and then her hips. Even with her clothing separating them, she felt the imprint of his hands as if he were branding her. And maybe he was. Yes, maybe he was.
He coasted his lips over her cheek and along her jawline then down the line of her neck as he tugged gently on her top to free it from her jeans. He slid his lean fingers up to trace the lines of her rib cage before cupping her breasts and lightly kneading them. She wanted to rip off her top and bra so she could feel his every touch directly on her skin, no barriers between them.
"I want so badly to rip every piece of fabric from your body," he murmured, as if reading her mind. "But I want to take my time, too. Unwrap you like a Christmas package." He blew out a ragged breath. "But I may not be able to."
He eased her T-shirt over her head and stood for a moment, his eyes drinking in the sight of her with her breasts surrounded by the lace and satin of her bra. Gently, he drew hiqs tongue over the upper swell of those mounds and licked at the valley between them. Lia forced herself to stand still as the light touch of his tongue sparked nerve endings that sizzled and popped.
Finally, he flicked open the clasp of her bra - at last! - cupping her now free breasts in his warm palms and lightly abrading her nipples with his thumbs. As if she had a thread directly connected from her nipples to her cunt, her inner walls flexed. Moisture flooded her panties, so strongly she caught the fragrance of it. She wondered if her acute wolf sense registered it or if Riley could smell it, also. She lifted her gaze to his, nearly drowning at the hunger flaring in his eyes which had darkened to the rich color of espresso.
He pinched her hardening nipples between thumb and forefinger, squeezing gently at first then increasing the pressure until it was painful to the point of intense pleasure. She sucked in a breath and gripped the solid muscles of his arms to steady herself. He bent his head to lick each hard tip, a gentle abrasion with his tongue then took each one into his mouth. When he dragged his teeth over the beaded surface of one, Lia pulled in a breath and dug her fingernails into Riley's arms to balance herself. At the point where she wasn't sure she could stand much longer, where his tongue had left licks of fire along her skin and around her nipples, he lifted his head and gave her a devouring look.
"I want to lick every inch of you." His voice was hoarse with need. "Slowly and carefully."