Ruthless Read online

  I arched up, my hands flailing until they caught his head. “Ohhh-oh, Rand!” I shoved my fingers through his hair and tugged, pulling him against my core. He found my clit and suctioned his lips over it, sucking.

  I quivered. Gasped.

  He slid one finger inside me. Then another.

  “Oh my God, please,” I begged.

  He pumped his fingers, still thrashing my clit with his tongue. When he shifted to stroking the inside wall of my channel, I jerked, my knees squeezing around his ears. No one had ever hit that spot before. It felt so good. Hedonistic pleasure for the sake of pleasure. Rand played my body better than I ever bowed that violin.

  I choked on a cry. Held my breath. Let out another one. And then I came, so much harder than the last time. A full body orgasm that made me squeeze his fingers like I was pulling them deeper. My legs accidentally kicked his back as I thrashed and pumped my hips and screamed his name while I came and came and came.

  6

  RAND

  * * *

  Fate was sweeter than moonlight. I couldn’t believe she paired me with this beautiful, responsive angel of a human. A wildcat between the sheets. And we hadn’t even fucked. She was so responsive, so… perfect. That pussy of hers, all pink and dripping, my mouth watered for more.

  When her thighs clamped around my ears, I’d thought I’d be smothered to death. What a way to go. Hot and tight and sweet. She was it for me. I’d never get enough, never crave anything but this pussy for the rest of my life.

  It was mine, and in return, I was its slave.

  I waited until Natalie’s orgasm passed and she went limp before I eased my fingers out and licked them. I’d have this taste on my tongue often. Waking her up with my head between her thighs would be my new morning routine.

  If I’d had a condom, I might have fucked her because my dick was so hard it could pound nails, but no—this felt right. Me satisfying my mate. Showing her exactly what she had in store for her once she submitted to my claiming bite. She’d always be pleasured, her needs satisfied. If she wanted her ass spanked, my handprint would be all over it. Whatever it was, it was my job to give it to her.

  She wasn’t a virgin, and that made me grit my teeth. That there was a guy out there who’d seen this body, touched it, made her scream, made me want to hunt him down and kill him. It didn’t matter, she was mine now, and no one else would touch her. Hell, if I had my way, no one would look at her. Seeing her like this, naked and satisfied...

  Her eyes were closed, lips still parted, and the sound of my name being called in that throaty voice of hers still echoed off the walls.

  It was a sound I’d never forget, not as long as I lived.

  I adjusted my dick. Fuck, my balls ached. They were so full, and it was all for her.

  Natalie’s eyelids fluttered open. Her lashes were a lighter shade of red, same as her brows, and she had a dusting of freckles across her nose. I wanted to stay right where I was and study every inch of her perfect body. Count those freckles.

  She licked her lips, glanced down my body. “What about you?” Her voice was hoarse.

  I shook my head. “Next time, Red. This was me showing off my big, manly skills.”

  She pushed up on her forearms and smiled, her eyes still glassy, cheeks still flushed. “You have mad skills.”

  Reluctantly, I fetched her panties from the floor and handed them to her. The last thing I wanted to do was cover up that pussy. If I had my way, I’d have her in bed like this all the time. Not for me to fuck, but legs parted, wet and ready for me to satisfy. Having her come satisfied my wolf. And me.

  She glanced away as she worked her panties up her legs. “Is this, uh, a service you offer to all your female customers?”

  I frowned. What was she talking about? “No, ma’am.”

  “Nevermind,” she said quickly, reaching for her bra and sliding it on. “I shouldn’t have gone there. It doesn’t matter.”

  “I don’t,” I insisted, the itchy sense that it did matter—very much—taking me by the nose. I wasn’t a virgin either, but it bothered me that she thought she was just one of many. She was it. The only. “This was a first for me.” Dammit, that didn’t come out sounding right, either.

  The niggling sense that I was screwing things up got stronger.

  Fuck! I should’ve paid more attention to my brother and the other guys who’d mated humans. Remembered the things they’d said. Human women viewed relationships differently than we did.

  She pulled her tank top on and hopped off the bed to her feet. “Well, I’m looking forward to the next time,” she said lightly, but for some reason, it sounded forced. As if she hadn’t just screamed my name… twice.

  Fates, I had no fucking idea what went on in a human female’s head!

  “When that pussy aches for more, you let me know,” I said. I handed her shorts to her, then pulled on my t-shirt. “Did you work up an appetite?” I’d already had my meal.

  I didn’t know why feeding her seemed so goddamn important, but my wolf wanted to see to her needs. Prove I could provide for her. Protect her. Satisfy her.

  “I’m starving,” she affirmed.

  I looked around the bedroom. “No more spiders to kill? You need anything else from me up here? I mean for now—I’ll be back to see to that greedy pussy again, don’t you worry none.” I tossed her a wink, even though things didn’t seem quite as light as they should.

  She smiled in return although a pretty blush spread across her cheeks as if she were embarrassed about how she’d behaved.

  As if. She’d been hot as fuck.

  She shook her head. “You’re pretty smooth, cowboy.”

  Smooth? I didn’t want to be smooth. I wanted to be sincere. I also wanted her to know that I’d take care of her. In all ways.

  I was going to have to make it a little clearer what my intentions were here.

  “Now, I’m hungry,” she said, her hips swaying as she walked out the bedroom door. “Thanks for bringing food.”

  I followed her down the stairs, keeping my gaze glued to that pretty little ass of hers. The one she’d just let me spank pink. She’d be thinking of me every time she sat down.

  That little reminder made my wolf’s chest puff up again.

  We both washed up and sat down at the rickety table in her kitchen to eat. I had to adjust my dick, so it wasn’t strangled by the zipper.

  “So, Red. It’s been a while. Fill me in on your life.” I unwrapped a sandwich then the other. “Turkey, roast beef or half of each?”

  I flicked a gaze at her. Waited.

  “Half of each,” she replied.

  I rearranged the sandwich halves, so we each had both kinds, then slid one in front of her.

  “Thanks.” She lifted the turkey and took a bite. I did the same, waited.

  She dabbed some mustard from her lip with a finger, and I watched the move intently, imagined a little drop of my cum caught there from after her sucking me off. I stifled a groan and took a few gulps of the lemonade she’d poured earlier to try to cool off.

  “The short version is that I went home after that summer. Went to college for music then onto getting my master’s. I inherited the house, and now I’m here.”

  “What else?”

  “Like what?”

  I shrugged. “Anything. Doesn’t have to be special.” I took a bite of the roast beef.

  Her lips quirked into a pretty bow. “Well, you already know I hate spiders, and I play the violin—well, played.”

  I jerked my head up on alert. “What do you mean played?”

  “I don’t know. I think, actually, I’m done with music. Forever. Grad school just sucked every last drop of pleasure out of it for me. I have this terrible pain behind my shoulder blade every time I play, and my stomach cinches up tight, and all I can think about is how un-fun it is.”

  “Wow. I’m sorry. How long have you felt that way?”

  “Pretty much by second semester of grad school.”
/>   “You didn’t think about quitting then?”

  Her brows dipped. “I did, but I couldn’t.”

  “Why not?”

  She lifted her delicate shoulders. “My parents hated that I went to college. I wanted to get out, and I knew college was the way to do it. They hated even more that I studied music. They wanted me to stay home, work a minimum wage job like them and contribute to the household like I had since I was fifteen. We had a huge fight when I enrolled, even though it didn’t cost them a dime. I got a scholarship and worked three odd-jobs to make it through.”

  I cocked my head. “So you had to prove to them you’d made the right choice?”

  She laughed, covering her mouth with a napkin. “Pretty much, yeah. Redheads can be stubborn, if you haven’t heard.”

  I laughed. “I have heard.” I studied her pretty face—the splash of freckles across her nose, the warm brown eyes. Fuck, I could look at her all day.

  So my mate was stubborn. I could deal with that. She’d have a red ass because of it. And she’d love it.

  “You told me you came here because it was yours, free and clear. It took you, what, almost two years to show up?”

  She nodded. “I was in school, then the DEA called me, and that pushed me back a bit.”

  Yeah, the whole Jett Markle fiasco. Looking back, I was glad it had happened since Rob had met his mate. In a way, Natalie had helped them get together.

  “Why now?” I wondered.

  Yeah, that was the biggie.

  She set the sandwich down, took a sip of lemonade. “L.A.’s expensive. Not a lot of jobs for a classically trained violinist.” She picked a bit of lettuce from her sandwich, sighed. This was an issue for her. A weak spot. I didn’t like the idea of her struggling, of her parents being dicks. “I wasn’t going back to living with my parents, letting them think I was going to help support them again. This was really the only place I could think of to go where I could afford the rent.”

  “Why didn’t you just sell the place?” I asked, looking up at the ceiling.

  “Uncle Adam left it to me. I didn’t get to see him or come here after that summer when I was ten, but… well, we had a connection. He was the one who introduced me to the violin, made me love it. Like you remembered, we used to fiddle together.” I shrugged again. “I don’t know. This place has seemed more like home than anywhere else. I just have to figure out how to make it work.”

  “You mentioned a B&B,” I said, bringing up the subject carefully.

  Nodding, she picked up her sandwich. “Like I told you and Nash, one of my girlfriends back in L.A. suggested the idea. It’s a way to make this place viable. I’ve got to earn income somehow. Working at Cody’s pays the bills but not you.”

  My eyes widened when I caught on. She thought she was going to have to pay me for work on the house. As. Fucking. If.

  “Darlin’, don’t worry about paying me none. We’ll get to that another time. I can work on this place and get it spiffy for guests, but do you really want them? I mean,” I cleared my throat. “If you chose Cooper Valley over L.A., you can’t miss big city life and a gaggle of people.”

  She smiled. “Yeah, who likes people?”

  I grinned. “I like you.” I wasn’t going to hide my feelings. She knew how I felt about her with every lick of her pussy, but I’d tell her, too.

  Her smile fell, and her cheeks got as red as her hair.

  “That got you all flustered.”

  “And you?” she asked, blatantly redirecting the conversation.

  “Me?” I asked, leaning back in my chair and tucking my hands behind my head, elbows out. I wanted her to know I was open to any questions she had. There would be no secrets between us.

  “Yeah, you. What have you been up to these fifteen years?”

  I dropped my arms, leaned forward. Pierced her with my gaze, so she didn’t have any doubt she was the center of my focus. My world. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you changed the subject.” I winked. “Went to college in Missoula with Nash. Studied business. Came back here after. We started the contractor business together.”

  “You were a big help to Uncle Adam.”

  My gaze softened, remembering the guy. “He was a good man, Red. You’ve got good people in your family.”

  She looked away then took another bite of sandwich.

  “What? What did I say?”

  She took her time to chew and swallow. “My parents aren’t like Uncle Adam. They’re small-minded, miserable folk. I was supposed to stay in Nebraska and get a job at Walmart and take care of them in their old age. I haven’t even told them I own this place because they’d probably hound me to sell it and give them some of the money. They don’t know I’m in Montana, working at a bar to fix up Uncle Adam’s old ranch house.”

  Yeah, that wasn’t ideal. I needed to come up with some other way for her to earn a living and fix this place up. It sure as fuck wasn’t bartending at Cody’s, that was for damn sure. I didn’t like the idea of her being down there having every eligible and not eligible guy in the valley hitting on her like she was fresh meat.

  Every one of them would know my fist first hand. I also wanted to track her parents down and have a talk with them. Right after I beat the shit out of any guy she’d fucked before me. Shit, the list was getting long. “That sucks. Not that you’re here. About your parents. I love mine. They’ll like you.”

  Shit, they would. They were going to be thrilled. Both sons mated.

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, you.”

  “Rand, I—”

  I held up a hand, cutting her off. “Eat your sandwich, Red. You’re safe, for now.”

  She looked nervous by my words. “The way you’re talking, you think we’re—”

  “What?”

  I quietly waited for her to spit it out, but when it never came, I asked, “Together?”

  She looked down at her sandwich. “Rand, I’m not interested in your kind.”

  A dark brow winged up. What the hell did she mean? My heart clenched. She had no idea. Did she? “Kind?”

  Her face brightened, and she gave me a flirty smile. “Yeah, bossy and too full of himself.”

  I grinned wickedly, leaned forward. “How’s that ass feeling? Sore on that hard chair? If I remember correctly, you were the one who asked for more.”

  Now she looked away, sweetly embarrassed. “I just… I’m not interested in anything more than sex.”

  “We didn’t have sex, darlin’.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Oh, I do. I just have to wonder how many orgasms it’ll take for you to change your mind.”

  7

  NATALIE

  * * *

  “Whiskey sour,” the blonde cowgirl ordered. She gave me a suspicious once over, like she was afraid I was moving in on her territory, even from behind the bar. She wore a tank top with the word Flirt in sequins across her boobs. Her blonde hair was styled and curled artfully down her back, and the pink cowboy hat actually looked cute on her. With me, there was zero competition, that was for sure.

  My mind instantly went to Rand and the fact that she’d be perfect for him. Styled, smiled and sexy. Then my inner bitch came out and wondered if he’d already been there, done that. I wasn’t going to call a woman interested in sex a slut because that was just wrong, but she was giving off the available vibes, and she sure as heck didn’t need a lasso to wrangle a guy.

  Yet Rand had been into me. The fact that he hadn’t gotten off was a blatant indication. What guy went down on a woman and didn’t want reciprocation? He’d been hard. I hadn’t missed the thick outline of his dick behind his jeans. My pussy clenched at what we’d done. How I’d let every inhibition down and learned a thing or two about myself.

  I liked to be spanked.

  I liked Rand. That was a problem because I craved him. My pussy too. He’d been right. I had needs, and I wanted him to meet every one of them.

&nbs
p; Shit, my nipples were hard.

  I was going to be a flushed, panty-ruined mess if I didn’t focus, so I only nodded to the woman. I quickly poured the drink and pushed it across the bar, took her cash and tucked it in the till. I was focused on my work, diligent. I wasn’t trying to make friends or wrangle myself a husband. It was important for Cody to see I was here to literally work. I slung the drinks fast, even though the bar wasn’t crowded yet. I understood it got packed on weekends, with live music, mechanical bull riding and line dancing, but I was impressed with the crowd of regulars who were here on a Wednesday.

  I was definitely going to have to buy myself a cowboy hat, so I fit in. I was about the only person in the place without one. I’d skip the sequins. That wasn’t me no matter where I lived.

  A tall slender cowboy in his forties sat down in front of me. “So you’re the new girl.”

  I was filling a pint glass with beer from the tap. “Does my reputation precede me?” I asked, flicking him a gaze.

  “Sure does.” He smiled at me. “Doesn’t take long for word to travel that there’s a newcomer in town. Especially when she’s a beautiful redhead with the last name Sheffield.”

  I ignored the beautiful redhead part. “Did you know my uncle?”

  He tipped his hat back. “Sure. Everyone did. Adam bought his cattle feed at my store. We were sure sorry to hear of his passing.”

  “Yeah, me too. I wish I’d come out to see him sooner, before he died,” I admitted.

  That guilt had been eating at me since the day I found out my great uncle had left me everything. I wasn’t sure I deserved it considering I hadn’t been back here in fifteen years and only managed to write a few letters a year to him.

  He’d been supportive of me studying music. He even used to send me a check to cover my books when I was in school, which was more than my parents ever did. It seemed like the only letters I wrote back were thank you notes for his generosity. And here I was living off it permanently now.

  The bar started filling up, and I took several more orders while the tall cowboy maintained his position parked in front of my station.