In the Heat of the Night Read online

  Snarling, she slammed the door open and stepped into the room. Before Kearnan could say anything, mist surrounded her and blurred her form.

  “Don’t do that, Serena.”

  She ignored him.

  “Stubborn bitch.” Kearnan lifted the dart gun in his left hand and fired.

  Immediately the mist disappeared, and Serena collapsed on the floor, the dart imbedded in her thigh. Legs curled underneath her body, she pushed her torso up off the floor and locked her elbows. Her long, wet hair was plastered against her back and face. She bared her teeth and snarled, “You ass-licking buggerer. You cock-sucking whoreson.”

  Kearnan set the gun on the dresser and crossed the room. Kneeling at her side, he gathered her into his arms.

  As much as she wanted to fight him, she couldn’t. Her head lolled back on his shoulder, and she stared into his eyes. “Why? Why are you doing this to me?”

  Gently, Kearnan laid her on the bed and brushed wet strands of hair out of her eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  Chapter 5

  Serena woke up handcuffed to the bed. She twisted her neck and looked first at one confined wrist then rolled her head and looked at the other. She gave both of them an experimental tug.

  “Would you like a drink of water?”

  Serena froze at the sound of Kearnan’s voice and swept the room with her gaze.

  He was standing in a shadowed corner leaning against the wall.

  “I’ll take your silence for a yes,” he said as he poured water into a glass and carried it to her. Bending over, he lifted her head and held the glass to her lips.

  Her nostrils flared as the scent of his cologne enveloped her, but she gulped half the water down.

  “Feel better now?”

  Serena jerked her face away, and a snarl erupted from her throat. “As if you care. Why am I chained like this? Some perverse dream of yours, asshole? Is this the only way you can get a woman into your bed, handcuffing her to it?”

  Kearnan set the glass down, crossed his arms over his chest, and grinned down at her. “When you decided to change and attack me, you left me no choice. Stretched out the way you are, you can’t change into your wolf form. It’s a physically impossibility for a wolf to be spread-eagled on its back the way you are. If you can’t change into a wolf, I won’t have to keep knocking you unconscious. Besides, you’re so—tempting like this. Do you have any idea how stimulating, how arousing it is for me to see you like this, laid out before me like a gourmet meal. Your nipples are hard and pointed, begging for my mouth. Your stomach is smooth, perfect for licking and kissing. Your legs, gods, Serena, but your legs are beautiful. So perfectly toned. Are you ticklish behind the knees? How will you react if I kiss you there?”

  “Shut up!” she growled.

  Kearnan ignored her. “Are you wet yet, Serena? I’m going to taste you tonight. I’m going to lay myself between your legs and suck the sweetness of your cunt until you scream for me to bury my cock inside of you.”

  Serena barred her teeth and snarled. “Dream on, motherfucker. I have news for you, these handcuffs aren’t going to hold me.”

  Lifting both wrists, Serena jerked them forward.

  The metal handcuffs shrieked against the wrought iron railings of the bed’s headboard, but they held. She jerked her wrists again—harder. The handcuffs—and the bed railings—held.

  As Serena struggled against her bonds, Kearnan grinned down at her. “You can struggle all you want, sweetheart, but those handcuffs are stainless steel lined with titanium. European police use them to transport suspected terrorists.”

  “I—am—not—your—sweetheart, fuck head!” Serena growled through clenched teeth. She strained against the handcuffs until the tendons stood out on her neck. Her muscles began to burn, and she could feel the skin on her wrists begin to chafe.

  A trace of anger crept into Kearnan’s voice. “Serena, I padded the cuffs, but you could still hurt yourself if you keep struggling.”

  “I will not…” she began. Before she could finish, a sharp pang of heat stabbed her groin. Serena tried to clamp her legs together; but, because her ankles were also chained to bedposts, she was unable to do so. Another jolt of heat raced through her body. Her hips arched off the bed.

  “Ahhhhhhhhh,” she moaned. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

  Kearnan sat down beside her and brushed the hair away from her face.

  “Now look what you’ve done. I told you to relax. All your struggling has brought on an attack sooner than it should have.”

  Serena snapped at him.

  Kearnan yanked his hand away.

  Another bolt of fire exploded between her legs, and Serena’s hips jerked off the bed again. “Damn you, Kearnan Gray. Let me go.”

  He caressed her cheek then cupped her face in his hands. “Shhhh. I can’t do that, Serena. Stop struggling and try to relax. I’ll take care of you.” Leaning over, he kissed her forehead once as threaded his fingers through her hair. Then, after kissing both her eyes, he trailed his lips down her cheek to her mouth and nibbled her lips.

  When his lips parted hers, she bit him, clamping her teeth shut on his bottom lip, biting until she drew blood.

  Kearnan froze, not even trying to free himself.

  Another spasm of heat ripped through Serena’s body, and she was forced to release his lip. After the spasm passed, she licked his blood off her lips, barred her teeth, and glared at him.

  The rusty taste of his blood sent more heat surging through her veins.

  Kearnan wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand and stared down at her. “Why do you keep fighting me?”

  Her answer was half moan, half scream. “Why! You’ve kidnapped me, made me your prisoner. You have me chained like an animal.”

  Finally allowing some of his frustration to show, Kearnan slammed his fist down on the bedside table. “Damn it, what the hell else was I supposed to do, little bitch? Every time I’ve tried to talk to you about something other than the wolves, you’d change the subject then disappear. You made it apparent that you didn’t like being alone with me. Even if other people were present, you’d stay as far away from me as possible. You even stay away from the staff picnics. Okay, if you weren’t interested, I could deal. I’m not going to force myself on a woman who doesn’t want me.”

  “I don’t want you, asshole!” Serena screamed.

  Leaning over, Kearnan fisted his hand in her hair and held her head still so she had no choice but to look into his eyes. “Wrong. You do want me, and we both know it. The last six months, every time I’ve talked to you you’d blush and catch your breath. You’d watch me when you thought I wasn’t looking. When I did get you to stand still and listen to me, your nipples were soon trying to poke their way through your shirt to get to me. I see you squeeze your legs together and shift in your seat. More than once I saw your hand dip between your legs and rub your crotch. Always when you were near me. So don’t tell me you aren’t attracted to me.”

  Serena gritted her teeth. “I am not…”

  Another stronger burst of prickly heat exploded in her groin. Her hips jerked again.

  Releasing her hair, Kearnan leaned over her and rubbed her stomach, firmly kneading the muscles that clenched beneath his hand. Then he slid his hand down her quivering belly to his fingers lower—but not low enough.

  “Do you want me, Serena?”

  Closing her eyes, she groaned and lifted her hips into his palm.

  Kearnan cupped her and applied pressure to where she wanted it most. His voice was more firm, more demanding. “Do you want me?”

  Snarling, she opened her eyes. “Yes, damn you, you cocksucker. What other choice do I have. I want you. Are you satisfied now?”

  His chuckle was arrogant. “I don’t suck cocks. But I’ve dreamed of getting my mouth on your breasts for months. Bending over, he sucked her nipple into his mouth, twirled his tongue around it, then nipped it.

&
nbsp; Moaning, she arched her breast further into his mouth. “Oh gods, yes.”

  His fingers slid between her slick folds. “You’re so wet, love,” he murmured against her breast. “So wet and wild.” He lifted his fingers to his nose and inhaled.

  Serena’s breath caught in her throat. Kearnan’s eyes seemed more golden than silver now. His face was tight with controlled passion.

  “You smell like woman and sex and passion. I want you.”

  Then he licked his fingers.

  Serena shuddered and moaned. Gods, what was he doing to her?

  He slid his hand back between her thighs and pinched and rubbed her swollen clit. Her hips bucked against his hand. He bit down lightly on her nipple.

  Serena screamed as an orgasm burst through her body.

  After one last suckle of her nipple, Kearnan pulled his hand from between her legs and rose. Breathing deeply, he closed his eyes and struggled to regain total control of his body. He had to wait to take her, to bury his cock inside of her. She had to want him.

  Still shuddering, Serena shifted, trying to get comfortable. She sniffed then looked over at Kearnan. “Okay, you’ve proved your point. You can give me a great orgasm. Let me go.”

  Opening his eyes, Kearnan smiled and shook his head. “No. I plan to prove to you that a man can give you the love you’re looking for. That little bit of clitoral manipulation you just enjoyed you could have done for yourself. I’m not going to let you run away from me again. I’m more determined than any other lover you’ve had. I’m not like them. You can trust me.”

  Cheeks flaming, Serena turned her face towards the wall. How could he possibly know anything about her other lovers. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I’ve done some checking. You ran away from your home never staying longer than six months anywhere until you got here. In each place, shortly after you took a lover, you left. You’ve stayed here on the preserve longer than you’ve stayed anywhere else since you left home. Just what did Alex Whitehorse do to drive you away?”

  Serena snapped her head towards him. Her eyes widened when she saw he had taken his shirt off. The silvery hair on his muscular chest was almost invisible. A pale line slid down over his flat abdomen to disappear into the waistband of his jeans, jeans that had the button undone and the zipper part way down. More silvery hair peeked through.

  Serena swallowed and tried to ignore the excited shiver that rolled up her spine.

  Kearnan wasn’t wearing any underwear.

  Serena inhaled. The spicy tang of his arousal drifted to her nostrils.

  She glanced at his face.

  He was watching her, eyes hooded.

  She could hear the pulse pounding in his neck. Her own breath caught in her throat. Her nipples ached. She stretched towards him.

  The handcuffs rattled against the bed railings, and her anger returned. This jackass was ruining her life, a life he seemed to know too much about.

  “How do you know about Alex?”

  Kearnan smiled wickedly and pulled the zipper of his fly down further. “I hired a very good private investigator. Your mother was Native American—Cheyenne to be exact. Your father was white. Both of them were werewolves.”

  At her sharp intake of breath, Kearnan grinned and shook his head. “No, the private investigator didn’t tell me that. You just confirmed it. Anyway, when you were six, your parents disappeared while skiing in the Rockies. It’s believed they were killed in an avalanche, but their bodies were never found. Your Cheyenne grandparents raised you.”

  She turned her head away again and stared at the wall. More tears trickled down her cheeks. Why did he have to remind her about her parents? All those months of waiting for them to come back—and they never had.

  “When you were eighteen,” Kearnan continued, “you started dating Alex. Your entire pack knew to the hour when he first made love to you. You left home the two weeks later. Why?”

  “It’s none of your business,” she mumbled to the wall.

  “Serena,” Kearnan continued in a firmer tone, one that demanded an answer, “why did you leave your pack?’

  She turned her head back towards him. “How can you know anything about my pack?”

  Did he tense?

  “The dynamics can’t be that different from a wolf pack. I’m an expert, remember?”

  Serena turned her head away again. Damn cocksucker had an answer for everything.

  “Did Alex hurt you?”

  Serena snapped her head back towards Kearnan. “Hurt me? Alex would never hurt me or any other female. And yes, I made love with Alex—like humans, good old missionary position so it wasn’t a true mating. I did not allow him to mount me, and I was not in heat. And you should have seen the look on his face when he realized he wasn’t my first lover. Why did I leave? I left because I don’t want to marry Alex. He just can’t accept that I don’t love him. He’s been courting me since I was sixteen. My grandfather had been Alpha before he died. Alex defeated all challengers for pack leadership, but he thought that marrying me would further cement his position.”

  “All you had to do was say no.”

  “Don’t you think I tried? The only reason I went to bed with him was because I was hoping he’d lose interest in me when he found out I’d had sex with someone else first.”

  Serena turned her head back to the wall. Son-of-a-bitch not only had her chained to a bed, he was making her remember everything she wanted to forget.

  Surprise inched its way into Kearnan’s voice. “Surely your grandmother wouldn’t force you to mate him if you didn’t want to.”

  “Grandmother hasn’t been the same since Grandfather died six years ago. She’s worried about my future, and she’s known Alex since he was a boy. Grandmother didn’t understand why I couldn’t fall in love with him. Alex is handsome, intelligent, and a good leader, everything a woman could hope for in a man.”

  His voice was closer. “But not you.”

  “I wanted to make Grandmother happy. I tried to love Alex for her sake, but I couldn’t. And, when he wouldn’t take no for an answer, I left. I had to. Grandmother was pressuring me to marry him, and Alex was planning the wedding.”

  “Why did you leave your other lovers?”

  Serena closed her eyes. “They wouldn’t have understood me. People don’t believe in werewolves.” Her voice hardened. “I thought I was safe here. I trusted you. I won’t make that mistake again.”

  Kearnan’s voice was suddenly gentle. “You can trust me, Serena. You just don’t realize it—yet.”

  “Oh yeah,” she snapped, “I can really trust you. You stripped me naked and chained me to a bed.”

  She ignored his rich chuckle.

  “Look at me Serena,” he commanded.

  She refused to obey him.

  “Look at me.” There was no denying his demand.

  She turned her head. “Okay, shithead, I’m looking.”

  He’d pulled the zipper down the rest of the way. His jeans hung loosely around his hips. A bulge was hidden just inside the open fly.

  “The only thing holding them up is my cock, love.”

  Then Kearnan pushed the jeans down over his hips and stepped out of them. His uncircumcised cock jutted out in front of him, thick and heavy, its broad, smooth head completely free of the foreskin. As she watched, a drop of crystal clear liquid appeared. His cock jerked once, then once again.

  Kearnan stepped to the side of the bed. His cock hung over her. “You want me, Serena. Even if I didn’t have you chained to the bed, you’d spread your legs and beg me to shove my cock into you. Right now, you’re wondering how it will feel. How much will it stretch you? Will it slide right in? Will you be able to handle all of it?”

  Serena’s heart beat faster. A funny feeling tumbled in the pit of her stomach. Everything he was saying was true. She wanted that thick, hard cock pounding into her as deeply as it would go. Inside, she began to melt. Silently, she cursed her body for betraying her
.

  Kearnan glanced up at the skylights then back to Serena. “The moon has risen. Can you feel its pull? You can’t hunt, and that little bit of blood you got from my lip certainly didn’t appease you. You’re going to have to settle for sex, love. And I’m not going to let you go until your satisfied.”

  Grinding her teeth, Serena jerked against the handcuffs once more. Damn him. How she hated that he was right. She didn’t need to look through the skylight to know the moon had risen. The heat racing through her veins and perspiration misting her body told her. And—those few drops of blood she’d swallowed when she’d bitten his lip only made her cravings worse.

  She tensed her muscles and pulled against her restraints with all her strength. They didn’t budge. Closing her eyes, she ground her teeth to stifle the moan that welled in her throat as a wave of heat raced through her bloodstream. She wanted his cock buried inside of her, and she didn’t have a choice about it anyway. But, there was no reason he had to know that. Once he fucked her, he’d let her go. Then, she’d leave the preserve for good and never have to see Kearnan Gray ever again.

  Serena turned her head to the side and glared at Kearnan. He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, that damn impressive cock jutting out, a triumphant smile on his face. Gods, how she hated him. How could she have ever considered him attractive? “Okay, you win,” she snarled. “I’ll sleep with you. Now unchain me.”

  Kearnan grinned down at her. “No.”

  Sweat rolled into her eyes. Serena blinked then squirmed as the throbbing in her blood began to beat a syncopating rhythm in her groin. Damn him. He was going to keep her chained, spread-eagled on the bed. “Okay, then. Get it over with.”

  He chuckled as he sat down on the bed next to her. With a soft cloth he lifted from the bedside table, he wiped the perspiration from her forehead and out of her eyes.

  “‘Get it over with?’ Were all your lovers that self-centered? Making love is not something to hurry. It’s to be savored like a fine wine. No, now that I have you where I want you, I plan to take my time. And I promise, you will enjoy what I’m going to do as much or more than I will.”