Lock Read online

  She folded her arms nervously. “What do you mean, pheromones?”

  His smile deepened on one side, baring a canine so pointed it was almost a fang. “You know, that stuff in the air that makes you want to fuck me.”

  She swallowed, hating the ache between her legs. Hating that this douchebag could cause it. “So what, it’s like I’m drugged?”

  He laughed, shaking his head. “It’s not like that.”

  Damn, she just wanted to pull those leather-cuffed arms over his head and tie them down so she could have her way with him. Maybe gag him too.

  “What is it like, then?”

  He hesitated. “It’s a signature, I guess. It lets us know who is fit for mating. It draws us because it attracts the animal in us. But the animal is a part of our heart. So it’s not forcing us against our will. It’s just making us aware of things we might not otherwise have been aware of.”

  She frowned. “I don’t get what it means.”

  “It means we get horny when there’s a strong wolf around,” he said, smirking as he rested back with his hands behind his head and his elbows out. “I guess your wolf must like me a lot.”

  She eyed him from head to toe, from that amazing head of hair to that almost too beautiful face with its annoying smirk to his long, muscled legs. And the bulge at the place where his pants were opened.

  She nearly drooled and had to swallow hard to disguise it.

  She couldn’t deny that she was drawn to him, that she’d been waiting for him this whole time in some way. That he was the one she wanted as her first.

  It was so instinctual, so deep, that she didn’t know how to fight it. And she didn’t want to. She’d never been so aroused, so ready, and if she played her cards right, she could go back to her life and never see his annoying face again.

  She exhaled softly. “I don’t know what it is. I still don’t believe you. But I don’t think I can walk out of this room. Not for anything.”

  He watched with wide eyes as she climbed onto the bed, straddling him and lifting his shirt off over his head.

  He let out a little growl and reached for her shirt, and she allowed him to pull it off.

  As his orange eyes glowed at the sight of her breasts in her bra, she decided to give him even more of herself, entirely unsure why she was doing so.

  And all the while, that heady sensation in the air, maybe pheromones after all, continued to get stronger as if urged on by their arousal.

  “Mm,” she said, breathing in the air deeply. Perhaps there was an animal inside her. It felt like that now because this thing between them felt so raw, so savage.

  Lock’s eyes were intent as she pulled his pants off, then his underwear as well. She couldn’t resist gasping at the sheer size of him.

  He simply leaned back comfortably, all of his bronzed, muscled hardness on display.

  She had no doubt he was a manwhore, that he used this beautiful body with others, and the thought made her want to punch through the bed frame.

  Dear God, she was losing her mind.

  No, the only way she could lose her mind was if she didn’t get to ride him, feel him sink all of that hard length inside her aching, wet heat.

  She quickly pulled her pants off and, without care that her hair was messy or she hadn’t showered, removed her panties so she was totally naked before getting astride him again.

  “God, you’re gorgeous,” he said reverently, raising his hands to cup her breasts. His eyes were serious. “Do you really want this?”

  She stared at him blankly, appreciating that he was taking the time to check in. She honestly hadn’t expected that. “I do.”

  “Because if you don’t, I can—”

  She let out a hiss. “Shut up and let me ride you.” Her hands moved over his rigid abs toward the hard member that was her goal, but his hands quickly stopped her.

  “Ah, not so fast, princess,” he said as the world turned upside down.

  She barely had time to gasp as she found herself beneath him, her hands pinned over her head. She thrashed, feeling need course through her.

  “I’m afraid I need to be in charge now,” Lock said quietly, watching her writhe. “I think you might get carried away, and you don’t know the consequences.”

  He straddled her, still pinning her hands, and lowered his lips to kiss and bite his way down her neck, sending electric sensations through her.

  “Consequences?” She gasped as he bit and sucked on her earlobe.

  “As much as I want to mate you, this isn’t the right way to decide,” he whispered against her ear, making her even wetter.

  “Mate you?”

  “Sex without protection,” Lock said gravely, licking the edge of her ear as his hand that wasn’t pinning hers down moved to the apex of her thighs. “It’s final, in our world, in joining two wolves together. And as much as I like you, I don’t think you’re ready for that yet.”

  She mewled, pressing her sex up against him. “Don’t tell me what I’m ready for.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Wow, you’re really not used to pheromones.”

  She grunted at him, straining against his hands. As soon as she got free, he was in so much trouble. She was going to top him and suck him and—

  “I know what you’re wanting,” he said gruffly, his hands moving into her curls, slowly sliding between her labia. “I know how you’re aching. I can give you something just to take the edge off.”

  She nodded, nearly tearing up at how strong the need was.

  “Dear God, I don’t know how you managed to make it so long,” Lock said. “Did you never come across another alpha male?”

  “I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” she said desperately, trying to thrust up to force his hand against her clit. “I just… need you.”

  He smiled, and his finger finally found where she was throbbing, pulsing. As he lazily stroked over it, he sighed. “You feel so good, princess.”

  “Princess? Why do you keep calling me that?” Her voice was strained by the pure pleasure he gave as he slowly stroked over her in circles, reversing his direction whenever she got too close to the edge.

  “Because in our world, it’s practically accurate,” he said softly, driving her crazy with the gentleness of his touch.

  God, she’d never expected him to make love like this. So languid and restrained yet dominant as he held her back. Kept her down.

  But keeping her from moving only made the sensations more intense, and as his finger played over her clit again and again, she clenched her legs together in a desperate attempt to hold on.

  She was both afraid to orgasm because of how strong it would be and afraid it would go on forever.

  Even the plateau felt so good, as if she were looking over the edge of the most exciting rollercoaster. One that was dangerously fast.

  Then he pulled back his finger, and she felt utter emptiness.

  “How dare you—”

  He grinned, and she felt his hand at her entrance. “Can I?”

  She nodded eagerly, glad he wasn’t done.

  He slipped one, then two fingers inside her and let out a deep groan. “You’re so wet, so ready. God, I wish I could take you. But it wouldn’t be right.” His fingers slid in and out of her, curving in, stroking her just right so that lightning bolts went off inside.

  She’d never felt anything like this. She never would again. He was it. He was everything. He—

  As his thumb grazed her clit, his fingers still deep inside her, she felt everything explode into white light, a sensation unlike anything she’d felt overcoming her.

  It had never been like that with her vibrator.

  She felt temporarily blind as pleasure so strong she could feel her own heartbeat overwhelmed her. Waves and waves of pure delight coursing over her like she was drowning in pure joy.

  As she slowly came down, he was waiting for her, leisurely pulling out his fingers, which were shiny with her wetness.

  As she watched
, trying to regain her breath, he licked them, savoring the taste.

  “Mm,” he said wickedly, his orange eyes glinting with pure lust. “I definitely need more of that.”

  As he released her hands so his could part her thighs and began to lower his head between them, all she could say was, “God, yes.”

  Lock didn’t know what had gotten into him. It wasn’t like him to feel so voracious he could practically devour a woman yet so protective he kept trying to hold back.

  He wanted to take her, claim her, shove himself deep inside her until her warm heat drowned out the past.

  Despite his reputation, it had been a long time since he’d been with anyone. There had been a time when he let any wolf female come on to him, driven by hormones, but he’d quickly realized it hadn’t satisfied.

  The only thing he thought of lately was revenge. It fueled him like sex couldn’t, reminding him that he had a job to do, always.

  But right now, he couldn’t care about that. The constant thoughts of the past were fading, pushed back by sheer lust.

  He had a feeling that what he could feel for Tasha would surpass any emotion he’d ever felt in his life. Any rage. Any hatred. Any sense of helplessness or loss. Or pain.

  There had been so much of that in his life.

  He’d never been able to escape it.

  Except when Tasha had pushed him down on the bed, growling with hunger, trying to pull off his clothes.

  For the first time, it felt good to be wanted. He hadn’t known what he’d been missing in his life, but he knew now.

  An alpha female. This alpha female. Someone who made him so hard his cock was aching yet touched something inside him that made him hold back when it was the last thing he wanted.

  He’d never thought of himself as a gentleman. He generally did what he wanted without thought for other people’s concerns. He showed loyalty to very few people and only because he was very close to them.

  But with Tasha, he could feel a different part of himself. Maybe the type of man he could have been without the Tribunal ruining his life and his family.

  Without his uncle beating the shit out of him, without the trouble he’d gotten in all his life.

  She was everything, and Lock knew it wasn’t simply the hormones overtaking him as he lapped at her, eager to taste every drop of her juices, wanting to explore every fold, every sensitive inch. His tongue flicked up over her tiny beaded clit, and she jerked against him, eyes rolling back in her head.

  “God, yes, baby,” he said. “Just like that.”

  He licked harder, slowly circling as he brought his fingers up to fuck her once again. She was so tight, so hot, so wet that he didn’t know how he could stay out of her.

  Yet he knew that the last thing he wanted was to take that choice away from her when she didn’t understand what it was.

  Hopefully, at some point, she would mate him. In the meantime, he intended to show her why she should.

  He moved his hands in and out faster, matching the pace of her body as she thrust forward into his hand. He continued to lick, loving the way she gasped and jerked, her hands twisting in the sheets desperately as she got close to the edge.

  “Tasha, come for me, baby,” he ordered, moving his lips against her clit, as he couldn’t hold back anymore.

  “Lock,” she screamed as she came, clenching around his fingers, so wet and hot he almost lost himself right there.

  But he held back because he guessed there was just a little of the once noble alpha wolf left inside him, and while he wanted to take care of this female, he didn’t want to take anything for himself.

  Not until he knew she was ready, not just her body, but her mind and her heart.

  She was gasping, panting, as she rode his fingers through the rest of her release, and Lock reluctantly withdrew his fingers from her so he could gather her in his arms.

  “Shh, calm down, sweetheart. It’s okay. I know it’s different with our kind, and—”

  She gulped, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t done that, and—”

  He went rigid with shock. “You’re a virgin?” He was still painfully hard, and now his cock practically leapt at this news.

  She nodded bashfully. “I’m not normally… I don’t…” She put her hands over her head. “Oh my God, I just tried to molest you.” She blinked up at him. “I don’t know you. I don’t even like you, and—”

  His lips curved up in a smirk. “Oh, I think part of you likes me.”

  She swatted at him, pushing out of his arms, chest still heaving, hand over her heart like she was trying to calm it by pressing down. “You took advantage, you…” She shook her head, releasing a deep breath. “No, I wanted it. I…” She blinked at him, looking panicked. “I just don’t understand it. I never—”

  He flopped back on the bed, waiting for his erection to abate, letting his mind linger on the images of him pleasing her. “You wanted it. You took it. I gave it to you. Same difference. Now you see why you can’t leave, princess.”

  Wrong words. He knew immediately, as her already pale face drained of all color.

  She started gathering up her clothes, muttering and sending him angry glares.

  Lock just relaxed because it was hard to feel like she really hated him when he could taste how hard she’d come on his tongue.

  “I’m leaving,” she said. “I don’t know why I did this, but it’s not like me. And we’re both going to forget this, and Benny and Harley aren’t going to know—”

  Lock sat up at that abruptly, a hard look on his face. “If you think I’m going to just let you walk out of here after what just happened, you’re crazy. You smell like—”

  Her face went deep red as she sputtered for words. “You, you… shut up! Stop talking about my smell. I’m going to shower and get out of here, and—”

  His body moved before he’d even decided to, and he heard a snarl from his own mouth as he quickly pinned her back against the bedroom door. “I’m not letting you go out there unprotected. You’re mine, Tasha, and I’m going to—”

  She pushed at his chest. “You don’t get to make that decision. Let me go!”

  Lock released her but kept a hand on the door, holding it closed. “You don’t know what you’re doing. If you go out there…”

  He trailed off as the room filled with the scent of lavender. Drowsiness flooded his brain, making him feel like he was swimming in the air around him.

  “Lock?” That was Tasha. He could hear her voice but couldn’t tell where it was coming from. “Lock, are you okay?”

  He laughed softly as he felt the world around him darkening, felt himself sinking to the floor, knees hitting the carpet.

  “Touché, princess,” he said as the world went all black.

  Chapter 5

  A few days later, despite a few panicked calls from Benny, Harley, and Jackie, Tasha was sure she had done the right thing by immediately showering and getting the fuck out of there.

  If only people around her didn’t keep passing out.

  She had no way to explain it. One moment, they were stressing her out the way Lock had when he was trying to keep her from leaving, and then the next, they were on the ground, apparently unconscious.

  She’d check their pulse, make sure there didn’t seem to be any long-term damage, and then run like a bat out of hell.

  The first incident had been at the airport. She’d been caught just outside a bathroom by a man trying to sniff her hair. She’d pushed him off, he’d persisted, and then while struggling, he’d somehow just… fallen asleep.

  It was an odd thing to witness. And why hadn’t it ever happened before?

  Could there be something to what Lock said? How was that even possible?

  She looked down at her phone and saw Jackie had called again, but aside from a few texts between them (where Tasha had said she was fine and wouldn’t tell anyone’s secrets but wasn’t ready to talk) they’d had no other contact.

  When she’
d gotten home, there had been no letter from her brother, no long-awaited perfume.

  A paranoid part of her wondered if Lock was somehow right. That her scent had something to do with the men who kept coming around.

  She’d always been friendly before and hadn’t wanted for dates, but the men coming up to her lately were just impossible.

  And where was her brother?

  She had tried to find the letter he’d sent with instructions on who to call if she didn’t hear from him but hadn’t had any luck and then had to get right back to work.

  Luckily, while doing hair (and fun, fashion colors were her specialty), she didn’t have to interact with a lot of the straight men who seemed to be causing problems… and then falling asleep.

  Today, she was working on a bright red for a short-haired client and, after four hours, had finally gotten the exact shade she wanted.

  As the client took the mirror and exclaimed happily, Tasha made an attempt to wash as much of the red dye off her hands as she could.

  After checking out her customer and cleaning up her station, she told her manager she was ready to head out and then noticed it was already dark outside.

  The street seemed lonely, a little like Tasha felt after running away from her new friends.

  There was a blue haze over everything, from the wet pavement to the streetlamp-lit sidewalks to the darkened storefronts.

  In this area of town, everything closed at six.

  Tasha was just grabbing her purse off her station, while her boss and a co-worker chatted in the back, when she saw a flicker of movement outside.

  She glared intently, wondering if her eyes had deceived her. Was it a flash of a black raincoat or just a trick of the light?

  She walked closer to the glass and peered down the street as much as she could but couldn’t see anything. Too bad it would be easy for someone to hide among the recessed doorways and alleys.

  She sighed, wondering if she should just brave it out or wait for her manager to leave with her. A chill wove its way up her spine, and she decided she was just freaking herself out by thinking too hard about it.

  She was parked close. It would be fine.