How does he look so goddamn put together at this time of morning? He’s wearing his beat-up leather pants, a long-sleeved shirt with a leather vest and a pair of heavy boots. He’s a large man, but up close he looks impossibly huge, like a god. His dark hair falls to his shoulders in wet strands, dampening the fabric of his shirt. He must have bathed before coming to get me.
I squint toward the window and see the first rays of morning sunshine starting to light up the sky. It's maybe 5 AM?
"Too early," I groan and roll back over, covering my face with my arm.
At first he says nothing and he's so silent that I think he might have left the room but then I feel the heaviness of him dropping onto the bed beside me. I open my eyes, startled, and roll away from him.
I sit up and drag the blanket up my chest, covering myself where his shirt has gaped open. "There's no reason for us to leave so early," I grumble with annoyance. "I’m pretty sure the Primitives won’t care what time of day we capture them."
Instead of getting angry back, he merely raises an eyebrow. "We have a lot of ground to cover. You knew we would be leaving early to get a head start."
I narrow my eyes at him. "Early is subjective."
We had agreed there would likely be hordes of zombies to the northeast of us, along the Rio Grande River. Our plan was to follow as close as we could on the nearest road that was still drivable. We would periodically check closer to the river valley for rogue Primitives. They hate water, but they have an understanding that humans require water sources to survive, so they aren't usually far away.
"Just give me a few more hours and we’ll get going as soon as I'm awake," I assure him, snuggling back under the covers and closing my eyes.
He stands and I think this time he might actually leave, but he doesn't. Instead, he slides his arms underneath me and lifts me high up in the air, pulling me against his chest. He carries me, blanket and all, striding through the harem. I let out a squeal of surprise and grip his shoulders so I don't fall, but it's not likely that he'll let me go. I can feel the tensile strength rippling through his arms as he carries me like a child.
At the door of the harem he says to Kingston, "Her bag is in her room. Bring it down to the car."
We agreed to take one of my bodyguards with us, and since Kingston is somewhat more respectful toward me, I requested him. Now that I see him obeying the Warlord and heading into the harem to pick up my bag, I change my mind. I don't like him one bit.
"Please put me down. I'll get ready and we can go."
He shakes his head. "Too late; if we want to get out of the city on time will have to go now."
"What the hell, Wolfe! It’ll take me two seconds to get dressed." I smash my fist into his shoulder for emphasis.
He looks down at me, his amber eye blazing with mischief, an expression I’ve never seen before. It takes my breath away, it’s so sexy.
"I like you this way," he assures me, hefting me tighter in his arms.
He shoves the door to the stairwell open with his shoulder and starts descending through the shadowy stairwell to the underground parking lot.
"You like me with morning breath, tangled hair and a bad attitude?"
If I think to disconcert him, I need to think again, as gaining the upper hand with Wolfe is like tackling a horde of zombies single-handedly without a weapon. Difficult, fruitless and likely to end in death.
Wolfe pauses our downward descent and looks at me. There are very few windows in the stairwell so I can only just make out his expression in the shadows. I can feel the heat beneath his skin, the tightening of his hands on my limbs where he holds me. The softening of his jaw as he drops his head to mine.
My heart explodes and starts racing in my chest as I realize he's about to kiss me. My eyes drift shut as I anticipate the feel of his lips on mine, but he stops, hovering just above my mouth as he says, "Yes."
"Yes?" I say faintly, having completely lost track of the conversation.
"Yes," he confirms. "I love the hair, the breath and especially the attitude."
I laugh and a burst of happiness goes off inside me like fireworks. My heart is beating so fast, my skin is so flushed that I feel like I'm about to faint. How can such a big, tough, uncompromising warrior say the sweetest things imaginable?
His lips close on mine and a shower of sparks erupts between us. His kiss is perfect, his mouth slanting just enough that he can gain access with the barest push of his tongue. I melt beneath him, opening my mouth to his and tightening my arms around his neck.
He's been leading me to this moment, to this intimacy, with the dinners in his chambers, the position he's given me in the city, and the brief interactions he has with me. He's allowed me to get to know him, to get used to him. As much as a person can get used to a man like Wolfe. I'm not afraid of his kiss or his touch, though if you'd asked me several months ago, I would have denied ever allowing such a thing. Now I find myself eagerly returning kiss for kiss as he devours my mouth.
Heat ratchets up between us as the constantly smoldering embers explode into an inferno. He turns on the spot and leans against the wall, slowly sliding us down to the stairs until my back touches the concrete. It should be uncomfortable, but I don't feel a thing since his arm is wrapped around me, protecting me from the rough concrete steps.
I breathe in his scent when he lets me up for air, taking it in, absorbing it and feeling the sizzle of sheer desire as it floods through my veins. This man gets to me in every way. The way he smells, his size, his roughness, even his broken face.
His body is so big that it covers mine completely. Wolfe can kill a man twice his size as easily as I can sneeze, yet he checks his strength with me. Even when he’s annoyed or angry.
I cling to him, surging against him as his hand roves over me. One arm is wrapped around my back, while his other hand tugs at the blanket, pulling it away from my skin. He pulls back just enough to watch as he brushes his knuckles against the dip in my throat and slowly draws them down over my skin until he reaches just below my breasts where the buttons start. Then, he deftly unbuttons the shirt. There is no fumbling despite his twisted and scarred fingers.
The breath catches in my throat as he pulls the shirt to the side and stares down at my naked breast. I try to see myself through his eyes, wantonly laid out across the steps on top of the blanket, his body covering mine, my skin a beacon in the shadowy hall.
His head descends and I watch with frozen expectation as his mouth slowly touches my naked breast. At first, he just sets his lips against the soft skin, but then he slowly moves to open his mouth and trace a scorching path of wet heat over my flesh. I arch my back and cling to his shoulders as he lovingly takes my nipple in his mouth. I moan so loudly the sound echoes through the stairway, igniting his passion.
He groans against me and clutches me so hard I feel as though my bones will crack, but I don't protest. I love his painful hold because it means that he's losing control. It means that I'm doing this to him, this man whose every word and every action is planned out. He didn’t plan this interlude and the moment feels like a prize I want to hold tight against my heart.
I open my knees and lift them to clutch at his hips and draw him against me. I don't wear panties when I sleep, so his leather clad cock fits nicely against my bare pussy. The feel of him against me is enough to send a shower of sparks right through my body. A couple more rubs and I'll be able to orgasm. When he doesn't move to stop me, I wrap my legs more tightly around his waist and lift myself against him, undulating my hips and rubbing my clit against the leather of his pants. He lets out a low-throated growl that reverberates right through me.