Lone Star Lycan Read online

  Using his preternatural strength, he lifted her, raking his erection over the notch between her gorgeous long legs and growling when Quinn’s breathing accelerated. Lust held her as surely as it gripped him. Again and again, he dragged his cock over her pussy, feeling her heat, loving her passionate response as she twisted to get closer.

  Joe buried his face against her hair as she clung. “Damn, woman.”

  His hand dipped below the hem of her dress to touch warm flesh. She wore a thong. Yes. He sank his fingers…three of them, into her clasping cunt. God, she was slick and steamy and wet. Quinn trembled in his arms and sent one leg around his hip to bring him closer. Every inch of her curvy body thrilled him.

  “This is wrong.”

  “Uh-uh. Sex like this is right anyway you look at it, darlin’.”

  “Joe.”

  He finger-fucked her delicious pussy and felt those sweet, little muscles squeeze against the invasion. He flicked her clit with his thumb and heard her gasp. So close. Damn, she was close. He could feel it and he didn’t give a hot fuck when they were or that they’d just met. The power of the connection was impossible to deny.

  Suddenly, he stiffened as another scent hit his nostrils. It was predatory and male. Joe drew his fingers from her dripping body, smoothed the dress over her butt and turned his head, ignoring the startled sound she made. “Company,” he murmured. “Hang on.”

  While Quinn buried her face against his throat, he looked over to find Ringo Ramóne leaning casually against a tree on the other side of the graveyard.

  “Shoulda made your presence known sooner, Ringo,” he said. “What do you need?”

  Ringo quirked his lips in a one-sided semblance of a smile and straightened his lean, rangy body. His black eyes narrowed and his nostril flared as he scented Quinn’s arousal. Joe’s low growl must’ve alerted him to danger because he looked away. Joe didn’t want to fight one of his men over a female, at least not today.

  Ringo pulled his battered cowboy hat low over his brow, effectively hiding those spooky-as-hell eyes and shrugged. “Thought you’d want to know the company all left the house. You’ll be safe to head on over there, if you want.”

  After the dark, dangerous wolf ambled off, Joe sighed, wishing for a second he could’ve spared Quinn any embarrassment. But then, he remembered how good the silky-wet petals of her pussy felt against his hand, how sweet her kisses were and how right she was in his arms, and every regret dissolved.

  Joe knew he was a bear of a man and he wasn’t known to have a tender emotion but as carefully as if she were made of glass, he pressed his mouth to her hair and removed her leg from around his hip. When she looked up, he noted the high color on her cheeks and felt sorry for it. But more than that, he wanted to comfort when that wasn’t in his nature at all. Holding her gaze, he lifted his drenched fingers to his mouth and drew his tongue slowly over them. “We’re not finished with this, darlin’. Not by a long shot. Still, we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

  He cupped the sides of her head, kissed her, long and slowly, gently devouring, then pulled away. “You okay?”

  Quinn’s laugh was a little shaky. “Um. Not sure about that right at the moment.”

  “We’ll make it all better soon. I promise. How about you give me a ride to the house in that little bitty car of yours, Quinn, and we’ll work on getting to know each other better?”

  Chapter Two

  Quinn couldn’t stop shaking, her panties were wet with her arousal and every nerve she possessed sat up and screamed at the need for sexual fulfillment. Lord, she needed to come and it was all Joe’s fault. Sitting in an overstuffed leather chair in the massive office at the ranch house, she hid her need to squirm by crossing her legs and trying to concentrate. The lawyer from town, Tobias Mann, was shuffling papers next to her. Odd that he didn’t sit behind the desk to read the will but no, Joe sat there, leaning forward, his massive forearms crossed, his fierce golden eyes studying her with an intensity that was alarming.

  Everything about this place stirred something primitive deep inside her. They’d arrived at the house in record time. A strange sort of power…yeah, that was it, power, had filled her small car. Further words hadn’t been spoken except for the occasional directions and before long they were pulling up in front of the monstrously huge limestone house. History was stamped on it. From the rocks, a weathered pale gray, to the big windows and the old-fashioned balcony the ran along the front and sides of the building, it screamed “old Texas” and Quinn suspected this house had been here long before statehood. The Lone Star flag, suspended from a high pole, snapped in the breeze when they’d stepped from the car and gone inside.

  Men were everywhere and, wow, did they ever make ‘em huge in West Texas. Graham was a big guy but there was something vastly different about this group of cowboys. There was a wildness about them, an untamed quality as they lounged around the place and watched her with greedy eyes. The scent of food was heavy in the air and off in the distance she heard the sounds of clanging pots and pans and quiet conversation.

  Joe didn’t give her time to investigate and allowed no delay for introductions but swept her into a massive study. If she had been a meek sort of woman, she might have found the room intimidating in its overt masculinity. Framed oils of wolves on the hunt and other western scenes splashed the buttery walls with color and over a giant stone fireplace mantel was a framed portrait of her father. She didn’t have to be told it was him. The family resemblance was too strong. Quinn had never looked a thing like her dainty mother but the proof of her paternity stared back at her from the painting, those laser-sharp blue eyes presenting the knowledge like a gift from the hereafter.

  Now she sat here waiting for answers to the millions of questions running roughshod through her brain. A feeling of anticipation raced at warp-speed, making her heart pound as her gaze clashed with Joe’s. There was a stillness about him, an aura of strength and Quinn knew he was much more than a simple ranch foreman. Next to her, Tobias Mann cleared his throat.

  “Let’s get started here, Quinn,” he said, as he leaned back and studied her. Damn. but he looked like no lawyer she’d ever seen before. His sandy-blond hair was thick and worn longer than the norm. His mossy green eyes were sharp with intelligence. Like the others she’d seen today, he was big and lean, a sharp-featured man whose only claim to any kind of softness seemed to be in the lines of his sensual lips. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

  She laughed a little. “Only about a million. Our conversation was so short after my…um, my dad died, and the private investigator didn’t really tell me anything except that he’d been looking for me for awhile.”

  Tobias looked at Joe, who made a husky sound and leaned back in his chair. “Bart didn’t know he had a daughter until recently. It was purely by accident, he stumbled across the information that a woman he’d been involved with had died and had a daughter. Another man was listed as her husband so he assumed Decker Harlow was your father.”

  Quinn stiffened. “That man was no kind of father.”

  She watched a muscle work in Joe’s strong jaw and sensed his anger. How much did he know about her? Probably everything from the flash of heat she saw in his eyes. “Yep. That’s what we all figured. Understand he met a violent end.”

  All?

  Before she could ask him to clarify the strange wording, Tobias spoke quietly, watching her so carefully she wanted to squirm. “He was beaten by unidentified thugs outside a bar in Pleasant Creek. Found later in the woods, torn to pieces by coyotes.”

  “That’s what the police said,” she whispered. “I hated him but no one should have to die like that.”

  “He died like the animal he was, Quinn,” Joe snapped.

  She jerked, giving him a sharp look. “How do you know? How do you know he was an animal?”

  He went still. “Nothing specific. The private investigator told us, your father and I, that he had a violent temper, that he was a drunk and, well,
basically an asshole.”

  “Good PI.”

  “We only hire the best. After your mom died, it was rumored he harassed you. Bothered you.”

  Quinn looked away, anywhere but at the knowing glint in his eyes. Tobias had gone quiet but chimed in finally, his words rough with emotion. “Bottom line, Quinn, he lived like an animal and he died like one.”

  “Death is pretty fucking violent, darlin’, no matter how you look at it,” Joe said gruffly. “Most of us aren’t lucky enough to die in our sleep.”

  Sucking in a breath, she looked at the two men. “You’re right about that, I guess. Birth and death, two of the most violent things there is.”

  “Bart would’ve been proud of you.” Tobias gave her a smile and she sensed it was something he didn’t do very often.

  She clasped her hands to stop their trembling. Would he have been proud as these men insisted? Pain gripped her hard. “How did he die?”

  Joe blew out a breath. “Hunting accident.”

  “He was shot?”

  “Through the head. His death was instantaneous, Quinn, he didn’t suffer.”

  “Was-was he alone?”

  Tobias shifted, the soft whine of the overhead fan, the only sound in the room. “Yes, he was alone. He often went into the woods on the property late at night. Liked communing with nature. We figure hunters were trespassing and he was hit by a stray bullet.”

  “Thank you for telling me,” she said.

  Tobias leaned forward to pat her arm and Quinn smiled. A sound, like a low growl hummed in the air but surely it was her imagination. Tobias sat back abruptly and cleared his throat. “Sorry. You are part of us now, Quinn, and I know you have a lot of questions but the most important thing for you to know now is that you, along with Joe, have inherited the responsibility of this place. The ranch and all that comes with it is yours and Joe’s equally. To be shared.”

  Stunned, she blinked at the lawyer and then looked at Joe, who watched quietly. This ranch had to be worth a fortune and yes, Bart Fitzgerald was her father but he’d never known her. This was unbelievable. “But what if I don’t want this place? I have a life. I have a business to run. Granted, it’s nothing big but it’s mine. It’s something I’ve worked hard to maintain. I can’t just change my life at the drop of a hat.”

  “You can and you will, Quinn.” Joe made the stark pronouncement. He stood and walked to a big window where he leaned against the frame. The late afternoon sunlight reflected on the stark masculinity of his face and sent flashes of color through his golden eyes. “Leave us, Tobias. I’ll finish this with Quinn.”

  “Yes, lord.”

  Lord?

  Okay. Had she landed in an alternate dimension? Was she caught in some weird time warp where people addressed other as lord?

  But she didn’t have time to dwell on that now. Joe expected her to drop everything, leave her life, her home and live out here in the damn wilderness. Well, nobody told her what to do and that was a fact. At the sound of Tobias leaving and the door snapping closed, she stood and glared at Joe.

  “I know I let you get a little friendly out there at the cemetery. Too damn friendly.” She rolled her eyes. “Jeez, talk about an understatement. I don’t know what possessed me. A moment of madness I reckon, but I won’t be dictated to by you or by my dead father. Got that, Joe?”

  Joe turned more fully toward her and for the first time she saw a hint of humor gentle the lines of his lips. “I know what possessed you, darlin’. Pure and simple, it was lust, sexual power. A need to be fucked long and hard by a man who understands you. You felt the connection between us and you can try all damn day to deny it but it was there.”

  She wanted to refute it, spit it out at him, tell him he was wrong but he advanced, rounded the desk in two long strides to jerk her into his arms and it was as if the very breath was sucked from her lungs. His big hands roamed the surface of her bare arms and all that heat tore through her like a blast as he took her mouth. Silenced. Submissive. She’d never felt that way before. A woman who spoke her mind and dominated those around her with the force of her size and personality, she was suddenly new. Brand new.

  His tongue swept with devastating precision into the cavern of her mouth, leaving Quinn to drink his breath, taste the wild flavor of this stranger. But he didn’t feel like a stranger, as his tongue tangled with hers. The feel of his massive chest pressed against her breasts seemed predestined, something she’d known before and had ached to explore in her naughtiest dreams. Quinn’s nipples tightened sharply. Joe must’ve felt it too because he broke the kiss, sucked in a breath and buried his face against the curve of her shoulder.

  Lost. She was lost in sensation to the point she hardly noticed when the edge of the giant walnut desk nudged her butt. Joe made a sound of frustration, half-growl, half-groan and Quinn felt him touch the nape of her neck and fumble with the big button that held up the halter of the black linen dress. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t muster a protest, when the fabric loosened and he latched onto a diamond-hard nipple with his hungry mouth.

  He sucked hard sending a zip of energy through that pleasure point where it arrowed sharply downward to curl low in her belly. A gush of moisture rained from her pussy, further dampening her sorry excuse for panties. Joe drew back to give her a molten stare, full of promise and heat, before he lowered his eyes to take in her bare breasts. “Damn, woman. You’re the sweetest thing I’ve even seen.”

  He moved in, pressed closer and she felt his rock-hard erection nudge against her. The gasp he called from her sounded more like a whimper to her ears and then she couldn’t think at all as he took her nipples between his fingers to pluck and pull.

  “Can’t wait. Can’t play. Damn.”

  Joe bent his head, stroked an aching nipple with his tongue. “Sweet,” he rumbled in that low baritone and Quinn swore she could feel the vibrations of the sound echo through her body like heavy, rumbling thunder. He drew hard, then softer, scraping tender flesh with his teeth. Quinn shook. Trembled. Then suddenly Joe grabbed her waist and lifted her until she was planted firmly on the desk. He yanked her legs open and moved between them, fumbling with the skirt of her dress until it was lifted high and out of the way. The cooler air in the room met the melting heat of her pussy and her clit throbbed with a sweet ache. With unerring accuracy, he reached for the swollen knot of nerves and plucked gently, rubbed tenderly. “Fuck, you’re wet. Hot and wet. I’m gonna eat this pussy, suck your gorgeous clit until you scream. That okay with you?”

  “God!”

  Dizzily caught up in the passion of the moment, she watched him looking at her with a fierce intensity. His gaze was riveted on her mound covered in the scrap of silky black. Then suddenly his hands moved and he whipped the panties from her body, down her legs and tossed them aside. He jerked off her sensible pumps and dropped them too.

  “Fuck.” He said the word low but didn’t touch her. The hesitation caused a strange little thrill to zip through her bloodstream. His gaze whipped up then down again and finally, hell yes, finally he touched her. Featherlight, the stroke ran the length of her slit to circle her clit, never touching where she needed it most.

  The sound of frustrated hunger she made eventually formed a word. “Yes.”

  Two words. “Please, Joe.”

  Then again, that faint trembling voice. “Yesyesyes. Touch me.”

  Her dress was bunched around her waist but other than that, she was naked, willing, a supplicant to whatever this big man wanted.

  And he wanted everything.

  She knew it with every soft panting sound she made, every blast of sexual hunger that ran through her like a swiftly running current. Settling her palms on the desk, she leaned back on her arms and widened her legs. When had the slut-gene become so dominant? The whimsical thought died as he groaned and stroked her wet pussy. Joe plucked her clit and she cried out at the pleasure. The feral intensity etched on his face made her ache for more, made her wish she knew his thoughts
.

  Then, like lightning striking, she did.

  She felt him.

  Impossible!

  It was like that moment in the cemetery when she’d felt his loneliness and pain. The sorrow. But this time the emotion she felt from him was different. Blasts of hunger tore through her, stole her breath. Loneliness, a lingering ache, was there too and then Joe sank his fingers deep into her channel. Had a man ever wanted her so much? She didn’t think so.

  “Ah, yeah, that’s a sweet little cunt. Squeeze your pussy on my fingers, darlin’. Yeah, like that. Again. Need to come, don’t you?”

  Quinn couldn’t muster an answer as he finger-fucked her, long and slow. Every nerve ending sat up and howled. Her head dropped back. She wanted to come quick and sharp but the thought of losing the moment was terrifying.

  Suddenly, he withdrew his fingers and she whimpered at the loss.

  “Shh, honey. Let’s get you fixed up.”

  Joe reached behind her and swiped his arm across the desk sending paper, pens and a small, bronze wolf sculpture to settle on the carpet with a muted thud. He laid her back, spread her out like a sacrifice on the desk. Grabbing her legs and lifting, he settled her bare feet flat on the surface. Quinn looked at the ceiling noting the huge fan circling slowly overhead. The sun was waning now giving a soft slow to the room. She looked at Joe standing over her, studying her with that quiet stillness that was so damn sexy. His callused hands ran the length of her legs from ankle to knee and then he opened her fully to his gaze. His fingers trailed her inner thighs and rambled upward until the base of his palm rubbed the layered-flesh of her pussy.

  Quinn gasped. Tension tightened her belly and her legs quivered.

  He plunged his fingers deep and she saw his head disappear between her thighs. Holy shit! His hungry mouth took her pussy, lapping slowly, dipping deep. He sucked her clit, drew slowly, repeatedly as his fingers burrowed in and out of her body. She’d always enjoyed sex and taken it when she wanted it but this was different. Joe was different. He affected her until her bones ached and pleasure swamped her and he was a stranger. But not. How could it be real? This feeling of knowing him? She’d just met him hours ago but the connection was strong, powerful.