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  Then her mind shut down, her body took over. His mouth ate her, sucked at her, brought her pleasure that curled tighter and tighter.

  “Come for me, Quinn. Now, darlin’.” Joe’s voice echoed through her aching flesh. Her fingers clawed at the surface of the desk. Her toes curled and her back bowed as she sought more of his mouth. As the pleasure deepened, tightening like a spring, drawing inward, Quinn’s muscles clenched unbearably until the surge broke free with a giant blast. Her mouth opened on a soundless cry as Joe ate her out, sending delight to sing through her blood.

  Before she could come down from the towering height, he was looming, ripping into a small package and covering himself. From her sprawled position, she couldn’t see his cock but damn, she wanted to. And then he was there, pressed to her opening. Joe looked at her and he must’ve seen the flicker of shame she felt at having wild monkey sex with a stranger.

  “Don’t think like that, darlin’. Don’t do it. “He transferred his gaze down and she felt the swollen head of his erection drag through her folds. He was big. She could tell it and she caught her breath in suspense until, finally, God yes, finally, he inched in a bit at a time.

  “Oh. Joe. Yes.”

  He thrust so slowly she wanted to scream but there was no breath left in her lungs and then he was there, seated to the hilt and all she wanted was movement. Frantic, fast, hot fucking.

  “Ready?”

  Quinn opened her eyes to see him braced on his arms over her, his hands fisted on the desk. Sweat beaded his forehead, dampening his hair and she couldn’t resist bringing her hands up to brush the gold-colored lengths of back with her fingers. This was crazy. All of it. But she wanted it and him and everything he could give her. “Oh yeah.”

  He blew out a breath. “Thank God.”

  On his first withdrawal, she cried out, frantic to hold him deep. Her body pulsed around him and she felt everything, from the broad head of his cock to the ripples of heat and the way the notched tip raked every erotic nerve ending. Then he was back, giving her more, taking it harder. His breath blew hot against her bare breasts as he let his head drop forward and fucked her like there was no tomorrow. Faster, faster, then slow and deep.

  “Fuck, yeah, Quinn. So good.”

  He raked his teeth over her nipple and she felt her body tighten hard around his cock. When he rotated against her clit, she cried out.

  Without warning, Joe cursed, lifted her up into his arms and her legs went around his waist. Where did the wall come from? Suddenly her back was pressed against it as he pounded into her drenched, clasping flesh. Bending his knees he thrust harder and deeper, giving her no chance to catch her breath. He held her up with one arm beneath her ass though it seemed impossible. She was not a tiny, wispy sort of woman. Her bones were big. She had boobs and a good-sized ass and yeah, Joe was the biggest man she’d ever seen but how was it possible that for the first time in her life she felt dainty, small even.

  But it didn’t matter.

  As heat flashed through her veins and the pleasure expanded in ever-tightening waves, he bit down into the notch of her neck and she crashed. Crashed and sobbed. The explosive orgasm shook her bones and had her gasping as she came. Within seconds, big Joe McKinnon stilled, groaned and followed her.

  He stayed locked tightly to her as they both came down from the intoxicating pleasure. Intoxicating. Good word. He’d made her drunk on sex and she didn’t like losing control with a total stranger this way. When he finally withdrew and lowered her feet to the floor, she pulled out of his arms. Turning her back to him, she drew up the bodice of her dress and fastened the button at the nape of her neck. Embarrassed to her toes and utterly shocked at her fast and loose behavior, she refused to even glance his way while she searched for her panties. She found them on the floor and they were a worthless, sopping mess. With a grimace of distaste she stuffed them in her pocket and, gathering her last ounce of courage, turned to face him.

  “This doesn’t change a damn thing, Joe. I meant what I said.” She watched him look up from tucking his shirttails into his jeans. His hotter-than-hell eyes narrowed. “I’m not staying here, Joe. Don’t give a damn what I’ve inherited. I don’t want it and I’m leaving soon.”

  She lifted her chin and dared him to argue but he didn’t say a word just continued to watch her as she jammed her feet into her heels, grabbed her purse and stalked to the door. Finally, she looked back and shook her head. “Why, Joe? Why did you come at me like that? You were so determined to take what you wanted.”

  Joe went utterly still. “I had to, Quinn. I had my reasons for fucking you now instead of later.”

  “What? What reasons? You don’t know me.”

  He shook his head and something that might have been sorrow flashed in the depths of his eyes. He sighed. “I didn’t have time, Quinn and you’re wrong, I know you better than you think.”

  “I don’t understand you at all.”

  “Soon you will, Quinn. Soon you’ll understand everything.”

  She wanted nothing more at that moment than to get to her car and drive home but knew she couldn’t until everything was settled. When she shut the office door behind her, she leaned her forehead against the wood and closed her eyes. “What the hell just happened in there?” she whispered, still struggling to catch her breath.

  Female laughter struck her like a blow. Her eyes whipped open and she spun around. A beautiful woman tossed her black hair and stared her down with a smirk. “I’d say you just got good and fucked by our alpha, chica. No sense running from him. He’s a man who keeps what he wants and it looks like he wants you. Doesn’t it boys?”

  Quinn sucked in a sharp breath as she looked past the sultry Latina and into at least a dozen hungry male eyes. They knew what she’d done with Joe. The evidence was there on their faces and in the stillness of their bodies. Could her shame get any worse?

  Yeah, she knew it could.

  Chapter Three

  Goddammit! Joe snarled into the sudden silence in the room and fucking hated himself. He’d taken her like an animal on a desk, no less. He’d used his raw power and ruthlessly seduced her but it had to be done. Those men out there in the living room would smell her, want her, die to possess those outrageous curves and taste her heat. With him just assuming the mantle of Alpha of the Wolf Creek Clan, the last thing he needed was to fight one of his men and that’s the way it would’ve gone down if he hadn’t marked her as his.

  Even with the door shut soundly between them, he could smell her and his body reacted violently with the urge to fuck her again, further branding her as his mate.

  Joe stomped to the door and flung it open, surprised when Quinn almost fell back into his arms. No one ever said he was a dumbass. He caught her up and wrapped his arms around her middle as she stood motionless in the face of the crowd who had assembled in the enormous living room. The heat of her body betrayed her discomfort. The scent of the sex they’d shared was ripe on her skin.

  He looked around the room at the half dozen wolves who wore signs of their lust stamped on sharp-featured faces. Manuel Montoya and Ringo Ramóne were propped against either side of the huge fireplace looking as if they’d fuck anything that moved. Tall, rugged Manuel’s nostrils flared at the smell of sex and desire, and despite his negligent stance, every rock-hard muscle in his body was tightly coiled. Ringo wore his ever-present sardonic smirk but he was equally affected. Lean and rangy, wildly savage, Ringo was no man to mess with and he suspected Selena would reap the benefits of his raging lust later tonight.

  Nate Saulter, Cactus Mackey and Ben Nighthawk were sprawled on leather couches and chairs trying for all they were worth to look like they hadn’t heard the wild fuck-fest or smelled the arousal, the coming, the passion. Their narrowed, hot eyes were the only evidence they knew what had happened between him and Quinn. And in the middle of it all was Selena Lopez, who’d been his lover until recently.

  The Latina beauty flashed a cocky, knowing smile but Joe sensed the
snarling hatred behind it. She’d envisioned herself his lupa but he’d known better. It would never work. The woman he’d choose must possess strength, passion and most of all heart, a delicate balance to offset his own harsh manner and he’d known from his study of Quinn’s life and what she’d endured that she was his destined mate. She carried the genes, the blood of Bart Fitzgerald, who’d been the best of men. Yes, Quinn was the one and he’d known it from the moment he’d set eyes on her.

  While it was true Selena was tough and passionate, she could also be cruel. That was her greatest flaw.

  Now he stared her down as she tossed back her long black hair, giving Quinn a once over that was almost obscene.

  “What the hell is wrong with you, Selena?”

  She flicked that black gaze over Quinn’s body then dismissed her before looking at him. “What the hell is wrong with you, querido? Fucking this cow? Screwing her right after her father is buried? You would do better with me, Joe. Bastard!”

  Joe felt her temper as if it were a living thing. His first, no make that second, task as alpha. “Shut your mouth, Selena!” he said into the ensuing silence. The cutting words reverberated off the walls. The men moved restlessly. Joe saw Manuel and Ringo straighten, alert to danger. He knew they would subdue Selena if she came at him. “Quinn is Bart’s daughter and will be treated with respect. Got it? Now get your ass back into the kitchen and do your damn job. Then get the hell out and go home. Cool off.”

  The sass, the rage, drained instantly and her voice turned cajoling. “Joe. Please. Take me, not her. Do not make me beg, for I could not forgive you if you did.”

  Sighing, feeling suddenly tired and more alone than he’d ever felt before, he hugged Quinn close and splayed his hand across her belly. The gesture wasn’t missed by anyone in the room, he knew. “Go on, Selena. This is beneath you. You will not taunt Quinn. Just stay the hell away from her.”

  Spinning on her heels, she sniffed and sashayed from the room leaving a deafening silence in her wake.

  Tobias, who stood out of the way near the doublewide front doors, finally cleared his throat. “I’ll get back to you on the will. I’ll need to get signatures, that sort of thing. It was nice meeting you, Quinn.”

  Quinn stepped out of his arms and Joe felt the immediate loss of her warmth. As if the prior bullshit had never happened, she walked to Tobias and extended her hand as gracefully as any queen. Joe noted the slight tremble of her fingers and admired her courage. “Great meeting you too, Tobias. Um, thank you.”

  When the blond wolf left, she turned to the others and lifted her chin as if daring the remaining men to deliver a follow-up of Selena’s nasty comments. The men shifted and looked his way. Joe didn’t hesitate. He went to her and despite her instant stiffening, he put his arm around her. “Men. This is Quinn, Bart’s daughter. She is one of us and under my protection. Treat her with the respect she is due.”

  One by one, they came forward and nodded, observed the common courtesies until finally they all left. In the distance, he heard the sounds of Selena fooling around in the kitchen. Occasionally a cabinet door would slam, threatening to splinter wood. Once she was finished with her job, he wanted her gone too.

  Finally he looked down at Quinn, who seemed lost in thought and more than a little shaken. Her full bottom lip was tucked neatly between her teeth. It was obvious she had a million questions. She gave him a questioning look. “What the hell is going on around here, Joe? I feel like I’ve stepped into an alternate dimension or something.”

  She wasn’t ready to hear the truth. Not yet. Instead of saying what needed said, he took her arm and ushered her toward the stairs. “Come on.”

  Together they went up the stairs to the second floor and he led her to the master bedroom.

  “This was my father’s room?”

  Quinn’s words were suddenly soft and appealing. Was she thinking regretfully of the man she would never know? Joe wasn’t a much of a talker but he promised himself, he’d talk a blue streak about Bart if it could help her feel closer to her dad and take the sad look from her pretty eyes. A knot tightened in his throat. He swallowed hard thinking of the little girl she’d been, suffering the emotional abuse of Decker Harlow. A flash of satisfaction rocked him. He was glad they’d dealt with the man.

  “Yeah. Bart would’ve wanted you here. Is it a problem?”

  He watched her walk across the soft rugs scattered along the old hardwood floor, run her fingers over the multicolored Indian print cover on the bed. Huge windows were everywhere, along with double doors that led to the balcony overlooking the ranch property. Soft, late afternoon sunlight sifted through the windows catching a length of dark blonde hair and turning it golden. Finally she turned to face him.

  “Where do you stay, Joe?”

  He stiffened. “Not here. If you think I’m going to jump your bones every few minutes, you can rest easy. I’m not a begging kind of man.”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s not that, Joe. I just wondered. You seem very much in charge around here.”

  “I am.”

  “So?”

  “So what?”

  She walked to the bed and fingered the handle of one of her suitcases. Ringo had carried them into the house earlier. “Don’t be obtuse, Joe. I’m wondering why, if you are in charge, you haven’t moved in. “

  Joe huffed a breath and shoved his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “Look. I’m not moving in here until you give me the okay. I want you to be comfortable. But I won’t stay away from you completely. Not after today.”

  Quinn gave him a look and walked up to stand inches from him. The sexual vibes she gave off burned him like fire and Joe stilled as sexual hunger rolled through him like thunder. She reached out and ran one finger down the pearl snaps on his black western-cut shirt then gave him a look. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m easy, Joe.”

  “Doubt there’s a damn thing easy about you, darlin’.”

  Suddenly she stepped back and dropped her hand. “Where do you live? There are men roaming around all over the place. Where do they stay? If this is my place now and yours of course, I should know.”

  “Come on.” Joe led her to the heavy doors and led her into the late Texas afternoon. Together they looked out over the flat land broken intermittently with buttes and plateaus. A wooded area surrounding a creek lay further beyond. White-faced Herefords grazed contentedly in the distance. A red, well-maintained barn was a beehive of activity as several hands worked with the horses in the corral. Joe pointed to a big brick house past the barn. “See that house? That’s mine. If you need anything at all, that’s where you’ll find me.”

  Quinn laughed, surprising him. “Anything at all? Now that’s a loaded statement considering what happened today.”

  For the first time in days, Joe felt his lips twitch. “Yeah. Anything at all.”

  She gave him a glance. “Don’t press your luck. Do people around here actually let you get by with this?”

  “Yeah. All the time.”

  “Hm. Things will be changing around here, I reckon.”

  A flare of hope lit low in his belly. Would she stay? Could she accept who and what she was?

  A door slammed from down below and they both looked out to see Selena stomping across the yard toward the barn. Joe had a pretty good idea where and to whom, she was going.

  “What is that woman to you, Joe? I take it she’s your lover?”

  “Was. Long time ago.”

  “She wants you.” Quinn gripped the sturdy post that ran the length of the balcony and watched the other woman with measuring eyes.

  “It’s been over with us for awhile now.”

  “Not my business.”

  He gave her a steady look. “More your business than you might think considering what happened between us on that desk in the study.”

  Quinn turned to face him, fire snapping to life in her eyes. “Let’s not go there, Joe. It was a mistake that won’t be repeated.”
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  Feisty.

  Joe liked that about Quinn Harlow. Liked it a lot.

  Stepping forward, ignoring the way she stiffened defensively, he cupped the sides of her head and looked at her. “Fight it, fight me all you want, woman but it’s not gonna work and we both know it. We’ve gone too far to back out now.”

  He bent and took her lips, tasting the sigh she released into his mouth. He sent his tongue deep, further claiming her, chaining her to him. The quick, savage tasting wasn’t enough for him but when he felt her curvy body sinking closer, felt her tightly drawn nipples prod his chest, he finally broke the kiss and studied the sexy slant of her swollen lips. “Yeah, we’ll be doing this again, Quinn,” he breathed against them. “No sense fighting it, honey.”

  Joe released her and stepped away. “Make yourself at home here and if you need anything, let me know. Be aware the men make themselves free with the main house because that’s the way your dad liked it. This is their home just as it is yours now. Just be warned about that but if something happens around here you don’t like, speak up. No one here will give you a hard time.”

  “What about Selena?” Quinn wrapped her arms around her middle and leaned back against the railing. “She’s already done it. Something tells me she’s not giving you up. The way she figures it, I’m the enemy.”

  “You’re a strong woman. You can handle her and anything else that comes your way.”

  She huffed a breath and rolled her eyes and once again Joe fought the urge to smile. “Yeah, well, didn’t handle you all that good, did I Joe?”

  Finally, he gave up and laughed. “You handled me just fine, sweetheart. I’ll see you tonight.” With humor curling deep, he backed off and left her alone with her thoughts. Plenty of time later to get more of what he craved.