Bitten: Moon Lust 2 Page 5

  “You actually wanted to live here? Planned to do it?” Nikolai’s eyes widened when she nodded her agreement. “But why?” His voice was incredulous.

  “Well, I grew up in a small town. And when I was younger, I thought that by moving to the city I would become someone more important, I guess. I’m not sure what I thought, it seems so long ago.” She heard her own voice trial off pensively.

  “And if you had to make the choice all over again? Would you live on your farm or in the city?” He seemed very interested in her answer.

  “On the farm,” she answered without pause. It was a question she’d often asked herself over the years. “Don’t get me wrong,” she hastened to add, “I’m not exactly unhappy here. I love going to school and lord knows I’ve worked hard to be able to attend. But sometimes I really miss the green of the pasture, the trees and the wide-open sky. There’s a kind of simplicity, a beauty, in the country that you can’t find here, not even in the parks. I really miss that sometimes, you know? The quiet solitude of it.”

  “Yes. I have only been here a week and already I miss the silence and seclusion of my land as well. It’s too busy here…too full of motion and noise and foul smells.” He paused for a long moment, as though lost deep in thought. “But will you one day return to your farm—after your schooling is complete? Do you not have family there?”

  “No. My parents died some years back. It’s initially why I moved here. I had to sell the farm to clear off their debts,” she admitted. “I have some family there still, cousins, aunts and uncles, but no one I’m really close to anymore. I haven’t had time these past few years for much in the way of visiting.”

  “I am sorry to hear that you are so alone.” His voice was low and mournful on her behalf.

  “I’m not alone. How can you be alone amongst so many people in a city like this one?” Julia waved away the topic and quickly moved on to another. “So what’s your home like? Tell me more about it. Do you have family there, besides your cousin and his wife?”

  Nikolai tossed back his mane of hair and laughed, letting the moment of sadness between them pass as if it had never been. “Sometimes I think I have too much family there. They are always underfoot. But I love them and would protect them with my life. And my land…I wish you could see it Julia! You would love it. My village is in the middle of an old growth forest, surrounded for miles by the biggest trees you have ever seen. There are mountains all around us, reaching tall into the heavens, and snow on the ground more often than not, painting the land with sparkling white. And the air is so clean, so crisp, it almost shocks the lungs on a cold day.”

  “It sounds lovely. But I have to ask—what is an old growth forest?”

  “The trees are hundreds, sometimes thousands of years old, many petrified to stone. Some of the oldest trees on Earth can be found there. That is why they have grown so large; they have had the time to. Some are even as big around as a small building!”

  Julia marveled that such a thing could be possible—a thousand year old tree as big around as a building. It sounded outrageous, though she vaguely remembered hearing about such forests in Washington State being harvested for their lumber. “That’s amazing. I can’t believe you live in such a place. I bet it’s absolutely gorgeous.”

  “It is. There is no other place on Earth that can match its beauty, of that I am absolutely positive. I think that I will appreciate it even more when I return, after having seen such a cold, gray place as this city.”

  They fell into a companionable silence then, each immersed in their private thoughts. Then Julia realized how late it must be, looked at her watch and almost gasped to see that it was already well past three in the morning. “Goodness! It’s so late, the time has just flown by.” She rose from her seat and Nikolai was instantly at her side, though she hadn’t seen him move.

  “Must you go?” he asked in a quiet voice.

  Julia’s body positively tingled at the intimate timbre of his words and at the sudden, fierce blaze of his eyes. He was so close she could see the widening of his pupils in the silvery blue fire of his eyes. “I don’t want to keep you up too late. You must have business to see to in the morning.” Julia knew it was a lame excuse, but now that the moment was upon her she didn’t know how to acquiesce into joining him in his bed, for if the look in his eyes was any indication, that was exactly where he wanted her to be.

  “What about you? Do you have to work in the morning?” he asked, intent on her answer.

  “N-no. I’m not scheduled until tomorrow evening.” She was suddenly breathless.

  “Then stay.” He seemed to growl the words and the sound washed over her with the force of a tidal wave, sweeping her under into the depths of a dark sea of passion that was impossible for her to hide from him. “Stay,” he repeated in a throaty whisper.

  “I can’t,” she said and hated herself for it. Here was the chance she’d been hoping for—the opportunity to feel close to someone if for but a few short hours. But, despite her profound need and desire for this man, she knew it would spell her doom were she to give in. There was no way that she could have just one taste, one night with this man and not leave with her mind forever wondering about him. He was just too entrancing, too alluring for her to not to be drawn to him so strongly. If there was no chance that her heart might become involved she wouldn’t have hesitated…but self-preservation was the driving force that kept her from giving in. As much as she wanted him…she had to say no.

  Or risk a bruised and regretful heart when she had to leave him with the sunrise.

  “I will not disappoint you. I will give you only pleasure, I promise you,” he vowed, eyes blazing.

  Oh, if only she could believe that! But he had no idea how affected she would be by a sexual encounter with him. She would be forever changed for good or ill. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was choked with tears of regret.

  Something flared in the depths of his eyes, something dangerous and alarming, and Julia felt a thrill of fear. His eyes glowed fiercely with unchecked emotion and with a lightning quick movement his hands darted out and grabbed her upper arms in a tight grip.

  “You have no need to fear me, Julia fair. I know we have only just met…but if you would just take a chance that I will cherish you as you deserve, I promise that you will not be disappointed.” He shook her a little then, stunning her with the force of his pent up passion and with his words. “I can turn you inside out with pleasure and you will scream for more, I swear it! You will never know a release like the one I can give you. Trust me to love you and you will never want for anything in my arms.”

  “Let go of me!” she commanded both alarmed and aroused by his display.

  “You do not understand…let me show you.” He breathed the last against her lips a second before he brushed them with his.

  He had the softest, silkiest lips, full of magic and wonder. She’d known just by looking at them that they had been made for kissing, but she hadn’t guessed how perfectly molded and shaped they were—they fit hers as if they had been tailor made. He tasted sweet and spicy all at once, completely and wholly male. Despite his obvious state of turmoil he didn’t ravage her mouth—that she might have been able to resist, to fight against—instead, he savored and teased, titillated and aroused until she went limp against him and let him have his way.

  Gentle pressing gave way to teasing nibbles and Julia was helpless to keep her arms from rising and twining around his strong neck. The feel of his hair was a temptation all its own, pure satin softness that begged her to bury her hands deep within it, which she did immediately. His muscles moved against her, a seductive ripple that seemed both strange and wondrous at the same time, and they were pressed together in the embrace. Nikolai’s hands moved from her arms to gently cup the sides of her head as he turned her just so, the better to deepen his kiss.

  A tentative lick with his lips was all the warning she was given before he delved deeper. He kissed her as if he wished to devour her whole, a
s if he would feast on her mouth as he’d feasted earlier on his evening meal. His tongue stroked deeply into her mouth, filling her with the taste of him. She sighed, caught in a glowing, blissful state and he swallowed her breath as if it were his due. He growled against her, vibrating her already swollen lips into tingling life.

  His hands became more urgent, more demanding. They speared into her hair, loosening it from its confinement then moved down her back where they fisted at the base of her spine. Julia could only let out a small squeak around Nikolai’s still roving mouth as he lifted her against him so that her feet dangled inches off of the floor. He kept her anchored to him effortlessly with an impressive display of strength and Julia fairly swooned with excitement. Against her better judgment she began to lose herself more fully in the embrace.

  She kissed him back with all the pent up passion she’d kept contained over the years. Where before he had been the aggressor, now she took command of the kiss. When his thrusting tongue withdrew from her mouth, hers followed it to delve into the sweet spice of his. Their tongues tangled, in a dueling dance of pure eroticism, and they both moaned in response. Her hands roved over the broad planes of his back, reveling in the feel of his rippling muscles beneath the loose fit of his clothing.

  Nikolai’s fists clutched ever more tightly at her back and he took a small step towards the chair she’d just vacated. He placed one foot on the seat cushion, bringing his knee up between her dangling legs. Julia gasped against his mouth and made to pull away, but now that her weight rested on his bent knee, Nikolai’s hands were once again free to move. He anchored her lips against his with a hand at her jaw, keeping her from moving her head more than a few precious inches. His other hand moved down to cup and squeeze the flesh of her buttock, causing her to undulate instinctively against the strong column of his thigh. Warm, liquid desire pooled between her legs almost immediately and she clutched at him in desperation to ride out the storm of feeling that swept through her.

  Nikolai’s hand remained at her jaw, gently but firmly holding her captive, and his lips strayed from hers after what seemed like an eternity of deep, drugging kisses. Slowly, leisurely, he trailed his mouth from hers, down over the jut of her chin and onto her throat. He nuzzled against her there, pressing tiny warm kisses into the slope of her neck until she let her head fall back boneless and weak. Julia heard his ragged breathing as he inhaled deeply of her scent. He seemed to enjoy the smell and taste of her, if his broken moan was any sort of indication.

  “Julia, my Julia,” he breathed against her skin. His hands clenched and then he lifted her away from him. She could have screamed with disappointment at having all that hard, hot male muscle and sinew taken away from her wandering hands but that was before she saw what he meant to do next.

  Nikolai set her upon her feet, careful to steady her when she would have fallen on her weak knees. Then he bent over her, never moving his face from the hollow of her throat, growling and murmuring incoherently in his native tongue. His hands moved to the buttons of her blouse and in a surprisingly few short seconds he had bared her from neck to navel. All that remained was the coral pink bra, a last barrier between them. His hands wandered, stroking over the soft flesh of her belly, and his face lowered into the valley between her breasts where he suddenly stilled, breathing deep.

  In a graceful motion that startled her—it was too fluid for a man of his mass and stature—he knelt before her. Even in her drunken arousal Julia could see how his hands trembled when they rose to cup the heavy weight of her breasts. He held her gently, carefully, as if he feared she might break, and she felt the soft press of his mouth on one of her covered nipples. She moaned and marveled that the broken sound had actually come from her own mouth. Her knees were shaking and her panties were soaked through with the evidence of her fierce arousal. She’d never before felt so awakened to passion, so ready for that next step in the mating dance between male and female.

  Nikolai’s mouth drew her attention once more as he moved it down, nuzzling into that hollow beneath her breasts. She felt the gentle bite of his teeth and then the immediate lave of his tongue, which eased the tiny sting. He moved further down, sitting low on his knees now, and buried his face against the fleshy softness of her belly. There came again that deep, rumbling growl from within his chest and throat. It sounded too animalistic and far too dangerous to belong to a human throat and would have alarmed her had she not been so caught up in the heat of the moment. He buried his face more deeply against her, clutching at her almost desperately, and snarled yet again.

  With a flurry of motion he shoved away from her, sending her teetering. In the blink of an eye he had put the distance of the balcony between them, burying himself deep within the shadows so that she could no longer see him clearly.

  “Go, Julia. You have your reprieve for tonight.” His voice was guttural and heavily accented now, completely changed in cadence and tone from the clear, musical quality he’d displayed throughout the night. The sound was unnerving in the extreme and the sense of fear which had been with her at different times throughout the night, came back with a roar of warning through her system.

  With trembling hands she clumsily righted her clothing, not knowing how to respond to Nikolai’s sudden change of mood. She seemed to be taking too long for Nikolai snarled again and almost roared his last words.

  “Go now, woman! You wanted to leave, now do so. For pity’s sake, right your clothing once you’re safe in the hall corridor.” His voice choked off into silence, leaving his words to echo between them.

  Julia felt her temper soar at his words. How dare he bark commands at her like she was some kind of servant! He was the one who had pursued her after her initial withdrawal. He was the one who had swept her up into an embrace that had stolen away her senses and made her yearn for more, not the other way around.

  “Fine, I’ll go. It is what I want, anyway,” she lied. “Next time don’t pretend to be so frickin’ eager when its obvious that you’re not.” She marched off of the balcony and headed through the suite to the door. It was dark in the rooms. Nikolai must have snuffed out all but the bedroom light—which had served to illuminate their dinner on the balcony—when he’d gone to accept their room service tray.

  “Ebat’-kopat’! Is that what you think? That I pretended to want you?”

  Julia jumped with a muffled shriek. Nikolai had said the words right at her ear, but she hadn’t even known he was following her, much less following her so closely. She whirled and regarded his shadowy form with a frown.

  “I’m not going to pursue this conversation further. You’ve made your intentions known, now that you’ve seen me half naked—which I’m sure was a big disappointment for you—it’s obvious you want nothing more to do with me.” She spoke so quickly that her words tripped, one over the other. She was embarrassed as never before and suddenly grateful for the darkness that helped to hide her blush of shame. She felt the pain of his rejection like a knife through her heart, but was thankful, at least, that he’d rejected her before he’d slept with her.

  “I will not dignify your nonsensical ramblings beyond stating that you are even more beautiful ‘half naked’ than I could have imagined. But you have to go. I feel…sick…all of a sudden. I was so harsh with you because I did not want you to see me disgrace myself after so perfect an evening.”

  He sounded so honest, so believable that her heart immediately softened with sympathy. “Was it something you ate? Do you need any medicine? Should you lay down?”

  “Perhaps it was the food. I do not know. Please Julia, go before I make an even bigger ass of myself. I am sorry if I spoiled your evening. I am sorry if I scared you. Can I see you tomorrow night after work?”

  Julia thought about it and nodded before she even knew she meant to. Then she remembered how dark it was and made to speak, but Nikolai put a hand at her back, opened the door for her and gently moved her through it.

  “I will see you tomorrow night, then. Sleep well, J
ulia fair.”

  The door closed firmly behind her before she could answer and she exhaled, exasperated at how the evening had turned out. She would never understand men as long as she lived. They were so confusing!

  It took her a few minutes to make her way to the reception area where she gathered her sketchbook and purse and called a cab to come and pick her up. Luckily Nora was off somewhere for the moment so she wasn’t waylaid by a thousand and one questions regarding her date. Inexplicably a lump rose to her throat at the thought of going home to her empty apartment, but she quickly turned her thoughts to happier ones. She’d just had a wonderful dinner—without having to pay for it—and been kissed by the sexiest man she’d ever met. What more could a girl want, now really?

  Julia walked out to her rented cab, head bowed against the sudden bite of the wind that whipped her hair about as it swept down between the tall buildings that surrounded her. As she stepped into the cab, in the moment before she closed the door and the driver started the engine, she could have sworn she heard a sound that had no business being in the sterile confines of the city.

  The long and mournful wail of a wolf.

  Chapter Five

  Nikolai gripped the railing of his balcony and let out another mournful cry to the heavens. He had seen Julia as she’d stepped into the yellow car and been driven away. Away from him. It had taken all of his self-control to keep from begging her to stay, from crying out her name in desperation when he had spotted her down below. It had torn apart his insides to see her leave him…but he’d had no choice but to push her away.

  Something wasn’t quite…right…inside of him.

  Nikolai looked up into the sky, his sharp eyes easily picking out the shape of the moon despite the coverage of a sudden gathering of clouds before it. The moon was still a sliver in the night sky, and though it was growing—waxing—it shouldn’t be calling to the animal inside of him so strongly yet. But it was, inexplicably enough. He could feel his bones growing and reshaping in his skin. He could feel his muscle and sinew contorting to allow for the change to take him in a sudden rush of strength and power. He could feel the voracious hunger that was always present when his body was ready for the wolf to come forth from within him and take over.