A Virgin for the Wolf (4 page)

***

She arrived home to her shabby apartment, not even
having the company of Tom to look forward to. It was going to be a
long lonely evening, to make the time pass quicker she cleaned the
kitchen from top to bottom, when she had finished she moved onto
the bathroom. By the time 6.30pm came around she was hot and tired,
and in a bad mood.

Ellie took a shower, trying to wash the stress of the
day away. When she got out she felt a little better and dressed in
a floral dress, leaving her long hair to dry naturally. Then she
headed for the kitchen to see what she could force herself to eat.
All this time she subconsciously knew the minutes were ticking by
towards 7.00pm, the time he said he would pick her up.

“He’s not coming,” she told herself over and over
again, she had been repeating it to herself in the hope it would
lessen her disappointment. It was the reason she had not allowed
herself to get dressed up ready for a date, she couldn’t do it to
herself.

Clattering around in the kitchen she could almost
hear every second as the clock ticked. The hand reached the top of
the hour, and then carried on; there was no knock at the door.

“I’m not going to cry, I’m not going to cry.” Her new
mantra became, even though she knew she would.

At two minutes passed seven she set the knife down,
which she had been using to spread butter, and headed for her room.
All she wanted to do was cry into her pillow. As she reached her
bed a huge sob erupted from deep inside her, it was like a cork had
been pulled from a champagne bottle, tears streamed down her
face.

Ellie had always tried to look on the bright side,
but the fact that she had a good secure job was no consolation to
how let down she felt. Big racking sobs filled the room, she knew
she would be blotchy and red, but it didn’t matter, no one would
see her.

Her sobbing was so loud she didn’t hear the first
knock at the door. It was only when someone banged hard on the door
insistently that she heard it. Trying to control her emotions she
sat up, wiping her face before getting up. Looking in the mirror
she saw a red, unattractive round face looking back at her.

The banging at the door became more urgent, and then
she heard her name being called. “Ellie, Ellie, are you OK?” It was
the unmistakably masculine voice of Nathaniel Greystone.

She put a shaky hand to her mouth; he had come after
all, but look at the state of her. The banging continued.

“I know you're in there Ellie, please open the door.
I need to see you aren't hurt.” He sounded very worried.

Ellie went and stood behind the door, imagining what
he looked like, handsome, perfect and strong. “I’m fine,” she said,
knowing her voice was a little shaky.

She heard the breath he released in relief. “Open the
door, Ellie. Please tell me why you're so upset.” His voice was
quieter now, calmer.

“It was nothing, look, why don’t we do this another
night?” It was one of the hardest things she had ever said, she
wanted him to come in and hold her tight and never let her go, but
she knew if he saw her like this he would leave anyway.

“I am not going any where, please open the door
Ellie,” he paused before adding, “Or I will be forced to break it
down.”

“You can’t do that,” she hissed at him.

“Yes, I can, I will pay for the damage, but I am not
leaving without seeing you.” His voice was set firm and Ellie
realised how he had become so successful, you did not argue with
Nathaniel Greystone.

“Please, Nat. I look awful.”

“I don’t care.”

“But I do.”

“Let me in Ellie, I need to see that you are OK. I
need to know why you were so upset.

“How do you know I was upset?”

“I could hear you crying.”

“I was in my bedroom, the walls aren't that
thin.”

“I have very good hearing, now please let me in.”

Her hand hovered over the lock, she was sure he was
not going to go away, and if he made more noise then her neighbours
would probably be out to see what all the commotion was about. She
also believed him when he said he would knock the door down.

So she opened the door for her big bad wolf. He swept
into the room and took her in his arms; she tried to turn away from
him so he didn’t see her face. Nat was too strong for her; he
turned her towards him, lifting her chin and studying her face.

“What's the matter, Ellie?” His eyes searched hers,
trying to fathom why she was so upset.

“It’s nothing,” she said, trying to avoid his intense
stare.

“Look at you,” he said stroking her cheek gently with
his fingers, sending the first tendrils of desire racing through
her body. “Did something happen at work?”

She shook her head, feeling so stupid now at over
reacting so much, in her heart she wondered if she would ever be
sure of him and his feelings for her. He had always known he had a
true mate in the world, yet she had not, and she struggled to make
that shift inside herself and accept what he said as true.

In the end all she could say was, “I thought you
weren’t coming.”

He held her tighter, kissing the top of her head, she
felt a shudder pass through him, and knew he was trying to restrain
himself. “Why would you think that? I told you, we are linked
together in a way you must believe, I will never let you down.”

“Mrs Pierce said you had gone out of town for a few
days, family business.”

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t contact you when I
realised II had to stay away today. It is so hard for me to control
myself when I am around you, right now I want to throw you down on
that sofa and make you mine. It takes all my willpower to stop
myself. It will get easier, but today I could not trust
myself.”

Ellie could not comprehend his words, but the feel of
his body against hers told her he did not lie, he was pent up,
ready to explode, and she wanted to see that explosion, to feel it
with him.

“I am trying to understand, but I have never given
myself to someone this much, I’ve always had to rely on myself and
it’s hard not to believe you will let me down, that this is not
some huge joke at my expense.”

“Then come with me, Ellie, let me take you to my home
and I will share something with you that I have never shared with
anyone outside of my family. It might scare you, but it is part of
who I am and I hope it will prove to you how much I trust you, and
in return you might learn to trust me and believe what I say.”

Ellie felt scared, and yet she knew she had to find a
way to overcome her doubts, if he was willing to share so much of
himself with her, then she might find a way to let go of her past
and embrace the future he promised.

She nodded, her head still buried in his chest, and
reluctantly pulled away from him to reach for her bag. The two of
them left her apartment and wordlessly went down to his car.

He held the door open for her, and she slid into the
front seat. It was the most expensive car she had ever sat in, she
felt as though she should put something on the seats so she didn’t
get them dirty. It was another reminder of the different worlds
they lived in.

***

A ten minute drive took them out of the city and into
the foothills that surrounded it. She had always imagined men as
rich as Nat would have a penthouse apartment in the exclusive area
of the city, yet the winding road they took had only a few well
spaced out houses along it. He obviously wasn’t the type of
bachelor who enjoyed city life, no fast women and fast cars for
Nathaniel Greystone.

Still they kept going until the houses became few and
far between, he must like his privacy, a chill crept over her, or
else he had something to hide. She questioned her opinion of Nat;
was she right to trust a man she did not know other than by what
she had read in the press. Ellie’s mind started to race about what
exactly he was bringing her out here to see. What if he meant her
harm? No one would hear her scream if he hurt her.

She told herself to stop being so stupid, he had been
nothing but kind and generous to her since they had met yesterday,
she could not fault his behaviour in any way. Her thoughts were
stopped abruptly when he turned off the road and on to a private
track, after a hundred yards he stopped and used a remote control
to open huge wooden gates. Yes, he certainly liked his privacy, and
she had the eerie feeling she was entering a predator's den.

“Relax, Ellie, I am not going to eat you.” His voice
put her at ease; turning to look at him he had a mischievous glint
in his eyes. “At least not in the way you are imagining.”

“How do you know what I’m imagining?” Ellie said
trying to keep her voice light.

“I am becoming quite attuned to what is going through
your head, as I am guessing you are with me.”

“So what am I thinking now?” she asked, not wanting
to admit he was right.

“How handsome I am and how rich I must be to live in
a house like this.”

“You're wrong, that's not at all what I am thinking,”
she said primly.

“Pity, it would have done my ego a hell of a lot of
good.”

She laughed. “I think your ego is quite big enough Mr
Greystone.”

“Not where you are concerned, Ellie, you are so
unlike anyone else I have ever met, it’s as though you are immune
to all my usual charms.”

“Does that annoy you?”

“Oh, no, on the contrary, I find it very refreshing.”
The car stopped and he turned to look out of the window. “Now here
is my house, surely you can’t fail to be at least a little
impressed.” Then he turned back to her. “Only because I hope one
day it will be our home, it would be a great place to raise a
family.”

Ellie was surprised to see an older house, not the
modern minimalist place she thought men went for. It did indeed
look as though it had been bought with raising a family in mind.
Long wide gardens were set before it, and she could almost imagine
the excited cries of children playing there.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, honestly surprised by the
house and its situation. “How long have you lived here?”

“I have lived here for the last two years, although I
bought the place about five years ago.”

“Five years ago? You could afford a place like this
even then?” She thought he couldn’t be more than five or six years
older than she was, that would mean he was only around twenty when
he bought it. A place like this was way out of the budget of all
but the most privileged of young people. “Did you inherit some
money?”

“No, I started from nothing and built Greystone
Holdings into what it is today. I’ve worked hard,” he said, before
adding, “And I am, perhaps, a little older than you think.”

“How old?” she asked, intrigued.

“I will tell you everything you want to know later,
right now I want to take you inside. I think I have waited long
enough, don’t you?”

She blushed at the implication of his words. This was
it, he wanted to take her into this beautiful house and make love
to her. Suddenly her mouth felt dry and her breathing difficult,
she was fairly certain she was going to be a bit of a
disappointment to him in the sex department. He had probably slept
with so many women, experienced women, who probably had tried every
trick in the book to get him to fall in love with them. She would
never match their bedroom skills.

He came around and opened her door, offering her his
hand to help her out. She took it, and straight away the connection
between them was there, an energy passing between them. His fingers
entwined with hers, and then with a low growl he pushed her against
the car and kissed her.

What a kiss. Her knees went weak, something that she
thought only happened to women in movies, or a romance novel. She
leaned back against the car for support; she needed it because his
onslaught was intense. His hands wrapped around her, drawing her
body to him until they were tightly pressed together, his hard
muscles against her soft curves.

She parted her lips for him, and he tasted her mouth.
His lips pressed against hers, gentle yet demanding, she was left
in no doubt that he was in charge and he took her pleasure very
seriously. She relaxed and decided to simply enjoy everything that
he did to her and to try to return the pleasure.

One hand crept up and stroked her breast, she groaned
against his mouth, wanting more from him. He obliged by sliding his
thumb over her nipple through the soft fabric of her dress. Soon
his touch had made it harden, the touch of his fingers brushing the
sensitive peak.

He tore himself away from her. “It’s no good, I must
have you now.” With that he lifted her up and carried her towards
the house, his lips managing to find hers again while he walked.
Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back,
surprised to find it came naturally.

Nat was strong, his arms taking her weight
effortlessly, it made her feel feminine and vulnerable, a man such
as him wanting her so much. He reached the house and set her down,
before opening the door and propelling her into the house, his need
becoming increasingly uncontrollable.

Shivers of excitement passed through her body, the
touch of his hands on her flesh waylaying all her fears and doubts.
He was right, they were destined to be together, she could feel it
too. As his mouth sought hers again she saw that faint red glow in
his eyes, there was no denying there was something different about
Nat.

Ellie did not have time to look at the inside of the
house, he picked her up again and, taking the stairs two at a time,
took her to his bedroom. There he lay her on the bed and moved over
her, his body so close. He kissed her neck, working his way down to
the top of her dress and placed feather light kisses just above
where the fabric touched her skin.