With me.
Ignoring that stray and totally absurd thought, Marc’s hand slipped inside the blanket, seeking the folds of her pussy and what he knew would be an erect clit. She wouldn’t need much stimulation to fly apart for him.
No
, he corrected himself.
Not for him
.
For her.
Chapter Two
Angelina Giardano floated. Free of pain. Free of her body. Free. Where had Allen gone? Who cared? She was free of him, too. She found herself staring down at what looked like her body being held by a dark-haired stranger. Definitely not Allen. This man’s tanned and muscular bare arms held her blanket-covered body. Even though she was unable to feel his arms around her, she knew it was her body somehow. She marveled at the sense of security she felt.
Safe
.
How strange. The delicious feeling left her without a single care.
Why didn’t she open her eyes to look at his face?
“
You were so brave, cara
.”
Brave about what? She’d never been brave in her life. But his words made her want to believe him. He wiped away her tears.
Why was she crying?
She felt so incredibly safe. Blissful. Not a reason for tears. He’d even said she’d been good. Exactly what she’d been good at, she didn’t know. She was just happy she’d pleased him.
A tremor shook her body and he pulled her closer to his chest, resting his head on top of hers, as if to keep her still.
You did well, cara
. He even used Italian endearments.
Cara.
Dear. Papa called her
cara.
She wished she could brush her fingers over the soft-looking black hairs on his corded forearms.
How could she be looking at him from above but feel him? Even though her eyes remained close, she saw short black curls on the top of his head. Why didn’t she open her eyes and look at him?
Mio Dio
, had she died? Was this heaven? If so, it was nothing like she’d been led to expect.
Suddenly, a blinding flash of light engulfed the room. Oh,
Dio
! The pain!
“Accckkkkkk!”
The once strong, safe arms wrapped around her now only caused the pain to intensify. Her butt burned as if held over a flame. She screamed and fought to get away. From him, from the pain.
“Shhhh. I have you.”
Safe. No!
His hand wiped the tears away from her cheek. When the underside of his forearm brushed lightly against her breast, she felt her nipple swell as if reaching out to him.
More
. Her skin tingled where he’d barely touched her, sending a zing to her clitoris.
“Ohhhhh!” Both nipples hardened, as did her clit. She was going to come. How could that be without her or someone else stroking her clit?
Dio
, even with Allen touching her there, she’d never had an orgasm unless she took matters into her own hands. Now she was nearing orgasm without that stimulation?
Heat engulfed her—delicious, curl-your-toes heat. The pain in her butt receded as she reached up to hold onto his vest. The pecs she brushed felt like velvet-encased steel. She moaned, grabbing his vest tighter, frustrated as she tilted her hips upward seeking release.
More. Please!
She needed him. So hot. Why did he have her wrapped in a blanket? Oh, good! His hand pulled the blanket apart. He was going to take the damned thing off of her. But he didn’t. Instead, his hand reached inside the blanket, took her knee, and opened her wider, then his fingers moved to delve just inside the opening of her vagina. Oh! With two fingers, he spread her folds, then one finger slide up her cleft until he drew wet circles around the hood her swollen clit.
“Oh, oh, yesss!”
Angelina’s lower body bucked toward his hand. His finger moved faster. She wanted to feel him inside her. As if he’d heard her, his finger glided back along the path to her pussy lips and his finger slid deep inside her. So wet. Allen had never been able to do that without lubricant.
“That’s right,
cara.
Just feel.”
Oh, she felt him, all right. Her grip tightened on his vest. “
Oh! Oh! Oh!” Don’t stop!
Had she shouted the words, or were they only reverberating through her mind? Thank God he continued, whether he’d heard her or not.
His finger slid out of her and back up to her clit again, this time directly touching the hard nubbin.
“Yes! Oh,
Dio
, yesssss!” Angelina pressed her forehead against his chest. The sensations were too intense. She was losing control, if she ever had any. Her hips bucked against his hand, harder and harder, simulating intercourse.
“
Mio Dio! Don’t stop!
” she screamed as her release approached. Angelina pulled her head away from his chest and reached up, digging her fingers into the back of his neck. She pulled the stranger’s head toward hers. Even with her eyes closed, she guided his lips to hers perfectly and tried to open his mouth with her tongue. His unyielding lips pulled away. She groaned, then didn’t care anymore as she crested the waves of ecstasy.
“
Voli, cara.
Fly. Fly apart for me.” His thumb rubbed her extremely sensitive clit as he rammed two fingers inside her vagina. She bucked up. “Yes, that’s right. Ah, shit,
bella,
you’re so damned tight.”
His words and the friction of her motions caused her butt to rub against the blanket. Fire. She was on fire again. But the pain only added to the exquisite sensation. Pain mixed with pleasure.
“Yes, yesss, ohhh, ohhhhh, God! Yesssssss!” The intensity of the orgasm caused her body to stiffen, then buck, and stiffen, over and over again. Her climax went on forever and she her eyes flew open as she clutched his vest, hanging on for dear life.
The wave receded much more quickly than it had built up. Tiny tremors shook her body as she floated. Her clit became hypersensitive and she moved away from his hand. He supported her back and readjusted the blanket over her hips and breasts, surrounding her with his arms, pulling her close against his hard body once more.
Her body began to shake, the muscles in her neck, arms, and legs spasming. Oh, God, what was happening to her?
“Shhhh. I have you,
cara.
” He tucked her arms inside the blanket again.
That voice. Her angel from heaven. The sexy angel with a Northern Italian accent.
Oh, Papa you were right. Heaven is in Italy!
Fire burned in her butt. No. This was hell! Another chill wracked her body. Hot. Cold. The uncontrolled tremors caused her stomach muscles to contract, as well. He held her tighter.
“It’s over now,
bella.
You’re safe.”
She crashed to earth violently. Disturbing images invaded her once-euphoric state. Allen. An X-shaped cross. Cuffs. Arms aching, stretched so high above her head. He’d used a flogger to beat her senseless. He wouldn’t stop. She’d used her safe word. Hadn’t she? Why didn’t he stop?
Spasms gripped her calf muscles. She groaned and pulled her knees up toward her chest. The blankets trapped her arms, but she tried to reach down anyway to rub the knotted muscles in her legs.
“Hurts,” she whimpered.
The angel took her calf in his firm hand and massaged the cramp away, first one leg, then the other.
“Ow!”
Oh, Mio Dio
, the pain was more than she could stand. Tears wet her cheeks. Hot against her skin, then cold. She’d never been in so much pain in her entire life. Not physically, at least.
Why had she agreed to come with Allen to his kink club in Denver? He’d used much more force than they’d agreed upon when they talked about doing a BDSM scene. At first, she’d tried to please him and not cry out, but the beating had continued for what seemed forever. She’d begun to scream. Soon she realized Allen had been getting off on her screams of anguish.
That bastard!
Where was he now? They had driven up here together. Had he left her at the club? Or was she somewhere else? How would she get home?
She heard a door open and close, seemingly far away. Her angel reached out for something, then tilted her head back. She missed the warmth of his chest against her cheek.
“Here,
cara
. Sip on this.”
At last, she would be able to see his face. She opened her eyes, looked up, and gasped. Oh, God, he wasn’t an angel at all. He was a wolf! She tried to back away, frightened again.
“Shhh. It’s just water. You’re dehydrated. This will help take care of the cramps in your legs, too.”
An English-speaking wolf, with a Northern Italian accent, and intense green eyes. Was this a dream? A nightmare? As if in a trance, she opened her mouth and let him tilt the bottle until cold water trickled down her throat.
“Good girl.”
Her insides melted. Why was it so important she please him? She didn’t even know him. Some water dribbled down her face to her neck, but what she managed to swallow soothed her scratchy throat, raw from screaming, she guessed. She took his hand and tilted the bottle at a steeper angle.
“Whoa, easy,
cara.
Not too fast.”
He smiled at her and she realized he was only half wolf. Warmth pooled in her stomach. His mouth and chin were very human. A man, with a full lower lip and straight white teeth—no wolf fangs—against tanned, beautiful skin. Below his mask, his jaw and chin sported a shadow of scruff. As she sipped slowly, she wondered what it would feel like to be kissed by her angel-man-wolf. Why hadn’t he let her kiss him moments ago? Would his whiskers abrade the skin on her face and neck—and other places?
He pulled the bottle away. “Now, have some chocolate. This will help you come back to us faster.” He smiled.
She wasn’t sure who he meant by us, then she remembered the door. She tensed. Allen! “Don’t let him touch me again!”
“Shhh. He’s gone.” He clenched his jaw.
She relaxed again.
Safe
. He smiled. All she knew for certain was that she wanted to keep him smiling at her. As he broke off a piece of chocolate, she opened her mouth, waiting to be fed. He wouldn’t have to force her to eat chocolate. When he looked down at her, his smile vanished and his hand went still just short of delivering what she craved.
“Please.” Her voice sounded raspy to her ears. She wasn’t sure if she was begging him for the chocolate or to smile at her again. She wanted both.
Used to taking care of herself, she reached up and pulled his hand toward her mouth, biting off a piece of chocolate, accidentally nipping his fingers in the process. He laughed. Bliss. The deep rumble from his laugh sent shivers down her body. She didn’t know or care what was so funny. Closing her eyes, she sucked on the nectar of the gods while being held by an angel.
“Mmmm.” The dark chocolate melted in her mouth. She licked her lips to get every bit. When she opened her eyes for more, his gaze was fixated on her mouth. Perhaps he wanted some of her chocolate. “I don’t mind sharing.”
He looked puzzled, his gaze straying to whoever was standing behind her, and then back at her. She looked down at the chocolate bar in his hand and licked her lips again.
He laughed, as if relieved. “Insatiable.” She opened her mouth and this time he placed the flat rectangle on her tongue. She smiled at him and closed her mouth and eyes again, her lips surrounding his thumb and finger before he pulled them from her mouth. He lowered his arm and tightened it around her, holding her close again. If only she could stay here forever.
Not possible. The world intruded on her post-orgasmic state. She had to get back home. She had an event to cater on Wednesday. At least she thought it was this Wednesday. She didn’t really care anymore. Her body became more relaxed and listlessness blanketed her. All she wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep for a year or two.
Curl against her angel-man-wolf
. She smiled. As her eyelids drooped, she heard him speaking with whoever stood behind her.
He’d taken care of her. He hadn’t hurt her. She deemed him safe enough to let down her guard. Angelina curled against him and felt his arms adjust to support her in sleep. If Allen came back, he would protect her.
Safe.
* * *
“I came down as soon as I could get rid of the dickwad.”
Marc looked up at Adam, bare-chested as well, except for his all-black leather vest. He stood with his legs apart, hands fisted on his black leather-clad hips. The man looked as if he held his beast on a tight leash. Well, join the club. He’d known Adam would take care of Sir Asshole. None of the Masters at Arms tolerated abuse like what had been done to this woman.
Now, how did they keep it from happening again? Clearly, he needed to offer classes again, if it would keep her and others from going through something like this. He looked down at the beautiful angel sleeping in his arms and felt an unfamiliar tug at his heartstrings.
Dangerous
.
Adam cleared his throat. “How is she?”
Marc tried to keep his voice low as he answered. “Better. Sleeping.”
“I’m having a room prepared for her upstairs—the one next to Karla’s.”
Marc knew every room in the house, of course. Adam had purchased the run-down mansion in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood after he retired from the Corps. Seeing that Marc was going to be at loose ends after receiving his medical discharge, he invited him to join him in starting a fetish club. Soon after, they’d discovered Damián needed a lifeline after the trauma he’d suffered at Fallujah.
The unlikely crew of three had embarked on converting Adam’s monstrous house into a club and a residence for Adam and Damián. They’d worked over the next three years to refurbish the Victorian into the showplace it was today. Marc had never realized how good it could feel to work with his hands, or to be so proud of accomplishing something he’d set his mind to.
Luke had worked during the last year of renovations to do the cabinetry and trim. The man had become fixated by Marc’s SAR work with the mountain rescue squad, asking a thousand questions. Then Marc had learned he’d lost his wife in an avalanche. Soon after, Luke began training for the squad and the two had become very good friends over the ensuing years.