Loki's Game Read online

  Lily threw the book to the coffee table and raced across the room, flipping back her calendar to the date of her “interview” with Rowan. Horror-struck, she stared at the small, darkened circle in the upper left corner of that date.

  “No,” she whimpered and dropped the pages back into place. Lily refused to let herself believe any of this nonsense…at least, she kept telling herself it was. That she’d slept with him on the night of a full moon meant little. A coincidence. Still…

  She picked up the book and continued to read.

  Should an Alpha meete his Omega, the urge to mate will be much too stronge to ignore. The female will be drawne to the wolfe. Once the mating process begins, the change will often be involuntarie.

  Lily dropped the book back to the couch and wailed in frustration. Every word of it was true. Rowan was like a drug in her system. He changed around her. And despite the time away from him, she’d still felt the urge to crawl into his arms when he came near. She’d gone into the club with Loren, kissed him even, but…

  She’d forgotten about him when Rowan showed up.

  Rowan told her they went way back, too. What the hell did that mean? And why did Loren have a book on wolf shifters? Lily had had her doubts about Loren, but now she had so many questions that her head swam. Before she fully registered what she was doing, she’d picked up the phone and dialed Rowan’s telephone number. He answered on the second ring.

  “Tell me in ten words or less why you interfered,” she snapped.

  “Loren isn’t what you think. He’s dangerous.”

  “I’m sure he would say the same of you.”

  “I am quite honestly shocked that he didn’t.”

  “You didn’t give him the chance.”

  Rowan sighed into her ear, and in her mind she could see the pained look on his face. She shook her head to clear the image. She was angry with him, damn it.

  “Listen to me, Lily,” he said, his voice thick with some unnamed emotion. “You need to get away from him. He is a dangerous man, and now that he knows my connection to you I fear you may be in great danger.”

  “What is going on?”

  “It’s best if you don’t know.”

  Lily huffed. “You expect me to quit my job based on some hunch that you won’t even explain?”

  “It isn’t a hunch.”

  “But you still won’t explain.”

  “I wish I could.”

  On the coffee table, her cell phone buzzed, signaling an incoming text message. She snapped it up and read it, debating whether she should be disgusted or amused.

  “Loren is on his way over,” she blurted, because she knew it would annoy Rowan. Silence greeted her, followed by the faint sound of grinding teeth.

  “I’ll be there first.”

  Lily rolled her eyes. “You really are a piece of work, you know that?” On the other end of the line, Rowan tried to interrupt, but she ignored him. “First you lure me in with the promise of a job that doesn’t exist just to get me into your bed. Nice job on that one.” She let loose a derisive snort. “Then you drop a bomb on me about the existence of the supernatural and your part in it…just so I’ll sleep with you again. And after that you prattle on about me being your mate before disappearing. No contact. At all. Then you attack my boss, make assumptions as to my relationship with him, and tell me you’re going to show up here, all in the name of chivalry…” She took a deep breath, prepared to start up again when a knock at the door startled her. “He’s here,” she said instead, and jerked open the door.

  And dropped the phone.

  “Is he really?” Rowan said, smirking down at her. He carried a smile on his lips, but his eyes were full of concern. Lily stared up at him, at his huge frame filling her doorway. Her jaw flapped like a loose hinge while she battled the urge to leap into his arms.

  “What the hell?” she muttered.

  “I was on my way over anyway. I had to be certain you were safe.” He reached out and traced the ridge of her cheek with a gentle fingertip. The smart comment she had prepared died in her throat. Fear was etched deep into the lines of his face, coloring his features with a smoky film. “Come with me, Lily.” Her mouth went dry, and while her body screamed yes, yes, yes! she remained rooted to the spot, puzzling him out.

  “Where?”

  “Anywhere but here.”

  “But Loren—”

  “Will kill you.” Desperation mingled with fear bolted through his features, and the matter-of-fact way he said it left little room for argument or disbelief. “Please.” She didn’t know what to do. Anything that could frighten Rowan that much was definitely worth worrying about, but she did run out on Loren. And she did still work for him. “Tell him you’re staying with a friend.”

  “But I have to –”

  “And if you insist on going back, I will see that you get to work in the morning,” Rowan offered. “Please do this for me.” He held up his hands in a frustrating and familiar gesture. “Hands off, I promise.”

  “If I don’t show up, he’ll suspect something.”

  “I highly doubt he’s oblivious to the situation now,” Rowan said flatly.

  She had no doubt he’d keep that promise, whether she wanted him to or not. Groaning, she turned and swept her things back into her purse.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “My guest room. Pack a few things…and hurry.” The urgency in his voice propelled her into motion, but his big hand on her wrist stopped her. “Take those,” he said, pointing to the untouched shopping bags. Her whole body burned with embarrassment, but she had no time to explain or to apologize as he blew past her and scooped them up. She scarcely had time to sling her purse over her shoulder and step into her shoes before he pulled her out the door.

  “You going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “On the way. Come on.” Rowan shoved her into the passenger’s seat of his car and slammed the door.

  It wasn’t until they reached the city limits that she realized she’d left the book on her sofa.

  * * * * *

  Loren stared at the book lying on the couch. Thieving bitch. She had to be working for the wolf, otherwise she wouldn’t have given it a second thought. And of course she was staying the night with a friend. He’d seen the unfamiliar car drive away. Loren swallowed and mentally dampened the rising rage.

  The itch started in his feet and swept through his body like fire. For a moment, the world went black, and when he opened his eyes the color had drained from it. He sniffed, testing the air and tasting the bitter tang of wolf. He felt, rather than heard, the growl that escaped his muzzle, and snorted against the stench. She swore she was over him, but this time she really had gone too far.

  Loren padded silently back through the house into the spare bedroom and leapt through the broken window. With any luck, she’d not know of his intrusion.

  The power coursed through his lithe feline form as he stretched and broke into a sprint. He knew these woods well, enjoyed hunting them, and upon picking up the wolf’s scent leading to her nearly a month ago, had used them to discover just how easy it was for a simple human to be persuaded. Unfortunately, that persuasion worked on both sides.

  It was time to up the stakes.

  * * * * *

  Lily stared at the closed door, fuming. Rowan, ever the damned gentleman, ushered her in and quickly put walls and planks of hinged, brass-handled wood between them. Damn chivalry, she thought. Damn it to hell.

  The entire car ride back to his home was silent and filled with tension. The air practically sparked between them as he opened the door and ushered her inside, holding all of her things in one hand. She still felt the need to apologize to him for not being gracious about his gifts, but she still couldn’t bring herself to do it. And it didn’t help that he hadn’t even given her the opportunity to speak before pulling the door closed and disappearing into the depths of the building.

  “I’m losing my mind,” she said out loud. One mom
ent she was ready to throttle him for hijacking her night, but as soon as she stopped to think about it she wanted to sneak into his bed and surprise him. The attraction didn’t make sense. Neither did the repulsion.

  She resolutely ignored her subconscious as it attempted to remind her of the book.

  Turning, Lily paced the room, stubbornly glancing back and forth between the door and the bags. It had been almost a month since he purchased those things for her. She couldn’t even remember what was in each of the bags. Still, her pride refused to let her pull out the bright paper and unwrap them. Lily told herself it was because she wanted a shower first, to wash away the grime of a failed evening.

  Then it hit her that she didn’t have anything to wear to bed. Growling, she stalked over to the bags, snatched them up, and upended them into the center of the king-size guest bed. Tissue-wrapped items fell out and bounced across the duvet, some falling open to reveal expensive shoes while others flattened as the air puffed out of them.

  She recognized the two dresses, the scrap of fabric that was much too short to be called a skirt he had insisted she let him buy, the pair of black pants and…

  Wait a minute.

  A piece of pink tissue tumbled open to reveal something small, soft, and black. Lily didn’t remember seeing him purchase anything black. Nudging the paper away, she lifted the item by its thin straps, and gasped at the sight.

  A satin and lace negligee. With a matching robe lying beneath it.

  “Oh, my God.”

  She couldn’t believe he’d actually had the nerve to buy it. Assuming he’d purchased that for her to wear with him, Lily threw it back to the bed and rolled her eyes. At least she had something to sleep in now.

  Not that she wanted to sleep. Seeing that pathetic excuse for a nightgown tipped her mind into a wild, rolling tumble. She was essentially a prisoner in his home with no means of escape, trapped between some rich and twisted supernatural mutant and whatever the hell Loren was. Rowan still hadn’t explained what was going on. Damn it, she needed answers.

  With a plan forming in her mind, Lily snatched up the scrap of fabric, pulled a towel from the rack, and disappeared into the bathroom.

  * * * * *

  Rowan paced the room like a caged animal. The walls were too close, the ceiling too low. And the woman on the other end of the house much too tempting. It was foolish to bring her here, he knew, but it was the only place she would be safe from Loki. Only, he was not entirely certain that he could keep her safe from himself. He’d promised her he’d behave himself, and the one thing keeping him away was that she still smelled of feline. The stench infuriated him…and yet he felt the need to cover her with his own scent, to obliterate any trace of the creation that was Loren Eshu.

  The shower started, and he cursed under his breath. If that one thing could keep him away, it wouldn’t for long. Even across the house he heard the spray change as she stepped into it. All at once he remembered the sight of her, naked and wanton, writhing beneath him.

  Growling, he flung open the balcony doors and stepped out into the cool night air. The breeze did little to alleviate the fire licking through his veins. He should leave—set the alarms to protect her and escape into the city. He shouldn’t stay. It would be no good for either of them. But even for all his strength, he was too weak to stay away from her. Gods help him, he wanted her in the most irrational way.

  The water shut off on the other side of the building and his face bunched in a grimace. Rowan’s hands itched to hold her again. The pain already coursed through his limbs. He needed her, and he knew that another coupling would mean his end.

  “Rowan?”

  Fuck.

  He’d been so lost in his head that he’d not heard the door open or her footsteps until it was too late. The sweet smell of her skin hit him and he crumbled inside, his self-control shattering into a thousand tiny pieces. He turned and his mouth fell open as he looked at her. The small gown draped over her curves as deliciously as he’d imagined, stopping at the tops of her thighs. Black fabric clung to pale, milk-white skin and a small, nervous smile turned her cheeks up.

  “Lily,” he croaked, and cleared his throat to clear the rust from his voice. “You should be in bed.” Sweet Hell, he was going to lose it if she didn’t leave.

  “Not sleepy.”

  “So you thought coming over here…” he trailed off. She wrung her hands together in nervous fashion, her eyes darting back and forth around the room, but never looking at him.

  “I…I don’t know,” she said, already moving across the floor to perch on the edge of the bed. Rowan closed his eyes to keep them from rolling back in his head. The woman was more temptation than she knew. “I don’t know what’s going on. I’m afraid and I don’t want to be alone right now. There’s too much going on in my head.”

  “Yours?” Rowan laughed and shook his head. “Try having two separate consciousnesses in your head all the time.”

  * * * * *

  Lily stared at Rowan as he came toward her, unable to make sense of what he’d said. “Two?”

  “Always.” His handsome face twisted into a mask of something that resembled pain. She wanted to reach for him, to smooth away the ache that had him so tangled up, but the moment she said his name and his attention focused on her, her nerve vanished. She knew before she ever donned this silly costume that she could never be the brazen temptress, and why she had even bothered to try was beyond her. “I always carry two sets of thoughts, and they rarely match.”

  “Wow.”

  “Times like this are rare…when the two are one.”

  “Must be a powerful thought.” She dared a glance up at him, and met a burning gaze.

  “It is,” he whispered. Lily’s throat went dry. She attempted to swallow.

  “What’s the thought?” She immediately wanted to regret asking, but couldn’t. His gaze turned to a glower. From his pacing near the window, he was suddenly across the room, looming over her in the space of half a breath. His mouth hovered inches above hers.

  “To strip you naked and fuck you until you scream my name,” he whispered. “Promise be damned.” His mouth closed over hers, sending sparks of fire tumbling through her body. She could not think, could scarcely do anything but feel as his tongue swept across hers and one big hand cradled the back of her head. He tasted of whiskey and spice, and his familiar scent overpowered her senses, even when her back landed against the bed and his weight settled over her. His kiss was fierce, desperate. Hungry. He needed her as much as she needed him.

  Rowan’s hands were everywhere, rasping across the soft fabric of her gown, pushing it up over her belly to reveal the small scrap of matching fabric covering her sex. He sank to his knees, gazing reverently at her overheated body before pressing his lips to the sensitive skin just above her navel, then chased his hand up her body to the valley between her breasts. Each touch of his mouth to her body added to the blaze building between her legs. Lily moaned, her breath escaping in a rush. She clasped at his head, letting the soft silk of his blond hair slide through her fingers as he licked and kissed his way back to her lips.

  “Rowan…” she breathed before he claimed her mouth again. She wanted to speak but couldn’t form coherent thoughts as she lay there feeling his lips, his hands…him.

  The world shifted. His mouth never left hers, even with the confused rush of air that found her straddling his hips, his hands kneading the globes of her ass. Lily gasped, knowing she should stop this even as she licked a path along his jaw and down his neck. She ground her sex against him, feeling the hard ridge of his arousal press back. With each sweep of her body, he let out a strangled groan that reverberated through her body and settled deep in her womb. Rowan shifted his hips against her, pressing harder against her center, mimicking the movements she knew he would use to drive her to mindlessness. Each movement created delicious friction, pushed her closer to frenzy. Impatient, Lily reached between them, finding the waistband of his shorts, and tugged i
t down. Her knuckles brushed the slick skin of his cock, and Rowan shivered, hands tightening on her waist even as he raised his hips to help push the offending clothing away.

  Closing her fingers around his length, Lily stroked once, twice, swirling her thumb around the swollen head before he pushed her hand away and surged up, brushing the lips of her throbbing sex. In the same breath she levered her body down, taking the full length of him inside in one movement, the thin string of her underwear snapping under the pressure and popping back against her clit.

  A cry echoed through the room, and Lily realized as he lifted her body and pulled her back down that it had come from her. Rowan caught the hem of her gown and jerked it over her head, then latched onto one full, aching nipple and suckled hard. Lily squealed, bucking against the combined sensations of his mouth on her breast and his cock moving deep inside her, lost in the taste, feel, and smell of him.

  Her body moved of its own accord, desperately seeking release. Lily rose and fell, the wet slap of skin echoing in between her cries of pleasure. He filled her so completely, stretched her wide, and thrust hard, each movement driving her closer and closer to breaking. His hands shook as he clutched at her body, dragging and pulling her where he wanted her. She felt like a rag doll, tossed around for his own pleasure.

  One hand moved between them, his calloused thumb brushing the small bundle of nerves he found there, and sent her rocketing over the edge. Lily’s mouth opened in a breathless scream as her body clenched around him, his big hands easily keeping her body moving, increasing the sensations. The edges of her vision sparkled, threatening to fade to black as ripples of pleasure coursed through her, radiating from her spasming sex, through her fingers and toes. Rowan’s mouth found hers, his hands closed tightly on her waist, and he surged up hard against her with a groan. Warmth spread through her as he forced himself deep inside her, pulsing and shivering in orgasm.