STORY EXCERPT

She froze her body stiff when she heard that voice say her name. She turned and looked at him, not responding. Elise took a step back as he tried to move closer to her.

“We should go out and talk.”

Her lips parted. Oh no, we shouldn’t, she thought. Before she could make her retort, she heard Cat call out to her.

“Hey, El, your shot.”

Elise muttered to herself as she walked away from Karl, not saying anything to him as she went to the other side of the table.

She could feel his eyes on her as she leaned over the table to set up her shot. “So, who is winning?” She heard Dawn ask.

“I am, of course,” Cat said.

Elise heard Karl comment, “Yeah, Elise always told me how much she sucked at pool when she played back home with her brother.”

Her hands clenched around the cue as he spoke. He made it sound like they had some sort of relationship. She took several deep breaths before she hit the white ball. She sunk the eight ball.

“Yes! My game,” Cat yelled as she raised her fist in the air.

“Another game? Still got a couple of quarters left,” Cat said.

“Sure.”

Karl grabbed her arm before she walked away. “We need to talk about us.”

“There is no us,” Elise said as she pulled her arm away. “I’ll be back going to the ladies’ room,” she told her friend as she made her way down the steps.

The restrooms were toward the back of the bar. Elise passed several closed doors. She could hear voices coming from the second one she passed. She raised her hand to push open the women’s bathroom door when someone grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the wall.

Elise gasped and her body stiffened when she recognized who held her arm. “Karl, what the hell are you doing grabbing me?” She jerked her arm loose from his hold. He moved closer, crowding her against the wall. He put his hands on both sides of her, caging her in. She raised her hand to push against his chest.

“We need to talk about us,” he said as he moved closer.

“I told you there is no us. We went out twice. In my book that doesn’t classify as a relationship,” she snapped.

His face was inches from hers. She could feel his breath on her face and smelled the alcohol. His hand moved from the wall to grip her hair, not hard enough to hurt but tight enough to hold her in place.

 “Give me a chance,” he said as he tried to kiss her. She put her hand against his mouth and shoved. The hand holding her hair slackened but tugged her head enough for her to flinch as he stumbled back a little.

Elise crossed her arms and glared at him. “Stay the hell away from me. I don’t want to have anything to do with you. Let alone go out with you again.”

Karl’s face flushed as his nostrils flared. She saw his fist clench as he moved toward her again. He grabbed her arm and squeezed it as he yanked her toward him. “You little bitch!” Elise could see foam gathering at the corners of his mouth like a mad dog, sweat beading on his forehead. “Who do you think you are to refuse me!”

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as his hand raised above his head and started coming toward her face. It stopped midway down at the same time Karl was jerked away from her, going down hard to the floor.

Elise froze with her mouth open but no sound coming out as she stared down at him. She raised her head, a gasp escaping from her lips as she stared into the greenest eyes she had ever seen.

ADULT EXCERPT

He kissed her earlobe then sucked on it gently. She whimpered with pleasure.

“I know about your sensitive earlobes the same way you know how responsive my neck is to your touch.”

Lucien took her open mouth with his, their tongues twining together. El pressed closer.

Lucien gave her a half smile as he began to unfasten her shirt. It was so sexy to see his large hands working to release her small buttons. Lucien parted her blouse, licking his lips when he saw the lacy demi-bra she wore.

Color flooded her checks, chest, and top of her breasts under his hungry gaze. He finished unbuttoning her shirt and pulled it off her. He threw it and she didn’t care where it landed.

Lucien started to growl while she whimpered with excitement. He leaned down, lifted her into his arms, and carried her over to the bed. He laid her down and followed.

He teased her ear and the curve of her neck while his hands explored her bare skin. Elise’s shoulders were incredibly soft to his touch, and her smell was driving him wild. She was faintly spicy with a whisper of musk. No other female would smell enticing to him. Lucien looked into her face. Elise glowed with beauty and eroticism, and she was his. She slowly opened her brown eyes, drugged with desire, and he smiled tenderly at her. Lucien lowered his head to lick her parted lips, so she opened her mouth. He searched farther, sinking inside to taste her.

His hands found the softness of her ribs and traced his fingertips over the flesh, making her shiver. Lucien caught the waistband of her pants, pulling it over her hips and off her body, tossing it beside the bed. He gasped as he got his first look at all of her.

He groaned and lowered his head to place a kiss on the curve of her belly, sliding his hand between her soft thighs. He dropped soft kisses against her ribs and the rise of her breasts. His hand slid along her thighs, smiling as she parted them to allow him smooth passage. Her cries of excitement increased his arousal. This was his mate.

Elise gasped as Lucien stroked her inner thighs. His touch was making her wild, and her cream flowed, dampening her panties. Lucien’s finger pressed against her swollen pussy lips through her underwear, stroking the silk against her gently. The pressure of his fingers and the texture of the silk against her sensitive clit had her gasping with pleasure. Lucien lowered the strap of her bra off her shoulder and placed his open mouth on her collarbone, running his tongue over her skin. El raised her chest to encourage him to pay more attention to her breasts. When Lucien licked the curve of her breasts, a sigh of pleasure passed her lips.

While one of his hands released the clips of her bra, the other settled over her belly, stroking her. El held her breath as the hand resting on her bare stomach dipped into her panties and fondled her flesh, his fingers dropping downward with each caress.

Lucien used his teeth to tug her bra lower, baring her breast to him. He growled and grabbed the bra, pulling it off her and throwing it over his shoulder. His breath teased her aching nipples. Lucien lowered his mouth and licked along the edge of her areola. El’s cry brought a smile to his face.

His fingers dipped into the smooth flesh between her legs. She whimpered and lifted her hips in silent plea. Lucien’s fingers teased her pussy lips, circling without going for the sweet spot that would take her to heaven. As his fingers swirled below, his tongue circled above, tracing her areola but leaving her nipples straining for more. She ran her hands into his hair, pressing his head closer.

“Lucien, please.”

“Please what, Elise?”

“Suck my nipples, stroke my clit. Oh God, make me come.” El twisted in his arms.