Curvosity (3 page)

He glanced sideways at Lucy
as he stalked to the front desk of the posh hotel. He threw down
his black card. “Book me the best suite you have available for the
rest of the weekend,” he ordered. He grinned devilishly at his
mate, her brown eyes wide with both fear and excitement. He raised
a brow at her; it was the ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’
offer. She didn’t move; didn’t make any indication that this wasn’t
what she wanted.

“Here you are Mr. Banks.
I’ve booked the penthouse suite for you through Monday. Please call
us should you need anything at all sir,” the front desk clerk
smiled, emphasizing the word ‘anything’ as she took in Lucy with a
polite, yet disbelieving stare.

“Sure,” he replied curtly,
grabbing the items off the granite counter.

He nearly dragged Lucy to
the elevators, her heels slowing her down. Without notice, he
whisked her up into his arms.

“Oh my god!” she exclaimed,
wrapping her hands tightly around his neck. “Are you crazy? I’ll
break you! Put me down!” She was horrified and mortified, her
cheeks red with color, her eyes fearing the inevitable give-out of
his arms that wouldn’t come.

“I’m not even breaking a
sweat,” he chuckled, thankful for his were strength.

She pulled back warily,
studying his face for any indication of strain. “Are you juicing?”
she asked. He nearly choked on the air.

“What makes you say that?”
he pressed, a frown on his face.

“I’m not exactly a size two;
more like the minimum weight limit to bench press for the Heavy
Hitters He-man contest.”

The creases in his brow
deepened. “If I ever hear you talk about yourself like that again,
I will spank you, right after I make you strip in front of the
mirror and watch me kiss every inch of you,” he warned, leaning in
close as he delivered his stern warning. Her breath caught; her
pulse skipped a beat. Her heart thundered, sprinting down the race
track; he could tell she was envisioning his words.

The ding of the elevator
brought them back to reality.

Chapter 7

Lucy struggled to believe
this was really happening, especially after watching Max date all
those Barbies. She had just about reached the fuck-it point, the
point where she would throw caution to the wind and let him do
whatever he wanted to her for as long as he pleased, when he
delivered her insecurities to her on a silver platter. She could
never let him see her naked, not after the string of supermodels
he’d had in his bed. She would never compare physically to them.
She had more; a lot more of everything on her, and it wasn’t
exactly pretty to look at in the light.

Max carried her over the
threshold, crushing her lips to his the second he kicked the door
shut behind them. A moment later she felt herself being settled
against sheets softer than a baby’s bottom; he cradled the back of
her head gently before laying it on the pillows. Everything about
him was rough and his moves were urgent, yet that single move made
her feel like maybe she was more than just a fuck for
him.

Abruptly he broke away from
her, leaping off the bed and going to stand by the door. He ran his
hand through his black hair, yanking on the overgrown locks as he
cursed under his breath. His movements were jerky as he took off
his suit jacket, tossing it on a chair by the window. Lucy remained
exactly where he’d left her, afraid to move; she braced herself for
the impending, “I’m sorry, but this was a mistake,” but it didn’t
come. He paced the room, sending her nerves to hell and back
several times. He was anxious; every time he looked at her, a small
groan or sigh escaped him.

“Shit. This isn’t how I
wanted to do things,” he started, officially avoiding eye contact
with her.

Lucy sat up, certain this
was the opening line of her prediction. She swallowed the lump in
her throat, fighting the tears that threatened to prick her eyes.
She knew it was too good to be true; no fat girl ever landed the
hot guy in the real world. Hell, even romance novels reinforced
that. The heroine was always fit and fantastic; the opposite of her
fat and fluffy.

She tried to distance
herself emotionally from the situation as he closed his eyes,
pinching the bridge of his nose. “
I will
not cry in front of him. I will not give him the satisfaction of
knowing he’s gotten to me in any way,”
Lucy
thought to herself.

***

“I, uh, need to tell you
something before we take things any further,” Max stated. He looked
everywhere but at her. He didn’t want to see her reaction when he
told her the truth. He didn’t know what he’d do if she did actually
go running for the hills.

He heard her take a deep,
steadying breath. He gathered the last of his resolve, trying to
control his wolf for a little longer to at least tell her what
she’d be sleeping with. “I’m a werewolf,” he blurted.

When the silence became too
much for him, he chanced a peek at her. A delicate brow was raised,
her face lighting up with amusement as she tried to hold back a
laugh. “You seriously brought me up here to tell me you’re a
werewolf?”

“Well, no. I mean yes. I
mean- Shit.” Damn she wound him up and tangled his
stomach.

“Are you going to tell me
Edward’s real too?” she smirked, her eyes sparkling as they took
him in confidently. At least she was back to the Lucy he knew every
day at work: smart, sassy and sexy. She pursed her plump lips. He
gripped the door frame, cracking the wood to keep himself firmly in
place across the room. He groaned as he pictured her lips sucking
his cock.

“I’m being
serious.”

“Uh huh. Well, that’s about
the worst cock-a-mammy story I’ve ever heard a man tell to get rid
of a girl. If you only wanted to kiss me, you could have stopped
there. All this was really unnecessary.” She threw her arms out
suggestively at the room as she slid off the bed. She nearly
stumbled as her footing waivered. He was at her side in an instant
to catch her. His hands flew out to her waist, stabilizing her.
“I’m fine,” she grumbled. “You can let go of me. It’s these stupid
heels. I swear designers never take into consideration that the
average woman is a size fourteen when they make these slinky shoes
for a size two.” She bent over, using the bed as leverage, and
yanked off the offending shoes. His cock jerked at the show her
revealing dress gave of her breasts when she leaned forward. He
groaned, barely holding back the dog within him that wanted to rub
his nose between them.

She looked up at him, a
frown firmly in place. He knew the second her confidence began to
slip again. His heart nearly broke at the vulnerability in her
stare. She reminded him of a wounded animal; a wounded wolf. “I’ll
just be going,” she resigned. “Consider this my notice that I’ll be
out sick on Monday too.”

“Stop,” he threw out his
arm, catching her around her waist. “I know I’ve totally fucked
this up, but I’m being serious.” He threw his eyes to the ceiling,
racking his brain for another idea, but couldn’t come up with one.
“I can’t believe I’m about to do this,” he grated under his breath.
He locked eyes with her, his heart again leaping at the
defenselessness he saw. “Promise me you won’t run. In fact, promise
me you won’t move at all. My wolf is really attracted to you and
I’m barely maintaining control right now.”

***

Lucy bit her lower lip,
unsure of whether or not to indulge him. Finally she nodded her
head once. Max took a deep breath once she did, almost as if he
hadn’t been breathing before.

“Good. Now sit on the bed,
in the middle, and don’t move,” he ordered. She gave him a small
smile, chuckling to herself, but obeyed nonetheless. He beamed his
approval.

Lucy settled herself in the
middle of the bed, unsure of what to expect. Her heart landed in
her throat when he began stripping off his clothes. His muscles
bulged and twitched with every move; he was in a rush, his hands
shaking as he peeled away the layers. When all that was left were
his boxer-briefs, she held her breath. She could tell he was
aroused, his manhood straining against the cotton. With one quick
pulled they were off and landed in the pile of clothes on the floor
nearby.

Lucy thought she lost her
pulse before it returned with a vengeance. Her mouth watered at the
sight of his large member, standing erect, curving up towards his
carved abs; heat warmed her sex at the thought of him sliding it
inside her.

Lucy shivered as her gaze
raked upwards to a very predatory glare. Max’s hands shook, his
biceps vibrating, as he equally devoured her. “Stay still,” he
ordered. Lucy licked her lips and nodded, no plans to argue with
the golden god formulating.

Chapter 8

Lucy winced, nearly falling
over when Max twisted and jerked before her, the crack of his bones
echoing through the air. Within thirty seconds, a large, black wolf
with honey brown eyes stood at the foot of the bed. “Holy fur
fucker,” she gulped, unable to rip her eyes from the animal. She
couldn’t think, couldn’t even begin to process what had just
happened. Max didn’t move, merely maintained his ground.

She knew she should have
been scared shitless, but she wasn’t. Like every brave blonde in
the horror movies, she decided to be brave and investigate.
Somehow, deep down, Lucy knew he wouldn’t hurt her. She grabbed
hold of that fact and slowly inched her way off the bed. The second
her bare feet hit the padded floor, Max crouched down. Knowing he
probably was just unsure of what she was planning to do, she slowly
extended her hand as she stalked towards him.

“I’m not going to hurt you
Max. I just want to touch your fur,” she prefaced her move. He
remained down, staring up at her through half-veiled eyes that
seemed to glow. She briefly wondered if he was seeing her in black
and white or color.

Lucy slowly bent at her
waist, reaching her hand down and gently petting his head. She ran
her fingers through his fur, amazed at the feeling. His fur was
soft and thick; it felt like a luxurious chenille blanket she
wished she could wrap around her body and snuggle into. Max leaned
into her touch. Lucy knelt down on the floor beside him, never
relenting in her rub down.

“Holy guacamole. I can’t
believe I’m actually petting a wolf, and not just any wolf, my
freaking boss. My boss is a wolf; now that’s a World News
headline,” she laughed.

One minute she was petting
Max, the next he’d pinned her to the floor as a wolf before
shifting in a split second. He hovered over her, his eyes drinking
her in; his jaw grinding. “I’m sorry Lucy, but I can’t wait any
more.”

“What are you-“ she started
before releasing a shocked scream when Max lifted her dress and
ripped her new lace panties off with his teeth. She quickly tried
to close her legs and cover herself to no avail, but he was
ruthless. Her eyes shot open, her arms stopping in mid-air in
surprise when he leaned down and inhaled her sex.

“Oh, you are definitely my
mate,” he grinned wolfishly.

“Huh? Come again?” She had
to have heard him wrong.

Max slowly began to trail
his lips up her skin as he lifted her dress over her head. She
yelped when he ripped her bra in the front center, her hands flying
to hold it together, to keep some part of herself covered. She was
feeling very exposed. It didn’t help that he had the overhead light
on.

“You are my mate,” he stated
again, locking eyes with her. She swallowed at the inclination.
“I’ve known since the day you walked into my office that you were
the one. I’ve tortured myself for the last two years, smelled the
delicious food but didn’t allow myself to eat. I’m done with that.
I need you Lucy. My wolf wants you, and no one else will
do.”

“But what about all those
girls?”

“Not one of them got me as
hard as you have without touching me.”

“Um, well, wow. I uh….
What’s a girl to say to that? I mean, don’t get me wrong; I was
totally team Jacob. I don’t have a problem with the whole wolf
thing, but you’ve never given me the time of day. And while yes,
you’re hotter than a Houston summer and I would totally love to
bonk you, truth is, I couldn’t handle the rejection I’d face come
Monday.”

“Maybe I didn’t make myself
clear. You’re my mate, as in the only woman I want to be with for
the rest of my life.”

“Uh huh. And pigs
fly.”

“You’re testing my
patience,” he growled. Lucy couldn’t help but laugh when he
actually growled. He ground his teeth, clenching and unclenching
his jaw.

She sighed, taking in his
serious demeanor. Maybe her humor was the last bit of a wall she
had to protect her heart from his advances. She truthfully didn’t
know how to feel. She’d dreamed of having Max in this way more
times than she cared to admit, but a dream was safe; there were no
emotions tied to her dream outside of lust. In reality, he was
demanding she surrender to him, trust him not to hurt
her.

“You said your wolf wants
me, but what about you?” she asked.

“We’re one in the same,” he
replied.

Lucy bit her lip; she
couldn’t read him. She was pretty sure he was being sincere.
Besides, what man would really go to this extent just for a
one-night stand?