"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lexi."
"Nice to meet you all," she said.
"The introductions are over," Raed said. "Algar, I need to talk to you for a minute." Algar nodded. Raed turned to look at Lexi. "Do you mind if I leave you here with the others while Algar and I confer about something?"
She shook her head. "No, I'll be fine."
Garrick offered his elbow to Lexi. "Of course she'll be fine with us, Raed. We'll take care of her." He gave her a wink. "Do you watch football?"
"Sadly, no." Raed's gaze flicked between her and Garrick before he let Lexi go.
She gave him a reassuring smile then placed her arm through Garrick's. He led her over to one of the couches. As she sat, she watched Raed and Algar step out of the room.
Once they were out in the hallway, Algar asked, "What's up? I can tell by the look on your face something serious is going on."
Raed ran a hand through his hair. "Something happened when I was with Lexi at her flat."
"Like what?"
"Something kind of personal, but I need you to give me an honest answer. When you're intimate with a woman, does your wolf come out?"
Algar gave him a hard stare. "No. Never. Is that what happened to you?"
"Yes. My eyes went wolf and my claws nearly came out."
"Obviously Lexi didn't see or she wouldn't be here with you now."
"No, she didn't. But my sudden need to come here instead of continuing what I had started at her flat . . . confused her a bit."
Algar couldn't quite hide his smile. "Yes, I can see she would find the situation strange. Having the person you're with get all hot and heavy then have them suddenly decide they need to leave in the middle could make a person second guess themselves."
Raed yanked at his hair. "I'm glad you can see the humor in all this, because I can't. There's something about Lexi that draws me to her, that draw my wolf to her. That part of me wants to claim her as my own as much as my human half does."
Algar grew serious. "What are you going to do?"
"I haven't a clue. I thought I would ask the rest of you if you had this problem before, but I have a feeling none of you have."
"As far as I know, you're the only one. Garrick for sure would have said something. You know how much he thinks of himself as a lady's man. He's pretty vocal when it comes to his conquests. I doubt he would keep something like that from us."
Raed peeked into the living room. Garrick was sitting beside Lexi, talking animatedly. Raed scowled. "Speaking of Garrick, I had better get back in there soon before he tries something with Lexi."
"He knows better," Algar said with a chuckle. "Not hard to miss the possessive hold you had on her when you introduced us."
"When it comes to Lexi, I find myself to be a jealous man."
"Which is out of character for you."
"I know. I haven't even slept with her yet and I can't get her out of my head. I even dream about her at night."
Algar gave a low whistle. "What are you going to do when she goes back to the States?"
"I'm hoping when her four weeks are up I'll have worked her out of my system."
"And if you haven't?"
"I have no bloody idea."
Deciding he'd left Lexi in Garrick's clutches long enough, Raed headed back into the living room. He had no idea what he would do about his inability to control his wolf while with Lexi, but he did know one thing—he wouldn't let his reactions stop him from making love to her. Somehow he would have to find a way to hide what she engendered in him. His need to have her seemed to increase the longer he denied himself. Given the way she had melted in his arms at her flat, he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. The time had come to put them both out of their misery.
Chapter Five
Lexi watched Raed close and lock his bedroom door behind them. After he had returned from his talk with Algar, he'd taken her by the hand and led her upstairs to his room. Now that they were alone together, her heart started to beat faster. Especially when Raed came to stand in front of her with a look of hunger on his face.
She licked her lips. "You and Algar didn't talk for very long. Why didn't you just call him from my flat?"
Raed put his arms around her waist and slowly pulled her flush against his body. "I could have, but it was a conversation I wanted to have face to face with him.
Coming here also gave me an excuse to get you into my bed."
Lexi took a quick look behind her at the king-sized bed. "It's huge; much bigger than mine."
"Then I guess I made the right decision to bring you here. I'll have more room to work," he said huskily.
She took her bottom lip between her teeth as Raed pressed his erection harder against her. An ache built between her legs. Wetness pooled. With her body already primed from what they had done at her flat, she became quickly aroused. The feel of his hard length against her belly made her ache to have his cock buried deep inside her.
Deciding she wanted her turn to lick and kiss Raed's body as he had done to her, Lexi took hold of the bottom of his shirt and pulled the garment over his head. She went up on her tip-toes and nipped at his bottom lip before she angled her mouth over his.
Raed shoved his hands up the back of her shirt and unhooked her bra as she kissed him hungrily.
Raed gathered the hem of her shirt in his hands and lifted. Lexi released his mouth only long enough for him to yank her top over her head, taking off her bra at the same time. She sucked on his tongue as she ran her hands across his muscular chest.
She bit his bottom lip gently before she made a path with her lips and tongue along his jaw to his ear. Raed shivered as she swirled her tongue inside.
Letting her hands drift down to the waistband of his jeans, Lexi kissed a path down his neck to his chest. She undid his button and zipper as she pressed her lips across his wide chest. His cock sprang free when she pulled the front of his jeans apart, and she wrapped her hand around his hardness. Raed's hips jerked as she pumped up and down his length. He made a low moaning sound, animalistic in nature. The sound heated her body even more.
Lexi continued to stroke Raed's cock as she inched her way down his chest to his washboard abs. She dragged her tongue across them, going down on her knees. Now level with the treasure she held in her hand, she gazed at Raed's cock. He was big there just like the rest of him.
She shifted her hold so she could grip him at the base of his shaft. She bent her head and licked the bead of pre-cum sitting on the very tip. She swirled her tongue around the flared end, making sure to stroke the sensitive spot under the head. Raed groaned loudly as he rocked his hips against her. Wetness leaked into her panties as Lexi opened her mouth and sucked on the tip of his cock. She kept a tight hold on the base as she slowly took more of him inside, sucking hard.
Lexi looked up at Raed as she sucked. His eyes were heavy lidded as he watched her pleasure him. His hands were fisted at his side. When their gazes met, he closed his eyes and let his head fall back. He pumped his hips as his large chest rapidly rose and fell.
All too soon, Raed pulled out of her grasp and brought her to her feet. He claimed her mouth, kissing her like a starved man. He undid her jeans and shoved them down her legs. Her panties quickly followed. Raed picked her up and carried her to the bed. He laid her in the center of the mattress then stripped out of his jeans.
Lexi gazed at his hard body. Raed didn't have an inch of fat on him anywhere.
His long legs were well padded with muscle. She ran her gaze over his cock, which stood out straight from his body. His erection jerked under her regard.
Raed got on the bed and came down on top of her. Lexi wrapped her arms around his back as he settled between her spread legs. The tip of his cock brushed up against her pussy. He rested most of his weight on his bent arms and buried his face in the side of her neck. He nibbled at the sensitive flesh beneath her ear, making her shiver.