Claiming His Princess

For some, she reminded herself firmly. Not for her.

‘My dance, I believe?’

For a minute Ava imagined the deep voice behind her was Wolfe, but it lacked a certain velvety-rough tenor and hadn’t sent any delicious tingles down her spine so she knew it wasn’t. Turning, she smiled at a nice English Lord who had been hounding her all night.

She didn’t feel like dancing with him, but nor did she feel like triggering more gossip by refusing every man who approached her. Smiling with a polite reserve she hoped he read as, Lovely, but be assured I’m not interested in furthering our acquaintance, she stepped into his arms. Which was when she caught sight of Wolfe, watching her yet again from across the room. Her eyes immediately ran over the woman at his side, who looked young, happy and relaxed. By contrast Ava felt old, surly and uptight. Which was partly Wolfe’s fault, she thought churlishly, because she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about him.

And the fact that he had a beautiful woman at his side while he held his eyes on her only confirmed that the talk about him playing the field was true. Unless he had been watching her all night because of Gilles’s silly request that he ‘babysit’ her. For some reason the latter thought aggravated Ava more than the former.

Five minutes later, feeling as graceful as a goose under Wolfe’s constant regard, she sent her dance partner to fetch her a glass of water so she could find out. She didn’t need an audience when she told Wolfe that his attention was not only supremely annoying but totally unnecessary.

Orientating herself in the vast room, she located him lazily propping up a wall in a dimly lit section of the ballroom, feeling ridiculously elated when she found the bubbly blonde was no longer running her fingernails up and down his powerful forearm.

He didn’t say anything when she stopped in front of him, just looked down at her through a screen of thick dark lashes that made his mood impossible to gauge. Not that it mattered. She was here about her feelings, not his.

‘You are eyeing me off because Gilles asked you, too, no?’ She knew she’d mixed up her words—her English was always clumsy when she was agitated.

‘I think the term you’re looking for is watching over you.’

Amusement laced his tone and her spine stiffened in annoyance.

‘I don’t need watching.’

‘I thought all women liked to be watched. Isn’t that why you wrap yourselves up in those slinky dresses?’ His drink swayed as he made an up-and-down motion with his hand.

Ava glanced down at her strapless jade-green gown, which was fitted to the waist and then fell to the floor in silky waves. ‘My dress is elegant, not slinky.’

‘Why don’t we agree on elegantly slinky, for argument’s sake?’

He was smooth, this handsome Australian, very smooth. ‘I do not need babysitting,’ Ava said, reminding herself that she had not approached him to flirt with him.

‘I never said you did. In fact I told Gilles you could take care of yourself.’

‘Presumably because I made off with your horse?’

‘You didn’t make off with my horse.’ The pitch of his voice dropped subtly. ‘But you did play a pretty dangerous game on him.’

Ava’s heart kicked up a notch at his silky taunt. ‘I’m quite sure I don’t know what you mean.’

Wolfe smiled. ‘I’m quite sure you do.’

He took a lazy sip of his beer and her eyes were drawn to the strong column of his throat when he swallowed. She looked up to find that his eyes had closed to half-mast as she watched him and her breasts grew heavy.

Determined to ignore the sensation, she continued. ‘So, if you are not doing Gilles’s bidding, why do you watch me?’

‘Why do you think?’

His eyes toured over her body and she had a pretty good indication of why. Something hot and quivery vibrated up and down her spine. The memory of the feel of his hands on her torso returned. They were so large they had almost swallowed her whole.

Perturbed by the physical response he so effortlessly created in her, Ava shook her head. Compared to her he appeared so cool and relaxed, and yet she was sure if she touched him he’d feel as tightly coiled as a spring.

‘I think you are a man who gets what he wants a little too often, Ice!’ she challenged, deciding that he was messing with her head. The way he looked at her. The way his eyes lingered on her mouth. She knew he felt the chemistry between them and she wondered why she wanted to push him to show her. Even more she wondered what it would take to make this self-contained man lose control.

‘Is that so?’

‘Yes.’ Ava tried to match his careless tone even though her heart was thumping inside her chest. ‘The word in the powder room is that you steal hearts wherever you go.’

‘Have you been talking about me, Princess?’

Ava felt her temper spike at his evasiveness. ‘That’s not an answer.’

His eyebrow rose at her sharp tone. ‘You didn’t ask a question.’

Wanting to stamp her foot in frustration, she decided the smart thing to do was to bid him goodnight. She’d already decided to ignore the way he made her feel, and yet here she was almost begging him to make her change her mind.

Dragging her eyes from his sensual half smile, she took a step back and curled a stray wisp of hair behind her ear. ‘Fine. If you’ll—’

His hand shot out and snagged her upper arm. His hold was gentle, yet uncompromising, and she couldn’t prevent a gasp of surprise at the unexpectedness of it. ‘Don’t play games with me, Rapunzel. I guarantee you’ll lose.’

Ava barely contained her temper. If anyone was playing games here it was him, not her. And if a small voice in her head was asking her if trying to get the better of him on the lawn earlier had not been a game—well, she didn’t much care right now.

‘You have that wrong.’ She lifted her chin. ‘I am not the one playing games here.’ Because deep down she knew it would be beyond stupid to invite this man into her life in any capacity.

He stared at her, finally letting the sensual heat she had felt in him all night shine through in his eyes. She couldn’t look away, like a deer caught in headlights as he inexorably drew closer—only realising it was she who had swayed towards him when a glass of mineral water was thrust in front of her face.

‘There you are,’ Lord Parker puffed, pushing his chest out in Wolfe’s direction.

Half expecting Wolfe to challenge him, Ava was absurdly disappointed when all he did was slide a thumb across the rampaging pulse-point in her wrist before releasing her. As if as an afterthought he bent towards her, his mouth close to her ear, his intoxicating scent making her breathless.

‘Careful what you wish for, Princess. You just might get it.’ He straightened and inclined his head in her direction. ‘If you’ll excuse me?’ He mimicked the cool words she’d been about to serve him moments earlier before striding across the marble floor and into another room.

Ava let out a long pent-up breath. She should be glad he was gone. He was arrogant, obnoxious, and too cool for school—and yet he made her burn hotter than any man ever had before. It was a powerful aphrodisiac. All-consuming and tempting. And despite the fact that he had just warned her off some obtuse part of her still wanted to know what it would feel like to have those capable hands on her heated skin—her naked, heated skin.

‘Ladies and gentlemen…’

The MC interrupted Ava’s conflicting thoughts.

‘The bride is about to throw her bouquet before the couple departs for the evening.’

A triumphant squeal rent the air as the bouquet was caught by one of Anne’s American friends, followed by a stream of synchronised clapping as the bride and groom made their way upstairs. They would be spending the night at the château before leaving for their honeymoon after luncheon the following day.

Ava joined in the well-wishing but her chest felt tight. Anne and Gilles were so happy. So in love. An old fear that she would never get to experience that depth of emotion with someone special cut across the happiness she felt for them both.

Realising she must be more out of balance than she’d first thought, she decided to call it a night. Glancing around the room, she noted that Wolfe was nowhere to be seen and felt another stab of irritation at herself. She was torn between wanting him to want her and wanting him not to. It was as if she was somehow in thrall to him. As if her brain no longer functioned, or it functioned but was stuck in one groove, like the needle on an old-fashioned record player. The word sex was going round and round in her head like an endlessly exciting mantra.

Ava stared at her water glass and wondered if someone had drugged it. The last thing she wanted was sex with a man completely unsuitable for her hopes and dreams. Wasn’t it?

Annoyed, she pivoted on her heel—and gasped when she nearly ran smack into the man who had occupied her mind pretty much the entire day and night.

‘You’re leaving before our dance,’ he murmured silkily.

The balls of her feet hurt and she didn’t want to dance. ‘I did not think you played games.’ She could barely hear her own voice above the sound of her thundering heartbeat. Had he been toying with her to heighten her awareness of him? If so, it had worked. She had never been more aware of a man in her life.

She saw his nostrils flare at her confrontational tone and something primal unfurled low in her pelvis, because she knew that he did play games. And even though it went against all her principles part of her wanted to play—with him—tonight.

‘Maybe I want to feel you in my arms one more time.’

Heat rushed through her body as his husky words burned her up inside. How did any woman stop herself from drowning under such blazingly sexual intensity?

‘Do you?’

As if sensing her near capitulation, he gave her a lupine smile. ‘Yes.’ He set her drink aside and swept her into his arms.

Ava’s stomach flipped. She’d like to think that she’d let him walk her backwards onto the dance floor—although that would imply she still had some influence over her actions and she wasn’t sure that she did.

‘What about what I want?’ The question was meant to establish some sense of control on her part, but she suspected that he knew what he did to her and had seen right through it.

He brought the hand holding hers towards her face and rotated it so that his knuckles gently drifted across her cheekbone. ‘This is what you want, Princess.’

A cascade of sensations made her shiver and she told herself to tread carefully. Told herself that there was only one kind of man who parried around a woman all night and then approached her at the end. The kind her mother would have told her to steer well clear of. What it said about her wanting him regardless she didn’t want to think about.

He was so sure. So confident. She should shoot him down in flames. Using his own pistol to do it.

Instead she braced herself against his magnetic sensuality and told herself she would walk away at the end of the song.

‘One dance.’

CHAPTER THREE

DANCE? WOLFE DIDN’T want to dance with her. He wanted to possess her. And for a self-confessed non-game-player he had played a game of parry and retreat with her to rival all others.

Not intentionally.

His intention had been to avoid her. But once she’d entered the ballroom in a green dress that flowed around her body like a caressing hand he’d been lost.

Well, maybe not lost. More like mesmerised. And it had annoyed the hell out of him that he’d noticed that every other male in the room felt the same way. The married ones couldn’t do anything about it, but the single ones had been lining up as if she was a participant in some secret speed-dating service.

He, on the other hand, had spent most of the night fighting the urge to muscle his way through the throng of wedding guests and throw her over his shoulder like the barbarian she had accused him of being. Hell, his body had been so attuned to hers he’d practically known every time she’d blinked.

Chemistry. He’d never experienced it quite so strongly. But he knew the quickest way to appease it would be to have her. So far he’d steadfastly stuck to his plan not to go near her but, hell, why not? He was only responding to her like any other healthy male who had held a beautiful woman in his arms and wanted her. Nothing complicated about that. In fact it was so simple he didn’t know why he was dwelling on it so much.

He would have had more to dwell on if he hadn’t wanted her. And as for that instant tilting of the world he’d felt earlier when he’d caught her…well, it was only lust. Raw, pagan, blow-your-head-open lust. Perfectly rational. Perfectly normal.

Wolfe looked down into her face. her cheeks were pink and her lips were softly parted as she breathed shallowly. His gaze drifted lower, to the firm thrust of her breasts, her aroused nipples, and then back up. Her gaze was slumberous but slightly guarded, as if she too were a little taken aback by the strength of this thing between them.

Without making a conscious decision to do so, he spread his hand possessively over her hip, pressing her closer. He knew the minute she felt his hardness because she made one of those softly feminine sounds that had his body jerking in response.

It made him want to spear his hand in her upswept hair and drag her mouth to his, but at the last minute the sounds of the party still in progress penetrated his desire-drugged mind. Instead he cupped her chin in his palm and brought her eyes to his. ‘I want you, Ava. I want to kiss you until you can’t see straight and make love to you until you can’t move. I’ve thought of nothing else all day.’

A shiver raced through her and Wolfe felt as if he was poised on the blade of a knife as he waited for her response.

‘I…’ She blew out a breath. Swallowed heavily. ‘Okay.’

Exalted, and no longer questioning his need for her, Wolfe grabbed her hand and fought to keep his steps measured as he led her off the dance floor.

She’d been allocated a room in the east wing of the château and he didn’t pause for breath until, on the second-floor landing, he felt a soft tug on his hand.

Turning, he watched her run her hands down the sides of her dress, the nervous gesture only serving to mould it closer. ‘Wolfe.’ She cleared her throat. ‘I’m not sure this is such a good idea.’

Wolfe wasn’t sure about anything except that the sound of his name in her husky, accented voice twisted his insides into a mess. A very hot mess. ‘Not sure what is such a good idea? This?’

He backed her against the stone wall and raised his hands to frame her face. Then he used every ounce of skill he possessed and leant down to claim her mouth with his.

Immediately his senses became overloaded with the rich, intoxicating taste of her. He’d known it would be like this. Overpowering. Overwhelming. Her ruby lips were so much fuller and sweeter than he had imagined, and when she parted them and pressed closer the instinct to ravage her consumed him.

His fingers dug into her scalp to hold her steady as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping into her mouth to explore every corner.

‘Wolfe, please…’

Her soft whimper of need inflamed him to the point of madness. He couldn’t get enough of her. his hands shaped her slender curves, desperate to delve under the dress, and he was keenly satisfied when she ardently returned his hunger. Her uncertainty of moments ago was flung into the flames of a desire so bright it burned him alive.

She was sensational, and he ground himself against her in ardent anticipation. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this frenzy of need before, and it was just dumb luck that a door banged somewhere along the corridor and brought him back to his senses.

Fighting for control, he grabbed her hand again and didn’t stop until they were both breathless and inside her bedroom, the door firmly closed behind.

He hit the light switch and stared at her.

She stood in the centre of the historically preserved room like a pagan offering, her lips already moist and swollen from his kisses. She sucked in a deep breath and he thought he saw a shadow of vulnerability chase itself across her face.

It gave him a moment’s pause.

He had avoided thinking about a woman in any serious capacity his whole life, after having to clean up the damage his mother had caused by her actions. But this wasn’t serious. Making love—having sex, he amended—with Ava de Veers was not a threat to his wellbeing in any way, shape or form.

It was about pleasure. Mutual, unadulterated pleasure. ‘I like the light on,’ he rasped.

She moistened her lips. ‘I don’t…mind.’

Satisfied that he knew exactly what he was doing, Wolfe shoved away from the door and paced towards her. He stopped a breath from touching her and gazed into her wide-spaced smoky eyes, searching out any further signs of apprehension, promising himself he would stop if she showed even a hint of uncertainty. Fortunately he didn’t have to test that theory, because her gaze could have melted iron when it met his.

His iron will.

Shaking off the insidious devil of doubt that told him once was never going to be enough with this woman, he curled one hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her up onto her toes. She steadied herself by placing her hands on his shoulders. The air between them turned to syrup as she tilted her head back into his hand, presenting him with the elegant arch of her neck.

Wolfe felt his lip curl upward as he thought of the recent vampire craze in the cinemas. Suddenly he understood the draw. Lust pounded through his blood and he brought his other hand up to trace the tender skin she had exposed to his hungry gaze. She opened her eyes, stared into his, and then did something he hadn’t expected—she took charge and pressed her lips to his.

He let her sip and nibble at his mouth for maybe ten seconds before that primal feeling she dredged up in him took over. Then his hands and lips firmed and he forced her mouth wide, demanding that she cede everything to him.

And she did. Without hesitation. Her slender arms snaking behind his neck, her body arching into his.

Wolfe told himself to ease off before he scared both of them, but her mouth angled more comfortably under his and he didn’t know how it was possible but she took the kiss deeper. Wrapped her sweet tongue around his and made his head spin.

Without really being aware of his surroundings he wrenched his jacket off and pushed her fumbling fingers aside to tear at the buttons on his shirt. Shucking out of it, he welcomed the bite of cooler air on his overheated flesh and the layer of sensation it added.

He released the dark mane of her hair from its tight coil and felt his heart wrench as it cascaded past her delicate shoulders.

Ignoring the swirling emotions ebbing and flowing through his mind, he cupped her breasts and moulded them in his hands. Soft and round, the nipples already poking through the silky fabric of her dress like tiny diamonds. He kneaded and shaped her, his eyes on her face as he roughly dragged his thumbs across both her nipples at once.

‘Oh, Wolfe. Mon Dieu.’

Her husky groan urged him to draw the hidden side-zipper of her dress down until her pale, perfect breasts stood proud and taut in front of him.

‘Ava, you’re—’ He swore as words failed him and bent to draw a dusky pink nipple into his starving mouth. The taste of her made him throb, and when she clutched his head to hold him closer he gave up any pretense of finesse, scooping her into his arms and yanking off the ugly floral bedspread before depositing her on crisp white sheets.

She leant up on her elbows and watched him through heavy-lidded eyes as he dragged the silky gown from her long legs and tossed it aside.

Wolfe took her in as he stripped off his remaining clothing: her wavy hair a dark ripple down her back, her sweet breasts rising and falling in time with her heavy breaths, her narrow waist, and the sheer purple panties that revealed more than they hid.

Her woman’s scent rose up to tease him and he climbed onto the bed and came over her, his hands braced on either side of her face. ‘Now, my lovely, I have you right where I want you.’

Her hands came up between them, curling into his chest hair. Her smile was full of womanly provocation. Her actions thankfully belying her earlier hesitation. ‘You like to think you’re in control, but I am stronger than I look.’ She scratched her nails lightly against his skin like a cat.

She shuddered beautifully beneath him and turned her head to capture his mouth with hers. He groaned, sank into the kiss, let himself become absorbed by it. His free hand smoothed down over her torso, learning her wherever he went.

Her own hands were busy, stroking up over the muscles of his arms. When she pushed playfully against his shoulders he didn’t budge. ‘It feels like you’re made of steel. You’re completely immovable.’

‘Where do you want me to go?’ he growled with husky promise. ‘Up?’ He kissed his way along her neck and bit down gently on her earlobe. ‘Or down?’ His tongue laved her collarbone and dipped lower, circling ever closer to the centre of her breast.

Her eyes glazed over with desire.

‘Ava?’

‘Quoi?’ She arched off the bed, her breasts begging for his mouth.

‘Which way?’

She gave a low moan as he continued to tease her, and when she wrapped one leg around his lean hip he guessed her intention and let her flip him onto his back. She pushed up until she straddled his waist. ‘Now who’s got whom exactly where they want them?’ she said, a look of triumph lighting up her face.

Wolfe grinned and repositioned her until her hot centre cradled his erection. ‘That would be me.’

‘Ohhh.’ Ava spread her palms wide over his chest. ‘I know you think—’

Wolfe leant up and suckled one of her peaked nipples into his mouth, cutting off whatever she was about to say. Her wet heat was shredding his control and the time for banter was well past. ‘I think you’re sensational.’ He switched to her other breast and realised that he meant it.

Usually a woman was content to let him lead all the play in bed, but this was much more fun. And the taste of her cherry-red nipples blew his mind.

While she was distracted by his mouth he smoothed his hand down her belly and cupped her where she was open and already wet for him, her filmy panties no barrier to his questing fingers. Her eyes flew open as he found her and pushed a finger inside her slick centre. She cried out his name and balanced over him as she rocked against his hand.

Wolfe’s erection jerked painfully but he forced himself to wait, enjoying having her at his mercy. Enjoying the astonished look of pleasure that came over her when he lightly circled her clitoris. And especially enjoying the way she flung her head back in ecstasy and screamed his name as she came for him.

He rode out her orgasm with her until her head flopped forward, her long hair falling around his face like a silky veil. Needing to be inside her with an urgency that was shocking, Wolfe flipped her onto her back, chuckling softly when she just lay there in silent supplication.

‘At least I know how to get your absolute cooperation now.’

Ava pushed her hair back from her face and stretched sinuously. ‘What did you just do to me?’

‘I made you come.’ He rolled on the condom he’d pulled from his wallet and nudged her thighs wider, entering her on one slow, luxurious thrust. ‘And now I’m going to do it all over again.’

It took every ounce of control he possessed to keep his movements even and gentle until her body had grown accustomed to his size, but when he felt her completely relax and take all of him fully he couldn’t hold back, driving them both to the edge of reason a number of times, until with a sob she gripped his hips and forced him over the edge into a space that was so white-hot he felt as if their bodies would be fused for eternity.

His last coherent thought was, what did he do after an experience like that?

With sexual release came clarity, and Ava could barely believe what had just happened. Had she really just had sex with a man she’d met merely hours ago? A friend of Gilles’s, no less?

Yes, she had. The evidence was still there in the tiny aftershocks of pleasure rippling through her core, not to mention the harsh breaths of the man lying beside her who looked as if he was choosing his best exit line.

She made a small sound in the back of her throat. ‘I told myself I wasn’t going to give in to this.’

Her voice had him rolling towards her and the bed dipped under his powerful frame. Ava’s skin burned where his eyes raked over her, and as casually as she could she pulled the top sheet up to cover her nudity.

‘Why did you?’ His voice was gravelly. Sexy.

Was that a serious question? She’d done it because at the time she’d felt she didn’t have a choice. As soon as he’d taken her into his arms she hadn’t been able to help herself.

‘Curiosity,’ she said, the word sounding much better to her ears than, I couldn’t help myself.

‘That sounds a bit calculated.’ His eyes narrowed as if he was assessing her. Judging her.

‘Hardly.’ Did he think she had set out to sleep with him?

Embarrassed by the thought, Ava wondered what happened now. Did they engage in polite conversation? Did he get up and leave? Well, he had to, because this was her room, but…

Unsure of herself, and hating the way that made her feel—as if she was standing in front of her father about to be told off for not living up to his expectations—she decided that she had no choice but to fall back on her usual tricks of feigned indifference or taking charge. Since indifference seemed too far out of her reach right now, she chose the latter.

‘Please do not feel like you have to stay around because of me. You must be tired, and I’m not the sensitive type.’

Wolfe propped his hand on his elbow, a lazy smile curling his lips. ‘This is your idea of pillow-talk?’

No. It was her idea of self-defence. She feigned a yawn. ‘Or if you’re not tired, I am.’

His golden-brown eyes grew flinty. ‘Are you asking me to leave or telling me?’

‘Isn’t that what you were just thinking you should do?’

His eyes flickered from hers for the briefest of seconds, but it was enough for her to know she had been right in her assumption.

‘Actually, I was thinking of inviting you out to dinner.’

His comment took her by surprise, and she was sure he was making it up. She swallowed heavily and pushed aside the tiny kernel of pleasure his words had imbued her with. ‘I’d love to, but you’re about five hours too late.’

He shook his head in amusement. ‘Are you always this prickly after a bout of hot sex?’

Ava swallowed. She didn’t know. She’d never had sex like that before. The whole thing both alarmed her and set her body on fire in equal measure. What had happened to her promise only to go out with men who wanted the same thing she did? Love. A family.

Hating the feeling of uncertainty that had her in its tight grip, and hoping she appeared as casual as Wolfe, she let her eyes drift over his stubbled jaw and broad shoulders. When she noticed a small patch of puckered skin right beneath his collarbone she frowned.

‘That was a bullet from a semi-automatic.’

Ava’s startled gaze met his. Was he serious?

He’d said it as if he was ordering a sandwich from a deli.

‘Ouch!’ Keeping her voice light to match his as she noticed another scar lower down, she said, ‘And this?’

He wrapped a lock of her hair around his finger and started to play with it. ‘Shrapnel.’

She pointed to another small mark on his arm. ‘Spurned lover?’ she queried flippantly, understanding on some level that these wounds weren’t badges of honour for him, but represented the deep pain and suffering brought by the uglier side of the life he had once led.

‘Accurate sniper.’

He brushed the ends of her hair across her upper chest, where the sheet stopped. Ava felt goose bumps shimmer across her skin and hoped he didn’t notice.

‘I take it you’re not very good at your job?’ she teased.

His eyes glittered with amusement. ‘That’s one way of looking at it.’ He let go of her hair and replaced it with his fingers, his movements causing the fabric to drag across her sensitised breasts.

Anticipation made her body throb and, powerless to stop herself, she let her eyes drift lower, taking in the thin trail of hair that bisected his ripped abdomen and moving down towards the magnificent erection rising straight out from his body—which was when she saw a jagged white scar that ran along his outer hip towards his thigh.

Her attention torn between the two, she was only vaguely aware of him chuckling. ‘You sure you want to know about that one?’

‘The scar?’

‘That, too,’ he teased.

She shook her head. ‘What happened?’

‘An unfortunate rendezvous with a piece of barbed wire, thanks to one ferociously competitive younger brother. Not very glamorous.’

‘Glamorous!’ Her brows drew together. ‘None of them are glamorous!’

‘You’d be surprised how many women find them a turnon.’

She shuddered. ‘I don’t.’

‘No?’ He touched her face almost reverently, gently stroking around the bump on her head that—thankfully—painkillers had taken care of.

Ava smiled and again surprised herself by touching her lips to his. Something flickered in his darkened eyes as she pulled back. It was some unnamed emotion, and the air between them seemed to pulse. She saw the instant Wolfe rejected whatever it was he was feeling and then, in a move that startled with its swiftness, she found herself flat on her back, with him once again braced over the top of her. He captured her hands in one of his and raised them above her head, the completely carnal smile on his lips making her heartbeat quicken.