In the Loup Boxed Set #3 Read online

  Stephanie's vision exploded in a flash of dotted lights and her body convulsed with the shock of the pleasure. She writhed and squirmed beneath him, but he wouldn't allow her even a second of air. He continued to pump into her, his own end coming upon him. He set down all his weight atop and and hugged her close to him. He would hold her for as long as he could, and not waste a single drop of himself. His body stiffened. One push, another. Then he felt his release and he flooded her wet tunnel with himself. A few more pushes and he fell atop her, utterly exhausted.

  For the longest moment they stayed like that, each gasping for air. They were wet and sticky, but neither of them cared about that. All they felt was the after-sex glow on their minds and bodies. It felt like a piece of heaven had been turned into a blanket and laid upon their naked forms. Finally Stephanie felt perhaps she couldn't gather the best amount of air laying beneath Chuck's heavy form.

  "You know, we might need to get up some time," she pointed out. He only grunted, and she laughed at his very manly reply. "You're squishing me."

  "You're fine," her lover answered. He didn't make a single effort to move off of her. She sighed and ran her hands through his soft, wet hair.

  "I'm supposed to be the childish person in this relationship, remember?" she teased. The young woman let out a squeak of surprise when he wrapped his arms tighter around her. She glanced at him, but his face was still buried in her neck. "Aren't I supposed to be the one who's really territorial, too?"

  "Not when it comes to this," was his muffled reply.

  "Well, whatever you want, I want to get up and take a shower. You got me all sweaty." Stephanie tried to buck him off, but he flattened himself down on top her. "Chuck, be a good boy."

  Chuck sighed and grudgingly rolled over. She regretted not feeling his warm body on top of her own, but he really was getting heavy. Stephanie sat up and winced at the pain between her legs. They'd really gone at it, and she would definitely be feeling worse in the morning. She glanced over to her lover and noticed he had one arm covering his eyes. With him distracted, she admired his firm, muscular body.

  "I have to admit, that was pretty incredible," Stephanie complimented. She'd never had so much fun with any else, husband or or boyfriend.

  "Is that in comparison with Bob?" Chuck asked without raising his arm. His voice was flat and unusually unemotional.

  "That's comparing you to everybody," she emphasized. When he didn't immediately respond, she leaned over and pressed her body against his side. She made sure he felt the firm weight of her breasts against him, just to make sure she got his attention. "All right, Mr. Pouty, what's wrong?"

  "You're close enough to be intoxicating," he commented. She wasn't sure if that was in response to her question or if he was just stating it as a compliment, but either way she was unperturbed.

  "Something's bothering you, now what is it? Was I that bad?" She tapped on his arm and was surprised by how tense it was. Now she really was worried about him. Maybe he'd had too much fun and was having some sort of an attack, or maybe she'd done some sort of taboo move. "Come on, Chuck, what's wrong? This isn't funny any more."

  "No, I suppose not," he replied with a sigh. Finally he relaxed and pulled his arm down. His eyes were tired, more tired than she expected from their fun, and she wondered if it'd been too much.

  "You don't look so good. You need me to get you a glass of water or something? Maybe some food?" Even before he replied Stephanie sat up and moved to slip off the bed, but he gently grabbed her arm.

  "No, just stay here for a bit. I'm not as sick as I'm acting, really," he insisted. A bitter smile spread across his lips. "Besides, I don't think it'd be a good idea if you left me right now. It could cause some problems."

  "What are you talking about? Why can't I leave you? What problems would it cause?" She was getting more and more confused by his statements.

  "It's...it's something I can't tell you just yet. You're going to have to trust me on this," Chuck pleaded. Stephanie gave him an incredulous look that told him she wasn't ready to agree to his request. He sat up and looked her straight in the eyes. "This isn't just some whim I'm going off on. I'm serious about all this."

  "About all of what? Me trying to get up off the bed? You suddenly acting sick and mysterious?" she shot back. She didn't like this sudden change in their relationship, especially after such a breakthrough. It just seemed like a sick way of ending the night. "I'm supposed to trust you to tell me later why you won't even let me go get a glass of water?"

  "You trusted me enough with your wolf secret," he reminded her.

  "Yeah, but that was with my secret, and I told you everything," she pointed out. "Now I find you're being all weird and stuff, and you're not telling me why." He looked at her with a careful, doubting eye.

  "Did you really tell me everything?"

  The question caught Stephanie off guard. Her words had just flown out of her mouth, and now that she thought about it, they weren't entirely truthful. She hadn't told him about all these strange sexual urges, and that had undoubtedly led to what had just occurred between them. Maybe if she'd been more truthful they could have avoided having sex, but she wasn't sure, knowing what she knew now, that she would have wanted to be celibate with him. It had been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. She wanted more. Hell, she could even feel her body warm up at the feel of his hand wrapped around her wrist.

  "So is that a no?" he asked, and she looked away. She couldn't like to his face, but she wasn't going to lie away from him, either. She'd just as well keep quiet. He sighed and released her arm. "Maybe all of this was a bad idea. Maybe I should have left you at the house and gone here myself."

  "I don't think that would have avoided this happening," she replied. Her tone was one full of tiredness and she shook her head. The wonderful glow on her body faded. She was back down to earth with all its troubles. "And who knows what I would have done at the house. At least I had you here to, um, help me." It felt a little strange referring to sex as a help, but that had released all the pent-up energy inside her. She just felt tired now, but still in a mood to lighten the conversation. "But maybe a little too helpful. I'm going to be really stiff tomorrow."

  "What? Not stiff right now?" he teased, following her footsteps to placate the tense words between them. "I think my abilities would at least get a bone popping out of you."

  "Ugh, that always makes me shudder when somebody cracks their bones," Stephanie commented. She couldn't help shuddering right then just thinking about it, but then she glanced to Chuck with a serious expression on her face. "But you're still not going to tell me if you're sick or not, are you?"

  "How about I make you a deal?" he proposed. This was a new development, and she was all ears. "How about I explain everything to you tomorrow. When I mean everything, I'm telling the complete truth. I won't leave out anything, I promise." Stephanie thought about that for a moment, then she had a few questions.

  "Does that include you telling me how you knew that one guy Gregory was with, the one you smacked?"

  "That includes tell you everything about that, and why Seville sent a message through him to me," he reassured her. Stephanie raised a brow and thought about that for a moment, then she sighed and slumped down on the bed.

  "Well, just great..." she suddenly grumbled. Chuck was very confused by her sudden dejection.

  "What's great?"

  "Now I have to wait until tomorrow before I can pump you," she pointed out. Her partner mischievously grinned and leaned toward her. He planted a soft kiss on her neck and she gasped in surprise

  "Haven't I already pumped you enough tonight?" he teased.

  "Oh, you're impossible!" She pushed him away and stood to her feet. "I'm going to take a shower, and no, you're not coming with me."

  "But who will get all the hard-to-reach spots?" he innocently asked.

  "I'm sure you reached enough of those spots tonight. You're like such a little kid now," she commented with a roll of her eyes. Stephanie g
rabbed some spare clothes from her suitcase and was just about to walk into the bathroom when her partner laughed and sat up on the bed.

  "It must be your influence, you're rubbing off on me," Chuck guessed. She paused at the doorway and half turned to him. In the moonlight from the large window he looked very much like a man she always wanted. He was muscular, confident, and reliable. Instead she'd been blinded by Bob's fake smiles and compliments, and now had to get out from his clutches. She sighed, but there was a smile on her lips. She was really starting to care for her partner.

  "Well, just try to keep being the responsible one. I don't want to have to deal with clients all the time."

  Stephanie stepped into the bathroom and cleaned herself off with a refreshing shower. By the time she got out and changed into her pajamas, Chuck had apparently gotten on some clothes and vanished from the room.

  "Chuck?" Stephanie called out. She looked and noticed his wallet and the keys to the car were gone. A feeling of panic started to rise within her. Surely he hadn't left her, not when he'd made that promise to tell her everything tomorrow. "Chuck?" Still no reply, so she went over to her own phone and dialed his number. He picked up immediately, and she was relieved to hear his greeting. "Where in the hell are you?" she snapped. She hadn't meant to sound so angry, but she was just so relieved to hear from him.

  "Oh, hey, Boss. I was just getting us some Chinese, since we kind of missed the dinner at the conference, and I was having some trouble remembering what your favorite rice was, sticky or fried." Stephanie's mouth hung open slightly and she tilted her head to one side. She was in disbelief. At a time like this he was out getting them Asian food. "Boss, you there? Boss?" He sounded almost frantic, and she shook herself out of her surprise.

  "Oh, um, fried, especially if they have pork," she quickly answered. She swore she heard him breath a sigh of relief.

  "Pork it is, then. I'll be back in a few minutes, just gotta wait for them to get the carry-out ready. Try to behave while I'm gone, okay?"

  "I'll try, but it won't be much fun."

  "Then I'd much rather have you bored to tears than having tons of fun," Chuck commented, and she laughed. "Anyway, see you in a few."

  "Bye."

  They mutually hung up and Stephanie sat herself down onto the bed. She was a little tired from that small bit of stress, and she fell back onto the soft mattress. The covers were still tussled about, and she softly slid her hands over and through the sheets. They weren't warm anymore, but her body heated up when she thought about their love-making. She closed her eyes and imagined their bodies intertwining and becoming one.

  "Boss? Hey Boss, you okay?"

  Stephanie's eyes shot open and she sprang up from the bed. She looked around wildly for a moment and then recalled where she was. The young woman was admittedly surprised to see Chuck standing at the side of the bed with a bag of Chinese food in one hand and drinks in the other.

  "Where in the world did you come from?" she nearly shouted.

  "From the Chinese restaurant. When I came into the room you were asleep on the bed. I thought I'd wake you up and then you shot up like you did."

  "Oh, right, I fell asleep," Stephanie sheepishly realized. She must have gotten so relaxed from the memories that she drifted off. To save face she clapped her hands together and eyed the meal. "Well, what have you brought us?"

  "The usual rice and deep-fried goodies," Chuck replied, and spread the food out on the table in the room.

  In a minute they were both upon the meal, and made short work of it. Stephanie hadn't realized how much energy that exercising had taken out of her, and was grateful sensible Chuck had thought about the food. The remains of the food were tossed aside and then they had an awkward situation on their hands. Neither could really think of anything to discuss, and they weren't sleep, either, particularly with Stephanie having taken a nap.

  "So, um, you're still not going to tell me anything until tomorrow, are you?" she asked his partner, and he shook his head.

  "Nope. You'll just have to wallow in your curiosity until then." His tone proved how firm he was in his promise, and Stephanie sighed.

  She was seated on the bed and happened to glance out the window. The moon was lower now and not so visible among the tall buildings. There was much noise outside from the bustling world around them, and she suddenly had the itch to go somewhere. Just moving around felt like a wonderful thing to do.

  "How about we go for a walk?" she asked. She was still in her pajamas, but that could be fixed with the fresh clothes still packed in her bag. Her partner gave her a side-glance of disbelief and scolding. "What? Why not?"

  "Remember the last time you took a walk in a city?" he reminded her.

  "Yeah, but now I've got you with me," she countered. "So if something does try to attack me, I can just throw you out in front and run away."

  "I'm not sure I appreciate your plan, but I suppose if you go out alone there would be worse trouble."

  "So that's a yes?" she wondered with pleading eyes. She could just smell the night air tempting her.

  "I suppose, but don't go wandering off."

  "I know, I know, you know a heck of a lot more about these places then I do, so I'll be a good girl and stick with you," she promised. Then she paused and rubbed her chin. "There is something I was wanting to know for a while."

  "Oh?" he replied with his hand on his coat and hers. "What's that?"

  "Well, any way you can maybe tell me more about your life in the city?" she explained. "You know, when you were a bad boy of the streets with not a penny to your name."

  "Oh, those days." Chuck didn't sound too excited to be reminded of them, and Stephanie regretted asking.

  "Unless you don't want to-"

  "No, it's fine. I guess you just caught me off guard," he brushed aside her worries. "I can work around the details I need to tell you tomorrow."

  "So wait a minute..." Stephanie mused, and a thought came into her mind. "Does that mean what you're going to tell me tomorrow is about your past life?" Chuck grimaced. She'd caught him in a slip of the tongue.

  "Yes, but I don't feel at liberty to say anymore," he firmly told her. "And please don't try to ask me any more questions about it. This is hard enough keeping these secrets all this time."

  "You have been pretty closed-mouth about your past, but at least you're finally coming out of the closet." Stephanie paused, then frowned and leaned toward her partner. Chuck had seemed pretty intimate with that one fellow, Ivanovich. Well, before he socked him one. "You're not coming out of the closet, are you?" He was so surprised by her question that he let out a barking laugh.

  "No, you can rest your mind at ease on that one. I fly straight and besides, even if I did swing both ways, there's only one person I want to be with." His eyes softened and she blushed beneath his intense gaze. Then the magic was gone, and he clapped his hands. "But if you're going to want to be causing trouble out on the town, we'd better get going. I'd like to have an early departure time so we don't have to worry about your complications."

  "I suppose that's one diplomatic way of putting it," Stephanie sighed. She didn't want to be in that depressing mood, though, not when there was some exploring to do. This time she wouldn't have to worry about getting attacked by werewolves. "But you know much about this town?"

  "Actually, this was one of the cities I hung out with my group," he revealed. Stephanie thought that was a strange way to phrase it, as though they hung out in cities like they were streets. "You know, that group I ran out with in my glory days."

  "From what you've told me they didn't sound that glorifying." Stephanie got up and wandered over to the window. She glanced over the skyscrapers and over the artificial lights. People were walking and driving everywhere, but there were enough shadows for any amount of trouble to be had. "Actually, I'd say you must have been downright insane to be living in a city when you were so young."

  "I had a couple of adoption homes when I was real small, and then I foun
d some friends who'd board me for a few weeks at a time. It was pretty hectic, but I tried to keep a roof over my head."

  "And your stomach?" she asked. A growing boy needed a lot of food.

  "Well, that sometimes had to go without. It was better to be starving for a while than freezing to death permanently." He slipped on his coat and handed her hers. "Not sure if you want to know about this stuff. It's not too pretty a picture."

  "But it's your picture, so I want to see as much of it as you'll let me," she stressed. He sighed and nodded.

  "All right, some of the details. Then no more questions."

  "And the rest later?"

  "And the rest later," he agreed. He held out his hand and smiled.

  "Then we have a deal, but don't keep me waiting too long tomorrow," Stephanie scolded. "You know how I hate waiting for surprises."

  After a moment of waiting for Stephanie to get dressed in street-clothes, the pair were out of their hotel and wandering down the streets. There were plenty of flashing lights and people to gawk at, and Chuck appeared to know the area quite a bit.

  "You told me you stayed here a lot when you were in town. How often did you and your group come here?" she asked after the crowds had thinned down a little. They appeared to be heading away from the commercial sector and toward the residential areas.

  "Once every few months. I think I told you I was in with some pretty bad people?" he wondered, and she nodded. "Well, it was pretty much a large gang. We'd rough people up who didn't agree with us and fought against rival gangs. The usual stuff. Sometimes we'd have to make a round of the cities we owned, and this was one of them."

  "You guys owned cities?" she asked him. The thought of mild-mannered Chuck being in a crime syndicate large enough to handle cities was almost more than she could believe. Then her eyes narrowed, and she started to suspect maybe he was pulling her leg. "Did you guys take over the world while you were at it?"

  "Some of them wanted to, but I always figured it was too messy," he playfully replied. Then he saw her suspicious glance and frowned. "You're not believing a word I'm saying, are you?"

  "It's a little hard to believe. I mean, you part of a gang that big? What was it, a gangster organization or something?"