Captive Wolf (Werewolf Erotic Romance) (Amber in Darkness #1) Read online

  But there was this thing between him and Austin that looked like it was happening too.

  How exactly was this supposed to work? Despite the Others and everything that had happened to her, it was the first time she'd found herself in this situation. Maybe she was too used to unrequited affection, but to meet a man, who was interested in her but also liked guys, was confusing.

  Her jaw clenched with worry as she followed the two men up the stairs of the run-down motel. The idea of Scott and Austin together was smoking hot, really, and almost too much for her overwrought sense of arousal. But she wanted Scott too. And she'd harbored secret fantasies about Austin for so long.

  Scott opened the door to the room and waved them in with a stiff flourish. It wasn't a large area, with only a single queen-sized bed and table, but it was big enough to be comfortable for the three of them.

  As soon as the door closed, Scott moved with superhuman speed, lunging across the room to grab Austin's blond hair before pinning him to the wall. A low growl rumbled through Scott's chest and for a moment, fear tightened around Amber's throat.

  Austin's green eyes widened as he stared back with surprise, his head restrained by the firm grip. Scott leaned close, his eyes wild with hunger. Then he pressed his lips onto Austin in a heavy kiss. Their mouths clashed like fighting lions, their hard bodies pressed together, locked in a fierce embrace.

  With a sigh of relief, she sank onto the edge of the bed. And as she watched the two men, her heart raced with exhilaration, her fists clenched tight in the bed sheets.

  Scott held him captive, working his tongue in between the other man's lips. And Austin closed his eyes, his hands clawing desperately at Scott's back. They were stone and brick, grinding together. Iron and steel.

  Desire flared, rock hard and razor sharp. And Amber surrendered to the onslaught of emotions, letting it tremble deep in her bones.

  After a heady minute of smacking lips and twirling tongues, Scott broke the kiss and turned to Amber, his breath coming heavy. "You okay with this?"

  She nodded; she was more than "okay" with it, though she found that hard to explain. It was all she could do not to slide her hands under her skirt, where her nerves were already throbbing and she was pleasantly wet. Not that they'd mind, she told herself.

  "Good." Scott grunted. With a rough jerk, he turned Austin around so the other man's chest was pinned to the wall.

  Austin craned his neck back. "Are you going to ask me?"

  "No." Scott's hand came down with a solid crack against Austin's leather-clad backside. "Though I'd be flattered if you begged me to spank you again."

  Amber stifled a giggle.

  Austin didn't say anything though, neither acknowledging Scott, nor asking him to stop. He just turned his face and leaned on the wall. Whether he'd expected this, or enjoyed it, or was merely resigned, Amber couldn't begin to guess. Austin's feelings had always been a mystery to her.

  But Scott's intentions buffeted her like a tempest: bold, driving, fierce. His fingers slid into Austin's waistband, tugging, as his other hand worked at his fly. With a rough yank, he pulled the young vampire's pants down, exposing his porcelain-smooth ass.

  Scott's fingers brushed slowly over the curve of his rear, as if intrigued by Austin's pale, marble-like tone. Then he snorted and gave him a sharp smack. Austin grunted, shooting Scott a sidelong glance.

  "At a loss for words?" Scott growled. His palm came down with another hard crack. "It might help if you cry a little."

  Austin closed his eyes and sighed, ignoring Scott's taunts with a hint of a smile.

  Scott spanked the vampire's ass again, and then he glanced back at Amber with a lopsided grin. "You know I could do this all night." He emphasized his words with a loud whack. "And I'll bet he deserves it." Another hard slap.

  Amber clapped her hand over her mouth. Heat rose in her cheeks; fresh tingles rolled through her body. She didn't want to laugh at Austin's expense, but Scott had a presence that she couldn't resist. He was self-assured, with just the right level of menace to be unbearably sexy, and despite what he was doing to Austin, his eyes kept drifting to her.

  He knew full well that it was turning her on.

  "Little problem though." Scott's hand smacked Austin's bare skin. "I doubt he'll have any bruises to show for it."

  Austin gave a slight shake of his blond hair.

  "Do vampires even feel pain?"

  "Yes." Austin cleared his throat finally. "We do."

  "Good," Scott snarled and spanked him again.

  Then Austin pushed away from the wall, squirming his ass against Scott's crotch, his back to Scott's chest. Momentary bewilderment flashed on Scott's face, like he hadn't expected to find the vampire in his arms quite so quickly.

  "The thing about pain…" Austin said in a low voice, grinding against Scott. "Although we feel it, it's warped, like the signals are crossed. Mixed up with pleasure."

  "I don't think that's exclusive to vampires." Scott's hands settled on Austin's sides, lifting his shirt.

  Amber sighed and settled her hands in her lap, one thumb lightly tracking along the crease of her crotch. She didn't doubt the weight of his words, or the quagmire of conflicting desires behind them. But to her, the meaning was unfamiliar. After all, in her world, pain was just pain, and pleasure just pleasure. The assertion that they could be one in the same was both strange and alluring.

  But before she could examine that idea much further, Scott finished pulling Austin's shirt off—then a harsh cry left his mouth.

  With lightning speed, Scott jumped back and crouched, rage contorting his face. "What the fuck is that?"

  Austin straightened and blinked, looking down at his bare chest. The silver chain and carved onyx amulet stood out in stark relief against his pale skin. He looked back at Scott with a curious, apologetic expression.

  "Sorry, I forgot about that."

  "The hell you forgot," Scott spat. "That's fucking silver."

  The tremor of fear in his voice wouldn't have been noticeable if Amber hadn't already been so focused on him. But it was there, the unwelcome guest, the wild animal, settling in the depths of his black eyes.

  "It won't hurt you," Amber said with a reassuring smile.

  Scott's brow knotted; his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I know firsthand that you're wrong."

  "Relax. It's bonded to my essence." Austin stepped out of his shoes and slid his pants all the way off. He opened his arms wide, standing naked between them. "It'll only affect you if you try to take it off."

  "Magic," Scott sneered. "That makes it worse."

  The fear flared again, sharper. Blood, fumes, dense musky earth. His scent, but reeking of horror, dread, unfocused panic, with the urge to flee churning under the surface.

  She'd only met him less than a day ago, and yet she knew with absolute certainty that this wasn't him. It was his beast, snarling and snapping at the edge of his thorny aura.

  "Scott," Amber said softly. "This is his cross to bear, not ours."

  She stood and stepped close to Austin, reaching out to touch his bare chest. The amulet was warm, as if swollen with its own fire, but it didn't burn her. She cupped it in one hand, lifting it like an offering up to Scott's wary gaze. With a beckoning gesture, she extended her other hand out to him.

  Austin remained silent as he watched with his arms at his sides and an amused smile playing on his lips.

  "It'll be okay." She cocked her head. "Don't you trust me?"

  Scott's nostrils flared, and his eyes closed for a moment. But when he opened them again, it was as if he'd won a war with himself. Rolling his neck and shoulders, he rose to his feet with renewed confidence.

  "I don't trust anyone." A cocky smile touched his lips and he crossed the distance between them with a casual stride. "But I believe you."

  Smiling back at him, Amber loosened the strings on her corset, exposing more of her cleavage to him. He gripped her hand, drawing her close for a long unrestrained kiss, crushing her
mouth against his, meshing them together.

  Her eyes closed as his tongue parted her lips. She hummed and let the amulet go so she could run her hand down Scott's chest. It was like a phantom switch had been thrown, so smoothly that now she wasn't sure it had even existed. Had she really witnessed that moment of fear, or was she deluding herself? Projecting on him what she too often saw in the mirror.

  It was familiar, primal, impulsive. What does he look like when he—

  She quickly brushed the thought aside and melded her body against him, berating herself for trying to analyze everything. Just stop, she thought. Time to give in, let her mind drift in a state of fuzzy dreamlike arousal. He's so warm.

  Scott broke away and gripped Austin's shoulder. "We're not done yet."

  "Of course." Austin lifted his chin, pursing his lips. With his eyes focused on Scott, he stepped backwards to the edge of the bed. And as he sat, he dropped his gaze to his own hard cock, before glancing up again.

  But Scott made no move to follow him. Not yet, at least. Instead, he tilted his head, turning his eyes back to Amber. She clenched her hands in his shirt, crumpling it, wadding it up in her tight fists. He wouldn't know it but something palpable had passed between them, a fragile connection. Although he had only shown anger on the surface, she'd shared his fear underneath, his vulnerability. And she didn't want to let that bond go.

  He kissed her again, his tongue invading her mouth, striving, tangling with hers. A needy coil of desire twisted in her belly and then lower, forcing her breath to come faster. Her fingers grasped, digging against his hard chest. His hands settled on her hips, urging her closer to the bed.

  Their tongues clashed; the kiss deepened, emerging desperate and hungry. In Amber's mind they were alone, some place secret and dark, and it was agonizing, the desire pulsing between them. But that image was painfully short-lived as Austin gave a snort of amusement behind them.

  She glanced back into the leering eyes of the young vampire. He'd stretched out on the bed, languid and catlike, on his side. Watching them.

  Oh well, she decided. He can wait. She knew Scott wanted Austin as well, and he was a man who got what he wanted. There was no doubt of that. But right now, Scott was all hers. It wasn't that she consciously wanted to compete with Austin. He was her friend, not to mention the subject of her naughtiest fantasies. Even so, she couldn't deny that the petty desire was there, unwanted, lurking.

  A stab of guilt under the shivers of lust. Too many intricacies. They were making her head hurt. But regardless, she knew it wouldn't come between her and Austin. She wouldn't let it. No matter what happened, he would always be her closest friend.

  Amber slid her hands under Scott's shirt, fingers reaching, exploring his hard defined abs. He raised his arms, an invitation, and she started at the bottom, undoing the buttons. Under his shirt, he was warm, taut, and tanned, with an enticing shadow of dark hair adding to his sharp definition.

  But there were small pink spots too, like new, healing flesh from old wounds. She touched her lips to one, then another, working her way up his chest, nibbling along his sternum, inhaling his maleness.

  Her body was buzzing, reckless and alive with the insistent throb in her loins. Oh God, she couldn't believe she was doing this. Not with a guy built like this, another werewolf no less. And with Austin right there.

  She pushed Scott's shirt off his broad shoulders and it fell to the ground. Then she paused, and looked up at him, one finger tracing the jagged gash of a scar marring his shoulder. It looked deep, starting just below his nipple, stretching up over his collar bone, and disappearing down his shoulder blade. No human would live long enough to have such a brutal reminder.

  "What happened?"

  "It's nothing."

  It was a lie of course. Any wound that extended further than the palm of her hand would be the exact opposite of nothing. It would have taken months for him to recover from such a strike, as bone reknitted, muscles reattached, and organs healed. Regardless of his supernatural abilities, it was so close to his heart, she was perplexed that he had survived at all.

  Shaking his head, he pulled her hand away. Then he flipped her palm up and rubbed his thumb over the triangle shaped burn in her flesh.

  His eyes flicked up to hers. "Who did this?"

  Please, she thought. Don't let him ask that. It would just make things even more complicated. She didn't want to think about them right now. If anything, the grim possibilities just made her desire flare in response: urgent, determined, hasty. There might never be another chance for her. It had to be now.

  "I guess we all have our secrets." Shrugging out of his grip, she slid her fingertips into the waistband of his jeans. "Can I help you out of these?"

  He squinted back at her but amusement flashed on his face. "Sure."

  Austin cleared his throat. Amber glanced back to find the vampire's eyes glittering and eager as she unbuckled Scott's belt.

  "Impatient are we?" She gave a giggle before freeing the clasp and hastily pulling the fly down.

  A graceful fingertip traced down her back, sending delightful shivers through her spine. Austin touching her, finally. Gentle and encouraging, urging her on.

  Then he hummed under his breath as Scott's large cock sprang free from his pants. "He is gorgeous."

  It wasn't easy to look away from the mouthwatering erection, but her eyes darted to Austin, just for a second. The point of a sharp, white tooth pressed into his pale lip, exposing his fascination, his hunger. A flush of heat sent a thrill up her spine. They were all drifting closer now, heady and saturated with scent; the three of them, skirting the edge of a cliff.

  Scott laughed, stepping out of his clothes. "Get a good look while you can." He ran his fingers over the curve of Austin's hip. "Because I'm going to bury this in you."

  Air hissed through Austin's teeth as Scott's hand moved to the cleft of his rear. Then his index finger traced down his crack, toying as the vampire sighed. Austin rolled onto his stomach and gyrated his hips, a devilish smile on his face.

  "There's lube in my pocket." Austin nodded at the crumpled heap of clothes on the floor.

  "Austin! You brought lube?" Amber gasped, setting her hand on Austin's bare shoulder. She couldn't explain why the thought made a flush creep into her cheeks. Just that it settled somewhere between being mortified and being turned on.

  She looked back at Scott who had stooped to retrieve Austin's pants.

  "Good thing he did." Scott rifled through the pockets, and then produced the small bottle he was looking for. "I would have been tempted to just spit in my hand." He slicked lube over his cock. "Vampires like it rough, right?"

  Austin shot him a baleful look. "Wolf drool. No thanks."

  Scott snorted and moved behind Austin. "Up," he said in short commanding tone. "Lift your ass."

  "What? No foreplay?"

  Scott gripped Austin's hips and yanked him up on his knees. "I'm not here to pamper you." He grinned but his brows angled downward over his dark eyes and his canine teeth seemed more pronounced, sharp.

  Amber gaped, unable to tear her eyes away from the scene that was unfolding before her. She'd seen Austin naked plenty of times, but never like this: vulnerable, on his knees, with the dominant presence of a man about to penetrate him.

  Of course, Austin had done this before. But in her fantasies she always imagined sex between men being gentler, emotional, tender. Not what was happening here. Seeing it firsthand brought out new possibilities. Ones that hadn't occurred to her before, but they were enticing, darkly provocative.

  What had begun between the three of them with fits and starts, testing boundaries—first aggressive, then apprehensive, then passionate—was now unstoppable. Full throttle toward a dizzying precipice.

  Scott gripped his cock and maneuvered it to the indent of Austin's ass. His lip curled and a growl rolled through his chest as he applied more pressure; tensing, grinding, pushing against the tender entrance.

  Austin's brows
furrowed and his jaw slackened. A groan escaped from his mouth. Then his eyes popped open; his lips drew back, baring sharp canines as a silent cry washed over his face.

  Amber covered her mouth. Their teeth. Austin's were more pronounced, of course, but she sensed Scott's feral edge: sharper teeth, stronger scent, darker eyes. The slight changes he might not even be aware of. He wasn't going to transform. She knew that. But part of him must have wanted to.

  As for Austin, he wore a pained look on his pale face. She wanted to stop them, to cradle him in her arms, to comfort him like he'd done for her so many times in the past. But as Scott's cock slowly disappeared in Austin's rear, a smile twisted on the vampire's lips.

  "Yes," he moaned. "Take me like you own me."

  "All in good time," Scott murmured. Then his eyes flashed to Amber. "Take your panties off and come here." He motioned with a decisive flick of his hand.

  She obeyed him, quickly stepping out of her shoes before slipping her stockings off, then her lacy black panties.

  "The skirt?" She glanced up from her bent position.

  He shook his head.

  A blush crept into her cheeks. Strangely, being naked under the short piece of cloth seemed more erotic than if she'd stripped completely nude. Her exposed ass cheeks tingled, barely covered by the dark skirt.

  But as she stood, her gaze locked on Austin's ass and the shadowed crease leading down to where Scott's fine hair crowned the base of his cock. There she only saw skin stretched taut where Scott was, in fact, buried in him.

  Scott's hand gripped her chin, forcing her face to him. He kissed her, lips brushing hers, brief and fleeting in between thrusts into Austin. His hand snaked under her skirt. She trembled, needy, aching for him as his fingers found her wet folds.

  Amber set her hands on his shoulders, bracing herself against Scott's rocking body. With the same momentum, both his hips and his hand thrust, increasing the tempo. His strong fingers penetrated her, limber and demanding, curling upward with the aid of her wetness.

  All the earlier awkwardness, the nagging questions, the doubts, faded into the background behind the insistent throbbing pleasure in her loins. It was impossible for one man to take both of them at once, but he was doing his damnedest.