Something Wild Page 7

  "It was suggested I use my mouth to seduce you.” Her hands dropped to the wooden surface of the counter.

  "Did he show you how? Make you practice..."

  She whirled, her eyes flashing in the candlelight. “He did not. I am not so stupid that I would fall for such a ploy even if he had suggested I do so.” She clasped her hands together when Baden halted in front of her. “Besides, I talked mostly with one of the women there. She demonstrated on a carrot."

  Baden didn't mean to laugh. “And you'd planned on doing what she taught you to do?"

  "I'd not resolved if I would or would not.” She visibly shook, obviously affected by him.

  Carefully he set his glass on the counter behind her, slanting his gaze down at her when she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply as if she were breathing in his scent, too.

  "Why would you even consider it?"

  "You'd done so for me ... put your mouth on me.” She opened her eyes as he straightened. “And I told you I wanted more of your kiss."

  "And it does not occur to you to respect my wishes?” He raised an eyebrow.

  "You want me. I know you do. As I said, I am not stupid.” She licked her lips nervously. “Why should I respect something that is not truly your wish at all?"

  "I told you that if I indulged myself, I would keep you.” He wanted to touch her, to reach out and run his finger across the softness of her cheek.

  "Perhaps I want to be kept."

  "You think you do, but I am not what I seem. You have not seen me for what I truly am."

  "And what are you?” she asked, her words breathy as if she continued to be affected by him.

  "Something wild.” He finally lifted a finger to brush back a strand of her hair. “Not much different than The Ripper...” Her fingers suddenly pressed against his lips; her large blue eyes welled with sudden tears.

  "Don't you ever say that again,” she whispered. “You are kind and generous and decent. You're nothing like the monster that roams the streets. He has no guilt, no shame, no pain, no conscience. I see all of those in your eyes now."

  "If you only knew, you would not be so eager to win my affection,” Baden spoke against her fingers.

  "You hide yourself, sir, but I still see you. You have passion you struggle to control. I knew that the second day I'd known you when you struck Webber. I saw it again that day in your study.” Her free hand rose to his chest, and she closed the distance between them. “I felt the wild in you when you kissed me. It's what has driven me to seek Webber's help."

  "I am only half a man.” Baden reached up to wrap his hand around her delicate wrist, pulling her fingers from his mouth. “The rest is...” He stopped when her fingers curled against him. Her gaze reflected deep lust. She would not care if he told her he was half winged demon. Her desire warmed him more than any bourbon, intoxicated him.

  "The rest is what?"

  He leaned forward, brushing his jaw against her cheek as he inhaled deeply, exhaling on the word “beast". He might have leaned away. He might have left the room. But that small whimper that pushed from her lips weakened and bound him. So be it.

  Baden closed his eyes in submission, his hands lifting to grasp her waist. When he turned his head, her parted lips awaited his. A low growl vibrated in his throat, and she responded by circling her hands around his neck moments before his mouth claimed hers.

  He pushed her backwards against the counter and slammed his body into hers. He knew he should slow down, to take it slow, but his body refused to listen. His hands found her breasts through the flimsy material that covered them, squeezed until she moaned against his mouth.

  "Undress, or by the devil, I will rip that gown off of you,” he spoke between his clenched teeth when he stepped back from her, already removing his own clothes. For a moment, she just stared at him. Then she quickly pulled the gown over her head and dropped it to the floor. When he removed the last bit of his own clothes, her gaze darted down to his cock.

  "It is bigger than a carrot."

  "I would hope so. Come here.” But he didn't wait for her to step forward, moving forward again. She surprised him by backing along the counter away from him. “You are a sadist if you mean to refuse me now."

  "I mean for you to want me as much as I've wanted you. I mean to make you come after what you want as I've been forced to.” She lifted her chin.

  "You mean for me to throw you to the table and ride you like the beast I am.” He stalked forward, but she matched every step with a retreat around the room until the table was between them.

  "I do not play these games, Cora."

  "You've been playing it all along,” she argued. “Now you come to me. Why?"

  "I want you."

  "That's not good enough."

  Baden growled in frustration and planted one hand in the center of the table. He leapt across the width in seconds. Instantly, his hand found her waist so she couldn't move away.

  "Because if I do not have you, I will go to John Webber's home and rip out his throat. Because I can't stand the thought of you with any other, and I very nearly struck my dearest friend today when he mentioned he had a fondness for you. Because I decided this night that you were mine. And because you are naked and I want in you.” Baden didn't release her widened gaze. “Is that good enough for you?"

  "What if I say no? That I've decided I don't want to be ruined."

  Baden grunted as he slid a hand between her breasts, turning his fingers so her soft skin rubbed against his knuckles. “Have you?” Over her stomach, down to the curly blonde hair at the V below her abdomen.

  "No, I'm asking what would you do if I had decided..."

  "Spread your legs while I consider the question,” he interrupted. She obeyed, grasping the edge of the table behind her in her fingers. “Wider still.” Baden watched her lick her lips then widen her stance.

  "Good. I believe if you told me no...” he murmured as he dipped his fingers against the folds of her pussy, causing her breath to hitch. “...I would have skipped the tea and retired to my study with two bottles of bourbon."

  "Then you use me to keep from drinking?” She moaned when his fingers pressed against her and moved in a slow circle.

  "I want you, Cora. That is why I'm here.” He bent down and caught one nipple between his teeth, tugged gently before circling the tip with his tongue. When she arched to his mouth, he sank a finger inside her.

  "I want you,” he continued, speaking around her nipple. “To taste you, to smell you, to feel you, to hear you say my name because you can think of nothing else to say.” He moved to the other breast and sucked at the nipple, pushing his finger deeper.

  Cora moaned, her hands leaving the counter and sliding into his thick, dark hair. “Baden,” she whispered, “I want you too."

  He watched her tilt her head back, her lips parting, as he worked his finger in and out of her. His heart thumped in his chest. He liked the sound of his name on her lips. Slowly, he eased a second finger into her, groaning when her body tightened around him.

  "There will be pain, Cora ... pain I cannot help..."

  "I am not stupid,” she interrupted breathlessly. “Do it quickly, Baden."

  He removed his fingers from within her, his gaze darting to the table. Her first time should be in a bed. But she didn't wait for him to decide what to do and hopped up onto the wooden surface.

  "Please, Baden, I cannot stand it,” she pleaded.

  When his gaze found hers, it darkened. When he climbed atop the table and pushed her flat against the surface, she shuddered. She liked him like this, eyes glittering, nose flaring. With the planes of his cheeks flushed, he looked more like the beast he proclaimed to be than he could know.

  He positioned himself between her knees, and she shivered with anticipation. When the head of his cock nudged her cunt, she moaned encouragement.

  "I'm so very sorry,” he whispered before leaning down and kissing her deeply. He pushed gently then drove into her quickly. Pain exp
loded, and she cried out against his lips. His breathing was ragged, but he stilled inside her. She realized, as the pain started to subside, that she'd dug her nails into his shoulders. Forcing her hands to relax, she waited as a feeling of fullness and need began to grow within her.

  "Baden?” she spoke against his lips, and he leaned away slightly to gaze down at her. She nodded, indicating she wanted him to continue, and he slowly withdrew then pushed forward again, watching her as if expecting her to scream for him to leave her.

  "Please,” she whispered and saw his cautiousness start to leave his eyes. He thrust forward then again when she hummed gratitude. Tension was slowly knotting in her stomach, demanding attention. She wanted him to let go, to see that fiery passion in his eyes, to feel it in her body.

  Boldly, she lifted her hips to meet his plunge. For a moment he stilled, then with one of those growls she decided she liked, he began rocking in and out of her. Deep noises groaned from his throat as he planted his hands on either side of her head. With each thrust, she felt that tension grow within her, causing her to whimper with need.

  She started to close her eyes, but he stilled. “No, you look at me, Cora. I want to see your eyes when you feel pleasure.” His deep voice brought hot chills down the back of her arms. Everything about him excited her.

  "Baden, please.” She lifted her hips.

  He lowered, sliding down to his right elbow, his left hand reaching to lift her knee. She gazed up at him as his hair fell across his brow, and he began rocking into her at a heated pace. He'd been right, she realized as she gazed up at him. He was something wild.

  That knotted tension flared, and a flurry of sensation trembled through her body. Her arms tightened around him as pleasure filled every inch of her, pressing out until she lifted her voice and screamed his name. All of the horror that she'd seen pushed aside for the lightening hot passion that engulfed her. That release brought tears to her eyes as she jerked up against him.

  Moments later, he dove deep within and stilled as he emptied into her, his head thrown back and teeth bared. She gazed up at him from beneath heavy lids as he shouted his own release.

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  Chapter Five

  "Where is Baden?” Cora stood in the door of the study, surprised to find only James Martin sitting in one of the chairs.

  He stood quickly. “He is gone."

  "Gone?"

  "To find the man who committed the murders."

  "At this hour?” She stepped forward, wrinkling her nose at the scent of cigar that filled the room.

  He laughed. “I don't usually smoke them around Baden. He doesn't like the scent. His nose is too sensitive. All of his senses are.” Martin put out the cigar. “Has he told you about that yet? What he truly is?"

  Cora felt uneasiness settle in her stomach. “What do you mean?"

  "He's a marvelous, rare kind. In the old days, he would have been the leader of our pack. There aren't that many of us left these days.” Martin smoothed down his mustache. “He thinks he's the only one. He's easier to control that way."

  "Mr. Martin, I've no idea what you are talking about."

  "Of course not, but you will.” Martin put out his cigar on the desk, causing Cora to frown. Something was very wrong here. Every instinct told her to run.

  "You see, you are very dangerous to someone like Baden.” Martin removed his coat and carefully folded it over the chair. “Besides the hope you bring, you are the kind that would forgive anything, even the darkest of secrets. If Baden feels he has someone he doesn't have to hide from, he'll grow stronger."

  "Mr. Martin, you are frightening me."

  "I was afraid it would be Ursula. She was so quick to nurture, to love him. But it wasn't the kind of love that threatened my control. It wasn't the kind that would make him feel whole.” He unbuttoned his cuffs and began rolling up his sleeves. “When I knew she was no threat, I let him keep her. She would smother him, keep him at home when I needed him out of the way. But you, you are different. You are the dangerous kind."

  He turned and flipped open a leather bag, revealing several types of instruments ... instruments that a surgeon might use.

  Nausea crept up Cora's throat. “No ... no ... not you."

  "Why not me?” He chuckled softly. “You think I should look a certain way? Like a monster. I could, you know. I could shift to wolf form, tear you open that way. But where is the thrill in that? A wild animal kills a woman, there is no surprise, no element of real terror left in the air. But a man?” He laced his fingers together and turned them out so that they popped at the knuckles. “You said it yourself. Something wild, which I naturally am, does not kill without reason. It kills on instinct, on necessity."

  "I don't understand.” Cora's throat was so dry that her words only came out in a faint whisper.

  "I am a wolf. Half man, half beast. As I said, there are not many of us left. Baden is the strongest I've ever met. Once I found out that he was an alpha leader, I knew I could use him. It was easy enough to set him up, form the mob that very nearly caught him. I saved him ... you save someone's life, they trust so easily."

  "A ... wolf ... you mean to say both man and wolf?” Cora shook her head in confusion. Baden's words from the night before assaulted her.

  "Indeed. It's quite interesting, but we've really no time to go into great details of the race. I've only half an hour until Ursula returns from the errand I sent her on.” He laughed lightly. “They will be heartbroken, but they will have one another and will survive your death. And I shall not worry about my losing control over Baden anymore."

  He looked up as he lifted one of the scalpels. “Oh, don't look so devastated, young lady. It isn't your fault that you are the way you are, just as it's not mine or Baden's that we are the wolf kind. I'd hoped he would send you away, to me. It would have been easier that way. But then that despicable man showed up and told Baden the truth of your feelings for him. I knew then, the way he became so jealous and so outraged at the thought of you with Webber, that he would never send you away."

  He took a step forward. “And just as you are not terrified of me now that I've told you we're of the wolf kind, you would have accepted his beastly secret and accepted him, just as I had suspected."

  "You are The Ripper.” Cora's heart thumped in her chest. She tried to think of a way to escape, but no thoughts would settle. Only fear. Images of Mary Kelly's body flashed in her mind. This maniac was the one who had done that to her, the one who had mutilated that poor woman.

  "Will you not scream? There is no one to hear you if you do.” Martin raised one white, bushy brow.

  "Just tell me why. I have to know. What you've done is so ... unspeakably horrifying. I must know why you did what you've done to those women.” She grasped for time, anything to give her a moment or two more to try to escape.

  "Because I can."

  "You're mad.” Cora took a step backwards, back from the study into the corridor. “Completely mad."

  "You may be right, young lady, but it changes nothing. Run if you wish, but you cannot outrun a wolf."

  "I believe you may be right.” She stopped her retreat when she saw Ursula standing in the door of the house, her faced paled, her mouth open in a silent oh. “If I am to die, might I choose the place in the house?"

  He tilted his head.

  "Back in the study. If it is there that he finds me, he will leave this place and never come back. He spends too much time alone in that room.” She breathed out when he stepped aside and dropped the hand that held the scalpel. She prayed, as she stepped forward, that he would not begin cutting until she was inside.

  "If it was you doing the killing, why would you send for him to investigate? Ursula said he was the best at what he did.” She breathed out when she felt no slice of pain as she passed him.

  "Every man in Whitechaple was being named. If I brought someone here to investigate, I would not be suspect.” He seemed content with her questions, so she cont
inued.

  "Might I have a drink before you begin? I have never taken alcohol and believe this is a time when I should.” She glanced back at him to see him incline his head. “Weren't you afraid that he would discover it was you behind the murders?"

  "Why should I be afraid? I know his secret; I could expose him as the wolf."

  "Even if he could expose you in the same manner?” She poured the glass full and turned to face him, bringing the liquor to her lips.

  "He does not know me of the same kind."

  "Have you no regrets?"

  "Now you are stalling.” He pointed the scalpel at her. “If you are going to drink, then do so quickly."

  She took a swallow as she stepped forward, near the burning flames of the candelabra. “What will happen now?"

  "You will remove your clothes, fold them and set them aside, then I will begin.” He lifted a handkerchief from his pocket and ran it across his forehead. Cora saw the sweat glisten against his skin.

  She set her glass down on the table next to the candles and began undressing. Just as he had instructed, she folded them and set them aside. When she looked at him, his gaze was roaming her body, glittering with something wild and demented.

  She returned to her drink. “My father told me that I was the kind who would always get what I wanted. I don't want to die."

  "You will be disappointed tonight, my dear.” Her eyes widened when she saw his eyes change and glow. They'd gone from light blue to gold, and when he smiled, his teeth became elongated, like those of a ... wolf. Dear God. All that he'd said was the truth. Her mind darted to Baden. He too was a wolf.

  "Will it hurt?"

  "Yes,” he hissed. That's what he was after. Some kind of twisted sexual dominance. He was visibly aroused. But he turned those sexual desires into violence, as if sex would not be enough to satisfy him.

  "I suppose it is time.” She lifted her chin and waited for his advance.

  "You are braver than the others. They fought with fear, tried to scream. Here you stand, accepting your fate. I admire you for that.” He stepped forward slowly. She didn't move, waiting for him. Behind them in the door, Ursula appeared out of breath ... and beside her was a black wolf. Baden.