6 Just Open the Door and Let Me in.

Part 6

Tomorrow was Friday, the perfect time to leave. She would have the weekend to make her escape. No one would miss her until she didn't show up for work on Monday. Deep inside her wolf mourned, but she ignored it in her panic.

Emile was up early the next morning, but even before she had a chance to finish her first cup of coffee, the doorbell was ringing. The sound filled her with sudden dread.

Good news rarely showed up at quarter past six in the morning. Stopping before the door, she took a deep breath, scenting the air to determine who was there.

"fuckity fuck fuck FUCK!" she said more to herself and not to the all too familiar man on her doorstep, wishing she had thought to grab a knife before she left the kitchen.

"Just open the door and let me in. I have a message from Blake. I promise I won't stay long," Jack said, hoping that using the Alpha's name would gain him entrance into her home.

Wordlessly she tore open the door before whirling back around, stalking into the kitchen and snatching up her coffee cup.

"I'll take mine with some sugar," Jack said with a wink and a sly grin. He pulled out a chair and sat, watching Emile take an almost defensive stance against the counter, as far from Jack as possible.

She wasn't up to a war of words and wits with him, so she let her silence do the speaking. Hell would have a sudden climate change before she would serve Jack coffee in her own kitchen.

She glared at him, failing to resist noticing his familiar features. The hint of a beard against his tan skin, his expressive eyes, the way his ears stuck out very slightly at a charmingly odd angle, the way his nose had been broken and healed crookedly, the slight quirk of his lips that invited you to join in some secret joke.

Not for the first time, she wondered just how those lips would feel. She squelched that stray thought ruthlessly, knowing he would notice even the slightest hint of her arousal.

Jack looked at Emile just as closely, taking his time to assess her. He wanted to feel the softness of auburn curls rioting around her head, still mussed from sleep.

He dreamed of tasting each freckle that dotted her creamy skin. He longed to claim her lips, to soften the hard slash of her disapproving frown, to caress every curve until she cried out in pleasure.

He knew he was dangerously close to crossing the line, wanting to act upon the vivid images he was conjuring up. Unlike Emile, he did nothing to hide his arousal.

This time, they would play their game on his terms. He was the one with his Alpha's blessing.

The heat of his gaze was almost scalding, promising unbridled pleasure and debauchery. "The Alpha's message?" She finally prompted, blushing furiously under his close scrutiny and obvious desire.

Jack sighed theatrically, amusement dancing in his eyes. "I can't remember," he lied, "you have driven all thoughts of Blake straight from my mind. I can only think of..."

"DON'T!" she yelled, throwing the coffee cup at his head spontaneously. "Don't you dare say what you were thinking. It's bad enough I can scent it, that I can see the evidence. I don't want to hear it!"

Jack ducked the flying mug, which shattered against the wall. "I said I take mine with sugar," he said as he stood. His keen mind rapidly assessing the situation.

Emile was off kilter, and wouldn't be able to hold onto the cold anger she wore like a second skin. Now was the time to press his advantage.

He moved closer, eyes never leaving hers. He let his wolf out a little, taunting her with his predatory gaze.

Jack was slowly stepping into Emile's space, but she slid away when he drew close.

Across the house they moved, at a slow stalk, until her back hit the living room wall.

There was nowhere she could go. Her body tensed, her hands raised as if to push him away, her breath coming in panicked, shallow pants.

This was a side of Jack she had never seen before, a dominant sexual beast. She couldn't ignore how her body responded to the sheer masculine presence.

Jack stopped a hairsbreadth away, his own body rigid with tension. He boxed her in, placing his hands on the wall on either side of her shoulders.

Leaning in, he scented her deeply, closing his eyes at the heady mix of nutmeg, coffee, werewolf, and woman.

Emile trembled, in fear and anticipation. Her upraised hands were resting against his chest, almost a caress, the heat of his body searing.

She wanted to shove Jack away, or maybe wrap her arms around him and pull him close. Her anger warred with desire, and she honestly couldn't decide which she wanted to win. Groaning in agony, she turned her head and raised her chin, granting Jack her throat in submission.

This time it was Jack who shook with the effort of holding himself in check, desperately wanting to bury himself completely in his woman but knowing it wasn't the time. Yet.

He leaned in further, lips barely touching the pulse pounding in her neck. Another barely there kiss settled on the corner of her jaw, his hot breath sending another wave of shivers across her body as his breath fanned across her ear.

"I let you go before, all those years ago, but I won't do it again. You. Are. Mine." He punctuated each word with more impossibly light kisses along her jaw.

Emile had no time to respond, let alone think before his lips met hers. It wasn't the soft, gentle caresses of just seconds before. It was a punishing kiss, brutal and needy.

In it, she felt the chastisement for the years of pleasure missed and promise that the words he spoke were utterly and irrevocably true. She was his, and wouldn't be able to escape it this time, no matter how far and long she ran.

Emile tried to hold onto her anger, tried to resist his claim, but it was futile. Jack's hands remained on the wall behind her as he assaulted her with his mouth.

He breached her defenses with lips, teeth and tongue, setting her body aflame. Moaning, she gave in and slid her arms up and around his head, pulling Jack impossibly closer.