Free Curse of the Alpha: The Complete Bundle by Tasha Black

than anyone else she’d been with.
    What was so special about him?

Chapter 20
    J ulian rattled the key into the lock and flung open the door.
    There was a large sitting room encircled by arched leaded glass windows. A low fire crackled in the fireplace. Soft oriental rugs carpeted the floor.
    Julian dropped his briefcase and shut the door behind them. It was the first time he had broken physical contact with her since they’d left Scott Hall.
    She stood in front of the fire, suddenly less sure she was making the right decision. When he turned back to her she felt nervous.
    He smiled.
    “Would you like a glass of wine?”
    She shook her head shyly.
    He stepped out of his shoes and slipped off his jacket, hanging it neatly on the hook by the door.
    “A cup of tea?”
    She shook her head again.
    He unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and slowly pulled off his tie, hanging it on the hook over his jacket. Ainsley licked her lips and smoothed her dress over her hips.
    “Then let’s get those shoes off,” he suggested, gesturing to the inglenook benches on each side of the fireplace.
    Ainsley perched on one of the benches. Julian knelt at her feet and slipped off one sandal and then the other. His lips turned up in admiration and she wasn’t sure if it was because he recognized the expensive shoes or he liked being on his knees between her legs. She hoped it might be both. He placed the sandals carefully under the opposite bench.
    Most guys would have thought it was cool to hurl her shoes across the room in passion. Or they might have carelessly put them on the threshold of the fireplace where she could either ruin the moment by moving them or spend the whole night with a nagging worry that they might end up on fire.
    Before her nervous brain could find something else to think about, he turned back to her.
    “Is that better?” he asked.
    Ainsley nodded. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so quiet.
    “Good girl.” He reached up and smoothed the fabric down over her thighs with a playful smile.
    She stared wordlessly at his hands as they gently but firmly caressed her through the thin dress.
    “So soft,” he mused. “No wonder you’re constantly smoothing your skirt down. I could do this all night.”
    Waves of longing coursed through Ainsley. She wanted to tangle her fingers in his hair and pull him to her. She wanted to unbutton his shirt and lick his chest.
    His hands never stopped their slow stroking, but her wolf could hear his pulse hammering and it pawed at the bars, claws scraping.
    Ainsley closed her eyes and took a careful breath. Slow down, be careful. It shouldn’t be this hard so soon. The wolf drew back a little. Ainsley opened her eyes.
    Julian had stopped stroking her thighs and was looking up at her.
    “What’s wrong?”
    Wasn’t that a terrific question?
    Gee, Julian, I’m sorry. You’re making me so hot I can’t think straight but I can’t really let go because I might turn into a giant wolf and maul you.
    “Nothing.”
    “Ainsley, you’re a very sexy young woman.” His hands went back to her thighs. “And you’ll have to forgive me for trying to seduce you. Of course we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
    But as he spoke, he slipped his hands under her dress and firmly pushed it up instead of down.
    “It’s just that you seem to have cast a spell on me, and I’m helpless before you.”
    His hands were on her bare skin now and he gently pressed her thighs apart. He knelt up and moved between her legs to look right into her eyes.
    “Now, Ainsley, tell me. Do you want to go home?”
    She licked her lips and he leaned forward slowly and brushed his own lips against them.
    The effect was immediate. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she could feel his pulse reverberating through his kiss. She arched her back involuntarily and he wrapped his arms around her, cradling her as she moaned against his mouth.
    In one smooth movement he stood with her in