Own Me (The Wolf Hotel, #5)

Just the way Henry says that word, his voice like gravel, stirs my blood.

The female couple is still twirling on their ring, but their bodies are now lined up in the center of it, their legs stretched out with toes braced on either side as they dangle from the top. They meet in a sensual kiss as their lower bodies grind against each other.

I peer over my shoulder at Henry, to see his focus riveted on the people above.

I remember the night I discovered that he liked to watch people have sex. We were at the club with Margo and Joel, and they started fucking in the private room. I was so upset with Henry at the time, assuming he still had a thing for Margo after their brief fling so long ago.

We’ve come a long way since then.

He breaks his attention to look down at me, and then he circles an arm around my waist and pulls me into his body, letting me feel his hard length against my back. “You’re staring at me,” he whispers, as his hand slides under my skirt, under the elastic band of the little black bottoms.

I tense—anyone watching will know what he’s doing, even if my skirt hides it—but then I remember that no one other than Margo and Joel know who we are. And besides, no one cares. Why watch us when there’s a live double sex show happening in the air above us at this precise moment?

I force myself to relax as two of Henry’s fingers glide past my slit and into my slick entrance.

He leans down to whisper in my ear, “Watching them is making you wet.”

I hum in agreement, parting my stance to give him better access.

But he slips his fingers out, earning my grunt of disappointment.

“Good. It’ll make this easier.” His hand is creeping under again. This time, something cool and hard grazes my flesh, and I realize instantly it’s his bucket ball prize. My pulse kicks up a notch as he gently pushes the tip into my sex. At least he chose that spot.

“When did you get that out of the packaging?”

“While you were ogling Margo. I told you we’d use it tonight.”

Yes, but I wasn’t expecting it so soon. “Until when?”

“Until I decide to take it out.” His teeth scrape across my earlobe, sending a tremble down my spine.

I turn and try to catch his lips with mine, but he pulls away before I can.

A man in a lion tamer’s costume has moved in beside us that I hadn’t noticed before, his red jacket parted to show off a smooth, muscular chest beneath. He wears black-and-white-striped pants, and a coiled black whip rests on his hip. His mime-like mask has claw marks painted across its cheek, complete with blood trickles.

He leans in. “I’ll have you know, I’ve seen two very sexy bearded ladies so far.”

My mouth drops. But of course, there’s no way to hide from Merrick either. He chose our costumes. “This one is more my style.”

Behind his mask, his blue eyes drop on my cleavage. “I’m glad you like it.”

The couples have changed positions—and sexual acts.

“I’m bored.” Merrick nudges Henry with his elbow. “I’ll see you guys in the Fun House.” With that, he strolls away.

“What’s in the Fun House?” And, more importantly, what would interest Merrick more than this?

Henry smiles. “Lots of fun things.”

“Such as?”

“You’ll see when you get there.”

I tap my foot with annoyance, my gaze drifting in the direction where Merrick just left. “What’s the story with him?”

“No story.”

“You said earlier there was a story.”

“Really? This is happening”—he juts his chin toward the two women contorted at impossible angles, their mouths fixed between the other’s legs—“and you’d rather talk about Merrick and me?”

“Yes.” I spin around to press my chest against his, my arms tightening around him. The smooth silver toy he slid into me shifts with the movement. It feels somewhat awkward, but it’s not intended to go there. “Because I’m completely obsessed with you, didn’t you know that already?”

He leads me away from the crowd. “What do you want to know?”

“You said you two didn’t hook up but …” I let the question linger in the air.

“Things got a bit out of hand once,” he admits.

I knew it. “And what exactly is ‘out of hand’ for you?” Because Henry’s threshold for sexual acts would set fire to Reverend Enderbey’s pulpit.

“We fucked a woman together.”

“You’ve done that before.” Several times, apparently, much to my chagrin.

“Not like that. Let’s say it was a really tight fit.”

My mouth makes an Oh shape as I picture that scenario. “You mean, like, the two of you, like … together.” I hold my index and middle finger in the air, pressed together. “Not like you and me and Ronan.”

“Not like that night, no.” Something unreadable flickers in Henry’s eyes as he watches me closely. “I don’t crave dick. Merrick sometimes does. I knew that and I pushed for it, anyway.”

“He said you’re hard to say no to.”

That earns a chuckle. “I guess I was curious, and I trusted him not to take it farther than I was comfortable.”

The mental image of Henry and Merrick touching so intimately has heat flooding my lower belly, but it’s quickly doused by a different image, one of Henry with another woman. “Was it weird for you two after?”

“What? No. It’s Mer.” He frowns curiously. “And I might not crave dick, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy what we did.”

“So … He’s bisexual.”

“He’s not interested in labels but, yeah, you could say that. I’ve seen him with mostly women, but he has hooked up with a couple men. He was in a relationship with one not that long ago. It was serious from what he told me.”

“What happened?”

“It didn’t work out.” Henry pauses, his jaw tensing as he decides how much to tell me. “Merrick is one of my best friends. I trust him completely. But he grew up in a very different family from mine.”

Given life in William Wolf’s household wasn’t warm and fuzzy, based on what Henry’s told me, it doesn’t say much for Merrick. This must have something to do with the conversation I overheard at the dinner table. Something about his name. “What do you mean—”

“Things you don’t ever need to know or worry about,” Henry cuts me off. “But in case you were wondering … no.”

I peer up at him, confused. “No, what?”

His index finger traces over my lip. “If you’re having any little fantasies about me, you, and Merrick, get those thoughts out of that pretty little head of yours now. I mean it, Abbi.”

My mouth hangs. “I don’t! I didn’t!”

He hums like he doesn’t believe me. “I think I’ve created a monster.”

“There you two are.” Margo and Joel slink in. “We’ve seen enough. Ready to move on?”

“Lead the way.” Henry slips his arm around me. He grins at Joel. “It looks like you already are. That costume doesn’t allow for much discretion, does it?”

My mouth gapes at the tent in Joel’s lower half.

Margo’s musical laughter rings in the air. “When is he ever discreet?”





CHAPTER 12