by Lily Thomas
It didn’t take long until Andrea felt blades of grass under her naked back and tickling the sides of her arms. Cooler air puckered her skin as her body protested the sudden change in temperature from her hotel room to the outside air. She was back in the ice age. Her heart rate increased as excitement pumped through her.
Andrea couldn’t wait to explore this world some more. There was a part of her that was slowly beginning to think this was time travel. As far-fetched as it might be with the werewolf. Everything was so real and vivid.
Opening her eyes, Andrea rose from her prone position and smiled. Trees soared high above her, the sun rays beamed down to warm her chilled flesh, and a slight breeze caused the grass to dance around like it was alive.
At first, Andrea thought she was alone, but then her eyes caught on a large fluffy black dire wolf with golden eyes staring straight at her.
She froze.
But her heart didn’t get the memo and thundered away in her chest as it prepared her for a run for her life. She didn’t leap to her feet, though. There was something familiar about this wolf. It looked like the dire wolf who changed into a sexy man and then ran his large skilled hands all over her body like she was the best-looking woman he’d ever set eyes on.
Wow.
Her thoughts were running away with her.
Andrea took a moment to take him in. The dire wolf was enormous, even though it was sitting on its haunches. The fur was about three or four inches thick, and she would bet it’d be super soft if she swiped a hand through it. And those ears! So pointy and tipped with fur. He was a magnificent wolf, she’d give him that.
“Is it you?” Andrea asked.
The dire wolf didn’t give her a vocal response. Instead, he tilted his head to the side, allowing his large pink tongue to roll out of his mouth as he sent her a wolfy smirk. As a wolf, his smile came off a bit daunting because of his mouthful of sharp white teeth.
As Andrea stared at the dire wolf in front of her, it slowly shifted into the form of a man. The snout receded, and the fur slipped back into the tan skin, and within a second, a tall, well-built man stood before her.
“Oh my…” Andrea whispered under her breath as she stared up his impressive frame. He was so tall, but maybe that was because she was still sitting on her ass like a moron. Slowly, she pushed herself onto her feet and glanced back up at him… and up. Nope. He was still taller than her.
The man growled something to her in a guttural language.
It was Andrea’s turn to cock her head at him. “Excuse me?” She shrugged her shoulders as she asked the question, knowing he wouldn’t understand her but unable to stop herself.
The man lifted a hand and pointed to something lying next to a tree trunk.
Andrea glanced to her side and bent at the waist as she got a closer look. It was… clothing! Righting herself, she smiled over at him, “For me?” She pointed to her chest.
The man nodded his head of black hair. Taking a few steps over to the clothing, he grabbed a couple of articles and then turned to her presenting her with the animal skin clothing.
“Thanks.” Her eager hands reached out for the clothing, but he withdrew them before she could get a hold of them. “Ummm….” She stared up at him in puzzlement. “Aren’t those for me? They look too small for you.”
Naked man sent her a wide grin as he tapped a finger to his lips.
Andrea’s eyes narrowed to slits as she watched the gesture. “You want an exchange? A kiss for the clothes?” Her eyes slipped to the clothing that he held in a hand. She would like to cover her body while here, but was it worth a kiss?
With this handsome man, a kiss could turn into something more.
Andrea pursed her lips as her eyes slid back over to him. He was still smiling at her as he waited for her to come to a decision. Ugh. She had done some intimate things with him already, like coming in his arms, but still… she didn’t know him, and she wasn’t passion crazed right now. Right now, she would be making a level-headed decision, a choice, to kiss him.
Decision made then.
She couldn’t kiss him again.
Eyeing the clothing again, she suddenly threw her body into motion and lunged for the clothing. Naked man moved quicker than she could have ever thought possible. In the blink of an eye, he had her pressed up against a tree trunk, the clothing landing at their feet.
Naked man’s face got up in her personal space, and he growled guttural words at her. The smile was gone from his lips, and a glint of fire burned in his golden eyes. She’d angered him by lunging for the clothes.
“Sorry.” Andrea murmured, but she never dropped her head or her gaze. Instead, she stared the wolf man down. She knew a bit about dogs and wolves. She might not be an alpha, but she definitely wasn’t a woman who was going to back down and cower in front of him.
A corner of his mouth lifted. A hand came up, and he pointed to his lips.
“Fine.” Andrea grumped as she rolled her eyes. Darting forward, she landed a peck on his lips, but before she could draw back her head, one of his hands plowed into her hair and pressed her lips firmly against his, deepening the kiss.
Instantly, she melted against him. She knew she should pull away and protest, but he tasted so good like the musky scent of earth and trees with a hint of warm spice. It drew her in and swamped her senses.
His cock jumped to attention and pressed into her abdomen, clearly showing her how much he was enjoying this kiss.
Naked man pulled away, breaking the kiss, a triumphant smile on his amazing lips.
“Yeah, yeah, you won.” But so had she. That kiss had been one of a kind. Gentle and demanding, and it left her wishing for more. “Can I have the clothes now?” She asked as she pointed to the clothing lying on the ground.
He nodded his head.
Bending over, Andrea eagerly wrapped her fingers around the animal skin pants and slipped them over her legs before grabbing the shirt and slipping it over her head. Then she noticed a small pair of shoes, and a larger smile spread over her lips. Now she didn’t have to worry about scraping up the bottoms of her feet.
When she finished dressing, she glanced back over at naked man to find him dressed as well. He’d brought clothing for the both of them.
Thank goodness!
It was hard to stop fantasizing about him when he was exposed to her view. His body was made of pure granite and shaped by the gods. He’d been molded and shaped into her fantasy man.
Another reason this was a dream.
Fantasy men didn’t exist. He was too good to be true.
Andrea glanced down at the clothes she wore to find them decorated with small stones and bones from small animals. The designs were pretty, and she wished she could ask where he’d gotten the clothing. What she wore were clearly women’s clothing, so had he gone back to a village? Was he going to bring her to a village?
Excitement pulsed through Andrea. She’d love to see a working ice age village… then again, if he was a werewolf, that might mean his village would consist of werewolves. Yeah, she wasn’t too sure she was up for meeting so many werewolves when she was just a simple human.
Then her fully dressed werewolf was on her in a second, with a hand pressed to the small of her back he pushed her chest into his and his lips once more captured hers. Her eyes widened in shock before sliding shut in pleasure as she eagerly took his demands. Her tongue demanding its own pleasure.
One of his hands captured her wrist, and she wondered why they’d bothered to get dressed if he was just going to try and seduce her. Then he pulled back, and the wooden bracelet slipped off her wrist.
“Wait, what?” Andrea stumbled back a step as her brain processed what was going on. Glancing at his hand, she noticed he had her bracelet. “That’s mine!” She barked as she darted forward, but she didn’t get far before he snapped the wood with his hands.
She let out a scream of pain and astonishment. “Why… why would you break it?!” She stared dumbly at his hands
, completely frozen in place.
Then Andrea reacted.
Leaping forward, she raised her hands, balled them into fists, and hammered away on his chest. Her werewolf stood there, taking her hits as she screamed at him like a hysterical woman. Then she backed off, and he continued to watch her silently with those golden eyes of his.
“If the bracelet is off my wrist, shouldn’t I be waking up in my bed?” Andrea asked, perplexed. “Why am I still here?” She raised her hands in exasperation as the scenery stayed the same. Where were her hotel walls?
Wolf man dropped the two halves of her bracelet, and she scrambled forward to gather them up. Kneeling, she scooped them up and cradled them like they were her children. They were her ticket back to her world, which she was beginning to think was in the future, which meant she was in the ice age… with werewolves.
Chapter 9
Rokki watched his mate rush forward to gather up the bracelet. Wetness gathered in her eyes as she stared down at the wood. He hoped the bracelet wasn’t precious to her. Still, he was sure of one thing – this bracelet was the cause of her disappearing and reappearing. If the bracelet was broken, then there’d be no more magic in the object. There’d be no more disappearing on his mate’s part.
If she was a witch, she’d have to make another bracelet, and it wouldn’t happen under his watch.
Now, if only he could speak with her and tell her why he would act so cruelly. It wasn’t like he wanted to trap her, but he did want time to win her over so she would stop leaving him. He needed her to understand what she was to him.
Thankfully, Rokki knew of a woman who could help them. A seer who also happened to dabble in witchcraft. She would have some sort of spell or potion to allow them to speak, he was sure of it.
A spicy scent drifted through the air to his nose as his mate’s anger drifted off of her in waves. When he glanced down, he found her glaring up from where she crouched on the ground. Gone were the unshed tears, replaced with a white-hot burning anger in her swirling green eyes.
Rokki wasn’t entirely sure which emotion he preferred to see in his mate’s eyes. He wasn’t sure which emotion would make his task of winning her over would easier.
Good thing his mate was unarmed because he could see her trying to impale him… unless she was a skilled witch who could curse him with a spell. His eyes narrowed, but if she knew magic, then she would have used it rather than her fists.
“Stand up, mate. We have a witch to visit.”
She stood, but Rokki doubted it was because she understood him. She growled something at him that he didn’t understand, and then he watched her spin on a heel and storm away from him.
Rokki cocked his head to the side as he watched the angry sway of her intoxicating hips. “Where do you think you’re going, mate?”
She didn’t respond, and instead, she continued to walk away, shoving branches out of her way.
With a sigh, Rokki followed after her.
If there was one thing his sisters had taught him about females, it was to be patient and let them work their emotions out. If he ran up to his mate, grabbed her arm, and forced her to come with him, she would protest, and they would get nowhere. So, he followed after her.
The sun slowly shifted in the sky as he let his mate wander through the land. He could smell several predators roaming the area, but they could also smell him, and they steered clear. A werewolf was not a creature to mess with, especially when his mate was nearby, and those predators could smell it.
Then his mate stopped. He could see the tenseness in her shoulder muscles as she hunched over a bit.
She murmured something at him before spinning around and heaving a sigh.
If he had any sons, he would be sure to share this nugget of perspective with them. Patience was vital with females. Let them work out their thoughts and emotions.
“Aye em steel awgry wit du.” She said as she pointed an accusing finger at him, the broken bracelet clutched in her other hand.
Rokki simply shrugged at her words but nodded his head. “You are angry.” He held out a pleading hand. “I am sorry for that.” He hoped she could hear the regret in his voice, even if she couldn’t understand his words. “I’ve waited so long to find my mate, and here you are,” he waved a hand up and down to encompass her before him, “I couldn’t let you disappear.”
“Oookae.” She motioned for him to guide them.
Rokkie eyed her. The spicy scent still drifted off her, so she hadn’t forgiven him, but she was allowing him to retake control. “Come mate. Let us seek out the witch who can help us.”
After just a few hours of walking up and down rolling hills, through forests, and over streams, Rokki found his mate drifting further and further behind him. He slowed his pace, but when even that didn’t help her, he came to the realization that where ever she came from, she wasn’t used to walking for long periods of time.
Stopping for a little bit, he allowed her time to catch up. He didn’t need a sabertooth jumping out of nowhere to take her down and him too far away to stop her death.
His mate trudged up to him, a hand pressing into her side.
“Aye downt tink aye can gow andy fudder.” She heaved next to him as she lifted each foot with a wince.
Ah. Rokki glanced down at her small feet. They were sore from walking, and she was telling him she didn’t want to continue. With a huff, he glanced in the direction they were headed. It was still about a day’s walk to the witch’s cave.
“Sit down.”
She cocked her head at him as her eyes tried to understand what he had just said to her.
Rokki pointed a finger towards the ground.
His mate promptly fell flat on her butt. A sigh of relief parted her lips, and all he could think about was pressing her into the grass and claiming her with his mouth before he claimed her with a bite to her neck as he thrust his shaft deep into her.
Rokki shook his head to clear the thoughts. Now was not the time to be fantasizing about her. They needed to get to the witch so they could speak.
His dire wolf whimpered inside, begging to claim its mate. It didn’t understand why Rokki wanted to speak with his mate when he claimed her, but Rokki wanted to be able to tell her how beautiful she was and how she would be the most precious thing in his life. He shoved the beast into the back of his mind. He would let it out to play later… at a better time.
Walking away, Rokki searched the immediate area for some plants. When he found a patch of the little yellow flowers, he plucked several of them. As he walked back over to his mate, he crushed them between the palm of one hand and the heel of the other.
“Vwats dat?” His mate asked as she pointed to the yellow flowers in his palm.
“To help your feet,” Rokki said, knowing she wanted to know what he was doing. He continued to mash the flowers between his hands.
Once he had a paste, he bent down next to her and used one hand to remove her leather shoes from her dainty feet.
“Uh, vwat rrr du duing?” She asked as she tried to yank her feet out of his grasp.
“Calm.” Rokki met her gaze and tried to communicate with his tone. He pointed to the paste, and then to her feet. “It will help the pain.”
His mate hesitated one second and then nodded her head.
Then Rokki grabbed a hold of her feet and rubbed the mixture into the soles of her soft feet.
“Ooooh, yeeeaaah.” His mate’s eyes closed as a lazy smile spread across her face.
His dire wolf surged to the front, claws formed on his hands, and his canines sprang out of his gums. He fought for control, and thankfully won when he told the beast it would only scare their mate. The claws and canines receded. Good thing she had closed her eyes, or she would have seen his wolf coming out to play.
His thumb worked the yellow paste into her skin, dyeing the pale skin with the color.
“Du can doo dat furever.” She murmured.
His mate enjoyed foot rubs? He could do that. An
y chance to touch her.
Rokki pulled away after a few more minutes and stood. “Your feet should feel better now. We need to keep moving.” He used a couple of fingers to mimic walking.
His mate sent him a pout with her lower lip.
He made the motion again.
“Fiene.” She placed the animal skin shoes back on her feet and stood next to him.
Her scent wrapped around him, and for once, he couldn’t seem to think straight. All he wanted to do was dive into her, and let her scent mix with his as they explored each other’s bodies.
Ugh, she made it hard for him to think straight when she was around.
“Come, mate, before I ravish you here. My wolf wants you, and I am unsure how long I can keep him back.”
Side by side, they walked together. Every step closer to the seer gave him hope that he would finally be able to speak with his mate, to learn everything about her and where she came from, and how many children she wanted to have because he wanted as many as she could give him.
It wasn’t long before they spotted a herd of horses in a field. He would have walked straight past them without a second thought, but his mate seemed fascinated as she stopped to admire them.
“Oooo.” She crept closer.
Rokki glanced at the stocky animals that drew her attention. They weren’t anything special, a common animal to spot in the area. Her eyes seemed to take them in as though she were memorizing their colorings and sizes.
Wondering if he missed something, he glanced back at the herd, but they grazed like normal, and there was nothing strange. He sniffed the air, and none of them were shifters.
Rokki crouched beside her. “What fascinates you, mate?”
She met his eyes as she pointed to the horses. “Whoses.”
His mate acted as though she’d never seen them before, which would be strange because horse herds were pretty common in the area. Then again, he had no idea where she went when she used her magic bracelet to disappear.
