Carter could smell her perfume, a subtle mix of burnt vanilla and sandalwood, combined with her own natural scent. It almost drove him crazy with desire.
Her curvy body seemed to be straining against her clothes. Her white sweater was tight against her large breasts and soft stomach. The denim of her jeans stretched across wide, inviting thighs and a rounded ass that Carter desperately wanted to get his hands on.
He turned away slightly so she wouldn’t see the bulge in the front of his pants. He was growing hard just from being around her.
Mia King, with her curves and pretty face, was the most sexually enticing woman he had ever seen, and his body’s physical reaction to her closeness was extreme. He felt an overwhelming urge to mate. It was primal and powerful.
He needed to get away from her for now so that he could take time to assess the situation. The Call had hit him suddenly and without warning. He needed time to think.
“I need to help my deputy search for the wild animal that attacked you,” he said to Mia and Jake.
Mia put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. “So that’s the story you’re going with? A wild animal?”
“Like I said, a wolf…”
“That was no wolf. I saw it clearly before we skidded off the road.”
Carter said, “I suggest you two call a taxi to take you into town. I’ll arrange to get your van towed to a mechanic.”
Mia frowned. “Don’t you want to take a statement from us?”
“I don’t think that’s necessary. If you’ll just…”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “That creature was no wolf. What are you trying to hide from us?”
“I’m not trying to hide anything from you. I’m trying to protect you.”
She shook her head defiantly. “I’m not going anywhere. I want to see what you find in there. When you come back, I’ll be waiting right here.”
Carter sighed. Mia’s journalistic curiosity wasn’t going to let her leave. But he couldn’t risk having an outsider snooping around. Belladonna Falls was a haven for shifters, a place where they lived in safety. Carter’s job was to police the town but also to ensure that its secrets remained hidden from the outside world.
No matter how alluring Mia King was, Carter couldn’t trust her to keep silent about the town’s unique nature. She was a reporter, and that meant her career depended on revealing secrets and reporting them to the world.
The secret of Belladonna Fall’s inhabitants would be the biggest story she had ever come across, the type of story that could shoot a journalist’s career into the stratosphere.
So, Carter had to make sure she left town and went home knowing nothing.
The thought of her leaving town made him feel hollow inside.
But the only way to protect the town was to have her leave as soon as possible.
Well wasn’t this just great? His body and mind were stewing in endorphins and all kinds of chemicals released by The Call but he had to get rid of the woman that was his potential mate of the sake of the town. How the hell was he supposed to work this out?
“Fine,” he said. “Wait here. But at least wait in my car where you’ll be safe.” At least that way he could help Sam and put some distance between himself and Mia while he figured out what to do about the hormones raging through his body.
“We’ll wait in the car, man,” Jake said.
Mia shot Carter a frown that said she still didn’t trust him but then nodded. “Sure, we’ll wait in the car.”
Carter said, “I’ll be back soon,” and went into the woods in the same direction Sam had taken. With his enhanced senses, he didn’t need a flashlight to see in the dark, and he soon caught up with his deputy.
“Anything?” he asked Sam.
“Looks like he took off this way,” Sam replied, pointing through the trees toward town.
“Probably heading home,” Carter said. “If we don’t catch him, he’ll go to ground for a while to let that gunshot wound heal. Then, the next time he shifts, he’ll go rogue again. Nobody got hurt this time, except for those two being run off the road, but next time he might be in town. That could cause a whole load of trouble.”
“So we need to find him real quick,” Sam said.
Carter nodded, knowing that Sam could see him in the darkness. “You can’t shift because of the full moon, but if I might have more chance of tracking and catching him if I’m in bear form.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Sam said.
“You go back to the cars. Mia and Jake are waiting there. Just be careful what you say; reporters are bad news in Belladonna Falls.”
“Don’t worry, chief, I won’t give anything away.” He made a move to return the way he had come through the trees.
Carter put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Keep those two out of trouble.”
Sam nodded. “You know it.” He disappeared into the darkness between the trees.
Carter removed his uniform quickly before hanging it over a low branch. He shifted into bear form and began sniffing the air, his bear senses easily picking up the scent of blood.
The trail led him deeper into the woods until he could hear the rushing of the river ahead. If the person he was tracking had crossed the river, it would take Carter some time to pick up the scent on the opposite bank, and by then, his quarry could be long gone.
When Carter reached the river, he realized that his situation was worse than that; broken branches and tracks in the mud showed that the person had slipped into the water. The current here was strong as the water rushed toward the waterfall that gave the town its name.
If the werewolf had gone over the falls, he was probably dead; there were rocks in the river beneath the falls, and only one safe pool that someone could jump into from the top of the falls.
Every summer, Carter and his deputies had to stop teenagers who got their thrills by diving into that small area of safe water.
Carter’s quarry had already been shot, was probably disoriented, and was on the run. If he had gone over the falls, there was only a slim chance he had made it to the deep water and remained alive.
Carter followed the river to where the water dropped over the precipice to the rocks below. The constant rushing sound was loud in the night air. Water droplets hung in the air, wetting Carter’s fur. He peered down at the rocks below, expecting to see a body but seeing none.
Maybe the werewolf had been lucky enough to land in the pool after all. Or maybe he had fought the current upriver and managed to cross to the opposite bank after all.
Either way, there was no way Carter was going to catch him now. He shook the water from his fur, shifted back into human form, and walked naked through the trees to find his clothes.
The warm night air dried his skin and hair. He couldn’t risk returning to the others soaking wet; Mia King’s curiosity would go into overdrive. And if he tried to explain it away by saying that he went into the river, she would wonder why his uniform was dry.
She wouldn’t say anything, of course, but she would file it away in that inquisitive mind of hers.
Even though he had only just met her, he felt the effects of The Call strong in his mind. His thoughts constantly turned to Mia as he strode naked through the woods.
He could barely wait to see her again yet he feared the loss of control that came with being in her presence.
He would just have to grit his teeth and keep calm. Wondering how the hell he was going to do that, he began looking for his clothes.
* * *
Mia sat in the back seat of the police cruiser next to Jake, growing anxious with each passing second. There was some sort of creature in the woods, and here she was sitting in a police car doing nothing to get the details. She hated not knowing what was happening and she was sure that the chief of police and his deputy knew more than they were admitting.
Mia felt as if she had been ushered into the car to prevent her from seeing what was really going on. Her reporter’s instin
cts screamed at her to get into the woods before it was too late. The sheriff could be covering up evidence right now.
She couldn’t just sit here and let that happen.
She threw open the door and slid out into the night.
The deputy shouted, “Hey!”
Mia ran for the trees.
The deputy’s door opened and he roared, “Come back here!”
She reached the woods and almost tripped as darkness closed in around her, the full moon blotted out by overhanging branches.
The undergrowth swished against her jeans as she ran, as if it were trying to stop her entering the woods. Mia glanced over her shoulder. The deputy had decided to stay in the car with Jake, probably hoping that his chief would find Mia and bring her back.
She leaned against the rough trunk of an elm and waited for her heavy breathing to steady. The night air smelled of wildflowers and earth.
Despite the fact that there was a monster somewhere in the area, Mia felt no fear. Her curiosity overwhelmed every other emotion she might feel out here in the dark woods.
Besides, Chief Carter McClintock was out here and he seemed more than capable of being able to protect her from monsters. In fact, he seemed to be the type of man who would be capable of a lot of things.
When she had first seen the police chief, she had felt an instant attraction to him. That wasn’t surprising; Carter McClintock was a handsome and fit man with an aura of authority. But Mia didn’t usually fall for men so quickly, and she was confused by her body’s reaction to his presence.
Her heartbeat had quickened and she had felt suddenly flushed. Her nipples had tautened beneath her sweater and she had felt warmth grow at her core. No man had ever had that effect on her.
She began to stumble through the woods, her eyes gradually adjusting to the darkness. In places, bright moonlight shafted down through the overhead canopy of branches, illuminating the ground with silvery light.
She heard a noise up ahead and pressed herself against a pine tree, barely daring to breathe. Was it the monster? Was it coming to devour her? She cursed herself for putting herself in the path of danger. There was no point proving the existence of monsters if she wasn’t alive to show the world her findings.
Somewhere, a twig snapped, sounding like a breaking bone in the still night.
Mia tried to melt into the pine tree but she felt vulnerable and exposed. She tried to guess where the sound of the snapping twig had come from and peered in that direction. There was a bright shaft of moonlight there, and a figure stepped into it.
Mia gasped.
It was Carter McClintock.
And he was naked.
Fear drained from Mia when she realized it wasn’t the monster in the woods with her, but the fear was replaced with questions.
Why was the police chief naked?
What was going on here?
Carter stopped in his tracks, as if he could sense Mia’s presence. The moonlight reflected on the strong lines of his muscles. His shoulders and chest were broad and powerful, his stomach muscled with tight abs.
And between his legs, his cock hung thick and long.
Mia swallowed.
The chief of police was a perfect example of manhood in every way.
She felt her nipples stiffen and her pussy grow hot and slick. Her body was reacting to Carter’s masculinity by preparing for sex. It was a primal response. Mia fought it. There was something weird going on here, and it was no time to think about sex, no matter how amazing Carter looked.
“Miss King, is that you?” he asked, looking in her direction.
Mia didn’t know what to do. Should she sneak back to the patrol car and pretend she hadn’t seen him out here? But then she wouldn’t have any reason to confront him and ask what the hell he was doing out here without his clothes.
She stepped forward. “Call me Mia,” she said, surprised at how faint her voice sounded.
He made no move to cover himself. Instead, he strode forward with an angry look on his face. “I told you to stay in the car!”
She retreated, her back meeting the tree again and stopping her.
Carter was standing no more that a foot away now, hands on his hips. He leaned forward so that his face was mere inches from Mia’s, his powerful eyes looking into hers. “I could arrest you.”
She was pretty sure he couldn’t arrest her; she hadn’t done anything wrong. But the thought of him turning her around and cuffing her hands behind her back sent a shiver of desire through her body.
She was about to say that she hadn’t done anything wrong but her eyes roamed down over Carter’s well-muscled body. When her gaze reached his cock, she gasped. He was fully hard, his manhood rising proudly in all its thick glory.
So it wasn’t only her body that was preparing for sex.
She was unable to pull her eyes way from his magnificent cock.
He seemed to realize what was happening and stepped back. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll go ahead and get my clothes.”
Mia bit her lip. As far as she knew she had never elicited such a reaction from a man before. Her past partners had all been “slow starters”, taking a while to get hard enough for sex. Yet Carter was totally hard, even though Mia was fully clothed.
“Don’t,” she said.
He turned to her. “What?”
“I mean…don’t rush off to get your clothes on my account. It’s not like I haven’t already seen it. I mean…you don’t have to be embarrassed is what I’m trying to say.”
Carter looked anything but embarrassed. His cock was still hard and thick, jutting from his flat stomach like a weapon. His balls were tight, and Mia felt a sudden urge to stroke her fingers over them, then up that big shaft to the strong head.
Oh God, stop thinking like that. Her nipples were almost painfully tight against her bra. Her pussy radiated a wet heat that seemed to spread through her entire body.
Carter stepped in close. His eyes looked at Mia with a look of raw lust that she had read about in romance novels but never seen in anyone’s eyes in real life. She felt like a fictional heroine facing the powerful gaze of her lover.
Carter put a finger beneath her chin and raised her eyes to his. He was breathing strongly, his muscular chest rising and falling rapidly. His finger trembled slightly. “Is this what you want?”
In answer, she locked her eyes on his and let her hand brush against the hardness of his cock. Her fingers traced down its length to Carter’s tight balls. Then she stroked her hand back up the thick shaft to the head where her fingers found a drop of hot pre-cum. She used her thumb to spread the lubricating liquid over the head.
Carter groaned and pushed his hips forward, pressing his hardness against Mia’s hand.
She caressed him with her fingers, enjoying the growls of pleasure coming from his throat and the need to be touched that seemed to consume him. Mia loved feeling the hard shaft beneath her fingers. Carter was so excited.
Her own breathing was ragged and the skin on her face and neck felt hot. Her fingers trembled slightly as they stroked the huge cock. She had never felt so turned on in her life. She rubbed her thighs together, stimulating her pussy. She wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take before she ripped off her jeans and panties and got to her knees so that Carter could mount her.
He seemed to detect her urgency. His hands went to her jeans and began unfastening the brass button at the front. When he had that undone, he pulled down the zipper and hooked his thumbs into the waistband.
Mia wiggled her hips to help him get the jeans down. The denim slid down to her ankles.
“And my panties,” she whispered urgently.
Carter didn’t need telling twice. He grabbed the waistband of her panties in his fist and pulled, ripping the cotton underwear away from Mia’s body.
She gasped. Nobody had ever been so desperate to fuck her that he had literally ripped off her panties.
Carter dropped to his knees and pushed his face a
gainst Mia’s pussy, inhaling the scent of her aroused sex.
“Beautiful,” he whispered before parting Mia’s thighs and beginning to lick her pussy lips, his tongue finding her clitoris and teasing it before trailing wetly down to her entrance. The tongue reached forward, delving inside her.
Mia cried out and grabbed handfuls of Carter’s hair in her fists. She leaned against the tree and arched her back to push her wanton sex against his face.
His hands slid around her thighs and up to her ass. While he licked her into a heavenly pleasure, his fingers stroked over the curves of her backside.
Mia’s breathing became an excited pant and she closed her eyes, concentrating on the amazing sensations shooting through her body as Carter explored her with his tongue.
She felt an orgasm building deep inside her body, at the core of her being. “Don’t stop,” she cried, “It feels so good!”
Then pure pleasure hit her like a thunderbolt, stiffening every muscle in her body and flooding her bliss. “Oh my god!” she gasped as the orgasm spread through her like wildfire. Every nerve in her body, from her toes to the top of her head, sent irresistibly pleasurable signals to her brain. She shuddered with the intensity of the sensation.
Her hands gripped Carter’s head and pulled him against her clenching sex while she orgasmed.
He licked at her gently, sending little pulses of pleasure through her every time his tongue made contact with her pussy.
She groaned and shook, and eventually came down from the sweet orgasm that Carter had given her.
She felt like a hot mess, panting and sweating and barely able to stand because her legs were trembling. But she still wanted more. She wanted Carter inside her. She felt weak but her desire was still strong, the strongest it had ever been in her entire life.
Carter stood to face her and lifted her by her hips, just high enough that he could let her drop down slightly onto his hard, excited cock.
Mia felt the head of the wonderfully thick dick slide past her pussy lips and into her body. She grabbed Carter’s shoulders and looked into his eyes while he fucked her.
McClintock Bears Box Set Page 20
