“This happened to a cousin of mine once. Shifting back made it go away pretty instantly, but…”
I realize what he means. I’ll be without my clothes. In the middle of a forest.
“Here, I think I have a solution. I used to come out here every so often, I think you can rest here for a bit.
The thick brush opens up into a small, idyllic looking glade. In the center are several small pools surrounding a larger spring.
“This is a natural hot springs I discovered a while back. If you take it easy for a bit, you should be able to shift back in a little while.”
I don’t like the idea of being naked here, but my headache is screaming now, and I have no other options.
“Do you promise not to look?” I ask.
“Yes, I promise, Rose.” He turns away and walks about 20 feet from the pool and sits back on his hind legs, facing away. “I’ll sit here so you can watch me if you want.”
“Yes, do that.” I don’t want to be alone, I just want to make sure he doesn’t look. I move into the pool. The water is warm but feels odd on my fur coat. I watch Hawes, still facing away and not moving an inch, and shift into my human form.
The pool is deep, so I can barely touch the bottom with my toes. The temperature in the spring is just right, like a nice hot tub, but without the smell of chlorine and chemicals. I feel instantly relaxed and let the water soak into my sore muscles. My head clears and within only a couple of minutes I feel much better.
I look around and see that the glen is very secluded, surrounded by an almost veritable wall of trees tightly packed together. The only way in, it would seem, is through the thick underbrush Hawes led us through.
He’s still sitting by himself, facing away. I think I can hear him whistling, something that sounds like the same ridiculous song I heard from his phone earlier.
Hawes really is an interesting cuss. One minute he’s perving on me, the next he’s being a complete gentleman. I think back to the night we first met. The fight I watched. Him hanging, chained up. Those muscles. The way he kisses…
My zen, relaxed state has somehow turned frisky, and I’m acutely aware that the wolf across from me is the same one that is the owner of Hawe’s delicious body.
I want him in the pool with me.
Right now.
Chapter 4
Hawes
I’m so dumb. I should have thought about the fact that she hasn’t been in her shifter form for several years. Maybe longer.
Hawes, you dumbass.
It’s just that, seeing in her wolf form, all magnificent and regal, I really wanted to see what she could do. She looked so ashamed of her shifter form, and I wanted her to know she’s strong and capable. Sometimes you’ve got to run before you can walk I guess.
I shake my head. That makes no sense. I’m probably just trying to keep myself busy because the hottest woman in the world is naked behind me.
I whistle “Hall of Fame”. That’s distracting.
“Hawes?”
I perk up at the sound of her voice, my thoughts and whistling interrupted. I’m not sure how much time has passed.
“You can come in… if you want to,” Rose says, sounding tentative.
“No, no. It’s fine,” I say, staying rooted in place. “You just take it easy.” Don’t get your hopes up, Hawes. That never goes well.
“Really, it’s a shame you have to just sit there, when the water is so nice,” I hear her call.
“You sure?” She can’t be serious.
“Yes. I’ll look away while you shift, if you want,” she says.
“No, it’s fine, I’ll join you.”
She must be totally fine with platonic bathing. In the nude. In a secluded forest hot spring in the mountains. At sunset.
I turn around and see her treading water in the middle of the pool, smiling at me, looking alluring and seductive.
And. So. Freaking. Hot.
I walk to the edge of the spring, and raise an eyebrow. “You’re sure?”
“Yes, stop asking and get in, silly.”
I change back to my human form and see her watching me, mouth agape. I wade into the spring. The water is hot. But instead of being relaxing, the air is full of tension. Full of anticipation.
“Did you come out here often when you lived here, Hawthorne?”
I like when she calls me Hawthorne. It feels more personal, more me. Hawes is what everyone calls me generally.
“Once upon a time, fairly often. Then I moved to the city and didn’t see much of this place,” I reply.
I’m close enough that I can see her through the clear water, but I keep my gaze fixed on the forest around us, trying to be respectful.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” Rose says dryly.
“Yeah, nice…” I say, trailing off, trying to think about anything other than the gorgeous woman only feet from me.
My attempt at thinking is interrupted by a splash of hot water.
I turn around, swiping water out of my face. “What is this? Shenanigans!” I declare, looking at Rose.
She just grins innocently.
Then splashes me again.
I send a small splash her way, but she returns with a barrage of additional waves in my direction. It’s good, juvenile fun. I reach out, trying to tickle her, and hear a playful shriek, followed by more splashing.
This continues for a couple of minutes, me chasing, her dodging, until I’m finally able to grab her, lifting her up into my arms in the water. She doesn’t resist, but instead wraps her arms around me as I hold her.
“Will you make peace, or will you continue your warmongering ways?” I interrogate her jokingly.
The playfulness is now raw, sensual desire, hanging in the air between us. It’s heavy and magnetic, pulling us toward each other.
“Make me,” she says, grinning deviously.
She’s beautiful, naked in my arms. I can see her perfect, large breasts and every sensual curve of her body, pale and luscious everywhere.
I kiss her, overcome by her beauty. Her lips are soft on mine, warm from the hot spring water. I move, deepening the kiss further, and she moans slightly, lighting me up inside and making my mind careen with satisfaction.
I move away, wanting to look in her gorgeous blue eyes for how she’s feeling. She opens them slowly, intoxicating and stunning.
“Is that all you’ve got?” she asks. Even her voice turns me on.
“Whatever you want, Rose.”
“Show me.”
I move to her neck, bringing her even closer to me in my arms. I kiss the soft skin there and feel her move, feel her tense and release in my arms. I follow where her body is telling me to go. To her shoulder, then across the top of her chest, up her neck, then to her ear, each kiss rewarding me with a soft moan of pleasure from her.
“Hawes, that feels so good,” she says between sighs.
“I’m glad,” I reply between kissing her ear and running my tongue down her neck.
“Nothing has ever felt so amazing before in my life. Don’t stop.”
I move down her chest towards her large, supple breasts. I’m able to hold her with one arm, and I bring the other to cup her breast in my hand, fondling it and squeezing it gently, watching her response.
Her face is quite red now, either from the warmth of the hot spring or from blushing, I’m not sure, but she smiles at me and sighs.
“They’re not awkward or anything, are they?” She asks, sounding self-conscious in that way that makes me feel protective of her.
“No, they’re perfect. You’re perfect, Rose,” I reply softly.
“It’s just, I’ve never done this before, Hawes. I’m not used to being held in someone’s arms and pleased like this.”
“Especially someone as hot as me?” I reply, jokingly. I know a lot of what I say could come across as overcompensating, but it’s really because I don’t want people to see how deeply I feel things at times.
She rolls her eyes and blushes agai
n, looking me up and down.
I use my free arm and move a stray strand of wet hair from her face, gently holding her cheek in my hand. She closes her eyes and nestles into it.
“I don’t know if it’s pheromones, or attraction, or whatever it is. But this feels so wonderful. So right,” she whispers, eyes still closed.
Part of me cringes inside at the mention of pheromones. I’m afraid it’ll be a repeat of what happened before. Part of me is convinced Aspen only wanted me because of her alpha instincts. But in the end, she didn’t actually want me.
This feels different though, despite what I’ve been through.
I see Rose looking at me, eyes beautiful and earnest. “You alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I reply, adjusting our position in the water a little.
“Well, what did I say about stopping?”
This woman is something else.
I do as she asks. I don’t stop.
Chapter 5
Rose
This is so new to me. So foreign. But also so fun. So incredible.
And so HOT.
The air in this place is heady, intoxicating, the fresh spring water mixing with the scent of the forest and with Hawes, his woody, musky scent the overture in a symphony of sensation.
I’ve always been nervous and anxious about being with a man like this. But somehow, Hawes makes it so easy. So pleasurable. I forget where we are and all I can see, all I can experience, is him. Everywhere at once.
I’m glad he’s being respectful though. That he’s shown restraint thus far. But now I want him unrestrained. I want him without stopping.
I want him, I can hear a voice in the back of my head say.
Hawes leans forward to kiss my nipple, which is coming just barely out of the water, licking it, kissing it, sucking on it. I feel like I’m on fire here in the water, as if steam could form just from the heat of his touch.
It feels improper, risqué. But I feel free. In this place far away from the humdrum of everyday life, it’s just me and the hottest man I’ve ever seen in my entire life. And it feels so right.
Hawes continues, massaging my other breast and kissing me there, kissing me everywhere across my chest, sending lightning down my skin towards my hips and through the rest of my body. The longer he goes, the more my body yearns for him. For his touch. For everything he can give me.
My body, reacting of its own accord, turns and wraps its legs around his midsection, locking me tightly to him. I’ve been in this position before in my self defense trainings, but this is completely different. I can feel his rock hard abs on my legs, and his surprise is quickly turned to raw arousal.
Hawes growls, and I can see his roguish fang as he looks me up and down.
“You’re the most beautiful woman in the entire world, Rose. So hot.” His voice is low and husky,
“Less talky. More… everything.”
In this position Hawes really goes to work. Both of his hands are free, and I can feel them running across my entire body. Over my thighs and squeezing my butt, then up my back, across my arms and shoulders, then down my hips, up my stomach to my breasts. The hot water of the spring combined with his smooth, strong hands as they explore my body, making me feel alive and burning with desire.
I have to anchor myself by gripping his firm, taut shoulders or I’ll fall off, the pleasure is so intense.
He moves back to my breasts, holding both in my hands and squeezing them, alternately kissing both. I can feel my body arch instinctively, and he wraps his arms around me, bringing me close for a hot, wet kiss. I open my mouth, and let him enter, his tongue moving inside of me, stroking over my tongue and over my teeth. The heat and the wetness of everything around me is moving towards the edge of something. Something new to me, something amazing.
He continues moving inside my mouth with his tongue, and I’m unable to stifle a moan, which seems to drive him into an even more determined frenzy to pleasure me. He releases our kiss and looks at me, his bright eyes dark with heat and arousal.
Hawes kisses my breasts again one more time, looking at them lovingly, then looking back at me.
“Should we stop?” he asks.
“No, keep going,” I tell him, my voice almost shuddering from the prolonged arousal.
“Hold on,” he tells me.
He gently pulls my legs from around him, which I do reluctantly, because my hips want to be as close to him as possible, and he puts me in the position we were in before, him carrying me in one arm. I feel so small in his embrace, but so safe. So protected.
My whole life I have been “protected”, but it felt like a prison. This feels completely different though. I can feel Hawthorne’s affection and protectiveness through every stroke. In every kiss. With every look.
Hawes looks up and down my body, then grins at me. He takes his free hand and runs it down my midsection. Lower, past my belly button, and holds me down there. It feels like he’s holding my entire body with one hand.
Then he moves his finger.
My body jerks, the sensation is so incredibly strong. Hawes smiles. I wrap my arms around him, holding on for dear life.
Don’t stop, Hawes
Hawes begins to move his hand more, and with every motion fireworks go off inside of my body. I hear myself moaning his name, but I can’t stop it from coming out, the feeling is so amazing and unlike anything I ever imagined possible. Sparks are going off everywhere, and each one makes me desire more, keeping me moving toward an unseen edge somewhere in my body that I have no clue where it is and what awaits me on the other side.
His hand is moving rhythmically with me now, and I can feel my body grinding against him as he makes contact with me and pleasures me completely.
“How is that?” he asks. I’m unsure if he’s trying to get an answer, or be satisfied with the fact that I’m unable to answer, the pleasure is so good.
Not wanting to go without a fight, I gasp out, “Good.”
He moves his finger over my center, and my body tenses again and I grasp him, digging my nails into him. He just begins kissing my exposed neck while continuing to move his hand.
Whatever this is, it’s building fast. Faster and faster and faster. All my nerve endings are live wires, and the heat continues to burn inside of me until it feels like I can’t take it any longer.
I’m not sure if it was the nibbling on the ear, his rhythmic massaging with his hand, the fact that I’m with this incredible, sexy man, or all of it, but everything stops. For a split second there’s nothing, a sense of weightlessness, as if on a roller coaster about to plunge over a peak. I see Hawes smiling into my eyes.
Then my body explodes, and everything goes white with a wave of pleasure that completely engulfs me. I feel convulsions, each one pulsing through my body and releasing the feeling that has been building inside of me. It’s powerful and wonderful and almost magical. So good. So intense. Every part of me is on fire all at once, every part of me is tensing and releasing in unison.
I can feel Hawes holding me tightly, but the force releasing inside of me is so strong all I can do is dig my nails into him until it begins to subside. I hear Hawes growl with pleasure and satisfaction.
The burning and the waves and the sparks get dimmer and dimmer, replaced completely by a relaxing, satisfied feeling that permeates my entire body, like I’m floating down to rest on a soft bed of clouds after being shot off to the stars and back.
This man brings me to my knees, and yet I feel so precious in his arms, so desired. So special to him.
Hawes nestles on my neck, giving me cute little kisses there. I catch my breath and look at him. I’m sure shock is still showing in my face after that.
“Wow, so that’s coming?” I ask, putting my hand over my chest to check my heart is still beating.
“I’m not sure. Maybe we’ll have to try that again to make sure that really was it,” he says sensually, with a grin that shows off that scampy fang that I’ve come to love.
&
nbsp; “I’d like that…”
“Seriously, was that your first time?” he asks playfully.
I just nod. I’m pretty sure that was, or at least, I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life. Until now.
“Well, my dear, it looks like we have a lot of lost time to make up for,” he says with a laugh, slowly twirling in the pool with me in his arms.
If my wolf was begging for him to let him claim me before, it’s screaming now. And after that, I’m increasingly more sure the human part of me may want him too. His scent has only gotten stronger in the air around us, and I am intoxicated by it. By him.
In that moment, we hear a sound echoing through the woods, reverberating off the trees. We both prick our ears to hear it better. If we were in wolf form, it’d be easy. It sounds a second time.
“Rose!” We hear a call, made faint by distance, echoing all around us.
Shit. Josh.
I bite my lip and look up past the tree tops. It’s sunset now, the light of the afternoon having been replaced by cool shades of orange and red in the sky around us.
“How long have we been out here?” I ask Hawes, starting to stress.
“I’m not sure. Not as long as I would have liked,” he replies, attempting to sound sexy despite the interruption.
“Seriously, we have to get back, or else Josh will come out here looking for us.”
“What’s the worst that could happen?” he says with a shrug.
“Josh will kill us, probably starting with you,” I say, letting go of Hawes and moving a couple of feet away from him. I need space to think.
“I’d like to see him try,” I hear Hawes mutter under his breath. Same cocky Hawes.
There’s a pause, and the only sound for a moment is birds in the trees, probably returning home to roost for the night. We hear Josh’s voice echo again through the trees. I can’t let him see me like this. What was once fun and sensual now feels irresponsible and inappropriate. I can hear Josh and my dad’s voices in my head, scolding me for being careless and hanging around a miscreant like Hawthorne.
Before my mind spirals completely out of control, I hear Hawes speaking to me, soft but resolute.
Ultimate Alpha Boxed Set: A BBW and Wolf Shifter collection Page 28
