WithHerCraving

by Lorie O'Clare

  A moment ago she’d been content for her mate to wash her. It was an age-old tradition, bathing after a run. As easily as she’d relaxed into the act, they weren’t there yet. Too much brewed between them. No matter how badly she ached to simply leap to the point where they would be at peace with each other, Katrin knew they would have to make that leap together.

  “In my mind, I saw you as Cariboo. I believed I had accepted that other blood ran through you.” Jarvis released a loud breath and gathered her long hair then twisted and wringed out excess water. “It was easier for me to believe the honor I smelled on you came from a female willing to run with the knowledge she wasn’t purebred. I made myself think that you would defeat the half of you that had brought you scorn within the pack.”

  “What?” Katrin’s stomach lurched when she smelled Jarvis’ sadness. It was too much, thinking of him being repulsed by who she was. But the smell of his pity, of his soul-breaking sadness, tore into her like a deadly poison. “Defeat the half?”

  Jarvis cut her off. “I’ve been raised all my life knowing Malta werewolves were bad. The truth of that smells so clean there was no arguing it.”

  She slipped away from him, hurrying toward her fires she’d been so proud to make. “And I’ve been raised all my life by a sire who was Malta werewolf.”

  Jarvis scooped a folded towel off the ground and spread it open, then began drying her. Katrin took the towel and wrapped it around her middle. She forced her emotions to drain out of her when she turned her back to the fire and faced him.

  God! He was gorgeous. In spite of his tormented scent and expression on his face, Katrin wasn’t sure she’d ever laid eyes on a more perfect male. Her heart constricted but she ignored the pain. Doing her best to keep her voice placid, she raised her gaze to his eyes.

  The torment and pain swimming around inside them stole her breath. It made it harder to get the words out.

  “Maybe this won’t work,” she managed to choke out.

  “No,” he roared.

  Katrin jumped, not ready for his outburst.

  Jarvis grabbed her arms, squeezing and lifting until her feet barely touched the ground. She’d dared dream most of her life for a male who would stare at her with unadulterated need the way Jarvis looked at her now. Katrin had always wanted someone who would adore only her, see through her to whom she really was and love her unconditionally.

  Of course, during those lazy daydreams, which usually occurred after a hard run while she lay content high up on her mountain, her perfect male lay beside her, frisky and unable to do much more than torment and tease. She would play coy, the way she’d seen her littermates treat males who had come sniffing around them. But eventually, unable to hide her love for her perfect male, she’d submit. Their carnal foreplay, in her imagination, would have her so hot and bothered that running down the mountain to the secluded spot where her den was took so much longer than running up the mountain.

  “All my life I’ve run with knowledge that the line between right and wrong was clear-cut,” Jarvis said, his voice gravelly.

  “I have too.” The cold breeze mixed with the heat from the fire and branded her flesh. At the same time the turmoil inside her rose to take over. ”Maybe something you believed was wrong is, in truth, right.”

  Jarvis lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers. “I don’t smell anything wrong,” he whispered.

  Even as Katrin acknowledged that Jarvis hadn’t declared his acceptance of who she was, she tilted her head and allowed him to deepen the kiss. She no longer cared that her backside was hot and her front cold. Especially when Jarvis let go of her arms and wrapped his around her. He embraced her, pressing her against his hard-as-steel, muscular frame. Jarvis unwrapped her towel, but instead of dropping it to the ground, used it to trap her to him.

  “I want to make love to you.” His words hovered between them.

  He hadn’t asked her a question. Katrin fluttered her eyes open and was content to stare at him with blurred vision. Apparently he had expected a response.

  “I want you,” he added. “At any price.”

  “I’ve never thought of myself as expensive.”

  Jarvis chuckled and his mood instantly lightened. “It’s not your fault,” he whispered.

  He took her sardonic comment as acceptance to work through their problems. Jarvis didn’t see, or understand, how far they were from seeing her mixed breeding the same way.

  When he tried repositioning the towel once again, Katrin tugged on it.

  “I don’t want you to be cold.” Jarvis raised his head enough to focus on her. “I forgot about your hair. I’ll brush it for you.”

  Then without waiting for her response, he left her gripping the towel. There was a pile of items that apparently Jarvis had carried with him when he’d come to her. Katrin hadn’t noticed before now. Jarvis unfolded a thick blanket and spread it on the ground close to the fires. He then unzipped a small carrying bag and pulled out a hairbrush.

  “Sit,” he instructed, pointing to the blanket.

  He’d concluded before coming to her that he’d be able to reconcile their differences. Katrin’s back hackled instantly but she forced her temper to cool. Possibly he’d brought the supplies in an effort to appease her. Or maybe he had just hoped they would smell things the same way.

  Katrin stepped onto the blanket and sat cross-legged. Jarvis’ scent was as clean as happiness could smell.

  Before her mind began wrapping around the pros and cons of this, or whether this upset her or not, Jarvis sat behind her. He stretched his long, thick legs straight on either side of her and pressed his hand to the middle of her back.

  “Lean forward,” he instructed and pushed.

  Katrin relaxed and allowed him to brush all the tangles from her hair. It was long, but not as thick as her littermates’. Already it was half-dry. Jarvis didn’t yank out tangles, but took his time working through them until the brush glided down her back. When he was satisfied he placed the brush next to him and pulled her into his arms.

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  His breath tickled her ear. The smell of his lust grew so thick it stole the air between them. Katrin couldn’t take her next breath. She opened her mouth but no words came out. Instead she breathed in his lust, gasping when she filled her lungs with the smell of his need. Her body responded.

  A pressure grew inside her pussy, swelling and throbbing until she felt the moisture turn creamy between her legs. When she finally managed a breath of air it was laced heavily with the combination of both their lust. Katrin was sure there wasn’t a better aroma to inhale.

  “Look at me.” Jarvis cradled her shoulders in his arm, providing a pillow of rock-hard, bulging muscle. “Smell how good we are together.”

  She smiled up at his serious expression. “Is that enough?”

  He wanted to make this work. Katrin didn’t need to sniff him out to know that was true. Somehow she had to make sure they ran in the same direction in their efforts to mold this into a lasting relationship. They would always be mated. But would Jarvis run with her if he understood she believed her Malta half to be as good as her Cariboo blood? Katrin had to know he saw her gift as something good, a blessing, the way she did. She would always fight not to let her gift get the best of her. But it would be a lot easier knowing Jarvis supported her efforts.

  “It’s the grounds to starting a solid relationship.”

  He moved her towel, pushing until it fell open. Katrin draped her legs over his legs and her bottom nestled against his cock. The thickness of it stretched up his jeans.

  If it hurt him he didn’t give any indication. Instead, his focus turned heavy, glazed over, as he drifted his attention down her body. His hand moved to where his eyes looked. Katrin continued staring up at him as he cupped her breast.

  His fingers moved, tracing the curve of them, circling them with one finger, then rising up over each one as if he were drawing them in his mind as he touched her. When h
e ran his index finger over her puckered nipple, Katrin sucked in a harsh breath.

  It wasn’t right to enjoy his attention so much when Katrin knew they weren’t running side by side yet. It didn’t smell wrong though. She was torn inside, yet the only emotion she smelled was thick carnal desire. Not just from Jarvis. Her aroma rushed to meet his. The smell from their need for each other was stronger than any emotion she’d ever smelled before. This wasn’t wrong.

  Jarvis shot his attention to her face. He stared at her only a moment. He didn’t speak. Katrin’s brain was wrapped up in wanting him, and needing the two of them howling the same truth. She didn’t know how to put that into words. At least not right now.

  His gaze was so heavy with lust. His focus was so intent on her body. She lay there, relaxing against his arm, and enjoyed the intricate attention he gave her body.

  Four fingers brushed down her middle, past her bellybutton and over her pelvic bone. Katrin opened for him, stretching without thought as his fingers brushed over her pussy.

  “You’re so wet,” he muttered.

  Katrin didn’t realize how lazy her gaze had become until he spoke. She cleared her vision, once again staring up at his face.

  “And you’re dressed.”

  He took his time letting his attention drag up her body until he looked at her face.

  “Are you going to undress me?

  “I can’t. I can only move—” Katrin swallowed the rest of her words. He meant physically undress her, not by using her gift. She’d almost completely blown it.

  Something shifted in his expression. Lines hardened in his face.

  It was worse than if she’d been splashed in the face at that moment with icy-cold water. Jarvis didn’t see the Malta side of her as a gift. Nothing she might howl would change that right now.

  Katrin moved in his arms, her hands trembling in spite of her effort to smell calm, and grabbed his shirt. “I’d love to undress you, wolf man,” she murmured.

  The fog of lust had cleared from her brain but her body still hummed with need. In that moment of clarity, Katrin realized she would have to show her male how her Malta blood flowed through her veins with as much honor as that of her Cariboo half. She could growl, hiss, snarl and howl the truth of the matter and it wouldn’t do any good. Jarvis had already told her. He’d howled his truth and she was just now hearing it. All his life he’d known that Malta werewolves were bad. She wouldn’t be able to pull the smell of that lie out of the air with words.

  When she knelt, facing him, Katrin put her hands under his arms and made an effort to lift him.

  “Don’t make me move you by force.” She smiled and her insides sizzled. The carnal side of her rumbled to life as she envisioned ripping his clothes from that perfect body of his. Her prize lay just underneath.

  Jarvis moved with a speed too fast for a human. He stood and pulled her to her feet. Katrin growled. Her body tightened, instinct kicking in as fiercely as her desire for him.

  “This is the beginning of the rest of our lives.” His hands gripped her shoulders as he growled into her ear. “We’ll run together always, Katrin.”

  She held his arms hard enough that his muscles twitched and flexed under her grip. His quick movement had brought forth the change, and a craving too intense to slow down.

  “You aren’t running anywhere right now,” she grumbled, her words garbled from her teeth having extended.

  When he grinned down at her, his incisors scraped his lower lip. It gave him a roguish look. Katrin imagined his teeth on her flesh. She tugged at his shirt until small threads in it popped.

  Mentioning details of her gift had bothered him. Katrin would give him time. He howled that he loved her, but he would love every aspect of her.

  But what if he never changed? And did she have a right to demand he change? If he never approved of her Malta half, she would have to hide it to hold on to his love. Katrin had just learned about and accepted this beautiful gift her sire had given her. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hide it, at least not from those she loved.

  His teeth scraped her earlobe then moved to her neck. Katrin’s head fell back. She blinked, without caring what she saw, and gazed at the sky between the tops of tangled branches. Her fingers were stumbling over their task of freeing his shirt from his body.

  Jarvis nibbled on her flesh, leaving it damp as he continued a trek down her naked body. It didn’t matter what she saw. Suddenly nothing mattered other than the sensations he was triggering inside her. And they were exploding in multitude at a breathtaking speed.

  “Your body is beyond perfect.” He scraped his teeth over one puckered nipple, inflicting the slightest amount of pain and excruciating pleasure all at the same time.

  “Fucking tail!” she howled.

  Katrin arched into him even as every inch of her stiffened against the abrasion.

  He hadn’t hurt her. She knew he wouldn’t do anything to draw blood or cause her lasting physical pain. She was barely aware of how he held her, preventing her from falling backward. Nor did she care any longer that Jarvis remained dressed. The things he was doing to her had every inch of her prickling with need.

  “Each breast so round and full,” he murmured, his deep, grumbly baritone assaulting her senses as well as everything else he was doing. “And these nipples.”

  His growls turned into a seductive hum when he sucked her nipple deep into his mouth.

  Katrin reached forward, needing to hold on to keep from slipping deep into a space where she wasn’t sure she’d be able to return. She dug her fingers into his thick hair and pulled.

  His low growl turned fierce and a sense of control returned to her brain. He’d attacked with his foreplay, making it intense and damn near impossible to regain her senses. Yet somehow, moving, raising her head and lifting her arms so that her hands dug into his tousled hair helped clear her brain.

  “You’ve got skills,” she said, her voice ripe with desire and her animal side simmering so close to the surface. Her vision focused as she stared at him, holding his head in place so he wouldn’t stop. “Give me more.”

  His growl of approval, then the way he glanced up at her, nipple still suckled in his mouth, created a pressure in her womb. It was an insatiable desire, crushing and pressing inside her. Katrin moaned, needing more but never wanting him to stop.

  “What would my sweet bitch like more of?” Jarvis held on to her nipple with his tongue and teeth as he spoke. His moist lips tantalized her flesh. At the same time his teeth, still slightly elongated, tortured her beyond limits.

  “God!” she hissed, and tugged harder on his hair.

  She wasn’t sure if she was pushing him away or holding him in place. He already had her so wound tight. The pressure inside her was definitely at the boiling point, ready to explode from its containment and take her with it.

  “This. Everything. You,” she finally wailed.

  Something flashed in his eyes as he chuckled. Jarvis had her exactly where he wanted her. Damn it. Katrin wanted to be right where she was as well. She wanted him loving her, adoring her, giving her every bit of his undivided attention.

  The dominant, aggressive female inside her rose, taking over. Katrin pulled Jarvis’ head back. His open mouth and his wet lips were so appealing she almost salivated in her eagerness to feast.

  He blinked, his eyes only half-mast and stared at her. “Do you want me?” he asked, barely moving his mouth.

  Her gaze kept shifting from his eyes to his mouth to the tightening of muscles in his face. She leaned in so their faces were so close she lost focus.

  “With all my heart,” she told him, and breathed in the combined smell of her love and happiness.

  Katrin brought her mouth to his, nipping his lower lip. She tasted him. He growled and the vibration of it resonated against her mouth. A rumble rose in her throat as she spoke to him in kind. But then her lips were on his, taking all he offered. And she was starved.

  Chapter Sixteen

/>   Jarvis pushed Katrin to arm’s length. Her lips were swollen and wet. Her damp hair streaming down her naked body. She was breathing hard, damn near panting, and he continued holding her in place until her eyes focused on him.

  “Don’t move,” he instructed.

  “What?”

  The moment he let go of her she returned to him. He’d never seen a more beautiful female. It was impossible not to stare at her damp, puckered nipples. Jarvis loved her soft curves, and where she was solid as well. Her tummy was flat and hard, her small muscle tone so perfectly defined.

  “I’ll never get out of these clothes if you don’t stay put.” Once again he put her at arm’s length.

  “Oh.” She ignored him and walked back into his arms, putting her hands between them and working his jeans.

  Jarvis stepped back. “Let me adore you.” He sat and pulled off his boots and socks, then hurried to his feet and stripped out of his jeans.

  Her scent was so strong it was like breathing in the perfect drug. Jarvis was instantly intoxicated by the sweet, yet musky aroma of the cream he knew clung to the bare flesh between her legs. He was pretty sure that controlling his actions beyond this point might prove more than he was able to handle.

  “Katrin,” he growled.

  Obedience might never be her strong point. As much as he had loved the idea of her staying put, standing before him naked while he undressed so he could adore her, he reached for her when she again walked into him.

  “Fuck me, Cariboo,” she rumbled. Her husky voice was as erotic as the way she moved when she cleared the distance and pressed her naked body against his. “I need you inside me, now.”

  “You’re going to get exactly what you want.” He prayed he’d make it long enough to make sure she enjoyed what he offered.

  Jarvis wrapped his arms around her and grabbed her ass. Her flesh was warm. It felt flushed. He cupped her soft skin and lifted her. Katrin instantly spread her legs and wrapped them around his waist.

  “Oh yes. Just like this,” she moaned. Her arms draped over his shoulders and she tightened her inner thigh muscles, clamping down against his hips as she rose herself up, or tried to.