He dropped his grocery bags and shot forward, pulling a surprised Darci into his arms. He clasped her head and nestled her against him, squeezing her trembling body tight.
“You’re not going to die, Moonbeam,” he whispered into her hair. “I won’t let you.” He smoothed his palm up and down her spine until her shakes subsided. “I’ll help you.”
She pushed on his chest until he released her. She looked up at him, green eyes so damn watery with unshed tears he almost pulled her into his arms again.
Her chin trembled. “How?”
He had no fucking clue, but he’d move the whole damn mountain behind his home before he’d let anything happen to his fated mate. “I don’t know yet. But we’ll figure it out together, Darci. I promise.”
Behind them, Gee rose from the lounger, the metal frame squeaking in protest. Ross scowled at the other man. “Anything to add, Old Timer?”
Gee’s lip curled upward in a snarl. “Careful, Wolf.” He tossed Ross two beers held together by their plastic rings. Ross caught them as Gee turned his attention to Darci.
The Bear shifter’s expression softened as much as it ever did, which wasn’t much. “Stop fighting, Little Wolf.”
Darci stared up at him, eyes wide. “What do you mean?”
Gee snorted. “Diamond was Infiltrator. Stop fighting who you are.”
“I don’t understand.” Her defeated tone sucker-punched Ross’s gut. He snaked an arm around her shoulders and snuggled her close, needing to comfort her.
Gee grunted and strode away, booted feet pounding a heavy beat on the deck.
Darci sagged against Ross as the other man disappeared around the side of the house. “He is one scary and unhelpful dude. Why did my Dad think he would help?”
Ross led Darci to the grocery bags he’d left behind. “I think Gee just did.”
Ross’s father had said something quite similar—but with a lot more words—during their phone conversation this morning. Given the fact half Darci’s genetic makeup derived from an Infiltrator, one of the deadliest Wolves in existence, trained for combat and able to shift fast and at will, her shifting should be a breeze. Did her human DNA complicate the issue? Or, as Gee and his father had both suggested, was she at war with herself? I want to be normal, she’d said to Gee. She came here looking for a way out. There was no exit from being a Wolf, so hopefully, he could help her find a better way in.
Darci shook her head. “How so? The man barely said a word.”
Ross picked up the paper bags. Damn it all, he had a lot of explaining to do. He’d hoped to discuss their mate bond, but keeping her alive was priority number one. “Let’s go inside and talk over lunch. You have to be hungry. Not much in my kitchen for you for breakfast.”
Her expression suggested she wanted to argue, the way her green eyes flashed fire at him and her jaw clenched tight. But then she gave him a tight nod. “Fine.”
She followed him into the house and kitchen then snagged the bag of produce from his unresisting grip. “I’ll take it.”
His gaze locked on her perfect, round ass as she bent to store the vegetables in a bottom bin in the fridge. Blood rushed to his groin, threatening to make him forget about lunch and the important conversation they needed to have ASAP. He pictured himself in position behind her, clasping her hips and grinding his aching cock against her lush backside.
“Shit.” He made a quick one-eighty and upended the contents of his grocery bag, creating necessary, distracting chaos on his counter.
“What did you say?” Darci called over.
He busied himself with organizing the grocery items. Bread. Cheese. Butter. Dijon mustard. Cookies. “Cheese sandwich?” Right. Focus on feeding her, not on her sweet apple-and-cinnamon scent making him want to pounce on her.
“Sounds great, thanks.”
He pulled the bread knife from the butcher block and prepared to channel his randiness into aggressive bread slicing when she cleared her throat. “Think fast, Ross.” She tossed a tomato his way.
He caught it and put it down in a hurry when she seemed about to follow it fast with a head of butter lettuce. She checked her throw at the last second and tossed him a cheeky grin. “Just kidding. I’ll clean and slice the veg while you prep the other stuff.”
He returned her grin, pleased to see her relax. He hadn’t liked the shadows in her eyes, or the tremors shaking her body as he’d comforted her. Her emotional pain was sure to resurface during their talk, but in the meantime, he could provide this brief respite. Who was he kidding? He also craved this quiet time with her. His brother and sister would laugh their asses off if they saw him in the kitchen playing domestic god and enjoying it. Wanting more of it. Like every day for the rest of his life.
With her. No other woman but her.
She joined him at the counter, cleaning the tomato and lettuce in the sink while he sliced up the cheddar cheese then attacked the loaf of homemade bread Mrs. Carson had handed him outside the general store.
The sweet woman had refused money for it though she made her living selling her baked goods via the local grocer. She’d wanted to thank him—in the one way her family could afford—for her new home. When she’d threatened to make free lunch for the crew working on her yard this week, he’d marched the generous woman into the store and opened her a line of credit. He understood pride. She could cook for his crew but he would foot the grocery bill. Mrs. Carson had then handed him another gift—a box of homemade Snickerdoodles.
Darci dried her hands on a dishtowel then set the plate of sliced tomatoes and lettuce leaves near his work station. “I smell cinnamon.”
And I smell you, little mate. He slathered the bread with mustard and tried not to groan when she snagged a piece of cheese from his cutting board and slipped it between her lush lips.
“It’s the cookies, Moonbeam.” Damn, his voice sounded like he’d used a cheese grater on his throat.
“Sweet, gimme.” She snatched the box and opened it. “Holy sugar on a stick, Batman. I love Snickerdoodles.” Her nose descended toward the box, and she inhaled deep, her delighted moan making him grin. “How did you know? You psychic?” She did a happy little hop, making her breasts jiggle under her shirt.
He stifled a hungry growl and piled cheese, tomato, and lettuce on a piece of butter-coated bread and topped it with a mustard-coated slice, focusing on his task. Not on her tempting, dancing breasts. “Can’t take credit for the cookies. They’re a thank-you gift from a satisfied client.”
Darci’s stare flitted between the box of cookies clutched to her stomach and the cheese sandwich he offered up on a small plate. “What did you do for her?” She accepted the sandwich and headed to the table with both items secure in her grasp.
“Built her family a house.” Ross slapped together his sandwich and grabbed two waters from the fridge.
“Cool.” She accepted the water. “Last night, you mentioned building homes for the local homeless. You also said you owned a software company. You an architect and a software developer?”
He slid into the seat next to her. He’d prefer her on his lap while he fed her, but such a position would likely lead to not much eating. And definitely no talking.
He dug into his sandwich before answering her question, satisfied to see her chowing down on hers. “Not an architect. Just a guy with deep pockets and a desire to build housing for people in need. I hire the experts and they make the magic happen.”
She cocked her head and gave him a slow once-over, lingering on his hands and arms. “I bet you do more. You strike me as someone who would get his own hands dirty.”
Smart woman with good instincts. He was pleased she’d read him right. “You’re right. I worked construction in Indiana when I was a teenager, so I’ve been able to help out a bit on site. As you say, get my hands dirty.”
“Awesome.”
Her smile of appreciation socked him square in the chest, and he found himself telling her more than he’d planned at this junctur
e, simply because she seemed truly interested. This, of course, made him want her all the more. “My brother and I made several lucrative software sales setting us up for life. I wanted to do something more with the money than simply plant my ass on some tropical island and eat bonbons and drink fruity cocktails.”
Her eyes widened. “Is that what your brother does?”
He laughed. His brother was even more of a workaholic than Ross. “No, but you get my meaning. I came here to help the community rebuild. There are too many families without a penny in the bank living in tents and RVs. They just need a break. And I can give it to them.”
Darci stroked his forearm. “Family and community are important to you.”
He swallowed hard and stayed very still as she explored the contours of his arm, her touch light, tickling. Did she realize she was touching him? Lust hardened his cock to painful stone. But even as his physical need to possess her overwhelmed him, her touch and her ability to see into the heart of who he was fucking slayed him. Emotion tightened his throat. He didn’t just want this woman on a primal level, he liked her, too, could see himself falling in love with her.
Holy hell and a happy amen.
Suddenly, she stiffened and snatched her hand away, staring at it in shock. He fucking loved when her instincts encouraged her to touch him without inhibition. Now, he needed to get her mind in the same game. “They are.”
Her brow furrowed. “What?”
He glided his fingertips along the soft skin of her forearm. “Family and community. Making a home. They are important to me.” As is finding the right person to share it all with.
He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying more. He didn’t want to spook her. And, of course, there was the matter of keeping her alive long enough to even pursue a future with her. The thought put a damper on his mood. “Enough about me. Let’s work on your problem.”
Chapter Ten
Darci wouldn’t be able to form a coherent sentence if he kept touching her.
Desire tumbled through her core. As much as she was enjoying chatting over food, she wanted to push him down on the table as he had done to her last night, crumble cinnamon-coated sugar cookies on his muscled chest then lick and nibble the goodness while wandering lower, exploring more of him—
“Darci?”
She blinked at him. Right. Time to stomp all over her lusty thoughts and talk. With words and stuff. “Um.” Her face heated. Way to articulate, grad student.
His cheek creased, amusement sparking in his gaze. He ceased his distracting stroking, plucked a cookie from the box, and placed it in her palm. “I spoke to my dad today. Did you know our fathers were childhood friends?”
“I had no idea.”
He selected a cookie for himself. “Your dad was also my dad’s best man when my parents married.”
She nibbled on the cookie, crispy on the edge with a chewy center, just how she liked them. Ross bit into his and watched her eat, making her want to squirm on her seat. She squeezed her legs tight against the lust heating her insides.
She took another bite of cookie. “Why did they leave the pack?”
Ross finished his cookie in one go, his gaze locked on her lips. Her breathing accelerated. The air around them seemed to sizzle with sexual energy. The man needed to stop with the sexy stare. How was she supposed to concentrate when all she wanted to do was crawl in his lap and kiss him? Just one cinnamon-flavored kiss then they could talk about saving her life. Usually, her imminent death stymied her ability to think about anything else, but something about this man, this Wolf, short-circuited every logical cell in her brain, leaving her with this all-consuming desire.
She pushed away from the table and stood.
“Stop,” Ross rasped.
His velvet voice smoothed over her skin, making her shiver.
“No.” She ran both hands into his silky-as-sin hair, running her fingernails over his scalp, satisfied when he shuddered at her touch. This is what she needed, right? If she took the edge off this overwhelming lust currently mangling her mind, then maybe she could focus on her problem. Yes, kisses first, problem-solving second.
From the hungry look on Ross’s face, he seemed to agree. “Aw, hell.” He surged to his feet, yanked her into his arms, and claimed her mouth.
Darci’s hormones howled in happiness as he kissed her, his vanilla and cinnamon cookie taste making her moan. My man. Possessiveness streaked through her, turning her moan of pleasure into a growl.
“Fuck,” Ross groaned against her mouth. His hips bucked, grinding his hardness into her belly.
Darci clutched and pawed at her mountain of man, her brain scrambled, body heated from his wicked kisses. She thought this would take the edge off? Ha. She’d fallen right over the edge and taken him with her.
Ross held her tight and lifted her off her feet, walking her backwards into the living room. He lowered them onto his big couch, parted her legs, and settled between them. The press of his erection against her core pulled a cry from her, one he swallowed with a fierce kiss. Her head spun with lust.
“You make me crazy, Moonbeam,” he growled against her lips. The push of his hips against her punctuated his words.
She dug her nails into his lower back, her hips arching to meet his thrusts. “Ditto, my Wolf.”
He froze, lips hovering over hers, cinnamon-scented breath teasing her skin. “It’s true, you know.”
She licked his lower lip, making him groan. God, she loved the sound. “What is?”
His molten brown eyes, hooded and hungry, pinned her in place. “My Wolf, you said. And I am. Yours.”
The concept both thrilled and terrified her. He’s mine.
“My little mate.” He lowered his head and bit her neck, stopping just a sliver shy of pain.
She freakin’ loved it. “Oh God.” Her hips jerked, her insides twitching with want. Dampness drenched the tiny G-string she wore under her shorts, coating her inner thighs. Somehow, through the ever-increasing fog of her lust, his words penetrated her melty brain. Little mate. “I don’t understand.”
He bit harder for a millisecond then released her sensitized skin, licking the spot he’d bitten and sending a riot of shivers skating down her spine. The need to understand the meaning behind his words left the building. Hell, left the entire state. Maybe the country. “Do it again.”
He sat up, pulling her with him. “I know you don’t understand, and that’s why we need to stop.” He scrubbed his palm over his face and dug his fingers into his hair, a sure sign she’d knocked him off-kilter. Good. Glad he was right there with her. But when she tried to crawl on top of him, he put one big hand on her chest, halting her forward momentum. “We need to stop and talk. God damn it.”
She dragged his arm down her chest until he cupped one of her breasts. “You’re so damn sexy I can’t think straight. We should talk later.”
He squeezed her breast, making her nails dig into his wrist. “Fuck, Moonbeam, you’re killing me over here.” Without warning he pulled her across his lap and hugged her tight, forehead pressed to hers, his cinnamon breath feathering her face. “As much as I want to strip you naked, lay you out, and make you come on my mouth, on my fingers, and on my cock, and make damn sure you know, in no uncertain terms, your body is mine as much as mine is yours, there’s more going on here than a quick fuck, Moonbeam. I know it. And I want you to know it, too.”
He raised his head, his strong hands closing around her shoulders, holding her in place. His wicked words, his sexy scent, and most important of all, the raw and real emotion in his expression crumbled the barrier she’d built around her heart, the one keeping her emotions locked up tight and her secret safe from the few guys she’d actually dated. Casual, lackluster relationships both in and out of the bedroom, missing the intensity, the spark she had with Ross.
Her breath left her in a rush. She didn’t want to be part Werewolf anymore, but she sure as hell wanted this full-blooded one. The things he made her feel….
He was right, and she could admit it. “I know there is.”
His wolfy grin practically fried her panties clear off her body. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “Yeah. You told me yesterday to trust my inner Wolf. It’s hard, you know, because my Wolf? She has caused me nothing but pain for a decade. Until now.” She trailed her fingertips over his cheek, along his shoulder, down his bicep, across his chest. “She trusts you. I mean, I trust you. And crazy as it sounds, I feel connected to you in a way my human brain doesn’t understand at all. But my Wolf? She’s got a list as tall as the mountains around us of all the things she wants to do with you.” She wiggled her hips, massaging his erection with her ass. “Most of them involve your cock.”
His hands shot to her hips and squeezed. “Fuck, Moonbeam. The things you say… I’m barely keeping myself in check as it is.”
“Then don’t.” She pushed off his lap and stood. Before he could argue or try to stop her or continue his chivalrous knight in armor routine, she pulled off her jean shorts and G-string.
“Darci.” Her name came out of him on a groan. His hands fisted at his sides and he shook his head, wild brown eyes locked on her sex, burning with lust.
She sank to her knees between his legs and released the top button of his jeans. He punched the couch and shook his head again, his chest rising and falling with his increasingly agitated breaths.
“Darci.” She heard the warning in his tone and ignored it.
She pulled down his zipper and freed his erection. Long and thick and ready for her. A decidedly unfeminine growl escaped her, and she grabbed his jeans by the waistband. He raised his hips, allowing her to yank them lower, freeing more of him, so much more her mouth watered at the sight. So she licked him like a lollipop from thick base to perfect velvet head, sucked and licked him over and over while he shook and growled and pounded his poor couch with his fists. Not touching her, still restraining himself, still being the good guy. Her heart opened even more to him. And wanted more.
Diamond Moon (Black Hills Wolves Book 12) Page 6
