She straddled him, positioning her wet center over his erection. “Don’t hold back, Ross. Give it all to me.” She sank down, filling herself fast with his hard length.
Chapter Eleven
Sweet fuck. Heaven. Darci is heaven.
Ross dug his fingers into the soft flesh of her hips. “Darci. Fuck.”
She jerked her hips, rubbing her clit against his groin. “That’s the idea, Wolfman.”
Her insides clenched his cock, and he almost lost his load on the spot. He forced himself not to move, forced himself to breathe, to hold on. And, oh shit, he’d forgotten protection. Female wolves had to be in heat to get pregnant, but with Darci half human, they might be risking an accidental pregnancy here. She was the right woman for him, but it was the wrong time for a baby. “Jesus. Condom.”
He started to lift her off him, but Darci bore down, squeezing her legs, refusing to budge. “I’m on the pill. And I’m clean.” She peppered his face and neck with soft kisses then sank her teeth into his shoulder.
“Shit.” His hips jerked, and his cock swelled. It was a freaking miracle he had the presence of mind to say, “Clean, too,” before his control snapped. All rational thought shattered, and he started to move. He gripped her hips and lifted her up and down his erection, taking her rough and hard, incapable of anything else, her hoarse moans of pleasure urging him on. She seemed to need this as much as he did, to ease her inner turmoil. She didn’t want to be a Wolf. But she was, and moreover, she was his Wolf, his woman, riding him with abandon, lost to her passion.
She was fucking beautiful.
Her orgasm came on fast, her arms flailing wide, torso swaying, his firm hold on her hips the only thing keeping her on his lap. Her insides milked him, pulling a loud groan from his throat, tightening his balls. He gave one last push and emptied himself inside her, sending her walls into more cock-teasing spasms.
She collapsed against him, and he wrapped her in his arms, holding her close. Where she belonged.
His lush little mate recovered too quickly for his liking. She pushed against his chest until he released her with great reluctance. Though he did appreciate the friction and the view as she slid off his lap, cleaned herself with her tiny slip of purple satin then pulled on her jean shorts. Commando. He wanted to pull them off her and lick her clean. Instead, he allowed her to sink to the couch and sit, cross-legged, next to him, safe from his advances. For the moment. He grabbed some tissues from the box on the coffee table and cleaned himself up in a hurry, shoving himself into his jeans before his cock had a chance to consider round two.
She gave him an adorable smile. “So, before we got, um, distracted, you said our dads were friends. You didn’t say why they left the pack.”
He ran a knuckle down her cheek then entwined his fingers with hers. Interesting choice of topic. Not what he’d expected after their intense coupling. “You don’t want to talk about what just happened here?”
She blushed. “Nope.”
It was hard, but he didn’t push her for more. Nothing they’d done changed the fact she had a serious shifting problem to resolve, and keeping her alive took precedence over exploring their feelings for each other. Still, it took a huge force of will not to pursue it, especially with the scent of her arousal teasing his senses.
He cleared his throat and ignored his twitchy cock. “The Alpha at the time was a dangerous man. Unpredictable. And not quite right in the head. My parents left to build a better life elsewhere. In Indiana.”
“Were you happy there?”
He gave her fingers a squeeze. “Yeah, I had a great childhood. No complaints. There’s a large Wolf community in Indiana, so I had the best of both worlds.”
A shadow passed over her face, tugging at his heart. “Lucky you. Did your dad say why mine left the pack?”
Ross nodded. “Magnum, the pack leader. His law forbade mating with humans. Your father fell for a human, as you know, because here you are. Then he had to choose—forget her and stay with the pack, or break the law and leave with her. Your dad was a pack Infiltrator. No one, least of all the Alpha, Magnum, believed your father would choose to leave. When he left with her, Magnum sent out a kill order on them both, but they were never found.”
She frowned. “What kind of psycho issues an assassination order on people in love? If those are the kind of laws you have around here, then he was better off without the pack. And what do you mean by my dad was an Infiltrator?”
Ross looked at the ceiling, searching for the right words. Infiltrators were badass, scary motherfuckers. He couldn’t say such shit about her father. “A sort of deadly, ninja spy.”
Darci sucked in a breath and a look of dread darkened her expression. “Wait. Back up. Did you say Magnum?” She shot to her feet, trembling from head to toe, her sudden shift in demeanor spiking his own worry. “My dad warned me to stay away from him. If he’s the leader here, I have to leave. Immediately.”
Ross rose and stopped her from bolting. “Easy, Moonbeam. Magnum is dead. The pack is different and the laws have changed. That’s why I returned. To help them rebuild.” He squeezed her biceps and leaned down, making good eye contact. “You can stay.”
Darci shook her head so hard he was sure she made herself dizzy. “No. I can’t stay here. I can’t be with you.” She jerked out of his grasp and headed for the stairs. “I’m sorry. This was a mistake.”
Ross’s mind reeled from her segue. “What are you talking about?” Mistake? Fuck, no. “Darci, stop.” He grabbed her by the arm as she hit the first step.
She glared at him. “Let me go.”
“Not until you explain yourself.” Not until she agreed to stay.
Her face reddened, from anger this time, her green eyes flashing fire. “You can’t keep me here against my will.”
Shit. He released her but followed her up the stairs. “Moonbeam. Please, stop. Let’s talk this out.” Whatever this was.
“No.” She headed into his sister’s room, shrugged on her backpack, slipped her feet into purple flip-flops, and grabbed the handle of her suitcase, hurrying to the door.
He blocked the doorway, preventing her escape. He tried to think of what to say to calm her the fuck down. “Did you hear me downstairs? Magnum is dead. Gee and I both cleared your presence here with our current Alpha, Drew. You’ll meet him soon. He’s an honorable man. Believe me when I say the pack is good. We can help you.”
He clasped her shoulders and this time she didn’t try to pull away. But she wouldn’t meet his eyes, just stared at his chest. He fucking hated the trembling of her chin as she worked hard to rein in her emotions. She was scared, he got it. Of more than death.
He gentled his touch and voice. “Baby. Moonbeam. Please look at me.”
After an eternity, she flicked her gaze upward. He opened his mouth to reassure her, give her everything he had to convince her to give him—give them a chance—but she beat him to it.
“I can’t handle this. Any of it. You say the pack has changed, but you also said they tried to hunt down and kill my parents. That’s just sick. I don’t want to be a part of it. I don’t want to be a Wolf. I want a normal life, not one with a Werewolf leader and a pack who hate me and want to kill me because of my human biology.”
Ross’s temper spiked. “I’m telling you things are different.” Why wouldn’t she listen?
“I don’t believe you.”
He stepped back. She couldn’t have hit him harder with her fist than with those words. “You don’t trust me? After what I’ve told you? After what we shared down there?”
She blew out a shaky breath. “It was just sex.”
His hands fisted. “Don’t fucking lie to me, Moonbeam.”
She glared at him. “I’m not.”
He gave her the look her denial deserved. But she didn’t back down. He grudgingly admired her for her stubborn stance despite the fact she was gutting him with her words.
She squared her shoulders and advanced on him. “I knew
this was a long shot when I came here looking for a cure to stop shifting. I didn’t expect this extra baggage from you or the pack, and I can’t handle it, all right? Let’s just shake hands and move on.”
He gaped at her, at the arm she extended. He crossed his and stared her down. Time to give his little mate some tough love. “There’s no cure for shifting. You’re a Werewolf. Period. Get over it.”
She winced, and her eyes watered. He immediately wanted to retract his harsh words. Her hand lost its grip on her suitcase, and it toppled to the floor with a nerve-scratching thud. Shit. He’d screwed up. He stalked forward and pulled her against his chest.
She stood there in the circle of his arms, stiff and unresponsive. Distant. Their bodies touched and yet miles of emotional distance separated them. How the hell could he fix this? “Stay here, Darci. I know I can help you with your shifting problem. Let me help you and then—” He released her and stepped away, though everything in him roared at him to keep her close. “Then you can leave. And have the normal life you want.” The wrongness of those last words left a bitter taste on his tongue.
Darci stared at the floor but nodded her head in ascent.
Ross’s cell phone buzzed in his pocket, breaking their tense silence. His foreman on the Carson project, texting him about their meeting. “Shit, I’m late.”
He gave Darci a considering look, one she didn’t see because she continued to avoid eye contact with him. Damn it, he’d royally screwed this up. Maybe he could fix it with the pack’s help. “I have to go to the Carson place. Come with me? You can meet the Carson family and my crew. See for yourself they’re good people. Afterwards, we’ll come home and work on your shifting.”
She shook her head, her damn gaze still on the floor. “My dad said to trust no one.”
“Except me. And Gee.” It was his turn to extend a hand and hope to hell she accepted his invitation. “Trust me and come with me.”
Tension hung in the air between them. Ross focused on keeping his breath on an even keel as he waited for her response. He listened to the hum of his fridge in the kitchen, the scuttle of Cinder’s little kitten paws on the hardwood floor under the dining table. Nice sounds. Normal sounds. If he could help Darci with her shifting problem, she could have a normal life. Here. He just needed to calm her current panic, show her life could be good here. With him.
Finally, she shrugged. “Okay.”
Relief made him want to pump his fist in the air. “Here’s what we’ll do. At the moment, no one but me, Gee, our Alpha, and his Enforcer know your identity. We’ll introduce you as Darci—no last name—and say you’re my girlfriend who has come for a visit. Sound good?”
Another shrug, her gaze still averted. “Sure.”
Her dull tone, the slump of her shoulders, the sad pout of her lips, all of it made him want to break something in frustration. But he would fix this. He had to because Werewolves lived too damn long, and he didn’t want to spend one more minute of his life without her in it.
I won’t lose you, little mate.
Chapter Twelve
Ross strode up the stone walkway to the Carson’s front porch. The meeting with his foreman had taken longer than expected due to a surprise visit from Ogden, the town’s lumber supplier, who’d stopped by to check out the property and drop off some last minute supplies for the Carson’s new gazebo. The quiet man had praised Ross’s work on the Carson place and set up a meeting to discuss Ross’s next build. After his departure, Ross’s foreman finished his report, satisfying him with the crew’s post-storm clean-up. The grounds were in good shape, and the house had survived with only one broken side window. Given the severity of the storm, it could have been worse.
Business completed, he was beyond eager to reunite with Darci. He’d hoped their thirty-minute truck ride to the Carson place would provide ample time to eliminate the tension between them. Instead, Darci had watched the passing scenery, knocking down his attempts to draw her into conversation. By the time they’d arrived, tension had tightened every muscle in his body and he was ready to explode.
They’d found Mrs. Carson right away—outside handing out lunch sandwiches to his men. His crew had greeted Darci with respect and curiosity. A few stared too hard for his liking, confirming Ross’s instinct not to reveal her identity. His father had advised as much, too. Darci’s father had been respected and…feared. Well-liked by some, hated by others. Better to let Darci forge bonds of her own, unfettered by her father’s history with the pack.
Mrs. Carson, of course, was delighted to meet his girlfriend, and Darci had relaxed a bit at the older woman’s genuine warmth, smiling for the first time since their fight. When he’d set off to walk the property with his foreman, Mrs. Carson had already whisked Darci to her kitchen and set her to work.
The unmistakable scents of fresh-baked cookies and coffee came to him as he neared the open front door. He wiped the muck from his boots onto the front-door mat then rapped on the door. “Mrs. Carson?”
“Come in, dear,” the woman called from the kitchen.
The two women looked up when he entered. Wearing matching white aprons, they sipped steaming mugs of coffee and leaned against the enormous granite-topped island he’d chosen for Mrs. Carson’s kitchen. The older woman made her living from her edible creations, so he’d made damn sure her kitchen sported plentiful counter space. He’d also installed a restaurant-grade stove. They’d clearly put its two ovens to good use—several-dozen cookies cooled on two-tiered racks on the island, the mouthwatering aromas of chocolate, nuts, sugar, and coffee perfuming the air.
His mood lightened when Darci smiled up at him in welcome, her nose and one cheek speckled with flour. The time spent with Mrs. Carson had clearly relaxed her. Thank fuck.
He wiped the white dust from her face and kissed her cheek. “You’ve been busy.”
She set her mug on the island and surprised him with a hug. “You were, too, I bet.”
Alleluia, she was speaking to him again. Touching him.
Mrs. Carson gave him a friendly wave then disappeared into the mudroom adjacent to the kitchen. He took immediate advantage of the moment alone. “Feeling better?”
She removed her apron, folded it into a tidy square, and set it on the counter. “Yes. Mrs. Carson is so nice.”
“Glad you enjoyed her company.” He snagged a lock of her hair and gave it a playful tug. “Think you could enjoy mine again?”
Her smile faltered, fading around the edges. Her expression alone was answer enough, dashing his hopes for a speedy reconciliation. Her words confirmed the bad news. “Ross, I don’t think we should do this. Maybe if I had some space…and more time….” Her big green eyes begged him to understand.
Well, he fucking didn’t understand. He saw the look of longing passing over her face right before she shut it down and let her brain and her fear take over. “Screw space and time, Moonbeam,” he growled. “You’re lying to yourself, but you can’t lie to me. I see you, Darci Diamond. I see the truth.”
He yanked her into a possessive kiss. She stiffened in his embrace for several, gut-wrenching seconds then melted against him. Her lips parted, her arms wound around his waist, and suddenly all was right with his world. Until Mrs. Carson broke the moment by returning to the kitchen.
Much to his disappointment, Darci pulled away and pressed her fist to her mouth, her cheeks a bright pink. He watched her erect a silent, protective wall around herself again. He clenched his teeth to prevent a frustrated growl.
Mrs. Carson set a stack of clean dishtowels by her sink and gave them an indulgent smile, seeming oblivious to their tension. “Darci has been such a help today.” She pointed at the cookies. “We’ve made more than enough for the store, with plenty to spare. Care to sample our wares?”
He’d love to, except his stomach had twisted into a knot. Darci looked so lost and sad, he wanted to reach out and caress the curly, black fringe framing her face, comfort her, tell her they would work this out. “Later, perha
ps.”
Darci stared at him, obviously hearing the double entendre in his words. Yes, little mate, we’re not done here. He stared at her, working hard to show her how much he wanted her. He didn’t care one wit Mrs. Carson watched their interaction, a knowing gleam in her blue eyes. “I’ll box up a sampler for you and my lovely assistant.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Carson,” Darci replied, her gaze never wavering from his face.
Mrs. Carson opened a cabinet under the island countertop and pulled out a box for the cookies. Head down, the woman missed her daughter Molly streaking into the room, blonde ponytails bouncing on either side of her neck. “Hi, Mama!”
Mrs. Carson straightened. The nine-year-old ball smacked into her for a big hug. “Hey, baby girl, where’s your papa?”
“Papa’s talking to the men in the yard.”
Her mother smoothed the bangs from Molly’s forehead. “And your brother?”
“Him, too.” Molly’s gaze locked on the counter, her blue eyes brightening. She clapped her hands. “Yay, cookies! May I, please, please, please?”
“One cookie,” her mother said. “And remember your manners. Say hello to our company.”
Molly snagged a cookie near the edge of the counter. “Hi, Ross.”
Ross ruffled the child’s blonde hair. “Hey, pumpkin. Have fun in town?”
Molly spoke around a mouthful of cookie. “Uh-huh. We stopped at the gas station, and they had the coolest little car there. Shiny and lime green and so tiny! I loved it. I want one when I can drive.”
“That’s my car.” Darci smiled down at the little girl. He was glad to see his mate’s expression soften. Hard to stay tense when faced with Molly’s sweet, bubbly energy.
Molly’s eyes widened. “Who are you?”
“Molly. Mind your manners,” Mrs. Carson admonished. “This is Darci, Ross’s girlfriend.”
Molly’s curious stare flitted from Ross to Darci. “Cool.”
Ross bowed his head. “Glad you approve, Molly.”
Diamond Moon (Black Hills Wolves Book 12) Page 7
