Taryn’s Wolf

by Marisa Chenery

  Taryn heard the longing in Wade’s voice. In response, her heart began to beat faster and her body started to ache, wanting things she had long denied it. Unable to keep herself away from Wade as she had been able to do for most of the day, Taryn placed her hands on his shoulders and lightly brushed her lips against his. Giving herself up to the needs of her body, she kissed him fully.

  Wade made no move to pull her to him. His hands gripping her thighs tightened as he held himself back. That he was trying to let her have control seemed to open up a floodgate inside her. With a moan, Taryn wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer until her breasts were pressed up against his chest.

  Deepening the kiss, Taryn’s hands drifted down Wade’s sides until she reached the bottom of his shirt. She slipped her hands under it and ran them up his back, but it wasn’t enough. His shirt was in the way. Breaking contact with his mouth, she pulled the shirt up and over his head.

  With her hands and eyes, Taryn traced the muscled contours of his chest and well-defined abs. He was a work of art. She could only imagine the amount of hours he must spend in a gym to get a chest like he had.

  Needing to be even closer, to feel his skin pressed to hers, Taryn quickly pulled her shirt off and stripped off her bra. Wade sucked in a loud breath. Not giving him the chance to say anything, she slipped off the loveseat and kissed him passionately. Using her weight, she pressed herself against his chest, until he was forced to sit on the floor. Once in that position, she sat so she was straddling his thighs. Wade’s body shook beneath her, but he leaned back on his arms, supporting them both.

  Her body seemed to go up in flames. The hard length of his cock pressed against her pussy. Her inner muscles clenched in response, wanting to have him take her, to have his hard body moving in and out of hers.

  Leaving his lips, Taryn left a trail of kisses along his firm jaw then down the side of his neck. Wade’s whole body stiffened in anticipation. She gently nipped him at the large vein in his neck. He stiffened even more. Using her tongue, Taryn licked her way down his neck until she came to where his shoulder and neck met. As she dragged her teeth across that area of skin, Wade’s hips bucked beneath her. When she lifted her head, he groaned.

  She saw the strain on Wade’s face. He looked pleadingly up at her. “I have to touch you, Taryn. Just let me. Please.”

  Slowly she nodded. Wade sat up so he was no longer leaning on his hands, and claimed her lips. As he pushed his way inside her mouth, he reached up and cupped her breasts in his large hands. With his thumb and forefinger, he tugged at her nipples. Taryn moaned and moved her hips against his erection. Leaving her mouth, Wade lifted one of her breasts and swirled his tongue around the taut peak. Taryn pressed against him as he sucked her nipple deep inside his mouth. She moaned again and threaded her fingers through his longish hair, holding him to her.

  Moving to her other breast, Wade shifted them both until he had her once again sitting on the very edge of the loveseat with him kneeling between her legs. With nimble fingers, he undid her jeans and slowly peeled them down her hips. He then sat back on his heels and pulled her jeans down the rest of her body until he had them off. Sitting only in her lace panties, Taryn took her bottom lip between her teeth and watched Wade kiss his way up her inner thigh. Unable to keep the upright position she was sitting in, Taryn let herself lean back against the loveseat cushions.

  She closed her eyes in anticipation as Wade ran his hands up her inner thighs and pushed them wider apart. The feel of his warm breath through her panties, against her throbbing core, had Taryn lifting her hips off the loveseat. Wade hooked a finger under the top of her panties and gently pulled them free of her body, baring her to his view.

  The first flick of his tongue against her clit had Taryn digging her fingernails into the cushions beneath her. With a sound that was more growl then groan, Wade spread the lips of her pussy and licked her from bottom to top, lapping at her. Lost in a sea of longing, Taryn arched her hips as she whimpered with need.

  Wade showed her no mercy as he continued to tongue her pussy until it was wet with her juices and his administrations. When she thought she couldn’t take anymore, he took her clit in his mouth and sucked on it. At the same time, he probed her opening with a finger before pushing it inside her wetness. He moved it in and out of her as he continued to suck. A second soon joined the first and Taryn felt her orgasm racing up to claim her.

  Sensing how close she was, Wade alternated between sucking on her clit and swirling his tongue around it. Taryn moaned and clamped down on his fingers with her inner muscles. Her hips jerked under his mouth as her orgasm tore through her.

  When she came back down to earth, she found Wade still kneeling between her spread thighs with his head resting on her belly. He was still breathing hard. Knowing he had yet to find his own release, Taryn urged him to look up at her.

  “Your turn.”

  Wade shook his head. “No. This was for you, to show you I can be trusted. That I won’t do anything you don’t want.”

  “It wouldn’t be fair of me to leave you aching and wanting.”

  “Having you come for me was enough for now. When I make love to you, I want you no longer afraid. Because when I’m in you so deep you can’t tell where I end and you begin, I’m not going to be able to stop myself from having you under me. Not the first time we make love.”

  Wade’s words made Taryn shiver with longing, but she knew he was right. They had to take it one step at a time. When he stood up and picked his shirt up off the floor, she asked, “Where are you going?”

  He smiled down at her. “I need to go for a run outside or I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

  Taryn could tell from the bulge in the front of his jeans that he still had an erection. She held her hand out to him. “Don’t go outside. It’s dark.”

  Wade shook his head as he backed away from her. “You’re far too tempting lying there like that. I don’t want to mess this up, Taryn. Besides, I like running outside in the dark. Go to bed. I’ll lock up the house after I come back.”

  Before she could say anything else, Wade quickly left the room. Taryn heard the front door open and then close a few seconds later.

  Chapter Four

  Once Wade was far enough away from the house he went wolf. Willing the change upon himself, he held out his hand and watched as it began to shimmer then blur. In a matter of seconds the change was complete. Wade sniffed the air as a slight breeze ruffled his chestnut colored fur. Reveling in the freedom the wolf’s body gave him, he threw back his head and howled into the night. Bunching his back legs beneath him, Wade took off at a run. He headed for the tall pine trees.

  Now that it was the middle of October, the nights were getting decidedly cooler, not that he felt it through the thick fur that covered his body. After he reached the shelter of the trees, Wade put his nose to the ground. He picked up the scent of a deer, days old. Following it, he found the small animal trail that led through the tall pines. With his excellent night vision, he had no problems keeping to the trail. Wade put on a burst of speed, running flat out until he was winded.

  The run had helped take some of the edge off the mating urge that was riding him, but with Taryn’s scent still clinging to him, it would only be a temporary fix. It had been pure torture having Taryn naked and willing, but unable to claim her. Having her climax with his mouth on her had heightened his arousal to the point of pain. The wolf had risen up, urging him to take her. It had been a battle he wasn’t sure at first he would win. He had kept the wolf restrained by remembering what he could lose if he succumbed to his desires.

  Howling one final time, Wade turned around and headed back the way he had come. Now that he had his first real taste of Taryn, he didn’t like being away from her for very long. The feeling would increase after the first time they made love. For that was when they would be joined completely, body and soul. He only hoped Taryn would feel the same, but with her not being a werewolf, he wasn’t s
ure she would.

  Behind the house, and deciding Taryn would be asleep, Wade skirted around the back lawn to the front while still in wolf form. He changed back to human form once he reached the porch. Letting himself into the house, he made sure to lock the front door before he headed upstairs. Before moving on to his room, Wade stood at Taryn’s bedroom door. All was quiet inside. He gently ran his fingers down the door, silently bidding his mate a good night.

  * * * *

  The second wolf’s howl brought Taryn to her bedroom window. She had heard the first one soon after Wade had gone outside. Thinking she had to be mistaken, since there were no wild wolves living in and around The Pines, she hadn’t thought much about it. But with the second howl, she knew no stray dog was capable of such vocalization. A wolf’s call was very distinct. You couldn’t mistake it for anything else but what it was.

  A little worried that Wade would encounter the wolf while he was out on his run, Taryn pulled opened the curtain and searched the back lawn. At first she didn’t see anything. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw something moving in the direction of the front of the house. Turning to look at it, she gasped. It was a wolf, but it was the biggest wolf she had ever seen. It seemed in no hurry as it walked around the edge of the lawn. The outside lights reflected off its shiny chestnut brown fur. Pressing her face to the glass, Taryn watched the wolf until it disappeared from sight.

  Taryn let the curtain fall back into place. There was something about seeing the wolf that caused a niggling feeling in the back of her head. As if there was something she had forgotten, something that had happened in her past. Shaking her head at her own foolishness, Taryn climbed into bed. Why a wolf would set her off so, she had no idea. It wasn’t as if she had ever been up close to a wild wolf. She had seen them in the zoo and those wolves hadn’t caused this type of reaction.

  Before she closed her eyes, she heard the front door open. She felt herself relax. Wade and the wolf had obviously not crossed paths. The last thought she had before sleep claimed her was she hoped she never encountered the wolf when she was outside working in the vineyard. Even though her fear was unfounded, she knew she would be terrified to come face to face with it.

  * * * *

  She waited for Wade to come closer. She couldn’t wait to be in his arms. When he reached her and roughly pulled her up against his hard chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her, Taryn didn’t feel the usual panic rise up inside her. She knew he would never use his strength to hurt her. In his arms, she felt protected, loved. She felt the rightness of it in her very soul. He was hers, just as she was his.

  Threading her fingers through his chestnut colored hair, Taryn brought Wade’s mouth down to hers. The feel of his lips moving against hers caused an ache to build between her legs. With just one kiss, he set her body aflame. Taryn pressed herself closer to him, not caring she was pulling his hair as she held him tighter to her.

  Wade growled deep in his throat. The animalistic sound sent a rush of desire surging through her. Moaning, she reached between them and cupped the hard length of his cock through his jeans.

  At the sound of a loud, menacing growl coming directly behind her, Taryn pulled away from Wade. His lip curled in a snarl as he looked at something over her shoulder. Her heart racing with fear, she slowly turned her head to look behind her.

  A cold shiver ran down her back at seeing the large wolf watching them. His silvery, grey fur bristled around his neck as he growled a second time. Frozen with fear, Taryn could only watch as the wolf moved closer.

  Just before the wolf made ready to launch himself at them, Wade pushed her aside. His body shimmered, then blurred, as he threw himself at the attacking wolf. Wade was no longer Wade. In his place was the wolf she had seen outside her bedroom window.

  Shaking her head, Taryn slowly backed away from them as they attacked each other furiously. Their snarls and growls filled her head. She had to get away, especially from the grey wolf. It was he she feared the most. Closing her eyes tightly, Taryn forced herself to wake up.

  Taryn gasped for air as she sat up in bed. A whimper of fear escaped her lips before she could hold it back. Her body was covered in sweat, and her heart thundered in her chest. Looking about the darkened room, she knew it was still the middle of the night. Not sure if she would be able to go back to sleep, she lay back down and pulled the covers up to her chin.

  She rarely had dreams that were as vivid as that one had been. Most of her dreams she forgot the instant she woke up. This was only the third time in her life she’d had a dream where she remembered it all. The first time had been just before she had tried to break up with Nigel, and the second was the night before her uncle had told her he was dying of cancer. Both dreams had given her a glimpse of what was to come. She had ignored the dream she had about Nigel turning on her, much to her detriment. The one she had of her uncle being ill, she could do nothing about, but it had better prepared her. She had been strong for her uncle that day, not allowing herself to show the anguish she felt inside when she knew what he had to have been feeling was ten times worse.

  But this dream, she didn’t know what to make of it. If there was a hidden message in it, she didn’t know where to look for it. There was no way Wade could in reality turn into a wolf. Werewolves were only real in movies and myths. As for the grey wolf, Taryn shivered just thinking about it. Why she should feel such fear for it escaped her.

  Needing to push away all thoughts of the dream, or she would never get back to sleep, Taryn rolled onto her side and hugged the extra pillow on her bed to her chest. She closed her eyes and tried to will herself to sleep.

  * * * *

  The sound of pots and pans being banged about downstairs in the kitchen, along with the smell of something burning, brought Taryn awake. She groaned when she saw how late it was. It had taken her over two hours to fall back to sleep and now she was paying for it.

  Another loud bang coming from downstairs reached her ears, followed by the sound of a plate breaking as it hit the floor. Since there was only one other person in the house with her, Taryn decided she had better get Wade out of her kitchen before he did some major damage. Throwing back the covers, she quickly pulled on some clothes and hurriedly went down the stairs.

  Walking into the kitchen, Taryn had to hold back the laughter that bubbled up inside her. Wade stood at the stove, madly waving a tea towel over a smoking frying pan. The kitchen window was wide open, which she guessed he was using to suck the smoke out of the room. She was surprised the smoke detector out in the hallway hadn’t gone off. There was another frying pan sitting in the sink, with something charred beyond recognition still in it. A shattered plate was on the floor by the stove, with what looked to be undercooked eggs mixed in with the pieces of plate.

  Taryn cleared her throat, drawing Wade’s attention. “Do I have any plates left, or have you broken them all?”

  Wade stopped waving the tea towel and gave her a sheepish look. “I had planned on surprising you with some breakfast, but it would seem I can’t cook.”

  “It sounds as if you’ve never tried to cook before.”

  “Well, actually, no I haven’t. We have a cook to make all the meals at home. So I never really had to learn. I just thought since Beowulf cooks for Roxie, I would cook for you as well.”

  “It’s the thought that counts, Wade.” Moving closer, Taryn kissed his cheek. “Let me clean up this mess, then I’ll make us both some breakfast.”

  Picking up the pieces of the broken plate, Taryn threw them in the garbage and set to work cleaning up the egg mess off the floor. Once that was done, she turned her attention to the two frying pans. Holding the lump of food that was in the frying pan in the sink, she turned to look at Wade with a raised brow. Whatever it had been, it now resembled a lump of charcoal.

  “That was bacon, and before you ask, in the other frying pan I was trying to make fried eggs.”

  Taryn didn’t think she had ever seen eggs burned to the point of a
sh before. DNA testing would have had to be done to determine what it was. Discarding all the burned food, Taryn washed out the two frying pans and placed them back on the stove. She quickly pulled them off when she saw Wade had left the burners on. It was no wonder he had burned the food he had been trying to cook. Both burners had been set to high. She turned them off and put the frying pans on the counter before turning to the fridge to get more eggs and bacon.

  Wade sat at the kitchen table as she worked, keeping as much distance as he could from the stove. With the bacon sizzling in one frying pan, Taryn poured them each a cup of coffee. She was glad her coffeemaker had a programmable timer set to automatically start brewing coffee before she got up each morning. There was no saying what Wade’s coffee would have tasted like. If his coffee making skills matched his cooking skills, it would more than likely have turned out to be strong enough to strip wallpaper.

  She placed a cup of coffee on the table in front of Wade. “If you like your coffee with cream, there’s some in the fridge, and the sugar is in the cupboard. At least we don’t have to wait for this.”

  “Hey, I do know how to make coffee, you know.”

  “Did I say you couldn’t?”

  “No, but I know that was what you were thinking.”

  Taryn couldn’t quite hold back a smile. “Well that thought had crossed my mind.”

  “I’m not completely incompetent. I’m skilled in other areas, ones that count more. I’d be more than willing to show you.” Wade looked at her mouth suggestively.

  Shaking her head, Taryn went back to the stove. “Oh no, you won’t. There has been enough food burned to a crisp in this kitchen for one day, thank you very much. Play time will have to wait until later. Since I slept in, I’m behind on what I have to do today. And it’s time for you earn your keep.”

  “Are you always such a slave driver?”

  “When I have to be.” Taryn took the now cooked batch of bacon out of the pan and put it on a paper towel lined plate. While she put more bacon in the frying pan to cook, she nonchalantly asked, “Did you happen to see a wolf when you went outside last night for your run?”