“Taryn!” Wade shouted.
Realizing Wade wasn’t thrilled to hear her going on about how good-looking she found the others, Taryn looked at him sheepishly. “Sorry. I sometimes tend to get carried away. I don’t mean anything by it.” She moved closer to Wade and placed her hand on his chest. “You know I’m only interested in you that way.”
“Yes, I know. Sorry if I find it hard to hear you gushing over other men. You’re mine and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Drake loudly cleared his throat, drawing Wade and Taryn’s attention. “Would you like for me to leave the two of you alone?”
“No,” Taryn quickly reassured him. “We’re done. Right, Wade?”
“It would seem so,” Wade replied. He turned to look at Drake. “Why don’t we leave Taryn alone to finish putting away the groceries? She doesn’t like me anywhere near the stove.” At Drake’s questioning stare, Wade shook his head. “That’s a long story. I’ll show you the room set aside for you upstairs, and I think Braedan wants to discuss something with you as well.”
Before the two men left the kitchen, Taryn spoke up. “Don’t take too long upstairs. I’ll have these put away in a few minutes, then I want to get everyone outside in the vineyard working.”
Wade closed the space between them once again, tipped Taryn’s head back, and kissed her until she felt her legs go weak. “That’s so you don’t forget who you’re with.”
Not sure if she even remembered her own name after that kiss, Taryn nodded and silently watched Wade and Drake walk out of the room.
* * * *
Wade impatiently stood waiting by the front door for Drake to return with his suitcase, which he had left outside in his car. Braedan was already upstairs waiting for them. Wade didn’t want to be upstairs for too long, leaving Taryn alone with the others. He knew he didn’t have to worry about any of them making a pass at Taryn. They were part of his pack and knew what she was to him. But seeing Taryn’s reaction to them earlier did not sit well with him. He wanted her to look only at him that way. Yes, the others would be considered good-looking by most women—werewolves as a race were all gifted in the looks department—but Wade still wanted Taryn to drool over only him.
Once Drake returned, Wade quickly ushered him up the stairs. Inside the bedroom, he closed the door and faced Drake and Braedan. “Since you have just arrived, Drake, let me point out a few things. Taryn is not a werewolf, and doesn’t know anything about werewolves. She’s my mate and I’ll be the one to tell her all about our kind when I deem it’s the right time. If either you or Braedan go against my decision, I’ll make you wish you hadn’t.”
“I understand. As her mate, it’s your right to protect her in any way you see fit.”
“Good. I’ll get straight to the point then. Is Taryn your daughter?”
“That, I’m not sure yet,” Drake said, thoughtfully. “She greatly resembles my mate. I called her by my mate’s name and Taryn said that was her mother’s name. It seems too much of a coincidence that the mother and uncle both were named the same as my mate and her brother. Her scent could mark her as mine, but it is very subtle. It could be because she is a mortal, or because your scent is all over her.”
Wade groaned. “Would the pair of you quit checking out Taryn’s scent? She’s already asked if Braedan has some kind of weird fetish because of it.”
Braedan chuckled. “I can see that being a bit awkward for you to explain, Wade. The poor girl must think my whole family has some strange tendencies if Drake did the same thing to her.”
“Yes, well, refrain from doing it again. So basically we don’t know for sure Taryn is your daughter or not. Besides DNA testing, which isn’t an option, where do we go from here?”
“I need to see a picture of Taryn’s mother,” Drake said, solemnly. “That will tell me one way or the other.”
“I’ll see what I can do. I haven’t noticed any pictures around the house that could possibly have her mother in it. Give me some time.” Wade straightened from where he had been leaning against the closed door. “Now that we have that settled for now, I suggest we get back downstairs. I know Taryn is anxious to get us out working in the vineyard.”
Braedan laughed. “More like you’re more worried about what Taryn maybe doing downstairs, alone, with the others.”
Wade pulled open the door and cocked his head in the direction of the stairs. “You’re not too far of the mark with that,” he replied distractedly. Not turning to see if the brothers followed him or not, Wade took the stairs two at a time. With his sensitive werewolf hearing, he knew Taryn was already deep in conversation with the other members of his pack. The sooner he got them out of the house and working, the better he would feel.
* * * *
Taryn sighed as she sank down lower in the bathtub. The warm water felt good on her aching muscles. The first day of the harvest was always the hardest. By the end of the day, her muscles had been shrieking at her in protest. Her back and shoulders were the sorest spots on her body. Even though she ached, and probably would be sorer come tomorrow, she felt well satisfied with the amount of work that had been accomplished. All the guys had worked really hard. This being their first time harvesting grapes, they had all done extremely well. The amount of grapes picked had almost been spot on with what an experienced crew would have done.
Leaning her head on the back of the tub, Taryn closed her eyes allowing the warm water to wash over her. A small smile played on her lips as she thought of how Wade had acted. He had made sure he worked as near to her as he could manage. When one of the others came too close, or showed even the slightest attention to her other than to ask a question about the vineyard, Wade would come up beside her and throw his arm around her shoulders, holding her up against his side. She had enjoyed the attention, even though it was more for show, to stake his claim on her. Not that he had anything to worry about from her. Yes, she found the others attractive, but Wade was the only one for her.
Almost as if he knew she had been thinking of him, the bathroom door opened and Wade stepped inside. Taryn cracked open an eye in time to see him close and lock the door. She opened both her eyes when he began to strip out of his clothes.
Sitting up in the tub, she said, “You can’t possibly think you’re joining me in my bath.”
“I don’t think, I know I will.” Once completely naked, he moved to stand in front of the bathtub.
“What about Drake and Braedan? What are they going to think?”
Taryn’s gaze traveled down Wade’s body. His cock was fully erect, jutting out from his body. Her pussy clenched at the sight of it. Taryn wasn’t usually the kind of person who fantasized about sex, but having Wade touching her, caressing her bottom or breasts when the others weren’t looking while she worked in the vineyard, had her thinking about how she wanted him to take her that night. All his caresses had primed her body for sex.
“Never mind about Drake and Braedan. I told them to get lost for a couple hours.”
“Now they’re going to know exactly what we’re up to.”
“Of course they do. I told them we were going to have some hot sex and I didn’t want them in the house to hear in case you got embarrassed.”
“Wade! You didn’t!”
Stepping into the tub at her feet, Wade sat between her legs. The water in the tub rose, threatening to spill over. “I did and I don’t care what they think. I’ve been dying to do this all day.”
Taking a firm hold of her hips, Wade lifted her lower body out of the water and licked her pussy from bottom to top. Taryn grabbed the side of the tub as an intense wave of pleasure hit her. She quickly had to press her hand on the tiled wall on her other side when Wade used one hand to spread her nether lips apart and flicked her clit with the tip of his tongue. Unable to move, afraid that if she did she’d slip under the water, Taryn held on for dear life as Wade sucked on her clit and pushed one finger inside her.
“I
want you to come, Taryn. I want to taste you as you come for me.”
Taryn didn’t think that would be a problem. She moaned as a second finger joined the first. Wade circled her clit with his tongue while he stroked his fingers in and out of her. Taryn clenched her inner muscles, feeling her release inching ever closer. Her hips jerked with each swipe of his tongue.
Almost at her peak, Wade removed his fingers and replaced them with his tongue. Stiffening his tongue, he jabbed it inside her slick opening. It was enough to send her over the edge. As she moaned with pleasure, Wade continued to lap at her pussy.
When the final spasm subsided, Wade let her hips sink back down into the warm bath water. Moving to his knees, he picked up the bar of soap and rubbed it in his hands. Once he had a lather built up, he let it drop into the water. Unable to look away, Taryn watched him stroke his soapy hands up and down his hard length.
Watching him touch himself that way made her pussy ache to have his cock buried inside her. Shifting in the water, she pushed his hands away and replaced them with her own. Deciding the soap had done its job, Taryn used her hands to scoop up water and rinsed the soap away. Needing to taste him as he had tasted her, she bent her head down and swirled her tongue around the tip of his cock. At Wade’s moan of pleasure, she opened her mouth and took as much of his length inside as she could manage.
His hips pumped as she sucked on him. She loved the salty taste of him. She would have continued to pleasure him this way until he found his release, but Wade wouldn’t allow it. Pulling free, he swiftly stood up and raised her to her feet. He turned her so she faced the back of the tub. Lifting her right leg, he placed her foot on top of the tub in the corner where the tiled walls met. Once in that position, Wade moved behind her and entered her in one stroke, burying his hard length to the hilt.
Taryn pushed her hips back against Wade as he surged in and out of her. Having his hard cock moving inside her was pushing her body towards another climax. She could feel him getting harder, stretching her. Moaning, she matched his fast pace.
Wade continued to move in her as he slid one hand around her to rub her clit. Taryn ground down on him harder as her climax crested. Feeling her inner walls clenching around his hard shaft, she heard Wade growl/moan as he came deep inside her.
Still not completely back to earth, Taryn vaguely felt Wade slide free of her body and pull the plug out of the tub. Feeling satiated, she allowed him to help her out of the tub and dry her off. She didn’t say a word when he placed her in her bed and climbed in beside her. The last thing she was aware of before sleep claimed her was Wade holding her close.
Chapter Ten
They were now two weeks into the harvest. It would take them a total of six weeks to complete it, but Taryn was sure they’d be able to manage it. All the men Beowulf had sent over were hard workers. None of them complained about the back-breaking work.
She’d also come to consider Braedan and Drake close friends. The former sought her out on a friendly type basis more than his brother. Much to her surprise, Wade encouraged her to get to know Drake better. If it had been any one of the others, Braedan excluded, Wade would have quickly warned them off. Taryn had to think Wade was fine with her growing friendship because Drake seemed to pull himself out of his sadness whenever he was around her. She liked Drake and if she could help him move on and get over his loss, she was more than willing to spend time with him.
The day was winding to a close when Taryn asked if Drake would like to go with her to the cave. As she expected, he quickly agreed.
As they walked through the vineyard to the cave that had been dug several hundred feet into the hillside, Taryn turned to Drake to find him looking at her. He tended to do that a lot whenever he was alone with her. It didn’t bother her because she knew he wasn’t interested in their relationship going any further than friendship.
At the door that barred the entrance to the cave, Taryn unlocked it and pushed the door open. Coming to the cave was one of her favorite things to do. They used the cave to age the wines in oak barrels because of its underground location. The temperature and humidity inside the cave stayed consistent throughout the year, making it the ideal place for the wines to reach maturity.
Moving to the first row of barrels, Taryn checked them as she walked by. Drake followed her, peering at the numbers and words stamped on each barrel. “Once the grapes are crushed, the juice is placed in barrels like these and brought here to age before getting bottled. The Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are aged for two years before bottling, as most red wines are, and the White Zinfandel is aged only a year.”
“You enjoy being a winemaker, don’t you, Taryn?”
She smiled. “Yes, I do, but I didn’t always feel that way. When I was a teenager I wanted to do something else other than make wine. I learned the hard way I was much better off learning the family business. Now I wouldn’t dream of doing anything else.”
“What happened to change your mind?”
“It’s not something I like to talk about. It’s a part of my past I’d like to forget. Suffice it to say, I learned in a very painful way that the world isn’t always a nice place.”
She knew Drake was about to ask her to explain what she had meant, but he was interrupted by the sound of someone slowly clapping his hands. Looking to the entrance of the cave, Taryn saw a man she did not know standing there watching them. He was slightly over six foot and had silver, grey hair. Even though he was just as good-looking as the men that seemed to be around her these days, there was something about him that made a chill run down her spine. He had a cruel look about him. The smile he wore never reached his dark brown eyes.
The man clapped two more times. “Such a heartbreaking story, my dear. I enjoy hearing a sob story now and again.” He turned his attention to Drake. “Well, look who has decided to drag himself out of his self-pity.”
Taryn jumped as Drake growled at the other man. The sound was so animalistic she started to inch away from him. Drake’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist, as he pulled her hard against his side protectively.
“What are you doing here, Lars? You have no business with Taryn.” Drake’s voice came out as a growl.
“Maybe I do. Maybe I’m interested in buying some of her excellent wine.”
“I doubt that. Now leave. The others are back at the house. You’re outnumbered.”
Lars shook his head. “Such protectiveness for your half-breed whelp.” Lars laughed. “I can see from the look on your face, Drake, that you didn’t know Taryn was your daughter. Now that is rich.”
Taryn looked between the two men, not knowing what to think. Staring up at Drake, she could see he was staring at her with his emotions showing in his eyes. She shook her head. “That’s not possible. You can’t be much older than I am.”
Lars’ laughter filled the cave. “Oh, this just gets better and better. She doesn’t know. I had thought with nine werewolves practically living under her roof, she would have known what you all were. I guess I was wrong.”
“Werewolves?” Taryn started to shiver. An old memory, one that had been deeply buried inside her, tried to rise to the surface. Not wanting to face it, Taryn ruthlessly pushed it away. “There’s no such thing as werewolves.”
“There, you are wrong, my dear. You’re half werewolf, though you haven’t inherited any of our traits. You’re nothing but a weak mortal. Your father may appear to be close to you in age, but believe me, he is far from it. Werewolves live a very, very long time.”
Taryn pulled away from Drake. “It can’t be true. Tell me he’s lying.”
Drake sadly shook his head. “He’s telling the truth, Taryn. We are werewolves, and you are my daughter. I just wasn’t sure.”
“And Wade?”
“He is as well. All of us are.”
“No.” Taryn shook her head, not willing to accept the man she was growing to love was some kind of freak of nature. When Drake tried to pull her back to him, she slapped his hand away. “D
on’t touch me.” Taryn could see she had hurt Drake by rejecting him, but she didn’t care.
Swinging back to face the other man, Drake growled. His body began to shimmer and in a matter of seconds a large wolf that had the same colored fur as Drake’s hair stood in his place. The wolf snarled and launched himself at the other man. Lars’ body went through the same change as he turned to face the cave’s entrance. At the sight of the large grey wolf, Taryn whimpered in fear. It was the same grey wolf she had seen in her dream. Both wolves raced out of the cave leaving Taryn alone. Gasping, not wanting to accept what she had just seen, she raced out of the cave and ran to the house.
Wade’s smile of greeting fell away once he got a good look at her face. “What is it, Taryn? Where’s Drake?”
He started to move over to her, but Taryn held up her hands to hold him off. “Don’t come near me.”
Wade ignored her. “What happened?”
Taryn backed away. “Stay away from me, you freak. When were you going to tell me what you were? After we were married and had a few kids? Or should I say puppies?”
Wade went still. “You know I’m a werewolf?”
Almost at the bottom of the stairs, Taryn reached for the banister. “Hard not to believe it when Drake and some guy named Lars turned into wolves in front of me.”
When Wade turned to look at Braedan, Taryn raced up the stairs to her room. She locked the door behind her. Pulling open her closet door, she drew a large box off the top shelf with shaking hands.
Sitting on the bed, Taryn ripped open the box. This was the box her uncle had left for her after he had died. She had known nothing about it until the reading of his will. He had left instructions that she look at the contents right after his will had been read. Taryn hadn’t been able to bring herself to do it. She had been too upset over losing her uncle to even think about what was inside the box. Now, she had a feeling that whatever was in it would hold great meaning to her.
Taryn’s Wolf Page 8
