Shifting Positions

by Jennifer Dellerman

  “Yes. We definitely have the physical attraction in spades. Next is the getting to know each other step.”

  “This isn't a damn dance, Caleb. It's life.”

  “Life is a dance, sweetheart. Whether it's a sweet and slow waltz, a fun and heart-racing polka or an erotic tango. For the lucky ones, it's a combination of all three. And I plan on being very lucky.”

  Though part of her wanted to jump up and down and scream Yes!, the logical part of her brain was still trying to figure out how she'd lost control of what she considered a cut-and-dried statement.

  It was his pheromones.

  Pissed at being taken in by his seductive techniques, she thumped a fist on his hard chest. “Bastard . I don't even find you remotely attractive.”

  His eyes glittered dangerously. “Don't ever lie to me, Tess.” Then he climbed fully onto the bed, straddling her. His heavy thighs pinned her to the mattress, his erection hard and thick between her legs. Lust slammed hard, making her ache to squirm and wiggle against the bulge that nudged her clit.

  “I know you want me. I don't have to ask.” His nostrils flared and his eyes burned with scorching heat. “I can smell your arousal. It's making me crazed for another taste of your sweet cream.”

  Embarrassment flushed her face. Damn wolf senses.

  Tess rushed to contradict him, stating haughtily, “That's just left over from before. Nothing more.”

  Brown eyes flashed with wicked amusement, causing Tess to shift uneasily. “Liar. Want to know how I know?”

  She shook her head, realizing whatever he had to say couldn't be good if it put that smug look of satisfaction on his handsome face. “Not particularly.”

  “I'll tell you anyway.” He leaned down and nuzzled her throat. Then he burned a slow and erotic trail to her ear with his tongue. His warm breath caressed her damp skin as he whispered, “because after you came, I licked you clean.”

  Chapter Seven

  While Ruth healed from her surgery, Tess had agreed to take over her mom's duties at O'Keef's Café. So at seven the next morning, an exhausted Tess pulled into the café's rear parking lot. Though a phone call confirmed Ruth was recovering quite well, it was a much later call that had kept her up most of the night.

  Tess scrambled out of her truck, her groan not only for the cold wind whipping her hair against her face, but for her wandering thoughts as they circled back to Caleb. He'd called last night because, or so he'd said, he simply wanted to hear her voice. One minute the man acted like a chauvinistic wolf and the next he turned into an adoring boyfriend.

  Where the hell did that come from? Tess scrunched up her nose. Boyfriend my ass. “I'm just more tired than I thought,” she told herself firmly as she stepped into the warm kitchen. Stripping off her coat, she turned and came face to face with Dolen.

  “Morning.” Tess said, pasting on a cheery smile.

  Dolen nodded in greeting, his smooth head gleaming in the overhead lights. “Tess.” He glanced back over his shoulder at one of the huge stoves. “I already put the chickens on to boil for the daily soup, but ah, we need more chili, too.”

  “More? It couldn't have gone bad.”

  “No, it didn't. We just had a problem making the minestrone yesterday. No one here can make soup like your mom. Needless to say, it didn't come out right and we ended up tossing it out. Had to rely on the chili which meant it went twice as fast.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You threw away soup? How could you? It's a very forgiving dish.”

  His wince gave Tess the notion he'd heard that before. “Let's not go there. Just, please. Can you make both the chicken tortilla and chili?”

  The big man looked so crestfallen that Tess straightened her shoulders. “All right, don't worry. I'll just need some help pulling the chicken.”

  “Great,” he flashed a smile wide enough to span the Pacific. “You'll have everything you need.”

  Need, huh? A memory of Caleb's head between her thighs as he worked her into a sensual frenzy made her quiver. “Got any temptation reduction pills?”

  “Ah, excuse me?”

  Tess shook her head at her whimsy. “Never mind. I'll get started on the rolls that go with the soup.”

  The kitchen soon became a chaotic ballet as people shuffled in for breakfast and orders piled in. Tess listened with half an ear as she kneaded dough, sautéed onions and green peppers and browned ground beef. She was just about to shred the chickens when a particularly tearful comment made her turn.

  “What's going on?”

  Gina Wilson stood next to an aggravated Dolen. Petite and slim with a head full of straight chestnut hair, the young woman resembled nothing of the chubby, freckled face girl Tess babysat once upon a time. Now tears streamed down her pretty face and, with a violent wipe with the palm of her hand, she answered Tess. “It's Kyle Kolter. He and his brothers are here and he's being a jerk. Sniffing at me, telling me I was ripe and that I should be serving a wolf, not this slop.” The girl's voice hitched. “It's so embarrassing. I don't think I can go back out there.”

  “Slop my ass. I'm going to kill him.” Though Dolen had the build of a man used to hard physical labor, he was still human, an older one at that, and no match for Kyle.

  Not to mention the ramifications of Kyle's comments if anyone unaware of shifter existence was still eating. And men were supposed to be the logical ones.

  “Gina,” Tess said, “are there any tourists out there? Kids?”

  She shook her head. “No. Just the Archers and Kelly and…some other people.”

  Wanting to roll her eyes, Tess stepped up to the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the dining room and peered out the large plexiglass window.

  The three Kolters sat at a large corner table at the far end of the room and appeared to be arguing. The Archers were a non-shifter older couple who had lived in Woodcliff forever. Used to the odd goings-on of the community, they paid the men no heed as they chatted over their plates. Kelly Ranson, the tall blonde who worked at the grocery store, perched on a stool at the long counter, a firm frown on her pretty face. Glenda, Tess didn't know her last name, sat next to her, busy texting, no doubt contacting the police as she worked the night shift as a dispatcher. At a four-top near her position sat two men and a woman, all probably in their thirties. Tess knew the woman was married to a shifter and guessed by the way one of the men had his arm possessively around her shoulders that he was her husband.

  “I'll take care of it,” Tess said without averting her eyes. “When their order is ready, I'll take it out.”

  Dolen shook his head. “There is no way I'm letting you handle Kyle. Not only is it a man's job, Caleb would kill me if anything happened to you. And then your mom would skin me alive.”

  A man's job? Tess looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes. “That's exactly what Kyle wants. To start trouble, maybe even a fight. I can calm him down. No violence necessary.”

  Liar. Now's your opportunity to show the world what you're made of. Tess clenched her jaw against the little voice that taunted her in her head. She desperately wanted to give in to the urging and let her caged temper loose.. As a preventative measure, she wrapped her torn and tattered veil of cool composure more tightly and raised a brow, awaiting Dolen's assent.

  “It's not a good idea, Tess. This is my place, my staff he's messing with.”

  “You're too angry and you'll only end up hurting yourself.”

  Dolen paused in whatever he was about to say when Sean, the morning cook, announced that the Kolter's order was up. Tess grinned evilly. “Too late.”

  She piled the plates on a tray and as she sailed out of the kitchen into the dining room, she heard Dolen tell someone to call Caleb.

  Nothing is going to happen, she thought as she strolled through the room, stopping at the table where the Kolter brothers sat. She kicked out her hip and pasted on the secret smile that sold millions of SI swimsuit magazines. “Good morning, gentlemen. Who gets what?’

  K
oby, the youngest, flushed a deep red and mumbled, “Um, I had the pancakes.”

  Tess set his plate in front of him with a flourish and looked at Kevin. “And you darling?”

  Kevin gave her a friendly smile. In the same grade growing up in a small town, Tess knew him the best. He was the fun-loving and charming brother, harmless unless riled up, and it took a lot to rile him up. “The eggs. You look fabulous, Tess. It's good to see you.”

  Tess laid his plate down and gave him a wink. “It's good to be seen.” Then she turned to Kyle. “By process of elimination,” she set the last plate in front of the shifter, “you must be the pig.”

  Way to handle the situation without the threat of violence.

  Twin stains of red darkened the oldest brother's cheek. Unable to let the comment go, he leered at her, raking her from head to toe in such a manner that Tess felt the need for a scorching shower. “And any woman who takes off her clothes for the world to see is nothing but a whore.”

  She may have stripped to skimpy bikinis or sexy lingerie for money, but she'd never had sex of any kind for cash, privileges or services rendered.

  She shrugged nonchalantly. “Better to be a rich whore than an obnoxious jerk who couldn't tell his dick from a pencil.” Obviously she had as little tact as Caleb, but damn, she was having fun.

  Koby choked and Kevin let out a whoop of laughter. Kyle, on the other hand, didn't take the description of his manhood well.

  Kyle shoved back his chair to tower over her. At least he tried. When he drew himself up to his full height, ready to intimidate, he realized he stood eye to eye with Tess and his anger grew. “Apologize.”

  Tess rounded her eyes in false innocence. “Goodness. For what?”

  Kyle snarled, his light brown eyes burning into amber, alerting Tess to the sudden and imminent danger of an out of control shifter.

  “Kyle, knock it off. Tess was just responding to your idiot comment.” Kevin said as he dug into his eggs. Though his tone was casual, his body was tense, ready to act if Kyle got out of hand.

  “Is that what you're doing, Tess? Having fun with me?”

  “It's no different than what you do to everyone else.” She cocked her head. “What? You can dish it out but you can't take it?”

  Kyle's muscled bunched. “Think you're better than me because you got money? Think you're safe because Caleb's made a verbal claim on you?” His nostrils widened unflatteringly. “Without his scent on you the claim isn't official. That makes you prey, bitch. Prey that needs to be put in her place.”

  Instinctively she shifted to rest on the balls of her feet, her muscles readying for a physical assault. “Excuse you?”

  “I'm going to fuck you into submission and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.”

  She heard the gasps, the scraping of chairs on the linoleum floor as people stood, including the two Kolter brothers. But before anyone could so much as move an inch, Tess demonstrated to those in the cafe exactly who and what she was.

  The tray left her hand and, before it even hit the floor, she'd kneed Kyle in the groin and plowed her fist in his throat with enough force to destroy the windpipe of a human male. He dropped like a stone, one hand cupping his balls, the other grasping his throat as he wheezed for air.

  Tess leaned forward, her eyes glittering, turning lighter as she allowed her own animal freedom for the first time. “I am not prey, I am a huntress. I am the daughter of William Gentry, the strongest and most deadly alpha Woodcliff has ever had. I do not obey yours or any other man's command.”

  Tess grabbed a hunk of Kyle's shirt and, in an amazing show of strength that brought more gasps from those around her, she lifted Kyle off the floor and up on his toes. The shock, and not a little fear, that crossed his features was a balm to her anger. “And don't even think for a nanosecond that you can just ‘take me’ because you'll die trying.” The words that spilled from her mouth were low and thick, a rasping growl she never knew her throat could produce, and she liked it.

  Tess released him and then turned back to his astonished brothers with a cheery smile. “Enjoy your breakfast, boys.”

  Conscience of Caleb's still presence at the front door, Tess scooped up her tray and sailed back into the kitchen without meeting his gaze. Her heart sank with each step, knowing her reckless display was a problem. Wolves wanted their women soft and obedient, available to soothe and nurture. They wanted to be the protectors, not mate with warriors.

  And because she was terrified that she had lost him – not that she ever wanted him in the first place, right? – she never saw his eyes gleam with admiration as he watched her walk away, never saw the grin that lit his face with pride and certainly never heard him say, with deep reverance, “That's my woman.”

  Chapter Eight

  After her shift at Dolen's, Tess drove straight to the hospital to check on her mom. As happens in small towns, news traveled fast, and a phone call would always beat out a car for speed.

  The first words out of Ruth's mouth were, “So I heard you put Kyle Kolter in his place.” Rolling her eyes, Tess calmly explained what had happened and then deftly changed the subject to her mom's health and recovery. She wasn't ready to reveal just how affected she was by the earlier incident. By acting on instinct rather than her normal cool control back at the café, Tess had let loose an elemental part of herself that she realized she relished.. That aching emptiness she'd been carrying around forever was gone, and it its place was a sense of awareness and a certain understanding of herself . Now if she could understand what she wanted from Caleb.

  The feelings she had for the man were surprisingly strong considering the short time period she'd known him. And the physical attraction? Wow. The man was sex personified. Just the thought of him had her blood warming, her nipples tightening. He was right in that they had the physical attraction in spades and she already wanted to know more about him. His likes and dislikes. Where he was born, why he went into law enforcement and what his favorite color was. But love? That was a tricky business. One she wasn't sure she wanted to risk.

  She always thought she knew herself so well, but the last few weeks proved her wrong. She hated feeling so out of control of her emotions, which was probably why she always kept them bottled up. Between her mom's medical condition, leaving her job, moving home, her new and confusing reactions to Caleb and now letting go of her inner wolf, she was in an emotional turmoil and was struggling to find her equilibrium. Sticking her head in the sand to ignore the problem was no longer going to work, and she hated that.

  As she pulled onto the dirt road leading home the headlights captured the sudden fall of wet snowflakes, turning the last leg of her journey into a cold, slushy trek that begged to end with a roaring fire in the stone hearth and a cuddle next to a strong man.

  Caleb would be beautiful by firelight, full of decadent shadows and hard angles. Tess could easily imagine exploring his powerful body in the flickering light, discovering each corded muscle, licking every salty inch of his heated flesh as she worked oh so slowly down his length until she could wrap her lips around his cock. She wanted to take him in her mouth, wanted to feel his body quiver and strain beneath her wondering hands. Wanted to watch his face as she stroked him with her tongue and lips. Witness the moment he lost control and gave in to pleasure, exploding in her mouth.

  Tess shivered as the byplay caused her pussy to pulse and dampen her thong. She'd never wanted that before, to swallow a man's very essence. But she wanted Caleb's. She ached to have some part of him deep inside her, to keep forever. God, she was an idiot. Now that she'd lost him, she wanted him more than ever. Wasn't that just sickeningly cliché?

  When the house came into view the first thing she noticed was Caleb's truck. The second was the smoke rising in a steady flow from the chimney. Confusion drew her brows together.

  Tess shut off the engine and trudged through the damp snow. When the warm air rushed from inside the house to great her she shivered in pleasure. Then she too
k a large sniff. The unexpected, homey smell of fried chicken filled her senses and her tummy rumbled with hunger. Curious, she closed the door, hung up her coat and gloves in the front closet and walked back into the kitchen.

  “You're just in time,” Caleb said as she stopped, stunned. He transferred the last of perfectly fried chicken onto paper towels to drain. “Dinner's just about ready.”

  “What are you doing?”

  He glanced at her over his shoulder, his smile wide and welcoming and making her heart flutter. “Making dinner, obviously.”

  Tess blinked, and then blinked again. “I mean, what are you doing here? How did you get in?”

  “You're mom called from the hospital when you left, told me where the key was.” A buzzer sounded and Caleb retrieved a cookie sheet of golden biscuits from the oven and set it on hot pads. “Said you were going to be hungry by the time you got home.” He turned to look at her fully. “Coincidently, I'm hungry too.”

  She sucked in a breath. He may have said he was hungry, but the glint in his eyes and husky timbre of his voice told Tess his appetite had nothing to do with food. Then his eyes narrowed and he took three long strides to cross in front of her. He raised his hands and cupped her face. “You look sad.”

  “No, just a bit confused.”

  Caleb raised a brow and then confounded her even more by wrapping his strong arms around her and pulling her close. She felt his lips press against the top of her head. “Want to tell me about it?”

  Tess closed her eyes, letting his warmth envelop her. His intoxicating scent filled her senses, making her dizzy. Held so sweetly in his arms, the last thing Tess wanted was to talk. Face buried in his neck, she murmured, “Make love to me.”

  He stiffened. “What?”

  Grasping her courage with both hands, Tess tilted her head back to look him in the eye. “Make love to me, or fuck me, I don't care. Just…,” she swallowed. “I just want to feel you inside me before you leave.”

  Anger flared in his eyes. “What the hell are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere.”