Shifting Positions

by Jennifer Dellerman

  “But you don't want me anymore.”

  His brows shot up. “What?”

  “It's okay, I understand.”

  “Fabulous.” Caleb gripped her chin as she dropped her head down. “Then maybe you can explain it to me.”

  Tess stared into his stormy eyes, uncertainty making her statement more of a question. “Wolves want demure mates and, well, my behavior this morning was anything but.”

  Caleb stared, his face a mask of varying emotions before his mouth twitched once, twice. Then he let out a chuckle. “You little idiot.”

  Indignant, Tess struggled in his arms, but he held fast. “Let me go.”

  “Never.” He threaded his hand through her hair and pressed her face into his throat. “I'll never let you go. Do you understand me, Tess? The last thing I want is some quiet and unassuming female to share my life with. Just as a male made from the same ilk would bore you to death. I want a woman with her own ideas. Who's not afraid to tell it like it is. Who will stand up for herself and others. Who is smart and beautiful and sexy.” He drew her head back. “In short, Tess, I want you.”

  His head lowered and kissed her, softly, sweetly. When she opened her mouth in acceptance, he growled low, the sound making her shiver with need. Then he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the living room.

  Chapter Nine

  Caleb gently lowered Tess onto the nest of blankets and pillows in front of the roaring fire. Then he lay next to her, propping his head on one hand to watch the light play over her features. “I was only going to feed you, maybe cuddle with you here, let you get used to me being around, but I can't.” His hand skimmed down the long length of her body, following the path of his heated gaze. “I want you too much. I need to be with you, Tess. I need to feel you, inside and out.”

  Tess glanced at the fire, the cozily arranged bedding and then back at Caleb. “So you didn't think to seduce me?” she asked.

  Chuckling, he reached into his back pocket and he pulled out a condom. “See how well you know me already?”

  A reluctant smiled tugged at her lips. “Only one?”

  He winked as he dug into another pocket and a long strip of condoms rolled from his hand. “Yeah, so? I was hopeful.”

  “And confident.” She didn't bother hiding her amusement any longer. Relief had her giddy, arousal had her craving.

  His eyes crinkled and he reached out to trace her moist lips with his fingertips. “So argumentative. You'll never make my life dull.”

  Shifting suddenly, Caleb straddled her, his weight balanced on his knees and forearms as he kissed her. “I've never been with a woman without one and in my line of work I have to be checked out yearly. I'm clean. I want you to know that.”

  Tess felt heat rush into her own face. “Me, too. I mean…”

  Caleb chuckled when she stumbled, pressed his lips to her temple. “I know.” He breathed in her scent. “Let me love you, Tess. Completely. No hidden agenda, no reservations. Just you and me. Two people who want to be intimate with each other.”

  With his mouth nuzzling the sensitive cords of her neck and turning her insides to jelly, she would have agreed to anything. “Yes,” she whispered. “Love me, Caleb.”

  His lips came back to hers and he nipped the corner of her mouth. She opened and he settled in for a long, slow, deep kiss. He left nothing unexplored, not the roof of her mouth, the insides of her cheeks, her teeth. The leisurely pace began to quicken as blood turned molten with desire. Her tongue dueled with his, thrusting, and searching his own moist heat..

  Tess fumbled with the buttons on Caleb's shirt until he sat up and simply pulled the flannel over his head. She'd been right. His body glowed in the firelight, the planes and muscles on his smooth chest making her mouth water. She stopped him as he began to lower himself back over her. “Wait.”

  Caleb held still, eyes questioning. She levered up, ran her hands over his body already damp from desire. When she pressed a kiss to his chest, he let out a sigh, and when she licked a flat nipple, he groaned low and thick. His eyes closed as if relishing her touch. Large hands tunneled into her hair, his hold gentle yet firm as he cradled her head against his skin.

  Amazed by his unguarded response, she felt a sudden desire to give him more, give him the same kind of sensual pleasure he gave her yesterday. Just the thought of wrapping her lips around his hard cock caused another rush of liquid heat to gather between her thighs. With anticipation vibrating in her blood, she took his nipple into her mouth and suckled. He twitched under the erotic attention and, taking that as a good sign, she dropped all reserve and took what she wanted.

  Her hands whispered over his flesh, kneading his strong back, curving down and around to trace the corded muscles of his abdomen. When she reached the waistband of his jeans and the enticing bulge straining the seam, he hissed, sucking air between his teeth. “Enough. You keep that up and I won't last.”

  She ignored his demands and carefully tugged down his zipper. She slipped her hand inside his jeans, wrapped her fingers around the hidden prize and set his erection free. “Christ, Tess. What are you doing?”

  She smiled against his hot skin, moved her mouth to his other nipple. “Having my way with you.” She scrapped her teeth against the hard nub as she stroked the length of his cock, shivering in dark delight. He filled her hand; long, thick, hard and oh so velvety smooth. She slid her thumb over the engorged head, finding a bead of moisture at the tip. She barely held back a moan of need and instead twisted briefly away to stack some pillows together. Then she settled back into a reclining position. With both hands gripping his penis, and a wicked gleam in her eye, she tugged lightly. “Give me.”

  Understanding dawned and his groin pulsed harder with excitement. “Tess, you don't have to do this.”

  “I know what I want, Caleb, and I want this. Now scoot up here and give it to me. I want to taste you.”

  * * * *

  With his jeans pushed down around his thighs, Caleb, inched slowly up her body on his knees until his cock was level with her mouth. When she parted her lips and touched the tip of him with her tongue, his stomach clenched. She murmured in appreciation at the first taste, circling the slit with a light, damp flick. Then she flattened her tongue and rubbed the sensitive spot just under the engorged head, making him grit his teeth against the need to plunge into her mouth. Beneath him, laid out like she was, she was completely vulnerable. He could easily shove his aching cock past her lips, push into that supple moistness and lose himself. He ached so much, needed this woman to provide release so bad that, to his shame, the idea stumbled through his hazed brain.

  He felt as if he'd waited for this moment with Tess forever, and his beast agreed, growling at him to just take her. Lay her beneath his hard body and simply rut. It didn't matter that he'd come last night. He needed to be inside her, moving through her tight sheath until he spilled his seed into her womb. But giving in to his wolf right now would destroy any trust she had for him, and that kind of loss would simply kill him. With everything he had, he caged his animal. Whatever Tess wanted, he would give, and nothing more.

  His hand drifted over her hair, his body tingling in tortuous delight as he watched her lips slowly part over his cock, slid down his aching flesh, and take him into her mouth.

  His eyelids grew heavy, lust clawing through his gut. The need to thrust grew stronger with each caress of her soft lips. One soft hand clasped his shaft at the base, stroking up and down in time with her mouth, the other clutched his thigh as if to keep him in place. Her tongue twirled and danced around his hard length every time she glided up his cock. Then she scrapped her teeth ever so gently on the underside of his shaft and he knew he was a goner. Gently holding her head still, he moved his hips forward, sinking his cock farther inside her mouth. “Take me, Tess. Relax your throat and take me.”

  She did as he commanded and he slipped in further. He closed his eyes briefly, harsh growls of pleasure ripping from his throat. “That's right,
m'lupa. Fuck me with your pretty mouth.”

  He couldn't tear his eyes away from the erotic sight of his cock swallowed up by her eager mouth. The friction made by her glistening lips increased, and he knew he wasn't going to last much longer. Tension, already thick and rigid, coiled to the snapping point. “Enough.”

  When she only clamped her lips around him tighter, sucked him harder, he curled his hands into fists in her hair. “Tess. I'm going to come,” he growled out, warning her, giving her time to push him away.

  She only hummed in pleasure, making his fingers flex as the vibrations shot fiery sensations through his pulsing cock. Then she peered up at him through her lashes, eyes glinting with desire, lips stretched wide to accommodate his thrusting shaft, and he exploded. He threw his head back as the orgasm tore through his balls and bulleted out his cock. Wave after wave of painful pleasure made lights dance behind his eyes as he emptied himself again and again into Tess's waiting mouth.

  When he could think again, Caleb traced trembling fingers over Tess's cheeks, silently thanking her, and drew his still hard, and now very sensitive, flesh from her mouth. She let him go with a popping sound that echoed in the quiet room. He lay on his back next to her, eyes closed, breathe heavy. His heated cock was moist from her mouth and as the cool air brushed over him, it twitched as if in regret, or renewed hunger. Caleb groaned, knowing his need for Tess wouldn't abate in the least until he'd emptied himself in her pussy, again and again. Maybe after a month of gluttony he'd be able to ease off and only take her once or twice a day for the next forty years. His shaft bobbed in agreement.

  With another groan, Caleb shifted down the pillows and turned on his side, dragging Tess down as well until they lay face to face. He traced the curve of her cheek with a rough fingertip, the skin so soft and smooth against his own calloused flesh. “You are so fucking beautiful. I'll never get enough of you and I fear that will be the death of me.”

  Her brows arched and after a moment she said in a teasing tone, “Since I don't want you to die, maybe we shouldn't take this any farther.”

  With a low growl he rolled on top of her, pinning her under his body. Resting his forearms on either side of her shoulder he wrapped his hands around the nape of her neck. His erection, hard enough to pound nails even after the best orgasm of his life, pressed into her thigh. “Not in this lifetime. Besides,” he said, nibbling her ear lobe, “I can't think of a better way to go.”

  She let out a sigh as he shifted his attention to her throat, placing open mouthed kisses down the throbbing pulse and then licking his way back up.

  “You have too many clothes on, woman,” Caleb said and drew back on his knees, anxious to rid her of said clothes when his phone rang. He closed his eyes and bit out a curse. “You have got to fucking be kidding me.”

  “What is it?” Tess asked.

  “I'm off duty.”

  “And?”

  Caleb gave her a hard look. “And I'm with you. There's only one thing that would drag me away right now.”

  Tess licked her lips. “How do you know it's work related?”

  “The ring.” He scrubbed his face with both hands in agitation and then reached for the phone still clipped to his waist band. “Bennett,” he barked, eyes still on Tess.

  “I'm really sorry…,” Phil Davis, one of his deputies, started but Caleb snarled, uninterested in his apology.

  “Just tell me.”

  “We have a dead body,” Phil blurted.

  Caleb's eyes went cold and flat. “Where?”

  “On the east side of the highway at mile marker 260, approximately two hundred yards in.”

  “How?”

  “That's the bad part.” Phil sighed and lowered his voice. “Looks like a wolf, Sheriff and not the normal kind either.”

  Caleb went still, muscles locking as dread seeped through every pore. If the victim was human… “Who?”

  “Dave Collins. Still just a kid really.”

  Human, Caleb thought running a ragged hand through his hair. Fucking fantastic. This was beyond bad. Woodcliff had its fair share of crime, but murder, even with the violent and sometimes unpredictable actions of the shifters, was rare. There hadn't been a shifter on human killing in over thirty years. Not since the Woodcliff pack had fought the neighboring Bridgetons, resulting in the loss of many shifter lives on both sides of the territory, including five humans who'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Since the change in pack mentality, shifters came and went from each pack with moderate ease, as long as they received approval from alpha of each pack. Candidates were measured on their physical and mental strengths and then placed in the pack hierarchy as befitting their abilities. Caleb himself had placed second upon his arrival in Woodcliff two years ago. A rare feat as most members had to work their way up. But he'd more than earned that exalted position and now he had the respect of his pack and the whole community. Until now. To Caleb, a murder in his territory was akin to a middle finger salute to his authority.

  He growled in anger, both man and beast more than ready to hunt down the rabid killer like the coward he was.

  Oblivious to his thoughts, Tess squirmed under him and he pinned her with his gaze. She went shockingly still, her eyes filling with something a little too close to fear for his own good. He cursed low and rough, damning himself for putting that look in her face.

  Pushing to his feet, he placed the phone between his shoulder and ear as he carefully tucked his raging hard-on in his jeans. Zipping was damn near painful and he welcomed the sensation as it dampened his anger. “I'll be there in ten minutes,” he told Phil and snapped the phone shut, hooking it back on his belt. Then he bent over, placed his hands on either side of Tess's waist and lifted her to her feet in one smooth, powerful move. So as not to scare her further, he slowly reached out and touched a lock of her silky hair, sliding it behind her ear. “I have to go.”

  “All right.”

  Not liking her distant tone, Caleb pulled her close, pressed a kiss to her head. “I'm sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm angry and not at you. I'd never hurt you.” He drew back, grasped her chin with a finger and thumb. “You know that, right? I'd die before I ever did that.”

  Her face morphed into that cool mask he hated so much. “Sure.”

  “Damn it, Tess,” he couldn't stop the low rumble that came out. “I'm pissed because we were interrupted. I'm angry because I have to leave you and I'm beyond enraged because someone is dead.”

  Her eyes flew wide. “Dead?”

  Shaking his head at his bluntness, he cursed again, dropping his hands to his hips. “Christ, I'm an idiot.”

  Tess narrowed her eyes as he stood before her, his muscles still and tense as a coiled spring. His chin tipped down, his eyes closed, his breath sawed in and out as he reigned in his temper.

  Caleb might act like an idiot at times, but he was far from being one. Tess placed a tentative hand on his chest. “No, you're not.”

  He laid his hand over her's, pressing it to his thudding heart and let out a derisive laugh. “Yes, with you I am. It's just…” he paused. “This is new for me, Tess. This need I have for you. It's so strong it's distracting and a distracted shifter - or cop for that matter - can be a death sentence. It's terrifying.” He tunneled his hand through her hair to hold her head. “And exhilarating,” he whispered against her lips before taking her mouth with his.

  The kiss started slow, almost tentative, coaxing. Tess sighed and Caleb swept in, his tongue hot and hard. “Soon I will be inside your sweet little sexy body,” he vowed, his breath caressing her swollen lips, his eyes fixed with hot anticipation on hers, “and it will be…perfect.” Then with great reluctance, he moved back and searched out his shirt. “But duty calls.”

  “Caleb,” she said softly, “can you tell me what happened?”

  He yanked on his top. “I won't know until I get out there. Just lock the door behind me.”

  She put a hand to her thro
at. “That doesn't sound good.”

  He raked his gaze over her body, puffed out his cheeks. “No, it doesn't. Walk me to the door?” he held out his hand, palm up.

  Tess placed her smaller hand in his and Caleb kissed her knuckles before twining their fingers. At the front door he stopped and gathered her close for a hard kiss. “I'll call you later.”

  “You don't have to do that. I'll be fine.”

  “It's not a matter of have to, sweetheart. It's a matter of want to.”

  A shy smile curved her lips. “I'd like that.”

  Pleased, Caleb pressed his lips to her forehead. “Keep your cell close.”

  “Will do. And Caleb?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Be careful.”

  He smiled against her soft skin. “Anything for you.”

  And as instructed, Tess locked the door behind him, her nerves taut with need and worry. She blew out a heavy breath and walked into the kitchen to sooth her senses with the food Caleb had prepared. If she couldn't feed one hunger, she would just make do with another.

  Chapter Ten

  Caleb crouched down by the cooling body of Dave Collins. Born in Woodcliff, Dave had been a likable and quiet man just shy of his twenty-second birthday, which he'd now never see. Legs sprawled, one arm thrown wide, the other lay awkwardly behind his back, sightless brown eyes staring up at the treetops. No sign of a struggle. The attack was swift and violent as illustrated by the deep claw marks on the victim's jacket and shredded jugular. .

  With a tinge of regret, Caleb pulled his gaze away and searched the thick woods, his eyes slowly adjusting from the bright flood lights pointing down to the body to take in the surrounding darkness. The calming pine scents and shuffling sounds of nocturnal animals were gone, replaced by an ominous foreboding that made his gut clench.

  “Couldn't have happened more than an hour or two ago, though Doc Peters is on his way for time of death.” Phil's voice was shockingly loud in the silence of the forest.