by Tessa Clarke
Leif reached behind his seat and pulled out two leather bomber jackets. He handed one to Delany. She pulled it around herself for warmth, wondering whose jacket it might be. But it was large and it smelled of Leif. Wearing it and inhaling his scent almost made her weak kneed.
Leif’s expression grew very serious, and his eyes held hers in a way that made her stomach flutter. “I’ve always wanted to dance under the stars up here,” he said. “Will you dance with me? Just one dance?”
Delany nodded. Dance on a Montana butte under the stars on a glorious spring evening with the most gorgeous man she’d ever laid eyes on. Who would say no to that?
Leif turned a dial on the helicopter panel and one of Delany’s favorite slow songs came over the speakers. Then he came around her side of the helicopter and helped her out. He led her a few feet away from chopper and pulled her into his arms. Delany put her own arms uncertainly around his neck, and he hugged her close and started to sway.
With his hard body pressed against hers and his hands resting just above her ass, she was lost. All her determination to be careful, to not fall for this man, evaporated. She tipped her head up to find his lips perilously close to hers, and then he kissed her, an all-consuming, demanding kiss that turned her legs to liquid and her mind to all the things that she wanted to do with Leif naked and in bed.
His hands slipped down the curve of her ass and his tongue invaded her mouth. Delany let her own hands slide down his broad, muscled back and to the curve of his buttocks, and then she pulled him closer so she could feel his hardness against her.
Their breathing intensified and Leif lifted one hand to brush against her breast. One song became three, and when he finally released her, she was trembling with desire, her heart racing and panties soaked, and a canvas of stars had blinked into existence above them.
“Come back to my place for the night,” Leif said, his voice husky.
“I don’t know, Leif. I don’t want to be just one of your conquests.”
He shook his head sharply, then leaned in and lifted her chin with his finger. “You’re not. You’re special. This is different. I promise.”
Delany nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She wanted to rip off her clothes here and ride that hard cock.
They got back into the helicopter and flew through the black sky, her hand on his thigh. Leif had donned night vision goggles for the flight and was fairly absorbed in flying. She didn’t know for sure, but it seemed like he was flying faster than before.
Her sensible self warred with her body. Her body wanted him plain and simple. Her sensible self wanted him too. But it also issued routine warnings that she would get hurt.
Her body didn’t care.
He radioed ahead to his ranch hands to turn on the landing lights, and a few minutes later, a brilliantly lit square of light came into view.
Leif dropped the chopper quickly and expertly into the spill of lights. The dogs poured around the corner of the barn and greeted them euphorically, with Buddy right in the thick of things. A short muscular man with a scruff of blond hair followed the dogs. He looked Delany up and down and cracked a wide grin.
“I’m Andy,” he said, extending his hand.
“Delany,” she said. She was going to add, it’s not what you think. But she supposed it was exactly what he thought.
Leif slipped an arm around her hips and pulled her against his side. “Thanks man,” he said.
“No problem, boss.” Andy gave a quasi-salute and then sauntered off into the dark, leaving them to head to the farmhouse, surrounded by leaping dogs.
Delany paused on the veranda, suddenly unsure, but Leif gave her one look with his smoldering green eyes, then took her hand and led her inside.
They gave the dogs a few minutes of attention, their eyes all over each other, and then left the dogs with food and beds on the enclosed porch.
In the shadows of the foyer, they stood and looked at each other for a few seconds. Moonlight painted a sharp relief of ghostly light on Leif’s cheekbones.
He reached out and ran his finger along the curve of her jaw. “You’re so beautiful,” he said.
Then he pulled her into his arms, his hot mouth possessing hers, and his hands roving her body with unbridled urgency. Delany responded in kind, running her hands over his hard pecs and abs, slipping her fingers down the front of his jeans to touch his erect shaft.
His fingers found the buttons of her shirt and he backed her through the kitchen as he undid them one by one.
She groped for his shirt. She wanted to see and touch his skin too. He threw her shirt to the floor in the living room, pausing for a second to cup each of her breasts in her lacy bra and press his lips to her nipples through the thin fabric, sending shivers up and down her thighs.
She finally managed to undo the last button on his shirt, and he pulled it off, revealing a six pack and then some of muscles. It was heart-stopping really, the perfection of his chest. She ran her hands up the hard expanse of skin, while he unclasped her bra and let her breasts fall free.
He fell on them immediately with his tongue and hands, coaxing her nipples into stiff peaks and making her pussy throb for more.
He turned his attention to her jeans as they mounted a set of dark wood stairs. He undid the button, guided the top of her jeans over her ass, then gently pushed her down onto one of the steps. He knelt in front of her and pulled her jeans down the rest of the way, tossing them and her socks over the bannister. She was almost fully exposed now, her legs spread and her tiny thong doing little to hide her arousal.
Leif regarded her wet slit with what seemed like intense satisfaction. He ran his fingers up her legs from her ankles to her knees and then kissed the inside of her thigh, moving closer and closer to her mound. She strained at him. He hooked a single finger into her thong and pulled it aside, his face only inches from her aching cunt.
“What a delightful little pussy,” he murmured. Then he slipped a single finger into her, stroking her wetness, teasing her, while she moaned and pleaded for more. Delany thought she might go mad. He added a second finger and intensified his movements. She started to thrust up against him, riding his fingers, arching her back on the stairs. Methodically and skillfully, he played with her until she gave a final hard thrust onto his fingers and came loudly, her pussy clenching around him.
“You are going to be so delightful to fuck,” he said.
He rose to his feet, pulling her up with him. Then he lifted her up, so that her legs were wrapped around his waist and his rod was pressed right against her mound, and carried her the rest of the way up the stairs and down the hall into a moonlit white bedroom.
He placed her on the bed in the center of the room, and then unbuttoned his own jeans and removed them. His erection strained at his boxers. He looked huge. He wasted no time stripping off his boxers, his cock bouncing slightly with the movement as he stood over her. Delany pushed up on her elbows and stared at his giant shaft, her eyes wide. Her pussy still spasmed from her orgasm, and she was wet and ready, but oh my God, he was enormous.
“Don’t worry, baby,” he said, stroking his rock-solid cock. “You can take it.” He reached into a drawer by the bedside table and withdrew a condom, which he unfurled on his rigid member with a practiced hand.
Then he pressed the tip of his cock against her waiting slit and guided himself into her slowly. Delany gasped at the size of him filling her, engulfing her in instant pleasure. If she was ever going to pass out from rapture, now might be the time.
“Oh my God,” she moaned.
He started to gently rock in and out of her, letting her pussy expand to accommodate him, her juices lubricating his movement. It felt magical, and when she was ready, she pushed her hips upward to let him know she wanted it harder and faster.
A wicked grin formed on his lips and he grabbed her hips and pulled her toward him, thrusting deeper into her as he increased the speed and force of his fucking
. Never mind pass out, she might die from the pleasure coursing through her body.
He reached forward with one hand and played with her clit, sending another spiral of ecstasy through her body.
“How will I ever go back to normal life after this?” she gasped.
“I’m not sure if I want you to go back to normal life,” he whispered, as he leaned in to place a kiss on her lips.
She felt a second orgasm building in her body, shuddering for release.
Leif could sense it too, and he thrust his lips out in the sexiest of sneers.
“I’m going to come inside of you, in that hot little pussy,” he said. “Are you ready?”
“I am so ready,” she panted, barely able to get out the words over her own rising wave of bliss.
Leif thrust even harder and deeper, driving her backwards on the bed, his balls slapping her ass. She lifted her hips to meet him every time as her hands clenched the fabric of the duvet.
“Yes,” he whispered. “Yes! Yes!” Then he jerked into her, releasing his load as she climaxed all around him, launching her cunt off the bed and into his groin.
He continued moving in and out of her slowly, drawing out their moment while she writhed in bliss on the bed beneath him.
Then he withdrew his cock, kissed her gently on the lips and went to an adjoining room. He returned without the condom, his semi-erect shaft still magnificent. Then in a sweeping movement, he lifted her off the bed, turned down the covers, and placed her on the sheets. He slid into bed next to her and pulled the warm duvet over both of them, his arms wrapping around her.
“That was most enjoyable,” he said, trailing kisses up her neck to her ear.
It had been. It had been the most unbelievable fuck of her life. It had been worth it to sleep with Leif, even if he was a ladies’ man and she was falling for him. She prepared herself for the drive of shame the next morning, returning to her own chilly apartment with Buddy and getting ready for work alone, while Leif no doubt turned his thoughts to his next conquest.
When his breathing evened, she rose, traipsed downstairs through the kitchen and retrieved her phone. She set her alarm for six-thirty in the morning. Early enough to make the drive back into town, shower, grab some food, and be at the clinic at eight.
The bed next to her was empty when she woke in the morning and she felt the tangible loss of the warm skin she’d touched all night, of Leif, the man she was falling for.
She listened for sounds in the bathroom and the rest of the house, but it was very silent. Outside, the occasional bark of a dog broke the quiet. Had he already headed off in search of a new woman? No, he said she was special. He wouldn’t do that. But where was he?
It didn’t matter. She needed to get up and get going.
She reached her hand out to touch his pillow and found a piece of paper.
She fluttered her eyes open.
“Good morning beautiful, I had to go out and tend the animals. There are fresh towels and a new toothbrush in the bathroom and some breakfast items on the counter and in the fridge. The eggs are fresh. Make yourself at home. I should be back before you leave for work.”
Leif’s walk-in shower with two showerheads was divine and there were enough female-like toiletries available that Delany was able to get ready for work. She tried not to think of the reasons Leif’s bathroom would be so well stocked. Her clothes, discarded all through the house the night before, were folded on a chair in Leif’s room. A new set of clean clothes, just the same size and a similar style, lay beside them. She smelled them. They smelled of laundry soap and fabric softener. Whose clothes were they?
She tried them on with some trepidation, but found that they fit perfectly. It felt funny wearing these clothes that had obviously belonged to one of Leif’s girlfriends. But it would save her a trip back to her apartment.
Everything she could possibly need for breakfast was laid out on the counter, and the espresso machine was ready. She made herself a cup of coffee and decided to go with granola for breakfast. She’d spent longer luxuriating in the shower than she thought, and she had to get going.
Buddy and Wig greeted her with great joy on the porch. Had he really left Wig behind just to keep Buddy company? She grabbed her purse and veterinary bag and slung them over her shoulder. Leif still hadn’t returned and she needed to leave.
She pulled a piece of paper and pen out of her purse. What to say? I’ve fallen completely in love with you? Probably not a good idea. A man who had a bathroom full of soaps and creams that a woman would find appealing was clearly not one to settle down. You don’t have to love me, just promise you’ll fuck me again. Again, not quite right.
Best to pretend she did this all the time. “Thank you for the marvelous evening. Call if you want help with Aquila.”
She stuck her note to the door, and then freed Wig, who gave her a grateful lick and headed off in the direction of the barn. She and Buddy walked slowly to her car. She cast looks over her shoulder, hoping that Leif would appear. That he would tell her that he loved her and that she should come back to the ranch that night and every night, for the rest of her life. But he didn’t, and so she got in her car and pulled back down the drive, heading for town.
Chapter Six: Leif
Leif held Delany’s note in his hand as he made himself another cup of coffee. He’d planned to make it back before she left, but a lost calf had kept him in the fields longer than he’d intended.
Delany. He missed her already with that wild red hair and the sprinkling of freckles across her nose. And that curvy body that drove him wild. His cock hardened again at the thought of that cunt of hers. He wanted to spend the day fucking her senseless, making her scream and beg.
He read her note a third time. It seemed very casual. He was falling for her, falling into an abyss of emotion and desire that he’d never experienced before. He wanted her here with him right now, in his bed, today and tonight, and every night. He wanted to see her in that Subaru with funny little Buddy, heading back down the road to him after work, so he could help her from her clothes and show her how to unwind.
His rod was now rock hard. He undid his jeans and stroked it, thinking of her, how good it felt to be inside her. His need rose and he took himself all the way, letting his warm seed erupt over his hand, as he grunted with satisfaction.
He didn’t think he was mistaken about the way she felt about him. That she was falling for him too. Most women fell for him. But Delany wasn’t most women. He reread her note and pondered the meaning of it. He didn’t even have her phone number. He’d have to call the veterinary clinic and track her down.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Pierce. Dr. Nichols is in surgery until later this afternoon,” Celeste, Barry’s receptionist, said. “Do you want to leave a message for her?”
What would he say? Come back to my ranch and make love to me? No. Best to talk directly to Delany. “I’ll call back later,” he said gruffly and hung up.
Second on his list was to deal with his brothers. Then he would shift and go and run in the wind to Raven Ridge and back.
He dialed the old ranch number, the familiarity sending his nerves jangling.
It was Silas who answered. Silas, the easier going of his four brothers, who spent much of his time in the ranch kitchen preparing meals while Wyatt, James, and Brett rustled cattle.
“Hey Si,” Leif said.
“Wyatt tells me you’ve met someone. Someone you actually like,” Silas said.
“Maybe I have,” Leif said defensively. He hated the implication that him meeting someone that he liked was so much their business. Of course it was okay if his siblings were interested in the fact that he’d met someone, if they were wishing him well.
But that wasn’t it. They wanted her too.
He pictured his sweet Delany being fucked by his brothers, with their cocks in her pussy, ass, and mouth. His own shaft strained at his jeans again. Part of him was turned on by this image. They’d
done it before, when they were younger, with girls who were happy to be passed around among the hottest men in Bozeman, to have many attentive lovers instead of one.
But Leif didn’t want that anymore. It didn’t begin to repair the sorrow that engulfed his heart. In fact, it made it worse. He wanted Delany to himself. His brothers could find their own mate to share. He would support them in that. They just couldn’t have Delany.
“Wy says he’s invited her for dinner. What do you think she’d like to eat?”
“She’s not coming for dinner,” Leif snapped.
He heard a long exhale from Silas. “Are you sure that’s what you want Leif? You used to like it.”
This got Leif a little bit. He had liked it. That connection with his brothers. Seeing a woman in the throes of ecstasy in the way that having multiple lovers with no shortage of hard cocks and willing fingers and tongues could generate. Life at Seven Winds Ranch. He had liked it. A long time ago. But things were different now. Completely different.
“I know. But not anymore, Si. I want a woman to myself. You four will meet someone—the right person—and then we can all be happy.”
“Wyatt says he’s pretty sure Delany is the one.”
“Wyatt doesn’t even know Delany. She’s mine,” Leif barked.
“Why don’t you let her choose, Leif?” Silas said quietly.
Because, Leif thought miserably, she doesn’t even know I’m a wolf shifter. What if he did let Delany choose and she chose having five gorgeous mates instead of just him? It wouldn’t be a surprising choice. Silas would make sumptuous meals, James would listen to her, Brett would keep her laughing, and Wyatt would be her protector. Leif closed his eyes. He missed those parts of his brothers too.
He pressed end on the call without saying goodbye. Then he removed his clothes and shifted into his silvery wolf form. Wig, who’d been milling around the kitchen, dropped into an automatic crouch at the sight of a more dominant canine.
