by Tessa Clarke
The front door was still ajar and Leif took off out into the world of smell and sun. He would run for a few miles, maybe take down a rabbit or two. Then he would drive into town, find Delany at her office, bring her back to the ranch, and hope to convince her to stay forever.
He ran farther and longer than he intended and by the time he’d dispatched two rabbits and climbed Raven Ridge, the shadows of afternoon had lengthened. He showered quickly then hopped in his pickup and sped into town.
Celeste regarded him dubiously over her horn-rimmed glasses. It was possible he’d slept with her daughter once when he’d just returned from Afghanistan, when he was in his dark and drunk days, trying to forget. He was sure he’d shown Sabrina a good time. He just might have forgotten to call her the next day.
“Is Dr. Nichols in?” he said.
“Do you have an appointment?” she asked, flipping through something on her computer screen.
“No. I was just hoping to talk to her about the eagle we rescued yesterday.” He gave Celeste his most charming grin, the one that worked on ninety percent of red-blooded women.
Unfortunately, Celeste was in the other ten percent. She gave him a little frown. “Dr. Nichols has left for the day. You’ll have to call tomorrow.”
“Can you just give me her cell phone number?”
Celeste’s frown turned into more of a scowl. “I don’t give out the personal numbers of our staff. This is a veterinary office, not a dating service,” she replied, casting him with a squinty-eyed look. “You’re not the first person in here today asking for it. Come to think of it, the other man looked an awful lot like you.”
Leif felt a sharp turn in his heart. An awful lot like him? That had to be Wyatt. He’d driven all this way to try to find Delany? Leif stumbled outside, his heart pounding. He had to find Delany before Wyatt did. Before Wyatt told her everything.
He looked left and right down the busy main street of Raven Ridge. It wasn’t a big town, but he had no idea where Delany lived or hung out.
He started by driving around all of the apartment blocks in town, looking for the Subaru. Then he went through the parking lot of the grocery store, pharmacy, and post office. What would she do after work? If she was anything like him, which he suspected she was, she would walk Buddy.
He drove into the parking lot of the river walk park in a cloud of dust. Sure enough, there was the Subaru. Leif relief vaporized. Wyatt’s black pickup was parked right next to the Subaru.
Leif swung into a space and set out along the river trail at a half jog. It wasn’t long before he spotted Delany ahead of him, walking next to the towering form of his brother. She looked so impossibly tiny next to him. Was that how she looked with him? She was still wearing Rachel’s clothes that he’d laid out for her. The turquoise of the shirt made Delany’s red hair pop, and Leif found himself aching to touch her again.
Wyatt’s dog Tipsy, an Australian cattle dog, frolicked in the grass with Buddy. Wyatt and Delany appeared to be talking intently and Leif felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest.
He approached cautiously. He didn’t have a dog with him. There was no reason for him to be out here. It would be evident that he’d basically scoured the town, looking for Delany.
Delany glanced over her shoulder when she heard his footsteps. She stopped and regarded him in surprise, but then her features hardened. Wyatt had told her.
Wyatt stopped as well, and they both watched him as he approached.
“Hey,” he said, at a complete loss for words.
“Hi,” Delany replied, her voice short.
“What are you doing here, Wyatt?” Leif’s voice was sharp and challenging and he’d already clenched his fists.
Wyatt shrugged in an innocent way. “I had to deliver a pair of horses to the Walmsleys. I brought Tipsy along for the ride and decided to bring her to the park here for a quick stroll before I head back. You all right, Leif? You’re looking a little tense.”
“Can I talk to Delany, alone?” Leif said.
Wyatt shrugged again, but Delany put her hands on her hips, her eyes snapping. “No thank you, Leif. So you can tell me more lies?”
Leif almost took a step backwards, so intense was the anger on her face.
“What has my brother told you?”
“About all the women, the drinking… a different woman every night? I knew you were a player, but I didn’t think it was that bad. Is that why you had women’s clothes and shampoo?”
Leif shook his head. “No. Those things are Rachel’s. Our sister. She comes to stay sometimes. She’s at college right now.” He tried to clear his head. “Look when I got back from Afghanistan, I was pretty messed up for a while. There were some women, and some drinking. But not anymore.” He paused. How much had Wyatt told her?
“Wyatt said you left the women notes in the morning when you wanted to give them the brush off. Then you’d take off for the day, leaving them to drive the woman home. Kind of like you did with me. I guess I’m not that special.”
Leif flicked his eyes to Wyatt. This was all true. He wondered if his brother had mentioned that they would often drive the woman home a few days later after they’d all had their way with her, consensually of course. His brothers would never harm a woman.
Leaving Delany the note this morning had been different though. It had been a different kind of note. He’d wanted her to make herself at home, to come back to him, to know how much the previous night had meant to him.
So Wyatt hadn’t told Delany that they were all shifters? Why? He scrutinized Wyatt and saw his slight lean in Delany’s direction, the dazed look on his brother’s face.
Wyatt was taken with Delany.
He hadn’t told her yet because he wanted the chance to seduce her himself.
“Are you going to say anything?” Delany said. Tears had gathered in her eyes, and Wyatt automatically placed his hand in the small of her back. Rage welled up in Leif’s gut, and it was all he could do not to launch a punch at his brother. But they were almost twins. They would be perfectly matched.
He looked back at Delany, with her wide green eyes, and wild red curls. He decided to go for the truth.
“You are special, Delany. I’m falling for you. I think I’m in love with you. I did some things when I got back from Afghanistan that I’m not proud of. I was in a dark place, but that’s not who I am.” He swept on despite the fact that her mouth had fallen open. “And that’s not all. We’re shifters. Wolf shifters. And sometimes wolf shifters share a mate among them. But I don’t want that. I want you all to myself. I want to be your husband, and your mate, and show you all the world has to offer. I wasn’t sure yesterday, but I’m sure now. I want to dance with you under the stars on every butte in Montana. But my brothers aren’t respecting my choice. They want me to share you. That’s why Wyatt is here.”
The point between Delany’s eyebrows creased, and she took a step to the side, away from Wyatt.
“Is that true?” she said to Wyatt.
His brother’s face looked anguished, and Leif felt bad that he was insisting on going his own way once again.
“It is true,” Wyatt said. “But this isn’t just Leif’s choice. Sharing a mate is the way of our people, and my brothers and I have so much to offer. Silas cooks like a dream. You’ll want for nothing, and we’ll adore you. We’ll even support your career.”
“Share me? Adore me? Support my career. You just met me,” Delany snapped. “Your choice. Your ways? What about my choice? You don’t know anything about me. Stay away from me, both of you.”
She shot a look of fury at Leif, scooted past him in the direction of her car, and marched away, calling for Buddy as she went.
“Well, that went well,” Wyatt said as soon as she was out of earshot.
Leif gritted his teeth. “Wy, just stay out of my life. Stay out of Raven Ridge, and stay away from Delany. I mean it.”
He ventured after Delany, but he could
tell by the set of her back and the stormy looks she threw over her shoulder that she had no interest in talking to him.
He would wait then, and try to approach her in a day or two when she’d cooled down a bit. If she cooled down a bit.
Chapter Seven: Delany
Delany’s mind was in turmoil and she fought back tears. Shifters. One mate for five brothers. She couldn’t even imagine, although she had to admit that she’d felt a momentary frisson of desire at the prospect of sleeping with both Wyatt and Leif. She knew some women were into that with wolf shifters, but not her. And five of them? That was too many.
Leif stayed well behind her as she made her way to her car, and she turned to glare at him over her shoulder.
He thought he was in love with her?
That was what he’d said. But it didn’t make sense. He couldn’t possibly love her after one night. She’d heard that shifters knew that they loved someone long before humans did. That they knew instinctually. Of course, she’d been thinking that she was in love with Leif this morning. But she’d been thinking that in the afterglow of sex, which had been magical. Delany felt a fluttering in her pussy as she remembered his body, his hardness, and the way he’d made her feel. But she had just been being silly. It was too soon for them to be in love, and why hadn’t he told her he was a shifter? And what about all the other women he’d slept with? Had he told them he loved them too?
Resolutely she jumped in her Subaru with Buddy, put her foot on the gas, and peeled out of the parking lot. It wasn’t until she was several miles away, safely on route to her apartment, that she let the tears come.
The week seemed to drag on for an eternity, and Delany felt like she was sleepwalking through it. Even Barry commented on her mood. She saw all her patients and treated them carefully and proficiently. But the world had become alarmingly grey. She couldn’t get her mind off Leif. She wanted him. But he’d lied to her, or not told her some critical details of his life. And he had four brothers who expected her to sleep with them too.
Sometimes after work she thought she glimpsed his red pickup driving past the clinic, but if it was Leif, he stayed well away.
Leif called on Saturday morning. “Don’t hang up,” he said. “Celeste barred me from coming by the clinic. I finally convinced Barry to give me your number. I had to sleep out on his lawn to make him realize that I was serious. He turned the sprinklers on me at five in the morning.”
Delany laughed despite herself, a strange relief flooding over her at the sound of his voice.
“I’m sorry for everything,” he said. “One date, Delany. Tonight. Let’s start over. Just give me one night to convince you to trust me and give me another chance. We can pretend that we just met. No more lies, I promise. No sex. Let’s just get to know each other. We can talk about sex, but no sex until you decide you want to be with me. If at the end of the date tonight, you want to see me again, I’ll take you out next Saturday too. But if you don’t, just tell me, and I’ll never bug you or sleep on Barry’s lawn again.”
Delany closed her eyes. She steeled her heart to say no, but she could already feel Leif’s arms around her. “Okay,” she said. “One date.”
“Wear a dress,” he said. “I promise I won’t take advantage of you.”
What if I want you to take advantage of me, she thought, the memory of skin and fucking flitting through her mind. But no. Brothers, lies, women. She had to keep him at arm’s length. One date. She would go out on one date, and hopefully find something terribly unappealing about him. Then maybe she could get Leif Pierce out of her system.
“We might be late. Buddy can stay at the farm with my dogs,” Leif said. “Andy will look after him.”
He approached her from behind as she stood outside the veterinary clinic in her scarlet dress, and she felt the heat from his body and his lips close to her ear before she saw him.
“You look magnificent,” he said. His voice was low and resonant. She whirled and found herself standing inches from him, her heart already pounding. He wore a fine-cut grey suit, his white shirt once again unbuttoned, revealing the curve of his perfect pecs. He smelled of soap and manliness, and his eyes were almost mesmerizing.
She sucked in a deep breath. “So do you,” she managed to return.
“Your chariot awaits,” he said. He led her to a silver Audi Roadster, which he explained he kept parked in town, and they drove across Raven Ridge to where his helicopter waited.
After dropping Buddy off at the ranch, they flew to Missoula, talking about their weeks, Aquila, their favorite music, and Barry’s sprinkler system. It was intoxicating to be near him, and Delany often stopped talking just so she could study his profile. They both, however, carefully avoided the topic of his brothers, and his past.
When they alighted, he placed a firm, but gentle hand under one of her elbows.
“Shall we have a drink first?”
He was standing so close to her, and all she could think of was his body entwined with hers in a dark hallway. “Sure,” she said.
He nodded and steered her in the direction of Vines, a small dark bar in the basement of a boutique hotel across the street. He moved fluidly, like an athlete, and away from the familiar space of the chopper, Delany found herself tongue-tied.
They found a table in the back and ordered glasses of red wine. He watched her now like a hungry but patient animal, prepared to wait out his prey. She felt his legs slide towards hers under the table and she allowed hers to meet his, until she could feel the warmth of his wool pants against her nylons. Then his lips spread into a slow salacious smile.
“So, since we can’t have sex, do you want to talk about sex?”
“You mean you want me to talk dirty to you?”
“In a manner of speaking. I want to know what you like, what you want, what’s a no-go for you. Talking about sex can be as much of a turn on as having sex. But if you want to call it talking dirty, that’s fine too.”
Delany found her heart racing in a thrilling fashion, but she was pretty sure her cheeks had turned as crimson as her dress. “I don’t know if I can talk about sex unless I’m very drunk.”
As if on cue, their drinks arrived and Delany took a big gulp.
“Perhaps it would help if I ask some questions,” he said.
“Perhaps,” she said. “Don’t you want to know other things about me first? Like my favorite color, my parents’ professions, my childhood pets, and that I’m financially solvent?”
A smile snaked across his face. “Isn’t my line of questioning more fun? I can learn about those other things all in good time. I think you secretly want to be a little bit more wicked, don’t you?”
She found herself smiling at him, or perhaps leering, and then she felt an uncontrollable urge to giggle.
“Okay, so what’s your favorite position? Don’t overthink it. Just answer. We’re just trying to set the parameters here of what you like.”
“Man behind, standing up,” she said.
He arched a single perfect eyebrow. “And in what position do you come the hardest?”
“Me on top, riding you… hard.” She was conscious that she’d already switched from talking about depersonalized people having sex, to them having sex, to imagining them having sex. Then again, she’d been imagining them having sex all week, but now she was doing it right in front of him.
“Do you swallow?”
“Depends how you taste.”
“When it comes to your own pleasure, can you make it happen once, or multiple times back to back?”
“As many times as you want.”
“Good. Very good,” he said. He still wore a smile, but she wondered if his gaze had become more intense, and his breathing more ragged.
He stood, and the disappearance of the pressure of his legs from hers was almost gut-wrenching. But he smiled and beckoned. “Come here.”
She cocked her head but nonetheless rose. He took her hand and guided he
r to the corridor that led from the bar to the hotel.
Then he turned and pulled her into his arms and she barely had a chance to catch her breath before his lips were on hers in the deepest, most spine-tingling kiss she’d ever experienced. His tongue danced against hers while his hands slipped down her back to her ass, pulling her snugly against his groin. She let her hand drift up and touch his hair, while she dropped the other one to his backside and made sure he remained firmly pressed against her.
When he finally released her, his green eyes looked straight into hers, “I just needed a little reminder of how perfect your lips are.”
Back at the table, Delany finished off the last of her wine. She wasn’t sure that she needed actual wine to feel drunk, just being close to Leif was more than enough. His legs were back touching hers, and the heat and wetness that had developed in her panties while he was kissing her hadn’t abated.
The waitress arrived, and he requested the bill. Delany wondered if they were going Dutch, but he paid the bill without even looking to her to contribute.
“Can I just ask you a small question?”
He jutted his lower lip out in amusement. “You don’t have to ask to ask me a question. Just ask whatever you want.”
“When are we going to talk about what you like in bed?”
“You can ask anything you want about that, at any time. I want you to.”
He rose, and she followed suit, their bodies veering close in small dim space. She wanted to be kissing him again. Ask him about his preferences regarding sex? She didn’t know if she could. She was used to just having sex. Her assumptions regarding men’s preferences regarding sex had always been simple and few in number. Men liked sex lots. Straight men liked sex with women. Men liked every part of sex except going down on a woman, but then Leif hadn’t seemed to mind that at all. She shivered at the memory. Men would prefer to have sex every night, kind of like brushing their teeth. Men probably liked raunchier sex than women, but accommodated women’s more delicate sensitivities. But that was why they cheated and went to hookers. Men loved getting head. That pretty much summarized all her beliefs regarding men and sex. She supposed that was a whack load of cultural assumptions. But somehow talking about sex seemed more risqué than having sex.
