by Tessa Clarke
She realized that Leif was staring at her, a faint smile twitching on his full sensuous lips. “Shall we walk for a bit?” he said. “I promise I won’t take advantage of you in any dark alleyways.”
“Pity,” she said under her breath. She imagined herself kneeling in an alleyway sucking that magnificent cock.
Outside the bar, he slipped his hand into hers, and they started to walk north up the darkening street.
“So, what was your most erotic experience ever?” His fingers in hers and the fact that they were no longer facing each other over a table seemed to loosen her tongue and inhibitions.
She felt her lips twitch into a smile. “Other than last week? One of my professors in a closet at a Christmas Party. It was against the rules to date your professors, of course. We kissed and I let him feel me up. It was somehow super hot, even though we never had sex.”
His hand had tightened when she mentioned the previous week. But he kept his voice light. “Illicitness heightens arousal.”
“You sound like you have experience with that,” she said.
“Perhaps,” he replied. “What is the most erotic thing or things you’d like to do, but have never done?”
“Sex with a stranger, sex in public, sex with several men at the same time,” she listed. Then she froze. Would Leif think that meant she wanted to sleep with his brothers? She hadn’t meant it that way. She had imagined it, of course. But she didn’t really want to do it. She loved the connection that came from being with one man. From being with Leif.
But Leif had stiffened beside her and almost let go of her hand.
“That isn’t what I meant,” she said, her heart fluttering almost painfully. “It’s a fantasy, but I don’t actually want that.”
He stopped walking and turned to face her, his green eyes serious. “I don’t want to keep you from that option, Delany. My brothers are good men. They would satisfy you, and love you, and support you. It’s not for me, anymore.”
“No,” she said. “That’s not what I want.” That wasn’t what she wanted was it?
“I just want you to remember that it’s an option,” Leif said. “If you decide that you want to be with me, I want you to be sure about your choice.”
Leif regarded her intently for a few seconds, then he pulled her to him, tangled his hands in her hair, and pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her, his mouth hot. He ran his hands up and down her body, letting one come to rest on her breast, while he thrust his hips against hers, and she almost moaned, pushing back against him, wanting to feel his teeth on her nipple, his fingers inside her. He trailed his lips down her neck, his fingers caressing her breast, teasing her nipple beneath the red fabric. Then he pulled back, his breathing heavy, and his hand still cupping her buttock.
“What I want right now,” she said through gritted teeth, “is for you to fuck me.” What was she saying? So much for finding something terribly unappealing about him.
Leif’s eyes had become more hooded and he took her hand and guided it to his groin where she could feel his rigid cock. She let out a small groan of desire.
“I have every intention of fucking you, very soon. But first I want you to trust me, completely.”
The street was almost, but not quite deserted. Cars still flew past at regular intervals and a few pedestrians made their way down the other side of the street, which was good or she would have been tempted to unzip his pants and taste him, and then try to fuck him standing up.
But as his words sank in, they brought her back to her senses. She didn’t trust him completely yet.
He dropped another kiss onto her forehead and they pulled apart and resumed walking down the street. Delany’s mind whirled.
He squeezed her hand. “Let’s get some dinner. If you’re good with it, I usually eat at the theatre when I’m going to a show.”
She shot a look over at his profile in the dim light. “We’re going to a show?”
“Kevin Lane is in town. Do you like him?”
Kevin Lane, one of the most famous country singers in the world, who had given up doing big concerts in favor of spending time with his family and doing the occasional show in small venues. She’d just finished telling Leif over and over in the chopper how much she adored Kevin Lane. “Like him? I love him.”
Leif winked. “Phew, that’s good. I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t like country music.”
“You mean tonight, or in general?”
He elevated an eyebrow and gave her that lethal smile. “In general. I definitely would have had to think twice about this relationship.”
Delany gave him a sharp punch in the arm, which probably hurt her fist more than his hard bicep.
“And I have a box at the Orion, so we’ll have some privacy.”
“You have a box? Doesn’t the Orion have mostly musicals and opera?”
He winked at her. “Are you saying I’m not cultured enough for musicals and the opera?”
“No… I just. You’re constantly surprising me Leif Pierce.”
They took a cab to the theatre where they were ushered to a special VIP room with a buffet of fancy appetizers, small dishes and champagne flutes.
The food was divine, and she watched Leif move around the room comfortably, greeting a few people here and there, as if he’d been here multiple times before. He kept up a friendly banter while they ate and she was more and more mystified. What kind of guy was Leif, really?
The box, as promised, was private and sumptuous, and the chairs rotated to face each other. Leif settled in his seat, swiveled his chair, placed his knees on either side of hers, and pulled her in close. The warmth of his hands on her thighs and his legs against hers was exhilarating, and he darted little kisses onto her lips. He seemed to be watching her, waiting for something. The champagne had taken away some of her reticence, but the words still stuck in her throat.
“What do you like in bed?” She cringed a bit. It was too general. It didn’t have the risqué dirtiness appeal that his questions had.
“I like anything and everything. I like a beautiful woman who isn’t afraid to take risks, to say what she wants, to indulge herself, who likes pleasure and sex, but isn’t afraid to laugh when things don’t go exactly as planned. I like sex in the morning, quickies in the afternoon, handcuffs, foreplay, and plunging inside of a woman. And I won’t lie, I love having my cock sucked.”
“Oh,” she said. This seemed so inadequate a response, especially given the wetness and tingling that warmed her center as a result of his words. She should reply with something equally dirty, some offer to taste his cock. Something. But he took the need for words away by leaning in for a hungry kiss.
His hand brushed up her leg to her panties, and his fingers slipped inside to play with her clit, and feel her slickness. She arched into him with almost a growl, thrusting against his fingers, wanting to feel him inside her, but he danced around the edge of her core, driving her almost wild, as he lightly nipped her shoulder.
The lights had dropped and there were signs that the band was about to start. Delany tried to concentrate. They were in a crowded theatre with people all around them and she was nearly riding Leif. He withdrew his fingers and brushed her lips with another kiss, pulling her legs so that they were wrapped around his waist. Then he thrust against her until she had to stifle a full on mewl of need.
Soon the stage lights would come up and they would be very visible from across the theatre. She leaned back in her chair with a faint groan of frustration, leaving her groin pressed against his. He followed her cue and gently pulled away, his hands caressing her legs as he did.
The lights on the stage came up, and they turned their seats to face the performance, their knees pressed together, and Leif’s hand between her thighs.
Then Kevin Lane came on and Delany was swept away by the music and the thrill of seeing one of her favorite stars.
Leif seemed equally entranced by the perfor
mance, and as electrifying and distracting it was to have his hand between her legs, she was completely mesmerized by Kevin. The music was amazing and Delany cheered until her throat was dry. Leif squeezed her leg at appropriate moments and occasionally brushed her hair behind her ear to press a kiss on her jaw.
They rose at the end to give a standing ovation with everyone else in the theatre and then added their voices to the thundering calls for an encore. After everyone cheered and stomped their feet for ten minutes, Kevin came back out alone with his guitar. He sat down on the stool and played the opening chords to Delany’s favorite song. Her heart leapt in anticipation. It was a ballad about dancing under a Montana moon.
Just before he started singing, Kevin leaned into the microphone. “This song is going out to my buddy Leif, and the new woman in his life, Delany. May the two of you always dance under the stars.”
Delany turned to Leif and blinked in surprise.
“We were friends in college,” he whispered and as Kevin started to sing, Leif took her into his arms and they danced in the small box, and it was possibly the most magical moment of Delany’s life.
After the concert, they filed out into the black. The temperature had dropped, and Delany pulled her wrap tightly around her as Leif located a cab, and then they rode through the pools of streetlights.
“So what did you think of the show?” Leif asked.
“It was amazing,” she replied. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you knew him.”
“I like surprises,” Leif said.
They were quiet during the chopper ride back to Raven Ridge. The music still echoed in Delany’s ears and she wanted to hang onto the magic of dancing with Leif while Kevin sang to them. She wanted to ask Leif so many questions, about what it was like to be a shifter, why he’d slept with so many women when he got back from Afghanistan, and what that meant for his ability to have a relationship and be happy with just one woman.
She also wanted to ask him about his brothers. But her heart felt so full, and she didn’t want to spoil what had been a perfect night. She wasn’t sure if she even wanted to think about him being a shifter, what that meant. She definitely didn’t want to think about him sleeping with other women.
Next time. She would ask next time. Which meant that she’d decided that there would be a next time.
So much for getting him out of her system.
“Are we on for next Saturday, then?” Leif said, as he dropped her and Buddy off outside her apartment.
She nodded and let him kiss her. She couldn’t believe that she wasn’t demanding that he take her home to bed. But it was better this way. She still needed to know a little more about Leif Pierce before she could give him her heart.
The following Saturday they went riding and then hiked to the top of Raven Ridge to watch the sun set. Scores of ravens flew over them as they hiked, blotting out the pink sky, heading for their roost in the cliffs. Leif brought binoculars and after scanning the cliff for several minutes, managed to pick out the white raven much to Delany’s delight.
“Can you imagine being the sole white bird in that sea of black?” Leif said.
Delany shook her head. She wondered if the white raven even knew he or she was different.
She hadn’t been sure how they were going to get back down in the dark, but Leif surprised her by having the chopper and an elaborate picnic dinner already up on the ridge when they arrived.
That night as she lay in his arms on the blanket under a slate sky in a state of arousal after he’d left her breathless with his touch and kisses, she asked him what it was like to be a shifter. He told her how it felt to operate with heightened senses, what it was like to be part wild, to run through the woods and rangelands with his brothers, or alone, to know the scent of a single blade of grass.
He also told her about his instincts and desires, and how deeply shifters loved. It seemed to Delany as though a bleakness passed over him when he spoke of love, but she couldn’t be sure.
At her request, he stripped and shifted for her, becoming a stunning silvery wolf that sniffed the air and loped around her, his coat glowing in the moonlight. He approached almost warily and she buried her hands in his fur and smelled his wildness. Then suddenly he was a man again, a perfectly cut, naked man, who made her knees weak and her body tremble with desire. But true to his word, although he drove her mad with what he did with her body, he didn’t take it that one last step. Perhaps it was all part of his plan. He was going to make her want him so much that she’d beg to be his no questions asked.
And it was working. She was falling for him… hard.
On the way home from their third date, a day at the Marias River Rodeo, she asked about the women and the drinking, Leif said brusquely that there was nothing to tell. Although they’d enjoyed their time at the rodeo, Leif had seemed moodier, and more distant than he had on their previous dates. It was part of the reason she’d decided it was time to talk about his past. But now she realized that maybe it wasn’t the best timing.
She turned to make a joke of it, to try to relieve the tension that had suddenly filled the cockpit of the helicopter, but Leif’s eyes were harder than she’d ever seen them, and a muscle pulsed in his cheek.
“I just need to know. You say that isn’t who you are. And I believe you. But I need to understand why you did it,” she said. “It’s important, for us, if there’s going to be an us.”
Leif was deathly quiet. “I can’t talk about it, Delany. Not now. Maybe not ever. Please don’t ask again,” he replied, his voice terse. Then he went silent for the remainder of the short flight while Delany sucked back tears.
He dropped her at her car without ceremony, although he did place an absent kiss on her forehead. But then, instead of taking off in the helicopter as she drove away, she saw him shed his clothes, shift, and run off into the black night.
On Wednesday, a beautiful bouquet of roses arrived at the veterinary clinic addressed to Delany.
“Ooh, someone has an admirer,” Celeste cooed.
Delany flushed and her heart fluttered as she opened the card. Was Leif trying to apologize for his behavior the other night? He hadn’t called just to say hi yet this week, like he had the previous weeks, and she’d started to feel a small seed of worry.
But instead of being from Leif, the roses were from Wyatt, Silas, James, and Brett Pierce. She clutched the card to her chest and looked at Celeste in alarm. What would the woman think if she knew Delany was getting roses from Leif’s brothers? All four of them…
She moved the roses into her office in the clinic and stared at them. She checked her cell phone again, hoping to see a missed call or text from Leif.
Celeste poked her head into Delany’s office. “There’s someone here to see you,” she said. She gave Delany the wide-eyed look that Delany knew meant Celeste was trying to pass her some unspoken message. Delany hoped that it didn’t mean that Mrs. Biddle was back with her twelve-year-old canary.
A broad-shouldered man stood looking out the window when she entered the foyer. Her heart leapt. It was Leif, here to explain. But when the man turned, she saw it was Wyatt. He was, she realized, as extraordinarily hot as his brother, and the way he was looking at her sent a slight tremor down the back of her thighs. She would be lying if she claimed that she hadn’t imagined sleeping with him.
As always, Wyatt was direct. “I know what I said when we saw each other last was probably a bit shocking. I’m sorry. I want to invite you out to our ranch to meet my brothers. Just have dinner with us and get to know us. No pressure.”
After the last time she saw Wyatt, she’d thought that she would think him dangerous—after all, he seemed to think that Delany should be sleeping with him and his brothers—but she didn’t. Wyatt radiated kindness and almost paternal concern.
Delany shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve been seeing Leif.” Was she still seeing Leif? She didn’t know. Maybe she’d ruined things with Lei
f.
Wyatt’s face shifted and grew drawn. “I love my brother,” he said. “But you should know that he still hasn’t recovered from…” He paused. “Being in Afghanistan. He needs help and we want to help him, but he keeps pushing us away. We’re naturally pack animals. We think he’d be way better off living with us. We want him to come home.”
Delany pressed her lips together. She couldn’t speak to what was best for Leif.
“But even if he doesn’t,” Wyatt continued. “That doesn’t change the fact that we think you’re the woman for us, and we want you to see what we have to offer.”
“You barely know me,” she said.
“We’re shifters. We know what we want,” Wyatt replied. “Look I’m guessing you’re set to work in Barry’s satellite clinic tomorrow. It’s right near our ranch. Just drop by for a bite to eat after you quit.”
Delany found herself agreeing despite her misgivings. Maybe Leif was never coming back. Wyatt gave her the address and directions to Seven Winds Ranch.
He caught her hand as she went to turn away, and squeezed it. Sparks flew up her arm. She was attracted to him.
“We’re really excited to potentially have you as part of our lives, Delany.”
Chapter Eight: Leif
Thunderclouds hovered on the horizon as Leif sniffed the grass on Raven Ridge where he and Delany had lain a few days ago. Her scent was still so strong and it filled him with longing. He needed to call her, to tell her that he loved her. But memories of Jackson kept worming their way into his brain. The rodeo had been a bad choice. Memories of he and Jackson winning the team roping event fifteen years ago had swamped his mind and made him more volatile than he should have been. Jackson would have loved Delany, her curves, her warmth, her brilliance.
