by Marie Mason
“We’re down here.” Hunter tugged her behind him as he walked, her small hand swallowed up in his larger one. She felt the hard press of his warm fingers and imagined what they would feel like against her bare skin. Stroking, squeezing…
Oh, man, how was she going to control her hunger for this wolf while locked together with him inside a tiny room?
He’d gotten them a ground floor room for which she was grateful. He didn’t look like the type of man to wait on an elevator when there was a set of stairs he could transverse. Julie knew after about three sets of stairs, she’d be huffing and puffing like the wolf in the fairy tale.
He quickly led the way to their room, clearing out a path for her to follow with his long strides. The wind had piled snow up against the railing just like it had on the guardrails on the side of the interstate. He opened the door with his coded keycard and ushered her just inside the room.
“They only had one room?”
“We were lucky to get this one.”
“I guess so.” She drew her coat together.
He motioned for her to wait as he moved further into the room, turning on the lights before allowing her to come completely inside. The warm air hit Julie as soon as she walked inside. She smiled in appreciation. The hotel wasn’t that luxurious, but she wasn’t complaining. They had heat and a roof over their heads for the night.
Her eyes quickly scanned the room—a desk with chair, a fake oak cupboard that acted as a television stand and—well damn it. A bed. Singular. Granted it looked like a king-sized mattress, but there was only one. She didn’t know if she wanted to cry, laugh or thank her guardian angel. Looked like she’d be sleeping with the wolf tonight.
“You’re letting out all the warm air.”
His words seemed to release her paralysis and she stepped further into the room. The door closed behind her with a soft thud, making her jump. She watched as Hunter turned his attention to the heating unit beneath the window. The curtain on the window was open, letting in the glow from the parking lot lights as they reflected off the blanket of snow. It filled the room with a strange, white light. Suddenly, it seemed as if they were locked away from the rest of the world, completely on their own.
“You realize we’re probably not going anywhere in the morning, don’t you?”
Julie wanted to protest his prediction, but she knew what he said was true. Just how much snow were they calling for? In a panic, she grabbed the remote and turned on the television. The local station had preempted the primetime shows to bring continuing coverage of the storm. Ursula? Really, that’s the name they’d given it? Wasn’t that the name of the sea witch in The Little Mermaid movie? She snorted. Maybe the name was appropriate after all. The storm was turning into a real bitch.
She clicked off the television having heard all she wanted to hear. Record snowfall. Curfew. Stay off the roads. Hunker down. “That’s that, I suppose.”
“I’m going to get our bags.” He didn’t respond to her comments, simply turned around and left the room. In less than ten minutes, he was back carrying his green military issued duffle bag, her small suitcase and her purse. She hadn’t intended to stay long after the wedding so she hadn’t packed very much. Thinking of exactly what was inside the suitcase made her groan to herself. Because the bridesmaids’ dresses were low cut, she couldn’t wear a regular bra under it. She’d had to order a special deep cut one that would keep her breasts up and at’em so to speak. It was an emerald green piece of satin and lace that she absolutely adored. She’d worn it several times already to the office under her regular clothing.
She felt sinfully decadent and sexy when she wore it.
Looking at him beneath her lashes, she wondered what he’d do if she wore it—and nothing else. Well, and the matching green boy briefs she’d also brought. She loved those things, too. They had a built in control panel that helped to flatten her stomach. Not that it would ever be truly flat. She was a big girl with the curvy body to match.
Damn, the snow must be messing with her somehow. That was about the hundredth naughty thought she’d had since this man had rescued her. And she was not normally a naughty girl.
He stood by the door, his broad shoulders covered in large, wet flakes of snow. He hadn’t bothered fastening his coat for the short trips to and from the car. Now the snowflakes were melting, causing damp patches to appear on his shirt in the most interesting of places—like right over his nipple. “Are you hungry?”
She was hungry alright. Hungry for a taste of him.
Part of her wanted to do that. Hold her head up high and ask him to join her on the bed, pass the time away in a very enjoyable way between two consenting adults.
It was a good thing she could always trust herself to be sensible.
“A little. But I’ll be fine until morning.” She regretted not stopping at a convenience store when she realized she was going to have to find somewhere to stay the night. This hotel was a little nicer than one she would have stopped at, but it didn’t have a mini-bar. For which she was grateful. Her willpower was at an all-time low and her budget couldn’t stand the hit of a four-dollar snack-size bag of M&Ms.
Of course, chocolate wasn’t the only thing she was having a difficult time resisting. Try one big wolf shifter who seemed to take up the majority of space between the bed and the doorway.
“I’m going to see if I can find us something to eat.” He turned his hand on the doorknob. “It may take a while, don’t worry if I’m not back soon.”
A frown appeared on her face. “You’re not going to try and drive in this, are you?”
“No. I thought I’d hit the vending machines.”
“Oh, okay.” She gave him a small smile. “But don’t go to any trouble for me. I’ll be fine.”
He returned her smile, a far more dangerous version of hers. “Maybe I can stoke your appetite.”
With that cryptic remark, he headed out the door and was swept up in the blowing wind of the storm.
CHAPTER THREE
A steady stream of curse words that his sister would never want her children to hear spewed from Hunter’s lips as he stomped back to the Hummer. Shit. That reminded him he needed to call his parents or at least text Logan about the turn his day had taken.
His breath formed puffs of white fog in front of his face and he welcomed the cold that hit him like a giant fist to the gut. He needed to grab his wallet and the phone charger he’d left in the vehicle. Thinking of the temptation waiting for him back in the hotel room, he thought about calling his team and having them come get him as soon as the weather broke.
Temptation was a mild word for what he was feeling for Julie. He swiped his hand over his face. All he wanted to do was sweep her off her feet and throw her on the bed. If he could do that, he wouldn’t care if Chicago ever thawed out.
Grabbing the items he needed, he walked around the building to the stairwell that split the long building in half and where the vending machines should be located. There wasn’t much. Junk food and more junk food. He fed the machines all of his change and dollar bills, getting enough food for their supper. In the morning, he’d make his way to the gas station and diner. He didn’t expect the roads to be cleared enough to travel, they weren’t off a major exit and clearing the road in front the hotel probably wasn’t a priority. Hopefully, the owners of the gas station and diner lived near by and would be able to make it in.
Again, he thought about just calling his team to come and get him as soon as the weather cleared. He’d give Julie the Hummer and…There was no way in hell he was going to let her travel on the snow covered roads by herself.
As he gathered up the food he’d bought, Hunter realized the management was probably going to let the guests fend for themselves and he didn’t like the idea. Sitting the food down, he pulled two small metal picks from his wallet. It didn’t take him long to pop the front of the machine open. Pulling several one hundred dollar bills to cover the cost of all the food in the machine, he cramm
ed the money into the slots.
Jogging back around the building to their room, he took the keycard from his pocket and opened the door, not bothering to knock. Really not even thinking of knocking. He’d shared space with someone almost all of his life. First his brothers and then in the military.
“What are you doing!”
“Fuck!” Hunter jumped back, startled like a rookie recruit on his first mission. It wasn’t the sound of her near hysterical shout that threw him off balance, it was the sight in front of him. Julie leaned over the king-sized bed, rummaging through her suitcase—wrapped in nothing but a damn hotel towel that gaped open along her side, revealing the curvy line of her body. “What the hell are you doing?”
She’d taken a step back at his sudden appearance, pressing her back against the wall. Her hands clutched the towel for all she was worth. He licked his lips taking an instinctive step forward. If he just gave a little tug…
Surprisingly, it was his wolf giving him a mental slap on the back of his head that stopped his forward movement.
Not yet, his wolf reminded him.
Why the hell not?
Because you need to claim her.
No, I don’t, I just need to fuck her.
He told his wolf to shut the hell up when it started to growl.
He took a ragged breath and walked to the small table on the other side of the room. Dropping his bounty on the fake wood top, he spoke without turning around. “Go put some clothes on.”
He kept standing there, hearing her heavy breathing as she got something to put on and scurried away. His hands clenched the edges of the table so hard he heard a crack as the wood broke beneath the pressure.
Fuck.
Hearing the click of the bathroom door, he let go. She might have left the room, but her scent still lingered. The image of her standing there in a towel was forever burned into his memory. She’d taken a shower, but hadn’t washed her hair. It had been bundled on top of her head, a few tendrils falling down around her face. The towel had only given him a glimpse of the heaven that was her body. He shook as he imagined the centers of her breasts. Because of her coloring, they would probably be dark, bordering on brown rather than pink. And taste. He knew they would taste so Goddamn sweet.
Gulping in another lungful of air, he swore he could smell the fresh scent of her pussy. What would it taste like? Sweet and tangy? Slightly spicy?
She deserved a man who would automatically open his arms and let her run directly to him. She was a woman meant to be gathered close. Held there, tightly, throughout the night.
Not a man who stood on the side, watching the darkness for the monsters he knew existed within the shadows.
That was the reason he wouldn’t be tasting his mate tonight.
Maybe never, his wolf echoed with a low whine, feeling the hopelessness in Hunter’s soul.
Julie pressed herself against the bathroom door, her breathing heavy and irregular, the long sleep shirt she’d managed to grab from her suitcase in her hand. Something she didn’t even remember doing. The thought slammed into her that she hadn’t grabbed any underwear. Thankfully, the sleep shirt was oversized and would hang to the middle of her thighs.
Making sure the door was locked, she drew in a deep breath and dropped the towel. The hotel’s mirror and bathroom lighting was unforgiving. She looked pale and pasty and her hair was a haphazard bird’s nest at the back of her head. Her body…her body was the same one that she’d seen since her early teens. Just because she was in the presence of an Adonis didn’t mean any of his breathtaking beauty had suddenly rubbed off on her.
No. Her rounded shoulders sloped down, flowing straight into soft arms. Her breasts were large. Larger than was sometimes comfortable, but something she was vain enough to admit she liked. Besides her eyes, they were her best feature. They at least got her some attention from men, and quite frankly, she sometimes enjoyed it. They were heavy and would never be Barbie doll perky. She thought they were very sexy looking. Her areolas covered almost the entire end, more brown than pink, which became a dark color when they were cold—or aroused. Like she was now. Cupping them, she ran her fingers over the already distended nipples.
Thinking of the scrumptious man just outside her door, she wanted to yank her inner sex goddess from her hiding place and demand that she take over in order to saunter outside and seduce the handsome wolf.
But, no, that wasn’t ever going to happen. Dropping her hands, she sighed. This was her eternal battle with herself. She wanted to be bold and seductive when it came to the opposite sex, but she never could push herself forward, put herself out there when she met a man. She giggled thinking her nipples were out there.
And they were out there for Hunter McCall.
A billionaire wolf shifter.
That might have been a slight exaggeration of the McCall family’s status. She’d tried not to react when he’d told her his name, but anyone who knew anything about Chicago’s shifter population knew the McCall pack was the pack in power.
Determined not to let him see the slow melt happening inside her, she donned the t-shirt preparing to leave the bathroom. Seeing her still puckered nipples, she put her bra back on. Since she hadn’t grabbed a pair of panties and had already washed the ones she’d had, she was going to have to go out there au natural from the waist down. There was no way she could ask him to hand her a pair of underwear. She turned the doorknob and stepped outside.
Hunter sat on one of the hard backed chairs next to the small table. A pile of vending machine snacks rested in the middle. From the doorway she could see peanuts, pretzels and, umm, her favorite, Reese’s cups. Suddenly, her stomach growled. She glanced at the bedside clock and discovered it was well past eight o’clock. The last time she’d looked at her phone it had still been early evening.
The weight of day settled on her shoulders. As she stood there, he opened a grape soda and poured some in the small plastic cups one could find in any hotel room across America. He’d gone back outside and got some ice while she’d been hiding in the bathroom.
Sliding into the other chair, she picked up the glass and took a small sip. The bubbles tickled her upper lip. She licked her mouth in case any of the grape soda lingered. The last thing she wanted was a purple mustache.
“Here.” He handed her a packet of crackers and peanut butter. It wasn’t the greatest of meals, but she was truly grateful for what he had provided.
“Do you want some jerky?” he held out a plastic bag of dried beef. It was a large bag and she was pretty sure it hadn’t come from any of the vending machines outside.
“No, thank you,” she smiled. “Not my cup of tea. But if you’re not craving the Reese’s…”
A small grin curved his lips as he pushed the candy toward her. He must know women really well to give up the chocolate without a fight. Why did that thought upset her so much?
She wanted to know him. Know what his lips would feel like on hers. What the texture of his skin would be under her fingertips. What his dark, almost mesmerizing eyes would look like as he slid his cock inside her…
She needed another train of thought—fast.
“What do you do?” She didn’t think he was involved with his pack’s company. She’d never read about him in any of the Chicago society pages. Only about his brothers.
He grabbed a bottle of water from the pile of snacks in the middle of the table, and then leaned back in his chair, his long legs stretched out before him. “Didn’t you recognize the name?”
“Yes, but you’re not a part of the company.”
“How do you know? Keep tabs on my bachelor brothers, do you?”
She blushed a soft pink, his words a little too close to the truth for comfort. Jarod and Logan McCall were two of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors. What single woman wouldn’t want to read about them?
“I’m a major in the marine corps.” He took a drink of water and her eyes followed the contraction of his throat as he swallowed.
“It must be exciting.”
Shrugging, he continued to eat his jerky, his eyes staring at her, almost unblinking.
“I mean all the travel…” she trailed off. She stopped herself before she started sounding like a recruiting commercial. What did she know about being in the military? She took another bite of her peanut butter cracker. It suited him though. He resonated with the strength and resiliency of someone in the military, not to mention the mystery that pulsated from him like a living, breathing thing. Was that because of his animal?
From the corner of her eye, she noticed the largeness of his forearm, the squareness of his wrist. How the heck did a man get that big? Of course, her eyes couldn’t help but follow the line of his arm to his bulging biceps, his thick shoulders, and his neck. She let her eyelids flutter as her gaze fell down to his chest. He’d changed out of the sweatshirt he’d been wearing earlier. The t-shirt he wore stretched tautly across his pecs. There was no doubt in her mind that beneath that thin layer of cotton there had to be a set of six-pack abs. In fact, if she looked closely enough she could see the faint outline of the muscles.
She started to get uncomfortable under his unblinking gaze. Folding the wrapper around the rest of the crackers, she sat them aside. Getting up from the bed, she grabbed her purse from the corner where she’d stashed it after her shower. Fumbling inside it, she found her phone.
“Crap,” she mumbled, realizing her phone was dead. No wonder her sister hadn’t called to check on her. They weren’t chummy close. Jane had married early and started her family almost at once. That, along with the couple of years that separated them in age, sometimes made Julie feel like her sister was from another generation. It didn’t mean they didn’t care about each other, wouldn’t come running if the other needed them. It just meant they didn’t live out of each other’s pockets.
