Gabriel turned and glared at her, then went back to trying to catch a fish. “Just admit it: I’m a better fisherman than you are,” she said, earing another dirty look.
“You just got lucky,” he said, water dripping from his head.
“Nope, it’s pure skill,” she said. “I’m a fish whisperer. I call them, and they come.”
“Now you’re just being ridiculous,” he said, walking across the stream towards her.
Bethany leaned over and pulled the stringer out of the water. “There’s still room for your fish on here,” she said, grinning at him.
He was only a few feet from her when he said, “Fine, you win, but only for today; I demand a rematch tomorrow.”
Bethany laughed. “You’re on,” she said, then added, “but you might want to bring a towel; you’re soaking wet.”
Gabriel got a mischievous look in his eyes and stood perfectly still, then his entire body tensed up, and she was immediately sorry she’d said it. Suddenly, she was showered with cold water drops as Gabriel shook his body, head to tail.
Screaming, she jumped up off the bank and retreated a few steps, but not far enough because only a second later, a spray of cold water hit her. Barefoot, she carefully picked her way across the bare ground, laughing and screaming every time a spay of water hit her until she was doubled over and dripping wet.
Gabriel climbed out of the stream, and she could swear that he was smiling. “Now we’re both soaking wet,” he said, walking up to her and shaking again.
Bethany screamed and threw her arms around him, hoping to stop him from shaking. Surprised by the feeling of her arms around him, he lost his balance, and they toppled over onto the ground, limbs entangled. Gabriel landed on top of Bethany, his head across her chest, and her body instantly came awake.
A throbbing deep inside her began, sending waves of pleasure through her, making her suck in a deep breath. He scrambled off her and stood up. “Bethany, are you okay?” he asked, looking down at her.
She had the strongest urge to grab him and pull him down on top of her again, felt a wave of pleasure at just the thought, but managed to say, “I’m fine.”
Getting to her feet, she took a second to catch her breath, feeling her face turning pink. “I guess we’d better head back to camp,” she said, heading for the stream, her shoes, and the fish.
Gabriel waited for her silently, then together they walked down the trail. She wanted to ask him what he was thinking, ask him if he was feeling what she was but she was too confused to voice the questions swirling around in her mind.
It was strange to feel the things for Gabriel that she was feeling; he was a wolf, not a man, not capable of the things she was thinking about. The blush that had warmed her cheeks a few minutes ago came roaring back when she realized that she was thinking about sex, about kissing Gabriel.
She had zero experience when it came to the opposite sex, and had only a rudimentary idea of what sex was like, but she knew that the things she was thinking about Gabriel were impossible. She knew that the desire she was feeling was misplaced, that all they could ever be was friends.
Feeling like she’d been given a gift she could never open, she went to her tent when they got back to change her clothes. She took her time, trying to come to grips with the fact that she was falling in love with a wolf, that all the feelings she should be feeling for a man were for a creature who could never truly be hers.
Reminding herself that she should be thankful to have found Gabriel at all, she put a smile on her face and walked out of the tent. There was no reason to spoil the night obsessing over what she couldn’t have; she’d take what she could get and hope that someday, she’d find a man who could make her feel like Gabriel did.
It wasn’t easy at first, but as she made their dinner, she was able to relax. When she set a plate of fried fish and potatoes in front of Gabriel, he looked at her in surprise. “I don’t...I mean...I don’t eat very often,” he stumbled over his words.
Bethany studied him for a second. “You don’t like my cooking?” she asked, pretending to be hurt.
“No, it’s not that,” he said, his voice a little strained.
She dropped the act and looked at him again. “What’s wrong, Gabriel?”
He looked down at the plate in front of him, then back up at her. “I don’t want to eat in front of you,” he finally said, nudging the plate away with his nose. “It’s not like I can use a knife and fork.”
She understood instantly what the problem was. “Well, I didn’t think you would, but if it will help, I’ll eat with my hands,” she said, picking up her fish and taking a big bite out of it.
Gabriel couldn’t help but laugh at her holding the big fish in her hands and taking big bites, grease dripping down her chin. “Okay,” he said, “you made your point.”
Bethany set the fish back down on her plate and wiped the grease off her face. “It doesn’t bother me, Gabriel; it’s who you are. Now are you going to eat the food I cooked for you or not?” she challenged.
As delicately as he could, he lifted his lips and used his teeth to bite off a piece of fish, then chewed. His eyes got big, and then he took a bigger bite; when he’d chewed and swallowed, it looked like a smile spread across his face.
“That’s the best fish I’ve ever tasted; it’s so much better when it’s cooked,” he said, then snapped his mouth closed, embarrassed.
Bethany smiled at him, but only said, “Try the potatoes,” knowing that anything else she said would embarrass him.
Chapter Eight
***Gabriel***
After dinner, they made their way across the plateau and sat by the pile of rocks. Bethany was wrapped up in a blanket against the cold, but the night was clear and beautiful, the stars bright enough in the sky that he could see her face in the darkness.
She sighed and leaned up against him, her head on his chest. “It’s so beautiful up here; the stars are brighter tonight than I’ve ever seen them,” she said, scooting a bit closer and making his heart pound in his chest.
Ever since they’d landed tangled together that day, he’d found it impossible not to think of Bethany’s lithe body, thoughts that he’d never had before. Visions that were so far from reality he knew that they were nothing but a fantasy, but he still couldn’t stop them from invading his thoughts.
He fantasied about what it would feel like to touch her with human hands, to feel her silky skin against his, to touch her breasts, to run his hands through her hair. Those thoughts led to others, others that left him with a tightness and tingling deep inside that both frustrated and thrilled him.
Pushing those thoughts firmly from his mind, he sank down and rolled onto his side, and Bethany immediately curled up against him. They lay there in silence for a long time, both longing for something that couldn’t be but unable to stop themselves.
He could feel Bethany getting tense next to him; when he picked up his head and looked at her, she had tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong?” he asked, shifting so that he could see her better, and wishing that he had arms to hold her.
She didn’t answer at first, her eyes searching his, then asked, “Have you ever wanted to do something so bad that it’s physically painful to know that you can’t?”
Gabriel knew what she meant; he’d felt that way several times over the last few days. But he had no idea what to say, how to tell her that he wanted her so badly that it felt like a knife in his stomach.
When he didn’t answer, she blurted out, “I want to kiss you, Gabriel. I want things with you that aren’t possible, and I don’t know how to deal with it. I’m falling in love with you, and I can’t seem to stop myself.”
It took Gabriel a moment to process her words, to understand what she’d said to him. “But you can’t be, Bethany. I’m a wolf,” he said, standing up and walking away from her.
Bethany got up from the ground and stood to look at him, not noticing the mist that had begun to drift in from the forest around the
m. As they stood staring at each other, it filled the plateau with its ghostly light, and a figure began to appear.
It was indistinct at first, but gradually the figure of a Cherokee medicine man materialized by the rocks. Neither of them noticed him as he watched them, nor did they notice the smile on his face, just before the clearing was filled with a bright light and the chief disappeared back into the mist.
Unable to stop herself, Bethany closed the space between them, took Gabriel’s face in her hands, and looked into his eyes. “I know it doesn’t make any sense, I know it’s strange and a little weird, but I can’t change how I feel inside,” she said, then carefully kissed him on his nose.
“Bethany, it won’t work, we’re too...” Gabriel started to protest, but then he began to feel strange. “Oh, I feel strange,” he said before speech was no longer possible.
Suddenly, his body began to throb, then his arms and legs began to tremble, and he sat down heavily on the ground. Bethany stepped back from him and gasped. “What’s wrong, Gabriel? You look funny,” she said.
He got shakily back to his feet, but then a huge wave of power washed over him, stealing his breath and making him gasp. Stumbling, he stepped back and tried to take a deep breath, but couldn’t seem to fill his lungs, and then suddenly the world went black.
It popped back into focus almost immediately, but the plateau looked different to him; it was darker, less clear. He heard Bethany gasp and turned to look at her, nearly falling when his legs could barely hold him. Still unsure what had happened to him, he took a step towards Bethany, who had her hand over her mouth in shock.
He felt something sharp poking his foot and looked down, but what he saw didn’t make sense to him. There, where his paws should have been, was a pair of feet, each with ten toes, that wiggled when he asked them to.
That was when his legs gave out, and he sank to his knees; he started to fall forward but reached out and caught himself on his hands. He didn’t know how long he stayed like that, how long it took him to understand what had happened to him; time seemed to have stalled.
Finally, he pushed himself back up, and got unsteadily to his feet; he stared at Bethany, who still had her hands over her mouth. “I think something just happened to me,” he said, unable to believe that he was speaking out loud.
Bethany’s eyes widened, and she dropped her hand away from her mouth. “Gabriel?”
He nodded his head. “It’s me, I guess,” he said, looking down at himself.
That was when he realized that he was standing there in front of Bethany totally naked. “Oh, um gosh, maybe I should cover up,” he stammered, his voice scratchy, the words coming out slower than he would have liked.
Bethany pulled the blanket off her shoulders, and handed it to him, her eyes still huge. “What happened?” she finally gasped when he was covered up.
***Bethany***
Bethany couldn’t stop staring at the man in front of her, couldn’t believe what she’d just seen. But then the man spoke with Gabriel’s voice, but instead of being in her head, the sound came out of his mouth. It only took her a few more seconds to understand that Gabriel had just shifted from his wolf form into his human form.
Hand still over her mouth in shock, she let her eyes roam over his body, not caring that a blush spread across her cheeks. She’d never seen a naked man before, but it was more than that; almost instantly, her body began to tingle as desire raced through her.
Gabriel had been impressive as a wolf, but as a man, he was more than impressive: he was enticing. Her palms itched with the need to run them over his muscular chest. She wanted to feel his powerful arms wrapped around her, and his mouth on hers.
When he realized that he was standing naked in front of her, a blush spread across his cheeks, and she wanted to run to him then, but instead, she handed him the blanket and stood back. Able to think a little more clearly once he was covered up, she stepped a little closer to him, still tempted to touch him.
“What happened?” she asked instead.
Gabriel shook his head. “I don’t know, I just started feeling weird, and then this happened,” he said, pointing to himself.
That was when Bethany noticed the mist that was just starting to melt away. “Where did this mist come from?” she asked, looking around.
“I’ve never seen anything like it up here,” he said, looking around the plateau; when his eyes got to the sacred pile of rocks at the entrance to the burial ground, he froze.
Bethany followed his gaze, gasping when she saw the gentle glow from the center of the pile. “Why is it glowing?” she asked, her voice cracking.
“It’s a sign that a spirit was here,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Bethany stared at the rocks and the glow. “A spirit did this?” she asked, turning to look at him again.
“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Gabriel said, then shivered, “I hate to say this, but I’m cold.”
Bethany couldn’t help but laugh, although it came out sounding a little hysterical. “Okay then, we’d better get back to camp,” she said, wondering if he’d need help. “Be careful; you don’t have any shoes on.”
Gabriel looked down at his feet, then back at her. “I’m not sure how to walk with these legs,” he said, his face turning scarlet.
Bethany rushed over to help, thinking that he could lean on her, but at nearly six and a half feet, he was too tall. “I’m not sure if you seem bigger now or when you were a wolf,” she said, looking up at him and smiling, then took his arm and pulled him toward camp.
***Gabriel***
Gabriel sat by the fire, soaking up its warmth and noticing that everything felt different. The feeling of the cold air on his skin, the breeze that made his hair tickle the back of his neck, and the smell of the food Bethany was making for him.
They’d only been back in camp long enough for Bethany to build the fire up when his stomach began growling loud enough that she heard it. “Are you hungry?” she asked.
“I guess so,” he said, embarrassed, but curious what it would be like to eat.
“Well, then I’ll make you something to eat,” she said, clearly relieved to have something to keep her busy.
“You don’t have to,” he said, but she waved a hand at him.
“It’s not a problem,” she said, then began fussing around the little kitchen she’d set up. “I’ll have something ready in no time.”
She worked in silence, and he wished that he knew what she was thinking, wished he knew if she was as calm as she appeared to be. When she handed him a plate of scrambled eggs, he took it from her carefully, still not very coordinated.
He picked up the fork, but it fell right back onto the plate. On his second try, he managed to get the food to his mouth, and the first bite filled his mouth with the most wonderful flavor. Trying not to eat too fast, he emptied the plate, not realizing that he was making noises of pleasure after each bite.
When he was finished, he set the plate on his lap and said, “That was amazing. I had no idea eggs tasted that good.”
Bethany got to her feet and walked over to him to take the plate. He noticed that her face was flushed, her cheeks pink, and asked, “Are you okay? You look a little flushed.”
She got just a little bit pinker. “Umm, I’m fine. I’m glad you enjoyed the eggs,” she mumbled, then looked into his eyes.
What he saw there made the breath whoosh out of his lungs. Her eyes were full of desire, and a thrill went through him, making it hard to breathe. She stepped away from him and looked away. “Are you tired? Should you sleep? I don’t know what we’re supposed to do now.”
Gabriel realized with a shock of disappointment that this might be the only night he had with Bethany, and he wasn’t going to spend it sleeping. Getting to his feet, he crossed over to where she was standing, reached out and pulled her into his arms.
As soon as she was in his arms, a giant wave of desire washed over him, followed quickly by a tightening
in his groin. Bethany must have felt it too because she stiffened in his arms and started to pull away. “Please don’t pull away, Bethany; I just want to hold you in my arms,” he said, looking down at her.
Bethany turned that shade of pink that he’d come to love. “I’ve never...I haven’t...no one’s...I haven’t even had my first kiss,” she stammered.
Chapter Nine
***Bethany***
When Gabriel’s mouth came down on hers, he was hesitant at first, but his lips were warm and firm. She didn’t pull away, couldn’t have even if she wanted to. Instead she slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
He groaned and gently parted her lips with his tongue, then slid it into her mouth. Sliding his hands up her back, he cradled her head with his big hands as he explored her mouth. Each brush of their tongues sending ripples of pleasure through her, making her insides begin to turn to jelly and her legs weak.
When the need to breath became too great, she pulled away from him, her body singing with pleasure and demanding more. They were both breathing hard, their chests rising and falling with the passion that had flared to life with just that one kiss. Staring at each other, they tried to catch their breath, tried desperately to stop what had started.
“That was my first kiss too,” Gabriel said, then pulled her back into his arms. “I think we need a second one.”
Bethany didn’t resist this time any more than she had the last but was more aware of the feelings rushing through her. More aware of the feeling of his bare chest pressed up against her, of the way it felt to have his strong arms around her, more aware that all her fantasies might come true.
When he broke the kiss this time, she was clinging to him, her knees weak with pleasure. “I want so much more than just that kiss, but I don’t know what I’m doing either,” he said.
Her White Wolf: Wolves of Gypsum Creek (A Paranormal Romance Story) Page 5
