by Peggy Webb
“Last one in is a rotten egg,” Hannah yelled, then executed a perfect dive into the water.
Hunter sliced the surface nearby, and grabbing her by the ankle pulled her under for a long, watery kiss.
“How long has it been since I mated with you?” he asked when they surfaced.
“About an hour.”
“That’s far too long.”
Wrapping her legs around his waist, Hunter plunged into her with the lust of a man who never ceased to be aroused by the sight of the woman he loved.
“Yes, yes, yes.” Her pleasure-cries bounced off the bluffs and echoed back across the lake.
Water swirled and rippled around them as they came together, time and again.
“I can’t get enough of you,” he said. “I can never get enough of you.”
He scooped her out of the water and climbed up a rocky incline as if she weighed no more than a baby. Water roared around them, the thundering cascade of a waterfall.
With the assurance of a man familiar with his terrain, Hunter carried her across a narrow ledge and behind the curtain of water.
“Where are we going?” she said.
“You’ll see.”
Suddenly the rock wall disappeared and they stood in a cavernous opening.
“It’s a cave!”
“Yes,” he said. “A secret love bower.”
As he walked inside the cool cavern, Hannah felt like a bride being carried across the threshold. It didn’t strike her as the least bit odd that she thought of such an analogy.
She was Hunter’s mate as surely as if they’d stood in the grandest cathedral in the world and pledged vows before a crowd of thousands.
The cave was smaller than the one where they summered—cozier. Sunlight poured through a large natural skylight, and underneath lay a pallet of fur.
“Surprise,” Hunter said.
“Amazing,” she whispered, but then why should she be amazed? Each day with Hunter was like discovering life anew. Each moment was a precious gift. Each time they loved, magic.
As she looked at the pallet she remembered the first time they had mated…in the leaves beside the Mississippi River. That it had happened at all between two people who couldn’t even talk to each other was a miracle.
A miracle that had repeated itself time and again.
A miracle she longed to recreate today.
Positioning her on the pallet, Hunter thrust deep inside. And as his love cry echoed off the walls, Hannah understood that their communication had never needed words.
She and her wolfman communicated with their hearts.
The cave resounded with the joyful sounds of their mating, and when they finally emerged, the sinking sun was setting the heavens afire.
“Look, Hannah.”
She looked not at the sky, but at the gathering of wolves on the shore.
“Did they come to drink?”
“No, they came for the ceremony.”
“What ceremony?”
“You’ll see.”
He led her underneath the curtain of water and down the rocky path to the water’s edge.
“Hold my hand, Hannah, and don’t let go.”
As they joined hands, a dozen massive heads turned their way. A dozen pairs of yellow eyes watched.
Hunter lifted their joined hands high. “My brothers, this is the woman I have chosen to be my mate. She is Hannah, alpha female.”
The wolves stood at attention with their ears pricked and intelligence shining from their eyes. It didn’t matter whether they understood his words; they understood his heart.
“From this day forward she is Wolfe’s woman. Welcome her into the pack.”
A large white wolf separated himself from the pack and came slowly forward. Holding her breath, Hannah read Hunter’s thoughts as clearly as if he had spoken aloud.
Don’t move. Be still.
The wolf brushed against her leg, then positioned himself beside her. He stood facing the other wolves for a moment, then slowly he moved his large muzzle toward Hannah’s hand.
As the large mouth closed over her hand, she willed herself to stillness. The wolf held her in a surprisingly gentle grasp, and when she felt a small tug, Hunter said, “Go with him, Hannah.”
The wolf led her toward the rest of the pack. They waited until the great white male released her hand, and then one by one they rubbed themselves against her legs. Instinctively, she leaned down and put one hand on the head of the white male.
“Welcome to the pack,” Hunter said.
And then her magnificent wolfman joined her in the circle of his brothers.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-1142-4
FORCE OF NATURE
Copyright © 2002 by Peggy Webb
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*The Westmoreland Diaries
