by Jane Jamison
“Let’s start at the beginning, okay?” She crossed her arms again, as much to feel confident as to appear as though she was. “You saw me before I applied for the job, didn’t you?”
Tucker nodded but didn’t speak.
“Then you had your friend Joe contact my professor, who suggested I apply for the job. Then Joe did a quick interview. But the interview was all for show, wasn’t it?”
“In a way.” Tucker scooted his chair back, his dark eyes begging her to believe him. “But I couldn’t have dragged you kicking and screaming to Forever, now could I? I saw you in passing on the campus and knew you were the one for us. The rest was just a means to an end.”
“Why do you guys keep telling me I’m the one for you? Do you really believe you have just one woman to fall in love with?”
“There’s only one mate for us, and that’s you.” Travis tried to smile, tried to lighten her mood, but gave up when she glowered at him.
“We’ve gone over this before.” Cort rose but kept his distance from her. “You’ve felt the connection just like we have. Try and deny it, Kate.”
She couldn’t. Instead, she glanced away. But was whatever she felt, a connection, a bond, a special something, enough to last a lifetime? “And what about the man at the club the other night? I know what I saw, and he had fangs. And claws. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You’re not wrong. Didn’t you notice how a lot of people in this town have large teeth? It’s a genetic thing.”
She frowned, sure Tucker wasn’t telling her the whole truth but only a version of it. “I don’t understand.”
“That’s part of what we need to tell you later. We’re going to have to ask you to trust us for now. Get to know us a little more. Give us a couple of days to take care of this Litton problem, and we’ll tell you everything you want to know.” Tucker and the other two men waited for her answer.
She didn’t want to say yes but couldn’t help giving them what they asked for. “Fine. You’ve got two days and that’s it. Not a minute more.”
“Agreed.” Cort grinned, making his mustache move.
“And if after you’ve told me everything, I decide to leave, then you’ll take me to Shatland and buy me a bus ticket home. Yes?”
They didn’t want to agree to her final demand, and she could see them hesitating. “If our bond is as strong as you say it is, then what’s the matter? If you’re right, I won’t want to leave.”
“She’s got us there, guys.” Travis shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, fine. If you decide to leave, we’ll let you.”
They’ll let me? She started to tell them they couldn’t let her do anything but paused when she saw the expressions on their faces. They could keep her there if they wanted, but they were better men than that. Instead, she nodded and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
“Until then, I have a surprise for you.”
“I think I’ve had enough surprises for a while.”
“You’re going to like this one. Trust me.”
She sighed. She did trust them. Even knowing they were holding back the truth, she knew she could trust them to never hurt her.
Cort held out his hand and waited for her to put her hand in his. “You two stay here.”
He tugged her along behind him out of the house and toward the barn. She couldn’t help but pick up his excitement.
“Where are you taking me?”
“In here.” He winked and motioned for her to follow him into the dim light of the barn. Horses nickered when they saw him, throwing their heads up and down as though asking for a treat or a pat. But Cort ignored them and led her to the back of the barn.
She soon heard soft sounds of mewing. Cort eased into an empty stall and held the gate open for her. As soon as she stepped inside the small area, she gasped.
“Oh, my God.” She went to her knees in slow, careful movements next to the pile of hay. A brown dog of indefinable origins lay on her side. Four pups, two brown and two black and white, nuzzled at her teats.
Cort lowered to the ground beside her. “This is Lady. She belongs to the Helms boys’ ranch. You know the one adjacent to ours? Anyway, I’m not sure why she decided to make our barn her maternity ward, but here she is.”
Kate cupped one of the small pups in her hands. The tiny pup squirmed and pressed his cold nose to her thumb and sniffed at her. “He’s so precious.” She gazed at Cort through tear-laden eyes. “He looks just like Buster, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, Buster was a lady’s man. No pun intended.” Cort picked up the other black-and-white pup and held it up for inspection. “The guys and I were just talking about asking them for one of the pups. I’m sure they’ll say yes once they hear about Buster.”
She kissed the tip of the pup’s nose and gave him back to his mother. “But we wouldn’t be replacing Buster. No one could. Still, I think he’d like having one of his kids around here.”
“I agree. The only thing we need to decide is if we want this little lady”—he held the mewling puppy higher to show Kate her underside—“or if we want the boy you held.”
A boy and a girl, both with Buster’s markings. She couldn’t have asked for a better surprise. “How about asking for both? After all, I’d hate to think whichever one we choose might get lonely.”
“Maybe. I guess it’ll depend on whether or not you’ll be around to help raise them.”
She slapped his arm. “Wow. Talk about a bribe. If I stay, we get two pups.”
Cort stood and pulled her along with him. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you here.”
* * * *
She laughed as he tugged her across to the other side of the barn. Grabbing hold of the ladder leading to the loft above, he motioned for her to go first.
She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. “You want me to go up there? Why?”
Cort tilted his head at her. “Kate, haven’t you ever done anything without having to know the why of it?”
“Of course I have.” She blinked, and he could see her searching her memory to confirm her answer. “I came here, didn’t I?”
“You knew the why of it, even if you didn’t know everything behind the why.” He placed his hand on the small of her back.
The now-familiar zing ricocheted through him, bouncing like a rubber ball of sexual need to every nerve ending. The zing ended up right between his legs. His cock twitched, rising to meet the need.
Common sense didn’t matter any longer. The fact that she hadn’t promised to stay no longer mattered. If he had only one time with her, it would have to last a lifetime. He glanced at the loft above, then at her. “Kate. Go.”
She took hold of one of the rungs on the ladder and started climbing. He waited until she was halfway up the ladder before he let himself believe she’d keep going. Moving quickly, he followed her up the ladder and over the edge. She walked toward the opening where they’d load bales of hay into the barn.
Her silhouette could drive him insane with lust. The way the light hit her, bending around her curves, peeking through the fabric of her simple T-shirt. He was glad she didn’t dress up often, that she didn’t spend hours in the bathroom fussing with her hair and makeup. She was simple, uncomplicated, but he and the other men had felt her need to be something more. She needed to be set free to become the powerful woman she was meant to be. She needed to become a werewolf. Even if she didn’t know it yet.
He took his time, drinking her in, before he moved toward her. Hearing him, she pivoted to face him, and, although the sun was at her back, he knew she smiled. He pulled her to him and enveloped her with his arms.
She melted into him, breathing out as she sank against his chest. He could take her roughly or he could take her sweetly. She would tell him which way she wanted him.
His mouth pressed to hers, and she inhaled, bringing in his breath. He slipped his tongue inside her mouth and hers met his, challenging him to a game of chase. She tasted sweet and spicy, and he would’ve sworn he
’d known her all his life. He nipped at her upper lip and heard her chuckle.
He pulled his lips back into a smile but didn’t laugh. He didn’t want anything to interrupt the kiss. Until she reached between his legs and cupped his growing cock. He groaned and almost lost control. The kiss continued as he tugged her shirt from her jeans, skimming his fingertips along her back. He stopped when he touched her bra, considered unhooking it, and decided he wanted to see her in it.
She lifted her arms and let him pull the shirt off. The sunlight highlighted the swell of her breasts, shadowing the valleys and taking his breath away.
“Fair’s fair,” she whispered as she tugged his shirt off him.
He fingered the strap of her bra, delaying the moment when he would see her breasts, then slid it off her shoulder. Her bra dipped a little but not enough for him. The other strap came down the same way, exposing another centimeter of her breasts. Bending, he placed a kiss on top of each breast, and she leaned back, arching as though he’d taken her nipple into his mouth.
The animal inside him howled, telling him to hurry, to take her in a rush as animals tended to do. But he was no animal now. He was one of the men who would love her forever.
She reached behind her and unhooked her bra and let it fall between them. His cock throbbed at the sight of her breasts, perky, full, ready for his touch. Reverently, he lifted them from the bottom, feeling the weight of them in his palms.
“You’re so beautiful I almost don’t want to touch you.”
“I don’t think I understand.” Her green eyes sparkled, mesmerizing him like a goddess from the ancient days when their kind had run free without worry of detection.
“I’m afraid it’d be dangerous. That you’re just a dream, and if I touch you, you might disappear.”
She gave him a quizzical look. “But you’re already touching me.”
“I happen to like living dangerously.”
He took her with him to the floor of hay and laid her on her back. She clasped her arms around his neck and lifted to give him a quick kiss. But a quick kiss wasn’t enough for him. Crushing his mouth to hers, he deepened the kiss and slid his hand down her stomach to the button of her jeans.
In one quick move, he had her jeans down and yanked them away, along with her shoes. Sliding his gaze down her body, he found the lacy thong his fingers had grazed then pushed under the material. She gasped as he found the slit of her sex.
“I can feel your heat against my skin, and I haven’t even pushed between your pussy lips.”
She lifted her hips, urging him to tug her thong off. But he had other plans. Standing, he looked down at her as he unzipped his jeans and kicked off his boots. Her gaze dropped to his erect cock and widened.
“Cort, don’t make me wait any longer.”
Going to his knees, he slid his hands over her legs, reveling in the softness of her body, until at last he came to her thong. He shifted a little, not enough for her to see, then put his mouth to the lace and bit through the thin strap. The thong fell away from her.
Her pussy lips were smooth, ready for his lips. Lying beside her, his face level with her sex, he pressed a kiss to the valley between her mons and the small mound of her stomach. She shivered, but he knew she wasn’t cold.
He kissed her again, pushing his lips harder against her skin as he slipped his fingers between her folds. She was wet, hot, and ready for him to do more.
She gripped his shoulders, her nails making scratches on his arms, and he couldn’t wait until she’d make deep marks on his back. Moaning, she spread her legs for him.
He caressed her clit, the sensitive bundle of nerves hardening under the pressure, and watched her expression. She closed her eyes, her mouth parting as a rapturous look came over her face. He wanted to make sure she came once, twice, as many times as he could give her.
Spreading her legs wider, he gave in to the lust surging through him and bent his mouth to her pussy lips. He eased between her legs and pushed her folds apart. Taking a moment, he drank her in with his eyes before he’d drink her with his mouth.
“Pink and perfect. Just like I knew you’d be.”
She reached out for him, opening her eyes as she lifted her torso. He shook his head then pressed his tongue to her clit. She bucked, a climax tearing her apart, but he didn’t let her go. Her body trembled as he tortured her clit, whipping his tongue over it, around it before flattening his mouth on her. Moving her legs over his shoulders, he sucked on her. Her sighs and moans echoed the sounds he made as he lapped up her juices.
He’d thought the flavors of her mouth had tasted delicious. But they paled compared to those between her legs. He watched as she squirmed, her breasts shaking as she fought against, yet with the pleasure he gave her. Shoving his hands under her, he lifted her to him then plunged his tongue inside her pussy. His thumbs used circular motions around and on her clit as his tongue imitated what his cock would soon do.
She bucked and cried out. The sound of her voice saying his name over and over sent renewed lust into his cock. To have her as their mate made him prouder, happier than he’d thought possible.
At last he came up for much-needed air. She sat up then grabbed his beard. He yelped at her playful tug and crawled over the top of her until she pulled his mouth to hers. He kissed her hard, letting her taste her juices as he cupped her breasts and rubbed his thumbs against her taut nipples.
She pushed her body to his and wrapped her legs around his waist. His cock pressed against her pussy, but he held back. He was caught in her hold and never wanted to break free. Straightening his arms, he looked at her, needing to see the yearning in her eyes. One day soon, he’d see the amber flecks of her passion in them, too.
“Cort, I need you. Now.”
He hated to admit it, but he did anyway. “Once I’m inside you, I’m not sure how long I can last. I’ve waited so long. Maybe too long.”
She answered by tightening her legs around him. Groaning, he shoved his cock inside her. She let out an ah and pushed her hips against his.
At last he understood why men fought wars over a single woman. At last he knew why his father would’ve given his life for his mother. At last, he felt like he’d found the one person who made his life worth living.
He rammed into her again, arching his back as he strove to find her sweet spot. She circled her hips, grinding against him as he took her nipple into his mouth. No longer able to take it slowly, he held her nipple between his teeth as he thrust into her again and again.
“Sex” was not the right word for what they shared. Even the word “love” wasn’t enough. He doubted any language could explain how he felt at the moment. Nothing else existed in the world.
She shut her eyes and threw back her head in a silent cry. The whirlwind of his emotions collided with the tornado of his climax as it neared the end. His body stiffened, and he tried to hold back, but it was useless to fight the clash of two storms whipping inside him to form one perfect storm of release.
He laid his forehead to her shoulder and inhaled, needing her scent as much as the sensations pummeling his body. His inner wolf roared, growling its need to burst free. But he’d started as a man and wanted to end it as a man. Her cum flooded around his cock, and, with one final thrust, he shot his seed inside her.
He pulled her on top of him so he could feel her weight as she rested, her labored breathing pushing against his chest. Brushing her hair away from her face, he placed a tender kiss to her cheek.
She stirred and looked at him with her brilliant emerald eyes. “Cort?”
“What, baby?”
“Can we go see the puppies again?”
“Sure. After all, we need to make sure our two are getting their fair share of the milk.”
He pulled her to her feet then handed her his shirt to use to clean herself. As he dressed, a flash of dark caught his eye. Travis and Tucker were waiting. He sighed. The time was coming soon when they’d take on Litton once and for all.
“We’ve got to get going, Kate.” Travis brought his plate to the sink, washed it off, and placed it and his silverware in the dishwasher.
“Are you going to tell me where you’re going?” She’d found them in huddles throughout the day, and each time, they’d broken apart as she came closer. They’re planning something big tonight. Something to do with Litton.
“No. We need to do this on our own.” Tucker shoved the last piece of his roll into his mouth and heeded Travis’s unspoken direction to clean his plate and put it in the dishwasher.
“Yeah, Kate. This is man’s work tonight,” added Cort with a grin.
She hoped he was kidding, but it didn’t matter. One way or another, she was going with them. Man’s work, my ass. “I’m either going with you or I’m going home tomorrow.”
“You don’t mean it.” Travis ground out his words, but she saw the uncertainty in his eyes.
“Try me.” She thrust out her chin, determined to hide her own uncertainty.
“It’s too dangerous. You could get hurt. Or we could get hurt trying to keep you from getting hurt.” Cort wasn’t kidding now. His face was set, his eyes hard.
“Tucker, you’re the attorney. You know when you’re in a stand-off situation. We can sit here and talk all night about this, but the end will still be the same.”
Tucker gave her the smile that told her she was getting somewhere. But still he hesitated.
“Come on, Mister Lawson. Make me an offer.” She thrust out her chest. It never hurt to add a little incentive in a negotiation.
Travis and Cort glared at him, but he spoke the words she wanted to hear anyway. “Okay. Here’s my suggestion.”
“Bro, no way.” Cort slapped his hand down on the counter. “Don’t let those gorgeous green eyes sway you.”
Travis leaned back and crossed his arms. “Cort, I hate to say it, but Tucker’s already conceded.”
“Hang on, guys. My offer is this. You can come along, but you have to stay in the pickup.”
