by Bianca D'Arc
He had to let her go as she let the change overtake her and her spine changed. He held his own change back so he could talk her through, let her know what adjustments to make, but she was doing much better than he’d expected for a first-timer.
“Think of your hands and feet, sweetheart. Think of the soft paws that will eat up the distance from here to your grandfather’s house and the way they felt last night as we bounded across the meadow.” He was gratified when his words helped her refocus and her hands and feet were better able to support her slowly changing form.
She groaned and it came out half moan, half screech. “I know this probably hurts, but you’ll get faster as you master this skill and it won’t hurt nearly as much.” He stroked the fur over her spine, noting that it hadn’t completely reformed as it should just yet. He instructed her gently, coaxing her to pay attention to each small detail of the shift, stroking her though the painful parts, privately loving the soft feel of her fur against his partially turned body.
Finally, she was completely changed and he breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes were clear and she was in control of the new, beast side of her nature. He let the cougar overtake him completely and let her watch how he changed, quickly and efficiently. She would learn by watching and by doing and he would be there, he vowed, at every step to guide her.
Chapter Seven
They bounded through the trees and meadow, eventually arriving at her grandfather’s house. Grif and Belinda both carried small packs in their teeth that held a change of clothes.
Grif and Lindsey both went upstairs, leaving Belinda downstairs. She stayed in her fur, puttering around the lower floor and investigating. She’d be content down there for a while, Grif knew. The girl was curious about Lindsey and how she lived. She’d be fascinated by her belongings and the scents that still lingered and said so much about her and her grandfather.
Knowing Belinda would be kept busy for a while, Grif followed Lindsey into her bedroom. He shifted shape quickly, showing her how it was done once more and coaching her through her own transformation. It was a little quicker this time, though he could tell it still pained her, as it would until she mastered the skill.
He rubbed her shoulders, hoping to relieve the ache of the change, focusing his energy on her. But the feel of her skin under his fingers was slowly driving him crazy. She had pulled a sheet from the bed over herself as her hands reformed, but her arms and legs were smooth and bare, peeking out from the edges of the fabric. She was sleek and soft, and so feminine. She made his mouth water.
He knew he couldn’t wait any longer to have her. He had to claim his mate. She had been raised human and he was pretty sure that would make this a little more complicated. She had no idea what were mating really meant and he had to teach her. But first he had to make her his. Now.
“Lindsey.” His voice was a rough purr next to her ear as his hands tightened on her shoulders. He turned her to face him and it was all he could do to keep from pouncing on her then and there. “Lindsey, I need you so bad.”
Her expression was temptation itself as she looked up at him and he thanked the Lady that had sent him such a woman. Her eyes flared golden for a split second, a sure sign of her excitement and the magic that still coursed through her. She wanted him too. Lindsey was his match in every way, it seemed, even if she was afraid of her new needs and abilities.
“Oh, Grif,” she whispered, drawing him closer.
He crushed her mouth against his, kissing her deeply, keeping a tight leash on his inner beast. This first time, they had to do this as humans. Not only did she not know any other way, but it was important for his kind to establish the bonds that would carry them through life in human form before tempting their darker natures by mating in their fur.
He tugged the sheet out of her hands and let it drop to the floor as he pushed her up against the wall near the door. There wasn’t a lot of time to do this, but he didn’t think either of them needed much to push them over the edge. And he couldn’t wait. Judging by her ardent response, neither could Lindsey.
There were no barriers between them. No clothes. No fabric. Just them and the love he thought they shared. For certain there was an amazing attraction. A deep sense of belonging to each other that he’d never had with any other female. He knew in his heart this female was the one meant for him and he hoped she realized it too. If not now, he’d spend the rest of his life making her believe it.
But right now, he couldn’t wait. Not one minute longer. His hands roamed over her body, loving the way she raised one leg to rub along the outside of his hip. She squirmed and moaned softly as he dipped his fingers between her legs to see if she was as ready as he was.
She was slick and hot. Everything a man could want. And she quivered against his hand as he slid two fingers into her tight opening. Her curved fingernails bit into his shoulders and he knew it was with pleasure as she kissed him even more fervently. She was in a frenzy of need and he marveled at how easily and quickly she responded to his touch. Truly, they were meant for each other. All she had to do was look at him and he was ready to take her.
As he was now. He wouldn’t make either of them wait any longer.
Grif slid his fingers out of her, using that hand to guide his cock into the hidden place it wanted to go. The place it belonged. Now and for the rest of their many years together.
He slid into her in one, long, smooth move, watching her response carefully. She was tight, but slick. Ready but fragile. He didn’t want to hurt her and he judged by her positive responses, that he hadn’t. She was with him and hell, yeah! It felt really good. The best. Better than he’d ever dreamed.
And that was the last truly coherent thought he had before his body took over, slamming her up against the wall, taking her hard as she scratched his shoulders and back, trying to draw him even closer.
She moaned and nearly screamed, but Grif smothered her loudest cries with his mouth, wanting her sounds for himself. In the back of his mind, somewhere, he was aware they weren’t completely alone in the house. Normally, he wouldn’t have cared, but he didn’t want to frighten Belinda with sounds she wouldn’t understand and might possibly think were scary.
She wouldn’t hear them up here unless they got too loud and even in his nearly mindless state, he somehow knew enough to keep control on the volume. There would come a time, he promised himself, when they wouldn’t have to hold back, and he looked forward to making Lindsey scream with delight.
And then the crisis drew near and he pushed hard into her, loving the way she gloved him and writhed in his arms. She was a wildcat and he loved her. His mate!
She came a split second before he let go and came with a muffled roar. They were together in pleasure. They were one.
Grif held her against the wall for long moments while they soared to the heavens together, then began the slow plummet back to earth. He felt tears on his skin and he drew back to look at her, concern furrowing his brow. Had he hurt her?
But no. She was smiling. They were happy tears. Or perhaps tears caused by the overwhelming nature of their pleasure. He understood. He felt the same.
Never in his life had he ever experienced anything like making love to his mate. This moment would be frozen for all time in his memory. A milestone. One of the most joyous, solemn and sacred moments of his life.
“Thank you, Lindsey,” he whispered, taking her lips in a tender kiss.
When he pulled back moments later, she smiled softly. “I think I should be the one thanking you,” she joked in a mellow tone as she hugged him, resting her cheek against his chest. She fit so well in his arms. They stood there for long moments, basking in the joy of being together.
And then he heard a noise downstairs. And it all came back to him. Belinda was down there and they had things to do.
Grif groaned. “Much as I’d love to curl up in your bed and do that again, we have to get moving.”
Lindsey echoed his groan, though in a more feminine version. Stil
l, he could tell, the reminder of their responsibilities wasn’t popular. He had to smile. She was a good match for him. Hell, she was his perfect match. And he’d spend the rest of his life letting her know how special she was to him.
They drove back to his cabin in her car, staying in human form. Lindsey had packed up and brought enough of her things with her to tide her over for a while.
Grif installed her in his bedroom and made room for her clothes and toiletries with very little fuss. All in all, she was left with this vague impression that he was taking over her life, but she couldn’t complain. He’d been so good to her since the change. And his lovemaking…well, that was in a class by itself.
She couldn’t bring herself to regret what they’d done in her bedroom. She was more drawn to Grif Redstone than she’d ever been to any man. He was like a dream lover—considerate and rugged. Powerful and yet careful not to hurt her. In short, he was amazing.
They made love repeatedly through the night and every time was a new and exciting adventure. He took her in the bed, on the floor, perched on the dresser, bent over it, and then he let her ride him. She’d never really done that before, though she’d dreamed about it.
He’d stopped her at one point, gazing deep into her eyes. She thought he was just about the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. His hands were on her breasts, squeezing in just the right way to send pleasurable sparks throughout her body.
“Your eyes are glowing, sweetheart,” he’d said in that soft, sexy, growly voice he seemed to reserve for when they were making love.
“They are?” Her eye color was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment.
“It’s magic.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
He smiled at her, in a playful mood. “It’s okay. It happens sometimes. Right now, I think we have more pressing matters to attend to.” He pulled her down and nipped her skin, just lightly, driving her temperature upward again.
She slid onto his cock, imprisoning him within her body, just where she wanted him. Then she rode him to heaven and back again, whimpering when she came with the most amazing pleasure. A pleasure only this man had ever brought to her.
He was definitely something special.
The next morning, Lindsey had dark circles under her eyes when she showed up at work. Ed didn’t say much about it, for which she was glad. She went about her morning chores quietly while Ed did prep work in the back. Today was baking day in addition to all the regular stuff, so she probably wouldn’t see much of him out front until around noon.
The breakfast crowd was typical and Lindsey didn’t have a lot of time to think about the amazing events of the past day or two. Toward the end of the rush, some young werewolves came in and sat down at the back of the room. They were adolescents, barely out of their teens. She could smell them now. Her senses were so amazing. She could smell things she had never noticed before.
Even the food had taken on new, sensory delights as she served it. Ed was a good cook and every plate she served smelled it.
The wolves hassled her, making her feel unwelcome, as usual. Apparently nothing had changed in regards to how the wolf Pack felt about her presence in the area. She was a cat now, though, and her inner cat was snarling and ready to hiss at the dogs. Ready to claw.
That was something she hadn’t expected. Up ‘til now, the cat that now shared her soul had been surrounded by others of its kind. It had felt welcome. Faced with the wolf shifters in human form, her cat arched its back in alarm within her soul. At least…that’s what it sort of felt like. It was hard to describe accurately, but the cat did not like these inferior wolves messing with her.
Everything changed though, when the door opened to admit a familiar figure. Logan, the Alpha werewolf stalked into the place and sat by himself at the counter. She went over to serve him coffee and her inner cat seemed to recognize him as an equal. It was wary, but willing to give him a chance to prove his intentions.
They exchanged greetings and she served him a cup of coffee, passing his order back to Ed, then going back to her regular duties. The last of the breakfast crowd was on their way out, leaving only the table of young werewolves and their Alpha at the counter.
When she went back to the table, predictably, the young wolves started to hassle her again, complaining about food that was perfectly prepared—and they all knew it. She wasn’t taking any of their shit anymore and was about to give them a piece of her mind when a large shadow loomed up behind her.
A growl sounded low, over her shoulder. She turned to look and Logan was there. He’d moved silently from his spot at the counter to back her up. He was growling at his Pack members, not at her.
“Apologize,” he said in a low, menacing tone.
One by one, the young wolves gulped and said they were sorry to her. Lindsey could hardly believe it.
The youngsters got up, giving her more than enough cash to cover their bill and left the diner without another word. It was the human shaped version of slinking away with your tail between your legs and she would have laughed if she wasn’t so surprised.
Only the Alpha remained, standing at her side.
“I’m sorry about that, Miss Tate. Please let me know if you have any other problems with members of my Pack and I’ll take care of it.”
“I appreciate it, Mr. Logan, but you can warn the miscreants in your Pack that I now have claws of my own and unless they want to feel them, they’ll be civil.” Lindsey had had just about enough of the wolves’ attitudes. She’d done everything in her power to fix the debt between her family and these folks and it still didn’t seem good enough for some of them.
Logan laughed at her unexpected show of spirit. “Damn, the Lady really knew what She was doing when She made you a cat. You can hiss with the best of them, can’t you?” Her eyes narrowed but he didn’t appear intimidated. “And Logan’s my first name. You can drop the mister—or if you want to be formal, you can call me Alpha.”
She nodded tightly. “I don’t know all the protocol yet, but I’m trying to learn.”
“That’s okay.” He held up one hand, palm outward in a show of peace. “I’m not criticizing. I’m well aware of the drastic change that has been forced upon you, and I, for one, think you’ve handled it with grace.” His genuine smile warmed her a little. “If you have any questions your cougar friends can’t answer, feel free to give me a call, okay?”
He extended a hand in friendship and she took it after only a moment’s consideration. He seemed genuine and her newly enhanced senses couldn’t detect any untruth, but then she didn’t really know if she’d be able to smell that kind of thing from another werecreature. She guessed she’d learn in time.
She felt a tingle when she shook his hand, but she had no idea what it could mean. His eyes sparkled down into hers and he winked before he turned and left, taking some of the sizzling energy out of the room with him.
Ed called from the back door as he returned shortly thereafter and the bustle of the lunch crowd took her mind off the earlier encounter with the wolves. She worked straight through until after the lunch crowd cleared out and her shift was finally over. A few more of the wolves had come in but they had been quiet and caused no trouble for her.
It amazed her how easily she could scent a wolf now when she’d had no idea that so many of them visited the diner on a regular basis before. She had been pretty much surrounded by them before, and never knew. It made her realize there was a whole separate world out there she had only known the slightest bit about, and that idea intrigued her. She knew she had a lot to learn, but she had always been a good student.
She drove to her grandfather’s house after work, intending to spend the night there, even though Grif expected her to stay at his place. But she needed some space. After the disturbing emotions of last night and the amazing happenings of the past few days, she needed to gather her wits and that wasn’t something she could do anywhere near Grif’s incredibly distracting presence.
S
he should have known he wouldn’t let her be. Within an hour of arriving home, a huge, angry mountain lion sauntered into her house. She felt his approach, scented him while he was still on the back porch, using the pads of his huge paws to turn the doorknob in a way few other cats could do. She didn’t bother moving from her sprawl on the couch. She was tired, her feet—and other muscles—were sore, and she didn’t want to have this confrontation right now.
Grif slunk in, his supple body making not a sound as he twined through the furniture to come to a rest facing her from across the coffee table. He sat back on his haunches, his intelligent eyes sparkling over at her, waiting.
“Go away, Grif. I need time to think.”
He growled low in his throat, but she was too tired to be intimidated.
“I mean it. I need some space.” She flopped her head back on the couch, closing her eyes as fatigue weighed her down.
“I’m sorry, babe. I can’t give it to you. Not yet.” Grif’s voice was a gentle purr next to her ear as she felt the cushions of the couch dip. His warm, human presence settled at her side, not touching, but protective. She peeled her eyes open and looked over at him.
He was naked, but she guessed she should have expected that. Still, it was a bit of a jolt. The man was a work of art and she could look at him all day long and never tire of his devastating maleness. She looked up at his chiseled features and caught the slight wrinkling of his brow, the determination in his jaw and the worry in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
Grif sighed. “You can read me well enough already to tell when I’m worried, can’t you?” His gentle smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I don’t know whether to be amazed or horrified that I’m so transparent.”
“You’re ducking the question, Mr. Redstone.” Her voice held a note of teasing but his evasion began to stir worry within her. She turned on the couch to face him. “Tell me. What’s bothering you?”
