by Leela Ash
“I’ve been wanting to do that since the second I saw you,” he whispered.
Laurie smiled and kissed him again.
She lay back on the front of the boat as Aiden started the engine, cast off the lines from the dock and got it going. She had never been on a speed boat before and was surprised at how powerful it was, just like him. He drove them around the lake, spinning, making waves and pulling her to him as he wrapped his arms around her and planted kisses on her cheek and neck. She felt like she was in a dream. This was her ultimate fantasy and she was living it. She was so happy she had decided to stick around in Blakestone Ridge for at least a few more days, rather than running away again. She still had to figure out what she was going to do about work, but she could call in later, she thought absently. She wasn’t on the schedule this week. She might not even go back. She really hadn’t thought about it yet. Coming back to the moment, she realized Aiden had made all the stress and bad experiences worthwhile, because they had led her to him. The Lord works in mysterious ways, she thought.
“Oh my god,” she said, sitting bolt upright and pointing across the water. “That’s it! That’s where I stayed when I was younger!” she could see the lovely little cabin sticking out between the trees. It had a little blue door and even though the wood looked a little worn and battered since the last time she had been there, it was definitely the place.
“I wonder if our paths crossed then,” Aiden smiled. “My family has been coming here for years too.”
“No, I don’t think so” she smiled, “I’d know if I’d met you before.”
Aiden took hold of her hand and kissed it, before pulling the boat up to the shore.
“Come on,” he said, “Let’s go for a walk,” he pulled a basket out from beneath the deck and Laurie could see it had champagne, strawberries and chocolate in it, along with other assorted delicacies.
“Wow,” she laughed, “You’re really going all out with the romance.”
“You might leave tomorrow,” he grinned, “I’m determined to make a lasting impression.”
They sat up on the shore and looked out at the cabin. Even though it was far from over, so far this had been one of the most perfect days of Laurie’s life. She sipped champagne and the two chinked glasses. She hardly knew anything about this guy, but there was something about his solid confidence that she found irresistible. She might not know who he was, but he sure did. Despite her conviction that he was a good man, she felt like there was something he was hiding, although she couldn’t imagine what it might be. It had something to do with those eyes though. As the afternoon passed by and they finished the bottle he lay on his back as she cuddled against him. They watched the clouds drift overhead, just as she had done when she was younger. The lake was deserted, even though it was the weekend. They were the only two there. Birds sung in the trees above them and the sun glistened on the water. Laurie felt warm inside and was a little tipsy from the champagne. She didn’t want the day to end but she looked out and knew that dusk was coming. She felt safe with Aiden but she still didn’t want to be out in the wilderness after dark, not after the events of the previous evening.
“I’ll pack everything up,” Aiden smiled as he kissed her once more. He stood and started to collect their things and Laurie looked back at the log cabin where she had spent her childhood.
“I’m just going to take a closer look,” she called to him as she walked towards the forest. She could hear him behind her as he waded into the water and started to load things into the boat.
The darkness of the forest came suddenly as she got close to the cabin. The trees blocked out what was left of the sunlight and for the first time that day she felt a chill. She wrapped her arms around herself and was about to turn and make her way back to Aiden when she had the uneasy feeling that someone was watching her. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck and she squinted to try and see in the bushes and trees ahead. She was sure she could see something moving. Her heart started to pound. She was surely just being paranoid. She looked back over her shoulder but she had gone too far into the forest and Aiden was out of sight. She couldn’t see him and he couldn’t see her. She swallowed and looked back into the trees behind the cabin and her heart almost stopped as she realized with complete horror that she wasn’t alone.
Ahead of her, taking long slow steps in her direction, Brad emerged from the trees. His face was still and angry and he held a gun in his hand. She knew instantly he had somehow tracked her here. It could have been by a million clues. This couldn’t be happening, she thought. He didn’t say a word as he lifted the gun towards her. Laurie let out a blood curdling scream as he pulled the trigger.
8.
The bullet powered into the ground at her feet and he shot again. Laurie jumped back in terror. The dirt sprayed around her in a cloud and she fell back onto the forest floor shielding her face.
“I knew you were fucking around behind my back,” Brad spat as he laughed and moved quickly towards her. “I’d been saying it for months and all you did was lie.” He raised the gun and pointed it at her chest again. “And now you have the nerve to run out on me in the middle of the night. Did you honestly think that I wouldn’t find you?” He laughed like a maniac and in his eyes there was something more than sinister. He wasn’t messing around.
“You followed me?” she said.
“I didn’t have to follow you Laurie,” he shook his head in disbelief, “You used to talk about this place incessantly, and sure enough your albums, you know the ones with all the summer postcards in them? Yeah, those. The address was right there. I knew where you would come. I just had to be a little patient. Truth be told I did start to think maybe you weren’t coming after all. But here you are. You see, you’re not that clever, did you really think I was just going to let you leave?” His eyes were wild.
She closed her eyes as she heard footsteps behind her. Aiden. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she thought it was going to burst out of her ribcage.
“Oh here he is,” Brad laughed, “The man who stole her heart.”
“Whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong,” Aiden said calmly. “She hasn’t been cheating on you. We just met.”
“I don’t need your fucking lies,” Brad spat, he alternated pointing the gun between them. He pointed it frantically at Aiden and then at Laurie, his eyes popping out of his head.
“Put the gun down,” Aiden said calmly, as if this situation was nothing to be concerned about. And then his tone changed, “Now.”
“You think you’re going to tell me what to do?” Brad screamed, “I’ve got news for you douche bag, I’m the one holding the gun! I decide what’s going to happen here! Understood?”
A smile crept across Aiden’s face before he curled it up into a sneer.
“No,” Aiden growled, “That’s actually not how it works at all.”
Suddenly Aiden’s body heaved and buckled, his muscles ripping through his clothes as his voice turned to snarls and growls. At the same time his limbs shortened and his torso grew long as he fell to all fours. Everything about him was changing before their eyes, as he continued to issue a ferocious howl. His tanned skin turned even darker before a coat of luscious thick fur burst forth. His big hands pulled in as they morphed into paws with sharp claws and his gorgeous face morphed into the handsome features of a wolf. A magnificent, and enormous wolf. One with beautiful fierce blue eyes. Laurie blinked, breathless and struck dumb all at once. She couldn’t believe her eyes. What the fuck is happening? She thought.
Within seconds the beast had spanned the distance between himself and Brad, who had mere seconds to stand there in utter disbelief and shock before the giant creature had clamped his jaws on Brad’s throat. Laurie didn’t want to watch but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Carried by momentum the wolf knocked Brad maybe ten feet back, even as it shook its head, tearing his throat out. Before she could comprehend what was happening the wolf, or whatever it was, dragged him off into the
trees. The only evidence left of them was the gun lying on the ground in front of her. And then there was the blood.
Aiden was a shifter. Holy shit. Her heart pounded even harder as everything suddenly came into focus. That explained everything. His icy blue eyes, the way his skin felt like it was on fire, the power that ran through him… and of course the creature that had saved her. It had saved her. It was him. It was him all along. No wonder he felt so different to anyone she had ever met before, she had never met a shifter before…Of course she had heard the stories, but never believed any of it. How could she know such creatures actually existed?
She swallowed and kept her hands covered over her ears. Somehow Brad was still able to scream and she could hear both his cries and the creature’s snarls coming from inside the forest. She couldn’t block them out. Brad started to gargle and Laurie knew he was going to be dead. There was no way he could possibly survive an attack like that from an animal of that size. She had thought the first bite had finished him.
Her thoughts returned to Aiden. He was a majestic creature in either form but seeing him as the striking dark wolf had had an unexpected effect on her. She felt inexplicably turned on. She just wanted him to finish with Brad so they could get the hell out of that forest.
The remaining gargles ceased and the forest fell silent. Laurie stood waiting nervously, unsure of how to feel or what to do. Should she go and see what was happening? Before she had a chance to make the decision Aiden came walking towards her from the trees. He was naked and covered in blood. But he was a man again. Laurie looked at his amazing body. He was so muscular and toned, his thighs were wide and his arms were huge. She didn’t dare look between his legs but of course couldn’t avoid it. His manhood was the biggest she had ever seen and looked to be half engorged already. Laurie felt a gush between her legs.
“Aiden,” she whispered, “Is he…?”
He nodded and looked down at the ground, unsure of how she was going to react. “I didn’t want you to see that, and I did not want to frighten you, but I had no choice. I had to act.”
“You saved me again,” she whispered. “He’s what I was running from.”
Even though what had happened was too horrific to put into words and she knew Brad was lying mangled in the forest behind them, the site of Aiden in front of her was too much. She had to have him.
“Are you alright?” Aiden said, his voice deeper and gruffer than it had been before.
“I’m fine,” she smiled. And she meant it. For the first time in a long time she felt completely safe and at ease. This man was more than she could have ever hoped for. He had burst into her life out of nowhere and in less than twenty-four hours had saved her twice from perilous situations, swept her off her feet, and now she had seen him turn into a wolf before her very eyes. That was hard to beat.
“Come to me,” she whispered, holding out her arms.
Aiden approached her slowly and slipped his arms around her. His huge manhood had become fully erect and poked into her side, even as she felt her own sex grow warm and tingly. She ached to have him inside her and when he kissed her and lay her back down on the ground the heat coming from him was so intense she felt like she was going to get burned. He pulled her t-shirt off from over her head and slipped down her shorts as he climbed between her legs. He kissed her neck and ran his hot rough hands up the length of her naked body as he slowly and sensually pushed his huge length inside her.
Laurie gasped. The pleasure was so intense she felt like she was being opened up for the first time. Aiden thrust in and out of her slowly, his cock red hot and powerful. They lay making love beneath the trees and looked into each other’s eyes. He fit inside her perfectly, she had never felt so filled and completed before. Aiden lifted her leg up and wrapped his hand delicately around her throat as he pumped into her while she dug her feet into the base of his spine. He grunted louder with each thrust and Laurie was on the verge of the most amazing orgasm of her life. She screamed up into the trees as she came and Aiden unraveled too, cumming hot and heavy inside her as he collapsed on top of her. His skin was electric and on fire.
She wrapped her hands in his hair and pulled his face to hers. She stared into his stunning eyes and he kissed her again. She had never been so reckless and she had never felt so good. They lay under the trees until the sun went down and the stars came out.
9.
Laurie sat on the front of the speed boat as Aiden drove it into the shore where his car was waiting. It was the following morning and they had spent the night together under the stars. She had conflicting emotions. She was completely in awe of him but also a little scared. He had murdered Brad, even if it had been to save her. Brad was dead and it was at Aiden’s hand.
She turned to look at him, his dark hair was shaggy and windswept from the breeze. She still couldn’t get over how incredible he was. A smile crept across her face and she hugged her arms around herself. She had told him she wanted to leave Blakestone Ridge that morning and he hadn’t tried to stop her. She had to go home. If she was missing when questions about Brad arose, it was going to look suspicious on her part. If she went home at least she could say Brad had gone out driving when he was drunk and she hadn’t seen him since. In a sense she wasn’t that worried though. No one would believe the truth anyhow. If there was a truth it was that he had been mauled by a wild animal anyhow. Again, Aiden had said he would take care of it.
They got into Aiden’s car and he started the engine. He reached down and took hold of her hand.
“I’m glad you’re going to go back to the city,” he smiled. “I couldn’t face you going on the run and never seeing you again.”
“On the run,” she playfully punched him on the shoulder, “Last night you spectacularly eliminated what I was running from.”
“I know,” he almost looked embarrassed that the aggression had taken him over. But Laurie wasn’t sorry for what he had done. If he hadn’t she never would have been free from Brad. His ex-fiancé had confirmed how dangerous he could be.
“You will always be safe with me,” he said, wrapping his hand in her hair and kissing her again. “I would appreciate it if you could keep the part about me turning into a wolf just between us though,” he said, in a mock matter of fact tone. Yeah, he was a keeper.
“I’d be honored to keep your secret, Aiden,” Laurie smiled, “I would never tell a soul… I think we’ve been through too much together this weekend for me to tell anyone. I think we owe it to each other to keep all this between us. Besides, who would believe me?”
“I agree,” he smiled as he put the car in drive and pulled out of the clearing onto the deserted country roads. “I’m going to head back this afternoon,” he said. “Will you be alright in the meantime?”
Laurie churned over everything in her mind. The idea of being away from him just now was frightening. She knew the drive back home wasn’t particularly long and would only take her two hours max, but she had gotten used to having him there to protect her. Still, she knew he would be there when she returned.
“I’ll stay with you, if you want.” he looked at her, his eyes alive with passion.
“I’ll be fine,” she smiled, all she had needed was that tiny bit of reassurance. “But if you really want to, maybe you can come see me once things blow over a bit.”
As they drove back into the town and headed up Main Street she noticed some of the items for sale in the store windows. There were wolf figurines in one shop and as she looked at the old man working there she noticed that he too had an ice blue glint to his eyes. A memory glazed over her to when she was a child and she stood with her father looking in one of those stores. He told her that he’d heard the rumors about the forests and that they’d had big animals living there. She had thought about it a lot afterwards and the whole time they were staying at the lake cabin she had hoped to see one of the creatures that the legends had told of, but nothing ever came of it and the memory had faded as she grew up. It was funny how life co
uld work out. The fact she had been drawn back to that place and had met this man seemed like proof of some divine intelligence. In this moment she could easily see herself spending the rest of her life with him. Of course she hardly knew him, but there was plenty of time to remedy that. When she was a child she had romanticized about the legends of the animals, but never in her wildest dreams could have predicted what she would come to know as the truth. She looked across at her alpha billionaire shifter, and his huge frame and gorgeous chiseled features. Just looking at him sent a shiver down her spine, as well as up her legs. She had never been a big believer in fate but something had pulled them together. There was something between them that worked better than any relationship Laurie had ever had with anyone in her life before. Aiden didn’t just seem to understand her, he seemed to be inside her head. She loved the air of mystery that was constantly around him, and now with a promise of a reunion in the city she couldn’t wait to see where their relationship was heading. She looked up at him and he squeezed her hand. Everything was going to be just fine. She was sure of it.
THE END
Mated to the Highland Wolf
Samantha Leal
Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.
