Rabbit Creek Santa

by Jacqueline Rhoades

  Before Travis could say another word, the Alpha spread his arms. There was a flash of light and Travis was suddenly a wolf confronted by another wolf that was already circling and assessing his opponent.

  GW's wolf was much like his human, long-legged and lean. When he leapt, Travis had to roll his shorter, broader body beneath him. The men forming the ring around them cheered, but Travis wasn't sure if it was for GW's leap or his own avoidance of the attack. He was immediately on his feet and circling, looking for weakness before GW turned and did the same.

  Both wolves snarled and made tentative lunges to see what reaction the other would have. By the way GW cocked his head to the side, Travis realized that this was a contest and not a true challenge where blood would be drawn before the winner was decided.

  That didn't mean there'd be no blood. Sharp teeth and claws sometimes made that impossible. Travis' wolf was excited by the challenge. He pranced and danced and finally struck, taking GW to the ground, but GW was no easy opponent. He twisted. They rolled, each fighting for the upper position of dominance. The watchers cheered as the two opponents became a spiraling ball of white and grey.

  Twice they came apart, sides heaving, and twice more they came together, each trying to use their size to dominate the other. Pound for pound, they were a match with Travis's bulk making up for his lack of GW's length. Anyone listening to their snarls and growls would have thought they were tearing each other apart.

  When they broke apart a third time, GW changed his tactics. Quick as lightning, the grey wolf dove under Travis and, heaving upward with his long legs, tossed him up and over his back. Travis fell heavily onto his back, four legs scrambling in the air. Before he could right himself, GW struck again. On his back, belly and neck exposed, this would have been the time to give up and allow GW the win, but Travis' wolf refused to capitulate from such a humiliating position. As GW lunged for his throat, Travis' hind legs kicked out and caught his opponent's underside.

  His wolf still saw GW as a rival and he wanted blood. Real blood.

  "Beat him. Rip his belly. Teeth at throat. Show female, bigger, better wolf."

  "No!" the human side of Travis shouted at his wolf. It was a Primal Law; never let your wolf rule your human. "He doesn't want her. We do." Emphasis on 'we'.

  GW sailed over Travis, lifted by muscular hind legs, but with no real damage done. The long grey wolf twisted in the air in an impressive spine bending maneuver that allowed him to spring back at Travis as soon as his hind feet hot the ground. Travis turned, clipping the grey wolf's shoulder and throwing him off balance. Rather than turning back to the staggering wolf, he continued the turn. This brought his snout into position to hamstring his opponent' hind leg and had this been a real fight to the death, he would have done just that.

  It was Travis' intent to leave it there. He'd proven he could hold his own and everyone watching would be aware of what he could have done. Wolf fights, particularly those to establish a wolver's place in the pack, were generally short contests quickly decided. He was satisfied with his performance. Once again, his wolf had other ideas.

  Seeing the full grey tail curled under GW's narrow backend, his wolf couldn't resist the temptation. He bit down and ended up with a mouthful of tail. He pranced away, a wad of fur hanging from his mouth, and yipped gleefully as he trotted around the edge of the circle showing off his trophy. His damn wolf was enjoying it!

  Some of the watchers laughed when GW yelped in pain and their cheering increased when GW sought revenge for his missing patch of fur. He lunged, struck, and the two combatants were once again joined in a rolling ball of snarls and fur. Tasting a little victory, Travis' wolf wanted more and the next time he found himself back to the ground, he had to use all the force of his human will to make his animal give ground and accept defeat.

  The minute GW's jaws captured Travis' throat, there was another flash of light and the Alpha brought them home. Instead of fighting wolves, the two combatants now looked more like entwined lovers and laughter roared from the men in the crowd.

  "Kiss him and get it over with, GW! You know you want to."

  "Someone go tell Max she's got some competition and it's not the little widow!"

  The laughter increased when the combatants both rolled in the same direction to break apart and each thought to fix it by rolling the other way. Quick as a man as he was as a wolf, GW grabbed Travis' ears and gave him a smacking kiss on the mouth and then spit in the dirt of the barn floor.

  "Damn, wolver, you taste like wolf tail," he laughed as he pushed Travis away. His reference to tail brought several raucous comments from the men.

  "Better than crow," Travis laughed, rolling to his feet and extending his hand to help GW rise. "I knew I had to eat it, but nobody said it had to be from your lips."

  There were claps on the back for both wolvers from the surrounding men, along with more jokes and compliments for their skill. It wasn't all compliments, however, and everyone had an opinion on what the two combatants should have done to evade the other. Marshall stood back and watched the reactions of the newcomer, until the laughing wolver looked up.

  Travis' face fell. "I'm sorry, Alpha. I shouldn't have let it go on so long. I should have controlled my wolf."

  "If GW can't take a little nip on the tail, he's got bigger problems than you," Marshall told him with a bit of a chuckle. "Your wolf enjoyed it. His wolf enjoyed it, and so did everyone else. There are no hard feelings anywhere in this room. Still thinking of taking your little widow back home to New Hampshire?"

  "Hey! Any of that jack left?" someone called out to Roy.

  "Nah. You greedy bastards drank it all," Roy's voice echoed from the wooden bin he was leaning into. "Gotta switch to the hard stuff." He held two quart mason jars up, both filled with clear liquid. "And don't ask fer no more, 'cause this stash has got to last me the winter and with all Maggie's ideas of paintin' and wallpaperin', it's gonna be a long one."

  The jar was passed and everyone laughed when Travis choked on his first mouthful of pure grain alcohol. Wiping his watery eyes, he looked around at the laughing men and realized this was what he'd been missing. This was why he spent so much time down below in town. It wasn't the women, though he wouldn't apologize for that. It was the camaraderie found in bars. It was temporary and largely induced by alcohol, but for a short time when the night grew late, you felt like you were a part of the group, part of a pack.

  He'd been homesick. Everyone in Rabbit Creek had welcomed him with open arms, but big, tough wolver that he thought he was, he couldn't let go of his New Hampshire home. Lindy wasn't the only one who'd been lost. Travis hid his laugh behind another sip of the fiery liquid and glanced over at his new Alpha.

  "You didn't answer my question," Marshall said quietly. "Are you going home?"

  "This is my home. I stand for my Alpha and the Rabbit Creek pack," Travis said and meant it.

  "I'm hungry," George stated as if he was arguing the point. The burly mechanic looked around at the others. "Watching these two go at it has given me an appetite. Think there's any food left?"

  "What kind of Tom Fool question is that? Of course there's food. You ever been to a party where it ran out?"

  They trooped to the house en masse, laughing and joking and slapping their two young contestants on the back.

  "Did you ever see such a sorry lookin' bunch of wolvers?" Maggie asked as they stomped through the kitchen. "And not one of 'em stopped to wipe their damn feet."

  Lindy was clearing away two shiny platters that once held turkey. Behind her, Gwenna carried a replacement turkey. She was followed by Sally Ann from the diner with a huge bowl of meaty stew. One glance at Travis and Lindy's platters clattered back on the table.

  "You're hurt!" she cried, rushing to him. She grabbed a paper napkin from the stack on the corner of the table and started dabbing at his face.

  Travis started filling his plate with thin slices of rare roast beef. Plate full, he held her wrist to stop her fussing.
"You should see the other guy."

  "Yeah, the other guy is much better looking than this mutt," GW said behind him. He looked pretty battered, too.

  "Except for the big ass bald spot on your tail," Travis retorted.

  "Least I don't taste like tail," GW laughed.

  "Good thing or you and I'd be having a little chat," Max said from the wide doorway.

  The men hooted and cracked jokes about who was boss in GW's house. "Don't worry, Max, Travis says your wolver tastes like crow!" someone called.

  While the teasing went on, Lindy made a move toward the platters she'd dropped. Still holding her wrist, Travis pulled her to him. Sliding the hand he held behind her back, he brought her closer and kissed her, longer and harder than a playful kiss would warrant. Her lips were warm and soft and pliant beneath his and he wanted to prolong the kiss, but he was making a statement, not making love.

  Surprised, Lindy kissed him back and then flushed crimson when he released her to the hoots and hollers of those in the room.

  "Sweet as honey," he said quietly to her and louder to the others, "Had to get the taste of crow out of my mouth."

  "Travis!" Lindy meant to say it sharply, but it came out a little breathless.

  "Kiss her again, Travis!" someone called, "Sometimes it's the only way to shut them up!"

  Travis didn't kiss her again. Instead, he took small slice of beef from his plate and popped it into her mouth which she'd opened to speak. The men laughed, but a sweet and satisfied collective sigh rose from the watching women.

  In the time honored tradition of wolvers, Travis had officially declared a serious interest in making Lindy his mate. He'd shared his food. He'd fed her from his hand.

  Lindy, standing like a deer caught in the glare of headlights, was the only one who wasn't smiling.

  Chapter 10

  The short drive home was mostly in silence. Joey was exhausted from his playtime with the other pups and was asleep before they reached the end of the Cramer's long drive. His new bright blue pickup truck, a gift from Maggie and Roy, lay beside him on the seat. Glancing in his rearview mirror at the sleeping child, and then over at the child's mother, Travis thought he'd been blessed with two angels for Christmas.

  He couldn't wait to tell his sisters. One would laugh and tell him he'd always been spoiled and got what he wanted. The other would laugh and warn that pups were only angels when they were sleeping. If he told his parents, his mother would have her bags packed and be pushing his father out the door before they had time to hang up the phone.

  He wouldn't tell them yet, he thought with another glance at Lindy. He still had to convince her that what they were feeling was right and good and meant to be. He'd felt it when they kissed and he knew she felt it, too, but there was something besides surprise in her eyes when he let her go and again when he fed her the meat. No one else saw it, but Travis did. It was fear.

  Lindy had her eyes closed, too, but she wasn't sleeping. She was thinking about what she needed to say when they got back to the house. In the quiet of the night after Joey was snug in his crib, she would gently explain why this thing between them couldn't be. With the way she felt after he kissed her and the way her wolf whined with pleasure when he fed them from his hand, it wasn't going to be easy.

  She'd loved Joe with all her heart, but it hadn't felt the same as what she felt with Travis. With Joe, the love between them had grown slowly over time. She didn't understand what she felt with Travis.

  Her wolf understood it, though, and she recognized something more. Travis wasn't a possible boyfriend or lover. He was her true mate, the wolver who was born for her. Her wolf had been happily content with Joe, but with Travis, she was excited, elated.

  Her inner wolf wasn't elated now, however. She was angry and snarling at Lindy's denial of it and Lindy's stomach churned with her wolf's irritation.

  "You don't understand," Lindy whispered silently.

  But her wolf did. You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to your wolf.

  By the time they pulled up to the house, Lindy had her speech prepared. She was ready to tell Travis why he needed to move on.

  What she wasn't ready for was the way Travis gently moved her out of the way so he could lift the sleeping Joey from his seat. She wasn't prepared for the way her heart melted when Joey snuggled into his Piyo's chest, his chubby little fingers tap-tapping against it as if assuring Travis that everything was all right. She wasn't prepared for her eyes to grow misty when her baby cried out in his sleep and Travis comforted him by running his fingers through Joey's soft curls and calling him son.

  I wasn't the first time she'd heard him use the word. Men used it the same way they did buddy or pal or pup and yet this time she heard it differently. What happened next wasn't a dramatic moment, nothing she would remember in years to come and yet it touched her.

  When they entered the house, Travis laid the sleeping boy on the sofa and began to gently remove Joey's snowsuit while Lindy ran for his pajamas. Stripped of his warm and cuddly cocoon, Joey's face crumpled and his little arms flailed. Lindy heard his cry of protest while she was upstairs and she hurried down to comfort him, knowing that if the boy awakened, it could be hours before he went back to sleep.

  Travis was on his knees beside the sofa with his forearms to either side of Joey, his warm jacket open and tented over the diaper clad pup.

  "It's all right, son," he was whispering in Joey's ear while he stroked the sleeping boy's head. "Piyo's here. I'll keep you safe and warm till Mama comes. I'll always keep you safe and warm."

  When he looked up and saw Lindy watching, he colored a little with embarrassment as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. His words weren't meant for Lindy to hear.

  "That's my name. Piyo," he said with a self-conscious shrug. "It makes me feel kinda special. Stupid, huh?"

  But Lindy knew it wasn't stupid at all. It was exactly what Travis said. Special.

  He carried Joey up to his crib and watched while Lindy tucked her pup in, once more trading truck for soft bear. Travis had a lump in his throat as he watched her kiss her son goodnight. He'd watched his sisters do that a hundred times. It was always sweet, but it never made him feel like this.

  He waited for her in the hall and as soon as she closed Joey's door behind her, he took her in his arms. Without giving her a chance to react, he kissed her. He felt her stiffen and thought for a moment she was going to pull away in protest, but then her body melted into his and just as she had at Maggie's, she kissed him back.

  Unlike at Maggie's, here there was no reason to break the kiss. Travis pressed her back against the wall of the narrow hall way. He pressed his knee against the wall between her legs and lifted her up on her toes. He could feel the heat of her, smell her rising ardor and damn, wasn't that the aphrodisiac on top of what he was already feeling. His wolf went wild.

  Lindy wasn't faring any better. She'd meant to say no, but her mouth wouldn't form the word. When his lips touched hers, it was like a volcano opened up somewhere down below. It was the same as what happened at Maggie's only this time, he didn't stop. He didn't give her time to think. He just kept pressing those warm, moist lips against hers, driving all reason from her mind, leaving her body at the mercy of her over enthusiastic wolf. His lips were not enough.

  She was the one who opened her mouth and drove her tongue at his teeth and Travis responded, attacking her mouth with tongue and teeth as if he wanted to devour her. He did. He wanted every inch of her, couldn't get enough of the taste of her. His sweet little widow had turned into one hot little mama and damned if she wasn't feeling good.

  Her red wool sweater was sweet. It molded to her figure, but not too tight, only hinting at the pleasures beneath. He'd been eyeing that sweater all night, but now he wanted it gone. He wanted no more hints. Travis ran his hands down her sides and lifted that sweater up and up. Her arms snaked down through the sleeves. Their lips broke contact as he pulled it over her head and his wolf howled in frust
ration when confronted with that damn red bra. It might have been pretty. It might have been sexy. He didn't know. He didn't care. He wanted it gone.

  Lindy felt the same way about his shirt. She'd seen that naked chest in her kitchen. It bothered her then. It drove her crazy now. She wanted her hands on that warm skin. She wanted to run her fingers and tongue over those glorious pecs and abs and follow that thin strip of hair that ran down the middle to wherever it led. She ripped the shirt up from his jeans, fumbling with the buttons and whining with frustration when her fingers seemed all thumbs.

  "Off, off, get it off," she panted and Travis obliged by pulling the half buttoned shirt over his head and tossing it through the doorway behind him.

  The feel of him under her probing hands was everything she imagined it would be; all heat and hard muscle. She wanted that hard muscle holding her, surrounding her, pounding into her. She wanted him in a way that began to frighten her, but then he was kissing her again and all rational thought fled.

  She tore at his belt while he tore at the back clasp of her bra. When the clasp gave way and the bra fell to the floor, Travis reared back and groaned at the sight of the luscious pair of breasts finally and fully exposed.

  He looked up at those big eyes. Her face was flushed with her arousal, her lips slightly swollen from the force of their kisses. "God, you are beautiful," he whispered as he sank to his knees.

  Her breasts were everything he'd dreamed they'd be, round and full and perfect. They were soft under his kneading fingers, the skin like fine silk. He pressed his lip to one puckered nipple and tickled it with his tongue and chuckled against it when he felt it stiffen further. Soft and sensitive, that was his Lindy.

  Lindy tilted her head back against the wall, arching to increase the pressure of his mouth at her breast. Her skin felt hot. Her breath was coming in heavy gasps. When Travis scraped his teeth along the underside of her breast her heels came off the floor and she almost lost control of her wolf.