Branded by Lust: 4 (Night Seekers)

by Holt, Desiree

  “I think we banished the beast for a while, wouldn’t you say?” There was a touch of humor in his voice as he rolled to the side, taking her with him. His hand idly stroked her arm, her hip, the top of her thigh.

  Rebecca tucked her head into the curve of his shoulder, her body languorous and sated. She thought how nice it would be to lie like this forever with this man and pretend nothing like the Chupacabra even existed.

  If only.

  Logan heaved a sigh then eased himself very carefully from the clasp of her body. She watched him pad to the bathroom to dispose of the condom, then slide back under the covers and pull her into his arms. His lips brushed her forehead.

  “This is more than just lust, Bek.” His voice was deep, husky in the aftermath of sex. “A lot more.”

  “You can tell that so quickly?”

  “I knew in the first five minutes after I met you. I’ve been waiting since the first day we met in Maine, using all my control to keep myself in check until I thought the time was right. For us. But I don’t mind telling you it was damn hard.”

  Rebecca skimmed her fingertips over the hair on his chest, hoping her next words wouldn’t piss him off. Last night he’d told her he believed they had something very special together. But her relationship history had taught her to always hedge her bets.

  “I worry about one thing.”

  “Oh?” His body tensed against her and his arm pulled her closer. “And what’s that?”

  “Are you sure it isn’t just the element of danger that’s making us feel this way? I mean, when I met you we were already investigating one killing and it’s been nonstop since then. And I know danger can be a wonderful aphrodisiac. For some people, that is.”

  Logan cupped her chin and tilted her face up to his.

  “Listen to me, Bek. Danger has nothing to do with how I feel about you. And it’s a whole lot more than sex. Once we finish here we’re going to have a long talk about the future.” He ran his knuckles lightly against her cheek. “Okay?”

  She relaxed against him. “Okay.”

  They lay twined together while daylight faded and the room was soon plunged into the semi-darkness of early evening. When Logan’s stomach rumbled they both laughed.

  He grinned. “I think that’s our signal for dinner.”

  They heated the lasagna Eve had left for them and Rebecca threw together a salad from the fresh vegetables in the refrigerator. She was stacking the dishes in the dishwasher when Logan came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

  “I think I need to take a little night run.”

  She turned to look up at him. “Now? It’s freezing cold out there. Do you need the exercise that much? Especially after…” She stopped, nibbled on her lower lip and felt the heat creep up her face.

  He laughed. “No, you managed to wear me out enough.” His face sobered. “But I need to…I mean…” He fumbled for words.

  Understanding surged through her. “You need to shift and run as wolf.”

  He nodded. “Are you okay with that?”

  “Can I… Can I watch you shift?”

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay with that?”

  She nodded. “If we’re going to, um, be together, I want to know that part of you too.”

  He placed his palms on her cheeks, cradling her face, his chocolate eyes boring into hers intently. “If it bothers you or…turns you off in any way, you have to be honest and tell me.”

  She swallowed past the lump in her throat. She could do this. She knew she could. “I will. I promise.”

  He held her gaze a moment longer before he nodded. “All right then.”

  While she watched he pulled off his boots and stacked them side by side next to the wall. Then he removed his clothes, folding each piece carefully and placing them on a chair. When he stood before her, gloriously naked, Rebecca’s mouth went dry. He was so magnificent she wondered if she’d ever stop being mesmerized by the sight of him nude.

  “I usually undress on the back porch,” he told her. “Or just leave my clothes in my room. I have to be in human form to be able to open and close the door.” He winked. “But tonight you can do that for me.” His face sobered. “Ready?”

  She nodded, holding her breath.

  Logan closed his eyes and in seconds a thick mist swirled around him, enclosing him in its fog-like thickness. Rebecca blinked, the fog disappeared, and in its place stood a huge magnificent gray wolf, its coat thick and lustrous. Rebecca’s heart rate ratcheted up and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. Then the wolf lifted his head and stared directly at her. She saw Logan’s familiar warm brown eyes, now sprinkled with amber, and she relaxed. Tentatively she reached out a hand to touch his head and the wolf rubbed his snout against her.

  A tiny, unexpected thrill shot through her body. There was no element of fear, only safety and…something else. A feeling of connection. And heat. Her nipples tightened and her pussy contracted, her juices dampening her crotch. It was so unexpected that for a moment she couldn’t breathe. Tentatively she stroked the silvery coat, sifting her fingers through the coarse yet silky hair. The wolf gave a low, rumbling growl, more of satisfaction than of menace. Rebecca was sure if he was a cat he would be purring.

  And every pulse point in her body throbbed with sudden need.

  Finally the wolf moved away from her to the door and stood patiently waiting for her to open it. The moment she opened it he was through it, pausing for a moment on the patio to lift his nose and scent the air. Then he was off in long graceful strides, picking up speed as he moved farther and farther away from the ranch house.

  She stood there watching him until the cold air chilled her. Closing the door, she flipped on the back outside light and went to search Logan’s cupboards for the makings of hot chocolate. She was sure he’d want some when he got back.

  Then she dug her ereader out of her purse and opened it to the book she’d been reading and settled down to wait.

  * * * * *

  Logan loved the cold, running in it as wolf, the feel of it against his coat like the edge of a sharp knife. It heightened all his senses and made his blood pump faster. He had to remind himself that this wasn’t an outing for fun alone, that he had a purpose and a goal. He needed to scout the area at night before taking Rebecca out on horseback in the daylight.

  The idea of the horses had come to him while they were studying the maps Rance Danvers had brought as well as the aerial photography Ric sent to his computer. There were a number of areas where snowmobiles would be tricky and ATVs too cumbersome. Places where there were huge stands of lodgepole pines rising from carpets of bluebunch wheatgrass and rough fescue. The pastureland was covered with the same grasses as well as Idaho fescue. He knew how important it was to manage forested ecosystems that were used for grazing. Every rancher in Montana did. At least in his area.

  But beyond the trees, hills of rocks—now iced over—rose like silent sentinels. They were filled with places where the beast could carve out a den for itself in the ice and snow. They’d have to be very careful, taking the horses that were the most surefooted, but they could get to otherwise inaccessible places.

  He ran with the wind at his face, scenting the air for any traces of the creature. Of course, other than the faint odor of turpentine they had no other scent to use as an identifier, but he could always hope.

  The longer he ran the more his strides lengthened so he was covering great areas of ground. The snow, without any fresh snowfall for a few days, had firmed up and was hard-packed enough that he didn’t sink into it. That was something else on his list to test—was it solid enough to be safe for the horses?

  Logan ran through open pastureland until he reached the first thick stand of trees, pausing to catch his breath and survey the area. The night sounds of wild animals broke the chilly silence. Whitetail deer, moose, mountain goats and wolves liked to throw all-night parties and he caught glimpses of them in and around the trees. He was careful to sniff for the scent
of bear, a predator that all living things feared greatly. There weren’t too many in this particular area, but they roamed over such a great amount of land that you never knew when one would pop up and decide you were on the menu for its next meal.

  He also paid careful attention to the wolves, making sure their scent was pure animal. He hadn’t heard of other shapeshifters in the area in all the time he’d lived here but that didn’t mean some hadn’t shown up since he’d left.

  He wove in and out among the trees until he came to rocky outcroppings and paused again to survey the area. Here was the kind of landscape that provided good hiding places for the Chupacabra and it was close enough to where the park ranger’s body had been found to be a logical location.

  Logan was very cautious as he slowly picked his way from place to place, every one of his senses on alert. But other than the expected wild animals he saw nothing. Wherever the beast was it wasn’t showing itself tonight. He only hoped that didn’t mean it had targeted its next prey or was even at the moment zeroing in on it.

  Finally, realizing he’d been out for a long time, he turned and headed for home. And Rebecca.

  * * * * *

  Rebecca marked her place and closed the book she was trying to read after realizing she’d been looking at the same page for ten minutes. The house seemed too empty without Logan’s large presence in it and she jumped at every little noise. She looked at her watch, discovered Logan had been gone for just over an hour and wondered how long he usually took for one of his runs.

  The image of the magnificent wolf was burned into her brain, the shimmer of its silver coat and the ripple of powerful muscles beneath it. She’d only had a nanosecond burst of fear but then he’d turned his amber-flecked brown eyes on her and there was Logan, the connection between them snapping back into place.

  When Sophia had told her about Clint she was captivated. In his human form Clint seemed like everyone else. As did the members of Night Seekers who were shifters. And as she came to know them and read extensively about shapeshifters, the so-called werewolves, the fascination grew. And in Logan’s case, attraction.

  She might have reservations because it happened so fast but she couldn’t deny the explosive chemistry between them. This was definitely more than passing lust between them. Questions danced around in her brain like buzzing bees. And she had an urgent sense she needed answers to her questions before Logan returned. Moving her into his bedroom was significant, an act of possession, and she had to put some things to rest before moving forward with this. Whatever this turned out to be.

  She picked up her cell phone and punched in Sophia’s number. She’d worried about reception out here in an area like this, but Logan had told her he’d taken care of that.

  “For one thing the entire house is a hotspot. Since I’ve been gone John uses my den to keep the ranch records and pay the bills but sometimes he works in the dining room when Eve’s in the kitchen. And I’ve got a wireless printer that all of us can access.”

  “But that doesn’t necessarily help the phone,” she’d pointed out.

  “I carry a satellite phone. All the team members do. But we also have secure cells and the people who work here have cells. There’s an antenna on the roof to boost the signal.”

  All of which had made her feel much less disconnected from everyone.

  Glancing at the clock as the phone rang on the other end, she realized it was too early for her sister to be asleep. She just hoped she wasn’t interrupting anything. Under other circumstances Sophia and Clint would be off on their honeymoon. But, as in the cases of the previous weddings at Desolation Ranch, a fresh Chupacabra kill had interrupted that and put it on hold.

  “Rebecca?” Sophia’s voice sounded soft and slurry.

  Uh oh. I did interrupt them.

  “Sorry, sis.” Rebecca chuckled. “I was hoping I’d catch you just relaxing.”

  “That depends on your interpretation of relaxing.” Sophia’s voice was edged with humor. “What’s up? Anything new since Logan’s last report?”

  “No. There’s a meeting here at the ranch again first thing in the morning so we can map out search areas and Danvers can make assignments.” She blew out a soft breath. “I just had…something I wanted to talk to you about but I should have known better than to call newlyweds at night.” Now she felt stupid. Of course they’d be occupied. What a ninny she was. “Never mind. I’ll call tomorrow. Or something.”

  “Not a chance. What you have is obviously important or you wouldn’t have called. Right? My demanding husband can cool it for a few minutes. What do you need?”

  Rebecca blew out a breath. “Okay, I’m probably going to sound like a babbling teenager here but while Logan is out for a while I, um, wanted to talk to you. About Clint and, um, his shifting. But really. I can call back another time.”

  “Hold on a sec.”

  Rebecca could visualize her sister smiling. She heard soft whispering going on then Clint’s warm Cajun drawl.

  “Better make it fast, chere. I have a hot bed waiting for my hot woman.”

  Rebecca’s cheeks heated and she was tempted just to tell Sophia to forget the whole thing and hang up. Apparently her sister grabbed the phone away from her husband. Rebecca heard Sophia laugh, a low and intimate sound.

  “Cut that out,” she murmured. “We’ve got all night.” Then her voice became all business. “Give me a second. I just want to go into the kitchen.” There was another pause, then, “All right. What’s going on?”

  Rebecca wasn’t sure exactly how to phrase her questions without telling her sister why. Maybe she shouldn’t be discussing what was happening between her and Logan. But there were things she really wanted to know.

  “Let me guess,” Sophia said when Rebecca didn’t answer. “Something’s going on with you and Logan, right?”

  “Okay. Yes, you’re right. And I’m really confused about the whole thing. About being with a shifter and what it means to a relationship.”

  “Well, little sister, there’s nothing wrong with that. And we talked all about the shifter factor when I told you about Clint. And the rest of the team.”

  “I don’t care so much about the others.” Rebecca paced in the living room as she talked. “I want to know how it made you feel about Clint. About…you know…being intimate.”

  Sophia chuckled softly. “I’ll tell you anything except details. What do you want to know?”

  “For one thing, have you and Clint ever talked about children? About what they’d be like? And how does he control his ability to shift? I mean, he can’t just change in the midst of a crowd if the urge comes over him. Right? And did you—”

  “Wow. Things must have heated up quickly between the two of you.”

  “Faster than I expected,” Rebecca agreed.

  “Of course, it was that way with Clint and me,” Sophia told her, “so I understand.”

  “Good, because I’m not sure I do.”

  “Sometimes you just have to go with your instincts. Accept that it was meant to be.” There was a pause. “I don’t know if you noticed the big herb garden out back at the ranch. That’s Dakota Grey’s project. Shifters need to take certain herbs to keep the urge to change under control. When any of the shifters on the team leaves on assignment, she always packs what she calls a maintenance kit for them so they don’t start changing at some totally inappropriate moment.”

  “Oh.”

  “Ask Logan about it. I’m assuming since you’re so full of questions that things have heated up between the two of you. Which, by the way, I think is great. I could tell how he felt the minute I introduced the two of you.”

  “I…watched him shift tonight, Soph.” Her words came out in a rush. “It was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen. I—I touched him. His coat. And Soph? I got hot.”

  She knew she was blushing, even thought no one could see her.

  “Don’t worry.” Sophia laughed again. “It happened to me too. But it’s the man y
ou’re attracted to. The wolf is just a bonus.”

  “So, did you guys talk about kids before you decided to get married?” Rebecca asked again.

  “Yes, of course. Clint says there’s a fifty percent chance that our children would be born with the shifter gene. But again, there are herbs that will help with that. With so many shifters on the team it’s like we have our own pack so any children we all have will have a nurturing place to grow and learn about themselves. But you should really be talking to Logan about this stuff.”

  “I will. But this—whatever it is—is still so new I want to be sure where it’s going before I try to play Twenty Questions with him.”

  “I can tell you this,” Sophia said. “The minute I met Clint the chemistry was there between us. And his shifting didn’t disturb me because by then I’d been part of Night Seekers for a while, knew about the shifters in the group and they’d explained so many things to me. Does this help at all?”

  “I think so. Maybe. Yes.”

  “So.” A knowing sound. “You saw him shift and that’s what brought on all the sudden questions. By any chance did you pack that book I put in your bedroom before you guys left?”

  “I did.”

  The worn leather-bound book with the faded gilt lettering on the cover was still in her suitcase. Legends of the Wolf. She’d brought it because she figured there was an important reason for her sister to leave it with her. She had yet to open it. Obviously it was time.

  “Then read it. Absorb what it says. Digest it. You’ll find a lot of answers there. But if you’re asking if the relationship between a shifter and a human works, I can say emphatically yes.”

  “Thanks a lot. This really helps. Now go on back to your husband and enjoy being newlyweds.”

  She disconnected the call, her mind already processing the things Sophia had said. If she and Logan were taking things further as he’d intimated she really needed to read that book. Then ask Logan whatever questions it brought to her mind.

  She was just about to get herself something to drink when she heard a slight noise on the patio. The back door opened and Logan stood there in all his beautiful naked glory. Just looking at him made her mouth go dry, all the moisture in her body rushing to her pussy and the blood in her veins heating up.