by Laina Kenney
“I am happy to be your fantasy,” he whispered in her ear, and only then did she realize that she had been speaking aloud. She wanted to cry with embarrassment.
“I am with you because your sweet, spicy scent lured me in to meet you. I was captivated from the first moment,” he said. “I have never met another woman whose spirit calls to me like yours does. You are the warm heart of your community. Your face and body are beautiful, but that is not why I want to be with you.”
Emma moaned in embarrassment. His arms closed around her, and she leaned her forehead against his chest to hide her flushed face.
“You do not need to hide from me ever.” His voice in her ear was a deep, smooth counterpoint to the light tapping of the lingering raindrops shaking free of the oak leaves above their heads.
“You have a strong effect on me,” she admitted, and was annoyed when he chuckled.
“Emma.” Just her name in that dark voice held such tenderness. He nudged his hips against her belly and the hot, hard strength of his erection sent a deep thrill through her belly. She melted and tried to hide it, but he nuzzled her throat, and before she could stop herself she had tilted her head back to give him better access.
“As you can tell, you have a very pronounced effect on my nervous system. I feel so much when I am with you it seems that I was walking in darkness before you came into my life. After the darkness, I would fight very hard to stay in the light, Emma.”
Chapter 16
“I still can’t believe it,” Emma said. “You know it can’t be real.”
“Humans. One minute, they come up with some nonsense about beasts and boggles lurking around every corner, then the next they deny that true magic exists. You saw it with your own eyes. It is magical and real.”
Emma pushed against his chest until he dropped his arms. She stepped back a little and looked up into his eyes.
“You. Liliya,” she said slowly. “Rylek and Ellie? Balke? Every huge guy at the whole picnic? The children, too? Iselle is here, so I know I’m not the only human here. Am I the only human here who didn’t know about this?”
“Yes to all.”
Emma’s hands shook.
“You were going to tell me someday, right?”
Kuhr hesitated, and she clenched her hands into fists and turned to walk away.
“Be logical. Do not walk away. We must discuss this.”
He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop.
“And men are logical? What a crock!” she shouted. In a lightning-fast move, he had her up in his arms and hanging upside down over his shoulder. She drummed her clenched fists on his back. “Put me down!”
His heavy hand smacked down on her bottom, then rubbed circles over the heated sting.
“Settle down,” he muttered as she squirmed, increasing the pressure of his hand on the curve of her ass.
She hung on to her justifiable anger and tried to ignore the insidious heat his touch created in her traitorous body.
“What the—? Where are you taking me?” Emma bounced on his shoulder as he turned and walked deeper into the forest.
“You saw something you were not expecting, and we are going to talk about this.”
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore,” Emma said. She winced inwardly. That sounded like a whiny teenager, and even as a teenager, she hadn’t been like that. ”And how could anyone possibly ever expect a person to just grow fur and run away as an animal?”
“We must talk about this.” He stopped walking when she bucked and struggled. She kicked him, and the second kick produced a very satisfactory grunt.
“Put me down now.”
The world spun, and she was back on her feet again, just inches from her tall pissed-off male.
She stepped back to stand on the soft moss of a sunlit clearing and straightened her clothing with a huff. The tall pines surrounded them like silent guardians. The atmosphere was hushed, and Emma could tell that these trees had existed long before her birth and would most likely be around long after she was gone. It calmed her, somehow, to be in the presence of such an old beauty, but nothing could make her forget what she had seen.
She looked up into his stern face.
“I won’t tell on your girlfriend, if that’s what you want to talk about,” she said. “You’ve protected me, and I owe you.”
“I do not have a girlfriend,” he said, and his voice was very close to a growl. His eyes were glowing and fixed on her face. His focused interest made her shiver, and she hugged herself. “Why do you persist in calling her my girlfriend? You must cease to call her that. I have a mate.”
“Okay, whatever you would call her. I don’t even care what you call her.”
“I call her Liliya only. I thought I had made you understand.”
His eyes were glowing.
“Fine, I understand.” She rolled her eyes.
“I call you mate.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, buster,” Emma said and saw his shoulders shake. He had better not be laughing right now.
She thumped on his shoulder hard to get his attention. It felt good, so she did it again.
“I’ve seen lots of movies about this stuff—” she began.
“The movies are largely inaccurate.”
Emma stopped stunned.
“No way can you convince me that you’ve watched werewolf movies!”
“Of course I have. I had to know what humans really know about us. Which is not much.” He pushed an impatient hand through his hair. “They know mostly lies and half truths at best, captivated by silly legends not even a child could possibly believe. Silver bullets and full moons and growling, drooling beasts with fangs and sharp claws. Well, the part regarding fangs and claws would be true enough, but nothing that would alarm me from a security standpoint.”
Emma laughed incredulously. Of course, he would see everything from a security standpoint.
* * * *
His pretty mate laughed, and a wave of love pushed through the aggravation. It swamped him. Love was such a small word for the surge of feeling pulling him under.
He was a warrior. Until he met Emma, his life had been simple. Now, he had feelings, highs and lows that he had never before experienced. His heart ached in his chest when she was unhappy. It was unfamiliar but not unwelcome.
There might be a gentler man somewhere who would better understand her tender heart, but no man could love her more than he did. He put her happiness and safety far above his own.
He thought of his distant memories of his parents, stealing glances at each other when they thought he and his brothers weren’t looking. If his love was all he could offer, then he would give her all that he was and hope that it would be enough to keep her happy for a lifetime.
He looked at Emma, tapping her foot and scowling at him, in mingled wonder and alarm.
He had found his mate. Now all he had to do was convince her to accept his vulfen nature, keep the secret of centuries, and become his mate in every sense of the word. He understood the magnitude of the battle facing him, but some hidden part of his vulfen instinct whispered that he could succeed if he would just go carefully.
Emma wrapped her arms around her middle, her slender body wracked with continual shivers. The air wasn’t cold, or Kuhr didn’t think it was, but she couldn’t seem to stop shaking. She was in shock, but she didn’t want him to hold her, and although a part of him understood, the wolf part was determined that she would not suffer.
He would take matters into his own hands if things did not resolve soon, and Kuhr was afraid that if that happened, he would win the battle but ultimately lose the war.
“So, when were you going to tell me? You were going to tell me, right? But maybe this thing”—she gestured to herself and him back and forth—“isn’t big enough or important enough for you to break your code of silence or whatever.”
Kuhr nodded.
“Of course. I was planning to tell you today. I would not have chosen this method
, however.”
Emma snorted. “No doubt. This ‘method’ was a farce, and you’re pretty slick when you want to be.”
He frowned, and she waved her hand in the air.
“I mean that in a good way. You’ve got moves. I can’t see you jumping into your fur suit in the middle of dinner just for the shock value. It’s not your style.”
Kuhr found himself smiling at the image she created. He inclined his head in acknowledgment.
“No, it is not. I had wondered if you would take it well. You are taking it very well.”
Emma held out one trembling hand.
“You think this is taking it well?”
“You did not scream or run,” he said reasonably.
* * * *
Emma blinked. “I haven’t ruled it out,” she said and he smiled. His eyes gleamed in the dappled shadows of the new spring leaves.
“Scream if you must, but it would really be best if you did not run.”
For some reason, that statement uttered in his slow, deep voice sent a shiver down her spine. She understood what he meant. If she ran, it would trigger his prey response, and he would give chase. She had already seen his speed and strength. No way could she outrun him.
A delicate heat warmed her belly and rose up to her breasts, and her fear faded to nothing. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to outrun him, actually. All things considered, she might not mind being caught by him.
“Would you chase me?” she asked, and though she tried to quash it, the tone of her voice was a soft invitation.
His nostrils flared, and suddenly he was closer.
“I would. I am afraid that a vulfen male in full pursuit would cause you to panic.”
She reached up and rested one hand on his chest above his heart. It was pounding just like hers, but she didn’t feel anything remotely like panic.
“If you caught me, would you bite me?” She tilted her head and exposed her throat to him.
“I would capture you in my arms.” He snaked one brawny arm around her middle and pulled her to him. The heat of his body warmed her. “I would hold you, pleasure you, and nibble on your creamy skin until the taste of your body made me drunk.”
Emma’s mouth fell open as she struggled to breathe against a surge of want. He really was too much.
“And only then would I give you the mating bite fully.” He nuzzled his lips against her throat, and she arched against his mouth to increase the pressure. “I just grazed your pulse before, though even that was more than I meant to do. Your response fired my instincts, and I was not fully in control.”
“Will I be like her if you bite me? Your little wannabe girlfriend?”
Kuhr shook his head. “No.”
Emma frowned.
“So, I won’t be able to become a wolf ever? That hardly seems fair. It works in all the movies.”
“Oh. I did not realize that you meant to become the wolf.”
Emma grinned unexpectedly. “You mean, you thought I was asking about whether I would become a spoiled brat and try to steal someone else’s man? I already know I won’t become that.”
Kuhr shrugged, but a smile tugged at his mouth.
“And that is a good thing. But, since you ask, yes, it could come to pass that through my strength you will be able to shift to the wolf form.” He looked at her for a long moment, and his eyes gleamed. “With your size and coloring, you would be a very pretty little female. On the hunt, other males would constantly make fools of themselves trying to impress you. I see how my life will be. I will be constantly warning off other males.”
Emma smiled a little, but tilted her head and was silent for a moment.
Kuhr had no experience of nervousness, but he had the insane urge to start talking about nothing at all just to break the silence. If she didn’t speak soon he didn’t know what he might do or say.
He waited in an agony of hope and dread, not knowing which expectation was the stronger.
“I don’t know how I feel about that,” Emma said finally. “I guess that would depend on you, on your reactions.”
“I would be very happy if that were to happen,” Kuhr said. “But if it never happens, I will still be very happy to be with you.”
“So, it’s not a deal breaker for you? You don’t have any prejudices against me being human and you having a human mate?”
Kuhr brought her hand to his lips and pressed a lingering kiss to her fingers. His breath warmed her skin.
“I am deeply grateful that fate has chosen you for me. I will always be grateful if you will now choose me for yourself.”
A soft pink flush climbed up her cheeks.
“How can you be sure? I won’t always be this cute.”
She tried to joke, but he could hear the anxiety in her tone. Kuhr looked down into her soft amber-colored eyes and felt his heart melt.
“I have waited long for a mate. I have waited for you. And in all my dreams of being granted a mate, I did not ever specify the amount of cuteness I would be willing to tolerate.”
She punched him in the arm, but there was a little smile on her face again.
He dipped his head and brushed her soft lips with his. He loved to kiss her smile.
“In fact,” he continued,” I cannot imagine that you will be less cute with white hair or laugh lines around your beautiful eyes. You will always make my heart beat fast.”
“How do you know that?”
“I just know. Vulfen mates grow closer as the years go by. Though I cannot imagine loving you more, I am willing to try.”
She bit her lip and seemed to be thinking.
“Not to influence you, but your sense of smell will definitely improve, even if you cannot shift. It might be an aid in your wonderful baking, although I think it is amazing already.”
“Even with your nose? I didn’t know,” she said worriedly. “I never thought of how much better your nose must be or how my food would smell to one of you—to you. I don’t even know how to talk to you about this!”
Kuhr grabbed her flailing hands and pulled them to rest on his chest.
“We are talking about it right now. You can say anything to me. There is nothing you could say that I would not be willing to hear.” He kissed her chilly fingers and breathed his warm breath on them. Her fingers curled around his and the pale, slender digits were so pretty in comparison to his big tanned hand that he had to kiss them again.
“If you said you did not want me, I would have a hard time accepting that,” he said honestly, “but I would try to respect your decision until I could find a way to change your mind.”
“You wouldn’t give up?”
Chapter 17
“Never,” he vowed. “I would never give up on you, on us. I would always continue to try. If something about me was not acceptable to you, somehow, I would find a way to improve. If you cannot accept me today, I will still be knocking at your door with flowers when we are both old and white haired. Don’t doubt it.”
“I don’t think accepting you will be a problem,” she said, and another thought struck her. “How long does this last? Is there a time limit?”
“A time limit to mating?” He gaped at her. “Forever. Keep that firmly in mind. If you agree to mate with me, there is no limit. It is forever. There is no way to opt out. It feels like I have already waited that long and longer for you.”
Oh, she liked the sound of forever growled in that low, velvet tone that set her body humming.
“You could seduce me into agreeing without much effort.” Before he could take offense, she continued. “I definitely want to try it. The bite and the shifting. And not just to make my nose better. I think I could learn to like it. Maybe I could even be good at it after a while.”
“I am sure that you would be very good. Stubbornness counts for a lot.”
She poked his chest. “I’m not stubborn.”
His raised eyebrows made her laugh.
“I’m not! I’m determined, maybe more determined than some
people,” she allowed, and it was his turn to laugh.
“Yes, you are more determined than some people. And some burros. And some wolves, both wild and tame.”
Emma pursed her lips, but she didn’t address his opinion on the stubbornness of burros.
“Which one are you, wild or tame?”
“I was born wild,” he said, and a traitorous shiver snaked down her spine. He sure was. But she was starting to think that it was just how he should be, tall and gorgeous and more than human. And man or beast, she wasn’t afraid of him.
It was probably just what he needed in his life, she reflected, to have a woman who wasn’t afraid or totally in awe of him. He needed to have someone who understood normal beside him.
She moved in a little closer.
The wind blew past her, heavy with the promise of more rain and the deep earthy sweetness of the forest.
“Kuhr,” she began, but she couldn’t go on. She looked at him, and her anger and uncertainty melted away to leave only the love and a desire that burned.
“Kuhr.”
Whether he heard the change in her voice or saw it in her face, she didn’t know. She only knew that she was in his arms, and he was kissing her like forever was a real possibility.
When the sensations became too intense, she wrapped her arms around him and used his body as an anchor in an uncertain world.
“Kuhr,” she said. “I want you.”
His arms tightened like two steel bands around her.
“What do you mean to say? Be exact.”
Emma took a breath and let it out slowly.
“It means that I’ve decided what I want.”
He didn’t move or speak, just looked at her with that gorgeous glow starting in his eyes.
Emma took his hand in hers and pulled it up to rest on her racing heart. His big fingers curled around the curve of her breast and she arched into his touch.
