First Bite - Shifter Romance Box Set: Anthology of First in Serials and Series

by Vaughn, V.

  The thought brought a hail of laughter from his wolf. Something about the bachelor falling hard.

  Whose side was the animal on, anyway? If you want to share, play nice.

  The wolf promptly shut up.

  Lana stroked his arm, sending little ripples of soothing heat through his body. He hadn’t even realized he’d tensed up until her touch eased it out of him. So much that his mind slid back off track with renewed lust.

  “Keep touching me and you’ll find yourself in the back of the truck again.” His voice was all gravel, swirling at the bottom of a mountain stream, but Lana only smiled. “That or right here,” he finished, shaking his head at himself, his hands searching for a dry grip on the steering wheel.

  Lana tilted her head back in silent amusement. Is that a promise?

  Yeah, she knew right where she had him, and she liked it, too. The funny thing was, his wolf didn’t protest her power over him.

  He tried not to dissect the thought too much as he drove on. When they finally reached the end of the track, he brought the truck to a halt with its bumper pushing against the bushes. He sighed, thinking how long it had been since he’d been up there. There’d been too many fires to put out down at the ranch lately. The sooner he erased the rogue problem, the sooner he and Lana would have time for more nights up here. More time for each other.

  The truck was still swinging gently on its chassis when she turned to face him, a question in her eyes.

  “We have to walk the rest of the way,” he said. “It’s not very far.” Still not close enough for his appetite, though.

  Damn, he gulped, she really must be reading my mind. Because Lana’s hand went to the top button of her shirt — his shirt — in a move that was anything but innocent. She slipped the button open, then the next. His lips ticked with desire as his eyes followed along. She slipped out of the passenger door and stood outside, the wide V at her neck hinting at the swell of her breast. In one smooth move, she tugged the shirt off and tossed it into the cab.

  Thump, went his heart, and the heavy sensation echoed in his groin. Lana stood as naked as she’d been at the beginning of this crazy night, waiting for him. He yanked his T-shirt over his head and swung his door open.

  “Beat you to the top,” she called with a grin.

  His jaw dropped as her finely coiled ass raced into the bush. He could already hear the pattern of her footsteps change from two to four. Ty dropped his pants in record time and shifted, following her cue.

  Brush and brambles dragged along his thick fur, but all he felt was the rush of the chase. He bared his teeth in excitement. Damn, but the she-wolf could run. He thundered after her but only came within reach of her taupe rump on the last bend. He closed in, lust pulsing through his body. But Lana just flipped her tail and leaped away, teasing him again. His blood pressure rose a notch as he kicked into high gear. He was beginning to think she might actually beat him to the front step when he knocked into her from behind.

  Gotcha. He grinned in triumph, even though he suspected it was the other way around. Lana had a way of turning everything upside down. Yep, there it was, a triumphant look in her flashing eyes. She’d slowed at the last minute to let him catch up. His masculine pride would have been a lot more hurt if not for the fact that he was halfway up her back. The tufts of her ears were within snapping distance of his muzzle and for a moment, he was tempted to take her the wolf way. It would be so easy, so good.

  Yet he hesitated. This woman was so different than any he’d ever met. Didn’t she deserve better than a hot, hard screw in the dark?

  He rubbed his muzzle against the ruff of her neck. The tips of her ears were silk against the coarse stubble of his chin, and she gave a light growl of pleasure, coaxing him in with a brush of her hips.

  Tempted. He was sorely tempted. But he wavered. He wanted to offer her something more than quick fuck. A lot better, and not just in terms of physical pleasure.

  He stepped back and shifted, pulling himself to his full human height. The transformation was smooth and effortless, a sign that his wolf agreed. The question was, would Lana’s wolf agree?

  He waited with baited breath. Her long-legged wolf was as seductive as her human one was, in that same spitfire way. Absolutely perfect, from the sheen of her brown coat to the bright blue of her eyes. Was he nuts for restraining himself?

  But the fact was, he wanted all of her — the woman and the wolf. The latter harbored her instincts and passions. Her human side, though, was the seat of her mind, her heart, her principles. If he wanted to win this woman over, it was that side he would have to prove himself to.

  The fact that he even wanted to win her over, that he even cared, struck him with its novelty. There were a hundred reasons they ought to stay apart, yet all he wanted was for them to be together. Together for good.

  For good, his wolf echoed.

  He squatted and reached a cautious hand toward her wolf, palm up. There was a time to be alpha, and a time to be an equal. Ty prayed he would remember how.

  Lana’s eyes flashed, then softened, and she let out a slow breath. Slowly, her canine features blurred and gave way to her human shape in a rolling motion that left her seated on the ground before him. She leaned back on her elbows and considered him as her hair flowed over a shoulder, exposing her bare breasts.

  “Alpha,” she growled in a low voice that said her inner beast was barely leashed, “You better not be turning me down again.” It was a warning, a protest. Her pose, however, was all tease. Her bent knees spread slightly apart, inviting him in.

  God, he loved her pluck. He leaned into her space, pulse hammering. “She-wolf,” he rumbled, “you will never doubt me again.”

  A ripple of laughter went through her naked body, and her breasts — the only soft flesh amidst lean muscle and taut skin — quaked with it. The movement sent an answering twitch through his cock.

  “Oh, no?” she teased, leaning back farther and making space for him to kneel between her legs.

  He sank an arm on either side of her body and came to within a hair’s breadth of her lips. “No.”

  “Never?” she asked, eyes sparkling as her legs squeezed along his sides.

  “Never.” He managed those two syllables, then fell into a hungry kiss. It was bold, possessive, demanding, but he couldn’t hold back. The wolf was close to taking over now. When Lana gave back in kind, the thin line between man and wolf merged and he eased her to the ground, locking her body beneath his and tugging her arms up over her head.

  “You sure you want this?” he asked when he came up for air. Yeah, he was a little late in asking, but he had to be sure.

  Her body was tight and hard, yet it wasn’t fighting his weight. On the contrary, she was pushing herself closer. “Don’t you dare stop, wolf,” she said then devoured his mouth with hers.

  He clamped both her hands in one of his and let the other sweep along her body until it found the warm swell of her breast. He lowered his chin and let his lips follow the same path until they tightened over her right nipple. Her scent, taste, feel — he chased after each in turn, his mind jumping wildly from one to the other and back again. He switched from one nipple to the other and nipped just hard enough for her to cry out, even as the arch of her back demanded more. He wondered how long he could hold out this time.

  Whether it was him or her who initiated the turn, he didn’t know. All he knew was that a minute later, she was on her hands and knees and he was bent over her from behind, running his hands over smooth feminine flesh that begged for instant gratification. He skimmed his palms over her shoulder blades, then followed the line of her ribs around and up, until he had her breasts cupped in two perfect handfuls. They were the only thing about Lana that might be called small or delicate — but they were perfect, just like the rest of her.

  That was about as far as the man’s mind got before the wolf took command of his human body. He growled right into Lana’s ear — Mine! Mate! — pulled her hips close, and let hi
s cock slide home.

  Part of him wanted to pound his chest and roar as he sank in to her then pulled back and hammered home again. Mine! Another withdrawal, another powerful thrust. Mate!

  He found a better grip on her waist, and pushed in again, sliding hot and deliciously deep. His wolf was pushing Lana hard, but she didn’t give any sign of protest. On the contrary, she rammed her hips back to meet each push with a moan.

  Yes, she grunted in his mind. There’ll be time for gentle later. I want this now. Exactly this.

  He pulled back until the very tip of his cock played at her entrance, torturing himself as much as her before plunging back in. She was slick and yielding and hot, and when he paused to relish the moment, her inner muscles squeezed hard, bringing him right to the edge of climax.

  She released, letting him retreat, then return so she could do it again. He sank into her over and over, swimming in the glory of the sensation. Each time, she cried out her approval, her voice high and sweet in the dry desert air. “Ty!”

  He kept his mouth shut, afraid of what he might say. Lana would be all right, but what if he blurted out something like Love or Mate? Was he ready for that?

  Yes! his wolf sang. Yes!

  They repeated the move again and again until they were both humming with the pleasure of it. A moment later, the steady metronome went wild, tipping from perfectly timed pleasure to sheer overpowering need. When his final thrust hit deep, he exploded inside and took Lana with him into a hot, screaming free fall he never wanted to end.

  They sank to the earth and lay clasped tight, panting. Time became a blur, as if the laws of physics were trying to catch up with what they’d just done. His body blurred, too, going from warm and languid to increasingly heated, until his the wolf sprang out, finally freed for his turn. Lana shifted, too, and they hit a second wind, taking off on another wild chase that brought them in on a wide arc of the hill until they came in sight of the cabin where he caught her at last.

  When they paired as wolves, every cell of his body howled with the thrill. Never, ever, had he been with a woman in both human and wolf form, let alone in the same night. As a wolf, he could unleash his animal side without fear, but it felt right that they’d let their human bodies unite first. Because this was more than a moonlit romp. It was a prelude to something bigger and better. The desert, the night, the stars — all of them leaned in and smiled with that same promise.

  Then he and Lana were curled together on the ground, nuzzling their thick necks in a lazy, intimate dance. He lost himself in her, letting the line between their bodies blur. Wolves weren’t big on pillow talk — thank God — but they were masters of the post-coital nuzzle.

  Lana’s tongue caressed his ear for long, languid minutes, melting his insides. She was incredible. And she was his. The realization should have ripped through him like a bullet, but it spread slowly, like an oil lamp gradually illuminating the truth. As if it were inevitable, and he’d known all along.

  Because everything was clear to him now.

  May, all those years ago. The year the pump house burned down. She’d visited the ranch back then. How, why, he didn’t know. The critical thing was the date. That was the first time his father had taken him along to answer a call for help from another wolf pack. Twelve years ago.

  He’d come home and caught the faint hint of a scent carried by the wind. He’d lost his heart to a phantom — the one wolf whose scent promised the kind of bond only possible with a destined mate.

  Twelve years ago, Lana had visited the ranch, but she’d left before he returned.

  The phantom and Lana were one and the same.

  He buried his face in her neck, trying to hide the tremble inside.

  Chapter 10

  Ty sucked in a long, deep breath. All those years ago, he’d fallen for Lana, even without having a face to put with the scent. These last few days, he’d done it all over again. And now he knew. It had been her all along. Her, only her.

  Maybe he wasn’t a faithless bastard like his father, after all.

  He could have beat his head against the ground at his own thick-headedness. How could he not have recognized it sooner? Maybe because Lana’s scent had been so faint back then, masked by a thousand desert flowers. And her scent would also have matured over time.

  Matured. His mind grabbed at the word. That was it. Lana would have been very young back then; him, too. He had to marvel at it all. Fate had hidden them from each other until they were both ready.

  Ready to stand up to the wrath of his father? He wrapped his body tighter around Lana’s. Yes, even that. Just a few years ago, he stood up to his father to refuse an arranged mate. Getting his father to accept a sworn enemy into the pack would be even harder, but the reward would be forever. He’d never let Lana slip away again. Never.

  His Dad would just have to suck it up. It was his life, his heart.

  No wonder he couldn’t get enough of her. He wasn’t just quenching the thirst of a few days — more than a decade of longing was finally finding relief.

  An easy, slow-motion feeling washed over him. For the first time in a long time, he felt like destiny was smiling on him. Soon, he knew, she would let him bite deep and take her as his mate — forever. Knowing Lana, she’d have her own bite ready for him, too. His heart skipped as he imagined their life together, with her filling his heart and his home, always there for him with a soothing touch and a smile that lit the fire of his passion. With her, he could truly live and not simply exist.

  When Lana pulled away, he let out a whine of protest until she touched him again — with human hands now, stroking delicately around his ears, from the thick ruff of the base all the way to the razor edges. He found himself humming with pleasure as he looked up at her bare form in the moonlight. Disjointed words flitted through his mind, words like heaven and beautiful and right. Not that words mattered; a wolf didn’t need poetry to celebrate love.

  Lana bent low and puffed into his ear, then stood and waited on the top step of the cabin. The moonlight cast her bare body in a pale, mystical light. Did she realize they were destined for each other?

  He should tell her immediately about the phantom, about the time he’d spent searching for her. He should explain that fate was on their side. But then again, maybe now was not the time, and God knew speeches were not his forte. No, he’d tell her everything once they were inside. Better yet, he’d wait until sunrise. A new day, a new start. A new life together. They would figure out the details soon enough.

  For now, though, he would let go and slide into this glorious feast of the senses. He indulged in a long, wolf stretch, hips up and back, shoulders low. He shifted back into his human body as he stepped toward the porch, barely registering the flash of pain that accompanied the change. Still tingling, he tucked his face alongside her cheek, his chest pressed to her breast. Heaven, indeed.

  “Sorry,” he murmured.

  “You’re apologizing?” she said, waiting for the punchline.

  He worked his jaw a little, summoning words. “It was supposed to be slow and…what was it?”

  She cupped his face with both hands and kissed him deep. “Sensual,” she murmured, illustrating with her tongue. Jesus, did she have a way with that word.

  Slow. Sensual.

  Hell, it was worth a try.

  * * *

  Lana was sweating despite the chilly night air. She had to chuckle at herself. So much for not acting like a bitch in heat.

  She sighed, inside and out, and her wolf nodded smugly. Okay, she admitted to the beast, you were right. If she hadn’t pushed Ty, this might not have happened.

  She and Ty belonged together. It was impossible to deny, given the way every electron in her body seemed aligned to Ty’s magnetic north. She let herself glow in the thought for a moment before anxiety butted into her thoughts like a snorting bull. What if she was wrong? What if she was over-interpreting their connection? She took a deep breath of desert air, and though it was dry, it went down
smooth and easy. Somehow, it didn’t feel like their first night together. No, this had to be right.

  Her pulse was racing even now. Just looking at him did that to her. She nearly let out a giggle. Like most wolves, she had a few wild, full moon nights to her credit, but never anything quite like this. To begin with, she’d always kept her two sides apart, human and wolf. But with Ty, she’d crossed over and back, seamlessly. Human, wolf, human. With him, it was one and the same. Her wolf had never demanded anything beyond physical thrills, but now she was howling crazy ballads of love and belonging — and her human side was humming the very same tune.

  She steadied herself against a thick beam of the cabin and looked down across the valley. The deep porch would be as inviting in the heat of the day as it was now. The breeze was stronger up here in the hills, and the rest of the world seemed far, far away.

  Ty stepped close, and she couldn’t wait to have him again. On her, in her. All over. Every inch of her body yearned for his touch. “This place is beautiful,” she whispered into his lips.

  “You’re beautiful,” he growled.

  She chuckled. “You’re purring, wolf.”

  “Nmmm,” he murmured, and the sound reverberated in her ear. “Wolves don’t purr.”

  “This one does.”

  “Then you’re the one doing it to me.” He kissed her purposefully, like he was working his way down a wish list. The next kiss went deeper, promising drawn-out sex that would leave no stone unturned.

  As if I have any of those left, she laughed to herself.

  Is that a dare?

  She didn’t know what stunned her more — the easy way they could communicate or the playful twinkle in his eyes. Somehow, she’d never imagined connecting that particular adjective with Ty. Him, playful?