by Marie Mason
Lengthening his stride, Logan loped through the snow in his wolf form, enjoying it. It was beautiful despite the burden he knew it would cause the city. Stopping, he stood for a moment, taking in the beauty of the snow-covered pines. He raised his nose to the air, sniffing. The air carried more snow. And cold. He welcomed the cold, anything to cool the raging need he had for one stubborn, curvy woman.
As he stood there, the snow started to fall from the laden sky, quietly, silently. He held his face up to the fat twirling wet flakes that drifted down slowly.
According to the forecast he’d watched before he left the house, this latest batch of snow wouldn’t be as intense here as it was going to be in central Chicago. For that, Logan was grateful. It meant he could still get around without too much trouble. Like when he fetched Katie’s ass from the cabin. He glanced at the sky, realizing only a couple of hours had passed. He had no intention of delivering her car to her. She was staying on this mountain—with him—one way or another.
Starting to run again, he wondered how long he should give her. How long would it take her to realize staying in the cabin tonight wasn’t only going to be uncomfortable, but that it could be dangerous.
He’d lost his temper with her, something he regretted. When she’d backed away from him, he’d smelt the faintest hint of fear. That was not the way to treat a mate. His only excuse was that the mating heat was riding him hard. He needed her with him. And by here, he meant in his bed.
Lecturing himself on managing the need wasn’t helping. Every inch of him was still on fire. His groin throbbed to the point of pain. Part of the problem was his body knew the pleasures that awaited them both. Katie had responded to his touches and his kisses, had felt the same passion flaring between them. She wasn’t experiencing the burning mating heat the way he was, but whether she knew it or not, she was responding to the pheromones he was emitting. That his wolf was giving off.
He could still taste that first, hungry kiss. Feel the weight of her body as their tongues stroked together. The wolf emitted that low feral growl that Logan was quickly becoming acquainted with. The wolf knew what needed to be done. Their mate needed to be claimed, marked. Knotted.
He threw back his head and howled into the wind, he and his wolf both miserable at not being able to do any of those things yet.
Katie sat curled up on the couch under a blanket she’d retrieved from the bed. Even though she’d turned the temperature up, the baseboard heaters weren’t able to keep up with the cold outside. She’d never admit it to him, but she had heeded Logan’s words of warning about the chimney. She’d hesitated lighting a fire, not knowing when the last time the chimney had been cleaned. Going by the rundown appearance of the cabin in general, she hadn’t wanted to chance catching the whole place on fire. That would have been the last straw on the camel’s back for her and this weekend. Ending up homeless, stranded in the snow and waiting to be saved by the wolf yet again.
She smiled despite her dour circumstances. Her adventures this weekend were the types of stories she could tell her children and grandchildren—if she ever had any. She rarely allowed herself to think about that particular dream. Why? Because look what happened with Doctor Deadbeat. She’d caught him sticking his wick in Slutty Nurse Betty.
But it was what she wanted, a family. A husband. That was the kind of woman she was—the marrying kind. She wanted the whole nine yards, the husband, kids, the white picket fence, and even the minivan.
Her mind immediately went to the wolf centering prominently in the memories she’d just made. Somehow, she didn’t see him sharing the same type of dreams. His reputation said all she needed to know. He was more the string of models, a penthouse condo, and a sports car that cost more than the national budget of some small countries, type of man.
She took a drink of the hot chocolate she’d made. She hadn’t seen him do it, but Logan had left her some non-perishable food, including hot chocolate mix, cookies and pop tarts. Another gesture that he wanted to take care of her, even if it was an odd combination. It was probably meant to prevent her from starving to death until she ‘saw reason’. She half-laughed at that. Men could be so dense when it came to women. Even a playboy wolf shifter able to charm his way into any woman’s bed.
Not that he was trying to charm his way into hers. Okay, maybe he was she admitted remembering the taste and feel of his hard lips against hers. She licked her lips and the taste of chocolate reminded her of the taste of his kiss. Which brought back memories of his hand on her hip and thigh as they lay side-by-side in his big bed.
He had offered, no insisted, that she go with him. And she knew it wasn’t just because this cabin was a fire hazard. She honestly believed he wanted her.
For the moment.
The woman in her, that foolish, needy feminine part, wondered what it would be like to belong to Logan McCall. To have him make love to her as though she was his and his alone.
Logan had waited as long as he could to bring his mate back home. As soon as he’d returned from his run, he’d taken a shower and donned a pair of jeans and sweater. Giving his hair a minimal swipe of the comb, he headed outside and was on his way back to her cabin. It was still snowing and the road was a little more treacherous than it had been when he’d brought Katie to the cabin earlier that afternoon. Fortunately, his SUV navigated the snow-covered road with ease.
Once he reached the small cabin, he cut the engine but didn’t get out. He stared at the soft glow of light spilling out from the crack in the curtains. The snow fell in utter stillness, coating his car quickly. He imagined her with a cup of hot chocolate he’d left her. He knew she’d be spending the night back at his—their—home, but he had no intention of allowing her to starve in the meantime. Plus, she was one stubborn woman. It might be well into the night before he convinced her being with him was her best course of action.
He didn’t know why he was hesitating. He knew what he wanted. Her. With him. But he continued to wait, watching until the cold began to seep into the car and through his clothing. The wolf growled, disturbed by the man’s odd behavior. The animal knew what needed to be done.
But Logan knew how important this next step would be. He had no intention of leaving Katie on her own tonight. He had no intention of leaving Katie untouched tonight.
He might not claim her, mark her, and—his body went rigid at the thought—knot her. But he would have her. His wolf pushed eagerly to the surface and he realized he needed to curb the animal’s enthusiasm so to speak. Damn her nerves and hesitation. She was leery at the moment, he knew that. All because of the damn doctor who couldn’t keep it in his pants. On the one hand he should be grateful to the dumb shit. On the other hand, he wanted to tear off his head for hurting Katie.
But none of that changed the fact that she was distrustful that he could—had—taken one look at her and known he wanted to be with her forever.
He wanted her and by the heavens, he was going to have her.
Striding up to the door, he knocked loud and hard. Suddenly driven by the urgency to see her, to assure himself that she was safe. There was no fire rising from the chimney and he was glad. He’d been worried that she’d try and start one even though he’d told her not to. She was a damn stubborn woman. He liked that to an extent. He’d never wanted a mate who wouldn’t challenge him, but he certainly didn’t want a mate who put herself in constant danger. A mate like that would soon find herself over his knee with a hot bottom and an ass full of cock. So far, Katie had endangered herself twice in a very short span of time. She was overdue for a punishment.
He saw the curtain flutter at the side of the door. For a moment, he thought she wasn’t going to let him in. Then she opened the door and his heart kicked started. Her face was bare of makeup and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore only a thermal knit top and a pair of fuzzy pajama bottoms imprinted with polar bears. Just looking at her took his breath away. Katie watched him, wariness clouding her big brown eyes, a wistfulness
edging the corners of her mouth.
He was encouraged by the immediate hunger and want he scented as soon as she saw him.
At last, he found his voice, though it was a roughened version. “Can I come in?”
Katie stared at the big wolf who had showed up on her doorstep. He wore the same thick jacket he’d worn earlier today. It made his shoulders broader, his frame heavier. And again, Katie felt small beside him. Which was something she’d never felt with a man before. Brad had stood just a little taller than herself and was nowhere near as muscled as Logan. She was amazed at the lack of feelings she felt for her ex-boyfriend—except the residual anger she felt on behalf of all women who had been taken in by a philanderer like Brad. No, that was too nice of a word to use. Man-whore and jackass. That best described men who used women for their own pleasure, never giving a second thought to the woman’s feelings.
She’d accused Logan of being a playboy but knew he wasn’t anything like Brad. Logan had treated her better and with more respect in last twenty-four hours than Brad had the whole time they’d been dating.
Heavy wet snowflakes clung to Logan’s cheeks and lips and instantly she wanted to lick them away, taste the skin beneath them. He must have seen the want and need in her, smelled it. Weren’t shifters sensitive to smell? He’d retrieved her phone from her car along with her luggage before bringing her to the cabin. She’d used some of the time on her own to do a little research about shifters. Because, surprise, surprise, there was no television in her luxurious accommodations. It was a fascinating world. She’d read some about mating and what that meant. Some of the things Logan had said and implied made her think maybe he was serious when he said he wanted her. And not just for a weekend fling.
Then her self-confidence took a nosedive. Fate would not have chosen her as a mate for this man. No way, no how. No, he was just here, she was sure, to deliver her car as he’d promised.
Before she could ask him, he lowered his lips to hers. He looked directly into her eyes as he did so, never breaking contact, even when his mouth touched her. Sweet heavens, she loved it when he did that. It was so intimate. Dark eyes glittered with desire and the impact on Katie was unmistakable. Her breath stalled in her chest, her heart slammed against her ribs and she went perilously weak in the knees. Then instinct and yearning within her took over. The next thing she knew she had grabbed the collar of his jacket and was kissing him back, just a sweetly, just as tenderly, just as meaningfully.
She was certain an eternity had passed before he finally ended the kiss and looked down at her. The instant their lips parted, she knew he was just as affected just as stunned, by the electricity flowing between them.
By then her legs were trembling and her head was reeling from the connection she felt with him. What the heck was happening? It was as if being close to him drugged her somehow. Her nostrils flared daintily as her eyes focused on the tantalizing curve of his lips. She wanted more.
Playboy, remember? Her good-girl angel chose that moment to speak up again. She was probably just one of many women who had tasted his mouth, she told herself. What had transpired between them had meant nothing to him.
When she tried to move away, he wouldn’t let her. “You kiss me like I’m the only man you’ve ever wanted,” he murmured.
“You’re not the only man I’ve ever kissed.” She tried to defend herself, but her voice was weak and trembling. She chose the men she gave herself to carefully. With Brad she’d given into his persistent pressure to take their relationship to the next level and agreed to this weekend trip, to having sex with him. She’d been lonely, craving the touch of another person. Before him, there had been two other men in her life. One in college and one right after she started her career as a nurse. Both had seemed into her and she’d felt okay with the experience. There had been no fireworks, barely the start of an orgasm with either of them. But then, she blamed that more on her own inhibitions than the skill of the men in her bed.
Of course, Logan would blow that theory out of the water if she ever let him in her bed. She had no doubt despite her inhibitions she would come out on the other side of the experience a very satisfied woman.
He looked at her with heated, hooded eyes. “I didn’t say I was the only man you’d kiss. I said I’m the only man you had wanted. There’s a difference, Katie.”
She knew there was a difference. She knew what he said was true. He was the only man she’d ever wanted. Those times in college had been more out of curiosity and peer pressure than anything else. She’d known why she’d refused to give into Brad’s pressure to consummate their relationship. She had never really wanted him, not the way she should have wanted a man she’d been about to invite to her bed. Again, she’d been with him simply to try and fulfill something inside her.
“Katie, Katie. Do you know how much I want you?” His hand slipped beneath the hem of her shirt and slid up her side until he reached the edge of her satin bra. “You’ve never really given yourself to a man, but you’re going to give yourself to me. All of you.”
The words were a rough, raw order that had Katie’s pussy creaming and her heart racing. Her body was on fire. Never had she felt so needy, so wanton, in her life. With Logan it felt natural. So far, she wasn’t experiencing the shivers of doubt that had always seemed to consume her well before this point. If was as if her body knew, despite what her mind tried to tell her, that he was the man she’d been saving her heart for. He was the only man she would ever want or love.
“You want me for the moment,” she whispered. It was so difficult to give up the self-doubts. She knew as surely as her eyes were brown that he was going to steal her heart. It shouldn’t matter. Nothing should mattered except that she wanted him in a way that she’d never wanted a man in her life.
“No, Katie. For however long we want each other.”
Trembling, she leaned her head back in order to look into his eyes. She found no mockery in the brown depths. Only longing.
Logan wanted to tell her he’d want her for the rest of his life and into eternity. He knew he couldn’t. That would scare her. It was too soon to talk of mates and mating.
She closed the distance between their lips, and he was helpless to resist. He stood motionless, his hands gripping her waist tightly as she tasted, searched the hard contours of his mouth. It was both heaven and hell to let her kiss him. His wolf howled, urging him to take what was so apparently being freely and eagerly offered. Trembling with a need as old as time itself, he reluctantly broke the kiss.
“I’m not taking you here.”
“What?” Katie’s head was spinning with the sensations he had aroused. She thought they had settled that question with that last kiss. She was going to bed with him. Or at least, that’s what she’d thought. Maybe she’d been wrong. It wouldn’t have been the first time she’d misread a man’s intentions, his true intentions. She took a step away from him.
“Oh, no you don’t sweetheart.” He tugged her back into his arms.
“But you said—”
He cupped her face in his hands, making sure she was looking directly at him. His eyes were a swirling gold, filling with desire.
“I said I didn’t want to take you here. In this cabin.”
Heat ran through her and she knew he wasn’t just talking about the rundown condition of the cabin. It wouldn’t have been the most ideal setting to wake up to once the euphoria of sex had worn off.
No, his voice held a more than a hint of jealousy and she knew he was thinking of her coming here with another man.
“Did you unpack?” he asked.
“No.”
“Good. Grab your coat. I’ll get your suitcase. My SUV’s outside.”
She looked at him, a mock frown on her face. “You had no intention of bringing my car, did you?”
“No, and I had no intention of letting you spend the night alone, either.” He gave her a big wink. “Just so you know.”
She felt her heart clench and her pussy moi
sten again at the possessiveness in his tone.
“Go get your things, woman.” He turned her around and gave her a sharp tap on her ass as she moved away.
The door to the bedroom they had shared last night, opened with a small shove of Logan’s foot. She had a brief impression of the large bed and wide windows before his hands clamped the sides of her waist and crushed her hips against his. Katie felt every inch of her body begin to sizzle as the size of his swollen cock told her exactly what he wanted. And how much he wanted her. His hands left her waist, circled around her shoulders and drew her tightly against him, her aching breasts crushed into the hardness of his chest. Instantly the strength and warmth of his body enveloped her senses, the rough search of his lips drew her into a dark velvety place where only pleasure existed.
She opened her mouth, accepted the burning, probing search of his tongue. Then she was lost as the taste of him overwhelmed her. Nothing mattered except that he go on holding her, kissing her. He propelled her backward, one step, two, five, ten. The backs of her legs hit the side of the bed.
The jolt finally broke the contact of their lips and she was falling onto the bed with him coming down on top of her. He’d barely let her take off her coat and shoes once they’d reached his house before he was picking her up and carrying her upstairs.
Not that she was complaining. Despite all her second thoughts, as soon as he’d turned up on her doorstep, his breath making a frosty white cloud in the cold, she’d known she’d be spending the night with him. In his arms. Doing exactly what they were about to do.
