by Brenda Bryce
Something, though, was nagging her about that arm.
Kyle was pressing soft kisses to the back of her neck and shoulder blades, and she arched into them.
“Let’s do that again, only face to face this time and in human form,” he murmured into her ear.
She felt his lips moving against her skin.
Lips? Wolves don’t have lips.
Lannie pulled away and rolled over onto her back. Kyle was human again. Matter of fact, so was she.
She stared into Kyle’s human eyes and wondered how she could have possibly missed being so close to him. Missed the scent of him, the feel of him, and the unapologetic Neanderthal attitude.
Kyle, not knowing her thoughts, spoke and justified her opinion of him.
“I hope you aren’t sore. It’s going to take more than once to get rid of the need that built up the last two months while you were running scared.”
“I wasn’t running scared. I was just trying to stay away from you. Fat lot of good it did me, though. Because here you are, and here I am, and damn it, I’m in the same dinked-up situation I was trying to get away from.”
“This isn’t a dinked-up situation. This is how it should be. You’ve accepted that you’re my mate, and we’ll return to the city and get back to our lives.”
“I have accepted nothing of the sort. Perhaps I am your mate, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up the life I’ve made for myself. I’m happier now than I have ever been in the city. And as for going back to our lives, I guess you mean that you’re going to go back to your mysterious business with mysterious people and ignore me just as you did before. Well, I have news for you. I would rather stay in my house in Nowhere and have you return to town alone, than to be an adornment on your arm while living with you.” Trying to push him off her, she grunted and, holding up a hand, interrupted Kyle before he could speak. “Don’t try to argue, I won’t go back there just to have to face the same exact situation.”
Having failed to budge him, she didn’t bother to try again. “Get off.”
Kyle shook his head in exasperation. “Never in my entire life have I met a more stubborn woman. When I do, she turns out to be my own mate.”
Taking most of his weight off her, but not removing himself from her completely, he spread her thighs and settled comfortably between them.
“So be it. We’ll stay in your Nowhere, and you can play with your clay. I’ll handle business long distance and deal with the occasional trip to the city. We may have to build a bigger house, though. Does that suit you?” He kissed the tip of her nose, then rubbed his cheek against hers.
Lannie stared at him as if he had suddenly gone insane. “Are you telling me that you would rearrange your whole life because I won’t budge?”
He shook his head and sighed. “You have much to learn about my people. The men are the hunter-protectors. They keep the family fed and safe. Families are our main priorities. We want children. Males without a mate and offspring are incomplete. You can’t possibly comprehend how I felt before you came into my life. I was alone in a crowd. Evenings were filled with work just to get through them. During the days, pack members would come to me with their problems, and I would solve them. I had no other life.”
Running his hands gently over her body he continued. “The day I met you, I could see the end to my loneliness.”
“Then why did I feel secondary to your work and all those people who ‘just had to see you right now’?”
She knew she sounded as if she were pouting, but she wasn’t. She was exasperated. Right, “fed up and wanting him to know it” explained her feelings perfectly.
“Secondary? I never meant for you to feel that way. You were my first thought in the morning and the last at night. All day, thoughts of you interrupted my concentration.”
Lannie was having trouble concentrating herself. He was doing things with his hands that were causing all kinds of tingly sensations to zip through her body. It was very distracting, but it felt too good for her to want him to stop. She wasn’t that dumb. His callused hand grazed her breast, and she pressed more fully into him, wanting, needing, she knew not what, but still trying to get it.
“Then ... then why did you ignore me most of the time and only drag me out when you needed an ornament on your arm?” she managed to gasp out, then groaned deeply as his hand tightened on her swollen breast.
“Is that what you thought? It’s a miracle we got as far into the relationship as we did.” He ran his free hand down her side and cupped her bottom and lifted her into him, rubbing his growing erection against the apex of her thighs.
Both groaned loudly at the sensation. “I had to stay away from you as much as possible or only be with you in crowds. It was the only way I knew of to control myself. I wanted you so badly that I was always on the verge of taking you. I had been on my way to propose to you, I couldn’t wait any longer to be with you when ...”
He didn’t enter her, just slid his erect member against her moist folds over and over, his fingers bit into her clenching bottom. Lannie’s breath caught in her throat, and her entire body tightened to the breaking point. She wanted him inside her. Immediately. She didn’t want to want him, but was unable to fight it.
Gasping, trying to get air into her lungs to feed her spinning head, she sputtered, “You’re distracting me from this discussion on purpose.”
“Not on purpose. I can’t be near you without wanting to be balls-deep in you. This is why I stayed away so much. You wanted to wait, and I was trying to grant that. Then I listened to Pete and fucked everything up. I was under a lot of stress trying not to pressure you into a sexual relationship, so when I overheard him and his cronies talking ... well, I just lost it. I never wanted you to be afraid of me. I love you, and I’ll never be able to say I’m sorry enough.”
He was looking directly into her eyes when she gave him a small nod. Not of forgiveness necessarily, but of understanding. Immediately, he sank deeply into her waiting channel. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make up for what happened.” Slowly he pulled out of her until just the swollen tip of him was encased in her, then slammed as hard and far into her as possible. “Count on it,” he gritted out.
Lannie thought she might die. His thrusts were so hot, so hard, so damned good, that the tips of her hair burned. She barely registered his kissing and nibbling down the side of her neck and across her chest. But when he slammed home again and bit down on her up-thrust nipple, she screamed as pure fire licked her entire body.
Digging her fingers into his hair, she pulled him up until she could reach his shoulder with her mouth. Sinking her teeth deeply into his shoulder, she pressed her hips into his even harder. He grasped her hair in one hand and tugged until she let go, and then he ground his mouth to hers.
It was rough, and it wasn’t very nice, but it was what she needed. The synchronized thrusting of his tongue and his hips pushed her higher and higher, until she was shoved headlong over the peak. She heard growling and yipping, and realized it was coming from her own throat. Her head rocked side to side as she pulsed and trembled. Kyle swelled inside of her as he pumped several more times. Lannie could feel as he came, hot and hard, deeply inside of her, which caused the contractions within her to strengthen.
“Ah, fuck!” Lannie wasn’t sure who shouted it, and didn’t care. Her whole world was exploding, and it was great! Fantastic! Phenomenal!
Sucking in air, slowly floating back to the earth and her body, she felt the weight of his body pressing her into the silky grasses. Her legs slid slowly from around his waist and settled on the ground, and a slow, long groan erupted from her chest.
Kyle was trying to pull air into his own lungs. She could hear him wheezing and wondered if he would have to turn his face a little to accomplish it. He had buried his nose in her hair, and his mouth was still gently sucking on the nape of her neck. He was probably leaving a hell of a hickey, but she couldn’t seem to care. He smiled against her skin, and w
hen she asked what caused it, he chuckled lightly. “I’m relishing the knowledge that the mark I’m leaving will let anyone who sees it know you’re taken, that’s what’s making me smile.”
“Neanderthal.”
Chapter Eight
The shadows were shortening as the day neared noon, and Kyle knew it was time to get his mate inside before she burned. The temperatures rose drastically and rapidly here in the mountains. He took a deep breath, inhaling their mingled scents, and leaned up on his elbows, taking his weight off Lannie and looked down at her.
He chuckled. She looked spent. Her eyes were closed. Her mouth was open, and she was audibly sucking air into her lungs. Arms and legs out-flung, she resembled a child’s rag doll that had been set aside after play.
Lannie’s eyelashes fluttered, and she peeked at him with one eye, then spoke softly. “Am I dead?”
Kyle laughed and shook his head. “Hardly. We have to get you up and back to the cabin. It’s late, and I don’t want you getting sunburned.”
He pulled completely away from her and stood, it was definitely getting hotter. The size of his body had blocked the full rays of the sun and had kept her from feeling its strength. With him no longer on top of her, he could see the pinkening of her exposed skin.
“Umm, Kyle?”
“Yeah?” he asked distractedly. He was busy eyeing every part of Lannie he could see. Since he was standing over her and she was quite naked, it was a lot. And it was beautiful. Her skin glowed like a pearl, and her blonde hair spread about her head like a golden halo. Her hair was longer now than it had been, and he liked it this way.
So lost in thought about her hair and how he could use it to hold her head in just the right position to devour her, he didn’t notice she had been speaking until she kicked him in the shin. Softly, of course, but enough to get his attention.
“Huh?”
“I asked you, what about clothes? Or do you plan on us streaking back to the cabin like college kids?”
Laughing, he shook his head and held out a hand. When she took it, he pulled her up and kissed her lightly on the lips.
“Did I tell you this is a retreat for our pack?” When she nodded, he continued. “We have local pack members who take care of the place, and since this is a well-known play area, some necessary items are always available. Come, I’ll show you.”
Still holding her hand, he took her around the small pond to stand in front of a large, man-sized rock. Kyle put his hand on the rock, and when he took his hand away, the rock face popped open.
“Holy schmoly!”
“It’s a cabinet that we had designed for this spot. It allows us to keep essentials here without having to disrupt the ambiance of the glade. What do you think?”
He watched Lannie approach the rock cabinet and pull open the door. Inside were robes, towels, biodegradable soaps and shampoos. And blankets.
“You couldn’t have shown me this marvelous rock before I got grass stains on my butt?” She shot him a dirty look.
“Sorry, I didn’t even think about it.”
He gave her a contrite look, and she went back to examining the rock.
“This thing is really great. I’ve never seen anything like it. It blends so well into the environment, unless you knew, you would never know it wasn’t natural.”
“I’ll tell the designer you enjoyed it. Let’s get you dressed and back to the cabin. Unless you would like to take a quick dip first?” He motioned toward the pond.
Lannie seemed to consider it, then shook her head. “No, I think I would prefer a hot shower instead of a tepid bath this time. And the sun is going to fry me if I stay out here unprotected much longer. Perhaps another time?”
He reached around her and pulled out a couple of robes. “Anytime, sweetheart.”
He handed her a robe, then pulled on another and knotted the tie. Kyle watched as she covered up all that creamy skin and sighed. It seemed a shame, but he knew he would kill any male who dared look at her, so perhaps clothing wasn’t optional. Maybe in their own home. He considered it, but dismissed it almost as quickly. Pack members tended to come and go at all hours and eviscerating pack members in need wasn’t prudent.
“Come now, time to get back.” He took her hand again, and they walked back down the trail toward the cabin.
Lannie noticed the difference in her vision from when she was a wolf, now that she was in her human body. Wolf vision was much better. Although in human form she could see colors, in wolf form she had been able to pick out any movement and identify it. Her hearing as a human was also greatly diminished. There were compensations to being a wolf, sure, but she decided there were compensations to being human, too. She didn’t have to worry about that tail, and she was taller. Opposable thumbs were great, and she didn’t have a tail. Walking upright on two legs, and no tail.
They reached the cabin, and Kyle opened the door for her to enter. A high-pitched trilling sound resounded throughout the cabin. He stepped past Lannie and picked up a cell phone that was behind a picture on the fireplace mantle.
“So that’s where you hid it,” she observed dryly.
Kyle smiled sexily and pushed the button on the phone. “Sylia,” he barked into the mouthpiece.
He listened for a minute, his features growing harder and harder. “Yeah, we’ll be there as soon as possible. Five hours. Right, the station.” He cursed, then pushed the off button.
Lannie stared at him until he looked at her. “We have to get back to Nowhere. That was Sheriff Kendricks. There’s been another murder.”
She made a distressed sound, and Kyle punched a number out on his cell phone.
“This is Sylia. Send me the hunter. I want Donovan to meet me in Nowhere, at the sheriff’s office.”
* * * * *
Standing once again in front of the sheriff, Lannie looked around the station. Time warp! It looked exactly as it had days ago when they had been in there. The people were the same; the noise was the same; heck, she bet even the coffee was the same. She knew, because she had a cup of it in her hand and had taken a sip. Only good manners and Kyle standing in the way wearing an expensive suit had kept her from spewing the brackish, thick, cooling concoction onto the floor. Sure, she liked her coffee strong, but this was disgusting. She’d had to swallow it, nearly losing what little she had been able to eat on the private jet that Kyle had summoned to bring them back to Nowhere. And hadn’t that been an experience in itself? Sheesh! A private plane that had a bedroom, a meeting room complete with a long table and several chairs, a couple of fully stocked offices, a kitchen that she learned was actually called a galley, a Cordon Bleu chef (la-ti-da), an air-to-land telephone -- which she used to call Ingrid and let her know she was still among the living -- and a bathroom bigger than the one at her little home.
Kyle seemed to take it all in stride, but Lannie had caught herself with a gaping mouth on several instances. She had tried to act nonchalant, but couldn’t seem to pull it off. Sure, she had attended parties with Kyle and ridden in limousines, but she had done that in high school as well. She hadn’t known that he owned the limo, funded the lavish parties, and had more big-boy toys than anyone in the world. He lived in a penthouse apartment, sure, and had a driver, but she thought that was all gravy because of his high-powered job. All executives get perks, right? Come to find out he was exceedingly wealthy in his own right. One more thing to stick in the file labeled things I didn’t know about Kyle.
And he wanted to marry her. Had, in fact, claimed he had mated with her and already considered them married.
Lannie felt faint.
She was ratty jeans and tie-dye. He was Armani and Rolex. How could she have ever thought that she could fit in with his lifestyle? Panic was rapidly setting in.
Kyle was talking with the sheriff. Since she was fully occupied with her nervous breakdown, she didn’t hear the men talking. She just stood there, with a cold cup of toxic waste in one hand, staring off into a future where she was attending on
e of Kyle’s parties in her clay-splattered cutoffs and everyone was laughing at her.
She nearly screamed when Kyle took her hand in his. Lannie cleared her throat instead and looked at him questioningly.
“We’re going somewhere more private. I’m expecting someone to arrive shortly, and I need to explain his presence to the sheriff before then.” Kyle took a good look at her. “Are you all right?”
“Just peachy,” she insisted, then glanced around furtively and then up at Kyle. “So, umm, how much are you going to tell Sheriff Kendricks?”
“As little as I can get away with, naturally.” He grinned mischievously and tugged her hair.
Shaking her head, Lannie followed Kyle into a small room that had a table, some chairs, an ashtray, and a solid door. Looking around, she realized that this was one of those rooms in which, on the cop shows, the perpetrator always got roughed up and spilled his guts. There wasn’t even a mirror in the room. There was supposed to be a mirror that cops could stand behind to watch and record the entire interview. No mirror, but she did see a small camera tucked into a corner of the room pointed right at her. She chuckled nervously and took a seat.
“I thought smoking in buildings was against the law,” she said to no one in particular, trying not to think about the camera.
Sheriff Kendricks laughed and sat in a chair opposite her. “That’s in the big cities where the sprout-eaters rule. Out here in the sticks, we decide what we’re gonna let kill us.” His face turned granite. “That’s why I have such an ass burn over the situation I have now.”
Kyle pushed a vacant chair next to hers and sat. “I have to tell you that I have someone coming in to help you get out of the situation you find yourself in.”
“What are you talking about?” Sheriff Ross Kendricks did not seem to like the sound of that.
