But Carver knew what she wanted. He ran his free hand over her buttocks then delved between her legs with two fingers, gathering her juices and setting up a gentle, persistent rhythm that had the blissful sensation spiraling higher before he paused to administer another slap to her behind.
She should have felt ridiculous sprawled over his lap with her butt in the air, but she could picture the pale globes of her ass marked with rosy pink handprints where Carver’s blows had fallen, and her cunt clenched with need and want.
He started to circle her clit with his fingers again, strumming at the sensitive bundle of nerves and teasing her to the brink of orgasm, and she didn’t know if she could bear the anticipation. Was it possible to die of desire? She desperately wanted to come, but at the same time she knew how the next blow to her tender flesh would sizzle and sting, and she craved it.
“Ten.” Carver’s voice was rough with desire. She knew he wanted her as badly as she wanted him. But she also knew he wouldn’t let either of them slake their desire until she asked for it. Until she begged for it.
“Please…” she cried, her voice weak, her thighs trembling, heart battering against her ribs as if trying to escape.
Carver stroked her flesh, sending shudders of sensation over and through her entire body. “We haven’t finished yet,” he said. “You earned yourself twelve smacks.”
“Please…” she repeated, unable to summon the words to tell him how badly she needed him inside her, knowing only that she couldn’t bear the sweet anticipation any longer.
Carver grunted, then lifted her off his lap, steadying her briefly as she swayed on her feet, woozy and lost in passion. “Take off your clothes,” he growled, “and get onto the bed, on your hands and knees.
Virginia scrambled to comply. She was trembling with adrenaline and lust, her fingers clumsy as she negotiated buttons and fasteners, but then she was naked, and she positioned herself on the bed. She braced herself with her hands and arched her back in wanton invitation, displaying the slick, swollen pink petals of her pussy.
She vaguely heard the sound of Carver’s zipper and the whisper of cloth as he divested himself of his clothes, and then he was behind her, above her, working the head of his cock against her tight opening. She whimpered as he entered her, and curled her fingers into the coverlet, throwing her head back and glorying in the sensations.
“Don’t come,” he growled as he started to move inside her. “Don’t you dare. Not until I say you can.”
He grasped her hips as he thrust into her channel, rolling his pelvis to go deep, and Virginia moaned. It was a hoarse, lost sound. She panted as the feeling of fullness built and she felt herself rising on a wave of bliss.
“I’m going to…I’m going to…” She tensed and bit her lip, trying to hold back the crisis – she didn’t want to displease him – but everything inside her quivered and clenched, and she blurted, “Please, Carver. Oh god, please, let me come.”
His hand cracked down on her ass as he thrust hard inside her and she cried out and clenched around him. She hovered on a knife-edge of release.
Carver wrapped her hair around his fist and pulled her head back, administering the last sharp slap to her aching flesh. “Come for me now,” he said.
He rode her with wild ferocity, pounding mercilessly into her as she cried out and clenched around him, and as she surrendered to the sweet spasms and cried out her pleasure, he gave a long, low groan and spilled himself inside her.
Later they lay entwined together, sweaty and sated. Virginia had one leg thrown across his hips and he played idly with her hair. They were too tired and to contented to speak. The light that bled into the room through the gap in the drapes was strange…an eerie bluish half-light that spoke not just of dusk but of winter. The air smelled slightly of tin to Virginia’s sensitive nose – a subtle scent that predicted snow and ice and aching cold.
The wind howled and raged around the cabin, biting at the evening with icy teeth, but wrapped in each other’s arms, they were safe and warm.
Chapter Fourteen
The next morning, Darlie called Virginia on her cell and asked her to come to the clinic for a couple of hours, because there were five new cases of measles. Carver insisted on driving her into town. “I’m not trying to be all Alpha about it, but I don’t want anything to happen to you, and I would prefer it if you didn’t go anywhere without me as long as we’re here.”
“Very diplomatically stated,” Virginia said. “I accept your terms.”
“See what a reasonable creature I can be?” Carver flashed her a grin.
“Ha. That’s once, so far.”
“Excuse you, how many times do you want me to spank you tonight?” His grin grew wider.
“I thought you were trying to pretend to be a nice guy,” she scoffed as he pulled up in front of the clinic. “Okay, I’ll call you when I need you to pick me up. No more solo runs for me. I believe that earns me a get-out-of-spanking-tonight card.”
“I’ve got terrible news for you, princess, there is no such card.” He cupped her chin in his hand and kissed her gently before she got out of the car. The brush of his lips on hers made her tingle, and she fought the temptation to lean in and kiss him back.
Darlie greeted her when she walked in. “Any news on those creatures?” she asked anxiously. “I heard they actually went inside your cabin.”
“Yes, they did,” Virginia said. “But they didn’t do that much, just knocked a few things over.”
“Well, good news, these measles cases aren’t anywhere near as bad as the ones you saw yesterday. I think within a few days the measles outbreak should be contained, as long as we keep healing each new case quickly. There’s a couple of adult cases here I’d like you to look at too, and a teenaged boy.”
Virginia was in an examining room and just about to start healing a measles-spattered two-year-old when she heard angry voices arguing in the hallway.
“I’m here now, and I can take care of the rest of the cases. I told you I don’t want her here.” She could just make out Natasha’s low, angry voice.
“If I hadn’t brought her in here yesterday, several children would have died. That is something I will not tolerate, no matter what. You can’t go on like this much longer, so that’s something you’ going to have to think about.” That was Darlie.
“I’m perfectly fine, just needed a little rest. I’m back to normal now and I don’t want her in here again. It’s too risky.”
What the hell was risky about her being here? Virginia wondered irritably.
“I’ll be right back,” she said to the cub’s mother, and walked into the hallway. The healer glanced up at her and her expression turned icy. “You can leave now,” she said.
Natasha didn’t look rested at all. If anything, she looked paler than she had the last time Virginia had seen her and there were deeper lines in her forehead. Her hands were trembling and she swayed slightly where she stood.
Virginia shook her head. “The last time I let you chase me out of here, you were unable to heal several very sick children, and you put their lives at risk. I am not leaving today until the children with measles are fully healed, and I will examine them myself to ensure that they are healthy before I go.”
Natasha’s eyes widened with anger at Virginia’s defiance, and she drew a deep breath.
Virginia spoke up again. “I’ve heard about how your arrogance and refusal to work with other healers has alienated you from the community all across the country. I’m not going to let your misplaced pride endanger any shifters.”
Natasha’s nostrils flared and gray fur shot through the skin of her face before it subsided. Her voice came out in a growl. “No, what alienated the other healers was jealousy. My methods and discoveries were so far advanced that they all felt threatened.”
What a supremely arrogant bitch, Virginia thought. She stood her ground. “Nonetheless, I am not leaving until I see that these children are healthy. You can barely stand u
p straight right now; you won’t have the strength to heal them properly.”
“Then I will call my husband, who is also our Alpha, and have you removed from here. Permanently.”
Virginia hadn’t known that Natasha’s husband was Sheriff Marsh, but she didn’t care.
“In that case, I will call the Council of Elders to report the situation, and let them decide what action to take next. I expect I know what it will be.” There was no way they’d tolerate this kind of behavior. A pack member who couldn’t fulfill her duties needed to step down; there was never any question about that. Except, apparently, with Natasha.
Natasha’s face went even paler at that. “You’re threatening me?” she demanded angrily.
“Take it any way you want.”
“Fine. I will heal the children, and then you will leave.”
Trembling like a leaf, she pushed past Virginia and made her way into the examination room, slamming the door behind her.
“Why did she say that my being here is risky?” Virginia asked Darlie. Darlie avoided her gaze and shrugged.
“Who knows what goes on in her mind?”
Virginia let out a growl of frustration. She liked Darlie, but she was getting sick of everyone keeping secrets here. Darlie obviously cared about her pack members and her community enough to stand up to Natasha, so why wouldn’t she just explain what was happening?
Of course, going any further meant defying Natasha’s husband, the pack Alpha, and that was never a thing to be done lightly. Virginia understood that, but it was clear that matters were reaching crisis level here.
A minute later they heard the thud of a body falling to the floor, and a shriek. They pulled the door open and the mother was standing there, clutching her cub, who was crying with fright.
Natasha lay sprawled on the floor, eyes fluttering. She mumbled incoherently and made weak attempts to move.
“She…she started to heal my daughter, and then she just fell over!” the cub’s mother wailed, wringing her hands.
“It’s all right,” Virginia said soothingly. “Let me look at her, and we’ll fix your daughter in just a minute.”
Virginia knelt down next to Natasha and put her hands on her. What she felt was puzzling. Natasha was weak, almost drained of her life force and the energy that gave her healing power, but there was no explanation for it. No cancer, no sickness, no reason for her to be in this state.
Virginia suspected that Natasha knew why she was so weak, but would never tell, or ask for help. And she didn’t have the energy to bring Natasha back to health; she would have to flood all of her own energy into her, and even that might not be enough. She felt like Natasha was a bottomless well, a black hole that would suck in all her strength, leaving Virginia unable to heal anybody.
She pulled back and shook her head. “She needs to go home. She can’t heal at all for at least the next few weeks. I’m serious. I can help you out as long as I’m staying here, but in a couple of weeks, when I leave, you’re going to need someone here to replace her. She should have retired already, but she’s obviously too stubborn and self-centered to do that.” She knew Natasha could hear her. She didn’t care.
Natasha struggled into a sitting position, breathing hard.
Darlie nodded, a troubled expression clouding her features. “Let’s get her into another examination room, and then I’ll call her husband to come get her.”
“I can contact the Council of Elders so they can start searching for a new healer who could come out here,” Virginia said as, with Darlie’s assistance, she helped Natasha stagger to her feet and walked her out into the hallway.
“No. Don’t do that,” Natasha moaned, her breathing labored.
Darlie shook her head. “It’ll be best if we take care of it,” she said. “I’ll be in to help you in a minute,” she added.
With a sigh, Virginia returned to the examination room. She turned to the worried wolf mother and gave her a big, reassuring smile. “All right, we’ll have your baby healed in no time. Let’s get started, shall we?”
* * *
The sun shone down on sparkling snow, the air smelled crisp and new, and Carver had his target in his sights.
Edward was in wolf form, strolling through the woods about a half-mile from the main lodge. Carver had scented him from afar, with the wind in his face, so Edward hadn’t scented him yet.
Carver put on a burst of speed and ran forward. Edward looked up, finally scented him, and started to run, but then he skidded to a stop and hung his head. As soon as Carver caught up to him, he flopped onto his back and waved his paws in the air, signaling submission.
Carver shifted back into human form so he could speak. “Shift, you pathetic little weasel!” he barked.
Edward shifted and scrambled to his feet. The two men stood there naked, ignoring the cold; Edward hung his head as Carver bunched his fists and struggled to cage the angry beast within him, the one that wanted to burst free and shred Edward’s flesh to ribbons.
“Are you here to kill me?” Edward’s voice was shaking.
“I should.”
“But you won’t?” Edward asked hopefully, glancing up quickly before averting his eyes.
“Virginia asked me not to.”
“That was nice of her.” He stared at the ground.
Carver lunged forward, grabbing Edward by the neck and lifting him into the air. He held him up high, fingers tightening as Edward’s legs kicked wildly and his eyes grew huge.
“I’m going to tell you this one time,” Carver snapped. “Stay the hell away from my wife, or you’ll drown in your own blood.”
He dropped Edward to the ground.
Edward gargled frantically, struggling for air and clutching at his throat as the purple slowly faded from his face.
“I won’t…come near her…again…”
“Did you have anything to do with letting those monsters into our cabin?”
“What monsters?” Edward looked genuinely bewildered. “I didn’t let anyone in. I went in, I walked around, I left.”
“You went into the room of a married woman who has repeatedly said she has no interest in you, trashed the place, and then left. Do you have any idea how pathetic that is?”
Edward nodded, his head hanging low and his shoulders hunched.
“Yes. Sir. Sorry. Sir.” Then he glanced up. “But I didn’t trash the place – I would never do that to Virginia.”
Carver stared at him, narrow eyed. Edward had no reason to lie at this point – so that meant he wasn’t the one who’d tossed the cushions and night tables around.
“Did you leave the door open when you left?”
“No. I shut it behind me.”
“They must have come in after you. That means they can open doors,” Carver said, scowling. “Believe me, if they had been there before you, you’d have smelled it. They smell like…I can’t even explain it. They just smell wrong. Like toxic waste.”
Edward nodded. “I’ve smelled something like that, faintly, when I’ve run through the woods over the past few days.”
“You mean when you’ve run through the woods stalking my wife?” Carver’s voice was laced with menace.
Edward hung his head again, shrinking into himself. “Uh. Yes. But I’ll leave her completely alone forever from now on, I swear.”
“Do that. I’d threaten to issue a Death Challenge, but I couldn’t even call you a challenge. Now get the hell out of here before I change my mind.”
Edward quickly shifted and ran, disappearing into the distance with his tail tucked between his legs.
Chapter Fifteen
There was one burning, gnawing question on Carver’s mind, only one. Who in the hell was she talking to?
Virginia was headed back to the clinic again, as she had the last few days. She’d told Carver that she needed to make a phone call before she went, and had headed outside the lodge to make the call.
Carver knew Virginia didn’t want him interfering with her p
rivate life, but he couldn’t help himself. This was his wife, and she was keeping secrets from him. He knew just asking her wasn’t going to get him the answers he wanted. If she wanted him to know, she would have told him.
“Yes, definitely some kind of genetic anomaly,” Virginia said into the phone. “And I’ve found it in both children and adults. No, it’s got nothing to do with those monster creature things. Those monsters smell like poison; I’ve never smelled anything like it. These people who’ve come in to the clinic are normal except for whatever odd mutation is in their blood. I’ve got the samples. When do you want to meet?”
Who was Virginia talking to? Carver wondered as he lingered in the doorway. She stood a few hundred feet away, with her back to him. He’d shifted, his head only, so he could eavesdrop with his enhanced hearing.
He listened as she described a meeting place in town and agreed to meet the person on the other end of the line the day after tomorrow at two p.m.
When she came to get him, he’d shifted back into human form.
“All right then, off to work. And by the way, I’m still limping from last night, you bastard.” She said that with a smile, which he didn’t return.
“Well, you’re unusually crabby this morning. What’s up?” she asked, as she followed him to the pickup truck. He held the door open for her without answering, and she climbed in.
“I’m going out with the sheriff and his men to search the woods again,” he said. “We probably won’t be back until lunchtime. Do you think you’ll need a ride before then?”
“I doubt it, but if I did, Clifford and Delores would come get me, or send some of the male guests to pick me up. So…any particular reason you’re not your usual annoyingly cheerful self this morning?”
Carver shrugged. “Not really. How are things at the clinic?”
“Oh, the usual stuff. Townspeople are nice. Mostly wolves, coyotes and bobcats, I’m noticing. Not as much shifter species variety as there is in Timber Valley. People are starting to recognize me and leave little gift baskets for me.”
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