The car was covered in leaves and pine needles, pretty well camouflaged against the undergrowth behind it. I brushed off the windshield, unlocked the car, and got in. This was the first time I’d started it up in weeks. I crossed my fingers. It seemed to me that my dad had told me cars needed to run on a regular basis, or they stopped working.
I turned the key and the engine purred. Smiling, I managed to turn the car around on the narrow road, heading back toward the city.
It was a very surreal experience speeding down the Interstate. The fastest I’d moved lately had been at a sprint through the forest as a wolf. Piloting a car at the limit, even though I’d done it thousands of times before. Before my new life.
I took the exit to my street, slowing down as my apartment came into view. Maggie’s car was at the curb. My heart did a little jump at the thought of seeing her. I missed her more than I thought possible. We’d blithely assumed phone calls, and text message would be enough. But the service in the mountains was a fickle mistress, and even though I could get a bar or two if I walked out to the edge of the clearing below the cabin, it wasn’t reliable. Colt had been amazed there was any signal at all. Not that either he or Jericho had cell phones, or computers.
The light was out in the hallway, like it always was. That was something I wouldn’t miss; conversations—more like arguments—with the super, trying to get him to replace the bulb. No longer my problem.
I took the stairs two at a time. Since I’d started shifting on a regular basis, and gotten over the whole being exhausted every time, I’d had more energy than ever. Back in my old life these stairs had seemed insurmountable. Now, they were a piece of cake.
“Risha!”
The door to my apartment was open, Maggie leaning out into the hall. “You made good time.”
“I did.”
She pulled me into a big hug and I squeezed her back. She squeaked out a little sound, and I backed off, forgetting for a minute she wasn’t a wolf like me.
“You go away and turn into some muscle woman. You’ve lost weight. Don’t those guys feed you?”
She dragged me into the apartment before I could pick a question to answer. There was food on the counter, bagels and cream cheese, fruit, juice and coffee.
“Are you expecting company?” I poured a cup of coffee and took a sip. Maggie stood, hands on hips, watching.
“Only you. All your favorites. And since when do you drink your coffee black?” She nodded at the cream and sugar sitting on the counter. “You’re a sugar maven. Have been from the first cup you ever had.”
“Guess my tastes have changed.” How much else had changed? And how much of those changes could I talk to Maggie about?
“Well, even if you’ve given up cream and sugar, it’s still great to see you.” Maggie perched on one the kitchen counter stools. I’d had them in storage; Harrison thought they were great. I tended to fall off of them during dinner. Maggie had brought them back out in her attempt to “stage” the apartment when she’d helped me find a sublet.
“Thanks for finding…what’s their names?” I took another sip of coffee. “I really appreciate all your help.”
“They’re the Spaulding’s. Deena and David. Sounds like high school sweethearts, our age, married for ages. Fell in love with the apartment as is, down to the art on the walls.”
Maggie slid an envelope across the counter “Here’s all their contact information, the signed agreement, and a copy of the lease. You’re lucky there are only a couple months left on the lease. The Spaulding’s are looking to stay after the sublet is up, so hopefully that works out, and they don’t stiff you on the rent for the next couple months.”
“I trust your judgment. You’re pretty good at reading people.” I spread a generous layer of cream cheese on a bagel. My stomach had been growling for the last half hour. I took a bite. But something was wrong. I love cream cheese and onion bagels. It tasted…off. Wrong. I set the bagel aside.
“Not hungry?”
“I ate before I left.” I hated lying to Maggie. But there was no way I could tell her what I suspected, that the wolf in me wasn’t a big fan of dairy.
“You okay?”
I glanced up at Maggie. She could read me like a book, knew me better than anyone. Well, except for Jericho and Colt.
“Yeah. Just…tired. From the ride.” But I could read her too, and I knew she wasn’t buying it.
“Risha…come clean. What is it? Is it the guys?” That little line appeared between her brows, the one that told me she was worried. I hated seeing it.
“No…yes. Sort of. But it’s not what you think. It’s nothing bad.” I wasn’t sure what to call it…how to tell her I wasn’t the same person she thought I was.
“I’ve made some changes in my life, Maggie. Some really major changes.”
“That’s pretty obvious. You went away to clear your head, and you ended up moving in with two guys. That’s a pretty major change, especially for unconventional you.” She gave me a smile, but the worry was still there in her eyes. “Are you telling me there’s more?”
“It’s a different kind of life, Maggie. Radically different.” I pushed up the sleeves of my sweater, propping my chin up in my hands. “I’m not sure I can explain it.”
Maggie reached out, touching my arm. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Yeah, there is. “No…”
“You’re scratched…and bruised.” Her eyes were locked on my arms. I looked down, then pulled down my sleeves.
“Risha, are they doing that?”
“Oh, no. God, no. Jericho and Colt would never hurt me. We do live in the wilderness, you know. Lots of hiking, bushwhacking, lots of me falling down. These are just…sort of a daily occurrence.”
She still wasn’t buying it. I reached out and squeezed her hand. “Listen. Come up to the cabin. I want you to meet them, and them to meet you. You’re the most important person in my life. I want you to see that I’m okay up there. Really okay.”
After a minute she squeezed my hand. “Okay. Deal. Before it snows, I’ll come up and meet your guys.” She giggled. “I still can’t believe you ended up living with two guys…it’s just…so…”
“Crazy?” I winked. “It is. But it’s right for me.”
“I was going to say sexy. But if you want to stick with crazy, that works too.”
Chapter Twelve
My last stop was the gym. There was nothing there for me to get, but I wanted to say good-bye to Jack. I felt like I owed him something, an explanation, or a thank-you. He’d been in my life for only a short time, but it was his voice I heard most often. Could be that he reminded me of an older version of my dad. Or it could be he didn’t take any of my shit, and I appreciated that.
“Hey, Red. About time you show up. You missed some sessions.”
I leaned on the counter, watching the guys in the ring. Jack came around, stood next to me.
“Yeah. About that. I need to cancel the rest of my contract. I’m moving.”
He looked down at me, and I swear the air between us changed. I thought he was going to yell, or give me the silent treatment. But after a moment he broke into a smile. I had to admit, it was the first time I’d ever seen Jack smile. He leaned forward, and I tensed, expecting a smack to the back of my head. But instead he kissed my cheek. I wasn’t sure which startled me more, the smile, or the unexpected show of something resembling affection.
“About time you found your pack, Red, whoever they are. You’ll fit in just fine.”
He stepped back. I stared. Had I just heard him say what I thought he’d said?
“You heard me.”
I stared harder, a ripple of energy rushing through my body and I felt goosebumps crop up on my arms. I’d heard his words, but I swear his lips hadn’t moved. He simply smiled, and walked back behind the counter.
“Just let me get the cancellation form, and you’re good to go.” He shuffled papers. I watched, stunned, a million questions on the tip of my tongue.
But I knew I couldn’t ask them. I signed the form he pushed at me.
“Forwarding address? You might have a refund coming.”
I shook my head. “Not…really.” I didn’t think our road even had a name.
“Off the grid. I understand.”
“Here…” I scribbled Maggie’s address. “My friend. She’ll see that I get it.”
He glanced at the paper. “Works for me. Listen, Red. You take care of yourself. It’s a different life, but if there’s ever been anyone who can handle it, it’s you. You’re one of the toughest broads I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”
Someone in the ring called Jack’s name. He nodded.
“I got a client waiting. Take care, Red.” He smiled at me again, and then he was gone.
* * *
I was back at the cabin just before sunset, which made the walk up the trail much easier. The boxes from my old apartment could wait until tomorrow, until Colt and Jericho could help me. My guys…my wolves.
Even though I’d only been gone twelve hours, I missed them terribly. Missed their scent, the way they moved, looked…the way they looked at me. Touched me. I was smiling long before I saw the cabin, before I saw Jericho and Colt sitting on the porch.
They came down the stairs and I got the biggest bear hug. Or I guess wolf hug would be the proper term. Whichever, it was just what I needed.
“Glad you’re back. We missed you.” Colt kissed me on one cheek, Jericho the other. The kisses might have been chaste, but their hands were making it clear they had something a lot less innocent in mind. And that suited me just fine.
“I missed you guys, too.”
“Where’s your stuff? Do you want to bring it up? We cleared room in the loft.”
“Boxes can wait.” I pulled Colt close, kissing him hard, a big wet kiss with plenty of tongue. Before he could say anything, I did the same to Jericho, tugging his bottom lip, putting just enough pressure on him to remind him I’d bitten him before.
“But I can’t.”
“Whatever you want, Red. Inside or out?” Colt spun me away from Jericho, pulling me into his arms.
“Out. And I know a place…” I pushed away from Colt, skipping out of his grasp. I ran around the cabin, following the trial we’d taken the first night I shifted. I wanted to be in that space with them.
Colt caught me easily, grabbing me around the waist. I was laughing as he pulled me down onto the soft pine needles that carpeted the ground. It smelled cool and fresh, like Christmas warmed by the sun. I rolled onto my back, looking up at Colt, backed by the clear indigo of the coming twilight.
“Your eyes look silver at night, did you know that?”
“And your eyes shine like diamonds.”
“Isn’t she the most beautiful thing in the world?” Jericho dropped down onto the ground beside us. “You’re a beautiful woman, and you make a beautiful wolf.”
My face went hot. “You’re making me blush.”
“And it makes you all the prettier.”
“Did we come out here to talk, or did we come out here for something else?”
It turned out we were there for something else. I let the guys take the lead, my wolf content to bask in the attention and the love. It was darker, but I could still see if I wanted to, if I kept my eyes open. But I closed them, seeing them in my mind’s eye as they worshipped my body.
They took turns, moving over me, nuzzling and kissing, sucking my breasts until my nipples were hard and aching. I arched against them, winding my fingers in their hair, holding them against me.
Jericho broke away, moving slowly down my body, leaving a trail of fire on my skin with his kisses, his tongue, his sharp teeth brushing against the edge of my navel. He moved lower, and I gasped as those lips and tongue, and sharp teeth brushed against something else, something far more sensitive.
Hands spread my legs, but I was already letting them fall open. Fingers caressed the soft skin of the insides of my thighs, playing over my heated flesh. I grabbed at the pine needles beneath me, crushing them, the smell of pine filling the air. I wanted those fingers to move higher, to touch me at my core. But they only teased me, only fanned the fire they’d started. I could have begged them, silently, just with my mind. I didn’t. I let them play.
A kiss softer than a butterfly’s wing touched me, and I drew in a sharp breath. The kiss was followed by another, lips firmer, pressing against me. Then the flick of a tongue, at the edge, closer. But not there yet.
The other stayed at my breasts, sucking, stroking, gently, in time with the kisses between my legs. I shuddered, slowly my breathing, unable to slow my heart. It bounded, and leapt in time with the touch of the man between my thighs, with the one at my breast.
And then there was more, kisses becoming deeper, the flick of a tongue, circling, testing. Then suddenly plundering, probing, delving deeply into me. I sighed, ass pressed against the ground, fingers wound through thick hair.
Deeper and harder, licking and sucking at me until I couldn’t stand it. I arched violently, digging my fingers into the earth, but didn’t cry out, didn’t scream my ecstasy to the sky. I kept it inside, kept the power contained, turning it inward.
My wolf danced with me in sheer joy, feeling everything I did, loving every second of my pleasure. She wasn’t controlled or contained, held back, or held down. All was as it should be.
I opened my eyes, watching the stars overhead, turning on the great wheel in the sky. I’d touched that wheel, thanks to Colt and Jericho. I smiled and my wolf did as well.
She and I were one.
About The Author
Catherine Vale has been writing fiction for as long as she can remember, but it wasn't until she wrote her very first paranormal romance story that she found herself hooked on the raw, edgy love affair of shifters, vampires and other dominant alpha males, and the captivating women that love them.
Catherine Vale writes both contemporary and paranormal romance for readers who are willing to take a walk on the wild side of love. Her stories always include powerful alpha males, smart and sassy heroines and a happily-ever-after (even if she often puts her characters through hell to get there!)
Do you want to know when there's a new release? Special offers, giveaways, free books and more! Find out more at http://www.CatherineVale.com and subscribe to her newsletter to receive notifications whenever a new book is released!
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Other Books By Catherine Vale
Untamed Hearts
The Wolves Next Door
A Touch Of Vampire
Her Two Bears
Double Trouble
Taste Of Honey
Scent Of A Mate
Wolf Bite
Awakening The Bear
On The Prowl (Jaguar Series)
Kiss Of Fire
To Catch A Cheetah
See full list of available books at http://www.CatherineVale.com and join her newsletter for updates, new releases, appearances, giveaways, and more!
Between Two Wolves (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Menage Werewolf Romance) Page 11
