She slumped back in bed and hugged her pillow to her chest. It smelled like Mikhail. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. One day at a time. She could do that.
Chapter Fifteen
“Where are we going?” Elise demanded as she glanced over her shoulder, wondering if anyone had seen her and Mikhail leave her house. He’d shown up at her back door only minutes before. It was lunchtime, but there were always pack members out and about. With any luck, the rest of them were eating. That was what she’d been getting ready to do when Mikhail had arrived.
“You’ll see.” He squeezed her hand and led her deeper into the woods. It was such a change from the cold and blustery weather they’d had yesterday. Today, the sun was shining and the snow was melting in the warmth.
He stopped near a rock. There was a canvas bag next to it. “Strip,” he told her. He kicked off his boots and reached for the hem of his shirt.
“What?”
He shot her a teasing grin. “We’re going for a run. What did you think we were doing?”
She glared at him, but the only effect it had on Mikhail was to make his grin even wider. He was a handsome devil and looked younger when he smiled. Elise turned her back and began to remove her clothes. She folded each piece and dropped it on top of the bag.
The air was cool against her skin. She shivered and hurriedly divested herself of the rest of her clothing. When she was naked, she embraced the change. Her wolf was always near the surface, waiting for a chance to come out to play.
Like Elise, her wolf had gotten used to the freedom they now enjoyed. She felt her body transforming, her limbs shortening and growing thicker, stronger. Fur pushed its way from beneath her skin. Her jaw lengthened, and her head flattened.
Only when the shift was complete did she turn around to face Mikhail. He was still in human form, wearing only his jeans. It was obvious he’d stopped undressing in order to watch her. His eyes smoldered, and his body was hard with desire. “Your wolf is just as beautiful as you are.”
She took a few jaunty steps, her head held high. Inside, Elise groaned. Her wolf was lapping up his praise.
He stowed her clothing in the bag and then added his own before reaching for the button on his jeans. She should look away and give him some privacy. Being a wolf meant nudity when one of them shifted. Usually, it was no big deal. They’d look away out of respect unless they were a mate or lover.
Mikhail wasn’t her mate, and he wasn’t fully her lover, but Elise couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. They’d been naked and intimate. She’d even snuck glances of him shifting many times before. But this felt different. He was no longer just a member of the pack, a friend. No, he was the man who’d touched every inch of her body and brought her the pleasure of her first climax. He was the man she was considering taking as a lover.
He shoved his jeans down his thighs, stepped out of them, and then folded and stored them with the rest of their clothing. Then he shoved the bag up onto a branch to keep it safe.
Mikhail faced her and then embraced his wolf. It happened so fast it was a blur. His entire body shimmered and solidified in the form of a huge wolf. Dark brown fur glinted with red highlights and there were streaks of gray on top of his head.
He was a large wolf. Powerful and dangerous.
Her wolf wanted to roll onto her back and present her belly to acknowledge his dominance in the pack hierarchy. Elise refused. Her days of rolling over for anyone were done.
But Mikhail didn’t demand her submission. He trotted toward her and gently pressed his nose against hers before rubbing against her side. She was so startled by his tender touch it took her a moment to realize he was marking her with his scent.
She whirled and snapped at him. He jumped back but seemed totally unrepentant. She narrowed her gaze. Was he smiling?
He darted off to the right and then glanced over his shoulder to see if she was following him. She thought about turning and going in the opposite direction just to make a point, but a curious part of her wanted to know where he was taking her.
She trotted toward him, her broad paws having no trouble finding purchase on the snow-covered ground. With her thick fur coat and the winter sun shining down, it was actually quite a lovely day. Perfect for a run.
She bolted by him and raced in the general direction he’d been headed in. She forgot her concerns about being seen by the others, her fears about becoming Mikhail’s lover, and the worry about the direction of her life.
She simply let her wolf have the lead and enjoyed the exhilarating run. That Mikhail was content to let her blaze the trail was yet another sign of how different he was from the man she’d been mated to.
Elise started to slow down, and Mikhail easily caught up with her. She knew he was holding back. She’d seen him run many times before as both a man and a wolf. Each was spectacular, a perfect harmony of muscle and bone and intellect. He ran like the wind, plotting the easiest and most efficient path to his destination.
He still didn’t take the lead. Instead, he nudged her to the left. She started running again, this time at a more leisurely pace. Snow crunched beneath her paws in places. Damp ground peeked through where the sun had managed to reach and melt the icy covering. The air was crisp and fresh. Overhead, a crow swooped low and cawed before winging away. Her keen ears caught the whispered scurrying of a mouse beneath some dead leaves.
The woods were always beautiful and alive, even now when most of the trees were barren, their limbs ghostly skeletons reaching for the sky. They would start budding soon. In a matter of weeks, the forest would wake after a long winter’s sleep and burst into life.
Was that what she was doing? Had the past decade been the dormant sleep she’d needed to heal after the trauma she’d lived through?
Mikhail shot past her, and she was content to let him take the lead. He’d allowed her to have her time, so it was only fair of her to do the same. Besides, she had no idea where they were going.
Sad to say, she didn’t know the land this far out. Not as well as she should. She’d been content to mostly run in the area close to the homes. If she went this far, she was always with the pack.
But she didn’t recognize this area at all. She swiveled her head from side to side, trying to take it all in. Her wolf noticed landmarks. She wasn’t worried. She was with Mikhail, and she also trusted her wolf to be able to find the way home.
They broke from the woods and ended up on an outcropping of rocks that overlooked a valley below and mountains in the distance. The breathtaking view was stunning. Her son and his pack had chosen well when they’d purchased this land.
She glanced over at Mikhail, but he’d already shifted. Naked, he stood and stared out over the incredible vista. With the snow and trees in the background, he appeared wild and primal, completely in his element. Of course, he’d grown up in the wilds of Alaska and was used to much colder and harsher weather. He probably considered this a balmy day.
He strode over to a circle of stones, reached inside, and pulled out a blanket. He shook it out and came to stand in front of her. “Time to shift.”
She only hesitated for the briefest of seconds before reaching for her human form. As soon as the change was complete, she found herself enveloped in the blanket. It smelled like Mikhail, and she knew it had come from his bed.
He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “Don’t want you to get cold.” He went back to the rocks and pulled out another blanket and a satchel.
“What have you got there?” She was curious.
“You’ll see,” he promised. He set down the bag and snapped open the blanket, draping it over the barren rocks. It was flat in one section and was a good place to sit. The chill of the ground was seeping into her bare toes, so she quickly walked onto the blanket and sat, pulling her own covering around her.
Mikhail sat beside her, totally naked and not a chill bump to be seen. The sun warmed her head and shoulders, and she tilted her neck back to enjoy it better. She heard him o
pening the bag and pulling things out. She turned so she could watch.
There were containers of various shapes and sizes. She caught a whiff of chocolate before he pulled a bar of expensive chocolate from his stash. A picnic. He’d made them a picnic.
Her heart threatened to burst from her chest. No one had ever taken her on a picnic before. Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them back, unwilling to let them fall and spoil the moment.
“Elise? Baby, are you okay?” He sighed, and the next thing she knew, she was sitting in his lap. “I did this to make you happy. Not to make you cry.”
In spite of her best efforts, several drops rolled down her cheeks. “I am happy,” she told him.
“Could have fooled me.” He swiped at her tears with his thumb. “I thought you might enjoy a picnic.”
“I’ve never been on one before,” she confessed. She buried her face in his shoulder. Mikhail always radiated such wonderful warmth. That he’d done this for her, gone out of his way to bring all this out here before he ever came to find her, meant so much. He couldn’t have known if she’d come with him or not, and still he’d done it.
“Never? Are you serious?”
She nodded. “Not when I was a child growing up, and certainly not after I mated. The closest I’ve come is all the cookouts we have around the compound.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.” He reached out, snagged a container, and peeled back the top. “Ham and cheese sandwiches on honey wheat bread.”
“Did you make it?” Totally charmed, she took the half of the sandwich he handed her.
“I can’t say I baked the bread. I did, however, slice the bread and cheese and assemble them.” He seemed so pleased with himself she was totally charmed.
Her stomach chose that moment to growl. She was also hungry.
Mikhail laughed. “Eat up. There are more sandwiches and chips, too.” He produced a large bag of potato chips and offered them to her. She reached in and drew out a handful, only to realize she had nowhere to put them. She had both hands filled with food.
He laughed at her predicament and pointed to her lap. “Just set them on the blanket. We can shake it out after.”
She shifted around on his lap until she’d made a little nest for her food. Mikhail groaned but didn’t stop her. His erection pressed hard against her hip.
She set the pile of chips on her lap, making certain they wouldn’t fall off. Then she held her sandwich out to him. “Bite.”
He tightened his arm slightly around her waist as he leaned forward and bit off a corner. He licked one of her fingers, and the sensual caress sent a shiver racing up her arm. She wasn’t sure if it was an accident or if he’d done it on purpose. Not that it really mattered. The result was the same.
He chewed and swallowed. “Thank you. Now eat up. You expended a lot of energy on the run up here.”
She ate one sandwich and then two more, copious amounts of chips, and washed it all down with lemonade from a large thermos. She drank from the metal cup while he drank directly from the jug. There seemed to be no end to the amount of food he’d toted all the way up here.
They talked, too. Mikhail shared stories of his adventures in Alaska and about his younger years. She told him about the bayous of Louisiana, omitting anything that had to do with her former mate. She told him about the land and the pleasures to be found in the harsh environment. They discovered they both liked classic literature. She enjoyed Jane Austen and Emily Brontë, while he liked Jack London and Hemingway. They both liked action films. He liked horror, but she wasn’t a fan. And the expression on his face when she told him she often watched romantic comedies was enough to make her laugh.
It was the best meal she’d ever eaten.
Just when she thought she couldn’t eat another bite, he held up the large bar of imported chocolate. She groaned but nodded. “Oh, yeah.”
Mikhail grinned and unwrapped the bar, making sure to stow the wrapper for disposal later. He cracked off a square and held it to her lips. She opened her mouth and took it, making sure her tongue slid over the tips of his fingers.
His eyes narrowed, and he growled. His cock jerked and pressed more heavily against her side. She savored the rich, almost bitter taste of the chocolate. “Delicious.” She didn’t tell him if she meant his taste or that of the sweet treat.
She expected him to take her down onto the blanket and make love to her, or at least touch her. She waited for it, anticipating what they might do. In the end, he lifted her off his lap and began to pack up the remains of their picnic. “It’s getting late. We should get back.”
She looked up at the sky, shocked to see how far the sun had shifted. The afternoon had waned away while they’d been eating and talking. She scrambled to her feet and stepped off the blanket so Mikhail could fold it and add it to the satchel.
“How will we get these things back to the house?” She still clung to the blanket covering her.
“The same way they got here,” he told her. “I’ll come back later for them.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. “That’s a lot of extra work for you.”
He groaned and stepped toward her. “You’re more than worth it.” Then he kissed her. He tasted like salty potato chips and chocolate, a combination no woman could resist.
He deepened the kiss, laying claim to her with his lips and tongue. She slid her hands over his bare chest and looped them around his neck. The blanket she had wrapped around her slithered down her body to pool at her feet.
The press of his hot flesh against hers was all the heat she needed. His cock pulsed against her stomach, and she swiveled back and forth, wanting to feel every hard, hot inch of him.
He growled low in his chest, clamped his hands over her behind, and pulled her pelvis snug against his. Her lungs weren’t getting enough air, but she didn’t care. She needed Mikhail’s kiss more than she needed to breathe.
He lifted her slightly, aligning them so her mound was tight against his erection. She started to part her legs and wrap them around him when he suddenly thrust her away.
“No. We have to stop.”
She’d practically thrown herself at him. Embarrassed, she reached for the blanket at her feet. Mikhail stopped her before she could grab it.
“Don’t cover yourself. Don’t hide from me.”
Elise wasn’t sure what was going on. Mikhail was aroused, and she wasn’t saying no. In fact, she was actively encouraging him. “Why?” She had to know.
He leaned down until their foreheads touched. “Don’t think for one second that I don’t want to lay you on that blanket, kiss you from head to toe, and sink my aching cock into your wet heat.”
He took a deep breath, and his big body shuddered. “I want it more than anything, Elise. But a pack member could come along at any time. Are you ready for that? And you’ve been gone all afternoon. It’s only a matter of time until someone comes looking for you.”
He was right. She’d gotten so caught up in the attraction between them she’d forgotten the rest of the world was waiting. For a brief time this afternoon, nothing and no one else had existed. She nodded and conceded his point. “You’re right. We should get back.”
The expression on his face was stoic, but she sensed disappointment as well. Had he wanted her to say she didn’t care if anyone discovered them together? Of course he had. But she wasn’t quite there yet.
On impulse, she cupped her hand to his face. “Don’t give up on me.”
He turned his lips into her palm and kissed it. “Never.” That one fiercely spoken word settled her misgivings. She reached down, picked up the blanket, and handed it to him.
Mikhail stuffed it in the satchel with the rest of the gear and stowed it in the natural cache between the rocks. “Ready?”
She wasn’t. Not really. She’d much rather this afternoon never end. “I’m ready.” She shifted quickly, embracing her wolf.
Mikhail watched her once again. He ran his hand over her head and
rubbed behind her ears. The caress was one of friendship, one wolf to another. “This is only the beginning, Elise. There will be more picnics and more afternoons together.”
He shifted in the blink of an eye, and this time, he led the way back home.
Chapter Sixteen
Mikhail figured he had to be setting a new record for masturbating in the shower. Since their picnic almost two weeks ago, they’d spent a lot of time together. They’d watched several movies—he’d even sat through a chick flick—and shared several quiet dinners at her place. They’d talked and sometimes spent evenings both stretched out on her sofa reading. In short, they were dating.
They’d also spent a lot of time naked, touching and learning each other’s bodies. But they still hadn’t gone all the way. Mikhail was waiting for Elise to give him a sign she was ready for the next step in their relationship.
Being around the rest of the pack was becoming more difficult. Now that their business was concluded in Chicago and they’d cut all ties with their past lives there, Reece and Hannah were spending a lot of time with Sage and Rina.
Mikhail walked into the kitchen to have breakfast only to find Reece and Sage sitting at the table with the women nowhere in sight. He wasn’t sure why, but Reece always seemed to be watching him. Maybe it was the cop in him. All Mikhail knew was that he was getting tired of it.
With all thoughts of a peaceful breakfast gone, he sighed, walked over to the coffeepot, and poured himself a mug. He peered out the kitchen window as he took his first sip.
“Anything you want to say to me?” Mikhail faced them and took another mouthful of coffee.
Sage glanced at his twin, and it was Reece who spoke. “We have a problem.”
Anticipating questions about his comings and goings and maybe even suspicion about his relationship with Elise, Mikhail shrugged. “And that problem would be?”
“Hannah’s father is coming to visit.”
That shocked him. Not what he’d been expecting at all. Troy Burdette was alpha of the Montana Pack, and he hadn’t held the position for long. She’d lost all contact with him for several years until last fall.
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