Fierce

by Renee Rose

  He closed his eyes and gripped my hips, fingers pressing into my flesh as if he was trying to rein in his desire.

  “You okay? That didn’t hurt at all?” he wondered.

  “A virgin only means never having a dick in you before. I’ve played with more than the showerhead. Besides, horseback riding takes care of those kinds of things, too.”

  I had no idea how my hymen had broken. I didn’t care. There was no pain with him being in me, but it was uncomfortable trying to accommodate him.

  I rocked once, slowly, testing the movement.

  Oh God. Yeah, that wasn’t uncomfortable at all.

  It felt incredible. I rocked forward, rubbing my clit down against his body as I took him deeper inside me. And then I couldn’t get enough of that motion. I braced my hands on his shoulders and quickened my pace, riding him fast in a forward and back trajectory, getting the full benefit of the friction against my clit.

  “That’s it, doll.”

  The room filled with frantic sounds, which I realized were coming from me. Levi’s eyes glowed brighter, his fingers gripped tighter. He helped me, taking over the work by pulling and pushing my hips and then somehow knowing it was time for a change. He lifted and lowered my hips over his cock, bouncing me in the air.

  He did fit. Every inch.

  I dropped my head back, losing all self-consciousness in the sheer pleasure of it. Finding abandon, perhaps for the first time in my life. “Levi,” I gasped.

  He growled and bounced me faster. “Fuck, yeah, Charlie.”

  “Oh my God… I can’t… I’m going to… oh Levi!” I exploded into pleasure as my orgasm came on so hard I lost my bearings. The room spun. I couldn’t focus. It didn’t matter because Levi had stopped thrusting up into me and held my hips tight to his, his manhood spearing me so deep I felt him against my cervix. My hips bucked a few times and shudders ran through me as wave after wave of intense release ran through me.

  When my vision returned, I found myself staring at the ceiling. I’d thrown my head back, tits to the sky, like a goddess calling in her power through the act of sex.

  I found Levi’s face. He hadn’t gone to outer space like me. His focus was glued intently to my face, and he watched me, as if fascinated. “Did you—”

  He scoff-laughed. “Oh yeah. Trust me, doll. That blew my mind.”

  Was that possible? Could a virgin blow a hot cowboy-sheriff’s mind? Or was he just trying to make me feel good?

  I didn’t take him for a smooth talker. He was easy to talk to but didn’t strike me as someone who didn’t speak the truth. It wasn’t like he could fake it.

  Levi eased his firm grip on my hips and stroked his palms around my ass and down my thighs. “You feel good, doll? Sore?”

  I shook my head. “No.” I offered a smile. “You are big, but no. You must’ve done a good job preparing me.”

  He pulled me down on top of him and kissed me hard. Possessively. His hand snaked around behind my head and held me captive as his tongue swept between my lips. Our bodies were still connected, and he thrust up into me, mimicking the movement of his tongue.

  I moaned into his mouth, my sex still tingling and swollen with arousal, my libido fully unlocked.

  “You’re incredible,” he murmured when he broke the kiss. “Stay in my bed tonight?”

  “Oh! Um…” I hadn’t been prepared for that offer. This was just two weeks of hot sex.

  That had been the deal, right? I’d assumed sex meant sex not sleeping.

  “I don’t know,” I said lamely, extricating our bodies and rolling off to the side. I hissed when he slipped out. Okay, yeah, I was a little sore. “I need to be up early to run tests on Seraphina.”

  He rolled the other way, getting up to dispose of the condom. “Right, of course.”

  Did he sound stiff? Or was I reading too much into this?

  I hopped off the bed and looked around for my panties. They were on the floor with the rest of our clothes. I slid my feet into them and pulled them up, then grabbed Levi’s T-shirt.

  I brought it to my face and inhaled. It smelled delicious—like leather and man. I tugged it over my head. I didn’t know why—maybe I really didn’t want to leave. I wanted some piece of him to take back to my room with me.

  When he turned around and saw me in it, his blank expression softened. “I like you in my shirt. Definitely looks better on you.” His appreciative gaze landed on my chest where my nipples tented the fabric.

  “Is it okay if I wear it back to my room?”

  He spread his big hands. “Be my guest, doll. I like knowing I’ll be sleeping with you in some form.” He seemed totally comfortable in his full nudity—no less powerful or commanding that he’d been in his ranch clothes.

  Huh. I blinked at him.

  He sure seemed attached for a guy who had outlined the rules to a purely sexual relationship.

  But what did I know? I’d never even had a sexual relationship before. I was leaving as soon as the breeding was complete. I’d be back in Colorado soon, far from here. Far from Levi. This was a fling. I’d keep it at that, so I grabbed my clothes and shoes from his floor. “Thanks, um, yeah. Thanks. For everything.”

  “You come back if you need more,” he said lightly, but I could’ve sworn I saw a frown between his brows. His dick wasn’t as hard as before, but it sure wasn’t hanging flaccid between his legs. It was as if he were primed for another go.

  “Tomorrow night,” I promised. I’d protect my heart, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want more. Lots more. It was as if the seal had been broken, and I wanted all I could get. “Right? Fourteen nights?”

  “Damn straight. As for tomorrow, I have a shift as sheriff. I’ll be busy because the county fair’s going on.”

  “That sounds fun.”

  He tilted his head. “You want to go? I’ll take you after I get off.”

  Now that sounded like a date because I doubted he meant we were going to have sex there. I was getting more confused by the minute. And yet I found myself incapable of refusing. I could think of nothing more enjoyable than going to the county fair with Levi tomorrow evening. And even though I really should limit my time with him to the bedroom, I also felt like I deserved this. Keely said have fun. With Levi. What said fun more than a flipping fair?

  My life had been a shit-show lately, and I came here to get away. Levi seemed like the perfect antidote to reality. I never turned down a chance for a funnel cake, either.

  “Good night, Levi,” I said, slipping out the door.

  “‘Night, Charlie. Sleep well.”

  I practically ran down the hall, feeling like I was doing the old college walk of shame out of a guy’s dorm room in nothing but his T-shirt and my panties, and it almost made me giggle.

  I’d had sex. With a cowboy. It had fit. I’d come. He’d liked it. Wanted more. I’d been wild, and it had been incredible. I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face.

  I couldn't wait to tell Keely.

  12

  LEVI

  * * *

  I spent the ride into town considering how I’d fuck Charlie next. When I’d first made the arrangement with her, I’d hoped to fuck her out of my system. I’d been a dumbass because I’d been strangely obsessed with her. Sure, she was hot as hell. That had made my dick happy all this time. I’d satisfied her with it, but I’d thought it would fade. Hadn’t I?

  Well, after the night before, my need for her hadn’t faded at all. In fact, it was getting worse. I’d had my head in the game at work today, but I was distracted. Irritable. All I wanted to do was be back at the ranch. With her.

  The sheriff job was crimping my style. Messing with my plan to fuck Charlie all I could before she left.

  So when I walked in the door of the bunkhouse and found Charlie gone. I was a grumpy fuck. She wasn’t in the stable, either. No one was.

  I stomped toward the ranch house to find out what the hell was going on.

  “Hey Levi, how’s it goi
ng?” Willow greeted me.

  When she’d first come to Cooper Valley, she’d been working undercover for the DEA. Turned out, she was a shifter, had a pretty ginger wolf in her she hadn’t even known about. Rob had known she was his mate from the very first sniff, but she’d given him a run for his money. Even had to deal with being shot by a fucking drug mule who’d been our neighbor. Now, they were inseparable. In fact, they were walking up from the barn hand in hand.

  “Where’s Charlie?” I demanded, forgetting my manners.

  For some fucking reason, Rob looked amused. “She went for a ride with Clint and Johnny. What’s the emergency?”

  Emergency? No fucking emergency.

  Okay, yeah, it was close to an emergency. No one should take my human on any kind of field trip without me.

  Dammit.

  How did she already become my human in my mind? I get my dick wet one night, and suddenly, I’m getting attached? I wasn’t pussy whipped like Rob or Colton or Boyd. Hell, or even Clint.

  I needed to dial it back.

  Rob slapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s talk,” he said and tilted his head toward the ranch house. I followed. He didn’t stop until we were settled in his office, Willow peeling off and heading to the kitchen where scents of spaghetti sauce were making my stomach rumble.

  “So bad I’m called to the principal’s office?” I dropped in a seat as he moved behind his desk.

  He smirked, dropped his hat on the hard surface.

  “The problem with shifters is their hearing’s strong as fuck. It’s impossible to talk in private.”

  “Or do anything else.” Yeah, I’d overheard all of the newly mated couples going at it a time or two.

  “So, what’s up with you and the vet?” he asked, ignoring my reply.

  I’d known Rob since the day I joined the pack, looking for a place to settle. His parents had been killed in a car accident the year before, and he’d been as fucked up as me. He was a year older, and at the time, already the alpha. He had a shit ton on his shoulders but had been handling it well. Perhaps that was why he’d welcomed me so readily; he recognized a screwed up teenager when he saw one.

  I’d settled into the bunkhouse and been just like Johnny. Learning everything I could and just… living. I’d been free at Wolf Ranch. Everyone was a shifter. No one hid that from each other. From the town, yes, but pack members shifted and ran in the hills to their hearts’ content. They weren’t shamed. Verbally abused. Forbidden to be themselves.

  It had taken a long time to let go of my anger toward my grandparents, how they’d pretty much chained my wolf inside me. Even safe here, when others on the ranch ran with the full moon, I hadn’t been able to shift. I never had. Not once. We figured since I’d never shifted before I lived with my mother’s family that I probably wasn’t able to do so. Maybe it was because I was half-shifter. Still, my wolf made his presence known. Howling when pissed. Prowling when aroused or eager.

  Oh, I knew its feelings when it came to Charlie. He wanted her. Just like me.

  I realized Rob was staring at me. Waiting. In his usual fashion, he was patient for a response, but I’d gone off on a wild tangent. I ran my hand over the back of my neck.

  “Not much,” I replied. Charlie and I were close, but I wasn’t going to tell him we were fucking. Fortunately, he hadn’t been around to overhear us. At least I hoped not.

  “Your scents are mingled in the bunkhouse.”

  So much for secret keeping. Stupid wolf scenting.

  I shrugged. “What? It’s not like she’s my mate.”

  He looked down at his worn boots. “You have the urge to mark her?”

  I frowned. That wasn’t possible, a fact which Rob should know. Then again, no one here had given up on my wolf appearing someday. Especially not after Willow, a half-breed like me, shifted for the first time in a life-or-death situation.

  “She’s not my mate,” I repeated. “I would know.”

  His dark gaze met mine. “Would you?”

  It wasn’t meant as a dig, but it was hard to keep the anger down. He’d found his fucking mate. So had the other guys. I’d resigned myself to the fact that I probably never would, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t annoying as fuck to watch them like some kind of made for TV holiday movie.

  “It’s a two-week thing.” I held up my hand. “Fun while she’s here. Nothing more. She’ll get that horse bred and head back to Colorado.”

  My wolf howled, not pleased with me saying that aloud. He wanted more with her. So did I, but I wasn’t going to go back on our agreement. Charlie had a life in Colorado. A big-time job. She was smart. Successful. And she had family. A grandfather who needed her, who she loved. She couldn’t abandon him when it sounded like he needed her the most.

  Besides, shifter-human pairings were a disaster. I knew that from my parents’ marriage, even though I was surrounded by successful ones. Even if my wolf never manifested, I was still a shifter. I could never, ever live among humans again. Not even for a mate.

  “Then let’s introduce her to the pack. See if one of the others recognizes her scent. We could use a vet on the ranch.”

  Without thought, I stood, tipped over my chair in the process, and swiped all the shit from his desk and onto the floor. Things scattered and crashed, but it was my ragged breathing that was the loudest.

  Rob didn’t move. Didn’t act the least bit surprised. Because he’d fucking done it on purpose.

  “She’s nothing but fun,” he said.

  “Fuck you,” I snarled. I set my hands on his desk, leaned in. Met his gaze head on. “No one touches her. No one breathes her in.”

  I stormed out of his office, pissed as hell. But all I heard behind me was Rob’s calm chuckle.

  He was my friend. He was my alpha. He was also an asshole.

  13

  CHARLIE

  * * *

  After the horseback ride with Clint and Johnny to show me more of the ranch than the stable and bunkhouse, I walked from the stable out to the pasture where Serafina was grazing. I wanted to check on her, but really, I wanted a spot all alone. My body was sore in all the best ways—and not from the ride the guys had just taken me on. Their ranch was beautiful, and I could see why they were content to be here. I almost had the urge to pick up roots and stay.

  It had been a little weird because it had been the most erotic horseback ride I’d had in my life. Well-worked clit kept rubbing on the saddle, reminding me of how much fun Levi and I had the night before. Feeling that way while riding between two other guys, not Levi, had made my thoughts extra naughty. The feelings extra intense.

  Which reminded me… I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Keely as Seraphina trotted over to say hello.

  “Hey girl,” Keely answered.

  “The deed’s been done.” I stroked behind Seraphina’s ears to greet her. A smile spread across my face, not sure if it was because I was happy to see my favorite horse or because I’d taken a hot cowboy for a ride.

  “Yes! You had sex? With the hot cowboy? Congratulations!” Her enthusiasm over my sex life made me smile.

  “Sure did. And it was better than I imagined.” The warm breeze ruffled my hair, and I tucked it behind my ear.

  “Ooh, tell me everything.”

  Setting my foot on the bottom rail of the fence, I said, “Let’s just say I plan to make up for lost time while I’m here.”

  She squealed. “So it wasn’t just a one-time thing?”

  “Our agreement is it’s a fourteen-day thing. For the fourteen nights I’m here.”

  She was quiet for a second. “Oh. My. God. I’m swooning here. That sounds like the title of a movie. Fourteen Nights with a Cowboy.”

  “Uh, yeah, no. That lacks a ring.” I laughed and rolled my eyes.

  “Two Weeks in Paradise? Fourteen Nights to Heaven?”

  “Oh my God. Please keep your day job.” I giggled. Actually giggled. And laughing wasn’t usually my thing. I might have been as uptight as t
hey said, but now? I felt different. More relaxed. Calmer.

  “Sooo… how was it?” she wondered.

  I sighed, as if that said it all. “Super hot. It started in the stable and then moved to his bed.”

  “In the stable? Girlfriend, you’re leaving stuff out.”

  “I’m not telling you every dirty detail.” I was leaving some of it just for myself.

  “Did you sleep with him? I mean sleep-sleep?”

  I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see. “No, that felt too intimate.”

  “I know what you mean. You wouldn’t want to get attached when this is just a sex thing.”

  “Right,” I said quickly although my stomach dropped to my boots. Why had Keely calling it just a sex thing bother me? That was exactly what it was. What I wanted. What I’d validated when I left his room for my own.

  And yet, at the same time, that seemed to demean what we actually had.

  But now I sounded crazy. We didn’t have anything but chemistry. There was no relationship here. Nothing more than a wild fling.

  I heard a thud and one of Keely’s kids break into screams. “Shit, I have to go!” she said.

  “Yep. Catch you later.” I hung up and tucked my phone back in my pocket.

  I patted Seraphina. “What do you think, girl?”

  A strong arm banded around my waist, and I gasped. “I know what I think,” Levi growled in my ear.

  I relaxed, then laughed—it seemed to be a more frequent occurrence today—and laid my head back on his shoulder. He hoisted me off my feet and bit my neck.

  “What do you think?” I spun in his arms when he set me down, flung my arms around his neck as I looked up at him.

  “I think you need to get fucked again.” His eyes took on a yellow-ish glow in the fading light.

  “Is that right?” I curled my fingers into the hair that stuck out beneath his hat, but couldn’t stop smiling.

  “Yep. But let’s go to the fair first. I have to show off my prowess at the game booths.”

  I laughed again. “You do not need any fair games to prove your prowess to me.”