Michelle wound her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. Every muscle in her body tensed, then she came with a sobbing gasp, her inner muscles caressing his cock with powerful pulses.
Carl felt himself nearing the edge. His thrusts sped up and lost their rhythm as he strove to reach his finish.
Something clicked into place deep in his soul, like a puzzle piece filling an empty space to complete a picture.
Yes. Ours, said his wolf, radiating deep satisfaction. Our mate. At last.
Carl exploded in a white-hot rush, every muscle in his body tensed as he came. His climax seemed to go on and on without dying away, lifting him up and over a rushing waterfall of pure pleasure as he emptied himself into her hot, welcoming depths.
When he was finally done, he relaxed and rolled over next to her on the bed. An aura of joy and complete satisfaction surrounded him and filled him to the marrow of his bones, and their newly-forged bond glowed like a warm candle flame in the back of his mind.
Home. I've finally found my forever home. With her.
Michelle gave a happy sigh. "Wow. You're incredible…querido mio," she added, sounding suddenly shy.
She propped herself on her elbow and leaned over to kiss him.
"I've got more for you, if you're up for it," he assured her.
Her answering smile sent a thrill down to his still hard cock. "Oh, I'm definitely up for it."
He drew her down on top of him, then proceeded to kiss and caress every inch of her until she was panting and flushed, and the scent of her renewed arousal told him that she was ready for him.
Then he hooked her legs over his shoulders before going in deep.
This time, his movements were slow and deliberate as he drove her to another climax before coming himself. Just like before, he came hard and for a long time.
"Amazing," he said as he withdrew and curled himself around her, kissing her forehead.
"Amazing is right," she agreed, snuggling close. "I've never met anyone like you before, and I'm not just talking about the werewolf thing."
He spooned with her for a bit, rekindling her arousal by playing with her sweet breasts while nibbling on the nape of her neck. Then he let his fingers trail between her thighs and teased the sweet bud of her clit until she was teetering on the edge of another orgasm, panting and trying to ride his hand to completion.
He pulled his hand away, and she made a sharp sound of protest.
"I want you on all fours this time," he told her. "I want to fuck you hard and deep and plant a baby in you."
"Yes, please!" she said enthusiastically, and changed positions.
This time, when he took her from behind, his wolf surged to the forefront and took control.
I know what our mate wants from us, it informed Carl.
He wound the smooth, shining length of her dark hair around his hand and pulled it as he sheathed himself to the balls inside her.
She gasped and writhed on his cock, incredibly hot and tight. The scent of her arousal intensified, demonstrating that she was enjoying this new position.
Never releasing his grasp on her hair, Carl pounded into her as she made exquisite gasping, begging noises and bucked against him.
She was perfect, so damn perfect as she screamed and came so hard that her whole body convulsed with the waves of her climax. He came too, sheathing himself deep inside her as intense pleasure rushed through him once more.
They collapsed together onto the bed, both of them panting like they'd just sprinted up a hill. He put his arms around her and pulled her against him, remaining firmly joined to her.
Unbelievably, he was still hard. Even more unbelievably, he felt ready to go again.
As a shifter, he'd always had a lot of sexual stamina, especially when compared to Ordinary guys, but this was just fucking amazing.
If this is what being mated is like, then I just made the best decision of my life, he thought.
Carl set to work driving Michelle to distraction again. His new mate was so perfect in every way—beautiful, passionate, and incredibly responsive to him.
It didn't take long before she was turned on again.
This time, she rode him as he sprawled on his back. She moved up and down on his cock with long, sliding motions, rolling her hips to grind her clit against his hard shaft.
It was the hottest thing he'd ever seen.
"Do you think we made a baby tonight?" she asked breathlessly.
He reached up to cup her breasts, teasing her sensitive nipples with his fingertips. "If not, I'm willing to do this as often as it takes."
"I'll hold you to that—oh!" Her words broke off in a gasp as he pinched her nipples, and her internal muscles tightened around him.
Her movements sped up. She leaned over him, offering her breasts for further caresses, changing the angle of his penetration.
Moments later, he felt her come again, and with it came deep satisfaction of satisfying his mate so thoroughly.
She rode out her orgasm, cheeks flushed, panting, then collapsed on his chest.
He put his arms around her hips, keeping her firmly impaled on his cock, then rolled them, reversing their positions.
Then he rode her hard and deep until he finished too.
"I won't be able to walk tomorrow," she said in the aftermath, chuckling breathily.
He raised his brows and looked down at her, trying to keep disappointment out of his expression and his voice. "So I should stop now?"
"Oh, hell no," she said immediately. "I want everything you can give me, Mister Werewolf Dude."
Carl grinned wolfishly down at her. "Your wish is my command. And we still have hours to go before dawn."
Chapter 19
Unbearable Circumstances
Michelle woke to bright sunshine filtering around the edges of her curtains. She was warm and relaxed, and above all, well-rested and ready to face her day.
She turned her head and saw that the other side of the bed was empty.
Exhausted from the day's incredible highs and lows, and worn out by his incredible lovemaking, she had slept like the dead after they finally finished making love and turned out the lights. She hadn't even noticed when Carl left the bed at some point.
The delicious smells of brewing coffee and frying bacon floated through the half-opened bedroom door, and she heard the faint clatter of dishes coming from the kitchen.
Carl was making breakfast for her. Again.
He'd been here for less than a week, and he'd already cooked her more meals than Austin had managed over the course of their five-year marriage.
Then, as she came more fully awake, the significance of all that lovely sun in her bedroom struck her.
"Crap. My chores!" she groaned, looking at her bedside clock.
As she suspected, it was hours past her usual wake-up time.
I could have sworn that I set my alarm! Cookie and Biscuit must be starving by now. And I have to go refill the troughs in the pasture…
Then she remembered that as of this morning, the only livestock she had left were her chickens. Who needed their feed and fresh water, and eggs collected, but that was one of her more minor chores.
And suddenly, all she wanted to do was pull her comforter over her head and stay in bed for the rest of the day.
No way, chica, she told herself sternly. You're going to get your ass out of bed and then you'll sit down with your new fiancé and make a plan for what happens next.
Fiancé.
I have a fiancé. Carl. She repeated that to herself a few times. She still couldn't believe it. Or how happy he made her, despite the shitstorm that her life had suddenly become.
Carl, with his super-hearing, apparently heard her exclamation all the way over in the kitchen. "Don't worry about your chores. I thought you could use a break this morning, so I turned off your alarm and did them for you."
He did my chores so that I could sleep in? she thought, filled with wonder and gratitude.
Shocke
d to the core, but in the best possible way, she called, "Thank you."
With an effort, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
And discovered that she was sore. Really, really sore.
But it was so worth it, she told herself as she hobbled painfully to the bathroom.
A hot shower and a few ibuprofen tablets later, she was feeling much better.
Her morning improved even further when Carl poked his head into the steamy bathroom while she was drying off. "Breakfast is almost ready. I hope you like waffles."
"Marry me," she replied.
He raised his dark golden brows at her and grinned. "Didn't we already have this conversation last night?" He reached out and brushed the slope of her breast with his knuckles, sending a familiar jolt of sensation through her. "Or do I need to refresh your memory?"
"Oh no, you don't!" She laughed and backed away. "I can barely walk as it is. Any more of that, and I won't make it out of bed for the next few days."
His grin turned smug. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
She leaned in for a quick kiss, then flicked her damp towel at him. "Now, shoo. Go check on those waffles or something while I get dressed."
◆◆◆
"I'd like to borrow your pickup," Carl said a short while later, as he handed her a small pitcher filled with warm syrup.
"Sure," said Michelle, taking it and pouring its contents over the large golden-brown waffle on her plate. "Beto and I weren't planning on going anywhere today."
Beto groaned and dug into his breakfast, which included scrambled eggs and crisp strips of bacon. His expression brightened immediately.
"Oh, wow, dude, these are great," he mumbled around a mouthful of waffle.
"Thanks." Carl smiled at her brother, and continued. "Now that the road is open again, I need to run an errand in town. I should only be gone a couple of hours."
"No problem." She sighed as she contemplated how much cleanup remained to be done, and dug into her own breakfast.
"When I get back, I'll help you clear away some of those bigger beams. But before I head out, I need to know—" Carl reached across the table and captured her left hand. "—your ring size."
He brushed a kiss over her ring finger.
"Get a room, you two!" Beto made a gagging noise and began eating faster.
She gave Carl her ring size, and he nodded before handing over his phone. "Do you like any of these?"
Shopping online for an engagement ring proved to be a pleasant distraction despite Beto's occasional snarky commentary.
Carl's taste proved to be pretty similar to hers, and she loved the designs on the jeweler's website he'd pulled up. They passed his phone back and forth as they ate, until Michelle had found a beautiful ring that also did not have a horrifying price tag associated with it.
Then they spent some time discussing the pros and cons of holding the wedding in Alaska versus Colorado.
Beto voted, loudly and several times, for Colorado, and for Littleton in particular. Michelle strongly suspected his preference was more about getting together with his friends than about any desire to serve as her best man.
They also decided to hold an engagement party in the Denver area sometime in the next couple of weeks, so that Carl could invite his fellow smokejumpers before they left for their winter breaks, and Michelle could invite her mother and some of her friends from college and her former job.
After Carl drove away on his errand, Michelle and Beto pulled on their work gloves and continued clearing away burned wood and the charred remains of the stuff that she'd been storing in the barn.
They had begun making two piles yesterday, one for salvageable items and one for garbage that would need to be hauled away.
As the rest of the morning passed, the Garbage pile grew with depressing rapidity, quickly dwarfing the Salvage pile.
Around noon, Cookie and Biscuit ran to the driveway and began barking furiously.
A few moments later, Michelle heard a vehicle coming up the road, gravel crunching under its tires.
Carl's back!
She stopped working and hurried to her driveway, tailed closely by Beto.
To her disappointment, when the vehicle came into sight at the end of her driveway, it wasn't her pickup, but a big white Chevy truck with "Dooley Ranch, Est. 1901" written in big letters over a pair of stylized steer horns.
Dennis was behind the wheel. He caught sight of her standing at the top of the driveway and waved before pulling up in the front of her house and parking.
Michelle noticed that Cookie and Biscuit had stopped barking as soon as they caught sight of Dennis.
They now stood silently, radiating wariness, their gazes never leaving the big rancher as he emerged from his pickup.
"Hey there, Michelle," he said, looking concerned as he approached Michelle and Beto. "I heard what happened to your livestock. I thought I'd come by and make sure you were okay." He shook his head and blew out a breath. "And that fire…what is the world coming to? Thank goodness that you and your brother weren't hurt!"
Dennis turned his attention to Beto, who stood at Michelle's side. "Hi, Beto."
"Hi, Mr. Dooley." Beto shifted uncomfortably, and Michelle shot him a sidelong glance.
Her brother was wearing a guilty expression, and a bad feeling suddenly blossomed in her stomach.
"Thanks, Dennis, it's nice of you drop by and check on us," Michelle said, trying to figure out what her gut was trying to tell her. "We're, um, actually in the middle of trying to clean up before my new barn gets delivered."
Dennis looked surprised. "New barn? But I thought—" He shot Beto a sharp look. "I mean, is that wise?" Dennis finished. "Aren't you jumping the gun a bit?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Well, I have a lot of experience dealing with insurance companies," Dennis continued, "and they really don't like paying out claims. They'll find excuses and delay as long as possible. I know that those pre-fab barns are expensive, and with all of your animals gone, well…"
"I'm not going to stop until I find the thief and I get my livestock back," Michelle said firmly.
Dennis took a step closer, reaching out as if he wanted to put a hand on her shoulder—or worse yet, try to hug her. The powerful scent of cow manure wafted her way, carried on a light breeze. She wrinkled her nose and backed away.
To her relief, Dennis seemed to get the hint this time. He stopped and cleared his throat.
"There was actually another reason I came by to see you," he began. "I know this may sound insensitive, but in light of everything's that happened, would you consider selling this land back to me?"
She stared at him incredulously.
"Price of beef is up, and I had a real good year," he explained. "And I know my great-great-grandfather must be rolling in his grave, knowing I sold off part of the ranch that he worked so hard to build."
She shook her head. "Not interested, sorry."
Dennis looked at her levelly. "Michelle, you've got to face reality, here. Even if you do get your livestock back, we both know that you're not going to last another year out here. At least this way, you won't lose more money than you've already lost."
"And you know so much about my finances… how?" she asked sharply.
Beto flinched.
And then Michelle knew. Sudden rage boiled in her veins as she rounded on her brother. "You told him?"
Beto threw up his hands defensively. "I was really mad about my car. And Mr. Dooley offered to loan me the cash to repair it."
Pieces began to fall into place…chief among them, Dooley's willingness to hire the inexperienced Beto to help on his ranch.
"How long, Beto?" she demanded. "How long has he been paying you to spy on me? Your own sister!"
Sickness rolled through her. She and Beto had argued a lot since he'd come to the ranch, but she had thought she could trust him. He was her family!
"Long enough to convince me that selling this pr
operty to me is the only sensible decision," Dennis said calmly. "Unless you'd like to consider a merger? How about this: I need a wife, and you're obviously in need of a man." He looked around and added, maliciously, "I mean, now that the road is open again and your, uh, guest has headed to greener pastures."
Hard Landing Page 18
