Wolves at the Door Read online

  He circled his hips, so deep in me now his skin rubbed against my clit, sending shock waves of pleasure skittering up my spine.

  “I want to fuck you hard,” he said, teeth gritted. “I won’t. Need to take it easy this first time.”

  I didn’t want to disabuse him of any romantic notions of me as some sort of virgin, but damn it, I didn’t want or need slow and gentle. This man…this male…had lit a fuse within me, and I yearned for him to make me explode. I needed it hard and fast and ruthless.

  “No. I can take it.” I flexed my internal muscles, giving a satisfied smile when I saw his eyes darken as I rippled over him. “Have me the way you want.”

  He paused, held above me on trembling limbs, and then, with a grunt, he slammed forward before drawing nearly all the way out of me, only to slam in again. Over and over, he pounded into me, and I matched his every thrust. Greedy for him, needing him closer to me, to become one with him.

  “Oh gods, you’re so tight, so hot.” He groaned as I flexed again, and I thanked God I’d been taking Pilates classes for two years.

  The hand holding my wrists let go, and I took the opportunity to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him close against me, craving skin on skin. Loving the warmth of him covering me like a blanket.

  I writhed under him, more wanton than I’d ever been before, almost crazed with need. He didn’t seem to fare much better, his jaw locked tight, eyes glittering with desire.

  The sounds of us moving together filled the small room, and I let out a long moan as he ground against me, stimulating my clit all over again.

  Without warning, he pulled out of me, and I mourned the loss of him instantly.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Turn over, on your hands and knees.” His voice was guttural, raw.

  I scrambled to do as he directed and turned onto my hands and knees. His palms played over my buttocks, dipping a thumb down to tease between my folds before pulling back out again and once more kneading and playing with my ass.

  “So beautiful. Your body is perfect from every angle. Every fantasy come true, like you were made for me. Mine, all mine.”

  And I was. In this moment, I was all his and more. His to do with as he would, and he was mine to enjoy in return.

  He pressed inside me again, more slowly this time, making me ache with yearning so sweet it hurt. He kept up a slow and steady drive in and out, almost sending me out of my mind. Then his fingers reached around and splayed across my belly possessively, before dipping down to part my folds and play with my slick bud.

  As he stroked me with his hands, his hips sped up. Every single smooth thrust in pushed the breath from my lungs, and every sure slide out had me gasping. His breathing matched my own as he huffed against the nape of my neck, his warmth covering my back.

  Pleasure began to build. The way he powered into me and pressed rhythmically against my clit in time to our fucking drove me wild. I knew any moment I would lose it, and when his free hand reached up and pinched a nipple, just hard enough to provide a bit of pain with the pleasure, I shattered.

  With a cry, I tipped over the edge. He stilled when I clenched around him. On a ragged breath, he swelled and started to spill hot and heavy inside me. Spurt after spurt of hot seed pulsed out of him. In response, my orgasm rolled into a second, even more intense one. I shook all over, legs barely holding me up as I milked every last drop from him.

  When the tremors ended, I collapsed onto the bed, sprawled on my front with my legs still splayed. He pulled out of me and rolled to the side, snuggling up right next to me, one leg over mine, a strong arm pulling me into him. He made me feel small, safe, and utterly secure, which was new for me.

  We lay in that position for an indeterminate amount of time, our breathing slowly returning to normal.

  Never in my life had I been so thoroughly made love to. I’d soared to the highest pinnacles of pleasure. Now, I lay replete and sated, boneless in my lover’s arms. Sadly, my afterglow wasn’t to last.

  Into the dark and silence, my lover uttered three little words, and I froze.

  Chapter Six

  “You’re mine, forever.”

  Panic slammed into me. Surely, he didn’t mean literally? Perhaps this was the way of their kind, once they’d made love to someone, they considered one another linked somehow? As long as he understood, I wouldn’t actually be his. Not literally.

  “We can live here if you like.” He said this with great pride, as if he’d offered me the moon.

  “Live? Together?” Ribbons of something akin to outright terror began to wind their way around my heart. Partly because of his words, but partly because some small, and clearly insane, part of me loved to hear them.

  “Of course. You are mine; we are mated.”

  Mated! He’d used similar phraseology earlier, and I’d simply put it down to meaning making love. Clearly, I’d missed a trick somewhere. I’d let the strange fog of the moment and the magic in the air stop me from truly taking in what he said.

  “Erm…what does mated mean, exactly?” I sat up, and as the sheet fell from my breasts, his gaze flickered down and back up, darkening as a wicked smile tugged at his mouth. And as if he’d flicked a switch in me, I instantly wanted him. All over again, as if I didn’t lie there aching and tender from what we’d done only moments before.

  I couldn’t allow myself to get lost in him once more, though. Not while he spouted nonsense about mating and owning and me becoming “his.”

  “Drew! What is mated?”

  He ran a hand through thick hair and seemed to consider the question for a moment. “Mated is when two become one. We merge…for life. You belong to me, and I to you. Although…” He frowned. “This is not ideal. You are human. We need to get help for your burning. Maybe empathines don’t feel it as badly.” He stared off into space for a moment. “But it’s been so long since we had one, so very long, all that remains is myth and legend. Perhaps the burning won’t be as bad for you. Then again, it has been an age since we had any normal human mate with one of us, too. So who really knows?”

  Oh, no. There he went with the whole burning thing again, and I really didn’t fancy that. It was immaterial anyway, as no way were we joined for life. I mean, who did that after one encounter?

  I needed to let him down and do so gently. In the past, the worst I’d faced came from telling some guy I couldn’t make our second date, yet now I must tell this wolf-man I couldn’t be his mate.

  “Well, you see, the thing is…” I trailed off.

  “Yes?” He watched me, and I swore amusement danced in his eyes.

  “I can’t possibly be your mate. I’ve never even wanted to get married. I want to do research. I’m a scientist.”

  “You can do research.” He lifted one arm over his head, all lazy and sated, and for a moment, I could only drink in his utter beauty. “I will come with you. Yes, I will come with you when you do your research. I’ve always wanted to travel, to see the world.”

  “I can’t take you with me!” Was he being purposefully dense?

  “Why not?”

  “Employers won’t let me just drag a husband…err…mate with me.”

  “Then do your own research, for yourself.”

  Oh, surely he couldn’t be so naïve. I pursed my lips and looked down at him. His face still held the satisfied hint of a smile he’d been wearing ever since we’d finished making love.

  “Drew, I can’t do my own research. I don’t have the funds.”

  “Would you like to? If you had the funds?”

  Would I? Well, yes, of course I would. To be able to do my own thing, focus on what interested me most would be a dream come true. But sadly, I wasn’t wealthy and it wouldn’t happen. “Yes, but—”

  “Then you shall. I will give you the funds.”

  Angry now at his presumption that I could simply be bought, I pushed up off the bed and paced the room. “You can’t buy me! And you don’t own me.”

  “We ow
n one another. We belong.”

  “No. We don’t.” I realized I shouted, but panic stopped me from being kinder. This guy acted too much like a stalker, and for the first time, I began to be afraid of him. I didn’t think a gentle “Dear John” would do the trick. Hating to do it, I made my answer as harsh as possible to try to get the message home. “There is no us, only tonight. We had fun, but that’s all it can be. I’ve got to work here, and I need quiet and time to write up my results and…” I fished around for some way of getting him out of the cabin and decided to lie. “I’m leaving in the morning. I’ve got to visit my parents. You can’t possibly come. If you give me your number, I’ll call you and maybe we can hook up when I get back?” Because I would so be into doing this again, maybe we could see where this amazing thing between us might lead. Only without the whole “you’re mine” issue right off the bat.

  By then, though, he’d have forgotten all about me and likely gone back to messing around with women of his own kind.

  “You cannot leave.” He paled and rubbed his hand over his chest as if soothing his heart.

  A feeling akin to grief washed over me at the sight, but I wouldn’t soften, couldn’t give in.

  “I have to.” A glance at the curtains showed dawn’s early light struggling to reclaim day from night. “In fact, I need to get going soon. An early start, you see?”

  He didn’t answer, simply scrubbed a large hand over his jaw, eyes narrowed. Hell, if only he weren’t so sexy. I hated ending it like this, but if I gave an inch, he’d take a mile…and take me over. Even more terrifying, part of me wanted him to.

  I began to get dressed and without looking at him again, rushed out of the room to fill a bag with some basic toiletries. I’d let him think I really was going, drive out to the nearest village and spend an afternoon there, then return this evening when he’d be long gone.

  A rather serious problem with my plan suddenly occurred to me. With Drew gone, all those others out there would be free to scratch and tap at my window again. I stomped back into the bedroom. “In fact, I might not come back at all. I won’t be safe here anymore, you said so yourself.” I began to think aloud. “I could maybe lodge with the ranger. I’d rather have my own space, but I can’t risk any of those…things getting to me.”

  I ignored his wince as I called his people things and ran through my options. “Or I could even rent a room in the village. Not ideal, but I could come up here in the day and go back when the sun starts to set.”

  “You are safe here.” He spoke quietly. “None of the pack will sniff around here anymore, and even the rogues won’t dare touch you. Maybe one or two of the worst would, but they live far away and don’t frequent these parts. I think you are safe.”

  His words made me want to dance for joy.

  “My scent is on you. They will sense it and leave you alone, whether I am here or not.”

  “So I’m safe?”

  “Yes. I believe you are safe.”

  “Okay. Good. Erm, thanks.”

  “Don’t thank me. It is what it is. You will go now, and I will go back to my people. You do not want me. You will not see me again.”

  A sharp sadness hit me at his words. “Look, Drew. We can see one another again. In fact, I’d like it. A lot. Just, none of this mate and mine stuff, okay? Not yet.”

  “No. Not okay. We are mated. You choose to reject me as your mate. I accept your rejection, despite the fact I now have to return to my pack and all will know. Despite the fact I won’t ever find another. I will be the gentleman I promised when I first spoke with you. But do not presume you can toy with me and call me to you when you want to play. I will not bother you again. I am only sorry my instincts about you were so horribly wrong.”

  He clambered off the bed and grabbed his jeans, pulling the pale denim up over thick, corded thighs. He shrugged on his tee and wrapped his shirt around his waist, pushing his feet into his boots but not fastening them up. And then he left. Every single wet dream I’d ever had, simply turned away from me and walked out of the room.

  My heart felt as if it would tear in two, but I told myself to stop being a drama queen, even as a fresh wave of pain hit. The idea of never seeing him again made tears spring to my eyes, but I knew this strange sorrow would pass. It must. After all, we’d only spent one night together, and no one fell in love in one night. I’d just been alone for far too long.

  I decided I would head into the village. Maybe putter around the shops, talk to people, and get out of my head a while. I might even treat myself to something nice and shiny from the gorgeous gift shop or buy a couple of books. I had my Kindle with me, but nothing beat the weight of a book in one’s hand.

  Sandy shuffled into the room and guilt swamped me. Her gait seemed stiff and unwieldy, and I realized she’d spent the whole night on the cold stone floor.

  “Oh, baby, I’m sorry. Come on, let’s get your lead, and we’ll head out. I’ll buy you a bagel for breakfast.” Bagels were like catnip to her, and the village café made some gorgeous ones.

  Before I exited the cabin, I opened the door and poked the barrel of the shotgun out. Despite Drew’s words, I wanted to make sure no more werewolves were hanging around waiting for me. The coast seemingly clear, I crossed quickly to my waiting car, almost running, and didn’t let out my breath until safely inside, doors locked.

  The drive down the gravel path to the road seemed to take forever. The sadness I’d experienced at the cottage built and built, until I feared my chest might burst with it. I didn’t feel too great physically, either. My neck and head ached and my throat tickled.

  Wanting to cool down, I opened the window and let in some of the fresh morning air, but it didn’t seem to do anything for me. I was burning up. Perhaps I’d the flu. Maybe I should turn back.

  I pulled onto the side of the road and rested my head on the steering wheel for a long moment. If only the horrible, gnawing sadness eating at me would abate a tad, I might be able to focus on everything else going on. But it didn’t diminish. Instead, it grew brighter and stronger with every passing second.

  Thirst so strong it took my breath away hit. I scrambled around in my bag and found a bottle of water, sloshing it down my chin in my desperation. As soon as I swallowed, I realized it wouldn’t heal what ailed me. In fact, it only served to make me retch.

  Focus! I forced myself to think. I was a rational person. A scientist. Trying to keep calm, I studied myself as I would any other conundrum. The raging thirst made itself known once again, but clearly, it wasn’t real thirst, so I let it wash over me. I didn’t resist it and tried, instead, to understand it.

  Sensations came at me from all angles: sadness, confusion, anger, and that intense, odd thirst. No. Not thirst. Something else. Deeper. Yearning. It wasn’t a need for water, but the deepest, sharpest, most physical yearning I’d ever experienced.

  I didn’t need to decipher what I yearned for. I knew. Without even having to think about it, I knew. Drew. I wanted…needed…Drew.

  Chapter Seven

  It couldn’t believe its luck. All this time it had stalked her. Watched her, and seen so many of its kind pawing at the walls of her abode, tapping at her window. A few pack members at first and then rogues like him. They’d been there at night, scenting and nuzzling at the ground around her dwelling. None of them mattered, but then he’d come. And it thought all chances of getting at her were gone. Imagined she’d be claimed and taken back to pack land where it couldn’t go. Not anymore.

  But now, oh joy! It wanted to howl out its pleasure. For there she stood, right in its path, stumbling about the forest as if in a daze. Her mate nowhere near. Yes, she carried the alpha’s scent, but what did it care for these things? It no longer lived within wolfen society, and it didn’t abide by their rules. It didn’t live in fear of the pack leaders like other so-called rogues. It made its own rules, its own way.

  She became rich pickings the minute she left the car. Ripe for the plucking, and it would enjoy her al
l the more knowing she’d been claimed by the son of the bastard who’d sent it into exile.

  I didn’t know where I went, only that I must leave the car and get some air on my overheated flesh. Experience the wind in my hair. The deep woods called to me. Somehow, I knew Drew lived in them, and I wanted to find him with a desperation bordering on hysteria.

  A dark shadow moved to the side of me. Sandy let out a startled bark and my world went black.

  Thick, scratchy wool covered my face and upper body, my arms were pinned to my sides as someone strong and sure picked me up and started to carry me. I could tell whoever, whatever, carried me, moved with great speed through the woods. My heart hoped for a moment that Drew held me. But deep down I understood he did not. I could sense malevolence pouring from the thing carrying me. Sour, acidic fear burned in my gut. Where the hell were we headed?

  I tried to cry out for Sandy, but when I opened my mouth and took in a breath, wool and dust filled my lungs, causing me to choke. Eyes streaming, I coughed and spluttered as we made our way through the woods, the cracking of branches and rustle of leaves telling me we were still in the thick of the trees.

  In what seemed like only minutes, we stopped, and I was lowered to the ground.

  “I will take off this…but you no move.” Hands tugged at the thick wool covering me.

  “Do not run. I am fast.” The deep guttural voice gurgled horribly.

  He spoke as if not sure of his words, stilted and hesitant.

  The thick covering whipped over my head. I blinked when the light hit my eyes. With one hand, I wiped at the tears blurring my vision and wished I hadn’t bothered. Standing in front of me was a monster. A real, bona fide, nightmare of a fucking monster.

  It stood over seven feet tall, and hair covered its grizzled features. A long snout made the head more wolf than human. Deep red, shiny lips shimmered as they pulled back into a snarl. Yellow teeth appeared, marked by huge canines with rotten brown tips. A long, purple tongue snaked from the mouth and ran along the plump lower lip. I shuddered and backed away.