Wolf Ranch: Wild: Wolf Ranch - Book 2

by Renee Rose

  “We agreed on two hours,” she countered. “Besides, we’ve already made the baby you said you were going to put in me… tomorrow night.”

  “I can’t help it if I’m so potent.”

  “It’s that Wolf blood,” I said.

  Audrey’s and Boyd’s heads whipped my way so fast I thought they’d get whiplash. Colton’s body tensed against mine. What had I said wrong? Glancing up at Colton, I asked, “What?”

  “What do you mean, wolf?” he asked, his voice slow.

  I frowned. “That’s your last name, isn’t it?”

  The corner of his mouth tipped up, and he exhaled. “Sure is.”

  Boyd laughed and took a swig of his beer. Audrey brought her drink to her lips and sucked on the straw. I looked between them, wondered what was up.

  Becky, Leigh and Anna invaded then. Boyd and Colton stepped back for us to make a small circle around Audrey.

  “I am so excited for their baby,” I said to Colton.

  He inched back from me when I moved closer. He kept sniffing me. Did I smell bad?

  Ouch. Was he no longer interested?

  No, that was impossible. I’d felt how hard he was for me riding on his lap over here. He stared.

  It must be the PDA thing. Right?

  “You want babies?” Colton asked, his eyes dark.

  “I’m excited for their baby. I’m not interested in my own baby right now… or anytime soon.”

  Colton made even more space between us. “Right. You’re young. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. Life in the big city, a job at an engineering firm.”

  All of a sudden, and perhaps because it was Colton who said it aloud, it sounded awful. I’d finish my degree, definitely, but the thought of living in LA, perpetually stuck in traffic to get to a dry job inspecting bridges or construction plans… gah.

  I wanted what Audrey had. A man to look at me like Boyd did Audrey. How he treated her like something precious, yet I knew their love life was anything but tame. Tame and wild, that was Audrey.

  I felt like I had that, at least the start of it… the framework of it, with Colton. The connection was undeniable. The heat. Maybe it was the way the Wolf brothers were raised, but I liked it when Colton took charge. In bed and out. I liked that he felt the need to watch over me even at the bar. Even when he acted grumpy about it. As if he didn’t dare let me out of his sight.

  I wanted everything with him, but it wasn’t even an option. He had made it clear he was a military man. Stationed across the country, he was devoted to his men, being a leader. Taking their training, their lives seriously. Going to war. Why would he give that up for me?

  He wouldn’t. I’d made it clear it was just a fling when I’d seduced him in the motel room. He’d agreed and seemed to be Mr. Hands Off now. End of story. I’d gotten exactly what I wanted. And that felt pretty crappy.

  “Come on!” Becky cried, and tugged Audrey off her stool so fast, she practically tossed her drink at Boyd.

  “Let’s go, Marina,” Anna said, her shoulders shifting with the beat of the music. “Ooh, I love this song. Time to dance some more. It’s time for The Git Up dance. You’ll pick it up quickly.”

  I set my drink on the bar and tagged along behind the others, giving one last glance at Colton before the crowd blocked him from view.

  It was better this way. I was here for Audrey, and this was our night. Colton and I were here for the wedding, but that was all. Sure, he’d tied me down and fucked me hard only a few hours earlier, but I couldn’t miss the hands off vibe now.

  Oh my God. That was it. The sex earlier had been punishment. He’d even said as much. He’d spanked me and tortured me with edging for what felt like hours. He was getting back at me for what had happened in the motel room.

  I’d seduced him, and he’d punished me for it. Sure, I’d loved the punishment, but it made sense. That was it with him. Payback had been a bitch. And incredible.

  I’d felt it before. The end. Knew when it was over. I took a deep breath, pasted a smile on my face. This was Audrey’s night. I couldn’t be upset with something that had barely started.

  I’d never get what Audrey and Boyd had. Not here. Not now. Not with Colton. I should thank him for showing me what I wanted from a guy in the sack. What I needed and craved and aim for that. I needed to focus on what was going to last, and that was my relationship with my sister, so I got in line beside them, ready to dance away Audrey’s last night of being single. Go a little wild.

  12

  COLTON

  * * *

  Once again, sleep had been impossible.

  Knowing I couldn’t possibly lay beside her without trying to mark her, I’d dropped her off at her guest bedroom last night with a kiss on the forehead when the limo had dropped us off.

  I’d seen the hurt in her expression, then understanding. She knew I was rejecting her. She wasn’t an idiot.

  There was nothing to be done for it. I couldn’t very well tell her I was dying to sink my teeth in her flesh.

  That wouldn’t go over well. Instead, she thought I was through with her.

  Far fucking from it. Maybe once I’d mated her, I’d be able to rest. Fates, I hoped so. Until then… I was going to be stuck in fucking purgatory.

  I guessed this was what moon madness was all about. The wolf in you started going fucking nuts because he hadn’t claimed his mate. It felt worse than usual now, not only because it was a full moon in less than twelve hours but because she was under the same roof. Just down the fucking hall. Fuck, I could hear her tossing and turning.

  Watching her at Cody’s had been torture. Men had zeroed in on her, and I couldn’t blame them. I’d wanted to rip their heads off, but Marina was a vision. Sassy, fun, lighthearted. She might be small, but she lit up a fucking room or an entire bar. And she hadn’t been the one wearing the God-awful t-shirt and tiara.

  Fuck, I ached. Needed. I would’ve thought finding her would make him calm down, but it was getting worse.

  Hour by hour. Minute by minute. How was I going to handle this through the full moon much less for another school year?

  All I could think about was fucking the lights out of her and then sinking my teeth into that sweet flesh of hers at the nape of her neck. Having her come while I made her mine, filled her with my seed, marked her inside and out.

  How had Boyd done it without endangering Audrey? He’d obviously been successful. But that was one of the reasons mating a human was forbidden. We didn’t hurt women. Period. But when it came to this, there was no way around it. That was why Boyd was the only shifter I knew who had mated a human. It came from the old days, before modern medicine, when any kind of flesh wound might mean infection and death. That wasn’t even considering the possibility of hitting a major artery and killing her right away. Humans were also off-limits due to the increased possibility of birthing a defective shifter—a pup who couldn’t shift.

  There was a time when I would’ve considered that the worst possible outcome. But here I was, dying to mate a human and put my pups in her belly. And if the halflings couldn’t shift?

  Well, that would be all right. As long as they were healthy and happy, I wouldn’t give a shit. That meant I’d have Marina at my side where she belonged. Not across the fucking hall.

  I wondered if Boyd felt the same about that halfling he was growing. I imagined he did.

  Giving up on sleeping, I’d gone for a crack of dawn run—in human form—because we only let our wolves out up on the mountain. I’d pushed through ten miles and still felt like my head was going to pop off with the pent-up energy.

  Heading upstairs to shower, I heard the alarm on Marina’s cell chime through her closed bedroom door. That was followed by a groan.

  She had to frost the cake and get it finished. That had been the excuse I used for not taking her to my room and fucking her raw again the night before. I’d seen it in her eyes. She hadn’t believed me.

  Yeah, I wouldn’t have believed me either, e
specially when my dick had been a thick, unmistakable outline in my jeans.

  I couldn’t have sex with her again. No. NO! I needed to act normal, as if we’d had some fun, and now it was over. Talk. Do stuff. Clothed. It was the only way to make it through the full moon tonight without biting her and ruining her life.

  I froze at the top of the stairs when I heard her coming out of her room. She wore a tank top—no bra—and a pair of red jean shorts that made me desperate to do all manner of dirty things to that ass of hers.

  Don’t look anywhere but her eyes.

  “Good morning.”

  “Hi.” She looked surprised to see me. Slightly flustered.

  “You going down to the kitchen?”

  “Um, yeah. I need to finish up the cake.”

  “Right. I’ll help.” What? What the fuck was I talking about? I knew jack shit about cakes.

  “You will? Have you frosted a cake before?”

  “Never,” I admitted. “But I’m a quick learner. Or I can entertain you while you frost.”

  I could think of many ways to entertain her with frosting. All over her naked body.

  Fuck. I groaned, and her eyes widened.

  “Okay, Sergeant,” she said.

  “Sergeant Major,” I corrected, watching her nipples go hard.

  What did it? My rank? Or the bossy way I said it?

  Either way, my mate had a thing for being dominated, which boded well for our future sex life… after she graduated, but at the moment made it hard for me to function.

  I’d already jacked off twice last night, and this morning before my run to let off some steam, but I was still hard for her. My new permanent state.

  “I’m going to grab a quick shower, and then I’ll join you.”

  She nodded and cut past me. I took a Navy shower, in and out in two minutes, and I was dressed and in the kitchen within five. Total.

  There, I poured us both a cup of coffee from the full pot Rob must’ve made before he went out to do chores. “How about I make you breakfast?”

  Providing. That was something a wolf mate knew how to do. It should resonate for a human, too. Right?

  Her dimpled smile confirmed my instinct. “I’d love that.” She moved with efficiency, pulling out a mixing bowl, butter and powdered sugar.

  “What do you like?” I asked. “Pancakes? Eggs?”

  “Whatever you’re having,” she said as she glanced at me over her shoulder.

  “You’re an easy one, huh?” I wanted to kiss the place where her neck met her collarbone. I wanted to get those red shorts off her hot little body.

  No. Breakfast. Fuck!

  “Give me a hint. What would make you moan in pleasure?”

  Christ! Why are these things coming out of my mouth?

  She had things to do. I needed to keep my hands off her and support her goals. In this case, I had to let her finish the cake.

  “Pancakes, I guess. Or toast.”

  “Pancakes, it is.” I was relieved to have direction. I was compiling my mental list: things that made Marina happy.

  I rooted through my brother’s refrigerator and pantry for ingredients. There was a huge bag of blueberries in the freezer as if a bear shifter had been to visit, so I pulled that out, too. “You like blueberries in your pancakes?” I asked, shutting the door behind me.

  “Yum. Yes.”

  I wasn’t sure how she made the simplest of words sound so damn sultry.

  I whipped up a bowl of pancake batter—me standing on one side of the huge island and her on the other—and put a package of bacon in a pan because my wolf needed meat with every meal. While I worked, Marina flitted around the kitchen like a goddamn butterfly. So colorful and bright. She was efficient in her movements, pulling out the cake layers from the fridge, the metal spatula things. Based on the size of the cake plate, the final product wasn’t going to be huge, but it would feed the twenty or so guests easily.

  “I get that the...um, fling’s over. No worries from me.”

  My wolf howled at me to say something, to tell her differently. But I couldn’t. I froze and stared.

  She looked away. My lack of reply was just as telling as if I’d said the words aloud.

  “I’m cool. Just, um… tell me more about you, Colton Wolf,” she declared, right before she stuck a finger of icing in her mouth.

  My vision sharpened, telling me my eye color had probably changed. I blinked and looked away. My cock had punched out harder against my zipper. Fuck. I didn’t know if it was hearing my name on her lips or seeing those very same lips close around her finger and wishing it was my cock that did it. Probably both.

  I was close to losing control right here in the kitchen. Ripping her clothes off and claiming her in the roughest possible manner. Showing her the fling would never end. Showing her it wasn’t a goddamn fling. But what could I say?

  I’m a shifter, and I want to bite your neck and claim you so you can never leave me. Oh yeah, forget about college or any kind of dreams you may have had for yourself.

  I cleared my throat. “What do you want to know?”

  She washed her hands in the sink. “Everything.”

  My heart never lurched. I swear to fuck, my heart had never lurched in my life, not even in combat or when my parents had died. I was a wolf and a Green Beret. I didn’t show nerves. But hearing that my little human wanted to know more about me seemed like a sign.

  She was looking to fall in love. If she only wanted my dick, she’d have taken off that shirt and smeared frosting on her nipples and asked me to lick it off.

  That was a fucking amazing albeit dangerous idea, but back to the point, her wanting love, I was well in the game here. Warmth seeped into my chest. Maybe we could… date. Shit. How did a guy do that?

  “What’s your favorite food?” she asked.

  “Steak,” I answered without thinking. “I’m a carnivore all the way. I grew up on a Montana ranch.”

  She’d set out the layers of cake, then placed rectangular sheets of paper on the cake plate, then set one of the tiers on top. Grabbing the spatula, she began to frost the first one. “Chocolate or vanilla?”

  “Vanilla.”

  “Salty or sweet?”

  “Hmm. Normally, I’d say salty, but you might change me on that.”

  She laughed, her eyes focused on the task. I flipped the bacon. “Why?”

  “Because right now, I’m dying to try your cake. Or your frosting. Or, hell, anything you bake.”

  “Oh yeah?” she purred. She dipped her finger in the frosting bowl again and walked over to me, holding it out.

  “Oh fuck,” I groaned, my dick throbbing. I couldn’t resist. What wolf could? I took her finger into my mouth and sucked it. “You taste so fucking sweet,” I said.

  She laughed, and I’d never seen such a pretty sight. “That wasn’t me, but I’ll take it.” I wanted to pull her into my arms, but my pancakes needed flipping.

  “Hold that thought,” I begged, turning back to the stove and flipping all four of the blueberry pancakes. I turned back to her.

  “Have you ever—” She broke eye contact and cleared her throat. “—been married? Or had a serious girlfriend?”

  My heart picked up speed. She was definitely looking to fall in love.

  I shook my head. “Never got serious—” I broke off before I said before you.

  She was going back to school. She was going back to school. I had to say it over and over to remind my wolf.

  Curiosity gleamed her in green eyes. “Never?”

  I shook my head. “No, but I, uh, think I could be ready. Soon. To settle down.” I looked away, turned off the burners and lifted the bacon onto a plate.

  “What about the Green Berets?”

  “Yeah,” I answered. “I have to figure that part out. As I said last night, it’s time to re-enlist, and of course, my superior officer and all the men beneath me are putting a shit-ton of pressure on me to stay, but I don’t know. I think I might be ready to c
ome home.” I looked out the window over the sink, which had the perfect view of all of Wolf Ranch. “Especially with Boyd and Audrey starting the next generation of Wolf pups.”

  I slid the first four pancakes on a plate and covered it with another plate to keep them warm.

  “Pups?” she laughed.

  Oh shit. I quickly forced a laugh to cover my slip-up. “Babies.”

  “Pups is adorable. I just didn’t expect you to get cute.”

  Cute. Christ. “It’s, ah, an old family joke.” I poured batter for four more pancakes and set the table with plates and silverware, all in the same places since I was a kid. The house had been Rob’s… and mine, I figured, since our parents died, but he hadn’t made many changes. He hadn’t wanted to, perhaps at first because it would have been hard but later because he hadn’t found his mate. I figured he didn’t give a shit about things like silverware placement, but if his mate wanted things rearranged, I had no doubt he’d go for it.

  Dad had made this kitchen to Mom’s specs. I had no doubt Rob would bend over backward for his mate when the time came. I understood now.

  Marina had already set the other two layers on top of the first and was frosting the whole thing.

  “Would you work on the ranch?”

  I nodded, although her back was to me. “Sure. Rob could always use the help.”

  “I guess once a cowboy, always a cowboy, right? Those are skills you never lose?”

  “Right.”

  “Have you ever ridden a bull like Boyd?”

  “No.” I snorted. “Boyd is the only show-off around here. The rest of us just cowboy the normal way.”

  She grinned at me. “What’s the normal way?”

  I shrugged. “Ride horses. Rope cattle. Mend fences. Throw hay bales.”

  “I’ve never ridden a horse,” she admitted.

  I moved and leaned against the island so she could see me while she worked. “Never?”

  She bit her lip and looked up from her work. “Nope.”