“If you stay in human form too long, it can mute your senses,” he offered. “I thought shifting last night would have cured you of that, but maybe it wore off before you woke up. I imagine years of repression would have done a lot of damage to your awareness.”
I slid my arms into the sleeves of the shirt, then got to my feet, turning my back to him at the same time. I buttoned it quickly. “So you’re saying I’m...a sensory disabled wolf.”
James chuckled at my description. For the first time I noticed what a nice laugh he had. It was a warm, deep sound that invited others to join in. In spite of myself, I felt my lips drawn into a reluctant smile.
“You found your way out here. You hunted. You didn’t get injured. You’ve done well for yourself,” he assured me. “You’re a fighter. Yeah, you got a raw deal from circumstances, but I don’t think you’re going to roll over and play dead.”
“Oh God,” I muttered. “Dog puns? Really?”
“Sorry. I just couldn’t think of a better way to word it.” He flashed me a grin full of straight white teeth that looked perfectly human and yet still gave the air of a predator. Then he grew more serious and pointed behind me. “The land line is in the kitchen, if you still want it.”
I turned to look toward the kitchen, not finding myself very eager to call for rescue. One of my roommates Anne was most likely at her boyfriend’s apartment and Stace was taking summer classes, so was unlikely to be home. Those were good reasons to delay calling just yet, weren’t they? Or was I just coming up with excuses? I turned to look at James again.
“Are you eager to get rid of me?” I asked.
He gave me direct look then, his eyes sliding over my bare legs like a pair of hands stroking at my skin. It made me shiver in spite of myself, though feet separated us. It didn’t really matter when just the sight and scent of him was enough to excite me. I was close enough to smell him with my senses as heightened as they were and the clean, masculine musk of him permeated the cabin besides.
“I’m eager for a lot of things,” he said at last, his voice full of heat and dark promise. “Which is why it seems like a good idea for us to not be alone together.”
“Probably,” I muttered, then turned away to head into the kitchen. It was difficult to remember the cell numbers of either of my roommates, since I rarely had reason to call them from any phone that didn’t have their numbers programmed into it. There was no answer from Stace, which didn’t surprise me, but Anne answered on the third ring.
“Hello?” she mumbled.
“Hey. It’s Tina. I was wondering if you’d be able to come and rescue me. I...I’m kind of far from home without a car.”
Anne groaned and I could hear cloth rustling about, then the thump of a head hitting a pillow. “You went out? That’s new.”
“Yeah, it was...very new.” I glanced over my shoulder and saw James had stretched out on the couch. His head was resting on the arm of it and his eyes were closed, looking for all the world as if he had fallen asleep. I was doubtful. “I need a ride, though, because this is way out past Oakland and, um, the guy I’m with can’t give me a ride.”
Because I was sure that being in a confined space like a car with him would lead to rampant boning. If he even had a car, I realized. Did werewolves have cars? Or jobs? Did they all hide out in the woods all alone like James? Was this the kind of life I had to expect now?
“You’re with a guy and he can’t give you a ride?” Anne asked blearily. “Dude, he sounds like a loser. I can’t believe the first guy you fucked at college is a loser.”
“He’s not a loser. It’s just...it’s complicated. And I’m not sleeping with him.” I added the last part in a whisper, my face flaming. Surely I was far enough away from James that he couldn’t listen in on our conversation, though, right?
“Whatever. Look, I’m still kind of wasted from last night. I’ll call you back at this number later, all right?”
“No, Anne,” I rushed to get the words in before she hung up. “I really need you to get me. I can’t stay here. It’s kind of an emergency.”
“Yeah, yeah, I bet it is. The emergency of fucking a loser. Later.”
She hung up and I stood there for a moment with the phone, silently hating her. It wasn’t that Anne was necessarily a bad or cruel person, but she wasn’t one who often thought very far ahead. Or at all, in certain situations. Stace would have been more sympathetic and actually listened to my awkward attempts to explain without actually explaining. I checked the clock on the wall. It was a little over a quarter past ten, meaning that Stace would be busy with her classes for almost another two hours.
I put the phone back into its cradle on the wall, then headed back into the living room glumly.
“Is Tina what you normally go by?” James asked without opening his eyes.
He had been listening, then. I sighed. “Yeah, it’s what most everybody calls me.”
“It suits you.” He pushed himself up on his elbows and finally looked at me again. “You’re a college student?”
“Jesus. Just how much of that conversation did you hear?”
“Sensitive ears,” he reminded me, gesturing to one of them. “I’ve been living out here for years. It really sharpens the senses better than any city wolf.”
“Clearly.” I wanted to be annoyed with him, but I was impressed. “Could I do that?”
“I don’t know. You’ve spent a lot of your life out of touch with yourself,” he reminded me. “But I could teach you how to be a wolf the best I could, if you wanted to come back out here to visit me.”
I crossed over closer to him, knowing how dangerous it was with every step but finding it more and more difficult to keep my distance.
“How long will I be in heat like this?” I asked.
He tipped his head back on the couch, as if he could read the answer on the ceiling or something. He bit his lip as he searched his memory, then straightened to look at me again. “Between three and seven days, but you might not be at the beginning of your season. How did you feel yesterday?”
I thought a moment, then shrugged. “Fine, I guess. A little antsy, but nothing bad. I wasn’t ready to hump every guy I saw or anything like that.”
“You wouldn’t be, regardless.” His full lips curved up into a knowing smile. “Being in heat is about breeding, not fucking. You react to a potential mate, not just any male.”
Chapter 4
Hearing that made my heart skip a beat and the cool air of the cabin suddenly seemed far too warm. I cleared my throat and turned my face away from him. “I don’t see how you could be a potential mate. I don’t even know you.”
“Yes, you do,” he countered. I heard the couch creak and looked back at him to see he was getting to his feet. He crossed the room to come closer to me without quite touching, circling me again as he had done out in the woods. “You know my scent. You know I’m in my prime, not too young and not too old. You know I’m strong. You know I’m healthy. I’m a good hunter. I can protect you. I can provide for you and our pups. I’d be a good mate and whether the human side of you recognizes that or not, your wolf side already knows.”
He wasn’t touching me, but somehow it was even worse than it had been before when he had been. My body was so tightly wound with arousal I thought if he just breathed against my neck I might have an orgasm. I pressed my lips together with a whimper, trying to fight against the truth of what he was saying. On some instinctive level, I knew he was right. This wasn’t about flowers and sunset walks on the beach. This was a primal recognition of what my most animalistic needs were. A mate to support me, to be my partner. What did politics and shared taste in music and all those stupid things that came up on dates have to do with finding a mate?
“I don’t have anything to offer you, so what’s your excuse?” I asked breathlessly. “What about me would have you wanting to be my mate?”
“You came out here and found me, didn’t you?” He leaned in and I felt the brush of his lips
at the back of my neck. The shudder from that ran down my spine, turning my knees to water. As if sensing my unsteadiness, his arm slid around my waist and hugged me back against his body. “Of all the other male wolves—or shifters of any breed—you came to me. You tracked me down even without knowing what you are.” His teeth delicately scraped against my skin, winning a soft moan from me. “I can only imagine how spectacular you’ll be when you really learn how to use that tracking instinct.”
It was difficult to even think of words, let alone say them. All I wanted to do was melt into his touch and forget the world. “I don’t think anyone’s ever called me spectacular before,” I breathed.
“Then no one’s ever looked at you the right way before.” He kissed at the back of my neck again and the hand that wasn’t holding me at the waist slid down my body. My breath froze as I felt his fingers brush against my thigh beneath the hem of the shirt, but they didn’t go any higher. It was a questioning touch, not pressing yet. Not unless I made my interest clear.
My heart was pounding hard and with my senses still heightened from shifting I could hear every beat clearly. I could hear his as well as it beat against my back. Steadier than mine, but not slow. My presence seemed to excite him too much for that. One of my hands slipped down my body to grasp his at my thigh, then gently guided it upwards.
He made a soft sound of approval as he kissed along the side of my neck and his fingers slid up the inside of my thigh. When they finally brushed against my curls, I had to lean back into him to stay on my feet. My free hand reached behind me to hold him at the back of the neck and I left my breath out in an explosive sigh.
“You feel so perfect,” he breathed into my ear as his fingers gently stroked along my outer lips. I felt as his middle finger pressed between them to delicately trace along my slick inner petals, then followed them up to circle around the little pearl at their apex. “I dreamed of finding a mate, but never imagine she’d be as perfect as you.”
“I’m not perfect,” I protested, my throat tight around the words. His finger lightly brushed against the center of my arousal again and I made a quiet, keening sound in spite of myself, rolling my hips forward into his touch.
“Shh.” He pressed a kiss where my neck and shoulder met, then scraped the soft skin with his teeth. “You’re perfect for me. I don’t care how the rest of the world sees you, so long as I have that.”
I wanted to argue, but it was impossible to do that when he was touching me. That solitary finger continued to stroke and tease around my clit as his others rubbed along my outer lips, every little brush stoking a fire within me hotter than any I could have imagined before. Finally a second finger joined the first and they both slid back and forth on either side of that little nub, gently pressing against it and occasionally brushing the sensitive skin directly. I was so tense that I ached as I moved to his touch instinctively, trying to direct his fingers to release my mounting need.
“Please, James.” My voice sounded strangled and an octave higher than normal to my ears as I forced the words out.
I wasn’t sure what I was begging for, but he seemed to figure it out just fine on his own. He adjusted his hand against me and then I felt his middle finger pressing inside of me. He pressed it in to the hilt, then drew back to begin thrusting slowly. As he did, he turned his thumb in to circle my clit in time with the thrusts. After a moment he drew his finger out, making me moan out a soft protest, but it was only to let a second finger join the first. It was tighter as he worked both of them in and he went more slowly for the moment, until they both were completely buried inside of me. At that, he curled them within me to rub against my inner walls in a come hither gesture, massaging there more than thrusting.
“Does this help?” His breath tickled at my ear before he caught my earlobe between his lips to tease it.
“Mmhmm.” I nodded somewhat jerkily, unable to give him much more of a response than that.
Those sweet fingers inside of me kept up their gentle onslaught, drawing me along slowly as his thumb never let up on its circles and strokes. Just as I began to writhe between his body and his hand, breathlessly trying to collect my thoughts enough to beg him again, he seemed to sense what I needed once again. He began thrusting faster, using the full length of his fingers on each stroke. His fingers were long and slightly work-roughened, but not too much thicker than my own. They were an artist’s fingers and there was no doubt in my mind in that moment that he was an artist at creating exquisite pleasure.
As the tension crested, I arched away from his body and into his hand with a cry. My hand clutched at the back of his neck, my nails digging into his skin there. Waves of pleasure washed over me as I felt the muscles deep within me fluttering around his fingers, grasping at them greedily. I trailed off into a soft whimper as I came down from the orgasm, but I didn’t come down very far. My body still hummed with need and each small brush of his touch had me shuddering anew.
His hand that had been at my waist moved up my body to touch my cheek, then gently turn my head so he could lean over my shoulder and brush his lips against mine. As he did that, I remembered the rabbit and my wild night. I couldn’t taste any lingering blood in my mouth, but I knew I hadn’t brushed my teeth and the thought disgusted me. I drew back from him with an apologetic look. He released me immediately, his own expression one of exasperated frustration.
“What is it now?” he asked.
“I feel kind of...gross,” I explained bashfully. “Could I use your bathroom to freshen up?”
The annoyance on his face washed away as he nodded, gesturing past me to another door. “It’s through there. I think I have a new toothbrush still in the packaging if you want to use that. Towels are in the closet. There’s a hair brush in the medicine cabinet. You should be able to find everything else easily enough.”
I gave him an uncertain smile, then stepped away to check out the bathroom. Once the door was shut behind me I leaned against it for a moment. The small separation from him was enough that my head could clear a bit of the lust that had been clouding it since he’d shown up, at least. I didn’t seem to have any control over myself when he was near. That would have been deeply embarrassing if not for the fact that he seemed to have the exact same problem. I found everything where he said it would be and checked my reflection in the mirror while I brushed out my massively snarled hair.
I expected to see some sort of magical transformation in my face with everything that was happening, but I looked the same as always. Thick brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin. I was a little on the short side and not especially skinny, but modest in my curves even so. Relatively ordinary, especially if I wasn’t wearing makeup or trying to do anything to dress up. I had once jokingly told a friend that I thought I looked like a featureless potato without makeup, but she had assured me that I didn’t. James hadn’t really said much about how I looked either way, though. Whatever it was that drew him to me wasn’t just about physical beauty. I shivered as I remembered the smouldering looks he’d given me, as if he was starving and I was the only thing that could possibly sate his hunger.
Chapter 5
I showered thoroughly, scrubbing at my body even though there wasn’t any blood or visible dirt on me. For a strange man who lived alone in the woods, he still had a well-stocked bathroom. It looked as if he had bought some toiletries in bulk, so that there were multiple toothbrushes, a few months’ worth of toothpaste, and things like that. One thing that struck me as odd was that while his shampoo, conditioner, and body wash were all luxurious quality, they had little in the way of scent. There were some natural scents from herbs used in the formulas, but none of them had any added perfumes. It just smelled clean. When I considered how nauseated I might feel over a lot of perfume with how sensitive my nose was at the moment, I appreciated his efforts at finding products as close to scentless as possible.
Once I had showered and brushed my teeth, I wrapped my hair up in a towel and pulled the flannel shirt back on, since
it was all I had to wear. I did wonder what had happened to my clothes, though. Did I strip them off at home and then shift or had I left them somewhere in the forest?
When I stepped out of the bathroom, James was nowhere to be found at first. I hunted around for him, catching fresh hints of his scent here and there but not yet used enough to such an ability to be able to track him down. Instead, I found him when I caught a glimpse of him through one of the living room windows.
He was standing out in front of the cabin, stripped to the waist while he painted on a canvas. He had an intense look of concentration on his face as he worked, though because of the angle I couldn’t see what he was painting. My eyes left the window to look around the interior of the cabin, noticing the various canvasses that were leaning against the walls anew. All of them had been turned so that the images on them weren’t visible. On the walls themselves, there weren’t any paintings at all. It seemed strange that someone who was apparently a painter wouldn’t want to actually look at any paintings.
I crossed over to where one of the canvasses was leaning and pulled it back so I could see what had been painted on it. A dark haired, dark eyed woman looked over her shoulder at me, surrounded by climbing roses. She was stunningly beautiful, like a forest nymph that had decided to reveal herself to the lucky viewer. I set the canvas back, then looked at another one. It was another woman of similar coloring with dark hair and pale skin. The features were similar as well, making me think it was a variation on the same model. In this one, she was laying in a pool, looking terribly lost. She was nude and her eyes were closed, bringing to mind similar paintings I had seen of Ophelia drowned from Hamlet. As I looked at each painting, I saw other myths or characters brought to life, all portrayed by the same model. She didn’t always look exactly the same, but there was clearly one specific figure who had inspired all of the paintings.
“Don’t look at those. They’re terrible.”
Chosen Mates (Beasts of the Bay Bundle) Page 21