Wolf Line: Granite Lake Wolves, Book 5

by Vivian Arend

  No. She wasn’t even going to think it. She wasn’t. It was bad enough to wonder how they would manage everything else, like where to live and meeting each other’s families, and which pack to join and what all, without also speculating if her mate was used to spending time behind bars.

  Keri screwed up her courage and knocked loudly.

  When there was no answer, she glanced both directions down the hallway then used her pass card and slipped into his room.

  First impression—her knees nearly gave way as his scent hit her fully for the first time in days. The lingering aroma made her mouth water, and all her beaten-down lusts sprang up with an energizer-bunny enthusiasm.

  She clung to the wall and closed her eyes as she brought her body back under control. This exploration of his room was for not only their sakes as future partners, but Tessa’s as well. If Mark was stealing, she could replace the items as soon as possible, and they could move on from here. She’d tie his ass to the bed for the duration of the trip if she had to—and didn’t that lovely mental image bring on more hot flashes—but she’d keep him out of jail and allow the cruise to finish up positively.

  It took a moment, but Keri pulled it together. Surprisingly, it was her wolf who provided the strength she needed. The beast was chomping at the bit to get out, but instead of frustration the strongest sensation was approval. A sense of peace poured from the beast at being enveloped with her mate’s scent. Keri breathed out slowly, and her wolf rumbled in satisfaction, content for the first time in days.

  Like she was waiting.

  Keri shook her head. Being a shifter was cool, but confusing. The wolf was her, and she was the wolf, but there were times the lupine side made no sense to the human brain.

  A quick peek around the room showed nothing unusual, so Keri moved to explore more thoroughly. She opened the closet, surprised to find how little clothing hung there. The green Crocs she’d seen him wear were on the floor next to a brand-new gym bag. The threadbare jeans he’d looked so yummy in that first day hung next to a shirt. A price tag from the ship’s shop dangled from the sleeve.

  There was nothing else. No coat, no extra clothing. Keri opened dresser drawers and found a couple packages of underwear, a package of socks and a T-shirt, also tagged from the onboard store. The receipt lay next to them, and she looked closer at the sale items listed.

  One pair of pants, the shirt, a pair of runners. Toothpaste and toothbrush. Package of razors. Shampoo and soap. A gym bag.

  Had he not brought a single thing onto the ship with him?

  She remembered the running man back on the dockside, and once again considered if Mark could have been him. But why had he stayed on the ship?

  The lack of clothing was suspicious, but as she searched further, there were no signs of any jewelry. Nothing hidden anywhere—with so little in the room that detail was simple enough to ascertain.

  He wasn’t the thief, or he’d hidden the items elsewhere. Regardless, there was something fishy going on.

  Keri looked longingly at the bed. The sheets were rumpled, his half-assed attempt at straightening the covers leaving it borderline messy. She gave into her longings and ditched her shoes. Her own scent was everywhere so he would already know she’d been in his quarters. Maybe a clear message would be enough to make him smarten up if he was involved in something illegal. A “don’t look now, but I’m watching you” message.

  Oh, bullshit. She wasn’t trying to pass on any warning, she just wanted to root around in his bed for a minute to drive herself crazy. She crawled under the top sheet and pulled it over her head, surrounding herself in his scent like a kid diving into a swimming pool. The itching, aching, pulsing need of her wolf soothed and heated at the same time. She needed to have him come and strip her down. To bury his face between her legs and lick her until she screamed. Needed to feel him mount over her and take her, to feel his teeth sink into her flesh as he claimed her.

  Keri let the sensation overwhelm her as she lay panting with desire. Only one minute more, then she’d pull herself away and get on with her search for the thief.

  Jared cursed as he attempted to wiggle farther under the sink. Stupid cruise ships with their teeny tiny bathrooms. Stupid fucking cruise ships with their never-ending list of maintenance jobs, of which he seemed to get all the shitty ones—and he knew exactly who to thank for that.

  Three days. He’d been stuck on this ship for three bloody days, and so far there hadn’t been any decent chance for him to escape.

  The first time they’d made port he’d been tangled up with another couple of the crew repairing the pumps on the swimming pool, which luckily he knew how to fix. Unluckily, he was the only one who did, so it wasn’t as if he could abandon the other guys and flee to shore. Even though it was tempting to escape and book a ride back to Haines on a speedboat—heck, he’d buy himself a boat to get home if he had to—the others in maintenance were on the ship for a real job. They needed the money, and he wasn’t going to make them lose needed wages.

  His damn martyr complex had turned this accidental excursion into a hell of a lot more work than he’d done for years. Coupled with the fact he’d rubbed Chad’s ass the wrong way that first day…

  Yeah, the ability to make friends and influence people, he had it. His parents always warned him that his quirky sense of humour was going to get him in trouble someday, and it seemed someday had arrived. Chad escorted him to the dirtiest jobs and subtly gloated how if Mark was fortunate and worked hard, maybe someday he too could be one of the upper class and not the slave labour.

  Jared wanted to buy the bloody cruise ship and shove it up Chad’s upper-class ass.

  So now they were on day four, nearly halfway through the cruise, and he wondered if it was even worth trying to ditch the ship. The work sucked, he missed his coffee maker, but if he left, there was another concern to think about, also involving Chad.

  Keri.

  He’d watched her from a distance when he could. Which was creepy as all get out in a way, and not totally his idea. He was uneasy about Keri, and making sure there was nothing bad going on with Chad was important. But more than that, stalking her in his few spare moments was the only way he could make his wolf happy enough to get any rest at all. The creature was insistent they go drop in on the woman. Maybe shred a few layers of clothing off her body. Put a real smile on her face—and his wolf had resorted to making the images popping to mind as specific as possible, which was totally dirty pool on the beast’s part.

  His wolf wanted the woman, or more correctly the woman’s wolf, with something close to obsession.

  Keri wasn’t happy. When she smiled, it never reached her eyes. And while he hadn’t been around all the time, he’d seen enough to notice that the few times he’d had her under observation, she’d ducked away from Chad like he was bad business.

  Had they had a lovers’ spat?

  Jared didn’t trust the guy. Seemed the type to take things out on a girl to get what he wanted.

  There was nothing to be done about it now but wait out the rest of the voyage. At least he was due some time off—the schedule clearly put him free for the rest of the day after he finished this job. Even slave master Chad couldn’t change the master calendar without approval and paying overtime. Which the asshole wouldn’t do because Jared suspected the extra cash would be considered a wonderful thing.

  Jared cranked the wrench a little harder. Yup. This afternoon he was going to go find a quiet place on deck and suntan. Sleep. Maybe buy a beer and chill…

  Ah, who was he kidding? He was going to have a shower, jerk off—again, then find Keri and try to silently follow her. Again.

  Obsessed. It wasn’t just the beast who had it bad.

  He tightened the bolt one more time, and the upper arm of the pipes broke apart, cold water spraying everywhere. A shot struck him directly in the eyes, and he grasped blindly for the water shut-off.

  By the time he’d managed to stop the spray, he was soaked, and h
is only moderately dry item, his work pants, he used on the puddle at his feet. Jared sat forlornly on the floor, wishing he was five and could enjoy a good pout. Damn cruise ship. Damn water taps.

  He chuckled. Poor baby Jared. He snapped himself out of his funk, sopped up the floor and put things into place the best he could before using his walkie-talkie.

  “Sorry, guys, the master line snapped. Someone needs to bring extra parts to replace it.”

  One of the team he’d worked with earlier responded quickly. “I can finish it up for you. It’s your afternoon off. Which room you in?”

  Jared told him then looked down at himself. “If I leave my wet stuff here, can you take it for me?”

  His co-worker laughed. “You did that good a job, did you? No worries. I’ll bring a cart with me to clean up. I’ll hang your things in the staff-room bath.”

  “Awesome. I’m heading back to my quarters for dry gear. I don’t think the passengers would appreciate seeing me streaking with a pile of dripping clothing soaking the carpets in my wake.”

  “Yeah, the carpets would be tough to explain to management.”

  Jared tucked his wet things into the tub before shifting to wolf. He could probably have walked the halls naked—most shifters were pretty cool about stuff like that—but he wasn’t sure of the exact rules regarding crew and passengers, and at this point, it wasn’t as if he wanted any extra attention his direction. Walking in his wolf form? No one would take a second glance.

  He grabbed his work belt in his mouth. That was the one item he couldn’t afford to leave behind. Chad would probably charge him triple to replace it if anything went missing. It wasn’t the money; it was the gloating Jared couldn’t stand to anticipate.

  He got himself out of the room and trotted downward, taking the stairs, slipping past the restaurants and games rooms. Something wonderful was being cooked for lunch, and he paused to enjoy the rich aroma on the air.

  Hmmm. Dry clothes, lunch, then stalking.

  With his entire afternoon schedule planned, he resumed the trip into the depths of the ship and his cabin. The wonderful smell of lunch faded, only to be replaced by something else even more mouthwatering. Jared sped up, the tools in his belt jingling as he trotted forward, following the most incredible scent he’d ever experienced. It made his fur stand on end and all kind of happy little pheromones leap to life.

  Every step increased his need. His eagerness to discover what exactly was before him drove him to a near run. He only slowed enough to stop the tools from shaking free from the tool belt and smacking him in the face.

  Incredibly, the trail of scent led directly to his cabin door. He lowered himself to the floor and sniffed cautiously. A cloud of the most potent aphrodisiac surrounded him, and he barely contained his howl of delight.

  His mate?

  Was that scent tantalizing him really his mate?

  His wolf side roared to life and urged him to get his ass in gear. He shifted back to human, and his ability to smell cut off abruptly, as usual. The lack of olfactory input in this form allowed him to control his hands enough to sneak his room card from his tool belt and undo the lock.

  Jared pushed the heavy door open and stared into Keri’s wide eyes as she sat in the middle of his bed, tangled in the sheets.

  Chapter Five

  Her tongue wasn’t where it was supposed to be.

  In the five seconds since the door had begun to open—heart-attack type symptoms electrifying her body as she sprang up to face whoever was about to discover her doing unexplainable things to a crew member’s bed—she had opened her mouth to scream then stopped when her mate’s now-familiar face came into view.

  Something still felt odd. Her brain seemed to bubble and froth until comprehension finally sank in. Her tongue? She must have swallowed it. There certainly was something stuck in her throat as he stood with one arm holding the door open, his naked body framed in the opening like an erotic work of art.

  Naked. Oh my.

  She started at his toes and worked her way up. While he’d been impressive in his jeans, he did naked even better. There was an incredible look to a naked wolf—the cut of their muscles slightly sharper than cat or bear shifters. And my, oh my, she was appreciative of all his muscles. Fixated on them, in fact. Engrossed in the way his thigh muscles flexed as he stepped into the room. Her gaze trickled upward, and that damn tongue stuck in her throat got in the way again as she attempted to swallow. He was…more than sufficient above the thighs as well.

  A sharp cough sounded at the same moment the door clicked shut.

  She was mesmerized, staring at his groin.

  Oh my, oh my, oh my.

  Muscles flexed again as he knelt, his head replacing the level her eyes were stuck at. When his smile flashed into view, the constriction around her throat eased slightly.

  “Hi.” The word squeaked out. One word seemed to be her maximum output right now.

  His grin widened. “This is the kind of room service I’ve been longing for. But if you don’t mind…I have one thing I need to double-check.”

  She watched in confusion as he placed a tool belt—why is he naked, but carrying a tool belt?—on the side table beside the bed. Then he shifted into his wolf and leapt up next to her.

  He was dark grey, lean in his body with beautiful markings on his chest. He brushed his soft fur against her arm, and she moved to give him more room. When he stuck his muzzle next to her ear and took a deep breath, her own wolf shivered mightily.

  At this point she didn’t care what he was double-checking as long as it involved him shifting back soon and doing her hard and fast. All thoughts of holding out any longer were tossed out the small porthole window. He was her mate, she was in his bed, and damn the consequences. Thievery, cruises, best friends. All of the details of her human concerns evaporated, replaced with a hunger that was mostly animalistic.

  She grabbed the bottom of her T-shirt and stripped it off. By the time she’d wiggled out of her jeans, he’d shifted back, his sexy grin settling into something between astonishment and violent hunger.

  “You’re my mate.” The wonder in his voice made her smile.

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” He cupped her face, his thumb stroking her cheek.

  Keri paused. “You didn’t know?”

  His gaze dropped to her mouth. “I know now.”

  He leaned closer, just a tiny bit, and Keri’s heart flipped. The brush of air from his lips caressed past like a butterfly wing a split second before they made contact.

  Sticking a finger into an electric socket would be boring from now on. Not that she often played with electricity, but those old cartoons flashing every bone highlighted when… She lost her train of thought as his tongue slicked over her bottom lip.

  She melted into a happy puddle of puddleness, catching hold of his shoulders and pulling him over her, mouths staying in contact. She shook with need, but he pinned her with his weight and held her in place, one hand still cupping her face and restraining her as he kissed her senseless.

  Tongue. Teeth. Lips. Air. It was all a tangle of sensation and yearning, and there was nothing she wanted more at this moment than to kiss him forever. Between her legs a heavy ache pulsed, but even that could be ignored for a minute because kissing her mate was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.

  Climaxes? Wild sexual romps? She was a wolf and had had her fair share over the years, but those experiences blurred into some half-forgotten story—like the assigned reading she had of Moby Dick during school. It was about someone chasing something and there was a harpoon involved, but the rest of the details were fuzzy.

  He rolled onto his back and dragged her over him. Suddenly she was reading the freaking Coles Notes and it all made sense, especially the harpoon bit. Another slide of his tongue followed. His fingers braided through her hair as he tugged and arranged her to his liking.

  Her thighs straddled his waist, his erection solid against he
r belly, and the tingles shot harder. Keri planted one hand on either side of his head and forced her lips away from his. The light in his eyes was to die for.

  “Hi.” His gaze dropped to her lips and he outlined them again. “You taste good.”

  A growl broke loose unintentionally and his grin widened.

  Yeah, the slow was nice, but she wanted more than nice. She wanted some screaming and stomping and…

  She leaned down and kissed his neck, and this time he was the one who rumbled. She nipped lightly, and he snapped upright a foot, strong abdominal muscles under her shooting them both vertical. “Oh God, woman. You ready for this?”

  “For my mate?” Keri’s brain wasn’t attached to anything but the sensual points of her body. “Is anyone? You worried?”

  “No. I’m yours, you’re mine. I’m free and clear, and well over twenty-one and if I’m not inside you in about thirty seconds I’m going to die.” He followed up by digging his teeth into her neck and pinning her in place while he stripped off her bra.

  Thirty seconds were going to be far too long,

  “I’m yours. I know you thought—” Oh hell, he ripped her panties apart at the hip, and suddenly explaining that Chad wasn’t really a boyfriend slipped off the agenda and flashed to ashes faster than taking a blow torch to a scrap of floss.

  Keri lifted her hips, and her mate brushed his fingers along her sex and dipped in. When he circled her clit, as if he was going to get her off first, she took matters into her own hands, grasped his erect cock and pressed the wide head between her folds.

  “Argggh” or something close to it escaped his lips.

  Keri planted her hands on his shoulders and stared into his eyes as she sank and joined them together.

  Full, stretched, expanding to fill not only her body but to wrap around her soul and fill her there as well. It was a rush and a thrill and just the way it could be with wolves, and heck if she was going to complain things were happening too fast. She lifted and lowered once before he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her madly again.