by Morgan Hawke
She moved swiftly upward over rock and snow. Her muscles burned with the effort. Her time on the ship had held far too much inactivity. She was going to need to rest again. Dawn was only a few hours away, so finding a safe place to sleep through the day was probably a good idea. She could start out again at sunset.
Halfway up the mountain, among the cliff heights, she found a small opening in the rocks. The opening proved to be the mouth of a small tunnel. She squeezed into it and wove her way into the back, where she found a rather roomy cave. There wasn’t one speck of light, but her nose told her that a tiny runnel of water slid down one wall and a crack offered a draft for a small fire.
Perfect.
She shivered into her human form. Her breath steamed out and chill bumps washed across her naked skin. It was way too cold to play human, even with a fire. She hastily dragged her pack off her back and pulled out her sheepskin coat. Throwing it on the rocky floor, she slid back into her wolf form. Warm and comfy in her thick fur, she curled up, nose to tail, on the black fleece lining of the gray coat and promptly drifted into sleep.
Scrabbling among the rocks at the mouth of the cave’s tunnel jolted her out of a sound sleep and onto her paws. The fur along her back rose, and she snarled loudly. Whatever was trying to enter needed to get the hell back out or she would kill it and eat it.
Shifting stones betrayed that whatever had entered was moving deeper into the tunnel.
Her tall ears flicked forward, and her tail switched in annoyance. Just how stupid was this creature? Other than a bear, she was the biggest predator on the mountain. Her snarl should have given that away. She snarled again and gave it some serious volume.
It progressed closer.
She jolted, dancing back on her paws, thoroughly alarmed. Whatever it was, it wasn’t heeding her warnings. That meant it thought it could take her in a fight. What the hell thought it could take out a wolf? It couldn’t be a bear; a bear was too big to fit in the cave. It had to be her size or smaller. Was it insane?
Scent drifted into her section of the cave: wool, leather, dust, earth, old blood, and cold human.
A human? She sifted through the more subtle scents. The human was male, with silk, oil, steel, and gunpowder. A gun. She snarled in pure reaction. A stinking hunter? This high in the mountains in winter? The scent of oiled steel smelled small, like a pistol. What kind of idiot went into a wolf’s cave carrying only a pistol?
She crouched, her muscles bunching tight, in preparation for a lunge. If he wanted to kill her, he was in for a nasty shock. It took a hell of a lot more than a mere pistol shot to kill her. Her voice dropped to a deep, rumbling growl. Last chance to escape death, moron.
Light flared in the inky blackness of the cave.
She blinked and flinched back, but her growl remained.
A man with long straight silver-white hair, swathed in a bulky black wool coat, knelt at the tunnel’s exit with one gloved hand held palm up. A tiny ball of light floated above his hand—a ball of light that did not smell like fire.
Her ears flicked forward briefly. Light without heat?
He spoke in a language she didn’t know, but there was no mistaking his meaning. “Wolf.”
She curled back her lips and flattened her ears to her skull. Stupid human. What else did he think was growling, a bunny rabbit?
His eyes opened wide and reflected the light above his hand with an emerald-green shimmer.
Every hair on her body rose. This might look human, but it wasn’t human. Human eyes reflected red, like a rat’s, and they did not reflect easily.
The light rose from his palm, floating toward the cave’s low ceiling.
Her gaze followed the curious floating light.
The man smiled, showing long upper incisors and shorter lower ones, the teeth of a hunting predator.
Her gaze locked on the creature’s bared fangs. A deliberate challenge? Snarling in anger, she dropped to a crouch. Fine, die. She lunged, teeth bared to rip out his throat.
He caught her by the fur of her throat and was bowled over backward by the momentum of her charge. He snarled, baring his long teeth in her face.
She snarled right back, writhing in his grasp, snapping for his arms, his face, his throat, anything she could reach.
Twisting with incredible dexterity, he kept her fangs from his skin while holding her with ferocious strength.
She writhed and stretched her neck. Twisting suddenly, she sank long teeth into his forearm, tearing through the wool of his coat to reach flesh and blood. Got you!
He threw back his head and shouted in pain.
His blood filled her mouth, thick and hot—and nasty. It burned in her throat like whiskey. She pulled her fangs free but couldn’t escape the taste.
His black eyes wide, he stared straight into her eyes and shouted.
A black spike slammed into her mind and sizzled down her spine. She yelped in surprise and pulled back.
His fingers closed tight in her neck fur, holding her gaze locked to his. He spoke. She didn’t know his language, but the meaning was crystal clear. “Be still.”
Black pressure smothered her anger. Her growls stilled in her throat, and she froze, trembling.
He spoke again, his words an indistinguishable waterfall of liquid syllables, and yet she knew their meaning. “Your bite is deep, but my blood is strong, yes?” He sat up slowly, easing her back and off him while holding eye contact. Gripping her neck fur with one gloved hand, he stroked his other gloved hand down the silver fur of her shoulder. His voice dropped to a low croon. “Yes, wolf, be stilled. Be at ease.”
Languid ease infiltrated her mind and spread, making it hard to think, making it hard to stand upright. Off balance, she rocked on her paws.
“Yes, very good, you are a brave wolf.” He stroked her neck and shoulders with both hands. “Rest. Lie down, and sleep.”
Pressure increased on her mind. She wanted to rest. She wanted to lie down and sleep, just like he said. She stilled. Like he’d said? It was him; he was in her head! She jerked back.
“Wolf?” He caught her by the neck fur. “What disturbs you?” His narrowed gaze pierced into her mind, probing her thoughts with smoky black fingers.
She twisted sharply, fighting to break away, and a frightened whine escaped her throat. Get out! Get out of my head!
“What?” His silver brows rose and then dropped. “A wolf should not have such thoughts.”
She froze. He could hear her? He was listening to her thoughts?
His gaze focused. “Human intelligence? How is this?” His curiosity drove fingers of darkness deeper into her mind, questions looking for answers.
Panicked, she twisted her head to break eye contact. No, no, no! My secret!
“A secret!” He gripped her neck fur and fought to keep eye contact. “Tell me your secret!”
No! She reared up and back, dragging him with her.
“Yes!” He wrestled her to the cave floor and pinned her on her side, holding her down with his greater weight. He caught her long muzzle and forced her gaze to his. “Tell me now!”
A steel spike of power slammed through the center of her skull. She howled in agony—and changed.
Thorn snapped aware, naked and curled up on the icy stone floor. She shivered and opened her eyes.
The silver-haired man poised above her on his palms, framing her naked body with his. His expression was one of complete astonishment. His eyes narrowed, and his long teeth appeared. “Who has done this sorcery?”
She wrapped her arms about herself and trembled with cold and fear. He had forced her to change into her human form. Would he kill her now?
2
She shivered in the bitter cold and couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering.
“Glory to the night, you will freeze!” He jerked open his coat. Catching her shoulders, he pulled her up and into his lap, wrapping his coat closed around them both.
Thorn froze in surprise. What was this? He wasn’t goin
g to kill her?
His arms closed around her. “Be still.”
Thorn could feel the pressure of his mind on hers and didn’t bother to fight it. He wasn’t going to kill her, and that was all that mattered. She curled into his embrace, wrapping her arms around him. His body was not particularly warm against hers, but it was better than nothing. He smelled of wool and man and shadows. The shirt under her cheek went to his knees and was made of heavy silk. She could smell a small amount of dried blood on it. Her body heat filled his coat, and her shivering eased.
“You are warming, good.” Holding her close, he looked around. “Ah, a coat and a pack; yours, I assume?”
Thorn nodded.
“Good.” He inched forward, cradling her in his arms, and eased down. “The fleece will hold warmth.”
The softness of her sheepskin coat pressed against her back. His body draped atop hers, a heavy and solid blanket of flesh and muscle. His coat covered her past her feet. He was far broader and much taller.
He lifted onto his forearms and gazed down at her. “Where has your fear gone?”
Thorn stared up at him. Stupid question. If he was going to kill her, he wouldn’t have wrapped her in his coat to warm her.
“Very practical.” He smiled, carefully hiding his teeth. “And quite lovely.”
So was he. With wolf’s eyes she had not noticed that his mature face was one of carved beauty. She lifted her hand and pressed it to his cheek to explore the exquisite line of his jaw and throat. His skin was soft under her fingers.
He started and then smiled. “Ah, a sensualist.” He rubbed his cheek against her palm. “When I followed you, I did not know you would prove such a treasure.”
He’d followed her? Thorn frowned up at him. Was he out of his mind? What was he thinking, going into a cave with a wolf?
He smiled. “I was thinking to feed upon wolf, but I find myself hungering for wolf maiden.”
She frowned. He was still following her thoughts?
He brushed a stray hair from her brow. “Yes. You have tasted my blood. Your mind is open to mine.”
She froze. Wait a minute…did he say feed?
“Oh, yes.” He groaned and shifted his hips against hers. The length of his swelling erection pressed against her belly. “You shall satisfy my appetites most pleasantly.”
The heat of awakening lust coiled in her belly even as alarm washed through her. She did not want to get eaten! She twisted under him. If she could break loose, she could escape back into wolf fur.
“What is this?” He caught and pinned her hands above her head. “Now you are afraid?”
She snarled and bucked hard under him.
His legs closed tight around her, holding her firmly beneath him with an ease that was simply not possible for a normal man. “More wolf than maiden.”
She bared her teeth and snapped. If he did not let her go, she would take his throat!
He pulled his head back and scowled. “Be at ease, I do not intend your death. Have I not proved this already?”
She stilled. He had a point. She looked up at him in suspicion.
“Good.” He nodded, releasing her hands, and then shifted his hips, settling himself between her thighs. The rigid heat of his fabric-trapped shaft pressed against her bare and moist flesh.
Delight sparked from the friction of his trousers against her. She sucked in a breath.
He smiled and very deliberately rubbed against the softness of her core. “Ah, yes, very much a sensualist.”
She bit her lip against the heat throbbing in her flesh. She didn’t trust him. She didn’t know what he was or what he meant by “hungers” and “feeding.”
“My hunger?” He smiled. “Allow me…” He dropped his head, and his mouth opened on her bare breast. His lips claimed a nipple, and his tongue flicked the captured tip.
Heat speared straight down and clenched deliciously in her belly. She arched up toward his mouth, her lips opening on a moan. Oh, he meant lust, hungers of the flesh. This she understood.
He groaned and sucked hard on her breast. Yes, I hunger for your lust.
She blinked. Was that his thought? She could hear his thoughts?
As I hear yours. His hand slid between their bodies, and his fingers closed on her thigh. Open. He caught her nipple in his front teeth and tugged.
Fire burned from her nipple straight down to throb in her clit. She gasped and parted her thighs. She couldn’t help herself.
Yes…. He leaned back onto his side and pulled her with him, tugging her thigh over his hip. He raised his knee, spreading her and holding her open. He reached down to cup her feminine heat and then slid one finger along her moist folds.
She clutched at his shoulders and shifted against his fingers, rubbing her moistening flesh against his palm.
“Yes, yes…that is what I want.” His fingers played among her intimate folds, lightly stroking the tiny sensitive nub, encouraging her body into bucking response until her cream slicked his fingers. He flashed a smile. “Excellent.” He insinuated a finger deep into her, found something deep within, and flicked.
She jolted under his touch and writhed in delight. It had been too long since she had played with a skilled lover. She dug under his shirt to sweep her hands across his muscular chest. She found his hard nipples and rubbed her palms against them.
He groaned. “Now I am being seduced!”
She smiled. Did he think he was the only one with skills?
“Ah, a challenge.” He flashed a brief smile and lowered his head to scrape his sharp, overlong teeth along her breast, his tongue following the path of his teeth.
She moaned. The light sharp pricks of his fangs and the delicious wet velvet of his tongue added to the delight of his fingers, coiling into a lascivious trembling pleasure just shy of ecstasy. She bucked against his hand and released a soft cry, begging for the release that was so close.
He lifted his head from her breast to catch her gaze. He pressed her onto her back, his hips cradled between her spread thighs. Staring straight into her eyes, he lowered his head.
She raised her chin, offering her lips.
His mouth took hers, his tongue surging in to take possession. Propped up on one forearm, he slid his other hand down her waist and over her hips in a long caress.
She sucked and nipped on his tongue. He tasted of fresh water, strongly aroused male, and, oddly, of blood. There was another more subtle flavor beneath it, something dark and dangerous. She found it painfully exciting. Her tongue found a long fang, and she explored carefully.
He groaned, and his hand moved between them. He jerked at himself and grunted. The hot length of his extremely rigid cock pressed against her soft belly. He lifted his mouth from hers and centered his cock at the moist entrance to her body. Heat and intent narrowed his gaze. “I am going to take you.”
She nearly grinned. “If you don’t, I’m going to take you instead!”
He blinked, startled. “Oh, you are American, yes?” He spoke in heavily accented but perfectly understandable English.
Her mouth opened in surprise. “Yes.”
“You are very far from your home.” He nodded, clearly pleased. “Very good.”
Her brows shot up. “Very good?”
Coiling one arm under hers, he grasped her shoulder from underneath, rose over her, and smiled. “Yes, very good for me.” He thrust, with power.
His cock speared into her with a strength she hadn’t encountered before, striking something deep within. Pleasure slammed her with a hammer’s blow. She arched and gasped. “God!” She clutched him under his shirt and dug her fingers into his bare back. “More!”
He flashed a broad smile and slid his hand under her to cup her ass. “Very good.” He thrust again.
She cried out and bucked under him in response without bothering to hold back.
He gasped, and his fingers tightened on her shoulder. “Night! You have strength!” His other hand closed on her ass, his fingers digging i
n. “Very good, very much a pleasure for me.” He ground his rigid cock into her.
She grinned and rolled up under him. “A pleasure for me, too. Finally a man I can’t break.”
He licked his lips, and his eyes narrowed. “Oh, I will not…break.” He tightened his grip on her ass and slammed into her with a thoroughly male grunt, then again, and again….
She wrapped her legs around his hips, bucking violently under him, matching him stroke for stroke, and moaning in greedy delight.
His face a tight mask of concentration and hunger, he groaned and thrust, fucking her brutally and without reservation.
She replied with ferocious counterthrusts. Sliding her hand down and into his loosened pants, she felt the muscles of his ass flexing under her palm and dug in her fingers to encourage him.
He responded with swifter thrusts and soft groans.
The sounds of damp flesh striking damp flesh filled the cave, underscored by masculine grunts and soft feminine cries. The raw scent of sweat and lust thickened the air.
She writhed under him, his hard thrusts delivering lightning flashes of pleasure. Erotic tension coiled tight in her belly. She was going to come, and come hard.
His mouth dropped to her throat, and his tongue made exciting wet swirls against her pulse. His hand slid down from under her shoulder and came around to close on her breast. He trapped her nipple between thumb and forefinger and squeezed with ruthless strength.
The bright stab of delight from her nipple jolted her clit hard. Her breath stopped, and she trembled uncontrollably, balancing on the edge of the abyss.
He reached under to cup her ass with both hands. “Come for me!” He slammed into her. “Now!” He thrust again.
Release struck, burning up her spine to explode in the back of her skull. Drowning under a molten wave of carnal euphoria, she threw back her head and howled, bucking wildly.
Holding her tight and riding her frantic body, he sank his teeth into the side of her throat.
The bright hot pain of his bite slammed her back up and over into a second violent climax. She clawed at his back and shrieked.