Caleb's nostrils flared. “His stench is all over you and it's pissing me off.”
She opened her mouth to retort and his head descended, covering her lips with his own. His tongue shoved past shocked lips and delved in her moist mouth. A wave of heat exploded from her mouth to sizzle every nerve ending and she clutched her hands into fists to stop the instinctual urge to wrap them around his neck and hold him close. She remained frozen, an ice maiden, intent on rejecting his touch…for the first few seconds anyway. Then she melted.
Caleb tunneled one hand into her hair, tilting her head for a better angle. God, he tasted so good. Better than she could have imagined, and she had quite an imagination. His lips were soft, his tongue rough and the opposing textures were enthralling. She swallowed his groan, felt his hand on her ass as he pressed her closer. Her breasts flattened against his chest and his erection pushed into the valley between her thighs. Then his hips rocked and he thrust.
Tess couldn't stop the moan of need that left her throat, didn't stop her arms from wrapping around his neck. She arched her hips in blatant invitation, seeking relief from the new rush of arousal clinging to her thighs.
Suddenly Caleb gripped her hips and set her on the counter. A clatter followed and was ignored as he pushed her knees apart and stepped between them.
Madness had overtaken her. His strength enveloped her. That enticing scent of his invaded every pore and made her head swirl with desire. The crushing need to be filled by him, to be possessed, claimed even, made her oblivious to everything else. She didn't care where they were, couldn't give a damn that they weren't alone in the house. She only knew she wanted more.
Under her ragged gasps of need, Tess vaguely heard her mother voice calling her name on the intercom. Caleb must have heard at the same time as he slowly withdrew his mouth from her clinging lips and pulled back…
Tess's eyes opened, glazed and full of dark desire, and not a little alarm. Caleb groaned and buried his face in the warmth of her neck.
“Tess? Are you okay?”
Shaken, she fumbled for the respond button. “I'm fine, mom.” Her voice was embarrassingly husky and she took a moment to clear it. “I just knocked some stuff over on the counter. I'll come see you once I clean up.”
“All right, dear. Thank you for bringing her home safe, Caleb. You know how a mother worries.”
Caleb's fingers clenched on Tess's hips and she could have sworn his lips curved into a smile against her heated flesh. Then he pulled back and stared into her eyes. “It was my pleasure, Ruth. You have a good night.”
“Good night, Caleb, and be safe out there! It said on the news it might sleet tonight.”
“Yes ma'am, I will. Thank you.”
The intercom went dead and Caleb laid his forehead on hers. “I swear your mother has a sixth sense.”
Tess struggled for composure. “She always did seem to know when Kaylie or I were doing something wrong.”
He ran his hand over her hair, sliding his fingers in the silky tresses. “Her surgery's Wednesday, right?”
She felt so damn cozy, sleepy, and yes horny, she didn't want to move. “Yes.”
“Do you need a ride?”
Tess blinked up at him. “Ah, no, thanks. I've got it covered.”
His nostrils flared and something flashed in his eyes. Several heartbeats passed as Caleb seemed to get himself under control. “Your sister can't make it back?”
Confused by his casual questioning – didn't he just have his tongue down her throat a minute ago? – it took Tess a few seconds to respond. “Kaylie is taking her final exams and can't make it back until late next week, though she's making a nuisance of herself by calling every day. Just because she's going to school to become a veterinarian, she thinks she knows regular medicine, too..”
“She's a good kid.”
“Mmm. Look. Thanks again for the ride home, but I'm too tired to talk so, good night.” She tried to brush him off.
Caleb leaned down, his warm breath whispered over her lips making her head swim. “Is that what we were doing? Talking?”
Heat flushed her face at his words and she shoved her hands onto Caleb's chest and pushed. When he moved back she jumped to her feet and stepped away, putting distance between their bodies. “Yes,” she hissed. “Anything else was a mistake and will not happen again.”
He snagged her hand, tugging it behind her back as he pulled her hard against him. His free hand moved to touch her jaw. “Not only will it happen again, it will happen quite often, so get used to it.”
She ignored the little happy dance her heart started doing. “Are you insane?”
“No.” He let out a chuckle. “Just giving you fair warning, sweet.”
“Fair warning? Of what?”
He nipped her bottom lip. “Of claiming you for my mate. Now I have to go make sure West didn't drive himself into a ditch again.”
Caleb kissed her again, his lips hard against her open mouth. Then he swiveled on his booted heel and stalked out of the room, leaving Tess to gape after him.
Chapter Three
Once she put away the dishes scattered in the drying rack she'd bumped into, Tess trudged up the stairs to her mom's room. With a quick grin to hide the irritation left behind from Caleb's declaration, she settled on the bed, legs crossed, and simply looked at the amazing woman who'd given her life. But did said woman want to talk about her upcoming surgery? Nope. Ruth started in on Tess, with all the love and confusion she'd always shown her oldest daughter.
“So you left with Matt and came home with Caleb. Did something happen?”
Tess's lips turned down. “Nothing other than my own stupidity.”
“Would you like to explain that comment?” Ruth asked with a raised brow.
“Not really.” Tess's shoulders slumped.
“Well I for one am glad that Caleb brought you home. I've never forgiven Matt for hurting you when you two dated in high school. And since then, he's grown into such a reckless young man.” Ruth turned a hard stare at her daughter. “His behavior is so at odds with his father's loving nature that one could swear Charles didn't sire him.”
“He didn't. I don't know if Matt even knows who is father is.” Tess answered on auto pilot, thinking more about Caleb then actually listening to her mother.
Ruth clapped her hands startlingly Tess. “I knew it!”
“Uh?” Tess shook her head and focused. “What do you mean?”
“It's the eyes. The color is very distinctive and he looks so much like…”
When her mom paused, Tess leaned in and whispered, “Who?’
But Ruth only shook her head. “It's only a guess and I'll not say anything more as I don't want to influence your thinking. Besides, if you haven't seen the man I believe to be Matt's biological father, you will soon.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” Tess never could resist a puzzle.
Her mom shook her head. “Not saying anything more about the subject. Though I would like to know if Matt's cruelty had anything to do with you going all the way to New York for college.”
Tess leaned back against the headboard and closed her eyes. This wasn't a new discussion. “No, Mom. It was one of the schools that offered me a partial scholarship.”
“And?’ Ruth prompted.
“And I didn't want to end up with someone like Dad.” Agitated, Tess hopped off the bed and began to pace the room.
“A shifter you mean.”
Tess waved a hand in the air. “Yes, a shifter. A domineering, arrogant and paranoid shifter. Seriously, Mom. What kind of man has a house built that contains a secret entrance?”
Ruth answered with slow deliberation. “The kind of man who had his entire family burned alive in their home during the Pack Wars.”
“Exactly. As awful as that was for Dad, and no matter how bad I feel for the plight of the shifter race, I don't want to have anything to do with that dangerous world. I wanted a normal life. Not one full of fur and fangs.”
Ruth frowned. “And you considered modeling a ”normal” world? I take it you never came across a male who turned into a beast because of stupidity, drink or possessiveness?” Ruth's voice was quiet and calm, her words hitting a little too close to the truth.
“More than one,” Tess muttered under her breath. Turning, she crossed her arms over her chest in defense. “But that's different. At least those men were human and only looking to get laid. With shifters, it's a life long commitment of being a broodmare. And that's if the woman is unlucky enough to have the compatible genes to carry shifter cubs. If not, she gets dumped at the first sniff of a woman who is, just like Dad did to you. One situation is a rock and the other is a hard place.”
Her arms waved in agitation as she continued. “As the daughter of a wolf, odds are that I carry the right DNA to be a mate. As I find that particular ritual or process or whatever it is both mentally and physically abusive to females, I didn't want to stick around a known canine territory just in case my “mate” happened along and tried to claim me.”
Ruth rolled her eyes. “The odds have nothing to do with it, Tess. Any fertile female could provide a shifter with a child.” She held up a hand to forestall her daughter's irate comment. “While it's true that only a small percentage, whether she be half-wolf or completely human, could give birth to males that can actually change, it really boils down to chemistry, compatibility and fate. I don't understand where on earth you came up with those crazy notions, but it's no different than in the human world and you know it. If the physical, mental or emotional attachments aren't there or they fizzle out, the relationship will not last, period.”
She paused, as if mulling over a new train of thought.. “It appears you and one extremely handsome sheriff have some serious chemistry going on.”. I've never seen him act around another woman the way he does you which makes me guess you are his true mate. That means more than just having compatible DNA, Tess.” Ruth shook her head. “I don't understand why you are fretting. You'll be well taken care of…”
Tess threw up her hands, interrupting the lecture. “Like Dad took care of you? He left you after eight years of marriage. Like a damn dog in heat, he took one whiff of that woman at that business convention and left you high and dry.”
Ruth's eyes narrowed in a rare display of temper “What happened between your father and me was no different than a divorce between two full-blooded humans. He also didn't leave me high and dry, Tess, and you know it. He paid child support and alimony and helped out whenever needed. You and Kaylie saw him two weeks every year in the summer and he always remembered birthdays and Christmas.” She pointed a finger at her daughter.. “It was different with your father and me. You can do the math, Tess. I was pregnant before we got married. He didn't have to tie himself to me. That's not their way, but he did the honorable thing and we made the most of what we had.” She clenched her hands into fists and laid them over her heart. “You take what you're given and run with it. If I had turned my back on the chance with your father, than, yes, I would have you, but I wouldn't have Kaylie. And as much as you two nitter at each other, I would never wish that.”
Feeling like a petulant child - no one laid guilt with so much subtle panache as her mother - Tess kicked a leg of the dresser. “Yeah, well I don't want to be taken care of. I can do that myself and have done so for a long time now.”
“But you're not happy.” It wasn't a question.
“I…” Tess dragged her hands through her dark blonde hair. “I don't know what I am.”
“He could make you happy if you gave it a chance.”
There was that word again. Chance. And dating a shifter was a chance she was not going to take. The repercussions went against everything she'd fought for. She placed her hands on her hips and faced her mom. “He'd have me popping out kids left and right. How is that supposed to make me happy?”
“Then I guess it's the wrong time to tell you that wolves are fabulous lovers,” Ruth said unrepentantly and with a sly twitch to her lips.
“Mom!”
Her mother let out a bubble of laughter. . “Oh Tess, honey. Marriage, even to a wolf, is more than having babies. And babies are a blessing, not something to fear or regret. Besides.” Ruth dropped her eyes, hiding the sparkling mischief in them as she ran a hand slowly over the bed cover in a feeble manner. “I would like to hold my grandchild before I die.”
Tess pointed a finger at the wily woman. “Don't start. It won't work.”
Once again using silence as a weapon, Ruth kept her face averted even as Tess came up to the bed and crouched down beside her. “Mom?”
“I'm not getting any younger you know.”
Tess picked up her mom's hand, noting the dark spots and the ravages of arthritis. Her heart stuttered in her chest. Her mom had aged behind her back. The reality hit hard and fast. “Are you worried about the surgery?”
Ruth shrugged. “The doctors will be going into my femoral artery, through my body and into my brain. What's not to worry about?”
Tears prickled Tess's eyes. She wrapped her arms around her mom and hugged her close, pressing her check to the older woman's hair. “It will be all right. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Ruth said, hugging her daughter back.
Chapter Four
Wednesday morning broke much too soon and much too cold. After a quick shower and brief check to make sure her mom was up and ready to go, Tess stumbled outside to warm up her truck.
As the sun had yet to climb over the mountain peaks, and still half-asleep despite the two cups of coffee she'd downed, it took Tess a few moments to realize a large SUV sat idling behind her own vehicle. She felt her body go on full alert as Caleb strode toward her, decked in leg-hugging jeans and a dark brown long-sleeve pullover that molded over the muscles of his chest and arms. She frowned as her hormones succumbed to all that masculine potency striding her way. This would not do. Didn't she have a serious talk with herself last night? And the day before? And the day before that? “What are you doing here?”
Caleb only raised a brow at the accusatory tone. “I'm your chauffer for the day. My truck is already warm and from the look of you, you aren't awake enough for the hour drive to the hospital.”
When she only glared at him he added, “Just doing my duty to keep the roads safe, ma'am. What would people say if I, the town sheriff, allowed an inebriated woman to drive?”
She remained immobile as he deftly plucked the two bags from her shoulders and stowed them in the rear of his Tahoe. “It's not an hour away,” she grouched, “and I'm not inebriated.”
“Reflexes and comprehension are just as slow when you're tired as when you've had a few drinks.” He touched a surprisingly warm finger to her cold cheek and lowered his voice. “I want to do this. And I'm not the only one.”
He looked over his shoulder and bewildered, Tess stepped aside his large frame to squint at an approaching vehicle. Recognizing the old orange truck as belonging to Jackie Reynolds, her mom's best friend, she relaxed. Behind them came another pair of headlights, though the morning light was still too dim for Tess to make out who was in the second vehicle.
Cold but curiously at ease, she wrapped her arms around her middle for warmth and rocked back on her heels, right into a hard chest. Instantly she stiffened. Strong arms crossed over hers and pulled her gently back, enveloping her in Caleb's enticing scent and sultry heat. All too aware of the cozy picture they made, Tess attempted pull away. Caleb only tightened his hold. “Let go. People will think there's something between us.”
“There is something between us.” His voice brushed over her like hot fudge, warm, thick and enticing. Lips nipped at her ear and his erection nudged her ass, turning her tummy to jelly. A slow burn sparked through her and she clenched her thighs in reaction. “But right now I'm only keeping you warm. What were you thinking, coming out here without a coat?”
Momentarily lured by the heat and rich male musk of desire, she snuggled in and closed he
r eyes, giving rein to his seductive touch and her own arousal. The urge to turn and curl in his arms grew exponentially. To give up all control and place her life in the hands of this gorgeous shifter whose arms wrapped her in a cocoon of warmth.
But she didn't trust easily and her control was slipping to dangerously low levels. Then his thumbs slid under her sweater to idly caress bare flesh, and she inhaled deep, struggling to maintain that control.
Maybe non-existence levels was more apt.
Between worrying for her mom and this outrageous physical response to Caleb, the ability to mask her natural responses deteriorated with every passing day.
Knowing her camouflage of cool indifference was in danger of splintering wide open, she straightened. “I was thinking I was only going to start the truck, not entertain for an impromptu party.”
She felt his lips curve down in displeasure. “It's not a party,” he drawled, his large hands gripping her hips and giving her a small shake. “It's support. For your mom.” He placed a kiss on her temple with a tenderness that belied his irritation and made her knees wobble. “And for you.”
Tess frowned, not comprehending. She could take care of herself and her mom. What was the deal with people? She was just driving her mother to a hospital for God's sake. Where her mom was having something akin to brain surgery. And where Tess would wait alone for hours. By herself. Alone with nothing but her terrified thoughts and endless worry.
The dots clicked together and she sagged into Caleb's strong arms. God, she was an idiot, not to mention a world-class bitch. Maybe the years away had beaten it out of her, the compassion, the caring of a close-knit community. She'd thought it quaint remembrance at first and later figured she recalled Woodcliff through a child's rosy outlook. At any rate, right now, standing in the dusky shadows created by the early hour while the cold air threatened to turn her face and hands blue, she realized it was neither. It simply was. The bonds of a small town that created deep affection between honest, hard-working people who looked out for one another, regardless of the day, night or distance.
Shifting Positions Page 2