Rescued by the Wolf (A BBW Shifter Romance)

by Marie Mason

  As he drove, she watched his hawk-like profile. She almost regretted her decision to leave. Maybe she could have convinced him that mating her wouldn’t have been so bad. He pulled up in front of the rental agency at the end of a small strip mall just off the highway. Almost all the cars in the gated lot were still covered with snow. She really hoped cleaning hers off was part of the service.

  “Well, I guess this is it.” She bent down and grabbed her purse. Her suitcase was in the back.

  He cut the engine and removed his seatbelt before turning toward her. Reaching out he undid hers. For one moment, she’d thought he was going to touch her. Perhaps pull her toward him for a goodbye kiss? Maybe convince her she’d over reacted and he did want to see her again?

  A girl could hope.

  She opened the door and was about to hop down—how did short, curvy girls do this she wondered. Before she could swing her legs around, he did touch her arm. “Wait.”

  Her heart pounded for a moment, then realized he was simply going to help her down. She should be grateful since the pavement leading to the front entrance of the store hadn’t been cleared of any snow.

  She shouldn’t have been surprised when he reached out and easily swung her into his arms. Instinctively, she kept hold of her purse as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Just when Julie thought she’d gained control over her wayward emotions—and heart—she was cradled once again against that rock-hard chest. His long strides covered the short distance from the curb to the building’s entrance.

  “I’m too heavy for you to be carrying me around,” she stated matter-of-factly, but they had already reached the door and Hunter was setting her down at the same time that he swung open the glass door.

  A tiny bell tinkled as they entered.

  “You’re not heavy. I told you that,” he stated without any emotion as he turned his blank gaze to her, his eyes unreadable.

  The space behind the counter was empty. Julie leaned over trying to see into the back. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

  She heard a slight noise and after another minute a pimply faced teenager who didn’t even look old enough to drive came into view. “Hi there. What can I do for you?”

  Well, at least he was polite and friendly. She returned his smile with one of her own. “I need to rent a car.”

  Hunter stepped forward. “No, she needs to rent a four-wheel drive.”

  When she looked up at him, he said, “The road conditions are shit. You need a four-wheel drive.”

  “I’m just going—”

  He cut her off. “You need a dependable vehicle. Not one like that tin coffin you were driving.”

  “I’ll have you know that car is very dependable.” Her voice held a touch of ice at his reference to the car they had abandoned on the side of highway and that was even now, no doubt, being towed away.

  “Whoa, whoa, folks. It really doesn’t matter, I don’t have any four-wheel drives.”

  Julie felt some sort of vindication when the teen said that. Smaller, compact cars were dependable vehicles. “Fine, I’ll take whatever you have.” She bent her head to rummage through her purse for her wallet and credit card. She hated putting more on it, but hopefully her new salary would kick in soon and she’d be able to pay it off in a month or two. Thankfully, her friend hadn’t made her pay for the bridesmaid’s dress. But she still had to pay Hunter for half of the hotel room.

  She pulled her credit card from her wallet and slid it across the counter.

  “Sorry, lady. I should have said I don’t have any vehicles for rent.”

  “What? There’s a lot full of cars out there.”

  “Not ours. They belong to the used car place next door.”

  “You have got to be kidding me.” Now what was she going to do? She’d gotten a text that the wedding was back on for tomorrow. She didn’t even want to begin to deal with the tow bill and getting her car out of some city compound lot. There was no way she was going to ask Mr. Sunshine standing beside her to take her the next fifty miles or so to her friend’s house. She needed to end their association fast—like ripping off a band-aid. Minimum pain, maximum healing.

  “Thank you for your time.” Hunter’s deep voice sounded beside her and before she could protest—again—he had swept her up in his arms and was carrying her out the door to the Hummer.

  “Now listen here—”

  “I’ll take you to your friend’s.” He reached over and took her seatbelt, seeming unaffected when his knuckles pressed against her sweater. Instantly, her nipples stood at attention, no doubt remembering the attention he’d lavish on them the two previous nights. They were still tender.

  “I don’t—” he was striding away before she could get more than two words out. Damn the man was fast.

  Remember, he’s a wolf.

  How could she forget? She squirmed in her seat, remembering the feel of his knot growing inside her. She’d never imagined shifters would have those same characteristics of their animal in their human forms. No wonder the women at the office were always trying to find a shifter to sleep with.

  Hunter strode in front of the jeep, ignoring Julie’s protests. There was no way in hell she was getting away from him. Yeah, he’d had cold feet—about a thousand times in the last forty-eight hours and he understood what she was feeling. Overwhelmed, insecure. Her world had been turned upside down and she didn’t know which way to turn.

  She needed to turn to him. Her mate.

  Again, his wolf was pacing back and forth inside him, snarling at the man. The animal wanted to claim the woman, had already in a way, when his knot had appeared. He knew that physiological response was one he would have with his mate.

  And only his mate.

  As soon as he opened the driver’s side door, her arousal hit him in the face and he almost went to his knees. It was the same sweet, spicy smell that had kept his face buried between her legs that first night. What the hell was she thinking about?

  Seeing the shy dip of her head when he finally found the strength to haul his ass into the vehicle, he had a pretty good idea. Just about every damn thing they’d done. Was she thinking of his dick pounding into her ass, maybe the pounding he’d given her on the edge of the bed last night when he’d woken her before dawn? His cock responded naturally, growing thick beneath the zipper of his jeans.

  “Where are we going?” Julie turned in her seat as he turned onto the exit that would take them back down the highway—in the opposite direction she needed to go.

  She waited for him to answer and realized she’d be waiting a heck of a long time by the stubborn set of his jaw. “Hunter McCall, if you don’t turn this vehicle around this minute, I’m going to—”

  “You’re going to what? Be mad at me? Hate me? I think you already do, don’t you Julie?”

  That stunned Julie into silence. “No. Well, I am mad at you, but I don’t hate you, Hunter. Far from it.” She leaned her head back against the seat. “But you know that already, don’t you?”

  His gaze left the road briefly to look at her. The shimmering amber color taunting her. Anger, arousal? Did it really matter at this point?

  He remained silent as he retraced their way back to the hotel. Once there, he parked in front of the glass doors and went inside. He’d left the engine idling and she knew she could simply slide over to the driver’s seat and leave. Had he done it as a test? A test of her feelings for him?

  What was she doing? She needed to drive away, go to her friend’s house and have someone bring the Hummer back.

  Before she could decide what to do, he was back, opening the door and climbing back inside the big vehicle.

  He parked in the same spot they’d had before and she realized he’d rented the same room. She didn’t even try to get down on her own, even though the snow wasn’t as deep any more. It looked as if the owner had managed to have the parking lot plowed in the time they’d been away.

  Still without speaking, he opened the door, took off her belt and swung
her up in his arms. She rested her head against his shoulder, tired of trying to fight the inevitable. She loved this man. She loved this wolf.

  Opening the door to their room, he put her on her feet, crossing the room, and closing the curtains the maids had left open. The bed was remade, all traces of their previous stay gone. Erased.

  But she’d never forget.

  Her breasts ached, remembering his touch. She new the feel of his fingers, the silky feel of his hard chest and the sensual feel of his lips as he kissed his way down her body. Her neck, the hollow of her throat, the dip between her breasts…and lower. Her pussy tingled thinking of his lips and mouth on her there. Deep calming breaths, she told herself.

  “Are you ready to talk?” He took off his jacket and put it over the back of the chair, the same way he’d been doing for the last few days.

  “There’s nothing to talk about. You’re married to the military.”

  “I never said that.”

  She shrugged, growing hot in her coat, but refusing to take it off. This chat wasn’t going to last long enough for her to get comfortable. If he refused to drive her to her friend’s house, she’d call a cab. To hell with depleting her bank account. “You didn’t have to. You’ve got lifer written all over you.”

  “No. Not any more. But that’s not what has you running scared.” He took a step closer. Then another. Two more brought him to her. “Tell me. Tell me why you won’t talk to me.”

  Julie shoved her hands in her coat pocket, anything to keep from reaching out and dragging his head down so she could kiss his full lips. It would be so easy to give in, simply take what he was offering. Whatever that might be. She didn’t need to be his mate. That was a shifter thing. It wouldn’t affect her at all, or would it? Maybe that’s why she’d felt like her guts were being ripped out at the car rental place when she’d thought of leaving him. “I heard what you said.”

  He frowned down at her, his body tense as he studied her face. She looked away quickly, knowing what he would see in her eyes.

  “You heard what, Julie?”

  Dear God, was he going to make her say it? “You don’t want a mate. On the phone the other day, you said you didn’t want a mate. You didn’t want me as your mate.” The last words she mumbled. She’d be damned if she’d helped tear out her own heart.

  “That was Logan I was talking to.”

  She realized with a sinking heart that he wasn’t denying what she’d heard.

  “I did tell him I didn’t want a mate. I’ve never wanted a mate, because what you said is true. I am a lifer. The military is my life. There’s no place in it for a woman.”

  She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. “Then why won’t you let me leave?” Please, she begged silently, don’t destroy every part of me. She knew she’d stay if he wanted her to, would take whatever small scrap of affection he would throw her way.

  “You changed my mind, baby.”

  It took her a moment to realize he’d spoken again.

  “What?”

  “You changed my mind, Julie. I want a mate. I need a mate.” He bent his knees until his eyes were level with hers. “I want you. I need you.”

  His rough words started to dissolve her willpower to stay away from him.

  “But—”

  “We’ll figure it out,” he said as he reached for the zipper of her jacket. “You and me, together. Like partners. Like mates.” He pushed it off her shoulders and threw it behind him toward the chair. It landed short in a soft heap on the floor. He didn’t seem to care. And neither did she. He was too busy touching her.

  Hunter caressed her face, tracing her features, his hands and fingers moving with slow, deliberate seduction. His touch was feather light as it moved to the vulnerable curve of her neck. “I want to mark you here, baby. I want to claim you properly this time.” He whispered the words into her ear, then nipped the earlobe.

  “You do?” She was so dizzy, so lost in the sensations his words and touch were creating inside him that she could barely string two words together.

  He licked a moist line from her earlobe, down her neck, taking the same path his fingers had only moments before. When he reached her shoulder, he took the skin into his mouth slowly, gently sucking on it before letting her go. Julie shuddered as warmth flooded her pussy and spread slowly throughout her body.

  They stood face to face, inches apart, their breathing almost synchronized. He was almost too close, his wide chest only inches from her breasts. His lips a hair’s breadth away from hers. She couldn’t think straight with him hovering over her, ready to devour her.

  “I—” Julie started to speak, her eyes searching his face for any trace of deception. He growled at the pain and uncertainty he saw there. He was desperate with wanting, crazy to mark her, claim her. Damn it, he wanted to feel his knot swelling inside her again, pouring his seed into her. Adrenaline pumped through him as the urge to claim and mate almost overrode his good intentions of reassuring her. Convincing her, he did indeed want a mate, and he wanted her.

  Hell, he didn’t have a patient bone in his body. He took what he wanted. And he wanted Julie Monroe. Now and forever. One last sliver of doubt sliced through him. How could he ask her to share his frantic life-style? Be married to a military man? Inhaling the scent of her, the smell of her want, made everything else fade into the background. She was his mate. They would work it out as he’d told her.

  But now, right now, he had to have her.

  He bent his head and ravaged her mouth as if he hadn’t tasted her for weeks, rather than hours. His mouth was hard and hot and brutal. He dragged her closer, the soft curves of her body conformed to the hard planes of his. But they weren’t skin to skin and that angered his wolf. They had on too many clothes. Still kissing her, he reached behind his head, not giving up her lips until he had to pull his shirt over his head. He slung it across the room as well, no longer the precise, military man who liked everything in its place. Tonight, he was the wolf. The wolf about to ravish its mate.

  Damn, he wanted her. His body throbbed and he thrust his tongue back into her mouth. As she returned his kiss, her throaty moan tormented him further. Too impatient to remove any more clothing the conventional way, he extended a claw, slicing through her sweater and dragging it off her body, making her gasp, no doubt at his roughness. The human side of him grimaced at his lack of control. The wolf pushed harder.

  He pulled down her bra until the lacy material rested against the bottom curve of her full breasts. It bunched her mounds together, offering them up for his pleasure. He looked at her with unashamed appreciation. She had glorious breasts. He could look at her for hours, feast his eyes on the her. She was beautiful and he told her so with as soft whisper. “You take my breath away, baby.”

  His hands cupped the luscious orbs, the pale creamy texture tipped with brown too tempting for him to resist. He felt their weight and heard the acceleration in her breathing as she responded to his touch. He kneaded the firm flesh before pearling each nipple between his thumbs and fingers. Her nipples grew, forming a hard, thick peak on the end of each breast. She would feed their pups easily, providing them with sustenance. The thought of Julie pregnant, her body swollen with child—his child—had his wolf lunging at his tether, eager to get on with the fucking. The claiming.

  He continued to touch her as he spoke. “When I found you in the snow, hurt, it made me furious with myself that I hadn’t been there to protect you. I want that—to protect you, Julie. I want to keep you safe. I need that. I need it more than I thought I would.”

  “Why is that such a surprise to you?” she asked her gaze steady and true. “You’ve been protecting everyone around you for years. That’s why you joined the military. That innate desire to protect. But,” she huffed, “I think you just want to make sure I behave.”

  “Well, there is that added bonus. Making your ass turn a bright red.” He grinned down at her and she thought her knees would buckle at the look on his face. “A
nd you do like to be a bad girl, don’t you, baby?”

  Then his expression was changing to something that both frightened and exalted her, the look of a strong man who loves so much that he’s helpless before it. “My God, I love you.” His voice shook with emotion and it was something that Julie thought she would never see, her big, bad wolf humble before her.

  “Then love me, Hunter. Claim me. Mate me.”

  That was all he needed to hear apparently. It seemed he had her stripped and naked before she could draw her next breath. It made her laugh at his eagerness. He growled as he started to remove his jeans, then stopped. She looked up at him with a question in her eyes and his gleamed with wicked sexiness. He placed his hands on her shoulders and pressed down, urging her to her knees. She knelt before him, the top of her head reaching his waist and her mouth only inches from his zipper.

  “Take them off,” he ordered. A rough raspy sound that made her remember the texture of his tongue as it licked along her slit. Her hand trembled but she managed to grab the zipper tab and ease it all the way down. His sex bulged inside the knit boxers he wore.

  Julie pulled his jeans off his hips and down his legs. He lifted one foot and then the other, assisting her. She tossed the jeans to one side and reached for the boxers. She pulled them down, dragging them along his engorged cock. As soon as it was free, it sprang upwards, almost slapping against his stomach as she set it free.

  She closed her eyes against the beauty of his form. He was gloriously, breathtakingly male. Big, hard, powerful and fully aroused. She reached for him wrapping her hand around a width so large that her fingers had no hope of touching back together. How the heck had she taken him? Her pussy creamed remembering the stretch and sting as he’d pushed inside her.

  Hunter cupped the top of her head, urging her forward. “Suck me.” His fingers tangled in her hair and he pressed her forward until her mouth touched him intimately. She pursed her lips and kissed the purplish head.