The thought of it made her almost paralyzed with anxiety.
And, she would have to run with Caleb. Caleb! That big, strong, utterly mack truck-barreling wolf.
Mmm, her wolf whispered. The noise, so funnily human coming from her wolf, and its underlying desire made Rielle almost stumble with surprise at the appreciative longing in it. Even though she was standing stock still, watching Caleb Bardou take off his clothes and reveal every single inch of that incredibly muscled, huge, perfectly male body to her.
He glanced up at her, one hand reaching down to tug his jeans off from around his feet and kick them to the side. A grin lit his face, though it was edged with something Rielle couldn't quite put a finger on.
“Come on, Ree. You heard the Alpha.” His tone teased, slipping along her suddenly hyper-sensitive skin, bringing out a light sprinkle of goosebumps despite the soft warmth of late afternoon. “Run or perish.”
She knew he mean the last sentence as a joke, but it sliced at her for an uncomfortable moment.
Run, her wolf insisted, pawing at her mind with a forcefulness Ree hadn't felt in too long.
“Okay,” she said. “I'm getting ready.” Tentatively, she slipped off her sandals.
Then Caleb dropped his drawers and stood there in all his naked male glory. For a completely ridiculous, girly reason, Rielle let her jaw drop as well as she froze again, staring at him. Why, oh why, was Caleb the picture of muscled, manly, delicious perfection? His muscles rippled, his abs were honest-to-goodness washboard, golden hair dusted over his chest, down his legs, and temptingly nestled his...um....
Rielle's throat dried. Her pulse ricocheted madly and her breath came shallow and quick.
Run. Her wolf pawed, impatient yet knowing. Run with him.
Caleb looked at Rielle, catching her staring with all the grace of a clueless innocent. His offhanded glance hardened into a serious look, holding her eyes with his gaze, all traces of a grin wiped off his face. Something indefinable but very real stretched between them, sparking along Rielle's nerve endings, connecting her to Caleb with a jumble of confusion, desire, restlessness, and a sense of something battling within her to be let out and just run.
Cale cocked his head at her just a bit. The look in his eyes shifted in something more primal, more predatorlike. His wolf hovered just beneath the surface, lending Caleb a dangerous air of grace and claw-sharp intent.
Wolves shifted naked all the time. It was something they did from childhood, something they saw their elders do, something utterly natural and accepted, so much so it was like breathing or eating or knowing the sun would rise every day. Nakedness in front of one another was nothing special, nor shameful, nor hidden. It was normal and not a big deal.
Except, apparently, for this particular moment, because Rielle found herself quivering in the face of all her exploding emotions. In the face of the one wolf looking at her with an invitation in his eyes, one she had not until this moment seriously considered as real.
“Ree.” Her name was a whisper on his tongue, and she shivered again in a sort of delicious anticipation.
Slowly, as if afraid she would bolt if he moved faster, Caleb stretched his hand out to her and made a small beckoning motion with his fingers. Silently, he waited for her.
~
Caleb wondered if it were literally possible to swallow one's own tongue from sudden, raging desire. The second he'd looked at Rielle and caught the pure longing on her face as she openly stared at him standing naked before her, he knew on every level what he'd only been daring to hope before. She did want him. She really was interested. It was real, he hadn't been making it up.
He could tell her wolf danced at her edges, pushing and tugging and urging her to give in and simply be what she was: free and able to toss off that buttoned-up human side of hers. Able to run with him the way wolves should run together.
Slowly, Rielle reached down, caught up the short dress she wore, and lifted it up her body, tugging it over her head. The bra and panties she had on beneath were pale pink and clung to her with an almost exaggerated sexiness, like a drowning man grasping onto a lifeboat.
Caleb groaned, very quietly. He knew she heard him, because she paused for a moment before pulling the dress all the way off. Very gently, she laid it on the smooth wooden bench beside her. Small benches and boxes were scattered throughout the forest just inside the edge closest to the den, for the express purpose of placing clothing wolves didn't want to get dirty or damaged. Shifting directly by the main house itself generally wasn't allowed, on the off chance a visiting human might spot them.
With an inhale, Rielle reached behind to unclasp her bra. As she did, she lifted her eyes to Caleb's again. It was a shy, uncertain look, definitely not that of a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. Even so, it was by far the hottest look he had ever gotten from a woman. His balls clenched so suddenly and so tightly it felt like they wanted to shoot off arrows of lust in every direction.
Not classy. Rielle was classy. Get a grip, get a grip. He tried to think of something else. Something boring, so dull it would redirect him to safer territory for the moment. He didn't want to scare her off before she was even ready to come to him.
Rielle let her bra drop to the bench. Then she tugged off her panties and very carefully placed them beside her bra. She never broke their gaze, despite the fact her face was a rosy pink.
Nope. No way he could think of anything else but her, standing there in front of him all soft and sweet-smelling and so pretty he just wanted to scoop her up, lay her down, and taste her all over. He'd seen Rielle naked before, of course. For some reason, though, she'd never looked quite this—touchable. Her soft breasts with the nipples lightly pebbled from the air, her sweetly rounded hips, the smooth expanse of all her skin....
Once more, he thought swallowing his tongue might be a genuine danger.
Caleb saved himself from behaving like an absolutely bumbling idiot the only way he could think. “Great, you're naked, let's run!” he said, shifting even as he spoke. Without waiting for her response to his completely stupid words, he turned and leapt into the woods.
Just a few strides in, he sensed her right behind him. Slowing, he let her overtake him. She didn't seem to have held his words against him. A small, dark gray-brown wolf, very delicate and dainty like the woman, Rielle shot past him like a waterfall leaping over the edge of the cliff, shimmering and fluid and dancing all at once. She zoomed ahead with a joyful leap and yip that almost startled him in its playful quality.
“Running!” The cry burst from her in a joyful howl, then another. She sped around a tree, leapt onto a boulder, then bounced off it sideways to land full throttle, still stretched out racing. Her tongue lolled out as she put on another burst of speed, pulling ahead of him even farther.
Caleb easily loped to catch up to her. He bumped her hip with his. She shoulder checked him, then cackled with wolfish glee as he stumbled a bit in surprise.
“Gotcha!” The triumph in her voice held such giddy joy in the moment he felt it spreading over to him as well.
“Oh, yeah? Catch me now if you can!”
He barreled past her, hearing his own paws thud on the ground as he banked hard right to shoot past her. They raced through ferns, played tag around the base of a huge ponderosa pine tree, and practiced stalking and pouncing.
“Ha!” Rielle barked with laughter when she managed to get Caleb to trip over his own tail as he twisted in mad circles trying to catch her. She grinned at him, teeth gleaming. Her thrilled attitude was contagious.
She was light and quick on her paws, bubbling over with giddy excitement. Caleb felt himself loosen and relax with every passing moment he spent in the company of this playful, almost silly wolf. She was and wasn't Rielle—which was confusing. The indecisive, cautious Rielle he knew as a human was still there, but this Rielle as a wolf was her and so much more. It was as if in wolf form, Rielle was more herself than he'd seen in a long time.
She's happy like
this. His human's voice was thoughtful. She's letting her true self out.
Caleb liked it. A lot.
~
Three, two, one...pounce. Rielle giggled again as she leapt out at Caleb from behind a fragrant mountain mahogany. As if propelled by pogo sticks instead of legs, he leapt straight up in the air, yipping with mock alarm. He zagged to her zigs, then pounced back.
She took off again, loping clean and easy through the trees, weaving around them with a grace and ease she'd nearly forgotten she possessed. The feel of the breeze ruffling through her coat stirred all her senses as it flung the mountain scents to her sensitive nose. The rich earth combined with the summer-happy smells of green growing things reminded her she was a part of it: she, too, was wild. Wild was good. This was her home, this was where she belonged.
They raced and rolled and tumbled and mock battled throughout the sprawling property. Rielle's human stayed mostly quiet in her mind, but it was a peaceful, appreciative quiet. Woman and wolf ran together in a harmony she'd forced away for some silly, unknown human reason. This was so much better. She had to remember this. She must.
Eventually, they tired out and padded slowly back to their clothes. Rielle breathed in the deep scents of the forest as they walked, committing each exquisite individual odor to memory. She would not allow her human to forget this again so easily. Running without care, without burden, was part of her.
I know, her human whispered. I do remember. This is me.
Rielle slipped back into her human form with some regret. She pulled the simple sundress she'd worn earlier back over her head, tugging it down into place. However, she left off her bra and panties. Who really cared? No one at the den cared about her underclothes. Her skin felt deliciously sensitive as the satiny fabric of the dress whispered against it.
Turning to watch Caleb shift from his brawny huge wolf back to his brawny huge human was a calmer experience than the opposite shift had been earlier. After he gained his human form again, she admired it for a long moment, feeling the mix of human/wolf appreciation of him without feeling any uneasiness about how close her wolf still stayed near the surface. Feeling light and effortless, she stood in the lengthening sunlight, head thrown back. Letting her eyes close, she allowed the smells of her home to drift to her vastly inferior human nose. Although all her senses were sharper than a mere human's, they still fell far short of the mark when compared to her awareness in wolf form. Despite that, she sniffed at the air and remembered everything she'd scented moments before.
“Oh, that felt luxurious.” Did her voice sound like it was purring? Which would be so wrong for a wolf. But she definitely heard a silky, relaxed drawl in her tone. “I can't believe I went so long without a run. I think it's been over three months. Maybe more.”
Caleb made a noncommittal noise in his throat. She heard the faint rustling sounds as he pulled his jeans back on. The zipper snicked up. She imagined the denim sliding along his skin, riding up the golden hairs dusting his legs. Her tongue slipped out to touch her upper lip, then gently slid along it. Her entire body felt suffused in the relaxed glow that came only from time spent as a wolf. Living purely in her body.
A sharp inhalation from Caleb had her opening her eyes to look at him.
The expression on his face made the blood roar through her head, then seem to pool down her body, landing directly in the suddenly aching spot between her legs.
~
For a world-tilting-on-its-axis moment, Caleb honestly thought he might be about to pass out. Rielle's tongue, sliding out to slowly drift over her soft lips, completely short-circuited his brain.
Mine, his wolf/he thought.
Deliberately, quickly before he could begin to question his actions, he strode across the small space of wild grasses to her side. Her eyes tracked his every movement, but she made no sign to stop him. Her face stayed calm and open. She actually seemed to be admiring him in a purely female manner, with none of the hesitation she'd been offering before.
It had been so good for Rielle to run as her wolf. She was now more relaxed, more present, more grounded.
And goddamn, was she more sexy than ever before.
Caleb came to within a few inches of her before he stopped. Standing that close, he could smell her sweet sweat, see the perspiration that glowed on her body, giving it a healthy sheen. Her hair tumbled down, wild over her shoulders, the dark locks carelessly free. She smelled like woods, and wildflowers, and fascinating wolf, and soft, approachable woman.
“Rielle.” He more breathed than spoke her name, letting its feminine sound flow gently from his mouth to caress her. She shivered the tiniest bit.
He reached a hand out to her, sliding his fingers along her chin and neck, then cupping it very softly behind her head. Their mouths were literally about an inch apart. All he had to do was tilt his head toward her, just...like...this.
Rielle's lips opened naturally under his. Soft and pliant, they moved against him with growing eagerness. Caleb felt his breath get faster, and he pulled her body against his until not even air could pass between their skin. She moaned very slightly, and in a split second he was harder than steel against her. She could feel it, she had to, but she didn't move away.
Caleb lightly pushed her head against his, claiming her mouth with a fierce but still gentle possessiveness he hadn't known he could feel. With his other hand, he explored her back, her sides, that beautiful swell of hip that flared out and made him want to bury himself inside her, filling her until she could think of no one else but him. Her dress was slippery soft against his hand, and her every luscious body part underneath was there for his touch.
The fact she had left off her panties when she pulled that dress over head turned him on more than the fact she'd been stark naked in front of him just seconds before that. He'd never thought clothes could be erotic—he usually preferred to get clothes out of the way as soon as possible—but knowing she'd deliberately kept herself naked beneath the tiny scrap of cloth was such a rush it sucker punched him to the point of dizziness.
Pulling back just enough to whisper her name again, Caleb looked into her eyes. She'd closed them when his lips met hers, but opened them again, fearless in the face of his completely unguarded desire for her. Their usual russet-brown shade had deepened to dark chocolate. Fascinated, he realized it was because she was as aroused as he.
“Ree,” he said again. He feather brushed her lips with his, teasing her with that bare touch until she suddenly reached up to grab his head with her hands and firmly pull it down to hers. Their lips met then almost fiercely, stroking and moving and tasting.
Caleb was no stranger to women. But right now, every single woman he'd ever kissed before held all the memory of flat, dull dirt compared to Rielle. She tasted like cinnamon, soft spices laced with a saucy kick when she lightly nibbled his lower lip with her teeth. He gasped at that, which made a small, knowing “hmm” sound gently rumble from her lips to his. The vibration pulsed pleasurably against his mouth. He almost lost it when he thought of where else she could make that vibrating sound against him.
A long, heady moment later, Caleb finally pulled back just a bit. She made as if to surge forward and claim his lips again, but he held her slightly away from him.
“Shh,” he said, very slightly shaking his head at her. “I just want to look at you for a minute. Rielle,” he said again, and this time it was a question mixed with a statement mixed with a wonder he hadn't felt for a long time.
The only words he could think of saying as he just stared at her heart-shaped face were trite but completely true: “You are so beautiful.”
The curve of a smile started to lift her lips. Her eyes seemed lit by an inner fire. He wondered if it was possible to actually lose himself in them, because they seemed to be swallowing him up whole. “Finally kissed you. What kind of an idiot have I been?” He shook his head again, this time at himself.
“The kind I wanted, it seems.” Her voice came low and liquid, like the voi
ce of a woman who's just been kissed long and hard. However, there was definitely an uncertain tone in it as well. A slight furrow appeared in her forehead.
“Hey.” He reached out to tip up her chin with one gentle finger. “That was okay, right?”
She nodded. Her eyes, though, darted away from his for a second. His wolf whined, wanting to comfort her. Mine.
“What is it?” he asked.
She shook her head, suddenly seeming almost embarrassed. The relaxed acceptance she'd gained from her wolf side seemed to be fading beneath her more uptight human side again.
“Ree.” His voice held nothing but patience, which was pretty much a miracle for him. “No judging, right? We agreed. And I meant that.”
Those soft chocolate eyes looked searchingly at him. He held her gaze, pouring every bit of sincerity he could into it. It was ridiculously important that she believe in him, trust him. He wasn't sure why it mattered so much, but it did.
“Just tell me. Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
During the very long pause in which apparently he held his breath because his lungs started to burn, Rielle's face turned interesting shades of pink. Finally, she whispered, in a halting voice, “Um. Well. I'm just not really—um, experienced. With things like this, I mean.” She waved one hand around, further confusing Caleb.
Letting his breath out and taking in a deep one, he said, “I don't get it. What things?”
Rielle closed her eyes and appeared to be gathering her strength. Caleb kept her chin in his fingertips, marveling at how soft her skin was there even as he wondered what the heck she was so nervous about.
When she finally answered, he almost had to draw on his wolf hearing to catch her words, even though her face was only inches from his. “I've never been with anyone before. I mean, with a guy. Ever.”
Hunting Wolf: Black Mesa Wolves #3 Page 8