Lycan Heat

by S. K. Yule

  “There’s no reason for you to be afraid of me, Sherry.” Her name was like heaven on his lips, and her flowery scent mixed with the mating scent that was for him alone teased him.

  She looked around. They were in the cave, and he knew she’d be confused as it was the first dream connected to him that she would remember. It would seem so real to her—it was real…almost. There connection was strong, and whatever they shared in their dreams would seem as if it had really happened upon waking. Their souls were in tune to one another even if their bodies, their minds, had never met.

  She was his and he was hers. Nothing on earth could change that. He took a step toward her, and she backed away from him, her eyes warily watching his every move. He took several deep breaths to calm the raging urge to take her. He wanted her to come to him willingly, without hesitation, and that would take time.

  “Where am I?” she whispered.

  “You’re dreaming.” He decided to keep it simple. If he explained that she was his destined mate and they were actually connecting through their minds while sleeping, she’d probably flip out and wake up. He wasn’t ready for the connection to be lost.

  “Oh.”

  He moved slowly and sat down on a big rock just inside the mouth of the cave, and patted the flat surface beside him, beckoning her to join him. He watched the hesitation play over her face and was relieved when she’d obviously decided to accept his invitation and began to come toward him. Her movement was graceful, and the subtle sway of her hips made his fingers itch to touch her. She was made for loving, and he doubted she was aware of her allure or the effect she was having on him.

  Her feminine movements were an unintentional seduction. They came natural to her and made him think of long, sweaty nights, silk sheets and the sound of her voice crying out his name over and over as he filled her, claimed her, gave her pleasure.

  She sat next to him, careful to keep some distance between them, as if she could escape if need be. He’d give her that small measure of comfort, no matter how misguided it may be.

  His cock twitched again when he saw the perfectly painted red toenails that peeked out from under the bottom of her sweats. Holy hell. He’d had women over the years, but not one of them had come close to driving his body to the brink of desire that now stirred in him. And all because of her dainty toes.

  “Why are you watching me like that?” She looked around the cave once more before settling her gaze on him.

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Just intense or something.” Her voice trailed off.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  His body flamed hotter when he saw the lovely shade of red that stained her cheeks. She was embarrassed by his compliment. She was so young, so innocent. She deserved much better than him. He’d grown to be a hard man over the years, and she shouldn’t have been destined for him. He was not gentle or romantic. He’d never hurt her, but he was a man of experience and had grown weary of all the feuds and fighting amongst his kind.

  Yet, he’d do his best to make her happy and to treat her with the respect and tenderness she deserved. Would it be enough? Where she was soft, he was rough. Where she was gentle, he was a warrior. Where she was innocent, he’d seen the selfish, deprived acts of others that were carried out for the simple pleasure of hurting others. Why would fate bring someone like her into his world?

  But he knew the answer to that. She was the light that would show him the way to his redemption. She was the only one that could save his damaged soul, make him whole once again. Simply sitting here by her soothed him, calmed him, put him at peace. And the turmoil she would cause inside him when he finally touched her would be ecstatic turmoil born of desire, not of anger or regret at the monsters his race was slowly becoming.

  “No. I’m not, but thank you.” She reached out tentatively and scraped shaking fingers through his hair as if silently thanking him for his compliment.

  White-hot lightning shot to his groin when she touched him. Her fingers were like magic on him. He closed his eyes for a moment, reveling in her touch, and slowly opened them as her hand fell away from him, as if in slow motion, to her side.

  She studied him. Her eyes dropped down his body as she perused him from head to toe, and when her eyes settled on his groin, his erection jerked in reaction. Her cheeks flamed bright red, and her full lips formed a small “o.”

  “You’re so big. I mean, you’re body is…” She hid her face in her hands in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean, oh! Just forget it.”

  Her innocence was endearing to him, and he couldn’t wait to show her how they could appreciate each other’s bodies without embarrassment. He reached out and pulled her hand to him, placing it flat against his chest and then covering it with his own, the action done without thought. She gasped when she came into contact with him and electricity sparked between them.

  “Don’t ever be ashamed to tell me anything. You can always be yourself with me.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance when it trembled against him.

  “I don’t know you.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  She shook her head in denial and he gave her hand another squeeze.

  “Close your eyes.” He didn’t think she’d do as he asked, but after a few moments, her lids fluttered shut, and her dark, amber lashes rested against her pale skin.

  He scooted closer to her, and her breath hitched. He kept her hand firmly over his beating heart. When he reached out and lightly stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb, he barely kept a groan from escaping.

  “Can you not feel the fire that burns between us, Sherry? Can you not feel how my heart beats for you under your fingertips? You and I are kindred spirits.”

  He couldn’t resist any longer and leaned in toward the slim column of her throat. He breathed her scent deep before his lips gently grazed her skin. She jumped, but didn’t pull away from him, and he cupped her nape with his free hand to coax her against his mouth. As he continued to kiss her neck, her taut body began to relax and she melted into him.

  He kissed a trail along her jaw line and to the corner of her mouth. Every instinct screamed at him to claim her, but he held on to control by a mere thread.

  “Can I kiss you?” His voice shook with desperation.

  Her eyes opened, and the passion that burned in their depths scorched him, matched his own desire. The slight nod of her head was all the response he needed, and unwilling to allow her the time to change her mind, his mouth crashed down on hers. A low growl clawed its way from his chest, and she moaned in response. She tasted like the sweetest honey, the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden. She tasted like…his.

  When she moaned again, he took advantage of her parted lips and slid his tongue into the recess of her mouth. She drove him crazy, mindless with wanting her. One kiss, one simple taste, one stroke of the tongue, and he was lost. He deepened the kiss, and his control snapped. Every urge, every demand that insisted he claim her roared to the surface.

  He released her hand against his chest, and her fingers trailed up and over his shoulders, lightly massaging his tense muscles. He tangled his fingers in her hair and held her tight against him as his other hand snaked up the hem of her shirt. When he covered her breast, need so strong coursed through him that it blinded every last shred of common sense.

  He pushed her to the ground. The breath that whooshed from her lungs as he covered her and wedged one knee between her thighs only made him burn hotter. He massaged her breast and rolled the peaked nipple between his fingers, aching to taste her…all of her. By the time he realized she was pushing against his chest, she’d disappeared.

  His eyes flew wide, and he stood. His breathing came in ragged pants, and he dug his fingers through his hair. There was only one explanation why he had finally been able to see her so clearly, talk to her—she was near. His mate was close, and his heart beat in rapture. Every muscle in his body clenched in anticipation while his cock strained against his jeans, a
lmost screaming for her. No, not her... Sherry. Her name was Sherry.

  He wanted to find her right this instant, wanted to claim her and never let her go. She could bring so much joy to him. Joy he thought he’d never find, and love. While he’d prayed that she’d been out there somewhere, he had very little hope of ever finding her. She could be anywhere in the world, and the probability of him finding her had been infinite. It had been the worst, gut wrenching feeling he’d ever had, knowing she was out there and being unable to protect her. He turned and punched the cave wall, welcoming the pain that shot through his fist.

  He’d felt useless. Rogues could have gotten her, and he’d never be able to stop it, but no more. She was close now, and he would find her. As soon as he took care of the business concerning his brother tomorrow, he would search for her to the ends of the earth if he had to. He would never stop until he found her, and he would find her, and he’d never let her go once he did.

  The problem now? She’d remember him from the dream, and he had frightened her. He had no one to blame but himself. He had lost control. He’d taken things too fast. But she had responded to him, and that gave him a small amount of hope. Dusk would be here soon, and he could get business taken care of. Afterwards, he’d be able to focus his full attention on her.

  Chapter Five

  Sherry’s eyes flew open, and a gasp escaped as she shot upright from her bed. Her breathing came in ragged gasps. The man she’d just dreamed about…Piers had seemed so real. She put her fingers to her lips. She swore she could feel them tingle from his kiss, and her body was hot, achy. She’d never felt such intenseness with a man. He’d practically oozed sex, and had made her melt. Her hesitation of him proved no match after he’d plastered her hand against his chest.

  It was just a dream. Hell, if dreams were always like that, no one would ever get out of bed. She shifted, suddenly uncomfortably hot, and realized that dampness coated the insides of her thighs. A dream man had done this to her, made her a writhing mess of hormones, and not even a real live man had managed to do that up to this point in her life.

  She’d had a few fumbled, awkward attempts at sex, but a few years ago after too many uncomfortable situations, she’d decided that she’d wait to have sex until she met the man of her dreams. She snorted. Man of my dreams. Ha! She was young when the accident that had killed her parents occurred, and she knew that had a lot to do with her failed relationships. She was scared to get close to anyone. Scared because she knew they could be taken from her with such ease. A slip on the stairs, a wrong step into traffic, a drunk driver, and they’d be gone.

  She stumbled to the kitchen, opened the fridge door, pulled out a bottle of cold water, and drank down half of it. Her heart raced, and she was so aroused she ached for him.

  She laughed. How could she ache for a man she’d conjured up in her imagination? He wasn’t real. It must be all the stress from learning about all this werewolf crap. Maybe it was her mind’s way of trying to cope with it. Simply replace it with a man who intimidated her, but turned her on at the same time.

  He’d been so big, too big for her. She’d always been intimidated by men of his size, as far as dating material, and he’d been the biggest man she’d ever met. Her cheeks heated when she remembered the bulge in his jeans—biggest in more ways than one. She went to her bag, quickly dug out the bottle of pills, broke one in half, and swallowed it before she could talk herself out of it. She was going to go back to sleep, and in the morning, she’d figure everything out.

  She snuggled back under the covers on the sofa bed, which had proved surprisingly comfortable, and closed her eyes, waiting for the pill to work. She already hated herself for taking it. It made her feel weak even though she knew better. Everyone needed help at some point in their lives, and she was no different. Finally, she started drifting into sleep. Glorious, dreamless sleep.

  * * * *

  “Sherry. Sherry. Wake up.” Janine shook her harder.

  “Geez, Janine. Why are you waking me up so early?” Sherry groaned and tried to burrow back under the blankets her sister was jerking off her.

  “It’s not early. It’s almost one o’clock in the afternoon,” Janine growled. “Come on. We are getting everything set up for the cook out. Everyone is already here—except you.”

  She groaned. “Okay. Okay. You go ahead and I’ll be there in a bit.” She cracked her lids open and saw her sister standing there with her arms crossed over her middle as she so often did when she was agitated.

  “You’re little bit will result in all afternoon.”

  “I promise. I’ll be there in an hour or less.” She would, too, even if it killed her, which it might.

  “Swear to me.”

  “I swear. Now go.”

  “Okay, but if you aren’t out there in an hour, I’m coming to get you. And, I’ll bring Raze and have him carry you out there if necessary.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “All right. When you’re ready, we are set up not far past and to the right of the cabin. Raze, Anthony, and Brent are already putting the meat on the grill, and Karen and Rindy are anxious to meet you.”

  “I’m getting up right now. Now get out there, and let them know I’ll be along in a bit.”

  “Seriously, one hour.”

  “Go!” Sherry laughed as Janine giggled and then dodged the pillow she tossed at her.

  Before heading out the door, Janine paused. “Um, are you okay? I mean, after our talk last night?”

  “I’m okay, but I don’t really want to talk about it right now.”

  “All right.” She gave Sherry one last long stare before going outside.

  She was proud of herself. She’d taken another quick shower, had put on her makeup, pulled her hair into a cute top-knot, and was dressed with ten minutes to spare. She’d dressed warmer than yesterday in a white cotton hoodie that zipped up the front over the pink T-shirt with “chic” written in silver rhinestones across it. A matching pair of cotton pants that hugged her hips and white tennies with pink glitter on the toes completed the ensemble. It wasn’t anything extremely fashionable, but it was cute and comfortable.

  She went to find Janine and the others. Following the voices in the distance, she walked slowly along the tree line. If she was honest with herself, it was quite beautiful out here. A Monarch butterfly flitted by her and lit on the bark of a tree. She stepped closer and gasped when it flew off the tree and landed on her nose. She laughed at the way its legs tickled her before the butterfly took flight once again. She watched it, mesmerized, until it disappeared into the woods.

  Maybe she’d been a bit judgmental about nature. She would try to enjoy herself the rest of the time she was here. Just up ahead, two big tables were set up, one laden with food, the other surrounded by several chairs and draped in a checkered tablecloth. A grill sat to the side of the empty table and three men, one Raze, stood around it drinking beer and poking at the meat searing on the grates. Raze was not small by any means, but the other two men were huge.

  Another cabin was set back in the trees, but looked more like a mini mansion than a vacation getaway. It was a stunning sight with its wraparound deck and rustic charm.

  Sherry spotted Janine, who was talking to a blonde and a black-haired woman. When she saw her approach, she waved for her to come over and join them. Sherry hurried over to where the women were standing.

  “Sherry, this is Karen.” She motioned to the black-haired woman. “And this is Rindy.” She motioned to the blonde.

  Karen was tall, curvy, and had beautiful blue eyes, while Rindy was closer to her petite size and had gray eyes. Both the women were pretty in their own ways, but Karen seemed a bit more laid back than Rindy, who continuously scanned the area as if expecting something to happen.

  “Nice to meet you.” Sherry shook Karen’s and then Rindy’s hand.

  “Anthony? Come meet Janine’s sister, Sherry,” Karen called out.

  “You too, Brent,” Rindy followed up.


  Anthony was quiet and intense. He was also huge and had gorgeous green eyes accented by inky black hair. He smiled and nodded. “Nice to meet you.” His voice was low and quiet.

  Brent was big, as well, but not quite as hulking as Anthony. He had chocolate brown eyes, brown hair, and an easy smile she was sure any woman would find attractive. “Glad to finally meet you. Janine talks about you all the time.” Brent put his arm around Rindy’s shoulders.

  “She does?” She quirked a brow in her sister’s direction. “I had no idea my sister was so fond of me.” She chuckled and gently elbowed Janine in the ribs.

  “Is the meat about done?” Karen asked.

  “Yep. Everyone grab a plate.” Brent followed Anthony back to the grill.

  “Would you like something to drink, Sherry?” Raze asked her.

  “I’d love some water if you have it.”

  “Coming up.” He turned to Janine. “You need anything else?”

  “Yeah, but it’ll have to wait until later.” Janine leaned in and whispered to Raze, but Sherry still heard her.

  She covered her ears. “La la la la. Don’t want to hear this.”

  Raze dropped a quick kiss on Janine’s mouth and started for the cooler by the grill. After Raze handed Sherry a cold bottle of water, some movement from the woods startled her. Seconds later, a blond boy stepped out. He stood watching them.

  “Come on over, Collin. Grab a plate and join us,” Brent called out to the kid.

  When he hesitantly made his way toward them, Sherry noticed he was older than she’d originally thought, probably in his early twenties. His eyes were haunted, and hinted that he’d witnessed much violence for his young years. He got a plate and sat down. After she got her food, she made her way to the end of the table where he sat all alone.

  “May I sit by you?” She smiled, but his mouth remained in a grim line.

  “Sure.” His voice was surprisingly deep, but quiet.