Solstice Miracles

by Crymsyn Hart

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re not fine. We have to get you to a hospital. Here.” She went to exam the extent of the damage and saw that his face was red, but only as if he had a mild sunburn. She pressed the cold cloth against his face.

  “Ahh. That feels good. I’m sorry I asked those questions before. It’s none of my business if you slept with him.”

  “Forget about it.” Natalie began to pat the rest of his face with the cold cloth. His hand slid over hers. She felt her heart skip. Her attraction to him flared to life in that moment.

  Scott opened his eyes; they glowed amber. She gasped, but he held fast to her hand. The skin on his face was starting to return to normal color before her eyes. He leaned in closer to her. “Don’t be afraid of me.”

  “What are you?”

  “I’m like the ghost in your house. Werewolf. I can still smell him on you.” He ran his nose along the side of her neck. He growled a little. “But I also smell you.” He licked her flesh and bit down on it.

  Natalie dropped the cloth and placed her hand on his chest. Her heart throttled against her ribcage. Scott’s hand cupped her breast and pinched the nipple. She arched closer to him. Her breathing doubled. He nipped along her throat to her cheek and stopped inches from her lips. His eyes were a deeper amber. He slipped one hand over hers on his chest. His other he laid on her chest. His heartbeat was steady and hers erratic. “Frightened little rabbit. Beautiful woman. Do you know how much I want you?”

  “N-no.”

  He slid their combined hands down to his crotch and held them there. Natalie felt his growing erection. “I’ve patrolled your house at night. Making sure you’ve slept soundly and the spirits have not harmed you.”

  “I-I didn’t see you.” Her mouth went dry as she stared at him. Feeling his growing cock aroused her. She couldn’t help rubbing it, unable to deny the attraction she had for him, too.

  His eyes fluttered. He threw his head back and moaned. This was an unreserved side of Scott she hadn’t seen the other night at dinner. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. If he was going to act on his instincts or not. It can’t be possible that they’re werewolves, and they’re so close to me. Scott said he was drawn to me and another. It has to be Dustin. I’ve dreamed about them. It has to mean that I’m supposed to be with them.

  “You wouldn’t. I circled around the perimeter and then closer to the house just to be sure. Your resident spirit doesn’t like me encroaching on his land. He approached me in wolf form. At first, I thought he was a spirit of my ancestors warning me of something, then I realized who he was. What he was.”

  “Why are you telling me all of this? Why didn’t you tell me the other night?”

  Scott pressed his lips to hers. She melted against him. Already the passion she felt earlier in the night enveloped her.

  “You can handle this. We wouldn’t have revealed our true selves to you if you couldn’t. Your dreams of us as wolves and men have been sent to you so you’d know what to expect.”

  “How do you know?” Natalie started to quake, but this time it wasn’t from fright. Desire ran rampant through her. Leaning a little closer, she took his face in her hands. His eyes widened. She scooted closer to him and straddled him. She pressed her lips to Scott’s and plunged her tongue into his mouth. He raked his fingers down her back and groaned when he pulled away from her.

  “Because you’re doing this. Something inside of you knows we’re not going to hurt you. With our kind, we know our mates by touch. If you were a wolf, you would’ve known the moment we were in the bar the first night I met you. I did. But you weren’t a wolf, and I didn’t want to scare you off.”

  Natalie rested her forehead against his, trying to stop her head from spinning. There was no running away from this. If she did, it would only hunt her down. She couldn’t run from her desire.

  Her ex, he had been the monster. These men appeared to be the complete opposite. Her instincts said to trust them. Dustin told her he loved her. How I can be sure this is all real? Her heart said that it was. But her head was fighting against all of it, trying to find the logical solution. “I felt some unnamable pull toward both you and Dustin when I first touched you. I didn’t understand it. Is that what you mean about knowing instantly?”

  “Yes. It’s instinct.”

  Scott kissed her throat and pulled the skin between his teeth. She moaned. Everything in her wanted to be with him right then, but she couldn’t. She needed time to process what had happened. What she had learned.

  “This wolf thing. Does it run in your family? Or were you bitten like Dustin was?”

  “It’s hereditary. All the shamans in my family have been shifters. Half of the tribe is. That’s another reason your land is sacred to us. It’s our hunting ground. Or it used to be, along with the mountains.” He kissed down her shirt and brushed his lips across one of her hardened nipples. He drew it into his mouth and began to suck on it.

  She moaned from his wet lips on her hardening bud. But she had to keep things straight. “So how does this work? Do I become a wolf like you two to be considered your mate?”

  “It’s not mandatory. You can remain human. Only it would be hard for us not to indulge in you. One bite or scratch would turn you into one of us. I wouldn’t do that against your will. God, I want you so fucking bad. Can’t you feel it?”

  Natalie could. She ground against his hard length for a moment, almost succumbing to the passion coursing through her. He growled. Natalie heard the deep rumble in his chest, and this time it didn’t scare her. She wanted to hear more of it. “I can. But I have to go back. It wasn’t fair of me to run out on him the way I did.”

  “And it’s fair to leave me hanging to go back to him?”

  “You said yourself that you saw me and another. That other is Dustin. I’m not playing favorites. Please believe that. Honestly, I never thought I’d find one man who could fill my heart the way you do, but I’ve found two. If you truly want me, then you’re going to have to accept him too. I’m a package deal. At least that’s what I think. I dream about having the two of you making love to me.”

  She got up and straightened her clothes. Scott grabbed her around the waist and slid his hands over her stomach and along her thighs. She whimpered. The pit of her stomach dropped when he began kissing her neck. His fingers began to fondle the zipper of her jeans. Her need for him made her wet, but she pulled out of the haze when the image of Dustin as a wolf flashed through her mind. She had to make one thing right before she could venture further into the relationship with Scott. Natalie backed away, trying to catch her breath.

  “I have to. I’m sorry. I have to apologize to Dustin. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you.”

  Scott clenched his fists. His expression hardened. “I understand. I’ll be at your place in the morning to work.”

  She nodded and left the house. On her drive back home, she began to process everything they had said. She’d never considered werewolves before tonight, but what she had seen with her own eyes was short of a nightmare.

  Now her life had been turned upside down. She couldn’t deny the desire she had for Dustin and Scott. The yearning to be with each of them was unraveling her nerves even now.

  She pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. Snow had dotted the landscape and was still falling. Glancing at the windows, she didn’t see Dustin in any of them. Rubbing her arms, she went into the house and sensed the eerie silence. No one was there.

  “Dustin.” She listened and waited to feel a cold blast of air or his anger, but nothing. The house was still. Heading upstairs, she went into her bedroom and saw the bed had been made and there were coals burning in the fireplace.

  “Please, Dustin. I’m sorry I ran out on you. I know how you must think of me. I was scared. Give me a break.”

  He didn’t answer her. Sighing, Natalie went to take a warm shower. The hot water worked deep into her muscles. When she was done, she wrapped herself in her fluffy r
obe and went back into the bedroom. Sitting before the coals, the floorboards creaked. Glancing up, she saw Jeannie creeping over to the stuffed animals. The little girl smiled at her and then laughed.

  “It’s okay if you play with them. You wouldn’t happen to know where your brother is, would you?”

  The little girl nodded and motioned for her to follow. Natalie got up and went after her. They walked down the stairs, and Jeannie pointed to the door under the stairs. When she did that she faded away. The door wasn’t open. She went over to it and listened. More scraping noises sounded along the floor and she figured bricks were being moved. Natalie pressed her ear to the door and suddenly a large impact made her jump back and cry out.

  “He’s rather rowdy tonight.”

  Natalie glanced over and saw Dustin leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. His serious expression seemed to put a wall between them. The longing to go to him overwhelmed her. She reached out, but her hand passed through his arm. He looked at it and then back at her. “You’re keeping him contained.”

  “Yes. You should go back to bed.” His tone was cold.

  “Didn’t you hear me calling for you? What I said?”

  “I heard.”

  She glanced at her bunny slippers. He’s pissed. I don’t blame him. “I-I went to Scott’s because I was afraid. He told me he was like you. And that wolves know their mate at first touch. I felt something immediately for you when you first touched me. I don’t know how that works. Anyway, what I never did tell you was that, when I went to dinner with him before, he said there’s a way to free you. It’s something about all the spirits can be liberated when I enter the spirit world when the day starts to reclaim the night. Or something like that.”

  Another thump sounded on the door behind her. Natalie jumped and spun around. There was a definite indentation in the wood this time. She ran her hand over the door and felt the jutting wood. If a few more bricks were thrown, the wood would break.

  “He’s pissed off.”

  “I can tell. Why?”

  “Because he’s an asshole. Because he can’t get out and do the things he wants to you.”

  “What things does he want to do to me?”

  “Go back to bed, Natalie. He’s not getting out even if he breaks down the door.”

  She ached to touch Dustin. She approached him and tried to touch his cheek, but her hands passed through it. Tears came to her eyes.

  She turned and went up to bed. When she crawled under the covers, she felt the weight of the mattress depress beside her.

  “I’m not mad at you, love. It took a lot of energy for me to make love to you, and then shift while keeping corporeal form. I understand you were terrified of me. And this is all much for you to take in. But I need to watch him tonight, and it takes less energy to manifest. Please understand.” He brushed a kiss across her cheek which made her feel somewhat better.

  “I just don’t want you to hate me.”

  “I could never hate you. We’ll figure this out. Now get some sleep. Jeannie’s watching you for me and playing quietly in the corner. I’ll be here tomorrow.”

  Natalie shut her eyes and drifted off.

  The next morning, she got ready for the day. She wanted to sleep later, but the banging of the contractors and the buzz of the saw kept her awake. Outside, two trucks and a van were parked next to her Ranger. One of them was Scott’s.

  A thrill went through her thinking about him. Having slept on everything that happened to her, it had started to make more sense. She’d had the same dream about her men turning from wolves into men while she walked between them in the snow. It didn’t make her any more comfortable with the idea though. She began to make breakfast and there was a knock on the door.

  She opened the door to Scott with a clipboard in his hand. “Good morning.”

  His eyes had returned to normal. His bronze skin glistened in the early light. The sun reflected off the inch of snow that had fallen outside. The open door let the cold in. She blushed from staring at him too long, remembering how she left him last night.

  “Hi. Come in, please.”

  Scott came in and closed the door. She went back to stirring her scrambled eggs and flipping her sausages over. The smell made her mouth water. Then again so did the sight of him. It took everything in her to focus on not burning her breakfast. “Would you like some coffee or something to eat?”

  “No, thank you. I was hoping we could discuss some of the repairs you needed on the house.”

  She nodded. “Sure.” She switched off the stove burner and grabbed a plate. Her hand shook when she set it down on the table.

  “Hey.” His fingers lifted her chin.

  Natalie couldn’t ignore the compulsion to be in his arms and wrapped him in a hug. Scott chuckled and held her for a moment before peeling her off of him. “Sorry. I—”

  “No need to apologize. You caught me off guard last night. Seeing you so frightened kinda kicked in my mating instincts to protect you. I keep the wolf under control. As much as I love you in my arms, I don’t think it’s a good idea for my crew to see me fraternizing with a client. They might get the wrong idea. And aren’t you worried about what Dustin will think about seeing us together?”

  “I hadn’t thought about that. I’ll discuss it with him later.” She backed away and then sat down. “So what else needs to be done to this place?”

  “Well, you need a new water heater. The chimney has to be fixed. You need to get a new roof, but that can wait until next spring. Some of the insulation needs to be redone. And I would suggest getting a decent out building for tools you’ll need around here. The rest of the repairs are done.”

  “Is that it?”

  “There’s a list of things I’ll leave with you that you can decide to do now or later.” He handed her a piece of paper.

  She looked it over and saw the price. It was a little high, but then she looked at the list of things he had. She knew about some of them. Others she didn’t, but they weren’t major. “Let me think about it. I can write you a check for a good portion of it now. And we can hash out the other details later. Say over dinner tonight at seven. If you can get away, that is.”

  “I think that can be arranged. Oh, my sister would like to meet you.”

  Her eyes widened. “Why?”

  “I think she wants to inspect my new mate.”

  “You told her about me?”

  “Not in so many words. I told her I met someone. That and she said one of our ancestors came to her and told her about you. I think the spirits here like you.”

  “Okay. But I don’t want to meet her tonight.”

  “Not tonight. Seven it is.”

  Scott got up and glanced outside. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She blushed and watched his fine ass as he walked out the door.

  Chapter Nine

  The house remained quiet all day. Natalie didn’t hear or sense Dustin. The workers were around. Some were in and out. She spied Scott around the property. Sometimes he was hammering something and working hard. She had to keep from staring at his bunching muscles. The sight of him made her wet.

  To get away from him for a little while, she went into town and went grocery shopping for dinner. When she was done, she decided to head over to a small craft store she spied next to the supermarket.

  Inside, she was met with the smell of sage. The walls were decorated with paintings of wolves and landscapes. Medicine wheels hung from the ceiling along with dreamcatchers for sale. There were leather works in the back. Rows of jars filled with herbs lined one whole wall. Painted masks hung in between the art. Baskets were displayed on a couple of shelves. She ran her hand over a handmade rug and thought the colors would look great in the living room before the large fireplace.

  “Hi. Can I help you?”

  Natalie turned and saw the woman before her. Her copper skin and high cheekbones told her she was Native American. Her black hair was cropped short and hung right
below her ears. “I was just looking, thanks. Everything in here is awesome.”

  “Thanks. The majority of it is handmade.”

  “I can tell.”

  “You’re Natalie, aren’t you?”

  “How did you know that?”

  The woman smiled. “Word travels fast around a small town. Besides, Scott Redhawk, is my brother. I’m Scarlett Redhawk. It’s nice to meet you.” She stuck out her hand.

  Natalie glanced at her hand. Her nails were evenly rounded and painted dark blue. Silver rings adorned her fingers, and a large silver and amber bracelet hugged her wrist. She took it and was struck by the firmness of the handshake. “It’s nice to meet you. He said this morning you wanted to meet me.”

  “Yeah. I spoke to him last night. He told me about your dream about the two wolves. And the cowboy in your house. You really stirred Scott up. I’ve never seen him like that. That’s a good thing.”

  She laughed. “Really. Why?”

  “Scott has always been very focused. He didn’t want to step into the role of shaman for our tribe, but our destinies choose us. The way you were chosen to be his mate and the cowboy’s you have in your house. Your home sits on sacred land.”

  “I know. Scott’s told me about your ancestors being trapped. So you’re a wolf, too?”

  “I am. It runs strong in our family. And you’re completely human. At least for now. Although I would say you have some Native American in you.”

  “My mother was half Cherokee and my father half Sioux. My mother tried to stay more to tradition than my father. Yeah, I’m a melting pot as my father would call me. And no offense on the whole wolf thing, but I’m not ready to turn into Lon Chaney.”

  Scarlett laughed. “I like you. You’re going to make a great sister-in-law. Take these herbs and burn them when you have your two mates together. It might make things a little more lucrative and ease the tension between them. I think your cowboy is also an alpha. I’ve sensed him on your property before. Seen him wandering in the mist in his spirit wolf form. He is strong.” She handed her a sachet filled with herbs. “Just throw a palm full in the fire. Works every time.”