by Dixon, Ruby
I can’t get rid of the hunters. The local police frown on that. Not to mention that it affects the economy. Tourists aren’t big on staying in a small town known for being dangerous to visitors. So my only option is to avoid having a mate.
And I’ve done a good job of it. Until a few years ago, Pine Falls was big on bear shifters, a few wolves here and there, and only a handful of human women. None of them smelled good to me, and it was easy enough to avoid the tourists. They don’t come to construction zones.
But somewhere along the line, shifters and humans started hooking up, and now the whole goddamned town is like one bad episode of The Bachelor with fucking roses being handed out like candy at Halloween. I stiffen my spine.
Just because Maddie smells like heaven doesn’t mean she’s my mate. Maybe I just need to get laid. When was the last time that happened? I think back. Shit…the last time I had flesh-to-flesh contact with another woman was about four years ago when I went to a building convention down in Florida. I’d been trying to arrange a meeting with a fellow who was selling home solar panels. We have quite a few people up here who want to live completely off the grid.
I’m long past due. That’s my problem. Regular hand jobs aren’t cutting it. My attraction isn’t the result of Maddie being my mate. It’s just a regular biological reaction due to being near a sweet-smelling woman.
Hell, it could be anyone. Okay, not anyone. The humans at the table smell about as interesting as sawdust. As does every other woman in this town, but just because Maddie makes all my taste buds water and my dick spring to life doesn’t mean she’s my mate.
I peer at her out of the corner of my eye. I’m afraid to look her full in the face. It’s one thing to smell her. It’s one thing to know her hair is as pretty as cattails in a marsh. It’s another thing entirely to look her straight in the face. I don’t need that kind of beauty haunting me. And I know she’s like a fucking angel from the way that Dent keeps glancing over here as if she’s some kind of picture he hasn’t ever laid eyes on before
“You wanna have sex?”I ask abruptly.
“I, ah, what? I came to ask if I can give you a makeover.” Shock is evident in her voice. But that wasn’t a no.
“Sure. After we have sex.”I wrap up her hamburger in a napkin, throw down a couple of twenties, and then grab her hand.
“Wait a second. I didn’t come over because I wanted to go home with you. I told my friends I was going to give the next person who walked through the door a makeover. I need people in Pine Falls to see me as something other than mate material. I’m a stylist!”
“You can do whatever the hell you want with me. After we have sex.”
I push open the door to the tavern and drag her straight to my pickup. I’m glad I washed and vacuumed it this weekend. She protests some more about how she’s a wolf and she’s going to scratch me up. I can’t control the sexual shudder that takes hold at the thought of her claws digging into my skin.
She threatens to cut off all my hair and shave my beard and paint my toenails, but she climbs into the cab of my truck anyway.
I put the truck in gear and head home. Unless she’s cutting everything with a knife, I’m pretty safe. But I want her to be comfortable so I tell her, “I promise I’ll shower before we fuck.”
3
Maddie
What on earth am I doing?
The thought plays through my head, over and over again, as the lumberjack from hell drives his truck through the woods.
Apparently, we’re going to fuck. Apparently, I’m not saying no to this. Why am I not telling this guy to fuck off? Maybe because the hand that grabbed mine was enormous, and I’ve got a thing for big men? Maybe because his nails were clean and neat and trimmed despite the scary hair and beard and sawdust, which means he takes care of himself despite outward appearances? Maybe because I’m secretly addicted to bossy men who like to tell me what to do and how it should be done, and that’s why I fell for my last alpha? Maybe despite my confidence and independence, I like to be told what to do in bed, and this feeds into one of my fantasies?
Maybe it’s all of the above. Whatever it is, I’m in a stranger’s car and I’m off to have sex with him.
My phone dings with an incoming text. You okay? It’s from Ryann.
I quickly send a text back so she and Adelaide don’t worry. They’re human, so they probably didn’t overhear our conversation, which means I can say whatever I want. He’s super excited about the makeover. Told you I was good at this sort of thing. Will fill you guys in with details later!
I don’t point out that in order to do the makeover, I’m going to have to fuck him. Because what human girl in her right mind would do so? Then again, I’m not human. Sometimes we don’t react the way normal humans would.
She sends back a quick Yay! Send pics!
Will do. I almost feel bad, but it’s the truth, isn’t it? He’s going to let me make him over, or so he says. I slide my phone back into my pocket and watch the man as he drives. I don’t think he’s really looked me in the face once. Sniffed my scent, grabbed my hand, but hasn’t looked at my face. “You wanna tell me your name, stranger?”
“No.”
A surprised laugh escapes me. “Points for honesty, but it’s a deal breaker for me. I like to know whose name I’m screaming.”
His big body tenses, hands gripping the steering wheel. He almost looks me in the face then. Almost. Bet he wasn’t expecting that response. And really, it’s fun to play with him. For some reason, the idea of this tryst feels very…freeing. I’ll get a night with someone who’ll boss the crap out of me in bed, get my makeover, get my freedom from everyone in town slipping me their phone numbers, and then I can settle in to a life of glorious singledom here in Pine Falls.
“Chance,” he grits out after a moment.
Right. Ryann had said that, but I’d forgotten momentarily. Something about this guy’s presence is overpowering my senses. The dominance? The bear side of him? I’ve never had sex with a were-bear; I’ve always mentally pictured them as easygoing and laid-back, which is not my type. Not this guy. He practically radiates tension, and it’s doing wild things to my body. I cross my arms over my chest and rub my shoulders to hide the fact that my nipples are pricking through my top… “I’m Maddie Thorne.”
Chance doesn’t look over at me. “I heard.”
I get the impression he almost didn’t want to know my name. Too bad for him. Anonymous sex isn’t my kink.
“Condoms?” I ask after a moment.
He grunts again. “You in heat?”
“No!” The thought makes me recoil in horror.
“Then we don’t have to worry about you getting pregnant, do we?”
He’s got a point. I should protest. Unprotected sex with a stranger? Am I crazy? But he’s a shifter. We don’t catch things like humans do, and he’s right. He can’t get me pregnant if I’m not in heat. And I shiver because he’s so damn bossy. God, this should not be turning me on this much. I clench my legs tighter together because I’m starting to smell my own juices, and if I can, it means he can, too.
I look over and study his face, trying to figure out what he’d look like without the bushy beard and the mess of unkempt, too-long hair covering his head. He’s got nice eyes—I think—and the lips under the beard are full. I imagine those lips trailing over my skin as he grabs a handful of my hair …
I shift in my seat, nervous and excited at once.
“So, let’s discuss your makeover,” I say, when the scent of my arousal becomes too overwhelming. “The beard has to go, and I’m thinking maybe a fade? Something high and tight? Unless you want highlights. I can do that, you know.”
“No fucking highlights.” Chance’s voice is little more than a growl, but there’s a husky note to it that makes my girl parts tingle.
“Fair enough.” I keep my voice light. “We can do a facial to freshen up your skin, too, and I can do a mani-pedi on you. No colors, of course. We’ll just tr
im things down and massage you up and—”
The truck screeches to a halt. My gaze flicks to the road, but we’re in the middle of nowhere, nothing but trees and deep woods around us. A flicker of confusion crosses my mind. I’m not worried he’s going to hurt me—I can just turn wolf and outrun him if he tries to turn on me. It’s the forest that concerns me more than anything else. I’m not wearing the appropriate foot gear for a trek, and my cute little Badgley Mischka heels are brand new.
I look over at Chance, and he’s staring straight ahead. There’s an enormous bulge in the front of his pants, though, and that makes me breathless. I open the truck door and slide out, my heels wobbling on the gravel road.
Chance turns off the truck and hops out. He paces around the truck bed over to my side, and while I stand there awkwardly, he stalks toward me. My eyes widen as he comes right for me, and before I can take a step backward, he grabs my arm and turns me, pushing me against the door. My back is to him, and I feel him jerk up my skirt, and his hand finds my panties.
My soaking, soaking wet panties.
The growl in my ear is feral with need and leaves me utterly quivering. “I could smell this in the fucking truck,” he breathes in my ear, and I feel the tickle of his beard against my skin. My entire body is practically vibrating with need, and I have to bite back a moan. “Why are you so turned on?”
When I don’t respond right away, his hand cups my pussy inside my panties. Not in a tender way, rather the way someone does when they own something. It makes me melt. The moan I’ve been trying to hold back escapes my throat.
“You into having sex with strangers?” His other hand grabs my hair, and my eyes nearly roll back in my head at the pleasure I get from that.
“N-no.”
“Then what is it?”
I’m practically panting now. If he touches my clit, I might spontaneously combust into orgasm. “I’m just…a good…submissive wolf. That’s all.”
He stills, and then I feel him lean in closer. His hand squeezes my pussy. “You like to be told what to do?”
I nod, and it makes his hand tighten in my hair, which sets off fireworks through my body all over again.
“So if I rip these panties off you and fuck you against the car, you won’t say anything to protest? You’ll just say ‘thank you’?”
I swallow hard, because truthfully? That about sums it up. He could shove his cock in my mouth right now and I’d try to thank him around it. Just the visual of that is making me want to come all over his hand.
I am, however, a stickler for dirt, and he’s rubbing sawdust on me even as he touches me. “You…said you’d shower,” I pant. “That’s a deal breaker.”
He grunts in acknowledgment, and I think that he’s going to let me go. A moment later, though, he leans in and squeezes my pussy, hard. “You gonna be able to wait until we get to my cabin, Maddie?”
My eyes nearly cross at how good his body feels pressing against mine. “If…if you want me to.”
“I do.” His hand tightens in my hair for one blissful moment. “I’m gonna be pissed if you come without me.”
“Then I won’t.” I lick my lips. I could pretty much come right here, but I won’t.
“Good.” He smacks my pussy, sending a jolt through me. “Get back in the truck.”
I swallow hard and nod, and he releases me. I sag against the truck door, boneless. And here I’d thought I’d gotten past the bulk of my submissiveness by getting away from my wolf pack. Turns out all I need is a really big, brawny man to tell me what to do and I turn into a quivering pile of need.
All the more reason to stay single.
Chance opens the truck door for me, which strikes me as thoughtful even in my overheated, madly rushing thoughts. I manage to climb back into the truck and arrange my skirt carefully as he shuts the door and gets in on the other side.
He starts the truck again and tears down the gravel road. We’re deep into the middle of nowhere, but I’m not worried. With my wolf nose, I could find my way back home by following scent trails, but I am curious as to where we’re going. This is pretty remote. Does he live out here? Does this explain the lumberjack look? I sneak a glance over at him, but he’s not looking in my direction.
The big hands on the steering wheel are white-knuckled with tension, and his crotch looks as if it’s straining. Looks as if I’m not the only one struggling to keep it together. That makes me glad. If my scent permeated the cab of his truck any more, I don’t doubt that he’d grab my head and force it into his lap while he drives.
And I shiver at the thought of that mental image because I think I’d like that more than I want to admit. God, I am such a noodle in the presence of this man. What is wrong with me?
I clench my hands into fists and try to concentrate on being less ‘submissive wolf’ as he turns right in front of a beaten-up mailbox and down a long, winding path. Eventually, a cabin comes into view, and it’s a lovely sight—big windows, a cozy porch, and a beautiful yard. Everything looks neat and tidy, and there’s not a speck of mess anywhere. Ironic for a man who is rocking caveman-chic. There’s a dog up front that starts wagging its tail the moment the truck pulls up, and my estimation of this man goes up a notch. He likes dogs.
I forget all about scoping out his place when he turns toward me. “Inside the cabin now, unless you wanna forget about that shower.”
I swallow hard. “Going,” I squeak.
4
Chance
“Your place is very neat,” Maddie observes as I guide her through the living room toward the loft upstairs. “And big. You live here by yourself?”
A questioning note enters her words, but I can’t make sense of it. The scent of her arousal is filling the air, and the feel of her pussy is imprinted on my palm.
“Yes,” I reply tersely. I need to get her upstairs to the shower before I spend on the stairs like an untried cub.
“Why all this space?” She gestures over the railing. I pause because she isn’t moving any more. I look at her and then at the downstairs living area.
“Because I’m a big guy?” I don’t really have an answer for her. My first plan for this place was a small, one-bedroom cabin with a footprint of no more than nine hundred square feet. It grew into something bigger as I was pouring the footings. It went from a tiny house to a big house, but it was still just me.
“Bears aren’t like wolves. I know you prefer to hibernate alone unless you have a mate and cubs. You don’t have a mate, do you?”
The alarm at the end of her question finally seeps through my thick skull. She apparently is putting one and one together and getting a family of six. “No cubs. No mate.” I tap her ripe ass. “Shower. Now.”
She huffs a sigh but starts moving. “I was just wondering. I think it’s a fair question to ask. I don’t want to get into the middle of a mate tiff.”
“I don’t have a mate,” I growl. Enough of this mate shit. “I don’t believe in mates.” She halts on the stairs again. “What now?” At this rate, we’ll never get to the shower. I eye her speculatively. Did I really promise to clean up? Maybe she’s going slow because she wants me to take her on the stairs.
“You don’t believe in mates?” she asks incredulously. “Mate bonds are kind of our thing.” She waves her finger between our two bodies. “Shifters mate for their very long lives. Their whole existence is often dedicated to finding their mate.”
I tune out her talk of mate stuff and focus on the fact that because she’s on a riser, my face is level with her tits. If I unbutton that top of hers, I could probably lean forward and suck one of her pretty nipples into my mouth without even bending over.
She did say she was a submissive wolf. It could be she’s just waiting for my command. I take a deep breath and inhale her scent to make sure she’s still on board. Her body says it’s ready.
“Don’t believe in mates,” I tell her as I start unbuttoning her top. “I do believe in making you feel good. Here’s what’s goin
g to happen. We’re not showering. I’m going to peel these pretty clothes off and then I’m going to suck on your tits until you come on my hand. Afterward, we’ll shower.”
“Every shifter believes in mates,” she replies. Her tone kind of reminds me of a schoolteacher. That’d be hot. Maddie dressed up in a tight skirt, wearing glasses. I’d bend her over the desk and pound her right before classes started and then, as she was writing shit on the chalkboard, my seed would be dripping down her leg.
Fuck. That makes me horny as hell.
“Mates aren’t my thing.” I part the edges of her blouse. “These are my things.”
Holy music starts playing in my ears as I unveil her black-lace covered breasts. Ripe and juicy as the rest of her. My mouth waters as I imagine the taste of those in my mouth.
“Chance, I think we should go upstairs.“ Her hands come up to clutch at the sides of her shirt.
“Nah. This is good. You‘re going to stand there and hold your shirt while I suck on your tits.“ With one rough tug, I pull down the bra cups, and her breasts pop out. The bra constrains her, pushing her flesh together to form a deep valley. Her nipples are tight and red and waiting.
Mate bond, schmate bond. She doesn‘t give a shit about that stuff either.
“Your body is rocking my world, babe,“ I tell her respectfully. I brush my thumbs across the surface of the erect tips and revel in the shudder that snakes through her body.
“You going to lick them or just stare at them?“ she sasses me.
I pinch one—hard—and she yelps. “You going to be a brat?“
Her chin tilts up. “I think it was a legitimate question. You‘ve done a lot of talking, but there hasn’t been much follow-through. Maybe like the mate thing, you don’t believe in action?”