Wrangled Fate: Book One: Black Claw Ranch

by Lane, Cecilia

  His bear railed against the thought of letting her go.

  Ethan eased her zipper down and pressed a small kiss to her navel. Another to the waist of the panties he exposed. More to her generous thighs, her knees, her calves. The tops of her feet each received pecks before he switched his path back to her center.

  “Fuck, sweetheart,” he groaned. “I can’t wait to taste you.”

  Her eyelids fluttered open, eyes dark with lust. Even so, she batted his hands away from the waist of her panties. “No one really wants to do that.”

  “Mmm.” The noise vibrated in his chest as he eased her panties down her legs. She looked gorgeous with her cheeks already flushed. “You’ve been with boys.”

  She huffed a laugh, eyes rolling at his comment. “And you’re the real man to show me what I need?”

  He spread her legs open and licked into her. The shock of it slammed her thighs closed around his head and she arched her back. He growled, long and low, and pushed her legs back open.

  “Sweetheart, your body was made for pleasure. Let me prove it to you.”

  Her mouth dropped open and Ethan inwardly grinned. Stealing her words and leaving her speechless felt like a victory.

  One to be outdone.

  He ran his tongue up her slit and nearly lost his fight not to plunge into her on the first roll of her hips. Slow. Controlled. He ran his tongue up her folds again and again, hitting her clit at the top of each stroke. He focused on wringing pleasure from her body and proving himself against the line of weak boys in her past.

  He held her spread open for his taking, hands wrapped around her thighs to keep her from retreating. His, that’s what she was in that moment. Needy groans and clenched hands were all for him.

  Her thighs trembled. His bear shoved forward and demanded he finish the job, claim what belonged to them. Ethan kicked the beast back before his fangs could lower. Marking her wasn’t his intention. Licking her until she thrashed and moaned was his goal.

  He swiped his tongue through her slick, wet heat. “Look at me,” he groaned. “Want to watch you come.”

  By the Broken. Whiskey-brown eyes landed on him.

  “Good girl.” He slid his tongue deep inside her.

  Her mouth dropped open in a perfect little o. The noise the poured out from her lips was pure ecstasy. Her hands tightened in his hair as he bobbed between her legs, working with the jerks of her hips guiding him to the rhythm she needed. Sexy woman. Perfect woman. He would be a fool to never slide between her legs.

  And those shining, hungry, beautiful eyes never left his face. Not until her head fell back and her thighs clenched down on his ears.

  “Ethan,” she moaned, lost in her release.

  Ethan ripped his jeans down his legs as fast as he could manage, then he joined Tansey on the bed. Her legs fell open for him and he rubbed his cock up and down her wet heat.

  “Do you want this?” he purred in her ear. The tease was as much to hear her acknowledgment as to give him a second. His bear clawed at him again with more demands to bind the woman to them.

  Not now.

  Not yet.

  Not when he didn’t know what the future held and she had no idea the pull she had over him.

  One night, or a lifetime, Tansey had him by the balls.

  “Quit teasing.” Her teeth nipped at his neck as a shudder rolled through her body. “Need you now.”

  * * *

  Tansey was lost. Ethan’s taste. His strength. The deep, husky, pleased noises he made as he slowly slid his impressive length into her, inch by glorious inch. Good lord, he smelled good. Forest and dirt and sweat. Had anything ever been so intoxicating? All of it worked together to fog her head up with never wanting the night to end.

  She tried to replay the whirlwind of events over and find out where she’d let her guard down. That first kiss? When she’d shuddered at being captured so easily against a wall? No, tonight, when he’d snuck past her defenses and given her a glimpse of what it would mean to have Ethan on her side.

  They’d found a tentative trust when she had no reason to hope for it. This man, for whatever reason, took up her cause. Hers. That was an important distinction. He sought her out and gave her hope about her missing brother instead of hunting down Viho and getting any type of revenge.

  She wanted loyalty. The bone-deep kind she wanted to give to someone else. Ethan was slowly, strangely, earning it.

  He propped himself on his elbows, arms shaking with the effort not to plow into her like those stupid boys he was so damned concerned about. Not that he had anything to worry about. None of them had treated her like a buffet made solely for his tongue, or groaned about it through the first taste to the last.

  Strain cut sharp lines across his strong jaw as he bottomed out inside her. His eyes whirled with blue and silver. “Fuck, Tansey,” he growled through gritted teeth.

  Strength stared back at her. Loyalty. Mischief. He was a tough man with a spine of steel. He had to be, to grow up with so much weighing on his shoulders. Ethan Ashford was a good man.

  She could almost trick herself into thinking he could be her good man. She was halfway there. The wishing stage was just as dangerous as the believing.

  Don’t fall in love, she told him. A joke, then. A warning, now.

  Tansey pulled him down and licked his lower lip. “What did I say about teasing?”

  He released a tight breath. His eyes flickered, then he slanted his mouth over hers in a blistering kiss.

  Tansey gasped into his mouth as his hips retreated, then slammed back inside her.

  Her legs trembled as she wrapped them around him. She needed the extra leverage, needed to ground herself against something or risk spinning entirely out of control. Ethan was the rock she needed while the rest of the world slipped entirely away.

  He worked her body relentlessly. Teasing play was long gone and a feral need had awoken in them both. His arm curled under her and gripped her shoulder, holding her steady as he pounded into her slick heat.

  Nerves sparked with each hard thrust. It was hard to breathe with the air so thick around him. Like molasses. Just as tempting, too.

  Tansey stifled a moan, teeth grazing against Ethan’s shoulder. The hoarse groan he made in response fried her thoughts as he thrust faster, harder.

  Her skin tingled with fire while her mind, somewhere distant, recognized what he’d done to her. Ethan dragged her closer, dug deep into her, and branded a part of himself on her. Every second teetered her further over the edge.

  “Ethan,” she panted.

  His name was the only word she could manage. She needed more. Needed to feel all of him with every last bit of restraint stripped away.

  Tansey dragged her nails down Ethan’s back. He reared back with a roar, eyes burning silver, and pushed to his knees. His fingers dug into her hips and hauled her into place.

  “Fuck,” she moaned. Stars burst behind her eyelids at the feel of him in an entirely new position. He utterly filled her.

  His thumb swept across her clit. “Come.”

  The words were all harsh order and inhuman growl. They drew a shudder of pleasure from her very middle.

  “Come now,” Ethan commanded again. “Want to feel you on my cock.”

  His eyes alone would have done the trick. The dirty words were like a flick of a switch.

  She cried out as she crested, riding the wave of pleasure he demanded from her. Every muscle reacted at once, tightening and pulsing with her release.

  His roar vibrated through her as his cock throbbed inside her. His movement stuttered, then stopped, then picked up again as he dragged every twitching sensation out as long as possible.

  Ethan collapsed on top of her. He rolled to the side and tucked her against him, one leg thrown possessively over her and an arm locking her to him. He became a blanket, which she thought should irritate her instead of giving her comfort.

  His breath sighed against the back of her neck and she froze. This was it. T
he moment where he cuddled only because it was expected of him. He’d slip away as soon as possible.

  Ethan brushed his fingers lightly up and down her arm and made no signs of moving.

  “Ethan?” she whispered into the darkness after a long moment.

  “Hm?”

  “Why does the air get… heavy around you sometimes?”

  His fingers trailing over her skin stopped. “It’s because I’m dominant. My bear is pushing for obedience.”

  Tansey rolled over to face him. A wicked smile lifted her lips as she crawled his fingers up his chest. “So you don’t like to be challenged?”

  “Careful, sweetheart. I might just have to show you who’s in charge.”

  In a quick move, she had him on his back. Feeling crazed and hopped up on lust and curiosity, she leaned down and scraped her teeth over his flat, brown nipple. His hands slapped down on her hips and dragged her against his growing shaft.

  “You can try,” she dared.

  Chapter 18

  “You ready for this?” Ethan asked. Four pairs of eyes watched them from the porch, summoned by the sound of his truck bumping up the driveway.

  Tansey stifled a yawn. Bags lined her eyes, but she looked at him with clear focus. She hadn’t uttered one word of complaint since his alarm pulled them from exhausted sleep an hour earlier. That earned his respect as much as the eyebrow she arched in the direction of his clan.

  “As long as they have coffee, I’m ready for anything.” She swiveled her head and threw him a wry smile. “They look so cute lined up and waiting for daddy to get home.”

  Ethan choked on his laugh. “I’ll let you be the one to tell them that.”

  He stepped out of his truck and into the asscrack of dawn to the sounds of whoops and whistles. Ethan ducked his head in quiet male pride that surged at the memory of his night with Tansey. His bear was absolutely pleased to have his scent all over the curvy woman. That lingering odor of possessiveness was the only thing that kept the beast caged beneath his skin.

  “Classy,” she muttered without a hint of annoyance. She beamed a smile in their direction and raised both middle fingers in an early morning salute that had them doubled over with laughter.

  “You left classy behind at least eight miles ago. I’d say we’re lucky these ones are even housebroken, but I’m not sure about Alex.”

  Alex straightened with a scowl. Ethan cut him off before he could let loose any of the wild curses that were never far from erupting out of his mouth. “Don’t you slackers have work to be doing?”

  Jesse crossed his arms over his chest. “We were wondering if we needed to send out a search party.”

  “Why?” Tansey interjected. “Afraid I ate him alive?”

  “Other way around, more like it,” Ethan muttered for her ears and caught an elbow in the side. Smirks from the others said he hadn’t been quiet enough. Whatever. He was a damn adult and no prude.

  “They’re just lucky I let you out of bed,” she sniped back. “Would they have been able to tell one end of the horse from the other if I hadn’t?”

  Hunter’s eyes danced with his broad grin. He wagged a finger at Tansey. “Oh, this one is funny. I like her. Can we keep her, boss?”

  Ethan growled low in his throat. He needed them gone before he started staking his claim with claws and fangs. “Head on over. I’ll catch up in a second.”

  Snippets from the muttering males reached his ears and were immediately discarded.

  He grabbed Tansey’s hand and spun her into his chest. Her hands flattened against his chest as she turned laughing whiskey-brown eyes on him.

  Heat crawled down his spine and settled at the base with just that little contact. Before he could help himself, Ethan leaned down and sipped at her lips. “Listen, Trent won’t be ready to head out for another couple hours...”

  Tansey contracted and expanded her fingers, almost like a cat kneading him. “That’s fine. You take care of what’s needed.”

  The words were different than the only other morning she’d been on his ranch. She’d been full of demands and questions then, and couldn’t wait to get on the move. Hope reared its head on the vague possibility of her understanding the work that went into his daily life.

  He dipped his face again and caught her in another kiss. Tansey just... melted against him. Her lips parted without prompting and he swept his tongue inside.

  By the Broken, he couldn’t get enough of her. The soft sounds she made, the feel of her skin, everything. She made him want to spend the day in bed and forget the world existed. His bear rumbled agreement, with the added demands to sink his fangs into her skin and bind her forever.

  With a strangled groan, Ethan tore himself away and spun her back out with a tiny swat on the ass. “Head inside and help yourself to some coffee. I’ll be back soon.”

  The walk from house to barn was short, but he took his time. He needed the coolness of the early morning to calm his raging blood. His bear wanted him to turn back around and nuzzle up behind his mate. The human half wanted to, as well, but at least put more stock in one head than the other. Duty called. He’d had all night to avoid it.

  Renewed whistles and wolf howls greeted him the moment he stepped out of the darkness and into the warm glow of the barn doors. All except Alex stopped what they were doing to clap loudly and offer him a shit-eating grin.

  “Look who finally has a walk of shame,” Hunter called out.

  Ethan pointed at him. “At least mine isn’t actually shameful.”

  Alex twisted up his mouth in something between a snarl and a pout. “She’s not going to come in here and change everything up, is she?”

  Lorne grunted. “My only hope is this stops your dick hanging out all the time.”

  “If that’s what it takes, I’ll mate the next woman I see,” Jesse added.

  The jokes underscored the problem at the heart of his clan. They were misfits. Hunter had a past he was running from. Alex and Lorne, too, if he widened his definition by a fingernail. Jesse kept his shit together mostly through making sure the others didn’t tear each other apart. And him? Well, he didn’t want distractions taking him away from maintaining their balance. He was responsible for all of them.

  “Nothing is changing,” Ethan reassured his bears.

  Except for spending the night away from the ranch. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done that without the involvement of too much liquor and the bars of the police station.

  “Besides,” he cleared his throat to hide the sudden longing that filled the pit of his stomach, “there’s no telling what will happen after today. She might take the brother and head back home.”

  That wiped the grins off their faces. Even Alex’s grumpy doubts were replaced with something close to concern.

  His bear clawed at his middle and roared loud enough to make his ears ring in protest of losing their mate.

  “Anything happen last night?” he asked before anyone said a damn thing.

  Jesse shook his head. “Nothing. No big bad wolves huffing or puffing all night.”

  Surprising, that. And a relief. Guilt over leaving his clan and ranch undefended grated on him. Tansey was a distraction he wanted to find a place for in his world.

  “We’ll keep a watch. I doubt Viho has gone far. Seems he wants to put up a fight, so we’ll give him one if it comes to that,” he said gruffly. He’d better be dead if the wolves took up on his territory. “Have the new mounts settled in?”

  The question brought them back to their tasks. They had work to do. Cows to tend, horses to mind, their bank accounts to watch. They fell quickly into their routine of running the ranch. He counted it as a win that Hunter cursed out Jesse only once and Alex didn’t shift and brawl.

  About an hour after the sun fully popped over the horizon, a piercing clang jerked Ethan to attention. “What in the hell?”

  A quick glance at Lorne showed the man throwing more hay to the noisy cows heavy with calves. He shook his head in bewi
lderment.

  Hunter raised his head from changing the tire on one of the horse trailers. “Is that a chime?”

  Ethan stomped around the barn with the others in tow. Tansey stood on the porch of his home and clanged the triangle chime again.

  “Better come now if you want your food to stay warm!” she shouted.

  As baffled as the others, Ethan shrugged and made his way toward the house.

  The scent of breakfast made his mouth water even before he pushed through the side door. Tansey moved from one end of the kitchen to the other, arranging plates and checking on cooking dishes. She tossed him a huge smile and dipped back to rummage through the fridge for whatever she needed.

  He rubbed at his nose. If he wasn’t struck dumb by everything else, he thought she smelled pleased. His bear liked watching her work.

  “What’s this?”

  “I found the bell wedged in a junk drawer. Which, by the way, your organization in here is abysmal. Nothing is where it should be. Why are the pans way over on that side when they’d be more useful by the stove?”

  “And the food?”

  She passed by him on the way to check a sizzling pan of bacon and planted a quick kiss on the cheek. “This is my way of saying thanks. I told you I’d make you a meal as payment for helping me. This isn’t dinner, but it’s something.”

  Ethan was buffeted by the others streaming in behind him. They practically drooled while they added piles of food to their plates and took a seat or dug in where they stood. Their groans were in solid agreement that whatever she’d cooked up was better than their usual fare.

  Tansey lorded over the entire scene. She smacked a dish rag at Lorne for trying to sneak more bacon from the strips still sizzling away on the stove, then slid a fresh batch of scrambled eggs on a plate and shoved them at him instead.

  The sight and smells hit Ethan smack in the chest with the full weight of longing for something more than his bachelor lifestyle.

  She looked perfect in his kitchen, feeding his males. That caregiver streak that sent her running with a wolf pack to hunt for her brother was evident in the piles of food she prepped for them all.