Heart of the Wolf
Page 8
He grinned and curved his hand over Kathryn’s hip, rubbing himself lazily against the firm globes of her butt. His shaft responded eagerly, growing harder and longer, slipping down into her crease and between her legs until his tip touched the moist heat hidden there.
Ren hummed with pleasure and began to thrust slowly, sliding his hand down to her thigh and pushing her leg forward, opening her to his sensuous intrusion. She was still wet from her last orgasm, still as hot as she’d been when she screamed his name and raked open his back with her claws. He rolled the muscles of his shoulders, feeling the pull of healing wounds. He smiled and flexed his hips forward, sliding deep into her tight little body.
Kathryn murmured softly in her sleep and began pressing back against him in time with his thrusts, making love to him even before she was fully awake. He caressed her belly, sliding his hand down between her legs and burying his fingers deep into her silky, swollen folds until he found her clit, already hard and eager for his attention.
He pinched it gently and Kathryn came fully awake, gasping his name. “Ren!” She moaned wordlessly, rippling her body against him. “How come you still feel so good?”
“Because you do, sweetheart.”
“Mmmm. Oh, yes, there!”
Ren chuckled. “Greedy little wolf.”
“You started it,” she sassed back at him.
Ren growled and began pumping harder, his fingers spread wide over her belly, holding her in place, using his powerful thigh muscles to thrust deep inside her, burying himself over and over again until Kathryn came hard, screaming his name even as his own roar of completion echoed through the final dark hours of the night.
* * * *
Ren lay awake, watching the first pale warnings of dawn light the sky through the unshuttered windows. Kathryn was curled in his arms, her back to his chest, her head tucked under his chin. She lay quietly, but she wasn’t sleeping, either. He could tell from her breathing, from the slight tripping of her heart.
“Who was he?” she asked in a quiet voice.
He didn’t have to ask whom she meant. “A hunter. A very specialized hunter. He called himself Gerald Edmonds, although that’s probably not his real name.”
“A hunter,” she repeated, puzzled. “But why? Someone hired him? For me?”
Her voice rose with anxiety, and he tightened his arms, holding her close. “He’s dead, Kathryn. He can’t hurt you ever again.” Ren wasn’t sure if he meant Edmonds or Preston Avinger.
“It was Preston, wasn’t it?” she whispered. “He hired him.”
Ren nodded, knowing she could feel the movement of his head. “They had a contract,” he confirmed. “Once Preston was dead, the contract went active. Westgate knew about it.”
She was silent for a long time and then said, “Preston never really believed I couldn’t make him Wolf, even after I finally bit him and nothing happened. It took months for his arm to heal, you know.”
“Too bad he didn’t lose something more vital,” Ren said darkly.
She laughed bitterly. “He was furious. He said we were all freaks.”
Ren stroked his hand over her cap of silver hair. “You’re not a freak.”
“I know. I forgot it sometimes, though, living with him.” She sighed. “What do you think my father will do?”
“About what?”
“About me. Will he come after me?”
Ren wanted to tell her yes, that Dominick would come after her, that she should go away with Ren, that he would keep her safe. They could leave tomorrow, the sooner, the better. But it would have been a lie. Dom might try to sweet-talk her into coming back to Clanhome, but he wouldn’t hurt her. She was too valuable to him alive, and their kind lived a long time. She was angry now, but Dom would figure she’d come back sooner or later. A lone wolf was a lonely wolf, and Kathryn had already been alone a long time.
But Ren wanted her to choose him freely, to come with him because she wanted him, not because she was afraid of her father. So he told her the truth.
“No, he won’t. He might try to call you, might even show up on your doorstep someday. But he’s a patient man. He won’t force you.”
The sun broke over the horizon abruptly, flooding the room with brilliant light. Ren closed his eyes against the glare and felt the heat on his eyelids.
“I’m going back to Europe, Kathryn.” She stiffened slightly in his embrace, but he continued. “I have to report in to Clanhome first, maybe even see Dom, but then I’m going home. I want you to come with me.”
She rolled over in his arms, pressing the length of her warm, lithe body against his and burying her face in his shoulder. And he knew what she’d say.
* * * *
“Right,” Ren said, switching the phone to his other ear to check his watch. “I’ll drive over there now. They can home in on my GPS. I’ll call you.” He disconnected and walked over to the bed where Kathryn still lay, half asleep after their long and exhausting night. She opened her eyes, and he saw her surprise that he was up and dressed already. She glanced at the clock quickly, then back at his face.
“Tommy’s downstairs,” he said. “The storm let up during the night, and the plows are working. I’ve got to meet Dom’s cleanup crew. Paul Jorgens—you remember him?—is with them, so I might be able to avoid going all the way out to Clanhome, especially since I still have some details to clear up with the police in town.”
“Ren—” she started, but he interrupted.
“Don’t say it, Kathryn. I understand, I really do. You’re free for the first time in your life, and you want to see what it’s like. And you should.” He sat down next to her. “But you need to remember one thing. Well, two things actually. One.” He leaned over and took her mouth in a long and searing kiss. She made a hungry little noise that had him wishing he could spend the rest of the day in bed with her. But, hell, one day wouldn’t be nearly enough.
He pulled away reluctantly. “I love you, Kathryn. I always have.” He stood up, pulled his jacket on and started for the door.
“Wait!” she cried. “What’s the second thing?”
He paused and looked back at her. “You don’t need to be alone to be free. When you realize that, you’ll know where to find me.”
Epilogue
Kathryn grabbed the slatted back of the bench as the ferry bumped against the dock. The rough wood of the pier was dark and pitted with age, water pooling in deep gouges and runnels, gleaming silver in the morning sunlight.
The rain seemed gone for good this time. At least she hoped it was. The locals had all assured her the bad weather was unusual for this late in the spring, but she didn’t believe them anymore. It had rained on and off for almost three weeks now, while she traveled from one tiny town to another looking for Ren and his small clan of wolves. Everywhere she’d gone, it seemed as if someone had seen them just yesterday, or maybe it was last week. One step behind him all the way and she was beginning to believe he didn’t even live around here, that this was just a big joke the locals were playing on the dumb American lady.
She stood, closing her eyes and raising her face to the weak sunlight. One way or another, she was staying put for a while. This town was big enough to have a hotel of some sort, good enough for a few days anyway, while she checked her sources and tried to figure out where the hell Renjiro Roesner had gotten off to. It had only been two months since she’d lay in that big bed all alone, telling herself what a fool she was to let him walk away. How could he have disappeared so thoroughly in only two months? And why had she waited so long to start looking?
Kathryn knew the answer to that one. She’d wanted to be free, to have no one telling her what to do, how to behave, where to go. So she’d sold that damn penthouse of Preston’s along with just about everything in it and walked away. And then discovered the only place she really wanted to be was with Ren—wherever the hell that was.
She sighed and made her way down the rickety gangplank to the dock. Turning to one of the men l
ashing the ferry in place, she spoke to him in the local language, asking if there was a café nearby. He grinned in obvious surprise and rattled off directions, offering assurances as to the establishment’s fine cuisine and fair prices. Probably owned by his cousin, she thought.
But still, a cup of tea would be nice, and something rich and sinful to go with it. If she couldn’t have Ren for breakfast, she’d just have to settle for something chocolaty instead.
* * * *
Ren strolled down the cobbled street, breathing in air freshly washed by yesterday’s rain. The narrow streets were still damp, but today the sky was clear and blue, and already he could see the brown hillsides around the town turning green with new growth. This winter had been hard, and the spring far colder than usual for this part of the world. It had taken a toll on both minds and bodies. But if today was any harbinger, the winter was finally gone for good.
Next to him, Alec gave a low whistle. “Look at that,” he said admiringly.
Ren followed his gaze to a small café down the block where several tables had been set out on the damp walk to take advantage of the unexpected good weather. He stopped walking.
“She’s gotta be new in town,” Alec marveled. “I’m sure I would’ve—”
Ren growled deep in his chest and swung his head slowly to regard the other wolf through half-slitted eyes.
“Mine,” he snarled.
Alec’s eyes widened. He glanced at the woman and back to Ren, then lowered his eyes submissively and kept them there as Ren strode away.
Kathryn stood up when she saw him. Her silver hair had grown long enough to brush her collar, and it glinted brightly in the new sunlight. She smiled as he drew closer, and he could see the spark of laughter in her gray eyes.
He stopped two feet away. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Yes,” she said, closing the distance between them and stepping into his open arms. “I did.”
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
D. B. Reynolds lives with her husband of many years in a flammable canyon near Malibu, California. When she’s not writing her own books, she can frequently be found reading someone else’s.
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