Mating Hunt

by Bonnie Vanak

  She pushed a hand through her long blond hair. “Sometimes I don’t understand it myself.”

  “I do,” he said quietly. “I lost everything I ever cared about, too.”

  Silence draped between them for a moment. She rubbed her sweating palms against her jeans. “I don’t want to mate.”

  “Ari...”

  “Not with just anyone. I need a male who looks at me as if I’m his world and nothing else matters. A male who wants to see me first thing upon wakening and last thing as he closes his eyes at night. A male who needs me as much as his next breath.”

  Her chest constricted as she gathered courage to voice a secret desire. “Besides, no one interests me... except you.”

  Kyle stiffened. “Don’t go there, Ari. I’m not a good match for anyone. I came to this pack as a hired ranch hand. I told you long ago, I never stick around for good.”

  Frustration coiled low in her stomach. Same old answer. If her life remained a mystery, then his was downright cryptic.

  “So that’s why you never socialize, except when you go out prowling for females with Darius? That’s why you prefer living alone? Lupines are a pack, but you’re solitary, keeping your distance. And even with me you never talk about yourself.”

  He turned, anger flickering in his green eyes. “Don’t assume I’m like other Lupine, little pint. Assumptions can be dangerous. There’s a good reason why I avoid everyone, especially during the full moon. You, more than anyone else, should understand why.”

  She shrank back from the simmering violence in his rigid body. She remembered what she’d seen on her fifteenth birthday, how her beloved guardian had changed into a stranger she did not know.

  “I’m sorry,” Arianna told him.

  Kyle gave a lopsided smile. “No worries. Forget it. We have bigger issues at hand.”

  Oh yeah. Tristan. Acid churned in her stomach. “I have a pissed off wizard who wants to turn me into Lupine barbecue. If you hadn’t intervened, I’d be dead. Maybe he’s bluffing?”

  His hands tightened to white knuckles on the truck’s steering wheel. “Tristan doesn’t screw around. He’s fair, but only gives so many chances.”

  “Guess I’d better lock myself away.” Arianna drew in a deep breath. “Or I’ll become nothing but ashes. All because guys think I’m a hot tamale.”

  Despite the joke, her voice wobbled.

  “Naw. You’re more a five-alarm chili with habanero peppers.” He winked, easing the tension. “Sweat inducing, tears-in-your-eyes, the best kind of chili.”

  “You, a fire-eater? The Lupine who likes his meat served plain?”

  “I like some things very hot,” he murmured.

  “So now you’re comparing me to chili. Huh. Better than Darius comparing me to a fat Ogre. At least you make me sound tasty, like you’d lick me straight down to the last drop.”

  From beneath his hat, Kyle shot her a hooded look. Heat flushed her cheeks as she realized what she’d said. She blushed further as her imagination conjured an image of herself on the dining table. Naked, her legs spread wide as Kyle’s tongue slid slowly over her sex...

  As her loins began to throb, she clamped her thighs together as if locking a vault. That’s what I am, she thought, desperation twining with anger. My virginity is locked into an old vault and put away for good, until I turn dry and dusty.

  Other Lupine females experienced sexual excitement and took partners to bed or found lifelong mates. Beth confided that her new mate, Dale, had eased the initial pain of losing her virginity by giving her a mind-blowing orgasm.

  Arianna would love to experience a mind-blowing orgasm. Especially at Kyle’s hands. Those strong, lean fingers stroking over her most intimate flesh...

  The throbbing in her loins intensified.

  “I don’t think I’d be a very tasty chili, anyway. I’m too spicy,” she ventured, breaking the silence.

  “I disagree. Some meals are meant to be savored and eaten slowly.”

  Arianna fisted her hands in her lap as the truck rattled over gravel and turned toward the dirt road leading to the ranch. Breathing in his scent, she reassured herself this was the same Lupine she’d known and trusted since the day he’d found her.

  Nothing like the lusty Satyr who’d wanted to rape her when she was twelve. She’d never engaged in sexual banter. Maybe now was a good time to start. Be subtle.

  “Slow eating is good,” she agreed. “Like the way I eat chocolate-covered strawberries. The big, pointed ones that I can barely get my lips around. I like to suck them real slow.”

  Whoa. Okay, so much for subtle.

  A pulse beat wildly in Kyle’s throat. “Tell me. Do you start at the tip? And lick it?”

  The Lupine certainly did like to lick. Arianna squeezed her hands tight. “Naw. So typical. Me, I run my tongue around the base, make sure I cover all the entire surface. It’s sweet and fills me with anticipation of what I’ll do next.”

  “Oh?” A single, hoarse word.

  Emboldened, she continued. “Then I swirl my tongue around the thickness. It tastes so good; I want more.”

  “Do you wet your mouth first? It can enhance the pleasure,” he murmured.

  A blush crept up from her throat. Arianna squirmed in the seat.

  “Yes. I may pop it in and out of my mouth, sucking very hard, until the chocolate starts to melt. If I’m impatient, I swirl my tongue around the girth.”

  “Do you bite?”

  “Not yet. I prefer to flick my tongue.” A heady sense of her own feminine power emerged as Kyle’s breathing changed and his heart rate increased.

  “Then I push it into my mouth, as far back as it will go, to taste all of it. And pull it back out. I do this a few times until it’s ready to explode inside my mouth.”

  Beads of sweat popped on his temples, trickling down his lean cheek.

  “What happens...” his deep voice sounded strangled, “when you get to the tip?”

  “Then I bite.”

  Kyle’s hands jerked on the steering wheel, twisting the truck to the right. He quietly swore, then straightened the vehicle, pulling into the long U-shaped drive in front of the ranch’s lodge.

  He parked the truck and switched off the ignition, making no move to get out. She licked her lips. The engine ticked slowly in the silence. Ribbons of rich, thick spice, intoxicating as fine chocolate and aged whiskey, threaded through the cab. As the scent hit her nostrils, her nipples hardened to tiny points and warmth spread through her body. With a start, she realized Kyle did this. He emitted a fragrance irresistible to females.

  Probably a trait of his mixed blood.

  Dizzy from the heady smell, she breathed deep, warmth tingling through her veins and shooting straight to her loins. Bristles darkened his strong jaw. She wondered what they would taste like beneath her tongue. Perhaps as sweet as strawberries dipped in chocolate.

  Maybe I can do this. Maybe there is hope.

  If she didn’t mate, Tristan would kill her.

  Arianna reached for her jacket and brushed against Kyle’s hand, feeling warm, calloused skin accustomed to hard work.

  She rested her hand atop his. He did not pull away, but his breathing grew ragged. He waited.

  A fleeting image surfaced, those big, tough hands gentle as he stroked them slowly down her spine. Arianna slid her palm up his coat sleeve, feeling the spongy suede. His coat and shirt opened at the throat and displayed a triangle of dark hair. Fascination filled her.

  She wanted more. Slowly, she slid her fingers across the shirt’s deep V, touching his chest hairs, feeling their silky, springy texture.

  Parting her lips, she could almost taste the saltiness of his skin, as a bead of sweat trickled down his cheek, skating down his throat.

  Driven by impulse, she touched the droplet and brought it to her mouth. Arianna licked it off, watching his eyes darken.

  Wow.

  Kyle fisted his hands. Turning, he locked her with his smoldering gaze. Secrets shadowed his e
yes, along with the sultry promise of pleasure.

  Arianna’s heart pounded hard. Grazing his throat with her fingertips, she felt his pulse leap and his muscles tighten. Fascinated, she leaned forward, intrigued by the rich male scent teasing her senses, his hard body tight as a coiled spring.

  Anticipating his kiss, she moistened her lips.

  Amber flashed in his eyes. A growl tore from his throat as he leaned forward. Kyle vanished, replaced by a beast filled with cruel lust.

  Panic surged. With a keening cry, she pushed away until her back met the door. Jiggling the handle, she pushed and pushed. Had to get out, escape, get away from them, run...

  Forcing herself to calm down, Arianna glanced back at the driver’s seat.

  Gone was the beast, replaced by a man with color draining from his face, a wounded look in his deep green eyes. Then, his expression shuttered and normal, ordinary Kyle returned. The Lupine who hunted with her, taught her to read nature signs and teased her about her love of reality television.

  As he reached across her, Arianna shrank back against the seat. With a heavy sigh, he opened her door.

  Her insides knotted. She hated hurting him. Why couldn’t she let him close enough to kiss her? Why did she have to be so damned scared?

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Arianna jumped down, rumpled coat in her shaking hands. And then she noticed Aiden standing on the porch. Oh, joy. The pack alpha must have seen.

  Heart rising to her throat, she waited as Aiden climbed down the steps. Black-bearded, his shoulder-length black hair tousled as if he’d run a hand through it, the alpha stood over six feet tall. He could strong-arm everyone in the pack, but ruled through respect, not intimidation.

  “You disobeyed Kyle’s orders,” he rumbled in a deep voice.

  “I had a good reason.”

  “Do you know how worried we were about you?”

  Throat dry, she stared miserably at the ground.

  Aiden squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll talk in the morning. Go upstairs, get some rest.”

  “In the lodge?” She swallowed hard. “I thought it was too dangerous for me to be around other males.”

  “It is, but that’s the least of my concerns right now. Take Beth’s old room. It’s one floor above the single males.”

  Uncertain, she looked backward at Kyle, who nodded.

  “You’ll be safe, little pint. No one will try anything with you. They’re too scared of what I’ll do.”

  “Can you do the same to Tristan?” she asked. “Because there’s a guy who really needs to dial down his thermostat.”

  Aiden shot Kyle an inscrutable look, but Kyle gave her another reassuring smile. Not like earlier when he’d stared at her as if he wanted to pin her to the ground, spread her legs open and mount her...

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he said quietly.

  Kyle touched his hat’s brim in a quick salute. She clutched her jacket and mounted the steps, knowing he and Aiden watched her every move.

  She had absolutely no idea how much she tempted a male.

  Upstairs in his room, Kyle headed for his private bathroom. Aiden wanted a briefing in his study in ten minutes. First, he had to attend to the business at hand, so to speak.

  He closed the bathroom door behind him.

  Why had she asked about her ass? Arianna was beautiful. Delicious. Filled with lovely female curves. And her ass, her lovely, plump ass...

  As a virile Lupine, his wolf savored the idea of bending her over and thrusting hard into her soft, wet heat, slapping against her soft, sweet ass.

  A fierce possessiveness filled him as he imagined being her first lover. Darius had tried. Oh yeah, he’d tried, but failed when Arianna’s primitive fear had surfaced.

  Every day—hell, every moment—near Arianna proved agonizing. Ever since her nineteenth birthday, Kyle had craved her. During the full moon, he avoided her, afraid he wouldn’t be able to control his savage sexuality.

  Like most female Lupines, Arianna was soft and voluptuous. She had a wealth of silky blond hair spilling down her lovely backside. And her bottom, very round and soft and squeezable, made him think very wicked thoughts.

  He longed to slide his hands down the slope of her spine, part those sweet cheeks, and run his tongue down her ass.

  Kyle grew rock hard thinking about it, imagining grasping her soft, round hips and feeling her sweet, soft ass cushion him as he sank his cock so deep they’d feel like one person, and would always remain so.

  Dreamer.

  It had taken all his discipline not to growl when she’d mentioned Darius. Good thing Darius had failed. If the male had fucked her and bragged about it, the cheerful beta could have released Kyle’s primitive animal. One never wanted to trigger the beast because the consequences would be deadly...

  He must let her go. Damn, he didn’t want this, but it was time to move on. Arianna would never warm his bed. Hell, he hoped she never found out exactly what he was.

  He was hybrid, half Lupine wolf... and half Satyr. A beast like the one she feared.

  Every full moon, his sexual cravings became insatiable. Long ago, he’d sought to fill his needs with meaningless encounters with female Skins. They enjoyed his intense sexuality, screamed and shattered as he delivered a steady stream of orgasms.

  And then the damnable hunger would begin anew with each full moon. Lupines in his former pack whispered about him, the pawn of a feral Satyr who’d stolen away a Lupine and held her captive, raping her until he’d planted his seed in her belly.

  They called Kyle cruel names. Deviant. Bastard. Pervert. And this deviant hybrid just happened to be crazy about a beautiful Lupine with a sweet, round ass, who happened to be terrified of sex.

  Could things get much worse?

  Bracing his hands on the sink, he stared at the mirror. On her fifteenth birthday, Arianna had burst into his house and caught him in full sexual transformation. His lover had been enthralled and oblivious to his beast. Arianna had not. Revulsion coiled in his stomach as he remembered her stark terror when, caught in the throes of sexual ecstasy, he’d snarled and started to shift into his Satyr form. Fortunately, she’d run off before seeing him fully transform.

  Oh, they’d talked much later about what she’d seen. Without lying, he’d told her it was a side effect of his mixed blood. Satisfied, Arianna recovered from the trauma and they’d continued on, same as always.

  But Kyle silently vowed when it came Ari’s time to mate, it would be with a loving, gentle male who would slowly inflame her passion. Not a rough brute like him who could not control his insatiable lust. How the hell could he even hold her hand, knowing she’d nearly witnessed him in full sexual thrall, horns and all?

  Cursing, Kyle opened the bottom cabinet and found a bottle of scented lotion. Cherry Blossom. What irony.

  Easing a sharp breath through his clenched teeth, Kyle unzipped his jeans. He squirted a handful of lotion into his palm, then grasped his painfully hard erection.

  As he worked his male flesh, his eyes closed as he envisioned Arianna bent over submissively, her legs spread as he thrust into her wet, warm channel. His balls drew up tight to shoot his seed deep inside her, his hands gripping her generous hips, his sex organ stimulating her to orgasm as she cried out his name.

  Only he would claim her in the flesh. No other male would have her, for he branded her with his scent, his touch, his body. His mating mark on her pale, tender skin.

  Shuddering, he climaxed, biting back a deep groan as he stiffened and his seed spurted. But still, he felt no relief. No satisfaction, just a pallid emptiness. Only the real Arianna would suffice.

  And he could never have her.

  Ever.

  Not even if his beast demanded it...

  Chapter 3

  THE SMELL OF frying bacon hit Kyle’s nostrils as he showered and then dressed the next morning. He ran a comb through his thick hair, slapped on his hat and rubbed the slight bristles on his jaw.

>   Tucking heavy yellow leather gloves into a back pocket of his worn jeans, he headed downstairs. Aiden wanted him to break in the new stallion they’d acquired before Kyle resumed the hunt for the missing Lupine young. The stud was too wild to ride.

  Tension squeezed his guts. He’d talked into the night with the pack alpha, explaining what happened. No use sugarcoating the wizard’s words.

  You’d better select a mate for Arianna this week, or she’s dead.

  Then, when he finally fell asleep, he’d dreamed.

  Arianna stood naked as the full moon shone. Hooking her arms around his neck, she’d lifted her face to him, the curve of her lower lip plump and wet. How sweet it would taste beneath under his tongue as he traced it, then dropped tiny, biting kisses along the rim. He stared at her mouth, needing her badly.

  His wolf howled as she brushed his lips in a light, teasing kiss. Kyle had lowered her to the ground and buried his head between her spread legs, savoring other equally tender flesh. He caressed and loved her with his mouth until she squirmed and screamed her pleasure.

  And then he’d turned her over, his Satyr blood surging hot and thick, eager to finally claim her nubile body. Running a palm over the arch of her back, he’d taken his rigid cock in hand, pressing it against the feminine flesh that had never taken a man. As he sank into her sweet, tight body, hearing her whimper from the pain, he tried to assure her it would be over soon, but no words came. Only guttural growls as he grasped her hips and began thrusting, the feral need for sex overriding all else. Her cries turned to screams as he experienced a Satyr’s moonlight thrall, transforming into the beast she feared...

  Kyle had awakened in a cold sweat, his penis rigid against his belly as his heart pounded hard and a sickening feeling knotted his stomach.

  Now, walking into the kitchen, he saw Dale at the twelve-burner stove, turning over bacon in an iron skillet. Kyle’s nose twitched. He grabbed a cooling slice off a paper towel as the other Lupine scowled.

  “What happened? Beth came to her senses and decided to kick you out of the cabin?” Kyle asked around a mouthful of bacon.