by Renee Rose
Oh God. Levi was going to hate me when he found out what I’d done. He would never understand or be able to forgive.
Neither would Mr. Claymore.
“You just signed up last year, and you’re already sheriff?”
“As I said last night, acting sheriff. But yeah, after Sheriff Duncan had his heart attack. He’s a good guy. Protected the county for over twenty years. Hard shoes to follow.”
Under different circumstances, I would admire Levi for his choice to protect and serve. But now, I found myself on the wrong side of the law. There was more than just the middle armrest between us.
I was a criminal, and he was going to sniff me out.
If I were smart, I’d back out of our arrangement right now. Sever ties and keep my head down. Get Seraphina bred and get back to Colorado. Or should I confess all and offer myself up to the law? Wouldn’t I rather it be someone like Levi who arrested me than a stranger back home? In front of everyone I worked with? I wasn’t sure if I’d pee my pants or throw up when it happened.
Neither option was appealing.
My thoughts had been circling around this track for weeks now. Tell Mr. Claymore. Turn myself in. Face the consequences and get free of Dax’s blackmail.
Only there was Pops to think about. If I lost my license, how would I support us? How would I pay for his medical bills, and if things continued as I expected, some kind of memory care program? Or worse, if I went to jail, who would take care of him? I needed to figure some other way out of this nightmare.
“Shit!” Levi shouted as a border collie ran across the road on three legs, favoring the fourth.
He braked hard and swerved, then pulled over. I gasped, set my hand on the dashboard. The road was seriously dangerous. While he’d said accidents happened in the canyon all the time, I doubt he expected it would be a dog though that might cause us harm.
That dog needed my help.
He put the truck in gear, and we both jumped out. The air was cooler in the canyon, the sound of rushing water from the river that cut through it was loud. And it was black as pitch out. Only the headlights allowed us to see the stray.
“Hey girl,” I called, moving slowly, so I wouldn’t frighten her away. I held my hands out away from my sides as I assessed her. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at me, panting heavily. Her fur was thick and matted in spots, black with a white nose and paws. I didn’t see a collar.
She was probably dehydrated, and judging by her sagging belly, heavily pregnant in addition to being injured.
“Looks like she’s about to have pups.” I crouched down and held out my hand. “Come here, girl,” I said, my voice soft. “I’m going to help you.”
LEVI
* * *
“Where do you want to treat her?” I asked, carrying the injured dog from the truck into the stable. We’d settled her in the truck in the back seat. Charlie sat back there with her, stroking her and reassuring her and making sure she didn’t slide around as I drove to the ranch. The rest of the ride, she spoke quietly to the dog, who didn’t appear to be all that much of a stray. She wasn’t skittish and seemed to know a ride when she had one.
“Right in here, where I have all my equipment,” she said, indicating Seraphina’s stall.
I gently set the dog on its three working paws, and Charlie squatted down to care for her. Seraphina snorted and shifted her back feet, but didn’t crowd.
The injured dog had limped right over to Charlie when she called out on the side of the highway, as if she knew exactly who would help her. Charlie had been magnificent to watch. She clearly adored animals. As closed and guarded as she seemed with humans, this was her element. Kindness and caring radiated from her as she tended to the injured dog. I had to admit, I felt a little jealous of the tenderness she was showing. I wanted her to stroke my wolf, although it wasn’t as if I could ever shift to it.
“While I don’t have an x-ray machine, it’s clear her leg is broken,” she said without looking up. “Could you bring me my bag? It’s just outside the stall. I’ll sedate her to set it and put a cast on.”
I brought the bag as she settled the dog on her side and got to work, not seeming to mind that she was sitting in the hay of a stable. When she finished, she stroked the sleeping dog’s side.
“How soon do you think she’ll give birth?” I asked, squatting down beside her and checking out the dog’s swollen belly.
“Based on her size, soon.” Charlie’s smile lit up her face. “Within a few days, by my guess. Hope Rob won’t mind having puppies around, at least until they’re old enough to be moved. We can maybe see if she’s microchipped.”
I met her chocolate gaze, smiled. “Rob won’t mind. Who doesn’t love puppies?”
The truth was, shifters were mixed about keeping dogs. Some loved them because it was so easy to train them with alpha dominance. Others found it strange to keep a pet from a closely-related species, even if we weren’t typical wolves.
Wolf Ranch hadn’t had any dogs since I moved here, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t keep this one, if we couldn’t find her owner. And like I said, who didn’t love having pups around?
I smiled to myself, thinking about how much pleasure those puppies would bring little Lizzie and Lily, although they’d enjoy them more when they were a little older.
“I don’t want to leave her here unsupervised,” she said.
I tipped my head out the stall door. It was late and the last place Charlie should spend the night was in the stable. Being selfish, I wanted her in my bed, for as long as she’d stay. We had things to do, like me showing her different positions in which to fuck.
I wasn’t as altruistic as Charlie, but hell, it was time for her to pay me a little attention. Yeah, I sounded like a whiny fucker.
“I’ll carry her up to the bunkhouse. I can get some old blankets. We’ll get her settled in my room on the floor. Then we’ll get you settled in my bed.”
Her eyes widened, and she looked away shyly, but said, “Yes, please.”
Fuck, yes.
16
CHARLIE
* * *
“Woman, the dog is asleep and fine. It’s my turn for attention.”
I knelt by the dog, whom I’d named Shadow, petting her soft fur and feeling her swollen belly. It was Levi’s grumbly tone that had me looking over my shoulder at him. He was in bed, his back resting against the headboard. He was shirtless and… stunning. God, this guy wanted me. He’d had me and wanted more.
I’d gotten ready for bed first and hadn’t paid him much attention after he’d headed to the bathroom.
Perhaps that had been an error on my part.
Slowly, I stood. I wore his T-shirt, the one I’d taken the night before. And nothing else. His gaze raked over my body and settled on my chest where I knew my nipples were hard.
“Are you feeling neglected?” I walked to the bed, then crawled up the length of it to kneel beside him. The sheet was up over his waist, but it did nothing to hide the way it tented from his hard cock.
Gone was the lawman. Gone was the cowboy. He was all man and only had eyes for me.
“I was,” he said, a pout in his voice.
I laughed. “Well, what exactly has been neglected? I don’t want you to hurt or ache anywhere,” I replied in a—hopefully—sexy voice.
“Oh, doll, there’s a place on me that aches something fierce. You’ll need to give it special attention.”
I liked this playful side of Levi. I’d had his aggressive kisses, his powerful hands. But this? It was… fun.
I leaned in and set my hand on his jaw, kissed him. My lips were gentle, light. I peppered them along his jaw and down his neck, my hands following and sliding over the hard muscles of his shoulders, chest and abdomen. I felt them tense and harden beneath my palms. He was hot to the touch, his skin soft, the smattering of hair on his chest darker than on his head.
I licked, then sucked the flat disks of his nipples, just as he’d done with mine
. Glancing up, I found his gaze on me. Watching.
He didn’t touch me, just let me explore.
“Okay?” I asked.
He huffed out a rough laugh. “Fuck, doll. Anything you do I’ll love.”
With one hand, I worked the sheet from his hips. Lower and lower still, so his cock bobbed free. He wasn’t wearing anything. And he wasn’t the least bit modest. With his body, there was nothing to be modest about. He should be in one of those cowboy calendars.
“Do you hurt here?” I asked, lowering my head and kissing the crown of his cock. I licked my lips, tasted his salty essence.
He hissed, and his hips bucked involuntarily.
“It’s hurting to get in you again,” he replied. The words were like rocks rubbing together. Rough and tumbled. “I didn’t think it would be your mouth this go, but fuck, doll. Lick it. Yes, like that. Such a good girl, learning to suck dick. Oh shit…”
He didn’t say anything after giving me a little instruction because I’d taken him deep, as deep as I could go, which was all the way to the back of my throat. He was so big and thick… more than I imagined. I couldn’t breathe, so I pulled back a little, paused, then took a breath through my nose and tried again. I’d never done this before, but I’d seen porn. I knew what to do, or I hoped I did.
I hollowed out my cheeks as I lifted off him, sucking hard.
“Holy fuck, you don’t have a gag reflex.”
I wasn’t aware I didn’t have one, but I assumed that was a good thing in this case. Licking my lips, I looked up at him again. His jaw was clenched, the tendons in his neck corded. His hands gripped the bedding as if he was trying to keep himself from attacking.
“Is that a good thing?” I wondered.
One second, I was leaning over his throbbing dick, the next Levi flipped me onto my back and loomed over me. “Good?” he breathed. “Any better, and I’d really be hurting.”
“I thought you liked it.” I stared up at him, confused. Why would he want me to stop if I was doing it right?
“If I liked it any more, I’d have come down your throat faster than I want. That’s not how it’s going to work tonight. Tonight I get to play. Find out how many times I can get you off.”
“That sounds good and all, but I want…” I couldn’t say it, and I glanced away.
“What? Tell me what you want.”
His finger tipped my chin back, so I met his gaze.
“I want your dick. In me. I… I liked that a lot.” I had. While I’d imagined kissing and making out, being touched and stuff by a guy, what I’d imagined having a dick in me would be like and the real thing were two different things. There was no comparison between Levi and a dildo. I’d be throwing the one in my drawer out when I got home. Until then, I wanted to take Levi’s for a spin. Or two.
A slow grin spread across his face. “Oh, you’ll get dick, don’t you worry.”
He moved back to pull me up and help me out of the T-shirt. As I raised my arms, I glanced down at Shadow, who was still asleep.
Levi turned my face back with a finger. “If you’re distracted by a sleeping dog, then I’m not doing this right.”
I blinked then gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”
“Since you like things all organized and the likes although I don’t have a spreadsheet for this kind of thing… here’s what’s going to happen. An agenda for our fucking. Ready?”
I grinned, nodded. He sooo understood me, and that made my heart flip.
His hand slid down my neck and to my nipple. He flicked it once then circled it. “I’m going to play with these babies and see if you can come from just nipple play alone. Then I’m going to spread your gorgeous thighs and settle myself between them. You’re going to come from a good tongue fuck. Then I’m going to find your g-spot and see if you make it ten seconds before you come again. Got all that?”
I nodded then clenched my core.
“Then, maybe then, I’ll give you my dick. I might start with you on your back, but I have no doubt, you’ll be flipped onto all fours and fucked from behind. Maybe I’ll bend you over the bed to take you even harder. If you’re a good girl and scream my name when you come, I might show you a few other fun ways to fuck. You up for all that?”
I glanced down between us, took in how hard he was, how the skin was stretched taut, the vein that went up the length bulging with blood.
“You are,” I countered.
He grabbed my ankle and tugged me down, so I was flat on my back. In less than two seconds, his mouth was on my breasts. He flicked his tongue over one nipple as he pinched the other. I squirmed at the mixture of sensations—one gentle, one firm. He bent and took my nipple into his mouth, sucking it. I instantly felt the answering tug between my legs. I arched up, head thrown back, legs moving restlessly behind him.
“Touch yourself,” he commanded. “Show me how you make yourself come while I’m working these nipples.”
It felt so naughty. Hedonistic. But I did it—because that was why I was here, wasn’t it? To indulge? To de-stress? I slid my fingers between my legs. My lady bits were flooded with arousal, slick and swollen. It was amazing how the female body changed to prepare for sex.
I moaned when he moved to the other nipple. I didn’t even mean to do it, but one of my fingers sank into my heat up to the knuckle. I pushed my palm over my clit as I dipped into my juices, undulating my palm and fingers as I bucked my hips.
“That’s right, Doc. Get yourself hot for me.”
I moaned louder.
“You gonna come before I even get my mouth down there? Can you?”
It was like a challenge. I didn’t have to hold out. He was daring me to come. I let my eyes roll back in the sockets, opened my mouth and let out a guttural tone, “Uhn.”
“Can you, Doc?”
“Uhn.”
“Show me.”
I worked myself as I did in the past when I was all alone, but it was hotter now knowing Levi was watching me. Seeing how I liked it.
It didn’t take long. I came on a breathy moan. My muscles squeezed and pulsed as my heart tapped out a rapid beat against my ribs. It felt so good, so satisfying. And this was just the beginning of our love-making.
I caught my breath as the orgasm passed, still working my fingers.
Levi raised onto his forearms and claimed my mouth in a hard, possessive kiss. I lifted my hips to meet his and felt his very solid erection. He groaned against my lips. “Not yet, beautiful. I still have another step on the agenda.”
My eyelids fluttered as he crawled down between my legs and made good on his promise. In fact, he went through every item on his agenda before he let me sleep. In his bed.
17
CHARLIE
* * *
Two days passed. While I focused on my work with Seraphina and all the reports and phone calls with the staff back in Colorado, I was in a sexual haze. I patted the animal’s flank as I put the portable ultrasound away. “Guess both of us are getting some action this trip,” I murmured.
Seraphina’s ear flicked, the only indication she’d heard. Not that I’d expected her to ask for every hot detail like Keely.
I’d lost track of the number of orgasms Levi had given me. I should have made a spreadsheet of that, tracking the hows and whens of each one, so I could put the pretty pie chart on the wall when I got home.
He’d been on shift both days as sheriff, but Levi was an attentive, thorough and fun lover when he got home. All my hangups and worries about being with a guy diminished every time he winked or smiled or kissed me. When he was deep inside me, whether it was bent over the arm of the couch in the bunkhouse or a quickie in the empty stall next to Seraphina’s, I didn’t think about anything. Not about being overheard or found. Not about my work. Not about what things with Levi meant because we’d clearly delineated this was a sex-only fourteen-day relationship. Not about Pops. Or Dax. Or anything.
While I had a feeling Clint and the others on the ranch knew we were into
each other, they didn’t comment. Thankfully, Clint was content to head home to his wife and daughter at the end of the day. As for Johnny, he came early and did his work but left well before sundown. Levi had told me Boyd and Audrey were staying in town because Audrey had shifts at the hospital this week. I didn’t know the details about that arrangement, but they weren’t around.
Everyone was busy. So was I, with Levi.
I liked him. I felt comfortable around him. I felt like I could be me, and that said a lot. It was crazy and fun and everything I’d ever wanted. Yet it was a big problem. This was a fling. Two weeks. Nothing more. He was supposed to teach me about sex and to punch my V-card. He’d done both.
He was a thorough, attentive teacher, and I was a very eager pupil. My pussy tingled from all the attention he’d given it and craved more.
What we had was real, but it had an expiration date. I had about a week to go, and I’d be packing up Seraphina and heading back to Claymore’s. I’d be leaving Wolf Ranch and Levi behind.
This was what he wanted. He’d only offered two weeks. Nothing more. I couldn’t get any silly notions that he’d be thinking beyond that time. I was a fling to him. He hadn’t said otherwise, and if I asked him, I’d be the clingy, needy woman.
I wasn’t that. Never that.
Seraphina nickered, and I smiled at her. “You’re the love ‘em and leave ‘em type, aren’t you? You don’t have any issue with riding off into the sunset, leaving poor Eddison to find another mare.”