Between Two Wolves (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Menage Werewolf Romance) (4 page)

“Great.” If possible, the smile got
bigger. He pulled off his black t-shirt, and started undoing the buttons on his
jeans. I realized I was staring, then quickly dropped my eyes. Some people
liked to skinny dip, and while I didn't have anything against skinny-dipping, I
wasn't sure I wanted to be in a pool with a naked stranger.
A
stranger...this stranger, maybe; but not necessarily a naked one.

“It's okay. I'm wearing trunks.”

My face flushed, but I looked up at him,
managing a smile and an apologetic shrug. “You never know at the springs. A
girl can’t be too careful.”

He was right; he was wearing trunks. But
if he'd been naked he couldn't have looked any sexier. It had been a long time
since I'd looked at any guy with the least bit of interest, but I couldn't look
away from him. He was all long legs, tan skin, broad chest with just enough
dark hair to keep him from looking too man-scaped. I swallowed hard, managing
to keep the smile on my face from getting any wider.

“So you've been here before then?” He
slipped into the pool, the water distorting his shape as he sank below the
surface. There was an eddy in the pool, and I swore it carried an extra wash of
something, besides heat, against my body. My arms flushed with goose-bumps, and
I was suddenly conscious of my wet t-shirt, how it clung to my breasts. How
little was left to the imagination, his imagination. I sank slowly into the
water, the heat of it against my cool skin sending a shiver through me.

Don’t get all excited here. He’s still a
stranger. Just stay cool, okay? Don’t embarrass yourself.

“I've been coming here since college...I
used to come with friends on breaks, and then started coming alone after that.”

“Oh, hey. I'm so rude. My name is Colt.”
I thought I heard an accent, not Canadian, certainly not American. He leaned across
the space between us, hand extended. I hesitated, then reached out, fingers
just brushing his. I scooted forward a little more, and that's when I lost my
balance.

I slipped off the rock, going face first
under water. For a minute the world was very hot, and very murky. Water went in
my mouth, and up my nose, the odd taste of minerals heavy on my tongue. I
flailed for a moment, unable to get a grip on anything solid, unable to get my
footing in the small pool. Then a hand grabbed my upper arm, pulling me out of
the water.

Sputtering, I finally drew a breath that
wasn't full of water. I blinked, and spit out a mouthful of warm water. It
tasted bitter, metallic. The guy pulled me up onto his lap with a strength I
found quite surprising, more than a little alarming, but strangely appealing. I
wiped the last of the water out of my eyes, coughing. I was sitting on this
stranger's lap. There could be worse places to fetch up after falling into the
pool though. He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me against his chest. I
was at a loss as to what to do with my hands, just barely resisting the urge to
run my fingers through all that chest hair. I finally ended up with my hands
folded primly in my lap. If my heart had been beating hard before, now it
practically shook my body with every beat.

“You okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Just embarrassed. I'm
not usually this clumsy.”

“It's okay,” he chuckled, and I was
immediately captivated by the sparkle in his eyes. “Do over? I’m Colt.” He held
out his free hand. I took it, shook it, pulled away...but he held on. “And you
are?”

“I'm Risha. Rish to my friends.”

“Can I call you Rish then? Do I qualify
for friend status yet? I did save your life, after all.”

“You did. And you do. So, yes, Rish is
fine.”

“Or Red. I think you look like a Red.” He
reached up, fingering a strand of my hair between his fingers.

I stared at him. A flash of resentment at
that old name rose up, but I bit back my retort, and looked closely at his
face. There was no malice in those dark eyes, obviously nothing intended, other
than him looking at my hair, at the strand wound around his fingers. But I was
a little freaked out by the intimate gesture, even if it seemed innocent.

“Yeah. I've been called Red.”
In the
past.
But I didn't add that. I was moving on, and he sure wasn't part of my
past, although I wasn’t sure right now what he was, or what he really wanted.
Or what I was doing. I should be back on the other side of the pool. Or out of
the pool.

“It suits you. You look like a Red.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “And what does a Red
look like?”

He tugged gently on my hair. “I bet when
this is dry it blazes like fire.” His eyes moved languidly to mine. “And I bet
you're just as fiery.”

The hand on my waist slipped down to my
hip. My t-shirt had ridden up, and his fingers brushed over my bare skin. I
gasped, then coughed to cover the sound.

Colt let go of the strand of hair and
reached up to touch my cheek. “You okay? Do you need mouth to mouth, or
anything?”

I had no choice but to laugh. “Do you
think it's a little late to ask? I'm talking, and...” His fingers slipped to
the nape of my neck. “...breathing...” I might be breathing, but those breaths
were coming in short little gasps. His eyes moved slowly from mine, down to my
lips. I swallowed hard.

“Yeah. But, you know...” He pulled me
closer. “Better safe than sorry.”

I pulled back. “Speaking of safe...” His
pack lay behind him and I eyed it warily. “I'm not exactly sure...”

“You're not exactly sure if this is the
right thing to do? If I'm dangerous? Or if you can trust me?” He raised an
eyebrow. “I'm not dangerous. I can tell you that you can trust me, but those
are just words. You'll have to make up your own mind about me.” He looked over
his shoulder at his pack. “If you can reach it, toss it where I can't. If that
makes you feel better. I won't be offended.”

I looked between him and the pack.
Without too much trouble, I snagged the strap, tugging it around to the side of
the pool. Colt watched, his expression open, easy.

“Better? A girl's gotta do what a girl's
gotta do, right?”

Before I could answer, his lips touched
mine, softly, but not tentatively. Behind the gentle touch was an energy,
something powerful, but restrained. I'd never felt anything like this in my
entire life, and it wasn't just that I was kissing a stranger.

Oh, wow...I was kissing a stranger.

I tried to pull back, but Colt's fingers
tightened on the back of my neck. I should have been...not exactly scared, but
at least a hell of a lot more cautious. I should have pulled away. But I
didn't. I might regret this later, but right now, I wanted this...
whatever
this was, or wherever it was going. I wanted Colt.

The kiss deepened, his lips parted, and I
was right there with him, my tongue meeting his, dancing between his mouth and
mine. I raised a hand from my lap, touching his neck, his jaw, moving to wind
my fingers into all that dark hair. It was curly and soft, and I couldn't help
running my fingers through it.

Arousal washed through me and my fingers
tightened against his head, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss even
further. I felt Colt's lips curve in a smile against mine as his fingers worked
beneath my wet t-shirt, tugging it higher, up the curve of my ribcage, stopping
just short of where I wanted his hand to be.

He broke the kiss, pulling back just
enough to look into my eyes. “You seem to be breathing just fine, Red. You sure
you need any more mouth to mouth?”

“You're kidding, right?” I wiggled in his
lap, felt his thighs tense and flex, felt something else tense beneath the thin
fabric of his trunks. “I'd think we both want the same thing, Colt. Unless
there's something else...”

Colt laughed, pulling me back until my
forehead rested against his. “Yeah. Okay. Just wanted to make sure. I get the
sense this isn't your usual method of approach. Mine either. But...”

“I'm sure.” I might not do this
often...or ever. But I was sure of what I wanted, even if he was right about
me.

I kissed him, moving on his lap so I
could wrap both arms around his neck. He shifted in response, his erection rising
up against my hip. I wiggled again, just to feel the hardness of it, and to see
what Colt would do.

Colt didn't miss a beat. Without breaking
our kiss, he grabbed my hips, sliding me back off his lap. I pivoted, legs
apart, so when he pulled me back, I was straddling his lap. I was sitting face
to face on his hard thighs, with his erection sliding up between my legs as the
hot water swirled around us. He pulled me closer, until my breasts were pressed
against his chest. He slid his hands down my back as he broke the kiss, slowly,
teasing my lower lip between his teeth. When he released me I was weak and
shivery with desire, glad I was sitting down.

He cupped my ass, pulling me hard against
his body, making waves in the pool. “You really are ready for this.” I couldn't
tell by his smile if he thought this was amusing or confusing, if he was asking
a question, or making a statement.

“Yeah...are you?” I rolled my hips,
grinding against Colt. “You want to change your mind?”

This time his smile told me everything,
his words the icing on the cake. “Like hell. It's not every day a gorgeous,
barely dressed woman practically falls into my lap.”

“I did fall into your lap.” I ran my
hands through his hair, returning his smile. “You saved my life. I'm just
showing my gratitude.”

“I like how you think, Red.”

I wasn't sure I was thinking, or that I
wanted to. I wanted to feel, to just go with the flow. Somehow as crazy as this
all was, it felt right, and that's all I cared about right now.

“Yolo.”

“Hmm?” he murmured, his eyes wild with
desire.

“You only live once.”

He pulled me back against him, capturing
my lips with his. Birds sang around us, the sound of the river catching the
edge of my consciousness. All of that faded as Colt kissed me, the sound of his
breathing, the soft moan he made as I shifted against his erection, the only
things I heard. I was lost in a sea of arousal and sensation swirling through
me.

Colt's hands moved up my back, tugging up
my shirt further, exposing my breasts. It was my turn to moan against his mouth
as he cupped my breasts, working his thumbs over my wet nipples. They puckered
up hard and tight, and my moan turned into a full-throated cry of pleasure as I
broke away from Colt, head tipping back.

“Oh, god.”

Spanning my torso with his hands, Colt
pushed my breasts up and together. He looked down, and I arched my back,
pushing against his hands. Colt responded, fingers tightening against me,
kneading my flesh. I bit my lip, unable to stifle back a second cry.

“Watch me, Red.”

I looked down at him, meeting his eyes as
he lowered his head, flicking his tongue over one hard nipple. Something close
to an electric shock ricocheted through me, and I jerked in his arms. I saw the
corner of his mouth turn up as he moved to the other breast, circling the rosy
nipple with the tip of his tongue. The feeling was exquisite, sending another
shock wave through me. Watching him made little tendrils of excitement curl
through my stomach. Having him ask—
demand
—that I watch him,
heightened everything.

So I watched as he pulled the nipple into
his mouth, sucking gently at first, then gradually more forcefully. I wound my
fingers through his hair, holding him against me. I pretty much fall apart
anytime a guy touches my breasts, and I was already miles down that road before
Colt even bent his dark head to work his magic.

Watching was one thing; I needed to
participate. I reached between us, fumbling for a minute with water and fabric,
until I found Colt among the swirling warmth. There was a brief pause in the
movements of his lips and tongue as I wrapped my fingers around him. The swim
trunks muffled contact; the close proximity of our bodies limited my movements.
It didn't take long for Colt to begin shifting restlessly beneath me. Finally
he lifted his head, dark eyes meeting mine.

“As much as I'm enjoying this, Red, I
think we could do better.”

“I agree. We need a change of venue. And
a change of clothes. Or less clothes.” I squeezed him through his trunks, and
he grunted out a breath, the corner of his mouth curling up.

“Actually I like the venue. You're right
about the clothes though.”

He reached down, undoing the snap on my
shorts, fingers working the wet fabric over my hips. But he didn't get very
far. “Stand up.”

I did, resting my hands on Colt's shoulders
while he tugged my shorts over my hips. They slid down my legs, sinking beneath
the surface as I stepped out of them. Leaning forward, he kissed my stomach,
tracing a circle around my navel with his tongue. I shivered as a breeze wafted
over us, over my exposed breasts. The sun was setting somewhere behind the tall
trees, the air getting cooler. I looked over his shoulder, half-expecting to
see a hiker or three enjoying the show. Colt turned his head, following my
gaze.