Jorja Lovett
Excerpt
Chapter One
Rain soaked Mia’s fur as she bounded through the woods bordering the Olcan Hills, relishing every inch of earth mashed beneath her claws. Trees became nothing more than a blur as she raced by, running to find her release out here where she answered to no one but nature. This was freedom.
When she reached the top of the hill she came to a standstill and released her primal scream of frustration in a howl, unleashing everything she couldn’t say to her overbearing family, pouring every hidden truth of who she really was into one long mournful call.
In the distance, another wolf echoed her cry and answered with one of his own. This was the reason her mother despised her shifting into her wolf form. She went kind of crazy and forgot all sense of danger in the excitement. Exactly the reason why she did it in secret. And now, here she was, totally exposed in the Northern Irish countryside, crouched and listening out for the intruder’s approach.
Snapping twigs and rustling leaves marked his stealthy journey toward her but she stood her ground, regardless of how loudly her heart was beating in her ears. The wind carried his scent and raised the hackles along her spine when she sniffed the air. Another shifter, but one she didn’t recognize. Big bro would use her pelt for a rug if he found out she’d strayed beyond the boundary.
Amber eyes glowed in the dark shadows as the large gray wolf stalked through the forest. She bowed in submission. Even if she had a clue how to fight, he was double her size and twice as powerful. He growled a low warning and sniffed her with interest, his wet nose nudging her clammy fur. Did he expect her to roll over and show her belly? Pride wouldn’t let her, but she was careful not to make eye contact as he circled around her twice in case he took it as a challenge.
She only lifted her head when she saw him pad away, heading back to the cover of the trees. He stopped, looked back at her, and cocked his head to one side. When she didn’t move he returned and nipped her ear. She yelped in surprise and indignation. Of all the nerve!
The rules of engagement were abandoned in the heat of her outrage and, in a snarling frenzy, she launched herself at him. For an animal so large, the gray wolf moved gracefully, dodging her attack to race ahead and leaving Mia in dogged pursuit.
Tree branches tore at her skin as she plowed heedlessly into the woodland, but the pain dulled in the exhilaration of the chase. As they wove their way through the undergrowth, Mia’s anger subsided to let her long-neglected sense of fun take over.
He wanted her to follow him. She knew that from the glances he kept throwing back at her. So she stopped and slipped quietly behind the stump of an uprooted oak, waiting to see what he would do. White wisps of steam escaped from her nostrils as she fought to get her breath back and suddenly the area seemed too quiet.
With a thud Gray leaped onto the tree stump, and leaned back onto his haunches ready to pounce. Mia took off again and this time she was the hunted. She didn’t get very far before he sprang and knocked her off her feet.
In a tangle of limbs they rolled through the leafy debris of the forest floor, shifting into their human form as they came to rest, with her pinned to the ground by a hard, muscular, naked body.
“Well, that was fun.” He grinned down at her, making no attempt to get off her, his green eyes full of mischief.
”If you say so.” Mia’s heart still raced but she was at enough of a disadvantage wedged underneath him without admitting she enjoyed the capture as much as the chase.
”I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He bent his head to kiss the scratches marking her shoulder and suddenly the only ache she felt was hidden deep inside.
”No.” She swallowed hard as he ventured closer to her already puckered nipples.
“Do you want me to stop?” His hot breath on her sensitive skin engulfed her in a tide of hormones she hadn’t been ruled by in a long time, if ever.
Maybe a piece of her wolf was still in her system, thriving on the excitement and danger, but she was horny, and ripe for the picking. “No.”
With a need to touch, to taste this handsome stranger on her tongue, she maneuvered enough room to free her hands and wind them into his dark blond hair, pulling him down into a kiss.
He massaged her breasts, first with his hand, quickly followed by his mouth. The sucking and licking around her straining pink tips made her arousal too great to bear. She writhed against him, wet and waiting, but he let her suffer further still whilst he covered her mounds in tiny, exquisite bites.
Bewitched by the woods and her fantasy lover, she swapped the dull reality of her life for this moment, cavorting like the sort of woodland nymph she longed to be. Someone who lived without fear of consequences or judgment.
She wanted him. Prim and proper Mia Blake, who never stepped out of line, was lying naked in the woods with a stranger’s erection pressing into her abdomen, and she loved it. A restlessness seized hold as her body cried out with need. Her limbs trembled, her fingers and toes curled, waiting for that final act of completion. As dusk settled around them and an ethereal fog swirled between the trees, she lost herself in the erotic dream and let him sink into her.
With a moan she parted her thighs. He thrust into her, the sheer size of him making her gasp as her body adjusted to fit around him, but she quickly accepted him, welcoming him again and again. The missing part of her femininity slotted into place with every fill of his cock inside her. So this was what all the fuss was about? Up until now sex hadn’t been something she had often thought about or had particularly enjoyed. Merely a necessity she’d endured to keep her ex happy. Not like this all-consuming lust heating her from the inside out. Now she knew how it could be, how sensual she could feel, she wouldn’t settle for anything less.
“You’re so wet.” Obviously her partner was enjoying the benefits of her sexual awakening. He levered himself up, locking his arms out straight to look deep into her eyes. Mia gave a shiver at seeing the undisguised desire darkening his pupils, realizing she was having the same effect on him as he was on her.
“It is raining.” Unaccustomed to this level of intensity, she gave a nervous laugh that jiggled her body against his.
“Christ, you feel so good.” He ignored her feeble attempt at mis-timed humor, and thankfully concentrated on the physical aspect of their pairing. The empowerment of discovering her own sexuality, and having it appreciated by a second party, only increased her new appetite for all things thrusty.
“Mmm.” She closed her eyes and surrendered to his lead, listening to the growls as he drove into her. Was there ever a more erotic sound than a man claiming her with such beautiful savagery? She doubted it. In response to his primal grunts, her inner cave woman adopted every position she could to drive him deeper inside her.
When he withdrew, the loss was great, her frustration immeasurable. “What are you doing?” she asked, struggling to sit up, her limbs weak from the exertion.
“Turn over.” The order coupled with the devilish glint in his eyes melted away what few inhibitions remained. She was his to command when he could carry her to such amazing heights.
Scrambling onto her knees, she complied, but not without question. “Why?”
“I want to take you from behind.” His sultry breath in her ear, he knelt behind her so her buttocks rested on his thighs, his rigid flesh pressing into her back.
“Doggie style?” She swallowed hard, not quite knowing what to expect with her limited experience.
“Wolfie style.” Mia could almost hear the grin in his voice and braced herself for whatever he had in mind.
He slid a hand up her back and gently coaxed her over onto all fours. One glorious push brought him back home and renewed her contentment as they joined together. The full feeling of having him inside her, with his fingers digging into her hips as he pumped away, sent Mia soaring onward to that peak of bliss.
He reached around to stroke her clit, his digits nudging deep inside to mirror every fill of his cock. Sparks flashed behind her closed eyelids and her breathing grew ragged until she could hold back no more. She came with a cry that echoed through the forest, followed quickly with Gray’s howl of release.
Once they had exorcised every residual tremor, they collapsed into a panting, sweaty heap.
“That was just…”
“Animal?” Mia offered, her head still spinning from the intense orgasm.
He laughed and rolled over so they were face to face. The golden stubble lining his tanned jaw made him ruggedly handsome, a deadly combination with the soulful green eyes staring back at her. That puppy dog look could be enough for a woman to fall for him, even without first-hand knowledge of his sexual prowess.
“I was gonna say amazing but yeah, animal works too.”
The rain reminded her that this was no dream. As the droplets of reality splashed on her exposed skin, Mia became all too aware of her nakedness and the wanton open air display. Self-awareness swept in quickly for someone who found even wearing a bikini in public traumatic, so she covered her modesty as best she could with two hands.
She didn’t know the protocol for making a gracious exit after a quick bunk-up, especially when she was still starkers. He didn’t strike her as the type for flowery words anyway, so she kept it short and to the point. “Thanks, but I…er, have to go.”
He lay back and watched as she scrabbled to her feet. “That’s it? No cuddles?”
“I’m sure you won’t shed any tears over it.” They’d both gotten what they’d wanted so she saw no need to pretend it had been anything more than a physical release. Mia, however, was left with tumultuous emotions not so easily dealt with. Another moment of madness had thrown her carefully ordered world into chaos and made her question who exactly she was, and why she denied herself these flashes of happiness.
Mia shifted back into her wolf, and, with one last lingering look at her playmate lying magnificently naked on a bed of leaves, she ran toward the woods. Back to the life she was supposed to lead.
* * * *
The stale stench of cigarettes and alcohol assaulted Caleb’s nostrils on opening the door. The smell of home.
A tentative step took him into the dark hallway and onto the wooden floor, tacky beneath his boots. The air was still, heavy with neglect and abuse, and it took every ounce of courage for him not to turn around and walk straight back out.
Instead, he carried on into the living room and opened the window to invite a blast of cool autumnal wind to sweep through the gloom. Something crunched underfoot and he knelt to inspect the damage. Glass. Beer bottles to be exact, littering the floor along with cigarette packets and food remnants. He turned up his nose, even though he should’ve expected it. Every stray wolf that happened along always used this place as an unofficial pack house. His father welcomed everyone with open arms. Except his own son, of course.
Ironic now that, as next of kin, Caleb had inherited this very house where his father had made his life a living hell. Viewing the destruction around him, Caleb wondered what chaos had reigned in his eleven-year absence. The yellowing paper on the walls, once decorated with pretty spring flowers, now featured slogans and expletives daubed in bright red paint. The old brown sofa was slashed open, stuffing ripped from its guts and strewn around the floor, and there was an empty space in the corner where the television had once sat.
A niggling thought crawled inside his head and a quick look around the rest of the house confirmed his suspicions. Every room revealed new devastation and vandalism. With doors hanging from their hinges, drawers ransacked and every electrical appliance ripped from the walls, this was more than the aftermath of a pack party.
He booted a discarded beer can across the floor. “Fuck!”
Too many ghosts had held Caleb back from taking occupancy earlier and now his plans were royally screwed. So much for a quick sale.
“Hello? Is there someone in there?” a deep voice bellowed from the hall.
Shit! He had forgotten to lock the door behind him, but he suspected that burglars didn’t announce themselves before they robbed you blind. Besides, there was nothing left to take.
Caleb didn’t answer but edged his way cautiously along the wall to peer around the corner. A dark figure loomed large but Caleb Jackson didn’t back down from a fight, even with an opponent built like the side of a house. His wolf growled a warning, low and deep.
“Caleb? Is that you? It’s me, Rory.”
It took a moment for the name to register, but he recognized the would-be intruder the minute he stepped into the small shaft of light escaping through the door. Rory Blake, high school hero, all round good guy and the constant reminder of everything Caleb had lacked when they were growing up. A real blast from the past, and his past was the very thing he wanted to avoid.
“What brings you here, Rory?”
“I saw the bike outside and I know the house has laid empty since your father died.” He shrugged his broad shoulders.
The fact that he gave a shit irked Caleb all the more. “Pity the neighborhood watch wasn’t more vigilant before now.”
Rory peered behind him to survey the debris. “You know how remote these hills are. If I’d known…”
“What business is it of yours anyway?” Caleb’s last nerve snapped at having Golden Boy witness the pitiful legacy left to him by his father. He wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing turned out to be a set-up by the old bastard in a last stab at humiliating him. After running away from the abusive home at the age of sixteen, the discovery of the inheritance had been bittersweet. Now, it was just plain bitter.