Reclaim the Wolf: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Wolf Valley Raiders Book 3) (5 page)

His father had set him on his path of self-destruction, and her dad had too. Although, through no fault of his own. No. That fault lay squarely at the hand of another. If Cole truly was the new alpha, then he would have power over the man who had murdered her father in cold blood.

“It’s not easy to escape the shadows of the past is it?” she asked quietly, hanging the dishtowel up and then looking at the garden once more. It reminded her so much of herself—no matter how much you tried to pretty it up, there was no escaping what was barren and cold underneath.

Sensing her sadness, Cole rose from his chair and came to her, tentatively putting a hand on her shoulder and turning her to him. At first, she resisted and then the need to be in his arms was too much. Closing her eyes she allowed him to envelope her in his one-armed embrace, resting her head on his chest and doing the thing she had not allowed herself to do since the day she buried her father.

She cried. Heart-wrenching sobs, tears flowing to soak his ripped T-shirt. The weakness that she thought she had overcome was free once more; Cole had made her feel again. He had awoken the part of her that she thought had died that day on the ground with her father. The question she couldn’t answer was did she want to feel again. The pain would bring her to her knees if she let it.

His hand went to the nape of her neck, stroking her skin, soothing her. He didn’t try to make it anything more. Maybe he didn’t feel capable of it, but whatever the reason, she was just glad he didn’t turn it into anything sexual. She wasn’t ready, not yet; even her wolf had lost its need to mate and instead was howling pitifully.

“The past is just that, Kira. We can live in it or we can move on into our future. I am willing to do whatever it takes for you to move on. For us to move on. But I know it’s one step at a time. And sometimes you get pushed back again.”

“Or get shot.” She hiccupped.

“Or get shot. But I can say that despite the pain in my shoulder, I think today I took a giant leap forward. This is where I am supposed to be. I hope you can understand that I want to help you. Whatever it is, I will try.”

She lifted her face to look at him properly, taking in the fullness of his lips, the stubble that ran along his jaw, and the love in his eyes. Her throat constricted. It had been too long since she had seen love like that. Unconditional. A father for a daughter, a mate for his woman.

“I’ve carried it around for so long, I don’t know if I can let it go. You made a blood oath; I didn’t. I have created this need for revenge all on my own, but I’m so powerless. It’s become this thing that is eating me from the inside out.”

His hand moved lower, caressing her bottom, and then he pulled her close to him. “You are not alone now, Kira. I will not let you destroy yourself.” His lips brushed her, lightly, a gentle caress, backing up his words. “And although I don’t know you, and don’t know your story, I do know that you were the person Fara called when she needed help. I also know you are the woman who put me in the back of her truck, a complete stranger who you knew was trouble, and you brought me to your home.”

“I did think of leaving you in a ditch.”

“But you didn’t, Kira. You brought me home.”

“Because of what you are, of what we are. I am selfish, Cole.” She was drowning in his eyes, her heartbeat rapid as she stood on tiptoes and kissed him. First a soft, unsure brush of lips on lips and then more, firmer, deeper. Parting her lips, she let him slip his tongue inside her mouth to taste her properly.

Sighing contentedly, she pressed her body tighter to his, wanting him to take her, to push all thoughts from her head and leave only her feelings for him.

She tasted like the sweetest of honey. A drug he would never be free from, she would flow through his veins for eternity. Kira became his world in that instant when she let him in. He only hoped she was letting him into her life, and her bed. Damn, how he wanted to be in her bed.

His slipped his good hand between their bodies to press against her breast and felt her whimper against his mouth. His thumb brushed her nipple, making it harden into a stiff peak. How could this woman, so perfect in every way, be his? He didn’t deserve her, but my, was he going to make sure she never wanted for another man, both in bed and out of it. In that one kiss, he promised her he would be a better person.

That better person surfaced now, pulling away from her. “I don’t want to rush into this. It’s been an emotional day and I don’t want you to regret it when I make love to you for the first time.” His wolf snarled, telling Cole to get a grip and take her to bed.

“How can I regret something that feels so right?” she asked, her eyes large, unfocused. He had swept her off her feet with one kiss. How he would please her with his whole body. But he wasn’t whole, he was injured, and he didn’t want her to find him lacking when he made love to her.

“With my arm … I might not … you know. Satisfy you.”

She burst out laughing. The tension in her was gone. “Male pride. I would hate for that to be as injured as the rest of you.” When she looked at his pale face, she grimaced. “You look terrible. I think you need to go and lie down.”

“No. I’m OK.” But his head was thumping, the pain where Fara had struck him with the shovel radiating out to the far corners of his brain. The rush of adrenaline—and arousal, if he was honest—that had come with kissing Kira for the first time had made the damaged area of his head thud mercilessly.

“No, you’re not. Come on. I should be taking better care of you.” Taking his hand, she led him out of the kitchen and along a small hallway. At the end was her bedroom, and her bed.

Of course, her bed would be there. Where else would it be? But the bed seemed to draw him to it, telling him he should be a real man, a real wolf, and gather her into his arms so he could make love to her. Instead, he allowed her to sit him down, and then she lifted his feet, one at a time, and removed his boots.

Helping lift his legs, she tucked him into bed, and then moved to leave.

“Lie with me for a few minutes.” He grasped her hand, pulling her gently to him.

“You need to rest.”

“I know. But I can’t bear the thought of you leaving me.” He tugged her hand. “Nothing more.”

She came back to him, and he pulled her onto the bed, enveloping her in his arms. With her head on the pillow next to his, he could almost imagine they were lovers and this was completely normal.

At least that was what he could imagine if his head didn’t bang like a blacksmith’s hammer and his arms didn’t feel as though Riley was digging his claws into his open wound.

Yet having her here soothed him. Soon his eyes grew heavy and he slept. At some point, she got up and left, but his wolf knew she stayed there for a long time, as reluctant to leave him as he was reluctant to let her go.

When she did leave, his wolf settled down to sleep too, safe in the knowledge that their mate was one step closer to accepting them and one step closer to knowing that they meant every word they said when they told her they were reformed.

There were chores that needed doing. Slipping out of his arms had been hard; her wolf had wanted to dig her claws into the sheets and hold them in place. But he needed rest and she needed to work, so her wolf had been put in its place and told to behave. The deal had been sweetened by the promise of asking Cole to run wolf with her at the earliest possible time.

Which meant as soon as his shoulder healed.

Her wolf leaped for joy, racing around like a streak of grey smoke. Kira smiled, feeling the sense of joy from her wolf. It was good to feel happy. Wow.
He made her happy
. In the space of few hours, he had given her something to look forward to. He had given her hope.

Going out to the patch of weeds she tried to tame into a vegetable garden, she began to dig, allowing her subconscious to assimilate what had happened, while her brain concentrated on the mundane. Sticking a fork in the ground and then digging over the upturned earth was very therapeutic.

By the time she had finished digging, her muscles ached and it was late afternoon. The sun was getting low in the sky, sending a warm reddish glow over the mountains. She cleaned her digging fork and took it to the tool shed. Then she went to feed the ducks and hens she kept. When she moved here, the idea was to become self-sufficient, but there wasn’t enough land; at least, there wasn’t enough productive land. Her funds were beginning to run low and in the next month or two, she had planned to leave Wolf Valley.

If she could find the strength to walk away from the pain of what happened to her father, when she had no closure and the man responsible still walked around town as if he owned it.

And now there was Cole.

Cole threw her choices into the wind, and she wasn’t sure where they would land. Would it be better for the both of them if they walked away from Wolf Valley and all its unhappiness? Or should she go along with the crazy idea he was the alpha?

And it did sound crazy. He had been set upon by Fara; he had no control over her, not as an alpha should. Would things have changed now he had his mate? Now he had
her
?

Going back into the house, she went to the bedroom, leaning against the doorframe and watching him as he slept. It was time to make some dinner, and then she would wake him and get him to eat. Maybe tomorrow he would feel strong enough to … No. She wasn’t going to let her mind wonder down that road. Until he was fully recovered, her bed was for sleeping in, nothing else.

Yet she yearned to slip under the covers with him and stroke his body, touch him until he would never be satisfied unless he made love to her. A deep ache in her core made heat pool between her thighs; she wanted him. Her wolf wanted him.
Damn Fara for injuring him
.

She didn’t mean that. Fara had brought him into her life, and she would be eternally grateful.

“Want to come join me?” he asked, his voice rough as he woke up.

The light had dimmed in the room and she hadn’t known he was watching her. The rest of her body became acutely aware of him in a way she couldn’t explain. He was like a homing beacon, calling her to him.

“I was going to go and fix something to eat,” she said, her voice wobbling.

“I think I can see what I’d like for dinner,” he said, raising his head and looking at her in such a way her insides turned to liquid fire. If his eyes had that effect on her, what would his hands … and his mouth do?

“I’m not sure if I have what you want,” she said, swallowing her panic. She was drawn to him, but he scared her. His wolf simmered under the surface as he sat up, his shoulder not appearing to bother him so much now.

“You have exactly what I want, Kira. You know that.” He slid his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, closing the space between them in two steps. She wanted to run, but her feet stayed where they were. Because she wanted him more.

“What about your shoulder?” she asked, a shiver of desire passing through her when he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

“I think you are the perfect medicine.”

She was going to laugh at his corny line, but when his lips touched hers, moving against them, she couldn’t talk. He consumed her. Their kiss deepened and she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back, while he moved his body against hers.

Kira wanted to rip his clothes off, to show him how much she wanted him. He was her mate, her man, and she wanted him to be her lover.

Cole moved his hand to cover her breast, brushing his thumb against the hardened bud of her nipple. Kira pressed herself closer, wanting more. His tongue slipped between her lips and she parted them for him, meeting him with her own tongue, wanting to be his equal in all things.

Somehow, they moved back towards the bed. Cole sat her down, holding her hand as her bottom touched the covers, looking at her from head to toe and sighing with pleasure. “You are so beautiful, Kira. I want to see you naked, and then I want to touch, kiss, every part of your body.”

Yes, please
. But the words were stuck in her throat, strangled by her own desire.

He came towards her, trying to undo the buttons of her shirt, but his shoulder bothered him, so she helped him. Stripping in front of a man would have been her worst kind of hell before she met Cole—now she was just eager to be naked, skin against skin with him. Her fingers moved with a certainty, undoing one button after another until she stood with only her bra covering her breasts. She cringed inwardly, her lingerie not exactly sexy, but then she hadn’t dressed this morning knowing how the day would end. Never would she have guessed she would be here in her bedroom with a man.

As if to prove he was real, Cole reached out, trailing his fingers along the swell of her breast, and then letting them slide lightly across the fabric of her bra, pausing to pinch her nipple until she groaned against him. Lowering his head, he grazed his teeth across the taut bud, making the heat between her legs intensify.

Squeezing her thighs together, she tried to relieve some of the tension in her body. “Want me to help you with that?” he asked and dropped to his knees. Reaching for her button, he undid her pants and then said, “You might have to help me with these.”

Standing up, she obediently pushed her pants down over her thighs, letting them slip to the floor, and then carefully stepped out of them.

“And these,” he said, hooking his finger around the elastic of her equally non-sexy panties.

Knees trembling, she pushed them down, watching his eyes, which were transfixed on the place where her legs joined, and her need ached to be released.

Cole leaned forward, his tongue snaking out to lick across her mound and then push against her sensitive bundle of nerves. Her knees locked in place; she was out of her comfort zone with him. What was she supposed to do? Cole was about to show her.

He caressed her calf with his hand, sliding it up to stroke the inside of her knee, which was incredibly sensitive. Who would have thought? Then he moved higher, moving to the inside of her thigh, pushing between them until she moved her feet apart, allowing him access to her clit.