Rough Wolf (3 page)

“Oh, god, it’s a wonder he didn’t run away screaming,” I muttered to myself.

I shrugged out of my clothes and stepped into the shower. I shaved every inch of myself, even neatening my nether region. I washed my hair twice and slathered on more conditioner than I’d ever used. Then I applied lotion and perfume. Finally, I ran a brush through the wild snarls of my hair.

I still looked pretty foul. There was nothing I could do about the circles under my eyes, and I really didn’t feel like putting on makeup so early in the morning.

I chose a sexy matching bra and panties set that I’d ordered online years ago and had never worn. Then I poured myself into my favorite jeans, which were two sizes too small but always managed to make my butt look pretty hot. Finally, I threw a baggy sweater over everything, hoping to disguise my ample waistline a bit.

One last glance in the mirror and I shrugged and opened the bedroom door to the luscious scent of cinnamon and vanilla. He’d placed the rolls on a tray and set them in the center of the table. He’d even poured me a fresh cup of coffee.

“I hope you’re hungry,” he said with a smile.

He pulled a chair back for me, and I sat down. He pushed the chair in, and I reached over and plucked a cinnamon roll off the tray and set it on the plate in front of me.

Geo sat across from me and took a roll for himself. Then he lifted it to his mouth and took a huge bite. Taking a cue from him, I also ate mine with my hands instead of the fork and knife he’d brought for me.

My teeth sank into the pillowy softness, and my senses were all assaulted at once. It was the softest, fluffiest cinnamon roll I’d ever had. It was sweet, but not too sweet, and oozing with shiny vanilla frosting melting over the edges and flaky layers of buttery dough.

“This is incredible,” I said, ignoring the fact that my mouth was full.

“Not as incredible as you,” he said.

Once again, I blushed. He sure had a way of doing that to me.

“Where’d you learn to cook like this?” I asked him.

“I actually grew up in a human family,” he answered. “My adoptive mother died when I was quite young, so I had to cook for my two younger siblings while my father was at work, which he usually was working long hours for the police department. I can make nearly anything now. I enjoy it.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your mother,” I told him. “How did you end up with a human family?”

“My wolf parents were killed by hunters when I was just a pup,” he said. “I never even knew them. Because my father was Alpha, his brother was afraid some of the other pack members would try to kill me in order to take my rightful position before I was old enough to defend it, and so he took me to a human family and asked them to care for me.”

“Wow, that’s terrible,” I said quietly. “You’ve had a really hard life.”

“My adoptive father was great,” he said. “He always told me where I came from, and never kept my history a secret. And he told me that when I was ready, I’d go back to my pack and take my place as Alpha. So one day when I was sixteen, I had an overwhelming urge to go camping. I didn’t understand why at the time, but I happened to choose the exact territory of my pack, and my uncle scented me. He came to find me and took me back to the pack, and the rest, as they say, is history.”

“So they just accepted you as Alpha? Just like that?” I asked.

“They did,” he said. “I have been challenged once, and only once. And I took care of that so swiftly that no one else has dared to try.”

I shivered, licking a bit of icing away from the corner of my mouth. It was incredibly sexy to think of this powerful man being the Alpha of his pack. I felt the heat rising between my legs again.

He sniffed the air, and I knew he smelled my arousal. This time, I didn’t flush with embarrassment. I was actually glad he could tell how excited I was becoming.

“What about you?” he asked. “What was your family life like?”

I shrugged and said, “There’s not much to tell, really. My mother was always very critical of my weight, and my father left us when I was in kindergarten. I haven’t seen him since. And I don’t really speak to her anymore, either. I just got tired of hearing her constant insults. When I graduated high school she moved on from my weight to criticizing my job, my apartment, my friends… you name it, she complained about it.”

“So you don’t have any family?” he asked.

“None to speak of,” I said. “I mean, I email my aunt Peggy now and then. Other than that, I don’t have anyone. This cabin belongs to my grandparents, but I’m using my savings account to pay them rent.”

“Well, now you do,” he told me. “You have me, and soon you’ll have the rest of the pack.”

“Just like that?” I asked with a snap of my fingers.

“Pretty much,” he said. “Once you accept me as your mate, I will take you to meet the rest of my pack. I know they will love you as much as…”

He stopped himself, and my heart skidded to a full stop. Was he suddenly realizing he didn’t love me?

“What?” I urged him. If he was about to hurt me, I’d rather him just get it over with before I got even more attached.

“As much as I do,” he finished the sentence.

“So why’d you stop in the middle of your sentence?” I challenged him. I was certain he was going to say he had to think about it, or he wasn’t sure.

“Because I didn’t want to frighten you off,” he said. “I know humans typically need time to acclimate to new relationships.”

“What if I’m not like other humans?” I asked him. “What if I don’t work that way?”

“Are you… are you telling me you might…”

“I know this sounds crazy, but… you know you were mentioning earlier how you that this just feels so natural? I feel the same way,” I blurted out quickly. “I feel something for you. I don’t know if it’s love or lust, because I’ve never felt anything like this before. And I don’t want to lead you on or make you think I’ve fallen in love when I don’t even understand any of this myself. But…”

Before I could finish my thought, he’d jumped from his chair and breached the distance between us. He took my face in his hands and silenced me with a firm kiss on my lips, and I took it to mean that he understood, and I didn’t need to keep chattering.

I started to part my lips for a deeper kiss, but he pulled away, stepping back. He looked down at me as if he was feeling pain of some sort, and I was confused.

“I can’t do this yet,” he said. “I just can’t.”

“Why?” I asked, my stomach knotting until I nearly doubled over. It was if he’d just punched me in the gut.

“The wolf wants out,” he growled, clutching the back of the chair beside me until his knuckles blanched white. “I can’t control it.”

He dashed from the house, leaving the front door standing wide open. I rushed to the door, but he was nowhere in sight. Weakly, I sank to my knees in the doorway as tears began to sting my eyes.

Had I said the wrong thing? Had I done something terribly wrong? I couldn’t understand. What had he meant by “the wolf wants out”?

My mind was reeling, my stomach churning. I couldn’t even move. I was paralyzed. Would he ever come back? I had no idea how to find him. The forest was a very, very large place.

I tried to pull myself together. I tried to go about a normal day. I cleaned up the remaining dishes and put away the leftover cinnamon rolls. I kept myself busy with housework, even scrubbing the floors on my hands and knees. But I was foolish to think housework would be enough to pry my mind away from the constant thoughts that plagued it.

The day crawled by. Every moment was a symphony of aches and pains, in my stomach, my head, my heart… even the bones within me ached horribly.

As the sun began to sink behind the trees, I made myself a cup of tea and lit a fire in the fireplace. I settled down on the couch with my tea and my Kindle and pulled up my book list. This was the worst thing I could have done, because I was greeted by dozens of covers featuring handsome wolves. They were taunting me, as they always had before.

You’ll never have this!
They screamed it at me, laughing. I switched off my Kindle and tossed it across the room.

It was true. I would never have it. This was all just some cruel joke. I couldn’t escape the pain even by running away to a cabin in the middle of the mountains.

My stomach began to grumble, but I chose to ignore it. I hadn’t eaten since the cinnamon roll that morning, but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat. I was blaming my weight for what was happening. After all, it was the reason why my mother and I no longer spoke and were never close. It was the reason all my exes had cheated on me or dumped me. It was the reason I had very little self-confidence. If I could have cut it off my body, I would have.

Instead, I just swallowed my misery by dissolving into a fit of tears on the couch. As the fire crackled and popped on the hearth, I released all of my pain in a torrent of tears and sobs, curling into the fetal position and wrapping my arms around myself.

I felt a sudden gust of wind, and I sat up quickly.

“You really should lock your door,” he said.

Then he noticed my red eyes and my wet cheeks, and the color drained from his face. His brow furrowed, and he gawked at me in confusion.

“What do you want?” I asked him, a bit more harshly than I intended to.

“Dora, what’s going on?” he asked, easing around the corner of the sofa and slowly sitting down at the end.

“Why did you leave so suddenly earlier?” I demanded. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Oh, no!” he said. “No, no! Please don’t think that!” Geo slid closer to me and put his arm around my shoulders. Then he added, “I just… I felt myself losing control. I know you don’t understand the power the wolf inside me can have… but once he starts to take hold… there’s nothing I can do. I had to leave because I was afraid I would hurt you.”

“Hurt me? What do you mean?”

“Listen, you saw the wolf,” he said. “Last night by the lake, he attacked you. He almost hurt you. It took every ounce of strength I had to contain him, and I almost didn’t. And when I felt him trying to get out… I had to go. I wasn’t sure I could contain him again.”

“But what happened? Why was the wolf so eager to get out? All we were doing was talking!”

“Yes, we were talking. You were talking… about how you might have feelings for me. And then that kiss… My heart started to race, and I began to feel things… I guess he got excited.”

The hurt and anger inside me began to soften. So he’d left to protect me. I still didn’t completely understand, but at least it made sense.

“There’s something you have to know about the wolf,” he told me. “I can control him. I mean, I
will
be able to. I just can’t do it yet.”

“Why not?”

“He’s… he’s been alone…
we’ve
been alone… for a long time. Right now the wolf sees you as… just a conquest. He doesn’t see you the way I do. But once we’re officially mated… once I’ve claimed you… he will see you as our mate just as I do. You’ll be in no danger.”

“So claim me,” I said simply.

“You don’t get it,” he said. “I can’t just claim you. Once I’ve claimed you, we are mated for life.”

“So claim me,” I repeated.

“You have to be sure this is what you want,” he said. “Once it is done, it cannot be undone for any reason. It is truly for life.”

“Look, I’ll be frank,” I said. “All my life I’ve wondered what my purpose is. Why was I put on this earth? I’d begun to think it was to be lonely and tortured. I’d begun to think my whole life was nothing more than some cruel joke. Then you came along.”

“And?” he urged me to continue.

“You are a dream come true,” I told him, turning my body to face his. “I never thought I would find someone who would see past this plain exterior and find me beautiful. I always had a little hope, but… it was fading fast. Then you came along and gave me my hope back.”

“And you think you are ready to spend your life with someone you’ve only just met?” he asked. “As a human, can you really do that after a day?”

“I can,” I nodded confidently. “All my life I’ve been shy and reserved. I’ve never rushed into anything. I’ve weighed my options carefully. And where has it gotten me? Here, alone, in the wilderness. I’m ready to take chances. I’m ready to be your mate.”

His lip twitched, and he sat motionless, studying me. Then his whole face lit up, and he grabbed my face in his big, strong hands and pulled me toward him. His lips claimed mine, and he thrust his tongue passionately into my mouth, intertwining with mine and capturing me heart, mind, body, and soul.

His hands fell from my face to my shoulders, slipping my sweater down over them and revealing the sensitive skin. His mouth dipped there, kissing along my neck and the tops of my shoulders. His breath was like hot flame, blazing with more fury than the fire in the hearth.

I grabbed the hem of his shirt and tugged. He lifted his arms and I pulled the shirt over his head and dropped it in the floor. My eyes devoured his firm torso, his broad chest, his rippling abs.

His blue eyes seemed to devour me just as hungrily. He leaned back so he could take in more of me, and he reached to pull off my sweater. I grabbed his hands to stop him, but he shook his head admonishingly.

“Don’t hide yourself from me,” he said firmly. “You are my mate, and you will never hide this beautiful body from me.”

Reluctantly, I released his hands, and he pulled the sweater over my head and dropped it into the floor along with his shirt.

His eyes swam across my flesh, taking in every inch. I could see on his face that he found me irresistible – every bit as irresistible as I found him. He reached for the button of my jeans and popped it, and then he pushed me backward gently. I lifted my ass and let him slide my jeans off.

I was glad I’d worn my expensive bra and panty set. I actually felt sexy for the first time in my life, and my matching lingerie only enhanced the effect.

“You are so beautiful,” he said in a near whisper.

He leaned over me, reaching behind me and unhooking my bra. He slid the straps slowly, teasingly down my shoulders, finally pulling it away from my body. My breasts spilled forth, and he eyed them with unrestrained hunger.

He pushed them together with his hands and took one of my nipples into his mouth and began to suck it. I gasped with pleasure as his sucking sent ripples of pleasure through me. I could feel his hardness against my thigh, throbbing through the thick fabric of his jeans.

I grew braver, and my hands began to explore his body. They slid over the thick muscles of his arms, the broadness of his shoulders, and the bumpy ridges of his back. They slid up over his neck and tangled in his hair, and I pulled him against me as he sucked my nipples.

He began to kiss downward, planting tender kisses down the swell of my stomach and across the fabric of my panties. I felt his hot breath between my legs, and I involuntarily bucked my hips toward him. He nibbled the mound inside my panties, and I groaned and writhed against him.

He grasped the waistband of my panties and slid them smoothly down my legs, leaving me completely naked and vulnerable. He bit his lip and pushed my knees apart with his hands, setting sight on my modesty for the first time.

He spread me apart and began to devour me. I suddenly became lost in a world I never knew existed, where my pleasure meant more to him than anything, and he was as eager to please as I was to experience it.

His tongue worked magic, lapping at my throbbing clit. His fingers pressed inside me, curving upward and massaging that sensitive area along the wall of my tunnel until I was moaning, my hips grinding.

“Your taste is like pure nectar,” he groaned, grinding his erection against the couch cushion.

He electrified my whole body. Every inch of me was awakened to a level of passion I’d never before experienced or even imagined could exist. My nipples were erect and tingling. My heart was pounding with such a rhythmic ferocity that it pummeled my ribcage until it nearly felt bruised. My skin erupted with goose bumps, and my eyes rolled back in my head as he continued to consume me.

I could feel pressure mounting inside me. It built slowly at first, causing me to pulse with warmth. As it intensified, it tightened me up inside and I began to claw the cushion underneath me.

“Oh, yes,” I whispered. “Yes, like that. Just like that!”

He was moaning as he licked me, and I could tell he was enjoying every moment as much as I was. It was such a turn-on to hear how eager he was to please and how much he loved the taste of me.

The flesh that lay over my inner thighs began to quiver. The tension that had built inside me erupted like a volcano, sending my head back into the couch as I pushed my hips upward, crying out as pleasure washed over me like hot molten lava spilling over the edge of the mountain.

Wave after wave engulfed me, sending me into an orgasmic stupor that captured me wholly. It was as if my orgasm would never stop, never cease giving me this intense pleasure.

But it finally began to wane, and I collapsed backward, panting and struggling to regain my breath.

He pulled himself into a kneeling position between my legs and pushed firmly against his aching cock. It was straining against his jeans, and I was desperate to set my eyes upon it for the first time.

As soon as I could move, I popped open his belt and the button of his jeans and wrestled with his zipper. Finally, I managed to pull his jeans, along with his blue boxers, down to his knees. His hardness sprang forth, causing me to gasp at its thickness and length.

It was the absolute definition of perfection. It was thick, without being ridiculous, and long without being terrifying. The head was pink and glistening with pre-cum, and the shaft was laced with an intricate network of bulging veins that I couldn’t help but wonder if they would somehow add to my pleasure once he was inside me.

I wrapped my fingers around him, and he groaned as his rod twitched eagerly in my hand. I raised myself up and took him between my lips, and a fierce growl escaped his lips, sending shivers down my spine.

His pre-cum tasted salty and sweet, and I lapped it up eagerly. My tongue swirled around the smooth head, and he began to throb wildly inside my mouth. I could tell he was already nearing release as I cupped his balls in my hand and stroked them gently.

“Wait!” he gasped, pushing me away.

He stood up and wriggled out of his jeans, standing in his full, naked glory before me. He was walking perfection. His tan skin was pulled taut over his corded muscles, and his hardness stood at attention, begging to penetrate me.

He crawled back between my legs and palmed his cock, stroking it as he inched closer to me. His eyes latched onto mine and he pushed the head between my lips, rubbing it over my swollen, pulsing clitoris.

“Tell me you belong to me,” he demanded.

“I belong to you completely,” I answered immediately.

“Tell me you are my mate, now, and forever,” he said breathlessly.

“I am your mate now, and forever!” I cried out.

He thrust forward, impaling me deeply on his rigid shaft. I screamed in pleasure as he entered me fully, slamming against my cervix and sending a shockwave coursing through my body.

He leaned forward, grasping a fistful of my hair. He bared his teeth, and I could finally see the wolf inside him, clawing and raging to get out. He snarled at me as he began a slow, rhythmic stroke.