Vivian Arend - Granite Lake Wolves 2 (9 page)

through her as he nestled the globe of her breast in his palm, his thumb brushing

her nipple with a ghostly touch.

Muttered words of passion reached her ears. He pushed up her sweater with his

hand and lapped at the taut peak. Covering the whole areola, he suckled hard. A

line flared from his mouth to her core, lightning flashed and she cried out as she

clutched him tight.

She’d never felt anything like this before. She needed him, needed his desire, his

mouth. She was empty and only Tad could fill her. He switched to her other

breast, slipping his hand back past her belly to the waistband of her sweats. As he

slid his fingers under the elastic, she opened her legs in welcome, tugging on his

hair to force his head to her mouth. His taste was addictive and she wanted more.

As Tad’s fingers brushed her mound he drew another quick breath then spoke

against her lips. “Girl, you’re killing me. No bra, no panties… Oh damn, you’re

wet.”

His hand cupped her mound, one finger slid through her curls to part her

sensitive lips. His finger nestled just inside her sheath.

Missy closed her eyes and drank in the sensations as a shiver raced over her skin.

His lips, demanding a response, feasted on her mouth, yet the hand that explored

her pussy was soft. He stroked her, slow and controlled, even as he kissed her

hard and furious. His body shook and she wondered how much longer he would

last.

She didn’t want gentle anymore. The desire to be filled, to be seized by Tad and

completely possessed, overwhelmed her. His scent hung strong in the air, filling

her nose, her mouth.

Her heart.

Her soul.

Tendrils of emotion passed briefly between them and her eyes flew open with

surprise. Oh, sweet mercy, it really was happening. The mate connection. She’d

been told what to expect but never thought she would experience it. She closed

her eyes and tried to calm herself. Being tied to Tad with a false mating meant she

would escape from her Alpha’s clutches and that had been the goal. But she’d

never expected the connection to feel so real.

She must have made a small sound not in keeping with their lovemaking because

Tad pulled back. He dropped his forehead to her shoulder and took a few deep

breaths. He shifted to pull away, but she caught at his shoulders, wrapping a leg

around him to freeze him in position.

“I wasn’t telling you to stop. You’re the best lover I’ve ever—”

“Let’s not talk about other people loving you,” Tad gritted through his teeth. He

rolled to the side, keeping their legs in contact. “For some reason the thought

makes me want to shoot someone.”

Missy stared at him. Was it possible? She knew what she felt. The emotional

desire to be with him was even stronger than the physical compulsion. And the

physical was off the charts. She cupped his face in her hands and reached out

with her Omega sense into his mind, into the emotions and needs hidden away.

Images flashed—naked bodies twined together, children playing in a field, two

hands clasped that were wrinkled with time—Missy gasped.

She’d been wrong all along. She’d assumed her desire for him was a false reading

when really she should have known.

He
was
her mate. Her real, honest-to-goodness, forever-and-always mate.

“Oh, Tad.” This was more overwhelming than she’d ever imagined it could be.

With his taste rioting through her body and the images from his mind encouraging

her, it was all she could do to stop from stripping off their clothes and jumping his

bones.

Not that it was a bad idea.

She trembled in his arms and Tad came close to losing control. He looked into her

eyes, checking to see if she was afraid.
Fuck.
He must have done something,

moved too fast, not shown how much she meant to him. Pain, deep and sharp,

thrust into him and he sucked in a breath.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Tad tried to untangle their limbs, he tried, but his

body wouldn’t cooperate. Leaving the heat of her touch would wrench his heart

from his body.

“Nothing’s wrong, everything’s right.” She cupped his face in her hands again, the

softness of her touch washing over him with equal parts of desire and peace.

There was something so right about Missy, so far beyond mere sex that his mind

grew foggy and it was hard to concentrate on her words. “Can you feel it? This

isn’t just FirstMate, it’s more. You and I, we’re mates.”

Tad froze. It wasn’t possible. She’d had a mate, yet for some reason she was

getting the message they belonged together forever. Oh bloody hell, it was the

frickin’ werewolf hormones again. Somehow she was getting a false positive.

How could this happen? How could it happen without them having sex? She was

going to think she was in love with him for the rest of her life and it would just be

pheromones controlling her. He couldn’t do that, couldn’t treat someone he

cared about in such a cold, heartless manner, especially Missy. Tad summoned

strength he didn’t know he had from within and dragged himself away.

They both cried with low moans as he stumbled across the room to put distance

between them. The physical pain that shot through his body was unexpected and

nearly drove him to his knees. His eyes blurred for a moment and the room spun

as he grew light-headed.

“I’m so sorry, I really am.” He would do anything to stop from hurting her. His

limbs shook as he leaned on the doorframe. His body was on fire, even more than

when he was touching her.

She was pale, confusion written all over her face, and he ached for her. The

situation was beyond her control and entirely his fault. “I thought, I mean…” She

hesitated before closing her tear-filled eyes and starting to shake. “Don’t you

want me?”

A sound of agony ripped from his throat at the thought of denying his need for

her. Bloody werewolf genes had messed up his life and now Missy’s. All he

wanted was to hold her and make it all better, but it wasn’t possible. Everything

he’d been told over the years meant she had to be mistaken and unless he

stopped now she would suffer forever. He softened his voice and let his caring

come through as he spoke. “Hell, it’s not you, it’s me. Don’t you see? I’m not

triggered. We can’t be mates, it’s the pheromones blinding you. You just think I’m

your mate. Oh, sweetheart, I wish it was true.” He wished it with everything he

had.

“It is!” Missy cried. She was on her knees now, her sweater askew, hair tousled

everywhere.

He’d never seen anything as beautiful. It was sheer torture to drop his gaze from

her, his heart pounding fast, his ears ringing as blood roared through his head. He

forced down his lust to try and reason with her. “I can’t be. You have a mate.” It

never happened twice. A once-in-a-lifetime event and when they died, a piece of

you died.

“I had a husband, Tad. Not a mate. We were married but it was a political thing

forced upon me.” She rose and reached for him.

Tad held out a hand to stop her, his mind spinning. She’d never had a mate. She’d

said
they
were mates. Could she be right? He sniffed hard. The only aroma that

reached him was the faint scent of wood smoke. His sinus passages were plugged,

his forehead felt hot. His body ached.

Did he want her? Hell yeah, but there didn’t seem to be the irresistible

connection that he’d been warned occurred when true mates met. He wanted to

bury himself in her and protect her, but he’d felt that way since they were kids

back in high school. The connection, the pull, he felt equally strongly with his

human side. How could this possibly be a true mating if he wasn’t sure? The

trickle of doubt that remained tied his hands.

Tied his heart.

Then for one evil, wicked moment Tad was tempted to continue. To take her and

make love to her so she’d be trapped forever. He loved her, damn it. She would

love him. Did it matter that it would just be chemicals on her side? His human

morals fought a battle of epic proportions against the desires of the wolf raging

through him. The lust, the need to be triggered.

A cooling breeze flowed around him and in that brief second his heart broke.

He’d nearly done the one thing he’d sworn he’d never do, take advantage of

someone he cared about.

He couldn’t. She had to be set free. All his dreams fell to the ground and

shattered. The need that had risen in his body overflowed to his mind and

drawing back from her was the hardest thing he’d ever done. The room blurred

again. It was impossible to think straight.

“If you were never mated that means there’s no chance we could ever safely

share FirstMate. I can’t do that to you. I can’t risk making you suffer thinking

you’re in love with me for the rest of your life.” His tongue tripped over the

words, awkward, painful. He wanted her but he wanted the best for her more.

“But, Tad—”

“Missy, hush.” Tad dropped his voice, calmed his pounding heart. He had to

explain he wasn’t rejecting her but saving her from a grave mistake. “Falling in

love with someone for real and thinking you’re in love because your damn

werewolf hormones are controlling you aren’t the same thing. Somewhere out

there you have a real mate with whom you’ll connect intimately. If I take

advantage of you, I’d be destroying the future you could have. The absolute joy.

The complete belonging. I care too much for you to let you give up on all that. We

have to stop, now.” Tad snatched up his coat and shoved his feet into his boots

haphazardly, the room spinning as he moved. “Keep the fire going. I’ll be back

later. Don’t leave the cabin. I’m going to try the radio again.”

“Tad, don’t leave me, I ache… It hurts. Don’t leave—”

He closed the door on the sound of her quivering voice and dropped his shoulder

back to seal it shut. Sharp knives cut through his limbs, his throat was raw and his

heart was a block of ice within his chest. He stumbled down the stairs and back

toward the plane. There had to be a way to get out of here soon.

Before he died from the pain of a broken heart.

Missy fell to her knees, a cry tearing from her lips. How could he leave after being

told they were mates?
Damn overly considerate asshole.
Every cell in her body

screamed at her to follow, to drag him back into the cabin and force him to finish

what they’d started.

She dropped her head to the floor and concentrated. Her skills as an Omega

calmed her so she could think, could function until Tad regained his senses and

returned. Long, slow breaths helped relieve the hardest edge of her pain as she

stretched the hormone-tightened muscles of her arms and legs. After what

seemed to be hours, Missy crawled to the table and pulled herself up.

Stumbling to the door, she forced her legs to cooperate as she drove herself to

keep moving. Part of her body wanted to shut down and retreat under the

blankets to shake until Tad came back and eased her pain. But if what she’d

guessed about him was right, Tad wasn’t aware of all the physical rules for

wolves. He might not want to mate with her, but he had little choice in the matter

now. The chemical switch had begun to flip and they needed each other to

survive.

“Just saying no” wouldn’t be enough.

She tugged the door open and stared into whiteout conditions. The wind shook

the roof of the cabin. It was hard to see the stairs five feet away at the edge of the

covered porch as the snow streaked across in sheets.

If Tad was anywhere but in the airplane he was in danger.

She pulled off her clothes, her teeth chattering from more than being cold. Her

skin was so sensitive each touch of her own hands tore her body apart with pain.

Tad could be as considerate as he wanted some other time. Right now she was

going to haul his ass back and force him to take her.

Missy stepped onto the porch naked, skin lashed by ice particles that stung like

wasps. She lowered herself to the ground and shifted, the comfort of the change

to wolf easing part of the pain even as missing her mate hurt at a deeper core

level.

She felt him out in the storm. Tad had tried to deny they were mates, but there

was no way to deny the connection. It was like a string tied between them that

she could easily follow.

She leapt off the porch and listened for a moment, the harsh cry of the wind

different to her lupine ears. Little creatures huddled under the porch, their tiny

bodies hiding from the winter’s fury. Larger animals roamed in the more

protected trees, including at least one natural wolf. He would know she was

there. He would know she was one of his kind and yet not his kind, and he’d be

wary. She let a little of her Omega awareness slip away to reassure him before

she turned to track her mate.

The wind had already obliterated a large part of Tad’s footprints, the holes filled

with the driven snow. The trail she followed wandered as Tad had staggered on

unsteady feet. How he managed to flee so far from her showed incredible

strength.

Or stubbornness that bordered on the moronic.

She approached the plane, fear rising within her. She sensed Tad’s heartbeat