Fire wolf, p.6
Fire Wolf, page 6
She was cold. I knew it. I could see her shivering again. After watching her fumble a second time, I snapped. Hands on her hips, I lifted her up and closed the door, ignoring her shocked gasp. My hands burned where I touched her, and my animal was snarling at me for letting her go so soon. At the rate this was going, I would need to shift in the shed again tonight.
Fucking hell.
Timothy had warned me not to fuck this up, and my brother was right. But he was wrong, too. He’d told me to act a certain way, to step up my game, but the best time of the entire night was when I was just myself with her.
After my fuck up, I felt about two inches tall. Martina didn’t care about a lot of the things I’d expected. But she cared what I thought, and that was a sign. I mattered to her. That was all the encouragement I needed to try to fix this.
“Martina,” I began, starting the car and turning the heat on for her. “I did not mean to say that before.”
“Why? I’m happy to know what you really think of me, Mitchell,” she replied, anger and hurt staining her words.
“Shit. No, I didn’t mean that. I don’t think anything bad about you, woman, I just want you to—look, I don’t wanna fuck this up. I am doing a bang-up job of it, though. But hurting you or insulting you was never my intention,” I growled, biting back the pain of my Wolf tearing me up on the inside.
“I like you, Martina Harbor. I really like you. I want to know more about you. I’m sorry if I acted like a judgmental ass. I didn’t mean it. I swear.”
“I guess I am being a jerk now, huh? No, it’s okay. Don’t apologize,” she said, and heaved a sigh. “This was a mistake. Just, would you mind taking me home?”
“Wait. Please, give me another chance. Don’t, don’t leave like this,” I said, turning towards her.
“It’s not your fault. I have a chip on my shoulder, especially about your Pack.”
“My Pack? But you’re a Wolf and this is the Macconwood Pack’s home territory. I have wondered and I guess now I am asking, why isn’t it your Pack, too?”
“It’s just not,” she said, and her words felt heavy. “I grew up in Maccon City, but I lived under a cloud. The Macconwood Pack left my family alone, but I was never one of them. Never accepted.”
“Because you grew up in Harbor House?” I asked, confused.
She shook her head, and tears swam in her deep violet eyes. It was breaking my heart to see the hurt there. I unbuckled her seat belt and tugged her towards me, and she allowed it.
Thank God.
I couldn’t stand the idea of hurting her anymore. It was making my beast feel all kinds of protective. All I wanted was to wipe the hurt away. To wrap her up in a bubble of good feelings and sweetness. To kiss away the pain and make it all better.
Good idea.
“Hey,” I said, holding her face with one hand and wrapping my arm around her waist. “Please don’t cry, sweetheart. I never meant to upset you. I just wanted to take you out. Be with you.”
“Why did you ask me out?” she asked, canting her head in a way that reminded me she was a Wolf, too.
But she didn’t smell like a regular Wolf. I couldn’t find any hint of fur on her at the moment Just the smoky, spicy scent of cinnamon and apple pie, and dammit, I wanted her with a hunger I’d never known. I leaned towards her, brushing her nose with mine, my chest rumbled with the power of my beast.
“I want to kiss you, Martina,” I whispered, so close to her lips, but needing her consent before I took this thing a step further.
I was playing with fire, and I knew it. I just didn’t care. Barely able to keep the leash on the furious desire I felt for her, I growled, my gaze intent on hers. Her soft curves pressed against me, and I hated the clothes between us. I needed to kiss her. Hell, I might die without it. But I waited.
“So,” she whispered, her breath mingling with mine. “What are you waiting for?”
That was all the permission I needed to claim her lips beneath mine. Finally, I had this woman’s mouth on mine, and I kissed her with all the pent up passion I’d been feeling since I laid eyes on her again yesterday evening. I growled, swallowing her soft whimpers and moans, and put all of my energy into our kiss. She tasted better than I imagined, and, oh, I had imagined plenty.
To me, kissing was better than sex. I realized that made me an oddity among men. But this act meant more. It was more intimate than fucking. Sexier than head. And her mouth was the best fucking thing I had ever felt working in tandem with mine. We were good at this. At kissing each other, and I felt elated. Like I’d been waiting my whole life for this woman, and I supposed I had been.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
The word was on repeat as I kissed her harder, forcing her head back and plundering her mouth with my tongue like a man on a mission. And I was. She was my mission. My reason. Being with her was everything to me.
Some part of me was aware we were sitting in my parked truck outside a movie theater, fogging up the windows of my truck, but another part of me did not give a single fuck. Her mouth was hot and delicious, and she was kissing me back. Me. Mitchell Truman. A guy who worked in construction. Not a fancy pants lawyer or doctor. Just me with my calloused hands and my rough manners.
Were we a good match? I would bet my fucking life on it. Yeah, she was brilliant and beautiful, but she was more than that. She had a monster inside her, too. Right then, I could feel her Wolf moving inside her, rising up to meet me and my beast. Contrary to the always shivering Martina, her animal radiated heat, and it rivaled mine.
“Mitchell,” she moaned my name and my cock pounded against my jeans.
I wanted her so damn bad. Needed her. I placed sloppy wet, biting kisses along her jaw and down her throat, tugging on the neckline of her sweater to get better access to her silky soft skin. My soul burned for her, and so did my body. Following an instinct, I’d never felt before, I growled a low deep, possessive sound, my hands roaming her body with a possessiveness I couldn’t control. I wanted to devour her, time and place be damned.
The inside of the truck was like a fucking sauna, and I thanked God I had parked in the furthest corner of the now empty lot. While everyone else had driven away after the movie, I’d been busy fucking up our night. But now we’d moved past that, and kissing and making up was definitely the best part of the whole evening.
I pulled the lever on the side of the seat, pushing it back so I could pull Martina onto my lap. She climbed right on, straddling my hips, and the sound of her skirt tearing was loud. Neither of us cared enough to stop our lusty explorations, and I made a silent promise to buy her a new one.
Her sharp fingernails clawed at my shoulders, and I hissed, finding her panties with my hands. I growled deep and rough once my hands were on her ass, and fuck my cock grew even harder.
“You have such a perfect ass, Martina. I wanna bite it,” I growled, squeezing her ripe globes. I raised my hand and slapped her left cheek, holding her in place with my mouth on her neck.
“Next time you look in the mirror and see my handprint, you’re gonna remember this, sweetheart,” I told her.
I wasn’t sure if I went too far, but she pressed her fiery core against me, and moaned sweetly, and I knew she liked it. A little pain mixed in with pleasure wasn’t unusual for creatures like us, but I shut down that thought as soon as I had it. There was no room for jealousy here. No room for anything but pleasure, but thinking about Martina with another man was liable to make my beast homicidal, so no. I was not going there.
Martina grabbed my face and pressed her mouth to mine, and I was so fucking turned on by her show of aggression precum leaked from my slit. Between that and the way she was soaking through my jeans, I was going to be a fucking mess when I went home. Thank fuck I’d moved out of my parents’ house years ago.
“Need, fuck, Mitch, I need,” she growled, grinding her sweet pussy against me, and my response was immediate.
I mean, I nearly lost my mind. Sliding her lacy panties to the side, I cupped her sex, loving the rumbling growl that spilled from her lips.
“So wet for me, sweetheart,” I growled.
Good girl. Very good girl.
Her pussy was hot and soaked and so fucking tight, I didn’t think I could even get two fingers inside her, but I needed to. If I wanted even the chance of fucking her without hurting her, I needed my little Wolf primed and ready.
Waves of pleasure flooded my senses as I began pumping my fingers in and out of her slit. Martina moaned, holding on to me like her life depended on it. Hell, I felt like mine did, too. I circled her clit with my thumb, curling my fingers inside her channel till I found the right spot and angle.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Fuck my hand. Let me see you come.”
Martina moaned, gasping now, hot tears trailing down her cheeks. She started to quiver and tremble, but this time I knew it had nothing to do with the cold outside. Hell. She was on fire for me. Wait. Fuck. She was on fire!
“Martina!” I shouted as flames erupted over her body.
Pained eyes met mine, and she shoved the door open, stumbling out into the cold. Before I could even comprehend what was going on, much less move, Martina’s enormous midnight black Wolf ripped through her skin. The beast darted one glance my way, her purple eyes glowing before she lifted her lupine face towards the sky and loosed a mournful howl before taking off at breakneck speeds.
What. The. Fuck.
I sat there speechless with my dick literally in my hand. One minute, we were making out like a couple of love struck teenagers, and the next, poof. She was gone. By the time I came to my senses, it was too late to go after her. A security officer had already driven by, asking me for my license and registration.
I was already zipped up and had the remnants of her clothes all tucked away in the trunk by the time he’d stopped his car. But that didn’t stop the wanker from wasting a good fifteen minutes of my time.
“Alright, you have a good night now, son.”
“Thanks,” I growled at the rent-a-cop.
It wasn’t his fault I’d had a shitty night, but I wasn’t in any mod to mince words. Confused and circling the drain on full out devastation, I drove straight to Harbor House and raced to the front door. I’d fucked up somehow, maybe moved too fast, even though I was sure at the time Martina had been with me every step of the way. It didn’t matter. I would apologize, grovel, beg, hell, there was not much I wasn’t willing to do just to fix whatever went wrong.
I knocked for what felt like hours but was likely only minutes only to be denied entry by Martina’s brother. The rejection hit me hard, but I told myself to chill. It wasn’t coming directly from her, so there was no need to lose myself to my animal. I sucked in a breath, nearly choking on the sharp tang of magic in the air. Davian Harbor had come out as a Witch years ago, but I never really thought about his powers. How strong they were and what not. It might have been a good idea to think about that before showing up half-crazed and banging on his door, but it was too late. I was already there, and my Wolf was desperate for any drop of information he had about our unclaimed mate.
“Is she here? Is she okay? I need to see her,” I asked, trying to calm my Wolf. But there was no getting the animal out of my voice.
“She doesn’t want to see you, man,” Davian said, and he looked exhausted with sadness and worry.
“Why? I don’t understand—”
“I know you don’t. But it’s her secret to tell, Mitch. I can’t do it for her. She is safe, though. That’s all you need to know.”
“I have to see her,” I pleaded, but he shook his head and before I could move the fucker had me pinned to the spot with some sort of magic spell. “Fuck. Let me go, man.”
“You know what I am, Mitchell, and I know what you are. You will not get in this house until she is ready, if ever. Do you understand?” he said with quiet strength, and my Wolf raged.
“You can’t keep her from me,” I growled, my beast roaring inside me.
I was about ten seconds from going feral and lighting everyone up in that fucking place, but I knew it wouldn’t help me. So, I reined in the monster, and tried for calm when all I wanted was to howl my misery and surrender to the darkness.
“I don’t want to keep her from anyone. She needs time, Mitch. If you are the man for her, give her some time.”
Fuck. Davian was right. I’d promised myself before that I would earn her trust, but I had to admit, I didn’t expect what had happened. I had no explanation for it and I was full of questions, but Davian made a good point. It was Martina’s decision now.
But I would show her I was worthy. I’d prove myself, somehow. The Wolf in me agreed with a long, guttural growl. The beast understood assignments and purpose. If I wanted to win Martina’s trust, her affection, and love, then I would need to give her time.
Be a patient hunter, I told my monster. Just be a little patient with her.
Grrrr.
CHAPTER SEVEN MARTINA
Three days after the date from hell, I came out of my room. The house had been buzzing with activity since Sybil was dealing with a pretty terrible case where a foster child needed to be removed from his home because of alleged abusive behavior by the parent there. She was excellent at her job, and I didn’t doubt her for a second.
Nova was busy working with whatever secret government project they had her doing, and she’d hardly been home except to give me the results of my blood test. I was too sick at heart to even open them, but since she didn’t demand it I knew they were fine.
Noise from the kitchen caught my attention, and I walked inside, not sure what I expected to see. Whatever it was, it surely wasn’t that. Erryn and Davian were frowning as they typed numbers into a laptop. They didn’t even look up when I came in, which was weird. But even stranger was the pair of long legs sticking out from beneath the sink.
“Got it,” a familiar voice said. “One more second,” he grunted.
“Mmm.”
Erryn grunted her reply. Davian said nothing, still busy tapping away at the keyboard. I stood there, waiting for someone to say anything, but no one did. Finally, the stranger slid out from under the sink, and I was greeted by a shocked gasp from a blond-haired, blue-eyed, slender giant of a man.
“Well, good morning, Martina,” the man said, walking over to give me a quick, hard hug.
“Who—oh my God! Tim? Is that you?” I asked, startled but eventually hugging him back.
“It sure is. Want coffee?” he asked, as if this was his house and not mine.
I came out of my stupor and went to grab cream and sugar. I had to move Erryn’s arm, and she growled, as she sometimes did whenever she and Davi were working on something that required all their focus.
“Oh, don’t mind them. She gets a bit snappy when focused,” he told me, as if I didn’t know. “Our accounting program went wonky again, and I came over so they could troubleshoot it. While they were fixing that, I figured I could do something for them, and what do you know, garbage disposal was broken,” he explained.
I admit I was shocked as hell to see the boy I once had a crush on, not to mention he was the brother of the man I ran out on a few nights ago, in the middle of my kitchen. Tim sure was pretty. He wasn’t as big, muscular, or devastatingly handsome as Mitch, but you could tell he was related.
“I see. Um, well, did you fix it?”
“Oh yeah. This was stuck,” he said and picked up the half-bent spoon he’d retrieved from the disposal unit.
“Hmm. That was probably Sybil,” I murmured. “She’s always in a rush and doesn’t always pay attention. You know the type, big heart, but not big on details.”
“Sweetheart, I have a man at home just like that,” he said, and my interest piqued.
“You might not have heard, but I am out now, have been since after college. You know, Rafe taking over the Pack made it easier for anyone with an alternative lifestyle to live in the open. You know, cause I’m gay,” he said, spelling it out for me.
“Oh, um, I hear he’s a good Alpha,” I replied, sipping my coffee and trying not to choke on it.
This was a lot of information to take in. Zev Maccon, the former Alpha, the one I remembered, was a fucking asshole. He’d hated everything that wasn’t like him. I’d always assumed the anti-anything different culture the Wolf Pack had was eternal, but maybe I was wrong. The possibility beat slowly inside me, more like a whisper of a breath. Like a bud of hope had suddenly unfurled, and I lifted my gaze to Tim’s.
“Oh, he is, Marti. Rafe Maccon is an inherently good man, an excellent Alpha. He offers sanctuary to any who ask. Even going so far as to allow other supes to settle in his territory,” he said.
I was feeling simpatico with Tim and I got up and grabbed some cookies from the jar, dropping them onto a plate for us to share while we drank our coffee and gossiped like old friends.
“I didn’t know that,” I said, clearing my throat.
I was a little uncomfortable, after all, Tim was trashing all my preconceived notions about the local Pack, and it was doing terrible things to the barriers I’d placed around myself. Walls I had built years ago so I would not feel the sharp sting of rejection quite so keenly.
I’d built the Macconwood Pack into something evil in my mind, and it made it easier to hate them. But Tim and Mitch, they weren’t evil. In fact, everyone I’d met at our birthday party the other night didn’t seem bad either.
“So, um, tell me about you,” I said, changing the subject.
I needed time to process all that information before I decided my feelings about the Pack. Even if Rafe Maccon was a saint, that didn’t mean my Wolf wanted to pledge fealty to the Pack he ruled. It didn’t mean I wanted to live under his thumb.
“What have you been up to, Tim?”
“Me? Oh, honey, where to begin. After high school I went to college, studied architecture a bit. But I missed my family. My parents are the best. And you know how sisters are. Maureen, Celia, Peggy, and Lynda practically begged me to come back. And of course there was Mitchell,” he said, grabbing a chocolate-covered graham cracker from the dish of goodies I’d spread between us.
