Blood Moon (Entangled Select Otherworld) (14 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Gareth

The damned wind kept spinning around us. I’d catch the jaguar’s scent, but I had no way to track which direction it came from. I held Nadya’s hand, walking on the wooden sidewalk, trying to contain my worry so I didn’t ruin her day with it. She looked over the menu in the window of the Silver Queen Saloon while I continued scanning the area for anyone watching us too closely.

All I saw were tourists. But he was here. Somewhere.

“Does this look good to you?”

I glanced at the menu without reading it. “Sure.”

We walked through the door and a stout bulldog raced toward us. He jumped up on me, his tongue curling at the end as he panted and wagged his stump of a tail. Animals always gravitated to us, maybe sensing the wolf inside? On some level they knew we could relate to them.

I scratched behind his ears while he sniffed my shirt.

“Ulysses!” A woman called from behind the bar. “You get down and let them come inside.”

I massaged his jowly cheeks and glanced over. “It’s all right.” Back to my new friend, I lowered my voice. “You’re a good boy, Ulysses.”

Nadya pulled out her camera and the big guy got bashful, turning away and hopping to the floor.

“He’s shy about cameras.” The barkeep smiled at us. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“A cold beer. And lunch would be great, too.”

Nadya ordered an iced tea, and the woman behind the bar handed me two menus. “Sit any place you like.”

We found a table in the back corner. I sat facing the door so no jaguars would surprise me from behind. Ulysses came over shortly after our food arrived. He flirted with Nadya, wooing a couple of fries off her plate, and then he moved on to me. Laying his big head on my lap, he stared up at me like he hadn’t been fed in months.
Liar.

With only one guy sitting at the bar, the barkeep wandered over and shared some of the history of the place with Nadya. I only half listened, although I did catch that they had a vacancy in the hotel upstairs if we needed a room.

I kept replaying my confession about Gabe. Before she placed her trust in me for her safety, I’d wanted her to understand that the last person who did that had been killed. I’d expected judgment or at the least, disappointment. She listened to my worst moment, my darkest secret, and somehow made me laugh. Me.

This woman was pure magic. She made me want to be worthy of her love.

“Ready to go?”

Her voice jarred me from my thoughts. I glanced at my empty plate and hers and smiled at my new best friend. “Sorry, Ulysses.” I rubbed his ears and leaned close to whisper, “Werewolves are a bad choice to beg from. We’d eat the plates, too, if they tasted better.”

Nadya laughed and my heart swelled. I could get used to making her happy.

After we paid the check and stepped outside, the afternoon sun hung low on the horizon, the shadows stretching out along the worn wooden sidewalks. I took a few slow breaths, but the wind didn’t hold a trace of the jaguar. If I had smelled him, he had to know we were here, too. He wouldn’t have left. So where was he?

A few doors down I noticed a rock shop and gave Nadya’s hand a squeeze. I tipped my head toward the sign. “Want to go in?”

“Sure.” She smiled and hustled for the door.

I pulled it open and followed her inside. Crystals and rocks never did much for me, but seeing her light up when she showed me a clear quartz, and listening to her explain to me that if I carried a little amethyst in my pocket it could bring me peace and help with my spiritual awakening, was worth it. I assumed she meant the dream walking, but before I could reply she was gasping over some kind of green rock.

Last night her hands almost shifted into paws, a jaguar was following us, and somehow she set all the concern for the things we couldn’t control aside and lost herself in her passion for the refracted light in the stones. How did she do it? How did she keep from wallowing in the unfairness of the fate she’d been handed? She was amazing. I watched her discover new rocks, her face bright while she chatted with the storekeeper. Nadya was her own light.

And somewhere inside my soul, my wolf stirred. Our mate. Pride swelled.
How the hell did I ever get so lucky?

She turned my way with a smile that stole my breath. “What?”

I raised a brow. “I didn’t say anything.”

“I know.” She came closer. “But you looked…happy.”

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her forehead. “You have that effect on me.”

She tipped her head back, brushing a soft kiss to my lips. “Best news I’ve heard all day.”

I bought her a bag of rocks and a few postcards, and followed her outside. No sign of the jaguar’s scent. I couldn’t help scanning the streets, but no one looked suspicious.

“Can we go up and see if Piper’s Opera House is open?”

“This is your day.” I nodded and tried not to smile. “I’m just your arm candy.”

She grinned with a sparkle in her eyes. “I do like candy.”

Holy shit.
We were flirting.

…

In spite of my lack of interest in classical music, Piper’s Opera House ended up being enjoyable. A docent walked us through the interior explaining how it burned down not once, but twice. The current building had been up since 1885 and was one of the most famous opera houses west of the Mississippi for most of the 1800s. Not bad.

Like the main drag through town, seeing the stage and the balcony seats of the opera house was like we’d slipped back in time two hundred years. Pretty cool, but it was nothing in comparison with the joy and life on Nadya’s face. Her smile silenced the ticking of the damned clock.

After the opera house, we toured our way through a couple of churches and visited the Mark Twain museum. My personal highlight was the toilet labeled “Mark Twain sat here.” With still no trace of the jaguar’s scent, I stayed alert, but some of the tightness in my muscles eased a notch. We ended up in the Bucket of Blood Saloon for dinner. The live bluegrass band was tough on my heightened sense of hearing, so we found a table as far from the stage as possible.

Nadya rested her hand on my thigh. “Thanks for a wonderful day.”

I leaned in and kissed her temple. “You don’t need to thank me.” I stared into her eyes, wishing I could bottle the day and keep it forever.

“You could’ve taken me to Reno when we realized a jaguar was snooping around.”

“I probably should have. We could’ve come back another day.”

She gave my leg a squeeze. “I’m sort of in an if-not-now-then-when pattern these days.”

“No reality yet. I’m not ready to go back there.”

She rested her head against my shoulder. “Me neither.”

We ate our burgers in silence, watching the band and the folks dancing in front of the stage. After the server cleared our plates, I ran my hand up her leg. “Would you like to dance?”

She grinned, the dimple in her cheek coaxing me to smile. “I’d love to.”

We found a clear spot and I pulled her close. I was no Fred Astaire, but in spite of the grease that was usually under my nails, I could cut a rug all right. Half of dancing was being able to lead. If you led the dance right, the woman could trust you and rely on you to let her shine.

I kept one hand at the small of her back while I held the other and led her in a slow waltz, swaying around the floor. Giving her hip a little push, I guided her out in a smooth turn before pulling her in close again. The soft curves of her body teased me, making me want to explore and memorize every inch of her.

Resting my forehead to hers, our eyes locked. Gradually her lips curved into a soft, sexy smile meant only for me. “Let’s stay here tonight.”

I wet my lips. “The Silver Queen had rooms across the street.”

“We could be in bed in minutes.”

Now
I
was smiling. “Let’s get out of here.”

…

It seemed like it took forever to get checked in, but once we were safe in our room with the door locked behind us, I pressed her back against it, my lips fusing to hers. Her mouth opened, her tongue tangling with mine the way I wanted our limbs to be. Nadya dropped her bags from the day’s shopping and slid her soft hands up under the back of my shirt, her touch sending fire through my veins.

My teeth skimmed her neck. “I want you naked. Now.”

I didn’t wait for an answer. I unbuttoned her pants and she pulled her shirt over her head. I reached around her, unclasping her bra and tossing it aside. My lips marked her skin with possessive, hungry kisses down her chest as I knelt down to slide her jeans and underwear over her hips. She gripped my shoulders for balance, kicked off her shoes, and stepped out of her pants. I rose up a little and caught her nipple in my mouth, swirling my tongue around the firm tip, flicking it until she gasped my name.

She slid her fingers into my hair as I cupped her other breast in my hand. When I opened my eyes to see her face, she watched me, her lips parted, breaths ragged. I’d never seen a sexier woman in all my life. Hunger burned in her eyes as I slid my other hand up the inside of her thigh until my fingers brushed her folds. She widened her stance and I smiled, kissing my way over to her other breast.

My finger stroked her slowly at first. Making love on my Harley was hot, but this time I wanted to savor her until she begged me to make her come. Just thinking about it made my erection jump in my jeans.

My lips trailed down her body, my tongue tracing her naval before moving even lower. Looking up at her, I moved between her legs, my breath caressing her skin. “Put your leg on my shoulder.”

She wet her lips and complied, opening herself to me. I kissed her inner thigh, moaning at her scent. This was my mate, my Nadya. Mine. Unable to wait a second longer, I teased her folds open with my tongue, finding the sweet spot that made her balance wobble. She tightened her fists in my hair, pulling it as her hips tilted toward me. While I supported her with one hand, I brought the other lower, sliding a finger inside of her. I groaned against her when I realized how wet she was for me.

Taking it slow and savoring the experience was going to be tougher than I thought. I wanted to rip my clothes off and bury myself inside her.

She worked her hips into me. “Don’t stop…”

Nothing could make me stop. I stroked her faster with my tongue, sliding another finger inside of her as her inner muscles clenched. “Let go for me. I want to taste you…”

Her entire body shuddered against the door. I pulled my fingers free and slid my tongue inside her, my thumb pressing her core, feeling it pulse. She cried out loud enough for the other rooms to hear. As the aftershocks ran through her, I kissed the soft skin of her inner thigh and moved her leg off my shoulder so I could stand up.

I lifted her into my arms and carried her to the bed while she tried to catch her breath. She stretched out, cheeks flushed with color and smiled up at me. “Your turn to get naked.”

“Okay.” I took a step back and waited. “Are you going to help me?”

She grinned and shook her head. “No, I’m going to watch.”

I chuckled. “All right.”

Truth was, I’d never had a real relationship before. My life was a patchwork quilt of one-night stands with dry spells in between. When I had sex with a woman, it was fast and furious—sometimes we didn’t even get all our clothes off.

Long story short, I’d never stripped for anyone before. Sure I’d been naked with them, I’d been naked with Nadya, but actually stripping for a woman…that was something completely different. I wasn’t shy. Hell, I got naked in the forest once a month during the full moon. But I’d never had an audience. An audience I wanted to please. Damn, had I ever given a shit what anyone thought? Not until Nadya. She held the key to my heart. A heart I thought died years ago.

No pressure.

I started with my shirt, forcing myself to take it a little slower than I normally would. When I pulled it over my head, her gaze moved over me slowly before she met my eyes again. She wet her lips and my pulse raced. Knowing my mate wanted me was a huge turn on. I dropped my shirt and reached for the button on my jeans.

“What, no shirt toss?”

I laughed. “Would it make you hot?”

She grinned and nodded.

I snatched my shirt off the floor and spun it around once before it went flying across the room. Her laughter made it more than worth the extra effort and inspired me to go even slower with my jeans. I popped the top button and bent over to unlace my boots. I almost chuckled when she sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed. Holy shit, I was having fun teasing her. I pulled my boots off and set them aside.

I slid my hand in my pants to adjust myself. I was way too hard to risk catching myself in the zipper.

“Come here.” Her voice was breathy, laced with desire, and I could deny her nothing. My instincts screamed at me to wake up, to protect myself. Every second I spent with her, she got deeper inside of me. I shoved the caution aside and crossed to Nadya.

Standing inches from her, I stared down into her eyes as she ran her soft hands down my abdomen to my naval. She traced her index finger along the fine line of hair to the edge of my pants and slowly grasped the zipper. Carefully she lowered it, every click of the metal bringing me closer to her. Finally she opened my jeans to find my erection aching to break free of my boxers.

She ran her fingers up to my hips and under the elastic on my boxers. She helped lift the waistband over my raging hard-on and pushed the pants down a little farther before she looked up at me from underneath her dark lashes.

I held my breath as her lips parted. She moved forward and took me in. I dropped my head back, burying my hands in her silky hair. The second her warm mouth surrounded me, my entire body tensed, alive with passion. She sucked gently, circling the tip with her tongue.