FMR (18 page)

pleasing her. He suckled her breasts until her body went limp in his

arms. The sound of her raspy breathing filled the living room.

Still embracing Jac in his arms, he rose, effortlessly lifting her. He

laid her out upon the carpet in front of the roaring fire. The snaps and

pops of the blaze echoed the excitement coursing through his veins.

His body was white-hot with desire and his cock was hard as a rock

between his thighs.

As if reading his mind, Jac slid a hand to his erection, encircling her

fingers around his girth. He gasped, channeling the primal, raw

emotions which now pumped through his veins. Ray's senses were

thick with a cloud of pure lust.

Jac loved the feeling of the velvety firmness in her hands while she

stroked his length. She knew he would be long and round enough to

fulfill her. Moisture trickled from her pussylips. Her sex clutched

with longing. She wanted him – all of him – inside her.

"A condom," she panted. "In my bag." Jac gestured to her laptop

bag beside the sofa. A moment of clarity flickered in his eyes. Ray

reached over, unzipping the side pouch. Her heart drummed madly in

her chest. She shimmed out of her pants, tossing them aside then

waited. Her entire body was ablaze with anticipation.

With a quick rip, he'd opened the packet, deftly rolling the latex

into place before positioning his body over her. He leaned in, kissing

her. Jac's senses reeled, her breath stolen away by his heated kisses

while a gentle hand drifted down over her belly to the slick folds of

her sex.

Ray slid a finger into her pussy and began to stroke inside her. Jac

trembled, the world around her dissolving into a happy blur. She

moaned against his lips, her entire being reaching out to the man

making love to her.

I want more.

Ray peeled his lips from hers and gazed into her eyes. "More,

huh?" He flashed a feral grin. The fine hairs covering her body stood

on end, but the sensation was washed away by the wild desire

coursing through her veins.

"Yes, more," she pleaded softly.

Without hesitation, Ray pressed the tip of his cock to the heated

entrance of her sex and rocked his hips forward. A low moan escaped

from his lips as her slick tightness surrounded him. He was caught up

in the sheer joy that was echoing through his body.

Jac stirred beneath him. With an excited whimper, she curled her

legs over his shoulders and took him deeper inside her velvety canal.

"Oh God! Oh yesss," he hissed, acutely sensing every twinge of

pleasure which rippled within her. Lust racked his body, yet his mind

went silent. His hips rocked, thrusting into her with heated strokes.

The world spiraled like a pinwheel.

Ray gritted his teeth, desperately attempting to prolong the intimate

connection. But buried deep inside his lover's body, holding off was

next to impossible. Her pussy fluttered wildly then gripped him

tighter. Jac gave a loud moan of pleasure and release. The delicious

impact of her orgasm rippled through his cock. Ray also felt it in his

heart.

She was his everything.

She was his
mate
.

And, with that, he came.

* * * *

glare of the morning sun momentarily stunned her. She squinted open

her eyes. For a moment, she couldn't recall where she was. She

glanced around and it all came back to her.

She was lying on the sofa's pullout bed. In the fireplace, ashes

smoldered from the remains of last night's fire. Jac snuggled beneath

the blanket with her head resting on one of the sofa's plush pillows.

Sunlight streamed in through the bay window, reflecting the

brightness of the white snow outside. Birds were chirping in the

distance and, from the direction of the kitchen, she heard someone

shuffling around.

Jac propped up on her elbows. The spot on the mattress beside her

bore a large indention. The scent of sex still lingered in the air. A

smile curled over her lips. There was a delicious feeling of

satisfaction between her legs, yet other muscles in her body ached,

reminding her of the repercussions of unbridled sex.

"Good morning." His warm, husky voice was like music to her ears.

"I thought I'd return the favor." He grinned, stepping close to the sofa-

bed, and planted a tender kiss on her forehead. In his hand was a

steaming mug. The aroma of coffee filled her senses as he gingerly

offered her the mug.

"Ah, that smells good. Thanks." She grinned up at him. Wearing

nothing except a pair of burgundy jogging pants, he was freshly

showered and still damp. The scent of soap and manly goodness

filled the room. Ray was too fine for words.

She fondly recalled their passionate encounter in front of the fire

the night before. Heat trickled down her spine. Jac did her best to

control the emotions swirling inside her and took a sip of hot coffee.

Ray crossed to the window and looked out. "It's a beautiful

morning. The weather's clearing up." He turned to her and smiled. "I

was thinking about heading into town and taking you with me."

"Sure. I'll grab a quick shower then we can go. Anyway, I'll need

to stop by the diner to check my email and contact my editor."

The smile on Ray's face faded to a concerned expression. "Are you

still going to write the wolf article for
The Inside-View
?" He angled

his head, placing his hands firmly on his hips. "I'd advise you against

it."

"What do you mean, 'advise me against it'?" She scowled, placing

the half-empty mug on the table beside the sofa-bed. "It's my job ...

my career. I'm up for a promotion and this story will be the clincher.

If I don't meet my deadline, it's back to shuffling papers and editing

other reporters' work."

"I'm sorry, Jac, but you're still not out of danger." Ray gave a heavy

sigh.

"I'm not?" Her stomach churned with renewed nervousness. "What

do you mean?"

"It's just a hunch, but we think someone found out about your story

and might be stalking you in wolf-form." Ray frowned. "And until we

catch the
sithech
who attacked you, you're not safe."

A shiver went down her spine. "We? We who?"

"Me, Bruce and Ernie," Ray replied with a soft sigh. "As long as

we're around, we promise to keep you safe – so don't worry."

"Oh my! They're wolves, too!" Jac's eyes widened. It was all so

unbelievable, but she knew he was telling her the truth.

Ray gave a light chuckle and nodded. "Yes, they're
sithech
, too.

Bruce and I are also pack guardians and Ernie's in-training, if we can

keep him away from the computer long enough."

He turned from the window and took a seat on the edge of the

mattress. Giving her a compassionate smile, he scooped up her hand

and affectionately squeezed it.

Ray's tenderness soothed her nerves. Clearing his throat, he

continued. "According to statistics, twenty percent of Heather Grove's

population is descendants of the
sithech
, Jac. Some have more or less

of the blood in them, but they're all wolf."

Silence fell between them a moment. Jac thought about a minute,

then grinned, "Well, they say every small town has its secrets. Why

should Heather Grove be any different?"

"You have a good point," Ray returned her grin. "However, when

the moon is full in this town, it magnifies the
sithech
-blood. All sorts

of weird things happen. We jokingly call it the three-F's – fear,

fighting and fucking."

She felt her cheeks sting with color. Her stomach flipped a nervous

flop. "Ray, about last night ... was that just, you know, fucking?"

Ray's face went serious again. He shook his head. "No, Jac, it

wasn't." He leaned closer, brushing her lips with a soft kiss. A

familiar heat rose up her spine. She desperately wanted the kiss to

deepen, but he drew away. "What we did last night wasn't just a

'fuck', Jac. I'd like to believe we made love."

Jac's lips formed a silent 'o' as he stood, removing his hand from

hers. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest.
Did he just say love?

Jac's gaze followed him as he strolled back to the kitchen. He was so

sure, so confident ... and she was flabbergasted. Stunned.

She raised a palm to her forehead, her heart pounding wildly in her

chest.
Oh Jac! You're falling in love with a ... with a wolfman!
It was

so surreal, so unbelievable, Jac gave a nervous giggle.

"Hey!" Ray called out from the kitchen, breaking through her

rambling thoughts. "You'd better hit the shower soon. We're leaving

for town in one hour."

The ride into town was pleasant enough. Ray grumbled a bit when

Jac had switched his classic Rock radio station to one that played retro

80's hits. However, as he stole a glance over to her, shifting through

papers in her battered folder in the passenger seat, he found it difficult

to be grumpy with her.

Damn, man, what happened to you last night?
He'd always played

by his own rules, but, for some reason, he'd given into her without too

much protest. Ray pushed aside his nagging conscience and cleared

his throat.

"So, what are you going to tell your editor about the article?"

Jac shook her head. "I don't know. So many things have happened

in the past twelve hours or so, it's hard to tell." She shrugged.

"You can always write an article about Heather Grove's tranquil

beauty," he suggested.

"It is a nice town," she nodded in agreement. "But my editor's

expecting a story that will sell lots of magazines. It all boils down to

the almighty dollar."

"Humph. That doesn't sound creative or fun." Ray frowned. "Say,

have you ever thought of writing a novel?" He smiled over at her,

arching an eyebrow.

"Well, I've thought about it. You know, writing the great American

novel? Maybe one of these days, I will." Her soft dreamy voice

tugged at his heart.

"You should." He nodded as Jewel's appeared over the dashboard,

straight ahead. Ray tapped the breaks and flicked on his signal,

pulling the truck to a smooth stop in front of the diner's entrance.

"Aren't you going to park?" Jac asked, stuffing her papers back into

her laptop bag.

"No, I thought I'd head over to the garage and check on your car."

"Oh? Are you trying to get rid of me already?" Jac made a face, but

he could tell she was just kidding.

"No, not likely." He smirked.

Jac flashed him a smile. It was her smile which had won his heart.

She was such a beautiful, intelligent and funny woman. Just the

thought of her leaving town filled him with an unnamable dread.

Once again, pushing his doubts aside, he gestured to the diner door.

"Why don't you go inside and set up your laptop? I'll meet you here

after I'm done at the garage."

"All right." Jac nodded, reaching for the door handle.

"Jac?" She stopped in mid-motion. "I meant what I said back at the

house."

"What's that?"

"You still could be in danger. So be careful and keep your eyes

open. Okay?"

"All right. Okay." She winked, then swung the door open and

stepped down out of the cab.

She flashed him a smile and slammed the truck door.

Ray watched until she'd entered the diner before he put the truck

back into gear and pulled out of the parking lot. His emotions were in

mild chaos. No woman had ever affected him this way.

But, this wasn't just any woman. It was Jac Hamilton. Deep in his

gut, Ray knew she was his mate.

There were only two problems. One, she was human and Ray

wasn't sure if she'd be receptive to the idea of being a wolf-blood's

mate. And, second, as far as he knew, another
sithech
was still trying

to kill her. Ray exhaled a heavy sigh while he changed gears.

Sometimes being a pack guardian really bites!

* * * *

surveying the room around her. The scent of homestyle cooking was

making her stomach growl. After she'd set up her laptop, she reached

for a menu.

"Well, hello there. I'm surprised to see you're still in town."

Jac glanced up from the menu. Mary Lynn stood in front of the

booth with her pen poised on her notepad.

"Yes, I'm still around," she casually replied.

"So, are you expecting someone else?" She gestured to the empty