Forever With The Wolf: An Erotic Shapeshifter Romance (Werewolf's Harem Series Book 5) (6 page)

She could tell him all day long, but she’d have to show him, too.

A thought came to her, a quick memory from the last time she’d stayed in this house. Tensions were running high that day, and she and Garrett had quarreled over something minor, something to do with their mission. They’d really been fighting about Brad, of course, but neither of them could admit it to themselves, let alone the other. Frustrated at her, Garrett had fled out the back door and off into the distance. She’d followed him a couple of miles, just until the ground began to rise beneath her feet. The trail had smelled very strongly of her prey, telling her that he had some kind of hideout up on the mountain.

That day, she hadn’t been willing to literally climb a mountain to reach Garrett. Not when he’d been so dismissive and stubborn.

Today, though… she’d try anything.

She got up and remade his bed, attempting to replicate the neat hospital corners she knew he preferred, and then headed for the bathroom for a nice, long steam. She needed a little fortitude and planning to make the kind of bold move she was contemplating.

After a long shower she slipped on a pair of short black jean shorts and a white tank top, eschewing her usual formal girly-girl dresses for more comfortable and cool attire. Not bothering with shoes, she went to the kitchen. Garrett had been here earlier, and he’d left the coffee machine on for her. A warm pot steamed away, and she poured herself a huge cup. She opened the fridge and found a big box of donuts and danishes, good high-calorie snacks for an active wolf. She picked out a blueberry danish and a chocolate eclair for herself. Taking a big sip of her coffee and a bite of the eclair, she headed out back.

Wrinkling her nose at the bright sun, she looked around the pool. Garrett was nowhere to be seen, of course. She could smell him out here, smell his wolf. He hadn’t been gone for more than an hour, probably.

She polished off the donuts and the coffee in a matter of minutes, fortifying herself for her trip. Setting her coffee mug aside, she stripped and shifted, bones popping and flesh rippling as she took her wolf form.

She took a moment to scent the air, then walked the back patio area, locking onto his scent. Kiley’s wolf was always curious, and after a moment she pushed herself into a run. Sure enough, his scent trail led the same way she’d followed him once before, though it was even stronger this time. He was going out this way almost every day, it seemed.

The terrain turned greener as she went, closer to some reservoir or water source near the mountain. Trees began to dot the landscape and the prairie grasses thinned. Beneath her feet, Kiley could feel the ground growing harder, more rocky.

She kept her pace steady, quickly blowing past the place she’d stopped before. The ground was pretty flat for five miles, inclining a bit for a few more, and then it turned up at a grueling angle.

Kiley stopped and turned around, looking back from where she’d come. The house was miles and miles away now, and far below her feet. She was surprised to see how high up she’d run, actually. The bright morning sun was waning, being swallowed up by darker clouds coming in from the East. Turning back to the mountain, she looked up.

At the moment she was facing a huge, well-weathered cliff, outcroppings and ledges cut into it over the centuries by the wind and rain. After a moment’s search she found Garrett’s scent on a particular path. When she looked up, she saw that it switchbacked halfway up the side, leading to a cave mouth that opened into the mountain.

Taking a deep breath, Kiley calmed her wolf. Wolves didn’t love heights, and Kiley and her wolf disliked them especially. But she hadn’t come all this way for nothing, and she wasn’t turning back now. Besides, she could smell rain coming, and she didn’t want to be caught in it. Faster now to go up for shelter than to run all the way back in the rain.

Kiley climbed the trail, wincing at every pebble that skittered underfoot and fell down the rocky cliff without so much as a sound. The trail’s angle only increased as she went, and though she was in pretty good physical shape, she was soon pausing regularly to catch her breath. As the incline grew, she only fought harder, keeping her eye on the cave entrance as she dug her paws into the crumbling path and clawed her way to the top.

When she hit the cave entrance, she quickly checked the immediate area. Garrett’s scent was strong once again, but the spot where she stood was empty. She sat for a few minutes, peering out onto the vista. She’d been wondering, all this time, why Garrett would make such an effort to come up here in the first place. He was an outdoors type, sure. All wolves were, and he was especially anti-social, making nature a preferred companion.

But seeing this view… Kiley could totally see why someone would half-kill themselves for this view. It was truly awesome, and it took her breath away.

A big cloud of Garrett’s scent hit her nostrils, coming from inside the cave. Something else, too… meat? Had Garrett been cooking up here or something?

Puzzled, Kiley tore herself away from the view and headed deeper into the cave. The tunnel was wide and deep, sloping down as it led her into the darkness. She didn’t go far before the floor leveled out beneath her paws.

She stopped and let her eyes adjust for a moment, taking in a broad, low chamber. The path continued on the other side, but Garrett’s scent was thick here. This was an important spot.

A soft squeak sounded from the left side of the chamber, and Kiley startled. She padded forward on hesitant feet, sniffing and moving slow. When she was almost touching the wall, she saw that there was actually a little outcrop of stone, hiding a smaller chamber.

The squeak sounded again, and then another, and Kiley was too curious to contain herself. She stuck her head into the small chamber and stopped dead.

Four wolf pups stared up at her, wide-eyed. They all stood around half a deer’s carcass, a fresh, beautiful kill. Kiley’s jaw dropped; it was clear that she had no idea what she was getting into. Where there were pups, there were usually mama wolves—

The growl from behind her made her leap into the small chamber, terror ruling her movements and scattering the pups from their meal. The second she’d gotten herself turned around, she saw Garrett’s big head poke into the chamber.

He growled at her again, making the pups even more scared. Three of them were literally shaking with fear, though the fourth and largest seemed to be gathering himself for some sort of attack. Against Garrett or herself, Kiley didn’t know.

Kiley moved away from the deer and dropped to her belly, giving the pups a submissive pose to prove that she was no threat. She glared at Garrett, trying to show him that he should do the same, or at least back off.

Garrett disappeared, though she could hear him stalking the outer chamber. After a full minute of her submissive position, the pups seemed to lose interest, returning to their meal. They hardly took notice of Kiley when she finally rose and crawled out of the space, leaving them to it.

Garrett had shifted, and Kiley watched him closely as she did the same. The second her lips were back in place, she rounded on him, but he beat her to it.

“What are you doing here?” he hissed, reaching out and grabbing her by the arm. He pulled her close, giving her a soft shake.

“Garrett!” she cried, trying to pull from his grip.

“Will you be quiet?” he growled, pulling her out of the chamber and back towards the cave’s entrance.

“Can we sit?” she asked suddenly, sinking down. “I ran the whole way here, wore myself out.”

Garrett sat down beside her, never releasing his grip. As if she’d bolt or something. Where would she go?

It had started to rain outside, the cool wetness making the floor slick against her human feet. The chilly rain kept them a few feet from the entrance, their naked skin no protection. The thought of naked skin drew Kiley’s gaze over Garrett’s body, all his sculpted glory laid bare before her. His calloused palm on her skin did things to her, even in the face of his anger…

“Kiley?” Garrett asked, giving her another shake.

“What?” she asked, flushing as she looked up at him. Luckily enough, Garrett seemed too irritated to notice that she’d been blatantly checking him out.

“What in the hell are you doing here?” he cried, losing what little patience he’d ever had.

“I could ask you the same thing. Are you trying to get yourself attacked by some overprotective little female?” she asked, gesturing toward the pups.

“There is no mama wolf. She was shot by a rancher on the next property over.”

“Cattle ranchers are still shooting wolves out here?” Kiley asked, taken aback.

“He’s not even a cattle rancher. He’s just a guy with a piece of ranch land. Or was, I guess.”

Kiley’s heart leapt into her throat at the way Garrett said the last bit.

“You didn’t— Garrett, you didn’t kill him, did you?” Kiley asked.

“Hell no. Bought his land, is all. I didn’t want any more wolves killed around here, so I made sure I have all the land surrounding this mountain.”

Kiley paused, uncertain.

“I know you make good money, Garrett, but you don’t make
that
kind of money,” she said.

“My brother does. I convinced him that we need a wolf sanctuary out here, for wolves of all kinds.”

“And the pups?”

“Followed their mama’s scent up the mountain, found them in a little thicket. Half starved, just like she was. I know the mountain pretty well, so I knew they’d be safe here. I’ve been bringing them food.”

Kiley was quiet for several long beats. He was too much, too good. Her heart was melting into a thousand pieces, and she wanted nothing more than to climb into Garrett’s lap and kiss him senseless. There was just the little part about him still being angry to deal with.

“Garrett,” she said at last.

“What, Kiley?” he said, heaving a sigh.

“I love you, is all,” she admitted.

Garrett froze. Kiley brought her hand up to where his lay on her arm, lacing her fingers through his. After a few seconds, he tried to shake her off.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean,” he said, scowling.

“I mean every word of it. There’s never been any doubt, for me. It was never lack of love making up my mind. You know that, don’t you?”

Garrett’s eyes narrowed as he looked away, looking out the cave’s entrance as if searching for answers.

“You chose someone else,” he said, shaking his head.

“No. I never chose anyone else, because I never had a choice. The second I met you, there was no other for me.”

“You left with him.”

“But I never stopped searching for a way out. If it came down to it, I would have left him the day of the mating ceremony. Going through with the ceremony, with that man…”

She shuddered.

“No, I could never have done it. And I think inside, Brad was proud enough that he wouldn’t have let me. He was looking for a way out, too, or he wouldn’t have eloped with my sister.”

At that Garrett’s lips quirked up, though he tried to hide it.

“Oh, you think that’s funny, huh?” she asked, tugging at his hand.

Garrett turned to look at her, the frost in his ice-blue eyes beginning to melt.

“You mean what you said?” he asked. The boyish, hopeful tone of his words made her tear up a little.

“Oh, Garrett. You’re stubborn, and you think you know everything, and you never listen worth a damn. But you save wolf pups. And you know the name of every wildflower I’ve ever shown you. And you waited for me, even when I told you not to. How could I not love you?” she asked, wiping at the tears that started to stream down her face.

Garrett reached out and grabbed her by the arms, pulling Kiley onto his lap. She gasped aloud at the feeling of his warm skin against her own, at the teasing drag of hair on his chest and arms over her sensitive flesh. He positioned her so that she straddled his lap, their mouths crashing together as she pressed her breasts to his broad chest.

Twin moans escaped each of them as Garrett dragged her hips down, pressing them together intimately. When the damp lips of her sex settled against the rigid length of his erection, Kiley sighed and arched her back, grinding against him.

Garrett’s hands shaped her breasts, squeezing hard for a moment before slipping down to cup her ass. He gripped each cheek as he thrust up against her, grunting at the wet slide of flesh against flesh.

“Kiley—” he grumbled. She read him without effort, knew that he needed her in that moment.

“Now,” she whispered, reaching down between them to grasp his ever-growing hardness. She rose to press the thick head of his cock against her wet entrance, releasing a sultry moan as she slowly impaled herself.

Garrett hissed as she took his entire length in small motions, rising and pressing down until he filled her completely. Kiley moved his hands up to her hips and arched her back, leaning away from him as she pumped her hips.

“God, yes!” she cried. Garrett’s cock stretched her wide, the blunt head hitting a spot deep inside her each time she rocked against him. She leaned back just a bit more, letting Garrett support her as she fucked him hard, her breasts bouncing in his face as she moved.