Undeniable Craving (5 page)

“Holy crap, you
cured her cancer.”

“What’s a wolf
shifter?” Derrick asked.

Gage focused on
Jaimie’s son. “Wolf shifters are actually wolves who can take on human form.
Plus, they can retain human thought while in their animal one.”

Derrick let go
of Jaimie and turned to face Gage. “So, you can turn in to a wolf?”

“Yes. You have
to keep that a secret, though. Your mom, aunt and uncle can know, but no one
else.”

“Cool,” Derrick
said excitedly. “Can you turn in to a wolf now?”

Gage didn’t
think there would be any harm in doing so. He took on his wolf form in a matter
of seconds. He looked at Derrick to find him grinning from ear to ear. Jaimie,
on the other hand, he seemed to have caught off guard. She stared at him with
an expression that gave the impression she wasn’t too sure whether she wanted
to get any closer.

Chapter Five

Jaimie stared at
Gage in his wolf form. It’d happened so fast she hadn’t had time to assimilate
the fact he was going to shift. One second he was a man and then he wasn’t. He
didn’t make her afraid. That wasn’t the reason she could only stare at him. She
did because he was as gorgeous as a wolf as he was a human. His fur was black,
the same color as his hair. The light green eyes—the identical shade when in
his other form—gazed up at her. He was also huge. A lot bigger than a normal
wolf. His back had to reach her waist.

Before Jaimie
could say anything, Derrick stepped over to Gage, reached out and petted him.
Gage didn’t appear to mind at all. He leaned in to her son and titled his head
to give him better access to scratch behind his ear.

“Mom,” Derrick
said as he continued to pet Gage, “his fur is really soft.”

“Rob, when I saw
you walking Sam with a collar and leash, I don’t remember him being as large as
Gage in wolf form.”

Her brother-in-law
chuckled. “I forgot you’d happened to stop by then, and that Lynne told you Sam
was a neighbor’s dog we were watching.” Rob ran his gaze over Gage. “Yeah, Gage
is quite a bit bigger. I’ve met quite a few of Sam’s pack, and seen them in
wolf form, and they were definitely a bit smaller.”

“I wonder if it
has to do with the fact the Helena pack as become more human than wolf. That’s
how Gage described them. He lives in Canyon Creek in a log cabin on the
mountain in the middle of the forest. He said he needs to go wolf and run
through the trees.”

“Maybe. Sam told
me about a family pack who lives there, and how they keep to themselves. How
did you meet Gage?”

“In a roundabout
way through me,” Lynne said. “Gage and his family have been bringing their
pelts to the fur buyer for years. They’re all trappers. He came in yesterday,
smelled Jaimie’s scent on me and the rest is history, as they say.”

Derrick
continued to enthusiastically pet Gage, who remained still for it. Much to her
surprise, Gage went down on his belly, and with nod toward his back, had her
son climb on. Derrick held on to the fur at Gage’s neck and let out a happy
giggle as Gage rose to his paws, then walked the circumference of the
entranceway. The sight of the two of them getting along so well made her warm
inside. She longed to get her fingers into Gage’s fur. When they could be
alone.

“What are you
going to do about Neil?” Rob asked. “He will come back. If you stay here, he’ll
be constantly knocking on the door, demanding we give him the right to see
Derrick.”

Gage’s wolf body
blurred as he shifted forms. He caught Derrick before he hit the floor and then
set him on his feet. He kept his hand on her son’s shoulder. “Jaimie is already
fine with the idea of moving to Canyon Creek to my home, and plans to make the
move in a couple days. Both she and Derrick can stay with me at the hotel.”

“That’ll piss
Neil off.” Rob smiled. “Do it.”

Jaimie was of
the same mind set when it came to Neil. The move to Gage’s cabin now became
even more appealing. She didn’t want to remain in the same city as her ex.
Since she had full custody, there was nothing he could do to stop her from
taking Derrick and leaving Great Falls.

* * * *

Jaimie stayed at
her sister’s place for a few hours before she packed a bag for her and Derrick.
Once she was ready to go, Gage had them outside and inside his SUV. Derrick was
excited at the prospect of staying in a hotel, and soon getting to live with
Gage. Her son had taken an instant liking to her mate. Derrick hadn’t had much
in the way of male interaction. The only man in the family had been Rob. Neil’s
parents, who lived in Great Falls, had nothing to do with Jaimie or Derrick.
His mom and dad acted as if she and her son didn’t exist, and had since Neil
had run from his responsibility.

After they
arrived at the hotel, Jaimie and Derrick sat in the lobby while Gage went up to
his room to retrieve his things. Once he returned, he arranged for them to have
two rooms that were connected. She wasn’t sure if he’d made that choice for
Derrick to have a room to himself or if it was for her and her son to share.

They took a ride
on the elevator up to their floor, then walked down the long hallway to the
very end to their rooms. Gage slid one of the keycards he held into the lock
before he pushed open the door. Jaimie walked inside, holding Derrick’s hand.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d stayed at a hotel. Come to think of
it, she didn’t think she ever had. Her parents hadn’t been much for taking
trips, and after she’d had her son, she couldn’t afford to go on any herself.

Gage followed
them in and then placed his duffel bag onto the floor close to the bed. “What
do you think?”

“It’s nice.”

“I like it,”
Derrick said as he climbed up onto the high mattress.

“Good,” Gage
said. “One of my brothers and his mate made the trip here to offer me help if I
needed any. Shyla, being a human, thought maybe you’d feel better talking to
her about being a wolf shifter’s mate if you found yourself unable to accept
what I am. They’ve decided to stay a few days for a honeymoon. They became
mated during the winter and haven’t had a chance to get away until now.”

“That was nice
of Shyla, but as you already know, I’m fine with everything.”

“Yes, which gives
me one less thing to worry about. I should call Cyrus and tell him we’re here.
They have a room on the same floor. They’ll more than likely want to come by
and say hi to you and Derrick. Do you mind?”

Jaimie shook her
head as she sat on the bed with her son. “Of course not. I’d like to meet
them.”

After Gage made
his phone call, there was a knock on their room door a few minutes later. He
went and answered it. A man who had the same color hair and eyes as Gage, and
looked an awful lot like him, walked in with a woman at his side. They had to
be Cyrus and Shyla.

The couple came
to stand in the middle of the room. “You must be Jaimie,” Cyrus said with a
smile. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you’ve recovered. And who might
the little guy beside you be?”

Jaimie grinned.
“I am. This is my son, Derrick.”

Derrick climbed
off the bed and went to stand in front of Cyrus. “I’m not so little. I’m
eight.”

“Sorry. I guess
I should have called you a big guy instead. I’m Cyrus, Gage’s brother.”

“Are you a wolf
shifter too?”

“Yes. My mate,
Shyla, is human like you, in case you were going to ask that next.”

Derrick nodded.
“I was going to. Will you turn into a wolf and let me ride on your back? Gage
let me do that at my aunt and uncle’s house.”

“He did, did
he?” Cyrus asked with humor in his expression. “Well, guess what? Gage and I
have four other brothers, who are wolf shifters too. When you get to Canyon
Creek and meet them, especially Memphis, Rhett and Talon, you should ask them
for wolf rides as well. When they do, make sure you pull on their ears and kick
them in their sides. I’m sure they’ll love it.”

Gage made a
choking sound as if he tried to hold back a laugh. Jaimie looked at him and saw
laughter lurking in his eyes. It wasn’t hard to guess that Derrick getting wolf
rides from his brothers would be something he found funny.

Shyla shook her
head at her mate. “You’re bad. You know, they’ll think up something to pay you
back.”

“I know, but
it’ll be worth it,” Cyrus said with a laugh.

Cyrus’ mate
turned her gaze on Jaimie. “You’ll soon get used to the boys’ pranks. The only
one who doesn’t do it is Kiel, the oldest. I can tell you it wasn’t a boring
winter with those guys around.”

Cyrus caught
Shyla around the waist and pulled her into his arms. “I should hope you weren’t
bored. I did my best to keep you
entertained
.”

Shyla gave her
mate a slap on the chest. “Don’t you dare say anything more. There’s a child in
the room.”

He kissed her
cheek. “I’ll be good.”

Jaimie smiled.
That was the kind of relationship she’d like to have with Gage. One where they
could joke with one another and be close. After Neil, she really hadn’t dated.
She’d focused on raising Derrick and then the cancer had come into her life and
ruined it. She’d longed to have a man who loved her at her side, but had
figured it was never meant to be. Now she’d been given a second chance.

She focused on
Gage. He stared at her with longing, which caused her to silently suck in a
sharp breath. For a few seconds, as they locked gazes, it was as if they were
the only ones in the room. If he opened his arms, she wouldn’t hesitate to
throw herself into them.

The spell broke
when Shyla said, “It’s getting close to dinner time. How about we all go out
somewhere to eat?”

“I don’t know,”
Jaimie replied. “I haven’t had much in the way of solid food lately. My sister
made me a sandwich earlier and I had a hard time getting a quarter of it down.
My stomach has shrunk.”

“All right. How
about this instead? You and Gage can stay here and order room service while
Cyrus and I take Derrick out to eat.”

Derrick turned
to Jaimie with a pleading look. “Can I, Mom? Please?”

Her son loved to
go out to eat. Jaimie hesitated in answering. Derrick would enjoy himself, but
she was reluctant to let him go. It’d been a week since the last time she’d
seen him. Her days had been running out even then, and she hadn’t been able to
hold him for very long. A part of her want to cling to him, which he would
probably only tolerate for a minute. He was getting too big to cuddle with his
mom for very long.

“We can have
Derrick back whenever you want,” Shyla said. “I thought it’d give you and Gage
a little time to be alone together.”

That was
something Jaimie wanted. She and Gage hadn’t spent any time alone, except for
at the hospital. Feeling better and better as each hour passed, a craving had
set in, one she found she didn’t want to deny. Every time she looked at her
mate, she craved his touch. She ached to have him hold her close so she felt
every inch of his hard body pressed to hers. There was also the need to
celebrate life in the most elemental of ways with the man she had strong
feelings for.

Jaimie met
Gage’s gaze. The longing was still there inside his eyes, easy to read. She
nodded as she turned her attention on Shyla. “Okay, Derrick can go out to eat
with you and Cyrus.”

“Yay,” Derrick
said with a huge smile.

“Then it’s
settled,” Cyrus said as he put his hand on Derrick’s shoulder. “We’ll have him
back in a couple hours. Both Shyla and I have our cell phones, so if you need
to call, you should be able to get a hold of one of us.”

Derrick was
quick to give her a goodbye kiss before he left with Cyrus and Shyla, not once
looking back. After the room door closed behind them, Jaimie turned her gaze on
Gage to find him staring at her. A surge of arousal shot through her, warming
her blood.

She patted a
spot on the bed next to her. “Are you going to just stand there or will you sit
with me?”

*

Gage was over to
the bed in one long stride. He sat beside Jaimie and shifted so he faced her as
she turned in his direction. The scent of her arousal filled his nose, causing
his cock to harden in an instant. The need to make love to his mate had been
steadily increasing to the point where he felt as if he wouldn’t make it
through another hour without being able to touch her in some way.

He brushed his
lips across hers. She sighed and leaned toward him. Gage kissed Jaimie again,
taking her mouth fully. She didn’t hesitate to open as he pushed his tongue
inside. He swept it along hers, reveling in her taste.

Gage wanted
more, but he had to take things slowly. He didn’t want to pressure Jaimie in to
doing something she wasn’t ready for. Even though it could possibly kill him,
he’d wait for however long it’d be before she was ready to have him make love
to her. It’d be her decision when they took that next step.

He released her
mouth with a groan. “I think this is when we’d better stop. I don’t think
you’re ready for where this is leading. Plus, we need to get more food into
you.”

Jaimie did the
unexpected and threw herself at Gage. Caught off guard, he lost his balance. He
wrapped his arms around her and twisted so they fell onto the mattress with him
on his back and her on top him.

She met his
gaze. “Who said I’m not ready? And we can eat later.”

Gage couldn’t
hold back a moan mixed with a growl as she bent her head and captured his lips
with her own. This time she pushed her tongue into his mouth and twined it with
his. She ground her pussy along the hard length of his cock, ramping up his
arousal.

There was no way
he could hold back now. Her kiss blasted through his control. The urge to
connect with his mate the closest way he could was too strong. His scent grew stronger
as desire beat at him. Obviously affected by it, she moaned and sucked his
tongue into her mouth as she continued to grind on him.

Gage kept his
hold on Jaimie and rolled them so she ended up on the bottom. He took control,
kissing her deeper as he thrust between her legs. Soft growls rumbled out of
him, not to be held back.

He shifted
position so he laid half on Jaimie and half off her. Gage shoved a hand up her
shirt and palmed one of her breasts. He stroked the taut nipple through her bra
with his thumb. She arched her back, pressing herself harder into his hand.

He released her
mouth and placed kisses down the side of her neck. He took hold of the bottom
of her shirt and lifted it until he tugged it over her head and off. Gage
reverently kissed the mate brand that marked Jaimie as he worked on removing
her jeans. She helped by kicking them away.