Marked Wolf (Protector Wolf Shifter Series Book 2), page 10
She wasn’t wishy-washy. Not normally. But what about her life since the night at the damn Blood Moon, since Kodiak had walked into her life, had been normal?
Why the hell had she muddied everything by giving in to her baser needs and kissing him? It could cost them their lives. Cost them in emotions and vulnerability. Cost him in the burden of her. Cost herself by trusting this man who might turn on her.
But…
No.
Even after the kiss and the storm of emotions it had stirred, he wouldn’t turn on her. She knew that as sure as she knew how to breathe. She wasn’t about to leave Kodiak. If he wanted to go somewhere he thought was safe, then she was going, too. She just wished she knew where she was.
Her senses flared into sharp alertness, and her eyesight adjusted much more quickly than usual. Her ears detected the flickering of feathers as their movements disturbed a few native birds in the trees. Her senses weren’t just alert; they seemed to be more acute than normal. Tamaska chalked it up to the stress of nearly being killed. After all, how often did one come that close to death?
“This way,” he said.
“But what makes this place safe?” She glanced up at Kodiak in the darkness. “I need to know the details.”
“You won’t believe me.”
“I’ve discovered that vampires and werewolves are real. I think I can handle knowing where you’re taking me and why it’s so safe.”
“Wolf shifters,” he automatically corrected. “And it’s just safe. It’s a place I use.”
“A place you use,” she muttered. “That tells me nothing. Can you at least tell me why there are vampires and werewolves running around?”
“Wolf shifters,” he said again. “We don’t have time for me to tell you everything.”
He went to touch her arm, but she stepped back, glaring at him.
“How about you start with why it’s safe for us to be here?”
“You’re going to do this now?” The frustration bordered on anger in his voice.
“Yes. I am. I have a right to know. At least…something.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Tamaska. Get your shit together.”
“My shit’s as together as it’s going to be. Talk.”
“Fine.” He sighed. “This is safe, because this is where my pack members go to hunt when they’re in wolf form. We needed a place to run safely.”
Her eyes widened, and acid rose to her mouth. Oh, God. Were they all here? She looked about, sudden fear grabbing hold. She needed to run. She needed to—
“Tamaska,” he said, cutting through the wild emotions threatening to take over. “Calm down.”
“I can’t. I have-have to go. You’re one thing, but others? I can’t!”
Kodiak squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I’m the only wolf here, and I’m not about to transform.”
Tamaska nodded, the warmth of his hand in hers soothing. “So what, are there charms and spells protecting this place from vampires?”
“Something like that,” he said with a shrug. “And advanced technology. No vampire or supernatural being will be able to approach the hut without me knowing about it. I’ll have more than enough time to react.”
“Oh. I suppose you are in the security business, after all,” she said.
“We are.” He smiled at her.
It was too easy to remember his security business was the reason the Blood Opal had been stolen. Although, as more information came to light, it became more apparent the theft had been set up by the vampires.
She was going to have to change her perspective in so many ways.
“I don’t see the place.”
“You will. It’s hidden but it’s right here.”
She looked about but she couldn’t see a house or hut. Just bushes and trees. “You own all this?”
“It’s a sizable property, but really, we chose this because it’s deep enough in the bush and yet close enough to civilization to make it convenient. But also, that we don’t get disturbed.”
She frowned. “Disturbed?”
“As wolf shifters, we need the chance to roam free and, at times, to hunt.”
“Why didn’t you take me back to the pack?” Her voice was tight and strained as she tried not to think about being surrounded by multiple wolf shifters. As she tried not to think about hunting. “Wouldn’t we be safer with them? Numbers and all that.”
Kodiak tensed, then pulled his hand away from hers. Immediately, she wanted to touch him again. How would she ever learn to cope with this seesaw of emotions, knowing he was human, but also wolf?
“Because I’m not supposed to be with you,” he said, his facial expression now pained and creased with stress.
“I don’t…I don’t understand.”
“You’re human, and Olcan has forbidden the pack members to bond with humans.”
Tamaska frowned, even more confused. “You can’t be with me?”
“I can’t.”
“But you are.” And that wasn’t what scared her most. What the fuck was “bonding”?
She felt a glimmer of understanding, and it scared the hell out of her. This was just a lustful attraction, but somehow there was an undeniable connection under the surface she was desperate to ignore.
He inhaled slowly. “I can’t risk taking you to the pack right now. They’ll be furious I broke the law and told you about us. We’re meant to be hiding in plain sight with humans, or protecting them against vampires, not… Well, not fucking them.”
Tamaska’s cheeks flushed at the mention of what they’d done. Part of the allure had been the strong sense of forbidden desire. There was an allure to the forbidden, but it had just been sex, right?
She shifted her mind from that and onto something safe as he held a branch back for her, and the area opened out.
“I don’t understand.” She stepped through. “Hiding in plain sight?”
“Humans would hunt us if they knew our true form. If we mate with humans, our offspring won’t be full wolf shifters. Our bloodline will become less pure.”
“Well, I don’t see how. It’s not like you’re fucking royalty, you’re just dogs,” she said. Then she bit her lip. “I didn’t mean just…anything. But come on, pure bloodlines? It’s a little much, don’t you think?”
“Hey, I’m risking everything for you. Don’t forget that.” He leaned in towards her, his face close to hers. She looked up into his dark eyes and shivered. She believed everything he’d said.
“I won’t. I’m not. I’m just new at all this.”
“I know.”
Kodiak moved closer, his lips brushing against hers. A wild shiver rushed through her body, weakening her knees. The spark within her that burned for him flared with a burst of heat and desire. She only wanted to release it with him. Somehow, she stopped herself from throwing herself at him. The yearning ache was heavy in her body, especially low in the muscles of her abdomen as they clenched with need.
There was something undeniable between them. Despite all the supernatural bullshit and her fear of dogs, she wanted to face it with him by her side.
“Come on. There’s our accommodation.” Kodiak turned towards a hut that had been hidden by the trees and bushes.
Now they were through the last of the flora, the place was set in a clearing, low and dark, clearly designed not to call attention to itself or whoever might be inside.
Tamaska followed him willingly. There was a limp in his gait, a reminder that he’d hurt himself in his fight to protect her.
“Will you heal quickly?” she asked, thinking about the limited fantasy movies she’d watched.
“I will. Then we can work out what to do next.” He crossed the step onto the small veranda of the simple-looking wooden hut. He ran his hand over the door until it made an electrical beep, followed by a sharp click.
In one swift motion, she found herself swept inside, the door closing behind her. Again, a sharp metal snap sounded out. Her sharp ears picked up even the smallest sound. This time, she found the noise reassuring, as she knew they were locked inside. For the first time since fleeing the nightclub, she felt safe in the small, musk-scented hut.
Tamaska exhaled, stepping further into the square space. To the right sat a couch, along with a very old television and a pile of DVDs. A rustic kitchen stood on the opposite side, and through an open door on the far wall, she glimpsed a bed. What the hell was this place?
It didn’t look like a secret lair or the type of place to have such high levels of security as it did. The cabin was just that; a simple little space that off-gridders and hunters would use.
“We should get some rest and make a plan tomorrow.” Kodiak tugged on her hand, taking her into the back room.
A queen bed lay to the left, and there were two bunk beds pushed against the wall on the right.
“I’m…I’m not tired,” she said, gaze caught on that bed. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be again.”
“You will. That’s the adrenaline talking. Get some sleep. The sheets are fresh.”
“Or?”
“Or….” He spun her around and kissed her. “Or maybe sleep’s overrated after all.”
13
Tamaska
He gave her time to move away this time.
Too much time.
Not enough.
The hunger in his depths set a hunger flaring deep inside her, and she wanted his mouth back on hers. She wanted to touch his bare flesh, slide against him, have him take her, claim her, make her his.
“Tell me this is a bad idea, Tamaska,” he said, his mouth feathering against hers.
She groaned. “The worst.” She arched her neck for him to kiss her there.
His tongue, teeth, and lips grazed a path along her throat, and she moaned soft and low.
“Tell me to stop.”
“I can’t.”
He growled in answer, gathering her in his arms and taking her mouth again, this time in a deep, hungry kiss. She answered that kiss, another moan escaping. His tongue twisted with hers and—
He ended it.
“What are you doing?” she asked, the questions that had mounted in her mind blurring.
Right then none of them mattered. Not one thought of what he was or how it might turn on her later. Not him, she didn’t think he’d turn, but her feelings, her fear. That might have been grounded in reality, but it didn’t in reason, not here, not with him.
And it didn’t matter.
All that mattered was him.
His mouth. Arms. Everything he had to offer in carnal delights. Those were the things that mattered.
The desire that had been lit only moments ago now stirred again, hard and fast. This time, she didn’t want to think. Didn’t need space. She’d ignited this by kissing him. He’d taken that and poured fuel on it.
And she couldn’t think of better flames to go up in than him.
Control was the last thing she wanted. And she didn’t think he wanted it either, not by how he’d kissed her. So why the hell had he stopped?
“I’m giving you a chance, Tamaska, to back the fuck away.”
She looked up at him, her fingers sliding into his hair. “And if I don’t want to?”
“I’m trying to be a good man.”
“By pushing me away?”
He sucked in a breath and cupped her chin. “So now you want me?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I could try and talk you out of it, but I’m not that good a man.” He slipped his hand lower, wrapping his fingers lightly about her throat, using his thumb to tilt her chin.
“So,” she breathed the word, her heart beating erratically, “what is it we’re doing?”
“Finishing what we never got to start,” he said softly into her ear before returning his lips to hers.
This time he kissed her long and slow and so deep she thought she just might come. Everything in her pulsated with that need, the need only he could answer, and she whimpered.
Kodiak hissed a breath, a lustful yes. He moved his hand from her throat to bite sharp kisses there, and he pushed himself against her.
He was hard, big, erect beneath his trousers, and she wanted him in her hand. Her mouth. Her pussy.
Tamaska let herself go, flowing into the moment with Kodiak. Heat burst between them as they kissed.
She ran her hand over his bare chest, loving the feel of him, the muscles, and then she moved it over him and up his back beneath the jacket, his bare skin a delight to touch, smooth and soft and warm.
He lifted her T-shirt. She let him remove the clothing, and he dropped it to the floor.
“Lovely.” He glided his fingers over her skin to reach behind her and unclasp her bra, making her shiver with need and delight and anticipation. She helped him, pushing it forward over her shoulders, letting it drop away. Her nipples already hard with need.
His mouth closed over her breast, digging into her soft flesh, his wetness adding fire to her already scorching skin. His tongue licked her hard nipple, making her gasp for more. He rewarded her enthusiasm with another flick, and her head snapped back as desire thundered through her and pooled between her legs. Her muscles clenched, aching for him to fill her.
But he didn’t seem in any kind of hurry. Instead, he laved and sucked and bit softly on first one nipple and then the other, repeating the delicious torture over and over again until she could barely stand.
Tamaska clutched at him, unable to do anything else as he took control, as every move she tried to make was met with a soft, erotic growl of warning. And he continued to play with her breasts, sending waves of pleasure through her.
“Stop!” She breathed the word.
He looked at her. “Stop? Or stop?”
A growl of her own broke free as she shoved her fingers into his hair and pulled his face to hers. The streak of delight that shone there not lost at all, and it sent a knife’s edge of pure, hot desire through her.
“Don’t play with me. You’re teasing.”
He tweaked a nipple. “So you want the prize?”
“Stop toying with me.”
“I will.” He came in, pulling hard against her hands to nuzzle at her throat. “In my own time.”
Kodiak skimmed her body, pushing his hands down the back of her stretchy pants. He grabbed the cheeks of her ass and brought her in against him, grinding his erection against her as he took her mouth in a wild kiss.
Her blood beat hard in her veins, singing out yes, yes, yes. And her legs didn’t seem to belong to her as she kissed him back, and she offered herself to him the only way she could by melting into him, returning that grind.
But Kodiak stepped back, untangling her, and she whimpered.
“I’m nowhere near done,” he said.
He hooked his thumbs in her yoga pants and he pulled them down. The material slid down along with her panties. His fingers teased her skin as he removed the last of her clothing.
He stood back to look at her. “Now that,” he said, “is what I call a work of art.”
“I said stop playing with me.”
“You don’t want that.” With one swift motion, he pushed her backward onto the queen bed and nudged her legs apart.
He was still dressed, and he made no move to take anything off apart from the jacket. She reached for the pants, but he lightly slapped her hands away.
“Kodiak…”
“I’m not finished playing.” And he went down on her, pressing his mouth against her pussy.
She groaned hard as his tongue slipped through her fleshy folds, then circled the tight, sensitive nub at the top of her slit. She pushed her hips up, offering her pussy to him, and he licked her with the flat of his tongue, his fingers finding her and joining in. And as he pushed them into her, she cried out, body clenching.
He didn’t stop. He took her clit into his mouth, sucking on it gently, and she moaned, wanting more, as he pushed her towards her peak.
Her hands entwined in his hair as he worked his mouth and fingers. Her muscles convulsed as a mini orgasm purred through her, and he licked away the wave of fresh juices between her legs.
He bit her thigh and then kissed the top of her slit and moved up her body, his touch sending her wild with desire. Her breath quickened.
Kodiak stared at her and she grabbed him, kissing him hard, tasting that Kodiak taste as well as herself, and he made a sound that reverberated through her. He was hot, flesh burning, and it was the kind of heat she wanted always.
“Is it my turn to play?”
“No—”
“Yes.” She pushed him away from her and made quick work unbuttoning the trousers. His body, she thought, was a work of art, and she took a moment to admire him, all that muscle and delightful flesh.
She traced her fingers over him, running her hands over his toned chest. She reached forward, trailing her tongue over his carved stomach.
When she reached where the open material met his flesh, her heart beat harder, faster, deliciously erratic. She slipped her fingers along the shape of his erection, jutting up beneath the material.
She wanted to see him, touch him unfettered, to taste him. So she pushed down the trousers and freed his hard cock. Her hand teased the end of his tip, his precum oozing out at her touch. Tamaska slid her thumb over the tip, squeezing him, drinking in his deep, guttural groan. All she wanted was for him to be inside her already, but she held off.
There was something else she wanted more.
And payback for his torture was only fair.
His eyes glittered as he watched, waiting for her next move. And she smiled.
Twisting, she changed position so she was above him, and he was flat on the bed.
Then she took him in her mouth, taking him deep.
“Fuck.”
His hips rose, hands tangling in her hair as he helped her go down on him, and she took him eagerly, all that length and girth, the heat and hardness, the salty goodness of him on her tongue.
“Stop, Tamaska.” His words were more growl than voice.
She ignored that order, and kept going, making him moan, making his hips move in time with her as she sucked his length hard. Her tongue dipped into his slit before she took him deeper into her mouth.
