Sliding his other hand down, Micah gripped his sac, squeezing and rolling his balls, tugging at them even as he started stroking himself again. Tightening his grip, Micah stroked faster at his rock-hard rod. Tossing his head back and stiffening his legs, he brought his fantasy lover to mind. He wanted endless curves, long legs, nipples the size of quarters that tightened to hard little nubs as he sucked at them and the wettest pussy ever. Closing his eyes, he imagined fucking her, driving into her as hard as he could, feeling her nails scoring a path over his back. He could almost see her sucking his cock, taking him deep into her mouth and swallowing as he hit the back of her throat. That was the image that pushed him over the edge.
His balls drew up tight against his body, his hand yanking at his dick and his whole body stiffened again, white ropes of cum spewing out of him. Micah stroked his cock as shivers raced across his shoulders and down his back. He felt totally drained and strangely energized at the same time. Still, he had to wonder why the image of bright blue eyes came into his mind at the very end.
Shrugging that aside, Micah turned off the water, stepped out of the shower and dried off. He turned out the lights as he left the bathroom and strolled naked across the bedroom. Clean, warm and happy to be home, he laid a few split logs in the fireplace and got the fire going. When it blazed to his satisfaction, Micah set the screen across the fire and moved to his bed.
Pulling the duvet back, he crawled into the custom-made bed. At six foot six he needed something that let him stretch out fully so he could sleep comfortably. Many cramped nights in small hotel beds while on surveillance made this a luxury he craved. Lying back, he studied the shadows on the ceiling.
Just as he started to drift off, he thought he heard the buzzer from the front door. Debating on getting up and dragging on some jeans, he waited a few minutes but the bell on the desk never rang. Figuring he must be hearing things, he settled back down on the bed. If it was guests checking in, they’d have rung the bell. If it was Gareth, he’d obviously just forgotten something and would let himself back out. If it wasn’t either of those two things, he had to have been hearing things.
He smiled in the darkness and rolled onto his side. As tired as he was, he couldn’t sleep now. Thoughts of the new shifter directly under him promised to make the next few weeks very interesting. His body reacted to her presence instinctively. Getting back out of the bed, Micah walked over to the sliding glass doors that led to his private balcony.
A glance at the digital clock on his bedside table showed it to be nearly three in the morning. The snow still swirled around outside as the wind howled. He reached up over his head, grimacing at the pops from his back. Yes, maybe the time had come to leave the bounty hunting to the younger ones who didn’t have as much to lose. I need to be here.
Sliding the door open, Micah shivered at the cold, his toes curling. Stepping out farther onto the balcony, he looked around. Despite the cold, it was prime time for a run.
Raising his arms again and tilting his face up to the sky, Micah willed the change to begin. His skin felt tight as his bones began to realign.
Fur sprouted over his body. His ears and nose elongated. His hands curled under to form paws and his body shrank. Where a man had been now stood a large timber wolf. His gray, black and white coat blended easily with his surroundings when he was in the woods, but here it stuck out.
With pure joy in his heart, he dove off the balcony with a low yip. Falling through the cold air made him wish he could fly but this was the closest he came to that sensation. Micah hit the ground hard, his front legs absorbing most of the shock, but he still felt it all the way to his tail. It wasn’t painful but it definitely rattled his bones.
Loping toward the woods gave him a sense of freedom like no other. The wind still blew, shaking snow from the treetops to land in wet clumps all around him, but this coat kept him warmer than the wool one ever could. When one of those clumps hit him near the base of his tail, Micah spun around, teeth bared, ready to fight. Realizing what had happened, his human side laughed.
Trotting easily through the darkness, Micah reached the edge of the lake that bordered his property. He knew the base would be hard frozen at this time of year, at least three feet thick. It would stay that way for some time.
There were a few ice-fishing houses out in the very middle of the lake. He paused before stepping out into the moonlight. No sense in annoying any late-night fishermen. Twitching his ears and nose, his quick sensory survey of the area let him know the fishing shacks were unoccupied.
Running along the edge of the lake, he bit at the snow, slaking his thirst, and as different scents caught his attention, he stopped from time to time to mark his territory. Finally, he flopped full-length into a snowbank. Micah rolled in the snow until the powdery stuff covered him from nose to tail. Getting back to his feet, he shook vigorously. Snow flew all around him as he jumped into the air in sheer enjoyment at being alive, whole and home again.
After he’d run the entire perimeter of his property and assured himself that everything was as he’d left it, Micah turned back toward the lodge and his waiting bed.
He noted fresh tracks. Plunging his nose into the snow around them, he picked up that oranges and female smell again. His ruff raised in anticipation of meeting her. The snow had stopped now and he sensed that it wouldn’t be very long before the sun started to rise.
Just as he reached the clearing by the lodge, he stopped. An unfamiliar feeling washed over him. It took him a moment to identify it. Someone watched him. He stood in the soft light, staring at the main lodge. A light burned on the third floor in his apartment but the rest of the lodge remained dark. So where?
Movement on the second floor alerted him. A silhouette against the curtains in one of the guestrooms. He lifted his head, staring at the window, nearly willing her to move. The female shifter, the woman known as Olivia Decatur, watched him. He wondered if she stood naked at the window or if she gave in to the human notion of sleeping in clothes. Now he wanted her to acknowledge his presence.
In spite of the fact that he’d never had to work to attract any female, Micah started to jump through the snowdrifts. He felt quite sure he looked like an idiot, but he wanted her attention. He wanted her to open the curtain and watch him. Hell, he wanted her to come outside and play with him in the snow.
For nearly thirty minutes he frolicked. He did what any male would do in the presence of a female he wanted to impress. He showed off.
When she didn’t move or show any sign of coming out to join him, Micah gave up…for now. His jaw dropped into a grin. The possibility that she might already be mated flitted through his mind, but he shook it away. Her scent had been pure female, no blending with another’s mark.
His belly tightened at the memory of that sweet female fragrance. He moved into the shadows near the lodge and around the corner toward his private entrance. Shifting at the base of the hidden staircase, he ran quickly up the stairs, entering his living room before the chill could reach his bones.
Grabbing a fleece blanket off the couch, Micah settled in front of the fireplace, poking at the embers before placing another log on the fire. His blood still ran with the warmth of the South he’d left behind. Soon he’d have no need of the blanket, but he knew he’d always seek out the sensual feeling of the soft material on his naked skin.
No longer a mystery, he had the scent of this unknown female in his head. And the Great Spirit had smiled on him by putting her in his home. For just a moment he thought about getting dressed and going to introduce himself. Then he remembered the time.