Where the heck was he?
Suddenly, four hundred pounds of muscle and fur hit her, sending her rolling end over end. She jumped to her feet and snarled. He gave her the canine equivalent of a smile, turned, and ran.
She yipped and bounded after him. So the wolf liked to play, huh?
Increasing her speed, she jumped, stretched her whole body, and landed square on his back, digging in her claws.
He growled and skidded to a stop.
Her yowl echoed off trees as she flew through the air.
Twisting mid-flight, she landed on all fours. A wet nose snorted into her ear. She turned and batted his face.
With a head-butt to her flank, he flipped around and rushed between two trees. She followed, emitting an excited yip.
They played for hours. Through trees, along the river, up a rocky mountain. Wild smells filled her world, spicier than the ones in Oregon. Finally, he led her up an outcropping, sharp and jagged, where the smells turned fresher and sweeter. She picked her way carefully, her paws not accus-tomed to the craggy rock.
A trembling started in her back paws and wandered up her hind legs.
Oh no.
She blew air from her nose and tried to shove down panic.
Her ears went numb. She glanced down at the ground twenty feet below, swiveling her head to see the wolf above her. A panicked whine sailed out with her breath.
Terrent glanced down, golden eyes wild in the night.
She searched for a ledge. Nothing was large enough to hold her human body.
Closing her eyes, she tried to stop the change.
With the softness of a whisper, her body shifted from animal to woman. Her nails clawed into the rock even as she began to fall. Her eyelids flew open to see a powerful wolf lunge straight at her from above.
Terrent made the split decision to shift from wolf to man just in time to smack into the woman and start twisting through the air. He timed the movements so he’d hit first, calculating the distance and ground cover. Tucking her close, he allowed his right shoulder to impact, immediately rolling over several times and keeping her off the ground. The pain didn’t hit until they’d finally stopped.
Agony burst like fire through his shoulder.
He took a deep breath, mentally dispatching healing cells to the muscles and tendons.
She shuddered on top of him, her heart beating so hard he could feel it on his chest. The woman levered herself up, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Straddling him, she patted his chest, his stomach, his face. “I’m sorry.”
God, she was cute.
Her breasts glowed in the moonlight, and she was sitting smack on his cock.
Suddenly, he forgot all about his shoulder. “Why did you shift?”
“I couldn’t help the change.” She ran her palms down his arms, obviously searching for injuries. “I’m still regaining my strength from having the virus for so long, and sometimes I can’t hold the wolf form.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Maybe you should’ve told me that before we climbed rocks.”
“Um, yeah.” She bit her lip. “But I was having so much fun. You don’t like heights, anyway, so I wouldn’t have thought to tell you.”
“I don’t mind rocky hills when I’m in wolf form. But flying? Or climbing trees? Or, God forbid, high-rise buildings?
No way.” Then he waited for reality to hit her.
She finished patting him down and relaxed, her knees on either side of his hips. Straddling him. All movement stopped.
Her pretty brown eyes widened. A lovely pink flush rose from her breasts to her face.
Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.
He expected her to scramble off him. To stutter. Instead, she tilted her head to the side and slowly, so damn slowly, flattened her palms against his chest. A low purr rumbled up from her abdomen.
A wolf who purred. His head might explode, she was so damn perfect.
She swallowed. “You’re naked.”
“So are you.”
She wiggled a little bit. Heat roared between his ears and down his spine. He grabbed her hips to hold her in place.
“Ah, don’t wiggle.”
Her blush strengthened to a red that had to burn. “Sorry.”
She didn’t look sorry. Heat lightened her brown eyes, and curiosity filled her expression. Wolves. Always curious.
She wasn’t the only one wondering.
He slid his palms up her flanks, ignoring the pull in his injured shoulder. It’d heal within minutes. Her skin was smooth and so damn soft. He remembered how soft. It had been hell leaving her in safety the last decade while he hunted the additional werewolves created during the war. He’d had a job to do, and he’d done it.
She ran her hands along his ribs, a small smile tilting her lips. “You’re so big.”
“Too big?”
“No. Just big.”
He outweighed her by a couple hundred pounds. When they’d dated before, she’d liked his size. Before she’d been taken and infected with a virus by their enemies. Did soldiers scare her now? Rage ripped through him, but he forced his anger down. “I won’t hurt you.”
She nodded, absorbed in watching her hands drive him crazy. “Why the one fang?”
“Huh?” His anger dissipated in a flash.
“The one fang mark on my butt. You have two fangs.”
Oh. “I had broken one off in a fight with a werewolf earlier that day. It took about a week to grow back.” Probably a good thing, too, or he would’ve marked her. Not that he wasn’t going to soon.
“Oh.” Her gaze met his, and she blinked. “Well, ah . . .”
She bit the inside of her lip and looked away.
“What, Maggie?” He tried to gentle his voice, but her tight little body on him had the words emerging guttural.
“I don’t remember how to do this,” she whispered, her gaze on his collarbone.
His heart flipped over. Jesus. She might as well cut it out and wear it for a hat. The little organ—and anything else he had—belonged to her. The sexy, cunning, pretty little wolf had a sweetness to her that shocked him, considering what she’d gone through. He wanted that sweetness to wrap around him and never let go.
His hold tightened. “Wanna learn?”
Chapter Four
Maggie’s grin flashed adorable dimples. “Yeah, I want to learn.” She tucked her chin. “But just because I like you, and I want fun. No marking, no mating, and no forever.” She sighed. “A bunch of my friends are now mated because the vampires never seem to understand that kind of thing.”
Neither did wolves. “I won’t push you tonight.” Tomorrow was fair game.
“Maybe I’ll push you.” She licked her lips.
There was the tough wolf he’d spent months chasing so long ago. Smart and tough. And so fragile his skin burned to protect her. He held no illusions about himself—he’d trained and worked as a killer for centuries. He’d rip apart anybody who dared threaten her. It wouldn’t be easy being his mate.
“Good thing you’re a strong wolf,” he mused.
She frowned. “Thanks?”
“You’re welcome.” He stamped down on impatience. No way would he scare her now. “I remember your body. Well.”
Her chin went up in challenge . . . and delight. “Prove it.”
“Well—” he drifted his hands over to cover her breasts, her hard nipples sending fire through his palms to his cock.
“You have very sensitive nipples.”
She hummed, her lids half-closing as she pressed into his hold.
“And—” he tugged both nipples with a pinch—“you like a bit of bite.”
She gasped, her eyes went wide, and she grabbed his wrists. More important, she dampened his cock. Yeah, she was getting wet.