Caging the Wolf (Snowdonia Wolves) (7 page)

“How do you do it? The changing thing?” I spoke quietly, unwilling to break this very intimate connection that had flared between us.

“I just think it, and it happens.” Levi’s voice dropped too, more husky by the second.

“It’s incredible.” I’d reached the curve of his waist, dangerously close to deliciously taut ass cheeks, and I began to caress upwards. I didn’t want to stop touching him. “So there’s more of you? Wolves?”

“We’re all over the world. There’ve been shifters for so long, nobody knows when or where they first emerged.”

“And yet you manage to keep hidden.” I remembered something. “At the pound, the guy was calling in the TV reporters. Did they know?”

Levi scowled briefly. “No, that was something else. They thought they’d trapped a wolf, and I didn’t get the opportunity to shift back to human form. There’s been a lot of press coverage recently about people sighting wolves in the hills. It’s crazy. If someone learns about us, we’ll be destroyed.”

I absorbed his words. “I saw something on the news when I was there. I just didn’t pay it any attention at the time. I wasn’t sure if wolves ran wild in New Zealand.”

“It’s a growing problem for us, and it’s never been before.” He stretched under my hands, relaxing at my touch. “Someone is trying to expose us. And that cannot happen.”

I reached his broad shoulders and the ends of his dark, rumpled hair. Stroking him was soothing my jangled nerves too. It was as though we’d woven a little bubble of calm around us, and I was loathe to break the spell. “You showed me. Don’t you worry that I might expose you?”

The blue eyes were limpid pools. “Will you?”

“Of course not.”

“You’re amazing, Jessie Morgan. Not only do you have shifter blood, but you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. From the first moment I saw you, I wanted you.”

My cheeks heated, and I looked away, my hands stilling on his back. He’d used that line on me in one of our dreams, and I was under no illusions. That reminded me. “Tell me about the dreaming thing. How does that work?”

“Ah, that.” His shoulder muscles rippled, causing the ink to flex and reform. “I’ll lie here all night, you know, letting you pet me.”

I smiled. “Are you asking me to stroke you some more?”

“Was it so obvious?” His answering smile was a thing of beauty. I pressed my knuckles into his skin, and he gave a low moan. “That feels good, baby.”

“Nice try, wolf boy. You were going to tell me about the dreaming thing.”

He stayed quiet and so I sat back, and dropped my hands into my lap.  He sighed, and pulled a funny face, and then in a sinuous move, he sat up and tugged his T-shirt across to cover his groin.

I gazed at his firm, muscled chest and perfect hard abs. He looked as though he’d stepped off the cover of a sports magazine, toned and lean. “The dreams,” I prompted.

“Yeah. I guess some people are more receptive. It doesn’t happen to everyone.”

It wasn’t really an answer. “Mum said she shared dreams with Dad.” I thought some more. “Is this something you do with all the girls?”

“You mean lie naked on the floor while they give me a massage? No such luck.”

“I think you know what I mean.” I felt shy, and awkward, and completely out of my depth.

“There isn’t much to tell.” His fingers played with the edge of his shirt, and I fought to keep my gaze above his waist. “We connected so easily, and I couldn’t stay away. I wanted to get to know the real you. See if you were as lovely as I dreamed.”

The firelight flickered over his body, creating a golden halo around his hair, and casting interesting shadows over his face. I could stare at him for hours and not get bored. “Are you really heading up to Snowdonia? If I borrow Mum’s car, I could drive you there tomorrow.”

“Talking of your mum, they’ll be back soon. I can’t imagine your father would be too pleased to see me like this.” He made no move to dress, but his hand fisted around the soft cotton of his shirt. “I want you, Jess. And I don’t know how long I can keep my hands off you.”

My heart skittered. The urge to kiss him was overwhelming, to see if he tasted as good in real life as he had in my dreams. My nerve endings all prickled in anticipation, and I licked suddenly dry lips. Was it me, or was it hot in here?

“Then don’t,” I whispered.

Levi’s eyes darkened, almost burning me with the intensity of his gaze. “Come here,” he growled.

I knelt facing him, in the V of his legs, caged by his strong thighs, and waited to see what he’d do. My heart thumped double-speed, and I had to wipe my damp palms on my jeans. I’d never had a man look at me so intently, as though I was the reason he drew breath, and it made me giddy. Lust arced through me in a fierce, searing wave. My panties were damp, my breasts heavy and aching for his touch, and he hadn’t even moved yet.

With all the slowness of a man who had all night to play, he cupped my cheeks with both hands, and held me at the perfect angle to receive his kiss. Firm, blistering hot, and mind-meltingly good, his lips worked their magic on me, and I kissed him back just as hard.

This was better than I’d dreamed. This was real.

Levi kept up the pressure on my mouth, demanding and insistent. When he finally lifted his lips, it was to press them against my throat. “Take off your top. I want to see what it’s hiding.” His words vibrated against me, the stubbled jaw setting me alight.

My pulse sped into overdrive. With trembling fingers, I yanked my lightweight sweater over my head, and clutched it to my chest. I only had my bra underneath. A plain, white, cotton bra. If I’d had any idea of how today would play out, I’d have dressed with a little more care.

“Let me.” His smile was enticing, but his eyes were hungry. He closed one hand over mine, and pushed my top to the side, to place it on the carpet. “Oh, baby. So pretty.” He fingered the fine lacy strip across the curve of my breasts, the only adornment, and then, with care, folded down the cups to expose my nipples.

They plumped even further under his fleeting touch, and he smiled with pure male satisfaction. “You are so beautiful.” He pretended to weigh them in his hands. “All pink, and pretty, and waiting for me.”

Hot breath preceded his mouth closing around first one nipple, and then the other. Back and forth, he licked and sucked, driving me closer to insanity. Without conscious thought, I’d raised my hands to his shoulders, and I used him as an anchor, my fingers curling into the solid muscles. I needed something to hold on to.

I was drowning in pleasure. Surrounded by his green-woody scent, I knew if I ever smelled this fragrance again, it would remind me of this magical evening.

“Jess,” he whispered against my skin, his teeth grazing the curve of my breast. I whimpered, actual speech impossible, and let my head loll. In a flash, he slid one hand under my neck in a move so possessive I should have complained. Laying a trail of kisses up my arm, he slid the bra straps down, and pressed his lips in their wake.

“You could drive a man insane, Jess. I don’t know where to kiss next.” He paused, as though thinking. “Here?” The shell of my ear. “Or here?” The base of my throat. “Hmm, maybe here?” The soft swell of my stomach. “I need you lying down.”

I didn’t care where he went next, as long as he didn’t stop. I moved, with his hands guiding me, and our positions were reversed. He knelt over me. Skin to skin.

Deft fingers popped the button on my jeans, and then slid beneath the waistband, to dip under the elastic of my panties. Oh dear God, was he going to go down on me, here in my parent’s living room, when they could be back any time? I wouldn’t need much to push me over the edge, and if his touch went any further south he’d find how wet I was.

The zipper was next, and he opened it one tooth at a time, making me wait. His lips brushed the top of my panties, and then he paused. “Jess, I need to ask you something.”

“What?” It came out as a squeak.

“Are you seeing Jack again?”

It took a moment before my scrambled neurons made the connection. I’d been to the club with Jack. “No.” I sucked in a tortured breath. “He’s a dick.”

“Good.” Levi lifted his head and scorched me with his gaze. “I won’t share you.”

His arrogance amused me. “Bit cocky, aren’t you?”

The replying grin was smug and proud. “Baby, you ain’t seen nothing yet.” Before I could assemble a witty comeback, he yanked at my jeans and dragged them down my thighs. “Matching panties,” he murmured. “Very pretty.” He nuzzled them, and a second later, pulled them down too. I was helpless now, laid out before him, my jeans stuck at the knees. I loved every minute.

He cupped me in another bold, confident move, and my hips surged up, a rush of desire making me squirm. “Levi, please…”

“Please, what?” He stroked a circle around my clit, paused, and again.  Teasing. Did I really need to spell it out for him? “Please, what, Jess?”

“Touch me.” My lungs were struggling to re-inflate, and my pulse pounded in my ears, but I wouldn’t move for the world.

“I am touching you, baby.” He blew a hot breath over my pussy lips, and I shuddered.
Bastard
. I loved it. “You mean touch you here?” He dragged a finger along my slit, and I moaned. “Or here?” He slipped inside me, just a fraction.

So much sensation, but not enough, and he knew it. I’d never had a lover play with me before. I burned with frustration, my fingers clawing at the carpet, as I tried to form coherent words. Right now I could only moan.

“Hmm.” Levi nuzzled my pussy, his tongue lapping at me. “You taste so good. Like the sweetest ice cream.” Another lick that made me dizzy. “I want to make you come so hard, your legs turn to jelly.”

His hands stroked the inside of my thighs, holding me open. I was helpless, and focused on one thing. My approaching orgasm. Never mind turning my legs into jelly, when this one hit, I’d melt into a sticky puddle all over the floor.

“Your clit is like a little pearl, all shiny and pink.” Another hot breath made me tremble. “Ask me nicely, Jess.”

He rasped a stubbled cheek over one hipbone, and I gulped. Speech. He wanted me to say something. “Please,” I whispered, unable to say anything else. My vocabulary had reduced to one word. “
Please
.”

There was a rapid lick on my clit, and then he closed his mouth around it and sucked. Hard. I cried out, pleasure sweeping through me in a relentless torrent. Lightning flashed behind my eyes, and every muscle in my body seemed to spasm at once.
Christ
. That wasn’t an orgasm. I just died and gone to heaven.

“So,” murmured Levi, his lips vibrating against my inner thigh. “Jelly?” He nipped the soft flesh there and set off another shockwave of pleasure. “Or do I need another go? You did say I was cocky.” His fingertips danced around my hyper-sensitive clit, not quite touching. “I like to deliver.”

With an immense burst of determination, I grabbed at his head and tugged gently, pulling him back up my body. I needed to kiss him. Right now. He tasted musky, of me, I realized. Breaking off to draw breath, I ran my fingers through his hair. “Jelly. God, yes.”

I loved the very wolfish grin he gave me. Pure, alpha male. “Come away with me. We can go to Snowdonia together.” At that moment, I’d follow him anywhere. I nodded. His smile softened, and tenderness flickered in his eyes. “I have a confession.”

This looked serious. I stole a kiss, and waited for him to continue. “I was going to walk away, try to forget I’d met you, rather than cause a rift with your parents. But now, I can’t do that.” He lifted a hand and dug it into my hair, closing his fist around the locks. “I want you too badly.”

The mention of my parents reminded me they’d be home soon. Finding us semi-naked in front of the fire would not be good. I tried to think clearly. “I need to be home again for Christmas. That gives us nearly two weeks.”

Levi held me close. I felt the steady thump of his heart, and breathed in the now-familiar scent of his skin. “We can do a lot in two weeks.” His voice rumbled over my head.

“How long are you here for?”

“I’ve got a holiday visa, however long that is.” He pressed a kiss onto my hair. “I just wanted to get here, the quickest way I could.”

Huh? Something didn’t add up. I backtracked the conversation in my head. “Why were you in such a rush?”

There was the tiniest hesitation before he spoke. “I couldn’t wait to see you again.”

“I thought you said you were here to see friends.”

He sighed. I felt him tense, and then gather me tighter in his arms. “I came here to see you, Jess.”

With so much delicious naked flesh in close proximity, it was difficult to think clearly. I must be missing something. “We met at the pound, and then in my, uh, dreams.”  I swallowed. That was a tough concept to get hold of. “And then you dropped everything to fly here, just to see me? Are you like a crazy millionaire or something? Nobody can afford to do that.” I’d fallen back into babble mode. “Don’t you need to get back for work?” I paused, and thought. “I don’t even know what you do.”

“I work in I.T., for my uncle, and he was fine about the time off.” Levi’s clever fingers were now rubbing soothing circles up my back. Distracting me. “And I had some savings. Enough to pay for a ticket.” More kisses rained over my hair. “No millionaires. I’m afraid. Not even close.”

“Crazy though.”

“Maybe a little. Crazy about you, yes,”

“If I hadn’t been in the Trafford Centre today, we’d never have met. You took a huge gamble on me being there.” Oops, that was another reminder of my parents. “We need to dress. My mum and dad will be back soon.”

****

By the time my parents returned, we were fully dressed and sitting a circumspect distance apart on the sofa. Levi was showing me pictures on his phone of his home in a quiet suburb of Wellington. He told me about his job, creating and testing security systems for government agencies, and I realized he was even sharper and more intelligent than I’d assumed. He also helped at his cousin’s recycling yard and volunteered for an environmental charity.

I felt dull in comparison, but he appeared to be entranced with me. He wanted to know about my friends, my life here in Manchester, my travels abroad, and my thoughts of New Zealand. I told him about my plans to work in Dad’s shop, how I wanted a chance to use my business qualification, how I’d always planned to stay here.

Although Dad scowled, there were no further suggestions of Levi having to leave tonight. I was glad, especially when he began yawning. He looked exhausted, and no wonder. I’d been wiped out flying here, and I’d slept parts of the journey.

He sat on the edge of the spare bed and gazed up at me, and we shared a tender, chaste kiss. I was conscious of Mum bustling around, sorting out extra blankets in case he felt the cold. Like me he’d left the heat of summer behind, in exchange for a freezing English winter.

There’d been an uncomfortable silence when I explained my plan to travel with Levi the next day. Dad was clearly unhappy at my decision, and it tore at me. I tried to rationalise it to him. I liked Levi and I wanted a chance to get to know him. He’d travelled thousands of miles on the off chance of seeing me again, and it was plain rude to turn him away. I didn’t mention the best orgasm of my life. I also didn’t say anything about the intensity of the connection we shared. 

Dad had one last try at changing my mind. “He’s not normal, Jess. And his way of life is dangerous. No matter what he says, what you think, your
taid
was murdered. There will always be people who fear things they don’t understand, and who turn their fear into violence. Hunters came after your
taid’s
family, and he was there at the time.” Dad stopped, his face tight. “I don’t want that for you, Jessie-Bell. We came here so you’d be safe, and it’s killing me that you might be putting yourself at risk.”

I hugged my father. Right now, that was all I could do.

I couldn’t tell him that giving up Levi was already not an option.