Disobedient Cowboys [Lone Wolves of Shay Falls 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (16 page)

“So you’re in danger.”

“Not anymore.”

“What if she comes after you again?”

“She won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“She’s the one who let me go.”

“I thought she wants revenge?”

“She does. Just not on me.” He stared out across the woods. “She had me, you know. Stood right over me while I was wounded and pointed her gun square at my chest. I shifted human and told her that if I was in any way guilty of harmin’ her family or another livin’ soul, then let God strike me dead with the next silver bullet.”

Her eyes widened. “You said that? What happened?”

“The gun misfired.”

Her hand flew over her mouth. “Oh, my God.”

“That shook her up real good. I ran when she told me to get lost before she changed her mind, but she won’t. I could see in her eyes that she believed me.”

Images flashed through Rose’s mind of Jayel losing her parents and watching her brother get taken by a vicious pack.

She turned to him. “Take me home,” she said. “I can’t be part of this, Caleb. I don’t want to be a werewolf.”

“A werewolf?” he said, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. “Turnin’ you has never been our intention.”

She shivered. “I’m not sure I believe that.”

“I don’t need or want you to be a shifter. Our females have to be human to be true bond mates.”

“Even if I
wanted
to be your ‘female,’ how can I trust you?”

He stepped closer to reply, but her eyes flashed him a warning that stopped him in his tracks.

“I mean, if you’re not even human,” she went on, “then you’ve probably got supernatural powers to use on me. Maybe that’s why I have trouble resisting you. Stephen, too.” Her eyes widened. “That’s it, isn’t it? You guys have weird paranormal magic that I react to. It isn’t real. Maybe that’s how your kind lures women in. I bet I’d feel the same way around any werewolf that crossed my path.”

He folded his arms. “You’ll only feel this way about your rightful mates. It’s fate’s way of lettin’ you know you’re on the path you’re meant for.”

“I don’t believe you.” She wasn’t sure she believed any of it, even after seeing for herself.

She could see the frustration gleaming in his narrowed eyes, but he didn’t answer. That was all the proof she needed.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” she persisted. “You just want me to think this is fate.”

“Wait here.”

With an inhuman display of speed, Caleb disappeared into the woods. She whipped around in alarm, searching the jagged rows of trees and shrubs to try and catch sight of him. He was just gone.

“Sure, Caleb,” she called out. “I’ll just wait here all alone in wolf-infested woods until you decide to come back. Not.”

She eyed the hill they’d come down, debating the wisdom of attempting the climb up to her car when she heard rustling in the trees. Caleb re-emerged so fast that she almost kicked over her abandoned wineglass. When she saw he wasn’t alone, she stiffened and closed her mouth on the sarcastic remark she’d been about to make.

“Rose, this is Seth,” Caleb said in a formal tone. “Seth, Rose.”

“Ma’am,” Seth said with a nod.

Seth had a cowboy twang, too. And he was so packed with muscle that he looked like a professional wrestler. He wore only blue jeans and pointy boots. Golden-brown hair hung to his shoulders, and it was dripping wet. So was most of his bulky upper half.

“This is the wolf you just saw,” Caleb went on. “I asked him to help settle our discussion.”

She laughed. “Oh, he’s that wolf, is he,” she said with thick sarcasm. “That’s funny, because I was pretty sure
that
wolf had black hair, not golden-brown. And oh, yes—it wasn’t wearing any pants.”

“I had clothes stashed in the woods,” Seth said, almost apologetically.

Rose rolled her eyes. “Am I really supposed to believe he’s a werewolf, too?”

“Look at his eyes,” Caleb said. “Or does he have to shift again to prove it?”

She had to admit, he had the bizarre eye thing going on. The irises were almost midnight blue, but gold flecks ringed the pupils, just like Caleb’s and Stephen’s.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Great. He’s a werewolf. Congratulations. What’s all this about?”

“Good question,” Seth added, glancing at Caleb.

“Rose doesn’t believe her hot, overwhelmin’ lust for me is part of a mate bond,” Caleb said.

Her mouth fell open. “Caleb!”

He ignored her. “She thinks werewolves have the same supernatural sex appeal to all females.”

“And Seth here is my next case in point,” she butted in, pointing at him accusingly. “I mean, just look at him. Aren’t there any werewolves who are actually ugly?”

Caleb kept his focus on Seth. “I was hopin’ you’d help an old pack mate by lettin’ her test that theory on you.”

Something in his words struck. “Wait,” she said. “Are you out of your mind?”

He glanced at her. “Afraid to try and find out you’re wrong?”

She met the challenge in his eyes with a glower. “Not in the slightest.” She folded her arms and glanced at the shirtless wonder-wolf. “What about it, Seth?”

Seth gave Caleb a confused look, but Caleb nodded. “As a favor, please. I want to settle this now.”

The man shrugged. “What do I have to do?”

“From my experience, not much,” Rose said. “Just look at me, basically.”

Their eyes met, and she stepped forward boldly. The gold in his eyes glittered, but didn’t vibrate, grow, or otherwise come to life.

“Feel any magical infatuation yet?” Caleb said, and the teasing in his words was obvious.

“Be quiet and give me a minute,” she snapped.

She took a step forward and then another, until finally she and Seth were close enough for her to feel the heat of his still-damp body. Taking a deep breath, she plunged full steam ahead, giving those mystical, werewolf eyes her complete focus. She knew full well she was in a precarious state. That gaze could hypnotize her into wanting to jump his bones. She’d have to be careful to pull out the second she felt it starting.

Just a few more seconds.

They stood there, moments ticking away while their eyes remained locked. Seth had beautiful eyes, really. Such a dark, compelling blue. Soulful, even. But her heart didn’t flip over, and there wasn’t so much as a flicker of butterfly wings in her stomach. She stared until her eyes watered from lack of blinking.

Finally, she heaved a sigh.

“This isn’t working,” she said irritably. “You’re not trying hard enough.”

“You said I just had to look at you,” Seth said. “Is that it? Are we done?”

“No.” She moved closer still. “Kiss me.” Maybe it was the wine talking, but Rose was determined to prove her point.

“What?” Caleb spat out. “Like hell.”

“
Now
who’s afraid to try and be proved wrong?” she asked with a note of triumph.

Caleb scowled but stayed quiet.

“Come on, Seth,” she said. “Kissing is how Caleb tried to prove to me that I would respond differently to him than any other man. So let’s see how that plays out with a werewolf who is neither my rescuer nor my ex-doctor.”

Seth’s eyes flicked back and forth between them.

“Do what she wants,” Caleb said, biting off each word.

She saw Caleb stiffen when the man reached up to gently take hold of her chin. Seth’s thumb traced her lower lip as he bent his head close. Instead of what she’d expected, however, he spoke to her in a soft, low voice.

“I don’t really need to kiss you for you to know the truth about this. Do I?”

He held that position, his face close to hers while meeting her eyes, as he continued feathering her lip with his thumb. Any one of those gestures would be devastating to her virginity if wielded by Caleb or Stephen. But with Seth, she felt what she always felt when a man tried to seduce her. Nothing. Nothing but foolish, that was. And the heady effects of too much wine.

“No,” she admitted, taking a teetering step back. “I suppose not.”

Seth glanced at Caleb. “You’ve got yourself a real fine lady here. She’s as beautiful and delicate as a china doll on the outside, but a real firecracker within.”

“Tell me about it,” Caleb said, and she shot him a glare.

Seth took her hand. “Don’t be afraid.” He nodded toward Caleb. “He ain’t tryin’ to put one over. He is a werewolf, yes. But he’s one of the good guys. We all were, once. Before Blaise came along.”

“And we still are,” Caleb said when Seth turned away from her. “Thank you.”

Seth nodded and headed off. Caleb called out, “Wait,” and went after him.

Their heads bent together for a moment while Caleb said something Rose couldn’t hear. With a final nod, Seth was gone.

“What was that last bit about?” she said when Caleb returned.

“I was warnin’ him to watch out for silver bullets.”

She gave a little wine-influenced giggle and shook her head.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“That I’m actually starting to believe I didn’t hallucinate the existence of werewolves.” She hugged herself and glanced at him. “And that I’m here in a place that I’ve dreamed about, alone with a man I’m not sure I should trust.”

He strode into her personal space. “That ain’t your heart talkin’. It’s the last flickers of your instinct to steer away from men. Because deep down, you’ve been waitin’ to give yourself to me.”

There was no gentle, barely there Caleb kiss this time. He devoured her lips like a starving man. The fiery passion caught her off guard and unhinged her completely. Despite her misgivings, despite knowing she wouldn’t even be in town long enough to decide if his dark secrets mattered, she knew he was right. She wanted him to be the faceless dream lover who seduced her by a waterfall. She ached to give him all of herself.

“Tell me you believe it now,” he said in between heated, almost forceful kisses. “Tell me no other man can make you feel this way.”

His lips sent shocks of lust down her spine, tingling along her nipples and clit. She wanted to tell him whatever he needed to hear, just so he wouldn’t stop. But those weren’t the words that came out.

“There is one other man,” she said, circling his taut waist with her arms.

“Mates don’t count.”

“If Stephen doesn’t count, why do I miss him so much?”

That truth struck her hard. Maybe that was why her dream lover had never had a face. Maybe fate hadn’t decided which man should be the one to claim his place.

“You were really gonna kiss Seth right in front of me,” he said with a growl.

“Jealous?” she asked innocently.

“As hell.”

He kicked at their picnic with his foot, and supplies went tumbling onto the mossy ground. He pulled her down to the blanket with him, still torturing her with frantic kisses. His tongue plunged into her mouth, and she moaned at the electric feel. He tasted of wine as they lay there together, their tongues battling to see which one would drive the other insane first. When she reached between his legs to feel the hard cock in his jeans, she felt a pang of victory.

The buzz she had going must have made her bold, because she was fumbling with the fly of his jeans moments later. He let her unzip him while his hands moved to the back of her neck to loosen the tie of her halter. She stuck her hand inside his pants, feeling his bulge now through thin, cotton underwear she was eager to rip off him.

He peeled down the edges of her halter to the waist, exposing her. “God, Rose, you are so damned beautiful,” he said, and then he lowered his head to her breasts.

She gasped, and the feel of his tongue on her nipples in the middle of nature’s wild beauty turned her into a frantic woman. She tried shutting her eyes to revel in the feel, but the world spun drunkenly around her. Instead, she focused on the erection she was groping and grew impatient for more of it.

Tugging at his jeans until he helped her, they got his pants off. When she had his hot, naked cock in her palm, she squeezed it and groaned at the way it jerked in her hand.

“Slow down,” he said, capturing her nipple in his mouth and sucking it for a moment. “I want this to last, and the way you’re grabbin’ my cock is gonna make me blow my load too soon.”

“Good,” she said, her other hand stroking the hairy balls beneath his long shaft. “I want to make you come the way you made me on the couch.”

He lifted his hips with a moan, pulling away. “Not until I’m inside you, darlin’. You don’t know how long I’ve waited.”

“Then do it,” she said. “Please.”

“Such a hurry,” he said in a slow, teasing drawl, letting his hand slide up a bare thigh beneath her dress.

He gave her a trademark, featherlight kiss just as his fingers brushed against her wet panties. Pleasure flooded her right down to the toes, and her clit began throbbing powerfully. She was the one to shove down her panties, wiggling out of them while he rubbed her aching slit.