Hunter's Heart: Wolf Shifter Romance (Wild Lake Wolves Book 5) (18 page)

“I want that too. And after that, I’ll take you
home. North of here, over the bridge. I have a house like this. It’s quiet.
Woods all around. I never knew how much I needed you to be there with me. And
after that, Jessa, whatever you want. I mean it. We’ll make plans together.”

“Hmm,” I nuzzled against his chest, breathing in his
musk and the night air with it. I felt his growing need pulsing against my
inner thigh. With it, my own need grew stronger too. I throbbed for him
everywhere. I could never get enough. I never wanted to try.

I
wanted
to make plans with him. He promised
me anything I wanted. I could finish college. I wanted that. I could learn the
business with him. I wanted that too. But, as he held me in his arms and we
ventured further out into the water, my path became clear. The need burned brightly
within me. The moment I gave voice to it in my head, it took my breath away.

“Derek?”

“Yes, my love?”

“I need you.”

“You have me.”

“No. I mean I need you inside me. All of you.
Please. Now.”

His growl of lust vibrated through me, making my
insides molten. Derek moved through the water with me again, leading me back up
to shore. He spread me out in the sand. My hair fanned out beneath me as the
stars shone above.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “Like some water
nymph.”

He trailed his fingers down my shoulders, curved
them around my neck and circled each of my nipples. I gasped as gooseflesh
covered me and my nipples rose to peaks. I let my knees fall to the side,
spreading myself for him there in the sand. Derek’s eyes flashed as he leaned
back on his heels and looked at me.

I was his. This was forever.

“Marry me,” I whispered. “I want that too.”

Derek smiled. “That’s supposed to be my line.”

“Then say it.”

“Yes. Baby. Marry me. Make me your husband. Stay
with me forever.”

“Yes,” I gasped. I ran my hands up his arms and
pulled him down to me. Derek pressed his hand between my legs and worked me
there. His skillful fingers slid in and out of me. He circled my tiny,
sensitive bud with the pad of his thumb until I cried out in ecstasy. Blood
thrummed in my ears. His wolf was there. Just below the surface, like always.

And there was magic in the stars that night.

I arched my back and pulled him to me, unable to
wait another second. Derek leaned down and nipped my ear. He slid into me,
filling me, stretching me. This was different and perfect and everything I
needed. He went slowly at first, letting me set the pace as I clawed the sand
with one hand, his back with the other. Each stroke lifted me higher toward the
sky.

I flew. I came. My orgasm ripped through me in
waves. I cried Derek’s name and didn’t care who could hear. Then, Derek turned
me. As my sex quivered with each shudder of pleasure, Derek entered me again.
My mark burned for him. He ran his tongue over the sensitive flesh at the base
of my neck. He marked me again. Deeper. I cried out from the pain that
blossomed into deeper ecstasy. I knew in every cell that this mark was
different. His rhythm grew erratic as he crested his own orgasm. Deep and slow
he went.

My mark flared hot again as Derek’s body went rigid.
I angled myself down to receive him. All of him. His seed burned hot as he
poured it into me. This time was different. This time was forever. This time,
it would take root.

“Jessa!” he cried out. I think it surprised him.
But, not me. I knew. He’d remolded me, body and soul. Completed me. Now we were
something more. As we came together, a tiny new being flickered to life inside
of me. Mine. Derek’s. Together.

Then, Derek curved his body around me and pulled me
close. We looked up at the stars. Derek pointed out the constellations as I
nuzzled against him. He kissed the back of my neck where my mark and my
connection to him strengthened.

“I never knew,” he whispered.

“What, my love?”

“That it could be like this. I’ve seen other Alphas
with their mates, but never understood. I didn’t start breathing until I found
you, my love.”

“Neither did I.” We laced our fingers together and
rested them gently over my stomach. He felt the spark of life growing there as
well. His low growl sent a shiver through me. It wouldn’t be long before I’d
need to sate him again. I welcomed it.

I settled back against him and looked up at the
stars. Yes. The lake was ours tonight. Wild and perfect with magic all around.

THE END

A Note from Kimber White

I hope you enjoyed Derek and Jessa’s story. I wanted
to bring you a fast-paced, adrenaline rush of a novel with all the elements you
know I love. I’ve truly had a blast bringing these Wild Lake shifters to life.
I can’t thank you enough for taking this journey with me. I have much more planned
for Wild Lake in the future. Make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter (info
below) for news. The Bonner siblings (Pat and Harold) will star in their own
prequel very soon.

There’s lots more to come before we go back to Wild
Lake. Don’t think I plan to leave Liam, Mac, and Gunner hanging. My Mammoth
Forest Wolves series tells the story of the wolf shifter resistance fighters
working to bring down the Kentucky Chief Pack
.
Liam’s story
kicks it off. You can get more
information and book release dates on my series page
here
. I promise to bring you more heart
stopping, wild love stories about fated mates and protective Alpha males. Each
book in the Mammoth Forest Wolves series, like the Wild Lake Wolves are full
length, cliffhanger free novels. I can’t wait for you to get started.

Wild Ridge Bears
is my bear shifter series. If you love
your men wild and your heroines smart and strong, don’t miss it. These bears
deliver.

If you’re new to the shifters of Wild Lake, you can
find out more the people of Oodena (Grammy Lyle’s hometown) in
Dark Wolf.  
I’ve included the first chapter
as a bonus at the end of this note if you’d like to check it out.

The Wild Lake companion series is called,
Claimed
by the Pack
which kicks off with
The
Alpha’s Mark
.

For an exclusive first look at my next new release,
sign up for my newsletter today. You’ll be the first to know about my new
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can sign up here!
http://www.kimberwhite.com/newsletter-signup

Psst . . . can I ask you
a favor?

If you liked this story, can you do something for
me? Please leave your review
here
. Reviews help authors like me stay
visible and allow me to keep bringing you more stories. Reviews are the fuel
that keeps us going.

And if you STILL want more, I’d love to hang out
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. I like to share story ideas, casting pics, and general
insanity on a daily basis.

From the bottom of my heart though, THANK YOU for
your support. You rock hard.

See you on the wild side!

Kimber

KimberWhite.com

[email protected]

Bonus Excerpt of Dark Wolf by Kimber White

Most people grow up listening to their parents croon
“Rock-a-bye Baby” or “Twinkle Little Star” as they lay them down to sleep. For
most of my childhood, I got “Half Breed” by Cher. I knew the lyrics by heart by
the time I was two. I used to love the way my mother’s eyes would shine with
tears of laughter when I stood in front of the fireplace and sang it for her.
My father’s would too. That’s what I remember most about that time. Laughter.
Dancing. Lots of food. Warmth. Love. Their deep love for each other and for me.

Then, one day on my birthday or some other holiday,
I sang that song in front of my grandfather. I’ll never forget the stony look
that came into his creased eyes. All color drained from his face and he
murmured something to my mother in a language I didn’t understand. The one he
spoke in hushed whispers to her when he was talking about me and didn’t want me
to know it. Whatever he said to her made her voice quake with rage when she
answered him in English.

“I’m as much my mother’s daughter as I am yours,”
she said. “If you ever say that to me again, you won’t have a daughter
anymore.”

He didn’t come over much after that, my grandfather.
He lived high on a hill at the edge of town in a white farmhouse surrounded by
dense woods. Come to think of it, he didn’t come to town much after that
either. My mother and I, sometimes my father, would bring groceries to him,
going up his long, winding driveway to his hidden fortress on that hill.

Mom told me once he hadn’t always been like that.
Shut in. Always angry. She said he’d been the life of the town when she was a
little girl. But, after my grandmother died, Grandpa stopped wanting to be in
the world. The few Odawa words he muttered I
did
understand were all
about how his curse had finally taken her. He said it was all his fault for
marrying her instead of someone like himself. If he’d followed the old ways, if
he hadn’t brought her to this town, she might still be alive. His family. His
curse. And he said he knew we weren’t done paying. My parents told me to ignore
the ramblings of a grief-stricken, sad old man. But then, a look would pass
between them as if they couldn’t ignore it.

My mother told me other stories of the man my
grandpa used to be before Grandma died. Alive. Vibrant. Charming. Always with a
twinkle in his eye and a pocketful of lollipops for the children he met on the
street. He’d even served as our town’s mayor. Our town was Oodena, Michigan,
located on the pad of your fourth finger if you hold up your right hand palm-up
like a map the way we Michiganders do. Established in 1866, Oodena had a
thriving population of 992 when I was eight years, eleven months, and 24 days
old. It dipped to 990 the next day. I lost both my parents in a car accident on
some back country road. No one would ever tell me the details. A drunk driver?
A patch of black ice on a dark, wintry night? I don’t know. I wasn’t with them.
In other towns, people might have said that was a blessing. In Oodena though,
they said maybe my grandfather had been right all along.

So, when I was eight years, eleven months, and
twenty-six days old, I was told I’d have to go live with my grandfather
forever. There was no one else to take me. No family on either side except for
him. One week later, right after my ninth birthday, he sent me away. That was ten
years and three days ago. I spent the rest of my childhood with old college
friends of my father’s down in Florida. Four different families in ten years. All
of them kind. All of them decent. But, none of them family.

Six months and sixteen days ago, after I graduated
from high school, I came back to Oodena. Because now, Grandpa had no one left.

I pulled my hood closed, trying to block out the
blistering wind as I made my way through the center of town. Mid-January in
northern Michigan isn’t for sissies. After ten years in southern Florida, I’d almost
forgotten what the hell a snow belt even was. I got a stinging reminder as the
wind kicked up and sprayed snow straight at my face off the rooftop of the
local dry cleaner’s shop.

I spit frost away from my lips as I opened the door
to Crow’s General Store. Lloyd Crow carried basic household goods at ridiculous
prices, but unless you wanted to brave US-31 in a blizzard and try to make it
to Petoskey, you paid Lloyd’s prices for your loaf of bread and diet pop.

“Hey, Tamryn!” Lloyd’s voice boomed from some back
corner of the store. I didn’t know how he did that. He had no security cameras.
No two-way mirrors. But, the minute anyone walked through the front door, even
if a wall separated them, Lloyd always knew who it was. I asked him about it
once and he just wagged his thick, black eyebrows at me and told me it was an
ancient Odawa secret.

“Hey Lloyd!” The bell above the door clanged as I
pressed it shut behind me. I wasn’t quite fast enough, and a drift of snow blew
in at my feet. I muttered a four-letter word under my breath and shot Lloyd a
sheepish grin.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lloyd said as he came around
the long counter filled with tobacco products, shot glasses for the tourists,
and lotto tickets. “My nephew Benny’s working today. He’s out back shoveling
the walk.”

“Thanks,” I said, dusting the snow off my jacket and
peeling back the hood of my parka. My hair stuck to my face and I pushed it
back. Lloyd’s eyes went to the fiery strands between my fingers and he gave me
a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

I got that a lot around here. People like me don’t
look like they belong in Oodena. It’s silly, I know. They’re good people.
Strong families. Kind hearts. Any one of them would give me the shirt off their
backs or lay down their lives for each other. Including me. But even in the
twenty-first century, they couldn’t quite get past my red hair and my fair
skin. I was a living reminder of the path my grandfather chose, and his
daughter after that.