Hunting Wolf: Black Mesa Wolves #3 (11 page)

The fact she had left off her panties when she pulled that dress over head turned him on more than the fact she'd been stark naked in front of him just seconds before that. He'd never thought clothes could be erotic—he usually preferred to get clothes out of the way as soon as possible—but knowing she'd deliberately kept herself naked beneath the tiny scrap of cloth was such a rush it sucker punched him to the point of dizziness.

Pulling back just enough to whisper her name again, Caleb looked into her eyes. She'd closed them when his lips met hers, but opened them again, fearless in the face of his completely unguarded desire for her. Their usual russet-brown shade had deepened to dark chocolate. Fascinated, he realized it was because she was as aroused as he.

“Ree,” he said again. He feather brushed her lips with his, teasing her with that bare touch until she suddenly reached up to grab his head with her hands and firmly pull it down to hers. Their lips met then almost fiercely, stroking and moving and tasting.

Caleb was no stranger to women. But right now, every single woman he'd ever kissed before held all the memory of flat, dull dirt compared to Rielle. She tasted like cinnamon, soft spices laced with a saucy kick when she lightly nibbled his lower lip with her teeth. He gasped at that, which made a small, knowing “hmm” sound gently rumble from her lips to his. The vibration pulsed pleasurably against his mouth. He almost lost it when he thought of where else she could make that vibrating sound against him.

A long, heady moment later, Caleb finally pulled back just a bit. She made as if to surge forward and claim his lips again, but he held her slightly away from him.

“Shh,” he said, very slightly shaking his head at her. “I just want to look at you for a minute. Rielle,” he said again, and this time it was a question mixed with a statement mixed with a wonder he hadn't felt for a long time.

The only words he could think of saying as he just stared at her heart-shaped face were trite but completely true: “You are so beautiful.”

The curve of a smile started to lift her lips. Her eyes seemed lit by an inner fire. He wondered if it was possible to actually lose himself in them, because they seemed to be swallowing him up whole. “Finally kissed you. What kind of an idiot have I been?” He shook his head again, this time at himself.

“The kind I wanted, it seems.” Her voice came low and liquid, like the voice of a woman who's just been kissed long and hard. However, there was definitely an uncertain tone in it as well. A slight furrow appeared in her forehead.

“Hey.” He reached out to tip up her chin with one gentle finger. “That was okay, right?”

She nodded. Her eyes, though, darted away from his for a second. His wolf whined, wanting to comfort her.
Mine.

“What is it?” he asked.

She shook her head, suddenly seeming almost embarrassed. The relaxed acceptance she'd gained from her wolf side seemed to be fading beneath her more uptight human side again.

“Ree.” His voice held nothing but patience, which was pretty much a miracle for him. “No judging, right? We agreed. And I meant that.”

Those soft chocolate eyes looked searchingly at him. He held her gaze, pouring every bit of sincerity he could into it. It was ridiculously important that she believe in him, trust him. He wasn't sure why it mattered so much, but it did.

“Just tell me. Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

During the very long pause in which apparently he held his breath because his lungs started to burn, Rielle's face turned interesting shades of pink. Finally, she whispered, in a halting voice, “Um. Well. I'm just not really—um, experienced. With things like this, I mean.” She waved one hand around, further confusing Caleb.

Letting his breath out and taking in a deep one, he said, “I don't get it. What things?”

Rielle closed her eyes and appeared to be gathering her strength. Caleb kept her chin in his fingertips, marveling at how soft her skin was there even as he wondered what the heck she was so nervous about.

When she finally answered, he almost had to draw on his wolf hearing to catch her words, even though her face was only inches from his. “I've never been with anyone before. I mean, with a guy. Ever.”

Lost at first, understanding dawned on Caleb as Rielle watched his face, her own as fearful as a rabbit cornered by a hawk. “Whoa,” he said. “Wait. You're a virgin?”

Rielle's nod came quickly, as though she was afraid he was about to burst out laughing or something.

“Wow,” was all he could come up with as his brain suddenly filled with images of Rielle, shy and naked, waiting for him to touch her for the first time ever, waiting for him to show her how incredible it could be. His wolf thought fiercely,
Mine! Protect her.

“I know this is just a kiss, but I thought I should tell you,” she said, her voice still tiny. But did she sound a little hopeful, too? “In case we ever do anything more.” Caleb's heart stuttered in his chest as he imagined doing a hell of a lot more with Rielle. “Not that—I mean, I'm not trying to be presumptuous—I mean—”

“Shh,” he said, drawing his finger across her soft, soft lips. “It's okay. Come here.”

He pulled her close so he could seal his lips over hers again. This was
Rielle
he was kissing! He still couldn't figure out how he'd never really seen her before, but right now he didn't care. All he cared about was the slide of her silken tongue against his, her pliant lips opening with warmth and trust, the sweet honey taste of her in his mouth. She relaxed beneath his kiss, just as he meant her to. His head still swam with the knowledge she was a virgin. No way could he screw this up with her. He had to take it carefully, gently. But this cemented the deal as far as he was concerned. No other guy would ever touch Rielle. His wolf growled in agreement as he claimed her mouth, tender yet unyielding, until he felt her breathing quicken along with the eagerness of her kiss. Finally, he gently pulled back.

The moment held them in some sort of glow, one that had Caleb thinking about exploring every square inch of Rielle's slender little body and holding her close and never letting anyone else even look at her ever again, let alone touch her.
Mine,
he/his wolf thought. Yeah. As long as he didn't mess it all up again. She was so little and delicate, so soft and gentle. All he knew about was fighting and defending. She was right. He did like to steamroll over everyone in his way. He would have to take it really, really slowly with her. She was too damn amazing. He couldn't screw it up.

Of course, he managed to majorly screw it all up in a heartbeat just by letting his mouth blurt out words nobody had sanctioned, least of all himself.

“Where the hell did you learn to kiss like that, Ree? Have you been taking lessons or something? Because I never thought you would be able to kiss a guy like you just did.”

“
What?
” Rielle snapped her head and body back away from him so fast he accidentally pulled her hair where his hand had still been tangled up in it. She yelped in genuine pain.

He flinched, then of course made things only worse by trying to smooth her head where he'd apparently yanked out a few strands by the root. Unfortunately, she was turning her head to the side at the same moment as she looked down to watch her stumbling steps. He ended up smacking her skull. Kind of hard.

Rielle uttered a curse word that echoed through the trees surrounding them. As soon as she said it she looked as shocked as he felt. He'd never have thought such a dirty word could fall out of her sweet lips.

Standing there in her pretty dress, her stunned expression slowly changed to hurt to as angry as he'd ever seen her. Worse, she seemed—disappointed. Glaring at him, those soft lips that moments before had been pretty much feasting on his tightened into a frown deadly enough to turn a wolf to stone.

“You—you,” she stuttered out. “I knew you would mess this up.” Tears hovered behind her words, choking up her voice. “I knew it. You used me to feel better after getting so angry about the rogues—”

“What? Ree, that's not—”

“Yes, you did!” Her ragged voice busted out in the tiny clearing, making him snap his own mouth shut. “I'm not someone you can use and then just walk away from, like I'm some sort of Japanese comfort woman.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.” With an angry swipe, she grabbed her bra and panties and started off for the den. “Just never mind, Caleb.”

He went after her, head spinning from massive amounts of confusion as well as serious irritation at his own stupid self. She whirled around so suddenly he almost ran into her.

“Do not follow me. I can find my own way.” A telltale shine in her eyes matched her thick voice. With that, she spun back around on her heel and marched toward the den.

Furious at himself for making her cry, for being a total dumbass idiot with her right after those mind-blowing kisses, he waited until she was just barely in sight before trailing her back. His wolf lay with head on paws in his mind, the pure picture of sorrow and self-annoyance.

Apparently, he was never going to learn.

Chapter 6

The door opened again, ushering in sultry summer air and a gaggle of teen girls and their mothers, all of whom immediately began browsing the racks with the excited squeals of a pack of treasure hunters who'd just stumbled across the motherlode.

Rielle had brightened with anticipation, then sighed when she saw they were just regular customers. She glanced toward the closing door, which revealed no one else entering or even walking past the storefront.

“Are you waiting for someone to come in?”

The friendly, curious voice came from behind Rielle. She turned, shaking her head as she began to busy herself with straightening some paperwork on the shelf beneath the cash register. “No. Just looking.”

Lily Bardou cocked her head at Rielle and raised an eyebrow. Her fiery hair was caught in a low ponytail, and she wore a very pretty sky-blue dress Rielle had picked out for her before they came into town. As one of Rielle's escorts for the day, Lily had actually been eager to come to the shop and see what Rielle did. She especially liked the part about dressing girly, since she usually tended to be clad in jeans. Ree had been surprised, as she'd chalked up Lily's style to tough-although-still-cute cowgirl who didn't want to appear overly feminine and therefore maybe not as strong as a Guardian should be. But when Lily had almost shyly asked what she should wear that day, and could she actually help Rielle out in the store a bit because she was curious what it was like, Rielle had felt an unexpected wash of pleasure that someone from her Pack actually showed an interest in her life outside.

Her other Pack escort was across the street in the coffeeshop, probably chatting up the baristas before putting the moves on them, then asking them where they'd learned to kiss like that.

Rielle felt an instant's sheer vexation combined with her body's traitorous longing as she pictured Caleb squished into one of the cutesy little chairs at the Steaming Bean, smiling that heartbreaker smile at every female who walked in as he avoided working on the report Alpha had instructed him to write up while he spent the day guarding Rielle. His big fingers would probably fumble a bit on the keyboard, mis-clicking and creating all sorts of typos before he gave up to ogle every pretty girl who walked in and imagine what sort of skills she had in the sack.

Rielle's wolf growled, fairly close to the surface.
Mine,
she thought with a ferocious intent that had been present ever since the run with Caleb last week.
Not theirs. Mine.
Rielle felt a bolt of jealousy as she pictured some adorable young thing leaning over Caleb as she put his coffee on his table, deliberately brushing her boobs across his arm as she flashed him a come hither look while she set down the creamer.

“Rielle?”

“Hmm?” Rielle focused on Lily again, who was staring at her with a puzzled expression now.

“Did you hear anything I just said?” Amusement hovered under Lily's words. “You were looking right at me but I have the distinct impression your mind was far, far away.”

Rielle felt color creep into her face. What was with being around Caleb's family members while imagining him? She couldn't admit to Lily she was contemplating both smacking and kissing the girl's brother. Because despite how clumsily he'd treated her that day in the woods, what a total doofus he'd been, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Those blue eyes that seemed able to look right into her heart, those arms that held her so well in a sheltering circle, those amazing lips that had set her veins on fire when he'd kissed her.... Nope. Not something she was mentioning to his sister anytime soon.

“Sorry. I'm a little distracted, I guess,” she finally settled on.

Lily narrowed her leaf-green eyes. “Would your distraction have anything to do with that dear half-wit brother of mine across the street right now?”

Rielle felt surprise clearly banner across her face.

Lily laughed. “Oh, for crying out loud. He really did it again, didn't he? I told him to go slow with you.”

“What? He talked to you about me?” Despite her lingering irritation with the big ox they were discussing, Rielle couldn't help but feel a leap of hope that he'd mentioned her to someone else.

Lily nodded, flame-colored ponytail bouncing on her shoulder. “He certainly did. He needed a few pointers on how to behave during his date with you a couple weeks ago.”

“Oh,” was all Rielle could come up with in response.

“But apparently he managed to mess it up?” Lily twisted her lips as Rielle hesitatingly nodded. “Oh, little brother of mine.” She shook her head. “Ree, he is one of the awesomest guys I know. Even if he is my brother. He just hasn't had much interest in looking at women with the same sort of—focused passion, I guess you'd call it, that he puts into his fighting. He's an amazing Guardian, and he takes it very seriously.”

“Oh, I know that!” Rielle instantly defended him. “He's probably the best fighter in the Pack, isn't he? He's so strong, and so sure on his feet. Well, unless he's stepping on my feet,” she added with a frown. “He seems to do that a lot.”