Rebecca's Wolves (Wolf Masters Book 6) (3 page)

“Goddammit,” Sharon muttered behind him. It was hardly more than a whisper. Rebecca wouldn’t have been able to hear her.

Griffen shot a glare over his shoulder, telling her without words to shut the fuck up. When it was clear he was in for a battle, he halted and turned to face her. “Don’t start.”

“I can’t believe you,” she hissed.

“You think I brought this on by myself?” He stepped into her space and gave a sardonic chuckle. “Trust me, little sister, this is not what I had in mind for today. I never wanted you to bring a human woman along on this trip in the first place. It’s not my fault you did so anyway.”

“She’s
my
friend.”

“She’s
my
mate.”

Sharon blew out a breath, and her shoulders slumped. “Dammit,” she repeated. When she lifted her face to meet his gaze again, she held up a hand, palm out. “Please. Can we get through this weekend without you fucking her?”

Griffen gasped. “Do I look like I’m an asshole?”

She lifted her face to the trees. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in your shoes, but I’ve heard stories. Can you keep it in your pants or not?”

“Of course.” He was uncomfortable having this conversation with his sister. “Can you keep your mouth shut?”

“Do the others know?”

“Yes.”

“Shit.” She lifted one hand to chew on a nail.

He turned away and hurried to catch up with Rebecca.

The woman could move. She had set a brisk pace. He wondered if she was as shook up as he was. Did she have an inkling about what was happening between them? He knew it was possible for a wolf to find a human mate, but he didn’t know many who had. It was rare in his part of the country for some reason.

A few of his cousins in Oregon had human mates. Hell, his cousins had also mated with more than one person, and that was almost unheard of. He hadn’t seen them in ages. Not since they were kids and life started getting in the way. That side of the Masters family ran a dairy farm near Corvallis. Griffen’s side of the family owned and operated a ski resort in northwest Montana.

Normally, during the summer months, Griffen and his brothers led tour groups through the mountains for hiking trips. He looked forward to this weekend trip with his siblings every year in late July. Forty-eight hours of intense steep terrain at higher elevations than most humans enjoyed. It was a luxury for them to get away together and not need to play tour guide, and this arduous hike was his favorite for many reasons. Most importantly, it was less popular. Very few people could trek to the summit and back in one day. Wolf shifters were the exception. Even in human form, they were able to cover farther distances.

There she was… Clipping along at a rapid pace. Was she trying to prove something or get away from him?

He smiled at her back. Escaping him was not a choice. Granted, meeting his mate this weekend, and a human one at that, hadn’t been on the top of his list, but there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it but get to know her and hope she didn’t make him wait too long to possess her.

Complicated was the best word he could think of to describe this situation. He would have to tell her about his family and their ability to shift. He was not looking forward to it.

“Where’s the fire?” he asked Rebecca’s back as he got closer.

She glanced over her shoulder and shook her head. “What do you mean? Just trying to catch up with your brothers.” She licked her lips as she finished speaking.

Griffen was relieved when she turned back around as he fought against a moan. Her sweet tongue swiping across her lower lip and then circling up to reach the top lip made his cock jump to attention.

It was going to be a long weekend.

By the time they reached the campground, Griffen knew a lot about his mate. He had managed to act like a civil human for three hours.

After they caught up with the rest of the family, Griffen had let everyone else take over and fire questions at Rebecca.

There wasn’t much to learn about her current existence. She’d been a nurse for two years at the hospital in Cambridge, and she spent every hour of her free time training for Spartan Races. It sounded to him as though all she did was work and train.

The race made him nervous. For one thing, it was difficult, and he imagined, dangerous. For another thing, it ate up a lot of her day, and he intended to start filling her time with himself. ASAP.

“Where are you from originally?” Trace asked as they dropped their bags outside their tent to catch their breath.

“Arizona. My parents are still there. And my brother is in college at Arizona State.”

“What brought you to Montana?” Griffen asked, stepping closer.

She giggled. “I know it’s weird. Who comes north? But I have always wanted to live where there are seasons. My hometown only has one season—hot. So I went to Montana State University, got my nursing degree, and decided to stay.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Trace asked.

Griffen’s gaze shot in his brother’s direction.

“Nope. Haven’t had time. Why?” She gave Trace a coy look. “You offering?”

Trace stepped back, putting both hands in the air. “No. Just asking.” He glanced at Griffen.

Griffen wanted to choke his brother.

At least Logan and Zachary had the good sense to back away, although Griffen suspected they were laughing inside their heads.

“We’ll get us checked in,” Logan said over his shoulder as he and Zachary wandered away.

Rebecca looked around, rolling her shoulders after the long hike. Griffen would give her credit for one thing—she was indeed fit. She didn’t seem winded at all from the quick pace in the high altitude. “This place is awesome. It’s so beautiful. What a set up.”

Sharon dropped her pack next to the others. “Yes. It’s perfect. They have everything we need at this site. Keeps us from having to carry too much.” She pointed around as she spoke. “The tents are already put up. The dining hall has great food. The showers are wonderful after a day of hiking.”

She was right. Griffen loved this site. They only had to carry a change of clothes, water, and snacks. The tents were provided by the campsite, each one sleeping up to eight people, and sleeping bags were available to check out in the dining lodge.

Rebecca smiled and tipped her head up to the sky. “I’ll never be sorry I moved to Montana.”

Neither will I
.

Sharon gave Griffen an evil eye and then dragged Rebecca away. “Let’s get a shower before too many people arrive and it gets crowded.”

•●•

By the time the six of them crawled into the tent that night, Rebecca was exhausted, and the hike had nothing to do with her bone-tired body. The stress of Sharon’s brothers, one in particular, made her head spin.

All through dinner they regaled her with questions as though she were at a job interview. Everyone but Griffen. He brooded.

And he sent her one mixed message after another. Half the time he glared at her as though she’d interrupted the most important weekend of his life with her presence. The other half he looked as if he wanted to strip her naked and devour her.

She had no idea what to think.

The guy was hot. All the brothers were, but for some stupid reason, she had her sights on the oldest. What the hell was wrong with her? She had no business thinking about the man in any terms other than as Sharon’s brother. In fact, Sharon had emphatically stated she intentionally didn’t introduce her friends to her brothers for this very reason.

And besides, Rebecca had no time for a man in her life. Her current goals consisted of nursing, training, and sleeping. In that order.

The tent was large. It would sleep eight. There were six of them, and that would have been fine if four of them weren’t huge sexy men.

For half a second, Rebecca wondered if Sharon’s objective hadn’t been to set Rebecca up with one of her brothers instead of warning her against them.

As they all settled into their sleeping bags, Rebecca stared into the darkness and wondered how the hell she’d gotten into this situation. She’d jumped at the opportunity to do a twenty-mile hike in the Flathead National Forest. She needed the strenuous workout, and that aspect of the weekend was perfect. Sharon and all of her brothers were indeed in excellent shape.

She knew Sharon’s family owned the local ski resort. If all five siblings were skiers, it would stand to reason they would be in good shape.

“You good?” A hand landed on her shoulder, making her flinch. She knew the touch by now. It was Griffen’s. Plus he was the only one of the brothers who had touched her. And he’d done so frequently.

“Yes.” She wanted to shrug him off, but instead she found herself tipping her chin into his fingers, practically nuzzling his hand. She barely managed to keep from setting her lips on his knuckles. His scent filled her nose, making her heart beat faster.

She gripped her legs together and turned onto her side as he cupped her cheek before slowly removing his hand.

It was dark. No one could have seen the gesture, but she was wide awake thinking about the implications. Hadn’t his touch been unnecessary and lingered too long?

She flopped onto her back and stared at the top of the tent, trying to breathe normally and willing herself to sleep. They had ten miles to hike tomorrow, first up to the summit and then back to the campsite. She would be dragging if she didn’t rest.

As the minutes ticked by, she heard the sounds of deep breathing that accompanied sleep throughout the tent.

Shit
. Her bladder decided it needed release before she could relax. She finally gave up the fight to ignore it and eased the zipper down her sleeping bag as quietly as possible.

“Rebecca?” The whispered voice was Griffen’s.

She leaned in the direction of his head, seemingly strategically near her own to whisper back, “Bathroom.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Rebecca grabbed her flip-flops with one hand, wormed her way out of the sleeping bag, and carefully stepped over the bodies between her spot and the entrance to the tent. She felt Griffen behind her. His hand landed on her lower back as she bent to unzip the tent.

The touch was almost her undoing. She wore only a tank top and cotton shorts. The shirt had risen up so that his warm hand landed on her skin. There was a chill in the air, but she wasn’t sure she could blame the sudden goose bumps on the temperature.

For a moment, she froze, unwilling or unable to continue forward. It felt so damn good to be touched like that, his huge hand splaying across her lower back as though she was the most important person in his world. Cherished. Loved.

A deep need curled up in the pit of her stomach, a need she’d ignored for years.

As she unzipped the tent and finally made her way out on her knees, she wondered why on earth she had ignored her carnal needs for so long.

She’d had boyfriends—plenty of them—in high school and college. Some had been long term, others not so much. She’d been intimate with some of them. But in the last two years since she’d graduated and started working, she hadn’t had a serious relationship. She’d been busy building her career and training.

In fact, she didn’t usually let anyone get as close to her as Griffen had on several occasions today. And the weirdest part was her strong reaction.

That hadn’t happened in two years, either.

Huh.

Griffen’s hand remained on her back as she exited the tent and stood.

“You didn’t have to get up,” she whispered, trying not to disturb or alert the others. “I would have been fine.”

He leaned into her until his lips touched her ear. “Not letting you wander around out here alone. It’s not safe, baby.”

Her eyebrows shot up.
Baby?
Holy shit.

Something deep inside her clenched. Her entire body came to life. Was it from his hand on her back, his lips on her ear, or the way he assigned the endearment to her?

A shiver went down her entire body as she fought the emotional overload. Her mouth was dry. Her pussy was not.

A slight pressure on her back made Rebecca slip on her flip-flops and move forward. It was almost too dark. She should have brought a flashlight, but the building that housed the restrooms and showers was well lit. All she had to do was aim in that direction and hope she didn’t trip over anything.