Wolf’s Glory (13 page)

The Lupa volunteered, “Taye bought me a special gift. That"s when I started to believe I meant something important to him. Is there something she particularly wants that you could give to her?”

Shadow tried to think of something Glory would want. “Uh … Well…”

Rose shook her head at him. “Clean clothes, Shadow. We"ve been wearing the same

clothes for the last ten days.”

“There you go,” said the Lupa. She waved a hand at the silent blonde bent over her plate.

“Lisa knows exactly where to get the best clothes. She can take you to pick out some things for Glory.”

Mrs. Madison lifted her eyes from her plate and stared at Shadow with alarm. “I-I can"t.

Eddie … My husband wouldn"t like—I mean—I don"t think it"s…”

Sky said quickly, “I will go buy clothes for Glory, and for my mate too.”

“I can pick out my own clothes,” Rose said angrily.

“But how will you pay for them?” Sky shot back just as angrily.

Rose shut her mouth tight and glared. Shadow was giving his brother a sympathetic look when Rose tapped his wrist. “I know where you can get clothes for Glory.” Her voice was suspiciously sweet. “I know where our suitcases are. We were talking about it just yesterday, and she said she would do
any
thing for the man who brought her suitcase back to her.”

A knot of tension loosened in Shadow"s chest. “She did?”

“Well … Not exactly. But she would be really grateful to have her own clothes. And while you"re out there you could grab my suitcase, too.”

Sky leaned across the table. “I"ll get your things.”

Rose glared at him. “I wasn"t asking you, birdbrain.”

A small sound came from Mrs. Madison, and for a minute Shadow thought she was

crying. But even though she kept her face turned down he could see the curve of her smile.

So could Rose, because she bristled and said defensively, “What?”

“Nothing.” Mrs. Madison"s pale hair slid down to screen her face.

The Lupa laughed out loud. “You"re acting like kids in junior high.”

That must have been the worst insult Rose could imagine, because her glare turned darker and her arms clamped tighter across her chest. “I"m a sophomore!”

“Well, that explains it.”

Since Rose looked like she was going to explode, and his brother was growling softly under his breath, Shadow stood up. “Rose, if you can lead me to your things we will ride out together to fetch them. Sky will take Two Bears back to the Clan and meet us there.”

“I"m not going back,” Rose said flatly.

“You are!” Sky growled.

“No, I"m not! Right, Carla?”

The Lupa nodded. “Rose is staying here with us.”

Taye had been quietly eating his supper. Now he put a hand on his mate"s shoulder.

“Sweetheart?”

The Lupa turned quickly to Taye. “You said that when you were gone I was in charge of the Pack. Well, you were gone when they came, and I told Rose she could stay here.”

Taye"s face was calm. “Okay, but Sky is her mate. Is he staying too?”

“If he wants, but not in the same room. He has to give Rose her space. She"s way too young for anything except friendship right now.”

Taye ran a quick eye over Rose"s young curves. “She looks old enough to me.”

The Lupa smacked her fist into his shoulder. “She"s not. In the Times Before she

wouldn"t even be dating yet.”

Shadow put his hand on his brother"s shoulder and used his standing height to keep him in his chair. “Sky"s wolf has chosen her.”

“Yeah, I get that.” The Lupa smiled at Sky. “And he can visit, and they can eat supper together and all that. You know, simple friendly stuff so they can get to know each other.

Then, in five or six years, they can see if they want to be mates.”

Sky howled. Shadow cuffed the top of his head. “Show respect.”

Taye rubbed his mate"s shoulder. “Sweetheart, your ruling stands. But I"m going to change one thing. Sky doesn"t have to wait five or six years. When Rose turns eighteen he can court her properly.”

The Lupa nodded. “Okay. But if Rose says no—”

“Then Sky will have to step aside.” Taye looked across the table at his younger cousin.

“Do you understand the Pack"s ruling?”

Sky looked at Rose and then Taye. “Yes, I understand,” he said stiffly.

“Good.” Shadow let go his brother"s shoulder. Sky wasn"t happy, but he seemed

resigned. Shadow was eager to fetch his mate"s clothes and surprise her. “You go get Two Bears and head back to the Clan. Rose and I will find the suitcases and—”

A storm of protest about the late hour broke out, and Shadow decided that it was easier to go find the bags himself than to try to convince everyone that Rose should come with him to find them tonight. Rose gave him detailed descriptions of where the bags could be found, and another round of protests from the Lupa rose, questioning Rose about her knowledge of the location of the bags. Though she didn"t seem convinced of Rose"s talent as a Finder, the Lupa wanted to know about the location of a certain dark green leather suitcase. Anyone could see that Rose had talent. Shadow had never met a Finder before, but he had heard of them. The young blonde laid her hand on the Lupa"s sleeve and closed her eyes. After a few moments of silence the girl confessed she couldn"t see it. Mrs. Madison asked about some other bags. Shadow struggled to hide his impatience. All he wanted to do was go find his mate"s things so he could give them to her. It was three hours after sunset before he was finally able to set off on his search.

In the three days since Shadow had left, Glory had been almost too busy to miss him. But she did miss him. God knew why. He was such a bossy he-man. But it had felt so good, letting him hold her. He was so big and strong that he made her feel protected and safe in this crazy screwed-up world. More of the plane-crash survivors had died, and it looked like they might lose another one soon.

Tara cried as she, Sandra and Glory wrapped a body in a sheet of fabric. Sandra put her arms around her mother-in-law to comfort her.

“It"s all right, Mother,” she said. “At least that poor woman isn"t in pain any longer.”

Tara held Sandra tight and slowly gained control of herself. “You"re right, Sandra. There are others who still need our help.”

Glory had thought the two didn"t get along, but apparently that wasn"t true. Sandra was often bitter, but, heck, who could blame her, considering her husband"s habits? Get the little woman pregnant over the winter and take off every spring for three or four months. Jerk.

“I"ll take this end,” Glory offered, moving to the head of the body. “You two grab the feet, and we"ll take it … Where?”

Tara mopped her eyes and let Sandra go at last. “No, Glory, leave her here. Some of the men will take care of her.”

Glory just wanted an hour of peace and quiet. She followed Tara back into a tent full of hurting people. Jill had had Jane the librarian assign shifts to each of the Clan women and those from the plane who were able to help with nursing, cooking or cleaning. They both said they couldn"t afford to get so tired that they made mistakes. Glory gritted her teeth. She had another hour left until lunch, which marked the end of her shift.

Right after lunch Jill told her that if she wanted a nap she could go lie down in Shadow"s lodge, so she did. It was quiet there. She felt kind of bad for leaving the other women to work, but Jill and her old partner Jane were right. Everyone worked better with a rest, and it was her turn. She went into Shadow"s teepee and settled herself on the furs and blankets on the ground. The blankets smelled like him, and they were warm. She fell asleep holding a corner of his blanket to her nose like a child.

She woke up in the dark with a hot presence pressed against her back and a heavy weight lying over her waist. It took her a minute to realize the weight was a man"s arm. A thick arm, heavy with muscle. Shadow"s arm. He was lying behind her, face buried in the back of her neck, his steady breath warm on her ear. She knew it was Shadow by the rich scent of him.

Damn, she had thought his scent on the pillow was comforting. But right now his scent wasn"t exactly comforting. More like hot and sexy. Did werewolves give off extra-strong pheromones? Glory had read that modern Americans had showered and deodorized natural pheromones away. That couldn"t be the case with the Clan. They all smelled pretty natural, sometimes to the point of stinking. But Shadow didn"t smell bad to her. She inhaled his scent and felt a whisper of desire curl deep inside. His big hand was splayed over her lower belly, fingers stroking just a teeny bit. For a second, her impulse was to hit him for not waking her up when he"d come in. Then she relaxed under his hand, thinking that she had slept a lot longer than just an hour, but not wanting to go back to the tents where the injured were.

Shadow wasn"t asleep. She figured that out when his breathing changed and his hand began moving with purpose, fingertips skimming under the elastic of her panties. She slapped at his wrist. His hand stopped moving, but he raised up over her on his other arm, his lips smoothing over her neck and cheek to settle over her mouth. His warmth, his scent, his fingers just barely skimming places where she hadn"t been touched in months made his kiss a fire in her blood. She should tell him to get off. The injured needed her. She
would
tell him to get off. In a minute. Just another minute.

“Sunshine,” he murmured against her throat. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Dammit, why did she say that? “Never mind. Kiss me just a little bit more, Shadow.”

In the dark she couldn"t see his face, but his eyes shimmered like a cat"s. “Let me touch you, Glory. I want to feel you. Please.”

She didn"t stop his hand from traveling up under her shirt. She found herself shifting against the fur beneath her so she could arch her back, and he seemed to take that as a signal that he should pull her shirt over her head. Her bra went with it. “Hey—” she began, but it changed to a moan when his mouth covered her nipple and sucked. “Holy Cats!”

Could a girl orgasm from just a man"s mouth over her breast? Glory thought she just might find out. She had gone from exhausted sleep to sweet arousal in sixty seconds. “Wait,”

she panted. “Shadow, wait. Slow down.”

“Can"t. You"re so soft, Glory. So beautiful.”

She braced her hands against his shoulders. “Slow down or I"m screaming.”

Wordlessly growling, he rested his cheek over her heart. The vibration of his growl kicked her arousal up a notch. She ran her hands over his shoulders and chest, delighting in the smooth warm skin. Damn, he was ripped. She shied from stroking past his belly button, instead gliding her hands around to his buttocks.

“You"re naked!” she squeaked.

His growl was almost a word, but not quite. He kissed her again, his lips unexpectedly gentle and tender until she became the aggressor. Then he devoured her mouth greedily. She remembered the first day he"d found her, when he"d held her hand to the front of his breechcloth. She had named him Anaconda then. Was he really as big as she remembered?

His growl turned to a howl when she boldly grasped him in her hand. She was a big woman, and her hands were big too, but his size was impressive. Maybe even scary. But oh, so tempting.

Glory squirmed, trying to slide her pants down without letting go of Shadow. “Shadow, help me get my pants off. Hey, don"t rip them!”

“Then stop twisting around like that. Ah, Glory, you are so soft.”

She squeezed his cock. “And you are so hard. And big.”

He shuddered. “I want to be in you.”

In the dark she smoothed her hands up and down his cock, learning the shape of him, curling her fingers over the flaring head and under the heavy balls. “Not yet. Lie down. Lie down, Shadow.”

“Why?” He sounded wary.

“Haven"t you ever heard of foreplay? I can"t reach you when you"re leaning over me like that.”

He was still and silent for a minute. Then he moved so he was on his back beside her.

“Like this?”

“Exactly like that.” Glory felt daring when she got to her knees and leaned over him. She used her hands to guide his cock to her mouth. She touched her tongue delicately to the head of his penis and licked over the top and down the underside. Shadow jolted under her, almost knocking her over. “Shadow! Stop that!”

“I can"t. Woman, what are you doing?”

“Tasting you. That"s only fair, right? I mean, you sucked on my boob, so I can suck on your cock. Just shut up a minute, okay?”

She"d always been told she had a big mouth, but the head of his cock filled it. When she rubbed him with her tongue and applied suction he roared so loud she had to stop. Besides, he lunged off the furs so fast she was knocked flat on her back. He snatched her under her arms and dragged her under him. He had her legs spread wide in a blink, his cock pressing against her opening.

“Hey, Shadow, calm down. No need to rush, right? Slow down.”

His teeth ground together audibly. He rested his forehead against her shoulder. “Can"t.

You smell good. Mine.”

He pushed against her, but he was so big her body rejected him. “Shadow, if you don"t slow down you"re gonna hurt me!”

That broke through. The pressure eased. “I would never hurt you. But I don"t know what to do to make it better.”

He sounded lost and desperate. She took pity on him. After all, she wanted that thick cock moving inside her too. “Kiss me. Finger me. You know, a little more foreplay?”

His breath was hot in her ear. “Finger you?”

“You sound like you"ve never done this before.”

“I haven"t. Who would I do this with? You are my mate.”

“Never? Get out! I thought you had a girlfriend in Kearney. Well, never mind.” She groped for his hand in the dark and pulled it between her legs. “I need to be wet down here before you put that big thing inside me, okay? Well, more wet. So let"s play a little bit first.

Put your finger inside me. Gently! Just a little bit at a time. Push it in and pull it out. Again.

Ooh, that"s nice.”

*

Shadow savored the slick warmth of his mate"s body. His wolf sight gave him a clear view of her soft white thighs shifting restlessly and her breasts moving with the rhythm of his hand. He leaned over and took the pink tip of one in his mouth and sucked on it like she had sucked on him. Her panting breath told him she liked that.