Dream Catcher (Woodland Creek)

Kerri’s face scrunched, looking disgusted as she carefully picked out a long, slimy web, tossing it several feet away. “I guess we’re even now, huh?” Shrugging her shoulders, I grabbed her close to me to kiss her lips. “Ewww, you’re covered in spider gunk. Off, Warren!” Struggling to get her arms between us, I scooped her up instead. I was scared to death they might hurt her and there she was kicking ass and showing us up. Pride filled me and the need to assure myself she was all right.

“Don’t care, you’re mine and I need some reassurance you’re not going to freak out about this.” I kissed her cheek instead when she turned her head away to avoid the mess sliding off me.

“Ugh. Down, mutt!”

“Uh oh.” Reagan and Jase chuckled from several feet away.

“Mutt?” Eyes locked on each other, hers dilated with desire as her body pressed intimately against mine. I was forgetful we weren’t alone in the woods as she distracted me, my lips fused to hers, silencing any other protest. We kept kissing until we were breathless and I remembered I pretty much didn’t have any clothes on and I was holding Kerri down on the dirt-covered ground.

I tried to rein in my ragged breathing. “Where’d you learn to hit like that?”

“A little softball growing up.” She shrugged modestly from underneath me and I hugged her to my chest, thankful nothing bad happened.

“And you’re okay? I mean, we shifted and then we fought them.”

“I promise not to freak out, but I’ve got my reservations trusting something that has more than two or possibly four legs from now on.”

“I don’t blame ya, Kerri-man. I wouldn’t trust anything with more legs than me, shifted or not.” Jase roared and we all laughed, more relaxed from the excitement.

“Can we get out of here? You boys can use our shower, but if you clog it with spider gizz you are so cleaning it up!” Reagan pulled Jase with her and headed out of the clearing.

Standing up, I got dressed as best as I could with the goop still stuck on my skin and remaining fur. “So, you don’t change all the way back and forth?” Kerri picked at a tuft of fur that fell out when she tugged on it gently.

“I have trouble sometimes, but since I’m a young wolf, I understand I’ll grow out of it. I was supposed to visit the apothecary to talk about it, but I’ve been a little busy with a certain human female. For now I just have to shave like crazy.” She hugged me again and relief flooded me to have her by my side despite everything she’d seen.

“Hmm, I kind of like the rugged look.” Looking at her, I growled before kissing her again, nipping her full pillowy lips with mine.

“Are you two coming or what? Sexy time later, shower now!” Both of us sarcastically nodded at Reagan’s shouts, gathering our stuff and heading back to Lupin Hall for that much needed shower.

“You know, I may not have said this before but…welcome to Wood—”

“Warren Boone, if you finish that sentence I will go back and grab that stick and hit you with it.” She wagged her finger at me, turning to walk away, and I suddenly couldn’t wait to shower this crap off and get her in my grasp.

“Yes, ma’am.” She turned, glaring at me with a smile.

“Barely two years, Warren, I’m hardly a cougar.”

“Well, you

are technically older than me.” Kerri rolled her eyes and I followed behind like a puppy in love…too bad she wasn’t a real cougar.

Chapter Seventeen

“For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” Rudyard Kipling

KERRI

“Wake up, sleepyhead.” Soft kisses followed a path up my back, turning me over until I was staring into gray eyes like chips of smoky ice. We lay side by side, no longer spooning, and my fingers ran through Warren’s crazy bed hair, pulling his face to mine. I loved the dark silky strands that had the potential to turn into something more.

“I wanna stay here all day. It’s the first day we’ve both had off together in a week.” It was hard to believe that it was Thanksgiving. I hated that our schedules for classes, teaching, and work didn’t match up better and left us with just a handful of tender moments to capitalize on when we could.

“Hey, we better get up if we’re going to get to dinner on time.” Distracted by the mesmerizing texture of Warren’s hair, he removed my hands to raise them up over my head, holding me still. He kissed me at a leisurely pace that started a smoldering flame of heat between my legs and arced up my body. I let my legs fall open and curled up around his waist, pulling him flush against me, heat on heat, ready to show him how being late might have its advantages.

“I don’t think anything between the hours of one and four in the afternoon is really considered dinner.” Warren tugged on my hair gently, getting my full attention.

“Mom’s got this thing for eating at two o’clock every year. They can’t wait to meet you. I get the feeling you’re stalling, Miss Harper.”

“Maybe I could persuade you to miss dinner and skip ahead to the dessert?” I was nervous to meet his parents for the first time and now I regretted putting it off until I was ready. I was pretty sure one could never be ready to meet the parents, and there we were, on the cusp of a majorly observed holiday.