Rough (Wolf Ranch 1)

“I didn’t sleep with him or pretty much all the other dates I’ve had.”

“Darlin’, you keep bringing up my past. Do you really want to talk about who I’ve had sex with?”

I pursed my lips. “No.”

“While I don’t like to think about any guy touching you, what you did before we met is in the past. Same goes for me. It’s what we do with the now, together, that matters. I’m telling you I’m all in. You. Kids. A dog. The whole deal. Do I have to grab you by the hair and drag you back to my cave for you to believe it?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the image he painted.

“No.” I sighed, then took a leap. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes. Okay.”

“Okay, you’ll mate—I mean marry me—and have my children?”

I laughed. “Okay, I’ll go on a date with you tomorrow.”

“That’s a good fucking start. I can live with that.”

I stifled a yawn, and he heard it. “You need some sleep, Doc. Think you can rest now that your pussy’s all taken care of?”

“Yes,” I said softly. “Thank you.”

“For helping you get off? Trust me, it was my pleasure. Hearing you come is at the top of my list for bedtime activities. Good night, Audrey.”

“Night.”

15

BOYD

I swung off Chesapeake, my mare, to examine a break in the fence line. I’d ridden out to the back range, where the pasture met the mountains, the sun just breaking over the sharp peaks in the distance. The view was incredible, and I thought of what Audrey had said. This was the most perfect place. It was an incredible summer day. It was warming up quick, but a light breeze would keep it from getting blistering. The smell of fresh grass and pine filled the air.

Sure, I traveled to great places all over the country and up into Canada, but I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it here. How much I’d taken home for granted. I remembered what it had been like before my parents died. The carefree way my brothers and I had roamed the land, and that had been before any of us could shift. But others had. We’d have bonfires or even ice skating parties, and the elders would shift and run.

I’d felt awe and envy at the ability to turn into their wolf and go. Rob, then Colton, had begun to shift, and while we’d been close, they’d been able to join in on the fun I’d missed. In fact, I’d never once been able to participate because the first time I shifted, it had been because of the stress of the accident, the need to survive. My wolf had saved me. My parents, though, had died. So had all the fun. We’d still remained a pack, but the heart had left it.

Scanning the land, it hadn’t changed in the almost two decades since they died. The mountains were as tall as ever, the snow still capped the peaks. Birds still caught the wind. The river still flowed. It would in another twenty years. Thirty. Fifty. What mattered was a strong pack to carry it on. I’d never once felt the desire to do so. Until now. Until Audrey.

I could see pups of our own who’d tumble and play and ultimately shift and run. I wanted to do it with them. To pass on the joy of the land. Perhaps this was my shot.

It had to be Audrey, but I had to figure out how. The question of how to mate her would never go away. I had to solve it. A falcon soared overhead and stirred me from my thoughts.

It was mid-morning, and I was on my own because Rob and the ranch hands had ridden out without me. That’s what I got for waking up late.

For once, it didn’t bother me a bit. I didn’t feel like a failure or that I’d disappointed my big brother. Nope. I was on top of the world. Jerking off to the sultry sounds of Audrey using a vibrator had been better than any sexual encounter I’d had before. Besides getting my mouth on her sweet pussy in the barn. That had been heaven although I hadn’t gotten off. Maybe that was why I’d come so hard the night before. I’d had all that need, all that cum built up.

I couldn’t wait for our hot date. I’d spend the day out here in the wilderness, so I didn’t get in my truck and head to the maternity floor and wait for her.

Yeah, I’d lost it. Maybe I had hit my head when I’d been bucked from the bull. I grinned. I didn’t give a shit. I was loving being not right in the head. She was addictive. I’d spent last night in her company, and I couldn’t wait to see her again. Any woman before her, and I’d have forgotten her name by now. They’d been fun but not memorable. Not worthy of being my mate. Audrey was.