Wild (Wolf Ranch 2)

It was just like the other night when we met, standing in a downpour together. Now, we knew so much more about each other. Things I’d never, ever, imagined.

His brows dipped in concern. “Yes. Are you hurt?” He had a strong arm wrapped around me, but my knees wobbled so much from the adrenaline, I still feared I might collapse onto the ground. He wiped rain from my face, as if the rain might hide some kind of wound. Sniffed.

Oh God, now I knew why. He could smell me. I didn’t know what it meant exactly, but it was so obvious now.

“No.”

“I have to ask for your vow never to tell an outsider about us,” he said, his breathing ragged. We were both riled from the tree falling through the roof, but this was more. He was back to being intense, just like when we’d first met. “It’s extremely important, for the safety of the pack.”

I flipped through my mental notes on werewolves, and what I came up with scared the crap out of me.

“Is Audrey one now, too?”

His mouth dropped open as he stared at me. “No.”

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

“Are you going to bite me and turn me into a werewolf?” What did it mean that the thought excited me as much as it scared me? Strangely, I was already willing to jump into any adventure with Colton by my side. Even a plunge in the paranormal pool. Yet, he’d made it pretty clear he wasn’t interested.

“What? No. Oh, Christ. Don’t believe what you’ve seen in the movies. It’s not a disease passed through biting. We’re a different species.”

I shivered, absorbing that information. I had no idea about species or… wolves. Maybe I should have been a biology major.

“It’s not safe here. I’ve got to get you inside where it’s safe and dry.” Colton swung me up into his arms as if I weighed nothing and ran for the main house.

“Colton!” I cried.

“I won’t keep my mate in danger.” He said it almost as a vow.

Mate? What did that mean to a wolf? A shiver ran through me that had nothing to do with the rain. It was something about the way he’d uttered those words. Rain pelted down on us, instantly soaking us through. I clung to his strong shoulders, marveling at how wonderful it felt to be so heroically cared for.

Two days. I’d known this man for two days. It already seemed like so long ago.

He didn’t stop once we got inside, just carried me up the back staircase to his bedroom, sat me on my feet just like he had yesterday morning after he’d found me in the kitchen.

And then he tore off my wet dress. Tore it, as if it were made of tissue. The sodden material opened, then he slid it down my arms and let it fall to the floor.

He stared at my naked body—well, I was wearing skimpy panties and nothing else—and his eyes changed to amber, and this time I recognized it for what it was. His wolf.

Did it mean he was excited?

It must.

A low growl rose in his throat. “Fuck, Marina. You’re impossible to look at. I shouldn’t have brought you in here.”

I reached for his wet shirt, undoing the button, unsure if I should be flattered or upset. “Why not?”

He caught my wrists and threw me up against the wall, my hands pinned beside my face. His mouth was on me before I could finish gasping, claiming me with a searing kiss.

“Fuck, Marina,” he repeated, dragging his open mouth down the column of my neck.

“I thought… I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”

“I do. Fuck, I can’t control myself around you.” He licked the rain from my skin, sucked on it until I knew he’d leave a mark.

“You did last night. Why didn’t you… why did I not stay with you if you want me? I, oh God, I don’t get it.” I squirmed against him, trying to rub, to feel more. His hold was firm. I wasn’t going anywhere, and the idea of that made me so hot.

He pressed his wet body against mine, his leg insinuating between my thighs, giving me something to grind down on when he pinched my nipple.

“Colton,” I moaned. I’d missed this. One night without him, and I was lost.

“I need that pussy,” he growled. He sounded half-crazed, but I loved it. He hoisted me higher on the wall, until my hips were the height of his head, then he tossed my legs over his broad shoulders and cupped my ass. “No more panties.”

He literally ripped them off me. The fabric tore, digging into my skin a little before they gave way and rent in two. And then his mouth was on my core. A hot tongue on cool flesh. He lashed me in long strokes, licking and sucking. He nipped my labia, grazed my clit with his teeth.