Ruthless (Wolf Ranch 6)

She grinned. “I wore it in case you didn’t show.”

“You didn’t wear one the last time you were up here. When do I ever not show?” I advanced on her like she was Little Red Riding Hood, and this big bad wolf was going to eat her for dinner. And I was. I snagged the tie at the side of her bikini bottoms.

“Never,” she breathed. “You always come. I’m trying to get used to it.”

“Get used to it.” I captured the last tie, and her bikini bottoms fell away, too.

Damn. She’d shaved or waxed her trim bare for me. “You do that for me, Red?” I asked, and she blushed, nodding. “It’s the prettiest sight I’ve ever seen.”

She turned and ran into the water, laughing and looking over her shoulder at me to chase her.

I growled and yanked off my clothes, splashing after her. For several delicious minutes my wolf reveled in being close to her, our naked bodies dancing together in the water. And then it became too much for me. Her soft, slick body, her laughter, her scent. I captured my mate and swam with her beneath the waterfall, to the ledge behind it. After lifting her to sit on the edge, I gripped her knees. “Open those thighs for me, darlin’. I need to get my mouth on you.”

“Rand,” she croaked, her head falling back in pleasure. I fucking loved when her voice sounded like that—like thick, sweet honey. I had to figure out how to light her up beyond the sex, but for now, this kept my wolf from going mad, and I loved the taste of her on my tongue.

I spread her nether lips with my thumbs and flicked over her clit. I swirled the tip of my tongue around her pleasure button in the way I was learning she liked.

“Rand.”

I worked a finger into her tight channel at the same time I affixed my lips over her clit and started sucking. This wasn’t meant to tease, to watch her writhe and be at my mercy. No, this was pure pleasure for my mate. If she came so easily for me, it only made my wolf happy to be able to satisfy so thoroughly.

“Rand!” She yanked at my wet hair.

“Come for me now, Red. Then I’ll give it to you good on the blanket when we get out.”

She came. My sweet female always came hard, every damn time I got my hands on her. It was the most satisfying part of my day to hear her breathy cries as she crested that peak.

When she finished, I carried her back to the center of the pool and floated her in my arms. This… perfection.

18

NATALIE

This was happiness.

I wasn’t sure I ever knew it before. Maybe as a child—the summers I’d spent here with Uncle Adam and learning to play the fiddle. But not like this. Not this warmth swirling in my chest. The sense that all was right in the world.

I blinked slowly in the last rays of evening light as Rand swirled my body around on the surface of the water and realized…

This was love.

I loved Rand.

Right? Well, I wasn’t sure. Love was abstract and undefined. But this happiness—it was new and foreign and wonderful. He made me happy. Made me feel… special. Whole. I craved to be with him, missed him when we were apart. I thought about him. Ached for him—and not just my pussy.

I nuzzled against his neck, savoring the moment, the feel of his hands on my ass, the hard prod of his dick against my belly. What was I going to do? This wasn’t supposed to happen. No, he was a danger to my heart. How did he feel about me? I knew how his wolf felt, but what about Rand? Could I trust him with my heart? Could this be more than what my parents ever had? Could this be what Uncle Adam never was offered?

I had no idea, but there was no going back now. I just had to trust and hope he wouldn’t break my heart.

After a while, he carried me out of the pool and onto the blanket. His eyes glowed silver.

“Show me your wolf,” I whispered, the air drying the water from my skin.

In a blink—and with complete trust—he transformed, joints cracking and popping as he dropped to all fours beside me. He was huge, so much bigger up close than I’d realized. Much larger than an ordinary wolf. I wasn’t afraid, though. I knew him. I’d seen him before. I reached for him, burying my fingers in his fur, stroking his ears and face.

“Beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

He walked in a circle on the blanket, the way a dog might before it would lie down, but he stopped by my violin case and gave it a shove in my direction with his nose.