A Taste of Honey (6 page)

 Each breath seared his lungs as he flattened saplings and leapt over boulders. If there really was a danger to bears lurking in the mountains, he was a sizeable, noisy target in his current form, but it didn’t matter. He felt buoyed by the importance of his mission, invincible because he
had
to be in order to protect Violet.

When he found her, he almost trampled her. Stretched flat on a rock that hung over his favorite fishing stream, he didn’t see her until he was almost on top of her. He skidded to a violent halt, his claws tearing up the earth and sending it flying along with a spray of pebbles and colorful, papery leaves.

Violet’s eyes went wide and she curled in on herself, protecting her vital organs by instinct as she threw up a hand in protest and toppled over the edge of the rock, her mouth open in a silent scream.

A sound of regret tore its way out of Ronnie’s chest as he lunged forward, too late to help. By the time he landed on the edge of the rock, he was a man again and gripped its edge with an ink-stained hand as he threw his other arm out into open space, reaching for her. “Violet!”

A wolf stared up at him from the stream, chocolate brown and shoulder-deep in running water. Even in her lupine form, her blue eyes were clearly recognizable and there was no mistaking the sweater that clung to her body, torn along most of its seams.

For a moment, he simply stared, eyes locked with hers. She was a beautiful wolf but he couldn’t take her hand and lift her out of the water in this form.

“Change,” he said, speaking loudly enough that his voice rumbled clearly over the sound of the stream. “I’ll lift you out.”

She glanced first at the rocky little overhang he was stretched across, then at the steep, muddy bank on the other side of the stream. Apparently, he was the most appealing option. In the blink of an eye, she became a woman again.

When she extended a hand, reaching for him, he took it and hoisted her up onto the rock. She was light as a feather, even in her dripping clothes – or what was left of them, anyway.

Her sweater was loose enough that it hadn’t been completely destroyed during her transformation, but it had torn along most of its seams and now clung to her – just barely – displaying generous views of milky flesh and what looked like the tattered remains of a camisole. Her jeans had fared even worse and floated down the stream in a cluster of dark-blue denim ribbons as she gasped and looked up at him with wide, blue eyes.

Until that moment, he hadn’t spared a thought for his nudity.

Water glistened and fell from her lips in tiny drops as their gazes locked and he was suddenly
aware
of being naked in a way he’d never been before. It wasn’t just a state of being or simple lack of clothing; it was a temptation, a glorious absence of physical barriers between himself and her. The deep ache of desperate desire that had been driving his racing heart and surging through his veins, urging him to find her, finally made its way to his cock. He reached out and laid his hands on her shoulders, gripping her slender arms as a shiver wracked them. He was done waiting – he had to know, now, whether she really was the one.

He pressed his mouth to hers, too eager to hold back. Her lips were soft and warm beneath the superficial chill her submersion had left them with and she smelled as crisp and clean as a mountain spring, the floral notes of her shampoo sweet highlights in her scent. As she parted her lips, his heart surged ahead and he pressed his tongue inside, past her teeth, in search of one thing – a taste of honey. Just a taste of honey, and she would be his forever.

* * * * *

Violet parted her lips wider as Ronnie slid his tongue past them, delving deep inside her mouth. Yielding to him was surprisingly natural; she could hardly spare a thought to wonder why this was happening now or bother to suppress the shivers of cold and surprise that were still coursing through her. It felt so good and so right to let his tongue fill her mouth, sliding against hers as his teeth dented her lips and a low growl rumbled in the pit of his chest, sparking a frisson that zipped down her spine, more violent than any of the trembling she’d experienced since emerging from the icy water.

He gripped her arms a little more tightly, the pressure of his fingers wrapped so firmly around her flesh inciting an ache between her thighs.

 She leaned closer to him, testing his hold, until her breasts just touched his chest, their tips tingling beneath her disheveled layers of ruined clothing. A split second of contact was all it took for her to begin imagining more – his hands firmly grasping her breasts instead of her arms, his mouth trailing lower to taste them. Those ideas seemed like the most natural thoughts in the world now that their breath and bodies were mingling, their tongues entwined. She would have wished for the kiss to last forever if it hadn’t fueled her cravings for so much more.

When he finally pulled away, she was breathless. Her lips tingled and stung as the cool air met them, so much less pleasant than the heat and force of his mouth. He maintained his grip on her arms though and it was the only thing that kept her from collapsing against his chest, soggy sweater and all. Sighing as her heart hammered away, she lowered her gaze and promptly stiffened in his grasp.

Oh, God. She’d forgotten about him being naked.

Maybe she should’ve diverted her gaze or looked him in the eye again, but she couldn’t. Her attention had already been captured by the sight of his bare body. His muscled hips and thighs glistened faintly with dampness, crisscrossed with rivulets of moisture that must have dripped from her body and clothing. Dark fuzz was lightly dusted across skin that was a little less bronze than his face and arms. The hair grew thicker at his groin, but not as thick as his erection, which jutted in her direction as if reaching for her.

Her core tightened as she stared and Ronnie gripped her a little more snugly. Still, she didn’t look up. At least, not for a few more moments, during which her fingers tingled with the urge to reach out and touch the hard length of his shaft, the smooth roundness of the head of his cock. The kiss had melted away most of her inhibitions and filled her with an unexplainable, instinctive confidence that a bear and a wolf
could
be meant for each other. She laid a hand on his thigh as she raised her gaze.

The hair on his leg tickled her fingertips, softer and finer than she’d imagined it being.

“Violet.” His voice was thick and rough, as if he’d begun to swallow a spoonful of honey but wasn’t quite finished yet.

“Ronnie?” Her own voice came out a little rougher than usual too, but at least she didn’t feel the urge to giggle. In fact, as she met his dark eyes, the look reflected in them quelled the uncertainty that had plagued her before the kiss they’d shared just moments ago. She no longer felt like laughing or diverting her gaze. She just wanted to look into the eyes of the man who’d set her body on fire, who looked like he wanted her, too. Still, inexperience leant an edge of nervousness to her newfound boldness. She stroked the top of his thigh gently, letting her fingers glide through the soft down that grew there.

Another shiver shot through her, making her hand falter, turning her sensual stroke into an unsteady jerk that caused her fingertips to graze the soft skin of his balls.

He sucked in a breath and exhaled with a sound that could have been described as a growl as she retracted her hand instinctively.

A fresh wave of heat washed over her, brought on by the simple, accidental contact.

“You’re freezing,” he said, and stood in one quick motion, using his hold on her to bring her to her feet too. “Come on – we need to get you back to the cabin.”

Her lips were still burning from contact with his and no words came to mind. When she realized that standing had left even less space than before between their bodies and that his cock was still stretching toward her, just a few inches away from brushing her belly, she was rendered absolutely mute. Heat blossomed across her entire body, fighting the chill that her fall into the stream had left her with.

His dark eyes dipped below and his mouth quirked slightly as his thoughts presumably took the same turn hers just had. “I’ll shift,” he said.

“Me too.” Finally, her voice was working again. No way was she walking back to the cabin in her torn-up sweater, which barely hung low enough to cover her ass, not to mention the more sensitive flesh that was tingling between her thighs – damp, and not just because she’d fallen into the stream. Her panties had been lost in the fiasco and were probably a mile downstream by now, floating in a cluster of little pieces like a school of cotton minnows.

“That’s probably for the best – those wet clothes will make you sick if you don’t get out of them.”

More heat crept into her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. “Yeah.” That was true too. As a wolf, she’d have a fur coat to insulate her against the late-autumn chill. A wet one, but still. Though she was loath to remove herself from his grip, she transformed. No way did she want to spend the rest of her day with him fighting off a cold, waiting for night to come and the moon to heal her.

He did the same and even in their animal forms, he towered over her.

A pang of admiration shot through her as she took in his powerful frame, bulky with muscle and thick, black hair. He smacked of strength and fierceness, but his dark eyes looked intelligent.

 She hadn’t been looking at those when he’d rushed at her, though. All she’d seen was a gigantic animal barreling toward her. She’d scarcely had time to wonder about its identity before she’d fallen. On the way down she’d almost had a heart attack. Even now, her pulse beat more quickly than usual, though to be fair, the kiss had contributed to that as well. Why had he been in such a hurry, anyway, and why had he assumed his animal form and left his clothing behind?

He started toward the cabin and she walked at his side, leaving the remains of her ruined outfit behind. He moved at a steady clip that was nearly a run, and though she would’ve liked to think that he was simply eager to reach the cabin and pick up where they’d left off, another shiver crept down her spine, telling her that something was wrong.

* * * * *

“Everyone’s accounted for.”

Ronnie breathed a sigh of relief as his grandfather’s voice resounded, speaking the exact words he’d wanted to hear. “Good.” He loosened his grip on the phone a little. “I’ve got Violet here – she’s fine. I’ll give you another call as soon as I have an update from work. Make sure everyone stays inside until then.”

The tribe was safe for now, each member accounted for. Ronnie exhaled slowly, allowing the tension that’d built up inside him to slow from a boil to a simmer. In all probability, the morning’s events were only a coincidence and the stark sense of alarm they’d incited would blow over before the day was out. Still, he’d better call Jack.

He didn’t have to explain much to Jack, just told him about what had happened that morning with the bear and warned him to be wary, just in case.

Calling work was different. Alarm reared its ugly head again as he dialed Hargrove’s personal number – if anyone would be willing to talk, it’d be him.

“Sweetwater.” Hargrove’s voice rang over the connection, too loud, as always.

“Hargrove. Any new information on the bear?”

“Blake and Armstrong just took a guy into custody.”

Ronnie’s heart skipped a beat. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Some hiker. No permit to carry the weapon he shot the bear with. They found the gun concealed in his backpack.”

It was illegal to carry a concealed handgun without a proper permit, and even then, it was still a crime to discharge one inside a national park. Which meant that a criminal investigation would be launched and the supposed hiker wouldn’t be allowed back out onto the trails anytime soon.  Ronnie’s heart began to slow, though suspicion still leant an edge to his voice. “Why’d he do it?”

“I don’t know. Listen, I’ll call ya back when I find out.”

“Fine.”

“If you don’t answer, I’ll understand.” It was easy to imagine the stupid grin that was probably splitting Hargrove’s face, one that could practically be heard over the phone.

“I’ll answer.”

“You sure you don’t have anything better to do on your day off?”

“Just don’t forget to call me, Hargrove.” Ronnie ended the connection before Hargrove could crack another joke. After his phone emitted a tiny
beep
and the screen went black, Hargrove’s voice rang in his ears and the cabin seemed quieter than ever. The only sound was the soft rush of falling water, white noise that drifted from behind the bathroom door as Violet showered.

A wave of heat swept over Ronnie as he remembered her dripping wet with spring water, her hair plastered to her cheeks and her torn clothing clinging to her body. So cold, and yet, so hot at the same time. His palms tingled as he remembered gripping her and his lips felt like they were still swollen from contact with hers. He swept the tip of his tongue over the edge of his lower lip, hungry for stolen sweetness.

He tasted only himself.

As he took a step toward the hallway, his bare feet were silent against the floorboards. “Violet?” He approached the door, a bolt of sensation shooting straight to his cock as he imagined her beyond it, behind the shower curtain, naked in a downpour of hot water and steam. Was she still cold from her accidental dip in the stream? He could warm her, could make her forget that it had even happened…