Curves For The Lone Alpha (A Big Girl Meets Bad Wolf Romance) (3 page)

He glanced at his wrist to check the time and nodded.

“Yeah, sounds good. I think we’re probably better off
staying here for now.”

We’re?
I raised an eyebrow as he poked his head into
the bedroom. Once he was done he visibly relaxed and came over to the kitchen
to join me.

“Look it’s none of my business, but you don’t really seem
the type to be having a solitary weekend away, communing with nature or
whatever.”

What exactly was that supposed to mean? Did my fuller figure
preclude me from enjoying the great outdoors in his eyes? I glared at him and
cocked my head, challenging him to go on.

“There’s just something about you that I can’t quite put my
finger on.” I could swear he sniffed me as he said it, weird, “But I really
wouldn’t expect a woman like you to be alone on a trip like this. No boyfriend?
No husband? No secret lover?”

A woman like me? Was he flirting with me? I tried to stammer
an explanation but he held up his hands, “None of my business,” and shoved a
fork full of pasta in his mouth.

“Damn. This is good. It’s been a while since I had a
home-cooked meal.”

This whole situation was starting to get a little surreal. I
still had no idea who this rugged stranger was, but I found myself eating up
his compliments and craving more. I was coming down from a bit of an adrenaline
high and felt a little light headed and giddy. Not to mention the fact that now
I could see him (him! I didn’t even know his name) properly it was hard not to
be overwhelmed by his presence.

Attractive wasn’t the half of it. He was a big man. Tall,
broad and solid. Under a loose t-shirt and faded jacket I couldn’t tell exactly
how he was built, but it was hard not to assume we were talking well defined.
At minimum a chiseled six pack and obliques. I liked my men big, and I’d be a
hypocrite if a few extra pounds bothered me, but he really didn’t look like the
sort to be anything other than ripped.

 “Thanks. I’m glad
you like it...”

“James... everyone calls me Jimmy. Take your pick.”

“James. Definitely James.”

He tilted his head in acknowledgement and kept shovelling
forks full of pasta into his mouth.

“So any chance you’re going to cut the bullshit and tell me
what’s going on James?”

“Says the beautiful girl with the imaginary boyfriend.”

He called me beautiful. I’m sure it was just a figure of
speech along with all his “Ma’am”s  and
he didn’t actually think I was beautiful, but when a mysterious guy who looks
like he just walked off the set of an action film calls me beautiful I’ll take
it. I’m happy to take what I can get.

Unfortunately this all made me very self aware of how little
I was wearing. As he ate, I couldn’t help notice his eyes doing a bit of
roaming and I tugged my way-too-short shirt down lower which had the
seld-defeating effect of pulling it tighter across my substantial breasts.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he put the empty bowl down on the
counter, “that wasn’t fair. Your business is your business, I’m the intruder
here, I owe you an explanation. I’m tracking a wild animal that came down from
the mountain. Killed a girl a couple of towns over. Tragic business. They
usually stay out of everyone’s way but it’s been a long winter and food is
scarce and they’ve decided to head for warmer, more civilized climes.”

“You said it was a man earlier.”

“Hmmm?”

“At the door you said you were tracking a dangerous man.”

“I did? Yeah I guess I did... I...”

He inhaled deeply through his nose and lost his train of
thought for a moment. Something passed across his face, his lower lip peeled
back in a wolf-like snarl as it had earlier. Something was troubling him. I
glanced down and saw that his fists were clenched so hard his knuckles had
begun to go white. It looked as if he was about to explode and was struggling
to keep it together. He shook his head as if to clear it and when he looked
back up at me there was something wild and untamed in his eyes.

It scared me. It scared me a lot. But unlike the wolf
earlier, the fear was more thrilling. My heart was racing and I didn’t know
why. Without warning my nipples stiffened, straining outwards against the still
damp material of my shirt. It wasn’t exactly my usual reaction to being afraid.

“No boyfriend. No boyfriend, but a suitcase full of frilly
girly things and I can smell it. I can smell it on you. Why are you here? Were
you sent here? No. that doesn’t make sense.”

Now he was really scaring me. He was beginning to sound
paranoid, like he had escaped from somewhere. He took a step towards me and I
took a step back. He leaned in and inhaled the air around me.

“I don’t... I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Can’t you feel it? Can’t you smell it?”

I humored him and inhaled. I didn’t smell anything, but
there was something there, something that made my breath catch in my throat and
my heart start beating in double time. With it came a sudden feeling of what I
could only describe as overwhelming lust. As if James’ presence had triggered
something in me. I wanted him.

“I think...”
you should go
.

But my words were cut off as he forced his mouth
against mine. I wasn’t ready for that. I wasn’t expecting it and I gave a
little muffled squeal of protest. He took no heed as he kissed me. The weight
of him pushing against me, forcing me against the wall, painfully flattening my
breasts.

I’d never been kissed like that before. Never. Not even
close. I’d always seen a kiss as a negotiation. Something you both decided to
do. Something with give and take. And if the negotiation went well, then maybe
things got a little heated... or maybe they didn’t.

But this wasn’t a negotiation. I had no say in it. And I
didn’t want a say in it.

As his tongue found mine he growled at the back of his
throat. I didn’t hear it, but felt the vibrations pass from him to me. I
groaned in reply. My body responding to the unfamiliar sensation of danger and
spontaneity as I pushed against him, grinding my soft curves against his solid
muscled torso.

His belt buckle caught on the hem of my shirt. Lifting it
and exposing me. I didn’t care. I could feel a spreading dampness between my
thighs. I couldn’t recall ever feeling this way before. So turned on and wired.
There was something about this man. Something raw and primal that had a hold
over me.

I stood on my tip toes and thrust my hips forward, offering
myself to him and feeling a hardness beneath his jeans that pressed against my
warm flesh. I wanted more. I wanted him inside me.

When he released me from his kiss we were both breathless.
Panting like dogs and grinning like kids. He looked as surprised as I felt at
the suddenness of it all.

“Can you smell me now pretty boy?” My voice was a husky
whisper as he bent his mouth to my neck to nibble and nuzzle and tease. Each
touch brought with it a little electric jolt of pleasure that went straight to
my core. I could feel him inhaling me. Breathing in my scent. “Can you smell
me? Am I in heat?”

Why was I talking like this? What had gotten into me? It was
like I was possessed by some kind of slutty spirit of boning complete
strangers. I could blame it on the alcohol or the stress, but it wasn’t that.
It was something else.

He grinned and pushed me hard against the patio doors. I
could feel the glass, cool against the cheeks of my ass, as he effortlessly
lifted me and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

“Little girls should be careful out in the woods by
themselves,” he said, “ you never know who they might bump into.”

“Who are you? The big bad wolf or something?”

Whatever he was he was certainly big. Something very hard
was desperate to get out of his jeans and inside me and I was desperate to have
him. Right about now it felt like that was exactly what I needed. Something
hard. Something big.

“Maybe... if that’s what you want.” He grinned at me
lasciviously and howled playfully.

“What is it with me and wolves today?”

And just like that he went from playful and passionate, to
Mr. Serious Official Business again.

“What did you say?”

I made a vain attempt to distract him, pushing my chest
forward, I’d seen him eyeing my breasts, I knew he wanted them, but he didn’t
take the bait. The heat drained from the room as the mood evaporated.

As he released me I tugged my shirt back down, trying to
cover myself and suddenly feeling self conscious about how I’d been behaving.

“Carrie. What did you say?”

“Wolves. I said what is it with me and wolves today.”

“What wolves?”

“Earlier. There was a wolf. Your bike scared it off.”

“And you didn’t think to mention it? Describe it.”

“Why would I think to mention it? It was big. Black. I
thought it was going to eat me. And then it ran away.”

“Shit. You have to leave. You have to leave right now.” He
grabbed me painfully by the shoulder and marched me out of the kitchen and back
into the lounge.  “Pack your bags. Go.”

I shook free of his grip and turned around to face him. It
didn’t matter how good looking he was, I didn’t take kindly to being bossed
around and manhandled in this manner.

“Look James or Jimmy or whatever, I don’t know you and I
don’t know what’s going on and I definitely don’t know why I suddenly came over
all slutty. That’s just not me. You’re hot, but you’re full of shit and I’m not
going to do a damn thing until you...”

And then, before I could finish my rant, James dropped to a
crouch, snarling. As he did some trick of the light made it look like his eyes
had changed color, shifting from a piercing blue to a hazy glowing orange. At
first I thought he was about to attack me, but he was looking past me. At the
door.

As I turned there was a loud crack and then it flew open.
There was an explosion of pain as it caught me on the side of my head and sent
me spinning to the ground. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was a blur
of white, hurtling through the doorway and crashing into James. The last thing
I heard was the brutal crunch of breaking bones.

- X -

I dreamed of wolves.

They circled my prone body, eerily quiet on padded feet. Yet
I wasn’t afraid. It didn’t feel as if they meant me any harm. A lone wolf broke
off from the circling pack and approached me. It was a magnificent animal.
Strong, powerful, its hulking gray form looming over me, so close I could feel
the warmth of its breath on my face.

“How are you here? You shouldn’t be here. Who sent you?”

I heard the voice in my head as the wolf looked me in the
eyes. I recognized those eyes, those hazy, amber eyes. I’d seen them before. I
recognized the voice too.

“James?”

He’d been barking similar questions at me before things
began to go haywire in the kitchen. It was as if something about me had driven
him crazy with lust. But it wasn’t just him. Whatever it was that had us pawing
at each other’s bodies had affected me too. But I couldn’t answer his
questions. I had no idea what was going on either.

The wolf just stared at me, panting. The heat of its breath
warming my skin. And that warmth spread. I could feel it moving down my body,
leaving an electric tingle in its wake. Down to my bare breasts where my
nipples responded by standing at attention. And down, down, down to the cleft
between my legs. I felt ripe. I felt like I was in heat. What the hell was
happening and why was I naked?

“You were right about the door James. You were right. Do you
think they’ll take it out of my deposit?”

“You shouldn’t be here. You’re not a… what are you?”

I had no idea what the Jimmy-wolf was on about. This was my
dream, why shouldn’t I be here? And in my dream I was more turned on than I’d
ever been in my life. There was something unnatural about it. It was more than
just being turned on. It was as if my body had been tuned to a whole new
frequency of desire.

I saw the world in a way I had never seen it before. I saw
scents all around me, swirling like mist. The musty breath of the wolf above me
a mix of loneliness, fear and a fierce need to protect… to protect me.

It was hard to speak. The swirling potpourri of scents
overwhelmed my senses. Strongest of all, from my own body. A heady mix of
womanly desire and animal lust. I fought against it, but it was so hard. I
wanted… I wanted… this animal that loomed above me.

I chewed my lip and shifted position, spreading my legs just
a little to invite… No! What the hell was I thinking? It was a goddamn animal.

I fought to deny my own desires and as I did so the mist
around me vanished. The circling wolves fading from view like a forgotten dream
as my senses dulled, only to be replaced by a throbbing pain in my temple.

- X -

I was woozy and my head hurt, but I know what I saw. I can’t
explain it, but I know I saw it.

We had been dragged outside and were lying in the dirt in
front of the cabin. James lay on the ground. He looked like he was hurt pretty
bad. The wolves circled him. Four, maybe five.

And then the big white one stood up and turned into a naked
old guy.

I say old. He had long white hair and his skin looked like
parchment that had been left out in the sun for a few hundred years. But he was
still buff. Which was great and all... except a few seconds ago he had been a
wolf.

I was still dreaming. I had to be. But it didn’t feel like I
was. For a start my head hurt too much.

“Get up Jimmy,” The old man lashed out with his foot.
Catching James square in the ribs. I winced as he cried out in pain. It’s not
like I knew James particularly well, but he didn’t strike me as the sort of man
who cried out in pain lightly.