E.A. Price - Valentine's Wolf (Grey Wolf Pack #11) (16 page)

Yet, a niggling doubt stuck up her hand and begged for attention. Did Jake only want her as his mate now because he knew she was a shifter? Why didn’t he admit that she was his mate back when he thought she was human?

“Why didn’t you say anything before now?” she asked quietly.

“When you shifted for the first time, your scent changed and that’s when I realized. I knew you were special; I knew I wanted you, but… I didn’t know until you became who you were meant to be that you were definitely meant to be mine.”

She looked down at her hands covering his on her thighs. When had that happened? Last she remembered he had one hand on her. Somehow the other had crept on there, and she’d gone so far as to add hers to the mix.

“You believe me, don’t you?” His voice was laced with anxiety.

Val continued staring at their hands. His were large and dark; hers were small and pale. She liked the contrast between them

“I wouldn’t lie to you, Valentine. I wanted to be with you before I realized we were true mates.”

“Did you?” she breathed, barely daring to hope.

“I did; I even went so far as to make a plan to stop you from leaving town. Admittedly, I only got as far as plan B.”

Val looked up and met his fearful gaze. He really was bothered that she might not believe him.

“Plan B?”

“Yeah, I was hoping to get a plan A, though. Plan B involved chaining you to my bed until you gave in and agreed to stay with me… I never said it was a good plan.” He chuckled nervously.

Probably would have been effective though she thought ruefully.

“So you’re glad that I’m your true mate?”

Yes, she knew that she sounded needy and more than a little whiny, but she didn’t care. She’d take all the comfort she could wring out of him at that moment.

“Amazed is more like it. I already wanted you to stay and be my mate, and to find out you are my true mate… it’s… it’s…”

“Like a punch to the gut?” she supplied.

“More like having all your Christmases come at once. Which is why I was even considering something as insane as plan B.”

Val sighed. “This whole situation – that’s what’s insane. I’m 30 years old for hell’s sake. I shouldn’t be waking up to find out that I’m actually a shifter. And now, I can feel all these emotions and urges inside me that aren’t mine.”

Crap, she just admitted her real age to him. She was sort of hoping to get away with being 29 for a little while longer. At least he didn’t seem to notice the age thing.

“That’s Venus making herself known. I know it’s not the same, but I do remember my first shift, and I was scared and confused, and everything felt so different. I felt like part of me was splintering, and I didn’t know who to talk to. I was alone, but you won’t have to go through it alone.” He squeezed her leg reassuringly. “You have me.”

Hmmm, maybe she would get her chance to probe him after all. “Why were you alone? What about the pack?”

“If we’re going to talk about this, let’s at least get comfortable.”

He pulled her into his arms as he stood up; he took a few steps over to the narrow cot and sat down, still cradling her and rearranging the blanket so it covered her. Not that it really mattered; she just noticed that the station was eerily quiet. Nobody else seemed to be around. Last time she was in the cell, she could hear chatting, laughter and computers whirring… Now, it was just dead silence. Maybe everyone had been scared off by her kitty cat. That really shouldn’t have made her quite so cheerful or pleased. Seriously, it was like a few steps away from tenting her fingers and laughing maniacally at one of her evil schemes.

“I didn’t grow up in this pack – or any pack,” he told her matter-of-factly. “I grew up in a small town. My mom and dad were never really together. She was passing through, and my dad was a bartender; they got together one night and then nine months later I arrived. My mom stuck around long enough to give birth to me, but after that she was gone.”

“She just left you?” Her heart clenched for her wolf, and she surprised herself as she accepted the growl of sympathy coming from Venus. Where Jake was concerned, maybe they could play nice.

Jake rolled his shoulders like it was no big deal, but his mouth was tight. He wouldn’t admit it bothered him, but it did.

“She was a rogue wolf; she didn’t want to be weighed down with a family. So my dad raised me, and when I was 10, he got married and had some more kids. My dad was a decent guy, but he was human, and he didn’t really know how to deal with a hormonal, teenage wolf shifter. No one in my town did; I was the only shifter. Sometimes my mom’s sister came to visit, and once or twice my mom herself actually turned up to say hi – but mostly I was on my own. My stepmother didn’t really like me – still doesn’t. I don’t think she wanted me around her kids just in case I did something to them.”

Val snuggled into his chest. His unease was obvious. It was clear that he wasn’t used to sharing this much; he was doing it to try and help her.

He rested his head on hers. “I left for college when I was 18. I managed to get a partial scholarship and worked my way through. I decided to go to a University in Alexandria. My aunt lived in Rose – still does – and I decided to go there to be near to her.”

“Then what?”

Jake smirked. “You know what they said about curiosity and the cat, right?”

“Hmmm, no, do you know what they said about keeping ferocious leopards waiting?”

“No.”

“Well, you’re about to find out, so spill, Sheriff,” she teased lightly.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he crooned ignoring her groan. “After I graduated college, I joined Alexandria PD. Then, I was recruited by the SEA and then…” He hesitated.

“Then the long story happened?” He nodded. “You know, we never did talk about that.”

“Yeah, you seduced me and distracted me.” He clucked his tongue in disapproval.

“I seduced you?” she scoffed.

“Well, as long as you admit it.” He pressed a kiss into her hair.

“I’m sorry you were alone when you were a kid, Jake.”

It was his turn to groan. “Don’t be. I’m the one who’s sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t tell you all that to make you feel sorry for me, or to try and diminish what you’re going through. I just want you to know that I kind of understand and I’m here to help you through this. I’ll be with you until you tell me to go.”

“Don’t go,” she whispered.
No, never go.

He hugged her tighter. “Okay.”

They sat like that for a while, just enjoying the comfort of being together until Val gave in and admitted to herself that they couldn’t hide in a cell all day. Even if enacting some of her raunchier dreams was tempting.

“So now what?”

Jake spun her round so she was straddling him, and they could see each other’s faces. “Maybe, if you’re not too tired, we should practice shifting.”

Val sucked in a breath. The first time had been a little traumatic…

“Last time I thought my arms and legs were on fire…”

He winced. “The first few times it will feel like that, but when you get used to it, it will actually start to feel quite pleasurable.”

That got her attention. “Oh? How pleasurable?” She wiggled her butt over his lap eliciting a moan from him.

“Not quite that pleasurable, but pleasurable.”

“I’m not sure I can,” she muttered sulkily. Her seduction distraction apparently wasn’t going to work.

“It’s easy,” he said reassuringly, “you just need to think of Venus, connect with her, let her know that you want to shift, and then just relax and let her take over.”

She picked at an imaginary piece of lint on his shirt, not wanting to admit that the thought of changing again terrified her. “And what about when I want to change back?”

“The same; let her know you want to be in control again.”

“What if she won’t let me?” she breathed. That was the ultimate fear, shifting and being stuck as a leopard for the rest of her life. She had thirty years to be a human; what if Venus demanded she have thirty years too?

“You’re the dominant creature. Unless she’s really angry or worried about your safety, she’ll let you. It’s only when shifters are really full of rage or upset that they can’t control their shifts.”

“What will I do when I become her? Can I change right back?”

Jake furrowed his brows. “You can, but it takes a lot of energy to change. It’s probably best if you keep her form for a couple of hours. But you won’t be alone; I’ll shift too and maybe we could try going for a run.”

“What if I look silly trying to run on four legs?” She wasn’t fantastically coordinated on two legs.

“Venus will know what to do. Do you trust me?”

She let out a suffering sigh. “Yes.”

Jake gave her a lopsided grin. “Okay, let’s do this.”

*

The day went better than he could have imagined. For all her whining, worrying and downright obstinacy, when the time came to shift, he could barely keep up with her. Being subdued for so long, she was a very frisky leopard.

Adam and Alec put the word out to the pack to steer clear of the woods for the day. Just in case the frolicsome leopard became over-frolicky and accidentally ripped someone’s throat out.
Not that Jake thought she would.

After the initial pains of the shift, which was much easier than the first time, there was no stopping her. Jake shifted to his wolf and followed her, thinking that he would have to encourage her to hunt. Ha, there was no stopping her! Once that leopard caught the scent of a bunny, she wiggled her butt, and she pounced. She wasn’t exactly a successful hunter, she was far too excitable actually to catch anything, but she sure loved trying. It was an awesome thing watching a leopard batting away at a butterfly.

They ran and hunted for hours. She was thrilled when Jake caught a bunny for her to eat; she purred and rubbed herself against him, which led to some playful tussling. He was amazed at how strong she was. He figured that was to do with the fact that she had magic. She was far more powerful than an ordinary leopard shifter. He was truly in awe of her.

When the time came, she didn’t want to leave the woods; she wanted to play all night. Jake practically had to chase her all the way to his house. Now that was something they both enjoyed.

He worried that she might struggle to shift back, but he needn’t have. He directed her to the porch of his house and as shifted and turned to open his door, as he spun back she was already in her skin form. Her naked body was flushed from the exercise, and her eyes shone with flecks of yellow.

Jake opened his mouth to speak, but before he could make a sound she pounced on him, crushing her mouth to his and molding her body against him. He staggered a little at the force of her lunge and pulled her backward into the house, flapping his arm to shut the door behind him.
No way did he want anyone to see this!

Valentine stroked, scratched and rubbed herself all over him as she devoured his mouth. His wolf was in heaven, and Jake wasn’t far behind. He ran his hands over her smooth curves, grinding her against his erection.

Yes, this was perfect, except… a niggle of guilt picket at him. He tried to drown it out but… Ugh. He groaned and disengaged himself from her tentacle like arms. Panting, he drew his mouth back. He held her away at arms length as she persistently tried to seek his mouth.

“Valentine… please, you’ve no idea how hard this is for me.”

She licked her lips as she eyes flashed. “Oh, I have a good idea just how hard it is.”

Jake gulped. “Let’s just take it easy.”

Valentine frowned and pouted. “Don’t you want me?”

“More than you know…”

“Good!”

Nimbly, she slipped out of his hands and plastered herself against his chest. He almost lost it as she swiped her tongue over his chest and teased a nipple with her teeth.

His wolf howled into the sky. “Fuck Valentine…”

“Yes please,” she cooed.

Lord, the minx wasn’t making it easy to do the right thing, and he had precious little incentive in the first place.

“You’ve been through a lot… I don’t want to take advantage of you…”

“Don’t, I’ll take advantage of you.”

With a wicked smile, she dropped to the floor and grasped his thick length, flicking her tongue over the tip, tasting the drop of pre-cum.

“Valentine…” he rumbled. “What are you doing?”

She looked up through her eyelashes, giving him an innocent look. “Can’t you tell? Maybe I’m not doing it right.”

She sucked the head into her mouth, never breaking eye contact.

Jake let out a guttural groan. “Oh sweetheart, you’re definitely doing it right.”

She swirled her tongue around him before sucking wildly. His body shuddered, and his release started gathering steam. Any thoughts of stopping her, of feeling guilty, melted away. He couldn’t stop what was happening even if he wanted to.

He was close to the edge but he didn’t it to be this way. No, not yet. He wanted to enjoy her mouth, but not at that moment. They had the rest of their lives and he needed to be inside his mate.