FireWolf (8 page)

Funny that she should see him as a puppy when he claimed to
be a wolf. He’d been one in her dreams the night before, endlessly pouncing on
her then becoming human again—a big, strong male. A firefighter who made
everyone safer because he did a dangerous job.

He’d get another chance with her, she decided. Not just
because of who he was in the community, but who he was to her. Lover.
Entertainer. Friend? He meant well, she understood that much deep in her bones.
Owen regarded him highly. She wasn’t even sure she didn’t believe Smokie, but
then she’d trusted her ex and look where it had gotten her. A lost career that
had been so promising and lucrative. Years in New York with a flaky artist when
she had belonged on the west coast.

The doorbell rang again. She sighed, wiped her inky fingers
on a baby wipe and went to answer.

When she opened it, Smokie held out flowers. White roses, no
less.

“Are you trying to tell me your intentions are pure?”

He grinned suddenly, a dirty smile she’d seen on his face
more than a time or two before he’d taken her clothes off. “Never, and you like
that about me.”

She had a sudden memory of the way that breast binder had
bitten into her tender flesh. Cream rushed into her pussy and she was reminded
of how sexy he made her feel, how experimental. “You’re right about that,
Smokie. I’d take you up to my bed right now, if you wanted.”

“I want you.”

His words were simple, but she knew they were loaded.

“You’re trying to take away my free will with this true mate
stuff, even if it’s real. I should get to choose my husband.”

“Your elderly neighbors next door are sitting on the front
porch,” he advised. “You want them to hear this?”

“Considering they are Owen’s parents, probably not.” She
held the door open.

“I didn’t know they were the Hotchkisses.”

“Tony had a bad stroke a few years back. He’s never been the
same. My aunt has aged too, trying to take care of him.”

“That’s commitment, though. I mean, it can be hard, but I’m
sure it’s worth it to her.”

“She loves him, I’ll give her that.”

“It doesn’t mean anything to you?”

She shook her head. “Of course it does. Uncle Tony is a
great guy, treated her like a queen back in the day. Of course Aunt Divna
should stick things out when he needs her.”

“That’s love.”

“I feel like you’re playing the girl in this scene and I’m
the guy, shying away from commitment,” Olivia said. “I got hurt, you know. I
was married. I’m so much older than you.”

“True mates don’t hurt each other,” he said, handing her the
roses. “They can’t. It’s like a promise from the universe.”

She walked into the kitchen, tense and confused and turned
on. Why couldn’t this relationship stay simple? She found a vase to put the
flowers in and set them in the sink. “Then how come you didn’t knock on my door
years ago, as soon as you were old enough?”

“I didn’t know about us. Only Barkley did. I can’t explain
it.”

She ran the water, too upset to care for the flowers
properly. “I don’t like it. It’s not respectful. It doesn’t give me a choice.
Just because I want to jump your bones doesn’t mean I want to give you my whole
life.”

Smokie licked his lips and looked up at the ceiling before
finding her gaze again. “Can you think back, Olivia? Do you remember why you
propositioned me in the first place? Was that your normal thing?”

She turned off the water and turned to face him. “No. I just
always thought you’d be fun. It took me months to find the guts to come to
you.”

“Just fun? I have a committed job, a committed clan, I’m a
committed kind of guy.”

She swallowed hard. “Why did you agree to fuck me if I was
being such a skank?”

That dirty grin flashed across his face again. “I’ve wanted
you for ten years, you know that. The sight of you in a bikini rocked my world.
I wasn’t wrong. We’re great together.”

She felt her nostrils flare as her nerves hit a new level.
“Could have gotten complicated around the station, with Owen there. He’d kick
your ass if you treated me badly.”

Smokie casually rested his hands on his belt. Even now she
wanted to take that belt apart with her teeth and slide that gorgeous cock down
her throat. He was simply killing her with his hotness.

“Owen couldn’t take me, and you’re worth it. You’ve always
fascinated me. Even without the mystical woo-woo.”

She sighed. “I guess you were worth it too. I’m just not
sure where that leaves us now.”

“C’mon.” He took her hand.

“What?”

“I want to show you something. Put on your hiking boots.”

She looked at him, chewing at the edge of her lip. Something
told her she wanted to see what he had in mind. She went upstairs and put on
jeans, boots and thick socks, found her sunglasses, hat and a handkerchief to
tie around her neck, then grabbed a backpack on the way out that held a couple
of bottles of water, energy bars, sketchpad, pencils and a blanket.

They crossed the street and walked through the evergreen
tree line then moved into the woods. Smokie took the pack from her and
shouldered it then held her hand as they walked on the trail toward the
reservoir. The afternoon heat roasted most people and she only spotted two
college-age guys out of earshot ahead of them. She could feel sweat collecting
under her breasts and trickling down her stomach.

Two miles in, she saw the chain-link fence around the
reservoir. Smokie directed them to a path leading to the left past a stand of
cottonwoods. She followed him for another few hundred yards before they veered
into the brush off the trail.

“Do you know where you’re going?” She wondered if she had a
compass in her pack.

“Oh yeah. This is my normal path.”

“Let’s stop for a second.” She untied her handkerchief and
wiped her face then took a sip of water.

“Ready to go?” he asked, less than a minute later, so full
of energy that he bounced on the balls of his feet.

“Absolutely.” She took another sip of water then capped the
bottle.

They walked another mile, partially shaded by tall trees. He
took the lead with her trailing behind him, glad she’d worn jeans instead of
shorts, given the undergrowth. The sun lowered a bit as they progressed,
lessening the intense brightness, though the late afternoon was the hottest
part of the day around there.

“Want an energy bar?”She hoped for another break.

He paused, glanced around, then lowered the pack to the
ground and pointed to a tree stump next to him. “Have a seat.”

“You want to show me something here?”

He nodded, very solemn. Excitement danced down her spine
along with a hint of nerves. He was a firefighter, a community hero, her
cousin’s friend. She knew she could trust him, but out in the forest she felt
primitive, aware of her delicacy next to his brawn.

Taking out her water bottle again, she sat on the stump. He
said nothing more, just started to shuck his clothes, a Ladder Company One
T-shirt and cargo shorts, blue-boxer briefs, hiking boots and athletic socks.

“Mmmm,” she said, feeling a sensation very different from
heat exhaustion. She could find the energy to take that strong cock into her
and roll around on the ground a little. That patch of grass to her left might
have enough spring to be comfortable.

She glanced up, expecting to see a condom in his hand, that
dirty grin back on his face.

Instead, his torso bent forward. His nose elongated.
Cracking noises shocked her into immobility. They emanated from his body. His
hands became paws and she could see a tail emerging. The water bottle dropped
from her hands, spilling its contents. Her mind froze. All she could do was
watch. When a wolf stood proudly in front of her, more beautiful than any
creature she’d ever sketched, she rocked back, fell off her stump. As she
scrambled back, he padded toward her. Much of his mass had dissipated in the
mystical transformation, but he was still huge.

She held back a scream as an odd thought grabbed her barely
functioning brain. He was still gorgeous, similar to the wolves she’d sketched
over the past eight months. She’d never been so close to one before. Would he
attack? Were all the wolves she’d seen shapeshifters, maybe people she knew?
None of them had attacked. She couldn’t gather enough muscle control to move,
even if he wanted to hurt her.

No, he stopped a foot away, waited for her to approach.
Somehow, she knew this was a test, the biggest she’d ever faced.

C’mon, Olivia,
your future is now.
What did
she want? To be alone or to be embraced in a pure, mystical love by a genuine
shapeshifter? One she was crazy hot for? Really liked? Had spent the past two
years fantasizing about in her lonely bed, only to discover the reality was far
better than anything she’d imagined?

She didn’t even have to marry him. That took her anxiety
down a notch.

She reached out her hand, touched an ear and stroked his
fur. The wolf put its nose against hers then stepped back. She held her breath,
waiting, itching to reach for one of her pencils.

As quickly as he’d begun it, he reversed the transformation.
When he’d finished, Smokie lay on the ground, panting.

“You’re a truly gorgeous wolf,” she marveled, finding her
tree stump again. Her legs felt absurdly weak.

“You weren’t scared.” His expression showed pride in her for
her strength.

“I was terrified,” she admitted, “but you behaved perfectly.
So pretty.”

He pushed into a sitting position. “I prefer handsome,
rugged, dashing.” He trailed off when she left the stump and crawled toward
him, poked him in his very human belly.

“I don’t think I ever appreciated this six-pack until now,
outside, in the sunlight.” She noted that, just below his fantastic abs, his
cock was thickening and lifting in front of her gaze as she stroked the springy
hair on his lower belly. Her fingers itched to move down.

“See something you like?” His voice had gone hoarse and she
knew he meant more than he said.

Did she like him? Of course, but something had been holding
her back from seeing him as more than a hook-up. His age? His dangerous job?
The fact of his secret shapeshifting self? “I see everything that I like,” she
admitted honestly.

“Checking me out in wolf form didn’t seem to bother you.”

“I think it’s cool.” She laughed. “I’d rather you turn into
a wolf than a jerk.”

“The Brotherhood is pretty flexible. We aren’t forced to
turn by the full moon or anything like that. It doesn’t limit us.”

“Convenient.”

“Yeah.”

“So I have one important inquiry,” she said, asking the
question she’d had ever since she’d first met him.

He came up on his haunches, his cock jutting forward.
“Anything.”

“Is Smokie really your name?”

He laughed. “I’m afraid so. It’s a clan tradition to give
names associated with some famous dog.”

“Who was Smokie?”

“Oh, there’s been more than one. I think I was predestined
for my career as a result, though.”

The words tumbled out. “Just like you were predestined for
me?”

His brow furrowed. “I have no idea how the true mate stuff
works. You’ll have to ask Barkley.”

“Trust me, I will.”

“Seems like you had something else on your mind a minute
ago.”

She found the remains of her water and tilted the bottle
against her lips, savoring the sun-warmed ounce left at the bottom. Admittedly,
sweat wasn’t the only thing dampening her body. Creamy arousal dampened her engorged
labia, her aching channel. Could she give in to lust when so much was at stake?

She untied her handkerchief, used it to mop her face. “Do
you want some water?”

“That’s not what I want, no.”

She sighed. “I’m afraid.”

He dropped his knees to the dirt and moved toward her,
circling her waist with his corded arms. “Afraid of what?”

She leaned into his strength. “Of what sex with you makes me
feel. I don’t want to make decisions based on great sex, even if it’s really
explosively combustive, wonderful sex. What if I make a mistake again? What if
all the emotional attachment I feel for you is just because of the sex?”

“We aren’t exactly incompatible.”

“No, and that’s why one hook-up became two, then that became
dating. But sex with you makes my brain go all mushy.”

“Maybe that’s how it’s meant to be. I feel the same way. You
turn my insides into goo.”

“Goo?” She felt the corners of her mouth turning up.

“Goo,” he said in a definite tone. “And my cock into a
volcano ready to blow.”

“Smokie…”

“Stop thinking,” he said.

She let his mouth take hers, heard herself mewl as she
opened to him, let his tongue lick in, explore the mysterious dark inner
contours. Her body released a new flood of warmth, readying her pussy for his
entry.

“At least let me put down the blanket,” she said, pushing
against his arms.

“I’ll do it.” He opened her pack and laid out the small
blanket then looked at it doubtfully. “Which part of your body do you want on
this?”

She looked down, realized it was only a lap blanket.
“Whatever.” She unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, pulled down the tiny, yellow
cotton thong she wore underneath.

His jaw dropped. “You’re naked, I mean, really naked.” He
touched a finger to her waxed pussy. “Me like.”

“I was hot so I had it done,” she said, pleased by his reaction.

“You’re soaked,” he said reverently, moving his finger along
her slit. “I love how excited you get for me.”

She found his cock with her fingers, rubbed his pre-cum into
his skin. “What’s not to love, fire wolf? Got a condom?”

He thrust his enormous erection into her hand. “I’m not
capable of moving away when your hand is on my cock.”