Mating Hunt (2 page)

He glanced at her with a hungry look, as if he wanted to run his hands over her ass and do very naughty things.

Arianna felt warm and achy, skin stretched too tight, the approaching heat licking between her legs. Gossips said Kyle was a virile beast in bed. But he mainly chose Skins for his lovers.

A dim memory flickered. Her fifteenth birthday, when she’d burst into Kyle’s cabin without knocking. She’d approached his bedroom and caught him in the throes of abandoned sex.

Naked and muscular, Kyle had pumped hard and fast into a woman lying prone on the bed as she screamed and clutched his shoulders. No longer her quiet, protective cowboy, his expression turned cruel. Sweat glistened on the smooth muscles rippling beneath his skin, his taut buttocks pumping furiously. Something hot and fierce had triggered inside Arianna, making the flesh between her own legs pulse.

Suddenly he’d turned to the door where she stood, staring as if she was the one lying on his bed. His gaze flared bright amber and he’d snarled, transforming into a beast...

Stomach churning, Arianna shoved the memory aside.

Every unmated pack male lusted after her during her heat, except Kyle. None succeeded in becoming her lover. Even Darius, the charmer, failed to relieve Arianna of her virginity.

Always the fear, making her claws come out.

Why couldn’t she be normal? Jealousy surged as she remembered the woman’s screams in the bar.

“What was her name?”

Brow wrinkled, he glanced at her.

“The latest Skin notch in your bedpost I happened to interrupt.”

His mouth flattened. “Doesn’t matter.”

“You mean it wasn’t Lucy? Or Juanita? Or the Doublemint twins Darius keeps teasing you about? What are their names, Dumb and Dumber?”

“Arianna...” His tone warned.

She shut up.

Pavement rumbled beneath the pickup truck’s tires. She looked out the window, her stomach knotted, her hands itching to touch him. Kyle had been an anchor since he’d rescued her when she was twelve, running away from the bad man who’d wanted to molest her. They were good friends, and she trusted him. But with the approach of her twentieth birthday, the intensification of her fertile period created a glacial crevasse between them. With each moon cycle, the crack grew wider.

“Why did you do it?” His deep voice shattered her tumultuous thoughts. “Go into that bar when I told you to stay in the cabin?”

“Skins gossip and I thought I’d overhear something to help find the missing young. I saw two men who looked suspicious. They know something.”

“Tell me.”

No matter how angry he got, he respected her opinion. After she’d sketched out a description of the men, including their scent, he shook his head.

“Good job, but from now on, let me handle it.”

“That scent I caught the other day when you and I were hunting, it was a young male Lupine. It has to be one of the missing young. Their parents are searching an area twenty miles away, but I think the missing young are on Mitchell Mountain.”

His expression darkened. “And so are several crazed, confused Ogres ready to mount you. You broke the cardinal rule again. Never let the Skins know what you are.”

“I didn’t think my heat affected Skins. And when they threatened me, my instincts took over. I’ve tried controlling this. I have and I just... snap.”

“Which is why I confined you to my cabin, away from Skins...” his voice grew hard, “and other creatures who want to fuck you.”

“So I get caged while everyone else goes free. I’m punished for a biological condition. Sweet.”

His tone gentled. “It’s to keep you safe.”

Safe fail.

“You need a mate.”

Not this again. “I don’t want to have sex. I can’t do it.”

“I know,” he said gently. “But I’ve shielded you for seven years and it’s past time.”

“Don’t make me do this. Please.”

A heavy sigh lifted his chest. “Do you remember anything about what happened before I found you? Anything about your parents? Who hurt you and why?”

Despite his deep, soothing voice, the question triggered familiar anxiety. She clearly remembered Kyle finding her on the mountain and taking her under his protection, but little else.

“We’ve been over this. All I remember is a cave and a beast with glowing eyes. He was naked and touching himself, um, down there... you know what I mean?”

Blushing, she pantomimed an erection.

Kyle arched an eyebrow. “Like most men, I’ve had some experience in the matter.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He wanted to hurt me. I broke free and ran down the mountain. That’s all I remember, except I lost everything I cared about. I don’t know if you can understand.”

She pushed a hand through her long blond hair. “Sometimes I don’t understand it myself.”

“I do,” he said quietly. “I lost everything I ever cared about, too.”

Silence draped between them for a moment. She rubbed her sweating palms against her jeans. “I don’t want to mate.”

“Ari...”

“Not with just anyone. I need a male who looks at me as if I’m his world and nothing else matters. A male who wants to see me first thing upon wakening and last thing as he closes his eyes at night. A male who needs me as much as his next breath.”

Her chest constricted as she gathered courage to voice a secret desire. “Besides, no one interests me... except you.”

Kyle stiffened. “Don’t go there, Ari. I’m not a good match for anyone. I came to this pack as a hired ranch hand. I told you long ago, I never stick around for good.”

Frustration coiled low in her stomach. Same old answer. If her life remained a mystery, then his was downright cryptic.

“So that’s why you never socialize, except when you go out prowling for females with Darius? That’s why you prefer living alone? Lupines are a pack, but you’re solitary, keeping your distance. And even with me you never talk about yourself.”

He turned, anger flickering in his green eyes. “Don’t assume I’m like other Lupine, little pint. Assumptions can be dangerous. There’s a good reason why I avoid everyone, especially during the full moon. You, more than anyone else, should understand why.”

She shrank back from the simmering violence in his rigid body. She remembered what she’d seen on her fifteenth birthday, how her beloved guardian had changed into a stranger she did not know.

“I’m sorry,” Arianna told him.

Kyle gave a lopsided smile. “No worries. Forget it. We have bigger issues at hand.”

Oh yeah. Tristan. Acid churned in her stomach. “I have a pissed off wizard who wants to turn me into Lupine barbecue. If you hadn’t intervened, I’d be dead. Maybe he’s bluffing?”

His hands tightened to white knuckles on the truck’s steering wheel. “Tristan doesn’t screw around. He’s fair, but only gives so many chances.”

“Guess I’d better lock myself away.” Arianna drew in a deep breath. “Or I’ll become nothing but ashes. All because guys think I’m a hot tamale.”

Despite the joke, her voice wobbled.

“Naw. You’re more a five-alarm chili with habanero peppers.” He winked, easing the tension. “Sweat inducing, tears-in-your-eyes, the best kind of chili.”

“You, a fire-eater? The Lupine who likes his meat served plain?”

“I like some things very hot,” he murmured.

“So now you’re comparing me to chili. Huh. Better than Darius comparing me to a fat Ogre. At least you make me sound tasty, like you’d lick me straight down to the last drop.”

From beneath his hat, Kyle shot her a hooded look. Heat flushed her cheeks as she realized what she’d said. She blushed further as her imagination conjured an image of herself on the dining table. Naked, her legs spread wide as Kyle’s tongue slid slowly over her sex...

As her loins began to throb, she clamped her thighs together as if locking a vault. That’s what I am, she thought, desperation twining with anger.
My virginity is locked into an old vault and put away for good, until I turn dry and dusty.

Other Lupine females experienced sexual excitement and took partners to bed or found lifelong mates. Beth confided that her new mate, Dale, had eased the initial pain of losing her virginity by giving her a mind-blowing orgasm.

Arianna would love to experience a mind-blowing orgasm. Especially at Kyle’s hands. Those strong, lean fingers stroking over her most intimate flesh...

The throbbing in her loins intensified.

“I don’t think I’d be a very tasty chili, anyway. I’m too spicy,” she ventured, breaking the silence.

“I disagree. Some meals are meant to be savored and eaten slowly.”

Arianna fisted her hands in her lap as the truck rattled over gravel and turned toward the dirt road leading to the ranch. Breathing in his scent, she reassured herself this was the same Lupine she’d known and trusted since the day he’d found her.

Nothing like the lusty Satyr who’d wanted to rape her when she was twelve. She’d never engaged in sexual banter. Maybe now was a good time to start. Be subtle.

“Slow eating is good,” she agreed. “Like the way I eat chocolate-covered strawberries. The big, pointed ones that I can barely get my lips around. I like to suck them real slow.”

Whoa. Okay, so much for subtle.

A pulse beat wildly in Kyle’s throat. “Tell me. Do you start at the tip? And lick it?”

The Lupine certainly did like to lick. Arianna squeezed her hands tight. “Naw. So typical. Me, I run my tongue around the base, make sure I cover all the entire surface. It’s sweet and fills me with anticipation of what I’ll do next.”

“Oh?” A single, hoarse word.

Emboldened, she continued. “Then I swirl my tongue around the thickness. It tastes so good; I want more.”

“Do you wet your mouth first? It can enhance the pleasure,” he murmured.

A blush crept up from her throat. Arianna squirmed in the seat.

“Yes. I may pop it in and out of my mouth, sucking very hard, until the chocolate starts to melt. If I’m impatient, I swirl my tongue around the girth.”

“Do you bite?”

“Not yet. I prefer to flick my tongue.” A heady sense of her own feminine power emerged as Kyle’s breathing changed and his heart rate increased.

“Then I push it into my mouth, as far back as it will go, to taste all of it. And pull it back out. I do this a few times until it’s ready to explode inside my mouth.”

Beads of sweat popped on his temples, trickling down his lean cheek.

“What happens...” his deep voice sounded strangled, “when you get to the tip?”

“Then I bite.”

Kyle’s hands jerked on the steering wheel, twisting the truck to the right. He quietly swore, then straightened the vehicle, pulling into the long U-shaped drive in front of the ranch’s lodge.

He parked the truck and switched off the ignition, making no move to get out. She licked her lips. The engine ticked slowly in the silence. Ribbons of rich, thick spice, intoxicating as fine chocolate and aged whiskey, threaded through the cab. As the scent hit her nostrils, her nipples hardened to tiny points and warmth spread through her body. With a start, she realized Kyle did this. He emitted a fragrance irresistible to females.

Probably a trait of his mixed blood.

Dizzy from the heady smell, she breathed deep, warmth tingling through her veins and shooting straight to her loins. Bristles darkened his strong jaw. She wondered what they would taste like beneath her tongue. Perhaps as sweet as strawberries dipped in chocolate.

Maybe I can do this. Maybe there is hope.

If she didn’t mate, Tristan would kill her.

Arianna reached for her jacket and brushed against Kyle’s hand, feeling warm, calloused skin accustomed to hard work.

She rested her hand atop his. He did not pull away, but his breathing grew ragged. He waited.

A fleeting image surfaced, those big, tough hands gentle as he stroked them slowly down her spine. Arianna slid her palm up his coat sleeve, feeling the spongy suede. His coat and shirt opened at the throat and displayed a triangle of dark hair. Fascination filled her.

She wanted more. Slowly, she slid her fingers across the shirt’s deep V, touching his chest hairs, feeling their silky, springy texture.

Parting her lips, she could almost taste the saltiness of his skin, as a bead of sweat trickled down his cheek, skating down his throat.

Driven by impulse, she touched the droplet and brought it to her mouth. Arianna licked it off, watching his eyes darken.

Wow.

Kyle fisted his hands. Turning, he locked her with his smoldering gaze. Secrets shadowed his eyes, along with the sultry promise of pleasure.

Arianna’s heart pounded hard. Grazing his throat with her fingertips, she felt his pulse leap and his muscles tighten. Fascinated, she leaned forward, intrigued by the rich male scent teasing her senses, his hard body tight as a coiled spring.

Anticipating his kiss, she moistened her lips.

Amber flashed in his eyes. A growl tore from his throat as he leaned forward. Kyle vanished, replaced by a beast filled with cruel lust.

Panic surged. With a keening cry, she pushed away until her back met the door. Jiggling the handle, she pushed and pushed. Had to get out, escape, get away from them, run...

Forcing herself to calm down, Arianna glanced back at the driver’s seat.

Gone was the beast, replaced by a man with color draining from his face, a wounded look in his deep green eyes. Then, his expression shuttered and normal, ordinary Kyle returned. The Lupine who hunted with her, taught her to read nature signs and teased her about her love of reality television.

As he reached across her, Arianna shrank back against the seat. With a heavy sigh, he opened her door.

Her insides knotted. She hated hurting him. Why couldn’t she let him close enough to kiss her? Why did she have to be so damned scared?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Arianna jumped down, rumpled coat in her shaking hands. And then she noticed Aiden standing on the porch. Oh, joy. The pack alpha must have seen.

Heart rising to her throat, she waited as Aiden climbed down the steps. Black-bearded, his shoulder-length black hair tousled as if he’d run a hand through it, the alpha stood over six feet tall. He could strong-arm everyone in the pack, but ruled through respect, not intimidation.