Sherry's Wolf (6 page)

“She liked it. I think she liked it too much. She told me to go back to the Clan until Christmas. She’s scared, Taye. She said I scared her.”

Taye was kind enough to not remark on the shame that flooded Stag. The scent of it was sharp in the air. He held up his book. “Same thing happened to Dante when he was courting Lady Amber.”

“Who?”

Taye waved the book. “Dante the pirate fell in love with the Governor’s daughter but he couldn’t have her, see, because she was a lady and he was scum. So he kidnapped her and took her on his ship and set sail. He teased her with kisses every day until she fell so deeply in love that she agreed to marry him. And they lived happily ever after.”

Stag eyed the faded cover of the book. The title scrolled over the top of the page in fancy letters:
The Black Dragon’s Woman
. A kneeling woman, whose strange dress was falling off her shoulders, clung to the leg of a bare-chested man. The woman had her head tilted back, staring up at the man in doe-eyed adoration. The man had one fist clenched on the rail of a ship, staring out to sea like he didn’t even notice he had a woman kneeling in front of him. They were apparently caught in a strong wind, since their hair and clothes streamed behind them.

“No offense, Taye, but that picture is disgusting. I don’t ever want to see Sherry kneeling in front of me.”

Taye’s smile was dreamy. “There’s things a woman can do on her knees in front of a man …” He cleared his throat. “The thing is, Dante took his woman away from everyone else. In his cabin they were alone and no one interrupted them. They didn’t have any distractions while they fell in love.”

“Taye, that’s just a book. It’s not real. And, um, what does a woman do on her knees…? No, don’t answer that!”

Taye’s smile turned wolfish. “You sure you don’t wanna know?”

Actually, Stag thought he had a pretty good idea. On her knees, Sherry’s face would be close to his cock. The thought of her mouth on him as his mouth had been on her breast last night had him shifting in his chair. His breechcloth didn’t hide anything, so Taye had to know why he barked, “Not now!”

Taye had the decency to tone his grin down. “Okay. Back to
The Black Dragon’s Woman
. Women have been reading these stories for years. They
like
it. I know it’s not real, but if you treat Sherry right she’ll be like Amber. She’ll fall in love with you.”

“I’m not a pirate! I can’t kidnap her and take her out to sea.”

“No, but you could take her out to the cabin over east of Sheep Head Hill, the one Lobo and his beagle hide out in. Keep her there for a week while you court her. If you have her alone, she’ll have to pay attention to you.”

Alone with Sherry… “No, it would be too dangerous. What if someone came on us? A beautiful woman with only one man to protect her? We’d be attacked and Sherry would be stolen.”

“I’ll send a couple of the boys to run patrol around the cabin,” Taye offered.

That would work. The thought of having Sherry all to himself was tempting. Would a week be enough time to make her forget her husband? He could prove to her that he wouldn’t harm her. Maybe she
would
fall in love with him. What could it hurt? Right now she wanted him to leave her. He couldn’t bear that.

Taye could see his inner debate. He held out the book. “Here. Read this. Then come back and tell me if you want us to guard you and Sherry at the cabin.”

Stag took the battered paperback doubtfully. “What am I supposed to find out when I read this?”

“What women like in bed.”

Well, that was probably worth a couple hours of his time. Sherry was no virgin, not with her marriage to LeRoi, but he was. He’d had nothing but years of hot dreams of what he’d do with his mate if he ever found her. He sighed and nodded to Taye. “I’ll be out in the sweat lodge.”

It was nearly supper time when he returned to the rec room. The room was crowded. Rose and the Grandmother were at the table by the window, winding yarn into balls. The Grandmother was the eldest member of the Clan and she was revered by all. The skinny blonde, Mrs. Madison, was there, in a chair by the fireplace, with her husband Eddie standing at her side. About a dozen members of the Pack were there, too, lolling on furs on the floor, and Taye was sitting on the floor beside his mate’s chair, his head tipped back so Carla could finger comb his hair. Everyone looked up as Stag burst in. He ignored them to wave the book angrily in Taye’s face.

“He strips her naked and ties her to the bed?” he roared.

Taye smiled like the wolf he was. “The bunk,” he corrected. “That’s one of my favorite parts. And when he uses a feather to tickle her—”

“I’m not stripping Sherry and trying her to the bed!”

Taye’s eyelids drooped as he laid his cheek on his mate’s knee. “And that part where he takes her pearl necklace off her neck and slides it inside her—”

“
Taye
!” Carla jumped up, dumping his head off her knee. She shot a warning glare around at the wolves, who quickly hid their interest and pretended to go back to whatever they had been doing. “Did you give him one of your romance novels to use as a template to seduce Sherry?”

“Well, Sky was over-enthusiastic. He didn’t make sure Rose wanted him to kiss her before he grabbed her.” Taye gave the blonde teen an apologetic smile, then turned to Stag with a serious face. “Be absolutely sure Sherry wants you before you so much as touch her.” He thought, brow furrowed. “Wait for her to invite you to kiss her. The second she says stop, let her go.” He arched a brow at his mate. “Sweetheart? Do you have any advice for Stag?”

Carla sighed and shook her head, but she answered anyway. “Let her set the pace. Let Sherry be in control. That way she won’t be afraid.”

Rose spoke in a belligerent tone. “Leave her alone! Just let Sherry make up her own mind.”

Mrs. Madison’s voice was sweet and clear. “Trust her. Trust is the most important thing in a marriage.”

Her husband shot her a glare and drew back from her. Eddie Madison was widely regarded as the handsomest man in five hundred miles. His hair was golden blond, his eyes turquoise blue, his physique lithely muscled. One of the women in the Clan said Eddie Madison’s smile could make a brick wall weep with desire. But Eddie wasn’t smiling now. Stag sniffed to try to discern the man’s feelings, but he was wearing so much cologne he couldn’t tell. His wife’s blue eyes filled with tears she tried to hide by turning her face down. Carla noticed, though. Stag saw her stare accusingly at Eddie Madison. Taye followed his mate’s gaze and his dark eyes turned cold. After the murder of their women, the wolves had become doubly protective of any female. None of them could bear to see a woman cry.

Taye took his eyes off Madison reluctantly. “So, you want us to run patrols for you?”

“Yes.” Stag decided to do it. Sherry might not be happy about being kidnapped at first, but once she was settled in the cabin she would come around. He would be careful to assure her he wouldn’t touch her without her permission. “We’ll be leaving Kearney around noon tomorrow. I want at least a couple of you to shadow us so no one gives us trouble on the way.”

Carla asked suspiciously, “Where are you going?”

Taye slung an arm around her waist. “Oh, Stag’s going to abduct Sherry and hold her captive in a hidden cabin until she agrees to have sex,” he explained breezily.

Stag felt himself blush hotly when Carla turned wide, horrified eyes on him. He was twenty-eight years old, too old to be blushing like a boy. “No!” he shouted. “That’s not how it will be!” Not really. He
hoped
Sherry would make love with him, but that was entirely up to her. If she still refused him at the end of the week, he would accept it and take her back to the Plane Women’s House. “Shut up, Taye,” he growled.

Taye grinned unrepentantly, then sobered when the Grandmother spoke.

“Jumping Stag, do you suppose your mate will be pleased by this scheme?”

Stag squirmed under the authority of the elderly woman, feeling like a little boy about to get a scolding. “No,” he admitted honestly. “But I swear I won’t hurt her or force her to do anything. If she still refuses me at the end of the week I’ll bring her back to Kearney untouched.”

The Grandmother’s watery blue eyes were faded by age, but sharper than an arrowhead. “This scheme of yours could backfire. Sherry might never forgive you.”

Stag wavered for only a moment. He was sure Sherry would come around. “I understand.”

After a few long minutes of staring at him, The Grandmother waved a hand. “Good luck, then.”

Everyone seemed to relax under the Grandmother’s lukewarm approval of his plan. Taye set a hand on his shoulder. “I have one more piece of advice for you, and it’s an important one. Whatever happens, be sure she comes before you do.”

“Comes where?’ Stag asked, perplexed. He noticed that both Carla and Mrs. Madison had odd expressions on their faces. Mrs. Madison’s very fair skin showed her embarrassment clearly. A few descriptions in the book he still held came back to him. “Oh,” he said, with sudden comprehension. “Wait. How do I do that?”

Taye opened his mouth, but Carla pointed toward the door. “Out! Go somewhere else to talk about that,” she ordered. “Supper will be ready in a half hour. That ought to be enough time for your—” her lips quirked into a half-smile “—discussion.”

As Taye led him out he heard Carla mutter that wolves were sweet. Naïve, but sweet. Taye took him out to the yard and spoke very frankly about how a man could please a woman. Stag listened intently. They had a circle of other young wolves around them, listening just as intently. Stag wanted to please Sherry. Even more than he wanted physical release himself, he wanted his mate to be happy with his lovemaking. Well, he wanted pleasure, too, of course, but he had been using his own hand for more than a dozen years. He was familiar with his body’s responses, how to grip and pull to bring himself to orgasm. What he didn’t know was how to touch Sherry to give her pleasure. He committed every word of Taye’s instructions to memory, and hoped his mate would give him a chance to put them into action.

By the time supper was over he had his plans for Sherry’s abduction set. Taye would see that the cabin was stocked with enough food for a week, and plenty of firewood and blankets so Sherry wouldn’t be cold. Carla didn’t approve of his plan to take Sherry to the cabin, but she said nothing except to warn him to treat her gently, not do anything to scare her, and to not touch her unless she invited him to. And, she tacked on as an afterthought, to be sure to have clean clothes for Sherry to wear. When Taye had won her in the Bride Fight she had worn the same grubby clothes for a week.

Stag walked with two others of Taye’s Pack to escort the Madisons back to their house in Kearney. He noticed that husband and wife walked with a distance between them that was more than merely physical. Mrs. Madison was plainly unhappy. If Madison didn’t do something to change that, his wife would find a husband more congenial. With men outnumbering women by a hundred to one, there was no reason for a woman to stay with a man who made her unhappy, no matter how handsome he was.

After Eddie and Lisa were passed through the gate at the mayor’s house by the guards manning the fence, Stag said goodbye to the other wolves and went to the Plane Women’s House. He sought out Des and told him of the plan to abduct Sherry. It was only right to let the Alpha know that Sherry would be away for a week. Otherwise, there would be a search for her. Des asked a few questions, promised to have a bag packed for Sherry and wished him luck with a hearty slap on the shoulder. Stag went to his basement room without seeking Sherry out. Beginning tomorrow, he would see her every hour of the day for a week.

He couldn’t wait.

When Stag didn’t show up for lunch, Sherry was poked by uneasy guilt. Maybe she had said too much when she told him she needed more time? When he didn’t show up for supper, Sherry was alarmed. Except for the last month when he was gone, he had never left her alone for so long. The guilt grew as the evening wore on with still no appearance from Stag.

She had fibbed to him a little bit. Jodi and Dixie had agreed to help her work through the fear instilled in her by LeRoi’s battering, but they hadn’t said that Stag had to leave her alone during the counseling. In fact, they had suggested that having him attend some of the later sessions might be helpful for him to understand why she felt the way she did. She really didn’t want him there. He already had a low opinion of LeRoi. Her husband had had his faults, but he had his good qualities too. In the early part of their marriage he had made her feel beautiful and loved. He had showered her with gifts. When they were dating, he sent flowers every week. Later it was jewelry. The more violent he was, the more expensive his gifts became. After that last beating, when she had left him, LeRoi tried to tempt her back with diamond necklace worth $75,000. As if diamonds could pay for her broken collarbone and mend her broken heart. What would Stag say about that?

That night Marissa caught her in the hall outside her room and gave her a quick, impulsive hug. “It’s none of my business,” she said awkwardly. “But I overheard you last night when you were talking to Stag. Um, about your dad and your husband. Look, you don’t need to worry about Stag mistreating you. The Clan practically worships women. I think it’s because there aren’t very many in the first place, and then most of theirs were killed. If Stag ever did hurt you, all you’d have to do is tell Des, or any of the wolves and they would take care of it. But Stag won’t hurt you. You can count on that.”

Sherry wanted to believe that, but she couldn’t. Why was she such a coward? She gave Marissa a strained smile and said thank you before she opened the door of her apartment and fled into its cold privacy. One of the things she hated about living in 2064 was the lack of heat and hot water. Usually she was okay after she put on flannel pajamas and thick wool socks and tucked herself in. Sometimes she envied Marissa and Renee for their warm mates, who were probably as good as any furnace. If she could just bring herself to trust Stag, she was sure she could fall in love with him. In fact, in those rare moments when she was brave enough to be completely honest with herself, she thought she might already be a tiny bit in love with him. He said he would never hurt her. She did want to believe that. But she had believed LeRoi over and over, and look where that had gotten her. Trust had to be earned.