Tall, Dark and Wolfish (41 page)

Forty-nine

Elspeth walked slowly through the woods on the wel -worn trail away from Caitrin's house. She had never been as lonesome as she'd been the last few

days without Ben. She'd spent plenty of time alone before, but never had she
ached
for someone. Not just someone—
her
someone.

Caitrin had been quiet the whole day. She had avoided having any conversation at al . She usual y avoided talking with people if she'd had visions about

them. She preferred to let people live their own lives and have their own surprises. The things she did reveal were for fun. Or to help someone through a

bad time.

Blaire had offered to enchant Ben with a potion so that he wouldn't be able to resist the love Elspeth had for him. But Elspeth preferred Ben coming to

her on his own.

Rhiannon and Sorcha wanted to tie him up with vines again and make him listen to reason. She smiled at the thought.

As Elspeth topped the hil , she heard a low growl from within the bushes. She stil ed completely. That wasn't Ben. It was too menacing and too scary.

She froze. After a few minutes, the bushes rustled and a dark animal skittered from them and down the hil . Elspeth took two tentative steps forward.

From her vantage point she could see her way to the bottom of the hil . A solitary wolf stood there, as though standing sentinel over its pups. The growl

sounded again from close by. This wolf was slightly larger than the one at the bottom of the hil . The smal er was probably the female, and Elspeth

imagined that she was guarding her den. And the male kept a watchful eye on Elspeth.

A cloud moved across the sky and final y uncovered the ful moon. The male wolf looked up at it in a pose very similar to the one on her combs. He

raised his snout to the air and howled.

"I'l no' hurt yer pups," she whispered.

The male wolf stil stood, his body rigid and ready to move if Elspeth took even one hesitant step toward his family. But then the mother wolf ran to him,

licked his face, and nipped his ear. The male turned to her. She licked the ear she'd just nipped, as though to soothe him. He growled and playful y nipped

her back.

That was when Elspeth knew what she had to do. If Ben wouldn't come to her, she'd have to go to him. The female wolf in a pair held a noticeable place

of power. Now it was time for Elspeth to display some of that power herself.

She smiled the whole way back to her cottage.

Ben ran through the forest in his Lycan form, feeling the freedom that came with the change, but this time there was a sadness with it as wel . It was a

gnawing feeling that chewed at his very soul. He wanted Elspeth. He wanted her more with every step he took.

Ben's ears perked up as he heard the cry of a wolf. It wasn't Wil —he'd heard that howl since adolescence. And he doubted it was the major—it seemed

a bit more feral than what he'd expect from the softened old soldier. Then he remembered the wolf with pups that he'd seen. Of course, both those wolves

would be out, basking in the rays of the moon as wel .

Ben clenched his eyes shut tightly. It was almost painful to think of the pair of wolves. He would never be part of a pair.

He walked a bit farther and stopped. Then he felt it. It hit him harder than the carriage that had broken his arm. It hit him harder than an anvil thrown from

a great height.

Elspeth had stroked her mark.

Ben gritted his teeth as lust swamped him. He fought the urge to run to her. Perhaps she'd simply grazed it when she was bathing. But that brought him

to thoughts of her naked in the tub, and he ground his teeth together again.

His front legs shook with a desire to run. His whole body quivered. Then two minutes later, she stroked her mark again. He lifted his snout and cried out.

It was the longest and darkest howl of his life. If any of his kind heard it, they would surely think he was dying from pain.

Stop, Elspeth!

She touched him again. He could no longer fight it. He tore through the forest as fast as he could to her cottage. He brushed through brambles and

briers, thanking his heavy coat for keeping him safe from them or he would be a bloody mess by the time he reached her.

He ran toward the cottage, but the windows were dark. He stood up on his hind legs and looked through the bedroom window. Thankful y, he had never

instal ed those shutters. She wasn't home? Where would she be in the middle of the night?

Then she stroked him again. His flesh quivered. It felt as though her hands dug deeply through his fur to reach his skin, where she scratched her

fingernails against him. He stood stil and tried to absorb it. He wasn't able to fight it. Not anymore.

Where are you, Elspeth?

Then the wind shifted and he picked up her scent. The beautiful scent of magnolia met him, and he ran in her direction. He final y saw her, in the clearing

where they'd made love for the first time. She lay in the middle of the area, on her plaid, completely and total y naked.

The moonlight glinted off her alabaster skin, making her shine. Her breasts were ful and crowned with rose-colored nipples. Even from where he stood,

he could see that they were erect. He wanted to cup them in his hands and bring his mouth down to taste her. But he couldn't. Not in this form. He stood

and watched her.

"I ken ye're there," she cal ed. "Come out and let me see ye."

Elspeth knew she was taking a chance. It could be disastrous for them both. If he hurt her, he'd never forgive himself. But she had faith in his love for her.

He stepped into the clearing. Her breath caught as she sat up to look at him. He was beautiful. There were no more adequate words to say. The

moonlight glinted off his shiny brown fur. She nearly ached to touch it.

He tipped his head as though to ask a question.

"I couldna howl," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "So I cal ed ta ye the only way I knew how."

His head straightened.

She held up her arm and was about to stroke across the mark again, but he suddenly raced across the clearing and stood before her. One corner of his

mouth lifted in a fierce snarl.

She held up two hands in surrender. "I wil na touch it anymore." He turned to leave. "As long as ye stay with me!" she cal ed to his retreating form.

He stopped, but did not turn his head.

"Look at me!" she cried, frustration nearly ready to take over. He turned and walked back to her, his eyes half closed. She reached out a hand, but he

skittered back out of her reach. "I want ta touch ye."

He didn't move.

"Ye wil na let me do that, wil ye?"

He stil didn't move. She reached out a hand and stroked the silky fur on the top of his head. His eyes closed. Then she ran her fingernails down his

back, scratching him gently.

Then, before her very eyes, he changed. His features shifted. He changed from beast to man. To man with a beast within.

Before she could blink, he shoved her back to the ground and spread her thighs forceful y so that he could settle between them. He covered her

completely. A wild thing, hoping to dominate.

"What games do you play, El ie?" he snarled against her lips as his hands slid into her hair and tugged.

"No games, Ben. I simply want ta love ye."

He dipped his head at her shoulder and gently abraded the skin with his teeth.

Heat pooled in her body where he insistently pressed his length against her.

"In me," she said, adjusting her body to lie directly beneath him.

"I cannot claim you." He closed his eyes. "You don't know how much this hurts me," he growled. "If you did, you would let me be."

"I'l never let ye be, Ben. I plan ta claim ye as my Lycan mate this night. And every day from this moment on."

Ben was startled when Elspeth pushed his shoulder, shoving him from atop her body.
Finally!
She saw reason. She recognized the danger. But she just

pushed him onto his back then climbed her naked body atop him, straddling his hips.

Ben covered his eyes with his forearm. He growled and grabbed her hips to lift her off him.

"I am half Lycan, Ben," she said, pointing to the mark of the beast she wore on her wrist. "Just as ye are. And this night I plan ta claim ye as
my
Lycan

mate." She smiled at him, but there was suddenly something wild in her gaze. Something
wanting.

Ben moved to slide from beneath her. "Ye canna leave me," she said as she covered her body with his. She lay along his length, her thighs parted to

straddle him. Then her teeth touched the tender place where his shoulder met his neck.

"Ah, God. I cannot fight you." He wanted to scream.

"Then doona try." She licked across the sensitive skin and then moved to kiss his lips. Then she sat up and took him into her body, sliding down on him

like warm silk, tight and soft.

He grabbed her hips and clutched her tightly. Then he remembered how he'd bruised her the last time and took his hands down. She lifted them, putting

them on her hips. "Help me. I doona ken what ta do."

So he clutched her hips and set the rhythm, then she took over. The beast in him was content to let her ride him. And he reveled in the way she took him

ful y within her body with every stroke. He'd never have believed it.

Her breaths grew shorter and shorter. He knew she was close to reaching her peak. And the beast wanted to please her. He sat up to reach her breasts

and drew her nipple into his mouth. Al gentleness had left his body. He was afraid he'd hurt her when she cried out. But then she led him on when she

said, "More," and pul ed his head toward her breast.

While his mouth pleasured her breasts, his hand dove between her thighs and circled her center. As she cried out, she removed her breast from his

mouth and bent her head to his neck. Then she exploded around him, and at the same time her teeth nipped the tender flesh of his shoulder. He stil ed

and threw his head back, growling as he enjoyed the supreme satisfaction he felt to have her claim him as her own.

When she stil ed, he held her face in his hands and looked into her green eyes. "I love you," he said.

"Then take me," she laughed.

Ben wasn't gentle with her at al as he lifted her from him and set her on the plaid. He was rough and demanding. And she loved it. On his knees, he pul ed

her back against his front, rubbing his length along her slit. She spread her legs to give him entrance. The tip of him touched her but didn't slide inside.

She wanted to shout to the heavens.

"Don't be so impatient," he growled as he cupped her breasts and teased her into a frenzy.

Sliding one arm around her waist, he pushed her shoulders down toward the blanket. "On your hands and knees, love."

"We've never," she started.

"Now we are," he growled.

She smiled. Maybe, final y, he would take her. Make her his in every way.