The Witch, the Wolf and the Snowstorm: (Book 6, Grey Wolf Pack Romance Novellas) (12 page)

She snickered.  “Yeah, wouldn’t
wanna risk that.  But you’re wrong about this place, it’s a nice little hideaway.  City slickers pay big bucks for out of the way hideaways like this

Don arched an eyebrow. 
“Slickers?  Really?”

“What can I say? You’re rubbing off on me cowboy.”  She wagged her finger playfully.  “Besides it’s much better than my old apartment.  After I moved away from my mom I didn’t really have any money.  The best I could afford was a grubby little hole in a redundant slaughter house, on a street aptly named blood avenue.” 

“That sounds horrific.”  Don bristled at the thought of Kayleigh living in such a place. 
Unprotected, alone...

“Our neighbourhood had more murders than the rest of the neighbourhoods
in Playa Lunar put together.”

His wolf was growling, fearing at the danger she had been in, but thanking god she had moved to Rose, where he could protect her...  “
That’s really not something to be proud of.”  She seemed unconcerned. 

“So you grew up in California?”  Playa Luna
r was a beach city on the coast of California, it was notorious for having more supernatural residents than the rest of California put together.

“Yep, born and raised.” 

“So how come you decided to move all the way up here?”

Kayleigh
toyed with her food, a sheepish look on her face.  “You’ll think it’s silly but... I had a vision telling me I needed to.”

He looked at her blankly so she plundered on.  “I have some psychic ability which includes visions, so when I had one telling me to move here I decided to do it.”

Don didn’t know where he stood on magic and witches, having been brought up by parents who hated witches he was naturally wary.  But if she hadn’t followed her vision and come to Rose they never would have met...

“What about you?  How come you moved to Rose?  You’re from Texas right?”

Don inhaled deeply.  Part of him wanted to tell her the truth about Melinda and the rift with his family but he was hesitant. 
He hadn’t told anyone in the pack the whole truth
.

“It’s not... it’s not something I really want to talk about.”

Disappointment flashed across her face but she was quick to reassure him that it was okay.  She started clearing their empty plates and they agreed she would wash while he dried.  Whilst doing the dishes she told him some stories about her childhood in California.

She thought they were funny, he thought they were horrifying.  What kind of a mother would leave her 9 year old daughter with her Korean neighbours who didn’t speak English so she could spend a weekend in Boca with her boyfriend?

He was fuming at the treatment Kayleigh had received from the one person who was supposed to love her.  She deserved to be loved and protected by someone worthy of her...
someone like him
...
his wolf yipped happily
.

Afterwards they watched a Clint Eastwood film together before both admitting they were tired. 
Kayleigh yawned and blinked.

She giggled.  “Wow I had no idea that doing nothing all day could make you so tired.”

Don rolled his shoulders.  “Yep, you can have the bed I’ll take the recliner.”

She giggled again before noticing he wasn’t kidding.  “What do you mean?”

He stared at her deadly serious. “I’ll sleep in the recliner so you can sleep in the bed.”

“But why don’t we both just sleep in the bed?”  She asked slowly.

“Well we probably shouldn’t...”

She looked at him incredulously.  “Isn’t it a bit late after last night?!”

He looked at her a pained expression on his face.  “Last night was...”
wonderful?  Fantastic?  Unbelievable?
  “A mistake.”  His wolf howled at him volubly.

She stared at him in disbelief planting her hands on her hips.  “You’re kidding right?  Did you not enjoy what we did?”

He held his hands up in a placating gesture.  “Of course I did!  It was... it was nice, really nice, I just... we shouldn’t have... I mean I like you a lot I’m just not the kind of guy to want anythin’ long term.  I don’t want you to think last night meant somethin’.”

“Do you honestly think I was angling for a marriage proposal?!”  She snapped at him.  “You don’t think that maybe I just wanted sex too?  I get it that I don’t mean anything to you, but you’re a conceited asshole if you think you mean anything to me!”

With that she stomped into the bathroom shaking, slamming the door as best she could
.  It was still a bit wonky since Don kicked it in
.  Why didn’t she control her big fat mouth?  She was hurt by what he said and she lashed out.  More than anything she wanted him to tell her that last night was the greatest experience in his life, that she was amazing, that he wanted her to stay with him... 
Yeah she was a dreamer
.  But to hear all of her hopes dashed with a few casual words and to be told that she was ‘nice, really nice’ in bed had been too much.

She dabbed cold water over her heated face, and stared at herself in his tiny mirror.  She was an idiot.  They’d met like twice and then he was forced to bring her into his home.  Then they’d had sex.  Well he wasn’t really going to turn her down when she was
stood in front of him stark naked and groping him.  How could she have thought that she would mean anything to him? 
She was just an easy lay, how could she have really believed otherwise?

She was embarrassed by her fanciful thoughts.  She’d actually imagined the two of them dating, and maybe even getting married one day. 
Same old Kayleigh, jumping in to everything with both feet, never thinking things through
. 
She was a fool
. 

She brushed her teeth and changed into the shirt she was using to sleep in.  Walking out the bathroom she quickly covered the distance to the bed and slipped under the covers.

“Kayleigh... I...”

“It’s fine.”  She said turned away from him, voice slightly muffled.  “Good night.”  She snuggled into the covers, ignoring the sigh and muttered words coming from Don.

Smooth, Don, well done
.  His wolf was bellowing at him.  He’d lied, pretending she meant nothing to him and that had upset her.  He told himself he was doing it for her sake, to make sure she didn’t get too attached to him. 
But he felt downright lousy
. 

He turned out the lights and stripped down to his boxers.
  He relaxed into the recliner rubbing his face. 
She was right, he was an asshole
.

Chapter Twelve

The wolf chuffed at her.  Kayleigh smoothed her hands over his silken fur.  He yapped pleasurably, wagging his tail.  The snow softly fluttered down and the wolf shook himself spraying her with flecks.  She leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes and sighing contentedly. 

She started as he
unexpectedly snarled at her.  She threw herself back onto the snow covered ground.  The wolf, her wolf, was angrily snapping his jaws at her, his eyes blood red.

She pressed herself into the ground
whimpering as tears escaped her eyes.  What had caused this sudden change? 

The wolf leaned over her, his menacing razor sharp teeth only inches from her.
  Abruptly the wolf flung his head back and howled into the sky.  With one last heated look the wolf took off, racing away from.

She felt immediate relief which was soon assailed
by a wash of despair and she panicked that she would never see her beautiful wolf again.  She called out for him to come back.  She told him she was sorry, and that she loved him.  But the wolf didn’t look back.

She tried to get up but the ground melted away beneath her.  She was sinking into the freezing cold snow like
it was quicksand.  She tried to struggle and scream for help, she kicked her legs wildly but it was no use.  She was being pulled under, she was going to drown!

Her body was numb, she cried at
seeing her hand become blue before the snow engulfed it.  The tears painfully turned to ice on her cold battered face.  Her vision blurred, with one last longing look she saw her wolf.  He had stopped, he was turned back and staring at her.

She tried to cry out, but the breath froze in her lungs.
  It was hopeless.  The wolf shook his sleek head and walked away.  Sobbing the snow swallowed her, pouring into her mouth she choked pathetically as she was pulled into a wintery tomb...

*

She sat up quickly gasping for breath, the covers twisted round her. 
Where was she?  What was going on?

Don rushed over to the bed
and pulled her against his bare chest, she clutched at him pitifully.  “Kayleigh are you alright darlin’?”

“I’m fine.”  She spluttered unconvincingly.
  “Bad dream.” 
It was just a dream, just a horrible dream...

He rested his cheek on the top
of her head and rubbed her back.  She felt so cold and small in his arms, his heart wrenched and his beast whined mournfully at the thought of her feeling any kind of pain.

“Do you
wanna talk about it?”

She shivered,
freezing from her nightmare. “No.”  She curled herself into his warm and inviting body. 
Consequences be damned
.

Don rocked her slowly, soothingly.
  They sat entwined for a long time before Kayleigh wiggled in his lap.  “I need to use the bathroom.”

Reluctantly Don let her up and watched as she shuffled away, head lowered.
  He groaned raking his hands through his hair. 
How could he possibly keep his distance when she needed comforting?  He was only human after all!  Well part of him was...

Leaping off the bed
he grabbed the remote and throwing himself into the recliner he flicked on the TV, leafing through the channels.  Most were fuzzy because of the storm, but finally he found a programme he liked.

After a few minutes he heard the bathroom light click off, softly she padded
toward him.  He remained unmoving as she stopped a few feet behind him.  His heart was beating like a runaway freight train, waiting to see what she would do.

W
ordlessly she moved to him.  She climbed up and settled on his lap and started watching TV. 
It was a Columbo rerun
.  He pulled her back flush against his body, his chin resting on her shoulder.  His wolf sighed in satisfaction.

She
was sat directly over his manhood, she could feel the heat seeping through his boxers. She wriggled her ass a little trying to get more comfortable and felt him stir.  She held her breath to see if he would object before she began slowly undulating her hips.  He moaned but made no protest.  She delighted in the feeling of him slowly getting harder and hotter beneath her.

Unable to remain still he began ca
ressing her.  Intermittently he would touch her, a ghosting over her thigh, a stroke of her breasts, gentle kisses on the back of her neck before stopping just as the desire in her started to mount.  When she came back down he would start again.

Her eyes never left the TV, as her body shivered under his
gentle ministrations.  She focussed on breathing, awaiting his next touch, each time it came as a delightful little surprise.

With each caress
, and each twist of her body his shaft hardened and twitched, she could feel him hard as steel against her buttocks.

The caresses
became more frequent, his hands and lips more feverish.  Finally unable to stand the exquisite torture of feeling her smooth peachy ass against his straining manhood he lifted her up slightly and twisted her so she was kneeling over him, her legs either side of him with her back to him. She hovered in the air above him for a few moments, holding her breath, knowing what was coming.

With one hand firmly on her waist holding her in place s
he felt his fingers slowly dip into her slit and she whimpered at the intrusion, but whimpered even more when he removed them.  He brought his fingers to his lips and sucked her abundant juices. 
She tasted divine
.

He extricated
himself from his boxers and positioned the head of his sex at her soaked entrance. Slowly he lowered her down on himself.  She felt each inch of hot flesh push inexorably into her tight channel.  After a few pushes he was fully seated inside her, his hands resting on her hips.

His hands were less restless now and content to remain on her hips, being joined so intimately
relaxed him and she revelled in holding him inside her.

They
refocused on watching TV.  During the show she contracted her muscles every now and again and was gratified to feel warm darts of pleasure flow through her body, he responded by giving a short thrust inside her. The small moans they emitted barely audible over the TV.

During the
commercials she would lift herself up and down, working his length and then stop as soon as the show resumed.  Each break she became more and more frenzied in her movements while he remained tortuously still beneath her.

She came during the
third break, shuddering as her release washed through her languid body.  He groaned as her sex rippled around him and gripped her hips more tightly but did not move.

She rested enjoying the feeling of him still hard inside her as she trembled around him, until the fourth break.  She began slamming herself down on him furiously, squealing in pleasure as she forced herself down his thick shaft.  Feeling her readying for another climax Don reached round and massaged her clit between his fingers.  She screamed as another, more powerful orgasm, washed through her body.

She quivered around him as he continued stroking her sensitive nub, keeping the orgasm rolling through her body.  He groaned as her inner muscle feverishly clutched at him, almost making him come, but he held onto himself. 

Thoroughly spent she leaned back against his chest and he folded his arms round her
, she dozed in his arms for the rest of the show, just enjoying the feeling of holding his rock hard sex inside hers.

After the show ended
Kayleigh twisted round to kiss him.  She had expected him to be hot and fiery but instead found him to be gentle and soft.

His wolf growled
gruffly.  The slow burn of sexual desire that had built up within him demanded release.  His body prickled with the burning passion that had grown over the last hour and a half.

Don wrapped his arms round
Kayleigh tightly, and firmly thrust into her.  One hand found her clit and gently rubbed it matching the hard strokes of his penis.

Her body
trembled and she let out a surprised but satisfied groan as a third smaller orgasm rocked through her.   Seconds later he pushed insider her more forcefully and came, growling lowly.   They held still, revelling in the small aftershocks of their lovemaking.  Her sensitive inner muscles throbbed around him.

She gripped
her arms round his and nestled her back to his chest, feeling the soft tickle of his chest hair.  They stayed joined together for another ten minutes.

Sighing
Kayleigh wriggled out of his grasp and carefully stood up, his softening manhood sliding out of her sex. 
Her body seemed so cold and empty without him, but she had to remember she didn’t mean anything to him.  She couldn’t get used to this...

Don tucked himself back into his boxers and avoided looking at
Kayleigh.  If he looked at her he might ask her to come back and sit over him, to make him feel the same way again.  It had been the most intense orgasm he had ever experienced.  To think his most intense experience had happened with this woman heightened his lust for her and his guilt at being with her no end. 
Hell if he looked at her right now he might ask her to marry him!

She stretched her arms over her head. 
The hem of his shirt dancing over the curve of her ass.  “I’m starving, I’m going to get some apple pie, I defrosted one earlier, you want some?”

He grunted yes and she swayed into the kitchen, her legs still a little shaky.

He breathed deeply. 
In and out.  In and out.
  Having composed himself he followed and sat opposite her at the kitchen table, two pieces of pie and two glasses of milk already laid out.

They ate and drank in silence.  When they were finished she eyed him curiously.
  He didn’t really expect her to believe he didn’t feel something for her did he?   She thought of what Carly had told her, it would certainly explain why he didn’t want anything long term.

“Is it true you had a mate and lost her?”

He looked into her guileless brown eyes.  He didn’t want to lie to her.  “Yes.  I met my true mate when I was 19, but...”

She reached across the table and
lay her hand over his.  “You can tell me anything.”

Her
honeyed voice was soft and comforting.  He looked into her liquid brown eyes and he was lost.  He told her everything he had wanted to tell her since the moment he met her.  His animal moaned in encouragement.

After he realised Melinda wa
s his true mate they were inseparable.  Melinda insisted they get married, she wanted to wait for the wedding to bond.  At her insistence he bought her a diamond engagement ring, and in return she gave him a talisman necklace to wear. 
She said everyone needed to know they belonged to one another.

His family hadn’t been thrilled, they disliked her immediately.  They disliked her family, her personality, the way she dressed, the fact that she was a witch, the fact that she wasn’t a wolf...  She couldn’t do anything to please them.

His father the Alpha was a little
speciesist
.  He didn’t want his son mating with someone who wasn’t a wolf.  He tried to do everything he could to break up the impending marriage and mating, but Don would not be deterred.  She was his true mate and he loved her.  His home life became insufferable so he moved out and rented an apartment in town, Melinda moved in with him.  His father told him if the wedding went ahead he would no longer be part of the pack.  Don had to choose between Melinda and the pack. 
He chose Melinda
.

A week before the wedding
Melinda came home, she was beaten black and blue.  She told him how his brothers had come after her and attacked her.  They’d told her she had to leave Don alone, she had to move away and forget she had ever met him.  They threatened to kill both him and her if she didn’t.

Don had been livid, he was well aware that his brothers were jackasses but he had no idea the levels they would stoop to.
  Don wanted to confront them and beat the hell out of them but Melinda begged him not to.  She told him she had promised his brothers she would leave town.

They decided to run away.  They made plans to leave separately and meet up at the Dallas bus station.
  Everything was going well until she didn’t show up.  He waited for six hours before finally admitting to himself that she wasn’t coming.

He searched high and low for her but he found no trace.
  His family claimed they had no idea what happened to her, but he could smell the stench of their guilt a mile away. 
He dreaded to think what they might have done...

Mired in his grief and rage he
shifted and brutally fought his brothers.  They tore chunks out of each other before their father put a stop to it.  Don couldn’t bring himself to really hurt his family.  Instead he cut himself off from them and left his pack.  He drifted for a few months before finally finding a home in Rose.