Vivian Arend - Granite Lake Wolves 2 (8 page)

By the time they were in the air wearing headsets so they could communicate, he

thought he’d worked out what he wanted to say. It needed to be something

tender and sweet, yet let her know he was interested in her not only for

FirstMate reasons but because he really liked her as a person. It wasn’t just about

sex, even though she was hot enough to cause spring thaw to set in early—

“Tad?” Missy’s smooth voice came through the speakers fuzzy with static. His

cock still stood up and paid attention.

“Yes?”

“When we’re done today would you like me to come back to your apartment or

do you want to get a hotel room? Because all my stuff is at the camp and I don’t

think we should have sex there.”

It took a couple of seconds for Tad to level the plane. Blunt-speaking wolves. Got

him every time.

“I brought along a change of clothes in my duffle bag so we can go straight to

wherever you want.”

“Missy!” Tad adjusted his pants to regain a little blood flow.

She snickered and he turned a sheepish smile in her direction. Her eyes sparkled

with desire as she held out her hand and he clasped it, his thumb rubbing across

her knuckles in a gentle caress.

So soft. So right.

A faint hint of her scent surprised him, either perfume or her natural fragrance,

as it filled his nostrils and sent his body into overdrive. Tad scrambled through

some quick calculations while there was still blood in his brain. Twelve relays to

set up at fifteen minutes each. Adding flight time, landing and storage for the

plane, driving and sprinting up the stairs, they could be at his place by two p.m. at

the latest.

All ready for some Afternoon Delight.

***

“I
did
change the frequency over, Dan.” Missy held her head in one hand while

she spoke into the radio. “If you’re not receiving the feedback you missed

something at your end.”

Tad paced behind her in the snow, his collar turned up against the icy wind. It

was after three and there was often a breeze on the glacier by this time of day.

Another reason he’d hoped to be safe at home before now.

“I know it’s not a problem on my end… No, I won’t turn it off and recalibrate

because that would require another twenty minutes and it wouldn’t fix the

problem… Dan?” Missy dropped the phone. “He’s throwing up again. I don’t

believe this!”

Over the day Dan had turned a simple exercise into a new form of hell. Of course,

Tad was a trifle biased since he had hoped to be strolling through paradise right

about now. The other man fumbled and upset every weather relay Missy tried to

arrange. Between running a fever and running to the bathroom, he had helped

link together only seven of the twenty needed relays.

It would be dark in a short time and Tad dreaded the idea of spending the night

on the glacier in his plane. “Missy, we’ve got to stop. Tell whomever you can

reach we’re coming in. Dan’s too sick to finish and we’re heading into the danger

zone.”

Missy nodded and relayed the message to base camp. Their response made her

eyes grow wide with concern. As she tucked away the phone and gathered her

things, passing Tad the extra packages to store back in the cargo hold, she shared

the news. “We can’t do any more today anyway. They’ve returned Dan to his tent.

He’s unconscious.”

Back on board Tad examined the flight line. The wind direction had changed

enough that the new direction for takeoff wasn’t going to be pleasant. “Umm,

you might like to close your eyes. The plane will be a little tight to the trees before

we get airborne.”

Missy nodded and put on her headset. “I trust you.”

Tad swallowed. Holy crap, now his chest was as tight as his throat. The way Missy

put herself into his hands so quickly and faithfully was humbling.

He made it off the glacier with inches to spare. The relentless windswept ice

particles over the body of his plane like harsh sandpaper. Both hands fought to

control the little craft and all was going well until a series of bright orange

warning lights flashed on the instrument panel. The foul weather was screwing

with the wing flaps.

Oh. Shit.

Even worse was the red engine light that blazed a second later.

The sun was sinking, frightening yet beautiful, through the haze of the blowing

snow. Tad knew where he was. He’d double and triple checked his maps while

he’d waited for Missy to finish each relay.

They weren’t going to make it back to Haines Junction in this weather with the

plane in trouble. They might be able to make it to Keil’s mountain retreat—with a

little luck. He glanced at Missy, who watched him with confidence.

Hell, forget the luck. For her, he’d pull off a miracle.

***

Tad guided Missy through the deep snow toward the cabin as the wind howled

around them.

“Will we have to break in?” She had to shout to be heard.

“Nope. I know the secret code. I’ve flown Keil and his clients here many times,

and they shared their tricks.” He pulled them past the front door to the large side

window where a combination lock hung on the hasp. “Four-letter combo. TJ set it,

I bet.” He dialed in H-E-L-P and pulled.

Nothing.

Tad tried O-P-E-N, then S-A-V-E. He cursed into the wind.

“What should it be set for?” Missy asked, tucked in tight against his side. She

tried to contain her shivers. The temperature was dropping fast and her teeth

chattered. As glad as she was that Tad had landed them safely, it was far colder

than she was used to. She was tempted to shift to her wolf and curl up in a ball to

get warm.

“Keil uses the three-tumbler lock and sets it to SOS or nine-one-one for

emergencies. TJ likes to use the four-tumbler lock and he tends to get fancy. What

would you say if you needed to get in the cabin and had no key?”

“I’d probably swear.” She stuck her hands farther into her armpits and hopped on

the spot.

Tad gave her cheek a quick you’re-a-genius kiss and warmth shot through her. He

had the lock off in a moment, the window open, and he lifted her in. Tad crawled

through behind her and pulled the window shut. The relative silence echoed in

her ears.

“What was the word?”

Tad directed her toward the airtight stove. “S-H-I-T. That boy needs to grow up.”

He grabbed a blanket out of a sealed Rubbermaid tote and wrapped it around her

shoulders. He stared at her for a second, his cold fingers soft against her cheek

before he covered her more thoroughly. “Sit here and I’ll get the fire started.

We’ll have everything we need in a minute. Keil is nothing if not prepared.”

Missy watched, huddled under the blanket, as Tad lit the stove and hustled

around the kitchen area pulling things from inside sealed boxes. Tea, sugar,

canned spaghetti sauce and dry pasta all appeared on the sideboard. By the time

the stove radiated heat into the main space of the cabin, there was melted snow

for boiling the pasta and the rich aroma of tomato sauce filled the air.

Such smooth movements for an untriggered wolf. There was a kind of innate

grace in most shifters, a carryover from their wolf form. Tad had yet to turn into

his wolf, but Missy could imagine him. She bet he would be pale silver, as light as

she was, even though his human form was dark in skin and hair. He was going to

be beautiful. Just like his human.

As she watched her desire for him grew. Her body tightened and moisture began

to gather in her core. This day had been a long time coming and her skin tingled in

anticipation of his touch. Missy was glad that she would get to share this

experience with him. No matter how dangerous it was for her to offer him

FirstMate. With all she’d been through in the Whistler pack, the years of being

unloved and trapped in a marriage of convenience, she needed to do one last

special thing for herself. Whatever the result.

She was grateful to have something special she could give to Tad.

She got up to change out of her wet things into the clothes she’d brought along.

Tad watched her open her bag without saying anything, his gaze hot as she

reached in and pulled out a thick pair of pants.

“Sweats. Hmm, baby, you’re my kind of woman,” Tad teased, his smile

brightening the room.

“It’s cold here after living away from the north,” Missy complained.

Tad winked at her. “What else you got in that bag of tricks? Here I thought you

meant you’d brought a sexy nightie or massage oil.”

Missy pulled out a thick pair of wool socks and her hairbrush.

“Ropes and a paddle, right?”

Missy blew a raspberry at him and ducked behind the stack of boxes while Tad

turned back to the stove, but not before they both cast a final glance at each

other. The sexual intent in Tad’s gaze burned her and she had to take a long, slow

breath before she could change.

Warm food filled their bellies and the heat from the stove reached even the

farthest corners of the cabin. Missy sighed and leaned back on the soft pillows

Tad had pulled from storage and placed in front of the fire.

“There were three other full-blood wolves in high school with us,” she said,

watching the expressions on his face with delight. “Do you know who they were?”

Tad propped himself on his elbows beside her. “I know about Leon. He still

belongs to the pack in Whitehorse. I suspected there was something different

about him even before I knew about wolves.”

Missy laughed. “Why?”

Tad bunched his shoulders and screwed his face into a grimace. He deepened his

voice and rasped out, “’Cause if you’d ever seen the guy changing for gym class

you’d have thought he’d forgotten to complete a shift. Guy needs shares in Nair.”

She giggled. That was Leon to a T. “You’re bad. Who else?”

“I’m not sure. Cindy moved away shortly after you did. She had the whole ‘look

but don’t touch’ thing down to perfection and you two hung out together a lot

around school and in town…” He paused.

“You were watching me, weren’t you?” Missy said with her gaze on his lips, on

the corner of his mouth. Her tongue slipped out to wet her own lips, unable to

stop the automatic gesture.

“All the time,” Tad admitted quietly. He reached out a hand and tugged loose a

curl. She swallowed hard as his touch sent a riot of sensation through her body.

“You fascinated me. You still do.”

He continued to stare at her, his eyes growing darker.

“I need to kiss you.” His voice was harsh and low as he continued to twirl her hair

around his finger. “I really need to kiss you now.”

He didn’t come closer. What was he waiting for? Missy licked her lips again and

he groaned as his hand cupped her neck to pull her in. They were a mere whisper

apart. His breath warmed her, and still he didn’t move closer and touch her. Then

she realized he wouldn’t. He waited for her. It was her call, her decision.

“Missy?” His voice teased her skin, tickled her senses, drew the very air from her

lungs.

She dropped her mouth the final quarter inch and their lips touched, tentative,

hesitant. Tad cradled her close, his hands tender as he massaged her neck and

shoulders, his lips soft and restrained.

What she wanted was more. She stroked her tongue over his mouth, teased at

the seam of his lips and urged him to open. With a groan he complied, and she

snuck inside to lick his teeth. Heat rose around them as Tad joined her, his tongue

sweeping hers as he dragged their bodies into contact, hips together, her torso

tight to his chest.

The cozy blankets under them, the warmth of the fire filling the room, the crackle

as the logs settled, all these sensations faded away as his physical touch

overwhelmed her. His hands slipped under her sweatshirt and glided down her

back. Their bodies pressed together. Her nipples, tight and hard, rubbed against

him.

Through it all they kissed. The intoxicating touch of mouth on mouth thrilled her,

made her lightheaded. She pulled away an inch to gasp in air, and found she

looked up at Tad. He’d rolled them over without her even being aware of it. He

watched her carefully as he held his full weight on his forearms, suspending

himself above her body. His hardness nestled against her thigh.

His laboured breathing showed her she wasn’t the only one affected.

She stared at him. “You kiss better than a dream.”

Tad’s eyes widened. “Sweetheart, do you have any idea how many dreams

you’ve starred in for me?”

He continued to gaze at her and Missy flushed. Her hands were locked around his

neck, his hair standing straight up from where she’d clutched at him while they

kissed. “I, umm… What was the question?”

Dark eyes flashed at her. “No questions. Just more of this.”

He lowered his head and she was gone, lost in his taste, his touch. He nuzzled at

her neck, teeth rasping her skin, and her womb clenched. Moisture, hot and slick,

flooded from her body. Blood rushed to her pussy lips until they were swollen and

aching.

Tad shifted to the side and his hand passed over her belly to cup her breast. He

drew in sharp breath.

“Shit, Missy. You’re not wearing a bra.”

She thrust her chest into firmer contact with his hand. Electric shocks slid