Howling for Their Mate

STORY EXCERPT

“So, Raven, have you seen them today?” Emeline Newsom, who worked as a caregiver to one of the older citizens in town, leaned closer. Her long, copper-colored hair shifted over her shoulders as she drilled her bright blue eyes into Raven.

Raven’s blonde locks were from a bottle. Next time, she just might try going red. The color definitely worked for Emeline, especially with her blue eyes. At least Raven wouldn’t have to fake those. She had already had the blue eyes.

“Who are you talking about?” Like she didn’t know.

Heather Dill, the resident artist, laughed. “Oh, come on. You know damn well who we’re talking about.” Nothing about Heather was fake or from a bottle. Not her short brown hair that framed her oval face so well, not her big brown eyes, not her generous bosom, and certainly not her wind-chime giggle.

Yeah, she knew who they meant, but she didn’t like talking about them. Thinking about them made her hot enough. If she started telling the girls how much she wanted them, she’d melt into a pool of lust.

The Hardwick men. Damn, if there were any hotter men on the face of the planet, she’d be shocked as hell, and she’d definitely want to meet them. All three of the Hardwick men stood well over six feet, and had broad shoulders, callused hands, and seriously mesmerizing eyes.

Drake was the oldest of the three gorgeous brothers. Although all of the men worked the Hard Luck Ranch, Drake was also the sheriff. As such, he took care of any problems around Fate and a few of the other small towns in northern Georgia. He was one of those calm, cool, and collected men who could, if needed, unleash a firestorm of fury when pushed past his limits.

Maybe he’d honed his calm resolve during his time as a Special Ops soldier in the Marine Corps. Or maybe he was just made that way. She’d seen him in action only once when a couple of outsiders, young men looking for bad fun, drove into town and started shooting up the place. Drake had walked into the danger, ignoring their threats to plug him full of bullets, like a man who knew no fear. He’d nearly broken their arms bending them behind their backs to get them to drop their guns. Surprisingly, he let the assholes leave and didn’t throw them into the small jailhouse at the end of town.

Harrin Hardwick was the middle man in more ways than just his birth as the middle child. He spent most of his time at the ranch, handling the cattle and the horses they raised. He was known to be as good with a gun as he was on a horse. Unlike Drake, he was more interested in taking care of his brothers and their ranch than worrying about everyone else. Still, he was likeable and often joked around while sharing a beer at the local bar called the Wolf’s Den. He seemed more relaxed than Drake and showed it in his easy-going walk and the way he kept his thick brown hair long enough to curl around his earlobes.

I’d like to chew on those earlobes.

Raven checked around the table. Thankfully, she hadn’t spoken out loud. She had no business thinking about the Hardwick men, but that didn’t keep her mind from shifting her thoughts over to Dugan Hardwick, the youngest brother at thirty-one, with Drake being thirty-five and Harrin thirty-three. Dugan was the shortest of them, but was still at least a couple of inches over six feet, and just as solidly built. It was obvious that he idolized his older brothers, especially Drake, since he often served as a deputy whenever Drake needed an extra hand.

Still, after what she’d been through, the last thing she needed was to get mixed up with three cowboy Romeos, no matter how damn sexy they were.

“She wants us to coax it out of her. Like she’s pretending she doesn’t think about them night and day.” Betsy Cramer, the self-proclaimed “big, beautiful woman” of their group, arched an eyebrow and flipped her rich chocolate hair over her shoulder. Her green eyes sparkled with mischief. “Spit it out, girl. You know damn well if Drake and his brothers walked in here right this minute, you’d jump to your feet and ask them what they wanted. Hell, if they ordered you to hop on top of the table and spread ’em, you’d shove us out of here so fast we’d think a tornado had barreled through the store.”

Betsy was right, of course. Not that she’d admit it.

“Can we talk about something else? Anything else?” She forced her mind off the brothers which was, in all honesty, a minor miracle. “Does anyone know anything about Pearl Witten?” It was a last-ditch effort to divert the conversation away from the Hardwick men.

“What about Pearl?” asked Heather.

Shit. She’d forgotten that Heather and Pearl were close friends. She and Heather seemed to have a special bond. As yet, the rest of them hadn’t gotten to know Pearl well.

She and the other three women had arrived in Fate around the same time, about two months earlier. They’d found each other in The General Store and then again in the market one day while they were doing their grocery shopping. After a brief moment exchanging information about each other, it was easy to tell they’d become fast friends. Each of them had come from somewhere else and had, through fate or blind luck, wound up in Fate, population six hundred and eighteen. They hadn’t shared the reasons they’d ended up in an out-of-the-way town that wasn’t even noted on a map, but Raven was willing to bet they were running from something as much as they were coming to something.

ADULT EXCERPT

Tossing her keys on top of the kitchen counter, Raven opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. She needed to cool herself down, but chilled water wasn’t the answer. After checking around to make sure all the windows and doors were still locked, she went into the bedroom and stripped off her clothes.

By the time she’d turned on the water, she was naked and knowing what she had to do. A girl had to find relief somehow. She stepped into the shower, adjusting the temperature to suit her.

“Come to Mama, you hunk of hard metal.” Taking hold of the shower head, she pulled it out of its holder and stretched out the tube. She placed one foot on the built-in seat, then positioned the shower head between her legs.

Ahhhhh.

The water beat against her already raging pussy. Flattening her hand against the tiles for stability, she moved the water closer.

Oh, man.

Pounding relentlessly, the spray struck her in just the right spot. A rush of excitement coursed through her with the water surging into her and shooting upward. She moaned, wished she had three hands so she could play with herself without falling down, then carefully spread her legs farther apart.

She pretended the men were there and the memory of Drake’s mouth on her nipple came rushing back. She could still feel Drake’s tongue as it slid over her taut bud and the sting of his bite. Once he’d exposed one of her breasts, she’d ached to have him expose the other.

The way Dugan’s hands had felt against her butt had been amazing. She’d enjoyed the hell out of his slipping his fingers under her panties and had tried to convince him to add his tongue to her ass hole by thrusting her butt toward him.

If only Harrin had joined them. She’d thought he would when she’d looked at him, putting all her desire into drawing him closer. Was he the one who wouldn’t want her?

No.

She shoved the heartbreaking idea away.

Even if everyone at the club had gathered around them and watched, she wouldn’t have stopped. Hell, she hadn’t even heard the group that had come outside until the men had moved away.

She twisted the dial on the shower head, changing from a steady stream to a pulsating one. The burn in her abdomen burst into a higher heat. It was almost painful, but it was a pain she loved.

She brought the stream of pounding water closer still.

Her legs shook as her pussy throbbed. Her juices mixed with the water, sliding along the inside of her legs.

Pulse. Pulse. Pulse.

The feeling of the water beating against her for a second, then leaving only to return with another lashing, echoed as a chant inside her. If she didn’t sit down soon, she’d collapse. She’d been on the edge of a climax since coming home. It wouldn’t take much longer.

Hoping the shower seat would hold her weight, she pushed the bottle of shampoo off and lowered her ass to the platform. Again, she spread her legs, pointing the hard spray back to her pussy.

The water pressure was good, but if she could’ve made it even stronger, she would have. Instead, she put a finger to her clit, adding her own kind of pressure.

Her orgasm exploded, the force of it driving outward like the plume of an atom bomb racing across the innocent land. Her body shook and she tightened her grip on the hose. Her mind swam, going along on the torrent of the climax’s wave. She cried out, closing her eyes as her body went through spasm after spasm, her legs shaking as her release took control. Try as she might, she could no longer hold onto the spray. It dropped to the shower floor, twisting like a freed snake and shooting blasts of water around the shower stall.

By the time her body stopped convulsing, the painted wall above the shower was wet. Grabbing hold of the tubing, she pushed herself off the stool and placed it back in its holder. She studied the water-soaked wall and smiled. Even if the landlord made her pay for any damage, it would be well worth it.

She stepped out of the shower, realizing only then that the towel was on the other side of the room. The chilly air swept over her still-wet body as she passed by the window.

She would’ve sworn the hair on her arms stood on end. Slowly, she turned and stared through the thinly curtained window at the woods beyond.

Oh, shit.

Three large wolves stood at the edge of the line of trees. She didn’t know for certain, but she had the feeling one of them was the wolf from the other night. Relief took her as she realized that she hadn’t seriously hurt him. Had she wounded him at all?

She stayed immobile as their yellow gazes locked on to her. How long had they been there? Were they really watching her, or just the house?

And yet, she knew without a doubt. They were watching her, but why? Why would three amazing, large wolves watch a human?

Their eyes brightened, suddenly making her all too aware of her nakedness. It was as though they weren’t looking at her like the animals they were, but as more. More as though they were each a combination of animal and—

She frowned, surprised at where her thoughts had taken her.

More as though they were each a combination of animal and…man.

Stunned, she spun around, grabbed the towel from the holder and wrapped it around her. By the time she looked outside again, the wolves were gone.

A shiver ran down her spine as she pushed the curtain aside and pressed a hand to the window. Her breaths rose and fell as a flurry of emotions came. Heat sprang alive and renewed inside her, surprising her.

Did I just get turned on by wolves?

Joining Their Pack

STORY EXCERPT

It had been amazing and wonderful having the Wilson men with her, but once the other men had burst through the back door, every bit of passion she had for the Wilson men was gone in a flash. She’d hurried to pull her clothes together, embarrassment flooding her.

What would they think of her now? Would everyone find out what she and the Wilson men had done behind the bar? Rumors about them were already spreading around the small town, but now they’d get even worse. She’d never be able to deny her feelings once her friends and others found out.

With their backs to her, she couldn’t tell what the men were doing, but something about them had changed. Did they appear larger as though their shoulders had broadened? Had Brogan’s hair grown longer? His hair no longer looked like normal hair. She stared at the hair on the back of his neck.

Is that…fur?

Of course it wasn’t. That didn’t make any sense.

A low, grumbling sound flowed out of Sterling. If she’d heard the sound anywhere else, she might’ve thought it was a growl. But that, too, was crazy.

“Sterling?”

He didn’t turn around, and yet she could feel the urgency, not only in his gravelly voice but also in the tensing of his body. “Heather. Leave.”

It wasn’t a request. It was an order.

At any other time, she might have ignored it. Even railed against him ordering her around. But with the other men leering at her, she wanted to get away. What about the other girls? Raven had already gone, but where were Emeline and Betsy? The last time she’d seen them they’d still been inside the bar.

“I can’t. I have to see if Emeline and Betsy are okay.”

Another growl-like sound came. Was it really coming from Sterling? She did a quick glance around, seeing if there was a dog nearby.

“Don’t worry, sweet thang. We’ll check on your friends. They’ll be fine. I promise you.”

She didn’t like Carl. There was a darkness about him, a meanness that reminded her of a dangerous, angry animal. “You better leave my friends alone.”

“They’ll be all right. Others will look after them. Trust us,” interjected Sterling.

Did she trust them? The answer came to her faster than she’d have believed it could.

Yes. I trust them.

She wasn’t sure why she did. After all, she didn’t know them that well firsthand, but that didn’t seem to matter. Everything she’d heard about them had been great. Her intuition told her she could believe them. More, that she should trust them. Since that awful time in her teen years when she’d made the worst mistake of her life, she’d learned to listen to her gut.

Brogan craned his neck around and glared at Sterling. “Get her moving.”

She sucked in a breath. Had his eyes been yellow? Even glowing? Now that he’d turned his back to her again, she couldn’t be sure.

Sterling spun around. She’d never seen him so serious, almost as vicious-looking as Carl. “Heather. Either get going on your own or I’ll make you go.”

Stunned at the harshness of his tone, she started to lash back then marched away, doing her best not to run and to hold her head high. What did it mean? At once, they’d gone from loving, sexy men to hard, cold beasts.

She kept moving, looking over her shoulder every so often to make sure one of the other men hadn’t decided to follow her. Fortunately, she and her friends had arrived in their own cars. She checked the parking lot.

Raven’s car was gone for sure. As for the others’ cars, she couldn’t find them.

Should I go back inside and make sure they’re all right?

Sterling had promised her friends would be safe and she trusted him. From the way Betsy had jumped into the fight, she doubted she was in any trouble. On top of that, she’d noticed Tyler and Derek Mitchell and their friend Evan watching Emeline. She had no doubt they would do whatever they had to for her friend.

“Go.”

The command rang in her mind almost as though she had actually heard Sterling say the word. Checking around her one last time, she picked up her pace and rushed to her car.

She was behind the wheel when her nerves finally got the better of her. Shaking, she gripped the steering wheel. Her teeth chattered.

Yet, strangely, she wasn’t afraid. She was unnerved, her body finally letting go of the rush of adrenaline and sexual excitement that being with the Wilson men had created.

She’d had a crush on them before tonight. Now her feelings were clear. Now her feelings were so much more.

Oh shit. What have I done?

ADULT EXCERPT

She’s not trying to get free.

Encouraged, he intensified the kiss. The taste of her was amazing, reminding him of the sweetness of honeysuckle with an extra edge to the flavor. Would the sweet cream between her legs taste as good? Probably better.

Brogan pulled on his arm. “Share, brother.”

Bullshit.

He shrugged off Garner’s hand from his shoulder. His brothers hadn’t wanted to move too fast, so they could damn well wait.

Brogan’s low growl had her stiffening and easing back from their kiss. Sterling gripped her wrists, putting them together so he could use the other hand to cup her behind the neck. He wasn’t finished kissing her, and nothing Brogan could do would make him end it before he was ready.

“Don’t fuck this up,” warned Garner.

This time Heather struggled and got her hands free. She pushed him back, her eyes wild, her heavy breaths no longer a result of running down the hallway.

Sterling took in her plumped lips and again thought of her other lips. Keeping his eyes on hers, he reached out and jerked the button of her jeans open. Shock registered on her face, but she didn’t say or do anything to stop him from yanking the flaps wide, bringing the zipper down, then pushing her jeans lower.

Neither of his brothers voiced any objections.

Sterling gave her a wicked smile then dropped to his knees. Taking hold of her hips, he brought her forward and pressed his nose against her pink panties. He closed his eyes and drew in a long, slow breath.

I knew it. She smells sweeter than molasses.

Her soft moan floated on the air as he slipped a finger under the thin material. Warmth and wet covered his finger, and his cock jerked in response. His wolf, even wilder than before, howled.

Another moan had him glancing up. Brogan had his hand under her shirt and had captured her breast. He nibbled on her ear then slicked his tongue along the curve of it.

Garner kept his hand above her shirt, but he’d taken command of one of her hands and had placed it over the bulge in his jeans. Sterling’s own cock jerked again, demanding to be let out of the constraints of his jeans.

Instead, he put his nose back to the delectable fragrance. She’d grown so wet now that she made the tip of his nose damp. He moaned, the sound far too reminiscent of his wolf’s growl, then pushed his finger farther into the hot depth. She trembled as he found her hard little clit.

Yeah, that’s it. Tremble for me. Moan for me.

He refused to think that any of her soft moans were a result of his brothers’ work. Not yet anyway. There’d be time enough later to sit back and enjoy watching them pleasure her. Until then, as far as he was concerned, her moans were all because of him.

He slicked his tongue along the crease between her leg and mons and was rewarded yet again with a shudder that rippled along her body. Easing the panties aside, he took a moment to see how pretty her smooth mons was then flattened his tongue against her skin. Her jeans rested at the top of her legs, keeping her from spreading wider, but that was okay. For now anyway.

She pleased him when she thrust her hips toward him, silently asking him to do exactly the thing he wanted to do. “You’re mine,” he whispered and almost howled with joy.

Her hand found his hair and clutched a hunk of it, bringing him a stab of pain. But he didn’t mind. They were taking it easy for now, but she’d soon find out that werewolves liked a little pain with their pleasure.

Brogan pulled her bra down, exposing her breast. He shot Sterling a glittering amber look then bent his head and feasted on her nipple.

Garner leaned his shoulder against the bricks as she rubbed his cock, her hand sliding up and down his moistened length. His brother groaned, his hand enclosed over her breast.

Time to get that taste.

Tugging her panties aside until they were out of the way, he spread her pussy folds apart and pressed his mouth to her sweetness.

If there was anything that tasted better than her pussy juices, he sure as hell didn’t know what it was. She was sweet and tangy, the aroma of her fragrance filling his nostrils as he raked his tongue around her clit then thrust it into her sheath.

Her moans grew louder. The trembles raking her body grew faster. She was in the throes of passion as she gave herself over to them.

He drank from her, tightening his grip on her legs to keep her both upright and close to him. Adding teeth, he nibbled at her clit then tugged on her folds before diving into her pussy again. Her juices covered his mouth. He couldn’t get enough of her and lapped up as much as he could.

Suddenly, a crowd broke out of the building, slamming the door hard against the wall. She jolted and let out a cry.

“Stop.”

He wouldn’t listen to her. She didn’t really mean what she was saying. She couldn’t. If he didn’t get his cock inside her soon, he wasn’t sure he could keep his wolf in check.