Chapter Two
Just tonight
Moonlight, Florida, Friday 8:20 p.m.
Ty’s haunting howl filled the quiet night, and the others picked up the cry. His spicy scent on the dirt path up ahead would be easy to follow. The former Army Ranger usually ran alone, unless he was guarding her. Tonight, he wasn’t on duty, but Grace couldn’t resist responding to the pain in his poignant howl. She’d slip away from Slater and the others. They’d never catch up to her; Laurel would see to that.
The pungent wolf scent on the path disappeared, and Grace paused. For a moment, she thought she lost Ty’s trail. Then, deep in the grove, under draping Spanish moss, she saw the man standing naked by a small fresh-water stream. As a wolf, his size reminded her of her brothers. As a man, Ty was equally impressive. Broad shouldered, muscular, and ruggedly handsome, he waded into the water, cupped his hand, and drank.
As he turned toward Grace, a lump formed in her throat. He was fully aroused. The wolf in her wanted him to take her and claim her under the moonlight, but her rational side was afraid of the consequences. She wasn’t ready to give up her independence—but she sensed Slater Hall had devious plans for the local wolf pack, and she was on his radar. If anyone could stop him, she could, but she’d need Ty’s protection.
There was one way to insure it.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come.” His deep voice, raspy with desire, made her heart beat erratically.
Not certain what she should do, Grace hesitated before shifting. Once she gave up her advantage, she needed to be sure of what she wanted—and that this was right for them both. If this was going to be a lifetime commitment, she had to be sure he wanted it, too. Was she ready for additional ties? And how would Ty handle it? He was still in therapy after multiple stints in Afghanistan. She didn’t want to jeopardize his progress. But perhaps this was what they both needed.
“Just tonight, Grace.” He held out his hand, palm up. “If we want more, we can worry about what that means, later.”
How did the man know what she was thinking? It had to be their connection, but it still rattled her. He had no self-esteem issues. She trusted him to recognize her as an equal. Did she or didn’t she want this?
She shook and carefully stepped toward the stream. Imaging what Slater had in mind for her, she decided time could run out, and Ty was everything she wanted. She hoped the former Ranger was okay with tonight going beyond a one-night stand.
The female wolf appeared like a ghost in moonlight among the stand of trees beside the fresh-water creek. The approaching full moon gave off plenty of light to enhance his sharp wolf sight, and as long as Laurel guarded the trail, he and Grace would be safe from prying eyes.
Ty waited. But he held his breath while Grace fought with the decision to shift and surrender to the inexplicable attraction she’d been denying since they met.
At first, he’d been stunned to discover a shifter in his science lab at New College, and then, after he realized which student it was, he was staggered by Grace’s beauty…and the instant reaction his body had to her. Later that night, he arrived back in Moonlight, but before he had the chance to tell Derek, the pack alpha, about her, Ty discovered he’d been assigned to guard her. Surprised, and even more pleased, he took the job seriously.
One revelation after another made him rethink everything he’d ever believed in. She was a dire wolf—descended from the ancient prehistoric wolves rumored to be as extinct as the saber-toothed tiger. Before she arrived in Sarasota, her parents hired The Defenders, Derek Sawyer’s security agency, to look after her. Moonlight’s alpha put Ty in charge of protecting her. Derek claimed there were still other dire wolves—Grace’s pack in Scotland and another—but the packs were dwindling. Her family and the others had to keep their existence a secret for their own protection.
He wanted a permanent relationship with Grace, but he could be patient—give her the space she needed and time to see they were right for each other. He kept his hand outstretched. “I can shift back.” Was he what she wanted? The female wolf smelled aroused, but would the woman want him, too? Either way was okay by him. “And we can run if you’re not interested—”
She knocked him over and pounced on him, straddling him playfully and growling in an unthreatening way. He chuckled while she made up her mind. For this, he could be patient. For Grace, he could wait. She would be worth it…she would be worth anything.
The female wolf shifted seamlessly, and Grace, the voluptuous, naked woman, with hair the color of wavy moonlight, dropped provocatively into Ty’s arms. As the woman and the wolf, to him, she was beautiful beyond belief. Her perfect pink-tipped breasts rose and fell rapidly…. Was it with desire for him? Or did she still battle her feelings and her attraction to him? A furrow between her brows formed when she stared into his eyes.
He ran a hand back and forth over the short stubble on his head, uncomfortable with her questioning look. “Grace, if you want, consider it only for tonight. Nothing permanent. Okay?”
Perspiration broke out on her upper lip. She wiped it away but not her concern. Her azure-blue eyes remained strikingly brilliant even after her shift, a trait common among dires.
“Y-you won’t try to claim me or mark me—”
“Or anything,” he assured her. “Not until you’re ready, and if that day doesn’t come…I’ll be disappointed, but I promise it’s your call. Just great sex.” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully at her, hoping to put her at ease. And it wasn’t easy. She was skittish.
Damn, he was hard and needy with the head of his dick tucked between her creamy-white thighs. Every time he took a breath, the sensitive tip nuzzled her hot, wet entrance. He should move before he lost control and didn’t keep his “great sex” promise.
Then to his surprise, Grace rose above him and took control before he repositioned himself.
He grasped her thin, athletic upper arms to steady her but focused on the soft angles of her face as she slowly impaled herself on his rock-hard shaft. Her tight grip strangled his self-control, and then she stopped. He stared at the place where their bodies joined, where her pale curls finally met his dark ones.
He squeezed his eyes shut, held his breath, and didn’t dare move.
“Ty, are you okay?”
“Okay? I’m fucking great. Don’t move. I need to get myself together.”
He ground his teeth and took a few deep breaths while his dick begged to thrust. He stared at her lips, imagining them sucking him. Do not imagine that.
“Give me a second.” He was going to kiss her full rosebud mouth and do so much more…once he could safely move.
Later, he would imagine all the things they’d get around to doing. For now, the wildness called. He withdrew from her hot, wet channel, flipped her over to her knees in the soft grass, and slowly, agonizing with each passing moment, he entered her from behind. Pushing aside her long blonde hair so it draped over one shoulder, he exposed her slender neck and fought back the wolf within him. Her heart raced like a trapped bird’s, beating within the palm of his hand holding her full breast.
“I promise, Grace. No mark.” The wolf struggled to be freed.
But she relaxed beneath his hold and moved her sweet round ass against him as he thrust, and made the battle for control worth it. Damn, she felt good in his arms, in fact perfect, and, for the first time since Afghanistan, he experienced a sense of harmony buried inside her…deep, deeper, pumping harder and faster. Her heavy breast filled his one hand, and she gasped when he lightly squeezed her pointed nipple.
Good. She liked it a little rough. Her eager acceptance electrified him. The lovely wolf instincts inside her had finally surfaced. He could accommodate those needs.
He clutched her hip with his other hand so he could keep her steady and off the ground as he assumed control. But then she slipped one of her hands between her legs and stroked his balls, and lightning need ripped through him. Fuck…this deal was all but over. He’d make it up to her later.
“Sorry, sweetheart. I can’t hold back.” Ty dragged his hand from her breast to her clit and increased the pressure until she screamed. Hot liquid drenched his hand and his dick then spasms signaling her release began, and he joined her, rolling her to the side and collapsing beside her.
“I promise I’ll do better next time,” he gasped in her ear, and sucked at her earlobe to keep away from the tempting spot at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. The pressure he’d been holding back for months finally became a satisfied fullness in his heart. The attachment between them grew deeper, and he hoped they’d come to terms with her refusal to commit. Until now, he hadn’t been certain his bloodline contained enough dire wolf blood to sustain a true mating.
He scooped her up and carried her to the stream.
Being in his arms like this, with her head against his darkly, furred chest, listening to his thundering heart, went beyond intimate. Everything changed as soon as he’d flipped her over and thrust inside her. As he carefully lowered her into the water and washed her off, she realized the intimacy grew with each of the man’s thoughtful caresses.
“It’s okay, Ty. I can clean up.”
“I know.” He almost smiled as his eyes surveyed her body. “But I want to do it. To touch you.”
He leaned in and, for the first time, kissed her gently. She melted into the soulful kiss, returning his sweet passion, and then things changed. He practically devoured her. Their tongues dueled and danced. His hands explored, touching every opening, tweaking her nipples, and stimulating every sensitive spot on her body.
“Again,” she whispered, “take me again, please. Now.”
He growled deep and low in her ear. “Not so fast this time, babe. We’re going to do this my way, and you’re going to love every minute of it.”
Why did his threat feel so right? She’d always resented men who tried to take control. What was it about Ty and his promise that had her squealing inside like a little girl unwrapping gifts at yuletide, and yet worried still that she wouldn’t be prepared for it.
“I’ve not much experience—”
“I’ve had plenty,” he responded, and went about proving it—touch after mind-blowing touch.
She imagined this wounded hero with other women, and her blood boiled, but before she could react, his mouth latched onto her breast, and his fingers tangled in her nether curls. As his woodsy scent washed over her, all she could manage was to tighten her grip on his massive shoulders and hold on. Breathing, letting go of her fear, Grace allowed herself to drown in the sensations of pleasure, while he suckled and played her clit like a fiddle. The promise of an orgasm approached, and she lost all sense of composure.
Grace began begging, “Now, Ty, now. Take me now.”
He ignored her plea and carried her to the blanket he must have brought by earlier. Once he’d positioned her to his satisfaction, her legs were too weak to move. His heavy-lidded eyes narrowed, and perspiration rolled in rivulets down his chest.
Grace studied the way his thick chest pumped violently with each breath he took as he stared at her intimate parts spread open to his view. Instead of being self-conscious, she heated with desire. His erection grew, but he didn’t penetrate her. He spread her legs still wider apart. Lifting her knees, he nuzzled her mound, and, as if memorizing every nook and cranny, he slowly kissed his way to her nub before he explored inside her folds and thoroughly tongue fucked her.
By the time he lifted his head, she was soaking wet, thrashing about, and more than ready for him. He stared, appearing stunned. “Delicious. You’re more than I ever imagined.”
She squirmed beneath him and nipped him, silently demanding more.
He gripped her wrists in one hand and raised them above her head then grinned mercilessly at her. With his thumb pressing on the one place sure to set her on fire, he kissed his way to her entrance. She arched as he nibbled the swollen nub into his mouth again and sucked until she gasped, begging for more.
He stopped right before she came.
“Finish me.” Grace’s thunderous growl exploded, directed at him. Would her wolf attack him if he didn’t fill her…?
Before she objected again, he placed a finger at her rear entrance and touched the tight bud. She stilled, stopped breathing, didn’t say a word, and waited.
His voice, raspy and low, whispered, “When you’re mine—completely, truly mine—I’m going to pleasure every single inch of you. Here…I’m going to fuck you here”—he smiled—“and something tells me you’re going to love it.”
Oh, she wanted to try everything he suggested, but was she willing to give up so much of herself to belong to anyone? There was the Moonlight pack to think of and the future of the dire wolves.
At the moment, none of that mattered. Her wolf controlled her senses, and damn it, Grace wanted this.
“Aye, ye could be right about my wicked inclinations.” What she needed was Ty’s thick dick filling her and more of the pleasure he’d promised. “Fer now, do you think ye could take that club between yer legs and pleasure me?”
He threw his head back and released a deep guttural laugh as he climbed up her body. “That, I can, sweet lassie-wolf. That, I can,” he said, doing a poor imitation of her Scottish brogue.
She gave into the moment…and planned to take everything he offered. Yes, she even ached for his bite. She craved this man as none before. And as he filled her, driving like a force of nature, her instincts took over and the earth shifted beneath them.
She struggled to restrain her desire, but this wolf belonged to her…and she belonged to him.
She hoped what she was about to do wasn’t a mistake.
The minute she sank her teeth into his neck, everything settled into place. He paused for a second before looking at her for consent to complete the ritual. His lids lowered erotically before his pale hazel eyes turned silver. He was so breathtakingly perfect in all his rugged beauty. Just the right amount of dark, masculine, body hair to interest her, and a broad, square jaw that screamed stubborn. His canines extended behind his wolf grin right as he ordered her with one word to shift.
He clamped down on her breast, and she gasped. To her immense surprise, pleasure filled every cell in her body when he marked her, and then they both began their shift.
After mating in both forms, they would be bound for life—as wolf and human. His life hinged on her instincts being correct about his dire blood, or their joining could be his death warrant. What had she done?