Chapter Six
Gabrielle was nervous as she descended the stairs for breakfast. She had passed out last night after the mind-blowing pleasure Jaeger had given her, but now in the light of day, she wasn’t sure how to handle it. Would he ignore her? Would he mock her? Or worse, would he pretend last night never happened?
Dendy had insisted their relationship remain a secret. For years she had dealt with that and she could do it again, remain quiet about what had happened in her room. But when she approached the kitchen, Jaeger came out from his office and smiled at her. His smile relieved a lot of lingering tension and she relaxed. She smiled back and Jaeger put his arms around her in a hug.
“Good morning,” he murmured.
“Morning,” she replied.
“I’ve already pulled the snowmobiles out from the shed, so right after breakfast we can head out.”
“Okay.”
“You have warm clothing?”
She nodded. “I never really unpacked from my trip to Bhutan. I have my Himalayan gear in my suitcase.”
He smiled, took her hand, and led her into the kitchen where Agathe was dishing up plates of eggs, biscuits, and bacon for everyone. A carafe of coffee was on the table where Kenny and Mark were already shoveling food into their mouths.
“Right after breakfast, we’re heading out on snowmobiles to the area where the picture was taken,” she told them.
Kenny took a gulp of black coffee in an effort to talk. “We are?”
He jumped up and began to shovel more food from his plate into his mouth, until his cheeks puffed out.
“Not you, Kenny,” Gabrielle said quickly. “Slow down.”
His mouth dropped open in shock, and the look on his face was as if she had just kicked his puppy. Some of the food fell out of his overstuffed mouth back onto the plate.
“I only own two snowmobiles,” Jaeger said, sounding regretful. “The company I usually rent from has shut down for the season.”
“You and Mark can explore after us,” Gabrielle replied quickly. She reached over and closed Kenny’s mouth.
He sat down, looking a little dejected.
After breakfast, she went upstairs and changed into her snow clothes. Jaeger waited for her out back, and she climbed onto the one next to him. A moment later, Jaeger took off, heading south toward the wilderness, and she throttled after him.
The trip was refreshing. The cold air cleared her head, brought a sense of rawness to the moment. She felt exhilarated, alive. A sense of wonder, and hope. The exact opposite of what she had felt in Bhutan. Perhaps it was time to move on from searching for the Yeti, to get out of the search all together. She was tired of remembering Dendy in everything she did. Perhaps she should go back to school and finish her original life plans.
They entered the forest and it wasn’t long until Jaeger pulled over and signaled to a grove of aspen trees. Their yellow leaves were already frozen, and some had begun to fall to the ground, but it was no mistake they were the trees that had been in the photo.
She turned off the snowmobile and dismounted to walk to the trees. From her pocket, she took out the photos, and holding them up, she compared each one until she found the right angle from where the picture had been taken. Walking forward, she looked back to confirm she was in the right spot. Jaeger watched her, arms folded as he waited on his own machine.
Just as she thought, any prints that might have been left had already been swept away from the wind. Walking in the direction the creature must have taken, she examined all around, looking for any type of evidence. Something white was stuck to the bark of a tree and she hurried forward. At first, she thought it was just a bit of snow, but as she got closer, it swayed a little in the breeze. Excitement gripped her. Once closer, she realized it was fur. Thick, white fur.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. Taking off her backpack she pulled off her gloves to grab a plastic evidence bag and tweezers. Carefully extracting the small patch of fur from the bark, Gabrielle put it in the bag.
“It’s probably just bear fur,” Jaeger said from behind her.
She jumped a little. “Ah! You scared me. Uh, no, I don’t think so. A polar bear has hair. This looks to be fur, and it’s too high up on the bark to be an animal on four legs.”
“Like a wolf, you mean?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Yeah. Perhaps it’s my werewolf.”
“Perhaps.”
There was something very closed off about him as he stared at the fur in the bag. Shaking off the odd feeling, she placed the bag of evidence into her backpack. They headed back toward the hotel, and this time she was leading the way. As soon as they arrived, Kenny and Mark came bounding down the porch steps.
“Our turn!” Kenny cried. He was bundled up head to toe and waddled slightly. She decided to hold off telling them about the fur until after their exploration.
She went up to her room and took off her snow clothes, laying them on the luggage rack that every hotel room in the world seemed to have. Sitting on the bed, she dug the package of fur out of the backpack and held it up to the light. Something told her it wasn’t ordinary wolf fur. The same thrill that had gripped her when she’d seen the so-called Yeti pelt now zinged through her blood. Placing the plastic bag back into her backpack, Gabrielle walked into the bathroom to take a shower.
As she dried off, she heard a noise and opened the bathroom door. Jaeger stood in the doorway with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Although it was the middle of the day, the sunlight had started to fall, casting the room in shadow. Gabrielle’s heart pounded with anticipation, and she knew now was the time to either give in to the desire between them or deny it, and she really didn’t want to say no.
“Close the door,” she whispered.
He stepped into the room and used his heel to shut the door. She dropped the towel and stood naked before him. Jaeger put the bottle of wine and glasses on the dresser and made a beeline toward her.
Their lips met and she immediately felt the change between them. There wasn’t any hesitation, no coy reserve left at all. He wanted her and she wanted him, so Gabrielle opened for him. He nibbled and devoured until they were both breathless.
He swept her up in his arms, his muscles bulging as he held her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bed. He didn’t stop until they were at the bed and he tumbled her onto the mattress, coming down on top of her. Gabrielle needed to feel his skin against hers, needed to feel her own softness pressed against his softness. She tugged his shirt up and over his head, tossing it aside. He kicked off his pants. The man was beautiful. Hard muscles, an ass that made her want to take a bite out of it. His cock was big and thick, and it jutted out proudly. He leaned over and trailed his lips down her neck, his fingertips traveling upward until they reached her breasts. She hissed and arched her back, thrusting more into his hands as his thumb flicked over her nipples.
“Jaeger, please!”
His mouth engulfed her right breast while he played with the other, rolling the taut nipple around. Gabrielle threw her head back as he sucked and teased her. And then he moved down her body and pried her legs apart, his fingers sliding up her thighs to find her dripping pussy. One finger pushed through her slit, into her core, and her hips undulated. He used her natural lubricant to tease her, pumping in and out between her plump pussy lips and making sure to bump against her clit. He leaned forward to lap up her juices, first off her thighs and then following the trail up. While his finger continued to tease, he sucked her sensitive clit into his mouth. She cried out and her fingers curled into his hair as she began to thrust against his face, in time with his fingers that fucked her. She felt herself begin to splinter apart and then she screamed his name as her orgasm swept over her. He lapped it up, licking her until she gave a little shudder and went limp.
“Oh, my God,” she said a bit breathlessly. Jaeger kissed his way back up her body until he found her mouth again.
“Ditto,” he murmured. “You’re so beautiful.”
He reached for his jeans and pulled out a condom. Turning over onto his back, he donned the rubber. Then he took hold of one of her thighs and pulled it over until she straddled him.
“You’re mine,” he said in a deep, guttural voice. Taking hold of his dick, she raised up and sat down on him.
“Yes. Yes!” she cried as he filled her up. He rolled them until she was on her back and he was nestled between her legs. And as he pressed forward, she suddenly knew her entire world had changed.
****
As soon as he entered her wet depths, something meaningful singed through his blood. His wolf howled inside him and his incisors elongated. He wanted to bite her, mark her, make her his forever. His one true mate. As their bodies merged, he felt their souls joining, becoming one.
“Fuck!” He groaned when he bottomed out all the way inside her. His balls rested snugly against her. “I don’t think I can last long, Gabrielle. Your pussy is so tight.”
“I need you so badly, Jaeger. Please!”
Her plea drove him wild, and he pounded into her harder, deeper. Her tight little pussy was sucking him in, turning his brain to mush. He was fast losing control and he so wanted this moment to never end. She felt so damn good wrapped around him, skin to skin.
“Christ, Gabrielle,” he ground out. “Are you close, sweetheart?”
“Yes!” she cried. “Yes! Jaeger!”
He reached down between their bodies and touched her clit, and that was all she needed to fly apart. He felt her pussy spasm around his cock and her incoherent cries of pleasure pushed him over the top and he came with a loud shout.
His wolf wanted to bite, to sink his fangs into her skin and taste her blood. Cement them together and complete the bond. But he didn’t allow it. He couldn’t because she wasn’t ready to know the full truth of who and what he was.
****
Something woke her up. The tiniest bit of noise roused her from the relaxing slumber she’d fallen into after the mind-blowing sex. The room was dark except for the moonlight streaming in the window. She reached over and clicked on the lamp resting on the nightstand. Jaeger, wearing his jeans, was bent over her items resting on the luggage stand.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
He turned, with her bag in one hand and the bag of fur in the other. Ignoring her nakedness, she jumped out of bed and marched over to him. She snatched the items away from him and glared at him.
“Were you trying to steal them?” she asked. Fury had her shaking. “Steal from me? Why do all the men in my life want to hurt me? Get out!”
“Gabrielle—”
“No! Get out!”
They stared at one another, and a myriad of emotions crossed over his face. She didn’t care. In an instant he had hurt her, more than she thought possible for someone she’d just met, and far deeper than someone who was just supposed to be a fling. He bent and picked up his shirt, and then turned and left her room. The door closed softly behind him.