Starr, Ellen - Wolf's Passion [The Joined] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (4 page)

“What will they do to my car?” She sounded worried. She
was
worried. Scared, too, he could smell it on her, along with a faint scent of perfume. Her unfamiliar but enticing scent made it difficult to think clearly. Underneath it all, he detected her arousal. She was in heat. If he fucked her without any protection, there would be a baby. For some reason that thought excited him.

“It will be all right, really. I’ll come back later for your car. Like I said, it wouldn’t be safe to try getting it now,” Rafe repeated, trying to reassure the woman. She relaxed her hands. She had been clenching them for the last several miles.

“Is there somewhere I could wait?”

“You’ll be safe at our place.” Wolf reached out, taking her hands in his. “Why are you traveling out here all alone? Won’t your husband be worried?”

“I have a fiancé. He’s French,” she whispered. Wolf looked into her eyes, noticing they were hazel. He leaned forward, touching his tongue to her lips, licking them, parting them and pressing his mouth to hers. The flavor of fear in her kiss sent a thrill through him. He wanted to give in to the lust, to take her right now, bury himself in her, fuck her until she...

“Do you smell smoke?” Rafe’s worried voice, a little louder than it needed to be, cut through the fog of desire in Wolf’s head.

He tested the air, wrinkling his nose at the faint acrid smell of burning rubber. “Fuck, just what we need,” Wolf swore. Cora’s hands slipped from his. She looked around still dazed from his kiss. Rafe shot him a glare. He’d hear about his indiscretion later. Maybe Rafe would make good on his threat of switching him. Wolf shivered.

“The truck is overheating. We’ll be lucky to make it to the house.” Wolf returned his friend’s glare. “Are we going to have to walk it?”

“I’ll park at the top of the canyon. It will be safe to walk to the house.” Rafe looked away, turning off the highway onto the unmarked dirt road that led to their small ranch.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go to a police station or something?” Cora’s voice shook. Wolf didn’t blame her for being scared. Women couldn’t be too careful. Especially with creatures like those they saved her from running loose.

“The nearest police station is fifty miles back,” Rafe informed Cora.

Wolf took her hand again. “We won’t hurt you. We’re no friends of those things.”

* * * *

Cora knew she should be concerned about something. She couldn’t seem to remember what. Looking into Wolf’s eyes drove everything from her thoughts. His touch sent a jolt through her like holding a live electrical wire. Somehow, she got the idea it would complete the circuit if she touched Rafe. She gave herself a mental shake. If they tried anything, they would get a nasty surprise.
If
she could make her body use the self-defense Jean-Paul taught her. At the moment, it was far more likely
she
would jump one of
them
.
Or both of them
. That thought sent an electric tingle through her. Her mouth went dry.

Out in the middle of the Texas desert with two total strangers, she should be terrified. Instead, strong desire replaced her fear. The things that chased her ceased to puzzle her the longer she looked into Wolf’s dark eyes. Wolf’s voice relaxed her. She found herself falling into the dark pool of his eyes and imagining children with those same eyes.
Where the hell did that come from?
He touched his lips to hers again, slipped his tongue inside her mouth. She let herself melt into his embrace. Suddenly a memory flashed across her mind, a picture that was not hers.
Werewolves
, the creatures chasing her were
Werewolves.
The men who rescued her. They were Werewolves as well. She drew back, shocked out of her trance.

“Who...
What
are you?” She looked from one to the other, her desire fading as her stomach knotted up with fear. For all her experience with the strange and all she read about the paranormal Cora had never really thought Werewolves could be real other than in an abstract way. After all
she'd
certainly never seen one and she didn't know anyone who had.

“We won’t hurt you. Like I said, the ones chasing you are no friends of ours.” Rafe reached over, giving her knee another distracting pat.

“But…” Her breath caught at the way his touch made her stomach clench.
What is going on here? Why am I reacting like this to these two whatever-they-are
?
I feel like a bitch in heat
.

“Cora, we are not the same as them. Listen to your heart, it knows.” Wolf’s voice sounded almost hypnotic. “I need you.
We
need you. I know you must feel it, too.” Cora looked at Rafe, saying nothing. Rafe pulled to a stop. He turned the truck off. It wheezed and coughed. Wolf reached behind himself to open his door. He still held her hand, stepping out, pulling her from the truck with gentle insistence.

Cora hesitated, gazing around at the open desert. “I don’t see a house.”

“It’s down in the canyon.” Wolf led Cora over to a small stand of cactus that hid the start of a trail. The bottom of the canyon was inky black. In the darkness, she could see a light down in the canyon. The sound of boot heels on the dirt made her look around.

“Where is he going?” An odd sensation of loss came over her as she watched Rafe walk back the way they had come.

“Come on, Rafe will be back when he’s finished making sure we weren’t followed.” Wolf slipped his arm around her waist, urging her down the trail toward the house.

She looked back at Wolf. Light from the full moon glinted in Wolf’s eyes, making them flash chatoyant gold. Maybe being alone with him wouldn’t be so bad. The idea of letting this unusual creature make love to her did have its merits.
What the hell are you thinking?
He’s not human!
“We live down here because it’s cooler,” he drawled in a conversational tone. “We have a spring, a small garden, and a few cows. We run some sheep. Dale and the hands—”

“Dale? Hands? There are more of you?” Cora stopped to stare at Wolf. He stopped, raising a hand to caress her cheek. “No. The hired hands are part-time. They don’t live here, just us and Dale. None of us will hurt you. In fact, we will protect you with our lives. You’re important.” His lips brushed against hers. “Very important.” He covered her mouth with his.

Cora’s knees went weak, her stomach clenching almost painfully. She leaned against Wolf, holding onto his shoulders for support, his heat drawing her like a moth to a flame. He slid his hands down over her ass, pulling her against him. His erection pressed into her stomach. Cora moaned, raising one leg over his hip, trying to get more contact. She could not remember anyone arousing her so strongly. She wanted him right there on the dusty trail, in the dirt, needed him inside her.

Something howled close by in the darkness. Cora jumped, pushing away from Wolf, the trance broken. “What was that?”

Wolf sighed. “Shit.” He looked angry. “
That
is someone who is going to get his ass kicked. Dale is still young, barely twenty-two. He doesn’t always think things through.”

“I thought you said we would be safe here.” She backed away from him.

“We are safe. Come on, it’s not far to the house. Dale likes to sneak up on Rafe and me, trying to startle us. Nothing to worry about. A harmless prank.” He held out his arm. Reluctantly, she allowed him to pull her close, his hand resting on her hip.

They walked a few yards when a soft whistle followed by a yelp broke the quiet. Wolf turned to look behind him. “Rafe is back. He’ll probably beat us home.” He smiled. Cora heard a note of affection in his voice. Irrational to feel this way for someone she had just met, but she wanted him to speak of her that way, too.

Cora thought about her situation as they walked toward the house. She knew she should probably run for her life again, but the pull to go with these men, these
Werewolves
, was too strong to deny. Jean-Paul would tell her to follow her instincts. Everything in her life was about to change. She felt it in her bones. She wasn’t sure she was happy about it. Cora hated feeling conflicted.

Chapter Six:

Worries

Wolf held the door open for Cora when they arrived, following her as she walked into the small two-story frame house. The sight of Rafe sitting at the table with a cup of coffee greeted them when they stepped into the kitchen. Wolf gave his lover a half smile.

He motioned Cora to sit. “It’s not much, but what we have is yours.”

She glanced around the clean but shabby room. Wolf was suddenly anxious. He saw the room the way he thought she must be seeing it. The faded flowered wallpaper needed replacing, and their kitchen table was older that Rafe. All their money went back into the ranch except for what they spent fixing up the room that would be hers. If she accepted them.

“You want something to drink?” He wanted to kick himself. He sounded like an idiot.

“A glass of water.” Wolf got a glass out while she sat down across from Rafe. A jelly jar. He closed his eyes for a moment. Pain squeezed his heart. He suddenly realized they had nothing to offer her, nothing to make her want to stay but themselves.

“Where is Dale?” he asked as he set the glass of water in front of Cora.

“I sent him out to check the sheep. Boxed his ears for him, too.” Rafe smiled at Cora. “He won’t try to scare you again.”

“Thank you.” Cora sounded shaky. “Where is your bathroom?”

“Right down the hall.” With something close to relief, Wolf pointed the way. He watched her as she headed for the bathroom. He needed to think, but her presence setting his blood on fire made it difficult to think of anything other than fucking her. Hard. When they heard the door shut and the click of the lock, he looked at Rafe, eyebrows raised in question.

“What do I do? We have nothing to offer her. You realize she’s probably the one the real estate agent sent to buy the place.”

“I had figured that out. And we do have something to offer her.”

“What?”

“Ourselves. Our love. Our protection. This place, a home. If she really is the right one, it will be enough. With her we could make this work.” Rafe sipped his coffee.

“Maybe you’d better be the one to talk to her. I can’t think past getting my dick inside her. I’m afraid I’ll fuck it up.” Wolf ran his fingers through his hair. The gesture betrayed how nervous he was.

“If that’s what you want.” Rafe set the cup down. He reached across the table, taking Wolf’s hand.

Wolf shivered violently. “No… No, I need to do this on my own, don’t I?”

Rafe nodded. “Yeah, you do.”

Wolf hugged himself, trying to control the shaking. “I can’t believe how strong this is.”

“Yes, I feel it, too. No doubt, Dale will as well once he relaxes and gets used to the idea of a stranger being here. The real question is whether she will accept it or not. I suspect she will need to be convinced. That’s up to you, fearless leader.” Rafe grinned.

“All I can do is try. I have never wanted anyone outside you and Dale this much. Just her scent makes me hard.” Wolf tightened his grip on Rafe’s hand. “I hope I don’t screw this up.”

“You won’t. The fact you’re concerned about it tells me you won’t. I’m going to go out and keep an eye on things. I don’t like the way those thugs went after Cora. Dolores is obviously not in control of her Pack.” Rafe stood. He pulled Wolf up into a hug. Wolf held onto Rafe a little longer than necessary.

“I’ve never fucked a woman, never wanted to until Cora. I’m not sure I’ll get it right,” Wolf whispered. He knew Rafe would understand. He always did.

“Trust the instinct, let Cora guide you.” Rafe rubbed his back for a few seconds before he let go. Then without another word, he headed for the door. Wolf watched him go. As the door shut, Wolf sat down at the table to wait for Cora.

When she didn’t reappear after several minutes, Wolf began to get a bit concerned.
She’s taking way too long in there
. He headed down the hall, remembering how she described her escape earlier that evening. He put his ear to the door, listening. He couldn’t hear anything.