Scent of a Wolf's Mate (10 page)

Serena nodded. “Yes, just a small nip and it
healed almost instantly.”

“It doesn’t take much. It won’t be long now
and he’ll encourage your wolf to come out. I’m thinking the only
reason he hasn’t taken you with him on a run is because you must be
in heat.”

Serena laughed. “You mean Max didn’t tell you
that?”

It was Rose’s turn to chuckle. “When a female
goes into heat it’s hard to resist and can cause trouble among the
males, especially if they don’t have a mate. It’s best to stay
away.”

“Remove temptation?” Serena joked.

“Exactly,” Rose agreed. “Now I understand why
Max was so wolfy after coming home from visiting Connor with you
there.” The distant howl of a lone wolf caused them both to look
toward the forest surrounding the house. “Huh, someone must have
arrived late and is looking for the rest of the pack.” Rose turned
back to Serena. “Wait until you go on your first run. There’s
something magical about running through forests and mountains at
high speed.”

Serena couldn’t imagine experiencing those
things as a wolf, but something inside her yearned to be set free.
What would it be like running alongside Connor? She found the
thought stimulating.

“Would you like another glass of wine, or a
cup of coffee?”

“No, nothing, thanks.” She tried to stifle a
yawn, wondering what time it was. “I’m sorry. Wine makes me sleepy,
and it’s so relaxing here.”

“Don’t apologize,” Rose was quick to say. “I
suppose Connor didn’t warn you that you might be sleeping over.
Sometimes they don’t come back until the early morning hours.”
Serena shook her head, and Rose made a clicking sound of mild
annoyance. “Men!”

“I don’t have much experience with men,”
Serena admitted. “I’ve been so focused on my work. I was ecstatic
when offered the position of lead veterinarian at the
sanctuary.”

“Was?”

“I still am. My work is very important to
me.”

“And Connor? I know you haven’t known him for
very long.”

Serena thought about it for a moment. The
image of them making love turned her blood warm. She had nothing to
compare it to, but her sexual experience with Connor was hot,
perfect, and thoroughly satisfying. It wasn’t one-sided, as she’d
heard some of her girlfriends back home complain. They enjoyed each
other’s bodies, and seeing to each other’s pleasure seemed
vital.

In spite of their intense physical need for
each other, Serena had to admit that there was something emotional
going on, too. She felt a connection to Connor that went deeper
than she could explain.

“Serena–”

Rose’s soft tone pulled Serena out of her
musings, reminding her that Rose was waiting for an answer. “I was
just think–”

“Serena.” Something in Rose’s voice and in
the way she suddenly held herself brought a frown to Serena’s face.
Something was wrong. “I want you to move casually to the door, like
nothing is wrong, and go inside.”

Serena glanced around but didn’t see anything
that would cause the concern that she detected in Rose’s tone.
“What–”

Rose cut her off. “If I tell you to run, run
like hell and don’t look back until you’re safely inside.”

That didn’t sound good. Serena was glad the
door was only a few feet away. They both got up at the same time,
but Serena was conscious that Rose’s movements were slower, as if
she were placing herself between Serena and some unseen danger. The
darkness surrounding the house was frightening. As Serena pulled
the screen door open, Rose was suddenly behind her, pushing them
into the house and slamming the door behind them.

“What’s wrong?” Serena watched Rose open a
cleverly disguised panel next to the door, and quickly punch
several keys. She couldn’t identify the slight noise that followed
her actions, only that it was coming from outside the house.

“We were being watched,” Rose explained,
closing the panel door. “I saw the shine of eyes at the end of the
porch, just beyond the darkness. Then I caught his scent.”

“Was it a wolf?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in her reply.
“A wolf I couldn’t identify. But don’t worry, we’re safe now. The
windows have retractable security bars and I just lowered
them.”

Clive? Serena shivered, recalling how savage
he’d been in his determination to get to her. Knowing he’d been
exiled from Savage Hills didn’t comfort her, as she was sure it had
been meant to do. If anything it worried her more. He already
wanted to hurt her, and being banned because of her had probably
only fueled his rage.

“I hope Connor’s cabin has them,” she
commented after a while.

“It’s not often the bars are needed.
Occasionally a werewolf from another area will wander through
Savage Hills on the way home. Unlike fifty years ago, before the
truce, he would have been chased off our territory. I just lowered
the bars because the guys are gone, and it doesn’t hurt to take
precautions.”

Serena couldn’t agree more. She hid another
yawn behind her hand.

Rose smiled, catching it. “Come on, let me
show you to your room. I have a nightgown you can borrow, too. I
swear, what was Connor thinking? I know it’s been a while since he
and Max have gone running from here, but when they do more times
than not he crashes here for a few hours before heading home. He
should have thought to mention that to you.”

Rose sounded like a mother hen as they walked
up the stairs. “I think he was preoccupied,” Serena mumbled without
thinking.

Rose halted halfway up the stairs and turned
to give Serena a knowing smile. “I’m sure you both were. Don’t
forget, I have my own werewolf. I know how sexual in nature they
are.”

The bedroom she led Serena to looked like
something you’d find in a Victorian bed and breakfast. The
furniture was dark Victorian against the backdrop of walls painted
a rich cream color. The bed was high off the ground, its
overstuffed mattress covered with beautiful cream-colored linen
decorated with tiny red roses. Except for a set of French doors,
there were no windows.

It was a beautiful room, decorated tastefully
with a mixture of old and new. Her gaze touched on the heavily
framed oil paintings, wondering who the people in them were. One in
particular bore a striking resemblance to Max, only his clothing
indicated that it had been painted in a different era.

“I keep some things in here,” Rose said,
pulling open a drawer. After rummaging through some items of
clothing, she pulled out a thin linen nightshirt. “I hope you don’t
mind wearing something borrowed.”

“Not at all.” Serena accepted the garment
from her, taking in the soft richness of the fabric. “Thank you for
dinner and the hospitality, Rose.”

“It was my pleasure. You and I are going to
be good friends. There’s a bathroom through that door.” She
indicated the closed door on the other side of the room. “Use
anything you need, and in case I don’t see you before you leave, it
was nice meeting you. I’ll be in touch.”

Serena accepted her light hug. “It’s been
nice meeting you, too, Rose. Thank you for everything.”

She closed the bedroom door behind Rose and
then turned and leaned against it, looking at the bed. Rose was
easy to like, and Serena could agree with her about them becoming
friends. She stripped out of her clothes and slipped the nightshirt
over her head, slid out the comb that was holding her hair up, and
slipped between the turned down covers. Everything felt so cool and
crisp, and had the slightest scent of lavender. Breathing deeply,
she closed her eyes.

What the hell?
As soon as Connor was
close enough to see the house and notice that the window bars were
down he picked up speed, and so did his heart rate. He heard Max’s
curse and realized he was thinking the same thing. Something must
have happened for Rose to lower the bars!

They reached their clothes and changed back
into their human forms without their usual down time. Neither spoke
as they pulled on their clothes and rushed up the steps to the
front door. Connor wasn’t surprised to find it locked, shooting a
desperate look at Max for him to hurry. He was in the process of
reaching above the door for a key. He unlocked the door and nearly
yanked it off the hinges.

“Serena will be in your room,” Max said as
they both took the stairs two at a time.

It was early and still dark out, so the
inside of the house was gloomy. Common sense told Connor that since
the bars were down and the door was locked the women were okay, but
he had to see Serena to calm his fear that something had happened
to her. Max opened the door to his and Rose’s bedroom as Connor
continued past and down the hall to where he usually stayed. His
heart was in his throat and he opened the door in a rush, pausing
in the threshold. A giant wave of relief flooded him at the sight
of Serena, making him realize how much she had come to mean to
him.

She was sleeping like an angel and snoring
softly. He walked over to the bed and leaned over her. Her
addictive scent had already enveloped him, awakening his libido,
and he forced down the urge to join her. Instead, he kissed her
tenderly on the forehead. He hadn’t intended to wake her, but she
sighed softly, stirring slightly against the covers.

“Connor?”

Serena surprised him by reaching for him. Any
other time he would have gladly let her draw him to her, but not
after spending half the night running through the woods with the
pack. He stepped back. “I need a shower, babe, go back to
sleep.”

More asleep than awake, Serena mumbled
something as she burrowed deeper beneath the covers. Smiling,
Connor turned and headed for the connecting bathroom, stripping as
he went. Always rejuvenated after a hard run, he looked forward to
a long, hot shower to massage his tightened muscles and relax his
animal.

He got the water as hot as he could stand it
and stepped beneath the spray, his mind on Serena, her delectable
body, and all that he intended to do to her after he joined her in
bed. He ran his hands over his soapy body, closing his eyes and
replacing them with Serena’s arousing touch. His cock was already
semi-hard with the thought of fucking her.

As Connor began to realize it would be too
easy to jack off, he began to rush, rinsing off. He didn’t want to
masturbate. He wanted to be somewhere inside of Serena when he
came. Something, an instinct or a slight noise, alerted him that he
wasn’t alone. He opened his eyes, seeing Serena’s outline behind
the frosted glass enclosure where he showered.

She’s naked!

He wondered if she’d take that step and open
the door and do what they both wanted. Then right before his eyes,
she opened the shower door and stood there, eating him up with an
intimate, sensual once-over that promised endless limits of
ecstasy. He sucked in his breath when her gaze lingered on his cock
and she licked her lips, reminding him of her earlier blowjob. Her
slow smile told him that she knew what she was doing to him.

Before Connor could think to reach for her,
she stepped into the shower and closed the door behind her.

“I thought you went back to sleep.” His gaze
caressed her lovely, full breasts with their taut, brown nipples,
before sliding down her abdomen to her sex. His nostrils flared as
he sucked in her sweet essence as if it were a lifeline.

“I did, for about a minute.” She smiled, and
the gleam in her eyes, was filled with amusement. “Then I realized
I wasn’t dreaming about you, that you were really here.” She
stopped when she came up to him. “Are you disappointed that I’m
here?”

“Hell, no!” Connor did reach for her then,
dragging her up against him and kissing her roughly. The water beat
down on them, making the situation between them seem more
poignant.

He knew he needed to draw back a little, curb
his passion, but Serena was his mate and everything about her made
him hot, pushing his control to the limit. Connor could tell that
she was having the same reaction to him, too. In the beginning, she
had been confused and a little frightened of what was happening to
her. Now it seemed that she’d grown to accept it, perhaps even
welcome it.

Her little moans got to him. Connor used his
tongue to pry between her lips and enter her warm, sweet mouth.
Tongues clashing and dueling with vigorous exploration caused a
volcanic explosion inside him. His cock was wedged between her
thighs and he pulled back only to thrust forward again, shuddering
with pleasure.

Holy fuck!
Serena wasn’t fooling
around. Her hand reached between them and encircled his shaft,
tugging on its length. His groan of rapture filled the steamy
stall, mingling with her gasps of pleasure as his fingers
penetrated her luscious canal. Shit, she was already wet and hot
for him.

“Connor!” she cried out, moving her hips
against his teasing fingers. As she tugged on his cock, her sweet
mouth was moving over his shoulders and chest administering little
kisses and bites.

Connor ground his mouth down on hers, pulling
his finger out of her pussy and letting his hands roam up her body
to take hold of her breasts. He caressed and squeezed them for a
moment, before lifting Serena so he could take one into his mouth.
He was burning up inside, and when his fangs dropped he knew he was
losing control.
Only she does this to me!

I’ve got to have her now!

He halted and pulled away long enough to turn
off the water, then turned back to her. To appease his wolf, Connor
flipped Serena around and pushed her up against the glass. She
caught her breath and stilled. He wasn’t sure if it was in fear, or
she was waiting for his next move.

“Don’t be afraid,” Connor said against her
ear, pressing his body up against hers. “I could never hurt
you.”