Winter Craving (4 page)

Shyla buried her
hands into his thick, longish hair to hold him to her. He drew hard on the
peak, which had more of her juices leaking from her pussy. He skimmed his hand
along her ribs and down her belly to the mound of her sex. Cyrus didn’t stop
there. He continued his downward journey until he once more reached the slick
opening to her body.

A finger pushed
inside her, plunging in and out. She lifted her hips to meet the thrusts. A
second joined it, working her. Shyla whimpered, her need to have Cyrus growing.
No, there definitely would be no turning back now. She wanted him too much. His
scent filled her head, making her almost drunk on it.

Cyrus shifted
lower, nipping his way down the same path his hand had taken. Shyla let go of
his head and fisted the sheet under her. She spread her legs farther apart as
he settled between them, his wide shoulders making sure they stayed that way.

The first pass
of his tongue along her pussy had her sucking in a sharp breath. The second had
her moaning. He hungrily lapped at her, sending pleasurable sensations all
through her. It wouldn’t take much to have her falling into release.

He swirled his
tongue around her clit before he shoved two fingers inside her pussy. The
swirling turned to sucking as he moved the digits in and out. She clamped her
inner muscles along them, which increased the pleasure she experienced.

Shyla panted.
“I’m going to come.”

“I want you to,”
Cyrus said in a rough voice. “I want to taste you as you do.”

He thrust his
fingers faster and harder. Along with that and his words, it was enough to have
her crying out as she climaxed. He pulled the digits out of her pussy and
replaced them with his tongue. He lapped at her, growling against her sensitive
skin.

As she settled,
Cyrus rose over her. Shyla reached between them and undid the drawstring on his
sweat pants. She pushed the material down past his hips. He helped her and
dragged them the rest of the way off, then chucked them onto the floor.

She took hold of
his hard cock and stroked up and down its full length. It jerked, and a bead of
pre-cum welled out of the tip. She rubbed the moisture into the flared head.
Cyrus was thick and long. Shyla couldn’t wait to have him inside her,
stretching and filling her. He thrust into her hand, a low growl rumbling out
of him.

Shyla stroked
Cyrus’ cock a few more times before he gently pulled her hand off him. “That
feels too good,” he said in a strained voice. “I can’t wait anymore.”

He settled more
firmly between her legs. The head of his shaft came to rest against her wet
pussy. She reached up and placed her hands on his biceps as he lifted his upper
body, supporting his weight on his straightened arms. He thrust his hips,
sliding a little more of his length inside her. He kept up the slow pace until
he was buried to the hilt, then held still.

Cyrus pulled
back until his cock was almost all the way out before he slid back inside.
Shyla lifted her bent legs to either side of his body. She rocked her hips,
matching him stroke for stroke as he pistoned into her. He filled her to
capacity, the head of his shaft butting up against her cervix as he sank home.
The pleasurable sensations he created deep within her built once more as
another orgasm gathered steam.

He surged into
her, alternating between slow, long thrusts to hard, fast ones. They both were
breathing heavy, the sound filling the room. She squeezed her inner muscles
around his shaft, wringing a sound between a moan and an animalistic growl from
him. If she’d been able to purr, she’d be doing so.

Cyrus pumped his
cock in and out of Shyla, angling his shaft so it hit all the right places deep
inside her pussy. Her release snuck up on her and washed over her like a tidal
wave. It tore through her, and she could only go along for the ride. She let
out a long, whimpered moan as the most intense climax she’d ever experienced
held her in its grip. It seemed to go on and on. Once it ended, it left her feeling
boneless.

He lowered
himself to his bent arms so his chest was against hers. Cyrus picked up the
pace, taking Shyla hard and fast. He buried his face into the crook of her
neck. She felt the drag of what felt like sharp teeth across her skin where her
shoulder and neck met before he licked her. His cock hardened even more, and
growls rumbled out of him.

Much to Shyla’s
surprise, another orgasm built inside her at a fast rate. Just as Cyrus’
erection pulsed with his climax, she followed right after him. Her inner
muscles milked his plunging shaft as they clutched and released it. Their cries
of pleasure filled her ears. She also noticed he held on to her shoulder with
his teeth, but not hard enough to break the skin.

Cyrus rolled off
Shyla to land on his back. He gathered her close to his side with her head
pillowed on his well-muscled chest. They both fought to catch their breaths.
Feeling as if she wouldn’t be able to move for anything, she closed her eyes.
Sated, she went to sleep content to be held.

Chapter Four

Cyrus tugged the
covers into place over him and Shyla. From the way she’d gone limp against him
and her breathing had evened out, he could tell she’d fallen asleep. He turned
his head and kissed her forehead. She didn’t stir.

Making love to
his mate was even better than he’d imagined. Her touch, taste and smell had
heightened his pleasure. He’d also had the urge to claim her, to bite her and
make her truly his. Just before he’d come, his eyeteeth had shifted, becoming
longer like a wolf’s. It’d taken everything inside him not to bite hard enough
to break her skin. It’d gone against instincts that had yelled at him to do it,
to mark her, and have the invisible link form that would join them as mates.

Then there was
the fact that after the mate brand had appeared on his skin a countdown had
begun. Cyrus didn’t think he’d have to worry about losing his humanity now that
he’d found Shyla, but her being human added a new variable to a wolf shifter
mating. There was no telling how she’d react once he told her what he was. And
he would tell her. Very soon. Preferably, before he bit her. He wanted her to
know what she was getting into. Plus, there was the fact he couldn’t pass off
the tattoo-like mark that would suddenly show up where her shoulder and neck
met as if it were no big deal. Kiel had done that with Neha, had let her find
out on her own it was there, and that’d almost had her running from him.

Cyrus figured
he’d give Shyla a few days to get to know him better and for their relationship
to strengthen, then he’d spring his being a wolf shifter on her. He ran the
risk of her not being able to handle it and walking away for good without him
claiming her, which meant he
did
lose his humanity, but it seemed like
the right thing to do. He really hoped it didn’t backfire on him.

Shyla mumbled
something in her sleep. Cyrus smiled and stroked her back. He closed his eyes,
looking forward to what the new day would bring.

* * * *

The next morning
Cyrus awoke to silence. The wind was no longer howling outside the cabin. He stretched,
then turned his head to look at Shyla. She lay on her back, rubbing sleep from
her eyes.

He rolled toward
her and gave her a soft kiss. “Good morning. Did you sleep okay?”

She smiled as
well and nodded. “I did. I enjoyed last night.”

“So did I.” He’d
woken her twice during the night after their first time together, unable to
keep his hands off her. She hadn’t seemed to mind.

“I don’t hear
the wind anymore,” she said.

“I think the
storm finally blew over.” Cyrus gave Shyla another kiss before he sat up. “How
about I make us some breakfast? I’ll see if my cell phone has any service.”

She nodded.
“Food sounds good. I just thought of something. You don’t have any electricity.
How do you charge your cell?”

“Kiel, my older
brother, is the only one in my family who has it in his cabin. We all charge
our phones there.”

“If he has it,
will you ever get it?”

He shrugged.
“Maybe. Kiel only got it because his wife couldn’t live without it. She’s a big
city girl.”

Cyrus had just
gotten out of bed and was about to pick up his discarded sweat pants when four
sets of howls could be heard coming from outside, close to the front of the
cabin. He groaned to himself.

“Were those wolf
howls?” Shyla asked as she sat up.

He yanked on his
pants. “I’ll go take care of that.” Cyrus stopped only long enough to pull on a
clean long-sleeved t-shirt before he headed out of the bedroom.

In the main
room, he stepped into his winter boots, then yanked open the cabin’s door. He
walked out onto the porch. Sure enough, in the yard were Memphis, Gage, Talon
and Rhett, all in wolf form. The dumbasses just stood there staring at him as
if Shyla seeing them would be no big deal.

Cyrus took the
three steps down off the porch. He hurriedly bent and picked up a handful of
snow, which he formed into a ball. He launched it at his nearest brother. It hit
Memphis in the side. Memphis had gone to run, but hadn’t moved quick enough to
get out of the way. Cyrus formed another snowball and took aim. His brothers
were darting around the yard. They had to be thinking he’d have a harder time
hitting a moving target. He soon proved them wrong when he hit Rhett right on
the muzzle. He didn’t stop until he’d nailed Gage on the backside and Talon
took one on the ear.

“Do you give up,
you pains in the ass?”

“Are you
throwing snowballs at wild wolves?”

Cyrus turned to
find Shyla standing on the porch behind him with a look of surprise on her
face. He smiled. “They aren’t exactly wild. They like to come here and bug the
crap out of me.”

He looked over
one shoulder and then the other to see the last two of his brothers were
running into the trees. Out of the corner of his eye, he managed to catch sight
of a snowball soaring through the air in his direction. He spun so it wouldn’t
hit him in the side of the head. Instead it landed on the back of it. Cyrus let
out a yelp as it exploded and sent snow down the back of his shirt. Talon
howled as Cyrus brushed the cold stuff off his shoulders. He now knew who’d
shifted to human form only long enough to get some payback.

“Please tell me
that wasn’t a wolf who threw that,” Shyla said as Cyrus took the steps up to
the porch.

“One of my
brothers was out there.” Which was true. “He was hiding out in the trees and
used the opportunity to get me back.”

“You guys do
that a lot? Have sneak attack snowball fights?”

Cyrus put his
arm around Shyla’s shoulders and walked her into the cabin before he shut the
door. They took off their boots. “Occasionally. Most of the times during the
winter we’re too busy looking after our traplines to play around like that. I
think because you’re around is why I got it today.” Actually, it was because he
started it with the first snowball he’d thrown at what Shyla thought were wild
wolves.

“Okay,” she said
with a smile. “Then I guess I don’t have to constantly look over my shoulder
while I’m out learning how to be a trapper with you.”

“No. Plus, they
wouldn’t have you as their target. They know better than that.”

Shyla chuckled.
“I still can’t believe you threw snowballs at those wolves. I thought for sure
one of them would attack you for it.”

Cyrus grinned
and shook his head. “They wouldn’t dare.”

“Do they come
around often?”

He snorted. “All
the frigging time. They’re family, so what can I do?”

“You mean like
family pets?”

Cyrus quickly
realized his mistake once Shyla asked that particular question. “Yeah, sort
of.” He changed the subject. “I’ll make us some breakfast. I have bacon and
eggs out in the ice house. I’ll run outside and get them.”

He put on his
winter boots once more, then walked out of the cabin before Shyla could say
anything. He definitely was going to have to tell her very soon what he was.
He’d already slipped up once, which meant he’d do it again. He didn’t want her
to find out on her own before he had a chance to lead her in to it.

* * * *

As the door
closed behind Cyrus, Shyla shook her head and chuckled as she sat on the couch.
She’d followed him outside to see if indeed it’d been wolves she’d heard. It’d
been a bit of a shocker to see him throwing snowballs at the animals and
hitting them. Now that she thought back on it, some of their wolfy expressions
had been funny. It was almost as if they’d said what the hell. And that last
snowball that’d gotten Cyrus, it’d seemed to come out of nowhere. His brother
had to be a crack shot and really good had hiding in the bush. She hadn’t seen
him at all.

It wasn’t long
before Cyrus returned to the cabin. Just as he came inside carrying a package
of bacon and a carton of eggs, the sound of her cell phone ringing in the
bedroom drew Shyla’s attention.

She stood, and
said, “I’d better get that. It’s probably my cousin.”

Cyrus nodded.
“Go ahead. Take as long as you need. I’ll get the food going.”

Shyla hurried to
the bedroom. She went to the pile of outdoor clothing in front of the fireplace
that consisted of her winter jacket and snow pants. She fished her cell out of
the jacket pocket and hit the button to answer the call.

“Hello?”

“I’m so glad to
hear your voice,” Nancy replied.

“Sorry. I didn’t
mean to worry you.”

“Well, you did.
What happened?”

“I dumped the
snowmobile and couldn’t get it righted. So I stupidly thought I’d be able to
walk back, but the storm worsened and I got turned around so badly I became
lost. If not for Cyrus finding me, I hate to think would have happened.”

Her cousin
sighed. “Cyrus is truly hot. I’ve seen him a few times around town, but have
never spoken to him. He and his family seem to keep to themselves.”

“I hadn’t
realized you’d seen Cyrus yesterday. I thought it was just John.”

“Probably would
have been, but John asked me to bring a piece of your clothing that you’d worn
to him so he could give it to Cyrus.”

Shyla’s brows
drew together. “Why would he have done that?”

“Because Cyrus
said he needed it for his hunting dogs so they could pick up your scent. He
said he was going to use them to help look for you.”

“Oh. I didn’t
know about the shirt.”

“It was just one
of your sweat shirts that I took out of your dirty laundry. I guess the dog
thing must have worked for him to have found you so quickly.”

“Yeah, it must
have.”

Shyla had to
wonder if Cyrus had used the wolves that he’d mentioned as family and had
called them dogs for John’s benefit. She was sure her cousin’s husband wouldn’t
have been that comfortable with the idea of Cyrus using wild wolves to search
for her. They could be dangerous.

“Did John find
the snowmobile?” Shyla asked, deciding to veer away from the topic of dogs or
wolves.

“Yes. He had his
buddy take him on his machine. They just got back a little while ago. He wants
to know if you want him to come get you. It’ll have to be by snowmobile since
the roads are still pretty terrible.”

“Actually, John
doesn’t have to bother.” She paused. “I’m in no hurry to leave.”

“You hooked up
with that fine piece of male ass, didn’t you?”

Shyla burst out
laughing. “That’s a good way of putting it. Yes, I did. I surprised myself with
that one.”

“It’s about damn
time you loosened up. I’ve been telling you for years that you need to relax
more when it comes to men. You can get too uptight.”

“Then you should
like this. Cyrus is a trapper. I sort of talked him into teaching me how to run
a trapline with him.”

Nancy didn’t say
anything right away. “You want to learn how to be a trapper?”

“It sounds
different.”

Her cousin
snorted. “You could say that. It isn’t an easy career. I don’t think you have
any idea what you’ll be getting yourself into. You’re a city girl. You’ve never
even been hunting before. You know you’ll be skinning animals and then having
to dry and stretch the pelts. It’s messy work.”

“I know. I think
I can do it.”

“More like
you’re going to use it as an opportunity to spend more time with Cyrus.”

“Maybe, but
it’ll also give me something else to do besides sit at your place all day. You
know there aren’t any job openings in Canyon Creek.”

“True. All
right. I’ll let John know you’re fine and that you’ll come home when you’re
ready.”

“Thanks.”

“Enjoy your
hunk. I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Shyla smiled as
she ended the call. Now she didn’t have to worry about Nancy getting upset when
she didn’t come home right away. She put her phone on the nightstand next to
the side of the bed she’d slept on before she walked out of the bedroom.

The smell of cooking
bacon filled her nose as she headed for the kitchen area. Shyla came up behind
Cyrus where he stood at the woodstove and put her arms around him. She rested
her head against his muscular back.

He looked over
his shoulder at her. “All done with your phone call?”

Shyla kept an
arm along his waist as she stepped around him to stand at his side. “Yeah. It
was Nancy, my cousin.”

“Does that mean
you’ll be leaving me soon?”

She smiled. “Not
unless you want me to. John would have picked me up on a snowmobile since the
roads are still bad, but I told Nancy to tell him not to bother. I figured you
could take me home when I’m ready. I want to stick around. I’ve been enjoying
the company.”

Cyrus wrapped an
arm along her shoulders, bent his head and gave her a kiss that was short but
filled with heat. Once he pulled away, he said, “You don’t ever have to leave,
as far as I’m concerned. So I won’t be kicking you out. You will have to put up
with me going to check my traps, though. And I’ll have to stop in at my parents’
before they decide to come here.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “After that,
I’ll take you to bed and keep you there for the rest of the day.”

Shyla swallowed
as a surge of desire shot through her. She definitely liked that last part. “I
can help with the traps. After all, you’re supposed teach me how to become a
trapper. And if you don’t mind introducing me to your parents, I have no
problem meeting them.” She turned to face him and finger walked down his abs to
the crotch of his sweat pants. She gave his cock, which twitched, a gentle
caress. “As for the bed part, let me shower first, then I’m all yours.”

“We’ll shower
together,” Cyrus replied in a husky voice.

“Even better.”
Shyla gave him what she hoped was a sultry smile.