Truth or Wolf: A Small Town Shifter Romantic Comedy (Wolf Brothers Book 1)

Chapter 13

Thirteen

Contrary to popular myth, werewolves myth, werewolves are born, not made. No matter how many times they bite someone, that person will not turn, though they will probably bleed profusely and will definitely be annoyed.

— MOLLY HARPER

I’d put my clothes on and then Alice and I had hiked out to the truck. It was full-on dark now, and our date was going real well.

This was a safe conclusion because Alice Aymes was kissing me, rimming my ear with her tongue, her fingertips sneaking up my thigh and easing around the thick ridge of my hard-on, all while I drove us on the back roads.

She was marking me.

While I drove and warned my wolf that we were NOT, under any circumstances, going to give her our mating bite, she’d managed to pull open my flannel, get under my T-shirt, and past my belt buckle. She was as ruthless and single-minded as any wolf on the hunt, and I wanted her naked now.

This time I didn’t put on a Spotify playlist. The only sound was our rapid breathing, the diesel engine, and her seemingly endless questions:

Is this okay? How about this? Can I touch you here? Do you want to pull over and do it in the bed of your truck? You don’t shift into your wolf when you’re having sex, do you? Because I’d need a heads-up if you do.

Then she’d proceeded to explain other bedroom scenarios in which she’d also want a heads-up (these included my going for her back door and an AWOL condom).

But despite her easy acceptance of my wolfish side and her sexy moans and exploratory touches, the drive gave me time to remember the plan.

Twelve months and then we’d be over. This was a limited-time opportunity, and the first time we made love would not be in the bed of my truck, in the front seat of my truck, or anywhere remotely truck-adjacent.

There would be romance. Nice music, silky sheets. Maybe a fire.

Quality compliments would be paid.

I would not rush unwrapping her.

I’d always figured, in the unlikely event Alice agreed to step out with me, that we would hold off on having sex. We’d share our feelings for each other first, confessing our love and mutual appreciation. I’d give her a ring.

After that, maybe I’d rent one of those luxury Airbnb cabins or even a castle (I’d bookmarked several) because our first time would be memorable. She was special, so she deserved a special night. We might even wait until we were married. Or mated.

We do not screw this up, my wolf ordered. She’s our queen.

He was right, but my assumptions hadn’t taken into consideration her ambitions and plans.

We would have no anniversaries, romantic getaways, or a wedding night. We had twelve months, and the clock was ticking. Each second, minute, and hour that I spent not romancing her or making love to her was time I could never get back.

Regardless, despite Alice’s impatience to consummate our relationship, I couldn’t abandon my secret dreams. She might be okay with the bed of my truck, but I was not. It was not romantic.

Not at all.

I would stick to my plan. I had a long list of erotic acts to perform with her. She would get all the foreplay, not a five-minute quickie in my truck.

If I could convince her to keep her fingers north of the band on my boxer briefs, I’d be able to implement that plan.

Twilight had fallen on the return drive. I was not going to park with Alice in front of the Little Love Den because I did not ever want her thinking she owed me something or that I expected her gratitude in the form of a blow job.

So tonight’s pit stop on my grand twelve-month plan was at the remains of an old covered bridge spanning the river that cut through Moonlight Valley. The bridge had mostly fallen down, and only a fool looking for a swim would drive over it, but we’d all parked there in high school.

There was lots of grass (enjoyed by those of us who did not possess our own vehicles,) and you could see fireflies at certain times of the year. It was also as private as you got in Moonlight Valley without driving two towns over or joining the Witness Protection Program.

I hadn’t finished putting my truck into Park and killing the headlights before Alice stopped trying to undo my buckle and focused on her seatbelt instead. A nanosecond later, she was swinging onto my lap.

“Are we parking?” Laughter filled her voice. “It’s a good thing I really like you.”

There being no need to state the obvious, I settled her on top of my hard-on and slid a hand up her leg.

“Get naked,” she ordered, tugging on my belt buckle. The blood from my brain rushed south to help her out.

“Alice—” I braceleted her impatient hands with mine.

“Let’s have sex.” Her teeth nipped my neck. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Take off your leggings.”

She grinned at me in the gathering darkness. Darkness. Right. I did my best to focus.

“Are you okay with this?” I’d come up with another plan if she wasn’t. Or wait. She was worth it.

Damn right, she is.

Alice slid her arms around my neck. “I’m already out here with the big, bad wolf.”

So she was.

“I like him a lot,” she added, her mouth right up against my ear.

“Good. You don’t have to worry about anything out here.”

This time she laughed. “Why, Ford Boone, are you gonna run off the bogeyman for me?”

Damn straight.

“Always, darling.”

Her grin was pure mischief. “That deserves a reward.”

She whipped off her crop top, and it hit my windshield. Hot…damn.

I’d drawn some conclusions earlier about what Alice might or might not have been wearing underneath that tiny top, and I’d been right. She had not bothered with a bra. Her breasts were perfect little handfuls, tight and firm and with a freckle on the underside that demanded kissing.

“Let’s do it right now, okay? I could ride you like a cowgirl,” she panted.

My imagination promptly drew me a picture. Alice, straddling me. Me, sinking deep inside her. It would be fucking amazing. Remember the plan.

“We’re doing this my way,” I growled. “When we make love, it’s going to be romantic. Special.”

I’d run out of adjectives. And steps in my master plan. Alice had that effect on me.

Alice made a face. “So bossy. This is not some Fifty Shades of Grey game, buddy.”

My brain short-circuited. I hadn’t seen the movie, but Knox had picked up the first book from the library book sale over at the Green Valley Library. He’d insisted we all read it, and it had taken all of us to shout down Ranger, who’d decided to pick it for his book club.

Alice, however, was not waiting on my answer. Not at all. She was wiggling, trying to get her leggings off. The way her breasts bounced…

Jesus H. Christ. She was going to kill me. She shifted off me long enough to pull her leggings off. My truck had not been designed for having sex in the front seat, which was an oversight.

Alice seemed to be of the same mind. On her next awkward wiggle, her knee smacked my dashboard and she muttered something uncomplimentary about my pickup. Not helping matters, she’d tried to take a shortcut and leave her sneakers on, and now her feet were all stuck.

Alice’s face was pink. I could tell by the way she bit her lip and huffed that she was frustrated and halfway to pissed off because she was basically trapped in an athletic chastity belt, her leggings hobbling her ankles.

She muttered another curse word.

I couldn’t help it. I laughed.

I leaned over, pressed my face against the sweet curve of her belly, and laughed. Hard.

“Ford Boone, are you laughing at me?” she growled, sounding like a wolf herself. She tried to reach down and untie her shoes, but my head was in the way.

“You bet.” My shoulders shook.

She looked ridiculously adorable, leggings tangled up around her ankles. It felt more real this way. More honest. We’d have passion, yes, but there would also be laughter.

Alice’s laughter sounded a little forced. “How about a little help here?”

I nodded, reaching down to untie her sneakers and slide them off her feet. And then since I was down there and I was a thorough man, I worked my way up again, kissing each sweet inch of my Alice.

There was not enough room to appreciate her fully, so I shoved my seat all the way back and pulled her onto my lap. That was better, but a king-sized bed now topped my fantasy list.

“Ford, don’t tease me,” she pleaded. “Please let me?—”

“I need to feel you.” I slid my hands up her thighs to her hips.

Her panties were a scrap of pink that I itched to tear off. They were not my property, though, and I was always respectful of property.

I stroked her over the center of her panties with my finger. Once, then again, and again. Her eyes closed, her fingers digging into my shoulders as she rode my hand.

She was goddamned beautiful. Yeah, we were in my truck and my dick thought we were doing ten miles an hour in a sixty-mile zone, but this was about Alice and making her feel good. Special. Showing her that she was the center of my universe. She danced for me, moved and sighed and demanded more.

I gave it to her.

I’d give her anything she asked me for.

You’re mine.

My mate.

My other half.

I kept the words to myself. Even as she shook and came riding my fingers, I didn’t speak those words.

She was mine, mine and my wolf’s.

But our time would be up soon.