Chapter 21 #2
“I changed shoes.” She pointed to her feet, swaying her hips as she did.
I hadn’t even noticed. She was now wearing the cutesy tennis shoes she’d worn in the coffee shop. The woman either had no sense of danger or preferred indulging in a taste of it. “Do you know what you’re asking?”
She shrugged. “You don’t need to shift. But you do need to run.”
“Are you not aware of the wild animals in this part of the country?”
“Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my? Won’t you protect me?”
I took a deep breath, holding the heated air for a few seconds. “With my life.”
“Then bring it on.”
How in the hell was I supposed to tell her that at this rate, she’d need protection from me? Forget the predatory animals.
Apparently, she wasn’t interested in taking no for an answer. She took off running. Where in the hell did she think she was going to go? She didn’t know the area. The light on the house would only go so far.
The rain was also about to pick up in intensity. The woman was certifiable.
And damn it if I wasn’t more turned on than I think I’d ever been. Even so, I stood where I was, gawking like some dumbfounded kid while she ran straight into the densest part of the forest.
With a head drop and shake, I debated if I could control myself. I’d need to figure that out fast because if she wasn’t careful, she’d get herself in a heap of trouble.
“Women.”
There was no other choice.
I took off running.
In the last three weeks, I’d been anxious and had preferred allowing myself to shift and run free. I’d done so a few times, every experience in hopes that physically I’d become one hundred percent.
That hadn’t occurred.
However, I hadn’t lied to her. In the short time I’d spent with her in the coffee shop, I’d felt much better.
Now? Now, if I shifted with her by my side, I’d become one hundred percent. I was certain of it. My wolf was eager, chomping at the bit. The damn beast was even creating heavy saliva in my mouth. At barely fifty yards into the run, I was about to shout ‘down, boy’ given his eagerness.
Shifting was not an option.
Chasing her? You bet.
Capturing her? Not a problem.
Fucking her? Oh, I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to stop.
Mating? Well… There was a distinct chance once I kissed her soft lips, I’d lose my mind, my humanity, my inhibitions, and every scrap of control over my wolf.
Once Georgia knew I was following her, she’d laughed enough to establish a trail. She’d also begun to unravel me from the inside out. My skin ached as much as my cock, my dick grinding against my jeans.
If this was how she wanted to play it, then who was I to destroy her unbridled hunt? I slipped behind a tree, listening for any sounds. She’d gathered I’d stopped moving, doing so herself.
The only noises were the few creatures daring to move with a wolf present and the pitter-patter of rain lightly falling across the foliage.
With drops falling from the trees and the ground soaked from the earlier heavy rain, I had the advantage.
Also I knew the woods. Which should make the hunt over with quickly.
Only she was a much more formidable opponent than I’d originally thought. Didn’t that make the evil wheels spin in my mind. My hunger was also off the charts. I threw my head back, enjoying the refreshing feel of the rain falling against my face. I took a deep whiff, capturing her scent instantly.
She was close. I took off sprinting, jumping over fallen limbs and the low-hanging foliage that should impede her enough I could quickly end the game. Plus, the deeper in the woods, the darker it had gotten. I could see perfectly. Every shape. Every small animal. Every twig.
She couldn’t, and her disadvantage would be her downfall.
But I was wrong.
As with everything about her, the woman’s diligence pushed her to the point she was smart enough to turn back toward the house. In doing so, she was trying to disguise her scent. I’d be damned if the woman wouldn’t make a good wolf. Imagine what mischief we could get into.
The rain was harder, the wind carrying every scent in another direction. While Mother Nature wasn’t fooling me, the challenge was real. She seemed to anticipate my every stop by doing the same, waiting until the last moment to take off running.
I homed in on her breathing, concentrating on nothing else while envisioning the lovely pulse on the side of her neck. All I could think about was marking her so she’d wear my scent at all times.
Yet hers was remarkable, the intoxicating threat of jasmine overpowering moss and wet spruce, mud and bark.
The faster I ran, the more intense the burn in my chest, the limited separation from her creating a need that could not be denied.
Every muscle in my human body was screaming, but I refused to stop, the insanity of our bond pulling me, tightening like a leash.
My eyesight had changed, becoming more focused, the ability to see as my wolf a penetrating reminder of just how close to the edge I truly was. Yet there was no fear in the woman, her excitement unlike anything experienced with any other woman.
Somewhere deep inside, she already knew she belonged to me.
With a single crack coming from up ahead, I stopped long enough to allow my wolf to speak. The deep growl permeated the night air, shaking the forest in its intensity as my possessiveness of her increased.
I’d finally had enough, scanning the forest until I saw her.
There was no other creature so beautiful, no other woman who could ever burn me with such raging desire. In one final call of ownership, I returned to the chase. Only this time, she wasn’t getting away from me.
The moment she was within my sights, she swung around to face me, taking a stand in front of a massive maple tree. And in that moment where my sense of need crashed with explosive desire, she did the unthinkable once again.
She beckoned for me.
Only this time, she wasn’t merely asking for the man.
She was also asking for the wolf.