He reached for her shoulders, took hold, and rubbed them with his thumbs, his action possessive but loving. "You didn't want to be kissed by just anyone, Ca.s.sie. Just by me." His voice was husky and ragged with need, and he leaned his head against hers. "Is your shoulder really all right?"

"Better." This time she didn't tell a tale. The wound was healing and her shoulder felt better, but even so, she didn't relish using it any time soon. "What if..." She hesitated to ask him the question. She was dying to have him but not willing to go all the way. "What if we just fool around?"

Chapter 20.

Leidolf arched a brow, his hands stilling on Ca.s.sie's narrow waist, not believing what she had just proposed. Fooling around? Nothing more? He fought giving her a satisfied smirk. h.e.l.l, she wanted him, and she was willing to go partway. She wouldn't be able to stop at that for long. She had given him just the opening he was waiting for.

"No mating. We could get awfully close to the real thing. Just to fulfill some... primal need," she said, sounding a little unsure of herself.

"s.e.x without intercourse." He had to know what she desired, not wanting to go too far if that hadn't been her intention. It was killing him not to just lift her up and carry her back to their primitive bed and make her his mate.

"Or not. Just an idea."

Already she was distancing herself. Which he couldn't have.

He slipped his fingers between her legs and stroked her wet feminine lips. "Just this," he said, and licked her earlobe. His free hand cupped her breast, his thumb and fingers caressing with a circular motion over the fleshy mound.

"Is this what you want?" He spoke with a seductive hush designed to solicit her surrender. His fingers rubbed her sensitive nub, already swollen: every nerve ending had to be screaming for more. She was ready for him, had to have been for a long d.a.m.n time, as wet and primed as she was.

She reached down to cup his c.o.c.k, but he stayed her hand. "I want all of you, Ca.s.sie. The s.e.x, the mating, the mate who'll stand with me... waking up with you in the mornings, having lazy wolfish naps with you midday. But for now, I'll give you only what you want."

He wasn't sure he could hold back. Not the way he felt about her. Her hardened nipples, the drenched curls between her legs, and her erogenous fragrance all clued him in that he was the one for her. No other.

He truly craved having her for more than the s.e.x. With Ca.s.sie, he wanted to settle down, and he thought he could finally have what he'd been searching for--something that would dissolve his need to find excuses to get away from the pack for his own solitude. He wouldn't need that if he had her with him always.

She reached again for him, but he wouldn't let her touch him. He was ready to burst he was so ready. But forestalling the pleasure made it all the more erotic.

"Here I thought you were so bad...," she murmured against his cheek, her hands sweeping down his arms in a tantalizing caress.

"I am," he whispered into her hair, his breath touching her ear, his hands cupping her face. He leaned down to take a nipple between his lips, his tongue quickly teasing the firm tip.

She would have slid down the wall if he hadn't lifted her in his arms and carried her back to their makeshift bedding. "Which is better for your shoulder, Ca.s.sie?"

Her voice breathy with l.u.s.t, she said, "Any way you want to do this."

He cast her a small smile. The way he wanted to do this was to bury himself deeply inside her and take her for his mate for now and always. But he was fairly sure that's not what she meant--although he couldn't help but feel he could push her into wanting him for the long term, if he played the game of seduction right.

He meant to have her on her back, resting her shoulder so he could show her just how he could give her maximum pleasure. She quickly changed his plans. She made him get on his back and then she climbed on top of him, her wet feminine lips pressed erotically against his throbbing c.o.c.k. He knew then that she meant to tease him to death with her seductive charms. He was willing to have her any way he could, too.

"Like to be on top, do we?" He reached for her hands, grabbed hold, and pulled her closer.

"I like to be in control of my destiny, since so many times in the past..." She quit speaking, and a painful shadow of her past seemed to haunt her expression.

He wondered what other difficulties she'd encountered to make her distrust a pack so, and he had every intention of dispelling every one of her concerns. "It's hard for me to really get close to you like this, Ca.s.sie, without... getting closer."

She twisted her mouth in thought. Her legs remained spread to him, her sweet opening begging for him to fill her, if she'd just agree to the commitment.

She wasn't buying his suggestion, though, so he rested his hands on her legs, his thumbs stroking the flesh of her inner thighs. She spread her legs further, her feminine lips pressing heavier against his erection. He moaned low.

She smiled wickedly. Vixen.

He brushed his thumbs against the feminine cleft between her legs, and she gave a start. He craved having her beneath him where he could suck her sweet nipples and kiss her tantalizing mouth. He wanted to be on top, in control, possessing her, for now. Until she agreed to be his. And then she could have her way with him in any way or at any time she wished.

He dipped his fingers in her wetness and then circled her swollen nub with a teasing touch. She closed her eyes, her mouth open, and a throaty groan escaped her lips. She arched her back and slid against his c.o.c.k. Then she opened her eyes and gave a little devilish smile. Leaning down, she kissed his forehead, and as soon as she did, he held two generous b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his greedy grasp.

But his attention shifted to her soft lips brushing against his cheek, lowering still until she captured his mouth with hers.

Then her hands were on his nipples, her fingertips cajoling them into submission. And her tongue. Sweet G.o.d, her tongue pushed his lips open and then thrust inside his mouth like he wanted to do with his c.o.c.k between her legs.

That's when he took charge and gently moved Ca.s.sie onto her back. Her eyes were dark with desire, and she seemed embroiled in the pa.s.sion of the moment, almost willing to capitulate. At least she appeared that way. Or it might have been a case of desperate "wishfulness" on his part.

But seeing her on her back, her knees bent, her legs parted for him, her gaze saying she wanted him as much as he wanted her, he hated not fulfilling his primal needs. Still, he settled between her legs and covered her mouth with his. His tongue swept around hers in an erotic, ravaging dance. His fingers molded around her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, while his thumbs stroked her swollen nipples, and his heavy arousal pressed against her opening. And then he separated her feminine lips with his fingers and pressed the length of his p.e.n.i.s between them like a hot dog sandwiched in a slick bun, sliding against her nub, the eroticism of the friction between them fulfilling his raw need. Although he still wanted to be deep inside her.

Faster, more vigorously he moved, adding fuel to the fire already heating his blood. She gripped his hair and parted her lips. His mouth took advantage of her open invitation. Tempestuous kisses added to the building climax, until her lips wrapped around his tongue and she began sucking. Gently at first, then harder, more rapidly, and he couldn't hold out any longer, his breath coming rapidly, his heart beating at a frantic pace. Slipping his fingers to her nub, he stroked until she cried out, a sheen of light perspiration and a look of sinful wonderment on her face.

He felt the world explode all around him as he came, spilling his seed on top of her. The fault was her own for not allowing him to take the desperate plunge deep inside her where he belonged.

She gave him a wickedly delicious smile, her hands grasping his arms and pulling him down on top of her stomach. "Hmm, you're good."

"Could have been better." He kissed her lips, heard her heart still beating overtime, took a deep breath of the way she smelled fully aroused.

"Nothing could be better," she said, and wrapped her arms around him.

Because there was no commitment. But there would be. He sifted his fingers through her silky hair and kissed her cheek. He thought she'd say something more about searching for the she-wolf, but she didn't say anything else. Instead, she gave a broken sigh and closed her eyes.

"Ahh, Ca.s.sie, you are a wonder." He rolled off her and pulled her gently into his arms, still concerned about her shoulder. Another couple of hours of rest would do her a world of good. And him, too. Until the matter of two red female wolves running loose in the wilderness could be settled.

When they woke, Leidolf tightened his hold on Ca.s.sie. The fire was still blazing in the fireplace and the cabin still toasty warm. He kissed her forehead and she sighed, a s.e.xy, well-satisfied sigh. He let out his own breath, not liking the options that faced them.

"I'd search for the pair of wolves on my own, but I don't want to leave you here alone."

She didn't say anything, just toyed with his nipple, stirring his compulsion to want her again. It was midday, not the best time for him to be out in his wolf coat searching for the other wolves anyway. And if she wanted to play again...

She slipped her hands behind his head and looked into his eyes. This wasn't about s.e.x, he figured. Something deeper. Another secret?

He ran his hands down her back in a gentle motion, hoping she'd tell him what was on her mind. Then she laid her head back down on his chest, and he feared she'd decided not to talk about whatever was bothering her. With his pack members, he often let them speak to him when they were ready. But with Ca.s.sie, he worried that whatever was eating at her would come between them and she would never divulge her secret.

"Ca.s.sie?"

Ca.s.sie knew she shouldn't reveal the truth to Leidolf, but she had no choice. If she was to leave this place to search for the wolf and her pups, she had to be honest, since her previous plan of trying to locate them after Leidolf left her alone didn't seem to be in the works. She was afraid he'd want her even more than he did now. She lifted her head again and gazed into his worried eyes.

"I can change into a wolf despite there being a new moon out."

He stared at her for a minute as if he was trying to determine whether she was being honest with him this time. "You're not newly turned." He didn't ask a question, but he sounded incredulous.

She shrugged. "I figured you already had guessed that."

He smiled broadly and ran his hands through her hair again and nuzzled his face against the strands. "h.e.l.l, you're a royal. That's another thing I like about you. You're almost as devious as I am when it suits me."

"You left me no choice."

"Good. I would have discovered the truth before long, make no mistake about it. So we change and run together as long as you can manage all right with that shoulder of yours."

Sooo arrogant. "With two of us as a target? Wouldn't it be better if we split forces?" Part of her thought it was the best idea, although she really wanted him with her this time. And that scared her. Was she already relying too much on him to be her champion?

"No. I'm not letting you out of my sight. Remember what happened the last time you were out here on your own? It won't be dark for a couple of hours. I'll catch us some fish, and we can cook it over the fire. When it gets dark, we'll search for the wolves."

Which should have been a good thing. The one wolf, yes, with her pups and all. But already, Ca.s.sie didn't like that he wanted to find the other wolf so bad. And here she'd never been jealous in her life.

"What about your men? Won't they come looking for us?" she asked, licking his nipple. She swore he groaned a little in response.

"Not anytime soon."

She frowned at him. "You wanted me alone."

"You're the one who ran off. Couldn't have had the royals in my pack shifting, then swimming across the river, and running through the woods after you."

She smiled coyly. "You wanted me alone."

He smiled back and cupped her a.s.s with his large, capable hands. "Any reason would do. Stay here while I catch some fish."

"I need to wash up."

He touched the skin below her wound. "You need to rest a little more before you shift again. You'll be overexerting yourself as is. So after you wash up, I want you to come straight back here and rest further."

Then he kissed her long and deep and hard, his hands on her waist, his body pressed lightly against hers, touching, questing for release. "Let's go." Yet, it took him longer than necessary to release her, as if he was trying to think of a way of convincing her to give in to him now. To become his mate. Then he cast her a devious smile, kissed her forehead, and rose from their bed of pine needles to help her to stand.

But something had changed in their relationship, despite her thinking it wouldn't with a hot morning of s.e.x, strictly a one-night-stand kind of affair. He looked at her more tenderly now as he pulled a couple of pine needles from her hair. As if she'd become his mate even though they hadn't mated. As if the pressure was off.

"Afraid the water will be too cold?" He motioned to an old metal bucket. "I could fill it with water and warm it over the stove and you could wash up that way."

"Or I could shift."

Before he could say another word, she shape-shifted. His mouth dropped a little in surprise. No way was she going to bathe in the melting snow run-off in her human form.

He shook his head and opened the door. "No fort.i.tude at all."

She had fort.i.tude but brains, too. She dashed for the swiftly flowing creek and bounded in, splashing water all about her and snapping at the droplets with her powerful jaws, unable to control that part of her that came so naturally to wolves--the urge to play when no threat of danger existed.

Leidolf laughed from the sh.o.r.eline, and she turned to see him watching her, his arms folded across his naked chest, his eyes sparkling with delight.

In that instant, she wondered again if somehow they could compromise. She could become his mate and experience the best s.e.x she'd ever had as long as he'd let her go to conduct her research unimpeded afterward.

Right. Once he mated her, he wouldn't allow her to leave him ever, just like he wouldn't let her out of his sight now, and they weren't even mated!

Leidolf watched the emotions play across Ca.s.sie's face as she stood as a wolf in the creek and wondered what they meant. She had an intense way of looking when she was thinking deeply, and he knew it had to be about the two of them. Was it his laughing at her while she played like she was a wolf pup on her first adventure that caught her attention?

He strode forth, the chilly breeze whipping across his heated skin. The woman would be the death of him if he couldn't mate her soon. He'd finally found his royal match, and yet that wasn't all that appealed to him. She could have been newly turned for all he cared.

All he knew was he wanted her like he'd wanted no other woman. His twin sister had been right. Lelandi had said someday he'd find the woman of his dreams and no other woman would do. Despite believing what she had said was utter nonsense, he could see now that Darien, the gray wolf she'd chosen for her mate, could have been her one and only choice.

He took a deep breath of the cold air.

Ca.s.sie was every bit of that to him. He wondered what Lelandi would say about it. His mother would be here in a heartbeat, welcoming Ca.s.sie to the family before the little red wolf even agreed to be his mate. His wheelchair-bound father would undoubtedly give him a stern look and command that he behave himself where Ca.s.sie was concerned or he'd lose her.

Leidolf shook his head. He didn't believe Ca.s.sie would want him to be any other way. The problem was more her past, how she'd been living as a loner for so long, certainly not anything to do with him not appealing to her.

He stalked into the creek headed straight for Ca.s.sie. For the moment, he planned to forget the fish. Her gaze remained locked on his, trying to figure him out, to determine what he was up to. He was ready to play with his little red wolf. That's what he was up to.

As soon as he dove for her, she darted away, splashing through the creek. He laughed as he ended up on his hands and knees, the icy water up to his whiskery chin. "You'll never get away from me, Ca.s.sie."

And that was a promise. He only had to devise a plan to convince her that what he already knew in his heart was true for both of them. They were destined to be mates.

Warily she came up behind him and poked him in the a.s.s with her nose. He grinned. "You'll regret that, darlin'."

He swung around and grabbed for her furred neck, but she dashed out of his path again, and he took a nosedive into the cold water. The chase was half the fun. He scrambled to his feet and ran through the shallower water after her. She grinned at him as she stood waiting for him to close in.

Soon, he hoped, he'd catch his mate and win the game.

Near the river where Leidolf had crossed, Elgin and Fergus talked close by, while Satros sat down on a tree stump a hundred yards away, and Carver stared across the riverbank, watching for any signs of Leidolf's return. He hoped Leidolf would have Ca.s.sie under his control and bring her back to the pack soon. The woman was just what Leidolf needed. Too many times in the last several months that Leidolf had been leader, he had run off to take care of pack business miles away. But Carver knew Leidolf had done so in part hoping to discover a mate located somewhere else and return her to the pack to start a family.

Carver sighed. He knew the feeling, the longing, the wanting. He should have been satisfied to have had a mate he'd loved with all his heart who gave him two beautiful daughters. He craved what he'd had with her until the car accident, and he wanted the girls to have a mother.

He narrowed his eyes as he stared in the vicinity of where the red wolf had run through the forest across the river. He wanted to go after her in the worst way, to learn if she was a lupus garou also, and to bring her safely back to the pack if she was.

"What are you thinking?" Elgin asked, coming up beside Carver.

"I want to go after them. Leidolf, Ca.s.sie, the unknown red."

"The unknown red mostly," Elgin observed.

"All of them," Carver said, not caring if he sounded on edge.

"Leidolf wants to do this alone. He was a loner before he came to us to take over the pack. He needs time away from the pack sometimes to get his sense of balance. Not to mention the little lady is probably a loner also. He needs to be with the woman alone."

Carver walked over to the river, the tips of his boots poking at the water's edge. "What about the other?"