Accidentally Yours (Coyote Bluff Series Book 1) (6 page)

“Huh, so I’m dreaming of a mate? How pathetic am I? I just had my bell rung by my last boyfriend, and now I’m creating a mate in my dreams. I can’t even go one night without needing a male to save me? It’s just another bad thought in a string of them.” She turned suddenly and stomped a few paced ahead. “Every man I’ve ever trusted or wanted was bad for me. I can’t even get away in my own mind.”

She needed to get out of this dream. Her body seemed to want this male and, frankly, why wouldn’t she? He was perfect. Quiet, beautiful, other-worldly.

“Why do you have so much anger toward yourself? Maybe this is your mind’s way of dealing with the violence you’ve received. Or, this is your way of proving to your subconscious that you can make good choices in men?”

The conversation wasn’t going the way Ian thought it would. When Cammie had started whimpering in her sleep he thought to invade her dream and help her. When he found he couldn’t fully control their connection he was surprised, but this female seemed to be strong in every
respect.

With the first look of her in the short sun dress he’d lost all semblance of his mission. He wanted to seduce her, and what did he find? She not only didn’t want him or his body, but she would deny he was even a good thing to see in her dream. How was he supposed to handle that? When their heartbeats sent jolts of power between them it was a sure sign of their potential. He knew hundreds, if not thousands, of people could be potential mates.

He’d found a few other women that sent the same impulses through him, but he’d never had one of them turn down his advances. It almost made him want to push her, force her to see they were meant to be together. The way her eyes had moved over him in the beginning had been torture. She’d caressed him with her gaze, touching him and heating his skin as she moved her glances across his body.

He found it funny that she created clothing for him. He knew, could smell, the effect his body had on her. He’d watched the blush creep across her cheeks as she’d looked him over. He just didn’t know what to do about it. Did he push her?

As they walked he’d paid attention to her emotions, letting them flow over him like a heavy rain. He was partially connected to her mind through the dream-sharing and he could sense many of her thoughts. She was confused and definitely aroused. If she was fighting the mutual attraction even in a dream there was very little he could do to sooth her. At least her nightmare had stopped the moment he’d touched her mind. He hadn’t even seen what had caused her to whimper in the first place.

She stopped suddenly and he nearly plowed into her back. She whipped around, glaring at him. “You said you’re a shifter, right? I saw you change from a wolf to ‘this’.” The look of irritation that followed her hand sweep forced him to swallow a chuckle. She was definitely not what he had expected, but her bluntness was endearing.

“Yes. I’m a wolf shifter. Why? Do you have questions? Would you like to sit and chat for a while?” He wanted to get her stationary so he could study her, perhaps tempt her into kissing him. “You could conjure a seat or two and we could rest, talk?”

He caught the slight scent of arousal again as she looked him over. She didn’t want to admit it, but she found him tantalizing. She quickly brought her eyes back to his, but he could see the embarrassment and heat hiding in their depths. He grinned and watched the blush deepen.

“Okay, let’s sit. You can explain how you shift, and I’ll try to figure out how I pulled you together.” She closed her eyes, furrowed her brow and squeezed her small hands into fists. He watched her and grinned. She was so adorable. His eyes widened slightly when a beautiful wrought-iron bench materialized next to her. “There. Sit.” She motioned to the other end of the bench as she perched on the end closest to her. She crossed her ankles and looked at him expectantly.

Cammie barely kept from launching herself at him. She knew he was exactly what her subconscious wanted.
Of course he is.
She scoffed.
I created him.
Beautiful in body and mind. Formed like a god, hung like a horse, hard as a rock. Could she come up with any more comparisons? The cold wood and iron through the thin material of her dress had goose bumps pebbling her skin. It helped to cool her lust. She hadn’t felt this kind of pull in so long, but it could be just because it was a dream and she was allowed to feel anything she wanted.
Keep telling yourself that, sister. You’ve got it bad for this fictitious Romeo.
“So. Tell me about shifting. Is it magic, genetics, what?”

She needed to get him talking so she had something else to concentrate on. She took a deep breath and almost moaned as the breeze shifted at that moment and carried his clean, male scent to her nose. She had always been a sucker for men and their smells. She loved to bury her nose in the crease of a man’s neck and just pull his scent into her lungs. The smile that played across his perfect lips gave her
an idea he knew what she was thinking. Well, it was a dream, why wouldn’t he be able to tell what was running through her mind? They were both living inside her head. He moved slowly, prowling like the animal he was, until he was seated on the bench. His legs spread like any good male and his knee came to rest lightly against hers

“Shifters are born, and can be made. According to legend we are magical creatures, part of the fae. Genetically we are almost human. We have the same number of chromosomes but some of our genes are active, where in a regular human they are dormant. The actual shift from animal form to human... Cammie, what are you watching?”

She whipped her eyes up to his and blushed. She’d been staring at his lips. Yep, that’s what she’d been doing. They just moved in magical ways. Every word pulled the smooth, moist skin differently. She wanted to kiss him in the worst way. Her lips tingled. Her gaze moved to them again and she sighed when those perfect lips quirked into a sexy smile.

“Do you want me to kiss you? Is that why you’re staring at me, Cammie?” He shifted slightly on the seat and a zing of lightning shot up her leg when his brushed her
s. He breathed his next words across the small distance between them. “I want to kiss you. I want to taste you on my tongue. Will you let me do that?”

Did she want to kiss him? Yes. Should she? That was a completely different question. She knew this was a dream, accepted it as truth. If she woke with a lingering affection for her dream man she’d be a depressed pile of goo for days. Keeping her distance was probably the right thing to do, but she really, really, didn’t want to do the right thing. She wanted to climb into his lap, and dig her fingers into his hair while sucking on his lower lip. She wet her lips in anticipation and almost groaned as the tingling intensified. Screw it, live in the now.

A moment after her tiny nod she was wrapped in strong, warm arms. She hadn’t seen him move, hadn’t felt his body shift, but both must have happened for her to be on his lap, straddling his thighs. Her eyes closed and she tilted her head back in acceptance. She’d force her mind to not dwell on the kiss she was going to get. She could do that, it was her dream, right?

She’d savor the moment and then bury it in the recesses of her mind. Maybe she could revisit it in her dreams on nights when she was lonely. The fluttering of his breath across her lips pulled her from her thoughts. She breathed in deeply, pulling his exhale into her lungs. Anticipation curled hot and heavy in her belly. She could barely feel the heat radiating from his mouth.

She refused to lean the few millimeters that separated them. She wanted to be kissed, not do the kissing. It’d been too long since someone wanted her enough to be the aggressor. For once in her life she wanted to feel needed, craved. The feather-light touch of Ian’s mouth against hers was unbearably erotic. His warm exhale skimmed her cheek, raising goose bumps down her neck. One heartbeat slid to another and he hadn’t touched her. She opened her eyes and found him watching her. His stormy eyes almost glowed with tension. The look was enough to make her melt against his chest.

That must have been acceptance or incentive enough
, because he finally closed the space between them, capturing her lips. His hands slid into her hair, wrapping strands around his fingers, holding her firmly in place as he slanted his mouth over hers. She sighed, giving him an invitation to deepen the kiss, but he didn’t invade her mouth the way she expected. His lips made love to hers, moving slowly, tasting and nibbling. His breath mingled with hers, sensual and intimate. She panted with arousal and all he’d done was touch his lips to hers.

Her hands wandered over his strong shoulders, pulling him closer. He was so warm under her hands, and hard, so hard. The shirt did little to cover his sculptured muscles and they moved under her hands as she raked her nails over his back. Anything to entice him to deepen the kiss, to twine his tongue with hers. She’d never craved an invasion as much as she did at that moment. She truly thought she’d die a painful, passion-induced death if he didn’t suck her tongue into his mouth.

Cammie was beyond caring that she was acting like a wanton woman. She wanted to taste him, to have his flavor imbedded in her memory. Finally, after a lifetime of waiting, his mouth slid open and time stood still. Nothing had prepared her for what it would be like to be possessed, mind and body, by a man like Ian. He didn’t make her wait, didn’t take his time. His tongue invaded like he was storming the gates of a castle, fast and with reckless abandon. A growl vibrated in his chest as he tightened his grip in her hair and overtook her mouth. A tickle started in her toes, distracting her slightly from the kiss. She tried to ignore it, but the feeling started intensifying. Pushing on his chest caught his attention enough for him to pull back. They were both gasping for air. The look in his eyes told her exactly how close his animal was. The gray had changed to beautiful amber. He scowled slightly.

“You’re waking up. Damn, I’d hoped for a little more time.” The whispered words barely registered in her mind. The woods had faded and were starting to look foggy. He tugged her chin until she was staring into those gorgeous eyes. “I will see you again, I promise.”

Once his words were uttered, he stood her up and, before she could respond, he vanished. Just like that, he was gone. She looked around and sighed, muttering to herself. “Shit. I give in, and this is what I get. One fantastic kiss that is going to haunt me forever.”

The next moment she was rolling over in her bed and found herself snuggled against a large, warm body. A screech bubbled up into her throat and her eyes popped open. Adrenaline rushed through her system, speeding her breath and heart rate. Her brain registered the fact that it was just the wolf on her bed before the rest of her could. She struggled to calm her breathing as she scrambled off the bed, clutching the sheet to her naked chest.

“What the hell? Titan, get down. Bad pup. What are you doing up here?” She knew her voice was too loud and shrill, but she was still dealing with her body’s ‘fight or flight’ response. She watched the animal slowly raise his head and stare at her. His look was so close to a smirk she was ready to throw him outside. With a glare, pointed finger, and a deeper voice she gave him a stern order. “Get. Down.”

Ian couldn’t help the smile that pulled up his lip. She was so adorable. She stood, like a pixie, wrapped in a cream colored sheet. Pink cheeks and heaving breasts drew him as a male and as a predator. A slight coating of fear tainted the air, but it was tempered by the sleepy warmth still radiating from the bed. He wanted to roll on the sheet to cover himself with her scent, embed it into his fur so it would linger for days.

There was something about this female that drew his animal as much as she drew the man. Sleeping on her bed had been heavenly. The floor, even with a throw rug, had been hard on his body. His back leg throbbed while it healed and his ribs ached with each breath. After she’d fallen asleep he’d slowly climbed onto the bed with her. She hadn’t even moved. When he was settled and just about to fall asleep she started whimpering.

The sound was pained and fearful. He hadn’t even thought about it before he drove himself into her dream. The alpha blood that flowed through his body, wanted or not, allowed him to dream-share. He hadn’t used the skill in a long time, but he just couldn’t sit by while she was frightened. When he’d stepped into that clearing and caught a look of her, silhouetted by the sunset, he was struck by her perfection. She was beautiful in the little sundress. It was like she wrapped a sunrise around her body
and it clung sensually to her curves. He’d wanted to wrap around her as well, after stripping that dress over her head. She didn’t want anything to do with it, though. He would have laughed if the whole dream-walk hadn’t given him a set of blue balls.

Emotionally
, he ached for this woman. She couldn’t give in and be intimate in her dreams because she was afraid it would plunge her into depression? What the hell was her supposed boyfriend doing with her if a simple kiss seemed so new to her? He wanted to rip the guy’s arms off and feed them to the coyotes. What kind of man beats his female and doesn’t even have the decency to make her feel wanted the rest of the time? He absolutely didn’t condone hitting a woman, not at all. The man deserved to have his bell rung a few times just for that. But to have a sensual woman like Cammie, and not treat her like the princess she was?

He was dragged from his thoughts by a feather pillow bouncing off the bed inches from him. He whipped his head around and found her standing at the foot of the bed, still clutching the sheet, but now carrying one of her pillows. She looked pissed. He so wanted to kiss her for being so cute.

“I said, get down. You are being so bad this morning. Titan, get down. I’ll bribe you with breakfast if you get off my bed.” Her voice changed to a coo. “Come on, big boy. Come on. I’ll make you more eggs if you come with me.”

He couldn’t stand it anymore. He slowly rose, stretching his aching muscles. He thumped onto the carpet when he jumped off her bed. He watched her back away a few paces. Shaking his head with the craziness of the situation he approached her, head down, submissive. He hated the fear that floated on the air. Ian thought she was adorable when angry, but
seeing her fearful hurt his heart.

As slowly as he could he walked to her shaking form. When he was within touching distance he leaned forward and bumped her thigh with his head. A sigh of contentment whooshed from his parted lips when her fingers wound through his fur. Leaning a little heavier into her leg he shuddered when she chuckled deep in her chest. The sound was like an aphrodisiac, wrapping around his spine and pushing him to shift to human form. He kept the need under control, but he still suffered the burn
, starting in his limbs.

All it would take was a single moment and he could have her in his arms. He sighed again. She’d run, screaming from him, though, if he shifted now. He needed to wait until he was fully healed and approach her in human form.

“Come on, sleepy. Let’s go get some breakfast.” She turned, running her hand over his head one more time and then heading for the bathroom. She dropped the sheet just before entering the room and he couldn’t stop his yelp of surprise. She turned, giving him a quizzical look and a full frontal view of her perfect breasts. His control nearly slipped. Her nipples were pink and contracted, pointing directly at him, begging to be licked. He groaned and dropped to the floor, burying his face under his paws. She was a temptress and didn’t even know it. He wasn’t sure he’d survive another day with her without doing something really stupid, like shifting and ravaging her.

“Oh, honey, are you in pain?” He swore he wasn’t going to lift his head, wasn’t going to stare for another second at her round breasts or her ample thighs. Testosterone and other manly things overrode his brain. He found himself soaking in her body and wincing at the quick spike in arousal. Why was he torturing himself?
Because you’re an idiot
. He shook his head and tried to close his eyes, really he did, but it just wouldn’t happen. His optic nerves wanted to caress her, wanted to compare the amount of light shining from her beautiful skin with the softer light shining in her eyes.
You, my dear boy, are besotted
.

He watched her round ass sashay as she went into the bathroom and close the door. He’d never been so thankful that he couldn’t open doors in wolf form. He needed a moment to collect himself and separate
the feelings of his wolf from those of the man. Both halves seemed to want her, but the wolf was starting to scare him. His furry side wanted to mark her, lick her, and treat her like his mate.

Those were bad things for his animal to be craving. Once the wolf found the one he wanted as a mate it was hard to change his mind. At least the man half of his personality understood that this was just a temporary situation. He knew they weren’t living with their mate, sharing the bed because they loved each other. His wolf, on the other hand, didn’t seem to understand that she wasn’t their mate. Yet. There wasn’t anything he could do about it right at the moment. He was stuck in wolf form for another few hours and
, until he could shift and take control of his wolf again, they’d have to agree to disagree.

He wandered down the stairs, unsure he could handle seeing her naked again without acting very badly for a wolf. He took the
opportunity to sniff around her other rooms. He wasn’t searching for the scent of her boyfriend, nope, wasn’t doing that at all. What surprised him was the total lack of any other scents. The vet’s smell was in the kitchen and the laundry room from the night before, but the rest of the house was clean. She either didn’t invite people into her home, or she didn’t have anyone to invite. He listened to her move around above him. He envisioned her dressing, covering that beautiful body with clothes. It didn’t take long for her to come clomping down the stairs. She looked around until she found him, then she smiled. God, he wanted that smile gracing her lips when he was in human form.

“I’m glad you made it down the stairs okay. Want to go out for a minute? Hmm? Then I’ll make breakfast.” She turned to wander toward the front door. She stopped and waited, grinning while he followed her. “You’re moving much better this morning. I’m really glad you’re okay. I was worried.

He waited for her to open the door and then rushed out, muzzle in the air, sniffing for danger. He couldn’t have her outside if there was something wrong. When there wasn’t a single smell out of place it eased his mind. He kept waiting for the coyotes to track him to her house, but perhaps they would stay away because she was human. Although if they weren’t drunk maybe they would see the stupidity in attacking him.

As quickly as he could
, he headed into the woods behind her house. He needed to relieve himself and get his head in the game. As he wandered silently through the trees he thought about how stupid he’d been. He’d paid for his mistake by being kicked out of his pack. The price for a single night of sex with the wrong female had been steep, but he’d known the consequences if someone found out. Of course, he hadn’t thought about her using him against the Alpha.

The
Alpha’s mate had seduced him, plied him with beer and naked breasts. Yes, he’d given in and fucked her. It hadn’t been nice, soft or romantic. They’d tripped over each other, pawing at clothes and stripping off only the important clothing for a quick coupling. He’d taken her in the bar’s bathroom, against the wall. When they were done she’d pulled her pants back on, patted him on the cheek and strutted out the door.

It had only taken two days for the
Alpha’s visit. Two days of waiting, knowing that he had made one of the worst mistakes of his life. Being banished was supposed to be the end of the punishment. He should have known that pack members would follow his progress across the country and share his little misdeed with any shifters within driving distance of his new home. He’d felt like the harassment was acceptable, even if it was over the top. But to attempt to kill him was beyond the law. Yes, he’d fucked the pack’s Alpha-mate. It was the first time he’d ever lain with a mated female though, and he definitely wouldn’t be doing it again.

His thoughts came full circle and he worried once again about Cammie and her involvement with him. If he was targeted by the regional pack she was in danger. Perhaps it was time he stepped up and met with the Alpha of the area. He’d thought to avoid that meeting for a while, but it seemed fate was pushing his actions again. The Alpha could very well tell him he had to leave. Ian had hoped to have a decent business going by the time he needed to meet the coyote that ran the pack.

There wasn’t anything he could do about it now. He needed to heal, shift and get back to his own home before he could make any type of decisions. He walked back to Cammie’s house, winded and sore from his little wandering walk. The weakness he felt scared him, but if the injuries were as grave as he thought they’d been he was surprised he was doing so well already. He’d lie low today and hopefully would be able to shift later.