Animal Behavior (6 page)

He held out the pool cue and winced as if he were about to
yank off a bandage. “Can you manage from here, or…”

Gwen took the pool cue. “I’ll manage.”

“Great, I’ll, uh, I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to go
start the grill.”

Using the pool cue, the wall, the doorframe and the bathroom
vanity to support herself, she finally managed to pee. What should have taken
two minutes took ten. Alex was chopping vegetables when she emerged. He put
down his knife and watched her scoot across the room in her makeshift
wheelchair and transfer back to the couch. “Beer? Pop?” he asked.

“A beer would be great.”

* * * * *

Alex had to distract his nose. He’d barely made it out of
the exam room without jumping her, but the cougar attack had been the worst of
it. He could smell the blood from the scrapes on her hands and the fear oozing
from every pore. And under those scents was
her
, her sweat and sex and
the combination made him feel off balance.

The only thing that had saved him—and her—was that it
happened in broad daylight. If they’d been under the moon, Alex was sure it
would have ended badly. As it was, the assault on his heightened olfactory
sense was almost more than he could stand.

His ears had picked it up first—the barking of her dog, the
roar of the big cat. When he’d fired the warning shot over the cougar’s head,
the acrid smell of gun powder had given Alex’s nose a temporary respite. It had
cleared quickly though and when he knelt down beside her he’d been overwhelmed
by the intoxicating pheromones rolling off her. He’d begun to tremble and his
cock had stiffened. It had been all he could do not to rip off her clothes and
fuck her right there. But it was more than sexual. Alex needed to possess
her…completely.

Mine.

The ironclad decree regarding the protection of human
consorts had saved them both in that moment. One of the first lessons Alex had
been given was that John Chaney was not to be harmed under any circumstances.
He wasn’t sure what the pack rules were regarding romantic interaction with a
Chaney, but he could guess that it was frowned upon.

As much as he dreaded it, Alex knew he would have to consult
Sergei for clarification on the law. The enigmatic alpha had been especially
tight-lipped when it came to the succession of the community’s human consort.
After John Chaney’s death Sergei had called a pack meeting and grudgingly doled
out just enough information to prevent a panic. Alex had wondered how much of
the secrecy had been out of necessity and how much was just the big Russian’s
bent for power and control.

Sergei had told the members that John Chaney had a single
heir—a granddaughter—and the pack attorneys were working day and night to
execute the will and get their new consort back to Talbot. As clearly
prescribed in the law, Chaney’s successor had never been told of her
grandfather’s specialized role while he was alive. She must arrive at her new
home without a clue as to what might be expected of her. Her courage would be
tested and if she proved worthy of taking up her predecessor’s mantle, then the
pack would be compelled to offer her their loyalty and protection.

After curtly fielding a couple of questions from his pack,
Sergei had projected a series of photos onto the white wall of the meeting
room. Alex had glanced at the pictures of John’s granddaughter without much
interest. Of course, photographs don’t have a pulse or a scent.

Six months later, Alex stood at his kitchen counter with the
living, breathing Gwen Chaney sitting ten feet away. He added extra onion and
garlic to his chopping board, knowing full well that he was barely masking her
scent. But it was better than walking around with a perpetual hard-on and no
hope of relieving it.

He served their steaks and vegetables and took a chair
opposite Gwen.

“So you’re that guy. Right? The Dog Talker?” she asked.

Alex looked across the table. “Right.”

“How do you do it?”

She’d find out soon enough that Alex’s talents were more
mystical than scientific, but now was not the time to tell her that he could
literally hear dogs’ thoughts. He kept his answer basic. “I studied animal
behavior. Dogs are pretty simple creatures. They want food, sex and the safety
of a pack. Everything else just kind of falls into those motivators.”

“Sounds like half the guys I’ve dated,” Gwen said, laughing
at her own joke.

When Alex responded with a quiet, “Hmm,” Gwen blushed and
turned back to her steak. Alex’s nose twitched as the nonverbal signals poured
out of her.

Appeasement
. His logical mind ticked off the
physiology of her embarrassment while his hyper-acute senses recorded the
effects. The flush that colored her cheeks, the sweat that gathered on her
palms, the averted eyes and the increased heart rate were all primitive
hardwired responses signaling her unease and submission. If she were a canid,
she would be rolling on her back and exposing her belly…her soft, hot belly.
Alex felt his cock harden and bit down on the inside of his cheek to quell his
own automatic reaction.

He watched her press the back of her fork on the meat and
widen her eyes at the red juices that flowed onto the plate. “Too rare?” he
asked. He knew she heard the annoyance in his voice and supposed it confused
her.

“No, I’m just—”

“I can throw it back on the grill for a few minutes.”

She lifted her gaze. “I’m just tired. Would you mind taking
me home?”

Alex shook his head. “Not at all. You’ve had quite a day.”

He hoped his response came across as empathetic, when in
fact he was relieved that she’d asked to cut the evening short. His attraction
to her was ferocious and fighting it was exhausting.

* * * * *

The Russian’s musk grew stronger as Alex eased the golf cart
up to Gwen’s front porch. He suppressed a territorial growl even as the hairs
stood up on the back of his neck. She wouldn’t allow him carry her inside, but
did let him wrap his arm around her waist so she could hop into the cabin. It
gave him a chance to lean in and smell her hair. It was all he could do not to
throw her down on the porch and fuck her right then and there. Unless and until
he was granted permission to be with her, he was going to have to figure out a
way to cope with the urges she stirred in him.

He helped Gwen settled on the couch, trying to ignore Markov’s
scent. “So you’ve met the basketball star,” he said, regretting that he couldn’t
hide his disdain.

“Yeah, how’d you know?” Gwen asked.

“Muddy size-seventeen footprints on the porch and
that
,”
Alex said, nodding to Luna Farms basket.

“A vet, a TV star
and
a detective!” Gwen chuckled.

“Basic observation,” Alex muttered too curtly.

Gwen’s face reddened again and Alex bristled. If she only
knew the subtle signals her body gave when she blushed—and what it did to him—she
would be more frightened than embarrassed.

“So how do you know Sergei?” she asked

“We have mutual…interests. He sold me the land that I built
my clinic and house on.”

“Mutual interests?”

Alex had no intention of explaining his connection to the
Russian. He ignored the question. “I’ll bring Jezebel over before I leave
tomorrow. You’ll have to give her antibiotics and change the dressings. I’ll
show you how.”

“Leave?”

“I have business to attend to in the city.”

She looked wounded and her meekness fueled his desire. Though
he would rather spend the next seven days in the comfort and safety of his
Talbot home, he felt certain he had to be well away from her before the moon
was full. Once she understood her role in the pack, maybe they could figure
something out. In the meantime, he hoped one of the other Minnesota packs could
put him up until the three-quarters moon. “I’m meeting a crew in Minneapolis to
film promos for the new season,” he lied. “I’ll be back in a week or so.”

Alex walked to the fireplace and pulled a poker from the
stand. He handed it to Gwen “Use this like a cane. Try to keep weight off that
ankle for a couple of days and elevate it when you can. And I hope I don’t have
to remind you not to go wandering in the woods alone—especially after dark.”

Gwen nodded. Crouching at her feet, Alex lifted her wrapped
leg and set it gently on the coffee table. He could feel her pulse through the layers
of bandage and denim and was slow to remove his hand. Unable to stop himself,
he began massaging swollen tissue then worked his way upward. When he reached
her knee, he glanced up and found her staring at him. This time, she didn’t
look away. His gaze swept her face. Her pupils dilated and her lips parted and
reddened. Her throat and face flushed, but the scent of arousal from between
her legs made it clear that she was anything but embarrassed.

Need crashed over him and he knew that he was nearing the
point of no return. Rules or no rules, if he didn’t get out of there soon, he
wouldn’t be able to stop himself. He ground his teeth and readied himself to
stand and leave, but she reached out and stroked his cheek. It was the first
time in three years that he’d allowed a woman to touch is face. He met her gaze
then leaned into her hand. The place where their skin met seemed to vibrate and
every inhibition drained from him. The urge to touch, taste and please her
overwhelmed him. He didn’t care what the consequences were, he had to have her.

Alex stood and placed his hands on the back of the couch,
one on either side of her head, and leaned in and crushed his lips against
hers, wanting to devour her essence. She wrapped her arms around his neck and
pulled him to her. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and she met his probing
kiss.

The feel of her lips, the scent of her, the sounds of her
soft moans, were more intoxicating than he could have imagined and the intimacy
of it nearly overwhelmed him. It had been so long since he had thought of a
woman as something other than a receptacle for his needs. Long-buried emotions
bubbled to the surface along with his desire.

He dropped his hand from the back of the couch and slid it
behind her head. Her hair felt like silk. His cock stiffened and he pushed her
onto her back, mindless of her injury until she whimpered in pain. “I’m sorry,”
he whispered, then resituated himself to take the pressure off her swollen
ankle.

Gwen pulled his mouth back to hers in a silent show of
forgiveness and he slid his hand under her shirt and kneaded her full breast.
The nipple hardened under his palm. He could feel her pulse not just where
their bodies touched, but all around him, thudding into him like the bass at a
rock concert.

The sweet aroma of her arousal fell over him and he could
imagine how she would taste. He wanted to lick every inch of her plump body. He
dropped his other hand between her legs and massaged the fleshy mound through the
heavy denim. A new wave of delicious juices flowed from her and the sweetness
wafted up to his nose.

She was writhing beneath him, meeting his lips and hands,
pressing back against him as if she could not get close enough. He yanked at
the brass button of her jeans, pulling so hard that her hips lifted from the
cushion. When he thrust into her panties and probed the wet folds of her lower
lips, she moaned and ground against his hand. Lifting his fingers to his mouth,
he sucked her juices and reveled in the sweetness.

Sliding his hand between her legs again, he kissed her so
she could taste it too. He pushed one finger and then another inside her slick
opening. Her pussy was wet and tight and when he massaged her clit with his
thumb, she pushed back against him and sucked on his tongue. Her response
nearly sent him over the edge.

Never taking her mouth from his, she reached between them,
opened his jeans and freed his engorged shaft. She touched and stroked him as
if she knew exactly what he liked—as if they’d been together forever. He moaned
as she dragged a nail up the length of his erection, then traced the deep ridge
behind the head before wrapping her fingers around his cock and pumping with
just the right amount of pressure. She pressed her thumb against the slit,
lubricating it with the bead of cum that had escaped, and massaged the engorged
flesh. He was so hard that he ached and he longed for the warm comfort of her
pussy.

When he pulled back and stared down at her, a wicked grin
passed over her lips. “My, what a big cock you have, Doctor McKenzie,” she
purred.

He chuckled at her playfulness. “All the better to fuck you
with, my dear,” he whispered and bent to kiss her again.

After helping her out of her shirt and bra, and easing off
her jeans and panties, Alex swept his gaze over her naked body. He thought he’d
never seen anything so beautiful, and yet every curve seemed somehow familiar.
Grasping his cock, he slid it up and down her slick divide then positioned the head
at her opening and prepared to push inside. Gwen’s breath hitched as if she
were bracing herself. He would go slowly, until he was buried to the hilt and
then he would…

His body began to quake and itch and he could feel the
coarse fur pushing out beneath his skin.
Fuck
! He was shifting. Alex
shot to his feet and glared down at her, his chest heaving. The look in her
eyes was a maddening combination of lust and confusion.

The world took on a red tint and Alex felt his self control
slipping away. He wanted to sink his teeth into her soft flesh and fuck her
hard. A growl gathered in his chest and he bit down on his tongue to suppress
it.

Air
. He needed air and he needed to get out of here
as soon as possible. Without a word, he yanked up his jeans and bolted out the
front door into the night. As he ran, he looked up at the sky and watched the
clouds slide past the pale crescent above. The moon was barely three quarters.
Why had he reacted like that? He’d never shifted outside of the one-week
window.