Chance Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire 6) (8 page)

“You don’t have to be afraid of me, Em. I won’t ever hurt you.”

“Don’t get mud on my good shoes,” Emily joked as she squished down the path toward the cabin in her muddy rubber boots.

Chance laughed and tossed the third load of traps into the growing pile near the hill of simmering ashes in the front yard. She would sell them to trappers sometime this week and be done with another layer of her old life.

Something wet and slimy hit her hand, and she gasped. Glaring down at her mud-streaked fingertips and jacket sleeve, she said, “Brute! I dressed up for you!”

“In dirt-splattered tights and the same jacket you wear every day?” he asked, wadding up another icky mud ball.

“High maintenance,” she accused, speed-walking out of throwing distance.

“Mmmm, don’t get me wrong woman. I love watching you work those filthy tights, but I’m calling bullshit on you dressing up for me. You didn’t even know I was coming over today. Next time, wear nothing if you want to impress me.”

“That’s it. The date is off.” She giggled and dodged a lobbed mud ball. “It’s off, I say. We’re breaking up.”

“I haven’t even told you where I’m taking you. Are you sure you want to end us before we begin? Because I
will not
monster-fuck you in your sleep if you call this off.”

She burst out laughing and chucked a wad of mud at him. Irritatingly, he danced out of range and only caught a couple of splatters on his light gray sweater.

He looked down at his shirt incredulously, then lifted his light green eyes to hers. Determination and amusement swam there now, and she squeaked and bolted, scooping a handful of ick off the ground as she ran. Damn the mud. It was sucking at her boots like quick sand as she ran for the side of the house. He was right behind her now, laughing in that deep, sexy way of his. With the realization she was caught, she turned at the last second and wiped a handful of mud across his face.

“Ah!” he yelled, hooking her waist and dragging her to a stop. He wiped a handful of mud down the side of her hair.

“Animal!”

“And proud.” He growled and then nipped her lips.

She bit him back and squeezed his ass with her muddy hands. “Mine,” she teased.

When Chance turned, he had perfect, tiny handprints on his jeans’ pockets. “Mine,” he countered, squeezing her boobs gently and making two handprints.

Determined, she bent down and grabbed two handfuls of the dark brown muck, rubbed it all over him until her hands were wiped clean, then squeezed his dick. “All mine.”

His gaze went deadly serious as he stared down at her hand on his crotch. When he lifted his eyes, they looked brighter. Lighter. Perhaps it was all the dark mud on his face, but she thought she could see his wolf there. Chance pulled her in so suddenly, her stomach dipped like she’d fallen from a great height. The growl in his throat revved her from zero to sixty in the instant right before his lips crashed onto hers.

She gripped the back of his hair with her filthy hands, and the snarl in his throat intensified as he lifted her off the ground, hooking her legs around him. The mud had hindered her gait, but Chance walked her backward as if it didn’t impact him at all. Sexy, snarling werewolf was kissing her throat now. Arching her neck back, she was blinded by the sunlight and closed her eyes against it. Her back hit the side of the house, and she could feel him now. His long, thick erection pushed against the fabric of their clothes as he rocked his hips against her. Holy hell, Chance was hot. And not in the pretty-face-but-no-substance way, but in the capable, animalistic, rugged, scarred-up lover who harnessed and hid the power of a wolf kind of way.

She moaned as she felt his teeth against the tripping pulse at the base of her neck. She should be so scared right now. All of her training had taught her to never get in this situation, throat exposed to a predator, but she’d believed Chance when he’d given her the oath he wouldn’t hurt her. She trusted him.

Rolling her hips, she met his motion in just the right spot. Too many clothes. Desperation to touch his skin made her lose all logic. “I’m on birth control.”

“Fuck, woman, what are you telling me?”

“I want you.”
In me.

Chance reared back and searched her eyes intently, then settled her on her feet and ripped her jacket backward. As soon as she was free of her coat, she shoved his shirt upward as he backed her toward the front of the house. His platinum blond hair was sexy and all mussed like he’d just woken up when he escaped his sweater, and she was awed with how rigid his muscles were under her fingertips as she dragged her touch down his defined chest and abs to his jeans. Dear goodness, he was the most well-made man she’d ever laid hands on, and he was looking at her the same way, as if he’d won the lottery.

Swaying from side to side as he ushered her toward the porch stairs, he pulled her shirt off and draped it on the railing. “I fucking love this,” he murmured in a husky voice as he popped her full breasts out of the cups of her leopard print bra. Mortified at how her teats looked from this angle, she moved to unsnap her bra in back, but he dragged her hand to his lips and bit down gently, right between her index finger and thumb. “No,” he reprimanded.

Oooh, sexy man, okay. He liked her tits like this? Fine. He didn’t mind her covered in mud either, so maybe Chance was an easy man to please.

With a soft suck of her finger, he released her, and she immediately went for his jeans again. Unsnapped and unzipped, the jeans were shimmied just low enough to unsheathe his erection. In truth, she’d thought about what he looked like naked more than she would care to admit out loud, but her imagination was bland compared to the real thing. Eight-pack abs led to an intimidatingly thick shaft. Holy shit, it had been a while since she’d been with anyone, and no one like this.

“I’ll be gentle,” he promised, as though he could sense her intimidation. He grinned and amended, “The first time.”

Chills blasted across her skin, and it wasn’t from the stiff breeze. Chance lifted her up again, holding the backs of her knees around him as he climbed the stairs. The man wasn’t even struggling under her weight or breathing hard, and once again, she was reminded how much strength he kept hidden. But a piece of her was melting just knowing that he was exposing his hidden side to her, little by little.

He was trusting her with the deepest parts of himself, and she was honored that a good man would even allow her to see that side of him. But more than that, she was relieved there was still a chance for them. That she was still redeemable in his eyes.

Hugging Chance’s neck tightly, she kissed him to the sound of the door creaking open behind her. The fire in her belly had turned to slow churning magma as her heart latched onto him more and more.

Settling her on her feet, Chance murmured against her lips, “This will change things for me.”

“How,” she asked on a breath.

“It feels different than with other women.”

Emily sank her teeth hard into his bare shoulder. “Don’t talk about other women, or I’ll hunt them all down.”

A wicked smile stretched his lips. “Oh, I don’t doubt it, you jealous little hellion, and I wouldn’t dream of releasing you onto the swarm of the three women I’ve been with, but you should know my wolf is calling for you.”

“Calling for me?” she asked, confused.

Chance laid her down on the bed, reached behind her, and unsnapped her bra with an easy
snick
. “Howling, more like. He approves of you.” With a soft growl, he lowered his lips to her taut nipple and drew it against his tongue.

She was losing her mind, losing control of her body as she arched against him in a silent plea for more, but she needed to say this before she lost her words completely. Lifting his face from her breast, she whispered, “Chance?”

“What is it?” he asked, a furrow of worry in his blond brows.

“I
love
your wolf.”

“What?”

She ran her finger across the drying mud on his cheek. “I mean, your wolf is the most beautiful animal I’ve ever seen. He’s perfect.” She swallowed hard and closed her eyes so she would be brave enough when she murmured, “You’re perfect.”

Chance brought her palm to his lips and let his kiss linger there, then drew her hand against his chest, right over his heart, which was beating frantically. He didn’t have to explain. She was falling, too. Her eyes prickled with emotion as a feeling of utter safety slid over her shoulders. She hadn’t felt like this since she was a kid, before everyone in her life had convinced her the world was dark, and honestly, she didn’t think she would ever feel like this again. Not with anyone.

With a grateful smile, she ran her hand over the scars on his ribcage. “My beautiful monster,” she whispered.

Chance rolled his eyes closed and lifted off her, locking his arms, his triceps flexing under his weight. “Em, are you sure you want to do this? I won’t be able to leave you alone if we take this any further. I can feel it. This isn’t just casual sex for me.”

Chance was giving her an out, but he didn’t understand. For the first time in years, the fog had lifted and she was seeing clearly. And it was Chance who had started that change in her. She couldn’t explain it, couldn’t stop this feeling she had when she was with him, but she could identify it. Certainty. Chance was good, and she was a better person for being around him. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”

Chance lowered himself and kissed her, then trailed his lips slowly down her jaw line as his oversize hand gripped her waist. “Tell me if I hurt you,” he murmured.

Chance wouldn’t, though. He’d had the opportunity to take her against the house, and he’d resisted. He’d taken his time and brought her to the soft mattress instead. The rasp of his blond, short scruff felt amazing against her flushed skin, and she writhed against his touch as he dragged his lips lower to her hipbone. Smoothly, he pulled off her muddy shoes one by one, then peeled the rest of her clothes off, eyes locked on hers. Hands steady, he lifted her knee, bending her leg until the heel of her foot rested on the soft covers, and then he gently bit the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. His smile was back. God, she loved that look on him, like he was having fun, enjoying her body.

“You look positively naughty right now,” she mused.

“I was just thinking about last night when you said you would give me, like”—he pitched his voice high—“ten BJs a day.”

“Oh, God,” she groaned, covering her flushing cheeks. “I kind of remember that now.” With a giggle, she said, “Just so you know going forward, my max is really three BJs a day.”

“Woman,
my
max is three a day. You’d kill me with ten. I’d just be a shriveled body, lying in the corner, completely drained. I’m glad you aren’t a boner vampire.”

“Stop it,” she said, clutching her stomach to stop the laughter. “This is supposed to be our sexy moment, and you’re teasing.”

He clamped his lips over her clit and gently bit down, blazing eyes challenging her.

“Oooh,” she groaned, gripping his hair. “Right there.”

His growl vibrated against her clit, making her toes curl. Chance ran his tongue up her wet slit and sucked gently, and now she was desperate. Desperate for his tongue to slip inside of her, but he seemed content to tease her, sucking, biting, licking until she was rocking her hips to the rhythm he set.

Chance ran his hand up her belly and massaged her breast. With his other hand, he held onto one of her thighs. She felt it then—the first shallow dip of his tongue. Her sex pulsed, and she spread her legs wider for him. “Please, Chance,” she whispered.

The growl rattled against her harder, louder, and his tongue dipped a little deeper. Tease, tease, Chance was a tease, and she couldn’t bear it anymore. Gripping his hair harder, she dragged him closer and bowed against the mattress as he slid his tongue inside of her. The pressure was already too much. “I’m gonna…” She panted and writhed against him.

He sucked her clit one last time and crawled over her. Rolling her on top of him, he pulled her legs into a straddle and sat up, lips on her breast in an instant. She should’ve been shaken by how fast she got here, but his erection was tight against her clit and she loved it here, comfortable against his stony chest with his knees drawn up against her back.

Emily plucked at the skin on his neck with her teeth as she lifted off him. Chance’s hands went rough on her hips, gripping her hard, and she eased back to watch his face as she slid over his shaft. So big. Almost too big, but the stretch felt good, especially when Chance’s gaze went from dazed to fierce in a moment. He huffed a soft breath and ended it with her whispered name. “Em.”

God, she adored him. Loved him already. The way he looked at her, the way he made her feel, she was lost to her lineage completely in this moment. She’d picked a side, picked a partner. Picked a mate.

When she rolled her hips, he let off a shaky breath and rested his forehead against her shoulder. She set the pace slow and nibbled his ear as his arms wrapped around her. He pulled her tightly against him every time she took all of him.

His lips were on her now, urgent, wild, and his scent was changing. Fur. Her wolf. Hers for always if he would allow it.

Chance rolled her onto her back and took the reins, pushing into her faster as he bit her lip, her jaw, her neck, her chest, right over her left breast. He was tempted, she could tell. Tempted to mark her, and she glowed under the meaning. She was his, like he belonged to her.