Jenn's Wolf (4 page)

He appeared genuine when he was telling the story, just as he
’d been earlier when he told her he wouldn’t drink because it made her uncomfortable. It was so confusing.

The more Jenn thought about her time with Matt, the more she realized he had never said he didn’t want her.
In fact, to hear him tell it, just the opposite was true. Matt had said more than once that he wanted to be with her. Forever.

Had she made a mistake?

Jenn decided to wait and see what Christina thought at the same moment she remembered they were out of the flavored coffee cream they both loved. This discussion definitely needed coffee. She started her car again and drove toward the closest mini mart.

**
**

Matt ran for miles, not really paying attention to where he was going and only half focusing on his surroundings. Taking a deep breath, he made himself slow down. While he enjoyed the ample woods that were situated around Chestnut Rock, it wasn’t wise not to be careful. Hunting was illegal in these woods, but that didn’t mean
that sometimes people didn’t break the law. He also needed to be mindful of live animals, they could be dangerous if they felt threatened. He’d fought with purebred wolfs before and it wasn’t fun—especially the next day when he had to nurse his wounds alone.

He slowed his pace to a walk and took deep breaths to
steady his breathing. While trying to figure out his exact location, he caught a trace of Jenn’s scent. He immediately went on alert. What was Jenn doing in the woods?

Matt followed the scent and soon saw the lights from th
e nearby mini mart. Now he understood. Jenn must have stopped at the market for something.

H
e watched from behind the trees as she got out of the car at the same time another scent caught his nose. It was someone he didn’t recognize and the scent was bad. The person wasn’t unclean, he was dishonest.

Matt figured out what would happen next a second too late.

When Jenn closed her car door a man came from the side, grabbed her purse and pushed her to the ground. Without thinking, Matt jumped from the trees in wolf form and grabbed her purse strap in his teeth.

Matt
snarled, showed his teeth and pulled on the bag. The man let go and ran inside the mini mart, yelling something about a wolf.

Matt turned to Jenn and dropped the purse in her lap.
Her fingers closed tightly around the strap where his teeth had been, but she never took her eyes off him. He dwarfed her in his wolf form and he expected her to jump up and run away. Instead, she stayed where she was and looked at him with what seemed like acceptance.

“Matt?” She questioned, her voice barely a whisper.

He inclined his head once, careful not to make any sudden movements.

“
Is it really you?” She whispered again. Her voice was wobbly and her eyes shone with unshed tears.

He inclined his head again
and sat on his hind legs.

Jenn
tentatively lifted her hand and a few seconds passed before she lightly dragged her palm over his head and down his neck.

“Oh my God.” A single tear slid down her face and Matt licked it up with his tongue.

She laughed and all the tension between them disappeared at the same time someone ran out of the store, looking for her. “Miss? Miss? Are you all right?”

“Go,” she whispered as she started to stand.

Matt hesitated but jumped in the trees as the store owner came around the front of her car. Matt stayed hidden and listened to their conversation.

“Are you all right? A man came inside and said there was a wolf attacking you.”

“A wolf? No wolf attacked me. That man pushed me down and tried to steal my purse. Is he still inside?”

“Yes, my son is watching him. He’s afraid to come back out. He came in yelling about a wolf attack
. I think he may have been drinking.”

“I believe you’re right.” Matt could hear the smile in her voice.

“Come inside. You can stay behind the counter with me until the police get here.”

“Thank you.” She looked back at the trees before she followed the owner into the store.

Matt hated that he was in wolf form. He wanted to take her back to his place and make sure she really was okay. He thought about going home to shift and coming back to the mini mart, but he didn’t want to be away from her for that long so he stayed in the trees while they waited for the police.

While he waited for the police to write the report and let Jenn go,
Matt thought about her reaction to his wolf. He hoped what he’d seen was real and that she’d decided to believe, and accept, him.

Jenn appreciated that the store owner had called the police even though the process took forever. She didn’t know what would have happened if Matt hadn’t shown up
. She didn’t want to know.

The store owner gave her coffee and kept her company. When he was busy with customers, she thought about Matt.

Matt was a wolf. Even though she’d started doubting her decision to leave, seeing his wolf form was very different from hearing about it. He hadn’t lied to her about shifting and she hoped everything else he shared was true as well. Could he forgive her? Would he give her another chance?

Over an hour passed before the police officer finished with the paperwork and let her leave the
store. The officer walked her to her car and offered to follow her home but Jenn declined. She glanced toward the trees but the blanket of darkness didn’t allow her to see anything and she didn’t want to draw attention to the woods. Was Matt still out there? She had no way of knowing but she had to see him.

Jenn drove directly to Matt’s house from the mini mart. When she pulled in the driveway, the house was dark.
Disappointed, she thought about what to do next when she saw a dim light shine through the front window. The door opened, revealing a worried Matt wearing only his jeans. Jenn got out of the car and ran into his arms. He hugged her tightly while pulling her inside the house and closing the door.

“Are you all right?” His arms around her would be suffocating if she didn’t want him so much.
A light sheen of sweat covered his skin and he smelled like the forest with a hint of the cologne he wore earlier.

“I’m fine. I’m so glad you were there
,” she said into his shoulder as she hugged him back.

“So am I. I can’t stand to think about what he may have done.” He hugged her tighter.

“Neither can I. The police arrested him so let’s not talk about it anymore. I’d rather talk about us. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Matt.”

“It’s okay. I’m glad you’re here now, and if you want to, I’d like you to stay.”

She pulled back to see his face. “I’d love to stay the night with you.”

“I’d like you to stay forever.”

“I’d like that, too.”

He kissed her then, hard and possessive as he lifted her and carried her to the bedroom.

Matt sat Jenn down on her feet next to the bed. His fingers started to lift the edge of her tank and she grabbed his wrists to stop him. Even though he said he liked her body, something had changed between them.

“Jenn.”
His voice was gentle, almost as if he understood her fears.

She slowly raised her eyes to meet his. Matt’s eyes held love and acceptance
, nothing more. Jenn let go of his wrists and Matt took off her tank and then her skirt and panties. Next he undid his jeans and pushed them down, using his feet to push them completely off one leg at a time. One side gave him more trouble than the other and they laughed when he almost lost his balance. He hadn’t bothered with any boxers and his hard cock bobbed between them. Matt was big everywhere and she smiled at the difference in their bodies.

“
You’re so beautiful.” Jenn knew Matt meant it and his words made her bold.

“Show me how beautiful you think I am
,” she said as she climbed on the bed and lay down, waiting for him to join her.

Matt covered her body with his and kissed her lips before slowly moving
down her neck. He took his time kissing every inch of her skin except the one place she wanted him most. His soft lips combined with his rough hands and hard body was almost more than she could take.

“
Please,” she begged him until she was ready to orgasm from his kisses. Only then did he reach into the nightstand a pull out a condom. He covered himself quickly and settled between her legs, entering her slowly.

Jenn tightened her arms and legs around him, trying to hurry him,
to pull him in deeper, but Matt wouldn’t be rushed. Despite his size, she took all of him easily. Matt started to move in and out painfully slow, but it was enough. Jenn came when he started to push back in the second time. As if waiting for her release, Matt sped up the pace, coming moments later.

He kissed her tenderly, lay
down on his back beside her and pulled her close.

“I love you, Jenn.” He whispered the words and before she could respond, his breathing deepened and she realized he’d fallen asleep.

Instead of feeling
let down, she remembered his confession of how tired he’d been and how lonely he’d felt without a mate. She snuggled in closer and his arm tightened around her.

Jenn smiled. Her
lonely wolf had finally claimed his mate.

Matt hung up the phone
, washed his hands and continued cutting vegetables to throw in the stew pot. Jenn walked in the door a few minutes later and he smiled. Now that she was home, he could relax. Her presence was soothing to him and his wolf.

His life had changed so much in the last three months. Jenn
stayed with him that night after she saw his wolf at the mini mart and had never left. He asked her to move in, but she kept insisting she wasn’t ready until one morning she realized most of her stuff was already at his house. Matt knew she loved him, but she needed to take things slowly so he let Jenn set the pace of the relationship.

Two weeks ago she finally conceded
and admitted that she lived with him. He hoped one day she’d concede to becoming a wolf. They’d talked about the process and he shared everything he could think of about shifting and being a wolf, but he knew she was scared. He understood and if she never changed, he’d be happy just to be with her.

Jenn walked in
to the kitchen, stood next to him and rose up to her tip-toes. He leaned down and she kissed him on the cheek before looking in the pot boiling on the stove.

“Chicken soup? My favorite. You
are a wonderful man.”

“Yes, I am
,” he joked, continuing his work. “How was your day?”

“Great. How about you?” She leaned on the counter next to him.

“It was good. I got a call from a friend of mine. Do you remember the bear shifter I was telling you about?”

“Your friend from college?”

“That’s the one. He’s moving to Chestnut Rock and needs a place to stay.”

“
You said you trust him completely, right? Maybe he can room with Christina for a while. She’s looking for a roommate now that I’ve completely moved out.”

“That might work, at least
until he gets settled.”

Jenn wrapped her arms around his waist and his finger slipped. The knife sliced across his finger.

“Ouch!” Matt looked down to see blood seeping out of the cut.

“I’m so sorry, Matt. Let me see.” She grabbed his finger.

“It will be okay.” He started to turn toward the sink when he felt Jenn lift his hand.

“Jenn, no!”

He turned back to see the tip of his finger, along with his open wound, inside her mouth. It was arousing to see her mouth around his finger, but the feeling was quickly doused by fear and he tried to pull his hand away.

Jenn tried to hold his hand there, but he was stronger.

“Jenn…” Matt didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t believe she’d made a mistake like that. She’d tasted his blood. Now she would turn into a wolf whether she wanted to or not.

“Was it enough?” She tried to grab his hand again. “Did I taste enough?” She looked up at him expectantly and smiled.

“You knew what you were doing?” He asked cautiously.

“Yes, Matt. I knew what I was doing. Are you okay?”

“Okay? You little minx, I thought it was an accident and you were going to hate me. If you did that on purpose, I’m more than okay.” He hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.”

“
No, thank you. I never thought I’d be this happy.” She hugged him back. “And I’m not a minx, I’m a wolf. Your wolf.”

She
pulled back and smiled at him. He needed to clean his hand and check the boiling pot on the stove, but he couldn’t resist kissing her first.

She was his and he was hers.

Forever.