Reclaiming the Wolf (Cascade Shifters Book 1) (2 page)

She closed the distance between them and ran her hand up his naked chest, loving the way her palm felt against his dark spattering of hair, and rested it on the back of his neck. He shifted his body a little, and she was suddenly aware of his very hard cock between them.

Focus, Kaya. You might still be a virgin, but it’s not like you haven’t seen him naked before.
“I want you to be my date for GreyFire’s autumn celebration.”

For a second, he said nothing and she started to wonder if she’d asked him too soon. Then he raised an eyebrow and said, “Are you sure?”

She let out the breath she’d been holding. “Yes. You love me, and despite your enormous ego, I love you too. I think it’s time to stand up to our clans and fight for it.”

His gaze was heavy-lidded and his voice was husky when he said, “Say it again.”

“What? That you have an enormous ego?”

He grabbed her ass and pulled her flush up against him. His eyes were almost dangerous. “No, the part about how you love me.”

The pressure of his hard, hot cock against her belly was making it difficult to think of anything, but she managed to say, “I love you, Sylas Murray. Will you go on a non-secret date with me?”

He leaned his face down and kissed the right corner of her mouth. “Yes.” Then he kissed the left corner. “Anything for you, Kaya-love.”

She moved her hips against him, and he drew in a breath. She smiled, drunk on the power she had over him. “Then hurry up and get me naked, Sy, so you can make love to me.”

~~~

Sy was still trying to absorb how Kaya wanted to present him to her clan, but then the little vixen rubbed against his dick, and all other thoughts went out the window.

Tonight, he was finally going to make love to the stubborn woman who’d stolen his heart.

He gave her a quick, rough kiss before grabbing the hem of her shirt, and she lifted her arms so he could tug it over her head. Tossing it to the side, he rubbed his hands up and down her bare arms before reaching around her back for the hooks of her bra.

The damn thing didn’t want to go free and he nearly sliced it with a claw, but he rather liked the lacy blue bra against her bronze skin and would like to see Kaya in it later. So he fumbled with the hooks and finally released them. He then rubbed the skin between her shoulder blades, loving how soft her skin was there.

By all rights, he should take his time, maybe even use the material of her bra to tease her nipples, but Sy was impatient. A teenage boy could only hold back for so long. All he could think about was feeling her tight, wet heat around his cock.

Tossing the bra aside, he was distracted by her dark, hard nipples.

He’d spent many a night dreaming about them in his mouth. He couldn’t resist tracing one, and then the other with his finger before he bent down and took her right nipple into his mouth. He sucked her deep before gently biting her sensitive skin. Kaya moaned and arched her back into his touch. He gave one last pull, and then released her to look his wolf-shifter in the eye. As much as it was killing him to hold back, he said, “We’ve always stopped here before. Are you sure about going the rest of the way, Kaya? I love you, and will wait as long as it takes.”

His heart kicked into overdrive as she brushed her hand over his chest, her fingers playing with his hair there. Her touch was like a brand with heat flaring from her soft fingertips.

Then she started to move her hand lower and he went still. He hadn’t lied; he could wait. But he hoped like hell her hand would keep going.

And it did. She traced the line of hair toward his groin, but stopped shy of touching the head of his cock currently curled up against his belly. She’d seen it before, even touched it, but then she did something she hadn’t done before and traced the tip with her finger.

His legs wanted to buckle, but he somehow found a way to remain standing. She traced his slit once, and then again. As he let out a drop of precum, he knew he wasn’t going to last as long as he wanted the first time.

He watched as Kaya touched the bead of wetness on his cock, raised her finger to her mouth, and sucked it deep. He nearly came right then and there. In a strangled voice he said, “Kaya, you’re killing me.”

She removed her finger from her mouth and smiled. “Does that answer your question?”

Holy fuck, how he deserved this vixen, he didn’t know, but he needed to kiss her. Now.

~~~

Kaya didn’t really know what the hell she was doing. She’d never tried to seduce a man before, but Sy seemed to like it. As she tasted the saltiness of Sy’s precum, she decided she would try more of that later. Right now, with Sy’s eyes blazing down at hers, she barely had time to draw a breath before his lips were on hers.

His tongue thrust into her mouth as he pulled her up against him. She moaned as her nipples pressed against his hot chest, but she wanted to feel even closer to him. She ran a hand into his hair and battled his tongue for control, their teeth clashing in the challenge.

Wrapping his arms around her, he surrounded her in his heat and the musky male scent that was Sy. Wetness rushed between her legs and her core started to pulse. She tried rubbing her clit against his leg, but instead of helping her, Sy broke the kiss and said, “I think it’s time to get you naked.”

Without a word, she undid her pants and kicked them off before shedding her underwear. A moment of embarrassment came over her as Sy gave her a long look from head to breast to the hair between her legs. Men had seen her naked after a shift, but this was different. It felt like Sy was caressing her body with his eyes.

He placed a finger under her chin and raised her face until she met his eyes. Her breath caught. His gaze was hot, his eyes like liquid green gold, and it made her feel as if she were the most desirable woman in the world.

He moved his finger from her chin to her lips. As he traced the bottom one with his warm, rough finger, he said, “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world to me. I could stare at your naked body for hours, and still not get my fill.”

“Oh, Sy.” She touched his hand on her cheek. “I love you.”

“If you love me now, let’s see what you say after I’m done.”

She opened her mouth to make a quip, but before she could say anything, he scooped her up and laid her on the ground. As he covered her body with the weight of his very hard, very masculine body, Kaya, the six-foot tall wolf-shifter, actually felt delicate.

He gave her a quick kiss before he leaned up and ran his hands down her neck, cupped her breasts, and then ran his hands over the muscled planes of her stomach. “You’re perfect to me, and always will be, Kaya-love.”

She felt her cheeks flush. As he continued his journey down to her core, she lost the power of speech. After six months, this was really happening. Kaya was about to lose her virginity to a cougar-shifter.

~~~

Sy had been going slow for Kaya’s benefit, but now, as he reached the folds between her legs, he couldn’t believe he was finally going to feel the tight, wet heat of her pussy.

He traced one swollen lip, and then the other. At a breathy, “Sy,” he looked up. Kaya’s dark brown eyes were heavy-lidded, and while there was a touch of color on her tan cheeks from embarrassment, he could see she wanted what he was promising.

He pushed his finger inside her tight, slick heat. She gasped, and Sy said, “Last chance, Kaya-love. Say the word, and I’ll stop.”

Kaya started to move on his finger, and if he hadn’t already fallen in love with her, he would’ve in that instant.

He gave one deep thrust before removing his finger. Licking her wetness off his skin, he looked Kaya dead in the eye and said, “You won’t regret it, love. I promise.”

She wriggled. “Please, Sy. I’m more than ready for you to be my first.”

Spreading her legs wide, he rubbed his hands up and down the smooth skin of her inner thighs. Her heart was beating so fast he could feel her pulse where her thigh met her hip.

Her heart wasn’t the only one beating a million times a minute. The smell of her arousal, combined with the warm feel of her skin against his palms, pushed his need to claim her to the bursting point. He would force himself to take this slowly if it killed him, which it very well might, but he couldn’t resist claiming her with words.

He squeezed her thighs and growled low before he whispered, “If I have anything to say about it, I will be your first and your last.”

Her eyes widened, but his gaze moved to focus on the wet, swollen flesh between her thighs. He’d waited months to brand the taste of her sweet honey on his memory, and his mouth watered in anticipation.

He leaned down and licked her from slit to clit, causing her to cry out. Fuck, her taste was incredible. He licked her hot sweetness again, and again, but it wasn’t enough.

As he started to fuck her sweet pussy with his tongue, he felt Kaya’s claws digging into his scalp. This, right here in the clearing, was the best moment of his life. He had a woman he loved, hot and open to him, moaning his name, and who loved him in return. A life together between a cougar-shifter and a wolf-shifter wouldn’t be easy, but Kaya was a precious treasure he would do anything to protect.

Chapter Two

Cascade Mountains, Present Day

Kaya Alexie signed her name for the two-hundredth time this morning, tossed aside her pen, and leaned back in her chair. Until she’d become GreyFire’s clan leader three years ago, she’d never known just how much paperwork was involved. But if she didn’t fill out the monthly shifter report for the US Bureau of Shifter Affairs, she wouldn’t qualify for the grants her researchers desperately needed. She may not like it, but she’d do anything for her clan.

Well, almost anything.

Rather than think about that, Kaya stretched her arms over her head and rotated her shoulders. She finished her stretches just as someone knocked on the door; her next appointment was right on time.

Putting a leg up on her desk, she crossed the other one over it as she said, “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal her tall, smiling second-in-command, Erika Washington.

Closing the door, she then made her way to the chairs in front of Kaya’s desk, tossed a file on it, and plopped down. “Did you finish the report?” Kaya nodded, and Erika’s face turned serious. “Good. Because we have more important things to talk about.”

She eyed her friend and commander with suspicion. “If you say ‘planning the autumn celebration,’ I might just have to throw my shoe at you.”

Erika grinned, her white teeth blazing in contrast to her dark skin. “Oh, come on. It’s one of the few times you actually let down your hair and wear a dress. I’m sure all of the males are counting down the days.”

Kaya rolled her eyes. “I knew you had a second agenda. We’ve discussed this before, Erika. I’m fine without a mate. Slapping a ring on some random male isn’t going to automatically make me a better leader.”

Erika shook her head. “That’s not entirely true. The wolf part of us needs the stability of our leader having a mate. You’ve done wonders bringing our clan back from the near-bankruptcy caused by your uncle, but it’s time to at least try finding a male worthy of having at your side, and not just for our sakes, but for yours too.”

“I’ve managed fine so far, and it’s not like you can just force things to happen just because you want them to. I envy leaders like Kian Murray, who has a mate he can lean on, but it’s harder for female leaders. You know what shifter males are like. Too many of them want to dominate and take over, and the hell if I’ll let that happen.”

Erika put her hands on Kaya’s desk and leaned forward, causing the small braids of her hair to swing around her shoulders. “I’m not asking you to step into an arranged marriage. I’m just asking for you to socialize at the autumn celebration.” Kaya opened her mouth, but Erika cut her off. “Not just talking with people, but actually accept offers when males ask you to dance.”

“Hmph. And to think, I thought I was the one in charge here.”

“Kaya, I’m serious. It’s time to forget about Sylas Murray and find a nice wolf-shifter to mate with.”

It’d been years since anyone had mentioned that name to her, and for good reason. “I stopped caring about that damn cat the day he broke my heart.”

Erika raised her eyebrows. “Liar.”

Kaya sighed. “Will dancing with some males get you off my back?”

Her friend smiled. “Part of my job is to look after you. Good thing, too, or you’d never stop working.”

Work was what had helped her focus and find her place in the clan, but she didn’t want to have that discussion with Erika. Instead, Kaya smiled at her friend and said, “Fine, I’ll do some dancing. But don’t start making plans for any mating or pup celebrations just yet.”

Erika clapped her hands. “Good.” She waved a hand toward the file she’d placed on the desk earlier, and leaned back into her chair again. “Now that’s settled, I need to talk to you about the bids for our latest malaria drug. The discrimination against drugs developed using bits of shifter DNA is starting to lessen. If the FDA approves it next year, this drug might be the key to our clan’s financial stability.”