Secret Cravings

Texas Wolf Pack 1

KRIS COOK

Copyright © 2010

Chapter 1

Troy Keekoti hated horses, and they hated him. Perfectly natural, all things considered.

He wanted to beat the beast into submission, but didn’t. “Nightmare, if you don’t stop fighting me, I’ll sink my claws into you right now.”

The four-hoofed broomtail seemed to understand his threat and lowered his head. Somehow Gran Bullion’s black stallion had gotten out of his stall and jumped a fence.

Good thing he was so fond of Gran. Though she wasn’t actually his grandmother, but an amazing friend and family to their tribe. Troy and his twin brother, Rance, were taking care of her property while she was out of the country.

Her damn equine had enjoyed an evening of harassing Keekoti livestock into a full stampede that ended in a gate being busted and the herd far from the best grazing. He’d chased the beast for a full hour before he’d been able to get a lead rope on him. Now, his muscles ached and his temper smoldered.

He unlatched the gate, guided the now semi-docile horse through to the other side, then closed it. Rounding the curve of Gran’s private dirt road, Troy tensed.

Lights were on at the house that was supposed to be empty.

He stopped, wishing he’d taken the time to backtrack to his truck with Nightmare instead of walking the stallion straight here. Inside the cab, there were two rifles and a pistol that he could really use right now.

Wondering who might be in Gran’s house, he searched for a clue. Instantly, a familiar scent of a spring shower and honey hit his nostrils. Katrina Bullion’s scent.
Kate is here.

In a flash, his entire body tensed. Her aroma drove his animal lust into overdrive. His cock responded immediately, as always, turning hard, dying to sink down into the wet, swollen depths of her clasping pussy.

Nightmare pulled at the reins, lifting his front hooves off the ground. The horse must’ve sensed the change in him.

“Whoa.” Troy pulled hard on the lead rope.

The stallion shook his head in defiance and fear, but finally did settle down a bit.

Thankfully, the moon was only three-quarters or Troy might’ve given into his internal urges and run to find her and claim her as his mate.

No. I gotta get this damn glue bag locked up in a stall, pronto. Fucking Kate is out of the question.

Rance and he had been inseparable from Kate until that fateful day when they'd been sixteen and she'd almost learned the secret they were forbidden to share.

He and Rance were wolf shifters.

There wasn’t a single day or night that Troy didn’t dream about her. No matter. There was a vow to his brother and a secret to keep.

First, he had to figure out where Kate was on the ranch. The last thing he needed was a face-to-face with her—or he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. But he couldn’t deny that seeing her, losing control with her, was exactly what he wanted.

“Hi, Troy. Gran’s not here.”

Kate’s silky voice added inches of ache to his already hardening cock.

Damn!

Troy clenched his jaw. He should’ve realized how close she was. Unlike him, Rance would’ve been alert, paying attention to his surroundings. Stupid mistake. Sure, Nightmare had rattled him, but that was no excuse to be caught off guard.

“I know. She’s in Peru.” Troy turned to face the girl who’d haunted his dreams for years—only to realize she was now all woman.

Keeping his jaw from dropping proved impossible with her beauty. As she headed his way, the sweet young woman he’d last seen seven years ago at their high school graduation had morphed into a full-blown sexy temptation.

“Peru? You’re kidding. Troy, have you considered becoming a comic?”

Kate had always been able to rib his dark moods away. How he missed that. Missed everything about her.

“You know your Gran.”

As Kate emerged from the trees, the breeze tugging at her long blond curls hypnotized him. His blood boiled fiery with each swaying step that brought her closer. Her ample breasts bounced under a gray t-shirt. She wore hip-hugging jeans and black boots. His heart banged loud in his chest. He itched to strip her right in the middle of Gran’s drive.

Why the hell did wolves have to sense their mate by scent?

Kate’s hands curled into fists. “Damn it. I can’t believe this. When will she be back?”

“Christmas Eve, I think. Since that’s your birthday, I bet she’ll make you a cake.”

“Troy, it’s your birthday, too.”

“Don’t care much for birthdays anymore.”

“Me either. Oh well, so much for surprising Gran for the holidays. Thanks for finding Nightmare.” Kate’s eyes sparkled so blue, but she appeared nervous, looking around at everything but him. That only made her even more desirable to him. “Troy, I-I wanted to go for a ride and before I could get a saddle on Nightmare, he bolted.”

Troy knew he should’ve been running back all the way to his truck…away from her before he lost control, stripped her bare, and tried to climb between her thighs. But he just kept talking. He couldn’t get enough of her, hearing her voice, inhaling her sweet scent so close. “You left the stall open?”

She blushed a beautiful pink, and then her body secreted faint pheromones that his special sense of smell detected. Mating pheromones, whetting his appetite to the edge of his control.

“My ranch skills are rusty. Do you mind helping me make sure he’s locked up?” She grinned. “I don’t think he’ll hurt you with me around.”

“Better if you do it. He doesn’t care for me.” Troy fought the urge to cover Kate in kisses starting with her luscious lips, then working his way down to those full breasts and the tasty pussy he could almost smell. But how could she ever forgive the harshness he and Rance had dished out to her? If he told her the truth she might.

No. Gotta get far away from her before all my willpower is lost.

“From what little I saw, you don’t seem to care for him either.” Her lips curled into the cutest smile.

Her scent grew stronger, and his heart pounded in his chest. “I don’t.”

“You never did like horses…even as a kid. Neither did your brother.” Kate frowned.

Her delicious smell amplified, pulled at his cock. Was she actually getting wet being near him? “Horse bigotry kind of runs in the family.”

“Strange for cowboys, don’t you think?”

Troy forced himself to smile and not think about covering her, mating with her, getting so deep inside her that she couldn’t remember being without him. “We don’t call ourselves that.”

She tilted her head. “Yeah? So, what do you call yourselves in your native language?”

“Ranchers.”

Kate laughed, sounding light and full of life.

He took in another whiff of the now-stronger scent of her pussy. His balls ached, his cock going stone hard. Hunger whirled inside him to teeth her clit until she creamed. Damn, he wanted her. Even without a full moon, but lust wasn’t something he needed to deal with right now. Lust for Kate wasn’t something he was sure he could ever deal with successfully.

“Rancher or cowboy, I really could use your help.” Not waiting for him to answer, she headed down the dirt road to the barn. He took advantage of the opportunity to ogle her perfect ass. Damn, he was in deep trouble.

Keep it light, conversational. Don’t let her know how badly I’d like to throw her to the ground on all fours and plunge deep into her pussy.

“It’s been a long time, Kate.” He pulled at the lead. Thankfully, Nightmare followed.

Kate slowed, allowing him to get beside her. “It has been awhile.”

“How’s college?” He hated the small talk, but without it he would lose himself to the compulsion to fuck her breathless…and claim her as his own.

“Finished a few weeks ago.”

He looked over at her, trying to get a read on what she was running through her head. It wouldn’t be a surprise if she asked him to leave once the horse was put up given all the troubled history they had together.

“Good for you, Kate. Will you keep going? Get your PhD?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I’m done.”

“Will you be coming back here to set up shop?” God, he wanted that. Screw the consequences. He’d missed her so damn much. Rance would want that, too, no matter how much he denied it. “With your Masters in Psychology, you could help some of the crazies around here. You’d have plenty of heads to shrink.”

“Gran must’ve told you what degree I got.” Kate tilted her head. Too smart. She wasn’t buying the small talk one bit. “Perhaps I could start with yours and your brother’s heads to shrink.”

Ouch!
Apparently, time didn’t heal all wounds. “I guess I deserved that given what happened.”

Her face darkened. She opened her mouth to say something, but then turned away.

They walked into the barn and led the horse through the narrow space between the stalls on either side to the last one on the left.

Kate patted the beast on the neck. “You’ve been very bad, Nightmare.”

Troy took the lead rope off of the stallion and hung it on one of the hooks, glaring at the beast with a silent threat. He was grateful that Nightmare remained motionless while Kate put some feed in his trough. They secured the horse for the night and pulled the gate to the stall closed. The gate and the walls hemmed them close together. Kate turned to him, finally meeting his gaze. Her sultry scent filled the air.

Now she was less than twelve inches from him, eroding his sanity. “Don’t you miss all this, Kate?”

Her eyes widened, and she inched away to the open space on the far side of the barn, like prey scampering away from a predator.

“I don’t think so, Troy.” Her tone hinted that she was not being fully truthful. You could take the girl out of the country but not the country out of the girl. “I think Dallas or Fort Worth would be better for me. I even have some leads in New York, Boston, and Baltimore. Who knows where I’ll end up?” She shrugged. “Let’s get out of this smelly barn.”

Unable to look away, he fixed his gaze on her. She trembled and looked down. And he finally got it. She sensed the unfulfilled tension between them. He made her edgy, a bit nervous. And that only made him want her more. Fuck the risks. Somehow, he’d figure it all out. Rance wouldn’t approve. They’d made a promise, brother to brother. And of course he’d be breaking tribal law by mating with an outsider. But being with Kate again, even for a few minutes, had awakened the old desires that had clawed at him for years. Then, it had been adolescent, hormonal pining. Now, it was the full-blown hunger of man for this woman. He’d have her, with or without Rance’s blessing.

They exited the barn and walked to Gran’s front porch.

“Kate—” Troy heard an engine that sounded to be about a mile or two distant.
Rance’s truck.
His brother would be here lickety-split.
Dammit.

“Y–Yes?”

His twin must’ve found his abandoned truck, saw Nightmare’s tracks, and realized that Troy had come to Gran’s.

He clenched his fists and drew in a deep breath. He’d have to wait to claim her. But not for long. “I’d like to have dinner with you while you’re here.”

Troy heard Rance’s truck stop and the door open. By now, his brother would’ve gotten wind of Kate’s scent.
Fuck.
Things were going downhill fast. Rance knew the pull that Kate had on him…hell, on both of them. His brother would be pissed off that he was trying to make plans to spend more time with her and risk exposing their secret.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” She looked up at him.

“Just dinner. We can talk and catch up. I want to hear all about you.” He’d never thought she would come back, but he’d always hoped. “You can ask me any question you want…and I’ll answer.”

“Truthfully?”

“Yes.” He would be totally honest. “How about tonight?”