Shifting Positions (7 page)

And because she was terrified that she had lost him – not that she ever wanted him in the first place, right? – she never saw his eyes gleam with admiration as he watched her walk away, never saw the grin that lit his face with pride and certainly never heard him say, with deep reverance, “That’s my woman.”

After her shift at Dolen’s, Tess drove straight to the hospital to check on her mom. As happens in small towns, news traveled fast, and a phone call would always beat out a car for speed.

The first words out of Ruth’s mouth were, “So I heard you put Kyle Kolter in his place.” Rolling her eyes, Tess calmly explained what had happened and then deftly changed the subject to her mom’s health and recovery. She wasn’t ready to reveal just how affected she was by the earlier incident. By acting on instinct rather than her normal cool control back at the café, Tess had let loose an elemental part of herself that she realized she relished.. That aching emptiness she’d been carrying around forever was gone, and it its place was a sense of awareness and a certain understanding of herself . Now if she could understand what she wanted from Caleb.

The feelings she had for the man were surprisingly strong considering the short time period she’d known him. And the physical attraction? Wow. The man was sex personified. Just the thought of him had her blood warming, her nipples tightening. He was right in that they had the physical attraction in spades and she already wanted to know more about him. His likes and dislikes. Where he was born, why he went into law enforcement and what his favorite color was.

But love? That was a tricky business. One she wasn’t sure she wanted to risk.

She always thought she knew herself so well, but the last few weeks proved her wrong.

She hated feeling so out of control of her emotions, which was probably why she always kept them bottled up. Between her mom’s medical condition, leaving her job, moving home, her new and confusing reactions to Caleb and now letting go of her inner wolf, she was in an emotional turmoil and was struggling to find her equilibrium. Sticking her head in the sand to ignore the problem was no longer going to work, and she hated that.

As she pulled onto the dirt road leading home the headlights captured the sudden fall of wet snowflakes, turning the last leg of her journey into a cold, slushy trek that begged to end with a roaring fire in the stone hearth and a cuddle next to a strong man.

Caleb would be beautiful by firelight, full of decadent shadows and hard angles. Tess could easily imagine exploring his powerful body in the flickering light, discovering each corded muscle, licking every salty inch of his heated flesh as she worked oh so slowly down his length until she could wrap her lips around his cock. She wanted to take him in her mouth, wanted to feel his body quiver and strain beneath her wondering hands. Wanted to watch his face as she stroked him with her tongue and lips. Witness the moment he lost control and gave in to pleasure, exploding in her mouth.

Tess shivered as the byplay caused her pussy to pulse and dampen her thong. She’d never wanted that before, to swallow a man’s very essence. But she wanted Caleb’s. She ached to have some part of him deep inside her, to keep forever. God, she was an idiot. Now that she’d lost him, she wanted him more than ever. Wasn’t that just sickeningly cliché?

When the house came into view the first thing she noticed was Caleb’s truck. The second was the smoke rising in a steady flow from the chimney. Confusion drew her brows together.

Tess shut off the engine and trudged through the damp snow. When the warm air rushed from inside the house to great her she shivered in pleasure. Then she took a large sniff. The unexpected, homey smell of fried chicken filled her senses and her tummy rumbled with hunger.

Curious, she closed the door, hung up her coat and gloves in the front closet and walked back into the kitchen.

“You’re just in time,” Caleb said as she stopped, stunned. He transferred the last of perfectly fried chicken onto paper towels to drain. “Dinner’s just about ready.”

“What are you doing?”

He glanced at her over his shoulder, his smile wide and welcoming and making her heart flutter. “Making dinner, obviously.”

Tess blinked, and then blinked again. “I mean, what are you doing here? How did you get in?”

“You’re mom called from the hospital when you left, told me where the key was.” A buzzer sounded and Caleb retrieved a cookie sheet of golden biscuits from the oven and set it on hot pads. “Said you were going to be hungry by the time you got home.” He turned to look at her fully. “Coincidently, I’m hungry too.”

She sucked in a breath. He may have said he was hungry, but the glint in his eyes and husky timbre of his voice told Tess his appetite had nothing to do with food. Then his eyes narrowed and he took three long strides to cross in front of her. He raised his hands and cupped her face. “You look sad.”

“No, just a bit confused.”

Caleb raised a brow and then confounded her even more by wrapping his strong arms around her and pulling her close. She felt his lips press against the top of her head. “Want to tell me about it?”

Tess closed her eyes, letting his warmth envelop her. His intoxicating scent filled her senses, making her dizzy. Held so sweetly in his arms, the last thing Tess wanted was to talk.

Face buried in his neck, she murmured, “Make love to me.”

He stiffened. “What?”

Grasping her courage with both hands, Tess tilted her head back to look him in the eye.

“Make love to me, or fuck me, I don’t care. Just…,” she swallowed. “I just want to feel you inside me before you leave.”

Anger flared in his eyes. “What the hell are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere.”

“But you don’t want me anymore.”

His brows shot up. “What?”

“It’s okay, I understand.”

“Fabulous.” Caleb gripped her chin as she dropped her head down. “Then maybe you can explain it to me.”

Tess stared into his stormy eyes, uncertainty making her statement more of a question.

“Wolves want demure mates and, well, my behavior this morning was anything but.” Caleb stared, his face a mask of varying emotions before his mouth twitched once, twice.

Then he let out a chuckle. “You little idiot.”

Indignant, Tess struggled in his arms, but he held fast. “Let me go.”

“Never.” He threaded his hand through her hair and pressed her face into his throat. “I’ll never let you go. Do you understand
me
, Tess? The last thing I want is some quiet and unassuming female to share my life with. Just as a male made from the same ilk would bore you to death. I want a woman with her own ideas. Who’s not afraid to tell it like it is. Who will stand up for herself and others. Who is smart and beautiful and sexy.” He drew her head back. “In short, Tess, I want you.”

His head lowered and kissed her, softly, sweetly. When she opened her mouth in acceptance, he growled low, the sound making her shiver with need. Then he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the living room.

Caleb gently lowered Tess onto the nest of blankets and pillows in front of the roaring fire. Then he lay next to her, propping his head on one hand to watch the light play over her features. “I was only going to feed you, maybe cuddle with you here, let you get used to me being around, but I can’t.” His hand skimmed down the long length of her body, following the path of his heated gaze. “I want you too much. I need to be with you, Tess. I need to feel you, inside and out.”

Tess glanced at the fire, the cozily arranged bedding and then back at Caleb. “So you didn’t think to seduce me?” she asked.

Chuckling, he reached into his back pocket and he pulled out a condom. “See how well you know me already?”

A reluctant smiled tugged at her lips. “Only one?”

He winked as he dug into another pocket and a long strip of condoms rolled from his hand. “Yeah, so? I was hopeful.”

“And confident.” She didn’t bother hiding her amusement any longer. Relief had her giddy, arousal had her craving.

His eyes crinkled and he reached out to trace her moist lips with his fingertips. “So argumentative. You’ll never make my life dull.”

Shifting suddenly, Caleb straddled her, his weight balanced on his knees and forearms as he kissed her. “I’ve never been with a woman without one and in my line of work I have to be checked out yearly. I’m clean. I want you to know that.”

Tess felt heat rush into her own face. “Me, too. I mean…”

Caleb chuckled when she stumbled, pressed his lips to her temple. “I know.” He breathed in her scent. “Let me love you, Tess. Completely. No hidden agenda, no reservations. Just you and me. Two people who want to be intimate with each other.”

With his mouth nuzzling the sensitive cords of her neck and turning her insides to jelly, she would have agreed to anything. “Yes,” she whispered. “Love me, Caleb.” His lips came back to hers and he nipped the corner of her mouth. She opened and he settled in for a long, slow, deep kiss. He left nothing unexplored, not the roof of her mouth, the insides of her cheeks, her teeth. The leisurely pace began to quicken as blood turned molten with desire. Her tongue dueled with his, thrusting, and searching his own moist heat..

Tess fumbled with the buttons on Caleb’s shirt until he sat up and simply pulled the flannel over his head. She’d been right. His body glowed in the firelight, the planes and muscles on his smooth chest making her mouth water. She stopped him as he began to lower himself back over her. “Wait.”

Caleb held still, eyes questioning. She levered up, ran her hands over his body already damp from desire. When she pressed a kiss to his chest, he let out a sigh, and when she licked a flat nipple, he groaned low and thick. His eyes closed as if relishing her touch. Large hands tunneled into her hair, his hold gentle yet firm as he cradled her head against his skin.

Amazed by his unguarded response, she felt a sudden desire to give him more, give him the same kind of sensual pleasure he gave her yesterday. Just the thought of wrapping her lips around his hard cock caused another rush of liquid heat to gather between her thighs. With anticipation vibrating in her blood, she took his nipple into her mouth and suckled. He twitched under the erotic attention and, taking that as a good sign, she dropped all reserve and took what she wanted.

Her hands whispered over his flesh, kneading his strong back, curving down and around to trace the corded muscles of his abdomen. When she reached the waistband of his jeans and the enticing bulge straining the seam, he hissed, sucking air between his teeth. “Enough. You keep that up and I won’t last.”

She ignored his demands and carefully tugged down his zipper. She slipped her hand inside his jeans, wrapped her fingers around the hidden prize and set his erection free. “Christ, Tess. What are you doing?”

She smiled against his hot skin, moved her mouth to his other nipple. “Having my way with you.” She scrapped her teeth against the hard nub as she stroked the length of his cock, shivering in dark delight. He filled her hand; long, thick, hard and oh so velvety smooth. She slid her thumb over the engorged head, finding a bead of moisture at the tip. She barely held back a moan of need and instead twisted briefly away to stack some pillows together. Then she settled back into a reclining position. With both hands gripping his penis, and a wicked gleam in her eye, she tugged lightly. “Give me.”

Understanding dawned and his groin pulsed harder with excitement. “Tess, you don’t have to do this.”

“I know what I want, Caleb, and I want this. Now scoot up here and give it to me. I want to taste you.”

*

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*

With his jeans pushed down around his thighs, Caleb, inched slowly up her body on his knees until his cock was level with her mouth. When she parted her lips and touched the tip of him with her tongue, his stomach clenched. She murmured in appreciation at the first taste, circling the slit with a light, damp flick. Then she flattened her tongue and rubbed the sensitive spot just under the engorged head, making him grit his teeth against the need to plunge into her mouth. Beneath him, laid out like she was, she was completely vulnerable. He could easily shove his aching cock past her lips, push into that supple moistness and lose himself. He ached so much, needed this woman to provide release so bad that, to his shame, the idea stumbled through his hazed brain.

He felt as if he’d waited for this moment with Tess forever, and his beast agreed, growling at him to just take her. Lay her beneath his hard body and simply rut. It didn’t matter that he’d come last night. He needed to be inside her, moving through her tight sheath until he spilled his seed into her womb. But giving in to his wolf right now would destroy any trust she had for him, and that kind of loss would simply kill him. With everything he had, he caged his animal. Whatever Tess wanted, he would give, and nothing more.

His hand drifted over her hair, his body tingling in tortuous delight as he watched her lips slowly part over his cock, slid down his aching flesh, and take him into her mouth.

His eyelids grew heavy, lust clawing through his gut. The need to thrust grew stronger with each caress of her soft lips. One soft hand clasped his shaft at the base, stroking up and down in time with her mouth, the other clutched his thigh as if to keep him in place. Her tongue twirled and danced around his hard length every time she glided up his cock. Then she scrapped her teeth ever so gently on the underside of his shaft and he knew he was a goner. Gently holding her head still, he moved his hips forward, sinking his cock farther inside her mouth. “Take me, Tess. Relax your throat and take me.”

She did as he commanded and he slipped in further. He closed his eyes briefly, harsh growls of pleasure ripping from his throat. “That’s right,
m’lupa
. Fuck me with your pretty mouth.”

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the erotic sight of his cock swallowed up by her eager mouth. The friction made by her glistening lips increased, and he knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. Tension, already thick and rigid, coiled to the snapping point. “Enough.” When she only clamped her lips around him tighter, sucked him harder, he curled his hands into fists in her hair. “Tess. I’m going to come,” he growled out, warning her, giving her time to push him away.