Steel: Blue Collar Wolves #3 (Mating Season Collection) (5 page)

R
egan opened her
eyes to see a wolf asleep across from her, his body firmly on his side of the bed, and the only physical contact two entwined fingers, fingers which had remained together throughout their long conversation.

It took a few moments for the memory of the previous night to resurface, how they spoke long into the night telling each other stories. They started small and fun and fluffy about her sister and his friends, but gradually as the night progressed, the stories became deeper. Stories on her father’s change into a monster dedicated to hunting other monsters and stories about his fears for his pack and his kind.

They spoke and she didn’t remember it stopping. There was only closing her eyes for a moment to let his voice wash over her, and now there was the light of a new day, without any conscious decision for the sleep that had come in-between the two.

Those stories held power in the moonlight, but the cold bright light of day brought fear over what he could do to her with the information he learned last night, and suspicion in how easy it was to trust him, how little it took for him to convince her to share everything she was with him.

His own eyes opened in the midst of her musings, gentle and clear gold in the morning light. “Good morning.” His eyes scanned her face, then dimmed. “Or maybe not. Second thoughts and not even a morning after?”

Even with the melancholy clinging to her, she still laughed, something she discovered last night the wolf had an easy time making her do. It was disturbing, so many things that were easy to do with him which seemed impossible to do with others. “I’m a hunter and you’re a wolf.”

“Yeah, I’m a wolf.” He nodded, tightening their fingers together, a subtle move that had her going back to last night’s intimacy. “My kind has some horrible examples, and I’m sorry you’ve dealt with them, but you can’t believe all my kind are like that any more than all humans should be treated like criminals because a few truly are.”

It was so easy to believe that, after a night hearing him talk about memories and friends and a family he had stories about going back generations. She felt like she knew them all, and shared with him the most important part of her life, how she cared for Bethie, how they grew up. Last night, the love and adoration she had for her sister was on display, and he…he smiled in recognition, and told her he now made chicken pot pie, and couldn’t wait to make it the first time Bethie visited.

It was like the fucker saw straight into her soul, into what she’d always ached for, always looking into the windows with moms and dads reading to their kids, watching TV or coloring together. The kids were happy or sad or bored, but it didn’t matter. What mattered is it was
normal
, it was a family happy to be together, cherishing their time together even if they didn’t know to put that label to it.

It wasn’t constant threat of the belt. It wasn’t keeping their kids riding the edge of fear, ostensibly for their own good. It wasn’t being more used to ash and gunsmoke than smiles. “What do you want from me? I attempted to shoot you and you offered to make dinner for my sister.”

“I want you.” And now his own eyes were nervous, the couple lines around them and his mouth bunching up. He drew a deep breath, the type used to gather courage. “What do you know of true mates?”

“That’s a myth.” That had to be a myth, as much as a soul mate was for a human. Sure, sometimes it must have felt like you were with the person that was meant just for you, but come on. That kind of stuff wasn’t real.

“The same way werewolves are myths?”

The blunt question put the reality of her world in perspective a bit. Yeah, most of the outside world would put her in an institution if she talked about wolves, the same way most of the world would scoff at the possibility of soul mates. “Are you telling me your kind really does have true mates? That’s not a wolf version of a fairy tale.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. And you are it for me. Do you really not feel it?”

Regan bit back the jumble of questions and half-formed demands that came racing to her tongue.
I’ve been feeling all sorts of weird shit since you came into my life
was probably not a good thing to let him hear.

But…it wasn’t a bombshell. His words didn’t rock her world. Instead, they nestled inside her, spotlighting the changes within her and giving the final illumination, the final,
yes, I see, I understand.

Steel continued. “Some of my kind are terrified of their true mates. It’s scary to think how one person can turn your world around. Me, I always said I’d wait for you as long as I needed to, and I’d fight for you once I met you. That’s what I meant, and that’s what I’ll do.”

“So you’ll trust a hunter?” He couldn’t make is sound so easy, so pre-ordained. That wasn’t reality. “You’ll bring me into your pack? Let me know all your secrets? You don’t even
know
me. Last night, every word might have been a lie for all you know.”

“It wasn’t.”

“You don’t know that. Maybe you’re so desperate for your true mate you’ll look past everything in hopes it’s what you want.”

He flinched at that, closed down, and immediately she wanted to put her hand out, tell him she didn’t mean it.

Whatever she might have done was moot, because he got up. “C’mon, you probably want to get cleaned up.”

With no other words, he led her to the same bathroom, where all the necessary toiletries were laid out for her. He closed the door on her, not waiting for any more words.

She shouldn’t feel bad for hurting him. She repeated it as she rinsed her hair and scrubbed her body. They did only know each other a few days, and people routinely confused attraction for something stronger. Could he honestly say he liked her?

So what they talked all night until they passed out, still talking. That happened. Maybe not to her, but she’d heard of it. One night did not equal forever.

But his fingers wrapped around hers were the first sense of security she’d had since her mom, and in those hours, her favorite sound had become the sound of his small, cut-off laugh.

She was never going to take having a toothbrush for granted again, or new, clean clothes – though she wasn’t going to ask how he knew her size. But the t-shirt and jeans fit perfectly and a clean body made putting up with the chaos in her mind much easier.

He was waiting at the bottom of the steps. “C’mon,” he said again, holding open the door.

He didn’t speak much when the left, only led her on a small hike through the wooded area surrounding his property. While she wasn’t and would never be a serious hiker, she enjoyed the slight breeze and the foliage coming in, flowers in various states of bloom in mid-spring.

And then Steel stopped, and began taking off his clothes.

“What?”

“Shush,” was all he said, and when he was naked, he fell forward, and the man became a wolf.

She’d never seen the transformation before. Though she couldn’t be sure what she expected – blood, agonized grunting maybe? – but it was seamless and natural, over almost as soon as the brain picked up what was happening.

His wolf was medium-sized and dark, with the same gold eyes as he had. He yipped at her, bumping his head into her thighs. She gave a snort of laughter – impossible not to when the man you were lusting after turned into a wolf who was now acting like a puppy.

How was this her life again?

And she got so caught up in it, when he took off, she ran after him. She ran and laughed as they circled each other, and threw sticks he chased, and tried to grab his tail, and yelped when he nudged her butt.

They wound through trees and went up a small hill to a waiting meadow filled with wildflowers, where she plopped down in the grass, breathless with the activity.

And then the man was beside her, still naked, his bright glowing eyes smiling above her. “Red, don’t tell anyone, but you look happy.”

She reached up to drag him down for a kiss.

He resisted, pulling back, running his nose along hers, nipping at the tip before moving to her jaw, giving little nips there as well. She growled, moving her head to try to take her lips with his. “Looks like I have a bitch who likes to be in charge.”

“Was that a challenge?” With a quick push she had him on his back, her hands on his shoulders, holding him down. “Don’t ever mistake me as anything but an alpha.”

“No, ma’am.” And he had the shirt off her top and the jeans off her bottom so quickly, Regan imagined magic must have been involved.

The last two days had been nothing but making her ready for this moment, and Regan sank down on him before he could do anything with her. His wide eyes and surprised groan had her giving her own smirking smile. “You be a good wolf and hang on for the ride.”

“Yes
ma’am
,” he said, his hands coming to her hips as she set a fierce pace, racing for the orgasm she’d been wanting from the moment she first met his eyes.

To hell with the past or the future. What she wanted was
now
 – this man under her, filling her up with his cock and his heat and his smell, all of it driving her wild. She wanted rough skin sliding over hers and deep moans and grunts as she clamped down on him, causing his own hips to buck up into her.

And those strong hands reached for her hips, holding her still as he pulsed up into her, the friction hitting her clit and her g-spot and she threw her head back, howling at the building sensation.

He wouldn’t stop, determined to give her nothing but pleasure, and the fluttery sensation low in her belly grew in leaps and bounds.

“Come for me, Red,” he said, and oh
hell yeah
, she let the wolf push her over the edge, her pussy clamping on the thick ridge of his cock as her orgasm exploded from her.

His echoing how and the pulse of come inside her told how pleased he was, and she fell forward, too tired to stay sitting, and let the warm skin lull her to sleep.

‡

R
egan opened her
eyes from the second sleep of the day. The first, Steel had woken her up with an orgasm, his face between her legs and her clit worked masterfully with his tongue.

Then came another two rounds in the woods – both of them with him pounding into her from behind – and his stamina was the stuff of legend. He kept bringing her to the brink of orgasm before easing off, time after time after time, and only finally let her come after she broke down and begged.

He took her home, fed her, and brought her straight to bed, and the debauchery continued, but so did the laughter, and the contentment of being with him, and the joy which hadn’t faded thought she kept demanding it to.

He was nuzzling her now, his nose buried in her neck, his arm wrapping around her, and she tilted her neck to allow him as close as possible, which even in sleep he took advantage of, though his deep breaths told of being still solidly asleep.

She looked out the window to be met with early morning sun. Yesterday about now they were giggling over trading family stories, and now…she tightened her arm over his, which was currently resting on her stomach. Now look at them. The hunter and the wolf.

The hunter who could escape.

Her semi-closed eyes flew open at the random thought. She hadn’t thought of escape once, not even yesterday in the woods. All her thoughts had been on him, on what he’d told her, on how hurt he was when she didn’t immediately respond with the same.

But she could be free, right now. Get out. Escape.

Did she want to? She…didn’t.

Fuck, she didn’t. She wanted to stay in this bed with his arm around her, surrounded by his scent and his warmth.

But that was ridiculous. Even if she wasn’t going to hunt anymore – and that she could never do again, not like she had – she couldn’t stay here. It was too much. True mates and how important he’d become in her life in such a short amount of time, all of it was messing with her mind. She needed space to think, plans to make.

What about Bethie? What was she going to do about Bethie?

Steel wasn’t going to let her go, and she needed to make her own decisions on what life held for her know.

Years of training served her well. She crept out of the house without waking the wolf.

She headed west, where the sounds of cars had been in the distance when they were out yesterday. She didn’t know how long it would take, but she’d find something eventually.

Clearing one path, she did.

She found a very angry wolf waiting for her.

*