Wolf Tracks: Tales of the Were (Grizzly Cove Book 17) Read online

  Jim moved to take her plate, but she jerked it out of his reach. “Nope. You can’t have this back. I’m going to nibble,” she told him with a crafty grin. “Just bring me Thanksgiving on a plate, and I’ll be happy. You can have the rest.”

  Jim laughed as he headed back into the other room. He was still chuckling over her reaction as he made up the plate as she’d asked. He felt very domestic. Rarely had he taken care of another person this closely. He was more the man of action, parachuting in to save the day. The aftermath was for other people to deal with. He found he liked this. Taking care of another person—particularly Helen—was something he didn’t mind in the least.

  He fixed up her plate, adding a few bites of salad in an empty spot and a slice of apple pie on a dessert plate, then brought it in to her. Going back out, he heaped some of the other selections onto two plates for himself then went back into her bedroom and set himself up on the nightstand. Helen had already cleared it off, so she could use it as a make-shift dining table.

  There was just enough room for one of his plates, as well. He put the other within easy reach at the foot of the bed and dragged a chair over so he could sit opposite her. That’s when he realized he hadn’t brought in anything to drink, though he had remembered silverware and napkins. He dashed back out and got a few bottles of spring water, then returned and sat back down. They ate in relative silence, each savoring the meal and, at least in Jim’s case, running through the events of the day in his head.

  Helen seemed so tired, but the food was perking her up a bit, for which he was grateful. “You were really magnificent today, Helen,” he said a moment after the thought crossed his mind. He needed to let her know how much he valued her input and abilities. She’d surprised him, and he was never more grateful to have been taken unawares.

  “Oh, you did most of the heavy lifting,” she told him. “I’m just glad it was something I could help with. That poor boy. He really suffered at the hands of those people.”

  “Are you okay with what happened? I mean, I know sometimes a first kill can be tough.” He wanted her to talk to him and open up about her feelings if she was having trouble with what she’d done. He wanted her to know he was willing to listen.

  “What makes you think that was my first kill?” she asked, challenging him. He loved how she was constantly making him rethink his assumptions.

  “It wasn’t?”

  “That’s not what I said,” she replied, giving nothing away. “I grew up on a farm. I’ve seen death. I’ve caused it a time or two, though you’re right. I’ll admit I’ve never killed another person before. Of course, that woman was just about as far from being a decent human being as it’s possible to get.” Helen sipped her water and regarded him steadily. “I admit, I felt very odd about it at first, but I’ve been pondering whether my actions were right or wrong, and I realized that the gift the Mother of All has given me would not work had my actions not been righteous. All of my power—magical and otherwise—comes from the Goddess. It stands to reason that, if I tried to use it in a way She didn’t approve of, it wouldn’t work. That’s how it’s always been for me, at least.” Helen shrugged as she ate a dainty spoonful of her mashed potatoes.

  She went on after a short pause to swallow, before he could say anything. “Then, of course, I saw the full extent of what she and her husband had done to Calum, and I almost wished I could kill her, all over again. That poor boy.” She blinked a few times, and he realized there were tears glistening in her eyes. “He was so close to death, Jim. So close.” She held it together and sipped her water again. “That’s why I gave so much of my own power to him. He really, really needed it. Plus, I knew you wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me while I was so run down.”

  “You’ve got that right,” he said, meaning every syllable. “Are you feeling better now? You already look a lot steadier.”

  “The food is really helping,” she told him, forking another bite of turkey and stuffing into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed before going on. “This is really amazingly delicious. As good as my mother’s, though if you tell her I said that, I’ll deny it.” Helen smiled at him then concentrated on her plate for a bit.

  He’d never seen her eat so much, and it gave his inner wolf a warm feeling to feed her. Providing for one’s mate was a basic need of the wolf, though Jim couldn’t be sure that a mating between them would work out. There were a few obstacles that had to be overcome if this was going to work.

  Helen was starting to feel much, much better. The meal was helping, though the turkey had its usual effect, making her a bit sleepy. Still, she wasn’t close to crashing from fatigue anymore. She was just happily sleepy, but she didn’t really want to sleep. No, what she wanted was sitting across the little table from her.

  Jim. She wanted him like she wanted her next breath.

  She did her best to hold in her impulses until they were finished eating, but when he rose to take the plates out into the main room, she grabbed his forearm. Jim paused, meeting her gaze.

  “Don’t go far,” she said, trying to find a way to say what she really wanted that didn’t sound too brassy.

  “I’m just going into the next room to clear up,” he told her. Damn. He wasn’t getting it.

  “I mean, go ahead and do that but then come back.”

  His brow furrowed slightly. “Why don’t you just get in bed and get some rest?”

  She shook her head. “Not without you.”

  His expression cleared, but she wasn’t sure he totally understood what she wanted. Still, he looked more agreeable. She could work with that.

  “Okay. You get in bed, and I’ll be back in just a few minutes,” he told her, bending to place a chaste kiss on her forehead.

  From that, she surmised he was under the impression that she wanted him to hold her while she slept or something. While that would be nice, what she wanted went a lot farther than just being held. She wanted him. His possession. His lovemaking. His full attention.

  Jim cleared the nightstand and went into the main room with the plates. Helen took a few moments to put the nightstand back in its original position. Then, she went into the shared bathroom between the bedrooms, trailing her clothing like breadcrumbs along the path to the bathroom door, which she left ajar.

  Once inside, she turned on the shower, nice and warm, and stepped under the spray. She’d been through a lot that day, and the warm water was just what she needed to get the knots out of her shoulder muscles. She washed her hair, and the slide of the lather down her body felt unaccountably sensual. She might have even moaned a little, but the answering growl made her nipples peak and her tummy clench.

  Her eyes shot open, and she turned her head. Jim had followed her trail of discarded clothing and was standing just outside the large walk-in shower stall, looking at her. The growl had come from his throat, and it was deliciously clear that he was more than interested in what he saw.

  “Join me?” she asked, looking at him over her soapy shoulder. He answered with a new growl that flowed over her nether regions like a caress.

  As she watched, he peeled off his shirt, kicked off his boots, and shucked his pants, all without breaking eye contact. She held his gaze as he opened the fogged glass door and entered the shower stall. He was a big man, but the bathroom had been built with shifters in mind, and the shower was luxuriously large with a wide bench built right in and multiple showerheads.

  Jim touched one of the controls, and a wide rain head came on over the entire enclosure. It felt like being caught in a warm summer rain. The mood Helen was in, it felt sensual and seductive. Just like the man who caught her in his arms and slid against her, both of their bodies slick with warm water.

  He helped her wash the few remaining suds out of her hair with gentle hands then took her chin in one hand, tilting her face up to the rain. She closed her eyes, and then, the rain was replaced by him. His presence. His lips on hers. His kiss.

  It was one of the most erotic experiences
she’d ever had, and they hadn’t even done much of anything, yet. She couldn’t wait to find out what else he had in store.

  She’d been extremely tired and low on energy, just a moment ago, but as they kissed, she could feel the fire in her soul rekindling. Her energy started to flow more easily, and she was able to meet him, kiss for kiss, touch for touch. She ran her hands all over his hard body, reaching between them to stroke his hardness with a gentle but firm touch. She loved the growl that came from deep within his chest, especially when he rubbed against her, and she felt the growl in her skin, as well as heard it.

  He moved back so that she had to let go of him, but he didn’t go far. He came up behind her and pressed against her back, cupping her breasts from behind, playing with her nipples under the warm rain of the shower. Bending, he kissed her neck and nibbled gently on her earlobe as his fingers trailed over her body, no part of it left untouched or unexplored.

  Jim’s talented hands delved between her legs, one from the front and one from the back, cupping her rear then sliding between her cheeks to tease and tantalize. No man had ever touched her so intimately as a precursor to lovemaking. No man, she realized only now, had ever really cared that much about her enjoyment of the act, as to prepare her so thoroughly.

  The irony was that all Jim had to do was crook his little finger—and not even necessarily in the position it now enjoyed—and she was ready for him. Although, when he did crook his finger…and a whole lot more…she found it hard to stand because her knees almost gave out at the deliciously decadent sensations he was causing to course through her body.

  But he was there to catch her. Jim held her securely, and she knew he would never let her fall. She’d never felt so sure about any man. He was unique in her experience. Unique and wonderful.

  She felt herself being lifted off the ground and turned. His strength continued to take her breath away. He was muscular and sleek, but those lean muscles of his provided a strength all out of proportion of any regular man. Maybe it was shifter magic. Maybe it was the power of his animal spirit. She didn’t know what made him so incredibly strong, but she liked it, whatever it was.

  His power made her feel delicate and feminine. Her. A farm girl. Born and bred to work a full day and never complain. She had seldom felt delicate in her entire life, but being around Jim made that fantasy a reality. He made her feel soft and feminine and so very desired.

  It was a heady experience for a farm girl who had never really felt the zap of instant attraction as she had for Jim. She didn’t know, for sure, if he felt the same, but she was suspending reality for this time out of time with him. She was going to enjoy it for all she could, just in case she never got the chance to be with him, again.

  Their earlier discussion about their relative ages brought harsh reality all too close to her mind. He was older than her. Substantially so if he’d watched 1980’s television shows when he was a kid. She knew shifters aged differently than other beings. She just hadn’t expected to have that reality displayed so openly when an off-hand remark made her realize their differences, all over again.

  She resolved to forget it. At least, for now. She wanted to enjoy this time with him, and besides, the way he touched her pretty much drew all coherent thought from her mind so that only pleasure remained. She’d focus on that. The incredible pleasure only Jim had ever brought to her.

  He lifted her and turned her so that she was facing him and her thighs straddled his hips. Then, he made use of the wide bench at the back of the shower. He sat, draping her over him, her thighs splayed open directly across from his erection. Oh, yeah. That’s just what she wanted. He rubbed their bodies together, his warm hands playing over her hips and spine.

  “Are you ready?” he asked, his words clipped and his excitement evident in the labored nature of his breathing.

  “Definitely,” she told him, unable to speak more than that single word.

  “Thank heaven,” he gasped, bringing them together and sliding deep inside.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jim’s eyes closed, and Helen watched the tight lines of his face with fascination. She’d never really watched a man in passion before. She’d always been a bit embarrassed by the whole thing and kept her eyes closed or on something else, for the most part. But, with Jim, she wanted to see it all. His restraint, his surrender to passion, and most of all, his pleasure.

  She felt the deep penetration of his length within her. It felt good. It felt like coming home. Right. Tremendously satisfying…and they hadn’t even really gotten started, yet.

  The warm rain of the shower poured down around them as Jim began to move, guiding her hips so that Helen understood the rhythm he wanted her to take. Her knees on the tile of the bench seat for leverage, she did the best she could on the slippery surface to hold it together long enough to bring them both pleasure. She began moving slowly, at first, figuring out how best to position herself on this unique surface. Jim was there, guiding her hips, holding her steady. He was her anchor. Her rock.

  Heaven knew, he was definitely hard as one as she rode him in the steamy rain of the shower stall. She doubted she would ever take a shower, again, without thinking of this moment. It was perfect. Their bodies straining together, Jim having given control of their motion to her—at least for now. She liked it. She liked the feeling of power he gave her. He was such a good man, and he made her feel so good. She might die of the pleasure, but she’d die happy.

  Helen increased her pace, riding him with confidence, now that she’d figured out just how to move on the slick surface and how deep to take him. All the way felt right. Like he would become part of her forever, which she didn’t mind in the least at that moment.

  She panted as she rode him, encouraged by his hand on her ass. He surprised her with a wet slap that smarted a bit but also, oddly, turned her on even more.

  “You like that?” Jim asked, his smile full of deviltry. “I’ll have to remember that.”

  Helen was beyond replying in words at that point, and when he smacked her ass, again, this time on the other cheek, she went off like a rocket, coming hard around him. She squeezed him with her internal muscles, milking his cock until he, too, joined her in climax.

  Jim’s inner wolf growled as he came, setting off more aftershocks inside her body. It was like fireworks and lighting all at once. Rain poured down around them, but it didn’t douse the flame. It only fed the sensations as the orgasm they shared went on and on.

  Eventually, she was able to catch her breath, and Jim just held her, his arms looped around her back, holding her steady. Her legs were beginning to cramp, so she moved off him, and he helped her stand. She wavered a bit, unsteady on her feet at first after the blue haze of pleasure that had caused her to nearly black out for a moment.

  As she came back to herself, she realized something amazing. Her internal energy levels were not only restored, but overflowing with life energy. Being with Jim had done that. She had no doubt in her mind.

  She leaned down to kiss him and smiled as she drew back. “You restore me,” she said simply. “My energy is back, even better than before.”

  “You’re kidding.” Jim looked unconvinced.

  “Nope,” she told him, smiling as she stood and rinsed off in the continuing warm rain of the shower. “Both times we’ve done this, I’ve come out of it reenergized. I think it’s you, lover.” She sent him a smile over her shoulder and was gratified by the dazed look in his eyes as he watched her body.

  He cleared his throat before he replied. “Wherever you’re getting the energy, it’s not from me. I feel fine. Better than fine, in fact.” He frowned a bit. “Do you think we could be creating the energy between us, somehow?”

  She touched her nose and winked playfully. “I think that’s exactly what’s going on,” she told him. “We’re not draining each other. We’re creating life energy between us and sending it out into the universe, keeping some for ourselves, of course. It’s a beautiful thing.”

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nbsp; “Speaking of beautiful things…” Jim stood and took her into his arms from behind. “You are amazing, Helen. Have I told you that lately?”

  “I think you just did,” she replied, feeling young and carefree in a way she seldom had in her life.

  “Good. Let’s dry off, and we can make some more universal energy. In a bed, this time.” His growl was the sexy key that started her engine, all over again.

  “You’re on,” she told him, reaching for the door and preceding him out of the shower.

  They dried off and spent the rest of the night making love then eating some of the extra desserts Joe had sent over. Then, they made love, again, finally falling asleep in each other’s arms.

  The next morning, Jim’s wolf woke him with a snarl. It wanted him to claim Helen as his mate. The night they’d just spent together had clinched it as far as his wolf was concerned, but the human half of him still had doubts. Mating was about more than the physical. It had a spiritual component, as well, but there was also the nitty-gritty details of everyday life to be considered.

  Helen was so young and innocent compared to him. She was human. Okay, she was a magical human, but still human. How would that work? He knew, theoretically, that humans and shifters had been mating for centuries, but what about magical humans, like Helen? And what would her family say? Would they flip out about getting yet another shifter in the family?

  He didn’t know exactly how Kiki’s mate, Jack, had been received, but Jack was a bear and had a lot more magical power just by his very nature. Bears were like that. Jim was a wolf. A shifter, but nowhere near the magic rating of a bear. Would Helen’s folks turn up their nose at a mere wolf? He had no idea, though her distant cousin had reportedly mated with a wolf, but still, these thoughts plagued his mind.

  He got out of bed before she woke, unable to face her while his mind was in turmoil. Besides, she deserved to sleep in after the excitement of the day before. Jim tiptoed out and closed the bedroom door behind him. He had to check in with Joe and his current employers.