Perfect: Tales of the Were (Big Wolf Book 2) Page 2

  But that wouldn’t wash. She was as innocent and beguiling as a kitten. His wolf had gotten one sniff of her delicate scent and fallen in love, wanting to follow her around like a puppy.

  He’d watched her since coming to the ranch. He’d stalked her in both his human and his wolf forms. At night, he’d shifted into his fur and prowled the entire length of the land, spending more time than he probably should have outside Cassie’s window, wondering what she was dreaming about when she made those sexy little sounds in her sleep.

  Thinking about those sounds wasn’t helping ease the strain on his trousers any. He had to get back to work and focus on the matter at hand. There were three new horses in that truck that had to be eased out, made comfortable, and settled in before nightfall. It was already midafternoon. He had his work cut out for him for the rest of the day, and then, later this evening, he’d be prowling, again, trying to get to the bottom of whatever was going on here.

  He’d decided one thing already. There definitely was something strange happening on Cassie’s ranch, but unless he was very much mistaken, she had no clue that someone was misusing her land and betraying her trust. He didn’t blame her for not knowing. It was pretty clear to him that she was a city girl who had no real understanding of what it took to run a ranch of this size.

  She had enough money after the sale of her business to hire people to figure all that stuff out for her. The problem was she’d put her trust in the wrong person or persons. Even after a few days of investigation, Cody still had no clear idea of exactly who was doing what, but he would find out.

  Chapter Two

  Cody settled the horses into their stalls. He and the foreman, Rich, had spent the afternoon checking out the new stock, which Rich hoped would be the basis for a new breeding program. Three mares, all of good lineage, and here on a trial basis. The owners of the very pricey horses were willing to partner with Rich, based on his reputation and past performance with their animals.

  Apparently, Rich had come from a much larger operation where he’d been one of the top people, but not the foreman. Taking the job with Cassandra had allowed Rich to move up and start his own program with little to no owner input. It was a good situation for Rich. As long as he took care of the rest of the ranch, Cassie let him have the run of the barns, of which there were many.

  Most of the outbuildings were in need of repair. Some, more than others. Cassie was willing to pay to restore the buildings, but she left the actual work up to Rich and the hands. She paid everyone salaries, too, but there was also income from boarding the horses, which went into Rich’s business. His horse breeding and training operation was going to be a separate endeavor, which would ultimately pay rent to Cassie, once he was making enough money to do so.

  Cassie was a good landlord in that she was willing to give Rich time to get his operation up and running. She was also able to foot the bill—at least for a while. Rich had filled Cody in on the particulars of the arrangement because Rich intended to put Cody to work training horses as soon as they had enough work to spread around. Rich said he wanted everything to be transparent to Cody, so they all knew where everybody stood.

  Cody could respect that. Even if there weren’t something funny going on at the ranch, Cody would have enjoyed this kind of work. He liked horses. Cody was one of the few predatory shifters who could finesse prey animals like horses and cows into doing what he wanted. He had a gift, some had said. To Cody, it was just fun to earn an animal’s trust and coach it into becoming a winner—however that was defined.

  He’d worked with show horses, cow ponies, even thoroughbreds. There were a wide variety of horses in this part of Texas and the other parts of the country to which he’d roamed in earlier times. He always came back to Big Wolf, though. His hometown was special in ways that no other place he’d been could mimic.

  When he was done for the day, Cody grabbed a quick dinner in the main room of the bunkhouse, which doubled as their dining hall. There weren’t that many hands working on the ranch at the moment, and they had a very nice setup. One of the larger outbuildings had been re-worked into a big main room with a kitchen and dining area at the back, a living room setup in the main part with a big screen TV, usually set to a sports channel, and big couches for everyone to relax during their time off.

  On either side of the main room, there were separate bedrooms and a couple of suites. The foreman and his wife had the largest suite, which had its own private bathroom. Cody had one of the smaller bedrooms and had to share the bathroom with the room next door, which, at the moment, was unoccupied. In fact, the room wasn’t even finished. Cody was working on finishing the drywall as time permitted. It was one of the tasks Rich had asked him to help out with, and Cody didn’t mind. He liked working with his hands.

  He was glad of the private bathroom at the moment, as he took a quick shower before heading out to his date with Cassie. He didn’t want people talking about Cassie and what she may, or may not, be doing with one of her ranch hands, so for now, he was trying to keep things quiet.

  Cody changed into fresh clothes and threw the dirty ones in the hamper. One of the perks of this job was laundry service and meals served up by the bunkhouse cook, who served the same food to Cassie, he’d learned. No special trappings for the lady of the manor. Cassie had her own kitchen and did a lot of her own cooking, but she also ate with the hands a few times a week, in the bunkhouse.

  One thing Cassie insisted on, though, was that she do all the confections. The bunkhouse cook did the meals. Cassie did the desserts. She claimed she was using the hands as guinea pigs for her new recipes, but she always had something cooked up special for the bunkhouse. Cakes, pies and all sorts of desserts were kept in stock at all times, supplied from Cassie’s kitchen in the big house. It was like she couldn’t help herself. She just seemed to love baking.

  Cody could see that. It’s probably why she’d made such a success of her cake business. She also probably felt a little lost without her bakery. Cody could understand that, too.

  In fact, he worried that she was lonely up at that big house, all alone. Sure, the household staff was there during the day, cleaning and repairing things, or whatever needed to be done, but at night, she was all alone. He wondered if she was lonely. He also worried about her safety with the strange goings on at her ranch. Which was why he prowled underneath her window, night after night.

  That and the fact that he just couldn’t seem to stay away.

  *

  Cody showed up at Cassie’s backdoor just before sunset. Dinner was over, and the ranch was settling down for the night.

  At Cody’s suggestion, they sat on the back porch, away from the prying eyes in the bunkhouse. Cassandra had to hand it to Cody for planning so well. It wasn’t that she was ashamed to be seen socializing with one of the hands. It was more that she was hoping to keep this private, just between them. A shared, delicious secret.

  Cassandra had spent the afternoon trying a new tweak on the recipe for the pastries, hoping to impress Cody with the results, as dessert. After that, if things went well, she’d get her own dessert…Cody. It was all she could think about, all she could focus on—the heated promise in his kiss and the yearning in her deprived body.

  “Try this.” She handed him the plate with one of the newly baked pastries and waited expectantly while he sampled the new recipe. Those sharp white teeth and sexy lips had an even more devastating effect on her in the dusky twilight. The man was just too handsome for his own good—or hers.

  “It was great before, but now, it’s perfect.” He sat beside her on the porch swing, moving nearer as her temperature rose. He was so close.

  Would he kiss her now? Or would he do a whole lot more? She tingled in anticipation.

  “Thanks to you,” she said, her voice a tad breathless. “I wouldn’t have thought about adding strawberries. I tend to think of them as a rather boring fruit.”

  “For shame. Strawberries can be very exciting, Cassie. Especially when
I think of them against your lips. I’d like to see you suck on a big ripe berry. And then, I’d like to see you do the same to me.”

  Sweet Lord above. What had he just said? The images in her mind made her face heat with a blush and her stomach clench with desire.

  Cody leaned toward her as her breath caught. She could picture the scenario he outlined all too easily. She felt her insides flutter as he put the plate aside and moved even closer. There was only a breath between their lips now.

  “Tell me if you don’t want this, Cassie. Tell me now. Yes or no?”

  His eyes searched hers, the expression on his face hard, yet caring. She wanted this. She wanted him. She wanted to feel his strong male body against her and not just dream about it for a change. But it had been so long she felt a little awkward. She placed her palms against the soft fabric of his shirt, against the hard wall of his chest.

  “I’m…” Damn, this was really hard to admit. “I don’t usually do this kind of thing, but…”

  “Hell, Cassie, I know you’re not easy. Every man on this place respects you and can’t say a word against you. I don’t aim to change that, but I can’t stay away. I want you too much.”

  Well, if that didn’t set a woman’s panties on fire, she didn’t know what would. Having a gorgeous hunk of manhood—one who could have just about any woman he wanted—say he wanted you, too? Well, that was just too much. Add that to the compliments he lavished on her, and she was sold. Far too cheaply, she was sure, but she didn’t care anymore. She wanted him, too. She just wanted to feel…wanted.

  She placed her lips against his, whispering, “Yes.”

  His arms came around her, pulling her close as he groaned and deepened the kiss. He kissed like a dream, proving her earlier response hadn’t just been a fluke as she’d half feared. No, Cody was the real deal. He set her senses spinning with little more than a hard embrace and a sensuous sweep of his tongue.

  He reached between them, hooking his fingers into the hem of her t-shirt, pulling upward as his warm palm followed its progress up and over her breast. Her lacy bra was no match for his questing fingers as he eased it out of his way to cup her breast, rubbing lightly. He took things further, faster, than any man she’d ever been with before, but she didn’t mind in the least. The sooner she could feel his skin against hers, the better.

  The night air wafted over her skin, raising goose bumps as he pulled back. His eyes were beyond smiling now, filled with smoky desire.

  “Shall we move this inside?” His deep voice sounded rough, thrilling her.

  Mutely, she nodded as he stood, taking her with him as he headed for the backdoor. It stood open, only the screen blocking their path, but he pulled it aside and ushered her into the kitchen, kicking the backdoor shut behind them.

  He snagged one of her wrists in a big hand and spun her around, backing her up against the closed door. There was a countertop to his right and the mudroom off to his left, but it looked like they weren’t going to make it any farther than the backdoor from the way his eyes glittered down at her in the semi-darkness.

  “I’ve dreamed of this, Cassie. I don’t want to wait anymore.” His lips descended as his hands went to her waist.

  Dumbfounded by the new, urgent desire in his kiss, she didn’t even register that he was undressing her until she felt the cold wood of the door against her bare bottom. He let her up for air, only to bend his talented lips to her breasts, pushing the t-shirt and bra off over her head in a tangled mess he threw across the kitchen. He didn’t even look to see where it landed, opting instead to suck one stiff peak into his mouth.

  Cassie nearly came right then and there. Cody knew how to use that savage mouth of his. First, in the best kisses she’d ever experienced, and now, in the most fabulous sensations she’d never even imagined. He was thorough about it too, laving each nipple with teasing, arousing strokes of his tongue while his hands roamed lower, lifting and separating her legs while he moved between.

  The worn denim on his thighs was rough against her, but she welcomed the contrast in texture with a kind of wild abandon she’d never before experienced. Cody brought out something untamed in her soul that no man had ever inspired, and she liked it. Perhaps too much.

  She heard the rasp of his zipper faintly, unable to focus on much beside the pleasure he was giving her. But her eyes shocked wide in amazement as he lifted her legs and wrapped them around his narrow, bare waist. The next thing she knew, his cock was nudging against her opening, its wide head seeking entrance, rubbing deliciously over her wet flesh.

  Cassandra had just enough presence of mind to stop him.

  “Condom. We need a condom, Cody.” Her voice was breathy with excitement, but he heard her. He stiffened and withdrew, allowing her feet to drop to the ground.

  “Shit!” He reached downward for the jeans that rode low on his hips and snagged his wallet out of one back pocket. He flipped through the leather billfold impatiently while she moved into the kitchen, coming up with a foil wrapper as his gorgeous eyes lit with triumph.

  Cody kicked off his boots and jeans as he walked over to her. Cassandra’s back was to the large center island where she did most of her cooking as she watched him. He was beautifully built, with a long, thick cock that made her mouth water.

  “I’m sorry, Cass. I came prepared, but you blew me away. In fact, you’re still blowing me away.” He chuckled wryly, just once as he drew near, taking her by one shoulder and holding the foil packet between them. “How about you put this on me, and we’ll take up where we left off?”

  The expression on his face was pure sin, his eyes flashing with approval as she ripped open the packet and dropped to her knees before him. She took her time, examining him and reaching out with a flicking tongue to tease, just once, before sheathing him. She wanted to explore more, but it would have to wait. She was too keyed up. She needed him now.

  Rising, she faced him with an expectant grin. She didn’t have to wait long. Cody lifted her up and positioned her on the edge of the kitchen island. It was just the right height, and she knew she’d never look at this kitchen the same way after this. Still, she needed him now, and she wasn’t about to object.

  “Do it, Cody. Please!”

  He pushed in with little preamble, but it was just what she needed. Cassandra cried out as he joined with her, not in pain, but in a wash of pleasure so great she thought she’d never come down.

  Then, he started to move. Not only did she not come down, but he pushed her higher still. Cody’s lovemaking was rough and wild—like the man himself—and unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. He started with deep thrusts. His gaze locked on hers, as if he read the secrets of the universe in her eyes. Cody began to move faster, varying his thrusts with short digs of motion that caught her off guard and made her breath hitch.

  He was truly a master, and he played her body like a virtuoso. “Come with me, Cassie,” he pulled her closer and whispered in her ear. “Come with me now. I can’t wait.”

  His rough voice in her ear pushed her over the edge again—this time, into oblivion. She wasn’t sure, but she might have actually passed out for a few seconds as the most intense orgasm of her life swept her under and spit her back out…right into Cody’s arms.

  He held her tight, his muscles rigid with strain as he pulsed deep within her body. It felt like they were joined in more than just the obvious way. It felt almost spiritual. Cassandra didn’t dare speak, lest she break the spell. Not only that, but she was drained physically and emotionally from the highest high she’d ever been given.

  Cody pulled back and separated their bodies after long minutes, holding her gaze as he pulled out, making the act all that much more intimate. He kissed her forehead, as if in thanks, and moved away to clean up. A few moments later, he lifted her in his strong arms and, without instruction, found her bedroom upstairs. It overlooked the front yard and the big paddock where the horses ran free.

  He lay her down on the bed and pulled ba
ck the covers, sweeping her underneath. When he got into the big bed beside her, she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want this magic night to end just yet. She wanted him to stay.

  Cody pulled her into his arms from behind, spooning with her in a way that made her heart clench. If only she could have this every night. If only this moment out of time could last forever.

  Chapter Three

  Cassandra woke in the night to the most amazing sensations. Someone was trailing kisses down her collarbone and nibbling on her body, and this time, it wasn’t just a dream. Her eyes opened to find Cody’s dark head below hers, his lips roving over her skin as if staking a claim.

  “Glad you’re awake.” His voice was a rough velvet purr in the darkness.

  “I’m glad you’re here.” The words escaped before she thought better of them. She held her breath as he rose over her, his eyes holding hers in the semi-darkness. His gaze seemed to search her expression.

  “Me too.” His expression held secrets, but he didn’t seem put off by her candor.

  She started to breathe again, when he resumed kissing her skin. He licked her hard nipples, bringing them to even finer points under his coaxing mouth. Cassandra’s breath sped up as her excitement grew, as did his.

  When she tried to touch him, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. She gasped as he bit down on her breast, not hard enough to really hurt, but enough to get her attention.

  “My rules, baby. You move when I say you move. Lie back and enjoy.” He growled the words against her breasts as he latched on to her nipple once more and sucked with amazing pressure. She’d never had a man be this forceful with her before, but it aroused the hell out of her. Cody knew what he wanted, and he took it. He didn’t ask permission. He was more decisive than any man she’d ever known, and it was oddly exciting.