Vivian Arend - Wolf Flight

Nothing.

Tad tried O-P-E-N, then S-A-V-E. He cursed into the wind.

“What should it be set for?” Missy asked, tucked in tight against his side. She tried to contain her shivers. The temperature was dropping fast and her teeth chattered. As glad as she was that Tad had landed them safely, it was far colder than she was used to. She was tempted to shift to her wolf and curl up in a ball to get warm.

“Keil uses the three-tumbler lock and sets it to SOS or nine-one-one for emergencies. TJ likes to use the four-tumbler lock and he tends to get fancy. What would you say if you needed to get in the cabin and had no key?”

“I’d probably swear.” She stuck her hands farther into her armpits and hopped on the spot.

Tad gave her cheek a quick you’re-a-genius kiss and warmth shot through her. He had the lock off in a moment, the window open, and he lifted her in. Tad crawled through behind her and pulled the window shut. The relative silence echoed in her ears.

“What was the word?”

Tad directed her toward the airtight stove. “S-H-I-T. That boy needs to grow up.” He grabbed a blanket out of a sealed Rubbermaid tote and wrapped it around her shoulders. He stared at her for a second, his cold fingers soft against her cheek before he covered her more thoroughly. “Sit here and I’ll get the fire started. We’ll have everything we need in a minute. Keil is nothing if not prepared.”

Missy watched, huddled under the blanket, as Tad lit the stove and hustled around the kitchen area pulling things from inside sealed boxes. Tea, sugar, canned spaghetti sauce and dry pasta all appeared on the sideboard. By the time the stove radiated heat into the main space of the cabin, there was melted snow for boiling the pasta and the rich aroma of tomato sauce filled the air.

Such smooth movements for an untriggered wolf. There was a kind of innate grace in most shifters, a carryover from their wolf form. Tad had yet to turn into his wolf, but Missy could imagine him. She bet he would be pale silver, as light as she was, even though his human form was dark in skin and hair. He was going to be beautiful. Just like his human.

As she watched her desire for him grew. Her body tightened and moisture began to gather in her core. This day had been a long time coming and her skin tingled in anticipation of his touch. Missy was glad that she would get to share this experience with him. No matter how dangerous it was for her to offer him FirstMate. With all she’d been through in the Whistler pack, the years of being unloved and trapped in a marriage of convenience, she needed to do one last special thing for herself. Whatever the result.

She was grateful to have something special she could give to Tad.

She got up to change out of her wet things into the clothes she’d brought along. Tad watched her open her bag without saying anything, his gaze hot as she reached in and pulled out a thick pair of pants.

“Sweats. Hmm, baby, you’re my kind of woman,” Tad teased, his smile brightening the room.

“It’s cold here after living away from the north,” Missy complained.

Tad winked at her. “What else you got in that bag of tricks? Here I thought you meant you’d brought a sexy nightie or massage oil.”

Missy pulled out a thick pair of wool socks and her hairbrush.

“Ropes and a paddle, right?”

Missy blew a raspberry at him and ducked behind the stack of boxes while Tad turned back to the stove, but not before they both cast a final glance at each other. The sexual intent in Tad’s gaze burned her and she had to take a long, slow breath before she could change.

Warm food filled their bellies and the heat from the stove reached even the farthest corners of the cabin. Missy sighed and leaned back on the soft pillows Tad had pulled from storage and placed in front of the fire.

“There were three other full-blood wolves in high school with us,” she said, watching the expressions on his face with delight. “Do you know who they were?”

Tad propped himself on his elbows beside her. “I know about Leon. He still belongs to the pack in Whitehorse. I suspected there was something different about him even before I knew about wolves.”

Missy laughed. “Why?”

Tad bunched his shoulders and screwed his face into a grimace. He deepened his voice and rasped out, “’Cause if you’d ever seen the guy changing for gym class you’d have thought he’d forgotten to complete a shift. Guy needs shares in Nair.”

She giggled. That was Leon to a T. “You’re bad. Who else?”

“I’m not sure. Cindy moved away shortly after you did. She had the whole ‘look but don’t touch’ thing down to perfection and you two hung out together a lot around school and in town…” He paused.

“You were watching me, weren’t you?” Missy said with her gaze on his lips, on the corner of his mouth. Her tongue slipped out to wet her own lips, unable to stop the automatic gesture.

“All the time,” Tad admitted quietly. He reached out a hand and tugged loose a curl. She swallowed hard as his touch sent a riot of sensation through her body. “You fascinated me. You still do.”

He continued to stare at her, his eyes growing darker.

“I need to kiss you.” His voice was harsh and low as he continued to twirl her hair around his finger. “I really need to kiss you now.”

He didn’t come closer. What was he waiting for? Missy licked her lips again and he groaned as his hand cupped her neck to pull her in. They were a mere whisper apart. His breath warmed her, and still he didn’t move closer and touch her. Then she realized he wouldn’t. He waited for her. It was her call, her decision.

“Missy?” His voice teased her skin, tickled her senses, drew the very air from her lungs.

She dropped her mouth the final quarter inch and their lips touched, tentative, hesitant. Tad cradled her close, his hands tender as he massaged her neck and shoulders, his lips soft and restrained.

What she wanted was more. She stroked her tongue over his mouth, teased at the seam of his lips and urged him to open. With a groan he complied, and she snuck inside to lick his teeth. Heat rose around them as Tad joined her, his tongue sweeping hers as he dragged their bodies into contact, hips together, her torso tight to his chest.

The cozy blankets under them, the warmth of the fire filling the room, the crackle as the logs settled, all these sensations faded away as his physical touch overwhelmed her. His hands slipped under her sweatshirt and glided down her back. Their bodies pressed together. Her nipples, tight and hard, rubbed against him.

Through it all they kissed. The intoxicating touch of mouth on mouth thrilled her, made her lightheaded. She pulled away an inch to gasp in air, and found she looked up at Tad. He’d rolled them over without her even being aware of it. He watched her carefully as he held his full weight on his forearms, suspending himself above her body. His hardness nestled against her thigh.

His laboured breathing showed her she wasn’t the only one affected.

She stared at him. “You kiss better than a dream.”

Tad’s eyes widened. “Sweetheart, do you have any idea how many dreams you’ve starred in for me?”

He continued to gaze at her and Missy flushed. Her hands were locked around his neck, his hair standing straight up from where she’d clutched at him while they kissed. “I, umm… What was the question?”

Dark eyes flashed at her. “No questions. Just more of this.”

He lowered his head and she was gone, lost in his taste, his touch. He nuzzled at her neck, teeth rasping her skin, and her womb clenched. Moisture, hot and slick, flooded from her body. Blood rushed to her pussy lips until they were swollen and aching.