“Are we going, or what?”
She was even more beautiful than when he’d seen her by the pond. Her eyes flashed with the challenge all mates gave their werewolf men, and she held her chin high, daring him to take her up on it.
“Yeah. Let’s get going.” Lance lunged for the truck.
Grant’s hand landed in the middle of Lance’s chest. “Not so fast. I don’t trust you alone with her.” Although he could see that Lance had gotten his wolf under submission again, he realized how fast that control could leave. He’d lost some of his own control when he’d seen Lance over her.
“What do you expect me to do?”
“You and Duncan are riding in the cab. I’ll ride in back with Christy.”
“What the hell, man? You’re going to make her ride back there? In the wind and dirt?”
He grinned, one he knew held a wolfish edge to it. “It’s not that windy or dirty. And it’s a hell of a lot safer back there away from you two.”
“Then we’ll ride in back and she can have the cab.”
“Nope. I don’t trust you two with nothing to keep you occupied. Duncan, you’ll drive, and Lance, you’ll get on the phone and call a friend to handle the herd tonight. Tell them we’ll need them for tomorrow, too.” If things worked out the way they should, he’d want to have all day to bed his new mate.
“Are you three finished talking?” Christy sat down, bracing her back against the cab. “I’m fine riding back here. Besides, I’ve never ridden in the back of a pickup before.”
He hoped she had a lot of things she’d never done before. If so, he’d have a great time doing them with her. He jumped over the side and landed in front of her. Her eyes widened at how easily he’d done that.
“Let’s go, boys.” Once more the wash of lust rushed over him. The sun would set soon, but he could trust that Jackson would show up before it did. If not, then his wolf, along with and his friends’ inner animals, would break free and claim their mate. If they did, they’d have to pray that it wouldn’t destroy their future.
Duncan headed the truck out of town while Lance twisted around to check on them, then put his phone to his ear. Grant settled down beside her. To sit at the side of the truck would mean more dust and grit between his teeth. At least, that was the excuse he’d use if either of the other men questioned him.
“I don’t understand what’s going on.”
He suspected she’d say as much. The heat from her body seeped into his, giving new life to his inner wolf’s charge to the surface. He steeled his nerve and built an invisible wall against the possible shift.
“I’m not sure I understand it, either.” That wasn’t strictly true. He knew more than she did about the connection and about the amber moon. But that didn’t mean he could handle the riptide of feelings threatening to drag him under if he let his guard down.
“Lance asked me if I felt it. Do you know what he meant?”
Every time she glanced at him, his heart picked up speed. The wolf’s blood in him whipped into a frenzy, spinning and whirling, driving his animal to roar at its confinement. The world kept sliding between its usual colors to one colored with an amber hue. It would be so easy to give in.
“He’s talking about the connection.”
“And that is?”
Maybe if they kept talking, he could maintain his resistance against the rising tide of yearning.
“It’s hard to explain. It’s kind of like the love at first sight people talk about. But it’s so much more intense. Both physically and emotionally. Hell, even spiritually. It’s like a disease that your body has no protection from. A drug that you become addicted to in an instant. An itch that you can’t reach and just gets more painful with each second.”
“But it’s a good pain, right? Like a need you didn’t know existed, but one you can’t resist. Like one you don’t want to resist.”
He turned, seeking her eyes. “Then you do feel it.”
His cock, still half-erect, grew bigger when she skimmed her tongue from one corner of her mouth to the other. At once the world around them was gone. All that remained was her.
“This is crazy.”
“Is it?” He gave in, thinking he could dare to put just one finger on her and still remain sane. He brought his fingertip to her mouth and played with her lower lip. As he’d hoped, her tongue peeked out again and brushed over his flesh.
He let out a moan, then pulled her on top of him. She didn’t fight him, and instead, straddled him, pushing her hot spot against the bulge in his jeans.