Ice Wolf: A Shifter Romance Read online

  Go. You and Jenny. For the brotherhood.

  “I hope so.” I can’t cope with four hundred years of fresh nightmares.

  As far as Wilder was concerned, Helsinki was like any other big city. It was Jenny’s enthusiasm for the snow that turned it into something special. As they exited the airport building and Wilder looked around for a cab, she caught hold of his hand, completely unself-conscious. At least they were both wearing gloves so he didn’t have to worry about the whole skin-to-skin contact that had such a profound effect on him. Nothing he could do about the dazzling smile that swept him up and spun his head around until he was slightly giddy.

  “Can’t we walk?”

  He indicated their bags. “It’s four miles.”

  “We’ll walk later. A long walk in the snow.” Her smile widened in anticipation.

  He found himself agreeing and wondered when he’d last felt a fraction of that joy for life that Jenny exuded. Never, that’s when. She was infectious. In the cab ride, he was content to sit back, watching her face as she drank in the sights, leaning across him to point out a horse-drawn carriage or a child being towed on a sled.

  Gunnar had found them a small, comfortable hotel in the city center. Once they were checked in, they took the elevator up to their third-floor rooms. Jenny stretched her arms above her neck, then rolled her head. “I need to shower and sleep for a few hours before we eat.”

  “What happened to all that snow-related enthusiasm?”

  She grinned. “It’s still there. I just need to recharge my batteries.”

  They reached their adjoining rooms and, as though it was the most natural thing in the world, Jenny rose on the tips of her toes and touched her lips to his cheek. “Get some rest. I’m going to wear you out later.”

  Wilder stood there as if he’d been turned to stone, watching her enter her room.

  She means the walk in the snow. Doesn’t she?

  He waited until the door closed behind her before, with movements that were slightly slower than usual, he used the card key to open his own door.

  There were some things that a cold shower probably wasn’t going to fix, but Wilder decided it was worth a try. At the very least it would ease his raging erection, although, being an Arctic werewolf, cold wasn’t usually a problem in that respect. Throwing his bag onto the bed, he headed for the bathroom. What he really wanted to do was retrace his steps, pound on Jenny’s door, flip her onto all fours, and fuck her until their combined howls took the roof off this place.

  Get a grip. What happened to the lone wolf? He lasted until the first sign of a pretty face and the flick of her tongue on your flesh?

  He’d managed just fine for several centuries. Four, to be precise. Before Jotunheim there had been mortal women. Never a werewolf. Because wolves mated for life. And that was the problem with Jenny. He couldn’t do that to her. Was he planning to build her hopes up and then crush them by walking away from her once this job was over? Wilder wasn’t that guy. His Arctic code was too strong to allow him to do that. At least, he hoped it was. But Jenny was offering him some powerful reasons to put a dent in his resolution.

  He stepped under icy jets of water that should have had him shivering. Face it, you haven’t had sex for four hundred years. Now you’ve been thrown into close proximity with a gorgeous Arctic female, who, for some strange reason, seems to like you. That’s got to play havoc with anyone’s urges. He glanced down at his cock, still rock-hard and pulsing against the flat muscles of his abdomen. Clearly, neither the pep talk nor the cold water were working.

  If medieval monks could manage to keep their vows of celibacy, so can I.

  Even as he decided that that would be his new mantra, Wilder couldn’t help wondering if those dedicated holy men had ever encountered anything quite so tempting as Jenny Piper.

  * * *

  “At least I don’t have to ask what you want to eat.” Jenny grinned, tucking her arm into Wilder’s. “Let’s go and find somewhere that serves huge bloody steaks.”

  “I think we should try the national dish. It’s some sort of smoked fish.”

  She regarded him dubiously. His expression was perfectly serious. “Well, if you’re sure . . .”

  One corner of his mouth lifted teasingly. “Stop panicking. I don’t want fish any more than you do. Although I don’t want a huge bloody steak, either.”

  “You don’t?”

  Wilder shook his head. “I want at least two.”

  They were both dressed for the weather in down-filled coats, boots, hats, scarves, and gloves. Jenny wanted to strip them all off and run into the snowdrifts. She cast a sidelong glance in Wilder’s direction. If he was experiencing a similar longing, he was hiding it well.

  We’ll see if I can’t break down some of those barriers later, my big alpha.

  They found a steak restaurant and managed to explain to the waiter that, when they said rare, they really did mean they wanted blood to run out when they cut into the meat.

  “No sides.” Wilder said it just before Jenny could and they both started to laugh.

  “You have a nice laugh. You should do it more often.”

  The shutters came down again within his eyes. “Frivolity is not my strong point.”

  “You don’t say.” She rolled her eyes.

  He sighed, some of the tension leaving his frame. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to being around people.”

  “Why is that?”

  “My choice. Tell me about you. You obviously like being with others. So why are you alone?”

  “Not my choice.” She heard the sadness in her voice and saw it reflected in his eyes. “My werewolf home was the Canadian tundra. My parents were first-generation werewolves. They didn’t have an ancient lineage. My father was bitten by a rogue werewolf and survived the attack. My mother, who was his mate, accepted his bite and became a werewolf as well.”

  “Shouldn’t your pack be enslaved to the werewolf who bit your father?” Wilder asked.

  “Yes, except the werewolf who attacked him died soon after, freeing my father from his bondage. It left my family in a rare position. We were a newly formed werewolf pack. My father took that responsibility very seriously. My parents were faced with a choice. Did they bring their cubs up as humans or as werewolves? I’ll never know why, since they were both born human—but they chose to rear us as wolves, until one day when a group of hunting tourists wiped out my entire pack during a day’s jaunt. Except for me. I outran them, even though they were on snowmobiles.”

  “Bastards.”

  The waiter brought the beer they’d ordered and Jenny picked up her glass with a hand that wasn’t quite steady. Taking a quick slug, she continued, “Quite a holiday. See the tundra’s finest animals . . . and murder them. I checked it out online. For a few thousand dollars you can kill wolves, moose, or caribou. Even a bear if you have enough cash.”

  She sensed Wilder fighting a battle with himself. Whether he won or lost, she wasn’t sure, but he took her hand in his. The warmth of his flesh on hers was comforting and arousing at the same time, the contrasting emotions shocking her. She compared her slender fingers to his larger, stronger hand. This is how our bodies are all over, mine soft and yielding, his powerful and demanding. The thought flashed through her mind and was quickly gone. Hadn’t she read somewhere that people often used sex to wipe out feelings of grief? Or was she making excuses for feeling horny while talking about the murder of her family?

  “Didn’t your pack shift back to their human form?”

  “We didn’t have time. They came at us while we were sleeping. When we were in the tundra, we lived as wolves. My father could have taken them if he’d had time, but he got a bullet in the head while he slept. I always thought a hunt meant tracking and chasing, but this group just wanted to shoot and kill. They wanted our pelts as trophies to take home and hang on the wall to show off at the next dinner party. They even killed the cubs, despite the fact that the young are protected by law.” Her voice
broke and she took another drink, using the interruption to compose herself. “Even if we’d been able to shift, what would they have done? Faced with a naked family, could we have trusted them to behave decently, or was there a possibility they would have raped the women and girls before killing us anyway?”

  “What did you do after you escaped?” Wilder’s calm tones restored her equilibrium.

  “I kept on running. Didn’t look back until I reached the U.S. border. I guess I was trying to blot out the memory of what I’d seen. I was too old to be accepted into another pack, but too young to find a mate of my own. I didn’t want to bring my own cubs into the world and risk exposing them to that sort of danger. I decided to leave my wolf behind and become human. This form wasn’t anything I’d needed until then. All of a sudden it was my permanent identity. On two feet, I walked into the nearest town, naked and unable to speak.”

  “How old were you?”

  “They decided my human age was fourteen.” Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away. “I was sent to an orphanage. I don’t need to tell you how fast wolves learn. I was soon talking, reading, and writing. They put me through college. And here I am.”

  Wilder gazed into her eyes for the longest time and Jenny knew he was trying to find the right thing to say. She wanted to tell him it was okay. There probably wasn’t a right thing to say, but she appreciated the effort it took for a man like him—a man of few words—to try. Then their steaks arrived and the smell of near-raw meat temporarily drove everything else out of her mind.

  After they’d eaten, they walked in silence through the snowy city. Jenny set a wicked pace, despite the clumsy boots she wore, with Wilder easily matching her long, loping strides. They reached a leafy boulevard lined with grand architecture, off which there was a park. Grabbing Wilder’s hand, Jenny pulled him away from the brightly lit streets and into the darkness. Once inside, it was quiet. Above their heads, snow-encrusted trees formed an archway. Around them the drifts had reached waist height.

  “I want to play.” Jenny began to strip off her winter clothing.

  “Are you mad?”

  “No, I’m Arctic.” Barefoot, and wearing only her jeans and a tank top, she dived headfirst into the nearest snowdrift. Laughing, she surfaced a few moments later. “Join me?”

  “I’ll pass.” Wilder’s face in the moonlight was a combination of disapproval and fascination.

  “Your loss.”

  Jenny scooted back into the snow. Her only regret was that she wasn’t completely naked in its heavenly embrace. Sliding along on her side with her face pushing the fresh drifts aside ahead of her, she grinned as she thought of the look on Wilder’s face. How could anyone resist this? He didn’t know what he was missing. Maybe it was time he found out. She poked her face and arms out of the drift. Sure enough, Wilder was still standing there like he was trying to pretend he wasn’t with her.

  Cupping her hands together, Jenny started directing flurries of snow at him. It powdered down his front, leaving him with snow-fringed eyelashes and an even frostier expression than before.

  “Stop it, Jenny.” His voice was a degree or two icier than the surrounding temperature.

  “Make me.” As she spoke, she increased the speed and intensity of her arm movements.

  With a muttered expletive, Wilder moved toward her. Jenny darted back under the white surface, emerging in time to pull off his hat and rub a handful of snow into the top of his head. He caught her about the waist and she squirmed with pleasure.

  “You’ll never know how much fun it is if you don’t try it.”

  “You mean you want me strip off my clothes and roll around in the snow with you?” His face was expressionless.

  Her breath caught in her throat. “That’s exactly what I want you to do.”

  He was silent for so long she thought she’d blown it. Then, in one swift movement, he released her and stepped back into the shallower snow. Within minutes, he had stripped down to his jeans and was back at her side.

  “Okay, Jenny, you wanted to play. Let’s play.”

  Hauling her to him, he pulled her down into the deep drift with him. Grabbing handfuls of snow, he rubbed it over her body, making her squeal and gasp with pleasure. Following his lead, Jenny smoothed her wet hands over his chest, feeling the ridges of muscle harden as he tensed beneath her fingers. Together, they rolled around in the icy powder, exulting in a world that was uniquely their own. Jenny tangled her legs between his.

  “I want to lose the clothes.” She nuzzled her way along his jawline.

  “Given everything else we have going on, getting arrested for public nudity in a foreign country sounds like a bad idea.” Wilder responded to the nuzzling by nipping at her collarbone.

  Leaping to her feet, she ran through the drifts, lifting her knees high to kick up a cloud of snow in her wake. Wilder followed, catching hold of her when she was knee-deep in snow and pushing her up against the trunk of a thick tree. His lower body pressed against hers, the heat of his flesh burning into her despite his wet jeans and the freezing temperatures. Jenny gazed into his stormy eyes and sparks erupted all along her nerve endings. Something in her response must have given him the signal he was seeking. Wilder’s control shattered and Jenny cried out as he crushed himself against her, claiming her mouth in a kiss that almost seared the flesh from her bones. His fingers dug hard into her ribs, holding her in position as if he would never let her go. Wilder kissed her like he owned her, as if he were branding that truth into her memory forever. He licked her mouth, every inch the possessive wolf, demanding her submission. Jenny moaned and parted her lips, relishing the taste of him as he slid his tongue into her mouth.

  His erection was an iron rod digging into her stomach and she bucked and writhed against him. His response was instantaneous. The kiss became carnal . . . animal. He moved his hands on her hips and lifted her against the tree, grinding that hot, hard length against her core. Jenny wrapped her legs around his waist, need growing inside her, wild and unrelenting. She gripped his shoulders, wanting to do something to ease the spiraling tension. She wanted to claw him, to sink her teeth into his flesh, to throw back her head and howl at the huge expanse of sky above them. The wildness inside her raged out of control as her wolf gave a low, impatient growl.

  “Wait.” Wilder drew back, panting. He rested his forehead against hers. “Jenny, we’re werewolves. You know what it means if we have sex . . .”

  “I know what it means if our wolves have sex.” She knew enough about wolf law to know the rule about mating for life. Jenny moved her hands up from his shoulders to frame his face. Her breath plumed in the air between them. “But we’re not wolves right now, Wilder. So here’s the deal . . . if we have sex in human form, it’s just sex. If we ever do it as Arctics, that’s when it will be forever. Now can we just stop agonizing and get back to the hotel so we can fuck?”

  Chapter Five

  They erupted through the door of Jenny’s hotel room, scattering wet clothing in their wake. By the time they reached the bed, they were both naked and panting hard.

  “I didn’t want to let this happen.” Wilder’s voice was an anguished murmur into her hair. “I kept trying to fight it.”

  She slid her hand down his body, connecting with his rock-hard cock and lightly stroking his shaft. His whole body jerked in shock. “I’ve got news for you, Wilder. You lost the fight.”

  She wasn’t sure if the rumbling sound in his chest was a laugh or a growl. The next instant, the breath was driven from her body as Wilder swung her off her feet. When he lowered her, Jenny felt the softness of the mattress beneath her back. Then his lips were on hers, coaxing, teasing, and caressing. His tongue stroked over hers until she was arching and moaning in pleasure.

  “First time losing ever felt this good.” He pressed one muscular thigh between her legs and rocked his body against hers.

  “Yes. God, yes.” Jenny lifted her hips, rubbing herself against his thigh. She wasn’t sure if she
was agreeing or pleading. She wasn’t sure it mattered.

  She spread her hands over the warm flesh of his back, exulting in the play of powerful muscles rippling just below smooth skin. Marveling in the contradiction of soft and hard. The wounds Santin had inflicted on him were already healing, thanks to her ministrations. Wolf saliva. Unconventional medicine, but powerful just the same. It was her last coherent thought for some time.

  Her wolf instincts were telling her to nip and nuzzle at him. Every inch of him. She started by kissing her way along his collarbone. She held his scent in her nostrils like a connoisseur sampling fine wine. He was clean, warm, and musky. All male. She could taste the salt of his sweat beneath traces of soap and cologne. Moving lower, she circled her tongue teasingly around his nipple before biting her way across his chest. His abs were a perfect column of pure muscle, begging for her tongue to trace the interesting ridges between them. With a groan, Wilder caught hold of her chin and lifted it so he could kiss her again. Jenny whimpered and rubbed her body against his, desperate to have his scent all over her, marking and claiming her.

  Wilder moved down her body, covering her breasts with soft, fluttering kisses. His fingertips teased over her painfully tight nipples and Jenny felt her lips draw back in a silent snarl. He squeezed one nipple lightly between his fingers before finally sucking it deep into his mouth.

  He shifted his weight to one side, and heat pulsed through her at the sight of his cock. It was glorious. Huge, hard as steel, and standing to attention. She curled her fingers around it and stroked once from the base to the head, then back again, satisfaction flooding her at the low rumbling noise he emitted. She did it again and lifted her gaze to his. Golden fire blazed in the depths of Wilder’s eyes.

  His fingers slid between her thighs and her whole body jerked as he circled her clit with slow, lazy strokes. “Tell me what you want.” His voice caressed her like a physical touch, stirring up emotions and sensations Jenny had only ever dreamed about before tonight.