leapt into his
arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and kissing him deeply. For
a moment I forgot there was anyone else in the room until I heard
Tatum’s awed whisper of, “Wow!” Reluctantly I climbed down from my
beloved, though I welcomed the feel of his arms around
me.
Cade looked at us thoughtfully. “I
suppose you’ll be needing a place to stay.”
“ Just temporarily,” assured
Gideon.
“ You’ll be safer here
anyway,” said Claire. She turned to her father-in-law. “Guest room
okay?”
Cade grinned and ran a hand along his
chin. “They can have the guest room if they like. Or, the barn is
pretty comfortable if they prefer more ah…privacy.”
“ Barn,” Gideon and I said
together, to the sound of unanimous laughter. He gave my hip a
little squeeze and I leaned backwards, purposefully straining to
stimulate his arousal. He responded by pressing himself firmly
against me.
Cade cleared his throat sternly as if
he knew what we were up to. “Very well. Full moon tomorrow. Also
happens to be midsummer.”
“ Midsummer?” I asked. “You
mean the solstice?”
Cade winked at me and pulled Tatum
close. “Seasons are in the blood of us wolves.”
Benji and Zane suddenly burst through
the front door. Zane gave a loud whoop when he saw me in Gideon’s
arms. Benji stared at us. “So it’s true,” he said.
“ Is there talk already?”
Cade asked.
Zane shrugged. “You know how it is
here. Strange news travels fast.” He punched Gideon lightly on the
arm. “Congrats, buddy. Ben and I should take you down for stealing
our lifelong crush but I’m feeling gracious today.”
“ Lucky me,” said Gideon in
a wry tone.
Although I was grateful for the happy
company of the Landon family, I hungered to be alone with Gideon
again. Cade put him to work alongside his sons, packaging up boxes
of those cooking spices he shipped across the country. Claire and
Tatum fussed over me incessantly, which was nice though a bit
suffocating. When Claire briefly left the front porch to put the
baby down for a nap, Tatum plopped down beside me and grabbed my
arm.
“ So, can you believe it?
Their stamina, I mean? Oh, don’t look so shocked. Girls can talk.
Anyway, Gideon was really your first love, huh? So freaking
romantic!” At that she burst into tears. I was alarmed but she
waved me off. “Hormones, sweetie. It’s nothing.” She smiled and
slyly reached over to touch my belly. “Won’t be too long before you
join the club I bet. Boy looks like he can produce.”
I looked across the yard to see Gideon
carrying a towering load of boxes as easily as if they were filled
with tissues. My heart began to pound as I remembered the feel of
his hard naked body. He seemed to sense me watching and turned his
head. His sly grin told me he was having similar immodest
thoughts.
It seemed like an eternity before the
day came to its conclusion. When everyone finally began to bid
their good nights I used the Landons’ bathroom and padded barefoot
across the yard towards the barn, wishing I had something sexier to
wear than an old oversized t-shirt.
Tatum had offered us a pile of blankets
which Gideon had laid them carefully on top of a pile of hay. The
look he gave me when I quietly entered the barn told me he didn’t
mind the old t-shirt.
I stepped into his arms and his hands
quickly moved underneath the shirt into my panties. “You don’t need
these,” he said, rolling them to the ground in one fluid movement.
“Or this,” he said, pulling my shirt over my head. I reached out
and touched the clearly visible bulge between his legs.
Gideon hastily removed his pants,
raking my body impatiently with his eyes. I stood in front of him
and ran my hands down his chest, across his taut belly and finally
took that desperate length of him in my palm. “Don’t hold back,
Gideon. Everything you’ve ever wanted to do with a girl, do it with
me.”
His eyes were wild as he reached out to
massage my tender breasts.
Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Martin A. Lee, Bruce Shlain