Somehow, Kiara hadn’t considered she might have the same make-up as Maeve and as Fergus’s bonded mate, Mary.
As he flew toward the east, and well above the treetops, her mouth suddenly went dry. She hadn’t thought her relationship with Warren would ever be more than a brief love affair.
What is it? Warren’s voice was deep even within her mind. I can feel you’ve grown tense.
There was no way she was going to discuss something as serious and overwhelming as being a wolf’s mate. It’s something I’m mulling, but I’ll let it go.
He slowed then hovered in the air, his arm still tight around her waist. She was ridiculously in sync with him as he pulled her against him. How can I help? He searched her eyes. You’ve shown me kindness in taking me out into the forest. Let me do the same for you?
Her breath caught and her throat suddenly ached. She planted her hands on his chest, loving the feel of his muscular body beneath her fingers. The part of her that was becoming wolf especially loved the sensation. Her nostrils flared as she drank in his musky-storm scent once more.
Can you trust me right now, Warren? Because I really don’t want to talk right now. She let a smile touch her lips. I need you to shift and to let me ride you as you run. That’s all.
His concerned expression gave way to a grin. Holding her tight, he angled them both toward a break in the trees. His voice pierced her mind again. Before Julio made his move this year, I often ran this track at dawn. I’ve missed it.
He landed them both in a small clearing where a couple of trees had been cut down to stumps. He released her, but wasted no time. He held out his hands and let his wolf come.
The shift was seamless as his alter body transformed even absorbing his clothes. He was so beautiful in his wolf form with buff fur. He was larger than a normal wolf which was what had made her think of doing this in the first place. He glanced back at her and yipped then set his muzzle toward the running path. He waited for her to take up her position.
In the distance, she could see other wolves racing along.
She smiled because she knew his animal instincts would have him pushing to overtake the wolves.
She leaped onto his back and using levitation, pressed her body tight against his. He lifted his neck and arched then let out a howl.
The sound cut straight through her, sending a thrill the length of her body. She gripped the fur at the base of his neck near his shoulders and held on.
As Warren began to run, it took a few bumpy strides for her to get used to riding him, just as she could tell he wasn’t accustomed to having a passenger. But when they synced up, the experience was just as she’d hoped. She became one with each fluid stretch of his legs as he began to race down the track. The path was made of crushed granite and gave him an excellent footing.
Kiara let her worries go and gave herself fully to the moment. She felt the humid night air on her face, but his speed made it cool and delicious. The pine scent flew into her nostrils and spread feel-good through her brain. The sensation of Warren’s wolf-body, as he ran hard, was an experience that made her feel like she was riding on the back of a steam locomotive. Each ga
thering of his fore then hind legs was like a machine that couldn’t be stopped.
He quickly closed the distance between the three wolves racing through the forest in front of him. He leaped suddenly into the air adding a powerful thrust of levitation to his forward momentum. She gave a cry of sheer delight as he sailed through the air.
When he landed on the hard path once more, he eased back into his stride, then glanced behind her. She did as well. But the wolves Warren had passed gave no indication they’d seen them.
By now, Warren had reached the southernmost edge of the forest and slowed to take the turn. Once more, he raced along the mile track that would take him to the western edge.
~ ~ ~
Warren felt the rush of air over his muzzle. In his wolf form, his eyes were perfect. No scarring of any kind marred his coat.
Though he used the running track in his compound every day, there was nothing like being in a forest and smelling the fresh pine scent. Though it was night, his vision saw everything in a glow of light. Each pine needle was in perfect focus, every ant crawling on the ground appeared as though ten times its size, and the rough bark of the trees were ridged with a clarity his human form could never see.
Scents were brighter, sharper. He could smell the squirrels and prairie dogs hiding in their burrows and dens or beneath piles of needles and other leaves. The forest was gaining an undergrowth as well. Not all of it needed to be removed, but some was kept clear to make sure fires didn’t take hold.
What surprised him was how much he loved having Kiara clinging to his back, her fingers locked in his fur, her knees gripping his ribs. For her, he went faster, stretching out his forelegs, breathing hard, his lungs straining for more air.
Damn, but it felt good.
Kiara pressed herself closer using her levitation. He felt her breasts against his back. She moved with him, a fluidity of motion that got him going. What was it about Kiara that seemed to flow with him like no other woman before her?
He wanted to make love to her but not a neat, tidy kind of sex. Something raw and real.
Something here and now.
How invisible are we? I need to know.