And if he was going to challenge for Alpha, there was an even greater chance he’d be able to hear her thoughts. One of the perks of heading a pack was a strong mental link to every member of the pack. Add that to the mate bond and they’d be fine.
His mind slipped to pack problems even as his gaze continued to caress her body. The current Alpha and Beta were getting too old to be proper leaders. The Granite pack was large and more transient than most with the constant influx of newcomers from the Lower 48.
Every time a wolf got the itch to connect with their inner self, they seemed to make their way north, thinking that the wilds of Alaska would help them find themselves. All they found was that life required hard work, no matter were you lived. There was no easy ride anywhere, and perhaps even less here Up North.
Keil had begun to worry as more of their traditions fell away. It wasn’t that he didn’t like progress, but some things were tradition because it was good for the pack. Newcomers brought baggage with them, and a lot of what they were demanding the pack do to keep them comfortable went against everything the Granite pack stood for.
It was time for change. When the old leaders announced they would step aside and let someone younger take over, Keil knew it was his chance. He would have to slow down on his guiding business but having a strong pack would be worth it.
But he wasn’t the only wolf with the potential to win the challenge. Another of the newcomers was Keil’s equal in strength, but Jack’s vision for the future of the pack traveled even further down the road to hell than the one they were on.
Keil groaned and rolled on his back. Finding his mate right now was going to make things difficult, to say the least. But was he sad he’d found her? Hell, no. Some wolves went their whole lives without discovering their mate. So he had a few issues to resolve.
Before next weekend. No rush.
A soft noise made him turn. Robyn was awake, pushed up on one elbow rubbing her hand over the side of her face and ear as if in pain. He scrambled closer, cautious not to frighten her, trying to be sure she saw him approach.
He mouthed the words to avoid waking TJ. “Are you okay?”
Tears were welling up in her eyes as she shook her head. She tried to sit and with little effort he lifted her, pulling her into his arms. He ended up rubbing his hand over the side of her head while he rocked her gently back and forth. She was tense at first but slowly she relaxed, and his heart leapt. Keil wasn’t sure what was going on, but she felt too marvelous pressed up against him to think it through. His fingers continued to smooth over her hair and cheek, the feel of her against him wonderful and right. Her skin was soft under his fingers, the warmth of her torso wrapping around him like a blanket.
And when Robyn turned her head in his hand and caressed it, he thought his heart would burst. He couldn’t resist. Still cupping her face, he lowered his lips toward hers, brushing gently with a closed mouth, just to feel the friction of them coming together.
It was like a shock of electricity raced through her. She’d woken to the painful buzzing in her ear that was a sporadic occurrence over the years. It only seemed to happen when she camped with strangers, and she’d learned to deal with it by rubbing, hard, on the soft spot below her ear. But today at Keil’s gentle touch, the pain receded, and a wonderful warmth built throughout her body like she’d never before experienced. As his lips touched hers something clicked within her and all she could think about was feeling him everywhere.
Oh, lordy, she wanted to be naked with him.
That was really, really not her.
She’d reached twenty-six years old with limited sexual experience. Whether it was because Tad was overprotective or because her deafness made her too unattractive to warrant more exploration, she’d never worried about it too much. She had read erotic stories over the years, and she knew how to climax, but she’d never had any desire to try much of anything with anyone.
Tad said she was saving herself for the “right man”.
Her parents had told her that when it was time, she’d know.
After all these years she’d figured that the Timex took a licking somewhere along the line and busted, because no one had really turned her crank.
Until now.
This stranger made her mouth water, and she hadn’t had a real taste of him yet. She opened her lips a crack, to see what he’d do and his eager tongue slipped past to trace the edge of her teeth.
Damn, he tasted good.
A sudden rush of scent filled her head and made it spin. Tingles raced down over her body coming to land between her legs. She reached out a hand to see if something was pushing on her crotch, but nothing was there except the internal pressure that made her want to squirm.
Keil’s hand slipped around to the back of her neck, drawing her closer and shifting her mouth to a different angle as he continued to kiss her. She pressed into him, enjoying the pleasurable sensations flowing through her. Yet even as she kissed back she wondered what she was doing. Why she wasn’t pulling her knife on him and getting him to back off?
He lifted her around to lie on top of his body as his tongue worked its magic on her mouth. His heart beat under her hands, the long, hard length of his body warm against her torso and limbs.
And she realized the long, hard length of something else nestled between her legs. Oh. My. Word. She pushed up with her hands on his hard chest to stare into his dark brown eyes, uncertain what to do. She felt safe, even if this had to be the most insane thing she’d done in her life.
“Are you feeling better?” Keil mouthed as he traced a finger over the ear she’d been clutching moments earlier. Robyn nodded. “Let’s get some more sleep. We’ll talk this through in the morning, okay?”
She nodded, lowering her mouth to give him one more gentle kiss, before crawling off his body to rearrange her sleeping space. Any concern over her strange reaction to him was washed away by the quick relief of her earache.
She’d just straightened the bottom blanket when Keil’s soft touch on her arm made her pause. His eyes were bewitching as he stared at her, silent for a moment.
“Please, can I hold you?”
Robyn swallowed hard. Oh man, did she want him to hold her. She nodded before ducking her chin down to avoid his eyes. He shifted his mattress closer, pulled her sleeping bag under them before wrapping an arm around her waist and drawing her back tight to his torso. Up against his warm and solid body. He pulled his sleeping bag over the two of them, nestled her head on his arm and wrapped his legs around hers, pinning her in place.
It was the most incredible feeling, safe and secure.
This was insane. She didn’t know this man from Adam and here she was wrapped up like a jellyroll with him. His fingers slipped along her arm to link fingers with hers as he rested their joined hands touching her belly.
Yup, totally insane.
Robyn closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Clattering pots and pans woke Keil in the morning and he groaned. There were times that being deaf would be a blessing. Or at least make him stop wanting to kill his brother. Wrapped up together in Robyn’s warmth, he wasn’t ready yet to get out of bed.
They had shifted while asleep and he was flat on his back with Robyn’s head resting on his chest. Her hands clutched at him while one of her legs had slipped over his belly, the inside of her thigh pressing down on his morning hard-on. It was heaven and hell to feel the weight of her against him.
“So, I take it you’ve had an interesting night. It is obvious I sleep like a log. Want me to make coffee or do you want me to go ski for a few hours?” TJ’s grinning face peered down at them, his eyes tracing over Robyn where she clung to his brother’s body.
“Stop leering at her. Nothing happened. Yes, make coffee and stop being such a shit.” Keil tried to speak softly but Robyn woke, reacting to the lifting of his chest. “TJ, go get breakfast. I don’t want her to be any more embarrassed than she needs to be.”