Page 65 of Monsters and Beauties

I knew why he was bringing this up, that although he wanted to make me happy and would take me to the cabin, he was also worried. I didn’t have to hear him say the words. Wolf was very expressive with the grunts and growls and entire body language that were displays of his emotions.

“I want to get my stuff, Wolf,” I murmured, and reached up to run my finger along one thickly furred ear. He leaned into me as it twitched under my touch. “I won’t run or try to escape, if that’s what you think.” I gave him a smile. “I enjoy being here with you.” Not a lie, strangely enough.

How insane was it that in just a few days’ time, I was so comfortable with him?

Not anymore.But of course I kept that to myself. If I admitted I had planned on getting away but then changed my mind, I was pretty sure he’d be too paranoid to even take the trip.

He made a gruff sound and leaned in to nuzzle my neck. I wrapped my arms around his waist, although my hands couldn’t touch because he was just so big.

With one more lingering lick over my mouth that had my toes curling and a delicious hum of arousal filling me, he pulled back with an almost frustrated grunt and took my hand.

He grabbed the pack with the supplies in his other paw and we left the cave. Although it was sunny, rays of light peeking through the treetops that surrounded the cave, I glanced at Wolf.

“Are you sure it’s supposed to storm?” I tipped my head back and looked at the bright blue sky. It was a gorgeous day, not too warm or cold.

He made that very animal-like sound when he found me amusing, and I cut a glare at him even though I knew he was just teasing.

“Trust me. I know when it’s going to storm, my Little Bird.”

And still we started our trek through the woods, keeping to the shadowy parts where the sunlight didn’t quite reach.

I kept glancing at Wolf, and noticed how his ears would twitch from side to side as if he were picking up different sounds, and how he’d stop intermittently and tip his head back, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled deeply before we started walking again.

He was just so big and predator-esque, and here I was, this tiny human that didn’t even reach the center of his chest, putting all my trust in him and knowing he’d never hurt me.

We stopped a few times, and he urged me to eat, growling low when I told him I wasn’t hungry.

It was peaceful out here, with only the sound of the wind moving the leaves above us, birds chirping and squawking in the distance, and little critters scurrying about.

There was no car exhaust or honking horns. There were no screaming matches or the scent of cooking food from the street vendors.

It was just serene, and I closed my eyes as I rested my hands behind me to absorb it all.

I felt centered and grounded by it. I felt like... me.

When I opened my eyes and glanced at Wolf, feeling a smile tug at my lips, it was to see him already staring at me. “What?” I asked softly.

He shook his head. “Nothing and no one is prettier than you.”

My belly flipped, my heart stopped, and before I knew what I was doing, I was walking up to him and rising on my toes. I placed my hands on his chest and kissed the side of his mouth.

We continued our journey, Wolf insisting that we stop every so often so that I could rest, even though I told him we didn’t have to. But I enjoyed taking our time.

I enjoyed being deep in the Alaskan woods, places few people had probably been because it was so wild and free. As time passed, the sky became darker and the promise of rain in the air became stronger.

Wolf stopped and glanced up, making a gruff sound, before looking at me. I suppressed rolling my eyes, knowing that the gleam in his eyes was his arrogance that he had been correct.

It was about to rain.

My thoughts clearly wanted to drive that stake home, because the skies opened up, and the rain fell down like a heavy blanket.

I laughed as it poured down my hands over my head in a poor excuse for an umbrella.

When I got to the outcropping, I turned and faced Wolf, seeing him standing right outside getting soaked, the water dripping off his dark fur, his teeth showing in that cute—and utterly endearing—wolfish smile of his.

“Get in here,” I called out and laughed. He loped inside, and before I could brace myself, he did a full body, very canine shake.

Water droplets flung everywhere—including on me—but I was already soaked, so all I did was laugh harder.

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