His muscles rippled with his moves, his tongue tasting and teasing her tongue and lips. Her climax was building with every stroke of his finger against her swollen nub. His touch was tantalizing, pushing her closer and closer to the edge. And then he slid his finger between her feminine lips as far as he could go. She cried out with release, not believing that simple thrust of his finger would bring her to the end. The sensation lifted her and at the same time cloaked her in a warm blanket of belonging.

  Wanting to give him the same pleasure, she began to stroke his rigid cock then, slowly, enjoying the ridges, the head, the weeping tip, varying the pressure, watching his tense face as he collapsed back on the bed, his hand caressing her shoulder.

  And then she maneuvered around on the mattress so she could take advantage of his kissable mouth, tonguing him, deepening the kiss, stroking him as he cupped her face, and this time, he plunged his tongue into her mouth.

  His hips involuntarily thrust, and she knew he was ready to release. He was beautiful, his body tense with need, his expression focused, his brows knit together, his sexy mouth parted, and then he moved her hand faster on his cock right before he exploded. “Hot damn, Carmela.”

  He said her name in a way that was wolfish and sexy, and she loved hearing him say it.

  Then he sighed and ran his hand through her hair. “I’m going to jump in the shower and—”

  “I’ll take care of your bandages afterward.”

  “What about yours?”

  “I think I’m ready to remove mine for good.”

  Michael left the bed and snagged her hand. “Then that means we can shower together.”

  She really hadn’t expected to be soaping up the colonel’s body with her pearl bodywash, but she loved moving the soapsuds all over his hot body. He removed the bandages from her arms, and her wounds were fading, courtesy of their faster healing genetics. He kissed her skin around the injuries. And then she removed his bandages from his back and arms. She thought his wounds were healing nicely also. A couple of his worst bites would need bandages again.

  She left the shower to dry off, and he dried areas he could reach. Then she carefully dried him off around his wounds on his back and flank. After she bandaged him again, they kissed and returned to bed. She was glad to see that his wounds were on the mend and that her fever hadn’t returned.

  This time, when they climbed into bed, they snuggled together.

  “You didn’t say whether you had any siblings or not,” he said, stroking her back with a light touch.

  “A brother, like yours, staying in longer to make the next rank and a Green Beret. My dad had been Special Forces also, my mother a personnel officer in the army, which is how she met him. We were military all the way. What about yours?”

  “At first, my parents objected to my brother and I going on active duty. They felt our place was at home, but they finally accepted that we loved the military. My paternal and maternal grandfathers had been in, and hearing their war stories, they convinced both my brother and me to join up,” Michael said.

  “I think that’s why you caught my eye, because my brother and dad had been Special Forces. I have the utmost respect for them.”

  “Thanks. What about you? I didn’t catch which branch of the army you were with.”

  “Adjutant General Corp, like my mom. I had a lot of different jobs while I was in.”

  “Including sitting on an elimination board.” He sounded all growly about it.

  She didn’t blame him. She felt the same way after what they’d had to deal with. “Right. Who would have ever thought the men would seek revenge because I helped to get rid of them from the service. It makes me wonder what else they could have been involved in. I wondered that at the time. And of course, since then.”

  “Trying to track you down, so it seems. How long ago was it?”

  “A little over two weeks.”

  “And you’ve been here how long now?”

  “Two weeks. Except I was in Germany for a few days at the crossbow competition. Have you ever used a bow?”

  “Hell, yeah. But for friendly competition, not the real thing. I bet you could teach me a thing or two.” His cell phone rang, and he groaned. “Be right back.”

  She moved off him so he could get his phone out of his pants pocket, his jeans on the bedroom floor. She wondered if someone in the pack was calling him. More trouble?

  Six

  “Hey, Daniel. Man, have I got some news for you.” Michael climbed into the bed, and he loved that Carmela snuggled with him again as if this was meant to be. He sure could get used to this. “I found a pack in Colorado. Not the Greystokes’ pack like I told you I was going to see but another out of Silver Town, Colorado. They run the whole town.”

  “Hell, that’s great, brother. If I don’t make the cut for the promotion in the next few years, I’ll join you. They run a whole town, eh? Any sexy, available she-wolves?”

  “About that—”

  “No way could you have found a wolf this soon.”

  “She’s army like us, but we ran into some trouble. We got bit up pretty bad, but we’re healing well now.”

  “Wolves attacked you? Are they dead? I know it has to have been more than one wolf if you were injured that badly.”

  “There were three of them, but one escaped. The pack’s helping us to look for them.”

  “I’m putting in for leave. I’ll join you there soon.”

  “No. You don’t have to. I know you’re busy trying to earn brownie points with your boss.”

  “Not when my twin brother’s been injured. Does she have a sister who’s available?”

  Michael chuckled. “No. A brother though. He’s one of us too.”

  “Bryan Wildhaven,” Carmela said, kissed Michael’s chest, closed her eyes, and snuggled up tighter to him.

  “A Bryan Wildhaven,” Michael told his brother.

  “Hell, Bryan? He’s a red wolf. She’s a red wolf? Send me a picture. The guy’s working at the post here with me now. Does he know his sister has been in trouble?”

  “Does your brother know about the trouble we’ve had?” Michael asked her.

  She shook her head. “I don’t want him to know either. He’s a hothead when it comes to my safety.”

  “He doesn’t know, Carmela said. And she doesn’t want him to know for now,” Michael said to Daniel.

  Daniel snorted. “Give me the address and I’ll be there as soon as I can get away.”

  “You really don’t have to—”

  “You’re my brother, and I might have a sister-in-law soon if you put your heart into it, and I know you well enough to know you will. If there’s another bastard out there itching to put you and the lady six feet under, I’ll be there to eliminate him first. So how did this all go down?”

  Michael explained everything that had happened. He didn’t want to tell Daniel that he really didn’t need to come to take care of him. He suspected Daniel wanted to check out the pack as much as anything, and he definitely wanted to check out Carmela and give his seal of approval. Michael wanted to ask how Daniel knew Bryan and what he thought of him, though he didn’t want to ask his brother in front of Carmela. Michael gave Carmela’s home address to his brother.

  “I’ll talk to you soon,” Daniel said.

  “Talk soon.” Michael set his phone on the bedside table.

  “He better not tell my brother about the trouble I was in. Or tell him about you.”

  Michael smiled and caressed her arm. “You mean about this?”

  “Right. About this. Bryan planned to come to see the pack when he had some time off in the summer, but if he learns a wolf injured me and could still be after me, he’ll want blood.”

  “My brother too, believe me.”

  “Great. And my brother will most likely give you the third degree too.”

  Michael sighed and kissed her forehead. “I don’t know about your brother concerning me, but my brother will love you.”

  She smiled up at him.

  “I may have to remind him he’s staying in the service and not joining the pack right away though if he thinks he has any chance with you.”

  She chuckled. “If I beat on you again, wake me, and tell me to behave myself.”

  He smiled and kissed her. “All right.” But if that happened again tonight, he only wanted to make love to her, all the way this time. Though he knew he was jumping the gun a bit on that. He hadn’t felt this intrigued with a she-wolf ever though. He was also cognizant of the fact that other male bachelors in the pack were most likely interested in getting to know her, and even his brother would be just as intrigued.

  He sighed and closed his eyes, needing to sleep, to get better, and to get on with this courtship business—in the most pleasurable way, though he did enjoy helping her organize her place too. He liked neat and orderly. Chaos didn’t work for him.

  * * *

  Early the next morning, Michael was just waking, glad that Carmela’s nightmare hadn’t returned, when her phone rang. She moaned, sighed, and grabbed her cell off her bedside tale. “Ohmigod, it’s my brother. He wouldn’t be calling unless your brother told him about the trouble we were in.” Sounding cross with Michael, she answered the call.

  Michael ran his hands through his hair. No way had he wanted to upset her. He thought of letting her have some privacy but thought she might need him to back her up. She didn’t motion for him to leave, so he stayed.

  “Okay, listen, Bryan…no, you listen. Michael’s brother wasn’t supposed to tell you—”

  Michael instantly knew that wouldn’t go over well with her own brother.

  “All right, all right, but Michael and I are okay… Good grief. I’m a wolf. And I know how to use a crossbow. And I was armed. We’re both healing just fine.” She glanced at Michael, and her lips curved in a small smile. Then she frowned again. “We’re courting. We met a number of years ago, briefly. He’s living with me now… I’m fine, Bryan. Give it a rest.”

  She smiled again at Michael. “Yeah, well, you go easy on him. He helped save my life, and he paid dearly for it, but we’re well on the road to recovery. And believe me, if the other wolves in the pack don’t take Raymond down first, we will. Besides, I shot him with one of my arrows, and he’s not going to be feeling in the greatest shape for a while, if he’s even alive… All right, fine. Love you too. Bye.” She set her phone done on the table, then began to get dressed. “Okay, so both our brothers are coming, but they are in charge of a major field training exercise, and they can’t get away right now.”

  “Good.” Michael knew they didn’t need their brothers’ interference in either the pack politics or their courting business. He got out of bed and began dressing.

  “You probably got the gist of the situation from our conversation, but Bryan was giving me grief for taking you in. As if he would have done anything differently if he had met a woman he liked and they were sharing a place while they recuperated from a battle.”

  Michael glanced at her arms while she was dressing. They were looking much better, the wounds barely visible. She didn’t look feverish either, and that was good. “Does he get along with my brother? I didn’t ask my brother about his relationship with Bryan.”

  “They are enemies, at least for the training exercise.”

  “Well, at least you and I are on the same team.”

  “I agree. I don’t think I had any nightmares. At least that I recall.” She pulled her shirt over her head. “Did I beat on you any last night?”

  “No. We were good.”

  “Good. I was going to ask you what you’d like to do today,” she said as they headed for the kitchen.

  “Unpacking more boxes works for me.”

  “Are you sure? After all you’ve done for me? Wouldn’t you like to do something that’s more…fun?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure about unpacking things.” He didn’t mind at all, and he’d really prefer getting rid of the clutter so they could just enjoy the time together before she felt she had to return to work.

  She sighed. “I always thought a man who cooked would make for the perfect dream mate, but a man who unpacks boxes and puts things away in a neat and orderly fashion after a move? Even better!”

  He smiled. “I know how annoying it can be to start a new assignment when my house is in disarray, half of my stuff still packed, and I can’t find anything. And it takes months to sort everything out. Sometimes even longer. I figure while you don’t have to go in to do your receptionist job, we’ll take care of all this, sooner rather than later. When you begin working again, you’ll be able return to home-cooked meals and a night of relaxing or whatever else you want to do.”

  “That sounds like a real deal. Are you going to get a job here?” She looked through her cabinet and asked before he could answer her, “Would you like to have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast?”

  “That would hit the spot. Absolutely. As to what I’ll be doing, I’m not sure about the job market around here. I’ll have to see what the pack members need. My skill set might not be needed here for much of anything.” He made them some coffee and set the table.

  “True. There might be no need for counterterrorism or warfare, except for taking care of Raymond, but you’ve been a manager as an officer in the army, and I’m sure you have all kinds of other skills.” She scooped the pancakes off the skillet and set them on two plates.

  He took her in his arms and smiled down at her. “Oh, yeah, all kinds of other skills.”

  “That you can earn a living at,” she clarified. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his mouth.

  Man, he could so get used to this. He kissed her right back, and the way her sexy body was pressed against his, she was already stirring up his other head. “I do have a retirement income from the army. Which means I can help pay the bills even if I’m not working right away. And I’ve saved a lot of money over the years and invested a good chunk of it wisely.”

  “I have my retirement check also and investments. So it sounds like we’ll be doing great financially.” They took their plates and mugs of coffee to the table. “I may have to keep you here for good just so you can tell me where everything is that you put away.”

  “Hell, I should have unpacked more boxes without your supervision.”

  She laughed. “Okay, so I’ve been thinking about where this guy would go.”

  “To see someone who could remove an arrow. He could break it off and push the arrowhead through if it had been in a limb, and the arrowhead might have even exited on its own, but not when it was in his hip. Pulling it straight out would do more damage, and he couldn’t push it through the body.”

  “Right. And if it was next to a large blood vessel or severed one, if someone pulled it out, it could cause him to bleed to death. Which would solve our problem,” she said.

  Michael buttered his pancakes and then poured waffle syrup over them. “True. He’d really need a CT scan to see exactly where the arrowhead is located. He’d need a surgeon to remove it. He could have internal injuries and an infection. Even with running off like he did, the arrowhead is sharp and could continue to injure and inflame the tissues around it. Hell, it could have even lodged in a bone.”

  “Or bent and could snag on more tissue. Well, we can always hope for the best,” she said. “Though if someone else found him dead with an embedded arrow in his hip, I might be in trouble.”

  “You have a whole pack of wolves to back up your story. Besides, it’s a local sheriff’s matter. I wonder if he could have dressed once he shifted and then driven out of here.” Michael knew Raymond couldn’t have put on his pants. He might not have taken the time or even been capable of dressing the rest of himself.

  “Huh. I hadn’t even considered that. I keep feeling like we should look for him. And take him out before he can come after us again.”

  “Yeah, now that I’m feeling better, I was thinking the same thing.” Michael let out his breath. “Once we take care of him, we can finish up the boxes.” He knew it sounded kind of cavalier, but the wolf had signed his own death warrant. He wouldn’t be allowed to live after he and his friends had tried to kill Carmela and him. “But how do we find him?”

  She carried her plate into the kitchen. “Why don’t we learn all we can about him? I’m certain Peter has an all-points bulletin out on his vehicle and is continuing to check any reports of a wounded man being cared for at a medical facility. But maybe we can check some other sources.”

  “Social media,” Michael said, carrying his plate into the kitchen. He was going to clean up the dishes since she had made breakfast, but she shook her head at him.

  “I’ll take care of this. I bet you can learn more than me about his background with the training you’ve had.”

  He smiled. “Yeah. I was a computer science major, went to the brand-new cyberwarfare training, and even taught there. Learned to hack into computers to be able to learn how to stop hackers.” He went back to his bedroom and grabbed his laptop, then sat down in the living room and began doing searches.

  “Get out of here. Really? Cyberwarfare training. Wow.” She finished cleaning up the kitchen and got her laptop out. “This will be great. Teach me all you know, and I’ll teach you how to win in crossbow competitions.”

  When she sat next to him, he said, “Do you want to mate?”

  She laughed.

  “I think it’s a prerequisite before I can teach you everything I know,” Michael said.

  She kissed his shoulder. “Just keep thinking those thoughts. So what are you looking for?”

  “Check out all the social media sites you can think of. We’re looking to see if this guy has posted anywhere about needing help with removing an arrow. Okay, here’s a guy asking how to remove an arrow.”