When they were done, Michael and Carmela went home without a guard escort this time, except Peter had to drop them off while Carmela’s car was being repaired.

  They thanked Peter, who gave her the CD, and then went inside the house, and she locked the door. “I could unpack some more boxes while you sit and take it easy for another day or so,” she said. “You need to rest after suffering all your new injuries.” She sounded so serious.

  He pulled her into his arms. At least the wolf hadn’t managed to injure his chest. “You mentioned a mating. That’s all I need to hear. Believe me, I’ll be better than new in no time.” She was too important to him to wait even another hour before she was all his. She’d agreed, and he was ready.

  She looked skeptically at him, but she led him back to the bedroom. “You know if we get too vigorous and any of your stitches pull out—”

  “Doc will completely understand.”

  She smiled up at Michael. “I love that you are who you are, one adorable, sexy wolf.”

  Nine

  “I love you right back,” Michael said, walking Carmela to the bedroom, and she couldn’t have been happier.

  She’d had her career, and now she was going to have her wolf. And she knew she wouldn’t regret a moment of it. Well, sure, they’d have their ups and downs, just like any other couple—wolf or otherwise—but, man, she was taking advantage of Michael’s hotness. Of course, that was after he was fully healed. For now, she would take it easy on him.

  She helped him out of his clothes and then made him sit on the bed. He opened his mouth to object, but she was running the show. “Sit. And stay.”

  He smiled up at her as she started to remove her clothes. The way he was watching her made her feel like she was doing a striptease in front of him, though she was just removing her clothes in the most expeditious manner, not provocatively. But his riveted attention told her he thought otherwise.

  He pulled her between his legs and slid her panties down, the last article of clothing she was wearing, and kissed her bare tummy. She took hold of his head and kissed it.

  “What works best for you?” She realized after she said the words, it sounded suspiciously like she didn’t think he could manage making love to her. She knew he could, but she didn’t want him being in all that much pain.

  “If you insist on babying me—”

  “Only when you’ve been injured again—”

  “I’ll be on top.”

  His back. She knew he had to be feeling some pain. She quickly climbed into bed and then smiled at him as he joined her. He began kissing her mouth, the passion quickly igniting a firestorm between them. He truly was hotness personified. Tasting him, breathing in his masculine and wolfish scent, she felt the familiar pang of need, of want. But this time, they’d go all the way, make the mating for life, watch each other’s backs for now through eternity. Bring their own little ones into the world.

  She kissed him again, so damn thankful he’d survived the fight with Raymond. She felt the way Michael was moving against her, rubbing his cock against her leg, wanting more. He was already hard with wanting, and their pheromones were kicking butt.

  He moved his mouth down her jaw, caressing with his hot lips, moving lower until he captured a taut nipple in his mouth, his hand capturing her other breast and massaging it. She was wet and achy between her legs, her fingers touching his scalp gently.

  His hand slid down her belly and reached her nub. He began stroking her with urgency, and she practically jumped, as sensitive and swollen as her nub had become. She wanted to stroke him too and said, “Move so I can do it to you.”

  His voice was ragged with lust when he said, “I’ll never last.”

  She smiled. She thought he’d have better control than that. But when she began stroking his cock, he groaned and slipped his finger between her folds and swirled it around. She practically screamed with climax, and he pulled away from her, then slid his cock inside her.

  Once he was fully seated inside her, he pulled out most of the way and then pushed in, thrusting, their skin sweaty, his eyes darkened like she was sure hers were. She wanted to hook her heels around his hips in the worst way or rest them over his shoulders to allow him the deepest penetration. But she was cognizant of his injuries. For now, she moved her feet so her knees were up, and she arched against his thrusts, loving the intimacy between them and the love they had for each other.

  The rapturous moments between them stretched out, propelling her to the top of the mountain peak again. He clutched her hands, their fingers threaded together, and he kissed her mouth, his pelvis undulating against hers, and she fell from the mountaintop, every resolve to make this last as long as they could shattering into a million seconds of ecstasy. “Colonel,” she breathed out, and he smiled against her mouth, kissing and licking, and then he groaned with release.

  “Colonel,” he mouthed against her lips. “Hot…damn,” he whispered.

  She smiled, and he pulled out of her and sank down beside her on the bed, lying on his chest this time, his arm draped over her, saying he wanted the intimacy to continue but he couldn’t lie on his back because of his injuries.

  “You are such a wolf,” she said. “I can’t believe you didn’t want to wait until tomorrow at least.”

  He kissed her shoulder. “Are you kidding? No. Way. I love you, Carmela, all the way to the wolf’s moon and back.”

  She turned onto her side to face him and kissed his forehead. “I love you just as much, but you will stay in bed for the rest of the day and night.”

  And she meant what she said. Though making love again hadn’t been in the plans, they didn’t make a move to unpack one more box. Not that night anyway. They were wolves in love.

  Epilogue

  Two weeks later, both Carmela’s and Michael’s brothers were due in to see them, to meet with the pack, and give their approval of Carmela and Michael’s mating. Not that the two of them were waiting for their brothers’ approval. And her latest new car had been repaired. She was working again, but her whole house was in order—once Michael had recovered further from his injuries and they’d unpacked the rest of the boxes—and she couldn’t have been happier.

  She’d been teaching Michael a lot about archery, and she thought he might even have a chance to compete and win in a competition, as dedicated as he was to learning. In fact, that was one of the things she loved about him. He never did anything halfway. And he’d been teaching her a little bit about hacking just in case they ever had to track down a rogue wolf again.

  * * *

  Michael was eager to see his brother, hoping Carmela’s brother wouldn’t be too put out that he hadn’t given his seal of approval to the mating beforehand, though Michael and Carmela would have mated anyway. It had about killed him not to put the house into order sooner than they had, but she’d insisted he heal up because she didn’t want to face Doctor Weber’s stern condemnation if Michael had pulled stitches loose before they were supposed to come out. Michael loved how concerned she’d been over him though. He hadn’t had anyone act that way since he lived at home and his mother took care of him as a boy. Being with the guys meant they just toughed it out and got business done as usual.

  His household goods were coming today too, and they’d have to sort everything out and see what they needed to get rid of. Or get a bigger place. Maybe they would—as soon as little ones were on the way.

  “Hey,” Carmela said, finishing up the dusting before the brothers arrived. “They won’t be here for another hour and a half.” She raised her brows and smiled at Michael.

  He didn’t need for her to spell it out to him, and he scooped her up and carried her back to the bedroom. They had stripped and were in the middle of making love when they heard car doors slam out front.

  Aw hell. That was the trouble with being in the military—punctuality. Except that meant his brother was always early. It appeared so was Carmela’s.

  “They can wait,” Carmela said, growling at Michael.

  He laughed and made love to his mate. The rest of the world could just wait.

  Spend the holidays with another unforgettable shifter hero from USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear.

  Jingle Bell Wolf

  Available now from Sourcebooks Casablanca

  One

  It had been ten years since that fatal accident in the snow in Montana that changed Gabrielle’s life forever. She now stood at the edge of the outdoor part of the swimming pool at Timberline Ski Lodge, Silver Town, Colorado, the snow falling on her knit cap and ski jacket, mist rising from the heated water.

  Although her last name meant “wolf cub” or “little wolf” in old French, Gabrielle Lowell hadn’t been a cub for a very long time. After that night when her parents died, she’d returned to Pensacola to sell off their veterinary clinic and finish her degree. Once she had her license, she’d joined a veterinary clinic co-op in Daytona Beach, Florida. There wasn’t any way she could have worked in her parents’ practice with them gone.

  Her jaguar friends, Odette and Zelda Bellamy, had convinced her to go on this winter adventure—she suspected as a way to prove to her that being in snow could be fun and not always deadly—and now they weren’t even here yet. Coming here, Gabrielle realized, had upset her whole known world of beaches and sun and sea and reawakened her fear of snow and ice.

  She loved the water—swimming, boating, waterskiing—but snow skiing? She figured she would end up killing herself in the process. Not to mention that all she could think about were the ski-vacation plans she’d had with her mom and dad before the fateful night that ended her dreams…and theirs.

  Recollections of that terrible night made her hesitate to strip off her clothes and dive into the pool. It wasn’t the same, she told herself. The night was cold and snowy, sure, but the pool was heated, and she wouldn’t be trapped in a car, fighting for her life. As much as she hated to admit it, she still suffered from some level of post-traumatic stress disorder after dying in the crash, being revived, and finding she’d lost both her parents.

  Gabrielle had arrived at the Silver Town Ski Resort after a late flight from Daytona Beach the day after Thanksgiving, having had client cases all day at the veterinarian clinic, and she felt the strongest urge to swim, to get the kinks out the best way she knew how. But the pool was closed, darn it. She was not normally adventurous, and she didn’t usually break rules. But the water beckoned to her, the only thing in this snowy winter wonderland that didn’t seem alien to her, if she didn’t think of snow in conjunction with water and the lake that had swallowed her parents’ rental car.

  She figured she could swim a few laps in the pool before anyone would notice she was in there, and she would be as quiet as a mermaid, no splashing in the water. Just slip in, swim, and slip out, and nobody would be the wiser.

  She would run later tonight as a wolf—though running through snow would be a whole new experience. All the snow made it so much more Christmas-like than living in Florida. The Christmas lights strung on the inside and outside of the lodge and restaurant and the decorations—Christmas trees and poinsettias and mistletoe—were so festive. Several fir trees were covered in lights reflecting off the outdoor part of the pool. Aqua, silver, and white balls and bows filled the trees. She felt like she was in a winter wonderland. The place was just beautiful.

  Gabrielle swallowed hard. She knew she would feel better once she swam. Since she was wearing her bikini under the ski clothes, she hurried to strip out of her jacket. She was going to be at the ski resort for a little over a week, and she was determined to get over the phobia she had about snow and ice.

  * * *

  Landon Wolff had two pet peeves when it came to running the Timberline Ski Lodge at Silver Town: guests swimming before the pool was supposed to be open first thing in the morning, and guests who swam in the pool after it was closed.

  If he’d known how many guests would ignore the posted rules, he would have suggested to his brother, Blake, and sisters, Roxie and Kayla, that they design the layout differently so they could lock the swimming pool area whenever the pool was closed to guests.

  But they had wanted the area to be more open and picturesque. The Howling Wolff Bar and Grill overlooked the outdoor part of the pool on one end and had a great view of the mountains on the other. Plants and a glass wall provided a barrier to the swimming pool from the lobby, except for one entryway that had a sign posted with the pool’s hours. Right now, the pool was closed. The lobby itself had a double-sided fireplace for anyone who wanted to sit and warm up while taking a break from snow activities. Large leather chairs and couches, warm honey-oak-paneled walls, and marble floors with tapestry throw rugs adorned the lobby. Not to mention a ten-foot Christmas tree that was decorated for the season.

  The deep end of the swimming pool extended beyond a plexiglass wall, so that guests could actually swim underneath the divider and into the pool outside, which was surrounded by a snow-covered patio. Landon loved swimming outside while it was snowing, the flakes falling on him and the heated pool water.

  The pool was closed to guests during certain hours so that he and his family could have private use of it. They posted signs that said: Private Party Only. Pool Closed.

  So the day after Thanksgiving, when Roxie told Landon someone was splashing in the pool before the night-shift staff came in—just after he had thrown on his board shorts to swim a few laps, his nightly routine—he was feeling like a growly wolf, ready to bounce the rule breaker out on his ass in the snow.

  Roxie reminded him, “Remember, the swimmer is a paying guest.” Then she frowned at him. “Maybe I should handle it.”

  Rosco, their avalanche-trained Saint Bernard and a loving family companion and mascot for the lodge, eagerly greeted Landon, his red-and-green bell collar jingling at the same pace as his tail, while his little barrel of doggy treats—decorated with a snowman and the words “Merry Christmas”—wobbled around his neck.

  “Hey, Rosco.” Landon petted him. “You stay put.” Rosco was good about not swimming in the pool, most of the time. Landon just didn’t want to have to get him back out of the pool, because then Rosco would shake all over and smell like wet dog next to the fireplace in the lodge. Landon said to Roxie, “I’m on my way to the pool anyway, and then I’ll go home and have dinner with you and Kayla.”

  Landon headed for the pool with a beach towel in hand and wearing a red T-shirt with the name of their lodge and a wolf featured prominently on it, this one wearing a Santa hat. They didn’t sell the T-shirts, sweaters, or sweatshirts in their gift shop, though several guests had asked if they could buy them. Instead, the owners and employees wore the special gear so everyone would know who was on staff if they needed help. Kayla was a marketing genius when it came to thinking up fun ideas to promote the lodge and the bar and grill.

  In this case, wearing the T-shirt would help to show Landon had the authority to tell a rule breaker to get out of the pool. He knew he shouldn’t get so steamed about it, but it was ingrained in him to live by the rules. His former girlfriend had been just the opposite. For her, rules were meant to be broken. Nothing really bad, just stuff like this. As wolves, they really didn’t want to have to do any jail time. Not that royals—shifters who had wolf roots so far back that they could change at will—would be compelled to shift with the full moon like the others, but any wolf could get aggravated enough with being locked in a cage and dealing with a prison population and guards to go off the deep end and want to shift.

  Christmas music played overhead: “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,” which was totally appropriate as the ski lodge and ski resort had record snowfall this winter. The Wolff family had knocked themselves out decorating the whole lodge and bar and grill for Christmas, since the sisters were here too this year. Now that Blake had a mate, Nicole, she and her brother, Nate Grayson, had also helped. Even the siblings’ parents had a blast helping to decorate the fireplace mantels, the check-in counter, and the gift shop—a new addition. It was truly a family affair between the Wolffs and the Graysons, who were now part of their extended family.

  Landon finally made it to the pool and frowned at the woman swimming in it. From the moment Roxie had mentioned the guest swimming in the pool, Landon had thought it would be a man. For a second, he thought his ex was here, causing trouble for him. But the woman was wearing a white swim cap, something his ex would never have done, and a red-and-white-striped string bikini—like a candy cane—that showed off her curves in a revealing way. He just stood there like an idiot when he should have been hollering at her to leave, watching her swimming on the surface of the water and then diving under, headed to the opposite end of the pool.

  Blake joined him, wearing a red sweater with their seasonal lodge logo of a wolf in a Christmas hat and pants and boots, dressed more for going out into the snow than swimming. “Roxie told me we had a rule breaker in the pool.”

  “Yeah. The swimmer just swam to the outside part of the pool.”

  Blake folded his arms, his eyes riveted to the pool. “Are you going after him?”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “Did you need me to stick around to make sure you don’t have any trouble with him? I was going to head up to the bar and grill for a hot chocolate before I head home.”

  “No.” Landon didn’t want Blake to see the woman, or know that the swimmer was a woman, though his brother could see her if he went to the section of bar-and-grill seating that overlooked the outdoor area of the pool. He was sure Blake would, if nothing more than to ensure Landon didn’t have any trouble with the swimmer.

  Landon was seriously considering letting her continue to swim in their pool once he saw what she was wearing and how good it looked on her. She was all sleekness and curves. A candy-cane package. Human? Wolf? He didn’t know. But he sure wanted to.