"What the hell is wrong with you?" I demanded planting my hands on his chest and lifting myself away from him after the initial impact of me face planting against his chest. Unfortunately, I couldn't get very far because he had his hands on my waist pinning me to him. Being this close was no good for my brain function. Everything about this man made my nerve endings flare to life, which is why I had to leave like yesterday. Attraction to him was dangerous I could tell and I needed to get as far away from him as possible. "Let me go! I'm going home." I demanded pushing at his hands trying to free myself. He growled flipping us so that I was lying on the forest floor on my back.
"No." He answered leaning his head down close to my face. I glared at him before turning my face away. Unfortunately, I had turned my face in the direction of his lackeys who were watching us with interest.
"Get off of me." I shoved at his chest. Turning my face back to his I was shocked at how close it was to mine. My hands came up and I intended to push his face away but instead, my hand cupped his cheek. I ran my thumb over his cheekbone before flushing and removing it as though he'd shocked me. In a way he had. Not in the physical sense but mentally I was unprepared for the responses that my body gave to his attentions. I liked to have control and I'd never had any problem being in control around boys before but he was different. And dangerous I decided shoving once more fruitlessly at his chest. I watched his eyes and noticed them drop to my lips. Almost without thinking I lifted my chin a smidgeon making my lips more accessible to him. My gaze searched his and I held my breath waiting to see what he would do. All reasonable thought was lost as he slowly dropped his head so that his lips were a fraction of a breath away from mine. I closed my eyes as he closed the distance pressing his lips to mine. It was a sensual kiss, not one that I expected from such a clearly dominant male. He pressed closer as his teeth nibbled at my lower lip and I gasped opening my mouth for his tongue's invasion. The shock forced my brain to work again and I reluctantly turned my face breaking the kiss. "I don't even know your name." My eyes remained closed and my brow furrowed as all the reasons I shouldn't do that again bombarded my mind. Mainly because we met in the middle of the woods and I'd known him all of five seconds before kissing him.
"Troy, my name is Troy." He murmured his lips feathering kisses along my exposed neck.
" Okay, well Troy please stop doing that." Surprisingly he obliged me. "Okay, now please get off of me and let me up." He once again surprised me and shifted moving to his feet and letting me do the same. Once standing on my own feet I took a step away from him watching carefully to make sure that he didn't follow. "Okay, so I'm going to leave now and if that is a big if, we meet again under normal circumstances, meaning not in the middle of the woods, I wouldn't mind doing that again." I took another step away looking at his lips once more to indicate what I wouldn't mind doing again. This time he followed taking a step towards me. "No, you stay I'm leaving." I decided that if adult wouldn't work treating him like a small child would. I took another step and he matched it then came closer. My heart sped up a notch and I tensed.
"I'm not a dog." He growled.
"Are you sure? Because you growl a lot for a man." The comment slipped out before I could censor myself. The sharp barks of laughter that came from my right reminded me of our audience. I flushed realizing they'd probably seen everything.
"Trust me Doll, I'm all male." His cocky comment had my head swiveling back in his direction.
"In any case, I'm not about to stick around to prove you wrong, I'm about 8 hours overdue from being home." I snapped carefully keeping out of his reach and taking a few cautious steps away from him. He moved remaining the same distance to me as before. Every small movement I made was matched and clearly, this was getting us nowhere. I sighed and stopped squaring my shoulders and meeting his gaze with a fierce glare. His eyes held mine in a hard stare and tension simmered in the open air around us. But he wasn't dropping his gaze and I maintained mine raising a brow as if to say, You're never going to win. When he started to shake and his eyes darkened with anger? I blinked but continued to watch him with curiosity.
"Drop your gaze," He demanded.
"What are you going to do if I don't?" I taunted curious now to see what would happen.
"Mason get her out of here, now." He barked, his voice coming out rough and low. I turned my head as Blondie, er Mason, came closer and took me by the shoulders leading me away from the other two males. As soon as his hands touched me Troy growled lowly again. What is wrong with him? I hadn't realized I voiced my question until Mason answered.
"You wouldn't understand." I turned my head and studied him for a moment. He kept us moving keeping my back turned to the two males we'd left behind. Shaking off the strange sensation that I needed to go back to the growly male I'd left behind I let him lead me further away. A sudden loud rumble filled the silence and I tried to turn back to see what it was, but Mason pulled me forward walking faster now.
"What's going on? Is he- I mean are they okay? That sounds like a bear, we should go back and check." I twisted to look over my shoulder.
"No." The harsh command had me twisting back to look at him.
"But what if there is a bear? It's going to hurt him-them" I demanded.
"That's not a bear." He sounded assured. I opened my mouth to ask more questions but quickly shut it when the sounds of angry snarls filled the air. They were followed by softer answering whines that sounded like a dog or wolf. This is crazy there's no wolves here and the men didn't have dogs. The sound of running animals coming from behind us had me ripping out of Mason's grasp and turning to see two large wolves. I stopped breathing as the black one followed on the heels of a larger sooty grey one, they were coming straight towards us. Stumbling backwards before I could think about it I almost bolted away from them, but sense came rushing back. Don't run they'll think you're prey, or was that only for bears? I recalled all I knew about wolves having been in love since my first sighting in the zoo in a nearby city. They usually travelled in packs, and they didn't live here choosing instead to inhabit the areas closer to the rockies. The two in front of me were excellent specimen of their species both healthy and in obvious good shape with rounded bellies and shiny coats.They were however, larger than the one's I'd seen in the zoo. Inquisitiveness battled fear as they slowed their charge stopping just feet away from me. I lifted a foot to step towards them, or was it away? I hadn't decided. The sooty grey male decided for me first raising his head in a clearly alpha male stance and then lowering it flattening his ears. But instead of growling he whined in an uncharacteristically subordinate manner coming closer. I cautiously stepped back and he paused. I could see his nose working scenting the air and me. I controlled the fear I felt by setting my shoulders back and careful not to challenge him with a blatant stare I slowly lowered my body so that I was crouching on the ground and then sitting cross-legged. Cautiously I watched him slowly raising a hand out in front of me and offering it to him palm up to sniff I waited. His chest rumbled with a low growl that was meant to communicate with the black wolf who backed off clearly subordinate to the Alpha. The grey wolf slowly approached lowering his tail and wagging it in a friendly manner. I cocked my head not knowing that Alphas acted in this way. Finally he was a breath away from my outstretched arm and I waited with bated breath keeping my gaze lowered not knowing how to anticipate what he would do. In my mind I could imagine his powerful jaws opening and sinking into the flesh of my hand and I quickly pushed that image away. He must've sensed my trepidation because he paused scenting the air. I held still until he pushed his wet nose against my hand.
"Hi, boy." I breathed slowly moving my hand so that it ran along his muzzle. He leaned into my touch as it moved to his fluffy cheek. His fur was coarse and dense meant to protect from the elements. I smiled in awe of his large size. He turned his massive head and licked my arm. "Ewww, wolf slobber." I laughed not truly disgusted by him, after all, I had been raised on a farm before it was just my brother and I left. He suddenly stiffened scenting the air once more and then whined pushing me away with his muzzle. "What is it?" I asked looking around. Mason was gone now too so I was alone with two wolves. The grey wolf pushed me away again. I stood up spinning slowly looking for danger. "I don't see anything?" I looked back at the wolf who whined once more. This time he also growled with some urgency, shaking his massive head at me. "Okay, easy boy I'm just looking for my friend." I soothed him with low murmurs and then turned behind me and walked away. "Mason?" I asked scanning the forest floor for him. There was no responding voice and I wandered deeper into the woods in search of him. The wolf behind me growled again coming up beside me and pushing me back. "Hey, stop it." I gently pulled away from him and went to walk further. But I stopped when a grey and white wolf flanked by three other snarling wolves, two were brownish grey and the third was a dirty brown. All of their attention was centered on the two wolves behind me. Maybe they were part of the same pack? I turned my head watching the sooty colored alpha male. He raised his head turning his ears towards the other wolves and looking every bit the alpha he was.