“Yessss…” Her hiss of agreement trailed off into the contented rumble of a wolf being petted and he smiled. He knew how to wake her wolf. When Maggie was ready, they would call her up together. For now, he wanted to bring his mate pleasure and concentrated all his attention on her. He teased the lips of her * with his fingers, circling the tender folds, before again plunging one, then two fingers in and out of her sheath. Running his tongue around the swollen bud of her clit, he flicked it repetitively with the hardened tip of his tongue.
A trembling started in her thighs, her knees shook and he lapped harder. He supported her with one hand as she cried out with her orgasm, a howling keen of delight that echoed into the still-bright sky. He dragged his fingers from her body with reluctance, the sticky moisture covering his hand calling like an aphrodisiac. He held her hips, giving her time to recover. The hands clasping his head softened their death grip as she caressed his short hair. He closed his eyes and planted a kiss on the tender skin in the crease of her thigh. Her scent filled every cell of his body and stopping now was the hardest thing he’d ever done.
A gentle tap on his cheek brought his attention to her bright eyes filled with passion and gratitude.
“That was amazing.”
“For us both.”
She giggled. “I guess this proves I really am a wolf at heart. Damn, I can’t even feel embarrassed everyone within a five-mile radius knows I just climaxed.”
They laughed together as Erik pulled up her undies and helped her with her shorts. Their hands brushed and bumped and tangled as he took advantage of every touch he could sneak in.
She dropped back onto his lap, her arms draped around his neck. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” It had been. Her gaze dropped to his crotch and the obvious swell remaining behind the fabric. “Yes, I still want you.”
Maggie nibbled on her lower lip. “Not yet. I’m sorry, that sounds so selfish of me, but I’m not ready.”
“But soon?”
She hesitated. “Maybe.”
His heart leapt. Maybe was way up from no. “I can live with maybe.”
46
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Wolf Games
He kissed her one last time, just to drive himself insane, then led her to the tent. Morning would come soon enough.
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47
Chapter Seven
“We’ve got a problem.”
Maggie groaned as she sat up from where she’d sprawled on the side of the trail. The past two hours had been sheer hell as they slogged their way to the top of the Golden Stairs and over the Chilkoot Pass.
She hadn’t hiked so much vertical ascent since she was a teenager, and every muscle screamed in protest.
“What’s wrong, Jared?”
“Did TJ lose a page of the puzzle when he was goofing off last night?” Jared frowned as he flipped through pages. Erik reached out and Jared handed them over. Maggie watched in concern as Erik examined the set. Jared growled in frustration. “If King Klutz—”
“That’s enough.” Erik cut in sternly and Jared had the grace to look sheepish. “There’s nothing missing. What’s the issue?”
“There are no additional clues for the last few spaces,” Jared pointed out. “There are also no landmark clues. Three completely blank columns—it’s like we’re going in blind and have to find a needle in a haystack.” Maggie crawled closer to look over Erik’s shoulder at the papers. She leaned against his strong back, the warmth of his body drawing her like a magnet. The whole day she’d forced herself to stay away from him but now gave in to the need to recharge her batteries with a brief touch. He glanced at her and winked, and she blushed. Their sexual attraction was normal for wolves, but her continued denial of their mating and his patient response confused her. She felt like a broken fan, running hot then cold.
“I noticed the first day. We’ll figure it out tonight.” Erik handed the papers back to Jared. The young man stared in shock.
“How can we fill in the missing answers without clues or landmarks? Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
Erik shrugged. “There was no use in panicking. The challenge must be solvable, so I decided we’d figure it as we went along.”
Jared shook his head. “You really are too cool and collected at times, aren’t you?”
A muffled howl rose from up the trail and they turned to see TJ racing back. His loping gait tore up the rocky terrain as he returned to drop a rock at their feet. Erik picked it up, running a hand over TJ’s head.
“Well done. I wasn’t looking forward to hunting for this answer.”
“Where was it?”
Wolf Games
He pointed to the mountain spine extending another mile off to their left, the razor edge jagged against the skyline. “The puzzle clue was Cutting you off and the map shows the location to be along the far ridge. I sent TJ ahead in the hopes the answer would be something obvious, and save the rest of us the trip.”
Maggie swallowed hard. Imagining having to hike the ragged rocks to the spire made her even more grateful for TJ’s wolf. “I would never have made that.”
“What symbol do I add?” Jared asked.
Erik handed the rock over to Maggie and she turned it over carefully. “There’s nothing carved on it.”