Love Bound in Ice: 3 (Werewolf Sentinels) Read online

  Chapter Three

  After arriving at the park to start her workday, Haven pulled her backpack out of the passenger side of her SUV. Between her father’s phone call yesterday and not getting a whole lot of sleep during the night, her mood hadn’t improved. Her dad being a pain in the ass, she was used to. It was the highly erotic dreams she had while she’d slept that woke her up longing for a man’s touch that bothered her more. And it wasn’t for just any man. It was Ketah who had haunted her sleep.

  She slammed the car door and headed into the park’s main building. Haven had tried, unsuccessfully, to push Ketah from her thoughts after she’d awakened to her alarm clock. But for some reason her mind didn’t want to let him go. And it annoyed the ever-living hell out of her. After the way she’d shot him down yesterday, she doubted she’d ever see him again. And it was for the best all around, anyway.

  Haven walked into the building and saw her boss sitting at his desk behind the counter that separated the office part of the room from the main area. He looked up when she stepped closer.

  “Good, you’re here,” he said. “You already have your first visitor of the day. If you didn’t see him, he should be hanging around somewhere outside, waiting.”

  “Only one? Shouldn’t I wait for a few more visitors so I have a whole group?”

  “Not this time.”

  The outside door opened behind her, and the hairs on the back of Haven’s neck stood up. She turned to look at the newcomer and a shiver of awareness ran through her as she met Ketah’s gaze from across the room. He appeared solely focused on her, which had her pussy clenching with need, especially after all the erotic dreams she had of this very man.

  Haven wrenched her gaze away and turned back to her boss. “That isn’t the guy, is it?”

  “Yup, that’s him.”

  “Can’t you send him out with another guide? I’d prefer to take a group.”

  Her boss shook his head. “Sorry, no can do. He asked for you specifically, and paid a little extra to make sure he had you as his guide.” She opened her mouth to say something else, but he cut her off before she managed to get a word out. “Haven, I’m not letting you off this one. He wants you, so he’ll get you.”

  Boy, she could take that last part in an entirely different way. And it involved both her and Ketah naked as he thrust deep into her body, his cock hitting her in all the right places to make her come.

  Haven realized what she was thinking and slammed those thoughts into a mental box and buried them six-feet deep. And for good measure, she placed a mental cairn of stone over top of it. But as she took a breath and turned once more to look in Ketah’s direction, one of those stones fell from the pile, then another and another.

  She walked toward Ketah. His gaze followed her every movement. Her nipples grew taut beneath her shirt and jacket. A small ache throbbed deep inside her pussy. She was fucked. Actually, she might literally be if she didn’t get herself back on the “he’s not right for her” page.

  Haven motioned for Ketah to follow her once she walked by him. Once they were outside and her boss was no longer able to hear, she asked, “What are doing? Why this sham of needing a guide? I know you don’t since you were out on the glacier by yourself yesterday.”

  “I told you I wanted to see you again. This way I thought I could have your undivided attention and you couldn’t tell me no since this is your job.”

  “Well, I told you I didn’t want to see you. I’m not interested.”

  “That’s not what your kiss told me.”

  “Really? I didn’t know kisses could talk.”

  She stalked away and stopped at a nearby bench. Haven sat and took her crampons out of her backpack and put them on her boots. Ketah sat next to her and did the same. She was all too aware of him there, especially when he brushed her shoulder with his arm.

  Once she was finished, Haven stood and walked in the direction of the glacier, not waiting to see if Ketah followed her. He soon caught up and matched her strides. She didn’t speak to him as she took the usual route she used when she guided visitors out onto the ice. She’d do her job, and when the allotted time was over, she’d send Ketah on his way again. That’s what she wanted, except he had other plans.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him staring at her with a wide grin on his face. He continued to do this until Haven couldn’t take it anymore. “What?” she asked as she turned her head to look at him.

  “Nothing. I’m enjoying being with you and getting to stare at your beautiful face.”

  She set her gaze forward again. “Well, cut it out. It’s getting on my nerves.”

  “Sorry, I can’t. You have no idea how much you affect me.”

  Haven snorted. “I don’t think I want to know.”

  Ketah remained quiet for all of a minute before he said, “Tell me who hurt you.”

  She scowled. “What are you talking about?”

  “The person who hurt you enough to have you not trusting a man you find attractive. Who was it?”

  “Are you a shrink now?”

  “Shrink?” Ketah looked at her with confusion showing on his face. “There is only one part of me that shrinks, and that happens when it gets cold. My c—”

  “Oh my god,” Haven said, cutting Ketah off before he could finish that last sentence. “That’s not what I meant. I wasn’t talking about,” she waved in the direction of his crotch, “that.”

  He gave her a crooked grin. “Are you sure? I actually wouldn’t mind if you did talk about it.”

  Haven couldn’t help herself. She looked at the bulge in Ketah’s jeans. It seemed to be more than a little prominent. Realizing what she did, she jerked her gaze away. From his chuckle, she figured he’d caught her in the act of staring at his dick. Great, that will only encourage him more. She picked up the pace a bit and didn’t reply. She hoped he’d take the hint.

  “So are you going to answer me?”

  Nope, he hadn’t. “Your last question, I’m going to avoid that one entirely. And the one about someone hurting me, it’s really none of your business since I won’t be seeing you again after today.”

  That seemed to shut him up for a little while. After a fifteen-minute walk they reached the ice. Haven pulled her sunglasses out of her backpack and put them on. She noticed Ketah did the same. She had to admit he looked damn sexy in his. The lenses were dark enough she couldn’t see his eyes.

  Since Ketah had paid for the whole guide thing, Haven decided to give him the real deal. As they walked, she started her practiced lesson about the glacier. At the part in regard to the last Ice Age, she found Ketah knew more than she did. The way he spoke about the animals that were hunted, how the people lived during that time, it almost sounded as if he’d been through it, had experienced it firsthand.

  Haven became caught up on the subject. It was one that always fascinated her, to think about what life would have been like ten thousand years ago. She soon forgot she should keep her distance from Ketah and let her guard down.

  “How do you know so much about the Ice Age?” she asked.

  Ketah shrugged. “I guess you could say it’s something I feel close to.”

  “It was my interest in that time period that prompted me to apply for a job as a guide here. I love being out on the glacier. It gets to me to think the ice has been around for thousands of years, and that a people who’d live so long ago once roamed it as I do now.”

  “It was pretty desolate back then, but it did have some advantages over this life. The freedom to roam was one of them. Going out on a hunt and coming home with a kill, knowing you’d provided for your family and they wouldn’t have to go hungry, was rewarding. Hunting woolly mammoths was done cooperatively so it was always a big deal when one was brought down.”

  Haven brought them to a stop. “We should probably take a rest here.” She looked at Ketah. “You talk about the Ice Age as if you experienced it.”

  “I know enough to make it sound that way.”
<
br />   Ketah shrugged off his backpack and took out a bottle of water. He drank from it. Haven found her gaze drawn to his throat and watched the muscles there work as he swallowed. Finding they both had a common interest had her softening toward him. She wasn’t going to lie to herself and say she wasn’t extremely attracted to Ketah. The thing was she didn’t know if she could trust him.

  After they’d both had something to drink, Haven started them walking again. As the day wore on and they came closer to their second stop to have lunch, her resolve to keep Ketah at arm’s length weakened. The more they talked and she got to know him, the more he seemed like a really nice guy. He didn’t come across as phony, as her father did.

  Once they reached the second rest place, Haven took the rolled-up blanket that was tied to the bottom of her backpack and spread it out on the ice for them to sit on. Ketah sat beside her and unzipped his light jacket a bit, exposing more of the bronzed skin at his throat. She had the almost overwhelming need to lean closer and lick him there, to taste him and see if his pulse raced as much as hers did.

  Her long-denied body had decided it more than liked having Ketah close. Haven couldn’t really blame it, though. She’d yet to find any fault when it came to his looks. He had the kind of face any woman would fight over, and his body was killer with all those muscles padding it in the right places. It brought to mind how up close and personal she’d gotten to them the day prior. Then there had been that kiss.

  Haven hadn’t realized her gaze had fallen to Ketah’s lips and locked there until a sound like a soft animalistic growl left him. She focused on where his eyes would be under the dark glasses he wore. It sort of bothered her that she couldn’t see them through the lenses.

  They ate in silence, which suited Haven. She was too busy fighting an inner battle to make small talk. Her attraction to Ketah was slowly winning against her resolve to not become involved with him. What if it was a mistake to turn him down? What if he was the one she could have a real lasting relationship with? So far she hadn’t seen any signs of Ketah being full of himself or him trying to manipulate her with his good looks.

  She then pictured what it would be like if she let her guard down all the way and allowed Ketah into her life. How it would feel to have him all for herself, to make love to whenever she wanted, to have the right to touch him when the mood struck her. And what it would be like to have him look at her as if she were the only woman in the world for him. Deep down inside, that was what Haven longed for, to have a man she could trust implicitly. One she would never have to worry about leaving her.

  She pictured Ketah as that man and her body came to life. Haven’s thoughts strayed to the more sexual side of things as she imagined having all six-foot-plus of him spread out on her bed and at her mercy. Haven would strip away his clothes that kept his hard body hidden and learn it with her hands followed by her lips and tongue. Then she’d impale herself on his hard cock and ride him until they both had intense orgasms.

  Haven shifted as an ache built inside her pussy and wetness pooled between her legs. She looked up to see if Ketah had noticed her restlessness, then had to swallow when she saw he seemed to stare right at her. Still unable to see his eyes, she couldn’t tell what he thought, but she sensed he was completely focused on her.

  Her heart beat faster as he leaned in and tentatively swept his lips across hers as if he was afraid she’d push him away. As the first time he’d kissed her, Haven found herself unable to do that. She allowed him to take her mouth and even opened for him when his tongue sought entrance.

  She knew if she let him continue there would be no way she could tell him she wasn’t interested in seeing him again. Especially not when she was sucking on his tongue and moaning into his mouth. Haven couldn’t stop herself, though, and really didn’t want to.

  Ketah lifted her and settled her onto his lap, her bent legs straddling his hard thighs. It put her pussy in direct contact with the hard bulge in his jeans. She grew wetter at the feel of the hard length of him. Another moan pushed out of Haven and her hips jerked as she rubbed up against Ketah’s erection.

  All her wits seemed to leave her when he held on to her bottom and pushed her down harder onto him as he matched her strokes. She fisted her hands in his longish hair and kissed him with all the pent-up hunger she had inside her. She shamelessly rode him, dry humping him for all she was worth.

  Ketah did nothing to stop her. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. His cock jerked inside his pants and animal-like sounds rumbled out of him. They only encouraged Haven to keep going. Her body coiled tighter, then between one heartbeat and the next, she came, her pussy clutching at nothing. She continued to rub against him until the final wave of pleasure tore through her.

  Realizing what she’d done, that she’d made herself orgasm while still fully clothed, Haven stiffened and tried to pull away. Ketah stopped her by holding her tighter in his arms.

  “Oh god. I have no idea what came over me,” she said.

  He chuckled and groaned at the same time. “I’m not complaining. Just do me a favor and stay still for a bit or I’ll have a mess on my hands.”

  Haven felt her cheeks heat. She had no idea what Ketah thought of her now. She’d used him to get off without taking into account he’d get pretty worked up in the process.

  “I’m sorry I got carried away there,” she said, looking at his chin. “The only excuse I have is it’s been a while since I slept with someone. If my boss ever found out I made out with a visitor while on the job he’d probably fire me.”

  Ketah placed a finger on her chin and forced her to look at him. “Don’t apologize, and don’t feel embarrassed. You can use me like that any time you want.” He grinned. “Preferably when we’re both naked.”

  Haven tried once more to slip off Ketah’s lap but he kept her right where she was. “We should get going.”

  “Not yet. Now that I have you like this, I’m going to ask once more. Will you see me again?”

  “I really want to say no.”

  “But?”

  “I can’t now. Not after what I did.”

  He cupped her face in his hands. “Haven, you have my word I’m not like the one who hurt you. You can trust me. I’m not the type of man to have a single stand with a woman. And believe me, it’s been a lot longer for me than it has for you since I slept with someone.”

  Haven grinned. “Don’t you mean one-night stand?”

  “Yes. Whatever. I meant what I said.”

  She grew serious. “It’s hard for me to…trust. I’ll try, but I’m not promising you anything.”

  “It’s a start. How about we go out on a date tonight?”

  “All right, I guess we can do that. How about a movie?”

  “Okay. I can pick you up.”

  Ketah let Haven slid off his legs to sit beside him on the blanket. Already she felt as if she might have made a mistake by saying yes. Her parents’ relationship had left deep scars she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get past. As if he sensed her wavering thoughts, Ketah stood and held out a hand to help her to her feet. He then suggested they continue their trek. She agreed without hesitation. Once the blanket was again secured to her backpack, Haven set out.

  By the end of Ketah’s guided visit, Haven had come to grips with going out on a date with him. After reaching the park’s main building, she gave him her address and cell phone number, and he told her what time he’d pick her up. As he walked away, she figured their evening out could turn out to be a bust, or it’d go so well she’d have to be prepared to let him in. She didn’t know which one scared her more.

  Chapter Four

  Ketah hated leaving Haven behind but he was more than relieved she’d agreed to see him later that evening. He had no idea what he would have done if she’d rejected him, especially after she’d reached release in his arms.

  Having her fall apart like that—even with them fully dressed—had him wanting to make his mate do it again. The smell of her arousal and the sounds
she’d made when she came had his need to have her fully increasing to the point where he’d been sorely pressed not to act on it. And his mating urge had ridden him a little harder.

  It had also left him with an erection that had taken hours to tame. Not that Ketah had minded that much. It was worth it. The sense of relief he felt now that he had Haven on the road to being his mate cancelled out his aching manhood and any suffering he had to go through.

  Now on his way to pick up Haven, Ketah looked forward to seeing her, as well as the movie. He hadn’t been to one, and neither had the rest of his wolf brothers. Cassidy and Eryn had explained what it would be like, and what Haven would expect from him. They’d also stressed he had to buy popcorn and soda, that they were mandatory when watching a movie in the theater.

  Following the directions Cassidy had printed out for him, he found Haven’s place after only one wrong turn. He also had some for the movie theater, but had memorized them. It would look strange if he didn’t know where to find it.

  Ketah pulled into the drive and parked behind Haven’s SUV. He walked to the front door. After ringing the doorbell he didn’t have to wait long to hear his mate coming to answer it.

  She gave him a tentative smile. “Just let me grab my purse and we can go.”

  He stepped inside as Haven walked farther into the house. Ketah sniffed the air, one of the first things he did when in new surroundings. Since Haven’s was the only scent he detected, he figured she lived alone. He’d actually never lived by himself. Back when he was mortal he’d lived with his mother. His father had died in a hunting accident when Ketah had been a young teen. He’d provided for him and his mother after that. And once he’d been turned, he’d lived with the woman he’d picked from his tribe to be the mother of his child, who would carry on the werewolf race while he slept in the ice cave.

  Haven returned and seemed to hesitate about leaving. Ketah had a feeling he’d have to do something quick or she’d change her mind about their date. He closed the distance between them and kissed her before she could stop him. Instead of pushing him away, she let out a breathy sigh and pressed closer.