Dawn Discovered

Hunter lounged on one elbow. It was a weird thing. But, when he flexed his toes they cracked like knuckles. Sometimes, he did it just to hear the sound of the snap, crackle, pop of his joints. Gina was thinking. Staring down at him in wide-eyed contemplation as she worried her bottom lip with her top teeth. Her green eyes flashed with interest and desire. But, she was still unsure, of herself, of him, and of this place. The hairs on her arms stood on end and the flesh was goose pimpled. He regretted opening the windows all the way. But, it made a good excuse to cuddle with her by the fire. "Warmer over here."

Hesitantly, Gina kicked off her shoes and dropped onto the rug. The loveseat and Hunter's arm, wrapped around her shoulders made a very good backrest. The fire was warm on her toes. Hunter sat with his long legs stretched out, crinkling his toes to hear the joints snap and crack. Ok, that habit was a little annoying. But, the smile of wonder on his face as he stared down at his feet, popping his toes. Wiggling and flexing them to get the loudest pop, was a little, just a little, endearing.

He worked the tight muscles at the back of her neck with his fingertips. Pausing every now and then to run them through the ends of her hair. He said nothing. Hunter was a quiet man and didn't bother with small talk. And that was fine with her. Listening to the gentle hiss of the wood burning in the fireplace, warming her feet from its warmth, the charm of Hunter's incessant toe popping, and the magic he worked with the passes of his long fingers, Gina began to relax and for the first time in a long while, breathe, just breathe.

"I got you something." Hunter had planned wait until the moment was just right. When she finally proclaimed her undying love for him, he was going to park the ring on her finger. But, she might never do that, as determined as she was to battle so fiercely against it. Giving the ring to her now might prove his intentions and soften her up. Make her realize exactly how serious he was about her. Make her realize that she was in love with him. There was more than tragedy that had bound them together. The past was a convenient excuse. And he should know, he'd used the past as an excuse to get out of living for too many years to admit.

Gina held the tiny, velvet box from Hunter in the palm of her hand. For such a

tiny box, the thing had to weigh a ton. Her fingers flexed. She should open it. Say something. But, what was she supposed to say? Yes? That was what he no doubt wanted to hear come out of her mouth. It was too soon. Surely, he knew that. Her fingertips hovered over the lid of the box. She couldn't force them to move to open it. Her mouth was dry and her heart pounded.

"Open it." Hunter closed his hand around her fingers and lowered them to ease the ring box open. He wondered if he was going to have to remind her to breathe as the hinges creaked open. Inside the hunter green velvet casing, a ring waited to go on her finger. Maybe, it was odd...or she'd see it that way. But, the ring had been handed down throughout the years. His wife had been the last to wear it, and before her, his mother. This band of filigree gold and sprinkling of glittering gemstones was all he had left of them both.

The ring should have gone back into Pack stores. As Pack, it wasn't forbidden to own personal property. But, their communal lifestyle didn't work that way. He hadn't been able to part with the ring. After Marianne died, it'd been slipped off her finger and placed into his palm. He'd planned to pass it on to Tristen when the time came. He wasn't a hoarder and the Pack reused plenty of his things. Everything actually, went from person to person without him claiming ownership to any of it, everything, with the exception of this ring.

"Its beautiful. But..." The velvet ring box quivered in her hand. She would have dropped it if it hadn't been for Hunter's fingers supporting her grip. The white gold band was scratched and the filigree work worn. The stones, blue topazes, blue diamonds, sapphires, she wasn't sure, glittered in the dim light of the fire. She wondered who had been the last person to wear the ring. And then it dawned on her whom the heirloom had belonged to and what that woman had meant to him. Hunter's wife had worn the ring before she died. The very pretty, ornate, sparkly ring had been her wedding band. And Hunter was giving it to her as a promise, a request. It wasn't that he hadn't moved on or wasn't ready for more. He was. And this ring he was passing on to her was a symbol of the depth of his feelings for her.

"You don't have to say anything. Just keep it. And when or if the time is right, put it on." Hunter squeezed Gina's fingers around the box, closing the lid with a sharp snap. Slowly, not releasing her hand, he brought her fingers, still clutching the box, to his lips and pressed a soft kiss against them.

Gina's fingers burned from the warmth of Hunter's soft kiss and the brush of the soft velvet box. She wasn't ready to put the ring on. But, she found herself reluctant to let it go. What did the ring really mean to her and what did it mean for the old life that had been snatched cruelly away? She couldn't go back. She'd already realized that and given it up. The billboards with her face posted on them. Her prime spot on the evening news and all the accolades that went with small time fame and notoriety, everything she'd thought she'd wanted was not going to happen. The city would never get to know Gina Klein, news anchor for Channel eight, because that woman would never be.

But, Gina Kleinschmidt, loving housewife, was she that woman instead? Was what she felt for Hunter love? Or was it just that he'd been the rock that she'd leaned on for so long, that she'd forgotten how to stand on her own? Friend, lover, fiancée, what was Hunter to her and how would she define him? Hunter was larger than life. He had a heart as deep as the sea. He was a complex man. His life was riddled with secrets. His soul was an untamed wilderness. And she was in love with all the different and sometimes conflicting aspects of him.

She opened her fingers and allowed Hunter to take the box from her palm. He gently tucked it into the hip pocket of her jeans with the complete and utter faith that she would not lose it. She sat there with the ring box biting into her hip. There was more to it than Hunter. Something she had yet to consider. For so long she'd thought she knew exactly who she was. She didn't. There were parts of herself deep inside she might have never confronted if her life had continued on its previous course. It hadn't. And now she was faced with considering all of herself and not just the pieces she was most comfortable with. The question she thought she'd never have to ask she struggled to answer. How did she define herself? Who in the hell was Gina Kleinschmidt?

Chapter 6

Maybe, it was the ring. Maybe, it was the cozy, romantic setting. Maybe, it was the soft, gentle sensation of Hunter's mouth trailing up her neck to nibble at the supple, sensitive skin behind her right ear. Gina let the current of his seduction pick her up and sweep her off to some distant place where the ring and the cozy, romantic setting didn't matter. And nothing but Hunter's lips, his hands, his body over hers, the overwhelming touch, taste, and feel of him, was all that did.

Alarm bells rang in her head. But, she paid them no heed. Claire's words echoed in her mind, warning her against this very thing until she was absolutely certain. But, she gave in to the overwhelming force that was just Hunter...all Hunter. She was too weak to fight against his pull. And more importantly, she didn't want to. She floated along haphazardly drifting away from her cares and worries. When his lips reached hers in question, she answered in wild, reckless abandon.

Hunter eased Gina down onto the soft nap of the braided rug beneath them. Moving very slowly, almost with a caution that pushed his self control to its limits, his mouth worked her lips until they were both flip dizzy, crazy with the heat of the kiss. His instinct was to rip off her clothes and plunge into her depths. Stake his claim. Possess her ultimately.

He could behave like a civilized man. Treat Gina like the treasured female she was. He stretched out beside her, winding his long legs around her hip and drawing her close so that not even a molecule of air could slip between them. Cradling her head in the crook of his arm, taking his time to savor her, he drove his tongue between her parted lips. Suckling her mouth with a hunger he'd forgotten he possessed. Asking, but never taking and letting her decide when she was ready for more, he contented himself with the closeness and the feel of her beside him.

His hands ached to feel her bare skin. His erection pressed against the confines of his jeans, throbbing to be freed and search her out. She kissed him with heady abandon. Responding to each thrust of his tongue with her one of her own. Her body was online with the program. Her back arched and her labored breaths panted into his mouth. Her mouth was soft and pliant, molding to his lips to seal the kiss. Her tongue sought, swabbing a sleek, sweet path in and out of his mouth setting the pace of the kiss. Each of her breathy sighs took them a step closer to the point where there'd be no turning back. And Hunter was so there with her.

Gina made her needs plainly known. She clutched Hunter's hand tightly in hers. In a brave move that left no room for interpretation, she slid his fingers under the hem of her shirt and up exactly to where she wanted them. His palms were hot as fire on her bare skin. His fingers traced delicate and teasing patterns over her seared flesh. He made no move to close the few inches of skin between his fingertips and her aching nipples.

His kiss was that of a starving man, so hungry and full of need. He was hard, so hard it had to hurt. His erection pressed into her hip. Gina arched her back, thrusting her breasts upwards, as if they hadn't already captured his attention or he somehow, missed the invitation. Hunter's heavy panting breaths washed over her kiss-swollen lips. Why was he content to stay exactly where he was when it caused them both so much sweet agony?

Obviously, he needed a little more coaxing than she'd thought. Either that or he had an incredible restraint Gina wasn't the least bit ashamed to admit she didn't possess. The man was made of solid, unbendable steel. But, the metal of him wasn't cold. He was hot, freshly tempered, and razor's edge sharp. She wrestled and wiggled until she managed to free her left arm from her shirt and tug the offensive barrier between them up over her head. His dark eyes flared with masculine desire. Staring into those inky depths searing her to the very heart of her soul, she whispered the words he might possibly need to hear. If he was waiting for her permission, he had it. She'd shout it from the rooftops. Whatever it took to get his hands on her. "Touch me."

Hunter relieved Gina of her shirt and stared down to take in her beauty. He'd never seen a sight more beautiful than the glittering emerald green of her eyes or the honey golden and spun platinum highlights in her hair. The style and color of her bra was lost on him. He didn't notice if the cups were made of lace or barbed wire. He couldn't tell the difference between cotton candy pink and carnation pink. And his wolf was colorblind.

Gina's full breasts strained against the gauzy material, lace or barbed wire...didn't matter. Her nipples were ripe, hardened to peach tinted peaks begging to be fondled and suckled. He might not know the difference between the shades of pink. But, he sure as hell loved that color of blush tinged peach and the pebbled ring of the slightly darker areola. And colorblind or not, his wolf was howling in his head for him to get down to business and seal the deal.

Hunter needed little encouragement to continue traveling down the contours of her neck. A sound emitted from his throat, a cross between a growl and a whimper as Gina grazed his scalp with her fingernails in encouragement. He lowered his face to the valley between her breasts and inhaled deeply of her lush feminine scent. Her body knew exactly how to torture him best. Arching her back, she tugged on the strands of his hair as he kissed a path from one breast to the other.

Each movement was an exercise in sheer agony for him. The wooden floor was relentless and hard, but not as hard as his cock and not nearly as relentless either. Each time she arched her back, her hip brushed against his bulging erection. He wrapped his fingers through the belt loops of her jeans to hold her still and reduce his pain. His wolf wanted her naked and him, buried inside of her. And yeah, he was all about that idea too. It was too late for him. He was already lost. But, she wasn't quite there yet. The ring he'd given her was still in the hip pocket of her blue jeans. He could tell because he could feel the outline of the box pressing into the tip of his erection.

Just because she wasn't as fully on board with the program as he, didn't mean they couldn't enjoy a few indulgences. And her breasts and those twin, pert nipples were simply too tempting to resist for much longer. Hunter traced the outline of her straining nipples. Feeling the soft layer of filmy fabric and the salty sleekness of her skin slick across the tip of his tongue. He was holding back. But, his wolf nor would he be appeased with such a meager sample for much longer. Discretion was the better part of valor. And he was an honorable man. Giving her one last chance, he forced his libido and his wolf into park before she was as lost, not to the moment but to forever, as he.

He had chosen her as his wife. And his wolf wanted no other woman for a mate. He didn't fear a bond. The moment he felt his heart beating again, he knew she was the cause. He'd forgotten how to live. Until Gina's courage and tenacity, showed him what it was like to feel again. Her voice was sweet and thick like honey, loaded with passion and want. "Hunter," she sighed breathlessly. "Don't stop."

"Gina, there is no going back."

Hunter's voice was gravely and restrained. His molars clenched tightly against the strain of holding back. Even now, he was putting his own wants and needs aside, still protecting her. She didn't want or need his protection. Claire's words of warning shouted in her head.

Gina had seen enough of the paranormal world to realize there was more out there than met the eye. She wasn't afraid of Hunter. She wasn't afraid of some mystical bond. She knew there was no going back. And wasn't that the case, to a degree, for any two people willing to share their bodies with one another? Nobody was one hundred percent as 'love 'em and leave 'em' as they pretended to be. Getting naked whether it was with a stranger or someone as comfortable and familiar as an old pair of jeans took courage. Letting down your walls long enough to let someone in, even if it was just for a short time, took incredible bravery. "I know." She moved her fingers to the front clasp of her bra. Victoria might have secrets. But, she didn't. Easing the lace out of the way, Gina had no wiggle room for doubt or a sudden failure of self-confidence. "I want you. Isn't that enough?"

Hunter claimed Gina's lips with fevered passion. He hurt. He ached. He burned for her. The lush, musky, sweet scent of her arousal filled his nostrils. In opening that clasp and freeing her breasts from the confines of the bra, she'd laid out a buffet for a starving man. Her confession wasn't exactly what he was after. Not the way she'd said it, anyway. He wanted her, all of her, unconditionally and irrevocably. The offering of her body was not enough. The meeting of flesh wasn't what he was after. He wanted desperately and would hold out for forever for the fabled forever.

Hunter reached over his head and pulled a quilted throw off the arm of the loveseat. Stretching the blanket over the flesh he so desperately longed to explore, he took a long, shuddering breath to clear his mind and soothe the burn. "No, not for me. Gina, it's all or nothing."

Gina smoothed her hand over the craggy planes of Hunter's face. "But you want me." His denial of her body left her head swimming with doubts. Maybe, she wasn't good enough for him. Maybe, he was being kind to her by not taking everything she offered. And the blanket and his refusal was his way of letting her down gently. "Don't you?"

Hunter took Gina's wrist and guided her fingers down to his groin. Pressing her palm against the rough denim of his fly and running it up the hard ridge of his erection was an exercise in the ultimate torture. "You doubt it?" The heat from her palm and the pressure caused him to suck in a breath of shuddering longing. He hungrily devoured her mouth, suckling her tongue and drinking deeply of the truth stretching between them. Dizzied by her touch, he broke the kiss. "Don't. Ever. Doubt. That. I. Want. You," he gritted.

Instinctively, Gina smoothed her palm over the hard bulge in his jeans. Teased by the promise of his size and the heat against her fingertips, she wanted to cry like a baby. He was big, erect, and thick, and oh so ready for more. Hunter's kiss left her breathless and trembling. At least he'd confirmed one thing and left no margin for error. He wanted her. Her fingers clenched into a fist as Hunter grabbed her wrist, stilling her hand. "I..."

"Heart first, then the bed," Hunter ground out. He balanced his weight on his elbow and reached across her chest. Her bare breasts were heaven and hell. The nipples still erect and engorged with desire. Gently, he gathered up the peeled back cups of her bra and awkwardly positioned her breasts inside them. With clumsy, reluctant fingers, he closed the clasp, trapping her breasts beneath a delicate barrier of lace as thick and coarse and as cuttingly sharp as barbed wire. His strength gave out with the snap of the closure. He sank down and rested his head on the flatness of her bare stomach. Gina's fingers went to his hair, slicking through the strands. Her nails gently rasping against his scalp as they both battled the raging storm and burning wildfire within them.

Hunter was a stubborn, stubborn man. But, that was one of the things she appreciated about him the most. His strength gave her the courage to hang on. Her fingers traveled down to stroke the indigo outline of the tattoo that ran between the width of his broad shoulders and trailed over his ribs and spine to end somewhere below his beltline. The artwork was a scrolling, intricate rendition of his wolf. And whoever had painstakingly penned the design was obviously otherworldly inspired.

Gina tried not to think about all the wonderful things they could be and by all rights should be doing. Hunter's fingers gripped her belt loops as if he were hanging on for dear life. His thumbs stroked the gentle rise of her hipbones. She was limp as a noodle, pliable as clay as he switched positions and gathered her in his arms. She rested against the width of his chest, reassured by the pound of his heartbeat against her ear. She could doubt and second-guess anything she wanted to, but never his feelings for her.

Hunter should ask Gina to put her top back on, for her own benefit as well as for his. But, he couldn't stop from indulging in the simple pleasure of skin on skin contact. Her warmth penetrated to the very essence of his being. Gently, he lowered a kiss to her forehead. His arousal pounded and throbbed. Making a very loud argument for him to do the very thing he didn't want to do and wouldn't. Take the girl and what she offered. Forget about the heart. Forget about forever.