Perfect Tales of the Were - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,9

draped around his hips as he slid deep.

One ingenious finger stroked her clit, coaxing a small climax from her body that took her by surprise. She cried out as the completion hit, never ending, but pushing her even higher.

“That’s it, baby. Show me how much you want me.”

His words nudged her on. Cassandra began to squirm against him, rotating her hips as he pulsed in and out. The combination was heady, and lightning zipped up her spine as she reached another peak.

“Cody!” she cried out as he increased his pace.

“That’s it. Stay with me, baby. Come with me. Come with me now!”

Between his words, his loving, and the finger stroking her in just the right spot, she was a goner. She came again, harder than ever before as he surged into her one final time, tensing as he pulsed deep inside her. His muscles went rigid, and his face was a study in masculine perfection, eyes closed in bliss as he came.

*

Cody stayed in Cassie’s bed as long as he dared. He didn’t want the rest of the hands gossiping about her. Especially when he hadn’t yet had the chance to explain to her that he was playing for keeps. Last night had only served to confirm what he had suspected for a few days now…

She was his mate.

Knowing that, he was even more intent on figuring out exactly what was wrong with that back acreage of Cassie’s new ranch and who was responsible for it. He hadn’t dared scout the area in human form during the day before he’d hired on as a ranch hand. The last thing he’d wanted to do was ruin his chances at inserting successfully onto the ranch. Getting Cody onto the ranch so he could investigate—and have a legitimate reason for being on that land, should anyone discover him there—had been the priority.

The Alpha had tasked him with finding out what was going on. To that end, Cody left the bunkhouse with none the wiser and shifted into his wolf form to do some more investigating before he had to be up and at ‘em, just before dawn.

What he found when he got to the back acreage that bordered the Weaver land wasn’t good. Dead animals. More than one. A calf, a pig, and a sheep were arranged almost ceremonially around a charred circle on the land. There had been a fire here, no more than a day ago.

He sniffed around, but he couldn’t tell much more than that at the moment. There had been rain between the time of the killings and now, which had washed away a lot of the scent. He’d have to come out here in the full light of day and see what other clues might be hiding in the darkness. That was going to be tough to manage, but he’d find a way.

Knowing that the sun would rise shortly and he’d be expected at the breakfast table prior to starting work for the day, Cody ran back toward the bunkhouse, really stretching out his muscles. It was a good run, and it helped settle him for the day ahead.

He climbed back in the window to his room, which he’d left through the night before. He used the extra time before he had to appear at breakfast to send a coded text message to Joe, the Alpha of the Big Wolf Pack. Surprisingly, Joe called right away.

“Morning,” Joe said when Cody picked up the call. “You’ve been busy.”

“Yeah, but it’s going to be hard to get myself out there during the daylight hours. I couldn’t do a completely thorough search in the dark, regardless of our night vision,” Cody griped gently. “That small rain shower washed away a lot of the scent trails.”

“I could send Shane out there,” Joe said, referring to the highly capable new sheriff in town. “Or some of the trackers.”

“Probably best to send the sheriff,” Cody replied. “Three carcasses means plenty of evidence to examine.”

“Yeah,” Joe replied, his voice flat. “Damned if I understand what’s going on out there. Did you get any scent of magic?”

“Not that I could scent, and the rain wouldn’t have washed that away,” Cody said, annoyed with his lack of progress. “You’d think, if someone was going to go to the trouble of sacrificing animals like that, they’d at least have a whiff of magic about them.”

“Not if it’s black magic,” Joe said contemplatively.

“Shit.” Cody hadn’t thought of that. “But it’s so rare. Do you think it’s really possible?”

“I’ve been