Buck Naked Read online

  “Are you sure?” Sadie ate the last bite off her own plate and rose to put it in the sink as well. “I mean, if it really hurts that much . . .”

  “No, I need to do this,” Mathis said grimly. “And I need to do it pretty damn quickly.”

  “Why?” Sadie looked up at him curiously. “You said it didn’t have to do with the moon being almost full so why? Just to show me?”

  Mathis didn’t want to tell her about his rut but somehow, looking down into those big, brown eyes, he knew he couldn’t lie or put her off.

  “I . . . have a problem,” he said reluctantly. “Something to do with my Buck—my animal form.”

  “What?” Sadie was still looking at him innocently.

  “It’s autumn,” Mathis said, trying to think how to explain. “And that’s when male deer usually go into rut.”

  “What’s that? Sorry . . .” She shrugged. “I guess I would know if I’d ever been hunting or anything like that but I’m pretty much a pacifist. I don’t know anything about the life cycle of deer.”

  Mathis scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to think of a way to explain that wouldn’t scare her.

  “It’s kind of like . . . going into heat. Only that’s a female thing. Rut is the male equivalent. It only happens once a year, usually in the fall, and when it does the Buck gets this . . .” He cleared his throat. “This violent urge to mate.”

  “You do?” Sadie’s eyes widened.

  “Yeah, but don’t worry,” he hastened to reassure her. “Like I told you earlier, I can control myself. It’s just harder this year because . . .”

  “Because I’m around.” Sadie bit her lip. “I’m so sorry, Mathis. Do I really smell that, uh, tempting?”

  “Like you wouldn’t believe, sweetheart,” he growled. “Your scent plus my rut makes me want to rip off that shirt, lay you on the bed, and lick you all over your sweet little body.” He looked her up and down, taking in the outline of her luscious curves, teasingly visible beneath the thin white cotton T-shirt. He could just imagine cupping her full breasts in his hands, pinching her nipples lightly until she moaned, then sliding down to kneel between her thighs and lapping her sweet wet pussy open with his tongue, tasting her until she cried and begged and pulled his hair . . . “Lick you and taste you and a whole hell of a lot more,” he said.

  “Oh!” Sadie’s cheeks had gone bright red. “You . . . I . . .”

  “Don’t worry,” Mathis said again quickly. “I’m as Alpha as they come—I can control my urges. I’m just telling you what it’s like, being around you. It’s enough to drive a male crazy.”

  “I’m really sorry,” she said quietly, crossing her arms protectively over her breasts. “I honestly didn’t know anything about any of this until you told me.”

  “I believe you,” Mathis said. “And I don’t blame you either—this isn’t your fault. It’s mine—it’s what I am.” He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Just wish the fucking pills would work. That would make things so much easier.”

  “Your pills? You mean the ones Fiona makes for you?” Sadie asked.

  “Yeah, you were right—they’re not erectile dysfunction pills.” He looked down at himself in disgust. His cock had been standing at attention for what felt like hours by now, making it nearly impossible to think straight. The Buck inside him was insisting that he had to claim Sadie, to make her his mate and breed her to mark his territory and tie her to him forever.

  Mathis fought the urge grimly—he had his promise to himself to consider. Not to mention the fact that he’d already formed one life-bond back when he’d mated Kathleen and one was all his kind of Shifter got.

  Besides, after all the crazy things she’d been through, Sadie probably didn’t want anything to do with any male in Cougarville right now. He wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to shake the dust of the little town off her feet and never come back again.

  Of course, he wasn’t exactly sure how leaving without a mate would work with her Juvie cycle—there was still a lot he was unsure about when it came to her. She should probably go talk to Fiona first thing in the morning. But in the meantime, she was under his protection and he had an obligation to take care of her—not take advantage of her.

  “So your pills?” Sadie prompted him and he realized he’d been silent too long.

  “Oh yeah—they’re anti-rut pills. Fiona’s been making them for me for about ten years now. Ever since . . .” He swallowed hard. “Ever since Kathleen passed.”

  “Your wife?” Sadie asked softly. “Was . . . was she a Shifter too? A Juvie, like me?”

  “No.” Mathis shook his head. “I mean, she had the Shifter Gene—most everyone in Cougarville does. But we fell in love and got married young. We knew that if we stayed together she’d never Rejuvenate and we’d never have any Shifter kids, but that was okay with me. All . . .” He cleared his throat. “All I wanted was her. I didn’t care about passing on the Gene as long as I could have her.”

  “Oh, Mathis . . .” Tentatively, Sadie put a hand on his arm.

  Mathis could see the compassion in her big brown eyes and knew she was just trying to comfort him, but the light touch still lit a fire inside him.

  “It’s okay,” he said, pulling away as gently as he could. “It’s been ten years now. I should be over it, I know. But I can’t help myself. I . . .” He took a deep breath. “I made a promise to myself after she died, never to take another mate. In fact, I haven’t even been with another female since she passed. Fiona’s pills helped a lot with that—with controlling my, uh, urges. Just wish they still worked.”

  “I’m sorry if I’m making it harder for you,” Sadie said. “I can still spend the night in my car. The storm seems to have blown over and—”

  “Hell no, you’re not spending the night in your car!” Mathis growled. “You’re staying with me.”

  “But if my scent is making you hard, I mean . . .” Her cheeks were pink. “Making things hard on you . . .”

  “It’s okay,” he said, waving her off. “It’ll be a lot better after I Shift. That always helps control it some.”

  “So that’s why you need to Shift.” A look of understanding came into her eyes.

  Mathis nodded. “Yeah. I know it seems strange since the urge to mate comes from my Buck in the first place, but being in my other form—my animal form—helps control the rut. Maybe because I’m giving in to it just a little—letting myself embrace the Buck and his needs for a while. I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I just know it helps.”

  “Well, I’d love to see it,” Sadie said. “Honestly, I don’t know what to expect, though.”

  “You’ll see,” Mathis said. “Come on—let’s get you ready to go outside.”

  When at last Sadie stood under the light of the nearly full moon just outside the fence surrounding Mathis’s back garden, she was as ready as she could be—at least for the cold weather. She had on Mathis’s lined down jacket (which was much too large for her) a pair of his thick woolen socks that came almost up to her thighs, and oversized galoshes.

  Her own clothes still weren’t dry so this was the best Mathis could do for her. Sadie didn’t mind—actually she felt fairly toasty. Thanks to the jacket falling so low and socks coming so high, the only part of her that was really cold was her knees.

  “Why such a high fence?” she asked, to distract herself from the sight of Mathis stripping out of his navy-blue pajama bottoms.

  He made a face. “My Buck isn’t always good with self-control. Before I put up the fence, I ruined my own damn garden more times than I can count.”

  Sadie had to smother a smile. “So you had to put up a fence to keep yourself out of your own garden?”

  “That’s about right.” Mathis shrugged his broad, bare shoulders and handed her his pajama trousers. “Hold these, will you?”

  “Um, sure.” Sadie bunched the navy-blue material in her hands, trying not to notice how extremely huge he looked when he was naked. Huge all over, whisper