Prey (Blackwater Pack Book 2)

by Hannah McBride

  His hands tightened around my waist. “That was close. Too close.”

  I smoothed a hand over his brow. “I’m safe, Katy’s safe, and you’re safe. Our pack is safe. That’s all that matters.”

  “For now.”

  I tried to ignore the darkness seeping into his tone. Instead I ran my fingers through his dark hair again. “Do you want me to help you pack your clothes?”

  He hesitated, and my gut clenched. “What?”

  His dark eyes met mine, sadness and regret swirling in them. “I’m not going back with you guys.”

  My eyes went wide as panic slammed into me. “Remy—”

  His hand caught my wrist, bringing my fingers to his mouth where he kissed them gently. “I need to figure out who we ran into in the woods. I’ll get you guys onto the plane tomorrow, then I’ll hang back for a day or two and see what I can find out.”

  I didn’t want to be that girl, but I could feel the tears crowding behind my eyes. I dropped my head back, blinking hard as I stared at the ceiling. I wanted to fight him, to beg him to come with us or let me stay behind, but I knew it would be pointless.

  Perks of falling for an alpha.

  I sighed slowly, trying to think rationally. “Okay.”

  His eyes went soft, his expression somber. “I’m sorry, babe.”

  I sniffled. Freaking sniffled, but steeled my spine and met his gaze. “I get it. Do you think those guys were cops? Part of the search party?”

  He gave me a knowing look. “That guy wouldn’t have killed himself if he was just a cop, baby. And he definitely wouldn’t have talked to us.” He took a deep breath, expression guarded. “He also wouldn’t have had a sled with restraints on the back of the snowmobile.”

  I felt my eyes get big and round. How had I missed that?

  My stomach pitched anxiously. “Those guys were … They were going to take Katy? Like the others?”

  He gave me a slow nod. “That’s my guess. I need to get back up there as soon as the storm clears to see if I can find anything we can use to track them.”

  I moved forward, straddling his lap and winding my arms around his neck so we were almost eye-level.

  “Okay,” I started quietly, “then you stay. We’ll be safe back in Blackwater, and you’ll meet me there in a few days. But you need to keep Rhodes with you. I don’t want you out here without someone watching your back.”

  “Dante and Ryder are sticking around for a few more days,” he told me. “Rhodes needs to make sure the pack gets back home safe.”

  “And that’s awesome, but Dante and Ryder are here for Maren. I need someone who is here for you. Will, Larkin, and I can get everyone back to Blackwater, but I won’t leave without knowing you have someone here who will look out for you.”

  An amused smile teased his mouth, a sliver of light in all the dark surrounding us lately. “You’re aware I can take care of myself, right?”

  I arched a brow. “I’m fully aware that my mate is an alpha with all sorts of skills that could dismember someone in multiple ways. But you’re not bulletproof. If those guys are bringing guns into the equation, I need to know you’re safe. Please.”

  “Okay. Rhodes stays with me,” he finally agreed. ”He’s going to hate leaving Larkin.”

  “Rhodes is your beta and your best friend. Your brother,” I countered fiercely. “He’ll want to stay with you.”

  His eyes closed as I leaned my forehead to his. After a second, he tilted his head up, his lips searching for mine.

  One hand slid up my back, anchoring me to him as the other hand came up to cradle my jaw and angle my face where he wanted me.

  His tongue teased my mouth open, sweeping inside with deep strokes as he groaned. The hand on my back pressed my front to his and then skated down my spine and slipped under my shirt. The touch of his hand to my skin made me shiver even as flames licked through my blood.

  He broke the kiss, his lips moving to my jaw. “This okay?”

  I moaned, grinding my hips against his. “Yeah.”

  In a fluid movement, Remy rolled us, flipping me onto my back as he hovered over me, his hands braced on either side of me. “Still okay?”

  The look in his eyes, all need and lust and want, was like a drug. God, I wanted more. I hooked a leg around the back of his knees and pulled him closer.

  Instead of dropping his weight onto me the way I craved, he lowered himself with a deliberate slowness until his nose brushed against mine.

  The smile on his lips stopped my heart for a second.

  “Hey,” he greeted, his warm voice like honey as he kissed the corner of my mouth.

  With a frustrated whimper, I reached up and wrapped my hands around his shoulders, trying to bring him down. But Remy was solid muscle and not moving until he was good and ready.

  A smug smirk kicked up the corner of his mouth, and my body flushed as his gaze traveled down the length of me.

  “God, you’re gorgeous,” he whispered, his tone almost reverent as he lifted a hand to my face and traced the curve of my jaw.

  I swallowed hard around the sudden emotion clogging my throat.

  His lips found the other corner of my lips, gently whispering a kiss against them. “I love you, Skye.” A hand slipped under the hem of my shirt, splaying across my stomach.

  “I love you,” I answered, my body arching up to meet him. I loved saying those three words just as much as I liked hearing them.

  His mouth crashed into mine, no longer teasing and playing. His kiss was full of hunger and need. He didn’t simply coax my lips open; he demanded every part of me yield to him, starting with my mouth.

  My lips parted on a gasp that he took as an invitation to invade. His tongue stroked against mine, exploring and licking until we both were breathless.

  “Remy.” I choked out his name, my head falling back as his lips moved down the column of my throat.

  The hand that had rested dormant against my stomach slowly came to life, teasing the waistband of my jeans.

  “Still okay?” he asked, his fingertips just barely grazing my skin.

  I lifted up onto my elbows and scooted back until I was full on the bed. I licked my lips slowly. Deliberately. “Could be better.”

  His eyes went dark, carnal, as he crawled over my body. His mouth caught mine again in a dizzying kiss that made my elbows give out and my body fall into the mattress. His mouth chased me down, his lips searing against mine as his body lowered onto me. I groaned at the delicious pressure of him pressing me into the bed.

  A hand found the bottom of my shirt again and Remy tore his lips from mine. His dark eyes were twin flames, searing me as they heated with every inch of skin he exposed.

  He peeled my shirt up and over my head slowly, his eyes hungrily savoring every inch of skin he revealed until my shirt was gone. His eyes stayed on mine as his hand settled between the valley of my chest, pressed down on top of where my heart was beating for him. He grinned, the smile more wolf than man, and slowly undid the front closure. The soft cotton fell away, my breasts falling free of their confinement.

  My pulse quickened, my breathing getting faster. I felt open and exposed and vulnerable.

  As if reading my mind, Remy reached out and threaded one hand in mine. He squeezed until I looked up and met his gaze. The emotions I saw swirling there—love, desire, need—stole my breath for all the right reasons.

  I focused on that connection, that tether between us.

  He eased onto his side, his long body pressed to my side as he let go of my hand and rested his fingers against my ribcage.

  “Still with me?” he murmured, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. His teeth lightly nipped the spot he had kissed, the sting a welcome shock to my system.

  I nodded, swallowing hard again as my pulse skyrocketed.

  “Words, babe,” he said, his lips finding my collarbone as his knuckles brushed against the underside of my breast. “I need to hear you say it.”

  “I’m … good,” I fi
nished with a gasp as he ghosted a hand around my nipple. I arched into his touch, but his hand was already gone.

  “Good, huh?” he echoed as he kissed his way to the valley between my breasts. “I think we can do better than good.”

  I barely had time to register his words before he closed a mouth over my nipple, sucking it deeply into his mouth.

  I grabbed the back of his head with one hand, my other hand grabbing blindly for the quilt on the bed as my back arched off the mattress. His teeth caught and tugged the peak at the last second, the sensation zinging down my body until my toes curled.

  My hand fisted in his hair as he switched attention to my other breast, his mouth greedily sucking the tight bud between his lips and licking it with his tongue.

  “Holy shit,” I breathed, a steady pulse of need throbbing between my legs. I pressed my thighs together, trying to ease the pressure, but that didn’t help at all.

  I whimpered against Remy, my body hot and aching as I arched into him, needing more. More pressure, more touches, more Remy.

  His head came up, and I barely caught my breath before his lips were back on mine. The cool air tightened my nipples, my breathy moan turning into a ragged cry when his fingers pinched down on one peak.

  The hand that had been toying with me slid down my stomach, his fingertips again teasing the edge of my jeans until I lifted my hips.

  Remy lifted his head, stopping all of his movements until he had my attention. “Still okay?” His voice was rough and gravelly, and it made my core clench in anticipation.

  “More,” I demanded breathlessly, lifting my hips to encourage him.

  A slow smirk teased his mouth as his finger deftly undid the button of my jeans before sliding the metal teeth of the zipper down. His fingers brushed against the cotton of my panties.

  His dark eyes held mine. “Still with me?”

  I nodded soundlessly, but found my words when he frowned and hesitated. “Yeah.” I barely recognized my own voice.

  A single finger traced across my center, and my entire body shuddered at the sensation. Every nerve came alive, all synapses firing at once.

  His throat worked as he swallowed. “God, you’re fucking soaked, babe.”

  I flushed at his words, biting my lower lip between my teeth as he grazed the center of my panties again.

  His eyes glowed, molten and entranced, as he slid his hand further into my jeans and cupped me between my legs.

  My eyes slid shut, the pleasure so exquisite that I needed a minute to keep from grinding against his hand like a bitch in heat. He started to move his hand until I grabbed him by the wrist, the pleasure so sharp it bordered on pain.

  He went completely still above me. “Do you want me to stop?”

  My eyes flew open. “Not a chance. Just … give me a second?”

  He nodded slowly before dropping his head and kissing me slowly. He eased my mouth open, his kiss gentle and deep. After a few seconds, I lifted my hips and let his wrist go. Not sure what to do, I dropped my hand by my side, again grabbing the quilt in a tight fist.

  “Hey.” Remy nudged my jaw with his nose. “Look at me.”

  I lifted my eyes to his.

  “We can stop. No pressure, baby.”

  Funny because pressure was the only thing I was feeling, but not where I wanted it.

  “Don’t stop,” I said softly, my eyes pleading with him to understand the thoughts that I couldn’t form into words. This was all new, all different, but I wanted this. I wanted him.

  His eyes flared a second before his mouth landed on mine once more, everything about the kiss was possessive. He used the kiss to claim, but there was nothing left to conquer.

  Every piece of me belonged to Remy.

  His hand slipped inside my panties, and I felt one finger glide through the wetness gathering between my legs.

  He groaned into my mouth. “Fuck,” he whispered.

  The finger teased the sides of my clit, stroking around the bundle of nerves that was literally throbbing with need.

  I was about to demand something—anything—to ease the building ache in me when he slid his finger inside of me just as his thumb pressed down on my clit.

  Fire licked through my veins, my blood heating as my body ignited under his touch.

  The slight stretch as his finger worked inside me barely registered as a blip. My mind was reeling from the sensations of his thumb stroking and pressing and teasing while his finger pumped into me gently.

  He growled low in his chest, the sound appreciative and hungry. “So damn tight, babe.”

  My eyes closed once again as I let the feelings wash over me, sweeping away all the worry and doubt of the last week.

  He eased a second finger into me, and I welcomed the slow burning stretch of my body accommodating him. Yielding to him.

  He changed the angle of his hand, his fingers curling inside of me and rubbing some magical spot I had no idea existed outside of books as the heel of his hand ground down against my clit.

  I cried out, arching my body in time with the thrusts of his hand, chasing a high that was familiar and foreign all at the same time.

  “That’s my girl,” he praised, kissing my jaw. “Come for me, babe.”

  His fingers swept against that place deep inside me as his hand pressed firmly on my clit. My body hovered on the edge of some giant precipice before I went over and completely shattered. My body shook behind him as my climax rolled over and through me, tearing me apart and knitting me back together.

  He slowed his hand but kept pumping into me gently, teasing out the edge of my climax. Rippling aftershocks from my orgasm left me dizzy and gasping, my hips jerkily trying to find the rhythm they had lost as I came down from the high.

  One last shudder trembled through me as Remy withdrew his hand from me.

  My breath caught as I watched him bring his fingers to his mouth and suck them clean. My jaw dropped open. Part of me wanted to hide from embarrassment, but I was too turned on to really care.

  The grin he flashed me was one hundred percent satisfied male.

  “You taste fucking incredible.”

  My stomach fluttered, my cheeks heated. I opened my mouth, but couldn’t speak.

  Remy took advantage, leaning forward to kiss me. I could faintly taste myself on his tongue, which was definitely more erotic than I thought it would be. After a minute of his tongue twisting and tangling with mine, I felt those same nerve endings coming alive again.

  My wolf hummed happily in my chest, ready for another round with our mate.

  I lifted up onto an elbow, cupping his jaw with my free hand and feeling the impressive erection pressing into my hip.

  Pulling my head back, I licked my lips, my gaze dropping to where he pressed into me. “Can—”

  “No,” he cut me off.

  My brows went into my hairline. “What?”

  He looked at me, the passion fading and the exhaustion I had seen when he first came into the room back with a vengeance. “Can … Can I just lay here with you?”

  He was tired and drained, his eyelids already drooping. It had been a shit week for all of us, but especially for him. He hadn’t stopped going in days.

  “That sounds perfect,” I admitted hoarsely, kissing his jaw and then his lips.

  He climbed off the bed and pulled his shirt over his head. He was all tan skin stretched over contoured muscles that rippled with every single movement.

  I freaking loved this view.

  He quickly shucked his jeans, clearly not embarrassed by the prominent ridge outlined in his dark boxer briefs as he turned off the light by the bedside table.

  I stood up and let my bra fall off the rest of the way before shimmying out of my own jeans and leaving them on the floor. I slipped back into the bed, under sheets and into his massive embrace in just my underwear.

  Remy pulled me against him, my back to his chest. With a contented sigh, I snuggled back into him. I felt the press of his arousal against
the small of my back, but there was no panic swelling in my chest.

  His arms came around me, one arm pillowing my head and his other hand curled possessively around my breast. Still, no fear. No worry.

  Just Remy surrounding me as he fell asleep. It only took a few minutes for the even sounds of his breathing to lull me into my own dreamworld.

  15

  There was an army waiting for us at the airport when we landed in Washington the next afternoon.

  Gabe had chartered a private plane for us to come back from Montana once the storm had lifted and the roads cleared. All of the faculty and half of the extra shifters he sent to patrol returned with us. The rest stayed with Remy and Rhodes in Montana.

  Remy promised he would be back in Blackwater within forty-eight hours, but I was already feeling the separation. My wolf paced inside me, a caged animal with shot nerves.

  I knew exactly how she felt.

  The two hour flight had been hell to sit through. I couldn’t keep from fidgeting, anxiety growing with every minute that pulled me further away from Remy.

  By the time the plane landed, I was a mess. Larkin actually moved to put a seat between us after I kicked her in the leg for the fifth time from crossing and uncrossing my legs. Katy was sitting across from me, but she hadn’t really spoken except when the plane was about to take off.

  In a quiet, reserved, and very un-Katylike manner, she had apologized to the pack for her foolish actions before taking a window seat and staring out it for the next few hours.

  If leaving Remy was hell on me, I knew it was killing her to leave Maren.

  But I couldn’t bring myself to try and cheer her up. When I looked at her, I saw the gun being pointed at Remy’s head. I saw the man shoot himself, blood spraying across the white snow. My stomach cramped thinking of all the potentially catastrophic what-ifs.

  I touched the pendant around my neck as I got off the plane and headed down the stairs to the tarmac. The crescent moon and star symbol that represented the Holts and our pack was my anchor to Remy right now.