“There’s plenty of time for that. Time to come again for me, shuarra.” He put his mouth on her and thrust with his fingers bringing her right to the brink almost immediately.
She would’ve come straight off the bar if he hadn’t had his other arm locked around her hip.
Words spilled from her lips.
Curses.
Praises.
Incoherent cries of pleasure.
The pressure building inside her swelled and expanded and then…broke apart. Feelings of pleasure ricocheted out from the epicenter between her legs, spread in rolling waves through her body.
“Tor.” Her body was limp and humming and she couldn’t have moved even if the place was coming down on top of her. She blinked slowly, trying to come back down to reality. A reality where Tor’s face was still between her legs. She could feel his mouth kissing along her thigh. “Tor. Please.”
“I’d be happy to continue,” he said, teasing in his tone, as he put his mouth back down on her tender well-used clit.
“No!” she shrieked.
He laughed and stood up, patting her leg. “No?”
She shook her head back and forth on the bar top. “I can’t. I need to get up. I don’t think I can move. I need a shower.”
“I can help with that.” Tor lifted her from the bar top and gently draped her over his shoulder.
“Hey.”
“You’re naked. I’m not letting you walk on this dirty floor.” He hurried up the stairwell, locking the door behind him and then climbed to the apartment above.
“My clothes are still down there. They will see them if they come in. They’ll know what we did.”
He chuckled, acting as if it was no big deal. “They are both mated. They have seen women’s clothes on the floor.”
“But not mine!” she said, her voice rising to a shriek.
He walked her all the way to the bathroom with a hand on her ass, rubbing just enough to keep her interested. Not in another orgasm, but she wanted him. He’d gotten her off, but she had yet to get to see or have him inside her and she wanted it. Wanted him. Wanted to feel that full connection.
“I’ll go get them. Take your shower.”
He leaned in and kissed her again, making her forget all the thoughts and questions swirling in her mind. She could kiss this man forever and it would never be enough.
“See, you don’t really want a shower. You want my mouth on you again,” he said, his mouth curving into a wicked smile. A smile she’d grown very fond of. A smile that made her whole-body shiver with anticipation.
She playfully pushed at his chest. “No. I need a shower. It’s been a long day.” His gaze caressed over her naked body and she retreated into the shower. “Later!”
“Promises. Promises.” He followed her into the shower and grabbed her around the waist, planting yet another hard kiss on her lips, leaving her breathless and wanting. “Now you may shower.”
Then he was gone. The bathroom door was closed and she was standing in the shower naked and horny. Good grief. He was going to be the end of her…in a good way, but still.
16
Dawn
Dawn finished her shower and poked her head out the bathroom door. The apartment was quiet and mostly dark. She found some fresh jeans and a t-shirt and slipped those on before heading for the stairwell in the living room. Ava had left some flip-flops at the door and Dawn slipped her feet into those, remembering Tor’s comment about the dirty floor downstairs. He was right, too, and as much as she liked going bare foot in the summer. Barefoot in a bar was not an option. She would need to invest in a few more pairs of flip flops.
It was really cool that her grandfather had put this extra entrance into the bar. It was nice not having to go outside and through the front door every time too.
Voices echoed up the stairwell.
“What do you mean everyone is coming?” Tor’s voice boomed a little louder than the other man’s.
“You didn’t get the message. I could’ve sworn I sent it to everyone.”
Dawn crept down the stairs quietly and pressed her ear to the closed door at the bottom.
“Well you didn’t. What’s going on, Kann?”
Kann? She didn’t think she’d met him yet. All their names were so unique, but not unique enough to make it clear what country they were from.
A knock sounded at the front door of the bar. She listened to the men’s footsteps move across the room. New voices spoke.
“Tor, Kann,” the new voice boomed deep and gravelly and with a power that Dawn could feel deep in her gut.
“Vraka,” Tor and the other man said at the same time. She wasn’t sure what the word meant. It didn’t sound like a name, but it sounded like it was used respectfully.
“Your mate is on the other side of the door, Tor,” the big voice said, quite loud enough for Dawn to realize he’d just outed her.
“And you’ve just freaked her out completely, Col,” a female voice chided the male scary one. “What was her name, Tor?”
“Dawn,” he said. Footsteps moved toward the door. Two sets.
The door swung open and Dawn looked up into Tor’s bright blue eyes. Eyes normally sparkling with amusement were now clouded with concern. Over his shoulder Dawn spied the face that went with the female voice she’d heard. A small woman with dark ringlets to her shoulders. Soft brown eyes that sparkled with the same gold flecks Dawn had noticed in Tor’s. And Ryder’s. Now that she was thinking about it.
The short woman with the smiling round face shoved Tor aside like he was a little boy and stepped forward with a big smile on her face. She was dressed in a lightweight blue sundress and flip flops and she was really pregnant.
“Hi! I’m Naomi. So excited to meet you. Tor has told us nothing, so we are all very curious about the woman that’s stolen his heart.” She extended her hand and Dawn couldn’t not shake it. That would be rude.
“Hi.”
“Dawn, right?” Naomi said, prompting.
“Yes, sorry.” Dawn said, staring at the huge man across the room. He was so tall. And he had long dark wavy hair down to his waist. Dark scruff on his face, like he hadn’t shaved in a couple days, but those eyes. It was like they burned into her soul. Dawn swallowed and looked back at the small pregnant woman. “It’s been a long day.”
“I feel that. Usually I’m in bed two hours ago, but I wasn’t missing a chance to meet you.”
“I told you to rest,” the big man said, taking a step forward.
“That big guy over there is my husband Col. He’s also what we call chief of the Tribe. Don’t be scared of him, he’s hardwired to protect females. He wouldn’t raise a hand against you even on pain of death. I know he’s big and loud, but seriously, none of these guys would hurt you.”
“Good to know,” Dawn said, stealing a quick glance at Tor who still looked very uncomfortable.
“We are here because the same guys threatening you came onto our land and threatened Col and Kann. Ultimately, they were sneaking around Kann and Penny’s house and the guys caught him before he could do anything.” The woman leaned closer. “So not only did he trespass, he threatened the safety of Penny who is also pregnant.” Naomi clucked her tongue. “Now it’s hunting time.”
“Hunting time?”
She clapped and wiped her hands back and forth. “It’ll be the end of your problems and ours shortly.”
“How?”
“Because there won’t be anyone left to threaten you,” Naomi said it with a straight face like she was sharing the recipe for sugar cookies.
Dawn looked up again, but this time at Col. “You’re going to kill them?”
“I already ran them out of town once. They came back against my advice,” he said, his dark voice sending a frightened shiver down Dawn’s spine. “I warned them of the consequences of not following my advice.”
“Yes, but…killing people is…you’ll go to prison.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“No, they won’t,” another male voice spoke up.
Dawn looked past Col and saw a man dressed in a deputy’s uniform. Shit.
Except no one seemed to be worried. Owen came through the door next with a small red headed woman. Dawn thought she’d seen the redhead working at the hardware and grocery store down the street.
Then another pair came in she didn’t recognize. The guy had long dark hair, which seemed to be a common theme. The woman had beautiful long sleek black hair. Her eyes were brown and small and her skin had a slightly olive tint. She waved to Dawn, but didn’t approach, staying quite close to the man she’d walked into the bar with.
Then Ryder and Ava entered, moving to stand with the previous couple, slightly off to the side.
A single blond man with long braids in his hair came inside and behind him was another blond guy, the one Tor had been talking to earlier had a tall woman with pale skin and black hair with him now who was also very pregnant like Naomi.
“Is everyone here?” Col asked, looking around the room.
The door opened and closed again and a tall man carrying a rifle stepped into the group. He had to be in his fifties or sixties, but he didn’t look like anyone you would want to cross. Kinda like the guy in the middle of the room, Col.
“Dad! You’re not supposed to be here.”
“People are threatening you, Kat. Where else would I be. If you guys are planning to get rid of that bastard. You need all the help you can get. I don’t care how many teeth or claws you’ve got between you.”
Teeth and claws? Dawn moved closer to Tor. “What’s he talking about?”
Tor grit his teeth and shook his head. “I can’t. Not right now,” he said, keeping his voice very low.
Harrison looked straight at Col. “Unless you plan to throw me out on my ass personally, I’ll be staying.”
The big man huffed but didn’t give any indication that he was going to get physical with the man. “Humans do not listen to instructions,” he grumbled under his breath.
Humans. Everyone here was human.
“Why are we here?” One of the men on the far side of the room asked. “We’re not part of the Tribe.”
Tribe.
“Tor,” Dawn said, her voice a low hiss. “What the hell is going on?”
He turned and met her gaze, panic widening his eyes. “Please just let me explain. No matter what you hear tonight. Please let me explain.”
“You may not be part of the Tribe, Knox, but this man’s actions could cause problems for all of us and for your mate who I’ve been told has also been harassed. Our town is being threatened. And the treacherous male has personally threatened our home near the river. This is intolerable.”
Treacherous. Intolerable. Who talks like this? He sounds like some medieval knight. Dawn nodded to Tor, not really able to say anything else. She wasn’t walking away from whatever crazy was happening here tonight.
“The sheriff is bought and paid for. I saw him meeting with the guy last week before everything started.” This came from the man in the deputy uniform.
“I assumed as much. Your law keeper has been corrupted and untrustworthy since we arrived in Mystery.”
The deputy nodded his agreement.
“That is a problem for another day. We are here because Hollister’s son must be eliminated as a threat to the town and to our Tribe. He has not listened to warnings, forcing our hand.”
Forcing them to kill. How is that okay? But she bided her time and kept her mouth closed. She was with Tor, at least for now. And whatever was going on with these people he lived with involved them taking the law into their own hands. True that his men had attacked her and come close to killing her, but everything else had just been vandalism.
“Is it absolutely necessary to kill him?” The words slipped out before she could bite them back.
Col turned to look at her directly. His face softened in a way she hadn’t imagined possible. He was handsome and deadly in the same breath, but also, she could see that he meant her no harm. She believed Naomi.
“I would think that you, little one, after what you went through would understand the danger these men present to others. Did they not attack you again? Do you not think that if my people were not watching out for you, they’d already have you?”
Dawn swallowed the growing lump in her throat. He wasn’t wrong. She’d been trying to ignore the fact that she’d been living with bodyguards twenty/four/seven.
“There are some men who are cowards. It is not necessary to kill all cowards. Some will run if told. This man. He is not a coward. He has killed people in this town before and I do believe that he will kill again if presented with an opportunity.”
The lump in her throat sprouted legs and crawled down into her stomach making her nauseated. The man running this mess had killed people. Had almost killed her once. Tried to kill her again.
Was she just so afraid that she couldn’t see past her fear? Like she’d been with Adam. She hadn’t been able to see that there was another way for so long.
A way out.
Killing this Hollister person was the only way out for these people. The police in town weren’t doing anything. This was the way around. The only way to make sure their family was safe. That the town was safe. That she was safe.
“I believe you.”
Col nodded. “Good.” He turned from her to one of the other women, the one the older man had called Kat. “Katherine. I would like your permission to put Naomi, Penny, and Tara in the Community center. It is a strong building and easily defendable. And I would ask that you and Knox and Ryder and Ava stay with them. I would prefer of course that all of the females stay,” his gaze swung back around and met Dawn’s. “You would be safer together in the group and less of a distraction to Tor if you stayed with the others.”
Tor shifted on his feet but didn’t speak. Dawn could feel the tension between them. Whatever was going to happen to these men. Tor was going to be a part of it. They were all going to hunt them down. For real.
“Do you want me to stay with the others?” She met Tor’s gaze and waited. He brushed his fingers over her face and kissed her.
“Yes, please,” he said the words on a whisper over her lips.
“Okay.”
“I’ll stay at the community center with the others,” Harrison said. “Are we all going over there together first?”
“Yes. We will make sure it’s secure. Patrol the area. Matthew would you be willing to stay outside and keep watch over the building?”
Everyone moved for the door, filing out one right after the other. Tor waited and walked out last with Dawn.
“This feels so surreal. Like you guys are actually going to go hunt for these people. How are you going to find them? Do you already know where they are?”
“We have our methods.”
“That’s very vague,” Dawn said, letting her frustration out on him.
“I know. I promise when this is over, I’ll explain.”
She nodded, letting him help her into his truck. They followed the caravan through town to the north side and parked in the back lot of the community center.
Dawn hadn’t been before, but it was a big concrete cinder block building that did look pretty tough as far as buildings went and it only appeared to have two entrances. Front and back and not a lot of windows.
Col’s claim that it was defendable seemed reasonable. Of course, she really wanted to know what they were defending against. Did he really think these guys were going to come at them guns blazing and kill people?
“What if something happens to you, Tor?” she asked before he opened his vehicle door. He reached for her hand and squeezed. “I’ll be fine. We will be together. We will be very careful. All of us have a lot of experience in situations like this.”
“You’re all military? Or cops?”
“Military,” he said, keeping his tone low. “Just stay with the others. They can protect you.”
“Harrison
is the only one with a gun, unless the others are packing, and I just haven’t seen the weapons.”
“Penny usually has at least three guns on her at all times,” he said, letting his face crack into a smile.
“The pregnant one that could be an Elizabeth Taylor lookalike?”
He nodded. “Naomi doesn’t carry usually, but she doesn’t need to.”
Dawn took that to mean the woman was a really good martial artist, but she was at least two-thirds of the way through a pregnancy. She wasn’t going to be drop-kicking anyone.
“Just stay inside and keep the doors closed. Knox and Ryder and Ava are very capable. I’m going to make rounds with the others just to make sure they aren’t nearby.”
Tor
Tor stood in the parking lot watching until everyone who was staying at the community center was inside and the deadbolt on the door snicked audibly. The knot in his chest didn’t loosen though, in fact it just got tighter.
Col came around the corner of the building, his eyes aglow with his dragon’s fire. “We won’t be hunting long, Tor. They are here. They followed us from the bar.”
Dalmeck!
Tor let his tiger growl and his fangs descend. “It will be harder to get rid of them inside the town. We’re more likely to be seen.”
Col nodded. “I know.”
“All the wolves are inside except Matthew and he has the least amount of experience being his beast.”
“I told Matthew to stay in his vehicle unless absolutely necessary. Kann and Saul have shifted already. The men we seek are in the woods behind the community center. You and I will stay here in the parking lot and move forward at them as bait while Kann and Saul circle around and flank them. Owen is also working his way around from the right but staying in his human form. He will message the ones inside if anything goes badly.”
“Can you see them?” The dragon had a nifty ability to see thermally.
“There are three,” Col answered.
“Dawn said there were three in the SUV. Hollister’s son and two others.” That was good. They were all together. It would make it easier.
All's Were That Ends Were: Soulmate Shifters World (Soulmate Shifters in Mystery, Alaska Book 6) Page 13