by Amanda LeMay
Oh, yes there is.
“I’m not afraid.” My body tingled with warmth. My breasts suddenly felt heavy. My heartbeat pulsed between my legs with each smooth pass of Gunner’s thumb over my pulse.
“Your heart is racing a mile a minute.”
I want you.
“Believe me, fear has nothing to do with it.” My bottom lip trembled as I sucked in a breath. Gunner’s scent coated my tongue, made my mouth water for another taste of him.
“I’m heading out to run the perimeter. I don’t want you to worry, but you’re gonna hear quite a bit of howlin’ tonight. Just my pack checking in. Everyone’s on alert. As long as Rule’s hunting party runs off when they get caught, there won’t be any problems. They stick around for a fight, we’ll give it to ’em.”
“I understand.”
“I need you to stay in your room. I need to be able to find you if trouble should come.” His free hand came up and cupped my cheek. “I’ll keep you safe.”
Then stay with me.
His intense green eyes stared down into mine as his fingers made their way to the back of my neck. His thumb never stopped that slow, stroking motion over my pulse.
Don’t go.
I licked my lips and whispered, “Are you going to kiss me again?”
“I should’ve asked the first time.”
“You did and I said yes.”
“Well, I’ll do it again, but only if it’s okay with you,” he murmured.
I looked at his mouth, then into his eyes. “Yes, please...kiss me again.”
His fingers threaded through my hair as I lifted my chin. Then his mouth was on mine, soft and gentle and my heart did a little flip. He pressed in harder, his tongue teasing my lips. I opened my mouth and let him in. My body became loose, limp, and I moaned as he tugged me into him. His other arm came around me, his hand splayed across my lower back. My heart sped out of control. My body heated in all the right places. I wrapped my arms around his waist and held on as his mouth slanted one way and then the other, his lips moving with mine so perfectly.
Oh heavens.
He tasted of warm, smoky bourbon, and lemons.
Oh heavens, yes.
The soft whiskers of his goatee tickled my chin and my cheek. I wanted to feel that tickle all over my entire body.
Yes.
My skin tingled as a rush of pleasure built and built inside me. I tightened my hold on him, molded my body to his as his mouth slanted back the other way, his tongue driving in and out as it tangled with mine. His hand drifted down my back to cup my bottom and pull my hips up to meet his.
Oh, yes!
“Gunner in there?” A male voice drifted in from the hallway.
“What? Oh!” His voice was low. “Shit, sorry. It’ll wait ’til later,” he whispered as his footsteps retreated.
Apparently, Derry stood guard at the door, as she’d said she would. Still, our intimate moment was broken.
Gunner pulled back, but his lips hadn’t left mine completely as he groaned low in his throat. “Damn, Simone.” His hand moved up from my bottom to my hip as his lips moved to my ear. “Your mouth is so soft. Wanna eat you up.”
I struggled to catch my breath. So much for promises. So much for not complicating the situation. Something was seriously wrong with me. The first chance I had, I kissed him again.
I was the one to pull away completely. I dropped my arms from around him and wrapped them around myself. That building rush of pleasure below my belly slowly faded away.
“I guess you should go. Do your perimeter run.” My voice didn’t sound too shaky.
He didn’t say anything for the longest time, but I saw the battle he fought inside...he didn’t want to go.
I didn’t want him to go, either.
He nodded, turned toward the door, and then, glanced at me. “I could send someone else.”
With the space of a few steps between us, I could finally think clearly, somewhat.
“I would rather your pack not have the impression that the only reason why you granted sanctuary is because we have an attraction to one another.” I waited while he looked at me.
“Attraction?” His brows rose up. Those few steps between us disappeared as he stalked toward me. His warm palms circled my neck. “Just so you know, I would’ve granted you sanctuary whether we had this attraction or not. What was done to you, what you were forced to witness, was wrong and that shit has to stop.” His lips met mine, short and sweet and gentle. “If you need me during the night, I’ll be here. I’ll stay close.” His thumb traced over my bottom lip before he placed another soft kiss there. “Attraction,” he whispered softly. “Attraction is a gross understatement.” Then he walked out.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
PLEASE! NO!
“I have to protect you.”
“Simone?”
Please!
She raises the gun in her hand. Points it at my head.
“Simone!”
No, Mother!
“Simone! Simone!”
Mother! Please!
“Simone, dammit, wake up!”
“I have to protect you.”
The gun explodes.
Noooooooo!
“...it was no accident.”
My world shook. A deep voice called out my name, but came from miles away. I sank into the heat and energy surrounding me. I scratched. I clawed. I held tight as heat wrapped around me.
Someone hissed and groaned. “Ah hell, baby, please wake up!”
My mother’s words faded away to nothing, drowned out by the comforting, protective voice echoing in my ears.
Smoke and leather and lemon enveloped me. I shuddered, my body shaking uncontrollably. A familiar, strong, steady thrumming sounded in my head and beat against my body. Gunner’s pounding heart.
“Gunner...” I moaned into his warm skin.
“Yes, baby, it’s me, I’m here. I’m here.” The deep rhythm of his voice rumbled in my ears. “You’re safe. I’m here.”
“Gunner.” Opening my eyes, I gazed up into his handsome face. His luminous green eyes appeared to glow in the dark as they sought mine.
“Are you hurtin’ anywhere? Did you hit your head?” His fingers glided through my hair, searching.
“I’m okay.” Liar. I am so far from okay. “I’m not hurt.” At least, not in the way he might think.
I peered beyond his face, into the bedroom. Everything was at the wrong angle. I was no longer on the bed, but huddled in between the nightstand and the headboard. Somehow, in my attempt to get away, I’d knocked the lamp off the nightstand, and even the breaking glass hadn’t woken me from my nightmare.
“The lamp—I’m sorry.”
Gunner’s hand wrapped around the right side of my throat, his thumb lifting my chin as his mouth came down on mine. Softly. Gently. I responded immediately, kissing him back with everything in me, needing his mouth, his arms, his body, to drive away the past. I wound my arms around him and heard the soft click of the bedroom door.
Embarrassed again, I pulled my lips away from his. Shaking my head, I mumbled, “How many saw me lose it this time?”
“Just Derry.” He sat back on his knees and pulled me into his lap. “Here, let’s get you back into bed.” He stood and lifted me in his arms, as if I weighed no more than a child.
“I don’t want to sleep.” I hadn’t dreamed of my mother since I’d run. It was her betrayal that had sent me over the edge. Sent me running, seeking justice, searching for a better life.
“Not a problem.” Gunner sat on the bed, stretched out on his back behind me, then tucked me into him.
“I don’t want to talk about it, either.” I whispered. How my mother had treated me hurt more than Rule’s brands ever would. If she would’ve done something, anything—given me some hint that she cared for me and not how my behavior might have made her look to others.
Doesn’t matter now.
His fingers moved beneath my chin, tilted my head back, and
he placed a kiss on my forehead. “Then I won’t ask.”
And he didn’t. He only gazed into my eyes as if he understood. His fingers slipped from my chin and I relaxed into him.
Facing the windows, my back against Gunner’s side, my head rested on his thick bicep as his arm wrapped around my waist and his hand lay on my hip. I gazed out at the dark sky as it marked the passage of time with its slowly changing hues, blending from deep indigo to purple to dark lavender, casting a bright peach line on the underside of the few clouds.
I inhaled a breath and released it, long and slow. The warmth of Gunner’s body eased away my trembling. I closed my eyes and pushed everything from my mind. Hid all my pain inside that little room I’d constructed to keep it organized—though, in my dreams little bits crept out from under the door and forced me to...feel. Forced me to hurt.
I didn’t have time to go there. Not yet. I needed to stay strong. Get through the coming tribunal.
See justice done.
And afterward, perhaps, I’d find my place in Gunner’s pack.
Gunner’s fingers touched my cheek as if he’d felt my decision. I sighed and let everything go.
SONGS OF A THOUSAND birds filled my ears. I’d dozed off, and in that short amount of time, I had slept more deeply than I had in the last eight nights. The sky had shifted to vivid coral and brilliant pink.
Closer than the bird song was the sound of Gunner’s breathing—slow and deep. The rhythms of my body had slowed and settled in sync with his. His heartbeat vibrated against every inch of my body and my heart answered back like an echo.
Here with Gunner, lying with his body next to mine, I was safe. Any other arm coiled around me in such a way would have been an iron trap, but...in Gunner’s arms...I had never felt more free.
The aroma of hot food wafted into my bedroom from down the hall, suddenly waking up my appetite.
“Something smells delicious.”
“Good enough to eat,” Gunner whispered as his hand gave my hip a light squeeze.
I laid there for a moment, then leaned my head back on his chest to catch his eyes. “You meant Derry’s cooking, right?”
His head moved slowly back and forth. He rolled to his side behind me, took my chin in his hand, and pressed his lips to mine again. His tongue slipped against my lips and I opened up, taking him in. My body went up in flames. My breasts became heavy, drawing my brands tight, and I gasped.
I rolled away, sat up on the bed, pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes, and rubbed.
I can’t do this.
Gunner’s arm slid over to rest on my thigh. I looked at his big hand, his warmth radiating out into my body from this simple touch.
“Thank you.”
“For what? Kissing you?”
“No...Yes...I mean...for being here and not...prying.” I sighed. “For giving me a moment.”
“Just ’cause I didn’t ask this time doesn’t mean I don’t still have questions.” His lips turned up a bit. Not a full smile, more as if he understood now was not the time, either.
“I know.”
“I know you got questions for me and there’s a hell of a lot I need to tell you. As far as what’s goin’ on with you, I’m willing to wait ’til you’re ready to unload whatever it is you’re holding so tight to.” His hand came up. The backs of his fingers caressed my cheek and moved down to finger the edge of my cami. “You want to shower before we eat breakfast and head out?”
The tingling heat of a hot blush spread over my cheeks just as every other female part of my body rekindled. I turned away and focused on the huge, spreading trees outside my windows.
We might share some kind of attraction, but...I could not do this.
“Shower? Together?” I swallowed the desperate lump of misplaced hope, shoved it so deep inside me, I hoped it would never rise up again because I. Could. Not. Do. This.
He answered with a low rumble, less than actual words.
“Gunner, I don’t think...” I shook my head, not sure what I wanted to say.
Did I want to pursue this attraction?
Yes.
No matter that this male was already mated? Even though I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere because...it...just...couldn’t?
Yes, yes I do.
And why did I want to pursue this?
Because I. Can’t. Stop. Wanting. This.
Him.
Gunner.
Still, there was an ugly reminder between us. “Have you forgotten what happened the last time you saw my body? I haven’t.”
“Stop right there.”
Gunner’s weight shifted on the bed until he sat next to me, his long, jean-covered thigh settled against my bare thigh. His feet were bare, as was his chest, though I had made it a point not to look at him. The sight of his naked body was a memory I would never forget. He was too much.
Too much of everything I can’t have.
“That’s somethin’ we need to talk about.”
“My brands? You want to discuss my brands?” I couldn’t look at him.
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Well, if you expect me to strip off my PJs and step into a shower with you, they’re going to be very hard to avoid.”
“I’m not trying to avoid your brands by not talking about them, I’m trying to discuss what’s going on between us. I’m pretty damn sure you don’t understand what it means.”
And there it was again. No matter how much I wanted it, no matter the fact that every time I looked into his beautiful green eyes, they sparkled with something I couldn’t name because I’d never seen it in someone who was looking at me.
But there shouldn’t be something going on between us.
“First, don’t we need to have a conversation about the fact that you are mated?”
Gunner stood from the bed and strode over to the windows. His broad, tanned shoulders rose and fell with each breath, every muscle tight with his obvious frustration.
I let my gaze drift over his back. The light coming in from the window threw him in shadow. I squinted, trying to figure out where the overlapping shadows on his skin came from.
I stood and stepped closer. There were traces of something dark. “What are those?”
I moved even closer. Dark, intersecting lines of dried blood covered Gunner’s lower back and sides. He turned around to face me. His chest showed the same intersecting lines.
I held my hands out to find the tips of my fingers covered in his blood. Whatever injury I’d inflicted had healed, though the evidence was plain to see. I had clawed my way out of my nightmare and into his arms.
“Oh, Gunner.” I glanced back at the bed. The cream-colored sheets were stained with lines of dark red spots. My stomach twisted as my throat tightened. I looked back at Gunner, ashamed of what I had done. “I am so sorry.”
He studied his bare chest. Only his eyes shifted up, but the full grin on his face was unmistakable, all white teeth with a hint of fang.
“You do not apologize for these.” The words came out on a deep growl, as if he truly enjoyed seeing those lines of dried blood on his body. He stiffened and swung his head toward the bedroom door just as it opened.
Brenin stood in the doorway, looked first to his father then, at me, and back to his father again. His eyes popped open for only a second before he scowled. “What the hell happened to you?”
Gunner kept his eyes on his son. “Simone had a nightmare.” Frustration colored his words. “The phone rang?”
I hadn’t heard the phone, but, then again, my wolf senses sucked and I had been preoccupied. Kissing Gunner. Again.
“Uncle Ralph wants to talk to you,” Brenin said quietly, then looked at me. “I’m sorry for barging into your room without knocking. That was disrespectful. It won’t happen again.”
I nodded. Brenin turned and left, carefully closing the door behind him.
Gunner turned back to the window. Whatever had caused his frustration—our misunderstanding
or Brenin’s sudden appearance—seemed to dissipate into the air.
I moved to him, pressed my body against his back as I wrapped my arms around his waist. I rested my cheek between his shoulder blades as his right arm came around behind me and his left hand covered mine. His thumb found my wrist and stroked my pulse.
“Listen, once we get back from talkin’ with Ralph, I’ll answer any questions you wanna ask.”
“Okay,” I whispered. “And you’re right, I don’t understand what’s going on between us. All I know is, it’s strange...and it’s wonderful...and it kind of frightens me.”
“I couldn’t have said it any better.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“WE TRACKED RULE’S HUNTING party out past our borders heading toward San Antonio,” Dain said as Jessy took plates, piled high with food, and set them on the granite island in front of me and Gunner. “It’s the largest city around, so Rule will most likely set up camp there once he gets the call for the tribunal.”
I’d showered, alone, while Gunner made a call to his brother. I’d come in to the kitchen to find I was the last to the table.
I turned to Gunner. “Obviously, he’s chosen to live by his own laws without any regard to whether or not those laws were illegal, as far as the rest of wolf culture is concerned. Why would he bother making the trip?”
“He’ll come. He’s probably already here. Well, in San Antonio. He’ll want to present his side, no matter how twisted or wrong it may be. He isn’t the first Alpha in our long history to go rogue. Won’t matter a lick though, since the tribunal will pass their judgment based on your testimony alone. And if he doesn’t show, it won’t go good for him.” Gunner picked up his fork and stabbed at his scrambled eggs. “Hell, it won’t go good for him anyway.” He chuckled, then started eating.
“The tribunal won’t wait to hear his side?”
“Nope.”
“But what if I were lying?”
“You’re not lying.”
“No, but—”
“Wolf justice isn’t like human justice. The tribunal is judge, jury, and executioner.”
Oh. “What will the tribunal do to him if he doesn’t show?”