“All right. We got it, big guy.” His gaze swung to the redhead and he growled, low and deadly. “No one is going to lay a hand on your mate now that you are here. And, now, maybe she won’t feel the need to gut us all.”
His lip curled up, showing a large fang, and he growled again. Damn right no one was touching his woman. He would tear them apart, he didn’t care who they were.
“Jeremiah?”
Rikki’s voice broke through the red haze of rage in him, and he lowered his massive head to look down at her. Her beautiful brown eyes were wide in wonder, her dark hair lay in a halo around her head. She was so tiny compared to his bear, but she wasn’t afraid.
Slowly, she reached up and trailed a hand over the side of his head and down his face before tears filled her eyes. “You didn’t come back to me. Why didn’t you come back?”
He could hear the hurt in her voice, scent the pain she felt. So much of it. At that moment, he realized this was his fault. He was the cause of her anger, her pain, her fighting against the people she loved.
“I needed you,” she whispered. “It was so dark. So lonely. Where were you?”
Her suffering nearly suffocated him. He had no idea what she was talking about. Dark? What did she mean? And how was she suddenly a wolf? She was supposed to be a bear, dammit. His bear.
“Don’t you want me?”
Did he want her? Hell, more than anything in the world. Leaning down, he inhaled deeply. Her scent had changed some, which he knew was because of her wolf, but she was still his Rikki. Still his mate. Chuffing softly, he buried his snout in her neck, inhaling again. His.
“I need to put some clothes on,” Rikki whispered, pushing at him as she glanced furtively around. He growled, raising his eyes to look at everyone staring at them. “Please, Jeremiah. I don’t want them to see me like this.”
Surprised at the vulnerability in her voice, he lowered his body, covering hers with his, careful not to put any of his weight on her, as he growled in warning at everyone who was still standing there staring at them. Rikki was uncomfortable, and that upset his bear. Glaring at them, he growled again.
“Get Rikki’s clothes. And a bandage to coverup that cut until it can be cleaned,” Angel ordered, her hand clutching tightly to Chase’s arm. The shifter stood, tall and proud, his dick hanging out for all to see, and for some reason that pissed Jeremiah off even more. His mate didn’t need to see any other male’s junk. When Jeremiah growled again, his gaze on Chase’s lower half, Angel grinned. “I think he wants you to put some pants on, mate.”
Shaking his head, Chase leaned down to kiss her quickly before stalking over to where he’d left his clothes. “Fucking pants. Maybe he should be thinking about what he’s going to wear since he shredded all of his clothing.”
“I got him a pair of mine from the truck,” Steele said, striding over to where Jeremiah still crouched over Rikki, stopping a few feet from them to toss over the jogging pants. “Good to see you again, bear. I’ll never forget the way you treated me in Alaska. As if I were a person instead of a thing. Nor will I forget how you let us go, even giving us a means of transportation. I am in your debt.”
Jeremiah let his gaze roam over the man for a moment, before he grunted in acknowledgment. He remembered him. The assholes in the Alaska facility had taken pleasure in carving off his skin a couple of times a week, along with other experiments. He hated the way the shifter was treated and had shown him more than one act of kindness. Something he did to several of the prisoners when he was sure he wouldn’t get caught.
“Here you go.” It was the redhead again. He wasn’t sure who she was, although she did look familiar, but it seemed as if she were a part of the team now. She sat Rikki’s clothes down near them, along with a large bandage she must have gotten from a first aid box in the barn, before slowly backing away.
“Thank you, Flame,” Rikki said quietly.
“We’re going into the house,” Angel told them. “Meet us in the conference room once you’re dressed and ready.” They all left without another word.
Jeremiah watched them intently, waiting until the door to the house banged shut after the last one, before he looked back down at his mate. She stared at him, her eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears and something else. His mate was angry. Only, this time, it was at him.
Burying his huge head in between her shoulder and neck once again, he said a quick prayer that she would forgive him, and then shifted.
9
Rikki bit her lip, clamping down hard on the tears that wanted to fall. What was wrong with her? Her emotions were like a rollercoaster, up and down and just all over the place. No matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to get control over them or her wolf.
She swallowed hard when Jeremiah lifted his head, and she found herself staring into a pair of intent, dark eyes fringed with a pair of the longest lashes she’d ever seen on a man. Dark brown hair with lighter brown highlights, a strong nose, hard lips, a jaw made of granite. Rikki’s wolf whimpered in the back of her mind as his scent enveloped her, flowing through her. She felt her fangs drop, and a shudder ran through her. Mine!
“Hey,” he said gruffly, his gaze tracing over her face.
Rikki closed her eyes, her breath coming in small pants as she fought the urge to sink her teeth deep into the flesh on his shoulder. Her body felt feverish; she trembled at the feel of his skin against hers. All over. They were naked, and she was on fire. Her nipples beaded up, and a moan slipped free when he moved, his hard cock pressing into her thigh.
“Rikki, look at me.”
Hell, no. He was not ordering her around. She gave him what he wanted, but only partly. Opening her eyes, she glared at him and snapped, “You left me, Jeremiah Black! Not only that, but you knew we were mates years ago and did absolutely nothing about it. You don’t have the right to tell me what to do now.”
His eyes softened, and he lowered his head, rubbing his cheek over hers. “I’m sorry, baby. I should have said something, but I didn’t think you were ready for me.”
“Why do you think you get to decide what I’m ready for and when?” she growled, shoving at his huge chest, biting back a groan at the feel of his coarse chest hair on the palms of her hands. Why did she like that so much? “Get off me, you big oaf!”
“Rikki, I’m sorry.”
“You should be!”
She tried to shove him off her again, but when he didn’t budge, she began to struggle beneath him. The brush of his skin against hers had her wanting things she shouldn’t, and that just made her angry. Yes, he was her mate, but he had left her, dammit!
“Baby, you need to stop,” Jeremiah growled, groaning into her neck. “I swear, my cock is fucking hard as hell right now. You keep moving like that, I’m going to come all over like a damn teenager.”
Rikki gasped at the dark edge of desire in Jeremiah’s tone, arching up into him before she could stop herself. He was so hard all over; his chest, his abs, his hips, his thighs, and yes, that long, thick cock pressing into her. She could feel all of him, and she wanted it. All. Too bad that was impossible. She needed some answers first.
Gritting her teeth, Rikki nudged her knee in between his legs, tangled her ankles with his, and shoved hard at his chest while pushing with her legs. She heard his grunt of surprise when she flipped him over onto his back, and then she was scrambling to her feet, moving quickly away from him. “You don’t have the right to touch me, either,” she snarled, finding her clothes and quickly yanking them on, wincing when her hand brushed against the cut on her side. “As a matter of fact, you have no rights to me whatsoever.”
She heard him moving, but refused to look in his direction until she was fully dressed. She needed some kind of armor between them, and right now, all she had were the thin pieces of threads covering her body. Finally, when she glanced over at him, she found him dressed in the jogging pants Steele had brought him, along with a tight, black tee shirt that accented the hard muscles on his chest.
It would seem Steele had brought him more than just pants. Rikki wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or not. Silently, he held out the bandage to her, obviously smart enough to know when to stay back.
“Baby…”
“Stop calling me that,” she snapped, snatching it from him, her hands going to her hips as she glared at him. “If I was your anything, you would have been here these past five months when I was lying in a hospital bed after I almost died!”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he snarled, taking a step closer to her, his eyes darkening in anger. “What do you mean, you almost died?”
By the look on his face, she could tell Jeremiah had no idea what happened to her back in January. She almost softened to him… almost. Until she thought about the fact that if he had bothered to check in on her just once, he would have known. “In all this time, you haven’t even made a phone call to see how I’m doing, Jeremiah? I thought that’s what mates did? Love, cherish, protect. I’ve seen the way the White River Wolves are with their mates. The way my team members are. And you couldn’t even pick up a phone to call?”
“Dammit, Rikki. I was protecting you! The General’s men don’t mess around. If I placed a call and they traced it back to you, what do you think would have happened? One phone call could have gotten both of us killed.”
She knew he was right, but what about before then? He’d known she was his for years, ever since they first met when he was giving them missions, but not once had he said anything to her. He’d kept her in the dark about their mating, and when she found out, he still didn’t follow through with anything. Instead, he just disappeared. Shaking her head in frustration, she ripped open the bandage, slid up her shirt, and slapped it on, hissing in pain.
“Rikki.” Her name was a whisper on his lips as Jeremiah slowly closed the distance between them. Clenching her teeth together, she glared at him, wanting his touch, but also wanting to push him away. Reaching out, he traced his fingers down her face before cupping her cheek in the palm of his hand. “I know you don’t understand why I did what I did, and maybe you never will. I would like the chance to explain, though. Give me that at least.”
One of the tears she’d held in for so long slipped out, sliding down her cheek onto his hand.
“Ah, baby, please don’t cry.”
A shudder ran through her when he leaned in and kissed the tear away.
“You are everything to me, Rikki Diamond. My heart, world. You own me. If you want me to get out, I will. Right now. This minute. I’ll fight the fight from here with you.”
Rikki’s heart skipped a beat, and she stared into his dark eyes, hope becoming a small light in her chest. “You will?”
“Yeah,” he promised gruffly. “Don’t you know? I would do anything for you.”
Jeremiah lowered his head toward hers, and Rikki gasped when their lips met. Her hands went to his chest, clutching tightly to his shirt as her whole body began to tremble. She felt his tongue touch the seam of her mouth, and she opened, letting him slip inside. He groaned, his tongue thrusting past her lips to find and tangle with her own. That fire was back, racing through her veins. Her breath came in short pants, a moan crawling up her throat. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him, flush against his body. His hard cock against her stomach, and she wondered what it would feel like to have it inside of her. She’d only had sex once in her life. It had left a lot to be desired. But the way Jeremiah made her feel, she knew it wouldn’t be the same with him. She wanted to find out so bad, but they had a lot they needed to get through before she could. That didn’t mean she couldn’t play some now, though.
Sliding her hands up his chest, she sank them into his thick hair, loving the texture against her skin. She froze, suddenly realizing she wasn’t wearing her gloves. The ones she wore all of the time to keep the whispers from past, present, and future away. But, there was nothing, when there should have been. Nothing from the clothes Jeremiah was wearing, nor from his skin or hair. Nothing. She didn’t understand it, but she reveled in it. Normally, she was unable to touch anything without getting some sort of reading off of it. Now, she was putting her hands all over her mate, and it was heaven.
“Fuck, Rikki, I’ve missed you so much.”
The growled words against her mouth pulled her from her haze of desire. She’d missed him, too. Even in her coma, she had somehow known he wasn’t there. Felt it. She was so lost and alone, struggling to find her way back to the land of the living. Rikki remembered everything, and it hurt.
As if sensing her change of mood, Jeremiah gave her one last small kiss and then rested his cheek against hers. “We have lot to talk about.”
“Yes.”
“Promise me, you will give me a chance to explain everything. I’ve waited too long for you to lose you now.”
Rikki sighed, trying to let go of some of the anger she had bottled up. It was tearing her up inside, and affecting not only her, but everyone around her. Shame filled her at the thought of what she’d done to her brothers. She’d drawn blood, and that was unacceptable. She had a lot to apologize for. She would be a hypocrite not to listen to Jeremiah after everything she’d done on her end.
“We need to meet with the team now,” she whispered, stepping back from him.
“After?”
Rikki hesitated before nodding. “After.”
10
Jeremiah followed his mate down the stairs to where he knew the conference room was in Angel’s home. She’d promised to talk to him after the meeting, but that was all she was giving him right now. He would take it. He had screwed up. Everything he did, he did for her, but she was right. He should have found a way to check on her in the past few months. It didn’t matter how deep undercover he was, he should have done something. She was his mate, the most important person in his life. Sighing, he shook his head. He should have done a lot of things, but it was too late for that now. Rikki had almost died, and where was he? Not with her where he belonged. That was going to change. Fuck Ebony and the rest of the organization. His mate needed him, and he wasn’t leaving her.
Angel glanced up from a map she was looking at when they walked in. It looked like the schematics of a building, and the layout looked familiar at first glance. His gaze went to the men and women in the room. It seemed much more crowded than the last time he was down there. His thoughts went to the reason he’d been there before, and a low growl slipped free. His mate had been kidnapped by the General’s men, and he’d sworn then that no one would ever get to her again. He’d been wrong.
When Rikki looked back at him, an eyebrow raised, he shook his head, not wanting to explain himself in front of everyone. The thought of his mate taken by that bastard made him want to somehow bring him back to life so he could kill him again. But he didn’t need everyone in the room to know where his thoughts had gone.
Jeremiah leaned up against a wall just inside the doorway, his hand going to Rikki’s hip to pull her gently back against him. He was grateful when she didn’t fight him. He needed to feel her close. Bowing his head, he closed his eyes and inhaled her scent again. Sweet, feminine, his.
“How long do you have, Jeremiah?”
His hand tightening on Rikki’s hip, Jeremiah raised his head to look at Angel. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She frowned in confusion. “Aren’t they expecting you somewhere? I wasn’t aware the General,” she paused, “I mean, Ebony, gave vacation days?”
Jeremiah shrugged. “She doesn’t.”
A slow smile crossed the alpha’s lips and she nodded. “Good. It’s about time you came home.”
Jeremiah felt Rikki relax against him, and he slid an arm around her waist. “It’s where I need to be.”
“I’m not so sure about that, bear.”
Jeremiah stiffened when Jinx appeared at the door. Showing his fangs, he growled, “I’m not leaving my mate.”
Jinx’s gaze went to Rikki, and one of his rare grins appeared. “Hey, little wolf. It�
��s good to see you out of that damn hospital bed.”
“You knew about all of this and didn’t tell me?” Jeremiah snarled, careful not to pinch Rikki with his large claws that sprang free as anger raced through him.
“Jinx saved my life,” Rikki said softly.
Jeremiah frowned, leaning down to inhale her scent again. He caught nothing of the male on her. “He didn’t turn you.”
“No,” Jinx agreed, sending Rikki another gentle smile. Jeremiah had never seen the man smile before, and he wasn’t sure he liked it directed at his mate. Jinx laughed when Jeremiah bared his teeth at him again, but the laughter didn’t meet his eyes. “Rikki was shot by one of the General’s men. It severed an artery, almost killing her. I was able to fix it, but she never would have lived if Angel hadn’t changed her.”
Angel. Jeremiah shot the woman a grateful look before saying, “I didn’t know anyone but a mate could turn someone.”
“A very strong alpha can.”
“Thank the Gods above I was strong enough,” Angel said quietly.
“I knew you would be.” Jinx glanced around the room, not leaving the open doorway. “Vixen isn’t here yet?”
“You told that woman where this place is?” Angel growled, rising from her seat.
“You’re going to have to trust her at some point,” Jinx said with a shrug.
“Who says?” Angel snarled, her hands on her hips as she glared at her son.
“Me.”
Angel’s eyes narrowed, and she glanced down at Chase, before looking back at Jinx. “Is there a reason?”
“She can be trusted,” Jinx said simply.
“Why do I have a feeling this fun little convo is about me?”
It was a voice he knew, one he’d heard many times when he’d worked at the Virginia facility. Jeremiah’s eyes widened when Jinx stepped to the side and one of the General’s assassins walked into the room. “What the hell is she doing here?” he snarled, quickly moving to stand in front of his mate.
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