Collision Course

by Julie Trettel

  She blushed at her confession, but my bear roared in delight. “Only mine.”

  She nodded. Her hands were shaky as she worked to get my shirt off too. I pulled back long enough to help her out and toss it to the ground. I lost myself in kissing her until she was trembling in my arms and breathless.

  She seemed hesitant to touch me even though I sensed she wanted to. I stopped kissing her and stared into her eyes. I was surprised to see so much uncertainty there. I ran my hand through her hair and lightly brushed my thumb across her cheek. She shivered in response.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Olivia had never been shy or uncertain, not when it came to touching me. Images of making love to her were burned into my brain. Under the stars, in a closet, anywhere and everywhere we could sneak away for even a few minutes alone.

  She was still a little hesitant, but she reached up and touched me tracing the hard lines of my chest. “You’ve changed over the years.”

  I snorted. “I think we both have, O.”

  She nodded. “Have you, um, been with many…” Her voice trailed off.

  I gave a low growl that captured her attention. “Never.”

  “What?”

  “I told you, Olivia, it’s only ever been you for me.”

  “Yeah, but, I mean,” she looked so confused.

  “No one. I don’t even date. You can ask any of the guys. They give me shit for it all the time. If my true mate had been anyone else, I would have conceded to her, but only her. You can’t imagine how happy I am that she’s you because it’s always been you, O. My bear won’t even tolerate me looking at another woman.”

  “It’s been eight years, Baine, and well, look at you.”

  I snorted. “It’s not like there weren’t opportunities. Cole teases that I’m just loyal to a fault even to a ghost of my past.” I shrugged. He was the only one I’ve ever really talked about her with. He understood.

  “Cole? He’s not one of the team.”

  I shook my head and relaxed next to her. I didn’t really want to talk at the moment, but I knew it was necessary. We hadn’t exactly had time to be alone or really catch up since I arrived.

  “Cole is my best friend. He’s a tattoo artist.”

  She traced a design on my arm. “Is this his handiwork?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. They all are. Aside from you, he’s the only one that gets to mark up this body.” I smirked.

  She stared at my collarbone and bit her lower lip, but chose a different topic when she spoke again. “Is he a wolf?”

  “Yeah. I mean, I pretty much live in a wolf pack so most of the people I know are wolves. They really aren’t any different than we are, O.”

  “Is it safe there?” she asked. I knew she was thinking about our daughter.

  “Honestly?”

  She nodded.

  “It’s far safer than it is here. Kyle Westin doesn’t compromise when it comes to security.”

  “We’ve always been safe here, Baine. You know that.”

  A low grumble rumbled through me. “It’s not safe here. The Raglan are watching you. They took your father and not one person even questioned it. I don’t want to scare you, but the thought of you and Macie being this close to one of their holding facilities and knowing they have you on their radar scares the shit out of me. The bond is only making it worse and I feel a little irrational. They’re nearly a day’s drive from here, but it’s still much too close.”

  “How could they be watching us and we don’t even know it?”

  I sighed. “They’re good, O. Real good. We’ve been battling them for the last few years. Recently we started making some serious progress. We know who the leaders are, when we found their house, we found you.”

  “What?”

  I sighed. “There were pictures of you and your family taped to the walls of his office. It’s why we came here. It’s how Silas convinced me to come back. I didn’t do it for the team or your father and brothers. Your picture was taped to that wall, Olivia. I had to make sure you were safe.”

  A tear rolled down her eyes. “Even after everything that happened?”

  “None of that was your fault, babe. Not one second of it. I’m the one that let you down.”

  She put her finger to my lips to silence me. “You could never let me down, Baine.”

  “But I did. I’m the one who opened my big mouth and told Killian about us. He didn’t just find out on accident, Olivia. I told him. Even after all the warnings I gave you about needing to keep it a secret. I thought I was confiding in my best friend. I thought he was going to be happy for me, for us.”

  She looked so sad and my jaw set. It was right to get it all out in the open before I claimed her. She still had the chance to walk away. My bear roared in my head at the thought. It wasn’t what I wanted either, but I owed it to her.

  “So that’s what happened? He freaked and went to Dad and Kano to have you excommunicated from the Clan?”

  I nodded. “I’m so sorry. I know I let you down, but, if you’re willing to give me a second chance and take me as a mate, then I promise to spend every day of the rest of my life making it up to you.”

  She sighed. “It’s not that simple, Baine. We have Macie to think about too. We have to decide what’s best for her.”

  I felt like she was slipping away from me despite being fully aware of her gorgeous half naked body pinned beneath me.

  “I know we have to think of Macie too, O. She’s consumed much of my thoughts since the second she strolled into my life and dropped the bomb of the century. I don’t know shit about being a dad. Mine wasn’t exactly the greatest and my closest substitute rejected me. I don’t want that for her. She deserves better than me, but I’m going to do the best I can to make sure she had a better dad than I ever did.”

  Olivia’s defenses went down when I opened up. They always had, but this was too important and I couldn’t take advantage of her like that.

  “You’re going to be a great dad, Baine. Macie already adores you.”

  “No pressure there,” I grumbled.

  I moved to roll over away from her, but she stopped me. “Don’t. Don’t pull away from me, Baine.”

  She tugged on my hand until I resumed my position over her. Her hand reached up and threaded through my hair as she gently pulled me down to her. Our lips met and a surge of fire lit my body. Her hands were steadier this time as they explored the ridges of my stomach, driving me crazy. It was hard to think straight when she was touching me like that. What was it we needed to talk about? I couldn’t even remember as I gave into the comfort and feel of my mate.

  My hand brushed up the side of her body languishing in the silky feel of her skin. She squirmed but smiled against my lips. She was softer and her breasts were fuller than I remembered. I was lost in my explorations of her body. Everything felt new.

  When she moaned loudly, I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer. I needed to make her mine again. Mine! my bear roared in my head over and over again, as I worked to remove her pants, and mine.

  I didn’t want even an inch of space between us, but I also had an insatiable need to see her. Every time I started kissing my way down, she redirected me back to her lips. It gave me a stab of pain, sensing it was rejection. She didn’t want me to claim her, not yet at least. I wasn’t good with patience, but I waited a lifetime for her and I’d wait as long as it took for her to be ready. I gave her a quick kiss to the lips and then sat back.

  Seeing her naked and vulnerable to me stirred my heart and inflamed an animalistic instinct to take her. She squirmed under my scrutiny.

  “So beautiful,” I whispered as I lowered my head to her breast.

  There would be no more talking, only actions. I tried to keep things slow and take my time, but the urgency to claim her was so strong. I didn’t have to mark her, yet, to make her mine. Even as a fumbling first time teenager, I’d always made certain I took care of her needs before my own. Our time apart hadn’t changed
that.

  Nothing made me feel stronger and more invincible than satisfying my girl, first with my hand, then my mouth. She was so sensitive that just kissing her in the right places triggered a third orgasm as she shook her head and claimed that she couldn’t take another.

  I grinned down at her as I finally settled between her legs in the wee hours of morning. Time no longer had any meaning, but I suspected we’d been at it for hours.

  “I’ll make it fast,” I promised.

  She groaned. “I’m not going to be able to walk tomorrow as it is.”

  My smiled grew bigger. “Is that a bad thing?”

  “You’re incorrigible.”

  “We can stop if you want, but I’m about to make you feel so good.”

  Despite the heated look in her eyes, still a little foggy from her last orgasm, I feared for a second she was going to take me up on that and leave me with the worst case of blue balls in history.

  Her legs wrapped tightly around me pulling me into her.

  “Shit, you’re so tight, O.”

  “Mm,” she managed.

  I was only halfway there when she threw back her head and screamed my name. As she started to convulse around me, I plunged into her. I wanted to wait until this aftershock or newest orgasm, whatever it was, had passed, but my balls were on fire and ready to explode. I wasn’t lost in the moment and felt more out of control than I ever had before.

  “Open your eyes, Olivia,” I commanded.

  She obeyed, and when our eyes locked it created a connection I couldn’t even put into words. I groaned loudly as my body tightened and then released in absolute pleasure. My heart was pounding and my breaths were shallow as my sweaty body collapsed onto hers. I held her close and stroked her back as our tremors continued. I wanted to kiss her but I didn’t want to drop the link between us.

  “What was that?” she asked when she finally found her voice.

  “So much more,” I whispered back leaning in to kiss her.

  She sighed and I could feel her body fully relaxing. I rolled onto my back and dragged her to me so she could use my chest as her personal pillow. She pulled the blanket over us, closed her eyes, and fell fast asleep.

  I laid there for a long time, just twirling her hair through my fingers, and watching her sleep. It felt like a perfect dream I never wanted to wake from.

  Olivia

  Chapter 16

  Waking up in Baine’s arms was heavenly. I stretched trying not to disturb him and felt every muscle in my body was sore. I grinned at the memory of why. He had always been a generous lover, even as a teen I had understood that, but last night had been something otherworldly.

  He told me he hadn’t been with anyone since me, not even on a date, but eight years was a long time and he’d definitely learned some new tricks along the way somewhere.

  My bear roared in my head. Mine!

  The thoughts of our mate with another woman were driving my bear nuts. Counting back the days since his arrival, I realized that I hadn’t let her out even once in that time. No wonder she was so on edge even with our mate. I needed to take the time to go for a good run in my fur.

  I slid out of the bed as quietly as possible, ran to the bathroom to take care of my morning business and brush my teeth, then tried to sneak back in bed.

  Busted. Baine was sitting up in bed looking like a very grumpy bear and more than a little confused. He’d been out hard and knowing his line of work I suspected that wasn’t a normal sleep pattern for him.

  “Olivia?” he said like he was dreaming and couldn’t believe it was really me.

  I crawled back into bed and snuggled down next to him. His arm wrapped around me and my bear started to calm a little. Then he sniffed the top of my head. It made me giggle.

  “You really did pick up some odd wolf traits.”

  I was still terrified of leaving the Clan borders, but I had to admit I was a little curious and a lot terrified about the idea of meeting all those wolves. Baine said that they were good people and I knew he wouldn’t put me or Macie in danger. There was a thrill about our unknown future, but also a comfort in the safe route of staying put.

  “You’re really here.”

  I laughed. “You must have been out even harder than I thought. Of course I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

  He frowned at my words. I hadn’t meant them the way they sounded, but I could feel a cold chasm rise between us. My head was still swooning over the fact he was here; he’d met our daughter; and he was my one true mate. I wasn’t in the right headspace to make any permanent decisions yet.

  “Oh no, your lip is bleeding again.” I reached up and swiped the droplets of blood with my thumb.

  Baine groaned and I could tell he was starting to actually wake up now. “Killian.”

  “Uh-huh. He tried to low-ball me you know. He was always a lot of things, but a cheat? That was a weak move even for him.”

  “Is that how you got the split lip? Protecting your balls?”

  He laughed a big hearty chuckle. “No. He blindsided me right off the bat. I got him back with that shiner though.”

  I shook my head. At least I didn’t sense any serious hostility towards my brother as he talked.

  My alarm went off on my phone and I frowned. I had a client coming in at eleven. I checked the time, surprised to find it was already after ten. I sighed and pulled up the calendar.

  “What is it?”

  “Just work. I’m going to have to get moving.”

  An incoming text chimed. It was Resa.

  RESA – I’m your 11. Scrap it, but you owe me.

  I grinned and shot her back a quick thank you.

  Scrolling through the rest of my schedule I saw I had no other appointments for the day. That wasn’t normal for me at all. I considered it a rare blessing.

  “What do you have planned today?”

  Baine shrugged. “As long as there aren’t any changes on the mission then I have the day off.”

  “Would you like to go for a run with me? My bear could really use some time out.”

  “Yeah, I’d love that. Mine could certainly benefit from stretching his legs too.”

  I didn’t bother to shower. Besides the fact that I loved having Baine’s scent covering me, I knew after a run in the wild I’d want another one anyway.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Starving,” he said grabbing me by the waist and pulling me back into bed as I tried to get up.

  I squealed and he silenced me with a kiss. I sighed then playfully pushed him away.

  “You’re incorrigible.”

  “Eight years, O. I think we have a lot of time to make up for.”

  I laughed. “I’m not spending the next eight years in bed.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe just a year or two then.”

  “We have a kid. We don’t get that luxury.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Fine, just like twelve hours a day then.”

  I shook my head. “I think I’ve created a monster. Or a sex addict.”

  “Definitely the latter. Let’s go with that one. Now, feed my addiction.”

  “I’m going to starve to death.”

  He gave an exaggerated groan. “Fine. Let’s eat then go for that run. I think I need it.”

  “You think?” I teased.

  He was keeping things light and playful. I’d always loved this side of him, but I also had to wonder why. I had the feeling this grown-up Baine was far more serious.

  He followed me into the kitchen without putting any clothes on. I had at least grabbed my robe, more out of habit with Macie around.

  As I pulled out some sausage and eggs from the fridge, his phone rang.

  “Baine here.” There was a pause. He shook his head as he walked over to the window and flipped the bird. “You’re a creep. Stop being a peeping Tom. The humans would have you arrested for this shit. Yeah, you’re damn lucky to get a glimpse of all this.” He turned around and smacked his ass as he danced a
round in front of the window. I couldn’t help but laugh. He was absurd. “If my girl wasn’t decent… yeah, that’s right. Big bombs and don’t forget it. We’re just having some breakfast and then going out for a run.” He winked at me and grinned. “Yup, corrupting her already. She took the day off so tell Silas not to get his panties in a bunch. I need this.” He kissed me and then disappeared returning with boxers on. “Asshole has eyes everywhere,” he whispered. “Yeah, I’m talking about you, so what? Hey, what’s the pot up to? I’m not telling but put me down for $50. What? Why can’t I bet against myself? Whatever.” He pushed end without even saying goodbye.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Oh, yeah. That was just Tarron giving me shit.”

  “What were you trying to bet on?”

  “They have a pool going over how long I’ll last before claiming you.”

  I had just taken a sip of orange juice and started to choke. “Why would they bet on something like that?”

  He grinned. “Because I always start a pool the second a new one falls. Never expected it to be me, but I can hardly fault them for keeping up with my tradition. Assholes won’t let me throw in though.”

  I shook my head. Maybe this grown-up Baine wasn’t quite as serious as I thought. “Wouldn’t that be cheating? You do have quite a bit of control over that one.”

  “Nah, they’re forgetting the wild card.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You.” He kissed me. “I’m not marking you mine until I know for absolute certain it’s what you want. Might even make you beg me for it.”

  I rolled my eyes. This was the life I had dreamed up and wished for so many times. My cheeks were going to hurt from smiling so much. I couldn’t be happier having him back in my life. Maybe I should have been upset and hurt over everything that happened, but it was a long time ago. I’d been so lonely. Being a single mom wasn’t easy. I didn’t feel so alone with Baine here.

  Breakfast was nice. It was so easy to be with him. Sometimes it felt as though he never even left. I knew that was just because of the happy bubble we had secluded ourselves in for this brief moment in time. Reality would soon come crashing back on the both of us. I had responsibilities and so did he. I was going to make sure we made the most of it and enjoyed every second alone though.