Bite Me, Baby

by Alice Brown, Lady V, Samantha Potter, Rayne O'Gara, Lei Carol, Hazel Gower

  One thing we humans had done was almost repeat history. Most shifters were moved to live in Australia, like they’d moved a bunch of convicts to a place where there was the least amount of population they could hurt. Some other designated areas around the world kept small groups of shifters on reservations. There were places where shifters were banned and in some places, they even had shifter bathrooms. Alissa never understood why people had done that, unless a shifter was massive and showed his animal, it was pretty hard to tell them apart from humans. Shifters weren’t allowed to own property or a business unless they’d served a minimum of five years in the military. To a shifter that was nothing, they lived twice as long as humans and were much more durable, but that fact wasn’t common knowledge.

  Alissa knew a lot of things about the shifter world she shouldn’t. Like mates and what they meant to a shifter. If you were a mate to a shifter, they couldn’t ever cheat on you. They extended your life so it’s the same length as theirs, and you healed faster, not as fast as a shifter, but close. If you were lucky enough to mate a shifter, you would be the only woman or man that both the human and the beast could love, and have shifter children with. Alissa had learned everything from overhearing conversations with her parents, or just being surrounded by them enough to learn.

  Dolton was closest to her oldest brother, Gary. They served in the army together. Alissa had two brothers, her oldest ten years older than her twenty-three. Then Clifton was five years older than her and a cop. Late last year, Alissa moved to Sea Breeze to get away from her overbearing, nosey family. She needed to step out of their shadow and become the strong woman she always wanted to be.

  “What the fuck, Alissa?”

  Cringing as she heard Dolton’s voice, she closed her eyes and prayed the night didn’t get any worse.

  Alissa was beyond embarrassed. She was humiliated. Who knew there were feelings beyond those two emotions, she sure as hell didn’t. Alissa had, well apparently still had, a massive crush on Dolton. Crush was a mild way to say she was utterly and completely head over heels in love with Dolton. He knew how she felt, she’d told him over five years ago, and he rejected her. It was why she was stuck in here now trying to escape. She hadn’t seen Dolton before tonight since her seventeenth birthday over five years ago when she’d confessed her undying love. She didn’t want to see him now because she knew a shifter's sense of smell was a million times better than you could even imagine and Dolton would smell how turned on he made her, how her feelings for him were still the same no matter how much she wished they weren’t.

  When she’d been a teenager, her brothers had teased her when Dolton had joked about her scent and her crush on him. Alissa didn’t want Dolton to embarrass her in front of all her new friends, work colleagues, and her roommate. She’d been trying to avoid that by escaping through the window. Although really that was only one of the many reasons, the others were how she confessed her love for him the last time she saw him. He’d politely told her she was his friend and his best friend’s little sister and he couldn’t, wouldn’t be with anyone but his mate. Alissa had been devastated. Another reason was she hadn’t told her parents where she was working, or where and who she was living with. Oh, they’d tried to get it out of her, but she threatened to move to another country if they didn’t leave it alone. They believed her because she’d moved to Sea Breeze in secret without them finding out until she was gone, which with her overbearing family had been an amazing feat. Alissa had been down to visit them and made excuses every time they tried to come and see her in her new home. She wasn’t ready for them. She was enjoying her new life too much.

  “Er, hi, Dolton. I um…well…argh….” She really couldn’t think of a good excuse as to why she was stuck in a window. “Fancy seeing you here? I didn’t know you were here.” She really sucked at lying. Alissa groaned when his answering growl went straight to her core, sending warmth over her and a tingling pull. Stupid body.

  “Don’t bullshit me, Alissa. You saw me and bolted. Why the fuck are you here and sticking out of the women’s bathroom window?”

  “The truth?

  “Yeah, even if I wasn’t a shifter you suck at lying.”

  “Well…I wanted to leave and didn’t want to go the front door route.” Alissa was glad for shifter hearing so she wouldn’t have to yell and draw more people to her.

  “So you thought going through the friggin' bathroom window and falling to the ground was goddamn better?” He was snarling now and Alissa knew he was close because she didn’t have to strain to hear him.

  Clenching her thighs as his voice turned her stomach to butterflies and her skin hot, she prayed for divine intervention. She didn’t bother answering him because really what was the point? She knew there was no way she was going to avoid this confrontation anymore.

  Dolton’s big strong hands gripped her waist and he gave a good pull. Alissa moved back with the force of his tug, helping so she didn’t hurt herself too much as she fell against him. Crap that hurt. She knew she’d have bruises in the morning. Dolton didn’t even grunt when all her weight landed on him. He leaned back against the toilet stall.

  Trying to wiggle out of his hold didn’t do any good. Dolton held her tighter and walked toward the exit of the bathroom.

  “Put me down, Dolton.”

  He ignored her and kept going. Elbowing him, he sighed heavily and turned her and pushed her up and over so he had her in a fireman’s hold. Alissa became frantic to get down and away from him now. She whacked his back and pushed off him.

  “Alissa, so help me if you hurt yourself further you won’t like your punishment.” He slapped her arse and squeezed it.

  Oh. My. God. What the hell was going on? What had Dolton Brown just said and done. Surely he didn’t mean all that in a sexual way. He walked out of the bathroom and turned toward the back of the restaurant.

  Alissa pounded on his back. She couldn’t let him take over. She couldn’t let her new friends see her like this. “Put me down. Let me down,” she yelled.

  Ryan’s girlfriend, Brittney, who visited work all the time and had become a friend, rushed over.

  “Alissa, are you okay? What happened? Do you want me to get Lucas?”

  Oh crap, she couldn’t get Lucas. “No, Brittney, I’m fine. I’m um…”

  “Hey you, stop. Buddy, put Alissa down.”

  Dolton didn’t listen to Brittney either, and kept moving. Alissa knew she needed to defuse the situation, something was wrong with Dolton, and as much as she wasn’t happy with him right now, she didn’t want him to get into a fight or in trouble with the law. Shifters didn’t get treated very well by the justice system. “Brittney, it’s okay. Dolton is a family friend. He found me in er…well, in a strange situation, and he is being a little overprotective. Let me calm him down and I’ll go home. Tell everyone I will see them tomorrow afternoon.” Alissa tried holding herself up on Dolton’s back, she couldn’t see Brittney but knew she hadn’t stopped Dolton.

  Dolton grunted and Alissa saw Brittney as he walked by her, glaring at him from against the wall. Brittney followed staring at her as she struggled to hold herself up on Dolton. Alissa tried to bring herself up again so she could tell Brittney she was fine, but she didn’t have the stomach muscles. Dolton kept walking down the hall until he came to the back.

  “I’ll go get help, Alissa,” Brittney said, leaning down to catch her gaze before straightening and retreating. Alissa opened her mouth to stop her but knew Britney wouldn’t listen so she didn’t bother.

  Dolton opened a door and stepped through shutting it behind him. When the door was shut, he slowly slid her down his body. She glared up into the biggest intense brown eyes set in a strong masculine face she’d ever seen. His rusty tree bark hair fell just past his ears and a piece now covered his eyes. Alissa had no idea what came over her, but she reached up stroked his cheek and brushed the lock over to the side out of his eyes. He snapped at her hand with his sharp half changed teeth and she jumped bac
k.

  “What the hell has gotten into you, Dolton?” That went for her too. Alissa hadn’t ever touched Dolton like she just did. Dreamed of it, yes, but never done it. He’d always been the one to touch her and even then, he was very careful and respectful.

  “Who is Lucas?”

  “Um…er.” Her mind was blank for a moment, her only thought was of the sexy man before her. His fresh woodsy smell filled her senses and she basked in the manly scent. She had missed him. She’d missed the way his gaze never forgot any of the details around him, how he pointed out things she missed, like a butterfly going by, children playing, a raindrop falling and landing a special way. She’d missed the complements he'd always given her, the way he always smiled when she came into the room. She missed the sound of his voice. She just plain missed him.

  Dolton snarled and tilted her head so she gazed directly into his eyes. “Who the fuck is Lucas?”

  Oh, yeah, he’d asked about her roommate. Lately Lucas had been trying to be more, but he couldn’t replace Dolton, no one could, no matter how hard he tried. Lucas had kissed her a few times, and she’d felt nothing but pangs for a man she could never have. A man that didn’t want her because she wasn’t his mate. Alissa definitely hadn’t mentioned to any family member she was living with a man. She hadn’t wanted to answer any questions or have the person she stayed with interrogated. “He’s a…a… friend.”

  Dolton narrowed his gaze on me. “Why are you here?”

  “To eat and be at the work Christmas party.” She shrugged, trying to act casual. Maybe it would calm him down, he seemed really riled up.

  It didn’t work. He snarled, his upper lip curling, “You’re a stripper?”

  “What!” She felt her eyes widen. Surely he wasn’t serious. In what universe could she be a stripper? His lips thinned at her reaction and he was growling loudly. Why was he growling? He wasn’t just called a stripper. “No! I work for them as their accountant and take care of payroll. Although the last six months or so, I’ve taken over keeping things in order backstage, and helping with anything the guys need.”

  Banging on the door had her groaning and wishing she could hide. “Alissa, baby, you okay?” Fuck, Brittney really had gotten Lucas. “Alissa, answer me. Are you in there? Are you okay? Baby, I’ll go get help if you don’t answer me now.”

  The rumbling in Dolton’s chest got louder until the snarling was so loud she couldn’t hear anything else. “Baby,” Dolton growled. “No not his, you’re mine. Not his baby. Mine. My mate. Mine, mine, mine.” Dolton gathered her to him and nuzzled her neck, licking and nibbling on her skin.

  Holy shit, Alissa was speechless. He so didn’t say what she thought she heard, did he? She opened and closed her mouth for what felt like a million times before she answered Lucas. “I’m fine, Lucas. I know Dolton.” Shit, was that her voice, it was all breathless and sexy. Clearing her throat, she yelled, “I’ll…be out in…oh—” Dolton rubbed his rock hard erection against her and she lost the ability to speak. Oh God, what was wrong with her?

  “Babe, you sure you’re okay?” Lucas shouted through the door, concern was evident in his voice.

  Dolton bit down hard on the part where her shoulder met her neck as soon as ‘babe’ left Lucas’s mouth. Screaming, she bucked against Dolton as a sharp pain, then immense pleasure, washed over her before Dolton sucked, and Alissa came hard just from the actions.

  “Wow, that was amazing,” she panted in a breathless whisper. Her body went limp, but she could feel it buzzing, like a magic was seeping through her.

  Dolton held her up and murmured against her ear, “I claim you. I give you my mark, my life, and everything I am. I will give you my seed. You will give me young. You’re my bear’s and you’re mine. My mate. My woman. My soul. Mine.”

  Black clouded Alissa’s vision as she fought to stay awake and take in everything that had just happened, along with what she heard. Oh God, surely Dolton hadn’t just mated her? He would never do that. She’d told him the last time she saw him how she felt. Wouldn’t he have mated her then? Surely what she thought she heard wasn’t real. Her mind went a million miles a second and she tried to figure out if what she thought happened was real.

  The blackness overtook and the last words she heard were, “No one but me.”

  *****

  Alissa was his mate. Holy shit that explained a lot.

  When the magic and the mating became too much for Alissa, she passed out in his hold. Picking her up, Dolton cradled her in his arms. The banging on the door didn’t stop and Dolton knew if he didn’t do something soon Lucas would have the police at the restaurant. He didn’t want that. Not that the police could do anything. Mates couldn’t be taken from shifters.

  Staring down at the amazing woman in his arms, he stroked her cheek. How hadn’t he figured out Alissa was his mate sooner? He loved being around the Maples. He’d always gone with his parents when they’d gone to visit them, even when he was in his late twenties. He’d been thirty the last time he’d seen Alissa. She’d only been seventeen. Dolton remembered when he’d left for his last tour with the army that he was reluctant to leave. When he’d come home and started working for his parents at their restaurants, he’d been keen to go and visit the Maples. He couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened with Alissa. He’d thought it was guilt for breaking her heart.

  “I’m calling the police if you don’t open the door now,” Lucas’s voice on the other side interrupted his thoughts.

  Sighing, Dolton transferred Alissa so he cradled her in one arm and went and unlocked the door, opening it to stare at a tall man with jet-black hair and a muscular build. He wasn’t as tall or as big as his six foot eight, or even close to his width, but at just over six two and with enough confidence to glare at him. Raising his eyebrow in annoyance at the guy, Dolton clutched Alissa tighter against his chest. “There is no need to involve the police. Alissa is fine.” Dolton nodded down to Alissa cradled in his arm.

  “If she’s okay then why isn’t she waking up while we talk?”

  Dolton shrugged and smirked down at Lucas. “She fell asleep.” He wasn’t going to tell this jerk anything. It was none of his business Alissa had passed out due to the mating magic being so strong between them.

  “Pass her to me. I’ll take her home.”

  There was no way Dolton was letting this guy take his mate. “No,” he snarled. He felt his fur start to sprout.

  Dickhead puffed his chest out and narrowed his gaze. “You’re a shifter?”

  Give the guy a medal, he’d noticed something. “Yep. Got a problem with that?”

  “I will if you don’t give me back Alissa.”

  “Alissa stays with me. You got a problem with it call the cops.” Dolton was done with this idiot. He went back into his office and opened his top drawer, getting out his wallet and car keys. Lucas followed him in and he heard him call the police. Dolton ignored him and locked everything up, carefully cradling Alissa in one arm, before walking out of his office and through the back of the restaurant and out the back to his car. Dolton juggled Alissa and undid his car, opening the door and gently placing her in the passenger seat.

  Lucas started yelling at him again as soon as he shut the passenger door. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You can’t just take her. I’ve called the police and they’ll be here soon and then you’ll have to give her over.”

  Was this guy for real? Surely Lucas had clued in that not only was Alissa something to him, but didn’t Lucas listen when Alissa had told him she was fine and that she knew me. “Alissa is mine. You will never touch her again. If you have a problem, I live at…” rattling off his address as he walked away from Lucas and got in the driver’s side. Lucas followed and banged on the window. Dolton didn’t care, he was done with Lucas and started his car and began to drive away, causing Lucas to move pretty quickly out of the way.

  Dolton drove home eager to hold his mate and get to know her in more intimate ways.

>   Chapter Two

  Alissa didn’t open her eyes, afraid of what she would face. The bed was soft and Dolton’s fresh woodsy scent surrounded her. Everything from last night ran through her mind and she felt ill. Surely Dolton hadn’t done what she thought he had, especially not after he rejected her years ago. Alissa had only just given up the dream that she wouldn’t have any chance with Dolton. It was one of the reasons why she moved away. Her neck tingled and she wanted to rub it, but if she did, he’d know she was awake and then she’d have to deal with him.

  “I know you’re awake,” his voice rumbled beside her.

  Crap! Cracking an eye open, Alissa looked up into a face she’d fantasied of since puberty hit. Dolton’s big warm brown eyes gazed down at her, his plump full lips smirked at her. “How’d you know?”

  “Your breathing changed. I’ve been listening to the rhythm all night.”

  Opening both her eyes she gazed at him, damn he just got better the older he got. His skin was a dark tanned brown and the stubble on his face only added to his sexiness. Avoiding the big questions, she looked around her, the bedroom she was in had cream walls and was sparsely decorated, no pictures that she could see and only a three drawer dresser that was the same type of wood as the frame of the bed she was currently laying in.

  Dolton didn’t say anything and she could feel his penetrating stare. Sighing, she wiggled herself up to a sitting position. “Why am I here?”

  “You really don’t know?” He raised one bushy eyebrow.

  “I wouldn’t have asked if I did,” she snapped at him. Alissa wanted things confirmed. She didn’t want to say what she thought had happened just in case she embarrassed herself further, if that was at all possible.

  His deep chuckle vibrated the bed and shot tingles of pure heat through her. “Still feisty I see.” He sniffed the air and his growled deepened. His body came over her and she swore she forgot how to breathe. “Fuck, you smell so good.” He rubbed himself against her.