by Kate Douglas
Right now Tinker wished he had Tia beside him. If wishes were horses… He wasn’t quite sure what made him think of his foster mother, but she’d used that phrase often enough. It was time to act, and he was on his own. He couldn’t change the circumstances. Tinker almost smiled. He knew exactly what Luc would say right now. It was time to adapt.
Seth lowered the tailgate, checked the cage holding Lisa, and went inside the barn. Tinker slunk across the dark road and leaped into the back of the truck to get a better look at the lock. Up close, he realized the mechanism was similar to the fasteners used by mountain climbers, just a plain old carabiner. Nothing he couldn’t open with his hands. Lisa was barely visible inside the metal cage. She lay on her side, still a wolf, obviously deeply drugged. He inhaled her shallow breaths and breathed his own sigh of relief.
Tinker heard a rhythmic squeaking sound. He jumped out of the back of the truck and dropped to all fours in the dark shadows near the rear wheel on the far side of the pickup. Seth came into view hauling a wheeled cart, much like the one he’d used to carry the dead deer. He positioned it at the end of the truck, then climbed into the bed.
Tinker couldn’t see him from his hiding place, but he heard Seth’s soft whistle and quiet voice. “You are a beauty, aren’t you? Mr. Smith won’t believe it when I tell him I got a wild wolf. I thought maybe you’d just gotten out of one of the pens, but I know I’ve never seen you before, and there’s no tag in your ear. I bet I get a bonus for you, sweetheart. He’s always telling me to look for the ones with the most spirit. If you’re still wild, I bet you’ve got a lot.”
There was a loud scraping sound as Seth dragged the cage to the end of the pickup bed; he grunted loudly as he manhandled it onto the cart. Tinker slipped around the back wheel so he could see better, then followed Seth into the dark barn.
Once through the door, Tinker realized there was a small electric lantern burning at one end. He stayed in the shadows near the door and hoped his black coat would make him invisible to the teenager.
Seth rolled the cart to the far end of the barn and checked the lock. Then he glanced at his watch and looked toward the door. He walked back to the cage and stood there a moment, looking down at his captive. “You’ll be okay until tomorrow morning. Mr. Smith said he’d have someone here early.” He patted the top of the cage, and Tinker could hear him sigh. “I really hate doing this. I hope you know that, but I’ve got no choice. Don’t worry, though. You’ll be okay in your new home.”
Seth turned away and walked back to the door, passing within a couple feet of Tinker. “I’m sorry about the dart. I really don’t have a choice. No choice at all.” Still muttering to himself, Seth pulled the barn door closed, locking Tinker inside with Lisa.
As soon as the truck pulled away, Tinker shifted. Standing tall on two feet, he checked the barn door and realized the latch was simple enough for human hands. It took him less than a minute to open Lisa’s cage and pull her comatose body out. Lifting her carefully into his arms, Tinker slipped out of the barn and into the night. Running barefoot and naked, he still managed to reach Lisa’s small cabin in less than an hour.
“What in the hell were you thinking? Why didn’t you leave me there? We might have figured out what the fuck was going on around here. Now we’ll never know.” Lisa paced back and forth across her small kitchen. Her head pounded from the drug in her system, and her hip hurt where the dart had penetrated. Men. They always know what’s best—even when they’re dead wrong.
Tinker leaned against the kitchen counter and just shook his head, looking more bemused than contrite. His typical macho stance infuriated Lisa even more.
“I was thinking that freeing you would be a lot more acceptable than killing that damned kid, which was my first inclination. Lisa, I was on my own. If he’d hit the highway with you still unconscious, I’d never be able to find you. That’s unacceptable.”
Lisa stared at Tinker as if a stranger had taken over his body. Didn’t he understand the chance they’d lost? Here she’d been suspecting Anderson, and it looked like Seth was the guilty party. They needed to find out who the hell was yanking Seth’s chain and what was happening to the wolves, but Tinker’d managed to screw that up big time.
He folded his big arms across his chest, and Lisa’s mouth went dry. Damn, she loved the way his body looked. She really hated that it was hard to argue with a man who turned her on as much as Tinker did with nothing more than the tilt of his head and the width of his chest.
He’d taken the time to slip into jeans. The top two snaps were undone, exposing the narrow line of dark hair against darker skin, running from his navel to parts south. His chest was bare. His feet were, too. She loved his long, narrow feet, but this was not the time to be admiring either his chest or his feet or the strength of his arms. Or his hands. He had the most beautiful hands, with long, sensitive fingers that…shit.
Lisa spun away and stared out the window. “I want to go back. I want you to put me back in the cage before whoever it is comes to pick it up in the morning.”
Tinker stared at her as if she was nuts. Maybe she was, but they were so close to finding out who was taking the wolves. She hated to think Seth was involved. What if Luc’s suspicions were right? What if Dunlop were somehow behind whatever was going on? If it turned out the man was a criminal, the sanctuary might be shut down.
Then what would happen to the wolves?
“Absolutely not.” Tinker rolled his shoulders and flexed his massive arms across his perfect chest and glared at her.
This was a side of Tinker Lisa hadn’t seen before. She wasn’t sure how she felt about him suddenly taking on this uber-alpha role, but her body didn’t seem to have the same reservations. In spite of herself, Lisa felt a quick dampening between her legs and turned away, suddenly thrown off balance.
Tinker was always so easygoing. Lisa was never turned on by he-man theatrics. Usually. She took a deep breath and forced her libido under control. “We have to do something.”
“We don’t have to do anything. I’ll take care of this.”
Lisa turned around slowly and glared at him. No longer aroused, she felt anger boiling just beneath her surface. “No, Tinker. We will take care of this, or I will, but you’re not in charge here.”
“I’m your mate and I’ve—”
“You’re my mate only because you blindsided me into linking. That’s what you did, isn’t it? Created a bond without telling me what I was getting into? Face it, McClintock. You’re stuck with me, and it’s all an accident. Well, if you regret what happened, if you want out, you figure out a way to unbond us and I’m out. Okay?”
Lisa heard the words rolling so easily off her tongue and couldn’t believe she had said them. She didn’t want out. Not at all. She loved Tinker and she needed him beside her. Especially now. Of all times, now.
Tinker stared at her as if she’d slapped him. In a way, she had. She’d thrown his love back in his face, but she didn’t know how to call back the words. She couldn’t call back the truth. He didn’t control her, didn’t make her rules. She’d had a chance tonight to find out what was going on with the wolves, and he’d ruined it.
Tinker’s cell phone rang. He stared at the useless thing clipped to his hip. There shouldn’t be a signal here. Shouldn’t be anything to make it ring. Like a man moving in slow motion, Tinker unclipped the phone from his belt and answered it.
Lisa turned away, uncomfortable overhearing whatever he had to say. She flopped down in one of the kitchen chairs and folded her arms across her chest. In less than a minute, Tinker turned off the phone.
His voice sounded uncharacteristically flat. “Lucien Stone and Tia Mason are on their way. They left San Francisco an hour ago. That was Anton Cheval. He’s Chanku, part of the Montana group, and the only one I know who could make a cell phone work in this canyon.”
His comments took the breath from Lisa’s lungs. She sat up straighter in her chair. “I don’t understand. How did they know w
e needed help? You haven’t called. You’re too far from San Francisco to communicate mentally. How?”
Tinker shook his head, but now he was grinning. “I have no idea, but I’ll bet the farm that Luc and Tia were screwing each other’s brains out when they got my frustrated mental call for help. We’ve proved that sexual arousal makes our mindtalking abilities that much more powerful. I imagine Anton Cheval picked up on what happened to you because of my frustration at not being able to help you. Frustration strengthens our communications as well, but I can honestly tell you, there is very little Cheval can’t do.”
Tinker leaned close and rested his hands on the arms of the wooden chair. He was so infuriatingly sexy and cocky that Lisa wanted to smack him.
“We’re Chanku, Lisa. We’re family. We look out for each other. We help each other. We love each other. And once we bond, we bond for life. Get used to it.”
He leaned closer and kissed her hard and fast, his lips leaving the taste and heat she’d so quickly learned to crave. Then he left her there with her mouth hanging open. Just walked away. He strolled toward the bedroom door as if they hadn’t had their first major disagreement since meeting. Strolled as if the only thing he had to worry about in life was strutting that perfect ass of his for her pleasure.
And damned if she didn’t feel herself literally creaming her shorts. There was no denying the warm knot of desire blossoming in her womb, no denying the clenching of muscles between her legs. She needed him. Needed Tinker now in a most amazing way, just the two of them, together, finding the time and space to work through the convoluted issues of power and control and love.
They wouldn’t be alone much longer. Lisa sensed that much within their relationship would change once Tinker’s packmates arrived. Her packmates as well. It was weird, knowing Tinker’s friends, his lovers, were on their way. Unbelievable. She knew they were coming to help, but Lisa found herself thinking with avid anticipation of the beautiful biracial woman who held a very secure spot in Tinker’s memories.
The same memories he’d shared with her the night they bonded. Her pussy clenched once more. Lisa wasn’t sure if it was the typical arousal after a shift or a reaction to her thoughts of Tinker and Tia. Both of them had become a major part of her fantasies.
Fantasies won’t help the wolves. Lisa blinked away images of Tia and Tinker tangled in sex and wrapped her arms around herself. She sat alone in the kitchen for what felt like a very long time. She still felt woozy from the drug, and her head pounded as frustration over the situation with the wolves thrummed through her veins. All her worries, though, competed with arousal, with a deep yearning to merely crawl into bed next to Tinker and feel his body next to hers.
There was nothing to do now but wait.
And absolutely no reason whatsoever to wait by herself. Grinning, feeling a little sheepish and a whole lot turned on, she finally followed Tinker into the bedroom.
Tinker lay in the small room and wondered if he’d totally screwed up everything with Lisa. Should he go to her and apologize? Hell, if he had to do it again, he knew damned well he’d do everything exactly the same. He thought about the few times when Luc was upset with Tia, how his friend said he felt so helpless, as though he didn’t understand a woman’s thought processes at all.
For the first time, Tinker truly sympathized with Luc. There was no figuring out what went on in a woman’s mind, even when you’d bonded with them, when you’d shared their innermost thoughts. Did Lisa really regret their bond? Did she honestly think Tinker would have left her lying in that cage, unconscious with no idea what that damned kid had planned?
Tinker was lying on his side, staring at the wall with his thoughts in turmoil, when he heard the door open. He felt the edge of the bed dip as Lisa crawled in beside him. A narrow shaft of light spilled into the room from the single lamp in the kitchen. He smiled to himself, suddenly much more at ease, yet well aware how much pride she’d had to swallow to join him. There was a perfectly comfortable couch in the front room if Lisa was really angry.
She snuggled close against his body, and he felt her warm breath feathering across the ridge of his shoulder. Her breasts pressed into his back, and one slim arm circled his hips. He felt the soft brush of her palm against his belly, low enough that her fingers tangled in the thick mat of black hair covering his groin.
Tinker’s cock reacted immediately to her velvet touch, but his heart almost stuttered to a stop when she pressed her lips against his back and whispered, “I’m sorry for what I said, Tink. I love you. I would never wish away our bond.”
He covered her hand with his and felt the pain drain away. “I know, sweetie. We say a lot of things when we’re upset. Things we really don’t mean. Luc and Tia will be here in a few hours. Let’s get some sleep and deal with the wolves after they’re here.”
Her lips feathered kisses along his spine. “Do we really have to sleep? Right now?”
His cock didn’t think so. Tinker grinned while he took his time answering, but he lacked the willpower not to thrust his hips forward into Lisa’s soft grasp.
She laughed and ran her tongue down his spine. Her slim fingers trailed along the hard length of his cock, touching him so lightly with the very tips that he wanted to scream. His balls pulled up tightly between his legs, and his body quivered. “I might be persuaded,” he said, but his voice sounded ragged even in his own ears.
“Oh…playing hard to get?”
Tinker shivered at the soft brush of her lips when Lisa whispered against the nape of his neck. Every muscle in his body tensed when her fingertip found the damp eye at the crown of his cock. One finger. She touched him with just one finger, but it was wet from his pre-cum, and she left a line of fire as she trailed it along the ridged underside of his cock.
Tinker couldn’t remember being this hard or this turned on, and she’d barely touched him. Her body was plastered against his from calves to shoulders, her taut nipples poked into his back, and her breath was warm against his neck, but the only sign she was even awake was that one hand. One hand barely touching his cock, teasing him with featherlight strokes, the scrape of a nail, the soft pressure from a single fingertip.
It was getting hard to breathe, hard to keep his hands to himself while she teased him, but he concentrated on the pressure from that one finger, concentrated on the way she made him feel.
Her tongue caught him just behind his ear, and Tinker groaned. Lisa nipped his earlobe and tugged, then gently bit the soft skin between his shoulder and neck. This time he was prepared and did his best to ignore her.
Tinker heard her soft chuckle, felt the pressure of her breasts bouncing against his back as she laughed. “Definitely a challenge,” she said, nipping him once more. “Lisa Quinn never backs down from a challenge.”
She scooted away and rose to her knees, hovering over him in the darkness. Her long hair swept his side as she rolled him to his back and stretched his arms up over his head. “Hold on to the headboard and don’t let go.”
Curious to see how far she’d take this, Tinker did as he was told. She arranged his legs, spreading them wide so that he filled the entire bed, then sat back on her heels as if to admire her handiwork.
“Good lord, but you’re beautiful. I probably shouldn’t even tell you this, but I think of you as my dark god.” She leaned over and swirled her tongue around his right nipple, then sat back again, totally ignoring his cock. It wasn’t like the damned thing was trying to hide. No, it stood up like a flagpole, slightly curved toward his belly and so hard he ached for her to touch him.
Tinker thought about commenting on what Lisa had said, but the only sound he was capable of at the moment was a strangled whimper. In the back of his mind, the opinion that gods probably didn’t whimper floated about, but he had no control around Lisa. None at all.
She licked his left nipple on her next foray, then ran her fingers lightly along his pectorals, stroking the curve of his muscles, making them jump and twitch in response to her to
uch.
Tinker felt as if he might explode. The pressure in his balls grew with each simple touch, and his cock was leaking a steady stream of fluid. He wondered if he might come from just watching her supple body as she leaned over to flick her tongue across his nipple or rub her fingers over his chest.
Lisa tilted her head and finally acknowledged his straining cock, but all she did was brush her fingers under the crown to catch a few drops of pre-cum. Then she raised her fingers to her mouth and sucked them between her lips.
Tinker felt an orgasm building, merely from watching the way she wrapped her lips around her fingers, the slow, steady rhythm as she pushed them in and out of her mouth. Lisa’s eyes were closed, her head thrown back, her long dark hair hanging in luxurious waves over her breasts. Tinker clutched at the metal frame of the headboard and hoped the thing was strong enough to hold him.
Lisa glanced down at him through heavy-lidded eyes. Suddenly his mind filled with sensation, with the taste of his own fluids, the deep throbbing between Lisa’s legs, the ache in his balls. Without another word, she turned around and licked his cock, running her tongue slowly along the full length from his balls to the crown, lapping up every drop of pre-cum.
More escaped and she licked that up as well, but he wanted more. Needed more. Needed her sweet mouth around his cock or the tight clasp of her sex holding him, but Lisa shook her head and continued her slow, steady licking, swirling her tongue around the crown and then teasing the length of him.
Tinker tried to stop the low moans that seemed to start deep in his chest, but he had as much luck with that as he did the steady stream of fluid leaking from his cock. He didn’t think he could get any harder, but Lisa slipped lower between his legs and nipped at his sac with her lips and teeth. Her fingers curled over his thighs, holding him right at the crease between leg and groin, and she sucked one ball into her mouth and rolled it around with her tongue.
He almost came off the bed.