by Leah Brooke
Once at the counter, he set the basket in front of the salesgirl and bent to Fiona again, his eyes searching. “I want you to have the girly stuff you like, and I like the idea of having it spread out on the bathroom shelves. You barely have anything of yours in the house, and I don’t like that it looks like you don’t even live there. It sounds stupid, I know.”
Fiona reached up with her good hand to cup his jaw. “It doesn’t sound stupid at all. It’s incredibly sweet.”
Lifting his head, Joshua narrowed his eyes at her, the corners of his lips twitching. “Are you calling me sweet?”
Enjoying his playfulness, Fiona ran her hand over his chest, thrilling when he sucked in a breath. “I wouldn’t dare. You’re a dangerous man. I couldn’t even imagine what you’d do it I called you something that might threaten your manhood.”
Suspecting that Fiona hadn’t had many opportunities to play in a long time, Joshua loved playing with her, especially when she teased him back.
“So, you think that you calling me sweet threatens my manhood?”
The scent of her arousal always added an edge to his, heightening the primitive, raw sexuality that seemed to grow stronger each time he took her.
Turning to his mate, he tensed when he saw her looking off into the distance and frowning. Following her gaze, he saw a woman blatantly looking him up and down. Meeting her gaze with a scowl, he wrapped an arm around Fiona and pulled her closer. “Don’t frown, baby.”
“She likes your ass.”
Amused, Joshua slid his hand lower to pat hers. “And I like yours. As a matter of fact, I plan to take you with your ass high in the air.”
Her eyes widened then narrowed again, her breath quickening. “Joshua!”
After paying, he accepted the bag from the saleswoman, wrapping an arm around her waist again and guiding her to the exit.
“I can’t have my mate doubting my manhood, now can I?”
As soon as Joshua carried her into the hotel room, he headed straight for the bed, not breaking his kiss as he set her gently on the edge.
Scrambling to her knees, she fought her way out of her new coat while he stripped out of his leather jacket, their movements frantic.
Breaking off his kiss, he slid a hand into her hair, easing her to her back. “Easy, my mate. Your face is raw, your body’s sore, and I want you too fucking bad.”
Needing him inside her more than she needed her next breath, Fiona reached for him. “I’m hurting, but it’s not my hip or my face.”
Although his hands were gentle as he rolled her to her belly, the passion in his touch couldn’t be contained.
“Keep your wrist close to your body. Are you okay?”
“Not yet, but I hope to be soon. Hurry.”
He yanked her sweatpants and panties down to her knees before moving in behind her, the sound of his unfastening his pants and the slide of denim against the backs of her thighs making her pussy clench in anticipation. “I like that lingerie store we went into. I can’t wait to see you wearing those black scraps of lace.”
Running his hand over her ass, he slid back and bent to touch his lips to her hip. “You okay, baby?”
Wiggling, she fisted her hand in the bedspread. “I ache, but not there.”
Chuckling, Joshua slid his lips over the curve of her ass. “Am I getting warmer?”
Throwing her head back, Fiona squeezed her eyes closed. “God yes!”
The scrape of his teeth over the tender area between her thigh and bottom made her clit throb and her pussy clench even harder. “Joshua! Please. Please.”
Joshua made one of the growling sounds in his throat that she loved so much. “My mate has an ache, and I need to find it.”
He licked at her inner thighs, tantalizingly close to her pussy. “Maybe if I kiss it, I can make it better.”
“You’re killing me.” Her breath came out in harsh gasps, the inner walls of her pussy tingling with the need for friction.
“Hmm.” Wrapping his hands around her thighs, he slowly parted them, flicking his tongue over her slit. “You’re a tough girl. I’m sure you can take it.”
Her clit and pussy burned for his attention, the need raw and so intense that it brought tears to her eyes.
“Joshua.” She sucked in a breath when he lapped at her juices again. “Please. You don’t understand.”
“No?” Joshua ran his tongue around her pussy opening. “Why don’t you explain it to me, my mate?”
Joshua’s grip tightened on her thighs, his voice deepening in the way it did when his need for her couldn’t be held back much longer. “Tell me.”
“God, I love when your voice is like that.” Struggling to draw enough air into her lungs, she moved restlessly. “My clit and pussy burn. Whenever you touch me, it gets so intense that I can’t stand it. I need you now. It aches so much it hurts. Please, my mate. Please take me.”
Joshua stilled. “You called me your mate.” He covered her body with his, poising the head of his cock at her opening. “Say it again.”
Fiona smiled and arched her back, ignoring the pull to her hip. Looking into eyes that had darkened to nearly black, she used her good hand to lift to him. “My mate.”
“Christ, you undo me.” He thrust into her with a deep, growling sound that seemed to emanate from his soul. “I’ll never get enough of you.”
Kneeling on her sweatpants bunched below her knees, he wrapped an arm around her waist. “Tell me.”
“It’s hot.” Fiona pressed her face against his, needing the contact. “It vibrates inside me. I didn’t understand it, but—is it a panther thing?”
Joshua nuzzled her neck. “I think so. I feel it, too. Hell.” He let out another deep groan, his thrusts never slowing. “I feel it on my cock. I feel like your pussy’s vibrating on my cock. It so hot. So tight. I can never last with you.”
“Neither can I.” Sucking in a breath when he went deeper, Fiona closed her hand over the one he’d fisted next to her head. “It’s so deep.”
Joshua cursed and eased back. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“No.” Bucking, she struggled to take him deeper. “I need it. Please. I need to come. Deeper. Please. Yes. Oh God!”
Her inner walls clamped down on him, rippling and drawing him in even deeper. “Yes!”
The pleasure crested, holding her in the grip of sublime ecstasy for several heart-pounding seconds before releasing her in a rush.
Joshua groaned and thrust again, the feel of his cock pulsing inside her setting off another series of waves. “Nothing feels this good. Nothing.”
He tightened the arm around her waist and rolled to his side, taking her with him. Pressing his lips against her neck, he rubbed her abdomen. “You okay?”
Fiona smiled, not bothering to open her eyes, and snuggled against him. “You always ask me that. Sex with you isn’t going to kill me, Joshua.”
“I’m too big for you. Too rough.”
“Okay. Then I guess we won’t be doing this again.”
Joshua stilled and slowly lifted his head to stare down at her. “Not funny.”
“Then stop worrying about it.”
“You’re injured. I shouldn’t have even taken you.”
“But you wanted me.”
“Always.” Holding her close, Joshua moved his cock inside her with a humming noise in his throat. “I can’t stop wanting you.”
“Good.” Stilling, Fiona turned to look at him. “Are you purring?”
Chapter Nineteen
After leaving the hotel, Joshua took Fiona out to lunch, making sure she ate plenty before they went to the grocery store.
By the time they left the grocery store, Joshua could see that his mate was exhausted.
He lowered her seat back and fastened her seat belt. “Lie back and close your eyes.”
Nodding, she smiled wearily, letting her eyes flutter closed. “Just for a minute or two.”
After stowing the groceries, he slid into the driver’s seat, smi
ling when he saw that she’d already fallen asleep.
She trusted him, probably more than either one of them realized.
Smiling, he made the ten-minute trip home, more at peace than he’d been in a very long time.
It had been a house, simply a place to sleep before he met her. He’d spent as little time as he could there, but having Fiona there had made it a home.
He glanced at her, smiling again at the thought of having her clothes hanging in his—their—closet and her creams and lotions cluttering the bathroom.
When they arrived home, he moved quietly, getting out of the SUV, motioning to his approaching pack mates to be quiet.
He opened Fiona’s door and undid her seat belt before lifting her, murmuring softly to her when she moaned in protest.
“Shh. Go back to sleep.”
Mitch came around to look at her. “Wore her out, did you?”
Hiding a smile, Joshua thought about their trip to the hotel. “Apparently. I’m going to put her to bed.”
Vincent opened the back door. “Jesus! The truck’s full. Please tell me there’s stuff in here to make chocolate chip cookies.”
Shaking his head, Dane nudged him aside. “Quiet. Let’s take this stuff in while Joshua puts his mate to bed. Stop thinking about your stomach for once.”
Once Joshua had her settled and took her shoes off, he covered her with a blanket and made his way back out to the kitchen.
Mitch looked up from the bag of groceries he was putting away. “Did she eat?”
Joshua grinned and reached into another bag. “Yeah, she plowed through a chicken dinner. She also had several bites of my burger.”
Joshua started putting away groceries, filled with a sense of satisfaction that the refrigerator, which had only contained bottles of water and beer, now was filled.
He directed them to set the other bags on the sofa so that Fiona could go through them later and put the things where she wanted them.
Mitch laughed and handed Joshua two more cartons of orange juice to set near the gallons of milk they’d bought. “She really has a taste for this. If she’s craving it, there’s no harm in it, as long as it doesn’t upset her stomach.”
Dane lifted a bag of oranges. “Oranges, too?”
Joshua put away several cartons of yogurt. “I let her get whatever she wanted. Have any of you ever eaten this stuff?”
Mitch looked at the yogurt and grinned. “Many times, when I had to eat on the run. It’s not half bad, and it’s good for her.”
Dane finished emptying a bag and folded it. “How’s she doing?”
Joshua turned from putting the third gallon of milk into the refrigerator that Fiona had insisted they needed. “She had a good time, but we had a little issue earlier.”
Mitch stiffened. “What happened?”
All eyes turned to Joshua, the concern in them for his mate evident.
Joshua told them about meeting her old boss. “His name’s Robert Hudson. I warned him to stay away from her.” Grimacing at the memory of his encounter with the other man, he sighed. “I’m sure he got the message.”
Chuckling, Dane reached for another grocery bag. “Something tells me that you made sure of it. You’re a scary guy.”
Vincent finished unpacking a bag, eyeing the chocolate chips. “Yeah, that guy was spreading it around town that he had to send her away because she wouldn’t leave him alone. Sounds like he did it to appease his wife. Word is that no one believed him—except his wife. Seems that Fiona has a better reputation than he does.”
Joshua smiled, pride in his mate making his chest swell. “Well, his wife showed up and heard everything, so now she knows the truth. He did all the chasing and Fiona rebuffed him.”
“Smart girl.” Graham walked in, obviously overhearing their conversation. “He’s getting a reputation for hitting on younger girls. Seems he prefers the forbidden.”
Mitch dropped into one of the new stools Joshua had bought to go with the island he’d installed. “How’s she taking the fact that we’re shapeshifters?”
“She seems okay, but it’s still a little confusing for her.”
Nodding, Mitch gave him a sympathetic smile. “She’ll accept it in time.”
Amused, Joshua watched Vincent help himself to a glass of milk. “We’ll have to do the same thing that we did for Glenna. I don’t like the idea of someone they don’t know sneaking up and they assume they belong here.”
Mitch eyed Vincent. “Just don’t scare the shit out of her. She’s pregnant, and she’s already been through enough.” Getting up, he helped himself to a glass of milk. “I have to admit it’s interesting having a pregnant woman around. We’ve never really been around any except for Glenna and then only caught the tail end of her pregnancy.
“She’s scared.” The words came tumbling out before Joshua could hold them back, but he found he didn’t regret it.
Mitch paused with his hand on the refrigerator door. “Fiona’s scared?”
Joshua moved to the doorway and looked down the hallway toward where Fiona slept. “Yeah. I can smell it when she talks about the baby. I’m not sure if she’s scared about the thought of giving birth or scared that she’s going to give birth to a shapeshifter.”
Turning back, he blew out a breath. “While Fiona’s sleeping, we’d better talk about the others. Tell me what you know.”
Dane leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest with a shrug. “They were gone. No sign of blood or anything, but I have a feeling they’ll be back. They’ve had years to build a hatred and resentment toward all of us.”
Graham frowned. “An irrational hate and resentment. It’s not like we did it on purpose.”
“I was young enough to remember Joe and Leland rushing around, frantic to make sure no one got left behind.”
Vincent turned, wide-eyed. “Jesus. They did that?”
Graham inclined his head. “Yeah. You were just a baby.” He turned to Joshua. “The men in this other pack don’t sound quite right. Chris, a bunch of kids raising themselves. No wonder they’re wild.”
Frowning, Dane watched Vincent refill his glass. “And have decided that we’re their enemies. They seem hellbent on revenge. Leland’s been reading the journal they found, but the only thing he could find was a paragraph referring to a small group that had been cast out because of their unpredictable and violent natures. Jonas, the Alpha, had a theory. He thought it had something to do with the fact that the kids were the result of their mothers being kidnapped and raped by their fathers. He thought the women were beaten and held captive—some of them killed or somehow thrown out once the kids were born.”
The reminder of the way they’d hurt Fiona once again filled Joshua with a rage he wondered if he’d ever shake. “They couldn’t have been their mates. I don’t see how any shapeshifter could harm his mate.”
She was so precious to him, the most precious thing in his world.
Dane met Joshua’s gaze. “The others, our parents, objected and were told to mind their own business. It sounds like that might have been the source of the trouble. Or at least the beginning of it.”
Graham nodded. “There was also another sharply worded reminder to make sure that we all waited for our mates.” He sent a sharp look at Vincent. “Wear two condoms or keep it in your pants. Pass it along.”
Vincent nodded, his chest puffing out at being held responsible to speak to the others his age. “I will, and I’ll keep an eye on them.”
“You do that.” Mitch took his seat again. “This mate stuff seems to be the way things are supposed to happen. It’s the only way of ensuring that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.”
Dane smiled faintly and glanced at Joshua. “Looks like we’ve got a good start.”
Joshua looked down the hallway again, wondering if he should have left the bedroom door open. “Yes, but with these renegades around, our mates are in danger.”
Dane’s lips thinned. “And these assholes a
re going to bring us unwanted attention. They’re going to keep coming after us and our mates and make enough noise to cause trouble.”
Joshua cursed and ran a hand through his hair. “Fiona was smart enough to keep her pregnancy hidden while she was their captive. Christ, just saying that makes me sick to my stomach. The way they talked scared her so much that she was afraid that they would do something to make her miscarry.”
Mitch clenched his hands into fists on top of the island. “And if they’re watching us, they’ll see it when she starts to show.”
Graham leaned on the island, lowering his voice. “The Alphas want us to expand the patrols to the mountains. We know them like the backs of our hands, but it wouldn’t hurt to familiarize ourselves with them again. That way, we’ll see if anything changes.”
“Let me know the schedule.” Joshua stiffened, the hairs at the back of his neck standing on end. Holding a hand up to keep the others from speaking, he looked down the hallway, the sense that something was wrong gripping him by the throat.
The scent of Fiona’s fear slammed into him like a punch, just as his pack mates stiffened.
It took only a second or two, but instinct had him racing toward his mate.
He opened the bedroom door just as she jolted upright and let out a bloodcurdling scream.
He was at her side in an instant, his heart pounding furiously as he caught her injured wrist when she flailed both of them in an attempt to ward off an enemy he couldn’t see.
She kept pulling at her injured wrist, as if having it restricted in the sling added to her panic.
“Easy, baby. Shh. I’ve got you.” He glanced back at the others, who’d rushed in after him. “It was just a bad dream.” He untangled her from the sling and tossed it aside, and to his relief, it seemed to relieve some of her panic.
“Joshua!”
“I’m here.” Holding her face pressed against his neck, Joshua rocked her, fighting back his rage.
She needed comfort from him and to feel safe.
Rage would have to wait.
Running his hand up and down her back in an effort to calm her trembling, Joshua murmured to her. “It was just a bad dream. You’re safe now, and I won’t let anyone get to you.”