by Crissy Smith
Oh, Kieran would bet it did. “What happened to the guy on your team?”
“He won’t be betraying anyone else ever again.”
Kieran nodded his approval.
“The guy who did manage to knock me out wasn’t as professional or well versed in kidnapping as Bradley’s other guys. When the punk stopped for gas, I used the trunk release to get out and put him in the trunk. We were already headed in this direction. The kid’s in lock-up.”
“You couldn’t call?” Kieran shouted.
“I lost my cell phone at the airport and I didn’t want to go through the office here. I figured I would catch up with you when I got to town. Which is what I’m doing,” Caspar explained.
Kieran huffed. “You could have fucking called.” Then because he sounded like a bratty child he added, “Remy was worried about you.”
“I know.” Caspar patted his shoulder before pulling Kieran into a hug. “But I’m here now.”
“It’s a good thing too, because I’m about worn-out for the night,” Jackson said.
Kieran let go of Caspar. “Me too.”
“Is Dakota all right?” Jackson asked as he strolled forward.
“Yeah, some pretty bad cuts on her stomach, but she’ll be okay,” Kieran replied.
“I’m still a little surprised she managed to take down Sparro,” Caspar said.
“You know about that?” Kieran asked.
“Remy filled me in when I got here. I already called his boss and I’ve been put in place until this mess can be cleaned up. We’ll be getting some agents and directors from other offices flooding in soon.”
Kieran turned his lip up in disgust.
“I also called the Coalition, who will be back in the morning to take care of the injured shifters.”
“Why?” Kieran asked. “They’re already here.”
“Because we have a clusterfuck to clean up and we don’t need to worry about the medical part. The Coalition have trained staff that can handle this. They agreed to take care of that part of the investigation and work with our lab while we handle getting everything we can from Bradley, Sparro and the others,” Caspar informed him.
“There’s a cougar shifter that Dakota—”
“I’ve been made aware of that situation. The young woman—Corey, I believe her name is—will be staying here since she’s the only one we can connect with Sparro so far,” Caspar said. “We’re letting her rest right now, but after she’s been questioned, we’ll figure out what to do with her.”
Kieran relaxed. With Caspar back and taking control, he could finally breathe, for real. He wasn’t the one who had to make all the decisions. He wasn’t a leader, or at least he didn’t want to be. His place was out on the streets, tracking down criminals.
Caspar nodded as if he knew what Kieran was thinking. “I’m trained for this.”
“Thank God,” Kieran murmured.
“Right now I want the two of you and the rest of your team to go home. Eat, sleep, have sex, I don’t care what you do but I don’t want to see you before eight tomorrow morning,” Caspar ordered.
“About that.” Jackson motioned to Bradley. “I don’t work for you, but—”
“You’ll be brought in as a consultant, as well as your IT kid,” Caspar finished for him. “It’s the least I can do.”
“Can you even authorize that?” Kieran asked. “They’re civilians.”
The look Caspar sent him spoke volumes. Not only was Caspar authorized, but he’d be doing whatever he damned well felt like. It seemed his boss was back in more ways than just physical. Shit, Kieran was so relieved. He actually felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
“I’ll accept, but I’ll have to ask Mitch if he’s okay with it,” Jackson said.
“That’s fine,” Caspar agreed. “But you can tell me tomorrow. You both look like something the dog chewed up and spit out.”
Kieran grinned and opened the door. “I won’t tell Remy you’re telling jokes about him.”
“I can hear you both, you assholes,” Remy called.
“Get out of here,” Caspar ordered.
Kieran strolled to Dakota. “Let’s go home. We’ll order room service before we get in the shower.”
She leaned against him. “Sounds good to me.”
Chapter Eleven
Three days later
“Dakota?” Kieran walked into their suite and hollered for his lover. He was beyond exhausted and just wanted a hot shower with a hotter woman. He heard claws clatter against the bathroom floor and grinned. She’d been shifting every day to help speed up her healing, but he’d missed it. Looked like he’d timed it perfectly this time.
He could hear the shower running as he strolled toward the open bedroom door. Kieran pulled off his jacket and tossed it over a chair as he passed. The bathroom door stood open, but steam billowed out. He peered around the jamb and saw Dakota half in the shower, half out, looking like she was getting ready to shift back to human.
“No,” he told her quickly. “Don’t change back yet.”
She huffed at him.
“So is this what you do while I’m at work all night? Play in the water?” he teased.
She swiped at him with her massive paw, but he caught it. It was still strange to him to see her in her jaguar form, but he found he actually enjoyed it. He knew she was still uncertain, evidenced by the fact that she hadn’t been shifting in front of him, but he was going to get her to see he accepted every part of her.
Dakota’s injuries from the fight with Sparro were almost healed, but she was still struggling with the fact she’d lost control and almost killed him. Kieran didn’t know how to help her deal with it, other than to hold her when she woke from nightmares.
Their roles had reversed. Kieran was accepting he was a flawed individual and it was up to him to change his future. Without even realizing it, he’d begun to take back control of his life. He’d formed bonds with his partner and boss, he’d fallen in love with Dakota, reconnected with Jackson and was making new friends like Alex and Dean. He also had a soft spot for Mitch, the young Walker. All of these people had become family to him. His choice of who he wanted to be with.
Dakota had done the reverse. She’d distanced herself from the same people who Kieran had grown to care about.
The only one she wanted to be around was Kieran, but only in her human form. Everyone had called or stopped by, but she’d refused to see them. She went into the office to check on Corey but wouldn’t talk to anyone else. It was as if she was turning into a different person.
He had to find a way to bring her back to him, to all of them, while making her forgive herself.
“Well, if you want to play, let’s play,” Kieran told her.
She shook her head before backing away. Of course, that had her going to the spray of water.
“Why not?” he asked. “You told me last night you wanted to play in the shower in your jaguar form. I said it could be fun.”
Dakota whined at him when took a step.
“You’re afraid.” He stopped. He hadn’t noticed the scent before, since she was wet and that odor took up most of his senses.
She whined again.
“You won’t hurt me. I know you’re afraid of losing control again but it won’t happen.”
When she opened her powerful jaw, showing off her sharp teeth, he chuckled. “You don’t scare me either.”
This time she shook her entire body, which made the water on her coat fly everywhere, even onto him. Since he was already wet, he followed her into the stall and let them both get soaked. He was forcing the issue, but something had to change and this was the only thing he could think of.
Dakota had backed herself into the corner, so Kieran sat on the floor across from her. She tilted her head.
“I can stay here all night,” he told her. “With the water this warm, it will actually be better than usual.”
Dakota lifted her paw and slapped it down into a puddle
that had formed. The splash drenched him.
“Oh yeah?” he taunted and stood to palm one of the showerheads. Dakota cocked her head and he let go. The shift in direction of the spout had the water flowing right at her face.
With a happy cry, she bounced.
“You like that, do you?” He stretched, grabbed at one of the higher streams and positioned it toward her face.
It was incredible. Dakota transformed from a scared shifter to a playful cat. She hopped and jumped, trying to get to the water. Kieran laughed along with her. A spark of inspiration hit and he grabbed the shower gel and squeezed it in front of one of the streams. The small space filled with bubbles. Dakota roared and chased one until it popped. Another floated in front of her and she swung at it.
Kieran would never have believed she could be this lighthearted after how she’d been feeling. She must have really needed this. Dakota was slipping and sliding but still tried to catch all the suds. She hit the edge of the stall, cracking the trim, but didn’t seem to notice. He might have to pay for the repairs, but it would be worth it.
He followed her out, grabbing a towel as he walked behind her. She was still leaping around the bedroom, then stopped suddenly. He made a move to go to her, but she dropped down onto the carpet and rolled onto her back.
She was adorable wiggling around and scratching an itch she couldn’t quite reach. Kieran laughed before he knelt beside her.
“Let me help,” he told her.
Dakota froze with her bright eyes staring back at him.
“You won’t hurt me,” he promised. Slowly he placed his hand on her stomach and rubbed. She gave something between a moan and a gasp so he stroked her harder. “See, I told you.”
She allowed him to massage her entire belly and legs before she flipped over. Kieran started at her shoulder blades and scratched. Dakota made all kinds of noise until finally she just collapsed.
“Are you ready to shift back?” he asked quietly.
She blinked then nodded. He gave her just enough space to transform. He felt the movement in the air before she was sprawled out on the carpet.
“There you are,” he whispered.
“I could have killed you,” she said.
“As I told you before, I won’t have a problem stopping you. You can’t hurt me,” Kieran argued.
She sighed. “You shouldn’t have taken the chance. I would have never forgiven myself if I’d hurt you.”
“You are already living with guilt as it is.”
She started to get up but he grabbed her shoulder and forced her back down.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Tough,” he told her. “It’s been three days.”
“And I’m just supposed to forget I almost killed my boss? That I lost control of my jaguar!”
“What bothers you more? That it was Sparro? Or your supposed loss of control?” Kieran asked.
“Don’t mock me,” she snarled. “Don’t you fucking dare!”
“I’m not,” he answered truthfully. “I’m just trying to make you see this was no different than any other time you had to take out a shifter.”
There was silence for several moments. “But I haven’t.”
He frowned. “Haven’t what?”
“Killed a shifter or anyone,” she confessed. She stared at the wall behind him.
“Really?” Kieran didn’t know how any Organization agent could have gone so long without having to take someone out.
“It’s not part of my job. I investigate,” she explained.
Kieran nodded. “Okay, good. Well, you still haven’t.”
“You don’t understand.”
“No,” he agreed. “Because I have killed. It was always in the line of duty or to save a life. The same as it would have been for you.”
Tears pooled in her eyes.
“You were injured and didn’t know the condition of Corey or Remy. You were scared and that’s okay. I have no doubt you would have made the right choice. No doubt.”
“You believe in me?” she asked. “That much?”
“Always,” he replied. He wiped away one of the tears that fell. “Always.”
“I am so scared of losing control.”
“I will be here to help you,” he promised. “If you want to practice control or learn to fight better in human form. Whatever it is you need. Let me help you.”
“We’ll do it together,” she said.
“We already are.”
“Okay.” She rolled on top of him, her naked body covering his wet one. “Your clothes are soaked.”
“Someone was playing in the shower when I got home,” he responded with a smirk.
“I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”
He snorted. “That was obvious.”
“You have to be cold.”
Now she’d said the words, he could feel the chill seeping into him. “Yeah.”
“I should warm you up.” Dakota undressed him, then they crawled into the bed. She lay over him, stroking his cock.
“I was thinking we should get a more permanent place,” Kieran began.
“You want to discuss this now?” she asked.
Kieran almost told her no when she trailed kisses down his chest. “It’s been on my mind.”
“We don’t have to move,” she said. “I love it here.” Dakota crouched over him, still rubbing his shaft.
“It’s a hotel suite. We rent it, even if I’m not paying for it, and we should have something that’s ours.”
“Then talk to Jackson about one of the residences for sale here.”
“What?” he asked, growing distracted.
“Jackson owns his own rooms. So do some of his men. He was going to talk to you about it when he was sure you would stay in town.”
“I’m staying,” he swore. “I won’t ever leave you.”
“Especially now Caspar has been appointed acting director,” Dakota teased.
“Well, that doesn’t hurt, but even if Caspar hadn’t decided to stay, I wouldn’t have left you.”
She laughed. “Like you have any control. I would hunt you down.”
“How about you forget about hunting and suck me instead,” he suggested.
Her laughter rang out. “I might do that,” she said. “But first I’m going to bathe you in my scent. You might not have a smell, but I’ll have fun trying.”
Kieran spread his arms out wide. “I’m under your control.”
Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:
Were Chronicles: Pack Enforcer
Crissy Smith
Excerpt
Chapter One
Emily Black kicked her shoes off and laughed as they flew across her living room. Godforsaken things. It felt so good to be barefoot. She hated shoes no matter what kind they were. At least the tennis shoes she wore to class were more comfortable than the heels her friends wore. She couldn’t even imagine how much her girlfriends’ feet ached after hoofing it across campus. Even though classes weren’t in session, as the new semester hadn’t yet started, Emily had spent the day going over her options for her upcoming schedule, trying to decide if she wanted to make any changes. She’d brought home the selections her counsellor had given her and she planned to choose in the next couple of days.
She nudged her shoes under the coffee table then stripped off her shirt and jeans while heading into the bedroom for loose shorts and a tank top. Once comfortable, she strolled to the kitchen. The fridge, which she kept overstocked, was cool as she opened it. She grabbed a bottle of water and the Tupperware full of lasagna she had made last night. She placed the container in the microwave then punched in two minutes at high heat. As she waited with the fork in her hand, she jumped up onto the counter.
A human would consider her behavior weird or think that she hadn’t eaten in hours. But for her, it was just another day. She had eaten lunch only two hours ago, but a shifter burned a lot of energy and needed to eat large regular meals, especially
when the full moon was close. All her hungers increased as the natural cycle for shifters approached.
She, however, ate many small meals. Especially around the few people she called her friends. All the girls and guys who she hung around with were human and they wouldn’t understand what she hid behind closed doors. No one at school knew about her shifter abilities. Of that she was pretty sure. To them, she was just a quiet girl who liked to study and keep to herself. She was pretty in a traditional way, but not a head-turner. She would leave being stunning and charming to those around her. She preferred to blend in and not draw attention to herself.
Her blinking answering machine light caught her eye, but she wasn’t in any hurry to check. It was probably someone trying to sell her something. She didn’t get many phone calls. All her true friends were back in Pack territory and they usually called on the weekends. She missed them, but was still proud that she’d gotten accepted to the state university a couple of hours away from Pack land.
When she’d first made the decision to attend college out of Pack territory, she’d never thought it would be so hard to be away from them. The longer she stayed in the city, the more her mind drifted back to her friends and family. And the man who her heart belonged to.
The microwave dinged and she yanked the handle to open it up. Even though the food was still steaming, she started to shovel it into her mouth. She was getting better at cooking and this recipe was one of her very favorites. When the container was half empty, Emily finally took a deep breath and set it down, giving her stomach time to process the food she’d practically inhaled.
She hopped off the counter to walk over to the cabinet next to the fridge and grabbed the leftover rolls she’d put in a plastic baggie. As she passed the answering machine she hit the play button.