by M. L. Briers
Flynn couldn’t help but let out a heartfelt burst of laughter that practically rattled Summer’s teeth and brought Tina’s wide eyes towards them.
“What the hell is wrong with you woman?” Abe growled as he rubbed at his eyes, still blinded by her actions.
“I know self defence…”Tina shot back as her nervous eyes flicked between a laughing Flynn and a pained Abe, who was now trying to open his eyes and squinting like a lunatic.
“I noticed…” Abe growled, turning his head towards her and trying to see through the tears and blurred vision her jab had created.
“Don’t attack me again…”Tina barked back at him and Abe swore again.
“Attack you. I saved you from falling on your butt, you ungrateful little…”Abe was growling and cursing with each breath, and Summer shook her head and covered her mouth with her hand to hide the wide grin that she couldn’t keep from appearing.
“You tried to smell me…”Tina growled back at him and he took another step towards her as he tried to blink away the fuzziness of his vision.
“Scent you, woman…”He growled down at her and she balked.
“And the difference is the same.”She snapped back and Abe stopped and looked confused for a long moment.
“You damn Fae make no sense…” Abe finally gave up trying to work it out and growled at her.
“Summer?”Tina was looking for backup, but when she found Summer grinning like an idiot she did a double take. “Summer?” She insisted and Summer slapped herself upside the head and snapped out of it.
“I think you should let him scent you, Tina.” Summer offered gently, even though she had to cough down the chuckle that threatened her.
Tina looked aghast. She had expected support from her friend, not being thrown to the damn wolves.
“Have you gone insane?”Tina shot back, and Summer had to fight the urge to laugh. It didn’t help that Flynn was sniggering away all around her.
“No, but I think you might just be Abe’s mate.”Summer offered gently, trying desperately to bury the laugh that wanted to rise in her throat.
Tina’s mouth sagged open. She tore her eyes from Summer, up to Flynn, and then over to Abe who was standing there looking as if he wanted to kill her.
“Him.”She pointed a finger and looked disgusted with the idea, and Summer sniggered, and coughed.
“Yeah…”Abe growled down at her, and she swallowed hard. “Me.” He added as he took another step.
“I know self defence.”She protested again and Abe stopped in his tracks looking hesitant as he narrowed his eyes on her and growled low and hard until she finally swallowed down her tongue.
“Lady if you poke me in the eyes again, I swear to god I’m going to poke you back with something much, much bigger than a finger.”Abe growled and Summer spat out a laugh that she couldn’t hold onto. Just the sheer look on Tina’s face, a cross between shock and mortification, had her bending double against Flynn’s arm.
“It’s not funny…” Tina hissed in Summer’s direction, and Summer waved her hand dismissively in front of her.
“Oh tell me about it, been there, done that. Got the mate to prove it.” Summer chuckled and heard Flynn’s gentle growl against her ear as he tightened his arm around her.
“You recognise me as your mate…?” He breathed out and the laughter died on her lips, oh crap, she knew what that meant.
“What? No. I didn’t say that…”Summer bit back and Tina’s eyes shot between where Abe was standing staring at her and where Summer was pulled against the alpha’s chest, her face a picture of nervousness.
“You did.”
“Did not.”Summer shot back quickly and Tina lifted her chin and gave Summer a knowing look. She kind of liked that the shoe was on the other foot now.
“You kind of did, Summer.”Tina offered and Summer gave her a look of disbelief.
“Traitor.”Summer hissed at her as Abe took another long step towards her, blocking out Summer’s vision of her with his wide back, all she heard was another squeak.
“I need to scent you.”Abe growled again.
“No dinner first?”Tina managed before his arms shot out and he yanked her towards him, dipping his head against her neck and taking in her scent, and she squeaked one more time…
“Mine.” He growled before nuzzling into her neck, and she groaned against the feeling of hopelessness that welled up inside her.
Summer had hoped that Abe’s declaration had made Flynn forget about what she had said, or what he thought she had said, or what she had admitted too… Damn, but it hadn’t.
He turned her in his arms and stared down at her with dark eyes. The desire was there, and she knew it was the fire of his need to mark her mixed with the desire to mate with her, and it was her turn to feel that lump in her throat.
“I want to mark you…”Flynn growled out, as his hand cupped her cheek and she felt the spark of heat race through her body.
“I thought we were taking this thing slowly?”
“I have, if you were Lycan I would already…”Flynn’s frowned down at her. His eyebrows tried to meet over the top of his nose, but there were two little ridges that barred the way, and she had the need to rub her fingertips over those ridges and sooth them.
“But I’m not Lycan…”Summer snapped back to the reality of what he was saying. This could go either of two ways, she could give into the urges that were running through her like a desire for chocolate at that time of the month, or she could… Damn, why was he chocolate, why couldn’t he have been those little marshmallows that slowly melted into the cup of hot chocolate? It wasn’t so bad if she went to the cupboard and found the bag of those empty, but chocolate… Her mind forgot the rest.
“And that’s why I’ve been patient…”Flynn informed her, as if he were so proud of himself, so smug in his ability to resist her this long…
“It’s only been a few hours, Flynn…”
“It’s been a lifetime, Summer…”He offered back gently and she went to open her mouth and say something profound, something sarcastic, something acidic, but couldn’t say a damn thing. His words had knocked her for six, what the hell was she supposed to say to that?
“You can get off me now…”Tina squeaked out from somewhere behind her, and she tried and failed to pull her eyes from Flynn’s dark gaze, to turn and make sure her friend was ok, but she couldn’t manage it.
“Let me mark you…”Flynn gently growled. The back of his hand trailed gently down her cheek and she was so close to losing herself to him when Abe yelped and broke the moment.
“Damn it woman…” Abe growled out, just as Summer turned to see him hobbling backwards.
“We should get Tina settled…”Summer blurted out. Not turning to look back at Flynn as his hand dropped from her back and she stepped away from him.
“You practically threw me to the damn wolf…”Tina ground out between clenched teeth as Summer led her into the kitchen and looked back over her shoulder to see the two brother’s arguing with each other in the room behind them.
“I did not. He needed to scent you, and he would have- no matter whether you wanted him too or not.”Summer hissed back as she led her towards the kitchen counter and pushed her towards a stool.
“What am I going to do now?”Tina gasped out, slightly hysterical at the thought of being Abe’s mate. Summer grabbed two cups and the coffee pot and walked back to the counter.
“My thoughts exactly.”She whispered back and Tina glared at her.
“If I hadn’t of had to come looking for you…”She accused and Summer couldn’t help but balk at that.
“If I hadn’t of had to come here in the first place…”She reminded her and watched her friend drop her eyes and her attitude.
“What’s done is done, I suppose.”She offered, backing out of her responsibility in the whole mess, and Summer huffed.
“Coffee?”
“Vodka.” Tina hissed back and Summer couldn’t help but smile.
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“You can’t spend the rest of your life drunk…”
“I could give it a damn good try.”Tina turned her head and eyed her mate. “He is rather…”
“Big.”Summer offered, eyeing her own mate.
“Sexy…” Tina admitted and Summer put her elbow on the counter and rested her chin in the palm of her hand.
“Yeah, Lycan are sexy, I’ll give them that. They’ve got that whole, tall, broad, muscled, manly thing going on. Kind of makes you want to climb on up there, like a tree, or a mountain, and wrap yourself around them…” Summer couldn’t help but sigh.
“But the rest of our lives with one guy, and him a Lycan?”Tina shook her head and sighed.
“The rest of our lives in one place…”
“That’s right, I forgot about your wandering spirit…”Tina nudged her, causing her chin to slip out of her hand.
“I don’t have a wandering spirit. I just don’t like…”
“Commitment to anyone or anything.”Tina offered and saw Summer’s face drop.
“Yeah well, all good things come to an end eventually. The world turns and tries to throw us on our backsides every day.”Summer reached for the coffee pot and poured two cups as the back door to the kitchen opened and a gush of ice cold air blew Corrine inside.
“Wow, should have made that trip in my fur…” She growled out as Summer saw Tina eyeing the woman, as she stomped the snow from her feet and shook her whole body like an animal.
“Corrine this is Tina…”Summer offered and Corrine’s eyes warmed as she took her in.
“My second new daughter of the day.”She announced as Tina’s face dropped somewhere onto her lap. “Oh don’t look so down child. His bite is certainly more fun than his bark.”Corrine offered to Summer’s amusement, but Tina just sighed again, rolling her eyes and shifting her gaze back around to Abe.
“I wanna go home.”She mumbled and Summer nodded.
“But then we’d miss all the fun of the rogue hunt.”She tried to be enthusiastic about it, but she had the horrible feeling that the snow might just put a dampener on tomorrow’s expedition.
“What did I miss?”Tina frowned at her. She hadn’t heard anything about a rogue.
“Apparently they found a Fae tonight, not pretty by all accounts, and we were supposed to go there tomorrow, but…”Summer pointed out of the window and Tina frowned.
“So it’s a rogue?”
“Looks that way.”
“So I didn’t need to come all the way here then…”Tina pouted and felt the urge to kick something, where was your mate when you needed him, she wondered flicking her eyes back to the living room and the two men who were now coming towards the kitchen.
“Fate had other plans.”Summer teased as her eyes locked onto Flynn’s and that roll of excitement went through her.
“Abe will be staying here for a few days…”Flynn announced and Tina balked.
“Well if he lives somewhere else he should stay there…”
“Are you offering to come with me?”Abe growled as he stepped out from behind Flynn and stared down at her.
“Dream and on.”Tina snapped and Summer couldn’t help but grin.
“Then I’ll be staying here.”Abe announced, his eyes flicking towards his mother who was grinning her approval at him.
“Oh good.”Tina spat out on a roll of her eyes.
“Mother what are you doing here?”Flynn asked and Corrine shrugged innocently.
“I came to meet my other new daughter.”
“But how did you know?”Abe growled out and Corrine couldn’t help the amusement that shone in her eyes.
“I think it had something to do with the fact that you broadcast you have found her through the link…”
“The link?”Abe growled. “So everyone knows?”He cursed and mumbled under his breath.
“So, I’ll let you all get off to bed now…”Corrine teased, watching the women’s faces drop and the men’s eyes light up. “I’ll be back tomorrow.” Corrine chuckled to herself as she breezed back towards the door.
“You could stay…”Summer bit out quickly. “A while.” She added when Corrine didn’t turn back around, just waved over her shoulder and yanked the door open, slamming it shut, with such finality, behind her. Like a nail in a coffin, Summer thought, not turning back to meet the set of eyes that she knew were on her.
“Would you like me to show you where your bedroom is?”Flynn came up behind her as she stacked the dishwasher. She didn’t need him to speak to know that he was there, she felt him. His heat warmed her like the sun, and her skin tingled with his nearness.
“Is that a trick question?” It certainly felt like he was instilling images in her mind. Just the word bedroom had her thinking of earlier, her little room at the bed and breakfast, his body above hers on the bed, his arms and legs caging her in, the look in his eyes as he stared down at her. The way her heart was beating so fast within her chest, not a warning, pure excitement.
The touch of his hand on her shoulder made her lashes flutter closed as her mind and body directed every last bit of attention to his touch, the heat that seeped through her top and into her skin, the way it spread through her, and the rush of excitement that it caused.
“I want you, Summer. There is no trick in that. You know where I stand. It’s not me that’s trying to fight the mating call.”His gentle deep tones seemed to brush everything else away.
“I’m not trying to fight it. I kind of was, at first, but that’s only because I needed to concentrate on what’s going on here with the Fae, but this is Tina’s gig, and now that she’s here I could just pack up and leave…”
Flynn’s hands came down on her shoulders and she opened her eyes when he turned her in place towards him. His eyes were intent on her face, and she knew what he was looking for… “I’m not leaving, Flynn…” She wanted to ease his anxiety, she wasn’t playing games. That wasn’t who she was, she was telling it as is…
“I wouldn’t stop you from leaving…”It would kill him inside, and he’d try to persuade her to stay, but if she was adamant that she didn’t want him…
“Like you could…”Summer couldn’t help the playful challenge that she threw at him, and his gentle growl was worth far more to her than any words he could offer. “I know you’re my mate, the one the Fates chose for me. You’re my one true chance at happiness in life, Flynn. And I want to be happy, I do…”
When she stopped and frowned, he lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. “You just don’t know how, do you little Fae?” He could see it in her eyes and feel the tension within her body.
“Happiness isn’t something I’ve ever strived for. I just wanted to be free to be me…”
“You are free, Summer…” Flynn stopped when he saw her shake her head, just a tiny shake of denial.
“I’d be your mate, Flynn. Part of your pack, with rules and restrictions. I’ll be a mother…”
“You want pups?”Flynn eyes came alive with the happiness that ran through him.
“I wouldn’t make a good mother. I didn’t have a very good role model.”Summer pulled away from him, backing off to the other kitchen counter, and she reached behind her to grip the counter top. There, she’d said it, finally admitted out loud that she had a crappy mother, that she would be a crappy mother…
“You’re broken, let me help you to heal…”
“Gee, nice way to put it, mate, why didn’t you just say I had a screw loose…”The sarcasm shot out of her, probably because she knew he wasn’t wrong. Because she knew she was broken. Fear of commitment was just the top of the iceberg.
“Because you don’t… well…” Summer’s jaw dropped open as she stared at him across the small aisle.
“Butthead…”She hissed out and watched that damn sexy smile of his light up his face.
“I was going to say. You are a Fae…”He started again and she hissed again.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”He grinned back and Summer
scowled up at him.
“So all Fae are…?”
“Slightly unhinged.”He offered, not letting her finish. But noting the way her head snapped back on her neck as she scowled up at him.
“Then I guess it follows that all Lycan’s are…”
“Horny…”He offered with that wolfish grin that made her want to climb up his body and lick him like a lollipop, all the way back down again.
“Keep digging the hole…”She managed to hiss back and he ran both his hands down from her shoulders to her wrists and then pulled her against the length of his body. If she was a thermometer her head would have exploded as the lava shot through her veins.
“Only if you’ll get in there with me, naked…”Flynn’s voice had dropped to a deep base that rolled through his chest and hers. It was practically like standing next to a vibrator, a very large, very sexy vibrator.
“Only so I can hit you over the head with the damn shovel…”She was trying to hold onto her acidity, but the longer she stayed pressed against him like that the more she started to melt, thaw. If she wasn’t careful she’d be a big mushy puddle in her clothes on the floor at his feet.
“You really do have a violent streak running through you, first you wanted me to spank you…”
“I did not, if you lay one hand on me I’ll…”He brushed his lips over hers and she forgot what they were talking about. He took her silence for what it was, submission to her emotions, and let go of one of her hands and cupped her face. His tongue ran over her lips, tasting her, and teasing her surrender. When she didn’t immediately comply he growled gently at her, pushed against the barrier of her lips, and when she opened to him he claimed her mouth with such passion that she had no choice but to seek his solidity with her hands as her world spun away from her.
Summer fisted his top in her hands and held on for dear life as he swept her up in his desire, her desire, and the fire that was burning between them.
Flynn’s hands found her hips and he lifted her against the counter top, sitting her at the right height that when he nudged her legs apart with his hips and pressed her against him, she moaned with the feel of his hardness as it rolled over her nub.