by Lacey Thorn
“Are you heading downstairs?” Reno asked.
“Yeah, I want to find Gideon,” she answered. “Need something?”
“I just got off the phone with Tah when you walked in. Haven’t had a chance to tell anyone, yet. If you’ll let the Professor know, we’ll tell Finn and Murphy,” Reno said.
“Absolutely,” Vic agreed. “I’ll even let him know about Jess and her new little love. Maybe thinking about a visit with her will do him good.”
“Couldn’t hurt,” Reno agreed.
“More people will help us out a lot,” Amia added. “I think that’s the only way the Professor will agree to slow down.”
“I think you’re right,” Reno agreed.
“Maybe there will be more help in Oklahoma,” Vic said. “Did this Daniel say if there were other shifters there? I got sidetracked in the meeting. I should have asked then.”
“Daniel didn’t say much according to Tah. I think he’s as cautious as we are. We’re putting a lot of trust in Gabriel, but we don’t have a lot of choices right now,” Reno said. “Have to admit, I’m curious to see the place.”
“Me, too,” Amia said.
Vic almost said she was, as well, but she still didn’t know what Gideon wanted to do.
“Gideon still wants to speak to Dillon before we leave,” she stated.
Reno nodded. “I don’t think he’s going to get the answers he wants.”
“I know,” Vic said. “But he needs to try.”
“I can understand that,” Reno told her then grinned. “My how the mighty have fallen.”
“What does that mean?” Vic asked.
“I believe the words you used were, and I quote, ‘I’m no one’s mate. No matter what you believe, I do have a say in that. And I say, I’m not’.” Reno folded his arms over his chest when he finished, and Amia laughed.
“Gideon convinced me otherwise,” Vic admitted. “One taste, and I was hooked.”
“I know the feeling,” Amia agreed and snuggled up to Reno’s side. He bent his head and kissed her.
“I’ll just leave you two alone and go find my own mate,” Vic said and headed out.
Gideon and the Professor were deep in conversation when she walked in.
“You talk some sense into him,” the Professor said as soon as he saw her.
Vic crossed to Gideon and slid under his arm, cuddling into him. “What sense does he need talked into?”
“The Professor seems to think he needs to stay up half the night working. I said he might want to call it early tonight. Get some rest. He’ll be starting a long trip in another day,” Gideon said.
“Well, he has a valid point,” Vic told the Professor. “And I have good news.”
“It’s done?” the Professor asked.
She nodded. “Money will be transferred to a bank with offices close to Riverton, Oklahoma. Tah, Abby and the rest of the team are all on their way there, now.”
“And Jess?” the Professor asked. “How is my daughter doing?”
“From what I heard, she fell in love with Regan and has declared herself godmother. I believe she was talking about making more trips to visit.”
“She is?” The Professor looked startled then slowly a smile tilted his lips. It lit up his face. Maybe Finn wasn’t the only one who could be surrounded by people and still be lonely.
“Well, I guess I should make sure I’m packed and ready to go. Just a few days, and I’m on the road,” the Professor continued.
“Speaking of that,” Vic said. “There might be a change in plans.”
“What kind of change?” Gideon asked.
“Ariel and Griffin may switch places,” she said.
“That girl’s been hurt,” the Professor said. “You can see it in her eyes.”
“She has,” Gideon said.
“She needs love and acceptance,” the Professor said. “A home with people who will teach her how to move forward.”
“I hope they do,” Gideon said quietly.
“Ariel and Finn are cooking dinner together,” Vic said.
“He better not be planning to hit on her,” Gideon stated with a growl.
“No,” the Professor answered before Vic could. “Finn’s a good boy. He and his brother both. And if any of us can teach her to smile and believe again, it’ll be those two crazy Irish boys. I think they’re just what she needs.”
“I think so, too,” Vic said, squeezing Gideon’s arm.
“What about Griffin?” the Professor asked. “How does he feel about changing places?”
“It was actually his suggestion,” Vic informed them. “He seems to think he’ll have more to discuss with you, Professor, than he will with either Finn or Murphy.”
The Professor looked surprised. “That’s interesting.”
“He knows his way around a lab and research,” Gideon said. “I trained him myself. He’ll be a real asset when you get to Oklahoma. If you let him, that is.”
“Well, why the hell wouldn’t I?” the Professor thundered. “We need all the help we can get. You trained him?”
Gideon nodded.
“That’s wonderful. I still say we need you with us. Now that you’re mated, surely you’ll be coming with us,” the Professor said. “So much we need to do and plan and prepare to face.”
“Vic and I are discussing what we want to do,” Gideon said. “In fact, I’ve been waiting for her, so if you’ll excuse us…”
Gideon didn’t wait for the Professor to reply, he just took her hand in his and pulled her behind him down the hall to the bedroom they shared.
“We need to talk,” he said as soon as they entered the room and continued to blow her mind with what he and Ariel had discussed, and his conversation with Clara before she’d left.
“Oh, my God,” Vic said. “What a bastard! Do you think Clara might be right? I can’t believe he said that to Ariel! Jesus! Thomas is a grade-A asshole.”
Her head was reeling with everything he’d just shared. In her mind, it spoke volumes that Thomas’s niece was the one who wasn’t sure her uncle was the good guy. Vic felt the same after knowing he’d told Gideon to stay quiet and not share what he’d been forced to endure. By doing so, Thomas had fed Gideon’s guilt and made her mate easier to manipulate. Add in what he’d had the audacity to tell a woman who Vic feared had been brutalized, and she would be more prone to kill Thomas instead of rescue him.
“I need to talk to Dillon,” Gideon said. “He’s the only one here who can shed light on this.”
“Reno doesn’t think Dillon will tell you anything,” Vic stated. “Nothing Murphy’s done has broken him.”
“He’ll talk to me,” Gideon said. “He won’t be able to stop himself. If for no other reason than to prove to me that he’s smarter than me, smarter than Thomas. He wants to brag. He just hasn’t had the audience he wants.”
“When do you want to talk to him?”
“Tonight,” Gideon answered. “After dinner.”
“Then we make a decision about what we’re doing when we leave here?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I think…I think I owe it to Clara to listen to what she said. We should be smart and not just go blindly searching.”
“Does that mean what I think it means? Do you want to go to Oklahoma?” Vic asked, holding her breath in anticipation.
“I think it’s the smart thing to do,” he answered. “This is your family, and I think I could be an asset.”
“Most definitely,” she agreed. “They’ll be grateful as hell to have you join them.”
“This is what you wanted, right?” he asked.
“Yes, I want to go to Oklahoma, but only with you,” she said then shook her head. “Jesus. The thought of going anywhere without you makes me ill. If this mating shit turns me into a blithering idiot who can’t stand on my own, I might just have to go back to my first instinct when I met you.”
“What was that again?” he asked with a laugh, pulling her into his arms.
He leaned in, nipping her bottom lip. “I’m glad you went with sex.”
“Me, too,” she agreed. “But maybe you should convince me I made the right choice.”
He laughed. “Every day for the rest of our lives,” he vowed and took her mouth in a heated kiss.
In minutes, the kiss wasn’t enough. They became a tangle of arms and legs as they fought to shed clothing between kisses. Vic tumbled to the bed with her jeans and panties caught around her ankles, hindered by the shoes she’d neglected to kick off. Gideon chuckled and took care of them for her before catching her thighs and tugging her to where he stood by the bed.
She reached out and took his cock in hand, stroking from tip to balls and back up again. So long, hard and thick. She used her thumb to stroke across the head, spreading a drop of pre-cum.
Gideon hissed and pushed his hips into her hand. “Your touch sets me on fire,” he whispered.
He released her legs, leaned forward and braced one hand on the bed by her hip then moved the other to the saturated folds of her sex. He brushed his thumb over her clit, pressing it then plucking it between his thumb and forefinger. She moaned and thrust her hips up toward him. He trailed his fingers down her pussy and dipped inside, stroking her walls.
“Your touch awakens every part of me,” Vic said on a long sigh. “Soft when I need it to be. Hard when that’s what I crave.”
“I’ll be anything you desire me to be,” Gideon crooned.
“You already are,” she assured him. “You’re everything I never realized I wanted.”
She guided his cock to her and lifted into him as he plunged deep. She planted her heels on the edge of the bed and used it as leverage to rise into him as he took her. His abdomen rippled, his thigh muscles flexing and straining as he powered into her. Both his hands were braced on the bed, caging her in. She curved hers under his arms and up his back, grabbing his shoulders and digging her nails in, holding on for the ride he was taking them on.
She came with a loud cry. “Gideon!”
He kept thrusting, fucking through her orgasm and taking her higher. Her head thrashed against the bed, and her nails scoured his flesh. His name became a chant until his low roar of surrender shook the room. He dropped his head to the bite mark by her neck and sank his teeth into her. Another orgasm slammed through her, and for seconds, she was sure she lost consciousness as he came inside her. She held him close as he licked over her wound and rubbed his chest against hers. They were still breathing hard when he lifted away, scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the bathroom.
“Shower,” he said, giving her ass a smack as he set her on her feet.
She bent over the tub, adjusting the water and starting the shower. She widened her stance and gave her butt a wiggle before glancing over her shoulder to find his gaze glued exactly where she wanted it. She licked her lips, noticing the way his cock was already growing hard again. His stamina was definitely a perk to mating a shifter.
“I think we might be late for dinner,” she said.
He moved closer behind her, his hands grasping her hips. “I think we’ll be very late.”
Chapter Fourteen
Murphy was the only one in the kitchen when Vic and Gideon headed down to eat.
“Food’s still on the stove. Baked potatoes and grilled chicken with a pasta salad Ariel threw together with some of the leftovers.” He groaned and rubbed his tummy. “Damn, our girl can cook.”
“Our girl?” Gideon asked.
“She wants to be a member of this pride, then she is. That means she’s just as much mine to watch over as she is yours. Also means she has my back just as well as Vic does,” Murphy said.
“What does she like to do?” Vic asked, setting a plate on the table for Gideon and one for her. “Other than cook?”
Gideon sat down beside his mate. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I spent most of my time in the lab when I was there.”
“What was she doing while you were in the lab?” Vic asked.
“She likes to draw,” Murphy said. “Saw her doodling on a napkin with a pencil. Can’t imagine what she’d be able to create with real material. And Finn says she’s got the voice of an angel. I guess she has a habit of singing while she cooks.”
Gideon nodded. “She has a notebook she carries with her full of pictures she’s drawn. And her voice is gorgeous. I’ve heard her sing many times. I’m surprised she did with Finn, though. She’s usually more reserved around strangers.”
“Well, now, they don’t come much stranger than my brother,” Murphy said. “But as he has a right fine voice himself. I’m sure she felt comfortable crooning a bit with him.”
“They all sing,” Vic said. “Logan plays the guitar. Most of them have pretty good voices.”
“Our little angel will fit right in. We’ll find out what she wants to do, and that’s what she’ll do,” Murphy said as if that settled it.
“Where’s everyone else?” Gideon asked.
“She and Finn ate first with Reno and Amia. When Griffin and I came up, the Professor was just arriving, as well, and…” He coughed but Gideon saw the grin on his face. “He said you two were otherwise engaged and would be a little late. Reno and Amia headed out to double check what we packed in the truck today. I have no idea where the Professor headed off to, but he dragged Griffin along with him. Those two were talking a mile a minute.”
“The Professor looked good?” Vic asked.
“Animated as hell,” Murphy said with a grin.
“What about Ariel and Finn?” Gideon wanted to know. He couldn’t shake his need to protect her. Probably because he hadn’t realized how much he’d failed her until she’d spoken with him earlier.
“They went down to check the supply rooms and keep an ear out for Dillon,” Murphy said.
Gideon nodded. “I’m planning to head down when we’re done. See if I can get him to say anything to me.”
“Good luck with that,” Murphy said. “Nothing I’ve done has made him tell me anything we’ve asked him. And I’ve done quite a bit to encourage him.” He gave a grin that was more a flash of teeth.
“Well that explains Tah feeling the need to remind you not to kill him,” Gideon said.
“Little fucker deserves it,” Murphy said with a grunt. “He could have killed Zane and Logan. I’m certain he planned to kill as many of us as he could. And look what he did to Lydia.”
“I agree with you,” Gideon said. “Or at least, I did before I talked to Clara.”
“Now that doesn’t even make sense,” Murphy grumbled. “She should hate him more than any of us. Not just because of Logan, but Lydia, also.”
Gideon sighed, setting down his fork. Thinking about what Clara thought of Thomas, the man she believed her uncle could be, made him incredibly sad. He needed answers. They all did, but none more so than Clara.
“I’m going to head down,” Gideon said, pushing back from the table. He dropped a kiss on top of Vic’s head. “Finish eating first, please,” he said. “Then come down and find me. I’m sure Murphy will keep you company.”
“Nothing better than dinner with a beautiful woman,” Murphy crooned.
“Just remember she’s mine,” Gideon stated with a glare.
“Hell man, I’d be more scared of her than of you,” Murphy said. “Vic would kick my ass.”
“Damn straight,” she said, smiling up at her mate. “Go. I’ll be down in a minute.”
He dropped a kiss that turned heated as they usually did with her. He loved the way she understood him. He had seen it in her eyes—the way she was aware he needed a few minutes alone to collect his thoughts and decide how to face Dillon. This encounter held the capability of changing lives. He pulled back reluctantly, wiping his thumb over her bottom lip and smiling at her.
“Rub it in, then, will ya,” Murphy said. “Some of us are unmated with no prospects in the future.”
“Oh, I can�
�t wait to watch you fall,” Vic said and started laughing.
Gideon glanced at Murphy to see what had Vic so tickled and saw how pale the other man was. It appeared the thought of mating caused Murphy a bit of fear. Gideon had once felt the same way. Until he’d met Vic and discovered there was no cause for worry. Everything was better with Vic— knowing that she would always be there, standing beside him. He had someone to confide in, to trust and love. He almost stumbled as he walked down the stairs toward the storage rooms. He loved Vic. It shouldn’t be possible to fall this fast, but that’s how mating was. Strangers one moment and emotionally tangled the next. There was no questioning. It just was, and he was damn lucky for it.
He’d been mulling stuff over in the back of his head since Clara had planted the first seed of doubt earlier. What could Thomas have done to Dillon? Was Lydia trying to tell them that Thomas had betrayed Dillon? Or had Clara been wrong? So many questions unanswered.
“Hey, Gideon,” Ariel called and he looked up to see her smiling. It wasn’t a full-face smile, just a small lift at one corner of her mouth, but it was the closest he’d seen.
“Hey, yourself,” he replied. “Dinner was great.”
“Finn helped,” she said.
“Where is he?” Gideon asked.
“He went to check something at the cabin. Told me to stay away from Dillon,” she said. “Are you here to talk to him?”
Gideon nodded.
“Look, I like him,” Ariel said. “He’s funny, and he sings with me. And he makes me feel…normal,” she said quietly.
“I wasn’t talking about Finn,” Gideon said. “I’m glad he makes you feel normal. But, Ariel, you are normal.”
“Oh, I thought you meant…” She looked uncomfortable, shuffling her feet. “So you want to talk to Dillon? Why?” She turned her head and Gideon could almost see the gears working in her mind. “You’re going to ask him about Thomas, aren’t you? You know he’ll lie. You can’t trust anything he says.”
“Did Dillon ever hurt you?” Gideon asked.
She wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I stayed away from him.”
“Ariel?” he demanded.