Running Free

by K. Webster

  His laughter fills my soul and I can’t help the grin that breaks out on my face.

  “You’re so fucking cute, hádanka.”

  And my heart is in a puddle of goo. Again. Damn him and his sweet pet name.

  “What do you want, Gun? I’m working.” I attempt to let annoyance drip from my tone but it doesn’t quite have the effect I’m aiming for.

  He snatches my hand and drags me to him, placing a kiss on the top of it. “I came to invite you to lunch.”

  My eyes dart to the dark window. “It’s almost midnight, goofball.”

  “Which is my lunch time,” he tells me with a smug tone. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

  He’s dragging me toward the door when I finally put on the brakes. “Wait! Gun, you can’t just come in here and literally drag me away from my job. You’re an animal. I have work to do.”

  “Please, Frankie.”

  He gives me sad, puppy dog eyes and I cave. “Shit, you’re killing my reputation,” I huff.

  Breaking from his grasp, I walk over to the bar where Luca’s leaned over flashing Casey a wicked smile that used to melt my panties right off my body. That girl doesn’t listen and that boy is one horny motherfucker. They don’t belong together. But they aren’t my business — they can figure their own shit out.

  “Case,” I say with a sigh, “Do you mind if I take a short break and have dinner with Gun? Can you and the others hold down the fort for half an hour?”

  Luca chuckles. “Take all the time you need, pup. As long as I’m having a chat with Casey, nobody will give her a hard time about being slow with their refills.”

  I’m ready to lay into him and tell him to leave her alone. Remind him that she’s just an innocent human. But then I sense it. Something different coming from him.

  “Are you wearing a new cologne?” I question.

  He shakes his head and his eyes are back on the bubbly blonde, ignoring me altogether.

  Winston chimes in with a whispered response. “That, little sister, is our fearless leader staking his claim.”

  I swivel around and gape at Winston in horror.

  “Yep, wolf shit. It stinks if you ask me,” he says with a chuckle.

  Before I vomit, not from the smell because it was quite alluring actually, but from the premise alone, I push away from the bar and haul ass toward my man. My human man devoid of all creepy animal shit.

  “Gun, let’s go,” I bark out, eager to leave the Brainless Horny Idiots otherwise known as my “brothers.”

  Sometimes being a shifter is nothing but bullshit.

  Gunnar

  “I can only take half an hour,” she reminds me as we crunch through the woods across the street from the bar.

  “I’ll have you back in no time.”

  She lets out a sigh but not one from annoyance. I think she’s scared of me. Deep down inside, she’s scared about how real we could be. Last night was fucking epic. Frankie and I fucked like we were made to. But that wasn’t what made it so amazing. It was the unspoken words. The calm, comfortable feel the air had to it having her wrapped up around me. Showering and cooking together — such simple domestic duties, felt right with her.

  I like her and want to spend every waking moment learning every single puzzle piece that is her and putting it where it goes in my heart.

  She’s my hádanka.

  And Mom would have adored her.

  “It’s just over here,” I tell her as we emerge from the woods and I guide her to a soft, grassy area near the edge of Woodland Pond.

  The backpack I had filled with some shit I grabbed from the house weighs heavy on my shoulders so when we stop, I slide it to the grass.

  “Close your eyes,” I instruct.

  Her eyes lift to the bright, yellow moon and she groans. “Fine. But I hate surprises.”

  I grin at her and wait for her to obey me before I pull out all of my props. The plush blanket took up most of the space in the backpack and once I unfold it and stretch it out over the earth, I dig around in the bag until I find a bottle of wine and sandwiches I made.

  “Okay, open.”

  Her lips draw up into a cute grin and I mentally pat myself on the back.

  “Thought it was time to take my woman on a romantic date,” I tell her with a shrug.

  A dark eyebrow arches up and she smirks. “Your woman, huh?”

  We settle on the blanket next to each other and I peck her on the cheek. “Yep. Now, I hope you like peanut butter and jelly.”

  She giggles and it scares off an animal nearby in the woods. “Wine and sandwiches. Do those even go together?”

  “They do now.”

  Since I have to go back to work, I only have a few sips of wine from the bottle. She takes several more swallows than me while we munch on the food. Eventually, after we’ve downed half the bottle between us, she stretches out on her back and stares up at the sky.

  “You ever wonder if there’s more out there than what you know?” she questions, a hint of sadness tinging her words.

  I lie down beside her and rest on my clasped hands behind my head. “Like aliens?”

  She scoffs. “No, not aliens. You know, um, like vampires?”

  Her tone is cautious and it confuses me. Rolling over, I pin her with a questioning stare. She’s still looking at the full moon as if it possesses all the secrets of the world.

  “Are you afraid I’m going to suck your blood?” I question with a wink.

  She swats at me and I easily grab her hand, pinning it to the blanket beside her.

  “No, I don’t believe in vampires,” I tell her finally. Her face falls and for a moment I wonder if she is one. But I know better and throw her the bone she wants. “But I believe there’s stuff out there we don’t understand.”

  My answer suffices for now and she graces me with a smile.

  “I like you, Gun.”

  “I like you too, hádanka.”

  Her eyes light up at the pet name which causes my heart to tighten in my chest. My thoughts drift back to my mother and I can’t help but wish that she were here so she could meet her. They’re cut from the same good, kind cloth. Frankie is a woman who would make for a fine wife one day. And despite Carla ruining our marriage with her infidelity, I’m not afraid to marry again in due time. Sometimes your heart latches onto someone else and it takes a while for the rest of you to catch up. Right now, every bit of my heart is latched onto Frankie. She feels it too but seems to be more cautious, almost in denial, and that makes me all the more determined.

  “I need to get back,” she murmurs, her voice thick with need. She doesn’t want to go but she’s saying what she has to. The look in her eye is begging me to ask her to stay with me. What sort of man would I be if I didn’t give my woman what she wanted?

  “Stay, Frankie. Just a little longer.”

  Her mouth quirks into a sweet smile but once I slip my hand under her shirt, her smile falls. I keep my fingers running circles around her belly button while I soak in every beautiful expression on her face.

  “Make love to me, Gunnar.”

  My hand slides up her belly and I cup her tit. Once again, she’s not wearing a bra. And I almost go mental knowing she was in the bar around all those motherfuckers without a goddamned bra on.

  “Jesus, woman. Why in the hell aren’t you wearing a bra to work?” I demand.

  Her eyes pop open and she glares at me. “I thought guys were into that kind of thing.”

  Giving her nipple a pinch that causes her to gasp, I growl. “Exactly and all those idiots have probably been lusting after you. You’re mine, hádanka.”

  She whimpers when I pinch it again, this time harder.

  “They don’t fit,” she explains with a huff. “I’m in—I’m in—I’m going to start my period in a few days if you must know and my boobs are swollen.”

  I remember when I was married to Carla that sometimes her tits would swell a little but not to the point of not being able to wea
r bras.

  “I want to see them. Take off your shirt.”

  She rolls her eyes but peels the shirt from her body, baring her spectacular tits to me. “There. You happy now? You’re a bossy human.”

  A bossy human.

  Her eyes widen until I burst into a fit of hysterical laughter. “Bossy human. You’re too much, Frankie,” I tell her as my mouth finds her nipple. I suck on the chilled pebble and gently bite it. “Now, get naked. This bossy human wants to mark his woman before she goes back to work all braless and shit.”

  She giggles but sets to undoing her pants while I rip off my clothes in record speed. Once we’re both naked and she’s spread open before me, I grin at her.

  “You’re so damn gorgeous, Frankie. I’m going to enjoy fucking you under the moonlight like a couple of wild animals.”

  Her eyes darken with one of the many enigmatic things that hide just below her surface and I nearly ask her what she’s thinking about. But when she grabs onto my cock between us, all rational thoughts are gone and I can only think about making love to her. With my eyes on her, I push her hand away and fist my cock. She gasps when I tease her wet as hell entrance.

  I want to slam into her.

  I want her to scream into the night as I take her.

  But what I mostly want to do is feel every perfect, tight inch of her. Slow and teasing — a preface of the insane pleasure that’s to come.

  “You’re different, Frances Aleen. I’ll learn what makes you that way eventually. To me, you’re worth every difficult, painstaking puzzle piece. I will figure you out and I can’t wait to see the beautiful picture when I’m done. You’re mine, hádanka.”

  I push slowly into her and she whimpers. Once I’m seated deep inside of her, I cover her chilled flesh with mine and find her mouth. Our kisses are slow and unrushed despite both of us needing to get back to work. Right now, nothing else matters aside from each other.

  Cradling her jaw with my palm, I kiss her with every ounce of passion I feel for her. My intrigue, desire, and happiness pours from me into her. I hope she can sense that despite not knowing her long, I’d do anything for her. I’ll protect her at all costs and continue to do whatever it takes for her to want to spend more time with me.

  Eventually, she’ll let me love her the way I want to.

  “Oh, God,” she moans, her body tightening with an impending climax. “Don’t stop, Gun.”

  I continue my steady thrusting and murmur my words against her lips. “I’ll never stop, Frankie. Never.”

  My soft words seem to send her over the edge and she shudders uncontrollably beneath me. Every time she climaxes, I swear, her skin heats to superhuman degrees. It drives me wild with need and the way her tight body clenches with every spasm of pleasure around my cock, I’m soon pouring my worthless seed into her.

  I wish I could give this woman what every woman deep down desires. It makes me wonder if that’s the real reason Carla stepped out on our marriage — because I couldn’t give her what she ultimately wanted. With Frankie, I sense she’s a better woman. I woman of integrity and honesty, much like my mother was.

  Frankie’s the type of woman any man with any sense would want a future with. Images of her flitting around the house chasing after Cutie Pie and decorating the Christmas tree with me fill my head.

  “I don’t want you to get a big head or anything,” she says with a sigh, “but you’re amazing in the sack.”

  I bellow with laughter again and press a kiss to her cold nose. “How can I not get a big head with that comment? In fact, speaking of big heads,” I tell her, “a certain head is getting big again. Do you feel me?”

  When I thrust slightly into her, she groans in playful annoyance. “You’re also annoying, bossy, rude, and hairy.”

  Raising my eyebrows at her in mock horror, I argue. “Hairy? Did you see the motherfucker you used to be with? He’s way more of a hairy beast than me.”

  She laughs. “You’re more offended by hairy than annoying, bossy, and rude?”

  I’m nodding and about to argue some more when the woods around us go fucking wild with animal noises. Wolves howling. Birds chirping. Owls hooting. Bears growling. It’s a fucking zoo out there.

  “Holy shit,” she hisses.

  Her skin burns beneath me and I begin to wonder if she’s coming down with the flu or something.

  “Gun, get off me. Now!”

  When I don’t move, she screams and shoves me away as hard as she can. I’m still trying to process what the fuck is going on when she scrambles to her feet and makes a beeline for the trees. Her naked ass jiggles with every long stride away from me.

  “Frankie! What the hell is going on? Get back here and put some goddamned clothes on!”

  She dives into darkness, out of my sight, and I yank my jeans up. Not bothering with shoes, I buckle my pants up along the way as I haul ass after her. Once into the thicket, my feet scream at each bite of the thorns and sticks on the forest floor. It’s dark and she’s nowhere to be fucking found.

  “Frankie! It’s not safe to be out here alone!”

  Animals all around are going nuts with creepy-ass noises causing a shiver to run through me. I sure as hell am not going to do a good job of finding her half-naked and barefoot. With a grunt of frustration, I trot back to our blanket and quickly dress. I snatch up her clothes and shove them and the blanket back into the backpack.

  I spend the next two hours searching the woods. I’m pissed and fucking worried as hell. I don’t know if she was spooked by something or if she’s trying to get away from me. Eventually, I admit defeat and head back to the bar, hoping for some reason she’s there.

  When I walk in and scan the bar, I don’t see her. Anxiety blooms in my chest and I nearly explode. The place is practically empty aside from Luca, still perched at the bar, and a few workers including Casey.

  “Have you guys seen Frankie in the last two hours?”

  Luca swivels in his barstool and eyes me warily. I don’t have time for his alpha bullshit so I fold my arms over my chest and wait with a patience that is wearing really fucking thin.

  “Yep.”

  His answer, so smug and simple, infuriates me.

  “And is she okay? Where is she?”

  He narrows his eyes at me and smirks. “She’s fine.”

  I drop my hands to my sides and fist them. “Look, asshole. I don’t have time for this shit. Last time I saw her, she was running naked through the goddamned woods. There’s a fucking lunatic murderer on the loose and I don’t want her traipsing around in the dark where she could get killed. Now tell me where the fuck she is or I’m going to arrest your ass for obstruction of justice in a missing person’s case.”

  Casey places a hand on his arm and his features soften. “She went home, man. And she doesn’t want to see you. Give it a rest, Detective.”

  But I won’t give it a rest. It makes no sense why she jumped up mid-fuck practically and bolted from me with no explanation.

  “Thanks for nothing,” I grunt and storm out of the bar back to my Tahoe.

  The ride out to her place doesn’t take long and when I see her truck parked out front, I sigh in relief. Once I climb out, I notice Otis sitting in the porch swing.

  “Evening, Gunnar,” he calls out as I approach.

  I cut right to the chase. “I need to see her. Why’d she bail on me? What the hell happened, Otis?”

  He frowns and shakes his head. “Leave her be. She’s had a rough night. Came home earlier crying her pretty little head off.”

  I run my fingers through my messy hair and groan. “But why? What the hell happened? One minute we were, uh, talking on our date and the next she’s hightailing it away from me. Did I hurt her?”

  The old man stands and walks toward me. “She’s hurt. But you didn’t do anything wrong, son. It’s just the way she is.”

  Another puzzle piece that I don’t understand.

  “Let me in to talk to her, please.”

  H
e starts to speak when my phone rings. Thinking it might be her, I yank it from my pocket and answer.

  “Gun, get down to Woodland Pond, north side. We have another body.”

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

  “Be there in ten,” I snap and hang up.

  “I’ll tell her you came by. I promise,” Otis assures me with a kind smile. It’s written all over his face. He wants me to win her heart which surprises me. Usually dads don’t want their daughters dating. And despite them not being blood, they’re family.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Another fucking fatality and by the looks of it, the young woman has been gutted by a bear.

  “What do you think, Lipman?” I question the forest ranger Fitz brought in to help us with our investigation.

  The tall, broad man squats on his haunches and fingers the edge of the gaping wound with his gloved hand. “Definitely a bear. I’m sorry, Detective, but I don’t think you have a murderer on your hands. I believe you have a wild, possibly rabid, animal that’s doing this. Most bears around these parts don’t come around humans — they stick to the woods and occasionally they’ll dig through someone’s trash. Never in my eighteen years as a ranger have I seen anything like this.”

  I sigh and run a hand through my hair. My mind keeps wanting to flit back to Frankie but I need to focus on this case. I’ll sort things out with her later.

  “Right. So how do we track this thing? How do we take out a bear?”

  He stands and peels off the glove before regarding me thoughtfully. “I’ll employ my best trackers. They’ll survey the areas where these bodies were found, search for prints, excretions, and see if we can’t locate this animal. It’d be best if we could tranquilize him and—”

  Shaking my head, I cut him off. “A bear that has killed nearly half a dozen people doesn’t need to be tranquilized and studied for science. It needs to be put down. Not to mention, we’re going to have to cut open its stomach and look for traces of evidence that it was indeed the bear linking it to the crimes before I’ll even sleep. I’m still half-convinced someone is making these homicides look like a wild animal accident. So tell me what’ll take down a big-ass bear.”