His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’d like to get ahold of the bastards who did this to you.” He took the few steps it took to reach her and led her out to the dance floor. “From now on, you’re not alone. I’m here now, and I’ll take care of you.”
She was still a little shell-shocked as they danced. He held her close and stopped often to make sure she had plenty to drink. Sam took care of her as if he cherished her.
Time stood still as slow songs, fast songs, and love songs played as if the DJ had a playlist in mind just to make her fall for Sam. Neither of them spoke, but the desire in his own eyes shone like the noonday sun. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.
His muscles rippled under her hands, and he held her close to him in his strong arms as they moved to the music. For the first time since she’d escaped Collin and the motorcycle gang, she felt safe. She met his stare, and her lips parted in anticipation for his kiss. His sinful silky lips caressed hers for a moment before he growled, and they closed around her own mouth and he deepened the kiss. His tongue probed her mouth as he tasted her, and when her lips parted, he thrust his tongue in, rolled it over hers, and then it swept over her lips. As he thrust in again, he ground his erection against her swollen clit, and she thought she might come again on the dance floor. She was overwhelmed and breathless with the heady sensations swamping her. She’d think she was drunk, but she’d not had anything alcoholic to drink in hours.
His lips finally released hers, and he gave her a few soft kisses. His dark, magnetic eyes captured hers as they danced to the song. “You’re such a miracle to me. I can’t believe I’ve finally met you.” Sam’s tone was full of reverence and awe.
She looked up into his eyes, and they were full of tenderness and something darker…like a possessive dominance she couldn’t quite understand. She’d worry about it all later though. For now, she laid her head against his chest as the song played, about a man doing anything for the lady he loved. She finally understood love at first sight. She’d leave here with him tonight if she could.
That thought caused an icy spike of fear to shear up her spine. What the hell was she thinking? Was she so weak that the first time a man paid any attention to her and gave her an orgasm, or rather multiple orgasms, she was ready to forget the terror Rylee lived through because she’d picked the wrong man, again? The terror they still lived today with the worry that the motorcycle gang Collin rode with, The Brotherhood, would find her and Rylee and kill them?
The song ended, and she pulled away from him. Her heart ripped to shreds as she made her decision to back away from him. It made no sense that she’d already be this attached to him, as if she was walking away from a life mate, not a man she’d just met. “Sorry,” she whispered.
There was confusion in his features as if he could sense her fear. “Thank you for the dance,” she whispered. “And other things.” She got some distance from him before turning and walking back toward the table where her purse was. Her cheeks heated as shame burned her face, and she was relieved Sam couldn’t see how much he affected her.
What had she done? Hadn’t she told herself a million times since Collin that she wasn’t going to do this anymore? She’d damaged Rylee enough by her terrible choices, and here she was screwing Sam in a bar, another fucking bar. Her chest hurt, just as it did the night she’d found her mama near death from a drug overdose, and then later as the doctor told her that her mama was gone. She struggled to control herself and not cry, but damn, it hurt. She couldn’t fall head over heels for a man again. She had to be strong, so she could be a good mama for Rylee.
“Is everything all right?” Brandy’s eyes were wide as her gaze shot from her to just over her shoulder.
“Yeah. Listen, I gotta go.”
“Go? But the night is young. You and Sam were having so much fun.”
Guilt ate at her. Had Brandy seen how she allowed Sam to spread her legs and fuck her right out in the open? This was supposed to be a fresh start, and here she was, back to falling for the first guy that was nice to her. She gave Brandy a small smile. “I have to get home to Rylee.”
Brandy glanced over her shoulder, and she knew Sam was close. “Having a child doesn’t mean you’re no longer allowed to have any fun. Isn’t Darcy with her?”
“Yeah, but I’m Rylee’s mom. I need to put her first. I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”
Brandy gave an unsure wave as if she wanted her to stay, but was unsure of what else to say or do and gave a small smile as her brow furrowed with worry. “Are you sure? It’s only a little past nine.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Brandy wouldn’t understand, and she couldn’t tell her any of the horrific events that had led to them moving here. “Thank you for inviting me. I had fun, really.”
Brandy stood up and walked in front of her, and put her hands on her shoulders. “Avery, you look scared. What happened?”
“I know you meant well, but I just can’t do this. I need to go home now. I will talk to you later.”
Avery gave Brandy a hug and fought her tears as she backed up, pulled her purse up on her shoulder, and walked to the door. As she gave a parting glance, Sam was staring at her. His dark eyes gave her a clear warning. She could almost hear his voice saying, This isn’t over yet, sugar. Run for now, but my big bad wolf will follow you. You’re mine, and I always keep what’s mine.
As she walked down the sidewalk toward home, Avery thought she must have been going crazy to hear Sam talking in her head. She heard something rustle behind her and turned around. There was nothing there, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her.
“Stupid car,” she grumbled. The alternator had gone out, which sucked even more money that she was trying to save for Rylee’s birthday. She stared up at the stars and took a deep breath. This part of Texas didn’t get very cold, even in the winter, not like St. Louis anyways. The night had a slight chill to it, but not enough to make her need a coat. “Fate, huh. Well, fate, if you’re up there controlling our destinies and all that…can you make it so my baby girl will talk again, and maybe give me some extra money so I could afford that dollhouse she wants for her birthday? It’s so expensive, but it’s the only thing that makes her eyes shine with happiness instead of fear. I’ve done nothing but screw up her whole life. The harder I try, the more assholes come out of the woodwork pretending to be decent men. Could you do that for my baby girl? Could you give me back that money so I could buy her a two-hundred-dollar dollhouse so she could find a bit of happiness in life again?” The lonely night wind blew, rustling the drying leaves on the trees. “I thought not.” She crossed the highway and made it to the sidewalk on the main street that led her to her shotgun house.
She stuck her hands in her pockets and felt bad for complaining when she should be thankful. She could be dead, or stuck in some low-income, crime-ridden apartment complex in St Louis. Instead, her cousin’s half-brother had this house that was just sitting here decaying, so they offered it to her at an unbelievable price with an owner contract.
She walked down the sidewalk and heard a motorcycle. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment before she gasped for air. Her heart beat frantically in her chest as her mind screamed, They’ve found you, run! Her jaw clenched as she tried to suppress a scream, and her heart beat so hard and fast, she worried she’d have a heart attack right there on the sidewalk. The Brotherhood didn’t like loose ends, and she and Rylee were two major loose ends. She wished she could trust someone. They would think she was crazy if she told them the truth. I saw men turn into large dogs. Their clothing just shredded off their body, and they changed right there in front of me, while Collin and his buddies shot at some biker guys from another gang. Then, the police didn’t believe her about the shootings in Harrison or St. Louis either. They could see the evidence of the bullets, but shrugged it off. No, the police weren’t an option for her.
Footsteps had her spinning around with her heart beating wildly in her chest. She knew she�
��d heard them this time. She scanned the bushes for any animals hiding. She didn’t see a thing, and that scared her even more. She’d heard the gravel crunching under someone’s shoes. “Who’s there?” She put her keys in between her fingers. She didn’t know how she’d defend herself against people who changed into animals, but she’d go down fighting.
No one appeared, and the more she stood out in the open, staring at the dark shadows, the more ragged her breathing became. She drew in sharp, rapid breaths as if someone held a bag over her head, and she was running out of oxygen. She started to see things moving in the shadows. Images of bikers in leather vests hiding behind bushes filled her mind. She thought she saw a light reflecting off gun metal. Her control broke, and she spun in circles whimpering as dizziness swamped her. Run! She turned and ran down the street. Her ankle twisted, and she cried out at the sudden searing pain. She landed hard on her knees and the palms of her hands. She bit down on her lower lip to stifle a cry of pain and huddled on the sidewalk rocking back and forth, as she imagined the biker gang swarming around her and ready to eliminate her.
“Are you okay?” a soft male voice asked.
She jumped to her feet with a scream as pain shot up her leg. “Stay away.” She held out her keys as her only means of defending herself.
A man, who looked very much like Sam, stood just a few feet away from her. He put his hands out in the universal symbol of I mean you no harm. “I’m not going to hurt you. I heard you crying and I came to see if you were all right.”
“Who are you?” she demanded. Something told her this was the man that was following her. He didn’t look like one of the bikers from The Brotherhood, but they could change their appearance if they wanted. She’d seen them change right in front of her. She wasn’t taking any chances with this guy. She’d die fighting and make sure she made enough racket that everyone on the street would come looking. If it was one thing criminals hated, even shape-shifting outlaw biker gangs, it was people noticing them when they were committing crimes.
“I’m Gage Dalton. I live over the Prairie Rider bar over there. I was walking home from where I keep my horses stabled, and I heard you scream.”
She relaxed a tiny bit and took in Gage’s appearance, which was easy to make out under the street lamp. He had lighter hair than Sam, but other than that, he looked almost just like him. He wore light brown jeans, worn cowboy boots, a blue western shirt, complete with a bandana tied around the neck, and a white, dirty cowboy hat. “You live over a dance hall and saloon, and yet you have horses?”
Gage grinned, and she thought her knees may buckle. Dimples appeared in both cheeks, and his light brown eyes sparkled with good humor. “Yeah, I own the bar, and I also enjoy riding horses and rodeo.” He held out a rope and thick leather gloves as if he wanted to prove his point. Not that she knew what rodeo cowboys used.
“You’re a real cowboy?”
“Yes, ma’am, or at least I used to be. Now I just keep the cowboys alive once the bull throws them.”
“That sounds painful.” She shifted, and pain lanced up her leg. Her knees and hands were burning, as well.
“You’re hurt. Let me call a friend of mine with a car, and I can take you home.”
“I’m okay. I’ll make it all right. I’m not far from home.” She held her hands out in front of her as a way to protect herself from him. She just got away from Gage’s brother after humiliating herself. She didn’t need to fall right into another man’s arms. She could hear the talk now. Did you hear Avery was hanging all over two men on the same night? What a slut! She swallowed. Yeah, she was good at imagining what people said, because she’d lived it since she had her first boyfriend at seventeen years old, and her mother spread the word about what a slut her daughter was.
Gage gave her a look that froze her in her place. As she stared at him, her pussy once again warmed, and she couldn’t help but imagine Gage lifting her in his strong arms. She could see his muscles straining in his western shirt. How could a man go from scary to panty-melting dominating in a tenth of a second? Gage had just done it. “You are not to move. Let me call Dylan, and we’ll get you home. You’re injured and scared out of your wits. I will see you home safely,” he crooned in her ear. His hand reached out and took hers. Warm relaxation flooded through her, and she nodded. Any thought of trying to walk away from him evaporated like rain off hot asphalt in mid-July.
He took out his cell phone, and within a few moments, he said, “Hey. Can you come and pick me up by the highway and Center Street? I’ve found a lady in distress.”
She wanted to hide her face even as she smiled at him. Lady in distress indeed.
He closed his phone. “Dylan will be right over.” He picked her up and smiled at her. “You should eat more, you don’t weigh very much.”
Shouldn’t she be angry and demanding Gage to put her down? She didn’t want to. In fact, she wanted to lay her head on his shoulder and let Gage take care of her.
A dark-colored SUV pulled up. When Gage opened the door, she saw a muscular man with dark short hair driving. There must be something in the water here that made all the men so big.
“Who’s your lady friend?” Dylan asked.
Gage set her in the front seat. “This is Avery. She took a spill, and I thought I’d be a gentleman and see her home.”
Dylan’s nostrils flared, and it looked as if he was sniffing her. He smiled and glanced back at Gage. “You just happened upon her, huh.”
“Yeah.” Gage glared at Dylan. “Shut up and drive, enforcer. She lives across from Sam.”
Enforcer? What the heck was an enforcer? She put her head against the headrest. Dylan took her hand, and before she could jerk it back, her head nodded forward and her eyes closed against her will. Terrified, she struggled to keep them open, to not lose consciousness in the car. It was all in vain though. Her vision went gray, and as the world was going dark, she heard Dylan say, “What the fuck happened, Gage? I can smell Sam all over her, and she’s all freaked out now. What the hell?”
“I accidentally spooked her. Sam called me and ordered her protection. She was a bit too intimidated by him, so he called me.”
“This isn’t like him. He doesn’t fuck human women and then ask us to clean up the mess.”
“It’s not what you think, Dylan. He went to check her out since she’s terrified of him every time he tries to talk to her. He told me she’s his fated mate. I can feel the pull, as well. He didn’t just fuck some woman, Dylan. He barely kept himself from mating her tonight.”
“Shit. Fuck, I’m sorry. All this shit from the other Lycan packs and the shit they pulled has my head all fucked up. I know Sam would never do such a thing.”
“I know, Dylan. It’s hard dealing out justice to our brothers who should have protected the humans in their pack territory, not tortured and killed them. Come on, let’s get her home.”
The strange way they spoke would have terrified her if she weren’t too relaxed to care. It was so nice to just close her eyes and not have a care in the world, and then she was sound asleep.
* * * *
Avery opened her eyes to see Gage and Dylan looking at her ankle. “Where am I?”
“Home,” Gage said as Dylan held a first aid kit. “I think you just wrenched your ankle. Try to stand on it.” Dylan and Gage both helped her stand up, and the pain was gone. Her knees and hands didn’t hurt anymore either.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” She stared at her hands in amazement and then at the sexy cowboy and his sidekick, Dylan. “Thank you so much for the ride home. I guess I fell asleep.” The paralyzing fear was also gone. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the light feeling.
“You did, but we got you inside okay. Darcy here helped us out a bit.”
Darcy waved and smiled. “Gage is a good guy, so is his brother, Sam. They’ve seen me home safe a few times.”
That explained the similar looks. “Brothers, huh.” Thinking of Sam, she heard his voice in her head again. My bi
g bad wolf will catch you, you’re mine.
Rylee walked into the foyer and held her hands up to her. “Did you have fun with Darcy?”
She stroked her girl’s shiny dark hair, wishing she could make her better. Ever since that horrible night that The Brotherhood attacked their home, Rylee had not said a word. She only made sounds at night when she screamed in terror. Then she called for Avery until she woke up and resumed her silence.
She’d taken Rylee to the child psychologist that her insurance would pay for, but she hadn’t helped Rylee at all yet. She’d said it was a mix of her anxiety and the trauma, and it would be a long road, maybe even inpatient care. She refused to allow her to take Rylee though. Her instinct told her that the worst thing she could do was send Rylee away.
“She was quiet as usual,” Darcy said as her phone went off.
“Let me get my purse, and I’ll pay you.”
“I got this.” Gage pulled his wallet out of his jeans.
“I have some money set aside to pay her,” Avery argued.
“Don’t worry about it. Take it easy on your ankle and put your feet up.” He pulled out two twenty-dollar bills and handed them to Darcy. “Thanks for watching Rylee.”
Avery swallowed. She’d only had ten to spare, and Darcy had even argued that. She smiled at the young girl, thankful that Gage had paid her so well.
Darcy patted Rylee on the head. “She’s easy to watch.” She texted back on her phone then looked up. “My boyfriend texted that he’s almost here. Thanks for the twenty.”
Avery smiled. “Thank you so much for watching Rylee for me.”
“It was fun. She just sat with me on the couch. She’s quiet for a little squirt.”
Avery tried to smile, but she knew it failed. She worried once again that there would be no fixing her little Rylee-Ann Grace. What if the psychologist was right and Rylee needed inpatient care? In her heart, she knew the doctor was wrong. That still, quiet voice warned her that the doctor was hurting Rylee, but she didn’t have any other options for Rylee’s care. “Yeah, she’s my quiet girl.”
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