by Celia Kyle
Her legs were slowly revolting, deciding they didn’t want to support her pleasure-drenched ass any longer. She was about a second from collapsing all over him. While she had no doubt he could support her weight, flopping on top of him in a sated heap was not sexy. At all.
“Isaac,” she tried again.
He licked her clit, that tongue torturing her, and eased back. That hand continued pummeling her with the bliss, but it slowly eased toward manageable.
She could breathe. “Oh, shit.” She realized she still panted. “That was…”
“Delicious.”
“I’ll take your wor—” Kira’s voice cracked when his fingers retreated and then pushed into her. “Oh, that’s nice.”
Isaac released a cocky chuckle and she couldn’t even tell him to shut the hell up. Not when he had every right to be proud of himself.
Her world had officially been rocked. She couldn’t wait to actually mate him.
Hell, she’d probably die. Cause of Death: Overwhelming Orgasms.
Here Lies Kira Kolanowski, Beloved Friend, Devoted Mate, Lover of the Big O.
That was perfect.
Slowly he slid his fingers free, and she swallowed her whine. They wouldn’t get to the mating part if they didn’t leave the forest.
Right. She knew that.
Isaac leaned his forehead against her hip, his hands digging into her skin and adding a small sting to the remaining tendrils of pleasure. Her pussy clenched, aching to be filled with more than his fingers, and she wondered when they’d get on to that part of the program.
With the remnants of her release waning, she realized the tree was a little scratchy on her butt. Eh, she could tolerate a little tree burn. It’d be so worth it.
He nuzzled her, rubbing his lightly furred cheek over her heated flesh and it sent another tremble through her. She twitched, involuntarily pushing into his touch. Her body wanted more and Kira admitted the rest of her wanted him, too.
His warm tongue lapped at her, tracing her hipbone before gently suckling her skin as if he couldn’t get enough of her taste. Well, she’d be the same if he let her taste him.
Now, please.
“Isaac?” She sifted her fingers through his hair, enjoying the short brown strands tickling her palm.
“Hmm?”
She tugged on his locks. “Isaac?”
He nibbled her hip. “Hmm?”
There had better be more to this program.
“I want to finish. Do you want to finish? I mean, only if you want to. I…”
She was such a walking, talking, half-blind baby. A big one. Huge even.
Isaac lifted his head, midnight gaze clashing with hers. “Oh, I do.” He shook his head. “Just not here. God, I want to claim you, but not against a tree or on rock-strewn ground. You deserve a bed.”
A bed would be wonderful. Soft and bouncy and… Mmm… bouncing.
“So, how fast can we get home?” She grinned.
“How fast can you get dressed?”
It turned out, very fast.
Chapter Fifteen
Isaac kept it together during the mad dash through the forest and back to his Chevy. He’d managed to pull the bear forward so he could shift. It’d resisted with every tug, urging and pushing Isaac-the-human to claim Kira, but he’d finally won and shoved the animal in its mental cage.
He’d even remained in control after shifting back and getting dressed though he did thump his cock a good half-dozen times so he could get it back in his jeans. It’d been a tight fit, his dick wanted to stay ready for her, but he’d managed.
Now they were roaring down the road and back to his house—or her house, he didn’t care—so he could finally have her, finally chain her to him with an unbreakable bond.
The bear was on board with that plan.
Drive. Fuck. Claim. Mine.
Four words that rounded out what needed to happen. Yeah, he’d need at least a week to properly tie her to him. Maybe two weeks. Two weeks could be good. Or three. He wondered if the town could remain healthy for three fucking weeks.
“So…” Kira drew the word out, lips forming an O that had him thinking of her mouth on him and his dick pulsed.
She shouldn’t speak. Especially if that mouth created the perfect shape and… He wasn’t gonna make it home without blowing. He just needed to accept he was going to come in his jeans like a fucking teen. So. Embarrassing.
On the other hand, it’d take the edge off so he didn’t embarrass himself when he got inside her.
“You know I want you.”
He groaned and thumped his cock.
Apparently she ignored the sound because she kept going. “But we still have one tiny issue to discuss.”
Discuss? Now? Discussions? Now?
Isaac gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles going white, and he was suddenly very thankful he’d swapped it out with one that had a titanium core. Nothing else would hold up under a shifter’s strength. And amazingly enough, most men tended to become overwhelmed with emotion while driving. He wasn’t sure if it was due to traffic or the person sitting in the passenger seat that smelled like sex, sweetness, and blueberries. The person who was all female and curves and sex… Lots of sex…
Yup, his dick twitched, his balls drew up tight, and his release lurked on the horizon.
“We never talked about the future.” Kira turned toward him in her seat, the new position bringing her shirt even tighter across her breasts. He could only see her in his periphery—he was trying to keep his eyes on the road—but what he saw had him groaning.
He should have wrapped her in a blanket so she wouldn’t tempt him to pull over and take her on the side of the road.
Unless she was into that. Then it’d be okay.
“What,” he cleared his throat and fought not to stare. “What about the future?”
“Really?” She huffed. “When I met you, you were in the middle of packing. You were moving out of Grayslake. Then last week, you were suddenly unpacked. You haven’t dug out any boxes, but we haven’t talked about this. You obviously had a plan and now you’re not following through? Why? Because of me?” She paused a moment, her gaze unwavering. “Couples talk about these things, Isaac. It’s the big hippo in the room and we’re not acknowledging it. We,” she hesitated, “we should figure this out before we finish our mating. Don’t you think? Do you want me to follow you? What about your family? Where were you moving? Why? There’s no ignoring it any longer.”
His first instinct was to roar. The bear saw her wavering as a denial, and it refused to be brushed aside for something as small as where their den would be located. Nothing mattered but her. His whole life revolved around making her happy.
Why hadn’t they addressed it? Because it was a non-issue. Kira was happy in Grayslake so that’s where they’d stay. There, problem solved.
Instead of launching into that and starting a big conversation that would last longer than he’d like, he attacked one part of her statement.
“Hippo? Not elephant?” There, that didn’t sound too strained.
“Well, yeah.” She snorted. “Hippos kill more people than elephants, lions, and crocodiles combined. Combined.”
“But the idiom is about the size of the animal.” He glanced at her, eyebrow raised.
“Well, yeah. Except, you’re avoiding some big thing you wanna avoid. A hippo is more likely to kill me than an elephant so my motivation to avoid the hippos is a gabillion times larger. Smaller package, immeasurable likelihood of death. Big teeth. Huge. Large enough for even me to see.”
Then she shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world.
“How do you know this?” His dick slowly lessened in size as his curiosity was once again captured by his mate.
“Well, I designed this software that—”
“You design software? How did I not know that?” The weight of her glare rested heavily on his shoulders.
“Because we haven’t gotten around to some of the difficult
topics. Such as why you want to leave, what I do, and how hard it would be to uproot my new life in Grayslake because you’re moving away due to the unshared reasons.” Oh, her voice sounded way too close to the tone Trista used with Keen when he did something stupid.
And there went the remnants of his erection. “I’m sure we would have gotten around to talking about those things.”
After he’d had his fill of her body and was able to take a five-minute break from consuming her.
“Isaac.” She didn’t say his name with a snap or snarl or even a gasp of pleasure—that would have been surprising as hell. No, it was a gasp, a high-pitched rapid inhale that had him focusing on her and then following the direction of her gaze.
A woman sat on Kira’s front steps, huddled in a large jacket, curled in on herself in an attempt to be as small as possible. No, she wasn’t even on the steps, she practically plastered herself against Kira’s house, scrambling backwards as he pulled into the driveway.
“Kira?”
“Zoey,” she breathed out, all air seeming to leave his mate.
“How can you tell—”
“I’ve been looking at Zoey since I was five. I know the shape of my best friend.” She yanked on the door handle and tumbled from the vehicle, feet barely hitting the concrete before she was racing around the SUV.
Isaac was right behind her, racing on Kira’s heels and his bear was ready to tear the woman apart if she was a threat to his mate. The female had dark hair, almost black, with pale skin. All the scents of her condition struck him as he neared. Sick. Hurting. Injured.
“Zoey?”
The woman raised her head, green eyes meeting his for a bare moment before focusing on Kira.
“KK…” A sob escaped Zoey’s throat, the sound hoarse and broken.
Isaac took a step forward and got his better look. He spied the bruising around Zoey’s throat, the darkness that mottled her face and the wounds that peeked from beneath her shirt.
His movement had the small woman looking at him again, her body forming an even smaller ball. Kira glanced at him, a broken expression coating her features and he recognized the tears glistening in her eyes. There was a yearning, a plea, and it wasn’t for his body so they could finish their mating. No, it was his mate begging him to help her best friend.
That was something he could do.
Isaac lowered to a squat, nearly putting himself at eye level with their visitor. “Zoey? I’m Isaac. I’m the clan’s Healer and Kira’s mate.” A suspicious look met his, and he continued. “It looks like you could use some help. Why don’t we go into Kira’s house and take a look at your wounds?”
He used the same tone he often used on frightened cubs. Ask them questions, let them decide for themselves, but encourage them toward his own goals. If they felt like the choice was theirs, they were more apt to remain calm and allow him to do his job.
“KK?” The name was barely a whisper, but Kira was quick to help.
“C’mon, Zoey-bear. Isaac is a good guy and he is my mate.”
“You smell the same. You didn’t finish,” the woman murmured.
“We don’t talk about my boinking and I don’t talk about the dildos in your bedside table. That was the agreement. Now, have I ever steered you wrong? Let’s go.” Kira was all business. Making orders while he usually quietly begged a patient to let him help.
Zoey snorted. “Steered me wrong? You remember that time…” The words ended with a choked sob, the sound lingering between a laugh and growing tears. “It’s gone. You left and he needed someone else and everything’s gone. He destroyed my apartment…” The small female leaned away from the house’s siding, bracing her hands on the weathered porch, and toward Kira. His mate was quick to gather the female close, holding her as she vented her sorrow and heartache.
Kira froze, her entire body going still, and a then a tremble consumed her. “Does he know where you are, Zoey?”
Isaac thought back to the male in the SUV, the one cruising by ever so slowly. Kira hadn’t recognized the male’s scent, but that didn’t mean someone from her pack hadn’t discovered her.
Alpha Asshole or her brother. Which?
The woman shook her head, the move frantic and uncoordinated. “No, I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t…”
“Kira?” He murmured his mate’s name, drawing her attention. “Inside your house or mine? If it’s yours, I have to get my bag.”
She furrowed her brow. He had some supplies at her place in the off chance someone was careless and she was injured again, but nothing that’d help with the damage he noted. He tilted his head at Zoey and then traced the line of the scar on his face. Zoey’s wound hardly peeked above the neckline, but it was easily recognizable to his unhindered gaze. Kira smelled blood and pain, Isaac saw the blood and pain.
And his beast was driven to fix it, to remove the battered, haunted look from this woman’s features.
“Zoey?” Kira’s voice was soft and sweet. “We’re going inside now and Isaac is going to get some medicine.”
“Kira…”
“Hush. It’s what’s happening. How many times did you patch me up, huh?” Kira didn’t wait for an answer. “So, now I’ll do the same. Besides, Ebie is excited to see you. You know he loves his Auntie Zoey.”
That got a chuckle out the woman, the sound ending on a groan. “Wolves aren’t aunts to dogs. It’s insulting.”
“Well, you can kick my ass about it later. Inside you go.” Kira pushed to her feet and reached for the woman.
Isaac was there, ignoring the female’s flinch when he got her upright. It took a few minutes of shuffling, moaning, and gasping, but eventually he got Kira’s best friend into the living room and resting on the couch. He turned away from Zoey, anxious to get his supplies and assess the extent of her injuries. On his way past Kira, he paused and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. He drew in a lungful of her scent, holding it close as he told the bear to keep Kira in mind as he helped her friend. The animal needed to remain calm, not just for Zoey, but for his mate as well.
Rage had no place in healing.
“I’ll be right back,” he murmured against her warm skin and then strode from the room. Whispers followed him, but he didn’t pause to listen to the females’ conversation. Kira would share what she discovered when they had a moment alone.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t inform his Itan.
The coincidences were adding up, and together they didn’t seem like coincidences any longer.
Kira’s father and brother created and sold the poison that’d not only harmed her but was sold to the hyenas who ultimately used it on the Grayslake clan as well.
Then there was Vanessa’s attack followed by a strange male shooting hate-filled glances during a slow drive past the house.
Too many problems, not enough answers.
But he’d have them. Soon.
Not bothering with a phone call, he whipped out his cell phone and shot off a quick message to his brothers.
Research Zoey. Black hair, green eyes. Wolf. Part of Kira’s old pack. Sustained injuries similar to Kira. May be trouble.
Tucking the phone into his pocket, he vaulted up the stairs and quickly unlocked his door. It took no time to tear through the house and gather what he needed. Even less time to return to Kira’s and quietly make his way into the living room.
The moment he entered, he slid to a staggering stop. “Sweet Jesus.”
Kira’s shining gaze met his, the tears making tracks down her cheeks, and the pain in her heart was unmistakable.
The pain wracking Zoey was equally obvious.
While he’d hurried, he had taken long enough for Kira to grab a pair of scissors and use them on Zoey’s clothes, slicing and peeling the fabric away from her friend’s body.
Zoey met his gaze, a stricken look covering her features as soon as she recognized him. With her purple-hued face paled and fear sinking into her, Isaac was quick to push all hint of disgust and anger away.
/> His patient didn’t need to be bombarded with his feelings. She had enough of her own.
What he could focus on was his job. Not only was this a person who needed his help, it was Kira’s best friend, the one person she’d leaned on over the years.
Isaac couldn’t let her suffer any longer than necessary.
Zoey eased away from his mate, reaching for the tattered remains of her shirt and attempting to cover herself.
“Zoey, wha—”
“Kira,” he murmured and she turned to him, pain etched in her features. “Why don’t you get a mix of the neutralizer going?”
The agony deepened and then his mate seemed to shove it aside, a new strength filling her. “I can do that. Yeah,” she nodded. “I’ll do that.”
Zoey reached for his mate, trembling hand stilling Kira’s retreat. “Wait…”
“Isaac will take care of you,” Kira nudged her friend’s hand away. “Let him.”
Then his mate didn’t give her best friend a choice, she strode past Isaac, leaving him alone with a battered and injured she-wolf.
With slow, careful movements, he padded to the couch and lowered himself to the coffee table, easing his bag to the floor between his legs. Zoey still clung to the remnants of her shirt, but he slowly reached for her and brushed them aside. Blood was caked to her pale skin, hiding most of the wounds he knew lingered on her body.
A bowl of pink water sat on the floor, a rag suspended in the fluid and he reached for it, wringing out the washcloth before picking up where his mate left off.
And as he did so, he spoke. It soothed patients to hear what he was doing, who he was, anything to fill the silence with something other than painful gasps.
“Kira got most of this off you, let’s wipe away the rest and see what we have,” he murmured, gently dragging the fabric over her skin. More bruising appeared as well as a few healing wounds marring her stomach. A few were more swollen than he’d like, not truly healing, but merely covered by new skin. He’d have to cut into those. Slice them open, drain them and then treat the resulting damage.
“Not too bad,” he lied. He always lied even if his patient could scent the untruth.