by R. E. Butler
She was hot and wet, the evidence of her arousal coating his fingers as he rubbed them leisurely back and forth.
Her head knocked gently against the door. “Henry.”
“Right here, sweetheart.”
He undid the button of his jeans, digging his thumbs into his hips as he shoved the material down to free his cock. She inhaled sharply and then reached for him, her hand curling at the back of his neck, her nails digging into his skin.
With a snarl, he grasped the backs of her thighs and lifted her, spreading her legs around his hips as he slammed home inside her.
She cried out as he thrust swiftly into her, her hands buried in his hair, fisting the strands.
“Fuck, Henry,” she gasped, moving with him as he pounded into her, swiveling his hips until he felt her pussy tighten.
“Damn, you’re so hot,” he growled in her ear, biting the lobe and then nipping kisses down her throat as they moved together, the door creaking with his thrusts. Her knees tightened against his hips, and she dropped her head to his shoulder and bit him as she came, stifling her groan of pleasure against his skin. Her body gripped him tight, her little panting cries driving him crazy. He spun and carried her to the bed, grasping her hands and pushing them into the mattress, driving into her fast and hard. He growled when he came, thrusting once more, hard and deep, then leaned over her and kissed the space over her heart. He could hear the pounding of it with his sensitive hearing, along with the soft trill of her bird.
She wiggled her hands free from his grip and cupped his face. “You’re so amazing,” she whispered before kissing him.
He moved them up the bed without breaking the kiss, settling on the pillows and holding her close. They kissed leisurely and sweetly as they came down from the heights, and then they stripped completely and wiggled under the covers.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?”
“Being there for me.”
“I will always be here for you.”
She tipped her head up to look at him. “I know, but I still wanted to say thanks. I also wanted a little physical distraction and you gave that to me in spades.”
He chuckled and kissed her. “Now that was entirely my pleasure.”
She touched the skin of his shoulder where she’d bit him. It had bruised, and he hoped that even with his accelerated healing from his shifter genes that it would stick around for a while. “Do you mind that I bit you?”
“Not even remotely. I loved it.”
“You and Dom don’t have marks from me.”
“You can mark us if you’d like.”
“I don’t have fangs.”
“You have claws, though.”
“Talons,” she corrected.
“Right. If you want to use your talons to mark us in some way, you can.”
“Do male lions and panthers get marked? Hawks don’t mark each other for mating. They think it’s too primitive.”
He hummed. “It’s not primitive, it’s cool as hell. Since lions didn’t start having mates until recently, I’d say we don’t officially have a kind of mating mark. But a lot of the males do what we did to you and bite their mate on the neck. My cousins Alek and Jericho used their claws to mark each other, because when they first mated, Lachlyn had never been able to shift.”
Ehrin’s brows rose. “Lachlyn couldn’t shift?”
He shook his head. “She didn’t until her mates were threatened, and then her shift came out so she could help them. James said that when the shifter gene is dormant, it can sometimes be awakened by stress or fear, but not always.”
“I never knew anyone who was a shifter who couldn’t change except me.”
“I don’t know how many there are out there in the world, but I suspect it happens in every shifter group from time to time. In your case, though, I think you just needed to find your mates to awaken your hawk.”
She gave him a soft smile. “I didn’t know what I was missing until I found you and Dom.”
“Me, either, sweetheart.”
* * *
Henry didn’t want to leave Ehrin, but duty called. He’d waited until the last possible moment and then headed to the shower.
“I love seeing you like that,” he said when he came back into the room with a towel around his waist.
“Messy?” she asked, running her hands over her hair.
“Well-loved.”
She stretched with a squeak, the sheet slipping down to reveal her breasts. “That I am. I wish you didn’t have to leave. We didn’t cuddle nearly long enough.”
“I know,” he said with a sigh.
He dressed under her watchful eye, trying to ignore the sweet scent of their combined arousal. He sat down on the edge of the bed and rested his hand on her thigh. She’d kicked her leg out from under the sheet, wiggling her pink-painted toenails at him.
“This weekend we get to move into Brian and Kevin’s room, and we’ll finally have a bathroom we don’t have to walk across the hall to use. I was thinking we could celebrate by christening both rooms.”
Her eyes darkened to a deep forest green and her bird trilled softly, a sound he’d come to associate with her arousal. “More than once?”
“At the very least,” he promised.
“You’ll be careful?” she asked, sitting up and hugging him, resting her cheek on his shoulder. He looped his arms around her waist and ran his hands up her smooth, warm back.
“Of course.”
“Henry?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
She leaned back slightly, her eyes soft with passion and her cheeks still pink. “I love you.”
His heart could’ve burst it swelled so much. “I love you, too, Ehrin.”
They kissed, and in two seconds she was leaning back and trying to bring him with her to the bed. Although his cat railed in his mind, he chuckled and eased from the kiss, giving her lower lip a little bite.
“I can’t stay,” he said.
“Shouldn’t you get to take time off after you exchange ‘I love yous’ with your mate?”
“Maybe in a perfect world,” he mused, “but we’re not in one of those, so I have to work. Trust me when I say I’ll be thinking of you the whole time.”
“I’ll miss you like crazy,” she promised.
He kissed her again, lingering longer than he should have, then stood, drawing the sheet over her lush curves. “I’ll miss you, too, Ehrin. Every inch of you.”
He blew her a kiss and walked out, closing the door and hurrying down the stairs. It wasn’t that he worried he would be late, it was that he was far too tempted to stay in bed with his sexy mate who had just told him she loved him. They’d been together for almost two weeks, but it felt like he’d known her forever in his heart.
“Have a good night at work,” James said when Henry stopped in the kitchen to grab an apple. “Hopefully it’ll be quiet.”
“I hope so, too. Eryx said I’m not keeping up with my paperwork like I should.”
“He says the same thing to me,” James said.
With a wave, Henry left the boarding house and drove to the police station. Mrs. Grandy, who was their only full-time receptionist, was sitting at the front desk with her e-reader when he arrived.
“How’s your sweet mate?”
“Good, thanks,” Henry said.
“I’m sure it’s hard for you to come to work since you’ve only been mated for a little while. When the mister and I were first mated, I hated being away from him. Now of course, after nearly forty years together, I don’t mind a little me time.”
Henry chuckled. “I hate having to leave to work, even though I like being a cop.”
“Being apart for a bit makes it sweeter when you’re together. Next time Eryx brings his family up to the den for Sunday dinner, you should come along with Domino and Ehrin. I know the bears would enjoy meeting her.”
“We’d enjoy that.”
He walked to Eryx’s office and knocked on the
open door. “How was your night?”
“Pretty quiet,” Eryx said, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “A few tickets when I was on patrol, and I checked in on a complaint about a loose cow.”
Henry’s brow rose. “Whose cow?”
“From the Bregmans’ farm. They were herding them across the road to get to the other field and one of them took off.”
“Gotta love small-town living.”
“Yeah, in all its craziness.” He gave him a quiet look. “How’s Ehrin?”
“She’s good. Still a little worried about her people coming back again.”
“Well, we haven’t seen or heard from any of them since the parking lot issue. I’d say it’s a good sign, but for sure we shouldn’t take it to mean they’re gone for good. Vigilance is important when we’re talking about our mates and families.”
“I know. She told me earlier that she wished she’d known her phone had a tracking program on it so she could’ve gotten rid of it.”
“They knew she had a friend in town, though. But aside from that, our little dragon cousin and her social media talents would’ve painted a bright red target on Ehrin anyway.”
“I know she feels bad about it,” Henry said, “but it wasn’t intentional. She came to the house and apologized for putting Ehrin in the nest’s crosshairs, and Ehrin promised that she didn’t hold it against her. For a group of people who seem so backward in their thinking, they’re pretty progressive when it comes to technology.”
Eryx nodded. “The craziest groups can also be the savviest.”
Henry walked to the smaller office next to Eryx’s and logged into the computer to put a dent in his paperwork. He spent the first couple hours of his shift at the desk, then walked into the break room and grabbed a sandwich and soda from the vending machine.
He texted with Ehrin for a while, then flipped around on news sites until his break was over.
Mrs. Grandy looked up from her e-reader when he came into the main room. “Time to patrol?”
“Yep,” he said. “How late are you staying?”
She glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’ve got another hour.”
He picked up the keys to one of the vehicles and grabbed a walkie.
“I heard big city police stations use impounded vehicles for their patrol cars, so some cops drive around in Mustangs and big SUVs.”
He laughed. “I’ve heard that, too.”
“No such luck for us?” she asked with a raised brow.
“Nope.”
“Oh well. I thought we might get something shiny and fast for the receptionist, too.”
He laughed. “Have a good night.”
“You, too, hon.”
He unlocked the patrol car and slid behind the wheel. As he waited for the computer to boot up, his thoughts strayed to Ehrin and her nest, and his conversation with Eryx. He sincerely hoped they had left Ashland and wouldn’t return, but he wasn’t sure they were out of the woods with the nest yet. She often joked about being under house arrest, but he knew eventually she’d get tired of being stuck at home or only leaving when she was with him and Dom.
He pulled out of the parking lot and began his rounds. Ashland was a small town, but they still had problems like big towns did, they just didn’t have the manpower to have a large police presence. The worst thing he’d ever had to deal with since he became a cop was a fatal accident. He much preferred the quiet nights, when he handed out the occasional speeding ticket and chased wayward farm animals.
A few minutes after midnight, the computer pinged with an incoming call. When there was no one at the station, the calls were all routed to the officer on duty.
“Ashland Police Department.”
There was a pause, and then a soft, feminine voice said, “I was driving home from work and a cow walked across the road. I swerved and nearly hit it, and one of my tires blew. I don’t know how to change it, and I didn’t know who to call for help.”
“No problem. What’s your name, ma’am?”
“Donna Redding.”
“I’ll come to you, Donna. What’s your location?”
“I’m on County Road 7, just past the little bridge.”
“I’m on the way. Stay on the line with me until I arrive.”
“Okay, thank you.”
He turned onto the county road and headed toward the bridge that crossed over the creek, seeing the yellow blinking hazard lights of a vehicle off to the side of the road. The woman was standing next to the car. He pulled up behind the vehicle and parked, putting on the floodlights so he could see to change the tire. He was thankful his dad had taught him how to make minor roadside repairs when he was younger. On more than one occasion, he’d helped a stranded motorist out of a bind with that knowledge.
He logged the call on the computer and then got out of the vehicle.
“Mrs. Redding?” he asked. “If you’ll pop the trunk, I’ll grab the spare and jack.”
She didn’t turn to face him as he approached, which made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. His cat snarled in worry and he slowed his walk, opening his senses to the surrounding area. Although he couldn’t hear anything, his gut told him to move away because something wasn’t right.
He’d just reached for his walkie when something hit the side of his head. He collapsed to the ground, his head swimming and his vision blurring. He had only a moment to see the woman turn around to reveal she wasn’t really a woman at all.
And then everything went dark.
Chapter 14
Ehrin tossed to her other side, stuffing the covers down to her waist and then pulling them up over her shoulder. She was hot and cold at the same time, and uncomfortable as all get-out. And her damn bird wouldn’t stop squawking in her mind.
“Sweetheart,” Dom said, pulling her close until her back was wedged against his chest. “What’s the matter?”
“I can’t sleep.”
“I figured. I guess I didn’t wear you out as well as I thought I had.”
She breathed out a chuckle. “I thought you did.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“I don’t know. I feel so unsettled, like something’s wrong, but I can’t figure out what it is.”
“Maybe you’re just missing Henry? I know how much you enjoy both of us in bed with you.”
“I don’t know.” She pushed away from him and sat up, dangling her feet over the edge of the bed. Her bird pushed at her mind, and she picked up her cell and looked at the time. She hummed and stood.
“What’s wrong?” Dom asked.
“It’s 4 a.m.”
“And?”
“Henry’s shift ended at three. He should be home by now.”
Dom sat up abruptly and grabbed his phone. “I don’t have any messages from him, do you?”
“No.”
Her heart jumped into her throat as she called his number. It went immediately to voice mail. She dropped her phone to the bed and picked her clothes off the floor. Her hands shook as she hurried to dress, pulling jeans and a shirt on. She met Dom at the door and they raced down to the second floor.
“John! James!” Ehrin called as she knocked on their door. “Something’s wrong!”
There was a thud and a curse, and then John opened the door, rubbing his knee. “What’s wrong?”
“Henry isn’t home yet, and his phone is going to voicemail.”
John’s curious and half-asleep gaze widened and he snapped into action. “James!”
“I heard. I’m calling Eryx.”
“Oh, John,” Ehrin said. “What if something happened to him?”
“We’ll find him, honey,” John promised.
Ehrin’s eyes filled with tears and she leaned against Dom as she listened to James talk to Eryx. John pulled pants on and knocked on Aaron’s door. He answered immediately, snapping into action the same as John and dressing quickly.
“Do you have the tracking app for each other?” John asked as they moved downstairs to
the kitchen.
“No,” Dom said. “We were talking about putting each other on the app, but we didn’t get around to it.”
“I don’t think I can do it without his cell,” Ehrin said.
“Oh!” Rue said, as she came into the kitchen, tying her bathrobe. “Henry had an iPad that was linked to his cell number, and he gave it to the boys.”
Aaron nodded. “I’ll go grab it. Maybe we can search for his phone with it.”
Ehrin couldn’t stop shaking, even with Dom’s arms around her.
“I think your bird knew something was wrong,” Dom said.
“What?” Rue asked.
“My bird’s been acting up in my head. It kept waking me up. I thought I was just restless, but maybe you’re right.”
“Our beasts know our mates and our family,” Rue said. “Your bird may have sensed something was wrong.”
“I wish our beasts could talk,” Ehrin said.
“That would be handy,” Dom said. “At least you did wake up, though.”
Aaron came into the kitchen with an iPad. He handed the tablet to Dom, who searched for the location app. Once opened, it listed Henry’s phone and iPad. Dom pressed the button to locate the phone. Nothing happened.
“I think it’s turned off,” Dom said. “If it was on, it would show where it was.”
“Damn it,” John said. “I was hoping we’d have luck.”
“Eryx said the patrol car is missing and Henry’s truck is still in the parking lot,” James said. “We’ve got GPS on the vehicles, so we’ll find where it is.”
Ehrin was thankful for that. James put Eryx on speaker, and everyone waited in silence as Eryx pulled up the GPS information for the missing vehicle.
“He’s on County Road 7,” Eryx said. “I’m going to look for it.”
“We’ll meet you there,” James said.
“Okay.” Eryx ended the call.
“Who was supposed to work after Henry?” Ehrin asked.