The second she paused, he surged up and pushed into her. Drove deep—as deep as he could go. He pushed back onto his knees and grabbed her hips, pulling her back to meet each thrust. Hard and fast, he took her, his fingers tight on her skin.
Tremors echoed inside her, around him, and she frantically reached out with her hands for something to hold, finally grabbing the pillow above her head.
Her breasts bounced, and her abs clenched so hard he could see them. God, she was perfect. So damn perfect. And he might’ve lost her the night before. When the darts had shot out, he’d had a vision of the world without her. A lonely, dark world.
He was a simple guy. She was good, and she made the world better by being in it. She made his world a lot better. So that meant she belonged there. And he’d never met anybody in more need of protection than her. Not only from enemies but apparently from her own family. He could provide that. He wanted to.
He tightened his hold and yanked her up into him.
Her legs spread on either side of his hips, and he hammered harder, taking everything he wanted. Giving much more than he’d intended.
She threw back her hair with a sharp cry, and waves pummeled through her, smashing around him. Fire shot down his spine to his balls, and he came hard, pounding into her as far as he could go. She went limp first with a soft sigh. He finished, the blood coursing in his veins, his heart beating way too hard.
For her.
He released her and withdrew, grasping the covers before flopping next to her on his back.
She rolled over so her chest was on top of his and lifted up to kiss him on the chin. “Good morning to you, too.”
He grinned and stretched lazily. “How about we do that again in about five minutes?”
“All of that?” she said, a grin tipping her lips.
“Yeah,” he said softly, running a hand down her hair. “We need to stick close to home today anyway. Well, for the immediate future.” He really didn’t want to ruin the soft glow they had going on, but she deserved to know what he’d done.
She blinked and drew soft circles across his chest. “Why is that?”
“Don’t be mad.” He traced her spine with two fingers down to her very fine ass.
“Mad?” She stopped playing and looked him in the eye. “Why would I be mad?”
“I took advantage of the situation last night,” he said, running his knuckles along her cheekbone. He could play with her all day, memorizing every inch of her. “As any soldier would.”
“Like you got me almost naked?” she teased, resting her chin on his chest.
He really liked her in the morning. “Not exactly.” Okay. Grow a pair. It was a good plan, and she’d understand that fact. “The Guard soldiers saw the dart soldiers come in, and they saw you go down.”
She stiffened. “Oh?”
“Yeah. So when I went back for your uncle, I may have told them you’d taken eight darts.” He waited for her to figure out it was an awesome plan.
She was silent for a moment. “You. Did. What?”
He winced. Okay. She hadn’t figured it out quite yet. “I told them you were dead and I was bringing you here to bury on my land. Then I sent them home to Ireland.”
Her head snapped up, hitting his chin. Pain ripped through his entire skull. She jumped up, buckass naked. “Oh my God. Tell me you didn’t do that. Tell me you did not send the Guard soldiers back to headquarters in Dublin in the belief that I was dead. And you kept the body. My body.” She scrambled over to the other side of the cabin to rifle through her suitcase.
He stood and stretched. “Yes. Think about it.” He was going to keep her safe whether she liked it or not. “Somebody wants you dead, somebody with access to Apollo-filled darts. Somebody with phenomenal intel, good enough to find you at a warehouse in the middle of nowhere last night.”
She yanked on a thick white sweater and some dark designer-type jeans. “You don’t understand. You have no clue what you’ve just done.”
“If the world thinks you’re dead, then you’re safe here,” he explained patiently—very patiently. “It’s a good plan.”
“Oh God.” She quickly pinned her hair up at her nape. “I have to stop this. It’s probably too late.”
Just then, warning sirens blared to life around the territory. He lifted his head to discern the direction, but they came from every which way. What was going on? Either his security system had just completely malfunctioned, or he was being attacked from all four directions.
She stilled, her head lifting, her eyes full of panic. “It’s too late. They’re here.”
Chapter 21
Nessa grabbed her phone and ran out into the sweetly falling snow, her central nervous system screaming in panic. She’d thrown on her sturdiest boots, so she ran toward Grizzly headquarters, crunching icy snow on the trail. This was a disaster. Several attack helicopters and troop transports were already descending rapidly.
She reached the garages and skidded around the front, with Bear on her heels.
A ground force had already breached the area, soldiers in black with green emblems on their arms pouring out of the forest from every direction. Two tanks, actual tanks, roared down the private drive toward them.
Bear grabbed her arm and stopped her cold.
She shrugged him off. “Step away before they kill you,” she snapped, shoving her useless phone into her pocket. It was way too late for a cease and desist order.
The doors to Grizzly headquarters and garages burst open, and men and women rushed out, several holding guns. Two shifted right into bears, and the percussion shock threw Nessa back into Bear.
He caught her and she shoved herself away from him. “Let me go.”
Lucas ran out in full tactical gear and tossed a gun toward Bear, who instantly shoved Nessa behind him. Hard. “Get your ass inside. Now,” Bear commanded.
Several Grizzly members engaged with her soldiers, fighting hard, blood instantly spraying. A couple of the witch soldiers were already using fire, throwing and burning quickly.
The world slowed to barely moving. She knew it was the adrenaline, but she seemed to see everything at once. The troop helicopters touched down, and the tanks roared to a stop. The attack helicopters remained hovering, their weapons pointed at strategic targets.
Her uncle strode out of the rec room area, munching on a bagel. Somebody had given him a Grizzly Motorcycle Club sweatshirt, and it hung low over his dress pants. He took in the scene, smiled, and leaned back against the building to watch. Garrett and Logan took up posts on either side of him, watching the melee carefully.
Lucas took up position next to Bear. “I called for backup. Shifter nation’s on the way, but it’ll be an hour.”
“Missiles and explosives armed?” Bear growled, his stance set.
“Yes. Armed and waiting for the go order,” Lucas affirmed, handing over a phone. “I’ll give our people the signal if you want to blow the land.”
Bear looked at his people fighting and the attacking soldiers coming from the helicopters. “They’re Guard soldiers.” He looked over his shoulder at Nessa. “I told you to get inside the office and stay there. I’m going to blow this entire area.” He lifted the phone to his ear, his gaze furious.
Panic gripped Nessa. She lunged for him, grabbed the phone, and threw it as far as she could. It landed on a fighting Grizzly soldier’s head and bounced off, the screen visibly shattering before it sank in the snow.
“What the hell?” Bear bellowed.
She shoved past him and hurried to the center of the area, holding her arms up. “Cease and desist. Now.” She yelled the order as loud as she could. The sound of the helicopter might have drowned out her voice, but everyone around her froze. Even the fighting Grizzlies.
A Guard soldier ran her way, ripping off his dark green mask. “Nessa? Nessa?” His voice rose as he reached her.
“Jasper.” She gave a muffled oof as he picked her up and swung her around. “Jas.”
; “Oh.” He set her down and stepped back, emotion in his eyes. “We received word that you were dead.”
She nodded, just as Bear reached her side, raw displeasure on his face. He not so subtly edged between them.
“Jasper, I don’t have a comm unit. Call off the attack order,” she said.
Jasper’s dark gaze took in Bear, who looked like he was about to launch his own attack.
“Now,” Nessa snapped.
Jasper shook himself out of it and quickly relayed the order after tapping his ear. The drivers of the tanks cut their engines and exited their vehicles, as did the pilots of the helicopters on the ground. The Guard soldiers on the ground ceased fighting and turned. Only the attack helicopters in the air remained in place, providing cover just in case.
Jasper gave another order.
All the Guard soldiers, what looked like about sixty of them, ran toward them and lined up in formation, their gazes on her. They kept their fighting masks on, and in full tactical gear, looked incredibly dangerous. They stood at attention as one.
Even though this was a debacle of enormous proportions, she couldn’t help the pride that filled her chest.
The Grizzly soldiers hovered to one side, guns at the ready. The two who’d shifted into bears patrolled behind the Guard formation.
Bear turned on Jasper. “You’re the idiot in charge of this shit show?”
Jasper turned and took his place next to the troops, facing Nessa. “No.” In one smooth motion, they all saluted her, fists to heart.
Her shoulders straightened. Honor and humility washed through her, and she saluted them back.
Bear stiffened to rock next to her. Furious tension rolled off him, its heat actually melting the snow that had been falling near her.
Her knees wobbled. She cleared her throat, needing to keep it together.
“These are your soldiers,” Bear said, sounding like he’d been swallowing jagged chunks of gravel all night.
“Aye,” she said softly. “All of them.”
Jasper stepped closer, taking up a protective stance. “Commissioner Lansa? I recommend we immediately vacate the area. We have a safe zone set up an hour away.”
“Commissioner?” Bear growled in a much lower tone than normal. The air shimmered around him.
She gasped and tried to move away, but he manacled her arm. Her soldiers instantly tensed. She held up a hand. “Retain formation,” she called out.
“I’m not gonna shift,” Bear gritted out.
“Bear?” she whispered. “You have to let go of my arm. They’re ready to attack.”
He turned and looked at the soldiers all watching him carefully, ready to shoot him in the head. “No.”
All right. There had to be a way to diffuse the situation. “Please,” she whispered.
He slowly released her arm. “You’re in charge of the entire Irish Guard. The witch police force. You’re the commissioner.”
“Aye,” she said softly, facing her soldiers.
“Ma’am?” Jasper asked, his gaze on Bear and not on her. “We vacate?”
She kept her face stoic. The wrong move from Bear and things would get bloody before she could stop it.
“You’re not fuckin’ going anywhere,” Bear hissed.
She swallowed and stepped forward to address her people. “You are the finest police force in the world, and this action only proves that fact. To mobilize in such a way and conduct an attack on foreign soil before meeting any interference is something only we could do. Well done. Very well done.” Man, she was going to have to soothe some international feathers, and soon. She turned to Jasper. “You and six soldiers remain here at post to set up a command center for an Apollo task force. Vacate the remaining troops for home. Full movements go dark.” The fewer people who found out about this, the better.
Jasper paused for a brief moment.
“Now,” she said.
He turned and gave the order. Trained perfectly, the troops filed back into tanks, helicopters, or silently into the forests, to return the way they’d come. The helicopters lifted, did a sweep, and headed out toward the sea.
Silence descended.
“Jasper? Set up a command post,” Nessa said, already clicking through the next few hours. “I’ll need to reach out to world leaders to avoid a war.” If she could. Any witch forces in the USA were already going dark and creating battle plans, she had no doubt.
Lucas stood at attention next to Bear. “You’re not using our war room.”
“Donna’ need it,” Nessa said easily, as her men started erecting a field tent on the other side of the rec room. Computers would be arriving within the hour, she suspected.
“Plans?” Bear asked shortly, not looking at her, his body visibly vibrating.
Her lungs refused to work properly. As his mate, she was already in tune with his moods, with his emotions, and right now he was on a dangerous precipice of raw fury. “I have to reach out diplomatically. Fast.”
His head lifted, and he focused on Lucas. “They use the war room. Ours.”
“No—” Nessa started when Bear turned to her, his eyes deep pools of anger. If her soldiers weren’t near, she would’ve taken a step back.
“Our war room is surrounded by multiple layers of concrete block, among other materials,” he gritted out between tightly clenched teeth. “A series of bombs wouldn’t even shake the room. You. Will. Work. From. There.”
Jasper looked back and forth between them, curiosity in his gaze. But no challenge. “Commissioner?”
At her title, Bear growled again.
She drew air in and slowly breathed out. With a slight struggle, she plastered on her most diplomatic expression and softened her voice to pure politeness. “Very well. Thank you for the use of your facilities.” She turned to Jasper. “Let’s start with the king. No—with the Coven Nine and then the King of the Realm.”
“Give me five minutes,” Jasper said, his eyebrows lifting.
“Lucas?” Bear asked.
Lucas cut Jasper a hard look. “This way. Break anything and I break you.” They strode together toward the rec room and the hidden areas behind it.
Nessa nodded for her men to follow them.
Bear looked at his forces. “The fight is over for now. Get back to whatever you were doing, and we’ll have a meeting later today to discuss updates . . . and options.”
Nessa shivered. The shifters all went back inside. “Bear?”
“Hold on.” He focused on the boys. “Garrett and Logan? Escort Uncle Boondock through the war room and into my private offices underground—Lucas will show you the way. Keep him there.”
The boys nodded, all serious.
Boondock gave a little wave. “Let’s grab a couple of coffees on the way,” he said congenially, pausing at the door. “Nessa?”
“I’m fine, Uncle,” she said. The last thing she needed was her uncle fighting with the boys. She’d hate to see either one of them get hurt. Oh, they were fine soldiers, but her uncle had been fighting for more than two thousand years. He had skills. “We’ll chat later.” The man had a lot of explaining to do.
He grinned at the boys. “Either one of you play chess?” They disappeared inside.
“Options?” Nessa asked, turning on Bear.
He towered over her, his face losing all expression. She’d seen the predator in him, and she’d seen the man. This was the first time he’d shown the cold soldier very few people knew he could be. “Your forces breached my territory and committed an act of war. Do you realize what this means?”
“Of course.” She was the head of one of the most powerful police forces in the immortal world. In any world. “But you started it.”
His chin lowered. “Excuse me?”
“You told them I was dead. I’m their leader.” She tried to use reason when all she wanted to do was run for the forest. His anger, although completely hidden, still choked her. Even with her soldiers around her minutes ago, she’d felt a vulnerability that had
shocked her, all because of the male now standing in her space. “They did what your people would’ve done in the same situation.”
“The grizzly nation is ten thousand strong,” he said quietly, snow falling on his hair to melt instantly. “The wolf nation another ten, and the feline nation twenty.”
She swallowed, her nose turning cold. Perhaps hiding her true calling from Bear had been a bad idea. She hadn’t realized how bad until right this second. “Aye.”
“Add in the dragons, and you’ve just declared war on a nation large enough to blow Ireland off the world map. You get that, right?” He cocked his head to the side and looked at her as if trying to drill inside her head with his question. “I say the word and we’re at war. One word.”
“You don’t want that any more than I do,” she whispered. “We just found peace.”
“You could’ve kept it, too,” he said quietly, retreating from her in a way she couldn’t explain, even though he remained standing in place. “Instead, you lied and kept secrets. For no reason.”
She had plenty of reasons—some even she couldn’t avoid. “I understand your anger, but I have to fix this mess.”
“Think so?” he asked silkily.
Her stomach dropped. “Aye. Come on, Bear. You just gave orders for me to use your command center—your very safe and protected command center—to do my job. You don’t want anybody to harm me.” If that’s where they needed to start, then she’d do it.
“You’re right. I don’t want anybody else to harm you,” he said, standing so tall and dangerous in the light snow.
She blinked. Twice. “Anybody else?”
“Aye,” he said, mimicking her brogue. “I want to kill you myself. Mate.”
Chapter 22
Bear didn’t blink as he made the most ridiculous threat of his life.
Nessa gasped and then smiled. Oh, she tried to hide the smile, but she failed miserably. “You’re not going to kill me.”
“Of course not.” He grabbed her arm and started walking toward the main building, though he was incredibly tempted to wrap his hands around her slim neck. “Right now, we have to focus.”
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