He threw Drake off, determined to try to save her. Even if he died, he wanted to buy Amber time to get away. He turned to run toward the pair, watching in slow motion as the wolf leapt at Amber, but Drake and the other wolf came back. Each dug their teeth into one of his back legs, yanking him to the ground.
A cry of anguish escaped as he watched the pair fall in slow motion. There was no way he could make it in time to save her. The knowledge burned a hole in his gut as disbelief and agony at a loss he already felt tore into him.
Then he froze as Amber kicked out and the wolf went flying over her head. She jumped to her feet and turned to face it.
But she couldn’t take on an enraged wolf on her own. Her training might have saved her this time, but he could never live with himself if something happened to Amber. If he didn’t do something soon, all would be lost. There was still time to turn this around, and Danny was afraid he knew exactly what he had to do.
He closed his eyes and reached inward, going deeper than he’d been for a long time. He felt his wolf rising up, still tethered with the control he never quite released, even in wolf form. His wolf snarled and snapped, desperate to save Amber. To save the mate they’d both chosen as theirs. The raging beast was their best chance of saving her. With a tight chest, Danny let go of the reins of control and felt his beast take charge.
He watched as if from a distance, as his wolf turned on Drake and snapped his leg with one bite. Drake howled in pain, and tumbled to the ground. Danny turned and snapped at the other wolf, putting him to the ground, clawing and biting until the other wolf whimpered in submission.
Then he turned and faced the wolf who’d dared attack Amber while his back was turned. The wolf had the sense to back away, but it was too late for retreat. Moments ago, it had tried to take his mate from him. To kill her. Only her quick thinking, and training, had spared her.
Nothing could save these three now. He charged and tackled the only wolf left standing, snapping at him until he was too hurt to move. Its breath wheezed in and out, but Danny didn’t care how badly he’d hurt him. All he cared about was Amber’s safety. These wolves had threatened her, and he made sure they wouldn’t be able to do it again. Only when he was certain they no longer posed a threat did he stop.
It hurt to pull the wolf in and change back to man. Rage still coursed through his veins. And fear. Because for a moment there, he had been sure he’d lost Amber forever.
He dropped to one knee as the man emerged, and she was there, embracing him. He turned to her and saw tears flowing down her cheeks. And then her words hit him.
“I thought you were dead. Are you okay? Oh my God, you’re bleeding like crazy…”
Danny cut off her tirade by pulling her down for a searing kiss. He clung to her, breathing in her scent and clasping her to his chest as sanity struggled to return. She was here. Safe. He’d kept her safe.
One of the wolves whined and he turned toward the sound with a snarl. The world around him was still infused with various shades of brown and yellow, a sure sign that his wolf’s eyes remained. He was back in control, but barely. The whining stopped at his growl.
He looked around at the damage he’d wrought. Across the clearing Drake lay still, but a shallow rise and fall of his chest told Danny the man was still alive. Barely. The other two were in better shape, no doubt because they hadn’t fought back as much, but both would need medical care.
“You need a doctor.” Amber was pulling napkins out of their lunch sack. There was still a note of panic in her voice, but she seemed steadier.
He hissed when she pressed the napkins against his side. Now that she mentioned it, he did feel a bit woozy. He needed to call reinforcements. The last thing he wanted was Amber alone in the woods with him too weak to protect her if anything else came along. Or if one of these three recovered and thought to finish the job they’d come for.
The numbers on his cellphone danced before his eyes and Danny tried to focus. Above all, he needed to protect Amber. The woman pried the phone from his fingers and looked at him with frightened eyes. But not for herself. Her concern for him poured through the link they shared, warming him even as he worried for her safety.
“Who do I call?” she asked.
“Jason. He’ll take care of it.” The world became hazy around the edges of his vision. Blood loss, no doubt. But he struggled to stay focused. Amber needed protection until the others arrived. “Tell him…to hurry,” he managed before the darkness overcame him.
* * * *
Danny woke with a jolt, memories swimming in a confusing tangle as he looked around. Amber’s bedroom. And there she was, resting flush against him. Cuddling into his side until their body heat was one.
Unharmed. Closing his eyes, he breathed a sigh as relief rushed through him. Alive and safe. He wrapped his arm tighter around her and cuddled her close. Breathing in her scent. His heart leaped as she sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer.
His legs stung from where the wolves’ teeth had clamped down around them. His wrist, side, and cheek burned as well. Danny reached up and felt the scratch mark across his face. Later, he’d worry about all that. Right now, all that mattered was the woman in his arms.
He ran his hand down her body, grateful he’d gotten them out. Kept her safe. That was all that mattered.
“I love you,” he whispered into her hair, still remembering the moment when he’d thought he’d lost her for good. “God, I love you so much.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered against his chest.
He started. She’d been awake. He’d known how she felt, could feel her love for him. But this was the first time she’d admitted it. His chest swelled and his heart beat faster.
“Say it again.”
Amber pulled away until her eyes met his. “I love you. Forever.” She leaned down and brushed his lips with hers. “You’re for me.”
He smiled, remembering the words he’d said to her after their first real kiss. “You’re for me, too.”
Chapter 16
“Okay, so everyone knows their parts. Let’s get into places. Remember, wait until my command to start the destruction. The goal is to get a couple minutes of footage and then some stills, not to destroy the whole town. Or each other. Only enough violence to make it realistic.”
Jason watched from the sidelines as Danny directed the majority of the pack and some of the fox shifters from the next town over. Something had changed in him. Jason had never seen his brother this authoritative, yet still at peace with the animal inside him.
Danny was the reasonable brother, the one who never lost his cool. But there had always been a sense that he was holding back. Of a frantic grapple for control. But now… Something had changed for the better. And he had a feeling Amber had something to do with it.
He shifted his gaze to where his brother’s mate sat fiddling with her cameras. She looked up and laughed at something Martha, one of the oldest and most respected members of his pack, said to her.
Already he could see bonds forming between the human and the rest of the pack. No doubt they would have accepted her no matter what, once they discovered she belonged to Danny, but this idea of hers had been inspired, and had opened the doors for the pack’s respect. Not just for herself, but for Danny, who had always taken a back seat leadership to Jason and Ethan.
As he watched Amber, Danny came up and placed a kiss against her cheek. Even from this distance, Jason saw the way she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. The love between them obvious. The same love he shared with Samantha.
Warmth spread through his chest as he pictured his fox waiting, probably not remotely patient, at home. But their play riot needed to get violent to be believable. No way would he risk her or his baby growing inside her.
In front of him, Danny helped Amber to her feet and escorted her to the side where she’d be “hidden” from the action if her boss asked how she’d gotten such good footage.
“All right everyone, on the co
unt of three.”
Jason hefted his sign that read Go home across it in bold letters. All around him he saw various signs, some calling for stricter laws for illegal immigrants and others lauding America as a country of immigrants. They’d debated for hours over the subject of their riot, but in the end had settled on illegal immigration. Amber said choosing something the government already knew about, but didn’t have an easy fix to, was the safest option. And in the end, the town as a whole had agreed.
So when his brother’s countdown ended, Jason raised his sign over his head and charged the shifter in front of him. Shouts and screams filled the air as the show began.
* * * *
“Got it!” Amber shouted as she took the last picture. She scrolled through the footage on the view panel with a grin. The afternoon had gotten a bit ugly–shifters apparently didn’t know how to pull their punches–but she’d gotten some incredible footage. Even she believed it was real as she scrolled through the images.
Almost instantaneously the fighting stopped and everyone was laughing and slapping each other on the backs. Amber just shook her head, amazed at the quick change. All around her, people were cut up and bleeding, but everyone appeared in high spirits.
“Do you think it will actually work?” asked a woman she hadn’t seen approach. A cut ran along her forehead, disappearing into her shock of bright red hair, but her green eyes sparkled and a wide smile split her face.
“Oh, I’m sure it will. Everyone put on quite a show.” She looked at the gash on the woman’s head. “Want me to clean that up?”
“Nah. Cody will freak when he sees it, and then he’ll be all protective and demanding. Makes for some unbelievable sex when they go all alpha male.”
Amber choked on horrified laughter as Danny’s arms came around her. “Misty Turner, what are you telling my mate?” Even though she couldn’t see it, she heard the smile in his voice.
“Just giving her a few tips. See you around.” And with a cheery wave, she turned and disappeared into the crowd.
“What was that about?” he asked, squeezing her around the waist. She loved being in his arms.
“Like she said, just giving me some tips.” Because she wanted to find out if sex could be any better. Was there anything better than incredible? Now she just had to figure out how to provoke Danny’s alpha male.
“You’re plotting something. I can feel it through our link.” Danny turned her to face him, and she tried to plant an innocent expression on her face. She needed to figure out this bond thing. How was she ever supposed to surprise the man?
“Nuh-uh.”
A growl rumbled deep in his chest and excitement quickened her pulse. His eyes narrowed on her as his lips curled in his wolfy smile.
“You better tell me, or I’m gonna eat you up.”
“Promise?” she asked, then squealed as he dove for her. She turned and took off at a run while Danny chased her around the clearing. The townspeople watched them, some shouting encouragements to her, others to him.
She giggled and glanced behind her, stopping when she didn’t see Danny anywhere. Then he grabbed her from the front and swung her into his arms.
“Gotcha!” He captured her lips in a searing kiss that had her gasping for air once he let up. “And I’m never letting you go.”
Amber wrapped her arms around him and snuggled closer.
“Good. I’d hate to have to mess up that pretty face if you ever tried.”
Epilogue
Amber waited impatiently for the passengers at the front of the plane to clear out. Only a week had gone by, but every moment of separation from Danny felt like an eternity.
The whole week had been outright torture. But her boss had wanted to debrief her in person, and there’d been a few things to take care of at her apartment before she could move for good. And since Danny had some shifter conference he’d promised his brothers he’d cover, they’d agreed to part ways. Just for a week, after all.
Who knew it was going to feel like torture? But with Samantha so far along, and Ethan and Gwen off on their long-awaited honeymoon, he had no choice but to hold up his end of the bargain. And since they’d wanted the FBI off their backs, she’d had no choice but to go.
So they’d agreed to separate for a week. The longest week of her life. But she was back now, and Danny had promised to meet her at the airport. As soon as the heifers in front of her moved their asses. Jeez, could they take any longer getting out of the plane? How hard was it to grab a bag and walk?
At least she was coming home with some good news. The director had bought their story and agreed that nothing could be done about the riots. Her bosses would be watching the area more closely for more unrest, which meant they all had to be a bit careful. And that the guys needed to keep a closer eye on their pack. No more vigilante wolves attacking everything they saw as a threat.
Although after getting to know more of the pack, Amber tended to believe Danny when he stated the three wolves who’d plagued her and attacked them in the woods were the exception, not the norm.
In fact, she’d seen one of the three in town the other day and he had averted his eyes and quickly left. When she asked Danny about it, he’d told her their leader, Drake, had been dismissed from the pack and sentenced into servitude by some shifter council, and the one who’d attacked her had “been punished as well.” Whatever that meant. She hadn’t understood all the intricacies of what he’d told her, but it boiled down to no more trouble from those three.
Finally the line cleared and Amber was able to make her way out of the plane. The urge to see Danny, to feel his arms around her and his lips caressing hers, strengthened with each passing minute until she thought she might scream if she didn’t see him soon.
She turned the corner out of the smallest airport she’d ever been to, and there he was, surrounded by the rest of his family. A frown marred his features, but as soon as he saw her, his whole face lightened. He smiled and opened his arms wide in invitation.
Amber ran forward, laughing as he swept her in a circle. Then he was pulling her down for a searing kiss. She clutched his arms as the taste of him assaulted her senses.
When he finally came up for air, his eyes smiled down at her as his thumb caressed her cheek. Holy cow, did she love the man.
“Welcome home,” he whispered.
Home indeed. Home was wherever he was. She looked around at the rest of his family’s indulgent smiles and blushed as she realized they’d witnessed their passionate embrace. Then she paused and looked around again.
“No Laurie?” She’d thought they’d mended the rift between them. Had even considered the woman her friend, albeit an unpredictable one.
Danny cleared his throat. “Well, that’s kind of a funny story.”
Amber glanced at everyone’s faces. Some held amusement, other worry. “Where is she?”
“She found her mate.”
“That’s great.” Amber looked around at the various expressions again before turning back to Danny. “Isn’t it?”
“I think we may just have to wait and see for this one.” He laughed and then pulled her into his arms. “Enough about Laurie, you must be starving.”
Amber glanced at Danny. She was hungry, but the obvious subject change made her suspicious. Still, she’d get the story out of him sooner or later.
Finally, she’d come home. And now, they had all the time in the world.
Other Lyrical Books By Sondrae Bennett
Alpine Woods Shifter Series
Arctic Winds
Chasing Paradise
The Wolf Within
Worth Fighting For
About Sondrae Bennett
I love romance. I love reading romance, living romance (who doesn't), but I especially love writing romance. There's no greater feeling than watching my characters come alive in each other's arms. Most of all, I love giving my characters the happily ever afters they deserve, with a little necessary drama first.
One of my
favorite things is picking up a new book and sinking into the story, immersing myself in the emotions between the characters. I hope someday to inspire readers the same way my favorite authors have inspired me.
When not writing, I can usually be found curled up on the couch with a good book, taking my dogs for walks, or spending time with my family.
It always makes my day to hear from my readers.
Covert Desires
9781616504281
Copyright © 2012, Sondrae Bennett
Edited by Piper Denna
Book design by Lyrical Press, Inc.
Cover Art by Renee Rocco
First Lyrical Press, Inc. electronic publication: December, 2012
Lyrical Press, Incorporated
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eBooks are not transferable. All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
Published in the United States of America by Lyrical Press, Incorporated
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