Tane's Mate: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Shifter's on the Run Book 1)

by Serena Simpson

  “Tane, you’re so real under my hands.”

  “They don’t get any more real than me.”

  “Why did you stop?”

  “We’re animals, Love. Dai and Jay can already smell your arousal. To do anything more would be torture for them to endure. They might not have your hearing but they hear well enough so that every moan of pleasure would torture them. Tonight we will camp out and leave the camper to them.”

  “All right.”

  She’d never camped out. In fact, she was sure it was listed on her dating profile because she had one. It said under dislikes camping out, because she was a city girl and well city girls should camp out on their balconies, in her humble opinion.

  Suddenly she couldn’t think of anything better than spending the night in Tane’s arms even if the only reason he wanted her was because she was his type.

  *~*~*~*

  The uneven rocking of the camper woke her up.

  “Where are we?” Her voice came out deep from sleep.

  “Jay just pulled into a camp ground; we are going to spend the night here maybe tomorrow too.”

  “Why tomorrow?”

  “The longer we stay off grid the better. The search for where we were last spotted will be ahead of us and not behind us.”

  “Oh.” She inched to the edge of the bed and reached down for her boots.

  She had once again spent hours sleeping in Tane’s arms. It was becoming one of her favorite activities. They walked out of the room together. Jay was pulling past other campers going deeper into the trees until he stopped at a spot that seemed unoccupied.

  “Nature,” she went to the side door only to feel Tane stop her by taking her arm.

  “I’ll go out first.” She moved to the side and allowed him to go in front of her. He would protect her even with his life. The hard ball she carried in her middle that said no one would ever care for her was touched.

  He walked out and looked around before sticking his head back in and reaching for her.

  The beauty of her surroundings caught her off guard. The trees were so tall she couldn’t see the tops of them. The setting sun shone down in patches making the place look magical. There were sporadic flowers everywhere; the kind she didn’t even know existed. There were small bushes mixed in. The area was untamed, as if the only plan it followed was its own. Being here felt bigger than anything she had gone through and yet it refreshed her with its glorious abandonment, making her feel small at the same time.

  She could get used to this.

  “Let’s set up camp.” Jay went into the camper while Dai disappeared into the woods with Tane on his tail.

  He whispered to Leza to stay close before he followed his twin. She went into the camper asking Jay what he needed.

  “Firewood.”

  “I can get you some of that without going too far away.”

  His eyes looked her up and down. “You don’t say, city girl.”

  “I might be a city girl but I’m a strong one and I can get wood.” She gave him a cheeky grin before jumping down the steps and taking off into the woods with no hesitation in her steps.

  When she could no longer see the camp site, she slowed down wondering what she was doing out here in the woods where lions, tigers and bears oh my…lived. Then she remembered she had an animal in her with claws, in fact she might even be a lioness.

  Her animal sniffed and raised its head. Ok…she wasn’t a lioness. Lions were cool but she was sure her animal was much cooler. She walked until she came to the edge of a stream. A little girl was bending there running her hand in the water.

  “Hello?” Leza walked quietly up to her not wanting to startle her.

  The little girl jumped anyway. When she stood, Leza realized she was a teenager. Her body was slender; she had a wealth of black hair tumbling down her shoulders and pale skin. The girl turned her head ignoring Leza.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I thought I was out here all alone. If I’m interrupting your private time I’ll leave you alone.”

  “No, you can stay.”

  “Thanks, I’m Leza.”

  “My name is Amy.”

  “Nice to meet you, Amy.”

  “Nice to meet you also, Leza.”

  Leza walked over and bent down trailing her hand in the water. “This is my first time camping.”

  “I’ve been here a long time.”

  “You must like camping.”

  “Not anymore. I just wish I could go home.”

  “Hopefully your parents will get tired and take you home soon.”

  The girl’s eyes flared with panic before she got it under control. “Yeah, soon I’m sure they will be ready to take me back.”

  “Are you ok, Amy?”

  “I’m fine, why did you ask that?”

  “No reason, just wondered.”

  “What’s your favorite part of camping so far, Leza?” Amy sank to the ground and let herself relax for a minute before she gave Leza a genuine smile.

  “I like the trees. Does that sound weird?” Amy shook her head no.

  “They’re just so tall. I think to myself they’re hundreds of years old, when I’m no longer here this tree will still be standing watching the next generation and the next. The knowledge they could impart if only we could communicate with them. What’s your favorite part?” Leza gave Amy a comforting smile.

  “The part I used to love is the part I hate now. I used to love that when you were in the woods there was no cell signal. No way to get in touch with others. No need to keep up your cool image. In the woods you could be whoever you were or wanted to be without someone judging you.”

  “Why do you hate it now?”

  Amy’s eyes lifted to look at Leza, tears clinging to her eyelashes. “Because there is no cell signal. No one can find you in the woods.”

  Leza took a deep breath taking in Amy’s scent. “I’ll always be able to find you, Amy. No signal needed.”

  Amy stood and gave Leza a sad smile. “I have to go back now. Remember me, please.” She melted into the trees.

  Leza watched her walk off replaying the conversation in her head. A small voice said leave Amy to her parents, but her bigger voice already cared about that young teen and was going to find out what was going on.

  Chapter Eleven

  Leza walked into camp dragging a fallen branch from a tree to hear Tane trying not to lose his mind.

  “What do you mean you just let her walk into the woods for firewood?”

  Leza let the branch touch the ground before turning around to sit on it. There was nothing like watching Tane get hot and bothered. If she was honest it made her hot and bothered too.

  Jay looked at her and shook his head trying to hide the smile.

  “Either we trust her or we don’t. What did you want me to do? Confine her to the camper?”

  “This isn’t about trust, Jay, and you know it. She’s out in the woods alone. The sun is going down. What if she’s scared and she’s definitely lonely?”

  “You’re worried about her.”

  “I am not. I just know better than to send personnel out to do jobs they haven’t been trained for.”

  “How much training does it take to pick up some dead sticks?”

  “You shouldn’t have let her walk off alone.” Tane turned to find her watching him with a smile on her face. A look of relief stole over his face before his shoulders squared before he gave her an accusing look.

  “Did you miss me?” she asked as she stood and dragged the branch over to them. “Is this big enough? I figured we could cut it down and have fire for days.”

  “I’ll take care of that since Tane hasn’t trained you how to use a knife yet,” Jay said trying not to laugh.

  Dai on the other hand didn’t care and wiped a tear from his eye.

  “Leza, you did good with the fire wood but tomorrow we will have a class on how to spot the best wood for fire and return to camp without mishaps. Just to make Tane feel bette
r,” Dai said before he went to help Jay cut the branch up into smaller pieces.

  Tane muttered something low before walking over to her.

  “You can’t just wander off, Leza. I know it feels like we are safe here but the government and the military can be anywhere.”

  “I didn’t mean to worry you. I just wanted to contribute. There’s a nice lake not too far from here. I went down there. Met a sweet teen and spent some time talking to her before I got the wood. I’ll let you or someone know where I’m going next time.” She may also be in trouble, but Leza would check that out before she called in the cavalry.

  “Ok,” he reached out and took her hand.

  She smiled at him and followed him back into the camper where they raided the fridge and freezer putting together a meal.

  Tane took out some meat to be cooked over an open fire and she made a salad and a few side dishes to go with it.

  “Hope you guys are hungry.” She came out with an arm full of food and placed it on the card table that one of them set up.

  She sat down as the meat finished cooking and looked at Tane. Every so often he would look at her as if he couldn’t help himself. She wondered if he was feeling what she was.

  There was a draw to him she couldn’t shake, but it was more than that. Her heart latched on to him as if he were the last male on the planet. She knew with a surety that shocked her with its intensity—if something happened to him she would mourn. Maybe forever.

  His smile was already under her skin and his touch ignited a flame deep within her. She would want him even if the government hadn’t made her a secret weapon to capture him. If she had seen him walking down the street she would have turned around to follow him.

  He stood making a plate before he brought it over to her.

  “You’re going to spoil me, if you keep serving me.” Her voice was breathy.

  “My mom used to say ‘One day, Tane, you’ll meet the right one and you’ll do anything for her.’ My mom was one smart lady.”

  “She had to be to have a son like you.”

  “Hey, we’re twins, just remember that,” Dai called out.

  Leza gave a small laugh. “What was I thinking? I meant to have sons like the two of you.”

  “Much better,” Dai said, smiling at her.

  “I think she always wished she only had one,” Tane grumbled while he made a plate and sat by Leza.

  “She told me that once, but then she said since I was second she had no other choice than to have both of us.” There was laughter buried in Dai’s voice.

  Leza bit her lip to keep from laughing. Jay just rolled his eyes and ignored them.

  “Do the two of you do this a lot?” she asked Tane.

  “No, only when Dai feels left out.”

  “I never feel left out. It’s Tane’s job to keep me company because he is the older, less refined model.”

  “No worries, I like older guys.” She leaned over and kissed Tane on the cheek.

  He hugged her and gave Dai a ‘what do you think about that’ look. Dai simply sighed and finished his meal.

  “I can’t wait for Dai to find his mate. That way we can see who becomes a father first,” Jay said idly.

  All three of them choked on what they were eating.

  “No one said anything about children,” Dai said.

  Jay laughed hard. “You should see the looks on your faces.”

  Leza stood up. “I think we should clean up before there’s a brawl.”

  “Two against one,” Tane said. “That’s not a brawl that’s a simple beat down.”

  “Why are these two always threatening me?” Jay said with a smile.

  “Hey, that wasn’t me who threatened, but I will definitely help.”

  “Don’t make me have to help, Jay.” Leza said reaching for dishes to take back to the camper.

  They all groaned and cleaned up.

  “Are we taking shifts tonight?” Leza asked as they finished cleaning up.

  “We’ve already set up surveillance. No one will get close without us knowing.” Tane answered her question.

  She nodded letting her shoulders relax a little. Of course they had already taken care of it. They probably set it up when they scouted out the area. This was her new life. Having to think about things like scouting and surveillance. Being on the run.

  Holding Tane’s hand and feeling his lips on her. It wasn’t all bad. Laughing with Dai and Jay. They treated her like she was a sister. Since she didn’t have any family, it was like a balm to her weary soul. Sure staying at home and reading her e-books was safe, but it wasn’t this.

  “Are you ready?” Tane held out a hand to her.

  She looked and didn’t see a sleeping bag or covers for camping outside.

  Shrugging because she trusted him, her hand slid into his. “I’m ready.”

  “See you tomorrow,” Dai and Jay called out.

  “Later,” she said feeling her cheeks heat.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, that was kind of weird, having everyone know what you’re going to do.”

  “One day, if we play our cards right, they’ll get to walk away from us knowing what they’re going to do.”

  “Why would they change us like this? Make us so different than what we were meant to be.”

  “Because they can. When man has achieved everything, what else is there for him to do?”

  “Play god.”

  They walked until she couldn’t hear any noise from the campsite.

  “What if something happens and they need us?”

  “Then they’ll make enough noise to wake the dead. Don’t worry, if Dai and Jay couldn’t handle themselves I wouldn’t leave them alone.”

  “That’s why you’re in charge.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She dragged her feet slowing down deliberately wondering why he couldn’t admit to being the leader.

  “Is there a reason you can’t admit to being in charge?”

  His head swung to look at her before he placed his hand in the small of her back to get her moving again.

  “There’s always a chance that one day the government will recapture me. I don’t want them to feel like they can’t go on without me. But your right, I am the official leader.”

  She nodded her head. It didn’t matter because she knew what he was denying. His people, his brothers would never stop until they got him back.

  They came to a cleared out area where a tent had already been set up.

  “When did you do this?”

  “I slipped out while you were in the camper cooking.”

  Tane opened the tent and turned on a battery operated light. “This will give us enough light to see but the drain on the battery is limited so it will last several days.”

  He stood back waiting for Leza to go in. The tent was large enough that she could stand if she wanted to but it was too small for Tane to stand fully. She went in lowering herself until she sat on the sleeping bag that was lying on an inflatable camping mattress to make it soft.”

  Tane closed the tent and lay down beside her. Her body was stiff as she waited for him to touch her.

  “Go to sleep, Leza.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “Hun, I won’t touch you.”

  “Why?”

  “You’re stiff as a board. I want you but not like that. You need to be part of the process. You have to want me back.”

  “I do.”

  “That’s not what your body is saying.”

  “It’s not that. Have you ever been in constant pain? I was for most of my life. It wasn’t until they did this to me that the pain went away. When your back is hurting you don’t always want someone lying on you. Also I didn’t go out a lot because I was in pain, so it wasn’t like I was meeting the most eligible men. If I had met you when I was in pain it wouldn’t have mattered because I would have to have you.

  “I’m not here because our government said you’re
the perfect guy for me. I’m here because it wouldn’t have mattered if I was ten or ninety. I would still be attracted to you. Can you imagine me at ninety running after you?”

  “You wouldn’t have to run too hard, Leza. No matter what age you were, I would let you catch me.”

  “My hero.” She leaned up and placed a kiss on his jaw. “Let’s just kiss a while, snuggle, and see what happens.”

  “Right, like I can touch you and then just stop.”

  He pressed her down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips before sinking his tongue in her mouth to kiss her deeply.

  Her stomach contracted at the feel of his tongue rubbing against her. Her toes curled just a little in her boots.

  “You taste so good, Love.” He whispered in her ear before he traced the shell of it with his tongue.

  He dropped kisses on her throat before giving her small bites. Working his way down he buried his nose in the base of her throat and inhaled deeply.

  “Your smell is so intoxicating. The more I smell you, the further I find myself falling under your spell.”

  “I love the way you smell, too. It’s so masculine. Like soap and musk all rolled into one. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were putting out a pheromone intended to capture me.”

  “Maybe I am.” He sucked on her neck marking her for the world to see. “I want everyone to know you belong with me.”

  “Two can play that game.” She leaned up into him and took his shoulder between her teeth and she bit him hard.

  His body bucked and he gave a roar of pleasure as she broke the skin. With a groan he pulled back.

  “Are you ok?” Fear flashed in her eyes.

  “I have never felt anything that good before. I almost lost it, like I was a teen and you were the first woman I was ever with.”

  A smile of pure satisfaction crossed her lips. She had shaken him. Little ol’ her had accomplished that.

  He sat up and looked at her. “I think it’s time for me to return the pleasure.”

  Chapter Twelve

  He skated his hand over her front looking at the cami she had on paired with her cargo pants. She looked great lying there in his tent; her body relaxed as he looked at her. Her eyes were wide open as she looked at him with trust.