Jonah looked at her, his handsome face creased in puzzlement, and she laughed.
“I just mean it’s not right for you to be too concerned about it. You can tell the council about it. You shouldn’t have to be the guy to fix everything.”
She expected Jonah to laugh, or at least crack a smile, but somehow, her words made him seem even more serious.
“It’s always my job to protect others,” he said, slowing for a stop sign. “I’m a SEAL.”
Lyla was shocked into silence. Betsy had mentioned he was a high ranking man, and it was obvious that something weird was going on in Stonybrooke. And, if her intuition was right, and it usually was, that would mean Jonah was there to take care of it.
***
“You’re hurt!”
Lyla was horrified when Jonah strode through the back door and into the golden light of the kitchen.
He glanced down at himself and shrugged half-heartedly.
“You should drink some water. I’m pretty sure you were pretty close to going into shock back there.”
“Forget about that!” Lyla exclaimed, grabbing Jonah’s hand and dragging him into the living room. “Sit down right now. I’m going to bandage you up. That looks awful.”
“It’s really nothing,” Jonah said, but his voice was already distant as Lyla hurried down the hallway to retrieve bandages and alcohol to sterilize his wounds.
When she returned, Jonah was holding one of her lacy pink pillows over his groin. Lyla tried not to laugh as she came toward him, holding out a cloth tentatively. Again, Jonah tried to resist her care, but soon, he was sitting silently as Lyla dabbed at the wounds on his chest, back, and shoulders as carefully as she could until the blood marking his broad, muscular body was mostly gone.
Jonah kept his eyes glued to the floor as Lyla bandaged his wounds carefully, until she was satisfied he was going to be all right. She knew she shouldn’t worry – shifters heal quickly – but she was really beginning to care about Jonah.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Jonah said, standing up quickly the second Lyla was finished. He refused to meet her eye, and Lyla swallowed hard, unable to resist taking another long look at Jonah’s lithe, muscular body. He was holding the pillow in front of his crotch awkwardly, and another flash of heat ignited her loins. She wanted nothing more than to be near him again, to hold him close just as she had in her moment of fear just after the bear attack. But there was no excuse to do something like that anymore. They were just two people standing in her living room.
“I should get out of here,” Jonah said, his voice gravelly and dry. Was he nervous about something? He always seemed so calm and in control. What could possibly shake a man like Jonah?
“You don’t have to leave so soon,” Lyla whispered.
Jonah’s dark eyes flickered to her, holding her gaze with an intensity that made her knees weak. Suddenly, it became clear what his reservation was. He wasn’t nervous. He was just doing his best to stay in control.
“I think I do.”
Now that she was looking him in the eye, his expression began to change. Soon, Lyla was no longer simply looking at Jonah. She was looking at the wolf. And it wanted control.
Lyla’s breath caught in her throat and she took a tentative step forward. She had been raised not to fear the wolf; she respected it. In fact, right now, she craved it.
“Stay with me,” she whispered, her cheeks flushed hot as she reached her hand out to touch Jonah’s arm. He flinched away from her, and Lyla was suddenly in awe of Jonah’s willpower. No man she had ever met was able to muster the discipline he had; but when his eyes turned to hers again, she knew it would take more than a small invitation to break down the wall.
Frustrated, Lyla took a step forward and took Jonah’s hands in hers. The pillow dropped to the floor, and suddenly, he was pulling her close to his body, lifting her and swinging her in the air, pressing her against the wall. Lyla cried out in bliss as Jonah’s mouth found her lips, and the sweet taste of his tongue against hers overwhelmed her senses.
Jonah’s eyes flashed dark, need etched in every line of his face as his body worked to hold her up against the wall and his hands moved up and down her body, his fingers spreading fire in their wake. Lyla’s heart pounded so hard she nearly thought it would burst, and her mind became empty but for one sensation; pure, unbridled desire.
Jonah let out a deep grunt as Lyla wrapped her legs around his waist, suddenly feeling the massive bulge of his erection pressed hard against her middle. She shuddered in ecstasy as he thrust his hips against her, his hard muscle grinding the most sensitive nerves in her body through the light red fabric of her gown.
Lyla shuddered in delight as she surrendered to Jonah, and came face to face with the wolf inside him. There was no point in denying it now. She was his.
11.
There was no controlling it now. Jonah was at the mercy of his wolf, and gripped Lyla’s hips as he buried his mouth against the nape of her neck. She moaned in ecstasy as he tasted her; she was even better than he had hoped. The air became thick with the scent of her desire, intoxicating Jonah to the point of no return.
He growled and lifted her light body, carrying her wildly through the small house until he reached her bedroom. Lyla squealed softly when he threw her onto the bed, tearing her gown off and leaving her panting in her bra and panties on the bed. The moonlight hit her body, illuminating her skin and making her look like an ethereal princess; a girl made wild by nature and tamed only by the fruition of her desires.
A primal longing consumed him as the wolf took charge; the one and only time in his life he had fully allowed for this to happen. Desire flooded his loins, leaving his member throbbing as he climbed on the bed over Lyla, his eyes greedily roaming the delicate curves of her soft body. She trembled beneath him as he gently unclasped her bra and dropped his mouth over one of her pink nipples.
Lyla arched her back with a gasp and Jonah’s cock responded with a hard thrust, satisfying neither of them through the thin fabric of Lyla’s panties. He rid her of them quickly and resumed his sampling of her breasts, his mouth roaming them freely as her body writhed beneath him.
Jonah watched the perfect shape of her lips as she uttered a moan of pleasure before submerging himself completely and perfectly inside her. A shocked cry of ecstasy escaped her lips, making him harder than he had ever been in his life as his member was enveloped by the heat of her body. Jonah thrust fervently inside of her, desperate to give the wolf the release it had been waiting for all this time, and to take Lyla to the ledge of a pleasure she had never yet experienced.
She moaned again, gripping Jonah’s broad back as he worked his body against her, every thrust sending him to new heights of ecstasy. He growled as Lyla’s legs wrapped around him, inviting him to enter her deeper now. He accepted the invitation and soon, he could feel her nearing her climax.
He knew he should be responsible. But the wolf was in control now. As soon as Lyla’s body began to shudder around him, contracting around his cock and milking it as she experienced a long, powerful orgasm, Jonah’s climax came with a sudden swiftness that shocked them both. Lyla shouted in pure bliss as the wolf prompted Jonah to empty himself inside her with a long, explosive climax. He thrust until he had emptied himself inside her completely, extending her orgasm far beyond his own, and held her tightly, still inside her, as they both fell into a deep sleep.
***
Jonah awoke with a start. How was it possible that he had allowed himself to fall asleep like this? It was careless. Sure, he was exhausted from fighting with the bear shifter, and from other things, but that was no excuse. He was a SEAL. It was his job to be alert at all times.
He gazed at Lyla who was lying beside him, her chest rising and falling lightly under the sheet as she dreamed. She was feeling better, happier, and sleeping with less worries on her shoulders since the attack, but somehow, his worries seemed to be just beginning. The bear shifters were obviously planning something, and h
e had killed the hybrid before he had the chance to question it. The only thing that had mattered in the moment was making sure Lyla was safe, at all costs.
That in itself was troubling. He was already jeopardizing his mission for her. Nichols would probably tell him he had just done what he needed to do to neutralize the threat, but Jonah knew better than that. He was allowing Lyla to become a liability. He had to get out of there.
She barely stirred when he got up from the bed. For a moment, he glanced around the room for something to wear before realizing he had nothing on when he came into the house. He let himself out quietly and swiftly shifted into his wolf form. The night air was cool around his body as he ran back home the way they had come. He was unpleasantly surprised to find that the bear hybrid’s body was missing from the road. Either someone had found him and alerted the council, or the hybrid’s buddies had taken responsibility for the corpse and disposed of it in their own way.
Jonah’s hackles rose at the thought, but there was nothing he could do about it now. It was too late to follow the scent, so all he could really do was make a note of it and check the area. He found nothing out of the ordinary and decided to get back to the house before it was too late. Betsy would probably be in bed by then, even if she had made the pie he was craving that night. But she was just like he was when it came to sleeping, and after a little wolf nap, they would both wake up around the same time and enjoy the pie together.
When he arrived back at the house, Jonah let himself in and jogged up to his bedroom where he grabbed a change of clothes and then hopped in the shower. As much as he hated to, he had to wash the scent of Lyla off his body. As incredible as their night together had been, it was just going to serve as a distraction. Right now, he needed to keep his head in the game or he was going to risk his life and the lives of those he cared about the most.
When he’d finished with his shower, he walked outside, onto the back porch, and dialed the number for Gregors.
“What do you want, Lucas?”
Jonah grinned. It was obvious he had woken up his commanding officer.
“I have a report. Something…strange happened tonight.”
“Strange? Strange how?”
Jonah grimaced, remembering with a twinge of guilt just how hard it had been to hide the fact that he was more knowledgeable about the shifters in Stonybrooke than he had let on at first.
But once she had revealed who her grandfather was, it was all beginning to make more sense. According to his Intel, her grandfather had left Stonybrooke after accusing the Council of corruption. He’d suspected an infiltration by bear sympathizers, and even went so far as to say they had managed to get themselves onto the council. How, though, he had never been able to prove, and so he had been ostracized.
“We’re dealing with something more sinister than originally suspected. The bear shifters are not only using the Serah Stone to increase their strength using a ritual in the mines, but there are hybrids in Stonybrooke that are nearly impossible to detect until they shift.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Gregors grumbled. Jonah could picture the familiar annoyance on his commander’s face. He would have smiled if the whole situation hadn’t been so damn complicated.
“I don’t know how it all ties together yet, but something is going on.”
“How did you find this hybrid? What was it doing?”
Gregors was beginning to sound fully awake now, and Jonah could tell his mind was reeling a mile a minute as he began to contemplate the situation. It was comforting to know Gregors would do his best to make sure that Jonah’s men were safe, under any circumstances.
“It was attacking a girl, my sister’s friend. Her grandfather is Zed Winston. He was driven out for suspecting a conspiracy within the council. Infiltration of the bear shifters, perhaps on to the hybrids. They had him removed from Stonybrooke unceremoniously, and now that his granddaughter is back in town, I’m afraid…”
“You think they’re going to use her.”
Jonah swallowed hard. Many of the more horrific of ancient bear rituals involved a human sacrifice. They had failed to abduct Lyla that night, but who was to keep them from trying again.
“Yes. I’m concerned she is going to be the sacrifice for the ritual.”
“I’m having Nichols and three other men search the mines tomorrow. During that time, I want you in charge of guarding this girl. At all costs. Make sure nobody knows you’re there. Not even the girl herself. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Jonah said.
Gregors hung up and Jonah let out a long, deep sigh. How was it that everything managed to get so complicated so quickly? But it was no matter. He would protect Lyla from the hybrids. As if his life depended on it.
12.
Lyla woke up the next day, a strange feeling hanging over her. She remembered, suddenly, what had happened the night before with Jonah, and the knot in her stomach made sense. As much as she cared about him, she couldn’t be responsible for distracting him from his mission. He hadn’t told her a lot about it, but what he said had hit her hard. It was clear that there was something terrible going on. Something dangerous.
Lyla got up groggily and changed the sheets on her bed, dropping the used ones guiltily in the washing machine. She hadn’t wanted to be with Jonah; it felt like a betrayal to Betsy. And now that it had happened, she knew it just couldn’t happen again. No matter how much she liked him, it just wasn’t an ideal situation.
The phone rang and Lyla picked it up. It was Betsy’s number, and another twinge of guilt knotted her stomach. What had she gotten herself into?
“Hey Bets,” Lyla said, trying to disguise her emotions. Shifters had great senses, even over the phone, but Betsy had no reason to suspect anything and she seemed as cheerful as ever.
“Good morning, Lyla. I was wondering if you could come in early today. We have a lot to do, post-auction. There’s a ton of paperwork to do. We got so much money for the organization!”
“I know, it was amazing,” Lyla said, trying to keep the intrusive thoughts of the bear hybrid out of her mind. “I’m really amazed by how well it went.”
“It was unbelievable,” Betsy said with a dreamy sigh. Lyla couldn’t help but smile. It was clear she adored her brother, and much of their success was due to Jonah. She couldn’t help but feel warm thinking of the way his eyes had glittered during the event, and that warmth soon turned to fire as her mind turned back to the way he had looked at her the night before, when she had been so blissfully trapped underneath his body…
“It was. Very hard to believe,” Lyla said quickly, doing everything possible to push Jonah’s memory out of her mind. It would do her no good. She knew it couldn’t happen again. Not when he had to devote his time and focus to his mission. She refused to be a liability.
“Well, anyway, Jonah told me he was going to be gone all day, so I could really use the extra help in the office.”
“Of course, Betsy. You don’t have to explain. I’ll be in as soon as I can.”
“Great!” Betsy exclaimed. She sounded as if her day couldn’t get much better. That would probably change if she found out what had happened between her best friend and her brother the night before.
“Take care, Bets. See you soon.”
They hung up and with a tight chest, Lyla began to make herself breakfast. But as soon as the smell began to waft throughout the room, she realized she really wasn’t hungry. She was probably just feeling too anxious about what had happened to have an appetite.
Lyla sighed heavily. It was going to be fine. All she had to do was keep her calm.
***
Betsy hadn’t been joking. The office was swamped with paperwork, and people from all over town were calling in asking how they could help with the homeless shifter crisis in Stonybrooke, though most of them wanted to speak to Jonah, who clearly wasn’t there. It was bizarre, really, how everybody who hadn’t cared at all before suddenly cared when Betsy’s decorat
ed brother spoke up on behalf of the people she was trying to help.
“Are you all right?” Betsy asked suddenly as they were eating lunch together.
“What? Sure, why?” Lyla said. She hated to lie, and Betsy could probably tell it was a lie, but shifters weren’t mind readers. Lyla could keep her secrets.
“You just seem…different,” Betsy said vaguely. But there was something strange about her response. As if she knew more than she was letting on. Could Betsy smell Jonah on her? That would be humiliating.
“Well, something strange happened last night. It shook me up a little, but I’m fine now.”
“Strange how? Was somebody fresh with you at the auction?”
Betsy was standing suddenly, a fierce, protective look on her face that reminded Lyla of Jonah. It was surprising; she had never seen an aggressive side to Betsy.
“No, it was nothing like that. Something just ran in front of my car and got me a bit scared.”
Betsy relaxed visibly and sat back down to continue eating.
“Did you hit it?” Betsy asked.
Lyla hesitated. She hadn’t hit it, exactly, but anyone who saw her car would know that something had happened to it.
“Yes,” Lyla said decidedly. It was easier to lie about that than to tell the truth about the hybrid shifter that had, for some reason, chosen to attack her after the auction.
“All right,” Betsy said, though her eyes were still and serious. The woman could see right through her. But telling Betsy could somehow give away something about Jonah’s mission. That could be dangerous. “Well, if you ever want to talk to me about it, I’m here to listen.”
“Thanks,” Lyla said. The knot in her stomach tightened. She had never regretted an impulsive decision as much as she was beginning to regret spending the night with Jonah. No matter how much she liked him, it had been a mistake.
The rest of the day went by quickly, and both Betsy and Lyla left late that night, exhausted.
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