by K. S. Martin
“That was my thought, too, right after the one about taking Kerry to see the ocean.”
Ava smiled softly. “You’ll be a good mate. Give her plenty of pups and you won’t have to worry about chasing her around. She’ll be too busy chasing them.”
Ethan chuckled. “I intend to give her a whole brood.”
Ava laughed loudly. “I’m sure you do.” She wandered down the hall, still laughing.
***
“So, you had a big day yesterday, huh? How are you this morning?” Thelma walked slowly beside Kerry.
“I’m good. We’re good.” Kerry smiled shyly.
“He’s got it bad, that’s for sure,” Thelma crowed.
“What do you mean?” Kerry asked.
“Yesterday, when you went missing, he was inconsolable, blaming himself and stalking a path through the front yard like a caged lion. When I knocked on the door earlier, he still had that look of desperation in his eyes. You need to get busy in the boudoir, honey.” Thelma nudged her with her elbow.
“I wanted to, but Ava was there, and…”
“Ah, you’re bashful. As soon as she’s gone then, you jump him quick.” Kerry’s face grew hot. “Oh, baby girl, there’s no sense being embarrassed. I know people have sex, and you two shouldn’t be out of each other’s sight for more than a few minutes. You’re newly mated, for goodness sake. That means seven or eight times a day to most wolves.” Kerry paled, and Thelma laughed again. “The more you do it, the more freedom you’ll have, and he won’t panic as much when you aren’t around if he isn’t wondering who you’re with.”
Kerry thought about that and didn’t think it was true. Ethan didn’t think she was with someone else as much as he thought she was going to escape. “Well, here’s the garden and all of its weeds.” Thelma gestured grandly.
“Where do they come from? We were just out here.” Kerry made a face at the weeds, and Thelma laughed loudly.
“Personally I think the aliens send them to invade.”
Kerry giggled and started down her row, pulling up things that didn’t belong from in between the rows. They spent a few hours out there, when Thelma turned on the sprinklers and announced it was time to go home for lunch. She and Kerry parted ways at her house, and Kerry headed home.
When she got near their house, she saw Ethan hugging Ava. Kerry stopped in her tracks. They hadn’t seen her. He held on to her longer than Kerry liked. Her blood began to pound in her veins, and when he kissed her cheek, Kerry felt like she’d been kicked in the stomach. What had happened while she was gone? Did they? Would he? With her? She was very pretty, much prettier than Kerry ever thought herself to be, and she shared his enforcer experiences. Silent tears tracked over Kerry’s cheeks as Ethan looked up and met her gaze. He said something to Ava and started walking toward her. She couldn’t move. She wanted to run, but her legs just didn’t work. Her wolf wouldn’t come either, so she stood there until her knees buckled and she collapsed to the grass.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Easy, girl. You didn’t see what you think you saw.” He pulled her up to her feet and wrapped her in his arms. “Whatever is going through your mind is not true, I promise. Come on. Ava’s waiting to say goodbye.”
“I don’t want to see her.” Her voice sounded venomous to her own ears, but he didn’t let her go, and his own voice did not harden toward her.
“Shh. I promise, okay?” His fingers gently tilted her head up, and he kissed her lips softly.
“You smell like her,” Kerry hissed.
“Only because I hugged her, and that’s all there was. Come on and we will explain everything.” Ethan tugged her hand, and she followed. She knew she would lose a battle with that she-wolf, but she wanted her blood.
Ava wrapped her in a hug as soon as they neared. She murmured in Kerry’s ear. “I know what you’re thinking and it’s not true. I would never sleep with my brother.” Kerry gasped and Ava laughed. “Half-brother, anyway.” Kerry was confused, and her brows knitted, but she let Ava lead her away from Ethan. “Process that.” She grinned and a dimple creased her cheek. “My dad had Ethan with his first mate, and me with his second. Ethan’s mama died from an aggressive cancer. I know how tight-lipped he is and knew that he probably had not shared any of himself with you yet. He’s older than me by about twenty years.”
“Twenty years?” Kerry asked with wide-eyes.
“Yeah, no big deal for a wolf, you know that.”
“How old is he?” Kerry whispered.
“Forty-eight, I had my birthday last month, but his is in the fall. I was surprised at how young you are, but he loves you, so it doesn’t matter.” Kerry thought about it. Age was not a big deal with wolves. They lived to be old, sometimes a thousand years. Her dad was over two hundred, but she didn’t know how far over because it was “none of her damned business.”
“Anyway. I’m going to go find your mom, then I’ll be back. I’ll bring her to you as quick as I can, sis.”
Kerry’s gaze snapped up at her. Sis? She’d never had a sibling, and even though this she-wolf wasn’t really her sister, she found that she kind of liked the thought of having one. Kerry smiled at her.
Ava hugged her again, whispering in her ear. “Be easy on the guy. He’s had a rough life, and he’s old.” Kerry giggled. “And you both need to get laid.”
“What?” Kerry covered her mouth with both hands and felt her face go puce. Why was everyone so interested in her sex life? First Thelma and now Ava.
“You both need a toss between the sheets or a good chase. Let him chase you. That excites wolves, you know?” Ava winked. “Well, I’m leaving, and you have the house to yourself. Now get busy before I bring your mom home. I want to be an auntie. Auntie Ava, that’s got a good ring to it. She can call me double A.” Ava laughed loudly as she was prone to do and left Kerry standing where she was. She noticed Ethan’s heated gaze on her. He watched her like a predator, standing in the yard with his arms crossed over his massive chest and his legs braced. She had the urge to shift and run. She wondered if his wolf liked to play. Eric’s had, they’d raced all the time, and Kerry had loved it.
She loved running through the woods at breakneck speeds as though nothing in the world mattered. She turned to walk toward the far side of the house and pulled her T-shirt over her head. Ava was backing her bright yellow truck from the driveway, and Kerry hurried alongside the house. She heard Ethan call her name, but she kept going. She had a plan, and she was sticking to it. She looked back over her shoulder at him and gave him a saucy grin. He started after her, and she giggled. He was pulling his clothes off, and she dropped her shorts as she shifted, then took off at top speed. She yipped and headed for the woods. Ethan was barreling after her, and she laughed inside her head.
Kerry ran as fast as she could and flew over a fallen log near where the turkeys had been. She looked back and he was following. Surely he could run faster than that. Kerry increased her speed through an open patch of the woods, and ducked through the thicket on the other side. Kerry took a hard hit from the side and rolled. Ethan was panting down at her. She was on her back and shifted back into her human. She was already giggling uncontrollably.
“What in the hell is wrong with you?” he snapped when he’d shifted back. Kerry grabbed him around the neck and pulled him close enough to kiss. Ethan relaxed against her, covering her body with his. Kerry wiggled against him and moved so he was between her legs. His erection was like steel against her softness. Kerry wrapped her legs around him and dug her heels into his backside. She arched up against him, her hands weaving into his hair.
“Please,” she murmured against his mouth. Ethan was inside her before she finished the word. He groaned and didn’t move, he just stayed that way for a few seconds. Kerry sighed and relaxed. It felt so good that all of the tension from the past few days left her, but a new tension filled her now. She moved beneath him, and his eyes went amber on her. “Please?” she whispered. He covered her mouth with his and eased ou
“Am I hurting you?” He stopped moving.
“No. I just need…I need….” she panted, and he smiled down at her.
“I know what you need, baby.” His mouth found her throat, kissing and licking. Kerry arched her neck back and felt his fingers between her legs. Everything went hot and exploded. A wall of tension released, and it toppled inside her, making her bones feel like jelly. Tiny white pinpricks of light filled her vision behind her eyelids, and she heard a cry, then realized it was her making that sound.
She felt him tremble, and heard the grunt that he made when he climaxed. Kerry still panted against his shoulder. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she’d bitten him. She licked the bite and watched it heal.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“Oh, darling, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for. That was…incredible.” He eased out of her, and she missed him. Her insides were not at peace yet, and she’d liked the feeling of being inside of her. “You okay?” he asked, looking down into her face. “No, tell me what’s wrong. You had a whole different expression before I…oh.” He stopped and exhaled. “Next time I won’t move until you’re finished. Is that it?” She nodded. “We can go again in a few minutes if you want.” Ethan grinned at her, and she nibbled her lip. He kissed her softly, then rolled off of her. “So you like to be chased. Good to know.”
“I like to run,” Kerry said, looking up at the sky. “It’s more fun if I run with someone.”
“You like to be chased,” he corrected her.
“Maybe.” She watched a squirrel bounce from tree limb to tree limb overhead. It chattered down at them.
“Two seconds?” Ethan asked.
“Nah, he’s too high. If he comes down, though, less than two.”
“Let’s take a tour. Shift and follow me. I’ll show you around. You can learn markers so you can find your way back to me.”
Kerry rolled over and shifted into the brown wolf. Ethan was beside her and nipped the scruff of her neck. She yipped at him and licked his muzzle. He trotted off to the left, and she followed.
Hours later, they padded up the steps and into the screened room through a doggie door. So, she could get out of this room. That’s why he hadn’t wanted her out here alone.
He stood up as the man, and she followed. He held his hand out and led her down the hall to the shower. Ethan turned it on and stepped into the spray, and he pulled her inside. He kissed her and turned her so she was under the water. After washing her hair, he rinsed it, and finally scrubbed her body. When his hand dipped between her legs, she quivered. “You like that.” He slipped his fingers into her cleft and backed her up to the wall. She leaned gratefully against it. He brought her to a quick climax and grinned down at her.
“And I liked that,” he murmured against her hair as he kissed the top of her head. “We should eat, and then I have business to tend to. Maybe you can set up your new art room while I do that. Hmm?” She nodded. “Good.” He turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. She followed him, grabbing a towel.
“Should I go fix lunch when I’m dressed?” Kerry asked, following him into the bedroom. He nodded, looking down at his phone. He tapped on the screen. Kerry pulled on a pair of old jeans and paired them with a T-shirt her mother bought at the thrift store.
“You don’t like your new clothes?” He was watching her now with his eyes sharp. She trembled.
“I like them,” she answered softly.
“I’d like to see you in some of them.” He came over and wrapped her in his arms. “I’m not angry. I’m only asking.” He kissed the top of her head.
“I like them. This is habit, that’s all.” She felt him nod. “Should I change?”
“No. You’re fine. Later though I would like to see some of those frilly things.” He smiled down at her.
Kerry made sandwiches while Ethan tended to business. She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but his face was very serious as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen. He mumbled something about the council, but she didn’t think he was speaking to her, so she left him alone. “Lunch.” She touched his arm and broke his concentration. He nodded and finished his text.
“Mikey has already met with your old pack and brought them into the council’s fold. They’ll have to pay from now on like everyone else, but the council will see that they are taken care of, too. I think Mikey may stay on.” He was still looking at the screen. “Ava is over there, too, and she’s sure she’s found your mom.” Kerry brightened. “It seems that your mom came back this morning shortly after Ava arrived. There’s one thing though.”
“What?” Kerry bit into her ham and cheese sandwich.
“Uh, your mom and Mikey…”
“What?” Ethan was thinking too hard, and it was upsetting her. “Did he kill her? Did she attack them? What happened?”
“Ava says they’re mating.”
Kerry stared at him for a long time and put her sandwich down.
“Can you call Mikey? I need to speak with my mother.”
Ethan dialed and handed her the phone. When a male answered, Kerry began.
“Is this Mikey?”
He grunted.
“This is Kerry, Ethan’s mate. Are you with my mother?”
“Yeah,” he answered.
“May I speak with her for just a second?” She listened to the phone jostle around, then heard her mother’s voice.
“Mom? It’s Kerry. Are you okay? They said you were missing.”
“I’m fine, sweetheart, better than fine. I’m with Michael, and Kerry, he’s…amazing.” Kerry swallowed.
“Like right now?” Her mother chuckled at her question. “Oh! Eww. Mom! Call me when you’re done.” Kerry disconnected. Ethan was on the edge of laughter, and Kerry slid the phone back across the table.
“Eww.” She covered her face. “I know people have sex,” she said to the face he was making. “I just don’t want to talk to them while they do it.”
Ethan laughed and leaned across the space between them to kiss her.
“I’m glad she found someone she could love. She never loved my father. It was arranged.” Ethan scowled. “No, not like us. He didn’t love her, he only loved to abuse her and me,” she finished quietly.
“Are you happy here?” he asked.he smiled. “Yes. I am happy here, now. Arranged or not, I think we’ll be okay. I love you, Ethan. When I was locked up, all I could think about was you. I was worried you would never know how I felt or how much I really did want you.”
“Come here.” Ethan pulled her into his lap and held her close. “I love you, too, and next week I am taking you on a proper honeymoon. We are going to see the ocean. I want you to have that experience.”
“That was more Mom’s dream than mine, but I’ll take it because it’s a honeymoon with you.” She kissed his mouth softly and smiled. “Now let’s eat, I’m starved.” Kerry hopped down from his lap and sat back in her seat to finish her lunch.
Epilogue
“Ethan, it’s beautiful.” They’d arrived before dawn, and their luggage was still in the SUV parked at the hotel. Kerry was sitting on the beach watching the tide come in and the sun come up. She had a cup of coffee in one hand and a donut in the other. They’d left at midnight after making love, and Ethan drove like a maniac to get here for this moment. He wanted her to have this first. The sunrise was beautiful with the pink and gold clouds streaking the sky, a myriad colors that she knew she would never be able to capture with her paints.
Her mom had called her back yesterday around dinner time and told her that she and Michael were, in fact, mated and that she was marked. His first project, she said, was to tear down the house where she’d been abused by that worthless wolf for all those years. She also insisted that Ethan take her dowry back. He’d insisted it was a wedding present, so they were keeping it and building a new house for the Alpha. Ava was helping them scrub the “Luke smell” out of the house they were living in now. She’d already found a stash of money that he’d been hoarding while they all starved. Kerry was happy that her mother would finally have a mate that treated her well.
Ava told them that the council was making them all renew their contracts because they’d lost two enforcers in the past year since the contracts had lapsed. They loved what they did. The pay and the excitement kept them happy. They were all happy to comply.
“Do you like it?” She felt his breath on her ear then his lips under it.
“Hmm.”
“The sunrise, I know you like this.”
“It’s so beautiful.”
“You’re more beautiful.” She scoffed. “I can’t wait to get you to the room.” She smiled softly. “Are you happy?”
“I am happy.” She looked away from the sunrise and up into her mate’s face. “My mom chose well.”
“The lesser of the two evils?” He grinned at her, and she felt her face get hot. The sun had nothing on her embarrassment.
“I’m sorry that I said that. You’re so much better than that.”
“I should’ve picked you up in my enforcer clothes.” Kerry couldn’t stifle the smile that crept onto her face. “I brought them with me,” he whispered, and she trembled. He was sexy in all of that leather. “I’ll surprise you with them.” She heard a splash and looked back at the water. A pod of dolphins was jumping in and out of the water not far off shore. “Two seconds?” Kerry laughed.
“No, she hates water.” Kerry finished her donut.
“They probably don’t taste good anyway.”
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