“Well, that was fun,” Cian muttered under his breath.
“I think now would be a good time to let our tempers cool,” Mason stated quietly, “and give the information we’ve learned a chance to sink in. We can meet back here in the morning.”
Weary nods of agreement went around the room, but before anyone could make a move to leave, Jeremy stood and said, “Hold up, guys. Just stay put for a minute.”
With a wry smile curving his mouth, he shot a quick wink at Jillian before turning back to the roomful of curious faces. “Before we head out, I wanted to go ahead and let you all know that I’m going to be staying in Shadow Peak. Permanently.”
* * *
Stunned silence met the outrageous announcement, until Jillian shook herself out of her stupor, saying, “Ooh, no, you’re not.”
“Ooh, yes, I am,” Jeremy countered with a slow, deliciously warm smile. “Shadow Peak is where you belong, and wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be.”
“Jeremy,” she whispered, pressing her hand to her heart, its rhythm rapid and urgent beneath her palm. “What are you thinking? Anyone who knows you knows that you wouldn’t be happy in town.”
Pulling her to her feet, Jeremy lifted his hand and cupped her jaw, rubbing his thumb against her trembling lower lip. “I’ll be happy wherever you are, honey. I’ll still work with these jackasses,” he snorted, cutting a cocky smirk at his fellow Runners—who were watching them with rapt fascination—before focusing that breathtaking hazel gaze back on her. “But I’ll live with you.”
“I know you don’t want this,” she said in a shivery rush, her eyes hot with the threat of tears. There was no way she was going to let him make that kind of sacrifice for her.
“Just because you own my heart,” he admitted in a warm, sexy drawl, “doesn’t mean you can tell me what I want, sweetheart. What I want more than anything is for you to be happy.”
“But you’re a Bloodrunner!”
His smile fell, replaced by a dark look of determination. “I’m a man,” he said firmly, gripping her chin, demanding she hold his brilliant stare. “One who’s tired of being put in a box. I’ll always be a Bloodrunner, but I’ll also be the Spirit Walker’s mate.” His expression shifted, the devilish, wicked grin playing softly at his mouth again, and then he was cradling her face in his warm, rough palms. “Trust me, baby. I know what I want.”
“But I’m tired of being put in a box, too,” she argued, grasping on to his muscled wrists. “If this is going to work, we compromise. Because while I may be the pack’s Spirit Walker, I’m also a Bloodrunner’s mate. So we’ll split our time between Shadow Peak and the Alley. And th-that’s my final offer. Take it or leave it.”
He held her gaze with a vivid intensity that stole her breath, and then he laughed—the rich, warm sound of happiness rumbling up from deep within his chest—and pulled her into his arms. She could feel the uneasy tension in the warm, cinnamon-scented kitchen begin to lessen, the Runners releasing quiet sighs of relief as Jeremy said, “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I want,” she told him, thinking that it didn’t matter where they lived, so long as they were together. But she was awed by the depth of his love, stunned that he’d been willing to stay in Shadow Peak with her permanently, even though he hated it there, simply because he thought it would make her happy.
Sensing his sudden tension, Jillian watched as a shadow fell over the heat in his eyes, his grip tightening as he said, “Drake could demand you step down for this, Jillian.”
“Let Drake do his worst,” she murmured, smiling, having already come to a decision on that front. “Even if he has my title rescinded, I can still continue to help people. Being Spirit Walker isn’t something they can take away from me so easily, and I’m not going to let fear of the League affect my decision. I’ve done enough of that. This is our life, Jeremy. Not theirs.”
“I don’t want you to regret this,” he said in a low voice, searching her eyes.
“Jeremy, this is what I want,” she asserted with a soft laugh, feeling as if her smile, her happiness, were blooming up from the depths of her soul. “As a matter of fact, I already talked to Graham about it yesterday, when he was here, and told him to set up a meeting. Tomorrow I’ll go before the League and declare my intention to live wherever you are.”
His eyes went wide. “You already told him?”
Jillian snuffled a giggle under her breath at his stunned expression, and threw her arms around his neck. “Sure did.”
“Christ, you’re incredible,” he rumbled in a deep sexy rasp, running his hands down her back in a touch that spoke of possession and tenderness, as well as hunger and need. “And I love you so damn much.”
“I bet I love you more,” she teased.
* * *
“Hmm…Not possible,” Jeremy growled, already lowering his lips to hers. He’d just found the heat of her mouth, when Cian’s laughing voice suddenly drawled, “I’m happy as hell you two sorted that all out, but you need to take this somewhere private before I get jealous.”
A short bark of laughter jerked from his throat, but Jillian made a strangled sound of mortification, obviously having forgotten their audience, and buried her face against his chest. Knowing she was embarrassed, Jeremy winked at his grinning friends, swept her up into his arms, and headed for the door, while she hid her face in the curve of his shoulder, her skin warm with what he suspected was a killer blush.
“Good luck at dinner tonight,” Mason called out, just before they disappeared into the living room.
“Thanks,” he drawled, his tone dry. “I’ll take all the luck I can get.”
A moment later, he was carrying her through the front door and out into the lavender twilight. Jeremy took a deep, refreshing breath, enjoying the spray of rain that had mellowed to a fine, thin mist, while Jillian made a muffled protest about being carried. Grinning to himself, he hugged her closer to his chest. “I know you’re not weak, and I know you’re a tough little thing, but…just let me hold you,” he murmured. “I still haven’t gotten over the fear that I’d never be able to do this again.”
“You’ll always be able to hold me,” she whispered, and his body tensed at the erotic feel of her lips moving against his skin. “Because I’ll always be with you, Jeremy.”
It was harder than he’d thought it would be, swallowing the lump of emotion that settled into his throat at the sweetness of her words. When they reached his front door, he carefully set her on her feet, the top of her head not even coming to his chin, and fished his keys out of his back pocket.
Once the door was open, Jeremy ushered her inside, shutting the door behind him with his foot, ruefully aware that he was as nervous as a teenager on his first date, if not more. He gathered her close, gave a soft, wanting kiss to the corner of her mouth, then buried his nose in the silken fall of her hair, breathing in her warm, sweet scent. Taking her face in his hands, he smoothed his thumbs over her delicate skin as he said, “There’s something I want to ask you.”
She shivered, her eyes going big and wide.
Dropping to his knees, Jeremy clutched her narrow hips and pressed his face into the giving softness of her belly, then reached into his front pocket. Catching her left hand, he pulled it to his mouth, pressing his lips against the fragile skin, then turned it over and laid a glittering sapphire and diamond ring in her palm.
“Ohmygod,” she gasped, and tears overflowed her eyes, the rich, velvety brown shimmering and bright, like sunshine.
“This was my grandmother’s,” he told her, holding her glistening stare. “I wanted to give this to you a long time ago, but things went wrong. If you let me, Jillian, I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life making them go right.”
“Jeremy,” she whispered, and a fine, delicate vibration tremored through her, her lips parted for the excited rush of her breath.
“I love you, Jillian Louise Murphy,” he said huskily. “For always and
forever. Will you be my wife? Grow old with me? Let me cherish you for the rest of our lives?”
Her mouth trembled, dewy and soft and too tempting to resist, and then she gave him a blinding, breathtaking smile. “Yes! God, yes. A million yeses!”
“Thank god,” he groaned, smiling as he pulled her to the floor with him, his heart so full it felt as if it would burst from his chest. Jeremy slipped the ring on her finger, then sealed the poignant act by taking her mouth in a searing, head spinning kiss as he laid her across the floor. Then he took it again, as he covered her with his body…and again as he thrust inside of her…
Then again…and again…and again.
* * * * *
If you loved this novel, you’ll enjoy these other stories from Rhyannon Byrd’s Bloodrunners:
LAST WOLF STANDING
LAST WOLF HUNTING
LAST WOLF WATCHING
DARK WOLF RISING
DARK WOLF RUNNING
DARK WOLF RETURNING
BLOOD WOLF DAWNING
Available now from Harlequin Nocturne!
And continue reading for a special excerpt from
LAST WOLF WATCHING
SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM
Read on for a special excerpt from
LAST WOLF WATCHING,
Part of Rhyannon Byrd’s reader favorite series
BLOODRUNNERS
Brody Carter has to protect Michaela from the Lycans who wanted her dead. Even if this decision would change his entire life. Even if it was pure madness.
Silently cursing his lack of control where this particular woman was concerned, Brody wondered just what he was doing. He’d sworn to himself that he’d stay home tonight—and yet, when Cian had come knocking at his door, on his way to the ceremony, he couldn’t do it. His fear over what might happen to her had been too great, and he’d found himself following his partner up to the clearing where the Silvercrest pack conducted its business—business that was better suited to the wild than the civilized streets of its town.
He hadn’t been able to stay away from her—he hadn’t even lasted a day.
But nothing had changed, because the facts remained the same. It didn’t matter what he wanted. The truth of the matter was that women like Michaela Doucet never took interest in guys like him—ones who were scarred and used and bitter enough not to care what the world thought about them. Sure, they may have used him for a raunchy one-night stand. One of those “look at brave little me making it with the big scary guy” situations, turned on by his scars because of the violence they represented. But even then, they still feared him because of his sheer physical size and power. And they got off on that fear, using it as a twisted means of sharpening the thrill when they found themselves beneath a man who could too easily break them if he wanted.
Users, each and every one of them, and they’d used him until Brody had just grown tired of it all and said to hell with it—to hell with women—no matter how badly his body ached for one.
And you’re being an asshole. Michaela isn’t like that, and you damn well know it.
He ground his jaw down until his teeth ached, soaking in the pain, knowing he deserved it. He was being an idiot, because truth be told, Michaela Doucet scared the ever-loving hell out of him. Despite his determination to stay away from her, he’d known, deep down, that he’d come tonight. Known, instinctively, that it was where he belonged.
He hated it—but there was no sense denying that he needed to be here to protect her. The entire time he’d hiked through the woods, he’d sworn to himself that he’d watch from the sidelines. Simply ensure she didn’t get herself into more trouble than she could handle, and he had no doubt she could cause trouble. The woman lived up to her fiery Cajun heritage like a pro, whipping men into a frenzy of lust wherever she went.
Even now, when she was an emotional wreck, he could sense the unmated males’ interest as the Lycans watched her with a dark, feral hunger, the edgy scent of their lust thick on the air, making him want to snap at them with his jaws.
She was just too beautiful for her own good. And too damn fearless! He still couldn’t believe the depth of her anger toward the pack, or her willingness to confront them over the treatment of her brother. He wondered if the Doucet kid knew how lucky he was to have someone who cared that much about him, who was willing to risk her life because she wanted to keep him safe.
There was obviously a lot more to Michaela Doucet than a pretty face and a body most men would die for the chance to cover—and the uncomfortable knowledge made Brody want to let go of her, turn around and never come within a God-given mile of her again.
But his arms wouldn’t cooperate. If anything, his grip tightened, the sensation of her soft curves plastered down the front of his body enough to make his teeth gnash. He’d known she’d feel incredible if he ever had the chance to be this close to her, to touch her, burying his face in her hair and letting her rich, seductive scent sink into him—but he hadn’t realized her effect would actually make his knees shake…or his mouth water for a slow, deep, intimate taste of her.
He wanted her on his tongue. All of her. Everywhere. His face lowered, lips rubbing against the smooth silk of her hair, and he was a breath away from sliding lower, nuzzling behind her ear, when he suddenly realized where they were…and what he was doing.
Goddamn it! He’d worked so hard to master control of himself—there was no damned way he planned on letting her strip it away so easily. But holding her…it was even more dangerous than he’d imagined. Richer. Sweeter. Every cell of his body ached with the need to claim, to accept the dark truth he refused to even consider.
Don’t miss
LAST WOLF WATCHING by Rhyannon Byrd
available wherever Harlequin Nocturne ebooks are sold.
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Copyright ©2008 by Tabitha Bird
ISBN: 9781460389454
Last Wolf Hunting
Copyright © 2008 by Tabitha Bird
First published by Silhouette Books, 2008
This edition published by Harlequin Nocturne, 2015
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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