by Anya Nowlan
Roaring its approval, his bear was all for being reckless and insane in that moment. Redmond pushed her jacket off and Rose tugged down the zipper on his. He let both of the garments fall down onto the dry moss and then pulled off his shirt. The look in her eyes as she glanced over his body, spotted with tattoos, was filled with the kind of hazy-eyed lust Redmond dreamed of seeing. And he knew that his own eyes reflected much the same at that moment.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she noted matter-of-factly, undoing his belt with quick motions. “We really shouldn’t,” she added, sliding his zipper down and pushing his jeans lower.
“I completely agree,” he said, ripping her black top off.
Shit. She was even hotter with fewer clothes on. That was a rare trait. A lot of women knew how to dress for their figure, but there was something damn magical about a woman who looked twice as hot with all of her flaws out to see. Not that he could find a single one on her.
Pressing her against the tree trunk, he kissed her deeply, his hand moving over her stomach and slipping down the waistband of her pants. He let his fingers dip into her wet heat and was awarded immediately with a soft, whispering moan.
“Redmond,” she whimpered as he pushed two fingers into her slit.
“Rose,” he said, grinning as he pulled back to watch her expression as he fingered her.
Thrusting his fingers deeper inside her, he let the soft pad of his thumb flick over her clit slowly, driving her wilder by the second. She was so wet that all he could really think about was tearing those pants off and lapping it all up, but that would have meant he would have missed out on that angelic face of hers, which was twisted up in lust.
She mewled in his hands as he pumped in and out of her slowly, at the same time speeding up the way he was teasing her clit. He put pressure on the little button, making her squeal as he combined it with scissoring his fingers inside of her. Pushing her back against the tree with one hand on her shoulder, he growled a warning as she tried to squirm out of it.
“No, baby. Cum for me,” he said, half-coaxing, half-commanding.
“But, I…”
“No. Cum,” he said, seeing the desperate need in her eyes.
She could have told him to stop at any moment, and he would have respected it immediately. But she was just too fucking hot to let the moment pass him by, to let her insecurities get the best of her again. Her mouth opened in the most delicious way and he couldn’t take it anymore, covering it with his and kissing her deeply.
She pawed his boxers down and with shaking hands, grabbed the length of his cock, pumping him in the same rhythm as he was with her. It was so fucking maddening that it took everything he had from plunging into her immediately. Gritting his teeth, he finger-fucked her hard and fast, until she was a mewling mush in his arms, collapsing against him as she shuddered and shook in the throes of her orgasm
Redmond pulled his fingers out as soon as she hit her peak, turning her around to face the tree. She gripped it with both hands, her face still twisting in that bliss that came with hitting the highest note.
“Fuck me,” she commanded, just as demanding now as he had been.
She didn’t need to ask him twice. He pulled down her pants, revealing that shapely ass he’d been mapping with his hands, and if he’d been hard before, he was fucking carved from stone now. Brushing her panties aside like they were nothing but an obstruction he put the thick head of his cock to her entrance and only slightly pressed against it.
“Do you want this?” he asked, teasing, but his words were cut off as she rocked back and impaled herself on his cock. “Fuck, Rose,” he hissed, but she grinded against him again, taking him a bit deeper and moaning along with it.
That was it. Wrapping one hand around her long blond ponytail and putting the other on her hip, he thrust forward, filling her up. Her tight pussy squeezed around his length. It felt heavenly, and within a few strokes, he’d bottomed out in her, fitting just barely. He was used to having to go slow, not fitting all the way or having to stop, but Rose was so wet and so ready for him that he fell into a rhythm easily.
“God, you feel so good!” she sighed breathily, looking over her shoulder with a clever grin.
Redmond had to wonder who was really seducing who here, but balls-deep in her pussy, he didn’t really have any time for philosophical musings like that. His muscles tensed as he ground into her, plowing deeper with every thrust. She wiggled against him and he lightly smacked her on the ass when she was getting too full of herself, calling the shots.
“Slow it down, baby,” he said, pulling almost all the way out before sinking back into her with agonizing slowness.
The hand on her hip snuck up to her breasts, pulling the cups down and releasing those mouthwatering mounds to his touch. He caught one of her nipples between his fingertips and twisted it a little, enough for her to suck in a breath and tighten around him even harder. That was it. She was sucking the cum out of him and he didn’t even want to stop.
His thrusts were getting short and erratic, ready to fill her up, when Rose suddenly twisted out of his grasp and dropped to her knees in front of him. She had him in her mouth within a second, those delicate hands pumping him and kneading his balls as her small mouth covered the head of his cock and took him in inch by inch. It was the hottest fucking thing he’d ever seen. He could only grab the tree and keep his eyes open when the orgasm hit and he pumped into her mouth.
“Holy shit,” he hissed, losing any modicum of decorum as she lapped up his jizz and cleaned him up like that had been what she was planning all along.
The fact that he’d been stuck in Idaho for a few weeks was damned clear from the amount of cum he had in him, but she swallowed it all up. Giving his cock a final kiss, Rose stood up, pulling her pants up as she did so. Redmond was flushed and entirely sated. He grabbed her as soon as she stood and kissed her on the mouth again, taking his time to thoroughly thank her for… well, everything.
“That was amazing. You’re amazing,” he whispered, breaking the kiss as she corrected her bra.
Grinning mischievously, Rose bit her lower lip. “What happens in Idaho stays in Idaho, right?” she laughed.
Redmond chuckled, pulling up his pants and picking up her shirt and handing it to her. “Sure.”
They got dressed in silence and Redmond couldn’t help but admire the fluidity of her movement and the way her skin glowed even in the dim light. They’d fucked through the sunset, as short as it was, and the moon was beginning to light the sky. The forest had gotten dark, but it never felt ominous to Redmond. He took her hand, taking care to squeeze it gently now, and started leading her out of the forest.
“I think you’re going to have to stay for a few days,” he said, giving Rose a sideways glance.
“Yeah? You think you’re going to take advantage of the li’l ol’ Philly girl?” she asked, joking.
“No. Well, maybe. If she’ll let me,” he laughed. “But like you said, there’s no hotel in Shifter Grove and I know for a fact that Slate isn’t flying out until a few days from now. Shifter Grove isn’t exactly a bustling transit destination.”
“I kind of noticed that,” she said, grinning.
Damn, walking with that girl felt good. Redmond was a bit of a playboy; he didn’t hide that, but he definitely wasn’t the kind of guy to jump a girl within minutes of meeting her. But with Rose he couldn’t control himself. Just like he couldn’t take his eyes off of her now when he was taking her back to the house and trying to plot ways for her to stay far longer than she should have. He was forgetting all about the fact that he was supposed to be leaving soon too.
He was so enthralled with Rose and keeping up a light conversation with her that he barely noticed the fact that there was another car at the compound now. It was farther from theirs, its headlights on and the motor running. When he caught the scent, Redmond stopped dead in his tracks, tugging Rose to stop too. They weren’t far from the house and the vehicle was even farthe
r, but something about the situation screamed danger at him.
“Were you expecting someone?” he asked casually, trying to keep the razor-sharpness out of his voice, though his body was loaded like a spring now.
“No,” Rose said, frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s watching us from that car. And we’re a hell of a lot farther from any place where someone could randomly get lost,” he said.
His bear growled ominously within him and Redmond knew that he’d be ready to go at the drop of a hat. It wasn’t that he was worried for his safety or anyone doing anything to his kin. Royce could handle himself, but he was horrified by the thought that something could happen to the gorgeous creature next to him. Never had he felt so immediately protective of someone, and a little voice at the back of his head told him that maybe Tiana hadn’t just been joshing with him before.
Redmond started toward the house quickly, pulling Rose along as the car started moving. Instead of coming toward them, like Redmond had expected for one crazy moment, it turned around and wheeled out of the yard, throwing gravel behind it. When Redmond scaled the steps with Rose in tow, Royce was already waiting for them.
“You smelled them?” Royce asked, nodding at Rose.
“I did,” Redmond said darkly, relaxing the fist his hand had formed into without Royce noticing.
“What’s wrong?” Rose asked, scowling in confusion.
“Raccoons,” Royce said simply. “Shifters. Never good news when they’re around. Fucking trash pandas,” he snorted.
Rose visibly blanched at that, the lamp illuminating the porch making her skin look pasty as the color seeped out of it.
“You know those guys?” Redmond asked, his heart beating faster.
Dammit, can’t I get a moment of goddamn happiness and relaxation here, he cursed, thinking of the fire and now the ominous but so far harmless threat provided by one of the least-likable shifters he’d ever had the displeasure of knowing.
“I couldn’t see them, but if you guys say they’re raccoons then I think they’re here for me. They must have followed me,” Rose said with a small voice, the makings of a stutter lurking somewhere underneath.
Instinctively, Redmond pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her short, curvy frame.
“Don’t worry about it, Rose. I won’t let anything get to you,” he growled protectively, sharing a look and a nod with Royce.
“So I guess the lady’s staying after all,” Royce said, grinning. “Tiana will be thrilled.”
It wouldn’t be only Tiana who’d be thrilled, that was for sure. Though Redmond was absolutely not happy about the fact that someone was scaring Rose, he was determined to keep her safe, and most of all, by his side. What that meant for him was something he wasn’t ready to figure out just yet, though.
CHAPTER FIVE
Rose
She’d been with the Hamiltons for a day and already she felt more at home there than anywhere else she’d ever been. Rose’s family had moved around a lot when she was younger, the side-effects of being an Army brat, and the homes she’d later had were never more than temporary either. She didn’t pretend like she was going to stay in Idaho forever, but there was something about the majesty of the old house, the vibe in it, and of course Redmond that made it feel… right.
It wasn’t hard to see why the Hamilton brothers were so keen on keeping it in the family.
She was out in the backyard, doing her morning stretches and sun greeting, when Redmond walked up behind her and grabbed her ass with both hands while she was in the downward-dog position.
“Hey!” she yelped, tumbling over and Redmond following her down quickly. “Unfair! You got to give a girl a moment of warning!” she laughed as he caught her in his strong arms and pulled her into his lap.
“I don’t think so. Hell, maybe you would have run away!” he growled into her ear, his voice low and promising that he’d enjoy a chase.
Rose giggled, batting him away slightly, but only enough to twist around in his lap to face him. He immediately took the shot and stole a kiss from her, planting one on her lips before she could make a move to stop him. Not that she would have.
“I can’t go anywhere before Slate decides to take another flight,” Rose said, telling him nothing he didn’t know already.
They were supposed to leave together, taking the first flight out of Shifter Grove and then splitting up in the next airport. But Redmond seemed to be as reluctant to leave as she was, and Slate was playing hard to get with scheduling the flight. It was supposed to leave the previous evening, but since he was the only reasonable means in and out of Shifter Grove, his schedule was dependent on when the merchants wanted to fly in goods. And currently it seemed that things would be stalled for another day or two.
Rose didn’t mind one bit. She’d been enjoying her time with Redmond, even if they’d mostly behaved around one another. Though she wanted desperately to rip his clothes off every time she saw him, she’d been containing her enthusiasm and spending it on getting to know him instead. She barely knew a damn thing about him, after all.
Hanging out with Redmond had at least managed to take her mind off of Cole and Conrad so far. Luckily, Kenner hadn’t been sighted either, though Redmond had made her give him a complete description of the fox shifter. He’d made a point of letting Shifter Grove know that they had a bit of a baddie on the loose, and that it needed to be checked on at some point. So far, no news—and Rose considered that good news!
“So what’s going on today?” she asked, trying to distract herself from the desire of doing horrible, unspeakable, graphic things to Redmond right in view of the kitchen of Hamilton House.
“I was supposed to help Royce start mending the cattle yards today, but we got a call five minutes ago and it looks like I need to take a drive. You up to come with me?” he asked, his blue eyes glinting with that clever mischief that she’d come to quickly like so much.
“Sure, I’d love to!” she said, uncurling from Redmond’s lap to his great disappointment. Laughing, she beckoned for him to get up as well. “Come on, silly. We have to go before we waste the day!” she quipped, getting grumbles about unfairness and seizing the moment in return.
They grabbed a quick breakfast, stealing some of the pancakes Tiana had made, and packed themselves into Redmond’s rental. He was a real race-car driver on the roads, tearing up the dirt like a maniac. But Rose found herself feeling completely at ease with him at the steering wheel. His madness was tightly controlled and the insane risks he took were carefully calculated. He was… fun. And Rose had missed fun.
When Redmond pulled up at a seemingly random patch of forest and parked the car, Rose shot him a questioning glance.
“Did we really need to come here or is this some elaborate ruse to get me alone in the forest again?” she asked dubiously, not sure which option she currently preferred.
Screw it, you know you want him to jump you, she thought with a smirk.
“We actually needed to come here. But if you ask nicely, I might ravish you later,” Redmond said with a wink, jumping out of the truck.
Rose followed his lead and they trekked into the forest, keeping close to Redmond. There was something about his presence that made her feel completely safe and at ease, like nothing bad could happen to her if he was around. So far, it had been true, too.
She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but when they came up to the scene, Rose was taken aback. The gorgeous forest that she’d admired as she’d driven through the area had been burned to a crisp on this patch of land, the dry grass and trees scorched and singed. The smell was what caught her as the most surprising. Every inhalation brought a lungful of charred earth and woods and it broke her heart.
“What happened here?” Rose asked, trailing behind Redmond as he gingerly walked through the grounds.
“A fire,” he said simply, drawing a snort out of Rose.
“I get that, but why?”
“That
’s why we’re here,” he said, and his blue eyes held more focus than she’d ever seen them.
Gone was the fun, cocky guy she’d been fooling around with. In his place stood a man, a real professional, and if things weren’t unfair enough already, Rose considered Redmond even more attractive for it. He worked methodically, going through the outskirts of the fire first and then moving inward until they stood at equal distances from all the borders of the damage. He looked thoughtful and Rose didn’t dare say a word as he crouched down and inspected a burn pattern on one of the tall oak trees that would now have to come down.
“I don’t think this is an accident,” he said, touching the bark and then bringing his fingers to his nose.
“How come?” Rose asked, trying to see what he was seeing.
“Just a hunch. But I think I can detect an accelerant as well. At least it doesn’t smell like it should. I’m no authority on these manners, but I know someone who is and I think it’s time to bring him in. We were lucky that the locals caught it early. Argo and Connor live close to here and they smelled the smoke. They could put out the fire between them and that’s what kept us safe from a bigger disaster, but this isn’t okay.”
Redmond rose up to his full height and snaked his arm around Rose, pulling her to him. She didn’t fight the closeness, resting her hands on his chest and reveling in the contact.
“Seems like you’re not the only one in trouble around here, Miss Kemp,” he said softly, leaning in to steal a peck from her lips.
She gave him the kiss gladly, though in the back of her mind, thoughts were running back and forth quickly. It always seemed like wherever she went, trouble was soon to follow. Shifter Grove was no different. Not that she thought highly enough of herself to guess that the wildfires had anything to do with her. It was just an unfortunate coincidence.
“Do you think there’s an arsonist running around?” she asked, looking up at Redmond.
“Maybe. I don’t want to cause panic by saying things that may or may not be true. We have to get home and call up Ragnar. He’s the guy for stuff like this and Royce has been meaning to get him down here anyway.”