by KH LeMoyne
“So, I gather you’re fond of the bobcat?”
She jerked her head.
“And want him alive?”
She jerked again.
“Here’s the deal.”
“Mmmph.” She moved her mouth against his hand, trying to bite him.
He clamped down harder and gave her a shake. “I’m not kidding around here. Behave or we’ll just stand here and watch the flea-bitten piece-of-shit dog take down your baby’s father.”
She froze. He wouldn’t, would he? An unfamiliar giggling started in her mind, and a flutter of comfort eased over her. Willing the distractions from her unborn child to stop, she tried to focus. Could she have misjudged this shifter? He was ruthless, likely. Dangerous, definitely. Intentionally cruel, she didn’t want to believe that. Her instincts could not be so wrong. And from the pestering sensations and emotional flood of reassurance, her baby didn’t find him vile either.
“I need the information you have about Nettie Morgan. That’s it. You agree to tell me everything you know, and I’ll take care of this situation.”
“Mmmph.” Without the ability to move, she couldn’t give him an answer.
He turned her so he could stare into her eyes. “I’ll move my hand, but don’t scream. It will only distract Callum and will make matters worse outside. I need enough time to save him. Now. Yes or no?”
He removed his hand.
“Yes. Yes.”
That was all it took. She staggered back as he released her with shocking speed. The back screen door slammed as he lunged across the yard in a blur of gold and descended upon the wolf, whose jaws were open above Callum’s neck.
Though at second glance, perhaps her mate didn’t need help. Callum punched his hind paws into the wolf’s belly and spun free of the near-death grip. Shaking his head, apparently dazed, he didn’t shift back to his human form but rose on his four legs, limping slightly as he hissed at the wolf.
His action split the wolf’s attention between the cougar swiping at his back and Callum.
The wolf didn’t take being outnumbered well, choosing to twist and snap at Callum as the perceived weaker of the two opponents. Then it listed and staggered a bit as blood ran freely from its earlier wound. Callum’s cat sidled back and forth, springing and jumping from one side to the other, slashing claws at Gauthier’s enforcer—hitting often enough to keep the wolf frantically turning.
The cougar didn’t give the enforcer a chance to tackle Callum again. With a swift lunge, it landed on top of the wolf, teeth sinking into its neck with an audible crack. They rolled, the wolf thrashing, but it only took a few more moments before the cougar clamped his jaws tight and crushed the wolf’s windpipe. They collapsed in a heap until the cougar stood and shook the dead wolf carcass before dropping it. Then he ambled toward the middle of the yard.
Still Callum didn’t come right to her.
He waited, his short tail quivering, until the cougar moved away, then he advanced and sniffed at the wolf’s head. Assured the man was truly dead, Callum pivoted in her direction.
She dashed off the back porch and dropped to her knees to greet him. Ruffling her fingers through the fur on his head and shoulders, she checked for broken bones and gashes. Relief swept through her as she confirmed the majority of blood coating his fur wasn’t from his own injuries. With a sob, she clasped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his fur.
How close she had been to losing him. Too close.
“I helped him. Now your end of the deal. I’m ready to hear about Nettie now.” The cougar shifter stood in human form, completely clothed and waiting on Gillian.
Callum twisted in her arms, shifting back to human as he did, and leveled a harsh glance between her and the cougar shifter. “What deal is he talking about?”
“Just a little help is all.” Trying to hide her trembling fingers, she stood and stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets. Men got so touchy about things like their mates wanting them to have help defeating the bad guys. Best to just pay her debt and deal with the consequences alone with Callum. “I understood Mae’s—a little girl on the train—response when Nettie asked where they lived, but…” She stroked her hand over her belly.
The cougar shifter rolled his eyes and urged, “But?”
“But I didn’t actually hear her say it out loud. I mean…I had images in my head with…feelings. I can understand what I saw and find it. Please believe me.” She rushed on, pleading with the man whose slate-blue eyes widened as if she’d grown a second head.
Unfortunately, Callum was also looking at her as if she’d lost her mind. He stepped toward her, pulled her into his arms, and faced the other man. “She’s under a lot of stress. Running, staying one step ahead of enforcers, not to mention the baby, has been very difficult for her. Stop pressuring her.”
“We made a deal.” The man’s arms crossed over his chest, his eyes bearing a hint of unapologetic arrogance. Gillian released her held breath. He didn’t appear angry. Just exasperated. Well, he should be in her shoes for a day.
“I can find the location. Nettie wanted Mae. I could feel it and the poor little girl did too. One should lead us to the other. It’s just I only have images to work with,” she insisted, edging away from Callum’s protective hold. Both men looked at her as if she was mad. Again. But she could sense more than she explain and she held back rubbing her stomach because she suspected where that insight was coming from. “I know I can. You just need to give me a chance. What will you do with Nettie when you find her?” She couldn’t help a quick look in the direction of the dead enforcer’s body.
The man shook his head and pinched the top of his nose, then looked down at her. “Let’s start over. My name is Breslin. I was sent to find Nettie Morgan.” He took the picture out of his pocket again and shook it. “Her husband and her children are looking for her. They’re worried because she just disappeared without a word. She’s not in any danger from me.”
Gillian wasn’t certain whether she was satisfied or not, but during his talk, her belly rippled and giggles echoed in her mind again, a lighthearted response to Breslin’s voice. Her baby somehow found him funny. Just from the emptiness in his eyes, he set himself apart from someone she’d consider comforting to a child. Then a wave of soothing engulfed her. As much as she wanted to attribute it to normal pregnancy habits, she knew other mothers, shifter and human, didn’t feel emotions like these from their unborn children.
Yet her bloodline wasn’t normal. Her baby sister hadn’t been normal, so it was reasonable to assume her own child might have unique abilities. A frightening possibility, but a reasonable one. “I do believe I can lead you to Nettie and the Hunts, if you’ll trust me to try.”
Her mate stated, pulling her closer, “Well, I’m Callum. It’s late and dark. As much as I appreciate you helping me out and that I’m alive, can we possibly do this in the morning, when it’s light out and my mate has had a chance to get some rest?”
“Agreed. I have no desire to frighten Nettie in the middle of the night,” Breslin said with a shake of his head. Then he pointed his forefinger at both of them. “If you promise to be here in the morning. Don’t make me come find you. That would disrupt this little bit of trust we’ve developed. Yes?” He didn’t wait for an answer, but headed back to the body and glanced toward them. “In the meantime, I’ll take care of this problem. But just for the record, the wolf was already bleeding out from your strike. One more well-placed score and you’d have had him.”
She wanted to believe, but if she had the choice to make over again, she’d still have made a deal to get Callum help. She didn’t ignore Callum’s raised brow in her direction, but when she turned to thank the rogue shifter, he was gone.
Callum spun her back to him. “Are you sure doing this tomorrow is a good idea? Breslin didn’t mention anything about a baby.”
“If she’s in trouble, we can’t just stand by and do nothing,” she answered, not quite certain herself. “What worries
me is that I didn’t get the impression she was lost or scared. According to her, the baby didn’t belong to her. Now, I don’t believe it was her sister’s either.”
“Given the way you paid attention to her on the train for hours, I’m not surprised you have strong opinions on this.”
“He was like Dana,” she said softly as she put a hand over her belly. “The little baby boy. I know he was…we know he was.”
He hesitated and then reached out and laid his hand over hers. “Are you really feeling something from our…” When she didn’t answer, he just continued to rub. “Has this happened before?”
“In Seattle. Maybe a few other times. It wasn’t really obvious until recently.” Fatigue suddenly hit, and she leaned toward him. All she wanted was to sink to her knees in the backyard, watch the stars with Callum, and pretend they’d never heard of Gauthier Karndottir or strange missing women with special babies. “How about we go inside and get the rest you promised.”
He followed her, but she could sense the resistance in him. They hadn’t shared a bed to make love in since—well, since they’d conceived their child.
They took the stairs in silence, hardly breathing as they entered the bedroom. She paused by the bed, her hands at the buttons of her blouse, her heart hammering with dread as she saw him glance back toward the open door as if planning to leave.
“Callum, you would have done fine tonight, but I felt like I had to almost live through losing you.” She couldn’t hold back her fear or the tightness in her voice. Yet, if her weakness called to him and kept him at her side, she was willing to beguile him. “Please. Just be with me tonight.”
He swung back to her and lifted his hand slowly to her cheek, caressing with his fingertips and stoking a fire within her with just his light touch. Not answering her, he nonetheless pulled her against him and tilted her head. His mouth crashed down on hers.
The kiss was wild and full of yearning. A hungry assault matching the streaks of bright gold in his irises that announced his cat wasn’t holding back. Good. She wanted them both.
She opened to him, melting against him, eager to give all he demanded as he pulled her tight against him. At least whatever held him back from fulfilling their mating claim wasn’t lack of desire. The evidence of his arousal pressed against her, as hard as the rest of his muscled frame.
He took his time, seducing her until she was breathless. When he pulled back, his hand cradled her nape as his thumb traced a pattern over her pulse.
Yes, please let it be here. Tonight. She could endure whatever lay ahead as long as he was with her and bound them together as one.
With deliberate slowness, he held her gaze as he plucked first one button free on her blouse and then each remaining one. When the fabric hung open and cool air tickled her bare stomach, she shrugged. The blouse fell to the ground.
Someone gasped. It might have been her, but her attention was on the rapid tangle of their hands as they shed the rest of her clothes and sank to the bed.
They both were breathing hard as she lay bare to his inspection. He didn’t give her a moment to doubt, touching her with sure hands. One caressed her hip as his thumb stroked over her nipple. She let loose a whimper.
His eyes darkened, and he bent to take her into his mouth. Glorious heat streaked through her body, leaving her wanting more. It had always been this way between them. A rush of lust and need coiling from her core at his touch. Spearing her fingers through his hair, she held him there, not wanting the sensations to stop.
He rose to kiss her again, groaning into her mouth as he slid his fingers between her legs and found her wet for him. She wanted him quickly, but he refused, pressing her into the mattress, exploring her body with his mouth, leaving a trail of blazing heat in his path.
She parted her thighs for him and tugged on his shoulders. As much pleasure as his mouth gave her, she wanted him inside her. Yet there was no deterring Callum. Ever the generous lover, he’d not take her until he brought her to a peak first. She writhed as he tormented her with tender bites and strokes. Arching back, she gave in, stars glittering behind her eyes as her climax swept her away and broke her apart.
From beneath shuttered lashes, she watched Callum move up her body. He captured her lips again in a kiss both desperate and frantic, but he lowered himself with care between her legs.
“I’m not fragile,” she said with a laugh. He stopped kissing her and kneeled back, palming her rounded baby belly. He kissed her there, and her heart ached from the tenderness in his eyes.
“Not fragile. Precious.” He guided himself into her core, watching her for any signs of discomfort. But she didn’t need him to treat her like spun glass.
She lifted her legs, wrapping them around his hips, and pulled him back to her. He filled her, and she didn’t bother to hold back her groan of pleasure.
This is how we should be. Perfect.
“Yes,” he murmured against her cheek before he placed a kiss there.
Had she spoken aloud? It didn’t matter as he took her mouth again and began to move, his hips finding a rhythm against hers that had the spiral of need winding tight in her lower abdomen again.
His breath warmed at her neck, and the sharp rasp of his already lengthened fangs against her skin told her how much he wanted her. She angled her neck, exposing herself, the invitation clear.
Take me. Claim me.
The jerking spasm of pleasure pulsed through her again, his name a cry on her lips. Yet he turned his face away, spending himself inside her moments later. She kept her eyes closed, not willing to let him see how bereft she felt, her heart caught in a slash of sudden pain. The pleasure of release and the pain of rejection twined together, leaving her raw. What future would they have if he didn’t trust her enough to mate with her?
He fell to the side, tugging her into his hold and pulling the blankets over both of them. If she could have, she’d have tried to talk but words escaped her. He brushed a hand over her hair with an exhale. Then he turned away and slid from the bed. Not opening her eyes, she followed his soft footfalls to the lowboy along the wall and the duffel he’d left there earlier. She waited as he donned a pair of pants.
His back was still to her when he spoke quietly over his shoulder. “I need to go and check outside the house and make sure we’re okay. You get some sleep.”
She withheld a sigh. He wouldn’t be back until he was certain she was asleep. She couldn’t blame him for his concern about exposing her to the alpha through their mate bond, but who knew if they’d ever be safe enough to stop looking over their shoulders?
If he didn’t trust her enough to mate, to share the power and the burden of their joint connection, then it wouldn’t matter. For they wouldn’t be together.
8
“Why are Karndottir’s enforcers after you?” Breslin kept his eyes on the road, but from the sudden tension in the air, Callum knew the cougar shifter was paying close attention to every detail. “Because the one who came after you last night wasn’t one of Deacon Black’s.”
Gillian sat between them on the wagon bench, but she’d straightened at the question with one hand over her middle. “That wasn’t part of our agreement.”
Callum squeezed her hand reassuringly, waiting to see where this was going before he put an end to Breslin’s interrogation.
“Maybe not,” Breslin replied. “But Callum owes me, since I killed a man for him. My question seems reasonable.”
“That monster deserved it,” Gillian said, her hand clenching tight. “And I made the deal with you. Callum owes you nothing.”
“They wanted to take my mate to their alpha. It’s that simple,” Callum stated calmly before she got too worked up in his defense. But Breslin just passed him a long look and issued a low-level growl that had Callum and Gillian exchanging a glance.
“Fair enough. Karndottir is a rat bastard.”
“Doesn’t sound like you have any love for him,” Callum said, his own curiosity spiking over what co
uld cause the venom in Breslin’s tone for an alpha in another territory.
“What did he do to you?” Gillian asked softly, bright sympathy back in her eyes.
They rode for several long minutes in silence. So long, Callum didn’t think Breslin was going to respond.
“He killed my parents and my brothers.”
It wasn’t Breslin’s statement that stunned Callum. It was the cold, clipped way he made the comment about a past that, for any sane person, had to be horrific. As if for Breslin, murder and death happened every day and wasn’t worth any more notice than the weather. Or perhaps, Callum thought, remembering the somber faces of the countless men who’d fled the alpha with their own horror stories, it had been so catastrophic, emotional parts of him had shut down. A good explanation for the unusually high, raw energy surrounding the man.
“And the reason I’m not sensing a strong signal from your cat?” Breslin slid a glance Gillian’s way, and just like that, every instinct Callum had about the man being worthy of their sympathy dissolved. A damn mercenary, dipping his toes back in everybody else’s business, looking for new avenues to exploit.
When neither of them replied, Breslin continued. “I’ve had experience with shifters who possess latent animals. But”—he glanced again at Gillian—“I’ve seen the fire of your beast in your eyes as clear as I’m looking at you now. You are not a latent, but there isn’t the strong signature around you showing your cat has made her claim on you. Like you’ve never let it free.”
He pulled back on the horses’ reins, braking as they started down a long slope. “What I see in you, I’ve seen in adolescents who are close to their first shift. You’re so close…and yet you’re not.”
“Gillian is none of your business,” Callum ground out.
“It’s my business to wonder why a full-blooded shifter, a pregnant one, no less, has never shifted. When I don’t understand things, there’s risk, followed by danger, and capped off by death. I don’t plan to invite death because I lack a few simple answers.”