Ranger Knox (Shifter Nation: Werebears Of Acadia Book 1)

by Meg Ripley

  “I’m fairly certain that there’s no one after us right this moment,” Johan said, beginning to serve Chelsea from the various bowls, plates, and tureens on the table. “I killed everyone who showed up at the hotel. Or—excuse me, everyone but the one you stabbed to death.” Johan gave her a quick smile. “Our benefactor is smoothing things over with the local police, but we’ll likely have to fill out some paperwork.”

  “Okay, so we can stay here for a little while, I take it?” Johan shrugged.

  “For a few days, maybe,” he said. “I doubt your CEO is going to just let us go after that business. He’s gotten himself in far too deeply—now not only will he face charges for embezzlement, drug running, and fraud, but also conspiracy to commit murder. He’s going to be put away for life if he can’t get rid of the evidence.”

  “The evidence being me,” Chelsea said, sighing. She picked at her food, suddenly feeling as though her stomach had been coated in lead.

  “Eat. You can’t have any more Vicodin until you eat.” Johan served himself and ate a few bites quickly, giving Chelsea a moment to absorb what he’d told her. “The important thing is that we need to stay ahead. You’re going to have a new identity in a few days, and then…” Johan licked his lips, setting his plate down on his lap to look at her. “You’re going to have to be okay with the idea of living with me for a few months while we wait for this to go to trial.” Chelsea put down her fork and stared at him for a moment.

  “So even with a new ID, a new life…I still won’t be safe.” Johan smiled slightly, his eyes regretful.

  “Not until your CEO is behind bars,” he said. Johan set his plate aside and leaned forward, brushing his lips against Chelsea’s. “So, I will be living with you until the end of the trial.”

  “How do you know I’ll be safe then?” Chelsea asked, anxiety beginning to prickle and tingle through the last dregs of drug-induced euphoria.

  “Very shortly thereafter, you’ll be as safe as you can possibly be. If you want me out of your life then, I’ll go peacefully.” Johan’s lips twitched in a smile.

  “Onto another cute girl to protect?” Chelsea asked him, raising an eyebrow. “What if I don’t want you out of my life then?” Johan’s eyes widened slightly, his gaze trailing over her body slowly.

  “I’ve got some skills,” he said, almost absently. “I could get a job somewhere.” Chelsea set her plate down, startled by the comment.

  “Would you want that?” Chelsea asked. She couldn’t imagine Johan in any other lifestyle than the one he’d been leading with her over the past week or so they had been on the run. “I mean—you seem to like—whatever it is you call this job.” Johan smiled slightly, shrugging.

  “It’s a good living,” Johan admitted, taking up his plate once more. “It’s exciting.” He glanced at her once more. “But then, it’s been pretty exciting with you.” Chelsea chuckled, taking another bite of her noodles.

  “We’ve also been on the run.” Johan shook his head.

  “Even without that. You’re an exciting, unpredictable woman. I think you could keep me guessing enough to make up for no longer being shot at or chased.” Chelsea laughed out loud, grabbing at her ribcage as the movement sent pain through her. “Finish your food, woman. We’ll dose you up with drugs and before they kick in, we’ll make love.”

  “I thought I was supposed to get a shower,” Chelsea said.

  “I can handle you in a shower. Remember?” Chelsea bit her bottom lip, her body beginning to heat up, her skin tingling with the first stirrings of desire. She had missed the ready opportunities for sex with Johan more than she would have thought—more than she would have admitted to herself. Chelsea picked up a piece of sushi and ate it quickly, holding her body as still as possible so as not to jar her injuries. Suddenly the desire for more sleep and more pain relief took a back seat to a few hours’ passion with Johan.

  They finished the meal, and Johan gathered up the plates, platters, and everything else, trundling the cart out to the door of the suite before returning to Chelsea’s side. “Is it terrible of me that one of the things I’ve missed most while we were separated was the ability to fuck your brains out whenever we got bored?” Chelsea tried to stifle the laugh that bubbled up inside of her at the frank question, knowing it would only bring pain.

  “I was just thinking,” Chelsea said, as Johan carefully moved closer to her, draping his arm around her waist to cradle her against him as he leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips. “That I had really missed the stress relief.” Johan nibbled at her bottom lip playfully, his hands moving over her body slowly, gently caressing.

  “We’ll have to be careful,” Johan murmured. “But I think we can manage to relieve your stress without hurting you worse.” Chelsea rolled her eyes, draping her arms around his broad shoulders, deepening the kiss for a long moment.

  “Screw not hurting me worse,” Chelsea said as she pulled back slightly.

  “Ah-ah-ah,” Johan murmured, tugging at the sash of her robe. “I am supposed to be taking care of you. I’m supposed to keep you safe and at least mostly intact.”

  “Mostly?”

  Johan chuckled lowly. “I already failed at ‘perfectly’ intact,” he told her. Johan lifted her carefully up off the couch, her robe falling from her shoulders and onto the floor. He carried her through the living room, past the bedroom, and into the bathroom. “It’s a good thing this room has a nice, large tub,” Johan remarked, settling Chelsea on the lip of the bathtub. He twisted the knobs, testing the water that came out with his fingers a few times, and then dropped the plug in the drain.

  “How is this going to help?” Chelsea asked, glancing down at the water filling the tub doubtfully.

  “You’ll see,” Johan said, grinning confidently. He stood, stripping out of his clothes in quick, deft movements, and for the first time since she met with him, Chelsea was able to see the extent of his injuries: the long line of stitches along his upper thigh, the bruising along his hip, his chest, his arms and legs, a few obvious marks, bandaged, that Chelsea thought were either bullet grazes or other, shallower cuts. Having a gun in his hand had prevented Johan from greater injuries, but he hadn’t come out unscathed. Johan gathered Chelsea into his arms, holding her gently. “I think we can find a way, don’t you?” He lifted her once again, climbing over the lip of the tub as it filled. Johan settled Chelsea on his lap, and she hissed—pleasure mingled with pain—as the hot water flowed around her.

  Johan’s hands drifted over her body slowly, caressing and stroking. “We should order you ice packs,” he murmured, one hand slipping down between her legs. Chelsea gasped, shivering slightly as his warm fingers slid up and down along her labia, feather-light, only slightly more substantial than the water. She could feel Johan’s cock beginning to stir against her back as his other hand cupped her breast, teasing her nipple into a firm nub.

  “Are—are you sure we can do this?” Chelsea asked, her breath catching in her throat as she began to shift and twist on top of Johan’s body, desire welling up inside of her.

  “Mmhmm,” Johan murmured, dragging his lips along the side of her neck as his fingers slid up and down between her labia, his hand spreading her legs just slightly. “I’m going to take you just like this. Nice and slow.” Johan’s fingers found Chelsea’s clit by touch, and Chelsea gasped, shivering, as his touch sent jolts of pleasure through her nerves. He pressed her body against his, rocking his hips against the curve of Chelsea’s ass, and Chelsea could feel his cock hardening faster.

  Johan’s fingers withdrew from her vulva, and Chelsea let out a groan of disappointment, grabbing at his hand instinctively. Johan chuckled, lifting her uninjured leg up and out of the water. He carefully rested it along the lip of the tub, shifting her around on his lap. “Lean forward just a little bit,” Johan murmured. Chelsea did, and she felt the tip of Johan’s cock brushing against her labia, working its way in between. Johan pushed down on her hips, thrusting up at the same moment, and Chel
sea moaned out in pleasure as he slid into her slowly.

  As soon as he was fully inside of her, Johan pulled Chelsea back once more, and she shivered, loving the feel of him slowly sliding along her inner walls, the tip of his cock pressing and brushing steadily against her pleasure center. “All you have to do is float,” Johan murmured, one hand drifting down between her legs once more to stroke and tease her clit while he worked his hips underneath her, thrusting up. His other hand cupped and teased her breasts, rolling and twisting her nipples as they moved together. Chelsea felt her pleasure mounting more and more—she was shocked at how good it felt, at how well they fit together, at the way the water swirled around her as Johan pushed deeper and deeper inside of her.

  Chelsea arched against Johan, moaning out as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her body. She grabbed at his arms, his legs underneath her, and as their movements together became more frantic, she could barely hear the water sloshing in the tub, spilling out onto the floor. Chelsea threw her head back against Johan’s shoulder as her orgasm intensified, as she felt his body tensing underneath hers, and he joined her in climax, groaning something in his native Swedish. They both moved until the last of their spasms of pleasure abated, and Chelsea sagged against Johan, spent and satisfied.

  ****

  The next morning, Chelsea awakened to the smell of breakfast wafting into the bedroom from the living room area of the suite. She realized she was alone in the bed, and sat up carefully, holding her hand against the bruised rib to minimize the pain. After their tryst in the bathtub, Johan had carefully lifted her up and out of the water, gave her another Vicodin, and ordered ice packs.

  She had struggled to keep from laughing at the big, strong mercenary bodyguard as he played nurse, taking the throw pillows off the couch and positioning them so that her knee and ankle were elevated, bringing her water when she got thirsty, insisting that Chelsea shouldn’t get up for any reason. Under the humming, cottony influence of the pain killers, Chelsea hadn’t even felt the slightest self-consciousness when Johan carried her into the bathroom to use the toilet, waiting politely just on the other side of the door.

  His lack of presence nearby made her irritated in some way that Chelsea couldn’t quite put a finger on. She carefully leaned over the edge of the bed to retrieve the braces that the hospital had given her and strapped them around her ankle and knee. Chelsea took a deep breath and slowly climbed out of the bed, trying to bend and twist as little as possible, putting her weight on her uninjured leg.

  She grabbed up her bathrobe and limped into the living room area, where she found Johan, seated near the patio to their room, talking on his phone. A few feet away, Chelsea took in the sight of an extensive—and, she had no doubt, expensive—room service breakfast with pancakes, bacon, eggs, fruit, yogurt, toast…more things than she could imagine even the two of them being able to consume in one sitting. Johan glanced up and flashed a quick smile in her direction, holding up a finger to indicate he was nearly done with whomever he was speaking to. Still feeling slightly irritable—slightly hung over from the pain pills leaving her system, with dull, aching throbs echoing through her body—Chelsea sat down gracelessly on the couch, propping up her injured leg along the length of the furniture.

  “I have good news,” Johan said as he tapped his screen to end the call. Chelsea raised an eyebrow.

  “Someone killed the CEO of my company so now I can go back to having a normal life?” She paused and added, “At least, a normal unemployed life until I can get another job?” Johan smiled wryly and shook his head.

  “Almost as good. My client has your new paperwork, and he got us an apartment. Do you think you can manage to deal with sitting in a car for a few hours while I drive us to your new home?” Chelsea scrubbed at her face.

  “I think I can manage,” she said after a moment’s consideration. “Can we cut back my dose of the Vicodin somehow? It was kind of nice to be totally oblivious of everything, but I’d like to start being at least partially aware of the world around me again now.” Johan nodded, standing in a quick, graceful movement that Chelsea resented for the way it underscored her current injured state.

  “I’ll give you a full dose after breakfast, and the next dose will be half, how about that?” Chelsea shrugged.

  “Why not a half dose to begin with?”

  “Because, my dear, it’s a lot easier to prevent pain than it is to kill it. If you have a full dose now and we give you a half dose on schedule, it’ll work better.” Chelsea shrugged, scratching at the skin around her knee brace idly. Why are these stupid things always so itchy? Johan began filling a plate for her from the platters and bowls on the table. “It’s a good thing I turned you down last night, or I’d feel horrible right now,” Johan said absently.

  “You turned me down last night?” Chelsea frowned. Johan grinned at her, handing her the plate and a roll of silverware.

  “You turned over in the bed at about… I want to say midnight? And started groping me.” Chelsea’s cheeks flared with heat. “I mean really going to town.” She looked down at her plate as her blush deepened. “You said something about how I could fuck you however I wanted. But since you didn’t sound exactly like yourself I figured it was the Vicodin talking.” Chelsea swallowed the tight ball of embarrassment in her throat, taking a slow breath.

  “It’s a good thing you did,” she said, picking at the food on her plate. “Although I probably wouldn’t have remembered it.” She felt Johan’s fingers against her jaw; he tilted her face up so that she had to meet his gaze.

  “I want every time we have sex to be memorable. Why waste an opportunity when you’re too drugged to even know what’s happening, much less tell me the next morning how good it was?” Chelsea chuckled, shaking her head slightly. “Besides, I wasn’t sure how to feel about you calling me ‘Mr. Honey-cock’.” Chelsea stared at him in shock.

  “I—I called you—Mr.…”

  “Honey-cock, yep.” Chelsea closed her eyes as new waves of embarrassment washed through her. “It was cute. A little weird, but cute.” Chelsea bit her bottom lip, unsure of whether she felt more resentment, embarrassment, or amusement at the situation that Johan had described.

  “One of these days, somehow, I’m going to drug you and—and make you horny and record the stupid things you say,” she told him. Johan chuckled.

  “Good luck with that,” he said, leaning in to brush his lips against hers. He pointed to her plate, pulling back to serve his own plate of breakfast. “We’ll eat, pack up your things, give you your first dose, and get on the road,” Johan told her. “New life!” Johan glanced at Chelsea, and she took a bite of her food more out of the feeling that she should than out of actual hunger. “It’ll be okay,” Johan said, holding her gaze. “Hey—there are lots of people who go to crazy lengths to ditch their old life.” Chelsea shrugged.

  “I guess I’m not really one of them,” she said, taking a deep breath and exhaling on a sigh. “But I’ll have to become one.” Chelsea gave Johan a tight, tense smile and decided resolutely to focus on her food. One foot in front of the other. Keep moving forward.

  ****

  “We’re here.” Chelsea grunted softly as Johan’s voice called her out of a doze. She had drifted off to sleep shortly after Johan had given her the half-dose of Vicodin during their rest break at a restaurant on their way to what Johan was calling her new life.

  “How is it possible,” Chelsea had asked then, realizing that they had been doing an improbable amount of driving over the past week—including her twenty-four-hour harried flight. “How is it possible that we’ve driven this much without being halfway across the country?” Johan had chuckled.

  “Well, for most of the time we’ve been together, we’ve been traveling in interesting shapes around the state, avoiding your home town,” he had explained. “Of course, I knew when you went out on your own you’d probably pick a direction and keep going, so I went after you that way. Fortunately, I picked the right dir
ection.”

  Her new life would be in the next state; Johan had explained that they were several hours away, but that everything would be ready for them when they arrived. Chelsea opened her eyes, yawning as she came out of her doze. Johan had parked in the driveway of a respectable-looking house, on an anonymous street. “Wow, this is an upgrade,” Chelsea said, staring at the front of the home for a long moment. It was two-story, with butter-yellow walls and clean white trim, the door painted a deep red. The yard was well maintained, with trimmed grass and a low, landscaped garden.

  “Let me go in first,” Johan suggested. “I’ll make sure there’s no one hiding out inside, and come help you up and into the place.” Chelsea saw the three steps leading from the walkway to the front door and nodded. Much as she would have liked to bristle at Johan’s authoritative tone, she was slightly woozy from the pain pills and knew that she wouldn’t be an asset if someone had found their way inside.

  Johan locked the car behind him and strode to the front door, and Chelsea watched him as he located the key to the door—somehow—and let himself in. She sat back, glancing around the neighborhood. It was a place for someone like her former boss, the project manager; not the kind of place she would have seen herself living in alone, not with her salary. Of course, right now you have no salary and you won’t be living in it alone, Chelsea though wryly. She felt her eyes stinging slightly as it once more dawned on her how completely and utterly her life had changed in a matter of mere days.

  By the time Johan came back, nodding slightly as he approached the car to indicate that the house was clear, Chelsea had managed to regain her composure, dashing away the few tears she had allowed herself to shed. Johan unlocked the car and walked around to the passenger side to help her out, pulling her up from the seat with almost the same strength he had possessed from the first time she’d met him.