Jasper shouted into the phone. “Hey, Brody. Yeah, I know. Hang on, and I’ll go in the other room. Yeah, the NightShade guy Ash told us about is here. He’s standing in my house right now. Yeah, he’s black, all right. We’re calling a big meeting of all the Alphas. How does Friday afternoon work for you?”
Boyd pointed to the strangers. “These are my nephews, Jana and Foicks.”
Arryn shook their hands. “Ash told me all about you guys.”
Foicks laughed. “I hate to think what he told you.”
Arryn grinned. “Only good things. He loves you like anything.”
Foicks blushed. “You’re just the guy I want to see. You can answer all our questions about the layout on your mountain. How far away are you from the Midnight? Are they really trying to make peace with them?”
Jasper cut him off. “Take it somewhere else. Jana, you show Arryn up to the cottage so he doesn’t have to listen to this chaos.”
“Yes, sir. Right away.”
Foicks stuck out his hand. “Hang on. I’m not finished here.”
“You’re finished when I say you’re finished,” Jasper snapped. “Get lost, and that’s an order.”
Just then, Jace jolted awake again. He screamed louder than ever. Jasper tried to hustle Jana and Arryn toward the door when it opened from the outside. Iris MacAllister walked in. Arryn froze in his tracks when he spotted May at her side.
May’s eyes flew open when she saw Arryn, but they couldn’t get near each other with all this other mayhem going on. Aiken and Harmony tried to talk to Iris at the same time. Jace howled his little head off. Foicks and Boyd tried to talk to Arryn, but he couldn’t stop staring at May. She looked more beautiful than he remembered from this morning. Her pale skin blended into a lemon-yellow top, and painted-on black tights hugged her legs.
Her bright eyes gazed up at him. His blood thundered in his ears. He didn’t hear or see anything around him. Nothing existed but her. How could he stand here without taking her in his arms? How could he pretend to hold himself together with her in the same room?
Someone touched his arm. Jana murmured into his ear. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Iris crossed the room and took Jace out of Harmony’s arms. She draped the boy over her shoulder, and he passed out against her neck. The whole room sighed with relief, and Harmony burst into tears.
Iris took her hand. “Come with me, honey. We’re gonna make your boy well. Come and sit down in your room. May, you go to the kitchen and make Harmony a cup of camomile tea. After that, make Aiken something to eat. Then you can help me in the other room.
“Yes, Ma.” May headed for the kitchen. She looked back over her shoulder at Arryn in the doorway.
Jana stepped out onto the porch. Jasper held Aiken’s phone against his head and climbed up the stairs out of sight. Foicks went to the bathroom and shut the door. Arryn paused one more long, lingering moment. He feasted his eyes on that beautiful girl, but her eyes said it all. She was still his. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. They might not be together now, but they would be soon enough.
He followed Jana outside and shut the door behind him. Peaceful stillness blanketed that house as he walked away. He let out a sigh while he walked into the woods at Jana’s side.
Jana chuckled at that sigh. “You don’t know the half of it. It’s been like this for almost a week. I’ve been sleeping in the room next door to that—at least, I’ve been trying to sleep.”
“That kid is seriously sick,” Arryn remarked. “It doesn’t look good.”
“He’ll be all right. Iris is the best. She’s our medicine woman on this mountain. Her daughter Briar learned from her, but ever since Briar got married and had a baby, May is helping Iris more these days.”
Arryn nodded. “That’s good. It’s good you have somebody like that around.”
“What about you? What do you do about medical care?”
Arryn pretended not to hear. What was he supposed to say—that the NightShade had hospitals and surgery and medicines the human world never heard of? He didn’t want to talk to anybody about the NightShade anymore, not until he had some quiet time to sit and think about how he was going to answer all these questions.
He kicked himself for not thinking about these things before. He should have gone over every possible question with Ash before he left the Ridge. He should have prepared his answers to convince these people.
Jana got the message and didn’t say anything more. He wound his way through the woods. His feet hugged the ground, and he caressed every tree trunk as he passed. Instinctual communication passed between this man and his natural environment. Arryn understood that communication. At the end of the day, these Bruins were still bears, just like the NightShade. The two groups still had more in common than differences.
Jana stopped in a clearing on the hilltop. “There it is. You can stay here. It’s a hike, but it’s the only place available at the moment.”
Arryn peered between the trees. A pristine little cottage basked in the sunny clearing. The whole mountain range spread out beyond it. Arryn found the front door standing open. The sun streamed through the windows onto an immaculate white bed. A bathroom hid in the corner behind the door, and a small fridge sat in one corner. “Thank you. It’s perfect.”
Jana turned away. “You stay here until you feel like coming down. We eat lunch at twelve and dinner at six. You can stay up here alone as much as you want, or come on down to the big house when you get lonely or hungry. Foicks and his mate live in the bungalow behind the house. I’m sure he’d love to talk your ear off about everything under the sun.”
Arryn had to laugh. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Jana waved. “Make yourself at home. I’ll see you later.”
He walked away without looking back. Arryn inspected the cottage. A huge window behind the bed looked down on the valley behind the mountain. Arryn ducked around the cottage to get a better look.
A bent willow rocking chair sat on a flagstone porch behind the little house. It overlooked MacAllister territory. Sitting in that chair, Arryn could gaze down on MacAllister Homestead. He could watch May come and go from here. He could be with her at this distance, and he could dream about her lying in that bed at night.
48. Chapter 9
May swung her father’s pick-up onto the road the next day. She steered toward town when she caught sight of a large object by the side of the road. She braked up next to it and rolled down the passenger window. “Are you lost again?”
Arryn’s face cracked open in a grin. “I’m trying to find my way around by myself. I was trying to get to the Mackenzies’.”
May tossed the door open. “You’re going the wrong way, as usual. Get in, and I’ll take you there.”
He climbed into the passenger seat. Before she could do anything, he leaned over and kissed her.
May gasped. “What was that for?”
“Just ‘cuz I miss you so much. Last night was a torment. How’s a guy supposed to live within spitting distance of his fated mate when he can’t have her?”
She pushed him into his seat. “Behave yourself. My big brother will beat you up if he sees you kissing me like that.”
Arryn pretended to look around. “So where is he?”
May started driving again. “He’s doing his books. He asked me to go to town and get him a new ink cartridge for his printer.”
Arryn studied the landscape going past. “Where are we going? I thought Mackenzie Homestead was that way.”
“It is,” she replied. “I’m going to town first. I’ll take you there afterwards. For someone trying to find your way around, you’re getting your bearings better.”
“It’s not easy. I’ve never been off the Ridge before. This is all new territory for me.”
“You’ll figure it out. Just don’t try to kiss me while I’m trying to drive. I might end up in the ditch again.”
He craned across the seat to whisper in her ear. “Do you m
ean like this?”
He burrowed his face into her neck. His lips plucked the white skin off and let it spring back. May shrieked and slapped him away. “Quit it! What are you trying to do to me?”
He slipped one hand across her stomach. “I’m trying to get you to pull over and make out with me. Come on. Give me one kiss.”
“One kiss! You’re nuts.”
He nibbled her earlobe. “I’m not going to let you drive until you kiss me.”
She kicked her foot down hard on the brake and skidded off the road. She tossed the truck into park and rounded on him. “You devil! I never should have picked you up.”
He hitched himself across the seat to sit right next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her against him. “No, you shouldn’t have. You definitely shouldn’t have if you thought I wouldn’t try something with you.”
Before she could answer, he covered her mouth with those smoking hot lips of his. They shot fire through her belly. They demanded she open her mouth to answer him. His tongue licked fire into her brain. She had to get her head working, but nothing held them apart anymore.
Passion and furious desire sucked them together. First their lips, then their hands and arms wound together in tangled webs. They could never come apart. Arryn’s mouth tasted sweet beyond May’s wildest dreams. The moment she got her tongue inside his mouth, she knew she could never stop kissing him. Her tongue danced around his in delectable mystery.
He cradled her head in one giant hand. She clung to his thick chest and laid her head aside to revel in those kisses. Lounging in his arms filled her soul with unimaginable bliss. How could anything be so right?
He pulled her out of her seat. He stroked up her back and around her stomach. He mouthed down her neck to the cleavage plunging into her ruffled blouse. His hot breath sizzled along her skin. She heaved against his face in agonizing desire.
He crushed one muscled arm around her waist and murmured down her shirt front. “God, I needed this so bad! You don’t know how much I wanted you last night.”
She gasped for breath. “Oh, I love you so much! I wished you were down the hall so I could come to you last night.”
He rumbled low in his chest between kisses. “Say you wanted me. Say you wanted to be with me last night.”
“Oh, I wanted it! I couldn’t stay away. Last night was a torture for me, I needed you so bad!”
He stared up into her eyes. “Do you promise? Do you promise you’re mine?”
She writhed in his embrace. She couldn’t get enough of him. “I promise I’ll never be anything but yours again.”
He pillowed his cheek on her satin breast. She fought to breath and swallowed his head in her milky arms. She ached for him. Her very cells thirsted for him and his steaming kisses. She never knew until this moment how much she needed her mate. She never wanted anything like she wanted this. She couldn’t live without him. She understood that now.
His voice vibrated her bones. His fingers compressed her hips and squeezed down her legs to her knees. “May. May.”
He slithered that wicked hand up between her thighs to the tight seam where her legs met. She plunged on it in undulating lust. “Oh, God! Oh, God!”
All at once, he propped himself up. He kissed her one more time, but he wouldn’t touch her like that. “Is this really what you want?”
“You know I do.” She darted forward to kiss him. “How can you ask that? I want it as much as you do.”
He sat back in the seat to regard her.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to do it?”
“I do want to do it.” He snorted. “You don’t know how much I want it. I just wonder if I shouldn’t.”
She slapped his chest. “How dare you say that? Of course, you should do it. How can you tease me like this and then leave me in agony?”
He dropped tiny maddening kisses on her hungry mouth. “I’ve been on this mountain two days, and I’m already making off with one of the locals. What if somebody gets mad?”
She sat back in her seat. “Well, this is just great. How can you get me all worked up like that and not follow through? Don’t you know how much I want you?”
“I want you, too, baby. I want you more than I want to keep breathing. I just want to do this right. I don’t want to disrespect your people.”
She shoved him back in his seat. “Great. You sit there and do this right. I’ll just go home and cry into my pillow.”
He gave her thigh another squeeze high up near her crotch. “Don’t cry over me, baby. Don’t cry unless your sobbing in dripping wet desire for me.”
She shot him a mischievous grin. “You know that’s what I meant.”
He laughed. “Drive. Let’s get this over with.”
She put the truck in gear and they drove on toward town.
“How are things at home?” he asked. “How are Silas and Shaw getting along?”
“They’re not. Silas is putting his affairs in order to get ready for the big showdown. He even visited my father in his room the other night. He asked my dad to give him his blessing.”
Arryn spun around. “Are you serious?”
May nodded. “I don’t see this going on much longer. Silas can’t move a muscle without Shaw interfering in his business.”
Arryn shook his head. “I should help him. I should be there to back him up if Shaw tries to pull any funny stuff.”
“I’m glad Silas has a friend like you, but he doesn’t want that. He wants to defeat Shaw on his own terms.”
“I know, but ,man!” Arryn exclaimed. “How’s he supposed to take on somebody so much bigger than himself? That’s it. I’m coming back with you. I have to see Silas before the fight. I have to talk to him.”
May put out her hand to take his. “It will be all right. Trust him. He can handle this on his own.”
“I want to do this for you as much as for him. I don’t want you anywhere near Shaw, much less living under the same roof with him. I would put him down myself if I thought it would give you some peace of mind.”
May’s gaze gravitated to his face. She couldn’t stop herself taking her eyes off the road. “Really? Do you really feel that way?”
He searched her soul. His face filled her whole view. “You know I’d do anything for you. You know you mean the world to me.”
She couldn’t keep away from him. She had to get hold of him and never let him go. She yanked the wheel to careen off the road again. She rocketed across the seat and attacked him with everything she had. She devoured his mouth in big greedy kisses.
He craned his neck back to meet her rising desire. He strapped both arms around her waist and lifted her off the seat. She rubbed her breasts against his chest. She never knew she could need someone this much. She never knew she could let herself loose like this.
Unsatisfied desire hummed through her. All four limbs worked at once. She had to have this man. She had to maul him to pieces and take him into herself.
His hands roamed all over her. They grappled around her ass and pushed her thighs apart. One hand clamped around her crotch and shoved her upward. Her mouth gaped to invite his tongue down her throat.
She straddled him on the car seat. He gulped down her kisses as fast as she could give them. “Baby. Baby.”
She panted for every breath. She wanted to ride him right this minute, but even now, she knew she couldn’t have him—not yet. Something still blocked them from each other. No matter how she threw herself at him, she couldn’t reach him.
He must have sensed the same thing. Their kisses diminished. She studied his eyes, and he stroked her hair back from her temples. He slumped into the seat until nothing remained but small, tender kisses.
May slipped off his lap to sit next to him. She wiped the saliva off her chin with her thumb. Arryn smiled at her. “You’re nice. I like you.”
May laughed. “I hope so.”
He snuck one more kiss. “It will happen. Don’t worry.”
“I know.”
He pressed her cheeks and kissed her on the forehead. “Do you know I love you?”
She took shelter in his broad chest. “I know that, too.”
She sat up and took the wheel. She turned onto the highway toward town. “You better put your seatbelt on.”
He blinked.
She stretched across him, took hold of the belt, and clicked it into the latch. “Like this.”
Arryn watched in wonder. When she parked outside the office supply store in town, he shook his head. “I better wait here until you come out. I don’t think I could get this seat belt on again if I tried.”
She dashed in and dashed back out with the cartridge. “Now we’ll go to the Mackenzies’.”
They held hands across the seat, but didn’t speak again all the way up the Peak. What was there to say? They were in love. They were mates. They were made for each other. They would be together eventually, though right at that moment May couldn’t figure out how.
She wound her way around the mountain and parked in front of Mackenzie Homestead. While they sat there silently holding hands, Mattox came out of the barn. He frowned when he saw Arryn.
May jumped out of the car. “I brought you a visitor, Mattox. This is Arryn Stark. He’s the emissary from Renegade Ridge. He wants to talk to you and the family about Azer.”
“You better come inside then.” Mattox showed Arryn into the house. “Have a seat. I’ll get Rex.”
Arryn murmured to May. “Who’s Rex?”
“Azer’s father. Whatever you have to say, you can say it to him.”
Arryn and May sat down on the couch when Lyric backed into the room with a basket of laundry on her hip. She opened her mouth and closed it again, but before she could say anything, Mattox came back with Rex.
Rex Mackenzie held out his hand to Arryn. “It’s so good to meet you, young man. We’ve all heard so much about you.”
“Thank you, sir.” Arryn started to rise to meet him.
“Sit down, sit down.” Rex took the chair next to him. “Now what’s this I hear about you wanting to talk to us about Azer?”
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