It paid off. Their dig sites held some amazing treasures. All poorly protected too.
“Not entirely,” Nick said. “Big boom in precious metals right now. Every little bit counts. Just like this...”
He picked up my newly arrived hard cider and held it to my lips. “This one's on me. Just as long as I get to feel those beautiful lips wrapped around this bottle.”
My heart skipped a beat. His words would've been rude coming from a lesser man, but something about the kinky hint in his command made it irresistible.
I flashed him my best smile, drawing my mouth around the bottle. Jesus, how much had I had?
I couldn't believe I was doing it. I slid the rim deep, taking the cool glass just past my teeth, following his movement as he tipped it up for a long, sweet sip.
Yeah, I liked men who took control. Liked it so much my tongue automatically swirled around the glass, imagining it was something warmer, softer, infinitely more desirable.
I stopped myself just short of moaning. He lowered the bottle from my lips. Arousal danced in his eyes, adding new heat to mine.
For a second, I saw his eyes flash to my nipples, buds drawing in so hard they pointed clean through two layers of clothes.
“You staying at a hotel around here?”
The fateful question. I nearly shouted yes! Something held me back. This stranger was moving way too fast, peeling away layers I'd spent years building up for just this kind of thing.
If this is going to happen, it needs to be on my terms.
“I've got a place.” I watched his hand moving toward my cider drink again.
This time, I snatched the bottle away, moving it to my lips for a long, refreshing drink. I was keeping control.
In the cool, sweet, carbonated heaven, I had time to think.
Maybe I wanted him. The need pulsing between my legs was getting tighter by the second, wet and real.
My body had decided for me. He might be fun for a night, and if he wasn't local, I wouldn't have to worry much about seeing him again.
Mining came and went like the wind. So did men like this, however handsome.
“Are you going to let me in?” he said, voice lower and damnably sexy.
I set the bottle down and blinked. “Let's take a walk while I can still stand and think. After that, we'll just have to see what happens.”
Nick paid our tab and we were out the door, slowly taking several blocks to the square little inn where I was put up for the night. We were waiting at a light when he reached for my hand, seizing it faster than I could slip away.
Very bold. Too fast to even think about saying no. Not that I would've wanted to.
I looked at him slowly. I needed a minute to compose myself before I locked in on those sharp, demanding eyes set in his handsome face.
“I can tell you're a security guard with that grip,” I said. “Speed is a giveaway too.”
He shrugged. “I just take what I want. And right now, I want to get every last inch of your sweet curves naked, sweaty, and pressed up against my chest. I want to see your ass shake while you're grinding above, below, and everywhere against my body.”
Holy fuck.
I stopped, even though the light had changed to WALK. No man had ever been so direct out on a public street before. Certainly not with me.
His words made me curl up inside and get painfully wet at the same time.
No, more than that. He wasn't just interested in a quick fling with any receptive lady who looked halfway decent.
My heartbeat pattered. He wanted me, specifically, because I had the body type that really fed coal into the engine beneath his hard flesh.
I'd only been with a couple guys like that. And every time, it had been amazing.
“Lead the way,” I said finally, feeling his fingers tighten around mine.
Stranger or not, we were going to get to know each other very well tonight. If it went well, I'd slip him my number and see if he was still here in six months for another hookup.
Good men were so hard to find, after all.
Right around the time when I expected to return to the dumpy clan reservation for another big paycheck. Once I got the big, round, emerald baby in my trunk home, I'd be set for months.
I'd been on edge earlier, but now it was evaporating. The old man I met a couple weeks ago told me to watch my back and stay armed if anybody came after this artifact.
I like what's happening here better than any paranoid bullshit that would've prevented it. Nobody's raiding anything but my panties tonight with Nick around.
As we approached the hotel, I smiled, stroking his hand with light finger strokes. I worked hard to make my bank account purr, so why not the rest of me?
“You got anything to drink around here, Lyla?” he asked, as soon as we were inside my room. “No need to stop since we left the bar. We're just getting started.”
He was wearing that delicious, irresistible smile again. How could I say no? Especially if I wanted him wearing a whole lot less?
“There's a bottle of bourbon in my trunk, I think. Let's go.”
I walked him out to the car. Nick watched intently as I popped it open.
The treasure I'd taken from the Klamath clan lay right next to the precious bottle. I eyed the big turquoise sphere for a second, grateful it was wrapped up in paper and hidden from view.
Don't want this sexy oaf getting drunk and playing catch with that thing. The way he's looking around, he just might do it.
I slammed the trunk shut. We walked back inside and he fetched some ice.
“Well, big boy,” I said, slipping my hands across his stomach from behind while he poured our drinks. “Are we gonna get down to it?”
God, his abs were rock hard. They felt like firm, rolling mountains beneath my hands. My temperature spiked a few more degrees as I imagined them jerking above me, a handsome avalanche of masculine stone burying me in pleasure.
“Drink this,” he ordered, shoving the bourbon into my hand. “Knock it down your throat, and then give me a kiss.”
Yes, Sir, I thought, tingling once again at the way he took charge.
Nick never let his eyes off me the whole time. His gaze rippled along every curve, making me feel self-conscious. Normally, when men stared, I imagined they were studying the freakish size of my ass or the flabby skin around my arms.
Nothing about his stare said fatty or freak. It was just pure desire, the kind of glint a man gets in his eyes before he claims a woman, and claims her damned hard.
The bourbon added its smoking embers to my depths. I set the empty glass down and stretched, letting a small moan slip past my lips.
It must've been the last straw. Nick swooped in, wrapping his powerful arms around me. Those hands splayed open on my back, slid to my ass, and squeezed.
I whimpered. He squeezed me so hard I rolled toward him, feeling the growing bulge between his legs pressed against my skin.
“Oh! You're fucking hard...” My voice withered low, husky with need. “Do you want me to see how much harder I can make it?” I pursed my lips, moving my tongue slowly and visibly across them.
This was a rare man indeed. I actually wanted to take him between my lips, around my tongue. Not just because he'd reciprocate, but because it would be a joy to watch him squirm and growl at my tongue work.
I looked up from the sweet bulge in his jeans. His eyes glowed, a feral look more animal than man, unbearably sexy.
“We'll get to that.” He gave me another kiss, hard and deep. “First, I want to watch you squirm. I want to feel you shake when you're blazing hot and all tied up, begging me to stop.”
Oh! I knew there was something kinky beneath the surface.
And very insistent too. More kisses fell on my helpless lips. Nick's strong hands squeezed harder. His big frame pushed against mine, moving me to the leather chair in the corner.
I toppled on it a little awkwardly, too drunk on his latest kiss to stop myself. When I looked up, mind and
body blurry with dueling warmth, he had his belt off.
“Hands behind your back. I'm gonna tie you down tight. Wouldn't dream of letting you go...not when I'm this fucking close.”
This kind of kink? Really?
I eyed him reluctantly for a moment. God, he looked good enough to lick from head to toe.
Okay, you win, big boy. If kink is the price of admission to that hot bod of yours...
I tipped my head backward with a purr. Sweet surrender.
I'd never really experimented with BDSM before, but the idea had always been appealing.
You know you like it rough. And everything about this man says rough and wild to the bone.
My hands slipped behind the chair and met somewhere in the middle. He stood behind me, his breath picking up as he bound my hands with that belt.
He wasn't kidding about tying me down tight. The smooth belt kissed my wrists with its coolness, covering my skin, a delightful contrast to the bright lust seething in my blood.
Nick finished looping the belt into place and stopped. When he didn't come around a second later, I tapped my feet on the chair's front legs, pushing out my heavy breasts.
What the hell's the delay? These girls are aching for your touch. Don't make them wait, Nick.
I cleared my throat. His breathing picked up behind me, hard and fast and ragged.
There was a harsh click near my ear. I would've known that sound anywhere.
In a single second, the lust surging through me went out like a candle's flame, replaced with a terror fueled adrenaline instead. I tried to whirl around – forgetting I was bound – but my body wouldn't let me twist to face him.
“Put the gun down, you asshole. I knew there was something off about this,” I added under my breath.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Should've listened to a different instinct.
“You're not in a position to be making any demands, Lyla. As much as I'd like to toy with your beautiful body – and I really would – I've got more important business.”
He stepped around to face me. A handgun was lowered to his side and his face was red, as if he'd just surfaced from the water, deprived of precious air.
“What business is that? Stealing my shit so you can collect the profits?” I hissed the words through my teeth, rage flickering through me with every word.
Mostly at myself.
Fucking idiot. Guess it isn't just men who make stupid decisions with what's between their legs.
“Yeah, I'll be taking that thing in your trunk. Gonna return it to its rightful owners, and make sure it winds up in a place where a pretty little thief like you won't be able to come after it a second time.” Nick smiled. His grin wasn't so sexy anymore.
Bastard. Watch who you're calling little.
I snorted. Very slowly, he lifted the gun, making a bead on my forehead. More fear exploded through me.
Scraps of my life flashed before my eyes, a dizzying slide-show that ended the last time I saw my father. I wasn't particularly religious, but if this was it, at least I had being reunited with him to look forward to.
I broke. Tears began rolling down my cheeks. It was humiliating enough to be tricked like this, but to be killed by one of them, just like dear old dad...
“Do what you're gonna do. I'm a human woman. At least we have heart, which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for you.”
I jumped when I heard the clatter. The gun in his hand didn't fire – hell, no. When I opened my eyes, it was on the floor, and Nick slumped to the bed, beet red frustration streaking his strong face.
“I was ordered to kill you,” he said pointedly. “Gods, I wish you were a man. This would've been so much easier.”
I watched in silence as he sprang up and paced the bed. Then my eyes jerked back to the gun, but it was way too far for me to reach, even if I tipped myself over and fell next to it.
“Good news: I can't do it. Not to someone as beautiful and sweet as you.”
I clenched my jaw. We were way past compliments, though I'd never heard of a shifter giving any human mercy.
He's complicated for a bear. I'll give him that.
“Then...” I swallowed hard, collecting my words. “What are you gonna do with me?”
He looked up at the nightstand. The smile was back, a kind of dark pleasure at some new idea rattling in his head.
“You're gonna drink this and enjoy a nice long sleep for me, beautiful. The artifact will be gone when you wake up in the morning. Sorry for the busted trunk. It's just the price of doing business, I suppose. And a small cost for your life.”
The smile melted. His face was deadly serious again, hard and determined in a way that would've been hot if he weren't threatening me.
Stupid, stupid girl. Can't believe I'm still feeling attracted to him, even after this.
I moaned and thrashed my head when he brought the squat bottle to my face. Nick pushed the glass to my lips. I licked the edge and spat at him.
“Drink, damn you! If you don't, I'll have to think hard about sticking to the original plan after all.”
Our eyes locked like two volcanoes smoldering at each other across a canyon. The stupid ball in my car was worth a lot – a couple year's worth of survival and play money – but wasn't my life worth more?
It took all my strength to relax my mouth and not hiss or spit again. He raised the tip to my mouth, surprisingly gentle.
Rich bourbon sloshed around in all its biting glory. I swallowed it, and then readied for another sip, never taking my eyes off the darkness in his.
He let me breathe for a couple minutes when the bottle was nearly drained. Just enough time for the stuff to kick, and kick hard.
The world blurred. Rage melted away like a glacier. Deep down, I was still annoyed, but I couldn't remember why as I watched this strange man pacing the room, muttering soft curses to himself.
“Fucking crazy. Branson's gonna have me for dinner if he finds out about this...wonder if she'll even sleep through the night.”
He came closer, the hairs on the back of his neck standing. Time folded, collapsing in on itself. Whenever I blinked, the lighting in the room was a little different, and Nick seemed to be in a different place or not here at all.
At one point, I saw him naked in front of me, his perfect body grabbing at the big wooden stand next to the TV. He was hunched over, sprouting fur and growing three times bigger than the biggest man, shifting a snout and claws in front of me.
The one thing about the skinwalkers that always scared me was...well, the fact that they could change from people into giant hulking bears in a wink. I'd only seen it from a distance before, twice, never this close. And never with someone who'd given me a dangerous temptation.
I opened my mouth to scream. The bear fell back on all fours. It stared at me and opened its mouth, showing the finger sized sharp teeth filling it.
I never heard his fearsome roar. I collapsed into a deep churning blackness, a bourbon and fear fueled coma broken only by sharp scratching sounds outside the window behind me and a few hushed voices.
“Ma'am? Jesus Christ! Are you all right?”
I jerked awake. My head was pounding, easily the worst hangover in years since I'd gotten over hitting up the bars as a giddy twenty-one year old.
I tried to answer. Something thick and rubbery was stuffed in my mouth. I just ended up slurring breath and words instead.
“My God! What the fuck was in here?”
I looked over the middle aged hotel manager's shoulder. Wooden splinters, mud, and clumps of dark brown hair matted the carpet.
It took him a couple stumbling minutes to undo Nick's leather belt, the only human sign left that he'd ever existed. Then he pulled at the washcloth pinched between my teeth.
Gasping for air, I held my knees, wishing the brutal thud in my head would go away. Outside, it was another morning in Klamath Falls, cars and trains running parallel.
My car!
As soon as I remembered, I jerked up, sp
reading my palms on the cool window. I sighed with relief when I saw it was still there – except the trunk was uneven, unhinged, as if a big animal had broken inside.
“You gotta be shitting me. You mean the parking lot had break-ins too?” He sounded exasperated, and I didn't blame him.
“Just one,” I muttered.
Turning, I looked at him, and then edged my way past. I needed some water before I started to heave.
“Hey, Miss, do you know anything about this?” he called to me as I stood at the bathroom sink, gulping plastic glasses of cool, refreshing liquid.
“A random act of brutality. This guy I met at a bar...thought I knew him. He took my shit and broke into the car. That's all there really is to it.”
I came out, wiping the water I'd smeared across my forehead. The hangover headache seemed a tiny bit better. Maybe.
“Hold up,” the manager said. “I'm gonna need you to come down to the lobby and wait until the cops show up. You're the only witness here. Your story doesn't explain all this damage...and what the fuck is this hair?”
He reached to the floor, picked up a clump of bear hair, and twisted it between his fingers. His face alternated shades of red and white, base rage battling dumbstruck confusion.
“You'd really make me relive that?” I swooned, twisting my voice until I sounded a lot more upset than I really was.
He took a step back, shocked by the weird discord that came over me.
“I...I'm sorry,” I blubbered. “This isn't the first time I've been held up. Please, sir, just let me grab my things and forget about this. The robber drugged me...I don't think I'd remember him anyway.”
There's a big fat lie. Nick's face is burned into my brain for good, man and bear, especially that firestorm in his eyes.
I saw it even now. Remembering his face sent fury tickling up my spine, alongside a wicked and unwelcome wish that things had gone a different way in this room last night.
“Okay, doll. I get that you're upset,” the manager said. “But we're never gonna catch this guy if you don't...you know...”
Fated Mates: The Alpha Shifter Boxed Set (12 Book Bundle) (Insatiable Reads) Page 48