by Olivia Arran
“Who’s going to stop them? Shifters? If we fight back and kill a human, who do you think your government is going to side with? We’re working on an alliance, it’s in the early stages now—and Carter is helping lead it with Heartsridge and other communities just like this one—but we’re years away from being officially recognized the way we need to be.”
“What about those like the man who bit my sister. Rogues, you called them.”
“Shifters who refused to conform to the new way of life. They live on the fringes of our society, running wild and living by their own rules. No pack or clan or pride to steer them. They would be welcome here if they chose to register, but a lot of them are loose cannons. Criminals, insane, or just the kind of people you wouldn’t want to meet in the dark.”
“But weren’t you all rogues before we—humans—knew about you?”
I conceded her point with a tilt of my head. “Some of us, but most were already allied with an Alpha. Rogues used to be known as Loners; those without ties to our world.” I should know; I’d been one of them. It was only through a chance meeting with Law, now the Alpha of Team-S2, that I’d found my place in the world. Discovered that it even existed.
She sat back in her chair, sipping on her drink as she digested all the new information.
Shit. This had gotten heavy, fast, but at least now she knew the truth and not the bullshit the media in her world liked to pump out.
I pushed back my chair and tugged her to her feet, plucking her drink out of her hand and setting it on the table. Placing my hand at the small of her back, I guided her over to the edge of the fairy lit clearing, away from prying eyes and sharp tongues. “Dance with me,” I whispered, tucking her against my front and smoothing my hand down her back.
Music spilled through the air, light and easy to shuffle my feet to. I wasn’t the worst dancer out there, but being over six-foot and built like a linebacker threw up extra challenges. Or, I was man enough to admit it, I had two left feet.
She sighed against my chest, her cheek rubbing back and forth as we swayed from side to side. The scruff of my day old beard tangled with her hair, causing tiny strands to dance in the air with static electricity. Her hands slid further around my waist, thumbs hooking into the back pockets of my jeans with a proprietary air I had absolutely no fucking problem with.
Need hummed through me, gripping me with an urgency that had my hands sliding down to caress her ass, dragging her tight against my leg until her heat rode my thigh. Her soft moan was the kind of music I needed to hear more of. I leaned down, brushing the shell of her ear with my teeth, nipping gently. “Want to go back to my place for some privacy?”
My only coherent thought was to have her in my bed, screaming my name as she came. Everything else could wait. Mating. Declarations of love. It could all come after she had.
“Yes.”
Fucking music to my ears.
Chapter Seventeen
Leona
Sliding out of the Austin’s truck, we ran through the dark, his hand firmly grasping mine. Oblivious to my surroundings, the ring of cabins indistinct in the moonlight, we burst into the center cabin in a tangle of arms and legs, his hands cupping my face as his lips found mine, my hands tugging at his clothes and smoothing over hard muscled flesh. Words were forgotten, not needed in the frenzy of urgency that gripped us, my breathy moans only overpowered by his deep, needy groans.
He backed me up, caging me in his arms until I bumped against a wall, his hips grinding into me and holding me in place as he devoured my lips, big hands coming up to cup and tease my breasts. Sliding his hands up my chest, his fingers grazed my nipples, rolling them back and forth as he ground his thick shaft between my thighs.
I tugged at his shirt. It needed to be gone—now.
Releasing me, he yanked it over his head and tossed it aside, his mouth crashing back down on mine like a man starved and unable to resist. Our teeth clashed, flesh bruising, but I didn’t care. I wanted more. Wanted his hands all over me, him moving deep inside me. My fingers shook as I undid the buttons that reached down the front of my dress, using touch and feel to find my way, unwilling to break away from his hungry kisses. Cool air grazed my skin, scattering goosebumps over my flesh, then heat, hard and unyielding as he slid against me, his hands moving under my dress and sliding over my ass. His breath sounded heavy in my ear, his teeth nibbling a path from my lobe to my jaw as his fingers hooked into my panties, dragging them down in agonizing slow motion.
“I need you,” he groaned, leaving my panties hooked around my knees. His hand slid up my thigh and delved into my heat, his finger circling my entrance, dipping in, then out, then in again, teasing me until my head fell back against the wall and a cry left my lips.
“Austin!”
His finger plunged deep inside me, sending shockwaves of heat rolling out of my center and over my body. My fingers dug into his shoulders as I hung on, his arm moving back and forth in an unrelenting rhythm as he coaxed more and more heat, until I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. Could only hang on to him. My hips bucked against his hand, wanting more. Soft gasps echoed around the room. Mine. Needy and hungry. “Austin…” it was a low groan that sounded nothing like me.
He guided my hand to his crotch, pressing it against the huge bulge he was packing. His deep groan had me writhing on his finger, riding him. “Yes?” His question was muffled against my lips as he kissed me deep and hard.
My fingers spread over the outline of his shaft through the denim and squeezed.
“Fuck, sweetheart,” he hissed, thrusting against my hand.
“Yes,” I moaned, my hand going to his waistband and tugging. I wanted him inside me. Here. Now. No messing around.
He popped the button on his jeans and shoved them down.
I heard his boots hit the floor as he kicked them off, followed by the sound of his jeans joining them. Damn the darkness! I wanted to see him, but there was something freeing about only being able to feel. It was like all my other senses had dulled and touch was dialed up to maximum. He sucked in an audible breath as I wrapped my hand around his shaft, stretching my fingers around his huge girth until they nearly touched. Silky smooth skin slid under my palm as I squeezed, sliding back and forth. How was this going to work? He was a mountain and I barely made it past his shoulder. I peered into the darkness, trying to find a bed. “Protection?” I managed to think straight enough to ask, suddenly glad for the darkness, if only so he couldn’t see the heat burning my cheeks. I wasn’t sure how it worked, but I hadn’t seen any shifter babies popping up around the human world.
“Don’t worry, I’m clean, shifters are immune to human diseases,” he murmured, as if that answered my question.
Okay. He said not to worry—
His finger picked up speed inside me, flicking back and forth as if demanding my attention.
Oh, heck. He had it.
I grabbed his neck, yanking him down, our tongues tangling in silent communication. Now. Need. Please. My hand had sped up, matching him thrust for thrust, like two horny teenagers making out in their parent’s front room. Then his hand was gone, my panties plucked away. Hands slid under my ass, lifting me as his cock stroked my entrance, my thighs spread wide around his hips and hands clinging onto his shoulder and neck. His blunt head pushed inside me, stretching me wide as he eased his way in slow, controlled thrusts of his hips. Beneath my hands his muscles bunched and strained, his hands digging into my buttocks and anchoring me still to receive him. My back banged against the wall as I arched into him.
On a strangled groan, he slid the last inch home, our hips bumping together as if celebrating. Thick. Wide. Huge. He filled me and then some. He was perfect. And then he started to move and everything exploded. His shaft dragged sounds from me that should have made me blush, but I was past caring, past thinking. The thrust of his cock, the nip of his teeth, his large hands spreading and holding me wide to receive him. All of him. Again and again. Until my orgasm burst from
me, rushing through me in a massive high that left me panting and straining.
He tensed, his hips jerking and back arching beneath my hands, his roar almost deafening as he pulsed inside of me, heat flooding me. On a soft growl, he collapsed against me, his skin sticking to mine and breath thundering in my ear. Placing a soft kiss on my temple, he worked his way down to my lips, and without words gathered me into his arms and carried me across the cabin, sure footed in the dark, laying me down on a bed as soft as clouds and covered in a fluffy comforter. It smelled of detergent and Austin, clean and outdoorsy. The man himself collapsed down next to me, and in the faint moonlight streaming through the partially open blinds, I had my first up close and personal view of his muscular frame. Muscles carved lines all over his body, wrapping around him in a primitive display of masculinity that had my mouth watering. Wide across the chest, with broad shoulders and flat pectorals, his bulk narrowed down, tapering into what had to be a six pack. Maybe an eight pack? Reaching out, I traced the ridges with my finger, in and out, until I hit flat skin, following the line of small, crisp curls that lead straight to the jackpot.
“Keep that up and you’ll not get any sleep,” he said in a voice drowsy and satisfied.
My eyes shot back to his face, but the sight of his cock, still thick and long despite being soft, was imprinted on my retinas. Silver eyes glowed in the shadowy light, steady and open, as if waiting for something. “I’m staying?” I hadn’t presumed, but … heck, I wanted to. So bad. But I didn’t know what this was. Didn’t even know where to start. This man had just given me the best ride of my life, but there hadn’t been any promises. No mention of a future. For all I knew, this might be it.
He was still watching me, as if plucking my careening thoughts straight from my face. “Stay. I want to cuddle.” Not giving me a chance to reply, he threw an arm over me, rolling and dragging me into his front, so my ass was tucked up tight against his groin. With his free hand he hauled another comforter over us both, tucking me in with a satisfied sigh.
I wriggled against him, unused to having company in bed.
His low growl tickled the back of my neck. “Woman, if you’re going to keep wriggling…” His shaft slid between my legs, hardening by the second.
I tilted my ass and arched my back, already desperate for him again. It was surreal. Unlike me, but I didn’t care. I was living in the moment and I wasn’t about to stop and question it. Not yet.
This time the ride was slow and hot and my orgasm rolled over me in gentle waves, peak after peak until I collapsed in a sweaty heap. Strong arms held me as I fell into the land of dreams. Whatever happened when the sun came up, it had been worth this moment of peace. I could face the consequences in the morning.
Chapter Eighteen
Austin
It could have been awkward between us, but I didn’t give her the chance to over think it. Her eyes had blinked open and I’d stolen a kiss. There. Problem solved, for an hour anyway. After that we’d both been floating high on the endorphins of our orgasms. Hell, I wanted to fuck her every morning, slide deep inside her and put that delighted smile on her beautiful face.
Patience. It was a weakness of mine, but this wasn’t some shitty game. This was me playing for keeps, so I’d dropped her off to visit her sister with a lingering lip-locking kiss and a wave. My bear was a happy camper; he was ignoring the fact that we hadn’t officially claimed her. To him, it was a done deal. She was in our bed and our life. In his eyes, she’d accepted us. He didn’t have a fucking clue how human relationships worked, but I wasn’t going to complain. Less headaches for me with a happy bear living inside my skin.
Strolling through the municipal building, I could hear my guys laughing and joking, their shouts carrying out through the open office door and along the corridor. They’d been gone this morning when Leona and I had eventually rolled out of bed, thank fuck.
All talk stopped and eyes zeroed in on me as I strolled into the room.
“What?”
“You got laid.” That earned Nate a punch in the arm from Cade, who rolled his eyes in exasperation.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Jake growled, kicking a chair away. It bounced off the wall with a bang.
Nate peered at him, getting up to inspect the dent in the wall. “Huh. You didn’t come home last night, did you?”
“Looks like you weren’t the only one getting some, Alpha,” Brent cracked, ducking as a can sailed past his head. “Watch it, bro,” he snarled at Jake, his eyes flashing gold and crackling with the kind of power that reminded me exactly why Brent was on my team. He was the sort of guy people overlooked, but I’d thought Jake knew better than to piss him off.
Jake jumped to his feet.
Or Jake was in the mood for brawling? Flip a coin and it wouldn’t tell you shit. “Sit the fuck down.” I didn’t roar or snarl or even shout. I was in a good fucking mood and no asshole was going to take that from me.
For a moment, he actually looked like he was going to launch himself at Brent. But he didn’t. Shooting him a furious look, he sauntered over to the wall and slammed his back against it. Not sitting down, but not brawling either.
I dragged a hand through my hair. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
He folded his arms. “Nothing, boss.”
Right. Whatever. “Where’s the rota for the week?” We were finally back on days now and I was ready to throw down if anyone had messed with the shifts.
Nate pulled out the binder, slipping a pen from behind his ear and stabbing the open page. “Unicorn balls,” he muttered, his eyes narrowing. At my pointed chuff, he continued, “I’m on with Mr. Personality over there.”
“We’re still on days for the rest of the week?” Sometimes people changed things without asking and it usually didn’t bother me, one way or another. I was as happy working in the dark as the sweltering sun, but I wanted to spend some quality time with Leona. The clock was ticking with three days to go.
“Still days,” he muttered, his eyes sliding over to where Jake relaxed against the wall.
I expected the whining to start any second now. “Grow a fucking pair and get on with it,” I muttered, my morning buzz already starting to fade. Making my way over to the coffee pot, I took a cautious sniff, deciding it was nearly palatable and poured myself a cup. “You two are up first, go find whoever’s still on from Law’s team and debrief. We’ll change at lunch.” At my order, Jake stalked out of the office without another word, flipping Nate off on his way past. I ignored Nate’s muttered threats as he followed, dragging his feet.
“Jake’s spoiling for a brawl, today.”
Taking a cautious sip of my brew, I forced the burnt mixture down. Scowling, I dumped a truck load of sugar into the muck, stirring the sludge until the spoon didn’t stand up anymore. “Any idea why?”
Cade shook his head. “Nope. Came straight to work from wherever he spent the night, already ready to kill someone.”
“I’ll talk to him.” I didn’t want to, but it was kinda in my job description. Don’t let your team kill each other, right up there with don’t ever consider killing a member of your team. I’d mentally re-written it as don’t kill a member of your team no matter how much you fucking want to. No one would ever know. I’d finish up my coffee then go out and find him. Make him talk it out. I shuddered. Yeah, great. I was really looking forward to that.
“Sooooooo…” Brent finally said when I sat down at the cafeteria style table propped up against the wall. One of its legs was missing half an inch and propped up with a folded newspaper, and there was a large crack down the middle held together by duct tape. It was a survivor from one of Jake’s many temper tantrums and Carter was making an example and refusing to replace it. Whatever. It was a goddamned table; it did its job. Kind of. I caught my mug before it slid off the plastic surface, nudging the newspaper with my boot until the table leveled out.
When I looked back up, Brent was eyeing me with a soppy grin. “When were
you going to tell us?” His fist hit my shoulder in an approximation of his version of a light love tap. It felt like a wrecking ball at half speed.
I kept my face blank. “Tell you what?”
Brent rocked back on his chair, tilting it onto two legs in a feat of gravity defying balance. “Come on! We all heard you last night—”
“It was hard not to,” Cade added with a look of disgust, but his lips twitched as if begging to grin.
“You’re a mated man now, Alpha. Lucky, lucky son-of—”
“I’m not mated.”
Brent nearly fell off his chair. “Fuck off,” he ground out, the chair legs slamming back to the ground. “Why not?”
“She’s human,” I replied, as if that explained it all. I waved off another wave of expletives. “I’m giving her time, that’s all.”
Cade’s brow creased with concern as he leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table. “You’ve only got three days.”
Like I didn’t know that. That damned clock nearly deafened me, counting down inside my head. “I need her to choose me because she wants to be with me, not because it’s a way for her to be able to stay with her sister.”
“Damn,” Brent hissed, but he nodded. “Understood. But, damn.” He whistled, his eyes narrowing. “What happened to Harper is a mess, you know that, right? Being bitten and changed without consent? That’s as low as it goes.”
“She must be freaking out,” Cade added, tapping the table as he mulled it over. “How the hell does a human come to terms with something like that…” His voice faded off, but his anger was clear.
“The hard way.” The words were out before I’d had chance to censor them, but maybe it was time to come clean.
Brent and Cade had fallen silent. Cade spoke before I managed to force the words out, “We know, Alpha.” Both men looked at me with the same respect in their eyes, the same no-bullshit kind of friendship we’d built over the years clear on their faces.