by Jenika Snow
What the fuck was wrong with him? He was pleased that she was trying but failing to keep her eyes off of him. He could smell her curiosity and arousal, and he knew it was directed at him by the fact her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink the longer she stared at him. The blond male sitting beside her looked fierce as he said something to her. She broke eye contact with Ford and started arguing with him. After a minute he shook his head and stood, the other two males following suit. The males left her at the table alone, a big mistake for more than one reason, but lucky for him because he wasn’t wasting another moment of starting up whatever this was that simmered between them.
Pushing away from the bar he made his way through the gyrating bodies and stopped in front of her. He felt feral inside, ready to haul her up and claim her in front of everyone. The bear inside of him clawed to get out, to take supremacy over the situation. Ford fought the fucker back, because no way in hell was the asshole getting Talia. She was his, and even if he and his bear were of the same entity, he was the alpha, not the other way around. Her pulse quickened, and the scent of her arousal and nervousness fueled his own lust. His cock pulsed behind his jeans, begging to be released. Why his presence put her on edge was a mystery to him, but the fact she desired him as much as he did her, had him wanting nothing else but to take her to his place right the fuck now.
That thought had him stilling. Take her back to his place? He never took females to his place to fuck, but he wanted to take Talia to his place, wanted her in his bed, smelling of him with his dick buried deep inside of her. The feeling of his bear wanting anything to do with a female was odd to him, because never had his inner animal wanted to come out and show its dominance. His bear always stayed in the back, letting Ford take the reins and control the situation. On this occasion it seemed his bear wanted Ford to take the backseat while he dominated this little red fox, and damn was he going to take her good and hard.
He didn’t want to frighten her, so he schooled his features and took the seat beside her. The way she shifted in her seat, and the increased potency of her arousal told him Talia was already primed for him, even if she was nervous as hell. Maybe he should have gone easy with her, not rushed things or tried to get her under him so quickly? But fuck it, he wanted this, needed this, and for the first time in his life, wanted a female more than he wanted his next breath, which was insane since he had thought Mina was the one for him. Was there something else between him and Talia, something more elemental, and that was why he had such a strong desire to have her? Or maybe he was just thinking too fucking hard. He couldn’t help it though, not with his arousal and testosterone coursing through his veins like two damn freight trains coming at each other, just getting ready to crash together. She squirmed in her seat again, and the smell of her innocent lust slammed into him and caused his dick to stiffen even further. If he got any harder his damn cock would bust right through his jeans.
“Talia.” He leaned in an inch and inhaled deeply. He was on autopilot now, unable to stop himself from making it pretty fucking clear what he wanted. His bear growled deep inside at her intoxicating aroma. “Those males shouldn’t have left you alone.” He cast a glance at the shifters at the bar, and even though he knew one of them was related to her, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was with one of the other two males. That had his claws starting to unsheathe as his animal came to the forefront. He’d fight for her, draw blood, and do some major fucking damage to claim her as his. “If you were mine I wouldn’t let you out of my sight. That only gives others the impression they can come sniffing around what isn’t theirs, and that leads to broken bones and bloody bodies.”
Her eyes widened, and he knew he was going too fast, saying feral things, and he was going to run her off before anything happened between them. “Excuse me?” She stuttered a little, and he found himself leaning closer to her, needing to have her heat and scent surrounding him. She looked over her shoulder, and Ford followed her line of sight. The three males were engaged with other females. “I don’t have a male.” Her cheeks turned even redder, and the rush of heat that came from her surrounded him. Ford swore he grew a little drunker from it.
“No male?” He placed his forearms on the table and leaned in so close to her he could have counted each individual eyelash. Her chest rose and fell, and the outline of her nipples was now visible through her sweater seat. Letting his eyes travel up from her chest, over her slender, pale neck, and to her mouth, he watched in rapt awe as she dragged her tongue along first her bottom lip and then her top. The glossy residue along her plump lips had his shaft jerking in response.
“N-No. I don’t have a male.” Ford couldn’t help but stare at the way the top of her breasts gently peeked over her sweater. They were large, far more than a handful, and so fucking delectable he wanted his hands on them, and his mouth sucking on her nipples. The scent of angry males nearing had Ford stiffening and moving closer to Talia. She looked to the males she had come in with as they stopped at the table. Her brother stared down at him with a predatory gaze on his face. Nothing was said as he and the brother stared each other down. Ford had to give him props for taking care of his sister, but he didn’t know Ford very well, or the fact he wasn’t about to fucking back down.
“Hey, get the hell out of here.”
Ford smirked at the big blond fucker. If he wasn’t so damn horny for his little fox he would have found this situation humorous, but as it stood he was growing increasingly annoyed. He may be her brother, but no one fucking talked to him that way. Ford stood and fully faced her brother and the two shifters behind him. The falcon shifters eyed him curiously. Before Ford could say anything that would most likely start something unfortunate, Talia stood and addressed her brother.
“Luke, this is Ford. I bumped into him earlier today at a little café.” Ford and Luke stared at each other for several more seconds. “Anyway, he was just about to buy me a drink.” Ford looked down at her and smirked. He thought it was endearing that she thought to protect him.
Instead of showing these males that he was an alpha and wasn’t intimidated by a cougar or a couple of bird shifters, he spoke directly to Talia. “Yeah, a drink sounds good. What do you want, Talia?”
The way her name flowed coming from his lips sounded really fucking good, but what would have sounded even better was Talia screaming out his name as he was balls deep inside of her.
“How about I go up there with you and see what they have?” She was still protecting him. Ford found himself with a full-blown grin now that this little slip of a fox thought she was helping him out. Well, he’d let her rescue him, and then later he’d show her exactly what a bear was capable of. She made a move to walk by her brother, but he stopped her and said something low in her ear while keeping his eyes locked on Ford. He couldn’t blame Luke for his worry, but Ford also knew her brother could sense he meant his sister no harm. Now, there was no doubt Luke could sense how badly he wanted Talia, but that wasn’t something he was going to be ashamed of or hide. Before anything else could be said Talia grabbed his hand and started walking toward the bar, but he let her, because he wasn’t going to let things escalate, not unless they started shit with him. When she was leaning against the counter she let go of his hand and faced him.
“Are you freaking insane?” He cocked his brow at her question and didn’t hide the genuine smile that formed his lips. When was the last time he felt amused?
“Am I?”
She pointed behind her at her brother and his friends. “Three against one. You have to be crazy if you think you could have taken all of them on, and I could sense that is where it was going.” She breathed out roughly, and a tendril of wavy red hair puffed out in response. “I swear it was like a He-Man showdown right in front of me.”
Ford stared at her, blinking a few times and processing her words to make sure he heard her right over the loud music. She looked so damn worried it was heartwarming. When he realized she was serious he threw his head back and laughed
loud and long, and fuck did it feel good, refreshing. Another sliver of darkness broke away, and light shone through. Whatever it was about her had everything he had become being moved, transformed, and shaped into something that used to fill him. Several people at the bar turned and looked at him curiously.
“Baby, not to seem cocky or anything, but I’m pretty sure I can take on a cougar and a couple of falcon shifters.” She didn’t respond right away, and despite the fact he could sense her emotions, he wished he could have been able to know what she was thinking. Her mouth parted, but before she could say anything he turned and ordered a couple of drinks. What was crazy as fuck was he had ordered a beer for himself and one of those frilly girly drinks for her, and he never did shit like that. He waited for Zarry, a weasel shifter and the current bartender for the night, to fill his order. He took those precious minutes to just stare at her, to enjoy the sight of her luminescent skin with a light, almost invisible sprinkling of freckles along the bridge of her nose, her lush, light pink lips, and the all-around natural beauty she exuded. Something clicked into place the longer he stared at her, a realization that put everything else on the backburner in his mind. What if this attraction he had for Talia, this connection that was like a rope pulling him closer and closer to her, meant she was his mate? She bit her lower lip, and the sight of her small white teeth worrying the plump flesh had desire growing higher inside of him, but also had a touch of fear mixing with his desire. He couldn’t handle this if that was what was going on, if he had actually found his mate after thirty-five years on this planet. He wasn’t wired anymore to accept a female for his own again. When he had shit had gone bad, and he didn’t want to have to relive that. His fear could be holding him back from something explosive and mind-blowing, but it was also that fear that protected him from a lot of shit.
Fuck.
“Why don’t you seem worried about what could have just happened?” The fact she was still thinking about a fictitious threat was slightly amusing. Zarry set his order on the counter before him, and Ford picked up her daiquiri and handed it to her. It had a damn pink umbrella and a slice of strawberry sticking out of it, and that sight had him grinning.
He didn’t want to talk about the other males, or what she thought was about to happen. All Ford wanted to talk about was him and her. All he wanted to hear was the melodic sound of her voice as she told him all about herself. God dammit, he was falling incredibly hard and fast for this girl, and he hadn’t even known her for a full fucking day. “Will you sit with me and talk?”
She looked hesitant and glanced at her brother.
Ford looked in that direction as well and saw Luke watching them with narrowed eyes. The protectiveness that came from her brother made him feel a semblance of calm knowing she had someone fierce enough to watch over her. “I swear all I want to do was talk.” He held up both hands in surrender. Look at him, practically begging a female for attention, but then again Talia wasn’t just some female. She was his, at least for tonight. “There is an empty table in the corner. It’s away from everyone and a bit quieter, I’m sure.”
She looked from him to her brother again, then back to him.
“I swear your brother can still see us, and if I try something I’ll give you a free, unrestricted shot at my balls.” That had her smiling, and Ford realized he wanted to see her do that over and over again. It lit up her damn face and warmed his cold, broken heart. He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, or make her feel like she had to go with him, but fuck he wanted to get her alone, even if it was in a secluded corner of a crowded bar.
He didn’t think she’d go, not with the way she kept worrying her bottom lip and glancing at her brother. Hell, he knew indecision as well as the next person, but prayed like hell she’d give him a chance. It had taken ten fucking years to find someone that made him give a damn about something, and hell, this moment right now was so fucking important.
“Okay. Let me just let Luke know.” His once battered heart started to beat wildly at her acceptance. Palms sweaty and anticipation wracking his body, Ford turned to go with her to speak to her brother, but she held up her hand, stopping him. There hadn’t been anything that could stop him or his bear when he wanted something, but Talia, his little fox, could stop him in his tracks and successfully bring him to his knees if she deemed it so. “Just wait here. I don’t want any more testosterone being thrown around.”
She smiled, and although he sure as hell wanted to argue with her, that he didn’t want to leave her side, he knew he would have sounded like some overprotective asshole, and they had just met. If that’s what she wanted then he’d hang back and be a good boy, although all he could think about was her being his good girl. She moved away from him, and his bear paced inside of him to follow her. The damn animal didn’t want her walking away from him anymore than his human side did. Bringing his bottle to his lips and taking a long pull, he watched her talk with her brother, who apparently didn’t like what she was saying by his instant frown and fast moving mouth. She pointed to the corner table where they would sit, but Luke shook his head adamantly. Talia placed her hands on her hips, and it looked like she was giving her brother a tongue lashing, which had Ford grinning. His female was a feisty little thing.
No, quit thinking like that. Having a female for more than one night is bad news, dangerous to both of you. Even if he knew it was a bad idea, he kicked those thoughts in the ass because he wasn’t about to let the first female to awaken him slip through his fingers. Ford watched them closely, and after Talia was finished ripping her brother a new asshole it seemed, he finally nodded. His eyes caught Ford’s, and the cougar shifter narrowed his eyes. Yeah, Ford knew he was watching, and that was fucking fine, but by the end of the night he was taking his girl home and fucking her so thoroughly she couldn’t even think of not staying with him. This might be the very worst idea he had ever had, but it also felt like the best fucking idea.
She came back over to him, and as much as he wanted to place his hand on the small of her back at the very least, he curled his hand around his beer bottle and led her to an empty table. Oh, he wanted his hands on her, wanted to feel her lush curves and roundness, but he would work up to that, make her comfortable with him, and then have his way when she melted from his touches. They sat down, and it was clear she was still uncomfortable. Usually he didn’t have to fight hard for a female, but Talia, with her unusual but gorgeous blue eyes, made him feel like an inexperienced teenager. He actually felt tongue-tied around her, and that would just not do. Shaking off his own nervousness, he braced both forearms on the table and leaned in. He wanted her, and he needed to be the dominant alpha he always had been. There was no time for him to be a pussy.
Chapter Five
“So, Talia Landon, what brings you to Sweet Water?” Ford was so close to her that Talia smelled the intoxicating aroma of his cologne and the beer he was drinking. As strange as it was, the dual scents complemented each other to the point her arousal spiked and she had to clench her thighs together. What was worse was the fact she knew damn well he could smell how wet she was and what he did to her body. Her reaction to him was not something she was used to. Never had she met a man, human or shifter, that had made her feel so … free. All around them there was a plethora of scents, some viler than others, but there nonetheless. The smell of sex somewhere nearby alerted her that there were people out that didn’t care about where they fucked. They were so worked up by each other they just couldn’t wait to be alone and had to relieve that ache. This was one of those times she actually she wished she was more wanton and took what she wanted, and what she wanted was the bear shifter right in front of her.
Licking her lips, she could only think about one thing, and that had nothing to do with her brother’s wedding, or the bitch who would soon be her sister-in-law. Dirty and lewd images of her limbs entwined with Ford’s played through her mind, and her whole body flushed from the sensations coursing through her. His nostrils flared, and s
he knew she wasn’t hiding her reaction to him, or the fact her thoughts were so sexual in nature she was working herself up to the point she hurt with need between her thighs. His eyelids dipped low, and he leaned in another fraction, bringing them only inches away from one another.
“M-My brother is getting married.” A change of subject, something that was bound to make her arousal shrivel to nothing seemed like a perfect plan. His eyes were on her lips as she spoke, and that knowledge had her well thought plan on talking about something so uninteresting that sex wasn’t even a glimmer between them, seem to vanish far too quickly. “There seem to be a lot of weddings going on. At least that’s what the sales clerk at the boutique told me.” A mask crossed Ford’s face, and she wondered what she had said that had made him close off as immediately as he had opened to her.
His jaw clenched, and a muscle under his stubble covered cheek jumped. He leaned back and lifted his bottle to his mouth, downed the rest of his beer, and motioned for the waitress to bring another round. Whatever she had just said had pissed him off, and his whole demeanor was now closed. She should have been happy that her lust had been successfully doused, but now she just felt empty and cold. The awkwardness she had felt initially came back full force, and she contemplated going back to where her brother sat. The longer the silence between them dragged on, the more she just wanted to leave. He wouldn’t look at her, and it was clear he was going through some kind of internal struggle.
“Uh, listen, maybe I should just head back over to my brother’s table.” She went to stand, but he gently placed his hand on top of hers.
“No, please stay. I’m sorry if I got weird just then. It’s just talk of weddings and shit tends to bring the funk on.” He offered her a smile, but it seemed somewhat forced. God, what if he was married, or engaged, or something like that? He must have read her facial expressions and figured out what she was thinking because he chuckled and said, “No, I’m not married, nor was I at one time, and I am not about to get married.”