by Paige Tyler
“Stay here,” he told Joanne, then turned and raced across the living room, praying he wasn’t too late to help Chase.
He dived out the window, tucking and rolling as his shoulders crunched through the broken glass littering the porch outside. He came up with his weapon ready just in time to see the feline shifter lean over the deputy, one of his clawed hands cocked back, ready to rip Chase’s throat out.
Tate didn’t have time to aim. He simply pulled the trigger, letting instinct guide him as he emptied his magazine at the shifter. He must have hit something, because the shifter staggered back a step and shot him a green-eyed look of pure rage.
For a second, it looked like the shifter was going to charge him before he could reload, but then Chase rolled over on the grassy lawn and grabbed his weapon, lying a few feet away. That was enough to convince the shifter it was time to go. With a growl of frustration, the man turned and darted for the main road. Chase tried to get a shot off at him, but the shifter was too fast. He disappeared into the darkness like a ghost. A few seconds later, there was a roar as the two SUVs tore off down the driveway and melted away into the night, one of them slowing only long enough to pick up the feline shifter. Tate reloaded in time to get a few rounds off in their direction. He didn’t hit anything, but it made him feel better regardless.
Jaw tight, he shoved his gun back in the holster under his coat and walked over to Chase. “You going to live?”
The front of the deputy’s uniform was shredded, but Tate didn’t see any blood. That was only because the deputy had been wearing a bulletproof vest. Thank God, or he would have been screwed.
From where he still sat on the ground, Chase nodded. “Joanne Ward okay?”
“She’s a little bruised and probably going to be sore as hell tomorrow, but she’s alive,” Tate said.
Chase nodded and reached out a hand for Tate to help him up. As he got to his feet, he glanced down at the tattered remains of his shirt and the Kevlar vest under it. Even in the darkness, it was impossible to miss the four perfectly aligned slash marks.
“Glad to hear that,” Chase said as he fingered the sliced material that had barely protected his chest. “Now that we got the rescuing part out of the way, maybe it’s time you tell me what the hell just happened. I’ve seen a lot of crap in my life, but nothing like that. The guy had frigging claws.”
Sirens echoed in the distance, heading their way.
“Yeah, I guess it is time we have that talk.” Tate glanced at Chase as they walked toward the house. “But before we go there, let me ask you a question. Are you more of a cat person or a dog person?”
* * *
It was well after dark by the time Tanner and Zarina walked into the prepper camp. He expected someone to remark on their absence, but as they moved slowly toward their cabin, no one said anything one way or the other. The few people who were out and about nodded pleasantly in their direction, then went back to what they were doing.
Zarina held his hand tightly in hers, and he could feel the drumming of her pulse against his palm. Not that he needed to feel the rapid thumping of her heartbeat to know she was excited. The scent her body had been putting off during their casual slow stroll through the woods told him everything he needed to know. Her arousal was so obvious, he probably could have smelled it even if he wasn’t a hybrid.
But as intoxicating as Zarina’s scent was, it was the simple, honest conversation they had as they walked that did it for him. For the first time ever, he stopped tiptoeing around the subject and admitted how much he cared about her. And she’d done the same. While the word love hadn’t come up—neither of them seemed ready to go there quite yet—they’d both admitted they needed the other. That was a huge step. At least it was for him. He’d spent a good part of the past three years pushing everyone as far away as possible. He wasn’t sure he knew how to behave any other way around people anymore, especially someone as amazing as Zarina.
In addition to talking about their feelings, they’d also discussed his PTSD and what they might be able to do to get him help. He wasn’t ready to go running into the nearest VA clinic for a group therapy session, but maybe he could handle a one-on-one setting with a psychologist if Zarina was there with him.
It was crazy, but a part of him was almost ready to believe he could get to a point where he didn’t have to fear losing control and hurting the people he cared about the most. He wasn’t so delusional to think it would be easy to get to that place, and he knew it would probably take some time, but simply being able to imagine that day as a real possibility was pretty damn awesome.
Tanner was still lost in those thoughts when he realized they’d reached the cabin he and Zarina had shared the night before. Had it really been one day since they’d left the campsite behind and moved into the prepper cabin together? With all the emotional terrain they’d covered today, it felt like they’d been here weeks.
He turned and gazed down at Zarina, finding her looking up at him with excitement as well as a little hesitation.
“Hey.” He reached out to tip her chin up, marveling at how her perfect, plump lips looked oh-so-kissable. “We don’t have to jump into anything if you’d rather wait. We’re not in any rush.”
Zarina smiled and closed the distance between them until she was so close, he could feel the heat pouring off her body through the zipped-down opening of her jacket. “No more waiting. We’ve been putting this moment off for a year and a half. That’s the textbook definition of not jumping into things.”
He waited, checking for any reluctance in her voice or doubt in her eyes, but all he saw now was passion, need, and certainty. That was Zarina. When she knew what she wanted, she went after it and let nothing get in the way.
Even so, a part of him still worried he was making a mistake, that he should keep Zarina at arm’s length for her own good. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want this too, that the urge to pull her into his arms and lose himself in her body and soul was nearly overwhelming.
He reached out and tugged her forward the last few inches until her breasts were pressed tight to his chest, then dipped his head and found her mouth with his. A growl immediately rumbled through his throat as her body melted against his and the delightful taste of her tongue scrambled his senses.
Tanner moved his lips urgently against hers, slipping his tongue in deep and playfully teasing every inch of her mouth as he glided his hands down and over her hips, finding his way to that perfect ass of hers by pure instinct. She whimpered, the sound making his cock tighten in his jeans and his fingertips tingle. He was on the edge of giving in to his hybrid and letting the animal come out to play, and it took everything in him to get a grip on the beast. He wanted Zarina so badly right then, he could barely think.
It wasn’t until she started unbuttoning his flannel shirt that he realized they were damn close to having sex right there on the doorstep of the cabin.
While he wanted Zarina worse than anyone he’d ever been with, he knew they’d end up regretting it if their first time together came complete with an audience. He forced himself to pull away and take a step back.
“Maybe we’d better go inside before we draw a crowd?” he suggested hoarsely.
Zarina blinked, looking dazed. Then she gave him a sheepish smile. “I completely forgot where we were.”
Tanner chuckled and reached around her, pushing the cabin door open. Inside, he moved across the small room and flipped the switch on the small lamp on the bedside table. Since it was being powered by nothing more than the small bank of batteries located behind the main hall and recharged each day by an equally small array of solar cells, the light wasn’t very bright. But it would do.
Zarina had already lowered the piece of wood that barred the door of the cabin from the inside by the time he turned back to her. The sultry look she gave him made his jeans very uncomfortable all of a sudden.
She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body teasingly against him. “Of all the places I imagined making love, a tiny cabin in the middle of the wilderness was definitely not one of them.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “So, you spent a lot of time imagining us making love?”
The look she gave him was hot enough to scorch his skin. “You have no idea.”
He trailed his mouth along the curve of her jaw, then down the soft, perfect skin of her neck. “Actually, I have a really good idea, because I spent a lot of time thinking about it, too. What do you say we see if we can make our fantasies become reality?”
Skimming her coat off her shoulders, he tossed it aside, then undid the buttons on her shirt. As much as he wanted to tear them open, he forced himself to work slowly, revealing her creamy skin a little bit at a time. As he got his first glimpse of the mouthwatering curves of her bra-covered breasts, he had to remind himself he was in control of this, not his inner hybrid. He was going to take his time and enjoy the moment. But when her sexy belly button came into view, he had no choice but to say to hell with that.
With a groan, he dropped to his knees in front of her and buried his face in her taut tummy, kissing, licking, and nipping every square inch of exposed skin, especially that delightful belly button. He’d never realized that particular part of a woman’s body did it for him, but clearly hers did. He was so turned on, he had to fight to keep his fangs from coming out as he traced the outline of her navel with his tongue.
He forced himself to focus on pleasing Zarina, letting his senses tune in to the quivering of her muscles, the rapid beating of her heart, the surge and flow of the pheromones her body was pumping out as he teased her. There was no denying she was enjoying it. Her body was practically singing with excitement. She even buried her hands in his hair, holding him close and silently begging him to continue. Well, she wasn’t all that silent. In fact, she let out a few moans loud enough for anyone walking by outside to hear. But if she didn’t care, he sure as hell didn’t. At this moment, they were the only two people in the world.
As he dipped his tongue in her belly button, he carefully worked open her belt, then popped the top button of her jeans. The scent that hit him then was so intoxicating, it was a battle to stay in control and not give in to the animalistic urge to rip them off her.
He pulled back, taking a second to push his inner beast further down into the recesses of his mind, then slowly popped the remaining buttons of her jeans, kissing each small section of skin that his efforts exposed. When his mouth reached the top edge of her panties—and his human mind was this close to taking a backseat to what his hybrid half wanted—he stood and scooped Zarina into his arms, carrying her over to the cabin’s small bed. It wasn’t the king-sized one he would have preferred, but it would definitely do for now. Then again, at that moment, the cabin’s floor would have worked just as well.
That image in mind, he set her gently down on the bed. Face flushed and lips parted, she propped herself up on her elbows and tracked the movements of his fingers as he unbuttoned his shirt. She looked so damn gorgeous lying there with her shirt hanging open and her jeans undone enough to show off her panties. This was going to be the most incredible night of his life, he could feel it.
Tossing his shirt on the chest at the foot of the bed, he slowly eased himself onto the bed with her. Zarina must have figured out he was being extra careful not to put too much of his weight on her, because she frowned.
“Don’t you dare treat me like I’m made of glass,” she chided. “You aren’t going to hurt me, I promise.”
Before he could say anything one way or the other, she grasped his shoulders, then pulled him down on top of her and kissed the hell out of him. When she spread her legs, he automatically settled between them. His erection was so hard, it hurt, but nothing had ever felt so right in his life. Even when the tips of his fangs slipped out unbidden, he knew this was where he was supposed to be.
He had just reached down between their bodies to unbuckle his belt when he heard shouting somewhere outside, accompanied by the thump of feet hitting the ground fast and hard. He ignored the sounds, telling himself it wasn’t important, that being here with Zarina was the only thing that mattered.
“Tanner!” Spencer called even as he pounded on the door. “We just got a call over the radio from the camp south of Pyramid Mountain. They’re under attack and need our help.”
Shit.
Tanner dragged his mouth away from Zarina’s and lifted his head to find her looking up at him wide-eyed. He hesitated. If there was trouble, the last thing he wanted was to be separated from her.
“Tanner, let’s go!” Spencer said, banging on the door again. “The camp up there is smaller than ours and doesn’t have nearly the kind of firepower we do.”
“Go,” Zarina said softly. “They need you. I’ll be okay here.”
Even though he knew she was right, he still didn’t move. The prepper camp north of them was nearly defenseless. Shit. He rolled off the bed and grabbed his shirt.
“Stay here and bar the door behind me when I leave,” he ordered as he shrugged into it and buttoned it up.
He was at the door in two strides, ready to leave, when the beast inside forced him to turn back and look at Zarina. She was still lying where he’d left her, looking so damn beautiful, the thought of leaving her made his chest ache. But he had to go.
Cursing silently, he crossed the room and dropped to a knee beside the bed, leaning forward to kiss her hard. “I’ll be as fast as I can, but I need to know you’ll be smart and stay safe. Don’t open the door for anyone but me.”
She nodded, her eyes taking on a fierce glint. “You be careful, too. These people were able to grab one hybrid already. Don’t take them lightly.”
He wouldn’t, but it wasn’t his safety he was concerned about. He didn’t care about anything except Zarina.
He kissed her again, then strode over to the door and yanked it open to find Spencer still waiting on the other side, two semiautomatic AR-15s in his hands. The hybrid’s eyes were glowing, and his fangs were extended. The guy was wound up already, and they hadn’t even gotten involved in the fight yet. Tanner was going to have to keep an eye on the man, as well as any other hybrids coming with them. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if the people helping lost control and hurt the people they were supposed to protect.
He and Spencer found Chad at the far end of the camp getting armed men loaded into the backs of three pickup trucks. Chad had already decided that while Malcolm could join Tanner and Spencer on the rescue team, Peter would stay there. That was smart as far as Tanner was concerned. They needed to keep at least one hybrid here for security.
Lillie was beside her father, checking the men as they climbed into the trucks, giving them words of encouragement and making sure they had enough ammo.
“How bad is it?” Tanner asked the older man.
Chad shook his head. “No way of knowing. They called the moment their perimeter guards picked up movement outside the camp. That was at least five minutes ago. You’ll lead the men when you get them there?”
Tanner hated the idea of being responsible for any of these men in a fight, but he knew he couldn’t avoid it. Who the hell else was going to do it if he didn’t?
“I’ll take care of them, but tell them it’s their job to reinforce and defend the camp. Spencer, Malcolm, and I will get there first and worry about dealing with the attackers ourselves.”
Chad frowned. “You aren’t riding in the trucks with the others?”
“No. It’s twelve miles to the Pyramid camp by truck but less than three if we go cross-country. We’ll be much faster on foot,” Tanner said, already envisioning the route he and the other hybrids would need to take as they crossed the four ridges that stood between them and the other encampment. “Make sure your guys know we’ll be ou
t there. I have no desire to get shot by any of them.”
Giving Chad a nod, Tanner took off running, Spencer and Malcolm on his heels. He veered due north the moment they hit the wood line, heading in a nearly straight shot for the other prepper camp. Running full out up one mountainous ridge and straight down into the next valley would have been impossible if he and the others weren’t hybrids. A normal human couldn’t run up a nearly vertical rock outcropping or jump from a twenty-foot height to hit a steep slope. The pace bruised flesh and cracked bone on a hybrid. It would have killed anyone else.
As tree branches slapped his skin hard enough to draw blood, Tanner let his instincts guide him. With his mind free to wander, his thoughts immediately went to Zarina. The image of her lying back on the bed, hungry for his touch, immediately made him get hard all over again. Even with the stress of the moment pumping adrenaline through his body, one thought of her was all it took to excite him.
While he had no doubts about the direction he ran nor about what he’d do when he got to the other camp, when it came to the woman he loved, doubts abounded.
Was it right to leave her there? Was it right to sleep with her in the first place, knowing how dangerous it was to be around him? Was he simply setting them both up for pain and heartbreak later when things went bad and it turned out he would never be whole again? Even though Zarina made him think anything was possible, his life was scattered with dozens of moments when situations had gone bad and people he cared about paid the price.
Tanner determinedly shoved those thoughts from his mind as he got closer to the Pyramid camp. That’s when he realized he’d outrun Spencer and Malcolm while he’d been lost in thoughts of Zarina. They were barely a minute behind him, so that was okay. Actually, he preferred it. This way, he could get there first and figure out what the hell was going on before the other hybrids arrived and complicated the situation.