by M. L. Briers
“And I’m a bear. I know a damn growl when I hear it.” He brought his lips down on hers…
Scarlett felt the soft warm touch of his lips and every inch of her body snapped to attention in shock. She hadn’t seen that coming, but now that it was happening – she tried to centre herself – tried to kill the way that her womb had jolted with excitement, her heart had took to running off on a one hundred metre dash, and her stomach was pitching on a rollercoaster ride of the century…
It didn’t work.
~
~
~
Ethan was off and running. The snow was getting thicker and he knew that would hide him from everyone but the vampire.
He’d heard them talking, and he knew that Connor had gone off with Ash to bring his mate back to clan land. The vampire was out of the picture for the moment, and that meant he had time.
He couldn’t stay there.
He couldn’t see his mate in the flesh one more time.
Her image was burned into his memory and he saw her every time that he closed his eyes. He saw her every time that his mind wandered from what he was doing to keep himself busy.
Like chopping the damn wood.
They should have left him to chop the wood.
He didn’t need to come face to face with her again.
He remembered her sweet, pure scent – he didn’t need to smell it in the air again, enticing him, baying his beast to rise up and claim her as theirs.
He wouldn’t do that to her.
He couldn’t do it to her.
She was sweet and kind and she was everything that she would know that he wasn’t.
He was a burden.
A crazy ass bear shifter who was a danger to everyone. Including and especially mates.
He’d hurt two already. He couldn’t be trusted.
He thought that he was getting it under control – until her – until her scent filled his nose and his eyes drank her in.
His feet pounded into the snow and ice.
His arms pumped the air as he ran blindly into the night.
If they were bringing back his mate to tempt him then he needed to leave, because he was not strong enough to fight it.
He wanted her.
He wanted her with every fibre of his being.
His bear wanted her.
Mine.
He needed to fight the bear one more time. Never allow it to claim her.
He ran without a clue to where he was going. Without a plan in his mind.
He had to get away.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
~
“Now you back off.” Scarlett slapped her palms against the hard muscles of his chest, and pushed. She couldn’t entirely say that she was unimpressed by those muscles – in fact, she could even have squeezed, just a little, and his tats, she had the distinct urge to trace them all the way down his body with her tongue…
That was not good.
Ash pulled back from her with the biggest grin that she had ever seen. His eyes were dark, but they were shining with amusement. Boy, did he look pleased with himself, and that irked her even more than her body and mind’s deliberate attempt to throw her under the mating bus.
“I’ve got you right where I want you my little Scarlett witch…” Ash positively beamed and she had to bite down on the urge to head butt him again. She could still feel the little lump from the one that she’d given him earlier.
“Look, Furby – enough is enough, and this is more than enough.” She huffed, still trying to push him upwards, but it was like pushing a damn boulder uphill and on slippery ground.
That sucker wasn’t going anywhere, and if she slipped up, she’d end up getting squished beneath him.
No head butt, no groin attack, no zapping, and no anything helpful that could possibly free her. She was stuck until he decided the game was over.
“If you let me sleep naked then I’ll let you up.” Ash kind of hoped that she didn’t agree. He more than liked having her beneath him like that.
She was soft. Soft in the right places and sexy, as sexy as hell, and he wouldn’t mind spending a night or two in hell getting to know her better, a lot better.
“Fine.” She bit out and Ash groaned deep inside. He kind of hoped she’d last out just a little bit longer – got all superior about being blackmailed or something.
A heartbeat later and he was pushing up and away from her. Planting his feet on either side of her body; he didn’t give her the choice or offer her his hand, he just reached down and plucked her right off the floorboards, setting her on her feet in front of him.
His hands slid down from under her arms to her hips, and Scarlet felt the heat burning right through her clothes.
“Touching!” She offered in a sing song voice.
“Liking.” Ash grinned back, and watched the deep frown touch her brow and then draw it right down over her eyes. “Fine.” He pulled his hands back to his naked chest in surrender and she liked that she got the opportunity to stare at his muscles more, using those hands as an excuse.
Then she shooed him backwards. Ash rolled his eyes in his head but took a long step back. That was when she started for the door to the cabin, and it was Ash’s turn to frown…
“What the…?” Was all that he got out before she yanked open the door and inwardly regretted the cold blast of frosty air that whooshed in to meet her… she shivered, but she had a reason for it, and she wasn’t about to slam the door closed on that reason…
Scarlett motioned for him to leave.
Ash planted his bare feet and folded those thick arms across his naked chest. He twisted his head a little and regarded her as if she’d just escaped from an asylum.
“Off you go then.” Scarlett urged. She’d noted his stand and she noted that he wasn’t about to just leave.
“And why would I do that?” Ash gave a small chuckle.
“You wanted to sleep naked. I agreed. We never agreed on where.” Scarlett announced and Ash’s smile dropped.
“That’s cheating.” He shook his head.
“That’s life.” Scarlett offered back.
“I’m not sleeping out there.” Ash declared, dropping his arms and preparing to go another few rounds with her. But when she tossed the door closed – he was more than surprised.
“Then you’re not taking those jeans off.” Her eyes snapped down and right to the hard ridge at his groin…
The damn thing was like a black hole to her mind and her eyes, sucking her in… She wouldn’t mind sucking…
“That’s not fair. I won…” Ash declared and she scowled back at him.
“Won? When was it a competition?” She asked.
“Well, it wasn’t exactly a…” Ash started and she snorted.
“So, you didn’t win anything then.” Scarlett shrugged her shoulders again and made for the bed.
Given the cold chill in the air she’d much rather be pressed up against his body again – sexy shifter radiator that he was – but given that she didn’t much feel like letting fate dictate her life, being huddled under the covers had to be good enough.
“But that’s just…”
“And if it was a competition then I would have won, because you’re still in the cabin and still wearing your jeans. Point to me.” She practically tossed herself down on the mattress with an internal sigh, but she did manage to give him a smug look.
Ash frowned back at her long and hard. He wasn’t a stupid man – although his bear could be daft at times, but he needed a moment to work that whole – who won and who lost and what – thing out.
Then he lifted his hand on a scowl and pointed an accusing finger at her – she still looked smug.
“Yessss?” She said, her voice more than teasing, it positively deserved a good reply.
Ash dropped his hand and bit down on his annoyance. Then he grumbled and growl, reached for the waistband of his jeans and tore then down his legs…
Scarlett’s mouth popped open, her
eyes widened, and she couldn’t help but drop her eyes to the lower half of his body. Another time and she might have laughed at his antics. Another time and she might have laughed at his jeans pooled around his ankles…
But right then a wave of excitement hit her so hard all that she could do was stare. Her lower jaw might have flapped around a little bit, she couldn’t be sure, because she was looking straight ahead at the thickest, longest cock that she had ever had the pleasure to come so damn close to in her life…
Her mate certainly didn’t need a truncheon.
Her body seemed to be melting in place and she slumped downwards… catching herself in time; she snapped back to attention and fought to drag her gaze away from his length…
“I’ll sleep damn naked if I want to sleep damn naked.” Ash growled out, doing a double take of her reaction to seeing him naked… he grinned inwardly… More than interested, she might even have been drooling a little on her chin.
“And if I want to sleep in the damn bed, hell, I’m gonna sleep in the damn bed.” He put one foot in front of the other, meaning to stalk right over and climb under the covers – when his jeans decided they had given as much as they were going to give and tripped him right over onto his face on the floor…
Scarlett gasped in a breath at the sight of him falling over his own feet, the bewitchment with his charms coming to an abrupt end, although his backside was rather taut… and then she tossed her head back on her neck and literally screamed with laughter.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
~
Ash felt his pride sink lower than a frantic man in quicksand. His bear practically groaned within him.
He slowly raised his eyes to see her sitting there, crying real tears of laughter at his expense. He wanted to growl in annoyance, but he guessed he’d brought that one on himself. She hadn’t done a damn thing, except laugh.
He rolled his eyes on a groan, and to her credit, she did try to tone down the laughter, even if she wasn’t quite able to completely knock it on the head. Ash pushed upwards, his ankles were still trapped within the confines of his jeans and he managed, with a little effort to yank them back up to his hips.
“Now don’t go getting all salty…” She chuckled.
“I suppose you think I deserved that?” He scowled at her.
“The question should be, do you think you deserved that?” She gave a small shrug and watched as a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. She much preferred to see him smile…
“I guess I did.” Ash raised just one eyebrow at her and her grin was wide and pure. It made the tears in her eyes practically sparkle.
“Well, there’s something that we can agree on.” She teased.
“I like it when you smile?”
“Then I guess I should frown more.”
~
~
~
“Landon, what are you doing here?” Gemma frowned into the darkness as her mate nuzzled against her in the bed.
“I wanted to check on you and Gracie before I went back out.”
Gemma might have only been a mate for a few days, but she could hear it in his tone. Worry. She pushed up onto her elbow in the bed and turned her body towards him.
“What’s happened?”
“Ethan got away from us. He’s out there somewhere, and while I think he’s pretty determined to give Gracie a wide berth, you never know what the bear inside is going to do.” Landon grumbled.
The last thing that he wanted to do was to put Ethan down for good. He’d been skirting it for a number of years, and he’d really thought that the man had turned a corner these last few weeks… but now, hell, everything was different.
“Maybe I should come out and help you track-”
“No.” It was a simple and emphatic word and it made her sigh.
“I can be quite useful…”
“Alive.” He finished for her and she squished back down in the bed a little.
“Fine – Mr Bossy Boots.”
“I need you to stay here and protect Gracie, should Ethan come this way.” He lied. There was no way in hell that he wasn’t leaving a couple of the clan around the cabins for protection while he and Connor went tracking the man and his bear.
“I can do that. But I can’t guarantee I’ll be nice should Ethan’s bear come through the door.” Gemma informed him with a look that told him she was deadly serious, with an emphasis on the deadly part.
“Good. Because if the bear’s gone wild – kill first and feel bad later.” Landon growled.
“No problem there.” Gemma assured him.
Landon felt the urge to stay in that warm bed, with his soft mate, and do what mates did until the small hours of the morning. He sighed inwardly and pulled his backside away from her with the briefest of kisses against her cheek – any more than that and he’d more than tempted to leave Ethan to his own devices.
“What am I your mother?” Gemma snorted a chuckle.
“Well, no and that’s the problem, sweetheart. I get some sugar and I’m gonna want the whole bag.” He grinned, still as tempted as hell not to leave her.
“Greedy bear.” She had a wicked look in her eyes that he knew he needed to look away from. She was temptation personified.
“When I get this whole mess sorted out. I’ll show you just how damn addicted to you I am.” Landon pushed up to his feet and kept only half an eye on her – fighting his big and little brain to do what came as second nature to him and love her until she was melted against him in sleep.
She was everything that he’d ever dreamed of and more besides. He was the luckiest damn man alive in his reckoning.
“Promise?” She teased and he grumbled a growl.
“Oh yeah.” Landon grinned – as sexy a damn grin as she’d ever seen on the man, and she wished that she could have gone a lot further into enticing him back to bed – but the clan needed him.
He’d mellowed a lot more in the last couple of days since they’d mated. He’d become Mr Soft around her, and she liked that side of him just as much as she liked his strength.
“Go on then – get going before I tie you to this bed and have my wicked witchy ways with you.” Gemma saw his eyes flare and heard that deep rumble within his chest.
“Guess I should let you have your way with me at some point.” He wiggled those eyebrows at her and his eyes sparkled with a promise of things to come.
Now she really did wish that he didn’t have to leave.
~
~
~
They had something of an easy truce going on between them. With Ash on the sofa and Scarlett in that big old bed that suddenly felt very empty – they laid in the darkness and listened to the sound of each other’s breathing.
The loud thud that shook the front door caught both of them off guard. By the time that Scarlett had pushed up in the bed, Ash was already at the front door – his eyes only briefly flicked towards her, calculating where she was and what it might take to get to her to protect her should the need arise – Ash yanked open the door and the freezing air rushed in at him…
His nose took in the heady scent of blood and fur and his eyes snapped downwards to the man lying in the snow – red trails and drag lines in the white ice crystals showed his path to Ash’s doorstep…
“What the hell?” Ash growled out – eyeing the area as he listened to the weakened sound of the shifter’s heartbeat.
“What is it?” Scarlett went to push the covers back, but Ash growled a warning.
“Don’t move…” He could scent Ethan in the air, and it took him a moment to realise that the scent came from the dying shifter.
‘Big problem. One of Dexter’s pack is dying on my doorstep.’ Ash growled into the link.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
~
‘How is that our problem?’ Landon growled back, but the alpha had already changed direction to head towards Ash’s cabin, the vampire in tow.
‘I can scent Ethan on him.’ Ash said and a str
ing of dark curses came back from the alpha’s brain.
‘Be right there, try to keep him alive until Connor can heal him.’ Landon bit out.
This was a turn of events that he didn’t like one bit. Ethan starting a war with Dexter’s pack wasn’t going to bode well for the clan. They were outnumbered, two packs to one clan, and although Dexter’s pack was small and still finding itself – Justice’s pack was strong.
“Trouble?” Connor asked. He didn’t need to – he could see by Landon’s change in stance and direction, and the deep lines cut into his forehead that things weren’t going to plan.
“Yep.” Landon growled. “With a big damn E.”
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~
“I can help.” Scarlett bit out as she tossed the covers back and started towards the front door.
Ash stepped in front of her, putting his hard body between her and the injured wolf shifter.
“I can help.” Scarlett assured him as she looked up at her mate.
“He isn’t clan, he’s pack, and I don’t know this guy.” Ash said.
“That a reason to let him die?” Scarlett bit back.
“That’s not what I’m saying. I don’t know how he’s going to be around you…”
“Dead, if I don’t help him.” Scarlett snapped back.
Ash didn’t like it. Landon had told him to keep the wolf at the door alive, and yet, he didn’t think the alpha would order him to put his mate in harm’s way.
“Look if he bite’s me, you have my permission to rip his head off.” Scarlett shrugged her shoulders and demanded that he move the hell out of her way just with the fire in her eyes.
Ash bit down on his annoyance. Witches, always meddling, always pushing the boundaries.
It was his job to keep her safe and here she was trying not to let him do that.