Just the mention of Marcum was enough to set Quinn’s teeth on edge. Besides just his personal dislike of jackals in general, Marcum cut corners and built unsafe buildings. The man was a disgrace to the building community. Quinn should have suspected something was going on long before the tracks were discovered. The red tape and surprise inspections of this building had been over-the-top since day one.
“Mr. Blackwood—”
Quinn held up his hand when the real inspector tried to speak. He indicated Ryland should continue.
“The inspector,” he pointed to the man at his side, “has been on sick leave for the past six months.”
The inspector nodded eagerly.
“So Marcum took advantage of the opportunity and hired a human to do his dirty work.” Quinn was impressed despite himself. If Marcum had gotten one of his flunkies to take the inspector’s place, all three Blackwood brothers would have known instantly. “Damn Jackals.”
Quinn walked to the edge of the floor, the little man still dangling from his grasp. It was the same place where he’d had the first long drink of his mate. A mate he’d had to leave in order to deal with this piece of scum. Claws sprung from his fingers and he knew his face was distorting. “Did Marcum hire you?”
The man tore at the hand encircling his throat. “Please, don’t kill me.”
Quinn shook him. “I won’t if you tell me what you know.” He turned his head away as the smell of urine permeated the air. The man had pissed on himself. He couldn’t blame the human. Quinn was one angry assed bear. “Tell me!”
“Yes, yes, it was, Marcum. He wants to run you out of business.”
“Not fucking likely.”
“Quinn, you might want to put him down now. The police are on their way.” The voice belonged Ryker. In the distance, he could hear the sirens. The twins must have phoned the police before they brought in the real inspector.
“Call the Council so they can go get Marcum. If they don’t, go get him yourself.” The wolf wasn’t getting another opportunity to shut Marcum down. He turned and dropped the man onto the concrete floor. “Deal with this piece of shit.”
An hour later he was pacing inside the small construction office waiting for news of Marcum. He threw a stapler across the room. With his shifter strength behind it, it tore through the trailer’s aluminum siding with ease. At least he didn’t have to worry about hitting someone on the outside. Marcum had effectively shut down Blackwood Construction. No one was on site except him and his Dad. With the discovery of the impostor inspection, the real inspector had pulled the permits and shut Blackwood Construction down until everything could be re-inspected. Quinn had sent his crew home, promising them a paycheck until everything was clear. He wasn’t going to punish his men for something beyond their control. Hell, it was beyond his control. His brothers were on the hunt for Marcum. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the slimy son-of-a-bitch. Not only for the trouble he’d caused on the site, but for the setbacks he’d caused in Quinn’s relationship with Paige.
“Okay, son, tell me what’s wrong.”
Quinn gave his father an angry glare then immediately regretted it. It wasn’t his father’s fault everything had landed on his shoulders at once. “Paige doesn’t believe she’s my mate.”
“I take it you told her then.”
“Yeah, this morning.”
His father’s face was solemn. “When this morning?”
Quinn hadn’t blushed in a very long time, not since the time his other sister Molly had run to their mother complaining he’d locked himself in the bathroom and wouldn’t let her in. His mother, never one for drama, had simply crushed the doorknob and broken the lock. He’d been twelve years old and just discovering girls. That night his father had had the talk with him. “After.”
One of his father’s dark brows rose. “After breakfast?”
“You know damn well when,” Quinn muttered.
His father laughed. “Did you mark her?”
“Yeah. Twice.”
“And was this, um, the first time you—”
“Yeah, Dad.”
“And how long have you known her?”
“What the hell has that got to do with anything,” he grumbled.
“Humor me.”
“A week. I’ve known her a week.”
“Mmm.”
“Dad!” He was really reaching the end of his patience with everything and everyone.
“Well, you know there is a lot of misinformation out there about shifters even now.”
“And?”
“I once had a friend who mated with a human. She didn’t believe in true mates either. It took him some time to convince her.”
“Why, why didn’t she believe him?”
“It seemed she didn’t believe she could possibly be his true mate because he hadn’t thrown her down the first time he saw her and fucked her.”
His father’s crude announcement left him speechless for a moment. “It’s the twenty-first century, Dad, we aren’t controlled by our animals.”
“What do you think a female shifter would have done if you’d found her and not carried her off to your bed as soon as you caught her scent?”
“Well, damn.”
“Exactly.”
If a male shifter didn’t immediately acknowledge the mating heat, the female shifter would be pissed as hell and probably knock the male on his ass, for being such an ass.
“Did you feel that pull with Paige?”
Quinn spun around, fire in his eyes. “Are you doubting my claim that Paige is my true mate?”
His father didn’t respond to his anger. “No, but mating a human female is different.” He paused for a moment. “What do you think would have happened if you had carried Paige off that first night?”
The reality of his situation hit him hard. He sat down with a thud. “I’d be right where I am now. She still wouldn’t have believed I was her true mate. She would have thought I’d just wanted a one-night stand.”
“Yep.” His father just smiled. “And what do you think she wants you to do?”
“Toss her over my shoulder?”
“Yep.” Another annoying grin from his parent.
“I’m fucked.”
“Yep.”
“So what do I do?”
“Your bear will do what’s right. When the time is right.”
Quinn wasn’t so certain. His bear had been after him to carry Paige off since day one. And he, the man, had dismissed the animal, wanting to give Paige time. Wanting to make her feel cherished and loved. Had he waited too long? And why the hell were women so damn confusing?
The annoying ringtone from Jungle Book that Ryland had programmed on his phone sounded from his desk. A two year old was more mature than his brother sometimes. He pitied the woman his brother finally mated. She’d have to possess the patience of a saint to put up with his shenanigans. Ryker’s would have to have a will of steel to stand up to him. Quinn considered himself a very dominant man, but Ryker was off the charts.
Two year olds, mates. Quinn’s mind turned to Paige, a subject that hadn’t been far from his thoughts in days. He wanted her, right now, right this very minute. In his arms. He wanted her bent over the desk with his cock buried so deep inside he touched her womb. A womb he wanted filled with his child. As usual, any thought of Paige made his cock swell with desire.
He picked up his phone. “What?” He wasn’t sure he could take any more bad news at the moment. As it was, he was stuck on site waiting for the inspector to file his report. Everything, and he meant everything, that had been approved during the last month had to be reapproved. That meant ripping up concrete on the top floors and ripping out plumbing on some of the bottom levels.
“Ryker found something.” His brother didn’t have to say anything else. Quinn stripped and shifted. One way or the other he was going to put a stop to this. So he could go claim his mate.
Pa
ige’s presentation went better than she’d expected considering her mind was full of questions. Why had Quinn insisted on calling her his mate? She knew it wasn’t true. If they had been mates, she would have been in his bed that very first night. Was he already regretting getting involved with her? She’d known it wouldn’t last, but she’d thought she’d have longer with him.
Deb waved to her as she passed her cubicle. All the engineers were located on the same floor. It was the company’s way of promoting creativity. Paige personally thought it was their cheap ass way of not renting a building with real offices and real walls.
She sat down in her chair gratefully, even if she flinched from the contact. It was a pleasant flinch, though, she thought, smiling. It reminded her of the time she’d had with Quinn last night. Quickly putting away the items she had used during her presentation, she logged into her email. At the very top of her inbox was a message from Quinn. She frowned. Had she given him her email? She didn’t think so. Then she remembered all the company’s emails were the same. First name dot last name. It wouldn’t have been hard for Quinn to have discovered hers. With her heart pounding, she opened it.
Lunch again at construction site? Don’t say no. Met me at noon. Top floor.
Paige’s body got all tingly when she remembered what they’d done last time. Humming softly to herself, she finished answering her emails. For the first time today, she could concentrate on her work.
It was raining hard by the time Paige reached the construction site a little before noon. Parking her car, she got out, opening a large umbrella. She didn’t want to look like a drowned rat when she saw Quinn. Running her free hand down the side of her linen dress pants, she smoothed the wrinkles. She’d dressed for the presentation this morning, not an afternoon delight rendezvous.
As she walked to the elevator, she was surprised by the lack of activity. The last time she’d been here the air had rung with the sound of jackhammers and heavy machinery. Now it was silent, almost too silent. She was nervous as hell. She hadn’t had time to talk to Deb and ask questions. What did being mates mean? Was it the same as true mates? She didn’t think so. Both he and Deb had been casually mentioning mates and mating since the blind date. No doubt, he was trying to find a nice way to tell her he’d like to have a relationship, but when his mate appeared, he’d be out of there like a bat out of hell, something Paige already knew.
Her happiness at meeting Quinn for lunch faded the closer she got to the elevator. Maybe he was just going to tell her now, get it over with before he invested too much time in her. If she wasn’t agreeable to a non-committed relationship he could walk away sooner rather than later. Relationship was a stretch, a non-committed booty call, maybe.
She pushed the metal door up as she’d seen Quinn do. Closing the door was more difficult than opening it, but she got it closed. Stabbing at the big red button that would take her to the top, she shook off the umbrella. After folding it up, she leaned it against the side. As the elevator rose, the umbrella tumbled through a gap in the floor she’d hadn’t seen. She watched as it fell to the ground, a bright splash of red on a dark, dreary day.
Ryker had indeed found something. This time not just tracks, but shifters. The damn woods behind the construction site was crawling with jackals. Two or three dozen. What was Marcum hoping to accomplish? A blitz attack against the Blackwood brothers now that the site was shut down? If he thought a couple of dozen jackals were a match for three pissed-off grizzlies, the man was delusional. With the Council on their way to Atlanta, there was no way the man would get away now. Large drops of water fell on Quinn’s bear as the rain started to pour down. The bear roared and the man cursed. It was turning into a totally fucking bad day. A moment later, the animal lunged forward and two other big bears fell in behind him without question. The jackals were going down.
The top floor of the building was empty when Paige stepped off the elevator. Even in the rain, the view was fantastic. She wondered if, when the building was complete, the occupants would appreciate the beauty right outside their windows, or would they be so caught up in their day-to-day activities that they would forget to look up and see the beauty all around them? She moved closer to the edge of the floor, remembering Quinn’s anger when she’d gotten too close.
“Well, well, well, who do we have here?”
Paige jumped, startled by the voice coming from behind her. “Oh, you scared me.” She put a hand to her chest, trying to still her fast beating heart. The man moved toward her and Paige got an incredible urge to run away as fast as she could. “Who are you?”
“I’m, shall we say, a business associate of your, um? Exactly what are you to Quinn Blackwood?”
Something, some instinct, warned her not to tell this man the truth. “I’m just delivering some papers to Mr. Blackwood.”
He came closer and Paige had nowhere to retreat. Behind her was the edge of the floor. She stepped to the side, trying to get closer to the large iron girder that was to her left.
“Oh, I think not, sweet cheeks. See, I’ve had Quinn followed for the last several months. I believe you recently went out on a date with him, didn’t you? A blind date?”
Paige kept her mouth closed tight. Was this the man who had been causing so many problems for Quinn? And what did he want with her? Because he did want something, she saw it in the dark, evil depths of his eyes. The elevator dinged behind them. Before she could do anything, he moved with a swiftness she could only assume meant he was a shifter. Within seconds he’d twisted one of her arms behind her back and was holding her against his body with an iron arm clamped around her neck.
Paige’s shouldn’t have been surprised when a large bear lumbered out of the elevator. She was surprised the metal cage hadn’t buckled beneath the animal’s massive weight. It was Quinn. The man holding her fumbled for something under this jacket and pulled out a gun.
“No,” Paige whispered. Quinn was big and damn scary looking, but he was no match for a gun, shifter or not. Her mind whirled with ways she could save him.
“That’s far enough,” the man holding her ordered the bear to stop. Quinn did, but not before letting loose a roar that filled the air. She felt the man behind her tremble.
The bear sat down and stared at the man. The animal’s eyes were a dark gold with a small ring of red around the iris. The bear wasn’t happy. At all. Her breath caught as the bear disappeared and one very pissed off Quinn appeared in its place.
“Let her go, Marcum.”
She licked her lips as he stood there in all his masculine, male glory. How inappropriate, she thought to herself, seconds before he gave her a sexy wink as if knowing she couldn’t control her reaction to him. And to reassure her, she hoped, that everything was going to be okay.
“Not likely. Not until you agree not to come after me.”
Quinn threw back his head and laughed, completely oblivious to his nakedness. “You burnt that boat the moment you put your hands on my woman.”
“Quinn,” Paige whispered.
Marcum’s arm flexed around her throat, choking her. She whimpered and used both hands to try and break his grip. He was too strong.
Quinn growled and stepped forward.
“Hush, bitch.” Marcum not only tightened his hold, he took a step backward, closer to the edge.
Paige didn’t know if a shifter could survive a ten-story fall, but she sure as hell knew she couldn’t. Her fear left her to be replaced by anger. There was no way in hell she was going down without a fight. She’d just found Quinn.
She’d been so engrossed in the play between Marcum and Quinn she hadn’t realized the elevator had left only to return with Ryland and Ryker. Both men exited and walked swiftly to Quinn’s side. “Here, bro.” Ryland handed Quinn a pair of jeans and he quickly dressed.
She didn’t need to be a shifter to smell the fear rolling off the man behind her. Who wouldn’t be scared looking into the faces of three bear shifters? One of which loo
ked like he was just waiting to tear you limb from limb?
“This is the last time I’m telling you, Marcum. Let her go.” Quinn took one step, then another. When Marcum backed up again he stopped. “It’s over. We caught your pack and the Council is on its way.”
Quinn didn’t like the look of panic that crossed Marcum’s face. From the subtle movement of his brothers, he realized they had seen it as well. The look of a desperate man.
“Let her go and I just might let you live.” He knew the Council would show the man no mercy, especially now that he’d threatened Quinn’s mate. He hadn’t bonded with her yet, but she did carry his scent and bore his mark. He could kick himself six ways to Sunday because he hadn’t known someone had been following him. Following her.
“We both know better than that, Blackwood. Hart will send his dogs and take me down.” In a swift move, Marcum released his chokehold and grabbed Paige with one hand. Sharp claws appeared at the tips of his figures and he dug one into the side of her throat.
She gasped at the pressure and Quinn snarled as he watched a trickle of blood run down the side of Paige’s neck. At the moment, he felt more wolf than bear. “You just signed your fucking death warrant you son-of-a-bitch.”
He was about to lunge forward and just fucking pull Paige from his arms, when the bastard raised his hand and placed the barrel of a gun against Paige’s temple. “One step closer and your mate dies.”
Paige’s eyes pleaded with Quinn to be careful. There was no fear, no doubt that he would indeed get her out of this mess. Then her eyes changed and she looked as if she was begging for his forgiveness. Before he could stop her she let her body go limp and become a dead weight in Marcum’s arm. It was the opening he needed to lunge hard and fast. He vowed to put his mate over his knee when this was over. The move forced the bastard’s attention away from Quinn and he struck. He felt Ryland move around him and grab Paige by the arm, yanking her to safety. Ryker charged from the other side. It wasn’t necessary, Quinn had his hand around Marcum’s throat and was on the verge of snapping the jackal’s neck when he heard Paige’s voice.
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