Hunted Mate

by Cecilia Lane

  “And that was after… You’ve kept it all this time?”

  “There was no one else for me, sweetheart. It was always going to be you or the life as a permanent bachelor.” He wagged his eyebrows. “You still haven’t said yes.”

  She sprang for him and tumbled him back against the floor with a laugh. “Yes. Yes! Nolan, a thousand times, yes.”

  They settled with her straddling him and him watching her from below. He clasped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her close to his chest. “You’re mine, sweetheart. I’m going to mate you and marry you.”

  Then he kissed her.

  Nolan tried to stay sweet and slow, but Becca was having none of it. There was a ring on her finger and a mate mark to be placed on her shoulder. She wanted raw and rough passion from her mate. The sweet and slow lovemaking could come once they were exhausted, somewhere on day three of the celebrations. She’d skin anyone who tried to disturb them before then.

  She grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked until the cloth ripped in her hands. She sat up and rolled her hips against the hard length pressing against her. Starting at his navel, she traced the lines of his muscles and followed with long licks.

  Her slow exploration ended at the still fresh mark on his skin. She’d done that and felt zero regrets. Their lives were a mess of complications and sorrow. For so long, she thought that made them failures. They weren’t able to overcome the chasm that grew between them and she believed it was proof they weren’t meant to be together. In reality, it just meant they were young and stupid and needed to grow up. Their bond didn’t simply exist. They had to tend it and work together. Nothing worth having was handed out for free.

  He’d proved he had her back. He was the man she needed. He’d followed her into hell just to keep her safe. She had to put in her own work and stop pushing him away.

  Becca leaned into her mate and bit down on his shoulder, right where she placed the claiming mark.

  Nolan inhaled deeply and that rattling growl that sounded so much like a purr filled her ears. She loved that noise. Loved that it left her melting in the middle. It was a sure sign that her bear was losing control.

  The hand on her hip urged her to move, to rock against him. As if there was any other option. Every bump collided with her clit and pulled a groan from her chest. She needed this. Needed him. She’d already put her marking bite on him. Now they would claim each other’s bodies.

  Nolan captured her lips again. His tongue plunged between her lips, tangling with hers. They melted into one another. Tasting. Taking. Giving.

  “Skin,” she breathed when he released her. “Need to feel your skin.”

  She started to pull up the hem of the shirt, but his hands stopped her. He yanked at the collar, the same as she, and ripped the shirt right down the middle.

  There was no containing him. Becca purred when he sat up and locked his hands on her hips. She was going nowhere. Not that she wanted to. He kissed her deeply again, then nibbled across her jaw.

  His demanding kisses continued down her neck and over her collarbone. Her breath hitched when his hands released her hips and slid up her ribs to cup her breasts. His rough palms felt so good on her skin, and even better when his thumb swiped over a hard nipple the same moment his mouth closed over the other. He sucked and teased each one into a tight point until she panted hard.

  Only when she thought she’d go mad from wanting more did he wrap his arms around her and easily stand. Two steps to the bed and she was the one on her back.

  Nolan’s glowing green eyes raked down her body and zeroed in on the sweats she wore. Too big, too baggy, and not at all sexy, she felt like a gorgeous model in the finest lingerie when he looked at her with a hungry gaze.

  “You smell so fucking good, sweetheart,” he said. A wicked smirk pulled at his lips and his dimple flashed at her.

  “What are you going to do about...” The words died on Becca’s tongue.

  Nolan knelt between her legs, ripped the borrowed pants away from her body, and buried his mouth against her wet heat. His purring growl vibrated against her as he licked a solid line up her slit, then closed his lips around her clit.

  Her hips bucked hard against him and she nearly jerked upright. His arm wrapped around her middle to hold her still and keep her at his mercy.

  And what treatment it was. His tongue lashed against her. She’d succeeded in bringing out the beast in him and he was in full control. He licked and sucked and finger-fucked whimpers and moans out of her. There was no teasing, only a firm demand that her body submit to him. His vibrating growls and groans were all she needed to know just how much he enjoyed bringing her to pleasure.

  His fingers plunged in and out of her channel until she rocked on the edge of release. Then he curled his invasion and brushed hard against her sensitive spot. Becca’s eyes snapped shut, and she rode wave after wave of pleasure, simply feeling and enjoying every sensation brought on by her mate’s desire.

  He moved fast. One second she was deep in bliss, and then he was on her. His hard cock settled between her folds just as she forced her eyes back open. Green, impossible bright green, stared back at her with emotion so intense it stole away her breath.

  He was hers and she was his. They belonged together.

  “Nolan,” she whimpered and reached for him.

  Nolan brought his mouth to hers and thrust into her fully. Her body stretched and parted for him like they were a perfect fit. He held himself back, giving her a second to adjust. His arms shook with the control it demanded of him.

  Fuck that. Becca rose up on her elbows and bit his lip.

  Nolan snarled. He pulled his hips back and slammed his length into her.

  “Yes,” she groaned. She snaked her legs around his hips and met his stroke.

  His need was as intense as her own. She could feel it radiating from him. His noises of enjoyment and pleasure were deep and thick with the power of his inner beast. She’d claimed him in a technical way. Fangs plus skin. But the deeper sense, the feeling of their bodies and souls coming together, that could only be done when they got down and dirty.

  Nolan thrust hard into her again, seating himself fully inside her. Fuck yeah, he was down for getting dirty.

  Becca threw back her head with a cry as Nolan slammed into her mercilessly. The bed shook. The feet of the frame scraped against the floor with every thrust. She’d be surprised if it survived the night.

  “Close,” she panted.

  His thrusts turned shorter, harder. Faster. The angle caught her clit between their bodies and her pleasure fought for another release. She trembled and writhed under him, stomach hollowing with each breath.

  “Mine,” Nolan growled and buried his fangs in the crook of her neck.

  Light burst behind her eyelids. All of her muscles tightened at once. Nolan drove on with his brutal pace that was spiraling her into utter madness.

  “Mine,” she hissed through the pleasure. “All mine.”

  Her lips found his neck, the opposite of where she laid her claim before. Her gums ached as her fox shoved forward. There was no other place for her, with his fangs buried in her shoulder. She struck hard as pleasure rode through her and landed another bite.

  Again, her body arched and tensed. Nolan’s strong arms held her steady and close. She clamped down on his cock and milked his own growling release.

  She didn’t know how long they stayed locked together. Even once they drew back on their inner animals and stashed away sharp fangs, they stayed tightly tangled in each other.

  Becca couldn’t bring herself to release her mate. Her body felt too perfect, too raw, that any movement would shatter her bliss.

  “I love you,” he murmured against her skin.

  She’d been so wrong to leave before. Too wrapped up in her own grief to see him mourning too. Too full of teenage pride and a wrongheaded surety of how the world was supposed to be. She’d lost ten years with him because of it.

  “I love y
ou, too,” she answered just as softly.

  She kissed the second mark on his skin and smiled at the shudder it drew out of him. His cock hardened inside her. A soft groan rose in her chest.

  They had a lot of time to make up.

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later

  For the second time in her life, Becca stared at a pile of pregnancy tests scattered over the counter. Every single one of them read out as positive. Plus signs, happy baby faces, double lines; none of them ambiguous with what they predicted.

  She was pregnant.

  Explained a whole fucking lot about why her fox was unwilling to shift or send her any feelings or images over the last week. She could feel the beast in her head, so she hadn’t lost her shifting ability entirely. But that part of her was dulled and muted, like the little ball of fluff was watching from a distance.

  Becca stuffed a hand in her mouth and stifled back a cry. Happiness or fear, she wasn’t sure which.

  It’d been the same the first time. Maybe a little more fear than joy. Okay, a lot more fear. She’d been seventeen and still had a year left in high school. A much scarier time than having a mate mark on her shoulder, a new, steady job she didn’t hate, and a growing sense of contentment with her life.

  Everything went well, until it didn’t. She’d been home, happily chowing down on some ice cream and thanking her lucky stars that fried pickles never entered the craving picture, when a sudden, blinding cramp stole away her ability to do more than whimper. That night turned her into a raving lunatic and gave her a healthy distrust of all things doctor.

  She’d been so panicked and in denial that she was losing her baby, her little girl, that she tried to get out of the bed. Nolan hadn’t been at her side or answered his phone when her mother called. At work, she later learned. Working to save for her and their child, she learned even later. Her vitals dropped to dangerous levels and her refusal to accept treatment forced the doctor to use silver to keep her in bed.

  Becca shuddered at the memory. There should be a rule about confronting more than one massive, personal roadblock in a year. She’d battered her way through hunters. Now she needed to gear up for battle with a doctor.

  Maybe she could convince Rylee to go back to school real quick and learn all about delivering babies.

  A hysterical giggle pushed its way past Becca’s lips. She was just delaying the oncoming train of worry from unloading the what-ifs to the forefront of her mind.

  What if she wouldn’t be a good mother?

  What if Nolan didn’t want a kid so soon?

  What if she lost the baby again?

  Sounds of a truck driving over gravel reached her ears too late. She registered the noise only seconds before the truck door slammed shut and booted feet stomped up the front steps.

  Thanks, fox.

  There was no reply. Her head felt entirely too empty without the constant chiding from her inner animal. Becca pressed her hands to her stomach. There was no more swell than what she’d eaten for lunch. Prepping herself for a battery of tests with treats.

  Her fox might be gone, but she was harboring something equally important.

  The front door squeaked as it swung open and Nolan called out into their home. “Becks?”

  She swiped all the tests off the counter and into a plastic bag, which she then stuffed into the trash can.

  She whipped the bathroom door open just as Nolan raised a hand to knock. He looked past her with suspicion. “Everything okay?”

  “Fine. Just fine,” she said lightly. She hoped he let it slide as just being amazed by his handsomeness.

  She flicked her eyes down his frame. It wasn’t exactly a lie. He still wore his firehouse uniform. No fires today, thankfully. But he’d spent some time in the gym before he left for home.

  His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. “What are you hiding?”

  “Rude. Can’t a girl have some secrets? What if I was planning a special Christmas surprise for you? Do you always have to ruin everything?”

  Yep, she was babbling enough to give Rylee a run for her money. But dammit, it just wasn’t fair that Nolan got to keep all his extra senses and she had zero time to fully process what had changed between them.

  Nolan crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe. Dammit. No escape.

  “I, uhm… Have something I want to tell you?”

  He arched his eyebrows. He even made that look hot.

  Obviously her hormones were already acting up.

  Silence stretched between them. Every second she didn’t say something ridiculous or truthful was another nail in her coffin. He knew something was eating at her. It’d take only a quick glance in the trash can to know. Did she really want the father of her child to find out by digging through the garbage?

  “I’m pregnant,” she blurted out.

  She watched emotion play out over his features. Had she looked the same? She could nearly tick off the degrees of shock, worry, surprise, and then finally, elation.

  “You’re pregnant?” he asked, almost too quiet for her to hear.

  Unable to find her voice, she nodded.

  His arms wrapped around her middle and lifted her into the air. She didn’t think she’d ever seen his dimple so deep or his smile so wide. “You’re pregnant!”

  His utter joy brushed her fears to the side. Of course he wanted a child. They’d tried for this. And while their child probably wouldn’t win any awards for etiquette, the very best and creative curses would make the kindergarten teacher blush hot enough to outshine the sun.

  “You’re not upset?”

  “Upset? Why would I be upset?” His brows shot together and his smile disappeared. “Becks, I’ve wanted this since the first time. You’re my mate. You’re the mother of my child. I don’t want a family with anyone else.”

  She kissed him, then. How could she hold back? He was utterly perfect.

  It was later, after he distracted her with her two favorite things—sex and food—that the worries returned. He stayed naked, which was her concession for being treated like an invalid and served dinner in bed. It also made it much easier to slip into happy, full-bellied cuddles once the plates were taken away.

  Becca tried to ignore the irritating, intrusive thoughts. She ducked further into the comforter and shifted and wiggled until she gave up. She sighed and gave up on keeping quiet. “Nolan…”

  He hugged her closer. “It’ll be okay.”

  “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

  He rolled over and caged her in his arms. “You smell like worry and I know you’re thinking of what happened before because I’ve been thinking it, too. No matter what, sweetheart, we’re together.” He kissed down her body and laid his head against her stomach. “If something happens, we try again. Or we adopt or use a surrogate. Or we don’t and we’re the cool aunt and uncle to the rest of the clan’s misfits.” He found her hand and twined his fingers with hers. “We’re together, no matter what.”

  “No matter what.” His confidence was enough to brush aside her bodily worry and let the threat of sisterly disappointment enter. She jerked upright. “Oh my god, I need to tell Faith!”

  Nolan laughed and pulled her back down against him. “Tomorrow, Becks. You’re mine tonight.”

  “It’s a monstrosity. Indecent. It’s going to ruin this town,” Tommy muttered darkly.

  “C’est des conneries!” Pierre swore.

  Faith pat the man on the shoulder. “I don’t know how she thought this would be a good idea.”

  Becca plowed through the group with a cheery smile, then turned on her heel and framed the sign with her hands. “Everyone has seen the new restaurant announcement?”

  She’d been working for months to breathe new life into Bearden. It was Rylee’s fault. Her demand for ideas to pass along to all her scientists had planted an idea. If she could push together the proper people, then Bearden could offer a ton of new services to the flow of tourists t
hat seemed to grow every day. She looked at the potential like an early gold rush settler taking advantage of an open landscape.

  So she put together lists of places to see and experiences to have. The lists were just the beginning. Suggested trail rides and ranch adventures turned into recommended stays at a Muriel’s upgraded and luxurious bed and breakfast or rough cabins high in the mountains. But the guests weren’t happy with just that. They wanted to know where to eat and drink, so she created full guides to the town. And for the established Bearden residents, she had an ear to the ground for new job placements or services that needed to be filled.

  She felt like a damn puppet master. What had started as breaking up a drunken fight turned into a full-time job. She quit Mug Shot after throwing Kate to the wolves, or fox as it happened to be, and focused on building her own business.

  The biggest change was finding space for a chain Italian restaurant. It filled a spot sorely lacking in the small town’s palate and served to make the tourists a tad more comfortable in an unfamiliar world. She even made sure to keep an entire block between the established Bearden restaurants. She just needed to keep the current foodies happy.

  Her next goal was wresting control of the town fairs and celebrations from the Old Maids. She was ready to battle with the old boars and update all the uniquely Bearden traditions to the new world they’d found themselves in.

  “There will be more than enough business for everyone,” Becca reassured. “Your menus are all entirely different.”

  Tommy and Pierre squawked their objections, then turned on one another. Faith tugged on her sleeve and jerked her chin away from the others. “Can we talk?”

  Becca nodded. It was hard to contain her grin. “I wanted to steal you away, too.”

  Faith snaked their arms together and they started walking up the street toward the diner and coffee shop. They always walked like that as kids. It felt right, being tangled together. They even had their own words and phrases that didn’t need completing to understand. They were so different in their personalities, but they were on the same wavelength.