Unbearable: Russet Falls Series

by W. H. Vega

“Maybe,” he breathed.

  She kissed him again, and then pulled back again.

  “I’m not sleeping with you.”

  “I’m not asking you to.”

  As long as she was clear.

  She leaned into Zane, settling onto his lap as she slowly kissed him, allowing him to run his hands through her hair and along her bare shoulders. His kiss was soft, yet urgent, and there was a certain sadness to it.

  The intensity began to build, and Gabby felt her nipples harden, as her heart beat erratically. She turned so that she was straddling Zane and he groaned, wrapping his hands around her voluptuous backside, and pulled her even closer to him.

  She felt his erection press into her, turning her on even more. She wrapped her legs tighter around him, feeling reckless as she pushed her tongue hard into his mouth.

  Gabby was the first to admit that she didn’t have much experience with men, but something about Zane made her feel wild and irresponsible. As the kiss deepened, she knotted her fingers in his hair and playfully bit Zane’s lower lip.

  “Fuck,” he growled and she felt him harden even more against her. Things were escalating quickly and before she knew it, Zane was pulling her tank top over her head.

  She wanted to tell him no, but she just couldn’t find the words.

  Or the desire.

  His thick hands moved against her soft stomach, and she was too aroused to be self-conscious. She was a meaty girl, no flat stomach here, yet Zane seemed to revel in her curves as his hands moved across them, hugging at her flesh appreciatively. His hands moved even higher, until he reached her breasts, and Gabby’s breathing hitched as he cupped her with each hand, squeezing through the thin material of her bra.

  “Oh!” she cried, tossing her head back and biting her lip, as she nuzzled his head against her chest, trying to absorb the sheer pleasure of being touched. Zane went to pull her bra down, but she put her hands up.

  “No,” she whispered, “I’m not ready.”

  Zane nodded, pulling her head back down to kiss her. His hands slid down her neck and across her shoulder, igniting the burning desire within her. They slid down her arms and across her belly. He gripped her by her hips and quickly flipped her onto her back, before lowering himself onto her.

  Gabby knew things were escalating, and the sheer fact that Zane was lying on top of her as they kissed was already taking things further than what she knew best. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, their tongues moving against one another. She slid her hands under his shirt, dragging her nails along his back. He groaned loudly, sitting up to his knees and tugging his shirt over his head.

  Oh holy hell!

  Zane was ripped beyond belief.

  Gabby trailed her fingers along his chest and down his stomach, feeling the slight indentation of his muscles. Her breath was coming in small, ragged pants and she knew she was near the point of no return.

  Zane moved his warm mouth to her neck and slowly caressed her jaw line with kisses. He moved lower –

  Her neck.

  Her shoulders.

  Her collarbone.

  “We have to stop,” she forced herself to say, pushing back with her elbows.

  She hardly knew Zane, and yet here they were, half-naked on her couch. Maybe her near-death experiences were also fueling her questionable choices.

  “Why?” he groaned, though he listened and pulled back.

  She grabbed her shirt and pulled it back over her head, before jumping off the couch.

  “I must be out of my mind. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  Zane pulled his shirt back on too, but not before Gabby got one more good look at his stomach and chest.

  Damn. He was so unbelievably sexy. She knew she would dream about him tonight.

  “I really think you need to go,” she said, her own voice filled with lust.

  Zane nodded. “I don’t want you to hate me,” he said.

  It was such a strange thing to say, and Gabby felt like he was referring to something else, but that made no sense.

  “I don’t hate you,” she told him. “I’m just not this girl. And I need to sleep.”

  She walked to the door and pulled it open.

  “Got it,” Zane said, “sleep.”

  He suddenly seemed to have a chip on his shoulder and his quick change in mood bothered her more than it should.

  “I told you that I wasn’t going to sleep with you,” she snapped. “I’m not the kind of girl who just sleeps with guys that has she just met. And if you were coming over here for that then you have grossly misjudged me!”

  “I wasn’t coming over for that,” Zane shot back. “I shouldn’t have come here anyway.” And with that he stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Zane strode down the hallway of Gabby’s apartment building and quickly made his way down the steps. He knew that Sam and Tommy were watching him from the surrounding woods, and possibly Quentin too.

  Fuck them.

  His bear was fighting at the surface; he had wanted a piece of Gabby too, but now that Zane had left the apartment, his bear was angry over a number of things.

  He was glad that he had driven his car over to Gabby’s instead of shifting, and he hopped into his Hummer hoping that the bears protecting Gabby were watching him.

  Why had he even gone over there?

  Frustrated, he slammed his fists down on the steering wheel.

  He knew why.

  There had been so much information from Jeffries, and now Zane knew the terrible, terrible truth.

  He had killed Gabby’s father.

  He had slain the last bear king.

  He remembered Michael’s dad telling him that the bear had been some kind of a king, but it had meant nothing to Zane at the time. Those words had been simply words, and he wasn’t sure if had quite believed it, or even understood what it meant.

  But hearing the way that Jeffries had described it…. Well, it made Zane seem more like a monster than the frightened kid he had been.

  And not only that, but Michael knew the terrible truth, too.

  The only saving grace was that as close as he and Alicia had been, he had never confided in her about that part of his past. He shuddered to think of what could have happened if he had told Alicia about that bizarre incident nearly twenty years ago.

  She would have known. And therefore, Grayson would have known.

  And every member of the clan would have known if Grayson was aware of that information.

  And aside from the fucking nightmare of the fact that he killed a bear, which happened to be the last of a line of bear kings, the icing on the cake was that it was Gabby’s father.

  Her father.

  In what sick and twisted world could that be true?

  Zane was avoiding Michael because he didn’t want to know what Michael had to say. He knew that Michael would be rational and practical about the matter, and something that Jeffries said kept playing over and over again in his mind.

  Bring her into the tribe, protect her and give her no choice but to mate. She will strengthen the gene pool.

  If Michael chose to do that, then she would have to leave the life she knew and she would despise Zane once she knew the truth.

  Gabby hadn’t told Zane how her father had died, or else Zane might have been able to place the puzzle pieces together. Instead, she had only alluded to a fear of bears.

  FUCK.

  Zane wanted to keep driving, to forget about Michael and Gabby and bear kings and protecting the damn clan from blood dilution.

  But he knew he couldn’t.

  He was second in command, and it was his duty to go back to Michael.

  In fact, Michael had been more than generous in allowing Zane to run off. He could have instantly commanded Zane to come with him and get started on dealing with Gabby.

  Which led to the other reason that Zane had gone to see Gabby. He wanted to have one more moment between t
hem before she knew what a monster he was. Before she hated him and hated the tribe. He didn’t want the shifter life for Gabby, but he was almost certain that Michael would want to make use of her powerful blood.

  A small part of him hoped that Michael wouldn’t ask that of her, but when he pulled up to Michael’s house, Michael was standing out on his porch waiting for him.

  Zane pulled his car into the driveway and got out.

  “I’m not going to ask where you went,” Michael said flatly, but Zane knew that he probably could take a pretty good guess. And a few seconds of reading Zane’s thoughts would confirm his guess. “But are you good now?”

  “Yes.” Zane answered.

  “Are you sure?” Michael asked. “Because I need you to be one hundred percent.”

  “I told you that I’m fine,” Zane said, his voice harsher than he had intended.

  “Watch your tone,” Michael warned, and Zane bowed his head in to show his respect and his obedience. He could feel Michael’s alpha working through him.

  Zane followed Michael into the house. Michael’s house was not large, but it was certainly impressive. From the outside it looked like a larger log cabin, but once inside it was clear that it was much more than a log cabin. The inside was done in gleaming marbles and granite. Michael took a seat in the small but sumptuous living room.

  “You know what I have to do,” Michael began, cutting right to the chase.

  Zane shook his head. “You don’t have to do anything. You could reconsider.”

  “How?” Michael demanded. “She will more than likely die otherwise. What choice do we have but to take her in and offer her protection?”

  Zane let out a bitter laugh. “And force her to mate, right?”

  Michael looked uncomfortable. He clearly didn’t want to force someone to mate with the clan. “Jeffries had a point,” he said quietly, “And I need to make the best decision for our clan.”

  “And what about her? What’s the best decision for her?” Zane shot.

  “Get it together,” Michael snapped, “We can’t offer her twenty-four hour protection for the rest of her life. But if she is one of us, she will be protected. If we claim her for our own the other clans will have to leave her alone.”

  “Under normal circumstances. What if they don’t bother following that council law? They’ve already shown disregard for so many other laws.”

  “True,” Michael agreed, “but I think it’s our best shot. They may not even fully comprehend what she is.”

  Zane shook his head in disgust. “And then what? How do we force her to mate?”

  Michael took a deep breath. “I think we allow her to choose her mate.” He gave Zane a pointed look. “She will have plenty of choices.”

  “It’s shitty,” Zane spat, jumping up.

  “Watch yourself!” Michael stood up, too. “I see no other choice, Zane. I’m sorry. I need your help in this matter, and I need you to put personal feelings and differences aside.”

  The timber of an alpha order rang through him and he knew he had no choice but to obey.

  Fucking alpha orders.

  He turned to look out the window, seeing only inky darkness. “What do you need me to do?” he asked, his voice lacking any emotion.

  “Tonight I need you to get some rest. We’re going to allow the girl to rest as well. Tomorrow Sam and Tommy will bring her to the clan lands.”

  Zane couldn’t help interrupting. “Bring her? How?”

  Michael paused. “By force if need be.”

  “Damn it,” Zane cursed, hating the idea more and more.

  Michael continued. “They will bring her here. You, Quentin, Alicia and I will explain to her what she is.”

  “Alicia?” Zane asked sharply.

  “Yes,” Michael said firmly. “She’s another female and Gabby seemed most at ease with her. I think that will help with her comfort level.”

  As much as Zane hated the idea, Michael had a point.

  “And then what?” Zane couldn’t help asking. “Do you think Gabby will just be alright with that fucking bomb we’re going to drop on her and then hop into bed with one of us? Because if you think that, then you don’t know her at all,” he laughed bitterly.

  Michael frowned. “No. I don’t think that. I don’t expect her to take it well. But we’ll be prepared and we will help her through it. Allow her time to mull it over and digest it. Alicia has been more than generous to offer her home as a place for Gabby to stay—”

  “That’s bullshit!” Zane exploded, his temper getting the best of him, and he felt his bear tearing at the surface. He could feel his muscles rippling as his bear begged to break free. “She can’t stay there with Alicia and Grayson!”

  “Grayson will not be there,” Michael said calmly, ignoring the outburst. “We will make this transition as easy as possible.”

  “She has a life,” Zane pointed out. “A family, a job. We’re going to take all that away from her.”

  “We aren’t saying that she can’t still see the people from her past,” Michael said carefully, “we will just need to closely monitor those interactions. Especially at first, since the other clans, particularly Cruentus, will most likely be pursuing her.”

  “And her job?” Zane asked sourly. “She can’t continue that, can she?”

  “No. That she will need to give up.”

  Zane turned back around to face Michael, raking a hand through his messy hair. He was glad he had seen Gabby tonight. He knew that Gabby would hate him after tomorrow, and there would be no way that she would ever chose Zane to be her mate.

  “Well, if everything is settled, then I don’t see the point of me sticking around any longer.”

  Michael sighed. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, Zane. But try to look at it from another perspective. It’s clear to me that you have a special affection for this girl. Perhaps she feels the same way about you and will select you as her mate.”

  Zane barked a laugh. “That’s very doubtful. If anything, she’ll despise me now.” He walked to the door.

  “Come back in the morning,” Michael said, though it was more of a command.

  Zane felt the order ring through him, his body slightly stiffening as he was forced to obey. He nodded woodenly and went out the door into the dark, moonless night.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Gabby woke up to sunlight filtering in her room and she let out a small sigh of pleasure from waking up to the sun. Today she wasn’t needed at work until ten in the morning, and although that meant she needed to work until six, she wasn’t bothered because she wasn’t up at the ass crack of dawn.

  A small smile played on her lips, and then the events of the night before came rushing back. She sat up quickly.

  Oh shit, shit, shit.

  She had made out with Zane.

  Really made out with Zane.

  Groping, moaning, take-your-shirt-off and grind-up-against-him kind of making out.

  She buried her face in her hands, mortified by her own actions.

  But it had felt so damn good.

  Why had it felt so good?

  Well, no use worrying over it now.

  She swung her legs over the side of her bed, stood up and stretched and then stumbled into the bathroom. She took her time brushing her teeth, applying makeup and doing her hair. After the harrowing last few days, she spent a little more time on herself than usual, wanting to feel pretty.

  She took her time eating breakfast, and even had a few moments to check her email, which she hadn’t done in days. Lucy had sent her an email from one of the computers in the school library. Well, at least Lucy had managed to make it through the weekend and was now surviving Monday.

  Gabby threw a few things in her bag, including a snack, and then locked up her apartment as she prepared to head to work. She was headed out into the bright sunshine when suddenly a van pulled up along side of her.

  Before she could even blink, the door slid open and a young man grabbed her and p
ulled her inside.

  She screamed, but he was too fast, and he pulled the door shut as the van peeled out of the parking lot.

  “Stop!” she cried, fighting against the handsome young man as they rolled across the floor of the moving vehicle, “Let me go!”

  He quickly released her. “Gabby, it’s alright.”

  How did he know her name?

  And things were definitely not all right; she had just been kidnapped!

  “I don’t know who you are, but please, let me go!” she begged, feeling her chest tighten with fear and panic.

  “My name is Tommy. And my brother Sam is driving. We’re the younger brothers of Michael.” When he saw that Gabby didn’t understand, he explained, “Michael. He works with Zane at the state park.”

  Zane? What the hell does Zane have to do with this?

  Even though the van was moving, she rushed to the doors, trying to pry them open. She needed to keep a level head even though she was in full-blown panic mode. “Is Zane involved in this? What’s going on?”

  “Hey,” Tommy said softly, pulling her hands from the door, but she jumped back and shrieked. “We aren’t going to hurt you. I’m sorry we had to do things this way.”

  “Do things what way?” she cried, “Kidnapping me and throwing me in a van?”

  Tommy looked uneasy. “We didn’t kidnap you. We just—we just didn’t think you would come with us if we asked you to.”

  “You’re damn right I wouldn’t have!” she raged. “Stop the van and let me out!” It was clear that Tommy wasn’t going to hurt her now, but she still wanted out of this van. She had no clue what the hell was happening, and if Zane was involved with this it was even more upsetting.

  “I can’t. Just wait until we get to Michael’s house. Please.” Now he seemed really uncomfortable.

  “Michael’s house?” she asked incredulously. “I am not going to his house!” She lunged at Tommy and did the only thing that came to her.

  She bit him.

  “Fuck!” He cried, cradling his arm and stepping back from her, nearly losing his balance as the van went around a curve. “That hurt! Why would you do that?”

  “Why the hell did you throw me in a van?” she screamed. “Now let me out of here, or I’ll bite you again, damn it!”