by M. L. Briers
Reaching up she brushed his hair from his forehead. He had a cut over his right eye that was healing, but it still had blood around the wound, and she was supposed to be tending to him. Snap too it, get with the damn programme, she told herself as her fingers felt every silken strand of his hair beneath their touch. When her fingertips brushed over his skin, she couldn’t have felt it more within the depths of her womb than if he’d stroked into her… well, maybe a tad more.
Summer bit down on her lower lip out of habit, it was a sign of complete concentration when she worked at anything, and the low rumble of a growl that rolled through him made her drop her eyes to his, and his eyes were centred on her lips.
“Behave.”Summer wasn’t about to take anything less than his best behaviour, she almost rolled her eyes at that thought. A Lycan’s best behaviour was close to that of an adolescent boy when they found their mate. What was she hoping for a conversion to Catholicism and him to enter the priesthood? A healthy dose of guilt and repentance? Fat chance, she stood more chance of seeing the Pope and his Cardinals doing the Can-Can. That thought caught her attention and took her mind away from Flynn, but it wasn’t one she wanted to hold onto, so she let it go.
“Then stop biting your lip, it’s…. tempting me.”Flynn felt the cool wet clothe against his skin, but it did nothing to thwart the fire raging within him.
“Be honest Flynn, I could fart and you would take that as a come on.”
His deep chuckle made the hairs on her body stand to attention, and other thing were pretty much shoved out there too, and the fact that she had taken off her jumper and was standing there in just a small Tee made her glance down as casually as she could to see if he would notice. Relief washed through her when she realised that her top was bunching and not stretching over her breasts.
“Give it a go and see what happens.”Flynn double raised his suggestive dark brows and she couldn’t help the smile that pulled at her lips.
“Let’s not and say we did.” Summer’s hands moved onto the next bloodied area of his face, gently cleaning the skin around the cut on his cheek. Moving on her heels slightly to get a better angle and connecting with his thigh, she never knew her thigh had a direct link to her sex organs, but apparently it did, and she felt the need to growl with her own problems.
Summer didn’t pull away, that would be blatant and stupid. She needed to show him she was in control, and she would, when she got herself under control she would show him that, right now she was hot under the collar as she moved onto the bruised lip and the slight cut.
“Take off your top…”Summer saw the cut that ran down his lower neck and disappeared over his collarbone, but she couldn’t get to it with his top on, and as much as she hated to ask…
The smile that spread over his face made her want to knee him in his package, and she was in just the right position to do it too, just bring her knee up and he would be down on the floor like a dog.
“Stop smirking and just do it.”She hissed, feeling her own impatience with his attitude, not to mention the frustration for what she couldn’t have run through her. Well, not exactly true, she could have it, as easy as pie, just not yet.
Flynn hitched his half-a-shirt over his head and discarded it on the floor beside the stool, and he saw the flare of her eyes, heard the hitch in her breathing, and the way her breasts rose and fell as she took a long deep gasp of air and then slowly released it, trying to still her heart that was racing within her chest.
Summer could quite easily have swallowed her tongue, or maybe it was flopping aimless out of the side of her mouth. She knew he was broad and stacked full of muscles, but did he have to be that broad and that stacked full of muscles? And that sprinkling of hair across his chest and down the centre of his abs that leads the way to his…
Get a damn grip. She told herself as she snapped her eyes back up from his abs and to the cut on his throat and she frowned.
“What the hell? This looks like a claw mark…”Summer’s frown became a scowl and he even found that adorable.
“Probably. It was Abe I was tussling with…”
“Tussling? Why would he need his claws when you weren’t trying to kill each other?”Summer felt the disgust run through her. How dare that little pipsqueak use claws on her mate… She heard her own thoughts and wanted to slap herself upside the head. Possessive and protective, that wasn’t a good sign…
“It sometimes happens. I’d probably caused him pain and they just popped out…”Flynn could feel the emotions within her, boy was she a little firecracker when she was angry, he liked that, and he liked that she was angry over him, not at him.
Summer put her hand on his shoulder and felt the heat of him warm her skin, it was like a flash fire that rushed through her, but she was more intent on cleaning the wound that Abe had inflicted.
Flynn couldn’t help the growl that started to build within him. She was touching him, touching his bare skin and not with a towel, with her fingertips. It was bad enough when it had been his face, but now it was his shoulder and he felt that jolt deep inside him.
“Your claws didn’t pop out when I caused you pain…”
“Which time?”Flynn couldn’t help but grin at her.
“None of them.”Summer didn’t want to think about that now, not while she was tending his wounds, not while she was touching him, and not while she had a fire inside that she was trying her best to contain.
“True, but there’s a very good reason for that.”
“Go on…”His hand reached out and touched her hip. Just one hand, just one hip, but lord the jolt that went through her body.
“You’re my mate.”
“So I can do anything I want to you and you can’t retaliate?” Summer raised just one brow, he had to admit she looked kind of pleased, damn, what was she thinking within that head of hers? He wondered and knew he needed to put a stop to her evil ways, she’d already tried to burn him alive with hot sauce, what was she planning for her next move?
“I can retaliate in other ways.”Flynn gave her a deeply sexy growl and he offered up a sexy smile, and she felt her heart kick around her rib cage.
“Ok. We’re done here.”Summer thrust the towel at him and pulled back. The feel of his hand slipping from her hip made her want to step back towards him, but she bit down on that emotion.
“But there are still other wounds…”He gave her those puppy dog eyes and she clenched… a lot.
“And you have a towel. I’m going to bed…”She caught the fire in his eyes and the flare of his nostrils. “Alone…”
He was up on his feet in a flash, looking down at her like she was a damn lollipop again, and she took another step backwards.
“Really, alone…” Summer thought she’d reiterate for the idiot among them, him.
“I’m sure I could persuade you otherwise…”Flynn offered a wolfish smile at her and she clenched again. If there was one good thing about today it was that her pelvic floor muscles were getting a really good work out.
“I’m sure… which is why I’m not going to give you the opportunity…”Too late, she found her palms against the naked skin of his chest, and what a chest, she would have sighed if she wasn’t gasping in a surprised breath. Her hips were against his, and Mr Woody was very active, which made her cheeks flush… and more pelvic exercises for her. His large hands were sliding around her waist and up her spine, and that made her shiver, soul deep.
“Let me scent you…”The deep growl of his voice held her mesmerised for a long moment, and in that moment she guessed he’d taken her lack of a response for permission, and he leaned into her, nuzzling against her neck and breathing her in.
“Scenting leads to nuzzling and nuzzling leads to kissing, and kissing…”
“I’ll take that as an invitation.”He whispered against her ear, his breath was like a caress against her flesh, and then he brushed his cheek over hers and she was held spellbound by the sensations making her toes curl, so that when he finally b
rought his lips down on hers, she was powerless to do anything but open for him.
It was like taking candy from a baby. He had her in his arms, he had the scent of her, and now he was devouring her mouth with long, slow, sensual kisses that fired his blood even more within him. Made her more pliant within his arms, made her sigh low in her throat, and had her hips pushing against him as she arched her back. Lord, but he was in heaven.
Summer felt the need to run her hands up over his chest, to let her fingers get lost in that thick mane of silken hair. His lips were brushing, tasting, and then teasing. His tongue was playful, devouring, and then claiming. Crap! She lifted her foot and stomped down on his bare foot with her boot. He pulled away from her lips and roared in pain, as she winced for him.
The sight of her big Lycan Alpha, hopping around on one foot, reciting every swear word that she knew… several times, and scowling at her, made her want to fall to the floor and laugh out loud, and take away his pain.
Great, mating gives you a split personality, she spat out in her own two minds, help him? Crack up? Choices….
“You’re a god damn sadist…” He growled out at her through clenched teeth and she rolled her eyes and took another step back as he bounced in place, his hand gripping his toes. She was checking for claws, nope…
“Maybe. Or I’m just getting a taste for it around you. So you should rethink this whole mate thing…”Summer offered with a shrug off her shoulders.
“Maybe I should give you a taste of your own damn medicine…”He growled back at her, dropping his foot and taking two long steps towards her until he was towering above her, staring down with dark eyes.
“No claws, remember?” Summer gave him an innocent smile, what she thought might have been her best…
“I don’t need claws, woman.”He went to grab her when the sound of loud pounding echoed through the house. For one long moment, she thought it was her heart slamming against her ribs and echoing inside her head. Right up until his head snapped around to the kitchen doorway. “Don’t move.” He growled down at her, and Summer couldn’t help it, the moment he set off for the door she waved her arms and moved her feet.
“Well I want to see her and I want to see her now.”The feminine voice demanded, and Summer frowned as she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. That couldn’t be who she thought it sounded like…?
“I don’t have time for this…” Flynn growled around the door that was blocking Summer’s view.
“Well make time. I’m here officially as part of an investigation into missing Fae, and you’ve kidnapped my…”
Summer poked her head around the side of Flynn’s body, that was doing a pretty good impression of a brick wall, and balked as she saw Tina standing there with her fists on her hips, glaring up at him, and she doing a pretty good impression of an angry yeti, only shorter, a lot shorter.
“Tina?” Summer couldn’t believe that the woman was standing on Flynn’s doorstep, she was supposed to be elsewhere and busy for one thing…
“Summer, are you alright?”Tina looked both relieved to see her and surprised to see her alive.
“I’m… good…” Summer said slowly as she motioned to the fact that Tina was actually physically there. She wasn’t dreaming, she hadn’t made a wish and conjured her up out of thin air and snow… Snow! It took a long moment to sink in that Tina was standing in the middle of a snowstorm.
“When I heard that he’d taken you, I thought you were a goner for sure…” Tina blurted out and Flynn growled, none too pleasantly, making Tina’s eyes fly back up to his face, and she swallowed hard.
“No… Not yet anyway, he might have just been about to kill me…”Summer offered and saw the horror shoot across Tina’s face as Flynn turned his angry gaze down on Summer.
“I demand…”Tina started and Flynn’s head snapped back around, and she stopped, swallowing again.
“You demand?”Flynn gave her an incredulous look, and Summer couldn’t help but grin to herself.
“Summer, let’s go…”Tina offered her gloved hand.
“It’s not what you think, Tina…”Summer thought she had better call a halt to the festivities, as amusing as they were to watch.
“It’s not?”
“No.”
“You’re not in any danger?” Tina shifted her eyes from Summer to Flynn and back again.
“Not that I’m aware of. Apparently, I’m his mate.”Summer let the words out on a sigh and Tina looked gobsmacked. It was the funniest thing Summer had ever seen, except maybe the alpha dancing around the kitchen.
“His…?” Tina couldn’t push the word out of her mouth. She just sort of stood there, holding onto it, as she questioned her with her eyes. Summer widened her eyes and pressed her lips together.
“Yep…”
“Wow.” That wasn’t the reaction that Summer was expecting. She didn’t think it was the reaction that Flynn was expecting either, as he folded his arms over his naked chest and stared down at the woman expectantly. “Oh.” Tina added.
“Oh, the words of one syllable game...”Flynn shot out with all the sarcasm he could muster.
The look of shock on Tina’s face said it all. Then there was sympathy, and Summer frowned, if things had been reversed she might very well have been standing there with that exact same look on her face.
“Are you coming in?”There was still a low level growl in Flynn’s tone, and Tina’s eyes shot towards Summer for reassurance.
“You should… snowstorm…” Summer motioned to the blanket of white behind Tina, and saw the woman’s shoulders sag.
“I don’t want to get stuck here…” She said it as if it was a fate worse than death, and perhaps it was. Flynn growled again. “Not that there’s anything wrong with here…”Tina added.
“Glad to hear it, because from the look of that storm, you’re not going to be able to get down the track, not in a girlie car anyway.”Flynn’s eyes shot amusement towards Summer and she ignored him.
“I’d second that…” Abe growled out. Coming up the stairs through the snow. “Was just about to tell you that Jake just made it up the track in his pickup, said it’s a skating rink…” Abe stopped beside Tina and eyed the top of her snowsuit, with a nudge of his head towards Flynn as if asking who she was.
“It’s settled then, come inside.”Flynn wasn’t overjoyed about having a Fae in the house, or on pack land. Summer being Fae wasn’t the same thing, she was his mate and belonged with his pack, but this one…
Tina kicked the snow from her boots outside the door as Abe waited patiently for her to enter. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but she wasn’t exactly unattractive from what he could see poking out of her damned snowsuit. He did feel a little flutter of something down below, and if they were going to be stuck up here together, he could think of ways to pass the time. He’d been with humans, but never a Fae…
“Can I help you with your suit?” Abe offered when she finally stepped inside the door and he was able to close the coldness outside. Tina’s head shot up and she looked at him as if he’d asked her to be lunch.
“I have hands…” She snapped back, dropping her eyes down away from the warmth of his.
“I was only being damned nice, it’s not like I was inviting you into my bed…”Abe growled as he walked away. We’re all Fae so damned sarcastic and insulting? That was two for two in the last day and he really didn’t need the hassle…
Tina unzipped the jacket of her suit, fluttering the heat from within, and Abe stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening, and a long low growl rolled through his chest.
“Oh damn it to hell!” He growled out, turning a full one hundred and eighty degrees back towards her as her eyes came up to see what he was growling about.
“Oh-oh.”Flynn grinned in amusement, watching his brother stalk towards the little Fae as if she were a tasty treat. The rumble of a chuckle going through his chest as Summer’s eyes shot back and forth between all three of them.
“I need to scent you…” Abe growled down at her. When his whole stance of looming over the top of her, fists clenched tightly as his sides, and the way every muscle in his body clenched, said he wanted to rip her limb from limb.
“Hey, get away from her…” Summer saw the sheer look of panic on Tina’s face and knew she needed to step in. She went to take a step forwards but Flynn’s arm snagged her around the waist and he yanked her back against his chest, the soft growl near her ear as they made contact.
“Not a good idea…” Flynn growled against her ear, and she almost closed her eyes and melted against him, almost….
“Scent me…?” Tina looked appalled. “I’m not a bit of meat…” She took a step back away from him and her heel caught against the wall. The wet rubber of her shoe skidded along the paintwork and she started to fall sideways, but Abe’s arm shot out to scoop her upwards and bring her to him, and she planted her hands against his chest and made a long squeaking sound as she stared up into his black eyes.
“No….” Summer finally managed to cotton on to what Flynn and Abe already knew, and she heard Flynn’s mischievous chuckle as it rolled through his chest and beside her ear.
“I don’t think you’d want to lay odds against it…” Flynn was enjoying this. Now Abe would know what the shoe damn well felt like being on the other foot, and Flynn was going to make the most of watching his brother make an arse of himself.
Abe growled again as he started to dip his head towards her and she squeaked again, louder this time and poked her fingers in his eyes.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Oh God almighty, what the hell…?” Abe growled as he let her go. She wobbled and balanced herself as he stumbled backwards, his hands going to his face as he growled and swore, over and over.