by Woods, Jade
“I’m not sure if these will fit you, but since you have absolutely none of your own, and I’ve been wanting to trash them for the last year, it’s a win-win.” She set the jeans and tee shirt on the coffee table then returned to the Barcalounger.
Garrett’s eyes dropped to the clothes. They so clearly belonged to a man. His nostrils flared, pulling in the scent of laundry soap and the faint undertone of a human male. His gums suddenly ached from his fangs punching out of his skull—the idea that she was claimed by another infuriated him.
She isn’t yours, he told himself.
But she could be, a deep, grumbly voice refuted.
“I’ve uprooted your life,” he deduced as she watched him with a guarded expression. “I apologize.”
Dahlia sputtered a humorless laugh. “That is debatable. Actually, I would go so far as to say it’s a good thing.”
Snatching the shirt, he unfolded it. “Right. Because you’ve been looking for me all my life?”
Shrugging, she offered him a sheepish smile, her eyes twinkling. “Well, not specifically you, but I think someone like you.”
Intrigued, he arched a singular brow. “What do you mean?”
Garrett could see it was a subject she was passionate about, and he admired the way her breasts rose as she took a deep breath, apparently preparing for a long-winded explanation. A fervent knock at the door stole her bluster, and Garrett immediately went on the defensive, his body tensing in awareness.
“Dahhhhliaaa!” A feminine voice preceded a flurry of pounding.
****
Dahlia jumped to her feet just as Garrett did. She threw her body in front of him, terrified Jessica would be mauled. His face was twisted by rage, his eyes glowing and ivory fangs protruded from his lips. Putting herself in the way of a mindless predator capable of tearing her in half with one swipe wasn’t smart, but she didn’t want to see Jessica harmed.
His caramel eyes slid to the door, his lips curling up for a moment. She realized she was in way over her head—who knew what this man—or bear—was capable of? “You know this person?”
As her friend continued to pound on the door, she held her hands up in supplication. “Yeah. She’s okay. Listen, can you hide somewhere? I’ll try to get her gone as quickly as possible, but you don’t know her. She is relentless.”
Garrett’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t do hiding well, but I don’t need another human knowing I am here.”
Dahlia was tempted to remind him he was a guest in her house, but she refrained. Sighing, she watched as he lumbered into the bathroom, his perfect, tight ass flexing beautifully as he positioned the broken door in the jamb—she was going to have a talk about him running around in nothing but his birthday suit.
Pushing away the tinge of heat that went through her, she rushed to her front door to spare it from being turned into splinters.
Jessica’s fist froze in midair, and her manicured brows cut a V in the middle of her forehead. “Dahlia Ann Pinski! Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to call you for days. I didn’t know if you were sick or injured or dead! How could you do this to me?”
“I’m sorry,” Dahlia whispered as her friend pushed her way in. So, the girl was right—she should have returned her calls, but she’d gotten distracted by the supernatural hunk on her couch.
Jessica stopped in the middle of the living room and ran her heavily mascaraed eyes up and down Dahlia. “Jesus, you seem whole. You’re fingers aren’t broken, are they? How long have you been back?”
She shrugged. “Three days.”
Dahlia got a look of her friend’s expression as it morphed from worry to aggravation, but before she could respond, the bathroom door fell to the floor, and Garrett stepped out in all his naked glory.
“Three days!” he hissed.
Jessica’s mouth dropped to form an ‘O’, and she slowly craned her neck to Dahlia. “Oh, you little sneak. This is why you are ignoring me—” she motioned to the man then ran her eyes down his body where she hesitated for a long second. “Oh. Yeah… I can see why. I didn’t know you were into bondage.”
Heat licked Dahlia’s cheeks, and she plucked the blanket from the couch and raced to hold it up in front of him. She supposed it was better Jess assumed she was into kinky shit than see the wounds on the man’s body. In a low voice, she said to Garrett, “We’re going to talk about you running around my house naked.”
“Don’t bother,” Jessica said, planting a friendly smile on her face. “I was just leaving. You kids have fun.”
“Jessica!” Dahlia hissed, but the woman was out the door in an instant.
“Let her go,” Garrett commanded, then pushed the blanket away. “I need your phone. Now.”
Dropping the blanket to the floor, Dahlia crossed her arms over her chest. “Scratch that. Let’s talk about you ordering me around in my own house.”
He tossed her an unamused glance then pushed his legs into the jeans she had given him. Biting her lip, she was unable to look away as the denim slowly glided up his thick thighs, and when he tucked his junk into the fabric, she thought it would rip from the sheer size. He put effort into closing the lapels, but ultimately gave up, and held his hand out.
“Phone,” he said sternly.
Aggravated with the whole situation, she slipped her cell out of her pocket, and tossed it to him then set about trying to organize the living room. She listened as he plugged in the digits, his breath suddenly labored. His shoulders moved wonderfully with every breath, and Dahlia bit down hard on her tongue. Why did this infuriating, intrusive, supernatural man have to be so damned hot?
He let out a feral growl, and she thought her phone was going to crumple in his hand. He dialed the number again and every second that passed, he became more agitated. She tried to keep her focus by straightening the living room, but his presence was magnetizing, and not just because he was the size of a horse. It had crossed her mind briefly while watching him sleep—err, hibernate, that she hadn’t seen what she thought she had when she was a little girl.
Was the creature I saw a shifter? And for that matter, if shape-changers were really a thing, what sort of other creatures existed? She wanted to ask, but Garrett was obviously in the wrong frame of mind to deal with her endless questions.
Chapter Five
“Bruin!” Garrett said as the line clicked.
“Garrett? Jesus, we thought you were dead,” the male said, his tone ripe with relief. “We couldn’t feel you anymore, and thought that asshole had taken you out. You don’t know how good it is to hear your voice.”
His shoulders sagging in relief, Garrett closed his eyes. He shared his second-in-command’s sentiment. They might be a clan of outcasts no one else wanted, and they had bonded over the past few years they’d been together despite the normal amount of drama that made up a clan of shifter males. He was aware Dahlia was listening to every word while she tried to hide her curiosity under the guise of cleaning. At the moment, he just didn’t care. “Tell me everyone is okay.”
“Yeah, were all good. When Lazaran went after you I ushered everyone to the brewery. I figured all the chemicals would hide our scents, and with the company registered under a false name, they wouldn’t know about it. But, we can’t stay here forever. Where are you?”
“Not very close, but that’s a good thing. Lazaran tracked me down in the woods but I managed to escape. I’m pretty sure he is still looking for me knowing his history. I was hibernating or else I would have called sooner.”
“We were all devising a plan of retaliation when you called. Tell us what you want us to do, and we’ve got your back.”
Buin’s confidence in him touched his heart despite knowing it was misplaced. His pride demanded they take revenge, but his logic fought to the top. “Don’t retaliate. You know as well as I do we won’t win, not when I’m weak.” The confession stabbed him deep and hard. Especially in front of Dahlia. “You think you can sneak away?”
“Not right now. La
zaran’s clan is circling our territory, apparently looking for us, but they have to rest sometime. Where would we go? The others are determined to defend our home.”
“You’re my beta, and they will listen to you in my absence. Challenging the invaders won’t turn out good for anyone. Right now, my main concern is that everyone is safe, and stays that way.” Garrett looked to Dahlia who was standing against the wall watching him with an intense curiosity. He asked, “What is your address?”
Her eyes narrowed at him in suspicion, but she rattled off the location of her house, and Garrett repeated it into the phone.
“Marcus and Jake have been watching the perimeter. They told me Lazaran’s clan is least active in the early morning hours so I’m sure we can sneak out then. I don’t know if we can make it back to the clubhouse, though.”
“No, don’t bother. Just get your asses as far away from there as possible. When you get here, we’ll figure something out. And do whatever you have to do to cover your scent trails.”
Bruin was silent for a long moment. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep them safe. But I’m more worried about you. That asshole’s reputation is well known… He won’t stop until he finds you.”
“I know. One thing at a time. Besides, I can’t face him again, not until I’m fully healed.” Admitting to one’s beta that he was weak and injured wasn’t the smartest thing to do. It wasn’t uncommon for a lower ranking male to challenge the leader if he were compromised, but they had forged a friendship of trust and respect that went far beyond social expectations.
They cut the connection, and Garrett set the phone down on the coffee table.
Dahlia looked angry, her nostrils flaring. “Did it cross your mind to consult me before inviting your entire family over? You know, I’d like to kiss you first before having to meet the parents.”
She must have realized what she said, because her cheeks turned a lovely color, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Garrett’s lips worked up in amusement, and the idea of tasting her plump lips was highly intriguing, but he didn’t need to get this woman involved in anymore of his problems.
“I apologize. You are right, of course. I was just worried about my clan’s safety after being unconscious or three days.” He took a seat on the Barcalounger where she had been only a moment ago, her feminine scent wafting around him. “I promise I will make it up to you.”
Dahlia’s throat shifted, and she came to sit on the couch in front of him. She ran a finger along the bottom of her lip, apparently deep in thought—fuck, she had no idea what that little gesture did to him. “Okay. So, your clan... Do you mean your family?”
“For all intents and purposes, yes. We’re not related by blood, but by common interest. No shifter ever did well alone and males like us, well were not a benefit to any clan but our own.”
She shook her head as if she had trouble understanding everything. “This guy that’s after you, would he really pursue you halfway across the state just to make a point?”
“Yeah, he would. For the most part, we are given free reign on earth as long as we don’t influence the world of humanity too much. There is a sort of council, a group of Chimeras to govern the clans to make sure they don’t do anything stupid. We have very few rules, and killing another shifter is allowed in two instances— self-defense and challenging another for territory, resources and females. Lazaran is a cruel, vicious shifter, more animal than human. I heard rumors of him circumventing our laws by challenging the leaders of clans, killing them, then abandoning the territory he had won a short while after.”
The female fidgeted, and Garrett didn’t blame her. “So he is a serial killer of the paranormal world. Can you do something? Like petition your council for help?”
Shrugging, he picked at a strand of frayed denim at his knee. “It’s a loophole. They won’t get involved unless humans are at risk. It’s my problem to solve, and I’m sorry I put you in the middle of it. I promise to do everything in my power to get you out.”
She let out a big breath and slapped her thighs then rose to her feet.
“Where are you going?” he asked, hoping she might have more questions. He was surprised how badly he wanted her to know him. He liked the way those big green eyes twinkled like precious jewels. There was something very comforting about the way she looked at him...
“Going to have a whole pack of bears in my house. I need to prepare and get supplies. Something tells me I’m going to need more than clam chowder.”
A flash of heat crawled up Garrett’s neck, and he offered her an apologetic smile, but she didn’t seem all that aggravated. In fact, Dahlia looked excited at the prospects of examining other supernatural beings. Garrett wondered why that was and what kind of story she had to tell. He’d flounced with human women before, but none captivated him like she did and they hadn’t even gotten intimate.
Actually, just being in her general vicinity was likely to destroy him in the best possible way.
Chapter Six
Dahlia bit her lip for the umpteenth time as she watched her guest sleeping on the couch. His chest rumbled with every breath, and the muscles in his face ticked as if he were dreaming. The bandages around his torso had loosened, and were hanging off in tatters so she set up some medical supplies on the coffee table. He had been out for a good ten hours since talking on the phone, and she wondered if he was hibernating again.
Tentatively, she touched the bulbous muscle of his shoulder and shook gently, the warmth of his skin soaking into her. He lolled his head and that rhythmic, deep breathing cut off. His lashes fluttered open, eyes the color of golden honey greeting her. Remembering what she had said the night before, that uncomfortable heat coursed through her. Yeah, okay. So she had thought about kissing him—what straight woman wouldn’t?
His lips pulled up into what she thought was a smile. “Hey. How long have I been asleep?”
“About ten hours or so, I thought you might be hibernating again. Geez, that sounds weird.” Dahlia motioned to the role of fresh bandage. “We need to change your bandages.”
The man sat up slowly, his hair a tangled mess on top of his head, and that stubble had become a bit of a bush. He ran a big hand through his locks and yawned widely. “Not hibernating, just weary.”
“Okay.” Dahlia glanced at his chest, waiting for him to help, but he didn’t move. He looked dazed, his eyes half-mast, and she supposed it took a little while to come out of a hibernation session. “I’m just going to take these off of you.”
He didn’t say anything as she pushed away the blanket and peeled off the bandages. She discarded them in the wastebasket then turned to inspect his wounds, only to gape. The bear claws across his skin were obvious, but they had scabbed over as if they were several weeks old. She blinked up at him.
Garrett glanced down his body, and muttered, “Oh. We are pretty good at healing.”
“Well,” she said, setting the bottle of disinfectant down. “I guess that is a handy skill to have. Do you have an accelerated metabolism, too? Do you live long live vampires? Wait are vampires real”
He yawned again and nodded. “Yeah, and I’m starving. I’ve never met any vampires, but we are capable of living several hundred years.”
“All right, while you were passed out I went shopping. My fridge is now overflowing with expensive cuts of salmon, trout and other delicacies, and there is enough honey in the cabinets to support several large bee colonies.
He looked at her as if she was speaking in a foreign tongue. “I’m not Pooh Bear.”
Dahlia sputtered a laugh. “Is that your way of saying I’ve gone overboard?”
The man smiled goofily up at her, and Dahlia’s stomach fluttered. “You feed my bears like that and they will never leave.”
“I guess I’m in trouble then,” she teased, surprised by how comfortable she felt in his presence despite knowing he was a dangerous animal. “Why don’t you go take a shower, and I’ll make you something to eat?”
She retre
ated to the kitchen and took a deep breath—this whole thing seemed too bizarre to be real. She heard him get up, and a moment later, the water turned on. She couldn’t fathom how she was going to deal with several buff, gorgeous men in her house for the next whatever—she could barely tolerate Garrett without her pussy clenching in arousal.
Behave, she told herself. No sense getting excited about a man that wasn’t interested in her.
As she tried not to imagine frothy suds sliding over all that tanned skin, Dahlia selected a whole salmon and set it on the counter. She had pretty much drained her bank account on fish, but she hoped to ply him for more details about his world. That and he needed his strength if he were going to kill that other… thing. That thought gave her pause. She realized she wanted him to take back his home and declare victory over that monster. She figured that dark desire was a remnant of her childhood experience.
As she set about the task of preparing and grilling the fish, she debated cooking up some rice—did bears eat grains? She had no clue, so she settled for concentrating on the salmon. It was half done by the time the water cut off. She kept her focus on cooking, not wanting to get another look at all that manly perfection—she had a suspicion he would just waltz out the bathroom naked.
When she was certain the fish was cooked through and through, she turned the burner off, and squeezed some fresh lemon over it. As she loaded a plate with fillets, she frowned at the sudden silence. Biting her lip, she tentatively peeked around the corner to find Garrett standing in front of the couch in the jeans she had loaned him, the lapels open. His eyes were shut tightly and he was as still as a mountain. Little beads of water trailed down his body, and her eyes dropped to the dark treasure trail that dipped into the parted crotch of his pants.
Absolutely not! Dahlia returned to the kitchen and took a deep breath. But damn, that man was gorgeous.