Lawman

by Regina Carlysle

  A whoosh of sound swept the room.

  Shock propelled Katalin upward until she sat, wide-eyed, among her tangled sheets. A giant wolf, huge and golden in the evening shadows leaped through the open bedroom window, shifting into human form as he blasted through the air in a surge of strength and power. Before she could blink or even make a sound, Gabriel Dunham stood there, gloriously naked, brawny and big as a damn mountain in the center of her room near the foot of the bed.

  “Gabe!”

  “I felt you. I feel you. You’re in pain, honey. I’m here for you. Always. You know that.”

  For a man of few words this was the biggest speech she’d ever heard him make. Energy sizzled in the air between them, a force of raw power that drew her like a warm blanket. She’d only known him for a few months yet she’d recognized him as her mate the instant his flesh had touched hers.

  Shadows played over the corrugated muscles on his belly and shifted over the muscular mounds of his powerful chest. His hair, dark gold, the color of Spanish coins, hung past his shoulders. Gabe speared restless fingers through the length, shoving it back from the stunningly beautiful lines of his face. In three long strides he was there on the bed with her, his arms gathering her up as he drew her against him.

  “Where did you— How did you—”

  “Shh,” he murmured into her hair. His breath was warm against her forehead and waves of heat rolled from his big body to hers cocooning her in a comfort she’d never known before. “Hush now. Just know I felt your pain and I’m here. Sleep now.”

  “Can’t, Gabe.” Katalin breathed the words into his heavy chest realizing her breasts were nestled snugly against him, the thin cotton of her nightgown so miniscule as to be nonexistent. Instantly her nipples tightened, pearling into tight, little knots that pulsed against his chest. “Where did you come from? I don’t get it.”

  His arms bunched as he pulled her close. Gabe’s fingers flexed against her bare back and she realized that, as she’d tossed and turned her short gown had risen past her hips leaving her lower body bare except for her panties. His cock was hard, thick and long, pressed to her naked belly.

  Fear fled to be replaced by another sensation. As an unmated female lycan, she’d never known sexual pleasure with a male but the erotic urges his touch engendered was unmistakable.

  Katalin burned. Her belly tightened. Heat coiled tightly there, sending waves of throbbing desire through her pussy. Her legs quivered and the urge to wrap them around his hips to draw him closer overwhelmed her.

  Though lust quickly replaced her fear it did nothing to stop the questions. “How did you get here so fast?”

  Gabe released a long, low breath. “Been sleeping in my truck outside your place, Katalin.”

  “But why?”

  “You might need me.” The words were simply spoken, stated as a matter of fact.

  Emotion moved through her body and she realized it was his. The empathic connection between mates swept from him to her binding them together with invisible string. Sadness, loneliness, worry. His. Katalin felt his need of her. Sexual hunger, also his, swept her and she returned the emotion as she forgot her innate shyness and moved her hands to his waist, her anchor in the storm. Touched beyond anything she could remember, she thought of big, tough Gabriel, Cloverfield’s Sheriff, sleeping in the cab of his truck, watching over her and her heart tightened with unnamed emotion.

  “How long have you been sleeping outside in your truck? How many days? And don’t fib to me.”

  A small smile quirked his lips and Kat sensed he wasn’t a man who did it often. “Now aren’t you a bossy little thing? A week or so, I reckon.”

  “Why?”

  The smile faded and frown lines formed between his intense, dark green eyes. Gabe lifted one big hand to smooth tousled curls from her forehead. “Since Dr. Santos found a place in town, I worried about you being alone out here in the middle of nowhere.” Dee Santos was a lycan psychiatrist from Dallas who’d come at the request of the Wolf Creek pack’s alpha. Kat had been her patient until recently. “She says you’re fine now but I just feel better sticking close.”

  Shame filled her though she knew it wasn’t well done of her. Many people needed help, even lycans, it was just that being frail or weak was something she’d never wanted for herself. “There’s no need, Gabe, really. I’m fine.”

  “Not so fine, I’m thinkin’. You don’t have a handle on your gift of telekinesis yet, do you?”

  Kat settled her forehead against his chest and breathed him in. He smelled of spice and the forest and things that were wild and untamable. “No, not yet. Things still fly through the air and crash around whenever I’m upset. Dr. Santos wants me to practice control but, Gabe, I’m not sure how to do that.”

  He stroked one big hand down her back. “Maybe that’s something we could figure out together, darlin.”

  She shook her head. “Dr. Santos says no.”

  Gabe went still. “Is that so? Care to tell me why?” Kat felt his anger, the intensity of it as it swept from him to her. The glass lamp on her nightstand banged back and forth, the thumping sound only further proof that she had no business being around people at the moment. Looking over his shoulder at the lamp, Gabe turned back to her. “Breathe, honey. Steady now.”

  In. Out. Slowly. Deeply.

  Kat closed her eyes and concentrated on each breath. Gabe’s arms were warm around her, his heat radiating through her like a steady balm. The lamp stopped shaking. The simple act of stopping the momentum sifted through her like a calming breeze. She blew out a long breath and grinned up at Gabe.

  He froze. His eyes narrowed and a muscle worked in his strong jaw.

  His expression sent heat blasting through her system. He wanted her. She wanted him. Kat’s grin faded slowly as Gabe cupped her cheek, stroking the flesh with his thumb. “I think that was the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said simply.

  “What?”

  “Your smile. I want you happy.”

  “I am happy but I’m sad too. Make sense?”

  Gabe nodded once. “Yeah. I think so. Tell me why Dr. Santos doesn’t believe we can work on controlling your telekinesis together. We’re mates. Meant to be. We’ve known it since the day I carried you out of that ratty trailer in Mexico when you and Sara were kidnapped.”

  “She told me I should stay away from you until we figure this out. Dee said she has never dealt with a case like mine and the emotions I feel from you coupled with my own might make me lose control.”

  “She’s wrong.”

  The flatly stated pronouncement told her much about the man she was just coming to know. Stubborn. Oh yeah. Mighty stubborn.

  “You think so?”

  Gabe went quiet, a look of thoughtfulness on his rugged face. “Who better to calm you than a man who can get into your head? It makes no sense to keep you isolated out here in the middle of nowhere. I don’t like it.”

  “Obviously, since you’ve been sleeping outside in your truck every night.”

  “I’m not about to apologize. Can’t stay away and I think you know why.”

  “Mates.”

  “Yeah.”

  Gabe’s arms tightened around her and Kat sucked in a gasping breath as he leaned in. He was going to kiss her. A first for her since no man had ever touched her. Heart hammering wildly, she looked up, saw the raw need glinting in his eyes and let herself go. The first press of his lips sent a blast of rampaging lust through her body. It was a wild, uncontrollable thing and though Dr. Santos said she should keep her distance, Kat couldn’t give a rip about that. Not when his firm mouth moved so gently over her own. He parted her lips with his tongue then gently nipped her bottom lip before dipping it inside.

  Sweet. Hot. Delicious.

  Wanting more, Katalin sank into the kiss as he took it deeper, hotter. His tongue brushed hers and the little sound she made became lost in his mouth as he drank it down. He pulled her close to the muscular mounds of his chest causing
her nipples to pearl tighter beneath the flimsy fabric of her nightie. Unable to resist, she rubbed against him needing pressure, wanting him to touch her. Gabe groaned as his kiss turned savage. His lust hammered against her like a jungle drumbeat and she simply didn’t know what to do with all these feelings. Energy wound like a tightly coiled spring in her body only to blast outward.

  A crash made her jerk.

  “What the fuck?” Gabe released her, jerking to his feet to stare at the shards of glass littering the floor. The lamp she’d calmed earlier had been propelled by light, motion, and energy into the nearest wall.

  Kat wanted to cry.

  Like the stupid lamp, their moment together, the one she’d dreamed of for weeks was shattered. Lying back on the bed, she closed her eyes as her emotions settled. “Dr. Santos was right. We shouldn’t be together.”

  “Fuck that. We’ll figure this out, darlin’. I promise you. Now you stay here. I don’t want you to cut yourself.”

  She started to protest but Gabe silenced her with a look from narrowed eyes. He moved through the shadowed room and walked through the bedroom door only to return with a broom and dust pan. Finally he stood at the side of the bed to stare down at her. “No more kissing tonight. But just for tonight. Hear me?”

  Katalin was no fool. She knew he wanted her. Like a tuning fork, his body practically vibrated with lust. His cock, thick and hard, rose high and his balls were drawn tightly beneath. He ran a hand that trembled through his hair, pushing the long length back from his face.

  “Don’t go back to the truck. Stay with me.”

  Silently Gabe returned to the bed and gathered her close. “We’ll figure this out. Rest on me. Sleep now, honey, just sleep.”

  Chapter Two

  “What do you mean it’s not a good idea to see Gabe?” Katalin sat on her couch next to Dee, calmly holding her hands in her lap. Inside she wasn’t calm. Not at all.

  Dee set her mug on the coffee table in the living room and looked at her. Smiling gently, she reached for one of her hands. “I’m just worried things might become a mess if you are too close to Gabe. You don’t have an adequate handle on your abilities and honey, you could hurt somebody.”

  Kat’s anger grew and she tried as hard as she could to tamp it back. She jerked her hand away and went to her feet. “I would never hurt Gabriel.”

  A book extracted itself from the bookcase and flew across the room to crash into the wall. Dee’s eyes went wide as she leaned back a bit. “Kat. Please.”

  “Don’t tell me to be calm. I’m sick of being told to be calm. I’m hurting here, don’t you get it?” Another book followed the first as Dee’s coffee mug lifted from the table and banged into the ceiling causing a rain of broken pottery to fall on their heads. Kat’s curls moved around her head as if electrified. She felt like a petulant child deprived of her favorite toy. In this instance it was a great, big, sexy, six-foot-seven toy, but he was hers, damn it. Hers! “I need him. He calmed me last night. He held me and calmed me and kept me from going crazy with everything. I need him.”

  Dee jumped to her feet. “Breathe, honey. Just breathe. Slowly. Deeply. Come on. You can do this.”

  An overstuffed chair adjacent to the couch banged against the floor.

  Bam. Bam. Bam.

  The front window shattered.

  Overwhelmed and out of control, Kat felt shattered too. Tears poured from her eyes as energy sizzled through her system. Repeating Gabe’s name like a mantra in her mind she tried to reach for his image. She searched for calm in the storm. Deep in her heart she knew only Gabriel could help her. Another window shattered and as if from a distance she heard Dee speak into the phone.

  Dee grabbed her arms but then jerked back as if shocked. The strong current of energy zapped the doctor, Kat knew. It wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t. Fearlessly, Dee leaned close to her face. “He’s coming. I’ve called him. Kat, please do your breathing exercises.”

  Screw breathing.

  Her anger surged. Everyone took things from her. Everyone. She was sick of it. Gabriel Dunham called to her soul and they kept him away. Damn them all. Angry and lost, she trembled as the walls of her tiny cottage rattled and shook. Suddenly her skin seemed too tight to contain her bones and she knew if help didn’t come soon, something horrible would happen.

  In. Out. In. Out. Breathe. Breathe.

  Not working.

  Her mind pulsed with energy gone wild as her eyes snapped shut. A door slammed in the distance, footsteps pounded closer but she didn’t dare open her eyes for fear of flying apart. She smelled him, closer, closer. Her heart responded, her body reacted.

  Gabe!

  “Damn that was fast, Sheriff,” Dee said breathlessly and despite Kat’s dire straits she heard the shakily spoken words.

  Instant warmth wrapped around her. Gabe’s arms pulled her into the sheltering curve of his body. Kat sank into him, every inch of her body caught in the storm of her powers. She shook as if afflicted. “I’m here, honey. Shh. Hush. I’m here. Aw, sweetheart.”

  Gabe lifted her up and she clung to him. Relief swept her and her rapid breathing began to calm. Her heart stopped its crazy hammering. Burying her nose against his throat she breathed him like a balm. Her mate’s voice thundered through the room. “Leave us now. I’ve got it.”

  “I can’t just leave n—”

  “Leave.” Gabe roared the word and then his voice went softer. “I appreciate what you are trying to do, Doctor, but I’m not leaving her. She’s my mate. I’ve got this and you should go.”

  The finality in his voice washed over her. Dee might hate her now and inwardly Kat worried about it. Dr. Santos had been nothing but kind, a friend even, and had seen her through the worst of dark days when she’d simply shut down, lost to everyone. She owed her. Later, she’d fix things with Dee. Later, she’d say how sorry she was. Now she could only cling to Gabriel, her port in the storm. “Gabe,” she whispered.

  “I’m here.”

  She closed her eyes and felt him move with her, his boot heels heavy on the hardwood floors of the cabin. The softness of the mattress on her bed settled against her back and finally she looked up at him. The worry etched on his face hurt her, embarrassed her too. If only she had a grip on the powers she’d been born with. None of this would be happening.

  But then if she hadn’t been born this way and been bartered by her father to a group of criminals called the Hellfire Club, she would never have met her mate.

  Weird tradeoff.

  “I want peace,” she whispered.

  The bed dipped when he sat next to her to brush the hair from her face. “I’ll see you get it.”

  “Can you do that?”

  “I will. I promise. I would give my life for you. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t make your world peaceful?”

  For the first time in her life, she began to believe something good might happen and that good thing was looking at her with such intense affection it nearly stole her breath. Beginning to settle from the meltdown, she licked her lips and watched Gabe’s gaze follow the motion of her tongue. Would he kiss her again? Touch her as he had the night before? Caught up in the notion, she held her breath when he leaned closer. Gabe pressed a kiss to her forehead and she tried to keep her disappointment from showing.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Kat watched him walk into her bathroom, listening to the sounds of him rattling around. Water splashed in the sink. Within seconds he walked back to her and drew a damp washcloth over her face. She didn’t realize she was hot until the chill met her flesh.

  “Better?”

  “Yes. You’re taking good care of me. I don’t deserve it after making such a mess.”

  Gabe shook his head and after tossing the cloth aside reached into his pocket for his cell phone. “Hang on, darlin’. I need to call Joe.”

  Joe McKinnon was alpha of the Wolf Creek pack. She’d met the handsome devil on several occasions but didn’t know him well. Lying quietly
she listened, her lycan hearing highly developed despite the fact she had yet to shift into her beast. Joe picked up on the second ring.

  “Gabe?”

  “Yeah. Problem here at Katalin’s place.”

  “She okay?”

  Gabe looked at her. “She’s fine but the house is a wreck. Her powers are surfacing quickly. Sharper and stronger than you could ever imagine.”

  Joe went quiet for a moment. “Tell me what I can do.”

  “Send out a couple of cowboys with new windows for the cabin. She blew two of them to smithereens and the house needs to be secured for the night.”

  “I’ll have someone there in a couple of hours.”

  “Good enough, Joe. Thanks.”

  “Did you call Dr. Santos?”

  “She was here when all hell broke loose. Kat doesn’t want her here. She wants me. I’m staying.”

  Kat heard the finality in his voice and part of her did a private little happy dance. He was staying with her. No more sleeping in his truck. Maybe together they could conquer her demons and somewhere, somehow they’d find some happiness. Some peace. When Gabe disconnected, he moved to the foot of the bed, slipping her shoes from her feet and tossing them to the floor. “I’m going to get you all fixed up, honey. You just lay here and relax a little bit.”

  She opened her mouth to protest that she was fine now. She wasn’t an invalid. But Kat never got the chance because he headed back into the bathroom. Water jetted into the tub and over the sound of rushing water he called out to her. “Hey, do you have any bubbles? I know you ladies like that.”

  Lordy! Was he not the sweetest man alive?

  For months she’d watched people sidestep him, seen their respect and awe. Some seemed almost intimidated by the raw power he exuded. True, he was as big as a mountain though she’d seen nothing but kindness from him, a tenderness that seemed strange coming from such a rugged man. Her heart turned over. “The bottle of pink stuff on a shelf near the tub,” she called.