by Sierra Brave
He rubbed his head as he considered the question. His first thought was sixteen, but instinctively, he knew he was older. He glanced at the beauty to his side. He’d met her when he was sixteen, but she was a kid. He squeezed his eyes closed, allowing images from his past to flow through his mind. Somehow, they rushed forward more readily than they had in a long while. He remembered Dash and a couple of human guys—they were his closest friends. He stared at Doctor Jenkins. His messy tangle of auburn curls had turned gray and been cut straight and short. “Um, let’s see. I’m pushing thirty. I’m a physical trainer and the minority partner in the ownership of a large fitness center.” He glanced at Suzy. “Are we married?”
Her eyebrows shot way up on her forehead and her lips parted as her mouth formed this sexy O shape that had him wanting to push his tongue inside. His cock stirred beneath his pants and he rolled over on his side while reaching over to place a hand on her knee.
“Wha—why would you think so?”
He touched his chest before motioning to her and back to himself. “I feel like…I know there’s something here.” He rubbed his head. “There’s no way we’re nothing to each other.”
She shook her head. “We aren’t married, and I’m Suki, not Suzy.”
He laughed. “Don’t play.” He lowered his voice. “I definitely remember us warming the sheets.”
Her cheeks turned a bright crimson as the doctor cleared his throat and averted his gaze. “Well, you got your bell rung pretty good. Judging by the abrasions, you’ll have a huge bruise across your back, but luckily, I don’t believe he struck your head. With your history of brain damage, that could have been an absolute disaster. I strongly suggest you—”
“Brain damage?” He sat up straight, groaning as pain ripped across his back. “Ow, fuck me!”
“The incident with the liquor cabinet happened when you were a teenager. Do you remember your allergy to liquor?”
He lifted and dropped his shoulders. “I know I can’t drink it.”
“Alcohol consumption could be very dangerous for you. The first time you imbibed, your body reacted horribly. Not only did you nearly go into anaphylaxis shock, but you also couldn’t control your shift—parts of your body were transforming as others refused; ironically, your top-heavy horse head plowing through the glass cabinet and knocking you out probably saved your life because once you were down, your father was able to give you an epinephrine shot and a saline drip, diluting the alcohol. He had to restart your heart a couple of times though.”
Mal shook his head. “No way. That’s not true. He tried to strangle me because I stole his car, broke his liquor cabinet, and wasted all those expensive bottles of booze. I woke up with a neck brace and a bandaged head. He even sold my horse and said I couldn’t barrel race anymore to punish me.”
Doctor Jenkins placed his palms together, closing his eyes as he rested his chin on his fingertips. He exhaled a long breath before grumbling, “That stubborn, selfish old coot. I told him to talk to the boy. Now it’s left to me.” He growled, his nostrils flaring. “Your father sold your horse because of the risk to you if you suffered another traumatic brain injury before the initial one healed. He’d intended to allow you back on the football team once your grades went up again, but after the accident, he spoke to the coaches at your school to make sure you wouldn’t be allowed on any sports teams. He also had me take over the practice for about a month while he went into in-patient rehab. He never took another drink after that day.”
Mal’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. “Bullshit. You’re lying! He didn’t even go to my high school graduation because he hated me so much.”
“Before the accident, he resented you, but afterward, the fear of losing you like he’d lost your mother…he was terrified, unfortunately, the fear also kept him from allowing himself to get too close to you. He did; however, go to your graduation. He sat high up in the stadium, hiding from you like a spoiled child.”
Mal gritted his teeth. “No.”
“It’s true.” Suki’s sweet voice might have calmed him if she’d said anything else. “He spent the last year of his life regretting how he’d raised you, wishing he’d given you enough love.”
“Any…he never gave me any.” He threw the words at her like sharp weapons.
She placed her hand on his shoulder. “But he did love you.” Her words resonated in his ears, but he couldn’t look at her. Part of him wanted to yell at her while something else, primal and demanding, deep inside urged him to kiss her. He gritted his teeth, swallowing back his contradictory emotions as a loud bang drew his attention to the door.
“Mal!” Dash flew into his room. “Are you okay?”
Malcolm nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”
“Huh?” Dash lifted an eyebrow. “I’ve got a crime scene investigation team going over the garage and outside the house.”
“This girl behind me—are she and I engaged or something?”
Dash shook his head. “Hell no! She’s a gold-digging bitch after your inheritance.”
Suki gasped, jumping to her feet. “How dare you!”
“Then there is no reason for me to stay here. Take me home, bro.” He winced as he stood.”
Doctor Jenkins ran a hand threw his receding, gray mane, his expression filled with concern. “Malcolm, I strongly warn against moving right now. Rest and come to the clinic tomorrow.”
Mal ignored the warning, staring straight at his friend. “Dash?”
“You got it.” The wolf shifter stood beside him and placed his arm around his waist allowing Mal to put his weight on him as they walked.
They were almost to the car when Mal stopped in his tracks. “Wait. I can’t go.”
Dash supported his weight. “What?”
Mal placed his palm on his lower back, grimacing. “Suki will be here all by herself. What if the asshole who wrote that nasty message on the wall comes back? She could get hurt.”
Dash laughed. “In case you’re not clear on this—you got your ass kicked.”
“Bull shit! I got one of them, but then I was attacked from behind. I think the son-o’-bitch hit me with a crowbar.”
“Tire iron.” Mal turned his head toward the tall blond woman in a jumpsuit and latex gloves, leading the team cataloging evidence.
He pointed in her direction. “Yeah, what she said.”
“Either way—you got knocked the fuck out. My guys checked the whole house, and I’ve got a couple of uniforms stationed outside for the night so Anna Nicole should be fine.”
“That’s cold. Don’t call her names. Suki pissed me off taking up for my dad but it's not like I’m some hundred-year-old man.”
“Man, get your pussy-whipped ass in the truck!” Dash nudged him along until they reached his friend’s vehicle.
Since Mal wasn’t in any condition to drive, he climbed into the passenger side of Dash’s truck before fastening his seatbelt. He vaguely heard his buddy speak his goodbyes to the cops he was leaving to watch the house, but his mind was consumed with Suki.
As if a blackjack dealer were shuffling his memory like cards, bits and pieces of his life rolled by, sitting in his head long enough for him to discard or hit. Everything was confusing. He finally remembered meeting Suki—there’d been no attraction back then; she was a little girl. Her pheromones wouldn’t have phased him since she hadn’t hit puberty, but even then, he’d been determined to protect her. When he closed his eyes, he could remember their recent lovemaking. Hell, he could still smell her on himself.
Nothing escaped him, every arch and bend of her body and every curve of her face belonged to him. Her enraptured voice, crying out in climax lingered in his thoughts and her sensual scent called to the stallion within him. His horse tended to be laidback and easy to control but Suki stirred his primal instincts until he was ready to buck through the gate. Fuck…how could I have left her? “I need to stop by a drugstore and then go back to dad’s house.”
Dash kept his eyes on
the road. “I’ve got some pain relievers at home.”
Mal looked away, staring into the darkness between the sparsely lit streetlights. “I need to pick up something and take it back to Suki.”
“Are you fucking serious?” The irritation in Dash’s voice made Mal cringe. He didn’t want to have a conversation about his fated mate, especially given how Dash felt about her.
“Completely.” He folded his arms over his chest, never looking Dash’s way.
“Are you stupid?” Dash must have applied more pressure to the accelerator, probably without noticing. He sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth.
“Maybe but I’m trying not to be too irresponsible. I was on my way out to pick up emergency birth control when I was attacked.”
“You fucked her?” Dash’s tone and emphasis on the second word made it obvious how exasperated he was. He huffed. “Damn it!” The tires screeched as he made an unexpected turn.
Once they arrived at the drugstore, Mal climbed out of the truck. He’d hoped he’d be unaccompanied but before he’d made it to the door, Dash’s shadow was upon him. His friend grumbled barely audible curses as he followed him to the contraceptive aisle. The mountain’s small pharmacy only carried one brand of the emergency, after-sex pill. Malcolm grabbed a package along with a box of condoms.
“Really?” Dash’s disapproval dripped from the word.
“Why do you care?” Mal shrugged, his brow furrowing.
The wolf shifter’s jaw dropped. “Because you’re my boy and I don’t want to see you get hurt. She’s no good for you.”
“You’re the one who was pushing me toward her.” He brushed past Dash on his way to the cashier.
The wolf snapped at his heels. “Yeah, before I knew she was after your money!”
“Man, aside from making sure Mama Carol gets what’s she’s owed, I don’t give a damn about inheriting anything from my dad. I’ve been doing fine without him. I am a little interested in knowing exactly what happened between me and the old fucker the night I almost died though. I need to get ahold of my medical records. Suki can help me with that.”
He grabbed a sports drink from the cooler before he stepped up to the register. “You want anything?”
Dash shook his head. “For you to have some damn sense.”
Mal blew a short gust of air through his nose and grunted. “Can’t help you there.” He pulled out his wallet while the middle-aged women behind the counter rang up his purchase. After he paid, she put all of his items in a plastic bag with his receipt before handing them to him. “Thank you. Come again.” She waved to them as they strolled out the door.
After climbing in the dark-blue truck, Mal buckled up while Dash sulked. “I suppose you expect me to drive you back to her now?”
“Unless you want to be an uncle.” He shook the bag before retrieving his drink, breaking the seal and unscrewing the cap.
“Damn it. You need to stop thinking with your dick.” The engine cranked with a loud vroom as Dash turned the key in the ignition.
Mal rolled his eyes while taking a swig. He swallowed. “This is a force of nature I can’t control.”
The wolf shifter scrunched up his nose while backing out of the parking space. “Oh, you ain’t talkin’ that fated mate bullshit again are you?”
“That shifters will sometimes go into heat with a destined partner and no one else for their entire life is a scientific fact.”
“Bull. Fucking. Shit.” Dash turned out onto the road before speeding off toward the huge, white Georgian-style home a young doctor Patterson had once had custom-built for the love of his life before she’d died bearing him a son.
“So, did you find the missing woman?” Mal gulped down another swig from his drink.
“No, but we found the shithole where they’d been holding her and might have a lead on the assholes who have her. The human girl had been there too. I smelled them both. If it shakes out the way I suspect, this isn’t going to be something we can handle under mankind’s laws.”
“Shifter justice.” Mal shivered even as the words rolled off his tongue.
“Blood for blood.” Dash looked more solemn and serious than Mal ever remembered him being.
“Blood? Are the girls…” The last word stuck in his throat.
“Maybe the human—there was a lot of her blood in the cabin, but I didn’t sniff out a grave. The cat shifter—I think she was moved. We found some tire tracks.” He turned off down the road that led to Lillian’s Manor, the name Doctor Patterson had given the palatial home in honor of his wife soon after construction had been completed. As they cruised up the driveway, one of the officers left to watch the house stopped them. Mal sat with his arms crossed and his nostrils flaring, biting his tongue as his best friend told some cop Mal had never even met that he was a pussy-whipped dumbass who was crawling back for another snoot full of pheromone-induced mania.
After Dash rolled up the window, Mal reached over and punched the werewolf in the arm. “Dick.”
“Assaulting an officer of the law?” Dash snickered, rubbing the spot where he’d been hit. “Truth hurts.”
Mal rolled his eyes and unfastened his seat belt. As he opened the door, Dash grabbed his shirt. “Seriously though, be careful. I’ve got an idea who’s behind this and if it’s who I suspect this isn’t a random redneck or a few bored kids—it’s a low-life hate group populated by some dangerous individuals, and it’s not just a local thing.”
Mal nodded. “Got it.”
Suki had showered and dressed in warm pajamas when the sound of the door opening set her heart racing. Her first thought was the bastards who’d hit Mal were back, but then she remembered the lady cop just outside her door. “Officer Mets?”
She heard a heated exchange beyond the door of her bedroom before a loud knock brought her over to answer. The heavy-set officer ran a hand through her short brown hair as she poked her head in the door. “This man says you’re expecting him.”
She stepped back as Mal strode forward. Suki’s heart immediately leaped right into her throat. As angry as he’d been and after what Dash had said about her, she hadn’t expected him to return. He titled his head, looking off to the side shyly, a half-smile curving his lips as he stole a glance at her. “I got what you need.” He held up a bag from a local drugstore in one hand.
“Thank you, Officer. We’re good. Why don’t you set-up camp downstairs?”
Judging by the gleam in her eye as well as the knowing smile dancing across her lips, the cop understood exactly why she was being sent on her way. “Uh-huh. Call out if you need me.”
“Sure thing,” Mal answered before she could, closing and locking the door behind her.
Suki reached out and took the bag. As she retrieved the box she needed, she noticed the condoms, and her breasts tingled with desire. She remembered Mal’s hot breath over her erect nipples, and her temperature shot up at least a few degrees.
“Sorry about Dash. He’s overprotective.” He rubbed the back of his neck, not meeting her eyes. “I apologize for losing my cool and rushing off too.” He chuckled, looking down at his feet. “Funny thing is as soon as I was away from you, all I wanted to do was run back.”
Her chest heaved. She had her pride, but his incredibly, manly smell chipped away at her resolve. As he looked her in the face, she took a couple of steps forward. He slipped two fingers into her waistband. “Cute sleepwear.”
She looked down at her pink elephant-printed PJs and her cheeks burned. “They were a gift from my dad. I guess they’re kind of lame, but they’re comfy.”
He smirked. “Don’t worry. You won’t be wearing them long.” He snatched down her bottoms, leaving them around her knees. “Look who didn’t put on any panties.” He dropped to his knees, nuzzling his nose in her dark, curly pubic hairs. His tongue flickered over her clitoral hood, sending a jolt of arousal through her loins that would have made her jump if he hadn’t been gripping both sides of her naked buttocks so tightly.
No, no…I have to stop this. I want romance and love, not another hard fucking. She grabbed a handful of his hair and used all of her will power to pull his face away from her throbbing pussy. As he stared up at her, she lifted an eyebrow. “Who says I’ll have you again?”
He slid his palm along the inside of her leg. “The sweet cream flowing down your thigh tipped me off.” He pressed his lips against her meaty flesh, ignoring her feeble protests as he blazed a trail of gentle kisses and nibbles up to her slit before running his tongue along the seam. She whined, her knees trembling. “Are you sure you want me to stop?” He glanced up at her again, looking as if he already knew her answer.
Anger seared in her belly as she pushed him away. “Yes! I’m not a whore, Malcolm Patterson. You can’t come in here with your big, swinging dick and all…all that.” She waved her hands around toward him while stepping back as best she could with her pants around her ankles.
He jumped to his feet. “I never said you were a ho.” He placed his hands on her waist. “I like you, Suki, and it’s hard to be around you without touching you.”
She pushed him again. “How dare you? You and your shitty friend came in here, trying to harass me with your disgusting meat.”
“I apologized for that…”
“So what? You seduced me, fucked me like an animal and then ran off with your friend. Do you have any idea how horrible you made me feel?” She knelt, grabbing her pants and pulling them up as she stood.
Mal grimaced. “Aw, baby, no, don’t…” He huffed as she pulled the drawstring tight and tied it in a bow. “Damn.”
She placed her hands on her hips and glanced toward the door as if inviting him to leave. He glanced behind him as if noting what she wanted, but then choosing to ignore. He turned to face her, smirking as he unbuttoned his shirt.
“I said no!”
He shrugged. “Okay, so we won’t have sex. Are you going to make me sleep all alone too?”
Her jaw dropped and she threw her hands up in the air as she mumbled, “Is he kidding me?” When she returned her attention to him, Mal had kicked off his boots and was unfastening his jeans. She stared at him in disbelief as he shed his pants, swallowing down the lump in her throat as she observed the outline of his cock pushing against his underwear. “I…I need to go take this.” She shook the box in her hand as she tossed the bag containing the condoms back at him. Her aim was spot-on, nearly popping him in the forehead but he managed to catch the projectile with one hand. Suki turned and ran off to the adjoining bathroom, locking the door behind her.