by Lynn Howard
Carter’s Devotion
Reading Order
Big River Pack:
Gray’s Wolf
Micah’s Match
Emory’s Mate
Reed’s Girl
Tristan’s Voice
Blackwater Bears:
Colton’s Kitty
Noah’s Fire
Carter’s Devotion
Carter’s Devotion
Lynn Howard
@2019
Published by Twisted Heart Press, LLC
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Disclaimer: This book may contain explicit sexual content, graphic, adult language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable. This e-book is for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Lynn Howard will not be responsible for any loss, harm, injury or death resulting from use of the information contained in any of its titles.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, businesses, and incidents are from the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual places, people, or events is purely coincidental. Any trademarks mentioned herein are not authorized by the trademark owners and do not in any way mean the work is sponsored by or associated with the trademark owners. Any trademarks used are specifically in a descriptive capacity.
Chapter One
Carter sat staring off into space as his Clan and his friends from Big River chuckled and joked. He was restless. And bored. And he had no idea why. It’d been kind of nice over the last year with zero drama. He fucking hated drama.
The bullshit they’d gone through after Shawnee’s family Pride had attacked, then the rogue Fairy and her Shifter buddies trying to steal Hollyn, were bad enough to keep Carter from ever wanting to leave his fucking house. Not completely true. He didn’t want any of his people out of his sight. He liked when they were all together, whether it was at Moe’s or down in Big River territory during cookouts. That way, he could keep an eye on everyone at one time.
Bear Clans didn’t have Alphas, yet he’d been shoved into the leadership role almost immediately. Carter had been the last to join Luke, Noah, and Colton, yet they’d looked to him for almost everything. Maybe because he was the oldest by almost ten years.
Carter was pushing forty and he’d yet to find his mate or start a family. He figured it wasn’t in the cards for him. He was only meant to find women here and there to sate his needs and fill his lonely nights before moving on to whatever lay ahead. It wasn’t like he was using women; they were using him for the same reason - to scratch an itch.
A loud, feminine laugh caught his attention and had him seeking out the owner of that sound. His eyes zeroed in on a woman with a full body and curves like Nova, but she appeared taller, even in her seated position. Her dark hair hung all the way to her waist and swayed across her back as she talked in an animated fashion to the women sitting with her.
And then she turned and looked right at him as if she could feel him watching her. Gray eyes. Her eyes were so light gray they were almost surreal. Ethereal. Like a freaking angel or something.
His heart began to slam behind his ribcage and his dick stood up and paid attention.
Before he had any time to think about what he was doing, he was on his feet and moving closer. And she never looked away, as if she expected him to come to her, as if beckoning him forward like a fucking siren.
And then he was standing right in front of her, looking down into her beautiful face.
“Hi,” she said in a raspy, throaty voice. And his dick thumped the back of his zipper. “I’m June.”
“Carter.”
“Ha! June Carter!” Reed guffawed from behind Carter.
Ignoring the wolf, Carter kept his eyes on June’s face.
“Want to join us?” June asked, her full lips tilted up on one side. And damn if he didn’t want to lean down and run his thumb over their softness.
“Yeah,” he said. Why was he so breathless? He must’ve had too much to drink because he was contemplating ways to get this woman out of the bar and into his bed.
June pulled the chair beside her out and Carter lowered into it, his eyes never leaving her face.
“Is he drunk?” Shawnee asked someone back at his table.
“Must be,” Colton said. “Never seen him act like that.”
“He’s probably horny,” Reed said.
At that comment, June’s lips stretched into a grin. Carter closed his eyes and shook his head. And just like that, the spell was broken. Turning to look over his shoulder, Carter said, “Shut the fuck up, Reed,” and then turned back to the gray-eyed beauty still smiling at him.
“Hey, he’s trying to help,” June said with a sexy chuckle.
Okay, then. Looked like Reed hadn’t completely ruined his chances. Not that he needed to be thinking about one-night stands and all that. And he definitely didn’t need to bring a stranger back to his territory, not after what they’d already gone through. Yet, he’d just about give his left nut to be naked with this woman. Already, he couldn’t wait to feel those curves under his hands. He couldn’t wait to feel how soft her skin was or how heavy her tits would feel.
Finding his inner coolness and control, he shot her a crooked grin. “Is it helping?”
Her smile was demure as her eyes lowered and then she looked up at him through her lashes. “And what would you do if I said it was?”
“Can I buy you another drink?” he asked, then realized she was sitting with two other women. All three were Shifters, but he had no idea what kind. They all had eyes in varying shades of gray, but none as pretty as June’s. “Let me buy you ladies the next round.”
The two other girls giggled while one of them nudged June with her shoulder.
“That’d be nice,” June said, no giggle in her voice and she didn’t even seem to notice her friends whispering behind her.
Carter’s eyes dropped to her pillowy lips. They were only inches apart. He could easily lean in and taste her. But she leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs at the knees, pretty much closing Carter out. Was this woman a tease? Was this some game to get free drinks?
And if he got some of her attention for the next hour, did it really fucking matter?
With a smirk, Carter pushed his chair away from the table and stood. He shook his head at his friends as he passed, not really wanting to get into a conversation about what he was doing. It was none of their business. He did his job every day, Monday through Friday. He protected his Clan and their friends any time he was needed. He spoke to the Alphas of other Shifter groups, representing the four bears, lioness and Fairy of his Clan whenever the situation arose.
He needed this. Even if he never saw June past this night, past these four walls, he needed to feel like he was more than a middle-aged Shifter with nothing to look forward to but his Clan brothers creating families.
Not that he wouldn’t be happy for them. But the reality was, he was jealous. Each time a member of Big River found their mates, gre
en fog slithered in his gut. It was even worse when a couple of them had pups. Then Colton and Noah had paired up, leaving Luke and Carter as the extra wheels.
He was middle aged. Next year, he’d hit the big four-oh and would probably still be single.
So, fuck it. He’d be an eternal bachelor. He could never be a womanizer, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t date periodically.
Noah frowned at Carter as he pushed four beers across the bar top. “Shawnee could’ve brought ‘em over,” he said.
It was bad enough that his Clan and the Pack were close enough to hear anything and everything Carter and June said to each other. He didn’t need his newest Clan sister getting in on the conversation, too. She’d been on him lately to find someone and settle down. She had this dream of their Clan filled with couples and kids. Shame they were going to be one chick and at least one kid short of her dream. Hollyn winked at Carter before he turned away from the bar.
June’s back was to Carter as he made his way through the bar, snarling at Reed when he held up two thumbs.
“Damn, man. I’m just trying to cheer you on,” Reed grumbled and turned back in his seat.
His pink-haired mate, Lola, wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Maybe a little less obvious next time,” she said with a soft chuckle before pressing a kiss to his cheek.
June glanced over her shoulder as Carter neared and gave him another of those soft, closed-lipped smiles. He hadn’t even asked if she was single. It was hard to imagine a woman like her didn’t beat guys away with a stick every fucking day.
Setting the beers on the table, he scooted one to each of the women before taking one for himself.
“I’m going to play pool. Carol, you in?” one of the women asked.
With a wink and a smile at June, Carol nodded and stood. The other woman bent and whispered in June’s ear. “You know the code.” Either she didn’t realize Carter could still hear her or she didn’t care.
June’s friends left with one more backward glance. And then Carter was finally alone with June. Well, as alone as he could get in a bar full of Shifters.
“So,” June said when it was just the two of them.
“So,” Carter repeated.
“Smooth, man,” Micah grumbled from the other table.
“Hush. Leave them alone,” Callie, Micah’s mate, said.
“You don’t get out much, do you?” June asked, then pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and smiled.
“What makes you think that?” He got out every damn day, whether to work or to Moe’s.
“Your friends are intent on either getting you laid or paired up,” June said. Then she leaned close until her lips were touching his ear and Carter wondered if he wouldn’t blow his load right then and there. “I’d go for the former if I were you.”
Heart racing, palms sweating, Carter couldn’t form a word as June pulled back. Her eyes held the faintest hint of a glow as she tilted her head. “I live less than five minutes away.”
“You serious?” Carter asked barely above a breath. There would be a shit load of questions if Carter jumped up and took off with this woman. But if he had the chance to touch her, to taste her, to bury himself deep inside of her, he didn’t give a shit what kind of talk there’d be in the morning.
“As a heart attack.”
For some reason, those words coming out of her mouth amused him. He released a surprised bark of laughter. She raised one brow at him, but she didn’t look upset by his outburst.
And that made him want her even more.
“My truck’s out front,” Carter said.
“Constance,” she said, barely raising her voice above conversational. “I forgot to feed my cat.”
June stood and grabbed her purse from the back of the chair.
“Call me if you need help feeding him,” Constance said with a wide grin. The other friend, Carol, didn’t look as excited. She looked a little worried. Shame Carter couldn’t put her mind at ease. He was too busy trying to keep from passing out from all the blood leaving his brain and going straight to his groin.
Keeping his eyes straight ahead so he didn’t have to see the look on his friends’ faces, he raised a hand and flipped the bird when a series of catcalls followed Carter and June out the door.
With a hand on June’s lower back, he led her to his truck parked three down and right up against the front of the building. He opened her door and helped her up, groaning at the feeling of her wide hips in his hands. How any man wanted a skinny woman never made sense to him. He liked curves, full tits, and a full ass. He loved the softness and feminine feel of a full-figured woman.
And June was perfect.
“I heard that,” she teased as she settled in her seat.
“Couldn’t hold it in,” he said with a wink as he closed her door and rounded the back of the truck, situating his cock so he wouldn’t have a permanent zipper mark on his shaft.
June was leaned against the door, her elbow propped with her head in her hand, when Carter climbed in. Her smile widened. “You sure about this? You can still back out.”
“Minx,” he muttered under his breath as he started the truck. The sound of June’s throaty chuckle filled the cab.
Giving directions, June seemed so relaxed and casual in his truck. She looked like she belonged there. Or like she’d be comfortable and could take charge of any situation no matter where she was. She had this air of confidence about her.
She hadn’t been lying; her place was less than five minutes away. In fact, it was three minutes. There were six single-wide mobile homes lined up in a row down a one-way road. Three of them looked vacant.
But the one she directed him to was well cared for, had flowers planted everywhere, and was freshly painted. “That’s home,” she said, then removed her seat belt.
He hurried out of his seat and jogged to her door just as she was stepping onto the running board. Hands on her hips, he lowered her to the ground and let his touch linger even after her feet were firmly planted on the gravel.
“Thanks,” she said, once again looking up at him through her thick, dark lashes. She was wearing makeup, but it was natural enough he could still see her beauty through it.
Releasing June, he let her take his hand and lead him to her place, up the stairs and through the front door. The second the light was on, Carter took a second to take in his surroundings, including noting the places where others could enter and exit. It was a habit he’d developed early in life and had only become stronger after each attack on his friends and family.
“Nice place,” he said. It really was. And feminine without being girly. She seemed to like the same bright colors the women of Big River enjoyed. There were no frilly, lacy things hanging anywhere, no floral patterns. But it definitely looked and smelled like a woman’s house.
“Thanks.” She tossed her purse onto a small, round butcher block table and opened the fridge. “Can I interest you in a drink?” she said, pulling out a beer and holding it up.
“Sure. Appreciate it,” he said, and wondered if she was stalling. Maybe she was the one having second thoughts all of a sudden. It was probably best if he bowed out, told her he was tired but he’d like to see her again.
“I’m nervous,” she blurted out, carrying the beer to him and letting her hand linger when he took the bottle in his own.
“About what?”
“I’ve never done this.”
With a sharp intake of breath, Carter stepped back. No way was he taking anyone’s virginity. That wasn’t his style. And she deserved better than a one-night stand for her first time. A woman like June deserved candlelight and a bed of roses.
“Look, I’m not…I can’t do that. You don’t want me to be your first,” Carter said, setting the unopened beer on the kitchen table.
Her dark brows pulled down and her eyes narrowed on him. And then those brows popped up to her hairline and her pretty gray eyes widened.
“What? No no no. I’m not a…I’m not a
freaking virgin, Carter,” she said on a giggle. “I mean, I’ve never had…you know.”
He raised one brow at her. “A one-night-stand?”
“Yeah. That,” she said. A pretty pink blush washed over her cheeks and she ducked her gaze.
Carter tilted his head and studied the woman he wanted more than he’d wanted anyone in a long fucking time. Up until about five minutes ago, she’d seemed like a woman who knew exactly what she wanted and didn’t let anyone get in the way of getting it. Now? Now she looked like she wanted to hide under the table until it was over.
“We don’t have to do anything, June. I’d be just as content hanging out,” Carter told her, leaning his hip against the half wall separating the foyer from the rest of the house and watching for any sign that she wanted him to leave or make the first move.
That no longer confident, sure woman blinked a few times as if she wasn’t sure what to say next or as if she were trying to figure out if he was feeding her a line.
“Want to sit?” she offered, nodding her head toward the table. “Are you hungry?”
Well then. The night went from fiery and sexy as hell to a little domestic. Screw it. Even if they didn’t get naked, he’d at least get to hang out with this siren. And give his friends something to gossip about while he was gone.
“I’m good. Thanks,” he said, pulling out an older looking chair and lowering into it.
June took the chair to his right instead of across from him. She popped the top of her beer, then clutched it between her hands like a lifeline.
“June. We don’t have to do a damn thing but talk,” Carter said, touching her forearm lightly.
The muscle under her skin tensed, but then relaxed as she released a breath she’d been holding. “Sorry. It’s been a long time since another man touched me,” she admitted, giving him a self-deprecating smile.
“Been single for a while?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “Newly single. With the same guy for almost two years.” Her eyes squeezed shut. When she peeked open one eye to look at him, Carter couldn’t help but chuckle. “I have a habit of saying what’s on my mind before my brain has a chance to catch up with my mouth.”