“What?!” Ava gawked. “Then what was the point of bringing me along in the first place?”
Candor shucked his shirt off, leaving his chest bare. He looked her straight in the eyes. “I don’t know… I just feel stronger with you close by.”
Her heart felt mushy and ice cold all at once. “I can’t let you go out there all by yourself.”
“It will be easier for me to protect Lynn if I don’t have to worry about you, too.”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Candor leaned in, cupping her face. “I will come back with her once it’s over.” His eyes flicked down to her lips.
I swear, if he asks permission again, Ava thought. She leaned forward and kissed him, soft and slow. Once they parted, he gazed into her for one long moment, then got out of the car without another word.
Outside, he discarded the rest of his clothes and fell onto his hands and knees as his body began to twist and reshape. Even inside the car, Ava could hear the groaning of his reforming bones. Before her eyes he transformed into the lithe, powerful creature she remembered. Without hesitation he bolted into the trees and was lost to her sight.
Ava waited until the forest stilled again. Then she reached behind her seat and drew out the pump action shotgun she’d noticed back there when she’d climbed into the car. A week ago, she wouldn’t have trusted herself with the weapon, but Marcus and Peter had shown her the basics of operating a shotgun a few days ago. Even if they hadn’t, she still would have grabbed the gun and gone after Candor. He was right: it was a bad idea for her to be defenseless out there.
Ava got out of the truck. As soon as she stood, her legs began to tremble. Sucking in a breath, she tightened her grip on the shotgun, faced the direction Candor had gone, and started walking.
Chapter 17
Ava didn’t notice the dark clouds overhead until they’d covered up the sun, casting the forest in a dim twilight. She shivered against the chill wind that came with the dark. You’re marching into a death match between at least two supernatural shape-changing beings with a firearm that you barely know how to operate, she thought. Instantly, she knew what her mom would have said: At least it’s not a dark and stormy night. If she hadn’t been worried about being quiet, Ava would have laughed. It would have been the first time she’d laughed since the death of her mother. There will be time for laughing later, she thought. When Lynn and Candor are safe, and we can all—
An animal scream pierced the air, making her jump and seize up with terror. The sound lowered to a fierce growl and then disappeared entirely. It came from just up ahead.
Ava’s heart thundered and her breaths came shallow. Was this right? She didn’t see the hill Lynn and Candor had talked about. Had she drifted off course and wandered into some other cougar’s territory?
She steeled herself. She couldn’t afford to waste time. She needed to act.
Moving forward with as little sound as possible, Ava skirted around a large gathering of trees. The scene beyond made her freeze.
Four cougars stood in the center of a large clearing. One of them was significantly bloodier than the others and crouched low to the ground. Ava knew at once it was Candor. The other three cougars paced in front of him, looking for an opening. And then Ava saw the tiny figure huddled on the ground behind Candor.
Lynn!
One of the rogues lunged suddenly. Staying low, Candor pounced from underneath and locked his jaws around the cougar’s throat. In an instant he wrestled the rogue to the ground, yowling and thrashing. One of the other rogues went for Lynn, forcing Candor to release the first rogue and pounce on the second. The third crept around Candor’s unprotected flank.
Anger and adrenaline surged up in Ava, making her fear evaporate in an instant. She stormed into the clearing and yelled from a place deep in her gut. “Hey!”
The third cougar whipped around at the sound of her voice. It snarled when its eyes found her, its face twisted and bloody. Ava pumped the shotgun and walked rapidly around the perimeter of the clearing. If she fired at the cougar from this angle, there was a chance she would hit Candor or Lynn.
The cougar charged. It moved so fast that its teeth would have been buried in her throat if her instinct and reflexes had not entirely taken over in that moment. Ava lifted the gun to her shoulder and pulled the trigger. The gun punched back sharply into her shoulder. The cougar screamed and sprawled on the forest floor. It writhed for a moment, then fell still.
A human scream pierced the air.
Ava looked up to find Lynn cowering back as the two remaining rogues tore into Candor. One had his hind legs pinned down while the other clawed at his head and neck. Candor was putting up a good fight, but Ava could see his movement slowing as he tired.
“Candor!” she heard herself scream.
Where were Lani and Luke and the rest of their allies? They should have been there by now! Her gut twisted with fear as she realized that even if they were on the way, they would be too late to save Candor.
Ava pumped the shotgun again and stalked toward the hissing mound of claws and teeth, but what could she do? She would surely hit Candor if she fired now. Her chest constricted as she lifted the gun to her shoulder once again. The end of the barrel trembled.
What do I do? What do I do? What the hell do I do?
A gunshot cracked through the air. Ava jumped and screamed as the rogue cougar ripping into Candor’s face contorted in pain. Candor seized the opportunity, shoving the cougar off him. He lunged at the one who’d been holding him down. They struggled briefly before Candor overpowered the rogue and sank his teeth into his neck. The rogue that had fallen struggled up, fangs still bared. It made a move to pounce on Candor’s back, but jerked back as another gunshot echoed through the clearing. It gave one last pitiful howl, then fell to the ground.
When Ava looked back to Candor, his foe lay motionless under him, his jaw still locked around his throat. Candor stood still and breathed hard, his sweat and blood-drenched sides heaving. Slowly, he drew back and fell onto his side.
Ava cried out and rushed toward him.
“Don’t.”
Ava skidded to a halt and turned toward the voice. Her mouth fell open.
Trent stood at the edge of the clearing, a rifle in his hands. Ava couldn’t read the expression on his face.
“Trent…” she breathed. “How did you find us?”
Her uncle didn’t answer. Instead, he marched into the clearing toward Lynn who was still bundled into a ball on the ground. Hanging his rifle’s strap over his shoulder, he knelt and went to gather her up. At first she screamed and struggled, but then she opened her red, teary eyes, saw her father’s face, and buried herself in his arms. She bawled into his chest while he held her, rocking slowly.
Ava heard a groan and remembered Candor. She whirled back to where he lay. He was a man again, but his transformation had not altered the ugly gashes all over his body.
“Oh my God,” Ava said in a trembling voice as she went to him. She fell on her knees at his side and gingerly turned him onto his back. “Oh God, Candor. Please tell me that fast-healing shifter powers aren’t just a myth.”
Candor coughed. His eyes were closed but he seemed to be conscious. “Nope,” he wheezed out. “They’re real.”
Relief flooded her. “Oh, thank God. Can you walk? We can get back to the truck and I can—”
Ava was interrupted by the sound of movement in the woods. She looked up to see Lani, Luke and several other people she didn’t recognize pour into the clearing. Many of them were dirty, bloody and naked.
Lani’s eyes landed on Candor, then flew to the three crumpled bodies of the rogues and went wide. “Jesus Christ,” she breathed, skidding onto her knees beside him. “Candor, oh God, I’m so sorry. Four of them ambushed on the way here. If I had known there would be that many I would have—”
“Lani,” Candor said softly. “None of us could have known.” His eyes searched the shifters standing behind L
ani. “Did any of ours…?”
Lani shook her head. “No casualties on our side. We outnumbered the bastards two to one.”
Candor grinned weakly. “Xander would be proud.”
Ava watched tears well up in Lani’s eyes, then heard footsteps and looked up to see Trent approaching with Lynn in his arms. He looked down at Candor. The two men stared at each other for a long time. Ava thought for a moment that one of them would thank the other, but no words passed between them. Only silent acknowledgement.
Trent turned to Ava. “I know we didn’t exactly part the best of friends, Ava,” he said, “but I just want you to know that you are welcome in our home.”
When Ava smiled at him, she realized it was the first genuine smile she’d given her uncle since she was a little girl. “Thank you, Uncle Trent,” she said, looking back down at Candor, “but I have a place to stay.”
Chapter 18
Lani road along with Ava and Candor in the truck while the rest of the shifters stayed behind to make sure no other rogues remained in the woods.
Back at the house, Ava and Lani carried Candor between them up the porch steps and through the front door. He wore the pants from the change of clothes he kept in his truck but remained otherwise bare. They steered him into one of the downstairs bedrooms and laid him on the bed.
Lani stepped back, wiping a wrist across her forehead. “Ava,” she said. “Hallway.”
Ava gave Candor a concerned glance, but he jerked his head toward the door so she followed after Lani.
Lani had walked almost all the way back to the kitchen by the time she turned and faced Ava. “Look,” she said bluntly. “I didn’t like you when Candor first brought you here and I still have my reservations.”
Ava returned her burning stare and said nothing.
Lani ground her jaw. “However,” she went on, “I know that if it weren’t for you Candor would be dead right now, and I would have lost another member of my family.” Her eyes were steely, but tears glinted in them. “So, thank you. Thank you for saving his life.”
Ava swallowed and nodded once.
Swiping at her tears, Lani said, “I’m going to join the others. Can you…” She coughed delicately. “…see to Candor’s wounds?”
Ava swallowed again for an entirely different reason. “Of course. Do you have a first aid kit?”
“In the kitchen. I’ll get it.” Lani did. As she handed Ava the kit, she said, “The others and I will probably be out for some time.” She gave Ava a wry look. “Don’t wait up.” With that she turned and disappeared around the corner of the hallway. Ava heard the front door open and shut behind her.
Lani’s suggestive words made warmth rise in Ava’s face, but she shook herself out of it. She had more important things to focus on right now.
Gripping the first aid kit, she moved back toward the bedroom, pushing open the door gently.
Candor was no longer on the bed. His pants were on the floor and the sound of the shower echoed from the bathroom. The bathroom door was open.
Ava kept her eyes studiously away from the bathroom as she moved toward the dresser across the room and opened the first aid kit. Lani could think what she wanted: Ava was here to help Candor recover, not to satiate her own desires. There would be time for that later.
She was laying out alcohol wipes and bandages on the dresser when the shower shut off. Wet footsteps sounded on the tile. Cheeks burning, Ava glanced over her shoulder. Candor stood in the doorway of the bathroom, a navy blue towel hanging around his hips. With a smaller towel, he swabbed his wet hair, making it stand on end. His eyes never left Ava’s.
She turned to face him fully, resting her palms on the dresser behind her. “How do you feel?” she asked. “Should you really be walking around?”
Candor draped the small towel around his neck and wandered into the room. “Fast-healing shifter powers, remember?”
“You can’t possibly heal that fast,” Ava argued. Beads of water still gleamed on his chest and arms, begging to be stared at. She turned back to the dresser. “Take a seat. Let’s get some antibiotic on those cuts.”
There was a pause, and then a creak of wood and mattress as a weight settled onto the bed. Ava’s temperature rose a few degrees. She grabbed a tube of antibiotic ointment and some bandages and went over to the bed.
Candor sat, hands on his knees, looking up at her through sandy wet eyelashes.
Ava wanted to swallow but fought the urge. She set the bandages on the bed, opened the ointment and squeezed some out onto her fingertips. Surveying the damage, she saw that Candor had a point: many of the wounds that had seemed deep and serious now looked partially closed. None of them were bleeding, even the deep gash at the base of his neck. Ava started there, brushing a small amount of ointment over the raw flesh.
Candor grimaced in pain.
“Sorry,” Ava murmured.
He shook his head. “Doesn’t hurt that bad.”
Ava hummed a laugh, still not meeting his eyes. “I should hope not, not after the fight you just went through.” She secured a bandage over the gash and moved on to the next big cut. She’d cleaned and bandaged most of the wounds before she finally gave in and met his relentless gaze. “What is that look for?” she asked.
He raised coy eyebrows. “Do you really want to know?”
She glared. “Now is not the time to be messing around. You need rest.”
He leaned back on his palms, the muscles of his chest and abdomen shifting together in a mesmerizing display. “I told you. I’m a fast healer.”
“You’ll heal faster if you rest.” Ava went back over to the dresser and started packing the supplies back inside.
She didn’t hear him get up or move toward her. She was only aware of him when his warm hands slid around her waist and he tucked his chin in between her shoulder and neck. His hot, damp chest pressed into her back. “You saved my life today, Ava,” he murmured into her ear.
Blood throbbed through Ava’s vein’s, heating her abdomen and turning the tips of her ears red. Her hands went to his arms wrapped around her. She’d meant to untangle herself from them, but she felt the corded muscles in his forearms and hesitated. Could she get out of his hold if he didn’t want her to? Did she want to get out of his hold? The short answer was hell no. She wanted the wandering heat of his hands to reach every corner of her, make her squirm with delight and pleasure. But…
“Candor,” she said, somewhat breathlessly. “You really shouldn’t… I just finished bandaging you up and if those come off—”
“You can put those hands of yours all over me as many times as you want,” he interrupted, kissing the warm skin of her neck. He gave her a nip, sharp canines pricking her flesh. Then his tongue slid up her neck all the way to her jawline.
Ava gasped. Her body burned, her thighs grinding against one another, her hands clutching his arms still around her waist.
“I want this, Ava,” Candor growled. “Tell me you don’t want it and you won’t hear another peep from me.” He sighed and nuzzled against her throat. “Much as it kills me to say that.”
Ava’s heart broke a little at that. She shook her head. “No… I want it. I want you.”
An animal purr issued from deep within Candor’s chest. His hands slid down across her belly, over her thighs, back up and under the edge of her borrowed flannel. Ava felt his fingers touch the skin of her stomach and her breath heaved in her chest. He hadn’t even gotten to any place important yet and she was already in danger of passing out from the heat. “Candor,” she slurred.
Candor growled, seizing her by the hips and spinning her around. When he kissed her, the gentleness from earlier was gone. There was only heat and hunger and his tongue taking over her mouth. Ava moaned, letting herself melt in the wake of his desire. Her hands coasted over his chest, sliding up and around his neck as he lifted her and carried her over to the bed. As soon as he’d laid her down, his hands went under her shirt again, moving fearlessly over her back un
til they found her bra strap. Somehow, he managed to unhook it while seemingly entirely concentrated on kissing her.
His mouth left hers, allowing her to gasp for breath. Teeth and tongue kissed their way down her jawline to her ear. He sucked briefly on the burning lobe, then worked his way down her throat. He kissed her beating pulse while his hands worked at the top button of her flannel. She looked down, watching the fabric fall gradually apart, exposing her to him. Her unhooked bra clung loosely to her breasts. Candor nosed his way between them, sliding his tongue up the damp crevice. Ava arched her back, gasping. His hands skidded up her sides and took hold of her bra straps, tugging them down her arms until he could slip the bra off and fling it to the side. He hovered over her for a moment, smoldering eyes taking all of her in. His hands slid under her, traveling down her back, over the hem of her jeans until he was gripping her ass in both hands. He heaved her up against him, letting her feel the impressive bulge under his towel. “I don’t ever want another man to see you like this,” he said hoarsely. “I want you to be mine.”
A crazed possessiveness swelled up in Ava. She inched up onto her elbows until their faces nearly touched. “Take me then,” she hissed. She bit his lip and wound her arms around his shoulders, bringing him back down onto her. He opened his mouth for her and she shoved her tongue inside, twisting it together with his.
Candor dropped her ass and slid one hand up her front until he cradled her breast with his thumb and forefinger. Slowly, his palm slid over the soft mound. He cupped and massaged it, never taking his lips from hers. Ava groaned at the delicious sensation of his fingers against her skin.
His mouth broke away. Ava took a breath to complain, but then he dropped his head and sucked her other breast into his mouth. His rough tongue moved over her nipple, making Ava squeal. He released it and moved to the other one. His saliva glistened on the breast he’d just left. He grabbed it with his hand, his fingers sliding over the slick surface. Ava’s chest rose and fell with the motion of his mouth drawing her breast in, releasing it, and drawing it in again. She was sure the sensation would drive her mad if he kept at it. Sounds bubbled up out of her throat that she’d never made before.
Shifter Babies of America Box Set 1 Page 9