by Bianca D’Arc
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Having his mate and child in his home was a wonderful feeling for Hank. He had never really had a chance to show off all the features he had been building into the structure over the past couple of years. Mark knew, of course, because Shelly was part of all the design work. She made sure that everyone who was building on the island had proper plans and triple checked calculations to make sure everything was done safely.
Other members of the Clan had specialized in engineering. Many worked side by side with Shelly, providing their expertise. There was more than one tunnel specialist because so many of the more resourceful Clan members had decided to excavate into the side of the caldera for their dens.
Hank, though, had probably taken it to the greatest extreme. He’d bored straight through the mountain, from the inner curve of the caldera to the outer mountainside. It wasn’t something Mark encouraged many of his people to do, but if they followed specific guidelines, it was permissible in certain cases. Hank was interested to find out what Tracy would think of his escape hatch.
“This is really impressive,” she said, walking into the wide hallway that led to the inner rooms of his home.
“We took advantage of the natural structure as much as we could,” he told her, leading the way. “It’s still a work in progress,” he said, opening a door to expose an empty section that didn’t even have walls yet. “I put priority on my private quarters, office and the hatch.”
“The what?” Tracy sounded intrigued.
“I’ll show you, but maybe we should put Emma down first. I do have a spare room that we can make comfortable and safe for her,” he assured her.
Emma was tired. All the excitement of the day had finally caught up with her, and Hank saw every indication that, once put to bed, the child would sleep for hours. Tracy nodded, and Hank led the way to the spare bedroom. It wasn’t right next to his bedroom, but it was close enough, and he was already thinking about the surveillance gear in his office that he could repurpose to use as a baby monitor.
He knew he had an infrared camera with a motion sensor and mic pickup. That should suffice. He could rig it to his bedside monitors overnight, and they could keep tabs on Emma. They’d hear any sounds she made and be able to hear and see immediately if she made a move or had a bad dream. It would only take a few minutes to set up.
He escorted them to the spare room, opening the door and taking note of the duffel full of weapons he’d have to remove. He threw gear in here on occasion, but nothing other than the weapons satchel would pose a threat to Emma. There was a bed along one wall. It had originally been Hank’s, but he had opted for a larger size when he built his bedroom.
He’d kept the old furniture, knowing he had a lot of space to fill in his lair. He’d kept it but had never had a guest here before, so it hadn’t been used since he’d moved in. The room was clean though. He liked a tidy home and had a robot vacuum that made the rounds once a week whether he was here or not. He’d rigged it to self-empty into a waste chute he’d specially designed, so it never needed supervision.
“I’ve got bedding in this closet, and there’s a bathroom through that door,” he told Tracy, already opening the closet and taking out a set of clean white sheets, blankets and pillows. They’d make a little nest for Emma, and she’d be safe.
Tracy might possibly be thinking about sharing the room with their daughter. The bed was big enough for both of them. But Hank would be doing everything in his power to convince her to sleep in his bed. His new bed. With him. She just didn’t know it yet.
Hank and Tracy worked well together as they tackled the tasks at hand. Tracy took Emma into the bathroom to wash up while Hank made the bed and quickly removed the weapons. He deposited them into his private office, grabbing the camera and being sure to lock the door behind him. If Emma did manage to wander around the house at some point unsupervised, he didn’t want her getting into the weapons or his security equipment.
He’d installed the camera before Emma and Tracy came out of the bathroom. Then, it was time for sleepy hugs and baby kisses as they tucked their daughter into the improvised nest they’d created. Between one minute and the next, Emma had fallen into that deep sleep that he’d seen in other children of their species.
Hank and Tracy tiptoed out of the room and closed the door. He led her down the hall toward the hatch, wanting her to know everything about the place. So few people had been back here, he wanted to see her reaction.
“This is what I call my escape hatch,” he said, entering a special code into a mechanical lock at the far end of the hall. It clicked, and he opened the door. Lights came on automatically and Tracy gasped when she saw what was inside.
“How in the world did you get that in here?” She stepped inside, motioning toward the small sea plane that had pride of place in the center of a large chamber that was essentially an airplane hangar.
“We have to winch it up after every use, but it’s proven itself useful. I can launch from here, dropping down into the water, then motor out a ways before I take off. Mark’s had me do it a few times when the island was under too much surveillance.”
“I thought nobody came to the island without an invitation,” Tracy said, tracing one hand along the body of the small plane.
“They don’t, but Mark is a celebrity in both the human and shifter worlds. Especially in the early days, right after news of his purchase of the island hit the papers, we had a lot of unwanted attention from the paparazzi. They were circling the island in boats, helicopters, small planes, and even drones. It was a total pain in the ass for a while there, until we started fighting back.”
“Fighting back?” Tracy looked at him sharply.
“Well, those drones are expensive and pretty easy to shoot down. Once Mark declared open season on them, we all got in a lot of target practice. It was kind of fun, actually,” he mused with a grin. “The manned aircraft they buzzed us with stopped coming so close once they realized a lot of us crazy pilots would play chicken with them in the sky. And the island itself is defense against most watercraft. There’s really only the one place to dock. Everywhere else is just too dangerous, filled with sharp rocks and other hazards—some of which, of course, we put there ourselves.”
“Clever,” she said softly, moving toward the front of the plane, which was facing outward toward the outside of the mountain. “So, you’ve got a retractable door here, like in some kind of superhero movie?”
“Yep,” he told her, moving alongside and grinning as he looked at the giant door he’d helped install. “I figured if we were going to live inside a dormant volcano, we might as well go all the way.” She shook her head, but she was smiling. “The doorway is carefully camouflaged from the outside. When we open it, we douse all the lights and roll the plane out. There’s a gentle slope and then a sharp drop-off into the water. It’s a hell of a ride, and gravity does all the work. We calculated the best spot to put this so that the prevailing winds and tides would carry the seaplane away from the island about ninety percent of the time, without having to engage the engines. This is a stealthy getaway special.”
“Ingenious,” Tracy murmured.
“I’ve got another surprise for you,” Hank told her, bringing up the secure feed from the camera he’d put in Emma’s room on his phone. He tilted it, so Tracy could see, then hit the sound icon that let them both hear their daughter’s delicate breathing. “She’s safe, and we can see and hear if she needs us.”
“Do you have cameras all over?” Tracy sent a doubtful look around the large hangar.
Hank chuckled, pocketing his phone after one last glance at their sleeping baby. “No. I had that camera in my office, in a pile of components. I hooked it up just before you and Emma came out of the bathroom. I figured it would lend you some peace of mind should you decide to sleep…and maybe do other things…” he gave her a daring grin, one eyebrow raised, “…elsewhere.”
“Just what sort of other things did you have in mind?�
�� Playful. Interested. Hot. All good signs from his potential mate.
He tilted his head to one side, feeling mischievous. “Oh, a little of this, a little of that.”
“Tell you what.” She turned, putting both palms on his shoulders and stepping close. “Why don’t we get on with the tour? I still haven’t seen your bedroom.” The invitation in her voice made his excitement level rise…among other things, as she sauntered away from him back toward the door.
He wasted no time closing and locking the door to the hangar behind them. He led her back down the hall, pointing to the door to his office, but not stopping, then opening the door to his bedroom with a flourish. He let her precede him inside, wondering what she’d think.
Tracy was enchanted by the large bedroom suite. She could see this was definitely Hank’s inner sanctum, because it was decorated in a way that differed slightly from the rest of the house. Here, he seemed to have collected fabrics and mementos from his trips all around the world. There were hints of such things in other parts of the house. She’d noticed tribal drums displayed in the living room and colorful Italian glass on the open shelving in the kitchen, but this was more personal.
“You certainly are well traveled,” she mused, walking slowly into the room.
Hank paused at her side while she looked around. “The masks were a gift from a friend in the African branch of the Kinkaid Clan,” he told her, pointing to several lion-themed masks of natural wood and fibers in a primitive style. “The baskets are from my mother’s extended family in South America.”
“Let me guess,” she said, moving farther into the big room. “The clocks are German.” He had a small collection of miniature mantle clocks displayed on one dresser.
“My father came from a noble family in Austria,” he said quietly. “The clocks are all that’s left of his family’s ancestral home, which was destroyed in the war. His great-great grandfather was a clock maker and collector. These were his pride and joy. My grandmother kept them safe and passed them down to my father, who left them to me.”
“That’s really nice,” she said, running one finger along the edge of the dresser where the clocks were displayed. “You don’t have them running? Do they work?”
“They do. I make sure to check them over every year, but the ticking drives me nuts,” he admitted, making her chuckle.
She turned to find him right beside her. In fact, her little spin ended with her in his arms. Tricky. But she liked it.
“The bed has cotton sheets I picked up in Egypt. They’re as soft as clouds,” he promised, an anticipatory glitter in his sky-blue eyes.
“I may have to check that out,” she replied, trying to sound serious when, in fact, all she wanted to do was jump his bones.
“I think that can be arranged, but first…” Hank took her hand and led her over to the nightstand where a small monitor sat, dark. He plugged it in, and the screen came to life, showing several images in a split screen of the outside areas around the house. He inputted a few commands, and the screen switched to showing a full image of the camera in Emma’s room. Another touch on the screen brought up a light hum of ambient sound from that same camera. “We’ll hear if she moves,” he promised, setting the monitor back on the bedside table.
Tracy took a moment to check that her little girl was still sleeping comfortably. In fact, it didn’t look like she’d moved at all from the position she’d been in when they left her. The day had been tiring for her, but exciting too. Emma showed every sign of enjoying her adventure—her first real trip away from Texas and the Big Wolf Pack.
Hank put his arms around Tracy’s waist from behind and nuzzled her neck. “Now, where were we?”
She turned and put her arms around him, smiling up at him. “I think I was about to ravish you.”
“You were?” He smiled in mock surprise. “I thought it was going to be the other way around.”
She tilted her head, considering. “Well, maybe we could have a little of both?”
Hank’s grin widened. “I like the way you think, sweetheart. I truly do.”
They helped each other undress, kissing, licking and pausing now and again to push fabric out of the way and off, onto the floor. As they slow-danced their way ever closer to the bed, they left a trail of discarded clothing behind them, like a trail. By the time Hank lifted her up and lay her down on the bed, she was as naked as he, and her temperature was steadily rising into oblivion.
When he came down to lie beside her, she pounced on him. Her inner wolf was calling the shots now, and it had waited too long for the man it wanted. Tracy’s human half wanted to slow things down…at least long enough to find a condom.
She must’ve said the word or maybe Hank was thinking along the same lines, because his arm flailed out to stab for the handle to the nightstand drawer. He latched it on the third try and pulled it open. Inside, Tracy saw a small box that looked new. It was still wrapped in clear plastic. She reached for the little box and began tearing at the uncooperative plastic. She growled as it resisted her fumbled attempts to pierce the slick outer shell of cellophane.
Hank chuckled as he reached out with one half-shifted claw and nicked it for her. Why hadn’t she thought of that? She pushed the thought aside in her frenzy to get the rest of the flimsy barrier away from the paper of the box. Then, she was in, and there was more plastic and foil, but this time, she was happy to see it. She tore one of the little packets off and threw the box back on the nightstand.
Sliding down his body, Tracy held that single packet between her teeth, careful not to let her inner wolf elongate her canines into something that would render the prize within the little packet useless. She hadn’t done this very often in her life, so it was both new and exciting as she tore open the little holder, then took Hank’s hardness into her hands while she dressed him. Rolling that condom over his erection turned into an excuse to caress him, and she could tell she was turning him on even more as his hips levered up off the bed, into her caress.
She had to chuckle at his eagerness, though it matched her own. “Down, boy,” she chided, giving him an extra squeeze as she licked her way back up his body. It had only been a short time, but she was already addicted to him. She wanted him more than she wanted her next breath. “I think this is the part where I ravish you,” she told him, looking into his glowing eyes. Oh, yeah, her man was as excited as she was.
“I’m yours,” he growled, spreading his arms out at his sides dramatically. “Do your worst.”
A growl from her inner beast answered him as she rose above him, straddling his middle. She reached behind, finding his hardness, and lowered her body onto him, taking him in one long, slow stroke as his body vibrated with a low sound that could have been a purr.
When she was seated fully, she paused for a moment to savor. He felt so good. The perfect size and shape for her. He always had been. This was just part of the reason she’d been so unable to deny him back when they’d first hooked up, but it was a compelling one. She’d never been so compatible with another man physically…or emotionally. Her cat-man always seemed to know what she needed, and he’d been not only a generous lover, but a really good companion to a woman who had always been more lone wolf than Pack animal.
She began to ride him, slowly at first, then increasing in speed as her passions rose to overtake her. Hank’s hands went to her hips, guiding her when she began to falter, her body moving in fits and jerks as a small orgasm took her.
He was still hard within her as he rolled them over and loomed deliciously above her. “I think this is where I get to ravish you,” he told her, a loving smile on his face even as his body trembled slightly with peaked desire.
Then, he took over.
Hank rode her, this time, slamming into her in a way that made her feel his ultimate possession with an indescribably pleasure. He knew every place to touch her, every stroke that would drive her wild. In minutes, or maybe hours, she flew again, to a much higher place. A place she had only ever r
eached with him. Her Hank. Her lover. The father of her beloved child. The most special man she had ever known.
They came together, each rumbling a growl that probably would have been roars if they had been able to be as loud as they wanted. But it was all good. The beautiful reason they had to be quiet was fast asleep in the guest room and they would do what they had to do to make sure she was undisturbed.
Hank settled next to her, holding her close in his arms as they dozed. He took care of the condom, at some point, and rejoined her in the bed. They dozed for a bit, and Tracy was able to look over at the monitor to be certain her baby was all right in this strange new place.
They made love again in the deep of the night. This time, it was slow and seductive, Hank pulling out all the stops in his promised ravishment of her body. He was a beautiful man and a fantastic lover. He sent her to sleep with a lingering smile on her face that lasted well into the morning light.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The next day, they ran into Pax and Ari Rojas in one of the community buildings that had just been completed. A sort of town hall, the design was both stunning and functional. Emma spotted the visiting brothers first, running over to them and demanding to be lifted in the air. Ari caught her as she launched herself at him and swung her up high, making her squeal in delight.
Tracy, who had charged after her runaway daughter, apologized. Only then, did she realize the brothers were accompanied by Mark and Shelly. Emma was probably interrupting an official tour or something, and Tracy felt even worse.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered to Shelly and Mark. “She seems to have no fear since she started shifting.”
Mark gave her a solemn look. “That’s the way I want all our children to be raised. You’re a good parent that she feels so free to reach out to others.”
“Don’t worry,” Shelly assured her as well. “We were just about wrapping up the tour, anyway. To be honest, I think we were boring them a bit, so a little play break is probably a good idea.”