by Elle Thorne
She froze the minute she laid eyes on Braden. His gaze locked with hers. She fumbled with the fabric of Larsen’s pants, unsure what else to do with her nervous fingers.
You would think that the effect that Braden had on her would diminish over the days, but no, every time she saw him, it was stronger than the time before. It left her a quivering, jumbled mess inside.
She barely managed to croak out a “good morning” with the way her throat locked up.
Braden’s eyes traveled the length of her.
Oh God, he’s killing me.
“So what’s the plan?” Braden blew on the coffee in his cup.
“Just want to show you two something.”
Even more mysterious.
And then Griz added, “Might have an offer to make.”
Dakotah shook her head. “You’re good at that suspense thing, aren’t you?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
With Griz taking the lead, Dakotah followed, carrying Larsen in a front carrier sling attached to her body, and Braden brought up the rear.
Truth be told, it was not a bad job. He glanced at Dakotah swaying hips and tempting ass.
Damn, not a bad job at all.
Griz had taken them a short distance from his cabin. Braden wasn’t exactly unfamiliar with the area since he and Griz had been working out here with Tanner and Teague building a cabin. But he’d never been this way. And he was surprised when Griz showed them the entrance to a cave that he’d never noticed before.
Dakotah appraised the cave’s opening. “You want to go in there?” Incredulity and an amount of fear were evident in her tone.
“There’s nothing to be concerned about,” Griz said.
Larsen laughed as though to punctuate Griz’s statement.
“What’s in there?” Dakotah wouldn’t let the matter go. She was clearly not willing to walk in without more information.
Griz reached into a pack. He pulled out a lantern. “This is for you, Dakotah. Shifters don’t need it.”
“Show off.” Dakotah stuck her tongue out at him.
Griz laughed out loud. The sound bounced back from the cave.
Larsen squirmed and giggled at the sound of Griz’s laughter being echoed.
“I’ll protect you,” Braden said, putting his arm around Dakotah’s shoulders.
That electricity struck him where his skin contacted hers. He couldn’t prevent the shiver that coursed up his spine.
Nor could he have prevented the roar his bear released in his head, clearly wanting their mate.
She’s not our mate, he reminded his bear.
His bear roared in return.
Griz was watching him. He nodded. “Ready?”
Dakotah’s nod was not enthusiastic. But Larsen made up with that in giggling.
“When we get inside the cave, well into it, you may want to let him down,” Griz indicated Larsen. “He will probably want to shift and explore.”
“Will it be safe?” Dakotah wore a frown.
“One of the safest places on earth.”
“So where does this cave lead?” Braden asked after they’d walked twenty minutes.
“I’ll show you, just around this corner,” Griz said.
Sure enough, around that corner, there was a sitting area. Stone benches and a stone picnic table in a room surrounded by cave walls.
Griz held the lantern up so Dakotah could get a view.
“Wow.” Dakotah took the lantern from him and walked around the edges of the room. “What’s all this writing on the walls?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I’m not in a hurry,” Braden said. He turned to Dakotah. “Are you?”
Dakotah shook her head. “Not one bit.” She let out a little squeal, which echoed off the walls. “You weren’t kidding.” She released Larsen from the sling as he was shifting into a cub.
“I figured he’d want to check the place out.” Griz smiled. “Most of the young shifters want to. They can sense it.”
“Sense what?”
“That this is a place of importance to shifters.”
“What do you mean?” Braden looked around the place. All he could see was a big cavern with several offshoot tunnels.
“This place was where our people hid and lived when they were persecuted long ago. It connects to the tunnels that Grant’s grandfather’s people added. It could house a town.” He pointed toward one tunnel. “That one leads to a storage area. I’ll show you as soon as we’ve had lunch.” He pointed to another one. “That one leads to… well, that’s a surprise. I’ll show you. It’s best seen not heard about, anyway.”
* * *
Belly full of fried chicken, Braden followed Griz and Dakotah, while Larsen in his lion cub body scampered about amongst them, occasionally finding a bug to chase. Once making for a mouse, which of course, made Dakotah squeal, first with surprise, then fear.
“He’s a lion,” Braden told her. “He’s not afraid of a little ol’ mouse.”
“Right.” Her answer was sarcastic. “That’s not what I hear.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Braden countered. “I’m a bear.”
The glance she gave him when she looked over her shoulder made his breath catch.
God, he wanted this woman. Forever. And then some.
I better do something about this.
His bear roared in agreement.
Like what, Braden wondered. There was really only one thing he wanted to do.
After a few moments of walking along the “surprise” tunnel, Griz pointed toward the end. “See?”
A site Braden wouldn’t have believed beheld him. “You’re one of those preppers types,” he accused Griz with a smile.
Before them stood shelves and shelves of food, supplies, an unbelievable amount of food.
“You could feed an army,” Dakotah said with wonder.
“That’s the point, if it needs to be.” Griz grinned. “Last time we were caught less than fully prepared.”
“What do you anticipate could happen? The Cold War’s over, isn’t it?”
Braden studied the scene before them. “This has been used recently.”
“We had a couple of brothers being sought after by some unsavory types. Gave them a place to stay, and with everything in here already, no one’s eyebrows were raised about anyone buying extra groceries, clothing, supplies.”
“I hope it turned out okay…” Dakotah said. “For the brothers, I mean.”
“It did. They’re back home. They’re safe.” Griz started out the room, clearly done expanding on the matter.
He sure as hell can keep a secret. Just the kind of friend a guy could use.
“There’s something I think you guys will enjoy. You go this way,” he pointed toward his left.
Braden nodded. “Sure.”
“I’m game,” Dakotah said.
Larsen yipped a tiny sound of joy.
Dakotah knelt and hugged the cub, planting a kiss on his furry head. “You’re going to be a handful one day, aren’t you?”
Thunder rolled in the distance as Larsen made a gurgling sound that was a mix between a growl and a purr.
“Follow that tunnel. Take the first right, the third left, and go all the way to the end. The water is warm if you want to swim.”
“Swim?” Dakotah laughed. “We didn’t bring suits.”
“Good point. Well, there’s some stuff there, if you want. Towels. Maybe even some swimwear at the back, in some plastic containers. You’ll see the shelves when you get there.”
Braden had a question. “Aren’t you going?”
“Nah,” Griz strode out of the area toward the tunnel. He turned back to say, “Dakotah, I’d like a bit of time with my godson, if you don’t mind.”
Dakotah tilted her head. “I’m sure Larsen would love it. I’ve got plenty of formula in the bag, ready to go.” She took the backpack Braden had been carrying for her and handed it to Griz. “Enjoy.”
She joined Braden at th
e entrance to the next tunnel.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dakotah carried the lantern high. Granted, Braden may not need it but she surely did.
Times like this, she wondered if it wouldn’t have been nice to be a shifter.
Except they lived with such danger in their lives.
Yeah, like mine was a piece of cake.
True, it wasn’t.
The first thing that hit her senses was the sound. She paused. “Hear that?”
Braden nodded.
“Water falling?” she asked him. As if he can see through caves and tunnel walls to know, she chastised herself.
“That’s my guess,” he said, taking her hand and leading her farther down the tunnel toward the water and the direction Griz told them to go.
The next thing that struck her was the light at the end of the tunnel.
Light?
Were they at the end?
She was all turned around, but she didn’t think they’d come back to the entrance.
Unless there are other entrances.
She shrugged, supposing there could be.
A slight smile seemed to be playing on Braden’s lips.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Not sure yet.” He kept his eyes forward.
“But you have a suspicion.”
“Just an idea.” He tugged her hand. “Let’s find out.”
And with that, he pulled her into a slow trot toward the brightness.
At the end of the tunnel, she froze and beheld the sight before her.
“My goodness.”
It was a large chamber, a monstrous-sized cavern with a hole at the top that let sun in to illuminate a waterfall cascading into a lagoon. The water was lustrous and blue, prettier than any vacation brochures she’d ever seen.
“I can’t…” She clapped her hands over her mouth. “This is… unbelievable. And it’s here. Right here in the mountains. And it’s a secret.”
Braden stepped behind her, put his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him, feeling as if they’d done this a million times before, and feeling so much at home. This man. This man was her home.
What about Larsen, that other voice asked in the deep recesses of her mind.
Why can’t I have both my men?
The voice asked her if that’s what she thought Braden would want.
Dakotah pushed that aside. So not dealing with negative, not now.
For now, she had this moment. With him. Alone. It was the first time she’d truly been alone with him for any length of time.
How odd, as much as she’d been around him, it had always been in brief spurts, and often joined by others. These days, usually it was Griz unless it was one of the valley shifters or their mates visiting.
“Penny for those thoughts.” Braden’s voice was so close to her ear, his scent so… man, earth, spice, sex.
This man personified those qualities. Her chest swelled with the thought of him.
And other things began to take a course of their own, namely her attraction to him and its manifestation.
She cleared her throat before she lost full control of her senses and turned around and begged this man to kiss her. “Shall we?” She stepped away from him toward the scenery below. One side of the lagoon was more like a beach with sand and tiny pebbles.
“You didn’t answer,” he reminded her, catching her hand and pulling her toward him, tipping her head back so she would look into his eyes.
A silver flame flared in the depths of his eyes. She studied it. Couldn’t tear her gaze from it, it was as if—
“Oh!”
He cocked a brow, his expression serious. “Oh?”
“That…” She stared. The silver light was back, coming in and out, brighter, then more dim. She realized what it was. But she’d never seen it among any of the shifters she’d been around before. “That’s your bear.” She cupped his face with her hands and locked stares, looking deeply within. “That’s your bear in there.”
The moment the words left her lips, a sensation coursed through her body as if she’d been held in a warm embrace.
Braden nodded. “He’s been trying to reach out to you for quite a while now.” He took her head in his hands, the same way she held his. “It’s just that there were other things to deal with.”
She nodded. “Lots of other stuff. Big stuff.”
“But now we’re here,” he said.
A bout of shyness took over Dakotah from the intensity of the emotions from his bear and from deep within her heart.
“Let’s go. You wanted to, right?”
He shook his head as if puzzled. “Yeah, but you still need to tell me about your thoughts.”
“Come on!” She yanked him forward. “There’s a ledge next to the waterfall. Let’s check it out.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Famous last words.
Or maybe a better way to say it would be: words that shouldn’t be together.
Waterfall.
Ledge.
Check it out.
No sooner than they’d gotten on the steep ridge, Dakotah lost her footing.
She flipped into the water, avoiding the stone ledges that stuck out.
Not that Braden had much time to notice what all she did avoid or not, because he didn’t even take the time to undress, diving straight in after her, bringing her to the surface.
They both emerged from the water, laughter on their lips.
“So much for my idea to stay out of the water.” Dakotah giggled.
“You could have given me a chance to get out of these clothes.”
“You?” She laughed. “I’m sinking from the weight of mine.”
“Let’s see if we can’t do something about that.” Braden fingered the first button on her top.
She gave him a look. “I’m not skinny dipping. Anyone could come up here.”
“So you would if no one came up?” Braden teased.
“You stop.” She grabbed the ledge so she didn’t go under. The clothing was seriously not working very well. It’d drown her if she didn’t hold on. “How’s the water not ice cold?”
“You’d have to ask Griz. I’m not an expert on the area or the hot springs that might be here.”
“Do you like working with him?”
Braden nodded. “He’s like the brother I never had. Bain’s great, and we’re close, but in his younger years, I didn’t get to see him as much. His father was strict about Bain visiting with my sister’s side of the family.”
“Nice to have family, isn’t it?” She fumbled with her own button now. “I think I will lose the top. I have a chemise on beneath it. But I’m barely treading water with all these garments pulling me.”
He dove under, then less than thirty seconds later, came up holding his jeans.
“What the heck! How’d you do that?” A large smile plastered on her face, a blush kissed her cheeks.
“I’m a ninja.” He tossed the jeans to the ledge. “I’m a polar bear. We have skills, you know.”
He dove under again, and unbuttoned her pants then slid them off. Luckily she didn’t fight him.
Coming up for air, he handed her the garment.
“You’re so good at tossing,” she started to say.
He took it from her and it joined his jeans on the ledge.
“Better?”
“Much. Thank you.” She handed him her top, with a silky thing still covering her body.
But man, that silky piece of fabric clung to her curves in all the right ways.
Damn.
She was watching him, her expression intense.
Concerned, he asked, “You okay?”
She nodded. “I am. This is so surreal. You, me, here in this magical place.”
With magical feelings, he wanted to add, but didn’t. Couldn’t. He didn’t want to scare her off. “But this is good, right?”
“It’s very good.” Her face scrunched up and she turned her head away.
Damn. She was crying.
Finger on her chin, Braden tipped her face toward him. Tears cascaded down cheeks blotched with pink. The white of her eyes were red from swimming. Her bottom lip trembled and she bit into it.
Index finger still on her chin, he placed his thumb on her lip and released it from pearly white punishers. Her eyes remained focused on his face, not straying, not looking away. Hesitation in the dark depths shredded his heart.
“Dakotah.” Her name came out with his breath, hushed, low, and ripped from his very soul. A few short days ago—it felt like weeks, really, he’d thought his life not worth living.
And now there was Dakotah. And Larsen.
His bear’s senses picked up her increasing heart rate.
The heat between their bodies, despite the water’s coolness, the electric charge where she leaned against him traveled through his torso, making a journey south, where there’d be no mistaking his intent.
His cock pulsed painfully.
Full breasts pressed against his chest, her nipples hardened peaks.
He should release her. He should before his desire and his bear made it too late to let her go.
Braden wanted to push his conscience away. Or maybe his bear could push his scruples away. He wanted Dakotah way too much. His love for her was way too deep.
He hissed his need to be one with her and buried his fingers in her dark hair pulling her head back, baring sweet lips.
A small gasp slipped from Dakotah. Her breath warm on his own approaching lips.
He lowered his head until his lips rested on hers. He pulled her closer, his thighs melding to hers, his hardness pressed against her body.
Braden closed his eyes, sinking into the sensation of having his mate next to him finally.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Dakotah was unable to push away the yearning that Braden created in her. At the apex of her legs, her body throbbed and her muscles flexed in response to his presence. The passion between them made her pulse race and her heart drum a beat that drowned out all other sound.
His tongue took her captive. His mouth claimed her mouth, heart, and soul.
