by P. Jameson
And it was time to accept it.
As time passed in her mate’s arms, she tried to imagine a new dream for them. One with only two pieces, him and her. No matter how much she tried to make it fit, it didn’t feel right. But here he was, holding her so tightly, she couldn’t let go.
Mine. Always, mine.
“When was the last time we made love without trying? Forgetting about the schedules and shit, and just connected. Like we used to. When, my Layna?” He rocked her gently against him. “When was the last time I got to just give you pleasure? And take it?”
Ryan’s hands on her body became more urgent. His calloused fingers grazing her skin became rougher. His soft kisses to the top of her head became lingering. His breath came faster, heavier. And she responded, wanting so bad to feel a connection with him.
“Too long,” she gasped, her claws peeking out to graze his back. He always liked when she used her claws on him. She pulled back to find his eyes, lit with that familiar heat.
“Entirely too long, woman.”
He pushed her backward to the bed, his gaze promising what was coming was going to be shattering. That was exactly what she needed. To be shattered. All her hopes and dreams that had soured over the past years, she needed him to crush them, sweep them away so new ones could form. Because right now, she couldn’t imagine any future that could take the place of holding a baby in her arms.
Ryan’s mouth came down on hers, furious and hot. His fiery kiss demanded that she pay attention and when his tongue darted in to taste her, it tangled with her own. His height meant he had an advantage over her, and he used it, pushing her down to the bed while never breaking their kiss. When she was lying beneath him, he finally allowed her a breath. Pulling back, he stared at her, his eyes digging into hers.
“I will never let you walk away from us. Especially not over this. You understand me?”
She nodded, but he continued.
“I gave you enough chances to deny me in the beginning. I won’t let you do it now.” The pain in his voice reminded her of how they started. She’d resisted her attraction to him so long that he’d finally left Lake Haven to try and get over her.
She pressed her palm to his jaw, feeling it flick beneath her touch. “I’m not denying you—”
“Damn right, you’re not.” He didn’t let her finish. He pressed his lips to hers, angling her head up so he could go deeper. He nudged her legs apart and settled between them, his cock brushing against her sensitive sex as he continued to kiss her.
She moaned at the familiar sensation of his body rocking against hers. Her mate was all hard muscle and smooth skin. And he smelled like the forest in winter. Fresh and dark. She would never tire of him. Of this. Of the way he held her, touched her, whispered to her. Being with him was a soul connection. One that she’d lost sight of over the years.
She would never have this with anyone else… and neither would he she realized.
Whether she could give him young or not.
Whether they were a family of three… or just two.
He pulled back, looking between them where their bodies met. Gripping his cock, he rubbed it through her folds, driving her to the brink of orgasm already. She gasped at the sensation of his hot flesh bumping against her clit.
“Ry!”
He paused to kiss her neck and she swept her claws over his bicep making him groan.
“You and me, Layna,” he said, pulling her aching nipple between his lips and tonguing it until she squirmed. “It’s all that matters to me. You are my happily ever after. I don’t need more.”
In the next breath he entered her, slamming home and going still as she squeezed around him.
“Tell me it’s enough for you too,” he rasped. “Tell me I’m still enough. Because you fucking killed me out there. Tell me.”
Oh, no. His words drove a new blade through her heart and she couldn’t swallow at the hurt look on his face.
She would never let him think this, think he wasn’t everything. He was.
She found his eyes, seeing past the anger to the hurt there. “I love you, Ryan. You are enough. You have always been enough.” She focused all the love she had for him and pushed it through their bond, letting it feel solid again. It had been so blocked up with doubt and sadness, no wonder they’d both been so fucked up.
His eyes closed briefly, and he gave a small nod. “It’s settled then.” He pulled out of her body, and pushed back in hard enough to jolt her. “You will never say words like that again.” Out, and back in. Slow and hard. “Never. Understand?”
“Never,” she promised on a pleasured moan.
And she meant it. Whatever they had to get through, they would do it side by side. Because the alternative was hurting him. And she never wanted to do that again. Even if it was for his own good.
Chapter Seven
Ryan roared as his mate’s body tightened around him, making him come harder than he had in months. His release pumped into her and he kissed away her needy cries. Too long. It had been too long since they’d felt like this, and he wasn’t ready for it to end.
He thrusted into her, pulling one leg up to wrap around his body. “Mine,” he snarled, forgetting for a moment that he was human. It didn’t matter. Layna was his and nothing would ever change that.
When her body shuddered with another release, he pulled free to finish her off with his fingers. “This is mine,” he reminded, feeling satisfied with how strong their bond had become in just a short while.
“Yours,” she screamed as she came again.
Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her softly, letting her catch her breath. They weren’t done. They were going to do this all fucking night. He was going to give her so much pleasure she would be stinging from it come morning.
Layna laid across his chest, her body still twitching with relief. “Ryan.”
“Yes, mate.”
“Doc said—”
He put a finger to her lips to stop her. “I don’t care what Doc said. This has gone on long enough. We’re taking a break.”
She lifted her head to frown at him. “I thought you said we would do this together. I thought you wanted to—” This time he kissed her. One of these days, she’d get tired of him interrupting and sock him with some of that feisty Layna attitude he’d fallen in love with. Today was not that day.
He tugged her lip with his teeth as he pulled back. “We’re not taking a break from us. We’re taking a break from the baby making. From the schedules and logs and… and the pressure. I just want my mate back. I want to make love to you. Forget about why and when and how.”
Her expression softened. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“I want us to be better again. We’ve let things come between us and…” Her voice tapered off, but he could see the pain in her eyes.
“It hurts,” he finished.
She nodded, her dark hair falling into her face, and he moved to brush it aside. His sweet mate only ever showed this vulnerability to him, and he would always consider it a privilege to share her burdens. Their doubts were the same, each feeling inadequate. But there was a certain beauty in that. In two half-right pieces fitting together to make a perfect whole.
He stroked her cheek, holding her so tightly it was bound to hurt. This time she didn’t flinch. “Together. We will always face shit together. Nothing has changed. Not really. We promised it in the beginning, and I will forever keep this promise to you.”
She turned her face into his palm and dropped a soft kiss there. “I won’t falter again, you’ll see,” she whispered. “You mean everything to me.”
He leaned in to capture her mouth with a kiss when she went stiff.
“What is it, mate?”
“Do you hear that?”
Ryan frowned. “Hear what?”
Layna sat up, turning toward the door. “Ry… tell me you hear that.”
He listened closely. Nothing but silence. He opened his mouth to tell her, and
that’s when he heard the faintest sound of…
“A baby. Crying,” Layna murmured. She stood and slowly walked to the door—naked as the day she was fucking born. Ryan jumped out of bed to stop her from opening the door.
“Fuck, babe. What are you doing?”
She frowned. “You hear it don’t you?”
“Yes.” But what did that have to do with anything? There were plenty of young running around the lodge. Add in the fact that visitors often brought their kids to Lake Haven, and sure, you were bound to hear a baby crying a time or two.
“I need to find it,” she said.
“Layna, it’s one of the young. Or even belongs to a guest.”
She shook her head. “No, something is different about this one. I need to see it for myself.”
He took her hand. “Come back to bed.”
But beyond the door, the baby’s shrill cry sounded again, jerking Layna’s attention away like a siren calling a sailor. Bending, she collected her clothes from the floor and hurriedly dressed. Ryan followed. If she was leaving this room, it wasn’t going to be without him. Not after finally setting things right with her.
She pulled her shirt over her head and turned to him. “Ryan, something is… something is wrong.”
The tone of her voice had him pulling her close. He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “What is it?”
“I don’t know. That cry, that baby… it’s not… it’s… something. We have to find it.”
She pushed free, heading for the door and he was helpless not to follow. They didn’t have to go far to find the source of the crying. At the end of the hallway where it parted from the lobby, stood Doc’s mate Owyn. He held a small wicker basket awkwardly in his big hands. He looked around helplessly as the screaming continued. It was coming from the basket. His gaze landed on Layna and Ryan and his expression formed the word help with just a look.
Layna ran forward, but she wasn’t the only one. Gash rushed from the security office. Doc’s clinic door burst open. Eagan and Bailey came running from the kitchen.
“I-It’s a…” Owyn stammered as they approached.
“A baby,” Layna finished for him. The reverence in her voice brought Ryan’s gaze to her. His mate’s eyes were soft as she peered into the basket. Like she was looking into the eyes of a miracle.
“What happened?” Doc asked, already assessing the situation.
Owyn swallowed hard, shaking his head. “Someone left it at Thames’ chapel.”
“Her,” Layna corrected. She glanced at Ryan then Doc. “The blanket’s pink so I think it’s a girl.”
Gash frowned. “She must belong to someone around here.”
“I don’t think so. They left her at the front where the cross is. As if… well…”
The bundle in the basket screeched, silencing any discussion, and for the first time, Ryan looked at the baby.
His breath caught when he saw her tiny little face where it peeked out from the pink blanket. Her cheeks were cherry red from being so worked up, and a blond swath of hair stood up straight from her scalp. Ryan had seen a lot of babies in his years. Had cuddled a few even. But Layna was right.
Something was different about this one.
Mason’s words from earlier flitted through his mind and he looked around for the bastard werecat who was nowhere to be found.
“Doc, she’s…” Eagan frowned hard as he scented the air. Bailey nodded, agreeing with him. But no one said the truth out loud. The truth that even Ryan knew.
The baby was a shifter.
She wailed again, and he noticed how Layna flinched at the sound.
“Awww now,” Doc crooned, lifting the baby from the basket to cradle her against her chest. “You sure are upset, little one.”
Layna stepped closer to Doc, her gaze never leaving the child. “Is she okay?”
“She seems healthy. A little chilled and probably hungry.” Doc’s voice changed to something soft. “Just needs a little love is all.”
Love. The word echoed in Ryan’s mind until his ears throbbed.
A baby who needed love. This had Mason written all over it.
“I’m gonna take her to the clinic and check her out.” Doc looked at Owyn. “Someone should tell Magic about this. Stat.”
Gash nodded. “I’ve got her scent. I’ll find the brother bears and we’ll search the property for any clue to where she came from.”
Doc turned back for her office, but Layna stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“Wait.” She looked at Ryan, chin trembling, and then back to Doc. “Can I come with you?”
Doc smiled. “Of course. I could use an extra set of hands.”
Layna’s expression melted into relief as she grabbed Ryan’s hand and pulled him along.
Very, very soon, you’re going to be in the right place at the right time. And all your gooey fucking dreams are going to come true.
He didn’t know if this was what Mason was talking about, but it was enough that his mate wasn’t running from him anymore. He stared down at their hands as they walked, and a smile slid up his face.
Whatever was coming, he was ready for.
The sound of distant laughter echoed from the lobby, and he could’ve sworn it was Mason, reading his mind.
The bastard.
Chapter Eight
Mine. Layna’s animal roared in her mind as she stared at the tiny baby Doc held out to her. The word had been on a repeating loop from the moment she heard the first cry. She didn’t understand it, or her cat’s reaction, but the instinct was impossible to deny.
“Can you hold her while I get some supplies?” Doc stared at Layna expectantly, but she was frozen in place. Hold the baby?
Mine.
Could she? Should she, with how fiercely her animal was claiming her? It almost felt dangerous.
Ryan let go of her hand and Doc edged closer.
“Coming in hot,” she said, and Layna was forced to open her arms. It was either that or Doc was going to smoosh the child into her chest and hope it stuck.
Her breath stalled as she cradled the tiny thing in her arms. She’d held lots of babies, but never had one felt like hers.
No. She couldn’t think like this. The child had a mother and a father. One or both were shifters. They would come for her. She was theirs.
No, the werecat roared. Mine.
Doc lowered her nose to the baby’s cheek and Layna had to stop herself from pushing her away. Her animal wanted to go full-on mama kitty on Doc.
“She’s feline,” Doc announced. She frowned, confused, but then her face smoothed into understanding.
“What is it, Doc?” Ryan asked.
Doc pressed her lips together, setting the thermometer aside and picking up a stethoscope. “I hope I’m wrong… but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we found a female werecat left on our doorstep.”
Layna’s heart thundered at the implication. “You think someone left her here on purpose.”
“I do,” Doc confirmed.
Layna swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at Ryan. His brow furrowed low and his eyes flashed with anger as he rumbled, “You mean someone abandoned her?”
Abandoned. The word soured in Layna’s ears. Who would do this? Who could just turn their back on their own baby? She squeezed the crying infant tighter while Doc listened to the heartbeat.
“I don’t know.”
“There must be another reason,” Layna insisted. “She’s shifter There’s a familial bond. Instinct would demand...”
“Not necessarily,” Doc murmured. “Everything sounds normal under the hood. Let’s get her some food. I bet she’s starved. I know I get pretty cranky when I’m hungry.” Doc rummaged through a cabinet, pulling out bottles and various supplies. “I keep some emergency formula on hand. Never know when you’ll need it with all the young sprouting up.”
Layna swayed with the baby, trying to ease the child while Doc prepared the bottle. She pressed her lips to the tiny
wrinkled forehead and inhaled her scent. Babies always smelled sweet but this one left a mark in her heart. Mine.
Stop it.
There was no way to know if Doc’s suspicions were true, if the child really was abandoned. But the idea was so farfetched that Layna had trouble believing it. No, who could leave such a sweet baby. Such a gift. It was impossible. Her parents would come back.
Which meant, Layna had to keep her heart from falling in love with the sweet beast.
She turned to Ryan. “Maybe you should hold her.”
He shook his head, eyes wide. “You’re doing a fine job.”
“But—”
“Here you go.” Doc handed Layna the warm bottle of milk the same way she handed her the baby. By pushing it at her and giving her no other option but to take it.
“Doc, I…”
The child screamed as if she could sense the bottle was near. Smart little thing.
“Well, go on,” Doc urged. “Give the girl what she wants.”
Layna’s mouth fished open with excuses, but in the end, the crying won out. She pressed the bottle to the child’s lips, testing her. To her shock, the baby threw her mouth wide, snatching the nipple up and sucking hungrily.
Layna let out a soft laugh. “Get it, girl.”
Small emerald eyes blinked up at her, shining with relief, and for a moment she was overcome with emotion. How could she feel so much for someone she’d only known a few minutes. Because she is yours. From the first cry, she’d felt it in her bones. But it was impossible. How could she feel a bond with this child?
She stared helplessly at her mate, but he wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were glued to the baby. He looked at the child with so much ownership, that it almost scared her.
“You feel it too,” Layna whispered.
Ryan blinked, swallowing hard before he looked at her. “What is happening?”
“I don’t know. I—”
The door to Doc’s office swung open and Magic strolled in. The frown permanently etched on his face had softened over the years. Especially after his mating and the subsequent births of his own children. But he was still a formidable presence when he wanted to be.
