by Elena Aitken
She’d insisted on coming, and although he would have preferred she’d stayed in bed, Kade was also happy to have her within sight. Even if it meant she was also within sight of the man who’d attacked her.
Carlos.
He still didn’t know much about her ex, but all he did know was enough for him to hate the man. Only a cowardly, little man disrespected a woman by laying a hand on her. Just thinking about him touching Ella in any way was enough for Kade’s bear to roar to the surface. He settled his mate in a chair next to the workbench, as far away from both Carlos and his grandfather as he could manage.
As far as Carlos was concerned, Luke had the weasel tied securely to a chair. He looked as if he’d had better days. Clearly the beating Kade had given him had made a point. If Kade could have arranged it, he would have tied up their grandfather right next to him. It didn’t matter what his involvement was in what had happened to Ella; the only thing that mattered was that he was involved. They’d agreed to wait for Axel to arrive, before hearing what he had to say, but being in the same room with him was too much. His bear was close to the surface. Too close. Now that he’d rediscovered his bear, he had a very hard time controlling it. Especially where Ella was concerned.
He stalked across the room until he was only inches from his grandfather. He looked even older and more frail than the last time he’d seen him.
“Talk.”
“We should wait for Axel.”
“He can catch up.” Kade didn’t bother to look over at Luke. “I want answers now.”
There was no way Luke would argue with him, and Kade knew it. If it had been Chloe who’d been attacked and almost…no. He couldn’t think about what could have happened out there on the ridge. But if it had been Chloe, or Harper who’d been in that position, Kade wouldn’t begrudge them finding out what happened. And they both knew it.
He turned his attention back to his grandfather. “What are you doing here? What do you have to do with this?”
“I told Carlos where to find Gabriella.”
Whatever answer Kade was expecting from his grandfather, it wasn’t that. A growl from deep inside him rose up, and he could feel his teeth sharpen in his mouth.
“Her father contacted me, just as he had all the clan alphas, at least a month earlier.” He moved his head to the side he could see around Kade to Ella. “They’ve been looking a long time for you, young lady. You’re very important to—”
“Don’t talk to her,” Kade growled. “Don’t you ever talk to her again.”
“Kade,” Ella said. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”
He shook his head, but didn’t take his eyes off his grandfather. “How did you know where she was?”
“You told me.”
The air rushed from his lungs. “What? No. I would never—”
“When you came to visit, Kade. I asked you about your mate.”
“She’s my mate.”
Kade didn’t look, but he heard a thud followed by a groan, which more than likely was the sound of his brother taking care of Carlos’s outburst.
“You asked me who she was,” Kade said, trying desperately to remember the conversation. “I told you she was from Peru. And now I know…” He looked at Ella, who smiled encouragingly. “But, I didn’t—”
“It was enough to go on,” Gordon said. “There aren’t a lot of South American bear shifters in the Montana mountains. I knew right away who she was.”
The rage filled Kade again. “So you sold her out. How much did they give you for that information?”
“Nothing.” Gordon leaned against the shed wall. Despite his anger, Kade could see how exhausted the old man looked. “It’s code, Kade. It’s just the—”
“Do not tell me it’s just the way things are done. I suppose helping this asshole attack my mate is also part of the code, is it?”
“Kade…it’s not.” His grandfather shrugged in defeat. “Fine. Yes. There’s no point in lying to you boys any more than I already have. I came here with Carlos to help him claim Gabriella so he could take her back to his clan. In fact, I suggested he do it now and not wait.”
“You son of a—”
Luke put a hand on his shoulder and held him back, which was probably the only thing that kept him from killing his grandfather right there on the spot.
“You were going to help him? But once she was…” Kade shook his head in an effort to clear the murderous thoughts forming there. It didn’t work. “I should kill you now.” He glared at Carlos, too. “Both of you.”
“Kade.” Her voice was weak—she’d been through so much—but it penetrated to the heart of him. “Por favor, mi amour.”
He went to her side. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She smiled, and his heart clenched in his chest.
He’d come so close to losing her. And why? Because he’d needed to find himself? When everything he’d ever needed to know about himself was right there in front of him. In Ella. He’d been so stupid. It would never be worth it to leave her like that again. And if she let him, he’d spend the rest of his life making sure she was safe.
“I’m healing quickly, Kade. But I don’t think my heart could ever heal if you killed your grandfather because of me.”
“But he’s—”
“Your grandfather. Su familia. No matter what’s happened, that will never change.”
He shook his head and couldn’t look her in the eyes. Not when he didn’t care whether Gordon was family or not. He didn’t care whether he was the only family they had left: he’d tried to hurt his mate. Kade would never forgive him for that and he knew Luke and Axel wouldn’t stop him if he tried.
The door opened and Axel walked in with a rush of snow. “What’s going on?” His eyes landed on Gordon and then traveled across the room to where Kade stood by Ella. “I’m surprised they’re not dead by now,” he said. “Kade’s not known for his reason these days.”
“You have every right to kill me, Kade.” Gordon’s voice was tired, but still strong. “And if that’s what you want, I won’t blame you. I don’t think your brothers would either. But I would like a chance to say something first.”
He squeezed Ella’s hand in assurance. He wouldn’t hurt anyone if it was going to upset her. He would never do anything to upset her. Not again. Not even if his entire being wanted to make his grandfather pay for the role he’d played. For Ella, he wouldn’t.
He once again crossed the room until he loomed over his grandfather, who seemed smaller and more frail as the minutes ticked by. “Go ahead,” he said. “Talk.”
Gordon swallowed hard. Never before had Kade seen the man as anything other than formidable. Things had changed. “The other day when you came to visit me, Kade, I realized something. I realized how much I missed my boys. I realized how lonely my life was. When you left, you left a hole.”
“We didn’t leave,” Axel said. “You kicked us out.”
“I know. And I did what I thought I had to do at the time.” Gordon looked around the room at all of them. “You have to understand. I’ve only ever done what I thought was best. I did what I thought I had to in order to protect our clan. Our kind. But in trying to protect us, I destroyed us.”
He sounded genuine. Kade wanted to believe that he was genuine. But there was one thing that didn’t make sense. “If this is true, then why did you help Carlos? Why would you try to destroy the happiness I was only starting to find? If you really mean any of what you said, then explain that.”
“Of course.” Gordon shifted on his feet, but he stared Kade directly in the eye. “Because I didn’t believe.”
“Didn’t believe what?”
“I didn’t believe in fated mates, Kade. Even after everything with your mother. I still didn’t believe.”
“And Kira.”
Gordon ignored that, and continued. “I didn’t believe in it until I saw you come out of the trees and attack Carlos. You sensed her.”
“Of course I sensed her.”
<
br /> “And it wasn’t just that. It was the way you protected her. I could feel the connection between the two of you. I’ve never, in all my years, experienced that. There’s no doubt in my mind that you and Gabriella are fated mates and that’s why I’m here. I came to apologize. To all of you.”
“Now?” Luke spoke up. “Why now? Why not when Axel and I met our mates? What makes you think we’ll accept your apology now?”
Gordon took a step away from the wall, but Kade growled, keeping him in place. “I don’t know if you will,” he said. “And I don’t blame you if you don’t. But I had to try. Because now I’ve seen it. Now I believe. And Luke? I’m sure I’ll believe just as much when I see you with your mate. And you, Axel, with yours. But I can’t speak to that right now. I can’t change the past,” he continued. “But as a sign of good faith, I’d like to offer to take Carlos back to Argentina, to return him to his clan. I will personally guarantee he leaves and Gabriella will be safe.”
“Damn straight she’ll be safe,” Kade growled. “I’m here.”
“Of course. I just meant, I’d—”
“It’s a good offer, Kade.” Axel, always the voice of reason, put a hand on his arm. “It won’t fix everything, but it’s a start.”
It was a start and it solved the immediate problem of getting Carlos out of there before Kade changed his mind and killed him after all. He walked a few steps away, trying to find a reason that it wouldn’t work. Something to object to. “Fine.” He nodded after a moment. “Do it. Take him away. Just get him out of here.” He turned and stared at his grandfather again. “As for you…”
“Kade.” It was Axel again. “Don’t say anything you’ll regret.”
He stared long and hard at his grandfather before he finally shook his head and looked away. “To him? I’m not going to say anything at all.”
And he wasn’t. His grandfather might think he could march into their lives, apologize and make it all better for everyone. And maybe he could. But not for him. The only person Kade was worried about was still sitting in the corner. But not for long.
Ignoring everyone else, Kade walked over to Ella and held out his hand. “I can’t believe I’ve had you sitting here for so long when there’s something so much more important we should be doing.”
She didn’t even have to ask what he was talking about, but took his hand and let him pull her up out of the chair. He wrapped his arm around her and tucked her small body into his side.
“Are you ready?” he asked her.
“For my whole life, Kade.” She looked up into his eyes, and the love he saw reflected back at him told Kade everything he’d ever need to know. It was time.
No.
It was way past time.
Chapter Fifteen
The whole day had been more than exhausting. If Gabriella stopped to let herself think about everything they’d been through in only one short day, she would have been even more tired. And the last thing she wanted, being there in Kade’s cabin, was to be exhausted.
She tried to convince him that she was more than capable of walking up the pathway to the cabin, but still he insisted on carrying her. Honestly, she liked the way he took care of her, even though both of them knew she was more than capable of caring for herself. His cabin was cold when they got there, and he settled her on the couch with a pile of blankets as he stoked the fire.
His strong back was outlined by shadows as he fed the fire and gently nursed the flames into a roaring glow. The longer Gabriella sat and watched her mate working hard to care for her, the more turned on she became. Despite everything they’d been through, he still wanted her and everything she came with. More than that, she wanted him.
She was so consumed with her thoughts that Gabriella didn’t notice he was done with the fire until he’d positioned himself right in front of her. “Are you warm enough?”
She tried to gesture with her hands, but there were so many blankets piled on top of her that she could only laugh. “I’m fine, Kade. Honestly. I’m okay.”
“You’ve been through a lot today.” As he spoke, his hands worked their way under the blankets to find her. “I just want to make sure that you have everything you need.”
“I have you.” Her smile radiated from her heart. And never had she spoken truer words. If she had Kade, she had everything.
“That’s not all you have.” His hand made its way through the layer of blankets to her thigh, where he squeezed.
“Oh yeah? What else do I have?”
Kade rose up so his face was only inches from hers. “Not only do you have me, Ella. You have everything I can offer you. The Ridge, this family: I want to give you everything. Forever.” He kissed her then, and Gabriella’s heart melted into a puddle at her feet as his hands cupped her cheeks, his lips moving on hers, making her body come alive.
She struggled against the weight of the blankets Kade had piled on her small body and they both ended up in giggles as she worked her way free. “I swear,” she said. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you were trying to trap me with all these blankets.”
Instantly, she knew she’d said the wrong thing.
“I’d never trap you, Ella. I’d never do anything to hurt you. You know that, right?”
“Of course.” With her arms free, she reached up and pulled him down to her. “I’ve never felt safer than I have when I’m with you, Kade. With you, I feel like I’m finally where I need to be. I know you’d never hurt me.”
“I’d die before that happened, Ella.”
He stood and pulled a soft wool blanket off the pile she’d managed to shed. While she watched, Kade spread it on the floor in front of the fire, followed by two more blankets and more pillows than she’d ever seen in the entire cabin. When he had finished, he’d created a very cozy nest for the two of them.
“It looks perfect.” She stood. “But you’re missing one thing.”
He jumped up. “What? I’ll get it. Whatever it is.”
Gabriella managed to free herself from the last remaining blanket that had been wrapped around her. She dropped it on the pile and gently pushed Kade to the floor. “I can get it,” she said. “I’m perfectly capable, you know?”
He licked his lips and smiled a smile so sexy it could have melted her on the spot if she’d let it. “Oh, I know, babe. You’re capable of quite a lot.”
She swallowed back the trace of nerves that kept sneaking up. “Then sit. I’ll be right back.” Gabriella could feel his eyes on her back as she walked across the cabin to the corner where she knew he kept the wine. She selected a bottle of red from the shelf, along with two glasses and a corkscrew. Aware of her audience, she was sure to stick out her behind and wiggle it just a little as she worked the cork out of the bottle and poured them each a glass before she made her way back to the rug of blankets.
“Are you going to get down here or not?”
She handed him a glass of wine and took a long, slow sip of her own. “Soon enough, mi amour.” Gabriella knew she was teasing him, but she was also more than aware of what a special night it was going to be. She wanted to remember it, every second of it.
“In due time,” she said. “But first…” She put her glass down on the coffee table and turned her attention to her clothes. She was wearing far too many of them. She remedied the situation by slipping her sweater off over her head. “I just need to be a bit more comfortable.”
“By all means.” The glint in his eye told her he was totally on board with whatever she wanted to do that involved removing clothes.
“And really,” she continued. “These pants are just too constricting.” Gabriella tugged her yoga pants down over her hips before she shimmied out of them completely. She didn’t miss the way Kade’s eyes widened when he saw her panties so she took the opportunity to bend over, being sure her ass was fully displayed to him before she took a drink of wine.
“Babe,” he groaned. “That’s a dangerous game to play.”
“That’s a ga
me I’d love to play.” She put the wine down, licked her lips and with a little wiggle, pulled her t-shirt over her head, leaving her only in her bra and panties.
“I see that.”
Before she knew what he was doing, Kade wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down to the pile of blankets, and him. “And if we play correctly, it’ll be a game we’ll both win.” He kissed her then, and she kissed him back with a passion she’d only ever felt for him.
She laid her body flat against his, feeling small in his arms, but every bit more than enough for him. She could have let him kiss her all night, but there was something she needed to do. And only she could do it.
“Take your clothes off.”
Kade grinned, but didn’t hesitate to comply with the order because damn, she was sexy when she was telling him what to do. “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”
“Maybe,” she said. “But I don’t have any clothes left, so it’s your turn. Besides, I want you naked.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He wiggled out to the side and quickly shed himself of his clothes before he returned to the blankets and the beautiful woman waiting for him there. But beautiful wasn’t the word to describe Ella. She was amazing in every way. Her cinnamon-tinted skin shone in the firelight as the light danced off the planes of her body. Her curves only looked more delectable in the half light. His bear rose to the surface, eager to sink his teeth into her soft flesh and claim what was his, once and for all.
“Just the way I want you.” Gabriella once again climbed over top of him. “I’ve been waiting way too long for this.”
That was the biggest understatement he’d heard all night. In years, maybe. He’d waited his whole life to have a woman like her—no, a woman who was her. And he wasn’t about to waste one more second. It was time to make his claim.
He wrapped his arms around her. In a swift move, he flipped her over so she was on her back and he hovered over top. “These are very pretty panties,” he said without looking at them. “But they need to go.” With a flick of his wrist, he tore the lacy material that covered her, replacing the fabric with his fingers. She was wet, and more than ready, just the way he knew she’d be. His lips found hers again and he kissed her thoroughly, as his fingers teased her. The moan that slipped from her lips told Kade all he needed to know. “I want you, Gabriella.” He used her given name for the first time. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you.”
