by Kim Fox
Bryce grins at her as he takes it. “Are you a cop?”
“One,” she says as she shows him her index finger. “I mean it.”
He looks thrilled as he opens the bottle and takes a sip. All of a sudden he doesn’t look so thrilled anymore.
Abigail laughs. “What’s the matter? Don’t like it?”
Bryce is choking it down. “It’s delicious,” he says, trying to keep a straight face.
We had an amazing dinner and now we’re all gathering around the campfire for a relaxing night with a couple of cold beers.
Abigail is snuggled up beside me, making my body tingle. I still can’t believe I had sex with her. She’s so incredible, and it was fun, but tonight we’re going to do it slowly and properly.
“Thank you,” Abigail says as Lachlan hands us each a beer.
We clink our bottles together in a cheers and smile. She looks spectacular in the orange glow of the fire. It’s lighting her green eyes up all warm and sexy. I just want to kick everyone out, pull her into my arms, and kiss her.
Bryce coughs and spits out a cloud of beer, making everyone laugh.
“First beer?” Maximus asks.
“It better be,” Abigail answers.
Tito laughs. “From the look on his face, it’s going to be his last.”
Everyone, including Bryce, laughs. “I think I got a bad one,” he says, looking at the label with a furrowed brow.
“The taste will grow on you,” Ronin promises. “Kind of like your lion will grow on you. It just takes some time.”
Bryce takes a deep breath as he fidgets with the bottle in his hands. “Do you guys… like living with your bears?”
“It’s always hard at first,” Maximus explains. “It’s like living with an unwanted roommate.”
“Yeah,” Tito says. “A roommate that shreds everything up with their claws and sheds on the carpet.”
“But it will get easier with time,” Maximus says. “Once you two learn to live together it will be hard to imagine any other way.”
“So,” Bryce says, “we’ll be… friends?”
“More like lovers,” Tito says, correcting him.
We all turn to Tito with confused looks on our faces.
“You and your animal will be like lovers,” Tito says with a serious look on his face. “It will be like a constant loving embrace between you and your adoring companion.”
Tito looks shocked as everyone bursts out laughing.
“No,” Lachlan says, shaking his head. “It’s definitely not like that.”
Tito’s shocked eyes are darting from shifter to shifter. “It’s not?” he asks.
“What else do you and your bear do?” Ronin asks with a laugh. “Actually, forget it. I don’t want to know.”
Tito is shaking his head, looking embarrassed. “I was just playing,” he says. “It was a joke.”
It clearly wasn’t a joke.
“Do yourself a favor,” I say to Bryce. “Don’t take this guy’s advice. About anything.”
Even Tito seems to agree. He turns to Bryce and nods. “That’s probably some good advice.”
“You’ll be fine,” I say to him. “It just takes time. Almost every shifter figures out a way to live with their animals in a healthy way.”
“But some don’t?” Bryce asks. He’s staring at me with the same big green eyes as his sister.
I sigh, not wanting to lie to the kid. “Some don’t.”
“Like Kneecap?” he says as his eyes dart to the dark forest in the distance.
Maximus lets out a long breath. “Yeah,” he says as he leans back in his chair. “Like Kneecap.”
“How did he get so crazy?” Bryce asks.
“He didn’t get so crazy,” Maximus says. “He always was so crazy. This town wasn’t always as nice as it is now. There was a time when the sidewalks were filled with shifters like Kneecap.”
Abigail shudders beside me. “Is that his real name?” she asks.
Maximus sighs. “Nickname,” he says as he stares into the fire with a distant look on his face.
Abigail is curious. So am I.
“How did he get it?” she asks.
Maximus doesn’t answer, but Lachlan does. He was with Maximus and Kneecap in the old days, when Redemption Creek was known as Red Dead Creek. That was before the dragons came and cleaned it all up.
“He got the nickname from busting people’s kneecaps,” Lachlan says with a wince. “He was the best enforcer in the country and that was his calling card. First, he would break your jaw, then he would break your kneecaps.”
“When in doubt, knock ‘em out,” Maximus mumbles under his breath. “That’s what he always said.”
“Who’s crazier?” Bryce asks. “Kneecap or Mack?”
My back straightens at the mention of that name.
“Mack?” Maximus says, leaning forward and staring at him with interest. “How do you know Mack?”
I feel Abigail tighten beside me.
“I fought him,” Bryce says proudly. “Well… my lion did.”
“And you’re still alive?” Lachlan says, staring at him in shock. “How?”
“Your lion fought Mack?” I ask, stunned.
“When?” Maximus says, looking concerned. “Start at the beginning.”
My heart starts pounding as Abigail and Bryce tell us about driving into the Clayton Rock Ranch. That’s where our closest neighbors, the Clayton Rock Bounty Hunters live.
“Oh crap,” I mutter when Bryce tells us how his lion leaped onto Mack’s forearm like it was a corn on the cob.
Abigail tells us that their alpha Grant and my friend Logan arrived just in time to break it up.
“That’s when we got the hell out of there,” she says, looking nervous. “Thankfully, the car started.”
My pulse is racing as I listen to her. This isn’t over. Mack is not the kind of shifter who forgives and forgets. He’s the kind that gives a lot more than he gets.
Bryce is like a kitten who picked a fight with the US army. He doesn’t know what he’s done.
Maximus shoots me a worried look. I’ll have to go to the Clayton Rock Ranch tomorrow and try to smooth things out. Logan is a good friend of mine and he’ll help me make things right.
Hopefully, he’ll have a way to calm that famous temper that Mack has.
“Shit,” Tito says, staring at Bryce in awe. “This guy attacked the famous Mack and Kneecap in one day? He really is a badass.”
“More like a dumbass,” Ronin whispers under his breath.
Maximus can keep Kneecap in check. I’m just worried about Mack. He’s not likely to forget about this.
As the night goes on, Maximus, Lachlan and Jessie all head to bed. Soon, it’s only the twins, Abigail, Bryce, and me left around the fire.
I like Bryce, but I want some alone time with his sister tonight. So, when Tito gets up to pee, I get up as well and follow him to the tree.
“Can I help you?” he asks as I walk up beside him. “I know it’s big, but I can handle it by myself.”
“I need you to take Bryce for the night,” I say, ignoring him.
“Why?” he asks with a knowing grin.
“You know why,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Can you and Ronin to take him? Put him up on your couch.”
Tito shivers as he finishes peeing. “The kid is gonna know it’s because you want to shag his sister.”
“That’s why it’s up to you to convince him otherwise,” I say, poking him in the shoulder. “I’ll do anything.”
He raises his eyebrow in interest. “Like what?”
My mind races to think of something. “I’ll give you free tickets to my next show.”
He snorts out a laugh.
“And I’ll pay your beer tab.”
He shakes his head. “That’s not enough to babysit a lion for the night.”
“Come on,” I beg. “I really like this girl.”
“That’s what you said about that blonde,” he says with
a chuckle. “And that girl with the million tattoos, and that hot girl with the huge glasses, and the girl with that big ugly pink hat. I can go on.”
“This is different,” I say with a sigh. How can I explain it in a way that he’ll understand? “You know how you love all kinds of alcohol but beer is your one true love?”
His eyebrow is up as he watches me skeptically. “Yeah…”
“Abigail is my beer,” I say, touching my chest. “The other girls were like the other bottles. Sure, they were fun, but they’re no beer. Abigail is the one for me.”
“Fine,” he finally says with a frown. “I’ll take the kid off your hands for the night.”
“Thanks, Tito!” I say as my chest hums with excitement.
My eyes are locked on Abigail as we walk back to the campfire. She’s snuggled under a flannel blanket looking sexier than ever.
“Hey, kid!” Tito says to Bryce. “Do you like video games?”
Bryce looks up at him and nods. There’s a big smile on his face.
“I have the new Bruise Locker. Want to play?”
Bryce practically leaps out of his chair and the three of them walk to the twin’s cabin, leaving us alone.
“Another beer?” I ask as I stop at the cooler.
She grins. “Sure.”
I can’t stop smiling as I grab two beers and walk back over to her. She smiles back as I hand her one of the bottles.
“I can’t believe I’m alone with the guitarist of Predatone,” she says, fanning herself like an overzealous fangirl. “Are you going to bring me to the back of your tour bus for an exclusive tour?”
“I’m all out of tour buses,” I say, looking around. “How about my bedroom?”
She bites her lip and grins before taking a sip of her beer. Watching her sexy lips wrapped around that bottle is getting me going.
“I’m not going anywhere until I get a song,” she says, staring at me with her gorgeous green eyes.
“You want a song?”
She nods. “I want a song.”
“All right.” I hurry to my cabin and grab my guitar, lighting a couple of candles in the kitchen and bedroom before returning.
“A private show just for me,” Abigail says, clapping with delight. She sits up in her chair with an excited look on her face.
“What do you want to listen to?”
“Something sexy.”
I grin as I strum the guitar. I know just the song.
She melts into her chair as I start singing Wicked Games by Chris Isaak to her in a deep raspy voice.
Her eyes are locked on me as the soft strums of the guitar wrap around her like a warm blanket. The smiles are gone, and she’s watching me with a sensuous stare.
The sexual tension builds with every passing second until need and hunger surround us completely, charging the air with arousal and lust.
She immediately stands up once I’ve finished the song and reaches her hand out to me. I slide my big hand into her tiny one and she grins wickedly as she pulls me up to my feet. “It’s time for that tour of your bedroom you promised.”
My heart starts pounding with need as we hurry to my cabin. We’re half making-out, half getting undressed as we trip and stumble on the way to my room, too focused on each other to even look where we’re going.
By the time she drops onto my bed, she’s only wearing a bra and panties. God, she’s beautiful.
Her long black hair is spread out on the bed, and she’s looking up at me with the sexiest green eyes imaginable. She makes my heart hurt.
My shirt is somewhere in the kitchen and I only have a pair of jeans on. I slide them down and climb onto the bed, climbing over her as she slides her soft hands on me.
Our mouths are only inches apart, and she lets out a little whine as she leans up to touch her lips to mine. Her tongue slides against mine and I groan as I deepen the kiss and show her that this pretty little mouth belongs to me now.
She gasps when we finally break apart and drops her head back on the pillow. I’m about to lean down for another kiss when something seizes my core, grabbing my soul and freezing me in place. I can’t move. I can’t breathe.
An intense feeling of warmth and love floods into my body as my vision starts to go dark. The white sheets on the bed, the headboard, the pillows—they’re all turning black. The only thing visible is Abigail as my soul melds itself to hers.
I know immediately what’s going on. I’m bonding to her.
Abigail is my mate. Deep down I always knew it was going to happen, but now it’s official.
She looks just as stunned as me as our souls connect in the most perfect way.
After a minute, the darkness fades, the hold on my body gets released, and we’re back to normal—just the two of us alone in the room once again.
But it’s not the same. There’s a charge in the air. It’s different. I feel connected to her in a way that I didn’t think was possible.
She seems to feel it too with the way she’s looking at me.
“Wow,” she says with a gasp as she stares at me with wide eyes. “Was that?”
I nod. “Yeah,” I whisper as I hold myself up over her body. “You’re my mate.”
“I guess I don’t get a say in the matter,” she says with a grin.
I shake my head and laugh. “I guess not.”
“That’s okay,” she says with a smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Neither would I.”
I give her a deep passionate kiss as I press my hard cock between her legs. She moans into my mouth as I slide her bra strap over her shoulder and grind against her pussy.
She’s so perfect. And I can’t believe she’s mine.
I don’t have to worry about her leaving or her not wanting to be with me anymore. She’s my mate and we’ll be together forever.
Her body is writhing against me as I kiss a trail down her warm skin to her chest. I tug her bra down until her perfect little pink nipples pop out, taunting me. She moans as I cup her breasts in a firm grip and drag my tongue over each nipple one at a time.
She slides her hands through my hair and pulls me closer as I tease and taunt her with my tongue, making her gasp with desire.
I slowly move down, kissing her stomach as I slide her panties down her legs. She spreads her legs for me and I nearly die when I see her beautiful pussy glistening with arousal.
I lower my head to it, and drag my tongue up, making her back arch. Once I taste how sweet she is, I can’t stop myself from diving in further, licking every inch of her. She moans and writhes on the bed louder and louder as I flick my tongue over her clit and then circle her wet entrance.
I’m in heaven. She’s bucking against my face as I thrust my tongue in deeper and deeper. She’s almost screaming as she grabs a fistful of the sheets and yanks them off the mattress. I can’t get her close enough, even when I grip her ass cheeks and pull her against my mouth.
She comes hard. Thrashing and crying out as I lodge my tongue firmly inside her. I’m holding her close and grinning to myself as her legs shake beside my ears. I hope she liked that because she’s going to get it every night from now on.
She’s gasping for breath and her legs are still trembling when I pull away, wanting more. Her lust-clouded eyes drop down to my hard cock. I grip it in my hand and drop back down over her.
“Caleb,” she moans as I push the head of my big cock right against her opening. She’s shivering with the need for more of it. “This is so crazy,” she says, licking her lips. “I can feel you in me. It feels like your soul is attached to mine.”
I know what she’s trying to say. I can feel the same thing.
“We’re mates now,” I say as I hover my lips over hers. “We’re going to be together forever.”
She wraps her hand around my neck and looks into my eyes, nearly killing me. “I love you so much.”
I kiss her hard. I kiss her like I’ve never kissed anyone. I kiss her like I’m never going to let go
.
She tilts her head back and moans as I slowly slide my cock into her wet opening, inch by delicious inch.
Her arms tighten around me when I thrust all the way in, feeling her unbelievable tight warmth surrounding my dick. I never want to leave this bed. I never want to leave her arms.
“I love you too,” I say softly as I begin to thrust in and out, slow at first, but picking up the pace as her moans start to get louder and deeper.
I’ve been with a lot of girls before but there has never been anyone like this. I feel so connected to her on a level that I didn’t know was possible. I just can’t believe it’s real.
Our bodies are already in tune, and we both come at the same time. It’s a slow steady build up until our bodies are tense, our limbs are shaking and we can’t take it anymore.
We cling to each other tight as we crash over the edge, crying out as the thunderous waves of heat engulf us completely.
When my head finally clears, I’m lying on the bed with Abigail’s head on my chest. She’s half asleep while she listens to my heartbeat.
I wrap my arms around her and inhale her sweet scent. Fuck, she feels good.
Normally, at this point, I would be thinking up excuses on why the girl had to leave, but I’m clinging to Abigail, terrified that she’ll leave. This is it.
This is her.
This is my mate.
I can’t wait to bring her home to meet my parents. This is all happening so fast, yet it’s not fast enough. I don’t want to waste another second on this planet without her.
It’s another hour before my excitement gives into exhaustion and I fall asleep with her wrapped in my arms and with a big goofy grin on my face.
11
Caleb
“Hey, Caleb,” Grant says as I step out of my truck into the Clayton Rock Ranch. “Logan is in his cabin. Are you guys practicing today?”
I swallow hard as I look at the alpha of the famous Clayton Rock Bounty Hunters, trying to read his face to see what he knows. Does he know that Bryce is staying with us?
He doesn’t seem too interested in anything but his newspaper. He’s sitting on the porch of the main cabin with a coffee while reading the local paper.
“I just have to go over our set list with Logan before our next show,” I lie.
