Reindeer Games

by Kristen Strassel

  Sebastian broke away to defend his mate, leaving me and the Bloodhounds with Stefan. We agreed on the way over here they’d follow my lead. It was my fight. I charged at him again, but I was distracted now by the woman who held my heart in her hands, even as she rattled the chains that tethered her son to a burning tree. Stefan swiped his claws across my snout and sunk his teeth into my shoulder. He was slower after I got a couple hits on him, but still strong.

  I shook him off, charging at him and stopping when Delilah stepped between us. I roared and she turned back to me. Fuck.

  Stefan lunged at her.

  “No.” The word came out like a bullet. She put her hands on his open snout, gripping his snarling mouth hard, staring him down. What the hell is she doing? She’d get herself killed, if Stefan had the balls to actually do it.

  I did. I may have never been able to say it with certainty before that moment, but with that bastard snapping at my mate, I knew in no uncertain terms, I could kill him.

  “I don’t know what the fuck you’re trying to prove, hurting a child, but I am not going to let you get away with it. You’re a bully, Stefan. Only picking on those you think are weak and too fucking scared to start a real fight. I bet some of that growling is you telling me that you’re going to put a bitch in her place, huh?” Delilah snarled.

  Holy shit, this was hot.

  She rattled him and his body went limp. “Dog, you picked the wrong bitch.”

  Stefan quivered, his body twisting. He was shifting back to human. His gaze never left Delilah’s as his flesh broke through the fur and his body finished its transformation. She didn’t let go of him, gripping his face just as hard as she did when he was an animal.

  “Not so fierce anymore, huh?” she asked as she pushed him away. He landed in a bloody heap at Sebastian’s feet. “Still want to fight?”

  “We don’t fight when we’re not all shifted. It’s not a fair fight.” Stefan grunted as he came to his feet. He towered over Delilah, but she didn’t back away. “And I won’t fight a human woman.”

  I stepped forward, antlers ready to gore him. I didn’t give a fuck about fair. I wanted this asshole dead.

  “You didn’t care about fair when you abducted a child.” Delilah glared at him, refusing to blink first. Stefan towered over her. She put her hand on my shoulder, curling her fingers into my coat. “You’re not an alpha, Stefan. You’re scared. The people of this island want to follow Gunnar.”

  Stefan turned to me. “Control your woman, Gunnar.”

  I wished she could understand me when I was a buck. “She’s perfect just the way she is.” Stefan turned his attention back to Delilah and scoffed. “I don’t give a fuck about what people want, and what do you know about this island?”

  “It’s the most magical place I’ve even been. Why do you want to ruin that?”

  He shook his head, turning his glare to me. “I’ll get you when I’m wolf again.”

  I huffed, turning to the rest of the guys. My pack. A collection of strong men—all alphas in their own right—who could work together for the common good. Unlike Stefan, who worked alone with the sole purpose of destruction.

  “Run him off the island,” I said. “By any means necessary.”

  “What the fuck?” He backed away from me. “This is my island.”

  “A human just brought you to your knees, wolf. Your camp is destroyed and your pack won’t fight for you. The next time I see you here”—my antler sliced his shoulder open—“I’ll kill you.”

  “HE HASN’T SLEPT ON me like this since he was a baby.” Delilah ran her hand over Jeremy’s dark hair. With his head on her chest, he covered her entire body like a blanket. “It never used to be so suffocating.”

  “I can bring him into the bedroom.” We’d come back to my little apartment above the toy shop. It wasn’t much. I spent most of my time in the shop or in the woods, and only came up here to watch the occasional football game and sleep.

  She shook her head, a sleepy smile spreading across her face. “Nah. I like it.”

  I slipped between her and the cushion, pressing a kiss to her head. If this were any other day, we’d be kissing goodbye. I’d be headed to practice, and she’d be taking Jeremy to school. I put my arms around her and let myself fantasize about that. A normal morning with my mate. “You were amazing today.”

  She closed her eyes for a long blink, her fingers stilling in her son’s hair. “I know you asked me to stay at the compound. But I couldn’t. If I was going to lose him”—her voice cracked—“I wasn’t going down without a fight.”

  “I’m your mate, not your master.” I kissed her again. I was quickly becoming addicted to all of her. The flowery perfume that wafted from her hair—even after coming out of a flaming war zone—and the soft feel of her skin against my lips. “It was the hottest thing I’d ever seen, watching you bring Stefan to his knees.”

  “Your mate, huh? I can get used to that.” She rested her head on my shoulder. “I was shaking so hard when I challenged him, I couldn’t feel my legs. I pictured myself doing exactly what I did on the way over. Funny how it was the most natural thing in the world to grab an angry wolf by the snout. There are things you never know you can do until you have a kid. Strength you don’t dream you could possibly have. I wasn’t fighting for myself—I fought for Jeremy. And I’d stop at nothing to keep him safe, even if all I’d do is send a message. I knew Stefan was a coward, and he wouldn’t have the balls to hurt me. I knew even more that you would kill him. And how you’d never be able to live with yourself if you did. I don’t want you to change, Gunnar. I like you exactly the way you are.”

  “I like you exactly how you are, too.” She’s your mate, my buck finally admitted. It was so good to fight alongside her.

  “What happens now? I hadn’t made plans past the hot tub.” Delilah bit her lip and rested her hands over Jeremy’s ears. “He sleeps like a rock. He didn’t get it from me.”

  “Good to know.” My buck rumbled, wanting to take her in the other room and finish what we started in the hot tub.

  “I did all of this for him, coming on the show. I know it sounds a little crazy.” She lifted her gaze to me. “Without his dad, he was losing his way. I couldn’t give him everything he needed. I thought an Alaska Bloodhound would make a good role model.”

  “There are a lot of good guys on the team.”

  “Yeah. There are. But I came here for all the wrong reasons. And I didn’t realize it until I saw you with Jeremy. He might not believe in you-know-who right now”—she wriggled her eyebrows —“but watching you with Jeremy makes me believe in magic.”

  “I love that you put him first,” I said. Delilah may have doubted magic, but she never had trouble believing in something bigger than herself. She loved hard, even if it meant getting hurt. And she wanted to take a chance on me. It was an honor I wouldn’t take lightly. “But is that the only reason I got an invite into that hot tub?”

  “Not even close.” She snuggled against me. I loved the way her curves felt against my body. I hadn’t even realized what I was missing, waiting for my one true mate to come along. Especially the little things like this, snuggling on the couch, talking in a whisper so as not to wake up Jeremy. This was the good stuff. “It just so happens that the guy who was so good to my son happened to be a smokin’ hot buck who went after his dreams and took care of the things that were most important to him.”

  I laughed. “You’ve been hanging out with Naomi too much.”

  “Maybe. I kept calling you nice and handsome and she said I didn’t want any of those things.” Delilah grinned. “She was right. I want passion. I want to be so hopelessly in love that I can’t breathe when I think about it. And I want a man who shows my son how to treat a woman. I don’t think that’s asking too much.”

  “Not at all.” I tipped her face up to mine and caught her lips in a kiss. I wanted her the same way she wanted me—the passion, the emotion so strong I needed it to survive. “So to answer
your question about what happens now, I don’t have a hot tub here, but I have a big comfy bed that’s been empty for far too long. I didn’t leave my home like you did, but I was looking for someone, too. My mate. It could’ve been one of the females in the herd, or a woman on the island, but my animal didn’t want any of those women. I had a hard time making him realize you were the one. He was scared you wouldn’t understand what it meant for me to have responsibilities in two worlds. That you wouldn’t let me be an animal.”

  That’s why I was so hard on her at first, my buck huffed. To make sure she was the one.

  Sometimes my beast was smarter than I gave him credit for.

  She shook her head. “I’d never take that from you.”

  “He knows that now. He liked that you didn’t listen to me last night and you came to fight along with us. Not a lot of women would do that. Walk onto a battlefield and take on an alpha wolf. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.”

  She moaned. My animal liked the way it vibrated through her body and against my skin. “I have a few other sexy things I could show you.”

  “Then I think I should show you the bed.” Yes, my buck said. Make her yours. She wants that even more than you do. I held my hand out to her to help her off the cushion, and pulled her against my body. Jeremy shifted in his sleep. “Sure he’ll stay sleeping?”

  “Let’s get him a pillow and a blanket.” Delilah bit her lip and looked back at her son. “Although it sounds like I might have to teach you a thing or two about restraint.”

  I laughed. “I’ve been waiting for you for twenty-seven years, woman. Like hell I’m going to hold back.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  DELILAH

  I’d never needed to get good and fucked more than I did at that moment. The heat rolling off Gunnar’s body was unbearable. It was enough to make me wish I could shift myself and let my wild side free. Stepping onto that battlefield full of bloodthirsty beasts was an incredible high. In that moment, I’d truly felt untouchable. It had been reckless, trying to dominate another creature with no guarantee I could stare danger in the eye and make it blink first.

  Honestly, I did it more times than I ever wanted to count as a single mom. Going up against Stefan was easy. Gunnar would never let him hurt me. He’d been so beautiful, so powerful in battle with his sleek reddish-brown coat and those huge antlers. They were as gorgeous as they were deadly.

  I hadn’t understood the animal side of him, how it could possibly need more than he did as a human, until I saw him as a buck. He belonged on Faraway Island. He was as much a part of it as the forest. One would not exist without the other. Once the danger passed and Jeremy was safe with me, Gunnar shifted back to human. I’d been sorry to see the animal fade away, but comforted by knowing he went back to the earth, and he was always there, protecting us. I could take care of myself. But I could finally breathe again knowing that someone had my back.

  My mate. My heart. My soul.

  My buck.

  It would’ve been so easy to get lost in Gunnar on the couch. Our limbs and our lips tangled together like we were whispering the same lines of poetry to each other. His hand slipped under my shirt, settling on my breast. In the rush to find Jeremy, I hadn’t bothered with a bra. The pads of his fingers were rough against my nipple and he’d learned his first lesson well.

  We couldn’t do this here.

  “Get the pillow and the blanket.” But the next lesson needed some work. I was in no place to teach anyone how to hold back right now. I was trembling with need, and each word had to be forced out. But my son was sleeping a foot away from us and there was no way in hell I was going any further.

  Gunnar didn’t get up right away. His fingers stilled on my breast, and his heart pounded against mine. He sat up, running his hand through his wild hair. His caramel eyes were on fire. I hadn’t wanted us being together to change him, but I liked this confidence. A lot.

  He pulled me off the couch, a quick fluid motion and I didn’t have a chance to hold in my yelp. I turned to Jeremy in a panic—the last thing my baby needed was another unexpected wake-up call, but he slept right through it.

  “Pillow and blanket,” I said again.

  “Bringing you there.” He steadied me in his arms and carried me out of the tiny living room. I loved Gunnar’s house. It was no-nonsense, rustic, and earthy, just like him. He kicked a door open and brought me into the bedroom. Dropping me on the huge mattress with the plaid comforter rumpled on top of it, he caged me in, hovering on top of me. His tense biceps quivered, and he put his knee between my legs to steady himself.

  I swore he growled. I grabbed the pillow and shoved it at him.

  “I know.” He laughed, grabbing a blanket off the foot of the bed.

  “You don’t want me distracted, do you?”

  “Hell, no.” He dipped down and kissed the strip of bare tummy that had been exposed when my shirt rode up. “Be right back.”

  I couldn’t resist sneaking off the bed and watching him cover Jeremy. He was so gentle when he picked up his head. Jeremy shifted in his sleep, and Gunnar murmured something to him. My heart was ready to burst as he covered him up, then took a step back, but didn’t leave him right away.

  I scrambled back to the bed before I got caught, ripping my shirt over my head and shimming out of my pants when Gunnar walked in. He leaned against the doorway, those incredible biceps at the ready again as his arms crossed over his chest. That grin dripped with sin.

  “How’s that restraint thing working for you, Delilah?” I loved the way my name sounded rolling off his lips.

  “It’s seen better days.” I finished taking my pants off. My original plan was to get under the covers and let him unwrap me like a present. Instead, I got off the bed, drinking in his desire. I was drunk with lust for this man, wanting more than I ever thought was possible from him. He fought for my son. It was a test I never expected to put him through, but he passed with flying colors. And that scene that just transpired in the living room? There was no doubt. I had fallen deeply, madly, hopelessly in love with Gunnar Darby.

  It was time to show my appreciation. To give this man what he so desperately wanted. His destined mate.

  “I don’t think I want you to hold back.” His gaze raked over me as I approached him, his eyes heavy-lidded with desire. Nothing could make this moment less nerve-wracking. I’d taken good care of my body, but I was thirty-five, and there were some battles I couldn’t win, like time and gravity. The hot tub was easier, the fog giving everything a layer of mist. But now, there was nothing between us but possibilities.

  “Good thing about that.” I grasped his broad shoulders. He filled the doorway, and he dipped his head down, taking a deep breath like he meant to inhale me. A shiver racked my body. He was looking to me for guidance, and I would not disappoint. I dragged my hands slowly over his chest. He must’ve had a twelve pack under his shirt—he only bothered to get dressed when we got back to his apartment because of Jeremy. Now that he was down for the count, I planned on exploring every inch of my buck.

  Gunnar’s hands rested on my hips, tightening his grip when I brushed my hand over his cock. It was hot and hard under his jeans. I moved back and forth, loving the way his body reacted to my touch. He pulled me in closer, his hungry kisses connecting with my cheek and my neck. My pulse pounded, drawing him closer.

  He stilled when I reached for the button on his jeans. My hands shook as I unzipped him, freeing his shaft from the fabric. It was my turn to moan when I took the impressive length in my hand. I was going to have some fun with this.

  “Delilah,” he groaned, the ah nothing more than a gasp. “Not that.”

  I flicked my gaze up to him but didn’t let go. “I thought you wanted me to show you a few things?” At the top of my list was sucking his cock until he saw nothing but stars as he came.

  “I want you to show me everything.” The words were strained. “But first, I want you to show me how you want me to make love to you.
”

  “Game on, buck.” I smiled against his cheek as I let go of his cock and wrapped my leg around his hip. “If you shut the door, we can do it just like this.”

  I jumped when the door slammed shut. Please, let Jeremy sleep through this...

  “Not like this. Not yet,” he said.

  I pulled away from him, as much as I could on one foot. “For someone who wants to be shown everything, you have an awful lot of rules.”

  He picked me up like I was one of his toys and dropped me on the bed. We were back to where we started, with him hovering over me, and his knee between my legs. “Not rules. Think of it as a request order.”

  “I’ve got some requests, too.” I took his face in my hands and pulled him down on top of me. He knew what I wanted, and his beard tickled my cheeks as he kissed me. It took everything I had to still him. “Kiss me all over.”

  There was no innocence in his eyes, and it made me shudder. “Anything you want, Delilah.”

  I sighed at first contact. Gunnar took his time exploring my body, remembering all his lessons from last night. He was even more talented with his tongue than he was with his fingers. I tangled my fingers in his hair, tugging in approval. I couldn’t speak anymore, with this man’s lips on my breasts.

  He wanted nothing but my pleasure, and I’d give him every single drop of it.

  His hair tickled my stomach as he journeyed lower, tracing his fingers over my stomach. He moaned in approval, licking my skin way below my belly button. It set off a chain reaction of tremors deep inside me. Instinct had taken over, and he didn’t need any more instruction.

  He ran his fingers over my clit, squeezing it between his knuckles. “I think this is where we left off.” He waited until I nodded in approval. Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing. “I know you were supposed to teach me what to do, but do you want to know what I’ve been thinking about doing to you ever since we got back to the apartment?”