Unstoppable

by R. L. Mathewson

  “Whatcha doing?” came the question from the large Sentinel that had spent the last week annoying the shit out of everyone as he dropped down next to Kale on the roof of the old brownstone that they’d taken over for this raid.

  “Resisting the urge to rip your throat out,” Kale said, closing the book that he’d started reading after Ashley mentioned it last night when he’d called to say goodnight to her and returned his attention to the underground forum, looking for any news on the little bastard.

  Twenty-five million dollars and…nothing.

  There was nothing, no mentions of sightings, leads, or any of the usual chatter that should be happening for a mark now worth twenty-five million dollars. It was definitely strange and something that caught his attention a few weeks ago when he decided to take another look at the forum, hoping to find information about Ashley’s father. There hadn’t been any mention of Cade or Andrew Vane, but there had been plenty mentioned about him, which was odd since Vane’s bounty was twenty-five million now and the bounty on Kale’s head was only ten million.

  There should have been hundreds of new posts on Andrew Vane every day, but there was nothing. He’d never seen anything like it. Vane was easy money, a search and grab, but no one wanted it. Something was going on, which was the only reason why he was here. He needed to take care of that bounty on his head and find out what the hell was going on. The Sentinels were looking into it, but they weren’t getting anywhere, which meant that Kale had to get the answers on his own.

  “You know what I’ve been wondering,” Chris said, adjusting his earpiece as Kale swiped out of the forum that was proving useless and opened messenger.

  “Why no one killed you when you blasted MMMBop in everyone’s earpiece this morning?” Kale asked, making sure that there weren’t any messages from Jacob waiting for him before shifting his attention to the rest of the occupants on the decaying roof as he scented the air, making sure that the nest that they were here to take down was still next door.

  “Everyone fucking loves me,” Chris murmured absently, following Kale’s gaze.

  “Is that what you have to tell yourself so that you can sleep at night?” Kale asked, noting that Drew was swiping through pictures of his children before moving on to find Ephraim, who hadn’t said much since Jill died, still glaring at absolutely fucking nothing.

  The Pyte was definitely handling this better than he would, Kale thought as he shifted his focus to find Christofer glaring at him and had to admit that probably wouldn’t end well. The Pyte was furious. Not that Kale could blame him, but he couldn’t risk telling him about Ashley. Not yet, not until he knew what was going on. Something wasn’t…right, and until he figured out what that something was, he wasn’t going to risk his mate.

  God, he missed her, Kale thought as his gaze landed on Ethan, who looked fucking miserable and once again found himself wondering why no one had ripped his throat out after he’d attacked Indie. Probably because the stubborn little human had managed to pull through and asked them to leave the vampire alone. That, and it appeared as though she wanted nothing to do with him, which was probably the reason why the vampire looked like he wanted to kill something.

  “You’re hiding something,” Chris murmured as Kale’s gaze landed on Eric, who looked a hell of a lot better than he had a month ago.

  “I’m always hiding something,” Kale drawled as he shifted his attention back to the phone in his hand and-

  She missed him.

  God, she was fucking killing him, Kale thought, wishing like hell that he was back home where he belonged, making love to his mate and falling asleep with her in his arms, but he needed to take care of this bounty before it got out of hand and once he was done, he was walking away.

  “True,” Chris murmured, sounding thoughtful as Kale read Ashley’s message one last time before he scrolled up, taking in all the texts and pictures that she’d sent to him over the past week and found himself smiling as he took in the pictures of all the meals that she’d made, trying to entice him to come home, the pictures of her tormenting Jacob, of Cuddles devouring bowl after bowl of frosting, selfies of herself sticking her tongue out at the camera, and-

  “Who’s that?” Chris asked as he reached over and-

  Quickly pulled his hand away when Kale growled a warning, the only one that he would get if he tried to touch his phone again. He allowed his eyes to turn silver as he sent Chris one last look of warning before he shifted his attention back to his phone and scrolled to the next picture of Ashley and-

  “God, that looks good,” Chris said on a groan as he reached over and swiped to the next picture, only to follow that up with another groan when he saw the plate of pot roast and mashed potatoes with homemade bread that Ashley made for dinner, letting him know that she’d saved him a plate. Kale looked from the picture of the homecooked meal that looked a hell of a lot better than the stale protein bar that he’d devoured for dinner to the large Sentinel sitting next to him with his head resting on Kale’s shoulder.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Kale asked as he shrugged his shoulder to dislodge the pain in the ass that he watched over for Izzy’s sake.

  “So many things,” Chris said, reaching over to swipe to the next photo. “Is that a bear?”

  “Don’t you have something better to do?” Kale asked as he shifted his attention back to his phone as Chris swiped to the next photo.

  “Probably,” Chris said, shifting closer as Kale sat there, reminding himself that Izzy would never forgive him if he threw her mate over the side of the building. “Who is she?”

  “Just a job,” Kale said, looking down at Ashley’s beautiful smiling face when he heard the chime alerting him that it was time to raid the brownstone next door and-

  She loved him.

  “What if I let you win this time?” Ashley asked with a hopeful smile that slowly died when the large shifter who’d spent the last two hours glaring at her let his eyes turn silver as he bit out, “I don’t need you to let me win.”

  “No, no, of course, you don’t,” Ashley murmured, worrying her bottom lip as she frantically looked around for something that would entice the cranky shifter into staying up with her so that she didn’t have to spend another night watching TV alone.

  She missed Kale.

  He’d only been gone a week and…

  She was pathetic, Ashley thought as she watched Jacob glare down at the Monopoly board, trying to figure out how she’d wiped the floor with him again. She should probably let him win, she thought as she reached over to help herself to another spoonful of frosting only to sigh when the big baby snatched the bowl away from her and began devouring the frosting as he glared accusingly at her as though it was somehow her fault that he’d landed on Boardwalk again.

  “What if I made you cookies?” Ashley asked, hoping to use his sweet tooth against him.

  “You’ll make them anyway,” Jacob said with a pointed look at the butter that she’d put on the kitchen counter to soften.

  “True, but if you go to bed, I’ll be forced to eat them all by myself,” Ashley pointed out, which only earned her another glare.

  “It’s two in the morning,” he pointed out, which sadly, really didn’t mean all that much to her.

  “And I’ll have the first batch of cookies done by three and devoured by four,” Ashley said, holding his glare.

  “I’m not playing any more board games,” Jacob bit out with a look of disgust at the stack of board games that she’d been forced to break out when he refused to watch another movie with her.

  Nodding, Ashley said, “That’s fine. We can do something else.”

  “Like?” Jacob asked around another spoonful of frosting.

  “Stuff?” Ashley said with a hopeful smile as she tried to figure out something that would make him want to stay up with her again only to end up mumbling, “I’ll just make the cookies,” when he narrowed his eyes on her.

  Decision made, Ashley cleared her throat, t
hrew him another smile that only seemed to piss him off more and-

  “About fucking time,” Jacob said as she tried not to get her hopes up when she heard the car pulling into the driveway, only to feel her heart skip a beat when she caught Kale’s scent.

  He was finally home, Ashley thought, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth while she listened as he parked his car, climbed out, and-

  “Asshole.”

  -was greeted by Cuddles before he opened the front door and she found herself quickly making her way across the living room. She couldn’t believe how much she’d missed him, Ashley thought only to frown as she took in the dried blood marring one side of his handsome face, his short hair matted with sweat against his head, and bloodstains and rips covering his clothes.

  “What happened?” Ashley asked, reaching up to cup his face only to find herself pulled into his arms.

  “I missed you, mo ghrá,” Kale said, releasing an incredibly sexy growl as he leaned down and took her mouth in a hungry kiss.

  “Wait! What about my cookies?” Jacob demanded when Kale picked her up and headed upstairs.

  “You’re making cookies?” Kale asked, slowly brushing his lips against hers, making her smile as he carried her into their room.

  “If you’re good,” she said, feeling her lips twitch when Jacob yelled, “I’m always good!”

  “Did you miss me?” Kale asked, brushing his lips slowly against hers.

  “A little bit,” Ashley said, trying to bite back a smile as he kicked the bedroom door shut behind them.

  “A little bit, huh?” Kale murmured as he carried her into the bathroom.

  “Maybe more than a little bit,” Ashley admitted as he placed her down on the counter.

  “Maybe?” Kale asked with a teasing smile as she reached for his belt while he reached back and grabbed hold of his ruined shirt and pulled it off.

  “Definitely,” Ashley said, pulling his belt loose as Kale toed off his boots and reached for her shirt.

  “Would it help if I told you that I missed you?” Kale asked as he pulled her shirt off, forcing her to release her hold on his belt. He made quick work of removing her shirt and bra and when he was done, he tore a moan from her as his hands found her breasts and he took her mouth in another hungry kiss.

  God, she loved this man, Ashley thought as he carefully lifted her off the counter and placed her back on her feet. As he pushed her shorts and panties down, she took her time releasing the button on his pants before she reached for his zipper, only to slide her palm over him, unable to resist touching him.

  She loved touching him, loved the way that it felt to run her hands over him, loved the way that he responded to her touch, and she loved knowing that he was hers. She’d never wanted a mate, but she wanted him. He was so kind and gentle, making sure that she knew just how much she meant to him. He never treated her like there was something wrong with her, never acted like she was less than everything that he could have ever hoped for, and he never let a day go by without telling her just how much he loved her.

  “Ashley,” Kale growled against her mouth as she continued running her hand over the large bulge pushing against her hand as she stepped out of her panties.

  “You promised to be careful,” Ashley reminded him as she ran her hand over him one last time before she took his zipper between her fingertips and slowly pulled it down before she made her way to the shower, knowing that he would follow her.

  “And I was,” Kale said, pushing his pants down.

  “Then explain the blood,” Ashley said, stepping into the shower stall as Kale pushed his boxers down and joined her.

  “They got in the way,” Kale said as he reached past her and turned on the shower.

  “Of what?” she absently asked as she grabbed the body wash and carefully set to work cleaning the blood off his face and neck.

  “Getting back to you,” Kale said with one of those devastatingly sexy smiles that she loved as he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

  For several minutes, they took the kiss slow while she worked soap through his hair and over his body. When she was done, he ducked beneath the hot water and rinsed off as she ran her eyes over him, taking in the cut above his eyebrow that looked like it was already healing, the bruise marring the side of his face that was already fading away, and the bruises and cuts marking the rest of his body, and…

  She hated this, Ashley thought as she leaned up and kissed the bruise lining the side of his jaw. He was right. Their world was dangerous and-

  She hated this.

  Needing to make this better for him, she kissed her way down his neck and chest, taking her time kissing every cut and bruise along the way. When she reached the tip of the large erection curved above his navel, she pressed one last kiss against his stomach and then-

  Kale was groaning as she kissed the tip, biting back a smile when she heard the unmistakable sounds of his hand slapping against the wall. It had taken her some time to learn what Kale liked and when she did, she couldn’t seem to get enough of him. She liked knowing how her touch affected him, liked knowing just how much he loved being touched by her and how she could leave him struggling to stay in control.

  Ashley slowly took the large tip in her mouth, moaning when the soft, velvety tip slid across her tongue. She gently suckled on the tip, loving the way that he groaned as she reached up and ran her fingertips over the curve of his erection as she slowly moved her mouth over him with a moan.

  For several minutes, she took her time moving her mouth over him, taking more of him with every pass. She felt him grow harder in her mouth as he began mumbling in Gaelic, letting her know that he needed to take over. Ashley slowly pulled her mouth away before she stood up and cupped the back of Kale’s neck, bringing him down for a kiss and tearing a groan from him as he picked her up and pressed her against the wall.

  Before her back hit the wall, Kale was pushing inside her and showing her exactly how much he’d missed her.

  Chapter 48

  He had to do this, Marc told himself as he released a shaky breath and looked over his shoulder, making sure that no one was coming after him. When he didn’t see any cars coming, he tightened his hold on the handlebars of his bike and kept going, careful of the black ice covering the road, and headed towards the long driveway that he normally avoided, but…

  He couldn’t get the image of his father going into bloodlust out of his head.

  Telling himself that there was no other way, Marc climbed off his bike and began walking it down the long winding driveway as he tried to figure out what he was going to say. Then again, he might not have to say anything since his family would probably kill him if they ever found out what he was doing. His brother, Chris, would definitely kill him, Marc thought as he made his way around the last bend and saw the large two-story house that the Council had built for Michael.

  If it had been him, he would have taken this house in a heartbeat, Marc thought, wondering why anyone in their right mind would want to…want to…

  “Oh…God…” came the weakly mumbled words when the large brown grizzly bear came around the corner.

  Swallowing hard, Marc went completely still, praying that the bear didn’t see him as he moved to raise his foot to step back only to stop when the bear opened its large mouth and released a roar that had the hair on the back of Marc’s neck standing up. The next roar had Marc stumbling back and the bike falling out of his hands, hitting the hard, ice-covered pavement with a loud bang that seemed to piss the bear off more.

  Marc watched in terror as the bear stood up on its back legs and released another roar as he reached inside his coat pocket with a trembling hand, searching for his cellphone only to remember that he’d left it at home so that Izzy wouldn’t be able to use Tattletale to track him and figure out what he was doing. Dropping his hand away, Marc turned his head and-

  Tripped over his bike when the bear roared again and landed with a grunt as pain shot through his palms a
nd knees and he watched in horror as the bear dropped back down on its front paws and…immediately sat back on its haunches, licking its lips hungrily as an incredibly beautiful woman carrying a large metal mixing bowl stepped outside.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Cuddles,” she said, shaking her head with a long-suffering sigh as she scooped up a large spoonful of what Marc thought might be frosting and held it out to the bear.

  “Cuddles?” Marc said, trying to make sense out of what he was seeing as he watched the large bear that really didn’t look like a “Cuddles” finish licking the spoon. That was followed by the bear leaning over and carefully stealing the metal bowl with its teeth, pausing long enough so that the woman with the warmest smile that Marc had ever seen, could pet him.

  “He didn’t like Fluffy,” she said with a teasing smile for the bear before shifting her attention to him as her expression turned concerned.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, tossing the mixing spoon on the porch and quickly made her way down the front steps and down the long walkway to drop down by his side.

  “I’m fine,” Marc said, moving to get up only to wince when pain shot through his hands.

  “I’m gonna have to have a talk with Cuddles,” she said, shaking her head in disappointment as she gently took his hand in hers only to shoot him a sympathetic wince when she saw the cuts on his hands. “I think we need to get you cleaned up,” she said as she quickly took in his ripped paints and scraped knees.

  “It’s okay. I’m fine,” Marc said, moving to get to his feet only to wince in pain when his scraped knees and hands protested the move.

  “No, you’re not,” she said with a kind smile as she helped him. “My name’s Ashley and you are…”

  “Definitely at the wrong house,” Marc said, sighing heavily as he took in the large house that he could have sworn was Kale’s. There weren’t that many houses on this road, but…maybe he’d missed the driveway?

  “Who are you looking for?” Ashley asked as he forced himself to ignore how badly his hands hurt as he reached down and grabbed his bike.