Welterweight (Hallow Brothers Book 1)
Page 11
“Better yet.” He grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the woods. He pinned her against the trunk of the first tree they came to. Holding her hands over her head, he kissed her hard, leaving her gasping for air.
“Littlefoot just went by. What if he comes right back?” she protested as her hips arched tight against him.
“I’ll hear him. And he won’t be down for a while. I think he’s sweet on Momma. They’re both widowed so it’s ideal. His wife died shortly before Papa.” With his free hand, he shoved her shirt and bra up until he could palm her breast. He lowered his head to suck on the nub between his fingers.
Meg whimpered as she wrapped a leg around his waist. She hopped on the toe of her other foot to lift that leg around him also. He stopped her with a grin.
“What’s the hurry, princess? It’s just us out here. We’re not going back until your screams echo off these trees.”
Meg moaned at his threat. She watched as he slowly unlaced his shorts with his free hand. He still kept a hold of her wrists over her head. She wasn’t about to fight him. Being subjected to his will was strangely erotic. He pulled down his shorts until his cock sprung free. He’s always hard.
A faint buzz caught their attention for just a moment. Caleb pushed hard into her, rubbing himself against her as his mouth possessed hers. She responded to him in kind.
Caleb pulled free when the buzz called for them again. “What the holy hell?” he muttered as he plunged a hand into the pocket of his shorts hanging precariously around his thighs. He pulled his cell free and studied it. “Shit.”
“What?” was all Meg could get out.
“Littlefoot is there for me. I guess he came up with a Plan B.”
“Oh.” Meg tried to push the frustration from her voice. “So we’d better get back.”
“Not yet.”
She squeaked as he lifted her up against the tree and guided her to wrap her legs around him. She opened her mouth to protest. How could she forget to take off her shorts? They weren’t going to get far. She gasped and then groaned as she felt his fingers against her sensitive flesh as he hooked his fingers in her shorts and panties and pulled them aside. A moment later he filled her with one thrust.
Their coupling was quick. Meg clung tightly to Caleb as she rode him, the flesh of her back scraping against the bark of the tree. Caleb bit, nipped, and sucked on every bare piece of skin he could get to. Her lips were swollen with his kisses. Feeling his cock driving in and out of her stole every coherent thought from her mind. Intimate, exquisite pleasure consumed her. Life without this man didn’t exist. Without him, she would die.
Her cries joined with his grunts as they came together. Meg wrapped herself as tight as she could around him to ride out each delicious shiver that rolled through her. He held her close as he collapsed, pinning her between his body and the tree.
“Littlefoot,” she reminded him.
“Old man interrupts everything.” He pulled free from her and set her on her feet. Her knees buckled under her. He grabbed her and held her tight until she got her footing. He winked. “I am that fucking good, huh?”
“How does your enormous ego fit in this forest?” Meg shot back.
Caleb laughed. “Very carefully.” He offered his arm to help her through the brush back to the road. Once they reached the hard dirt road, their stride quickened to a jog back to the camp.
Josiah and Littlefoot were leaning against the truck talking when Caleb and Meg returned to camp. The older man nodded to them as they approached. Meg swiped the back of her hand across her forehead as she took a deep breath to slow her stampeding heart.
“So, what’s so important that it can interrupt my run?” Caleb demanded.
“Wow, a sentence not laced in profanities,” Josiah remarked. “Meg is rubbing off on you.”
“Fuck off, Josiah.”
Littlefoot cleared his throat. “I talked to Noah about your predicament.” He turned to Meg. “Noah is my son. He has a medical degree from Harvard. He is our tribe’s physician.” He redirected his attention to Caleb. “I agree changing the fight card order is ideal if Micah can do it. But you need to be certain that you’re safe and no one finds out what you truly are.”
“So did you come up with something?” Caleb asked.
“Noah did, yes. A tranquilizer. If you change before you reach home, you could be sedated. Noah, my nephews, and I will accompany you to the fight. The four of us should be able to move a sleeping Caleb to the van and get out of town before anyone is the wiser.”
“The only one of us who has ever been sedated was Micah and he was a kid,” Josiah objected. “How would you know how much drug to use? And how the hell would someone administer it? We don’t know if sedation will turn us back now that we’re adults. And we don’t know for certain if we can control the blood lust when we change.”
“Caleb can,” Meg insisted. “He’s done it before.”
“But when he’s in danger?” Josiah countered. “And exactly when did he do it before?”
Meg opened her mouth to answer but closed it when she felt Caleb’s fingers around her wrist. He subtly shook his head.
Littlefoot smiled and continued for her. “Noah is researching the dosage. He’s gauging it between the amount for a moose and an elephant. I can be in Cay’s corner that night and administer it to him if I have to. We have to know it will work though. That means someone has to sedate you while you are a werewolf. As far as accomplishing that feat, there is one known fact about you boys that can’t be refuted. You won’t attack your mates.”
“No. Hell, no. Fuck, no. Meg is not giving it to me,” Caleb interjected.
“Why not?” Littlefoot crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s the only one.”
“What if the legend is wrong? What if I attack her? No. Screw it. I’ll resist the change. You can go back and find a Plan C.”
Meg touched his arm to quiet him and then faced Littlefoot. “How would I give it to him?”
Caleb shook his head. “I said…”
Meg pressed her fingers to his lips. “You want this belt. You want it more than anything in the world. And if you fail to resist the change and you do, you’ll be trapped among irrational humans. Ones that will kill you. The world won’t come to an end if you don’t win. Mine will if someone kills you. Let me do this for you.”
She could hear his voice break. “If it fails, you realize what you’re sacrificing?”
Meg forced a smile on her face. “My life for yours. Yeah, I know.” She looked at Littlefoot. “What will I have to do?”
“During the fight itself, we will give it to him in a syringe before he gets the chance to change. But I understand your reluctance when we test this, Cay. The best option we have is for Meg to fire the tranquilizer from a distance, like from a rifle. It will buy her time to escape if things go wrong,” Littlefoot answered. “Have you shot a gun before?”
“My father used to take me out for target practice. So, yeah. I can shoot about any kind of gun.”
“I’d feel better if you practice,” Josiah said. “I’ll set up some targets for you.”
“You’re jumping ahead of yourselves,” Caleb told him. “Micah hasn’t had a chance to talk to Leroy yet.”
“Yeah, Micah has.”
They all turned to find Micah standing on the deck outside the family building. He jogged down the steps in their direction. “As I figured, Leroy wasn’t excited about changing the order. However, he came right around when I threatened to pull you, Cay. Meg is pretty brilliant. What she guessed is exactly how it went down. It seems like the whole town is talking about what happened between you and her and Austin Graves. He’s nearly sold out. I guess everyone wants to see Austin beat your skull in for stealing his girl.”
“Fucking fantastic,” Caleb muttered.
“I’ll bring up a rifle tomorrow.” Littlefoot shoved off the truck with his foot. “I’m going to pay my respects to your mother before I leave.”
Th
e four of them watched Littlefoot silently as he sauntered across the camp to Momma’s cabin. He knocked once and waited. Momma answered the door with a beaming smile on her face. She held it open and motioned him inside. He accepted with a slight bow. She shot a goofy grin across the camp before she shut the door behind them.
“Josiah?” Caleb asked with a slight whine to his voice.
“What?”
“Is Littlefoot going to be our new daddy?”
“What? You pissed that you’re not the only one getting laid in this camp?”
“Guys, can we not talk about Mom getting laid?” Micah objected.
“You are such a Momma’s boy,” Caleb teased.
“Fuck you, Caleb.”
Meg laughed as she took her mate’s hand. “Come on. Be nice to your brother. I’ll make us some lunch so you can go train.”
“Can you make it for all of us?” Micah questioned. “Just in case they take a while?”
“You can cook,” Josiah reminded.
“I know I can. Better than you,” Micah defended. “But I just thought…”
“I’d be happy to.” Meg hurried into the family building, towing Caleb behind her. She didn’t stop until she reached the kitchen. She pulled out things for lunch, stopping every so often for a kiss or caress from Caleb. Truthfully, there was more than a moment. They snuck in a quickie in the pantry while she was waiting for the potatoes to boil.
She quickly straightened her clothes and hurried back to work before anyone found them. Her mate’s cool demeanor as he shuffled out, fully dressed, irritated her a bit.
She glared at him. “Just taking your time, huh?”
“Like they don’t expect us to be fucking every chance we get.”
Meg set the spoon in her hand down and stared at him. “Yeah, explain that to me. No guy I have ever been with can last like you can. I mean, once they get off, it’s at least an hour before they can get it up again. You it’s like what, five minutes?”
He cocked a grin at her. “Princess, I’m not human.”
“I know that.”
“And weren’t you explaining it to me? Didn’t my mother say it was something in the way we’re programmed? That we have to have endless sex so that we bond, so that we build a relationship? So that we grow to like each other at least?”
“Is it even working?”
He slowly approached her and pulled her in his arms. “You tell me.”
“I’m not the one that has a problem with us. The question is, do you like me?”
Her eyes met his. His face softened. He brushed a lock of hair from her face. “Yeah. I’m beginning to like you. A lot. How could I not? You just basically offered your life up for mine.”
She felt her cheeks warm. “Well, I kinda like you too.”
He kissed her as he chuckled. “I’m glad. You might want to get this shit done. My brothers are a little hard to deal with when they’re hungry.”
“So that’s it. You’re always hungry.”
“Fuck. You’re a comic genius, baby.”
Meg laughed. “I just need to mix up the potato salad. You boys are getting sandwiches and potato salad. And I’m setting aside some potatoes for you. You can have some plain chicken with them.”
“Sounds good.”
“Want to call them?”
Caleb smirked at her and pointed toward the dining room. “They’re already here.”
Meg rolled her eyes as she scooped the pot off the stove and drained it. She nodded to a plate of chicken and some rolls and then motioned toward the dining room. Caleb stood stone still and stared at her. Meg huffed a sigh. Why would she expect anything different? Why would he help her?
Suddenly, with a wink, he scooped up the platter and the rolls and disappeared into the dining room.
“I swear he’s trying to drive me insane,” Meg muttered as she added the other ingredients to her salad. Stirring it together, she grabbed the pot and followed him.
Every member of the Hallow family enjoyed her simple lunch, even Momma and Littlefoot who showed up a little late. The older woman thanked her over and over for preparing the meal. Meg studied her, amused. The older woman didn’t look the least bit ruffled. Either she hadn’t knocked boots with Littlefoot, or she put herself back together quickly.
Once everyone was done eating and lunch cleaned up, Caleb disappeared into the gym. Meg sighed in disappointment. After how their morning together went, she was starting to miss his attitude. She pulled a bowl out and then the mixer. If she couldn’t have Caleb, she’d make some cookies.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
Meg’s head snapped up to find Caleb in the doorway, dressed in a pair of fight shorts. He wore fingerless gloves on each hand. That was all he had on. No shirt. No shoes. She bit back a moan at the sight. “Baking,” she answered.
“I thought you liked MMA.”
“Love it.”
“There’s no MMA happening in here. There is in there.” He pointed toward the gym. “Are you coming?”
“I was never invited.”
“When the fuck has that stopped you?”
Meg laughed. Caleb continued as he held his hand out to her. “Put that shit away and come on.”
Meg stowed the kitchen items away in their places and then scuttled to Caleb and took his hand the best she could with his gloves. With a goofy grin that could have rivaled Momma’s, she followed him into the gym.
»»•««
Littlefoot was true to his word. The following morning, he was back at the camp with a hunting rifle for Meg. Caleb couldn’t help but sulk as he watched her practice every day for the next three weeks. She was deadly accurate with each shot she took. Having target practice now meant she wasn’t watching him practice in the gym. It had to bore her brainless to watch him but when they got back to the cabin, it was she who started the lovemaking. Having a creature that exquisite stripping him naked and going down on him before he barely stepped over the threshold was not something he was ready to give up easily.
He winced as she pulled the trigger. The bang echoed through the forest. The thought of something piercing his skin at that velocity unnerved him. It was something Littlefoot conveniently forgot. As beasts, they could get hurt. More than once he had to nurse a broken limb or laceration that he got, not in the cage, but out hunting as a werewolf. He was not looking forward to getting shot or being Noah’s guinea pig. “He just better get the fucking dosage right,” he muttered under his breath.
“What, sweetheart?” Meg questioned a little too sweetly.
“Nothing, dumpling. You keep shooting,” he answered.
She stood still for a moment and then rested the butt of the gun on the ground. “Tonight, I have to shoot you.”
“I know. I still think this is fucking stupid but I guess we have no choice.”
“Have you seen the dart?”
“Not yet. I guess Littlefoot is on his way with it. He’ll take Momma with him after he drops it off.”
“What about me? I get it that you’re not supposed to attack me but what about your brothers?”
“Once we have the dart, we’re leaving for North Camp. It’s about another hour from here straight north. The guys are fast, but they have no desire to head that way. It’s more isolated than this one. Once you shoot me, you’re taking my truck and heading to Sharky’s. You’ll leave my truck there and Sharky will take you to my aunts. Josiah will get me tomorrow morning when I call him. At some point in the week we’ll get my truck.”
“So I’m leaving you there?”
“Yes.”
“But what if you’re hurt? What if the tranquilizer is too much for you to handle?”
“Doesn’t matter. When you fire the shot and it hits me, you run.”
“I don’t like this idea.”
“Neither do I.”
“Well no shit. I wouldn’t want to get shot either.”
“It isn’t that.”
“What is it then?”
He was pulled from his thoughts by her lips on his. “I’m a big girl, Caleb Hallow. I’ll be fine.”
“Seriously doubt it.”
Meg touched his face and stared in his eyes. When the fuck did they get to this point? It seemed just yesterday they only found the carnal benefit in each other. Outside of the bed, they hated each other’s guts. Now, her touch made him invincible and brought him to his knees, all at the same time. The thought of being away from her killed him. He wove his fingers in her hair, caressing the locks as he combed through them. Her smile was beautiful. She was beautiful. I can’t do this.
They both turned as they heard the rumble of the truck. Littlefoot parked and then hopped out, shaking Josiah’s and Micah’s hands. He tipped his hat to Momma, who blushed in response. It looked like a standard social call. But it’s not. It’s the beginning of my nightmare. Looks are so fucking deceiving.
Caleb felt Meg lace her fingers in between his. She gave him an encouraging grin as she rested the rifle against her shoulder. “Might as well get this over with.”
“Let’s do this.”
Together they crossed the camp to Littlefoot’s truck. The older man reached into his truck. As they approached, he held out a small box to them. “Noah made two. It should do the trick.”
Caleb took the box from him and then pulled his hand from Meg’s. Slowly he opened it. She peered over his arm to look also. The dart was long and thin, with the radius the same as the barrel of the rifle. The tip looked like a hypodermic needle. Caleb bit back a growl. “Fantastic.”
“Do you know what to do?” Josiah asked Meg.
“Caleb told me. Shoot him, get in his truck and head for Sharky’s.”
“Yes. And call Momma as you’re leaving so she knows you’re all right.”