“You still don’t know if she’s a shifter?”
Finn nodded his head. “She’s a shifter.” He moved his tongue around his mouth. He could still taste her. “I know that for sure. What I don’t know is if she knows it. I’m convinced she doesn’t because if she did, she wouldn’t be tagging bears.” Finn reached up and rubbed his ear. It was healed but his pride ached. She’d bested him. His guard was down and she took advantage of the situation.
“She’s tagging bears already.” His voice rose an octave and took on a deadly tone. “I warned you.”
Mia rushed out of the house and grabbed Sophia. “You’re going to scare her with that tone.” She plopped the little girl on her hip and went back into the house.
Ty pushed himself to a standing position. He walked down the steps of the front porch. Finn followed.
“She tagged me.” It killed him to admit it, but better him than someone else in the clan.
“How the he…” He looked back toward the house. His voice lowered to a whisper. “How the hell did she get away with that?”
Finn could feel the embarrassment heat his cheeks. “It’s a long story, but I approached her as my bear.”
“You what?” He hollered so loud the trees shook.
Just kill me now. “I went to the lake on the other side of the bed and breakfast. I was checking up on her.”
“What part of that has you approaching her and her tagging you?”
Finn could tell that Ty was warring with himself between anger and humor.
“She was sitting on a rock, and before I knew it I was in front of her.” He closed his eyes and remembered how her fingers felt in his fur.
“You like her.” It was a statement of fact, not a question. The truth must have been written all over Finn’s face because seconds later Ty was howling with laughter.
“Stop.”
“I can’t. It’s too funny. You let a woman tag you.”
“Okay, laugh at my expense, but at least she’s not on clan land. I took her up into the national forest area and let her have at it.”
“She’s alone up there?”
“Ty, it’s not clan land. She’s a forest ranger. She has a right to do her job. I have an obligation to assist her.”
“It’s fine, just keep her off our land.”
“Will do, and I’d ask that you keep the clan out of the forest.”
A rustle came from the tree line and a half shifted wolf skidded to a stop in front of Ty. It wasn’t any wolf but Reid Bennett and he was pissed.
Reid’s fangs were still elongated when he growled out, “There’s a woman in the forest tagging animals.” He stood naked in front of Ty yanking at the plastic tracker in his ear.
Finn rushed to his truck where he kept a change of clothes just in case he had an unexpected shift. He tossed a pair of jeans to Reid. “Put these on.”
The alpha wolf slipped into the pants, but continued to tug at the tag in his ear. Finn understood the frustration. Anything unnatural didn’t sit well in a shifter’s body. It’s why he ripped the damn thing out of his own ear.
“Hold on.” Finn returned to his truck to grab a pair of wire cutters. It was the only thing that could pierce through the metal tag.
“If I run into her anywhere in town, I don’t know what I’ll do to her.”
A growl ripped from Finn’s throat. “She’s doing her job. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Reid looked over to Ty and the Itan replied, “He’s right. She was on public land. I suggest you let your people know she’ll be here for a bit.”
“What the f—”
Ty slapped his hand over Reid’s lips. “You want to owe the jar? That seems insult to injury.”
The alpha rolled his eyes. “What is she doing here?”
Ty crossed his arms over his chest and looked toward Finn. “I’ll let him explain.”
While Finn clipped the tag from Reid’s ear he spoke. “The forestry department believes we have an animal control problem, so they want to watch migration habits of certain species.”
“You know this woman?” He pinched his ear until it stopped bleeding. “She’s a real pain in my as…phalt.” Reid’s eyes went to the front door of the big house. Everyone feared the Itan, but it was Mia, his Itana, who terrorized them more. She’d give a good tongue lashing for cussing. First she’d empty your store of self-respect, then she’d empty your pockets with a fine. The woman had swear jars all over the place. “Seriously, she shot a dart in my… back end.”
Both men turned to look at Finn like he had the solution for this issue. There was only one answer. “Stay out of the forest. She’ll be finished in a few days.”
“Asking us to stay out of the forest is like telling a man he can’t sleep in his own bed.” Finn had never known the Redby alpha to whine, but he supposed getting darted in the ass and tagged in the ear was as good as any reason to start.
“I’ll keep her near the ridge.” It had been hours since he’d left her alone. How many other shifters would be racing down the mountain to voice their displeasure?
If Finn wasn’t careful, there would be a mutiny in Grayslake, and he wasn’t certain he could protect Mack from the entire clan.
“You need to find out what she knows.”
Reid’s head shifted between Finn and the Itan. “What do you mean?” He asked.
“The ranger is a hybrid,” Finn said.
“What?”
Finn wanted to hibernate just so this situation would bypass him. “I’m certain of it.” Both men looked at him. “That’s not the biggest problem I have though.”
Ty lifted his brow until a wrinkle furrowed his forehead. “What else can there be?”
Finn shifted back and forth in his boots. He knew the minute the truth was out, he’d catch hell. Not the kind of hell that a man caught when they did something stupid, but the kind of razzing a bear would hear for the rest of his life.
“She’s my mate.” It was as if the entire world stopped spinning. Even the cicadas halted their annoying buzzing.
Finn looked from Reid to Ty, but his declaration had stolen their tongues.
A minute later, Ty scrubbed his face with his hands. “You need to claim her before someone kills her. I’m giving you a day.”
The thought of anyone doing anything to Mack made his skin prickle. He tamped down the rage that built inside of him. It wouldn’t serve anyone well if he pissed off his Itan.
“I’m heading back up to the ridge. I’ll take care of it.”
All the way back to the ridge, Finn tried to figure out how to broach the subject about half-breeds or what he liked to refer to as hybrids. He had to get a clear idea of what, if anything, Mack knew about herself.
When he pulled up to the building, he knew she was inside. He could feel her presence. Hell, he could almost hear her heartbeat.
The door was cracked open, and he watched her sleep on the twin mattress. Her hair cascaded around her head like a halo. Finn’s heart leapt in his chest. His bear came alive and clawed at him to come out.
Control was important at this point. He didn’t want to shift and scare the living daylights out of her. He’d rather broach that topic gingerly. Ease her into the truth about who he was and what he knew her to be. That was when he decided that maybe a field trip was a good idea.
The Left Bank Bar would either be a genius move or a terrible disaster, but by the end of the night he’d know for sure if she had any connection to her bear.
Until then, there was nothing wrong with having a bit of fun. The animal inside him roared with approval. Finn’s dick was as hard as stone.
She lay there with her ass facing him. Its fine round shape begging to be squeezed. Without much thought, he lay down beside her and snuggled up to her bottom. She fit perfectly against his body. Even in her sleep she sought him out by pressing her soft curves into his hardened edges. She knew as well as he did that at a cellular level they were a perfect fit.
His hands gripped her hips and pulled her into him. In her sleep, she moaned. The woman was definitely half bear. Only a bear could sleep this deep. The heat coming off her body was also a telltale sign.
“Mackenzie, you’re mine.” He ran his hand over the flare of her hip to her thigh.
“Yours,” she whispered. Her voice held the sleepy sexiness of a seductress. “Finn?”
“Hey, love. I missed you.” She turned in his arms and pressed her face to his chest. She was scenting him. It was a mating ritual as old as time itself, and it made his chest swell. Even though she was unaware of her heritage, she still had the instincts.
“I fell asleep waiting for you.” Her hands caressed his chest, and his bear began to growl inside him. He wanted more.
“Finding you in bed was the nicest surprise.” Her temperature shot up a few degrees. It was cute the way she heated at his words.
“Are you seducing me again?”
“I think you’re seducing me. You’re lying here with that fabulous ass just begging to be bit.” Inside, his bear was nodding his head. “I want you, Mackenzie. I want you bad.”
“Then have me, Finn.” She rolled back and started to unbutton her shirt.
“If I have you. I’ll never let you go.”
Mack laughed as if it were a joke, but Finn knew better. Once he sank his cock into her, regardless of whether he sank his teeth into her, she would be his forever. “You need to understand what this means.”
Chapter 9
Mackenzie
The serious tone in Finn’s voice sent bolts of energy through her limbs. The crackle and heat of attraction pooled between her thighs. No man had ever said words like that to her. Mack was the kind of girl most men overlooked. Men didn’t claim girls like her. They played with their hearts and minds and they played with their bodies.
Was that what Finn was doing? Was he playing with her emotions to get into her pants?
She pressed her palm to his chest and the heat pulsing from his body surged through hers. She had this urge to rip his clothes off, ride his cock, and bite him. Where the hell did that thought come from?
“What is this?” She looked into his eyes and saw the same desire she knew was in hers. “What’s happening between us?”
“Don’t question it, Mackenzie. Just let it happen.” He worked at the button on her pants while her shaky fingers undid the buttons on his shirt. What she wanted to do was grip both sides and tear. Something urgent and needy was welling up inside her, and if she didn’t get as close to him as possible soon, she thought she might die. That of course was not going to happen, but the thousands of hormones inside her were screaming the lie.
“Hurry up, Finn. I feel like my body might explode.”
Laughter rolled through him. “You will explode, Mackenzie. I will take your body. I’ll earn your heart. I’ll make you shatter into a thousand glorious pieces beneath me.”
Oh, the words and his voice and his hands. They all came together like a magic elixir. She was drunk on her need for him. She wanted what he offered even if it was only for the moment. “I need you.”
He was naked. She was naked. Heat swirled around their bodies as if flames licked at their skin. He moved her to the center of the bed and spread her legs with his knees. His thick cock jutted forward seeking her.
“So damn beautiful.” He pulled a foil packet from his pants and ripped it open with his teeth. “This will be the only time I’ll protect you.”
She didn’t know what he meant. Was his statement literal or figurative? Was it about the condom? Her heart? Her life?
She watched as he rolled it up his length. His jaw tightened and she swore his brown eyes darkened. There was something feral just under the surface of his skin. It was like an animal begging to be released. She should have been frightened, but she wasn’t. She was intrigued, and she wanted to watch this man, who always seemed so in control, lose it.
He nipped at her neck and rubbed the scruff of his whiskers over her jawline. She ran her hands over his body. Her fingers slid up and over every groove of muscle on his chest. The hair of his legs prickled against her inner thighs as he nudged at her entrance.
A tiny tremor in the deepest part of her body started to pulse. It was an ember of heat that was quickly becoming a flame. The heat threatened to devour her, and he wasn’t even inside her yet.
She lifted her hips until the broad tip pushed inside. Her head fell back and her body quivered. God, if this was what an inch of him did to her, could she survive the whole of him?
“Mine.” He growled and pressed forward.
Her body opened and invited him in. Inch by inch he claimed her. Each stroke he reminded her that she was his until he pressed completely inside her and stilled.
Her body hummed with satisfaction. Her insides swirled with delicious tension. Her heart nearly exploded with love.
“This changes everything, Mackenzie. It means you’re mine.” His jaw twitched as if he was holding on by a thread. He pulled out and pressed deep inside her again and again. Each time he said, “mine” like it was a promise.
Her body trembled. Her skin was on fire and it felt like it was too tight to contain her.
“This is just the first of many times. Each time will get better.” He buried his face into the crook of her neck. His teeth skimmed her collarbone.
The touch sent a shot of hot desire straight to her core. She turned her neck on instinct, offering him the most vulnerable part of her. There was a prick of pain as he plunged faster and deeper inside her. Finn’s upper body stiffened, but his hips continued to piston inside of her. Each stroke pulling her closer to the edge of a massive drop off. Heat and tension coiled within her. She held her breath. He buried his face into the mattress next to her and he roared.
The sound he made spoke to her in a way she’d never known. Light flashed behind her eyes. Her body shattered around him and her heart leapt from her chest to his and back again.
“Mine,” she shouted back, taking him over the edge with her. Their bodies pulsed together until they lay sated in each other’s arms.
Where she ended and he began, she didn’t know. It was as if this one encounter had melded them together.
“Oh my God, what just happened?” She rolled to her side and curled against his body. Next to where her head had rested, a hole was torn in the mattress. She touched the frayed edges of the fabric and looked up at Finn.
“We just happened.” His arms wrapped around her like he’d never let her go, and she hoped that was the truth. She’d give up everything for another minute with him.
He rose from the bed, and the minute his heat was gone, she missed it. She watched his glorious body walk to the trashcan to dispose of the condom. His muscles flexed as he reached the top shelf for two bottles of water and a couple of protein bars. Then he was back at her side, only this time he pulled her between his legs and rested her head on his chest.
Cradled against his body, she felt complete. This little shack wasn’t much, but it was everything she could imagine wanting as long as Finn was here.
“Tell me about your day.” His voice vibrated through his chest to her body. It warmed Mack from tip to toe.
“I tagged this amazing wolf.” He stiffened behind her.
“How amazing?” He opened a bottle of water and handed it to her. “As amazing as the bear?”
“Oh, no. The only thing amazing about the wolf was his size and stupidity. He stared at me, and I figured if he was going to wait there, I’d tag him.”
A full belly laugh came from Finn. “I’m going to have to tell Reid that story.”
“Who’s
Reid?”
“A not so amazing guy.” There was a hint of humor in his voice. “Did you tag anything else?”
“Oh yes, I got two smaller wolves. They seemed rather common compared to the big one.” She drank the water bottle dry. “That was about it. I fear I’m failing at my assignment.”
“You’re not failing, love. In my book you’re a damn success.”
“But I’m not tagging much of anything.” She leaned to the side and looked up into his eyes.
“You tagged me in more ways than you can imagine.” His nostrils flared and his breath grew rapid and shallow. His cock nudged against her back. He stirred heat in her that whirled around her insides. It flared from her womb to her limbs.
“Round two?” It was supposed to be a question, but it sounded more like she was pleading a case.
His hands rubbed down her arms and slid under her heavy breasts to curl around her stomach.
“There is nothing I’d like better than to spend my life buried inside your body, but I barely controlled myself with you this time.” He looked down at the hole torn into the mattress. “I don’t want to risk it.”
“God, if that was you holding back, I can’t wait until you totally let loose.” She clenched her legs together trying to capture the quiver that ran through her body thinking about sex with this man. She wasn’t even sure she needed him inside of her to orgasm. There was something primal in her that made her cells come alive when he was near.
“Soon, Mackenzie. Very soon you will have all of me, and I will claim all of you.”
What the hell did that mean? She didn’t care. Whatever he was offering, she wanted it all.
For a big man, he moved fast. He stood and pulled on his pants before she realized his body was no longer around hers.
“Get dressed. I’ll take you to the local bar. It’s an interesting place to watch people.”
“You’d rather watch people than be with me?” Mack wasn’t generally a pouty girl, but being in a crowded bar wasn’t nearly as appealing as being naked with Finn.
“No, but I think it’s important for you to get to know the locals.”
Grayslake: More than Mated: Bear-ly a Choice (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 5
