by M. Limoges
“Fuck you.” The wolf inside Jace snarled, anxious to tear into its prey. “You’ll never step foot on our lands.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Seems there’s little to stand in my way once I take care of you two.” A sinister grin spread across Marston’s face. “Wait till I tell Roberts and the others about you and your friends.”
“You’re a fucking asshole that deserves a slow, painful death.”
Marston snorted. “You’re probably right.” Then he lifted his shoulder in an indifferent shrug. “Doesn’t change the fact you and Ms. Sanders will die today.”
A lone howl sliced through the air. Then a second bay carried from the west. Jace had never been more thankful to hear those sounds in his life. Thank Christ, Stephen had arranged a patrol detail to remain in the area. His friend had told him the pack had his back and now they were on the way. Just when he needed them most. He couldn’t do this alone. There was no way to make it to Marston before the fucker shot him, but damn it, he would die trying, if that would save his mate and his pack.
“You know what that means, right?” Jace asked as a flash of fur darted through the trees past Marston. “You’re not leaving these woods today.”
“We’ll see about that.” Marston swung his rifle up and pointed it at Jace’s head. At that moment, a large gray wolf lunged from outside the trail, latching onto Marston’s forearm and throwing off his aim. The shot grazed an aging evergreen and echoed in the surrounding forest.
Several members of his pack emerged from the woods and charged Marston, sinking their teeth into any available strip of flesh. His screams drowned out their snarls. As the only member of his pack in human form, Jace strode ahead, snatched the gun from Marston’s grasp, and turned the barrel at the man’s head. One by one, his packmates released their holds and eased back from Jace’s prey. Wide-eyed with blood splotching his neck, Marston held his shaky hands up in surrender.
At once, everything fell away as Jace’s gaze narrowed on the trembling coward below him. This pathetic excuse of a human had been nothing but a threat to his pack, him, and his mate. For his mate alone, the bastard would die. The wolf inside clawed and slashed, demanding the man’s blood for his offenses. With his finger heavy on the trigger, all it would take was a small amount of force, a light squeeze that would cost Jace nothing, to end Marston’s life for good.
“Jace!” Michelle’s shout barely broke his focus. She wrapped her arms around his waist. “Please, Jace. Don’t do this. Let the authorities take care of him.” Her quiet sobs unmanned him. His need for vengeance deflated with each tear that dropped on his bare skin, scalding him, reminding him she was the most important thing in his life. “Please, Jace. Stay with me.” Her whispered plea carved the malice from his heart, replacing it with love. Love for her, his mate.
The breath hissed out of him, and he dropped the rifle, pointing it at the ground. Around them, the stifling tension broke. The gray wolf that had first attacked shifted beside him into his best friend. Stephen didn’t hesitate to take the weapon from Jace’s grasp. He barely registered handing it over. He was focused solely on his mate.
He wrapped his uninjured arm around Michelle and buried his head in the curve of her neck. “I’ll never leave you, Michelle. For as long as you want me.” He snorted lightly, blowing strands of her hair. “Or even if you don’t.”
Stepping out of his arms, she frowned at him and pointed one small finger at his nose. “Don’t you dare scare me like that again, Jace Matthews.”
“Which time?”
She smacked his chest near his wounded shoulder and he grunted. Her eyes flew wide open, and she reached for him. “Oh shit, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I heal pretty fast. Thank God for that.” He glanced to his right where Marston sprawled in the forest floor. Four of the pack stood over him with bared teeth.
“Do you want me to take him to Andrew?” Stephen asked.
Jace nodded. “I’m sure our alpha will have something rather interesting planned for this dickhead.”
Stephen leaned forward to look at Michelle. He smiled and extended his hand across Jace’s torso. “Welcome to the pack.”
Many of the wolves yipped in approval.
Michelle blushed a pretty shade of pink and accepted Stephen’s offered hand. “Thanks.”
Jace didn’t wait for the two to carry on their conversation. He looped his good arm around his mate and led her back to the house. “Come on, sweetheart. I think I need some medical attention and a long-ass nap.”
Chapter Ten
Michelle’s head rested on Jace’s chest, his heart beat steady and strong beneath her ear. The sky lightened to a soft shade of pink outside her bedroom window. Her fingers rubbed light circles on his stomach. She laid her hand flat against his warm skin and tried to relax. Despite her best efforts, it still terrified her to realize how close she’d come to losing him the day before.
The pack’s healer had come to check on them shortly after they’d returned to her house. Jace’s wound hadn’t alarmed the older, gray-haired man in the least. He’d cuffed Jace’s shoulder and ordered him to eat a hearty meal, soak in the tub, and get a decent night’s rest. Michelle had gaped at the man’s treatment until both they rushed to explain the mechanics of shifter healing to her.
The high-calorie meal Jace consumed would fuel his body while it worked at an accelerated rate to repair the damage as he slept. They assured her the wound would be nearly healed by the time he woke. Not that their simple explanation comforted her. She’d lain awake most of the night.
She propped her chin on his chest and stared at the raised, pink scar on his shoulder, astonished to see it had almost completely healed in a little over twelve hours. She shifted her gaze to his sleeping face. Raising her hand to his jaw, she caressed the dark stubble along the surface. She wasn’t sure how Jace had become such an integral part of her life so soon, but he had.
Michelle had no clue where they were headed, but what she did know was she didn’t want what was between them to end. In fact, she was downright petrified of his response to her shameful reaction. He hadn’t spoken a word about it last night, but he’d been sore and needed the rest.
Fear churned in her gut, terrified he would reject her just as she’d nearly done to him. And it served her right if he did. How could she have acted so horribly when he’d been nothing but open and up front with her?
He stirred beneath her and her unease shot through the roof. She sat up and slid over to her side of the bed before he woke. As soon as her foot hit the floor, he wrapped his hand around her wrist.
“Where are you going, sweetheart?” His husky voice sent a shiver racing down her back. “Come lie with me.”
How could she resist when it was exactly what she wanted more than anything? She eased back down on her side next to him and tried to ignore his nudity. He rolled toward her and they lay facing each other, their gazes locked, neither saying a word for long minutes.
His intense stare ate at her conscience. The burn of tears built behind her eyes. “Jace, please forgive me for yesterday. I can’t tell you how much I regret my reaction when you shared something so private with me. Instead of accepting you like I should’ve, I panicked and ran away.”
He frowned and lifted his hand to frame her face. “There’s no need to be sorry, Michelle. It was a shocking situation. Any normal person would’ve reacted that way. Hell, if you had clapped your hands in glee, I might’ve thought you a bit strange then.”
Grateful for his kind understanding, she laughed at the idea. “How do you feel?”
“Not too bad, considering.” He slid his hand from her cheek, running it down her neck to her shoulder. “What else is bothering you, baby?”
She could barely speak past the lump in her throat. “Where do we go from here?”
Shifting onto his elbow, he pushed her onto her back and loomed over her. “What do you want, Michelle?”
“I….” She frowned, unsu
re how to say it without sounding like a fool.
He leaned forward and fused their mouths together, teasing her lips apart with his tongue. Before she could lose herself in the ecstasy of his mouth, he pulled back. Shifting his frame, he settled his lower body between her thighs and propped himself up on his elbows.
“You feel this connection between us as much as I do. I know it.” His hand drifted under the shirt she’d worn to bed, skimming over her belly. “I’ll tell you what I know. Then I’ll tell you what I want.”
Lifting her into a seated position, he divested her of her nightshirt, then gently eased her down onto the mattress once more. He worked her shorts down her body and pulled them off. When he had her completely bare, he sat on his heels between her parted legs, his gaze raking over every exposed inch of her. His hands slid up her thighs, and he kneaded the soft flesh.
“What I know is few shifters are lucky enough to find their true mates in their lifetimes. When a shifter meets his mate, it’s instant, the attraction strong. The animal inside is desperate to seal the bond, to claim what’s theirs.” His dark brown gaze riveted her attention. “You’re my true mate, Michelle. I knew it the moment I met you. As for what I want, that depends on you.”
She bit her bottom lip. “You want me?”
Jace gripped her ass and tugged her higher on his lap, the back of her thighs resting against the top of his. A sinfully sexy grin formed on his lips. “I’ll always want you.”
Michelle’s heart pounded in her chest as she processed the meaning of his words. “What if….” Damn it, he’d left her breathless. “What if you change your mind?”
He wrapped a hand around his cock and teased her clit with the thick head. “It doesn’t work like that, baby. The mate bond is for life. There’s no one else for me. Just you.” His other hand ran up her body to her chest, resting his palm over her heart. “Only you. I love you, Michelle. You don’t have to love me yet, and we can wait until you’re ready, but please say you’ll be mine? I want forever with you.”
Oh God. Jace was offering the one thing she’d never imagined she would have.
Love.
A lifetime of his love.
Her heart flooded with emotion. This strong, caring, sexy man had offered her his friendship without restrictions, possessed her body and driven her to new heights, and made her feel things she’d never experienced since he’d walked into her life wielding his gorgeous smile and a cherry Danish two months ago.
As she stared into his eyes, the decision didn’t seem complicated. Suddenly, the thought of her life without him in it was unbearable.
“Yes. Yes, I’ll be your mate.”
His face blossomed with the brightest smile she’d ever seen, and he moved to lie between her thighs. Her body easily accepted his weight, welcoming the shelter his embrace provided. “You’re sure?”
Michelle smiled at the shakiness in his voice. She raised her head and kissed him with all the love flowing through her. “Yes, Jace. I’m sure.” She bit his bottom lip to accentuate her point. “Now, make me yours. I need you inside of me.”
Chapter Eleven
Jace’s body shook as he tried to get a handle on himself. His cock pushed painfully against her damp entrance, demanding he take her. Shit, he’d almost come when she’d answered him. His chest rose and fell as need pounded through him. He couldn’t wait any longer.
He pushed up to his knees and stared down at the smile across her beautiful face. “Turn over for me, sweetheart.” His voice sounded rough to his own ears. The wolf rose close to the surface, eager to satisfy the bond with its mate.
Michelle took her own sweet time rolling over and lifting onto her hands and knees. She glanced over her shoulder at him and wiggled that perfect ass he loved so much. His little mate played with fire.
He cracked a firm hand on one cheek, and she gasped in outrage. Oh, but he knew she secretly enjoyed it. He ran his fingers down to the damp slit of her pussy and felt the evidence of her arousal. Fuck yeah, she was wet and ready for him.
Jace grabbed his cock and lined the tip with her slick entrance. He gripped her hips and thrust deep, burying himself in her delicious heat. The sounds of their groans filled her quiet bedroom. Damn, the feel of her hot center wrapped around him was nothing short of pure heaven.
He closed his eyes and tried to grab onto a shred of his self-control, but she rocked her hips, her tight pussy squeezing his cock.
Fuck, the wolf was ready to claim his mate. Hell, so was the man.
Jace lowered his body and planted his hands alongside hers on the bed, bearing the brunt of his weight. He linked their hands together and dropped his head to her shoulder. His tongue slid along the tender flesh between her shoulder and neck, the area he planned to mark.
“Fuck me, Jace.” The sexy rasp of her voice nearly shattered his remaining restraint.
He drove into her, his hips snapping back and forth. The bed shook from the force of his thrusts. With each hard stroke, the walls of her sex fluttered over his cock, signaling she was close to the edge. A heightened pressure built at the base of his spine that curled his fucking toes.
Disentangling one of his hands, he reached around to her clit and rubbed the pad of his finger over the swollen bud. She bucked beneath him, and he rode her harder.
“That’s it, baby.” He growled against her ear.
He clamped his teeth over the soft flesh of her shoulder and bit down, the hot tang of her blood exploding in his mouth. Immediately, she arched her back and screamed his name as she tumbled toward her release.
Jace slammed his eyes shut as the bond intensified every sensation whipping through him. Her arms gave out and she dropped onto the bed. Following her down, he released his hold on her shoulder. With one last powerful thrust, he held himself deep, his seed spending inside his mate, completing the mate bond between them. Wolf and man howled in satisfaction.
Still joined together, Jace rolled them onto their sides with her wrapped tight in his arms. They both panted to catch their breaths.
He kissed the sensitive skin behind her ear. “Did I hurt you, sweetheart?”
“No.” She twined their fingers together. “That was fucking incredible.”
He chuckled and nuzzled the back of her shoulder. His heart was damn near bursting with love for the woman in his arms. “I love you, sweetheart. Forever.”
Michelle craned her neck to look at him, her innocent eyes searing him. She graced him with one of her sunny smiles he claimed as his own, then placed a tender kiss on his lips. “I love you, too, Jace. I’m looking forward to our forever.”
~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~
Melissa Limoges lives along the Gulf Coast with her OCD cat, Mr. Tibbs. Tax assessor by day, romance writer by night, she enjoys anything coffee related, traveling, and reading happily ever afters.
Visit M. Limoges at:
http://chitsuen.blogspot.com
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When Hell Freezes by Rebecca Royce
Chapter One
Everything was exactly the same. Beer and pork still wafted through the air of Gee’s bar. The woods leading up to Los Lobos held clean, fresh scents he remembered from childhood. Hell, even the birds chirped and sang eerily familiar tunes.
And yet everything had changed. At least for him.
“Drew Tao.” Colt Hannigan projected the words, keeping his voice clear and his words precise. The statement he intended to make needed to be heard and understood by all within earshot.
“Yes, Cousin?” Older than Colt remembered him, Drew raised an eyebrow, looking up from where he sat at the other end of the bar. Surrounded by four dominant males, including Ryker—who had been pack enforcer in Magnum Tao’s day and appeared to still hold the role with his new ‘Alpha’—Drew leaned against the bar as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
Colt clenched his jaw. Drew appeared so calm, so at ease, when he and every other Wolf shifter in the room had to
be able to smell Colt’s intent, and that only made Colt want to hit him harder. The fact that his cousin pretended to be unalarmed by his presence pissed him off further. How dare he act as if he couldn’t be beaten?
Colt meant to kill Drew, and every living soul for miles needed to be aware.
“Drew, I swore I would never follow another Tao. Your father, my uncle, was evil. But no one should have been surprised by his sickness. The Taos have long been the bane of the Black Hills Wolves.”
Whatever Drew would have said faded out when his mate, Betty, jumped to her feet and snarled, “How dare you speak to Drew that way? He is the Alpha of this pack. You might not be a part of us anymore, but as long as you stand on pack land, you will respect him, or one of us will take off your head.”
In other circumstances, Colt would have been impressed. Betty had been broken ten years earlier, a shell of the former Wolf she had been after Drew had abandoned them all to the not-so-tender mercies of Magnum Tao.
“I might remind you, Cousin”—Drew walked to Betty and placed a hand on her arm—“that you are related to the Taos. Your mother called my father brother. For a while, she too used my last name.”
Colt snarled. “The day she mated my father was the day fate smiled.” Even if he still had too much Tao blood in his veins for his own liking.
The son of a bitch had the gall to grin at him. What did Drew find amusing about this? He was about to be challenged, called out, and killed. Colt would do what he hadn’t been strong enough to do when Magnum had been in charge—take over the pack and finally lead them out of the Tao darkness.
“Drew Tao,” Colt had to speak the words correctly so Ryker and the others couldn’t interfere.
His cousin shook his head, looking over the bar to Gee who had stayed quiet the whole time. Colt had never been able to get a real read on the Were-bear, who played his cards close to his chest.
