by Marie Mason
When Ally had heard her name being called, she’d figured she was hallucinating. When she’d opened her eyes, she’d seen Jagger’s rugged face leaning over her. His worried eyes… and tight lips. Oh, the bear shifter was angry. But he was still the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She shivered at the rough tone in his voice but she wouldn’t let him see how much that and his words affected her. “It’s not like I did it on purpose.”
He made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a bear cuffing. His touch was warm and alive and she sank into it. They were only about twenty feet from the road, but the wind was blowing directly at them. Ally was glad she could bury her face in the dark gray suede of his coat. It not only protected her face against the blast of icy wind, but she could drink in his spicy, masculine scent. She buried her nose deeper, against the warm column of his throat.
They reached his SUV and he placed her on her feet, retaining a hold as he opened the door against the whirling wind, and flying snowflakes. “Hurry up and get in,” he nearly shouted as the wind tried to whip his voice away. She still felt the snow clinging to the backs of her legs and even her front thanks to the header she’d taken trying to pull herself out of the ditch. Not to mention the snowfall had gotten heavier as he’d carried her back to the vehicle. She probably looked like a deranged snow bunny.
She bent over, brushing off the snow, her fingers nearly numb.
“Oh, for God’s sake.” His big hands turned her around and suddenly he was stroking them over her head, across her shoulders and down her back. Her knees almost buckled when she felt them on the back of her legs. When she realized he was about to turn her around and start on her front, she quickly knocked the snow away. No way could she survive the touch of his hands on her breasts, even through the thick layer of her coat.
He didn’t say anything, just encircled her waist with his hands and lifted her inside the cruiser, closing the door firmly before walking to his side of the vehicle.
Snowflakes fell with a blurring density around the four-wheel drive obscuring Ally’s vision until she seemed adrift in a grey-white world. A world comprised of only herself and the shifter by her side. She glanced at his profile, his attention focused on the few feet visible in front of them. The needle hovered at the twenty-mile mark on the speedometer.
“Why the hell didn’t you leave school earlier?” He must have felt the weight of her gaze on him because he turned his head to look at her. His eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them and she didn’t think it had to do with the bad lighting coming from the dash. He still looked upset.
Ally shifted on the heated leather seats, trying to ease the ache in her hip. “Because I had things to do before I left.” Another shift then she gave up trying to find a more comfortable position. Maybe the soreness would go away after a nice, long soak in the tub. “The weather forecast wasn’t calling for this much snow,” she pointed out in her defense.
“Last night it wasn’t. Did you even listen to it today?”
“No, I was too busy trying to keep twenty-five kids from committing holiday mayhem.” What did he think she did at school? Power up her desktop and read weather updates every hour.
“Well, you were a damn fool to be out in this weather.” Jagger’s hands flexed on the steering wheel as he scowled at the heavy snow. It was better than looking at her. She’d taken off the knit cap she’d worn and her hair fell about her shoulders in a wild disarray. She looked like she’d just stumbled out of a man’s bed after a night of rough loving.
Her pouty lips were set in a firm line, hiding the fullness that tempted him time and time again. Well, tonight he was getting a much deeper taste of those lips that spouted sarcasm at him at every turn. Her lips wouldn’t be the only thing he’d take a long deep drink of tonight. The smell of her femininity in these close quarters ratcheted up his need for her that shimmered below the surface every minute of every day.
Yes, it was time. It was time to take this woman as his mate. Remembering the sight of her lying so still and small in the snow had his heart slipping in his chest. She shivered slightly and he brought his thoughts back to the present. “There’s a blanket in the back. Get it and wrap yourself in it.”
“I’m not cold.” She continued to look out the passenger side window. It was too dark for her to see anything but the shadow of the falling snow as it caught in the bright headlights.
“Damn it, Ally, just do what I tell you.”
As he reached to get the blanket, she stopped him with a small hand on his arm. “I’m really not cold, Jagger.”
“Then why the hell do you keep squirming in your seat?” Every time she moved, her scent wafted into the air, driving his bear crazy.
She sighed. “Because my hip hurts. I think I must have landed on a rock when I fell into the ditch. Or when I fell trying to climb out of the damn thing.”
He didn’t reply as he slowed to negotiate a curve in the road. He couldn’t. If he thought about what she’d said, he’d pull the four-wheel drive over and yank her jeans down in order to see how badly she’d hurt herself. And then bury his face between her thighs. He had to taste her.
Mate. Safety. His bear reminded him what was most important. Getting Ally home safe and sound. That was much more important than satisfying his lust. The snow had begun to drift, covering the two-lane road. Thankfully, the reflector poles on the sides of the road allowed him to keep track of the fast vanishing edges. The jingling of the chains he’d ordered put on all department vehicles added another layer of reassurance for his bear.
If worse came to worse, he’d shift and carry her.
Ally glanced at Jagger again, taking in the brown of his hair, the bronze highlights hidden beneath his black Stetson. She’d seen him once in his bear form as she’d walked in the woods behind her rental house. Of course, she’d received a call the very next day, telling her to stay out of the woods at that time of night. But she hadn’t forgotten that sight. He’d been powerful, virile. Was that an appropriate thought to have about a shifter while he was in his animal form? She couldn’t help it. Any time she saw him, either as a man or a beast, her insides clenched as if searching for something.
“Hold on, baby,” he growled.
The SUV fishtailed slightly. The road ahead of them had turned into a glaze of ice. She also knew there was a killer curve coming up. Silently, intently, she could almost feel him will the vehicle around the corner. For an instant, it looked as though they weren’t going to make it. A storm of snow pounded the windshield as they hit sideways against a drift. His face was dark as he struggled to keep them on the road. At the last minute, the vehicle straightened out and they were back on the road.
After the night she’d had, she hated to admit she was almost disappointed when the driveway to her house came into view. Her time with the big shifter was about to end. As they bumped along the unpaved road, she tried to think of how she could thank him. He had literally saved her life tonight because she wasn’t at all certain she could have made it out of the ditch and to her house without his help.
His headlights swept over the front of her rented house as they approached. Thanks to the timers she’d used, the lights she’d placed on the bushes and trees were on, the multicolored bulbs barely shining through the layer of snow that covered them. With the heavy snow still falling, it looked almost surreal.
Before she could figure out what to say, he cut the engine and exited the vehicle. His huge body formed a dark void against the white background as he rounded the front. He opened her door, standing in calf-deep snow as she swung her legs around to get out.
“Wait.” For the second time that night, he lifted her into his arms. One arm under her knees, the other circling her back and waist. “Put your arms around my neck,” he ordered gruffly.
This was an order she was more than happy to obey. The amount of snow that had fallen since she’d landed on her ass in the ditch was phenomenal. Or at least to her it was. She was sure the residents of River
ton took such snowfalls into stride. Jagger certainly appeared to be doing so.
He walked to the front door, wading through the snow with little effort. She’d hung a wreath made of pine bogs and holly branches on her front door. It was now covered with a thick layer of white. As they neared, she dug the keys from her pocket where she’d stuffed them before leaving her car. She thought he’d stand her on her feet, but instead he bent down low enough to allow her to insert the key and open the door. Once inside, he kicked it closed with his foot.
“Well, umm, thank—”
“Shut up.” He stomped the snow from his shoes and pant legs before walking further into her house. There wasn’t much to see. There was a kitchen-slash-living area. A hallway off to the side had three doors. One led to a small, two-piece bathroom, another to a cozy guest room, and the last to her bedroom that had a surprising large on-suite.
He headed straight to her bedroom and she thought quickly. Had she made up her bed? She hoped she had at least gathered up the clothing she had a tendency to toss on the floor. He carried her directly to the bathroom where he placed her on the edge of the tub. At least he hadn’t plopped her down on the toilet.
“Take a shower. You need to warm up.”
She stuck her tongue out as he exited the room. “Well, thank you very much Sheriff for rescuing me. And being such an ass about it.” She stood up and locked the door. Not that she expected him to come back inside. No doubt, he was hightailing it back to his house even as she spoke. To confirm her prediction, she heard the slam of the front door.
“Jackass,” she murmured again. Would it have killed him to hang around so she could thank him? Properly?
Deciding a shower was probably better than a long soak in the tub, she quickly discarded her outerwear and stripped away the soaked jeans and equally wet socks. Tennis shoes were great for running around after second graders but didn’t do a damn thing to protect your feet from the snow. Or a fall into a ditch. She moved her ankle from side to side and only experienced a twinge or two. Besides that, her bruised hip, and the slight scratch on her cheek, she’d come out on the other side of her adventure relatively unscathed.
As she turned the water on, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror above the sink. She stood there for a moment seeing the swell of her breasts and the plump roundness of her shoulders and arms. Did Jagger like what he saw when he looked at her? She had curves. She was, in fact, proud of those curves. It let people know she enjoyed her life. Food was a pleasure same as listening to a song or reading a good book.
Stepping under the hot spray, she groaned. She hadn’t realized just how cold she’d been until the water hit her chilled skin.
CHAPTER THREE
JAGGER USED THE bathroom in the hallway to change out of his wet pants. His bear did not particularly enjoy the cold and wet weather. It went against its natural instincts to hibernate. Right now, the bear was telling him he needed to hunker down with his mate and ride out the fearsome storm.
Luckily, he carried extra clothing in the back of his vehicle. He never knew when he might need a change of clothing due to an unexpected need to shift before he had time to strip. He studied his face in the mirror wondering if the woman down the hall found him attractive. His features were rugged and he had what could be termed perpetual laugh lines around his eyes.. Which was really ironic considering he rarely laughed. His lips curled into a mocking smile. Yep, smiling and laughing just didn’t suit him.
But the woman down the hall did. She suited him just fine. He debated shaving away the stubble on his jaw but remembered his deputies saying women loved the rough look. And feel. He couldn’t wait to scrap the bristles across her wet nipples. He couldn’t wait to do a lot of damn things to her.
Like mate her.
He turned away from the mirror and grabbed a pair of jeans from his bag. Pulling them on, he grimaced as the rough material touched his cock. He was semi-hard already. Who the hell was he kidding? His cock had been at half-mast for almost an entire year. Ever since he’d scented Ally.
He hung his uniform pants on a hook behind the door so they would dry and took the rest of his clothing to the small guest room. In the living room, he heard the shower in the master bath still running and he could hear Ally singing Christmas carols over the sound of the water. He smiled. His little mate loved Christmas. He and his mother had never really celebrated the holidays. His life had been an empty one. Now, he had the chance to fill it with love and happiness. Hearing the howl of the wind and the ping of ice as it hit the wide window in front of the Christmas tree, he decided a fire was definitely in order tonight.
****
Ally lingered under the spray until the water turned tepid. Rinsing her hair, she turned off the water and stepped out of the stall, grabbing one of the large fluffy towels she loved. They were big enough to wrap around her torso without leaving a large slit up the side. She combed out her hair and grabbed a hair dryer. It was too cold to walk around the house with wet hair. Fifteen minutes later, she was dressed in a pair of warm fuzzy pajama bottoms with matching socks and a long sleeved thermal top. Since she was alone and planned to sleep in these later, she’d forgone panties and a bra.
Still humming her favorite Christmas carol, she walked down the hallway. A cup of hot chocolate in front of the fire was just what she needed. Luckily, she kept everything ready to light a fire. A strike of the match and she should have a nice toasty blaze going quickly. On cold nights like tonight, that was usually the first thing she did upon entering her little rental house. She’d been warned the electricity could go off at any time during these winter storms and she needed to be prepared. So far, she’d been lucky but hearing the muted roar of the wind, she thought if the power was ever going to go out, tonight would be the night. She gasped when she saw the roaring fire she’d just been thinking about already burning brightly in the hearth.
With a big, bear sitting in front of it. Well, not a bear, bear. But her shifter. No, no, no, she scolded herself. He was not her shifter.
He turned his head then stood, walking toward her. “It’s too bad for me to go back tonight.”
She looked up at him. Up and up. She knew he was tall but she felt so dainty and small standing before him in her stocking covered feet. The expanse of brown colored skin took up most of her vision. His chest was lightly furred, brown curly hair spread out across his pecs to the brown nubs of his nipples. It trailed down his abs to disappear beneath the waistband of his pants. She stifled another gasp that rose when she saw the bulge beneath the denim fabric of his jeans. Her eyes flew to his.
The somber gaze drifted over her face, over her chest, and she could feel her nipples tighten and swell. Her pussy moistened when his gaze lingered and he licked his lips as though he could already taste the puckered peaks.
“Come get warm.” He took her hand, entangling their fingers as he moved forward. Her hand jerked in his when she couldn’t get her legs to move. She tried to draw her hand away from his, but she was no match for his strength.
“Come here, Ally.”
Her pussy clenched at the dark command. The heat in those two words unfroze her feet. Heck, it thawed about everything in her body. She took one step and then another until she stood in front of him, a hairs-breath away.
Jagger’s free hand brushed the straight cut of her bangs from her forehead, lingering on the scrape on her cheek before stroking the length of her hair falling down her back. Ally was suddenly, acutely aware of her unfettered breasts pressed against his hard chest, with only a thin layer of clothing between them. His fingers were cool and his touch gentle. She hadn’t taken the time to style her hair when she’d dried it, so it hung down her shoulders in a tumbled mess. He ran his hand down her hair a second time as if he loved the feel of it. Goose bumps skittered across Ally’s neck and then southward. The sensation tightened her nipples to painful points. His gaze flicked down toward her breasts again. There was no way he could miss her arousal now.
They both froze. Her whole body seized, fire rushing through her. She was surrounded by heat and size and male. When he met her gaze, his own breathing was nearly as ragged as hers. Then she was no longer waiting. Waiting for her dream to come true. She was in Jagger’s arms. Those dark eyes of his made it impossible for her to look away.
“Ally,” he whispered. “Relax, baby.”
He bent his head, brushing his lips against hers. If his touch was meant to relax her, he was doing it all wrong. How could she possibly relax with his big body pressing against hers, promising her something she’d never experienced before? He gathered her closer. She melted against him, unable to resist.
“That’s it, baby. Give yourself to me.” Her mouth parted wider at his growled command and he touched the soft inside of her lower lip with his tongue. She gave a little hiccup of surprise and he delved deeper inside. In an instant his mouth was covering hers, demanding a response she never thought she’d be able to give. Instinct took over and she opened her mouth. Her hunger rose, spreading warmth through her body as she sank into the possessive tenderness of his kiss. Her lips were moving, responding to the exquisite pressure of his.
Jagger groaned when Ally let him inside. He knew she was his to possess, that nothing mattered but the touch of his lips on hers. It was all he wanted and more. Her taste rushed through his blood hotter than a streak of lightning. The pure sweetness of her kiss bolted through his mouth, his body, and his brain. It lengthened his cock, made the muscles of his back stretch as though reaching for the shift. He’d never felt such a rush before, except when he shifted. And that explained the sensation. She brought forth his bear. His bear, usually quiet and waiting when he took a woman, was there, wanting to possess Ally right along with the man.
