by Renee Jordan
“More?” I asked, tilting my glass.
“Yes.”
I dumped my champagne onto my tits. The golden liquid running down my breasts to his hungry mouth. I groaned, setting my glass aside, and squirmed as he licked at my flesh. Our flesh grew sticky as he licked and nuzzled, working higher and higher.
I spread my thighs. He settled between them as his tongue reached my neck. I arched it, sighing, my pussy burning, ready to be filled by his cock. He tongued up to my ear. He sucked on my lobe. I groaned, closing my eyes. His hard shaft nudged the lips of my pussy.
“Shane,” I panted, squirming and humping against him. I was done with foreplay. “I need you in me.”
“Burning for me?”
“Yes!”
His cocky grin appeared above me. I wanted to howl in frustration at the man. So sure. So confident. It was damned sexy. I needed him in me, but his cock only nudged my pussy lip as he stared down at me.
“You are beautiful, Veronica.”
His words caught mine. Our eyes met as his cock slid into me. Slowly. He filled me. I trembled as he went deeper and deeper. My pussy gripped him as the pleasure radiated out through my body. His eyes were so dark. So deep.
The imprint surged out of me beneath the fiery moon—a passion's moon. I couldn't stop it. I didn't want to stop it. I wanted him to be mine. I wanted to be his. His cock buried to the hilt in me as the imprint reached him. For a moment, he resisted it. The smile on his lips changed, no longer cocky, softening into a genuine joy.
The imprint snapped into place. He was my mate. My tiger.
“Shane,” I moaned a moment before he kissed me.
His lips tasted of champagne. My body writhed beneath him as we kissed. I wrapped arms and legs tight about him. My mate. Joy surged through me. Tears burned at the corners of my eyes as we made love, his hips moving, sliding his cock in and out of me as our tongues dueled.
My mate. I finally found him.
The bed creaked beneath us as our bodies moved, working together toward the shared goal of pleasure and love. My sticky breasts pressed into his muscular chest. My nipples ached as he moved over me. His cock slid in and out, slow at first, but building steam. The friction burned. I clenched and relaxed on him, trembling.
“Veronica,” he said in awe after he broke our kiss. “My Veronica.”
“Yes.” Tears fell down my cheeks. It was so wonderful to hear him say it. I loved him so much. The imprint was love at first sight on steroids. It was powerful, instinctual. For us werewolves, it was intense. “My tiger. My Shane.”
He kissed me harder, growling, his ardor swelling. He thrust harder. The headboard smacked into the wall as he writhed atop me. I groaned, humping to meet his strokes, my heart rejoicing that I had him. Such wonderful pleasure surged through me.
Another climax built.
I ground my clit into his pubic bone every time he buried into me. I gasped and groaned. My eyes rolled back into my head. My fingernails scratched at his back as the pleasure swelled in me. It grew, eager to blossom.
I moaned into his kiss. It was aggressive, both our beasts rising to the fore. I humped harder and harder against him. His balls thwacked into me. Our flesh slapped together. The bed creaked louder and louder.
I trembled. I tensed. My pussy clenched on his dick.
I howled as I came.
My pussy spasmed about his thrusting cock. He snarled into our kiss, broke it. He stared down at me with those dark eyes as he rammed his dick so hard into me. I trembled as my orgasm washed through me. I let myself get lost in his dark depths as the ecstasy surged through my body and wrapped about my mind.
“Shane,” I howled. “Yes, yes, Shane.”
“My wolf,” he growled, thrusting so hard. The friction sent flutters of bliss radiating through me.
“Keep saying that,” I gasped, another orgasm bursting inside of me.
“My wolf. My wolf!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” My fingernails bit deep. I smelled blood. He growled, not caring about a little pain. He was strong. Powerful. If he were a wolf, he would be an Alpha like Forrest.
And he was mine.
My orgasm peaked inside of me. I arched beneath him, my pussy clenching about his thrusting cock. I held onto the burning pleasure, not wanting to let it go. I wanted to stay beneath my mate forever.
I prayed the night would last an eternity.
Shane grunted, groaned, and then snarled. His cock buried into me. His seed flooded me. My eyes widened. Heat pumped into me. I groaned, the last waves of my orgasm washing through me as he came. I held him, savoring this moment.
We were one.
He leaned down, kissing me. My mate. More tears fell down my cheeks as I held him. He shuddered a final time and then relaxed his weight on me. I held him, my heart slowing as the pleasure bled out of me, leaving behind joy.
~ ~ ~
The present...
The paramedics lifted me as my thoughts swam. Tears beaded my eyes. I tried to speak, to call out to Shane, but there was a mask over my mouth. I couldn't move. My body was too battered. Too tired. I needed to speak to Shane. I had to tell him something.
I did love him. He deserved to know that. I hoped it wasn't too late.
And then darkness descended.
Chapter Fifteen
The darkness retreated. A slow tide pulling back from my mind, allowing thoughts to breathe again. Confusion danced through my thoughts. My body felt heavy, sluggish. I wanted to move, but there was effort. Sounds beeped around me. An antiseptic scent mixed with a cacophony of flower scents—peonies, daisies, tulips, roses, gardenias, bluebells and more. It was a strange combination.
Not what I should smell. Blood. Dust. Cordite. Gun oil. Brass. Wood. Shane.
No Shane.
Memories of the battle with the werecoyotes shot through me. Shane dying, his majestic tiger form retreating to his human body, flesh rent by claws and torn by shotgun blasts. Bleeding. Dying. Growing cold. I tried to speak to him. To tell him...
That I still loved him. That I never stopped loving him despite all the pain he caused me. He was my mate.
He had saved my life. He had kept me alive in the madness. And now I couldn't tell him. Panic shot through me. I struggled to open my eyelids, but the heavy weight covering my whole body made that difficult. I strained, growled—which sounded more like a whimper—and then forced them open.
The lights were blindingly bright. I blinked, the agony shooting down my optic nerve and lodging into my brain. I groaned, struggling to bring the world into focus. But everything was blurry, watery. Tears trickled down the sides of my face.
“Shane,” I mumbled. I breathed in again through my nose and...
Something was in my nose. Cool oxygen. I blinked again and saw the clear, plastic tubing trailing off across my chest and then behind me. I tried to move my arms beneath the blanket. Machines beeped. I was in a hospital room.
I lifted my left arm and winced. A needle buried into my wrist connected to an IV. Drip. Drip. I groaned, gaining more and more control over my body. I pushed myself up, half sitting, pain burning across my torso.
“Veronica,” a woman gasped in delight.
“Kotie?” I blinked in surprise at the sight of the auburn-haired woman. Her green eyes danced with delight. “What are you...doing here?”
“Don't sit up too fast,” she said, a gentle smile on her lips. “Forrest, she's awake.”
I noticed my boss and packleader, the tall, brawny Sheriff of Moonrise, Montana. He woke up from the chair beside my bed, sitting up, his hazel eyes blinking. He was unshaven, looking rugged and strong in a pair of blue jeans and a flannel shirt, the sleeves rolled up to expose muscular arms. The werewolf grinned, twisting the scar on his cheek.
“Well, you are a tough bitch,” Forrest said. “Hard to kill.”
“Guess so,” I said, biting my lip. Shane wasn't here. And there were only two reasons for that. He was dead, or he abandoned me. My heart con
stricted. Both were terrible ideas. I opened my mouth to ask and hesitated.
Which one should I ask after? Which one was worse? Abandonment or dead?
“Hank was in a panic when he called us,” Kotie said. “We rushed straight back.”
“But your honeymoon?” I protested, trying not to think of either alternative. I pulled the breathing tubes out of my nose and inhaled again, searching for any hint of Shane's spicy scent.
Nothing.
“Isn't as important as this,” Kotie said. She took my hand, gave me a squeeze. The witch had a beautiful smile.
“Damned coyotes,” Forrest snarled. “It was an ambush?”
“Because of...Fiona getting locked up,” I explained. “Her brother was out for...revenge.” I winced; talking hurt. Almost as much as my heart. I swallowed. I had to ask. “Is Shane...dead?”
Forrest shook his head.
“No, he's alive,” Kotie beamed like it was wonderful news.
My heart sank. If he was alive, he would be here if he was sincere about being my mate. He wasn't. He abandoned me again.
“He always did know how to hurt you,” Forrest snarled. “What did he do this time? Besides getting you torn up?”
“Gave me hope that we could...” I blinked back tears. “But...”
Kotie frowned. “I'm missing something.”
“Shane's her mate.”
Kotie blinked at her husband. “What? Veronica...has a mate? She's imprinted someone. But she's always...you know...” Her cheeks pinked, giving me a guilty look.
“Fucking around,” I said, trying not to cry. “Shane...he left me. Just like...and now he's...” Damn it, why was I crying. I was stronger than this. I knew it was coming. All his talk about change. Fucker.
“You think he's gone?” Kotie said. “Oh, honey, he's not gone. He's two rooms down from you. He's in even worse shape than you are. He almost died.”
“He didn't...” I took a deep breath, mastering my emotions.
“No.” Forrest's arms rippled. “I can arrange it...”
“Forrest,” gasped Kotie, and then she punched him in the arm. And winced. “Why would you even suggest that?”
“No one hurts my pack.” The anger burned in his hazel eyes. They grew more and more gold, the wolf rising in him.
“No, no.” I smiled at him. “But thanks, boss.” I looked around. “I thought Macy would be here.”
“She was,” Forrest sank back down into his chair. “We sent her home to take care of her kid. She'd been up all night by the time we arrived. Worried about you.”
“I'm fine. Take more than the Donovans to kill me.”
Kotie rolled her eyes. “You're as bad as a man sometimes, Veronica.” She reached out and gave my hand a squeeze. “But I'm glad you're alive. Sounds like things have been crazy while we were gone.”
“Been talking to Penny?”
She nodded her head. “She and Thomas brought you half the flowers in the room.” A smile played on her lips. “They're so cute together.”
Kotie and I talked about Penny and Thomas, a werebear cop she started dating. It was serious. He imprinted her. While we spoke, my thoughts turned to Shane. What should I do? He had sounded sincere after the fight. He had come back and caught me with Ajax. It hurt him enough to give up on us. I felt a little bad about that.
But if he wasn't the coward and left me to begin with...
But I did love him.
I had to speak to him.
“You said he's two rooms down?” I asked.
“Shane?” Kotie asked.
I nodded.
“Yes, two doors down on the left.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “That way.”
“Thanks.”
Forrest snored behind her. I think the naughty witch wore him out on their honeymoon. Good for her.
Kotie blinked as I sat up and ripped off the heart rate monitor. That hurt. My boobs did not appreciate the sticky ripping. The machine didn't like it, either, beeping annoyingly, which snapped Forrest out of his nap.
“What are you doing, Veronica?” Kotie demanded, her Texas panhandle twang growing stronger. It was a cute accent.
“Seeing Shane,” I answered and stepped off the bed. My legs wobbled. I held onto my IV stand for support. “I'm fine, Kotie.”
“But... You are not fine. Look at you. Doctor said you need to be in bed a week or longer.”
“She's a wolf,” Forrest said. He seized Kotie by the hips and pulled the slim woman down onto his lap. She gave him an annoyed look but didn't fight him.
I tottered out of my room, rolling the IV stand with me. It was probably filled with important medicine or something. I ached with every step, but my strength swelled and my strides grew longer. I would be out of the hospital by the end of the day. I hated being in them.
I counted rooms and entered Shane's. I paused at the doorway. He was asleep, breathing tube in his nose, machines beeping. I could smell a hint of blood beneath the antiseptics. No flowers decorated his room. Didn't he have any family?
Just me?
I moved to my weretiger's bed. I took his hand, squeezed it, then pulled up a chair and waited for him to wake up. It took an hour or so. His hand squeezed mine suddenly, blinking me out of my half-doze. He stirred, groaned, eyes flickering open.
“Hey,” he said, voice tired, raspy.
“Hey,” I answered. “You won. Michael's dead.”
“Good.” He winced and squeezed my hand. “Shit, that hurts.”
“Taking a shotgun blast of buckshot usually does,” I smiled. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“Saving my life. Twice.”
He shrugged like it was nothing. Just something he did everyday. Saving his mate, protecting her from harm. But it wasn't.
“We need to talk.”
“Now?” he groaned. “Because I know women. That's never a good sign.”
“I love you, Shane.”
“I know.”
Anger flared in me. “Really? I confessed my feelings, and 'I know' is your answer?”
“That night, in the hotel room, I felt it. I felt it so strong. You looked up at me as I was atop you, in you, and I felt the imprint rising from you, full of all your love for me. It was overwhelming. My instincts screamed at me not to accept it. Not to be tied down to one woman. What about all the others? My girlfriends? My lovers? If I accepted your imprint, there wouldn't be any other women. Just you.”
“Then you shouldn't have,” I said, anger growling. “I'm a wolf, Shane. The imprint's final. We mate for life. It's serious for us. Not a fling.”
“That's why I took it. It was so overwhelming. You loved me so much. I did care for you. A lot. More than other women I've been with. And there we were, you opening yourself to me, baring your soul, proving to me that what we had was more than a fling. And...and... I wanted your love. So I took it. And it was amazing. That night. The passion... I remember every time I close my eyes as I drift to sleep.
“And I hate myself for waking up the next morning and panicking. I had a flight to New Mexico booked. I planned on one last night with you. Something special. The imprint wasn't a part of that. And then in the light of morning, I was confronted with what I did. What it meant to be bound to a werewolf. And it scared me so much. To devote my life to one woman. To have to be her only man. The person supporting her, being there for her.”
“There for each other,” I said, staring into his dark eyes. “Supporting each other. That's what it means.”
“I didn't think I could do that. I wasn't ready to be tied down.”
I wilted. “Tied down? Did you think I was a leash? A...a fucking ball-and-chain keeping you from fooling around?”
“Not to keep me from fooling around...just... It frightened me. A future appeared before me. Something I never planned on. And I had my job. I traveled all the time. What did that mean for us? And then there was my flight in the morning. I had to go after Michael. I couldn't stay and figure it out. S
o...”
“You thought it was best just to ditch me by text and then ignore me for the next three years.”
“Three months,” he corrected. “I told you that.”
Guilt roiled through me. “Yeah. I...I was so lonely. In so much pain. And Ajax, and the other men, let me forget. Three years...” Tears beaded my eyes. “Three years, and I miss you just as much as that morning.”
“I should have burst in and pulled that bastard off of you,” Shane said. “I should have fought for you. But I smelled the lust, and I thought...maybe the imprint wasn't what I believed it to be. Maybe you didn't need me at all. You were experiencing so much pleasure. You sounded like you did with me.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. Tears fell down my cheeks. The pain was so thick in his scent. I betrayed my mate. I always felt guilty after my one-night stands, but it was always a tiny twist in my stomach, not a hand squeezing my heart.
“So I tried to forget you,” Shane said. “I...I tried to hook up with my other lovers. But...they weren't you. They didn't bring me joy any longer. I drifted through the last few years, burying myself in work. And then Michael escaped from jail and I had this crazy idea.
“What if I went to Montana and...and...maybe we could start over.” He met my eyes, staring into them. “Start fresh.”
I wanted that so much. I yearned for it. My heart beat with demanding passion. His scent was so sincere, so loving. And his eyes... How they burned for me. His hand tightened on mine. But fear whispered in my mind.
“I don't know... I can't take it...if you left me again.”
“I'm not leaving you,” he said.
“What about your job? My job?”
“There are other jobs.”
I swallowed. “Shane, please don't do this unless you are one hundred percent sure you want this. Don't give me hope and then dash it again. Don't destroy me again.”
He shook his head. “I mean it. I came back to make amends. To see if there were some way we could make it work. I feel so incomplete without you. Every day was grayer than the last. No color. No vibrancy. Just drudgery. And then I saw you at the airport. And despite the fury in your face and...Ajax's scent wreathing you, I felt something. Joy, pain, longing, love, anger, and more. They were all there. All caught around you. I fucked up so badly. I broke our relationship. I hurt you so badly. I'm such a selfish asshole for even suggesting that we try again after what I did, but I am that selfish. I want you, Veronica. I love you so damned badly. Even when I saw you with Ajax, I loved you. As much as it hurt, the pain was there because I cared about you.
