by Lacey Thorn
“Again?” she mumbled but he saw the smile that touched her lips as she rolled onto her back.
His heart swelled with love for this woman. Was it too early to tell her what she really meant to him? She opened her legs and lifted her hand to brush her fingers down his cheek, rough with stubble.
“I’m ready,” she whispered, and he heard the note of awe in her voice. “I’m always ready for you.”
“Soon,” he whispered back. “But we need to go, now.”
“Go?” She blinked open her eyes, and he could see her mind engaging as she shook the sleep away. “What’s wrong?”
“Shhh,” he urged her, placing his finger against her lips. “We’re not alone, any more.”
“Kenzie?” she questioned, but he shook his head.
“I’m not sure who it is, but it’s not Kenzie. We need to get out of here. We’re in a clearing, easy to find for anyone who’s looking. I should have thought of that earlier and moved you then.”
“We were focused on other things,” she murmured and the heat of her gaze set his blood on fire.
“I took my clothes from your bag. Thank you for thinking of it,” he said and slid the clothes he’d found for her into her hands.
She sat up quickly and all traces of sleep were finally gone. “How serious is this? Could it be someone from the cabin? Tah mentioned sending Murphy and Holt after us.”
Zane shook his head. “I don’t recognize the scents. It’s not anyone we know.”
“Are they shifter or human?”
“Human,” he answered and urged her with his hands to dress faster.
He turned to gather her things, shoving yesterday’s clothes into her bag. He’d already been outside the tent and had left it unzipped, so it was easy to duck back out and take another glance around them.
“It could just be hikers. Kenzie said there have been a lot of them around lately,” Diane said softly, sitting in the opening and hurriedly putting on her boots.
“Doesn’t matter,” Zane grunted. “I’m on the edge here. If one of them looked at you the wrong way or God forbid tried to touch you, I’d rip them apart.”
“I’m yours, Zane. Only yours,” she assured him.
“I know that, but the beast is riding me hard. I might not be able to fight the instincts of my animal right now.”
Diane nodded and ducked out of the tent opening as she stood. She reached behind her, and he noticed she’d rolled up the sleeping bag and had it ready to go. Together, they made quick work of the tent. He used his boot to scuff over the marks the stakes had made. If anyone came across this spot, they would know someone had been here, but there was nothing else Zane could do about that.
“Are we going to Kenzie?” Diane whispered.
Zane shook his head. “No. Her scent isn’t strong, which means she’s moved farther away.”
“She wouldn’t have left us,” Diane said with a shake of her head.
“She would have expected me to pick up on the fact someone else was here,” Zane countered. “And she would have put distance between herself and whoever is out here. She’s probably hidden somewhere, waiting to get a visual on them.”
“We can’t just leave her out there on her own.”
“My first priority is to get you somewhere safe. Then I’ll go help Kenzie if I can,” Zane informed her. He knew it would all depend on how intense the fever was. There was too much tearing through him right now, demanding he stay with Diane.
“But—” Diane began, but Zane cut her off.
“The more time you argue, the more you tempt the beast to bend you over and fuck you into submission. Whoever is out there could show up while I’m taking you. Do you want to watch me kill them? Because I will. The moment their eyes land on you with lust, I’ll snap their necks.” His voice was hard and commanding, but she had to learn now that he expected her to obey. He would never tell her to do anything she was dead set against, unless it was dealing with her safety. On that he would not be ignored. She was too important.
Diane glared at him then shook her head again and reached for her backpack. He grabbed it first and slung it over his shoulder. She stood for another moment then blew out a breath of air.
“Are we heading back?”
“No. I don’t want to take the chance of leading someone to Tah and the others. Plus, there’s too much distance to cross. I don’t want to be caught in the open with you when I don’t know for sure who’s out there. I know of a cabin not far from here. I found it when I was prowling the area. It hasn’t been used in a while. I slept there the first few nights I was here. It’s a little dirty but habitable.”
She nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”
He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Diane…”
She smiled softly. “I understand,” she promised. “You lead the way. I’ll follow as quietly as I can.”
“My senses aren’t what they should be right now,” he warned her. “My focus isn’t, either. It’s all wrapped up in you. The fever, your heat and now the possibility of danger… It only sharpens my concentration toward you.”
“And I’m putting us both in danger,” Diane said, lifting one hand to touch his chest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize. Thank you for explaining it to me.” She slipped her hand down to give his a squeeze. “I’m ready when you are. No more questions.”
His heart swelled with pride for this woman, his mate. They made quick time through the thick trees toward the cabin Zane had in mind. If he’d been thinking with anything other than his dick yesterday, he would have already taken her there. He stopped every few minutes to sniff the air and make sure the strange scents weren’t getting closer to them. He didn’t want to admit it to Diane, but he was worried about Kenzie. Diane was right. Kenzie wouldn’t have left them. She would have come barreling into the clearing they’d been in and told them to get the hell out of Dodge. But he’d kept that to himself. It would only upset his mate more.
“It’s just ahead,” he told Diane, pointing to a break in the trees.
She nodded, pressing close against his back where he’d stopped. Her scent wrapped around him, filling his head and igniting his blood. She was ripe and ready, her body begging for his seed. The heat. God, why did she have to be in heat? It would make it next to impossible for him to leave her. There would be no way he even could until he’d tasted her sweet flesh one more time and marked her with his seed.
“Follow me,” he growled. The rumble was back in his chest, giving testament to the animal inside that rode so close to the surface. How long would the fever stay in his system now that he had his mate with him?
He took her hand, keeping her close to his side as they covered the open ground between the thick woods and the small clearing in front of the cabin. He inhaled and took comfort in the old smells that filled his nostrils. There was no one here and hadn’t been for some time. He tugged her into the cabin and took the interior in with a quick skim of his gaze.
“It’s filthy,” Diane grumbled as he shut the door and heaved a sigh of relief at the still functional locks along the door.
He twisted the one on the knob and slid both bolts home before turning back to her.
He knew his eyes were glowing and understood how intimidating most people found his gaze. But his mate looked back at him with no fear.
“Again?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” was the only word he could get out from between his clenched teeth. He was fighting hard to hold himself back from just taking Diane as the beast demanded.
She glanced around the room as if searching for a spot he could take her, but there wasn’t time for that. His blood was at full boil and only she could soothe it.
“I don’t know where—” she started to say, but his control was ebbing fast.
“Now,” he grunted and pushed her against the door.
They dropped the gear to the floor, and he shoved it aside with a swipe of his boot. He reached for her jeans and unfastened them. She hel
ped him shimmy them over her ass and was ready to shove them all the way down when he turned her around to face the door and moved in behind her. He used one hand to test her readiness and groaned at how slick and wet she was. His other hand made quick work of his pants, shoving them down just enough to release his engorged cock.
“Widen your stance,” he ordered, and when she struggled, he helped by pushing her clothing beneath her knees.
“Zane.” She moaned his name as he pressed his cockhead against her and began working his length inside.
“Shhh, baby,” he whispered into her ear. “Let me have you.”
“Mhmm,” she sighed as he seated his dick completely inside her, his balls tapping against her flesh. God, he loved her ass.
He used one hand to hold her hip and placed the other beside her head on the door. Then he rode her hard and fast, pumping his hips and fucking her as his body needed. She dropped one hand down to his thigh, and he felt the bite of her nails through the denim. She took her other hand and moved it over his on the door, lacing her fingers through his. She struggled to spread her legs wider and thrust her hips back into him, meeting his every drive.
He moved his hands and ripped the flannel shirt she wore apart, sending buttons flying everywhere. He jerked the shirt down her limbs, capturing both arms and trapping them by her sides. She retaliated by sinking her nails into her thighs again. He found the hem of her camisole and yanked it up to expose her lush breasts to his fingers. He’d failed to give her a bra this morning, and she hadn’t said a word.
He took the pebbled points of her nipples between his thumbs and fingers and pinched and tugged on them.
“Ahhh,” she cried out sharply.
He needed. He wanted. With their height difference he was afraid of inadvertently lifting her feet off the ground and impaling her on his shaft. That would be fine, but not in this position. He pulled free and turned her back around, going to his knees in front of her and sucking her pussy while he worked one boot off and took her pants and panties off that leg. He gave her clit a nip with is teeth, laved it with his tongue and stood once more.
“Hold on,” was all the warning he gave her before he cradled her ass in his palms and lifted. She came down on his cock, and they both groaned.
Her hands clutched his shoulders as her feet crossed at the small of his back. He powered in and out of her slick walls, loving the way her pussy gripped his dick. This was Heaven. Nothing compared to the feeling of being inside his woman.
Her hands slid to his chest, and before he realized her intent, she’d ripped his own flannel wide open, adding to the buttons already on the floor. Her nails scratched over his chest, finding and tapping against both his nipples. Her gaze met his then she pinched his nipples making him growl.
He took her mouth like a savage and thank God, she met him with the same dark need. It was a meshing of lips, tapping of teeth that nipped and scraped as tongues battled and rubbed. They broke apart, sucking air and she shifted her lips to his jaw, nipping along it then running her tongue out to soothe.
He was pounding into her so hard, he was afraid they might break the damn door down. The primal reaction he had to her made him believe anything was possible.
“Zane!” She cried his name and he felt the flutter of her impending orgasm around his pistoning cock.
She surprised him by jerking her hair to the side and exposing the mark he’d given her that would permanently mar the peaches and cream perfection of her skin.
“Do it,” she ordered him. “I need it.”
With a growl, he struck, teeth sinking into her while his tongued flicked out to lick over the spot he’d bitten. She convulsed around him, her cunt tightening like a vise over his dick and milking his release from him. The bite of her nails on his chest. The tight clench of her sex. The erotic look of carnality that shone in her eyes and on her face. Still, none of it compared to her words.
“Mine,” she rasped in sultry voice ripe with lust.
“Yours,” he agreed with a rumble of pleasure and groaned as he filled her once more with his cum.
He leaned heavily against the door, pinning her in place as they both gasped for air. Her hands continued to stroke over his skin as if she couldn’t stop herself from touching him, and it had his chest vibrating with a low hum.
“You okay?” he asked her softly.
“I’m glorious,” she answered and did a pretty good job of purring. It made him grin.
“Hold onto me,” he urged and pulled out his spent cock.
She was shaky on her feet and gripped him tight as he lowered her until her toes hit the floor. He held her against him, wanting to soak her into his skin before reality intervened. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to the kitchen area where there was a water pump.
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said and set her on her feet. He opened a few drawers and got lucky on the second one where there was a stack of rags. He pumped the water, wet the cloth and turned back to her.
“I can do it,” she protested as he squatted in front of her.
“Let me, please,” he said and waited for her nod before taking care of her.
He wet another cloth and cleaned himself while she adjusted her clothes. She looked satisfied, and he wanted nothing more than to stay with her and cuddle close. He wanted to hold her, but he couldn’t, not with Kenzie still out there. It was best he go now, while her scent was still heavy on him and the beast was satisfied. He knew it and still fought the need to stay.
“You’ll be safe here,” he promised them both.
“How long will you be gone?”
“Not long. I can’t…” He debated what to say and finally settled on the truth. She deserved nothing less. He glanced down and met her eyes. “I can’t be away from you for long right now. I need you beyond obsession. You’re the cure to this fever raging in my veins. And your heat.” He inhaled deeply, letting his eyelids drift shut briefly. “God, I don’t want to leave you.”
She kissed him softly on his chest. “But you have to find Kenzie. You’d never forgive yourself if something happened to her while we were here. I’d never forgive myself, either. Besides, the sooner you find her and figure out who’s out there, the sooner we can get back. Then I can have my wicked way with you over and over again without worry.”
He groaned and dropped his head, meeting her mouth again with his and taking them both deep with a kiss. She was the one who stopped him, pushing against his chest and inching away.
“I didn’t think to bring you more than one shirt,” she whispered, running her hands over his chest.
“I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “I need you to lock the door when I leave. That means both bolts.”
She nodded. “I will.”
“Don’t open the door for anyone but me.”
“What if Kenzie shows up?” Diane asked.
He shook his head. “Send her to find me. I mean it. Do not open the damn door.”
“I got it,” she muttered.
“Hey,” he said, pulling her into his arms again. Christ, he couldn’t keep his hands off her for five minutes. What made him think he could possibly leave her? “I just want to know you’ll be safe while I’m gone.”
“I know,” she replied. She tugged his head back down to her and their mouths met and meshed again. She was as insatiable as he was.
“I don’t want you to leave me again,” she moaned, clinging to him.
“Diane.” He groaned her name.
“I know,” she said again. “I understand, but that doesn’t mean I like it.” She blinked up at him. “Will it always be like this between us? This intense need.”
He nodded. “It might not be as constant as it is right now. Between my fever and your body going into heat, the urge to mate is controlling us. It won’t always be like that. The need will remain but it will be more tempered, easier for us to control instead of it controlling us.”
“I’m not sure I want to control thi
s,” she murmured with a smile.
“I need to go,” he said after a moment. “The sooner I leave, the quicker I can get back here to you.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“As long as I know you’re safe, I’ll be okay,” he promised.
“I’ll be here waiting,” she said.
There was so much more they had to talk about, things he longed to know about her. Did she have family out there somewhere? Where had she grown up? What did she love to do when she had free time? What was her favorite food? Color? Flower? Did she want a big family? Did she want children at all? Of course that could be a moot point by the time her body left its fertile period behind. She could become pregnant. Part of him longed to see her belly swollen with his child, but a bigger part of him was selfish enough to want to keep her to himself for a while longer.
He headed back toward the front door and picked up the packs, walking over and dropping them in the corner. He patted the bed and watched dust fly up in the air.
“It’s dusty but still seems in pretty good shape.” He lifted it up, checking the underside. “Doesn’t look like anything’s been in here nesting. That’s good. You could put the sleeping bag over it and get a little more rest while I’m gone,” he offered.
“I might do that,” she agreed with a smile.
“I haven’t been too rough on you, have I?” he asked softly.
“No,” she answered. “Not even close.”
“Good,” he said and found his feet tracing a path over to her again. Fuck! He tried to think of Kenzie in an attempt to keep his hands from reaching for Diane again. It didn’t work.
He pulled her against his chest and trailed kisses over her face. She lifted into him, gripping his shoulders and rising onto her tiptoes to meet his lips with hers. Once again, he had her pinned against the door with his hands all over her. He trailed his lips down her neck, tugged her shirt up again and found a tight pink bud with his lips. He sucked greedily on her nipple and heard her moan as she threaded her fingers through his hair.
