by Mandy Rosko
The wolf swayed on four legs, and the dragon was still standing strong. It didn't look like Jax was trying. The fight was clearly over, but Miranda didn't understand why the rest of the pack was still cheering.
"He's not fighting in his proper shape," Katie explained. "He stands no chance against a dragon as an actual wolf. Would you get in there and tell him to stop being an idiot already?"
Miranda ran forward, pushing through the crowd without thinking. Some people were pressed so tightly together, shoulder to shoulder, that she had to shove through them.
The second they looked down at her, realizing who it was that was shoving forward to get through, the people started to part for her.
Miranda didn't think about the potential danger of what she was doing until she was through the crowd and in the clearing. She burst through just as Jax spread his wings, lowered his head, and roared.
Miranda tensed at the sight.
Christ, what if he was getting ready to spit fire?
He didn't. He still seemed more focused on getting Garret to back off. He swung his tail at the wolf, narrowly missing as Garret ducked out of the way.
Neither shifter noticed her.
Miranda rushed forward. "Jax! Jax, stop! Stop!"
Jax stopped hissing at Garret and lifted his head when he seemed to notice Miranda.
She prayed he wasn't lost in his animal form and wild like she had been.
He wasn't. Jax immediately started to shrink, his scales and wings melting away, his body producing a thin steam as he turned back into a naked man.
The wolf growled and barked at him. Miranda stepped closer. Garret's hackles were raised high, but she could see some patches on his fur that were dark with blood.
"Garret?"
The wolf rounded on her, growling, glaring. Miranda jumped back from the sight of those teeth, but the wolf's ears immediately picked up, the snarl falling away from the snout of the beast.
She was pretty sure he wouldn't be an alpha without having control over his wilder side, but she couldn't help the shiver of doubt that wormed its way into her. "Garret?"
The wolf lowered its head, pushing itself onto its hind legs, which became longer and thicker. His snout melted down into something a little closer to a human face, his paws turning into long fingers and strong hands.
Miranda covered her mouth at the sight of him.
His right eye was red and swollen shut. The other had a cut over the eyebrow. He looked like he'd just been in a boxing match. Garret's chest was sweaty as it rose and fell, panting for breath, but now that he was in his human shape, there was no sign of swaying, as he had in his wolf shape. Maybe she'd imagined it, because his stance appeared strong and sure.
"You shouldn't be here. You should be resting."
"I'm fine!" Miranda pulled at the bandages taped to her neck, showing him how they were practically closed up and pink by now. "See?"
"You still shouldn't be here."
"Why not? Why are you doing this? What the hell is going on?" Miranda looked to Jax, who scratched the back of his neck, an embarrassed expression on his face. "What were you doing?"
Jax shrugged. "Ah, sorry, Miranda, but when the alpha wants a good fight, you give it to him, you know?"
"No, I don't know. You should see your face, Garret!"
She was freaking out. She was totally freaking out because he was covered in blood and he didn't seem to care.
Garret's muscles looked tight. At first, Miranda thought it was pain he was trying to hide, him being too manly and macho to show off how much the cuts and blood were bothering him. It was the way he stared at her that let her know he was in charge, and not the animal.
"Garret?"
His hand struck out, grabbing her before she had the chance to move. A tiny shriek sounded before the wind left her gut as she was plopped right onto Garret's shoulder.
"G-Garret? Garret!"
There were some wolf whistles as Garret carried her off. Miranda tried to wiggle down from her spot on his shoulder, but he reminded her of his strength in the way he held on to her so easily.
She might as well have been a three-year-old going up against a might like his.
Lois's eyes were wide, but Katie didn't look surprised. The rest of the pack kept right on cheering for their alpha. Miranda wasn't an idiot. She knew what they were cheering for, and she didn't know if she should feel embarrassment or pride. It was confusing how part of her felt an extremely proud to be held like this, carried off by her man like he was a caveman making a claim on his woman.
It felt strange to like that so much, but yeah, she liked it, and she stopped fighting it when they got into the house.
Miranda did, however, get a little nervous when she realized Garret was taking her to their room. She had a good idea of what it was he wanted.
"Wait, Garret, your face. You're hurt. You need to see someone."
His voice was a harsh growl. "I'm not going to wait for my woman anymore."
Miranda's breath caught in her throat. He’d called her his woman. She'd just been thinking about that, and now he said it out loud and all her senses were sending party noises and balloons up into the air.
It made her happy to hear something that, a week ago, she would have thought was insulting as hell.
As Garret climbed the stairs two at a time, Miranda's heart launched in her chest, but of course, he didn't struggle with her weight. She might as well have been a sack of feathers to him.
"Garret, for real, you're hurt. And bloody and swollen."
"That will change."
"What?"
He reached out and pushed open his door. He had to duck under the doorframe to keep her from being hit by it. When she finally stopped bouncing after he dumped her onto the bed, her mouth dropped at the sight of his face and body.
It was bloody and the bruises were still there, but the swelling had gone way down. Even as Miranda stared up at him, she watched the way the color of the bruises changed, how some of the deep reds and purples changed to dark blue, then paled to a yellow-green before fading away entirely.
The rest of the cuts did the same, closing a lot faster than Miranda's wounds were healing, their bruises fading.
It took her a moment to realize Garret wasn't all over her, stripping her of her clothes and ravishing her like she'd kind of hoped he'd start doing.
When he leaned forward, touching her neck softly with his fingers, she realized why.
"Oh, that trip on the stairs didn't hurt it. I don't think."
She lifted her neck and touched her bandages. She didn't think anything was wrong. Not feeling anything warm or wet, she was confident she was fine.
Garret shook his head. "I should have been more gentle with you."
Miranda grabbed his hand, holding it tightly. "I'm okay. Hey, look at me."
He did.
She stared into his blue eyes, seeing the genuine concern for her, and smiled.
"Does being worried about me always get the top of your priority list like this?"
"Of course it does."
She smirked at him. "Even when you're trying to get laid?"
"Even then."
He didn't hesitate. She was impressed. Not just impressed, but utterly wowed by him.
"You terrify me sometimes, you know that?"
A flicker of confusion crossed his brow.
"Not because of the whole changing into a monster wolf thing," she said quickly, waving her hands as if to ward off the very idea. "That's not it."
"Then what do you mean?"
Miranda took in a deep breath. "You're just too perfect."
Again, the confusion.
"I know I'm not making any sense, but I can't help it. This is hard to describe. I'm… I'm sorry for being mad at you. About my dad," she added, as if he didn't already know what she was talking about. "I think I was just being emotional or something. The way you described it, it sounded like he stole your money and took off, not that he was trying to
hide me and my mom from the big bad wolf he met. I was angry, and—"
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Garret said, then laughed. "You don't have long before I lose control of myself, however. I doubt you will find me perfect then."
Part of her wasn't buying that. He probably would be perfect then. Even when he was wild and desperately in lust with her to the point that their sex was hard, rough, and a little messy, Miranda thought it would be perfect.
"You're getting warm," he said.
She swallowed. Right. She was trying to explain why she felt like such a spaz around him. "Garret, even when I'm a wild animal, you're still trying to be gentle around me. You're still trying to keep me safe. My mother's bills are all paid up, and I have a roof over my head. A very big, very nice roof. You've honestly got some prince power going on with you, and I don't think you even know it."
Garret rubbed his chin. "I don't think a proper prince would be thinking the improper thoughts I'm having about you right now."
As if to prove that, he put his hands on Miranda's thighs. He was still dirty, but his wounds were almost completely gone.
How in the hell was he doing that?
Of course, the touch of his big strong hands on her legs was enough to make her shiver, even when that touch was above her clothes.
"To be honest, I think that works in your favor, too."
He leaned in close. "Does it?"
Miranda nodded, her voice becoming small and breathless as she was engulfed by his body heat. "Yeah."
His lips were warm when he leaned in and kissed her. Miranda was immediately assaulted by the sensations of previous times they'd almost had sex but didn't. His lips were soft, his tongue wet as he licked at the crease between her lips. She let him in, her body throbbing, her sex pulsing.
He could breathe on her the right way and she might have an orgasm from it.
The thing that helped to keep her in check was the fact that she could taste the warm copper of the blood that had just been on his lips.
He'd healed, but he still had blood and dirt on him.
Miranda pulled back, causing Garret to groan. It was a desperate noise she'd never heard out of him before, and didn't think anyone ever had.
"No, no, sweetheart. I need you now."
"I know. Believe me, I know, and I promise I'm not being a tease, but—" Miranda bit her lower lip, hardly able to believe she was about to ask this. "—can we do it in the shower?"
Garret's head jerked back a little, then he was smiling, a long, lazy, eager smile. "You want me to make love to you in the shower?"
Miranda swallowed, then nodded. "Yeah, make love. That's a much better word than I used."
"Are you nervous?"
She scratched just behind her ear, hardly able to meet his eyes. "Is it obvious? Christ, I feel like a virgin here. It seems kind of naughty that I asked to have sex in the shower."
"I'll introduce you to naughtier things in time," Garret promised, taking her hands and pulling her to her feet. "If you want, I will ruin your ladylike reputation."
"I have a ladylike reputation?"
Garret shrugged. "No, but it would make the game more fun, wouldn't it?"
He was right, it would. She was already letting her imagination soar as she thought of all the places Garret could make love to her.
The woods were her first bet, seeing as he was an alpha werewolf and she was his mate and a shifter as well. Miranda had to admit, she was excited by the idea. She couldn't wait.
Garret laughed when they walked into the bathroom and he saw himself in the mirror. "I see why you wanted the shower. I'm shocked you let me kiss you." He kept right on smiling at her, though. His blue eyes half-lidded and dark with lust. "I'm ruining you already."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Miranda said. She almost hesitated before taking her shirt off, but then figured, what the hell? Garret had seen her naked a number of times already, so there was no point in letting this be a thing, right?
She pulled off her shirt, then quickly reached behind her for her bra.
Miranda checked the bandages on her arms, saw the wounds had mostly closed, and decided it would be all right to take them off completely. She did the same for her neck.
Garret slid his fingertip down across the unscarred side of her skin. "I am sorry."
Miranda shrugged, only feeling a slight pull from the scabs. "Don't be. You had to do it."
"For all of it."
His eyes met hers. There was no trace of the playfulness he'd had before. Miranda knew what he meant.
Thinking about her father and how Garret had been involved when he'd left, intentionally or not, brought that tug of pain back to her chest.
She looked away from Garret's face. He sucked back a breath, but her reaction wasn't because she was still angry with him.
It hurt knowing her father had met Garret, had made a deal with him, then left the family, but it didn't hurt as much it had at the time, when she'd first found out about it. It didn't hurt physically the way the bite on her neck or the deep cuts on her shoulders did either. It also didn't hurt the way it had to see Garret going up against Jax.
"I'm not mad at you," Miranda said. "I'm so sorry. Looking back, I don't think I ever was. I just… He was my dad, you know? One day he was there, and the next he was gone and my mom and I were alone. Things were different and hard for a long time, and I thought I'd gotten over it, but hearing you were there…"
"You don't need to explain."
Miranda glanced up at him, then smiled softly. Lifting her hand, she brushed away some of the wet blood in his eyebrow. "After what you did with Jax, yeah, I do."
"That was just for sport."
The way Garret shrugged it off, looking away from her and standing with his chest puffed out a little more, said otherwise, but Miranda wanted her mate to have his manly pride.
That was a big part of the sex appeal, after all.
She put her hands on the back of his head and yanked his head down, pressing her mouth to his. She kissed him hard. Miranda just had to do it. Affection for this big, larger-than-life man swelled in her chest, and she had to do something to get it out of her before she burst.
When Garret put his arms around her back and waist, she felt dainty and small. She felt like the heroine in a romance novel and that there should be some romantic music playing somewhere.
There wasn't, but she had some Taylor Swift song going off in her head that worked in the moment.
It worked even better when Garret pulled back from her and smiled, and she saw the wolf reflected in his eyes.
He turned away from her, just long enough to turn on the hot spray of the shower.
And then the room was filling up with steam to go along with that Taylor Swift song Miranda played in her head.
Chapter 16
Growling, Garret finally pushed his cock inside of Miranda's body. She made a tiny squeaking noise that was mostly muffled by the fact that her lips were connected to his.
Even in the shower, he'd still had to show her how strong he was, impressing her as he lifted her up, pressed her back against the cold tiled wall, and coaxed her into wrapping her legs around his waist and hanging on tight.
And boy, did she ever have to hang on. Garret's strength wasn't just useful in a fight or in keeping the wilder side of Miranda under control. He knew how to use it, especially in the forward and back thrust of his hips.
She moaned, barely able to keep herself hanging on as Garret stretched her wide, his cock touching everywhere that could be reached inside of her.
"That's it, sweetheart, open for me," he said, and he pressed biting kisses to her breasts and the side of her throat that wasn't injured. He left the other side alone.
He said a few other things, whispering with that growly voice hot and heavy into her ear, but she couldn't understand a word that came out of his mouth. Not anymore. She tried to thrust her hips back against his, but couldn't even manage that, not really. It was too good. It fel
t too good and something inside her took wing and flew away, right toward Garret.
As if she could see it in her mind's eye, he caught it and held it in his hands, gentle instead of strong and rough, and the pleasure that had been swelling inside her burst. She couldn't contain it anymore. That vision of him holding the thing she'd given him vanished, and there was nothing left but the sound of her shocked scream and the clench of her legs, arms, and toes as she could no longer hold in her pleasure.
She felt something warm inside her and realized Garret was grunting. The fast and furious thrust of his hips was slower, jerkier, and less balanced.
His face was pressed into her shoulder as he breathed hard. Coming down off the high of his orgasm, his shoulders suddenly slumped.
Miranda gasped, her stomach rising up her chest as she feared Garret was about to drop her.
He adjusted her position, pushing her a little higher up the wall, and righted her place on his cock.
"Thought I would drop my mate?"
Miranda smiled, opting to fake it this time. "Not for a second."
Garret grinned at her. "Liar," he said, and then kissed her again.
She kept one arm curled around the back of Garret's neck, and put her other palm on his face, just because she needed to feel for herself that he was fully healed.
Also, she liked the hint of scratch against her hand. He needed to shave, but maybe she could convince him to put it off for a little while. Miranda was always into guys who had a fashionable, three-day-old five o'clock shadow.
As she kissed him, she got the sense, the very correct sense, that things weren't over. Garret wasn't done with her.
She felt his cock twitching inside her and moaned as her sensitive sex responded.
She should have needed some time to recover, but for some reason, she was right and ready to go again. If Garret didn't touch her, if he put her down and they just cleaned each other off, Miranda would be fine, but if he continued to thrust his hips forward, moving in that circular motion he was doing right now, that build would start up inside her.
