Savage Kiss

by Milly Taiden

  There are numerous reports of hikers who came across a cave with a woman and child standing at the entrance. Their clothes were those of settlers going west many years ago. They were waiting and watching for the Swede to come back and bury their bodies.

  Duke laughed away the ghost part. He was sure it was added to keep others from searching for the cave. What the legend fails to mention was that the Swede made a map on his way out. If he hadn’t used it to return, Duke didn’t know why. Maybe it was lost for years, until his grandfather purchased a map at an Indian Trading Post. He just thought it was neat and paid ten cents for it.

  In Duke’s attempts to sneak onto the mountain, Terai guards had always discovered him and he’d had to abandon the searches. But after the alpha tastes the poison dart prepared for him, all that would be water under the bridge.

  On the internet, he brought up where the cabin Feral and his mate were staying. With his men, he plotted several plans of attack from different locations in the area. They would come down the river that ran nearby the property. There was a bend in the river where the banks widened that made for a perfect landing spot. They could camp there and set up an ambush.

  After going through every scenario they could think of, Duke decided to take an extra man so he could stay in human form and shoot the poison dart at Feral. In a secure case in his desk’s top drawer lay two deadly weapons only a couple inches long. His destiny depended on a pinpoint and the killing liquid inside it.

  Ready to get the show on the road, he and his men climbed into the SUV. He hoped Feral and his mate enjoyed their last hours together.

  26

  Sage filled her mug with fresh coffee and yawned. She really needed to get more sleep and have less sex. Yeah, right. Who the hell in their right mind would give up sex for sleep? She might be shy, but she wasn’t stupid. In the past few days, her days and nights had been filled with only Feral.

  And his amazing tongue. He’d even had one of his friends, Gunner, bring him clothes so he could spend time at Full Moon Bay with Sage.

  “Hey,” Feral said, curling his arms around her waist and kissing the back of her neck. “You know we weren’t finished.”

  She turned around and sipped her coffee. Her body warmed to life at the press of hardness into her belly. “I think I’m going to need some caffeine before you kill me. And I have to set up the theater for tonight’s show.”

  He pushed curls behind her ear and kissed her forehead. “Do you have to go already? Gunner and I were hoping you could show us where the river widens. You mentioned the forest gets thicker there. We wanted to let our tigers roam for a while.”

  Curling her arms around his neck, she gripped the back of his long hair and nodded. “I may be persuaded to do that before I leave.”

  He rocked his erection into her belly. “You feel like playing games?”

  She grinned but shook her head. “No. I’m kind of tired right now. I’ll show you guys where it’s at.” She sipped her coffee again and leaned her head forward into his chest. “Later. Later we can definitely play more.”

  He kissed the top of her head and pulled away just as Gunner came into the kitchen. After everyone had coffee, and she had a jacket on, she walked with them down the path she remembered taking when she’d been a kid.

  “I used to come here with my family when my dad was alive,” she sighed, holding Feral’s hand. “We used to come down here and practice shooting, and the rest of the time, he’d teach us about fishing. He loved fishing. He probably loved fishing more than hunting and target shooting.”

  “What happened to your father?” Gunner asked, walking behind them.

  “Cancer,” she said softly. “It was so rough. He went from being this really strong man that lived to make sure his wife and his daughters were all happy to this weak being that needed us to help him with everything.”

  “I’m sorry, Sage,” Gunner told her.

  Feral squeezed her hand, telling her silently he was with her.

  “I sometimes feel like I could have done more for him.”

  “In what sense?” Feral asked, their steps crunching through leaves and twigs, the only noise around them.

  “My mom, sisters, and I used to go see him every day when he was in hospice. Mom and the others used to talk to him, even when he wasn’t very responsive.” She glanced out at the widening river. Her dad had loved being there so much. He’d loved sharing it with his family. “I had a hard time speaking to him when he was unresponsive. My mom and sisters used to tell him that he’d done so well, that they loved him, and I couldn’t tell him I loved him out loud.”

  They stopped walking and Feral turned to face her, his gaze filled with worry. “Why not?”

  She gulped at the knot in her throat. “Because I had a feeling. I thought if I told him I loved him, that it would make it okay for him to leave and I didn’t want him to go.”

  Feral pulled her into his arm when her first sob broke. She hadn’t been this far in so long. She’d tried not to think about her father’s last moments. She’d held on to the image and memories of a healthy man, not the man who had withered away.

  “I’m sorry, love.”

  She shook her head into his shirt, her tears soaking the material. “I was right. The day we all told him we loved him, he passed away,” she sobbed. “And the guilt of knowing that I could have let him go sooner and not have been in pain for those days had I been less selfish and told him it was okay to go has been killing me ever since.”

  He hugged her tightly and allowed her to cry into his chest. She had ignored those emotions for so long. When her father passed, people said she needed to let it out, but at the time, her mind had closed. But now, being in one of the areas her dad had loved most and had visited so often, the flood of memories had weakened her.

  He held her for long moments until she had no more tears. Until all she had was pain. The pain of loss and the never-ending guilt she’d learned to live with. Afterward, he met her gaze. “Don’t do that to yourself, Sage. You weren’t keeping him in pain. When it was his time, he left. Maybe he just wanted a few more days with the females that owned his heart.”

  She sniffled and wiped at her cheeks. “Maybe. I’ll never know.”

  “You can’t live with that guilt anymore, love.”

  “He’s right,” Gunner said. She’d almost forgotten he was there. “When my grandmother passed, I felt tremendous guilt because I hadn’t made the time to see her in weeks,” he told her. “But my mother reminded me that my MeeMaw was more focused on loving when I did visit rather than being upset about how long it took for me to visit. It’s all a matter of perspective.”

  Feral cupped her jaw. “Your father probably loved every last second with your family. Don’t let your fears taint knowing you got a chance to tell him you loved him before it was too late. That’s what matters.”

  27

  God. Sage had never thought of it that way. “I guess that’s true. What about your parents?”

  Feral glanced at Gunner and then off to the river. “They were both killed during a massive forest fire. They were trying to save some elders and ended up stuck and surrounded by the flames.”

  “Oh no,” she shook her head, giving him a caring hug. “I’m sorry, Feral.”

  He cleared his throat. “It’s okay. They got a lot of the pride out and me and my sister were off in college so we had no idea.”

  She squeezed him tighter. “That’s awful. At least I got to say goodbye.”

  He looked at her and nodded. “We had a good relationship. I told them I cared every time we spoke. My father wasn’t into emotions but he was proud of me for going to his alma matter, so his last words were that I was making him proud and that he loved me. Those words were the reason I didn’t quit school those last few months, even though I wanted to.”

  “I’m sure he’s extra proud knowing how rough that was for you,” she told him.

  “Oh,” Gunner interjected. “His parents are probab
ly ecstatic that he stayed, that he kept the ski lodge going, and that he’s found you.”

  Her eyes widened. “Me? Really?”

  Gunner nodded and smiled. “Aunt Vicky wanted grandchildren and hoped he’d find his mate in time. I’m sure she’d be happy to know he has.”

  “That’s really sweet. I can only hope you’re right.” She smiled. The forest grew thicker as they took the last few hundred yards to their destination.

  “We’re here,” she told them. “As you can see, it definite—” A loud growl stopped her mid-sentence. She glanced around, unsure what was going on.

  “Get out of here,” Feral pushed her behind him, toward the path they’d just come down. “Go, now!”

  She ran out about fifty feet and stopped to watch from behind a tree. Sending a quick text to the sheriff, asking him to hurry over, that there was an emergency, she watched from where she was as three tigers came out from farther down the path.

  Feral and Gunner tore out of their clothes. They shifted and the fight started right away. One guy was on Gunner and the others were on Feral. She glanced up the path. The sheriff might not get there in time. She’d cleaned her mother’s shotgun since the last time Feral had been attacked and kept it handy.

  Decision made, she ran up to the cabin, grabbed the shotgun and shoved a handful of ammo in her pocket. As she was about to walk out, the hunting knife she’d hung by the door caught her attention. She slipped it into the waistband of her pants and rushed out. She darted down the path again, only to stop when she saw there was blood flowing.

  One tiger clawed at Feral’s side while the other bit one of his front legs. He tried to shake them, but was obviously having a difficult time. Gunner was going one on one with the tiger clawing at his back. He shook him off and then bit hard on the other animal’s snout.

  Feral slammed his side into a tree and was able to get one of the tigers off him. The other tiger was drawing lots of blood from his side. She aimed at the tiger hurting Feral the most. She shot, the pellets hitting the side of the enemy tiger and she shot again. The tiger went down.

  There was little movement and the animal attempted to crawl away as she reloaded the shotgun, but didn’t get far before collapsing. Feral and the second tiger fought hard one-on-one as did Gunner and the other.

  She shot the guy on Feral and hit him by the tail. The tiger yelped and howled in pain. The one that was focused on Gunner suddenly glanced at her and charged. She had to shoot quickly because he came fast.

  The tiger was slow enough for Gunner to tackle it. She reloaded and shot it again. The tiger roared in anger and took off into the forest. The one she’d hit in the hind quarters took off after it.

  She rushed forward and watched Feral’s bloody tiger shift into his human body. He glanced at her and then swatted at his leg before staggering as if drunk and falling back.

  She screamed and ran forward. Someone yelled behind her. It was Tyson and Savage.

  Sage got down next to Feral, fear tearing through her chest, leaving her a shaky mess. She glanced at his leg where a dart lay embedded in his thigh. One quick pull and it was out.

  “Let me see that,” Gunner rushed over, slipping into his torn jeans and covering his private parts as much as possible.

  “We’ll get the other two,” Tyson and Savage told them, shifting and rushing off into the forest.

  “I know this,” Gunner said, his features dark with fear. “The scent. It’s bad. This is a poison.”

  She gasped, her throat closing from the anxiety. There was no way she could let him die of poisoning. “Like…like snake poison?”

  He nodded sharply. “Something like that. He’ll die if it doesn’t come out. It travels slowly, so it is probably still in his leg. Fuck!” He growled, started pacing and then glanced at his leg again. “I can cut his leg off. The poison is probably still not far enough to cause that much damage. But his tiger went into a coma immediately.”

  “Oh god.” Her heart thudded so hard, she could barely hear herself think. What could she do? Then, the answer came to her. Pulling out her hunting knife, she gave Feral’s thigh a deep cut at the point the dart had entered. Her throat convulsed as blood spilled from the deep wound.

  It was crazy and she’d probably kill herself in the process, but she wouldn’t allow him to go without trying.

  Her life had been at a standstill without Feral. Now that she’d found him, she couldn’t imagine not being with him. Dear god, she loved him. And she’d do anything to make sure he lived. Even if it killed her.

  Without wasting any more time, she dropped to her knees to put her face level with his thigh and squeezed the area infected with the poison and sucked it out. She spit as well as let the cut bleed. The process went on until she felt herself become faint. The last thing she saw before passing out was Sav and Tyson returning, bloodied.

  28

  Sage woke with a start. She glanced around and realized she was in her cabin. The light was on in her bathroom. Quickly on her feet, she rushed over and managed to bump into Feral as he came out, smelling fresh from his shower with a towel wrapped around his waist.

  A scream fell from her lips and she jumped into his arms, disbelief that he was alive and well coursing through her.

  She kissed him all over his face and only stopped to ask him questions.

  “How? What?” Another kiss. “How are you here and not in a coma?”

  He kissed her back and took her to bed, his hands all over her body, pulling all her clothes off and sucking on her lips.

  “My tiger had been fighting to push the poison out.”

  She stopped him and stared into his eyes. “Gunner said your tiger was in a coma, too.”

  “Most normal tigers would be hit hard, but I had partially pulled the dart out when my human side fell unconscious.” He had her naked in no time, but she refused to let him go on without knowing the rest of the story.

  “Your tiger is not normal?”

  “I’m a pride leader, love. My tiger is the strongest there is. I was able to push the poison out of my body before you tried to suck it out.”

  She gasped. “So I didn’t help?”

  He cupped her face and smiled at her. “You were amazing. You willingly put yourself in danger to save my life. I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I love you just as much, Sage. That poison would not hurt your human system. It’s a shifter poison. Targets my animal. But the fact you did that, without knowing, means everything. Everything.”

  He kissed her for a lot longer this time. Her body heated under his caresses and the tongue fondling her mouth.

  “Wait,” she tore from the delicious taste of his lips on hers. “Who were those guys?”

  “It was Duke, the pride leader of the Behar pride and some of his guards. I killed one of his men, but he remained in human form and managed to shoot me with the poison.”

  She licked her lips. “The two that got away, Sav and Tyson got them. Who went after Duke?” she asked.

  “Tyson and Sav, too. When scouting the area for more Behar members, they came across Duke putting a raft in the river. We think that’s how they got here without me smelling or detecting them.”

  “What did they do with Duke?”

  Feral sighed. “Duke put up a fight and my guys had to protect themselves and in the process, he was injured beyond what his animal could repair in time.”

  She closed her eyes and felt sorrow for the unnecessary deaths. But the Behar pride initiated the attacks and her guys had to fight to survive. She understood that.

  “What happens with that pride? I mean, they keep trying to kill you.”

  He rubbed his face into her neck. “I’ll keep fighting.”

  She tugged his face to meet hers. “Not alone. I’ll be there with you.”

  A smile tugged at his lips. “I’m hopeful whoever becomes their new leader will have more common sense than the last and stops trying to take my life from me.”

  He kissed her again
and for a long moment, she did nothing but enjoy it.

  She pulled back, curling her arms around his neck. “I thought I could help you live.”

  He stared solemnly into her eyes. “You did. Sage, from the first moment I saw you, you saved my life.”

  Another kiss and there was no longer a need for more explanations. It was time to feel.

  “I love you, Feral,” she mumbled between kisses.

  “I love you with everything I am. Will you be my mate, my wife, the mother of my children, Sage?”

  She nodded and kissed him again. “I will. To all of the above.”

  “Then let’s get started,” he growled, licking a trail down her neck to her shoulder. He cupped her breast, filling his hand and tweaking her nipple. She took a breath and let it out slowly, gasping at the fingers he slipped between her legs. Good god, he was fast. He pressed two digits to her clit, massaging and then gliding them into her sex.

  “I’m going to bite you, Sage. And you’re going to come when I do.”

  She moaned, leaning her head back on the bed. She scraped her nails down to his shoulders, pulling him closer. He tugged on her nipple, twisting the little point to add friction.

  A harsh whimper left her throat. Passion flared so high, she could only focus on feeling. Pleasure warmed her blood, thickening it, and slowing the flow in her veins.

  “So tasty,” he rumbled. His lips trailed down her chest, licking circles on her heated flesh. She glanced down, watching him suck her nipple into his mouth and nibble on her tiny point.

  Her pussy throbbed, and wetness skated down to her ass. Her pussy grasped at his fingers, releasing more wetness. Her body wanted more and she could only moan with each of his touches.

  “Feral…”

  “I’m going to give you everything, Sage.”

  29

  She met his gaze, enjoying the way he said the words, as if meeting her desires and needs were his only purpose in life. She skimmed her hands down to his cock and curled a hand around his shaft, pumping him from root to tip.