by Leela Ash
A cry of pain rang through the air as Jonah’s body went flying. He landed hard on his back with a yelp and soon, the bear was standing over him, its ugly, strange face peering down into Jonah’s. Suddenly, he knew what he was dealing with. A hybrid. A genuine combination of bear and wolf. And it was angry.
Jonah paid no attention to his own pain, and instead, focused all of his energy on strategizing. It was the only way out of a situation like this; bears generally had the advantage during one on one fights, which is why the SEALs were trained in the manner that they were.
Fortunately, Jonah knew the pressure points behind the bear’s legs and dug his paws against them. The bear froze up for just long enough that Jonah was able to roll out from underneath him and pierce his teeth into the long vein going up the bear’s leg. The rusty taste of blood immediately filled Jonah’s mouth, and his desire to kill the beast consumed him. Lyla was in danger. He had to do whatever he could to save her life.
The bear whipped around to strike him, but its movements were clumsy compared to Jonah’s. Jonah growled loudly and sank his teeth into the bear hybrid’s neck, clamping down tightly until finally, the creature stopped moving and collapsed on the road.
As soon as it fell, Jonah knew it was dead and shifted back into his human form. He ran to the car, almost afraid to look inside, but Lyla was fine. She stared at him with wide eyes, and he could hear her heart pounding hard in her chest, fear – and something else – surging through her body.
“Jonah?”
Her gentle voice reached his ears and he knew, in that instant, he had never heard a sweeter sound.
“Are you all right?” Jonah asked, forgetting, for a moment, that his clothes had been shredded along the side of the road and now he was standing beside Lyla’s car, naked as the day he was born.
“I will be,” she said quietly, tucking a stray strand of golden hair behind her ear with a shaking hand. “I’m just shaken up a bit.”
“You shouldn’t drive like that,” Jonah said, quickly noting that her face was pale. “Let me get you home.”
Lyla didn’t protest and listlessly moved to the passenger’s side of the car as if in a daze. She didn’t even comment on his nakedness. She just stared straight ahead as if she had lost all of her ability to think. Jonah suddenly became worried that the poor girl might go into shock if they weren’t careful, and frowned.
“Why don’t you lay your seat back and put your feet up on the dash,” Jonah said, reaching slowly over Lyla’s slight body and helping her to move the seat back, careful not to make any sudden movements. “That way you can be a little more comfortable. We don’t want you working yourself up too much. Everything is just fine now.”
Once she was laying back a bit, Jonah attempted not to notice just how tantalizingly close he was to her and attempted to move away from Lyla, but suddenly, her hands were wrapped tightly around him.
“Don’t leave me,” Lyla whispered. Jonah felt nauseated. She was terrified. And yet, he couldn’t help but sense something more in her voice. Something he longed to respond to.
“I’m just going to the driver’s seat so we can get the hell out of here,” he said with a chuckle. He couldn’t trust himself with her. The wolf, having just tasted blood, was more awake than ever. There would be no rest tonight.
“All right,” Lyla said, though he could feel her energy reaching for him from across the empty space, as he put her car in drive and pressed the gas to move it forward.
“I’m going to need you to help me get to your place,” Jonah said gently. It was hard to keep his voice calm when all the wolf wanted was one thing. He didn’t even have the clothes on to hide it. But what was the point in that? They were both animals. Adults. No point in hiding from the truth. All he needed to hide was his mission.
“I can do that,” Lyla said, taking in a shuddering but courageous breath. “Let’s get away from that thing.”
She glanced over at him, and he could feel her ocean-colored eyes taking him in for the first time since he had gotten into the car. He could feel her reacting to the sight of his body; feel the gentle caress of her gaze over his every muscle, and burned when it rested, finally, on his exposed member.
Jonah cleared his throat and focused on the road.
“As you wish,” he said.
10.
Whatever she had done right to get Jonah Lucas naked in the driver’s seat of her car, Lyla hoped she would be able to repeat again and again.
Still, the situation was excruciating, and she wanted nothing more than to get back to her house where she would be able to try to push the night’s events out of her mind and do her best to go on with her life as usual. Right now, Jonah naked in her front seat was definitely not the usual.
“Where did your sister get off to?” Lyla asked, doing everything she possibly could to distract herself from the mounting arousal building up in her loins. She had never felt such a powerful attraction to anybody before, and the temptation to look at him again, to feel like whatever this was might be okay, was overwhelming.
“She’s headed home to make some pie,” Jonah said half-heartedly. It was clear that his sister was the last thing he wanted to talk about right now. And if she was being honest with herself, it was the last thing Lyla wanted to talk about too.
“You’re going to want to take a left here,” Lyla said quietly.
The energy in the car was wild. She could tell Jonah’s wolf was calling the shots right now, something she never would have thought she would live to see. He was such a calm, cool, and collected person that it seemed impossible he might ever lose that impressive exterior. But she had shifter blood in her too, and it was confirming that Jonah was as close to his animal instincts as she was ever going to see him. And for some reason, it thrilled her.
“Are you all right?” Jonah asked as he turned.
“Yes, I’m going to be fine. I might even stop shaking this week.”
Jonah grinned. “Glad to hear it.”
“How did you know what to do?” Lyla asked. She was still in a daze. As much as she wanted to forget it had ever happened, she simply couldn’t. The event kept replaying in her mind.
Jonah hesitated before speaking. “I’m supposed to be on the lookout for that kind of thing here.”
“Here…?” You mean you’re on some kind of a mission?”
Jonah nodded, though it was clear he was feeling uncomfortable.
“I can’t say much about it but no, this isn’t just a vacation for me.”
“Somehow, I didn’t think so,” Lyla said. “And that bear has something to do with it.”
Jonah nodded again. “I’m not sure what yet, but there is something bad going on. I think…”
Lyla waited patiently for Jonah to continue speaking. He seemed like the kind of man who, when pressured, would clam up. That was the last thing she wanted. Finally, he spoke again.
“I think the bear was a hybrid. Part wolf. And that’s why nobody could sense him until I smelled him from the car.”
Lyla closed her eyes and leaned back in the seat, battling the nausea in her stomach. “I couldn’t be more glad that you did.”
Jonah glanced over at her, a comforting smile on his handsome face, and her heart tremored mildly before he turned his eyes back to the road ahead.
“So you live alone all the way out here, huh?” Jonah said, driving soothingly down the familiar street. “That’s unusual.”
“Why is it unusual?” Lyla asked, suddenly on the defensive. It was hardly Jonah’s place to judge things as unusual, considering he showed up out of the blue after completely abandoning his sister. Her agitation at him surprised her. The night had been so tense.
“It just seems like shifters in this area are more conservative…they aren’t always very welcoming of those who aren’t already part of the pack.”
“Well, according to my grandfather, these assholes are my pack. But I’m not so sure about that.”
Jonah grinned, keeping his eyes stead
ily on the road. Lyle inhaled sharply. God, he was handsome.
“I don’t know that they are, either. A pack should be welcoming, no matter what. A family is family. It doesn’t matter whether your shifter blood mixed with anything else.”
Lyla’s blood turned to ice. Jonah’s words reminded her of the bear that had tried to attack her that night.
“Have you seen a hybrid before?” she asked, her voice low.
Jonah hesitated before answering.
“Yes,” he finally said. “But I don’t know what it means.”
“We didn’t sense it at all,” Lyla said. “It was here the whole time and nobody could tell. What’s going on?”
Jonah exhaled. “I’m not sure, but I swear to you, if it’s something dangerous, I’m going to find out. I won’t let anything happen to you or anyone else here.”
“That’s not right,” Lyla said.
Jonah looked at her, his handsome face creased in puzzlement, and she laughed.
“I just mean it’s not right for you to be too concerned about it. You can tell the council about it. You shouldn’t have to be the guy to fix everything.”
She expected Jonah to laugh, or at least crack a smile, but somehow, her words made him seem even more serious.
“It’s always my job to protect others,” he said, slowing for a stop sign. “I’m a SEAL.”
Lyla was shocked into silence. Betsy had mentioned he was a high ranking man, and it was obvious that something weird was going on in Stonybrooke. And, if her intuition was right, and it usually was, that would mean Jonah was there to take care of it.
***
“You’re hurt!”
Lyla was horrified when Jonah strode through the back door and into the golden light of the kitchen.
He glanced down at himself and shrugged half-heartedly.
“You should drink some water. I’m pretty sure you were pretty close to going into shock back there.”
“Forget about that!” Lyla exclaimed, grabbing Jonah’s hand and dragging him into the living room. “Sit down right now. I’m going to bandage you up. That looks awful.”
“It’s really nothing,” Jonah said, but his voice was already distant as Lyla hurried down the hallway to retrieve bandages and alcohol to sterilize his wounds.
When she returned, Jonah was holding one of her lacy pink pillows over his groin. Lyla tried not to laugh as she came toward him, holding out a cloth tentatively. Again, Jonah tried to resist her care, but soon, he was sitting silently as Lyla dabbed at the wounds on his chest, back, and shoulders as carefully as she could until the blood marking his broad, muscular body was mostly gone.
Jonah kept his eyes glued to the floor as Lyla bandaged his wounds carefully, until she was satisfied he was going to be all right. She knew she shouldn’t worry – shifters heal quickly – but she was really beginning to care about Jonah.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Jonah said, standing up quickly the second Lyla was finished. He refused to meet her eye, and Lyla swallowed hard, unable to resist taking another long look at Jonah’s lithe, muscular body. He was holding the pillow in front of his crotch awkwardly, and another flash of heat ignited her loins. She wanted nothing more than to be near him again, to hold him close just as she had in her moment of fear just after the bear attack. But there was no excuse to do something like that anymore. They were just two people standing in her living room.
“I should get out of here,” Jonah said, his voice gravelly and dry. Was he nervous about something? He always seemed so calm and in control. What could possibly shake a man like Jonah?
“You don’t have to leave so soon,” Lyla whispered.
Jonah’s dark eyes flickered to her, holding her gaze with an intensity that made her knees weak. Suddenly, it became clear what his reservation was. He wasn’t nervous. He was just doing his best to stay in control.
“I think I do.”
Now that she was looking him in the eye, his expression began to change. Soon, Lyla was no longer simply looking at Jonah. She was looking at the wolf. And it wanted control.
Lyla’s breath caught in her throat and she took a tentative step forward. She had been raised not to fear the wolf; she respected it. In fact, right now, she craved it.
“Stay with me,” she whispered, her cheeks flushed hot as she reached her hand out to touch Jonah’s arm. He flinched away from her, and Lyla was suddenly in awe of Jonah’s willpower. No man she had ever met was able to muster the discipline he had; but when his eyes turned to hers again, she knew it would take more than a small invitation to break down the wall.
Frustrated, Lyla took a step forward and took Jonah’s hands in hers. The pillow dropped to the floor, and suddenly, he was pulling her close to his body, lifting her and swinging her in the air, pressing her against the wall. Lyla cried out in bliss as Jonah’s mouth found her lips, and the sweet taste of his tongue against hers overwhelmed her senses.
Jonah’s eyes flashed dark, need etched in every line of his face as his body worked to hold her up against the wall and his hands moved up and down her body, his fingers spreading fire in their wake. Lyla’s heart pounded so hard she nearly thought it would burst, and her mind became empty but for one sensation; pure, unbridled desire.
Jonah let out a deep grunt as Lyla wrapped her legs around his waist, suddenly feeling the massive bulge of his erection pressed hard against her middle. She shuddered in ecstasy as he thrust his hips against her, his hard muscle grinding the most sensitive nerves in her body through the light red fabric of her gown.
Lyla shuddered in delight as she surrendered to Jonah, and came face to face with the wolf inside him. There was no point in denying it now. She was his.
11.
There was no controlling it now. Jonah was at the mercy of his wolf, and gripped Lyla’s hips as he buried his mouth against the nape of her neck. She moaned in ecstasy as he tasted her; she was even better than he had hoped. The air became thick with the scent of her desire, intoxicating Jonah to the point of no return.
He growled and lifted her light body, carrying her wildly through the small house until he reached her bedroom. Lyla squealed softly when he threw her onto the bed, tearing her gown off and leaving her panting in her bra and panties on the bed. The moonlight hit her body, illuminating her skin and making her look like an ethereal princess; a girl made wild by nature and tamed only by the fruition of her desires.
A primal longing consumed him as the wolf took charge; the one and only time in his life he had fully allowed for this to happen. Desire flooded his loins, leaving his member throbbing as he climbed on the bed over Lyla, his eyes greedily roaming the delicate curves of her soft body. She trembled beneath him as he gently unclasped her bra and dropped his mouth over one of her pink nipples.
Lyla arched her back with a gasp and Jonah’s cock responded with a hard thrust, satisfying neither of them through the thin fabric of Lyla’s panties. He rid her of them quickly and resumed his sampling of her breasts, his mouth roaming them freely as her body writhed beneath him.
Jonah watched the perfect shape of her lips as she uttered a moan of pleasure before submerging himself completely and perfectly inside her. A shocked cry of ecstasy escaped her lips, making him harder than he had ever been in his life as his member was enveloped by the heat of her body. Jonah thrust fervently inside of her, desperate to give the wolf the release it had been waiting for all this time, and to take Lyla to the ledge of a pleasure she had never yet experienced.
She moaned again, gripping Jonah’s broad back as he worked his body against her, every thrust sending him to new heights of ecstasy. He growled as Lyla’s legs wrapped around him, inviting him to enter her deeper now. He accepted the invitation and soon, he could feel her nearing her climax.
He knew he should be responsible. But the wolf was in control now. As soon as Lyla’s body began to shudder around him, contracting around his cock and milking it as she experienced a long, powerful orgasm, Jonah’s climax came with a
sudden swiftness that shocked them both. Lyla shouted in pure bliss as the wolf prompted Jonah to empty himself inside her with a long, explosive climax. He thrust until he had emptied himself inside her completely, extending her orgasm far beyond his own, and held her tightly, still inside her, as they both fell into a deep sleep.
***
Jonah awoke with a start. How was it possible that he had allowed himself to fall asleep like this? It was careless. Sure, he was exhausted from fighting with the bear shifter, and from other things, but that was no excuse. He was a SEAL. It was his job to be alert at all times.
He gazed at Lyla who was lying beside him, her chest rising and falling lightly under the sheet as she dreamed. She was feeling better, happier, and sleeping with less worries on her shoulders since the attack, but somehow, his worries seemed to be just beginning. The bear shifters were obviously planning something, and he had killed the hybrid before he had the chance to question it. The only thing that had mattered in the moment was making sure Lyla was safe, at all costs.
That in itself was troubling. He was already jeopardizing his mission for her. Nichols would probably tell him he had just done what he needed to do to neutralize the threat, but Jonah knew better than that. He was allowing Lyla to become a liability. He had to get out of there.
She barely stirred when he got up from the bed. For a moment, he glanced around the room for something to wear before realizing he had nothing on when he came into the house. He let himself out quietly and swiftly shifted into his wolf form. The night air was cool around his body as he ran back home the way they had come. He was unpleasantly surprised to find that the bear hybrid’s body was missing from the road. Either someone had found him and alerted the council, or the hybrid’s buddies had taken responsibility for the corpse and disposed of it in their own way.
Jonah’s hackles rose at the thought, but there was nothing he could do about it now. It was too late to follow the scent, so all he could really do was make a note of it and check the area. He found nothing out of the ordinary and decided to get back to the house before it was too late. Betsy would probably be in bed by then, even if she had made the pie he was craving that night. But she was just like he was when it came to sleeping, and after a little wolf nap, they would both wake up around the same time and enjoy the pie together.
