by Rosanna Leo
“Stay here,” he said as he tossed her his own shirt to wear. He threw on his jeans and walked shirtless to the door. He opened it just a crack, to protect Lia’s modesty, and spoke with the cop. As she dressed in his shirt and her jeans, she listened for snatches of their conversation. She didn’t hear much, just Ryland’s one-word answers.
After a couple of minutes, he walked back to her. His face was tight and he was clenching his teeth. “Well, Lia,” he said. “It seems I’m finally going to have the pleasure of meeting your admirer. A human named Scott Haggerty just checked in at reception, asking about you. And I can’t wait to talk to him.”
Chapter 13
Ryland said a little prayer of thanks that it was still basically nighttime, and the lodge was quiet. As they walked through the corridors, everything was quiet. He was eager to get to reception, where Scott Haggerty was apparently still engaged with the night desk clerk. He had to remember not to yank on Lia’s arm as he pulled her along with him.
Man, he’d never wanted a piece of someone so badly in his life.
Calm down. Maybe the situation’s not as bad as you think. Hell, maybe it was just some other Scott and the whole thing was a bizarre coincidence.
And maybe Haggerty was just there to sell them some fucking Girl Scout cookies.
Just before they rounded the corner into the reception area, Lia tugged on his arm. He turned to her. She had tears in her eyes.
“Ryland, don’t,” she begged. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. You shouldn’t be involved.”
Her tears sliced through his heart. He pulled her to him and hugged her hard. After a deep breath, he looked at her. “Like it or not, I’m involved. And if it’s who we think it is, I’m not letting him anywhere near you.” He pointed down another hallway and nodded at the officer still lingering a few feet behind them. “Take Lia back to my room. Use that hallway.”
“No,” she cried, standing her ground. “I’m not letting you do this alone.”
“Lia,” he warned, feeling a severe urge to growl at her.
“No, Ryland. It’s because of me he’s here, and I need to know what’s happening.” She stood up straight, and even though she was about five foot nothing, she managed to look about six feet tall. As regal as a queen.
As much as he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and slap her bottom for arguing with him, he also wanted to keep her close. As much as he trusted the guard to get her back to the room, he didn’t trust anyone with Lia’s welfare as much as himself. He’d let her stay so he could keep an eye on her, and make sure this Scott didn’t get any funny ideas.
And then maybe he’d spank her sweet ass later anyway for challenging him. The bear inside was huffing its approval of that particular idea.
The thought teased a smile out of him. He relented. “Fine. But you stay far back. Understand?”
She wiped at her tears and narrowed her eyes at him, a little peeved. “Are you ordering me around?”
He leaned in and kissed the side of her mouth, licking at the delicious corner. “In this, you bet I am. And I won’t be defied.”
She stared at him, her face screwed up with lust and quiet fury. “What makes you think you can talk to me like that?”
He lowered his voice to whisper level. “Because for some strange reason, your safety has become my number-one priority. Tied with your pleasure.”
God bless the poor little thing. Her jaw went slack.
Grinning, Ryland entered reception with the flummoxed Lia and her police escort well behind him. He heard Scott Haggerty’s insistent voice before he saw him. The man’s clear tone of entitlement rubbed him in a very wrong way. He paused for a moment to look at him. It wasn’t the same man he’d seen loitering before in reception, which bothered him because he still didn’t know who the other man was. Stalker Scott was a tall, hefty man, big enough that Ryland felt even sicker at the thought of him pursuing petite Lia.
“You don’t understand,” Scott uttered at the desk clerk. “I’m with Lia Goodblood. She’ll want to see me. We’re a couple.”
Ryland stormed toward him. “Is that right?”
Scott turned, and for the first time, Ryland noticed the stalker wasn’t the only man in the lobby. Harry Little, the paparazzo who’d snapped Lia’s and Soren’s photo at the fish fry, was right behind him. Little was brandishing a video camera, filming the whole proceedings, grinning like an idiot.
“How the hell did you get back here?” Ryland demanded of Little.
“I rented a boat on the mainland,” Little replied, shrugging. “I’m nothing if not enterprising.”
Scott noticed Lia then and his eyes widened. He made a move toward her. “Lia! These people are trying to keep me from you.” He looked her up and down in adoration. “You look so beautiful, darling.”
Lia made no response. She simply stared at him, terrified and pale.
The officer called for backup as Ryland moved in front of the shell-shocked Lia.
Ryland addressed Scott. “She’s not your darling. She’s not your anything.”
Scott’s gaze pivoted toward Ryland as if noticing him for the first time. Only as Scott stared at him, his eyes so unseeing and his brows knit in a confused frown, did Ryland realize just how crazy the man was. He’d have to tread carefully.
“Get away from my lover,” Scott threatened.
“I’m not yours,” Lia mumbled behind Ryland.
Scott smiled at her as if she were simple. “Of course, you are, darling. We’ve spent so much time together. You wrote your book for me. You love me.”
“She doesn’t even know you, buddy,” Ryland said.
Amused by the proceedings, Little moved closer and shoved the camera toward him, and Ryland pushed it away.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Scott countered, his temper suddenly flaring high. “She’s mine and always will be. I just have to make her see.” He addressed Little, keeping his eyes glued on Lia. “Are you getting all of this? How this … this person is keeping me away from my girlfriend?”
“Oh, yeah, Chief. You bet. It’s a downright injustice,” Little replied with another insipid grin, positioning his camera near Ryland’s face.
Ryland was disgusted by the paparazzo. “Why are you doing this?”
Little grinned. “Nothing personal. My ex-wife is taking me to the cleaners. The money the rags’ll pay me for these pictures will keep her off my back.”
A few other officers ran onto the scene and circled around the little group. Ryland spoke to them. “This slime,” he said, indicating Harry, “is harassing my guests. I want him gone.” He nodded toward Scott. “And this is the man who broke into Lia’s apartment and who has been sending her threatening letters.”
Scott grew red in the face. “They were love letters!” He lunged toward Lia and Ryland.
The police were on him and Harry Little before Ryland could react, which was good because Ryland knew if he’d gotten his hands on either man, there wouldn’t be much of them left afterward. The officers hauled the men outside.
Scott pointed at Lia. “You can’t hide here forever. You’re mine!”
Ryland looked at Lia. She was so terrified her eyes were glazed over as she stared back at the stalker. He pulled her close to him, hoping his body heat would remind her he was here for her.
“Don’t touch my woman,” Scott cried, his eyes bugging out, raging now against the police officers who held him back.
That did it. No one called her that. She was his. He clenched his fists and tried to rein in his anger. His bear was dying to be set free so it could show Haggerty just how wrong he was. “She’s mine, and don’t you forget it, you sicko.” The animal in him was desperate to take a chunk out of Haggerty and then spit it into the lake where it belonged. Ryland took a few deep breaths, and tried to stifle the urge to shift.
Not now.
There was already a police boat waiting at the nearby dock for the men. The cops dragged Scott
and Harry toward it.
“You’ll regret this,” Scott screeched at Lia, incensed. “I’ll be back. You can’t hide from me, you little bitch! Do you hear me? And when I come back I’ll cut you to pieces!”
As the officers shoved Haggerty toward the dock and into the boat, Little broke free. He raced forward with his camera, trying to capture Lia’s stricken reaction. He aimed the lens at Lia. “Smile for the camera, sweetheart.”
“Enough!” Ryland roared at him. And before he could control his reaction, his body erupted in a flash of black fur, tearing through all his clothing. He collapsed to the ground as the shift took hold of his being, heedless of his desire to stay calm. It wasn’t often that his emotions were so riled up he shifted out of anger, but this was clearly one of those times. He hated how those men were treating Lia. His woman. No one treated her like that. And as that thought solidified in his brain, the shift completed. He dropped a blasé glance to the ground, where his shredded clothing lay in a heap. He raised his grizzly head toward Harry Little.
And snarled, baring his teeth.
Lia laid a small hand on him, smoothing the raised hackles on his back. “Ryland, no.”
Everyone in the vicinity gasped. Lia. The shifter officers. The few lodge employees who had run out to witness the commotion. Ryland had shifted in front of a human. And the human was filming it.
Once Little recovered his voice, he stammered to Lia, “Oh, this is worth so much more than pictures of you, princess!” The man was so excited, Ryland thought he might pee himself.
As bear Ryland prepared to lunge, he heard another little growl next to him. A very human snarl of warning. He turned his head.
The noise had come from Lia.
Before he could think, she ran forward with a battle cry that would have scared many a shifter. He barked at her in alarm, but she didn’t listen. She pounced on Harry Little and knocked him to the ground, shouting at him the whole time.
“You disgust me!”
Everyone, including Ryland, stared at her in awe for that split second. She grabbed the camera out of Little’s hands. It was a very expensive Sony model, Ryland couldn’t help noticing. She wrenched the memory chip out of its socket, threw the camera to the ground, and stomped on it until it was damaged beyond repair, and then hurled the whole kit and caboodle into the lake. It sank with a satisfying plop.
Lia stood in her place, face red and breathing heavily. Once she caught her breath, she marched up to Little and pointed her finger at his chest. “No one will ever believe you. They’ll think you’re a nut if you spread this little story. So feel free to tell the world. I’d like to see you try.” She nodded toward Scott in the boat. “They’ll lock you up in the same asylum as him.”
With that, she turned on her heel and rejoined Ryland. Amazed, he shifted back into his human form. And before doing anything else, he grabbed her to him and kissed her hard. As he did, the shifter onlookers gave a little cheer and began to disperse. Scott and Little were staring at Ryland’s nude form, pressed up as it was against Lia, but he didn’t care. He was so proud of her.
Once their kiss ended, he turned to the officers. “I want these pieces of shit off my island now.”
The officers threw Little into the boat and after a few moments, it motored away from the dock.
Once they were alone, Ryland enfolded Lia in another embrace. His heart was pounding. All manner of thoughts were flying through his head and he couldn’t silence them. And every last one was shouting Lia’s name with exultation.
The last time he’d trusted a human woman with the truth, she’d turned on him and used the information to her advantage. Not Lia. Lia had fought for him and for the people in his community. She’d proven herself a friend to shifters. And he just wanted to kiss her silly for it.
He trusted her. More than anyone.
He ran a hand through her hair and cradled her skull. “You, Lia, are one badass mama.”
She exploded in adrenaline-laced laughter. “Can I put that in my author bio?”
“Oh, yeah,” he purred as he kissed the length of her neck. “But if you’re going to start quoting me, I can think of a few more adjectives you should add to your list.”
She gasped as he bit down gently on her neck and then licked the spot. “And they would be?”
He moved aside the collar of his shirt she was wearing so he could kiss her shoulder. “Sexy. Adorable. Soft.” He reached down and squeezed her ass. His finger slipped along the fabric seam between her cheeks, stroking her through her jeans. She bucked against him. “Oh, and so tasty.”
He kissed her mouth and then pulled away abruptly, a frown on his face. Lia looked dazed, drunk on him, giving him a thrill of anticipation. However, determined to bring her to the breaking point with a delicious little tease, he stepped back. She opened and closed her mouth once or twice, appearing bereft of his touch.
“What’s wrong?”
He allowed his gaze to travel slowly up and down her luscious form. “I’m very angry at you.”
“Why?”
“Because,” he began, his voice a slow drawl. “I instructed you to stay back. You didn’t listen, you bad girl. I’m going to have to punish you now.”
She caught her breath. “How?”
He grabbed her hand and led her back to the resort, in the back way to his suite. “You are going over my knee, Lia Goodblood. And you’re going to like it.”
She gasped. “That’s what Claudio does to Adelaide in my book.”
“I know,” he replied softly, smiling. “I’ve been reading it. I don’t think I’ve ever read such an inspirational piece of literature. You’re to be congratulated.” He opened the door to his suite and ushered her in, giving her a playful swat on the bottom. She jumped. “But first, your fine ass is mine.” He closed the door. “How do you like the color pink, Lia?”
She stumbled to the bed and grinned at him. “Something tells me it’s about to become my favorite color.”
Laughing, Ryland locked the door.
Chapter 14
As the morning light crept in through the slats in his window blinds, Ryland looked at the woman tucked in his bed. Lia was dead to the world, her pretty eyes shut tight, and she was curled up in a little ball against his chest. Her long hair fanned out on his pillow. His pillow—that had quickly become their pillow. He ran an absentminded hand along her spine under the covers, enjoying the feel of skin so soft it could make velvet blush in shame.
And wanted her. Endlessly, it seemed.
He’d never felt such need before in his life. Sure, he’d been with a few women in his time. Some might say he’d done quite well. But none had ever brought about such depth of feeling in him before. Not even Karen, before all her foolishness came to light.
Once more, his inner voice called to him. She’s our mate. Need more proof, moron?
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he murmured to himself, chuckling. “I’ve stopped denying it.”
Hell, he wasn’t even questioning it anymore. It had been mere days since he’d met Lia, since she’d burst into his world like a phoenix, setting everything in its wake ablaze. It made no sense that he should have fallen so hard and fast. Certainly not with a woman who had first seemed to be everything he didn’t want in a partner. However, his feelings had changed, and now she seemed perfect to him.
Lia was loyal and brave and the sexiest thing he’d ever held in his arms.
And she was his, no question about it. He’d suspected it when she trembled before a chipmunk. Understood it the first time they kissed. When he’d made love to her, the point had been driven home, literally and figuratively. And when she’d defended him before the greedy paparazzo, he’d known it better than he knew his own face.
He loved her. Ryland didn’t want to spend another minute out of her company. Suddenly he wanted to do things with Lia he’d never quite been interested in doing with any other woman. He wanted to take long walks with her, to listen to her voice for hours on end. He
ll, he wanted to take her to B.C. and introduce her to his crazy folks. Maybe they could even check out one of Soren’s concerts together.
That was definitely a first.
More than anything, he wanted to tell her he loved her. Those words had never come easily to him. In fact, he wasn’t sure he’d ever said them … to anyone. Now he wanted to shout them, which was a fucking miracle in and of itself. To Lia, he wanted to say them over and over until he was blue in the face. In fact, he was tempted to shake her and wake her up so he could say them.
But every time he took in the adorable sweep of her eyelashes on her cheeks, he knew he ought to let her rest. It had been a long night. She needed this sleep, more than she needed him prattling on like a schoolboy who was crushing on his homeroom teacher.
There was time to tell her how he felt. And now that Scott was out of the way, Lia would be more inclined to stay with him. And if she felt she needed to go back to the city, he’d follow her. He’d close up shop at the resort and pack his bags, without looking back once. He didn’t care. None of it mattered if she wasn’t at his side. He wanted to be wherever she was happiest.
The sentiment floored him as much as it excited him. He’d toiled for the Ursa Lodge for years, put his stamp on every wooden beam and nail in the place. And he was ready to ditch it for someone he’d just met.
Unbelievable, and totally amazing.
He brushed a few stray hairs off her forehead and leaned in for a kiss on her temple. She twitched in her sleep, making him smile.
She was his mate. It all made sense now, and nothing meant anything if he didn’t have her. The bond between them was almost tangible. He felt so connected to her, she might have been his Siamese twin. He knew it sounded sentimental, but sex with Lia hadn’t just been a roll in the hay. Something deep had happened between the two of them. Something that took precedence over everything else in his life.
They were joined at the heart.
He chuckled at his own zeal. He’d never been one to gush, not over anything.
