by Maia Dylan
Neve narrowed her eyes at the man, arching a brow for good measure. “Five foot six inches, thank you very much.” Liam smiled at her and Neve turned from him and walked closer to the creek. He was so damn handsome it was almost painful to look at him. “You don’t have to stay out here in the cold, Liam. I just needed some fresh air.”
“Well, it certainly is fresh,” Liam said with a sigh, and Neve had the feeling he was looking for the right words to say something.
When the silence had dragged on a little too long, she spun around. She thought that perhaps he had slipped silently back to the house. But he hadn’t moved. He stood in the same spot, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans, staring at her. Neve’s breath caught at the look in his eyes.
“Damn it, Liam,” Neve whispered, her voice breaking. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” Liam asked her gently.
“Like you want me more than you want your next breath!” Neve shouted. She had never been so angry in her life. How fucking dare he play her like this? “Not when we both know it’s not fucking true!” She moved to storm past him, her anger helping her to keep her head high and the tears at bay. But on the inside, she was breaking.
Liam made a desperate sounding noise that Neve had trouble putting a name to. Then he was grabbing her by the arm and spinning her into him. “But I do,” he breathed, before slamming his mouth to hers. Neve gasped and Liam slipped his tongue into her mouth, and she felt her whole world tilt on its axis. She stood stock still for a moment, before reaching up and pushing against his chest.
Liam growled low in his chest, and she felt her body temperature rise and liquid heat pool between her legs. Goddamn it! She fought the fog of passion and desire that had started to consume her. She was stronger than this. She was worth more than this. With all the strength she could muster she pushed him from her.
She was under no illusions that he had the strength to resist the push, but he didn’t and allowed her to separate them. His eyes swam with heat, and a longing that matched her own. But she’d be lost if she allowed him to play her like he was.
Stepping back, she pushed her desire for him down as hard as she could. She forced it into a tiny ball and surrounded it with her anger. She quickly weaved the pattern she needed and Liam’s eyes narrowed for a brief moment before they widened comically and he shouted as a sheet of water from the cold stream behind him dumped over his head.
“Jesus Christ that’s cold!” Liam shouted and jumped around, trying to shake off as much water as he could. Neve couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. She laughed so hard she had lean forward and breathe through the stitch in her side. “Damn it, Neve, it’s not that funny.” Liam grinned back at her as he tucked his hands up under his armpits in a futile attempt to warm them.
“Firstly—” Neve giggled then calmed herself enough to continue. “Yeah it was. For a big guy, you can move! The Irish girl in me loved that little jig you just danced. And secondly, you deserved that.” Her smile faded. “You don’t get to touch me like that. You lost the privilege of earning that right. You’ve treated me abominably since we’ve met. Running hot and cold, pulling me close one minute then pushing me away the next. And it’s just not fair, Liam!
“My God, Liam! Do you know how destroyed I was the night of the December solstice? Not only did you tell me that I wasn’t your mate, and that you had no interest in me other than a potential friendship, but then you turned around and admitted that you had feelings for me! Acting possessive, threatening to hurt Aeron after he hurt me, telling me that if you could you would hold me and never let me go, fucking made me start falling for you, you asshole! Why would you do that? Why! Why would you make me fall for you if you had no intention of catching me?
“And yeah, it hurts because I can see what we could have been together, but I’ll survive. I’ve walked away from it, and I am trying to just let myself get over you, which is a joke, because I never really had you! And I am going to find someone who can love me, and wants me just as much as I want them. But you have to give me the opportunity to do that. You don’t get to touch me without my permission, and you sure as hell don’t get to kiss me when you feel like it.”
Despite the emotions raging within her, Neve felt an odd sense of calm descend upon her. Up until right now, Liam had been the one doing the rejecting. She had never had the opportunity to say her piece and now that she had, she felt like she could move on. To what, she had no clue, but it was a step in the right direction. Being able to douse him with ice-cold water helped, too.
* * * *
Liam knew he was probably in danger of catching pneumonia from the cold water slap to his face Neve had served up to him, but he didn’t actually feel cold. He felt panic and fear in equal parts. Neve had just effectively told him that she was turning her back on what she was feeling for him, and looking for someone else. He had fucked up on huge proportions with this woman since day one, and now that he had finally been hit with a cold wash of fear—literally—over the fact that he could lose her, he had finally pulled his head out of his ass.
He stepped forward and raised his hands toward her imploringly. “Neve, there is so much I have to apologize to you for, I don’t even know where to begin.”
“All you have been doing since we have met is apologizing to me,” Neve said as she threw her arms in the air in frustration. “It has to stop. I think we need to make a deal. I won’t throw myself at you anymore. I will do my best to quash any thought or imaginings I have over the two of us being together, and you won’t have to say or do anything to me that you have to apologize for. Deal?”
Liam was not a man who was good with words. He was better with actions, but he knew that what he wanted to do would not be appreciated right now. He’d have to find the words. He sent a prayer to the Gods that he would be able to find the words to articulate what he now knew he wanted more than anything else in the world.
“Neve, you are so fucking hot.” Liam groaned. Neve jolted and looked confused, and Liam couldn’t blame her. Okay, so the God’s were not on his side on this one. “Jesus, that was not what I meant say! Why the fuck do I always say the wrong things with you?” Neve squeaked, and he quickly rewound what he had said in his head. “No! Shit! I don’t mean that you’re not hot. Because you are! You’re so fucking hot my heart aches and my dick hardens every time I look at you!” Jesus, did he really just admit to her that he was a walking hard-on! “What I meant to say, is I don’t want you to walk away. I’m not going to push you away any more, or ever again if you can find it in you to forgive a dumbass bear shifter who had his head so far up his own ass he was in danger of choking on his own bullshit!”
Neve barked out a laugh and clamped her hand on her mouth. Liam grinned and stepped cautiously toward her. “I have treated you abominably. And I will regret that until the day I die. But I want the chance to win the right to touch you, and to kiss you whenever I want to. And show you that you have those rights with me, too.” He took another step toward her, and although she still looked pensive and just a little wary, she didn’t move in the opposite direction. “Don’t walk away, baby girl. Don’t even try to get over me. I don’t know what I’d do if you did, because I will never be able to do the same.”
Liam took a deep breath before he continued. There was one more thing he needed to talk to her about, before they could even hope to take a step in the direction of a relationship.
“My mate,” Liam said softly, and Neve jerked slightly. “I need to tell you about her, Neve. Is that okay?” He waited with his heart in his throat. Would this be too much? Maybe he shouldn’t have reminded her that the Fates had not destined the two of them for each other. But he wanted a real chance at a future with Neve. And clearing this hurdle would mean they had the best chance at it.
“I think you should,” Neve said as she wrapped her arms around her middle. Something Liam longed to do for her, but knew that it was too soon.
Liam nodded
and released the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “Her name was Agnes Thomas. I met her just under a year ago, when I was working homicide for the Dallas Police Department. She had transferred from Chicago, and was assigned to the same unit. As soon as she stepped into the station, and my bear caught a trace of her scent, I knew she was my mate. I tracked her through that station, my bear going crazy, but it wasn’t like I thought it would be.”
“What do you mean?” Neve asked softly.
“I had always been told that when a shifter meets their true Fated mate, that both animal and man would recognize her immediately. Then the mating bond would drive him to his knees,” Liam answered. “But it wasn’t like that for me. My bear went crazy at the scent, but I was more confused. When I finally tracked her scent through the station, she was working out in the gym by herself, and again, my bear went ballistic wanting to get to her. She…ah…well…then, I mean, she was my mate and, um, we ah—” Liam blushed for the first time since he hit puberty, not knowing how to continue.
“Sealed the deal by playing a round of hide the hooded salami?” Neve guessed
Liam winced. “I probably wouldn’t have said it quite so colorfully, but yeah, pretty much. Then before I knew it, I looked down at her beneath me and there was a bite mark on her neck. I had claimed her as mine. My bear finally calmed down. I thought she would flip out when I told her about being a bear and the whole claiming thing, but she just got this really happy look on her face. So we—well, got dressed and reported for roll call and team assignments. She was teamed with another detective, and we both agreed to catch up at the end of the shift to talk. She was shot about an hour later at a routine traffic stop. Both she and the officer she was with were killed.”
“Oh, Liam,” Neve whispered as she stepped forward and despite his still damp clothing, wrapped her arms around his waist. Only an idiot would let an opportunity like that slip away, and Liam was determined to never be an idiot again. He reached around her and pulled her closer to him, laying his cheek against her hair. “You must have been distraught.”
Liam frowned as he thought back to that time in his life. “That’s just it, I wasn’t. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I was sad that she had died, and I made sure she was laid to rest in the best way possible, but I didn’t feel the loss like I should have. Three days ago, I watched a man I have come to know and respect like a brother, go crazy at the loss of his mate. Ryan was inconsolable when Ariana lay lifeless in his arms. He would not have survived the day if he had truly lost her. But with Agnes, I felt numb on the day, then…”
Neve pulled back to look into his face. “Then what?”
“Guilty.” Liam leaned down to place his forehead to hers. His bear grumbled in contentment as he sighed. “I felt guilty because I didn’t feel like I thought I should. Hell, I couldn’t even look at her in the morgue! I had them seal the casket immediately and never once looked at her. I stayed in Dallas for a couple of months, but the guilt just ate away at me. I visited her grave almost daily and started resenting the fact that I had mated to her. I mean who does that? So, I resigned my position, sold everything I didn’t want, packed up and headed here.”
Liam sighed again as he lifted his head and snuggled her closer to him. “You know”—Neve’s voice was thoughtful— “I don’t think you need to feel guilty about anything. I mean, I know she was your m-mate.” Liam’s heart clenched at her stutter. “But I think it takes more than just one day and a little pickle tickle to form a connection with a person. I’m sure if you’d had more time with her it would have been different.”
“Maybe,” Liam murmured, but he truly didn’t think it would have made much of a difference. He thought about how he had felt that day a few weeks ago when he had come across Neve with a couple of gunshot wounds, fighting two trained killers. Just the mere thought of what could have happened had almost driven him crazy. And that was something he would have to think more about.
“So, where do we go from here?” Neve whispered, and he wanted to kick his own ass when he heard the hesitation in her voice. Hell, even his bear wanted to take a piece out of him.
“We do exactly what you suggested we do the evening of the December solstice. We get to know each other and see if we can’t be friends…or something. And in the spirit of full disclosure, Ms. Hale, I will be aiming for the or something. I know I haven’t given you any reason to believe me, but I am a hopeless romantic. I am going to romance the hell out of you, woman, and you are going to realize, that I was falling for you, just as fast you were for me.”
Neve gasped and pulled back to stare into his eyes, no doubt looking for any sign that he wasn’t telling the truth. His gaze never wavered, and his face remained open. After a few moments, Neve smiled and her face lit up his whole world. She opened her mouth to say something, but he stopped her with a hand gently over her mouth.
His bear was pacing within him, and the hair was standing at the back of his neck. There was something here that shouldn’t be. He inhaled deeply, taking all the scents around them into his lungs, letting his bear taste them. Ignoring the mouthwatering scent of the woman in his arms, and the usual forest scents, he found what he was able to pinpoint something that shouldn’t be there. The scent of adrenaline-soaked sweat, and Napier gun oil a brand he knew well and was a favorite for cleaning his service weapon.
There was someone in the forest near them, and they had a weapon. His bear roared, demanding he be let loose to dine on the unfortunate bastard who felt like he could come at them. “Neve!” His voice was garbled as his bear pushed forward to protect her. “Run. Run back to the house.” Not knowing when the man might strike, Liam wanted Neve out of the line of fire as quick as possible. He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, before he spun and leapt for the forest with a roar. Two steps and his bear exploded from him, just as the report of a gun being fired rang through the forest, and he saw the muzzle flash from the weapon coming from his right.
Roaring with rage, he charged that spot at full speed, his bear hell bent on ripping the bastard to shreds. Liam was completely onboard with that plan.
* * * *
Neve stood in shock as Liam changed midstride into his bear. She blinked as her brain struggled to calculate what had actually happened. One minute it had seemed like a dream come true. Liam had admitted to having feelings for her and that he was going to work to earn her forgiveness, and the right to be with her. And although there was a large part of her that still didn’t quite believe him, she was willing to let him try.
Then the next minute, he was telling her to run, turning into a five-hundred-pound bear and leaping into the woods. Neve ignored his request for her to run because, well, she was an Elemental and a kick-ass one at that, and had moved to follow him. She had just lifted her arms to start calling the rain, when she felt a sharp sting across her thigh, but she ignored it and kept moving.
Liam was now thundering through the creek and into the trees off to the right of them. Neve felt her heart stop when she heard what sounded like two gunshots, before the roar of a bear came so loud it felt like the entire forest shook. Scrambling as fast as she could through the cold water of the stream, Neve ran to where Liam had disappeared. Just as she was about to enter the forest, she heard the terrified screams of a man.
She stopped as she realized Liam must have caught his prey. And if the fucker had a gun, and had been shooting at him, then he deserved to be chewed on a little. She only hoped Liam managed to keep him alive. She whipped to look behind her, weaving a pattern to pull the water from the creak up to use a weapon at the sound of something coming up behind her. She dropped her hands and let the water fall back into the creek bed when she recognized the two wolves that slid to a halt in front of her.
Neve grinned when she saw a small black bear charging in behind them. “Damn, Ariana! It’s gonna take some getting used to seeing you all furry and bear like!” The black bear looked at her and grinned, or at least it looked like a grin to Neve. The s
ound of human feet in the forest came just as Fiona, Casey, Micah and Travis came running into the area.
“Hey!” Casey panted as she leant forward, placed her hands on her knees and drew in huge gulps of air. “Was…that…gunshots?”
Neve nodded and pointed into the forest where Liam had disappeared. “Yeah, Liam turned fur and claw and headed after the shooter. There were a few screams a moment ago, but it’s gone silent now. I’m hoping Liam didn’t eat this guy, so we can ask him a few questions.”
“He’s alive,” Liam said as he stepped back out in his human form. He was wearing a pair of camouflage hunting trousers, and carrying a trouser-less, bleeding man over his shoulder. “I just chewed on him a bit, baby girl. You can ask your questions.”
“Good,” Casey said as she pushed to a standing position. “Let me ask the questions, I’m really good at- wait! Hold the fucking phone! Did you just call her baby girl?” Neve giggled at Casey’s shrill question.
“I did.” Liam grinned, then turned to look at Neve and she melted a little more as his eyes softened. Then he frowned, ran his gaze over her, stopping on her right thigh. She frowned when he suddenly dropped the unconscious man to the ground, and moved so fast he was a blur to kneel in front of her. “Damn it, you’re hurt! Baby girl, are you okay? Sit down, let me see.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Neve asked with a frown as she leaned down and looked at her thigh. As soon as she spotted the blood soaking through the material of her jeans, she felt a spear of white-hot pain in the same spot. “Ow! Jesus, that hurts.” Neve winced when Liam reached a hand out toward the wound. “Fuck! Don’t touch it!” She hopped back out of reach, whimpering when she jarred her leg and pain radiated throughout her thigh.
