by Cara Carnes
Each harried step jostled her. Pain knifed along her side. Had she been shot? Injured. Her vision faded in and out. How was he getting away? Where was he taking her?
Thane.
He had to be okay. Alive. He’d find her.
***
Thane relished the gurgle of the human’s last breath. He’d violated a few laws by killing the trespassers. They’d deserved to die. Shifting from human to wolf to accomplish the task had stepped over the line. Dead men told no tales, however.
He sniffed the air and headed toward Dani’s scent. She’d wisely run away, as he’d expected her to. Why the hell had she left the cave’s safety without waking him? With three humans added to the body count, the hunt for Charles had become an epic clusterfuck.
Ryker was gonna be pissed, but there wasn’t much to be done about it now. Soon as he collected Dani from whatever hiding hole she’d found, he’d make tracks and pick up Charles’s scent trail. Tracking in the miserably bitter cold wasn’t ideal, but manageable. He owed the pack his full focus, and they’d get it today.
By the time he’d navigated the icy-cold river, the stench of human blood and Dani’s sweet scent permeated his nostrils. There’d been four of them? A growl rose in his throat as he chased the tiny crimson droplets marring the wet snow.
Some were the human who’d die soon enough, one way or another. The depth of the human’s steps along with the few blood droplets carrying her scent proved she was being carried. The distance between each one lessened the farther Thane tracked. The human tired quickly, which meant he’d take laziness over caution and bunk down to rest.
Fortunately, Dani was in wolf form. As long as she remained that way, she’d be safer. Trespassing pricks probably didn’t treat women very well. Thane headed up the mountainside, opting for the shorter versus easier direction. Racing forward, he ignored the discomfort pounding up his leg with each strike against the impacted snow.
Senses tuned to every minute sound, he lost track of time. The farther he went, the more agitated he became. He shouldn’t have ever come back to Los Lobos. She wouldn’t have left the safety of the only home she ever knew to follow any of the other dominants.
Then again, she’d been the most impulsive female he knew back then. Charles spent half his time fixing trouble she’d inadvertently found. The man was a very protective big brother.
The thought didn’t settle well since it translated to a new possibility on how to corral the stray wolf. Bait. Even though the notion sickened him and violated every protective instinct in him, Thane recognized the validity of the decision.
A deep voice boomed to the east. He crouched and headed toward the sound, careful to avoid snapping any twigs or rustling too many leaves. Though the so-called human hunter hadn’t proved he deserved the title, he had Dani. Until she was secure, Thane had to assume the man was a worthy foe.
A couple hundred yards later, the human came into view. Crouched over Dani’s wolf form, his voice pummeled the area with venomous intent.
“Yeah, you’re gonna fetch a real nice price. You got any pack around here? Huh?” He banged his fist down. A growl punctured the air.
Doing nothing after the prick hit Dani was difficult, but only fools rushed into situations thinking with the wrong body parts. She was injured, and the prey was unpredictable. Thane watched him sling off his backpack and settle against a rock on the other side of Dani.
Her breathing appeared steady, but she remained motionless. Was she more injured than he’d initially thought? There hadn’t been much blood.
She captured his gaze, and he swore tension vacated her. She collapsed her head against the snow and whimpered, long and low. The mournful sound continued until the human set aside his liquor bottle and stalked toward her.
“Shut up! What’s your problem?” He circled her, crouching with his back to Thane.
Dani opened her eyes and raised her head. She whimpered again, louder and longer. The sound masked his steps as he shifted to human form and lunged.
Arms wrapped around his prey’s head, he snapped the prick’s neck and let his limp body fall.
Ryker would have his ass because there were questions that needed answers, but the enforcer would also accept the cold, harsh reality. Pack was protected no matter what. And the asshole had hurt Dani. Besides, dead men told no tales.
He dragged the body away from her and left it at the edge of the clearing. Wild animals would handle the rest. Squatting beside Dani, he stroked her pelt, focusing on the wound near her shoulder area. A whimper escaped as she focused on him.
“You getting hurt is becoming a real bad habit, sweetheart.” He squeezed her neck gently to calm the agitation drifting from her. “You think you can shift for me?”
Thane hated commanding such a painful experience since she had a naturally cumbersome shift. Silence descended. Protectiveness flexed beneath his skin. Alert for potential threats, he focused on their surroundings. How far were they from Los Lobos?
“Thane.” She squeezed his arm.
“Thank fuck.” He cupped her face. “You okay?”
She nodded. “You’re hurt.”
“Just a scratch.” He gently swept a couple of fingers along her shoulder. “You’re shot.”
“Just a scratch,” she parroted.
“My wolf can’t handle you being cute right now.” He sat down and dragged her into his lap.
Heat resonated where her hands settled on his chest. “I didn’t sense them until they were right there and I….”
“It’s okay, Dani. They’re gone. They won’t hurt you now.”
“The shifters from before, I think they guided the humans here.” Fear brushed across her face. She squeezed his arm. “They were talking about their guide getting killed.”
“One’s still out there,” Thane growled.
She shivered. He rose with her in his arms and trekked back toward the cave, feeling her soft curves against him, her weight settled trustingly in his embrace. The situation didn’t offer the luxury of savoring the contact, or remembering the last time he’d held her close.
“Thane, put me down. You’re hurt. I’ll be okay. I can walk.”
“We’re almost there. Tell me again about what the human said. Everything.”
“He was taking me somewhere, to someone who paid big money for special wolves.”
“So someone may know about us shifters.”
“Or it could be a really bad coincidence. We are larger than regular wolves, probably come across as smarter.” She smirked. “At least, some of us do.”
He halted. Pleasure rose within him. He’d missed her smile. “We’ll hold up in the cave long enough for you to shift back to your wolf and rest.”
“No. I’m fine. We need to find Charles. He’s not thinking straight, and we both know he’s never been much of a fighter. He could be hurt.”
Only Dani would worry about a potential murderer being harmed. The slushy mixture of sleet and snow randomly pelting the area would obscure Charles’s scent trail soon. Before he went back to the assignment, he intended to secure Dani, which meant hunting down the trespasser who’d gotten away.
Silence fell. The worry lines along her face had eased since she’d surrendered to exhaustion. People handled shock and stress in different ways. Dani’s response remained consistent. Sleep.
Thane chuckled. She loved sleep more than anything and could go comatose in any situation. He remembered one particular blowout he’d had with her brother. The man hadn’t wanted her and Thane hooking up. After almost half an hour of nonstop argument, both men had finally realized they’d heard nothing from Dani.
Thane still remembered looking over at the sofa she’d occupied. She’d burrowed into the cushions and turned her back to them. Enough said. It’d been the last time the two argued about whether Thane was good for her or not because neither man wanted her hurt.
She stirred in his arms when he entered the cave
. Returning her to the corner they’d occupied the evening before, Thane settled beside her.
“I did it again, huh?”
“Yeah.” He grinned and caressed her face. “I’m surprised you didn’t conk out sooner.”
She punched his chest. “You know I can’t help it.”
“I know.” The worry returned to her face, faint lines along her forehead and lips. “It’ll be okay, Dani. We’ll find him.”
“He’s all I have,” she whispered.
“No.” He cupped her face and leaned into her until their lips feathered. “You’ll always have me.”
Chapter Five
Denial hung in her like a coiled snake ready to strike. Awareness ignited beneath her skin and, if she closed her eyes, she could almost pretend nothing had changed. They were still the lovestruck couple who always found time to focus on their passion rather than whatever trouble Magnum stirred.
His tongue swept along her lips, seeking entry. She moaned and deepened the contact as she sat up. A wave of heat blasted through her. The intensity bordered on savage. She melted against him, following his lead. The languid exploration calmed her, reminded her of the hours she used to spend kissing. Tasting.
She’d missed his woodsy scent, the way he knew exactly how to graze his tongue along hers. The action cast trembles through her limbs. He supported her weight against him easily.
She rubbed her upper body against his and wrapped her legs around his waist. Deepening their kiss, she thrust herself against the prominent bulge nestled against her pussy.
Thane broke the kiss, nipping her bottom lip as he pulled away. “You taste better than I remember.”
“That’s not exactly an original line.” She ran her hand down his expansive chest until she grasped the hem of his shirt. Tugging upward, she moaned her approval when he raised both arms and let her tug it off.
Desire pooled at her core. The golden skin along his wide shoulders seared her fingertips. Leaning in, she traced a scar on his left pec with her tongue. “I don’t remember this one,” she whispered.
“Knife fight. Seattle.” He yanked her shirt off. Warmth flushed her skin when he traced along the swell of her breast. “Your skin’s softer than I remembered, too. And I remembered it being smoother than satin. Tell me, Dani, will these gorgeous nipples remember my tongue, my mouth?”
She gasped and writhed into the soft sweep of his thumb along one hardening nub. God it’d been too long—way, way, way too long—since she’d experienced the molten fire only Thane ignited.
“So responsive,” he murmured approvingly as his other thumb grazed her other nipple. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back so her chest thrust forward, a silent plea for what his words promised.
Time without Thane dragged on, especially in the darkest hours when companionable silence fell short of the fiery heat his presence had always offered. More than the lack of physical contact his departure created, she craved the intimacy the most. The whispered confessions and whimsical secrets shared between panted breaths.
He’d been her best friend, her sole confidant.
Heat enveloped her nipple. Grasping his upper arms, she sank her nails into his skin and moaned. Pleasure sparked from where his tongue flicked and traveled through her as though lightning struck.
“Harder,” she rasped. Running her hands through his hair, she dragged him closer. He suckled.
Teeth grazed her skin. A needy growl escaped her parted lips. Damn him and the firm control he had on his wolf. She wanted wild. Rough.
“Thane.” She panted his name like a mantra, a demand.
He held her in place, one hand on her waist and the other splayed along her back. Pinned, she writhed against the evidence of his arousal. She needed more.
She ran her hand along his corded abdominals and undid his pants. He growled as she rubbed the firm length of his cock. “I want to feel you in the back of my throat.”
“Dani, don’t.”
She ignored the plea and tugged on his pants until he surrendered and lifted his hips. Making quick work of his clothes, she followed suit with her own. Her pussy clenched as she admired him. Passion darkened his eyes, hardened the lines of his jaw. Golden flesh greeted her wherever she looked.
Straddling his thighs, she leaned down and seized his mouth. Hunger ruptured any hold she had. The fact he ceded control fueled her desire. The moment he took over, she’d be swept away in a tidal wave.
“I forgot how thick you were.” His length pulsated in her hand. “I want you taking me rough and fast.”
He growled and reached for her, but she shook her head. “I’ve been waiting a long time, never thought it’d come to pass.”
“Dani.”
Intensity resonated in his expression. Unprepared for the whirlwind found there, she leaned down and fanned light kisses along an invisible path. From his neck downward. She pumped his thick shaft as she traced the contours across and down his stomach. Approval rumbled from her, rousing her wolf when he flexed beneath the contact.
Salty pre-cum coated her lips when she kissed the tip of his cock. She alternated bursts of hot air and kisses in time with her fingers as she pumped his shaft.
“Turn around,” he ordered. They locked gazes. “Turn around, sweetheart.”
“Why?” Her heart pattered wildly.
“You aren’t the only one waiting for a long time. I’ve been thinking about tasting you since I saw you.” He pulled her up his body and grasped her hips.
She was turned facing his feet before she realized what was happening. Thane fanned hot breath along her pussy. He lapped the seam and thrust his tongue into her wet heat. She reflexively squeezed her thighs and thrust down, but he held her in place.
A groan escaped her. She sucked the head and worked the shaft of his cock. He licked her clit and thrust fingers into her pussy. Whatever tempo she set with her mouth, he followed. The sensual dance continued until her entire body quaked with arousal and flared with need for the man beneath her.
Skin ground against skin as she writhed downward. Lips, tongues, and fingers. It was too much. The ministrations hurled her over the edge.
“You taste better than I remembered.” Hot breath fanned along her thighs as the world returned to her.
Every muscle she possessed was gelatinous goo. She floated in a sated bliss she hadn’t experienced in years. Thane maneuvered until he loomed above her. He claimed her mouth in a soul-searing kiss as he thrust into her.
“You’re so tight, it’s like coming home.”
Wrapping her legs around him, she sighed in pleasure. Memories enveloped her; the completeness of the moment eased a tightness lodged in her chest the past few years. The slow tempo awakened her need. She kissed him and matched each powerful thrust.
She scratched his back. “More, Thane.”
Pinning her hands above her head, he nipped her ear as he slid into her more slowly. She growled her frustration and pushed against him. Anticipation beaded along her skin behind his roving mouth, which trailed kisses down her neck.
Pain culminated from her nipple, melting into a wanton craving for more. She growled and writhed beneath him, thrusting upward. She couldn’t handle sweet and slow, not with years of emotions and sensations battering her defenses.
“Talk to me, Dani. Tell me what you want.”
“You.”
He flipped them over and settled her into a straddling position. She rotated her hips and moaned, savoring the feel of him buried deep. Finally. Pleasure ran along her body wherever he touched, kissed.
She quickened the tempo, riding him deeper and faster until the tidal wave threatening to drown her washed away all the emotional turbulence from the past. All that mattered was the moment. No past, no future.
The thought made her choke as she fucked faster. Desperation rose within her. All she had was whatever time they spent in the cave. Then he’d be off, tracking her brother. Leaving.
&n
bsp; Thane grabbed her hips, forcing a temporary cease-fire to the volatile way she rode him. “Dani.”
She clawed at his wrists, pulling. Tears trekked down her cheeks. Shutting her eyes to the confusion, shock, and concern reflecting in Thane’s gaze, she forced a ragged breath and stilled, too emotionally devastated by the moment to give a damn.
So she was high-strung. Thane knew that.
“Hey.” He squeezed her face. “Look at me, sweetheart.”
“I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m sorry.”
“Ssh.” He kissed her gently. The softness in his voice warmed her insides like a shot of liquor from Gee’s Bar. “I’m not going anywhere. It’s okay.”
As if sensing the fractured thoughts in her mind, he repeated the words over and over as he feathered kisses along her temples, down her cheeks, and across her lips. She took an unsteady breath, inhaling on his exhale. She licked along the seam of his mouth in a hesitant plea to continue.
Each stroke and kiss stitched the fragmented pains of the past and quenched the shriveled hope within her. By the time Thane rocked beneath her, all the emotional upheaval dissipated, replaced by the constant ache for the man gently erasing pain she hadn’t realized existed.
The new rhythm swept her into the past, when they’d spend all night making love under the stars. She memorized every scar, touched them with her hands. Next time she’d ask how they happened. She’d assume they’d have a next time. He’d said so, and Thane didn’t lie.
He squeezed her hip with one hand and stroked her clit with the other. “Come for me, sweetheart. I can’t hold out much longer. Your pussy milks my cock so good, I swear I’m dreaming.”
The naughty words made her shiver in delight. Her inner muscles spasmed around him as she was swept away into heady euphoria. Collapsing against him, she burrowed into his steely arms and floated in pleasurable bliss.
