by Ashlee Sinn
Oh no, we would be fucking real soon.
The adrenaline from the fight and the pheromones Max was putting in the air, had me acting like a little minx. I felt him staring at my naked ass as we dragged the two bobcat shifters up the hill to Donovan. Paula fought me every step of the way, but I was pumped full of endorphins and lust right now and there was no way she would ruin this moment. The sooner we dropped them off with Donovan, the sooner Max and I could finally end the flirtations and take this relationship to the next level.
I should have been scared. After all, I didn’t have a lot of experience with men thanks to my upbringing. And the little experience I did have would probably be far less than the type of women Max Larkin could seduce into his bed. Every time I thought about that, I second guessed my move to Alaska. It had been a rash decision, unapproved by my family, and definitely not what Roman wanted. Yuck. Roman. Why did I let him find a way into my mind? I hated him so much, yet he continued to haunt me every time I thought about the stupid registration and wondered if he would try to find me.
“Hey!” Paula shouted when I steered her into the railing on Donovan’s porch. I’d been too distracted to watch where we were going.
“Not sorry,” I mumbled. Paula was a piece of shit shifter and I really didn’t care if she bruised her knee or not. She’d tried to stab Max, so she would always suck ass in my book.
Max chuckled behind me and I instantly went back to thinking about what we might be able to do to each other in a little while. He was all man, all the time. Broad chest, taller than everyone except Donovan, with a perfect scruff on his face and hair that looked a little wild and messy. But Max was anything but a mess. His cabin was spotless from floor to ceiling. The work shed we’d helped install had been organized to perfection. He could cook. He obviously cleaned. And there wasn’t a damn thing about him that I didn’t like. Not. One. Thing.
I let Max take the lead with Donovan since technically he was the true enforcer of the new crew. Plus, I liked watching him man-handle Pete like he weighed nothing. Max’s panther was a badass, but the human in him was pretty damn remarkable too.
Max knocked on the door and we waited. And waited. With my shifter hearing, I knew Mariah and Donovan were inside. They were whispering and giggling, and I could only imagine what was going on. Max banged on the door with his whole hand, nearly shaking the thing from its hinges. Pete snickered and Max shoved him up against the wall with one large hand while he continued to knock with the other. “Donovan! Open up!”
A full minute later, Donovan finally answered the door. He opened it just far enough to stick his head out, the beads of sweat glistening off his dark skin. “What is it? I’m busy.”
Paula made a purring noise next to me, Pete gave her a glare, and I noticed that Donovan was wearing nothing at all. I smiled, happy for him and Mariah. He was a good man with a tortured past. He deserved to be on top of the world for a while. Mariah giggled again and Donovan’s eyes widened. He bit his lip as though trying not to grin himself.
When Max cleared his throat, Donovan sighed and focused on his enforcer. “What?”
“We have two intruders—”
“What? We’re not intruders!” Paula cut in. “We live here.”
“Did you register with Mariah?” Donovan asked, his deep voice exuding authority.
“No, but we—”
“Did you ask Rhys if you could join our crew?”
“No, but—”
“Then you are trespassing in Eagle Creek territory.” Donovan didn’t waste any time and neither one of the shifters could argue that point. “Plus,” Donovan continued, looking pointedly at Pete, “I hear you’ve been terrorizing some of my crew. Pissing on their things like a damn stray.” As a cat shifter himself, Donovan could probably appreciate the way that dig would hurt. “As far as I’m concerned, you have ten minutes to leave the territory. And don’t even think about stepping foot in here again. You understand?”
Donovan’s dominance hung heavy in the air, causing all four of us to drop our gaze. Even Max felt his pull as alpha right now if the way he titled his head away gave any indication. The two bobcat shifters nodded, and when Pete opened his mouth to say something, Paula kicked him in the shin.
“This is your fault, asshole. Did you really have to piss everywhere?”
“I’m a man. It’s what we do.”
Paula and I groaned and Max shook his head. “No, buddy. Real men don’t have to mark their territory like an animal. They just take it.”
Warmth grew in my center at the way Max flashed a wicked grin my way. By all means, pussy cat. Take me.
“Donovan, you coming?” Mariah shouted from somewhere in the cabin. “I found some whipped cream.”
If Donovan Bain hadn’t shut the door so fast, I bet we would have seen him blush. Having a mate and being in a relationship was something new for him. And I had no doubt Mariah was teaching him the tricks of the trade every single day. I looked up at Max, wanting him to do the same with me. I was a student desperately seeking knowledge—and Max was going to be the perfect teacher for me.
As we escorted Pete and Paula down the steps and back onto the road, Max pointed up the hill. “Go! Run that way for ten miles and you’ll hit the main road. Or maybe not. But I don’t want to see or smell either of you in our woods. Clear?”
“Fuck you, man. This place sucks anyway.” Pete dodged a push from Max but had the brains to realize taunting him would not end well. They were not a part of our crew, which meant that Max could do whatever he wanted with them. We watched the pair jog into the woods, Paula’s hands flying around like she was yelling at Pete. I had a feeling Pete got yelled at a lot.
“You hot?” Max suddenly asked, and it caught me off guard.
“Hot?”
“Yeah, like,” he fanned his face and I giggled, “like hot on the outside.”
With a smile, I shrugged. “Maybe, kind of.”
Max grabbed my hand and started to pull me toward his cabin on the opposite side of the camp. “I have something I want to show you.”
“In your cabin?” The butterflies danced in my stomach as I thought about all the possibilities.
“No. Somewhere else.”
“Okay. Well, do I need to bring anything?” I’d been staying in a tent until I could afford something a little more permanent. But really, I knew I was still afraid my family and Roman might find me and I would have to leave again. Even though it had been two months, I didn’t feel like I was totally safe yet.
Max looked down at me and raked his eyes over my body from head to toe, resting on my tits. He licked his lips and I almost stumbled. “No. You have everything you need.”
“Can I at least put on some clothes?”
“Only if you promise to take them off later.”
“Okay,” I breathed, unable to form any more words. The heat in my core grew at the same rate the nerves in my body went into overdrive. I wanted Max so bad, but yet I was scared I might not be enough for him at the same time. I was nervous and excited and terrified all at once.
I jogged to my tent, threw on a pair of shorts and a tight tank top, tied my sneakers, and shoved a stick of gum in my mouth, well, because a woman could be hopeful, right?
I caught back up to Donovan, who now wore a hiking pack, and we started to walk around the back of his cabin. “Are we going somewhere far?” I asked, looking at the pack.
“No, I just brought some treats.”
“Sounds good,” I said, extending my strides so I could keep up with him. We hiked in silence for several minutes but it didn’t seem forced or uncomfortable.
Finally, Max turned around to look at me with a big smile on his face. “So, Fawn. Where are you from?”
“Kentucky.”
“Really? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone from Kentucky. You don’t have an accent.”
“I’m not from that part of Kentucky.”
He laughed and it made me smile. Such a lovely sound
coming from that beast of a man. “And you’ve been in Alaska for what? Two months?”
“Yep.”
“Why here?”
“Why anywhere?” I retorted. But when the air thickened, I realized I should at least give him something. “I needed a change.”
“A change, eh?”
“Yep,” I said again.
“I think everyone in Eagle Creek is either running away from something or trying to find something.”
I watched the muscles on his back flex through the dark blue tee shirt. He really should take it off, I mean, it was pretty hot outside…in early spring. “So, which one are you?” I asked.
“Huh?”
“Are you running away or trying to find?”
“Nope. You first.”
I didn’t want to tell him the whole story just yet because I knew a protective man like this would freak out if he thought I could bring trouble to the others. Plus, I didn’t even know for sure if trouble would follow me here. “How much do you know about raven folklore?”
That seemed to throw him for a loop because he slipped on a root and had to use a tree to steady himself. “Well, Odin had two ravens that told him everything. I’ve also heard they can be tricksters. They like dead things and shiny things. And aren’t ravens also associated with death?”
“Bingo.”
“Death?”
I nodded, even though he was hiking in front of me. “My family seemed to take that in the literal sense and started a mortuary many generations ago.”
“Really?”
“Yep. The Marlow’s have been in the death business since the first settlers arrived.” It was a fact we used in the advertising, so it rolled off my tongue like an old story. “Bring your dead to Marlow’s, and let us rest your sorrows.”
Max almost choked on his laughter. “Did you just make that up?”
“Nope, family slogan. My dad has it on his business cards now.”
“Wait, did you all live at the morgue?”
This time, I laughed. “Morgues are at hospitals. But yes, we lived in the house attached to the funeral home.”
“Oh my god,” Max said as he visibly shivered, “that is super creepy.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Seriously?”
“Sure. But I never had any sleepovers. My friends wouldn’t dare spend the night with me.”
“I get it,” Max huffed. But then he stopped and looked at me again. “So, you’re running from the family business?”
He had no idea how complicated that question was. That was one piece in a giant, fucked up puzzle, but he didn’t need to know all of that right now. “It’s a part of it.”
“Why run? You don’t want to work in a mortuary?”
“I don’t want to continue the sick tradition my family finds amusing. Ravens feast on dead things. We’re thought to predict when people are about to pass on. Owning a funeral home kind of puts us smack in the middle of an awful stereotype.”
“You eat the dead?” Max’s face paled and he looked like he was about to be sick.
“As birds, yes.”
“But like, do you eat the dead people in your house?”
His wide eyes, worried brow, and way he started to back away made me laugh. “No! Of course we don’t eat the dead humans. Who do you think we are?” My stomach ached with how deep I was laughing.
At first, Max didn’t seem amused, but then he chuckled and wiped his forehead. “Oh, thank god. I mean you’re smoking hot but I didn’t think I would ever be able to get the image out of my mind of you chowing down on a dead body in the basement.”
“How did you know we had a basement?” I teased. Max’s mouth hung open as he tried to think of an answer, but I relieved him of it when I pushed past him and started hiking up the path again. “Where are we going?”
“We’re almost there,” he said behind me. I shook my ass and he chuckled. “You better not tease or we’ll never get to my secret spot.”
“You have a secret spot?”
“Don’t you?” The way he said it, full of sexual innuendo and pheromones, let me know he’d gotten past the funeral home thing for now.
“Apparently, but not many can find it,” I teased right back.
“Challenge accepted.”
The warmth returned and the hair on the back of my neck stood up in anticipation and because of the way I was sure his eyes were eating me up right now. I caught a glimpse of sunlight peeking through the trees not far ahead. It looked like there might be a clearing, and I wondered if this was his special spot.
Max jogged around me, slapping my ass on the way. “Come on, we’re here.”
His smile was contagious as I ran behind him, waiting to see what was so special to this powerful panther. And when we stopped at the edge of a small cliff that overlooked a crystal-clear mountain lake, I let out a sigh.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“Amazing, right?” Max’s eyes traveled over the bluest water I’d seen in Alaska.
“Definitely amazing. And so beautiful.”
“Just like you,” he muttered quietly.
I’d heard him, but didn’t really know how to respond.
“Do you come here often?”
“Yes.”
“Have you showed anyone else?”
“Never.”
My heart thudded against my ribs, my core heating up with the lust I felt for this man. This was his special place and Max had chosen me. Little ‘ol me to share it with. “Thank you,” I whispered. Looking up at Max, I smiled. “This means a—”
My words ended when he crushed his lips against mine in a kiss. And what a kiss. As though we might not see each other tomorrow, Max’s lips and tongue danced perfectly against mine. Stroke for stroke he matched me and when he pulled me closer to him and I felt his arousal pushing against my stomach, I knew I would let him do anything and everything to me.
I squeezed his ass and he moaned into my mouth. Finally, he pulled away, sucking in a breath of fresh air like it would bring him back to reality. I, personally, didn’t want reality right now. I wanted more of him.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’ve just been waiting so long to do that.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“Yeah?” he said with a laugh.
“Yeah, and I wish you’d do it again.”
His eyes started to shift to the golden yellow of his panther and something sexy and feral rumbled in his chest. He grabbed my face with his hands and ran his thumbs along my cheeks. “Oh, my little bird, be careful what you wish for.”
And the moment before he lowered his mouth to mine again, I caught a quick glimpse of the perfect lake sitting behind us during this most perfect moment of my life.
She tasted like honey and catnip. Well, she didn’t really taste like catnip, but her scent was so addicting, it put me in a frenzy in no time at all. Pulling on her mouth, I slid my hand up to her breast and squeezed. A perfect handful. Her moist lips begged me for more and I didn’t think I’d be able to control myself much longer.
Pulling away for another breath, I rested my forehead against hers. “Are you sure?”
In response, Fawn rubbed her hand against the bulge in the front of my pants, squeezing it once and biting her lips at the same time. “Definitely.”
The growl rumbled low and deep in my chest, my animal itching for my skin because he was so riled up. Fawn had been an instant attraction for him. There was just something so…unique about her that my panther chose a raven instead of his own kind. Purring like a madman, I lifted Fawn off the ground, cupped her ass, and smiled as she wrapped her toned legs around my waist. The little squeal that escaped her mouth made me laugh while I walked us closer to the edge of the overlook.
“Where are you taking me, big man?”
“Mmm, I love it when you call me that.” Accentuating just how much I meant those words, I pulled her closer to my erection and slid her hips up and down. Fawn closed her eyes in pleasure a
nd helped with the movement. “I told you, I’m taking you to my special spot.”
Fawn’s lips found mine again as I edged closer to the place I liked to get away. Just over the edge of the small cliff, was an outcropping designed for two. A large, flat rock ledge, covered in moss yet exposed to the sun. I held tightly onto Fawn as I leapt down the few feet it took to reach my secret place. She yelped into the air but giggled when we quickly landed.
“Max, this is amazing,” She smiled and her eyes widened. “I can’t get over how beautiful this lake is.”
“And it’s all mine,” I joked.
She slapped me on the arm and wiggled up against me again. “I’m so glad I came here.”
“So am I.”
Fawn slipped her hands under my shirt and started to lift it over my head. I helped, and by the time the tee was on the ground, Fawn’s delicate hands and long fingers had found their way to my chest. One at a time, she brushed her nails against the muscles. When she reached my pecks, she bent forward and kissed each of them gently. The top of her head only reached my neck, so when she tilted her face toward mine, I bent forward and replied. With an urgency I couldn’t keep under control, I pressed my lips to hers again. Pulling her top off, I sucked in a breath when I saw that she hadn’t worn a bra. Her little cotton workout shorts weren’t leaving much to the imagination and when those found their way to the ground, I laughed at the surprise waiting for me.
“Black lace thongs. Why am I not surprised?”
She giggled and snapped the side of her panties against her skin. Turning in a slow circle, she wiggled her ass and looked back at me over her shoulder. “You like?”
“I fucking love.” Fawn started to pull them over her hips, but I quickly stopped her. “No. Keep them on.”
She gave me a strange look. “Really?”
“Yes. I want to fuck you with your thong still on.”
Giving me a sexy grin, she sauntered back over to me. “Well, big man, just how are we going to do that?”
A second later, I had her back up on my hips, holding her like she weighed nothing. Grinding my hard cock against her sex, I relished in the way her lips parted and her pupils dilated with her arousal. I slid my hand around her ass and felt the heat and moisture from her folds through the thin fabric of the thongs.
