“You trying to impress me, big spender?” I teased.
“I didn’t much take you for the sort of woman who was impressed by things like money.”
I frowned a little. He was right. I wasn’t that type of woman.
Talon continued, “My mom was a waitress. I saw her and my dad struggle to make ends meet more than a few times, so I make it a point to tip well when I go out.”
God, the man just kept getting better. I almost made a joke about how I should just take off what was left of my drenched panties then, but I wasn’t sure he’d understand the joke. That would’ve suited me just fine because I was feeling good, and the tense game of chess we’d been playing had to be leading up to something.
Talon sat in the driver’s seat, one hand thrown over the steering wheel and the other draped over the back of my seat. His thumb made lazy circles along my back. It was relaxing and comfortable, not something I was used to having with someone I’d known so short a period. The slight buzz of the alcohol coursing through my veins helped me relax into the seat. It felt like the drive between the bar and the motel was taking forever, however I knew it wasn’t.
At one point, Talon began singing along with a soulful tune belting out over the radio. It was the new one by Brett Young although Talon could’ve given him a run for his money on who could sing it better. Talon had a grit to his voice when he sung that made the hairs on my arms stand on end in a good way. I leaned my head back to rest on his arm. My gaze tracked each subtle movement of his mouth as he sang along with the radio.
I was staring at him when the sign of the Pine View Motel came into view. We pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop in front of my room.
Talon shut off the engine but left the keys in the ignition. He turned the music down so it was just background noise. Neither of us moved to get out right away. In fact, I didn’t move at all, leaving my head laid back against his arm. His head fell back into the head rest before rolling to the side to meet my gaze.
“So this is me,” I mused reluctantly. “I had a good time tonight. So, thank you. You didn’t have to go out of your way to make sure I was fed or keep me company. Though, I must say I’m pretty happy you did.”
“Good. I’m glad. It’s nice to see a smile on your face. You light up the whole room when you do, you know that? You should do it more often.”
I wasn’t the type of woman who was easily swayed by soft words, but hearing it come from Talon’s lips made me think he meant it. Butterflies took flight in my belly, making wide, swooping passes.
Talon, ever the gentleman, climbed out of his truck and moved around to my side of the vehicle. Opening the door for me, he helped me down from the truck and escorted me to the door. We stood there like awkward teens for a moment before I was brave enough to speak.
“You know; you don’t have to leave quite yet. If you don’t want to,” I stammered nervously, seizing the opportunity.
“No? What did you have in mind?” His voice was husky and low, sending chills over me.
I smiled coyly. “I’m sure you can think of something.”
Talon seized the opportunity to swoop in and capture my lips. He was soft and hard at all the right times, drawing me beneath the waves of need. The full length of him pressed against the soft flesh of my belly.
I moaned into his mouth, remembering the full feeling of him inside me and spurring him on. Talon’s fingers twined into my hair, tugging my head back to expose my neck. The stubble of his beard rasped against the soft delicate skin on my neck as his tongue swirled me into a frenzy.
My arms came around his neck, holding on for dear life. Talon took it as his green light. Hooking his hands under my butt, he lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. I heard rather than saw the motel door click shut behind us as Talon carried me toward the bed.
Laying me down gently, Talon followed, hooking his hands into the waistband of my jeans. He pulled back, dragging my pants and underwear down my legs, but he was too far away. I felt his absence like I was missing a limb. I think he felt it too because almost instantly he was on me again, his hips grinding into me.
My nimble fingers moved lower, trying to work his belt free. Although, no matter how hard I tried, it wouldn’t wiggle loose just the right way. It stayed fastened, but luckily for me, Talon caught onto what I was trying to accomplish.
“You’re an eager one aren’t you?” he purred, rearing back onto his knees and sliding his belt out slowly.
I bit my lip coyly, nodding once.
Feeling courageous, I arched my back and slipped my shirt off, taking my bra with it so I was completely bare to him. My nipples were puckered into tight beads, and I didn’t have to check to know I was slick with my desire.
Talon let the leather run through the palm of his hand. An excited shiver rippled over me. Was he going to spank me? It wasn’t usually my preferred vice, yet seeing how in control of the situation Talon was, I’d definitely let him have a go at it. He looped the belt and smacked it against the open palm of his left hand. Instead of using it to bite into my flesh, he brought it up to my collar bone and made sure to keep the contact light. Slowly, Talon began to draw it southward over the tight bead atop my breast and down over the planes of my belly. I hissed, squirming under the attention. Every nerve ending was on high alert. The leather traced over my sensitive slit before he tossed it to the floor, withholding all touch. It was driving me wild.
He knew every right button to push to drive me higher than I’d ever thought possible. My fingers trailed under his shirt, working it upwards. Talon noticed my struggle and pulled it the rest of the way off, giving it a toss to join the other clothes on the floor. The tent the first time we’d been together had been dark, and I could feel rather than see the perfection that was Talon’s body. Seeing it in the light of the motel room, I realized how glorious he was, reminding me of one of those old Greek sculptures with his jeans slung low on his hips. His chest was covered in a smattering of fine light brown hair, trailing down to disappear beneath the waistband of his briefs.
My core was throbbing with the anticipation of his entrance. I didn’t think I could withstand any more foreplay.
“I need you, right now,” I groaned, sticking my bottom lip out in a pout.
“All you had to do was ask,” he replied with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Talon pushed his briefs down, unleashing his considerable cock to bounce freely with each beat of his heart. He took himself in hand and pumped quickly a few times. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. Scooting closer, the tip of his head bumped my slickened entrance. I bucked, trying to wriggle closer to him.
His lip was tucked between his teeth, and his eyes were glued to mine. I broke the stare first, glancing down at his hand which was still pumping furiously and grazing my sensitive folds with each jerk. A bead had formed on the tip of his dewy head. In a moment of boldness, I reached down and ran my finger over it and brought it to my lips. I licked his juices off my finger like it was the best treat in the world, and in that moment, it was. Salty and rich. Talon moaned, squeezing his eyes shut.
He fell forward onto his hands and lined himself up to take me. My hips were already rising to meet him, unable to wait any longer. He pushed forward a little, dipping into me an inch and then two. Talon would pull out and start it all over again, pushing in a little further each time.
“Shit,” I moaned when he finally buried himself to the hilt and stopped moving, giving me a second to adjust.
My walls stretched to accommodate him as he filled every bit of me; it was like I was made to fit him perfectly. Then, he really started to move. He pulled almost all the way out before driving himself home over and over again. The delicious friction was pushing me toward my climax faster than I ever had before. My fingernails dug into his flesh, trying to anchor me to something, anything.
Without warning, Talon gripped my hips and lifted me slightly. The new angle was different and oh so much deeper.
His lips latched onto my tight bud as he kneaded the other between his fingers. I cried out as he bit down just hard enough for it to sting. It was the perfect mix of pleasure and pain to make both more intense.
Talon worked himself in and out of me, grunting every time he bottomed out, and I’d squeeze my walls tightly around him. His fingers were holding me so tightly; I would swear it was going to leave bruises the next morning, but I didn’t care. He was swelling within me, nearing his own end. With a roar, he unleashed a flood of warmth into me, pushing me over the edge. Talon pounded into me, drawing my orgasm out and relishing every spasm he’d created.
Without ever pulling out of me, he pressed his lips to mine, kissing me with as much passion as he’d just had. Our lips melded together, working in sync like we had been doing it for a hundred years.
“Whoa,” I finally said, trying to catch my breath.
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Whoa.”
We stayed tangled, giving in to the need between us over and over again throughout the night. Both of us slipped into a deep sleep sometime early, just as the sun’s rays were beginning to peek over the horizon. I’d never been so happy and satisfied in my life, and I drifted off into a peaceful slumber, wrapped in Talon Becker’s arms.
Chapter 11
Talon
Blinding light shining into my closed eyes woke me from a sound sleep. I wiped the grit from my eyes and heard a rustling coming from the bathroom. I sat up, seeing the empty spot beside me in the bed.
“Gen?” I called, moving the sheet to make sure everything was covered.
The bathroom door swung open and Gen’s face popped out.
“Hey, sorry. I didn’t want to wake you. I’ve got to get to work,” she explained.
I turned, searching for the alarm clock.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Almost eight. I’ve got some reports to follow up on, and then I’ll get ahold of you. If you’re not too busy, maybe we could go check out a different area of the mountain?”
I nodded. “I have a shift later, but I would imagine assisting law enforcement would be considered an appropriate use of my shift.”
Glancing around, I spotted my clothes scattered on the floor. Scooting to the edge of the bed, I held the sheet around me and grabbed my clothes and began to get dressed. I didn’t even give any thought to the whitish scars crisscrossing my back. They were faded, and I never thought about them, but apparently Gen was seeing them for the first time.
“What happened?” she asked quietly, crossing the room.
I shrugged, there wasn’t much I could tell her. Not yet, not when everything was still uncertain. I hadn’t claimed Gen yet, and she was keeping her emotions tight to the vest.
“When I was young, a bald eagle took offense to me turning my back on him. He tore my back up pretty good,” I explained, pulling my shirt over my head.
“Damn. I didn’t know eagles could be that vicious,” Gen remarked.
Honey, you have no clue.
I grunted, not wanting to give too much away.
Before she could say more, Gen’s phone began to blare its shrill ring. She bolted for the bedside table where her phone sat plugged into the wall.
“Agent Mendoza,” she answered.
Gen listened carefully, and I could make out the Sherriff’s voice over the phone explaining that a woman in town had reported a man fitting André Tekin’s description at the gas station. He’d scared several of the locals who were convinced he was on drugs or just not right.
If only they knew what he really was I thought, seeing his white coat and midnight stripes lunging for me in the forest.
“All right, I’m on my way,” she said, ending the call.
Gen looked at me and tucked the phone into her pocket.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve really got to go. There’s been a sighting of a man fitting Tekin’s description.”
I nodded. “I understand. Go do what you need to do, and if it’s a dead end, then give me a call, and we can still go out for a hike and see what we can find.”
Her face lit up like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She crossed the space between us and threw her arms around me. My arms came up just in time to catch her.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ll call you.”
Gen pressed a quick kiss to my lips and bolted for the door, leaving me alone in the motel room.
Even after the night we’d had, she’d woken up bright eyed and tasting like cinnamon. Genevieve Mendoza was stunning all the way around.
I heard her truck roar to life and shift into gear as she left to tackle the André sighting. As I thought more about her case, the more it began to bother me. She didn’t know what she was dealing with. The crime aspect, yeah, she knew more than I did. Shifters though? She was clueless. André Tekin had proved to be reckless and unstable. It was the sort of insanity that would overtake a shifter who had never found his mate. His actions would be erratic, and having seen what he did to Jerry, I wouldn’t put it past him to shift in front of humans or attack Gen when she moved in.
I made sure I had everything and slipped out of the motel room. My mind was working in overdrive as I tried to think like a mad man. If I knew what he was going to do, I could make sure he couldn’t do it. Gen wanted him brought to justice, but caging an animal like that wouldn’t ever work. André Tekin would have to be put down; there was no way around it, and I didn’t think he was the type to go down without a fight. I spent the entirety of the drive back to my house thinking about where he’d den up. We’d covered all the areas that were obvious and even some that weren’t. Next trip out, we’d have to tackle the hard to reach spots.
I pulled into the clearing in front of my home, throwing the gear into park. Climbing out, I could feel a difference in the atmosphere. Something was wrong. I couldn’t quite place what the problem was, but the eagle had sensed danger and was waiting just below the surface to take flight. My vision became laser-focused on the front door of my home.
It was no longer shut tightly like it had been when I’d left, and the frame was slightly splintered. I couldn’t hear anything coming from inside the home, yet I was still hesitant to enter. Venturing closer, I stepped onto the porch steps and heard a click from behind me.
I spun, spotting the gleam of metal from the cover of ferns.
Just after hearing another faint click, a hard pinch dug into my left thigh as I was hit with something. I glanced down to see a red tranquilizing dart protruding from my leg. Grabbing ahold, I ripped it from my leg and tossed it to the ground. The contents of the dart were working fast. My eyes were growing heavy and thinking felt like I was trying to swim through pudding.
My knees gave out, no longer able to hold my weight up, and sent me to the ground. Every fiber of me became slogged down with the sedative cocktail, making my entire being feel like a lead weight. The world was spinning around me and began to slow to a crawl.
The scent of fur permeated the air. The shifter from the mountain strode out from the tree line, eyes glowing the bright gold of his animal.
“You were warned, little birdie,” he said as the drugs finally overcame my system.
Blackness enveloped me and pulled me down into its depths, shutting out the outside world.
Chapter 12
Gen
I kept replaying in my head the way Talon’s rough hands felt against my skin, his scratchy facial hair against my cheeks when he kissed me and even lower. Shit, I was getting hot and bothered just by thinking about him.
I turned off of the county road and onto the dirt road leading past Talon’s house. A lifted black Ford pickup truck was barreling down the road toward me.
It was the same description of the vehicle used in the kills I’d been investigating. I had a bad feeling, and I had long since learned to trust my gut. They were hauling ass for a reason.
I grabbed for my phone and pressed call as soon as the screen lit. Talon’s number had been my last c
all. His phone went straight to voicemail. I redialed, only to have the same result. Something wasn’t right. My foot pressed down on the brake, and pulling a sharp U-turn, I followed the truck.
It was rounding the corner I’d just come from. I kept my eyes focused on the truck, determined to end the month’s long chase we’d been on. There was no doubt they’d go after someone like Talon to make a point. He was just a guy against hardened criminals who were notorious for killing anyone who threatened their trade empire.
I was closing in, no more than a field’s length from their tailgate. The car swerved to the other lane before jerking back. What the hell was going on? Nothing was in the road to force them out of the lane. Something was definitely up, so I flipped on the light bar atop my truck. Red and blue flashed overhead, reflecting off the black paint back at me.
The driver tapped the brakes before speeding up and veering around the corner onto another paved road. I followed, staying back enough to be safe. There weren’t any driveways or side streets aside from the one behind us; the driver had to know the jig was up because he tapped the breaks again after nearly a quarter of a mile.
The truck rolled to a stop, not bothering to pull over to the roadside. I stopped several yards back, not wanting to get too close just in case.
The door was thrown open, and a behemoth of a man stepped out. His head was shaved close, almost like it was shaved clean and had started to grow back out. The man wore dark wash jeans and a light grey t-shirt despite the freezing temperatures.
I pulled my gun from the holster and raised it, pointing it directly at his center mass.
“Stop! Do not come any closer, or I will shoot. Put your hands up!” I commanded.
The man ignored me completely. It was the first time I’d ever seen his face.
“I said stop!” I yelled, moving my index finger to the trigger.
His hand slipped behind his back, and I pulled the trigger twice in quick succession. He went down, grabbing at his shoulder where I’d hit him an inch or two away from anything vital. A revolver skittered across the pavement, stopping a few feet away from where he laid groaning. Seeing the blood, I knew it was a good shot. It would wound the man enough to no longer pose a threat. Stepping closer, I moved to the weapon he’d discarded and kneeled down to grab it. Stuffing it into the rear waistband of my jeans, I looked the man over. Definitely not life threatening. I grabbed for the phone I’d stuffed into my back pocket and dialed the Sherriff, keeping my weapon trained on the injured man.
Fly Me Home (Rescue Squad Shifters Book 1) Page 11
