Shifter’s Surrender

by Jennifer Dellerman

  His face turned into a scowl. “It’s not my temper. It’s this damn mating heat.”

  “Uh huh.” She so didn’t believe that for a second. Part of it sure, but she had a feeling there were other contributing factors to the rage he bottled up. Namely, whatever had caused that impression on his ankle. Being chained up would cause anyone to have anger issues.

  “So, go retrieve my coffee, put on your mayor face,” she patted his cheek, “and let’s get going.”

  Dean squinted at her. “You really should show some respect, woman. I’m a dangerous shifter. Alpha of the largest pack in the United States. A little fear is healthy.”

  Kaylie shrugged, noting that, while his words might seem a warning, his tone and stance were no longer screaming Danger, Will Robinson. In fact, if she didn’t mistake it, the slits of green that peered out from his face held a glint of relief, and maybe a bit of appreciation.

  She gave him a fake yawn. “Color me awed. Now hustle that gorgeous ass of yours. We’re burning daylight.”

  At that his eyes rolled up in exasperation and she knew the danger had passed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The ride to Kitchell Cave took only fifteen minutes, much of it over bumpy and sandy earth. Kaylie and Dean were in the spacious backseat of the Jeep with Peter and Julie. Julie chatted nearly non-stop the whole way. Kaylie knew from experience that it wasn’t nerves, it was all Julie. The other woman, while kind, vibrated with so much energy that she at times bugged even easy-going Kaylie. It amused Kaylie to no end when Dean sent the younger woman another exasperated glare. She had to smother her chuckle as Julie prattled on about some movie she and Pete had seen the night before. Kaylie hadn’t seen the movie yet, and didn’t need to now since Julie had provided enough explicit details and commentaries to rival professional movie reviewers.

  When they finally reached the caverns Dean all but jumped out of the jeep. Grinning openly, Kaylie unsnapped the rear canvas top and whistled before he could stride away. “Here, boy.”

  At his glare she pursed her lips together and made a kissing sound. Dean dropped his head, shaking it. But he finally moved up to her as Pete and Julie came around the vehicle.

  “Belt,” Pete said, reaching in and then handing her said item. “Gloves and helmets for both of you.” Dean held the later items as Kaylie put on the belt underneath her fanny pack. He raised one dark brow at the bright yellow helmets with attached flashlight.

  “Pretty, huh?” Kaylie said, taking one helmet out of his hand and popping it on her head. “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. Kinigos.” She batted her eyes coquettishly at him.

  Dean’s lips twitched. “You are so odd.”

  “Yes, but I’m an adorable odd.”

  “That’s debatable.”

  Kaylie yanked the other helmet out of his hands and plunked it down on Dean’s head, giving it a hard push for good measure. “Safety first.”

  Dean scowled. “And the point of these?”

  Kaylie put on the gloves, motioning for Dean to do the same. “To protect your head from any falling debris. The attached light allows you to see where you’re going while leaving your hands free. Gloves protect your hands from sharp rocks, bugs, and anything else yucky in the caves. The belt holds a secondary flashlight, a rope to which we attach one end to an anchor in the main cavern and use as a guide for getting back, a walkie talkie, and other odds and ends.”

  Dean eyed the belt. “Is all that really necessary?”

  Kaylie gave him a raised eyebrow for raised eyebrow. “Some of us don’t see as well in the dark as others and the farther back you go, the less light there is. Some of us can get hurt easier than others, and some of us take every human precaution as possible.”

  Dean pulled on the gloves with obvious reluctance. “I get it already. So what if something happens to the rope while you’re in the caverns?”

  They moved toward the mouth of the cave where the others already gathered. “What do you mean?”

  Dean shrugged. “Say it gets unhooked from the anchor or frays in half from friction against one of those sharp rocks you were talking about. You could drag around ten feet of rope behind you even though you’ve gone fifty. How do you know which way is out?”

  Kaylie snapped open a small container attached to the belt and held out a neon pink piece of chalk. “I also use this. For backup.”

  Once again Dean shook his head, this time grinning in admiration. “You think of everything.”

  “Not really.” She flashed Dean a sheepish smile. “Back in high school a bunch of us got lost in one of the larger caves called Maze’s Cavern. There were, are, so many dead-end crevices and tunnels that turn back onto each other that it took hours to find a way out. We were smart enough to bring chalk to mark our path, but because everyone had white chalk, and no one knew which way they were going, we ended up with arrows pointing in all different directions. I not only use this color, which shows up quite nicely under any light, but I also put my initials next to the arrow so I know which indicator is mine.”

  They reached the others by the time Kaylie finished her explanation and Pete snickered with brotherly affection. “Pink is such a girly color.”

  “Because black shows up so well.”

  “Hey,” Pete held out his hands. “I only did that once.”

  Dean even laughed with the others at that.

  “So the four of us,” Pete pointed to himself, Julie, his brother Stephen, and his sister-in-law Meg, “want to go to Wester’s End. Meg wants to take some photos and copy down some wall etchings for the anthropology class she’s taking online.”

  “It’s for my paper that’s due in a few weeks.”

  Stephen slung an arm over his wife’s shoulder. “More like a month. But that’s my woman. Proactive instead of reactive. Well. Most of the time.” He bussed her cheek and she flushed to the roots of her light brown hair, giving Kaylie an idea of what she was mostly reactive about.

  “Yes, well. Uhm.”

  Pete grinned and, saving Meg, said “And I want to take Julie to Markum’s Well which is a short distance behind Western End. There’s something there I want to show her.” Pete shot Kaylie a hard look and she had to stifle a giggle. Kaylie knew good and well what Pete wanted to show Julie, and it wasn’t the four-foot dry well. On second thought, Pete will probably introduce Julie to the rock ledge of the well.

  Kaylie nearly snorted at that and had to clamp down on her lips. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Dean giving her a quizzical look but she only shook her head.

  “Doesn’t that sound so interesting? I’ve never been in a cave before so I hope I’m dressed warm enough.” Julie started the prattle again and Kaylie, though she wasn’t looking at him, could almost see Dean’s eyes begin to glaze over. “Pete says the well is dry. Oh. How funny is that?”

  Dean cleared his throat. “That’s fine. Kaylie wanted to show me Maze’s Cavern.”

  Pete groaned. “Better bring more chalk.”

  “Hey!” Kaylie retorted indignantly.

  “I’m kidding. Anchor up boys and girls. Meet back here in two hours unless there’s a problem or you get bored.”

  Everyone, except Julie who didn’t wear a watch, noted the time. Then Pete, Kaylie and Stephen hooked the end of their leader ropes to the various main anchors hammered into the hard granite walls next to their respective cavern of choice, and they all set off.

  The entrance leading to the Maze Cavern was narrow and Dean took the lead so he wouldn’t get caught up in Kaylie’s rope. The morning light quickly faded into blackness and Kaylie switched the light on her helmet. When Dean didn’t follow suit she asked, “Can you really see in total darkness?”

  “It’s not completely dark. There’s actually a dim bluish glow. It’s quite interesting. But to answer your question, no, shifters can’t see in total darkness. But even during the new moon there’s light from the stars. I don’t recall ever needing a flashlight to see before.”

  “Huh.
So all your senses are superior to humans?”

  “Mmm. But not as strong as when we’re in wolf form. Our eyesight is actually the weakest sense in human form, our smell the strongest.”

  Kaylie winced, thinking about some scents she’d caught over her lifetime, and wished she hadn’t. “That can’t always be pleasant.”

  Dean snorted. “A couple years ago two of the three trash pick-up trucks broke down, in the middle of a rare summer heat-wave. About three-fourths of the shifter population became ill just from the scent of rotting garbage. Now we’ve got five trucks that go in for monthly service, no matter what. None of us want a repeat of that.”

  They entered a small cavern. “Is this it?”

  Kaylie looked around, her light bouncing off the jagged walls. “No. I forget the name of this one, but there’s another passageway over there that leads to Maze’s Cavern.” She dug out her chalk and drew a thick arrow with her initials on the wall at eye level.

  Dean grunted and set off in the direction Kaylie indicated. “So you’ve been here a lot then?”

  “Not a lot, no. Once in high school and three times since. The last time was just over a year ago. Pete and his father were taking a tour group through Wester’s End, and I tagged along. Jack, Pete’s father, had some interesting tidbits of information on the wall etchings and then took us back all the way through those caverns. Anyway, the tour ended abruptly for Pete and me when I ripped one of my gloves on the granite ledge that partially surrounds Markum’s Well and cut my palm pretty good. Pete had to take me to the clinic. He was so pissed.”

  Dean stopped and turned back to her, anger on his face. “Because he had to leave the damn tour early?”

  Kaylie shook her head. “No. Because I’d turned down the use of his special caving gloves,” Kaylie made air quotes around caving and turned her hands, palm up. “Like these. I didn’t think I needed them. Turns out they’re made of some heavy duty material, stronger and harder to tear then the ones I had and would have probably saved me fifteen stitches.”

  Dean reached for her hand, turning it over and back again. Then he covered her gloved hand with his bare one. When had he taken his gloves off? “That’s why he was holding your hand at the game.”

  “Huh?” Kaylie sent her mind into rewind. “Oh. Our softball game. Yes. Hey! That means you were there.”

  “Of course I was there.” His eyes narrowed against the beam of her light and she tilted her face higher, causing the light to shine over his head. “I picked you up off the field after that bitch knocked you out.”

  Kaylie scratched her nose with her free hand as Dean was currently rubbing the palm of her left one with his thumb. There was something a little too personal, too forceful in his tone. “So, ah, are you calling her that because she’s a female dog or because she’s a mean female?”

  He barked out a quick laugh. “Both actually.”

  “So you know her?”

  His eyes captured hers, the green gleaming with heat. But a heat of what kind? Kaylie swallowed.

  “I knew her before you moved back to Woodcliff, Kaylie. Leave it at that.”

  Kaylie yanked her hand back. “It’s left.”

  A huge sigh escaped his lips. “Look. She thought she could manipulate me for her own purposes and when I declined, she didn’t take it well.”

  “So why did she take her anger out on me?”

  His head tilted slightly. “I’m sure I don’t know.”

  That sounded like a lie. “Why am I not believing that?”

  Another sigh. “I have an idea but since I don’t have confirmation I can’t say for sure.”

  “And leave it at that?”

  He grinned, and it went all the way to his eyes. Sometimes, okay always, when he graced her with such an expression it just made her want to melt. He took her chin in his hand and kissed her. No tongue, dammit, but a nice solid lip crushing kiss. “Something like that.”

  She blinked as he walked away. Something like what? Oh. That’s right. Leave the subject of his ex alone. Because really, would she want to talk about her exes with Dean? Not.

  But she did want to know what was up with that kiss. Kaylie licked her lips, tasting him. And how soon before she could have another?

  “Are you coming?” Dean called back to her.

  Kaylie eyed his retreating back and sighed with longing. “Not yet, but I’m hopeful.”

  “Kaylie?”

  “Right behind you.” She hurried across the cavern and entered the secondary passageway that led to Maze’s Cavern. Dean was pretty far in front of her but she was fine with that. She needed some time to gather her hormones together.

  With her hands trailing over the amazingly smooth walls on either side of her, she picked her steps carefully, making her way slowly through the narrow rock corridor. She could no longer see Dean so she picked up the pace.

  Then she entered the cavern, she nearly forgot about Dean as she marveled at the various stalagmites rising from the floor. While she hadn’t forgotten about them, she was amazed at how large they’d become in eight years. She looked up and let out a breath in awe at the stalactites reaching down from the ceiling.

  She paused long enough to draw another chalk arrow on the wall and then spend several minutes wandering through the stalagmites and getting her rope caught up. Then she spent several more retracing her steps. When Dean hadn’t reappeared by the time she straightened the lead rope out she called his name. “Dean?”

  Her first thought was that he’d lost his way or had fallen down some unknown hole. He could very well be hurt or unconscious, or both. Trying not to panic she called his name again, her voice reverberating off the walls. She waited for what seemed like an eon, holding absolutely still, straining to hear a footfall, a groan or anything from Dean. When only silence met her ears her heart began to pound. She crept a few steps farther into the cavern and moved around a particularly large stalagmite. Twisting in a slow circle, she scanned the area as best she could, the beam from the helmet light didn’t provide enough visibility to see into the far reaches of the cavern. The darkness felt cloying, and a shiver of fear raced down her spine. To her vivid imagination, the once magical stalactites and stalagmites suddenly seemed like razor sharp teeth. Teeth that had gobbled Dean up and were now anxiously awaiting a second course.

  Chapter Fourteen

  A slight noise from her left had her spinning around, and then spinning again, the beam bouncing off the walls in an eerie play of shadows as the muffled sound echoed throughout the large cavern.

  “Dean, where are you? Answer me or I’m leaving you!”

  Nothing. After another minute of creepy silence Kaylie had had enough. She needed the others, and a wall at her back. She once again reeled in the slack of her lead rope as she made her way toward the passage. Once there she reached for the walkie-talkie and brought it to her lips. Just as she was about to press the talk button, another sound, almost a rumble came from her left.

  She was so out of there!

  As she turned to head back through the tunnel a large hand covered her mouth and another wrapped around her waist in an unbreakable hold.

  “You’re mine now,” came a guttural whisper.

  Terrified, Kaylie immediately fought back, digging her short nails into the hand over her mouth and using the walkie as a blunt instrument to knock whatever flesh she could reach. She heard a satisfying thunk as it connected, and then came a pained curse. “Christ! Hold still you little witch.”

  She froze, her nostrils flaring as she drew air in through her nose. She knew that voice and that scent. And by the way her nipples were tightening into hard buds of excitement, she knew that hard body pressing into her back. Her mind might have not recognized Dean right away, but her body had.

  “Mmff, nu massrd.” Muffled as her words were under his hand, Kaylie had a feeling Dean understood she’d just called him a bastard by his response.

  He chuckled low, brushing his lips along the side of her neck.
Goosebumps rose on her flesh and she stifled a moan. Pissed she might be, but she was also relieved he was okay, and if that hardness digging into her ass was any indication, very aroused. She muttered again and he removed his hand, only to lower it to cup a breast as if he owned it.

  Sucking in a gasp at the possessive touch, she scowled over her shoulder, unable to see a damn thing in the dark as the helmet had fallen in the short scuffle, extinguishing the light. “What the hell were you doing?” She hissed.

  “Stalking you,” he said, no remorse in his tone. “And since I caught you, I get to do whatever I want.”

  “I don’t, ohh …” Her protest died as the arm around her waist dropped and he cupped her mound. He removed the hand from her breast just for the length of time it took to tunnel under all her clothes and reattach to bare flesh. When he strummed his thumb over her nipple, liquid heat flashed through her, soaking her panties.

  He growled low and arched his hips into her ass. “You’re scent has been driving me crazy all morning.” His teeth nipped the rapid pulse at her neck.

  “S-so,” she gasped, all anger and terror replaced by greedy arousal. “What are you going to do about it?”

  “Mmm.” He angled his head and sucked her earlobe. Her thighs quivered in response. “I’m going to fuck you senseless.”

  She let out a surprised squeak. “Here?”

  “Anywhere I can get you. Put your hands on the wall and don’t move.” He ordered.

  Part of her wanted to argue against his dominant attitude, but another part of her thrilled to his command. She slapped her hands on the wall with a bit more eagerness than she would have liked, but she was so aroused she couldn’t stop herself.

  “Good girl.” Dean praised her. She felt his face against the top of her head and could only imagine that he was smelling her hair. A simple act that seemed so erotic, she closed her eyes and let out a little whimper.

  He unbuttoned her jeans and slid one hand inside and under the waist band of her cotton thong, his movements sure as he made a beeline for her dripping folds.