by Brenda Bryce
“Donovan, Amalee is on her way to help the female, but it may take a couple of hours. How about taking her somewhere safe until the doctor gets here?” His hunter was acting very protective of the female, and he didn’t want to get into an argument over her care. Which was entirely possible, he thought, given that Donovan was literally hovering over the small red wolf. He wondered if she could be ... Donovan would know, wouldn’t he?
Donovan nodded and turned to speak with the wolf gently. “Let’s get you to a safe place.”
Chrys nodded and tried to stand. She trusted him and didn’t know why. She fell with a thump and looked at Donovan with wide eyes, shocked that it was so hard to stand.
The extremely dark, extremely large man smiled gently and reached for her. “It will take a little practice to learn to walk while you are like this, but don’t worry about it right now. I will carry you to the house.” He looked down at her lying in his arms. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Softly she growled out, No, I don’t mind.
He carried her off into the woods, each staring into the other’s eyes.
Lannie watched the pair until they were out of sight and turned to Kyle, eyebrows raised to her forehead.
“Well, what was that all about?”
Kyle shook his head as if he wondered the same thing. “He said that the female was Pete’s mate, but I wonder ...” He shook his head again. “Makes a body think.”
“Since I have no clue as to what you are trying to not get at, I don’t know what I’m supposed to think about.” She glanced over at the body and shuddered. “Do we have to stay here with him? It is truly grossing me out.”
He laughed at her expression, then approached her and wrapped his arms around her. Kissing her forehead, he murmured into her hair. “No, we can go around the bend and wait for the sheriff to get here.”
She sighed, and they did just that.
Sooner than she would have thought, Ross Kendricks came barreling up the path, listened to Kyle’s story, and went to investigate the body.
“The scene looks just as you described it. The area surrounding the body suggests he lost a fight with a branch, and the only footprints around are those of a woman, you, and an animal. The other male didn’t come near the body, so he wasn’t the branch wielder. I’m going to need to speak with the woman, but if you can identify the body as that of the killer, this case is just about wrapped up.”
“Thank the gods.” Lannie settled into Kyle’s arms and held him tight.
Epilogue
A few days later, Kyle found Lannie lying in the tub, soaking, and decided to join her.
Leisurely, he stripped out of his business suit and climbed into the tub behind her. “Ahh, it is good to be home.”
He’d been in the city for the day, taking care of pack business. It was tiring, but he had gotten a week’s worth of work done in that time. He had wanted to get it over with and return to his mate. “I missed you so damned much.”
Lannie laid her head against his chest. “I missed you, too.”
“Never again. I won’t leave here again without you. You’re just going to have to come with me next time.”
“Okay.”
“That’s my girl. How have you been taking care of the cub here while I was gone?” He rubbed his large hand against her lower abdomen.
“I have been taking care of our baby just fine, thank you. I had French vanilla ice cream with bananas, and later I had a cheeseburger with the works and french fries at the diner. All the important food groups: dairy, fruit, meat, bread, and vegetables.”
He grunted. “You call that a healthy diet? I see I’m going to have to monitor your intake of junk food very carefully. Good thing I can cook. It’ll save time by just making the healthy stuff myself.” He ran his fingers lightly through the hair at the apex of her thighs and pulled gently in reprimand.
“Hey!” She let out a yelp, then moaned as he found and began to manipulate the bundle of nerves with his fingertip. “Oh, gods, that feels good.”
He slid his other hand down her body, plunged two fingers into her sheath, and brought her to the edge of climax with just his hands. He ran his mouth along her neck and shoulder and bit down.
Lannie cried out, trying to get closer to the hard-on at her back, but he controlled her very well with his hands.
“Please, Kyle, I need you inside me.”
“Yess,” he hissed and pulled his hands from her pussy. He lifted her by the waist and plunged her down on his cock as hard as he could.
She squealed and wiggled until his cock reached her cervix, and then she used her thigh muscles to lift herself off him and slam herself right back down on his thrusting cock. She rode him fast and furiously, water overflowing the tub and splashing on the floor.
Kyle kept her climax going by holding her hips and slamming up into her, over and over, until he reached his own climax. He grunted as he filled her with his come and held her pressed tightly to him to receive it all.
He relaxed his hold on her hips when she went boneless against him, and he pulled her tightly into his chest.
“I love you so damned much, Lannie.”
“Oh, Kyle, I love you with all my heart and soul,” Lannie breathed, hot and sated against his neck.
“Never leave me again, woman. I would die inside.”
Lannie looked into his eyes and saw the sincerity and love shining there. No matter how their relationship had started, she knew that he would never hurt her again. Not physically and not mentally. They had spoken at great length about their lives and themselves and how they wanted the future to be. Trust had grown, and nothing would be able to shake that trust ever again.
She settled comfortably on his body, relaxing completely, and sighed. Occasionally she worried about a few unanswered questions about the murderer. Was there only one creature doing the killing and stalking, or were there two? And if there were two, where was the second being? Also, how and why did the scent that Donovan Vitello was following change? Lastly, and probably most importantly, what was the killer doing with the heads and where did they go? No one was asking these questions, and they were starting to bother her just a little bit. She was going to have to ask Kyle if Donovan was still on the case. But for now ...
For now, she was looking forward to the future when she had her baby and Kyle would become a papa. She smiled as she imagined him holding a small, dark-haired baby and how protective he would be of that baby. Knowing he would be a real animal when it came to the protection of that baby -- and of herself -- gave her all the peace she hadn’t had from their relationship before.
Her statues had done well at the exhibit, and she had more orders than she could handle. Ingrid wanted to set up another showing, but Lannie had demurred until after the baby was born. The agent had thought it over, then realized new mommies were always in vogue and was already deep in planning.
Lannie was more comfortable in her wolf form as well. She was more able to control the change now and since the house always smelled of Kyle’s pheromones -- the horn dog -- she only had to be inside to initiate the change from wolf to human. It was fun to run in the woods as a wolf, experiencing everything in that form. Talk about freedom. Well, freedom from everything except Kyle, and she never wanted to be without him again.
Kyle rubbed her abdomen, seeming to read her thoughts and seconded her vow. “You’ll never be without me again. Ever. I’m moving pack headquarters here. I told the pack heads we’re going Nowhere, which they thought was funny and a great idea. It’s settled.”
Lannie sighed and settled against him again.
“Good.”
Brenda Bryce
Brenda Bryce has been married to the same wonderful man for half her life. He gave her three children during that time.
As time passed and the children grew, Brenda took up writing to give her a little “me” time. She also loves crochet and knitting and reads to the dismay of her husband, who is tired of tripping over piles
of books and yarn.
She spent 4 years in the U.S. Army when she was young and is very proud to have served her country.
As a transplant to Southern California she has learned to love the desert and 100+ degree heat - it is a “dry” heat, you know - and the sunsets are worth it.
Visit Brenda on the Web at www.brendabryce.com.
