She broke away from the kiss, her heart hammering. “I’m not…” she struggled to catch her breath.
Every time she grasped something she wanted for herself, it crumbled between her fingers. This, too, would fall apart if she let it become anything more than it was in that moment. With her life quickly spiraling out of control, Kaylee wasn’t sure she could handle the destruction of whatever was trying to grow between them.
Gage’s fingers tightened for a moment before they relaxed. He opened his eyes to reveal a fire in them, one that must have burned like hers. She couldn’t explain her need to touch him, to run her hands over his skin. She couldn’t deny it, either. It pulled her in, aching until she gave in to it.
“I’m not looking for forever,” she managed to warn him.
Hurt flashed through his eyes. There and then gone. Kaylee wanted to say something, to fix what she’d just done, but he didn’t give her the chance.
“Then we make this for now.” The sparkle in his eyes returned. It glimmered and danced. “How about we…” His fingers trailed down her skin until she shivered in his grasp. “Do this for fun?”
“Yes,” was the only word she could bring to her lips. It fell out in a hushed whisper.
He rolled them over, the cool stone against her back. It made her arch into him. She gripped his corded arms, nails biting into skin. He growled above her, but his touch was gentle. He seemed to explore her body before taking her. His nose grazed the skin of her neck while her core throbbed and begged for more.
Chapter Six
His fingertips slipped down her spine. Their eyes met a moment before his head dipped and his mouth claimed a nipple. The sound of the water crashing against the rocks filled her ears to the time of her racing heart.
She let her fingers explore his skin. They trailed over the lines between his muscles, feeling the hard potential beneath them. She wrapped her fingers around his arms and arched her body into his. Her core throbbed and ached. It demanded the cock that brushed between her bare legs. His hips would rock and graze the sensitive part of her, sending a thrill up her spine.
His tongue flicked over her nipple, making her let out a small moan. There was no one around to hear them so Kaylee didn’t hold back. The moan grew as his mouth worked, the throbbing need in her growing heavier and heavier. His hand closed around her other breast, thumb passing over the sensitive nipple before pinching it between his fingers.
She could barely contain the sensations she was feeling. Gage laughed at the sounds slipping from her, a laugh of pride that lowered into a possessive growl.
“Gage,” she whispered. She couldn’t remember the last time her body felt like this, every nerve alight with sparkling fireworks. It was as if she’d become a new being altogether.
Well, she had. Kaylee looked at the man above her. She reached up to touch the multi-colored scruff growing along his jaw. Grabbing it, she pulled his head up so she could study his face. His eyes were dark, and his lips were plump, the look he gave her making her heart thump.
She pulled his lips to hers, bending so that her other hand could find what she wanted. Her fingers wrapped around his cock and he groaned into her mouth. He deepened the kiss as her grip tightened, pushing her to the ground.
“This won’t be much fun if you want to rush everything,” Gage said with a sly smile, even though she could tell he was trying to control himself. “If you keep going like that on my cock, I’ll be done before I can even get inside you.”
“Is that so?” she asked, mimicking his smile.
His eyes turned wary, but didn’t lose that spark of adventure. She tightened her grip on Gage’s cock and began to stroke him. She watched his eyes roll back and felt a small amount of satisfaction begin to grow inside her.
“Two can play that game,” he growled moments before his fingers slipped inside her.
Kaylee cried out in surprise. She bit her lip and tried to keep control of her body as it threatened to give in to the man above her. Her hand began to relax, to lose its rhythm, but she caught herself. Long and hard strokes were punctuated by the pulse of pleasure building inside her. His fingers found the spot inside her that tripled the sensation and made her smother a scream in his shoulder.
He laughed in response, but as she quickened her strokes, his laugh turned into a groan. Both of them were close. She could feel it in the way his body tensed above her. Her own pleasure built, the heavy sensation like a cup ready to spill over. The cup wobbled precariously, sending shocks in every direction, but didn’t spill.
“I’m going to come,” Gage growled.
She smiled, but felt her own orgasm reach when he slammed his fingers deep. She arched her back as the wave took her, just as his orgasm peaked. He spilled out over the skin of her stomach, warm and wet.
Kaylee struggled to catch her breath as the waves continued to spill through her. Her fingers tingled and her toes curled. Above her hovered Gage and the clear open sky. For once, all the sounds and smells vanished. All she knew were those two things.
Eventually, he rolled off her and lay on the cold stone. His eyes dropped to the mess he’d made on her stomach and his lips twisted to the side. She could see the worry on his face, but she shook her head.
“I got you off with only my hand,” she said, waving the hand in question before using it to point to the cum on her skin. “This is the mark of success.”
He flashed her a broad, nearly wolfish, grin. No, not wolfish. Bearish? She tried not to think about words as she moved toward the water of the creek to wash herself off. Gage’s eyes clung to her skin, following her as she waded into the water. It was cold, but not as cold as she’d expected. She suspected that had to do with whatever she’d become.
She turned back to Gage, who lay on his side with his head in his hand as he watched her. “What do you call… whatever we are?”
“Shifters because, you know, we shift from one form to another.”
“That’s awfully creative,” she snarked, splashing cold water in his direction.
It hit his face and washed over him, making him pause as he fought against his laughter. Kaylee enjoyed watching the droplets of water bead and roll across his muscles. She had to admit, the man was chiseled from the same stone as the ancient gods. It was hard to pull her gaze away.
“I don’t make this shit up,” Gage informed her. “It’s what we’ve always been called.”
Kaylee nodded and waded back toward the rock so she could dry off in the sunlight. The chilly spring air didn’t bother her as she laid beside Gage’s big form. His thick arm fell over her waist and drew her closer.
“Are you from Stonefall?”
She shook her head. “No. I was just visiting.”
“That’s a dumb question considering I knew you were staying at the bed and breakfast.”
She shrugged and used it as an excuse to snuggle into him. She could tell herself as much as she wanted that it was all for fun, that they would explore each other’s bodies and bring release to the stress riding them both, but she could feel the animal stirring inside her. It looked at him with an unexpected adoration.
“I guess I should have asked, what brought you to Stonefall?”
Her shoulders deflated. “I just needed a vacation.”
She could tell he didn’t buy her words, but she wasn’t going to explain further. There was no point. If she wasn’t going to stay in his life, if he wasn’t going to stay in hers, there was no reason to dig any deeper into one another. As sexy as the man behind her was, she knew he was only helping her learn to handle the new animal inside her.
A series of howls lit through the woods around them. Gage shot to his feet, leaving Kaylee confused and alone on the ground. The sound was familiar, but it echoed from every direction and made her want to clamp her hands over her ears. Her animal rose, looking out her eyes. It recognized the sound and was caught in a moment of confusion.
Kaylee’s heart shuddered. With everything that happened, she
’d forgotten to ask about the people at the grocery store. She should have asked where they were. She should have been more afraid. Instead, she’d been wrapped up in her little bubble of problems.
“Can you change again?” Gage asked, his voice low and tight.
The sound of it sent a ripple of fear through her. The coyote inside her thrashed, demanding to run. Unable to speak, she nodded. She didn’t have to think about it; the coyote wanted out.
“Good. Change. Now.” His eyes grew cold as they scanned the field around them.
Kaylee scrambled to her feet, heart pounding in a frantic rhythm. Memories of the shifters at the grocery store returned to her. Their snarling smiles full of sharp teeth and the pain that followed flooded her mind. The coyote threw itself from side to side, screaming to be free.
Her body bent, fire flaring through her bones and joints as the animal forced its way out. The pain threw her back to the ground. She fell onto her hands and knees, crying against the pain.
“Don’t fight it,” Gage whispered to her, his voice bearing the edge of panic. It made her turn her head and look at him. Wide eyes, filled with concern, watched her from where he was caught in his own transformation. He’d paused his own to comfort her.
It gave her the strength to try this again. This time, she imagined opening a gate. The coyote rushed out of it and the shift flowed over her body. Beside her, a grizzly bear towered in the clearing. He reared back on his hind legs and roared into the open sky. It was a warning for all to hear.
Yet, the howls crept closer and closer. With her coyote ears, she could tell which direction the howls came from. She did the only thing she could think of; Kaylee darted in the opposite direction.
The thundering footfalls of Gage echoed behind her as he followed. The howls closed in on them, every moment bringing them closer. Her heart shoved itself into her throat and her chest burned with the effort it took to run.
The howls sounded from nearly every direction around them, but her coyote could hear the song they sang. It was one of the hunt, vicious and excited. She was one small creature in the face of a pack and it terrified her. She had to trust that the bear behind her would protect her.
But the pack surrounded them. Gage might have been bigger and stronger than the coyotes, but together they could spell trouble. Kaylee ran, the coyote in her working through the song the pack was singing. Realization shot through her.
She could tell the location of the pack. The song they sang together was to help each other as they hunted, but they must not have expected another coyote. Kaylee veered to the right. Behind her, Gage struggled to turn, dirt clods flying through the air as he slid into his turn. If he was confused, he didn’t say anything. That, or she couldn’t hear his growls through the thumping of her heart in her ears.
Either way, she knew where she was going. There was a small gap in the coyotes just ahead. She threw her head back and joined in the song as if she were part of the hunt. It flowed from her as if she always knew the notes. The coyote knew. It told them she was closing in on the bear.
They responded with howls of victory, just as they slipped through the gap. She let the song die in her throat. Excitement tingled through her body. She’d done that. She’d helped them escape the Pack.
Chapter Seven
“You should have killed him,” Gage growled at his brother.
Archer was in no mood to listen to him. He leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest, but at the sound of Gage’s words, his arms fell to his sides and he stalked forward.
“You want me to sink to Killian’s level? You want me to become a killer?”
All he’d been able think of when the pack howled around them was Kaylee. Her safety had been his first concern and the fear that he couldn’t protect her terrified him. He’d been unable to think straight while thinking about what the pack of feral shifters might do if they caught up to them. It filled him with a red rage, the kind he’d only ever seen in Cohen’s bear.
“If you aren’t going to do it,” Gage began, “I’ll hunt the bastard down and do it myself.”
“Like hell you will.”
“If we don’t put him down, there will never be safety for anyone! Joanna’s pack of submissives will never be safe. What’s left of the Vancourt Pack won’t be safe. Killian is a threat to everyone around him.”
Archer shook his head.
His stance on the subject was driving Gage mad. They’d been lucky Kaylee had been a quick thinker. She’d tricked the coyotes with her howl, making them think she was one of them so they could slip away unnoticed. He certainly hadn’t been up to thinking in that moment.
Kaylee sat sideways in a kitchen chair, one arm slung over the back as if she’d twisted in her seat to watch them argue. When Archer looked at her, Gage wanted to plant himself between them.
“How do we know she wasn’t always part of Killian’s pack?” Archer jerked his head in Kaylee’s direction. “She could be here to bring us to him one by one.”
Her jaw dropped, and Gage felt the heat of anger flare through him. He spun on his brother, putting himself in the shifter’s face. Archer’s lips curled back from his teeth.
“When I found her, she could barely walk. You said it yourself that one of Killian’s feral shifters infected a woman. Why are you questioning her now?”
Archer stepped toward his brother until their chests bumped one another. He fixed Gage with a glare, trying to force the shifter to back down, but Gage was part of no hierarchy. He was his own man and Archer’s position in Joanna’s pack meant nothing to him.
“Please don’t fight over me,” Kaylee said, her voice quiet. “I can go home. I mean, I really should.”
The idea of her leaving made the bear roar in his ears. The bear demanded she stay at his side. She couldn’t leave him. He wouldn’t allow it. Gage knew what he was thinking was wrong. Kaylee was her own woman, with her own life, but the thought of her leaving twisted him inside.
Everyone left, he reminded himself. He should be used to it by now. Cohen and Archer had left him. She would, too. There was a life she needed to go back to, one that didn’t involve him.
Gage grabbed a nearby chair and flung it against the wall. The chair crumpled into a heap of shattered legs. Kaylee watched him with alarm in her eyes. The look hurt him, but he turned away from it. He couldn’t look at her. Not right now.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Archer called after him.
“I’m going to hunt some coyotes!”
He heard Archer’s bedraggled sigh just as he slammed the door behind him. He wanted to roar, to shake the earth and feel it break in the same way he was falling apart inside. Ahead, the copse of beaten and torn trees stood, evidence of Archer’s meltdown.
It’s been a while since any of the Vancourt Pack members had tried to sneak in to kill their father in his sleep. Perhaps sending them home with their feet up their asses had taught them a lesson, but Gage half wished someone would try again just so he would have someone to take out his pain and aggression on.
When would the world stop stealing from him? He had nothing other than his brothers when he was younger. When Sampson Vancourt threatened Archer, he hadn’t thought twice about following his brother. Neither had Cohen, but not long after they’d been kicked out, Cohen disappeared. He took a trucking job and never came home. The dejection had crippled Gage. What had once been fun had turned into a cry of rebellion, a release. He played small pranks around their apartment, but once Archer got sick of him, he took it outside the house. Those shenanigans grew and grew until it was the only way Gage knew how to speak.
Unable to punch anyone in the face, Gage stomped toward the shed in the backyard. He threw the door open and searched through the mess of random stuff until he found what he was looking for.
“What are you doing in here?” a familiar, female voice asked.
Gage’s stomach tightened. Pain and longing fought a very loud war inside him. Instead o
f responding through the chaos, he focused on his mission. He pushed past Kaylee. Her eyes followed him as he stomped toward the front lawn.
“Hey, you didn’t answer me!”
Unfortunately, Archer had returned the white SUV rental he’d been driving around. It would have been funnier if he’d kept the rental a little longer, but the truck he was now driving would have to suffice. Setting down the can of neon orange spray paint, he took the metal bar in his other hand and threaded it through the steering wheel, bending it so that it formed a lock.
Satisfied, he bent to pick up the spray paint can just as Kaylee appeared. Her arms were folded across her chest.
“You know… I understand why he didn’t kill that man.”
Gage’s lip curled. He shook the can, trying to drown out everything he felt with the sound of the clinking metal ball.
“Your brother wanted to be on the side of good. Can you blame him for that?”
“And I want to know my family is safe. Can you blame me?” Gage snapped. The spray paint can hovered over the truck, but he drew a blank.
“I’m sure Archer and your other brother can hold their own,” Kaylee said with a nervous laugh. When he glanced back, he found her looking away from him. She stared off, something else passing through her gaze.
He couldn’t tell her he thought of her as family. There was a life she wanted to get back to. She said it herself, in the kitchen, that she should get back to it soon. That life had little to do with him or the feelings he had for her.
His suggestion to fuck for fun had been a lie. Gage told her there would be no strings attached, but there had already been threads between them. He wanted to hold on to them, to the woman on the other end. She impressed him to no end. Faking the coyote pack’s howl had been ingenious. It’d saved their necks. It made him wonder what else the vixen could think of.
“Pussy,” she said.
His head whipped around.
She smiled, her arms falling away from her chest. “You should write Pussy in big, orange letters.”
Gage Page 6
