Chaz felt a flood of heat rise to his face. This was going to be harder than he thought.
“Bear shifters…well, when we choose a mate…when two people…”
“—have sex?” Zuri asked, guessing at his insinuations.
Chaz nodded and gulped. “Yes. There is a mate bond that is established between the two people. It isn’t like normal sex. It’s…more permanent.”
Understanding crossed over Zuri’s face. She opened her mouth a little but didn’t say anything. She nodded slowly and looked out into the trees as her mind moved over this new information. He was tempted to add in more but decided to just leave her with the facts and let her take her time over it.
“So—” Zuri turned her head to look at him, “if we have sex, we are bound to each other forever?”
It sounded a lot more serious when she said it like that. Chaz frowned. There was no way she was going to agree to anything like that now. He’d been ridiculous for even thinking it. That kind of commitment came after years with a woman as wonderful as Zuri.
Chaz nodded, “So you understand why we can’t…” He let himself drift off, not wanting to sound crass. He felt upset with himself and he turned to go inside. A cold shower was probably in order for the evening.
“Hey,” Zuri said quickly. She set her tea down on the wooden rail and placed both of her hands on his shoulders, moving him so he was facing her. “Where are you going?”
Chaz was stunned by her movements and couldn’t think of anything to say. He stared at her open face, his hands hanging by his sides.
Zuri peered into his eyes. She shifted her body toward him, leaning her face close to his. When her lips touched his lips, he still didn’t want to get too involved, thinking it would have to stop soon. Her lips were soft and warm. Maybe she was just kissing him goodnight. He felt the softness of her brush over his lips. Her hands moved to his stomach and chest.
Chaz resisted for only a moment more before he gave over to longing and need.
He wrapped her body with his arms, pulling her close to him. He burned for her so acutely it scared him. The deep rooted need was something he hadn’t felt in so long. She felt soft and perfect. His hands gravitated to her hips and he let his hands slide along the long curve of her body. He felt her body beginning to respond to his touch. Zuri shivered in the night air but he knew it wasn’t the cold that made her body quake.
Electricity blossomed between them and he reached for her, lifted her into his arms. Their bodies were pushed together. Their kisses deep. A new understanding grew between them, something different from the first time he’d almost been swept away in her. She understood who he was and she wanted him anyway.
He walked her back to the bedroom. Zuri’s legs clung to his hips. His hands roamed the expanse of flesh he’d been needing, wanting for so long. He lowered her down onto the bed.
Chaz peeled back the sweater, every inch of him needing to be closer to her flesh. His fingers moving slowly over her body. He lifted her shirt and Zuri raised her arms. She pushed the extra cloth away, an unwanted skin.
His lips moved over her chest, the soft brown flesh finally revealed. She unclasped her bra and ripped it off her own body, throwing it beyond the bed. Chaz pulled one plump nipple into his mouth.
“You don’t know the thoughts I’ve had about you,” she whispered into his ear.
Chaz bit down gently on her nipple and a moan issued from Zuri.
“So tell me,” he said as he looked into her wide eyes.
“Or maybe I’ll show you.” She reached down and unbuttoned her pants. Chaz pulled them loose from her body, pulling her panties with them in one tug. He looked over the sea of rippling skin. He wanted to swim in her curves, to feel her all around him.
Zuri pushed him back and pushed his jacket to the floor, her fingers grabbed at his shirt and he pulled it over his head and off his body as her hands unfastened his pants.
“Come here,” she said in a breathless voice.
He came to her.
“Kiss me here,” her finger pointed to a spot on her neck and his lips moved over her skin. His fingers roamed to her breasts, to her nipples and he pulsed his fingers over them.
The quiver that ran through her body turned him on even more.
“I’ve thought of this…of you inside of me, for so long,” she whispered.
His mouth trailed a path from her neck down between her breasts, to her belly button, and below.
She gasped. His mouth moved over her, urging her on, shaking any last resistance that might stand between them.
He was hard, ready, anticipating her.
She opened her legs and Chaz moved on top of her, letting himself slide in as he watched her face. She was slick with desire, her body as primed as his. The look of hunger, lust, need, and fascination that came from her eyes felt like a cold quenching liquid that he hadn’t known he’d needed.
“I need you,” he growled to her. His body was strong and tense over hers. He moved inside of her, watching her face for direction, watching to see what she liked best, where she felt the most pleasure from his movements.
Zuri looked up at Chaz. The heat of his body clung to her. She couldn’t stop her hands from roving the map of his muscles. She wanted this. Needed this. She had known immediately that there would be no waiting. His power over her was too strong. She was defenseless against him and she loved it.
His cock was huge and filled her completely. The power of his movements, of his body, touched new places inside of her. Her body responded without hesitation. She needed no instructions, this was instinct, pure desire, and more.
Her breath heaved and her chest rose. Chaz dipped his head down to taste her lips again. His body slid against her clit. She could feel the building pulse growing inside of her, ready to burst free. She was slippery wet and he moved in and out of her easily.
She tipped her hips up and pushed herself closer underneath of him. She felt a freedom to explore and move. She let her body guide her, her hands clutching at Chaz’s strong back and hips.
“Oh god,” she said as his body ground down against her clit again and again. She was seeing colors on the edges of her vision. The sensations were so powerful there was no room for insecurity, no room for her to analyze. Her insides ached for him, she opened her legs wider, urging him on, sweeping her hips in a half circle underneath of him.
Her body pulsed with burning pleasure. The rising feeling inside of her grew in intensity. She could barely breathe. She looked to Chaz, saw his dark eyes glimmering into hers. She saw the desire, the need in him and she opened her mouth. She wanted to call out to scream, to throw everything inside of her out to sit exposed in front of him.
“I love you,” he said before she was able to reach for the words. She smiled into his mouth and kissed him, hard. Zuri’s teeth pulled on Chaz’s lips. She wanted to devour him. Her hips lifted one last time as every nerve of her exploded into a thrilling sensation of ecstatic pleasure. She gasped just as Chaz sucked in a tight breath above her.
They came at the same time. Their bodies clenching and exploding in tune. Her body spasmed and shook with the loss of control. She was no longer her own being. She was no longer the same woman.
Zuri was still shaking with pleasure as Chaz dropped down next to her on the mattress.
She looked at him, breathless, her mouth smiling.
“What?” His eyes were kind and adoring, he placed a finger on her lower lip. He trailed his finger slowly down her chin. “What are you smiling about?” He lifted onto his forearm, his body still glazed in sweat.
“Nothing,” she exhaled shakily, “just that I love you too.”
Chapter Twelve
The two slept late the next morning. Zuri hadn’t slept so well in a very long time. Her body was intertwined with Chaz’s all night. Her limbs jumbled with his. Her hands had reached out for him all night, finding the solidity of his body beneath her arms.
As she woke close to noon she smelled
coffee. She got up and pulled one of Chaz’s undershirts over her head, she padded out into the kitchen.
Chaz handed her a cup of fresh coffee and Zuri smelled it before taking her first sip. Did she feel different now that she was mated to this man? No, she was just as overcome by him as she was before. She’d known forever before it had a label and an action.
She smiled at Chaz as he went back to the stove where eggs seemed to be in progress.
“How did you sleep?” Chaz’s eyes were clear and open to her.
“Turns out I didn’t need any Sleepy Time tea…I just needed you.”
Chaz laughed loudly and Zuri bathed in the sound of it. It was the first time she’d heard his belly laugh and she decided on the spot that it was her new favorite thing in all the world.
Zuri walked over to her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She had three new missed calls from Kevin. She pursed her lips and tried to think of reasons for his call as she dialed her voicemail.
Maybe Sandy had been found? She pegged in her password.
“Zuri, it’s me. I have some information about the stuff we were talking about. When are you back in town? Call me.”
Zuri felt her heart start beating faster.
“Kevin, the other bartender he has some information about Ava or the Ukrainians,” Zuri said as she walked her phone over to the kitchen. Chaz moved the pan of eggs off the stove and looked at her.
She hit the call back button and waited.
“Hey, I’ve been trying to reach you,” Kevin’s voice was hoarse.
“I just got your message. You said you have news?” Zuri felt her face growing hot. There was always the possibility that the news he had was bad news. That Ava was gone and there was no getting her back.
“I don’t want to talk over the phone. When do you get back to town?”
“I’m back now, I’ll meet you at your place—give me a half hour.” She hung up and looked to Chaz who was already shutting down the kitchen.
Zuri got dressed in record time. She and Chaz rode into town and she pointed out turns and directions along the way. Chaz asked her some general questions about Kevin, wanting to know if he was trustworthy, if he could have connections to the Ukrainians, but Zuri reassured him that Kevin was good people. Bartenders were always privy to a lot of information that would otherwise remain locked away and Zuri felt a pulse of hope that she hadn’t felt for Ava since her visit to Devil’s Head.
When they arrived at Kevin’s house he let them in quickly and immediately closed the door. Kevin looked at Chaz then at Zuri. He turned and led them through the living room into the kitchen. A coffee cup was out on the table. Kevin was still in flannel pants and a grubby tee-shirt, probably not unusual for a bartender to be waking up close to noon, but Kevin didn’t look like he’d been to sleep yet.
“What’s going on? What did you hear?” Zuri could barely contain herself.
Kevin ran one of his hands through his salt and pepper hair and the other over his belly. He exhaled slowly.
“You didn’t hear any of this from me,” Kevin said this as he looked at Chaz. Chaz nodded and sat down in the seat across from Kevin and next to Zuri. Zuri was ready to pummel Kevin with a million questions if he didn’t start talking soon, but she held her tongue knowing whatever she might say could take longer than Kevin was taking in getting to it.
Kevin let out another sigh, “A few guys at the bar, they were talking about a shipment of goods going out to Europe. They said it was going out tonight on a container ship from Laughton.”
“Laughton?” Zuri leaned forward. The port of Laughton was basically Tiana’s neighbor and it was a busy port. Could Ava have been only a few miles from her all that time? When she’d heard Devil’s Head before she’d thought the abandoned port made sense but she supposed that Laughton made sense in its own way as well. A busy port where things might get lost in the activity. “But surely someone in Laughton would have seen girls, would have figured it out?”
“I don’t know.” Kevin put his hands flat on the table. “All I know is what I heard.”
“Tonight?” Zuri turned to Chaz. “They are leaving tonight. How will we get to them in time?”
Zuri looked at the microwave clock. It was going on 1pm. If they could leave now it would take them two hours at best.
“We need to leave now.” Zuri stood and her chair scrapped back against the floor.
“You stay here, I’ll go. I’ll get the rest of Magus.” Chaz stood too and began to move toward the door but Zuri followed him.
“I’m going with you,” Zuri said loudly behind his back.
Chaz turned on her, “You aren’t safe. It’s easier if you stay.” His voice was commanding and his body rigid but Zuri didn’t care.
“No. Someone needs to be there to help those girls. They’ll be afraid of you but they won’t be afraid of me. I won’t get involved with the Ukrainians, I promise, but I have to be there for Ava and the others.” She was firm and she sounded logical even to her own ears.
Chaz stared at her for a long moment, “You swear you will stay out of the way until we get the girls?”
Zuri raised her hand as if taking an oath in court. “I swear.”
Chapter Thirteen
Zuri followed Chaz out onto the street and to his motorcycle.
“We’re going to need help,” he said as he pulled out his phone. He made several calls. When he was finished he turned to Zuri.
“I can’t get in touch with Big Joe and those guys.” He put his phone away.
“He could be at the bar for an afternoon drink and wings.” Zuri dialed the Smoke Stack.
“Smoke Stack,” Greg answered the phone and Zuri knew she was lucky, most nights they let the phone ring off the hook without giving it a second look.
“Hey Greg, it’s Zuri. Is Big Joe there and some of the other Magus guys?” she asked.
She could hear Greg looking up, “Yup. Right here.”
“Can I talk to him?” Zuri felt impatience flooding her.
“Are we a phone service now? When are you coming back to work?” Greg sounded like a child.
“Greg, please, let me talk to Big Joe,” she tried to keep her voice steady. She didn’t want to snap at him but he was really trying her patience.
Greg grumbled a bit but there was a pause and then Big Joe’s voice was on the other end. Zuri handed the phone over to Chaz who explained the plan. As soon as her phone was back in her bag she got on the motorcycle and the two zipped off to the north.
It was a long drive and it gave Zuri’s imagination free reign. She imagined them getting there too late, or not being able to find Ava in the mess of the port traffic. Each scenario rolled through her mind and the bike dipped and zipped over pavement, past trees, cliffs, past the ocean and toward Laughton.
She and Chaz would be the first to arrive, which could be a good or a bad thing. She wondered if the rest of Magus was driving as fast as they were now. She wanted to ask Chaz but the wind was too strong and she didn’t want to take his mind off the road.
When they pulled up to the docks, Chaz shut the motor down and Zuri got off.
“We should wait for some backup,” Chaz said, turning to look behind him as if they might even now be pulling in.
Zuri looked too before she turned back to look at the activity on the pier.
“There are plenty of people around, we’ll be fine. Maybe we should just take a look around, get an idea of where they might be.” Zuri felt an immediate need to find Ava. What if Kevin hadn’t heard right or what if the time had been moved up? She looked off at some of the large boats pulled into dock, another already leaving.
She turned to Chaz, willing him to investigate with her.
“Just a quick look around. If they see us then we might jeopardize the whole thing. We have no idea how many men could be here protecting their cargo.” Chaz looked again behind him.
As soon as she saw his eyes she began toward the pier. They passed a couple coming off
of a large yacht, something that made her feel foolishly safe and worried at the same time. Her first instinct, that Laughton was too populated for the Ukrainian mobsters to use for the women, itched at the back of her mind again. If there was no sign of the girls and women here, then they were really out of luck. There were ports all along the coast and the girls could be kept anywhere.
Zuri looked around her as she walked. The pier was a working breathing thing. There were no restaurants nearby to cater to tourists since no cruise liners came in and this was a working port. There was a crane set up toward the end of the dock and Zuri had a feeling that if the girls were here somewhere they would be down at the far end by the crane.
“Be careful,” Chaz whispered at her back. But Zuri felt no need to be careful. She hurried off in the direction of the crane with Chaz close by her side. There were warehouses and storage cellars at this end. Shipping containers were stacked, and crates full of goods stood towering around them.
“I don’t see any Ukrainian’s Chaz, this can’t be the right place.” Zuri walked carelessly into one of the warehouses. She peered around corners and listened for signs of life. “We’re not going to find them, Ava will be lost forever,” she turned to Chaz just in time to see three men come up behind him. Chaz immediately went into action but it was too late.
Zuri tried to scream but a firm hand was placed over her mouth and she was lifted off her feet. She watched one of the men pull out a large syringe and stick it straight into Chaz’s arm, releasing the entire amount into his body.
Chaz’s eyes went to Zuri. She kicked her feet wildly but the firm arms around her wouldn’t let go. Chaz crumpled on the spot.
“Enough tranquilizer to put down a rhino,” one of the men said. He stepped into the light and Zuri saw the man who had captured Ava.
“It was nice of your friend let us know you were coming.” The man smiled at her, showing off his yellowing teeth. “It’s amazing what love can do.”
Zuri looked to man next to the mobster and froze. Kevin was staring anxiously at her.
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