by Honor James
Shocked, she nodded and let him go. “Right, blankets.” She shivered again and looked up at him, seeing him for the first time. He was stunning. His whole visage was incredible and she was shaken by him. “Goodness, you are handsome,” she whispered in shock. “But I’m sure you have had more than one woman you saved out of a freaking tree on the way to a blizzard tell you that, right?” she teased.
“You’re my first,” he told her as he grabbed a blanket for her and got her wrapped in it after stealing back his jacket. Grabbing a second he draped it over her and tucked it in so she was basically a bun in the seat. Doing up the seat belt, he dug around and found her a drink. “Sorry, no alcohol, but the vitamin water will help your body cope with a lot of the stress.” Leaning back to pull on the leather jacket, Zaidu zipped it up and then looked at her as he pushed the dark auburn, and seriously hated, curls out of his face—again. “Feeling warmer?” he asked her as he looked around for the others. He had to get on the road or he’d be screwed on his bike with the storm coming. As it was, he was likely screwed and would end up having to hole up in a motel somewhere.
“Yes, thank you.” Closing her eyes she let out a breath against the backseat. “Thank you,” she whispered quietly. “For saving me and for climbing up a tree to help me down. I very much appreciate that. You totally went above and beyond duty on that one.”
“Comes with the territory,” he told her as Tryg came up to them. “Beth, this is Tryggr. He’s going to drive you back to base once a couple others get finished on cleanup. I have to hit the road though or I’m going to end up stranded in a motel for this storm,” he said. Digging out a card he tucked it into the blankets with a small smile. “My cell’s on there if you need to get a hold of me. Tryg has my number, too, but I’m sorry, darling, I have to roll.”
“Thank you again.” She reached out, her fingers touching his cheek. “For all,” she whispered. “I will trust him because you do.” Closing her eyes she pulled the blankets tighter, closer. “Go. You should do what you need to do so that you aren’t in any danger.”
Nodding he adjusted the blankets and touched her cheek. “Get some rest on the ride in,” he told her softly. “I’ll see you there as soon as I can,” he added and then stepped back to shut the door. Lifting his head, he inhaled. The storm was close and getting closer. “Straight back to base, Tryg, no deviations. That storm is going to be a fucking beast.”
“Same to you, bro,” the Jaguar said softly. “Don’t be ballsy. If it starts snowing, find a motel and hole up. We’ve got four-wheel drive, you don’t. Don’t risk your neck out in a storm.”
“Not planning on it.” Especially since to get to the base he’d be heading straight into the storm. “I’ll keep Q updated as to where I am in case the shit hits the fan,” Z told him and shot her a look through the dark glass. “She’s good people and more than a little freaked out. Try not to fry her mind with any of your cat pranks.”
“Who, me?” Tryg grinned and chuckled. “I’ll get her home and tucked in a room safe and sound. Drive safe, bro,” he said, shaking the man’s hand.
“You, too,” Zaidu said, ensuring his jacket was done up tight and drawing on his gloves as he headed for the bike. Settling on the cold leather he whistled out a soft breath. It was damned cold.
Chapter Four
Bethany napped on and off during the drive. Exhaustion pulled at her but she didn’t want to fall fully asleep. She wanted to know where she was being taken. Needed to know where she was being taken. She had to know, because while she had felt immediately safe with Zaidu, she didn’t with anyone else.
“Where?” Tryg said into the comms and frowned. “Skittles, I can’t see more than ten feet in front of my bumper and I’m going at an astonishing four miles an hour. Just tell me, damn it, and we’ll keep an eye open,” he snarled into the connection. “Listen, you little multi-colored geek, I will turn you into my squeak toy if you don’t quit yanking my tail.”
“You shouldn’t yell,” Bethany whispered softly. “It’s not good for your blood pressure or whoever you are talking to.” She knew. She had spent years in therapy after “the incident” and knew that the simple truth was that yelling did no one any good at all.
“The last thing that mangy mage has to worry about is his blood pressure when I’m done with him,” Tryg said and slowed. “Where?” he said again and eased off the road slowly with his blinkers going. “I’m a fucking sitting duck out here, Q. Where am I looking, and be bloody specific,” he muttered, letting the cat up to the surface. “No, I’m only picking up what little radiating heat the truck is putting out. It’s too cold out there for any heat to show for long.” He listened and sighed. “All right, I’m going,” he grumbled and looked to the other man. “Mac, meet Beth. Beth, this is Mac. I’ll be back as soon as my tail is frozen,” he muttered, grabbing a large parka and jumping out of the truck.
Frowning, Bethany struggled to sit up more. “What is he doing? Why is he out there? Why in the world would anyone get out in this snow?” she asked with a frown. “I don’t understand,” she muttered. “I really don’t understand.”
“We lost Z’s signal about a half hour ago and Quincy, our tech guy, ‘borrowed’ a satellite to see what was going on since we figured it was just the storm. Unfortunately his signal is there but stationary out there somewhere.” Mac pointed to where Tryg had vanished into the swirling snow. “Since there’s not a damned thing out here, either he lost the tracker, which has been known to happen on occasion, or…” He trailed off, not wanting to say what everyone was thinking.
“Oh God, you think that he’s out there?” She moved slightly so that she could look out the window now. “Should you go out and help find him?” She couldn’t seem to think. It was her fault. “Oh God.” Tears began to flow down her cheeks. “It’s because of me,” she whispered. “I’m the reason that he’s stuck out there. It’s my fault that he’s out there and might be…” She couldn’t say the word she was thinking. Oh lord, she couldn’t think that word.
“It’s not your fault. If you want to blame someone you blame Gordon,” Mac advised as he touched his comms. Listening for a time, he shifted. “I’ll be right back,” he told her, grabbing up a parka and sliding out of the truck. Jogging around the truck, he headed right for Tryg and skidded to a halt at the wreckage he’d uncovered. “Holy hell,” he muttered, staring down at the remnants of the bike.
“He’s out here,” Tryg said, inhaling deeply. “Fucking storm is messing up the scent but he’s here somewhere. Spread out and we’ll do a circular search, a foot at a time,” he told the Dragon. “But keep your eyes on the truck. We lose sight of it and we’re fucked.”
“Copy that,” Mac said and moved out and began to walk slowly in a circle, one eye on the truck and the other out and around him.
Bethany hated not being able to do anything. She hated the knowledge that it was her fault that Zaidu was out there lost in the snowstorm. Putting her hand to the window, she whispered, “Please, please come back. I need you to please come back to me.” She needed him to be safe, that was it. It wasn’t anything else. She had to know that the man who saved her was safe.
Mac literally tripped over him, the snow was falling so thick. “Fuck me,” he muttered, turning to figure out what it was that had snagged him. The custom jacket now sticking out of the snow had him cursing a streak. “Tryg, I have him,” he said, quickly rolling the Wolf over to his back as he checked for injuries. “He’s unconscious, broken arm, dislocated shoulder, big-ass gash in his leg that thankfully isn’t bleeding him dry.” Thank you, sub-zero temperatures.
“I’m heading for the truck. Grab him and move him there. We’ll stick him in the back and bandage him and head for base. We can’t stay out much longer or we’ll be buried ourselves,” Tryg said into the comms. The storm seemed to be getting even worse, the winds driving the snow and making it even harder to keep sight of the truck.
“Got him,” Mac sent back after slinging Zaidu ove
r his shoulder. “Heading back to the truck.”
Bethany watched them coming back. They walked out of the snowy fog like three wounded soldiers. “There,” she cried and moved over in the seat, pulling one of the blankets off of her and the other as well. It would get him warmer faster if she wrapped them both in the blankets. “Here, put him here,” she cried to the large man carrying Zaidu over his shoulder. As soon as he was on the seat at her side and the door closed again she tugged him out of his jacket and then wrapped him into the blanket, pulling off his shirt and hers as well before wrapping her body against the large man’s, all but sitting in his lap as she wrapped the second blanket around them as well. “Can you crank up the heat please?” The warmer they could get him, the faster they could get him better.
“It’s up all the way,” Tryg said, shaking out the parka before he jumped behind the wheel. “The temperature’s so low right now we’re battling the chill sitting here. We’ll get warmer once we’re moving again.” He hoped. “We need to bind his leg,” he told her as Mac began doing just that after tearing the jeans up above Zaidu’s knee to gain access. Once that was done and they were all in the vehicle Tryggr got them moving, throwing a look in the back occasionally.
Bethany felt strange, her naked upper portion pressed to his naked upper portion, but she didn’t let it bother her. She had to help him get warm. Needed him to get warm. When he began to stir she whispered, “Shh, you are safe. You saved me, now let me help you live, too, okay? I’m trying to get you warm but you need to stay still with me, okay?” she asked quietly.
Z felt damned tired. He ached everywhere and his skin was stinging slightly. Sliding a hand up, he pressed his palm to her back to hold her closer to him. Turning his super-heavy head slightly, he nuzzled at her hair until he found skin. Breathing her in he relaxed and let her body warm his up. It was very pleasant and he kind of hoped it would be a long, long ride wherever it was they were going.
Bethany moved him so that he was lying on the backseat and she on top of him. She knew how silly it was but she was trying so hard to get him warm, needed him warm. “Shh, just be still. I’m just trying to get you warm,” she whispered quietly to him, moving so that he could do what it seemed he wanted to do, nuzzling the side of her neck and breathing her in.
Z was glad the female was being accommodating. Her scent was sublime. Sliding his other arm around her, Zaidu pulled her in closer to him. Rubbing his nose to her neck, he inhaled, a small smile on his lips. Then they hit a bump and things came rushing back in, along with all the aches in his body. Growling softly, he squeezed her closer to him and tried to focus on her instead of the throbbing pains making themselves known.
“Is he awake?” Tryg asked as he kept his eyes glued to the road.
“Yeah and I think that he’s hurting.” Pulling back, Beth looked down at him. “Hey there, handsome. So, you climb a tree to save me and then you wreck in a snowstorm.” She shook her head and smiled. “Stubborn man. You could have had your bike put into the back of one of the open-bed trucks I saw there and ridden in a nice warm vehicle with everyone else.”
“Those weren’t our trucks,” Mac told her, holding a hand up to shield his view of her partially bared upper torso. “We never use vehicles we don’t know unless we have time to check them over and we definitely did not have time.”
Growling again Z tugged on her. He didn’t want her showing any of her skin to another male, even a mated one.
“You should lie back down,” Mac told her. “He’s only going to get more pissy if you stay sitting up like that without your shirt on.”
Looking down Bethany only then realized that her upper half was bare save for her bra. She squeaked. Pressing herself back down against Zaidu she grinned against him and shook her head. “It wasn’t good for you either because it exposed you to the cooler air. Sorry about that, Zaidu,” she murmured. “I really didn’t mean to make you colder.”
Nuzzling at her neck he relaxed once more once she was in his arms. He hadn’t really noticed the chill. He was still too cold to care about a little more chill.
“Z, what happened out there? We saw your bike. There’s no way that was a wipeout,” Tryg said quietly as he kept them moving forward just enough not to get stuck.
“Hummer,” he mumbled under his breath, “aimed right at me.”
“I didn’t quite get that. What did he say?” Mac asked, turning around since the woman was lying back down on top of Zaidu.
“He said that a Hummer tried to run him over.” Bethany frowned and rubbed her cheek to the man’s shoulder and yawned. “I’m getting so very nice and warm,” she sighed happily. “If I fall asleep will you please wake me when you get me home?” she asked.
“Uh sure,” Mac said, sharing a look with Tryg. Poor woman still had no idea what was going on. Unfortunately she’d have a crash course before the night was over. Tapping his comms he shared with Talon and Quincy what Z had told them. Quincy promised to dig into it but didn’t hold much hope given the storm.
Barely listening to the half of the conversation he could hear, Z held Bethany to him. She was soft, warm, with silky skin he wanted to rub against. If he wasn’t so tired he’d have had her tucked under him for a little rubbing, but it would have to wait for a while, sadly. Stroking his fingers lightly up her spine he let out a happy sigh when she arched into him, her breasts pressing ever closer. “Sleep,” he said to her quietly.
“Sleep does sound so very nice,” she whispered, then yawned wide. “They will wake me, right? All right. A nap.” She stroked her hand over his chest. “You sure that I’m not too heavy on you? You were, after all, just in an accident.”Growling when she tried to move, he tightened his arms around her in protest. “Stay put,” he told her softly and nipped lightly at her neck. Breathing in her scent as it got heavier, he smiled. “I like you right where you are,” he said softly.
“Only because you are hurt will I let you order me around,” Beth muttered even as her body started to go lax. “Go to sleep, Z. It will be very good for you. We will get you with a doctor and get you all fixed up,” she said. “And I guess me, too.”
Smiling, he pressed a kiss to her jaw lightly. “Sleep, sweet little one,” he whispered quietly. “We’ll get you all fixed up and we’ll both get some food, more sleep, and then talk.” Brushing his hand up her back lightly, he settled it at the nape of her neck.
“Sleep sounds good.” Sighing, she relaxed against the man under her and whispered. “I’m not a touchy feely, kissy kinda girl,” she informed him. “Just so you know,” she grumbled. With him though, with him it seemed she was. Even as she said she wasn’t one she stroked her fingers over his neck, hugged him closer, and brushed her lips to his shoulder.
“I don’t like being touched,” he admitted quietly, pressing her in closer to him. “But you seem to have changed that, little one.” He breathed out softly. There was something nagging at the back of his head, something important. He knew instantly that she was the only one he’d want touching him, but the why was eluding him.
“Maybe it’s just, well I don’t know what.” She shrugged and winced as she did so. “Good lord, I have splinters in my splinters,” she grumbled. “Yet I can’t keep from touching you,” she murmured and yawned again. “Sleep time. Sleep so we can both forget the pain for a minute or three, okay?”
Nodding slightly, he brushed another kiss to her cheek. He couldn’t have stopped himself even with a gun to his head. Sliding his fingers into her hair, he tangled the strands around his digits. Relaxing, he shifted ever so slightly to put her in a better position to protect her, all on instinct.
Chapter Five
“How long are you going to let them sleep before you let me have a look at them?” Dr. Jessica Diehl asked in a soft whisper to Talon. “I can see from here that they both have some pretty significant injuries and I really need to see them sooner rather than later.” She grumbled, “And why in the world is he holding her so close? Zaidu truly hates bei
ng touched and can’t stand tight spaces, yet he’s got her wrapped tightly in those blankets. What in heaven’s name is up?”
“You want to wake up a snarly Wolf on the best of days who’s injured and just found his mate?” Talon asked, waving a hand. “Be my guest. But I’d suggest you have medical on standby, Doc, because you’re going to need it and an OR.”
That paused Jess. “His mate? Oh hell.” She stepped back with her hands up. “Oh no. You can wake him, Talon.” She actually stepped behind the large Dragon. “Because Wolves scare me anyway, but one who’s just found his mate, and a mate who’s injured, no. No way in hell.”
Shooting her a look over his shoulder he grinned. “You sure, Jess?” he asked with a chuckle. At her look he shook his head. “Chicken.” Turning his attention back to where Z and the woman slept still in the back of the SUV, he sighed. “Well, I guess I’ll have to go and wake them up. I’d stay back. He’s not going to be happy to wake up period let alone to find me standing over him.”
“You have that right. I would make sure to watch your throat because we both know that’s what he will go for,” Jess said and covered her throat with her hand and took a step back. “Go ahead and wake him. Just make sure that you turn away from his mate quickly because she seems to be warming him skin to skin, if you understand my meaning.”
“Considering he was pretty much a Popsicle when Tryg and Mac found him it’s no surprise that she’d do the smart thing and warm him up,” Talon said, moving closer to the vehicle. Turning his back to the couple he wrapped a hand around the wheel well and lifted. Grinning at the doc’s look he dropped the vehicle hard. “Rise and shine!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs before shifting aside. Even with his reflexes there was still a breeze at his back from Z taking a vicious and deadly swing at him with claws out.
