by Elena Aitken
But there was a big difference between what he should do and what he wanted to do. And his common sense was no match for his bear, who made a beeline directly back down the street and into the pub.
His senses filled with cherries and jasmine the moment he stepped inside of the dingy bar, which was a miracle in of itself considering the pub had never smelled of anything besides peanuts and stale beer in the entire time Gabe had lived in town. His eyes found her immediately and locked on the sight of her round ass as she bent over to take her shot at the pool table.
Brian Blackwood leaned against the opposite wall, watching Zoe. He had a perfect view of her cleavage, an opportunity he was taking full advantage of, judging by the look on his face. The other wolf, a man Gabe didn’t know, had his beady eyes on Zoe’s ass. His tongue slipped from his lips and Gabe’s bear roared.
It took all the control he had to keep his bear under wraps. It wouldn’t do any good to start a fight. Not here. Not like this. He was a police officer. He needed to remember that.
Besides, the men hadn’t done anything wrong.
Except leer at my mate.
The thought slammed into him, but Gabe didn’t even bother to correct himself. Was she his mate?
Yes. His bear roared. Hell yes.
While he watched, she slipped and missed her shot.
She knows I’m here.
Gabe smiled and waited. Just as he knew she would, she turned around.
She was breathing hard, her chest rising and falling, straining at the small camisole she wore under her blouse. She licked her lips, and Gabe’s cock stiffened in his jeans. Damn. The kiss the day before hadn’t been enough. Not. Even. Close.
Mixed in with her intoxicating scent was the new and deliciously subtle scent of Zoe’s arousal.
Yes. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
He walked toward her, their eyes locked on each other. The rest of the bar and its patrons faded away around them. He reached out to grab her arm and pull her to his lips again, to crush her mouth to his and taste all of her. Hell, he’d take her right there on the pool table if that’s what it took. He couldn’t think straight. He couldn’t think past tasting her, touching her. Having her.
“Are we going to finish this or what?”
Brian’s voice broke the spell that bound them, and Zoe turned to look in his direction.
Fuck.
“What was that, Wilder?”
Had he spoken out loud?
Gabe’s focus snapped over to Brian Blackwood, who looked at him with a smug look on his face. They were friends, but Gabe would not hesitate to drop him if he got between him and Zoe. Of that there was no doubt.
“I just said, fuck that.” Gabe looked right at Brian when he spoke. “Looks like it isn’t much of a game anyway.”
Brian took a step away from the wall. “There’s a hundred dollars on this game.”
If Gabe hadn’t been so clouded by the presence of Zoe and the need he had for her charging through his veins, he might have been able to tell that Brian was just screwing with him. But as it was, every word of Brian’s just put him further away from his goal: Zoe.
“I’ll take my shot.”
Both men turned to Zoe, who’d bent to line up her shot. Gabe’s eyes went straight to her cleavage and his vision all but blacked out. He needed her.
“Oh, yeah you will,” the other man leered.
Without thinking about it, Gabe spun and grabbed the man by the neck. He had him pinned against the wall in a flash. “Don’t you ever speak to my mate that way. And do not even think about looking at her again. Do I make myself clear?”
The man squirmed and despite Gabe’s tight grip, managed a nod before Gabe released him. He turned to see Zoe staring at him, wide-eyed, her sensuous lips parted in question. Next to her, Brian Blackwood shook his head and tried not to laugh.
“I think we’re good here,” Gabe said. “Yes?”
“I’m good.” Brian was fully laughing now. “We can finish the game another time.”
Zoe nodded, but didn’t take her eyes off Gabe, who’d reached out a hand. She took it and immediately heat flared through him. But also a sense of something else.
Home.
Zoe felt right. It was crazy. It didn’t make any sense at all and Gabe couldn’t even begin to understand it. But as he led Zoe through the bar and outside, he didn’t spare a thought for making sense or understanding anything. It didn’t matter.
The only thing that did matter was having this woman in his arms, taking her mouth with his. And the moment they were in the fresh air, he pushed her against the brick wall of the building, and that’s exactly what he did.
Chapter Five
On some level, Zoe knew she should probably protest being pulled out of the bar as if she didn’t have a say in what was happening. After all, she was not some weak woman who could be bossed around.
But the moment Gabe pushed her up against the brick wall and started to kiss her, any and all thoughts of putting a stop to what was happening dissolved like mist around them.
Besides, she was far from weak. She had the power to drive a man so completely crazy that he could barely complete a sentence, he was so driven to distraction by her.
But not any man.
Her man.
A groan escaped her at the involuntary thought because despite herself, it felt so damn right. Gabe was her man. Her mate. And she knew it with every fiber of her body.
“God, you’re sexy.” He pulled his mouth away from hers long enough to mutter the words. But a moment later, he was kissing her neck, his hands moving over her body as if he couldn’t get enough.
She certainly couldn’t. Zoe’s own hands grabbed at his T-shirt, pulling at the cotton fabric, desperate to pull it over his head so she could see the smooth muscles she knew it was hiding. “Gabe, I need you to—”
“No.” He stopped, his hand on her breast, and she almost screamed. “We can’t do this here.”
Why the hell not? As far as Zoe was concerned, they could do absolutely anything and everything right where they stood because there was no way she was going to be able to go anywhere else, not if it meant waiting to have him. She would completely self-combust.
Thoughts of Gabe had completely consumed her since they’d met the day before. And when he’d walked into the bar, his presence filling every single one of her senses, Zoe knew she was going to be completely lost to him. She’d never before felt anything even remotely like the sensations that ripped through her right now, which meant only one thing.
And her bear already knew it.
Gabe was her mate.
And dammit if that didn’t both excite her and scare the hell out of her all at the same time. She meant what she’d said to Chloe. When she got the news from the doctor, Zoe had promised herself she’d never allow herself, no matter how tempted, to take a mate. But that sure as hell wasn’t going to stop her from having him.
Sex and mating were two very different things. And as far as Zoe was concerned, you could deny yourself only one of those things.
The other…was hers for the taking.
At least, if her bear had anything to say about it.
“Yes,” she whispered roughly into his ear. “We can.” She bit down on the sensitive skin on the base of his neck and he groaned as his hips pressed her harder into the wall.
Yes. They could definitely do it here.
But a moment later, Gabe pulled back with a grunt although he held fast to her hand. “Come with me.” She felt the loss of his body against hers almost immediately, but somehow her feet moved as Gabe pulled her to the back of the building and out of sight of Main Street. “I can’t do what I want to do to you in the middle of the street.”
“And what is it you want to do to me?” She grinned and tugged on his arm so he had no choice but to kiss her again. A situation that she was more than happy to be in.
He growled. “So much.”
They still were fa
irly out in the open, but at least no one was likely to walk by. A row of thick trees blocked them from the alleyway beyond, and unless someone came out the back door of the pub—which they could easily do—they weren’t likely to be discovered. At least, not as likely.
“Zoe, we probably shouldn’t do this here.” Much to her frustration, Gabe pulled back again. “Someone could see.”
“Exactly.” She licked her lips. “And how did you know my first name? Been asking around about me?”
He nodded slightly, his eyes heavy with desire. “Something like that.”
She reached out and grabbed him by the belt, yanking him forward while at the same time undoing the buckle.
“Zoe…”
“You worry too much.” She tugged down the zipper and slipped a hand inside. As her fingers wrapped around his thick length, she groaned and closed her eyes. “But not all of you is worried.” Zoe looked up and challenged him with her eyes. “You want me.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I need you.”
There were so many reasons that Gabe should stop. So many reasons he should force himself to move slower.
* * *
They were in public.
Anyone could walk by and see them.
He actually liked her. Maybe it could turn into something?
He’d never moved so fast before.
He wasn’t that kind of guy.
She was his mate.
But with Zoe’s hand on his cock, squeezing and stroking, Gabe couldn’t think of any of those reasons—even if he wanted to.
Which he didn’t.
He tugged her thin camisole down and lifted her breasts from the lacy constraints of her bra. They were heavy and full with hard pink nipples that stood hard at attention. Gabe growled as he sucked one into his mouth while he pinched the other, just enough to elicit a groan. Zoe arched her back and pressed into him. As much as he wanted to get to know every inch of her body, there was no time.
His cock throbbed in his jeans.
He used his hands to undo her pants, her hands still occupied with him, and she shimmied until they slid down to her ankles.
“Are you…do you…” He could barely get the words out, but he needed to be safe. Even in the throes of lust, he wasn’t completely irresponsible.
“It’s fine.” Her words came out as a pant. “I’m fine.”
He kissed her again. Hard. And she met him with an equal ferocity. “Damn, woman.”
She grinned against his mouth.
Gabe pulled his lips from her, and with one hand spun her around so she was pressed against the brick wall. She groaned and pushed her bare ass back to him. He reached around with one hand and cupped her breast. With his other hand, he braced himself as he slid from behind into her wet heat.
She made a noise somewhere between a moan and a growl when he entered her. The sensation of being inside her was everything. It was both familiar and completely uncharted. Gabe gave himself a moment, wanting to go slow and enjoy every second of her, but Zoe wasn’t having it.
She pushed backward, grinding herself against him. He responded by squeezing her breast before thrusting once more into her.
“Oh…my…”
“Fuck.” Gabe’s bear was only barely beneath the surface. He’d had the slightest taste of her, but he wanted more. He had to force himself to stay in the moment and keep control over his animal.
It didn’t take long before he could feel his climax building from the base of his toes. Beneath him, Zoe started to shake. Her body trembled as her own orgasm crested. He pinched her nipple and she cried out, exploding around him. A moment later, he took his own orgasm, his bear roaring in pleasure.
God, this woman.
He’d never done anything like that before. Not even close. And Gabe had no idea how to respond to what they’d just done.
Reluctantly, he pulled back and Zoe turned around. Her eyes were heavy with lust, the grin on her face the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. Her chest heaved as she struggled to bring her breath back to normal. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“That was…” She shook her head and licked her lips.
After a moment, Gabe collected himself enough to shake his head. “I’ve never…I don’t do—”
“You don’t do that kind of thing,” she finished for him. Zoe tugged her shirt back into place and bent down to pull her jeans up. She reached behind her and pulled her hair over one shoulder. “Like you don’t fuck strange women in alleys?”
Her words stopped him, but it was her cold detachment that made him take a step back. “That’s not what that was.”
“Isn’t it?” She tossed her head to the side and turned to walk away.
Gabe moved quickly to do up his jeans and go after her.
He caught up to her as she was turning the corner around the building. Gabe reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back and spinning her around. He pushed her up against the wall and kissed her again. “No,” he said after a moment. Zoe’s breath was coming fast and he caged her in with his arms, unwilling to release her until she understood that no, what they did was not just a one-off. “It wasn’t about fucking a strange woman in the alley.” He looked straight into her green eyes and he could see the understanding reflected back to him. “And you damn well know it.”
Chapter Six
After her tryst with Gabe behind the Station pub, Zoe spent the rest of the week up at Grizzly Ridge. It was safer to stay hidden from the world than to risk running into him again. And it would be a risk, too, because clearly the two of them could not handle being in the same space without wanting to tear each other’s clothes off.
Normally she’d be perfectly okay with that. Particularly because the chemistry between the two of them was completely off the charts. For the whole week after they’d had sex, Zoe couldn’t stop replaying it in her head. And damn, it was a hot image. The way he’d turned her around and taken her from behind. She couldn’t remember sex feeling that phenomenal. Not. Even. Close.
But nothing about the situation was normal. And as much as she’d quite happily replay the scenario in real life, it was too dangerous. Way too dangerous. Because the crazy, erotic feelings that continually crashed into her when she least expected it, like when she was helping with the dishes earlier—or worse, when she was helping stack hay bales in the yard for the fall festival and had to excuse herself to go for a little walk before she made herself climax just reliving the scene—those weren’t even the dangerous feelings.
No. What was dangerous was that the feelings Zoe was having for Gabe weren’t all sexual.
If they were, that would be way easier.
Because the feelings she was having about Gabe that made her want to stay home on Friday nights cuddling under a blanket, sharing a bowl of popcorn before spending the rest of the weekend holding hands and doing home repairs like the happy couple she could actually envision herself being with him—those were scaring the hell out of her.
Which was why she was just going to stay up at Grizzly Ridge, hiding from the world until she figured out where she was going to go next. Because it was clear that she couldn’t stay at the ridge forever and she definitely couldn’t go down to Boulder Creek again. No way could she go to town. Not with a certain sexy cop patrolling the streets. Not when the pull toward him was so strong that it almost caused a physical ache inside her.
She had to focus on something, anything else. With a sigh, Zoe grabbed a stack of tablecloths that were stacked and ready to go outside. She’d been helping out in the Den, which was serving as headquarters for the festival activities. Everyone buzzed around with excitement for the last-minute fall festival the Jacksons had decided to put on. It was happening that afternoon, but there was still so much to do and get organized. Ella and Kira, both heavy with pregnancy, were doing a lot of the planning and supervising from inside. Zoe couldn’t help but be impressed with how well the two of them could organize everyone else. More than that, how well they a
ll worked as a team.
That was probably because they were all fated mates. They were all so in sync, that everything just ran like a well-oiled machine at the ridge. The idea that Zoe would never have that for herself made her inexplicably sad.
Maybe hanging out at the ridge was a bad idea.
“I’m going to take these,” Zoe said to no one in particular before pushing her way outside with the stack of tablecloths.
The cool air helped to clear her head a little. What she really needed was a run along the ridge and through the trees, but there was work to be done and she’d committed to helping.
The run would have to wait.
“Hey, Zoe,” Nina called out to her with a wave across the field where she was setting up tables with another woman she didn’t recognize. “Bring those over here.”
Nina was fun and easygoing and was also a new arrival to the ridge, not that Zoe considered herself an arrival. Her presence was temporary. But still…
“You must be Zoe.” Nina’s friend greeted her with a smile and a wink. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
What had she heard?
“I’m Bree,” the woman continued and held out a hand. “A good friend of Gabe Wilder’s.”
Oh, that explained it.
Sort of.
Zoe looked to Nina, but if the other woman knew anything about what had gone down between her and the friendly cop, she wasn’t giving anything away. The question was, how much did Bree know? Not that it really mattered. It wasn’t as if there was ever going to be a relationship between them. And he didn’t seem like the type to kiss and tell.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Zoe shook the woman’s hand. “I don’t really know Gabe that well.” She didn’t know why she felt the need to explain anything to this woman, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “I mean, he seems like a nice guy.”
“He’s the best.” Bree nodded but didn’t seem to expect her to say anything more, a fact Zoe was grateful for.
