Her heart broke open. All the cobwebs fell away and left her fresh and ready.
For what, she didn’t know. The night loomed large in her head. Something important and altering worked in the background and foreground and all around her.
Too soon and not soon enough, he slowed and made the turn for Black Claw Ranch. They bumped over the cattle grate and the rough road leading up to the big house. Past the barn. She’d seen the little cluster of houses a distance from the main house, but wasn’t sure which man called each one home. One mystery solved as Hunter pulled to a stop in front of one with red shutters.
Did he paint them himself? Put them on himself? She didn’t think the others had that decoration.
“Stay put,” he ordered and kicked open his door.
Joss barely had time to question the words before her door opened and he wedged himself halfway inside. He turned her so her legs dangled off the seat, then twisted right back around.
“Come on,” he said over his shoulder. “Let’s see those riding skills.”
Firm hands wrapped her calves around his waist and she was given the option to grab on or fall over backward.
“What are you doing?” she laughed and latched on. Piggyback rides. Really! She couldn’t remember the last time she had one.
“Giving you a ride.” He hoisted her into a better position and jogged the short distance to his door.
She didn’t have any time to give the place more than a cursory look. It was a loft, which surprised her. Neat and organized, too. A couch sat in front of the TV, with a checkered blanket hanging over the back. Hunter grabbed that, then reached for a bottle of whiskey on the whirlwind trip through the kitchen and out the back door.
“Where are we going?” Joss asked breathlessly.
“Want to show you something. Trust me.”
Over her shoulder, Joss could still see the shadowed structures of the barn and main house, as well as the smaller lumps of homes like Hunter’s. Huts, they called them, but the brief look inside didn’t match the messy hovel the word brought to mind. They were adorable cottages. Lights peeked out of a few windows, but most were as dark as the night Hunter hiked them into.
She didn’t know how long they walked, only that the buildings in the distance grew smaller and the sense of the night pressed against her in a primal way. She was used to city life and all the trappings that came with too many people packed together. Joss had felt small against that backdrop.
The night was something else. Different. Wilder. Fur brushed against her with the bite of awareness. She was an animal, and this was her natural habitat. She felt like she’d arrived home.
Hunter stopped suddenly, though she couldn’t see anything that made the spot better or worse than twenty steps to the right.
“Okay, down you go.” He untangled her from his blanket and bottle mess, then let her slide to the ground. He passed her the bottle, too.
With a deft flick of his wrists, he shook out the blanket and spread it over the ground. He took the bottle from her hands, then stretched out, leaning on one elbow and crossing his long legs at the ankles. With an arched brow and coy look, he patted the space next to him.
Happy. That was the feeling in her chest from the moment she walked into the bar and spotted him. Tansey said she smelled like it, too.
Joss didn’t want the night to ever end.
Bound by her wonder, she made herself comfortable on the blanket next to him. She copied his pose, propping herself up on her elbow and facing him. They’d been physically closer in the bar, they’d even locked lips twice, but under the stars with no one around felt more intimate.
“For you.” Hunter uncapped the bottle and handed it to her. “I’ll be your designated walker for the night.”
Joss giggled. She gave a small shake of her head in surprise. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Make me feel like I’m your only priority.”
Escorting her home was only a small part of it. A spontaneous drink under the stars was another. The heated looks he gave her all night and the brushes of his fingers against her skin had her nearly vibrating with energy.
“It’s easy when you are.”
Joss sucked in a breath at the casual admission. His words had no pressure, no game. He just stated a fact without expectation. Whatever had sparked to life between them simply existed for him.
Soft fur rubbed against her insides as a reminder of her badger watching the bear. Her inner beast wanted the man, and the more Joss let herself listen to those desires, the stronger and clearer they became. Hunter was good and right and fit in the empty space in her heart.
His fingers brushed against hers as he took the bottle for a swig, then handed it back to her. “I used to do this with my dad whenever one of us was having a problem. This is what we did to solve everything.” He gestured across the dark landscape. “Under the stars, he’d say, you’re bigger than what’s going on in your head. Your tiny problems don’t matter with millions of twinkling lights stretching overhead, and miles of lands in every direction. We’re part of something bigger, so it made anything bad seem small and manageable by comparison.”
Lounging next to him, surrounded by the quiet hum of the night, she believed it. “I wish I shared something like this with my mom. It was always us against the world, never anything like being part of it. She had to keep me hidden. Humans, hunters, other shifters, they were all threats, and I needed to be careful. Even when news broke of this place, Mom still wanted me to keep quiet.” She soured. “I guess she was right. As soon as my name went on that registration list, I was a target. Slashed tires at first. A rock through the window. I was a blemish on the perfect upper-class neighborhood. I even overheard someone tell their kids to be careful around me.”
“You won’t be hurt like that here,” Hunter growled. His hands tightened into fists. The eyes he snapped to her were full of anger on her behalf. “They don’t know how much they’re missing out.”
A frustrated breath flew past her lips. “I tried so hard, too. I was always so worried I’d hurt someone. My mom, my ex, any kids we might have had. One slip-up, and it tore everything apart.”
“You want cubs?” His voice turned to gravel that made her muscles turn to jelly. Gold flashed in his eyes when he flicked them to her face.
“Yeah. Yes.” Another swig made her brave. “I’ve always wanted kids. What about you?”
“Never occurred to me that I wouldn’t have them.” He pressed his lips together. “I don’t mean it like that: a foregone conclusion. I mean that I watched my mom and dad and how happy they were. I wanted that always. Maybe too much, since it put me with the people I shouldn’t have made a priority.” He was quiet for a moment, then continued. “I remember I used to ride my dad like a bull. He’d stick me in his boots that came up to my thighs, give me his hat, and then get down on all fours. He’d just jump and dive with me holding on for as long as I could manage with my mom hollering in the background to be careful, mind the coffee table, all the things moms do for their cubs.” Hunter’s drank from the bottle with a distant look. “I want that.”
Joss rubbed at her ring finger. For the first time in a long while, it didn’t feel like she was missing anything.
“What stopped you?” Hunter traced slow circles on her hand and raised goose bumps up and down her arms. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
She shrugged off the hurt of years of conversations and future plans that never came into existence. “My ex worked all the time. I made the house. Would have been easier with kids, but he kept delaying us trying. Now I’m glad. That would have made everything so much messier.”
Joss wanted to be picked by someone. Truly picked by someone who saw her and liked all the pieces and didn’t try forcing her into a box of their own making.
She didn’t want more of the lip service she’d convinced herself was love before. All the good moments were ruined by the bad. In the toughest challenge, the mo
ments where most people cracked under pressure, she wanted to see complete devotion to the idea of their partnership. That was love. Hard, painful, tough, and pure gold at the center. No problem lasted forever if two people were willing to tackle it.
She needed someone willing to fight to keep her. The real her. The woman she was learning to be without walls or boxes or expectations placed on her. Joss Warren, badger, chef, klutz, awkward laugher, that woman deserved to live and love.
Prepared for him or not, one man already declared her a priority. No hint of a lie soured his scent. She wanted to let loose and make changes, and that started with a big, scary jump into the unknown.
Another string to her past snapped and fell away from her heart.
Joss’s pulse raced. Through lowered lids, she watched Hunter watching her. Energy arced between them, twisting around and tying them together. “I don’t have to be careful with you,” she said softly.
Hunter closed the distance. “No,” he breathed against her lips. “I can take whatever you have to give.”
“Big bear. Tough bear,” she murmured. She loved how his smile felt against her.
“Your bear.”
Chapter 12
Hunter kissed Joss deeply. She tasted hot like her—cinnamon and apples—and fiery like the booze they’d been drinking all night. Sweet, girly lemonade, and hard whiskey.
He eased back, hands still cupping her cheeks because he’d be damned if he stopped touching her. But he needed assurances. Needed to know she wanted him utterly, not because too much liquor in her system demanded she scratch an itch.
Plump, bruised-kissed lips pressed together in a confused pout. Clear eyes focused on him, concern and a sliver of doubt marring her perfect face.
Skies above, bless shifter genes. Another kiss, and a fire that matched his own flared to life in her hungry gaze.
They were a tangle of limbs and fingers and touches. Mouths collided wherever they could reach. Through it all, Hunter huffed a laugh and groaned all at once. No amount of awkward, desperate, teenage fumbling prepared him for finally getting his hands on the one woman who could satisfy him fully.
His.
He sucked down a sharp breath the moment her fingers brushed underneath his shirt. Skin on skin had him harder than a rock. More, he demanded. More, his bear urged.
He helped her take off his shirt, then stopped her when her hands went to his jeans.
This was for her. He needed to prove himself to her, make this better than he could imagine. He wanted to unwrap what belonged to him, then make her sing with the pleasure he provided.
He took his time. Each piece of clothing revealed a swath of pale skin for him to adore, and he did. With hands, with lips, with his tongue. He tasted every mesmerizing inch of her before he peeled back another layer.
Fucking gorgeous. Red hair framed her face, wide green eyes followed his every move. Her hips and thighs were thick, her waist small, and he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. He cupped her breasts and massaged while sneaking another devouring kiss.
Her heart thudded loudly in her chest. Rosy nipples puckered at his touch, and suddenly that wasn’t enough. He dipped his head lower and took one between his lips.
She arched up against him, fingers digging into the blanket. “Hunter.”
“Yes, darlin’?” He moved to her other breast and filed away the way her throat worked as she tried to swallow back the growl of her inner animal. That had to go. He wanted her wild. He wanted her stripped down and past all the inhibitions others placed on her.
She was his. She had nothing to hide.
His bear demanded they prove just how perfect he found her.
Joss was perfection. He’d had days, only, with her, but the fact had solidified itself in his mind. He’d been given her laughs, her kisses, her hidden looks. They were a taste of what life could be with her, and he didn’t want to lose it.
And maybe, with his father showing up and saying he wasn’t a hunted man any longer, he could give that life a real shot. There was nothing to fear, except losing Joss.
He slid his way down her body, lavishing her with more licks and kisses and he drowned in her intoxicating scent.
“Hunter,” she pleaded.
He traced a finger around her opening, then slowly dipped inside. Silky muscles fluttered around his slow push and he had to steel himself to keep from stripping down and fucking her senseless. She needed time.
“You smell divine,” he growled instead. Her eyes flew open, but she tightened around his finger, so he retreated and added another.
“Do you want me to taste you, darlin’?” By the Broken, his words sounded thick in his own ears. Did she have any idea how much he wanted her? No, needed. Needed her.
She weaved her fingers into his hair. “Yes. Please, Hunter, yes,” she whimpered.
He licked a long line up her slit. A shudder ran through her body and her fingernails bite into his skull.
He did it again, and she rolled her hips against him. Good girl wanted it bad.
She tasted fucking amazing. If he ever had to request a last meal, Joss would be his one and only choice.
He teased her, sucking and nipping her outer lips between flicks of his tongue against her clit. It left her greedy and gasping, teetering on the edge of whimpering for more and demanding he give her release. Wild eyes stared into the great beyond and made her the absolute picture of wanton need.
His mate needed him.
Hunter attacked, teasing suddenly off the menu. He swiped his tongue through her folds and groaned with the explosion of taste on his tongue. Cinnamon and apples and thickly sweet arousal and all the goodness in the world.
His.
His bear shoved forward. His gums ached with the fangs filling his mouth. Fangs that wouldn’t touch Joss until he had her absolute consent, regardless of how tempting it was to mark the thighs quaking around his head.
He feverishly thrust his fingers into her welcoming heat. He sucked her clit between his lips, flicking with his tongue. Her nails bit into his head, his shoulders, wherever she could reach. His name dripped from her lips. She didn’t stop touching him—that felt like a victory.
Until she shattered around him with a scream to the heavens.
He eased his fingers out of her, still swirling his tongue. Lazy strokes meant to bring her back down to earth, or because he couldn’t get enough of her taste. Some mysteries were best left unsolved. The blissed-out look on her face was enough an answer for him.
Hunter crawled up her body. Heat rolled off her flushed skin. He ran his tongue around her belly button and dragged kisses up her chest. Her hard nipples begged him for a detour, but there was no stopping the connection he needed.
“Hunter,” she mouthed against him the moment he collided with her lips.
“Need you,” he growled.
Her choked hum of pleasure drew his balls up tight.
Joss shoved at his pants. He popped the button; she ripped down his zipper. Hunter groaned when her hand closed wrapped around his cock and pumped.
Fuck. Fuck. If he didn’t get a second to breathe, he was going to explode.
Boots, gone. Jeans, kicked off. Then it was just them, under the stars.
Bright green eyes stared at him. One slow blink, and Joss let her knees fall open.
“I see you,” he rumbled.
A huge smile lit up her face. “You do?”
“You’re everything.”
Hunter fell forward and claimed her mouth again. He couldn’t stop kissing her. Hands tangled in her hair, scent in his nose, there was no halting his lips on hers. He bit her lower lip, twisted his tongue with hers, and devoured her with his mouth.
The only thing better was the final thrust into her wet heat.
Fireworks exploded behind his eyes.
His, his bear roared.
His forever.
* * *
Joss thought her eyes rolled to the back of her head twice before finally settling
back in place. Her body hummed with need as she stretched to fit him. He felt so good. So thick. Too good.
She felt huge and small. Stars twinkled down at her in a silent message of encouragement from the universe. This was important.
This was life.
Scary, sexy, dangerous, tempting life. The kind of risk she’d already gambled on and lost, and couldn’t help playing another hand.
“Holy cannoli,” Joss laughed and whimpered.
Hunter pulled back, surprised grin stretching his face. “You have to be kidding me. Not even here?”
“Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”
He groaned as he eased back, leaving just an inch inside her. A growl rattled in his throat when he thrust back into her. “Say fuck.”
“Fudge.” Oh lord, she couldn’t stop her body arching against him. She wiggled her hips to encourage him to move again.
Slow retreat, then shockingly pleasurable slam home. Her body welcomed him with a rush of endorphins. Her skin tingled and felt too tight and too hot. She needed more.
“Fuck me, Hunter, please,” he insisted.
She raked her nails over his shoulders. “Holy hot fudge sundae, Hunter, just do it already.”
“Do what?” he laughed. He dipped his head to her chest and licked her nipple. “That?”
Joss’s breath hitched. His game, his touch, lit up her body like she’d touched an open socket. “FuckmeHunterplease,” she said in a desperate rush.
“Good girl wants to be bad,” he murmured against her ear. “I’ll show her bad.”
He thrust into her, cock pressing deep. Her body clamped around him and squeezed him tight. Spots danced in her vision, wavering with each retreat and surge forward.
Her nerve endings fired like crazy, zapping her with pleasure beyond belief. Hunter bucked into her faster, less gently, wilder than before, and she loved it. Love seeing his control slip because of her, loved knowing she was the cause of the grunts and groans he worshipped her with.
A keening moan left her lips and she searched for something more to cling to. Hair, shoulders, legs around his hips, she didn’t care. She wanted to destroy everything keeping them apart. Sheathed to the hilt inside her, there was still something more to be done.
Spurred Fate: Book Two: Black Claw Ranch Page 9
