Her Guardian Wolf (Sawtooth Shifters Book 2)

by Kristen Strassel

“Fluffy’s easy.” Lyssie reached into his cage, he eagerly climbed her arm. “Depending on how we do with one kid, maybe we could eventually take another foster, too.”

  No light in her eyes, even though she was joking. The dynamic with the brothers was weird today, but I kind of expected that. The three of them needed to get on the same page. The part of me that needed Forever Home expected Shadow to tell his brothers not to see us anymore. If that was the case, would they be able to walk away from us? Did Lyssie know something I didn’t?

  “What happened last night?” There was no point in asking her if she was okay since she obviously wasn’t. “You don’t seem like yourself.”

  “Nothing happened,” she said too quickly, turning away from me. She settled in a chair, letting Fluffy crawl onto her chest.

  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

  “It’s just a thing.” Her eyes glazed over. “I’m scared, okay? And it’s not the sex. I’m terrified once Dallas gets to know me, he’ll realize that I’m a freak. And if he doesn’t, I don’t know if I’m ready to be normal.” The tears fell, but she wasn’t giving into crying.

  I knelt down beside her under the guise of patting Fluffy. “Be honest with him.” Lyssie shook her head. “I’m serious. If he’s anything like Baron, or what Shadow seems to be like, he’ll understand. I felt the same way, because no one got me before. You and Trina do, but it’s because you’re going through it, too. For someone to look past all of it and still want to take a chance, it’s pretty awesome. Don’t make Dallas’ decisions for him.”

  “THIS IS FLUFFY.” I introduced my lizard to my wolf by handing him a massive cage. “He’s our new roommate. Careful, because he likes to hang out in the branches just under the lamp.”

  Baron peeked around the cage, grinning. “I always wanted one of these as a kid, but my mother refused to get any pets, knowing it would turn into four.” Fluffy smiled at his admirer.

  I crammed myself into the backseat of the truck, making sure Fluffy didn’t go ass over teakettle on the way to the apartment. Lyssie and I lived in the middle of town, above an old time hardware slash home supply store. It had been there forever, and I was honestly surprised to learn it had survived so long. Granger Falls was suffering from an influx of hipsters, but one thing they did was revive all the cool old downtown stores. And bring us good coffee.

  “How long have you lived here?” Baron asked. “I came here all the time, before we were captured. I definitely would’ve remembered you.”

  His gaze melted the evening chill away. “Only nine months.” I wonder how it would’ve been different, if I’d met him before. Actually, I had a pretty good idea. “The only one of you I’d seen around before was Major.”

  “Oh yeah?” Baron bristled, setting down the cage as I instructed, in front of the window but not too close. Lizards loved sun but hated cold. Fluffy had a sun lamp but I thought he might appreciate some au naturale vitamin D as well. “Where was that?”

  “Lyssie and I went to a Full Moon Fever party when we first moved here.” I shouldn’t have brought this up. “He was there.”

  Baron’s eyes darkened. He was obviously a Full Moon Fever alum. I prayed he didn’t ask any questions, but it was pretty obvious how things ended: badly. After all, we were talking about Major. I wondered if he even remembered me. After three, maybe more, shots of Fireball, we may have locked lips. I slapped him across the face when he put his hand under my shirt, too close to my scars. Major had a couple choice pet names for me as Lyssie dragged me out of there before I had a breakdown. I never thought I’d see him again, until he crawled out of the back of Trina’s truck two weeks ago.

  “Wait a minute,” he said. My heart pounded, thinking Major had already blew my cover. “You got Lyssie to go to one of those?”

  “I know, right?” I laughed. “We had no idea what it was all about, and I dragged her. We didn’t stay long.” The party was wild, something you’d expect to find on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, not Main Street in Granger Falls, Idaho. Now I knew it was a place for shifters to find women to hook up with, needing an outlet for all that feral energy coursing through their veins before the shift.

  “No wonder I didn’t see you then.” Baron straddled me in the chair, his lips lowering to my neck. The goosebumps were back. His stubble scraped the tender skin, but I loved it, pulling him closer so he couldn’t stop. He managed to pull away, but not by much, his lips hovering over mine. “Is the little guy all set for the night?”

  I tipped my head to check on Fluffy. “I think so. We should let him settle. He’s probably freaked out from the trip.” I cupped Baron’s chin, kissing him. “But I’ll keep an eye on him.”

  Baron gave me a fake frown. “I was hoping you’d keep an eye on me.”

  “I will.” I raked my fingers down his chest. The noise that came out of him, good lord. No human could have made it, somewhere between a groan and a growl. He threw his head back, and I imagined him as wolf, worshipping the moon. Much the same way I was going to make him worship me.

  We didn’t need an audience. I whispered in Baron’s ear, “I want you to go in my room. I’m going to make sure Fluffy’s good. When I get in there,” I pulled away, our eyes locking, “I better not find a stitch of clothing anywhere near this beautiful body.”

  Baron’s expression softened, but the fire in his eyes could melt me into a puddle of goo. “Absolutely.” He hardly waited for me to finish my request before climbing off my lap. He stopped in the doorway of my bedroom, turning back to me, scraping his teeth against his lip. Who was supposed to be in control again? “This is going to be fucking awesome, Kiera.”

  It took everything I had to not follow Baron and watch him undress. Hell, to do it myself. But the thought of Baron standing in my bedroom, naked as the day he was born, anticipating my arrival, what I was going to do to that body... I was so turned on I could barely stand up. So naturally, I took my sweet ass time getting in there. Fluffy watched his crickets drown before eating them, any trauma from the trip forgotten. I peeked at the mail, and washed the coffee cup I left in the sink this morning. I almost broke it; my hands were shaking so hard I dropped it on the counter. Now I was ready.

  I thought about knocking, but I didn’t want to give him any warning. I wanted to see how well he followed direction. Instead I opened the door slowly, my breath catching in my throat when I saw Baron. He was barely more than a silhouette in the low light of my lamp. His head tipped down, dark hair covering his face. He held his hands behind his back, offering me his body like the gift it was. He said nothing, but his chest trembled with prospect of what my instructions promised. And whatever idea he’d come up with, he liked it. A lot.

  He gasped when I brushed his hair away from his face. “I think we need to talk about this before we go any further,” I said softly. He nodded. “You can talk. I don’t want this to be all about me, I want to make sure you’re getting what you need, too. I like to be in control. Being told what to do does nothing for me, but someone doing what I ask makes me absolutely crazy. I might tell you not to talk, I might tie you up, but I won’t do anything too crazy, like whip you. Unless you want me to do that.”

  One side of his mouth slid up in smile that said more than a book full of words. Baron practically had me on my knees. “So you are into that?” I gulped. This was just as scary for me as it was for him. “Tell me, Baron.”

  “I’ll try anything, Kiera. That’s what makes this so hot for me. The unknown. If we do something I don’t like, I’ll speak up. But we won’t know if we rule it out without doing it.”

  “You’re like my dream come true.” I kissed him, still holding his hair away from his face but otherwise not touching him. Slow and shy, it wasn’t without hunger. Baron kept his hands behind his back. “Now I want you to undress me.”

  He took a deep breath, licking his lips while he considered his strategy. Baron twisted the fabric of my top in his hands like he didn’t know his own strength. I was afraid he�
�d rip it like he’d done to my underwear the other night. I liked this top. I liked Baron better, so if that was his plan, I wouldn’t bitch. Still, I was relieved when he pulled up, and I raised my arms above my head. He let the shirt fall to the ground, sliding his fingers under my bra strap, tracing the curve of my shoulder. I hadn’t expected him to tease—now it was my turn to pulse with the promise of what followed. Baron moved the straps down my arms so when he unhooked my bra, it automatically dropped from my body. The little pad I wore to even me out bounced off my foot. He brushed his lips, open-mouthed, against my nipple, but I caught him by the chin, stilling him.

  “Not until I say so.” His eyes flickered with disappointment, but he nodded, resuming his mission. Baron slid my jeans down my legs slowly, fingers lightly circling against my ass and thighs on the way down. Sitting at my feet, he lifted one then the other, pushing the denim away, and taking off my socks.

  Looking for my approval, those amazing eyes swirled with fervor and devotion. My lips curled up. I was desperately trying to keep my cool with this man kneeling at my feet. The slightest hint of a nod gave him the greenlight to continue. Baron rose, still on his knees, biting the strap of my bikini underwear, and pulling them down my legs with his teeth.

  I already missed the heat of his mouth near my pussy. Burying my hand in his hair, I massaged his scalp, giving him a couple tugs because I loved the way his face lit up when I did it. “What do you want to do, Baron?”

  He blinked, not expecting a choice. “I want to fuck you with my mouth.”

  My knees buckled, and I almost fell on top of him. “I’d like that,” I managed. “A lot.”

  Nudging my legs open, Baron licked his lips as he rose to his knees. He moaned on contact, the hot vibration making me drip with arousal, and I almost lost my balance once again. Baron traced his tongue along the outline of my slit, the movement slow, to make sure he didn’t miss a thing. He darted inward, bumping against my clit, and he might as well have tasered me. The same amount of electricity shot through my body. But he went back to work on my slit, only touching me with his tongue, getting closer and closer to my swollen clit each time. The mix of anticipation and sensation made me crazy. I pulled my own hair, biting my lip to keep from crying out. I had no idea when Lyssie would be back, and I didn’t need her barging in here, thinking something was wrong and trying to help, ruining the most perfect night of my life.

  Baron rolled his tongue over my clit, taking the whole thing in his mouth and sucking on it hard. I trembled, but he didn’t stop his deliberate exploration. This time I almost fell. He had me completely open, his body between my legs as he licked and probed. He pushed his tongue inside me, and the pulsing erupted, driving me down on my knees.

  He still didn’t stop, leaning back in a fluid movement, catching me and positioning me over his face. I was a quivering mess controlled by Baron’s mouth, his every move my central nervous system. I contracted, trying to catch his tongue, my only chance for relief unless I ordered him to stop. And I’d never do that.

  My back arched, the orgasm rolling through me in a violent wave crashing against my skin. Baron didn’t give me any mercy, probing deeper and groaning as my body throbbed around his tongue and mouth.

  I lay on top of him, a breathless, vibrating heap. Baron eased out from underneath my body, pushing my hair back from my dewy skin. “What do you want me to do next, Kiera?”

  Like I even knew he was talking to me. I was having an out of body experience, floating above our bodies tangled on my bedroom floor, thinking that was one lucky bitch down there. But I had an idea.

  “I want you to tell me a story,” I said, and Baron looked puzzled. “I want to know everything that happened to you when you were captured. But no talking. Use your body.”

  Baron’s eyes darkened, but he nodded. He’d still been stroking my hair but that came to an abrupt stop, yanking a big handful of it. He lifted my face to his, and consumed me in a kiss. Everything about it was ravenous, the way he explored my mouth like he wasn’t sure if he’d ever eat again. His tongue was everywhere, pushing hard against the inside of my top lip, tangling with my tongue. Unable to breathe on my own, I stole oxygen, letting his pain and desperation flow into me. This scared the hell out of me, but in facing Baron’s fears, I was facing my own.

  His teeth scraped against the throbbing artery in my neck, stubble tickling my skin. Baron settled in the crook of my neck, just above my collarbone, nipping and sucking. This time, his hands were everywhere, running over my arms hard, then finding my breast, kneading it, rolling it, using his palm with the same intensity. For the first time, I didn’t even fucking miss the other one.

  I was pinned down from the weight of his body, no way to escape. Baron licked the edge of my scar tissue, and I squirmed. He didn’t like that, growling and holding me harder, honing in on the damaged area, licking and scraping his teeth against the ridges. Tears burned my eyes. I never cried, but there was no other response. The wolves had been whipped and beaten. Every single one of them had thought they were too strong to be broken like that, but they’d been wrong. It was torture, having someone bring out the worst in you, then use it as a weapon. I would’ve begged him to stop, but if Baron could endure that for six months, I could take it.

  He’d reduced me to a quivering mass of emotion. Baron sat back, watching it happen like he wasn’t the star of the show. Running his fingers lightly over the scars, I jumped and whimpered when his lips landed on my nipple. He barely licked the hard tip. I shuddered, expecting him to bite, but it didn’t come.

  Baron rolled back off my body, slicked with sweat. I shivered, missing his heat. He separated my legs, hooking one over each shoulder, pushing forward and folding me almost in half. His lips brushed against mine. It wasn’t enough—I wanted another taste but he wouldn’t let me have it. In this position, there was only so far I could chase him. He positioned his cock over my opening. It was crazy how aroused I was, desperate for comfort, shelter from the storm. He stretched me open, his balls against my skin, and then he rolled back, and slammed inside me.

  I knew this was going to be rough, but my body went haywire. I clamped down on him, as hard as I could, but I was no match for his long, frenzied thrusts. I fucking loved it. Baron was giving me absolutely everything he had, and that’s exactly what I admired about him.

  Baron swelled inside me, pulling out before he reached his peak. He came on my stomach, hot ribbons marking me. Once he was completely spent, he dragged his finger through it, then brought them to my mouth, letting me suck him clean.

  He collapsed next to me, never breaking his vow of silence. I kissed him. It was lazy, we were both completely exhausted, and the emotional hangover was going to set in soon for both of us. I nestled my head on his shoulder. With his arms around me, nothing could ever hurt either of us. “That was pretty intense. Are you okay?” I asked.

  I panicked, Baron didn’t answer right away. It hadn’t been my intention to break him. I’d only wanted to give him control over something he’d been powerless to stop. A chance to make all those what ifs his bitch. Ryker was dead; he and his brothers were free. But I knew it didn’t go away just because it was over.

  “If it makes you feel any better, you helped me,” I said. “I had to face some shit there, too. But I knew you’d protect me, and we’d get through this together.”

  “It did make it better.” Baron was still a million miles away. “I have to talk to you about something.”

  My heart dropped into my stomach. Every worst case scenario exploded in my brain. “Please don’t tell me this is goodbye.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Baron

  “Fuck no.” I laughed, but stopped abruptly when I registered the naked fear on Kiera’s face. I kissed her immediately. My beautiful girl wasn’t afraid of anything, and she wasn’t going to start with me. “I’m not going anywhere. It’s about the pack.”

  “Neither am I.” Her frown didn’t fade. “But Shadow imposed our
little house arrest sessions, and he can make them stop, too.”

  “My brother’s not that much of an asshole.” At least he never used to be. It reinforced my decision. “We don’t have to worry about what he says anymore.”

  “We don’t? Then what the hell is the purpose of being alpha, if no one listens to what he says?”

  She didn’t mind this laugh so much. “Everyone else has to listen to him, but I don’t.” I swallowed hard. “I left the pack.”

  She sat up, her mouth hanging open. “How is that even possible?”

  I pushed off the floor, sitting on the bed. Kiera joined me, our bodies magnetized. “I love my family. I love the pack, and everything that it stands for. Like I told you before, the Channings are peacekeepers. Right now, we aren’t. I can’t support that. Shadow’s bullshit about it, I know that’s you’re next question, but I’m hoping once he cools down he’ll see things my way. Understand that there’s more than one way to lead. He’s been so busy competing with Major, he’s trying to beat him at his own game, instead of making Major play his.”

  “You’re fucking brave, standing up for what you believe in. And smart. I don’t know much about the packs, but it sounds like Shadow’s a little off the rails right now. I don’t blame him, he’s got a lot on his shoulders. But this is wise. You’re going to save his ass in the long run.” She cupped my face, rewarding me with a long, hot kiss. She’d never tasted so sweet. I may have lost my pack, put everything on the line, but I had this incredible woman by my side. With her, I was invincible. “What do you think is going to happen?” she asked.

  I wished I had an answer for her.

  THE SECOND INCARNATION of Channing Custom Builders started the same way the first one did—at my mother’s kitchen table. I’d thrown myself into getting our business back together. It should be easier this time. We just had to figure out how to come back from the dead.