“Lose your dog or you want one?” he asked, in the voice of an emotionless robot. Rage looked first to me, then to Penny.
“We’d like to look around,” Penny said, taking my hand. Warmth traveled through me from her touch. “See if there’s a sweet addition for our home.”
“Sure,” the drone said, and opened the wooden half-door that separated the front of the room from the back. “Help yourself.”
“Thanks,” Penny said with a smile.
Rage lifted earbuds to his ears and started some girl band pop crap as we walked away. Rage—this couldn’t have been the man, or child, his parents had envisioned.
Fluorescent lights buzzed and flickered overhead. Dogs lined up at the doors of their cages. Some yapped, others howled. Tails wagged. Eyes pleaded.
Once we turned a corner, Penny released my hand, and her smile with it. The ghost of her touch remained on my palm, an echo of her warmth.
“I don’t smell anything,” she said.
“No,” I agreed. “There’s no way your guy is spending his days hiding from the sun in here. There would be some sign—if not half-eaten dogs, then at least the stink of him.”
Penny nodded, then continued down the hall.
Even if it was just for show, I missed the way she’d held my hand, though I knew I had no right to. I followed, watching the way her small hips swayed as she walked. Feminine yet understated, she was exactly what I’d always wanted but had never known.
Penny stopped and turned to one of the cages, and stared inside.
“Did you find something?” I asked, looking through the metal grid for some sign of blood or trace of the monster we sought.
“He reminds me of you,” she said, looking not at the dark space in the cage, but at the little gray mop that stood by the wall. One ear was missing, one eye scarred shut. His fur was long, thick, and tangled. Not much bigger than a cat, the mutt looked like he’d been on the wrong end of more than one fight. While all of the other dogs had come to the doors, this one hung back.
“Ugly,” I said.
“No,” Penny said. “He’s a survivor.”
“Looks to me like he’s one fight away from his last.”
“Really?” she asked. “Because it looks to me like there’s more to him than that.”
Penny opened the cage.
“He could be vicious,” I said, holding her wrist.
“I don’t think so,” she said, and pulled away. She stepped inside the cage, and I followed. I wouldn’t let that thing harm her. When he attacked, I’d be there to protect her.
She crouched down two feet away from the dog. He bared his teeth, though not at her. At me.
“Penny…” I said. This was not the kind of animal that wanted to be pet. It was the kind that wanted to be left alone. Maybe he was like me after all.
“There’s nothing left. A shadow stands where joy once lived. Fragments shattered long ago.” Sultry and sorrowful, Penny sang to the mop dog.
I stared at the woman crouched on the floor, the woman with the voice of an angel. She was always surprising me. And with every new thing I learned, I loved her more.
The mutt jumped to her, not with fangs bared, not in an attack, but to lick her hands. She stroked his back, while she sang her sad, beautiful song.
When she finished, she stood.
“Where’s that song from?” I asked.
“My mother used to sing it,” Penny said. “She had a beautiful voice.”
“So do you.”
“Thanks,” she said. Then she looked back down toward the dog. “Maybe when this is all over, I’ll adopt him.” I looked at her, wondering. Was she talking about the dog at all? Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me, deep copper shimmering with unspoken promises. Did she feel the same draw to me that I did to her?
I hoped she didn’t. It would be easier if she didn’t.
“Anyway,” Penny said, “I think this lead has fizzled. What do you say we follow yours?”
“Mine?”
“All that we have left is the coroner,” Penny said. “Let’s see what he’s up to.”
I looked down at the dog, and back to Penny. I had nothing better to offer, so I agreed. “Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter Thirteen
Penny
He wasn’t the same as everyone else. But neither was I. This pull to him, I knew what it had to be. Instead of flowers, poems, and chocolate, we were leather, blades, and scars. But still, there was no other explanation. I’d found my mate, and he wasn’t a raven. Sometimes I felt like I wasn’t either.
Even if Axel felt the same connection, even if we could work through our personal crap to fully accept each other, nothing would change at home. My family wouldn’t welcome him the way they did Kaylee’s boyfriend. But why should I expect them to? They didn’t accept me. It was better like this, me away from the constable, me with Axel.
Stuck in my own head, I nearly missed the single car kicking up dust on the otherwise empty dirt road. The driver was thin, with black hair, and pasty-white skin.
“That’s the coroner,” Axel said. “Coincidence that he’s out here, or not?” He cocked his brow and smiled just a hint. Damn, it was sexy.
“Let’s find out,” I said.
This time when I climbed onto the Harley, I wasn’t nervous. I wrapped my arms tight around Axel, and watched the world race by. Trunks and leaves blended into streaks of brown and green, just beyond the dark strands of my wildly flapping hair.
His jacket was cool against my cheek, his back hard beneath. I reveled in the closeness, the colors of nature, and the feeling of the seat rumbling beneath me. In that rush, nothing was wrong, no one was broken. I was content to stay just like this forever.
The bike slowed when we entered town, the strong wind was replaced with a gentle breeze, green and brown replaced with white and silver. My hair settled, and riding felt more like running than flying. Still, I held tight to Axel.
It was impossible to see around his wide shoulders to what lay ahead, so I watched the buildings pass. Bricks and wood blurred together. Eventually, we slowed to a stop. Axel dropped his feet down to the sides, while the motor still rumbled beneath us. The coroner had to have parked.
“What’s he doing?” I asked, unable to see anything beyond Axel.
“He went inside that house,” Axel said.
The engine ran and we waited, but the guy stayed inside. After a while, I grew restless.
“What’s this guy’s name, anyway?” I asked, and climbed off the bike.
Axel looked at me, turning his attention away from the two-story wooden house for the first time since we’d parked. I stretched my back, rolled my shoulders.
“Vincent Trench,” Axel said.
“Sounds villainous,” I replied.
The corner of his lips turned up in that sexy near-grin.
I looked over at the building beside us, just far enough away from Trench’s place to not be noticeable, just close enough to keep tabs. And abandoned for years.
We had waited for hours already. It wouldn’t hurt to get off the bike and surveil from a different angle.
“Come on,” I said, and grabbed hold of the metal ladder that hung from the side of the old grain and tack warehouse.
“Up there?” Axel asked, as I climbed.
“It’s safe,” I said. “And only teenagers hang around here. And that’s after dark, not now.”
Axel followed without another word.
The sides of the roof were tall, the part beneath our feet flat. It was the kind of roof that was meant for sitting on, and it was secluded. No one else was around. Even if there had been, no one could see up here from the street. Axel laid his jacket down on the rough floor.
“Here,” he said, gesturing for me to sit. He sat beside me on the rough cement—a gentleman, a quality I’d never before found charming. From him, it was.
“So what’s your plan for when all of this is over?” Axel asked.
Good q
uestion. “I haven’t planned that far ahead,” I said.
“Do you want to go back to work at the shop?” he asked.
“Not really,” I admitted. “I can’t say that I know what I want. It’s hard to look past what’s here and now, you know?”
“Yeah,” he said, “I do.”
“How about you?” I asked. “Are you going to help me and then blow out of here like the wind you rode in on?”
There was something there, in his eyes, something that told me he wanted to say no. Something that told me it was because of me.
“I’m having a hard time looking past the here and now,” he said.
His fingers brushed my cheek, rough skin but tender touch. I leaned into his palm, brushing the pad of his thumb with my lips. The shifter part of me screamed that this was it, that Axel was my mate, and that there was nothing more vital than that.
I took in his scent, listened to his heartbeat, and watched the heat burn in his eyes. He wanted me as much as I wanted him.
I kissed his thumb, soft, tender, but kept my gaze locked with his. Fanning the flames, I spread my lips, licking his salty skin.
“Penny,” he growled, and closed his eyes. His voice was deep, raw, and as much wolf as man. If that wasn’t enough, the tent in his jeans told me what I already knew.
Every inch of my skin awakened, and excitement filled me. I loved the way he reacted. I put my hand on his, and took his thumb between my lips.
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop,” he said.
“Maybe I don’t want you to,” I replied. I wanted him to be my first. I wanted him to be my only.
With that, his hands held my wrists beside my head; his body pinned my back to the roof top. I gasped at his speed, at his strength as he straddled my legs. The jacket beneath my back was soft, protecting me from the rough surface below. Had it been anyone else, I would have been scared instead of nervous. But this was Axel, and this was exactly what I wanted.
He leaned down, so the rough stubble of his cheek scratched along my jaw. “I’m no good for you,” he said, lips by my ear.
“I don’t care,” I replied, and it was true. I’d never wanted nice. I’d never wanted to hide in the constable making raven shifter babies. I wanted adventure. I wanted thrill. I wanted Axel.
His teeth brushed the lobe of my ear, and I moaned as the sensation carried through me.
“Tell me to leave,” he growled. “Tell me no, and I’ll go.”
“I can’t,” I whispered. “I won’t.”
His lips trailed down my neck, the skin cool where each kiss was left behind. I tipped my head back, exposing myself to him. It was right there. One bite and we were bonded. One bite and I was tied to him forever. He lingered above my collarbone, warm breath tickling my bare skin.
Then his tongue was deep within my mouth, delving, claiming me to my darkest depths. I kissed him back, just as desperate to relieve the tension within me, just as eager to show him how serious I was.
He released my arm, instead kneading my aching breast. It felt so good, tender, as he held back. I didn’t need him to hold back. I wanted everything, every raw emotion, everything he had to give.
With my free hand, I reached between us, to the cock that pressed hard against his fly. I stroked his length, encouraging him. His tongue moved deeper, claiming every inch, before he let me breathe.
And just like that, he sat upright. For a moment I was afraid he would pull away again. He didn’t. I watched as he slid his shirt over his head. Each inch revealed more of him to me. His abs were toned, defined. His chest was broad, his tanned skin covered in light scars. I wanted to know the story for each one. They were what we both were—stories of pain, stories of survival.
I pulled off my shirt, and watched him devour me with his eyes. I hoped he liked what he saw. All of this was so new to me. I needed acceptance, and he didn’t disappoint.
“Beautiful,” he said.
I smiled, and tore open his jeans. His cock sprung free, huge and ready for me. The size was as impressive as it was intimidating.
He slid my pants down over my hips, and somehow I didn’t care that I was naked on a roof in the middle of town. All I cared about was the feeling of his cock in my fist, the look of need in his eyes, and the excitement that flowed through me.
His fingers teased, circling my clit, as he kissed my breasts. I expected hard and rough, but he offered soft and slow. “Axel,” I moaned. “Axel, please.”
“Anything,” he said. “Anything for you.” With that, he grabbed my hips, and tilted me up to meet him. Thick and firm, he pushed gently in. It was different than I’d expected, more intense. I felt a burning, stretching sensation as I matched his girth. The feeling was as exquisite as it was painful. But the sting quickly passed, leaving only pleasure.
I dug my fingers into his shoulders as he pushed farther and farther inside. Rough and hard was what I had expected, and once I’d taken his entire length, that’s what I got.
The sun shone bright behind him, watching over us in the afternoon sky. I bit my lip to keep from screaming as Axel filled me like no man had ever done before. I held onto his neck, and let wave after wave of ecstasy wash over me.
It was more than I’d hoped for, all that I’d wanted, and exactly what I’d needed.
Chapter Fourteen
Axel
It wasn’t smart. It was the exact opposite of what I’d told myself I needed to do. But I didn’t regret it even for a moment. Seeing Penny lying there on the roof, hearing the way she’d called my name, feeling the perfection of being inside her—more than ever I knew I could never leave her. If she wanted me, even if only for a little while, I’d take it. I wanted nothing more.
I watched as her naked breasts rose and fell with every breath. I watched her pink cheeks and the flicker of her closed eyelids as she rested. I’d watched her like this for the better part of an hour, long enough for the sun to sink behind the horizon. I could be content like this forever. She was heaven. I didn’t deserve a moment of her, but couldn’t keep myself away. Not after that. Hell, I was kidding myself to think I could have ever managed to leave town without her.
Movement at the edge of my view caught my attention. After hours in that house, the coroner was finally on the move. He’d put on a trench coat and sunglasses, which he didn’t have before. He looked like an idiot, as inconspicuous as a cartoon spy. All he needed was the false mustache.
“Penny,” I said, with a gentle touch on her shoulder.
Her fingers squeezed my wrist. Her eyes shot open. She looked at me; recognition dawned and she released me.
“Sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep.” She looked up at the darkening sky, then threw on her clothes.
“It’s okay,” I said. “He only just came out.”
Trench turned his key on the car door, then climbed inside his silver Charger. The car was as ridiculous as the sunglasses in the dark. Neither would go unnoticed anywhere in Corbeau.
“I never let myself get so distracted before I met you,” Penny said, as she raced to the ladder. “Why’d you let me sleep so long?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I replied. “And because you needed it.”
She didn’t argue, or slow down. In a town with so little traffic, we weren’t about to lose our mark. I was content to give him a little space before we followed. Penny was eager to go. She even hopped on the bike before me.
“Come on,” she said, with a pull on my arm.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “We’ve got him.”
I took off without another word between us. Penny held tight as the wind whipped past. I loved the feel of her, the way she wrapped herself around me, the softness and warmth that she offered. It was as if I’d never really ridden before, like I’d been missing the most important part—Penny.
First stop was a hardware store. We kept our distance and didn’t have to wait long. The little bits of sunlight that remained faded behind rooft
ops. Trench carried out two black, lumpy bags and dropped them in his trunk.
The next stop was the cemetery. We parked and watched.
“We should follow him,” Penny said.
“Not yet,” I said.
“The guy’s carrying a bag full of who knows what to the cemetery,” she said. It was true; he was. “It could be voodoo candles and whatever magical crap he needs to raise the dead.”
“From the hardware store?” I asked.
“A shovel,” Penny said. “A hand shovel so that it fits in that bag.”
“Any of the zombies you encounter have a funeral first?” I asked.
Penny squinched up her lips and narrowed her eyes. “I wouldn’t know,” she said. “Not that I heard, but I only interact with people at the shop.”
That’s right, the reclusive nature of her pack—her secretive constable. “Wouldn’t someone notice if graves were being torn apart?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said, then hopped off the bike. “But I’m going to see for myself.”
I knew better than to try to stop her. Plus, I wanted to know, too.
The coroner held his head low as he walked through the dark, between tombstones. His path was certain. He knew where he was headed.
Crickets chirped, frogs croaked, and grass rustled beneath the tall man’s feet. The moon hid behind cotton-like clouds, allowing us to hide easily in the blackness.
Fifteen feet away, Trench entered a small stone structure, a family mausoleum. Penny stopped, and I with her. The sound of rustling plastic came from within, likely the bag Trench had brought along. He was quiet for a moment, before his shoes shuffled, and he reemerged.
He was alone. Part of me was disappointed. It would have been easier if we had seen him do something, like raise a zombie, and we caught him red-handed. Though as I thought about it, I noticed his hands were empty. No black bag.
“He left his bag,” I whispered.
Werewolves & Whiskers: Sawtooth Peaks Wolf Shifter Romance Box Set Page 56
