Desperately Seeking Shapeshifter (35 page)

When he saw me, he extended his hand, inviting me to return to him.

I always, always would.

After a long, tense morning meeting, the wolf pack and Alliance came to an agreement: Maynard and Levi would be exiled.

“This is a joke,” Maynard sneered. “Exile?”

“Exile,” Connor said firmly.

“What for? For following pack law?” Levi looked belligerent, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Pack law has nothing to do with this,” Beau said, looming menacingly over both seated men. “You’re also part human, and human law condemns
kidnapping, attempted rape, and assault. You’re lucky you’re getting away with just exile.”

“Exile,” Levi said in a dull voice. “From pack territory?”

“From both pack and Alliance territory.”

“How far does that spread?” Maynard asked with a frown.

“Lower forty-eight,” Beau said, and I had to admit that I felt a little gleeful at the shocked looks on the Anderson faces. “And most of Canada.”

“If you return to this territory, your life is forfeit. You’ll be fair game for anyone. My suggestion is that you explore your Alaskan roots, Uncle Levi.” Connor turned his hard-eyed gaze to the other wolves in attendance—the remnants of his new pack. “That goes for anyone else that thinks that they cannot follow both human and pack law.”

No one spoke up. I was pretty impressed. I hadn’t been sure if Connor was strong enough to hold the alpha position initially, but overnight he’d seemed to become a new man—strong, confident. Perhaps he’d found his inner core as well.

As the assembly scattered, I moved through the crowd to find the massive man who stood head and shoulders above the rest—in all ways. He’d been guarding the door, ever the protector.

Gracie stopped me on the way. “Hey, Sara . . . I just . . .” She fidgeted. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I never really thought about what we were doing.”

I said nothing. This didn’t sound quite like an apology.

Gracie squirmed under my stare. “I just . . . I wanted to let you know that we’re turning over a new leaf, and that includes me. And I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed helping with the agency, and I wanted to keep my record updated. I liked dating all those men,” she said shyly. “I don’t get to do a lot of dating in the wolf pack. And if you ever have a job at the agency, well, please think of me.”

I blinked in surprise. “We’ll keep you in mind,” I said politely.

Gracie smiled. “I’m glad. I know you can’t trust me, but maybe in a while, if I’ve been a good girl.”

She looked like she was anxious to please me. Uncertainty over her new pack status? I patted her shoulder and slipped away before she could say anything else.

As I approached Ramsey, I overheard Beau and Connor talking.

“Will she ever forgive me?” Connor was saying.

Beau put his hand on Connor’s shoulder. “Forgiveness takes time. This is a step in the right direction, though. Give her time to learn to trust, and maybe she’ll come around. But if she doesn’t . . .”

“Then it’s no one’s fault but my own,” Connor said grimly. “We have a lot to make up for.”

I couldn’t disagree with that.

Beau gave him a friendly smile. “Well, you’re still invited to my wedding. I think the more the pack spends time with the Alliance, the more they’ll see that it’s not such a bad thing to be a part of.”

A large hand dropped over my shoulder and a familiar scent enveloped me. I leaned in to Ramsey’s kiss as his mouth brushed my hair.

“Are you satisfied with the outcome?” he asked, his voice low to ensure that only I heard him.

“And if I’m not?”

“I’d snap every neck in this room to bring a smile to your face.”

“That is the sweetest, most bloodthirsty thing anyone’s said to me.”

He grunted. “It’s the truth.”

“Which makes it even sweeter. I’m satisfied,” I said. “It’ll take some time before I can fully trust the wolf pack, but I trust Connor to do the right thing.”

“And why is that?”

I looked at the determined expression of the new pack alpha. “Because he wants Savannah back, and he’ll do whatever it takes.”

Ramsey was still fatigued after his poisoning, and I wasn’t in top shape either, thanks to my ordeal. We’d gone home early after promising Beau that we’d stop by for lunch the next day. My sister was back to planning her wedding, and I’d gladly volunteered to help.

When we got to the house, I regarded the repainted porch, the repaired roof, the fresh lumber, and new windows. Ramsey had done all this to provide me with a safe home, and it felt odd to return
and not have a wolf or a Russell tailing us. It was just the two of us.

A rush of uncertainty hit me. Did I know for sure this relationship of ours was
his
choosing?

He moved beside me and gave me an odd look. “What?”

“It’s just . . .” I fiddled with the hem of my T-shirt. “For years you’ve dreamed about rejoining the bear clan. Are you sure you don’t want to—”

He scowled at me. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

I bristled at that. “I’m
not
kidding. You’ve had all your choices taken from you by me. I just want you to know that if you want to go back, I’m okay with that—”

“I’m here because I want to be.”

“But you were forced—”

He shook his head. “I volunteered. I told Beau I wanted to watch over you. From the moment I saw you, I thought you were amazing.”

I stared up at him in shock. The weeks I’d spent with the Russells, he’d had feelings for me? I’d had no idea. “You did?”

“Here you were, this tiny, beautiful little human, snarling with fear. You were surrounded by shifters and strangers, and trying to hide in plain sight.” His mouth quirked. “While pretending you weren’t hiding. I liked that. You were fascinating. I wanted you, even then.”

My heart melted into a big puddle of goo. “But . . . your clan . . .”

“Exiled me years ago for my friendship with
Beau. Like the wolves, the bears don’t consort with outside shifters. I think it makes them weaker. I won’t miss them. My family is here.”

“And am I your family?”

His dark eyes stared down at me hotly. “You are my mate. My reason for living. I would do anything for you.”

Now I really was going to melt into a puddle. I trailed my fingers up his shirt. “Then would you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

My fingers grazed one of his nipples through the fabric of his shirt, and I heard the sharp intake of his breath. “I was wondering if you would demonstrate this amazing bear shifter stamina I keep hearing so much about . . .”

He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me against him, and I wrapped my limbs around him. My mouth met his, my tongue brushing against his.

He groaned with need and we stumbled toward the house. I loved the taste of him, loved the taste of his mouth, the way his tongue moved against mine. Each flick of it sent a surge of liquid heat straight to my apex, and by the time we managed to slam the door shut, I was whimpering with need. I needed him deep inside me, and I told him that, whispering naughty words against his mouth.

His breath hissed from his throat, and he pulled away from my hungrily seeking mouth, staring at me with passion-glazed eyes. “Couch?”

“Couch,” I breathed, agreeing.

In two seconds flat, I was down on the couch and he was undoing the button on my jeans. My fingers fumbled with his, and as soon as the button was free, he tugged the jeans off of me and down my legs. As soon as I’d divested myself of my shirt, I wiggled to help, tugging at his clothes even as he undressed me. “Take this off. I want to feel your skin against mine.”

He growled low in his throat, a sound of pleasure, and then he bent over me, his massive form covering mine. I felt his lightly furred chest brush against my nipples. They stiffened into hard points, and I deliberately pushed them against his chest. “Bite me, Ramsey.”

He groaned low in his throat and leaned down to take one aching nipple in his mouth. I felt the scrape of his teeth against the peak and gasped at the intense flare of pleasure/pain. My fingers slid to his nipples, flicking them in response, then trailed down his stomach. I felt the head of his cock brush against my fingers, and I curled them around it. So big and hard, the tip already slick.

He nipped my nipple again and then nuzzled it, teasing the point with his tongue. Each sweep of it over the tip made my sex clench, and I wanted him so fast and hard that I dug my fingers into his skin. “How’s your stamina?”

A harder bite on my aching nipple was his response, and I nearly came off the couch. “First time . . . not gonna be a long time.”

“That’s okay,” I breathed. “We’ll get it right on the second try.”

“Or the third,” he agreed.

I dug my fingers into his hair, reveling in the feel of his body against mine. “I won’t count if you won’t.”

“Deal,” he growled, and pulled me closer.

Epilogue

I
dyed my hair a cheery hot pink for my sister’s wedding. It went well with the peacock-green, taffeta minidress she’d picked out for her bridesmaids. Marie, Ryder, and I held small bouquets of pale roses as we stood in a line up the steps of the chapel. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t cry at the sight of my sister in her wedding dress, but I started weeping as soon as the music keyed up.

Bathsheba arrived at the base of the steps in her wedding dress, her face radiant and utterly gorgeous. Her long, pale-blond hair had been left loose, and a small circlet headband anchored the veil cascading down her back. Her dress was beautiful, with a creamy white sweetheart bodice of thick satin and a flowing organza princess skirt. She looked like something out of a fairy tale, and her face glowed with happiness. We preceded her into the church and down the aisle, her gaze on Beau the entire time as she placed her hand in his and they turned to the preacher to begin the ceremony.

Across the aisle, Ramsey shifted uncomfortably
in his tuxedo. He hated it when I cried. I gave him a watery smile and turned my attention back to the ceremony.

It was lovely and brief, and before long, Bath and Beau endured the rounds of photos and well-wishes, and then were racing out of the chapel to a rain of birdseed.

I sidled up to Ramsey, still clutching my bouquet. He looked so tall and handsome in his tuxedo. “Hey there, hot stuff. I like the tux.”

He yanked at the collar. “I don’t.”

I straightened his lapels, giving him a possessive look. I could see the bites I’d left on his neck, and it made me want to drag him somewhere private and do dirty things to him. “You look delicious. I want to climb you like a monkey.”

His mouth twitched at the corner, a sure sign that he was fighting a smile.

I leaned in closer, encouraged. “And then make sweet monkey love to you.”

Someone coughed behind us, and Ramsey’s ears turned bright red as Joshua and Ellis Russell sauntered past with a laugh.

“Climb the monkey bars later,” Joshua teased as he walked out of the chapel. “Time for the reception first.”

My hand in Ramsey’s, we went to the door just in time to watch Bathsheba and Beau get into the back of the rented limo. Beau’s hand slid around my sister’s waist, pulling her into his lap, and they were kissing madly by the time someone shut the
door. “Looks like my sister is Bathsheba Russell now,” I said with a watery sniff. “She looks so beautiful.”

Ramsey pulled out his peacock-green handkerchief and handed it to me. “You’re supposed to be happy.”

“I
am
happy,” I told him. “That’s why I’m crying.”

He gave me a skeptical look, and then leaned in close. “Do you need a few minutes alone with your Huggy Bear?”

I threw my bouquet aside, wrapping my arms around his neck. “God, it is so sexy when you say your pet name like that.” I kissed him, hard, feeling the need to brand him as my own. When someone coughed politely behind us, I broke the kiss off. “Where’s private around here?”

“My truck’s pretty private,” Ramsey said and hauled me up against him as we headed out to the parking lot.

We showed up at the reception about a half hour later, just a little disheveled. My sister was on the dance floor with Jeremiah Russell, laughing and blushing as the other Russell brothers tried to pin dollars onto her bodice. The band—a were-badger family—played cheerful, up-tempo songs, and the reception hall was packed with Alliance supernaturals. The heavy scents of tiger, badger, cougar, jaguar, mink, fox, and just about everything else I could think of were thick. I even caught the scent of the fey. Ryder and Marie stood in one corner, looking
like they felt awkward being the only humans in a room full of supes.