His words flow
ed
over her like honey
,
and she couldn’
t hold back any longer. With
his hands tangled in her hair and
their eyes connected. Her body ex
ploded and shattered in ecstasy.
R
olling waves of release kept going
,
and she
could
hardly catch a breath.
Then
she fell over
the edge
into the
arduous
abyss.
He pistoned in and out of her wet snatch until his body tensed and he filled her with his hot seed. He sagged against her and she took the full weight of h
im with delight. Her limbs felt like
they were made of liquid
,
and she sighed in contentment.
She didn’t
know how long they laid there. H
e moved and pulled her close to his sid
e while kissing her neck lovingly.
They got up and showered together
,
washing each other’s skin with intimate conversation and laughter.
Later
,
they ate brownies in bed and she found herself falling more and more for him with each passing minute.
“You make me feel like I’m a completely who
le man,” Stavros said on a sigh. He fed her the last bite of his brownie.
“
Mmmm
.
W
ho knew brownies from a box were this good.” Amari laughed and lay back with him before getting serious. “I wish you would stop thinking of yourself as flawed.
Stavros
,
you are whole
.
The fact that y
our body is healing
a few scars
doesn’t change
who you are.”
“My father came into my life when I was five,” Stavros said in a low voice. “My mom could
n’t
give a hell about me
,
so when he came and said he was taking his
son, she said
to
go ahead
,
packed up my small bag and closed the door in my face. No hug, nothing.” He sighed
,
and she could tell that he was trying to keep emotion out of his voice. The past still bothered him even if he didn’t want to admit it.
“What happened with your father, being raised by him?” She asked softly.
“H
e was no better than my mom except he liked to train me with a fist or a slap
.
”
H
e gave a sarcastic laugh. “I thought anything could be bet
t
er than living with my mom and her lack of caring or affection. There
were times I longed for the worl
d
I left, where I was non-exis
tent in her life. At least she made sure I was clean and fed. I
co
uld sit in my room and watch TV, draw
,
go skateboarding with friends as long as I kept out of her way. With him, he made sure I had nothing and felt like nothing. As a tiger shifter
,
I was to be a loner
,
and if I got hurt he
made sure to drill it in my head
that I was worthless. I should just crawl away in to the wilderness and die. So when I had the chance to leave him
,
I was gone.” Stavros gave as short laugh. “Eighteen
,
and I told him fuck you. He came at me and I was strong enough to knock him down. Anger is a fuel that I used
,
and what he taught me made me a great mercenary and thief
u
ntil
Casey found me and gave me a purpose. Those guys became the family I never had
.
I love them all.”
“
You should call your friends, the ones who you consider family
,
and let them
know you’re
ok
ay
.
” Amari sat up and looked at him.
“Stavros, don’t let the fucked up world of your father dictate your future.”
“
I limp, Amari
.
I
n my tiger form I should be healed by now
.
” Stavros sat up and threw the blanket of
f
his legs
,
exposing
the scars. “Ho
w can I go back to the unit and watch while they put themselves in danger
and
I sit back and do nothing
?
”
“You were in an explosion and your body was peppered with shrapnel, you never went to the doctor so who knows what still in your body that’s hampering your healing.
”
He made a sound of frustration. “My body expelled it all.”
She shook her head. “Your don’t know that
.
A
nd going home to them
,
getting checked out the right way could be the way
to finish healing
. I could only do so much treating your burns and your external wounds. Your friends could
do
so much more.”
“What do you know about it?” Stavros snapped and she jumped in surprise at the anger in his voice directed towards her. “You ran away from everything you knew
.
I
t was taken from me by some fucking insurgent with a death plan. Casey, Zane and all tho
se guys
don’t need a shell of who I used to be.
”
How dare he?
Amari scrambled out of his bed and began to pull on her jeans. She spoke as she dressed. “You think it was easy leaving my sister and go to
A
nchorage every three mo
n
ths to call her from a payphone to tell her I’m ok
ay?
Or even better
,
emailing her from my friend
’
s home so the IP address can’t be t
raced to me. I get to say six words. I am ok
ay
, I love you and that’s it.” She pulled her shirt over her head and didn’t even care that her hair came free of the scrunchy
holding
it back.
She flipped her hair out of her face. “
So you think I ran away and I sa
id
kiss the sweet spot of my ass. You ran away
,
Stavros
,
and you’re still running. From your mom, dad and your friends
,
plus you want me to coddle you
while you make
the dumbest decision ever. Wrong
!
S
omeone needs to go upside your head with the truth
,
buddy. You’re scared
,
and that’s just plain and simple. Don’t push it off on me.”
“Amari…”
She held up her hand. “Don’t even talk to me. I’m going home and you can s
it her
e
and wallow in self-pity. I hope you fall into a brownie coma.
”
She turned to walk away and then she thought better of it and walked back to snatch up the browni
e
box. “Never mind
,
I’m taking
them
with
me. Y
ou don’t deserve goodies!”
With her head held high
,
she walked out and made sure to slam the door of his cabin when she left.
The gravel kicked up under the whee
ls of the truck as she pulled out. On the main road
,
she had to pull over and calm her breathing before she continued on.
God
,
he
made me so mad!
She
headed
into Hiko and her apartment. If he freaking wanted to hide away from life
,
then so be it
.
B
ut to act like she was
…
Oh no, he
didn’t make me out to be a coward.
She
’d
stood up in between all the threats and the harassment, losing her job…everything. She did what was right.
S
he walked in
to her apartment
and went straight into
t
he bathroom for a shower. Warm water always made her feel better
,
and right now she wanted that and a
slice of chocolate cake. Her steam was slowly dissipating when she finally stepped from the shower and dried off. She picked out a pair of pajamas to put on. It was their first fight in almost a year of knowing each other.
Maybe I should’ve seen it from his point of view.
She wa
s
n
’
t known for a lot of thinking when she got angry. The doorbell rang and she frowned
,
thinking
he’d
come
to apologize. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to forgive him yet.
She walked with bare feet to the front door
with
no peephole and called through the barrier. “If you’re here to say I
’
m sorry
,
you better have chocolate cake in a box.”
She opened the door and her eyes widen
ed
in surprise and fear.
Oh no, not here, you should
n’t
have been able to find me here!
Amari tried to close the door and two sets of powerful arms pushed it open and they forced their way inside. She struggled with all her might, she opened her mouth to scream but a large hand clamped over
it
.
“You have people who need to talk to you
,
Ms. Montgomery,”
o
ne deep voice said calmly.
Those were the last words she heard before
he placed
a sweet smelling cloth over her nose and her
consciousness fell away. Fear clutched her heart as darkness consumed her. It seemed she would be facing her past sooner than she ever thought.
Chapter Four
Stavros walked a trail in the already worn floorboards of the cabin.
Well
,
you’ve gone and
done it now, idiot
. He berated himself for how he acted with Amari.
He picked up the scrunchy that fell from her hair and held it to his nose. It smelled just like her.
Lashing out was definitely the wrong thin
g
,
and she
’d
left angrier than he’d ever seen her. Which was never
,
since she was the most patient and kind woman in the world. But man
,
when she got angry she let it all fly.
He stopped and smiled
,
remembering the fire in her eyes and the way she talked to him. Amari Montgomery mad was a definite turn on. She
was
right in many ways and he was a damn foo
l. It was about time he called Casey and the others
,
but a year of pretending to be dead
…
How
the heck will this reunion go?
Hey
guys I wasn’
t really dead
from that explosion, oh and the body parts you buried weren’t even mine. Yup I’ve
been hiding away for months
.
Before that even happened he had to make it right with Amari and tell her how he felt. It was because of her he was alive
, he would have wasted away and died without her coming each day and just filling his life with something new and exciting. She was the first really good thing in his life.
Instead of s
hifting
,
he decided to take his
beat up truck
.
L
ord
knew
there was no way he could stand naked at her front door. The neighbors would definitely talk.
He wasn’t coming back without her, wasn’t tackling his previous life and not taking the woman who helped him survive and that he loved. Stavros stopped with his hand on doorknob and grinned. Yeah that’s right
,
I’m in love. He flipped his dad the bird in his mind and sent a mental fuck you.
The bastard had
tried to destroy him and here he was alive and ready to go on. He would face it all with Amari at his side.
He pulled the truck out of his gravel driveway and headed into the small town.
The drive took less that twenty minutes because he pushed the truck to its limits. Even the older model Chevys were supposed to be built tough
,
so he had no doubt the engine could handle it.
He pulled up to where she lived and saw her truck parked in front of the small duplex she
rented
. He could tell something was off as he moved toward
the front door. He doubted that Amari was one that would leave her door flapping in the wind.
His
training took over and he stepped inside
,
pressing his body against the wall
,
staying in the dark. He clenched his fist in anger. Stavros
had known
there was more to what she
said. Nothing is that cavalier
when it
comes
to men with money.
He went up the flight of stairs that led
to
her apartment door. That
,
to
o,
hung
wide open and he could see signs of
a
struggle
.
H
e lifted his nose and scented the
room
.
The sickly sweet aroma of
chloroform still hung in the air. H
e easily picked the sweat and cologne of two assailants.
Not
from around Alaska, no one he
’
d
smelled around the area wore expensive aftershave. Her past had caught up with her and she was still alive
when she left this place
.
There was no blood or the smell of it having been cleaned up.
They wanted something from her, which meant he had a window of time to get her back and make them pay. A growl rose up in his throat
,
and even to his own ears it was vicious. They took his mate and they would suffer.
There was no reason to go back to the cabin. Everything he needed was in his pockets. The timing was off and it was a helluva way to make his way back into Army Beasts
,
b
ut he needed their help to find her. He called
Camden’s cell
.
I
f
there
was one guy he could reach in a pinch
,
it was him. The phone rang three times before Camden answered
, his hello held happiness and
Stavros
heard a breathless laugh in the background.