The stubborn woman. “We’ll argue about it later,” he promised.
She shrugged, as if he were of little consequence. His beast rose and took the challenge, and by the heady scent of her lust, she knew what she’d done.
Hale coughed, discreetly reminding him that they sat in a room full of Circs with keen senses. The men glanced away, but Caitlyn and Kelly had the nerve to grin at him and Sabrina. Kelly even hummed the song “Here Comes the Bride.” Sabrina hurriedly broke into more detail about Pearson Labs, the fourth floor that she’d never known existed, and questions about who was pulling Pearl’s, and now McKinley’s, strings. Because with Pearl dead, she had no idea who’d step in as the creative consultant behind Project Dawn.
“Maybe McKinley?” Doc said aloud.
“No. He’s the muscle, not the brains.” She glanced at Derrick, as if also reminding him of his place.
“Okay, that’s it.” Derrick stood and pulled Sabrina to her feet. He swung her over his shoulder, ignoring her embarrassed protests. “We’ll see you all in a bit. Time to teach my mate how a real man manages his woman.” He slapped her ass, smiling at the words coming out of her mouth. “You don’t need chocolates and flowers. Take a lesson, Roane.”
“Dickhead,” Roane growled.
Caitlyn stared. “Wow. And I thought Ace had a temper. Sabrina’s is worse.” Kelly chuckled.
“Put me down,” Sabrina yelled, slapping any part of him she could reach. Considering she was as strong as an ox when she wanted to be, Derrick knew she fought on principle alone. Because the scent of her need was hell on his cock.
Sabrina allowed herself to be carried away from the others by her inhumanly strong mate. All that talk about love had made her giddy, especially since Derrick didn’t deny any of it. He wasn’t the most charming or polite of men, so she didn’t think he’d refrained from rejecting her to save her feelings.
He carried her to his room on the third floor of the Circs’ wing that he shared with Hale. Though Caitlyn and Roane, and now Kelly, Ace, and Zack, lived in the new houses built behind the main house, they spent so much time here they still maintained their old rooms. Derrick and Hale maintained residences here all the time.
Derrick threw Sabrina down on his large bed. She had a brief moment to look around and found his room still neat as a pin. He’d shown her his room once, a week ago, but they had yet to christen the bed.
“Don’t move,” he growled as he went over and locked the door. He turned back to her.
She waited for him to pounce, anticipating his body inside hers once more. She needed the closeness, still scared after finding him unconscious in Pearson Labs.
“Okay, Sabrina, this is the way it is.” He started pacing, and she realized there was more to this small talk than sex. “My mother couldn’t accept me. My ex-fiancée didn’t want me. The women I’ve fucked up until you didn’t matter worth a damn.” He looked fierce as he stalked around the room. She felt his tension but was too fascinated by his words to try to soothe him.
“You’re a pain in my ass,” he said, stopping in front of her to glare. “You don’t listen half the time. You make fun of me. I’m as much brain as I’m brawn, you little witch.” His gaze wandered over her body, and to her surprise, he sported a raging hard-on as he yelled at her. “And I love you so fucking much, it hurts,” he added hoarsely. “When I realized what could have happened to you, that McKinley touched you…” He started to change.
“No, come back.” She knelt on the bed and scooted to his side. Standing up, she towered over him. “Be Derrick -- the man, the beast, my Circ. Tell me you love me again.” Her eyes welled.
“I love you, princess. I don’t know how it happened, but I’m nothing without you.” He pulled her close and hugged her tight. After a minute, he looked up at her and frowned.
“What?”
He growled and pushed her flat on the bed. He tore his clothes off, then mutilated hers.
Naked, they rubbed against one another until Sabrina couldn’t hold back another moan.
“I’m still waiting to hear you say it back, princess,” he muttered before clamping his mouth over her nipple.
“Oh, God. Derrick, I love you. I love you so much, despite your bossiness, your arrogance, and your lack of charm.” She sucked in a breath when he turned his attention to her other breast and nudged her thighs wide. “You’re handsome. You’re strong. And you love me,” she said with wonder, moaning when he pushed inside her.
“Oh, yeah. Princess, you were made for me.” He fucked her long and hard, taking her to her peak over and over again. Her orgasms came one right after the other. She clenched around him, needing to feel him release. But Derrick held out.
“Please, Derrick. Come in me.”
“You want it?” he asked as he pushed deeper. “How much, mate?”
“Derrick, don’t be an ass,” she growled and locked her ankles around his back. “I want you to come hard. In. Side. Me.”
He chuckled and groaned, “I know what you want. You want a bun in the oven like Kelly, right?” He intentionally pushed harder against her clit and latched his mouth onto the side of her neck, sucking hard.
“Oh, no,” she gasped as she came around him. “No babies, not yet. Soon though.”
“Okay,” he said on a sigh. “Whatever you want is fine with me.” A vision of his children clinging to Sabrina filled him with awe. “God, I love you.” She breathed his name, awash in emotion. “I can’t believe this is real. Derrick, I’d ask you to pinch me, but I’m afraid you would.”
They laughed together, then snuggled and made love again. Sabrina promised herself never to take anyone for granted. Not her new friends or her mate -- the man she loved more than anything. A family would come in time. Derrick would make an excellent father. And she’d prove to him that he could trust her. Words wouldn’t mean as much as actions. Sabrina knew without a doubt that he was “it” for her.
“When you find the one you’ll walk through fire for, he’s the one you keep,” she’d heard her best friend say over and over again.
I found him, Anita. He’s mine now. And I’m not giving him up.
Derrick hugged her tighter, then whispered in her ear, “So princess, now that I’ve shown you that I’m hell on wheels, what say you give me what you promised? I earned it, right?” He wrapped her hand around his cock and licked his lips, staring at her mouth.
Sabrina giggled, actually heard herself giggle, and slithered down his belly. “I don’t know, Derrick. The guys call you hard-ass, but from what I’ve seen, you’re more a ‘hard dick’ kind of guy.”
“Very fun -- oh, baby.” He sighed as she closed her mouth over him.
So easy to please, she thought as she loved him, reveling in the pleasure of enjoying her mate. And so very mine.
Hale and Doc watched the other couples leave. Knowing Derrick was upstairs fucking the shit out of Sabrina didn’t ease his stress, so Hale stayed with Doc. He worried about the older man, who now seemed so fragile. Being screwed over by Diego had to hurt. Hale had never been in love, and seeing Doc going through so much pain, he wasn’t sure he wanted it.
It was fine for the others, but Hale had no problem staying single.
He had no angst, no hidden secrets preventing him from loving or trusting a woman.
His mother and father had loved him before they’d passed away. He’d come to terms with their deaths a long time ago. He accepted that his buddies now had mates. Hell, he often appreciated sharing Caitlyn, when the mood hit her and Roane. And with Kelly’s pregnancy, the mood seemed to hit a damned lot. Thank the Lord.
At least he had an option. Poor Doc seemed all alone.
“I’m sorry about Diego, Doc,” he said softly.
Doc didn’t answer, and thinking he needed some space, Hale stood to leave.
“He wasn’t PPA,” Doc whispered. “He was a government mole. He was sent all those years ago, just to keep an eye on me.” Doc lifted his glasses off his face and cleaned the lenses with sure, soft strokes of his shirt. “All that time spent together, all the laughter and the love.
And none of it was real.”
“Aw, Doc.” Hale sat and put his arm around him, wishing the guarded man would let it out. Doc needed to hit something or cry. Unlike the others, Hale had no problem expressing emotion.
“Come on, Doc. Let it out. You’re angry, you’re pissed. Say so.” Doc gave him a wan smile and patted his knee, then stood. “I’m too tired, too shell-shocked yet, to comprehend it all. Trust me, tomorrow will come soon enough.” He sighed and trudged out the door. “And my brother’s dead. Forgot about that.”
Hale didn’t know what to do. Since he’d want some time alone were he in Doc’s situation, he let Doc be. A glance at his watch showed him he’d missed the breakfast special at the diner, but maybe Leonard’s Coffee Nook would fix him his favorite bacon and egg sandwich anyway.
He stood and clutched his head, the pain taking him down. He sank onto the couch.
That fucking McKinley. How the hell did he know they called him “playboy”? A sudden thought occurred, that maybe Diego and McKinley had something in common. Government ties? It would make sense.
McKinley had helped Sabrina despite having no logical reason to do so. He hadn’t killed Pearl, but he didn’t seem too upset over Pearl’s passing. Personally, Hale wanted to dance on the asshole’s grave. Out of respect for Doc, however, he’d reel in his enjoyment. He did intend to revisit McKinley, however, and show that fuckhead just where to shove it.
He couldn’t explain how, but he knew McKinley was working some psychic mojo on him. He’d struck hard, before Hale had built up any barriers. The others never talked about it, but Hale felt a power beneath his beast all the time. He had yet to set it free. Instinct told him to wait, so he had. But McKinley had been a shock.
Then the damned man knew things. And what did he mean by “I still don’t see what he wanted.” What who wanted? And why would Hale owe McKinley anything?
At least the male hadn’t put out any pheromones. Nothing sexual about McKinley. And despite Hale’s actions with Roane and some of the Circs, he preferred women. His beast wasn’t as particular, and from time to time, Hale let him have his fill. But Hale liked curves, the scent of a woman’s sweet perfume, a nice ass to pull tight while he fucked her.
Smiling, Hale drifted into the most pleasant dream.
Doc shook him awake, his mouth firm as he shook his head. “I can’t believe this. What are we going to do?”
“Huh? What?”
“Hale, you’ve slept the day away. The others are occupied.” Doc fumbled with his glasses, and Hale understood what he meant. The others were still getting it on, while he and single Doc had no one demanding they stay in bed.
“Sure, what do you need?” Hale stretched. “And what time is it?” Hell, he needed a shower. He ran his tongue over his teeth. And some toothpaste.
“Hale, it’s eleven.”
“At night? I slept for fourteen hours?” Hale whistled. “I must have been more tired than I thought.”
Doc gave him a look. “It’s eleven in the morning. Fourteen hours?” Doc paused. “Hale, what day do you think this is?”
“It’s Monday, Doc,” Hale said slowly, then shook his head, copying Doc. “Okay, no,” he said slowly. “I’ll bite. What day is it?”
“Thursday. You’ve been out since Monday morning. You said you needed some time to yourself. What have you been doing?”
Hale shrugged. “Just hanging out. Must have been too much booze.” He smiled, apologizing. But inside he freaked.
Just a few hours ago, he’d closed his eyes and dreamed about a woman.
Long blonde hair, a slender waist, full breasts that shook while she sank over him. And then that large, foreign hand, cupping her ass, pushing her over Hale again and again, forcing her to ride him harder while the other male slowly took her ass. Then he palmed Hale’s flank, pulling him closer, as if fucking him along with the woman. So close, the trio worked as one…
“Hale?” Doc asked.
“I’m fine. Let me get dressed, and I’m with you. What is it you wanted me to do?” Shit. Please tell me that hand was Roane’s and the blonde was Caitlyn.
But a part of him knew it wasn’t. The blonde was leaner, her eyes a hard whiskey brown. Gorgeous, guarded, and trouble. And the male… Hale had a feeling that he knew him. Not that well, but he was definitely familiar, which made no sense. Hale didn’t do guys, not in his human form, unless he was horsing around with Roane to please Caitlyn. Familiar pleasure that was sex for sex’s sake.
In that hazy recollection, he’d been fucking the woman. But the man had been a definite part of it. What the fuck?
A portent of things to come? A harmless fantasy? Or something worse? Something he’d done and didn’t remember doing?
“I need you to pick up Paige.”
“Right. Paige.” Who the hell’s Paige?
“Hale, stop playing around. Get my niece and sit on her if you have to. With General Kohl putting her under house arrest, there’s only so much she can do. You believe her, don’t you?”
“Ah, right. Yes. I’ll get her.” Hale’s mind buzzed with fatigue. Doc had a niece? More importantly, where had he been since Monday?
“You know it can’t be true. But you tell me. You married her. Does she change or doesn’t she? Because if she isn’t fully Circ, then there’s no way she killed her father.”
“I -- what?”
Then McKinley walked in, all smiles. “Hey, lover. You okay?” Hale shot up off the couch, breathing hard.
“Dude, you okay?” Derrick asked as he passed by, a full plate of chicken and leftovers in his hands. “You look like shit. We’re done messing around, if that’s why you’re still down here.”
Hale wiped a hand over his face. “What time is it?”
“Ah, eleven, I think.”
“Morning or evening?”
“Morning.”
“What day is it?”
“Hale, man. I think you need to rest up. You don’t look so good.” Derrick gave Hale a cautious once-over.
“Fuck that. What day is it?”
“Monday. Jeez, Hale. We just got back from that hellhole. Have you been drinking already?”
“Shit. No. Just…shit. I had a terrible dream.” Doc raced into the room, his hair on end, his cheeks flushed.
“Derrick, grab the others. We’ve got a situation.” Derrick didn’t ask questions. He put his plate down, raced to the phone, and started dialing.