Dark Wolf Rising (Heart of the Shifter) (11 page)

"
Bryn."
Cash went rigid, plunging into her as the orgasm caught him, sweeping them both into a swirling whirlwind of ecstasy. She clung to him, holding on for dear life, losing herself completely in him, in their joint orgasm, and in the connection that made her complete.

Happiness was a state that Cash had never been able to comprehend. It had always felt superficial and shallow, a mirage created by naive idealists who wanted to torment people into striving for an impossible state. But as he lay in his bed with Bryn in his arms, he was filled with a sense of satisfaction and peace that had to be pretty damn close to happiness.

She was on her side, her head resting on the front of his shoulder, tucked against his side. He tightened his arm around her, pulling her more tightly against him, and then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He loved the feel of her body against his, and he knew he would never get tired of it.

Ever.

They'd fallen asleep after making love, and it was late evening now. Christmas Eve. Thirty-six hours from when she was supposed to show up in court.

"Cash?"

He smiled at the sleepiness in her voice. "Yes, sweetheart?"

"You know I love you, right?"

His smile faded, and his throat tightened up. They'd told each other a thousand times that they loved each other when they were younger. He was so used to saying it with her that it just slipped off his tongue without thought. But the way she'd just said it was different. It was more, the kind of love that a man would never walk away from, the kind of love that deserved to be honored and cherished. The kind of love that involved long, leisurely nights of hot, sweaty bodies, not innocent hugs of friendship. The kind of love that could destroy someone.

She poked him in the chest. "Hello? Are you there?"

"Yeah." He rolled her onto her back and settled on top of her, bracing himself just enough to keep his weight from crushing her. He tangled his fingers in her hair, studying her carefully. Her hair was lighter than it had been, and longer. Her blue eyes were the same, but there was more weight in them now. Sadness. A grim awareness of the dark side of life. She was his Bryn, but there were shadows on her soul that hadn't been there before...as there were on his.

She smiled, her face contented and peaceful. "You look very handsome."

He grinned. "That's better than beautiful, but not rugged enough."

"You're a lethal, dangerous predator who looks good enough to spend the night with?"

His smile faded at her joke. "Too accurate."

She sighed and locked her hands behind his neck, resting her forearms on his shoulders. "So, what next?"

"With us?" He wanted to snatch her up, throw her into the back of his truck, and disappear with her...but he couldn't. Not with Jace's life at stake. And the truth was that Damien still wanted her dead. She was tangled up in the grittiness of his life, and he hadn't figured out a solution.

"With Jace. With Damien."

He dropped his head, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "I don't know." While she'd slept, he'd lain beside her, wracking his brain for a solution that would clear them from Damien, but nothing worked. Even killing Damien wouldn't free Jace, and the man was too smart to be trapped in a confession. "I don't fucking know what to do."

She wrapped her arms around his head, cradling him to her. "I'm not afraid," she said softly. "I'm not afraid to die, so don't worry about that."

"What?" He lifted his head, staring at her incredulously. "You don't want me to worry about the possibility of you being killed? Are you kidding?"

She blinked. "When I told the police I'd seen Jace kill Melissa, I knew that I would most likely be killed by Jace's pack. I accepted that." She touched his face. "I've found you again, Cash. If I die, I won't be alone now."

"Jesus." He rolled off her, too tense to lie still. The idea of her dying was like an electric shock to his system, a threat so severe that he could barely think. He'd just found her. He'd just claimed her.
She couldn't die.
Sweat broke out on his forehead at the idea of her being killed. "Don't talk like that." He grabbed his jeans and yanked them on, adrenaline racing through him as he fought for control. His wolf was raging, desperate to be unleashed to protect his mate. He could feel his temperature rising, his skin prickling, his muscles burning with the need to shift and defend that which was his.

"Cash?" Bryn was staring at him, her face pale. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He turned away, bracing his hands on the counter of his kitchenette, fighting for control. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as he tried to clear his mind. But his wolf was angry now, enraged, on the defensive. The mere mention of her death had sent it into a rage, and it wasn't backing down.

Bryn touched his back, making him jump. He spun around and grabbed her upper arms, yanking her toward him. He crushed her against him, kissing her fiercely, pouring his wolf's anger into the kiss, claiming her, showing his wolf that she was safe, that she was his, that she wasn't in danger.

Bryn made a noise of protest and pushed at his chest. "Your skin is on fire," she gasped, her eyes wide. "I feel like you're going to burn me."

"It's my wolf." It was all he could say through his clenched teeth as he kissed her again, hard, ruthlessly. "He won't let you die." He backed her against the counter, his body hard and taut, his wolf raging to be unleashed. "I can't hold it back," he gritted out. "Son of a bitch."

Bryn grabbed his shoulders. "What do you need?"

"You." His voice was a guttural growl, his wolf fighting to get out. He knew what happened when the wolf came out on its own. It was bad, so fucking bad. He'd have no control. He'd be owned by the animal. "I need to show my wolf you're safe. That you're mine. I need to fucking mark you."

Her eyes widened. "Okay."

He fisted her hair, his vision starting to shift to black and white. "I'm not going to be gentle." He had only a minute, maybe two, until he lost the battle he hadn't lost in years.

She lifted her chin, defiance blazing in her blue eyes. "I'm not a porcelain doll, Cash. You won't break me." Before he could make a decision, she grabbed his face and dragged him down to her, kissing him fiercely.

Her kiss unleashed the predator. With a furious growl, he spun her around and shoved her up against the counter. His head was spinning, his mind fragmenting, spiraling into that place where sense and logic were crushed by animal instincts. He shoved his pelvis against her ass, cupping her breast as he fumbled for the fly on his jeans, trying to get his cock free. It took seconds, precious desperate seconds, but then his jeans were unfastened.

He grabbed her hips and dragged her back toward him. She came willingly, and she was wet and hot when he sheathed himself inside her. His body went rigid, screaming for release as he drove deep, gripping her hips with a frantic need he couldn't control. She braced her hands on the counter, arching back, encouraging him, calling him to her, pushing back toward him as he drove into her.

He grabbed her hair, pulling her head back toward him as he drove into her, pummeling her more fiercely than he could control. He knew he was being too rough, but he couldn't stop himself. His wolf was in control now, needing to dominate her and claim her. His fingers sank into the soft folds between her legs, and she gasped, her body convulsing instantly as the orgasm took her. The instant she bucked against him, he lost control, and plunged deep, his seed spilling into her with such fierceness that he roared her name as he came.

It was rough. It was brutal. It sated his wolf.

Gripping her hips, he collapsed against her, resting his cheek against her back as the orgasm shuddered its last gasp and left them both. They were both slick with sweat, and he could feel her legs trembling. He wrapped his arm around her waist to support her, guilt tearing through him as he eased himself out of her. "I hurt you, didn't I?" He swore. "Fuck, Bryn, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean—"

"Don't." She turned around to face him, sweat beading on her breasts. "You didn't hurt me."

She looked so vulnerable and innocent that something inside him cracked. Her hair was streaked with sweat, and her hands were red from griping the counter so tightly. What the fuck had he been thinking, claiming her? Dragging her into his life? She deserved so much more. He spread his hands, feeling lost and shitty. "That was my wolf. That's what I am. I—" He ran his hands through his hair, trying to pull himself together. "I didn't know it would be like that. I thought I had control. I—"

"It's okay." She put her finger over his mouth, silencing him. "You didn't hurt me. I love the fact I helped you regain control of the wolf. You did, didn't you? That worked?"

"Yeah, it did, but I don't want you to become some fuck-bunny for my wolf. You deserve more than that—"

"Shut up, Cash."

He shut up, surprised into silence.

"There's no way I could ever feel like some piece of ass to you. You're not broken, but you have a dark side. I can help with that. It's okay. I've always been here for you." She shrugged, and her cheeks flushed. "It was kind of hot, actually."

He stared at her in disbelief. "Really?"

She nodded. "I admit I was a little freaked out by how hot your skin was at first, but..." She grinned. "I adapted."

Slowly, the faintest hint of a smile curved the corner of his mouth. "You're serious. That didn't...scare you? Disgust you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, for heaven's sake, Cash. Seriously? Get over your drama. It was awesome." She grabbed his face and kissed him hard, with just enough sass to let him know that she meant it.

Relief poured through him, and he slid his arms around her, kissing her back. "It's your fault, you know," he said, as he kissed his way down the side of her neck. He still felt guilty as hell. He didn't know how to make it right. He had a bad feeling that this was it, his last stand with her, because he couldn't do that to her again. "You started talking that shit about how you didn't care if you died. Don't do that again, unless you want to see me turned into a four-legged demon. Got it?"

She laughed as he scooped her up. "I might say it if I want rough, hot sex, though, just to see."

He raised his brows at the serious undertone to her comment. "You liked it."

She grinned. "I did. I mean, making love in the bed was amazing, too, but there was something about being pinned against the counter that was just…sexy as hell."

His cock immediately got hard again, and he dragged her closer, exhilaration rushing through him. "Then we might need to do it again—"

A sudden, frantic beeping cut through his comment. He swore and spun away from her, lunging for his computer. He quickly called up the screens, targeting the area that had set off his alarms. "Get dressed," he said, staring at the data on the screen. "Someone's in the tunnel, heading right for us, and they're moving fast."

BRYN RACED OVER to the bed and grabbed some clothes from the stack he'd brought from her apartment while he quickly called up the cameras in the tunnel in question. It was pitch black, too dark to see anything. He switched camera angles to find a better view. He didn't want to turn on the lights and alert them, but it was too dark to see.

"What is it?" Bryn leaned over his shoulder, staring at the cameras.

"Someone's in my tunnels, coming straight toward the cabin. They're not using lights, which means they don't need them."

She tensed. "Wolf?"

"Yeah. We have great vision in the dark."

"I thought you said no one knew about this place."

"Someone does." He'd always assumed that someone would eventually find it. That was why he'd installed the security system. But having someone actually in his tunnel felt like an assault to his sanctuary. His wolf came back to life fast and hard, ready to defend his lair.

The motion sensors in the last section of the tunnel went off. The intruder was almost at his cabin. Shit. He hit the lights, flooding the tunnels with illumination. On the screen, two wolves dropped, shielding their eyes against the sudden light. He recognized them both, and swore, shutting off the light again so they could see.

Bryn's fingers dug into his arm. "That was Jace," her voice was taut with fear. "I recognize him. What's he doing here? Isn't he in prison?"

"I don't know, but he's with Drake, so that's a good sign."

There was a sudden banging on the floor, and he heard Drake's shouts to open up.

Bryn backed up, her face pale. "They're beneath us."

"Yeah. I'll let them in." He called up the trap door on his computer, and started to punch the code to let them in when Bryn's fingers closed on his wrist. He looked up to see her face ashen. "What's wrong?"

"What if you're wrong? What if he's here to kill me? Or you? Or both of us?" Her hands were shaking now, and he realized she was remembering what she'd seen Jace do. "Or what if Damien is still controlling him? You can't let him in, Cash."

He swore, and looked down at the screen. He turned on the lights in the tunnel on a low level, enough to see them. Both men were in human form now. Drake was hammering at the trap door, but Jace was leaning against the wall of the tunnel. He looked up at the camera, letting Cash see the anguish on his face. He looked like a broken man, not like the powerful alpha who had been Cash's rock when he was lost.

Cash wrapped his arm around Bryn's shoulder and pulled her over to him. "Look at him."

To her credit, she leaned on the computer and studied the screen, but he could hear how fast her heart was beating, and his wolf sensed her fear and paced restlessly inside him, preparing to defend her. She stood up and looked at Cash. Her face was sheet white, her eyes wide with fear. "I can't look at him and see anything but the wolf that killed Melissa. I can't do this."