Authors: Danica Avet
She couldn’t believe she’d let herself become so distracted
by him that she’d forgotten to pay attention to the weather. South Louisiana
was infamous for its summer thunderstorms. They rolled up out of nowhere,
dropped several inches of rain and disappeared as quickly as they arrived. The
sky continued to darken, telling her it was only developing faster.
The cabin, more like a hunting shack, she frequently used
for deer season was only a mile up the bayou. She’d planned to show it to Zach
anyway, but hadn’t thought they’d be forced to seek it out by a storm. As if
Mother Nature wanted to show her just how stupid she was, fat, cold raindrops
fell from the darkening sky, slapping her face. The deluge helped drown out
some of her arousal. It was hard to hold on to a fantasy when drops of rain the
size of nickels were stinging your face like angry bees. Zach turned to look at
her, his gold eyes concerned.
“I got this,” Colette shouted over the noise. “I’m sure I
won’t melt.”
His face got this weird, tight expression she didn’t have
time to examine, but he didn’t look away from her. He probably thought she
should’ve been like other women would be in the same situation. Shrieking about
their hair, flapping their arms helplessly and a million other things her
cousin would’ve done if she were caught in the rain. Kanda wasn’t exactly a
ball of fluff, but she wasn’t far from it either.
Colette shook her head and concentrated on navigating the
bayou, the sheets of rain making it more of a nuisance than difficult. She’d
grown up here, the cabin she was taking them to had been built for her thirteenth
birthday. These were her stomping grounds, her personal playground. Her
territory.
She rounded the bend, the rickety cabin looking as solid and
as untouched as she imagined Mount Everest was. The minute she saw it, her
tension melted away. They were safe. She slowed down, letting the boat drift
the last few yards to the dock. Without being directed, Zach leapt to the dock
once they were within distance, the rope in his hand. He quickly helped tow her
to the shallows and secured the rope to the tie-off piling.
Another crack of thunder sounded overhead and the rain went
from a cold, steady shower to a howling, freezing squall. Wind gusted along the
bayou, nearly sending Colette to her knees in the boat. Zach was there though,
his hand reaching down to help her to her feet. Normally, she would’ve given
him The Look, but it seemed the weather was against her today.
She gripped his hand, the wind swallowing her yelp of
surprise when he lifted her out of the boat as easily as she would’ve lifted a
piece of paper. But he didn’t set her down once her legs cleared the dock. No,
the man flung her over his shoulder, ass pressing against the side of his neck,
and took off running for the cabin. Colette swallowed a scream, positive he was
going to drop her on her head, and clutched his shirt and planned. Planned to
kick his shifter ass when they made it inside.
Contrary to her fears, Zach didn’t drop her. Neither did she
bounce on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes the way she had when her cousin
Cotton had done the same thing when she was younger. Of course, Cotton wasn’t a
shifter known for his grace. He glided across the uneven ground leading to the
shack. It wasn’t exactly comfortable for her, but it wasn’t awful either. She
still intended to give him a piece of her mind when she was on her feet again.
And that happened quicker than she expected, the world going
topsy-turvy as he slid her off his shoulder, her body rubbing against his hard
chest all the way down. Not as though he’d done it on purpose, though. Their clothes
were soaked and clinging to each other, which made the move difficult. And
erotic. Her breath caught in her throat when her top caught on his chest,
causing the fabric of her bra to abrade her sensitive nipples. It reminded her
of his mouth, the roughness of his tongue as he flicked it over her tight
peaks. And just like that heat blossomed in her cunt, the hunger kept at bay by
the cold rain returning with a vengeance.
Zach straightened his hands on her hips as he stared down at
her. The rain had plastered his hair to his head, strands sticking to his face
and shielding most of his eyes, but there was no mistaking the golden gleam.
Her heart slammed against their chests, the world fading away to nothing as she
stilled like a deer in headlights.
Another crack of thunder caused the rickety porch boards
beneath their feet to rattle, breaking the intense moment of intimacy as though
it never happened. He didn’t pull her closer, didn’t smash his mouth to hers
and take her against the door the way her mind pictured. How she wanted to feel
him fucking her, slamming into her with the crisp, cool summer rain pounding
over them. But it wasn’t destined to be. Not when he became all business again.
“Sounds like this storm is getting worse. Let’s get inside,”
he ordered with a gentle push in the direction of the door. “I’ll go back for
your stuff later.”
A trickle of shock raced down her spine and she shot a
panicked look in the direction of the boat where the bag she’d grabbed sat. She
wasn’t concerned it would be ruined. She’d learned long ago not to bring
anything that wasn’t waterproof on the bayou with her, but the contents of that
bag would tell Zach exactly where she’d thought this day was going. And he’d
know how stupid she’d been.
She turned to the cabin with a nonchalance she didn’t feel.
“Don’t worry about it. The storm should stop in a little while.”
I hope
,
she silently added as she opened the door to her hunting sanctuary. It wasn’t
as easy to pretend indifference when the man she wanted entered her home away
from home behind her, but she managed to turn to him with a fake, bright smile.
“Welcome to Camp Colette.”
* * * * *
“Have you found them?”
Roscoe held the phone to his ear with one hand and the pair
of binoculars with the other, studying the woods around the small shack Colette
and the tiger had taken shelter in. He’d been trailing them from far behind,
following the sound of her boat engine with the pirogue he’d “borrowed” from
the idiots who’d called him in for this job. They weren’t his concern. The
Schumacher brothers were only a means to an end for him.
“Not yet. There are a lot of nooks and crannies in this
fucking swamp,” he said into the phone, which wasn’t a complete lie. He’d
nearly lost them a couple of times, only his skills as a tracker helping him
find them again and again. The thunderstorm had helped to mask his approach and
he sent a silent thanks to Mother Nature. “I’ll find them though.”
“I know you will,” his boss said with a satisfied sigh. “We
want this one bad. She’ll make a perfect example of how we won’t tolerate those
who think to get above themselves.” The man was always careful not to let
anything vital slip over the phone. “We only have a short time left, so make
sure you get in good with her.”
He lowered the binoculars and had to squint to see the cabin
from the great distance he’d chosen to keep watch on it. The tiger had been at
her house all night, hadn’t even gone to his bakery the way he usually did. A
quick trip into town, a visit to pick up something to eat, told Roscoe how
unusual it was for Zachary Trahan to abandon his post at his business. One of
the little foxes, a cutie who’d let Roscoe know in no uncertain terms that she
was available anytime he wanted her, had chatted about her boss. The tiger was
tough, something he already knew, but he was also a hard worker who didn’t play
around with his employees. He was driven, determined and one hell of a baker.
Since coming to town, Roscoe had found himself visiting that
damn bakery more than he would back home. He hated to admit how addictive
Trahan’s beignets were, but if he didn’t get at least a dozen daily, his whole
day was shot to shit.
“How are your possible replacements? Worth our time?” his
boss asked with a hint of impatience.
Realizing he’d just been staring into space, thinking about
beignets, Roscoe sat with his back against the tree, his floppy hat protecting
his face and the phone from the deluge. As much as he’d love to get out of the
rain, his job was to trail the target until he could bring her in to the group.
This time wouldn’t be any different. For the most part. Except this job came
with an added bonus, one he’d been waiting months to receive.
“The Schumacher’s are idiots,” he said bluntly, keeping his
eyes trained on the cabin three miles away. He couldn’t see anything clearly,
even with his shifter-enhanced vision, but he’d be able to tell if Colette left
again. Lordy be, he’d gotten a good look at her in that wet t-shirt. If he
wasn’t on this job…
“How?” his boss barked when he didn’t say anything else.
“Are they unsuitable for recruitment?”
He bit back a sigh, pushing away the image of Colette’s
perky tits and tight nipples. Sometimes he really hated his job. “They do
stupid things to bring attention to themselves. They drink, they abuse their
shifter status, thinking it allows them to be dickheads, and they’re fucktards
who don’t listen to orders.”
“They’re still hunting out of season,” the boss guessed with
a regretful sigh. “That’s unfortunate. Regardless, we’ll help them out this
time and end our association once we’re finished with the ceremony.”
That was one bit of good news today, Roscoe thought as he
tucked his collar closer to his neck to keep more water from dripping down his
back. “Got it. Anything else?”
“Just keep a close eye on our friend. I plan to enjoy her
company very soon.”
The call ended as abruptly as it’d begun, leaving Roscoe to
sit in the rain, wet and alone while the tiger got his groove on. And if that
striped idiot didn’t tap that ass, Roscoe would lose all respect for him. Someone
had to be enjoying themselves this dreary afternoon and if he had a hot little
piece like the human huntress, Roscoe definitely wouldn’t be complaining.
The interior of the cabin wasn’t as bad as he thought it’d
be. It wasn’t big by any means, more like a single room studio with everything
crammed inside. It also wasn’t entirely Colette’s. Zach stiffened when his
sharp senses caught the scent of several men mingling with hers. She didn’t
seem to realize he wasn’t pleased, moving around the cabin to open the little
window to let air in, lighting a hurricane lantern and arranging things for no
reason.
Pissed at the thought of this being her love nest, one she’d
shared with several men, Zach tore his gaze away from her rain-soaked body. He
couldn’t look at her. Not with that white shirt plastered to her skin showing
off the shape of her perky tits and tight nipples. He’d nearly stripped her
naked on the leaky porch and fucked her right there in front of the entire
world.
Think of something else, like the men she’s probably been
bringing here.
His tiger snapped at him. “Who else knows about this place?”
he asked casually, turning away from her as she bent over the cot. Damn woman
was making his brain mush!
“Oh, a lot of hunters use this cabin for reasons like this,”
she said, her voice muffled. “All the camps in Bayou Ange and along Robicheaux
land are considered available for a safe haven if needed. And it smells like
someone took advantage of that,” she muttered. “I don’t mind letting people
stay here ’cause I’ve been caught out on a hunt when bad weather crept up, but
I try to leave it as clean as I found it. Someone obviously doesn’t feel the
same.” She marched across the room, a pair of dirty underwear hanging from a
stick she’d grabbed. She threw the no-longer tightie-whities into the trashcan
and slammed the lid. “Ugh, that’s so fucking gross.”
Relieved because there was no imagining the disgust in her
voice or scent, Zach relaxed and really looked around. “This is all yours?”
“Yeah, Dad had it built for me when I was thirteen.” She
went back to the cot and bent over again. “I’m burning these sheets,” she
mumbled under her breath. “Mama didn’t like it, but Dad swore nothing would
happen to me out here. The first few years, he or one of the uncles slept in a
tent a few yards away in case I needed them, but after I turned eighteen, I’d
come out here alone to think or to hunt.” She opened a cabinet that contained
huge waterproof bags with sheets and blankets. She gave the linens a hard shake
to remove some of the wrinkles before bustling back across the room and
remaking the bed with quick efficiency. “I come out here every deer, duck and
turkey season and sometimes when I have a free day from the tours or hunting,
I’ll stay here to relax. It’s nice to have a place where you can be away from
everything.”
Her braid had fallen over her shoulder, the end brushing the
clean sheets she pulled over the mattress, but it was her ass that held his
attention. The subtle sway as she stepped this way and that doing an innocent
chore was more seductive than a striptease. Her jeans, slightly baggy before,
now clung to her ass and shapely legs. He remembered exactly what the haven
between her thighs tasted like. His mouth watered for another taste.
But he’d purposely left his condoms in his car. Because he
was an idiot who was trying to be noble and honorable and win her affection,
not just her body. He bit back a frustrated growl. Even though he had every
intention of keeping Colette as his own from now until eternity, he wasn’t
ready to plant his seed just yet. He wanted to enjoy her, learn more about her
and accustom himself to the idea of cubs. And figure out how to be a father. He
hadn’t had one, so it wasn’t as though he had many examples to follow.
She stood after smoothing her hand over the sheets again.
“That’s better.”
Then she turned, her uplifted breasts practically begging
for his mouth. At least that’s what Zach told his conscience as he launched
himself at the woman who tempted him by simply existing. Her eyes widened, but
she didn’t even attempt to move out of his way. If anything, she reached for
him, her body going soft the instant he grabbed her, taking her to the cot. It
squeaked and protested at their combined weight, a sinful screech that sent
shivers down his spine.
But it was the woman beneath him, staring up at him with
sultry eyes and parted lips that truly shot tremors of painful need through his
body. She was everything. He kissed her because he couldn’t help himself,
pouring all his future hopes, his hunger and his need into her mouth, stroking
his tongue against hers, swallowing her soft moan. He imagined it became a part
of him, the same way her scent and taste was embedded on his memory cells.
Her hands scraped through his hair, short fingernails
abrading his scalp with just enough roughness to make his dick jerk with
excitement. Her tongue danced with his, tasting him with quick, hungry forays
that made him growl, want and need warring with his future plans and goals,
which involved this very woman whose love he was trying to win. He pulled back
at the thought, staring into her lust-glazed eyes. It sounded so clichéd in his
mind, but would she respect him if they had sex right now? Did she see him as a
male she could spend her life with? One she could learn to love?
Insecurities, the ones that he hadn’t even realized he had
made him roll off her. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten he was on the cot and
landed on the floor on his back with a loud thud that shook the shack. Even as
his back set up a round of protesting and his cock wilted from having the air
knocked out of his lungs, it was rewarding to see Colette’s wide eyes peering
at him over the side of the cot.
“
Cher bon Dieu
, are you okay?”
And that’s when Zach knew there was no falling in love with
her. He loved her. It’d taken having his lungs fight for oxygen and hitting his
head on the floor hard enough to see stars, but he loved Colette Marie
Robicheaux. His tiger didn’t seem the least bit surprised. It had known from
the beginning, or at least a few minutes after they met, that she was meant to
be theirs. The cat had followed its instincts, while the man had ignored his
primal urgings. And of course, the tiger planned to lord it over the man for
being stupid. Now they just needed to get their female to return the affection.
She had to feel something other than just lust though, otherwise she wouldn’t
have been concerned about him. Right?
She slid off the bed to kneel next to him on the floor, her
brow furrowed with apprehension. “Zach? Are you okay?”
He was gaping at her like a landed fish, staring at her as
though he’d never seen a woman before. And he hadn’t. He’d never seen the woman
he loved before. It was a weird feeling, knowing this woman was going to be
his. Oh yeah, he’d have to make sure she agreed and shit, but she would. He
hadn’t gotten where he was in his career by giving up.
Make her fall for you.
Right. That meant not fucking
her like a beast in rut.
“I’m fine,” he finally gasped when she reached out to him.
If she touched him, he was a goner. He was a strong man, but he wasn’t that
damn strong. No man was. “I’m thirsty.” He sat up and slid away from her in the
same move to avoid her hand. “I’ll just…go get the coffee and the other stuff.”
He leapt to his feet, telling himself it wasn’t cowardly to run in the face of
such temptation. He was only flesh and blood for God’s sake.
“But it sounds like it’s raining harder,” she said faintly.
He made the mistake of looking back at Colette. Sitting in
the middle of a rickety cabin on her knees, the jeans tight around her thighs,
her t-shirt as thin as gauze, nipples jutting against the material like ripe
berries and her lips swollen from his kisses, she was Eve, tempting him to sin.
And Zach ran like the fucking wind.
She was right though. It was raining harder, the wind
howling louder and the damn raindrops were a hell of a lot colder. It was an
awkward walk with his dick as hard and stiff as a baseball bat in his jeans
until he got about halfway to the dock. By the time he reached the boat, he was
able to actually walk properly instead of like a dog dragging his dick on the
ground. Good thing too because the wind whipped up the current on the bayou
enough that the boat bobbed dangerously.
Zach carefully stepped in and grabbed the huge canister of
coffee they hadn’t touched all day. The bag she’d carried with her sat in the
back of the boat. Remembering how she hadn’t let it out of her sight, he
snatched it up as well, glad to see it was waterproof. Knowing his woman, it
probably held enough ammunition and guns to take down a herd of buffalo and
strangely enough, that pleased him.
He loved her self-sufficiency. Hell, he loved everything
about her. And hopefully by the time he got back to the cabin, she’d be
sleeping or something. Anything but tempting him to unleash his animal all over
her sexy body.
* * * * *
Colette peered out the window, watching Zach’s stiff walk
toward the bayou. When he stopped to grab at his crotch, she had to bite back a
laugh. For a moment, okay several moments, she’d feared he wasn’t interested in
her that way anymore. It was a natural conclusion when the man had flung
himself to the floor as though God Himself had thrown him there. And when she
tried to assure herself that he hadn’t been hurt, he scrambled away like a
hermit crab.
She shook her head and thought about that weird look on his
face. That was the only way she could describe it. And she’d seen it twice
since he showed up at her house with the traps. He looked both happy and
terrified, uneasy and satisfied, as though he wasn’t sure if he should be
thrilled or depressed, or both. Colette frowned at his back, watching as he
stopped to tilt his face up to the stinging, cold rain. Like a man taking a
freezing-cold shower.
He’d kissed her, gotten her so hot and hungry for him,
hungrier than she’d been before and then he bolted like a virgin on his wedding
night. Like someone who wanted something so badly he didn’t want to ruin it.
She’d seen—and felt—how much he wanted her. There was no mistaking the hard length
of his cock where he’d pressed it against her stomach. And despite how worried
she’d been for him when he hit the floor, she’d taken a moment to look him
over, feeling like that cougar in
The Graduate
. She wanted to eat him
alive.
Zach was moving again, striding with his normal grace, his
discomfort either gone or easier to manage. He leapt into the boat, grabbed the
thermos and stopped for a moment before striding to the back of the vessel. Her
heart hammered when he leaned down only to rise with her backpack. He was
bringing the bag she’d packed for seduction. He didn’t look in it, just picked
it up, probably because he thought she might want it.
And that’s what made her want to love him. He didn’t make
her ask for things, or expect her to tell him when she wanted something. It was
as though his instincts told him what she wanted most and he provided it. She
hadn’t known she needed to visit her old haunts today, but doing so had helped
center her, helped her realize that life was what you made of it. Life was
really simple when you removed all the things she’d thrown up to make it
complicated. Did it really matter that he would move on? He wanted her, she
wanted him. Sex was natural. And Colette believed she knew enough about Zach to
decide if he was just after a piece of ass. If he was, he had a weird way of
getting it. He could’ve fucked her so many times and left without a backward
glance, but he hadn’t.
Was it honor? She touched the swollen tissue of her bottom
lip, remembering how he’d nipped at it, his tongue soothing the tiny hurt, that
purr rumbling in the back of his throat. She wasn’t going to ever get him out
of her mind or her heart. Despite all the warnings she’d given herself, the
warnings her father had given her, Zach was on the fast track to winning her
completely whether he wanted to or not. And maybe that was his worry. That
she’d fall madly in love with him and stalk him the way that woman had earlier
in the year.
Oh yeah, just because Colette didn’t live in Maison Rouge
and wasn’t friends with everyone in it, didn’t mean she hadn’t heard the story
of the raven shifter who stalked two cat shifters like a big game hunter. The
Robicheaux women had been scandalized and amused, even as they admitted Zach
was worth stalking. She’d kept her mouth shut, but part of her, the jealous,
possessive Robicheaux half, had wanted to go raven hunting. And wouldn’t that
have made Zach happy? To have two women fighting over him? One of whom he
hadn’t even talked to.
Yeah, she’d pined a long time for him, so it was no surprise
she was falling for him. Her impossible crush was growing into a love she knew
would haunt her for the rest of her life and the man kept running from her as
though she had the plague.
Before today, she would’ve suspected he wasn’t interested in
her, but that kiss, that sizzling, dangerous kiss had told her the real story.
He wanted her a lot. And for some reason he was holding back. Her gaze narrowed
on his broad-shouldered frame as he climbed out of the boat and began strolling
back to the cabin. Why was he holding back? Was it to drive her insane? Because
she was halfway there. Sex was all she could really think about. Making love
with Zach was all she wanted right now. The fire in her blood burned her from
the inside out, clawing at her to do something about it, something naughty and
out of character.
They were alone in the woods, on land no shifter would dare
approach without a hell of a lot of friends. He was bringing a bag filled with
condoms to her. A smile tugged at her lips as she figured out the easiest way
to break through whatever strange blocks he’d thrown up between what he thought
he was doing and what she wanted to do.
The walk in the rain helped clear his head. The
freezing-cold drops along with the sharp wind helped to reduce the swelling in
his dick. It was as good as a shower sans heat. He was finally able to think
again once the blood that had pooled in his groin returned to his brain.