He laughed. “Yeah, I remember you always lugging it into the bar with you.” He sighed as he stood and shuffled from foot to foot while he looked around.
“Just spit it out,” she finally prompted, but she wasn’t prepared for the anger she saw in Logan’s eyes when he looked at her.
“What happened to him, Abby? What did you do? He was at work fine one night, and then he didn’t show up the next day or the next. Then Reno gets a call that Tah’s on the run and needs help. Tah. On the run. Never thought I’d see the day. Everyone loves Tah. Everyone. Then we show up, and he’s practically jumping out of his skin, making animal sounds that scare the piss out of me and acting like the most possessive man I’ve ever met. Tah’s never been possessive of women. He takes what they offer and moves on. He’s restless that way. I’ve never seen him act the way he does when he’s with you.” He stopped and shook his head, and Abby realized some of the hurt she was feeling at his words must be showing on her face. “I’m sorry. I’m not knocking how he is with you. I want him happy, and you seem to make him happy. I’m just trying to understand what the hell is going on here.”
“I love him,” she whispered, feeling suffocated by the guilt weighing her down like a blanket.
“I know you do, Abby,” he said with a sigh and the anger dimmed in his eyes. “It’s the only reason I’m not pushing him when it comes to you. I can see how much you love him. I can see the worry and the fear for him on your face. And I know that losing you would kill him.”
“Losing him would kill me, too,” she whispered, wrapping her hands around her waist and holding tight.
He nodded. “I can see that too. This has just caught me off guard, and I’m worried. Really worried.”
“Me too,” she whispered. “Me, too.”
* * * *
Tah sensed Abby’s pain easily and made his way silently back toward her. It was easy to hear the conversation between her and Logan. Part of him wanted to rip Logan apart for accusing her of doing something to him, but he could sense his friend’s worry just as he could feel Abby’s. And he wanted Logan to accept Abby and be her friend. If anything happened to him, then he needed to know Logan and Reno would see to Abby.
As they went back to arranging the supplies they’d have to carry, Tah turned and grabbed the first few limbs he saw on the ground and began dragging them back toward the truck.
“Jesus, Tah,” Logan grunted as he saw him. “I thought you were bringing limbs not the whole damn tree.”
Tah turned and really looked at what he was pulling. Apparently his strength was increasing as well as everything else. He’d have to be careful not to be careless and accidentally hurt Abby.
His body was already burning for her again. Her scent tickled his nose and had his cock throbbing with the need to be back inside her. What the hell was going on with him? He’d always had a lot of stamina, but nothing compared to how he was with Abby. His cock had been hard since he woke up this morning wrapped around her, and no matter the number of times he’d taken her today, it showed no signs of settling down.
His clothes were itching the hell out of him too. He wanted nothing more than to strip to the skin and stay that way. Preferably with Abby beside him just as naked. And he needed to get those thoughts out of his head, or he’d never make it the last few miles without having to stop and take her again.
He was at the point where he believed Abby. The idea that there was a lion inside him was the only thing that made sense at the moment. What else would account for all the changes happening to him? The change in his teeth and cock were the biggest two as far as he was concerned. He was damn glad Abby seemed to like the swelling ridges or bumps all over his cock. Honestly, though it felt like heaven when he was inside her, it freaked him the fuck out.
All of it was freaking him out. He shouldn’t be able to focus and hear the things he could. His vision, always above par, shouldn’t reach the limits it now did. And his skin was beyond sensitive. He’d done his best to keep Abby as close as possible. Her touch seemed to be the only thing he could stand.
“I’d say that’s enough,” Abby’s voice interrupted his thoughts as he dragged a few more limbs in to help hide the truck.
Logan had a pack thrown over his shoulders. The thing had to weigh at least a hundred pounds. Abby had a smaller pack on her back that still appeared too heavy for her to be carrying, and a third pack sat on the ground in front of them.
Tah walked over, took the remaining pack, and pulled it on before holding his hand out to Abby. “I’ll get that for you.”
“The day I can’t carry my weight is the day I’m dead,” she responded, and he couldn’t stop the growl of displeasure that rumbled up through his chest.
“And you can stop that right now,” she said. “I’ve got this.” She leaned in and nuzzled her nose against his chest. “I appreciate the offer though, and I promise I’ll tell you if it gets too heavy.”
He nodded. She knew just what to say to keep him from losing it.
“All right, Abby,” Logan said. “Which way do we head?”
“This way.” She pointed toward the right. “We go this way for a few miles. There will be a tree with an old tire swing rope hanging from it. We turn there and the house is a mile further.”
Logan nodded and took off, leaving them to follow behind. Tah made Abby go in front of him and then wondered if that was wise as he watched her ass twitch in her jeans. It shouldn’t be possible for his cock to get any harder.
Logan set a quick pace, and Abby had no trouble keeping up.
Tah did his best to watch everything around them, but he mostly watched Abby’s ass. God, the things he wanted to do to her ass. If she could read his thoughts, she’d be running as far and fast in the other direction as she could. And that thought conjured up ideas of chasing her and what he’d do when he caught her. He was seriously fucked up and had no idea how to fix it.
He shifted his shoulder, trying to ease the ache centered between them. It had nothing to do with the backpack and everything to do with what was inside him. If it was a lion, then it was itching to bust free of his skin and run. He could feel it stretching inside him, and the damn thing seemed to want command. It was a fight for Tah just to maintain control at times. It scared him. He was afraid if the lion took over, the beast might not let Tah have it back.
He shook his head. If anyone knew the crazy shit he was thinking, they’d commit him in a heartbeat. Well, anyone but Abby. She’d be down the hall from him in her own padded room. And just the thought of her being separated from him had his skin itching and the beast inside setting his chest to rumbling with a growl.
“You okay?” Abby stopped and turned around to face him. “The turn is still another mile ahead.”
He took her in his arms and pulled her close. Dipping his head, he took her mouth with his, thrusting his tongue deep and rubbing along hers. He slid both hands down to cup her ass and lift her against her cock. She rubbed wantonly against him, and he wanted nothing more than to strip those damn jeans down her legs and spread her wide.
She broke the kiss with as gasp, and he realized he needed air as well as they both gulped it in.
“Do you need to go off somewhere?” she whispered the question to him, and his heart soared. This woman loved him so much. He could smell her pussy and knew she was wet for him. And that was throwing him for a loop as well. Abby had been a virgin when he first took her. And they’d had sex since then that would leave even a porn star sore. What was he doing to them?
He knew Abby was changing too. She hadn’t needed glasses since he bit her. Whatever was in his saliva was getting in her and making changes to her as well. Plus, her sex drive was revving up to match his. There was no way they could keep up this pace. So what was going on? How long would it last? And would he and Abby be the same once it was over?
“Tah?”
He could see the question in her eyes and finally got it together enough to shake his head. “I’ll make it to the cabin, Abby. Promise.”
She nodded and took his hand, lacing their fingers together as she turned and tugged him along behind her as she walked. They hit the turn and headed toward the cabin. He could feel Abby’s excitement growing the closer they got. She seemed to put so much stock in the ability of her friend to help them, and he hoped the woman lived up to Abby's expectations.
“It’s just ahead,” Abby said with a radiant smile. God, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
He loved her, and the strength of that love scared him. He’d never loved anyone the way he did Abby. He’d loved his parents with a child’s faith and trust. Then he’d lost them and gone to live with his grandmother. He’d loved her, but more cautiously. He was desperately afraid to love and lose again, and his grandmother hadn’t been a young woman when she took him in. He’d lost her his senior year of high school, just days before he graduated and left for Marine boot camp.
Not once had he looked back. And he’d built a wall around his heart to protect himself. Women were soft and beautiful, meant to be cherished and respected. He took what was willingly offered and moved on. Repetition built expectation, and he wasn’t a forever kind of guy.
His glance fell once more on Abby. Or at least, he hadn’t been before her. Maybe he’d just been waiting to find her. Maybe the animal sharing his body had known things he didn’t, and protected them both, even as he slept. At this point, he didn’t find any possibility preposterous.
“Holy shit! You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Logan’s comment drew Tah’s attention toward him. He stood just a few feet up the path from Tah and Abby.
Tah and Abby hurried to reach him, and Tah shook his head as he glanced between Abby and the sight in front of him. “A cabin, huh?”
Abby laughed. “That’s what he called it. I told you it was a hell of a lot bigger than any cabin.”
It was so big there was no way it should blend and look natural, but it managed to anyway. As they stood there watching, a woman stepped out on the porch and lifted her hand in greeting. Abby practically vibrated as she saw her.
“Jess!” she yelled and tugged away from Tah, practically running the last bit of distance to reach her friend.
Tah was okay, until a man stepped around the corner of the house directly in between the two women. A roar left his mouth before he could hold back, and he was sprinting after her. He was at Abby’s side in an instant. He was fast, but it helped she’d stopped and turned around when he let loose that roar.
“It’s just Jess, Tah,” she told him, reaching a hand out to rub his chest. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I think he’s more worried about me, sugar,” the man said as he eased back toward the porch, where the woman was heading toward them.
Tah could feel his lips peeling away to reveal his canines as he continued to growl, making a point of staying between Abby and the man.
“Abby, this is my husband, Derrick.” Jess stepped next to Derrick and took his hand. Tah watched as Derrick pulled Jess close to his side.
“He’s fine, Abby. You can trust him.” Jess assured them.
“Did you hear Jess, Tah? You can trust him.” Abby’s eyes beseeched him to listen, and he was trying. But there was just something about Derrick that rubbed him the wrong way. His scent was off.
“It’s okay, ladies. Cats and dogs have been fighting for years,” Derrick offered with another laugh. “It’s going to take some time for the two of us to warm up to one another.”
“Cats and dogs?” Logan asked as he walked up to stand next to Abby and Tah. “I’m not sure I’m ready to hear the rest of this conversation. Not yet anyway.”
Derrick grinned. “Come on in. We’ll show you to your rooms and let you get settled before we talk.” His eyes seemed to size Tah up before he continued. “I think you got here just in time.”
Abby started up the steps, and Tah stayed right with her. He couldn’t help the way he positioned himself between her and Derrick. It was an instinct he couldn’t stop. The growl was in his chest as they passed the couple, and Derrick laughed again.
“Calm down there, pussycat. I’m not your enemy here. Hell, I might just be the only one who can help you.”
“How do you figure that?” Tah stopped and glanced back at Derrick.
“No time like the present, huh,” he said as he turned to kiss Jess on the lips. “I’ll just go for a quick run and be back soon.” He was tugging his clothes off as he moved away from them.
“What the fuck?” Tah said, trying to turn Abby away from the man.
“Stop.” She slapped at his hands, and the only thing that kept him sane was that he knew she wasn’t lusting after the man stripped down to his underwear in front of them. She was curious.
“I love that underwear,” Jess yelled just before the whole world shifted out from under Tah’s feet.
One minute the other man was standing there laughing, and the next he was gone and there was a full grown grey wolf where he had been. The wolf turned and looked at them, and Tah swore it still held Derrick’s grin.
Want to play tag?
What the fuck? Derrick’s voice filled Tah’s head as the wolf pranced then took off. Tah could hear Logan sputtering beside him as much in shock as Tah was. And Tah was pretty sure only he had heard the voice after Derrick changed into a wolf.
Abby glanced over at Jess with a smile. “I see you found your wolves.”
He knew at this point he should be more like Abby. She’d pretty much convinced him he had a lion inside. But hearing it and starting to accept it was a hell of a lot different from watching someone shift. Holy fuck!
Tah took it all in. His heartbeat was going crazy. He swore his muscles were burning as that presence inside fought him again, trying to take control and force him to do what it wanted. But Tah couldn’t let go.
“Tah?” Abby’s voice was panicked and seemed to come from a very long way away.
His vision started to blur, and he heard Logan swear as the ground swung up to meet him.
Chapter Eleven