I left the room, checking the kitchen first. Courtney was in there, preparing that night’s dinner. “Hey, have you seen Liam?” I asked, interrupting her chopping.
“He grabbed a snack and went out the back door. Looked a little upset, if you ask me. Is everything okay?”
I gave her a small smile. “It will be, sooner or later.”
“You two seem to be getting pretty close…” she said without actually saying what she meant. I knew she was just trying to get some juicy details, but I wasn’t ready for sharing.
“We have. He and his brothers have been very supportive since they arrived.”
She grinned at me in a way that said she knew my response was a bunch of crap, but I ignored it and called out ‘thanks’ for the information about Liam as I walked out the back door.
Once I was outside and back to figuring out where Liam was, I realized I had a bit of a problem. Our property was thousands of acres. I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to find him, but he had to be around somewhere.
My wolf perked up at the thought of hunting Liam. That hadn’t been my exact thought, but she was a predator. Plus, her way was much faster than me driving around on an ATV until I found him, so I decided to let her have her fun. I quickly got undressed and rolled my phone up into my clothes, so I wouldn’t miss Augie’s text about Davis. Once my clothes were situated and easier for my wolf to carry, I let the change take over.
My body shuddered, remembering the way Jaye had slowed my shift during the fight. The pain was excruciating, but I took pleasure in knowing she had an arm to replace thanks to Augie, assuming her shit-tastic sorcery magic could do such a thing.
Once the shift was complete, I shook my fur out and gently picked up my clothes with my teeth. I’d done it so many times with my wolf, she’d become a pro at keeping the drool to a minimum. A little drool was better than walking around naked later when I decided to shift back.
Liam and I had slept in the same bed together and seen each other unclothed several times when we had needed to shift, but we’d yet to actually have sex. I wanted to, but I knew once we did, we’d be crossing an emotional line my heart couldn’t come back from. I was still afraid of the heartbreak I was sure to suffer when he went back to the Catskills. I didn’t need to get even more attached.
My wolf didn’t agree with those thoughts. She thought we needed to mark our territory and claim him as our mate so no other could, but she didn’t understand we both had responsibilities. It wasn’t as simple as she wanted it to be. As I wanted it to be.
I’d held all men at a distance my whole life. Of course, the one guy I wouldn’t mind pursuing an actual relationship with just had to be a potential alpha from a pack located on the other side of the country. It seemed to be how my luck was going lately.
Before I could dwell on my current predicament too much, my wolf picked up Liam’s scent and the chase was on. Her joy at hunting him was euphoric, and my pulse kicked into overdrive. My heart was pounding and breath labored. We were getting closer to Liam, and I had an extreme need to lay my hands on him. My wolf’s desires were taking over, and I had no desire to stop her.
I put the brakes on and managed to wrangle enough control to talk some sense into my wolf. We can’t jump him when he’s human and I’m wolf, girl. I coaxed my wolf into calming by promising her a little action, then shifted back to my human form. Liam was close, and I wanted to dress in privacy. I didn’t trust myself to be naked in front of him right then. My wolf’s wants and needs were still too dominant.
I hadn’t been paying attention to where we were going before, but I finally noticed we were down by the lake. It was my second favorite place on our property and I was glad to know he enjoyed it as well. The sun was high in the sky and reflecting off the water. The reeds near the water swayed with the light breeze, and a sense of tranquility settled over the area.
I walked closer to the lake and spotted Liam sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs next to the water. His head was tilted up toward the sky, eyes closed, and hands folded across his lap. I thought he was sleeping, until I stepped nearer, and he finally turned his head toward me.
The smile on his face when he realized it was me did funny things to my insides. Still on the high of the hunt, I decided our chat could wait a little longer. Without saying a word, I joined him on the chair and wrapped my legs around his waist once he sat up. My hands cradled his face and grazed the light stubble. His green eyes stared into mine, wondering just what I was doing.
He opened his mouth to say something, but I brought mine down against his before he could. Our tongues clashed and hands roamed. There was pure passion flowing between us. It was hot, and I needed more. I needed his touch to soothe the ache growing within me. His hands roamed under my shirt, leaving a scolding trail of desire everywhere they touched.
I pulled away and let my head fall back as he assaulted my neck, trailing kisses down my chest. I pressed up and into him, needing his touch like I needed air. He bit through my shirt, causing low growls to escape my lips. My wolf hummed in appreciation at his aggressiveness. He continued to nip at me, then kiss the same spot over and over until I was mush in his hands.
His desire was evident beneath me and I pushed against him, garnering a low moan. “Taya, we need to stop,” he said with a strained voice that I really wanted to ignore.
I shook my head as I leaned forward again, making my way down his neck.
“Taya, please.”
Embarrassment and shock rushed over me, like being doused with cold water. I pulled back, feeling hurt by him wanting to stop. I started to climb off him, chastising myself for being so forward, but he grabbed on to my hips and kept me in place.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he demanded. “If we were in a room with a bed and hours ahead of us, I would have never stopped. When we finally make love, it will not be on a wooden chair. I want to spend hours devouring you, not rushing through it like a horny teenager.”
Oh. Well, shit. If I thought I was hot and bothered before, I was on fire and about to combust now. The thought of him wanting to make love to me for hours left me swooning like a school girl. Life needed to stop kicking us in the balls so we could have that time. First, we needed to have a talk and see if he even wanted to stay in Raven Point. I was going to do my best to remain firm on that, even if I had just attacked him and almost broke my earlier vow.
“That only makes me feel slightly better,” I teased as I shook off the previous thoughts.
“Believe me, I don’t feel any better.”
I grinned, enjoying the fact I had done that to him. The feeling was powerful.
“I didn’t come here with the intention of assaulting you.” I laughed. “Though, I can’t say I regret it. I wanted to apologize for running off earlier. It’s how I process things. I needed time alone to think about everything we had learned from Zarai.”
“Augie explained it to me. No need to say sorry. I understood, even if I was worried about you. Do you want to talk about it now?” he asked cautiously without pushing me in case I wasn’t ready.
“I think I’m better now. It’s just hard to think of losing another important person in my life to get one back. It doesn’t seem right.”
“It’s not, and Declan will pay for what he’s done. We will get the retribution your family deserves if it’s the last thing I do.”
His statement was authoritative and full of emotion. It tugged at my own sentiments, making me want him even more.
“Thank you for pushing your way into our lives. I’m glad you did.”
Liam laughed. “Is Taya Rush going soft? Never thought I’d see the day.”
I punched him in the stomach and swiftly stood. “Say something like that again and you’ll go back to sleeping with your brothers.”
His face blanched and it took everything I had to keep mine from cracking, showing him I was kidding. I preferred having his warm body wrapped around mine, even if he drove me crazy. We gave as good as we got from each other, and I loved that we had a playful sort of relationship, or whatever it was we had. Again, we really needed to figure that out.
“You wouldn’t dare kick me out,” he pouted.
“I might. I wouldn’t recommend pushing me and finding out.”
Before he could respond, Caleb came barreling down the hill toward the lake, completely naked. “You guys need to come quick. It’s Davis.”
My legs gave out from under me, but Liam reached his arms out to steady me. If Davis died before the full moon next week, I wasn’t sure what we would do. Even if I had accepted the fact that I would be losing him soon, I still needed to say my goodbyes to him. Whatever was happening with Davis, Alex better be able to fix it, or I just might lose my shit.