Seven

If it was possible to fly to the moon and never leave Earth it could explain the feelings Tana just experienced. She’d felt wild and free, yet anchored. Held to the ground by Surge’s powerful arms and magical lips. Safe and liberated. As if anything was possible.

Her mouth was stuck on open as the horror of getting caught started to sift through the euphoria.

With a smirk, Surge pulled her shirt lower to cover her still throbbing sex and reached around to roll the window down a crack. The one behind her head. And there was nowhere for her feet to go but up in the air.

Shit. This was… this was…

Really freaking funny if she was honest.

“Good afternoon, officer,” Surge drawled, with his head still between her legs.

“Yeah, I bet,” he said dryly. “Can I ask what you’re doing out here?”

“Well, uh, you could.” Surge squinted, pretending to think about it while Tana bit her lip to hold in a giggle. “But I think it’s sorta obvious.”

“Mm hm.” The officer didn’t sound amused. “And I suppose I could ask to see your license and registration… except then I’d have to wait for you to untangle yourself from this gal’s shorts and I have a barbecue sandwich waiting in the car. So, why don’t you two lovebirds just do an old man a favor and get outta here?”

Surge nodded. “Yes, sir. I think we could manage that.”

The officer grunted. “Manage it quickly, would ya?”

Surge raised the window as the man walked away. His gaze met Tana’s. He raised one eyebrow and they both busted up laughing.

It should’ve been awkward. Her sprawled out, exposed, caught mid mind-shattering orgasm, his grinning face within licking distance from her lady bits, but it wasn’t. It was comfortable. She felt utterly normal with Surge even in the craziest of situations.

“Oh, kitty cat,” he sighed. “I do like your laugh.”

Her heart squeezed at his sincere words. She brushed a finger over his cheek and traced his lips.

“I like yours too.” It was true. His laugh made him unique. And now that she could read his intention behind it, there’d be no more misunderstandings.

He dropped a quick kiss to her stomach. She felt the zing of it even through the cotton of her shirt.

Ducking under her shorts, he sat up but didn’t take his eyes from her exposed sex. His gaze made her burn again, but Mr. Police Officer was waiting patiently for them to pull out.

Surge watched as she pulled her shorts around her hips and buttoned them. “I swear to god, this truck is going to die happy after this. Your ass, pressed bare against the seat? I wish my face could be so lucky.”

Tana’s cheeks went molten lava red. “Surge!”

“What?”

“You can’t say things like that.”

“Yes, I damn well can. Told you, I say whatever I want. Besides, I spent all the bastard morning watching that ass. I can’t be expected to hold things like this in.”

She watched him adjust his jeans. The bulge at his crotch was substantial and not the least bit softening after their encounter with the police officer.

“I know.”

“Know what?” He slouched in the seat, hissing as he tried to get comfortable.

“That you were checking out my ass.”

He looked up at her with a sexy cockeyed grin that made her heart stutter. “I knew it. No one shakes their ass that much when they walk. Not that you should ever, ever stop.”

Tana laughed wickedly as he pulled the truck onto the road heading back to Cedar Valley.

She stared out the window, watching the sun filter through the trees, and slowly let reality come back to her. The Surge bubble was nice, but she couldn’t live there. There were problems she had to work through. A baby she needed to care for. A house to be built.

And he had problems too.

“Who was that woman at the store?”

She looked at him just in time to watch the shade fall over his expression. “It’s not important.”

“Isn’t it though? She called you Brandon.”

He was quiet, staring at the road, until they pulled into town.

“Give me your hand,” he said.

Tana frowned and he met her gaze. He was serious, his brow drawn together in a heartbreaking expression that made her want to hold him tight.

She placed her hand in his palm and he laced his fingers with hers. As they turned into DTD, he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

Tana shivered. No one had ever done that before. She’d come to a conclusion: it was impossible for her heart to beat normally when Surge had his lips on her.

He parked and turned off the engine before he faced her. “That woman was my mother, and I haven’t seen her since I left home when I was seventeen.”

Tana swallowed hard. His mother. Shit.

“That woman was your mother?”

He nodded, but his eyes seemed to plead with her. “I left to find my mate. I didn’t feel right going back after that.”

She didn’t know what to say. She could tell him he’d made a mistake, but who was she to judge? Before her mother died, Tana hadn’t spoken to her for months. She regretted it, but she also understood what Surge felt.

It wasn’t easy living with the sins of the parents, much less forgiving them.

Surge’s thumb grazed her palm over and over, giving away his nerves. “Please don’t…” He hesitated. Cleared his throat around an uncomfortable laugh. Clenched his jaw tight, but it still didn’t quell the sound.

He was struggling right now, and it broke her heart.

“Don’t think less of me,” he pushed out. “Don’t think that I don’t care for her, because I do. It just wasn’t possible for her to be part of this life. I can’t… I can’t trust her. Not after what she did. The lies. She made the first seventeen years of my life fucking fiction.”

Tana shook her head. “I don’t. I wouldn’t. I’ve been around long enough to see what kind of man you are.”

He stared at their hands, his mouth opening and closing but producing no words.

“I’m sure seeing her wasn’t easy.”

“No. Not so much.”

Maybe that was why he’d wanted her so much he’d pulled to the side of the road. Maybe he’d needed a distraction. She had to know. She wouldn’t be angry over it. How could she be when he’d been so attentive? But… she had to know.

“What happened back there, with us, was that just… you coping?”

His gaze jerked to hers, his expression severe. “Tana, no. That wasn’t coping. I’ve been there, done that. This was so much more. And it’s just the beginning of what I want for us.”

Tana blinked at this unfamiliar serious side of him. “Like… what exactly?”

Surge swallowed, his throat bobbing with the action. “I want absolutely fucking everything, baby. I want what my brothers have, and I want it with you. And this isn’t a new thing. I’ve wanted it from the moment you strolled into DTD with your fierce little attitude.”

She shook her head, heart constricting in her chest. The mere idea of having someone to share life with was enough to make her panther purr. To never be alone again. To laugh everyday like she had earlier. To share grief and joy and have mutual goals. It was all she’d ever wanted, yet knew she’d never have.

Tana squeezed her eyes closed. This was too much right now. And she could never commit to Surge without first making sure little Grace was taken care of. That couldn’t happen until the female bobcat came around.

“We should go inside. Check on Grace.”

His jaw tightened, but he nodded, releasing her hand. The separation felt all wrong. It made her stomach clench in warning. Made her cat itchy with panic.

But she had responsibilities. She couldn’t pretend with Surge. And she’d never lead him on.

The lump in her throat burned as he opened the door and got out of the truck, grabbing bags of supplies. She followed, uncomfortable with this somber version of him.

As soon as they walked into the big house, Tana realized something had changed.

Blister ran from the kitchen with a syringe in hand, past them to the back bedroom. Surge dropped the bags and they followed him.

To the sound of a screaming baby.

Grace!

The tiny room was full to the brim with people. Annie held little Grace—little human Grace—cooing and shushing her, but the baby only screeched louder. The rest of the dogs paced and shuffled, looking as though they needed something to kill. Fists and jaws clenching. Wolves close to shifting.

Grace had five knights in shining armor ready to fight any battle for her. Except she didn’t need them to defend her. What she needed was a bottle.

Tana ran back to the living room and rifled through the bags until she found the formula and a bottle. Reading the directions on the way to the kitchen, she hurried around the coffee table, banging her knee.

Coming, little Grace.

Quickly, she made the bottle, spilling formula powder on the counter in the process, and shook the hell out of it on the way back through the house.

But that wasn’t a good idea.

Milk sprayed from the plastic nipple, landing in her eye.

“Damn it.” Half blind, she stumbled through the bedroom door. “Got it! Here. This is what she needs.”

“Oh, thank god,” Annie breathed, standing and holding Grace out to Tana.

She froze. What was she supposed to do with a baby? One so tiny, at that. Somehow this was different than holding a kitten. What if she did something wrong? What if she dropped her? What if…

But this was no normal baby. She needed to remember that. Grace was a shifter. Strong, just because of her DNA.

She wouldn’t break.

Tana reached for her, cradling the red-faced human in her arms before offering the bottle. Grace took the nipple in her mouth and then immediately spit it out, screaming louder than before.

“Shhh,” Tana said softly. “It’s right there, little one. Try again. It won’t be like mama’s but it’s good for you. Try.”

She rubbed the tip against the baby’s lips until she got a little taste of the milk. Grace tried again and decided formula milk was better than no milk at all.

“There. That’s a good girl.”

There was a collective sigh of relief as Tana settled in the nearby chair, and Grace calmed even more.

“Damn,” Drake whispered. “That kitten’s got a sturdy set of lungs.”

Tana grinned, staring down at Grace. She was already a badass, telling these boys how it was. She was perfect. Thick dark hair covered her scalp and her pale skin was like a cream colored rose. Just enough pink to glow and softer than a breath.

Tears welled in Tana’s eyes. The baby was so damn sweet, she made Tana’s heart hurt. An overwhelming feeling of possessiveness came over her, and she tried to press it down. But she couldn’t help feeling like Grace was hers. Or should be hers.

Damn it. She wanted the kitten to belong to her. Wanted it more than she’d ever wanted anything.

She looked up to find Surge staring at them. Somber Surge. The one who wanted things she’d never be able to give him.

Absolutely fucking everything.

That was when she realized she wanted fucking everything too. The baby, the family, the companionship. The wolf.

She wanted it all.