Beauty and the Brute [Werescape III] (22 page)

She didn't even flinch at the question.

Enough of this. No mate would be allowed to be this evasive. I shoved her back at arm's length until I could look her in the eye. “Tell me about this nightmare."

She wagged her head, flicking her gaze away.

No more games. I grabbed her chin between my fingers and a thumb, and turned her set jaw back to me. “Tell me, Lorelei."

She stared.

Too contemplatively. Measuring my determination. “Tell me."

Slowly her eyes closed then opened, an odd sense of calm claiming her mask in the moonlight. “Roaches. It's always the roaches."

Her arms quaked beneath my grip.

I will hear all of it. “What about the roaches?"

"The floor crawled with them."

Another tremor shook her arms.

Why wouldn't she just spit it out? I leaned over to almost touch her nose with mine. “Where?"

"In the crawl space. Back in my father's mansion.” She blinked with what appeared to be a wave of panic washing over her features.

"I'm your mate, Beauty. I won't punish you. I won't hurt you. Tell me about this memory so I

can make it go away."

Her eyes brimmed with glistening tears and her gaze slid away from mine.

Hell, I'd made her cry. I grabbed both her cheeks between my palms and kept her gaze where

I wanted it. “Tell me."

Her lips opened then paused, mouth open as if she filled her lungs with air. “It was the day they killed my parents. If I hadn't hidden in the crawl space, I would have died too.” A tear trickled down the side of her tiny nose.

A drop of pain. I'm a Gods-be-damned ass for making her speak of the memory.

"The roaches were everywhere,” she blurted. “All over me.” Her eyes closed.

The weight of her head sank into my palms.

Everywhere. On the floor. Crawling all over her. No wonder she feared crickets. I wrapped my arms around her quaking shoulders and tucked her nose into my neck. “I'm sorry, Beauty.” It didn't matter if she could hear me over the windstorm caused by the motors. I'd wrap her up in the blanket and hold her until the tears stopped. Maybe then I could convince her I wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

At the very end of the Nebraska Territory's North Platte River, the hovercraft cranked up its motors on the shallow silver water of the stream while anxiety gnawed away at Brutus. Windy noise might mean we'd made it as far into cacti-studded prairie as possible where we were headed. But noise was still bad. Anyone else could have chosen to use the river to expedite travel into The Wild. To capture Beauty. And with the end of the river, nothing but knee-high green grass remained as far as the eye could see.

Grassland rolled into the horizon's blue sky.

We'd just skirt the Niobrara River and head up to the Black Hills.

But what was that scent? Something more than delicious mate. Something indescribable. New yet familiar.

Play, Wolf yapped, leapt, and began pawing as if he dug into the fertile hills.

Hurry or mate? It wasn't like Wolf detected danger. Maybe we could manage a short delay.

One night spent on the river wasn't enough to make a man cringe when thinking about running for his life. Who knew where Yale's men would disembark? The same spot? Not likely.

We'd made good time on the water too. Seventy-five miles per hour could whisk a man upstream a long way while his mate slept. Whereas we would have traveled eight to ten days by horse.

The gray hovercraft shimmied away, distorting the mercurial mirroring water into a gray nonreflective surface.

An arm snaked around my waist and squeezed with gentle pressure. “Let's go,” Beauty said.

Speaking softly still. She'd been quiet the rest of the night, slipping in and out of sleep. No problem. Keeping Trance calm as well as a mate could wear a Normal down. But not a

Shifter. I swung her tiny waist into the air and dropped her over my shoulder.

"Brutus!” She smacked my ass.

Well, we'd be on a horse all day. This was the only fun I'd have until we took a break. I

ignored her pounding palm on my buttock and strode toward a large patch of low green grass.

Perfect grass. Just for mating. I grabbed the bedroll from where the quilt hung to Trance's brown saddle.

"We don't have time,” she scolded.

Funny how the point seemed lost when the person making it hung upside down over your shoulder. Futilely pummeling your backside for release. Oh, she'd get some release alright.

"Oh,” she groaned. “I can't believe you."

Well, Wolf didn't get to mate last night. And it took great skill to unroll a blanket with one hand. “Watch this.” I chuckled.

"You've got to be kidding. I can't see anything but your ass from back here."

Not a bad thing to focus upon. I squeezed one of her tight little buttocks.

"Oh!"

That wasn't the tone Wolf was looking for. We'd have to work on that. I flicked the quilt out with a flash of pieced together fabric bits of every color in the rainbow.

The blanket settled onto the green grass.

The way my beauty would in just a second. I slid her weight down my arm.

She snapped upright with her boots beneath her and planted both hands on her hips.

So sassy.

My groin went rock hard.

"Brutus, you can't be serious. We have to go.” She waved at the boat. “They can still see us."

Only if they had field glasses. “Take off your boots, Little Sassy."

Her lips pursed. Her nostrils flared. She sighed and studied the shrinking boat beyond her shoulder.

"Boots, Beauty."

She scoffed and untied a bootlace.

A little muttering wouldn't hurt. Not with Wolf ready to mate. I pinched a button out of a buttonhole on my shirt.

Her gaze wandered to my hands.

Observing. Not so sassy anymore. Maybe showing interest. We'll see. I shoved my shoulders out of my sleeves into warm sunshine.

Her eyes widened with awe.

She could rub my muscles all she wanted until I was finished with her. Then she could clutch them all day while we rode along the Niobrara to the Wyoming-South-Dakota border. The

Black Hills would be about another day's ride away. Plenty of time for muscles.

The hovercraft vanished into the grassy horizon.

Forget hurrying to the Black Hills. My Guardian clearly wasn't going anywhere until he'd marked me. Or him. We'd both stink of mating soon. But with Wolf always on watch, we could manage a little release of tension. Especially after last night's torture on that farce of a boat. My ears still hummed. Would probably never stop humming. I shoved my waistband down over the swell of my hips.

Or maybe the humming was something else? Something coursing through my bones.

The world swung.

Brutus! If he thought he was throwing me over his shoulder again...

The world stilled with my mate's ravenous mask barely smiling at me backed by blue sky where he carefully held me in his arms, my pants hanging from my knees.

Hungry but doting. Adorable. “Hi, Brutus.” I shot him a wink.

He shoved my pants free of my feet. “Didn't I warn you not to bend over until you'd undressed?” he teased.

That was the last thing on my mind. “That boat had my thoughts elsewhere."

His smile curled into his left cheek. “Elsewhere?” He dropped me to my bare feet on the soft quilt. “Go then. Elsewhere."

My heart sank in one achy swan dive of longing.

For him. God, the way he stood there with his red eyebrows arched wearing nothing but camouflage pants fitting that tight narrow waist of his ... I just needed to wrap my legs around that waist.

Or maybe Wolf wanted to play. I could stand here and melt at his feet. Or run.

His brown gaze never flinched.

Trapped me. Pinned me here in the endless sea of grass with the river at my back.

A muscle in his bulging upper arm twitched.

Maybe he wanted me to run? And the thought of being caught was so tempting.

One of his eyebrows lowered questioningly. “I'm waiting,” he said.

As if I was to answer. Well, he could just work to mate today. I thrust a foot into the base of a tuft of grass.

"Gods-damn it, Beauty. No!"

Like I'd stop on command. Not after his little challenge. He'd have to punish me. And Brutus could dole out incredible punishment. I kept stretching my stride toward the smooth rounded stones of the river's edge.

"Stop!"

Shouting wouldn't deter me. He needed a little teasing of his own.

Something grabbed me around the waist and tossed me into the air like the limber body of a housecat.

Up. Up.

The blue sky must have shoved back because I landed in his arms, staring at his scowl.

"You can't run out here without shoes on, Lorelei."

Not such a good tone. “Why?” Oh, snakes. Or worse. Large insects. Dear. God. I grabbed his neck and hung on. “What's out here?” I scanned the clumps of tall grass.

He turned, panning my view, took three steps to the right, and knelt. “Cacti."

Out here? At least he hadn't said bug-shaped cacti. I squinted and studied the dirt clinging to the mounded earth encircling each clump of grass. “But this isn't a desert."

"It's a part of the US Territories that can't count on rain. Cacti have always grown here.” His fingers curled around a dozen thick grass stalks and shoved them aside, revealing the small knobby plant's spray of spiny thorns. “You don't want to step on that, Little Sassy."

No. No. I'd rather cuddle up with muscles and howl at the full moon. I eyed his straight-lipped frown. “You should have warned me about the cacti."

He slid a stare of disbelief to mine. “I never told you to run."

Well. “I thought you wanted to play by that look on your face. Or Wolf had the bright idea."

He sighed, rose, and carried me back to the blanket with measured steps. “Let's dress. We'll have time to play later. It isn't safe to turn my back for an instant out here."

Not mate?

He looked at me with cold fatherly calculation.

Obviously reading my body's tension. Disinterest claimed that handsome mask of his. But I

want to have sex. “But. I—"

His mouth snuffed my words.

Hot. Hungry. His lips fed off mine. His tongue plunged into my mouth like he hadn't eaten for days. Couldn't stand starving. Even with the potential of a cactus beneath our blanket.

He lowered my ass to the soft fabric.

Nothing. Not a poke or stab. Just muscles. Everywhere. Glorious amazing musculature. All mine. I slid my palms down the supple iron covering his shoulder blades.

He groaned into my mouth and pressed his pounding chest into my heart until I stretched beneath what had to be his lurking Wolf the way he practically paced with his hands on the blanket around my upper body.

Shift. Yes. Go ahead. There's nothing like playing with a sex-crazed half-man who wanted nothing more than to make his woman scream in absolute bliss.

His mouth was everywhere.

Kissing. Never relinquishing his hold on my attention. Captivating me. Yes. Captive by the

Wolf. The way a woman should be.

Her hands were all over me. Rubbing. Clawing. Jerking at my waistband. Roaming along my cock's explosive length, what had to be Wolf's heart throbbing. Kicking. Ripping for freedom.

Hard couldn't describe my erection. More like irreversible.

Those hot lips of hers worked my neck. Sucking. Kneading.

Some scent, the mysterious aroma, rooted in my nostrils.

Wolf's nostrils.

From the Well. Yes. From the Well of Immortality. Sweet. Divine. Luring Wolf from the place I

kept him deep inside myself.

To feast.

To bite.

To sip the salty metallic tang of blood.

Ambrosia. The food of the Gods.

Wolf rising to dwell forever immortalized through mating.

Coming. The Gods-be-damned beast was coming. To eat her up. To wallow in her Well. His energy so all-consuming. Intent. Hell, he'd rip her to shreds. Must stop him. Protect her. I

ground my teeth and tried to shove skyward.

Away. Back from her. Put a cushion of safe distance between us.

She looked up at me where she laid with her black bra popped open, shoved aside so Wolf could nuzzle his mate's soft mounds. So damned soft. To rub all over that velvet body. I

slammed my eyelids shut and refused to look, choking down the urge to roar.

"Brutus?” she whined.

No. Wolf. Wolf was coming.

Mine. Wolf clawed beneath my skin.

A tingle scratched into flames under every cell of my skin.

Yes. Fire. Hot. Searing. Wolfen hairs.

The Gods-be-damned hairs lanced my flesh like a thousand hornet stings.

Stop, Wolf. Run. Or begin the mating? Yes. Hurry. Finish this before Wolf completely takes over. I slammed onto my knees between her thighs.

Two long iron limbs of supple flesh.

Mate, Wolf growled.

Something stirred up a breeze.

Right to my nose. Carrying the scent of ambrosia closer. More than ambrosia. Something far sweeter. Richer.

My mouth watered.

Or is that Wolf's?

Long coarse reddish-brown Wolfen hairs covered most of the skin on my arms and the backs of my hands pressed against the crumpled colorful patchwork of the quilt around her lily-white hips.

That dimple of a navel lifted then plummeted.

She wanted this as much as Wolf and I. Good thing.

Mine, Wolf roared and stretched my skin to the absolute limit.

Wolf wouldn't wait. Not to mate. Gods-be-damned beast.

Beauty slid her legs around my hips and pulled my ass closer with her heels, hooking her calves around my ass, drew me down until I was too dangerously close that my aching cock locked right into her moist heat.

Shit. I'd lose control. Of Wolf. Hurt her. Couldn't allow that. Had to run away. I tried to roll onto one knee, to climb away from her. From that intoxicating aroma.

She groaned, rocked her head from side to side, and wrapped her legs so tightly around my ass that there would be no escape. “Nobody said you could go anywhere, Brutus. I haven't finished with you yet."