Dark and Damaged: Eight Tortured Heroes of Paranormal Romance: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (16 page)

“Love you too.” Bree said it in all sincerity. She and her mom had their ups and downs, but they’d survived a lot together, had made it because underneath their banter, they had a love that couldn’t be broken.

Bree hung up the phone and walked upstairs and into the bedroom they’d been given, a small one that had belonged to Rebecca.

Seamus lay face down on the bed, sound asleep.

Bree closed the door and stood at the end of the bed, looking at him. Seamus was stretched out in exhaustion, one hand flung across the covers, the other hanging over the side of the mattress. He’d managed to get his boots and socks off, and his strong bare feet dangled off the bottom of the bed.

Bree had been able to wash up and brush her teeth with a toothbrush Ronan’s mate had purchased for her, and now she stripped out of her clothes, sliding under the sheet in her bra and panties. She snapped off the light on the bedside table and snuggled down.

Seamus didn’t move. A faint snore trickled into the room. Moonlight touched Seamus’s tanned skin and danced in the darkness of his hair.

Bree had never seen him so relaxed. Since she’d met him, Seamus had been tense, wound to one focused point. He’d been afraid and trying to bottle up his fear to protect not only Katie and Francesca, but Bree as well. And her mom. Even the cat.

Bree leaned across the bed and kissed his cheek. She savored the warmth of his skin, the rough burn of his whiskers.

Seamus’s eyes popped open. They glittered gold in the dark, a Shifter coming fully awake and alert.

Before Bree could say word, Seamus rose over her and bore her back into the bed. Bree found her arms full of strong-bodied Shifter, who covered her mouth with a slow but forceful kiss.

Seamus’s mouth was a hot place, his lips both leisurely and intense, as though he planned to kiss her all night. Bree surrendered down into the mattress, ready to let him.

She tugged at his T-shirt, dragging it up so she could touch him. Seamus impatiently broke the kiss and shrugged the shirt off, then nearly ripped her bra’s hooks to open it and fling it aside. Her underwear quickly followed.

Bare chest to bare chest, they came together, Seamus’s heart beating hard above hers. Bree drew her fingers down Seamus’s smooth back and slid them under the waistband, finding the taut mound of his buttocks beneath. No underwear. She’d thought as much.

“Need you,” Seamus said. “Need you, my mate. Can’t stop myself.”

Bree didn’t want him to. She worked her fingers around to the front of his jeans and popped open the button. The zipper hissed, and Bree plunged her hand inside to close it around his very hard cock.

Seamus froze. His eyes became a light golden color, as though he wanted to shift, and barely contained it. Or maybe he simply liked what she was doing. Bree stroked him once, enjoying how large he was. It would be a tight squeeze when he came inside her, but she wouldn’t let that stop them.

She shoved at his jeans, which he got himself out of. Seamus kissed his way down her throat to her breasts, his warm mouth trickling heat across her flesh. Bree arched, wanting him.

“The whole of you,” he said. He licked between her breasts. “You called out to me from the first. I belong ... with you.”

“I’m not minding that,” Bree whispered.

Seamus lifted away, repositioning himself to fit his body to hers. His cock brushed her opening, the already sensitive place shooting fires along every nerve.

So. This was being with a Shifter.

No, this was being with a man who was extraordinary, beautiful without knowing it, gentle and caring and at the same time, with an edge of unpredictability. His eyes took her in, the downward sweep of his gaze telling her he liked what he saw.

Bree smiled at him, liking him too. Seamus dragged in a breath, raised his hips, and slid inside her.

Large?
Yes
. Bree gasped as he filled her, opening pieces of her she hadn’t realized were closed.

Seamus emitted a soft moan, his eyes flicking to Shifter, the gold of them vivid. Then he closed his eyes, his face relaxing even more as he began a sweet rhythm.

Bree wrapped her arms around him, twining her legs with his as he thrust into her, his first movements slow and sensual. The room was cool, November wind tapping at the window, but warmth swathed them. Bree pushed the sheet away.

Bare to the night, they loved each other, Seamus increasing his thrusts, Bree rising to meet him. He needed this;
she
needed it. Emptiness was flowing away, her heart healing for the first time in a long, long time.

Slow sensations fled as desperation came upon them, Seamus moving faster, Bree sliding hands to his buttocks, urging him on. Seamus’s biceps bunched as he held himself from crushing her; Bree clung hard to him.

Madness was coming over her, a dark wash of climax—blissful, hot waves she gladly drowned in. She heard her voice rising, but everything went away, every worry, fear, and caution. All she knew was Seamus joining with her, spiraling her into a place of bright delight, one hot point of pleasure.

It lasted so long, both of them meeting in that place of fire, his shouts blending with hers. Just when Bree thought she’d never endure more—but
damn
, she did not want it to end—they crashed together on the bed, gasping, kissing, sealed together.

After a while, they eased into quietude, catching their breaths. Seamus smiled at her—the first time he’d done so. It was a wicked smile, one of both triumph and joy.

“Beautiful,” he whispered as he came down to her. “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you.”

“You’re not bad yourself,” Bree mumbled, exhaustion stealing her powers of speech. “In fact, you’re pretty hot.”

Seamus’s low laughter shook the bed, and to this agreeable lullaby, Bree dropped into sleep.

***

A wild scream broke the darkness. Bree jumped awake, her heart banging.

The sound was more like a wail, a horrible noise that wound high, boring through Bree’s brain. The sound came from outside, but an instant later, it was echoed by Seamus, who threw back his head and roared as though all the pain in the world had gathered within him.

Bree rolled away and scrambled to her feet in sheer panic. Seamus came off the bed, his hands on either side of his head, his eyes so light gold they were nearly white.

“Hurts,” he moaned. “Hurts.”

From outside came shouts, more screams, animal cries. Bree didn’t want to take her gaze off Seamus, but she ran to the window and looked out.

Something crashed past the trees that lined the yard, a bulk running straight for the house. The Den was lit up, Walker outside. She heard the sound of a pistol shot, and another.

Seamus screamed again. Down below, Bree saw the glint of sword as Sean sprinted into the yard, with what looked like every male in Shiftertown behind him. They were chasing the giant animal that broke through Ronan’s front door, splintering it, and charged into the house.

Pain. Emptiness. Rage
.

All poured through Seamus as the feral came up the stairs, heading unerringly to what it needed.

The cub
.

Screams sounded in the room where they’d put Katie—Cherie and Francesca, Olaf crying out. Seamus was barely aware of Bree snatching up his T-shirt to throw on her own body as he slammed himself out of the room and across the hall.

The door to Katie’s room had been torn off its hinges. Seamus saw Cherie pressed into a far corner, her terror so high it cut through the rest of the emotions churning through Seamus’s head.

That clarity allowed him to see the situation without the haze of madness—Francesca, her nightshirt fluttering to the floor as she shifted to wolf. Olaf, as small as he was, putting himself in front of Katie’s bed, his hands out protectively.

Olaf faced another bear, its brown fur matted with mud and blood, giant paws sporting broken claws, its dark eyes filled with madness. The bear was male, Shifter, and feral. No Collar adorned its neck, Seamus saw in the moment the bear turned and came for him.

Seamus was already shifting to lion. The bear’s attack caught him mid-shift, at his most vulnerable, which he now realized was how the bear had taken him by surprise out in the dark. Seamus spun back into the hall, his lion’s hind legs scrabbling for purchase. Bree, wide-eyed, got out of the way.

Seamus gained his feet, fully lion now, and went for the bear. The bear hurtled out of the bedroom, and they slammed together in the hall.

The stink nearly knocked Seamus over, as did the feral’s outpouring of grief, anger, and hatred. The bear struck, and struck again, its ragged claws raking Seamus’s side. The scent of blood woke Seamus’s frenzy, and then nothing was clear.

Teeth, claws, blows. Seamus rolled, with the bear on him, then he came up on top of the bear to be thrown aside like nothing. Francesca leapt, her wolf landing full force on the bear’s back. At the same time Bree darted inside the room, heading to help the cubs.

Seamus was aware of other Shifters on their way up the stairs, Rebecca included, Walker behind her. Ronan had already charged out of his own room, but there was no space for him to shift into the Kodiak bear he was.

Another lion joined the fray. Seamus heard a sword clatter to the floor, and knew this was Sean. Sean hit the bear, driving it from Seamus, who rolled out from under it. Francesca ran at the bear’s huge back feet, her wolf snapping and clawing.

Seamus saw the rage in the bear’s eyes change to desperation. It knew it was outnumbered, would never get away. It flung off Seamus and Sean with renewed strength and burst into the bedroom.

Katie was standing on the bed, roaring in fear and surprise. On the floor next to her was a polar bear cub. He was up on his hind legs, his black eyes sparkling, his too-small mouth open in a warning roar. Cherie had turned grizzly, she too rising on back feet. Her bear was a little more formidable than those of the cubs, but she was still too young to take on the full-grown feral.

The feral bear drew back his huge paws and swept them down at Olaf and Katie. Seamus knew he’d never be able to reach them in time.

But Bree was there, rising from the other side of the bed like an avenging angel. She grabbed Katie and yanked her to safety, just as the bear’s blow landed. The mattress ripped in two, and the wooden bedstead clattered apart, striking the feral but also Olaf as he scampered out of the way.

The bear turned for Katie, and Seamus tore into him. They both went down, Seamus at last getting his teeth in the bear’s throat. He clamped down, and ripped.

The feral bear roared his pain and slammed himself down, flailing until he dislodged Seamus. Seamus, the bear’s blood foul in his mouth, rolled in the small space, smacking into pieces of the broken bed.

Bree was up, holding on to Katie, standing against Cherie for protection. Cherie’s Collar was sparking hard, as was Sean’s as he ran in, though Sean’s didn’t slow him down. He leapt over Seamus to grab the bear and haul him back.

Seamus, gaining his feet, joined him. As he did, Tiger barreled into the room, planted his paws on the bear’s back and dragged him to the floor.

The bear fought a while longer, weaker now, then collapsed and lay still, panting. The two lions were bloody, and blood gushed from the bear’s thick neck and throat where Seamus had got him. Tiger kept his immense paws on the bear, holding him in place.

Walker was inside now, sighting over the barrel of a rifle. “Tranq,” he said. “Get out of the way.”

Before Seamus or Tiger could move, the feral beneath them shifted to human.

Sean got off him and backed away. Tiger remained but sat down on his haunches, as though conceding that it was Seamus’s victory. Seamus, still lion, held the man in place.

The Shifter was about Seamus’s age in both human and Shifter terms. His shaggy, unwashed hair and lines on his face made him look older, as did the haunted light in his eyes. Most of what Seamus saw was craziness, a mind that had lost sanity, though a spark of the original man remained.

“My ... cub.”

The voice was cracked, barely understandable. Katie moved in Bree’s arms, and Bree drew a sharp breath. “He means Katie.”

The bear glared up at Seamus, angry, maddened, and grief-stricken. “Mine.”

Seamus slowly shifted back to human. He kept a firm hold of the man, prepared to fight again if he had to. Francesca, still wolf, took up a stance at Seamus’s side, also ready.

Katie was struggling to get down. Bree, after exchanging a look with Seamus, set Katie on her feet.

The little bear closed the small distance between herself and the Shifter. She looked down at him as he lay on the floor, her mouth coming open in a little growl of both greeting and distress.

“My cub.” The man’s voice was weaker but clearer. “I found ...” He put out one scarred, broken-nailed hand and touched her head. “My ... daughter.”

Katie lay down on her stomach and rested her chin on the man’s shoulder. There was no way she could recognize him, Seamus thought dimly. They’d found Katie when she was only a day or two old, and she’d known no parents but Francesca and the other Shifters in Kendrick’s group.

But she seemed to know, without words, without being old enough even to shift to human yet, that this Shifter was her father.

He was completely feral. He’d nearly killed Katie trying to get to her, had ripped apart the human hunters without remorse, had done his best to kill Seamus. Saving him, if they could, would be tricky.

Some sanity flickered in the bear’s eyes. He caught Seamus’s hand. “Take care of her. Promise me.”

Seamus nodded, clasping the hand that was scarred and bloody. “Like she was our own.”

“Thank ...”

Then reason in his eyes died, and the red glare returned. The man snarled, the bear coming back.

Katie scampered away in alarm and hid behind Cherie’s grizzly bear legs. A white streak buzzed behind Seamus, Olaf rushing to join the bears and Bree. Not from fear, Seamus sensed in amazement. Olaf had flung himself in front of them, the little polar bear ready to protect the females.

“Sean!” Seamus called.