Ellis: Emerson Wolves ― Paranormal Wolf Shifter Romance (5 page)

“They’re going to die.” She shivered, and he cupped her chin again and pulled her to him. Ellis kissed her then, tasting her for the first time, and then pulled back. He wanted her trust now more than ever.

~~~

As she washed up the dishes after lunch, she thought of the kiss. It had been her very first one, and she was glad that it had been him. She liked Ellis and his dad. Even the other two men that were with them, but she wasn’t going to be able to leave here when they did. There was too much at stake, and she wasn’t going to drag them into it. Her uncle and aunt were going to find her now; she just knew it.

“Miss Dawn? Ellis wants to know if you need anything from town. We’re going in to get some concrete and stuff, and he said you might need some extra stuff with us here.” She turned to look at Andy, and he blushed brightly. “He said to tell you that he’s going to buy some extra meat and stuff too. We’re kinda big eaters.”

“You are.” She had a list of things she was going to get the next time she was in town and pulled it off the refrigerator now. “I have to add to it. How long before you leave?”

“When you’re ready. Mr. Cash is going too. He said he needs to stretch his legs.” Andy blushed again. “I think he just needs to flirt a bit. He’s a man that does that like he breathes.”

Dawn laughed. She had figured that out about Cash. He was incorrigible but sweet. She thought him to be the nicest man she’d ever met. As she added things to her list, she had to think how much money she had. There was some in her stash out in the yard, but she would only use that to run if she had to. But feeding these men was going to be expensive.

Ellis came in just as she was counting out her money. “I’ll pay for this.” She started to tell him no, he would not,
but he continued. “Addie gave me money to feed these guys with, and I’m going to use it. She told me she’d have my ass if I didn’t do right by you.”

“I can do this.” He told her he’d pay if she cooked. “You do know that it was only ham sandwiches and some leftover salad. Not that much.”

“I rarely get a good hot cooked meal anymore. I don’t have time to do it, and when I do, I’m too tired to even bother. Mostly I eat at the diner, and while that’s good, it’s not personal.” She nodded when he asked her if she knew what he meant. “I love the way you made our sandwiches. And so you know, I think that your honey mustard is the best I’ve ever eaten. But it was the dessert that I enjoyed the best.”

“Dessert? I didn’t have any made. I can make some for dinner if you want. I have cherries left over from last year and—”

He pulled her into his arms again, a place where she was beginning to enjoy being. “This dessert.” His mouth brushed gently over hers. Then again and again. When he pulled her lower lip into his mouth and nibbled on it, Dawn put her hands on his massive arms to hang on. The next time he pressed his mouth to hers, she moaned with his taste.

His tongue ran along her lips, and when she moved her own to taste him again, he entered her mouth with his tongue and wrapped it around her own. He moved it along her mouth, bringing her tongue into his mouth. And then he sucked hard at it, pulling her deeper still when she wrapped her arms around him. Her body was being lifted, pressed against something hard, and when he rocked into her softness, she tore her mouth from his and cried out with it.

“Come for me, Dawn. Let me taste you when you come for me.” Her body seemed to be on the very edge of something profound. And when he rocked into her again, commanding her to let go, she screamed out her release as he bit her in the throat. Then everything went black.

She was only out for a few seconds, but when she woke, he was stroking her back and telling her how sorry he was that he’d hurt her. Dawn wasn’t sure that he’d hurt her so much as he’d woken up every part of her body. When she moved back to look at him, he stared at her like he was terrified that he was going to hurt her again.

“I never meant to hurt you.” She nodded. “I did, didn’t I? I hurt you. Christ, all I wanted to do was kiss you, but you tasted so good…amazing, as a matter of fact…that I wanted more.”

“I’m not hurt.” He didn’t look like he believed her. “I’m not. Really. I’m slightly…that was pretty amazing. Is it always like that with kissing you?”

“No. It’s much better.” He kissed her again, and she moaned when he rocked into her again. “I want you. I know that you’re not sure about me yet, so I want to take it slow, but Christ, Dawn, I want to sink my cock into you and never leave.”

Her body reacted to his words as if he’d done just that. She moaned when he buried his nose into her throat again, and she curled her fingers into his hair when he nipped at her tender flesh. She wanted him, too, but wasn’t sure it was a good idea to act on it.

“I should let you get back to work.” He groaned, and she laughed. When he lifted his head and looked down at her, she felt like she could fall right into his eyes. And she thought that she could love him, and knew that was impossible. Men like this one didn’t fall in love with girls like her.

Why not?
She felt Addie touch her mind just as Ellis set her on the floor again with a quick, yet satisfying, kiss. He was whistling when he entered the bedroom again.
Why couldn’t a man like him love you? You’re wonderful and amazing.

You know why.
Addie told her that she didn’t.
He’s a very wealthy man. And being saddled with a woman like me is not in the cards for him. He needs a woman who can hang on his arm and walk into fancy restaurants and know how to act. I’ve never even been to a restaurant, much less one that would require me to hang on any part of a man.

I’m sure you can figure out what to hang on to.
Dawn felt her face heat up.
He’s nearly in love with you now, Dawn. And you him, I think. And Ellis isn’t the type of man that would care what you wore, where you sat, or even what you did for a living as long as you were happy doing them all.

No man is that nice. I might have lived a very sheltered life for a long time now, but I do know a little about men.
Addie snorted
. Well, I think I do anyway. And he’s just too nice to want to have to tangle with me and my issues. And my aunt and uncle…they were here today.

Did he give you to them? Did he mention that he knew where you were? Where you’d been all this time? No, he did not. He protected what was his. And, for that matter, they all did. You are family to us all now, Dawn, and we all will protect you if you need it.
There were tears in her eyes as she finished up her dishes
. Dawn, I want you to come back with him for a few days. I’d like for you to meet my family. Our new family.

They’ll find me.
She told her that they’d not find her there.
I can’t, Addie. I’m afraid that…I’m just afraid.

I know, love, but you have a wonderful man there now, and I bet you that he’s going to keep you safer than anyone you know will.

Dawn had no idea. She was afraid to even go into town when she had to. Going to another state might really be too much. As she put the towel over the drainer to dry out, she went into the yard to finish up her peas. Things were going too fast right now, she thought, and it just needed to slow a little bit so she could think.

Thinking is highly overrated.
Dawn thought that Addie was right about that too.

Chapter 4

Mike Lateen listened to the man in front of him bitch. He wasn’t complaining, because in order to do that, he’d have to have an actual complaint. This man was bitching, pure and simple. When he started going on about how he’d been threatened, Mike sat up higher in his chair. Being the sheriff around here did have some perks. And one of them was to show someone like this prick the error of his ways.

About three weeks ago, the little berg that he lived in had a special election. It was quick and easy, and his name had been a write-in. No one, it seemed, was happy with the previous sheriff or the men who had worked for him. Now he was not just the sheriff, but also the alpha to the pack that he pretty much did everything for, including adding all the money to the coffers. And now this idiot was testing even his limits of patience.

“So you entered property that wasn’t yours, knowing that there were signs posted that said it was private property, and are now lodging a complaint because…why again?” The man actually looked like he was going to come across the desk at him. “You want my help, Mr. Combs, then you’ll calm your temper.”

“I think they have my niece. The one I told you about when you first come into this office. The one that has been missing for all these darned years.” Basil looked at his wife, who sort of reminded Mike of a snake in the grass, and smiled at her. “We surely do miss her, our niece, and we want some stuff closed-up. There are policies that she has on her that we can’t do nothing with until we have her again. And if she’s there and her being not right in the head, we’ll get our money coming back to us with the social offices.”

“Closure?” The man nodded. “I see. And this niece of yours, is she a kid? I mean, you said to me that she was an adult, didn’t you?”

“She’d be about twenty-six, I think.” Combs flushed when he must have realized how that sounded. “She’s been gone so long that I forget.”

Mike knew who she was…knew all there was to know about the woman in question. She wasn’t twenty-six, but nearly twenty-eight. And she was just where they thought she was; living in the house on the property of Addison Parker, and had been for a while now. The fact that he’d gotten a call from Addie just today had prepared him for this asshole, and some of the things that he’d been doing that were going to land his ass in prison.

“Did you know that after seven years, you can have her declared dead? If there are policies with her name on them, you can go that route and be done with it.” The man looked pissed for several seconds before he finally nodded. “You’ve done that, haven’t you?”

“We done did that. But someone is blocking it. They say that they know she’s still alive. Nobody will tell us where she’s alive at, but they know she’s still breathing.” Mike had a feeling if they found Dawn, she’d not be breathing for very long. “We need to get this stuff settled, and those men are keeping us from finding her. We want you to go out there now and tell them to get moved out so we can have a look-see around.”

Mike stood up and put on his hat. He was moving toward the door when he turned back to the Combs. “Well, are you coming or not? I don’t have time for this crap, and we might as well get it over with.”

They giggled. It was the strangest sound he’d ever heard from a human when these two did it. It was giddy and insane sounding at the same time. And yet they seemed to be…well, he thought them to be the dumbest people he’d ever encountered, and that was saying a great deal. But they were smart enough to know that they needed a body or her to claim her money, and stupid in the fact that they really thought he was going to help them. As he got into his car and them into theirs, he called Addie to let her know what was going on.

“So if you could get in touch with Ellis and the rest of them, I’d appreciate it. I don’t want to be handed my ass when I pull up with these fools.” She laughed and told him that she was landing now and would be at the house in about ten minutes. “Good to know. Anybody else there with you? That alpha of yours, too?”

“No, Hunter stayed home this time, but I have my attorney as well as a few of his crew. They’re none too happy about the turn of events. Oh, and Jarrett of course. He said he’d like to have dinner one night while we’re here.” Mike told her he’d like that. And a few minutes later, after making some arrangements, he hung up. The shit was about to be sprayed all over somebody, and he was glad it wasn’t him.

Mike was pulling into the overgrown drive just as a huge limo pulled in, too. He was smiling when he got out of the car, and when he saw Ellis and his dad sitting on the front porch, Mike tipped his hat at them. This was going to be a lot of fun. He wondered where Dawn was and saw the curtain move in one of the windows, and smiled in her direction. The girl sure was a beauty.

“What’s going on here? What did you do?” Mike just looked at Basil when he got out of his car shouting at him. “I…what the heck is going on here? These here people weren’t here the other time. That fancy car is somebody from the social office, ain’t it? You know that they’re hiding her. And that ain’t fair. Not fair at all.”

“This here woman is Addison Emerson. She owns the property.” The man said nothing, but he could tell he knew who she was. “Mr. Emerson is her brother-in-law, and that older man is her father-in-law.”

“He never done did tell me who he was when I was here before. What does that matter if they’re hiding my niece from us? We want her home so we can get this here part over with. I want this fixed now.” Mike turned to Ellis and Cash and shook both their hands when Basil stepped up beside him, nearly bursting with anger. “This here is not a social call. I want justice.”

“All right. Ellis, this man is mad that you put up no trespassing signs making it so he can’t enter this property without you being legally able to shoot him.” Basil blustered, but Mike continued. “He also claims that you’re hiding his niece here, and he wants me to run you off this property so he can have a…what did you call it? Oh yeah, he wants to have a look-see. I don’t think he’s all that trusting of you telling him the truth.”

“She’s here. I know it. And we want her back.” Ellis stood up, and Mike felt his own wolf stir. The man was an alpha, a great one, too. And Mike decided that if it ever came to the point where Ellis wanted his pack, he’d hand it over without a fight. This man, he’d just realized, was stronger than him by a great deal. It was hard for him to fight the urge to bend and pledge to him. “You need to leave here now. We just want to find her and take her back where she belongs. Them social people a long time ago said she was ours to raise as we seen fit.”

Addie laughed, and they all turned to her when she continued laughing for several seconds. She sure was a pretty thing, too, and seemed to have that man of hers wrapped around her pretty little finger.

“You must be Basil Combs, and this has to be your wife, Neva. My goodness, the hype about you two is certainly bigger than you really are. Well, not bigger in the sense that you’re fat and sloppy, but your bark. You do a lot of that, but you’re really no threat, are you?” Basil asked her what the heck that meant. “It means that you talk a lot, but it’s just talk, just bark. But I have a bite that you’ll feel for a good long time if you do not get off my land right now and go back to your hovel and leave my family alone.”

“You can’t tell me what to do. You might have all the money in the world, but I don’t have to listen to you. I done told you, them social people said—”

Shawn stepped forward and pressed a thick envelope into Basil’s chest. Mike thought for sure he was paying him off, but when Basil opened the envelope and a sheaf of legal looking documents fell out, Mike laughed too.

“What the heck is this supposed to be?”

“You’re being sued, Mr. Combs. Trespassing, just to start with. Threatening an officer for another reason. Then there is—”

“I did no such a thing. This here is just me coming here to find my niece.” Mike crossed his arms over his chest while Basil continued to spout off anything in his empty head. “I want her back. Do you hear me? I demand that you make these people do as I want right now, ‘cause I got me a temper and I don’t want it to go off on you.”

“You just threatened him by telling him that you’ve a temper and it might go off if you don’t get your way. What would you call that if not a threat?” Basil looked confused, but Shawn continued before the man burst something in his head. “Even if your niece was here, she’s well within her rights as an adult to live where she wants with whoever she wants. You are no longer responsible for her or anything about her.”

“She’s nuts.” Everyone looked at Neva when she spoke for the first time. “Right before she left us, she told us that she could be an animal if she wanted. And when she was this thing, she was going to come back and tear our throats out. We have to have her back to keep us safe.”

Mike laughed. “You’re telling me that she told you that she was going to come back eight years ago to rip your throat out because she could be an animal, and you’re still worried she’ll do it?” Neva nodded and glared at him. “Yeah, I can see where I’d be worried, too. A woman threatens you almost a decade ago and you’re still concerned she’s going to make good on it after all this time. And you want her back in the bosom of your family, too. I think that you should really rethink your position on this before you find yourself with more than you can handle.”

“We have expenses, too.” Mike waited for Basil to continue, but he looked at Ellis when he stepped off the porch. “You don’t want to be tangling with me, big boy. I know how to handle people like you.”

“Do you?” Basil nodded, but he didn’t look so sure now that Ellis was towering over him. “Here’s the way this is going to work. You’re going to get into that piece of shit car of yours, go to your equally piece of shit house, and leave us the fuck alone. And if you step even one toe onto this land again, I’m going to make it my business to make your life end very slowly and with a great deal of pain.”

Mike watched Basil. Ellis, he knew, could and would do as he’d told him, and the man seemed to think so, too. When he took another step toward him, this time shoving him back onto his car with both hands and holding him down, Mike put his hand on his gun. Not to shoot Ellis, no, but to take down Neva should she try anything stupid, which it looked like she was going to do.

When the door opened behind them all, Mike turned. Christ, he’d been wrong about Dawn being pretty. She was fucking gorgeous. And the way she was standing there with her chin held high and her body hard with strong muscles, he wondered if she’d come to his pack to find herself a mate. Then she stood by Ellis, and he knew what everyone else seemed to already know. They were mates.

“Ellis, let him go. He’s not worth it.” Ellis seemed not to hear her, so Dawn put her hand on his arm. “Ellis, let him go. Please?”

His body shivered with his wolf. Mike would not have believed it had he not seen it with his own eyes, but Ellis wasn’t a black wolf but a gray one, one that shimmered over his skin like he was going to come out, but only just held on. When Ellis let Basil go, he pulled Dawn into his arms and held her to him, protecting her with his body as Basil stood up.

“I want you to let me look here for my niece. She’s here and I know it.” Mike looked at Ellis, then back at Basil. “You all know that she’s here, and I demand that you let me look so I can take her home with us.”

Dawn started laughing first. Then Ellis. It wasn’t long before the rest of them were laughing as well. Cash came down off the porch finally and patted him on the back, just laughing as hard as he was. The man was a moron. Basil Combs was a complete and utter moron.

Mike thought they were going to tell him, but no one did. When Dawn turned and looked at him, he could see that she was thrilled to know that Basil had no idea who she was. But she was afraid as well. Ellis looked at him, and he knew right then and there that whatever this man was going to say was going to be epic.

“Sheriff, if you’d be so kind as to escort this piece of shit off this land, I’d appreciate it. And I’m sure you can find it in your heart to make sure that he’s aware of the charges that are being brought against him.” Basil started to scream about his rights again, but Mike nodded and pulled out his gun. He’d had enough for one day.

“Get in that car and leave now before I shoot you for being a pain in my ass.” Basil started to speak again, and Mike fired in the ground at his feet. “I’ve surely had enough of you today, buddy. Either leave now or so help me, I’m going to feed you to my pack.”

After they left, with Andy and Billy following them to make sure they did, Mike sat on the porch and looked around. How the hell they’d found this place was beyond him. Addie sat beside him, and he looked over at her, just noticing that Ellis and Dawn were gone.

“They’re mates.” He told her he’d figured that out. “She’s terrified of them. Do you want to know why?”

“I’m not sure. I want to, but I’ve got a feeling that it’s pretty horrific.” She touched his arm, and everything flooded his head. When she removed her hand, he lay back on the porch and let the information settle over him. “Christ almighty, they need to be shot or worse.”

“Worse works for me.” She stood up, and he did as well. “You know what Ellis is, don’t you? You know just how strong he is and what he’s capable of?”

“He’s an alpha in his own right.” Addie nodded. “Is he going to take my pack? I’d almost give it to him just so I can only be sheriff.”

“He’d do a good job. But he won’t take it from you.” Mike nodded, almost relieved at that. “He won’t kill you, but he will hurt you eventually. Not that he’ll want to, but it will come to that. Pack will demand it of him. First blood, you know. That’s how it can only work.”