Sadie Hart (24 page)

She curled her hand around the back of his
neck and looked up into his face, the light of the moon just
catching her eyes and making them shine. “But you have to be mine,
too.”

“I already am.” The words came out hoarse,
rough, and he swallowed. Caine bent his forehead to touch hers, and
they stood there in the moonlight. Shadows blanketed the field
around them, the long grass and weeds turned black with the
slightest hint of silver. A coyote called in the distance and she
stiffened, then felt him, still calm, in front of her.

He smiled as she uncoiled in his arms,
relaxing. Her fingertips played at the base of his skull, dancing
down his neck. An owl hooted from a nearby tree, and she let out a
soft sigh, another whisper in the night. “You want to know
something else?”

“That depends.” He waited for her to twist
this back to work, her focus every bit as unbending as the steel of
her eyes, but instead she leaned up and laid her lips against his,
slipping the words right into his mouth. “I think I love you, Caine
Morgan.”

Shit. His heart gave a loud thump at the
admission, and he curled his hands around her hips, refusing to let
go. He dragged her closer, harder. As if he could pull her inside
him. “Think?”

“Well, you’re awfully bossy. Pushy.
Absolutely determined to get your way.”

A sharp burst of laughter spilled out of him,
a gruff sound that startled the night into silence around them.
“Have you looked in a mirror?”

“It’s probably too early to know for sure.”
She smiled against his lips, teasing, and Caine nipped over the
soft skin, drawing a soft mewl of frustration until he finally
kissed her. This time, Ollie didn’t wait for him; she swept inside,
controlling the kiss.

Caine pulled away and skimmed his lips up her
jaw, finding her ear. He nipped the tender lobe before whispering,
“Well, I know for sure. And if you come inside and go to bed with
me, I’ll show you exactly how much I love you.”

“Who said we had to go inside?” Her hand
slipped down his back, only to trace the edge of his jeans. “Aren’t
you prepared?”

“You’re liable to get a stick up your
butt.”

Ollie’s grin widened as she pulled away, her
hands finding the hem of her shirt. “Not if I’m on top.”

The green shirt traveled up the pale curve of
her belly, the rounded skin making his mouth water, and Caine let
out a soft groan as she pulled it off and let it fall to the
ground. “So what about it? You got something in that wallet of
yours?”

Her hands went to her jeans, and he tracked
the easy way she flipped open the button, pausing over the zipper
as her eyes met his, held. He groaned and reached for her, only to
have her lightly step away. Her grin flashed white in the light of
the moon. “What’s the magic word?”

One handed, he reached into his back pocket,
plucked out his wallet, and withdrew a condom. “Condom?”

“Very good, Mr. Wolf.”

He lunged for her then, drawing a startled
laugh from her before they both tumbled into the grass. The rough
weeds scraped at his arms, and he rolled to pull her on top. Damn,
but one of them was going to end up with a burr somewhere precious.
Ollie leaned down and snagged the packet from his hands. “Catch me
if you can.”

Then she was gone, running across the yard,
straight towards the house, and Caine let out a muffled growl as he
struggled to get his feet under him. By the time he’d scrambled to
a stand she was already running and gaining speed. She was going to
make him work for it. The predator in him relished the chase. He
lunged into a run, bolting across the meadow after her.

Ollie was fast, and every stride he gained on
her was hard won, leaving him panting, straining. At this rate, he
wasn’t going to catch her until she was sprawled out on her bed
waiting for him, and damned if that thought didn’t make his balls
contract. The picture of her spread out, ready and waiting, gave
him an extra boost of speed.

Caine had closed another stride between them
when a howl split the air. Not the yipping calls of a coyote, but
the low, deep bass of a wolf. Caine jerked to a stop, spinning
around. Breathing hard, he turned back in the direction of the
field, a shudder inching down his back. It was close. Caine took
another step toward the field, his head tilted back to breathe in
the night’s scents.

Grass crunched behind him as Ollie
approached, the soft slide of her gun drawing from its holster.
Caine scanned the darkness, letting the wolf out just enough to add
an edge to his night vision. At the edge of a field the dark shadow
of a wolf stalked along the forest line, a moving silhouette in the
darkness, vanishing and reappearing under the stroke of a mostly
full moon.

The wolf paused, twisted its head to look at
them, and vibrant gold eyes flashed in the darkness, reflected back
like a demon’s. Then, the black head lifted back and another bass
howl ripped free, spilling into the night air. Caine was running
before he could stop himself, slipping easily into his wolf-half,
feeling the added edge of strength and speed. He was halfway across
the field before the wolf’s howl died and the animal looked his
way. Ears perked forward, interested.

Their eyes met in a silent challenge, the
Hunter’s almost mocking as he opened his mouth and let his tongue
loll out. With a quick wag of his black tail, he was gone. Caine
pelted after him, not about to let the man get away again. The
Hunter had been playing with them for too long. Caine dashed
through the thick forest undergrowth, hopping over the trunk of a
fallen tree as his nose worked overtime, sifting through the scents
of the forest to focus on just one. The wolf running ahead of
him.

Ollie barked from behind him, panicked.
Distant. Caine flicked an ear in her direction, but he didn’t stop.
For once, one of them was close enough to catch this bastard.
Muscles surging, he darted through a shrub. A gun cracked in the
night and pain lanced through his shoulder as he stumbled. A man
laughed in the darkness.

A branch snapped and Caine spun, his eyes
catching the shadow of a man stepping closer, gun raised. Ollie let
out another bark, desperate, and the Hunter sighed. “Maybe another
time, alpha.”

He aimed the gun and fired.

Caine ducked, instinct driving him to the
ground even as the bullet sank into the dirt a few feet to his
left. He stumbled to his feet, but the man had disappeared. The
skin over his shoulder burned from the bullet, but thankfully it
wasn’t silver. Not like the ones he’d used on Claire Rawson.

Ollie broke through the brush and shifted,
staggering. Her face was pale in the dim light as she crashed into
the ground beside him. “Did you forget? He wouldn’t have come here
unarmed. You wouldn’t have faced him as a wolf.”

Her hands snatched at his muzzle, holding his
head still as she slid around to his side. Fingertips grazed the
edge of the wound and Caine couldn’t help the started growl of his
wolf. “Flesh wound. You’re lucky.”

Ollie stood, turning, but Caine still saw the
shudder slide through her. Her hands shook before she fisted them
against her hips. Fear radiated off of her, a smell of sweat, the
pounding rhythm of her heart, the hiccup in her breath, the wary
flinch to her eyes when she looked back at him. “That was beyond
stupid. That’s how they die, Caine.”

She shoved her hands through her hair and
tilted her face back towards the skeletal overhang of the canopy.
The leaves had fallen with the oncoming winter, leaving bare
branches to trace patterns across the starlit sky. Caine shifted,
ignoring the bite of pain in his shoulder as the wound began to
heal, and then he was standing behind her. He reached for her, only
to have Ollie flinch away.

“You didn’t think at all, did you? Just
reacted.” He opened his mouth to say something and she jerked her
head. “You sure as hell didn’t listen to me.”

“I was trying to...”

“Save them. Protect me. Play hero. That’s all
fine and dandy, Caine, as long as you remember the rules. Remember
how he plays.”

“He didn’t kill me.” He kept his voice calm,
low. It was an attempt at soothing, but she was having none of it.
Ollie jerked back a step and turned to head for the house.

“No. And it wasn’t silver, either. You got
lucky, not smart. I don’t need another casualty. The Hunter doesn’t
need someone else to make it easier on him.” Her hand slashed out
into the night, finger pointed at him. “He’s already winning.”

Ah, hell. Caine watched her go, the sway of
her hips vanishing in the dim light and he closed his eyes against
her absence. She was right. He hadn’t been thinking. He’d wanted to
do what he’d been failing to do all along...catch this son of a
bitch. Stop him. Protect them all. Win.

Except, the only thing he’d managed to do was
put himself in danger and, if he were honest with himself, Ollie
too. She’d come after him, to try and keep him safe. Though at
least she’d kept her brains attached to her head.

Muttering a curse, Caine headed after her,
fully intending to make things right. By the time he reached her
house, the kitchen light was on but the back door was locked. He
knocked, but although a shadow moved in the kitchen, she didn’t
come to let him in.

“I want to say I’m sorry. Ollie, come
on.”

The shadow stilled, and he could feel her
watching him through the blinds, her eyes on him, a physical weight
he couldn’t shake. But she didn’t come to let him in. With a sigh,
Caine pressed his forehead to the glass. “I was stupid, okay? But
you shouldn’t leave me standing out here, I’m liable to get myself
killed, because we both know I’m not going home.”

That got her moving. She swept the blinds
aside and unlocked the door, opening it just wide enough to poke
her head through. “I’m staying,” he said softly, stepping closer.
“Please don’t make me sleep on the deck.”

“I love you, Caine.” The raw pain in her
voice hit him harder than any sledgehammer. He cursed himself when
he saw her steel gray eyes swimming with unshed tears. She blinked
and twisted her head away, looking back over her kitchen. “I don’t
want to have to bury you, too. I don’t want to go to your
funeral.”

Her knuckles had gone white against the
handle, the muscle in her jaw bulging as she clamped her teeth
together, as if trying to bite back the words. He touched her arm,
just a soft stroke of his finger down her bicep.

“You won’t have to.” The words were out of
him before he could take them back, and the moment they hung there
in the air, he wanted them back. They were a lie. He couldn’t make
that promise. “Shit. Okay, I’m messing this up.”

“You think?”

“What I did out there was stupid. Fucking
stupid. I get that. I didn’t think, and it could have cost us both
more than we’re willing to lose.” He touched her cheek, brushing
away the single tear that escaped. His voice grew lower, hoarse. “I
don’t want to die, Ol. That was not my goal.”

“You could have. He doesn’t miss unless he
wants to play.”

“I know.”

Caine slid a foot in the door and she moved
back, letting him inside. He slipped it shut to ward out the night
chill, and crossed the kitchen to her. Carefully he enclosed her in
his arms. “Next time I take your lead. You have my word. No more
playing hero.”

His hands skimmed up her back, holding her
against him, and Ollie tucked her head into the crook of his
shoulder. She inhaled on a soft, half-caught sob. “I begged her not
to run that night. Don’t you get it?” Her head tilted back so she
could look at him, strength and vulnerability shining out of her
gaze as she stared him down. She might be the strongest woman he’d
ever met, but there was something about the rounded softness to her
face, the pout of her lips, that made him want to keep her
safe.

But that was an illusion. She didn’t need a
protector. An alpha. She needed a partner. He’d been an idiot all
along.

“I trust you,” he whispered, letting her see
him grimace. “And I know you’re right, Ollie.”

“You’re just used to being the big, bad wolf
and keeping everyone safe, but I—”

“You don’t need it.” He slid a hand under her
jaw and tilted her head back to steal a kiss, soft, ghosting over
her lips. That was all the kiss was supposed to be. Just a light,
tentative brush of lips. Meant to reassure.

But when Ollie’s teeth skimmed over his
bottom lip, followed by her soft, firm, “No,” something more
intense ignited between them. A flare that sparked into a wildfire,
blazing hot as her hands skimmed up his neck and pulled his mouth
down harder against hers. A growl slid free. From him, from her.
Ollie shifted closer, bumping his hip into the counter, and Caine
bit back a snarl as he slid his arms around her hips and hefted her
up.

“Christ, Ollie.”

“Shut up.” She kissed him, a smile on her
lips. “I forgive you, you big oaf. Idiot. Stupid, deranged—”

He deepened the kiss just to shut her up, and
felt the laughter that bubbled up through her chest, the happy
giggle that spilled out between their kisses. Damn clever woman.
Caine pressed her hips against his and skimmed a nip over her jaw,
teasing. “Wrap your legs around me, sweetheart. You’re catching a
ride to the bedroom.”

“Last door on the left,” she murmured as she
complied, her legs wrapping around his hips, even as her lips found
the hollow of his throat. Her tongue darted out, and Caine shivered
at the moist touch.

“I might drop you if you do that again.”
Teasing, knowing damn well she’d do it. Sure enough, her tongue
swept over his pulse and he let her go, watching as she gave a
startled squeak and bounced on the bed. “Right room?”

It smelled like her, the apple scent of her
shampoo, and he leaned in close to breathe her in. He shoved her
down against the bed. “So, am I forgiven?”