The Liger's Mark (22 page)

They were still going through all the papers and journals. Kenzie had come across a page the day before where Thomas had spoken of losing Michael. He’d received a message that someone had information on Elizabeth and the baby. He’d been in the middle of research and hadn’t wanted to leave, so he’d pressed Michael to go. Thomas said Michael didn’t want to, and they’d argued. He’d accused his brother of no longer caring while Michael had accused him of only caring for the ones no longer around for him to use.

Michael had gone, and the rest was history. Thomas’ journal entries were more sporadic after that as if losing Michael had broken something inside him. The final entries were in code. Gideon had taken them to go over. It wasn’t the same code he’d used in his own journals, but he seemed confident he’d eventually figure it out.

Life went on. It had to, and they had no choice but to move forward with it. Vic was already pricing stuff from her list of things they needed, searching for the best deal. There was no missing how excited she was about it. It was all she’d talked about at dinner.

Kenzie knew Gabriel was behind her before he said a word. She’d caught his gaze when she’d slipped out and headed for her favorite spot on the wraparound porch.

“Ready to head up?”

“Mmm…” she said noncommittally. “I was thinking about stripping naked and running through the grass to see if my beast would come out to play.”

“What?” he said, and she could tell she’d caught him completely off-guard.

“Kidding,” she assured him then sighed and glanced up at the sky.

“What’s wrong?” he asked immediately, sitting beside her and lifting her onto his lap.

She curled into him, more than content to have his arms around her.

“You’re not letting Nix still screw with your head, are you?”

“No,” she told him. She was done blaming herself for everything. The truth was, she was just as much a victim as anyone else. The things that had happened to her and around her had been out of her control. She’d done the best she could under the circumstances. Hearing Nix state the lengths hunters were willing to go to had been eye opening and terrifying. It would certainly make it harder to trust new people, for all of them.

“Then what’s wrong?” Gabriel asked.

“What if my lioness doesn’t emerge? What if this second shot did what the first didn’t and locked her down permanently?”

“I don’t believe that,” Gabriel said.

Kenzie huffed. “What if it did?”

He gave her a probing look. “It wouldn’t change anything between the two of us. You’re still my mate.” He pressed her closer to the spot on his chest where she’d bitten him, claiming and mating him. “Nothing will change what we are to one another.”

“Before, when my animal was caged like this. You walked away from me,” she reminded him. “I don’t think I can go through that again.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he vowed, tipping her face up to his and dropping a soft kiss on her lips. “Not without you right by my side.”

She nodded then squealed as he surged to his feet with her in his arms. She looped an elbow around his neck, pressing her other hand to his chest.

“I know exactly what you need,” he said, heading back inside.

“Hey, Gabe! Whoa, never mind,” Daniel said as he took them both in. His lips tipped up in a grin. “I’ll just catch you in the morning.”

“I’ll be sleeping in,” Gabriel said, heading down the hall.

Daniel followed. “You never sleep in.”

“I know,” Gabriel agreed, gaze locked on her.

Kenzie smiled.

“I’ll find you when I finally leave my bed,” he told Daniel.

“It’ll be late,” she said. “Maybe afternoon.”

Gabriel lifted a brow, but his smile assured her he liked the idea.

“Bye, Daniel,” Gabriel said, reaching the entrance to the stairwell and opening it. He headed up the stairs, gaze not moving from hers.

“Bye, Daniel,” she said and almost laughed when he huffed and shut them in.

Gabriel stepped into their room and kicked the bedroom door shut behind them. They both had a tendency to leave it open when they were gone. The one at the bottom of the stairwell was always shut, anyway. When they were in it, that was another story.

He didn’t stop until they reached the bed. He lowered her until her knees hit the mattress. She reached for her shirt, but he pushed her hands aside.

“Let me.”

He stripped her slowly, stopping between each article of clothing to kiss every inch of newly exposed skin. She was writhing and moaning with need by the time he reached for her panties. She’d almost come twice when he’d been sucking her toes then again when he’d removed her bra. He always stopped, though, leaving her on the edge.

“Gabriel!” she begged as he cupped her with his palm, fingers teasing as he rubbed them against her opening.

“Shh, baby,” he urged.

He tugged her over until her ass hit the edge of the bed then dropped to his knees on the floor, placing her legs over his shoulders and leaning in to lick her. She groaned, lifting her ass and grinding against his face. He caught her hips with his hands, gripping her and pushing her back before consuming her with his mouth. He thrust his tongue into her pussy then pulled it out, skimming it up her folds to torture her clit with hard taps and flicks before taking the bud between his lips and sucking.

She screamed as she came, thighs clamping down on him as he buried his tongue deep and sucked her juices. She was a boneless mass of twitching muscles when he eased her back down until her ass hit the mattress once more. She lay there, watching with heavy eyes as he undressed.

He placed a knee on the bed then dropped one arm to hook around her and lift her, moving her up the mattress with him until there was plenty of room.

“I want you on your stomach,” he said and helped her turn.

She rose onto all fours without him asking, eager to feel the thrust of his cock. He didn’t disappoint. The head nudged, sliding briefly through her slick folds before lodging at her opening and surging inside. Her fingers gripped the comforter, holding tight as he pushed into her again and again. He came over her, one arm sliding across her belly while the other helped brace his weight. His chest covered her back, and she reveled in the hot wash of his breath over her shoulder where he nuzzled her hair aside.

“So good,” she crooned, meeting each of his thrusts with a rock of her hips.

His tongue traced over the mark she wore, his teeth teasing her with the promise of his bite.

“Do it,” she said, knowing the pleasure would detonate inside her, sending her into a mind-blowing orgasm.

“Soon,” he whispered. “I want to enjoy this.”

God, the man could make love for hours, torturing and teasing her with endless pleasure as he worked her closer and closer toward the release she’d only ever found with him, her mate. She worked her sheath around him, clenching and releasing around his driving cock as she urged him to give in. Gabriel just chuckled darkly and pulled out.

Before she could cry out at the emptiness, he had her turned over and kissed her breathless, even as he plunged back into her. Her hands grasped his face, and she ate at his mouth. He was braced on his forearms beside her, easy to reach, and she slid a hand down over his rippling abdomen, slipped around his cock and cupped his balls.

He groaned into her mouth, breaking from the kiss with a hiss when she scratched her nails softly over the taut skin. She’d discovered by accident how much he loved it and never passed up a chance to do it. He liked to feel her teeth against him there. Just a soft graze and he was on the verge of coming.

“Bite me,” he urged her.

She leaned up, nuzzling his nipple then sucking it before moving higher and running her tongue over her spot.

“Do it, baby,” he said. “Make me come.”

One more lick and she sank her teeth in, loving the way he roared in surrender, the fast and furious pace of his fucking as he rushed to reach the finish line. She was already turning, offering him what he needed when his head dropped, and he sucked her flesh, teeth scraping before driving into her muscle and holding her in place. His cock thrust deep then jerked as the first blast of cum filled her. She came with him, sharp cries filling the air as tremor after tremor coursed through her.

Nothing, nothing in the entire world compared to how incredible it was to make love with her mate. No matter how exhausted they were, she knew it would only be a matter of time before he reached for her again and again. They were insatiable, and she prayed they’d always know this hunger for each other.

He lifted his head and found her gaze with his. “Still worried things might change?”

She grinned. “I’m already thinking of all the hours between now and tomorrow afternoon, and how many times we can do that again.”

Gabriel laughed. “Here I was hoping I had the strength to move us to the tub, turn the jets on. I’ve got this need to see you wet and sliding all over me.”

She wiggled her hips. “You just did.”

He laughed again, rolling off her and coming to his feet beside the bed. He held out his hand to her, and she took it without question. For a moment, she pictured when they’d met and the way he’d claimed she couldn’t be his, his eyes tortured as he tried to deny them.

As if he’d read her mind, he leaned in, nipping her bottom lip with his teeth before soothing it with his tongue.

“You’re mine,” he told her. “Now and forever.”

“You’re mine,” she vowed. “Always.”

Sometime during the night Kenzie sensed a change as the lioness inside blinked sleepy eyes open, content in the warm touch of their mate. She knew it would soon be time for the beast to awaken fully and embrace the world so long denied. Already she felt the need to run with their mate and take him as only two mated shifters could. Soon.

In August 2015, follow Holt back to Wyoming,

in Lacey Thorn’s

His to Bear
, Book 1 of
The Holloways
Series

Read on for an exclusive excerpt from this exciting new series!

His to Bear
Exclusive Excerpt

Jaeda hit the tree line at a full run, ignoring the increasing cramps in her sides and legs. Safety was her only concern, and she knew her best chances lay in getting to the Holloways before the hunters caught up with her. She knew all about the Holloway brothers and both feared and admired them. She only hoped she wouldn’t be trading one danger for another.

Uncle Emmett was dead.

She shook the thought away, focusing on reaching her destination and the help she hoped to find there. She was close, so damn close she could taste it. A shout behind her gave her a much needed burst of speed and a gentle reminder that she wasn’t there yet.

She’d been awake for close to forty-eight hours, and exhaustion was taking a toll. The hunting party never should have picked up her trail. She’d waited, hidden beneath their very feet while they searched for her. Then she’d stolen away in the night. Somehow, they’d known where she would head and had done their best to block every route to the Holloway land.

She’d hoped to lose the group following her by cutting through the National Park, but they’d proved tenacious. Instead, they’d taken out her back tires, almost making her flip the damn vehicle before she’d regained control. She’d had to ditch the Jeep and go the rest of the way on foot.

They’d hit her with a dart as she’d taken off. Fear had clawed at her until she’d realized it wasn’t to knock her out. It only prevented her from shifting as she’d intended. That’s when it hit her. They were playing with her. They didn’t see her as a threat. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was female or because they didn’t know what she was. Was it possible even the hunters didn’t realize she existed?

Uncle Emmett had kept her secluded, stating over and over again it was the only way to protect her. It wasn’t just the groups of hunters she had to fear. The males of her species would pursue her just as voraciously if they knew she existed. Her uncle had made her promise to head to the Holloways if anything ever happened to him. They were a family that would be able to protect her. They’d keep her, and most likely, press her to mate with one of them. Still, they were the lesser of two evils at the moment.

Her throat burned almost as badly as her legs, but still, she kept going, jumping fallen trees and jagged rocks as she closed in on her destination. Five miles more, maybe less. If memory served, there would be a brief clearing she’d need to cross. She’d be the perfect target then. Nothing to hide behind save some tall grass that would offer little in the way of protection.

She was a few feet away when the sharp crack of a rifle filled the air. Jaeda gave a startled yelp as she waited for the burn of a bullet to pierce through the aches and pains already holding her hostage. Instead, a grunt sounded behind her. Her mind worked as her feet flew. Someone was shooting at the hunters pursuing her. It had to be the Holloways.

Three more cracks of gunfire filled the air as she hit the clearing. She was almost to the trees when a dart struck high on her shoulder. This one was laced with a drug to knock her out. She stumbled then she saw him. He stood just in front of her. His feet were spread wide, hooded gaze glued to her. Not bear. Not Holloway. Still a connection forged between them as she launched herself at him.

She noticed the surprise in his clear blue eyes seconds before he caught her, looping one arm beneath her knees and lifting her high against his chest. She wanted to feel his hair, and she forced her heavy limb to reach out to touch it. It was just as soft as she’d imagined it would be. So deep and dark, it reminded her of the fur of her bear.

“She’s been hit.”

The loud voice was followed by lancing fire as the dart was pulled from her skin. She forced her gaze away from the one holding her and took in the man beside them. He had red hair and fierce green eyes. Shifter, but not bear. She saw kindness there, and she wasn’t afraid. Not until the giant stepped from behind him. It was easy to see the grizzly in the human’s skin. The third man was a Holloway. With one deep inhale, she knew he understood what she was. A shiver racked her as she fought to hold onto consciousness as his face showed disbelief. He stepped toward them.