Wolf Unbound: Aspen Valley Wolf Pack (10 page)

She parted her legs on instinct just as he ran his fingers along her slit, parting her lips, and exposing more of her opening.

“You’re already wet for me,” he growled, huskily.

He was right. Her pussy was soaking and her clit was throbbing. All he had to do was touch her there one time and she’d fall apart.

He dropped his head in the space between her neck and shoulder and waited, his cock hard and heavy against her thigh.

“Take me,” she demanded.

With a strength that surprised her, he hooked his thumb into the waistband of her panties, ripped it into two, and rid her of it.

She gasped, feeling doubly exposed and open to him.

He entered her, surging upward in one bold drive.

Her scream and everything else she’d been holding inside pushed out of her. He impaled her, yet this moment brought so much relief to her. Pain and pleasure mixed together creating a sensation so electrifying that it left her in a daze. He pumped into her with ease and just the right amount of force. To keep her cries of surprise and pleasure at bay with each stroke he made up into her, she buried her face against his shoulders. Before long, she found her nails digging against the flesh on his back. He fucked her against the pantry door until she could no longer contain herself. She came hard and long, trembling helpless in his arms.

He was still inside her when he gathered her up again and walked from the kitchen to his bedroom with her still wrapped around him.

He managed to keep his rock hard cock throbbing inside of her.

He lay her on the bed and then spread out atop of her. In this position, they were face to face and she saw him as if she were seeing him for the first time. Maybe she just felt that way because this was the first time she’d seen him in a new light. His face twisted into a grimace of desire and hunger. Desire for her. Hunger for her. No man had ever looked at her this way.

She stroked one side of his face with her palm. As she anticipated, he pressed his mouth into her palm and kissed her there. Tingles worked its way through her and entered her body as he pressed small kisses against her fingers, her palm, and the inside of her wrist.

“You okay?” he whispered.

“Yes. Don’t let go. Don’t stop now.”

It seemed that her demands were all the encouragement he needed. He gripped her hips and buried himself to the hilt. This time, she had no interest in subduing her screams and shrieks of pleasure. She wrapped her arms around him and accepted his love. He slammed into her over and over again. His hips moved with power that could only come from within. She cried out until all she could manage to do was moan out his name, begging him not to stop. He plowed through her and drove her back down into the bed so thoroughly that she couldn’t even think straight. What sent her over the edge again was the way he titled her hips and rocked his pelvis against her pulsing clit. An orgasm barreled through her, only stronger this time. When she was done, he was still thrusting. In the aftermath of her climax, her pussy trembled and clenched around his thick, rigid shaft. Another blinding climax hit her. This time she pressed her mouth into his shoulder and bit down hard.

He stiffened, and after releasing one feral growl that could only have come from his inner beast, he spilled his seed. Streams of it filled her. His essence released into her, causing a mind-blowing sensation to consume both of them.

Their union left them weak, tired, and panting in each other’s arms.

Autumn hadn’t even realized she had fallen asleep, until woke up with Garrett’s arm still draped around her. She rolled over and took a peek at the clock on the nightstand.

It was one a.m.

“What time is it?” Garrett asked, hoarsely, barely moving.

“You don’t even want to know,” she replied, cuddling back against him.

She dropped her head back on her pillow and had almost drifted back off the sleep when she felt Garrett’s cock hardening against her ass. His arousal was all it took to revive her carnal needs once more. And she had to be honest with herself, sex with Garrett had been out of this world amazing.

She pushed back into him even more, moaning as his length molded itself against the plumpness of her ass. As she worked herself against him, the tip of his cock slid between her legs finding its way to the opening of her pussy. He pushed only a few inches inside of her.

“More,” she moaned.

He buried himself deep.

She didn’t know how many rounds of sex they had, but tonight was evidence that she was going to be hard-pressed to deny how much she wanted and needed Garrett in her life.

A
utumn’s cell
phone rang on the nightstand, jolting her out of her peaceful sleep. Her limbs were stiff and her muscles were sore as if she’d done hard labor or major work at the tavern. She smiled, knowing full well why she couldn’t even bear to sit up in bed to check her caller ID. Garrett’s arm was draped around her waist possessively and he didn’t budge at the sound of her ringtone. Grumbling, she nudged her body closer to Garrett and waited for the phone to stop ringing. It did, and she fell back asleep.

The phone rang yet again and she forced her eyes open.

The person was persistent.

Garrett groaned beside her. “What is it? Who is it?”

“Don’t know,” she said, pressing her hand to her forehead and then sliding up into a sitting position.

When she saw Hope’s name displayed on her caller ID, she answered immediately.

“Hope?” she said into the phone.

“Where are you!” Hope’s demand came out in a rush.

“I’m ah…” Autumn looked down at a naked, sleeping Garrett and grit her teeth in embarrassment. “I’m still in Aspen Valley.”

“Did you hear what happened at the tavern?”

“What happened? Did someone get into a fight?”

“Oh, my God…it’s gone,” Hope mumbled into the phone.

“You’re not making sense. What’s going on?”

“The tavern burned to the ground, Autumn,” she croaked. “It’s all on the news.”

“What!” Autumn swung her legs over the bed and rose to her feet, taking some of the sheets with her to cover her naked body.

“It’s on the news! I couldn’t believe it at first, but it’s a live feed. I can see the sign and the little dumpster where the building once stood.”

Autumn gasped. “Oh, my God.”

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Garrett asked, lifting himself on one arm.

She’d pulled all the sheets away and had them wrapped around her like a cocoon, so he was stark naked on the bed.

“My sister’s on the phone,” she told him. “Can you tune into the local news?”

“Um, who’s that?” Hope asked her.

Ignoring the question, Autumn asked, “Are you sure that the tavern’s on fire?”

“No, it’s not on fire anymore. They put the fire out, but the building is ruined. There’s smoke everywhere.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“I wish I was.”

“Look, since you’re laying low because of Simon, I can take a plane out when the airports open first thing in the morning.”

As Hope was talking, Garrett flipped the channel to the local news. Sure enough, there was a live stream of firefighters on the scene of the Cross City Country Tavern. Just like Hope had said, all Autumn could see was smoke among the crumpled remains of the restaurant.

“Holy shit,” Garrett said, popping out of bed and inching closer toward the television.

“I’m looking at the flight schedules now. I—”

“No, don’t do that, Hope. Don’t go back to Cross City,” Autumn warned. “I’m going to call the County fire department to see if they have any information about this before we come to conclusions or do something we’ll both regret.”

“But Autumn…you’re not listening. If the tavern is burned down, they’ll want to speak to us. Everyone in that town knows that we still own stake in the tavern. Simon is so shady as shit. He doesn’t give a fuck about that tavern. He probably won’t even show. Wouldn’t it look suspicious if we all just skipped town right around the same time that the tavern burns to the ground?”

“You’re making too much of this.” Autumn sighed. “Whatever you do, don’t go back to Cross City. If you need to come somewhere, come here, to Aspen Valley. Simon’s still out there and he’s dangerous. I didn’t tell you this yesterday evening when we talked, but he killed the driver that was supposed to give me a lift here. Garrett had to run him off.
And he bit me.
”

“He bit you? Why? What the fuck is wrong with him?”

“To mark me.”

“What the fuck!”

Autumn swallowed, glancing down at her forearm where the wolf had bitten her. The area had healed completely, almost as if an animal hadn’t sunk his canines into her flesh. Almost as if it had never happened. But she wasn’t worried about that now. What’s done was done.

“That damn dirty buzzard needs to be hunted down and put down for that,” Hope exclaimed.

“That’s why I need you to stay put. If the tavern has burned, there’s nothing more we can do about it.”

“Dad would be so blazing mad if he’d lived to see this,” Hope muttered.

Autumn sensed the change in her tone of voice. From angry to painful.

“But if he were still alive, this never would’ve happened,” Autumn said. “Is this a sign for us? Should we have ditched the tavern before all of this? Are we better off just leaving Cross City for good?”

“I don’t know,” Hope whispered. “I wish I had answers.”

Garrett walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll fix this, Autumn.”

“Once again, who is that guy?”

“Garrett. The man who’s been helping me all this time.”

It became quiet on the other line for about a minute.

“I don’t mean to be nosy or anything, but ah…it’s like four a.m. in the morning, and you’re at his house?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you were going to see a lawyer about looking into all these contracts that dad signed with Simon, and then staying at a motel,” she inquired.

“I thought I was…” was all Autumn told her sister.

But the fact of the matter was, the only place she had been interested in staying was close to Garrett.

Meanwhile, Garrett remained behind her, brushing the pad of his thumb across the back of her neck right near her hairline. He did it more than once, applying pressure as if he was inspecting and testing the area.

“Did you have sex with him?” Hope gasped. “Wait a minute. You had sex with a shifter. Oh, my God. I’d give anything right now to be you.”

Autumn blushed. “We’re not having this conversation right now. I’m getting off the phone now so I can call the fire department. I’ll call you back as soon as I know anything.”

“I’ll take that as a yes to smoking hot sex while on the run,” Hope teased.

After they said their goodbyes and disconnected the call, Autumn turned around to face Garrett, lowered her face to his chest, and accepted his reassuring embrace. He held her like that for a long time, as she let the dire situation sink in. She wasn’t physically crying, but she wanted to out of frustration for what was happening. What was she going to do? The only thing she couldn’t bear to leave behind was that tavern, and now it was gone. Ashes on the ground. What more was left in Cross City for her?

Autumn wrapped her arms around Garrett and took several deep breaths to calm her rising anger. Seconds turned to minutes before she realized that he was going to be there for her, for however long she needed.

But he hadn’t said a word since she’d gotten off the phone with Hope. That was odd.

She lifted her head, found his gaze, and held it.

He seemed unfocused and even looked a little nervous.

“Garrett?”

“Yeah…”

“I really needed that hug. Thanks.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you okay?”

He nodded and focused on her. “Nothing. I just thought I saw something, that’s all.”

“Saw what?” She bit her bottom lip.

“It was nothing. I…ah…I must be hallucinating,” he said.

“Okay. I’m going to see what I can find out about the fire,” she said, glancing at the television. “It looks like the news anchor isn’t going to have anymore information than they’re reporting now.”

Garrett slipped into a pair of jogging shorts and pulled on a t-shirt. “I know someone out there who might be able to run over and go check out the scene for us. I left my phone in the kitchen.”

Autumn picked up her cell phone again, toggled through her contacts list, and found the number to the Cross City police department. While she was on the phone confirming that the tavern had indeed burned to the ground, something tingled on her nape, right where Garrett had been inspecting it. She rubbed at the spot as the clerk repeated adamantly that they didn’t have any further information about the fire and wouldn’t until the investigation was complete. According to the clerk, the investigation could take hours. It could take weeks. Even months.

Her forehead and temples pounded with unrelenting frustration.

Upset that she couldn’t be in two places at once, Autumn hung up the phone and then walked to the bathroom where she’d stored the aspirin that Garrett’s doctor had given her. While washing the pill down with water, she turned around and examined her neck in the tri-view mirrors above the medicine cabinet. As plain as day, a small mark was visible at the nape of her neck. It looked almost like a four leaf clover. The impression reminded her of the same four-leaf clover birthmark just above Garrett’s collarbone.

But that was impossible.

She, too, must have been hallucinating.

G
arrett could hardly believe
his luck, but his birthmark had indeed transferred to Autumn as if by magic. He’d never doubted the existence of a true mate, but what he had doubted was finding
his
mate. He’d been proven wrong. His wolf was aware. Garrett could tell by the way his inner beast tried to rip from his skin and rejoice. Garrett held him at bay. He didn’t want to scare Autumn. He hadn’t told her what he’d seen.

She stood over the kitchen counter peeling and chopping an apple. Her hair wasn’t tied back and up into a ponytail like she’d worn it over the past few days. She wore it billowing out and down past her shoulders.

The primal urge to take her to his bed again and let his fingers get caught in her hair while he fucked her senseless washed over him. He ground his teeth and took a deep breath in and out to control himself.

He crossed the threshold into the kitchen wearing a pair of worn jeans and a sleeveless shirt. There was no use getting dressed in anything but rags for what he was prepared to do. He had what he needed for a couple nights packed in the trunk bag on his motorcycle, but he hoped he could complete the job and be back sooner than that.

Autumn turned around and smiled. In that moment, he realized that her smile was what captured him more than anything else. It reminded him of a cool and calm morning, just before the sun rose and the petals of flowers began to spring open. Her smile reminded him of autumn.

No words were exchanged as he joined her at the counter and kissed her tenderly.

When they pulled back, she asked, “Aren’t you going to eat anything before heading out?” She bit into a slice of apple.

He shook his head. “No time.” And then he picked up her hand, and popped the other half of the apple slice into his mouth.

She turned and grabbed a vacuum-sealed thermos he’d seen her filling with ice-cold water earlier. “Do you need this?”

“Yeah. I do.” He smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Be careful,” she warned, her palm still resting against his heart. She slid her thumb across the birthmark on his collarbone. “May your clover give you all the luck you need.”

“I need all the luck I can get,” he replied. “I can’t promise that I’ll be careful. When the sheriff’s office called back and said the fire was set intentionally, I knew who and what I was dealing with. Simon has slipped under the radar way too many times. If the cops get to him first, he’ll get his lawyers involved, and they’ll give him a slap on the wrist.”

“You’re right. It’s happened before. He uses whoever and whatever he can to save himself.” She looked down at her forearm. “I noticed that the bite mark from Simon is completely gone.”

Garrett cleared his throat. “That’s because when we had sex, my wolf essence drove his essence out of you.”

He caught his gaze and bit at her bottom lip. “You knew it would do that, didn’t you?”

“Not entirely. I didn’t know until this morning when I saw it for myself. He might not be able to track you now, but this isn’t over. Simon won’t stop until he’s caught, so my job isn’t finished. I have to go deliver what was promised,” he said. “And if I can’t deliver him as promised, I’ll deal with him myself.”

She nodded.

“What I can promise is that I’ll be back,” he said. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“I know,” she said. “We’ll save that talk for when you get back. I’ll be here.”

Garrett knew she would. Heck, he damn sure hoped she stuck around. He had concrete confirmation that Autumn belonged to him and he belonged to her.