A Shift in the Water (36 page)

Ollie glared at Mara, but stepped aside quickly and lowered his gaze. Christine wiped away a tear when she nodded at Cade. Shawn’s hug was quick and one-armed, and then he made a beeline for his mate. Peter was last. His neck was covered with burn scars above his blue button-down shirt and he moved stiffly.

“I’m sorry, man. Was it serious?” Cade asked.

“Nah. I was too good-looking anyway. I’ve got some sensation. Enough to still work. That’s all I care about.”

Peter bowed his head respectfully towards Mara before he moved away. He was a quiet man. A broad, crooked nose and close-shorn black hair made him look decidedly thuggish, but he was soft-spoken and wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Reintroductions accomplished, Mara and Cade brought the kitchen chairs into the living room so everyone could sit together. The wolves brought several six-packs of beer and soon everyone but Livie had a cold bottle in their hands and was scarfing down pizza. Mara was nervous at Cade’s side. He traced patterns on the inside of her wrist to try to calm her.

“To Cade,” Liam said, and they all raised their bottles.

After they’d toasted, Cade cleared his throat. “I suppose you all want to know what happened after the fire, but there’s something more pressing to discuss first. Katerina is in Bellingham. Or was, anyway. She burned down my shop and killed Maggie Forrester. Mara’s aunt has a friend who’s an air elemental. She’s convinced Katerina can’t track us here, but we have to be careful. She’s not far away and she hasn’t given up hunting me.” He left off the most important bit of information—that Katerina was Mara’s sister. He’d been away too long and wanted to find his footing before he broke that news.

“Goddammit,” Liam said. “We shouldn’t stay. Cade, you’ve got to come back to Ireland with us. I doubt we can get a flight until tomorrow morning, but if we make the arrangements now—”

Cade cut him off. “No. Mara’s here and my place is with her. We’ve been safe for two weeks. And now that we’re all together again and know what Katerina is capable of, I think we could fight her if we had to. Mara’s element is water. She’s only started working charms, but my God. You should see it. She’s so strong.”

Mara huddled closer into Cade’s side. “I wish I had your confidence in me,” she whispered.

Liam’s lips pressed into a thin line and he tightened his grip on his bottle of beer. “If we go back to Ireland, she won’t find us. Here, there’s no guarantee. She found ya once, she could do it again.”

“Cade?” Mara asked, tipping her head up at him. “You have to tell them. Much as I don’t want you to, they need to know.”

“Tell us what?” Peter asked, leaning forward from his spot against Mara’s sliding glass door.

She worried her lip under her teeth for a moment and then cleared her throat. “I was adopted when I was six months old and raised an only child. I have a sister, though until yesterday, I hadn’t given her a second thought for more than a decade. She’s never been part of my life. In fact, the only time I met her, I kicked her out of my father’s house in Sacramento and told her I never wanted to see her again.”

Cade squeezed her hand. He had to be the one to deal the final bit of news. “Katerina is Mara’s sister.”

“Fuck!” Liam leapt up, but Cade growled at him, the wolf pulsing under his skin. He wouldn’t shift. Couldn’t. But he could still assert his dominance.

“Sit back down. Now,” he ordered. “She didn’t know and she saved my life. No one touches Mara or even raises their voice to her. Understood?” He met each of his wolves’ eyes and one by one, they all nodded. “Livie?”

The blond wolf straightened up and took Shawn’s hand. “Mara’s cool. She’s on our side. I didn’t much like it either when I found out, but she’s not interested in helping the bitch any more than I am.”

Heavy breathing, stifled growls, and Mara’s heartbeat were all Cade could hear. He held her tightly, prepared to beat every single member of his pack to protect her, but desperately hoping he wouldn’t have to. He was their alpha and they needed to remember that.

“Bloody hell,” Liam replied with a small shake of his head. “We’ve been up for more than a day. This is not the time to discuss the elemental and Mara’s tie to her, much as I’d like to. Ya goin’ to call a pack meeting tomorrow?”

“First thing.”

“Then I’ve only one more question for ya tonight. How did ya escape?”

“Luck.” Cade recounted his good fortune when either Katerina or her earth elemental let the charm on the ground lapse. “They were gone, I think. I couldn’t be sure, but I dug for three nights and no one came. I tested that fucking dirt every few days—whenever she’d come to feed me—and that was the first time I could stand to touch it.”

“And comin’ back from your wolf?” Liam asked. “Seven months with the animal in control shoulda driven ya mad.” The accusation that undercut his words was vague, but Cade bristled at the tone.

“It did. Mara brought me back. She saved my wolf and then she saved me. I can’t explain it to you, Liam. I don’t think anyone can understand what it was like to shift back and be unable to speak or even move.”

Cade looked at his wolves, strewn about the room. Shawn rested his head in Livie’s lap. Christine’s body bobbed forward and she dropped her empty bottle of beer. Her cheeks flamed red and she grabbed the bottle. “Sorry.”

Mara caressed Cade’s arm. “There are air mattresses in hall closet and I have extra blankets in my room. They’re all exhausted.”

“You look pretty tired yourself,” he replied, brushing his thumb under her right eye. “I don’t like seeing these dark circles back.”

Liam stared at them, green eyes bloodshot, a muscle in his jaw throbbing, and his hands clenched on his thighs. “I’m going for our luggage,” he said with a snarl. “I’ll be right back.”

“What’s his problem?” Livie asked, yawning.

“He’s been on edge since we lost Cade,” Shawn replied. “He hated Ireland as much as the rest of us. More even.”

“Why?”

Every werewolf turned to Mara and stared at her. Drawn eyebrows, hard, cold eyes, and thin lipped frowns on everyone had her shrinking into Cade’s arm even further. Peter replied, “It’s personal.”

Mara looked up at Cade, confused. He didn’t disagree with Peter that it was Liam’s story to tell, but Mara was one of them now—or would be if Cade had anything to say about it. “Liam loved once,” he said, keeping his answer vague. He’d give her the details later. Or ask Liam to do so. “She lived in Ireland. He lost her and he’s never settled over it.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” The emotion contained in her words touched him.

The door opened and shut with a slam and everyone flinched. Cade stood, tucked Mara against him, and addressed his pack. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with the air mattresses and blankets. Bathroom’s down the hall. We’ll talk more in the morning. Livie, are you going to patrol again?”

“Yep. With that bitch so close, I’m not taking any chances and unlike the rest of them, I slept half the day.” She got up and headed for the guest room. “Shawn, come with me. I want a couple of minutes with you before I go.”

Cade led Mara into her bedroom and shut the door. “I’m sorry for their behavior.”

“I can’t blame them. Not really. If I was in their shoes, I wouldn’t trust me either. Should I go to Lil’s for the night? I could give you time with them.”

The idea of being without her, even for a few hours, gave him a throbbing headache behind his eyes. He clenched his jaw. “No. You’re staying here,” he said, bringing her to the bed and pulling her down next to him. “I need you, Mara. The mating is driving me fucking insane. I want to tear your clothes off. Taste you. Hear you say my name when I bury myself inside of you.”

A throaty laugh escaped her lips and the scent of her arousal wafted over him. “Well, then get going. Blankets are in the closet. Deliver them and maybe I’ll find something you can rip off me.”

Cade raced over to the closet and found a stack of blankets and sheets for his pack. As he left the room, Mara pulled off her sweater to reveal a black lace bra. He nearly turned around right then, but forced himself to keep moving. She’d be there when he came back and he’d have her.

Mara fell asleep waiting for Cade to return, only to roll over when her bedroom door clicked open. Cade’s tall form filled the doorway.  

“What time is it?”

“Ten.” His voice was gritty and rough and sent a shiver down her spine.

Mara threw back the blankets, revealing the tiny slip of silk that barely covered her mound. She’d bought the chemise on a whim, never daring to wear it. He moved towards her with silent determination. His eyes glowed and there was a storm within them that only she could quiet. She shifted her hips to the accompaniment of a throaty groan from Cade’s lips. “Mine.”

His hands ran up her thighs, over the green silk, and rested at her waist. The warmth of his fingers seeped into her skin. Time stopped as his lips brushed against hers. Velvet heat lapped against the corner of her mouth, his teeth nipped, and his whole being vibrated with need.

Parting her lips, she let him in, reaching out to grasp his arms. Cade growled and pinned her wrists to the bed. “No. You. Don’t. Move.”

“Cade.”

Mara saw the alpha wolf in his eyes. He guided her arms up over her head curled her fingers around the brushed iron bars of the headboard. “Hold on.”

She did as he demanded, her belly quivering. The cool metal warred with the fire within her as Cade’s hands traveled down her arms, cupped her breasts, and brushed over her nipples. Her lids lowered, fluttering in time with the tremors that wracked her body.

“Kiss me,” she begged, forcing herself to look up at him. “I love how you kiss me.”

With a wicked grin, Cade stretched his body over hers. She was a tall woman—five-foot-seven—but Cade had half a foot on her. He planted a teasingly gentle kiss on her parted lips and pulled away. “You love that?”

“No.”

He laughed, deep and throaty, and leaned in again. This time the pressure was firmer and insistent. All too soon he moved back. She immediately missed the feel of his unshaven face against her soft skin. “That?”

“A little better.”

He cocked a brow. She wanted to reach for him. If she didn’t get more in the next few minutes, she wasn’t sure she’d survive.

“Then maybe this.”

Hands threaded through her hair, lifting her mouth to his. The crushing pressure of his lips, the all-consuming hunger as his tongue played with hers, the sharp nip of his teeth, and the needy, guttural rumble in his chest were life-sustaining. His scent—male, woodsy, and musky—filled her nose.  His erection pressed against her and she ground her hips as best she could under his weight.

His teeth scraped along her lower lip, shooting sparks all through her. “That?”

“Yes,” she panted. “Goddess, Cade. How can I need you this much?” She was drenched with arousal.

“We’re mating, honey. You’re not a wolf. You never will be. But maybe whatever part of you isn’t human recognizes the process.”

Too many words. Why was he still talking? Mara strained to reach him, a low whine accompanying the slight movement. “Please,” she whispered.

He had mercy on her and lifted her hands to the back of his neck. She grasped fistfuls of his hair, tightening her grip until he growled at her. “Mine.” Rough hands pushed up the thin chemise to find her naked and ready for him.

Mara pulled at his sweatshirt. Over his head it went and she dropped it to the floor. Goddess, he was magnificent. She ran her hands over the well-defined pectoral muscles, and the soft curls of golden hair that dusted his chest. Distinct ridges of a hardened six-pack passed under her fingers. Below his navel, another patch of sandy hair blazed a trail down into his jeans. A sexy
v
of muscle angled towards the bulge of his erection and Mara hurriedly flicked open the button and zipper.

Her eyes were well adjusted to the dim light of the single bedside lamp. When he shed his pants, his cock was ready for her. The scent of his essence hit her tongue as she gasped. She grinned at him, wondering what he’d do if she let her own desires take over.

“What?” He rolled, pulling her on top of him. The room was warm, but the air coaxed gooseflesh from her bare arms.

“Hush, shaggy man. Now it’s time for you to hold still.” Mara wriggled out of his grip and lowered herself between his thighs. He called her name as she lowered her lips to brush against him, swirling her tongue around the head of his cock. “Shh.” Her breath whispered over the moistened skin and he groaned, fisting his hands in the sheets and jerking his hips slightly.

“Marrrr . . .”

Licking her lips, she took him slowly and firmly into her mouth. He was hard, hot, and needy. Blood pounded through the thick vein on the underside of his length and she traced it with her tongue. She’d only done this twice before and wasn’t exactly sure what she was doing, but she knew she wanted nothing more than the taste of him filling her.

Something raw and primal drove her on. Her lips tired, her jaw ached, but the discomfort barely registered. Cade’s spasms and quiet growls encouraged her. “Can’t hang on,” he muttered. She reached up and cupped his balls, rolling them slightly and scraping her fingernails along the sensitive skin. The heat of him scorched her. A hoarse cry escaped his lips and he jerked as his seed filled her. She fought not to gag, swallowed, and savored the intimacy growing between them.