Guardian Bears: Karl (7 page)

Every time they pulled apart, they came together again harder and faster. The pleasure threatened to overwhelm him, and it was driving her to gasp louder and louder as it built. Each thrust made her body shake, her hands clutch harder, and his own body tense more.

He felt her tighten around him as she threw back her head, her eyes rolling back as another orgasm took her. Seeing her, hearing her, feeling her come was too much for Karl and it drove him over the edge too. He came with her, roaring with joy.

They cried out as one, their bodies shaking and tensing as they shared the incredible pleasure. Allison’s nails raked his back and Karl couldn’t think, couldn’t focus on anything but the bliss flooding his body.

There was no telling how long that moment lasted, but eventually they collapsed beside each other on the mattress. Karl could feel the contentment radiating from his partner as they held each other’s sweat-slick bodies and smiled at each other.

She looked so happy, so perfect, even disheveled as she was. No, especially like that: it made her look even more beautiful to him, and the glazed look of exhausted satisfaction in her eyes only added to that.

But as he watched, his thoughts turned back to him. He had found the woman of his dreams, but he still had a job to do. One that she stood in the way of. This was only going to make things more complicated as he looked for the werewolf.

T
ogether
, they sprawled in the remains of the bed. Allison curled up against Karl, her head resting on his chest, feeling it rise and fall under her.

“That was amazing,” she said once her breath had returned. “I can’t believe it.”

Karl rumbled agreement, his arm holding her tight. They lay together catching their breaths, but after a while the heat was too much. Allison sighed and sat up, looking at Karl lying beside her.

He looked up, eyes sparkling.

“I’m glad you turned up here,” he told her, smiling and running a hand down her side and making her shiver with his touch. Then he heaved himself up, too.

Allison grinned, a little guiltily. She’d forgotten about the circumstances of her arrival in the heat of the moment, but she couldn’t put off thinking about it forever.
I don’t have to worry about it right now
, she told herself. Maybe she was just delaying the inevitable, but she wanted to enjoy the unexpected pleasure of her time with Karl for a while longer before she risked damaging it.

Standing, she snagged a shirt from Karl’s open suitcase and put it on. It was far too big for her, fitting like a tent, but at least it was something. Karl
tsked
at her, shaking his head in mock disappointment as he watched her.

“It’s too warm for you to cover up,” he told her, and she laughed.

“Just because you want to ogle me some more isn’t any reason to stay naked,” she said.

“It’s a perfectly good reason from my point of view,” Karl said, shaking his head. “And you don’t mind me looking at you, do you?”

She felt her cheeks heat at that and looked away from him, fidgeting with the buttons of the borrowed shirt. “It makes me feel shy.”

“You’ve nothing to be shy about,” Karl said firmly, standing. “But I’m not going to complain about you borrowing my shirt – it looks better on you than it ever did on me!”

He certainly didn’t seem to have any reservations about being looked at, Allison thought. And she didn’t mind that at all! She watched him move, enjoying the show as he made his way to the bathroom. He moved with the easy grace and confidence of a big cat, she thought, a predator completely secure in his environment.

She felt her blush deepen as she watched him, remembering his touch and the confidence with which he’d handled her.
I really want to do that again
, she thought. But the reality was coming back to her. Whatever had happened between them tonight, he was still a hunter looking for the monster. And she didn’t want to think about what that might mean for her.

Maybe I should just go while I have the chance?
But she was still miles from home, barefoot, and practically naked. On the other hand, enough time had passed that the hunters outside might have moved on. That was the only positive element that she could think of. It didn’t make the walk any more appealing, though.

Dithering, she waited too long to decide, and Karl returned, smiling at her from the bathroom door. He was dripping wet, which only made him sexier. Water ran in rivulets down his sculpted body, glistening and gleaming on hard muscles as he reached for a towel.

Allison looked up at him, feeling drawn to him in a way that she couldn’t explain. It wasn’t just her attraction to his wonderful, gorgeous body – though she couldn’t deny that was part of it, he was just too damned sexy. Still, there was more to it than that physical need, some part of her deep down wanted him, wanted to be his and stay with him forever.

It was a pure and animal desire that she couldn’t place. She could almost hear the hungry noises in her mind, drawing her towards him, needing him.

No, this is ridiculous,
she thought, forcing herself to look away from the hard board of his abs and focus on something else. Standing, she walked past him into the bathroom to clean up. As she passed near him, she could feel the heat of his body and felt an urge to growl possessively at him.
What’s getting into me?

She closed the door and leaned back against it, taking a deep breath and trying to calm down. Looking around the small bathroom she frowned, seeing the bath filled with water in which ice cubes floated, melting slowly.
What kind of man has an ice bath in his motel?
Cooling off is one thing, but this is ridiculous!

The bath drained quickly, and Allison got in the tub to shower. The water was plenty cold enough for her without ice, and soon she toweled off and pulled back on the borrowed shirt.

Back in the bedroom Karl was waiting for her. He’d picked up some of the spilled clothes from the overturned case, though he hadn’t bothered to get dressed. Allison tried not to stare, but she couldn’t help it – he was simply too damned sexy to ignore his nakedness.
Why couldn’t he have covered up? That would make thinking a lot easier.

She had the feeling he knew that and wasn’t above using it to distract her. The worst thing about that was that she didn’t mind – the distraction was worth it. Pausing in the doorway, she admired him, taking the opportunity to look him over from head to toe again.
If I’m going to be distracted by him, I might as well enjoy it!

“Where did you leave your clothes, Allison?” He asked the question in a casual, curious tone. But it hit her like a splash of ice water, washing away her distraction. Allison stammered, unsure how to respond.

“I, I should go,” she said, avoiding the question and stepping towards the door. Karl laughed.

“Dressed like that?” He shook his head, leaning back against the wall.

Allison blushed, flustered and not knowing what to say. However she had gotten here – and she didn’t want to think about that! – she had no idea where her clothes were. How could she explain that to Karl, though? What could she say that wouldn’t convince him that she was the monster he was hunting?
Which I might be,
she admitted to herself.
I certainly don’t have a better explanation.

An animal instinct in her told her to go on the attack, to leap at him and bite and tear. For a moment, she had a horrible vision of Karl staggering to the floor, blood-covered and with her teeth in his throat. It was ridiculous, awful, and even the buried voice in her soul that suggested it seemed to know that – it also wanted her to throw herself on his mercy, to tell him everything and let him take care of it for her. It was as confused as she was.

She looked at the door, then back at him.
God dammit, woman, focus!
The sight of him and his infuriatingly cocky smile made her want to throw something at him.
Preferably me, wearing as little as possible… no, don’t think about that!

“I, um, I might have misplaced my clothes,” she said as the pause got too long. “I’ll get your shirt back to you tomorrow?”

She hadn’t meant it as a question, but that’s how it came out as her confidence evaporated. Karl’s eyes flicked from her to the door, down to the floor. A frown formed on his face, deepening as he looked around for her clothes more seriously. Allison edged towards the door.

“Where did you get undressed?” His tone wasn’t unfriendly, but there was a hard edge to it that Allison didn’t like. “Allison, where are your clothes?”

Allison froze, not knowing how to answer that question. She still felt safe in his presence, somehow, but she didn’t trust her feelings on something this important. But what else could she do? Listening to her urge to attack him would be stupid, comical at best – he was a massive, strong man who had shown he could manhandle her with ease. She was out of shape, overweight, and hadn’t the faintest idea how to fight. Leaping at him and biting didn’t seem likely to work out in her favor.

While she panicked and tried to figure out what to do, Karl’s frown deepened. She saw the realization dawn on his face and he picked up his phone from the bedside table.

There was a note of shock in his voice as he spoke. “You – you’re the werewolf!”

* * *

K
arl stared
at the woman standing in front of him.
I should have worked that out
, he thought, kicking himself at how long it had taken him. In truth, the thought had never crossed his mind.
I knew she was hiding something, but how could I have missed this?

It had been all too easy, though. Being in Allison’s presence had kept him distracted, and his urge to protect her from harm had kept him from realizing that she was the very threat he’d been hired to deal with.

She seemed as shocked as he was, staring at him wide-eyed. Her face was white as snow, and her mouth opened and closed wordlessly. Neither of them had any idea what to say.

Karl recovered first, shutting his mouth with a snap as he made a decision.

“I need you to stay calm,” he told her, straightening up. “I’ll work out what to do.”

“
Stay calm?
” Allison nearly shouted the words, then with a visible effort spoke more quietly. “You’re accusing me of being a monster, and you want me
to stay calm
?”

Moving slowly, Karl stepped forward, his arms spread. Allison took a step back, keeping her distance, and he stopped. The last thing he wanted to do was startle her, but he needed to take control of the situation. Inside, beneath his calm exterior, his thoughts were in turmoil as reason warred with his bear.

His animal looked at her and saw his mate, the one and only woman for him. But the man saw the target he’d been sent to deal with, the wolf shifter losing control of herself to the animal within. She might not have killed anyone yet – but only through luck. Given time, she would lose her human self completely, and eventually that would leave someone dead.

What am I supposed to do now?
There wasn’t an easy answer. Harper had hired him to kill the monster, and letting her live risked revealing the existence of shifters to the world at large. Killing her was the simplest answer. It was also out of the question now that he knew who she was.

But what will be left of her when the wolf eats her soul? That’s a fate worse than death.
Karl shuddered at the thought of that – he and his bear had come to an understanding early on, helped by his parents who’d taught him how to control the gift. But that had been as a teenager – as far as he knew, no one over the age of twenty had ever learned to control the beast. And he had seen what it meant for someone’s animal to consume their human soul before. Seeing his father succumb to it was the worst memory he had, and he didn’t want to have to watch anyone else go through that.

Allison moved, jerking Karl out of his thoughts. She was circling towards the door, glancing between him and it.

“You can’t leave,” he told her. “Come with me and I promise we can sort things out.”

He felt guilty as soon as the words were out of his mouth. That wasn’t a promise he knew how to keep. Maybe the flicker of doubt showed in his eyes, or maybe she wouldn’t have trusted what he said anyway, but Allison shook her head.

“You’re hunting me,” she said. “I’m not going to make it easy for you.”

With that, she leaped for the door. Karl jumped after her almost as soon as she moved, but the moment’s hesitation was long enough for her to pull the door open and race out into the night.

* * *

P
anic filled
Allison as she ran. She wasn’t quite able to believe that she’d gotten a head start on Karl – the man might be big, but that didn’t make him slow! She’d expected him to be on top of her before she made it to the door.

But she seemed to have caught him by surprise. Almost as much as she’d caught herself, she thought.

What am I doing?
She was fleeing into the arms of the same people she’d been hiding from in Karl’s room. And she didn’t have a plan, an escape route, anything. At least she was marginally more dressed, Karl’s giant shirt was enough to make her almost decently clothed.

A war raged inside her. Part of her trusted Karl, despite the fact that they hardly knew each other. Wanted to turn back to him, hide in his arms, let him save her and solve her problems. But the greater part of her was terrified: he was a man who’d come here hunting a monster, and could she trust what he’d do now he knew who she was? No, she might need help, but she wasn’t about to throw herself on the mercy of the first man who offered.