Protect and Fur [3xtasy Lake 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

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Craig Walker had found himself in some tight situations in the past, but this felt claustrophobic. He sat in his cruiser and ate his burger, but couldn’t handle being cooped up. Two more hours to his shift and then he planned to go for a run and try to burn off some of the excess energy that pounded against his senses. Aiden had better get his shit together and get there, because he wanted his Mate more and more every time he spoke to her. Craig might’ve pushed the animal inside of him down into a dark corner of his control, but Brenna’s scent was like a lit match to dynamite.

A group of men in a shoving match drew his attention. Craig would’ve chalked it up to too many beers on a sunny afternoon, but these guys were wolves. A bunch of restless wolves in a tourist town was a recipe for disaster. He got out of his cruiser and sauntered toward them.

“I smell bacon.” One of them snickered and punched his buddy in the arm.

That wasn’t the first time he’d seen such infantile behavior, and it took everything in him to not to roll his eyes. These kids, and they weren’t much older than that, needed to be reminded of some manners. “You boys passing through?”

“Looking for a home, actually.” The one leaning back on a picnic table rubbed the heel of his hand into his groin. “I like this town. The food is good and there’s a really pretty vet. I bet she’s good at taking care of all sorts of animals.”

“I don’t think this place is for you.” Craig addressed the group as a whole, resting his hand on his sidearm. At the mere mention of Brenna, he was ready to put a bullet in each of them.
Or tear their hearts out with my bare hands.
The darkness in him shifted a bit closer to the front of his thoughts but thankfully stopped there.

“Really?” One of the guys behind him snorted. “I heard this would be a perfect place for us. There isn’t any Alpha here to tell us no, and I haven’t seen a single Guardian in the area. Looks to me like this place needs a group like us to help keep order.”

Craig knew Gordon was the unofficial Alpha around these parts and didn’t want a military-type hierarchy because he felt Ecstasy was a sanctuary. With a formal presence, it might scare off those who needed to find a home. These boys weren’t in that category.

“You heard wrong.”

“You think you can stand up to me?”

I know I could kick your ass back to the hills.
But he couldn’t take on six at a time, and that was what was going to happen at this rate. They might feel the need to square off with him in order to look tough, but Craig wasn’t insecure. “I don’t have to. Enjoy your stay here in Ecstasy Lake, but take a bit of friendly advice. Make it brief.”

“We’ll do whatever the fuck we want, pigger.” One of the boys flipped him the bird.

“That’s enough, Bobby. We’re here to watch the race, Officer.”

Craig ignored the group and focused on the man in front of him. He was the dangerous one who led this rabble and would be the one to watch.

“Come on, guys. We’re making the authorities nervous. Hope you can sleep tonight, Officer.”

“I’ve no fears of that, Mister…”

The leader snorted and walked away, and his toadies followed behind. The sun warmed his back as he watched them meander toward the forest.

“Something we’re going to need to keep our eye on?”

Craig turned and looked at the man standing next to him. He’d spoken to Kaden Henderson a number of times in the past year. While they both agreed with Gordon’s philosophy, something had to be done.

“We need to speak to the town elders. Those guys mean trouble.”

Kaden nodded. The middle Henderson brother was the most even-keeled of the three. “Do you think they might have something to do with the shooting last week?”

“No, but I’m not ruling anything out until I find a bit more information out about them. I’ll make some calls and get back to you.”

“I’ll go talk to Gordon.”

Craig nodded toward the buildings behind them. “He’s in the ice-cream shop.”

“You didn’t tell him about this?”

“He has Brenna and both his younger daughters with him. I don’t want children on their radar.”

“Fair enough. I’ll speak to him and then call a meeting with the town guardians. We should still spread the word for everyone to keep an eye out for now. No point in raising panic, but I don’t like the idea of a group of rogues that think they can waltz into this town and wreak havoc.”

“Do you know if Gordon has ever had to face this kind of situation before?”

Kaden’s expression shut down. “Trust me, Gordon has made tough decisions before. Alec isn’t the first person we’ve lost around here.”

Craig thought of the woman who had tried to kidnap Jessica. Gordon’d said he didn’t know what happened to Cheryl, but she was never seen again after trying to murder a citizen of Ecstasy Lake. “Let’s hope he won’t have to make another one.”

Brenna had enjoyed the extended visit with her dad and sisters but eventually had to say good-bye and go back to work. Holly Marshall-Denninger had made an appointment this afternoon, and Brenna hadn’t wanted to be late.

“I don’t think you should be swimming in the race, Holly,” Brand Denninger commented as he and Colwyn Marshall lifted their newest dog up onto the examination table.

“Why not? I think it’ll be fun.” Holly scratched behind the dog’s ears, helping the nervous animal to settle down. Brenna moved her stethoscope over the animal’s chest, listening to the heartbeat.

“Sweetheart, you’ve only just learned how to swim,” Brand replied as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

Brenna held her opinion as Holly tried to convince her husbands she would be safe participating in the annual fund-raising race. “I read the rules, and there isn’t anything that says I can’t wear floaties, and Godiva can swim next to me. What do you think, Brenna?”

Brenna looked up from where she examined Holly’s newest baby, Godiva. She was a soft chocolate Lab with the biggest brown eyes Brenna had ever seen. Holly and her husbands, Brand and Colwyn, had three dogs now, all of them from rescue shelters. Holly had a soft spot for dogs, and her husbands had a soft spot for her.

“I have more concerns about you than Godiva, to be honest. The race is pretty long. Are you planning on trying to do the entire thing?”

“I want to make it to the end because Colwyn told me you get a sparkly pendant for trying out.” Holly also had a soft spot for sparkly things. “Colwyn said he would swim next to me. Brand could paddle along in the canoe with Hershey and Lindt. That way if one of us gets tired, then he can haul us in.”

“As long as you’re careful, I think Godiva will do fine. Labs love the water, and despite the neglect this poor girl has endured, she’s doing wonderfully since you three adopted her.”

The Lab took that moment to lift her head and give Brenna a slobbery lick on her arm. “Thank you, Godiva.” She scratched her behind the ears and helped her down from the examination table.

“Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” Holly clapped her hands together and hugged her dog. “You and I are going to have an adventure, baby.”

Brand shook Brenna’s hand after grinning at his wife. “Thank you, Dr. Roberts. We’ll make certain they’re safe.”

“I don’t doubt for a second that they’ll all be fine. See you at the dogs’ next checkup.”

The trio and Godiva left the room, and Brenna started cleaning up. River had the day off, and Brenna didn’t mind doing basic housekeeping every once in a while. It reminded her how much River did around here to assist her, and with Carol taking care of reception, her work life was calm and smooth.

Taking care of pets helped her to keep her emotions in check, but her own thoughts were never far away. She could recall with perfect clarity the way Craig’s hands had felt on her skin and the half-smile quirking up one side of his lips as he licked her pussy. That mental image alone could made her body soften and juice collect between her legs. “Hello, Brenna.”

She looked up, and her gaze locked with a man standing in the doorway. The cleaning spray she was spritzing must’ve masked his scent, because if she’d known he was coming she would’ve run in the opposite direction.

“Hello…” She froze as the memory of that day assaulted her senses. What did could she say to the man who’d fucked her senseless and then had walked away like she’d been nothing to him? His dark coloring made his bright amber eyes stand out from his features. His eyes were the first thing she’d noticed about him. He was built strong and lithe with strong hands. Her dreams refused to allow her to forget how those large hands felt on her body. Those beautiful eyes glinted with good humor as she tried to get her brain to work properly.

“Aiden…Aiden O’Reilly,” he said when she didn’t do anything but stare at him. “We didn’t have much of a chance to talk the last time we met.”

Brenna’s voice was trapped in her throat.
Is this a dream?

He stepped closer, and his scent slammed against her senses. Her breasts ached and her pussy tingled. Then there was the fact her wolf was rolling around her senses like a bitch in heat. Her wolf might want to fuck him senseless again, but the human side of her wasn’t so agreeable.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

“Really?” She inhaled deeply, and Aiden’s gaze predictably dropped to her chest.
Sucker.
She balled up her fist and—

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Craig stomped through the doorway and shoved Aiden in the shoulder. “Thanks for the warning, asshole.”

I need to get a better cleaner. I can’t smell anyone after spraying this stuff.
Brenna relaxed her fingers and took a deep breath trying to find a well of calm somewhere inside of her churning emotions. “He didn’t warn you? You didn’t warn me!”

Craig looked over at her, as if he only just realized she was standing there. “Bren, I can explain.”

“Really? You’re going to stand there and tell me you didn’t know he was coming?”

Craig paused, and that was all the information she needed. “Both of you, get out of my office!”

“Brenna, you don’t understand the position I was in the night we met.” Aiden stepped toward her with both hands up. If he thought he could bullshit his way back into her bed…
Hell, we never had a bed, so what am I worried about?

“Step one foot closer and I’ll neuter you.” She could feel her upper lip curling and her teeth elongating. Thankfully, her wolf had gotten over her initial overdose of “fuck me now” hormones.

“You don’t mean that.” Aiden’s placating tone rubbed Brenna the wrong way, and she growled low in her throat.

Craig grabbed Aiden by the shoulder. “I can assure you she means it.” He turned his attention to her. “Brenna, Aiden and I need to talk to you.”

“You had your chance to talk the other day at the lake. Instead you chose the same route he did.” She jerked a thumb at Aiden, who glared at Craig. “I’m done talking to either of you.”

“Seriously,”—Aiden’s eyebrows rose, astonishment written all over his expression—“all this time and you haven’t claimed her yet. What were you waiting for?”

“An asshole.” Craig shoved Aiden and stormed out of the clinic. Despite his anger, he didn’t whip the glass door open like she expected. Aiden stood there suddenly looking like someone kicked his dog.

“I know you’re angry,”—Aiden put up both hands when she stepped toward him—“and you have every right to be, but let me explain what happened.”

Brenna narrowed her eyes and growled again. “I’m not going to use anesthesia on either of you.”

Aiden must’ve realized that she was serious about neutering them, because he spun on his heel and stomped off in the same direction as Craig.

As soon as he left the building, she dropped down into one of the chairs in the hallway. Running her fingers through her hair, she closed her eyes and tried to get herself under control. It was then she remembered she wasn’t the only one in the building. She peeked open one eye and looked through her fingers.

Carol was standing at the head of the hallway, watching her. There were a couple of people in the waiting room who were trying to peek around the corner. Brenna got up and moved into the examination room she’d cleaned. Her cheeks felt hot, and she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry out her frustration.

She turned on the water in the small sink and splashed her face, hoping to cool her cheeks down.

“Brenna, are you all right?” Carol stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.

“How bad was it?”

“Pretty bad. Your voices carried down the hall, but I don’t think anyone out there understood what was going on.” Carol handed her a soft towel to dry her face. “I don’t have to ask who that was.”

Brenna shook her head. She’d had a conversation with Carol and Jessica a few weeks before and confessed what had been bothering her for months. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Carol.”

“Take a deep breath and get through your appointments today. Then we can have a talk and figure this out. You’re not alone here, remember?”

Brenna gave her friend a hug. “Thanks. I feel lost.”