Shifter’s Surrender (18 page)

Later that day, actually well into the evening, Kaylie looked around her and wondered once again how she got herself into these situations. At least this time she wasn’t alone, though standing in the empty office at Moon Haven, she felt like it.

She eyed the closed door thoughtfully. “What an interesting detail you’ve added to the door, Dean.”

Though she couldn’t see him, or hear him, she knew he heard her. Currently he was ensconced in the security room, a place few were privy to, eyes glued to several computer monitors depicting views of the cameras stationed all over the complex, including his office. Evidently he’d spared no expense, going for video as well as audio. Something that had assisted him to break up more than one shifter fight on those moon filled nights when the facility was filled with wolves. Usually the beasts were too sated from food to get rowdy, but every now and then they needed to be put in their places.

Her phone let out a soft ding and Kaylie looked at the text message.

Lost my temper.

For some reason, Kaylie wasn’t too surprised. Rolling her eyes directly at the camera, she walked into the adjourning bedroom. She got another text message.

No camera in there. Sit at the desk.

She let out an aggrieved sigh. “If I’m supposed to be acting like I’m staying the night, for safety reasons, that means I would be going to sleep. On a bed.”

Humor me.

She plopped down on the comfy desk chair. Leaning back, she closed her eyes.

The plan was dumb to Kaylie’s way of thinking. She’d been paraded around town after work, Dean at her side, the claiming mark on her neck evident to every shifter they passed. Some were shocked, some were knowing, but they were all cordial to Kaylie, some even acted thrilled.

Probably hoping that getting laid regularly would put a smile on their Alpha’s face, rather than the idea of having Kaylie as their Lupa. She shook head. Weird. It was all too weird. She didn’t even know what a Lupa did.

Her eyes popped open and she could have smacked herself.

Her mom was once the Lupa.

Damn, was she slow or what? She’d agonized over that
little
responsibility when she could have asked her mom this whole time.

U OK?

“Peachy,” she said aloud, not bothering to tell him what was on her mind. It was, after all, a female thing. “I’m bored.”

Think of me, naked.

She snickered. The whole reason for Dean’s lack of presence was to draw Kyle to her, letting him think she was alone at the moment, which included no voice contact. No one was sure how keen Kyle’s senses were, and if he managed to get inside the facility, he had to think Kaylie was vulnerable.

To make the whole situation seem plausible, Dean had set up an emergency shifter meeting. The caveat being that he, Caleb, Phil—one of the shifter deputies—and Ben wouldn’t be there. Ben was currently outside, patrolling the grounds in full sight. Acting like a bodyguard. Dean was in the security room, watching and listening, and Caleb and Phil were outside as well, but in the surrounding trees. While Ben remained untainted, Caleb and Phil had coated themselves in dirt, leaves, and other things Kaylie didn’t want to know about, hoping it would disguise their scents. As for Dean, well the poor guy, to Kaylie’s chortling delight, slathered on Kaylie’s scented body lotion, twice.

“Bet you smell pretty.”

I smell like u. I want 2 lick myself all over.

Kaylie fanned herself at that. She wouldn’t mind a body licking right now. As long as it was Dean’s tongue …

Movement. Stay put.

“Like I’m going to run out into the dark night, alone? Sorry buddy. I’ve seen one to many scary movies to pull that stunt.”

Be quiet. Move around the room.

Kaylie stuck her tongue out at the camera but obliged and rose from the chair to pace the large office.

False alarm.

Great. Now she was stuck longer. She almost wished for Kyle to show up so she could get to more important matters, like being licked. Or licking. Oh yeah. Her eyes shuddered closed at the fantasy of splaying Dean out on that bed in the other room and taking his thick cock in her mouth. Liquid heat damn near melted her panties.

Grrrrr. I can smell ur arousal. What u thinking?

Feeling naughty, she faced the camera once again. “You,” she whispered, raising her hands to cover her swollen breasts. She closed her eyes and moaned. “In my mouth. I love the way you taste. And I want another bite.” She could only image what Dean was thinking as she touched herself. She pinched her nipples through her clothes, then slid one hand down over her belly to finger the top of her jeans. Playing for him, she teased open the top button, then slowly began to inch her way under the thick material.

A sudden and ear-splitting crash jerked her attention to the office window, a window that didn’t look to the outside but to the mini-auditorium sized lounge
inside
the building. The shades she’d drawn to keep the creepy darkness at bay were now bent and twisted, swinging wildly from the force that had blown through them. A dark grey and furry force that rose to all four legs not five feet from her. The large wolf shook itself, flinging blood from cuts over its muzzle.

Kaylie couldn’t help herself. She screamed like a little girl and bolted for the door, flicking open the lock and then slamming it behind her. She could barely think, because holy hell, no one even thought Kyle was already
in
the building. They’d checked. Twice. Guess the no-scent theory wasn’t viable.

And where the hell were her guards!

The door was yanked from her hands and she barely caught herself before falling into Kyle’s human and very naked form. “Were you thinking of him when you touched yourself, Kaylie. Or me?”

Kaylie didn’t even blink. She fled down the dark corridor towards the security room. But the pounding sounds and furious snarling of her name had her glancing at the handle. A handle that was even now tied with a thick rope, leading to another door handle across the hall.

Reassessing, she glanced over her shoulder at a grinning Kyle. Dean was stuck behind an eight-inch thick, solid metal door, unable to get out. And until her tardy guards showed, if they ever did, she was on her own.

“Drop dead, asshole!” Kaylie snarled at the crazy shifter. Even as he took a step towards her, she ducked under the rope—she had nothing to cut it with—and ran toward the exercise room. Her thought was to flee out the exterior door as it was a push exit while the front door had two massive bolts and was located down the hall, on the
other
side of Kyle. The door in the kitchen was on the other side of the facility, and she was terrified Kyle would reach her before she could reach it. Luckily the gym had an open path so she didn’t trip over any equipment as she raced toward the exit. Just before she reached the door a heavy weight knocked her to the side, causing her to cry out in alarm. She rolled away and was grabbed by her ankle.

“Oh good,” Kyle’s eyes gleamed pure amber. His voice so guttural as to not be human. “You’re going to be a screamer. You hear that Dean,” he yelled to the ceiling as he caught her other ankle and flipped her on her back, “your bitch is gonna scream when I shove my cock in her.”

Phone still somehow in her hand, she shoved out with all her might, open-palmed, and planted both gadget and flesh into his upturned face. Bones crunched and Kyle screamed in agony, letting her go to grab at his bleeding nose. “You bitch!”

Far from stupid, Kaylie scrambled over the smooth floor, knowing she only had seconds, maybe, before Kyle would be on her again. Her sneakers finally found purchase and she reached the dumbbell set just as a clawed hand yanked on her sweater and pulled. Fabric tore, giving her the extra inch she needed to grasp one of the dumbbells in both hands. She swung around and up and with a horrifying crunch, connected with the side of Kyle’s head. While the blow would have killed a human, it only forced Kyle’s head to the side, the twenty pound hit barely registering on his drug-induced and psychotic persona. Even as she lifted the weight again an ominous creaking came from above, drawing her attention for a split second to the fifteen-foot high ceiling. With a thunderous howl, a huge chunk of the ceiling rained down on them, throwing plaster dust and chunks of drywall everywhere.

Coughing, Kaylie shook the debris off her face, and saw Dean rise from the floor. At least she thought it was Dean. It wasn’t the white powder from crashing through drywall that threw her, it was the lack of clothing—usually yum but now she could only gape. He was also larger, his frame more muscular. His claws were out, sharper and longer than she’d ever seen on a shifter, and his fangs glinted like miniature daggers in the flickering light. His eyes were pure amber. He had gone wolf, only, he hadn’t. He wasn’t on all fours, and she could see no fur. But to Kaylie’s shocked eyes, it seemed as if she could somehow see the beast inside him, but yet not. The dumbbell fell from her numbed grip. She didn’t even notice Caleb, Phil and Ben rush in from two separate entrances, all three coming to an abrupt halt as they saw their Alpha in a way no one had ever seen him before.

Kyle turned to growl at Dean, seeming to not notice the change in his former Alpha. Time stretched as the two shifters faced off, posturing for dominance. Then, in a sudden blur of motion, Kyle attacked. The two grappled and slashed at each other, fangs flashing as snarls and grunts filled the room. Kyle raised a leg to produce a roundhouse kick to Dean, only Dean caught Kyle’s leg in both hands and twisted hard enough that Kyle spun in the air. He landed on his feet and slashed out with a claw. Dean reared back before the talons could swipe across his belly and followed with his own, grazing four jagged marks down Kyle’s face.

Undaunted, the drugged up shifter raced headlong at Dean, who used the momentum to flip Kyle over his shoulder. Dean swung around, claws outstretched in a crossing motion and caught Kyle again, one gash opened across Kyle’s shoulder and another high on his chest. Blood spilled down Kyle but again, he seemed to not notice as he lunged for Dean. Muscles bunched and hands moved so fast that Kaylie had a sudden image of the martial arts fight in
The Matrix
. Her human eyes couldn’t keep up with the flashing claws and thudding of flesh against flesh. But what she could see was that, while Kyle was bleeding like the proverbial stuck pig, Dean barely had a scratch on him. Then she realized Dean was playing with Kyle, like a cat might play with a mouse before it killed it. And she had no idea what to think about that.

When Caleb finally spoke, Kaylie couldn’t take her eyes off Dean. “Quit screwing around Dean,” he called out, “I’ve got a warm woman in my bed and I’m anxious to get to her.”

That brought Kaylie’s head around to stare at Caleb, who was watching her with dark scrutiny. He pointed at her and then to his eyes. Kaylie swallowed but held the cop’s gaze, understanding. Dean wasn’t playing with Kyle like prey, Dean was holding himself back because he didn’t want Kaylie see him kill a man. Granted she got the reason why the death sentence was necessary, but honestly? She had no desire to have such an image burned in her brain.

A swoosh of air was followed by a nasty gurgling sound that caused Kaylie to wince. Then silence.

Ben and Phil stepped forward but Caleb continued to hold her gaze until she felt an incredible heat at her back. Hard as rock muscles pressed against her and slowly, ever so slowly, Dean’s arms wrapped around her. Feeling him, whole and safe—even if he was still a bit larger than life—made a little whimper of relief escape her throat. She closed her eyes and turned in his embrace, legs shaking.

“Hey,” he said gruffly, his voice barely recognizable. “It’s okay. It’s over.”

Kaylie only shook her head, barely holding back tears, and clinging to Dean with all her might. “You clawed through the ceiling for me.”

His kissed her bent head over and over. “I would claw through the fires of hell for you.”

After several minutes his racing heart slowed and she actually felt him shrink. It was the strangest sensation. One second her nose was smooshed into his sternum and the next it was buried in the hollow of his throat. She pulled back and hit him in the chest, then cursed at the pain radiating from her fist.

Dean caught her hand and kissed the knuckles. “What was that for?” Surprise and a little panic flared in his now green eyes.

“I told you never to do that again.” She blurted out, referring to the time he’d saved both Tess and their mother’s lives a few months back. “Putting yourself in danger just pisses me off.”

Dean held her close, one hand possessively wrapped around her neck, the other around her waist, holding her tight to his body. “I was never in any danger.”

“Yeah,” she muttered into his neck. “Only because you turned into some kind of incredible hulk, only with claws instead of green skin. And are incredibly naked.” She couldn’t help but wiggle against the erection pressing into her thigh until she trapped it between her legs.

Dean let out a strangled groan, his fingers flexing on her scalp. “I’ve never done that before. Never known anyone could.”

Excitement of a cerebral kind flashed in her brain. “Huh. Another shifter trait I need to research. Maybe it’s genetics.”

Dean grasped her crooked ponytail and gently pulled until she was looking up at him. “Speaking of genetics.” He hesitated, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “We didn’t use a condom this morning.”

Someone made a choking sound behind Dean and was abruptly shushed.

Kaylie blinked up at that gorgeous face, the idea of a little tousled haired boy with Dean’s eyes making her far from nervous. It made her all gooey inside. “Your point?”

“We should get married.”

Though her heart began a rapid beat, she tried to remain calm. “Because I might be pregnant?”

Dean shook his head even as his eyes drifted down to the mark on her neck. The claiming mark. She squinted at him. “Because you claimed me as a mate?”

Dean shook his head again, but instead of silence, he cupped her face. “Because I love you.”