Jacee giggled. Then she said, “We’re here to talk to you about Micah staying with me, at my house in town. At least while we get bonded and figure out what we want to do.”
“I see.” Folding his arms in front of him on the desk, Nick considered that and studied Micah. “As far as work goes, that’s fine because Mac has you on leave. The issue of whoever is after you is another matter.”
“I know. I’ve thought of that.” Micah ran a hand down his face. “What if we get Kalen to ward her house?”
“That works only as long as you’re inside it. What about when you’re driving back and forth or out running in wolf form?”
“Nick, I do those things anyway. He’s going to make a move sooner or later, and if I’m guarded like Fort Knox, it’s only going to put off the inevitable.”
“True.” The commander fell silent for a few moments, then nodded. “Okay. You have my permission to live off-base for the next two weeks. But I don’t like that Jacee’s house is so far outside our perimeter. And yes, even twenty minutes is too far in our line of work. I’m going to have to come up with an alternate solution if you two insist on your own place.”
“Fair enough,” Micah said, his enthusiasm bubbling forth. “Thanks, boss.”
“Don’t make me regret this.”
Pulling Jacee out of the office, Micah waited until they were down the hall before he pushed her against the wall and kissed her senseless. “I feel like a teenager again,” he breathed. “We’re almost out of here.”
“Let’s go get some of your stuff.” Excitement shone in her face.
Holding her hand, he led her to his quarters and punched his access code, letting them inside. He had never been more aware of how sad and stark his space was than at that moment, with his mate at his side and newfound happiness welling in his chest.
“This is . . . tidy.”
“It’s worse than my hospital room,” he admitted. “It could use a woman’s touch. Or anyone’s touch but mine, since I have the decorating will and know-how of a brick.”
“Well, let’s say it’s got potential.” Amusement danced in her eyes.
“Some of the other guys have their apartments fixed up really cool.” He shrugged. “I never cared much.”
Because he’d been depressed and sick for months since his return. But he was slowly putting that part of his life behind him. With any luck, that was over for good.
Setting her duffel on his bed, he fished in his bedroom closet for his black one. Finding it, he tossed it on the bed and made quick work of filling it with jeans, T-shirts, and sweats. He folded a couple of nicer shirts, too, thinking of the steak house in town. Last were his underwear and toiletries, and he was good to go.
Hitching both bags on his shoulder, he turned to her. “Ready.”
On the way out, he made sure to stop by Aric and Rowan’s quarters to tell them where he would be. God help him if he left without telling his sister good-bye. She got all sniffly and tearful, not like her one bit. But she and Aric had been through hell worrying about him, so he gave her a pass.
Outside, he led Jacee to the hangar and into the area where their personal vehicles were parked. She was suitably impressed by all the SUVs and aircraft.
“Holy crap! Hueys? And a private plane? Jeez, how many Escalades do you have?”
“Several. All of those belong to the Pack.”
“Who paid for all this stuff? The government?”
“Something like that.”
“You know you’re going to have to tell me that story,” she insisted. “How you guys became the Pack.”
“I will. Let’s get to your place and relax first, huh?” He unlocked the doors and helped her in. Then he tossed their bags in the back, went around, and climbed in. Once he was headed down the road to the gate, he asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Yes. But not for food.”
The look she gave him nearly made him stomp the gas pedal through the floorboard. Every ounce of his newly purified blood arrowed south, and his cock stiffened in his jeans. The twenty-minute drive to her part of town had never seemed so long, but he drove carefully. The last thing he needed was to get pulled over by Deveraux or one of his deputies. Being harassed by the sheriff once in a month was plenty. Or make that once in a lifetime.
Finally he parked in front of her house and retrieved their bags. As they started up the walk, he had a pang of momentary sadness as he looked at the place. She’d worked so hard to make it pretty and homey, but Nick would never allow them to live here. Not if Micah wanted to remain on the team. He wasn’t sure what solution the boss would come up with, but living in town wasn’t going to be an option.
Jacee let them in and gestured down a hallway. “My bedroom is down there. There’re two. It’s the one on the right.”
“That’s the only one we’re going to need.” Lips curving up, he started that way, aware of her following him.
Her scent teased his nose, arousal heightening the potency. In the bedroom he dumped the bags on the floor near the bed and turned, pulling Jacee into his arms. He couldn’t wait one second longer to have her again. To feel her naked skin against his, to bury his cock in her depths and feel her clenching around him.
He took her mouth hungrily, licking into her sweet heat. Exploring, his tongue dueling with hers. She moaned, arching into him, running her palms under his shirt to skim his back. Delicate fingers mapped his scars, cruelly made what seemed so long ago.
But she made everything right. When he was in her arms, there was no reason to doubt or fear. No reason to be anything but happy that he’d found her among the millions of people in the country, and she accepted all of him. Even the scars he carried on the inside.
Especially those. Because of Jacee, he could heal. Was nearly there.
“Let’s take this to the bed,” he whispered, “because I’m going to make love to you all afternoon. And I’m going to claim you as my mate, if you’ll have me.”
“Oh, yes. Please.”
She attacked his mouth again, and they fell backward together onto the mattress, tearing at each other’s clothes. That was all the encouragement he needed.
It was time to claim his mate, and his future.
Eight
Micah hadn’t felt so alive in years.
Not since he’d awakened in a military base hospital in a godforsaken hellhole and learned he’d become part beast. He’d been fighting ever since to reclaim some former semblance of himself. Some small measure of peace.
With his Pack brothers, he’d found belonging, acceptance.
With Jacee . . . he’d found the other half of his soul.
Driven by an urgency he’d never felt before, he covered her body with his, buried his nose in her neck. His wolf almost came unglued as her sweet scent enveloped him, and only the greatest effort kept the animal side of him below the surface of his skin. Nibbling below her jaw, he tasted the essence of her, savoring it on his tongue. That played havoc on taking his time, however, and he practically devoured her on his journey south.
From the encouraging noises she was making, she didn’t mind one bit. He laved both breasts, worshipping them with the attention they fully deserved before moving on to her stomach and belly button. She gave a little giggle as he explored her inny, but gasped seconds later as he parted her sex and found his prize.
His wolf might be mostly contained, but he was a wicked boy and not above cheating. Micah allowed his tongue to shift into preternatural length and put it to good use. His mate squirmed and moaned, apparently finding this pleasing as well, bolstering his confidence. He might be damaged, but her response proved he was made for her, and she for him. No other couple fit together like true mates.
First he licked her slit, then teased the tiny nub of her clit until she was crying out and pulling his hair. Giving a throaty laugh, he crawled back up her body and propped himself over her, resting on his elbows, kissing her soundly.
Reaching between them, he guided hims
elf into her, his eyes never leaving hers. Then he slid home and was rewarded with sheer bliss as her heat surrounded his cock, hugging him deliciously.
“How’s this, baby?” he whispered. “Is this what you want, what you need?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
“Fuck me. Claim me. Make me yours,” she rasped.
“Anything you want, mate. Whenever and however you want me.”
Giving them what they both desired, he began to pump his hips, driving into her hard and fast. She met his lovemaking with equal passion, giving as good as she got. He’d never been with anyone who matched him so perfectly, and it wasn’t just because the fates had decreed she was his mate. She touched more than his wolf, but the man as well.
All too quickly, their passion began to spiral out of control. Before he reached the point of no return, he gathered her into his arms and sat up, bringing her with him to sit in his lap. She needed no prompting to ride him, bouncing on his lap while clutching his shoulders. The intimate position, the grind of her body against his, sent them both to the edge—and over.
Micah couldn’t hold back. His balls drew up and his release exploded, shooting his seed deep inside her. Primal instinct took over, his fangs bursting forth. When Jacee tilted her head to the side in silent invitation, he was lost.
The instant he sank his fangs into the soft flesh at the curve of her neck and shoulder, it was as though a bomb had been detonated in the center of him. As Jacee cried out, pleasure exploded in golden light, then saturated his every cell in a brilliant, sparkling shower that was so pure it almost hurt. Then the golden dust came together, solidifying into a thread that sought his mate. Searched.
“Bite me,” he said hoarsely, tilting his head.
She didn’t hesitate. When she sank her fangs home, a second quake rocked them both. Whimpering, she held the bite for a few seconds as their orgasms shook them again. At that moment, his thread reached out again and found hers, and they melded together, snapped into place. An impenetrable bond that would not be broken now, except by death.
“Oh, my God.” He nuzzled her hair, trying to calm his racing heart.
“Right?”
“That was incredible.”
Carefully he eased them apart, slipping out of her, then pulled her down with him and held her close.
“We’re really Bondmates now.” Jacee snuggled into his side with a contented sigh.
“Yeah. But you know what? Even if I’d been human, my heart would’ve known you anywhere.”
“That’s just about the most wonderful thing anyone’s ever said to me.” A telltale sniffle reached his ears.
“You’d better get used to it. I plan to say plenty more.”
They remained entwined for a while, in complete contentment. Listening to the sounds of the wind in the trees from outside, birds, the occasional car, his mind drifted. He wondered how his life might’ve been different if he’d stayed home like his mother had wanted. If he’d never left LA, had found a decent job there, maybe followed Rowan into law enforcement. How his mother would’ve been spared what was to come. But he was so happy now, he wouldn’t change a thing, so what did that make him? As always, a lump of guilt knotted in his throat.
“Hey,” Jacee said softly. Moving, she propped herself up to peer down at him. “What’s with the guilt I’m picking up from you, mate?”
“Uh-oh. You can read my mind now?” Micah eyed her with a half-smile.
“I don’t think it works that way literally. But we should be able to speak telepathically now, and I believe we can sense each other’s feelings, too. Yours got serious just now, sort of guilty. What gives?”
“My mother,” he said quietly. “She died thinking I’d been killed overseas. I was just wondering how my life would’ve been different if I’d stayed at home in Los Angeles like she wanted, maybe joined the LAPD like my sister. She wouldn’t have had to live through that. But then I wouldn’t have found the other half of my soul. I would’ve been missing something all my life and never been able to put my finger on what.”
“I see.” Her expression was understanding. “It’s natural for us to question the choices we’ve made, though. What we could have done differently. I’m a firm believer now that life turns out the way it’s supposed to, but I didn’t always buy that.”
“Me, either. But I’m coming around. I joined the SEALs, and there’s no changing what happened after that. And then it was just easier in some ways to let Mom believe I was dead, and have closure, than to face what I’d become. Better for her and Rowan.”
“The thing is, I don’t think your mom ever really gave up, not if her spirit’s visit to you in the hospital was any indication. Your sister certainly never bought that you were dead, from what I gather.”
“No. She never gave up searching for me, and that led her here, to Wyoming.”
“How did she find you?”
“She has a friend who’s an FBI agent, and he has contacts. Someone pried open the lid on our compound and let him tip her off. If Nick knows who’s responsible for spilling the information, he hasn’t told us.”
“That kind of leak could be dangerous.”
“And then some. Can you imagine what would happen if the world found out paranormal creatures are real? I mean, there are people who believe in the paranormal, like spirits and demons and stuff, claim to know it exists. But the general population has no clue what’s actually lurking in the dark.”
Jacee shuddered. “It would be mass chaos. The higher-ups in the government know, but they’d deny it. I’m picturing blanket persecution and another civil rights movement the likes of which we’ve never seen.”
“Jesus, let’s hope it never comes to all of that.”
“Yes, let’s.” She paused, studying him, her chin resting on his chest. He enjoyed her being draped on top of him like a blanket. “So how did you become a wolf shifter? If it’s too painful to talk about, I understand.”
“No, sweetheart, it’s fine,” he reassured her, brushing a lock of dark hair from her face. “There’s nothing I can’t tell you. As horrible as that day was, I was lucky. Many of our buddies didn’t make it out of there alive. . . .”
Afghanistan, seven years ago . . .
* * *
“Jesus Christ, I’m rank,” Raven bitched, scratching at his crotch. “When I finally get to change this underwear, it’ll probably walk off.”
Micah grinned at his friend’s grumpiness. For a tough SEAL, nobody loved being clean more than Raven DeLuca. How he’d survived Hell Week was anybody’s guess. “With assistance from the crabs you caught from that woman in the last village.”
“Shut up, needledick. She did not give me crabs.”
Micah laughed, and Aric and a few of the guys chuckled along with him. They kept walking, and Micah continued the conversation. Nobody was paying any attention to them, everyone else lost in his own thoughts.
“Hey, Raven?”
“Yeah?”
“You ever think of settling down with one woman?”
His friend shot him an amused stare. “What the hell for?”
“Right. Unrepentant man whore. Totally forgot, my bad.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Raven seemed genuinely puzzled.
“Nothing.” Micah just got lonely sometimes. Like maybe there was something more out here in the world that he hadn’t discovered yet. He’d thought perhaps joining the military would help him find whatever he was looking for, but so far he’d come up empty. He wasn’t about to say that to Raven, who’d probably make a joke out of his confession.
Instead he changed the subject. “Do you ever think maybe there’s something more out there?”
“Like what?”
“You know, stuff. Out there, in the universe,” Micah said, waving an arm at the sky in general. “UFOs, ghosts, shit like that.”
His friend shot him a bemused look. “You’re a weirdo—you know that?”
“So, you’re
a nonbeliever?”
They walked a few paces before Raven answered, “Dunno. Ever since ancient times, people have written about paranormal sightings, contact, what have you. So who’s to say? Makes for some interesting TV when there’s nothing else on the History Channel, anyways.”
Micah smiled, shaking his head. Raven was one of the most straightforward guys he knew, not prone to speculating about such things. That was a typical answer from him. “True.”
“What do you think?” his friend asked, curious.
“I say, we are not alone,” he mimicked in his best Twilight Zone voice.
“Well, you’ll never be alone. You’ve got those little voices in your head to keep you company.” His friend smirked and walked ahead.
At least Micah had succeeded in getting Raven’s mind off his hot, itchy underwear. They were all in the same boat, and nobody wanted to know. The men continued through the thick undergrowth, using the barrels of their weapons to push aside limbs and foliage. Damned if he would complain, but Raven was right. It was so fucking hot, they could literally fry an egg on the hood of one of the trucks if they had to.
If they had an egg. Or anything at all resembling fresh food and not something freeze-dried from an MRE.
“Hold up,” Jax whispered, coming to a halt. Tensing, he studied the mountain forest around them, frowning. Somewhere hidden in the greenery, a footstep crunched to their left. Another to their right. And one from behind.
Micah went cold and looked at Raven. “Don’t like this,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “This area is supposed to be clear. We’ve got miles to go before we reach our target.”
Just then the forest went silent as a tomb. Never, ever a good sign. Micah’s eyes met Raven’s, then Aric’s. The men tensed, ready for anything. Or so they thought.
Thud, thud, thud.
The ground trembled and the leaves shook. When a deep-throated roar split the air, Micah’s heart almost stopped. Beside him Aric jumped, pointing the muzzle of his M16 into the trees, a bead of sweat dripping off his nose.