Clawed: Wild Things, Book 3 (14 page)

Biting her lip, she sent a plea. “Conan, listen to me. Leave him alone. He’s not worth it.”

The giant bear stopped, tilted his head at her, spittle at the corners of his mouth. Then, as though giving in, he snorted and answered with a grumble much like the ones she’d heard him make while in human form. Spewing out saliva, he backed away.

“Thank you.”

“Chloe, please. Help me.” Roger wailed, begging her again. “Please. Help me.”

She smiled at Conan, then turned to her ex-boyfriend. “I already have. Not that you deserved it. You’re a jerk and I’m sick of you.” She paced a few feet away, then whirled toward him. “Oh, hell, I tried, but I just can’t stop myself.” Giving in to temptation, she kicked Roger in the uninjured leg, eliciting another round of cries.

Chloe thrust her arm outward. “Move, Roger, before I decide to let him eat your sorry ass.”

Roger, looking from bear to woman, relief seeping through the tormented expression, gaped at her. “He’ll kill me if I run.”

“Trust me. If he wanted you dead, you’d already be dead. Now didn’t you hear me? Move!”

Roger scrambled, crawling and stumbling until he could stand on his feet. He made it to the forest line and turned back, disbelief scrunching his face. “I saw it. I know I did. He—that man—changed.”

Chloe shook her head, unwilling to give him the truth. “You’re hysterical. Do you understand me? You didn’t see a thing. Not a damn thing.”

Holding his bleeding leg, Roger glanced back once more before racing down the path away from the campsite.

“I told you, Conan. I’m fine.” Chloe tucked her chin, unwilling to look at him.

Conan, back in human form, tipped his head to see into Chloe’s eyes, but she turned her back on him. Although several minutes had passed since Roger’s departure, she couldn’t push down the anxiety stiffening her neck. Roger’s departure had left her shaking. How close had Conan come to killing Roger? She couldn’t face the animal, the man who had frightened her. How could she when the sight of Conan’s cold eyes still haunted her? But that was while in his bear form. In human form, she had no reason to fear him, but what if the animal took over? Still struggling to rid herself of the lingering doubts, Chloe took a breath and forced herself to face him.

Soft brown eyes met hers while worry etched a line in his brow. Relief seeped out of her in slow waves until her body shook.

“You’re not fine. You’re shaking.” Nina, her hand enclosed in Billy’s, studied Chloe.

“Nina’s right.” Conan took her by the shoulders, and for a moment, she resisted. Then, swallowing the last of her fear, she allowed him to pull her into his embrace. She closed her eyes as she’d done against the bear’s chest and inhaled. The scent, although not as strong or wild, was similar, as though the animal aroma had gone into hiding to be replaced by the musk of a human male. His breathing came in long, slow draws, comforting her enough for her to admit her fears. “You frightened me.”

He stiffened, but didn’t lessen his embrace. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Chloe, you’ve got to know that Conan would never hurt you. He only did what he did because he didn’t want to see you harmed.” Billy’s voice grew mean. “If I thought someone might hurt Nina then, yeah, I’d want to rip them apart.”

She could feel Billy and Nina’s presence but kept her eyes closed. She didn’t want to see their concerned faces, didn’t want to have to comfort them.

“I was scared, too.” Conan’s tone was low and soft.

Surprised, she saw the sincerity in his face. “But why? Roger wasn’t armed. He couldn’t have hurt you if he’d tried.”

Conan’s eyes darkened and a sad smile played on his lips. “Not for me. For you.”

She’d known that he’d thought she was in danger. But she’d believed his only emotion had been anger. “You thought he’d hurt me.”

“He
was
hurting you.”

She nodded and could almost feel Roger’s hands around her throat again. “Yes, he was.”

“I couldn’t let him harm you. I had to stop him.”

“You shouldn’t have changed. Maybe if you’d stayed in human form, you wouldn’t have hurt him.”

“I couldn’t help it. I shifted without thinking.”

The intensity in his tone made her look away, unable to handle the fierce emotions overtaking her.

“Chloe, would you come with me?”

She hesitated again, and hated herself for doing so, then nodded. Easing out of his hug, she looked into Conan’s face, then took his hand and squeezed. “All right.”

Conan returned her squeeze. “Give us some time. Okay, guys?”

Billy and Nina murmured their agreement as she let Conan lead her into the woods.

“Where are you taking me? To the pond?” She quickened her pace not only to keep up with him but in her eagerness to reach the place where they’d made love and she’d felt closest to him.

The place where he’d shown her what he was. Her mind not on the path in front of her but on the memory of his body changing almost sent her stumbling to her knees, but Conan caught her, his strong arms swinging her back onto her feet.

“It’ll be safer and faster this way.” Lifting her off the ground, he tucked one arm under her thighs, the other wrapped around her torso. She locked her hands behind his neck, her excitement heightening. Making sure she was securely in his arms, Conan broke into a run.

“Oh, my God.” She cuddled into his chest even as she rocked up and down with every step. She listened, expecting to hear his heart doing double-time. Instead, it was as though the run with her in his arms didn’t affect him.

Flashes of light flickered over her as they raced through the forest, into small clearings, then back into denser foliage. His body tilted forward as they moved in an ever-increasing incline up the hillside. She glanced around, watching the trees around them flow by until sunshine blinded her.

Conan grunted as he jumped over several rocks to land near the mouth of a small cave. She brushed the hair away from her face as he lowered her to the ground, then took her hand.

“Wait. We’re going in there?”

“We are.” He paused and regarded her as though only now realizing she might object to entering the dark recesses of the mountain. “It’s not as scary as you might think.”

Although she opened her mouth to refuse, she couldn’t resist the gleam in his eyes. If she turned him down, would he ever want to show her anything ever again? “I’ll take your word for it. But what is this place?”

A rare grin brightened his face. “It’s my home away from home.”

She peered into the entrance and tried to imagine sleeping there. “Billy told us you were staying in a cave, but still…”

“Seems Billy’s been flapping his mouth quite a bit lately. I should’ve known he would. Most were-coyotes have a hard time keeping secrets.”

Chloe took a deep breath and started into the darkness. “Okay, then. Show me.”

Conan bent forward to keep from bumping his head against the top of the entrance and led her inside. Chloe paused to let her eyes adjust to the dim light, then scanned the interior. A small duffle bag sat against the wall, and two beds made of leaves and twigs lay on either side of a campfire pit. She walked around the small area, taking in the lingering smell of a recent fire mixed with the familiar aroma of Conan.

“This is it? This is all you have?”

Conan shrugged. “What did you expect? A flat-screen television?”

“No, but…” She knelt down to pat the nearest makeshift bed. “Hmm. This is softer than I would’ve thought.”

Conan moved to her and squatted beside her. “Try it.”

She snorted, then closed her hand over her mouth. “Me?”

“Why not?”

Why not? Curious, she sat on the bed, her legs crossed in front of her. “Hey, not bad.”

“Not bad at all.” Conan sat down beside her, taking the rest of the bed. His arm brushed hers, a movement both intimate and comforting.

“You frightened me.” She needed to repeat what she’d said earlier. If only to stress how much he had.

“I know. I’m sorry you saw that part of me.”

“The bear part?”

He waited a long time before answering her. “No. You would’ve needed to see the animal part of me again at some point. I’m sorry you saw the violent side of me. Of either side of me.”

She sighed, her body slumping against his. “Then why didn’t you stay a man? You could have stopped him without changing. Now he’s seen you. Now he knows.”

“I couldn’t help myself. When I saw his hands around your neck, I just reacted.” He touched his fingertips to her neck, then yanked them away when she winced at the pain. “The bruises are already showing.”

“Great. And me without a scarf.” Her attempt at humor fell flat.

Hardness overtook his face. “I wish I could have kept him from… To see the marks he left…” He clenched his teeth. “Hell, I still want to tear him apart.”

She jerked away from him, her heart picking up speed. “That’s what scares me. That’s why you scared me. I thought you were going to kill him.”

“I wish I had.”

Chloe clutched her pillow to her chest. “No, stop. I’m still afraid.”

“Of him?” He blinked, suddenly grasping what she’d meant. “Of me?”

The hurt on his face brought an apology to her lips, but she held back. “Yes, of you. Tell me. Do you have control when you’re in your altered form? Can you stop yourself from acting the way a wild animal would? How can I trust that you won’t get angry, change and hurt someone I love? Or me?”

He reached out for her, but she leaned away. Determination tightened his jaw, and he tried again, this time cupping her behind the neck to pull her closer. “You can trust me because I say you can.”

“Other men, including Roger, have said I could trust them.” She sat rigid in his grasp.

“I’m not Roger and I’m not other men.” He looked away, then back at her. “But it’s true. I sometimes have a hard time controlling that other part of me. But it rarely happens and only when I’m very angry. You can trust me, Chloe. I swear it. I’ve never hurt anyone I cared for and I never will.”

“That doesn’t tell me why.” She wanted to believe him. Ached to believe him. “Tell me why I can trust you. I need to know.”

His dark eyes flashed amber and she wondered if she’d pushed him too far. What would she do if he lost control?

Then the irritation she’d seen was gone as quickly as it had come. Slowly, he brought his face an inch from hers and looked into her eyes. “This is why.”

Conan brushed his lips across hers, the tip of his tongue barely touching the parting of her lips. His thumb traced a path from her temple down to the curve of her cheek and the fluttering in her stomach, like a thousand butterflies taking flight, increased.

She leaned into the kiss, wanting to crush her mouth to his, and was suddenly rocked with love for this stranger who had come to mean so much in so little time. He ran his gaze along her body, then slipped his fingers underneath her shirt to pull it upward. She did the same for him, tugging his shirt over his head. Needing to touch him again, she brought his mouth to hers. This time his kiss was stronger, more urgent, and she answered his fervor with her own.

Conan fumbled with the zipper on his jeans, making her laugh as she took over for him. His shaft, ready and full, spilled out, and although she remembered the size of him, her eyes grew wide and her heart sped up.

Conan wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her, and laid her back against the soft mat.

She whimpered, not from fear but from need. “Conan.”

“Shh. Just let us be.”

He kissed her again as his hands cupped her breasts. What fear remained was washed away by his touch, and she slipped her palms over his chest to play her thumbs against his nipples. His tongue entered her mouth, filling her as she wanted him to fill her elsewhere. He groaned, spilling the sound into her.

The kiss slid to her neck, feathering tenderly over the bruises. He swept his tongue along her earlobe and teased her with soft breaths. She shivered as the coolness of the cavern met the wet path along her neck.

A yearning burst within her as wild and untamed as the animal within him. Giving in to the yearning, she arched, pushing her breasts against his hard body, and slid her legs along his taut thighs to wrap them around his waist. He growled, stilling her, but she shoved the fear away.

Feeding the need, she ran her hands along his valleys and curves, her nails digging into his flesh. He nibbled her shoulders, the slight pain urging her to tilt her neck. Their breaths, hers an echo to his, punctuated the air. He continued to nibble his way south, pausing to caress her breast with his tongue, quickening her already speeding pulse.

Chloe closed her eyes, letting emotions and sensations take over, her mind going still. Conan’s body rested on top of hers with just the right amount of pressure, not too hard, not too gentle. She lifted her hips against him, signaling him to enter her, but he resisted, instead pushing his shaft against her mons. She groaned her frustration until his mouth found her nipple once more. He lashed his tongue over her bud, followed by quick nips with his teeth.

Chloe murmured and caressed him, then slid her hand along his side, going as low as she could. He kept his shaft from her, teasing her, and instead reverently whispered her name. He skimmed his fingers along her side, making her shiver. But her shivers were lost in her gasp as he spread her folds wide, using his thumb to massage her aching nub and his fingers to delve inside her.

Chloe pushed against his hand, loving the feel of him inside her, wanting more of him. She clenched her vaginal walls around his fingers, tugging on them, telling of the pleasure he’d know when he replaced them with his cock. He moaned, letting her know her ploy succeeded. She matched his torture with her own, daring him to deny her.

Without warning, she climaxed, whipping her head side to side as thunderous waves rolled through her. Explosions of light and dark erupted behind her closed eyelids, and she released again, melting her body to his. She screamed his name, harsh and filled with need, then inhaled sharply as he pushed her legs toward her chest. Taking her by the chin, he forced her to open her eyes and look at him.