Force of Nature Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4) (38 page)

“I know who he is. His name is Tom Garrison, and he came to the house the day my mother was killed. I heard Aunt Jessie telling him about the cameras…the one that is over the picture in that corner in the living room at home.” She kept looking at Gordon as she spoke, something she’d never done until recently. She didn’t point, but simply kept looking at Gordon. “He has one in the kitchen too, but I’m not sure where. But he watches us all the time.”

“Yes. I remember him now. But I don’t think I ever knew his name. After you were hurt I could only focus on you and helping you.” Alexis looked over at Gordon when he cleared his throat. “You know something?”

“Paddy was changed by a Garrison. Probably the same guy. He more than likely knows what you are and wants you for his…dinner.” She’d never thought of that and was nodding before he finished.

Stacy moved toward the door and she started to stop her, but the girl turned at the last minute and spoke to everyone in the room. “I have to go. But I’ll keep watch.” She glanced toward the door behind her before continuing. “Trust no one at your home. She might not be the only help he has.”

She shifted quickly and was out the door before anyone could ask her what she meant. Alexis started to rise, but Gordon held her still. She turned to snap at him, but before she could say anything, he spoke in her ear.

“She’s right. You need to figure out why he wants you and who else, if anyone, in the house is trying to help him. We think it’s your Aunt Jessie, but who knows if your Aunt Glad is in on it too?” He pulled her closer still. “If she’s in on it she’ll know why he’s hunting you and what he wants now that he’s found you.”

Chapter 17

Alexis had been quiet all the way back to her house. She’d said very little at the pack house, and when dinner was served she only picked at her food without eating. He wanted to tell her she needed to eat more, but a shake of CJ’s head stopped him. Through their link as wolves she spoke to him.

“She’s had a lot thrown at her tonight. I’m guessing she’s processing it, and if you try to make her do what you might think is right you’re more than likely going to piss her off. It would me if you tried your he-man crap.”
When he started to tell her that he was not going to be he-manlike she snorted at him.
“You know you were going to be, so just leave her alone and eat your stupid dinner. Men,”
she huffed at him.

He had wanted to be offended, but thought maybe she was right. Not that he’d tell her that, but he could think it. Gordon smiled now, wondering what she’d do to him if she knew that he was going to seduce Alexis out of her black mood.

“I don’t want you to stay here tonight,” she said as they pulled into her driveway. “I’ve had a really long day and I just want to go to bed. Alone. So I can talk to you tomorrow, all right?”

He didn’t want to be pissed, he didn’t want to be hurt either, but he was both. He took a couple of deep breaths before he spoke to her, and when he did he tried his best to sound like he was neither.

“No.”
Well, that sucked
, he thought. “I don’t want to go home. I want to be with you, Alexis. You’re my mate and I need you.”

“I’ve been…why?” Her sudden question startled him and before he could think about an answer, she was going on. “Is it because of the sex? I’m sure you’ve had much better and as for the mate stuff, I can’t understand why you’d want to be mated to—”

He tore open the passenger side door as soon as she rolled to a stop. He was rounding the vehicle when she got out on her side. He wasn’t sure what she was about to say because he pulled her into his body and kissed her, his mouth hard against hers and his body pressing her into the cold metal behind her.

Her hunger slammed into him. So hard, in fact, that he was sure she was going to take him rather than the other way around. When she moaned, wrapped her hand into his hair, and pulled him to her throat he opened his mouth over her rapidly beating pulse. Gordon felt his canines drop, saliva formed in his mouth, and all he could think about was marking her. Making her his for all time.

“I ache to take you. Now, right now.” Gordon rocked into her hard and heard her moan again. “Christ, you’ll never make it inside.”

He let his wolf go just a bit. His claws formed and he tore her pants from her. Her scent hit his senses immediately and he growled deep. Licking a path down her neck to her throat again, he tore at his own pants and freed his cock. The cool air of the evening did nothing to slow him. Lifting her up by her ass, he slammed into her as he sank his teeth into her neck.

Her scream filled the air. He couldn’t stop now if his very life depended on it. Fucking her hard and holding her still with his teeth, he felt his balls tighten up, his climax beating at him as hard as he was at her. When she lifted his wrist to her mouth he knew she was going to bite him and he wanted it. Wanted her to take from him as much as he was from her. When her teeth broke the skin and she suckled he came with a roar. His seed spewed from him and into her so hard that he was lightheaded from it. But he wasn’t finished, wasn’t nearly satisfied. When he lifted his head he knew what she was seeing. His beast was there in his eyes, his canines were long.

“Turn around,” was all he could manage. When she didn’t move fast enough he pulled from her still pulsing body and shoved her against the trunk of the car. Before she could protest, if that was even in her mind, he was deep inside of her again, her pussy sucking him in and soaking him.

“Fuck me. Oh please, Gordon, fuck me.” He couldn’t think beyond her pussy, and her words only took him closer to the edge. Reaching around her, he slid his fingers into her slit. She was wet, soaking wet, and hot. When he pinched her clit, her sheath rippled along his cock. When he did it again she put her hand over his and rocked back.

“Come, Alexis. Come now and I’ll make you mine.” He licked her shoulder again. “I want to claim you in the way of our kind. Come with me, baby, and you’ll be mine.”

She came quickly. Her body stiffened beneath his and he bit as she screamed again. This bite was deeper, harder than ever before. It would also leave a mark, a mark of his teeth into her flesh that all would see. He jerked his mouth hard, tearing at her tender skin, and let his climax roll again. Gordon felt the connection between them snap into place, much like a rubber band against his wrist.

They had truly mated and bonded.

He didn’t move. He actually wasn’t sure if he’d be able to after that. Alexis was resting her head against the car and her body was limp. He moved her hair from her face and saw that her eyes were closed, but she seemed all right. After watching her for a few more seconds he realized she was asleep or unconscious.

He pulled from her gently, but even that had him wanting her again. He wanted to wake her and take her again, but thought if he did they’d both be sleeping where they were. He didn’t think he’d have anything left to walk, much less carry her into the house afterwards. Smiling, he adjusted his clothing and then wrapped her in what was left of his shirt and took her into his arms. He was nearly to the house when he heard the first baying of the wolf.

Stilling, he tried to pinpoint where the wolf was. He had a pretty good idea it was Stacy, but not completely. Once inside the house he lifted Alexis higher into his arms and set the alarms, glad now that she’d given him the codes. When he turned around he nearly dropped his mate when he saw someone walking along the hallway toward the kitchen.

Setting Alexis on her feet, Gordon put his hand over her mouth and woke her. She smiled up at him before she looked worried. He knew just how she felt. When he leaned in to whisper in her ear another person walked along the hallway toward the kitchen. Alexis stiffened in his arms, but made no sound.

“It’s Aunt Jessie. Where is she going in the middle of the night?” They both heard the door open then close and Alexis turned to look up at him.

“She’s not alone. Someone else went that way just ahead of her. Go carefully and when I tell you to move, do it.” She nodded. He wasn’t sure she’d do it, but at least if he had to shove her out of the way she wouldn’t be able to blame him. He heard a voice before they got to the doorway.

“Can’t tell you anything if I don’t know the answer, now can I?” The pause made him think she was on the phone as he didn’t hear any other person. “No. No, that won’t be necessary. He hasn’t come by yet. When he does I know how to get rid of him. I just don’t know why you can’t just…what do you mean you can’t kill the prick? I told you before if you want her you’re going to have to cut me some slack here.”

Alexis turned to look at him. Her face was full of shock. As the conversation grew more heated, another voice spoke up. This one startled him so badly that he couldn’t move. And they nearly got caught when the door opened from the kitchen and two people walked out.

“I don’t know why we didn’t get rid of that wolf when he first showed up. This is stuff that should have been cleared up way before all this went down.” Wilbur, the delivery man, was there too. “You’d think we’d be better at this by now, what with all the killings we been doing for Tom. Where is that man anyway?”

“He said he’d meet me tomorrow at his house,” Jessie said as she headed for the stairs with Wilbur in tow. “I’m thinking he might be wanting us to go with him when he leaves here. Whatcha think?”

“I’m thinking Glad might be right and you are the dumbest woman alive. Why on earth would you be meeting a cold blooded killer on his own turf?”

Their voices faded as they climbed the stairs. When the door to a room closed Alexis turned to him and stared up into his face. She was quiet, but he could see a world of emotions swirling in her eyes.

“I’m not leaving here. I know that’s what you’re thinking, so you can stop that right now.” He brushed away a tear before he continued. “We won’t let them win, Alexis. And besides, we’re mated now. Nothing can hurt us.”

“They’ll hurt us in other ways,” she said as she laid her head on his chest. “They both….” She looked up at him. “Why?”

He pushed her head back to this chest. He didn’t know. Most people did things for greed. But this woman seemed to be doing it for simple pleasure. Gordon didn’t know yet, but he’d find out.

Picking her up, he took her to their bedroom. She didn’t say anything about him leaving again and he didn’t press when she insisted on looking at the book that Phil had given her. He wanted to tell her that in the morning things would look better, but he could feel her hurt at what was going on. When she pulled open the wall that he’d thought was a computer area he could only stare at what she revealed to him.

The wall unit was huge when it was closed, but when open it was massive. The doors only hid the room beyond them and the equipment she housed there. When she sat at the large desk, he walked in and sat in one of the many chairs that faced it. She was booting up the computer when she started to explain.

“I’m not what…my family thought I was a chemical engineer.” He watched as the screens behind her lit up. “I’ve been employed by the best of the best. I’m still employed by our government. I find things. Mostly people, but I sometimes get called out to find treasures, bombs, and even an occasional murderer.”

He watched the screen directly behind her start to focus on something. It took him several seconds to figure out she was looking at her house. When the screen moved he watched as it seemed to be stopping and starting again, searching for…well, he wasn’t sure what it was searching for.

“Are you looking for someone? Or something?” She grinned at him and he looked back at the screen. “The phone call. You’re tracking the phone call, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I have this enhanced signal booster that can back trace a call. The call was made from this house and all I need to do now is find the source. I’m thinking I might know who the person is, but…well, I don’t know where he lives.”

“Tom. You’re looking for Tom. Is he the one that you think is talking to your aunt and Wilbur?” She nodded at first then shook her head, seemingly undecided. “You think he might be looking for you
and
someone else then? Who? Do you know?”

“Sort of. I know that Tom changed Paddy, or at least the vampire part. And, for whatever reason, he wants Darcy. I figure he’s going to use her against me. Maybe that wasn’t his plan at first, but I think that might be where this is headed now. I got the feeling he was going to keep her for something, but I didn’t know what.”

They both watched as the screen kept zigzagging across. He was dizzy watching it and looked back down at her. She was looking at the screen in front of her with a frown. He started to ask her what was wrong when the screen froze. She looked up at him.

He didn’t like the look. Slowly, he looked back up at the large screen behind her and tried to make out where it was. When he figured it out, it was all he could do not to howl. Christ, the man was living on pack land. And not only that, he was living in CJ’s old house.

~~~

Paddy paced the yard. He’d been waiting on Tom for over an hour. He had a plan he wanted to share with him and hadn’t gone to the house like he should have. Plus, he had to pee. If the prick didn’t show up soon he was headed for the woods. After another twenty minutes Paddy went to the edge of the property and into the deeper woods to take care of business. While he was just pulling out his cock to urinate a car pulled up. Paddy nearly peed on his own shoe when he saw who got out.

He wasn’t really surprised to see Tom being handed out. The guy couldn’t take a shit without fifty people there to hand him a sheet of toilet paper to wipe with. Eating dinner was something that Paddy had only joined him for once, and thought he’d die before going back to sit through “courses.” And all the plates and silverware completely confused him. Nah, he thought, give him a brown paper bag, burger and fries, and a beer and he had all the courses he wanted.

The next person out of the car was Jessie. He’d never liked her and seeing her hanging all over Tom like she was his…Paddy frowned. They were lovers, he just realized. And he realized something else. She was Tom’s source, too. Watching the two of them touch each other and acting like—
gross,
he thought—randy goats, he nearly turned away. But he heard Tom speak and he froze in his tracks.

“Did the moron show up?” Jessie shook her head. “I give you one job and this is how you do it? Jessie, I’ve told you before, when I give you something to do I expect it to be done promptly. Not when you get around to it. I’ll not have anyone thinking they can get away with not following the simplest of directions.”

“I have a plan. I’m going to make sure his scent is all over my niece. He left some of his clothes behind when he departed the house the last time and I’ve put them in with some of Alexis’s clothes in a trash bag. Every time I go by it I give it a good shake so that his scent is all over hers.” Jessie slid her hand over Tom’s chest and Paddy backed up, suddenly unsure of this situation.

He stepped on a log as he moved and it snapped. The sound was loud in the otherwise noisy forest. Everything around him grew quiet in an instant. The couple and the driver looked toward where he was standing. Paddy knew that any moment he was going to die.