Shifters Forever The Boxed Set Books 1 - 6 (18 page)

T
eague grabbed
the lamp from her hands mid-swing.

“What the fuck?” His voice was a growl. She would have brained him with that damned thing.

“What are you doing here?” Kelsey’s eyes were wide.

He took a second to take in the view. She was in a low-cut top that revealed sexy, creamy breasts, and panties. That was it. He could see the silhouette of her sex outlined in the panties. His mouth went dry. Her thighs were meant to be spread. She had a body made for loving. Then it occurred to him: was it possible she had someone? He became pissed, and his bear released a roar that made Teague’s head ache.

“Why are you walking around like that? Don’t you think anyone could walk in?” Anger colored his voice. She could have been raped by any stranger who walked into the B&B.

Then it hit him hard. Her scent struck him worse than the lamp would have. Her arousal, her sex, her creaminess. The aroma was so pervasive that it caused his cock to twitch and strain against the denim of his pants.

“Why would they walk into my home?” Her voice was shrill and panicked. “Why are you here? It’s not like you’re going to be working at seven o’clock at night, is it?” Her chest heaved with every breath she took.

He couldn’t look away. “Uh, I don’t keep regular hours. I work when I need to. But I’m not here to work, anyway.”

“Then why are you here?” She planted her hands on her hips, anger making her oblivious to her undressed state and to the arousal she was causing in his body.

“I’m staying here.” He tried to look away, tried not to notice the creamy thighs he’d worshipped two years ago. Tried not to think of the scent of her and how it matched the taste of her. He spun on his heel before she could notice the way he was beginning to fill out his pants.

“I’ll go find my room.”

The door slammed behind him.

K
elsey leaned against the door
, completely out of breath. Her reflection in the mirror across the room confirmed her paleness from being afraid and her arousal at seeing him and his reaction to her. A flush had crept up to her chest and cheeks.

She grabbed her jeans and heaved them at the mirror. They caught on a figurine on the dresser, yanking it down with a crash.

“Damn him,” she muttered under her breath.

She knew he’d be smiling about her clumsiness. She retrieved her jeans, slipped them on and stomped toward the front door, grabbing car keys and her purse along the way.

She was going to have a good amount of vodka tonight to make her forget things she shouldn’t be remembering. At least she’d be safe with friends and wouldn’t have to worry about that sexy man who couldn’t hide his attraction to her.

Didn’t he know that made it more difficult to keep away from him? And she had to keep away. If she brought him back into her life, she’d have to be honest with him. She couldn’t handle the disappointment and pain and rejection she was certain he’d feel. He’d be right to send her away. She’d done something unforgivable.

T
eague stepped
out of the shower. As tempted as he’d been to rub one out in there, based on memories of Kelsey and tonight’s tantalizing display of flesh, he hadn’t done it. It wouldn’t measure up to what they’d had, and second best just wouldn’t cut it right now.

Plus, he had that damned dinner to go to. He was pretty sure that was what she was dressing up for. Unless she had a date? The bear reared up in him, seeing red. No, he wasn’t going to let his mind go there.

He rummaged through his suitcase. It wasn’t like he’d brought anything extra nice to wear. He shoved his arms into a long-sleeved button-down and picked out his best pair of jeans. Translation: the ones that had seen the least abuse.

He glanced at the clock. Quarter to eight.
Shit
. He ran his fingers through hair that was still damp, ignoring the mirror. He listened for Kelsey, but he was pretty sure she had left. There was no sign of her heartbeat within range. No sign of anyone at all.

This would have been a great time to explore the B&B, with no one around. Too bad he had to go. He looked at the blueprints Mae had given him. He didn’t want to leave them lying around, not when she’d stressed how important it was to keep the tunnels a secret. He’d store them behind his seat in the pickup.

Shit, he’d forgotten to ask if Kelsey knew about them. If she didn’t, she would sooner or later. She was bound to see something if she worked and lived on the premises. Unless the entrances were that well hidden. He couldn’t wait to look into it.

K
elsey looked
at the group assembled around her. They’d become like a family to her. Not that she didn’t have a mother—an interfering mother, since Kelsey was sure that the reason Mae had offered her the job was because of her mother.

Grant and Chelsea had that look, the well-established couple thing going on, as if they’d been together forever.

Kane and Astra were in the glow of some kind of newfound love thing, Astra talking low in Kane’s ear. He nodded, as always, definitely a man of few words.

Mae was sitting next to Doc. He put his hand on hers as he talked, making Kelsey wonder...

She knew that Mae and Doc were supposed to be older than they looked, but for shifters, especially once they’d chosen a mate, the aging process slowed down, so they looked close to her age.

Kelsey tried not to look at the seat directly across from her. The empty seat. Teague’s seat. She fought the heat she knew would rise to her cheeks if she thought about him for too long, especially considering the position they’d just been in.

She sipped her White Russian. The hell with that; she gulped a mouthful in, letting the cool liquid offer her the courage she’d need to make it through the night.

“Are you sure Teague’s coming?” Chelsea was asking Mae.

God, I hope so. I mean, I hope not.
Shit. She couldn’t even think straight.

She felt him before she saw him, just like it had been in the ‘old days,’ when they’d been together. It felt like a current was running through her body. Yes, it was Teague; he was definitely nearby.

As if she’d summoned him, he appeared, filling the doorway, his wide shoulders stretching from one side of the doorjamb to the other. His head almost touched the top of the doorway. His presence was magnetizing, drawing her in. She felt like they were the only two people in the room—no, in the world. His dark eyes focused on her, almost as if he were ignoring the rest of the dinner party.

“Teague!” Mae jumped out of her seat. The men all rose, and the women followed.

Teague tore his gaze from hers, leaving Kelsey feeling alone and empty. Would she ever be able to escape the way this man made her feel? After two years apart she shouldn’t still have this jumble of emotions wracking her body.

Teague nodded at Grant, smiled at Mae, went around the room shaking hands. Easily as tall as the tallest shifter there, he was just as imposing as any of them. Kelsey reminded herself to breathe. Finally, he was next to her.

“Kelsey.” He nodded, extending his hand, engulfing hers in its warmth, sending shocks throughout her body.

“Glad you could make it,” Grant said, and a look passed between him and Teague that alerted Kelsey to their friendship. These two weren’t strangers to one another.

They ordered dinner. Kelsey pointed to something on the menu without even reading it to get the process over with and everyone’s eyes off her. She remembered that Teague could always read her emotions from her pulse. He’d said that he could feel her pulse from across the room, so she fought with her heart rate mightily, keeping it steady, keeping her breathing regulated.

When the bread arrived, she kept her mouth occupied with dainty bites, so that she didn’t have to talk. She smiled and looked at everyone but Teague. Feeling his gaze on her, burning into her skin, she still resisted the urge to look up. If she did, the breathing, the heart rate, the pulse—all of that would go to hell at a rapid pace.

Conversation flowed around her, but she partook little, choosing only to eat and keep her eyes off the dark-skinned hunk who still made her blood boil.

“Does anyone know if the bear’s been seen again?” Mae was asking Grant.

Kelsey tried to listen in, though she wasn’t particularly interested, not with Teague so close, just across the dinner table, making her feel things she had no business feeling.

“No,” Grant answered. “But they saw prints. The rangers said she has a cub.”

“Do you think it’s a shifter?” Astra asked.

“Hard to say, but why would a shifter be traveling with a cub, in bear form?” Doc shook his head. “She must be hungry if she’s this close to town. I hope it doesn’t get her hurt.”

Chelsea murmured her agreement, nodding.

The waiter appeared and began to serve the food. For the life of her, Kelsey couldn’t remember what she’d ordered. He asked her if she’d chosen the chicken florentine, but all she could do was nod and hope that she was right.

The food tasted like cardboard, but not because it wasn’t well prepared. She simply couldn’t pay attention to anything but trying to control her feelings.

“How long will you be in town?” Astra asked while they were having dessert, pointedly catching Kelsey’s eye.

That was one thing that Kelsey did pay attention to: she was thankful that Astra was looking out for her. It would be for the best if Teague were gone before—

“Probably two weeks at the most,” Teague answered, his voice measured and controlled.

“Oh, no, you have to stay for the wedding,” Chelsea exclaimed. “Grant said you two were friends when you were younger. You have to stay. He said you have a brother. Tanner? We should invite him, too.”

Crap. No. No.
Say it isn’t so.
Please let Teague say no.

“Not sure... my... projects will allow that,” Teague said.

Kelsey looked up, the tone of his voice piquing her interest. His dark eyes scrutinized her. She stared at him. He didn’t turn away, and she’d be damned if she would.

She loved him. She couldn’t be with him, but she couldn’t stop loving him. She stabbed a piece of pie with her fork and shoved it into her mouth.

Teague’s eyes followed her action, his gaze glued to her lips.

Stop it.
If only he could read minds.
Right. If he could, he’d know everything, now wouldn’t he?

T
eague stared at Kelsey
. In that split second, when she stabbed her dessert with her fork, he made a decision. There was no way in hell he was leaving Bear Canyon Valley without an answer. He would know what she’d been thinking when she left him. Why she’d left him. He wanted to know why she’d destroyed them. He’d do damned near anything to get that answer.

He turned toward Chelsea. “I’ll see what I can do about extending my stay.”

Kelsey’s gasp said it all. Her jaw dropped for a split second before she caught it. What she didn’t catch and rectify in time was the way her pulse jumped at his statement. He turned toward her with a resolute look on his face.

“I’m sure I have... enough... business to keep me here for a spell.”

Chew on that, Kelsey.

He gave her a smile that let her know this decision was all about her.

Then he had to turn away before the naked pain in her eyes made him change his mind and lose his resolve.

K
elsey left
the dinner before he did. He stayed to talk to Grant, catching up on years away from his old friend. He wanted to make sure that Kelsey had gone to bed.

The B&B was dark when he arrived. Kelsey’s car was parked in the back. He snuck in the front door, exercising stealth as he closed the door and locked it with a barely audible click. He didn’t bother with the light. He could see just fine with his bear senses. He took a step toward his room.

The lights went on, drenching the room in light.

Teague turned around.

Kelsey. Leaning against the hallway wall, arms crossed. She must have been holding her breath and really regulating her pulse, because he hadn’t even noticed that she was so close.

Then he saw her face. Passionate fury crossed her features.

“How dare you?” Her voice was dangerously low.

He didn’t say a word, studying her, waiting for her explosion. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he leaned against the opposite wall, less than three feet away from her, smelling her scent, the faint traces of desire lingering, emanating from her.

She took a deep breath. “Why are you here? Has my life not been hell enough?”

Her life?
What about his life? She’d left him without a word. Two years together, two years of heaven, two years of a life he’d only dreamt of, then she’d vanished.

“You’re something else.” He wanted to rage at her, to hurt her the way he’d been hurt, but something in her eyes stopped him. It was the pain. Deep, dark, haunting. She was hurt over this as much as he was. No, she was hurt even more. But how could she be?

As much as he wanted to ruin her emotionally, the way she’d left him ruined, a psychological wasteland that she’d abandoned in her wake, he couldn’t. There was no way he could ever do anything to hurt this woman. He pulled his arm back, wanting to shove his fist through the wall next to him, wanting to vent his anger and frustration and utter hopelessness.

She watched him, stoic, not afraid, unmoved—vacant.

He dropped his hand, shoved it back into his pocket, kept his eyes on the wood flooring so he wouldn’t have to witness the pain in her eyes, so he wouldn’t be swayed from his anger. “Now what?”

She remained silent, her heart rate a slow tempo that matched his bear’s, both of them resonating in Teague’s head. He cursed that he was privy to her heart rate. He cursed the shifter’s gift that gave him access to that part of her. He also cursed that it gave him knowledge to other things—things she’d never wanted to share with him, things he already knew.

Raising his head, he allowed his gaze to sweep over her feet, the same feet he’d kept warm with his own on cold nights. His eyes coursed up to her knees, then traveled higher, taking in her thighs, the place where her thighs met, where he’d taken and given so much pleasure long ago, up her belly, the curves of her breasts, the neck he’d kissed and nipped, finally landing on her eyes.

A large, solitary tear formed at the corner of one eye, trapped by her dark lashes, then it freed itself and began to traverse down over her cheek, heading directly toward the corner of her mouth.

In two years together, Teague had never seen Kelsey cry. Not once. Maybe she’d never had a reason to. Maybe she wasn’t the crying type. He’d never put it together; he just knew that he’d never seen a tear before. Seeing one now broke a part of him that he’d thought was unbreakable.

“Don’t, baby, don’t cry.”

K
elsey fought it
. She didn’t want to cry in front of him. She wasn’t equipped to handle his pain, and the last two years in isolation, locked in her mother’s house, virtually a shut-in, had proven that she sure as hell wasn’t equipped to handle her own pain.

She would have run away the moment she felt that tear squeeze out. She’d have run and buried her face in a pillow, but something rooted her to the spot. She was anchored there as surely as her heart was anchored to Teague’s.

Don’t look up,
she prayed.
Please don’t look up.

But he did. He looked up and saw it. She’d hoped for a brief second that he wouldn’t see it, but she should have known better. That damned shifter vision of his, that damned shifter hearing, all those shifter senses that she’d loved when they were together were betraying her to him now.

She spun around. She wouldn’t have him witness her breakdown. She bent her knee, almost ready to sprint to her room.

Steel bands locked around her. His fingers encircled her biceps, turning her around, pinning her to the wall behind her. In front of her, he was a solid wall of man, sexy, undeniably all man.

She kept her gaze locked on his chest. She didn’t want to look into his eyes. She couldn’t do it, not right now.

A finger beneath her chin, gentle but firm pressure on her jaw, raised her head, until her only options were to look into his eyes or close hers. He stepped closer, his thighs pressing against hers, his torso melding with hers.

“Deny it.”

That was all he said, his breath so close to her face that she had to breathe it in, as if she were breathing a part of his soul in. She held that breath, knowing that she held a part of him deep within her, unwilling to let it go, as unwilling as she’d been to let him go.

“Teague.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, highlighting fully the all-encompassing love that she still held for him.

“Deny it.” He lowered his head until she could feel the heat of his lips against hers, though she wasn’t even sure if his lips had touched hers yet. “Do it.”

She couldn’t. She knew what he was asking. He was asking her to deny loving him, wanting him, needing him. She couldn’t deny it. She wouldn’t lie about it.

She choked back a sob. She wasn’t going to cry. No, he couldn’t drive her to tears. She hadn’t cried since her father died. She didn’t do tears. No. Not a chance.

He lowered his head, and his mouth claimed hers in an eternal struggle of love and fear. His lips locked on hers, parting them, trespassing on her flesh the same way he had trespassed on her heart in such a way that she still couldn’t release the hold of his heart on hers. His tongue drove into her mouth, as if he was searching for more of her—for all of her. Their tongues twined, an all-encompassing blend of desire, love, and absence.

She raised her hands, traveling them up his abdomen, over his broad chest. He groaned into her mouth, echoing the very emotions that were rampaging through her. She tangled her hands in his hair, pulling him lower.

The emotions that she’d never lost rammed into her head and heart with the force of a tidal wave. She was going to get into it all over again. She couldn’t bear the notion of telling him why she’d left. She didn’t want to hurt him.

She shoved at his chest, but he was immobile. She shoved again and he moved back a half step. Kelsey slipped past him, running out of the hallway, tears blinding her, and ran right into the front door with a resounding smack.

Jerking on the door handle, she pulled until she realized it was locked. Fumbling with the deadbolt, she broke a nail—painfully—then yanked the unlocked front door open and stumbled out of the building.

She missed the five-step staircase and tumbled headfirst down to the driveway, landing half on concrete, and half on the evergreen tree on the corner.

“Damn it,” she hissed, and sucked on her torn fingernail to ease the sting while using her other hand to hold her skinned elbow.
I can’t even do this right. I fuck up trying to get out of the house and end up a mess.

Arms reached down, picked her up, carried her as a groom carries a bride over the threshold. “Stop. I’m going to take you to your room and get you a couple of cold washcloths.”

She tucked her head into Teague’s chest. She was tired of fighting with herself.

Teague carried her into her bedroom and set her down. She winced when she put her left foot on the floor.

“Let me take a look at that,” Teague said after she’d sat on the edge of the king-sized bed.

He removed her sock gingerly and looked at her ankle. “It’s a little bruised.” He swung her legs onto the bed and placed pillows behind her back. “I’ll be back with ice and a couple of wet cloths for the elbow.”

Watching his departing back, the way he carried himself, the width of his shoulders, brought the past crashing back down on Kelsey. It reminded her of that day she’d left for good.

He’d gotten dressed and was going to work, and had given her a kiss while she sat up in bed studying for a final. He had no idea of the torment she was going through that day, no notion of the painful decision she’d made. He’d turned, walked away with a smile on his face, and that was the last time she’d seen him.