Bleacke's Geek (Bleacke Shifters) (6 page)

“I don’t believe this is happening.”

“There’s nothing to believe. You saw.” She sat on the stool next to him. “And I am sorry for how all this happened. Under normal circumstances, I would have struck up a conversation with you first. By the time dinner ended, we probably would have been planning to have pups. I was on a hunt with a job to do. I couldn’t let my focus be stretched like that. Not without risking my life or yours. I needed to know I had you claimed, and I had to get you out of there safely.”

His shoulder pleasantly throbbed where she’d bit him. “Claimed? What does that mean?”

Propping one elbow on the counter, she rested her chin on her palm. “If I’d sat down at your table and started talking to you and invited you back to my place, would you have come? Honestly?”

He stared at her and finally nodded.
Hell, yes.
He’d be a moron to refuse.

His heart thumped as he stared at her. He loved her.

Christ, what’s wrong with me?

She smiled knowingly. “Nothing’s wrong with you. You’re my mate now. Believe me, the feeling’s mutual. And again I’m sorry I had to do it like that. That absolutely wasn’t my first choice.” She sat up and stuck her hand out. “Dewi Bleacke. Pleased to meet you. I’m twenty-five. Born in Idaho, but I’ve been here in Florida for thirteen years. Head Enforcer of the Targhee pack. Taurus.”

“She’s bullheaded, all right,” Badger grumped.

Ken wiped his sweaty palm on his slacks before taking her hand. “Heathcliff McKenzie Ethelbert.” He met her gaze as his grip tightened on her hand. He suspected she held back, that she could crush every bone in his body without breaking a sweat. “But you can call me Ken.”

* * * *

Except for the fainting, she had to admit her mate took the news pretty well. Other than being a Virgo, a vegetarian, and his goofy damn name—and he earned bonus points for being a good sport about that—he wasn’t a bad choice for a mate. Cute in a geeky, computer nerd kind of way. Totally apropos, considering he
was
a computer nerd and taught computer science over at USF.

“So how old are you, and where are you from?” she asked.

He finished his potato. “I’m twenty-seven. I was raised here in Tampa.”

“Ever been to Idaho?”

He shook his head. “Only been to Georgia. Up to Atlanta, for a conference once. I hate to fly, so I don’t.”

She fought the urge to groan. She had to travel to Idaho several times a year on pack business. She’d be damned if she’d drive all that way every time, yet the thought of forcing him to fly with her if he wasn’t comfortable doing it didn’t set well with her, either.

Leaving him behind wasn’t an option. Not this soon after claiming him.

Badger interrupted. “Well, kiddies, I hate to break in and all, but I’m hitting the grocery store in the morning. I promise I won’t wake ye when I go. Again I ask ye, what do ye want me to buy, Ken, or ye’ll get nothing but cream of mushroom soup for a week.”

Ken smiled. “I don’t like anything spicy. As long as it’s not meat or spicy, I’m cool with that.”

Dewi noticed he’d given up his objections to staying. “Please tell me you like pizza.”

He smiled. “Love pizza. I have several kick-ass recipes.”

“Ah, he cooks.” Badger laughed. “I think I like him.”

“You already like him,” she sniped.

“Yeah, but that don’t mean I won’t bust his bollocks every chance I get.” He leaned against the opposite counter, his meaty arms so thick he could barely cross them over his chest, but he managed the pose. “That’s my little girl there, Ken,” he said, his tone turning low in warning, sounding growly, borderline snarly. “Ye break her heart, I’ll break yer neck.”

“You’re her father?”

She laughed. “No, he thinks he is, though.” Her tone and expression bore nothing but blatant affection for the older man. “He’s sort of my uncle. Pack family relations can get pretty complicated.”

“I’m the man who can make yer life hell or heaven,” Badger warned. Then he smiled. “But I have a feeling yer gonna come running to me for help quite a lot. At least, in the beginning.” He yawned. “Listen, it’s late, and way past me bedtime.” He wagged a finger at her. “Don’t be putting him in the hospital. Took ye damn long enough to find one.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Go to bed, Badger.”

“So what is your real name?” Ken asked him.

He grinned. “Badger’s me name. Badger Williams.”

“Your parents
named
you Badger?”

He laughed and pushed his bulk away from the counter. “No more than yers named ye Ken.”

* * * *

Once alone with Dewi, Ken stared at her. “So what happens now?”

She gently reached for his glasses and put them on the counter. Then she leaned in and kissed him, her arms wrapping around him, enveloping him in a sultry heat. Not just from contact with her body, but radiating from her.

He pulled her to him and she crawled into his lap as they kissed. All the while his cock screamed for more action.

Carefully constrained, he sensed her holding back even though he didn’t know how or why he knew. Probably out of fear she’d hurt him. His hands stroked her back as he kissed her slowly and sweetly.

She nuzzled her head against his shoulder as her hands played with his shirt collar. “I really am sorry,” she softly said. “I never thought I’d find a mate. I damn sure never thought I’d stumble across you while on a job.”

“Speaking of jobs, I do have one.”

“You can quit.”

“What if I don’t want to quit?”

She sat back and looked at him. “Why would you want to work?”

Meeting her gaze, he realized she was serious. “I need to earn a living. I have bills to pay. Besides, you don’t even know you’re going to want me around in a week.” He’d settle for that, at least, even though he knew it’d break his heart when she came to her senses and sent him packing.

He didn’t understand why he felt like that, why he was in love with her. He decided not to think about the wolf stuff right then.
But why would a beautiful woman like her be any different than any other woman in my life?

“I told you, money isn’t an issue.” Her fingers tangled in his hair and she pulled his mouth onto hers again. By the time she let him loose, she’d almost sucked the breath from his lungs. “Forever,” she growled. “You’re mine.”

“I can’t quit my job. Not in the middle of the semester.”

He felt her mentally struggling not to overrule him, even though he didn’t understand how he knew this. “How much longer till the end of the semester?”

“Four weeks.”

He would have swore she growled. “Then give me a promise that after four weeks you’ll quit. Please?”

He’d give her anything she wanted, if only he knew she really meant what she said.

He nodded. She jumped from his lap and grabbed his hand. “Come on.”

No other choice than to follow her. He suspected she’d drag him if he didn’t. Almost running, she pulled him up the stairs and to her bedroom, where she slammed the door shut behind them before turning to him. “This will all make more sense in the morning.”

“Are you saying that for my benefit or yours?”

She backed him toward the large bed. “Yours. I already know what I want.” She leapt at him, knocking him backward onto the bed where she landed on top of him, straddling him. “I want you. Only you.”

He caught her wrists in his hands when she tried to pull his shirt loose from his pants. “You don’t think this is moving a little fast?”

“This is how wolves do things.”

“It’s not how I do things.”

He suspected the only reason she hadn’t pulled free of his grasp was her fear of hurting him. That one thought seemed to pulse through whatever connection they now shared, nearly as strongly as her passion for him.

“Has your way been working for you?” she asked.

He didn’t have a satisfactory answer for that and released her hands. As she tugged his shirt loose, she crawled down the bed and shrugged the robe off. She was naked underneath. As she raised his shirt, her lips explored every inch of real estate from his waistband north as she progressed, licking and gently nipping.

He laid back and closed his eyes as his cock once again strained against his briefs.
Jesus
, he was nothing but one large erection at this point. Arguing with her would be pointless and possibly make her upset enough to stop the delicious things she was doing to him.

With minds of their own, his hands plunged into her hair, freeing it from the elastic band and gently fisting it. He enjoyed the silky feel of it feathering through his fingers, how it cascaded across his flesh, following her hot mouth and the sinful things she did on her way up his body.

When she reached his nipples, she nipped at the left one, drawing a sharp gasp of pleasure from him. He’d never felt anything like that before. His cock throbbed in response to her actions as she moved to the other and repeated it.

He helped her finish yanking his shirt off and couldn’t resist pulling her mouth down to his for another round of hot kisses that left them both breathless. She tasted like sweet spices. He couldn’t get enough of her.

She once again turned the full force of her mocha eyes on him. “You realize I’m the last woman you’ll ever be with, right?”

“You said it was safe to forget the whole dying business.”

She grinned, but this time it looked sweet and sultry, not wolfish and predatory. “I don’t share
my
man with anyone, silly.” She poked him in the chest. “
You’re
my man.”

“I hope that’s not a one-way-street like the name thing, because I don’t like to share either.”

In response she kissed him. When he tentatively brushed his tongue across her lips they parted for him with a soft sigh. “I don’t want to be shared,” she whispered when she lifted her head. “So don’t worry. You’re the last man I’ll ever be with.”

She pushed herself up on strong arms and looked down his body to where she’d been grinding herself against the bulge of his cock. Thank god she had nailed him earlier, or just that friction alone would have had him shooting off in his pants. “Can we ditch the talking for the rest of the night?” She looked up and met his gaze. “I’d rather feel your sweet cock inside me again.”

Robbed of speech once more, he eagerly nodded.
Fuck it.
He’d obviously suffered a psychotic break and could sort it out in the morning when reality had once again settled over his boring, pitiful existence.

“I do have a question, though,” she admitted. “How many women have you been with?”

He felt his face redden. “Three.”

One dark, elegant eyebrow arched. “Only three? Really?” No derision in her tone.

“Four, including you.”

Another sultry smile curved her lips. “Any of them ever give you a blow job?”

He shook his head and her smile widened even further. “Oh, fuck me,” she softly said. “That’s great!”

That confused him. “You’re happy about that?”

“Duh.” She kissed him again. “That means I’m the only woman who’s ever had her lips down there.” She worked her way south again down his torso, until she reached his waist and started unfastening his belt. “This will be so much fun.”