Dawson Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire 5) (14 page)

“You look emotional again,” Dalton said, hugging her tight to his side.

“I’m not,” she lied.

He swept her off her feet so fast her stomach dipped, then climbed up the stairs to the yard. The snow was completely gone now, and little shoots of green grass poked up everywhere as the midday sun beamed down. It was warm enough that she wasn’t even freezing without her jacket on.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked. She should really be helping the others.

“Your truck. We need to pull it around to load.”

“It’s not working. The engine won’t turn over. I have to take it into the shop.”

Without missing a step, Dalton settled her on her feet and pressed his lips to hers, backing her toward the old blue Ford sitting underneath the awning beside her landlord’s car. “I’ll get you both running,” he promised between kisses.

Warmth dumped in her middle, and she could feel her heartbeat between her legs, pounding with need. “You know about cars?” she gasped as his lips plucked at the sensitive skin of her neck.

“I do.” He backed her to the front of the Ford and popped the hood with one hand, successfully blocking them from the road.

“We can’t do this here,” she said. The Silvers were already loading up, walking back and forth to their trucks that lined the curb out front. She could hear them talking and joking!

“
We
won’t. You will.” Dalton pressed against her, pinning her to the grill of her truck as he ground his erection against her. “Fuck, woman, I’ve missed you. It was torture being out there with a bunch of dudes, and thinking about you. Thinking about the things we’ve done together.” He slipped his hand down the front of her jeans and pressed his finger inside of her as she rocked against his palm. “All I wanted to do was come home and hold you. Come home and feel this.” He dragged his fingertip through her wet heat, then slid into her again. “I wanted to come home and feel you come for me.”

The pressure was already blinding. Too fast. She was already there. To stifle her moan, she clamped her teeth hard on his chest. A soft snarl, one she’d missed indescribably much, rattled from him as he pushed his finger into her again and again. Her orgasm blasted through her in deep, quick pulses, and Dalton slowed his rhythm as she clutched his sweater.

Breath ragged, she released his skin from her bite and went limp against him. Dalton cupped her neck, just beneath her ear, and kissed her gently, but the stony erection pressed against her belly said he was still thoroughly worked up. Dalton smiled against her lips, nipped her once, then leveled her with those sexy, golden eyes. “Next time you bite me, you better mean it.”

“Bloodthirsty,” she accused in a weak voice.

Dalton slid his hand out of her jeans and hugged her close, his warm body pressed against every inch of hers. With a wicked grin, he murmured, “Not bloodthirsty. I want your mark. Now, go try to start the truck. I need to hear how it sounds when the engine tries to turn over.”

Boneless, she stumbled this way and that like a noodle until she pulled the door open and scrambled inside the cab of her truck. She turned the engine. It stuttered for a while, but never caught. She leaned out the door to watch Dalton as she tried again.

He was standing with his arms locked on the frame, frowning as he looked at the innards of her ride.

“Hold up,” he said, then began unplugging and checking things she had no guess at. He glared at the end of a line, blew on it, then plugged it in again, muttering to himself. He pushed and pulled, and at last said, “You need a new belt soon. This one’s cracked to hell and won’t last much longer, but she’ll hold for today.”

“Is that what’s wrong with it?”

“No, that doesn’t have anything to do with it not starting. Try again.”

She twisted the key, and the engine stuttered and almost caught this time.

“Again,” he said, gripping the frame as he stared inside.

She turned the key, and this time it caught and held. Holy moly, Dalton was a sexpot. She hadn’t known he was so good with cars, but thinking about it, she wasn’t surprised. Any time she complained about something not working in her apartment, he’d fixed it within a day.

His hands were covered in oil, but he didn’t seem to mind one bit as he closed the hood and said, “Go ahead and back her up to the edge of the driveway so we don’t have to walk so far. She’ll start again, but I need to pick up a few parts before I head back to Silver Summit.”

Talk of him leaving so soon had her heart dipping to her toes. She swiveled in the seat to face the open door. “When are you going?”

“Tomorrow,” he said, settling between her legs as she sat on the driver’s seat with the rumble of the idling engine filling the air.

“Nooo. I just got you back.”

“Black bear season starts next week, and we always get pummeled with tours when they come out of hibernation.”

She knew all about bears from growing up in bear country. “That sounds dangerous. They’re hungry and angry when they wake up.”

Dalton leaned forward and sucked on her bottom lip playfully, then lowered his kisses to her neck. “Are you worried for me, mate?”

“Heck yes, I am. I never really thought about what you do before you mentioned hunting freaking bears.”

“Aaah, but if you saw my wolf, you wouldn’t worry so much.”

“Maybe you should show me him before you leave then, because now I’m going to be dreaming of bears attacking you.”

Dalton froze, then eased away from her, his eyes gone deadly serious. “Kate, my animal isn’t like wild wolves. I want you to see him, but you still smell like fear half the time I growl.”

“I do?”

“Faintly, but yeah. Your adrenaline still kicks in. You told me you have nightmares about seeing Miller Change. I don’t want your nightmares associated with me. I want to show you that part of myself when you’re ready.”

She gripped his sweater and sighed. She didn’t like this—him hiding part of himself—but she understood. Miller’s Change had been awful. Bones breaking, snapping so loud it sounded like gunfire out in her backyard, and his body had contorted and reshaped as she’d watched in horror. His wolf had been terrifying, with white eyes and bared teeth, and he’d turned on the door, scratching and clawing, trying to get to her before he gave up and left. Everything in her that night had told her Miller would’ve killed her if that door hadn’t been in the way. The sight of him had filled her with a fear greater than she’d ever known, and Dalton was trying to protect her from being scared like that again.

Knowing what he was and seeing what he was were two totally different things.

“Hey, do you have a couple days you can take off in a row?”

“Why?” she asked cheekily.

“Because I want you to come out on one of my tours. I talked to Lennard and Jenner, and they said they can always use your nursing skills, just in case. They said you’re welcome on any tour. Lena goes on some of Jenner’s as their photographer, but I wanted to make sure before I asked you.”

She beamed. “Really? Will I get to ride a horse? I love horses. Can I fish? I don’t have any fish in my freezer. I have a license. Will we sleep in a tent? Can you see the northern lights better out on Kodiak?”

Dalton looked utterly amused as he nodded at each of her rattled-off questions. “Yes, yes, yes, all of it. I’ll give you a list Lennard gives all our clients on what to pack. He’s excited about meeting you. He was convinced I’d never settle down.”

“Your boss is a lot nicer than mine was.”

“Lennard’s more than a boss. He’s like a father figure.”

She frowned. “Dalton, you never talked about your dad.”

“He’s the one who taught me about cars,” he said with a sad smile. “Chance used to spend a week at a time at our homestead. We were both only children, so our families passed us back and forth together so we had another pup to grow up with. Chance can fix just about anything, too, because of my dad. He looked Ute, like I do.”

“Looked.” Past tense.

“He was shot. Hunted. He was a wolf at the time. Alaska can be a sanctuary for us because we can run wild in a landscape where it’s natural to see wolves. It can also be a curse.”

“Because of wolf hunts.”

Dalton nodded solemnly.

“I’m so sorry, Dalton.”

“It was a long time ago. I was thirteen when he passed, and Chance’s dad helped raise me when I needed a man in my life. When I started my Changes at sixteen, I had guidance. Chance and I both did. We were luckier than most. The Silvers’ dad, Clayton, didn’t tell them anything about their Changes, didn’t tell them anything about hibernation, and they almost died that first winter.”

“Dalton!” Vera called. “Cease humping. The trucks are almost loaded up.”

“Already?” Kate asked, shocked.

Dalton kissed her one last time, tickling her with his beard.

“You need a shave.”

“I don’t bring a razor on tours. You don’t like it?”

“It’s sexy as frick, but it’ll rub me raw.”

“Sexy as frick,” he repeated, his eyes on her lips. “Someday you’ll say what you mean.”

“You want my mouth filthy like yours,” she accused.

His smile looked downright predatory as he nodded.

He turned away, but she grabbed his hand. “Dalton?”

“Hmm?”

She dipped her voice to a whisper. “You look sexy as fuck.”

His lips were on her in a blur, rough teeth grazing her lips. He gripped her hair tightly and dragged in a ragged breath as he pressed his hips between her legs.

“Dalton!” Vera barked out, closer this time. “I said cease humping, not hump more!”

He growled and released Kate reluctantly. His eyes couldn’t pass for human at all right now as he adjusted his erection and gave her one last naughty look before he turned and strode away.

Feeling utterly drunk on Dalton, she pressed her fingertips across her throbbing lips.

And as she watched him walk away with those sexy, confident strides, she couldn’t remember a single reason why she hadn’t liked cursing before.

“Do you like them?” Dalton asked, trying to keep his voice nonchalant, like her answer didn’t mean the whole entire world to him.

“The Silvers? I love them all. They’re funny and loud, and they made sure to include me in everything tonight, just like the pack did. I’m glad everyone stayed to cut loose. And I’m double glad Vera brought booze because we are fresh out of everything here.” Kate relaxed against his chest and stared at the full moon outside the giant window behind their bed. She sat between his legs, her soft red hair draped over his shoulder. With a sigh, she hugged his arms around her chest tighter. He wished they could stay just like this forever.

He kissed her temple and inhaled her scent, closing his eyes to revel in it. He’d imagined it a million times this past week, but nothing could touch the real thing. “Tell me about growing up a Hawke.”

Kate brushed her soft cheek against his forearm, and there was a smile in her voice when she said, “Every day was the same. Wake up, feed the dogs, then get myself ready. Always the dogs first. I got jealous for a couple of years because the dogs were my parents’ entire life. Their entire focus. But then they let me keep one of the puppies. She was red and white and a submissive runt that never strengthened for dog sledding. She couldn’t hear out of one of her ears, so they let me have her. She was the first dog we had inside. The others were work dogs that needed to stay used to the weather, but Sasha slept with me every night. Followed me around when I rode our four-wheeler, tried to steal fish anytime I was feeding the others. She was a little terror as a puppy, but I trained her myself. Even half deaf, she was smart. And little by little, I got it. I understood how my parents felt about their dogs. I started noticing their faces when they sold a dog. Sadness mixed with pride because that dog was bred and trained to make a good sled dog. They were driven to make Hawke Huskies the premier name in Iditarod dogs, and they did. It was admirable.” She angled her head. “At least later I admired them when I was done sulking about losing attention to the barkers. My sister is two years older, and she purchased her first dogs from my parents’ line as soon as she moved out. And they were so proud of her. She married young, built on the family name, and they had that same look in their eyes when Avril would leave from family dinners or holiday get-togethers. Sadness that she was leaving. Pride that she’d made something of herself.”

“And you?”

“They didn’t understand me. I wanted to go to college in Anchorage and work toward a career. I wanted to be a nurse, but they were upset that I was taking out school loans when they’d practically handed me a profession that I could make a living at. I resented them. I saw the way they looked at Avril, and with each year I was in school, there was less and less pride in me and more and more sadness for my decisions. I felt like they didn’t value what I was doing, the hard work I was putting in. It hurt being the least favorite, and eventually my sister and her husband began spending a lot of time with my parents where I wasn’t invited. I felt forgotten.”

Dalton hugged her closer. The smile had gone from her voice, and now it was raw and quiet.

“Is that why you take care of other people?”

“I don’t do that much,” she murmured. “Not enough.”

“The first time I met you, you were in that bar facing down that asshole in pool to win back a neighbor’s rent money. You were wearing scrubs in that bar, sticking out like a sore thumb, and you smelled tired. Tired and scared. I thought you were some shark. Pretending to be submissive maybe. A con artist. And I followed to see you return the money and give your neighbor whiskey for her aches, at the expense of Darren hurting you. You were fearless for the people you cared about. That’s when I knew.”

Kate turned in his arms, her eyes so big and green in the moonlight. “When you knew what?”

“That I wanted you. Needed you. I tried to push it off as desperation to escape April First, but it wasn’t. It was just you.” He sipped her small lips and brushed her mussed hair off her cheek. Damn he loved the way she looked after they slept together. Flushed and disheveled. So beautiful. “Why are you wanting to start breeding sled dogs now?” He wanted to make sure it was for the right reasons, and not as some desperate move to make her parents proud. They should’ve been proud of what she’d accomplished already, and he hated the thought of her grasping at approval for the rest of her life.

“I’ve done nursing for several years now, and I’m good at it. I’m confident with my job, and I like helping people. But for the last couple of years, I keep thinking of Sasha. I keep thinking how good I felt when I turned her from an unmanageable puppy to a well-behaved dog. She would get so proud of herself, you know? I could see it. I don’t want to have a huge operation like my parents or my sister. I’m not interested in the family business. I’m interested in the dogs. Even more so now that I’ve met you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Pack dynamics. I understand them better because of the time I spent with dog teams. Their hierarchy, the posturing, picking the personalities that would work best for a team. I’m more interested now than ever.”

“Have you told your parents yet?”

“No. I know it sounds strange, but I don’t want them knowing until they have to. I don’t want them crowing about how they were right all along, or bringing up the time I wasted in school, or the money I wasted paying back all those student loans. I don’t want to quit nursing completely, not for a while, and I wouldn’t change anything about my journey here. They wouldn’t understand though, you know?”

He rasped his beard against her cheek and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Yeah. I get that.”

“And I know they would expect me to use the family name and the same bloodlines, but I don’t think I want to do that either. I want to build up my own name. A different one.”

Awed, Dalton rocked her gently and watched the swaying evergreen trees outside. She wasn’t even going to use her parents’ name in an effort to build from the ground up. Maybe her parents had picked a favorite kid, but that hadn’t bowed Kate. It had made her lock her legs and stand strong instead. It gave her motivation to live her own life outside of the shadow her parents had created. She didn’t see it, but Dalton did. Avril would always be a branch of her parents’ business, never the main trunk. Kate was growing her own tree, and someday, it would have the potential to eclipse them all.

“We could call it Dawson Huskies,” he murmured, testing the waters. Because if he was honest, he wanted his ring on her finger now. He wanted her to be a wolf bride. He wanted his last name on her as soon as she was ready to say yes, but Link had advised him to take things at her pace.

She clamped her teeth gently on his forearm. “Don’t tease me.”

“I’m not. I wouldn’t tease about that.”

“What are you saying?”

Dalton took a long steadying breath and used his words from the first time he’d admitted he loved her. “You know what I’m about to ask you, don’t you?”

“I hope so,” she answered on a breath.

“Wait here.” He climbed off the bed, his heart hammering against his ribs as he dug through his pack he brought back with him. The velvet pouch was soft against his calloused fingertips as he pulled it from the front pocket. The gold strings were worn where he’d opened it a hundred times over the last week, just to look at the ring and imagine how this moment would go.
Please say yes.

When he upended the pouch, the single diamond on the ring glinted in the blue moonlight. He turned and approached her slowly, but she was on the edge of the bed now, hands clasped over her mouth, her eyes full as she looked at the ring he held up.

Dropping down to his knees in front of her, he leaned his forearms against the mattress, between her knees. “Kate, I love you. I know what I want, and it’s you. Coming back to you was the best feeling in the world.” He rolled his gaze over the rafters above them. “Coming back to this place, knowing it’ll be ours, was such a huge deal for me. But this place wasn’t a home until you decided to make it one with me. I want it all. I didn’t know I could have this life, didn’t know if I could be any good at it, but you make me feel like I can be better. Like if I work hard enough, maybe I can make you as happy as you make me. I want a life with you—dogs, babies, sunshine cookies for the neighbors, warm summers, cold winters, and cabin fever right along with you. I want everything. With you. But this is your decision. This is where you tell me what you want, and either way, I’ll still be here, I’ll still love you.” He let off a shaky, nervous breath. “Kate, do you want to be my wife?”

Her face crumbled, and she leaned forward with a soft sob as her shoulders shook with emotion. So gently, she rested her forehead on his shoulder and nodded.

“Yes?” he asked, chest feeling like it would implode with the weight of uncertainty.

“Yes,” she squeaked out.

The warmth of her tears spilled on and on as he held her, rocking her slowly.

His beautiful mate, so sensitive and soft and perfect.

It was minutes before her shoulders stopped shaking completely, but at last, she eased back just enough to hold her hand out for him to slip the ring on. She looked at the glinting diamond for a moment, then melted against him again, arms tight around his neck as she whispered, “I want all of that, too, Dalton. I want you.”

“You’re sure?” he asked, too afraid to hope she was really saying yes to everything.

She smiled, her pretty green eyes so full of emotion. “In all my life, I’ve never been so sure of anything.” Wiping her damp cheeks with the back of her hand, Kate whispered, “Dalton Dawson, you and I just fit.”

She drew his palm to her lips and kissed him just on the curve that connected his thumb to his wrist. She bit down gently, and Dalton let off a long breath. Sexy mate was going to get herself covered again if she wasn’t careful.

“Remember when you told me the next time I bite you, I better mean it?”

Dalton froze as she turned and pulled her sleep shirt over her head, revealing that hot little evergreen tattoo on her ribs. She turned slowly until the light glinted off the shiny pink claiming mark Miller had given her.

Kate smelled like fear now, but she held his gaze bravely over her shoulder. “Mean it,” she whispered.

This was happening. Dalton ran a light touch over the mark, put there without her consent, without her knowing what it meant. Now she knew exactly what it meant. She knew how it would bind them, and she wanted it. Wanted him. She wore his ring and called herself his mate, and it would’ve been enough for him. But she was gifting him more. Kate was giving him all of herself.

“It’ll hurt,” he warned as she settled on her hands and knees, perfect ass pointed at him.

“I remember.”

Swallowing a growl for Miller, he climbed over her and rocked her forward gently, testing her arm strength. Testing how much of his weight she could bear without buckling. The curve of her back was soft and sloping under his light touch, and she arched her back, presenting for him. His mouth watered at the thought of tasting her blood. He was a monster with beastly thoughts, and she should know what she was binding herself to.

“I want to do this. My teeth are getting sharper just thinking about sinking them into your skin. You should see the beast in me before we do this. It’s big. Bigger than marriage. My wolf will be yours for always if I do this, Kate.”

She rocked back against him and pulled her hair aside, down one shoulder so he could see all of her back. “You aren’t a beast,” she said in a husky voice. “You’re a wolf, and you don’t scare me.”

“You smell like fear.”

“And what else?”

He inhaled deeply as he pushed his dick into her slowly. So tight. Fuck, he loved the feel of her around him. “Excitement.” Running his hand up her back, he reveled in the softness of her muscles there. No tension. “You feel relaxed.”

“Because I’m ready.”

She swayed with him as he eased out and then pushed into her again. God, he loved her. Loved this. So wet. Wet for him because she loved him. Loved him touching her. He’d felt unlovable, untouchable, repulsive after Shelby. He’d been so scared of letting someone else hurt him like that, but Kate had thawed his frozen heart and brought him back to life. His beautiful mate deserved his bite, the protection of his body, his devotion, his pledge to be her partner in all things.

He reached around and cupped her sex, pressed gently on her clit as he slid into her again. A sexy little gasp left her lips as she arched her back for him again. His hips jerked. Losing control. Needed to stay gentle.
Take care with our mate.
Squeezing his eyes closed, he pressed into her again. Couldn’t slow down now. Almost there. Too much pressure, too fast. Bucking. So tight. He slammed into her harder, and she was panting his name now. God, he loved the word on her lips. She yelled as the first pulse of her orgasm squeezed him. Now. He pressed his lips against Miller’s mark. Not his anymore. Not after tonight.
Bite her! Make her ours!

Dalton snarled and sank his teeth into her. He thrust into her and froze, dick throbbing as he spilled into her. She didn’t make a sound as the taste of iron touched his tongue. He didn’t want to hurt her. Didn’t want it, but if he didn’t bite deep enough it wouldn’t cover Miller’s mark. Fucking Miller. He wished he could kill him twice for hurting Kate. For hurting his.
Ours.