Lone Wolf's Captive (novella) (2 page)

Reaching out, he grabbed her wrist before she could take off across the parking lot. “Sorry, babe. I can’t let you go.”

“You didn’t have a problem letting me go five years ago.” She twisted her arm, trying to break his hold.

The verbal jab felt like a kick to the guts and he clamped his lips together before he said something she wasn’t ready to hear. “You need to come with me, Delaney.”

“Like hell. You let go of me Fletcher, right goddamned now.” She spun around, lifting her foot, and kicked out. He’d moved closer to stop her escape and her boot connected solidly with his balls.

“Motherfuck!” Somehow he managed to maintain his hold on her while he gasped for breath and tried not to throw up. She stopped fighting for a moment, wincing before that bloody stubborn expression returned and she tried to yank free again.

“I’m sorry, Fletch. But I’m not sorry I kicked you. You deserved that and a hell of a lot more.”

“You’re sorry that you’re not sorry? Kind of cancels out the first apology, don’t you think?” He panted.

She stilled, her brow scrunching as she contemplated that bit of puzzling genius. It gave him a chance to get a firmer grasp on her. He tightened his grip, not wanting to hurt her, but refusing to let go of the pissed off, squirming she-wolf.

She shook her head. “I can’t do this. I have to go, Fletcher. People are waiting for me.”

“Can’t let you do that, Sugar. You’re coming home with me.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you so damned arrogant? You think you can just show up here after five years? You really think I’d be so pleased, so…so grateful you decided to grace me with your presence that I’d immediately jump all over you?”

“You seemed pretty comfortable in my lap two minutes ago,” he reminded her.

A frustrated growl rumbled from the back of her throat. The low, throaty sound was sexy as all hell.

“You’re an ass.” This time when she tried to pull free, he tugged on her hand and she tumbled back inside the cab of his truck. Her body landed awkwardly across his lap. “Let me go, Fletch. Goddamnit, I mean it.”

“No.”

Her fist balled at her side and her eyes darted to his lap. He twisted his hips just in time and managed to deflect another hit to the jewels. Then all holy hell broke loose. He watched, dumbfounded, as his once timid and sweet-natured female, attacked.

Granted, she fought more like an extremely pissed off, slightly insane wild cat than a she-wolf. But still.

Her eyes changed to pale gold and her fangs slid into place. She was about to shift, right here in his truck and use his nuts as a chew toy. He hated to do it, but she hadn’t left him much choice.

Gripping the sensitive area between her neck and shoulder blade, he applied just the right amount of pressure. Her stunned gaze darted to his and her eyes widened, right before she crumpled in a heap on top of him.

Breathing hard, he looked down at her, motionless, lying across his lap.
Shit.
He’d pay for that when she woke up.

He quickly moved her into a more comfortable position then reached around and fastened her seatbelt. When he sat back, he took a moment to drink her in. Her face was squashed up against the window, some of her hair had broken loose and she was drooling a little.

He grinned. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight in all his life.

The heavy weight of sleep began to lift, but Delaney wasn’t ready to wake yet. Her mattress was too soft and cosy. Dragging the covers higher, she snuggled deeper into their warmth, unable to stop a happy chuff from escaping her throat.

A wonderful scent drifted up from the bedding, surrounding her.
So good.
She buried her nose in her pillow, inhaling deeply. As soon as she did, her inner wolf lifted her head and took notice. Another contented chuff broke free as her body warmed and little zings of pleasure shot through her lower belly.

All her sleepy brain could process in that moment was how fantastic she felt. She wanted to breathe in that amazing scent until she was dizzy, roll around on its source until it coated every inch of her skin.

She didn’t want to go to work today. She wanted to stay right here, but her ride would be here soon and she had a lot to do this morning. After a few minutes, lids still heavy, she attempted to open her eyes. It took a couple of tries, but she managed to open them a fraction.

Muted light filled the room. Still she squinted, needing a few moments for her eyes to adjust. She stiffened.

Where the hell was she?

Memories flooded back with full force.
Oh, God.
Fletch. Fletcher was back.

It wasn’t a dream or a nightmare, this was really happening. The warm feeling she had woken with drained from her limbs, leaving her cold.

All this time she believed something terrible had happened to him. Pain lanced through her chest. The way he spoke to her: rough, clipped. He wasn’t the Fletch she’d known and loved with all her heart. This Fletch seemed different, harder. Her belly flipped, remembering the determined look on his face, the way he’d refused to let her go.

The bastard had knocked her out!

Keeping her lids low, she scanned as much of the room as she could from her prone position. It was impossible to see anything without moving her head, but she wasn’t ready to let him know she’d woken yet.

Closing her eyes again, she concentrated on the sounds around her. There was no street noise, no cars or the distant murmur of people talking. Instead the room hummed with the muted sounds of the forest: lively birdsong, the rustle of leaves and the creak of branches as they moved in the breeze.

Fletch’s scent filled the room. There was no escape from it. She gritted her teeth. If she had something to stuff up her nose to dull the blasted smell, she would. It did things to her, things she didn’t want, and didn’t have any control over.

He was in here with her. The sound of his breathing, slow and steady, rose above the buzz of the forest. He was close. End of the bed.

She couldn’t believe he did this. Was he high? He’d freaking kidnapped her. How dare he show up after all this time and expect her to just drop everything! Anger, sharp and bitter rose to the surface. He’d made it more than clear the bond they shared meant nothing that
she
meant nothing. He’d sentenced them both to a long, shitty life, never to experience the protection and love of a mate.

She’d stupidly assumed death would be the only way he could leave her to that cold and broken fate. She’d never forgive him for that.

How she’d grieved his loss, pined for him every day since his disappearance. Yet, here he was, hale and whole, and sitting just a few feet away. Waiting for her to wake up like nothing happened, like it hadn’t nearly killed her when he went away.

Ready to return, if only a small amount of the pain he’d caused her, Laney sprang to her feet and, baring her fangs, launched at him in one swift movement. His eyes widened and he scrambled to get out of his chair. “Oh fuck.”

But just shy of her target, something pulled her up short. Agony shot up her leg, like a tight band around her ankle, biting into her flesh. The restraint stopped her mid-flight and her body, airborne for a split second, hit the ground hard at his feet.

He stared down at her, frowning. “Shit.”

“You
restrained
me,” she hissed.

He ran a hand through his dishevelled hair and shrugged. “We still need to talk,” he pointed to the ankle cuff, “And I’m gonna need you to listen.”

Laney let her wolf rise to the surface. He was ten times stronger than her, maybe more, but she was fast and she was pissed. That had to count for something. After she’d taken a bite out of him, she’d get the hell out of here.

But as her body prepared to shift, she felt something tighten around her neck, cutting off her windpipe and she instantly stopped her attempts.

She clawed at her throat. A collar. A fucking collar.

Panic and confusion took over. She collapsed on the ground, thrashing on the floor, grabbing at the offensive chain around her neck. “Oh, God. Get it off me.”

“Calm down, Laney.”

“Get. It. Off. I can’t breathe.” Desperate, she tore at the thing. Lifting her free leg, she added a foot to her efforts. With her chained leg in the air, her struggles caused her to back spin. Each loop getting faster and making her more tangled. A heavy weight landed on top of her, stopping her mid-loop.

“Enough,” Fletch said against her ear, sending tingles across her scalp. “I don’t want you to shift and take off.”

Breathing hard, she let the fight drain from her body and collapsed in a heap.

“You finished?” His voice rumbled through her, doing unwanted things to her nipples, which were currently pressed against his rock hard chest.

“I hate you.” She scowled up at him.

“No you don’t.”

“Get off me,” she snarled, lifting her hips to buck him off. Bad idea. Her body made contact with more hard, warm male and she sucked in a breath. His solid weight eased back an inch as he worked to free her hands, shaking his head when he gripped her ankle and released her foot.

“Woman, how the hell did you get your toe hooked up there like that?”

She winced. She must look like an insane fox terrier with its first collar. “Get this thing off me. Now.”

“If you’d settle down, you’d realise how loose it is.”

“I can’t believe you did this to me. I want you to take it off.”

“Not until we talk. I can’t risk you running off. This is for your own good, Sugar.”

“My own good? Who the hell do you think you are?” Laney prided herself on her even-tempered nature, her ability to see reason. But right now, she was on the verge of rage-induced murder.

He stared at her, holding her captive with his intense gaze. “Who am I?” His fingers moved to her nape, massaging, moving through her hair. “I’m yours. That’s never changed and never will.”

Damn him. She swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the boulder-sized lump in her throat. “Bullshit.”

“It works both ways, Laney. No sense in denying it.” He reached up with the other hand and plucked a pen from her unruly locks, his lips quirking up at the corner. “Looks like you’ve been workin’ too hard.”

“Yeah? How the hell would you know?”

“I know you,” he said simply.

She shoved at his chest. “You don’t know shit.”

Hovering above her, he stared down, studying her. One eye—arctic blue—the other unseeing and several shades lighter. Five evenly spaced scars formed ragged grooves in his skin, starting from his forehead, over his damaged eye and finishing at his cheek. He’d had them as long as she’d known him.

She studied his face. Several days’ growth darkened his jaw, adding to the whole dangerous vibe he had going on. A lock of dark hair had fallen forward and her palm itched to reach up and brush it off his forehead. His breathing became choppy and his gaze slid to her mouth.

“I’ve missed you so damn much, Laney.”

She wanted to push him off, tell him to go to hell, but then he leaned forward and nuzzled behind her ear. His whiskers tickled her skin, caused tingles across her scalp. He drew in her scent and at the same time marked her with his own.

The press of his firm, warm lips at her throat sent a jolt of need through her body. He continued to trail soft kisses along her jaw and growled, the sound pure wolf. He seemed to snap and his hand thrust deeper into her hair, fisting it, holding her captive. His lips crashed down on hers, hot and demanding. She opened for him without thought of resistance, like she always had. A moan escaped before she could stop it. He took full advantage and invaded her mouth, kissing her with deep, hungry licks and devouring her. He tasted the same.
So good.

Her heart squeezed painfully. How many times had she dreamt of this, of having Fletch back in her arms?

One of those large hands moved to curve around her waist, pulling her in tighter like he always used to. A tear leaked from the corner of her eye, blazing a heated path across her temple and disappearing into her hair.

She couldn’t do this. It hurt too much. She couldn’t go through the pain of losing him again. She’d barely survived the last time. Summoning strength she didn’t know she possessed, she shoved at his chest and turned her head, breaking the kiss.

Panting hard, he rested his forehead against hers and gazed down at her. Still holding her tight, he searched her face. The hand at her waist moved, glided over her ribs, brushing the underside of her breast before moving over her shoulder to cup the side of her neck. Then he brushed her cheek with his thumb, wiping away her tears and forced her to look at him. “This is how it should be, baby. Don’t push me away.”

“I can’t do this,” she whispered.

His eyes softened. “You think being separated from you has been easy on me? It nearly killed me.”

That’s all it took, those careless words. Anger rushed forward, replacing the pain. She pushed his hand away. “
You’re
the one who left.” The warmth dissolved before her eyes, his expression turning blank.

“Get off me,” she whispered.

A muscle in his jaw twitched as he moved to give her room. Laney scrambled back to the foot of the bed and wrapped her arms around her knees, watching, waiting. He said nothing and stared at her in that way he used to when he couldn’t figure something out. It unnerved her.

“You said you wanted to talk, so talk,” she blurted. The sooner he spat out whatever he had to say, the sooner she could leave. Rolling her shoulders, she tried to get her muscles to relax, fighting to extinguish the fire and need she knew still blazed behind her eyes.

His own darkened and he shook his head. “You’re not ready.”

“For what?”

He shook his head again, refusing to answer.

“I survived you running out on me, and my God, I never thought I would. But I did, Fletch. I got over you. I got on with my life.” A boldfaced lie, but she was all about self-preservation in that moment. She released a tired breath. “I can handle whatever this is about. I just want this over with so I can go home.” Pain flashed behind his eyes, and she tried to ignore the way it affected her.