Mandy's Story (3 page)

He noticed a lone key hanging from a
chain around her throat and knew it had to be for the lock on the
cage. Getting it would be the easy part. Discovering the
combination code would be harder. He might enjoy dreaming about
wrapping his fingers around her slender neck, but they both knew he
wouldn’t kill her.

When she stopped and rolled up the door
that afternoon, he realized she had backed the tail end of the
truck a foot from a brick wall. After her inquisitive eyes looked
around the truck, she spotted the plastic bag in the corner and
took it away without a word. A few minutes later she returned empty
handed. “I’m heading to get food and pick up a few more things from
the store. Can I get you anything?”

She appeared so calm, looking directly
into his eyes with steady patience that proved more than anything
that her craziness was inborn. His anger stayed on a low simmer and
he managed to be civil, “I have a feeling I’ll need a few new
sweatpants or fifty. A six pack of beer would be great,
too.”

She smiled. It was the first one that
truly reached her eyes and it lit up her face. Until that moment,
he didn’t realize the strain she was under, or maybe he just wasn’t
thinking past his own nightmare. Her delicate beauty had affected
him from the moment they met. Keeping his eyes off her was damn
near impossible back then.

“
If that’s all you want,
I’ll be leaving.”

The rolling metal door closed slowly
and he was alone again. Boredom was his biggest enemy and he’d
rested more during the past two days than he usually did in a week.
After thirty minutes of moping, he grabbed the bars above his head
at the end of the cage, stretched his body out, and did reverse
pushups. It was probably ten degrees warmer in the truck than
outside and sweat quickly dripped from his body. He switched to one
arm, working up and down fifty times and then working his other.
After three sets, he turned his back to the side of the cage,
grasped the bars beside his hips, and lifted his lower body
straight legged off the floor for five minutes. He repeated his
core exercise twice more. Next, he stretched his body from one end
of the cage to the other, pressing his bare feet to the bars. His
hands held the other end, and he suspended himself halfway off the
floor, and keeping his body in a slightly arched plank position for
ten minutes. The door rolled up during his second set.

He didn’t look at her and continued to
count silently in his head. She remained quiet. He didn’t hear her
move, but knew she stood and watched. At the completion of ten
counts of sixty, he released his feet and turned.

Desire was written clearly on her face,
causing his breath to catch. Her green eyes traveled over his
sweat-dampened chest and then down his covered legs. He could smell
himself; unwashed, perspiration from his workout, and the scent of
bear. But god… he inhaled the musky scent that was all her, and
added to that, he smelled her arousal.

He waited until her eyes met his again.
“Why don’t you open the cage?” His husky voice screamed sexual
fantasy, promised she could run her hands over his chest, and then
lick the sweat running down his body.

He knew it worked because her eyes
traveled over the dripping moisture again as it rolled over his
hard swelling muscles before dampening the waist of his
pants.

Her choked voice was incredibly low, “I
don’t think it’s wise.”

“
It may not be wise, but
it’s what you want. And I’m willing to give you exactly what you
want.” His growl was compelling.

Her eyes snapped to his. “You’re
lying.” The shaking timbre of the words let him know she hoped he
wasn’t.

He tried again. “I need to touch
you.”

Without another word, she laid the bags
on the floor, used the blue hoe to push them closer, and then left
him in the dark. The truck’s engine rumbled a few minutes
later.

He let out the breath he’d been
holding, knowing he finally had a way to break her down. She
thought him her mate; she desired his body and his touch. He wasn’t
as smart as he thought he was; he should’ve figured it out sooner.
Now… he had a plan.

He removed his pants and used the baby
wipes to clean himself. He put on a new pair of sweatpants that he
took from the bag. After drinking half a gallon of water, he dug
into the food then drank two beers before it occurred to him that
she was too young to purchase the alcohol. He decided he didn’t
want to know where she got it.

A few hours later, the road changed and
the truck bumped along at a slower pace for two more hours before
finally coming to a stop. He listened as she opened the passenger
side door and removed crinkling bags, one after the other. It was
ten minutes before she opened the sliding door.

Autumn had touched the dense trees that
went for as far as he could see. They peeked out from behind her
body as she stood in the receding light of the setting sun. As much
as his bear craved to run free, it was her that drew the attention.
He didn’t know if it was what happened earlier in the day, but the
tight jeans that covered her lower half and a snug-fit tee with a
low neckline made his mouth water. Her scent traveled into the
truck and his sweatpants didn’t hide the erection that grew larger
the longer he stared.

“
We’re home,” she finally
said in a croaky voice before taking a gulp of air, causing her
chest to expand. The rounded tops of her breasts stretched the
material of her shirt, and then it was him seeking air. Shit, this
was not part of his new plan
.
His hand involuntarily went to the front of his
sweatpants, but he stopped when he noticed her eyes follow the
movement. A low rumble started deep in his chest.

Fuck. Control, he had to
gain control
.
“Like what you see?” He turned the tables on her.

“
It’s much more
spectacular uncovered.” Her sultry voice played with
him.

“
You haven’t seen anything
yet, baby,” he growled.

“
Am I your baby?” She
teased him in her sexy voice.

He shook his head, his bear screaming
with need. He couldn’t remove his eyes from the up-and-down
movement below her collarbone. Bear grumbled louder as Honey stared
at the swell of her breasts. He took a shallow breath and met her
eyes. “Did you say home?”

Her incredible control saved the moment
and he acknowledged the truth for the first time—Mandy was a worthy
opponent.

“
For as long as it takes.”
A slight smile curved her pouty lips.

“
It won’t be that long,
baby.”

Her grin flared, “Your tune has changed
fast and don’t think I’m unaware of your game.”

“
You’re too young to play
my game,” he challenged her.

Her shirt came over her head. She
wasn’t wearing a bra and her pert breasts stood at
attention.

The bitch.

Her hands went to her jeans, unfastened
the button, and slowly lowered the zipper, the rasp loud in the
cave of the truck.

His erection went to full
staff.

Then, ever so slowly, she pulled the
tight material past her hips and down her legs. She forgot she wore
shoes, and when the jeans hit her knees she should have looked
awkward bending to slip off the sneakers, but she didn’t. She
looked sexy as hell. Her pants hit the ground with a peekaboo show
of white virginal panties that traveled with the jeans.

His gut dropped to his knees. There was
nothing childish about her body; each womanly curve was a work of
art. Before he could take it all in, she shifted.

Her wolf… miraculous, fierce,
perfect.

Bear whined from deep within, seeing
her beast form for the first time. Brown, silver, and black; one
shade blended to another—her fur thick and sleek, the perfect
contrast to his bristly coat. No words formed in his
throat.

Just to add insult to injury, she
turned, her tail swishing back and forth, and with a leap, she was
gone. He sank to his knees wondering what the hell he would do
now.

Chapter Five

Two hours later, she returned dressed
in sweats and bearing food. She held two silver bodies. Fresh fish.
There had to be a stream around because this was no store-bought
game.

“
I know it’s a tight fit
in there for your bear, but I thought he might like these.” She
balanced them on the end of the shovel and pushed them his
way.

“
I don’t need to be in
beast form to eat raw fish.” He looked past her, refusing to admire
her body again.

“
Oh.” She looked down at
the fish.

“
You don’t eat raw
meat?”

“
Not unless I’m in wolf
skin.”

He couldn’t seem to help himself.
“You’re beautiful in wolf skin.”

“
Don’t start that again.”
She gave him a slightly evil look.

“
Okay.”
Completely lame.

She obviously expected an argument
because she didn’t have a ready comeback to his quick acquiescence.
He needed to take control of the conversation. “So where is our
home?”

“
I think it’s better if
you don’t know that.”

“
We aren’t in Kansas
anymore?”

That made her smile. “No.”

He looked at the landscape behind her.
“The trees have changed so we must me further east. There aren’t
any pines.”

“
No pines.” She
quipped.

He gave a frustrated sigh. “Do you
really think this crazy plan will work?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I had to
try.”

“
You could have just
spoken to me.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.
Every time I got near you, you disappeared. I loved hearing your
voice, but you wouldn’t even let me that close. I stole your shirt
one day so I could breathe in your scent at night.”

Now he was speechless. She was too
young for him. He knew it. His bear knew it, but for some reason he
just wanted to hold and comfort her.

A sad timbre entered her voice, “I’ll
be back later. Eat your fish.”

She left him again.

His melancholy mood made him
telepathically connect with The Kodiak. He needed comfort no matter
the fierceness of the alpha bear.

“
You dare to contact me?”
the voice exploded.

It didn’t matter how many miles
separated him from The Kodiak, the alpha’s rage made Honey lower
his head. “I take it things are bad.”

Honey felt each weighty breath as the
alpha fought for control. “Since Korep’s death you have not been
yourself, but my lenience does not go this far. Return the girl and
I won’t kill you.”

Honey raised his head knowing The
Kodiak could feel his anger. “I think you’ll need to kill me,
father.”

The Kodiak’s roar traveled through
Honey’s skull and he had no choice but to sever the
connection.

***

Mandy paced the small cabin. She
couldn’t trust him. His deviousness knew no bounds, and his
hypnotic voice almost had her unlocking the cage door. Kidnapping
him was a last ditch effort. She’d heard the rumors and knew she
had to do something drastic.

She remembered their time in a hotel
room with Caleb, her brother, and Korep after Emily almost died
from a cat attack. Honey didn’t say much during those days and
seemed content to let Korep do the talking. They played cards and
killed time until Brandt decided they needed to leave. By then, it
was too late for Mandy; she was already in love, and her wolf had
chosen its mate. The biggest problem was her uncertainty of whether
Honey felt the same way.

It was almost six months before she saw
him again, and by then Korep was dead. She felt Honey’s pain deep
in her soul, but he didn’t speak to her and barely even glanced her
way when she walked into a room. Two weeks later, he left without a
word. She cried herself to sleep each night until he came back. But
then, the rumors started... Honey had a mate that he planned to
claim.

The more she thought about him finding
a mate other than her, the more rational thought disappeared from
her brain. She knew she didn’t think her plan through long enough,
but desperate times called for desperate measures, and the puzzle
pieces began falling into place. Using Brandt’s account to order
the cage was easy. Getting her hands on tranquilizers? Not so much.
Her brother, Caleb the pest, was a constant thorn in her side.
Caleb felt it his duty to keep her out of trouble and away from
male wolves that looked at her with guarded lust. She finally
managed to get past his eagle eye and steal narcotics along with a
tranquilizer gun from their medical clinic. Then, everything
finally came together. She felt lucky she hadn’t needed the gun and
had managed to spike a bottle of Honey’s beer instead. She worried
the smell of the drugs would give her away, so she waited until she
knew he was inebriated before making the switch. The gods were
obviously on her side because the actual kidnapping went quite
smoothly.