Reflections of the Wolf (24 page)

“Just what I said, asshole, I’m stuck in this damn tree,” she snarled back. She couldn’t even twist her head in the space she had to see his reaction, and she was starting to feel a little bit of panic. The tree seemed to be squeezing the air from her lungs.

“I’m sorry, I’m just a little anxious to get you home and start our date. I’ve been planning it for so long. I mean, well, I didn’t plan to meet you here at the lake. That was just a lucky coincidence, but I knew that eventually you would realize how much you wanted me, too. Let me put my stuff down, and I’ll help get you out of there,” he said, and she could hear him laying something heavy on the ground behind her. Hopefully that was his rifle he laid down.

All of a sudden the sound of trees breaking and snarls filled the air. Carter’s voice was terror filled as he yelled, “No!” Then she heard a grunt, and a yelp told her that Carter was probably not going to be helping her very quickly. She could hear movement behind her now, but Carter was blessedly silent. A shiver of apprehension went through her when she still hadn’t heard Liam’s voice. Something brushed her hip, and she gasped, her heart racing.

“Shh…Tina, it’s Ryley. You’re okay now. Liam and Cash are tying him up.” Ryley’s voice was a relief to her brain, and she could feel the tears in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she groaned when it caused her nipples to rub against the rough surface of the tree.

Now that she knew it was them, she could distinguish the movements of all three men behind her. “Hey, you didn’t kill him yet did you?” she yelled out irritably. No one but her was going to get that privilege. An image of Carter writhing on the ground while she stood on his balls made her smile, and her wolf growled inside her head appreciatively. Apparently the furry bitch has a violent streak, she thought to herself.

“No, Sweet Tina, we didn’t kill him.” Liam’s voice was a little slice of heaven, and she felt her already raw nipples bud up to press against the tree harder. She wanted that voice to say all manner of kinky, dirty things to her, and to do it while she was in this same bent-over position. Her body ached for his touch to the point of pain, and she had to swallow a moan before it escaped her throat. Trying to clear the dirty thoughts from her mind, she nearly laughed out loud of the ludicrousness of her situation. Here she was stuck in a tree with an armed kidnapper unconscious on the ground behind her, and she was thinking about getting freaky in the forest! I must be losing my mind she thought.

Mate
was the only response from her new sidekick in her head.

“Nah, but we sure weren’t gentle when we jumped him, so he’s out cold. I kind of wish he would have put up more of a fight. I really wanted a chance to pay that asshole back for shooting me. By the way, that was a brilliant plan to pretend to be stuck so that he would have to put the gun down,” Cash said, and she laughed.

“I wish I were that smart. I’m honestly stuck, and I can’t even see you guys to relish the victory,” she said petulantly.

Liam came into view first surveying her predicament, and then a smiling Ryley and Cash stepped into her vision. They were all barefoot and wore jeans without T-shirts, and she remembered Caroline explaining that they couldn’t wear clothing while they were in wolf form. She had said that the twins usually draped their jeans around their neck so that they would have something to put on when they shifted back.

“Well, isn’t that an interesting pickle you’ve got yourself in,” Cash said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“This is the first drawback I have ever seen to having large tits,” Ryley said seriously, and she huffed as the other two men laughed.

“Cut the crap, guys. I need your help. I’m not sure if it’s my bra or my leotard that is stuck on the branch, but my chest is pressed so tightly it’s killing me. I’m going to have bruises all over after this,” she grumbled.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I will rub the ache away later. Now, Cash is going to unhook your bra…” Liam started to say, but was interrupted by Cash’s howl of delight, and Ryley’s groan of disappointment. “Just the bra, nothing else, and I will help you get your…umm…well, I will help you get squeezed back through there.”

“Aw hell, why does he get to have all of the fun? Want me to hold your ass for you, Tina? We wouldn’t want that to get damaged,” Ryley said hopefully, and she couldn’t hold back her giggle. Liam growled low in his chest in warning.

“Thanks, Ryley, but I have enough padding there to protect it. If I ever get stuck because of my ass being too big, I will call you first. Come on, let’s get this over with.” She breathed out, deflating her lungs as much as possible so that Cash could get his hand between her and the tree. She felt him fiddle with the stretchy material of her leotard before releasing the clasp on her bra. Once she was unhooked from the bark of the branch, Liam slid his hand under her breasts to protect her chest from scraping against it. She slowly eased out from her prison and started to stand. Her legs wobbled and her knees buckled as she got to her feet.

Liam’s arms went around her instantaneously, and he pulled her tightly to his broad chest. She breathed in his spicy scent, and finally let a few silent tears of relief slide down her cheeks. She held onto his neck, refusing to let go for several minutes, and when she finally lifted her head, she realized that Cash and Ryley had moved away from them, giving them privacy. Liam stared down at her with worry in his eyes, and she smiled.

“Thank you, hotshot,” she whispered, and he grinned widely.

“No problem. I will be glad to hold your breasts anytime you need a hand,” he said jokingly, and he kissed her deeply. “Let’s get him back to the dock. Devin and the others should be there by now.”

Tina turned in his arms and said over her shoulder, “Okay, but first you have to hook me back up. I’m not walking around without a bra.” She chuckled when she heard Ryley’s voice swear loudly from further down the path.

His fingertips ran across her collarbone before dipping into the low back edge of her leotard to reattach the bra straps. He brushed a gentle kiss at the base of her neck, and she shivered.

“Later I will inspect your injuries,” he whispered into her ear, as his hands cupped her breasts for a brief moment. Then he took her hand, and turned them around to walk back up the path.

Ryley had Carter flung over his shoulder, and Cash carried the rifle and bag that Carter had been carrying. They headed briskly back up the path, but this time Liam was with her, holding the branches out of the way for her. She felt all warm and gooey inside as he helped her down the path, holding her so that she wouldn’t stumble. She felt cherished.

Chapter 19

When they broke through the tree line, she saw a crowded parking lot. There were people everywhere. Several in police uniforms, but the ones that drew her attention were taller and more muscular than even the officers. A small army of men stood to one side, with petite Caroline and the ever elegant Whitney in the middle. Liam led her in that direction, and she groaned when Caroline shot forward and embraced her, almost knocking her to the ground. Her breasts were way too tender to be pressed against anyone right now.

“Tina! Thank God you’re okay!” Caroline had tears in her eyes as she held onto Tina tightly.

“I’m fine, Caro, I promise. The guys got to me just in time.” She shared a smile with Liam over Caroline’s head, and then turned her attention to the rest of the army behind her. “Wow! When you gather reinforcements, you don’t play around!”

Everyone laughed, and Whitney stepped forward to hug Tina, too.

“I for one am really glad you’re all right, Tina. I wouldn’t have wanted to live with Liam if something had happened to you,” she said with a wink over Tina’s shoulder at her brother.

“Thank you, Whitney, it means a lot to me that you are here,” Tina whispered against her future sister’s cheek. Whitney pulled back to stare at Tina with unshed tears in her eyes for just a moment before she nodded and passed Tina back to Liam.

Tina was introduced to the crowd one at a time. Some of them she remembered from the barbecue, but others were new to her. This was Liam’s family, her new family. She was floored by all of the people who came because she needed help. Suddenly something occurred to her. “Wait, how did you know?” She spun around to face Liam again, and he smiled sheepishly. “It all happened so fast, how could you possibly have known I needed help?”

“I heard you screaming for help. I was at your place waiting for you to get home, and I heard you scream for me to help you. I threw the truck in drive and got here as fast as I could, calling for backup on my way. Cash and Ryley were at the firehouse, so they were the closest,” he explained.

“You heard me? Screaming?” she said incredulously.

“It’s another one of those wolfy mating things, T. You’ll get used to him being in your head soon. Just be glad you only have one instead of two to listen to,” Caroline explained, and Damon swatted her ass playfully for the jab. She blew him a kiss, making Tina laugh.

“Once we got here and evaluated the situation, the three of us knew that Carter was our poacher. We had to play it carefully so that he didn’t hurt you. Cash lucked out and got to be the one to knock his ass out for shooting him the other day,” Liam said with a grin.

“Next time I get to be the one to hold her boobs!” Ryley called, and Tina blushed as everyone’s eyes zeroed in on her chest.

“What?” Caroline asked, and both Devin and Damon raised an eyebrow at Tina.

“Long story. One I don’t really feel like retelling in front of the whole world, as it involves my breasts. Could we go home please?” she asked, averting her eyes from the group and looking to Liam.

“First you need to tell the police what happened. Once they take your statement, they can lock up Carter for kidnapping and assault. My guess is that if they search his home they will find more evidence of poaching,” Devin said. She nodded and followed him and Liam over to a squad car.

It took almost an hour for the police to document her statement. They had enough evidence to arrest Carter. One of the officers said that they found more hunting supplies, guns, and ammunition in his waiting vehicle. Tina’s blood went cold at all of the possible outcomes that could have happened if Liam hadn’t been nearby. As it stood, Carter was facing serious time in prison for his attempted kidnapping and assault of Tina, and the poaching charges would be icing on the cake.

Liam stayed by her side the entire time she talked to the police, sometimes with his arm around her, sometimes with their hands laced together, and now sitting on the tailgate of his truck with her snuggled in his lap. He was her rock, just like he had been after Barton Diego had hurt her and Caroline. He was there for her, nonjudgmental of how she handled the situation. He actually seemed proud of her for having the guts to get through it. She liked the idea of making him proud, and based on the happy growls in her head, so did her sidekick.

When the last officer shut his notepad, Liam finally spoke again. “Let’s go home.”

“Sounds good to me. I need a bath and some sleep,” she murmured, resting her forehead under his chin with her nose against his throat. She took a deep breath and inhaled his masculine fragrance. Her body responded immediately, and she felt a familiar throb in her pussy.

“Hmm…déjà vu. I think we’ve had this conversation before,” he said laughing, and she joined in.

“This time I fully intend to spend the whole night in your arms,” she assured him and let him lead her to her truck. Devin had already driven her car back to her house so that she wouldn’t have to deal with it.

Liam lifted her onto the seat of the truck and brushed a sweet kiss across her nose. “Good, because this time I won’t let you go.”

* * * *

They drove to Liam’s cabin, and he led her into the house. Rafe was in the kitchen cooking, and her stomach growled at the delicious scent of the food.

Liam laughed. “I guess I better feed you before I take you to bed, huh?”

“I haven’t eaten since lunch. I usually grab something on my way home from the studio,” she said.

“I’m just frying up some potatoes now. Ryley has burgers on the grill. It should be ready in about fifteen minutes if you want a quick shower first,” Rafe said and winked at her.

“God, that sounds fantastic. Do you cook, Liam? Maybe I should trade Liam in for one of you two…” she said, sharing a laugh with Rafe as Liam growled. “Down, boy, I’m just kidding.”

“Good, I wouldn’t want to have to neuter him,” Liam said.

“Hey now! My future mate wouldn’t want you to take away her ability to have children with me. I’m not interested in taking your girl, promise!” Rafe said, holding the spatula up like a sword ready to do battle with Liam.

“Future mate? Does she know it yet?” Liam said curiously, and Rafe grimaced slightly.

“Not yet, but considering we just met it will happen soon enough,” he said mysteriously, and Tina frowned.

“Give her time to get to know you first. I think that we might have turned out differently if I would have had more time to know him as a person before I got the whole werewolf secret dumped on my head. It’s hard to process things when you’re in shock,” she told Rafe, and Liam hugged her tightly to his chest wordlessly.

“No worries. I’ll take it slow with her. It’s too important to mess up. I’ve watched big brother screw his mating all up, and I’m smarter than that. Now, you have about ten minutes until I ring the dinner bell, so go on and get your hot little ass in the shower,” Rafe said with a wag of his eyebrows, and Liam swatted her butt as she headed toward his room.