Running Free (12 page)

Every shifter I’ve encountered is in some way a loner. Becoming a part of Luca’s pack will probably be the closest thing to a family I’ll ever get.

His breaths even out with sleep and I let out a garbled sob. Cutie Pie senses my despondency and snuggles closer to me. Despite my joking about the dog, I like him. He knows what it feels like to be left all alone.

But at the end of the day, he’s even luckier than I am.

At the end of the day he’s in Gun’s bed.

Not me.

“Earth to Frankie.”

I blink my eyes open and jerk my head over to Casey. Her arms are crossed over her small chest and she arches a blonde brow up in question.

“What?”

“You were thinking about
him
, weren’t you?”

My skin heats at the thought of Gun. Every solid muscle. Each crooked grin he’s flashed me. Every single orgasm he drew from me last night. How I slept with him over and over again all night long and once in my truck, all without a condom. The way his back muscles rippled with movement as he made me breakfast this morning.

He’s too beautiful.

And fucking perfect.

And it pisses me off.

“He’s annoying,” I spit out.

Her giggle is cute and infectious. Even she knows that was a lie. “Oh, Frankie. You sure have it bad. Does this mean Luca is free to date?”

I snap my attention to her feigning ignorance yet again. It makes me wonder just how innocent she is behind that disarming schoolgirl smile.

“Luca is off limits. He’s—He’s—He’s… ” I trail off before finding a suitable reason. “He’s too rough for you.”

I’m not going to tell her it’s because she’s a human and he’s a fucking Wolf shifter. Humans and shifters simply don’t mix.

Except Gun and I.

I swallow down the double standard and snatch a rag to go clean some surface — anything to get away from her pouting. This evening, the crowd is starting to pick up and I’m thankful for the reprieve. At least Otis is taking care of Suzie tonight and I can focus on work.

But my thoughts drift to Gun at every free moment.

I’ve worked myself into such a heated frenzy about him that I don’t even hear the door open, letting more patrons in.

A bunch of guys start barking and howling, jerking my attention to the door. Luca and his pack fill the doorway with their massive frames and knowing smirks.

“What?” I demand.

Winston, a Tiger shifter, is the first to speak. “Our girl got it good last night.”

My eyes dart over to Luca in confusion and he shrugs, a smile quirking up one side of his lips. “We’re a pack, remember? We sense when you’re in danger,” he says with a chuckle, “and when you’re in passion. And when you’re sad. And when you’re happy. And Frankie, you were most of those last night. The boys and I felt every orgasm.”

I gape at them in horror. “You have to be fucking kidding me right now!”

The dumbasses start howling and acting like goddamned lunatics. Tell me I did not just get inducted into the Brainless Horny Idiot pack.

“Lighten up, Frankie,” Luca assures me, “You’ll get used to it. You might even be able to block us from some of that. You’re still fresh meat in our pack so we get to feel everything just like you do.”

My blood boils with rage and I start swatting each motherfucker upside the head with my wet rag. “I. Hate. All. Of. You,” I seethe.

“I was up all night whacking off,” Bob tells me with a lust-filled grin. “Hot as shit. I don’t care if you are my sister now.”

I shudder at his confession. “I am
not
your sister. Now all of you better get the fuck away from me before I kill every single one of you.”

Luca, the wisest of the group, trots away from me toward the bar, his laugh echoing after him.

“Did I just overhear you threatening to murder a group of bikers?” a familiar, deep voice says with humor behind me.

The guys howl and bark some more before following Luca to the bar, leaving me alone with the voice of my dreams.

“They’re assholes,” I say with a pout.

Gun slides an arm around my waist and pulls my back to his chest. His lips find my bare neck and he kisses it in such a way that has me craving to drag him back to the breakroom — and we won’t be putting together fucking puzzles, I can assure you.

“How’s work? Miss me yet?”

His smug words cut through my sexual haze and I turn in his arms, ready to tell him we need space, especially the night of the full moon. But once my eyes find his smoldering chocolate ones, I melt in his arms.

“Why do you have to be so hot?” I groan.

He flashes me a grin and steals a kiss. “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”

I roll my eyes at him and tug out of his warm embrace. “I just beat a bunch of men with this rag,” I threaten with a swing of it, “and I’m not opposed to beating you too.”

His laughter fills my soul and I can’t help the grin that breaks out on my face.

“You’re so fucking cute, hádanka.”

And my heart is in a puddle of goo. Again. Damn him and his sweet pet name.

“What do you want, Gun? I’m working.” I attempt to let annoyance drip from my tone but it doesn’t quite have the effect I’m aiming for.

He snatches my hand and drags me to him, placing a kiss on the top of it. “I came to invite you to lunch.”

My eyes dart to the dark window. “It’s almost midnight, goofball.”

“Which is my lunch time,” he tells me with a smug tone. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

He’s dragging me toward the door when I finally put on the brakes. “Wait! Gun, you can’t just come in here and literally drag me away from my job. You’re an animal. I have work to do.”

“Please, Frankie.”

He gives me sad, puppy dog eyes and I cave. “Shit, you’re killing my reputation,” I huff.

Breaking from his grasp, I walk over to the bar where Luca’s leaned over flashing Casey a wicked smile that used to melt my panties right off my body. That girl doesn’t listen and that boy is one horny motherfucker. They don’t belong together. But they aren’t my business — they can figure their own shit out.

“Case,” I say with a sigh, “Do you mind if I take a short break and have dinner with Gun? Can you and the others hold down the fort for half an hour?”

Luca chuckles. “Take all the time you need, pup. As long as I’m having a chat with Casey, nobody will give her a hard time about being slow with their refills.”

I’m ready to lay into him and tell him to leave her alone. Remind him that she’s just an innocent human. But then I sense it. Something different coming from him.

“Are you wearing a new cologne?” I question.

He shakes his head and his eyes are back on the bubbly blonde, ignoring me altogether.

Winston chimes in with a whispered response. “That, little sister, is our fearless leader staking his claim.”

I swivel around and gape at Winston in horror.

“Yep, wolf shit. It stinks if you ask me,” he says with a chuckle.

Before I vomit, not from the smell because it was quite alluring actually, but from the premise alone, I push away from the bar and haul ass toward my man. My human man devoid of all creepy animal shit.

“Gun, let’s go,” I bark out, eager to leave the Brainless Horny Idiots otherwise known as my “brothers.”

Sometimes being a shifter is nothing but bullshit.

Gunnar

“I can only take half an hour,” she reminds me as we crunch through the woods across the street from the bar.

“I’ll have you back in no time.”

She lets out a sigh but not one from annoyance. I think she’s scared of me. Deep down inside, she’s scared about how real we could be. Last night was fucking epic. Frankie and I fucked like we were made to. But that wasn’t what made it so amazing. It was the unspoken words. The calm, comfortable feel the air had to it having her wrapped up around me. Showering and cooking together — such simple domestic duties, felt right with her.

I like her and want to spend every waking moment learning every single puzzle piece that is her and putting it where it goes in my heart.

She’s my hádanka.

And Mom would have adored her.

“It’s just over here,” I tell her as we emerge from the woods and I guide her to a soft, grassy area near the edge of Woodland Pond.

The backpack I had filled with some shit I grabbed from the house weighs heavy on my shoulders so when we stop, I slide it to the grass.

“Close your eyes,” I instruct.

Her eyes lift to the bright, yellow moon and she groans. “Fine. But I hate surprises.”

I grin at her and wait for her to obey me before I pull out all of my props. The plush blanket took up most of the space in the backpack and once I unfold it and stretch it out over the earth, I dig around in the bag until I find a bottle of wine and sandwiches I made.

“Okay, open.”

Her lips draw up into a cute grin and I mentally pat myself on the back.

“Thought it was time to take my woman on a romantic date,” I tell her with a shrug.

A dark eyebrow arches up and she smirks. “Your woman, huh?”

We settle on the blanket next to each other and I peck her on the cheek. “Yep. Now, I hope you like peanut butter and jelly.”

She giggles and it scares off an animal nearby in the woods. “Wine and sandwiches. Do those even go together?”

“They do now.”

Since I have to go back to work, I only have a few sips of wine from the bottle. She takes several more swallows than me while we munch on the food. Eventually, after we’ve downed half the bottle between us, she stretches out on her back and stares up at the sky.

“You ever wonder if there’s more out there than what you know?” she questions, a hint of sadness tinging her words.

I lie down beside her and rest on my clasped hands behind my head. “Like aliens?”

She scoffs. “No, not aliens. You know, um, like vampires?”

Her tone is cautious and it confuses me. Rolling over, I pin her with a questioning stare. She’s still looking at the full moon as if it possesses all the secrets of the world.

“Are you afraid I’m going to suck your blood?” I question with a wink.

She swats at me and I easily grab her hand, pinning it to the blanket beside her.

“No, I don’t believe in vampires,” I tell her finally. Her face falls and for a moment I wonder if she is one. But I know better and throw her the bone she wants. “But I believe there’s stuff out there we don’t understand.”

My answer suffices for now and she graces me with a smile.

“I like you, Gun.”

“I like you too, hádanka.”

Her eyes light up at the pet name which causes my heart to tighten in my chest. My thoughts drift back to my mother and I can’t help but wish that she were here so she could meet her. They’re cut from the same good, kind cloth. Frankie is a woman who would make for a fine wife one day. And despite Carla ruining our marriage with her infidelity, I’m not afraid to marry again in due time. Sometimes your heart latches onto someone else and it takes a while for the rest of you to catch up. Right now, every bit of my heart is latched onto Frankie. She feels it too but seems to be more cautious, almost in denial, and that makes me all the more determined.

“I need to get back,” she murmurs, her voice thick with need. She doesn’t want to go but she’s saying what she has to. The look in her eye is begging me to ask her to stay with me. What sort of man would I be if I didn’t give my woman what she wanted?

“Stay, Frankie. Just a little longer.”

Her mouth quirks into a sweet smile but once I slip my hand under her shirt, her smile falls. I keep my fingers running circles around her belly button while I soak in every beautiful expression on her face.

“Make love to me, Gunnar.”

My hand slides up her belly and I cup her tit. Once again, she’s not wearing a bra. And I almost go mental knowing she was in the bar around all those motherfuckers without a goddamned bra on.

“Jesus, woman. Why in the hell aren’t you wearing a bra to work?” I demand.

Her eyes pop open and she glares at me. “I thought guys were into that kind of thing.”

Giving her nipple a pinch that causes her to gasp, I growl. “Exactly and all those idiots have probably been lusting after you. You’re mine, hádanka.”