Grayslake: Creed's Claim Page 4

  Closing the gap between their bodies suddenly, he settled her fully against him. She gasped as she felt the thick bar of his cock pressed right between her thighs. He was…holy crap…either all werebears were built big, or he was exceptional.

  A large hand on the back of her hips held her in place as he took control of the kiss, ravishing her mouth with an expertise and finesse that stole her ability to think, never mind breathe. She’d thought she was a woman of the world. She’d thought she had more than enough sexual experience and knowledge gleaned from erotica books and how-to guides in the magazines left in the break room at work to hold her own, but his kiss told her otherwise.

  He played her reactions easily, controlling and dominating the kiss to get the most pleasure out of it for both of them. Her fingers curled into his shoulders, nails biting deeply and he growled, breaking the kiss to lean his forehead against hers.

  “We have to slow down.” His words were soft but no less tortured, and when he pulled back to look into her eyes, she saw need and desire that took her breath away tempered with torment and frustration. “Or I’ll rip these pretty clothes right off you and take you here and now.”

  The words made her shiver but she couldn’t find her voice to argue. A tender smile quirking the sides of his lips again, he smoothed her hair back from one side of her face.

  “You’re mine, Kait, but that doesn’t mean I’m an ass. This is all new to you. I can wait until you’re ready. It’ll about kill me, but I can wait.”

  Chapter 4

  “So walk me through it again.” Since returning to the main room of the lodge, Kait had been grilling Lilly. Relentlessly and with no end in sight. Now that the shock of it all had worn off, she had so many questions. “Werebears are real, and there are werewolves as well?”

  “And werehyenas.” Lilly leaned back on the sofa they’d huddled up on in the corner. The lodge was decorated like an old-style hunting lodge with lots of dark wood and solidly built, comfortable furniture.

  Kait blinked in surprise. “Seriously? They’re…”

  “Ugly as fuck?” Lilly grinned. “Yeah, they can be. I’ve only met a couple when they strayed into our area, but yeah…” She shuddered. “Not my cup of tea at all.”

  “Okay. So the town is a bear town, just us humans didn’t know it?” That still blew her mind. She’d never realized that well over half of Lizard Lick’s populace was an entirely different species.

  “Well, no. The town itself isn’t actually in our territory, just close enough that everyone considers it to be. The other clans hereabouts know we keep an eye out so there are usually no problems.”

  At the mention of trouble, Lilly’s expression dropped serious and she flicked a glance to the door in the opposite wall, kitty corner with the main entrance to the lodge. It was the door that apparently led to Dean Sterling, the bear head honcho’s, quarters and where they’d taken Kacie when they’d arrived.

  “Have you heard anything?” Kait asked quietly.

  Lilly shook her head. “No. They’ve been shut up in there since we arrived.”

  She reached out to give Kait’s arm a quick squeeze. “But don’t worry. Dean’s called in Morgan, he’s a surgeon over in Wakefield. He’s seriously the best at what he does. She’ll be fine. From what I could see it was surface wounding, no puncture of the gut…just messy.”

  Kait’s eyes rounded.

  “How can you be so calm about this? All that blood… yet you freak out if you get a little splinter? Not exactly the model of a big, bad bear—”

  She trailed off, looking at her friend, then quickly behind her to where Creed propped up the bar. He wasn’t watching her at the moment, but she was sure he was aware of every move she made.

  “What’s the matter?” Lilly asked gently. “Struggling to take it all in?”

  Kait nodded, still looking around the room. Even though she knew what they were, that they all had monsters…bear-shaped monsters…inside, seemed fantastical.

  “How do they like…fit?” she blurted out.

  A frown crossed Lilly’s face for a second, then she chuckled. “Our bears? How do they fit inside us?”

  Kait nodded, feeling dumb.

  “Yeah. Like bears are huge and you’re tiny.” She waved a hand at Lilly’s tall, slender frame. “Or are you a mini bear or something? A pygmy bear maybe…do those exist? Or…you’re a teddy bear, aren’t you?” she teased.

  “Teddy bear? Are you serious?” Lilly couldn’t appear to help the grin that crawled over her face. “I’ll have you know I’m over two hundred pounds of pure, unadulterated bitch with a trigger temper certain points of the month. Let’s just say, bear men?” She leaned in to whisper. “They tread veeeeery carefully when their women get Mother Nature’s little gift.”

  Kait grinned, the moment one of normalcy even in this crazy situation. The idea of her delicate friend turning into a two-hundred-pound bear was mind-boggling. Movement caught her eye and she cast a glance over to Creed, sitting by the bar. Heat rolled through her as he caught her eye.

  After all but kissing the life out of her upstairs and telling her he’d wait for her to be comfortable, they’d come back down here so she could “get used to bear life.” It was easy to see that he’d needed some space, and to be honest, so did she. This was all… yeah, she still hadn’t decided yet that she wasn’t dreaming.

  “And Creed?” she asked carefully, not looking at him but knowing he hadn’t taken his eyes off her all evening. “Is he a big bear as well? He’s a big guy.”

  She flushed as the last words left her mouth. He was a big guy. She’d felt the evidence of that pressed up close and personal.

  Lilly’s expression faltered a little, then she shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t know. I’ve never seen him shift. No one has apart from Dean. Apparently he’s only ever shifted three times in his life.”

  Kait blinked, surprised. “Don’t you all need to get like…furry once a month, though? Or is that just in films?”

  “No. We do. But he doesn’t. And he always fights human, even when his opponent is in bear form.” Lilly flicked a glance up at the man in question and Kait saw the respect in her eyes. “He’s one of the best damn enforcers I’ve ever had working for me. Strong as… well, strong as a bear even in human form. If he ever fought as a bear? He’d be awesome. I don’t think even Dean could take him on. If he wanted to, he could probably take over the pack…”

  “But?” Kait knew her friend, so she knew by the way she spoke there was more to the story. “There’s a but there, I know there is.”

  Lilly crossed her eyes for a second, then sighed. “Yeah… Some assholes around here don’t like him. Say he’s not really a bear, or not bear enough to be an enforcer, let alone lead the clan. Not that he’d ever challenge Dean. He’s always had Dean’s back.”

  “Is that why someone called him a half-skin earlier?”

  Lilly swore, the curse low and with venom. “Yeah, that’d be one of Anderson’s lot. He’s becoming a right pain in the ass recently. If those guys earlier hadn’t been out of towners, I’d have suspected he was behind that. He doesn’t like me either, certainly not since Dean made me Head Enforcer. In his mind, women should be chained to the kitchen sink. Fucker, I’d like to show him some chains, and not in a fun way.”

  Kait shivered, remembering the way the sheriff had looked at her earlier. It hadn’t been a nice look. Like she was a piece of meat or a possession… like she wasn’t even a person anymore. Which was odd, since every other time she’d spoken to him—when she’d thought he was human, before she knew about bears and wolves and all that—he’d been the stereotype of the caring small town sheriff.

  Quickly she looked around to check that the sheriff wasn’t lurking around. She didn’t know if she could cope with another dose of his charm.

  What you see is what you get, unless in Lizard Lick.

  Her gaze caught on Creed. He was watching her again, but this time his expression wasn’t guarded or m
asked as it always had been before. Instead, she saw need and utter longing etched deeply into his eyes. He looked at her like she was the only thing in his world, like she was the only thing he’d ever wanted or needed. And that even though she was right there in front of him, he couldn’t quite believe she was. That she was his.

  “Excuse me for a moment?” she murmured, standing to walk across the room toward him. He tracked her every movement, gaze never leaving her as she approached. The heat in his eyes gave her that extra confidence and there was a sway in her hips as she reached him. She stopped less than a foot away, looking up at him.

  “Hey.” He lifted his beer to his lips and took a swallow, still watching her. “Girl talk not cutting it?”

  She stepped closer, trailing her fingertip down the center of his chest, following the line of the buttons. “It’s nice, but I have other things on my mind. Like this guy I can’t get out of my head. He watches me. I realize that he’s always watched me… and I like it. I just wanted him to know that.”

  “Is that so?” He put his empty bottle down on the bar and turned to face her. “How about you show him instead?”

  * * *

  Kait blew his mind. She was so tiny and delicate, but so full of fire. She’d been dropped in at the deep end and so far, she was swimming perfectly. No hint of hysterics at all. He was proud of her.

  But his pride disappeared under the heat of desire as she stepped closer. Everything that had complicated their relationship—his friendship with her brother, the fact they were different species—all that faded away as she walked her fingers down his chest. All that remained, all that mattered, was she was a woman and he was the man who loved her. Wanted her, and by the end of the night, he intended to have her. By all the signals she was giving him, she wanted that as well.

  “How’s this for showing?” she murmured, leaning in closer to brush her lips against his jaw. She was so tiny she had to stand on tiptoes to do it and had no chance of reaching his lips unless he tilted his head for her. But he kind of liked her working for it, so he stayed where he was, even though all his instincts railed at him and called him all kinds of an idiot.

  “It’s not bad,” he admitted softly, his words ending on a catch as she moved closer, fitting her small, curvy body against his harder one. Instantly, his cock stood to attention, desperate for release from the confines of his jeans. “But perhaps he needs a little more to be sure.”

  “Oh, he does, does he?” Her lips curved into a smile against the skin of his jaw. Subtly, she moved, covering the movement of her hand as she slid it between them. And cupped him boldly. He gasped, looking down at her.

  “Well…” She looked up through her lashes. “The problem there is that we’re in a public place, and I want to do some very private things to you.”

  Fuck… The heat in her eyes was one he’d dreamed of seeing there but never thought he would. Now he did, it was better than he ever could have imagined. Like wildfire, desire coursed through his veins, filling his body with a sexual energy he’d never felt before. Every muscle was galvanized, his cock hard enough to punch holes through freaking wood, but he couldn’t move. Not with her hand cupping him as it was, small fingers stroking up and down his length. He was a slave to her every whim, painfully aware of every little movement she made.

  “We—” The sound that emerged from his throat was so low and laden with his bear he had to stop and swallow to get it back within human hearing range. “We can rectify that easily.”

  “Oi, skin.”

  The harsh voice broke into their interlude, making them both look up. Creed scowled. Brad Harrison stood behind them, his bear already pushing through to change the shape of his nose and mouth with fur poking through his pores. It was not a good look on anyone, and Brad had been as ugly as sin to start with.

  “You talking to me?” Creed lifted an eyebrow in question, his hands hard on Kait’s hips to hold her still. Anger roiled within him. Whatever bug Brad had up his ass, he didn’t want her upset.

  “Yeah, I’m talking to you, skin,” Brad sneered, contempt in his eyes. “You’re barely even a fucking bear…you shouldn’t be in here, let alone on the enforcer team.”

  Creed sighed. “This old chestnut again? Go and take it up with Dean if you’re so fucking hot under the collar about it.”

  Brad snarled, and Kait flinched, imperceptibly edging closer to Creed. That she sought the safety of his arms made him feel ten feet tall. The movement of her hand to rest against his chest drew Brad’s attention.

  “Oh, I don’t give a fuck about being an enforcer. What I am pissed about is that you claimed an available female without her being offered to the clan. There are other men…proper bears…who need women first. Half-skins should go to the back of the fucking queue.”

  Oh, for fuck’s sake. He should have seen this coming. Brad was an asshole, pure and simple, and hadn’t figured out that was the reason he’d been turned down time and time again. Instead, he consoled himself with excuses about women. They weren’t pure bred enough, they weren’t his fated mate…a hundred other reasons that he couldn’t get laid other than the truth. That he was a fucking dick and no woman in her right mind would touch him with a bargepole.

  “Queue? What fucking queue?” The pocket rocket that was Lilly Braun exploded into the little scene like a tornado before Creed could answer. Rage shivered over her skin as she stared Harrison down. “We’re giving women out now like sweets to the deserving or those who can stand in fucking line are we? When did this happen?”

  Brad snarled, fur poking comically through his shirt. “We are bears. Proper bears…we should just take what we want. Not pussy foot around with human laws and regulations.”

  Lilly’s voice dropped dangerously low. “Laws and regulations are what keep order. What protect not just our clan but all the clans. And there are consequences for breaking them.”

  One by one, her claws descended. Soft snicks in the sudden quiet of the room as all the occupants realized that shit had just gotten real and there was a very distinct possibility of an ass kicking. Anticipation raced through the room as people angled themselves to watch without appearing to. Creed stepped forward, pushing Kait behind him as he pulled power from his bear. He couldn’t drop claws like Lilly could, but he had a punch hard enough to shatter bone and put serious hurt on any bear that crossed him.

  “I’m not breaking any laws,” Brad pouted mulishly, avoiding Lilly’s gaze. Instead, his eyes latched onto Creed behind her. A flash of something akin to cunning crossed his features as he lifted his voice, “I challenge Creed Morgan for the right to claim the human woman.”

  The sharp intake of breath was echoed around the room, the silence so sudden that a pin dropping would have been deafening.

  “Creed?” Kait’s voice was soft and unsure. “Can he do that?”

  “He can challenge.” He didn’t recognize his own voice. It was so heavy with his bear. A bear who snarled and growled within at at the possible threat to his woman. Brad Harrison would lay a hand on Kait over Creed’s dead body. “But he has to meet me in the pit. And he’s not fucking walking out of it alive.”

  “Yeah? Says who, you fucking skin?” Brad surged forward, his words mangled by his misshapen jaw as his bear started to push forward. “I’ll tear you to fucking pieces and fuck your woman before your corpse is cold.”

  “Just try it, asshole.” Creed’s temper flared, his step forward automatic and only stopped by Kait’s hand on his arm.

  “Down, boys,” Lilly’s voice cut the air like a knife. “Challenge has been called and accepted?” She looked at Creed in question. He nodded and she carried on speaking, raising her voice so the whole room could hear. “On behalf of Kaitlyn Turner, the challenged’s mate, I claim the rite of preparation. Challenge will be met in the pit in twenty-four hours.”

  “Hey, no! She’s not his mate, not yet. The rite of preparation doesn’t apply,” Brad snarled, backed up by a couple of his bully boys. Creed glared at
them, then looked at Lilly. He’d take on every single one of them right now if necessary.

  “In this case,” Dean Sterling drawled from the back of the room. He’d emerged from his suite, blood stains across his shirt, to lean against the door frame. “I rule that it does. Brad, if you have a problem with that, you can meet me in the pit now.”

  Brad blanched, all the color leaving his face at the very real possibility of facing off with the Itan. No one wanted to face Dean. He was literally a lean, mean fighting machine. Not the biggest bear in the clan, he was without a doubt the most lethal, which was why he was Itan.

  “No, Itan,” Brad mumbled, not meeting Dean’s hard gaze. “No problem at all.”

  “I didn’t think so.” Dean transferred his attention to Creed and Kait. “Creed, take your woman home and prepare for the pit tomorrow.”

  “Itan.” With a nod, Creed turned and, Kait’s hand in his, left the lodge.

  * * *

  The drive to Creed’s house was silent. Kait stole glances at his profile to find him brooding and closed off. His expression was set and forbidding. Biting her lip, she curled up in the passenger seat and looked at the town as they passed through. Now that she knew the truth, she’d never look at the sleepy town the same way again. And to think she’d left Lizard Lick convinced that she’d only find adventure in the city…only to find one asshole, Mr. Oh-So-Wrong, and that all the excitement she could ever want was right here at home.

  Home. She let the word settle and take root in her mind. It felt right. She was home. Here. With Creed. When had that happened?

  She looked at him again as he turned the big truck off the main road through town just after the tattoo shop, then a sharp right again to pull up behind the row of shops. Killing the engine, he looked up through the windscreen.

  “It’s not much.” He indicated the apartment above the shop. “But it’s home…for now.”