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Someone to finally claim as hers and hers alone.

  Someone to love her.

  Her alone.

  Dewi nuzzled his neck as she struggled to hold back her climax. “Please, baby,” she whispered. “Please come for me!”

  * * * *

  Ken dropped his head to her shoulder as his climax flowed through him. Maybe he’d been doing things wrong all these years, but whacking off had never, ever felt this powerful. His three encounters with other women before Dewi damn sure never felt this good.

  She cried out as he felt her muscles squeezing his shaft and knew she’d reached her climax, too.

  He froze, gasping for breath, terrified.

  “What’s wrong?” Even her voice had changed.

  He shook his head, afraid to speak.

  She caught his chin and made him look her in the eye. “What’s wrong?” she asked again, gently.

  “When do I have to go?”

  “Go?”

  He swallowed, his gut tight with worry. “Go. When will you make me leave?”

  When she hugged him tightly, he sensed her holding back again for fear of hurting him. “Never. You’re never leaving me. Please stop thinking that.”

  * * * *

  He captured Dewi’s mouth in a fierce kiss that melted her body and apparently stiffened his cock again, from the feel of him growing hard inside her. He fucked her hard and fast, desperately, his fear that she didn’t mean what she said washing off him in waves so strong it made her heart ache for him.

  First thing on her agenda would be proving to him she meant forever and healing his emotional scars.

  Then she’d think about beating the crap out of whoever had hurt him.

  Her mate.

  They both experienced another explosive orgasm that left them gasping for air. Despite loving this, she hoped they settled down after a few days or they’d literally fuck each other to death at this rate.

  He rolled onto his side, taking her with him. They lay in each other’s arms with Dewi nestled against him. Eyes closed, she inhaled even as her fingers traced random patterns across his chest. “I love you,” she whispered. “Forever. I promise.”

  “I love you too, Dewi. I don’t understand why or how, but I do.” He nuzzled her hair. “I think Dellis Tadewi is a beautiful name. It’s unique, like you.”

  She blushed. “It’s a stupid name,” she mumbled.

  “No, it’s not. It’s unique. Something else we have in common. Unusual names.”

  She settled deeper into his embrace. His body felt as if it had been sculpted to perfectly fit hers. “True.”

  His fingers stroked her arm. She loved how natural it felt being with him, opening up to him, giving him her all, mind, body, soul…and her heart.

  Something she’d never been able to give before.

  “I have a feeling you have a lot more experience than I do in this area,” he softly admitted. “I promise I’ll do better.”

  She giggled. “You do much better, you’ll make my brain explode. You’re fantastic. How could any of those three women ever give you up? Not that I’m complaining.” She gazed up into his face.

  He shrugged a little as his expression darkened. She felt his pain again, sharp and keening. “One night each, and they said they’d call me later. None of them ever did.”

  She froze. “You mean you were only with them one time each?”

  “Yeah.”

  Propping herself up on one arm, she gently turned his chin so he had to look at her. “You mean to tell me when we did it in the restaurant earlier, that was the fourth time, ever, you’d been with a woman?”

  He nodded.

  She fought conflicting waves of indignant rage at wanting revenge on his behalf. Followed by joy that she was, for all practical considerations, the only woman of any importance he’d ever had a relationship with, much less made love to. And guilt for the fact that she had not only had several more lovers than he had, but a lot more experience.

  Pushing those emotions away, she kissed him. “How long has it been since you’ve been with someone else?”

  He reddened again. “Three years. I’m clean, if that’s a worry.”

  “Oh, baby.” She wanted to cry for him. She rested he head on his chest. “No, it’s not a worry. That’s not why I asked. That’s not an issue for shifters.” Waves of nervous worry and love washed off him.

  Beck never made her feel like this. No one had ever made her feel like this. “Hold me tight,” she said. “I won’t break.”

  His arms tentatively closed around her. “I understand if you’d rather me go home.”

  “Stop,” she growled. “You are home.” He held a deep bubble of pain within him, predating her by years. “What do I have to say or do to convince you that I’m spending the rest of my life with you?”

  At first, he didn’t answer. After a few minutes, he softly said, “Being here when I wake up in the morning’s a good start.”

  Chapter Four

  Holy crap!

  Ken stared at the ceiling and ruffled his hair with one hand.

  His other arm was firmly curled around Dewi, who’d fallen asleep tightly clinging to his side. Asleep she looked beautiful, vulnerable…

  Normal.

  Christ. In the space of less than twelve hours his life had gone from boring loneliness to whacked out and lovestruck.

  He reached over and brushed a few stray strands of hair from her face. It didn’t make any sense. It went against every logical cell in his body. She was fire and hurricanes and earthquakes and tornadoes and every freaking unpredictable natural disaster rolled into one sweet and gorgeously sexy body.

  And he was…

  Boring.

  Predictable.

  Logical.

  Geeky.

  He was also indisputably, irrevocably in love with her. And she was still here this morning, even in sleep clinging to him as if afraid he’d leave her.

  As if.

  Sunlight peeked through the curtains, but from the color and length of the shadows it couldn’t be very late. Maybe around seven.

  His stomach grumbled and he needed coffee.

  She stretched next to him and made a content sound. “Mmm. Coffee.”

  He smiled. “You heard my thoughts?”

  One mocha eye opened. “Oooh, yeah. I’m glad you like coffee. I’m a real bear in the morning before I’ve had my coffee.”

  “Is that literal bear or metaphorical one?”

  She smiled and kissed him. “Metaphorical one. Badger won’t even talk to me before I’ve got my hands on a cup. The only animal I shift into is a wolf.”

  He propped himself on one elbow. “How about I go down and make us some and bring it up?”

  “Mmm. I like the sound of that.” She stretched again with her arms over her head, lengthening her body and stirring interest between his legs. “Badger left a while ago,” she said. “I heard the garage door go up. We’ve got the house to ourselves for at least another hour.”

  “Then I’ll go down and get cracking on that coffee.”

  “Filters, coffee, and sugar are in the cabinet to the left of the fridge. Milk’s in the fridge. Mugs are hanging over the sink. I take mine black. Use five scoops of grounds.” She rolled onto her tummy and grabbed his pillow, pulling it to her. “I’ll keep your side of the bed warm for you. Hurry back.”

  Please don’t let her come to her senses about me. He leaned in and kissed her. “I’ll hurry, I promise.”

  He’d die for her sweet smile. “Good.”

  On his way out of the room he snagged her robe from where it had landed on the floor at the end of the bed. Huge on her, he pulled it on as he took the stairs two at a time, a broad grin spreading across his face as he descended to the kitchen. It fit perfectly. He belted the robe and whistled to himself as he found everything exactly where she said it’d be. The coffee maker wasn’t hard to figure out. In a few minutes he had it gurgling and brewing.

  Maybe it was because he stoo
d there deep in thought that he didn’t hear the door to the garage open. But when he found himself spun around and slammed against the fridge, back first, he didn’t have time to scream as the breath rushed out of his lungs.

  The huge man’s blue eyes looked full of murderous rage as he easily pinned Ken to the fridge by his neck with one large hand.

  “Who the fuck are you?” the guy growled.

  The stranger stood at least six inches taller than him and had probably a hundred pounds on him, mostly muscle from the looks of it.

  Ineffectually clawing at the hand steadily choking off his air, Ken tried to scream for Dewi, to tell her to run, call the cops.

  To come save him.

  “Answer me!” the guy demanded, shaking him.

  Answering him was impossible considering he couldn’t even breathe. Lashing out, he managed to land a kick near the guy’s groin, which got him to loosen his grip long enough that Ken could suck in a breath and let out a scream.

  “Dewi!”

  The guy recovered almost immediately and slammed him hard against the fridge again as Ken heard her racing down the stairs.

  “Beck!” she barked as she rounded the corner. “Let him go!”

  The hand around his neck immediately disappeared as the guy flew twenty feet across the kitchen, where he slammed into the opposite wall, rattling dishes in the cabinet as he made impact.

  Ken thought, Holy shit, she’s fucking strong, but his knees gave way. He sank to the floor as he clutched his neck and gasped for air.

  Dewi had grabbed his shirt and pulled it on as she ran downstairs. She knelt in front of him, her hands gentle on his throat as she examined him. “Are you okay, baby?” she asked.

  His fear immediately fled. Apparently she knew the asshole who’d just tried to kill him, and her concern was his own well being.

  He managed a nod even as he coughed.

  She helped him to his feet, still fussing over him before she finally convinced herself he was okay. She kissed him, her relief nearly palpable.

  Then she turned on the guy, who’d picked himself off the floor, and shoved him again, hard. “What the fuck, Beck? What the fuck’s wrong with you?” Ken prayed she never got that angry with him.

  The man held his hands up, warding her off. “Look, I show up and find a strange guy I’ve never seen before standing in your kitchen and wearing your robe, what the fuck am I supposed to think?”

  Even though the guy had over a foot of height and at least a hundred and fifty pounds on her, he almost seemed scared of her.

  “It’s not my fucking fault you didn’t call before you dropped over.” She shoved him again, hard, driving him back against the wall. “If you’d hurt him, I would have had to fucking kill you!”

  Confusion painted the man’s face. “What?”

  “He’s my mate.”

  Disappointment fleetingly replaced confusion on the man’s face before he schooled his expression into something appearing reasonably calm. “Ah. Sorry,” he softly said. “I didn’t know.”

  “I was going to call you today and tell you. It happened last night. I wasn’t expecting you back in town today.”

  Ken watched the exchange, his fear displaced by curiosity. There was no mistaking this guy had the hots for Dewi. Obviously he was very familiar to her if he had access to the house. From the man’s reaction, Ken suspected they had an intimate relationship.

  She dropped him for me?

  He tried to feel jealous and couldn’t. It shocked him, happily, to realize he felt her devotion radiating from her. No matter what her previous relationship with this guy, she now only had eyes for Ken.

  Dewi backed off and crossed her arms across her chest. Her voice gentled. “I’m sorry, Beck. You know how it works. It just happens.”

  “Yeah.” He glanced at Ken. “I just always hoped it’d happen for us one day.” Ken flinched as the guy walked over, hand extended. “Sorry I scared you, man. I didn’t know. Hope I didn’t hurt you. Dawson Beckett. Call me Beck.”

  He hesitated. After a glance at Dewi, who nodded, he shook hands with the guy. “Hea…Ken. Ken Ethelbert.”

  Dewi’s amused smile behind Beck’s back warmed Ken’s heart. She walked over and hooked her arm through Ken’s. “His name’s Heathcliff McKenzie Ethelbert, but he’s agreed Ken might be an easier name to go by.”

  Ken gave Beck credit for trying. The larger man’s face twitched before an amused snort broke through. “Sorry. Badger meet him yet?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Last night. He went to the store this morning.”

  “I wondered. Truck’s gone and the garage door’s standing open.” He leaned against the counter and didn’t make eye contact with Ken. “Welcome to the family,” he said to Ken.

  Ken glanced down at Dewi, who stared up at him with an unmistakable expression of pride and love. “Thanks,” he said.

  Beck took a deep breath and gave him a forced smile. “Guess it’s to the guest room for me from now on.”

  “Beck, you knew this might happen one day,” Dewi said. “I faced the chance of it happening to you first. It’s the way we are.”

  “I know, kiddo. It’s all right.”

  Ken now realized Beck, while in great shape, was older than Dewi, even though he didn’t look that much older. From the lines at the corners of Beck’s eyes, Ken suspected the man was at least ten years older than her.

  “Beck’s my partner,” she said. “Enforcer,” she quickly added. “We’ve worked together for years.”

  “Not just worked together, I take it,” Ken quietly said.

  Dewi blushed, but Beck smiled, the expression looking genuine this time. “Damn, the guy’s got balls.”

  “Why is everyone concerned with my testicles?”

  Beck roared with laughter. “Now I know you’ve met Badger. Well, it’s like this. How much have you two talked about the shifter stuff?”

  “Before or after I fainted last night?” he snarked. Might as well admit it now. Badger will probably spill the beans anyway.

  Beck grinned. “Dewi, you know, I’m not happy he gets to spend the rest of his life with you instead of me, but let me tell you something. I like him already.”

  He felt her relief next to him. “I’m glad,” she said. “Does that mean you won’t try to kill him again?”

  Ken rubbed at his neck. He supposed he’d have to wear a dress shirt and a tie to work in the morning to hide the bruises that would surely appear.

  “I promise I won’t try to kill him again. Sheesh. I said I’m sorry. Anyway, back to the shifter stuff. It’s like this. She’s unique among the Targhee pack. Hell, she’s unique among shifters, as far as we can tell. She’s a Prime Alpha.”

  “We hadn’t got that far in the explanations,” she mumbled, still clinging to him. Ken shifted position so he could drape his arm around her shoulders. He loved the way she felt so perfect there, and how she slipped her arm around his waist as she cuddled closer to him.

  Beck poured himself a cup of coffee. “Alphas aren’t rare, but they’re not very common. While there are dominant females, most aren’t Alphas. Most Alphas are males. I’m an Alpha. Enforcers are, except for Dewi here, usually Alpha males, because they normally can’t be back at the pack full-time anyway. Especially if they’re related to the pack Alpha. Too much fighting. So they get sent out to be Enforcers. But a Prime Alpha is rare. Usually the head pack Alpha is a Prime. I don’t know how to explain it to someone who didn’t grow up in a pack.”

  When Ken nodded, Beck continued. “Prime Alpha females are unheard of. Until Dewi, we’d never had one, never even heard of one. That’s why she had to leave the pack when she was a kid. Her eldest brother, Peyton, would have ended up killing her.”

  Ken felt horrified. “What?”

  “He couldn’t have helped it,” Beck said. “It’s instinctive. When a Prime comes of age and matures, if they challenge the pack Alpha there’s a fight for control of the pack. Winner takes over. If you’ve got two gr
own men, they don’t kill each other—most of the time. The loser normally has enough sense of self-preservation to back down and submit. Usually a male Prime won’t make a play for control until his twenties, at the earliest. Or instead of fighting, he’ll leave and start his own pack. Especially if he’s found a mate already.”

  He looked at Dewi. “But try pitting a thirty-five year-old man, a Prime Alpha in top physical condition, against an extremely hormonal twelve-year-old girl who is convinced she can kick that man’s ass. A girl who refuses to back down unless she’s taken down. It’s a recipe for disaster. If the loser doesn’t submit, they’re killed.”

  He looked at her, shocked. “He would have killed you? Your own brother?” The thought horrified Ken.

  “Not willingly,” she softly added. “I was pretty cocky. Peyton didn’t want to hurt me. Everyone knew if I did manage to kill him that I’d feel horrible about it after I calmed down. That’s why they sent me away. So I couldn’t challenge him.”

  Protective anger welled inside Ken. “Your own family sent you away when you were twelve?” That explained why she’d been here in Florida for thirteen years.

  She nodded. “Peyton named me Head Enforcer first. Made me stay away for two years before I could return to Idaho. Badger and Beck had to go back with me and swear I would stay in control. Peyton made me swear on their lives I would stay in control and wouldn’t challenge him.”

  “What?”

  Beck grinned. “Let me tell you something about scrotum-shriveling terror, buddy. Me and Badger went through it, standing there, praying she wouldn’t go batshit and try to rip Peyton’s throat out during her official appointment ceremony. They would have killed us where we stood.”

  What the hell have I gotten myself into?

  She held on to him. “No one will hurt you,” she softly assured him. “You’re my mate. Mates are protected. Especially human mates, because they’re not as strong as shifters. Intentionally hurting someone’s mate is an automatic death sentence.”

  “It’s just that most of the time, the Alphas’ mates are women,” Beck said. Ken caught his teasing tone, meant playfully, not insulting.

  Ken held her closer, more for his own comfort than hers. “How old are you?” he asked Beck.