Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Garrak
I could smell her arousal as we strolled down Seashell, my arm around Stevie’s shoulders as if I owned her.
My Kteer preened proudly, knowing everyone who saw us thought she was my female.
I’d just taken her in public…and she’d loved it.
She’d been begging for it, and my cock still throbbed, remembering how it felt to be squeezed as she came on it.
There’d been a moment there, right where anyone could pass by and see us, that I’d had to seriously fight for control.
I was holding her, controlling her, and I could have taken what she’d offered again and again.
I knew Stevie wondered why I hadn’t allowed myself to claim her—to come in that sweet cunt…
and I was beginning to suspect I no longer knew exactly why.
Gods below, I was torturing myself, wasn’t I?
She wanted me. I wanted her. No matter what my Kteer thought, I wanted a future with her, but the damned thing was vocal in its urging to claim hunt take claim taste CLAIM.
My cock agreed.
And strangely, so did my heart.
So why did I hesitate?
Because her father’s an asshole you can’t trust.
Yeah, there was that. I needed Hendricks’ money to start the endowment for the staff for the community center because at the rate the building was going, I was going to need to start the hiring process. Without that money, even more would be riding on that game in New Orleans next week, and—
“Oh, they’ve made a lot of progress!” Stevie announced as the building site came into view. “Look, the landscaping is already starting!”
“I hired Nature’s Gift,” I admitted, allowing her to pull me along. “That’s the company that does a lot of the work here on the island. It’s run by Abydos’s brother Memnon and his Mate Maya.”
“Can I meet them too?” She sent me an excited grin. “It’s really been neat to meet so many of your friends. Eastshore is such a sweet place, and everyone is so friendly. But…”
When she trailed off, I squeezed her hand as we crossed the dirt parking area. “But?”
Her cheeks tinged pink. “But I don’t think I’m going to be able to look Mavis in the eyes again.”
I was laughing when Brakkor climbed out of his backhoe and stomped over to us.
The other male usually did his best to avoid social interaction, but now his brows were up as he studied me. “You’re looking cheerful as fuck.” His gaze switched to Stevie, taking in her blush. “You, on the other hand…”
Instinctively, I stepped in front of her, blocking Brakkor’s view. “What?” I growled.
The asshole merely shrugged and rocked back on his heels, looking smug. “She’s looking satisfied. Which means you hunted and caught her.”
His gaze switched over my shoulder, and when I realized he still had the audacity to study my female, my Kteer began to rumble. His mocking smirk grew.
“But your scent isn’t on her…” He shrugged again. “So you haven’t claimed her yet.”
My vision was going red, my claws extending. How dare he pass judgment on—
Stevie’s knuckles drove into my shoulder, and the surprise curbed my Kteer’s immediate response enough to turn to her in shock. Her brows were drawn in, her blue eyes blazing with irritation.
“Is that why you refuse to come? And why you were so upset yesterday when I gave you that blowjob?”
Brakkor began to laugh. I began to growl, ready to launch myself at his throat—when we were saved by a worried-looking Korrad hurrying toward us.
“What’s wrong? I can’t remember the last time I saw you laugh, Brak. Are you okay?”
I couldn’t speak—I was too appalled by my response to Brakkor’s teasing, and busy trying to rein in my body’s response. The asshole was still chuckling, and Stevie stepped up with a disgusted tone.
“They’re being cavemen, basically. Brakkor is teasing Garrak about something I don’t understand, and Garrak’s ready to rip him limb from limb.”
Korrad seemed horrified, stepping in front of his brother as if to protect him—no, as if to keep either of us from doing something stupid.
Too late; I’m already lost.
“I’m sorry, D’malk,” Korrad said, almost formally. “You know how he can be.”
Yeah, I did. Brakkor was brash and harsh and, as previously stated, an asshole. He’d just never bothered me the way he was bothering me now.
Why?
Stevie spoke to Korrad, maybe trying to pretend everything was normal. “What does da-malk mean?”
Korrad eyed me warily as he answered my female. “It means—I guess kind of like chief. Garrak has been our leader for years, and it’s a term of respect from our world.”
“Huh. And what does da-car mean?” she asked.
Every male—including me—swung to face her with various expressions of surprise. While Brakkor’s mocking grin grew, Korrad looked…almost contemplative when he answered.
“Dkaar means beloved.” There was a curl to his lips as he glanced at me. “It’s a term of endearment.”
“Yeah, well…” Brakkor was still chuckling. “That’s what we were discussing. Why our D’malk hasn’t gotten around to claiming his new fucktoy—”
Dimly, I heard Stevie and Korrad gasp, but my roar of rage drowned them both out. Claws out, I bellowed again and lunged toward Brakkor, who didn’t even bother defending himself. I merely shoved his brother out of the way, wrapped my hands around his neck, and yanked Brakkor close to me.
“She’s my Mate, you sonuvabitch! My Mate!”
Brakkor didn’t say anything—maybe he couldn’t—but his hands wrapped around my wrist. His face was going dark from the interrupted blood flow, but his smirk didn’t lessen. There was something in his eyes that told me he’d played me, and that made me even angrier.
I felt Stevie tugging on my arm, calling my name, and I wondered how long she’d been doing that. With a deep breath, I forced control over my Kteer. I loosened my hold on Brakkor, lowering him back to the ground, even as Stevie began patting me in relief.
Then Korrad was there, peeling my hands from Brakkor’s neck, and I was breathing too heavily to really understand what had happened. I’d attacked one of my guys? One of the males I’d carried out of that darkness all those years ago, one of the males I’d looked after since?
Why?
Because he insulted your Mate.
But when I glanced from my palms up to Brakkor, the other male was rubbing his throat and smirking at me. Had this been his plan all along?
“I’m sorry, Garrak,” Korrad was saying quietly, intently. “He’s sorry too. You know he’s just being an asshole.”
“Yep,” Brakkor rasped, his throat obviously paining him. “That’s what I was doing. Not proving a point at all.”
His brother scowled at him, then took my shoulder and turned me toward the building site. “Come inside, and I’ll show you the progress we’ve made.”
I was half in a daze and barely had time to snag Stevie’s hand before we were heading in for another tour.
The next hour—or maybe more—was a bit of a blur.
I listened to Mr. Kowalski’s reports, discussed the multi-use rooms, and was really pleased when Stevie stepped up and took control of the situation.
It was strange how much of a relief that was, honestly, but she asked all the right questions and made suggestions.
The foreman kept glancing at me for approval, and I just kept nodding.
She was remarkable, wasn’t she?
I don’t think I spoke much during our late lunch at The Waterfront either, or our walk back home. Stevie just kept her fingers twined in mine and occasionally offered insights or thoughts about the town.
When we reached the condo, I stopped right inside the door. She turned to me in surprise, and I took a deep breath.
“I think…I need to go for a walk. To think.” I glanced down at my palms. “I may be a while.”
With a soft smile I could feel, Stevie cupped my cheek in her palm. “Because you need to think about what happened?”
Unable to help myself, I leaned into her touch. I need to think about a lot of things, including claiming you. But what I said was: “I need to think about you.”
Her gaze darted over my face, as if searching for the truth, and her voice was barely above a whisper when she asked, “Am I your Mate, Garrak?”
I squeezed my eyes shut in a futile attempt to quiet my Kteer and my cock and, yes, my heart as I breathed the truth. “I think you must be.”
Stevie’s kiss was the merest brush against my lips. “Then go, Garrak. I’ll be waiting when you get back.”
I went.
Gods help me, I went, and I walked until my leg cramped. Then called up Sylvik, borrowed the plane, and went shopping on the mainland. It was a distraction, nothing else.
And I still wasn’t certain of the future, but I knew one thing: I wanted Stevie.
Forever.
Stevie
I woke Tuesday morning in Garrak’s arms, and I didn’t think I’d ever been so warm, so comfortable. So safe.
Last night I heard him come home after I was already half asleep, and I’ll admit I breathed a little sigh of relief. Even knowing he was strong and dangerous—and hadn’t his response to Brakkor’s slurs yesterday showed that?—I worried about him being alone in the dark.
He’s been alone in the dark before.
Yes, and the deeper I fell in love with him, the more my heart broke for him, that he’d had to experience that terror.
Love him?
I smiled sleepily and snuggled closer to Garrak.
Yeah, I loved him. How could I not? He was the first male in my life that I could trust one-hundred percent to be there when I needed him, to stand up for me and take care of me and—
That’s going to get old.
Would it? I mean, this last week had been like heaven—
Like a vacation. You’re going to have to return to the real world.
The real world. New Orleans. Avoiding my father’s demands, trying not to piss him off, scrambling with whatever jobs I could find, always on the alert for who was going to hurt me next?
I could stay here in Eastshore. With Garrak.
If he wants you.
And if I could get used to being some fuckbunny pillow princess, kept around just because I liked to be taken care of. I didn’t have a real purpose here.