Chapter 4
Maya
Iwatch dazedly as Forge locks up the shop. The front door has three locks, and he pulls down a metal exterior blind that covers the entire frontage.
Am I crazy to go to his hideout with him alone?
Maybe.
But right now, I don’t have any choice. Someone looking for me is very bad news.
And, I don’t know…. I trust Forge. I’ve just turned his whole life upside down, but somehow he’s willing to help me. I don’t know why he’s doing this for me. I’m just glad he is.
I keep stealing glances at him when he’s not looking.
My lips are still burning from his kiss.
It was the first kiss of my life, but I don’t think kissing could feel better than that.
My stomach fluttered, my whole body tingled, and that place between my thighs started to ache.
I longed for him to touch me, all over those tingling, aching spots.
I wanted to be naked with him. More than that.
I’m so confused.
When I was thirteen—on the day I got my period—my mom made me promise that I’d never take a shifter as a mate. “They’re bad boys. They only bring you heartache,” she said.
I laid my hand on hers and made the promise easily. I knew how unhappy she’d been with Demetrius’s dad, and I had no intention of mating a shifter.
But now… now I feel drawn to this big, fierce wolf man in a way I can’t even explain to myself. It’s not just his looks, not just the physical effect he has on me. It’s so weird. I keep thinking, I’m his.
Which makes no sense at all.
Forge leads me to a utility room at the back of the shop, and he picks up a leather jacket.
“Try this on,” he says.
“We’re riding a motorcycle?”
“Yup.” He flashes a wicked grin.
He must be from an MC pack, I think as I pull the jacket on. Which makes him even more dangerous than I appreciated.
“What about my car?” I ask.
He stills, thinking. “Where is it parked?”
“On the street.”
“No reason why anyone should be able to identify it. But I’ll ask Meredith if she can put it in a garage someplace. That okay?”
“I could drive us?” I say hopefully.
He looks at me like I’ve cracked the most ridiculous joke in the history of the world. “Nah. Bike’s a lot faster.”
He fastens my jacket up and looks at it critically. It’s a little big, but good enough.
“I’m sorry I don’t have a full set of leathers for you,” he says, and something like guilt passes across his features. “But you’ll be safe with me. I’ll ride extra careful.”
I expect him to put on a leather vest with a club patch on it. But he just tugs on a regular leather jacket. No patches at all.
He grabs a helmet off a shelf, examines it, then places it carefully on my head. He tests it for tightness, then he fastens up the chinstrap. The way this dangerous guy is being so caring toward me makes me all fuzzy and kind of breathless.
He sets up an alarm, fiddles with a security camera system, then opens the back door.
In a narrow alleyway, a huge motorcycle is waiting for us. All black and gleaming chrome, with Harley Davidson emblazoned on the tank.
“It’s big,” I mutter, mildly terrified.
“Uh huh.” Forge flashes a grin. “Beautiful, right?”
“Yeah.” I can’t deny it’s a stunning piece of machinery.
He looks pleased. Then he swings his leg astride, and the beast roars to life. He maneuvers it off the kickstand, then he helps me climb on. I’ve never been on a bike before—let alone such a big one—and my legs are shaky. But when I settle into position, the leather seat and footrests are comfy.
“Wrap your arms around me,” he tells me.
“Tighter,” he says, when I hold him in a loose, shy grasp.
I take a deep breath and grip his broad, firm waist as tight as I wanted to.
“Come on. Don’t be so prissy.” Impatiently, he grabs my knees and tugs me forward, until I’m snug against him.
I bite back a gasp as my thighs spread wide around his hips, that aching spot pressing right up against his denim-clad ass. I’ve never had a man between my legs before. It’s outrageous. Confusing.
He gives me some instructions on staying close to him, relaxing, and shouting out if I need anything, and we’re off.
We stop in front of Sinner’s Refuge Bar, and he stalks off and gives the scary lady my car keys, then the rest of Perdue town passes in a blur, and we’re heading onto a ramp that brings us to the highway.
It is kind of cool being on a motorcycle, once I quit being nervous. The countryside zips past at breathtaking speed and Forge’s bulk protects me from the worst of the wind.
He checks on me all the time, and I start to look forward to those little leg squeezes. The weight of his big hand on my thigh, his body heat flooding through the denim. He makes me feel excited, safe, imperiled, all at the same time.
After an hour, Forge pulls into a parking lot in front of a supermarket.
“Need to get supplies,” he explains. “Don’t know how long we’ll be out there.”
He tells me to get whatever I want, but I’m kind of flustered and I wind up grabbing some random stuff—cookies, chips and candy, mostly.
Meanwhile, he’s gotten fresh meat, sausages, vegetables.
Milk. Frozen pizza. Adult food. When he scans my choices, he throws me an indulgent look, and I go hot with embarrassment.
I want him to think I’m a grownup woman, not a silly little kid.
Everything fits in his bike’s panniers, and we’re off again.
It’s almost dusk by the time we turn onto a narrow road.
Dense vegetation reaches across on both sides, blocking out the sky.
It’s a little creepy and I shudder. Somehow, Forge feels the tremor all the way through his leathers, and he gives my leg another reassuring squeeze.
“Be there soon, little one,” he shouts through the helmet.
He rides on and on. The road becomes a gravel track, then dirt. At last, he parks up, deep in a pine forest.
He helps me slip off, then he pulls our stuff out of the panniers. I look around confusedly. Aside from this small clearing, there’s no sign of civilization. I’m a suburban girl. I’m not used to this level of remoteness, and I’m kind of freaked out.
“This way.” His hand is light on my back as he guides me through the forest.
There’s a sound of gently sloshing water and a sharp, earthy scent. Then a stretch of water appears through the trees.
A lake.
Surreal. I stand and stare at its broad expanse. It’s big, wide, and right in the middle of it is an island.
“My place.” Forge points to the island. “My cabin is behind that clump of trees.”
I squint. “Can’t see anything.”
He chuckles. “Exactly. Which is why it’s the safest place we could be right now. There’s only one boat here—” he indicates a dinghy, tied to a small jetty. “Also mine. So, it’s completely private.”
I worry at my lower lip. This is a whole other level of isolation.
Just me and an indecently sexy wolf shifter, who I must not kiss again, under any circumstances. Even though every part of my body is screaming out for him.
“It’s comfortable inside,” he says, misreading my apprehension. Then his irises turn stormy with disquiet. He takes my hands in his. Big, work-roughened hands, which seem to come with an electrical charge that I’m trying hard to ignore.
“I want you to know you can trust me, Maya. I’m not gonna do anything to you that you don’t want. I promise.”
I see there’s a war inside him right now—between the honorable man and the hungry wolf, and I shiver, wondering what he’s thinking of doing to me. Is he imagining what I look like naked? Imagining how I feel inside? Is he picturing himself fucking me for the first time?
Trouble is, I do want all these things. I want them so bad right now that I can feel my panties are wet. But I’m determined to keep my promise to my mom.
“I’m not worried,” I lie.
He flashes a quick smile. “Good.” He helps me into the dinghy, starts up the motor, and we’re soon crossing the calm water.
His big, powerful body guides the boat expertly.
While his attention is focused away from me, I drink in the sight of his bulky muscles, straining beneath his T-shirt, and my yearning for him flares even hotter.
It’s not long before we arrive on the far shore.
When Forge ties up the boat to a tree, I look back at the mainland and realize it is pretty cool being on an island. The rest of the world at a safe distance.
And the cabin is a whole lot cozier than I expected.
It’s old, rustic. But there’s a neat little porch, with two Adirondack chairs set up.
Inside, the living area is clean and tidy.
Rugs on the floor, a kitchenette with an electric stove, and a fridge-freezer.
Two easy chairs, a bookshelf stuffed with books, and, in an alcove in the far corner, one bed.
It’s king size, made up with a soft-looking plaid coverlet. But it’s the only bed in the cabin.
I stare at it in dismay. This part I hadn’t considered. How am I going to fight my attraction to him if we’re sleeping in the same small space?
“The bed’s yours, of course,” Forge says, as if he’s read my mind. “I can lay down anywhere.”
“I can’t take your bed!” I gasp.
“Maya.” He fixes me with a serious look. “I’m a wolf. I could lay out on the porch all night and be comfortable. Don’t argue.”
A thrill races through me. Is it wrong that I kind of like him bossing me around?
“Okay. Thank you,” I mumble.
As I help him to fill the fridge and freezer, my curiosity grows. This whole place is set up for survival. If there was some large-scale natural disaster, he’d be able to hole up here for weeks. Why is he so security conscious?
“Come sit outside,” he says when we’re done. “You hungry?”
“Maybe just for some chips,” I say, casting around at the snacks I bought.
He grabs two beers out of the fridge, pops the caps with his teeth and hands one to me.
Then he settles into one of the Adirondacks, and I slump into the other one and tear open the bag of sour cream and jalapeno chips.
Far in the distance, above the trees, is a mountain peak where the sun is setting, cooking up beautiful shades of pink and gold.
I take a sip of the beer. It tastes like freedom.
Peace. For a moment I close my eyes and savor it.
And then I remember that neither my brother nor my mom has any peace right now, and I jerk upright again.
Forge is watching me, the fading light glinting in his irises. “You’re safe here,” he tells me. “That’s the most important thing.”
That way of his—of knowing exactly what I’m thinking—is kind of eerie. Is it possible he also feels that weird tug between us? That sense that our minds are connected?
“Now we’ve got some space to find your brother,” he continues.
I blink. “You’ll really help me find him?”
He looks surprised. “Of course. I said I would.”
My head spins. “Why are you doing all this for me?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” he demands, frowning.
“It’s a lot, that’s all.”
“And you’re worth it, Maya. You’re special.” His gaze sweeps me, until I feel exposed. As vulnerable as if I was naked. “No one ever told you that before?”
I shake my head, too overwhelmed to speak.
“Bet you had all the boys after you at high school.”
I shrug. “I was a good girl. While my mom was busy with Demetrius, books were my whole world. I used to hide away in the library, instead of hanging out with the local wolf gangs like some of my human friends.”
I curl my lip, thinking of the girls in my school who were so desperate to be fucked by a werewolf, it was pathetic.
“I’m glad to hear that.” The growl in his voice startles me. When my head snaps toward him, there’s no mistaking the hunger in his eyes.
He knows I’m a virgin.
I give a start. Where the hell did that thought come from? It was like someone whispered it from stage left.
I look away fast, embarrassed at the notion. I used to feel like I was the only virgin in my senior class. Meanwhile, all the she-wolves in my stepdad’s pack get mated by their eighteenth birthday at the latest.
But I’ve never been into anyone. Never even wanted to kiss anyone. I started to think sex and relationships just weren’t for me. Until—
Until Forge’s fierce eyes raked me from head to toe, leaving smolders in their wake. Until I feasted my eyes on his big, muscular body, and a fire lit inside me.
How is it that Forge doesn’t even need to touch me to turn me on?
He’ll only break your heart.
My mother’s words bounce back to me through the gathering dusk, and my gut tightens.
“Who is Demetrius to you?” I blurt out.
He frowns. “What makes you think he’s anything to me?”
“You reacted when I said his name.”
For a split-second he looks even more ferocious. “Thought he was your boyfriend. And my wolf didn’t like that.”
My breath catches in my throat and my heart starts to pound.
“Why?” I ask.