Chapter 24
Steven
The great escape.
We’d done it.
The two of us. My fake fiancée and the Beast.
I could see the headlines now. While the reporter had seemed professional and with my best interest at heart, at first, just throwing out both the incident with the police then being confronted with the news of my engagement to garner my reaction for his fifteen minutes of fame had almost driven me into shifting.
Almost.
Lucky for him I’d had a little thrill when hearing about my engagement. Including a photograph I hadn’t known had been taken at her father’s big celebration. Whoever had exposed our ruse had done so with bad intent in mind.
Karma would kick his or her ass.
My anger for her father lingered in the background and the only reason I hadn’t thrown the man under the bus was because of Christine. I couldn’t see how ripping him to shreds either literally or figuratively would help our relationship thrive.
After the ringing in my ears from the audience cheers had stopped and I’d managed to shut my mouth after my lower lip hitting the ice, my first thoughts had been about Christine.
Getting to her.
Comforting her.
Protecting her.
Kissing her.
Fucking her.
Okay, the last thought had been bad timing, but the hunger was real.
Raw.
And all about the fact that we were mates. I couldn’t ignore evolution or my primal instincts any longer. To do so would cause me to wither up and die. Or at least not perform at my peak.
“You’re trending,” Christine half whispered. She had her phone in her hand, scrolling the internet.
“Oh, yeah? Do I want to know?”
“The headlines are wild. Tampa Bay’s best kept werewolf secret.
The hottest hockey star on the planet. The wolf is off the market.
Just who is the Beast’s soon-to-be wife?
Those are the nice ones. I won’t read you the ugly comments.
I fear you’ll…” She turned her head toward me. “Allow your anger to surface.”
“I’m not a goddamn werewolf,” I insisted like a temper tantrum-throwing child while twisting my hand around the steering wheel.
“It remains to be seen just how furry you get.”
“You really want me to shift to prove my identity?”
She shrugged, her nose wrinkling. “Might be sexy.”
I had no idea whether or not she was kidding, but her words did turn me on. However, she was right. I was furious that I’d been blindsided by bullshit. Yeah, I’d seen what Saint had gone through, but it was different when it happened to you. “I’m sorry you were put through that.”
“Oh, I’m a big girl and I will kill whichever member of my family let the cat out of the bag. No one will ever find their body.”
“I’d like to see that.” I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Don’t tempt me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And you have a match coming up with your brother’s team.”
“Yep. I do. Will you be there?”
Her sigh was adorable. “It wouldn’t look right if your fiancée wasn’t there rooting for you and your team.”
What was I supposed to say to that emphatic comment? Instead of answering, I pressed down on the accelerator, flying around other vehicles.
“This is crazy,” she said with a dramatic flair, anger just below the surface.
“We’re on the run, baby.”
“From what? We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“No, but you’re not used to how the press can change things to increase ratings. There are hundreds or thousands of people who think we shouldn’t be together. And your father will ensure his point of view is shoved down their throats.”
“Bastard. I won’t allow him. Are we?” she asked, turning her head toward me. “Together, I mean?”
I shrugged just like any idiot male would do in these situations.
I had no easy or correct answer. Not at this point.
But she needed one and damn it, I was going to give it to her.
“Do you feel what I feel, a pull to be with each other that’s so strong you can’t explain it?
That when we’re close to each other, the electricity could light up some city?
Or that every time we touch, the hunger grows stronger, so much so you can’t breathe? ”
“Yes.”
“Then there’s your answer. We’re engaged.”
She offered a slight groan. “It can’t be that simple. We don’t know each other.”
“We have a lifetime to do that.”
“This is crazy!”
“Mmm… What’s wrong with crazy, baby?”
When I tipped my head in her direction, I could clearly see a haze in her eyes as she contemplated my question.
“I am losing my mind,” she said in passing as she stared out the window.
“Then what a way to go.”
We’d taken her car instead of mine since I had no doubt reporters would already be camped out by mine in hopes of catching a prominent story of their own.
Now I was driving like a bat out of hell toward her house. I’d thought of going to a hotel, but we’d need to use a credit card and we’d be found within a couple of hours.
“How did you get from the ice across the building to where I was so fast?”
My lovely Christine had allowed me to drive and I had to admit, I was having a good time in a getaway car. I constantly glanced in all three mirrors to ensure we weren’t being followed and she was even providing me with alternate directions than taking the highway to get to her house.
“You remember all those attributes they accused me of using?”
“You ran at super shifter speed.”
Chuckling, I turned my head, noticing she was still panting, but her condition had nothing to do with running through the parking lot.
“You bet I ran. I sensed you were being chased and that wasn’t something I was going to allow to happen.”
“You could feel that I was stressing?”
“You bet, bad bunny,” I told her.
She was taking deep breaths. “So it’s true.”
“What, that we’re connected?”
When she didn’t answer right away, I glanced in her direction again. She had a mischievous look on her face. “That you’re falling in love with me.”
“What? Why do you think… Wait a minute. You were in the bathroom. Weren’t you?”
She held up her hand, palm forward. “Guilty as charged.”
I’d be damned. What in the world was I going to do with her? “Remember that communication I talked about? We definitely are going to work on it.”
“Take the next right. The first left after that and we’re there.”
She was enjoying the hell out of herself while I’d sprinted over people, security guards, bleachers, and had literally skated my way into a maintenance room where I’d yanked off my skates before taking off running. All I’d been able to think about was getting to her. Protecting her.
Why hadn’t I realized that she was in the bathroom? Maybe because I’d been too distraught. Whatever the case, she wasn’t getting away from me again.
“What did you think of the game?” I asked as I made the turn she’d pointed out.
“I think I was wrong.”
“What were you so wrong about?”
“I think I like hockey players.”
Instead of pulling down her street, I parked on the street just before hers. “That’s good since you and I are engaged.” Maybe if I said it enough times she would finally accept it. Oh, who was I kidding? She wasn’t the kind of woman who could be pressured. I’d need to convince her.
Several times.
“Where’s my ring?” she asked before opening the door.
“It’s coming. As long as you’re a good girl.” We slipped out into the night and she allowed me to take her by the hand. As we stood under the stars, she tipped her head toward the sky and the bright moon. “Now, the moon is full.”
“Yes, it is. And look. I’m not a hairy monster.”
“Not yet.”
“That won’t happen tonight.”
She turned toward me, picking at my jersey. “But it will need to happen before the wedding.”
“Are you sure you can handle the real me?”
“Oh, I’m certain. But come on. Let’s see just how much I can handle.” She led me down the street toward her house.
Fortunately, she’d pocketed her keys. As soon as she slipped them into the lock, I glanced at the moon once again. Maybe it would be easier if I was a beast subject to the flow of earthly patterns. Yet I was glad I wasn’t a werewolf. That could get awfully messy.
Laughing, once inside, I locked the door while she flicked on a single light.
“Wait here,” she said, pointing to her foyer floor.
“Yes, ma’am.” I watched as she moved from room to room. She was making certain all the blinds were closed. When she returned, she stood in front of me just out of my reach, her mouth twisted in frustration. “You’re a wolf.”
“Yes.”
“You love me.”
“Yes,” I said, deepening my voice.
She nodded a couple of times. “You won’t lie to me again. Like ever?”
“No, I won’t.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“Please do.”
As soon as she dragged her tongue across her bottom lip, I allowed a slight but very husky growl. “And we’re mates.”
Now I hesitated, uncertain what or if she wanted me to tell her the God’s honest truth, but somehow, I had a feeling this was all one big test. “Yes, we are.”
Another nod and she looked away.
Only for a split second before getting off a running start and jumping into my arms. She wrapped both her arms and legs around me and that was all of the answer I needed.
I crushed my mouth over hers, bumping and grinding together as I thrust my tongue inside and stumbled down the hallway toward her bedroom.
She moaned into the kiss as she tried her best to dominate my tongue, slapping her hands against the wall until I figured out where she wanted me to go. I managed, allowing her to turn on a single light while our lips were still locked.
Goddamn, she tasted sweet, cherries and something like Coke. That was it. What a magnificent combination. I was still enthralled as I spun her around, our collective actions rough and needy.
She jerked my shirt, struggling to yank it over my head.
We had to break the kiss for her to be able to yank it over my head.
With a laugh, she tossed it aside, planting her palms on my chest while slapping our lips together once again.
She was daring to take control or at least trying very hard to usurp my authority.