Page 47 of Zeke
“No. Too far.” He pressed closer, and she felt the evidence that danger wasn’t the only thing affecting him. “But Kraath’s not happy. Raaze keeps laughing.”
Interesting. Someone who wasn’t afraid of the garrison commander.
“We need to get closer,” she whispered.
“Too risky. If they catch our scent?—”
“Then we’ll deal with it.” She turned in his arms, meeting his eyes. “Ashley’s at that garrison. If Kraath’s compromised, she needs to know.”
He smiled and brushed her cheek with his thumb. “You’re going to be trouble for me, aren’t you?”
“Probably.”
“Good.” He kissed her hard, quick, like he couldn’t help himself. “Stay behind me. Step where I step. And if I tell you to run, you run.”
She nodded, though she had zero intention of running anywhere. Not with her leg in a cast and definitely not if she had to leave him behind.
They crept closer, using storm-damaged trees as cover. Zeke led them behind a massive uprooted trunk where they could see into the small clearing ahead.
Raaze lounged against a boulder like he was waiting for a bus, not tracking missing people through hostile territory.
Then she saw Kraath stumble. It was quick… just a missed step that he covered quickly, his hand going to a tree for support before pushing off again.
She frowned. She’d never seen an Izaean show a weakness like that before…
Chapter 12
The foothills stretched ahead of them, dense enough to hide their movements as they tracked Kraath and Raaze. Zeke breathed deep, his lungs filling with air that tasted like freedom and Michelle and everything he’d never thought he could have. Wet stone and crushed pine needles mixed with thawing earth, but underneath it all was her... floral and female and all his.
Water dripped from branches overhead, the steady patter mixing with their footsteps on soggy ground. The storm had passed, leaving behind brilliant morning light that turned puddles into mirrors. His boots squelched through slush while somewhere above them a bird called out, sharp and clear after days of silence.
It was warm enough now that Michelle wouldn’t freeze to death. He glanced back at her, watching how she picked her way through the wet terrain. So damn small compared to him, so breakable. The thought should have worried him, but instead, possessive heat coiled in his gut.
She needed him. Needed his strength to navigate this mess, his body to shield her from danger. He liked having to pull back his power around her, keeping the violence leashed so his touch stayed gentle when he helped her over obstacles. Every moment required control, and draanth if that didn’t make him want her more.
But she wasn’t afraid of him. The truth settled in his bones, a lightness that made the climb easier. He’d shown her exactly what he was—torn through ferals with his bare hands and claws, let the blood rage take him until he was more weapon than male. She’d seen it all and still let him touch her. Still cried out his name when he made her come.
Heat raced through him at the memory, his cock hardening. He could still taste her, feel how her thighs had trembled against his shoulders when he’d woken her with his mouth this morning. Those little sounds she made when he pushed inside her… like she couldn’t decide whether to beg him to stop or never stop. Those sounds were burned into his brain now.
Mine. The word purred in his blood, his legion content in ways it had never been. It had never been this quiet, this satisfied. They had a mate to protect.
He wanted to get her back to the garrison, somewhere safe with walls and weapons. Then he wanted to lock his quarters and spend days learning every inch of her body. He’d move her things from her room… she wouldn’t need a separate space anymore. His bed would be their bed. His space would be their space.
And the medical excuse would work perfectly. She needed monitoring for her injuries, needed someone to watch her recovery, so no one would question why she stayed in his quarters for weeks. Plenty of time to make her scream his name until her voice went hoarse. Plenty of time to fill her with his seed until she smelled like him inside and out.
She climbed ahead of him, and his gaze dropped to the sway of her hips in those leather pants. The way the material stretched across her ass with each step made his mouth water. He wanted to grab her, bend her over the nearest boulder, and claim her right here in the open air.
The climb got steep, loose rock shifting underfoot and he was forced to concentrate. She was a few steps ahead when her boot slipped on wet stone. He heard the scrape, saw her start to fall backward. His hands shot out and caught her, pulling her back against his chest before she could tumble down the slope.
“Careful,” he growled against her ear, but instead of steadying her and letting go, he turned her in his arms until she faced him, her legs wrapping around his waist.
The position put them mouth to mouth, her breath mixing with his. He kissed her because he couldn’t help himself. Hard and claiming, one hand fisted in her hair while the other gripped her thigh. His cock pressed hard against her core through their clothes, and if the draanthing leather wasn’t in the way, he’d be inside her in a heartbeat. She made a soft sound against his lips that made him throb.
When he pulled back, her pupils were blown wide. “We should?—”
“Should what?” He nipped at her lower lip, savoring how she shivered in his arms.
She didn’t answer, just kissed him again, fierce and hungry. They needed to keep moving, needed to track whatever the draanth Kraath was following into these hills. But his body didn’t give a trall about duty or mystery. His body wanted her under him, around him, taking everything he had to offer.
