A Mate's Redeeming Touch Read online

  The cold air of the room teased against her skin and she moaned as he stroked his thumb over her aching clit. He slid his other hand between her legs from behind and swore softly at the slick heat he found there.

  “You’re so wet, Little Red. Your pussy is soaking and oh so hot for me. Is it for me, though, or do you get off on the men in your stories instead?” His fingers hovered at the entrance to her pussy, waiting for her response.

  “You, Ven! Only you. I can’t stop thinking about how you make me feel and it’s making me crazy. I want you to fuck me! Claim me! Make me yours!” The sobbing words spilled from her mouth. She bucked as Ven thrust hard and deep with two digits into her core.

  He pressed his thumb tight her clit as he fucked her with his fingers, thrusting once, twice, and she spilled over the edge, her pussy clenching hard around his fingers. He ground his hips hard against her ass as he groaned into her ear, playing his fingers through her wetness. “We shouldn’t be doing this, Caitlyn. I want you so much, but you deserve more than this. More than me.”

  Her heart fractured at the self-loathing in his voice. “No, no. I want you, Ven. You’re everything I want, everything I need.”

  She wanted more, needed more and cried out in protest as his hands left her body. To her relief, he reached for her pants and tugged them farther down her legs. Surely now he would claim her in truth? She was ready, oh so ready to be filled with that thick cock of his.

  A sharp rap on the external door shattered her haze of lust. Ven yanked her pants up with a loud curse before rinsing his hands at the sink in the corner.

  “Stay here,” he growled and disappeared into the front of the station. Leaning against the cool wall, she tried to catch her shuddering breath. She assumed the interruption was a customer until she heard a deep voice rumble in a tone she recognized.

  Recognizing the distinctive voice of Gee Rivermoon, her entire body flushed hot with embarrassment. Arousal hung thick in the air and with his bear-shifter nose, he’d know exactly what they’d been up to. At least Gee could be trusted to keep his opinion to himself. Considering how many members of the Los Lobos community passed through his bar on a regular basis, without his legendary discretion, the whole town would know her business.

  Washing her hands and face, she dragged her messy hair into a thick plait in a vain attempt to erase her “just ravished” look and crept toward the doorway. She peered out and watched as Gee placed his arm on Ven’s shoulder only for him to shake it angrily off.

  Whatever the topic of conversation, her mate wasn’t happy about it. That old bear better not be poking his nose in my business. A rare growl rumbled in her throat.

  Gee raised his gaze to meet hers, giving her a soft smile and a wink. “If there is one thing I’ve learned in this long life, sweetheart, it’s not to get involved in affairs of the heart.” Her mouth dropped open in surprise. He had a spooky ability to know what people were thinking. He turned to regard Ven, leaned closer, pitching his voice low as he spoke.

  “It’s not anything for you to worry about, son. Probably no more than a rumor started by some old gossip now that you are back in town. Ryker told him at the time if he ever set foot on pack lands, his life would be forfeit. He would have killed him at the time, but his blood oath to Magnum stayed his hand. Silas is long gone, but I wanted you to hear it from me rather than overhearing a stray comment in the bar.”

  Gee’s words were met with stony silence. With a shrug of his huge shoulders, the big bear ambled out of the door, pausing for one last comment.

  “If there’s another thing I’ve learned, it’s some people wouldn’t know a good thing if it bit them in the ass.” The bear’s deep laugh rumbled across the open gas station lot as he disappeared around the corner with a speed belying his size.

  “I can’t do this, Caitlyn.” Ven rasped, and she glanced up in confusion. What was he talking about? The conversation with Gee had obviously upset him.

  She crossed the room, wrapped her arms tight around his waist, and pressed a kiss over his heart. His hands hung limp at his sides, but she refused to let him go. “Tell me what’s wrong. Who is Silas?”

  With infinite gentleness, he tugged her arms free and made space between them. The few feet might as well have been wide as the Grand Canyon given the look on his face. He didn’t look angry; anger she could deal with. Tears glistened in the corner of his jet-black eyes, but they didn’t soften the determination she read in them.

  “Silas is my uncle. The blood in my veins is the reason we can never be together. You’re good people, Caitlyn. I watched your father and Connor every day for the past couple of months. Saw how proud he is of his children, heard it in every comment he made about you all.” A mocking smile twisted his beautiful mouth. “The Thornes aren’t like that. Thornes steal. Thornes lie. Thornes abuse those weaker than themselves.”

  She shook her head, backing away from the hate dripping from every word he spat at her. His revelations about his family shocked her. He’d been an elusive figure when she’d been growing up. Older than her by enough years they had never socialized. She couldn’t remember him socializing with anyone much.

  “You’re nothing like them, Ven. I don’t care about the family you come from. I care about the family we can be—together.” She reached for him, begging silently for him to take her hand, close the gulf he’d opened between them. He didn’t move.

  Maybe it was her. Maybe her past abuse reminded him too much of his own suffering. She had to know. “Do you blame me for being one of Magnum’s victims?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Little Red. Magnum was a fucking monster. The only people who owned his crimes were those assholes he surrounded himself with. Ryker dealt with them when Drew returned.” His anger softened. “How could you think I would blame you?”

  She shook her head. He really didn’t get it. “How can I not think it when you do it to yourself?”

  He paced back and forth, distress radiating from him, filling the small room with its bitter scent. “You’re twisting my words. It’s not the same, Caitlyn.”

  Pain clenched like a fist around her heart. He didn’t want to listen and she didn’t have the confidence to approach him, use her body to show him how much she loved him. Life wasn’t fair. Reality had shattered her childish fairy-tales. Monsters existed. Magnum had destroyed her belief in happily-ever-after.

  If she truly wanted to move on, she had to stand firm, demand the full life everyone told her she deserved. Mating urge or no, until Ven could come to terms with his own past, he couldn’t be the answer she longed for him to be.

  Turning on her heel, she gathered her purse and keys from the counter and walked into the storeroom. The door leading to the lot was bolted, but a couple of hard tugs freed the stubborn metal. Pushing open the door, she turned her wet face to the warmth of the sun. Refusing to wipe away the tears, she crossed the empty parking lot and climbed into her truck.

  She started the engine, maneuvering the four-wheel drive in a long, slow circle as she reversed from the space. A quick glance in the rear view mirror showed the bulky form outlined in the rear doorway. She paused for a moment, waiting to see if he would approach her but he stayed frozen in place. With a sigh, she dashed the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, rolled the truck out of the lot, and drove home.

  Chapter Seven

  Ven shoved open the door to The Den and paused in surprise as a wave of noise washed over him. The tang of smoke and fresh paint hit his nostrils and he studied the bar, looking for traces of the fire which Spencer had set as a distraction during the murders. The pack had worked swiftly to repair the damage here, unlike the blackened ruins of the barn which lay like a scar in the South-West section of town.

  Wondering what had brought so many members of the pack out, he caught the sound of a guitar being tuned and glanced over to see Lara settling herself on a stool on the stage. A quick look around and he spotted her mate, Ogden, front and c
enter with a huge grin of pride on his face. Shaking his head at such an open display of affection, he let his eyes drift over the crowds as he shouldered his way toward the bar. A flicker of flame-red hair caught his eye, stopping him dead in his tracks as he watched his mate laugh at something. She sat in a corner booth, surrounded by her extended family and a couple of large pitchers of beer and half-full glasses were scattered across the table they crowded around.

  Her brother Caleb sat with his human mate in his lap, her pregnant belly cradled beneath his hands. It amazed Ven how he could sit there without a care in a world when his mate was so obviously vulnerable. Moving toward the bar, he claimed a high-backed stool in the corner. He flicked his hand toward Paul, the barman, and nodded in appreciation when the shy man placed a cold bottle of beer in front of him.

  Rolling the bottle between his hands, he picked at the label, taking a few sips, studiously ignoring the happy family gathering across the room. The noise of conversation lowered as the first notes were strummed across the guitar, providing an excuse to turn oh so casually on his stool and face across the bar.

  Caitlyn faced forward, her eyes intent on the stage as Lara wove her magic, the simple words of her song captivating the audience. From his vantage point he could see his mate in profile. The lines of strain in her jaw and neck stood out, making him growl. Her hair piled up on her head in a soft twist, leaving her creamy swan neck naked and vulnerable.

  His gaze slide lower to the point between her throat and shoulder, the exact spot he would have placed his claiming mark had Gee not interrupted them the other morning. Ven narrowed his eyes, he could almost see her pulse point throbbing, feel the thrum of it beneath his tongue as his mouth shifted to let his fangs slide deep into her soft flesh.

  He imagined the rush of her blood in his mouth, hot and salty with vanilla and honey undertones as he struck deep and claimed his sweet little mate forever. Another growl ripped from his throat and he shook his head angrily. He needed to get a fucking grip on himself.

  Swinging around on his stool, he downed his beer and signaled for another.

  A huge, thick-nailed hand plonked the beer down in front of him and Ven sighed gustily before he looked up into Gee’s concerned face.

  “Don’t fucking start, man,” he snarled. Gee held his hands up, indicating he had no intention of starting anything. The bear pulled open the drawer for an under-counter glass washer and a billow of steam rose, obscuring him briefly. Ven watched as Gee drew a large cloth from where it hung over one shoulder and proceeded to slowly dry and polish each glass before placing it in a rack above the bar.

  He watched warily, knowing if he let his guard down for an instant, Gee would seize the opportunity and have him spilling his guts before the next song ended. The rumor that his Uncle Silas had been seen skulking around town still haunted his dreams.

  The big bear polished and dried as though he didn’t have a thought or care in the world, his steady gaze on Ven until he couldn’t stand the silence a moment longer.

  “Busy tonight,” he ventured, and the bear nodded once.

  “Yup.”

  “You don’t normally have music on a Wednesday night,” Ven tried again hoping a neutral topic would distract the bear until another customer caught his attention.

  “Nope.” Gee finished with the glasses and flicked the towel over his shoulder before picking up a damp cloth and wiping the same patch of bar in front of Ven over and over again.

  “Special occasion?” His throat went dry and he swigged at his beer, nearly choking as he took too much in one mouthful.

  Gee paused in mid-motion and the look in his eyes suddenly hardened.

  “Drew wanted something casual to help the pack bond again. He’s encouraged the families and mated couples to come together. If they feel safe, then the rest of the pack will start to relax. I was happy to help as it’ll be good to get some customers in tonight. I’m likely to be quiet over the next few evenings seeing as how the restaurant reopens tomorrow.” The bear started wiping the bar again in the exact same spot as before.

  “Big launch party tomorrow. Most everybody will be there to toast the Saunders and the Burrows, I reckon. But then you’d know the details already, wouldn’t you?” Gee fixed his gimlet eyes on Ven and he withered under the scrutiny.

  He hadn’t known about the party, hadn’t realized the restaurant opened tomorrow although Stefan and Connor had been relieved when he’d demanded the extra hours needed to get the gas station ready the previous week.

  Unable to resist, he glanced over his shoulder at Caitlyn surrounded by her family. He didn’t know anything about her life. He’d been so caught up in his own need for control, in pushing her away, he hadn’t taken the time to find out what was going on with her.

  As though she felt his eyes upon her, she turned her head slowly and met his gaze. The pain and sorrow etched there struck like a punch in his guts. Swallowing hard, he turned to face the bar.

  “I took you for a lot of things, boy,” Gee murmured, “but never a coward.”

  His words struck deep. The wolf inside him howled in fury and frustration at being so close to Caitlyn and yet parted from her by his stubborn human half. Ven wanted to howl at the war raging within him. He burned for her so badly, and yet he couldn’t risk exposing his vulnerability. What if others in the pack realized how he felt about Caitlyn, took advantage of his mate’s gentle nature, and used her to hurt him? Worse still would be the damage to her reputation for associating with him.

  He’d sworn never to be vulnerable to anyone in the pack again. Never.

  Looking at all the mated couples and families surrounding him, he wanted to scream at them for being so foolish. Mates were a weakness a strong man couldn’t afford, Family a source of nothing but pain. Hadn’t the past proved it? Hadn’t the recent spate of murders been enough warning?

  His eyes glanced over to the quiet corner where Drew lounged with his mate Betty close by his side. She chatted a mile a minute with her friends while Drew watched her with a smile on his lips. The beta rested her hand on her mate’s leg, an act of possession and reassurance. Tension bracketed her eyes as she talked, the tell-tale signs of strain.

  By contrast, everything about the Alpha spoke of his contentment and relaxation, but there wasn’t a wolf in the room who didn’t acknowledge his leadership. Gone were the remnants of the boy whose guilt at being forced to abandon the pack had tied his hands when he first assumed control. Recent events, not least his own near-fatal shooting, had hardened Drew. His willingness to compromise had burned away in the crucible of facing his mortality. This was his pack.

  “Having a mate doesn’t make him weak, does it, son?” Gee leaned across the bar, his soft words for Ven alone.

  “Having a mate gives you strength, gives you purpose. She’s the reason you get up in the morning and fight with all you have to make your world a better place, a safer place.” A bittersweet note marked his words. Gee’d had a mate once, although no one in the pack knew what had happened to her.

  “She deserves better than me,” Ven muttered.

  “Boy, if I’d known you were throwing yourself a pity party, I’d have ordered some balloons.” Gee shook his head.

  Ven slumped forward on his stool. The bottle dangling from his fingers dropped to the floor, splashing the last dregs of beer across his booted foot as it rolled harmlessly away. His mind was in complete turmoil as he tried to reconcile bitter experience with the hope blooming beneath the ice around his heart. He’d fought so hard to keep his walls in place, to keep his body and soul safe from any more pain.

  Family let you down, people you were supposed to be able to trust let you down. Those were the bitter truths he’d learned as a boy and the lessons had stuck with him ever since.

  Risking a glance over to where his mate sat, he sighed. The family had arranged themselves to ensure their most vulnerable were protected. They’d tucked Caitlyn into the corner, little Jes
sie next to her, and the humans, Will and Bridie, opposite. Whether by conscious design or not, the dominants in the group had ranged themselves in a protective half-circle around the edge of the table.

  A shield. A barrier. A strong line of defense.

  There was more than one type of shield. The realization hit like a slap to the face. A good family and true friends could be a stronger barrier than self-imposed isolation. The skinny, scared kid, prey for anyone who chose to abuse him hadn’t existed for years. He had all the brawn and skills he needed to protect himself, but what was the point in living half a life? I don’t care about the family you’ve come from. I care about the family we can be—together. Caitlyn’s words whispered in his mind. A life he’d never dreamed possible could be his, if he could only find the courage to claim it.

  Sitting a little straighter in his seat, he tried to process these new thoughts. He shifted, resting against the wall so he could see the whole room. Here he was, surrounded by his pack and there were no threats to him in the room.

  When had that happened? When had the tension and fear melted so males felt comfortable bringing their mates out to drink and dance, to let their cubs race and wrestle on the floor?

  He cast his glance toward the corner where the Alpha sat and he understood. Drew had done this. With the help of Ryker and Gee, for sure, but a pack molded itself around the Alpha. Drew raised his head, sensing eyes on him, and Ven placed his hand over his heart in a salute of acknowledgement and respect. A quick grin flashed over Drew’s face and he nodded briefly before turning toward his mate once again.

  Cold glass nudged against Ven’s hand where it rested on the bar and he curled his fingers around the fresh beer Gee placed there. The bear patted the back of his hand then walked away to serve another customer.