STORY EXCERPT

After another pause, he inclined his head. “I get it, my m—honey. I understand why you’re wary of us. We don’t know how to convince you that you can trust us, and it’s a little frustrating because it’s so important.”

“If you’re not taking me back to Nico or my uncle, why is it so important?”

Turning back to her, Graham sighed. “Because I don’t think they’re going to stop looking for you until they know you’re safe.”

“That’s bullshit!” Toni whirled on him. “I’m not heartless. I called my uncle a few days after I left, when I got a burner phone and got far enough away, to tell him I was all right. He told me to run!”

Graham’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“None of your business. Please leave.”

Graham cursed. “Fuck it. I’m gonna go get some food. You try to talk to her.”

“Why don’t you both go? I need to take a shower.”

Sharing a look with Graham, Mitch nodded. “Okay. Mitch will go pick up some food while you take your shower. I’ll be here to make sure no one gets in.”

Graham slid his gaze to Toni’s. “Is the food good in the restaurant you work in?”

“Yes.”

Graham inclined his head and walked out.

Mitch pulled a chair out from the table and placed it close to the door. “Go ahead and get your shower before the food comes.”

Staying in the shadows, Graham pulled out his cell phone and called the farm, slowing his steps when he wanted to hurry back to his mate.

“Moran.”

“Leland, it’s Graham.”

“Did you find her?”

“Yeah. She’s pissed and not very trusting.”

“But she’s safe?”

“Yes. She doesn’t want to go back to Nico or her uncle.”

“I already returned the money.”

“Before we found her?”

“I trust your instincts. Either way, knowing she was your mate, she wasn’t going back.”

“That’s the fucking truth. I still don’t know how you and Joe know which ones of us to send out together, but neither one of us expected this.”

“We’ve sent men out on jobs in every fucking combination. We sent Mitch this time in case she was injured when she was kidnapped or drugged. These assholes don’t always know what they’re doing when they drug people. How the hell do we know what’s gonna happen?” He chuckled softly. “At least we know she’s safe. Pissed, huh?”

“Yeah.” Graham came to a stop. “We startled her, and she thought we were Nico’s goons, and she fought to get away.”

“Yeah, that’ll make you crazy. The scent alone makes it difficult not to shift.”

“If I’d done that, I would have scared her to death.”

“Yeah, that’s what happened with Glenna. She survived it. So, how did you find her?”

“Blind fucking luck. And good hunting. You saw in her a traffic camera, which told us she was headed south, and that she was riding a bicycle. We figured she could get lost in Virginia Beach but didn’t figure she had or would want to spend the money to stay there. Too expensive.”

“True.”

“Caught her scent a couple of times. Just followed it. Then we lost it. Frustrating as hell.”

“I know the feeling.”

“We stopped for something to eat at a small restaurant on the outskirts of Virginia Beach. Picked up her scent again., and when we showed her picture, the woman who owns the place lied and said she didn’t know her.”

“Nice.”

“Asked a couple other people who worked in town, and they pointed us in the right direction of a shithole motel. From there, we just followed our noses. I’m on my way back to the restaurant now to get something for all of us to eat. Graham’s with her. We’re hoping we can convince her that she can trust us not to take her back to Richmond.”

Leland sighed. “Yeah, but she’s not gonna trust you to bring her back here.”

“Then she’s gonna run out of options. Hell, she’ll just leave here and find another town or a low-rent part of a big city that she could get lost in.”

“Again, that’s what my mate did, along with her sister. Keep her close. If she manages to shake loose, you could lose her forever.”

Graham grimaced at the memory of the Alphas’ frantic search for their mate. “If I remember right, when you found them, Glenna was pregnant and some gang-bangers were bothering her.”

“Not for long. Stay close to your mate.”

Graham smiled at that. “Hell, being away from her now is making me nervous.”

His smile fell. He rubbed the back of his neck where it tingled. “I just wanted to touch base. I’ve got—”

Two dark cars, luxury cars that looked out of place, turned onto the street.

“I don’t like this. Looks like we might have been found. How the hell…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nico’s men. They’re here. They all drive the same cars and wear way too much cologne. How the fuck did they find her? I’ll call you when I can.”

Disconnecting, he hurriedly called Mitch.

“Yeah?”

“Get outta there.”

“Fuck.”

Graham heard the sound of the bathroom door being broken and then another curse as water was shut off. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s gone.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Sucking in a breath when he covered her mouth with his again, Toni clung to him, her fingertips digging into his hard shoulder muscles.

Her mind went blank, her entire being bombarded in sensation.

Every inch of her body screamed for attention.

He took off her socks and cradled her foot in his hand, running his fingertips and thumb over her skin, every stroke sending sharp need to her slit.

He set her foot on the mattress and reached for the other, running a fingertip over her arch, sending a thrill through her. “You like that, my mate.”

“Oh God!”

She opened her eyes, not even realizing when she’d closed them to see him smile. “You’re enjoying this.”

“Oh yeah. I am.”

He slid a hand under her, gripping the waistband of her flannel pants and pulling them off her. “I’m enjoying this very much, my mate.”

With a hand at her back, he sat her up and removed her oversized T-shirt. “And I’m damned well going to make sure you enjoy it, too.”

Naked, she squirmed, need clawing at her. “Please!”

Every touch soothed.

Inflamed.

Increasing the hunger but taking away the painful edge.

Covering her body with his, he nuzzled her neck. “It’ll be okay, my mate. God, I want you.”

“Condom!” Toni ran her hands down his back, tilting her neck to give him better access. “With Mitch, I forgot.”

Lifting his head, Graham smiled tenderly. “We can’t get STDs. The thing is, my mate, if I use a condom, you won’t get my seed. That means this torment won’t end.”

Not believing him, Toni rolled her head from side to side. “Condom!”

With a groan, Graham nodded and accepted the condom Mitch offered. “Okay, baby.”

As he knelt between her thighs to roll on the condom, Mitch stretched out beside her and ran a hand over her breast, caressing her nipple and sending sharp stabs of need to her center. “The scent of her arousal is driving me crazy.”

Graham groaned and covered her body with his, lowering his head to lick her nipple. “How do you think I felt when you took her?”

Sliding his hand beneath her shoulder blades, Graham lifted her and took her nipple into his mouth, using his tongue and scraping his teeth over it lightly until she thought she’d go insane.

Hooking her heels against the backs of his thighs, she tried to pull him toward her. “Please take me, damn it!”

With a hand at the back of her neck, Graham tilted her head, scraping his teeth over her neck as he lifted her with a hand at her bottom and thrust into her.

She came hard, a pop of pleasure that stole her breath and spread through her like fire.

The growl that rumbled through Graham’s chest unnerved her but somehow added to the hunger still raging inside her.

He slowed his thrusts, dragging out the pleasure and making her hotter for more. Using his lips and tongue, he nuzzled a spot on her neck, right below her ear, that created a pull to her clit.

Tilting her head, she bucked her hips. “More!”

Graham cursed and moved, thrusting slowly at first and then with increasing speed, his lips in her hair. “All you want, my mate.”

His cock filled her, the vibration of it inside her so intense that she kicked at him, gripping his shoulders as another orgasm washed over her.

She couldn’t catch her breath, the pleasure mounting again before the last orgasm had ended.

Feeling Graham’s gaze, she opened her eyes, stunned at the hunger and battle for control that turned his eyes into onyx. “I can’t… It won’t… Oh God! Please! Ahh!”

She went over again, her pussy clamping down on his cock and intensifying the vibrating sensation.

Tightening her grip on his shoulders, she tried to pull him closer.

Kicking at him, she tried to push him away, only to pull him closer again. “Help me! Oh God.”

Graham slid a hand over her hair, tilting her head up to kiss her temple. “Come again, my mate. Come.”

She went over again, a fast sharp orgasm that stole the rest of her breath.

Beating at him, she finally got a breath, one that broke free as a harsh sob. “Help me!”

Graham growled and slowed his strokes, his entire body as stiff and taut as iron. “I’ve gotta take the condom off.”

Beside herself with a hunger that kept growing stronger, Toni screamed, crying helplessly. “Do it. Do something!”

With another growl, Graham abruptly withdrew, cursing as he tore the condom off and thrust into her again. “Come again, my mate.”

Despite his soft words, his voice had deepened and became harsh.

Almost animalistic.

She didn’t care. Nothing mattered except sating the wild hunger.

With another curse, Graham thrust deep, his vibrating cock stretching her inner walls as he pumped his release inside her.

The burst of pleasure, a huge wave of it, sent her high, holding her in its grip for several heart-stopping seconds before slowly easing its grip and allowing her to fall.