“She taught you?”

  “Would it bother you if she had?” Many men didn’t like the idea of a woman having power. Her sire was one of them.

  He stroked his hand over her hair, his fingers sifting through the short locks. “It would be another skill at your disposal. Like your claws and fangs and enhanced senses. I’m all for anything that keeps you safe.”

  “Even if it made me stronger than you.” She held her breath.

  Leaning down, he nuzzled his nose against hers. “Mmm, strong women are sexy.”

  “I’m serious.”

  He nibbled along her jaw up to her ear. “So am I.” He traced the curve of her ear with his tongue before his teeth nipped the lobe, sending shivers racing through her. “You’re perfect exactly the way you are—strong, stubborn, independent, and opinionated.”

  Not exactly a flattering assessment. Jerking away from temptation, she resisted the urge to rub her ear and gave him a fake smile. “I could say the same about you.”

  “Makes us a match, don’t you think?” His phone chimed. “That will be my father. He’s not exactly known for his patience. What’s the name of the group?”

  “They call themselves the Brethren of Light. They front like they’re on some holy mission destroying witches, but I guarantee none of them go to any church.” They’d likely be struck down by lightning if they did. “According to the one I questioned, they’re serial killers who hire out as assassins for cash. They’re misogynistic, murdering bastards who like to hunt women. They communicate through some message board on the Dark Web. I stay offline. Even if I had access, I doubt I’d be able to find them.”

  He texted the info and tucked his phone away. “What happened to the one who came at you? I hope you killed the fucker.”

  She shook her head. “I thought long and hard about it, but in the end, I left him injured but alive. Followed him to a motel and waited to see who’d show up.”

  “That was dangerous.” Aaron’s voice sounded curiously flat and emotionless.

  “I got tired of being hunted and decided to try to turn the tables.”

  “I take it things didn’t work out as you planned?”

  It had been a complete disaster. Not that she’d admit it. “I couldn’t watch him twenty-four hours a day. I was only gone an hour. When I came back, I went around the back of the building. The bathroom window was open a crack. I could smell blood and death. Someone had been there while I was away.”

  She rubbed her nose. It had been days before the putrid scent had finally left her. “I ran.” She’d driven for days, barely taking the time to eat before she’d felt safe enough to stop again.

  “You’re safe now. That’s all that matters. Now, where were we?”

  “That’s it? That’s all you have to say about that?” Where were the questions? The outrage on her behalf?

  He stood, hands on his hips, the stubble on his jaw giving him an outlaw air. As though a switch had been flipped, his blasé attitude disappeared and fury pulsed in the air around him, seeping from his very pores.

  “What would you have me say, chère?” The tone of his voice sent a cold blast right to the marrow of her bones. “My family will track down those men. Before they’re done, they’ll know everything about them, including where to find them.” He stalked forward, all menacing grace and danger. “Then I’m going hunting.” He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and dragged her against him. “Is that what you want me to say?”

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.” While she abhorred violence, having been exposed to so much of it during her life, it felt good to have someone willing to defend her. “This can’t make trouble for your pack.”

  If anyone got hurt because of her… It didn’t bear thinking about.

  “Before this is done, I fear they’re going to curse my name and wish you’d never met me,” she admitted. And as much as he cared, as much as he called her his destiny, if it came down to them or her, she didn’t favor her odds.

  “It pains me to see worry in your eyes. Doubly when it’s me you’re worried about.”

  Not for the first time, she wished she’d had the gift so Lottie could have trained her as a witch. Life would be so much easier if she could tap into the magic of the natural world. Being a werewolf was a huge advantage, but not enough when it was her kind after her. “I should leave. This isn’t fair to you or your family. You didn’t ask for this.” It was selfish of her to stay.

  He shook her lightly. “We’ve been through this. You run now and I’ll be right behind you. So will Gator. He’s claimed you as family. Speaking of which, you have an aunt and a cousin—Sylvie and Etienne. Then there’s his mate.”

  “More family? I need to sit down.” She plopped down on one of the chairs and lowered her head, taking deep breaths to keep from booting what little she’d eaten.

  He crouched in front of her and rested his hands on her knees. “What you need is to get away from all of it for a while. I’m going to wrap those sandwiches and toss them and some water in a bag. Let’s go for a hike. There’s a stream a few miles in the woods. We can stop and eat. It’s not deep enough for swimming, but we can get our feet wet and cool down.”

  Deciding her stomach was stable enough for now, she lifted her head. “You want to go on a picnic?”

  “Let me take care of you. Just for a little while. What do you say?”

  The idea of walking in the woods, enjoying a beautiful sunny afternoon with a man she cared for more than she should, sounded lovely and normal and exactly what she needed. “I say we’re going on a picnic.”

  ****

  Aaron hitched the pack higher on his shoulder and swung their clasped hands in an arc, making her laugh. His chest tightened and his dick sprang to life. He wanted to listen to her laughter for a lifetime.

  He almost hadn’t had this. If that bastard human had killed Jesse, he never would have met her. She’d saved herself, but not without a cost. No doubt, she was tough. She’d had to be to survive. Thinking about her facing what she had alone made him crazy.

  His wolf wanted to hunt down those murdering bastards and kill every last one of them. How many women had they killed to satisfy their thirst for blood and power and money? They’d made a huge mistake by coming after his woman.

  It hadn’t taken him long to grab a shower and dress. Jesse had been where he’d left her—sitting at the table, staring into space. It had been a shock to him to discover she was related to Gator. How much more had it been to her?

  The walk was easy, the path one he’d trod a hundred times before, beginning when he’d first visited his brother here years ago. The sun filtered through the trees, spotlighting them whenever they stepped into an area where the leafy canopy didn’t quite reach. It was quiet, most of the animals resting in the shade during the hottest part of the day. A blue jay squawked as it swooped in front of them. A squirrel chittered and scampered along the forest floor before skittering up a tree to hide among the branches.

  “It’s lovely here, hot without the humidity of the swamp.”

  “What was it like growing up there?” He was thirsty for any tidbit she’d offer.

  “I was like the other wild creatures, running free in an area no other human dared to roam.”

  He could picture her barefoot with dirty feet and cropped hair scampering through the woods. She didn’t say it, but it had to have been a lonely existence. There’d been no other children to play with and only an elderly witch for company.

  Fury bubbled up inside him, but he shoved it down. He would do or say nothing to ruin their walk. Not with the tension finally draining away from her. But he wanted to personally beat the shit out of her father and the rest of the pack down there.

  And if Miss Lottie was still alive, he’d have words with her, too. She should have taken Jesse away. Or if that wasn’t an option, she should have found a pack who’d have welcomed her. Hell, she could have sent Jesse to his father. She had to have known he and the others had broken away. She might have lived as a hermit, but he’d bet every dollar he owned—which was considerable—she’d had her finger on the pulse of everything happening in the community around her.

  “What about alligators and snakes?” Any child, even a werewolf one, was no match for a mean gator if it decided to take a bite. Gator was the exception to the rule. It was how he’d come by his nickname.

  Raising her free hand, she used it to shade her eyes as they stepped out beside the stream. The water weaved and skipped around and over rocks. Reeds and grasses grew in sections along the banks. A fish jumped ten feet upstream.

  “This is lovely. So calm and peaceful.” She released his hand and walked over to the edge. Going down on one knee, she trailed her fingers through the water. “It’s warmer than I expected.”

  He set the pack beneath a shady oak tree. “Glad you approve. About the gators and snakes?”

  She stood, wiping her hand on the legs of her jeans. “They didn’t venture any closer than any other living creature. Only the birds and peaceful creatures were welcome.”

  He softly whistled through his teeth. “That’s some trick.”

  Jesse shrugged. “Lottie had spent a lot of years there. Every spell she cast added to the power and protection of the place.”

  He’d never met a witch. Most of what he knew came from movies and popular fiction, which couldn’t be trusted to be accurate. “She cast a lot of spells?”

  “There were offerings to the land and ceremonies with each changing season and marking the halfway points.” Plunking down on her butt, she pulled off her sneakers and socks and rolled up the hem of her jeans. “She got really serious about protection spells after I arrived.”

  “So no love spells or charms for money?” Following her lead, he got rid of his shoes.

  Standing, she wiggled her toes and curled them into the ground. “The only love spell she’d ever do was to attract love, never for a specific person. That went against free will. Lottie had strict guidelines. She would only harm someone to protect herself, and then me.” She waded into the stream until it was mid-calf, the water licking at the hem of her pants.

  The sun glinted off her hair, making the black shine and the purple gleam. Her eyes matched the pale blue sky. There wasn’t a cloud to mar the perfection. The slender shape of her face, sharp cheekbones, and full lips made her face interesting, arresting. Not classically beautiful, but a face that drew the eye again and again.

  “Enough about the past. Join me.” She held out her hand.

  Aaron ripped his shirt over his head and dropped it on the ground beside his discarded shoes. Her gaze lasered in on his chest, following it down from his shoulders to his abs. With slow, measured steps, he waded toward her, being careful on the smooth, slippery rocks scattered along the bottom.

  “Your jeans are getting wet.” There was a breathless quality to her words.

  “Don’t care.” The past didn’t matter. Only this moment and this woman did. A bead of sweat rolled down his spine. The sun heated his skin, but she pushed his internal temperature past the boiling point.

  “Jesse.” Swooping down, he took her mouth, desperate for the taste of her, to stake his claim. Making a sound of pleasure, she tackled him so hard he took a step back. His foot hit a slick stone. Balance gone, he fell back. She tried to catch him and ended up going too far forward. At the last second, he grabbed her and twisted their bodies so they fell into the middle, deeper part of the stream.

  A wave of water sprayed up and over them as they landed before coming back down to cover them. Sputtering, they both sat upright.

  Eyes wide, she stared at him. Then she threw back her head and laughed. It rolled up from deep inside her. Soaked from head to toe, hair plastered to her head, she looked young and carefree and so fucking beautiful it made his heart ache.

  “You should have seen your face.” She plucked a leaf from his hair and held it so he could see it. “It’s a good look for you.”

  “Think I’m funny, do you?” Dragging his hand through the water, he sent a wave crashing over her.

  Giving a battle yell, she leaped toward him and dunked his head. He took her with him, capturing her mouth while they were underwater. Before she could lose her breath, he brought them back up. Not caring about how ridiculous they might look or how uncomfortable wet denim could be, especially when he was sporting an erection, he dragged her onto his lap and kept kissing her.

  Moaning, she settled so she was facing him with her legs draped over his, her mound pressed against him. As the sun warmed them and the water lapped around them, he feasted on her mouth, exploring it with his tongue, groaning when she did the same to him.

  He slipped his hands under her shirt and cupped her breasts. Her nipples were hard nubs against the drenched cotton of her bra. He broke their kiss long enough to drag the top over her head. “I have to see you.” While he was tossing it to the shore, she whipped off her bra, letting it sail toward the rocks, where it landed with a wet plop.

  A bead of water rolled down her neck, across the slope of her breast, finally trickling down to the tip, where it lingered. Dipping down, he captured the droplet.

  “Yes.” Her nails scored his shoulders as she arched back, offering herself to him.

  Growling, he managed to get to his feet without releasing his hold on her or sending them plummeting back into the stream. It wasn’t pretty, but he didn’t care. With the water dragging at his jeans, he carried her to a mossy spot in the shade.

  He took them both down to the ground so she was beneath him. “Let me love you.”

  Chapter Nine

  Let me love you.

  She shivered, not because going from the hot sun to the shade made her cold, but because Lottie’s voice echoed in her ears.

  There’s power in words.

  He meant make love to her, but her lonely heart wanted it to mean more. She wanted his love, wanted to believe in a future that included the two of them. Maybe it was crazy to believe she had a chance at happiness. In this beautiful spot worthy of any fairy tale, magic seemed to shimmer in the air, and what had seemed impossible seemed possible.

  Death and anger and loss were cornerstones of her life. But here with Aaron, she almost believed she could have more.

  His broad shoulders blocked out the sun. The air was heavy and still, broken only by the gurgle of the stream and the buzz of insects going about their business. She’d played in the water as a child but never with anyone else. Having someone to share the fun with made it special.

  “What are you thinking?” He was lying on top of her with the bulk of his weight resting on his forearms. His skin was bronzed from hours in the sun without a shirt. Droplets rolled from his wet hair down his shoulders. He looked younger, more carefree than she’d ever seen him.

  He’s good for me.

  It was strange to think that about another person. He made her look beyond the narrow choices she’d made and helped her see other options.

  “Jesse?”

  “I’m thinking I like being here with you.” His slow smile had her temperature soaring and her nipples tightening even further, if such a thing was even possible. They were already diamond-hard.

  “Is that so?” He shook his head, sending a spray of water over them both.

  Laughing, she took his face in her hands. “That is so. Thank you.”

  “For what?” He turned his head and kissed the center of one of her palms.

  “For caring. For wanting to help.” She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to it. She’d been independent her entire life. Lottie, knowing she hadn’t had many years to live, had raised her not to depend on anyone or anything. Looking back, it might have been a mistake, but she’d done the best she could. Hell, without her, Jesse wouldn’t be here.

  “We’re in this together.” A chill ran through her at his words. Her stomach clenched. It was as though he was tempting fate by speaking such a thing aloud. Then he lowered his head and chased her worries away.

  He tasted like coffee and smelled like sunshine. His tongue dipped into her mouth, taking and giving, teasing and soothing. She slipped her arms around him and kissed him back. The muscles in his back bunched and flexed beneath her hands, his skin hot and slick.

  He left a trail of kisses across her jaw and down her neck. Arching up, she rubbed her bare breasts against his chest. The friction sent tremors throughout her entire body. On a moan, she wrapped her legs around his thighs and pressed her core against his erection. Groaning, he reared back and undid her jeans.

  “I’ll do it.” She pushed his hands aside. “Get naked.” She needed him inside her, and she needed it now.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He rolled off her and struggled to peel the wet denim down his thick thighs. His cock, full and hard, escaped as soon as he released the zipper. With her own clothing gone, she reached out and took him in hand.

  “Fuck, that feels good,” he muttered as he kicked the material away. She gave him a shove and he went over onto his back, giving her full access. He really was gorgeous, all hard lines and rippling muscles. There wasn’t an ounce of excess fat on the man. There wasn’t a woman alive whose blood wouldn’t be stirred.

  She scowled, not liking the idea of any other woman seeing him naked and aroused.

  “Why the frown?” He ran the backs of his fingers down her throat and over one breast, teasing the taut nipple.

  “No reason.” Or at least not one she wanted to discuss. It was strange to feel possessive over him, but a primal part of her recognized that Aaron belonged to her. Shoving aside the unsettling feelings, she straddled his thighs. She liked the dominant position. Before he could press her further, she flattened her hands on his chest. “I’m trying to decide what to do next.”

  Tucking his hands beneath his head to use as a pillow, he sent her a sexy smile. “I’m at your disposal.”

  “Yes. Yes, you are.” She traced the lines of muscle down to his abs. His shaft bobbed and flexed, as though reaching for her. Liquid seeped from the tip. He was aroused and making no move to hide it or to force their lovemaking.