Chapter 54

KRAY

She ruined something deep inside me.

I'd never had to work so hard for a chick if they didn't want me or they were a prude I'd drop it pretty quickly, but with Jo, it was all about the chase. She was a wildfire in dry brush, blazing out of control and I just loved to watch her burn.

The summer sun was hot above us as I and the guys rode out to the river.

We moved in a staggered line but as one unit. Winding over the roads, through the city, into the deep woods, we were ready for another day of just enjoying what nature was here to plunder.

I made my money as a general handyman. I wasn’t rich, but it was a job that let me pick up odds and ends work wherever I needed to if funds got short. It was nice taking a couple of weeks off to just explore and cut loose.

We didn’t hear the river until we turned off our motorcycles.

It roared, whitewater ahead of us, and a couple of the guys cheered back at it.

Pulling my pack off my back, I grabbed a beer and handled a couple out.

I hadn’t had a proper summer break since I was in school. It had been eleven years since then, and one felt long overdue.

Pulling off my shirt, and kicking off my boots and socks, I walked to the water’s edge and sat on a large rock. There was an alcove of water here, where the river ran past and left smooth and lifeless water just feet away. It looked like there were dozens of these, and I couldn’t help but wonder if anything lived in them.

One of the locals had told me there was life on every inch of this land, which to my giddy mind meant there was a lot to hunt. I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a live salmon between my teeth.

“Get in here,” Ricky yelled at me as he jumped down into the water. I laughed and raised my beer to him. “Give me a second.”

He shifted smoothly into his tiger form. I watched him in fascination, wondering why he loved water so much if he was a cat. A couple of the others started shifting too, and I laid back to enjoy the sun on my skin. I’d have a leaf-patterned tan by the time the day was out, but it’d be worth it. Jo washed over my mind, and I thought about how damn good it felt to finally kiss her. She wanted me too, her body reacted like I was the oxygen it needed and I was more than willing to let her have it.

She wasn’t like anyone else I’d ever met, and that was most of why I was so enthralled. I couldn’t believe how the other guys just ignored her like she was another employee at a hotel, she was so much more. I looked at her and saw so many layers that I just wanted to unravel by hand but would never have enough time to.

Something brushed past my foot, and my plans to just lay there and think about her were cut short.

I needed to hunt.

Jo was in the back of my mind in everything I did.

Even hunting fish, I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d like it if I brought some back to her.

I shifted easily, slowly sliding into my bear form as easily as I slid into the water. The river was letting off crisp, cool water and I was glad for my thick coat. Diving deep under the surface, I tried to see if I could spot anything.

Nope, just the other guys being dumbasses. The usual.

I wished Jo didn’t hold herself back as much as she did. The thought of taking her out here, seeing her shift, watching her enjoy herself in her most natural state, I would have killed for that.

I guess I don’t usually care about these things with flings. I just wanted all of her.

Craved her.

I wasn’t sure where the boundary would fall, there was always a boundary, but I knew I wanted to explore that with her.

Even just once, I wanted to take her. Her thick hips, nice ass. I’d had my chance to grab them, but I didn't get as far as I wanted. Her whole fucking body was perfect, and I wanted to explore every inch of her.

She didn’t seem as into the idea at the end of it.

A salmon moved right past my face while I was lost in thought, and although I tried to grab it, I was too late. Watching carefully, I kept my face underwater. I could hold my breath for a couple of minutes, just long enough to spot something to grab.

Usually, I'd prefer being in the river itself, standing to grab them, but the water was too rough and I was feeling lazy. As I almost grabbed another fish, something caught my ear.

Motorcycles?

At first, I thought maybe the guys decided to prank me by riding off, but as I stood, I could see that wasn’t the case.

All of our bikes were right where we left them. Three other men were pulling up.

Shifting back, quickly, into my human form I started towards the shore. It didn't matter that I was naked.

This looked like trouble.

They were all around my age, mid to late twenties, and they took their time getting off their bikes.

“Can we help you?” I asked.

The rest of the club fell quiet, watching and waiting. Since I put up with Jo’s yelling that first night, most of the club had made me the unofficial leader until we got back to town. I didn’t mind that, but it was going to be a pain in the ass if they wanted a fight. We could easily take them down if we had to, but I didn’t see the purpose.

"We're just wondering how long you're staying in town," one of them said. His dark wavy hair was about chin length and was still wild from the ride. I could tell he was a wolf just from how he carried himself.

“Who’s asking?”

"I'm Anders, I head the Carved Flames, this is our town," he explained. "There's no trouble with you driving through, we're just making sure that's all it is." He sounded confident like he knew exactly what he was after. He didn't ask us straight out to leave, but we wouldn't have even if he did. There were rules to this kind of thing, an etiquette that was unspoken and never passed around.

They had the right to kick our asses if they thought we were taking over their area.

Not to mention, a lot of clubs were just fronts for drugs, crime, whatever, and although I’d seen my share of it I wasn’t stupid enough to make myself cop bait.

“We’re just here a couple more days, staying at Jo’s,” I explained. “Alright, sounds good. As long as you keep out of trouble we have no

problem with you,” he replied. “What’s your club?”

“The Speared Lions,” a few of the guys answered at once in pride. “Then keeping out of trouble might not be your best skill,” one of the

other bikers that rode up said. He was a shorter fella, with dark hair, looked like he was about to jump in the water at me for just breathing. He looked like the type who joined a gang like this just to get into fights. Anders shot him a look, one that said to shut the hell up, and he backed down.

“We’ll call a truce then for the next couple of days, you caught me on a good month,” Anders sighed.

“We’ll save a beer for you if you come by the bar,” I offered back. He seemed like an alright guy.

Anders nodded, and the three of them got onto their motorcycles. Only two of them rode away.

The one who had been a shit stuck behind.

After the other two were out of sight, he came back to the edge of the water.

“Jo’s my sister. If any of you make trouble for her, you’re fucking dead,” he said. “I will not warn you again, you should get the fuck out of town sooner than later.”

Oh, that’s why he was being an ass.

If this was how he acted from me just being around her, I didn’t want to know how pissy he’d be if he knew I was trying to mate her. She didn’t need his protection, he had to realize that.

“Piss off,” I shook my head at him. “Your club leader said it was fine, we’ll take our time.”

“Then don’t expect to enjoy that fucking time,” he said. “Anders is soft right now because he found a mate, but our club still upholds the old rules.” “Get the fuck out of here before we eat you, little fucking wolf,” I

growled back.

I couldn't tell what he was from how he stood, but if Jo and he were siblings he'd almost have to be a wolf. Regardless of what species the mother of a litter is, they always take after whatever kind of shifter their dad is. The only times it complicates is if the mother is a shifter and the dad is human.

That's a different kind of mess.

He seemed to listen, though, and rode off without so much as a word back.

The coward.