Wanted: Wild Thing

Chapter Seventeen

I awoke sometime later to the sound of a large body snoring and a clawed hand protectively placed on my breast. I smiled even with my eyes closed, cuddling closer to Hugh. It was nice to wake up next to a man, to have his big body pressed against my back. I didn’t even mind that I was a little stiff and cold from the damp.

Unfortunately for me, my bladder and my stomach both protested being ignored, and I knew I’d have to get up soon. I slid a bit closer to Hugh and found that he had morning wood. Maybe I could help him take care of that. Sneakily, I tried to turn over.

And a groan of pain escaped my lips.

Everything below my waist was stiff and aching. I knew some people got sore after vigorous sex, and I’d figured I would be, too, but this was more than I’d expected. Guess we’d been rough with each other.

Hugh immediately woke up at the sound of my voice, and his hand reached for my cheek. “Mmm, Ryder? What is it?”

“Just stiff,” I told him with a wince. “Nothing too surprising.”

He sat up next to me, and I realized I could make him out a bit easier in the low light of the cave. The sun had to be up outside. “Did I hurt you?”

“I’m a little tender. I think we were overly enthusiastic. It shouldn’t be a problem in the future, though, and I wouldn’t change a thing about last night.”

Hugh kissed me fiercely. “I love you, Ryder.”

“I love you, too,” I told him, feeling warm and delicious at his words. “But can we go find a bush or something? I hate to ruin the moment, but I really need to pee.”

Hugh chuckled. “As you wish.”

A short time later, we had climbed down from our waterfall cave and discreetly taken care of our bladders behind separate bushes. I was eyeing the water of the pool with longing; I was thirsty and felt achy and dirty, and a soak in a pool of water sounded great. Then I remembered Hugh’s words about fish with teeth, and I decided that cleaning off could wait until I got home.

A big arm wrapped around my waist from behind, squishing my wings and trapping my tail. Hugh nuzzled my ear, making me squirm at the ticklish sensation.

“You should be walking around. Stretch out your legs.”

I gestured at a nice, leafy plant near the water. “I was just wondering if that was edible.”

“Not unless you want to be violently ill.”

“It’s not high on my list of things to do,” I said cheerfully. My stomach growled under his hand, and I patted his arm. “I don’t suppose there’s a drive-thru around here?”

“No. The only food here is either foraged, caught, or hunted.”

“Sounds delicious,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “I think I just might wait until we get home to eat.”

His face was unreadable. “Do you want me to come home with you? Do you regret this?”

“Of course I want you with me. I don’t want to go home without you.” I reached up and caressed his cheek. His face was hard and unyielding, but I sensed the vulnerability underneath. It made me want to give him a hug. “I don’t have anything if you’re not with me.”

He tilted his mouth and kissed my palm. “You are my world, Ryder. Wherever you wish me to be, I will be there.”

“I’m glad,” I told him softly. “The thought of staying here scares me. I don’t know how time passes here compared to home. And it’s dangerous here. You’re cut off from everyone but the fae. But if you cannot leave . . . I will stay. As long as we’re together.”

Hugh pulled me close to him again, dragging my body against his in a tight embrace. I went willingly—this man loved to hug and cuddle more than anyone else I’d ever met, and I was a sucker for it. He pressed another kiss to my hair. “The other primordials are my brothers. My friends and companions. But I have chosen you over them. I do not know how it will affect their hearts. I would not want them to try and take you from me.”

I clung to him, a bit worried by that statement. “I don’t want them to try that either, big guy.”

“I must come with you, then. Back to your world.” He seemed disappointed.

I felt a twinge of dismay at his lack of enthusiasm. “Do you hate my world?”

“Not at all.” He seemed pensive. “I do not like the cold is all.”

The cold? “I live in Texas.” I poked his abdomen. “We don’t get much of a winter at all. Barely any snow.”

He looked down at me in surprise. “What about the ice glaciers?”

Ice glaciers? “In Texas?”

He nods. “Everywhere. Great amounts of ice. It is hard on our kind. The herds fled south, so we followed the herds, and so did humans. But they fear our kind.”

I blinked at him, then gave him a little shake. “Hugh, sweetie . . . exactly how long have you been in this world that the fae created for you?”

He shrugged. “I told you. Time passes differently here.”

“Didn’t you notice that we’ve sort of moved beyond a hunter-gatherer society? Shapeshifters are living amongst humans. The humans just don’t know it.” My hand smoothed along his stomach. “And the Ice Age ended about ten thousand years ago, Hugh. Your kind is long extinct. No one worries about ice ages anymore. We’re actually handling a little problem called ‘global warming.’ ”

He stiffened against me. “Extinct?”

“No more saber-toothed tigers, I’m afraid. You’d be the biggest, baddest shifter on the block.”

He grunted. “We came here under promises from the fae, you know. They would make this realm for us to keep us safe and let us hunt undisturbed in a warm, peaceful climate. They made the offer to us one by one, and we did not realize that the paradise they had created had left us more vulnerable than ever. There are no women here, and we did not realize until too late that they intended to keep them separate from us.”

“More bad deals from the fae,” I agreed. Shifty bastards.

“And time passes here as if in a dream. The only time we interact with the fae is if they demand favors in exchange for a boon.”

“Have they demanded favors before?”

He nodded. “In the past.”

“What kinds of things?”

Hugh frowned. “I . . . do not recall. It is possible there is something in this place that tampers with our memories.”

I believed it. The fae liked to tamper with everything. “And did those who worked with the fae come back?”

“I . . . do not recall that, either.” He didn’t look happy.

I didn’t blame him. It was disturbing to think about. I imagined the jobs the fae must have come up with over time. Who knew how many millennia Hugh and his primordials had been here? How many had disappeared while performing another fae task, never to be seen again? It sounded ominous. The fae liked to play games. Now it seemed that their games had an even more sinister edge than we’d imagined.

I gave Hugh’s arm an encouraging little squeeze. “This doesn’t sound like a safe place after all. So why don’t you all come with me?”

He looked down at me, the worry smoothing into surprise. “All of us?”

I nodded, gaining enthusiasm for my idea. “You don’t have to stay here. You can come with me. You, Artur, all of your friends. The world now is very different from the world you remember. There are a lot of shifters in the Fort Worth area, so you’d have a support network. I’m positive they’d help you all acclimate to modern society. And if the others leave this place, you will no longer be beholden to the fae. More than that . . . the others can find mates. There are shifter women. Not tons of them, but they are there.”

His eyes gleamed with excitement, but then he shook his head. “The fae will not like it, and they are holding our females. What if they punish them for our disobedience?”

I hadn’t considered that. I thought for a moment, then snapped my fingers. “You can all still come with me. We’ll just play hardball.”

“Hard . . . ball?”

“Yes. Basically you come with me and tell the fae you’ll only return to this realm—and to being their errand boys—if they give you the mates they are holding. They will have no choice but to release them if they want to keep you.”

“Do you think that will work?”

“If it doesn’t, Finian’s going to have to explain to all his buddies that he’s lost all of the primordials. I bet that’s a conversation that won’t go over well.”

Hugh looked down at me, eyes dark. “Do you truly think it will work, Ryder?”

“They will want you back, so they’ll have to give in. And what do your men have to lose?”

“Nothing,” he admitted. “If what you think is true, this place is as deadly a prison as any. We will ask my men what they wish to do.”

I beamed up at him. “This will work. I know it.”

Hugh grinned down at me, all fangs showing in his delight. “You have a good heart, my Ryder.”

“I hear a lot of things are pretty good about me,” I teased back. My flirty ways had returned.

His hand slid to my ass and cupped it. “I could not agree more. There are many things about you that are more than merely good. They are mouthwatering.”

Oooh. Mouthwatering was a rather descriptive word. It sent a shiver of excitement down my spine. “Such as?”

He squeezed one buttock. “The way your lower back curves in just before your tail. The smooth lines of your spine nestled between your wings. The way that your nipples perk when I say your name. The way I catch your scent when you are aroused, and it makes me hard.”

I sucked in a breath at his words. Just like that, I wanted him again.

“Like now,” he murmured huskily. “I can smell your desire, and it’s making me crazed.” He leaned in and nipped at my lower lip with those big teeth.

My knees went weak. “Hugh,” I breathed. I glanced around at the wilderness surrounding us. “Are we safe here?”

He kissed along my jaw. “You are always safe with me.”

“Good. Then let’s have sex again.” Who cared if I was sore? I was going to be sore anyhow. And right now? I wanted Hugh. My hand moved to his cock, and I grasped it. Already hard and ready.

He groaned at my touch and his tongue swiped at my open mouth, licking me.

I gasped at how good that felt and squeezed his cock again. “Point me to where we can lie down.”

“We don’t need to lie down,” Hugh said. He pulled me against him and scanned the area.

“We don’t?”

He hauled me over his shoulder again, my stomach thumping against his skin. “I know just the place. Over here.”

“Okay,” I agreed breathlessly. His hand was pressing down on my behind, and I wanted to push back against him, to have those fingers seek out my flesh. I was already wet and aching with need. Who knew that sex was like an itch that needed scratching once you started?

He paced across the brushy forest floor, and I squirmed with anticipation. A moment later, he put me down again, his hand caressing me as he released me to the ground. As soon as he did, he pressed another fierce kiss to me, distracting me before I had a chance to look around. His hand hitched to my leg and he pulled me up against him.

I pulled away from him in surprise when he dragged my other leg against him and pressed me backward. My back was against a smooth tree, and I clung to his shoulders. “What—”

“I saw this in one of the moving stories you gave me to watch,” he said, mouth pressing against my neck urgently. His hands clung to my hips, keeping me balanced against him.

“You . . . you did?”

“I did.” His voice was a low growl of pleasure as he nipped at my collarbones, then slid down to take the peak of one breast in his mouth.

I moaned, clinging to him. “You’re a fast learner.”

He licked at my nipple, teasing the sensitive point. “Do you hurt?”

“Mmm. I ache. Deep inside.”

He suddenly stopped, looking at me with concern. “Did I hurt you?”

I dug my pearly nails into his shoulders. “I hurt a little, but I’m fine. I want you. Please.” I rocked my hips, feeling them press against his cock. He was so close, yet so far away. “Don’t tease me like this and then pull back.”

He moved to my mouth and kissed me again. “If you’re sure.”

“More than sure.”

His hands shifted my hips, then I felt the head of his cock pressing against my sensitive opening. I sucked in a breath, and a tiny whimper escaped me when he sank deep.

Hugh groaned as he seated himself inside me. Then he stilled, and his gaze searched mine. “Ryder?”

The fullness felt different sitting upright, pressed between him and a tree. It ached a little, but it was also being rapidly taken over by the sensations that pricked at my nerve endings. It hurt to have him buried in me, but it also felt really, really good. That itching, needy ache had suddenly been filled . . . and had left another craving in its wake. “I’m good,” I reassured him and lifted my mouth for another kiss.

He groaned again and pressed his mouth to mine, his tongue slicking against my own. The kiss deepened even as he thrust inside me, and there was no thought of pain in that moment. Instead, every bit of my body sang to life, and I tightened my legs against his hips. The way he’d thrust against me had pressed my clit against him, so when he’d stroked forward, it had felt incredible.

And the rotten man had stopped again. I dug my claws into his shoulders, silently begging for more.

Hugh didn’t need encouraging after that. His mouth forcefully ravaging mine (someday we’d have a conversation about sweet, gentle kisses, but I was enjoying the rough ones too much), he began to pump into me with slow, sure strokes that left me writhing against him.

I came moments later, in a hard, shattering burst, clenching around him and shuddering with delight even as I dug my nails in harder. “Hugh,” I cried out as the orgasm took over me. “Oh, God, Hugh!”

“Ryder,” he growled against my mouth. “My Ryder. Mine.” And his thrusts became hard and jerky. A moment later, he came, too, pushing hard between my legs and shoving me so fiercely against the tree that I heard the limbs creak.

Once again, I found myself thankful that I was a changeling, because I could take all that Hugh had to offer, and more. I dug my fingers into his shoulders, utterly pleased with myself. That had been a short, rough round of sex, and it had left me totally sated. “You’re pretty good at that, Hugh,” I told him breathlessly.

He chuckled against my neck and nipped lightly at the scales on my throat, sending skitters of pleasure through me all over again. “I am pleased you think so.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said dreamily. “If you were any better, they’d have to scrape me off the floor of the forest here.”

He laughed again. “I do not know what that means, but I think it was a compliment.”

I gave his chest an affectionate pat. “It was.”

Hugh looked as if he wanted to comment on something, but a distracted look crossed his face. He tilted his head and lifted his nose into the air, sniffing.

“What?” I asked, worried. I clung to his shoulders. “What is it?”

He looked down at me and grinned. “Are you hungry?”

“Well, I could eat, but I don’t know . . . why?”

He pressed a finger to my lips, indicating silence. I fell quiet, and he let me down from where he had me pressed against the tree. He crept forward a step, hunched behind a nearby bush, and indicated that I should do the same.

Curious, I followed and squatted next to him. My fingers curled around one of his big biceps. Any excuse to touch this big, delicious man. “What are we looking at?” I whispered.

“Our next meal,” he murmured in a low voice. “Just wait.”

We waited. A few moments later, a creature stepped out of the brush and headed toward the stream.

It was white, with four long, slim legs, a gleaming mane, and a single, spiraling horn on its forehead.

A friggin’ unicorn.

“Delicious,” Hugh murmured.

“Oh, my God, no!” I said, and I began to laugh. I’d thought Hugh had been messing with me when he’d said his favorite meal was unicorn. This was unreal. “We can’t eat that!”

The unicorn had bent its head to drink, but at the sound of my laughter, it went on alert. It remained still for a moment, then bolted back into the woods.

Hugh grunted. “You are not much of a hunter, my Ryder.”

I didn’t care. I couldn’t stop giggling.

A unicorn. A real, live unicorn. Unbelievable.

Hugh led me to a stream that, he assured me, was quite safe. We drank our fill as I tried not to think about waterborne parasites, then we washed up. Heading back to the primordial camp and stinking of sex? Not the politest gesture, so I was glad it was no longer a worry. I wished we could find some clothing, but I supposed one couldn’t have everything.

My muscles ached and my legs were completely stiff. In addition, certain parts of my anatomy felt a bit bruised. This made walking agonizingly slow. Hugh was patient, though. He held my hand—since I insisted on not being carried like some sort of caveman’s captive bride. I gladly held his hand, since I wouldn’t have this luxury when we returned to the human world. That made me a little sad, though, but it was what it was.

The caves came into view sooner than I wanted, and I instinctively moved a little closer to Hugh. “Do you think they’ll like our suggestion to come to the human world?”

“I do not know.” His voice was surprisingly grim.

“Well,” I said cheerfully. “All we can do is ask.” And I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

The greeting we received from the others was downright frosty. Two dozen eyes watched us emerge from the brush, but no one acknowledged us. All were silent, even as Hugh strode through the midst of the camp with me at his side.

I began to doubt our plan just a teensy bit. What if we were making all these grand schemes to save guys who didn’t want saving?

Artur strode forward, his ugly face a welcome sight. “So you have returned.” He moved to Hugh’s side and clasped forearms with him in greeting.

“To gloat?” another called. A man stepped toward us, his wild, dark hair and savage expression almost as alarming as his large, muscular build.

Artur glanced backward, seemingly dismissing the man’s anger. “That is not well done, Cahal. Would you not have made the same choice if presented with such a lovely woman?”

Cahal went silent, though he crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at Hugh.

“We do not all resent you, brother,” Artur told Hugh. His craggy face held a note of concern. “But I do not know if it is best that you remain here.”

“My mate has a suggestion,” Hugh said, and he turned to look at me with such fondness and affection that I knew we’d both made the right choice.

“So she is your mate now?” Artur asked.

“Of course she is,” Cahal said, striding forward to confront Hugh. His lip curled as he looked at me. “Did you not see the way she waddled into camp? She has been well used by our brother.”

Oh, wow. If the earth could have swallowed me up into a sinkhole at that moment, I wouldn’t have objected. Embarrassed, I took a tiny step behind Hugh again, wishing my hair was long enough to cover my breasts . . . or other areas that were totally naked. Waddled? Waddled? How humiliating.

“That is my mate you insult, Cahal,” Hugh growled, stepping forward. “My mate who even now thinks of ways to retrieve our mates from the fae. You would do well to be kind to her.”

Artur’s heavy brows drew together, and his attention turned to me. “You know of a way?”

“I have an idea,” I told him. I stepped forward, doing my best to pretend that I wasn’t totally naked and in changeling form. These men had never seen me otherwise, so it wouldn’t be as awkward to them as it was to me. “The fae need you guys. From what Hugh has told me, they have you do their dirty work and make you think you’re beholden to them because of this realm they created for you. But the human world is different now. You primordials have been gone for a long time. A long, long time. Humans aren’t living and hunting in packs any longer. They’re domesticated. They hold jobs and farm. And shifters mingle with them and live in safety right under their noses. You don’t have to stay here. Hugh has a necklace that can make a portal. Like it or not, Finian’s given you a way out of this place. You can leave and come to my world with me.”

“And what of the women promised to us? What of those mates?” Cahal demanded.

Clearly Cahal spoke for others. I could see several angry nods in the background.

“That’s the beauty of it,” I told him. “You come with me for a few days. The fae figure out that you’re gone, and now they need to offer you something to make you come back. You can then bargain for your mates in exchange for returning here.” I gave a tiny shrug. “Or you can stay in my world. There are lots of women there.”

All eyes riveted on me with an intensity I found a bit unnerving.

“Your world is full of women?” Artur asked.

“Primordial women?” Cahal wanted to know.

Well, that had gotten their attention. “No primordial women. There aren’t any primordials other than you guys. There are shifter women, though they tend to be rarer than shifter men. But yes, there are single shifter women. I work at a place where our job is to make matches between single men and single women who are shifters or other supernaturals. There are also lots of human women.”

“A lot of them,” Hugh agreed. “Enough that they will tackle a man and give him sex simply for delivering food to her door.”

All eyes widened.

Oh, dear. I suspected that the porn Hugh had watched had given him a skewed concept of courting rituals. “Not exactly, but—”

“We wish to go to this place,” Cahal demanded.

“Aye,” Artur agreed, glancing back at the others. A chorus of nods followed. “Either way, it does not sound like we can lose.”

“There’s just one problem,” Cahal said. “How do we get the fae to realize that we have gone?”

“Finian will be coming back to look for me,” I told them. “We’ll just use me as bait. Right, Hugh?”

Silence.

I turned to look at Hugh and noticed he was frowning fiercely at me.

“You are not safe around Finian,” he said. “I do not like this aspect of your plan.”

“Perhaps she should stay here while we venture to her world. Then, once things are established, we can return her to her home.”

“Whoa, whoa,” I said, holding up my hands. “I’m not staying here. Not without Hugh.”

“We need Hugh to lead us through the portal,” Cahal explained. “It is keyed to him. No one can enter or exit without him going through first.”

“She cannot stay here alone,” Hugh said. “Ryder is helpless in this place. She has no defenses.”

I put my hands on my hips, not exactly liking Hugh’s words, even if they supported my stance. “No one is staying behind. We’ll just have to lay a trap for Finian or something.”

“It’s dishonest,” Hugh said, frowning.

“It’s genius.” Cahal rubbed his hands together. “Bring us to this land of eager women. I will feed them.”