Night Shift (Grizzly Cove Book 3) Page 5

  He lifted both of her legs straight up into the air in front of him, running his hands appreciatively along her thighs and calves. He rested her ankles on his shoulder as he met her gaze.

  “Spread your legs wide for me, honey. Show me where you want me,” he whispered in that low, compelling tone that made her abdomen quiver.

  Channeling that inner bad girl again, she did as he asked, spreading herself in a way she hadn’t ever done for another man. She made herself completely vulnerable to him, utterly his slave. She discovered in that moment how much she loved the feel of his gaze on her body.

  She watched him watch her from between her thighs. He was on his knees, sitting back on his heels, watching the scene unfold before him. Watching her unfold before him. A willing puppet to his mastery.

  He licked his lips as he looked at her, and then, his talented hands went to the fly of his pants. One button, then two, then three, and the restrained monster was released. Zak’s hardness was revealed, and it was time for her to lick her lips and think about how much she wanted to learn the taste of his body. But judging by his expression, that would come later.

  For now, he was stroking his cock, lining himself up for the possession she’d wanted since almost the first moment they’d met. He leaned forward and slid inside.

  There was no need for protection. She knew from her sisters that shifters didn’t carry disease, and she was on birth control. Nothing would come between them, which was just the way she wanted it.

  His gaze swept upward to meet hers

  When he was fully seated, he stopped, breathing hard. She realized her own breathing was hitched and ragged. The feeling of fullness was unlike anything she had felt with the few human men she’d been with before. Zak filled her completely, touching areas inside her she hadn’t really known existed.

  She couldn’t wait to find out what it was going to feel like when he moved.

  “How are you doing, Tina? All right?” he asked, panting as he held back what she most wanted.

  “It’s sweet of you to check on me, but if you don’t start moving your ass right…now…” She panted between words as she felt her body quiver in need.

  Zak chuckled and gave in, starting a slow rhythm that just scratched the surface of meeting her need. She’d never felt like this before. She’d never had this desperate desire, this aching need. Only with Zak, and it felt like only he would ever be able to make her feel whole again.

  He pumped within her, changing angles and moving over her so their bodies aligned. He held her gaze, checking on her comfort again, and she felt her heart melt a little at his consideration. But what she really wanted was something a little rougher.

  She leaned up and nibbled on his earlobe, biting just once, letting him know her mood. Zak complied, reading her like a dream. He sped up his thrusts and let loose more of the wildness she knew he kept bottled up inside when he was in human form. She needed that passion, that wild abandon. It met and answered the need deep within herself.

  A few strokes more and she was calling out his name, coming hard as he joined her in ecstasy.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Zak’s impulses said to spend the rest of the afternoon right there, in Tina’s arms, making sweet love to her, but he squashed that thought for the moment. He didn’t want to overwhelm her. He’d had this whole afternoon planned, and it had already gone way off the rails. Time to bring them back to earth.

  He didn’t want just a physical relationship with her—though the sex had been amazingly awesome, he had to admit—but he wanted more. A foundation to their relationship that could only be built by being her friend and getting to know her.

  He hadn’t bothered getting to really know the women he’d bedded before Tina. They hadn’t mattered to his bear, except as a way to get some relief. But with Tina, everything was different. His bear liked her. Hell, it more than just liked her. It wanted to rub up against her and cuddle.

  Never before in his life had his bad-ass, got-something-to-prove-to-the-bigger-bears-he-hung-with bear wanted to cuddle anyone or anything. Not for as long as he could remember. Such soft ideas didn’t fly back in the bayou, when he’d been young.

  If he’d ever had any softness, his father would have been sure to beat it out of him. And the hard road Zac had traveled since hadn’t invited any show of vulnerability. He wanted to be gentle with her and feel her tender touch on him. He wanted to spoon her and just feel her breathe.

  Damn. He had it bad.

  For a human. His heart sank.

  What if she laughed at him? What if she didn’t feel the same?

  Things were different for humans. They often went from lover to lover from what Zak had observed. So did shifters, for that matter, but not when their beasts started thinking these kinds of thoughts about one particular person.

  Shit got serious then. And Zak was very much afraid—and cautiously delighted—that his bear was thinking that way about Tina. At long last, he might have a shot at a mate of his own.

  If he could navigate the human rules of dating and figure out if she could truly be his. If she’d been a shifter, he wouldn’t be so worried, but she was fully human. She might easily make love to him today and move on tomorrow, leaving him, and his bear, broken hearted.

  Uncomfortable with the direction of his thoughts, Zak rose to his feet and stretched, looking out at the water not too far away. He was a man of action, unused to sitting still for so long. Then again, he was seldom in the company of such a delicate—human—lady with nobody else around.

  “Want to take a walk down by the water?” he asked, sticking to his plan for the day.

  “Sure.” Tina sprang to her feet and grabbed her clothes.

  Although John had issued warnings about going out on boats or even swimming too far out into the water, Zak figured a walk down by the shore would be safe enough. The thing that had attacked Hiram had been outside the cove, in the deeper ocean, and likely wouldn’t venture too close to shore. If it could eat a yacht, it was probably way too big to swim in the shallows near land anyway.

  They dressed quietly, but he noticed Tina shooting him teasing glances as she briefly wrestled with him over his T-shirt.

  “You look sexy without a shirt,” she said playfully.

  “So do you,” he countered, loving the way she blushed. “When my house is built, you can go topless here any time you like.”

  She laughed, even as her blush intensified, and she let go of his shirt. “Play your cards right, deputy, and I might just take you up on that.” She turned away to finish dressing while he pulled on his shirt.

  He’d leave it off except for the chiggers that like to nibble on his human flesh. He knew they hung out closer to the water, and he didn’t want to itch for a week. He’d already been there, done that—and wore the T-shirt now to stop it from happening again. There was nothing worse than an itchy bite on your back you couldn’t reach to scratch. No, thank you.

  He made sure everything was in place—his cell phone, his badge, his weapon—and was charmed when Tina came to his side, surprising him by taking his hand. He liked the way their fingers fit together. It reminded him of the other ways they had fit so nicely together. Down, boy.

  They walked, hand in hand, the short distance down to the water. There was a bit of a steep incline before the beach started, which would keep his future home safe from tidal changes and storms and would also allow for a magnificent view of the water, once he got his house built. He helped Tina down the dune and then onto the rocky shore.

  They walked for a while, moving slowly toward the edge of the water. Little wavelets lapped at the coarse sand, and the occasional seashell, or bit of kelp, littered the path. Gulls cried in the distance, and the peaceful calm of the gentle waves did their magic, bringing their serenity to Zak’s spirit.

  As did the woman at his side. Tina both excited him beyond all reason and calmed the raging beast inside him. She was a balm to his soul, just by her existence. How he wished he
could tell her everything he was feeling, but he didn’t want to scare her off. Maybe, in time, he would be able to share more with her. He looked forward to that day with great anticipation.

  Tina paused and looked out toward the mouth of the cove, shading her eyes.

  “This is a beautiful place, Zak. You have a gorgeous view of almost the entire cove from here.”

  “Yeah, that’s a big part of the reason I chose this spot,” he replied, watching her instead of the water. She was so incredible. Her loveliness rivaled that of this beautiful spot he now called his own.

  “What the—?” Her words trailed off as she looked down at her feet. Zak saw the dismay on her face before he, too, looked downward.

  Something in the water had reached out a… Tentacle was the only word he could come up with for the long appendage currently wrapped around Tina’s ankle. She tried to pull free, but the thing wouldn’t let go.

  “Zak?” A hint of panic laced her tone as she looked up at him.

  “Hold on to me,” he cautioned, reaching for his concealed weapon. She clutched at his left arm while he sought the gun with his right.

  Zak never went anywhere unarmed. It was part of his job, but also something he’d done since leaving home all those years ago. He was a natural with weapons and felt a little naked without at least one on his person.

  He pulled the 9mm handgun out of the ankle holster he’d kept hidden beneath the hem of his jeans and took aim at the tentacle that was working its way up Tina’s leg. She was holding onto Zak, but he felt the strength of the pull on her body. That thing—whatever it was—was exerting some force to drag her toward the water.

  Zak wasn’t about to let it have her.

  He fired off several rounds, all direct hits on the tentacle, but the slugs just barely slowed the sea monster down. That’s when Zak realized he really only had one choice. He had to go bear. He just hoped it would be enough.

  Kicking off his shoes and unbuttoning his jeans, he got as close to naked as he could as quickly as possible. Tina was panicking now. He could tell from the way she clutched at his arm.

  “I’m going to shift. I’ll get between you and it. I won’t let it take you,” he rasped out quickly. “I promise.”

  He held her gaze as he let his change come. One moment, he was a man, with Tina clinging to his left arm for dear life. The next, he was a giant black bear. Not as large, maybe, as the grizzly shifters he hung around with, but still far bigger than any regular black bear.

  Zak growled as he turned and attacked the tentacle, just clear of Tina’s foot. He slashed with his claws and bit with his sharp teeth. The flavor of the creature’s blood on his tongue was acidic and like no blood Zak had ever tasted before. It was disgusting. Not fishy, as he would have expected.

  Something wasn’t right with the creature.

  Hell, nothing was right with this situation at all. Sea monsters didn’t just appear in the Pacific Northwest and pull unsuspecting women to their depths in the ocean.

  Zak applied all his bear strength to tearing the limb off the creature and freeing Tina. All that mattered right now was her safety.

  With a final burst of effort, he ripped through the half-foot of flesh that connected the tip of the tentacle with whatever lay just off shore, under the waves. Tina screamed as he broke through, and she was suddenly free. She fell to the ground but was quick to scramble as far away from the shore as she could get, the remainder of the tentacle still twined around her leg.

  Zak let out a mighty roar toward the water, a warning of sorts, as well as an auditory victory dance. Round one had definitely gone to the bear. This time.

  Zak followed behind Tina, urging her to move farther inland, even as the tentacle stuck stubbornly to her leg.

  She made it to the picnic blanket and collapsed onto her side, pulling at the twitching tentacle. Zak came up to her and pushed her hands gently aside, using his bear claws and tough-padded paws to remove the thing and put it aside. He wiped the residual slime off his paws on the grass before shifting back to human form and taking Tina in his arms. She was trembling in reaction.

  “It’s okay now. You’re safe,” he crooned to her, holding her as she clung to his bare shoulders.

  He knew some of his comrades would be showing up soon. They had to have heard the commotion and the gunshots. That wasn’t normal for the cove, so someone would come to investigate and help. His buddies were good like that. Always ready to back each other up when needed.

  And, sure enough, he heard the sound of vehicles approaching. He had about five minutes before Brody and John, and possibly a few others, came barreling in.

  “We’re going to have company real soon,” he told Tina in a soothing voice. “The guys will help us figure out what the fuck just happened here.” He couldn’t keep some of the exasperation out of his voice or censor his words. Had they really just been attacked by a fucking sea monster?

  The thing reeked of magic. Even as the severed limb twitched one last time on the grass by their side and finally stilled, it glowed with an unearthly light. That fucker just wasn’t normal.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Tina was slowly coming down off the panic high. Zak’s arms were around her, and he was so amazingly…amazing. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. He’d shot at that…thing…that had tried to drag her into the water, and when that didn’t work, he’d changed. Right in front of her. He’d turned into his bear, and holy shit! He was massive.

  The grizzlies might say he was small, but as far as she was concerned, he was one big, scary-assed bear. Only, she’d known he wasn’t going to hurt her. She’d known, deep in her heart, that he only cared about protecting her from that…creature. Whatever it was.

  “Octopus?” she wondered aloud, resting her head on his deliciously warm shoulder.

  “What?” he asked gently as her wits began to reassemble inside her mind.

  “Do you think that was an octopus?” she clarified, though she had a feeling that thing hadn’t been any regular sort of sea creature. “Or maybe a giant squid?” She held out a vague hope that it could be explained by somewhat conventional means.

  “Sorry, babe. I don’t think so.” Zak looked over at the tentacle, and she followed his gaze. Yeah, that didn’t look like any sort of regular sea creature she’d ever seen, or even heard of.

  “So what is it?” She was almost afraid to ask.

  “Beats the hell out of me,” Zak answered almost at once. He moved back, releasing her by slow degrees. “Are you okay now? The guys are on their way in, and I want to scout down by the shore for a minute. Make sure it’s gone.”

  He met her gaze and waited for her answer. Somehow, his calm demeanor, even after what they’d just encountered, reassured her. His actions told her he was a man who had seen worse and survived. He would see her through this. In fact, he already had.

  “You saved my life,” she whispered.

  Zak looked a little uncomfortable, but his gaze remained steadily locked with hers. The moment felt significant.

  Tina leaned toward him and touched her lips to his.

  The kiss turned molten in no seconds flat. She ran her hands over his shoulders and realized, finally, that he was naked. Whoa, mama. How could she have missed something like that?

  She wanted to tackle him to the picnic blanket and have her naughty way with him again, but he was already moving away.

  Why? Where was he going?

  A little bit of sanity returned, and she remembered what he’d said. They were going to have a bunch of guys up here any minute. Yeah. Okay. Um. Right.

  She could deal.

  Sort of. If her breathing would just stop sounding like a choo choo. She had to get a grip and calm down. Especially if—as she suspected—her new brother-in-law, the sheriff, was going to find her, at any minute, tangled up with his deputy. His very naked deputy.

  Finally, she found the will to let him go.

  “Okay. Sorry. To be continued…I hope,” sh
e dared to say, even as he got to his feet.

  He paused, looking down at her as she sat up. Her mouth watered as she tried really hard not to look at what was right in front of her. She met his gaze and did her best to keep her eyes trained there, on his. She was not going to ogle his package, though he seemed in no hurry to hide the goods.

  “We will most definitely continue this, sweetheart. But not here, and not now. We’ve got to be safe before we go wild again, okay?” He sent her an audacious wink that heated up her insides before he turned and walked calmly down to the shore.

  She couldn’t help but stare at his butt. The man was pure muscle. Every solid inch of him was toned, tan and buff. Sweet Mother of Mercy!

  She hadn’t really had much of a chance to look at him before. Their coming together that first time had been like lightning striking—an elemental force of nature that could not be denied. She’d held on and gone with the impulse, riding the lightning bolt all the way to the stars. He’d been that good.

  The best she’d ever had, actually. And she wanted more. Much more.

  Zak bent over and tugged on his jeans, which he’d shucked down by the water when he shifted. She noticed he kept his eyes on the murky depths even as he dressed. She was sorry to see all that manly flesh covered up, but even she could hear the engines now. The cavalry was about to arrive in force.

  Sure enough, Brody was the first to show up. Tina got to her feet and shuddered at the slime trail twined around her leg. The strength of the suckers on the tentacle had even ripped her jeans in places.

  “Sitrep,” Brody demanded of her, as if she was some kind of commando. She wanted to laugh, but this was no laughing matter.

  “That thing…” she pointed to the dead tentacle on the grass, “…tried to drag me into the water. Zak went bear on its ass and ripped that arm, or tentacle, or whatever it is, off the bigger creature, which I guess is still in the cove. Zak’s checking now.” She pointed to Zak, who was still looking at the beach, bending from time to time as if looking for, or perhaps reading, tracks of some kind.