“Shh, it’s all right, dancer. We’re going home.”
Katee relaxed and laid her head on his shoulder. “No home. Not anymore. All alone.”
Toren brushed a kiss on her forehead before he whispered, “You have a home now, mate. A home and a family. With me. For now and forever.”
Toren smiled when her only response was a soft snore.
Turning, he found Duck standing at the door, waiting.
“You found her?” Duck asked, sounding astonished.
Toren nodded once as he passed his right-hand man and headed for the SUV. Duck pulled the door closed behind him and followed without saying another word until they were in the SUV. Toren sat in the back seat, holding the still-sleeping Katee.
“Keller will want to use her against you,” Duck said, meeting Toren’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
“Which is why we have to keep her a secret until we can get this shit straightened out.”
“She’s human. Will she cooperate?”
Toren looked down at the sleeping face of his mate and smiled. “She’s my mate. She will do as she’s told.”
****
Katie woke feeling warmer than she had in days. Almost too warm. Opening her eyes, she froze. This was not her apartment. Nor was it her grandmother’s cabin.
She whimpered in fear when she realized she had no idea where she was.
“Shh, dancer. You’re safe,” a deep, dark, growly familiar voice said from behind her.
“Toren?” she whispered after licking her lips and swallowing hard.
“Yes, mate. It’s me. I wouldn’t allow you to sleep with anyone else.” He sounded sleepy but amused as he shifted behind her.
Katee took a moment to contemplate that before realizing she really, really needed to pee. Tossing back the covers, she rolled out of bed. Once on her feet, she looked around and then rushed to the open door across the room. She just made it to the toilet just in time.
After finishing her business, she sighed with relief and then moved to the sink and washed her hands. Once she’d rinsed a plastic cup by the sink, she filled it and drank deeply. Lifting her gaze to the mirror, she gasped. Her hair had become a wild curly rat’s nest overnight. Of course. It had been wet when she’d fallen asleep in the makeshift bed at the cabin. She hadn’t had the energy to pull it into the braid she normally slept in. It would take a miracle and a lot of time and patience to untangle it. Or another dance in the rain, but she would settle for a hot shower and a half bottle of conditioner.
“Katee, come back to bed. It’s too early to be awake,” Toren called softly from the bedroom.
Her body totally agreed, so she moved back toward thebed. It wasn’t until she had crawled back under the covers that she realized she was wearing a t-shirt that was several sizes too big, and not hers.
What had happened to her things? Had Toren left them behind at the cabin? Or was this shirt some macho alpha need to have her wear his clothing? Since he was more than half a foot taller and about a hundred pounds heavier than she was, she wouldn’t be able to wear much of his, but wearing his t-shirt against her skin made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.
When a thickly muscled arm slid around her middle and pulled her back into a large, warm body, she stiffened but didn’t fight.
Lips tugged at her earlobe before he whispered, “Go back to sleep, mate.”
As she took a deep breath, her lungs filled with the scent of man, forest, and wildness. She didn’t argue. Instead, she closed her eyes, and with a sigh, she slowly drifted back to sleep.
Chapter Four
Toren woke to soft kisses and licks moving up and down his hard-as-steel cock. It took a second for the events of the night before to come back, but when they did, he smiled. His private dancer of the last few days had become his mate.
Lifting the covers enough to see a mass of bright red curls below his waist, he asked, “Whatcha doing, dancer?”
Her tongue traced a warm, wet line up the underside of his cock from base to tip. She then turned her head and looked up his body at him with a sexy little smile. “Exploring your body. Do you mind?”
“Hell, no. Go on with your exploring, but be warned, I want equal time when you’re finished.”