Savage

1 CLINT Cooper Valley’s lone saloon, Cody’s, was packed with a mix of drunken humans and shifters. The twang of country music filled the air along with whoops and hollers from the back corner where people tested their mettle on the mechanical bull. The scent of spilled beer and potent cologne made me wish for wide open spaces. I tossed back another whiskey and watched the blonde nurse weave across the floor for her turn. Tipsy humans weren’t usually my thing, but this one was damn cute. Her lush mouth was wide open in a carefree smile, her cowgirl hat askew on her head. She wore a pair of hot pink, cowgirl boots with her short jean skirt that combined to make her the hottest number in the bar. I was jealous of the mechanical bull. If she wanted to go for a ride, she’d get more fun out of my d**k. I could promise her that. Of course, my pack brother, Boyd, would strongly disagree with my desire to sidetrack the nurse from his mate’s bachelorette party. The shindig we males crashed. Boyd and Colton had ridden in a limo with their mates and the other ladies in the group. I’d caught up to them because leaving human females unprotected at a drinking establishment was not a possibility. Boyd and Colton were keeping an eye on their mates, but as council enforcer, it was my secret job to keep everyone safe at all times. Audrey now belonged to the pack, and the way Colton was keeping a protective watch on her sister, growling at any male who came near her, I had a feeling she’d be mated as soon as they found an available horizontal surface. Lucky bastards. I accepted another shot and raised my glass to Boyd, who stood a few feet away, protecting his mate. His pregnant mate. Again, lucky bastard. How the cocky f**k found a human to be his mate, claim her and put a baby in her belly was beyond me. He hadn’t been around in years. Returned home for one rodeo event, and he’d been lassoed by a cute Ob/Gyn. And me? I’d been downing the liquor like it was water, trying to tamp down my wolf’s agitation that I hadn’t found my own mate yet. I was older than Boyd and Colton and had had plenty of opportunity, not only in Cooper Valley but also as I traveled as an enforcer. I had more reach than most shifter males to find a mate. Now, looking at the Wolf brothers zeroed in on human females, it occurred to me that maybe I’d been looking in the wrong places. I hadn’t realized a wolf could choose a human for a mate, but clearly they had. It made no sense to me logically, but there was no denying biology. Boyd was certain. Colton looked pretty damn certain too. I glanced away from the Wolf boys and caught a glimpse of Becky on the bull. Yeah, the hot little number with a jean skirt riding high on her thighs made my d**k press painfully against the zipper of my jeans. A human male—damn, actually three human males—lurched toward Becky, the adorable tipsy nurse, as she hopped off the mechanical bull. My wolf growled. I didn’t like males taking advantage of a female who’d been drinking. She might not be my female to specifically protect, but she was here with our group, and I’d be damned if I was going to let any male paw her when she was in this inebriated state. Hell, even if she was stone cold sober. I downed the two fingers of whiskey and pushed off from the bar, picking my way through the crowd with my gaze glued to the petite blonde. “—why don’t you take a ride on me next?” some asshole said to her. “Why don’t you let me through?” she countered, arching a brow. Good. She wasn’t as drunk as I’d thought. I liked knowing she could take care of herself. Still, I felt obliged to provide back up. It was in my wolf DNA and in my enforcer job description. “You heard the lady.” My deep voice cut through the crowd, and four heads swiveled my way in surprise—the three human men vying for Becky’s attention and the lovely nurse’s. I didn’t get in her space, wanting to give her the room the other guys weren’t offering. She beamed at me from her spot by the rail that enclosed the mechanical bull area. Her blue eyes showed pleasure at seeing me, and I wondered what they’d look like when they showed pleasure from me getting her off. I didn’t care if it was on my fingers, on my mouth or on my d**k. I’d satisfy her any way she wanted it. “Thank you, Clint.” It took me a second to recover from surprise that she knew my name, and in that moment, the asshole in question positioned himself between me and my little nurse. Yeah, my little nurse because I had my sights set on her. But these assholes were pretty much cockblocking me, which really didn’t set well. The fact that they were messing with Becky didn’t make me happy either. “Give the lady some space,” I growled. Rob, our pack alpha, my boss and best friend, didn’t like us picking fights with humans. Sure, he and the Shifter Council sent me out to deal with rogue shifters or anyone who needed reminding of the rules, but this was different. This was Cody’s on a crowded summer night. The temptation to show wolf superior strength was f*****g strong, but the chance of truly hurting a human or worse—revealing our nature—would increase. I was careful to keep our ways a secret, but no one f****d with a female, shifter or human. No way was I backing down. Especially not when nutsack gave me a shove. I tried not to laugh at his meager strength. I had to be six inches taller and a bag of feed heavier. He did have balls though. I had to give him that. Still— I wrapped a fist in his shirt and used it to pick him up and shake him. “Get lost, asshole. The lady asked you to let her through.” He threw a punch. I couldn’t miss the windup, and I was tempted to dodge it. To throw one back. But the thought of pissing off my alpha ran through my head, so I held still and took it—right in the nose. Meh. He’d broken it. Whatever. It hurt a little, but I’d heal in a few hours. No biggie. The worse blow was to my ego, which really wanted me to pound the f**k out of said asshole right here in the bar. But what I wanted to do to him would put him in the hospital, and that was a big no. Fucking humans. I sighed and settled for my fingers around his throat. My hands were big and strong. I could squeeze and lift him off his feet at the same time. Blood ran down my face, but the dude was turning purple, gasping and kicking out to reach the floor. I waited a couple beats until Becky closed the distance between us, plucked my sleeve with a sweet little, “Clint.” Only then did I drop the guy. I let him fall and immediately ignored him, turning all my attention to the little blonde. “You okay, sugar? Come here.” I didn’t plan on doing anything dramatic, but one minute she stood before me, her head tilted back so her blue eyes met mine, looking adorable in her pink boots and mini skirt, the next she was up in my arms in a honeymoon carry. “Clint!” she shouted, laughing. I pushed through the crowd toward the bathrooms because I was going to have to clean up. I didn’t give a s**t about blood. Being a nurse, I doubted she did either, but still. On the right were the doors to the restrooms, to the left a storage room. I chose the left where we wouldn’t be interrupted. My sudden flare for the dramatic continued because I didn’t feel like dropping her after I opened the door and carried her right inside. Only when I’d found the switch to illuminate the shelf-lined walls did I tip her back onto her feet. I locked the door—not because I was planning on doing anything with her. I just didn’t want to be bothered. Yeah, that was all. It wasn’t that I wanted uninterrupted alone time with the little nurse. “Wow, are you all right? That guy was a total jerk.” Her breathless voice wound around my trunk like honey and silk. She looked up at me with the prettiest wide blue eyes I’d ever seen. “We should probably get you to the hospital to have that set.” I smirked at her because her concern was damn cute. The bleeding had already stopped, so I went over to the utility sink, pushed a mop handle out of the way and quickly washed. Tugging a few paper towels from the dispenser, I dried my face. There was some blood on my snap shirt, but that wasn’t going anywhere until I got it in the washer. I would take it off though, if she wanted. f**k, yeah, I would. I leaned down to put my face close to hers. “You can set it for me, sugar, and we can skip the doctors. Hell, we can play doctor if you want.” I grinned at her blush, which I couldn’t miss even with the single light bulb lighting the room. “Oh, well, I don’t know—” she said, but still reached up to line her thumbs along the bone of my nose. One quick move, and she snapped it back in place. She didn’t flinch, didn’t even blink at the task. I wiggled my nose like a rabbit. “I knew you could do it for me.” “Are you okay?” Her hands slid to my chest. The touch set off something strange inside me. Sure, it made my d**k hard, but it was more. A connection. It must’ve had something to do with the whiskey. Shifters sobered pretty damned fast, but still. I didn’t usually react so… viscerally to human women. “That was very gentlemanly of you to step in.” I suddenly wished getting punched in the nose hadn’t f****d with my sense of smell because my wolf was itching to get a noseful of her. I’d bet she smelled sweet. Sweet as candy. Every-f*****g-where. “I’m fine, sugar.” My hands found her waist of their own accord. I shouldn’t touch her. Not when she’d been drinking. I’d been drinking, too. Plus, she was best friends with my pack brother’s mate. But her waist felt perfect under my palms. She had meat on her bones, and I itched to feel every inch of those soft, lush curves. Her blue gaze had locked onto mine, and she was breathing softly and quickly, little pants that made me want to shove her up against the wall to make them heavier. “You?” “I’m fine,” she said quickly, eyes dilated. “I’m better than fine.” She licked her lips. “In fact, I’m kinda turned on by you right now.” Hell, yes. A woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to voice her needs. My d**k went hard at her honesty. “That was pretty badass the way you choked that guy with just one hand.” She c****d her head toward the closed door. Thankfully, the thick wood muffled the noise and music from the bar. I almost groaned. My d**k had gone rock hard, and she’d stepped so close to me I could feel her body heat, her soft curves just centimeters away. She was a petite, tempting handful. “Sugar, you’re pushing my self-control here.” Despite my words, I pulled her soft body up against mine. “No matter how much I want to take things further, both of us have been drinking, so I think I’d better get you home before we get ourselves into trouble.” She smiled up at me, her lids at half-mast. “Trouble, hmm?” she purred. “What if trouble is what I’m looking for?” This time I was pretty sure my groan escaped. Holy. f**k. I’d been propositioned before. Becky, though, had my d**k leaking pre-c*m from just talk. She was fully clothed, and we hadn’t even kissed. “I’m not that drunk.” She pressed those pert breasts against my ribs. “I’ve been drinking water the past hour.” I took a deep breath, but… nothing. Damn, I had never wanted to smell a female so much in my life. Why’d that asshole have to punch me in the goddamn nose? I’d be able to scent her p***y, know if she was wet just by one inhale. I’d have to find out another way… my fingers itching for the task. My brain scrambled—something that never happened to me with females—especially not human ones. Hell, my d**k took over. Next thing I knew, I used my shifter strength to pick her up and set her down on a table I assumed was used for… hell if I knew or cared. I was just thankful for its existence as I stepped up between her parted thighs. Her jean skirt rode up, and I couldn’t miss the hint of hot pink panties… and a wet spot. Yeah, she was wet for me. I licked my lips, eager to get a taste. She let out a chuckle of breathy excitement and hooked a hand behind my head to bring my face down to hers. That was the yes my wolf and I needed. She wasn’t drunk. She’d said as much, and her behavior was that of a hot, horny woman—not a drunk. I wasn’t taking advantage in a storage room. That would be extraordinarily ungentlemanly. Hell, she just might be taking advantage of me. And that was sure as hell fine with me. I was unprepared for the sweetness of the kiss. The intensity. Her lips were soft and tasted faintly of strawberries and vodka. Her impetuous tongue swept between my lips, and that was my undoing although I’d been barely holding on before now. Suddenly, I couldn’t hold back at all. I must’ve had more alcohol than I should have. Or maybe it had been the contemplation of wishing I could have my own mate, but suddenly my focus narrowed to nothing but this moment. This sweet little human before me, offering her mouth up for the taking. And take it I did. I f*****g owned it. And her. I kissed the hell out of the little nurse until she writhed against me, her ankles hooked behind my back, pulling me against her sweetest spot. “Clint,” she whimpered against my lips, her voice thready with need. “Yeah, sugar?” I held her jaw, ready to angle my lips back over hers as soon as she finished her piece. I still couldn’t smell a thing, which drove me f*****g nuts. I just knew she’d smell delicious. Edible, even. Her eyes dropped to the bulge in my jeans. The bulge pressed up against her pink satin panties. “Show me what you’re packing in there,” she murmured, her voice husky. I shouldn’t. I wasn’t going to, but my d**k was leading the charge. Her deft fingers popped the button and undid the zipper before I’d even decided how to tell her we shouldn’t. “Aw, sugar, drinking and—oh.” I choked on the last syllable when she grasped the base of my d**k in her tight fist and gave it a tug. Those tiny fingers gripped me tight. “Do you have a condom, cowboy?” Her smile was knowing and sure, her touch intent. She had plans for my d**k. A shudder of pleasure ran through me. I lengthened in her hand as she jerked me off. Pre-c*m dripped down over her fingers. My brain could barely process for the pleasure, the synapses slow and sparking, but I eventually reached in my back pocket and produced a condom. “Yes, ma’am.” She took it from me and ripped it open with her teeth then rolled the rubber on. I didn’t even know if she finished getting it in place because a storm of desire flushed through me, volcanic in nature. I wanted in her. Now. I wanted to feel the tight, hot heat of her p***y around me. I wanted to feel the ripples of her pleasure as I f****d her over the edge. “Come here,” I rasped, picking her up so she straddled my waist. Gripping the full swell of each ass cheek, I spun her around until her back was against the wall. “Oh God, yes.” She clung to my shoulders, holding herself up as I shoved her panties to the side and sunk into her heat. Yes. Yes. A growl filled the storeroom. The thump of music from Cody’s dance floor faded. My vision narrowed to myopic level. Nothing mattered except pounding into this sweet, willing human I had nailed to the wall with my d**k. Especially when she started making little noises of agreement. Uhn. Uhn. Clint. Oh, damn. She felt so good. So perfect. So right. Why hadn’t I let off some steam with humans more often? It was definitely worth it. I buried my c**k in her sweet heat up to the hilt, eased back, shoved in deep again. I watched her closely, ensuring I was giving it to her how she needed it. I didn’t let myself pound as hard as I wanted to for fear I’d hurt her. It didn't matter. f*****g her still felt like heaven. Every time I filled her, I lost a little more control until I was pushing fast and hard, holding my hips close to hers, so I wouldn’t slam her against the wall. Her nails dug into my shoulders, her legs wrapped tight behind my back, the heels of those cowboy boots digging into my ass. She kept making those sounds that drove me f*****g crazy. Holy s**t, it had never been this good. This wild, as if I were almost… savage for her. “I’m gonna come, sugar. Are you close?” No way was I leaving her behind. “Now, cowboy,” she commanded, like she’d been waiting to say it. I sped up, jackhammering in and out, while her cries filled my ears. I came with a snarl—the kind of sound I should never let a human hear, but it didn’t matter because I was banging the thoughts right out of her head. Her cries matched mine, and I had no doubt anyone in the hall would know what was going on in here. Her tight p***y squeezed my d**k like a glove, pulsing and milking it for its c*m. And there was a lot of it to fill the condom. I gave her all I had and didn’t let up until my balls were f*****g empty. “Oh fates, that was good,” I managed to say as my vision began to clear. I could barely catch my breath as I set her back on her feet. The little human smiled up at me. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes all hazy, and my d**k started to harden all over again knowing I’d made her look that way. “It sure was.” I eased out, tossed the condom into the trash then tucked myself away and pulled up my pants as she fixed her panties and slid her skirt back down. I’d barely seen any of her, and I wanted another round, but the next time I’d have her naked. She adjusted her top, smoothed her hair down. She might look put back together, but anyone out there would know she’d just been well satisfied. That made me feel like a million, very cocky, bucks. I wanted to give her that glow again. And again, which had me suddenly remembered why I didn’t make a habit of randomly screwing humans. They had feelings. I couldn’t exactly enter a relationship with one when I was holding out for my true mate. No matter how hot a f**k that had been, she wasn’t my mate. And I may never have one. Shit. I sure as hell hoped Becky didn’t get hurt by this. “You need a ride home?” I asked. “A bottle of water?” Things suddenly got awkward. “No.” Becky breezed past me and unlocked the door. “I came in the limo, remember?” She glanced over her shoulder and offered me a smile. She was reassuring me. “Don’t get weird about this, okay? We hooked up. We both enjoyed it. End of story.” “Right.” I caught up and dropped a hand to her hip to escort her out. “I definitely enjoyed it.” The top of my head had pretty much blown off. I opened the door, the sounds of reality crashing around us again. I enjoyed it way more than I should have. My d**k wanted more of that hot p***y, that was for damn sure. Which meant I definitely needed to steer clear of Becky and the temptation she presented. Because my mom raised me better than to toy with the emotions of random females, even if she sure seemed fine with a hot quickie.