Uncertain Claim Read online

  When he pulled his mouth away from hers, they both drew in fast, hard breaths and one of his hands cupped her ass. She rocked her hips, rubbing her pussy against the ridge of his cock. She wanted to forget everything except him, the feel of his body and the pleasure she knew he could give, but the alarm would soon blare.

  Even if they ignored it, someone would come to pick them up for work. They’d be interrupted and she definitely didn’t want someone walking in on them because they were doing a check when no one responded.

  “I wish we didn’t have to get up.” His hips slowly pumped, teasing her with his cock.

  The hard ridge was confined only loosely in his boxer shorts. If she reached down and slipped her hand under the elastic, she’d be holding him in her hand. After that, they’d both forget about dressing, work and the people coming for them. She had more control than that, though. Barely.

  “But we do. You’re supposed to talk to Evan today, if I remember right.” She ached to kiss him again and slowly forced her fingers to release their grip on him.

  She might want to keep him to herself for the entire day, but they had to leave. The people who attacked Gavin needed to be stopped and that wasn’t going to happen if they stayed hidden all the time. Well, not the way they wanted them stopped anyway. If they were to get any information, they needed to go to work.

  “You’re right.” Gavin rolled over onto his back and stared up at the cream-colored ceiling. “We both need to shower and dress. I’ll go first, because we definitely don’t have time to do it together. You’re too distracting. While you’re in there, I’ll start breakfast.”

  She was too distracting. She rolled her eyes. He was the one with the body of a god and talented hands. Arguing about it wouldn’t solve anything. Definitely a matter of perspective. Shaking her head, she headed for the closet to look for something to wear to the office today. She hadn’t really looked too hard through the clothing, but she’d seen enough to know that they should fit and be suitable.

  * * * * *

  Gavin made it through one of the longest, most boring, aggravating workdays in recent history. Hell, he knew he couldn’t go offsite to any jobs where other people might be. Someone innocent could get caught in the crossfire if danger followed him. They needed to control when and where these people had an opportunity to see and get to him. Then the Protectorate and werewolves would have a chance to catch them. It would also limit the chance of something going wrong.

  Drumming his fingers on his desk, he looked for something to do. His mind tortured him. He didn’t expect any kind of overt attack right now. There would be better opportunities later. He expected to be followed once they left the office. He was tempted to have another van go after Diana, just to keep them away from her, but he knew it wouldn’t work. On top of that, he worried about her. Not being able to see her was pushing him to the edge.

  His imagination kept inventing images of her being attacked or kidnapped. It was driving the beast inside of him insane. Luckily, the day was drawing to a close and it was time to leave. Logically, he knew it was too early for the attackers to even think about going after her.

  He suspected there would be at least one more attempt on his life in some form before they decided to use her to draw him out into the open. He hoped they caught them before it got to that point, but the woman and the two men with her shouldn’t be desperate enough to try it yet. They should still have hope of a quick kill, even if it wasn’t as anonymous as they’d hoped.

  “Ready to go?” Max walked into the room where Gavin had been going over the plans for a security layout.

  Gavin pushed the chair back from the desk and stretched. Hell, yes, he was ready, but he only nodded. With as frayed as his nerves were, he’d growl before he answered civilly. Until he saw that Diana was safe and back within reach, his temper was going to be short. He wondered if he was doing the right thing by insisting she be with him. He’d worry about her regardless, but if she was in a different safe house, the splinter group might not find her. It might be safer.

  Considering these people had been following him and likely her once they realized he was dating her, it wasn’t likely. Unless she completely stayed away from the Protectorate, the attackers would find her. She wouldn’t stay away from her work. That was one of the logical reasons why he believed they’d find her regardless. Of course, part of him didn’t care about logic. The wolf demanded he keep her close. She was safer with him. They’d have to go through him to get to her.

  He put on the protective vest and then his shoulder holster with the loaded gun. Evan insisted on the vest. Gavin wasn’t fighting it. This time, they’d probably use bullets unless they managed to catch him alone. He didn’t expect anything like a sniper. If any of them had that skill, they’d have used it. Evan would have people looking for that, though. It reassured him that he’d be able to keep Diana safe.

  He put his navy suit coat over the vest and checked his pocket for keys and wallet. Both were there. He nodded to Max. Max led the way out of the room. Gavin heard someone fall into step behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Rob, another of the men who worked at Contech. He rolled his shoulders. Being surrounded sent prickles of unease running down his back and the wolf inside grew restless. He’d have to live with the feeling until the woman was caught or her time ran out.

  Gavin walked onto the street behind Max. His senses heightened as his heartrate spiked. The van pulled up as close as possible to the building, just on the other side of the wide sidewalk. They’re close. He could feel the weight of someone watching him.

  His eyes swept the length of the street, trying to spot any possible danger, but he didn’t see anyone walking down the street. Everything seemed normal, but it struck him as wrong somehow. He trusted the feeling. With the way Max tensed, Gavin knew that he felt it too.

  “Move, Gav. I think this is going to shit,” Max muttered just before the sound of screeching tires broke the silence of the afternoon.

  Gavin ran for the van. He caught a glimpse of a dark car. He couldn’t say if it was dark blue or black in the glaring sun. Loud cracks broke the almost unnatural silence. Max slid the door open and Gavin dove inside as bullets ricocheted off the pavement. He grunted as a weight came down half on top of him and an elbow or knee dug into his kidney. A surge of movement caused him to slide on the seat as the van shot forward.

  “Is anyone hurt?” Max asked.

  Gavin didn’t know how Max had gotten into the front seat, but there he was beside Lance, who was driving. The weight on top of him lifted completely away as Rob slid into one of the seats. Gavin groaned as he pulled himself into the seat. The van door slammed shut when the van braked.

  “I’m good except for a pain in my back where an elbow or something landed.” Gavin ran a hand through his hair and drew in slow, deep breaths to calm his pounding heart.

  “Sorry, dude. Didn’t want to get shot.” Rob smiled and didn’t look at all repentant.

  Max nodded and within moments was on the phone. Gavin realized quickly that he was talking to Evan. He listened, resigned, as Max informed Evan of what had happened. The only reason he hadn’t already known about it was that he wasn’t at the office now. Max put his phone in his suit pocket and turned to face Evan.

  “There’s going to be a little bit of a change in the itinerary. Evan’s calling Steven. They’ll arrange for your mate to be brought out to the safe house. Going to the Protectorate might put her in immediate danger.” Max watched Gavin, as if expecting an extreme reaction.

  Gavin tensed, but he clamped down on his immediate growl of denial. The wolf wanted to get to his mate now and drag her away from danger. The thinking part of him recognized that Max was right. Someone could be following them now.

  Speeding over to get her could put her right in the line of fire. Still, he wanted to be able to hold her. He drew in some deep breaths. His muscles tensed and he struggled to stay still in his seat. Waiting wasn’t going to be easy, but her s
afety came first. He didn’t believe that he’d relax for a moment, but it was the best choice at the moment.

  “I want to know what they’re doing as often as possible. Right now, I feel like diving out of the car and running over to her to make sure she’s safe. I need assurance that they aren’t making a try for her.” Gavin kept his voice even with effort.

  It wasn’t an exaggeration. The wolf clawed and jumped, struggling to get to his mate. He was a breath away from shifting and making a run through Dallas to get to her. His skin crawled. He could feel the energy of the change pulsing through him.

  With effort, he held it back. He couldn’t endanger her or his pack like that. The people in Dallas accepted the shifters among them because, with the exception of the occasional rogue, they’d shown that shifters, and werewolves in particular, could control themselves.

  He should have expected something like this to happen. After all, they worked in different parts of the city, but he’d never thought of the possibility that he wouldn’t be able to go to her. The wait was going to shred his nerves. He wasn’t going to be able to let her out of his sight for at least a few hours once they managed to get her to him.

  His hands clenched into fists as they drove out of the city. The journey to the house seemed to fly. Once inside the house, he waited. The minutes seemed to drag. He began pacing. A growl built as he moved across the room. He didn’t want to do anything while she was out there, possibly in danger. It frustrated him. The wolf inside of him raised his hackles and lunged for control.

  Chapter Nine

  Diana couldn’t believe the precautions Steven had taken. He’d insisted that she stay at the Protectorate until after the normal shift change. Then he’d sneaked her into a car waiting at the curb. She shook her head. That was suspicious enough on its own to draw attention. Normally, if someone parked there, the vehicle was quickly moved one way or another.

  Her head pounded as the tension grew and the muscles of her back had knotted during the wait. Time seemed to slow, but her mind wouldn’t stop. Anxiety gnawed at her and her stomach churned. Something had happened to Gavin.

  She knew it even before they said a word. The change in plans had been enough. They’d told her he was safe and unhurt, but she needed to see and touch him to really believe it. Biting her lip, she tried to control her emotions. She looked down at her purse. It all seemed so much more real now.

  She hadn’t thought it was all some kind of game before, especially since Gavin had been stabbed. Maybe a part of her hadn’t believed the attackers would get close again. That all of this was nothing more than necessary precautions. Maybe she hadn’t wanted to believe that it was anything more than that. He could have died.

  Hearing that Gavin had been shot at had shoved reality right into her face. If her feet hadn’t been firmly on the ground at that point, they would have landed there when Steven handed her a gun and three extra clips of ammunition. She knew how to use the weapon. She’d been fully trained in weapon use. Just the fact that he thought it was serious enough to warrant giving her a weapon when they were under guard underlined how much the situation worried him.

  She sat tensely in the backseat and looked over her shoulder as they turned onto the private road that would take them to Gavin. The seat belt dug into her belly as she leaned forward. They passed through the gates without trouble. She sighed with relief. Soon. She needed to be with him, but the minutes crawled by and the car seemed to go even slower.

  When it finally pulled up in front of the house, she threw off the seat belt. She reached for the door handle. Before she could touch the lever, the locks clicked loudly. She frowned and looked over at Steven.

  “Stay here for the moment. They’re making sure that no one’s out there watching.” Steven said quietly.

  “Wouldn’t it be safest to get inside as quickly as possible?” She looked longingly at the house.

  “You don’t want to be caught out in the open if there’s a shooter out there. None of us want Gavin running out to get to you. They will use you to get to him and then they’d kill you.” Steven’s voice was chillingly calm.

  It wasn’t something she didn’t know, but the bald way he said it drove home the point. She swallowed and nodded. A shudder ripped through her at the thought of Gavin being hurt because of her. She looked out the tinted window and wondered how they were looking for these possible attackers. Did they have someone out there hunting or were they using cameras and scopes to find the people possibly watching? A ring broke the tense silence. Steven lifted his phone and looked at the message.

  “All clear. We can go now, but get out on this side. It’s a shorter walk from here.” Steven nodded and unlocked the door.

  He waited until she slid across the seat and opened the door. As she got out of the car, he moved in behind her and urged her at a fast walk to the door with a hand at her back. The door opened before they could reach it and Diana rushed into the house.

  A hand gripped her arm, pulling her to the side. She got a glimpse of Gavin’s face just before his arms folded around her and pushed her head against his chest. In that brief look, she’d seen raw pain. Something intense burned in his eyes and his jaw had been clenched. He looked almost haggard. She wrapped her arms around him and held him as tight as possible. The heat of his body and the steady throb of his heart soothed her where words hadn’t made a difference. She’d been so worried about him.

  “We’re fairly sure that no one followed us today, but both of you should know that they’ll know where you are by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.” Steven’s voice cut through silence that had fallen over the room. “You’ll have to be on your guard even though there will be people watching for them.”

  Gavin’s arms loosened a little. She half turned to look at Steven. He still wore that ultra serious expression he’d had earlier. Hell, didn’t he realize that after this it was going to be hard going in to work every day? She’d fooled herself before into believing that they wouldn’t make any move in the city. She’d been stupid, but she wasn’t making the same mistake again.

  She didn’t know if she could focus on her work while she worried about what these fanatics would try next. It seemed impossible at the moment. She wondered if she should stay away from work until they stopped these people. She wouldn’t let them use her to kill Gavin. She’d rather die herself.

  “We will be.” Her hand tightened on her purse. She leaned her head against his chest, needing to be close to him.

  “Oh, yes, we will.” Gavin’s hand swept up and down her back.

  “They need to be alone.” Max put his hand on Steven’s shoulder and turned him toward the door.

  It was the first time she’d seen the Protectorate commander surprised, but she didn’t have long to watch him before he was outside of the door. Max guided him out, even though Steven’s feet dragged. She smiled a little bit.

  “We’ll talk tomorrow about possible changes to your duty. It might be safer if we keep you together or if you stay out of sight completely,” Steven called back a moment before the door slammed shut.

  Gavin went over and locked the door, tugging her with him as he moved. She needed his touch as much as he seemed to need her. If he hadn’t held her, she would have wrapped her arms around his waist and tagged along regardless of his plans. The moment the lock clicked into place, he hauled her tight against him and lifted until her feet left the ground.

  He carried her into the bedroom. She didn’t know if he wanted to get away from the door and the large windows in the dining room or if he really wanted the comfort of a bed. Well, at first. One glance into his eyes and she knew. Need blazed at her. He didn’t waste any time once he put her on the carpet. He pulled her shirt over her head, stopping only so that she could unfasten one of the buttons when it got caught on her chin.

  Her hands shook as she found the waistband of her skirt. He began stripping out of his clothes. She eyed the muscles and tempting skin he revealed with every flick of a butto
n. He looked sexy in a suit, but out of it, he was temptation in the flesh. She wanted her hands on his body now. Because she took the time to watch him, he managed to fling his suit pants onto the cream-colored carpet as she was shrugging out of her bra.

  His eyes swept over her face as if he couldn’t get enough of looking at her. His arms closed around her. With a groan, he lifted her off her feet. She wrapped her arms around him. His head nestled against the crook of her neck.

  For a moment, he simply held her. She savored the solid reality of his arms and the steady beat of his heart. His hands slid up and down her back in an almost comforting motion. The heat of his body and the solid muscles pressing against her calmed some of the anxiety lingering from the tense ride over here.

  “It took so long for you to get here.” The words rumbled against her neck and were so muffled, she wondered if she’d heard right.

  “I was so worried. They told me you were all right, but I couldn’t believe it until I saw you.” She threaded her fingers through his hair and simply held onto him. “They shot at you.”

  Shaky relief warred with a deep need for proof that he was healthy and physically whole. She knew which one was going to win. Even as she held him, her hands drifted lower over his back and down to his butt. She wanted to feel his cock driving into her pussy, the brush of body against her and his solid weight as they held each other.

  “Come here. Let me make you believe.” His arms relaxed around her and he slowly stepped back.

  She didn’t want to release him. Her fingers tangled with his to keep contact with him. He took the few steps to the bed. She thought he’d pull her down on it with him. The mere idea sent a surge of hunger straight to her core. He didn’t move. Hell, she’d like to push him up against the nearest wall and take delicious advantage of the hard, muscular body. She wasn’t far from trying it. He sat and drew her close.