Mating Fever by Susan Hayes
Tessa
It was a shame she couldn’t laugh while in this form. Tessa could use the relief of a good giggle right now, and Doyle’s possessive declaration was the funniest thing she’d heard in days. “You haven’t even proposed yet.”
“Add it to the list of things I need to do once I get you safely on the plane.”
They were moving through the trees now, and the snow was falling so fast that she couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of them, yet somehow Doyle kept moving. Despite the cold and the dark and the storm, he kept pushing on. He was as strong as the tiger that dwelled inside him, but he’d touched her so tenderly, with such care…
Tessa was back to thinking that maybe, just maybe, the gods didn’t hate her.
“What plane?” she asked.
“The people I work for make sure we have the best tools. That includes a private jet. It’s waiting for us in Calgary.” His arms tightened around her and he dipped his head to brush his cheek against the top of her head. “It’ll take us home.”
“So, where’s home? And what else is on this list you said you have?” It was getting harder to think through the pain, and she could feel herself getting woozy. Blood loss, probably. If she could sleep for a while, it would be okay. Shifters healed fast if they had a safe place to rest and recover.
“Home is Washington State, and the list … we’ll get to that later. Let’s just say that in the rush to make you mine, I skipped over quite a few things I really want to do to you, and with you.”
“I don’t have my passport with me.”
“I’ll send the twins to get it. You have to be staying in a hotel room around here somewhere, right? Give me the room number and the name you’re registered under, and we’ll take care of the rest.”
“Why are you being so good to me?” Tessa hadn’t meant to ask that question, but she was tired and cold, and it was too hard to keep her thoughts to herself.
Powerful emotions surged through their link and filled her mind. Worry, confusion, affection and even humor flowed from Doyle into her. “Because you’re my mate. You’re hurt, and I don’t like it. I don’t know much about being mated, my beauty, but I know that it means that you’re mine to protect and cherish.”
She could sense the faint ripple of embarrassment that came with his last words, and it warmed her heart. “I don’t know anything about being mated. I guess you’re going to have to teach me.”
“Nothing?”
“My mother was human before my father claimed her and made her into a shifter. We lived alone. No clan. No pack. After he killed her, I was raised by my mother’s family. They had no idea what I was. I haven’t been around many of my kind. I guess that’s going to change now, huh?” Tessa hadn’t intended to tell him any of that. She’d never told her story to another soul, not in all the years she’d been alone. She was a child of two worlds, and didn’t belong to either one. That’s why she’d become a thief.
“You could say that. You’re mine now, and that means you just became a part of the F.K. Incorporated clan. Don’t worry, they’re batshit crazy, but they take care of their own, and that includes you.”
“Sounds nice. Crazy works for me. What’s F.K. stand for?”
Doyle’s soft chuckle echoed through her mind. “The company I work for was started by a lion shifter named Rafe Sterns. He’s got a weird sense of humor. The initials stand for ‘finders, keepers.’ We retrieve things. Like, oh, someone’s stolen Monet painting.”
Tessa laughed a little, but she just couldn’t stay awake any longer. Her body hurt and she wanted to sleep.
“Tessa?” Doyle’s voice sounded so far away. She barely felt his grip tighten around her, but then he was shaking her and shouting. “Don’t you go to sleep on me, Tessa. Don’t you fucking dare! You stay awake, God dammit!”
His voice snapped her out of the fugue, at least for now. “It hurts.
“We’re nearly there. You just need to hang on a little while longer and we’ll both be warm and safe soon. You can sleep then, but not until I tell you it’s okay. Do you hear me? You stay awake until I tell you it’s time to sleep.”
“Anyone tell you that you’re a bossy bastard?”
He laughed. “All the time, beauty. It’s one of my many charms.”
Tessa rubbed her muzzle against his neck, drawing the scent of him into her lungs. “I’m kind of fond of your charms. I hope none of them are frozen off before we get to this meeting place.”
“You and me both, love. Not much farther now. Then we can both rest.” He stumbled a few steps later, dropping to his knees but somehow managing to keep hold of her. It jarred the glass still embedded in her shoulder, and she nearly passed out from the pain.
He got to his feet again, but he was struggling. Tessa opened her eyes to find that Doyle was up past his knees in a heavy drift of snow, heading for a pair of headlights that were barely visible through the snow.
“Can you see us, Sean? We can see the headlights. We’ll be there in a minute or two.”
For a moment Tessa couldn’t figure out who he was talking to, but then she remembered his teammates.
The tinny voice sounded again. “We have you. Seth is coming out to give you a hand.”
“I don’t need help from you two pups, I can manage,” Doyle snapped.
“Rafe’s orders. He called for an update two minutes ago. We have orders to get you and your mate secured and haul ass for Calgary. The jet’s on standby. Rafe outranks you, so Seth’s on his way.”
“Fuck,” Doyle snarled, staggering through another drift.
“You saved me, then I saved you. Let the pups have their moment, too.” Tessa whispered to him via their link. He relaxed slightly, then laughed.
“That’s the worst poem I’ve ever heard,” he told her and nuzzled his face to her fur again.
“I’m blaming the blood loss.” She sent the thought with what she hoped was the telepathic equivalent of a smile. This was all so new to her, she wasn’t really sure what she was doing.
A new voice called through the snow. “Doyle?”
“Over here. Come and make yourself useful and I’ll consider not beating you and your mongrel twin to death.”
“Hey! It’s not our fault! The advanced team didn’t figure out he had a remote app, either!”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. It occurred to me that you two heard everything that went on while I was in the house and I’m betting it’s recorded somewhere, too. I want it gone before we get to the plane, or I’ll be giving my condolences to your father when we get home.”
They’d been listening? Oh, hell no. Tessa lifted her head and turned to look at the dark-haired man who now stood in front of Doyle. The scent of wolf filled her nostrils and she curled her lips back in a snarl.
“Tessa feels the same way.”
“Consider it gone. Fuck, you cats are so pushy. Wolves get all the crap for being alpha, but you guys are way worse. When he found out what was going on, Rafe roared so loud my ears are still ringing.”
“Suck it up, puppy. And for fuck’s sake, get moving. Some of my mate’s favorite bits of my anatomy are getting frostbitten here.”
