Page 28 of Hunted by Them (Primal Desires #1)

SAGE

Everything had played out exactly as Ryder said it would.

Cops had arrived to investigate, but between the rain and the guys, they had no trail to follow.

After four weeks, Connor was officially declared a missing person, and they stopped looking.

Because of my outburst at the country club, I had to answer some of Officer Grady’s questions.

I’d told him that I had gone shopping and left town for a few days.

Jaxon’s friend from his time in the Marines vouched for me, and that was the end of that.

I’d learned that all three of the guys had grown up together, served overseas, and when they got back, they had moved into the cabin and got jobs as park rangers. The rest was history.

That night, it became my home too, and even though it didn’t look like it would, the guys had Wi-Fi, which was perfect for my new work-from-home business that was doing incredibly well.

I even managed to scoop two of the accounts that I used to manage from my old company.

Apparently, they hadn’t been happy with any of the new ideas.

I rubbed my hand over my belly and couldn’t believe that my life had taken such a drastic turn, but I was happy.

Happier than I ever thought I could be, and our little family was going to grow by one in a few more weeks.

I was officially thirty-two weeks pregnant today.

We were overjoyed, and they’d even agreed not to find out who the father was since it didn’t matter.

We were a family, and I was pretty sure that it wouldn’t take them long to knock me up again. They were sort of obsessed with it.

The only downside, if you could call it one…horny. I was so horny all the damn time. So much so that the guys had started taking turns, much like being on a rotation, so that they could each perform to their fullest potential. I laughed, remembering when Ryder had told me that.

I’d also managed to keep my promise to Beth. The four of us were currently being led down the hallway to her changing room. The employee knocked on the door, and I heard her voice yell that it was open.

“You have guests,” the guy announced. Beth looked up in the cracked mirror she was using to do her makeup. She squealed and ran at me. I stepped inside, and my hypersensitive nose felt assaulted. The greenroom smelled like cheap hairspray and stale smoke.

“Oh my God, look at you. You’re so beautiful. It’s true what they say about glowing, you look radiant.” Beth hugged me tight. “Are these the very lucky men?”

I laughed. “Yes, this is Ryder, Dash, and Jaxon.”

Beth shook their hands one at a time before she mouthed, Way to go, girl . When Beth stepped back, she was smiling but trembling like a leaf. Nerves were written all over her pretty face.

“Me, beautiful? Girl, you look fabulous,” I said, and she lit up.

“I don’t know. I’m so freaking nervous about this. I’ve never been the headliner, just the opening act. What if they hate me?” She walked back to the mirror, looking truly terrified.

“You’re going to own this crowd, Beth. You’ve worked so hard for this, and this place wouldn’t have booked you to headline if they didn’t love you,” I told her, slipping behind her and wrapping my arms around her shoulders.

“Five hundred people are about to see what I already know…you’re a goddamn star, and I’m going to see you win a Grammy one day. You’ve got this.”

She laughed, voice shaky but real. “Sage, don’t make me cry before I’ve even sung a note.”

Ryder leaned against the wall, massive arms folded, blue eyes following me like he had never stopped hunting.

Jaxon lounged in a folding chair, tapping his foot to the muffled bass spilling through the floor.

Dash paced the little room like a wolf too restless for walls. They took up entirely too much space.

Beth glanced at them and grinned. “Well, I’m happy you all made it. I can’t wait ‘til I’m off the stage and we can catch up.

“I can’t wait, either. I love you, and I believe in you.” I squeezed her tight until a smile spread across her face.

The stage manager’s knock cut the moment. “Fifteen minutes.”

Beth took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and turned back to the mirror. “Go, I need to finish my makeup and maybe throw up,” she said, making me laugh. “If I see your face out there, I’ll know I can do this.”

I kissed her cheek, whispered one last, I’m proud of you, and pulled the guys out into the hallway.

The roar of the crowd was louder here, bass thumping through the walls. I grabbed Ryder’s arm, and as he looked down, he knew what I needed.

“It’s Dash’s turn. We’ll go get a spot by the bar and a chair for you to sit on.”

“Thank you,” I said, snagging Dash’s sleeve. “We’ll be right there.”

Dash’s grin was wicked as he tugged me the opposite way, out the back door and into the alley. Nashville’s night air hit warm and thick, the brick wall damp under my palms as he spun me and pressed me into it.

My body burned like I was still in heat, like I was back in the forest. Dash grabbed my hips, pulled my skirt up, and I sighed as the cool air hit my bare ass. There was no point in wearing underwear anymore. His growl was warm and filled with need against my ear.

“Filthy girl,” Dash rasped, grinding against me, one hand locking at my hip. “You walk around carrying our baby, and look at you. Still the slut dripping for us, begging for more. I should get you to crawl on your slutty hands and knees for this cock. You’ll never be satisfied, will you?”

The bass from inside rattled the bricks beneath my hands, each vibration running through my arms, into my chest, and right between my legs. The music bled into our rhythm, our personal storm.

I moaned, head tipping back, and the rain from earlier still clinging to the night air.

“Dash…please, I’m begging you. I need you right now. I can never have enough.”

“That’s right,” he snarled, voice all hunger and mockery. “Say my name loud enough that they’ll hear it over the drums. Used in the mud, against walls, what’s next? You want me to fuck you in a dirty washroom or on the table in a restaurant.”

I moaned and pressed my ass back into him.

“Yes. I want it all.” My nails clawed at the brick, every nerve raw. The bass line inside rose, and the crowd shouted along with the lyrics.

Dash bit my throat, growling into my skin. “Take it, Sweet Daisy. Take every filthy inch and remember you asked for this.”

He thrust into me, and I shuddered at the feel of his hard cock spreading me wide. There had never been anything sweet or easy about his lovemaking. It was always rough, brutal, and just as demanding as the first night.

“Such a nasty little slut wanting my come,” he groaned into my ear. He bit down on the side of my neck, sucking at the sensitive skin, and my eyes fluttered closed.

He pounded into me harder, but held my hips away from the wall to protect my stomach. For all the dark and rough that lived inside of Dash, he was thoughtful when he needed to be.

My arms shook as my climax raced toward the surface. I loved the sound of him groaning and grunting behind me, but he suddenly pulled out, and I almost cried as I glared at him over my shoulder.

“Easy, Sweet Daisy,” he said with a cheeky grin as he turned me around and lifted one leg to wrap around his waist. He buried himself inside me again, and I sighed.

“I just want to see your face when you come. I want to see that hungry look in your eyes, and then see the satisfied grin you get, knowing that I made you feel that way. That my cock made you come until your knees went weak.”

With a smile, I wrapped my arms around his neck and moaned as he kissed me. He assaulted my lips, devouring every whimper and sigh as he continued to thrust into me at a blinding pace.

I screamed into his mouth as I suddenly reached the peak, and he pushed me over.

“Fuck me, Sweet Daisy. Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he groaned, and froze as he came.

Our tangled breaths were swallowed by the music thundering through the walls. My knees threatened to give, but Dash pinned me there, holding me upright until the quaking inside me eased.

“Do you have any idea how much I love the idea of my come sliding down your leg with all those people around?”

He wiped some off my inner thigh with his fingers and put it to my lips.

I sucked his fingers and moaned. Dash’s eyes were locked on my mouth. He wiped up another line and did it again.

“If you’re able to find a dark corner, maybe I can bounce on your cock inside,” I growled back.

Dash dragged his mouth over mine, a kiss so brutal it left me dizzy, and wanting every feral part of him. When he pulled back, his eyes were wild.

“Oh, you can fucking bet that is happening now. Dark corner or not.” He smirked.

The crowd’s cheer swelled, bleeding through the brick. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the emcee shouted, his voice booming. “Give it up for tonight’s headliner. Beth Wilder!”

“Let’s go watch your girl set fire to the world, and in twenty minutes I’ll do the same to this sweet pussy of yours all over again.” He pulled my skirt down and back into place.

I smoothed my hair, legs trembling, lips swollen, and laughed breathlessly as he laced his fingers through mine. We slipped back inside just as the first chords shook the bar, the crowd screaming for Beth.

I chanted her name, the same way the storm had chanted mine. The crowd roared for Beth, but beneath the music’s thunder, I heard only my pack. Ryder the Buck, Dash the Elk, and Jaxon the Caribou were mine.

The hunt was over. The claiming was complete. And I was never going back.

Be on the lookout for book two, Stalked by Them.

One tour. Three shadows. A voice they would do anything to keep.