Page 8 of Stolen Mate

Derek clawed his way to consciousness. There would be no more sleep for him tonight. There never was. She seemed to allow him only so much sleep before she entered his dream world. As the dream faded, Derek sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed. What bed? It was a couple of mattresses on the floor. Annie and Sienna—his sister and sister-in-law respectively—had vowed that they were coming over to get his cabin ‘in order.’

Colby Reynolds had offered to let him live in Kyra’s house in town or in the one he’d made for her right outside the borders of Windsong, but Derek preferred to be closer to the water and had found an abandoned cabin, claimed it as his own, and begun the process of renovating it. The structure and systems were now in place. The women in his life had deemed it time to decorate.

But it wasn’t either of those women who were on his mind as he moved from the mattress into the bath with the huge shower, turning it on as he slid the heavy glass door closed. He knew from experience that no amount of freezing cold water was going to make his cock behave. Not a chance.

Every thought in his brain screamed out its need for her. His dick throbbed painfully as his hand closed around it. He could recall in minute detail every detail of her face, every curve of her body, every moan, and the way her pussy would contract all around him as she came all over his cock. He fucked his fist, leaning his forehead against the tile, fantasizing about how it would feel when he finally found her until at last, he spat his cum on the floor and watched it go down the drain.

Switching the water from tepid to hot, he soaped up his body and tried not to imagine what it would be like to have her in here with him as they washed each other clean and got ready to face another day. As he stepped from the shower and began to dry himself, Derek wondered if that was how he would spend the rest of his life—dreaming of her and waking up alone.

It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t. Surely fate would not have revealed her existence to him only to never allow them to be together. Was she in Seattle, dreaming the same dreams? Would she recognize him when she saw him, and know they were meant to be?

Derek snorted. She-bears were notoriously independent and cantankerous when it came to accepting they had a fated mate, and he feared his would be no different. Maybe he should go to Seattle to try and find her. All the dreams took place there, and he was certain he would know her loft from the outside because he’d recognize the view. He knew for damn sure he’d recognize her.

He had some time saved up, and Jax would give him a few days—probably more if he told him he was on a quest to find his fated mate. But Derek didn’t want to tell anyone about her—not the dreams, not the certainty that she was his fated mate, and certainly not that he had an almost unquenchable thirst to find her.

Wrapping a towel around his waist, he walked back into the main space of the cabin. The only walls were those around his bath. Even a bear liked some privacy from time to time. He grinned, thinking of the location of his place. He didn’t have a commanding view of the ocean like Wolf Run or Windsong or even his brother’s place. Instead, what he had was a cabin that sat with its back to the river. He could literally fish off his own dock, where he kept a speed boat tied. There were times in the performance of his duties when having a boat in addition to his Jeep was helpful. He had quiet and solitude and privacy to spare. He could well imagine fucking his mate on their dock, in the forest that surrounded him on three sides, or flung over the front porch railing.

His musings might have aroused him once again, but that was dampened by the sound of a vehicle as it came crashing down the drive. No need to go look at who it might be. Only his sister drove like a maniac. Derek wasted no time in pulling on his socks, jeans, a sweater, and boots. He supposed as Mystic River’s deputy, he ought to have a uniform, but Jax, his boss, wasn’t big on them. He figured if they dressed like everybody else, people would be more at ease and more willing to trust them. Their only nod to being officers of the law were the ballcaps they wore emblazoned with ‘Mystic River Sheriff’s Department.’

Derek glanced at his watch; he had a little bit of time. He only hoped he could get Annie and Sienna to take it easy on civilizing his cabin—although they might have a point about the bed. He wouldn’t mind having some nice masculine bed made of iron—one that he could tie his mate to when she was misbehaving and have his way with her. Yeah, that had a lot of appeal. He’d make sure a proper bed was on their agenda.

Annie barely had the truck they were driving—he hadn’t a clue as to whose it might be as both women lived in Otter Cove and so had to have come to Mystic River by boat—stopped before she was jumping out of the door. In the passenger seat, Sienna took a moment to release her grip on the dash. Riding in any vehicle with Annie driving was not for the faint of heart.

“Yo, little brother, have you missed me?” she asked, flinging her arms around him.

Ever since Zach’s return and the final break with their father’s clan, she, Derek, and Zach had been closer than most siblings. And their little group of three had expanded by two: Sienna, who had married his brother, and Deke, who had claimed Annie for his own and all but dragged her down the aisle. It didn’t matter that Annie was no longer a polar bear. Cave lion or not, she was still his big sister.

“More than you know,” he replied, knowing it was the truth. “Does the big bad know you’re out terrorizing the people of Mystic River?”

Sienna joined them. “Did you know she drives like that?”

“Yeah. She behaves in Otter Cove because if she doesn’t, she has to deal with Deke. Even if he’s off being ‘The Finder,’ Zach will tell him when he gets home.”

“I am an excellent driver,” asserted Annie.

“You are,” agreed Derek, “which is why it’s so scary that you drive the way you do.”

Annie snorted. “We brought paint, dishes, groceries, and other stuff we thought you might like. I know you said you couldn’t spend the day helping us, but if you could just help us move the bed inside and put it where you want, we can figure out the rest of the furniture placement when it arrives.”

“And when might that be?” he asked suspiciously.

“In a couple of hours. Come along, little brother. You have to get to work, and I don’t think we can move this sucker by ourselves.”

“Where did you get it?” he asked as he followed her to the back of the truck.

“Dash says he acquired it, but Annie is convinced Colby is behind it.”

Knowing Colby, the mysterious lynx-shifter, Derek felt Sienna was probably right. Even though Colby was kind of a gangster and a shady character—although Derek wondered how true that was—he kind of liked him. Derek was convinced that the façade that Colby showed the world was not the man he truly was, or at least not the entire man.

When he saw the bed, he grinned. It was easy to imagine his mate in this bed. An ornate iron sleigh bed with heavy, filigreed sides and feet. As he lifted out the footboard, he groaned. Annie was right—no way she and Sienna would have moved this thing.

“Do you need help?” asked Sienna.

“No, I’ve got it,” Derek said, hoping he didn’t give himself a hernia.

“Good. Then we’ll unload the rest of the stuff. When you bring that piece in, let’s discuss if you want your bed where you have your mattress.”

Derek knew from her tone of voice that Annie had other ideas.

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