Boarlander Silverback (Boarlander Bears #3)(6)

“Sexy and I know it,” he said, shooting her a quick grin.

“That’s what you took away from all that?”

“Well, it’s the only part that’s true. I thought a cop would be better at this, but clearly—”

“Tell me which parts are wrong,” she challenged him.

Kirk clamped his teeth closed and shook his head. “Nah, I’m not playing this anymore. You nailed me. One hundred percent correct. Good job.”

He shifted gears and hit the gas, then shifted up again. Her stomach dipped with the speed, and she let off a surprised laugh. Kirk grinned and hit another gear, and now they were flying.

“You gonna give me a speeding ticket?”

“Yes!” she said giggling as she held her stomach. It was like being on a roller coaster. “Slow down right now.”

The engine wailed as he let off the gas and downshifted. “Yes, ma’am.”

He hit the blinker and turned onto a dirt road, but they’d already passed the turnoff for the Grayland Mobile Park.

“Where are you taking me? Damon is a Gray Back.”

“False. Damon is whatever he wants to be. He has pledged to no one, and neither has his mate or son.”

“Why not?”

Kirk shot her a nice-try look. “If you have questions about the dragon, you can ask him yourself and see how much he tells you. I like my hide where it is, thank you very much.”

“You mean you don’t want to be burned and eaten.”

“Damon wouldn’t do that,” Kirk said quietly.

“Why not?”

“Because he’d never hurt the people he loves. You think he’s a monster, but he’s lived for millennia and has seen the real beasts. And they aren’t you or me. It’s good to be wary of the dragon. He deserves respect. But he’s also a good man, and one worth getting to know.”

“Why are you helping me?”

Kirk twitched his head and made a single click behind his teeth. He pulled onto another road and sped along the gravel, kicking up clouds of dust. “I don’t know why I’m helping.”

“Lie,” she bluffed.

Kirk shifted gears again and inhaled deeply, his chest rising with the motion. “Because I can’t stop thinking about…”

Her heart pounded against her sternum. “Can’t stop thinking about what?”

“How you looked that first night, when you were giving us the news that laws for shifters were changing. We’re having our rights stripped away, and Brackeen didn’t give a single f*ck how that affected us, but you looked at Bash and Emerson, and you were gutted with us. Do you know other shifters?”

“No. You’re the first ones I’ve met.”

“And yet you know how to expose your neck when we’re riled up. You know not to give us your back and run. Bringing the gun was dumb as shit, but everything else, you got. I’m helping because maybe if you see how life really is up here, you won’t be scared of us. You won’t go back to your boss and tell them what animals we are. Maybe you’ll see more, and maybe you’ll be better for it. You want to work up in these mountains and have access to us? You won’t get that pointing your Glock at everyone. We’re people, Ally. We have families up here, mates, people we love. How would you like if someone came into your home and pointed a gun at the people you love?”

Ally blinked hard and stared out the window so he couldn’t see the loss in her eyes when she said, “I do know how that feels.”

Kirk was quiet for a while, and they drove deeper into the mountains in silence. At last he said, “I’m sorry for whatever you’ve gone through, but can you see why we get defensive? We’ve been through more than you can imagine, just fighting for normal.”

Alison sighed and reached forward, turned the volume up on the radio. A rap song came on. Not many people surprised her, and Kirk was proving to be a breath of fresh air.

“The car wasn’t to get *,” he said. “My dad gave it to me. He gave one to all his kids to fix up.”

“How many kids did he have?”

Kirk’s lips turned up in a vacant smile. “You’ll judge.”

“I won’t. Tell me.”

“Fifteen.”

“Fifteen kids?” she said way too loud.

“Told you.”

“No, no, I’m not judging,” she rasped out, trying to regain her composure. “Your mother must’ve loved being pregnant.”

“Mothers. I lived in a family group. Gorilla shifters are different. One silverback for several females. At least we were different until Kong upended our entire society. Now it’s a free-for-all. My people are scrambling to figure out whether to continue in their family groups or pair up with a single mate.”

“And you? What have you decided?” She hoped he wanted a single mate.

“No.”

“No, what?”

“We’re not getting into feeling shit. You shot me. You’re dangerous to my people, and I’m not bonding with you. I want a hundred mates. I want to f*ck every woman I meet, and I want them all to be mine.” His voice had gone hollow and strange sounding. “I’ll never settle down with one. I’m a big dominant breeder, and I’ll be just as aloof to the tens of kids I father as my dad was with me. Don’t ask me questions like that anymore.”