Lowlander Silverback (Gray Back Bears #5)(14)

A deep ache sliced through his middle as he shook his head in weak admission. There were too many of his people, and they didn’t care about human casualties. Not when it came to the continuation of their shifter species. They would see Layla as a threat to their precious breeding program and eliminate her.

A wave of devastation darkened her eyes for a moment before she replaced it with an empty smile. He hated that one. She gave it to *s who wouldn’t stop hitting on her at the bar. She gave it to Barney at the end of the night when he was slurring drunk and pestering her. Kong didn’t want her to have vacant smiles for him. He wanted the genuine one back.

Before he could change his mind, he leaned forward and kissed her. Too hard, too hard. Be gentle with her. She deserves gentle. Kong slid his hand up her neck and gripped it softly as he angled his head and moved his lips against hers. She froze under his touch, but then softened as she leaned forward and stood. Kong gripped her waist as she straddled his hips and settled right over his erection. Her arms tightened around his neck, and a soft, happy-sounding moan whispered up her throat. Damn, this woman…she was everything. Filling his head, pushing out thoughts of danger. She didn’t grind her hips against him or push the kiss to be more than it was. She just seemed to want to be close to him, up against his skin. His inner gorilla was alert and ready, senses perked but quiet, enjoying the moment and ready to kill anyone or anything who interrupted it. Kong slipped his tongue past her lips and tasted her. Damn, she was perfect. Her body was calling to his, drawing out his needs. Be gentle.

He plucked at her lips, then froze when she disconnected and curled up against his chest, arms tucked in and cheek against his neck. He sat there, arms suspended in the air. What was happening to him? He’d felt protective before, but she was hugging him so strangely, as though she trusted him. As if he wasn’t terrifying.

And then she whispered, “I feel safe when I’m with you.”

Fuck. She wasn’t safe at all, and this had been a really bad idea. What harm could a cup of tea cause? The worst kind since his inner monster was now laying claim to his mate. No, no, no, this wasn’t supposed to happen. Silverbacks didn’t do a single mate. They did family groups.

He was panting now. Don’t hug her. Wrap your arms around her warm body, and you’re done for. “I have to go.”

Layla eased back, a frown marring her beautiful face. Big blue eyes, questioning, petal pink lips, rosy cheeks that were deepening with color by the moment. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” he gritted out, “I did.” He gripped her shoulders and settled her on her feet, then strode for the door. This was it. This was the goodbye that was going to save her life and end his simultaneously. He’d been careless. Gotten too close and was losing control. Losing his head. He couldn’t protect her and make the right decisions if he felt numb like this around her.

She was dangerous to them both.

He ran his hands roughly through his hair and turned at the door, feeling like every step away from her cut a slice into his guts, exposing his insides to air. “Layla, I’m sorry.”

She crossed her arms over her chest like a shield, and he imagined her doing the same when her parents had left. When Mac went into hospice care. When everyone in her life had left her, and now he was just another letdown.

He ripped his gaze away from her broken eyes and forced himself out the front door. He closed it and pressed his shoulders against the cold wood until he could see straight because his gorilla was banging on his insides. Go back to her, he roared from his middle. She’s ours.

But she wasn’t.

Layla deserved a normal relationship that didn’t put her in the crosshairs of his murderous people.

She deserved better than he could give her.





Chapter Five


Layla adjusted the heavy satchel that held the library books she’d just checked out and switched the bag of breakfast to her other hand to give her numbing fingers a rest. She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten about her car. Her poor Civic was still sitting all alone in the overgrown parking lot of the fight barn. She was going to have to mooch a ride from Jake after work tonight to go pick it up, but until then, she was hoofing it. Good thing Saratoga was a small town, and a double good thing she had a badass pair of sneakers. She’d already walked three miles with nary a blister.

The bacon was definitely going to be cold, but Mac’s favorite nurse, Sherri, would let Layla heat it up. She was always nice to Layla when she visited. The sun peeked out from behind the heavy, dark cloud cover, making her squint against the blinding light. She pulled her sunglasses from her hair and slipped them over her nose, then checked her watch and picked up the pace. If she timed it right, she’d get there an hour before it was time for Mac’s pain killers, and he would be completely lucid for her visit.

The rumbling sound of engines filled the quiet morning, and she turned on the cracked asphalt to see a trio of muscle cars coming her way. The first was a red Chevelle, the second a deep green Mustang with black racing stripes, and the third was definitely Kong’s classic black Camaro.

Ripping her gaze away from the parade of sexy cars roaring down the street, she took a quick left and speed-walked away from the noise. This would lengthen her walk to Tender Care, but it was worth it if she could avoid the ache in her chest watching Kong drive by her without a single glance her way.