Lowlander Silverback (Gray Back Bears #5)(17)

Kong’s touch gentled immediately, and he dragged his palm out from under her shirt. He stared at his hand with a baffled expression, as if he didn’t know how they’d gotten this far. He exhaled a shaky breath, shook his head hard and murmured, “I think I’d better go.”

Layla’s blood was on fire and her breathing erratic. “Three strokes, Kong.”

His blazing green eyes lifted to her. “What?”

“You could’ve had me in three strokes.” She shoved open the door and fumbled with the shoulder strap of her satchel. “I want to burn that f*cking contract, just so you know.” She yanked the bag of Mac’s breakfast out of the seat. “I finally found a man I want, who I feel safe with, and I can’t even kiss him without feeling guilty, and over what? Because I’m tainting you for other women? It’s not fair.” Okay, her voice was a little shrill, and she was rushing her words, but dang it all, after all these years, she was finally with Kong, and it was like hot and cold water being dumped on her head over and over. “And furthermore,” she growled, leaning into the car, “when I think about you with those other woman you are about to start serial f*cking, I want to punch everything. You don’t belong with them! They aren’t your destiny, Kong. I am.” She slammed the door and stomped off toward the back entrance of Tender Care without looking back. Oh, she wanted to, but she wouldn’t. She was out of this game.

It wasn’t until she got through the doors that she remembered her bra was a-danglin’ so she bolted for a three-foot crevice between a vending machine and a wall to fix herself.

Utterly frustrated, she took a deep breath, counted to ten, and straightened her spine. Then she walked down the echoing, sterile hallway to meet the one person in her life who’d never let her down.





Chapter Six


“Dammit,” Kong muttered as he watched Layla disappear through the sliding glass doors of Tender Care. “What am I doing?”

Putting her at risk and still pissing her off, and why couldn’t he just leave her alone? He’d seen her walking down the main drag of Saratoga and pulled into the gas station without a second thought in his head other than I have to see her again. And not just see her, but talk to her and touch her, because when he was close to Layla, he felt a little less lost.

He hit the gas and pulled out of the parking lot, then sped through town to the sawmill. Kirk and Rhett were waiting in the office the second he got in.

“What took so long?” Rhett asked, blue eyes icy as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“None of your f*cking business.” Because Kong wasn’t a liar, and he sure as shit didn’t feel the need to explain every second of his life to his handlers.

“You need another lesson in ditching us?”

“It was a gas station, Rhett. You could’ve turned around.” Kong sat at the desk and flipped through today’s orders. Good, the Gray Back Crew was scheduled to drop a load of lumber this morning. He could use some normal conversation with normal-ish shifters. Not this combative crap he had to keep up with Rhett all the time. Kirk wasn’t so bad. He was quiet and occasionally sympathized with him. He still did his job and had been fine beating the shit out of him last night, but at least Kirk looked sick about it. Rhett had beaten him with a ruthless smile on his face.

Someday, Rhett would find he was pushing the wrong silverback too far, though. And when he did, his ass better be ready to run because Kong’s inner monster didn’t take too kindly to being forced into submission for some stupid pictures of gore for Fiona. It had broken something in him last night to take it. Something that Kong didn’t think could be repaired. His animal was getting harder to control, and he couldn’t blame him. He was dominant, a berserker, and he was being beaten while down on his knees, cowed in front of a couple of lesser silverbacks.

And all for spending time with his mate.

“Don’t you have work to do?” he barked at Rhett, who was still standing there glaring at him.

Rhett’s face morphed into something feral, and his nostrils twitched as he locked his arms against the edge of the desk. “Be careful with her, Kong.”

Fury blasted through Kong’s veins as he stood and slammed his fists onto the desk. A crack blasted through the center of the oak under his hands. A long, low, uncontrollable rumble rattled his chest. “No, Rhett. It’s you who should tread lightly now.”

A slow empty smile spread across Rhett’s face. He pushed off the desk, chin up as he looked down at Kong. He turned and sauntered out of the office with a cocky gait.

“Kong,” Kirk whispered, shaking his head. “Rhett was fishing, and you just told him his hunch was right.” He ran his hands through his shoulder length hair and looked shaken. “Don’t see her again, man. Please.” Kirk left him alone in the office, the screen door banging loudly behind him.

Kong picked up a paperweight that held down a stack of receipts and chucked it against the wall hard enough to blast a hole through it. Doubling over, he grunted in pain as his inner gorilla pulsed against his insides. He wanted to kill Rhett. He wanted to rip his limbs from his body one by one for even mentioning Layla. Gritting his teeth against the pain of fighting the Change, he splayed his hands on the desk and dragged in a long, steadying breath. He thought of her clear sky-blue eyes. Her smile. The way her wavy hair fell forward in her face when she looked shy. The way her mouth formed his name. Kong. He could almost hear the soft sound of her voice. Little by little, his insides uncoiled and the rumble in his throat died to nothing.