“Oh, for the love of the Goddess. I’m always on cleanup. Why do you never call when you need fashion advice because I can totally give you advice on that front. P.S. Call me ‘cause, girl, you need help.” She flinched and rubbed her arm. “Ouch, what did you do that for?” she yelled at Sassy.
“Really, Zelda, now is not the time to offer wardrobe advice. Especially when you are on the verge of a wardrobe malfunction.” Sassy cupped her hands in front of her breasts.
Noelle laughed, turning away as Zelda plucked at her nightie that was indeed about to give a flash of nipples.
RIDGE WATCHED THE TWO witches clear the forest of the taint that was Merry and Carlton. After Zelda promised to handle Noelle’s parents and said Baba Yaga would see to the people who were masquerading as Carlton’s parents, his little female appeared on the verge of collapse from exhaustion.
“I’m taking Noelle home. If anyone needs us, don’t call for forty-eight hours. Feel me?” He stared at his Crew.
Glock chuckled. “Sure thing, Alpha. We’ll drop off supplies if you need us to. Otherwise, I’ll cover you at the clubhouse. Oh, Marjo wanted me to let you know she’s up and doing good. She said to tell you she’s ready for any punishment you wanted to give her.”
Noelle gasped, turning in the circle of his arms. “Why would you punish her?”
He lifted her chin with one finger. “She didn’t protect you.”
His little mate slapped his chest. “Marjo had no way to protect us from Carlton or my sister. If you think to hurt or punish my girl in any way, I will not be pleased. Feel me?” Noelle snarled.
His Crew who were gathered around them didn’t have the smarts to conceal their laughter. His little female was showing she had claws even if she wasn’t a shifter. “Ah, Katjie, I think I’ll be feeling you a lot more shortly. See you later.” He didn’t look at his Crew as he swept Noelle up into his arms, plopping her onto the closest ATV, which happened to be a side-by-side that smelled like his female.
“Where are you taking me?” Noelle asked, but her scent wasn’t filled with worry or fear.
“Home.” He let the one-word answer fill the space. If things worked out the way he wanted, needed them, the way the Goddess had created them to be, he’d have Noelle marked and mated. Although she wasn’t a shifter, she was created for him, just as he was for her.
“Fine, but I’m still mad at you,” she huffed without real heat.
Ridge hid his smile behind a cough. The trip back took less than five minutes, shocking him. Merry and Carlton had clearly been corralling Noelle to the drop-off, which meant they’d been near his home for some time. The startling realization had a memory of when Torrance had said she’d felt something big stalking her. Shit, could it have been Carlton out in his woods and he’d not recognized the danger?
“Have Merry and Carlton been in Assjacket for a while?” he asked, pulling right up to the back deck next to what used to be the pen for Mr. Bixley.
“Yes. Well, Carlton came a year after we did. Why?” She grabbed his arm, keeping him from exiting the ATV. “Are you really mad at Marjo? Please don’t be. Honest, there was nothing she or I could’ve done to prevent what happened. One minute we were having a blast, the next the ground shook like an earthquake was rattling it, and then we went airborne. I didn’t even have time to create a protective bubble for myself, let alone both of us. When I landed, I was literally hanging over an edge. I had to use almost all my energy to heal myself.”
Rage swell within him. If he could, he’d go back and rip her sister and Carlton apart with his bare hands. “Never again will you be left unprotected. As for why I asked when they arrived, I think Carlton was lurking in my woods before. Torrance had sensed something big out there, and nothing much scares my sister.”
Her hand tightened on him. “I bet it was Carlton. Did you find...dead animals?”
“From what I saw of Carlton in his other form, I’d say he devoured whatever he killed. If he went hunting on my property, then he didn’t leave any remains to be found. Like I said, you won’t be left unprotected ever again.” His leopard raked at his insides in agreement.
“You can’t be with me twenty-four seven, Ridge. Come on. I need to shower the stink of their betrayal away.” She patted his chest like she thought she’d won the argument.
He’d see about that. She was a witch, but his sister was both shifter and witch. If he turned Noelle, she’d heal faster and be a hell of a lot tougher to kill. Again, his beast sat up inside him, ready to bite and make her like them.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“I need to get clean.”
Ridge looked her up and down, his body reacting in the most primitive way. Fuck, he was liable to scare her if she noticed the sizable bulge in his jeans. “Yeah, I’ll just—” his words froze in his throat as she lifted her shirt over her head, exposing the lace bra she wore.
“How about you help me get the stink of the past hour off my skin?” Noelle walked backward, the miniscule covering she wore slipping off her arms with a flick of her fingers and a shrug of her shoulders.
A saint couldn’t say no to the feast in front of him, and Ridge was the furthest thing from a man of the cloth. Hell, he was pretty sure he was quickly becoming a sinner if he wasn’t one before, stalking forward, his fingers itching to rip the rest of Noelle’s clothing from her body.
“Baby, you do know
