Authors: Nancy Corrigan
“Josh?”
He stopped but didn’t face her. If he did, his resolve would
crumble. “Yeah?”
“I wish things could be different.”
He snorted and ambled out as if it didn’t fucking kill him
to leave her behind. His shoulders brushed the sides of the tight hallway. It
was no wonder Devin had slept on the couch when he’d stayed here. Damn easier
than walking down this claustrophobic tunnel every night. He entered the living
room, found the boxes Mira’s twin had used for a dresser and dug out a shirt
and socks.
Josh returned to find Mira where he’d left her, tears
glistening on her lashes. He fisted his hands.
Endgame. Endgame. Endgame.
He repeated the words. His resolve stronger, he sat on the end of the bed and
ignored Mira’s bare thighs a foot from his face and her rich scent that
literally called him closer.
“You’re not going to say anything?”
He finished tying his boots and glanced at her. She stood,
foot tapping and a scowl on her face. The sight of her ire cut through his
determination. In one swift move, he yanked her close and captured her mouth
with his. She resisted for only a moment. On a groan, she opened to him and welcomed
him inside.
He kissed her roughly. With sweeps of his tongue, he explored
her, mapped every inch of her mouth. She returned his passion and the roughening
of her tongue told him more than the hungry sounds she made. Both sides of
her—the feminine and the primal—approved of him. He fucking loved knowing his
touch broke her control.
He shoved a groan of approval down her throat and leaned
closer. The move forced her to arch into him, but he didn’t steady her. He
couldn’t or he’d shove her back onto the bed and drive his dick into her.
A whimper accompanied the slight sway of her body. She
grabbed his shoulders and the bite of her nails in his skin did wonderful
things to his libido. So did the press of her breasts to his chest. He’d
neglected them in his desire to fuck her and drink her pleasure.
Next time.
Yeah, next time he’d show them the worship they deserved.
She trailed her talon-tipped fingers down his arms. The
scrap of the sharp tips sent bolts of electricity down his spine. He held still
and let her tease him. She covered his fists and attempted to unclench them.
When she couldn’t urge him to uncurl his balled hand, she abandoned them and
reached for the button on his jeans. He smiled against her lips, broke the kiss
and stepped back. She stumbled. Her breath came in fast pants, gaze locked to
the bulge in his pants.
Unable to resist, he ran his palms over her breasts,
pressing against her erect nipples. Pleased with her shudder in response, he skimmed
his hand down her belly. With his gaze locked to hers, he slipped his finger
inside her panties and dipped the tip into her core. Her eyelashes fluttered
closed. Grinning, he stroked her inner muscles until she moved against his hand,
fucking herself on his single finger. He pulled his hand away, denying her the
touch she needed.
He slowly licked her cream off his hand and enjoyed her
dazed expression as she watched him. “Go welcome Micah but don’t get too
friendly with him. I’ll have to hurt him if you do.”
She cleared her throat and raised her gaze to meet his eyes.
“Don’t make idle threats, Josh. Micah won’t abide by the no claw or teeth rule
the other males enforce when you fight them. If you take him on, it’ll be to
the death.”
He pulled her close. Her scent wafted around him, filling
him up. Lust rode him hard but he shook it off and focused on soothing Mira’s
fear. He brushed his lips from her temple, down the column of her neck to the
bite mark on her shoulder. With his flattened tongue, he licked once.
“Josh,” she moaned.
Yeah, he was right. Making love to Mira meant more than just
them coming together for shared pleasure. Lips touching the old wound he was certain
belonged to him now, he murmured, “You’re my woman, Mira. I’ll protect you the
same as any of your shifter males would.”
“I’m not yours.”
Her statement claimed one thing but her breathless denial
lacked conviction. He grinned. “Aren’t you?”
She shook her head, the strands of her hair sticking to his
stubble.
Not giving her the chance to deny him a third time, he
clamped his mouth over the mark so his breath warmed her skin. She shivered and
clutched him tighter. Perfect. He nibbled on her flesh, biting to the point
where the vulnerable flesh filled his mouth. Her answering groan encouraged him
and instincts guided him. Fitting his canines to the entry points, he waited
and enjoyed her quickening pants.
“Please, Josh, please.”
That was what he needed to hear. He sucked on the bite and
she tensed in his arms, his name exclaimed on a husky cry as she came. He
ground his teeth harder into her shoulder and took her higher. Her body trembled.
Swirls of his tongue brought her down. She went limp in his embrace, hands
sliding off his ass.
He lifted her with an arm under her bottom and pressed a
kiss to her slackened mouth, working his tongue between her lips to stroke
hers. He kept kissing her, licking the recesses of her mouth until she groaned
and moved sluggishly with him.
A breathy sigh escaped and she sifted her hands into his
hair, taking control of the kiss. He allowed her to lead him, enjoying the sting
of her fangs as they nicked his lips, his tongue, his cheeks. She lifted her
legs, hooking them around his waist, and rubbed against his trapped cock. Over
and over, she stroked until he gave in and matched her movements, thrusting against
her in a mimic of sex.
“Need you,” she murmured between kisses.
And damn, how could he ignore that? Driven to please her, he
strode forward until her back met a hard surface. A rough jerk ripped the
crotch of her panties. He slid two fingers into her wet center, her cream warm
and welcoming. Short, quick thrusts took her up again. Muscles quivered and she
writhed around his digits, her mouth frantic on his. She tensed and he felt the
subtle change in the tightness of her sheath. She was going to come.
Not without him, she wasn’t.
He pulled his fingers out, jerked his zipper down to free
his cock and rammed it into her core. Her sheath parted for his invasion and
clamped down before he had the chance to move. She screamed her pleasure into
his mouth. Hearing the rough sound satisfied him as much as the massage her
inner muscles gave his dick.
God, the woman undid him. He groaned and captured her lower
lip with his teeth, tugging on the flesh, knowing the small bite of pain would
intensify her pleasure. She shuddered. He bit harder and the taste of sweet
shifter blood coated his tongue. The flavor fed some inner part of him that
liked the primal aspect of it and wanted more. He sucked on the tiny wound,
needing the rich ambrosia to sate the hunger. She cried out. Another rippling
wave danced over his cock. Silken muscles squeezed and released in rhythmic
undulations that threatened to take him over to edge with her.
He released her abused lip and buried his face against her
neck. Her fresh, spring rain scent was stronger along the delicate column. He parted
his mouth to drag in a lungful. It grounded him and he rode out her seemingly
endless orgasm. Finally, the tight clenching eased. He moved slowly, dragging
his length through her sensitized muscles to savor this moment. It’d have to
last him until tomorrow. She shuddered. On the next controlled stroke, she
whimpered. Perfect. He lazily licked her neck while he made love to her and
each breathy sigh encouraged him to move a little slower just to hear more of
her cries.
He pulled back, ready to tease more of hungered groans out
of her, but she didn’t give him the chance. She shifted and impaled herself on
his shaft.
“Fuck.” He massaged her ass as she moved over him, rolling
her hips, screwing herself on his rod. Moans fell from her lips. He held still
and let her pleasure herself. “God, yeah. Take what you need from me, my Mira.”
The grind of her hips against his quickened as she did
exactly that. Her arousal bathed his dick, made each driving roll better. Her
heat welcomed him and the quivering of her muscles urged him to spill his seed.
He groaned and wrapped his arms around her shoulders,
holding her locked to him. With his balls drawn up and sparks settling in his
lower spine, he was damn close to do exactly that.
“Fuck me, Josh. Please, more. Give me more.”
If she wanted more, he’d give it to her. A shift of his hips
and he pulled his stiff rod out. Her muscles squeezed in an attempt to hold him
in and more fire raced to his balls.
Not yet, not yet.
He let the head
slip free then slammed back in, the hard thrust shaking the door at her back.
In and out, he moved, parting muscles that still quivered from the last orgasm.
His release barreled down on him, but the compulsion to
please Mira stopped him from finding that peak. He needed her to come, massage
his cock and milk his seed free.
He broke the kiss and shifted his attention to her mate
bit—his mark now. Beautiful. The four seared points told the world she was
taken. Pride rose knowing only he had awakened the wound and made it into the
wonderful claim it had always been meant to be.
He covered the spot with his mouth, teeth lining up without
trying, and bit. Mira came, her muscles locking around his shaft. He followed
her and filled her up. The possessive edge that had consumed him eased as their
joint orgasms rolled through them. She went limp in his arms and he held her
unconscious body close.
“Mira, my Mira.” He kissed her cheek, her eyelids, her
parted lips and finally separated their bodies. An arm under her thighs, he
lifted and cradled her to his heaving chest.
He carried her to the bed and retreated to the bathroom to
clean up. With a washcloth and a small basin of warm water in hand, he returned
to her. He set the bowl on the nightstand and dipped the cloth. He wrung it and
dabbed the cotton over her glistening mound.
“Josh,” she mumbled.
Her sleepy, drowsy voice brought a smile to his lips. He
continued tending her, wiping the evidence of their passion away. She bent her
knees and opened her thighs to give him better access. He folded the cloth,
wiped once more then pressed a kiss to her nether lips. He felt her gaze on him,
but he didn’t meet her eyes. The emotion he felt had to be stamped on his face.
Instead, he dropped the cloth in the basin and carried everything back to the
bathroom.
He grabbed a fresh pair of panties from a drawer full of blue
undies, dark-blue…the color of his eyes. A grin on his face, he returned to the
bed. He slid the tiny swatch of silk up her legs and covered her sex. Once his
temptation was hidden, he met her probing gaze. “Fulfill your obligation
tonight, but tomorrow you’re mine. I’m picking you up first thing in the
morning. Be ready.”
“I didn’t agree to go out with you.”
He gave her a quick kiss and strode to the door but glanced
over his shoulder when he reached it. “Will you turn me away when I come to
you?”
She dropped her gaze and her silence answered him. He grinned
and walked out before he found his way back inside her body. He didn’t want to
explain to Rafe and Jazz why he was late picking up his nieces.
Mira took several deep breaths, her hand on the doorknob of Kade’s
new home. She was no longer a cub. Her cats were vicious predators, feared and
respected not only by her pride but by many alphas in the shifter community.
She was desired and wanted. Edmund had no hold over her nor did his
great-great-nephew.
The mental pep talk steadied her and so did the invisible
tether she felt to Josh, something she should not be able to experience with a
human. Yet she did and that both pleased and worried her. She pushed the
concern away. Thinking of Josh and what they’d shared today would stir her
passions and anxiety. Neither were emotions she could afford to feel, not in
the presence of an enemy.
She shoved open the door, unable to delay the inevitable.
Kade and Rafe stood like twin pillars of strength just
inside the entryway. They’d been her lovers years ago. No longer, but their
friendship remained strong. They’d protected and loved her when she’d been at
her lowest. She nodded slightly, in acknowledgement of their support and in
thanks.
A familiar brush against her mind, a tap that asked entry
not demanded, wrapped around her. She opened the mental pathway royals shared
and drew Kade’s mind to hers.
What have you done?
The accusatory tone was sharp, however his expression
remained neutral.
She tensed.
Nothing. Why do you ask?
Kade’s lip lifted, revealing a descended fang.
Bullshit,
Mira. You reek of Josh.
She lifted her chin, hoping to convey her innocence and
annoyance over being accused of something ridiculous. Image was everything. She’d
learned that early on.
And? He came to see me. I’m allowed to spend time with my
suitors. You did approve him as such and I refused to turn him away.
Spent time with him how?
She forced herself to meet Kade’s eyes. She wanted to give
him the same response he’d given her—it was none of his business. Instead she
settled for a half-truth.
We talked.
His intense gaze swept over her.
You lie but I’m not
about to argue with you. We have other concerns. I need you to be mindful of
how you act and what you say. My cats are extremely agitated by Micah. He means
us harm and I fear he’ll strike through you. I’d put a bodyguard on you but I
know you too well. You’d only sneak away so you can be with your human.
He
narrowed his eyes, accusing her. She couldn’t deny his assumption. He sighed
and the tense moment passed.
But I want you to be careful, Mira. Please,
stay alert and don’t take unnecessary chances.
I will be and I can take care of myself but I wouldn’t
have to if you hadn’t allowed him here in the first place.
She was being
unreasonable but couldn’t help it. The idea of actually seeing Micah left her
agitated.
He closed his eyes and released a long, weary breath.
Do
not remind me. I had no choice in the matter. Tomorrow night you will go to the
Black Widow for your date with him where I can have shifters in the background.
That was the plan anyway
, she reminded him.
You must pick a mate by the end of the week. I want Micah
off of my lands.
Kade fixed her with a hard glare.
A shifter mate, Mira.
Don’t even consider marrying Josh. The Council won’t stand for it even if they
approve of it. Remember, accidents happen and once he’s gone you’ll be back
where you started. I refuse to lose you or Josh because of your stubbornness.
She ground her teeth.
But—
Nothing has changed. The threat to your human is still
very real.
She met Kade’s eyes and nodded once. She understood the
danger. She just didn’t know what she was supposed to do about it. Making love
with Josh had changed everything.
He motioned her to follow Rafe. Kade stepped behind so she
was protected. They were making a point to the shifter who thought to mate
her—she was important to their pride. It made her heart swell. She’d lived a
lonely life yet she’d never been alone. Only now had she realized that.
Mira glanced around as they walked. Much progress had been
made to the Alexander’s new home in the short time since she’d been here. While
the walls were unpainted, exquisite gray tile with lines of white covered the
floor and a wide oak staircase led to the upper floor.
The door to the family room stood open. A quick peek
revealed plush tanned carpeting on the floor and marble surrounding an
oversized fireplace. No furniture filled the room, but when it did, the home
would be as inviting and welcoming as the mansion they’d abandoned in upstate
New York when they’d picked up and moved here earlier in the summer.
Kade moved her forward with a hand to her lower back.
You’re not alone, Mira.
Kade whispered into her mind.
No, she wasn’t. She glanced over her shoulder, offered a
small smile and took the last few steps to the formal living room. Micah’s
scent hit her first. The familial trace linked him to Edmund. His face flashed
across her mind. Her stomach rolled and a shudder ran through her. She embraced
the disgust, accepted the hatred she felt and pushed it aside. Chin raised
high, she entered behind Rafe’s wide back.
Her cats slammed into her, all three predators enraged by
the sight of Micah. He was a nearly identical replica of the man who’d ruined
her life. Long, thin black hair that looked more like a cape than a hairstyle
hung down to mid-chest. Although muscle packed his frame, it paled in
comparison to the strength in Josh’s body. Micah was shorter than Josh too.
Weak. That was the impression she got from him yet she
wasn’t foolish enough to let her guard down. No matter what he looked like, he
could still shift into a dangerous predator. It was the cat he housed that
incensed hers. Micah’s jaguar would be the one to hurt Josh if it ever came to
a battle between them. The man was nothing. Josh could crush him easily.
Micah’s gaze roamed over her. His visual caress made her
skin crawl. She held completely still, not allowing the shudder to show.
“You look beautiful, Mira.”
She bit back the growl and inclined her head. “Thank you.”
Micah glanced between Rafe who stood to her right with his
arms crossed over his chest to Kade who mirrored the pose on her left. He
raised a brow. “Well, this is a tad awkward. How am I supposed to convince you
to choose me as your mate when your other suitor is hovering over your
shoulder?”
Kade growled. “This is my territory, Micah. I can be
wherever I want to be.”
A smirk graced Micah’s thin lips. “And I thought you
understood the Council’s…recommendation.”
Her gaze flicked to Kade before she could stop it. The
guarded look he wore told her the great shifter elders had decided to put another
spin on their original dictate. Before she could ask what, Kade stepped
forward. “I will not allow the Council to break their original order. I have
been more than generous in my acceptance of their time limit and in allowing
you to come in the first place.”
“You agreed to my right to have an exclusive courting period
with our sweet Mira.”
Talons punched out of Kade’s hands and full feline fangs
filled his mouth. He took a threatening step toward the smaller male and bared
the deadly teeth at Micah. “I said no such thing. Do not twist my words. I
agreed to allow you one date with her. One. That’s all.”
Micah matched the forward step. He danced his fingers across
the arm of the couch. “You did not deny the elders’ conclusion over why the
goddess did not intervene in Edmund’s attempt to mate Mira. Three centuries
have passed without the prophecy coming to pass. Doesn’t it make you wonder
why?”
Kade retracted his talons. “It is not my place or yours to
question it. Mira has always had the choice in who will become her mate. The
goddess decreed it when she spoke.”
“True, true.” Micah nodded. “But our females are easily
influenced and not wise enough to make such decisions.”
Rage turned her vision red. She snarled and stepped forward.
Rafe looped an arm around her waist and gave her a warning look. Kade moved
before she could break free. He slammed Micah into the wall and got up into his
face. “I will not tolerate such demeaning opinions of any female within my
pride. Do so again and I’ll return your maimed body to your pride as a warning.
Understand?”
Micah nodded and Kade released him with a shove. Micah
landed on his ass. Unfazed by the rough treatment, he pushed from the floor and
made a show out of brushing the nonexistent dirt from his skinny ass.
“I must admit I was quite surprised to hear Mira had
suddenly become so desperate for a mate that she’d accepted the courtship of a
weak human.” Micah’s gaze swept over her, leaving an itch in its wake. “I
suppose since none of the males you’d taken to your bed over the years enjoyed
your cunt enough to lay claim to it, then you would be.”
Rafe growled and the sound of a pissed-off cat shook the
windows. Micah flinched the tiniest bit and his gaze carefully avoided locking
with the royal. Satisfaction warmed her. The bastard knew he was no match for
the Alexander twins. But would he feel the same way with Josh? Uneasiness
settled over her.
“It’s merely a statement of fact.” Micah chuckled, his
derisive gaze sweeping over her. “Mira whored herself for three hundred years
yet not once has she captured a male’s attention. It is what it is.” He offered
a smile which showed the state of his mind. The demented glint churned her gut.
“But I’m willing to sacrifice for the greater good. I’ll accept what nobody
wanted.”
Both brothers stepped forward, snarls falling from their
lips. Oh no, she refused to let them fight her battles. She didn’t know what
game Micah was playing but she intended to find out. Now.
She strode forward, leaving the twins at her back. Hands
clenching and releasing at her sides, she fought her cats for control. She
stepped into Micah’s personal space and fixed him with a disgusted look.
“If you think degrading me is anyway to convince me to
choose you as my mate, you’re a bigger fool than I thought. I am not worthless
nor am I unwanted. I wasn’t when Edmund decided to rape a child nor in any of
the years since. The lovers I’ve taken have respected me.” She let her fangs
descend slowly and allowed a low growl to slip free. “If you think to repeat
history, you will meet the same fate as Edmund.”
Instead of being intimidated, his smile widened. “Oh, sweet
Mira, you will make a fine lover and bear me strong cubs.”
She spun on her heel and stormed toward the doorway before
she ripped his throat out then and there. “Pack up and go home, Micah. I will
never choose you.”
“Then say goodbye to the shifted cub. If you deny me, I will
ensure she’s put down by week’s end.”
Mira stopped. Sharp talons burst from her fingers, her rage
too great to contain. Fear rose next but she ignored the hollow feeling. She
glanced over her shoulder. “What exactly are you talking about?”
Micah rolled his eyes. “Please, Mira, don’t play games.
Certain members of the Council know of her sad fate. They’ve only allowed her
to remain with you out of sympathy. As a single-shifter pride leader, I know
how devastating it is to order our young’s death. I’ve been forced to do it
several times for those unfortunate cubs who’ve been kidnapped. It’s for
everyone’s own good but it hurts all the same.” He focused on her with hatred
in his eyes. “If we were immortal like our royal cousins, it wouldn’t be an
issue.”
She ignored the pointed statement. “You dare threaten me and
mine?”
Micah sat on the couch, oblivious to the partially shifted
enraged males a foot in front of him. He crossed his legs and pressed his head into
the cushions. “Oh, yes. I’d do that and more. Care to push me?”
“I would despise you until the day you die.”
“Don’t care,” he shrugged, “not as long as you spread those
lush thighs for me.”
Mira stared at him and realized Kade was right. Micah meant
them harm and would use her to cause it. She also saw the truth in his
eyes—even if she mated him, he’d see Molly dead.
Never. She would never mate him nor would she allow him to
hurt her family. She just wasn’t sure how to stop the latter. If the Council
took action against Molly, they’d be powerless to stop it. An early shift for
non-royals meant death. They didn’t return from their animal forms.
Molly was different, however. Not a single-shifter, not a
royal. She was an abnormality and in light of what she’d survived—immortal,
exactly what all the single-shifters wanted to be. If Micah or the Council
realized it… Gods, Mira didn’t want to consider the fate poor little Molly
would have.
* * * * *
Josh stood with his arms crossed over his chest. He wore his
sternest expression yet the adorable lion cub completely ignored him.
“Molly Elizabeth, stop it. Right now.”
Her ears twitched but she continued to claw the back of his
chair—his favorite football-watching, napping recliner, the one Zoe had bought
for him with her savings from working at the local amusement park.
Devin sat on the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee
table and a big smirk on his face. Although wetness still shimmered in his
eyes, he’d at least stopped laughing.
“You know, a little help would be nice.”
Devin held up his hands. “Hey, you’re the one who said he
could handle the cub. So,” he motioned toward where Molly clung to the
upholstered back, “handle her.”
It’d be simpler if Molly would shift back, but they’d been
hoping for that ever since she’d arrived. The little girl was stubborn. He
could relate, but her stubbornness was going to end up killing her.
Unable to come up with a better way to get through to her, he
grabbed her by the tuft of loose skin on her back and tugged. Cloth ripped as
he pulled her off the chair. Molly hissed and twisted in his grip, little legs
flailing wildly. He held her at arm’s length and let her struggle until she
tired before he lifted her and stared into her pale blue eyes.