Authors: Savannah Stuart
his cock lengthening against her back.
Thanks to biology, shifters were able to have sex for hours on end. He was
obviously ready to go again, but she wasn’t, and it surprised her that he wasn’t pressing
her for more. It made her throat tighten.
If someone had asked her a day ago what she thought about Stephan Vasquez, she
would have had a sure answer. Now she realized she didn’t know shit and that scared
the hell out of her.
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Marisol’s eyes flew open with a start. She glanced around the foreign bedroom and
frowned. The espresso-colored silk sheets were rumpled next to her, but the bed was
otherwise empty. And Stephan wasn’t in the connected bathroom either. She knew
because she couldn’t smell his scent. Last night had been amazing and it surprised her
that she wanted to see him again so soon. She’d been waking up alone for the past year
with no one to care if she lived or died. She slipped out of the huge bed and walked to
the window.
A gasp escaped at the sight before her. The night before she’d been too wrapped up
in Stephan for her surroundings to even register. In addition to a private dock, a boat—
scratch that,
a yacht
—a perfectly manicured lawn and an Olympic sized pool, Stephan
had a completely unobstructed view of the ocean. Calm, glistening and expansive—the
teal-blue water seemed to stretch out forever.
It was a little chilly out, but she’d love to try his pool. Then her stomach rumbled,
and she realized how hungry she actually was. Casting a backward glance at the pool,
she tugged on the clothes he’d given her the night before and went in search of Stephan.
She still couldn’t believe she’d found her mate in a Miami nightclub of all places. Even
though she wanted to call what they’d shared the night before simple fucking, she
couldn’t.
He’d taken such gentle care with her, it was frightening. She didn’t want to care for
this man. Didn’t want to feel anything. Somehow he’d gotten under her skin without
even trying.
Her feet were quiet along the carpeted hallway, the stairs and the wood floor that
led to the kitchen. The aroma of rich hazelnut coffee and something—
someone
—tickled
her nose. Whoever she scented was female.
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Marisol frowned as she stepped into the kitchen. “Hello?” She jumped back when a
tall—very pretty—redhead popped up from behind the large island in the middle of the
room.
The redhead’s blue eyes widened. “Hi…who are you?”
Marisol didn’t sense any danger from the woman, but she was surprised at the jolt
of jealousy that shot through her. Why the hell was another woman in Stephan’s house?
She took a step forward when the other scent hit her with startling intensity. This
woman was marked by someone and it most definitely wasn’t Stephan. “You’re
human,” she blurted out before she could censor herself. She hadn’t even realized
humans and werewolves could mate.
A curious smile played across the woman’s face. “A few months ago, I might have
thought you were crazy if you’d said that to me… I’m Carly by the way. Are you
friends with Nick’s parents or something? Alisha said I could stop by, but she didn’t
mention anything about anyone being here.”
“Uh, who are Nick and Alisha?”
The redhead’s mouth pulled into a thin line and a wave of blatant distrust rolled off
her. “Who are
you
?”
Marisol opened her mouth, though to say what, she had no idea. The sound of a
doorhandle jiggling stopped her. She turned to find a completely naked Stephan
walking in from the backyard.
“Oh my Lord! I don’t want to see that!” Faster than Marisol would have thought
possible, Carly threw a dishtowel at Stephan and covered her eyes. “For the love of
God, cover yourself!”
To Marisol’s surprise, his neck and face turned four shades of red. “What the hell
are you doing here?” he muttered.
“Your mom sent me over to grab candlesticks for Nick’s birthday thing. Which by
the way, you still haven’t responded to… Are you covered yet?”
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He shot Marisol a guilty look and cleared his throat. “Yeah.”
Carly dropped her hand and glanced back and forth between Stephan and Marisol
with narrowed eyes. “Why are you staying at the guesthouse? I thought you were out
of town or something.”
“Guesthouse? You don’t live here?” Marisol asked.
“Not exactly,” he muttered.
“Are you related to him?” Marisol directed her question to Carly because she had a
sneaking suspicion that Stephan had been holding back a lot from her.
Carly nodded. “He’s my brother-in-law—”
“Damn it, will you just stop?” Stephan thundered.
Both women turned to stare at him.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I just…ah, damn it.” He raked a hand through his
dark hair and cursed under his breath.
This woman was mated to a werewolf and as far as Marisol knew, only
one
pack
lived in Miami. If Stephan had lied about where he lived… “What’s your last name?”
she asked Carly.
The pretty woman bit her bottom lip and cast a nervous glance at Stephan, but she
answered. “Lazos.”
Marisol swiveled to Stephan who held his hands up in defense. When he did, he
dropped his towel.
The redhead averted her eyes again. “Oh for the love of… I’m leaving…it was nice
to meet you, uh, what was your name?” she asked Marisol.
Despite the barely leashed anger humming through her, she gave the other woman
a tight smile. “I’m Marisol.”
“It was so nice meeting you. Sorry about barging in. I didn’t mean to interrupt
anything…okay, then, I’ll…” Oversized candlesticks in hand, she brushed past her and
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hurried from the room. Her heels clacked against the tile of the kitchen and echoed as
she moved throughout the rest of the house.
When Marisol heard the front door slam, she blindly reached for one of the coffee
mugs on the counter and hurled it at Stephan. She’d had enough wolves lie to her to
last a lifetime. “You lying son of a bitch! Is this some kind of game?”
“I can explain!” He ducked out of the way and the mug smashed against the wall.
Before the broken shards had even hit the floor, she picked up another mug. As she
hauled back to throw it, he grabbed her and held her arms by her side. Using the extra
body weight he had on her, he shifted and pinned her against the island counter.
Despite his strength, she struggled against him. “Let me go, you bastard!” she
shrieked. Against her will, a sob tore from her throat and tears started to fall. Everyone
was a liar!
Even her mate.
“Don’t cry! Shit,
kardia mou
, don’t cry.” He started to loosen his hold but when he
did she got an arm free and punched at his chest.
There was no give to the broad expanse of his muscles, but it made her feel better.
Since he wasn’t holding her legs, she lashed out and kicked him in the shin. He winced
but she doubted it even fazed him. “You lying piece of shit! I’m leaving.” She tried to
kick him again, but he hooked his much larger leg around the back of her knees,
immobilizing her. She wiggled again. In that instant, she hated how short she was. If
she could just get a leg free…
“I’m an undercover agent for the DEA!” he shouted in her ear.
She stopped fighting and her head snapped up at the admission. “What?”
“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He released his grip and pushed away from her.
Stephan turned his back to Marisol. He was in such deep shit he couldn’t even wrap
his mind around it. This woman might be his intended mate, but that didn’t matter. He
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didn’t know anything about her. It was doubtful, but for all he knew, she was a mole
for Perez.
When she’d said she was leaving, something inside him had snapped. He couldn’t
lose her. Not when he’d just found her.
He swiveled back to face her. She still stood next to the island. Her hands were
clasped so tightly in front of her, her knuckles had turned white. They faced off, neither
saying anything. Hell, he didn’t know where to start.
Finally she broke the silence. “So, you’re not an arms dealer, huh?” Her quiet voice
seemed overly loud in the even quieter room.
“Nope.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“Why would I bring you to my family’s home? When I realized who you were, I
wanted to keep you safe. Stephan
Vasquez
doesn’t care about women, but Stephan
Lazos
cares about his mate. I couldn’t let Perez know you meant anything to me so I brought
you here. I sure as hell didn’t plan for you to meet my sister-in-law.”
She stared hard at him for a moment then nervously rubbed her hands over the
front of her pants. Even though she held his gaze, a light blush of pink stained her
cheeks. “Sorry about your coffee mug.”
“That’s the least of my worries,” he muttered. He might have just screwed up one
of the biggest takedowns he’d ever been involved with. It had taken decades to find a
job he enjoyed. Hiding the fact that he was a werewolf was hard enough. He wasn’t
even sure how he was going to tell his boss that his cover was blown.
“I’m not going to tell anyone.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“What?”
“I won’t… I’m not going to tell anyone who you are if that’s what you’re worried
about. There’s no one I could tell even if I wanted to.”
Her last statement caught his attention. “What pack are you from? No lies.”
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“Tell me about yours first…please.” The pleading note in her voice tore at his gut.
Standing in front of him, she suddenly looked lost and impossibly young. By shifter
standards he guessed she was close to a hundred, but she looked to be about twenty-
two. Without the makeup she’d had on last night, she
barely
looked that.
“My real name is Stephanos Lazos. I hail from Leontio, Greece, though I haven’t
lived there for over a century. My father,
my Alpha
, is Lucas Lazos, my mother is Alisha,
and my two brothers are Thomas and Nicolas—Nick for short. You just met his new
wife, Carly. She’s one of the few humans who know about us. For now we call Miami
home but we’ll probably move in a decade. I have a lot of cousins, but there are too
many to name. Your turn.”
She bit her bottom lip as she assessed him. He felt as if he were under a microscope,
but if it got her to talk, he didn’t care about the scrutiny. “My last name is Cabrera and
my entire pack is dead. I’m originally from Asuncion, Mexico, but my Alpha moved us
to northern California when I was a pup. We moved around but I had never left the
state…until a year ago when I came to Florida. I literally have no one in my life so you
have nothing to worry about from me.”
“You have me.” The words slipped out.
Disbelief flitted across her face, but it happened so fast and then her protective
mask was back in place. Her pain and loneliness tore at his insides. He couldn’t keep his
distance any longer. Closing the gap between them, he wrapped his arms around her
and pulled her into a comforting embrace.
At first she tried to pull away, but finally she wrapped her arms around his waist
and laid her head against him. She was quiet, but he could feel the wetness of her tears
on his skin. His chest tightened as the thick shroud of her emotions surrounded him.
A dozen questions raced through his mind—such as why the hell was she in Florida
and why had her entire pack died? Even though he needed to ask them, he knew
she
needed to be held. Whether she admitted it or not. His protective instinct kicked into
overdrive as she pressed her lean body against his.
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Worth the Risk
He searched for a way to distract. “You want to go for a run?” he murmured into
her hair.
“Is it safe?”
“My pack owns a private stretch of beach here. That’s where I just came from.”
She pulled her head back to meet his gaze. Her eyes glittered with unshed tears but
there was a hopeful spark in her eyes. “I’d love to.”
She stepped away from him and stared at him expectantly. His older brother, Nick,
had connected telepathically with his mate after the first time they’d had sex, but
Stephan couldn’t link with Marisol. Or maybe she was intentionally blocking him out.
Either way, he wished he knew what was going on in her head at that moment.
“Uh, it’s this way.” He motioned toward the back door.
Tentatively she followed him. When they were outside on the stone patio and she
didn’t make a move to shift, he realized she might be shy about undergoing the change
in front of a stranger.
He didn’t have a lot—or any—modesty, but she was in a new area with someone
she barely knew. Hell, she’d lost her entire family. That was something he couldn’t even
fathom. Without his pack, he’d go crazy. It was a wonder she hadn’t.
Wordlessly he turned and changed, hoping to give her some privacy and to let her
see him at his weakest moment. As his bones shifted and broke, then realigned, the pain
hit with the intensity of a tsunami. While the pain was inevitable, it was always fleeting.