Mira sat in her car and stared at the nested carts in front of the grocery store. She couldn’t seem to find the desire to move. Depression had plagued her for centuries. She knew how to hide it, how to pretend it didn’t choke her. Practiced smiles, the motions of living, and the need to be positive for her mentally unstable twin had kept her from spiraling into the abyss she often hovered over. She no longer had any reason to pretend. Devin had found his sanity. And…and she had no hope for a brighter future.
Everything that had happened the past few days threatened to crush her. It was too much. Wetness dripped on her lap. She frowned at the liquid spots decorating the khaki pants she’d worn to Kade’s house. Realization struck. She wiped at the trail of tears on her cheeks. She’d allowed her dark mood to paralyze her.
A quick peek at the clock showed she’d sat in the grocery store’s lot for over an hour. Her death-by-chocolate ice cream had met an early demise before it even made it home.
She popped her contacts out and dropped them in the plastic bag along with her favorite therapy. With a pair of sunglasses shielding her feline eyes, she shuffled to the garbage can and dropped her melted purchase.
A familiar and hated scent drifted to her. She pivoted on her heel and nearly collided with Zeb. He stumbled back.
“S-s-sorry,” he mumbled.
Mira frowned at the sight of him. Bloodshot, unfocused eyes contrasted with his pasty skin. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His cracked lips trembled. All in all, he looked horrible.
She parted her lips and inhaled. Fear, pain, and a residual trace of unfamiliar chemicals surrounded him. She drew in another slow breath, allowing the foreign odors seeping from his pores to coat her tongue. The information didn’t make sense. She could’ve sworn the pungent taint clinging to him would’ve come from a corpse.
She took a step back, not because he frightened her but because her stomach churned. Zeb stood there with his mouth hanging open and drool collecting in one corner. Although she disliked the male for what he’d done to Josh, her protective instincts rose. She laid her hand on his cool, clammy skin.
“Are you okay?”
“N-no. I need h-help. I…” He glanced over her shoulder. His eyes widened, and a garbled cry crawled up his throat. He licked his lips. “N-never m-m-ind. My sis…she’s right there. She’ll h-help m-me.”
He spun on his heel and ran. In the opposite direction.
She watched his uncoordinated movements and frowned harder. She peered over her shoulder, but didn’t see anyone suspicious or his sister, just humans going about their daily business. She glanced in the direction Zeb had run.
He darted across the road. Horns blared, and tires screeched. He hopped in to a rusted hatchback parked on the other side. The car peeled out. Black, noxious smoke burped out of its exhaust pipe and obscured her view of the license plate.
She debated getting in her car and going after him but dismissed the idea. It wasn’t her place to get involved in investigating every illegal activity involving the humans. She’d mention it to Kade later.
Ignoring the disturbing encounter, she made her way to her car and drove back to her place. The trip passed too quickly. Before she knew it, the metal box she called home loomed before her. She didn’t want to be alone inside the trailer’s claustrophobic walls but had nowhere else to go. There were only so many places in town she could wander without drawing looks from the townsfolk.
She parked and made her way to the door. While the woods looked tempting to escape into, she didn’t want any shifters to accidently stumble upon her. She was in no mood for company tonight.
With the door closed behind her, she kicked off her flats and tugged her shirt out of her pants. The scent of heaven drifted to her. A heartbeat reached her ears next, and her pulse echoed in her mate bite.
“Josh.”
He was sprawled on her couch, one leg bent on the seat, the other flat on the floor. With his back pressed into the corner and his arm stretched across the cushion, he looked relaxed and sexier than she’d ever seen him. The shadow of stubble she loved dusted his jaw and the ends of his hair stood on end as if he’d just woken. The absence of shoes and his rumpled clothes suggested he might have.
The thought of Josh napping in her living room did crazy things to her heart. It didn’t take much to imagine spending hours wrapped in his arms on the couch while he watched football. Such a simple thing, but something she never thought to share with a male.
She pushed away the domestic thought before longings and regret took hold. Focusing on the picture he made, she let his image sear itself into her mind so she could take it out when she needed him close.
Jeans clung to his thighs, and a simple black T-shirt molded his torso. After seeing him naked, she knew exactly what lay beneath. Perfection. Powerful and primal with thick muscles, a narrow waist, and a tight backside that felt so good under her hands.
One corner of his mouth lifted in a lopsided smile. It hit her dead center and left her raw, vulnerable, and more aroused than the sight of a mere grin should make her. Her knees went weak. Warmth settled low. She reached for the edge of the hall table before she could stop the reaction.
“Hey, kitten, I was wondering when you were going to come home.” He slowly skimmed his heated gaze over her. She ignited under his carnal inspection. Every inch of her skin heated and demanded he repeat the caress with his fingers. “I was getting lonely.”
She licked her suddenly dry lips. “How did you get in here?”
He chuckled. “I picked the lock.”
She waited for him to say something else, maybe close the distance between them. He did neither. He merely watched her. Lust hazed his eyes, but so did patience and confidence. He wore the look of a male who knew exactly how he affected his woman.
“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be home with Megan?”
“She’s with Jazz.” He crooked one finger. “Come here, kitten.”
Her breaths quickened. She took several steps before she forced herself to stop. Hands clenched, she shook her head. “I told you I need time to think. I haven’t yet. Please go home.”
Instead of arguing, he held his hand out, palm up. “Think later. We need each other. Come here.”
She did need him. Micah’s visit had chilled her, but Josh could warm her. Her dignity stopped her from running to him. She slowly closed the distance between them. As she approached, he adjusted his position on the couch so both bare feet hit the floor and created an inviting spot on his lap.
He waited until she placed her hand in his before tugging her close. She settled over him, straddling him.
“That’s better.” He wrapped his hands around her waist and used his hold to seat her more firmly over him.
A soft sigh fell from her lips. It felt so natural to sit on Josh’s lap, to feel how he loved having her here.
“Do you enjoy knowing what you do to me? How excited I get for you?” He brushed a wisp of hair from her cheek. “Or are you thinking about taking me back to your bed?”
Yes. Both. She bit the inside of her cheek instead of voicing the truth. The teasing lilt to his voice lightened her heart. She smiled. “Feeling a little cocky tonight?”
He dropped his head against the cushion and peered at her through half-lidded eyes. “No, kitten. Confident. I know what you want, and I’m here to give it to you.”
Unable to resist, she stroked his arms from elbow to shoulder. Muscles tensed under her fingertips. “What do I want?”
“Me.”
She forced a chuckle past her lips. “I was right. Cocky.”
He grinned at her.
She folded her forearms over his chest and leaned closer. “As much as I enjoyed what we did together, we shouldn’t have sex again. I really do have to think about everything.” She trailed her fingertips along his jaw. “Okay?”
“Sure.”
The easy agreement struck her as fishy. She eased back and met his eyes. “No argument?”
Another lopsided smile graced his mouth. “Like I said, I’m here to give you what you need. We don’t have to get naked and sweaty for me to do that.”
She studied him for some clue as to his motive but the lust darkening his eyes and the confidence emanating from him confused her. He wanted sex. The thick shaft nudging her left little room for misinterpretation.
“What do I need?”
He tugged at the edge of her neckline, exposing her mate bite. Using a single finger, he circled the scar. Sparks skipped down her spine. “For me to prove to you that I’m your mate.”
She didn’t get the chance to agree or to deny him. He covered her mouth and kissed her, taking the choice out of her hands. She was glad. Fighting her instincts was wearing her down.
With a slow sweep of his tongue, he explored her as if what they shared was their first kiss and he wanted to savor it. The low groan of his approval and the tender strokes he rubbed into her skin fed the moment, making it special.
He twined their tongues, leading her into a dance that built her hungers. Slow at first, he worshiped her. The pace of his rolling thrusts quickened, spiraling her needs until she felt as if she were coming undone.
She threaded her fingers through his tousled hair. Silken, short strands teased her palm. Tingles danced up her fingers, down her arms and spread out to encompass her body. More, she wanted more of the energized feeling, but she knew there was only one thing that would appease her craving. She wanted Josh inside her.
A desperate moan escaped her, desire rising faster than she could contain. She scraped his scalp with talon-tipped nails, not hard enough to bleed him but enough to pull a raw sound from his throat. Only a primal male could meet her wicked cravings. Josh with a touch of animalistic aura surrounding him did it for her.
His rough moan betrayed how close he was to losing control, exactly what she needed. She nipped at his tongue to bleed it. As if he was a shifter, Josh responded to the trigger. In one smooth move, he reversed their positions. Her back met the couch. He crouched over her and pushed against her legs with his knee, urging her to open to him. She did, eagerly, spreading her thighs wide. He settled in the space she’d made, partially straddling her.
The couch didn’t offer him the room to line up their bodies the way she wanted, but his strong frame covering her smaller one had the same effect. She relaxed and gave herself up to the kiss. The purposeful way he led her didn’t give her any room to resist him, not that she would’ve. He had her submission. She was his to command, his to please.
His to use.
On and on, he loved her mouth with rolling strokes that touched her deep inside. Her heart opened, inviting him to take it over completely. She should fight the compulsion. She knew it’d be the smart thing to do, but she couldn’t. Her instincts ruled at the moment, and she wanted Josh. Had from the moment she’d looked into his eyes.
She slipped her hand between their bodies, ready to encourage him to finish what he’d started. He broke the kiss and climbed off her body. Kneeling next to her on the couch, he stopped her from following him with a hand splayed over her lower belly.
He gave a small shake of his head. “Now, now, enough of that, kitten. I’m not a saint, you know. If you keep touching me like that, I’m going to lose control.” He used his other hand to lightly caress her neck. “And I promised not to have sex with you.”
“But—”
He stopped her words with a single finger pressed to her lips.
“I told you…” He bent closer so his exhaled breath bathed her mate mark. “I told you, I know what my female needs.”
“I thought you said I needed you.”
His low chuckle whipped through her. Desire followed. She moved to get off the couch. He held her in place with his palm on her upper chest. She stilled.
“Do you trust me, kitten?”
Not once had he demanded such a thing from her. Trust, to a shifter, was not lightly given, not even to a mate. Just because a breeding partner couldn’t kill his mate, it didn’t mean time spent in his company was pleasant. She knew too many females who suffered abuse—mental and physical—at their mates’ hands. It was wise not to blindly give her trust. But…but this was Josh who asked for it, the male she loved more than anyone in the world.
She nodded, the scope of her acceptance too much to manage more.
A pleased grin spread over his familiar and beloved features. Seeing it satisfied her on a primal level she was sure few humans would understand, Josh included. She’d made her male happy and that…well, it tightened their bond and tugged them closer, spiritually and physically. It was the mystical tether many shifters, who’d mated for breeding purposes only, refused to admit existed.
Love.
She felt it growing between them, but it was the smile on his face and the emotions she saw reflected in his blue eyes that sealed her fate. It was unstoppable, like the sun rising each day. Fears threatened to surface and ruin the moment. She shoved them aside. Tomorrow. She’d deal with them tomorrow. She’d have an eternity for regrets, but her happiness might only consist of this one night.
“Good. Then let me take care of you.”
She licked her lips. “Okay.”
He tugged on her hand. “Up.”
She swung her legs to the side and moved to stand a second time, but he stopped her with his hands on her thighs. He pushed his body between her legs so she was spread wide for him.
“And Mira?”
“Yeah?”
The wicked lift to his lip stopped her heart. She held her breath and waited for him to speak.
“You will do everything I tell you. If you think to disobey me, I’ll leave you with only your fingers to ease your hunger.” He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. “Do you understand me?”
In that moment, she realized her mistake. She’d fallen in love with a human, but he was as much a predator as any shifter.
And tonight…tonight, he was going to tame her.