by Dannika Dark
Loud chattering outside my window caught my attention. Unable to hear the conversation, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and approached the window. Through the slim opening in the drapes, I saw three men hanging out on the walkway in front of my room, laughing and talking about a truck show. My wolf must have heard them and sensed danger. Thank the fates I hadn’t shifted.
When a fist pounded against my door, I froze in terror. I stared down at my bare legs and panicked.
“Open up, honey,” Lakota said.
Honey? I blew out a breath. When I unlocked the door, he pushed his way inside and closed it. Then he peered through the curtains, still shirtless. At least he had his pants on.
“What are you doing in here?” I hissed.
He kept his voice low. “I don’t like the way those men have been hanging around in front of your door for the past hour.”
I rubbed my eyes and yawned. “How would you know?”
“Keep your voice down,” he said. “I don’t know if they saw you or not, but if they think a white girl is in here with me, there’ll be trouble if they hear us arguing.”
Groaning, I crawled back into bed. “What century is this? I’ve been to Oklahoma several times, and I’ve never seen such a blatant display of racism.”
“You’re on the edge of Shifter territory,” he said, moving away from the window. “Where worlds collide.”
“How can you stand it?”
He sniffed. “Don’t be so quick to lump me in with these people. I blend because I have to, not because I want to.”
I rolled to the other side of the bed. “You can lie down next to me if you like. I mean… until the serial killers outside my room leave.”
All I could see were his silhouette and his hesitation. “Maybe you should put your pants on.”
“I can’t sleep in jeans.”
“I should go.”
“Then go.”
A curtain of silence fell between us.
“I can’t go,” he said, his voice rough. “Those men are still there.”
Tickled, I pulled the sheet to my chin. “Do you want me to get my bow out of the car and protect you?”
Though I couldn’t see his smile, I knew it was there.
The bed dipped low when he anchored his knee on it and flopped onto his back. His shoes hit the floor one at a time. As my eyes began to adjust to what little light was in the room, his profile came into view. Lakota’s expression was inscrutable, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as he laced his fingers across his chest.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
“Do you really wanna know?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.”
He hesitated for a moment. “That night in the snowstorm… when I found you. I think about it a lot.”
I also spent many nights thinking about it but probably for different reasons. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “It changed me somehow. When I found you, my wolf felt at peace. I haven’t known that kind of peace since. No matter how many cases I break or how many people I rescue, he’s always restless.”
“Maybe he’s a dancer trapped in a bounty hunter’s body.”
Lakota chortled and wiped his forehead. “Why’s it so damn hot in here?”
“The AC is broken.”
He turned his head toward me slowly, deliberately. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”
“I wasn’t hot earlier. It’s not worth complaining about if I have to get up in a few hours. What time is it?”
“One.”
“Aren’t you afraid of blowing your cover by staying in my room?”
Lakota averted his eyes, a conflicted look on his face. “If the tribe finds out, I’ll tell them you were sick and I had to stay to make sure you didn’t keel over from Red’s cooking.”
I quirked an eyebrow and brought my arm out from beneath the covers. “Oh? Is that what you’ll tell Shikoba’s men? Or will your version be that you and I had hot sex in a motel room? That would be a juicy story for your friends, not to mention taboo in their eyes.”
He turned on his side to face me, his hair no longer bound but free and draped across his neck. “Don’t mention any of this when you go back home. Hope knows better than to ask questions, but I can’t afford anyone knowing I’m here. Word spreads like wildfire, and it wouldn’t take long before I was exposed.”
The humor faded, eclipsed by the gravity of the situation. I rolled over, our faces close enough that I could feel his breath. “I might joke around, but I would never do anything to put your life in danger.”
The chatter died down outside, and the footsteps of the men faded.
Lakota peered over his shoulder at the window. “I should go. My wolf needs to run.”
“Then take your shirt,” I said. “You can’t be running around shirtless in the morning.”
A smile was in his voice when he said, “Can’t I?”
Before he could argue, I stripped out of the white tee and handed it over. The energy between us shifted in such a palpable way that heat licked down my body. His eyes latched onto my bra before traveling down to my navel, where the sheet was tucked around my waist. Nudity among Shifters was a part of life, and what I had on was the equivalent of a bikini, which Lakota had seen many times when we went swimming at the lake. But we were kids then, and lying beneath the covers just inches away from him reminded me of how much we had changed. The way he looked at me was unfamiliar and provocative. I wasn’t sure whether it was him looking at me that way or his wolf.
“Do you normally wear your bra to sleep?”
I smiled. “I sometimes forget I have it on.”
“Have you ever been with a man?”
“That’s a little personal.” I pulled the sheet up to my chin.
“Maybe I just want to know if your brothers are looking out for you.”
I rose up on my elbow. “My brothers look out for me just fine. But that doesn’t include dictating who I sleep with.”
“Maybe it should.” His tone was cocksure and threaded with judgment. “You shouldn’t go around sleeping with men unless it matters. Especially before joining a pack. That kind of reputation is damning in a Packmaster’s eyes, whether you’re male or female.”
“First of all, I don’t just go around sleeping with random men. Secondly, it mattered. At least I thought it did at the time.”
“What happened?”
I relaxed my arm and tucked it beneath my head. “I guess I didn’t matter to them. Or maybe we didn’t matter together.”
“Is that all?”
Smiling, I said, “That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.”
The truth was more shameful to admit. None of my sexual encounters had been electric or emotionally intense. I’d cared for those men, and while the sex had felt good, something was always lacking in the relationship. Their touch hadn’t set me on fire. A suggestive glance hadn’t made me hunger for their affection. I was a sexual creature, but I’d spent more time fantasizing about hot sex than actually having it.
Maybe I would never find a man who set my body ablaze with a heated look—someone who would also care about what was in my head and not just in my pants. None of those guys cared about my clothing design. Am I asking for too much?
“What about you, Romeo? What’s the real reason you’re working undercover jobs? I bet you’re hiding from the trail of tears you’ve left behind. How many hearts have you broken?”
“You don’t think much of me,” he said decidedly. “I respect women more than that.”
“Come on,” I groaned. “No one leaves a relationship happy. It’s always a bitter breakup. Unless you’re one of those guys who doesn’t do relationships. Just has sex recreationally. Although, if that’s true, you’re not exactly in a position to judge women who sleep around. Not saying I’m one of those women, but…”
He rose hastily on his elbow. “I’m a virgin.”
Before my synapses had
Dumbstruck, I thought, Is he kidding? Is this one of his jokes? Men like Lakota weren’t virgins. Everyone knew he’d gone through his first change in his teens, much earlier than boys usually did. Every time he came to town, the girls were preening and throwing themselves at him with coy smiles and salacious glances. He’d gone out on dates with several beautiful girls with less than stellar reputations. No, Lakota wasn’t a virgin. That would be like saying the earth was flat.
I sat up. “Don’t say things like that just to make me feel like a slut. I’ve slept with men, but that doesn’t mean I sleep around. It’s a double standard to expect women to live by some moral code that doesn’t apply to you.”
“I need to go.” He swung his feet to the floor and stood up.
Before he could make it to the door, I scrambled out of bed and went after him. “Wait a minute. Are you playing some kind of a game with me? Why are you being so aloof?”
He spun around, his ferocity staggering. “Aloof?”
I suddenly forgot that I was standing in nothing but panties and a bra. “Yeah, aloof. I can understand pretending not to know me in front of your buddies—you’re undercover. But when I was sick on the side of the road, you took off and actually blew the horn at me to hurry up. That’s not the Lakota I remember.” I circled around him and blocked the door. “You’ve changed.”
He reduced the space between us and dipped his chin. “I couldn’t risk someone seeing. The woods have eyes.”
I sputtered with laughter. “And what could they have possibly witnessed that would have blown your cover?”
When he touched his forehead to mine, I froze. “My affection for you,” he said on a breath.
My shoulders sagged. “Still the same old jokester you always were. Except now your jokes aren’t so funny.”
As I walked around him, he captured my wrist and yanked me against him. Without warning, Lakota’s mouth was on mine, his kiss hot. His arms encircled my waist, then branched apart until one rested on the base of my spine and the other cradled my nape. I tried to resist, but I was caught in a storm I couldn’t escape. His lips were sensual—pliant yet firm as they asked and they gave all at once. I absorbed every inch of his body against mine, discarding all rational thought.
My legs parted as I yearned to know him intimately. Lakota’s velvety tongue stroked against mine, teaching me how provocative a kiss could be. He branded me with his mouth—fingers curling against my skin, breath heavy, energy pulsing like a heartbeat. I splayed my hands across his strong shoulders to steady myself—to give me something to hold on to so I didn’t float away. Each swipe of his tongue grew more eager than the last, and he seduced me with his taste, his heady scent, his fervid touch.
Then a word entered my mind.
Virgin.
His hands and mouth showed no indication of inexperience. Was I supposed to believe his admission that he’d never claimed a woman?
As our kiss deepened, I became attuned to the subtle changes in his body—the way his breath hitched each time I swiped my thumb across his nipple, how his heart galloped when I nibbled on his bottom lip. It left me uncertain about what the truth really was. So much hunger was in his touch—yet so much restraint. He kept his hands locked in place, holding me against him. They didn’t eagerly go for my bra strap or slide inside my panties.
“Lakota,” I whispered, though it sounded more like a whimper.
He drew back, his breath heavy. “Am I hurting you?”
Hurting? His lips were like a pledge against mine. “Were you serious about what you said?”
He inclined his head, the passion crumbling from his expression. “I can’t talk about this with you.”
I took his wrist. “You’re the one who started it. If it’s true, I won’t tell anyone. But I also don’t want you saying hurtful things to make a point about my past relationships. I’m not a stranger. I’m not some girl you just met. It’s me… Melody. I’ve known you my entire life. Talk to me.”
In the dark shadows of the motel room, Lakota gave me his confession. His hesitation and embarrassment confirmed that he had never spoken those words before to anyone, and it made me wonder why he’d brought it up. Maybe he’d kept it bottled up for so long that he needed to get it off his chest. “It’s true. I’ve never been with a woman.”
I stripped away all judgment from the tone of my voice. “By choice?”
“My fathers have different views on courting a woman. My adoptive father is a Chitah, so he tells me that courtship matters above all else. But…” Lakota walked around to sit on the edge of the bed.
I sat to his right, my hand on his leg. “You can tell me anything. I promise it won’t leave this room. It’s just between us.”
“My stepfather believes bedding a woman makes a Shifter a man. That’s what most Shifters believe. I haven’t told him, but he knows. Somehow… he knows and thinks lesser of me because of it.”
I could understand his being a virgin at twenty. But thirty? Lakota was a virile wolf, and it made no sense.
“How far have you gone?”
He shrugged lightly. “Kissing. Some light petting. Nothing sexual.”
I blinked in surprise. “That’s it? But all those girls you dated…”
Lakota sighed. “I was young then, and it didn’t take long for me to figure out how good touch felt. But I was afraid I’d lose control, so I quit dating in my early twenties. It just became easier to avoid it altogether. Working all these years as a bounty hunter allowed me to focus on work.”
“But you’re supposed to lose yourself. That’s what sex is about.”
His eyes met mine, and for a moment, I sensed how different he was from other Shifters. It was something I’d noticed my whole life. While Lakota had innate Shifter instincts, he’d also acquired characteristics that were very Chitah-like—the way he would hold a person’s gaze and never look away, the intensity of his stare, how quickly he would defend any woman regardless of Breed. Even the way he could intimidate someone with his body language. It was animalistic yet so different from how a wolf behaved.
“Why?” I dared to ask. “What’s wrong with touch? What’s wrong with feeling good?”
“My mother told me something years ago that—” He grimaced and lowered his head, his hair shielding his face.
I rested my hand on his shoulder. It seemed to give him permission to go on, but he never looked up.
“Do you know about my adoption?” he asked.
“Not really. I figured maybe your mom was too young.”
I had come up with a few theories as to why a Shifter would have given up her baby, but none were as simple as a young woman who just wasn’t ready for motherhood.
“A man raped my mother,” he confessed. “It was someone she trusted—the beta in the pack. That’s why I’m here, walking this earth. People say a child is a blessing, but that would mean celebrating my mother’s rape.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered against his shoulder. “But what does that have to do with dating women?”
He propped his elbows on his knees and looked straight ahead. “A good man raised me, but my true father is a rapist. His is the blood that courses in my veins. His are the eyes that look upon women with lust.”
Then it dawned on me. Lakota had spent most of his adult life believing that he was capable of the barbaric crime his father had committed—that his blood was cursed and would dictate the kind of man he was destined to become, regardless of what values he was raised with. I could only imagine how difficult it must have been when women were suddenly tempting him. He must have rejected them out of fear—fear that he might lose control and hurt them.
“You’re not your father,” I said firmly. “You can’t deny yourself pleasure because of something your father did. There’s no sleeping demon inside you that’s going to suddenly wake up and change the kind of man you are. Not unless you want it to, and that’s always a choice.” With the crook of my finger, I turned his chin and forced him to look at me. “My father was a sex and drug addict for a long time. It’s no secret. Does that mean it’s my destiny too? Does that mean his demons will become mine because we share the same blood?”
“You’re not like that,” he growled.
I stroked his jaw with the tips of my fingers. “And neither are you. I’ll prove it.”
He huffed. “How?”
“Sleep with me.”
He blinked in surprise, and a flame touched his cheeks.
“I’m not asking for sex, Lakota. I’m asking you to sleep with me.”
I held his gaze. Maybe the fates wanted me to heal him. If Lakota didn’t overcome his fear, it would hold him back when searching for an alpha to work under. Any decent Packmaster would be apprehensive of selecting a beta who was afraid of women and, more importantly, afraid of what he might do to them.
“You can’t keep running from this,” I continued, telling him what he already knew. “Lie next to me while I sleep. By morning, you’ll know what kind of man you are.”
“I can’t,” he croaked, attempting to stand.
Gripping his shoulder, I held him down. “You will. Those men outside might come back, and who will protect me?”
That little song was for his wolf. Shifters instinctually responded to threats, and he needed a little coaxing. The men outside posed no threat to me any more than the man inside, but they were a good enough reason for him to stay.
Lakota drew in a deep breath, one of resolve. He finally turned and centered his eyes on mine. “I’ll stay.”
Chapter 7
Something hard and warm pressed against my back, startling me out of sleep. I blinked a few times, focusing on the wall beside the bed. Everything was fuzzy in those waking moments. Dim morning light filtered in from behind me, and a wonderful smell filled my nose.
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