by Dana Archer
What was she doing?
She shoved against his shoulders. They both fell to the floor. She scrambled up and backed quickly to the door. Rafe stilled, one hand on the floor and the other on the edge of the couch.
“Rafe, I—”
“No.” He zipped his pants. “Don’t. I’m sorry. I got carried away.”
“Me too. Look, it’s nothing personal. I just don’t want to take this any further.”
He stood, a lithe move that reminded her of a dancer, and walked toward her. He brushed a few strands of hair from her cheek. “Why?”
“I’m a single mom. My kids come first. Always.” She looked imploringly at him. “It’s nothing personal. Really. It’s just the way it has to be.”
He stared at her for so long she squirmed under his scrutiny.
“A mother?”
Her belly twisted. The couple of times she actually showed interest in a guy, right after she’d moved back home and needed a lover, not a boyfriend, they’d looked at her the same way Rafe did. After dropping a lame excuse, they’d run in the opposite direction.
She sighed. “Yeah, a mother.”
“Of boys.”
It was a statement, not a question, as if he already knew the answer. He couldn’t. Then again, if he was Josh’s friend, Rafe might know more than she thought.
She nodded. “Yes. Twins.”
“Adopted.”
Another statement.
The fake birth certificates she’d paid to get had never been scrutinized. Nobody, not even Josh, had ever suspected the truth.
“No, they’re mine.”
He parted his lips on an inhale.
Her heart skipped a beat. She’d seen her boys do the same thing more times than she could count. Big cats had special sensory organs in their mouths that allowed them to taste scents. If she didn’t know better she’d say Rafe was doing the same thing, but shifters were rare. Megan was the only one Jazz had stumbled over in the years since she’d been the mother of two shifters. The odds that Rafe was a shifter too…
She moved slowly away from him.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Children are precious. I would never think of coming between a mother and her kids, but I don’t want to let this thing between us go.”
“There is nothing between us.” Jazz motioned from him to her. “This was just a spur of the moment thing. It wasn’t serious.”
“If you want to believe that, go ahead.” Rafe closed the distance between them. He tipped up her chin. “But I don’t buy it for a minute. There’s something between us. I don’t know what it is, but it’s real.”
“That’s lust. Walk out into that bar and grab another girl. I’m sure you’ll feel the same thing.”
An amused glint sparked in his eyes. She didn’t get the chance to say more. He bent his head and kissed her. Slowly. Tenderly. Tension drained from her muscles, and a shaky sigh escaped. The man stirred emotions within her she didn’t have the energy to fight.
On her tiptoes, she linked her arms around his neck and met him, stroke for stroke. After an endless moment where they worshiped each other, he pulled back.
“That’s more than lust.” He pressed their joined hands to his chest, right over his heart. “I feel it here.”
She blinked. “I…I…”
“Don’t make up an excuse. I see the rejection in your eyes, but I also see your reluctance.” He pressed a kiss to her palm. “Give it a chance. We can meet somewhere public. I want to talk to you. Kiss you again. It doesn’t have to be more. I’m a patient man.”
Hadn’t she just thought how much she regretted cutting herself from her family and friends? Other than Mr. Wilkins, she was alone. Yes, she had Josh—or she would once he learned about Megan—but he didn’t make her burn the way Rafe could.
She glanced into Rafe’s face. A mix of patience and hunger shone in his eyes. There was no rule that single mothers couldn’t find romance. If a man were to fall in love with her, knowing she had kids, wouldn’t he also be making a commitment to her boys? Love them as much as she did? No matter what they were. If he was a good guy, he would. If not, well she wouldn’t be with him.
The only way to find out what Rafe would do was to spend time with him. She could meet him at public places, exactly as he’d suggested. If she talked it over with Seth and Levi, they’d be careful not to let Rafe see something he shouldn’t. They weren’t babies anymore. Their control over their cats got better every day.
Making a decision, she slipped under Rafe’s arm and walked to the desk. With shaky hands, she scribbled her name and number on a piece of paper, folded it, and handed it to him. “I’m not promising anything.”
“Okay, Jasmine.”
Normally she hated when people used her full name. When they did, it usually meant they were angry with her as Josh had been earlier, but in Rafe’s unusual accent her full name made her feel beautiful. She couldn’t place the cadence to his speech. It wasn’t quite Irish, but it had a similar lulling quality.
She motioned to the private rest room. “I’m going to use the bathroom. I need to get home.”
“I’ll wait for you and walk you to your car.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I have my own selfish reasons.” He rubbed his chin and glanced away before meeting her gaze. “I want to enjoy your company for as long as I can. I’m just grateful you were able to get a babysitter to your house to watch your boys tonight.”
“Actually, they’re at my neighbor’s house. He doesn’t drive at night.”
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Then I should thank him for watching your children. I hate to think that our paths would never have crossed.”
“Umm, yeah…me too.”
Jazz wasn’t quite sure how she went from trying to run from him to agreeing to a date, but she knew one thing—Rafe was the most romantic man she’d ever met.
Or he was a good player.
Chapter 5
Rafe retreated to the hallway while Jasmine made use of the bathroom. He needed a moment to gather his thoughts and separate them from the whirlwind of emotion his cats fed him. Sometimes it was hard to distinguish between them and him.
There were days he wished he’d been born a single shifter, one who had one animal sharing his body and soul, not a Royal with three animals. He couldn’t change his fate, however. He was a Royal. An immortal shifter descended from the goddesses. He was also resented and envied by many of the single shifters. They wanted to be immortal too.
He cracked his jaw. What would Jasmine think if she learned the truth? Would she look upon him the same way? Maybe run from him?
He let his head rest against the wall. She would if she knew how Royals had to claim human mates—at the point of death. And if one of his cats refused her? Or she panicked and refused him? She’d die. If his cats accepted her, however, she’d be his for eternity.
His one true mate.
The goddesses had promised all shifters—singles and Royals—peace in the form of a true mate. Too bad their goddesses hadn’t offered them an easy way to find their perfect complement, the one person who could calm both man and beast. The only advice their elders gave was to trust your instincts. That was great for the single shifters. If their animals refused to complete the bond or she did, they’d leave their lover with a scar. If Royals picked poorly, they’d end up as murderers.
It was no wonder few Royals mated. Or found peace.
He let his gaze drift to the closed door. Would Jasmine risk her life for him? Or would…
He snapped his teeth together. No. He couldn’t go there. Not yet.
The lie she’d fed him about her boys added to the uncertainty surrounding her. Only mated shifter females could reproduce. If she’d admitted to adopting her kids, then he could believe she’d been duped the same way Tony had been with Megan. But to insist they were hers…
Rafe dug out his cell and dialed Kade, his twin and the leader of the Alexander pride.<
br />
Kade answered on the second ring. “Yeah?”
The whispered greeting set Rafe on edge. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m in the woods behind Tony’s house.”
“Why are you there?” Kade was supposed to meet with the Shifter Affairs agents in Virginia about the lawyer involved in Megan’s adoption. The select few humans who knew about their kind were their biggest asset. Unfortunately, the humans’ influence was limited. Hard to uphold the laws protecting shifters when only a handful of people knew about them.
“Because of Devin. He didn’t sound good when he called. Kept repeating himself.”
Rafe clenched his free hand and blew out a rough breath. “Why did you send him in the first place? Devin’s got issues to begin with. Dropping him in a situation that reminds him of his past isn’t smart.”
“I was hoping to distract him. The mess with his sister has left him stressed. He’s been picking fights with anyone who even looks at Mira. One of Xander’s wolves stopped by to talk to her, and Devin nearly tore his throat out. I’m worried about him.”
Him and everyone else in the family. Devin and his twin, Mira, weren’t related to Rafe, but they were members of the Alexander pride. That meant their issues became everyone’s. The cursed prophecy surrounding Mira would damn them all.
Rafe pinched the bridge of his nose. There was no point in allowing his anger to take over. If he focused on all the ways Mira had been wronged over her life, rage would consume him. “I stumbled upon an unexpected find.”
“And that is?” Kade asked.
“Did Devin mention the scent-marked female we smelled at Tony’s house?”
“Yeah. Several times.”
“I found her. She came to talk to Josh too.”
“And? Did you recognize the scent?”
“No, I don’t recognize it.”
“We know all the Royal feline males living in the States, but they could be from Europe. We haven’t met many of the younger males yet.”
“Maybe, but…” Rafe closed his eyes and pictured Jasmine’s face when she’d pleaded with him to understand why she didn’t want to see him. “She has twin boys. My instincts tell me it’s their scent on her.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time. I wonder if she adopted them from the same lawyer Tony used.”
Rafe pressed the heel of his palm to the thump in his temple. “She claims they’re her biological sons.”
A long moment passed in silence. Finally, Kade cleared his throat. “Who do you think she’s lying to protect?”
Because they couldn’t be hers. Human and shifter biology was too different to allow for breeding.
“A shifter she knows maybe?” At least Rafe hoped that was the reason. “Some prides still allow humans to live in their territory.”
“Did she recognize you for what you are?”
Because most humans who spent a lot of time with shifters learned to pick up on the clues that hinted at their non-human status. More luminous eyes, for example. Or their too perfect teeth and limited body hair.
“No. She’s not mated either.” But he had no problem imagining how sexy a bite would look on her shoulder. Or how much he’d enjoy licking her mate mark and making her writhe in pleasure. He hissed out a strained breath. “And the claim rubbed onto her wrist consisted of two males’ scents. Two Royal males.”
That made the likelihood of what Rafe suggested true. Felines were possessive, more so than wolves or bears. Once they claimed anything—an object or person—they held their treasure close. They didn’t share and would never tolerate another’s scent mixed with theirs, unless that person was important to both of them, such as a mother would be.
“Do you have the female’s name?”
Rafe ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth where her taste still lingered. “I have more than that. I have her.”
“Good. What do you need from me?”
“Nothing. I’ll text her number to one of our brothers and see what they can find on her, then I’m following her home.”
“Her boys will scent you on her and clue her in to what you are. She might run with them.”
“I know.” And he hated what he would have to do to prevent that from happening. “I’ll make sure my scent is masked.”
“Then I’ll meet you at the woman’s house. I’m just wasting my time here. There’re no signs that the fire was deliberately set. At least that I can see. We’ll have to wait for the humans’ assessment.”
“I hope it was an accident, but it’s certainly convenient.”
“Let’s just be glad Megan was with her uncle. Maybe the goddesses intervened to help her.”
“Yeah, just like they helped Mira, right?”
Kade’s sigh sounded overly loud on the line. “They did, brother. They guided her to us.”
Kade was right, of course. The Alexander pride was one of the few who’d extended their protection to any shifter outside of their immediate family. Unfortunately, they’d been screwed more than once because of it.
Rafe pushed those unsettling thoughts away. “I’ll send you what I have on Jasmine. She mentioned she left her boys with a neighbor. Check the surrounding area first.”
“You’re lucky you’re my twin. Otherwise, I wouldn’t stand for you ordering me around.”
“Thirty seconds separated us. You’re only leader because you popped out first. You and I both know I could take the reins from you if I wanted to.”
“Don’t tempt me. I might just take you up on that offer, and I know you don’t want the job any more than I do.”
The line went dead.
Rafe texted Jasmine’s number to Kade and their younger brother, Zach, then settled back to wait for her. The eagerness humming within him worried him. Lust was one thing. The desire to lock her to his side was an entirely different beast. So too was the longing to look into her gray eyes or hear her voice. That kind of fascination could be dangerous. For both of them.
He came with baggage, the kind that thought nothing of ripping a person’s throat out if it didn’t like them.
Chapter 6
Jazz ended the call and leaned against the bathroom door. She breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was quiet on the home front. The boys were watching the black-and-white westerns Mr. Wilkins always had playing at his house. They hadn’t even noticed she was late picking them up. In fact, they’d begged her to stay longer. There was another episode they wanted to watch. She’d agreed. As a mother, she was both glad they felt comfortable away from home and sad too. They were growing up.
And she was getting older. Before she knew it, her boys would be on their own. She’d be left with a huge, empty farmhouse and nobody to share it with. It wasn’t that she needed a man in her life. She could fix a leaky faucet and take out her own garbage, but the encounter with Rafe showed her what she was missing: passion, love, and companionship. Quite frankly, she didn’t want to grow old alone.
Who better to face the future with than a man who made her burn as no other had? Not only had she allowed herself to be seduced, she took what he’d offered and demanded more, but it was the way he’d looked at her afterward that stirred longings for a chance at happiness, though.
Desire, awe, and satisfaction.
And he wanted to see her again. She grinned. Mr. Wilkins did have a campout planned for the weekend. They were pitching a tent in his front yard. It was perfect timing, actually. She could meet Rafe for dinner, a movie… maybe a hotel room. Definitely, a hotel room. No way did she want memories of Rafe in her bed if it didn’t work out between them.
But if it did…
She took a deep breath to settle the butterflies in her belly and turned the knob. “Do you like pizza or…”
Her words drifted off at the sight of the room. Empty.
He’d left.
Her shoulders drooped. Guess the truth sank in, and he realized he didn’t want to deal with her baggage.
Really, co
uld she blame him? No. She couldn’t, especially when her baggage came with feisty cubs who bit.
She sighed and grabbed the car keys from the desk. Well, at least she found out what kind of man he was before they ended up in a hotel room. She flung open the door.
Rafe leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, ankles crossed and thumbs in his front pockets. “Hey, beautiful. I was starting to get worried.”
“You waited?”
He closed the distance between them. With one hand pressed against the door over her head and the other by her hip, he surrounded her. Petite wasn’t a description she’d use for herself, but next to Rafe she felt small.
“Is that why you took so long? Hoping I’d get bored and take off?”
Captured by his intense stare, she couldn’t form words.
A long, heart-stopping moment passed before he bent closer. With a swipe of his tongue, he gently prodded at the seam of her mouth. She opened to him on a sigh. Instead of thrusting inside, he licked her upper lip then the lower, as if savoring her flavor. The low, appreciative sound that rumbled in his chest suggested he liked her taste. She arched into him, silently asking for more.
The slow, drugging kiss rekindled her passion. She linked her arms around his neck and clung to him while he led her in a wicked dance. They moved together, adjusting the depth and angle of their strokes as if they’d been lovers their entire lives and what they shared was foreplay, not a simple kiss.
She closed her eyes, loving the sensations he stirred within her. A featherlight caress along her side had her arching into him.
Jazz stood on her tiptoes and deepened the kiss, needing him. Another hungry noise escaped him. He tilted his head and devoured her, kissing her as if he was starved. His response excited her. She wanted to tear down his control, making him as wild as he had done for her. She linked her arms around him, trying to show him how she felt.
He lifted her with a hand on her bottom. The easy show of strength appealed to her as much as the way he touched her body. The man was literally built for sex. She had no doubt he could pleasure her all night long. The thought fed the burning lust consuming her.