by Dana Archer
She leaned back to look into his eyes. He couldn’t have actually said that. Could he have? “Own me?”
He traced the column of her neck—the same spot that had tingled after they’d had sex the previous night. “I’ve claimed you as mine. My scent is a part of you.”
He’d claimed her? Like his favorite toy?
“The term is ‘beloved human’,” the kilt-wearing man said. “It’s an honor, little female. It means Rafe will always watch over you. Care for you. It’s a title few humans hold, and you should be proud to be his.”
“Proud?” She glared at the brown-eyed shifter. “He’s my lover, not my owner. Not my boyfriend. Not my anything.”
The words pierced her heart. They were lies. Rafe had become a huge part of her life in the short time she’d known him, but no way did she want to be owned. Even if part of her liked being commanded by him.
The guy bent closer. “Do not dishonor my friend with your ignorant complaints. You might know about shifters, but you don’t know our customs. And you don’t know how special you are to Rafe. Bite your tongue until you get to talk to him more about what his claim actually means.”
He was right. She didn’t know about shifters, not really. She exhaled slowly and focused on his words. Beloved human. It didn’t sound offensive. In fact, it did make her feel special, and if Rafe would always watch over her, he’d be close. A part of her life. She wanted that. She simply didn’t want him to rule it. In bed, sure. He could command her sexually all he wanted. It was everywhere else she refused to give up complete control.
She focused on Rafe’s face. “Okay, talk. What does being your beloved human actually mean?”
Rafe didn’t answer her. He took her hand and faced the man next to him. “Watch your tongue, Xander. Jazz will learn about our culture from me, not you.”
Xander inclined his head, but she caught his warning look. She had a feeling the man didn’t take orders well and planned to say what he wanted to her when Rafe wasn’t around. She made a mental note to avoid him. His focused glare wasn’t appreciative like the other men. His held animosity.
She glanced at Rafe to see if he noticed the hard look, but his attention was on Mira. Or maybe he was watching Josh who was headed in her direction. Either way, Rafe’s tense muscles set Jazz on edge.
Rafe’s other brothers turned to watch him too. Josh didn’t meet anybody’s intense stare. His gaze was locked on Mira, and he closed the distance between them with determined strides. Or maybe he had noticed the shifters watching him and didn’t care. That was more like Josh. She’d seen him wade into fights at the bar without worrying about getting hurt. He liked to start them too.
Rafe’s brothers blocked Josh’s approach. A head taller than Josh’s six-foot-one frame, they were huge and chilling with their pale complexions and braided white-blond hair. Tattoos and skull T-shirts completed the look.
“Rafe?”
“I see.” He sighed and led her forward.
Mira glanced between Josh and Rafe’s brothers. A small smile played on her lips. She might be amused by the male posturing, but Jazz wasn’t.
“Back off.” Rafe released Jazz and stepped closer to his brothers. “The human isn’t a threat to Mira.”
The man closest to Jazz pushed his sunglasses up, and her breath caught. Pale-blue eyes, cold and emotionless, focused on Josh.
“He’s male. Devin’s orders were specific. Xander is the only man from outside our family that’s allowed to talk to Mira.”
“Why?” Jazz asked him.
“Because Devin is her guardian and makes the rules.”
“Guardian?” She looked to Rafe for an explanation. If it involved Devin “owning” Mira, Jazz was going to have a serious problem with shifter culture.
“Our women are precious, but there are many who see them as”—Rafe met Mira’s gaze—“breeders. As Mira’s guardian, Devin has vowed to make sure she’s not forced into a bond. His way of doing that is to keep all men away from her until he determines if they’re a threat.”
“Forced? As in…” Jazz couldn’t say it. Rafe was taking about rape.
Rafe nodded. “A bond lasts for life too.”
“That’s…” Jazz cringed. “That’s barbaric.”
“I know.” Rafe stroked his fingers down her arm in a soothing caress, then faced his brothers. “Let it go. Mira is here to help with the kids, and Megan is Josh’s child…for now.”
“What do you mean?” Josh asked Rafe. “I’m not giving up my rights. Tony had a will listing me as her guardian.”
“Tony didn’t have the right to do so. Megan’s adoption wasn’t legal.”
“Not legal? Tony paid those lawyers an ungodly amount of money to adopt her.”
“I’m sure he did, but her shifter parents wouldn’t have given her up willingly. Most likely, Megan was stolen.”
“We were told they’d died in a car accident.”
Rafe shrugged. “Maybe they had, but if not, she belongs with her parents.”
Josh glanced toward the house. “I’ll be allowed to see her?”
“That’d be up to them, but I can’t imagine why not.” Rafe faced her, putting an end to the discussion. “I am going to shift and explore. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find Jon. While I’m gone, Xander and my brothers will protect you and the kids.”
She glanced over her shoulder at the other men. Two sets of pale blue eyes focused on her. “What are your brothers’ names?”
“That’s Evan.” Rafe motioned to the blond twin on the right, then to the one on the left. “And that’s Zach.”
Jazz glanced between the two men, looking for some way to tell them apart. They were dressed identically, down to the colored bands used to tie off each braided section of hair that hung over their shoulders. She was never going to be able to tell them apart. How embarrassing would it be if she called them the wrong name?
“Zach is the one who always looks angry at the world.” Rafe gave her hand a squeeze as if he sensed her distress. “And Evan’s not staying for long so you don’t have to worry about confusing them. He’s going into town to see what he can find out about Jon.”
“Okay.” She glanced at the new people in her yard—all predators—who watched her intently. She swallowed around the tightness in her throat. “You’ll be back soon?”
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Rafe’s family, but she didn’t want any of them to corner her and start asking questions. They weren’t getting any of the tough answers until she could share them with Rafe, and she didn’t want to have to tell more lies to keep her secrets.
“Yes.” Rafe brushed his lips across her jaw to her mouth and kissed her. The gentle strokes eased her tension. She leaned into him, but he broke the kiss before it consumed them. “And when I return, we have much to talk about.”
“You’re right, and it needs to be done in private.”
He inclined his head, then slipped into the woods.
Mira cleared her throat. “Jazz, I’d love to meet your kids.” She turned to Josh. “And Megan too.”
“Sure.” Jazz led the way into the house, introduced Megan and her boys to Mira, then stepped back to watch all three kids’ eyes light up when she sat down in the middle of the floor with them. Mira spoke softly and within minutes, they were giggling. Jazz smiled.
Josh leaned against the doorjamb next to Jazz. “I need to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“Rafe.” Josh headed toward the kitchen.
She followed and sat at the table. “What about him?”
“I thought you weren’t getting involved with him.”
“That was before we were attacked. I told you I overreacted.”
Josh’s brows rose. “Did you?” He held up a hand. “Look, I’m not saying Rafe and his friends mean the kids harm, but there’s more to this whole situation than what they’ve let on. Some guy doesn’t like Rafe so he tries to kill you?”
“I agree, and I plan on getting
the rest of the story from Rafe when he gets back.”
Josh bent closer so his breath warmed her cheek. “Rafe came in here earlier asking all sorts of questions about Tony and the lawyer he used to get Megan. He said it wasn’t the first time a shifter child had been sold through a private adoption, and that those who stole shifter kids should be punished. I told him what I knew because I agree, but then he started asking about you.”
When Josh didn’t say anything else, she prompted, “What about me?”
“He thinks you’re lying about finding Seth and Levi. He’s convinced you knew the mother and wants to know how it is you ended up with her babies. According to Rafe, no female shifter would willingly part with her children. They’d kill for them. Nothing is more important.”
Which didn’t exactly fit Seth and Levi’s mother. She’d insisted Jazz take them and raise them as her own.
“Life’s not black and white. Sometimes tough decisions have to be made.”
“He said it’s all tied into their animals’ instincts. That the only way shifter kids ended up being separated from their parents is if they’re kidnapped.” Josh leveled a hard look her way. “And after he went into graphic detail about what he’d do to the lawyer when Rafe found him, I can’t help but worry how he’ll react if he doesn’t like your story about how you came to be Seth and Levi’s mother.”
She stiffened. “Rafe wouldn’t hurt me.”
“I’m not saying he would. I’m saying if you want to stay a part of their lives, we better come up with a believable story.”
She pushed away from him and crossed her arms. “I didn’t kidnap them, for god’s sake.”
Josh rubbed at his eyes. “I never said you did, but it had to have been something bad for you to feel the need to not only lie to me but dump me.”
She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “I couldn’t let you think they were yours. I had to end things.”
“What? Did you think I wouldn’t want to take care of them because they weren’t mine?” He narrowed his eyes. “Or did you think I wouldn’t love them knowing they were shifters?”
“No.” She turned away. “Of course not.”
He laid his hand on her back. “Then why?”
Because he would’ve turned the world upside-down looking for the men who’d hurt her. They hadn’t raped her, but they had assaulted her. Josh would’ve made them pay for it. She shook her head. “Because. Just let it go. Okay?”
Josh sighed. “You can trust me with the truth, you know.”
“I know.”
“All right, keep your secrets, but it doesn’t change anything. We should still come up with a lie Rafe will accept.”
“I won’t lie to Rafe.” She was going to tell him the truth, but admitting that right after she refused to share the story with Josh didn’t sit well with her.
“You’re going to have to if you want to stay a part of Seth and Levi’s life. Rafe’s not going to just accept your silence as an answer like I will. He’s going to demand the truth, and when you don’t give it to him, he’s going to assume you stole them or something. He’ll pack up your kids and leave.”
“He wouldn’t do that. I’ve been the only mother they’ve ever known.”
“Are you sure about that? We don’t know them or understand their ways.” He pointed toward the yard. “That little display out there proved it. Beloved human? It’s ownership. I don’t care how they label it.” He pressed his mouth to her ear. “Is that what you want, Jasmine? To be owned by a shifter, even if he’s one you’re sleeping with?”
Without waiting for an answer, Josh walked toward the living room.
She dropped her head into her hands. She didn’t fear Rafe but Josh’s words mirrored Xander’s warning. Their cultures were different. The episode in the yard proved it. While beloved human made her feel special, it was ownership, no matter how they spun it.
Then there was the way the other shifters had treated Mira. They wouldn’t even allow Josh to talk to her. Really, what harm would it have done? It wasn’t as if they were alone.
And what would happen if Rafe caught Jazz talking to Josh? Or if Rafe discovered they’d been lovers? Would she no longer be allowed to associate with Josh? To talk to any man unless Rafe approved it the way Devin did for Mira? If that was the case, she wasn’t sure being Rafe’s anything was a good idea.
Chapter 24
Rafe ran the perimeter of Jasmine’s property. Twice he’d had to lay low while hikers trampled through the woods. It posed a risk to Rafe and his family, but what concerned him more was the danger to any unfortunate human who might stumble over Jon. History proved he had no problems with murdering innocents. Rafe doubted time had changed that.
He shifted into his human form, then pulled his clothes out from under a bush where he’d stashed them. Once dressed, he jogged the last few feet to the open yard.
Kade met him halfway. “What did you find?”
“No scent markings, but I did find paw prints.”
“So he is masking his scent completely.” Kade cursed. “Where did he get his hands on that drug?”
“I’d like to know too, but we have other concerns.”
“Yeah. Finding him before he goes after Jasmine or her kids.”
Rafe glanced in the direction the hikers had gone. “True, but they’re not the only innocents we need to worry about. Humans use these woods for hiking.”
“And we both know Jon has no problem with murder.” Kade rolled his shoulders. “We’ll get him. He won’t get away this time.”
“You’re right about that.” Rafe just hoped they did so before Jon killed any of the humans in Jasmine’s town.
Rafe pivoted and made his way to the house. He found Jasmine in the kitchen talking to Mira. They had their heads bent close and were giggling over something. Jasmine turned with a smile on her face, but the grin drooped before she forced it back in place. The bitter trace of fear tainting her scent exposed the reason behind her fake smile. He had a long way to go in earning her trust which meant he had a long way to go before he even brought up mating him.
He leaned over the counter separating them and ran a hand down her arm. “Hey, beautiful. I missed you.”
“Oh Jazz, it must be love. Rafe never used that tone on me when we were lovers.” At Jasmine’s widened eyes, Mira gasped and covered her mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t…I mean, we’re not…”
Rafe flicked his gaze to Mira. “Get out. Now.”
Mira hurried from the room.
Jasmine turned to the stove. She stirred a pot of chili with quick flicks of her wrist. “Any sign of Jon?”
She wasn’t going to ask about Mira? Rafe took in her stiff back and inhaled. Too many different emotions flavored her scent for him to judge her mood. He walked around the counter separating them, took her hand and carefully pulled back her fingers from the ladle. He turned the heat off on the stove, and dragged her unyielding body against his.
“This is not the kind of jealousy I like.”
“I’m not jealous.”
She lied. Her sharp tone, along with the anger darkening her eyes told him the truth.
He kissed from her shoulder to the spot below her ear. She shivered but pressed her lips together. No breathy sigh.
“Liar.” He laved her skin until she swallowed hard. A much better reaction. He nibbled along the length of her throat then soothed her with his tongue. “There’s no reason to be jealous of Mira. She’s a friend, always has been, even when she shared my bed.”
“Friend with benefits, huh?”
He’d heard of the human expression, but Mira never quite fit that role either. She had only ever come to him when she needed love and reassurance or when the loneliness had gotten to be too much. He’d never sought her out. He didn’t think the distinction would matter to Jasmine.
“In a way, but we haven’t been intimate in many years.” He turned Jasmine in his arms and ran a hand over her back. “Nor will we ever be again. I d
on’t want another lover. Only you.”
She rolled her eyes but not before he saw the warmth in them. His declaration had pleased her. “Compared to Mira, I’m plain, and you haven’t known me long enough for my personality to have anything to do with it.”
“You’re beautiful. Not plain.” He pressed his lips to hers to stop her denial. “And mine. Mira never captured my attention. You have.”
“Is that true?”
The soft brush of her lips sensitized his mouth. Before he could answer her, she curled her fingers around the back of his neck, holding him in place, and kissed him slowly. The soft stroking of her thumb over his skin skipped energy down his spine, arousing him quicker than he’d thought possible.
Her attention focused on him was welcome, but other needs surfaced the longer they kissed. Those involved Jasmine on her knees, taking him to the brink.
He swept his hands over her rounded butt cheeks, squeezing each one, but Jasmine caught his lower lip between her teeth. She gave it a sharp tug, then released him. “And whose bed will you be warming tonight? I didn’t invite you into mine.”
She might’ve kissed him, but she hadn’t let go of her jealousy.
“No, but”—he skimmed his hand over her lower back and inched his fingertips past the waistband of her shorts—“you’ll accept me when I come to you. Won’t you?”
“You play dirty. I don’t like it.”
“Yes, you do.” He gave her a knowing look. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have let me seduce you earlier.”
Half-lidded eyes met his. A small smile graced her face, but it was the wry kind, not one of pleasure. He tensed and waited for her words, knowing they wouldn’t be ones he wanted to hear. The satisfaction in her eyes was bittersweet. “Okay, you have a point, but I think we need to clear some things up. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes. I suppose you have a question for me?” It could’ve been any number of things but the scene with Mira had likely spurred this moment.
She nodded. “So I shouldn’t be jealous of Mira because she’s from your past?” She waited until he agreed. “And when I see the two of you together I shouldn’t imagine what you looked like naked and tangled in passion. Is that what you’re telling me? Because it’s over. The past.”