“It would be remiss of me not to let you know that every shifter I’ve ever spoken to has told me the temptation, or lure as you like to call it, will increase tenfold after we have sex.”
Her entire body jerked, and for some reason, instead of taking him seriously and running into the house and locking the door, her instinct was to laugh. It just burst out of her. Deep laughter that brought tears with it.
Hunter stared at her, an awkward half smile on his lips. It wasn’t until she finally pulled herself back together, wiping the tears from her eyes, that he spoke again. “I’m not sure how to respond. Dare I ask why you’re laughing?”
She loved the look on his face. Part horror. Part humor. If she wasn’t mistaken, another fraction of him was questioning her sanity. And she couldn’t blame him. She cleared her throat, pulling herself back together. “So, what you’re suggesting is that if we were to have sex I would feel even more drawn to you than I am now?”
He turned his head slightly to one side, obviously skeptical about her sanity. “Yeeesss.”
She jumped to her feet, wiped her palms on her thighs, and reached out a hand to help him up. The second he touched her, his fingers gripping hers, she felt that zing of connection again. It was fierce and undeniable. She almost laughed again, and her face undoubtedly demonstrated her renewed feeling of humor.
“Layla… Babe… I’m not sure why you’re laughing.”
She tipped her head down to meet his gaze. “There is no physical way possible I could feel more magnetically drawn to you. So, the idea that sex would increase the driving need to have you inside me is preposterous.”
She watched his face as it changed from confusion to shock. She gave his hand another tug as he got to his feet. “Come on. Let’s go inside. If we’re going to maul each other, we don’t have to do it in front of the entire neighborhood.”
Instead of following her, he pulled her back against him, causing her chest to run into his. He tucked her hand behind her back, still gripping her fingers. His face was inches from hers. “Yeah, about that…” He grinned.
“Oh no.” She shook her head. “You have got to stop using that phrase. It’s starting to freak me out. It’s always followed by some new revelation that I can’t wrap my head around.”
“Well, you need to hear one more thing. For now.”
She drew in a breath, a horrible idea, because his scent filled her, and the fact that she was affected by his damn personal smell annoyed her on a level she couldn’t even fully let herself consider. “Fine. Spit it out.”
“The entire town knows. That’s just how things work here.”
“They know what?” Her breath hitched. Yeah, he could indeed make her head spin more.
“They know you’re my mate. They know Elena is Caleb’s mate.”
She tried to jerk out of his grasp, but he held her steady. “Seriously? Is the rumor mill that strong, or did someone post it in the community Facebook page?”
He chuckled, which infuriated her. And then he shook his head. “No. Nobody posted anything, nor did I tell anyone anything. That’s just how it works. It might not have spread all over the town quite as fast if the four of us hadn’t been in public together last night, but we were. The shifters can all sense it, and any non-shifter who’s lived in Canyon Springs for any amount of time knows the signs.”
“My. God.” She couldn’t even respond further. She wasn’t a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but a chill ran down her spine at the thought that hundreds of people were up in her business, whether they chose it or not. Did they all think the two of them were fucking like bunnies? Jesus.
“Sorry. Again, if you were a shifter, you would know this. I have trouble remembering what parts need explaining.” He cringed, looking remorseful.
Several seconds ticked by before she asked, “Why are we still standing out here?” It was difficult to give a single thought to what other people might be thinking or even how wise it would be; Layla just wanted to have sex with the man as soon as possible. He was damn hot. Her blood was boiling with the need to be naked with him. She was a grown woman who could make her own decisions. She’d slept with other men with less information than she had about this one. And honestly, she didn’t believe a word he said about the connection growing stronger. That couldn’t be possible.
“Because judging by the look in your eyes, the determination in your step, and the scent coming from your body, I’d say you intend to make good on your desire to go straight to your bed, and that’s a bad idea.” He winced again, as if it pained him to say that.
“First of all, I don’t really care if we make it to my bedroom, and second of all, dare I ask why it’s a bad idea? Are you saying you suddenly don’t feel the desire to fuck me?”
Another wince, this one more pronounced. “Give me a second to unpack all of that.” He tipped his head back and drew in a deep breath before facing her yet again. “First of all, never doubt that I feel a much stronger desire to be inside you than you ever will me. I’m a dude. I’m a shifter. I’m insatiable. And my cock is so hard every time I’m around you I can’t see straight.” He narrowed his gaze.
It seemed like he wanted her to acknowledge him. All she could do was nod. He was so damn intense. Again.
“As to your other question, the reason I’m not going to have sex with you right this instant is because I know you think I’m full of shit about the way we’ll feel afterward. I also know that it will be extremely painful for me if we sleep together and then you stubbornly insert your free will and leave me. Leave Canyon Springs. I’ve seen it happen. It’s ugly.”
She licked her lips. “What do you mean you’ve seen that happen?”
“I mean even though your Aunt Marge stayed in Canyon Springs and spent her life with Josiah, other women and men have passed through town, found themselves bound to a shifter, and chosen to leave and never look back.”
She sucked in a breath. “What happened to the shifter?”
He glanced down, hesitating before telling her. “Remember Anders Johansen? The guy at the bar last night who stared holes through you?”
She shuddered. “The guy with the white hair.”
“Yeah, well, his mate did just that. Blew through town and left him pining after her for the rest of his life.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, shit. I don’t want to end up like him. Unfortunately, it may already be too late. I’m not sure I could endure you leaving even if we don’t have sex, but I’m going to take everyone’s word for it that it would be incrementally worse.”
She nodded and whispered, “Okay. I can respect that. Do you want to leave?” Why did that idea hurt so badly?
“Hell, no. I want to spend every second with you until you realize you’re mine. And then I’m going to strip your tiny shorts and tank top off you and lick every inch of your body until you scream out with the need to come a tenth time.”
She gasped, her mouth falling open. Her panties were soaked. Butterflies danced in her belly. He was dead serious. And damn if his words didn’t make her hornier. “You’re, uh, going to stay?”
“Yes. Put me to work. Show me what needs to be done. I’m not sure the flowerbed is the priority.” He grinned.
She couldn’t resist stepping closer to him. She tugged her fingers free from behind her back, set her palms on his waist, and smoothed her hands around to his back, pressing herself against him, absorbing his warmth, the way his scent intoxicated her, the feel of his strength.
What if he was right?
He held her just as fiercely, arms wrapped around her, his cheek against the top of her head. “One minute, one hour, one day at a time, okay? Just don’t shut me out. Let me be with you. The separation is painful.”
She nodded against his chest. This just might be the most ridiculous decision she’d ever made, but letting him walk away felt like it would tear her apart too. Finally, she tipped her head back. “Let’s go inside.”
“Lead the
way.”
She slid her hand into his and took the steps up to the deck, aiming for the sliding glass doors that led into the kitchen. When they stepped into Marge’s cheery, though ancient, kitchen, Layla cocked her head to one side to see if she could hear Elena or Caleb.
“They’re upstairs,” Hunter stated. “Maybe even farther than that. Is there an attic?”
She turned around to face him. “How the hell do you know that?”
He shrugged. “Babe, I can sense things, and my nose works far better than yours.”
“That’s just weird.”
“It’s a simple fact. I can scent things I’d rather not know too.” He lifted his brows.
She gasped, her eyes going wide. “Please tell me you can’t tell if they are having sex? And for the love of God, Elena is way too sensible to have sex with someone she met yesterday, so I wouldn’t believe you.”
He chuckled. “If you must know, they haven’t had sex, though this is the very last time we are going to discuss someone else’s sex life. That’s beyond TMI.”
She swatted at his chest. “Why should you get to know by default and not tell me?”
He grabbed her fingers and held them against his pecs. His damn fine pecs. “Because I’m going to ignore it and focus on you at all times. It’s not our business.”
She narrowed her gaze. This was fascinating. If not freakishly beyond comprehension. “Can you smell her arousal like you can mine?”
“Yes.”
“Jesus. That’s just wrong.”
“It’s a shifter thing. It’s not that strange to us. We’re used to it. Half the people in the bar last night were horny. It’s just something we know. It’s natural.”
She shuddered and shook her head. “So not natural. My God. So if you approach a woman, you already know she’s interested in you?”
“Usually. Though that doesn’t mean I can’t convince her after she gets to know me.”
She glared at him. “So you do control people’s minds.”
He shook his head and laughed. “No. Babe, I don’t control anyone’s mind. Any time I’ve been out in the past, whoever I’ve dated was not my mate. So, all my dating until yesterday was just that, dating. I’m just saying I don’t have to use stupid pick-up lines or make a fool out of myself. If I start talking to a woman, shifter or human, and she isn’t into me, I can tell. I can back away with my dignity intact.”
Layla tried to take all of that in. “You’re very complex.”
“Not really. You’re just not used to my ways.”
“And don’t forget you did in fact use a cheesy pick-up line on me last night. ‘I already know you can run. Can you dance?’” She used a mocking tone of voice that was as cute as all her other voices.
He laughed again. “Hmm. I guess I did. And you fell for it.”
She groaned. “Is there anything else pressing or important I need to know?”
He sighed. “Yes, but you’ve heard enough for now. Can we address more later?”
She watched his face, trying to read him. It was impossible. She started to pressure him before deciding he was right. She didn’t think she could take more. “Sure.”
He blew out a relieved breath and glanced around the room. “I haven’t been in this kitchen for a while. I forgot about Marge’s obsession with roosters.”
He wasn’t wrong. The kitchen was painted a bright yellow with a red and yellow rooster wallpaper border running around the center of the room. The cabinets were also painted red. The tile on the floor was white with an occasional red square in between. That was color commitment.
“Yeah, let’s start in another room. I know Elena is probably going to explore this house from top to bottom because that’s her style. She’s inquisitive. She’ll probably write a book about it or something. But I don’t mind digging around a bit and getting to know Marge.”
“Seems like an adventure.”
“I hope she doesn’t have sex toys stashed anywhere,” Layla murmured as she tugged Hunter across the kitchen floor, unwilling to release his hand. “Not sure I could take that.”
He chuckled. “People own them. Probably most people. I’d almost feel sad if we didn’t find anything.”
Layla cringed. “Not gonna lie. I’ve sometimes had that morbid thought. What if I died suddenly and someone had to go through my stuff?”
Hunter pulled her short just as she reached the door that led to the basement. He wrapped his arm around her middle and pulled her back against his chest. His lips landed on her ear. “Don’t do that to me, woman.”
“Do what?” she teased, her pulse picking up. God, she loved the way he held her. Every time.
“Imp. How many sex toys do you own, and where do you keep them? I think you owe me that much after teasing me.”
She giggled, unable to stop the goofy feeling. “Not sure. I haven’t counted them, but they’re in my bedside drawer. Or, uh, they were.” She suddenly remembered she’d moved out. Left Los Angeles. She still hadn’t told Elena that.
He gripped her tighter, his voice lower and deeper when he spoke again, still tickling her ear with every vibration. “Too many to count? That makes me so fucking hard. Now all I’m going to picture is you masturbating with those toys.”
She didn’t think it would be prudent to point out his assumption. He was right. She did use them alone, but it was awfully presumptive to assume she didn’t have partners she used them with.
“And what do you mean were? Did you move them?” He groaned. “Did you bring them with you?”
“Maybe…” Vague was best for now. Let him think. She absolutely couldn’t tell Hunter about her total failure in California before she spoke to Elena.
His groan deepened. “You’re going to kill me.”
“I hope not. That would ruin all the fun.”
Hunter reached past her and jerked the basement door open. “Move, woman. Stop tempting me before I lose my restraint.”
He released her, and she scrambled down the stairs.
“Why, exactly, are we starting in the basement?” he asked when they hit the damp concrete floor.
“It’s the only place I haven’t been yet. Basements can be spooky. I don’t feel as freaked out with you here.”
“I see.” He stalked toward her again.
She backed up. “Plus, if you think Elena and Caleb are in the attic, then this is as much distance as we could put between us. It’s weird enough that you can scent them. For the love of God, please don’t tell me if Elena has sex before me.”
He chuckled. “Got it.”
She narrowed her gaze, thinking. “Wait. That means Caleb can smell me too.”
“Yes.”
“Then he’s probably telling Elena we haven’t sealed the deal either.”
Hunter rolled his eyes. “Sealed the deal? Babe, this isn’t a deal. This is our lives. It’s a commitment. A super powerful one. Far more powerful than a marriage.”
She took another step back. He scrambled her brain so easily. “Shifters don’t get married?”
“We do. For the sake of conventional society. But it’s not necessary on a personal level. Our mating is solid. It’s unquestionable unless a human is involved. And even then, it’s unquestionable to the shifter half. But I’ve impressed that upon you enough.”
“Huh. Interesting. Not sure I’m grasping that, but whatever.” Yes, she was drawn to him. Irrationally hornier than she’d ever been. But she still half believed her attraction was just that. He was sexy. Tall. Built. Broad. And a shifter. Of course she was interested. More than she’d ever felt in her life. But she still remained unconvinced that meant some kind of certainty she would be with him forever.
Sure, he’d been trying to tell her that for over an hour and even a bit last night, but it wasn’t a concept she’d ever considered in twenty-four years, so she had numerous doubts.
That didn’t mean she wouldn’t heed his advice and keep her shorts on for the time being. It just meant she was ske
ptical about all this yammering about mates and Fate and not wanting to be separated.
Did regular humans experience that? Maybe some did. It hadn’t happened to her. But hell, if she mentioned that, Hunter would probably tell her that was because she hadn’t met him yet or some such nonsense.
Was it though?
Her walls were cracking.
Chapter 10
November 8, 1988
Dear Mabel,
I can’t believe Dad is gone. He was always so healthy. He worked so hard his entire life. I didn’t think anything could ever get him down. A stroke. At 68. I’m so distressed. And Mom thinks it would be best if I didn’t come to the funeral. She said she had him cremated. It was what he wanted.
I wish I was there with you and with Mom. I won’t upset your life though. You’ve made your position clear. You want nothing to do with me. So, I’ll respect that, even though it hurts.
I’m glad Dad made a trip here last year to visit me. We had a wonderful time. He seemed so invincible.
I’m so sorry for our loss and so many other losses. You’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever known. I’ve tried so hard not to let myself feel angry with you. But it’s hard. Sometimes I’m so frustrated that I want to scream.
Love, Marge
This woman was so damn tempting that Hunter was shaking inside. She couldn’t be sexier if she tried. She looked like a model. Hell, maybe she was. He had no idea. She was sweet and fiery at the same time. When she laughed, his entire body responded. When she frowned, he wanted to wipe away the hurt.
She was his. He would convince her. Eventually. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
He needed to distract himself. “Tell me about yourself. I don’t even know what you do in Los Angeles.” He reached for a large box on a shelf and set it on the floor, intending to lower all of them so it would be easier for her to see inside. The basement was jammed with boxes. Some of them had Christmas decorations spilling out the tops. Other holidays were represented too. The task seemed overwhelming. Not something even four people could accomplish in a week. And Hunter wasn’t sad at the realization. Anything that kept her here longer was fine with him.
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