“Don’t stay on my account,” Marex drawled, sitting on the chair. “Go to her.”
“I don’t sleep this early.”
“Who said anything about sleeping? I can only imagine what I’d be like if I’d been separated from my fated for that long. It’s only been a week away from Nadine and I’m ready to tear out of my skin.”
Can you also imagine how you’d feel if you thought she left you for another? Shain sighed, sitting down in the chair across from Marex. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Go for it.”
“I know why Zander wanted to help Kimber. But your motive is unclear. What is it?”
Marex’s eyes flashed. “Why do I have to have a motive?”
“Because even though you may be moved by our story, I don’t think you’d risk capture just to help Kimber.”
“I’m not risking capture. Haven’t you heard?”
“Heard what?”
“I’m no longer the UCC’s number one wanted. A human confessed to the setup. Though I don’t have their blessings whatsoever, I don’t have to look over my shoulder as much now.”
Shain hadn’t heard. How would he?
“It’s because of your brother,” Marex added. “He was the one who made the confession happen.”
What? His jaw loosened. “Aleck? Are you sure?”
Marex chuckled. “I’m sure. He’ll have to be the one to tell you the details.”
To say he was floored was an understatement. He hadn’t spoken to his brother in a while, and figured after their last conversation Aleck had finally decided to leave him alone. Although, he still helped him financially; the bank account he’d given Shain access to continued to receive weekly deposits.
He leaned on his elbows, the heat of the fire hot on the side of his face. “So let’s discuss what you want to propose. I’m waiting.”
Marex leveled his gaze, resting his arms on the chair. “I’m not so sure I can.”
“Why not?”
“Because of the unconcealed tension between you and Kimber. Her aching for you. You for her. The kind of tension that should’ve been vanquished many times over by now.”
Shain whipped his gaze away, partly in guilt. “Sex isn’t the cure-all for everything, you know. Not that it’s any of your business. I still want to know what you want.”
“I was hoping to take your story with me to the Centurias. To make an appeal with your example. To those who’ll see the tragic romance of it all. For instance, those who are in love with shadows are essentially in love with humans. They would understand. I have a friend who is deeply in love with a shadow, and he is a fateblood. How is that much different than a vampire in love with a shifter? Because shifters are more our enemies than humans? More need to know about your story.”
“Plenty knew in Atlanta. No one was on our side. Not one.”
“You’re talking about your covenant and her pack. There is a whole underworld outside of them. Think about it. You and Kimber could have the support and protection of countless more. No more hiding. No more running.”
Sheer fantasy, that was all Marex preached. “You’re insane. Peace with the shifters is a far cry from condoning romantic commitments to them. I was the one in love, and yet my parents are the ones harassed every day. Showcasing our relationship to the masses could bring us more grief than ever.”
“A lot of things get worse before they get better, Trevyn.”
Shain’s eyes narrowed at the paternal tone in Marex’s voice. “Let me make something crystal clear. I won’t let you use us to advance your campaign. While I respect it and even hope for it, I will not put Kimber and myself on display as the poster couple for tolerance.”
“You’d be more than that. You’d be an inspiration. Offer something real for people to stand behind.”
He looked up at Kimber’s bedroom door. They might not even be a couple if he couldn’t get past, well, the past. “And how would you do that? Show us off like freaks at a circus? I wouldn’t be able to bring her to the Centurias even if I supported this. And I can’t go. My brother is the one with the key. He has to represent our family.” He leaned back, part of him wishing he wasn’t so damn realistic sometimes. “Even if I could go, I wouldn’t. Because of me we lost our allies and their money. I can’t go there and ruin his plans. I’ve done enough damage.”
Marex was quiet for a while. “I understand. Just think about it. I would bring you both into my fold regardless of what happens at the Centurias. You’d be protected. More importantly, you wouldn’t be alone.”
The generosity humbled him. “Thank you for offering.”
Marex frowned.
He got up and put on his jacket and boots to do a perimeter check. While the idea of becoming the first shifter-vampire couple out in the open was sort of appealing to a part of him, the other part wanted nothing to do with it. Love wasn’t the aberration. The subsequent war between their species was.
The freezing cold revived him while he walked, lost in thought, pondering his future for the first time in a long time.
If it was with Kimber, or possibly without…
Even that flash of consideration made him want to throw up.
When Shain entered the cabin again, all was quiet and still.
He entered Kimber’s room.
On the nightstand was the shirt she’d taken from his dirty clothes and the cord she’d tied around her waist. A little piece of paper peeked out of the breast pocket. Curious, he took it out, and saw Zander’s name and phone number on it.
Scorching jealousy blazed across his chest.
He’d expected Kimber and the alpha to possibly feel a kinship simply because they were both shifters, and he was prepared to be covetous of it. Throughout the night, he’d noticed the alpha had been giving him disapproving glances and later pulled her aside for a private conversation.
Apparently, so he could give her his phone number.
His teeth descending, he started to crush it in his palm, but stopped. He drew in a breath and put it back in the pocket. Of course Kane would give her his number; she needed to be in contact with her own kind.
Or had Zander given it to her because of something more?
Did the alpha shifter want her?
Deep down, did he think she belonged with someone like him?
While Marex championed their relationship—albeit, to help serve his cause—Kane had voiced nothing about how he felt about it.
Possessiveness reached over and dug its nails in his chest.
What man wouldn’t want the privilege to have Kimber by his side?
To that day, he’d never met another who could compare. Her sultry beauty notwithstanding, Kimber stood out on many levels. Her sweet courage, her fiery spirit, how deep she was able to love without reserve, and many other qualities that practically gave her goddess status in his eyes.
He shouldn’t climb into bed with her.
The floor, that was where he should make his bed.
But he wouldn’t.
He undressed, then gently pulled back the goose-down cover and slid in.
Kimber awoke, eyelids hooded with sleep as she reached to cup his jaw.
A vision of her doing that to Zander erupted a selfish need Shain couldn’t leash.
He moved on top of her, spreading her legs with his knees.
Her eyes searched his; she sought the old Shain, he knew, but she wouldn’t find him unless she looked very deep.
What came over him, he didn’t know, but he reached for the cord and tied her wrists together around the headboard rail, wanting her complete submission.
She said nothing, but looked up at her bound hands, then met his gaze with a question in her eyes. All he wanted was to love her, thoroughly, and her touch would only distract him.
So beautiful, her soft skin, the little freckles on her shoulders, her breasts and taut nipples, the scent of her arousal between her legs. Arousal for him. She gasped when he tugged on her nipple with his lips, his f
ingers snaking to her sex, slowly petting the folds. He came up and gently took her mouth, though she continued to pant while he petted her.
She quivered and opened her legs wider.
He went down, and moved her left leg over her right so that her knees were together, pressing kisses under her thighs, making his way to sweet intimate area in between. When he started giving her closed slit slow licks, she made a sound aching surprise, the cord going taut. Giving her pleasure gave him pleasure, almost as much as being inside her did.
Mesmerized, he coursed his hands over every inch of her sweet, lush body, taking his time, kissing her thighs, biting into her hip for a tiny taste of blood. A jolt of new energy pulsed to his cock.
By the time he slid inside her wet sex she was nearly buck wild with need, moaning with every pump. He gripped her hips and guided them toward his in a rhythm so good, he strived to keep from coming too fast.
He would never let a man take her from him without the fight of his life.
Seven
“Does the sun ever shine in this forsaken place?”
Shain rolled his eyes at Zander’s complaint. “It’s the dead of winter.”
“Dead. You could say that again.”
Zander and Kimber had just come back from a run.
They’d been gone a while, and Shain had tried to keep occupied to shut out the envy, wishing he could be outside with Kimber in the sun.
Marex had been on and off the phone with his ever-growing support base, and spent the rest of his time on his laptop.
When Kimber shifted back to her human body, practically glowing with the flush of fresh air and exercise, it was all Shain could do not to throw her over his shoulder and take her upstairs.
By evening, the pair were saying their goodbyes, with the vampire leader set to take a train back to Canada, and the alpha scheduled to visit another pack in Washington.
Marex shook his hand and went down the steps to his snowmobile. “Think about what I said.”
The man wouldn’t give up. “I will,” Shain said, more or less meaning it.
He grabbed his helmet. “You should do more of what you did last night. Sex isn’t the cure-all, but not much can bond you closer and faster than that can.”
Shain sighed, hands on hips. “Any other advice, O Wise One?”
“Yes. Whatever it is holding you back from her, cut the tie. Do it soon.”
“And if I can’t?”
At that moment, Zander and Kimber emerged from the house, talking like old friends.
Marex gave Shain with a meaningful raise of a brow and put on his helmet.
Right.
She and Zander hugged. When she pulled back, she looked up at him with something akin to gratitude, and Shain gulped at the adoration in her gaze. She used to look at him like that, though he hadn’t done anything lately to deserve it.
Zander came down, grasping his forearm with a respectful nod. “Thanks for the hospitality. You have Marex’s number and she has mine. Call either of us if you sense trouble coming your way.”
Shame clouded over the jealousy. “Trouble will come sooner or later.”
“I’ll keep an ear about the Glaciers, to find out if there’s any talk about Kimber.”
“Two wolf ears, I hope.”
Zander chuckled. “Good one.”
The two men exchanged some words before Zander donned his helmet.
Who knew the next time they would ever see them again.
Shain watched them go before heading back inside.
Kimber had started to fill the sink to wash last night’s dishes, wearing one of his shirts again.
He started to go to her, then stopped, not knowing what to say, what he needed to ask. Afraid to know.
If she had feelings for the alpha shifter, she wouldn’t be there.
Even so, the foul jealousy refused to purge, and if he didn’t exorcise it out of him first, he’d end up saying something stupid and starting a pointless fight.
Getting revenge wasn’t as satisfying as he thought it would be. Why? Because he was still very much in love with her, and the anger the resentment, had nothing on that.
Shain didn’t talk to her the rest of the day or night. Or the next day or night.
To Kimber’s absolute frustration, they were back in the routine of him barely speaking to her in her waking hours, but coming to her bed in the middle of night and making love to her like a man starved for her love.
How long did he intend for this to go on? Because she wouldn’t stand it another day.
There was nothing more she could say that she hadn’t already. She explained why she did what she did, begged for his forgiveness and understanding, and told him she loved him. What more did he want?
It was a special agony not knowing whether the man she loved also loved her back, or if he was just using her to comfort himself until he decided what to do with her.
The second he emerged from the bedroom and came downstairs, she got up from reading a book on the sofa to face him. “Shain. We need to talk.”
“There’s a storm coming. I didn’t think it’d be a big one, but it’s looking heavy. I need to head into town and stock up on a few things before the store closes.” He grabbed his jacket and zipped it up. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Need anything?”
As he sat down on the bench to put on his boots, she tentatively approached, knowing it wasn’t the time to start a serious conversation. This dynamic was maddening.
Did he not hate this detachment too? Or did he not care?
She swallowed her questions. There would be plenty of time to talk once he returned, especially with a storm pending, and nowhere to go.
“Could you pick up some marshmallows maybe?” she asked. “I’ve had a serious sweet tooth these past few days.”
He didn’t look up as he jerked his laces in a bow. “Sure.”
Hurt at his clipped response, she turned away, refusing to let her emotions erupt.
The next thing she heard was the front door closing and the sound of his snowmobile firing up.
The nearest town with a grocery store was a minimum thirty-minute drive, and that was if the roads were clear, which most of the unpopular ones tended not to be. She’d be alone for a while. Too restless to continue reading, she decided to start organizing the first-floor closet, pulling out boxes and random items.
When she reached in a box and pulled out the sun talisman, she gasped, tears filling her eyes. He’d kept it? Sun talismans allowed a vampire to walk in the day. One day only. It was expensive, rare, and risky to purchase, since only a dark witch had that kind of power.
She’d been taking a night swim in the saltwater pool of the house he’d rented for them…
Two years ago
Kimber came up from the water and gasped at the sight of Shain standing at the edge of the pool, looking down at her with reproach.
“You are in so much trouble,” he murmured, shaking his head.
Oh, so he’d found her gift. She played coy, treading water. “What are you talking about?”
“Get out right now.” There was a feral look in his eyes, even though his voice was eerily soft.
She grinned. “No.”
He feigned a serious tone. “Come here.”
“What did I do?” She treaded back, sending him a harmless splash.
“You know what you did…”
Climbing out from the other side of the pool, she grabbed a towel, skimmed it over her wet body, and squeezed the water from her hair. Shain watched from afar, looking her up and down, before he started toward her.
She went the opposite direction, suddenly unsure if he was actually mad or just playing with her. “Shain…?”
He tracked her with that sexy swagger, eyes glowing with sensuality. “I said come here.”
“I thought you’d like it.” Wait. Was he actually mad? Now she sounded defensive, which she hated.
Still he advanced, and as a shifter, she didn’t enjoy feeli
ng like prey, even from the love of her life. She halted and pointed a finger at him. “Stop it.”
He stopped, expression neutral.
Oh, no…did she fuck up?
A slow smile stretched his mouth. Then he dashed for her.
She shrieked and ran, with Shain very close behind with a—dare she think it?—wolfish grin. She yelped again when he got close enough to snatch the towel from her. Facing him, she allowed Shain to catch her, and loved that no matter how strong she was, he always made her feel weak in his arms.
He swooped her up spun her around. “My shiya. All I’ll ever need.”
“’Kay so, you liked my surprise?”
“Queso? Is that my new pet name?”
She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Answer me. It took me forever and a day to find a witch that could make one.”
“A shifter buying a sun talisman from a dark witch for a vampire? By the gods, I should whip you for taking a risk like that.”
“Promise?” she whispered, flicking her tongue on his lip.
“Oh, baby…wh-whoa!”
Shain lost his balance and they fell in. They surfaced, laughing. Heedless of his fine clothes, he grabbed her to him.
“I loved it. And I’m about to show you how much.” His teeth lengthened as he touched his forehead to hers.
Despondent at the memory now, she shoved the long-ago burned-out talisman back into the pouch she’d found it.
A worn manila envelope stuffed between two boxes caught her eye, and when she opened it and saw the contents, her lungs seized.
The notes.
Short, handwritten letters they used to leave for one another in their park, when she stayed in a rental townhouse with the mated shiyas and he lived in a luxury downtown apartment. They were so careful in the beginning, trying to keep their worlds as separate as possible, and that meant foregoing the luxury of text messaging. They had secret, specific hiding spots, ones she was obsessed with finding every night she couldn’t be with him. She’d kept hers and he never threw his away. When they ran away together, she couldn’t bring herself to get rid of them, and had put them all in that envelope.
Shain: Immortal Forsaken Series #6 (Paranormal Romance Novella) Page 9