by Cali Mann
“Sorry for what?”
“For not protecting you,” he sighed. “And I know that’s not what you want to hear.”
“I can take care of myself.” I twisted my hands in my lap.
“I know you can. You’re brave and strong and fearless.”
My mouth quirked. “But . . .”
“I grew up with my grandmother in Mexico.” He shifted uncomfortably, and I reached out and took his hand. He curled his fingers around mine.
“She believed that I was an ancient spirit reborn.”
“A what?”
“Among our people, they tell the story of a shape-shifter who turns into a jaguar.”
“Like you.”
“Yeah, and the shape shifter’s duty is to root out and kill murderers.” He scratched at his neck. “Grandmother trained me to be a killer, and I murdered many people.”
“Bad people . . .”
He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. They still died by my hand.”
I waited for him to continue. He blamed himself for what his grandmother had made him do. My heart ached for him.
“Eventually, the drug cartel figured out who was killing off their best guys. They sent an assassin to my house, and they killed my grandmother, my aunts and uncles . . . even my little cousins. They left their bodies where they fell.”
Squeezing his hand, I said, “You think you should have protected them.”
“Shouldn’t I have?” he asked, his shoulder shaking. “I was supposed to be the superhero ridding the world of villains, and I couldn’t even safeguard my own family.”
I wrapped my arms around him, just holding him.
“I came to Thornbriar after that.” He took a breath. “And then I find you. This amazing light in all of this dark life, and I just want to hold on to you forever.”
I gave a small smile. “And keep me safe.”
He nodded. “Only I couldn’t. Because I didn’t protect you from my brother. I didn’t save you from Adrian.”
“Oh, Terrin.” I shook my head. “I didn’t need protection from Adrian.”
“But—”
“I care about him, and I chose to make love to him.” I squeezed his arm. “He didn’t trick me or seduce me or whatever you are thinking.”
He tensed. “You love him?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I care about both of you very much.”
“Is this because of the freedom thing?” he asked, and I could tell he was thinking about the first night we’d met by the fence.
“Yes. I was held captive for most of my life.” He shuddered. I studied him in the dim light. “Do you want to hear this?”
He unwound himself from my arms and turned so we sat face to face. Then he clasped both of my hands in his, and looked at me. “I do.”
I told him about Hastings House and my life there. He listened as I spoke of how Mr. Hastings meant to auction off my virginity. How he had owned every part of my life except for my shifting dreams. “I need to be free in spirit as well as body. In some ways, Thornbriar has felt like just another form of captivity.”
“And my clinginess even more.”
I winced. “I’m sorry. I can’t live like that anymore.”
He rubbed his thumbs over mine. “I want you to come back, Hailey. To Thornbriar and to me.” He took a breath. “But I want you to do it on your terms. I can’t promise I won’t want to protect you, but I’ll do my best to let you spread your wings.”
Staring into his eyes, I knew that I’d never wanted anything more. I had an opportunity at Thornbriar to learn about my shifter nature that I wouldn’t get anywhere else. Even if I could find a spirit shifter colony, who said they would take me in and not shoot me on sight? But also, I had someone who cared about me for the first time in my life. I didn’t want to throw that away.
What if Adrian came to his senses and decided that he still wanted me? Could Terrin accept that kind of freedom? I bit my lip, staring at him. “I won’t be your girlfriend.”
“What do you mean?”
“I need to be free to choose,” I said. “This is my first chance to experience life. Give me time to live before I settle down.” I stroked the edge of his face. “But I definitely want you along for the ride. If you’re willing?”
“Hailey, I love you, and I want to be with you no matter what.”
I leaned forward and kissed him, pushing him back against the cavern floor. His mouth opened to me, and I nipped his lower lip.
Our kiss deepened. Straddling him, I let my hands trail over his chest. He groaned. I stared down at my conquest, feeling powerful in a way I never had before. I rocked my core against him.
“Hailey,” he gasped, his hands holding me against him.
With a smile, I ripped his shirt from collar to hem. Then, I kissed and stroked his smooth muscled pecs. I’d fantasized about getting to touch him like this. He writhed beneath my careful attentions.
“Hailey,” he said, his topaz eyes watching me.
I circled my hips, and he growled. His hands slid up my thighs and cupped my ass.
He squeezed and smiled when I squealed. “Do I have to rip your clothes off too?”
With a chuckle, I shucked my shirt and bra. He grabbed my shoulders and rolled me over so he was on top.
Terrin rained kisses along my throat and neck while his fingers made fast work of my jeans and panties. Everywhere his bare skin touched mine, fire erupted and I moaned.
He kissed and sucked along my torso, and I closed my eyes, sensations flooding me. He pressed his hand against my most sensitive parts. I wriggled against him, wanting more. He put his mouth to my sex, and I couldn’t even breathe. When his tongue flicked over my clit, I cried out and rocked against him. Pressure built, and I writhed, grasping at his hair. I screamed his name as I exploded.
Not giving me any time to recover, he flipped me over on to my stomach and drew his hands down my back and over my ass. I shuddered, caught between wanting him to stop and to never stop.
Then, I was suddenly cold and shivery. I looked back to see where he had gone, and he stood naked and glorious behind me. At the sight of his hard rod, I licked my lips.
He smiled, a grin of pure male enjoyment. He liked that I was looking at him.
Kneeling behind me, he lifted my hips and pressed himself against my entrance. Leaning down, he brushed my hair away from my ear, and said, “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He slid inside me, slow at first, allowing me to get accustomed to his size. His fingers stroked softly along my back and I arched, pushing back against him. He grunted.
Then, he circled his hips, and I gasped, “Terrin.”
Angling himself, he drove his thrust into my pleasure spot and I cried out. His long and powerful strokes dragged me to the very edge, my breath quickening and my fingers clutching at the hard stone. Then, he’d slow, almost pause, until I moaned, “Please.”
Finally, we crossed the threshold, together, bodies slick and hot. We shattered into a kaleidoscope of bliss, melting into one another.
He curled his body around me, holding me close.
37
Hailey
Terrin and I walked out of the tunnel together, my bag slung over his shoulder. We rolled up the rope, and carted it along with us.
“Brenton brought it,” he said, looping it over one arm.
I laughed, then realizing he was serious, asked, “Really?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Said he couldn’t be short a lab partner.”
That only made me laugh harder. We crossed the green and had started up the stairs before I realized he was taking me to his suite. I stopped, and Terrin glanced back at me.
“Where are we going?” I asked, biting my lip.
He took my hand in his and squeezed. “I’m not willing to let go of you quite yet.”
I hesitated.
“You can sleep on the couch if you want.” His eyes pleaded with me. “But I need you clo
se by tonight.”
“I guess I gave you a scare.”
He nodded. “Would you mind just this once?”
I exhaled. “Okay.”
We continued up the stairs and down the hall to the suite. Opening the door, the sound of car crashes and whoops of joy greeted us. Adrian and Sciro were on the couch, each holding a controller in their hand. When they caught sight of us, they paused the game and gazed at us. Sciro sniffed, and a smile ghosted across his face.
Adrian scanned me from head to toe and asked, “You’re okay?”
“Yes.”
Terrin dropped the rope on the floor. “Hailey’s staying here tonight.”
“In your room?” Adrian asked softly.
“No, on the couch.” He tossed my bag at Adrian. “So, time to clean up.”
Sciro and Adrian hopped off the couch as if it was on fire. They cleared the wrappers and controllers and turned off the game. Their faces were serious and closed, and I rolled my eyes.
“Hey,” I said. “Turn the game back on. I want to play.”
“It’s late,” Terrin began, but then he stopped. He shrugged and gestured to the couch. “Whatever the lady wants, the lady gets.”
I took a seat on the couch, and Adrian handed me a controller, his hand brushing mine. I smiled at him, and he looked away. What was going on with him? We have sex and then he’s treating me like a leper. Then again, when we first came in, he looked genuinely concerned. We were going to have to talk soon.
Terrin sat on one side of me and Sciro on the other. Adrian perched on the arm of the sofa as if he couldn’t quite pull himself away. They set about teaching me how to play the video game. I controlled a car and the goal was to crash into as many other vehicles as possible. Soon we were laughing as if I hadn’t just run away, and I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.
38
Sciro
It was two or three in the morning by the time Hailey passed out, her head on Terrin’s lap and her feet on me. Adrian cleared the game controllers and the snacks out of the way and fetched an extra pillow from the closet. Terrin and I lifted her, laying her on the couch.
Adrian handed Terrin a school blanket. “Are we good, man?”
Terrin studied him for a moment, his topaz eyes glowing in the nearly dark room. “Yeah, we’re good.”
I let out the breath I didn’t even know I’d been holding. The fracture I’d felt in our friendships had eased and our pack mates were bonded once more. All was right in the world.
Terrin bent over to drape the blanket over Hailey, and I glimpsed the leaf and vine pattern along his shoulder.
“Terrin, man, you’ve bonded,” I said with a grin. I knew it.
He lifted his hand and ran it along his shoulder and then he smiled back. His cat’s purr was faintly audible.
I glanced over at Adrian, to share our joy. He stood frozen in the flashing light from the screen, his face stricken. My smile fell. Something was wrong. I’d never expected Adrian to be jealous of a mate mark. “What’s the matter, man?”
Terrin gazed at him too, his eyebrows drawing together. “Yeah, what’s up? I thought we were good?”
Adrian yanked his tee shirt off, exposing his shoulder. I shook my head. No, that couldn’t be right, could it? A green leaf and vine pattern ran over his shoulder blade.
A growl erupted from Terrin. “Whose mate are you?”
“Hailey’s,” Adrian said, looking down at the sleeping form on the couch.
“That’s not possible,” I said. “It must have been someone else. Who else have you slept with recently?”
He shook his head. “No one else for weeks.”
“But it’s impossible for someone to have two mates, isn’t it?” Terrin turned pleading eyes to me.
I racked my brain, thinking through the loopholes. “I can only think of one other case . . .” My voice trailed off. Professor Ward’s doomed romance. I closed my eyes.
Hailey had been looking at the spirit shifter books in the library. I’d told her they were dangerous, that they went mad. The fear in her eyes. No. It couldn’t be, could it?
“What is it?” Terrin said.
My mouth opened and closed. I glanced back and forth between my two friends, and to the girl on the couch. Had I just doomed my brothers? I sent Terrin in. I encouraged his relationship with her.
“Don’t worry.” I tried to keep my voice as calm as I could, even though my stomach was sinking to my knees. “I’ll research. I’m sure it’s happened before.”
Turning away from them, I marched into my bedroom. There had to be another explanation. Hailey couldn’t be a spirit shifter. It had to be a fluke.
I sank down onto my bed, my head in my hands.
* * *
Fate had taken away Hailey’s choices, mating her to two guys. Will Hailey sacrifice her precious freedom for love? What will happen when her deadly secret falls into the wrong hands? Find out in Bound, the second book in the Thornbriar Academy series. Get Bound now!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I devoured my mother’s Gothic romance collection as a teen, so dark romance and I go way back. I love sexy paranormal stories with strong heroines and gorgeous men. The only thing better than reading a good book is writing one. Thank you for coming along on Hailey’s first adventures, and I hope you pick up, Bound, book two in the Thornbriar Academy series.
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