Unleashed

by Sara Humphreys

She watched her grandmother leave the room and felt an ache in her heart. She could actually feel Nonie’s pain as though it were her own. It wasn’t just empathy. Sam could feel it in the air. It was a tangible and very unsettling sensation. She had to take a couple of deep breaths to calm the panic that began to bubble up.

  What’s wrong, Samantha? Malcolm’s voice flowed in her mind like a soothing caress.

  It instantly calmed her and made her at ease. How did you do that? How can hearing you in my mind instantly make me feel better? Is this part of the whole Amoveo mate thing?

  Yes, this and more.

  She could swear she actually felt his hands run down her back, sending delicious shivers through her. Get out of my head…you’re…distracting me. I’ll be there soon. She smiled. She heard him growl in response and knew she was in way over her head.

  Sam came downstairs to find Nonie and Davis rearranging the kitchen table and chairs in preparation for their bridge game. They really did look adorable as they danced around one another. She saw how completely comfortable they were together. She gave them each a kiss on the cheek and grabbed the flashlight and her black wrap from the closet. She gave a quick, “Don’t wait up,” over her shoulder and headed out into the cool summer evening. Sam closed the door behind her, threw the wrap around her shoulders, and made her way toward the beach steps. Just like Kerry’s house, it was much quicker to get there via the beach.

  She went down the steps, the flashlight beam bobbing along with her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. She shone the beam over the grass and caught a glimpse of something furry. A dog maybe?

  When she reached the bottom of the steps, she stopped to take off her strappy sandals. This time she heard something and froze. Sam had never been afraid on this beach in her life. Something inside of her made her move a little faster. She had the overwhelming feeling that she was being watched. She ran up the steps to Malcolm’s house, taking them two at a time. She got to the top and ran straight into Malcolm. Thankfully, he grabbed her before she could plummet down to the beach below. He pulled her close, his mouth inches from hers.

  “We’re making a habit of meeting like this,” he purred, then placed a soft kiss on her slightly parted mouth.

  Now she definitely couldn’t catch her breath. Her entire body came alive with that one touch. Malcolm’s lips were warm, and he tasted like the sea—salty and unpredictable. She kissed him back, and the intensity grew quickly.

  She figured he’d meant to give her just a sweet kiss, a welcome only. No dice. The desire between them flared brightly and threatened to boil over. She stood on her tip toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him close, and deepened their kiss. She swept her tongue along the edges of his. His strong hands wandered down to her hips and held her close, his need for her hot, heavy, and pressed against her. The wind raged around them on the bluff, lips mating and tongues dancing. Their bodies pressed against one another, desperate to get closer.

  Malcolm reluctantly broke their embrace and suckled her bottom lip. He held her head in his hands and rested his forehead against hers. “You’re making it very difficult for me to be a gentleman,” he said between ragged breaths. “I think we should go in the house before you make me completely lose all of my senses, and I take you right here on the railing.”

  Sam smiled coyly, looking up at him beneath long eyelashes. She was in uncharted territory across the board. She’d never felt any kind of sexual power. She’d never felt sexy. However, she definitely liked the effect she had on him. It turned her on. “I have to admit.” She leaned into him as they walked. “You shapeshifter boys sure can kiss. Tell me something…are all Amoveo as good at this as you?”

  “No. I am the best,” he said with complete seriousness. “At least, as far as you are concerned.”

  “Really, well I don’t know.” The pitch of her voice rose to a teasing tone. “Maybe I should try dating a couple other Amoveos, you know, to make sure. Let’s see, what other animals are there? I’ve always liked cats.” She continued as they walked onto the deck.

  Malcolm reached the door first and blocked her path. “That’s not an option.” He looked down at her. “You’ll find that I don’t share well.” His features grew dark, and his eyes shifted, creating two glowing yellow slashes in the night.

  Sam laughed out loud. “Wow. Doesn’t take much to get you riled up, does it? Relax, Conan. One shapeshifting man in my head is about all I can handle.”

  “Good.” With a curt nod, he opened the door for her. “I’d hate to kill one of my own people.”

  Before she could respond he slipped behind her and covered her eyes with one of his strong hands. He smelled like the ocean. He wrapped his other hand around her upper arm and pulled her back against his firm, long body. Sam sucked in a shuddering breath and held it. He leaned down and nudged her hair away from her ear. His warm breath fanned deliciously down her throat. It was intensely erotic to be blind for that moment. Her body seemed even more in tune with every single spot his body touched. Her hands hung at her side. She reached back and placed them on his rock hard thighs, clothed beneath linen trousers. He placed a delicate kiss on the edge of her ear and whispered wickedly, “I have a few surprises for you.”

  “I bet you do,” she breathed.

  Eyes covered, he led her inside. The moment she stood inside the house a sense of familiarity washed over her. Any apprehension she’d had about being here melted away. She heard the door close behind them as he steered her along. Sam could tell they were maneuvering around some furniture on their way to the mystery destination. Sam laughed and kept her hands out in front like a blind old lady.

  They stopped, and Malcolm once again pressed himself right up against her. She shivered as his left hand slid down her arm, and he tangled his fingers with hers. He nuzzled her ear again and murmured seductively in her ear, “Are you ready?”

  Sam leaned her head back against his muscular chest and squeezed his thigh with her free hand. “If you keep this up I’m going to be ready for a lot more than dinner,” she said huskily.

  “You’re making it next to impossible for me to behave myself,” he growled. Before she could respond he uncovered her eyes and pulled her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

  Sam smiled and opened her eyes.

  The sight in the dining room took her breath away. The enormous dining table had a spectacular place setting for two. There were two gleaming silver candelabras with unlit white tapered candles and two gorgeous china and crystal place settings. They both held fresh, colorful salads. Several other covered dishes adorned the table. A magnum of champagne, chilling in a silver cooler, was in the center of it all.

  Sam walked slowly into the dining room, taking in every detail. It looked beautiful, smelled delicious, and she could practically hear the crackling of the champagne chilling. It was a veritable feast for her senses. Never in her life had anyone put together something like this for her. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes, stunned by the spread he had put together for her. She was brought out of her thoughts by the pop of the champagne cork.

  Malcolm was filling their flutes with a satisfied smile on his face.

  “You did all of this for me?” she asked in disbelief.

  “You find it so shocking that I would make you dinner?” He handed her the ornate crystal glass.

  “This is more than dinner. I feel like I’m on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous or more likely Punk’d. Is Ashton hiding under the table or something?” She looked around.

  “I don’t know who that is, but I can assure you, no one is under the table.” He put the bottle back in its icy bath.

  “You don’t know who Ashton Kutcher is?” She raised her eyebrows. “Do you live in this house or under a rock?”

  “You deserve to have every meal this way, Samantha. Nothing is too good for you.” He raised his glass to her and stepped closer. “To you.”

  “And to you,” she whispered. She sipped the champagne and
eyed him over the edge of her glass. He looked at her with an intensity that forced her to look away. She was afraid she might lose herself completely and jump his bones right there on the table.

  Malcolm smiled as he received the various images that had run through her mind. He knew she had to learn to protect her thoughts, especially around other Amoveo. Tonight he had put up a mental shield so their guards would not hear them. This was one of the skills he wanted to teach her. She would’ve learned this as a child if she’d she been raised in their world.

  “Do you have a match so we can light the candles?”

  “No.” His smile was cocky. With a wave of his hand, little flames danced before her eyes.

  “Show off.” She smiled. “Okay…Now I have to admit that’s pretty cool.”

  Malcolm pulled her chair out for her.

  “Can all Amoveo do things like that?”

  “Yes. We all have the power of visualization. Our abilities grow as we age, especially once we find our mate. The old ones are quite powerful.” He sat with her.

  “How long do you live?”

  “Well, Richard and his mate Salinda are over two hundred years. They are among the oldest.”

  Sam almost choked on her champagne. “Two hundred? Holy shit! You mean that guy on your deck…Wow, you don’t age much do you?”

  “No.” He smiled. “Not much. If we’ve found our mates.” He held her gaze for a moment, but she quickly looked away.

  She placed the pure white linen napkin in her lap and sat quietly, surveying the sight before her. Eventually, her gaze landed on Malcolm, who had begun to enjoy his salad.

  “Aren’t you going to eat?”

  “So you’re telling me I can learn to do that candle thing?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes. Tonight after dinner, we’ll begin. You have a lot of catching up to do.” He gave her a devastating smile.

  “Right.” She had to focus on her salad.

  After the spectacular first course, they enjoyed mammoth steamed lobsters smothered in warm drawn butter. Their feast continued with sweet corn on the cob and soft Italian bread. It was topped off by a tower of fresh fruit with warm chocolate fondue. She was grateful that he liked a woman with an appetite and a little meat on her bones.

  Conversation over dinner focused mostly on Amoveo history. He told her the legend that shaped the fate of their race. She listened intently as he told her about the star-crossed lovers from so long ago. Lucia of the Lion Clan had been pursued relentlessly by a young human named Victor Caedo. Unbeknownst to him, she was Amoveo and mated to Antonio of the Tiger Clan. However, Victor was obsessed. She spurned his advances repeatedly, but he would not relent. One night he saw the young lovers sneak into the woods. He followed them, planning to tell their parents of their secret tryst. Then, under the canopy of the moonlit forest, he saw them shift. Unable to understand what he’d seen, he allowed his fear to turn to hatred. Eventually, he hunted them down and killed them. Victor Caedo then made it his family’s legacy to wipe all of the Amoveo from the planet.

  Malcolm didn’t want to spoil their evening by revealing the current danger so he turned the conversation to stories of her clan. He explained that her father had been the last of his line in the Wolf Clan and that she was now the last.

  By the end of the meal, Sam was stuffed. Her belly was filled with food, and her brain was loaded with information. She sat back and looked at Malcolm draining the last bit of champagne from his glass.

  “So obviously Amoveo from different clans can mate with each other. Right?”

  “Yes. My father is of the Eagle Clan, and my mother is of the Bear Clan.”

  “So why are you an eagle? Is it because your father was, and you’re a boy? I mean, if we had children, which clan would they take after? They wouldn’t be some kind of weird gryphon creature or something, would they? Because that could be a deal breaker on the whole baby thing.” Her brow knitted. She tried to act like the conversation was normal. “Not that I’m thinking about having babies…I just…well, would they…if we did, I mean?” She felt like a bit of an idiot.

  “No.” He shook his head with a small chuckle. “It is unknown which clan a child will favor until adolescence. We don’t go through our first shift until we reach puberty. That is when we are able to walk in the dream realm. Our powers of visualization begin to appear then as well.”

  “So let me get this all straight.” She stood from the table and went over to the window. “There are ten different shapeshifting animal clans. I am a wolf. Is that right?”

  “Yes.”

  “You can only have children with your ‘soul mate.’” She made air quotes with her fingers.

  “Correct.”

  “You find this mate, who is, by the way, prechosen for you by the universe, in dreams. How am I doing so far?” She faced Malcolm, still seated in his chair.

  “Excellent.” He sensed her anxiety and subtly sent her waves of reassurance.

  “But if you don’t find your mate, then you lose your powers and die a slow painful death.”

  “Correct.”

  “Oh wait…I almost forgot the best part,” she said dramatically. “The crazy zealot Caedo family hunts you down as part of their family tradition.”

  “They have in the past, but it’s been many years since we lost any of our people. Samantha, please.” He went to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. Let’s take it one step at a time, mia piccola lupa.

  His voice once again soothed her as it floated into her mind. “How do you do that?” she asked, wide-eyed.

  Do what? He looked at her with that knee-buckling smile.

  “That.” She smacked his hard chest. “Physically put me at ease with your voice. Is it because I’m supposed to be your mate?”

  “Yes and no.” He took her hands. “All Amoveo are very sensitive to human emotion. We feel it in the air. Similar to the way a bat can see with radio waves or how dolphins use sound. We can navigate human emotions. However, since you are my mate we are even more connected to each other than we would be with anyone else.”

  Sam’s eyes widened with comprehension. “Tonight, in my room, I actually felt how upset Nonie was. I mean it wasn’t empathy…it was more than that…it was a physical reaction. I got kind of dizzy and a little nauseous. But then when you spoke to me in my mind, it made me feel better. Kind of like telepathic Tylenol.” She smiled.

  Malcolm laughed at her clever analogy. “Yes, I suppose you could say that. You need to learn to tune out human emotion, filter it so that it won’t impact you like that. It’s going to happen more and more as your abilities continue to develop.”

  “Jeez, I can’t imagine how hard it would be to be in a crowded place like a mall if I couldn’t tune that stuff out.” She tried not to be distracted by the soft strokes of his thumb along her hand. She was mesmerized by the little trails of fire he left behind with each touch.

  It set off a series of pornographic images in her mind, which Malcolm received loud and clear. You’re killing me, woman, he growled.

  Sam’s head snapped up. She felt the color rise in her cheeks.

  “First, you need to learn to guard those thoughts of yours. You might just drive me insane, sending me images like that. I would imagine you wouldn’t want anyone else to see them either?” He raised an eyebrow.

  Sam was horrified at the idea that anyone but Malcolm would hear her thoughts. Especially the ones she had recently. “You mean any one of your people…your mother?”

  Malcolm laughed and pulled her to him in a welcome and reassuring embrace. “Not to worry. Most of our people have very good manners and do their best not to intrude on the thoughts of other Amoveo, but if you’re shouting, how can they help but hear you?” He stroked the back of her head and rocked a bit as he held her.

  Sam stayed there for a moment, allowing herself to sink into the warmth of his embrace. She loved the way his heart beat against her cheek and how his muscles rippled under her hands. He tend
erly played with the ends of her long hair, and it was almost hypnotic. I could stay here forever. She sighed.

  “So could I,” he said. “But we have work to do.”

  Malcolm led Sam into the cavernous living room, and she whistled at the vast cool space. It was not what someone would expect in a beach house, more like something in an old English castle. The furniture was covered in heavy brocade or leather. The wood was dark mahogany with intricate carvings along the edges. The ivory walls had various portraits hung around the room. All of them were of different animals, mostly birds of prey. On the opposite side of the room and to the right were huge archways, which led to the front hall with a sweeping staircase and into the equally large dining room. At the center of the far wall was a massive fireplace framed by a Gothic marble mantle, and Sam just about fainted when she saw what hung above it.

  It was her painting. Woman and the Wolf.

  Chapter 16

  “You,” she breathed in a rush. “You bought it.” Tears stung at her eyes, and her throat tightened with the sudden onslaught of emotion. A strong wave of relief washed over her. Thank God Roger hadn’t been the buyer. The idea that he would’ve had such a personal part of her had turned her stomach. But Malcolm, now that was a whole different story. She turned and looked up at him expectantly. “Why?”

  His eyes crinkled at the corners, and his lips curved. “Well, to be honest, I thought it would make you happy.” He cradled her face with both hands and wiped one big fat tear away with agonizing tenderness. “Apparently, I misjudged the outcome,” he said with a fading smile.

  Sam sniffled and placed her hands over Malcolm’s. “It does.” She laughed.

  Malcolm cocked his head and gave her a questioning look. “Then why are you crying?”

  She kissed his palm, linked his fingers in hers, and turned back to the painting. “It makes me happy that you were the one to buy this, and to be honest, I’m thrilled it wasn’t Roger.”

  “Roger,” he glowered. “Why would you think that he bought your paintings?”