by Susan Arden
“Did we almost mate?” she asked, unable to comprehend all that transpired over the evening. “I’m sorry I got carried away,” he murmured against her hair.
“Shawn, I’m confused. Why did this happen? We’ve known each other for more than a year and nothing. What does this mean?” She touched the space on her neck, puffy under her fingertips.
He pushed back a few inches, lifted her hair, studying her neck. “You’re somewhat marked physically, both times we joined. Then there was the thing with our … ”
She stared back at him. “Is that what I felt? It was like being outside my body. I know this sounds crazy, but were you outside your body at some point?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t keep my word. The craving for you was overpowering. Mind-blowing on a level I’ve never experienced. It will take discipline and some planning to maintain our control.”
“But what does that mean?” she whispered.
“You’re right. We almost mated. Somewhere between fucking and mating. Any male from any clan — that means any shifter who wants to fuck or mate with you — will have to openly challenge me. No one will touch you.”
“Why so much power with a bite?”
“You don’t know, do you? Not a thing about my ties to Denver or the western part of the US?”
“Only that you own more companies than God, so it seems.”
“Things are changing in our world. The one between shifters and humans and the others.” He glanced over to her and she nodded understanding. He spoke of the recent rise in crime plaguing not only Denver but the entire United States. Shifters were openly challenging humans and seeking positions of power and rights that so far had not been afforded to them. The others, beings who resided in shadowy existences, weren’t so menacing or outrageous. Not yet at least.
He continued speaking, “I’ve been authorized to sit and hear cases involving shifters. A council has been formed so that humans aren’t the only means of judging shifter crimes. The council is harsher in some ways in dealing with shifters. The human justice system isn’t prepared to do more than lock shifters away in compounds. At the least, the council is open to hearing cases with varying degrees of punitive measures while also helping those shifters who can be rehabilitated. That’s where this idea of training shifters to control their urges has arisen.”
“Is that why you were chosen? To act as a type of judge?”
“I suppose. My ties run deep in this part of the world. The council believes shifters may seek justice instead of vengeance if there is a fair and impartial place for them to vocalize their concerns. This council isn’t about blind punishment. Shifters are being sought to bring cases of alleged abuse and victims can seek a remedy. Never has there been a place for shifters to seek this type justice. This could mean a laying down of arms, if it works. If not, things will return to an eye for an eye.”
“I hope not. Our kind has existed between two worlds. What you’re doing requires a tremendous amount of time and energy. When on Earth do you sleep?” Diana half-laughed, but in reality a cloud of worry hovered over her: one more thing on Shawn’s plate would be an unwelcome burden. “How can I ask this of you, when you’re already doing so much?”
He shook his head, lifting her hand, and then studying her fingers. Shawn shifted his gaze to her face. Underneath his contemplation, something smoldered in his eyes. “Baby, consider yourself part of my clan. You’ll sit at my right hand. No one will take that spot until our connection is broken. Not to worry. We’ll figure out some way to loosen the ties if that’s what you want. I know there are ways. But for now, you’re mine.” His clasp around her waist shortened, pressing her breasts up against his chest. His satisfactory purr rumbled in her ears.
Her brows tightened. “And that woman who came up here before? Is she also part of your clan?”
“No. She’s works here and has her own mate. I’ve not marked another woman in years. There’s no other single female carrying my scent. Only one. You.”
“Again, what does all this mean in terms of us or me?”
“Let’s just say you’re under my protection. Nothing overwhelming or mysterious, a mere deviation from the plan.”
“A glitch that prevents any man from approaching or touching me within what, a two hundred mile radius?”
He growled back at her. “Over a thousand miles from the Pacific Coast toward the East. Is that so bad, sweetheart?”
Her chest pounded. He would be listening to her heart race in this enclosed space. This was not simple fear. It was no use pretending this revelation was anything but unnerving. “I’m concerned about our relationship at work. What about my scent, Shawn?”
He inhaled deeply and his gaze fixed upon her. “Me too, kitten. Me, too. How about we renegotiate our deal from before. I’ll be your stud if you continue to kick ass in the design world. I want you to come live with me. I’ll be infused in your scent.”
“You mean we’d work together by day?” she asked.
“And at night, we’ll explore a whole different world. You and me, baby. I know it’s a lot to think about.”
Shawn was beyond breathtaking in the way his hard, sculpted muscles moved. His upper body bore an intricate inked pattern and without the ripping hunger devouring her mind, she studied him. Before he was a shifter, her boss. Simple. Now, he was the man who had brought her intense pleasure. Complex. Appealing. Her chest purred.
She reached out and traced a black line running down his shoulder. She didn’t recognize the swirled patterns crossing his skin but imagined the design was his creation. “Mmm, I don’t know. What if we can’t keep our hands off each other at the office?” She couldn’t promise him she’d have strong willpower at first. Maybe after training, yet she didn’t even know what that encompassed. He arched an eyebrow and shot her the most licentious look. “Sweetheart, I’d not complain if you tempted me to break our deal. Are you thinking you want to me to take advantage of you on a design table or copier? We could renegotiate our relationship over and over again until you’re satisfied. I’m not looking for an out clause — only ‘the way-in clause’. I think you’ll need my undivided attention for a long fucking time.” He journeyed from the futon, depositing one used condom into the waste bin, and snagging another packet. Shawn’s leopard stamina showed no signs of waning.
“Are you always ready for action?” she asked.
“We joined during your cycle. Our forged attraction binds us to keep fucking non-stop. Your heat is our heat cycle. Baby, you pull every one of my strings.”
He removed the condom from the packet and rolled it down his cock. He pushed her back against the futon, spreading her legs, and climbed over her body. Shawn nuzzled her neck, sucking at the point where he’d marked her.
“Mine,” he whispered against her ear. “Let the training begin, kitten.” He thrust into her. “Baby, you feel so good around me, I don’t know if I could ever let you go.”
“Shawn, you’re a wanton and wicked man,” she moaned. “Please keep training me like this. Hard and fast and deep for a long, long time.”
Chapter 5
Shawn fought the rock-solid urge to dive cock-first into the softness of Diana’s body. He’d spent the last two hours slamming his dick into her body without denting his desire to do it all over again. Starting right this second, if he didn’t get hold of himself, and fast. The more he had buried his rod deep inside her, the harder it was to put any sort of distance between them, even for a moment. She smelled so goddamn good. He ground his back molars to keep from piercing his lips. A low snarl of frustration slipped away. This was simply sensation. Here he was on a mission to teach Diana to control her impulses, and he was two seconds away from crawling between her legs. Again.
“Come away with me. Away from here. I promise, I’ll get you through your heat but not in a room like this.” He kissed her incredible mouth, wanting to pull her up and carry her downstairs into a waiting car. One call from him to his driver was all that
was required. He was about to suggest as much until he saw her tightly-furrowed brows. “What are you thinking?”
“I’ve told you about my past,” Diana stroked a single finger along the ridges of his chest. “Why aren’t you with another female such as yourself? Obviously, it’s a choice that you’re single.”
He wanted to dismiss his entire past, except Diana deserved an honest answer. If he demanded that shifters brought before him on charges tell him the painful details of their lives in a roomful of council members, he’d better have the fortitude to share his less than savory past with her.
Gazing into her eyes, he was mesmerized. Truth serum couldn’t have been stronger. Holy shit, talk about not learning the first time around. In Diana’s orbit it seemed he had yet to learn how to temper himself, even after surviving a fouled-up relationship with another woman whom he had once trusted. His stomach juices turned to battery acid or something equally caustic.
“I met a shifter, years ago,” he began. “Her name is Mia Velarte.”
Diana stiffened in his arms. She met his gaze and asked softly, “Is she located in Vegas? A designer, by chance?”
He sighed. “Yes. She has a firm there. She is partners with Frazier Jenkins. Once, a long time ago, we all worked together. They left town together and now live together in every sense of the word. Nothing they do surprises me.”
Mia had played him like a drum. She beat him at a game he’d believed he had mastered: love ’em and leave ’em. Only, that little number Mia had performed for his benefit had carved out his chest, leaving him empty when she stole from him. Injury to insult, she had also been sleeping around with Frazier.
Diana’s eyes had gone round as saucers. “I know of her firm. But not your specific connection.” Her eyes were filled with questions.
He inhaled a breath, preparing to address why he kept his circle of friends small. And why trust was a hard commodity for him to share. “That tie was severed a long time ago. For years since Mia, I’ve walked around hollow, until tonight. Mia and I were engaged. It wasn’t the type of relationship that was love at first sight. We worked as a team and I didn’t want the hassle of my family’s expectations of choosing the right mate. I hate to admit it, but I just wanted to get past that issue. Mia seemed like as good a choice as any. For all practical purposes, it had made sense to propose to Mia. She was someone I was willing to marry and settle down with, checking that benchmark off my to-do list. I’m not proud of thinking in terms of business. Perhaps I got what I deserved. But I never expected to be blindsided.”
“Shawn, don’t be so hard on yourself. Things happen in life, and hindsight is always twenty/twenty or better.”
“I guess.” He tenderly traced the edge of her jaw, and then twirled a strand of her dark hair around his finger.
Back then he’d been proud, and unprepared for his girlfriend to stick it to him using their engagement as a ruse to get what she wanted before leaving. Back then, he’d allowed himself to trust without looking over his shoulder, thinking he didn’t have much to lose. His mistake was refusing to consider trust had to be earned. Not in some cases. All cases.
“Does that mean you’ll never consider mating? Are you some type of confirmed bachelor?”
“Is that what you think? Feels more like bachelorhood selected me.”
Mia had proven that wide-eyed women were not all soft curves and warm sighs. He’d given her access to his business and his emotions, believing she’d be a good partner in life. Maybe not the type for whom he’d crawl into a corner and cease breathing if she reconsidered his offer.
Mia had shown him a side of life he hoped to never repeat.
Except here he was, swan diving into oblivion with a woman who nearly had him wrapped around her finger. Almost.
“If you’d asked me that before tonight, hell, this very morning, I would have agreed whole-heartedly that being a bachelor fit my lifestyle. Now, I honestly don’t know that to be true.” Shawn tightened his grip, taking hold of Diana’s wrist. He pulled her next to him to chase away the bad taste that thinking about Mia and Frazier produced. His gaze trained on her curves, moving in an unhurried trail from the tip of her knee to the turned-up corners of her mouth. He couldn’t help but stare as she wet her lips.
“Shawn, you know I’m not like that.”
“Yes. I do. But you must know, there’s still bad blood between us. It wasn’t just my fiancée sleeping around. Mia and Frazier took company files and left with a hefty portion of my clients. Frazier Jenkins, my ex-cousin and ex-partner, went with her.”
Diana covered her mouth with her hand. Telling her the bloody truth, he didn’t experience more than a twinge in his gut, and the lack of discomfort pleasantly surprised him. He felt he could share almost anything with Diana, pour out his soul if needed.
His brain sent a warning siren to take care. He’d already lost at love and friendship. Two people had had the power to stab him and they made no bones but went right to work. Both broke the mold of backstabbers. ‘Gone to Nevada to start fresh’ was what Mia had written. Frazier had disappeared without so much as a “fuck you.”
“Honestly, I never would have been as accepting as you’ve been. My God, you’re remarkable. Is that why the council selected you? For your inner strength?”
“Back then, I was anything but gracious. If the council had known what was running through my mind, they never would have selected me to so much as judge a pie contest. I used every connection I had to obtain information on Mia and Frazier. In hours after they’d left, I had a list of their contacts, right down to where they had planned on setting up shop, bank accounts, and even their suppliers. If I’d acted, I could have shut them down before they’d begun. And what I found out gave me the means to do more than bodily harm. I wanted to teach them a lesson. I lived and breathed vengeance.”
“But they’re doing well enough and have made a name for themselves. They’re on several design boards. So, you held back. Didn’t you?”
“It wasn’t about the money. I didn’t need whatever business they planned to siphon. No, it had been on principle.”
“What stopped you?”
He’d flown out to Nevada to settle the score, except Quinn had found him and prevented any action against Mia or Frazier. Shawn laughed bitterly, recalling how out of control he’d nearly been. “You’ve met Quinn and Tristen. You could say they handled me quite well, considering my condition. I couldn’t talk about it but that hadn’t fooled Quinn. My friend can sniff out trouble in any form.”
“They are very imposing figures when they come into Matrix.”
“That’s precisely why they work for me and are helping in this appeals process the council is setting up.”
“So, for the good of others you didn’t react? That takes a tremendous amount of self-control. No matter how you view your initial emotions. If anyone can make a justice council work, it would be you.”
“Honestly, Quinn and Tristen had threatened to hogtie me if I refused to return with them. They found me in Vegas waiting outside Frazier’s hotel. Nothing happened.”
Quinn and Shawn had reminded him of what was at stake: his leadership in establishing a council to rule using balanced scales of justice and, when required, punitive actions that were based on judgments handed down. Not rash decision. Not mercenary action. And certainly not retaliatory action.
The crimson haze had lifted enough for him to agree — for the good of a million shifters — that he had enough meat to his character to step back from his own pain and frustration. He’d left with Quinn and Tristen without saying much of anything. He’d allowed them to cart him off and they’d ended up getting drunk. A truly wasted time and he hadn’t remembered much, except Quinn had retained the presence of mind to get him to a healer before his leopard nature would demand action.
He let his gaze wind down Diana’s body before returning to meet her eyes. “So to answer your question, I made the mistake of a random mating with Mia. No ceremony or
celebration. It just happened. Lucky for me, when she left for Nevada, I set out to be cleared of my ties to her. Thanks again to Quinn and Tristen. As well as Fin. It was he who knew of the healer. Otherwise, I believe I would have gone off the deep end just knowing I had intact mating bonds to Mia.”
“I’d heard that was possible. The breaking of mating bonds, but thought it was some type of urban myth. How do you know you’re completely rid of your connection to her?” Diana’s gaze drifted downward to her lap.
“Because we both know that Matrix has clients in Vegas and I go out there routinely.” He lifted her chin, fighting the urge to kiss her. He’d wanted to get them inside his car downstairs, and enjoy her body all over again. Until it was more than apparent she needed the whole truth, and he needed to be rid of it in a way he’d never felt before. “You realize that the graphics community is small. I’ve seen both Mia and Frazier at professional events. I’m fortunate the healer wasn’t a quack. I was assured the bond was severed and I believe it was.”
Eradicated was more like it. The process had nearly killed him in the treatment. Mated leopards had bonds wired into their DNA. His alpha leopard nature didn’t allow him to mate and forget. Some shifters who weren’t full blood were able to fuck a circuit around town and around the globe. He wasn’t one of them. He owed his friends big time for helping him find his way back to sanity. For years his DNA had been unmarked.
He sniffed, inhaling Diana’s appealing scent. Now, he was close to losing his head and his DNA. Would his heart follow? Years ago it hadn’t and that had been the key to getting his life back. He’d never lost his heart or soul completely to Mia. He’d been solo for so long …
Maybe that’s why he couldn’t let Diana go through this alone. Being solo was a desperate business and he’d had friends to help him. He’d taken time off to get his head screwed back on, and then it was business as usual for the last six years.