“It’s the truth,” he countered quickly. “But our hair is the same, and we usually wear similar clothes.”
“Is that to confuse people even more?” she asked, curious as to why they did.
“I suppose. It’s just something we’ve always done. We don’t wear the exact same thing.”
“T-shirts and jeans,” Leila retorted, folding her arms across her chest in dismissal at his words. “You couldn’t get much similar than that. And both black.”
“Let’s be grateful for that, otherwise Jay wouldn’t have been able to ride back today. If he’d been wearing white, the blood would have stood out like crazy.” His faint smile twisted, turned sheepish. “I wasn’t thinking about his clothes when I got back here yesterday. Just wanted to be back on the road before too much time passed.”
“Of course. Clothes don’t matter. We could have improvised. You could have gone to a shop, I guess, bought him something new.”
He grimaced. “You’d be amazed how hard it is to actually buy clothes our size.”
“Seriously? I mean large guys aren’t unusual.”
He shrugged. “It’s because we’re tall and broad, but lean too. Clothes don’t fit us great.”
“Huh.” She eyed him, enjoyed the view too, and laughed a little as he clicked his finger to break her out of the trance she’d fallen into. Could she help it he was really, really, really gorgeous?
And Leila knew gorgeous didn’t even begin to describe it. His eyes weren’t just green. They gleamed like damn gems. Jade, to be precise. Not glittery like emeralds, kind of matte, but still so damn pretty she knew the color was about to become her most favorite. His hair wasn’t just blond. Boring yellow-white like hers. It was so many shades, it could have been considered a dirty blonde, but it wasn’t. Nothing about it was ‘dirty’. It was white and gold, ash and even had hints of auburn. It was the kind of color a woman would pay a fortune in a fancy salon to replicate. And he and Jay got to have it for free!
When she took into account his eyelashes, which were ridiculously long, she had to question why God had made it so that two men had such lovely colored hair and long eyelashes, when women would waste hours in beauty salons to look the same.
Life wasn’t fair sometimes, she thought ruefully.
“You can stop gawking now. I feel like a sex object.”
She couldn’t help it. She laughed. Not just at his words which were amusing but at the way he lifted his hands and covered his chest… right where she knew his nipples were.
She rolled her lips inward to stop herself from laughing, but it wasn’t possible. He looked so falsely scandalized that she had to hoot her appreciation at the joke.
“It’s good to hear you laugh,” Kon said softly, a grin on his own chops now. She almost swooned at the sight of it.
It was his first proper grin, and goodness it made him even more beautiful! How was that even possible?
“I laugh,” she replied. “Just, these past two days have been a little nuts.”
“I’m sort of proud that I’m the first to make you bust your guts. Jay’s usually the sweet talker.”
She snorted at that. “Like I wouldn’t have guessed. Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you had to report to Kiko?”
He narrowed his gaze at her. “Aren’t you uncomfortable in here? All alone?”
She blinked at his steady regard. “Not particularly.” She jerked a shoulder. “I like my own company.”
He grimaced. “I guess that’s ironic considering you’ve got two mates who’ll probably pester you from time to time.”
“It isn’t ‘pester’ if you want to be with them,” she countered primly, then wafted a hand. “All those people down there… I have no real desire to learn all their names just yet. I wanted to see where we’ll be living and actually come to terms with the craziness happening here.”
The bed bounced as he settled further onto it, and he propped his elbows on his knees as he stared over at her. For countless seconds, he looked at her. Watched her. Studying her with the same intensity she’d studied him moments before.
Just as she was praying he would like what he saw as she did, he patted the side of the bed. Hesitantly, she approached him. But when he made no move to grab her—not that she thought he would, but she wasn’t sure what he wanted yet—she took a seat beside him.
“What is it, Kon? Didn’t it go well with Kiko?”
“No, actually, it went very well.”
“Did he understand about the money?” she asked, biting at her lips as nerves attacked her.
The pair of them had gone to great pains to assure her that everything would be well, that all would work out all right. She couldn’t see how that was possible, nor that it was particularly fair when she’d committed a terrible crime.
But, it would seem their promises had held out because Kon went on to explain, “We told him about your grandmother, and though he’s not particularly happy about what you did, he can understand. We’ve all done a lot less for family. There’s no rule too small or law too big we won’t break to keep them healthy and safe.”
“So, what? There’s no punishment? Nothing like that?”
He shrugged. “I guess it depends on what you’d consider a punishment.”
That had her tensing. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, he’s asked you to do something. That’s his idea of a punishment, but I doubt it will be for you.”
She frowned at him. “You’re making me nervous, Kon. Just spit it out,” she chided him, pleating at the hem of her blouse again, just as she always did when nerves got the better of her.
“Well, my aunt and, hell, I guess, uncle came up with an idea.”
She held up a hand. “Start from the beginning.”
“It’s a beginning I’ve only just found out myself. One of the founding members of the Clan’s a guy called Jarvis. He’s a great guy. Well, my aunty’s just rolled back into town, and it turns out they’re mated. Hence, the fact my pal is actually my uncle.”
She blinked. “Huh, that is peculiar.”
He smiled a little. “Peculiar is par for the course here, Leila. You’ll get used to that, too.”
She rolled her eyes. “You just found that out now though? About your aunty?”
He nodded. “Kiko told me, because, basically, Jarvis set up a homeless shelter for kids on the streets in the city. My aunty is a journalist with a big heart, and together, they’ve come up with an idea to create a database for homeless kids.”
“That’s a really sweet idea,” Leila said, but she wrinkled her nose. “Isn’t that kind of like a missing person’s list?”
He shook his head. “No, this would be for Shifters only.”
Her mouth rounded in surprise. “That makes sense, I suppose.”
He nodded. “The Clan is trying to help a little girl get out of the human foster care system and brought into our fold. Kiko says the Clan wants to make sure no other kids are lost in foster care.”
She pondered that a second. “Don’t think badly of me, Kon, but I’m curious. Why can’t they just be in foster care? I mean, of course, they need to be with their families, but if they’re orphaned, what makes them different to human children?”
“I’d never think badly of you, Leila,” he chided. “Certainly not over asking a question. To which the answer is, I guess, we shift at a relatively early age. Usually puberty. But, in stressful situations, it’s not unknown for kids to shift really early.”
“Jeez, and there’s nothing more stressful than finding yourself in a foster home, I guess?” She blew out a breath, her eyes flaring a tad at the ramifications of his words. “Could they attack other kids?”
He nodded. “Either that, or simply withdraw out of fear they wouldn’t be accepted. Most humans don’t like Shifters.”
She frowned. “I’m sure that’s not true.”
His laugh was wry. “Did your Church like us?”
“No, but they didn’t like an
yone who wasn’t part of the Church,” she retorted tartly. “Even people in our own faith! If a Seventh Day Adventists didn’t follow the Church’s creed, then they weren’t a Seventh Day Adventist in their eyes.”
“Jesus Christ, talk about blinkered.”
She grimaced. “I know. That’s why I’m glad to be out of that place. Anyway, you were saying.”
“Well, this database, as you can imagine, it’s hard work, but, Jay and I were thinking about it… You hacked into the petty cash fund, didn’t you? In your office?”
She flushed and ducked her head as shame overwhelmed her.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he replied wryly, then reached over to curl an arm about her shoulder. He tucked her into his side and pressed his lips to the side of her head, just above her ear, close to her temple, but more where her hair was… He sucked in a deep breath, and somehow—she wasn’t sure how she knew—realized he was scenting her. Loading up on her essence like she was some kind of intoxicant or something.
The notion probably shouldn’t have pleased her as much as it did.
“How is it the Church thought you were Satan’s whore but let you loose on computers?”
She stiffened. “Satan’s whore?” She whispered the words and dropped the vowels in the devil’s name.
He blinked at her. “You did not just do that. You can say the name out loud, you know.”
“He listens.”
For a second, he just stared at her. Then he ducked his head, but she saw him curl his lips inward, just as she’d done moments before!
“Are you laughing at me?” she demanded.
He cleared his throat. “Maybe.”
“How is this funny? You can’t call me things like that. It’s not right, Kon!”
“I didn’t call you anything. I said the way you talked about your Church, well, it seemed like they called you that.”
“Still, it’s no joking matter.”
“Hell, Leila, you’re going to have to get used to nasty words. They’re used plenty in the big, old wide world.”
“I know. But not in my bedroom.”
He snorted. “Especially in your bedroom.”
Her cheeks pinkened. Again! She growled under her breath with agitation. “You’re talking about what happens in bed.”
“You mean sex?”
“Yes, I mean that.”
“Can’t say the word?”
He asked the question with a mock sympathy that had her gritting her teeth. “Why are you being a jerk?”
“I’m not. I’m being a realist.”
“A real jerk? Sounds about right.” She folded her arms across her chest. “You were saying about Kiko and this homeless kids project.”
His lips twitched, and once again, she knew he was hiding his amusement. Why, she wished she used the curse words he did just to get some of this anger off her chest. Wanting to scream, she instead listened as Kon murmured, “Actually, I asked you a question. How you could hack?”
“I learned at school, of course.”
“I highly doubt schools are teaching kids nowadays to hack into bank accounts. It’s not like a lot of them need the encouragement.”
“My school was Church organized. They wanted us to be computer proficient. Meant we could work from home, stay within the community, and all without having to enter this nasty, old world you were talking about earlier.”
“Jeez, that’s so hypocritical I can’t stand it.” He shook his head, but she saw how repulsive her education had been to him.
She frowned. “Hey, just be grateful I can do something. In my grandmother’s day, they wanted their women dumb. She didn’t learn anything at school, save for how to read and write. Even then, it was to read scriptures.” Leila shrugged. “We had some good teachers, actually. Ones who taught code, helped us develop real skillsets.”
“But not how to hack?”
“No. Course not. I did that by myself.”
“I can’t imagine you rebelling like that. Not when you wear what you do.”
“What does my choice of clothing have to do with anything?” she asked on a huff.
“You’re wearing knee length socks, Leila. Not to be sexy, either.”
“And that means I’m not a rebel?”
“Not when you pair it with a long skirt and long-sleeved t-shirt.” He grinned. “Not that I’m complaining. You think you’re all covered up in that outfit, but you don’t see what I can see.”
Her eyes widened as she peered down at herself. “What can you see?”
“You really wanna know?” he asked, sounding doubtful.
“Of course.” So she could wear something different next time.
Well, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to be attractive for him. But for other men? No way. She had two already. It wasn’t like she needed a third!
“That tee cups your tits better than my hands could. It shows how tiny your waist is, and then totally flaunts your hips. The skirt does skim over your ass, but damn, it clings at the back, and the socks are long, but they make me want to pull your skirt up, and kiss along your calf until I reach the border and kiss even higher.”
Leila’s mouth dropped open then, when she could finally breathe without gasping and sounding like a goldfish out of water, she sputtered, “You can’t say things like that!”
Another of Kon’s incredible grins appeared. “Why can’t I? You’re my mate. You’re the exact person I’m supposed to talk about these things to.”
She blinked. “You are?”
“Well, who else, silly?”
“I’ve never been spoken to like that before,” she confessed.
“Good, that’s exactly how it should be.” He shot her a soft look. “I know you said you were almost attacked, Leila, but… how far did it go?”
She stiffened in his loose hold. He didn’t drop his arm though. If anything, he tightened it about her shoulders. “Why does it matter?”
“I need to know if you’re a virgin.”
She gulped. “Of course, I am. I’m not married.”
“You are now. Well, you will be when we’ve claimed you.”
“How do you do that?” she asked, eyes widening.
“That’s why I need to know if you’re a virgin.”
“It happens through…” She swallowed, unable to say the word she’d been taught to avoid for so long.
“Yes. It happens through sex.”
“I-I can’t talk about this now,” she confessed, feeling her emotions well in a way she just couldn’t handle right then. “Tell me what my punishment is.”
He studied her a second, then exhaled. “If you can hack as well as you do, then we figured you could help Ava with the project.”
“That sounds cool,” she whispered softly, face still downturned to avoid his.
She felt like she’d disappointed him, and that had everything in her tightening up in response.
She didn’t want that. How could she?
Was this how her momma had been?
She couldn’t remember her parents ever kissing in front of her, so she wasn’t certain if they were affectionate or not. Not in private anyway.
In public, Kon and Jay had already shown her more tenderness than her parents had displayed in her twenty-one years of life!
“I’ll take you up to meet Ava now. She’s a funny kid, but she’s great. You’ll get used to her quirks.”
He didn’t say it, but she heard it anyway. You’ll get used to them because you have enough of your own.
“Sex isn’t something we talk about, Kon,” she said eventually, keeping her focus glued on her hands.
“No. I know. But at least we got you to say the word. That’s a major leap in a day.”
“Leap or are you just a bad influence?” she huffed.
“Probably both.”
“If you can’t claim me without doing it,” she said softly, ignoring his teasing words. “that means…”
“It will happen soon,” he murmured
. “It’s a guarantee, Leila. I know you’re not going to be ready for it, but the need to be claimed will ride you as hard as the need to claim you will take us.”
Did he have to talk so graphically?
She unknotted her fingers and covered her face with her palms. “This is so embarrassing.”
“No.” He tugged at her wrists with his free hand. “It isn’t. It’s the most natural thing in the entire world, and you making a mountain out of molehill isn’t going to help matters any. You were born for this, Leila. Born to take us, born to make love to us. Why run from something so intrinsic to you?”
“I’m not running, Kon. I just don’t know how to be. I’ve never had to think about this before, and I wasn’t ready to get married… so I haven’t put myself in a position where this stuff has ever been an important topic of conversation.”
“Would you do something for me?”
She tensed at his tone. “W-What?”
“Trust me. Even if you’re frightened. Know I won’t force you, and that anything we do, you’ll always be safe. I’d gnaw off my own hand before I used it to hurt you.”
She blinked. “B-But what do you want to do?”
“Don’t think about that, just answer my question.”
Did she trust him? She was here, wasn’t she? In this place, in a bedroom she’d be sharing with two men tonight… Hadn’t she already shown them she trusted them?
She gulped, nodded. He leaned over and pressed his lips to her temple. Then, he grabbed her hand and brought it toward him.
At first, she wasn’t sure what he was going to do, then as her hand kept sinking lower, she watched in horrified fascination as he did something she’d never imagined he’d ever do.
When he placed her hand over his jeans-covered shaft, she wasn’t sure what to do.
She wanted to pull away. That was her first instinct. But his hold on her fingers wasn’t mean or cruel, but firm. She didn’t want to test his grip, at any rate.
Her lips were so dry, her mouth too as she stared at the hand that cupped him. It was almost like her fingers didn’t belong to her, but they did. Of course, they did.
He was hard.
She’d never particularly understood the mechanics of sex. Though it had been explained to her, several times, the Church did it in a certain way that had to be more confusing than the truth. They used metaphors and nuance to explain something that had to be simple. She’d researched it herself, but had never dared look too far into it.
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