by Crissy Smith
Behind her eyelids, she could sense something. Piper opened her mind as it was filled with a bright white aura.
“Baby, love, whatever you’re doing keep it up,” Jace panted out.
Since she wasn’t certain she could hold onto the light and speak, she nodded. Jace increased the speed and the whiteness flared brighter.
“Yes!” he shouted, pounding harder.
She clenched hers eyes closed as the glow exploded, raining down to cover them. Jace yelled and she could faintly hear her own scream as they both flew past the edge of climax.
Jace pumped a few more times before dropping his full weight down on her. Her body continued to tingle with little aftershocks, and when she opened her eyes, the overhead lamp seemed brighter.
Tucking her face into Jace’s neck, she tried to blink to clear her vision.
“Are you okay?” he asked, petting the side of her neck.
“Eyes hurt,” she told him.
“Hang on.” Jace carefully pulled his soft cock from her.
She rolled and buried her face into the comforter. The minute Jace turned the switch off for the lights, she felt a little better.
“Thanks,” she said.
The bed dipped as Jace joined her once again. “Let me see.”
Cautiously she faced him. His fingertips under her eyes were gentle.
“Can you open them?”
Once again she fluttered her lashes before peering up at him. Jace’s sharp intake of breath panicked her.
“What? What is it?”
“Your eyes.”
What in the hell had she done? Was she going blind?
“Shh, calm down, honey. It’s okay. The color changed. It’s this amazing swirl of green, yellow and brown. They’re not hazel but just circles of the three colors. Here. Sit up slowly.”
Jace helped her and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Can you see okay?”
The curtains filtered out most of the sunlight but she could still clearly see around the room. She ran her gaze from the couch to the dresser. Her vision was clear but somewhat sharper. “I can see, but it’s different,” she told him before zeroing on Jace’s face.
She raised her hand. God, he was the most breathtaking man she had ever seen. His dark eyebrows were drawn in a frown, so she smoothed her fingers over his forehead. She didn’t want to see him worried.
“Maybe we should take you to the hospital,” he suggested.
“No, I really am fine. I just feel different—more aware somehow. But I feel good.”
He relaxed slightly. “Do you think it has something to do with your gift?”
“Maybe? I’m not really sure but I don’t know what else would cause this. How do you feel?”
Smiling, he grasped her free hand in his. “Wonderful, content and happy.”
“What in the hell happened?” she wondered.
“I don’t know but I don’t think I’ve ever come so hard in my life.”
Piper laughed then laughed again when—for the first time ever—Jace blushed. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him close. “I love you so very much.”
“I love you too.”
“But nothing I said or agreed to when you were driving me crazy will stand,” she warned.
He sighed.
“We will come up with a plan together. The four of us. And only when we are all in agreement will we proceed. I won’t have you in danger any more than you would allow me to be.”
“I know. I didn’t believe it would work but I had to give it a try. Plus, it was hot teasing you enough to get you to agree to anything.”
Piper lunged forward, knocking him onto his back. He rolled, and she ended up beneath him with their legs tangled together. She cupped his balls and squeezed gently. He tensed, freezing.
“It seems I have the ability right now to get you to grant me whatever I want.” She rolled her fingers.
Jace pumped his hips and Piper was pleased to see that his erection started to grow. “Mmm.”
“I’m already a slave to you.”
Oh, she liked the sound of that. “Really?” she asked, before bending her head and licking just the tip of his cock.
She jerked her head away when a pounding sounded on the interior adjoining door.
“Fuck!” Jace swore.
Piper bit her lip to keep from laughing.
Jace climbed off the bed, shaking his head. “Get under the covers,” he ordered.
Piper scrambled to yank the comforter down and slid between the sheets. She pulled the blanket up above her shoulders as Jace dragged on his jeans.
Mitch’s hand was raised to knock again when Jace threw open the door.
Looking between Jace and her, Mitch smiled and winked. “Sorry to interrupt but Cody just called. They want to meet tonight.”
“Damn.” Jace ran his hand roughly over his jaw. “Okay, let’s decide how to handle this.”
Mitch entered the room with Bobby on his heels. Piper tugged the large comforter closer to make sure that she was fully covered. Jace could have at least given her time before he invited their friends inside the room.
A glance in Jace’s direction showed a small smirk playing at his mouth. Oh, he thought he was funny. She should show him and get out from under the covers but she wouldn’t and he knew that. There would be some payback.
Bobby’s face was flushed when he sat on the empty bed.
“You okay?” she asked him.
He bobbed his head up and down.
“Are you sure?” Why wasn’t he looking at her?
Mitch chuckled and sat beside Bobby, slapping his arm. “Excuse our young friend here. He heard some loud…sounds a little while ago.” He winked at Piper.
That was when she understood. She and Jace had gotten very loud. “Oh my God! She buried her face in the blanket. “Kill me now.”
Jace patted her head and she glared up at him. Didn’t he just look so damn cocky!
Chapter Eight
Jace glanced around the dim bar getting his bearings. Cody had agreed to meet with there with his friend, although Jace got the distinct impression that Cody didn’t actually like the guy that they were meeting. It was just a feeling that he’d gotten when Cody had been talking with him at the house.
That was the main reason Jace didn’t want Piper or Bobby anywhere near him yet.
Jace didn’t like leaving Piper and Bobby at the hotel alone, but he had to trust that they could indeed take care of themselves.
Mitch stood by his shoulder, and Jace knew that he was also taking a good long look around. “I don’t see Cody.”
“Let’s take a walk around and just double-check the room before we sit,” Jace suggested.
“Good idea.”
Slowly they did a sweep of the small bar, checking out if anyone seemed interested in them. There were only three tables that had patrons. Two tables consisted of mid-class, office worker type people. The other was occupied by a single older man who ignored everyone in the place.
Jace motioned to the far booth at the back. He took a seat facing the door while Mitch remained standing beside him.
A waitress with an unnatural dyed blonde hair and way too much makeup came out of the back hallway and strolled over to them. “What can I get you guys?”
“Two light beers on tap, please,” Jace ordered. They wouldn’t drink but at least it would make the woman happy. Jace kept his gaze trained at the entrance, even when the server brought over two large, dripping mugs.
“Keep the change,” Mitch told the waitress, paying for the beers.
Mitch pushed Jace’s drink closer to him. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah, I just want some answers,” Jace told him. “This thing with Piper’s eyes? I mean what the hell?”
“That’s what I’m talking about. Piper’s not the only one I’ve noticed a change in.”
Jerking, Jace split some of his beer. “What?”
“It’s just…” Mitch leaned closer. “Don�
��t you feel different?”
Jace opened his mouth to assure his friend that he was the same as always but paused. He did actually feel a little bit off. Sharper somehow. He’d noticed first in the hotel room that his eyesight and sense of smell seemed better.
“Huh,” he grunted. “Maybe.”
“If this guy can give us some answers then I think we should listen. We don’t have to show him all of our cards but we can learn something here.”
“You’re right.” Jace nodded. “Hopefully this guy will be able to help solve some of our uncertainty.”
The front door opened and Cody walked in with a man close on his heels. The stranger had black hair cropped short and looked military. Jace tensed. He hadn’t considered that this mystery man might have a connection to the armed services. How would a werewolf even begin to blend in with trained military men?
That complication would have to be added into the plan. Mitch hacking into the government files could get him and all of them into a shitload of trouble.
Cody and his friend started to walk over, and Jace openly assessed the new guy. The swagger of the man’s hips and easy roll of his shoulders spoke volumes to Jace. This man wasn’t just trained. He was a leader. Jace would bet he was an officer. Captain, would be his best guess.
“Jace Anderson, Mitch Bryant,” Cody introduced. “Captain Vince Blackwell.”
Mitch and Vince shook, then Jace rose and offered his hand. Vince took a tight hold of Jace’s hand and he…sniffed him. Actually sniffed him.
Lifting an eyebrow, he smirked at the stranger. “Yes?”
Vince’s expression showed surprised. “I apologize, that was rude of me. Instead let me offer you congratulations.”
Glancing back at his friend, Jace wondered what the man was talking about. Mitch only shook his head.
“Thanks?” Jace asked.
Vince frowned. “Maybe we should sit?”
Jace slid back in the booth with Mitch following beside him. Vince settled across from him before Cody motioned to the waitress for two more beers.
They waited until she had dropped off the order and Cody had paid before speaking.
“I meant no disrespect earlier. I believed that you were aware of the permanent step you took with your mate,” Victor said quietly.
Jace shared a look with Mitch. “Can you elaborate?”
Victor leaned forward. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
There seems to be a lot of that. “That’s makes two of us. What do you mean…the permanent step?”
“You mated with your lycanthrope. I can sense the bond,” Victor confided.
“Lycanthrope?” Jace asked.
Victor smiled. “Werewolf. Shape-shifter.”
Well at least the guy was sort of on the same page as them. “And you can sense that I was with a werewolf?”
“It’s a little more than that. You’ve committed yourselves to one another,” Vince told him. “Did your partner not explain things to you?”
The conversation was going too far, too fast. “Let’s slow down,” Jace requested. “We’ve come to get answers.”
“Cody explained that you wished to speak with me. I just was so excited to observe the mate bond. I’ve never met a mated pair. And you’re still completely human.”
That was good to know. He had no idea how he and Piper had…mated? He wished Piper was there with him now, but he needed more answers first. “We appreciate you meeting with us. You don’t mind answering some questions?”
“I don’t. Cody told me about the two of you. I also may have dug into your files—legally, of course. But I would also like to ask a few questions of my own.”
“That’s fair,” Jace agreed.
“Great.” Vince sat back and picked up his brew. “Please go ahead.”
“So are you one of them?” Was it right to ask? He wasn’t sure but that seemed like a very important start.
“I am.” Vince waved his hand. “Don’t worry. I expected the question. When Cody called and told me about your conversation, I figured you knew more than you told him.”
“You’re also military?” Jace questioned.
“Yes, I’m the psychiatrist Cody spoke with when he returned from his mission. The one he confessed to what he’d seen.”
“How long?”
Vince shook his head with his brow furrowed.
“How long have you been…changed?”
“Oh, I was thirty. Almost fifteen years ago now. I had a friend who had been granted the gift and he revealed his secret. I asked him to change me too.”
Knowing the man had asked for the same thing that had happened to Piper and Bobby made Jace’s stomach roll, but he was also intrigued.
“What about you?” Jace directed his inquiry to Cody.
“No, I have no interest in being turned. He’s shared a lot about what he is so I can understand what I saw.”
“So you know a lot about the shifting?” Jace asked Vince.
“Sure. I made certain I had all the information before I asked to be changed.”
Excitement replaced Jace’s anxiety. Hopefully he would finally be able to get Piper the information she needed. He had so many questions that he wasn’t sure where to start. Plus Piper would have more. “Would you be willing to meet with my partner?”
“I would love to. There are so few of us that having another someone to talk with would be great. My buddy was transferred and I haven’t seen him in years.”
Jace hadn’t been prepared for the easy acceptance from Vince. Other shifters had avoided both Piper and Bobby. He looked over toward Mitch. A slight shake of his head told Jace that Mitch wasn’t sure either.
“I guess the biggest question we have is what can we do to make sure they…she remains safe?”
“Safe from what?” Vince asked.
Shit, this was awkward. Did this guy really have no problem with people finding out what he was? “Is there anything we need to know about hiding her difference?” Jace enquired.
“Ah, is she recently changed then?” Vince asked but didn’t give Jace time to answer. “Normally the person who chooses to accept the bite of a lycanthrope is given instruction on how to proceed. The rules, if you will. We can’t have everyone finding out about us.”
“And if she didn’t want the bite? Was changed against her will?”
Vince’s sharp intake of breath had Jace tensing.
“That’s impossible. No one would dare—”
Jace leaned forward. “I can guarantee you that someone did indeed dare,” he interrupted. Not only had Piper been forced into her new form, but so had Bobby. Vince was being very forthcoming, but Jace didn’t want to give the man everything just yet. He’d wait until Mitch had checked Vince out before they brought up Bobby. “And we need to know what we need to do to protect her.”
“I understand.” Vince clasped his hands together in front of him. “I would really like to talk to her. If I can help, I hope you will give me the chance.”
Jace leaned back against the booth. What other choice did they have? This was what they wanted, after all. “Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll talk to her.”
Reaching in his pocket, Vince pulled out a card. “I’m off tomorrow but then I’m afraid I will be out in the field to oversee a training exercise—so the sooner, the better.”
Jace accepted the card and slid it into his back pocket. “I’ll give you a call in the morning.”
The group stood. Jace first shook with hands with Vince before turning to Cody. “I appreciate you setting this up.”
Cody smiled but it looked strained to Jace. Knowing his nerves were strung tight, Jace dismissed it. He needed to get back to Piper.
“I’m glad things are working out for you,” Cody told him before turning on his heels and heading toward the door. Mitch walked with him, speaking softly.
“Mr. Anderson.” Vince stepped in front of Jace.
“Call me Jace, please.”
“Jace, I would li
ke to say that no matter how it happened, your woman is lucky to have received such a gift. And being mated to her? Well, like I said, I’ve never met a mated pair and am very excited for you both.”
“How do you know that we’re mated then? Jace questioned.
“Other than the fact I can smell her on you?” He chuckled. “Let’s just say that one of my abilities is being able to recognize the bond between others. I can even do so with humans. Your link with your mate shines through you. You are human but a shifter or werewolf—whatever you want to call it—has claimed you as their own.”
“I don’t actually understand what being mated is all about,” Jace confided.
Patting his arm, Vince nodded. “Let me meet with your mate. I believe I can help both of you.”
As he watched Vince walk away, Jace rolled his shoulders, feeling the stress of the encounter start to drain away.
They’d revealed to an outsider about Piper. Now only time would tell if they would finally have the answers they’d been searching for or if Jace would have to take Piper on the run, once again.
* * * *
Piper knew the minute that Jace stepped off the elevator and was making his way to their hotel room. She sprinted to the door and had it open before he’d even reached into his back pocket for the key.
Since Jace and Mitch had left, she’d been experimenting with the new sensations she was picking up. Bobby had been intrigued and happy to help. She’d found that she could tell where Bobby was, no matter where he hid in the adjoining room. There was a link that if she closed her eyes and concentrated, she could follow to Bobby.
As soon as Jace had been on the floor to their room, the connection she had with him had seemed to brighten. She hadn’t been able to actually see where he was, but she could almost feel it.
Having no idea why she could now do these things kind of scared her but at the same time, she was excited.
When Jace looked at her, he reached out and pulled her against his body. Piper let herself be embraced. It felt so nice to be back in his arms. He hadn’t been gone long but she hadn’t liked being separated from him, not knowing if he was safe or in danger.