by Kathy Lyons
She was fertile.
“A baby,” he said. Then he repeated it more strongly. “A baby.”
“What?”
“Stop me,” he said again. “Or have my baby.” He inhaled again and nearly lost himself to the magic of her scent. “A shifter baby. Now.”
His pants hit the floor. His organ thrust forward, thick and proud. He paused a moment to let her admire it. Their child would have his strength. Their offspring would survive. She must see that.
“Put on a condom, Hank.”
His gaze caught hers and in that moment, he felt his humanity slam forward. The biology burned strong, but her eyes caught his soul. She kept him from toppling into raw need without thought or restraint.
“Hank?”
I choose balance. I choose sanity.
A mantra, repeated over thousands of hours. He latched onto it like the lifeline it was.
“Magic is a force,” he said. “Stronger in some than others.” It was the first thing his teacher had told him so long ago. And the words came hand in hand with the mantra.
She frowned, and her head tilted slightly in confusion. He couldn’t blame her. The last thing either of them wanted right now was for him to lecture her on shifter life. But it was the only way to hold onto his rational mind. That, plus the steady connection of her gaze.
I choose balance. I choose sanity.
“I gave myself over to it,” he rasped. “Earlier. To fight the hybrid outside.”
Her eyes widened, and her gaze hopped to the window, but he couldn’t lose her eyes. So he reached out, his hand jerking too hard, too fast. He stopped a split second before he touched her, and she looked back to him. And that settled him enough to speak rationally.
“You’re safe,” he said. “But I…” He swallowed. “I want you.”
Her expression softened. “I want you, too.”
His abdomen rippled at her words, but he held himself rigidly back. She had to understand.
“And babies?” he rasped. “The magic wants babies.”
She bit her lip. “Yes, I want children, but not right now. That’s why you need a condom.”
His bear snarled at the word, and he heard her gasp in surprise. She also straightened, pulling herself into a sitting position while he fought himself. The drive to have her seared him, pushing every cell forward to her. But he kept himself back.
I choose balance. I choose sanity. He voiced it inside his head. He repeated it beneath his breath.
“Hank?”
“I choose balance. I choose sanity.”
She nodded, and she gently grabbed his hand, tucking it tightly between hers. “What can I do to help?”
“Get dressed,” he rasped. “But hold my gaze.”
She complied, though it was awkward. She held their eyes locked together as she pulled on leggings, which hid her fertile scent. The tunic came second, bra ignored. He saw in his peripheral vision that her hands shook, but her gaze remained steady on his.
“I choose balance. I choose sanity.”
Then a third voice cut through the air. It was hard and cold. The voice of his alpha, and both bear and man listened. The bear because it had to, the man because it chose to.
“Step into the hallway, Dr. Lu. I will handle Hank.”
Like hell. No man came between him and the female, even his alpha. He bared his teeth and forced out words. “She stays.”
“Hank!” the alpha snapped, and Hank could hear dominance in every word. “Get control!”
“She. Stays.”
Cecilia froze, her hands raised in surrender. “I’m not going anywhere, Hank. I’m right here.”
The alpha shot her an irritated look. “You don’t know what’s going on here.”
She snorted. “The hell I don’t. He spent the night protecting us. God knows when the last time he slept was. And then he scented…then he.” She swallowed. “He wants—”
“To mate, Dr. Lu. He wants you.”
She dropped her hands on her hips. “Well, duh. And you getting between me and him is just going to rile him up.”
“He’s dangerous.”
The female bared her teeth at the man. “He’s in control. Aren’t you, Hank? Remember? Balance. Sanity.”
He dipped his chin. He was in balance. He was in control.
“How about you put on your pants?” she suggested.
Hank growled low and deep, but the human mind returned to the frozen balance point of control. And with it came the bear, however reluctantly. They had trained too many times in this for it to refuse.
I choose balance. I choose sanity.
He looked down, consciously seeing the clothing and imagining what he had to do. His body obeyed because he required it to. And when it was done, he looked at the female.
“I am balance,” he said to her.
“Yes, balance.”
“I am sanity.”
“That’s good, Hank.”
“And I am bound to you.”
“Um…what?”
Chapter 10
Too fast, too complicated, and she was too tired to make sense of things. After the best orgasm of her life—and God, if nothing else, Hank sure as hell knew how to give oral—suddenly she was dripping with fatigue and trying to understand words that used to make sense.
“What do you mean ‘bound’?” she asked.
The newcomer—she guessed this was Simon—snorted in disgust. “We all think we’re bound when we’re exhausted, and a pretty woman lets us lick her.”
Okay, she wasn’t too tired to understand that, and heat bloomed over her entire body. But before she could react further, Hank growled. Yes, an honest-to-goodness growl. Simon drew up short, his expression tightening into fury.
“Don’t embarrass her,” Hank snapped.
“Don’t challenge me. You won’t like the—”
A woman’s voice cut through the growing tension. “Oh my God, can we go through one night without a testosterone-fest?” A handsome black woman stepped into the room. Her face was beautiful, but what Cecilia noticed most was that she exuded strength. Not just her muscles but the steel that lay underneath the teasing words. “Here,” she said to Simon as she handed him her tablet. “This okay?”
Simon had no choice but to grab the equipment or let it fall to the ground. Then he was glaring at the screen while the woman turned to Cecilia and held out her hand in greeting.
“Hi, I’m Alyssa. That’s Simon, chief chest-beater. You’re Dr. Lu, right?”
“Um, call me Cecilia.”
“Good choice. We’re likely to get pretty friendly over the next few days as you get up to speed.” Her gaze roved over the entire room. There was no change of expression, just a full awareness of the situation. Hank, Cecilia, and the thoroughly mussed bed.
“Um…” Cecilia began, though she had no idea what she was going to say.
“You’ve had a pretty eventful night. You understand about shifters now, right?”
“That they exist? Yes. Understand them—”
Alyssa chuckled. “Don’t worry about that. Nobody does.”
Meanwhile, Simon tapped the tablet before handing it back to Alyssa. “That’s fine. And you could have sent that yourself.”
“I know,” Alyssa said with a grin. “But sometimes you need to take a moment to clear your mind of all the…” She waved her hand vaguely around. “Scents in the air.”
Which is when Cecilia figured out that the smell of sex was probably perfuming the entire bedroom. She hadn’t thought her face could heat any more, but she was learning all sorts of new things tonight.
“So here’s the report,” Alyssa continued. “Sammy’s asleep, appears to be fine. Same with Mother. Wolves haven’t responded to email yet, and Hank has been going full tilt for at least forty-two hours. Cecilia here has been kidnapped, dragged into the shifter world, and attacked. I’ll bet she had a bit of a meltdown and now…” She made a vague circle with her finger at the room. “Everybody needs
sleep.”
Hank straightened. “I will not leave her alone.”
Simon grunted. “He thinks he’s—”
“Bound to her. Yes, I heard.” Alyssa looked at Cecilia. “It’s a thing some shifters do with their mates.”
“Mates?” Cecilia squeaked, panic making her voice high and tight. “As in sex mate or…um…”
“Forever, uber-married mates,” Alyssa said, her gaze hopping to Simon with the kind of warmth that only appeared on the silver screen. And more surprising, the buzz-cut leader softened in response. Their fingers entwined though neither even appeared to notice.
Meanwhile, Cecilia snuck a glance at Hank. Could he really feel that way about her? She doubted it. He looked…fierce, defensive, and more than a little intimidating.
“Look,” Cecilia said, thinking about the science. It’s what she always did when she felt uncomfortable. “There’s a lot for me to study right now before the bodies decompose.”
“You need to rest,” Hank said, his voice firm.
Yes, she did, but she also needed to get away from all these people with their emotions and things that she didn’t understand. “So yes, I had a little meltdown—”
Hank released a low rumble. It was like a warning sound and she had the strongest urge to stroke his arm to soothe him. She didn’t. She just looked at him and felt at a complete loss. What was she supposed to do now? Damn, she hated feeling unsettled like this.
Meanwhile, Alyssa focused back on her. “I would have had a massive meltdown if I were you.” Then she flashed Cecilia a conspiratorial smile. “I was you, only in reverse. I shot him, then kidnapped him.”
“What is it with all the kidnapping?” Cecilia abruptly blurted out. “I mean, you could have just sat me down in a conference room or something.”
“No, we couldn’t.” That came from both men in almost identical rhythms.
“Great,” Alyssa snorted. “Shifter stereo.” Then she turned back to Cecilia. “You’re dead on your feet. Do you think you can sleep? The adrenaline is about to drain right out of you, if it hasn’t already.”
It was going fast and at Alyssa’s words, Cecilia felt her body begin to ache with weariness. Like the words had made her aware of something that had been there for a while now.
“Um…”
“Right.” Alyssa’s hand shot out on one side, Hank’s on the other. They both guided her to sit on the bed. “There’s two beds here. Okay if he sleeps on the other?” She shot Hank a dark look. “You can sleep, right? And not crawl all over her.”
Hank straightened up as if insulted. “I can rest but—”
Simon interrupted with clipped tones. “Then it’s an order. Sleep.” That was for Hank. Then he turned to her. “Dr. Lu, we’re expecting a lot from you as soon as possible. So get your rack time now.”
She wanted to argue, but Alyssa was right. The adrenaline was fading fast and now she was crashing. She didn’t even have the energy for the shakes. And though her mind was hopping like a rabbit on caffeine, there was no cohesion to her thoughts. Which meant there was no way she could work.
“Cecilia,” Alyssa repeated. “Do you have a problem with Hank sleeping in the second bed?”
“I’ll feel safer with him here,” she said. Then a split second later, she wondered how that could be. She’d only just met Hank. They barely knew each other, and yet the feeling of safety persisted while she sank into the mattress.
“Then it’s settled,” Alyssa said. “You two sleep. Simon and I will cover things here. Any science-y stuff you want us to handle while you rest?”
Cecilia’s head hit the pillow. The world was starting to spin, and she needed to be lying down while that happened. But even so, she managed to answer the question. “Record the decomposition. I’ve got baseline pictures on Hank’s phone. But a comparison—”
“Got it.” The woman snapped off the light and Cecilia heard footsteps traveling away.
“—is important to establish where the breakdowns occur and why. I have an idea…” Her words faltered. She had an idea, but it skittered away from her. She needed to study the cellular structure at the seams. That would provide the biggest clues. There were areas on the hybrids where human clearly changed to animal. The cells at the seam could help her understand the transition process.
Her thoughts continued to spin. She let them drift because she had no strength to control them. Meanwhile, she heard Hank move. She waited to hear the creak of the mattress of the bed next to hers, but she didn’t. Instead, there were muted thumps and sounds on the wrong side. The side next to the door.
She cracked her eyes open. “What—?”
“I’m going to sleep between you and the door,” Hank said. “You’ll be safer that way.”
She lifted her head and stared down at the pillow he’d tossed near the open bedroom door. “Don’t you trust Simon?”
“He’s my alpha and he’s sworn himself to protect his people.”
She frowned as he stretched out beside her. “So why are you on the floor?”
“Because even powerful alphas can be overpowered.” Then he reached up a hand to connect with hers. She was still deciding if she wanted to make such a friendly gesture with him when her fingers entwined with his. Apparently her body wanted to hold on to Hank.
Huh.
She was still wondering how she felt about that when sleep claimed her.
* * *
“Cecilia. Cecilia, wake up.”
Cecilia did not want to wake up. The thick fog was comforting, the steadiness of a low rumbling breath nearby marked time in a really soothing way. Though now that she thought about it, she couldn’t hear it right now. Still, she remembered it and settled back into its gentle rhythm.
“The wolves are coming.”
Her eyes shot open as her legs shoved out from under the blanket. She used their weight to pull her body upright, but she was unsteady and dizzy. Thankfully, large hands caught her. She leaned into their strength and eventually found her balance. And then she blinked as she tried to focus on the sight in front of her.
Male chest. Dark skin. Sculpted pectorals that bunched as they steadied her. Dark nipples. Tight chest hair.
Pretty, pretty, pretty. Male perfection right there to greet her bleary eyes.
She smiled and reached out to touch all that perfection. She felt his heat before her fingers connected. She knew the skin would be satiny smooth and was pleasantly surprised when she felt the muscles twitch beneath her caress. Strength pulsing right beneath her fingertips.
And then her mind woke up enough to collect her scattered attention. Pretty, pretty got pushed aside in favor of something else.
“Werewolves?”
“Yes. I knew you’d want to see them.”
Damn straight she would. She just had to wake up.
Hank’s hands released her. She mourned the loss of his heat, but she could sit up on her own now. He pressed something to her lips. She smelled chocolate and peanut butter, and quickly opened her mouth.
She closed her eyes a moment, savoring the taste and the knowledge that pretty soon she’d have some blood sugar. She ate another three bites, thinking she ought to be ashamed for letting someone feed her, but at the moment, she needed to get her brain online. God, if only she could have…
“Drink this. Careful it’s hot.”
Green tea. Yes. Just what she needed.
She managed to wrap her hands around the mug. It wasn’t her favorite tea, but if brewed right, it had enough caffeine to wake up a two-by-four. And it was her mother’s favorite drink so that brought her comfort. Both aspects were very welcome right then, as was the man who was awkwardly shuffling his feet in front of her.
She quirked a brow at him in question.
“I know it’s stereotypical,” he said. “Mother likes it, so we brewed a pot. But if you prefer coffee—”
“What’s stereotypical? That Chinese people like tea?”
He nodded.
“
Most Chinese people do like tea.”
“And you?”
She smiled as she inhaled the fragrance. This was quality tea brewed hot, and the caffeine was starting to wake her up. “I like caffeine and chocolate. Hot drinks are a great way to get both.”
His eyes took on a mischievous look and she lifted her head to see it more clearly. He had something up his sleeve—metaphorically speaking—and she wanted to know what it was.
“Don’t tease me, Hank. Not about my sacred foods.”
He reached into his pocket and drew something out. He had angled his body to hide what he was doing, and she was nearly distracted by the cut outline of his oblique muscles. Nearly. Because a moment later he showed her God’s gift to exhausted women: an expensive chocolate bar with espresso bean chips.
“Oh my God!” she gasped and nearly spilled her tea while trying to grab the bar. He held the chocolate out of reach, but that didn’t stop her from following it with her eyes.
“I stole it from Sammy’s stash.”
“She’ll kill you.”
“She won’t wake for another day. I’ll replace it before then.”
“You better. I’d hurt you if stole mine.”
He grinned as he squatted down in front of her. “What will you do if I give this to you?”
“Not kill you for teasing me with it.”
He grinned as he ripped open the foil packaging. He broke off a piece and held it out.
“Are you expecting me to beg for it?” She would. Despite the Powerbar and the tea, she was still hungry and feeling off her game. Sugar, espresso, and chocolate would give her a needed short-term boost.
“Just a kiss.”
Her gaze shot to his, startled enough to search his eyes for extra meaning. His tone had been teasing, even flirty, but in his eyes was a seriousness that belied everything else. That one look brought everything from last night rushing back. Not just the hot times in this very bed, but also the way he’d apologized to her at the hospital before slamming her into the car upholstery and zip-tying her hands and feet. She remembered him as a black bear teaching Sammy how to speak like the best big brother ever, but also the way he ripped apart the hybrid in front of her. All of it came rushing back with a force that had her reeling.