Hunger's Mate

by A. C. Arthur

  They’d only been eighteen—some would say that with pity and/or empathy for what the twin teenagers had gone through under the hand of the older, much more experienced daughter of the tribe leader. She was as powerful in that tribe and throughout that forest as she was gorgeous and sexually alluring. And to the boys who only two years before had experienced their awakening in the world of shape shifting, she was a walking, talking wet dream. Only the dream became a stark reality as they soon became Acacia’s sex toys.

  She taught them everything there was to know about the physical act of being pleasured and pleasing a partner. Through the gatherings in a sweaty hut, lit by torches in the twilight hours she showed them how dark sexual pleasure could go, how intense the need could churn and how fearsome a Shadow Shifter could be in slaking that need. She showed them that there was only need, only hunger, and in the end, never love.

  Inevitably, Ezra now thought, she’d shown the brothers that emotions and addictions were for the fragile and that in the Shadow Shifter world there was absolutely no room for weakness. Everything that had happened between them was a game, a means to an end for the lovely princess. Sleeping with and toying with the minds of the young Topètenia trainees was a jab at her father, a disgraceful alliance Acacia had hoped to use against Teodoro in retribution for him sending away the shifter she truly loved. In essence, the twins had been used as pawns, their grandfather and his legacy disgraced by the shame that Teodoro and his tribe brought down on them.

  The most unfortunate part was that none of these events had hampered the desire that burned inside Eli and Ezra, the need that chewed at them constantly. Despite what Acacia had done they still wanted to sleep with her, still felt drawn to be in her arms, until they had no choice but to seek help, to seek out the shaman in search of some type of solace from the addiction that they now knew could destroy them and everything they were supposed to be.

  And once they’d finally found relief, Acacia had sent her minions for them. She’d died that night, alongside the shifters that had dragged the twins to her hut. All of them had died at the hands of Ezra and his twin. There were moments when Ezra thought they may have had the easy way out. Living and breathing every second of every day with the memories never seemed to be a victory in his eyes. Instead it bore down on him like a sadistic curse.

  Now, the blaring lights from his laptop were the beacon. It was, for now, the call back to reality, to the life that he had to continue to lead, no matter what pain the past held. The waiting screen pulled him out of his reverie and Ezra immediately sat up, putting his fingers to the keyboard. Taking a deep breath he reached into his pocket and pulled out the USB drive he’d had with him while he’d worked at the lab today. Inserting it, he waited for the contents to appear then clicked on the first file.

  For the next few hours he read, submersing himself in the world of chemical and biological warfare. His stomach clenched with all the projects he had knowledge of, all the ways supposedly intelligent humans had come up with to kill other humans. It was almost dawn when he clicked into the final file titled: The Genesis Project.

  Chapter 6

  “Finally,” he whispered. “I’ve finally found you.”

  Lawrence Crowe sat back in the leather chair of his home office, staring at the video he’d just received. It was her, he had no doubt.

  Of course there was a wig and sunglasses, but he’d know that body anywhere. Every step she took was like her hand stroking along his naked body. His dick grew harder as the video played, as she moved from the building to her car, her hands sliding along the steering wheel. He remembered her hands and her hot little mouth, so eager to please. He remembered everything about her, everything about the way she made him feel on a daily basis. He also remembered that she’d stolen from him and she’d run away. Two things he could not forgive.

  He’d told her to never run away, to never leave him. She’d promised she wouldn’t. And then she had.

  His fists clenched, anger mixing with the delicious slices of arousal sifting through his body. It was a familiar mix, one that he instantly associated with her. Sure, there had been other females since she’d left, substitutes for his one and only, for the one he knew from day one was meant to be his. Reaching down, Lawrence gripped his arousal, squeezed the burgeoning length as hard as he could, harder still when his teeth clenched with the pain. He loved the pleasure that inevitably followed.

  With his other hand he touched the gun that lay right next to his computer, the cool black metal sending quick spikes of adrenaline through his bloodstream.

  “I’ve got you now, my little blossom. I’ve got you and I’m not letting you go this time,” he spoke to the screen, to her getting out of her car and heading toward what looked like the loading entrance of a building. “You’re gonna love seeing me again, love doing all the things we used to do.”

  As Lawrence continued to talk, his eyes glazing over the computer screen, he released his erection so that he could palm the hot length, jerking with all the memories flitting through his mind.

  “You’ll be back where you belong. And so will my diamonds. I’ll have my woman, my fortune, and the biggest invention since the nuclear bomb. I’ll finally have it all.” The last was said on a whisper, a gasp of breath as he jerked his erection even harder, rubbing his thumb roughly over the slit on its head, clenching his teeth with the pleasure. His release was close, he felt the sweet pressure tightening his sac, his thick body trembling with anticipation.

  Then he saw it. He saw him coming up behind her, talking to her, touching her. The hand on his dick loosened, the hand on his gun tightening, finger pressing slightly against the trigger. His teeth clenched again, this time so hard he could hear them chattering against each other.

  “Get your filthy hands off of her! She’s mine! Do you hear me?” he roared at the computer screen as the two finally slipped inside the door of the building, out of his sight. “She’s mine!”

  * * *

  Jewel awoke with a new sense of urgency, a new purpose. She wanted to buy a house, to have a place for her father to live, a porch for him to sit on and remember the good times. There was no reason for him to stay in the nursing home. His condition wasn’t changing. He had type 2 diabetes and would be blind for the remainder of his life. The lymphoma he’d suffered from had been in remission for almost three years now, which meant she could take care of him on her own.

  She could find them a nice secluded house maybe on an island where there were beautiful sunrises and sunsets. All she had to do was get some cash together and resign from her position at the resort. Then they would be all set to leave, forever.

  When she entered the office there was no one there. Checking her watch, she noted it was still early and was grateful for the forethought she’d had to get up and get herself together sooner than usual. She had some research to do and didn’t want to leave a site trail on her own laptop. Bypassing her desk she headed farther back to where Jacques’s and two more empty offices were. She went into the first empty office and booted up the extra computer. Tapping her fingers on the desk as she waited. All she needed was one buyer, one good amount of cash, and she wouldn’t have to look over her shoulder anymore. If her father hadn’t been so sick when she’d walked away from Larry, she would have done this much sooner. But there was no way he could have traveled then, no way he would have survived both the cancer and the diabetes. So she’d set them up here, in this quiet and picturesque place and after a while, she’d thought they would be safe, thought they could stay here, undetected.

  She’d thought wrong.

  Jewel was tired of being afraid, tired of thinking that if not today, then the next day, or the next one Larry would show up and she’d once again be his slave, his property. Slamming her palms onto the empty desk she cursed herself for being stupid enough to fall into his trap, to believe the lies he told her. But she’d needed him. She’d needed his money. Her father had needed his money to pay the mounting health care bill
s. She’d had no other choice, at least that’s what she’d been telling herself since the first day she’d lain in bed next to Larry, next to that sadistic pervert.

  Now she spent an extra twenty minutes every day donning the costume that made her Jewel Jenner, the façade she’d created for her father’s safety, and for her safety. Today, Jewel Jenner would repeat the process she’d completed three years ago. She would begin to disappear. Again.

  “Each time I see you I’m amazed that such a beautiful female could look so sad, so contemplative, every day of her life. I could ask you why that is, but I doubt you’d readily confide in me. And that, Jewel Jenner, is a shame.”

  Her head had jerked up the moment he spoke the first word. She’d watched his mouth moving until it stopped, her heart beating a little faster, her body heating instantly. He, Ezra Preston, was not a part of her plan. Not the one she’d made three years ago and certainly not the one she was devising now. And yet, here he was, again.

  “There’s nothing to confide, Mr. Preston. You mistakenly believe we’re friends. We’re not.”

  He’d walked inside the office and sat on the edge of the desk, one leg up, the other down, leaning over to stare at her. Or was he looking right through her? Could he see her past? Was that why he kept asking for her to trust him, to confide in him? Maybe he was the one who had been sent to find her.

  Her hands shook as she sat straight up in the chair.

  “If that’s all I can get,” he said while shrugging, “then I’ll be your friend.”

  “I wasn’t offering friendship. And you shouldn’t be in here. The offices are not open right now.”

  “You’re here,” he said simply, as if that were all he needed to say.

  He was dressed in dark blue slacks, a light blue dress shirt, and tie. He always looked perfectly put together, not a wrinkle, not a close-cropped hair out of place. He’d probably had a perfect life too. The best schools, the best jobs, the best parents. Jewel didn’t realize she’d frowned, or that she’d backed up in the chair with wheels until she’d hit the wall.

  “I work here. You don’t. Why are you still at Perryville? Why did you come here in the first place? I know that you know Mr. Germain and Mr. Perry, but why haven’t you returned to wherever it is you are from?”

  She didn’t care. The answers to none of those questions mattered. The fact was she didn’t want him here. She didn’t like how she felt when she was in his presence, how her body felt. It was disturbing, not frightening, but still, she didn’t like it.

  When he stood from the desk, coming around to where she was, Jewel hopped up out of the chair, ready to fight back if need be. She’d quickly, involuntarily, calculated the distance between her and the door, even though she’d already decided not to run from him. Running from one man was enough, still she knew that sometimes it was the only answer.

  “I’m not here to hurt you, if that’s what you’re asking,” he replied, his voice going softer, his intense gaze pinning her to that spot.

  “I don’t want you here at all,” she managed to say even though her body would readily contradict that statement. Luckily for her he didn’t have some type of communication method with her breasts that now ached for his touch, her center that pulsated with the memory of his hands being there.

  “I think you do,” he said, continuing to move forward.

  There was nowhere for her to go and her feet wouldn’t move anyway.

  “I think,” he repeated as he stood directly in front of her now. Not touching her but close enough that she could smell his cologne, his aftershave, and another scent that she didn’t think she’d ever smelled before. She liked it, very much, whatever it was.

  “I think that you want me here. I think you want me more than you’re willing to admit.”

  “Well, I think you’re an arrogant ass,” she snapped back, squeezing her thighs together tightly to stem the heat pooling there.

  “That’s fair,” he conceded, moving even closer to her, his breath whispering over her forehead as he looked down into her eyes. “And speaking of asses…”

  He was so close Jewel thought she could lick him if she wanted to, that spot right on his neck just above the collar of his shirt. Yet, no part of him actually touched her until his hand snaked around behind her to cup her bottom, squeezing thoroughly.

  She gasped, both at the surprise and at the spikes of heat that soared through her so quickly she thought she might literally faint. What was it about him that made her react this way? It had been years since she’d even thought about sex. She hadn’t even used those female toys she’d purchased when she thought it was something she needed to maintain in her life. Her fear was that Larry had completely turned her off men forevermore. And yet, here was a man, whose mere presence threatened to turn her into a puddle of heated desire.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” was all she managed to whisper in response. “You shouldn’t be here in Sedona, not now.”

  Her head shook. “Oh, god, not now.”

  But he was here and he was moving closer, pressing her back against the wall, both his hands on her bottom now, pulling her close so that her breasts rubbed against his broad chest, her juncture pressing just beneath the obvious length of his arousal.

  “Look at me,” he directed and when she hesitated, he said it again. “Jewel, look at me.”

  She tilted her head until she was once again trapped in the darkest, greenest gaze she could ever have imagined.

  “I’m here right now, for you. Let me help you,” he implored.

  Help her with what? The burgeoning need ripping through her body like a torrential storm?

  “I don’t need—” she began to say.

  “I need,” was his rough reply before his lips crashed down over hers. His teeth nibbling along her bottom lip just before his tongue thrust deep inside, inciting and suckling hers.

  Jewel wanted to resist. She wanted to pull away, slap his face, and declare she’d kick his ass if he ever tried such a stunt again. But she couldn’t. All she could do was wrap her arms tightly around his neck, come up on her tiptoes a bit, and fall into that kiss like the proverbial moth to his scorching hot flame.

  She returned his kiss hungrily, loving the taste of his tongue against hers. It was like that unnamable scent he had, only sweeter and she suckled as if it were tops on the dessert list. When she thought he would lift her and wrap her legs around his waist once again, he didn’t, he just kissed her, until she couldn’t think of anything else, until she could barely breathe.

  Her hands flattened on his broad shoulders, feeling the strength radiating right through his shirt. She gripped and let go, rubbing, loving the feel of the heat that puddled beneath her hands. His arms were strong around her, cocooning her, and she pressed in closer. This time she was the one to bite along his bottom lip, sucking it deep into her mouth afterward.

  There was a sound, like an animalistic growl, rumbling throughout the office and for a moment she thought she should be afraid. But she couldn’t. All she could think about was Ezra. The mysterious man who had appeared at the resort only weeks ago. The man she’d caught staring at her on one too many occasions. The man that was now putting her body through one hell of a withdrawal from sex session with a simple kiss. No, that was wrong, there was nothing simple about this kiss, or she suspected, about the man that was kissing her.

  Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was finished. Ezra pulled back slowly. His hands moved upward from her bottom to her waist, but he still held her close.

  “I don’t like to scent your fear. Let me help you,” he said in a voice so soft, Jewel wanted nothing more than to lay her cheek against his chest and tell him everything that frightened and threatened her. And then she felt like she was making a colossal mistake, for the billionth time in her life.

  Jewel pulled away from him then, stepping from the spot where he’d held her, moving back to the desk and the laptop she’d been working on.

  “I work here, Ezra.
And while I’m not sure what brought you to Sedona, I’m almost positive it wasn’t so you could spend your time mauling me.”

  “I want to protect you,” she heard him say from behind her.

  Shaking her head, she informed him, “I do not need your protection.”

  He came around the desk then, smoothing one of those deliciously strong hands over his royal-blue tie.

  “But you will need to eat. I’ll meet you at La Selva at six o’clock tonight. We’ll have dinner and not talk about me mauling or protecting you.”

  Each time he said something to her it sounded like a demand, like an order and she didn’t take kindly to it. Mostly because it reminded her of Larry’s possessive and authoritative nature.

  “I make my own dinner arrangements.”

  He nodded, still moving toward the door. When he turned back to look at her it took everything in her power to remain seated in that chair. Tall, dark, and heartbreakingly sexy were the only words that could accurately describe him. Tall, he was much taller than her five-foot-nine stature. Dark, his skin was the darkest of browns and so smooth she ached to see it all, every delectable inch of him so she could touch the smoothness, trace her fingers along the muscled contours, drag her tongue along the thick … His facial features were another distraction with his strong jaw and broad nose, his lips a medium thickness that she remembered were sweet and enticing in her mouth. Dammit, her mind screamed while her body buzzed with unsated arousal.

  “I don’t doubt that you can make your own arrangements. This time I figured I’d make them for you. Six o’clock at La Selva. Please don’t be late.”

  And then he was gone. Just like that. Just like he’d appeared out of nowhere, not making a sound to announce his arrival, he’d walked away.

  Dropping her head into her hands, Jewel let out a whoosh of breath, wondering what the hell was going on and how she could possibly stop what seemed like the universe’s desperate need to punish her.