“We did. For as long as I can remember, it was just me and him. My mom bailed when I was a toddler. Dad never remarried. He said he only had room in his life for one woman.” She said the last sentence with a smile.
“He was a good father. He would want you to be happy, especially when you look at that picture. Aislinn, you could be a photographer for National Geographic with art like that.”
“You never call me, Aislinn,” she said, cocking her head to the side as she took him in.
He smiled as he moved closer to her. He made sure to stay on the other side of her kitchen island since he couldn’t trust himself to keep his hands off her. Aislinn took a deep breath as if she were about to free herself of some unwanted secret.
“The day my dad passed away, I got the call from National Geographic. That photo landed me my dream job.”
Leo wanted to shout with pride, but he could tell by her somber expression he shouldn’t.
“Why not take it?” he asked cautiously.
“The same reason I’m still living in this damn apartment. I can’t seem to leave my dad behind. National Geographic will send me all over the world, which is a dream come true. Once my dad passed away though, I feel as if I’m leaving him behind.”
“You have to look forward, huntress; always forward. Your father would want that, and you deserve that.”
“You act like you want me gone.”
“I want to see you happy.”
“I’m happy with you.”
There it was. The giant elephant in the room. Leo had known his brief chat with her when they had both been out of their minds with desire had been frivolous. He also knew he shouldn’t have ever showed up as her date for the wedding. Now, they both had to deal with the painful goodbye.
“Aislinn, I’m only temporary. You shouldn’t let me keep you rooted here anymore than your father.”
“I know I’m not your true mate, but is there really that much harm in seeing where things go with me?”
“It would be different for me. If my true mate would come along, I wouldn’t have any qualms about leaving you behind. It would be as easy as breathing. You on the other hand, it wouldn’t be so easy.”
“Modest, are we?” she said with a hint of a smile.
“You know my meaning.”
“I’ve been lonely for so long, Leo. I’d rather take my chances at the heart break then walk away.”
He tried to force the words out of his mouth that needed to be said. Instead he kept thinking she was right. They were two lonely souls that had found companionship in a kindred spirit.
“On one condition.”
“What’s that?” she asked, eagerness showing in her eyes.
“You call National Geographic back and see if you still have a shot.”
12
Aislinn
Aislinn’s heart beat wildly in her chest as she soaked in Leo’s proposal. She refused to let herself believe they would be short term, hoping for the possibility that somehow she would be his true mate. He closed the distance between them, tilting her chin up with his thumb when he finally stood in front of her. She felt like she was drowning in his unique eyes. They weren’t quite cat like all the time, but they weren’t exactly human either. They were a beautiful shade of amber, like liquid gold.
“You are mine, for now, huntress,” he whispered.
“I like that.”
He sealed it with a kiss, brief, yet powerful. Then he walked off into her foyer, returning with her cell phone in his hand. Leo was nothing if not persistent. She took the phone and stared at it for a while before she flipped through her emails to find the one she had received about her job offer. With a hesitant smile to him, she hit the phone number to dial it.
Just when she thought no one was going to answer, a man’s voice came on the line.
“This is Ed Harris, human resources. How may I help you?”
“Um, yes, my name is Aislinn Burke. I had been offered a job in the photography department and was wondering if by chance it was still open?”
The line went silent, but she could hear him typing on the other end. She looked over at Leo who shot her a wink. Even after their night together, the simple gesture made her blush.
“Okay, Ms. Burke. Yes, I see we offered you a position. Unfortunately, that position has been filled.”
“Okay, well thank you for your time.”
“Might I suggest responding to our emails a bit sooner the next time. The picture you submitted was phenomenal. We were disappointed to have not heard back from you.”
Aislinn wanted to respond and tell him about her father, but she knew in a professional stand point that really wasn’t much of an excuse. Life went on even when someone was in the midst of soul crushing grief.
“I’ll do that, sir. Thank you,” was all she managed to say.
“Speak to you soon, Ms. Burke.”
She disconnected the call and tossed her phone on the kitchen island.
“No dice, they already filled the position,” she told Leo with a shrug.
“They’ll call back. He didn’t say goodbye, he said he’d talk to you soon. That’s a good sign.”
“You heard that?”
Leo let his eyes take on that of his lion’s, reminding her that he was more than just human. Aislinn nodded with a slight smile.
“I don’t know how I keep forgetting that. When do you have to be back to the butcher shop?”
“It’s the weekend, so I’m good until Monday. My customers don’t really have much work for me over the weekend.”
“What do you normally do on the weekend?” she asked, wanting to know everything about him.
“Usually, I work on my pelts, and I hunt.”
“Since we’ve already been hunting together, I could show you around my city?”
He shrugged his agreement. Aislinn took off to go change her clothes and get ready. When she came back, Leo had his head bent into her fridge. She slapped her forehead, feeling like an idiot for not realizing the man would probably be hungry. Normally, she would drink her coffee and possibly eat a protein bar, but that was about as exciting as her breakfast usually was.
“I’m sorry. We can grab some food while we’re out. There’s a great breakfast place right around the corner.”
“What do you normally eat for breakfast?”
“Uh, coffee or sometimes a protein bar.”
“It’s the most important meal of the day. It’s no wonder you’re so skinny. Come on, I’ll show you to a proper breakfast.”
Aislinn wanted to laugh because she was by no means skinny, and the fact that Leo seemed so serious. She stifled the giggle and grabbed her purse to follow him out the door. He seemed very upset about her eating habits. She tossed him the keys to her vehicle without even thinking and climbed in the passenger side. He started it up and then turned to her. It took her a second to realize he needed directions.
“I’m sorry I’m not firing on all cylinders yet today. Go left, and then the breakfast place is two miles ahead on our right.”
“Long night?” he asked with a wink.
Aislinn blushed redder than ever before at his words. They hadn’t spoken about what had happened the night before, but every time she moved around, she was reminded of it by her soreness. That and the fact that she hadn’t showered so she still smelled like him. Aislinn wasn’t sure she was ever going to shower again. The man smelled amazing. Even now, having spent the night in a different environment, he still had his masculine, earthy scent.
Their day passed by in a blur of normalcy. It was as if they had known each other for years instead of days. Leo took in the city with her, seeming to actually enjoy himself. Aislinn didn’t know if she’d ever be able to bring herself to leave the city where her father had raised her, and they had so many memories. Leo was like a chameleon instead of a lion. He just blended well with whatever atmosphere he was in at the time. Seeing him hunting in the woods of his small town, he had looked at him, b
ut he looked just as at ease strolling the city streets.
When they made it back to her place, she was afraid their time together was coming to a close. Leo had touched her less as the day went on, and once they had pulled into her home, he had grown silent. Aislinn’s nerves were a wreck. She just wanted him to pick her up and carry her back to her bed, but it felt more like he was about to say goodbye.
“I enjoyed your city, huntress.”
“Thanks for spending the day with me. I had fun. I always have fun with you,” she rambled on.
He tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. She found the gesture extremely sexy.
“I must go home.”
She nodded. He leaned down and kissed her softly. Aislinn had had enough of his tenderness for the day. She wanted the man from the night before that had grabbed her hair and kissed her hard. She grabbed his shirt, yanking him closer and pressed her lips against his harder. Leo stiffened at first, but then he used his thumb that was still on her chin to demand entry into her mouth. Aislinn easily obliged. The kiss became carnal instantly.
Leo growled against her mouth, yanking her hips against him. His hand slid off her chin and into her hair, gripping it hard. Aislinn moaned. Leo tore his mouth away from hers as if he were in pain.
“Leo,” Aislinn whispered, leaning her head against his chin.
“We can’t huntress, you’ll be too sore.”
“I don’t think so.”
He smirked at her response, and then trailed his finger down her nose and lips.
“I must go before I can’t resist you and hurt you.”
“You won’t hurt me, Leo.”
He growled with indecision. Aislinn loved that he was fighting himself over his decision. He wanted her like she wanted him. She had a feeling he was right about her being too sore, but it was worth it to her. Anything with Leo was worth it to her.
He kissed her once more and then pulled himself completely away from her and headed to the door. Aislinn rushed after him, feeling as if their bubble of happiness was about to burst.
“When will I see you again?”
“When are you free next?”
“I could come down to help you in your shop day after tomorrow.”
“It’s a date. Maybe we can go hunting after.”
“Maybe,” she said with a blush.
For the first time in her life, she had other things on her mind instead of hunting.
13
Leo
The worst part of walking away from Aislinn was the not knowing. Leo wanted her to be his true mate, as badly as he could sense she wanted it as well. He thought possibly after their coming together and spending the next day with each other, he would have felt it come forward. As he drove home though, he was still vacant.
Since he had left the pack behind him, he had never really missed being a part of a pack, until now. If he were in a pack, there would be other members he could seek out for help or guidance. He knew he wasn’t the first shifter to fall for a human that wasn’t his true mate, but he felt as if there was more to it. There was something so strong about his pull to Aislinn, he couldn’t give up hope.
Leo yanked his truck off the first exit he came to and turned around. It had been over a century since he left the pack. He had no idea how welcomed he would even be, but he had to go try and find some answers.
Hours later, he pulled into the familiar shifter town. Things hadn’t seemed to change in all the time he had left. Cubs of all species roamed the streets, and families were outside enjoying time with one another. There were only a couple hours of daylight left, but Leo knew that wouldn’t mean much in a shifter town. There were just as many nocturnal animals roaming about that would keep the town awake, even in darkness.
He wasn’t sure if the same lion was even still Alpha over the town, or if he lived in the same house, but that’s where Leo headed first. Luck was on his side, the Alpha, Brian, was sitting on his same front porch when Leo pulled up. All eyes turned on Leo when he got out of his truck.
“Leo? Is that you?” Brian asked, standing up and making his way off the porch.
“In the flesh,” Leo replied.
“My Goddess, it’s been too long old friend.”
Leo let out the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. Brian still saw Leo as a friend, even after all the years of separation. Leo embraced Brian when he approached, making sure to dip his eyes in submission. Leo could have been an Alpha in his own right, but he hadn’t wanted the responsibility.
“What brings you back after all these years?”
“I need some advice, and I had no one else to turn to.”
“That’s one thing about leaving the shifter world behind, there will always be a time you need us,” Brian said with a smile.
“I suppose so.”
“Come, tell me all about her.”
“How do you know it’s a her?”
“There’s not many things in life that can make a man come back to a life he left behind for centuries. The most obvious one is a woman.”
Leo chuckled a bit as he took a seat next to Brian on his porch.
“She’s human.”
“Human? Congratulations. It can be a bit tougher with humans, but just as fulfilling a bond. Is she familiar with shifter ways?”
“She knows what I’ve told her, but prior to me she didn’t have any real interaction with shifters.”
“Is she overwhelmed by the mate bond?”
“No, that’s not the problem.”
Brian took in Leo for a second, not saying anything.
“There is no mate bond, is there?”
Leo felt like hanging his head in shame. It had made sense to him when he had decided to seek out information, but now that he was here having Brian say the words out loud, Leo felt like a fraud. He was just another lonely shifter, trying to bend the rules to make himself temporarily happy.
“Leo, you are my friend, but I must be blunt with you and tell you to leave this woman be. You’re only setting her up for heartbreak. I’ve seen it happen too many times.”
“I know. There’s just such a pull to her, I can’t seem to fight it. I thought for certain it would happen, or there was something I was doing that was stopping it from happening.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself, Leo. It’s hard to be alone. Won’t you consider coming back to live amongst your kind? There are so many new families here, your mate may be right here.”
Leo hadn’t thought of ever going back to the shifter town, but it had its appeal. If he could find his true mate, then he could let Aislinn move on; the sooner the better. He was being a coward.
“I’ll think on it,” he finally said.
Leo stayed and chatted with Brian well into the night. Even though he was exhausted, he decided to make the drive home. He did his best thinking at his cabin in the woods. There were no outside influences or noise. His thoughts were muddled since his talk with Brian.
Part of what Brian said made sense. If Leo didn’t want to be lonely any longer, maybe his best bet would be to be amongst his own kind. Living in the middle of nowhere surrounded by humans wasn’t going to help him find his mate. Leaving Aislinn behind though was cowardly, especially after their night together. He had told her it would be temporary, but leaving now would destroy her. He had to stay.
By the time he got to his house, he was mentally drained. He crawled into his bed and fell sound asleep. Aislinn assaulted him even in his dreams, though. There was no peace for him from the woman.
14
Aislinn
Aislinn knew they had decided to go hunting, but for once in her life she was hoping for rain so they’d have to postpone their hunt. She had dressed up, making sure to bring her hunting clothes just in case. After three attempts to curl her hair, she had given up the notion that it would ever stick and left it straight down her back as always.
Her drive had felt like forever because of her excitement to see Leo. She had lied awake the p
ast two nights, going over their night together touch by touch. His parking lot was empty when she pulled in and killed the engine. After a few deep breaths, she made her way into the butcher shop.
Leo wasn’t out front, but she wasn’t sure if she could go back into his shop without contaminating anything, so she waited. He came through the swinging doors a few minutes later, his expression somber as he cleaned his hands on a towel.
“Hello.”
“Huntress,” he purred, even though it lacked his usual timbre.
“Is everything okay, Leo?”
She knew it wasn’t, her heart was pounding, and her stomach felt like it was in her toes. The atmosphere between them had changed drastically since he had left her place.
“You came to cut meat, no?” he asked, ignoring the elephant in the room.
Aislinn decide to bide her time for the inevitable and nodded. Leo led her back to his shop and dressed her in an apron and long gloves. Neither of them spoke, just soft smiles and stolen touches. Then Leo handed her a knife and showed her to a deer. Aislinn knew how to process a deer, she had done it a million times with her dad. Leo put on his gloves and stood across from her at another metal table with a giant cow in front of him.
They worked in silence together. Aislinn would stop occasionally and watch Leo work. His long teeth were descended most of the time, which she probably should have found weird. Instead she found it arousing. Everything about him was arousing. Knowing the physical strength he had behind the swings he made into the meat made her womanhood throb. Aislinn knew what it was like to be under his strong hands.
She finished her deer before he did his cow. While she waited, she cleaned the workspace she had been on and then kept going, avoiding the one he was working on. The silence between them wasn’t awkward, it was telling. Aislinn knew what it meant, she just didn’t want to admit it to herself. If Leo was going to walk away, he was going to have to say the words.
Leo finished and cleaned up. There was still plenty of daylight left for hunting.
“Think we could snare a few rabbits? I could make another stew,” she said, finally breaking the silence.
“I’d love a walk. I could show you my stream?”
She nodded and gave him a small smile even though she was walking towards certain heartbreak. Leo locked up and they headed down the small-town street in silence.
Summer Shifter Nights Page 44