Devin

by Dana Archer

  He understood that. It was why he’d remained curled around her since they’d arrived at the hotel, mostly in his animals’ forms. Their body temperature was higher, and she’d been chilled.

  “Then take from me. Anything you need.” He waited with his lips brushing hers so their breaths mixed.

  The significance of the act hit him. The intimate kiss was one shifters only shared with their mates or closest lovers. Never had he shared air with another woman, but Lena wasn’t just any female. She was his mate.

  A long heartbeat passed before she kissed him, slipping her tongue into his mouth and stroking it against his. He moved with her, letting her control the moment. All the while his convictions grew. Every one of her caresses eased the pressure on his chest, making him feel normal. At peace. He hadn’t imagined it, and with Lena’s nails digging into his biceps and her softness pressed to his hardness, he could almost forget his mind was broken.

  This woman tamed him. Healed him. She gathered the fragments of his scattered mind and built them up around her. She became his focus, and he eagerly centered his attention on her.

  No longer content to merely enjoy her kiss, he tilted his head and deepened the strokes. He explored her, memorizing the dips and contours of her teeth and cheeks until the sensory memory became a part of him.

  From the moment he’d taken her scent into his lungs, he’d known he’d want to experience more. Every minute since had amplified the need for her, and what he found in her arms appealed to him—her sweet fragrance, her decadent taste, and this…a passion that promised heaven once he joined their bodies.

  As if she desired the same, she slid her bottom closer to the edge of the sink, her legs automatically widening to accommodate his hips. Her pulse kicked up. She kissed him harder. Her hands swept over his back, pulling him closer as if she wanted to crawl inside him. Or she wanted him inside her. A whimpered noise betrayed her emotions.

  The sound of her submission pleased him on so many levels.

  His fangs extended as he too lost control—a first for him. Angling her head, she ran her tongue along the length of one. Her exploration sent sparks of electricity skipping down his spine.

  Moaning, she captured his tongue and sucked. The sensation tugged on his body. He jerked back, completely caught off guard by his instantaneous response. The look he found stamped on his mate’s face nearly broke what little control he had left.

  Slumberous lust. Hunger that darkened her eyes, reminding him of the paintings he’d seen of pagan goddesses. A sexual siren. It wouldn’t surprise him if she was one.

  “Devin.”

  The slightly pleading inflection to her voice did it for him. He wanted to love this woman. Right here. Right now.

  He had to be sure she wanted the same.

  “Lena?”

  She squeezed his forearms. “No sex. I’m not into relationships.”

  Not into relationships.

  That cut him. Ripped him open. His mate was…what? Denying him?

  No. It was better this way. He still didn’t know her. She was still healing too. But…but she needed the skin on skin contact. Touching her made her stronger. While he knew that was the truth, he couldn’t lie to himself. This moment was as much for him as it was for her. She made him feel normal. Sane.

  But the reality was that he wasn’t sane. He teetered on the edge of insanity every minute of every day. And he couldn’t blame her for not wanting to share in it.

  “Just kissing.” He pressed his lips to her cheek. “Got it.”

  He ran his hands over her back. A groan escaped him. Touching her felt too good. Too right. He was playing with fire. In the back of his mind, he recognized the dangers of what they were doing. Still, he didn’t want to stop, not completely. “This okay?”

  She nodded, and he pulled her flush against him, giving her everything he could without the intimacy that came with sex.

  “Honey, I’m home,” Kade announced as he stomped across the floor.

  Lena stiffened in his arms. Instead of pushing him away—the reaction he expected—she dug blunt nails into his back and clung to him. Her breathing turned ragged. Fear fueled her pants, not pleasure. The scent was unmistakable. The change in her mood bothered him. He liked the sexy Lena, not the frightened one.

  He rested his cheek on her shoulder. “Go away, Kade.”

  “Sorry to interrupt you, but you’ll have to finish whatever it was you were doing later. We need to get moving. I spotted more lion shifters in town.”

  Lena trembled. He nuzzled against her cheek in an effort to calm her.

  “How many?” he asked.

  “Four and there are too many humans around to just kill them.”

  The soft sound of cloth brushing against itself warned him of Kade’s approach. His friend cleared his throat once he leaned against the bathroom door. Devin met his gaze in the mirror.

  “I’m assuming you found out where Molly is if you have time to be”—Kade chuckled—“getting to know each other.”

  Devin glanced into Lena’s face. She looked away. He met Kade’s reflection. “Not yet. Lena says she’s safe, though.”

  “Oh? Is that what Lena says? How about she tells us where so we can decide for ourselves.”

  Lena shook her head and pressed her body closer to Devin’s. He wrapped her tighter in his embrace, then glared at Kade. “She doesn’t trust us. Stay out of this. I’ll handle it.”

  “Can’t. That human endangered an innocent kid. We need to get Molly back before she’s given over to her buyers, and you’re not going to get any answers with your tongue down this woman’s throat.”

  Lena gripped his biceps, her slight tug urging him to look at her. He did. Her wide-eyed gaze captured his. “I didn’t sell Molly.”

  “Then where is she?”

  She pressed her lips firmly together in answer. He growled at her stubbornness, and she flinched. The reaction tore another snarl from his throat. He hated seeing the fear in his mate’s eyes when only moments ago passion had hazed them.

  He brushed the damp strands of her hair from her cheek. “Please, sweetheart, we want to protect her too. You need to trust me.”

  Her eyes pleaded with him, the chocolate color deepening. She was going to deny him, feed him some line. He didn’t want to hear any excuses. “Lena, just listen—”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I’m not a stranger to the shifter world. I know what shifters are capable of. I’ve seen it firsthand. Heard stories.” She lifted her hand from where it covered her belly and rested the tips over his sternum. “So many horrible stories. How am I supposed to trust you with a child, especially after what you did to me?”

  He laid his palm over the slashes she’d uncovered. Her skin felt as if it was on fire. He frowned and gently traced the reddened flesh around the scabs, not understanding why the wound looked different. It hadn’t been puffy or pink-tinged before her shower.

  His cats picked up on his confusion and reacted the only way they knew when he was troubled—aggressively. The lion snarled at the tiger and the jaguar trotted over to join in on the commotion.

  He hated when they fought. They tore him up inside. Made his head hurt with their howls. He gave each cat’s metaphysical leash a sharp tug, reminding them Lena was here and she was upset. They calmed. He turned his attention back to the female patiently watching him.

  “I’m sorry.” He slid his hands to her tiny waist, spanning it with his fingers. “I was angry that I allowed the male to hurt you. He paid for it, and you’re safe now.”

  “You tore his throat out.” Her brown eyes that had looked upon him with lust moments ago held uncertainty, but she held his gaze, even as the scent of her fear increased. “You didn’t just kill them. You slaughtered those men. Ripped them to shreds. You were so lost to your rage that you didn’t even notice me.”

  He pressed his palms to the counter and tried to ignore the doubt in her expression. She was afraid of the situation. That was all. It wasn�
��t because she was terrified of him. He’d explained that it was an accident. She had to feel the truth in his words and believe him. She did carry a piece of his soul.

  Then why wasn’t she trying to comfort him? That was what a female did for her male.

  But then again, she was only human. She might not be able to separate her feelings from his. Actually, maybe that was why she was so afraid. She felt his anxiety and thought it was hers.

  The rationale calmed him. He’d have to be more careful of his strong moods around her.

  He ran his thumb over her lower lip. “They hurt you. Trust me when I say males like that would torture you just for fun. It’s a power trip for them. They deserved to die.”

  “You have the right to decide that?”

  “Yes. I’m not human. You can’t hold me to the same standards. But know this, you are safe with me and so is Molly. I won’t lose control again. I promise.” He prayed it was a vow he could keep. With Lena’s soothing fragrance cocooning him, it felt like the truth. He wanted it to be.

  She tensed in his arms. “And how would you protect us?”

  “I’d watch over you.”

  “How?” She dug her nails into his biceps. “Keep us close?”

  He nodded.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Watch our every move? Decide who we’re allowed to be with, and where we can go?”

  “Of course. Your safety—”

  She cut him off with an annoyed little growl that sounded incredibly sexy. “Get this straight, I’m not a shifter female who cowers to males nor will I give up my…Molly to someone I…don’t know.”

  His cats caught the spike in her pulse. Her quick amendment hid something significant. He studied her expression but couldn’t guess what. Whatever she hid angered her though. “What were you going to say?”

  “Nothing.” Lena pushed at his chest. He didn’t budge. She shoved harder. “Back off, Devin.”

  Instead of releasing her, he held her chin and stared into her chocolate-colored eyes. After a moment, black overtook the brown and the tension in her limbs eased. The confirmation that what they’d shared wasn’t an adrenaline surge calmed him.

  “This isn’t over. I meant what I said. I’m not letting you go.” Maybe not ever.

  Kade’s warning chuff stopped her retort.

  Devin allowed his cats to rise and assess the threat. The scent reaching him was weak but distinctive. “Lion.”

  “And he’s been hurt.” Kade motioned toward Lena. “Get your female out of here. I’ll handle the shifter.”

  “No, we need to stay together.”

  Kade glared at him in answer, a silent order not to disobey him. In this, Devin had to disagree. His mate’s needs overrode his leader’s.

  “If there are more waiting for us, how am I supposed to fight them and protect Lena?”

  Kade’s gaze shifted to Lena’s shoulder. He nodded without saying another word. Devin tightened the sash on her robe, grabbed the plastic shopping bag with the items Kade had bought, shoved it inside her duffle, and slipped it over his shoulder. He scanned the room one last time, ensuring they hadn’t left anything behind, then lifted her into his arms.

  “I can walk, you know.”

  He glanced at her face. She watched him warily. The anger from a moment ago was gone.

  “I know, but you’re not going to.”

  “Afraid I’ll run?”

  He didn’t answer. He’d shared enough of his inner turmoil while Kade was within hearing distance. His pride leader didn’t need to know how much he needed Lena’s touch.

  “Don’t I even get the chance to get dressed?”

  “No time. The fewer scenes we cause around the humans, the better. We don’t know what’s waiting for us outside.”

  After a moment, she clasped her arms around him and buried her face into the crook of his neck, obviously choosing not to question his reasoning. Devin sighed. Despite everything, she trusted him enough to seek his protection. He wouldn’t let her down again.

  He brushed his thumb over her exposed leg and focused on Kade. “Why would he come here to confront us? We haven’t masked our scent. He knows who we are.”

  Kade shrugged and flung the door open. The stench of blood lingered in the hall but the male standing by the elevator didn’t have any visible wounds, nor did he look fearful. In the presence of two Royals from a rival pride, the single shifter should’ve been cowering.

  “There’s the thief I’ve been waiting for.”

  The strained lines around the male’s mouth and the way he favored his left side gave away his weakness, but cockiness dripped from his words. He sneered at Lena and casually swung a locket from his fingers. She sucked in a rough breath. “That’s right. I met your sister.”

  “What did you do to her?” Lena asked in an agonized whisper.

  “Oh, she got away, but now that I got a taste of her sweet little mouth, I’m anxious to get her body beneath me.” He tossed the necklace up in the air, then caught it. “That is, unless you want to tell me where the child is.”

  Kade leaned casually against the wall, ankles crossed and a brow raised. “And why would she do that? Delaware is part of my territory. By Council law, the young girl is mine. Your pride has no right to her through adoption or sale. She has a perfectly fine home awaiting her.”

  The injured male turned his pain-laced gaze on Kade. “My alpha paid three million dollars for that kid. He’s got paperwork signed by the Council. As of yesterday, she’s ours.”

  “Three million dollars,” Lena squeaked.

  “Bargain if you ask me. That cub is one of the last unmated white lion shifters alive. My pride leader wants to pair her with his son.”

  “I don’t care how much your alpha paid for her. She belongs to my pride, and I am not selling her to anyone.” Kade stepped closer and leveled his hardest glare at him. “Do you understand me?”

  The other male cringed. “Look, man. If I don’t come home with that kid, I’m going to be punished. She’ll eventually be the alpha’s mate and live a good life and—”

  Kade muttered under his breath about stupid people then moved so fast the shifter didn’t have a chance to block the punch. The snap of bone and the male’s pathetic scream echoed in the hall. Kade grabbed the shifter as he fell and slammed his body into the wall a few times before releasing him. He slumped in a boneless heap on the floor.

  “Let’s get out of here before management calls the cops,” Kade ordered.

  Devin stepped into the elevator, but Lena wiggled in his arms. “The locket.”

  Kade snagged it and shoved it into his pocket.

  The doors swooshed closed, and he glanced at Kade. The concern on his face matched what Devin felt. The Shifter Council, the group of elders from all the animal groups, acted as their government. They were supposed to be the final voice in conflicts, not make deals with any one particular family. Nor were they supposed to condone the sale of women or children. The human government had put an end to that horrific practice a century ago.

  He pushed away the unease. Nothing good would come of it. They’d deal with the Krisban pride when and if they became a problem. Finding Molly came first. It’d be hard to protect the preschooler from threats if they didn’t have her in the first place.

  The doors opened, and they stepped into the basement parking level.

  He scanned the floor, looking for trouble or stray humans, and settled his gaze on Lena’s car. Slashed tires added to the scratches and dents marring the once shiny paint. He didn’t care about cars, but even he felt bad over its sad condition.

  “My car!”

  Kade peered over his shoulder. “Sorry, little human. I couldn’t take the chance you’d run again.”

  Devin clamped his hand over her mouth in case she thought to complain. They didn’t need any more scenes in public.

  Kade opened the door of the Barracuda for them. Devin crawled inside with Lena held firmly to his chest. She struggled against him, pushing at h
is shoulders and wiggling to get free. He crouched over her body, urging her to lie still while Kade got behind the wheel and started the car.

  Heat radiated from her, and a few beads of sweat dotted her brow. He studied her face but didn’t see a reason for it. Only a growing awareness that matched his flared in her eyes.

  “Settle down, my little wildcat.” His breath stirred the tendrils of her hair, and her heavenly coconut smell wafted to him. He licked the rim of her ear. “Okay?”

  She nodded. He waited until they merged onto the highway before easing back.

  The robe gaped over her torso. His gaze followed the path from where the terrycloth barely covered her breasts to her stomach. She quickly covered her bare sex with her hands. While he had plenty of time to look there before she did, the horrible mark left on her smooth skin captured his attention. Blood once again ran in angry lines from the cuts and reddened flesh puffed around the gouges.

  “I told you to stop me if anything hurt.”

  “Nothing did. I felt”—she glanced toward the front seat, then lowered her voice—“good with your hands on me.”

  Maybe she had. It didn’t excuse him, however. He should’ve known better than to let primitive instincts control him, no matter how his rationalization seemed right at the time.

  Devin touched her stomach near one of the cuts. She flinched, and his throat tightened around the sudden lump in it. “Oh, Lena, what am I going to do with you?”

  “Let me go.”

  “I can’t. I promised to bring Molly home. I won’t go back on my word.”

  Lena narrowed her eyes. More sweat beaded on her brow. It didn’t deter from the determination that hardened her features. She was a fighter.

  He met her gaze. Dominant to Dominant.

  “And I promised to protect her. I don’t break my promises either.”

  She wore the look of a female shifter who’d rip the throat out of anyone who’d dare harm her cubs. The sight impressed him.

  “Why do you care?” He had to know.

  With bumper-to-bumper traffic turning the highway into a parking lot, Kade turned around and dangled the locket Lena had insisted they retrieve. “I think this has something to do with your little human’s motivations.”