Birk laughed. “Oh, you’re not going to get peace anytime soon, my friend. She’ll have you married with kids before long.”
Kotori sneered at him, and Birk shook his head, amused. What would his grandmother say if she knew they would both share the hunter’s daughter?
“At least she respects me as the leader—well, around others.”
“Private lectures, huh?”
Kotori winced. “Enough to make my ears bleed.”
They rode in silence for a while as Birk thought over the situation. “She is right, though. Shiya here means trouble. She didn’t come alone. I smelled a human near her place tonight, the same scent I picked up outside the restaurant and near a couple of the shops we visited. It could be a coincidence, but I doubt it.”
Kotori nodded. “The tip-off we got that the famous Keith hunters coming to Alaska was right. They always send in someone to scope out the situation, who confirms the presence of shifters. Then they move in. Backers and investments mean they can afford to do this full-time and pay off whoever they need to keep it all quiet.”
Birk slammed a fist against the steering wheel. A new idea struck him. “If we capture her heart, she might betray her family.”
Kotori’s eyes widened. “Do we want to do that? We’ve never deliberately set out to make a woman fall in love. We’ve always made it plain it’s about the sex and nothing else. Neither of us wants a mate.”
“It’s below the belt, I admit, but she knows her family’s intentions, doesn’t she? She came here knowing if she learns what we are, her father or his men will try to kill us. Should we give a shit if she gets hurt?”
Kotori stared out the front window and rubbed the scar on his neck. Birk knew he did that when he mulled over a decision that could cost him, just like the one that caused him to get the wound in the first place.
“You already have feelings for her,” Birk said.
“I do,” Kotori admitted. “A little, but I’m never going to mate with a human, and she will never come before family. Period.”
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
Chapter Three
Shiya walked into her suite and shut the door. She leaned on it with her eyes shut and waited for her heart to stop pounding. Their kiss was everything she had imagined and more. In what world, what fantasy had she ever come up with that meant being involved with two men at once? Two men who knew about it and were okay with it? Her sexual experience wasn’t vast. Hell, it consisted of one man, and as scared as she felt at going through with this idea, she would do it. Maybe tomorrow night.
She pushed off the door and bent to remove her boots. Then she carried them to her room. Sitting on her bed, she paused to touch her lips, amazed at their numbness. She didn’t even know they could swell from just a kiss. Yet they had. She bent down to remove her socks and tossed them on the floor.
When Birk touched her face, she felt like he took total control of her body just from that spot. All she wanted to do was tilt her head back and let him have what he wanted. She’d basked in the sensation of his lips moving over hers, and the taste of his tongue sweeping her mouth. He held her close, but what wet her panties was the meaning in his touch, as if he laid claim and all she had to do was spread her legs. In fact, in that moment, she’d wanted him to unzip her pants, snatch them down, and just fill her full with his cock.
Where Birk’s kiss and touch were possessive and made her head spin, Kotori’s could be defined only as untamed. He’d been rough in lifting her off her feet, his mouth on hers unyielding yet demanding. Fear had swept her being when he dragged her closer and squeezed her ass, because it seemed like Kotori held himself in check by a thread. If he let go, the man might break her, and she was ashamed to admit that she craved his wildness. She wanted him to manhandle her. Just like with Birk, she had longed for Kotori to rip her clothes off, bend her over, and fuck her brains out.
“I must be insane,” she muttered to the empty room and stood to stumble over to the full-length mirror on the wall. With flushed face and heavy breaths, she stared into her eyes. “They’re not human, Shiya.”
The reality of her affirmation refused to clear her clouded mind, and when someone knocked on the door, a buzz of excitement rose inside thinking it might be them come back to demand more. She grinned as she went to answer. With her hand on the knob, she sucked in a breath and schooled her expression not to appear too eager. She opened the door and froze.
“Joe.”
“Hello, Shiya. Can I come in?”
She remained where she was, saying nothing. When he called earlier, she’d hung up on him and didn’t answer his texts, except to write, “I’m fine.” She should have known he would show up, but then her dad never told her he’d assigned Joe to watch her. Both her sisters were assigned a team to assist them on jobs, one man ordered to stay closer than the others just in case. On more than one occasion, her sisters had been saved by their protector, even though both women could kick ass themselves.
“Why are you here?”
He stepped forward, and she backpedaled a step to keep from brushing him by accident. “You’re on a job, aren’t you? Your first?” He said the words as if a child should get the reasoning, and she frowned at his back.
She slammed the door and put her hands on her hips. “I mean why are you here? I know you’re not my protector.”
He scanned the room as if looking for someone lurking in the shadows. She passed him and shut her bedroom door. The chastisement in his glare at her didn’t mean a damn thing.
“I am your protector now. I asked your dad to put me on it when you didn’t check in.”
“I’ve been here exactly twelve hours. I haven’t had time to—”
“You’re supposed to check in before takeoff and after. Then again when you make contact. You did none of those.”
“I spoke to my sister.” Why the hell did he make her feel like a disobedient child? Then again, he’d always had that ability, and maybe she gave him the power in the past—since he had been her first. Not anymore. “Like I said, I haven’t been here long, so that really didn’t give you the time to find out I wasn’t following procedure and to get a plane out here.”
He sighed. “Shiya, the team is in Anchorage. Do you really think we’d all sit on our thumbs in San Diego waiting for you to confirm whether these men are shifters? Or do you doubt your skills? You all but confirmed with that computer thing you do before we even cleared you to take this job.”
“We didn’t clear me to take it. My dad did, and I don’t want you here.”
He moved closer to her, and it took everything inside to stand her ground rather than run away from him. She knew the power he used to hold over her, and she could tell herself he no longer had that ability, but testing it would not happen tonight. When he touched her cheek, she smacked his hand away. The love reflected in his gaze drove her nuts, and she gritted her teeth.
“What happened to us, Shiya? We were good together.”
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah, we were good, all right. Your ambition to be my dad’s right-hand man got in the way.”
His jaw tightened. “There’s nothing wrong with ambition, and me moving up in the ranks could only help us. I make more.”
“I don’t need your money.”
His lips thinned into a straight line, and she took in his features. Joe stood at six foot one, and his pale blond hair, coupled with green eyes, used to make her heart pound. He worked hard on his build, and she had to admit he still looked good, but she would never be the priority in his life.
At twenty, in college, she’d fallen for the man she’d thought was so sexy, so badass because he worked for her father. Ten years ago, Joe seemed larger than life, and when she found the boldness to ask him out, she’d been over the moon because he accepted. Her sister Shae, her closest sister, told her to be careful of her heart, but she hadn’t listened. For a while, nothing mattered except Joe, and when he took her virginity,
she gave it willingly because he already owned her heart.
Looking at his mouth now, she recalled his kisses. Joe’s loving held tenderness with every touch, and because of it, she’d comforted herself with the fact that he cared about her. Loving her more than the job was the problem.
He turned and strode away from her. She wanted to tell him to get out, but some part of her desired him to stay.
“I want us to get back together,” he said, and she gasped. He faced her, determination in his eyes. “That’s why I’m here. I told your dad my plan, and he agreed to make me your protector. He knows I will die to keep you safe.”
She bit off a screech and balled her hands into fists. “Are you serious? When are you and my dad going to get it into your heads? I run my life, not you. I make decisions about whom my lover will be, and it’s not going to be you, Joe. We broke up three months ago. You should have moved on by now.”
“Like you have?”
She blinked at him.
“I saw you let those things kiss you.”
“It’s part of the job,” she bit out. “My sisters do it all the time.”
“This is your first assignment. You can’t afford to take chances. I think—”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you think. Get out of my room.”
“Shiya.”
“I mean it, Joe. Get out!” She stomped over to the door, yanked it open, and waited for him to pass by. He didn’t move. “If you don’t leave, I’m calling my dad right now and telling him you’re here for me and not taking your job seriously.”
“He knows me better than that.”
“Do you want it in his head?”
He frowned. “We’ll pick this conversation up again. Check in. Follow the chain of command, Shiya.”
She resisted yelling “fuck you” and slammed the door behind him. After clicking the lock into place, she removed her clothing, threw on a robe, and grabbed a mini bottle of alcohol from the refrigerator. She didn’t even check to see what it was before she poured it over a glass of ice. With the lights turned low, she sat in the alcove by the windows and raised the blinds so she could look out at the water. The liquid gave a satisfying burn as it slid down her throat, and after a few sips, she began to mellow out.
Was it wise to jump into bed with Birk and Kotori with so many unresolved emotional issues over Joe? She didn’t know, but then again, if her heart was taken, she couldn’t fall in love with them. She could leave this at sex, and why should she feel guilty either way? Any man who felt fine about sharing his woman with another did not love her. Birk made the offer. He admitted to doing it before. She was nobody special to him, and she wouldn’t dare consider a serious relationship with a shifter. Enough said.
* * * *
The next morning, the knock on the door revealed Kotori, and Shiya smiled up at him. “Hey, you, where’s Birk?”
Kotori, smoking hot in jeans and black jacket, exuded a magnetism that drew her into his arms for a quick kiss. That she did so surprised her, but neither of them resisted the impulse. Rather than push his tongue into her mouth, though, he left it at parted lips and a brief suck on her lower one. All kinds of delicious sensations stirred in her lower region as she pulled him inside so she could get her coat.
She thought she saw a frown on Kotori’s face as he breathed in, but it disappeared as fast as it surfaced. “He had an emergency surgery, but he will catch up with us later.”
Shiya paused in pulling on her coat. “Aw, is the animal okay?”
He stared at her for a minute.
“Kotori?”
“He’ll be fine. Birk’s good at what he does.”
“A regular Dr. Dolittle?” she joked and then chided herself. She had to stop making these stupid mistakes, insinuating that he could talk to animals because he was one, or they would catch on to her.
She submitted when Kotori did what Birk had done. He buttoned her coat for her and lifted the collar to be sure she would stay warm. Not wanting to think of what would come later when her job concluded, she pushed the darker thoughts aside. Kotori hadn’t bothered to respond to her question.
She wondered about what he’d said the night before about always speaking the truth. Was that his method, to not answer anything he would have to lie about?
“You wanted to ride the tram?” he asked instead.
“Yes! I think it will be fun to look down on Juneau. I hear the view is breathtaking.”
They left the room, and Shiya noted, instead of Birk’s SUV, they rode in a Bronco. The massive tires with deep tread screamed Kotori. She had to climb to get into the passenger seat, and he shut the door behind her. When he sat behind the wheel, he turned over the engine and shifted gears.
“I noticed both of you have stick shifts. Is that just boys and their toys, or what?”
Kotori drove to the street, threw on his turn signal, and turned right. “No, most vehicles here in Juneau are stick shift. Most are four-wheel drive because of the weather in winter. You don’t want to get into trouble trying to drive on snow and ice with anything less.”
“That makes sense.” Shiya hesitated and then reached across to put her hand on his thigh. The hard muscles contracted beneath her touch, and she chewed her bottom lip. She watched in awe as the front of his pants tented. He must be massive under there, and she couldn’t wait to have him stretching her walls and plowing as deep as he could go. She would wait for Birk to be with them, though. If this fantasy happened, she’d have it all.
They arrived at the tram station and found parking. Kotori paid the admission fee, which included all-day unlimited rides. Looking up at the top, she wondered if she’d even want to ride again after one time. Her stomach stirred with butterflies, and Kotori took her hand.
“Don’t worry. It’s only seventeen hundred feet up.”
“That is so not funny.” She rolled her eyes at him, but he smiled and leaned down to kiss her.
They waited their turn to get on the tram along with a large group of other people. Shiya found a spot at the back to look out the window, and Kotori stood behind her. He towered so high above her head, he would have no trouble seeing, and she grabbed his hand to put on her waist. He gave her a light squeeze as the tram began to climb Roberts Mountain.
Over an intercom, a woman shared interesting facts about the wildlife, the city, and the tram. Shiya half listened while focusing on how close the tops of trees appeared. When they were high enough, she marveled over the city, clinging to the shoreline as if the mountains crowded it out. The sight took her breath away.
“Across the bridge, is that still Juneau?” she asked Kotori.
“This side of the Gastineau Channel is Juneau, which includes the downtown area. On that side is West Juneau.” He moved his finger left of the bridge. “Down that way is Douglas Island.”
When the ride ended, they wandered along the trails, enjoying the tropical forest–type vegetation. When Shiya spotted bears some distance from where they stood, she grabbed Kotori’s hand and froze.
“Bears! I didn’t realize there are bears here.”
Kotori hugged her. “It’s okay. They have platforms where you can view them closer in a safe location, but don’t worry, I will protect you. Sometimes they come down to the city. They smell the garbage. Everyone is supposed to have bear-safe lids, but things happen.” He shrugged.
From his casual stance, she figured this was a standard way of life for him, and it was no big deal. She’d never seen anything bigger than a raccoon or a possum that wasn’t closed off in a zoo.
“Do you not like bears?”
Her answer to his question appeared to be important to him, and she turned away. She’d forgotten for an instant what she believed him to be—a polar bear shifter. The bears she spotted were black.
“I like bears just fine,” she said. They continued walking. “Kotori?”
“Yes?”
“You’re Native American, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“What tribe?”
“Tlingit.”
Her blank stare brought a smile to his handsome face that made her forget everything but him. He traced a finger over her nose, staring into her eyes. Between them, she felt his hard-on pressed into her stomach, and she wondered if it was perpetual, or did she just turn him on all the time? The latter pleased her to think.
“I bet you thought I would say something like Cherokee?” His eyes flashed amusement.
“Please, I’m not that ignorant,” she asserted and spun away. “Tell me about your people.”
He didn’t hesitate, which made her think he shared what was common knowledge, stuff to be found on the Internet. He would not, for example, tell her what percentage of them were shifters, and what kind of animals. For a minute, she wished they were close enough for that level of honesty, having nothing to do with her family or his.
“We call ourselves Lingit, which means ‘people of the tides.’”
Shiya pounced on this information. Polar bears were animals that loved being in or near the water. The correlation interested her.
“We’re traditionally hunter-gatherers, and extend mostly in Southeast Alaska and Western Canada.”
“Cold areas?”
He nodded. “You heard me speak my language to my grandmother. There aren’t that many native speakers of it here in the United States, less in Canada. It’s a shame, but because of it, I made sure to learn and keep it fresh in my memory. Interacting more with English speakers makes that difficult. Except, of course, when talking with my grandmother.”
Shiya flinched. “Your grandmother doesn’t like me. I think I offended her when I didn’t want the potion.”
“Devil’s club juice,” he corrected. “Don’t worry about it. She is set in her ways and is very traditional. Unlike me, she has no need to integrate with society and lives on the mountain. She comes down only to sell her wares.”
Shiya thought she saw frustration in his expression. She patted his arm. “I know how that is. My mother had her ways too. It drove my dad nuts.”
Juneau Heat Page 3