Perfect Mate

by Jennifer Ashley

  Joe’s body tightened under Diego’s scrutiny. “Let it be known I was cooperative,” the man said quickly.

  “I haven’t decided what to do with you yet,” Diego said. “The human police can be obtuse, which is why I started my private firm. DX Security is more open-minded. I don’t think any of us want a bounty hunter willing to kill Shifters running around loose, do we?”

  “Nope,” Graham said. He smiled too, and his smile held evil.

  “I could let Graham explain a few things to you,” Diego said to Joe. “He’s thorough. I don’t know Cormac well, but I expect that when he gets a little better, he’ll be just as thorough. But I think I’ll have you talk to Eric. He’ll be nice and let you have a beer, but Eric’s little chat will stick with you. Forever.”

  Jace grinned, looking much like Eric at the moment. “Good idea.”

  Joe had gone pale. The man still didn’t fear Shifters enough, but Cormac suspected that after today, he’d learn to fear them as he should.

  “We done here?” Cormac asked, his voice scraping. “I love a good early morning woodland snowfall, but right now I’d rather have a roof over my head and a mattress under my back. And then a good breakfast. Pancakes. With honey. Lots and lots of honey.”

  “Bleh,” Graham said, the big man’s nose wrinkling. “Bears.”

  “Brody can cook,” Nell said. She slid down next to Cormac, snuggling up to him, the tension easing from her again. “Take us home, Diego.”

  ***

  Nell knew that Cormac was worse off than he claimed. When she and Brody got him out of the pickup and into Nell’s house—and onto her bed—he collapsed against the pillows. His eyes half closed, he remained motionless for a long time.

  Nell got him undressed—he’d resumed a shirt and jeans in case any humans saw them after the rescue. Exhausted, she sank down onto the bed next to him. She still wore the black party dress, now torn, burned, and stained with soot and blood.

  Cormac had refused to go to a clinic, and said Graham’s patching up would do. The wound had been clean, the bullet exiting without touching anything major, and Shifters were good at healing. Plus his Collar had never gone off, he said, because he hadn’t attacked anyone. He’d have no Collar fatigue to slow down his recovery.

  Stupid bear.

  Nell closed her eyes, but the image of Cormac leaping inside the burning cabin had seared into her. She’d thought her heart would stop. Then Cormac had found Shane and shoved him out—had done everything to keep Shane safe.

  If Cormac hadn’t been there, if he’d never come out to this Shiftertown looking for Nell, he wouldn’t have been in place to save Shane. The enormity of that made Nell open her eyes again, and they stung with tears.

  The house was quiet now. Shane had come out of his stupor when they’d returned, annoyed he’d missed everything. He was hurt, but not as bad as everyone had feared, and was already demanding food.

  Nell lay down next to Cormac on the small bed and pulled a quilt over them both. She should ask Cassidy or Iona to watch Cormac while she showered and ate breakfast. But she didn’t move.

  Brody had appointed himself Shane’s caretaker, and Reid had gone to Eric’s to help deal with the bounty hunter. Last Nell understood from Reid, they planned to use the bounty hunter to assist them in finding Miguel. Eric was already scaring Joe into working for them voluntarily.

  Eric had said that Nell and Cormac had done enough for now—the hunt for Miguel would go on, and Eric wanted Peigi and Reid to be there to confront Miguel when they found him. Peigi had earned the right to decide what was to be done with Miguel herself.

  Now Cormac needed to heal, and Nell had a need not to leave his side. The new bond wouldn’t let her.

  “Stupid bear,” she whispered out loud.

  Cormac’s eyes opened a slit and blue gleamed out. “Could say the same about you.”

  “Don’t start in again that I should have stayed home knitting.”

  “I never mentioned knitting. Knitting never came up.” Cormac’s voice sounded terrible, so far from its pleasant rumble that Nell wanted to cry.

  “Stayed home cleaning my shotgun then.” She faltered. “Which I’m giving back to Xavier. I never want to see a gun again.”

  “I’ll be fine, woman.”

  “And stop calling me woman.”

  Cormac opened his eyes a little more. They were red from the smoke and exhaustion, but Cormac managed to look bright and alert. “Do you know why I’ll be fine?”

  “No, but I know you’re going to tell me.”

  Cormac moved his arm over Nell’s abdomen, warm strength. “The touch of a mate. It speeds up the healing.” His voice grew softer. “At least, I’ve always heard that. Never had the chance to try it until now.”

  Chapter Nine

  Nell swallowed on dryness. “Neither have I.”

  They lay shoulder to shoulder, faces turned to each other. Cormac caressed her waist. “I’m sorry about Magnus, love.”

  “Can we talk about it later?”

  “We can talk about anything you want, anytime you want. For the rest of our lives.”

  “Stop.” Nell touched his lips. “You made that mate-claim when I couldn’t deny it.”

  “Yep,” Cormac said. “No time like the present.”

  “I haven’t accepted it yet.”

  “I know.”

  He didn’t insist, didn’t do the dominant thing and try to beat her down with his stare. Cormac lay quietly and simply watched her, his eyes heartbreakingly blue.

  “You can deny it if you want to,” he said.

  She clung to that safety line. “I do deny it. I’m not ready yet. Please, don’t rush me.”

  Cormac’s eyes darkened to his bear’s color, and his arm tightened around her. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.” Nell was confused, stunned by the events of the day, worried about Shane, and scared to death that she was forming the mate bond in her heart for Cormac.

  The mate bond meant they’d be bound together forever, ceremony or no ceremony, and pulling the bond apart would mean unimaginable grief. Nell had already gone through grief, and she’d almost had to go through it again today. She never wanted to know grief again.

  “Are you very sure?” Cormac asked.

  “For now. Later. When you’re healed, we can sit down and talk about it . . .”

  He stopped her words by touching his hurt hand to her lips. “I don’t want to talk about it later.” Cormac exhaled, warm breath on her cheek, then he raised his head and bellowed, “Brody!”

  His voice was broken, but he could still be loud.

  Nell half sat up. “What are you doing?”

  Brody nearly fell into the room, his eyes round with fear. “What? What’s the matter?”

  Behind him, down the hall, Nell heard Shane ask, “What’s going on?”

  “Nell refused my mate-claim,” Cormac said. He sounded calm. Too calm.

  “What?” Brody said, dismayed.

  “Mom,” Shane called, “the guy saved my life. Give him a break.”

  “And you need someone to be with,” Brody said. “You know, for the next half of your life.”

  Nell sent him a glare. “Thank you very much for your concern.”

  Brody raised his hands. “I’m just saying.”

  Cormac was the only one who’d remained silent. “It’s your decision, Nell.”

  “I know it’s my decision. You all need to stop badgering me. I need time to think.”

  “That’s your final word?” Cormac asked.

  Was he trying to drive her straight to insanity? “It is.”

  Cormac drew a long breath. “In that case . . . Nell, under the light of the sun, the Father God, and in front of witnesses, I claim you as mate.”

  The words weren’t loud, bu
t they moved full force. Brody started to laugh.

  “What?” Nell half shouted.

  Cormac kept his gaze intent on her. “Is that a refusal?”

  “Yes!”

  Cormac shrugged, the movement tired. “It’s your decision.” He looked at Brody, who was grinning like a fool, then back at Nell. “Nell, under the light of the sun, the Father God, and in front of witnesses I claim you . . .”

  Nell screamed and sat up. She slammed her hands over her ears. “Out!”

  “Get back here, Brody,” Shane said from down the hall. “Obviously, those two need to talk.”

  “And shut the door behind you.” Nell took her hands from her ears to point at the door.

  “. . . as mate,” Cormac finished.

  Nell balled her fists. “You double-crossing, sneaky . . . bear.”

  “Go on,” Cormac said to Brody, who didn’t bother to hide his laughter. “We need some privacy.”

  “Take all the time you need,” Brody said. “Hang a sock on the door or something. We’ll keep away until it’s gone.”

  “Brody,” Nell said in a furious voice.

  “Good luck,” Brody said to Cormac. He started to go, then he swung back and came to the bed, leaning down to enclose Cormac in a careful embrace. Cormac returned it the best he could. “Thank you,” Brody said. “Seriously.”

  “Anytime, cub of my mate. I know you and Shane are the most important things in the world to her.”

  Now Brody looked embarrassed. “Yeah, well.” He broke the embrace and headed for the door. “Have fun, kids.”

  And he was gone, a giant draft and house-rattling door slam in his wake.

  “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?” Nell asked, her heart fluttering with the beginnings of panic.

  “Nope.”

  “You’re not following the rules.”

  “I’m following the rules to the letter.” Cormac put his arm around her shoulders and eased her back down to him. “You don’t need time, Nell,” he said. “You’ve had too much time. So have I. I know you’re scared. I am too. But we’ll go into it together, figure it out together. No more games, no more time alone. Let’s take the rest of time . . . together.”

  Yes! Nell wanted that. Someone to live with, someone to laugh with. Shane and Brody might have mates soon, their own families. She and Cormac could be here, anchoring them.

  “You’ve done nothing but rush me and confuse me since you came into my house,” she said. “You started banging in my kitchen at five in the morning to get my attention, didn’t you? You could have waited for a civilized hour.”

  “I believe in being direct.”

  “Direct this, bear brain.” Nell growled at him, a she-bear at her most formidable. At the same time, she slid the torn dress off over her head and dropped it on the floor. “You need to finish what you started.”

  His eyes sparkled with interest. “Yeah?”

  “I’m talking about my kitchen. I want it finished, and looking as good as the ones in those fancy magazines. And then I want you in it with me, cooking my cubs dinner, or giving our friends a party, or taking me in a mating frenzy on the countertop. Got it?”

  Cormac gave her a quiet smile. “I think I do.”

  Nell drew a breath. “In that case, Cormac—I accept your mate-claim.”

  He caressed her cheek. “But there aren’t any witnesses.”

  “My ass. They’re listening outside the door.” Nell raised her voice. “Did you hear me? Cormac, mate of my heart, in front of my nosy, can’t-mind-their-own-business sons, I accept your mate-claim.”

  The cheer from the hall and the bedroom beyond confirmed that her cubs were there and listening hard. Then they were laughing, their rumbling filling the house. Brody moved off, back to Shane’s bedroom.

  Cormac caught Nell in a kiss that stole her breath. She held him, her lips warming with his, while the rest of her body trembled.

  Cormac eased back from the kiss, his eyes beautiful blue again. He ran his fingertip down her nose, then he turned away and rolled out of the bed.

  Nell gaped up at him from the quilts. Cormac was stark naked, the bandages white on his dark skin. His cock, uncaring about wounds, lifted in readiness.

  He started to bend to the floor, then he grunted and tossed something up with his foot to catch in his hand.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Putting a sock on the door.” Cormac opened the door, quickly draped the sock over the doorknob, and closed it again. “I don’t want anyone in here until I’m done.”

  “But you’re still hurt. We can’t possibly . . .”

  Cormac grinned. “No time like the present.”

  He came back to the bed and looked down at Nell where she lay on the quilt in nothing but her panties. His sinful look made her shiver.

  “I’d love to dive right into you,” he said. “As it is . . .” He lifted the quilt and slid carefully under it, grunting again.

  “You should sleep,” Nell said. “We’ll celebrate later.”

  “No.” Cormac lost his smile, the word sharp. “I almost lost you today. I almost lost me. I’m not waiting another second.” He jerked the quilt out from under her, enclosing her in it with him, and moved himself on top of her. “Mmm,” he said, lowering his head to kiss her. “This doesn’t hurt.”

  “But you could start bleeding again.”

  “I don’t think so.” He took her hand and put it on his abdomen. “Graham is good, and I’ve been lying here basking in the warmth of my mate. I think I’ll be fine.”

  She exhaled. “Thank the Goddess.”

  “Yes, the Goddess sure has been good to me.”

  Cormac stopped talking then, his smile leaving him, his eyes stilling. Nell touched his cheek, but he simply looked at her.

  Their bodies wanted to come together, the mate frenzy rising in Nell and beginning to blot out other thoughts. She moved against him, rewarded by the weight of his cock slipping between her legs.

  Cormac’s jaw tightened, as though he held himself back, as though he feared hurting her.

  “My love,” she whispered, hands moving to the small of his back. “Yes.”

  Cormac growled. And he let himself go.

  His kisses fell on her flesh, brands of fire, then he took her mouth in a kiss that broke her, lightened her, and seared into her heart. At the same time, Cormac slid inside her, opening her with his thick, blunt cock.

  Nell pulled him down to her, excitement taking her swiftly.

  In her heart, the mate bond flared—a sweet, dark pain that made her drag him closer, closer. She drove up to him, and he came down to her with his hands, his mouth, his body loving her as it should.

  “The mate bond,” he said softly, his broken voice holding triumph. “I knew it would save me.”

  The note of joy made his voice sound better already. In time, it would heal again, and Cormac would speak her name with the beautiful rumble she’d first started to love.

  “Nell,” he said, the word caressing. “Mate of my heart. Mate of my life. I love you.”

  “I love you,” Nell said, her own voice breaking. The words were the truest she’d ever spoken.

  Cormac brushed the mouth that said them with a long kiss, then he held her in his arms and kept on loving her, first swiftly, then—after a long time—more slowly.

  Her touch certainly was healing him. After their first climax, he rested only a few moments before his smile turned wicked again.

  Cormac’s mouth came down, landing on her breast in an openmouthed kiss. He licked his way to one nipple, making it stand up in a tight peak, before he suckled it into his mouth. He skimmed hands under Nell to cup her buttocks, raising her hips a little.

  He dropped kisses down her abdomen, his mouth hot, pausing at her navel to lick
it. Then he pressed his mouth over her belly, and blew, lips sealed to her skin, making a raspberry noise.

  “You shit.” Nell laughed and pushed at his head.

  Cormac laughed with her, deep and dark, before he licked his way between her legs and did the same trick with his mouth there. This time Nell rocked her hips, a moan escaping her. “What are you doing now?”

  “Savoring you.”

  No more laughter. Cormac’s voice caressed her name, then his tongue caressed her. Nell’s thoughts dissolved on a wave of intense pleasure.

  “Cormac. I love you.”

  He answered by plying her with his tongue—licking, nipping, kissing, suckling—her hips moving in rhythm. Nell was rising to him, needing him, wanting him.

  He licked until another climax swept over her in rolling waves. She cried his name again, savoring the word as he savored her.

  Cormac rose up over her, his strength returning, and entered her in one firm stroke. His hardness opened her, satisfied, felt so right. He belonged with her, and she with him.

  The mate bond began in warmth as he loved her, then it wove around them, binding them as they spun again to climax. Nell skimmed her hands to his buttocks and pulled him to her, feeling herself whole for the first time in such a very long time.

  The splinters of herself solidified, Cormac’s weight on her, his body in her arms, sealing her into herself, and into him.

  Two hearts, two mates, one bond.

  Welcome to Shiftertown!

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed Nell and Cormac’s story in “Perfect Mate”!

  Revisit the Shifters Unbound world for Graham’s story (Wild Wolf), and Jace’s story (Feral Heat), both available now. (Keep reading for an excerpt from Wild Wolf.)

  If you’re new to the Shifters Unbound world, welcome! Shifters have been “out” for twenty years, collared and controlled by humans, and tamed from their violent ways. Or are they?

  Shifters are made to live in Shiftertowns, restricted as to where they can work and what they can do. But Shifters being Shifters, they find ways to get around the rules, especially when it comes to protecting their mates!