Droplets of condensation were starting to form on the outside of the glasses when she turned the doorknob and stepped into the bright backyard.
“Back already, I see.” She stood back from him, unsure of what else to say. He’d left before she had a chance to explain. She doubted she’d ever forget just how hurt he looked before his back turned.
She remembered the glasses in her hand. Conversation starter, indeed. “Want some lemonade? I brought two.”
He turned dark eyes on her. She told herself the shiver that traveled down her spine and settled in her core was from the wet hair that tumbled around her shoulders. Yes, definitely the temperature difference from the hot air outside and her wet locks.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Sam stood and tipped his hat at her.
He towered over her, and she resisted the urge to step into his space and rub her cheek over his sweaty chest. He looked like he stepped out of a skin flick made exactly to her taste. He wiped his mouth across his sleeve, and she caught her lip at the sight of his skin glistening in the sun. She wanted to lick every inch of him and capture the taste of him along with the salt of his exertion. Her chimera urged her forward, but she yanked hard on the beast’s leash. They needed to talk before she threw herself at the man again.
With an effort, she turned away from him and started back toward the house. On a small, stone patio was her covered rocking swing. It creaked under the combined weight of her chub and his large amount of muscle. Silently, she handed him a glass.
They sat on the swing and gently rocked. Jessa took a sip of her drink as the silence stretched out between them. She wasn’t uncomfortable with it, but it wasn’t an easy quiet, either. She knew there were words that needed to be said, and they were both trying to find them.
“The fence looks nice. I can help with the rest.” She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw him watching her intently.
“Not necessary. It’s the least I can do for ruining it earlier.”
“You weren’t the only one surprised by that move, believe me. I wanted to tear something apart, too.” She tried to chuckle, but it came out as a strangled sound.
“It wasn’t something I expected to see. For a shifter—”
“I’m not a shifter, Sam.” She interrupted him quietly.
“But you are. I’ve seen your doe. I’ve watched you shift forms.”
She didn’t need to look at him to understand his confusion. At face value, she was a shifter. She smelled like one, she could change shapes like one. It was time to admit her true identity. “I’m not entirely a shifter, I suppose I should say. I wasn’t born. I wasn’t bitten. I’m not stuck to one form. A warlock put a curse on me, and now I’m a chimera.”
“A warlock,” he said flatly. Of course he suspected. It was too large a coincidence for a warlock to appear in their midst after what she’d experienced and not be connected.
“Cenek Cipris, warlock extraordinaire.” Her lips twisted wryly. She took a deep breath and continued. “We were… together, for a time. I was still in college and took off to Europe. It was supposed to be a grand adventure. I guess it turned out that way, though not how I expected. I met Cenek, and we traveled together for a while. Saw the cities, went off the beaten path. And then we started fighting, and I wanted to leave. He told me I’d regret it. I shifted for the first time a few days after that.”
“So he bit you? He’s a shifter as well?”
“No bites. Just a really, really good warlock. Or, at least, that’s what a witch in Romania told me. He was angry that I left him, and he cursed me.”
“And now he’s back in your life.” Sam took a long draw of his lemonade.
There was an unspoken question in his statement. It hurt to have the accusation there, but she knew she hadn’t earned the right for indignation. She’d run from Sam at a time they should have been winding themselves further around each other, and was lip locked with someone else the next time he’d seen her.
“Only as long as he’s helping the pride, and even then I don’t want to speak with him more than necessary. After the hunters are brought down, he can crawl back to whatever rock he came out from under. He hurt me, and I never want to see him again.”
“Then you won’t,” Sam growled. “I’ll be sure he is kept as far from you as can be managed. You won’t ever need to be alone with him even if you need to be around him.”
Jessa smiled. It was endearing the lengths he wanted to go to please her. But it was also infuriating. “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me. I’m not a porcelain doll that needs protecting. I managed so far on my own.”
“But I’m here now. You don’t need to carry your burdens alone. I’m going to share them with you.” He reached over and pushed her hair behind her ear. She shivered, knowing he could see the top curve of the mate mark on her shoulder peeking from under the strap of her tank top.
“You don’t hate me for being different and having all these complications? I’m not an easy person to handle.” She studied her lap and refused to look at his face. She couldn’t bear to see him pull away from her. She wasn’t what he assumed, and he had every right to reject her.
“I’m not entirely a lion, you know. My granny taught me a little of the old bayou magic. You don’t have to worry about things getting stale.” He lewdly winked when she looked through long lashes at him. “So you’re not entirely one thing. So what? Name me one person who is exactly what they claim to be, and I’ll show you the world’s most successful liar.”
Jessa felt relief flow over her. It was hard to come clean about her cursed nature. She was different, and it didn’t go over well for some shifters who needed their packs or prides or whatever social groupings to stay pure. Maybe she had a place in the Sanford pride after all.
“So, you’re not a cowboy, is what you’re telling me? I’ve been lied to by that hat this entire time!”
He easily fended off her attack to steal his hat. “Hey, don’t knock the hat. I did my time on a New Mexico ranch. I earned this.”
“Earned it how?”
Sam grew quiet and took another sip of his drink. She waited. She sensed the enormity behind his words. He’d been patient while she told her story, and he deserved the same treatment. There was something calming in their sharing. Perhaps he was right, that they didn’t need to hold on to everything themselves anymore. They had each other to help with the burden.
“My mother and father were fated mates. Big, ferocious lions, the both of them. Born as shifters, so they knew what they smelled the first time they were around each other. It wasn’t long before I entered the world. I don’t really remember any significant problems, but what child does? They worship their parents, and mine were doting, caring people.
“I remember the day my mother told me she was pregnant. She was beaming. She had little ten-year-old me excited and ready for the responsibility of being a big brother. Everyone was excited for another cub in the family. Then, there was the crash. A semi hit my mother’s car while she was running errands. You know shifters are resilient. We can handle just about anything.”
He paused, and he looked lost. “You have to understand. There’s a definite before and after mark in my family. Before, we were happy. After the baby was lost…”
Jessa stilled. She shut her eyes against what was coming next. She worked to bring babies into the world, and to hear of one tragically lost pained her. She couldn’t imagine how painful it must have been for a young boy excited to be a big brother. “Sam, you don’t need to tell me. It’s okay.”
“No. It’s only fair.” He took a deep breath, not unlike her own shot of oxygen for courage. “She left my father soon after, ran off with someone else in the town. No one has heard from or seen her since. My father was a broken man after losing her and his unborn child. He couldn’t stay in Louisiana. Her scent was everywhere, he said. So we packed up everything and went to live with some cousins on a ranch in northern New Mexico. Instead of getting better, my
father crept further into the bottle until he never came out.”
She reached for him and put her hand on his. “I’m so sorry.”
What an incredible man. He experienced first hand the horrors that regularly tore apart a human family, let alone a family with the fated pairing of shifter mates. She’d cried more times than she cared to admit after assisting the delivery of a child that didn’t survive long.
Instead of withdrawing on himself, Sam kept seeking out the one person in the world who could hurt him the most. She didn’t know whether to label him stupid or a hopeless romantic. Jessa felt ashamed that she’d nearly driven him to the same point of loss as his father.
“And that’s the story of how I earned my right to wear any piece of western attire I choose. Just wait until you see my collection of bolo ties.”
She recognized the deflection of his pain, and let him have it. Her chimera pushed forward, and urged her to comfort him. But comfort wasn’t the same as pushing him for more information, or delving deeply into the things he told her. But she had a better understanding of Sam, and she was thankful for it.
She felt exhausted and heavy, but there was a lightness as well. They’d shared details with each other that normally were kept under lock and key. Even outside of the fated mates paradigm, it felt right. It fostered the intimacy that she craved.
“Those just don’t do it for me.”
“Oh yeah? Even combined with the whole shebang: pearl-button shirts, tight fitting jeans, and snakeskin boots?”
“Snakeskin, for real? You’re disgusting, get out of here.” She giggled. Her laugh turned serious before he had a chance to respond. She was quiet when she spoke again. “So you’re not upset? About what you told me? Or what I said?”
The look he gave her was filled with emotion. She saw guilt, sadness, and an overwhelming amount of warmth. “Jessa… Why would I be angry with you? Someone did a horrible thing to you. Where I come from, turning someone into a shifter is a big ordeal. Even Ethan would have received a whooping for turning Lena before informing her. I wish you were comfortable enough to tell me sooner, but you have no blame for what happened to you. And I probably didn’t help much. I suppose I came on a little strong.”
“A little?” Jessa snorted back an incredulous laugh. “I’ve never had to dance my way out of so many conversations before.”
He nodded. “Someone much wiser than me told me that just because we have magical sticks up our butts, we don’t always know mates from holes in our socks. And that I tried the shifter thing I was familiar with, and now needed to try the human thing you’re familiar with. Would you go on a date with me?”
Her grinning agreement with what assuredly had been Lena’s words turned to a dull, stony silence. She could practically hear Sam’s breath caught in his lungs. “I don’t know, Sam…”
“You want to get to know me better. And not just my childhood tragedies. I can get behind that. We’re fated for each other, Atkins. At least some part of you recognizes that, and put your mark on me, here.” His fingertip brushed his shoulder, and she knew under his tight shirt would be a bite mark that matched the one on her.
“So let me prove it to you. We’re tied together for life now. I’ll prove to you every single day that I’m the one best suited for you.”
She melted. If she were standing, she knew she’d need to take a seat due to suddenly wobbly knees. She brushed aside her emotional exhaustion; perhaps a night out was exactly what they both needed after the day’s events.
She inhaled, and made her decision by her exhale. “Okay. Where to?”
Sam grinned like he’d won the biggest prize at the carnival. “Leave that up to me. I’ll be back around say, seven?”
He handed her his empty glass and strode off toward the newly hung gate, leaving his tools and her behind. She called after him. “Sam, wait! Where are you taking me?”
He waved over his shoulder. “See you tonight, Atkins”
“Insufferable oaf.” She ground her teeth at his fading laugh.
Chapter Six
Sam arrived at Jessa’s promptly at seven. Well, closer to a quarter till, but he idled down the street until the appropriate time arrived. He didn’t want her to think he was rushing her. Though, according to Lena, Jessa was in as frantic a state as he.
Lena told him that Jessa had called several times over the course of the afternoon. She’d fielded a veritable inquisition on where Sam planned to take Jessa. Lena demanded praise for keeping the location a secret, despite Jessa cursing her out and calling her an ignorant old shrew. She preened over helping select Jessa’s outfit for the night. It was going to be fan-freaking-tastic, according to the Queen.
Lena also told Sam to get there on time. Jessa would be a nervous wreck, otherwise. She’d be ready a full half-hour before his scheduled time, and be using that free time to fret. She’d sit, crossing and uncrossing her legs, until she got up to pace. Then she’d worry about her hair coming undone, so she’d go back to sitting and fidgeting.
Lena said it was exhausting to watch. And he better not force any extra stress on Jessa by showing up late.
Sam thought listening to Lena fish for compliments would be the most intense portion of his evening, but he was wrong. The minutes he spent idling in his truck were the longest of his life. Finally, it was time to pull up to Jessa’s townhouse and knock on her door.
True to Lena’s word, Jessa opened the door as if she had been lurking behind it.
“You look amazing,” Sam said as soon as he regained his ability to speak. He dropped his eyes from her face and knew she saw amber leach into the dark chocolate of his irises. He slowly stroked her body with his gaze. He had intimate knowledge of the luscious curves under her dress, but couldn’t help but appreciate the way the deep purple, silky material clung to her body like a second skin.
“We should get going… Or I think we’ll miss the show.” Sam swallowed hard. He worked hard to discard all thoughts of backing her up the stairs for a night in. She was gorgeous and cool as a cucumber, while he was as antsy as a teenager on his first date.
“Show, huh? What kind of show?” Jessa tried to needle out of him.
“You’ll see,” he smirked. He held a single, red carnation up for her inspection. Another tip from Lena. “For you, Atkins. A flower for my flower.”
Jessa rolled her eyes. “Oh my god, seriously? Where did you pick that up?”
He shrugged, his eyes glittering with the laugh he held back. She’d agreed to the date, and that meant she got to experience the full cheese experience. He fought the urge to nibble on her earlobe when she took the flower and tucked it behind her ear.
Instead, he waited patiently while she gathered her things and then escorted her down to his truck. It was no enchanted pumpkin carriage and he had no intentions of returning her home by the stroke of midnight, but it would do.
He didn’t deserve her, he thought as they started the drive across the city. A flash of movement made him check her out from the corner of his eye. She fiddled with the flower in her hair and settled it further into the blonde strands. Other than that motion, she had kept her calm and collected demeanor. He envied it. His heart raced a mile a minute, and he resisted the urge to wipe his palms on his pants every six seconds.
She was a damned vision, and he wanted to lock her away in the highest tower. That’s what happened in fairy tales, right? He needed to protect his princess from the evil witches of the realm. Or one particular warlock.
The abhorrent memory crept into his mind, and he had trouble unclenching his hands from around the steering wheel. As beautiful and tempting as Jessa was, as hard as she made his cock, thoughts of the warlock drove possessive anger straight through Sam. He worked hard not to be upset that she had a past. He, too, had been with others before her, but the past became all too real when the warlock put his hands on his mate. He’d rip the offending limbs from the man next time he tried to touch Jessa.
He kept driving toward
their destination, even if he wanted to start hunting down the man who had intimate knowledge of his mate. His mate. No one else could touch her again. His lion was in complete agreement.
Another glance at his cool and collected woman, and his cock twitched painfully in his pants. His murderous frenzy subsided momentarily and was replaced by the urge to pull the truck over and hike up Jessa’s dress. Bend her over the seat and spread her legs wide. Fuck her fast and hard as other cars whizzed on by, none the wiser.
What he wouldn’t give for a moment to clear his head. Heads, he corrected at another jerk of his cock.
Jessa smiled slyly at him, almost as if she knew what he was thinking. His nostrils flared, and he caught the intoxicating flavor of her arousal. Oh yes, she knew what he wanted and she reciprocated.
But he controlled himself. He tied the leash around his lion and locked the beast behind mile high walls in his mind. He needed to take Jessa out. Woo her, as his Queen ordered. Jessa needed the human touch, not the infallibility of fated mates, even if that was what he felt.
Nice and slow. The human way of feeling each other out. The release would be that much sweeter for waiting.
They pulled into the crowded parking lot of a local theater. The building was ancient and held all the glamor of its restored era. A red carpet rolled from the dark entrance to the curb like a tongue lolling out of a mouth. Burnished gold accented the old box office and all the framed posters of old productions.
MURDER MYSTERY TONIGHT stood bold and black against the bright white marquee.
“You’re kidding!” Jessa turned to him with her mouth agape.
Sam laughed, “I figured after being involved in one yourself, you’d get a kick out of the theatrics.”
She hopped out of his truck before he could swing around to the other side. He cursed at the lost opportunity of feeling her body sliding down his. But she couldn’t avoid him when he wrapped his arm around her and tugged her close. Even with the scents of the crowd swirling around them, he could focus on her sweet honey and peaches. She was ripe for the picking, and he couldn’t wait.
Embracing Her Lion: BBW Lion Shifter Paranormal Romance (Carver City Shifters Book 2) Page 6