Totally worth it.
“Sorry about that. I thought you’d sleep later or I would have warned you he’d stopped by.” He fought a grin.
She grimaced. “Yeah, that wasn't awkward or anything.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Are you saying you don't like to meet people in your underwear?”
“At least I didn't meet him in your underwear.”
His grin widened. Damn, the man was dangerous when he smiled. “Don't worry. Dirk’s a good guy. I’m sure he won't tell more than five or ten people.”
Her face burned, but she ignored it. “Isn't that the entire population of your so-called town?”
Mock outrage touched his face. “I'll have you know, our population numbers in the hundreds.”
“Really?”
“Well, that's counting the whole county, but—”
She smacked his arm. “I'm going to get dressed. I expect some yummy breakfast when I get out there.”
His smile faded, and there was tension under his eyes. “Maybe we should skip today.”
No freaking way. “Tempting, but I’m getting my pictures. And…” She shot him sad eyes. “It would be a lot easier if my stomach wasn’t rumbling.
“You got it, city girl.” But he didn’t sound enthused. Maybe she’d worn him out more than she’d thought.
They had a quick breakfast together, and then headed back out. The hike wasn’t great, but it was easier than the first day. Despite her lack of sleep and slightly sore body, energy roared through her. Luck was on her side. She'd seen the fox and had amazing, life-altering sex with a man she genuinely cared about, and who felt the same way about her.
She'd get some great photos today, she was sure of it.
But that wasn't why she couldn't stop grinning. That was entirely due to Nicolas. Their night together had been…incredible. But it was more than that. They hadn't really known each other that long, not in any real way, but what he'd said about mates…well, it made her feel like maybe she wasn't crazy. Like maybe the connection she thought she'd imagined between them was real. And if that was true, why couldn't they have a future together?
The idea of spending her life with a man like Nicolas was more than appealing. Not because he was an Adonis of a man—although that didn’t hurt—but because he was a good man. And he made her feel things she'd never thought possible. Emotions that were almost too dazzling, too scary for her to grasp fully.
She tried to focus on the trail but kept catching herself smiling at absolutely nothing. Thank goodness Nicolas walked behind her, so he couldn't see her shit-eating grin.
“Which way today?” she asked.
He sniffed the air and nodded east. “Let’s try this way.”
Less than ten minutes later, they found one. Close enough for her lens to capture, yet far enough that it hadn’t noticed them. She snatched her camera from around her neck and took a few shots in rapid succession.
“Looks like the same one we glimpsed before,” she murmured.
Next to her, Nicolas grunted quietly.
By the time the fox noticed them, she’d gotten multiple shots—some of which she was super excited about. She’d have to look at them once they got back to the cabin, but she was certain she’d have several the magazine might like.
Still…a few more shots wouldn’t hurt. Maybe one more day of shooting—long enough for her to build up the courage to talk seriously with Nicolas about the future.
“A couple more days of shooting, and we should be able to wrap this up,” she said once they got to the truck.
“That's great,” he said.
She swallowed her disappointment. She’d kind of hoped he’d take the opening she'd given him to talk about what their future might be like after she finished this job.
If they had one together.
Sure, in the heat of the moment, he'd sounded like their future was something he'd been thinking about for a long time. But it would be nice, reassuring, to hear that from him when they weren't driving each other mad with lust.
As they drove back to the cabin, she couldn't help the nagging feeling that something was wrong. He hadn't acted angry or too strange during the day. But he had seemed a little withdrawn, a little distant.
And the nagging feeling was getting worse.
“Are you all right?” she asked when he cut the ignition.
“I'm fine.” He gripped the steering wheel, fists flexing. “I'm fine,” he repeated, sending her a smile that made her heart race.
But she couldn't help notice how many times he said the word fine. If he was anything like her, he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.
She shoved away the annoying thought and followed him into the house.
“What sounds good for dinner?” He set her camera equipment on the counter. “We could go out, if you want.”
“Are you sure you’re—”
He whirled around. “I'm fine.”
Before she could point out that he’d just said fine three times in a row, he closed the distance between them and kissed her. His lips pressed hard against hers, demanding. And his words were the farthest things from her mind.
Suddenly, he jerked away.
His teeth were more ferocious than they should have been. Her breath caught, but she swallowed the surge of fear that hit her at the sight.
“Do you want to bite me?” The question made her shiver, but not with fear—at least, not entirely with fear. The way he'd explained it to her, biting was something that bound his people together. Turned simple sex into a mating. It sounded primal. And she couldn't help the tingle rolling up her spine at the thought of it.
But Nicolas didn't seem to be feeling the same way. “No.”
Simple word, not cruelly said. Yet disappointment curled in her stomach.
“You’re lying.”
“It’s the tiger, not me.”
The pain in his voice twisted her up. “The tiger is part of you.”
He shook his head, a silent denial of something he couldn’t really refute.
“But you didn’t bite me. You still have control.” She touched his arm, and beneath her hand, he shuddered. “I trust you, Nicolas. If you say this biting thing is part of your people’s mating ritual…I don’t mind it. I know you won’t hurt me.”
He barked out a laugh. “Evie, I've been lying to you since the moment you got here. Hell, the lies started before I laid eyes on you.”
“What do you mean?” But she knew, if course she knew. “The foxes—”
“Are bullshit.” His hands clenched and unclenched reflexively at his sides. “They—he—is Dirk. And the magazine editor that made you the offer was my brother’s new mate.”
She blinked. “Your neighbor? Your…” What? Sister-in-law? No, she’d worry about figuring out shifter relations later. “So, what? You asked your neighbor to wander around in fox form?”
He nodded.
Holy shit. Another shifter. No wonder it had evaded her camera so readily for days. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. “This was my dream. You dangled it in front of me—why?”
His gaze was steady. “You know why.”
“Fuck, Nicolas. You could have called me. Showed up at my door and asked me to dinner. I—”
“You would have looked at me the same way you did when you first saw me in that diner. With fear in your eyes and your feet set to run away. Again.”
“You didn’t even try.”
His jaw flexed. “You’re right. This was a shitty thing to do. You can’t trust me, and I can’t trust my tiger around you. I think—” He swallowed hard, but his eyes never wavered from hers. “I think it would be best if you went home.”
Muscles quivering, heat rushed through her body. “Fine.”
Without another word, she walked to the guest room, threw her stuff in, and zipped her bag. He wanted her gone? She was gone.
The pressure on her chest made it difficult to breathe, but she carried her bag back to the open l
iving area. Nicolas hadn’t moved, but his eyes widened when he saw her.
“Not tonight. Wait until morning. I’ll follow you back to town to make sure—”
The bag hit the floor with a thud. “My safety is no longer your concern.”
Tears burned the back of her eyelids, and she picked the bag up and grabbed her camera equipment as quickly as she could. She had to get out of there—fast.
No freaking way was she letting him see her cry.
Chapter Seven
For the second time in his life, his mate walked out on him. And for the second time, he didn’t fight for her to stay.
It was fucking killing him.
His tiger form tore out of him the second her rented SUV disappeared down his drive. It was a shift he could have stopped, but he didn’t fight it. When he was in tiger form, thought was easier, simpler. The pain wouldn’t be as sharp.
Or so he’d hoped.
But even as he followed her down his winding driveway, making sure she got to the main road safely, pain tore at his heart.
If anything, his animal form cleared his extraneous thoughts, so the pain hit harder.
But one question wouldn’t leave him alone.
Could she be right?
But what if he trusted his tiger, and it let him down again? He’d tried to kill his father in a blacked out state. Who was to say he wouldn’t do the same to her if he let his guard down?
She’s not your father.
Hell, his father wasn’t exactly a dad—wasn’t a good man in the strictest sense. And when his tiger struck, it was likely to protect his mother. His father had been yelling at her—again. Yelling about the shitty son she’d borne.
The tiger inside of him was stronger than the average, a bigger part of him than in most. But the animal wasn’t a monster.
After seeing her safely as far as he dared, he returned to his cabin and shifted back into a man. Her scent lingered in his home, filling every nook and cranny. He half expected her to come out of that guest room at any moment, a smile ready for him when their eyes met.
His gaze fell to his hands, and holding his breath, he shifted his claws. He stared at them. Was he overreacting to what had happened when he was a child? The urge to bite his mate—even as overwhelming as it was—did it actually mean something was wrong?
Evie’s voice echoed in his head. But you didn’t bite me.
His control had held, even though he’d wanted to mark her, claim her, more than anything.
A sharp noise cut into his thoughts. His cell phone. Evie? His heart leapt into his throat, and he snatched the device off the table.
Not Evie. His heart sank and he sat in the chair, considering if he should answer.
Fuck. His day was already ruined. Maybe his life. Why the hell not?
“Erick,” he said by way of greeting.
“I’ve been…asked to call. Find out if you’ve claimed your mate.” Hushed whispers that Nicolas couldn’t make out scolded Erick on the other end of the line. His brother added, dryly, “Or to ask something less impolite than that but means the same thing.”
Fuck. He hadn’t talked to his brother in years. Asking him for a favor to get Evie to his cabin had been difficult—though easy compared to the thought of not having her there. But that didn’t mean he was ready for heart-to-hearts with the man. “Mating has changed you.”
“You have no idea.”
Confiding in his brother—not his idea of fun. But what the hell? He had nothing to lose now. “She’s gone.”
Silence reigned, as whoever was with Erick digested his words—his mate, no doubt, as her tiger hearing allowed her to listen in. He had the distinct impression that Erick’s mate cared more about his goings-on than his brother did. “That’s unfortunate.”
His brother uttered a loud curse, then another voice came over the line. “What happened?”
Feminine. And unfamiliar.
“Hello, sister-in-law,” he said, suddenly charmed. Had she plucked Erick’s phone from his fingers? He would have paid good money to see that. Another man—not Erick—in the background called her a brat. Nicolas frowned. Exactly how many weretigers were privy to his private business?
“You have to go after her,” Daniella said, ignoring his greeting. “Like, yesterday.”
“You don’t even know—”
“Trust me, it doesn’t matter. Going after her is always the right call in these situations.”
He blinked. How did Erick deal with such a bossy mate? He couldn’t picture his brother listening to anyone so opinionated. But was she right? “I’m not so sure.”
“Aren’t you?”
He hesitated. Fuck. No wonder Erick listened to her. “You’re right.”
The woman practically purred on the other end of the line. “Of course, I am.”
Flying was the most goddamned unnatural thing Nicolas had ever experienced. But he’d barely been able to appreciate the oddity of it. His mind was on Evie.
Unfortunately, getting a flight in to her tiny little airport on zero notice had proved impossible, so he took a rental car from the closest airport he could fly into—the tiniest damn car in the world—and headed for her home. His brother’s wife had managed some more computer voodoo for him and tracked down the address. He hadn’t been able to catch her in Denver before she left. When the woman got the hell out of town, she didn’t mess around.
Less than a two-hour drive, but his mind raced the whole time. Yet when he pulled up outside a somewhat ramshackle apartment building, he still wasn’t sure what to say.
Gritting his teeth, he strode to her door and knocked. The words would come. Or they wouldn’t. But he wasn’t letting her feel like he didn’t care about her for one second longer. The idea of her so close and in pain ripped at him.
To his surprise, the door opened immediately, and Evie stood, hand on her hip, glaring.
But she couldn’t disguise the pain behind her eyes, in her scent. Fuck. Tigers weren’t as good at smelling things like emotions, but the agony in her scent was palpable.
“What,” she said, not even raising her voice to make it a question. When he didn’t answer immediately, she moved to slam the door. He slipped his foot in the doorframe just in time to stop her.
Thank you tiger reflexes.
She had every right to be pissed, but he wasn’t leaving here without her.
“We need to talk.”
“You need to go back to your cabin and leave me the hell alone.” Her words were fierce, but if anything, the pain in her scent sharpened.
“Please.”
She hesitated, staring at his feet for a long moment. Finally, she sighed and stepped back. Not the warmest of welcomes, but he’d take what he could get.
The apartment was decent, clean. It smelled like her, and he filled his lungs. But it didn’t fit her—not the way she fit in his home. The living area was bland and unremarkable. Very unlike Evie.
She remained by the door, arms crossed.
“I owe you an apology.”
“For lying to my face or for kicking me out of your house?”
“For not trusting myself the way you trusted me.”
She blanched. “That’s it? You came here to apologize for not trusting yourself? Wow. Okay, apology accepted, I guess. You can go now.” She turned and started to open the door, but he stopped her, shutting it with a slam. Expression icy, she looked up at him.
God, she was beautiful—even when angry. His Evie. Fuck, he’d been such an idiot.
“I’m not done.”
She stepped back and paced into the living room. “Then finish up so you can go, because I’m seriously done with this conversation.”
“You’re pissed, I get it. You have every right to be. But I’m not here to apologize for getting you on my mountain—or for trying to protect you from my tiger.”
She whirled on him, a single tear streaking its way down her face and an expression of sheer outrage twisting her mouth. But before she
could lay into him, he closed the distance between them and gripped her upper arms. She gasped but didn’t try to pull away.
“I’m so sorry, Evie. I should have fought for us—should have chased you down the first time you left me on that mountain. I shouldn’t have lied to you. It was a mistake not to trust you’d give me a chance if I’d only asked for one. But I’m not sorry for bringing us together again.” Gently, he wiped the tear from her cheek. “But I’m so sorry I hurt you. So fucking sorry.”
Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
Heart heavy, he stepped back, releasing her from his grasp. It was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. “You are my mate. Mine. And I will always fight for you.”
Tears glassed her eyes, and he reached for her again, unable to resist. She stepped back, hugging herself. “That isn’t exactly a proclamation of everlasting love, is it?”
Something inside his chest tightened. “I’d tell you I love you. I’d tell you I know in my bones that you are my other half. I’d tell you I can’t imagine living my life without you—because it wouldn’t be any life at all.” He paused, letting his words sink in. Hell, he hoped they were. “But you’re human, and you steer your life with your brains, not your instincts. I won’t tell you any of that until you’re ready to hear it.”
Eyes wide, she took a step toward him. Another step. When there were only inches between them, she took a long breath, gaze never leaving his. “What happens the next time your tiger veers out of your control?”
“If that happens, then we’ll figure it out together.”
A tentative smile, quickly dashed with a glare. “I’m still mad at you.”
“I know. But if you give me the chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
She nodded, satisfied he understood. Going to her tiptoes, she pressed a soft kiss on his lips. When he broke the kiss, they were both breathless.
“What I did…it was shitty. But I always intended for you to keep the photos. Dirk agreed to that—he doesn’t mind, and he owes me. The magazine may not have been real, but good photographs of those foxes can still sell—and I know your pictures will be great. It can still be your break—I always meant for it to be.” When he’d come up with the plan, he’d wanted her to achieve her dreams, almost as much as he’d needed her back in his life. He’d hoped to somehow achieve both goals. The need she had to pursue her photography was palpable. Hell, he’d have sniffed out some real foxes if he could have.
Prime Series Collection: (Broken Prime, Prime Desire, Mated Prime) Page 8