Josh

by Dana Archer

  Lips thinned and nostrils flaring, the little redhead vibrated with her fury. Mira raised a brow, amused by the sight. Her cats, however, wanted to rip the girl’s throat out. She dismissed their violent response. They weren’t any fonder of strangers than Devin’s cats. “Problem?”

  “Yeah.” The woman nodded. “I want you to stay away from Josh.”

  The mention of Josh’s name tensed Mira’s body as her cats slammed into her chest, desperate to get out. She tightened her hold on their metaphysical leashes and focused on the woman’s glinting green eyes. “And what gives you the right to tell me to do anything?”

  The woman raised her chin. “I’m Josh’s lover.”

  Mira took two steps forward before she stamped down her anger. She curled her fingers to hide to tips of her claws. Lips parted slightly, she inhaled in an effort to taste the truth of the human’s words. All Mira smelled was the woman’s wrath.

  “Don’t lie, little girl.”

  The redhead sucked in a rough breath as if she couldn’t believe Mira didn’t trust her. “I’m not! Josh has been cheating on me. You’re not the first whore he’s flaunted in front of me.”

  Mira lunged at the woman, but the female was yanked out of the way. Mira whirled, hands fisted to beat the truth out of her. A male with a bushy, red beard had the girl tucked behind his body.

  He inclined his head. “Sorry about that, ma’am. My sis here has had a wee bit too much to drink.” The male tugged the female toward the parking lot. “Nice night, ma’am.”

  Her cats didn’t want to let the humans go. They posed a threat. The same musty drug scent she’d smelled on the human who’d hurt Josh clung to the male’s clothes. His personal scent, however, didn’t match Zeb’s. Mira held her ground. She stared at their retreating backs until they climbed into a lifted pickup and drove away.

  The female’s words bothered her but the anger rolling through Mira was better than the sadness. Turning away from the bar, she headed into the woods, needing to run. The events of the night had pushed her to the limit of her control. Any more stress and she’d likely explode.

  Chapter 7

  Josh watched the last two waitresses pull out of the parking lot. He turned, took two steps, and stopped. Kade leaned against the rear wall with his hands in his pockets and a troubled look on his face.

  “What do you want?”

  Kade shrugged. “Do I need a reason to visit?”

  Josh strode across the lot, flung the door open, and waved him inside. He wanted the talk over with. There was only one reason Kade would be here.

  Mira.

  Only the beer signs’ faint glow brightened the interior. Josh didn’t bother with the lights. He could see well enough, and the shifter following him would have no problem getting around.

  In the main room, Josh wove around the tables with chairs upturned on them. Once behind the bar, he grabbed their beers, the usual for their late-night drink fests. Normally, he looked forward to them. With the mess that had gone down tonight, he didn’t want to deal with anyone, let alone one of the men Mira might choose as her mate.

  With two longnecks in hand, he tipped his chin toward Kade. “Where do you want to have this lecture? Here or in the office.”

  “Why do you assume I’m here to lecture you?”

  Josh shifted one bottle to his other hand and dropped two chairs from the nearest table on to the floor. He placed the beers on the clean surface and straddled the seat. “’Cause after what happened today, it’s a given. Let’s get this over with. I’ve had a horrible week.”

  Kade sat, then took a swig of his favorite lager, a local brew. “I thought I’d made myself perfectly clear. It’s become apparent you need a reminder of the rules.”

  “See. I was right. You came here to lecture.”

  “It’s not a lecture. I gave you an order. You disobeyed me.”

  Josh stood, and the chair clanked to the floor. Palms on the table, he leaned close to the feline leader. “And I’m tired of being held to rules nobody else in your family has to follow.”

  Kade mirrored his pose, a matching clunk echoing through the room. “Do not challenge me.”

  Josh sneered. If he had fangs, he’d hiss at Kade too. “You know very well we’re past that. You’re the top cat. For Megan’s sake, I acknowledge that.” He bent close enough to smell the hint of beer on Kade’s breath. “Spit it out. What did I do wrong this time?”

  “You kissed Mira.”

  Josh shoved away and picked up the chair. He needed a moment to school his features. Just the mention of what he’d shared with Mira heated his body. Their first kiss and everyone in the bar, including the man behind him, had gotten to share in it. Because, yeah, he’d known Kade was there. Josh had seen him out of the corner of his eye when Jazz had doused him and Aron in beer. He hadn’t cared. When Mira had pressed her soft curves against him, getting his lips on her had been his only thought.

  Unable to delay any longer, he righted the stool and sat. “And? It was just a kiss. No big deal.”

  The lie soured his gut. It was a huge deal, at least in his eyes.

  “I like you, Josh.”

  “Really?” He chuckled. “Well, thanks for that, but I can’t say I feel more than friendship for you. You’re handsome and all, just not my type. I do have a cousin…”

  “You know that’s not what I meant.” Kade glanced heavenward, a long sigh escaping. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “Please don’t tell me you came here to discuss my feelings. Should I go get Megan’s nail polish and we can paint our toes while we talk about who we want to marry?” He tipped his beer and drank the contents in one long swallow before slamming the empty bottle down. “Don’t give me your fake concern. The only person you’re worried about getting hurt is Mira. And you know what?”

  Silence stretched. Finally, Kade gestured for him to continue.

  “Forcing her to pick one of you as a mate is going to hurt her in the worst possible way.”

  “I hate that she’s in this position, too.” Kade righted his stool and sat. “My hands are tied. I’ve had lawyers looking into it. As soon as the Council tagged on the qualifier that they’re taking this drastic measure for the good of the species, a whole new set of rules got rolled out.”

  Josh walked back to the bar and grabbed another drink as he considered how to respond. While he’d planned on pursuing Mira himself, tonight’s revelation made him reconsider. He needed a chance to think about his next step because he kept coming back to one sticking point—did he have the right to get in the way of Mira’s destiny? That was the million-dollar question, and one he didn’t have an answer to at the moment.

  “Is the prophecy the reason you kept us apart?”

  Kade shrugged. “It’s one of the reasons.”

  “Why else?”

  “It’s safer.”

  Josh frowned. “For who? Mira or me?”

  Another shrug.

  Knowing it was the only answer he would get from the stubborn shifter, Josh straddled the chair and took a sip of his second beer. Time for a different approach.

  “As an outsider looking in, I can’t help but wonder if the order from the Council has more to do with the prophecy surrounding Mira’s kids than the lack of breeding couples.” He pointed at Kade with his bottle. “I think there’s someone with his own agenda on the Council.”

  “I agree. The discontent between the Royals and the single shifters has never completely abated. There are some who resent our tie to the goddesses.” Kade’s weary sigh accompanied the small shake of his head. “When word of the goddesses’ blessing spread among our species, the single shifters saw it as a way to finally earn immortality.”

  Josh cursed as all the tragedies of Mira’s life took on new meaning. If the mortal single shifters were willing to turn Molly into a living incubator for the kids they hoped could make their race immortal, it wasn’t a stretch to see how they’d interpret Mira’s prophecy as a way to do s
o, too. “When she killed her rapist, the single shifters took it as a slap in the face.”

  “So to speak. My father accused them of orchestrating the whole thing so she would be tied to a single. They denied it.”

  “Of course.”

  “Exactly.” Kade sighed. “But the number of unwanted suitors vying for her body declined after he called them on it.”

  Josh tipped the bottle and studied the amber liquid. The thought of another man kissing Mira, let alone sleeping with her, infuriated him. Being reminded that there’d been guys after her for nearly three hundred years pushed him to the brink of madness. It was a ridiculous thing to be angry about considering he’d only met Mira earlier in the summer and had just kissed her tonight but…yeah, he couldn’t deny it. He wanted to hunt down those men who’d harassed her and make them hurt.

  The surge of possessiveness shocked him. Sure, he wanted Mira. He hadn’t lied when he told her he felt something between them. He also knew a woman like Mira would be one he’d treasure for the rest of his life. What he didn’t get was his violent response to losing her. Normal people didn’t react like that. He pushed away the concern. He’d worry about it when he didn’t have Kade looming over him.

  Josh gently set the beer down and flattened his palms on the surface. “Say what you came to say.”

  “Tomorrow I will announce Aron, Zach, and myself as Mira’s suitors. No other Alexanders have stepped forward to court her.”

  Josh clenched his jaw so he didn’t voice his intention to court her too. There was one more thing he needed to know first. “Do you believe in the prophecy?

  “Yes.”

  No hesitation.

  “You don’t think it got nullified when she killed her…” A surge of intense rage swept over him just thinking about what Edmund had done to her. “Edmund?”

  “No.” Kade studied the table as if the answers to Mira’s problems were written there. “There was more to the prophecy than Aron shared.”

  “What else?”

  “Nothing that concerns you.” Kade looked at him, the warning clear on his expression. “If you care about Mira, you’ll stay away from her. Her future doesn’t involve you. All you’re doing is hurting her.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  Kade took an interest in the condensation on the bottle he held. He slowly dragged his forefinger down the length and around the label before picking at it. Josh watched him scrape half off before his patience snapped.

  “Well?”

  Kade finished removing the soggy paper and drank the contents. “We’ll do whatever is necessary to eliminate the temptation you pose.”

  Josh bit back a curse. “And how are you going to do that? I carry Mira’s scent. Unless you kill me, she’ll always be drawn to me.”

  Kade flicked the wad of balled label across the room. “We’re not entirely animals.”

  “Hurt me enough that I’m out of the way?”

  Kade nodded in answer.

  “Fine. Consider your warning delivered. Now get out.”

  For once, Kade did as he was told. Josh waited until he heard the rumble of Kade’s ’Cuda before he went to get another beer.

  * * *

  Several drinks later, Josh finally reached that point of numbness he’d been hoping to find. He stood, pleased with the fuzzing in his head. Adding in all those shots had helped. He stumbled toward his office. It’d been a long time since he’d crashed there. Since he’d moved all of his stuff out of the apartment on the rear of the property, he didn’t have anywhere else to go. The lumpy old couch would have to do.

  Halfway across the room, he stopped. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. His heart kicked into high gear. He drew in a deep breath, nostrils flaring to drag in as much information as he could. Mira’s scent seeped into his lungs, leaving him a little lightheaded. Another whiff and he groaned. Every time he smelled her, her fragrance got stronger.

  He scanned the bar, but didn’t see her. With the only light coming from the neon signs along the wall, there were too many shadows. He closed his eyes and let his other senses guide him. Her rapid heartbeat echoed in his ears, shocking him for a moment but not long enough to stop him from embracing the information he shouldn’t possess.

  He pivoted, listened to the sound, and grinned. With purposeful strides, he closed the distance between them and stopped a few feet from where she stood by the wall. The picture she made kicked his pulse into high gear.

  She’d either washed the dye out or shifted. Gorgeous patchwork hair hung to her waist. He loved her hair. So soft and silky, his fingertips tingled whenever he touched it. Since her shiny locks were the only part of her the other shifters didn’t mind him touching, he indulged in his secret craving every chance he got.

  The same outfit she’d worn to the bar a few hours ago—shorts and a clingy top—molded her body and exposed her bare legs. She always tempted him, but dressed as a walking wet dream she tested his self-control. Sitting at the table with her tonight had nearly broken it. He’d wanted to caress every inch of her body but had settled for the section of her thigh he could touch without drawing too much attention.

  Without anyone else around, there was nobody to stop him and nobody to remind him he couldn’t be with her.

  He planted his palms on either side of her face. Although slightly taller than the average human female, she fit him. He could rest his chin on her head. He stepped closer and did exactly that, nuzzling against her hair as if it were the most natural thing in the world. No wonder shifters did this. Her scent wafted to his nose. It surrounded him and became a part of him.

  “Mira.” No other words would come out.

  He linked his arms around her shoulders and held her tightly against him. She repeated the back-and-forth motion he’d delivered to her hair, only his chest got the intimate caress. His cotton T-shirt prevented the skin-to-skin contact he craved, but it didn’t diminish from the act. It still left him with a sense of her adoration.

  She buried her face against him. “I wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn’t mean to run off on you.”

  “Don’t apologize. I would’ve wanted to get out too.”

  Silence stretched, the comfortable kind, and one he’d never experienced with another woman. He skimmed the length of her spine until he cupped the back of her skull. With his fingers woven in her hair, he tipped her head back. Her drowsy, half-lidded gaze met his, the look of desire one he only saw her wear in his dreams.

  Her plump, soft lips were parted slightly, and each breath she took quickened his pulse. He fought the lust building within him. Walk away, walk away. The mantra repeating in his head didn’t help, neither did remembering she had a future that didn’t involve him. He had no business wondering what it’d feel like to love her.

  He mentally ticked off every obstacle preventing them from giving in to the attraction they shared. Yet, none of those reasons overcame the sense of rightness being with her brought. He wanted to wrap himself around Mira and never let her go. Too bad it couldn’t happen. They were only torturing themselves. He didn’t doubt Kade’s promise that he’d do whatever it took to keep them apart. Josh didn’t care about getting a beating, but Mira would feel guilty. He hated seeing her upset.

  With a Herculean effort, he forced his body away from her tempting one. He’d do the right thing for Mira. It might kill him, but whatever. He’d be the one dying anyway. Mira would forever resemble a goddess, an untouchable one.

  She slid the tip of her pink tongue along her upper lip. He followed the slow, sensual glide with his gaze. What had he done in life to deserve having Heaven forever out of reach? He wasn’t a saint. He’d be the first to admit that, but the torture of Mira so close, yet so far away, was a high price to pay. He didn’t think he deserved it. What did he know, though? Maybe all those thoughts of murdering Vince had been enough to justify the punishment of forever yearning for Mira.

  Her kaleidoscope eyes took on a faint glow. He focused on the blue and gre
en specks and swayed toward her. The warmth of her breath bathed his face. Soft lips touched his. Fire raced down his spine.

  He jerked back.

  The woman weakened his resolve. He took a step away, but she fisted his shirt in her delicate hand. Desperation settled in her eyes. The frantic look kicked up his pulse.

  “Please.”

  One word. Hearing it, wiped out his righteous convictions.

  He bent his head and kissed her. Her flavor hit him, a sweet and spicy combination he could live on. Needing more of her rich taste, he licked each lip, slowly so as to memorize her texture. Her shuddered moan spurred him on. With a groan, he sucked on her lower lip, his craving for her growing. It wasn’t enough. He stroked her tongue with his. Deep rolling thrusts drew more of her unique flavor to him, finally easing his yearning, but another one took its place.

  The ache was unbearable. It’d been so long since he’d had sex. The single nights of mindless couplings had stopped being fun and not worth the hassle of jilted lovers. Once Mira had walked into his life, he couldn’t look at anyone else, let alone touch them. Every day watching her, knowing he couldn’t love her body, built his frustration and his lust.

  Her fangs descended, a sign her primal instincts had been triggered. Another dream come true. He’d overheard her telling Jazz no man had ever brought out her primitive side. The sharp teeth turning their kiss into a dangerous dance told him he got to be her first. That did it for him. Plain and simple. He explored each pointed canine with the tip of his tongue. A shudder ran through her body. He repeated the motion, and she groaned.

  Her blood—the deliciously decadent taste of rich, dark chocolate—flavored the kiss. It made the melding of their mouths sweeter.

  She slipped her fingers under the waistband of his pants.

  Cursing, he grasped her wrist. He wasn’t a saint, and she was his obsession. He squeezed lightly. “Mira, wait.”