Chosen Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #2) (2 page)

She bit her lip and closed her eyes. They flew open when she heard Jake swear softly. The moment her eyes opened, his lips landed on hers. She was lost. He kissed her fiercely, sweeping his tongue inside her mouth when she gasped. She might as well have gone up in flames right then and there. Years and years of denial lent a depth of power to Jake’s touch. His kiss nearly brought her to her knees. One of his strong arms swept around her, sliding down her back in a heated caress and cupping her bottom to tug her against him. The hard, heated evidence of his arousal pressed into the cradle of her hips.

Wet heat built inside of her, drenching her with desire. Jake simply kept kissing her—hot, deep, open-mouthed kisses. Their tongues tangled. She gasped for air when he tore his mouth from hers, blazing a path down her neck. Her name fell from his lips in a soft chant between nips and kisses. He swiftly unbuttoned her blouse, pausing for a long moment when he came to the black lace of her bra. Her nipples strained against the lace, tight and achy with want.

She could barely breathe, but she had to make this stop. It couldn’t go further, or she wouldn’t be able to face it when Jake realized this was a mistake, an aberration.

“Jake,” she whispered furiously. “We have to stop.”

His eyes were pinned to her breasts. Phoebe tried to step back, but the counter was behind her. She reached between them and tugged her blouse together, ignoring the desperate call of her body.

“Jake.” She repeated his name, flinching at the hint of sadness in her voice.

He lifted his eyes to meet hers.

***

Jake stared at Phoebe, scrambling to gain purchase in his mind. She felt so good, so damn good. He’d wanted her for so long and was weary of denying himself. Yet, he couldn’t have guessed at how phenomenal it would feel to touch her, to kiss her, to feel her flex under his touch, come alive in his arms. The cat in him stirred, the depth of his primal desire a living, breathing force he could barely keep leashed.

Phoebe said his name again, her voice tinged with the barest hint of sadness. He wanted to pull her close and tell her not to worry, there was nothing to be sad about.
This
force between them was about the only right and true thing in his life. But he’d denied his desire for her for so many years for good reason. When they were younger, he hadn’t wanted to take advantage. That was only one reason for steering clear of her. He’d been raised a shifter among humans. Shifters had survived as they had by blending in. His family told tales of generations of shifters scrambling to survive until their numbers were enough that they could breathe easier. Though it had never been explicitly stated, Jake had grown up assuming he’d fall in love with another shifter. Then he’d stupidly fallen in lust with Naomi in college and realized what an utter disaster it could be for shifters to fall in love with humans. One stupid college relationship had led to far too many disastrous rumors. He’d sworn off even considering a relationship with any woman who wasn’t a shifter.
But Phoebe’s different. You know she’s different.
 

He could hardly bring himself to stop staring at her. He’d fantasized about her for years. Her generous breasts strained against the black lace of her bra, her nipples taut. Hints of pink peeked at him through the lace. He flicked his eyes to hers and saw the answering desire in hers. He knew, he’d known for years, that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. They’d done this dance of friends for so long, they were experts at it. But now, now that he’d had a taste of her, he couldn’t stop. Not just yet.

Holding her gaze, he slipped his thumb under the clasp between her breasts. With a snap, the lace fell open, her breasts exposed to him. She gasped, her dark eyes wide. His eyes fell, his pulse pounding in his ears. Her breasts were round and full, the nipples dusky pink. Instinct drove him. He brought his hands up to curl around them, rubbing his thumbs over her peaked nipples. Her breath came in ragged gasps. He finally gave in and leaned forward to tug a nipple into his mouth, her sharp cry bringing his cat to quietly growl under the surface of his skin.

By the time he pulled away, both nipples were damp, glistening in the soft light in the kitchen. He was pulled tight with the depth of his want for her. He brought his eyes to hers again.

“Jake,” she whispered. “We have to stop.”

For once, he didn’t want to listen to the bitter side of himself, the side that had told him for years he could never consider loving a woman who wasn’t a shifter. Because they couldn’t understand, they might betray him and his kind. With Phoebe, he knew that wasn’t true. He trusted her completely.

He shook his head slowly. “But we don’t. I know you want this as much as I do,” he said softly.

Phoebe stood in front of him, her breasts rising and falling with her ragged breath. Her dark hair tumbled in loose curls around her shoulders. Confusion and sadness flashed through her eyes. “I don’t understand what’s happening,” she said.

“We’re finally doing what we’ve both wanted to do for years.” He stroked his hands down her shoulders and along her arms, his hands coming to rest at the juncture of her elbows. He wanted her with a depth beyond reason, but he knew if he didn’t allow it to happen when she felt ready, it could devastate their friendship and ruin any chance for him to have what he’d denied himself for so long. A tiny, bitter corner of his mind pointed out that he was breaking his own rules here and he’d likely live to regret it.

“You’ve wanted to do this for years?” Phoebe asked.

Jake’s heart clenched. He hid his feelings so well she didn’t even know. He nodded slowly. “Yes.”

She stared at him, her eyes skating over his face. She lifted her hand and carefully smoothed his brow, her finger trailing slowly down his cheek before it fell away. Her touch was a path of fire.

“Oh,” she said.

She shimmied out from between his body and the counter behind her. She pulled her blouse up around her shoulders, gripping the edges in front of her breasts. He had to bite his lip to keep from begging her not to hide herself from him. He watched her carefully, lust surging through him in waves. But with Phoebe, it wasn’t merely lust. He loved her, had loved her for years, and he’d forced himself to ignore it, to keep her firmly in the category of friend. The list of reasons—she’d been too young at first, then she wasn’t a shifter and all of his baggage about that—felt inconsequential now. The only thing that mattered was the humming pulse of electricity arcing between them.

Her eyes held confusion and concern. “Jake, this is…a lot. You’re one of my best friends, and you’ve said for years that you’d never be with a woman who wasn’t a shifter. I’m not a shifter. I can’t risk our friendship over a night when you’re tired and not thinking straight. Because the thing is, if we go further, I don’t know if we can go back.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, reining his body in. He didn’t want to stop, but he knew she had a point. He was beyond tired and felt rattled inside from recent events. He opened his eyes and met hers. He took another step, pausing in front of her again. He brushed a loose curl out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear.

“Okay. We’ll do this your way for tonight. I might be tired, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve wanted you for too long.”

Phoebe held his gaze, uncertainty flashing in hers. She nodded slowly. “You’ll probably come to your senses after you get some sleep,” she said wryly.

Jake traced her lips with his finger, savoring the hitch in her breath. “I finally came to my senses now. Take my word for it. This is only the beginning.”

Chapter 2

Phoebe walked to her car, snow crunching under her feet with each step. Snow had fallen again last night. The Maine woods were lovely, almost otherworldly, in the winter. The boughs of balsam and cedar trees were heavy with snow. The bare branches of oaks, elms and other hardwoods stood stark against the sky. A few stubborn leaves clung to the trees, their color faded, though bright against the white backdrop. She paused by her car and looked around. Snow created a soft, muted sense to the forest. A crow called, another answering quickly, their voices clear in the quiet. The sun was cresting in the sky, the snow sparkling where its light touched.

Driving in to work, her mind traveled back to last night with Jake. She’d driven him home, the car charged with electricity arcing between them. She was still stunned at what happened. After years of shoving her feelings for him into a tiny corner of her heart, never to be examined, never to be acted upon, he’d shattered the door to that hidden corner. His kiss, the feel of his hands on her body, and his words had been thrilling and terrifying at once. She couldn’t quite believe he’d wanted her for years though he insisted he had. Part of her was frantic to take what he offered. Another part of her was frightened she’d lose one of her best friends if she acted on her desires. Years of hearing Jake’s confident proclamations that he couldn’t consider being with a woman who wasn’t a shifter rang in her mind.

But, oh, how she wanted him. To hear him say he was tired of denying himself was music to her heart. She pulled up at the hospital and hurried inside. She’d overslept after tossing and turning for most of the night. The interlude with Jake had electrified her, her mind and heart spinning in wild circles until she finally fell into an exhausted sleep.

“Hey Rosie,” Phoebe called out as she walked past the nursing station and pushed through the swinging door into the break room.

“Hey girl!” Rosie’s voice swung behind her into the room.

Phoebe quickly tugged her jacket off and stashed it in her locker. She switched out her winter boots for practical clogs. She was braiding her hair when Rosie entered the room a few minutes later. Rosie walked to the small round table in the center of the room and sat down with a sigh.

“It’s not even nine yet, and I’m exhausted. Brought you a coffee,” Rosie said.

Phoebe snapped an elastic band around the end of her braid and joined Rosie at the table.

“Ooh, you didn’t just get me coffee, you stopped by Roxanne’s and got my favorite. Thank you!” Phoebe took a swallow of the rich coffee from Roxanne’s, closing her eyes and savoring the flavor. When she opened them, she looked across at Rosie. Rosie was a good friend. They’d met in nursing school. Rosie had grown up in a nearby town and moved to Catamount when she got a job at the local hospital. She was like Phoebe, in that she was distantly related to some shifters, but wasn’t one herself. Rosie had short, curly golden hair with bright blue eyes. She looked sweet and innocent, but her mischievous smile gave away her sly sense of humor.

Rosie ran a hand through her curls and eyed Phoebe. “Any word from Shana?”

Phoebe shook her head. Phoebe loved the fact that she got to work with two of her closest friends, Rosie and Shana. But lately, she and Rosie mostly worried about Shana, unsure how to help other than to simply be there however they could. Shana had yet to return to work since her husband, a shifter, died on a highway in Connecticut for reasons that remained mysterious. After staying with Phoebe for a few weeks, Shana had insisted she needed to try to be on her own again and moved into a small guesthouse on her brother’s property.

“She’s on the schedule for tomorrow,” Rosie said. “I’m hoping it’ll be good for her to have something to focus on other than Callen’s death and everything else that’s been going on.”

“I think it’ll help her. She needs to get out of her head for a bit. I wish this mess would blow over, but it’s not looking like it will anytime soon.”

Rosie shook her head slowly. “Far as I can tell, the mess has only begun.”

“How much worse could it get?”

Rosie threw a hard glance her way. “Um, let’s see. Callen died on a highway in mountain lion form. No one knows why the hell he didn’t shift back. Then Jake stumbles onto the bombshell that Callen was working with God-only-knows-who to sell the services of Catamount shifters to smuggle drugs. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Chloe gets kidnapped by some shifter from out of town and Callen’s little brother. Let’s not forget that Chloe just happens to be the woman Dane fell head over heels in love with. Dane who’s from one of the oldest known shifter families in Catamount and Shana’s brother. He’s so close to the middle of this, I don’t know how he stands the heat. Thank God, Dane and Jake handled Chloe’s kidnapping as fast as they did! So, if you’re wondering how much worse it could get, I’m thinking we’ve got a long way to go before this is over.”

Phoebe groaned. “I know, I know, I know. I was trying to convince myself it couldn’t get any worse. But it’s bad. I wish there was something I could do to help.”

Rosie sipped her coffee. “Be the good friend you are and just be there. Shana needs you and Jake needs you.”

The intercom beeped. “Give me the quick update from rounds this morning,” Phoebe said, referring to the early-morning medical rounds that occurred prior to her shift starting.

After a summary of nothing out of the ordinary, Rosie dropped a little bombshell. “Oh, and the new guy here—we think he’s a shifter trying to hide it.”

Anxiety coiled inside. “What are you talking about?” Phoebe asked in a hiss.

Rosie glanced around quickly. “New patient. He says he’s here on vacation and having chest pains. But he feels like a shifter to me. He’s in the room at the end of the hall. Check on him and let me know what you think.”

Though Phoebe wanted to run down the hall and immediately scope out the man Rosie mentioned, she forced herself to act normal. After doing her usual check-ins with patients from the day before, she made her way down the hall. She found the man in question sitting up in bed watching a cooking show on television. At a glance, she’d have guessed him to be a shifter. Though she wasn’t one herself, she’d lived her entire life in Catamount surrounded by them. There were the obvious signs, such as the cat-like eyes and a feline cast to his face. Along with the less obvious signs, such as a distinct feline quality to the way the man lounged in bed and the subtle primal quality to the way he looked at her. In a flash, she recalled Jake’s bright blue eyes last night when he’d pulled back from their kiss—dark with passion, a focus so intense it sent shivers up her spine just thinking about it.