Craving More (18 page)

Running
to the pump house he busted the doors open, hooking up the hose he switched the
electric pump on. Dragging it as far as he could he
sprayed
what he could in a hope to keep the flames at bay.

Seconds
later Corrine and MJ burst out of the woods, coming to a stop next to him.

“Shift
and get dressed,” he yelled, the crackle of fire and hissing water drowning
most of what he said. “I called the fire department already. Should be here
soon.”

Both
big cats tore off around the main house.

Damn
he hoped it wouldn’t take long for help to get here.

Back
in human form and dressed, Corrine and MJ sprinted toward him, buckets of water
from the house in their hands.

As
Corrine approached, Sam caught her eyes. The utter devastation in them tore at
his heart. Her business and dreams were going up in flames. Just like her
relationship with Jett did that morning. This had to be the worst day of her
life.

Jett
drove on autopilot back to Corrine’s place. His mind too filled with thoughts
of his mate. He needed her back. He heard her call out to him as he left her
place. He just needed to leave and get away from Sam before he hurt him
further.

That
was the only thing on his mind as he walked away.

It
was a mistake to leave the house like he did. He should have stayed and talked
it out with her brother like he planned. When Sam made that comment about
thinking the first shifter he’d been with was his mate, something in him
snapped, he’d punched the man then wondered if he was right.

Once
he made it back to his condo it hadn’t taken long to figure out he was being an
ass again. Allowing Sam to make him feel unworthy, doubting he was good enough.
He wasn’t the same young, fast-talking, skirt chasing, no-strings attached man
he was when they were younger.

He
was at the top of his field making great money. Owned his own place, along with
the boring grown up car. Hell, he was a member of one the oldest shifter
bloodlines of their species.

If
he wasn’t good enough for Corrine, no one was.

He
couldn’t forget the most important thing. She was his mate. The one meant to be
with him forever, that called to his human and tiger side. She held his fragile
beating heart in her hand.

So
caught up in thought, the horn blaring behind him took him off guard. Glancing
into the rearview mirror, the flashing lights of a fire truck nearly blinded
him. He drifted off to the side, waiting until they passed.

Minutes
later he was pulling into the driveway, noticing the large red fire truck.
Panic struck through his heart. Firemen slowly packed up their gear, none the
worse for wear. The bakery sat smoldering behind them. Forgotten by everyone
except the lone woman standing a few yards in front of it.

Jumping
out of the car he made is way to Corrine. Taking a moment to notice MJ standing
off to the side, Sam’s arm wrapped around her shoulders as she openly sobbed. A
whisper of relief echoed through him knowing both were safe.

Snapping
his attention back to the dejected form of his mate, the ache in his chest grew
with each step closer. Stopping behind her, he wrapped his arms around her. She
stiffened momentarily then relaxed. Allowing her body to mold to him. Allowing
him to comfort her.

“It’s
gone,” she whispered.

“I’m
sorry, baby. What happened? You weren’t inside when it started were you?” He
placed a kiss on top of her head trying to keep the panic at bay. Tightening
his arms around her to reassure him she was okay. The thought of her being in
the bakery when it caught fire stopped the air in his throat.

“No.
We weren’t inside.” Her head turned toward Sam and MJ. “We were out running.
Sam was doing whatever. I don’t really know. He said he smelled smoke and came
out to find the bakery burning. By the time MJ and I got here half of it was
engulfed and Sam was trying to douse the flames. It didn’t work.”

“Do
you know how it started?”

She
shuddered against him. Something was wrong. He could tell by the way she held
her body.

“The
fire chief said it was set deliberately. Arson. I don’t know who would do this
to me,” she sobbed.

Jett
turned her in his arms. Pressing her head against his chest. Soaking up her
tears with his shirt. Not caring if anyone was watching them.

The
fire crew finished packing up, the chief stopped by to let them know an
investigator would be coming out later to start going through things.

He
asked Corrine to make a list of the items lost for their insurance and to think
about who might have done this.

The
truck pulled away leaving them all standing, staring at the destruction.

Sam
walked over, pulling Corrine from his arms. He engulfed her in a hug. “I’m so
sorry,
Cor
. I know you loved this place. Why don’t you
come inside? I’ll make you something hot to drink.”

She
pulled away, taking a step back. “I’ll be there in a minute or two. Take MJ in.
She looks like she’s about to fall down.”

Sam
looked back at MJ, then over to Jett, eyes narrowing. “You okay with him here?”

Corrine
didn’t even look his way. “Yeah, I’m good. There’s nothing left in me to break
at this point.”

Sam
walked off, collecting MJ before going inside.

Corrine
stood stock still, a defeated look in her eyes as she looked around the
destroyed area.

“Corrine?”
Jett moved closer to her.

“You
can go, Jett. This isn’t your problem. Thanks for stopping by.”

Pain
squeezed his heart at her words. He wanted it to be his problem. He needed to
be in her life and be the one to make her happy.

Refusing
to let her brush him off he walked up next to her and took her hands ensuring
she looked at him. “If it involves you it is my problem. I fucked up Corrine. I
shouldn’t have left. I shouldn’t have treated you like I didn’t want people to
know. You deserve everything I can give.
Everything that’s
rightfully yours—my heart and soul.
I’m letting you know now that
I’m fighting for you. I’ll do whatever it takes to convince you that I’m the
right man for you. That you’re my mate and no other man will love you as much
or as well as me.”

“I
don’t have time for this, Jett. I don’t have it in me to start caring for you
then have you walk off without telling me what’s wrong. I’m left in the dark
about what I did wrong and I don’t like it. ”

She
pulled her hands free from his loose grip. Flinging an arm out toward the
bakery remains. “Have you seen this mess? Your personal issues have nothing on
this. My business, my life was just burned down by someone and I don’t know
why,” she said in a raised voice.

Corrine
walked off heading to the building. Jett was hot on her heels. There was no way
he could walk away again or let her walk away from him.

Unease
skittered down his spine as his tiger picked up on an old, familiar scent. Jett
scanned the area but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Scanning
the area for clues he ran through the lay of the land he’d committed to memory
his first time out here. Woods surrounded both the house and bakery with
rolling hills behind them. Anyone could hike through the woods or over the
hilly area, though they would be more noticeable coming over the hill. So they
couldn’t have come from that direction.

Jett
walked to the side of the bakery where the majority of the damage was. The
arsonist had to have come up on this side. They wouldn’t be seen from the
house, especially if they came from the main road through the woods.

He
released the tight hold on his inner beast. Allowing it to come to the front
though not close enough to shift. Sniffing the air he followed his nose, the
hair on the back of his neck rising as the scent got stronger.

Finding
himself at the edge of the tree line that led to the pond, he turned to
Corrine. “Go back to the house Corrine and lock the doors.”

Instead
of doing what he said, she marched over next to him. “You don’t get to tell me
what to do Jett Montgomery-Murphy!” She sniffed. Her head reared back when she
caught what he smelled. “It’s that stench again?”

Jett
grabbed Corrine’s shoulder. “What do you mean again?”

She
tried to break free of his hold but he wasn’t allowing it. Something was
telling him this was important. “Jett. Let go.”

“No.
What do you mean again? Tell me Corrine.”

She
huffed out a breath. “From that day in the bakery. The one when you found the
door wide open. I told you I had to air the place out. It smelled like…roses.”

Jett
squeezed his eyes shut before breathing deeply. Forcing his brain to process
what the smell was. After a moment, realization hit him with force. Macy.

It
was her expensive, created just for her perfume. He had forgotten how heavy and
cloying the floral perfume was. Even when she was in tiger form he could still
smell it on her. It was odd though since she wasn’t wearing it when he ran into
her.

He
should have known she wasn’t the sweet and kind woman she attempted to appear
to be. She was a tiger who couldn’t change her stripes. He knew she would never
let him go. This needed to end and in order for that to happen he had to track
her down.

Digging
his new cell phone from his pocket, cause he never could find the old one, he
dialed his father. He would need his help when they caught Macy. There was no
way he would let her roam freely. She was a risk to him and the pride.

He
took a few steps away from Corrine, though never letting her out of his sight.
He spoke in low tones into the phone. Once he was finished he moved back to
her.

Jett
swept his arm around Corrine waist. The minute he made contact, the inner beast
in him settled down. She was right where she belonged and he refused to let his
crazy ex-girlfriend do anything to take her away.

Pulling
her flush against his body he took advantage of her startled gasp fusing his
lips to hers in a searing kiss. Breaking away he said, “Baby, please head back
to the house. I want you inside by the time I shift.” He stroked down her back,
taking comfort in the feel of her while gathering the strength to confront a
disturbed woman.

“But…
but Jett,” she stuttered clearly flustered. She cleared her throat. “What’s
going on? Do you know who did this? Why they did this?”

“I
can’t explain now but I will. I promise. I just need to put the past to rest.
Once I get it settled we can spend as much time as you want talking.” He
dropped a quick kiss on her lips.

“The
past? What does that have to do with me? This isn’t that woman from college is
it?” her eyes narrowed pining him in place.

He
nodded. “Yeah. It’s Macy. I’m sure she set the fire. Her scent is all over the
place. She has to know I love you Corrine. She was probably hoping you would be
inside when it burnt down.”

Corrine
looked about as shocked as he felt.

He
lowered his face to hers. Nuzzled her nose then slowly took her mouth. Pouring
all of his emotions and love into the kiss. Not just to convince her to listen
to him but to also show her what he felt.

Corrine
was the one to break the kiss. She was breathing heavily, a glazed look in her
eyes.

“Now
please, one last time. Go inside and let me take care of this for us.”

“Okay,”
she said.

He
reluctantly let her go, swooping in for one more kiss before pulling his shirt
over his head. Once it was off, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Corrine stood,
completely naked in front of him.

Instantly
swamped with a need to take her to the ground and claim her, he had to force
the desire aside. “I thought you said okay.”

“I
did, but it was an ‘okay, let’s take care of this for us’. You want to be a
couple then we do this together. You’ve been driving me nuts Jett
Montgomery-Murphy and if she’s the reason I’ve been going through hell, then
I’m giving her a piece of my mind. And if you don’t watch it, I might let her
have you.”

“You
wouldn’t dare,” he growled.

“Ha!
Try me. Leave me one more time without a damn good reason and that threat will
happen. I’m done letting you call the shots in this relationship.”

Quick
as lightening he had her lush, naked body pressed firmly against his. His cock
stirred on contact. She sucked in a breath, pressing her breasts harder against
his chest. His skin tingled in the wake of her hard nipples as she wiggled to
break free.

Snaking
a hand down her body he grabbed her ass while keeping the other in the middle
of her back. He pulled his head back to look down into her flushed face. “Now
listen closely so there isn’t a misunderstanding. I’m not leaving you ever
again. I’m here to stay no matter how tired you get of me. How annoying you
find me at times. Or how ticked you get that I wasn’t listening or when I
forget something important. From now on you’re mine—body and soul. Once
we get through sorting this mess out I’m going to love you long and hard. No
one will doubt that you belong to me. And that I belong to you.”