Embrace the Heat (18 page)

“How is that even possible?” Simon asked at
the same time. “You told me there were no shape shifters. I
remember we had a conversation where I told you that the Treasure
Island humans thought vampires changed into birds, and you agreed
there were no shape shifters. Now you’re telling me you lied
to me about that?”

“No,” Raven corrected him. “I told you the
idea of shape shifters was hard to believe. I never said they
didn’t exist. It’s best to avoid most of them, and it seemed
unlikely that you’d ever run into one. They tend to be very
aggressive. Obviously, the ones you ran into today were nicer than
most. If they hadn’t been, you wouldn’t have come back with
Layla.”

“I wouldn’t have let them take her,” Simon
said.

“You probably could have stopped one,” Raven
said. “Three? No way. If they’d been more aggressive, they would
have taken her because she’s an unmarked female. The male shifters
I’ve met have all been even more domineering than Connor. Layla is
unmarked, meaning she’s available to male shifters. Oddly enough,
they tend to respect their females, but they are protective and
don’t like outsiders. They also tend to act on instinct more around
unmarked females, especially during mating season.”

“She’s not unmarked anymore,” Simon said and
exposed the bite mark on her neck. Why he was taking so much pride
in that, she had no idea.

Connor hissed. “When you said you bit her, I
thought you took blood.”

Raven studied Simon thoughtfully. “I hope you
know what you’re doing, Simon. Layla could have used the other
shifters to get her through this. Now, they may respect your claim
and stay away from her. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

Simon nodded, but Layla got the impression
that he had no idea what he’d done. Hell, she didn’t know what he’d
done.

“This doesn’t make any sense. I can’t turn
into a cat,” Layla said nervously. Would that hurt? Maybe she
should have gone with Jase, Cam, and Zane. At least they seemed to
know what she was.

“I’m not sure what will happen,” Raven
admitted. “You’re half human, so you may not change. If you do,
it’ll happen on your twenty seventh birthday. No idea why it’s
always twenty seven, but it is. I’m guessing by the way the
other shifters acted around you, that you’ll change. They didn’t
seem to have any trouble recognizing you as one of their own. Then
again, like I said before, my experience with shifters is pretty
limited.”

“Will it hurt?” Layla asked.

“I’ve seen them shift, and it doesn’t look
like it hurts,” Raven said. “There’s a lot of energy buzzing
through the air when it happens, and then they just seem to change
into their animal. It’s beautiful to watch.”

Layla nodded and swallowed hard.

Connor shook himself out of his stunned
silence and paced the room to get further away from Layla. “Until
after Layla’s birthday, I think it would be best to keep her
monitored. I can see if she can stay at Shelby and Carla’s.
Obviously, we can’t put her in the home of a male vampire. The
humans might be at risk if her change doesn’t go well.”

Raven shook her head. “She’ll still be Layla
when she changes. She won’t hurt her friends. It might be good to
put her with someone like Danny or Mark. They’ve been friends for
years and both find her attractive. I wasn’t kidding about the sex.
Layla’s going to get more aggressive if she doesn’t get that taken
care of. The only thing that will help is having a man finish
inside of her. It’s part of the shifter heat cycle. Thankfully it
only happens once a year.”

“She’s staying with me,” Simon growled. Layla
tried to move away from him, but Simon caught her upper arm
again.

“There is no way in hell am I letting her
stay with you,” Connor said. “Let her go right now, Simon.”

Simon’s grip tightened and he pulled her
closer. He lifted her onto his lap and leaned forward to nuzzle the
bite mark on her neck.

Layla struggled to free herself from Simon.
When his teeth pressed in lightly around the bite mark, she stopped
struggling. Her eyes closed, and a shudder ran through her
body.

“Simon,” Connor let out a warning growl which
caused Layla’s eyes to snap open.

“Connor,” Raven said with a hand on his
forearm. “There’s nothing you can do. Simon’s already marked
her.”

“So?” Connor asked in obvious confusion. He
still hadn’t taken his eyes off of Simon.

“Layla is being ruled by her instincts at the
moment. Simon dominated her and marked her. Her instincts are going
to tell her she belongs to him. For some reason, Simon is reacting
to the pheromones like a shifter. Or vampires might just be that
dominant to begin with. Anyway, my point is that if another man so
much as touches her, it could result in bloodshed.”

“Then why did you suggest Danny or Mark?”
Simon asked angrily.

Raven gave him a knowing smile. “I wanted to
see you lose your composure over a woman.” Then she turned to
Connor. “Are we agreed that she stays with Simon?”

Connor let out a frustrated breath. “Fine,
but I still think this is a bad idea.”

Simon didn’t even say goodbye before
practically dragging Layla back out to the jeep.

Layla was beginning to think she’d made a
terrible mistake by leaving Connor’s house with Simon. The emotions
running through her were insane! She was angry, scared, and most of
all aroused. The problem was that she knew when it was over her
feelings would be even more involved. For Simon, it was all about
the pheromones. What was happening between them was all about sex.
Actually, that was unfair. Simon cared about her. They were good
friends, and he didn’t want her to suffer. In many ways, that made
things worse. If he was just using her for sex, keeping some
distance emotionally would be easier.

The silence in the jeep was killing her, but
she had no idea what to say.

When they got to his home, Simon finally
spoke. “I’m not sure what’s going on.” His voice was rough, and he
didn’t look at her. Both hands remained on the steering wheel. In
the setting sun, Simon looked beautiful. Then again, Simon always
looked beautiful.

“Like Raven said, it’s the pheromones. Why
make more out of this?” Layla tried for a light tone but couldn’t
quite pull it off.

Simon reached out and stroked the hair back
from her face. “What’s happening is so much more than pheromones.
For months, I’ve tried not to want you.”

“Why?” she asked without looking at him.
“Never mind, I already know the answer. You don’t want to be with a
human. Being my friend is okay, but that’s all you ever intended to
have with me.”

Simon watched her, his stare willing her to
look at him. Finally, she gave in and met the raw hunger in his
blue eyes. “It’s not that. Well, some of it is. I had bad
experiences with humans while I was growing up.”

Layla nodded her understanding. That wasn’t a
secret. While she may not know the specifics of Simon’s
experiences, she knew he’d been forced by humans to prostitute
himself at a very young age. “I get it, Simon,” she said. “If I
were you, I’d probably have trouble being with a human too.”

“No,” he said softly, “you don’t get it.
Despite everything you’ve gone through in life, you are pure.”

Layla snorted. “Hardly.”

“Compared to me, you’re pure. I’m so dirtied
by my past that I’ll never be clean. What I’m about to do to you is
wrong, and I’m still going to do it. I’m still going to contaminate
you with my filth. Even knowing how wrong it was, I considered
taking you before. Knowing that being together could only lead to
heartbreak for you, for us, I thought about taking you.”

Layla touched Simon’s cheek. “What happened
in your past wasn’t your fault.”

For a moment it looked like he might share
more, but he shook his head and the moment of sharing was over.
“Yes, you being human was a problem, but things are different
now.”

“Now, it’s okay because I’m not human?” For
some reason that really bothered her.

Simon let out a bark of laughter. “Are you
kidding? When I told those shifters you were mine in the woods, I
still thought you were human.”

“That was to get those guys away from me,”
Layla said. “I knew you didn’t really mean it.”

“The reason I told them you were mine is
because it’s the truth. Even when I tried to avoid you, it was the
truth. The day I jumped in front of a bullet to save your life, it
was the truth. There wasn’t a human in the world I would have
risked my life for before that day. Then I saw you fighting. This
tiny little thing with no fear. Damn, you were so full of life that
I felt drawn to you. When that bastard pulled a gun to shoot you, I
knew what I had to do. The idea of you dying was completely
unacceptable. I probably would have taken the bullet for you
without the Kevlar on.”

Layla looked at Simon, and her breath caught.
He was the most incredible man she’d ever met, and he wanted her.
More than handsome, he was loyal, funny, and had been a good friend
to her for months. Simon was everything she could ever want in a
man, and he was hers, at least for today. Her body clenched with
lust, and she flinched.

“Are you okay?” Simon’s blue eyes filled with
worry.

Teeth gritted, she shook her head and
struggled to answer. “The shifters were right; it hurts. I can’t
find release on my own anymore. The pain is getting really intense,
Simon.”

“Everything is going to be okay,” Simon
crooned. “I’m going to take care of you.”

Simon climbed out of the jeep and met her on
the other side. When Layla tried to get out, another wave of lust
hit, and she collapsed. The only thing that kept her from hitting
the sidewalk was Simon’s strong arms. He lifted her against his
chest and carried her into the house. Unlocking the front door with
her in his arms was a little awkward, but he managed. Layla was too
far gone to offer to help.

They didn’t make it to his room; Simon set
her on her feet in front of the stairs and literally tore off her
shirt. That spurred Layla into action. She snarled at him and made
quick work of undoing his belt and pants.

“You will not go out without Kevlar again,”
he said as he undid her bra so hastily that he broke the clasp.

“You don’t get to give me orders,” she said
and yanked down his pants and boxers.

Simon slipped off his shirt and tossed it
over his head. When his chest was bare, he looked down at his
boots. “Next time we should take my shoes off first.” He reached
down to get the boots off of his feet and stripped completely.

Layla stared at Simon’s body. He was all
sinewy muscle with a few scars here and there. He had very little
body hair at all. When she got to his penis, she swallowed hard. “I
should probably admit that I haven’t been with very many guys, and
that’s bigger than I’m used to.”

Simon flashed a cocky grin and knelt to
remove her boots. “Sit on the fourth step,” he ordered.

Layla did and watched as he used those long
fingers to unlace her boots and then slip them off of her feet. She
was pretty sure he would have ripped them off too if he thought it
was possible. Her eyes strayed between his legs again, and her
muscles tightened with anticipation and a bit of anxiety.

Simon practically growled. “Your scent has
been making me crazy.” Then he shocked her by pulling her legs
apart and leaning in to bury his face against the crotch of her
pants. He inhaled deeply and let out a shuddering breath. “So
warm,” he murmured against her. Only two layers of clothing
separated his mouth from her aching flesh, and it was two layers
too many. “You’re so hot. I’ll bet you practically burn me with
that heat when I’m inside of you.”

“Please, Simon,” she said desperately. “It
hurts. I can’t take any more flirting. Please, just fuck me.”

Simon’s eyes met hers, and his expression
held a strange mixture of concern, lust, and possessiveness. “Stand
up,” he said. When she did, he turned her to the side slipped a
hand into the front of her waist band and the other into the back.
Then he shocked her by ripping the pants down the center.

She suddenly felt a little uncomfortable
standing in front of Simon in her plain cotton panties. When she’d
gone to pick out clothing with Raven, there had been a lot of
choices and several looked sexy, but Layla didn’t have anyone to
impress. Now the sexiest man alive was staring at her in her cream
colored cotton bikini panties.

As Simon carefully slid the panties down her
legs, he shocked her by saying, “These are so damn sexy. They hide
everything from me, tempting me to see what’s underneath.” Lifting
one of her feet, he slid the panties off.

Layla moaned and almost fell backwards. Simon
knelt two steps below her and looped an arm around her lower back
to support her weight.

“Spread your legs a little,” he said. When
she complied, he ran his tongue along her aching flesh. “You’re so
wet for me.”

Layla needed more than his tongue. She
gripped his hair to try to pull his head away, but it did no good.
Simon’s tongue continued to stroke her clit.

“I need you inside of me now,” Layla insisted
as she wiggled against his hot mouth. Simon reached between her
legs and slid one long finger into her. Eyes closed, she rocked
against his mouth as he did amazing things with that finger. His
finger curled and hit a spot that made her groan. Then he worked
his finger against her in tune with his tongue. She’d never felt
anything quite that incredible. Still she wanted more.

Simon pulled back to study her. “You’re so
tight. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Any argument she had was forgotten when his
tongue returned to her clit. She started to protest when he removed
his finger, but that protest quickly died when he slid two fingers
into her and started to move them in and out. The things that
vampire could do with his fingers and tongue should be illegal. The
ache that had been nearly killing her for days was better and worse
at the same time.