Figure of Speech (Halle Shifters) (8 page)

“All right, Julian. Spill.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the Bear, well aware Cyn had pulled his mate away for more than the obvious reasons. “What the fuck is going on?”

“There was more to the attack on Chloe than we let you know.” Julian didn’t look the least bit apologetic. “Things we couldn’t tell you because you had no idea shifters existed.”

“You’ll tell me now.” Jim couldn’t protect Chloe otherwise.

Julian nodded. “Did you know that Tabby was attacked by a rogue Wolf named Gary?”

Jim shook his head. He hadn’t heard anything about this. “When did this happen?”

“Months ago, right before the attack on Chloe. We thought that he’d been the one to hurt her, but we were wrong. He was, however, sent here to watch her.”

“Why?” Jim found he couldn’t keep his eyes off his mate.

“We don’t know. He refused to tell us, even from shifter jail. Gabe was trying to track down who he worked for, who his Alpha might be, but got sidetracked when first Cyn then Glory were also attacked.”

Jim took a deep breath and tried to still the urge to pace. Chloe did not need to know how upset he was. “What did Gabe find out?”

“Hunters in other parts of the country have found bodies with similar wounds, all of them fatal. Worse, all of the victims were half-breeds like Chloe.”

“Someone wants to preserve bloodlines?” To Jim that sounded both elitist and futile. Even he, so new he still squeaked when he walked, knew fate chose your mate, not desire. “That’s fucking stupid.”

“We’re not sure why half-breeds are being targeted, but from what Alex told me they might even be going after kids and making it look like accidents.”

Meaning Alex and Tabby’s child would be targeted, as would any kids Chloe and Jim had. “What do you need me to do?”

“Finish mating Chloe, then find Gabe and Barney. Maybe they have more information than I do.” Julian shrugged. “I’m not a Hunter, so I’m not caught up in the loop.”

“Hunter?” Jim finally turned his attention away from Chloe. Something about the way Julian said that word had him thinking it meant more than guys sitting in a deer blind waiting for a buck to wander by.

“Think of Hunters as the Feds of the shifter world. Their main purpose is to ensure that rogues are taken out before they do damage to humans or other shifters. Ryan, Gabe and Barney are all Hunters.”

“How do you become a Hunter?” Because he could totally see himself in a shifter blind waiting to shoot whoever was after his mate.

“You’re born one, not made, sort of like I was born pretty.” Julian flipped his long hair back over his shoulder and batted his lashes at Jim.

“Uh-huh.” Somehow Jim didn’t think it worked quite that way, but until he’d spoken to the Hunters he wouldn’t know for sure. “So they’re definitely going to want to have a little chat with Spot.”

“Especially since he was the one who attacked Cyn.” Julian’s expression, usually so easygoing, turned briefly fierce. “Unfortunately, I can’t rip his arms off until they question him.”

The human half of Jim was horrified that Julian sounded so serious. They were talking about torturing and killing a sentient being, a person who probably had family and friends back wherever he came from.

His Wolf half wanted to call dibs on the guy’s hindquarters.

“Do you think he had anything to do with the attack on Chloe?” Jim stared down at the Cheetah and tried not to picture him folded into a pretzel.

“There was no scent of shifter near where Chloe was found, but it’s possible I missed it when I was healing her.”

“I owe you for that.” Jim scowled. “No one saw the attack?”

Julian shook his head. “There was an anonymous call made to 9-1-1. By the time I got on the scene the paramedics were already there, working on her.”

Jim’s mind was whirling with possibilities. “Is there any chance at all that she wasn’t attacked there? That she was assaulted somewhere else, then dumped there?”

Julian’s eyes went wide. “Mother fucker.” He pulled out his cell phone and began to dial. “You’re a smart man, Doc Woods.”

“Would the Hunters keep that kind of information from you, though?”

“If Gabe thought he was protecting us? Fuck yes.” Julian held up his hand. “Gabe? We’ve got a problem.”

Jim’s attention was drawn inevitably toward Chloe. The knowledge that she was a target of something larger than a random bashing, that she was still in danger from her attackers, filled him with rage. His fangs descended and fur began to sprout on his arms. He was going to shift, and nothing Jim could do would stop it.

“Sit. Stay. Good woof-woof.” Julian patted his shoulder, and Jim’s Wolf once more calmed under the Bear’s touch. His fangs receded and the fur disappeared.

“Whoa.” He was beginning to understand why so many people called Julian Super Bear.

“Stick around. For my next trick I’m going to make a Cheetah eat its own anus.”

Jim had no doubt Julian would do just that.

Chapter Eight

Chloe glanced at Jim, surprised to find him so calm and cool. She could have sworn she’d heard his Wolf growling so deeply she’d been certain he was about to change. Either that or take her down and claim her like a wild man.

Instead, he was chatting with Julian as if nothing at all was wrong.

“He’s close, but Super Bear got his ass to calm down.” Cyn put her phone away. “Barney’s on his way.”

“So is Ryan.” Chloe had called her brother the moment she and Cyn were apart from Jim and Julian. It wasn’t that she doubted that the three of them could keep watch over one Cheetah. It was more her brother deserved to be there when they questioned him. “I wish I blew why this was happening to we.” Chloe rubbed her arms, chilled to the bone. She couldn’t seem to get warm now that the threat was gone.

Cyn took one look at her chattering teeth and bellowed for her mate. “Jules, get your furry ass over here!”

Jim moved so quickly he left Julian in the dust. “Shh.” He took her into his arms, wrapping her up tight. “I’ve got you.” Jim pointed his chin back toward where he’d been standing. “Cyn?”

“I’ve got it.” Cyn sauntered back toward the entrance of the apartment building. “If he so much as twitches I’m gutting the
cabròn
.”

“I’m glad she’s on our side,” Jim whispered.

“Me blue.” Chloe was shivering so hard she could barely stand. “I’m sowwy, but I need to spit.”

Jim didn’t hesitate. He picked her up like she weighed less than air and took her straight back into the building. He settled on the stairs with her on his lap, her head tucked on his shoulder.

God, he was so warm, and smelled so good. She’d marked him, but the claiming wasn’t complete until they made love and he marked her back. Even so, just his scent helped settle her shattered nerves and the soothing heat of his touch made her feel safe in a way not even her family could.

She’d needed this, far more than she’d wanted anyone to know.

They sat quietly, not speaking, just holding one another. She could hear Cyn and Julian talking softly to one another, but she had no desire to leave the comforting embrace of her mate to find out what the two were chatting about. The more Jim held her, the more her shivers disappeared until she felt toasty from head to toe.

“Tank you.”

He kissed the top of her head. “You’re welcome. Feel better?”

“Mm-hm.” She snuggled closer, surprising herself with a wide-jawed yawn.

“It’s normal. You’re no longer running on adrenaline, and now your body wants to sleep.” Jim stroked his hand down her back. “Do you want to try and nap while Cyn and Julian talk to the others?”

“Are day here?” She didn’t glance toward the parking lot. She didn’t want to move at all.

“Not yet. You’ve got time.” He rubbed his chin against the top of her head. “I’ll make sure of it.”

She smiled. “You’re scent-marking me.”

He stilled. “I am?”

Chloe giggled. “I like it.” She wanted to bathe in his scent, have every shifter who came across her know that Jim was hers.

“Will you scent-mark me as well?” Jim sounded…intrigued.

“All over.”

“Oh?” His voice went husky. He squirmed a bit, making her laugh again. “Tell me more about this all-over-marking thing.”

She bit her lip and glanced toward Cyn and Julian.

Oh hell. From the thumbs-up they both shot her, they’d heard every word of what she’d said to her mate. “Jeez. A skittle privacy, people.”

Jim’s silent laughter shook her, but in a good way. “We’ll have to discuss this,
in length
, when we’re alone.”

Chloe swallowed as he caressed her hip. “Uh-huh.”

“I think they’re here.” Jim stood, cradling Chloe in his arms. “Jules? I’m taking Chloe upstairs.”

“Don’t start anything you won’t have time to finish.” Julian waved them off, his arm around his mate.

Apparently Jim didn’t need any further acknowledgment, because he started up the stairs at a rapid pace. “We need to pack.”

“Pack?” She lifted her head from his shoulder, looking around in confusion. “Why?”

“You’re moving in with me.”

She opened her mouth, but only a squeak came out. Her words had deserted her again.

“I’m going to have you work with some of the animals in the clinic. You can’t do surgery, and you can’t work the front desk, but you can sure as hell do other things.” He opened the door to her apartment and carried her straight to her bedroom. “Your scent is so strong in here.”

His tone was growly again, Julian’s influence not as strong now that they were no longer in the Kermode Bear’s presence. Julian’s powers were sometimes frightening, but his big heart made up for any fear Chloe might have felt around him.

When he slammed her bedroom door closed with his foot she understood that Julian’s influence was gone entirely. Jim’s eyes were golden brown as he lowered her to the bed. “I’m sorry. I have to.”

She stroked his cheek, smiling as he leaned into her touch. “I know. I taunt you to.”

He chuckled softly. “I promise I’ll go as slow as I can.”

Considering she could feel how hard he was trembling she doubted he’d be going all
that
slow. But her voice was gone again, lost in a swirl of soft touches and tiny, maddening kisses across her collarbone. Jim knelt above her, pushing up her shirt as he peppered each patch of bared skin with butterfly kisses. He didn’t hesitate at her scars as she’d feared he would, instead pausing at each one to stroke and caress.

When he licked the scar over her belly button she moaned, the sensation intensely erotic. He carefully removed her shirt, exposing her “cleaning day comfy bra”.

Hell, it wasn’t like she’d expected her dream man to throw her onto her bed and finally claim her
today
. She’d been throwing out the trash, for God’s sake.

Jim didn’t seem to mind the ratty-ass bra, though. She grabbed hold of her comforter, clenching it in her fists as he worked his way up to it, gently lifting her up enough so that he could work the clasp in back. He coaxed her into letting go of the comforter long enough to remove the bra, then sat back on his heels and studied her. “Beautiful.” He stroked the tip of her breast with a gentleness that startled her. “My little Fox.”

She held up her hands, smiling when Jim immediately leaned into her. She tugged him close, the feel of his shirt against her bare breasts intoxicating. She tilted her head, baring her throat to him, took a deep breath and prayed her voice would cooperate. “Claim. Me.”

“With pleasure.”

Jim struck, sinking his fangs into Chloe’s creamy skin. She screamed, but it wasn’t a sound filled with pain, like he’d feared. Oh, no. This sound was all about pleasure. Chloe’s hips rocked under him, brushing against his cock until he thought he’d cream his jeans like a fucking teenager during his first make-out session.

She’d come just from his bite.

My God. Why the fuck did I wait so long?
The scent of her pleasure permeated the room. Her breath came in gasps, her eyes became dazed and her pupils dilated. Her lips were parted, her tongue darting out to lick the bottom one.

“Wow.” She smiled, the expression almost loopy. She raised her arms in the air and waved them around, almost clocking him. “Let’s fro again! Let’s go again!”

Jim chuckled. She was adorable, all rumpled and half-naked, waving her arms in the air like Kermit the Frog on downers. “Let’s get you naked first, hmm?”

She nodded eagerly, pushing at his hips until he got off of her. She wiggled out of her jeans, using her right hand far more than her left, but when he tried to help she scowled at him.

He let her be. Chloe had been dealing with her physical limitations long enough to know what she was capable of. He would watch, see if she needed his help, but otherwise she was strong enough to do things on her own.

Between Chloe and Spencer he was being fed some serious humble pie. He didn’t think he’d handle their issues nearly as well as the two of them did. He’d be a basket case, sobbing in the corner about his lost dreams. Spencer simply asked for a room and a bed, and Chloe?

She asked for him.

He was a goddamn ass, and he’d spend the rest of his life making it up to her. “Thank you.”

Her brows rose. “For getting naked?”

“For giving me another chance.”

Her expression softened. “Of course.” Chloe’s expression was both hopeful and fearful. “Are we really going to do this?”

“Do you want to?” As afraid as he was that his dick would fall off if he didn’t get inside her tight little body, he’d gladly pick it up off the floor and hand it to her if she wasn’t ready for this.

She bared her fangs at him with the most adorable snarl.

“Okay then.” Jim knew Chloe was very inexperienced, so he wasn’t going to rush this. He wanted to remember this day not for the terror of the Cheetah attack, but as the day they mated. It wasn’t ideal, but he could stand the thought of waiting one second longer.

Chloe began taking off his shirt and he helped her, wiggling until it landed beside the bed. Next his jeans were shucked, along with his underwear, tangling with the shoes he hadn’t yet kicked off. She giggled when he began shimmying like a crazy person, kicking until the shoes fell off and he could finally get his pants and briefs off.

“Think that’s funny?” He licked her chin, her giggles intensifying. He was more than willing to embarrass himself if it meant she was relaxed. “Oh, are we ticklish?” He feathered his fingers over her sides, delighted when she shivered and tried to get away.

“Don’t!”

“Don’t what?” He did it again, enjoying the sound of her laughter. “This?”

“Jim!” She tried to glare at him, but the sheer joy in her gaze made it more kittenish than villainous. “I will end you.”

He chuckled, the urge to run his fingers over the mark on her neck impossible to ignore. He stroked the mark, startled when her laughter stopped dead and she shuddered beneath him. The scent of arousal once more filled the air.

“Chloe?”

“Hmm?” She leaned into his touch as he continued to caress the mark.

“You like that?” His voice dropped, becoming husky as his own arousal rose to match hers.

She tilted her head, baring her neck further, her eyes closing. Her expression was yearning, nearly begging him to touch her more.

Jim kissed the mark, raking his teeth over it. The moan he got in return had him biting down gently, eager to elicit more of those beautiful noises.

She reached up and clasped the back of his head, holding him in place as he bit down. It wasn’t until he tasted the copper of her blood that he realized his fangs had come down.

Chloe bucked beneath him as she reacted to his bite, coming from that alone. His Wolf grunted in satisfaction as she gasped out her pleasure.

His dick throbbed in response, the mark on his own neck pulsing as his heart raced. He needed to be inside her, one with her, feeling her clench around him as she came again and again.

Jim slid down her body, pausing long enough to pay homage to her breasts. He licked and suckled each one until her quiet moans became demanding cries, her fists clenching painfully in his hair. Her voice was gone, the only sounds erupting from her throat guttural and barely human.

She was lost in the pleasure he was giving her, and he couldn’t be happier about it.

He kissed his way down her taut stomach, making sure to hit each and every one of her scars as he did so. When he was done she would know that he wanted every part of her, flaws and all.

He began to tease her opening with his finger, gently coaxing her to accept his touch. She seemed startled at first, her eyes going wide, but when he licked her clit and sucked it into his mouth her eyes squeezed shut once more. She began moving against him, barely flinching when he eased his finger inside her.

God, she was tight. He was right, then, that she’d had little to no experience. And as asinine as it was, the thought that he might be her first made him want to beat his chest like Tarzan.

He finger fucked her, watching her reactions, gauging when he felt she could take a second finger. He wanted her stretched, wet and ready for him, because the last thing that should be in bed with them was pain. When she seemed ready he added a second finger, sucking her clit hard to distract her from any sting she might feel.

If her face was anything to go by, she was more than ready for what he was doing. Still, he needed to make sure. “Ready for more?”

“M-m-m-m…” Her eyes opened, some of the passion fading as she couldn’t get the word out.

“I have you, little vixen.” He planted a soft kiss on the ginger curls between her thighs, then carefully eased a third finger inside her.

She winced for the first time and he stilled, allowing her to get used to the width of his three fingers. As she relaxed, he began peppering her skin with kisses again, soothing her, gently taking her clit once more into his mouth and gently sucking.

Before long she was bucking against him, taking him to the third knuckle.

She was ready.

Jim sat up and prayed that the condom he had in his wallet was still good. As much as he’d love to make children with Chloe they had to wait. He fumbled for his pants, pulling his wallet from his pocket.

“Uh?”

“Condom.”

She grinned and lay back down, watching him with a slumberous, pleasure-filled gaze that had him dropping the condom twice in his eagerness to see her come yet again. He ripped the package open and slid the condom on. The feel of his own hand on his length made him grit his teeth and pray like he never had before. If he came before he even had the condom on he’d have to move to Siberia and change his name to Ivan Jerkov.

That expression on her face didn’t help either. He could come just from the lust she was showing him.

He took a deep breath, trying to control the tremors racing through him. This was it. The rest of his life was on this single moment, when she’d accept him into her body.

Before he could get himself under control she tugged him down and nodded. Her gaze was pinned to his, urging him on.