Mating Call (7 page)

Not unless…

Evy picked up her small purse and felt for the largest most flexible card she had. She walked to the door of her room and took a deep breath. Shifters had some seriously heightened senses. She’d have to be as quiet and as fast as she’d ever been. She opened her door and poked her head out. Light flooded most of the upstairs. Luckily, their rooms were way to the right of the staircase. The opposite wall gave her some coverage at least. She stepped into the hallway and crouched down in the shadows. She heard a baby cry from somewhere down the hall.
Hmm.
No light showed from under the door. She had no way of knowing if he was in there, but this was her only shot. Sliding the credit card between the door jamb and the door, Evy leaned it toward the handle and shoved it as far in as she could. When it wouldn’t go in any farther, she moved it back in the direction of the jamb.

Now came the tricky part. The mansion’s old doors were pretty heavy and she wasn’t sure how much noise she’d have to make to slide the latch back. Luckily, her old video membership card was so beat up; it did the trick without much work. The door creaked slightly as she opened it. Stepping inside, she put the card in her jeans pocket and closed the door behind her. The moon shone so brightly into the room that it almost felt like daylight. Troy was asleep on top of the duvet. As she approached the bed, she noticed he was still in his clothes. The closer she came to him, the more nervous she got. Then she noticed there was a book cracked open next to him on the bed. It was A Game of Thrones.

Her stomach did a weird flip flop and she smiled to herself. He had started to read a book because she said she liked it. And he didn’t seem like the bookish type. She moved to the far side of the bed, looked down at him, and waited for the voice. Nothing. Suddenly, moonlight hit her shoulder like it had at the apartment. She turned to it, her body awash in its radiance. She closed her eyes.

For you.

She swallowed. This was it. It was now or never.

“Evy,” he mumbled.

She jumped back. Holy shit! Was he awake? His eyes were closed. He was…talking in his sleep. And he’d said her name. Was he dreaming about her? Maybe he sensed her somehow. Slowly, she leaned down to his mouth and gently touched his lips with hers. His eyes opened immediately, casting their aqua glow into her own face. And then she felt his powerful hands seize her upper arms, their death grip clamping down as a growl rumbled deep in his chest somewhere.

Maybe surprising him wasn’t the best idea after all.

As Troy awoke to the feeling of Evy’s soft lips on his own, he couldn’t believe his freaking eyes. If it weren’t for his instincts going into overdrive, he would have thought it was a dream. All he could think about was having her skin against his. As much as possible, as soon as possible. Which made zero sense because normally he could barely deal with a bro hug. He lifted her and rolled them over so he was partially on top of her.

Her hands went to the sides of his face and he closed his eyes for a moment. They were so soft.

“Are you sure about this, Ev? I mean, you have to be real sure ‘cause—”

She linked her arms around his neck and pulled herself up against him. “Troy.”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

Then those beautiful rose bud lips were on his again and his hands got lost in her long, dark waves.
Fuck.
He pulled back again. If he wasn’t so damn serious he could have laughed at the impatient look on her face.

“Evy, wait. If we do this, we’ll be New Breed and human mate. That’s how everyone will see us. We won’t belong in either world. I’m used to not belongin’. But you…”

She shook her head. “I will belong. I’ll belong to you.”

Her eyes teared up. He probably shouldn’t have done it. It was wrong to check in on her private emotions right now, but her tears had him totally confused. Once he’d gotten control of his powers, Troy came to understand that everyone had different emotional signatures. It was as if their baggage somehow gave them their own personal calling card. Evy was tough and not what you’d call a big crier. Before he let her do this, he needed to be sure. There couldn’t be any confusion. So as he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks, he opened himself up to her. What he found made him suck in his breath. She wasn’t traumatized from the kidnapping and she wasn’t doing this out of gratitude or pity. She…

“I love you. Wherever you go is where I wanna be.”

“I love you so much.” He kissed her and then brushed his lips on her forehead. When she smiled he would have fallen over if he weren’t already lying down. She grabbed at his sweatshirt and he sat up to pull it off. That went along real nice with the nakedness plan. Then she did something that shocked the hell out of him. She got up on her knees in from of him and began to kiss each and every scar she could find.

His eyes misted over. The fact that she wanted him at all was incredible to him. The fact that she accepted him, all of him, seemed like a miracle. Evy was human. Unlike shifters, she could choose her mate. And it just blew him away that she’d chosen him. His head went back as he let himself feel the sensation of her warm lips against his arms, his chest, his—yo! Her mouth had left his navel and was now headed south. That was not part of the plan.

Not yet.

She let him pull his old sweatshirt over her head and wouldn’t you know. No bra to deal with and more of her beautiful skin to touch. He pulled her as close to him as he could without cracking her ribs. When her breasts hit his chest he moaned and she responded, pulling his mouth back to hers. She parted her lips for him and he deepened the kiss, letting his tongue explore her as he ran his hands up her bare back and settled her against the pillows. Her emotions were so strong he literally had to push them back and close himself off to them.

At least he wasn’t the only one who was nervous.

Evy looked up into Troy’s glowing eyes. She couldn’t believe this was really happening. She’d let fantasies about it get her through the toughest times of her kidnapping. But this was real. He bent down and kissed her chin, her neck, her shoulder, her belly ring. She knew where he was headed, but that didn’t stop her from praying he’d get there faster or saying his name when he took her nipple into his mouth, suckling her. Every part of her body woke up and a dam burst between her legs. Suddenly all she could think about was getting her jeans off so his mouth could go everywhere. She arched her back as he planted a kiss on the small bandage that covered her sutures.

“Does it hurt?”

“I’m fine.” She smiled. His concern for her only made her want him more.

He fumbled a bit with the button on her jeans and she reached down and unbuttoned them.

“Sorry,” he whispered, “I’ve never really done this before.”

“Me either.”

He scrunched his eyebrows together. “Really?”

She looked into his eyes. “Really.”

Holy shit.
Troy never would have thought in a million years that he’d be her first. She was so beautiful and she’d known everyone at school. But she was his. Suddenly, he wanted to be inside of her, like yesterday. He leaned down and took her mouth. Hard.

Ilah.

Mine.

He pulled off her jeans and ran a finger lightly alongside her panties. Maybe just a little tease first. She gasped as he slipped his finger just underneath, but not quite far enough. He slid them down her legs, and when the smell of her arousal hit, his erection literally jumped in his jeans. But it was gonna have to wait. Not until he touched her softest skin. He leaned down to taste her, watchin’ as she watched him. She cried out as he ran his tongue gently up her center. Then he put his hands on the curve of her hips and let himself go, his tongue lapping at her smooth, silky hot sex. She called his name as she came and his instincts went into overdrive. That’s all, folks. He shucked off his pants and laid over her, keeping most of his weight on his arms. She tensed as his erection hit her between her thighs and he quickly felt for her stress and pulled some of it away.

He brushed back her hair. “I’ll be gentle. We’ll go real slow, okay?”

She bit her bottom lip and nodded.

Then the strangest thing happened. As he slowly entered her, there wasn’t any resistance. None. He looked down at her face. Her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted. He felt for her emotions. That wasn’t fear. That was…

Well, fuck this missionary shit. He wanted her against him. He wanted to feel every inch of her skin on his. Keeping them joined, he sat back, bringing her up with him so she was in his lap. He held her to him, and as their bodies connected all over the place, he almost lost his shit right there and then.

Evy couldn’t believe how lucky she was not to have any pain her first time. From what she’d been told by friends, it was a damn miracle. Somehow it was as if their bodies were perfectly in tune. Her nervousness left her and suddenly all she wanted was more of him inside her. Their heights evened out and he put his forehead to hers, framing her face with his hands. Evy looked into his glowing aqua eyes and for the first time she could see beyond their brilliance. There was pain. But there was love, too. So much love, and it was all directed toward her.

All at once she wanted to make him feel good. Really good. She pulled him into a kiss and undulated her hips. He closed his eyes and groaned softly, so she did it again, this time with more force. Oh, God. He felt so good inside of her. He moved his hand to her lower back and reached up under her shoulders, keeping her close to him. Over and over they moved, until they were slaves to the endless rhythm, their bodies slick with sweat. She held onto his strong shoulders, their moans becoming louder with every rise and fall. As she tired, he took over, letting her fall back against the pillows. He thrust deep inside her and she wrapped her legs around his back and arched her body, taking in all of him. He came violently, flooding her, the tremors of her own orgasm milking him over and over. She grabbed onto his back, pulling him to her, eyes suddenly wet with tears. He wasn’t for her. They were for each other.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Helen took the small sledgehammer in her hands and looked doubtfully at the wall through her safety goggles.

“Are you sure, my male?”

“Yep. Just think about how much you hate the son of a bitch and whack the shit out of it.”

“Okay.” Helen gave a loud “hiyah!” and let the hammer do its thing. It landed dead center.

X raised his hands over his head. “Bouya!”

Diesel gave his mate a high five. “Nicely done, Doc.”

X nodded. “She’s got the shoulders of a surgeon.”

He raised a brow. “What’s that about her shoulders?”

The brother cleared his throat. “Well, I got plenty to do, so I’m gonna head out.”

Diesel gave a little wave. “I had a feeling. Bye-bye, X!”

Helen smiled. “Wow. Possessive much, my male?”

“Hell, yes. Now let’s just take a little break and discuss the h-u-m-a-n.”

She walked over and closed the door. “I don’t know much more than I told you, but I am worried about Troy. If he ends up mated to her, what will happen?”

“No idea. I can tell you the chances the Order will keep him will be slim to none.”

“But why? Just because of what she is?”

“It’s more like what she isn’t. She’s not a shifter. She can’t protect herself. That makes her a liability. So you think they’ll mate while she’s here?”

“He’s so in love with her, my male. And I think she returns it. Maybe they’ll be better off in the human world. Troy can easily pass as human. We have no idea how she’d even accept our ways anyway.”

“You may be right there. In the meantime, let’s see another slam against that wall. The faster it’s down, the faster we get to christen our new pad.”

She gave him a sexy smile. “Well, in that case.”

Diesel watched his female as she turned back to the wall and gave it everything she had. Looked like that christening wasn’t too far off. Hot damn!

Evy lay under the warm duvet with her head on her mate’s chest.
Mate.
She smiled. She actually liked the sound of that. It was, well, hot. She propped herself on her elbow and touched the gold cross Troy wore around his neck, the perfectly carved savior in its place. “Huh.”

He brushed his hand along her cheek. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Just thinking. Are you religious?”

“Nah, not really. I mean, we have a goddess.”

She laid her head back on the pillow. “Shifters do? Do you all worship her? Or is it more like Eastern thought?”

“Well, she more like tells us what she wants us to do and we do it if we want to survive into the next century.”

She sat back up. “She talks to you?”

“Well, yeah, when she’s here.”

Evy felt her chin drop. She couldn’t help it. “Are you saying you’ve met her?”

“I’ve only met her once, but others have seen her more.”

She went back to looking at the cross. “This is so lovely.”

“It belonged to my younger brother, Patrick.”

“You have a brother?”

“I did. He died my senior year.”

She put her hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah. They split us up and had us in two different foster homes. Made it a lot harder for me to look out for him. We went to different schools. That didn’t help. He got caught up in some drug-related shit. Separating us was bad news from the beginnin’.”

He brushed her hair back from her eyes. “You are so beautiful.”

She felt that damn Irish skin of hers betray her yet again. “Troy, stop.”

“Nope. You’re stuck hearin’ that every day from now on. Startin’ to regret pickin’ that lock yet?”

She snuggled back down against him. “Nope. So, what happens now?”

“Well, I guess we’ll wait ‘til you’re healed and Helen gives the thumbs up. Then I’ll have to talk to the HNBIC. See if there’s any way we can stay.”

“Do you think we might?”

“Honestly, I doubt it. I think I’ll probably be asked to leave.”