Mating Instinct: A Moon Shifter Novel (24 page)

“That makes sense,” Kat whispered.

Once in the bedroom, he quickly picked up both their scents, but he wanted to see what she got. “What do you smell?”

She slowly looked around the neat room—queen-sized bed, two dressers, elongated oval mirror in the corner, and open closet door. “A light vanilla scent, but not the kind from a lotion or food. It’s really subtle.”

“Good. That’s the wife.”

“How do you know?”

He shrugged. “I just do.” Males and females had distinctive differences in their scents, but this wasn’t the time to explain it. He wanted to see what she picked up; then he wanted to get her the hell out of there. “What else?”

“I smell cologne—the cheap kind—and cigarettes, but I don’t think anyone smokes in here. It’s just”—she glanced toward a wicker hamper visible in the closet—“subtle, like it’s coming from someone’s clothing. I also smell something oily. I can’t put my finger on it, but it smells almost . . . rotten. It’s so faint I can barely pick up on it.”

“Damn.” Jayce knew what that smell was. It was hatred. It poured off some people in such pungent waves that it left behind a trail. Jayce knew it was the husband. It blended with his natural scent. Humans couldn’t smell it, but they could see it in people in other ways. They picked up on visual cues or they listened to that intangible thing called their gut instinct. Not enough humans listened to it. “That’s very good, Kat.”

At the sound of a vehicle door slamming, they both froze. Before she could move, he hurried to the front of the house and carefully peeked out one of the windows. His heart rate ratcheted up a fraction.

The wife’s car was in the driveway and she was striding up the front walk.

He still had to flip the breaker back on to make it seem like there had been a power surge, and thereby mask the fact that someone had intentionally turned the system off. He hadn’t done it before because he wasn’t sure if the alarm system was the type that would reset automatically.

Hurrying back to the bedroom, he found Kat still standing there. As he heard the sound of a key sliding into a lock, he motioned toward the window.

With wide eyes, Kat nodded and went to it. She unlocked it, opened it, then slid out soundlessly, though he could hear her heart rate increase. Quickly following, he pulled it back in place just as he saw the wife entering the room.

Ducking down, he pointed toward the other side of the street. “Jump the fence and meet me back in the woods.”

She paused, looking unsure. “What are you going to do?”

He didn’t want to be having this conversation now. “Flip the breaker back on. Now go.” Without waiting to see if she would do as he said, he crept back to the edge of the house, then crossed the backyard toward the other side, where the breaker was.

If the husband had been the one coming home, he’d have likely checked this out as soon as he realized the power was off. Jayce was just hoping it would take the wife a little longer. As he flipped the metal switch back into place and shut the box, he heard the sound of the back door opening and the woman talking to herself under her breath.

The survival need that was so embedded into his kind kicked in, giving him an extra jolt of speed as he jumped the fence and practically flew across the street.

“She didn’t see you,” Kat murmured as he came to a stop in front of her. Continuing, she said, “I wonder how long she’ll be there.”

“Doesn’t matter. I got what I needed.”

Her pale blue eyes widened. “You did?” Before he could answer, her lips pulled into a thin line. “You didn’t even need me with you, did you?”

Jayce shook his head. “I got the scents as I swept the house. It’s second nature.” So why did he feel guilty about that? He hadn’t planned to tell her that, but she’d realized it and he wouldn’t lie to her.

Surprising him, she cupped his cheeks and kissed him so thoroughly he felt it everywhere. Her tongue swept past his lips, completely invading him. When she finally pulled back, he didn’t bother hiding his surprise. “What was that for?”

“For taking me with you when you didn’t need me. For taking the time to teach me about my new skills when you should be focusing solely on your investigation. For letting me do this because I need to strike back at the APL in any way. Mainly, just for being you.” She dropped another kiss on his lips, then turned on her heel and started heading back through the woods.

You’re wrong about one thing. I do need you,
he thought. He needed her more and more each second that passed. Unfortunately he wasn’t sure she needed him as much.

Chapter 16

K
at glanced around Jayce at the building they should so not be headed into. “You’re sure about this?”

“You just helped me break into someone’s house. Of course I’m sure.” His response was slightly playful, but there was an edge underlying his words. Not directed at her—she was a hundred percent sure of that. He just wanted this mess settled.

She did too. The more time she spent with Jayce, the more vengeance and revenge took a backseat. Well, not completely. She wanted justice for the people who had participated in her torture. Technically only one man—if he could even be called that—had tortured her, but someone had given him the orders. Maybe not orders to torture her, but it didn’t matter to her. From what they’d discovered, Adler—the direct boss of the monster who’d hurt her—had a boss too. Someone high up within the APL. He needed to be brought down. They needed to strike at this organization hard, before they got too powerful.

Still, no matter how much she craved bringing down the APL, she found she was coming to crave Jayce so much more. Back when they’d been dating, he’d been sweet with her, but the way he’d been acting lately was different. Good different, but it was like he was claiming her in some way. It freaked her out more than she would admit. Last night she’d tried so hard to convince herself that he could never completely give himself to her emotionally. How could he? The more she was around him, however, the more she wondered if that wasn’t her own fear rearing its ugly head. She hadn’t even been able to admit to herself that there was now a difference in their lovemaking. In the shower yesterday he’d rocked her to her core with his passion and the way he’d actually bitten her.

“Where’d you just go?” Jayce asked quietly.

She blinked, brushing away the haze of her thoughts, and shook her head. “Sorry, zoned out. I’m ready if you are.”

He eyed her curiously, but didn’t question her further. He just placed his hand on the small of her back as they strode toward the police station. Parker would be in today, so she was dropping by to say hello. Or at least that was the excuse. She knew Jayce hated police stations, but this was his plan and she trusted him. Hell, he’d been able to pick up five different human scents in the house they’d broken into. She was still trying to figure out the difference between the scents of people standing right in front of her. Figuring out leftover scents was a little beyond her at the moment.

Jayce was hoping one of the scents from the house would match someone here. Brianna had said the wife was sure that one of her husband’s APL friends was in law enforcement, so this was the best place to start.

As they entered the building, Kat and Jayce ran right into Detective Chance Kinsey. Tall, dark, and handsome, he gave her the once-over, apparently with far too much appreciation in his gaze for Jayce’s taste, considering the way his fingers tightened against her back. Obviously now that she wasn’t in the interrogation room anymore, the detective felt free to check her out and he wasn’t being subtle about it. His aura was still fairly unreadable except for a faint purple haze that sizzled around him before fading. She almost snorted. The man had pretty damn good psychic shields, but his lust was shining through.

If it hadn’t been bothering Jayce so much she might have laughed. She would have sensed Jayce’s reaction even without the physical response against her back. He was territorial and he didn’t hide it well.

“I’ve only got one type, pretty boy, and you’re not it.” The words were out before she could stop herself, but her inner wolf didn’t like the fact that his look was upsetting Jayce. Before she had time to dwell on her response, the detective’s head snapped up from appraising her assets.

Maybe it was the bluntness of her words or maybe he was embarrassed that she’d caught him staring—or maybe it was because she’d called him “pretty boy”—but the tips of his ears tinged crimson in embarrassment.

Kat bit back a satisfied smile. This guy had almost made her throw up by showing her those horrific crime scene photos. If she’d had breakfast that morning, she probably would have puked. It was petty, but she was glad she’d been able to get under his skin.

The detective cleared his throat. “Uh, everything okay? Why are you here?”

“We’re here to see the sheriff,” Jayce answered, taking a step forward and not quite subtly placing himself between Kat and the detective.

The man looked back and forth between the two of them, nodding as if understanding, then held up a hand. “Hold on a sec.” After radioing Parker, he nodded at them again. “Come on. I’ll walk you back.”

Kat was surprised by how nice he was being, but she figured the detective felt a little guilty about being such a dick to her during the interrogation. After swiping a security card, he led them out of the main lobby and back to a desk-filled space where men and women in uniform were milling around.

Parker gave them a curious look when the three of them filed into his office. An officer named Derrick Bird—according to his gold-plated ID—the same man who’d been with Parker when he’d picked Kat up the other morning, was in the office, but Parker murmured that he could go. Kat watched the officer as he left, trying to pick up on his aura, but she got absolutely nothing. The guy was like a blank slate. Detective Kinsey mumbled a polite good-bye, then left, shutting the door behind him.

Parker rounded his desk and gave Kat a quick hug. Jayce might not have liked it, but at least he didn’t growl at the man. “Is everything okay?” he asked as he stepped back and leaned against his desk.

Kat nodded. “Yeah.”

“We want to know if you like having dirty cops on your force.” Jayce’s words dropped into the quiet room with the subtlety of a live grenade.

Kat grimaced. As enforcer for the North American Council, he’d worked with human law enforcement before—not that he liked it. Kat knew Parker was aware of Jayce’s presence in Fontana, but as far as she knew they hadn’t crossed paths in such a direct manner before. Jayce certainly knew how to break the ice.

Parker straightened to his full height, which made him a couple of inches taller than Jayce, and the blue eyes that were so similar to his sister’s flashed in annoyance. “What the hell does that mean?”

Jayce lifted his broad shoulders casually. “Just a question.”

“You saying there’s someone dirty on my force?”

Another shrug from Jayce. “It’s a possibility. How do you feel about someone on your force being part of the APL?”

Kat already knew the answer to that. The APL had gone after Parker’s sister more than once because of December’s relationship with the Armstrong-Cordona pack. As far as Kat knew, Parker would go to hell and back for that woman.

“You got proof?” he asked quietly, his voice razor-sharp.

Jayce shook his head. “Not yet. I just wanted to gauge your reaction. I’ll be in contact soon.” Without waiting for a response, he jerked the door open.

To Kat’s surprise, Parker didn’t try to stop them or question them further. Probably because he knew it wouldn’t do any good. Jayce wasn’t someone who answered questions unless he was good and ready to. As they stepped back into the main room of the station, the hum of noise she’d been able to tune out in Parker’s office increased.

They received a few odd stares, and some downright angry ones, no doubt because most of the police officers knew who Jayce was, and it was a small town, so a lot of people now knew she’d been turned into a shifter. After the way she’d been dragged down to the station, she guessed everyone here knew about her. They might not know the details, but she was still considered different now. And “different” equaled “monster” to some of them. With the killings going on, they probably viewed her as a suspect, even though her DNA had cleared her.

Once they were outside again, her heart rate returned to normal. She glanced at Jayce. “Did you get what you needed?” she asked quietly, even though she already had a good idea what the answer was. She didn’t think they’d be leaving if he hadn’t.

He nodded, his jaw clenched tight. “Got a name to go with one of the scents.”

“That’s good, right?” So why did he look so annoyed?

He nodded again.

Placing a hand on his forearm, she stopped him as they neared his motorcycle. “What’s wrong?”

Jayce finally turned to face her and she realized nothing was wrong. She could see the gleam in his gray eyes, which had gone startlingly dark, and that wasn’t a trick of the light, she was certain. He was incredibly turned on, but she couldn’t scent anything, so she guessed he could actually hide his lust when he wanted to. Something he hadn’t told her.

“Wh—” Before she could utter a word, his mouth was on hers, claiming and hungry. There was nothing teasing or playful about the way his tongue delved inside her mouth. Heat flooded between her legs, her abdomen clenching as hunger overtook her. Clutching his shoulders, she tried to keep her balance, but the kiss was over almost before it had begun.

Tearing his lips from hers, he stepped back, putting a solid foot of distance between them before he slid onto his bike.

“What was that about?” She quietly got on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her body tight against his.

He didn’t answer, but he did put one of his hands over hers, holding her. With his free hand he pulled out his cell phone and typed in a quick text. She read the message before he sent it.
Check out Derrick Bird, he’s w/ the Fontana Sheriff’s Dept. Need address.

“Who’d you send that to?” She didn’t say anything about the message. Without asking, she could guess that Jayce had scented Derrick Bird at the house they’d broken into earlier. Nice stroke of luck that he’d been in Parker’s office. Of course, Jayce probably would have been able to pick him out even if he’d been surrounded by the entire station.

“Ryan.” A curt answer that would normally bother her but she could tell something was going on with Jayce so she didn’t push him.

Ryan O’Callaghan was the resident computer genius at the ranch, so it made sense that Jayce would contact him first. Sure enough, Jayce’s phone buzzed again moments later, and an address popped up on his screen.

Kat put her helmet on, then repositioned herself so that she was holding on to Jayce again. Wordlessly, he steered out of the parking lot and she had no doubt where they were headed. She wanted to ask him what was going on, but he seemed to be balancing on a tightrope of control. Over what, she had no clue. The only thing she did know was that his kiss had been full of erotic promises he’d better intend on keeping.

* * *

Jayce steered past Derrick Bird’s house, surveying the surrounding area for any danger. The man’s two-story Colonial-style home was right on the border of the next county and far enough from his neighbors that it would be difficult to hear any shouts unless you were a shifter or a vampire. The well-paved road came to a dead end, which meant one exit for his bike.

After Jayce parked and dragged his bike into the trees, he and Kat set off. He hadn’t said much to her since they left the police station because he didn’t trust himself. Right now all he wanted to do was take her up against a tree and lose himself inside her sweet body. The timing was inappropriate, but after the way she’d spoken to that detective, making it clear she wasn’t interested in the guy, Jayce hadn’t been able to think straight. The way she’d acted had surprised the hell out of him. She might not have even meant it the way he took it, but she’d been like a mate staking a claim. Every cell in his body hummed with the need to claim her, and the longer he was around her, the worse it got.

Even worse than when they’d been dating. He wasn’t sure if it was because he’d marked her as his or if it was because he’d finally admitted to himself what she was to him. The mark had faded, but she now carried his scent. Unless they stopped sleeping with each other, that mating scent wouldn’t fade and no other shifter or supernatural male would come near her. That was something he needed
to tell her.

As they walked through the thicket of trees that ran behind the quiet, rural neighborhood, Kat held on to his forearm. Not because she needed to, but because she wanted to. It soothed his inner beast in the same way it had when she’d told that detective in so many words to back off. He’d been ready to make it clear she was taken, but she beat him to the punch.

The closer they got to the cop’s house Jayce realized there were no animal sounds. Nothing. His nape prickled. Most animals stopped all movement and sound when a predator was nearby. He and Kat were predators here, of course, but the silence stretched much farther than it should have.

He paused and Kat did the same, her grip on his arm tightening. “What is it?”

“You hear that?” he murmured.

She shook her head.

“Exactly.”

Before they could take another step, Connor Armstrong moved into view from behind one of the trees. He looked more annoyed than pissed. “Nice of you to tell me where you were going.”

Jayce gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to be impressed by the appearance of the Alpha. Not many people could sneak up on him. But he knew why Connor was there. Jayce had texted Ryan, but he hadn’t told Connor what he’d found out. Jayce worked for the Council, but he should have at least let Connor know what he was doing out of respect. Instead he’d texted one of the Alpha’s packmates. Not exactly a smart move on his part, but he’d been feeling edgy. The thought of picking a fight with a worthy opponent held a certain appeal. He shrugged, not willing to apologize just yet. “You knew what the plan was.”

Connor growled, taking an aggressive step toward him. “And you were supposed to let me know once you had a name. If you want to use my pack’s resources and live on my property, you’ll keep me apprised of everything, especially if you plan to stick around my territory for a while.” He flicked Kat a glance before looking back at Jayce. “And I’m guessing you plan to.”

“You’re right.” The words scraped his throat like sandpaper.

Connor’s eyebrows rose and his stance immediately loosened. It was obvious that he’d expected more of an argument.