Mine to Claim (Shadow Shifters: Damaged Hearts) (13 page)

The cat turned to me, lifting its large head in my direction. His eyes were yellow with tiny black centers. I fell to my knees, reaching out a hand and calling to him once more. He moved slowly as if he wasn’t sure I really wanted him to come closer. But I did, I needed to touch him, to feel this living, breathing creature that was also the guy I thought I’d fallen in love with.

He laid his head in my palm and I giggled nervously. There was so much power in that slight movement I couldn’t contain myself. My heart beat so loud and hard in my chest I felt like I’d swallowed it. Aidan came even closer and I used my other hand to touch his flanks, rubbing along the dark fur that was peppered with lighter round patches.

“You’re beautiful,” I said softly into the cat’s ear. “Absolutely beautiful.
Meu companheiro.
”

He shifted then, the human and very naked Aidan kneeling in front of me, cupping my face in his hands.

“Grace.” He said my name in a rushed voice as he lowered his forehead to mine.

I grasped his wrists, looking up at him. “Aidan.”

“
Mina,
” he said over and over again. “
Mina.
”

I giggled again, not sure where that was coming from but really unable to control it right now. Hell, I was kneeling in an alley with a really hot, very naked guy who could also shift into a beautiful jaguar. Yeah, I think a little nervous giggling was called for. That or … “I don’t know what that word means,” I admitted to him. “Haven’t had a chance to look it up yet.”

Now it was Aidan’s turn to chuckle. His smile was so breathtaking I did almost faint that time.

“It means mine. You are mine,” he finished with a touch of our lips.

I opened to him immediately, his tongue moving seductively over mine. My arms went around him, holding him close, noting that now it was both our hearts that beat with frantic urgency.

Panting from adrenaline and arousal I broke the kiss, keeping Aidan in my arms as I looked into his now human eyes and stated, “
Mina.
”

*   *   *

Aidan

“You will both stay at Havenway until we figure out how to handle this,” Rome stated as we sat in the back of the SUV.

“She’s not one of us,” I countered.

“Now you think about that,” he replied with more than a little bit of agitation. “You exposed us all in that alley, not just yourself. Luckily my driver is also a very close friend who has been with my family for as long as I can remember. He knows how to take care of dead shifters and disposed of Rafe’s body while you were taking Grace to get her things. The other two, however, escaped that fire, so they’re still on the loose.”

Rome paused and just when I thought his outburst was over, he continued. “You didn’t think for one minute how any of this would affect us as a whole, you just acted. And now I have to figure out how to deal with that.”

I swallowed because I knew what he said was true. But I didn’t give a damn. “You told me not too long ago that my path was my own, that neither Havenway nor the shifters dictated who and what I became. That means none of you can dictate who I love, who my mate will be.”

I knew Rome was the Faction Leader and I had nothing but respect for him, but if I was going to live in this world and do the things that I was born to do, I was damn sure going to do them my way.

“Grace belongs with me. She is going to stay with me,” I finished. She was my mate and nobody, not even a governing shifter, could change that fact.

Beside me Grace moved slightly. She’d been lying against my shoulder dozing off as we rode along the highway heading back to the shifter headquarters.

“I won’t tell anybody, if that’s what you’re worried about, sir. I won’t say a word. But Aidan is right, we belong together. I traveled all the way across the country and endured I don’t know how many disappointments to get to this point. My parents have disowned me and I moved out of my dorm room. I thought everything in my life was spiraling out of control but it seems everything was simply getting out of my way, preparing me for this, for Aidan and all that he is. This is where I was meant to be.”

Rome looked as if he were ready to toss both of us out the window. “That rogue you just killed knew who and what you were from the start. Instead of killing you they wanted you captured. Now, I don’t know why that is yet, but I intend to find out. In the meantime, I do not need the Elders breathing down my neck about someone breaching the
Ètica.
You will go to Havenway and complete the finals as scheduled,” he said, pinning me with his angry gaze. “And you,” he said, looking at Grace with what I immediately noticed was a much softer look and an easier tone, “you will remain at his side, but out of sight. You don’t need to tell me that you two belong together. I picked up the
companheiro
calor
the moment I saw him at the police station. And believe me, I know what it’s like to be overtaken with an unplanned and unprecedented love.”

He sighed, letting his head loll back on the seat. “Unfortunately, I’m the one that has to deal with the aftermath of this grand love affair.”

There would be no aftermath if I had anything to do with it. I didn’t tell Rome that, didn’t feel the need to. This was my life and from this moment on I would claim my destiny wholeheartedly, just as I had claimed my sweet Grace,
meu companheiro.

A.C. Arthur
was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, where she currently lives with her husband and three children. An active imagination and a love for reading encouraged her to begin writing in high school and she hasn’t stopped since. Her debut novel
Object of His Desire
was written when a picture of an Italian villa sparked the idea of an African-American/Italian hero. Determined to bring a new edge to romance, she continues to develop intriguing plots, sensual love scenes, racy characters, and fresh dialogue—thus keeping the readers on their toes! Visit her at:
www.acarthur.net
.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

“Mine to Claim” copyright © 2014 by A.C. Arthur.

All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

Author photo © Lisa Fleet Photography

Cover art © Tricia Schmitt (picky me)

eISBN 9781466857087

First eBook Edition: April 2014