Pride Mates (14 page)

Her face went white, and she sat down hard on the edge of the tub.

"Shit."

Liam came to her, crouched in front of her. "Don't be afraid, love. I'll never let Fergus hurt you. Ever. The mate claim overrides clan hierarchy. He can beat up on me, but never you. Even if he kills me, you'll still be protected by my family, my pride."

"But why would Fergus still want to kill you?" Kim asked in confusion.

"He seemed to back off all of a sudden, like he didn't care about the mate thing anymore."

"Because he knew he'd won. He got me to promise to control you, for the good of all Shifters. If he'd pursued it further, for nothing but self-satisfaction, the clan wouldn't have approved, and even though he's leader, he can't afford to lose the clan's respect. Besides, Dad was there.

Fergus has never been one hundred percent certain he's dominant to Dad, and he didn't want to put that to the test, especially not in front of the whole clan."

"So why doesn't your dad fight him, then? It's obvious none of you like him."

"To tell you the truth, love, I'm not sure," Liam said, troubled. "Dad won't talk about it. Maybe he knows he
isn't
dominant to Fergus, and if Dad were killed, he couldn't protect the rest of us from him. But I don't know. He's never said and gets pissed off when anyone brings it up."

Kim frowned, rubbing her arms. "But when Fergus came at me with the whip and you almost attacked him, Dylan stopped you, said it wasn't your

'right.' What did he mean? I thought you were
supposed
to fight."

Liam remembered the surge of adrenaline rising white hot, searing him like a brand on flesh, when he'd seen Fergus focus on Kim. Only Dylan's harsh voice had stopped him from making a fatal move, or this day would have ended differently.

"Because at that moment, I wanted to kill him. The Fae-cat in me wanted to go after Fergus in a clan dominance fight, to take him down for good. The mate Challenge isn't to the death--at least, not anymore--but fighting for clan leadership usually is, unless the clan leader surrenders before the fight. Dad stopped me from making it a clan dominance issue, thank the Goddess."

"Why? It seems like you could have saved him a step." She let out her breath. "Not that I want to see you in a fight to the death. I'm happy he stopped you too."

"Shifter politics." Liam tried to sound offhand, but something subtle had changed during the moot today, and he wasn't yet certain what. "Only Dad, as pride leader, has the right to fight for clan dominance. If I want to take out Fergus, I first have to take out Dad, and I won't be doing that anytime soon."

Kim gave him a faint smile. "Because you know he could kick your ass?"

Liam laughed. "No, because he's my dad, and I love him." Another laugh. "And yeah, he could probably kick my ass."

Kim hugged her chest. "I thought I researched Shifter law down to the last degree. I don't remember any of this."

"Because it's not written law. It's passed down through the generations, and it's based on instinct and what you call custom." Liam laid his hands on her shoulders. "It's complicated even for us. I'm going to protect you, Kim. Believe that."

She looked up at him with anguished eyes. "Liam, I can't be your mate.

I only came to Shiftertown to get help building my defense for Brian. I'm fine with you keeping Fergus off my back, but I can't move into your house to become a Shifter baby-making machine. You're crazy if you believe I'll agree to that."

He traced circles on her shoulders. "I'd never believe you'd do anything you don't really want to, Kim Fraser."

Kim broke his hold, got to her feet, and reached for her clothes. "You got that right." She pulled on her jeans in short jerks. "Now if you'll take your family and go home, I
really
have a lot of work to do. I'm seriously behind."

"All right."

She stopped and stared at him. "You agree? Just like that?"

"Just like that, love."

"Stop calling me 'love.' "

Liam chuckled. "Now that, I can't do."

He watched Kim's breasts softly bounce as she scrabbled for the rest of her clothes. He wouldn't push her now--she was human, this was sudden, and it would take her time to get used to him. But Kim was
his
. His mate, his lover.

All mine.

She finished dressing and hurried out of the bathroom. Liam followed, not bothering with his clothes. He paused on the landing to watch her hips sway as she ran lightly down the stairs.

As angry and confused and hurt as she was--and as likely to make his life hell--Kim glowed with beauty. Her body was covered with Liam's scent, filled with their lovemaking. Beautiful, beautiful Kim.

Liam went down the stairs after Kim. Below him, she stopped abruptly, noting that the TV was dark, the living room quiet. Sean and Connor looked at her with innocent faces.

Connor grinned. "Everything all right up there? I thought the ceiling might come crashing in."

Kim flushed. "Where's Dylan?"

"Gone," Sean said. "Took the bus back to Shiftertown. Dad does his own thing."

"I see," she said, clearly flustered. "I can call a taxi for the rest of you."

Sean shook his head. "No need. Dad said he'd be back to fetch us."

Connor lost his smile. "Aren't you coming home with us, Kim?"

Poor cub. He liked Kim, was ecstatic about the mating, and probably assumed Kim would instantly become one of them. Connor had much to learn about females.

"Now that Liam says Fergus is no longer a threat, I'm going to stay in my own home," Kim said. "I didn't mind helping out today, and thank you for the pancakes, but I'm kind of tired and have a lot of work to do."

Liam shifted. His Fae-cat didn't wait for him to ready himself, and for the first time in his life, the shift didn't hurt. He leapt off the bottom step, the stairs creaking under his weight, and he tackled Kim. His big, sheathed paws sent her to the ground, and he landed on top of her, balancing so he wouldn't crush her.

In this form he could truly smell her, and she was better than the best field of blossoms. She combined her scent and his in perfect proportion, the sign of a perfect mate.

Kim tried to squirm out from under him. "Liam, what are you doing?

Someone get this big cat off me."

Liam didn't mind her wriggling while his brother and nephew laughed at them. He swiped her face from chin to forehead with his large tongue, shifting back to human form as she turned her head and cried, "Eeewwww."

Incredibly, Liam did leave with his family, and Kim found herself alone in the house. She'd expected Liam to stay on his overprotective kick and insist she come back with them to Shiftertown for the night. Or maybe move his whole family to her house so they could watch satellite TV, she wasn't sure.

But Liam had gone back upstairs, put on his clothes, and herded Connor and Sean out through the garage just as Dylan pulled a big pickup into her driveway. As the others piled in, Liam slid his arms around Kim and kissed her.

"You rest now," he said, smoothing her hair. "We'll talk later."

Kim's lips tingled and she wanted more, but she made herself step back. "I'm going to work in the morning. I'm not dropping the case, whatever Fergus might think."

"I know." Liam lifted her hand and kissed her palm. "You wouldn't be yourself if you dropped it. But as you like to say, we need to talk."

Kim suddenly, inconsistently, didn't want him to leave.

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

Liam brushed another warm kiss to her lips and walked out. Kim resisted the urge to rush after him, to tell him to come back, to beg him to stay.

What was the matter with her? Liam and his family had imprisoned her in Shiftertown, and then she'd driven them a hundred or so miles to the middle of nowhere so she could endure the abuse of Fergus the Irish biker thug.

Then why did her heart ache as the pickup backed away, all four Morrissey men squished into the cab? Liam must have brainwashed her with his fine blue eyes and incredible smile, not to mention intense, mind-blowing sex.

As Kim closed the door, the emptiness of the house pressed on her.

The TV was dark and quiet, no male voices raised in jubilation. She stood in the middle of the living room and felt the silence.

Kim went through the rest of the afternoon on automatic. She showered, trying not to gaze at the rug where she'd ridden Liam so ecstatically. The tactile memory of his body on hers, of every finger press, every kiss, every slide of skin on skin was imprinted on her. Kim had never had sex like that in her life.

In a half daze she drove down the hill to her local grocery store. She found herself putting things in her cart that wouldn't have occurred to her a few days ago--steaks, ground beef, potato chips, and Guinness stout.
Why?

she wondered as she paid without meeting the cashier's eyes.
It's not like I'mgoing to invite them over again.
But just in case...

Kim took the food home and crammed everything into the refrigerator.

She fixed herself a salad that she picked at, and then she opened her briefcase and laptop and flipped listlessly through files.

She needed to get her head around all this--Brian, the Collars, Fergus, this mating thing. She reread a note from her friend Silas asking Kim whether she could get him an interview with the Shifter leaders. Silas was a good, evenhanded journalist who didn't shrink from bald truth but didn't make something out of nothing either. Two days ago, she'd have eagerly set up an interview for him. Given what she knew now, she wasn't so sure it was a good idea, or if Liam would even agree to talk to him.

On the other hand, everything that had happened today helped Kim look at Brian's case from a new angle. Had Brian intended to make Michelle his mate? If so, wouldn't he have been as protective of her as Liam was of Kim? If Brian had decided to "claim" Michelle, that might mean he'd never dream of hurting her. Wouldn't he have done everything in his power to keep her safe?

Michelle's ex-boyfriend, on the other hand, might go ballistic. Brian, a Shifter, would be hard to kill, but not Michelle. And if Brian could get blamed for Michelle's death, so much the better.

Then again, why hadn't Brian been there to protect his girlfriend from her killer? Where had he been and what had he been doing to keep him from Michelle at the critical moment?

Kim sighed and rubbed her temples. She was getting nowhere.

After an hour or so of trying to think and failing, Kim went to bed.

Mistake. She should have been exhausted after rolling on the bathroom floor with Liam, but instead she was wide awake, her pulse speeding as their lovemaking played over and over in her mind.

She'd never, ever felt like this before. Kim should be sated after that incredible sex, but she wanted more of Liam. And more.

"What is the matter with me?"

She sat up and snapped on the light. Three seconds later, her phone rang.

Kim picked it up, her heart pounding as Liam's rich Irish tones rolled over her. "Kim. You all right?"

Kim wanted to sigh with happiness. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I wanted to make sure."

"I am fine." She lay back down on the pillows, feeling warm and content. "Really. Really, really fine."

"Good." He sounded as though it was the best news he'd heard all day.

Kim hesitated. "How's Connor doing?"

"Still not happy with me, but he'll be all right. Letting him watch Irish football has made you his superhero."

"I'm glad he's okay."

"I'm glad you're glad."

Kim wondered if Liam was in bed talking to her, if he was stretched, naked, on top of the bed she'd slept in last night. Her heart beat faster.

"I'm going to my office tomorrow." She said it firmly.

"I know you are. I wouldn't expect you to do anything else." Liam's voice softened. "Good night, love. You call me anytime you need me, all right?"

He meant it--his sincerity came through loud and clear. All she had to do was say,
Liam, I need you,
and he'd be there. So different from Abel and his
I'm busy, honey, I'll call you later.

"Good night, Liam." Kim made herself click the phone off and set it on the nightstand, but it was a long time before she snapped off the light.

Outside Kim's big house, Liam tucked away his phone and kissed his fingers to her bedroom window. He faded into the shadows against the wall and settled in to guard her for the rest of the night.

The next morning Kim raced her car into her parking space at Lowell, Grant, and Steinhurst, half an hour late.

Late. On a Monday. Missing the Monday morning meeting. Kim scrambled out of her car, snatched up her briefcase, rushed for the front door, and stopped in dismay.

Liam leaned against the Harley he'd parked at the curb in front of the firm's walkway, smiling his wicked smile.

"Morning, love," he said.

"What are you doing here?" Kim demanded.

"Looking after you. Like I should."

July sunshine gleamed on Liam's dark hair and flat black sunglasses.

With his black T-shirt and jeans, Collar around his neck, his jaw working as he chewed a piece of gum, he looked nothing less than a dangerous Shifter male. Which he was.

She made an exasperated noise. "Liam, I cannot bring a
Shifter
to work with me."

Liam lifted his sunglasses, blue eyes dancing. "I don't see any signs:

'No Shifters Allowed.' 'Shifters Must Keep Off the Grass.' 'Absolutely No Territory Marking Anywhere.' "

"Very funny. Go home."

"No." He lowered the sunglasses and took her elbow. "If you work here, I stay with you. I'm your guard dog. You won't even know I'm here."

"Because no one will notice a six-foot-six Shifter in my office."

"I'm staying, Kim. Or you're coming home with me. Your choice."

She jerked from his grasp. "You're a pushy pain in my ass."

"I'm not taking a chance that Fergus will leave you alone. He can't touch you anymore, but that doesn't mean he won't order other Shifters to make trouble for you. Some of Fergus's lackeys are...Let's just say they're fanatically devoted to him."

"You all are crazy, you know that?"

Liam shrugged. "Hey, you're the Shifter lover, which means you're crazier than we are. Come on."

Liam opened the heavy glass door and, Shifter-fashion, entered the building first. Once he determined that the polished granite and marble foyer was harmless, he nodded for Kim to come inside.

Kim knew of nothing that could make him leave, short of having him arrested, and even then the police would have to break out the tranquilizer guns. She also knew that, deep down inside, she didn't want him to leave.

Kim didn't trust Fergus either, and Liam's presence made her feel safe.

Embarrassed, awkward, and confused, but safe.

As they moved through the plush halls, lawyers looked up through open doors or stepped into the hall in astonishment. Liam nodded at the head of the firm who'd stopped short in his doorway. "Top o' the morning to you."

Kim scuttled into her office suite where the secretary, Jeanne, who worked for Kim and two other lawyers, typed on a computer keyboard.

Jeanne looked up, gawked, and lost her place. "Who the hell...?"

Liam smiled. "Top o' the mornin' to you."

"It's all right," Kim said in a hard voice. "He's helping me on the Shifter case."

Jeanne looked as though she'd melt through her chair. "Can I get you coffee?" she offered Liam in an eager tone.

"Coffee would be grand," he said.

Kim grabbed Liam's arm, shoved him into her cluttered office, and slammed the door behind them. She pointed at the leather couch wedged between two bookcases.

"If you're staying--
sit."

Liam grinned, removed his sunglasses, stretched out full length on the couch, and folded his arms behind his head. He looked good enough to eat.

Kim slapped her briefcase to her desk and popped it open. "What is this 'top o' the morning' crap?"

"It's how people expect the Irish to talk. That and 'faith and begorra!' I'll throw those in later."

"You are so full of shit."

Liam chuckled and closed his eyes. He looked prepared to lounge there the rest of the day, reminding her every second of their thorough sexing in her bathroom. She'd dreamed about it all night, the main reason she'd been late. When he'd rolled her over and driven into her, his warm weight on top of her, she'd never felt more connected or intimate with a man in her life. She'd felt...complete.

Forget the goopy, romantic stuff. The sex had been damn fantastic.

Kim had to stop thinking about it. She had to be professional and do her job. She had other cases to prepare for, a load of witness statements and evidence reports to go through. Brian's defense to figure out, the private investigator's weekend reports to read.

Once she won Brian's case, she'd be finished with Shifters. Fergus's wishes would be a moot point, Liam wouldn't need to guard her anymore, and he'd go back to Shiftertown and leave her alone. For good.

Why did the world suddenly go colorless at that thought?

Kim dumped files back into her briefcase. "I need to talk to Brian. I assume you want to come with me? We'll take my car--I'm not riding to the county jail on the back of your motorcycle."

Liam didn't move. "You're not going to see Brian."

"I need to. I want to ask him about Michelle again, whether he planned to mate with her, whether he already did. If Brian thought of her as his mate, he'd never have hurt her, right? He'd come over all protective, defend her rather than attack her."

"You might be right about that, but you're still not going to see him."

Kim clicked the briefcase shut. "Why not? He's in jail. He's not going anywhere."

Liam finally came off the couch. "You're not going because Fergus told you to drop the case."

He was a tall, solid wall, blocking her way to the door. "We've discussed this. I say screw Fergus."

"I wouldn't. I hear it's not good."

Kim didn't laugh. "So you agree with him?"

"I didn't say that." Liam rested his hands on her shoulders. She'd never get by him, and she knew it. At the same time, she knew he wouldn't hurt her.

He'd prevent her from leaving, but not by hurting.

"Then what are you saying?" she asked.

"That Fergus won't trust me to keep you off the case. I was the one who talked him into letting you come to Shiftertown in the first place. So he'll have sent his own men to watch you, to stop you. I'm here to keep them from tangling with you. If you go to the jail, there will be tangling."

Kim made a noise of exasperation. "Explain how I'm supposed to defend a man I'm not allowed to talk to. I need to ask him questions, important questions."

"Ask him some other way."

Kim tried to dart around him. Liam put one arm out and hauled her back against him.

"Liam."

He closed both arms around her and pulled her close. "Do this my way, love. Don't mess with Fergus more than you have to. He'll make you regret it."

Kim wanted to succumb to the wonderful, protected feeling of having his arms around her. Even her parents hadn't been this protective of her.

After Mark had died, they'd wavered between being overly paranoid about her safety to backing way off when they realized they were smothering her.

They'd gone on like that until they'd died. She'd found herself alternately on a choke chain or floundering during her parents' "you don't even have to check in with us" moods.

Liam's protection was like a soft blanket, not a leash, but the tether was there nonetheless.

"I can't work like this," Kim said.

"We'll find a way." Liam kissed the crown of her head.

The warm touch of his lips electrified the memories of their lovemaking, reminding her that her throat was still scratchy from all the screaming. She couldn't help putting her hand on his waistband and sliding her fingers downward, her pulse speeding when she found that he was hard and hot behind his zipper.

Liam laughed. "Vixen." He tilted her head back and kissed her.

Liam was still learning how to kiss. Which meant he experimented and explored, his tongue sliding all over hers while he gripped her buttocks with one firm hand. He tasted like the gum he'd been chewing, minty fresh.

If anyone came in, they'd see his sun-browned hand planted against her gray business skirt, Kim letting a Shifter put his tongue down her throat. And they wouldn't know the half of it.

"Stop," she whispered. "Don't do this to me."

A gentle kiss to her forehead. "I'd never hurt you, Kim."

"It's not pain I'm worried about." Kim rested her head against his chest.

His skin was hot through the shirt, his heart pounding at breakneck speed.

"It's me."

"You're not making sense."

"I know what I mean. You are seriously damaging my mental health."

Liam broke away, but he was smiling. "You mean I make you spare."

"If that means crazy, then yes. That too."

There was a soft knock on the door, and Jeanne poked her head in.

She carried in a tray of coffee, in real mugs, not Styrofoam cups. Kim turned from Liam, hoping she looked nonchalant.

Jeanne set the coffee on the polished side table. "Abel is looking for you."

"Abel?" For one crazy moment, Kim couldn't remember who he was.

Ah, yes, buttoned-up, executive ex-boyfriend. The man who looked incredibly boring next to Liam. "What does he want?"

"To ask you about the judge you had on that indecent exposure case.

He's got a similar case before the same judge."

"Oh." Business. Tips on what swayed a judge or pissed him off. Kim had won the case, because the man they'd arrested had had erectile dysfunction, verified by a doctor, when the witness had sworn the defendant had been quite, um, pointed. "Set up a meeting with Abel," Kim finished. "I'm busy until tomorrow."

"He's here now."

Before Kim could answer, Abel Kane pushed around the door and strode into the office. Kim had always thought him good-looking--tall, blond, well-dressed--but he was a lightweight compared to Liam. And there was no comparison at all in the sex department.

"Can't this wait?" Kim asked him.

Abel was looking at Liam in curiosity. "Kind of in a rush."

Liar
. He couldn't be paid to care about indecent-exposure cases; he'd used the excuse to come in here and eyeball Liam.

"Why?" Kim asked in an annoyed voice. "Client can't keep his pants on?"

Abel ignored her attempt at humor. "So the Collars really do fit all Shifters. What neck size would you say he has?"

"He can hear you, Abel."

Liam gave Abel his slow smile. "Top o' the morning to you."

"Will you stop that?" Kim snapped.

"Is he Irish?" Abel said in surprise. "I didn't know Shifters could be Irish."

"The Shifters in my family go back generations in Ireland," Liam said.

"We had a castle on a hill and everything."

Abel continued to assess Liam like a scientist examining an interesting specimen. "Type up a report on him," Abel said to Kim. "It would be useful if we ever have to defend another Shifter."

"Abel, will you please stop talking about him like he's not in the room?"

"What's eating you, Kim? Is it the new guy you met or your time of the month?"

What an idiot. Abel hadn't connected Kim "meeting someone" with the extremely virile Shifter standing in her office. Abel couldn't imagine for one second that she'd dump him for a
Shifter
.

Liam's grin died. He'd been taking Abel for what he really was, a self-centered moron, but Liam's eyes narrowed at Abel's last statement. The predatory thing Liam did so well came out, proving that up until now, he'd been a wolf watching the sheep frolic.

"The lady said she's busy." Liam's voice held a hint of growl.

Without moving, Liam gained the attention of everyone in the room, plus Jeanne listening outside the door. A sheen of perspiration glistened on Abel's forehead.

"Right. I'll call you later, Kim. About that judge."

Abel couldn't turn around to walk out. Liam wouldn't let him. And yet, Liam did nothing but stand there, not moving, not touching the man. He hadn't even let his pupils go slitted.

Abel had to back to the door, one step at a time, before he finally turned and fled. He ran into Jeanne, who was plastered solidly against the crack in the door. They tangled a moment; then Abel fled and Jeanne slammed the door, leaving Kim and Liam alone again.