UnexpectedFind (12 page)

“If Rafe looks for me, tell him I went in to see the boys.”

She hurried across the lawn, up the steps and into the house
where she and her kids had spent many, many hours. Mr. Wilkins had been in the
army with her pappy. They were close so when she’d moved home he’d been the
logical choice to confide in since she didn’t have any family left. He hadn’t
let her down. She trusted him.

Geez, she was building a whole list of people to rely on.
Mr. Wilkins, Josh, Rafe and his friends. She paused with her hand on the door
handle. It was a nice feeling. Almost made her feel as if she belonged to a
real family.

With a heart that seemed a little lighter, she opened the
door and jogged up the stairs. The floorboards squeaked, announcing her
approach, but her boys didn’t open the door. She turned the handle and pushed.
It didn’t budge.

“Seth, Levi, it’s me. Move the stuff away from the door so I
can come in.”

“Is
he
with you?” Seth asked.

She dropped her forehead to the door and breathed through
the annoyance. That tone would normally deserve a stern lecture and a few extra
chores as punishment but her kids were scared and unsure of the other men. She’d
cut them some slack. This time.

“Rafe is outside with his brother and their friends. I don’t
want you to be afraid of them. They’re here to protect us.”

“From what? Mr. Wilkins wouldn’t tell us,” Levi chimed in.

“Well I will. Open up. We have a lot to talk about.” The man
threatening them, the new shifters who’d be staying with them…and Rafe. Every
one of those topics were ones she’d rather not discuss, but being a mother wasn’t
always easy. She only hoped she could come up with the right words.

The sound of scraping wood and a thump of something hitting
the ground came from the other side of the door but it finally opened and she
slipped inside.

* * * * *

“Everything good here last night?” Rafe asked once Kade slid
his phone back into his pocket.

“For the most part. Kids were terrified of me this morning
when I came up to the house.”

Rafe wasn’t surprised. Jasmine’s boys would be instinctually
fearful of all other males. In the animal world, killing a female’s cubs would
force her into heat but they weren’t animals. He rubbed a hand over his face,
hated that their presence had distressed the children they meant to protect.

“Poor kids. It’s a good thing Mira is coming down. Any word
on when she’ll get here?”

“A couple of hours. She was waiting on Xander. He had to
meet with his pack.”

Rafe frowned. The canine royal rarely left his family. “Why
is he coming and not one of his younger brothers?”

“Devin insisted, said he wouldn’t allow Mira to travel with
anyone else.”

Devin’s protective instincts toward his sister had grown
over the past few months, not that Rafe blamed him for worrying about her, but
something would need to be done about it. He pushed the concern away to be
dealt with later and focused on the issues he was intimately concerned with—the
secret Jasmine harbored and the threat Calum posed.

“Did Devin tell you about Calum?”

A low growl rumbled Kade’s chest. “Yeah, he told me. What
are we going to do about him?”

“Come up with a plan to catch him. He knows Jasmine is
important to me. He won’t give up.”

Kade rubbed his nose. “I’m sorry I was the reason she left
you this morning. The older dog saw me. It stood there and waited for me to pet
it. The human noticed. I had no choice but to go up and introduce myself.”

“What’s done is done and at least we know who we’re up
against. Had Devin not seen Calum’s animal we might not have known about him
until it was too late.”

“We’ll have to have someone watch the older male until Calum
is caught or we’re sure he’s moved on. I wouldn’t put it past Calum to kill
him.”

Rafe pinched his brow. “You’re right. We’ll ask Devin to
stay then send one of Xander’s brothers over.”

“Did you ask Jasmine how she came to be the mother of
royals?” Kade asked, changing the subject.

“She claims she found them behind a dumpster.”

Kade studied his face a moment and frowned. “A lie?”

Rafe glanced back toward the house where she was no doubt
reconnecting with her kids, probably soothing their fears. “Yeah, the lie
soured her scent but so did fear. Whatever she’s involved in has terrified her,
made her fearful of shifters.” He swallowed hard. “I want to trust her, but I
can’t shake the feeling that she stole them.”

“However she came to be their mother, her love for them is
strong. I saw that in her expression just now and the elderly human who’s been
watching over the cubs was quite talkative once he learned I was a shifter.
Seems he’s the only other one who knew about them. He also mentioned she’s had
a rough time protecting them.”

Rafe tensed as he remembered the careful mask she wore when
he’d mentioned about other shifters discovering them. “What does that mean?”

“It means Jasmine and her boys are damn lucky Mr. Wilkins
was a sharpshooter in the army. A couple of years ago, some hyenas came to town
and stumbled onto his lands. They picked up her kids’ scent. He took out one of
the shifted animals and Jasmine killed the other.”

He pressed a balled fist against the pain in his chest. His
gaze slid to the old human. Jasmine’s only protector. Terror settled in his
gut, chilled his blood. Never again. He’d make sure she was safe.

He pushed away from the shed’s wall and strode toward the
house but paused a few feet away. “Once we get to Jasmine’s place, keep the
humans and cubs occupied and away from us.”

Kade chuckled. “Plans for the little human?”

Rafe grinned and ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth
where he swore he could still taste Jasmine’s arousal. “Lots, Jasmine has
caught my interest.”

Kade’s amused expression faded. He studied him for a long
moment then asked, “Has she now?”

“Yes. I can’t get enough of her. I think I’m addicted.”

“Careful, brother, or your fascination will turn into an
obsession. They say that’s how it starts. Enthrallment. And once our instincts
kick in, there’s no denying it. You’ll end up mated to the little human.”

Rafe shrugged and walked away without answering. The female
had captivated him but he wasn’t ready to admit it, not to Kade. Or Jasmine.

* * * * *

Jazz tightened her grip on Seth’s hand and rubbed soothing
circles into Levi’s palm. They each reacted differently to things but both had
the same fear—that the three adult shifters in the yard would kill them. She’d
tried everything she could think of to convince them they were overreacting.
And after an hour, she felt fairly certain her boys understood. It was the animals
they housed that had doubts but she couldn’t delay the inevitable any longer.

She peered out the small window at the top of the front
door. Devin and Mr. Wilkins sat at the picnic table with Megan, a bag of
cookies between them. The little girl studied Devin with open curiosity, no
fear. At least one kid was handling this well.

Rafe and Kade stood several feet from the porch, talking. As
if Rafe sensed her eyes on him, he turned his head. He offered her a small,
comforting smile. He’d assured her they had plenty of practice in situations
just like this one and she shouldn’t worry. Easy to say, hard to do. She closed
her eyes, took a deep breath and slowly released it.

She glanced at her kids. “Ready?” They nodded. “Levi, get
the door, please.”

He did. The door swung open but nobody moved. Silence
stretched until finally Rafe walked toward them. He approached cautiously,
stopping at the porch stairs. He crouched and clasped his hands loosely between
his thighs.

“Seth, Levi, my name’s Rafe.” He motioned behind him with a
tilt of his head. “That’s Kade. He’s our alpha. He might look tough, but don’t
let it fool you. He’s a softie at heart, just doesn’t want to let the other
pride leaders know.” He lowered his voice. “Can you keep his secret too?”

She peeked at her boys. Both frowned but neither responded.

Rafe glanced between them. “He has another secret. Want to
hear it?”

Levi nodded.

“He’s been known to cry at movies,” Rafe whispered.

She looked behind Rafe to Kade. His lips quirked as if he
thought about smiling but they thinned after a moment. Kade rolled his eyes. “Don’t
listen to my idiot brother, boys. I have never shed a tear over any ridiculous
movie.”

Rafe braced his body with a hand on the ground and peered
over his shoulder. “Oh yeah? What about that dog movie? You know where the boy’s
dog has rabies and—”

Kade’s brows scrunched. “
Old Yeller
?” He ran a hand
through his short blond hair. “I don’t think I ever watched that movie.”

“Right.” Rafe looked at her boys who’d taken a couple of
steps out onto the porch and winked at them before facing Kade. “Or that
Star
Wars
one with the carbonite scene and—”

“For the love of the gods, stop telling lies about me.” Kade
crossed his arms and glowered at Rafe but Peggy Sue chose that moment to bump
his leg with her head, demanding a pet. Kade sighed but obliged the dog.

Seth slid his hand from her slackened grip and walked over
to Rafe. He tugged on his shirt. Rafe glanced at him.

“It was
Empire Strikes Back
, not
Star Wars
.”

Rafe raised a brow. “Are you an expert then?”

Seth nodded. “We got their toys for our birthday this year.”

“You sharing?”

Seth peeked at Levi before meeting Rafe’s eyes. “We’re
sharing.”

Jazz’s house looked exactly how she’d left it yesterday. The
grass was calf-high because the lawn mower had broken and she hadn’t found the
time to get it fixed. The siding needed to be scraped and painted. Same with
the porch. A pile of recyclables to be taken to the landfill was stacked along
the side of the garage that housed her restoration shop. Cars with blue tarps
were stored in the field alongside the barn and boxes of car parts were piled
near the barn door to be carried up to the loft for storage.

Everything looked the same yet her life had taken an
unexpected turn overnight. None of the concerns that had bothered her yesterday
seemed important, not when there was a crazy shifter who had set his sights on
her. She always lived with the worry of attracting the wrong kind of attention.
It was why she lived in near seclusion here and why she kept her kids away from
people she didn’t know. Cindy had hit it on the mark the other night. Her life
revolved around Seth, Levi and her garage. And why wouldn’t it? That’s where
she felt the safest.

She peeked at Rafe’s profile. Maybe she didn’t have to face
the dangers or live her life alone. Maybe the man she’d always wanted was the
one right in front of her, the one who wasn’t really a man, but who’d captured
her attentions. He’d tempted her from the minute she’d seen him. Even after
learning about what he was, she still desired him.

The car hit a bump and dragged her out of her inner musing.
She turned her head away and focused on the present. Her relationship with Rafe
wasn’t the most important concern at the moment. Her family’s safety was her
top priority. She needed to get Rafe alone to talk more about this shifter and
what Rafe planned to do about it, but it would have to wait. They were home.

Rafe parked next to Kade’s vehicle in the grass, opened the
door and got out. She watched him sniff the air then survey the area. His gaze
lingered on the barn, her garage, each and every tarp-covered project she had
yet to complete and finally her house.

He walked around to her side and opened the door. “Stay here
until Kade and I can check out the house and the outer buildings.”

“That’s not necessary, Rafe. I’ll come with you, show you
around. I know you were here yesterday but—”

Rafe shook his head and his golden hair swayed with the
movement. She wanted to feel those strands tickling her thighs while he teased
her clit. The thought came out of nowhere but her reaction to the wicked idea
was immediate and real. Moisture pooled low. She squirmed.

“I will not take chances with your life, Jasmine. Stay here.
I can find my own way.” He slammed the door, hit the button to lock it and
jogged off toward the barn.

She watched him until he disappeared inside before closing
her eyes to get a handle on her emotions. She was still attracted to him, maybe
more so than last night because she knew exactly how it felt to be on the
receiving end of his passion. An hour. Two at the most. After the rest of his
friends arrived, Rafe would be occupied with them, planning how to take out
this rogue shifter. She’d be on the sidelines, away from him and the lust she
felt whenever she looked at him. She could ignore the ache settling low in her
belly that long.

Sooner than she would’ve liked, Rafe was at her door. He
opened it, took her hand and led her to the garage.

She shot him a questioning glace. He rubbed at his neck and
said, “I changed my mind. I want you to show me around.”

She glanced back at the others but they were at her garage,
a cinder-block structure her pappy had built over forty years ago. It housed Classic
Wyns, the restoration shop she’d taken over after he died. They went up the
stairs on the outside of the building. The upper floor used to be an
apartment—hers for a few months before she’d moved away—but now she used it as
an office.

Rafe ushered her inside. Both the screen and regular doors
were slammed shut behind them. She heard the lock click then Rafe’s mouth
covered hers. He kissed her as if he were starved for her taste. He swept his
hands down her arms, around her waist and up her back. The fevered strokes
pulled her tighter against his chest, pushed her pebbled nipples into his hard
flesh.

Wrapped in his embrace, she gave herself up to the lust. It
was impossible not to. Rafe knew exactly what to do to make her wild. A simple
glance in her direction and her breath quickened. And when he touched her…she
was lost. Passion, desire. Nothing else mattered.

She linked her arms around him, dug her nails into his
muscles and held on while he twined their tongues. Sharp teeth scraped her lips
and the tang of blood filled her mouth. She jerked but the pain faded in the
next moment and his hungered groan whipped through her. She went lax in his
arms.

He lifted her limp body. Her legs dangled a moment before
she wrapped them around his waist. The move opened her to him, brought the hard
ridge of his erection to her core. She ground against his trapped cock and
memories of last night washed over her. Shifter or not, she wanted to feel his
steel rod inside her, thrusting and parting her muscles.

The responsible part of her knew she shouldn’t give in to the
lust. It wasn’t the right time for it. They should be discussing the crazy guy
who’d tried to kill her, not kissing as if they hadn’t seen each other in
years, but she couldn’t tear herself away from the strong arms holding her. She
wanted to latch on to Rafe, take the escape he offered along with his
protection.

She pushed against his chest, broke the kiss and studied
him—the shifter she’d taken into her body last night. He was a walking wet
dream, so damn gorgeous her heart skipped a beat and he wanted to give her the
one thing she’d never had—an anchor, somebody who’d shield her from the
dangerous world she’d been tossed into.

“Rafe, why?”

She didn’t know what she was asking him but Rafe pulled her
against him and pressed his mouth to her ear. “Because we want each other.
Because I want to please you, make you forget the horrors of this morning.” He
licked the edge of her ear and exhaled a warm breath that made the wet skin
tingle. “Put your trust in me, beautiful. Let me take care of you, make you
feel good.”

Oh god, she wanted to. Her gaze roamed over his face and she
remembered how he looked at her that first night and after dinner yesterday.
She wasn’t the only one consumed by this intense lust. Maybe it was clouding
her judgment but from the moment she saw him, she’d desired this man.
Everything since had only amplified her need. She craved him, didn’t think she
could survive without feeling his cock moving inside her.

Instead of answering with words, she kissed him as deeply as
he had her. She led the melding of their mouths for a moment, long enough to
tease the tiny fangs she’d felt earlier into descending. She tentatively
stroked one. Rafe held still while she explored each sharp tooth but took the
control back before she could deepen the kiss.

Sweeping explorations of her cheeks and teeth came first,
then he stroked his tongue over hers in the rolling thrust he favored. He
skimmed his fingertips over her hips, along her waist and up under her shirt.
The calloused tips stroked the edge of her breasts as he continued to kiss her,
but he didn’t touch her nipples. The barely there swipes teased her, made the
points harden more until her focus centered on those achy tips. Nothing else
mattered besides getting Rafe to touch them. She pushed the buds into his
chest, needing the pressure to ease the tingling his wandering fingers ignited,
but he abandoned his tormenting caresses.

He dropped his hands to her waist and lifted her onto his
bent leg. She inched her bottom forward, rubbed against his hard length. She
rode him while each rolling thrust of his tongue pulled him deeper. Their teeth
banged. He changed the angle. Quickened the strokes. She moved faster over his
leg and the brush of denim on her panty-less cleft added the extra bit of
stimulation. Made her hotter.

Her back met the door. With his body pining hers to the hard
surface, he resumed his teasing exploration. The roughened edges of his
fingertips swept up her spine and he tugged the shirt up with the move, pulling
his mouth off hers only long enough to yank the top over her head.

Her core clenched, she whimpered. Empty. The ache was
unbearable. She wanted to beg for his sex, beg for him to fuck her until she
passed out. Couldn’t. His kiss barely allowed her the chance to breathe. He
skimmed a finger over the length of her neck, right over the vein that had
tingled last night. Electricity skipped from the spot to spread out over her
skin.

He slid his other hand under her waistband to mold a butt
cheek before moving lower to dip into her wetness. He ripped his mouth away.
Churning amber eyes locked onto hers. She stared transfixed at the blue and
brown specks that moved in the waves of liquid gold. Now she understood why he’d
kept the lights off last night. To hide this. His passion.

“Need you, Jasmine,” he groaned. A tug and the sound of
ripping cloth met her ears. He swirled his fingers in her dripping center and
plunged them deep. “Now. Can’t wait.”

He set her back on her feet. The sound of more ripping cloth
met her ears. He lifted her and dropped her onto a hard rod. Rafe swallowed her
shocked cry. She was wet, more than ready for a man’s cock but she was tight.
With his hands on her waist, he moved her, grinding her on his cock while short
upward thrusts forced his shaft through her muscles. He had to work his way
in—if his grunts and groans were any indication, he loved it.

The tensing of her sheath grew with his steady pushes. “Rafe,
oh god,” she moaned as her muscles seized and clamped down on the shaft
piercing her.

“Fuck,” Rafe panted. “Don’t want to come yet.”

A tilt of his hips and he rammed inside her. She wrapped her
arms around his chest, pressing her mouth against him to muffle her scream. The
muscles under her palms trembled but Rafe held his body completely still while
she writhed. He became her anchor, grounding her as the intense waves swept
through her body.

“Beautiful, my Jasmine,” he uttered once the orgasm waned.

He used his hold on her hips to lift her off his erection
until just the head was held captive by her lower lips. She squeezed and
released her muscles over the small invasion. Her focus zeroed in on the
emptiness in her core. She opened her mouth to beg him to fill her but he
slammed her over the silken steel rod before she could get the words out.

Heaven. If there was Heaven on earth, it was here in Rafe’s
arms. With fingers biting into her flesh, he lifted and dropped her over his
cock. Over and over, he pierced her and everything from his rough grip to his
groaning pants excited her, fed the desire only Rafe could create. The pressure
built in her womb and her muscles tensed, readying for a second release, but
Rafe’s driving thrusts kept her from the peak, pushed the ecstasy further out of
reach.

“Please,” she begged.

“More, Jasmine. You can take more.”

Her back met the door behind her and he gave it to her. He
held her against it with his body so she was sandwiched between two hard walls
and fucked her. Each driving push reverberated up through her body until even
her scalp tingled. A tilt of his hips changed the angle and with the next
thrust, he hit her cervix. Her body tightened, clamped down and she came.
Wonderful, sweet release that tossed her bodiless mind into a sea where only pleasure
existed. And Rafe. She whispered his name but the darkness spread and took
everything away. She was too tired, too sated to fight it.

* * * * *

Rafe cradled Jasmine’s body against his chest and carried
her to the pullout couch. It was small, nowhere close to the size of the bed he’d
spied in her bedroom but it was large enough for them to love each other in.
With cubs and his brothers wandering around, he needed to find plenty of
secluded spots to love his female. This one would work well. There was a section
in the barn that would fit his needs once it was cleaned up too.

He laid her in the center and let his gaze travel over her
body. Flushed from their loving, she looked as sated as the smile on her lips
indicated. He’d satisfied her. That pleased him. Gave him ideas, ones he couldn’t
give in to yet, but tempted him anyway.

He ran his tongue over the descended fangs. Saliva pooled in
his mouth and his cats pushed their wants into his subconscious. He focused on
her shoulder. The delicate slope would be a perfect backdrop for his claim. His
feet carried him to the bed. With one knee on the thin mattress, he stroked the
spot. Jasmine shivered under the caress and a soft sigh spilled over her lips.

Gods, she was beautiful. Passionate. Strong. Mysterious and
fearful. And it was the secrets she harbored that stopped him from waking her
and taking their relationship any further.

He didn’t know her, not really. But that was changing. Each
encounter—sexual or not—gave him another glimpse of Jasmine’s soul, which was
what had drawn his cats in the first place. He closed his eyes, allowed her
scent to surround him, seep into his lungs. The big predators he housed lay
down, rested their heads on their paws and purred.

They pushed their desires to him, showed him images of
Jasmine’s belly swollen with his babes, their cubs. And the only way she’d ever
carry his child was if she was bonded to him. They’d made their choice. They
wanted her as a mate, not merely a lover. They wanted forever, not a single
human lifespan. They wanted to protect her, love her and by the gods, so did
he—but Jasmine wasn’t ready. She didn’t trust him, not completely. And he
needed her to have complete faith in him. For a human, that level of trust
would not be gained overnight. But he would gain it and once he had it, he’d
claim his mate.