UnexpectedFind (17 page)

Rafe padded down the hallway and peeked into the children’s
bedroom. Seth and Levi slept on the floor in sleeping bags while Megan and Mira
had the two beds. Rafe grinned. Five years old and they were already taking
care of their pride’s females. He chuckled. Mira lifted her head. Vibrant
yellow eyes streaked with green and brown met his. Yesterday, she’d worn
specialized contacts that hid her feline eyes but he knew she didn’t like to
sleep in them. She slid from the bed before he could tell her not to get up.

The door clicked behind her. “I’m sorry for blurting about
our past in front of Jazz. I truly didn’t think anything of it,” Mira
whispered.

He reached forward and gave her arm a small squeeze. “It’s
okay, Mira. Neither did I.” He glanced back toward Jasmine’s bedroom. “I keep
screwing things up with her.”

Mira scrunched her nose and motioned toward the steps that
led to the kitchen. Once in the dimly lit room, she leaned against the counter
with her arms crossed in front of her. “Jasmine is your one, isn’t she?”

He nodded. “Yes. I’d heard other males proclaim the pull to
their human mates was immediate and undeniable. I didn’t believe it, but it’s
true.”

“Be grateful you can claim her. Our males have been truly
blessed.”

“Blessed?” He chuckled. “Killing the person you care about
isn’t a blessing.”

“Isn’t it?” She raised a brow. “Nothing worthwhile comes
easily, Rafe. If it did many of our royal males would take human mates for the
wrong reason. They’d choose their female based on looks or social standing and miss
out on finding their
one
.”

He pulled out a box of pizza from the fridge and grabbed a
cold slice. He ate it in two bites and took another. All the sex he’d shared
with his female stirred his appetite. Hunger abated for the moment, he said, “We
don’t have destined mates.”

She shrugged. “The gods don’t speak to me. You can ask your
twin to pose that question to the goddess the next time she visits him, but
what I do know is that we have kindred spirits. It’s those souls who complement
us, make us truly happy.” She waved toward the living room. “They can be our
friends and even our lovers, but the one who fits us better than all others is
the gods’ gift to us.”

“Our one?”

She grinned. “Exactly. And I am glad Jazz is yours. I like
her.”

He glanced toward the stairs. “I never planned on taking a
mate.”

Mira took a piece of pizza from the box and shoved the rest
into the fridge. “Then it’s a good thing the gods brought the two of you
together.” She turned and walked to the patio door but stopped with her hand on
the glass and looked over her shoulder. “Oh, Kade said Megan’s parents were
slaughtered when she was taken but she has a twin who’s unaccounted for. So it
looks as if Josh will be staying with us.”

“Lucky us,” he grumbled. He watched her step out onto the
deck. “How’s Devin?”

Her back straightened. “Not good and I hate knowing it’s my
fault.”

“You’re not to blame, Mira.”

She hung her head. “I should’ve just let Edmund mate me. He’d
be dead by now and I could’ve gone on with my life. Maybe taken another mate.”

“Most widows don’t. The emotional connection often runs too
deep.”

“Not for me, I never would’ve loved him,” she said and
walked away.

Rafe waited until she was safely inside the barn where Devin
was sleeping, then headed back to his female. Mira’s words played in his head.
He realized she was right. If the process was easy, he might’ve chosen a female
for the wrong reasons. And the thought of meeting Jasmine and not being able to
love her chilled him.

Once inside their room, he climbed onto the bed and smoothed
the mass of wild blonde strands away from her face. Beautiful. His gift.
Whether the gods brought them together or not, he was glad he’d waited to take
a mate so he could find her.

He settled behind her so his cock pressed into the seam of
her backside. She sighed and snuggled against him, stimulating his already hard
erection with her wiggling bottom. He bit back a groan. She was tired but by
the gods, he needed her, didn’t think he could survive the few hours while she
slept without experiencing her passion. Once more and he’d let her rest.

He tilted his hips and his rod slipped between her thighs.
He rubbed along the damp seam until cream coated the length and Jasmine’s
breathing changed. Not awake yet but close. With his arms wrapped around her,
he shifted her so he could cup her breasts. He inched his fingers over the
mounds and drew a circle around the nipple, listening for her reaction. A low
sound of hunger crawled from her throat and more welcoming arousal bathed his
erection. Perfect. He lined up the head of his shaft to the opening of her
sheath and filled her with one hard push.

She gasped and arched back, pushing her breasts into his
palms. He held still while she panted, her body holding him in a tight fist.

“Are you okay, Jasmine?”

“Yes,” she mumbled. The slight quiver to that one word
filled him with shame.

“I am sorry. Didn’t mean to hurt you. Just needed you.
Couldn’t wait.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t.”

He kissed her neck, felt the rapid beat under his lips. “You
sure?”

She nodded and covered his hands so they both held her
breasts. He plumped the flesh and toyed with the nipple, rolling and tweaking
the tip between his fingers. Her breaths deepened so he repeated the motion.
She groaned and her petal-soft muscles squeezed around his shaft.

“Gods, baby, love being inside you,” he praised. “So tight,
so damn good.”

It was and better than it had been with any other woman
before. Being joined with Jasmine was damn near close to heaven. He didn’t know
how he’d lived without it. Wanting to show her how much he enjoyed loving her,
he nuzzled her neck and slowly moved, dragging his erection through her tight
grip. Each time he parted those tender muscles, it was like finding his home,
the place he wanted to stay forever. But the ache in his balls and the need to
feel that squeezing stroke on his cock forced him to thrust, to fill her. Every
push built the pressure, made the urge to drag his shaft through her silken
fist grow.

He panted, his pace racing him to completion. Tingles swept
to his lower spine, down to his balls. Heavy, full and pressed up against his
groin. Gods, he wanted to come but she wasn’t there yet. He couldn’t find
pleasure before his female. He slid his hand out from under hers and inched it
down her belly. The wet curls teased the tips of his fingers. He found the
bundle of nerves and thrummed it. Quick flicks to match the driving rhythm of
his cock. The nub hardened with his attentions. Whimpers fell from her lips.

“Come for me, my Jasmine,” he ordered and pressed her clit
at the same time as he thrust deep.

Muscles clenched tight then rippled along his length,
pulling his seed free. He grunted with the first jerk and groaned as she milked
him. Steady strokes over her clit kept her from falling into unconsciousness. He
wanted her awake, to reach for him so they could sleep together, twined like
lovers…like mates.

Her pants slowed. He lifted his thumb away but couldn’t pull
free, not yet. Didn’t want to lose any moment of his time in paradise.

He kissed from the base of her neck up to her ear. “You are
amazing. I think I might wake you up this way every day.”

Jasmine tensed and the muscles holding his cock tightened
but pleasure didn’t drive the response. Fear did. It tainted her scent and
aggravated him.

“We can’t keep doing this,” she blurted.

He pushed back the annoyance that his female would deny him
and focused on her fear. She was afraid. If it was something he had done, he
wanted to know about it so he didn’t do it again.

“Don’t you enjoy my touch?”

She laughed, a breathless sound that eased his angst. “No,”
she said but quickly added, “I mean yes. I do. Very much and that’s the problem”

Confused, he repeated the words in his head but didn’t
understand them the second time either. “How is that a problem?”

“I can’t think straight when you touch me. All I want is for
you to fill me, take the emptiness away. I don’t want to think about why you
shouldn’t be inside me.”

Anger rose with those words. He pulled his cock free and
jumped from the bed. He paced the small room, from the dresser to the door. At
the base of the bed he stopped and faced her. She sat with a sheet held to her
chin, blocking her breasts from his view. He didn’t like the fact that she hid
her body any more than he liked her last statement.

“And why is that, Jazz? Am I not good enough to fuck you? It’s
okay for us to share oral sex but I can’t join our bodies?”

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She snapped it closed
and matched his angry gaze. “You’re assuming an awful lot, Rafe.”

“Am I?” He stepped forward and pulled the sheet free. She
covered her breasts with a hand and reached for a pillow. He yanked it from her
hand before she could use it to shield herself. “Why hide your body from me? I’d
say we’re past the point of shyness.”

She slowly dropped the arm wrapped around her chest and
pushed up on her knees. The heavy weight of her breasts hung with pebbled tips
when she leaned closer to him. He fisted his hands to stop himself from
reaching forward and capturing those tempting globes.

“Humans do that when they’re nervous or feel threatened. And
I am both,” she spat.

The confession hit him with the ring of truth. Shame filled
him. He ran a hand through his hair. “No matter how angry I become, I would
never hurt you.”

“You keep saying that, but why?”

Not wanting to admit that he wanted her to be his mate,
especially after the way she’d just reacted, he said, “Because. I can’t explain
it. Just know it isn’t something that will end. You’re mine.”

“Dammit, that’s the problem. The possessiveness. The
ownership. I am not a
thing
. You can’t just walk into my life and take
over.”

He groaned. She’d warned him they’d continue this
conversation but right after sex wasn’t the right time for it. Knowing he had
to soothe her, he reached for her and laid his fingers against her cheek. She
didn’t pull away from him so he stroked her jaw and tried to come up with the
right words.

“Of course you’re not a thing. You’re my female.”

She smiled and nodded as if that was exactly what she was
waiting for him to say. “And what makes me yours, Rafe? The sex. That’s why
Mira hasn’t had a lover in years. Isn’t it? She said she’s afraid to risk it.”

He dropped his hand and sat back on his knees. His female
was smart, intuitive and knew where to go for information. And she was right,
not that he’d admit it with that angry look in her eyes. He sighed and hedged, “Mira’s
situation is different.”

She raised a brow. “Is it? Mira is afraid a man will mark
her womb, make her his. He’ll become fixated on her, not let her go. And it won’t
matter if he loves her or not.” She leaned forward and pressed her hands on his
bent thighs. “And you have repeatedly come inside me. It’s the same as marking
your territory. Isn’t it?”

He brushed his fingers down the valley between her breasts. “You
are an intelligent woman.”

She glanced down at his hand. “And there’s no going back. I’m
yours. End of story. Am I right?”

He lowered her to the bed. With his gaze locked to hers, he
settled between her legs. He waited for her to deny him. She didn’t so he
pushed the head of his cock into her drenched opening, joining them. He held
still until she adjusted to him then propped on his elbows and lazily thrust
inside her, building their desire slowly.

“Yes, my Jasmine. You’re right.”

She lifted her hips to match his gentle strokes and panted, “I
knew it that first night. You’re not a knight in shining armor. You’re a
conqueror. You saw something you wanted and took it. I had no choice.”

He stared into his female’s face. Regret rose, not for what
happened between them. He wouldn’t take it back for anything. Now that Jasmine
was in his life, he couldn’t imagine it without her. The instincts of a focused
male ensured he would remain devoted to Jasmine, treasure her, love her. But
Jasmine was human. The same drives didn’t guide her and she hadn’t known the
potential consequence of being with a shifter male.

“Five hundred years. That’s how long I’ve been bedding
females. When we came together, I didn’t know I’d keep you until it happened.”

Her eyes widened. “Five hundred years?”

Rafe stilled with his cock half inside her sheath. “Gods, I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to shock you.” He leaned on one elbow and brushed loose
strands of hair from her cheek. “I’m a descendent of the gods. It makes me
immortal. Do you see now? You’re the first female to tempt me.”

A look he couldn’t describe passed over her face. She closed
her eyes, hiding whatever he could discern from them. He pressed kisses to her
closed lids and whispered, “You are important to me, my Jasmine. That is not
the same thing as ownership. I will always take care you. Be with you. Worship
you. Never control you.”

After a moment, she swallowed hard. “Oh okay then.”

When she didn’t say anything else, he slid his cock, which
wasn’t quite as hard as it had been, back into her sheath. She widened her legs
and linked her arms around his neck. A gentle tug and she pulled his head to
hers, twined their tongues. He kissed her and slowly fucked her. The passion
built, his cock hardened once more and when they came, they did so together,
but something was missing…or wrong. And he didn’t know what.

Jazz woke to Rafe’s scent in her nose and his warm, hard
body pressed along her back. The rigid length of his erection lay nestled in
the seam of her backside. If she hadn’t woken first, he would’ve roused her
from sleep by thrusting that length inside her. Over the course of the night,
they’d had sex three, maybe four times. She’d lost track. Their passionate
encounters had become one continual loop of pleasure, release and sleep. It had
been amazing but with the sun streaming through the windows, the sadness
returned.

Rafe hadn’t bitten her. He’d had the chance, had obviously
thought about it if the fangs pressing against her shoulder were any indication
but he’d turned his head away. The sense of rejection had been sharp. She’d
rationalized it and pushed the emotion away but when he dropped his second
hammer, her heart had cracked. He was immortal. A royal descendent of the gods.
It seemed unreal but fantasy had become reality five years ago and nothing
since had shocked her overly much. Well, until Rafe walked into her life and
silly dreams she’d never known she’d harbored surfaced.

Seeing him with her kids, the way he worshipped her body and
his heated declaration of wanting to keep her all fed the fairy tale she’d let
herself believe. That Rafe was her Prince Charming. Even his ownership
explanation made her feel as treasured as he claimed she was to him. How could
she doubt him when he looked at her as if the stars and the moon shone in her
eyes? She allowed dreams of the two of them getting married, maybe having a
couple of kids and growing old together to bloom but Rafe would never age. She
would. Or would she?

She swallowed a groan. She needed answers and she wanted
them now. If she waited, her mind would keep churning and she’d work herself
up, maybe over nothing. She had to remember she didn’t understand shifter
culture or their rules, but she couldn’t ask Rafe about this. Whenever she
tried to talk to him they ended up having sex. Besides, if she asked him about
mating and he didn’t want her as his, she’d be crushed. But she knew one person
who could answer her. Mira.

Carefully, so as not to wake Rafe, she eased out from under
his thick arms and inched off the bed. It squeaked. She held still with one
butt cheek hanging off the side but Rafe didn’t move. A sense of déjà vu hit
her. She pressed against the pain in her chest then swallowed hard and did her
best to ignore it.

She tiptoed to the bathroom, turned on the water and
cringed. The old pipes banged. Water sputtered out of the tap. She held her
breath and listened but Rafe’s steady breathing never changed. After the water
heated, she lifted the little tab to start the shower. The metal rings scraped
going over the rod but even the shrill noise didn’t wake Rafe. Confident her
actions wouldn’t rouse him, she showered, shaved and gave her hair an
extra-long conditioning treatment. It was still slightly tangled from Rafe’s
fingers.

Dressed in another pair of comfy shorts—chosen in the hope
that Rafe would find ways to touch her needy sex throughout the day—and a
simple white tee, she slipped from the room. The house was quiet. Not
surprising. Seth and Levi usually slept until mid-morning but unlike Rafe’s
near comatose slumber, they woke easily.

Her house was old and had two sets of stairs. The rear set
was at the opposite end of her big farmhouse near her boys’ room. The other led
into the living room where Rafe’s brothers and friends were sleeping. She
glanced from the stairs by her bedroom to the rear ones. Seth and Levi’s
bedroom door stood open. If she walked past, there was a good chance the
squeaky floorboards would wake them.

Which set of shifters did she dare wake? She chose the
stairs by her room but stopped at the bottom. The sight before her sped her
pulse. She reached for the banister to steady herself. A roomful of sleeping
big cats and wolves separated her from the kitchen. Wrong choice. She’d rather
deal with cranky kids than lose a limb to a predator she accidentally woke up.

“Come on down. It’s safe,” Josh called out.

She glanced across the sea of big, furry bodies to him. Josh
leaned against the doorjamb with a cup of coffee in his hand. He wore a loose
gray tee and sleep shorts but it didn’t appear as if he’d slept much. Red,
blurry eyes met hers.

Trusting his judgment, she took a step down. If she kept to
the edge of the room, she could avoid bumping into anybody’s furry form. She
carefully made her way around but stopped and flicked her gaze back to Josh. No
swollen eye or bruises and in the place of raw open wounds, four scars
remained. Josh met her eyes but turned around and slipped into the kitchen
before she could voice her shock.

She rushed forward and tripped over a huge wolf. She fell
but human arms banded around her and saved her from face planting onto the
floor. Her back met a man’s chest and warm breath bathed her neck. Fear rose
but a hand clamped over her mouth before she could scream.

“Settle, Rafe’s mate. I won’t hurt you,” Xander’s voice
drifted to her.

She stilled. He dropped his hand but didn’t release her. “Let
me go.”

“In a minute.” He hissed out a breath. “You woke me and now
I have a beautiful woman’s body in my arms. You’ll embarrass us both if you
turn around now. And if your male finds out you aroused me, he’ll beat the shit
out of me.”

The rod jabbing into her backside supported his answer and
his honesty settled her nerves. She nodded. “My name’s Jazz, not Rafe’s mate.”

“Same thing to me.”

“No, it’s not. We just hooked up. You know, a fling.” Or at
least that’s what she would make herself believe until Rafe said otherwise.

Xander chuckled. “Humans are ignorant. I certainly don’t
envy Rafe.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what I said yesterday. You don’t understand
anything, woman.”

Jaw clenched, she bit out, “Then enlighten me.”

“All right. Rafe has never been intimate with a human more
than once and from the scent of sex drifting down those stairs last night, he probably
took you every damn time he woke up. Means your special.” He gave her a little
shake and released her. “Don’t screw it up.”

She turned around but instead of a man, a white wolf stood
there. Piercing blue eyes met hers then he curled into a ball and buried his
nose in his bushy tail. She took the hint and left him alone. The remaining
trek across the room was incident-free. She slipped inside the kitchen and let
a sigh escape.

The mess had been cleaned up but the dining room’s emptiness
was a reminder of the fight that had occurred there, a fight Josh should still
be recovering from. She glanced at the man in question. He stood at the
counter, her laptop in front of him and a toasted bagel on a dish next to it.
No sign of stiffness and no evidence of his injuries except for the scar.

“What happened to you?”

Josh raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

She crossed the room and propped a hip against the counter
next to him. “Last night you looked as if you were lucky to have survived the
fight. And today you look no worse for wear.”

Josh stared at her a moment but turned his head without
answering. He typed on the computer, hit enter. “Mira took care of me.”

“How?”

He ran a hand though his hair and made the ends stand in
spikes. “It’s not important.” He closed the lid on the computer and leveled her
with a hard glare. “So I guess you and I are over. Huh, babe?”

“We haven’t been an item since high school, Josh.”

He reached forward, captured a lock of her hair and twirled
it around his finger. “But you were thinking about getting back with me.”

She pulled the strands free and smoothed a hand down the
length. “Let’s not talk about this right now.”

“I think we should. You and Rafe are getting serious and I
want to make sure it’s what you want.”

She dropped her gaze. “I don’t know if what I want matters.”
Because I’m a beloved human, owned by a wickedly sexy shifter that I’m
falling for.

He tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Your
wants always matter. I don’t care what Rafe is. If you don’t want to be with
him, you don’t have to be. I’ll make sure of it.”

She sighed and admitted, “Yes, I do want Rafe. I know it’s
crazy. We haven’t known each other long, but he makes me feel special.”

Josh grunted as if that was the answer he expected. “And he was
okay with your explanation of how you found Seth and Levi?”

She’d forgotten about Rafe grilling Josh for details of her
past. With everything else going on, what happened five years ago didn’t seem
important. “I haven’t told him yet.”

He dropped his hand. “Jesus, babe. You’ve got to tell him.”

“I will.”

“Soon. I don’t want him breaking your heart if it’s
something he can’t forgive. Any more nights like the last one and you’re going
to fall for him.”

She covered her mouth and squeaked, “We were that loud?”

Josh chuckled. “No, but I slept in the guest bedroom next to
yours. The thumping of the headboard on the wall was a dead giveaway that you
and your cat-man weren’t sleeping.”

Her cheeks heated but his teasing tone eased her
embarrassment. “Cat-man?”

“Sure, you know, like Batman only he can turn into a cat,”
Josh said with a little shrug.

“I’m not even going to comment on that.” She rolled her eyes
but was glad Josh wasn’t jealous anymore, or adamantly insisting he wasn’t
going to let her go. They’d been through too much together. His friendship
meant a lot to her. “Have you seen Mira? I need to talk to her.”

Josh rubbed at his neck. He tipped his head in the direction
of the patio doors. “She took a cup of coffee and went out to sit on the deck
awhile ago.”

“You didn’t go with her?”

His gaze settled on the closed computer. “Had to deal with
Tony’s stuff.”

Guilt and sadness killed the teasing mood. “Have you decided
what to do about…”

“About his body?” He nodded. “We’re having him cremated. We’ll
have a memorial service later, after things settle down.”

If they ever did.
“I’m sorry you got dragged into
this world, Josh.”

“I’m not. Megan might not be my kid but she sure feels like
it. I love the little munchkin.”

She gave his hand a squeeze. “Why don’t you go get some
sleep? You look like shit.”

“Yeah, I think I will,” Josh said and walked to the hallway
door.

Jazz picked up the untouched bagel and ate it in three
bites. She hadn’t eaten much at dinner then had sex all night. She was hungry.
The coffee was cold so she dumped it, rinsed the cup and set it to dry before
heading outside.

The deck was vacant but Mira’s coffee cup sat empty on the
railing. Jazz stepped to the end and scanned the backyard. Gray storm clouds
had moved in. The sun that had woken her was hidden now. She squinted.

Clothes were scattered about the ground near the tree line.
She glanced from Mira’s coffee cup to the discarded outfit. A morning run? The
thought amused her until she remembered the murdering shifter still unaccounted
for. What was Mira thinking? Sure, the Viking twins were watching the property,
doing patrols, but she should wake someone up to check on her.

She turned to head back inside but an animal’s whining
reached her ears. It was faint but came from the direction of the woods where
Mira’s clothes were scattered.

Mira. Oh god.
She took a couple of steps down the
stairs to get a better view, saw what was lying just beyond the tree line and
screamed.