FireStarter (4 page)

I pulled my knees up and
wrapped my arms around them. I was tempted to bury my face down against them,
but didn’t want to take my gaze off Marshall. I had no idea what he was playing
at with this. Were he and Clayton going for a “good cop/bad cop” vibe or
something?

“
I’d love nothing more than
to set you free, baby—”

“
But you can’t. I heard you
before. I don’t need a repeat. Just—” I paused to lick my lips. “Just go the
hell away and leave me alone. I hate that I’m in this situation, but I hate
these mind games more. You know I used to like you back in school, and now
you’re trying to play on my feelings for you. I don’t appreciate it, and I want
it to stop.”

The look on his face nearly
had me apologizing. Nearly.

Marshall looked heartsick
as he rose slowly from the bed, leaving the tray where it lay.

“
I’ll go and leave you to
eat in peace. I’m not in on anything with Clayton, and I’m doing everything I
can to get you free from this room.”

“
Yeah, except for leaving
the door unlocked so I can walk out.”

My temper was rising, and
if Marshall didn’t get his ass out of this room in the next thirty seconds, I
was going to start using him for target practice with all his perfectly made
food until he did.

****

Clayton

It had taken some serious
willpower to leave Marshall when I knew he was going to go take care of Penny.
He wasn’t the only one who couldn’t walk away anymore. I sighed as I slid into
my car and headed toward the highway. How the hell was I going to tell Marshall
we were co-mates? By the time I realized she was my mate, too, Marshall had
sworn he wouldn’t claim her and would keep his distanc
e.
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that his decision
meant I would need to live life without my mate along with him. I understood
why Marshall walked away. We both had things in our past that had left a stain
on our souls. We both had a darkness to us, and Penny was pure sunlight. But I
didn’t agree with Marshall that we’d taint her. Especially when even losing her
parents didn’t dim her brightness, I knew she was strong enough to drag us both
out of the darkness. She was our mate and designed for us, so surely that meant
she was perfectly capable of handling us both?

I took the turnoff to head
south toward
Ceduna
. I was due at the Alpha’s home to
discuss how to handle this situation. I hated having secrets from Marshall, and
I sure as hell didn’t want my relationship with my mate to start out based on
lies! Or to have her think I was some bloody pyro that set fires for kicks and
giggles. With the way her parents died, she’d never look at me again, let alone
accept me into her bed and life, if she believed I was a
firestarter
.

Most jaguar shifters lived
in and around the
Pureba
Conservation Reserve, just
north of
Ceduna
on the South Australian coast. Like
Marshall’s, my parents moved further north away from the others. Guess it’s
easier to get away with knocking around your kid if you’re not in a close
community. I was three when I finally got saved. The Alpha had told me that if
we’d been living in the community at
Pureba
, I’d have
been removed within months of being born. And that was why I did what I did,
and kept secrets from those I never wanted to lie to. So no other shifter had
to suffer like I did.

Paranormal beings are like
any other society. There’s good, bad, evil and plain old
batshit
crazy in the mix. Only issue is, paranormals have extra talents to keep from
getting caught. Especially if they’re only being hunted by humans who don’t
know they exist. Sadly, Marshall and I weren’t the only abuse victims. There’ve
been others, although most aren’t found until it’s too late. Shifters heal
fast, so injuries don’t get picked up on until they’re life threatening. A
shudder ran through me as I remembered the worst of my beatings. Most people
can’t remember their early childhood. Mine was engraved deep in my soul. The
nasty drunken words, the hard punches and kicks. Being slammed through a door
that last time…

“
Son? You want to come in or
talk out here?”

Shaking myself free from
the past I realized I was sitting in my car staring at the Alpha’s house like a
fool.

“
Sorry, Alpha. Just got a
little caught up in the past for a sec.”

Getting out of the car, I
followed him up the front steps of his home and settled into a large chair on
the porch when he indicated I should. I took a deep breath of the clean air as
I
 
settled
into the
seat, and my heart rate lowered
allowing me to relax to some degree.

“
Alpha, as I mentioned on
the phone, I can’t keep lying to my co-mate and mate. Even if they are only
lies of omission, they deserve better from me. Marshall has been all big
brother worried about me for years now, and Penny is convinced I’m the
firestarter
after what happened at the
fireground
three days back.”

“
I knew we couldn’t keep the
taskforce a complete secret forever. Originally, we weren’t certain how it
would work out so it made sense to keep it quiet. And the general public isn’t
ready to know that paranormal beings walk among them every day, so even if we
alter who can know, it will never be completely open to everyone. Then, as you
know, we caught a lot more perpetrators because they didn’t realize we existed,
let alone were gunning for them.”

I sat forward a little.
“That’s not the case anymore. Word has gotten around in the criminal circles.
This current
firestarter
for example, he knows who I
am and that I’m chasing him. He recognized Penny, but seeing her in my arms,
seeing how protective I was over her, that certainly increased his interest.
It’s my belief he knew her because she’s been on his trail for a while now. He
will continue to come after her. I’m sure of it.”

The Alpha rubbed his palms
up and down his thighs for a moment. “And now he’s seen the two of you
together, you think he’ll come gunning for her even harder?”

Tight bands constricted
around my chest. “Yeah. He has to know she’s important to me. I could have
caught him, if I’d left her behind. I chose her safety over detaining him.
He’ll know that she’s the way to keep me distracted. For him, taking her out is
a ‘two birds with one stone’ situation.”

The Alpha nodded grimly.
“Where is Penny now?”

“
She’s locked up at my
place. Marshall is with her. But neither of them knows of the danger. Penny
thinks I’m the
firestarter
, and Marshall … hell, I
don’t know what he thinks at this point! They both think I took her to prevent
her from turning me in. So when I return, I won’t be overly surprised if neither
of them is there.”

“
Does Marshall at least know
that you’re co-mates?”

I shook my head. “By the
time I’d gotten close enough to know she was mine, he’d sworn that he was going
to leave her alone. It didn’t seem fair to tell him I was going after her, especially
when I knew full well I had the same inner demons that were keeping him away.”

“
Back in school, when you
both first met her. Did either of you actually have any physical contact with
her?”

While rubbing at an itch on
my right bicep, I shook my head. “I definitely didn’t, and as far as I know
Marshall didn’t either. The first time I touched her was three days ago at the
fireground
, and for Marshall, it was today.”

The Alpha nodded again.
“That’s the only reason either of you could have left her alone back then. I
can assure you now that you’ve both physically touched her, you won’t be able
to go far from her for long. Are you getting itchy yet?”

I was rubbing my arm again
without realizing it. “Yeah, I’m getting pretty twitchy. Does this settle down
after you claim your mate?”

The thought of being
twitchy every time I wasn’t by Penny’s side didn’t sit well. How the hell could
I work investigating crimes if I couldn’t get my head on straight for missing
my mate?

“
Yeah, once your jaguar
knows she’s tied to you permanently it will settle down. But for today, you
need to get back to her soon. Listen, I spoke with the rest of management after
you rang, and the decision was reached that it was up to me to decide whether
you needed to tell Marshall and Penny about the taskforce. From what you’ve
said, it’s clear they need to know in order to keep themselves safe. So, go
home, sit them both down and explain what’s going on. Don’t say more than you
have to, and the cases you work on are always going to be top secret. You can’t
tell them more than the fact you were at the
fireground
working.”

“
I’d like to respectfully
request that I discuss this current case more fully with at least Penny. She
lost her parents in the Red Gu
m
fires last year and has been studying fires and
chasing
firestarters
ever since. I believe her
knowledge can help me catch this guy faster. I have no intention of discussing
any other case with her, but this one? With the
firestarter
,
I think we’d be crazy to not utilize her skills here.”

The Alpha rubbed his chin.
“Let me double check with the brass, but I can’t imagine they’ll have an issue
with it. They may even suggest she be part of the term permanently, after you
claim her of course.” He got up and herded me down to my car. “I’ll call you and
let you know when you can discuss the case. It should be before you make it
back to your place. And you keep me posted on how everything else goes, okay?”

“
Of course, Alpha.”

Despite the itchiness of
needing to be near Penny, I was feeling so much better now I knew I could tell
both Marshall and Penny some of the secrets I’d been hiding from everyone for
so long. Although, I had no idea how either of them would react to what I had
to say.

I just hoped they were both
still where I’d left them, so I could at least attempt to explain things.

Chapter Four

Penny

With nothing else to do, I
was back to burning off my emotions by pacing. The food had been delicious, and
I ate way more than I should have. So now I had energy to burn and nowhere to
go with it. I stopped by the small window and looked out over the back yard.
There was a large bird bath and several small wrens were splashing and drinking
at it. They were pretty little things. Something about the way they moved was
peaceful and relaxing. It allowed my mind to wander back to my earlier thoughts
about the
fireground
. That smell, what was it? I knew
I’d smelled it before, but for the life of me I couldn’t place it. It was
extremely annoying.

I tensed when a large warm
hand slipped over my hip alerting me to the fact I wasn't alone. Marshall's
warmth heated my back through the thin tank I wore, causing a shiver to pass
through me. Why did I react to him so intensely? He was one of my captors. I
should hate him, recoil from his every touch. Certainly not crave it, like I
did. All the questions in my mind were driving me nuts!

"You cold, baby?"

I shook my head. "No,
I'm just bored."
And sick of waiting
to be set free. For you to release me.

I inhaled deeply and turned
to face Marshall. He loosened his arm enough for me to move before he
retightened his hold. There was a nervousness to his movements, but then I
had
kicked him out earlier. I pushed
down the heat his touch caused to pool in my lower belly. I would have shoved
him away as I knew this wasn't real, and that I couldn't trust it. But his
closeness smoothed out my rampaging thoughts so I stayed in his warm embrace.
That and I smelled cake.

"You brought more
food? I only just ate!"

There were no clocks in
here and they'd taken my phone and laptop, so, aside from sunrise and sunset, I
had no idea what the time was. But I was certain it had only been a couple of
hours at the most since he brought the last tray in.

"Yeah, I know. But I
wasn’t sure you were going to eat any of that. So I brought you some cake.
Chocolate mud cake to be precise."

Comfort food. He’d known I
was upset and had brought me comfort food. Marshall was making it very
difficult to stay mad at him. Especially since my mouth was already watering
for a taste. "You make it or buy it?"

His expression showed how
badly I'd insulted him, and he looked so adorable I couldn’t resist chuckling
at him. It also took another chunk out of my defenses against him. As pitiful
as they’d been to begin with, there wasn’t much left.

"Of course I made it.
I wouldn't feed you anything less."

I bit my lip. I honestly
didn’t know what to do with this man. Part of me wanted to kick him in the
groin and run like hell for the door … the other part wanted to cuddle up to
him.

"Don't look so
worried. It's just cake. C'mon, come and sit on the bed and have some."

I eyed the bedside table
that had a plate of cake on it. "You cooked a full meal, then baked a cake
from scratch for me?"

His cheeks pinked sweetly,
and my heart softened toward him even more. Oh, this wasn’t good. This was
dangerous.

"Um, yeah. You know I
can’t let you go, but I want you to be as comfortable as possible while you're
here. That includes making sure you’re properly fed."

I was struck speechless. I
had no idea what to do with this man. I knew my previous teenage crush on him
was developing into something more, but he was helping his brother hold me
captive. Falling for him wasn't an option. Or was it? It hadn't been Marshall
that lit fires or captured me. As much as I wished he would free me, I understood
his loyalty to his brother. It was that same level of loyalty to my parents
that had me chasing
firestarters
all over the state.

I huffed out a breath and
broke away from his hold before I began rubbing the bridge of my nose. This
whole situation was so fucked up. Marshall slid his hands over mine and lowered
them. I opened my eyes and got caught in his gaze. My heart actually ached when
he looked at me like that. All heat and passion. He couldn’t fake that. Could
he?

"What are you
doing?"

He smirked at my question.
"Well, I'm not doing it very well if you have to ask."

His gaze flicked down to my
mouth as he tugged on my hands until I stumbled forward, returning to my place
against him. He smoothed his palms up my arms until he cupped my face.

"Please don't bite me
again. I know I should leave you alone, but I can't resist taking another
taste. And I'd really like to forgo the bloody lip this time if at all
possible."

A hint of smile tugged at
my lips at his tone for a moment before he lowered his face to mine and kissed
me. All the thoughts running rampant through my mind spun out of control as he
moved his lips against mine. I gripped his biceps to steady myself and moaned
at how good his hard muscles felt beneath my touch. When he slid his tongue into
my mouth I gave in to the temptation of Marshall. My mind cleared of all the
chaos, and I was solely focused on Marshall. His taste, his scent, the feel of
him.

One hand left my face and
curled around my waist, pulling me in tight against him. A whimper tore from my
throat as my stomach came into contact with his erection. He was thick and
hard. Reality barged in, and my eyes stung with tears. I shoved against his
chest, breaking the kiss. Panting, I stared directly into his hooded gaze.

"We can't do this."

His chest pumped with his
own accelerated breathing. "Why can't we?"

"Because you're
holding me captive! I can’t trust that this is real. That—that you’re not just
playing some game with me."

The passion in his irises
dimmed as he frowned. "Clayton took you. I've done nothing but help
you."

"So set me free! If
you really want to help me, let me go."

Tears sprang up, and I
tried to tamp them down but couldn't. I spun away from him and covered my face
with my hands, unable to stem the flow but not wanting him to see me cry. This
whole situation was such a bloody mess, and I couldn’t work out what the hell I
should do with any of it. Or anyone involved with it.

****

Marshall

Pain ripped through my
chest as I stood helpless while she fell apart. Penny was so strong, so to see
her torn down like this physically hurt to watch. I was such a bastard. I’d
known she was too good for me, yet I'd gone after her anyway. I should just
leave and not touch her again. I really should. But I'd broken out in a sweat
at just the thought. Now I’d felt her against me, my jag wasn’t taking no for
an answer. I was completely addicted to my mate. She was a craving I couldn't
deny any longer.

"Baby, please. Don't
cry. I can’t stand it.”

I’d made my mate cry. And
now I was trying to stop her by being selfish and telling her I couldn’t stand
her seeing her tears? Yep. I was a first class bastard.
Just like the beast who’d fathered me.
I moved to wrap my arms
around her waist, but she shifted out of my reach, recoiling from my potential
touch.

"Just go and leave me
alone. It's bad enough you're forcing me to stay in this tiny room against my
will, but to make me fall for you is beyond cruel."

Blinking, I stepped back
from her. So she did feel the connection, too. Instinctively, I knew I needed
to tread carefully with her. I couldn’t risk her deciding I wasn’t worth the
effort. Decision made, I spun and left the room, flicking that fucking lock for
the very last time. Penny was my mate. Mine to take care of. Clay could go jump
of a fucking cliff. I quickly cleaned up the kitchen, putting everything away
before I packed all the bits and pieces I’d brought over into my car. Then I
returned upstairs to the center of my whole world.

“
Penny? Grab your stuff and
come with me.”

A lump formed in my throat
as she frowned over at me with red-rimmed eyes and tearstained cheeks.

“
You’re setting me free?”

I winced. “Not exactly. I’m
taking you to my place. I don’t know what’s up with Clay, but he tells me he
took you to keep you protected from something. He’s never lied to me before, so
I think it wise to keep you guarded at least until I can get him to tell me
what the fuck is going on.”

Her shoulders slumped. “So
you’re just moving my prison. Great. Why bother?”

“
You asked me earlier if I’m
a shifter like Clay. And I told you I was. I’m a jaguar like he is, although
I’m a golden spotted one while he’s jet black.”

She turned to fully face
me. “Why are you telling me this? And why now?”

“
Because you need to
understand why I’m never going to leave you, why protecting you is as important
to me as breathing. You’ll have freedom to leave and do whatever you want.
You’ll just have a guard while you do it.”

Her features tightened. She
clearly didn’t believe me.

“
Since you spent most of
your high school years avoiding me, I find that hard to believe you find me
anything but annoying.”

“
You’re my mate, Penny. You
and me? We’re predestined to be together for life.”

Oh, that was apparently the
wrong thing to say. She came at me with fury burning in her gaze.

“
You bastard!” Her small
fists thumped my chest. “You think because some higher power says we have to be
together that I’ll just fall at your feet? Is that why you affect me like you
do? It’s some … shifter magic trick?”

I gently but firmly gripped
her wrists to still her movements.

“
I keep saying the wrong
thing to you, don’t I? Being predestined doesn’t mean we’re forced to be
together even if we can’t stand each other. It means we were born for each
other, that we were created to complement the other. Perfectly in all areas of
life.”

Her hazel eyes filled with
tears once more.

“
So why did you avoid me in
school? If we were meant to be? Why did you kiss me earlier but tell me there’d
never be sex between us?”

Ahh
, that’s where I’d gone
wrong. I’d wondered why she’d frozen up after our kiss. I raised her fists to
my mouth where I laid a kiss on each one.

“
I wasn’t born into a loving
family, Penny. My father raped my mother, and then her parents forced her to
marry him when they found out he’d gotten her pregnant with me. Before my first
birthday, he’d beaten her to death. He was laying into me when the police came
and saved me. That’s how I ended up being raised by an adoptive family. My
biological father is cruel and violent. I have those genetics in me, Penny. It’s
this dark stain on my soul, and sometimes, it demands some airtime. But
you—you’re light and good and beautiful. I’m not good enough for you. I know
I’m not, even back in school I knew. So I stayed away. I thought I could
protect you from a distance and make sure you had a good life. That it would be
enough. But it’s not.” I stopped and shook my head. “I told you that kiss
wouldn’t have ended in sex because I won’t take you while you’re so confused
and being held against your will. Because, when I take you, I’ll claim you.
Mark you as mine. You need to have a clear head to choose that.”

That and she needed to
seduce me for the claiming. The female had to start things. But she didn’t need
to hear that right now. She pulled on her wrists, and I loosened my grip,
allowing her freedom. Expecting her to turn away from me I sucked in a breath
when she instead cupped my cheeks with her palms and pressed her body against
mine. Automatically my arms went around her, my palms landing on her
beautifully rounded ass as I stared into her clear hazel irises.

“
Marshall, no one on Earth
is perfect. We all have faults, and you’re no different. Your father’s shitty
choices don’t make you a bad person.
Your
choices make you who you are. And you choose to take care of people. You care
for Clayton, me … as a chef you serve the needs of thousands of people! You’re
a good person, Marshall.”

“
How the fuck have you
stayed so sweet?”

She winced, and I clenched
my jaw. I was such an ass.

“
I haven’t been through what
you have. I had the best parents in the world.” Her eyes rimmed with tears
again. “When they died, I was ruined. Nothing but a shell. I smiled and moved
around like I normally did, but inside I was dead. Then, not only did that
bastard that lit the fire escape being caught, but they kept lighting fires. I
knew I had to do something. I couldn’t handle knowing they were still out
there, you know? So I started learning about fire investigation and went out
and did my thing. Chasing
firestarters
gave me
purpose. Once I had that, and once I knew my parents would be proud of me, I
came alive again. I’ve studied and worked my ass off since that moment to catch
them. But I still haven’t been able to nail that one
firestarter
.”