Mating Instinct: A Moon Shifter Novel (17 page)

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

He paused so long she wasn’t sure he’d continue, but thankfully he did. “I was involved with a vampire once. A long time ago. We were best friends, but thanks to . . . circumstances, it didn’t work out.” There was a strangely painful note in Aiden’s voice, one she’d never heard before. It was completely at odds with his normally relaxed demeanor.

She crossed her arms across her chest. “What are you trying to say?”

Aiden nodded a polite hello at a young couple passing them in the park before answering. “I fucked up and it’s too late to go back and change things, but you and Jayce . . . hell, he’s right in front of you and what he feels for you isn’t casual, and I
know
you have feelings for him.”

“He didn’t want me when I was human—”

“Are you sure about that? Has he ever come out and actually said it?” Before she could answer, he continued. “Even if it is true, sometimes people deserve a second chance, especially dumbass males. The night we found you—”

She sucked in a quick breath but didn’t make a move to stop him from continuing. Just motioned to a nearby bench and collapsed on it. Aiden followed suit, but Kat didn’t look at him. Instead she stared at the jungle gym in front of them. Its primary colors were vivid against the dark night, thanks to the bright glow of a nearby light.

“The night we found you, Jayce came close to killing me for a chance to hold you.”

She swiveled toward him. “What? I might have been crying and in pain but I remember that night clearly. He did no such thing.”

Aiden snorted softly. “The look on his face was full of so much raw emotion when he looked at you but when he looked at me . . .” He shook his head. “Pure death. He wanted to protect you, to hold you, and he thought about killing me to do it. I saw it in his eyes.”

She bit her bottom lip as she digested his words. That night she’d been too emotional to look at Jayce. Hadn’t even wanted to talk to him. She’d been so embarrassed that he’d seen her at her absolute worst. After suffering through the torture and near death at the hands of that APL member, she’d been bloody and naked for everyone to see. By the time Jayce had arrived she’d been covered, but she still hadn’t been able to face him. And she’d refused all his calls. The first time she’d seen him had been a couple nights ago and it had brought out a firestorm of emotions inside her.

Even knowing they had no future, she wanted nothing more than to welcome him into her bed. Sighing, she turned to Aiden but stopped at the sound of a distant shout for help.

It was from the direction they’d just come from. Before she could say anything Aiden jumped up. “Come on.”

They sprinted down the sidewalk, then ducked through a part of the park that was thicker with trees.

The couple they’d passed earlier were struggling with three teenage thugs who appeared to be mugging them. One had a knife pressed to the man’s throat, one was rifling through the woman’s purse, and the last one had his arms around her in a bear hug from behind.

“Just take our money and leave,” the guy said as he attempted to struggle, but when he did, the teenager dug the knife in deeper, drawing blood.

“Shut the hell up,” the guy holding the woman said.

The coppery scent hit Kat’s nose. She glanced at Aiden, who motioned toward his left. “I’m going to confront them. You loop around that way, then take out the guy with the knife. I can handle the others but I don’t want that guy slipping and accidentally killing the man.”

Without pause, she did as he said, falling back into the cluster of trees and using them as cover.

“Nice night for a stroll!” Aiden’s loud voice boomed through the air.

Kat shook her head as she sprinted through the park. He was going to have no problem distracting—and likely agitating—the three muggers. Breaching the opposite end of the opening where the others stood, she glanced around a giant oak tree.

Sure enough, they all watched Aiden as he rambled on about the weather and what a dangerous place this was for young people at night.

Creeping up on the guy with the knife, she didn’t make a sound or order him to drop it. With lightning-quick moves, she reached around his lean body, grabbed his arm, and yanked it back until it broke. His cry shattered through Aiden’s ramblings.

In the next instant the two others looked toward Kat, but in the short time it took them to move, Aiden had yanked the teenager off the woman, knocked him out with a swift punch to the jaw, and had the third guy on the ground with his hands behind his back.

“Make a move and I’ll make you regret it,” Aiden growled in his ear.

His words were low enough that the other humans couldn’t hear, but Kat had no problem hearing him, thanks to her extrasensory abilities.

The woman was crying as she ran to her male companion and wrapped her arms around him. Both of them were obviously shaken, but at least the man was holding it together as he pulled the woman away from the teenager crying on the ground over his broken arm.

Before Kat could say anything, Aiden strode over to the couple. “Do you want me to call the cops, or deal with these punks on my own?” He bared his teeth slightly to let them know what he was.

The couple looked from Aiden to Kat, then back again. A dark red aura surrounded both of them for an instant before it faded. It indicated they were both in survival mode. Despite the situation, Kat found it fascinating that they’d both shown the exact same reaction at the same time. They were very much in sync. The woman spoke first. “I just want to go home,” she said through sniffles to the man holding her.

The man’s arms tightened around her. “Take care of it yourself. . . . And thank you, we won’t forget this or tell anyone.”

Aiden nodded slightly and waited until the couple was out of sight before he turned back to the teenagers. The dark look on his face was so out of character it almost made Kat take a step back.

Before he could move, she placed a hand on his forearm. “I don’t think they meant to do anything other than rob them,” she murmured. She’d seen the darker aura surrounding the teenagers as they’d come up on them, but they weren’t evil. Just punks. Unlike the APL members whose crimes she’d seen practically tattooed on their foreheads, these young men were different. Currently a muddy brown color lingered around them. It was faint but wasn’t fading. Yeah, these kids were all scared shitless.

“You’re sure?” His question was a soft growl.

“Yeah.”

He paused for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”

She wasn’t sure what “okay” meant, but she watched as he went to each male, pulled out his wallet, and searched for other weapons. He didn’t find anything besides the original knife.

As he pulled out their IDs, the guy he’d knocked out was waking up from his stupor. Aiden shook his head at them, disgust in every line of his face. “You’re all eighteen, and from what I can see, you live in middle-class neighborhoods so you don’t even have the excuse of stealing because you need the money—not that I would have given a shit if you did. What the hell is wrong with you three?”

The one lying facedown twisted his head so he was looking at Aiden. “Can I sit up?” he squeaked.

Aiden nodded and waited until the kid had rolled over. “I’m still waiting for an answer.”

“We were just fucking around,” the one with the broken arm rasped.

“Fucking around by terrorizing a young couple not bothering anyone? Fucking around by wielding a knife so close to that guy’s throat you actually drew blood? Fucking around with people in your
own
community?”

The three of them swallowed hard, the sound audible even above their rapid heartbeats and heavy breathing. Kat held no pity for them. Even if their intentions weren’t murderous, things could have escalated out of control in seconds. All it would have taken was for the one kid to slip up and nick an artery.

Aiden turned to her. “I think those two”—he motioned toward the two fairly unscathed teenagers—“deserve to get an arm broken too. What do you think?”

Kat eyed the three of them. Growing up with her father, she’d had some of his brutal lifestyle bleed into her own life. Enough that she understood if you didn’t punish transgressors, they’d take advantage. If they didn’t make these kids regret what they’d done, they would do it again. And they might kill someone next time. She also understood that the way Aiden wanted to handle this was part of pack life. Something she’d better get used to. Still . . . these were young kids and their fear was nauseatingly potent. “Maybe we give them a break.
Once.
”

Another, purer scent filled the air at her statement. It smelled a lot like hope. Like a soft spring rain. Almost as if the three boys were linked like that couple had been, a sharp burst of emerald green and canary yellow flowed off them for an instant. It was so bright it took Kat off guard for a moment.

Aiden turned and glared at the two boys. “What do you think? Think I should give you a break?”

“We won’t do anything like this ever again, we swear.” Sincerity was strong in his voice.

Kat also knew he might be sincere now but that could change in the future. Only time would tell.

Aiden nodded at the kid who’d wielded the knife. “Help your friend up. We’ll drop you off near the hospital.”

The wounded guy moaned in pain and another of the three was actually crying. Guilt flowed through her and she wanted to curse at herself. She shouldn’t feel guilty. These kids were lucky they weren’t being arrested.

Other than their cries of pain, the drive to Fontana’s hospital was quiet. After giving them a warning and a promise that sounded more like a threat to check up on them in the next couple of days—and after making a show of keeping their IDs—Aiden let them out about two blocks from the hospital.

“You don’t think we should have called the police?” Kat asked as soon as they were alone.

“No.” His answer was immediate. “At least not now. If any of them got thrown in prison they’d be eaten alive—which they might well deserve—but they might still have a chance at being decent human beings. I’m going to have Ryan run their names and see if they have records, check up on them, and make them do a hell of a lot of community service.”

“You’re going to continue their punishment?”

“Hell, yeah. And community service isn’t harsh punishment.”

“You think they’ll tell the cops I broke that guy’s arm?”

He shrugged, his broad shoulders lifting casually. “Maybe, but I doubt it. The fear rolling off them was real and they knew we could have done a lot worse to them. Instead, we showed mercy.”

She waited a moment before asking another question. “You don’t think it’ll come back to hurt the pack?”

Aiden gave her an unreadable look. “Do you care?”

Surprise punched through her. “Of course I care!”

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and she realized he’d been baiting her. “It wouldn’t hurt you to spend more time at the ranch, get to know everyone more.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’ll be there tomorrow for breakfast.”

“Good. And to answer your question, I don’t think it will hurt the pack. Connor wants to stay here and he wants to make good with the locals. We just saved two people tonight and we’ll hopefully save three wannabe thugs from a dangerous path. Only time will tell on that front. And I know what that guy said, but he’s going to tell his friends what we did to save him and his female and that will only spread goodwill for us. Not a bad thing, considering the bad will we’ve been feeling the past couple days.”

Kat leaned back against the passenger seat and stared out the window. Getting used to pack rules and life was going to take time, but right now, despite what had just happened, she still couldn’t get Jayce out of her head. Especially after what Aiden had said about him the night they’d found her. An unexpected shiver rolled over her. Considering they’d be sharing a roof for another night, she didn’t know if she’d be able to control herself much longer. Giving in to what her body wanted sounded so much more enticing.

Chapter 11

J
ayce scrubbed a hand over his face as he skimmed the printout Ryan had given him on Leila Jeung. Korean father, American mother. Sixteen years old, but she’d already graduated high school and had enough college credits to cover her first year. She’d been accepted into a dozen schools but hadn’t picked one yet. Even though her family had been packless, with no Alpha to protect them, they’d been doing very well for themselves financially. Both parents were born in the last century, and from his notes, it looked like they were more in tune with the human world than the shifter world. They’d just wanted to live their lives the way they saw fit. And someone had killed them. Jayce’s fist started to clench on the paper as he thought about Leila being on her own for so long. He wasn’t exactly surprised that the Council hadn’t told him about her family, but he was pissed. They were sure as hell going to hear about it soon.

“They didn’t deserve what happened to them.” Ryan motioned toward Jayce’s printout about the Jeungs as he handed Jayce another one.

Jayce nodded tightly. A quick glance at the second printout showed him all the information he’d wanted on the drug dealers he and Connor had rounded up earlier. More ammunition for him to use in finding the source of the vamp blood. “Thanks. So . . . any progress on that laptop?” Cracking the encryption was a priority. There might not be anything good on it, but Jayce would find out one way or another.

Ryan’s jaw clenched as he cursed under his breath. “No. I can’t believe it’s taking me this long. Whoever encrypted it is damn good.”

“Thanks for working on it. I’ll let you know if I need anything else, but keep me updated if you crack anything.”

Just as Ryan started to respond, the door to the cabin opened and Teresa walked in. The petite she-wolf stopped short at the sight of them and for a moment it looked like she might bolt. Jayce was surprised because she was an alpha in nature and had never seemed fearful of him in the past.

When Ryan didn’t say anything, but just stared at her hungrily, Jayce realized that the source of her hesitancy was Ryan. Jayce shook his head. “Hey, Teresa.”

Her gaze jerked toward him and she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. “Hey. Is Aiden around? I didn’t think he was patrolling tonight.”

Before Jayce could answer, Ryan took a step toward her, annoyance pulsing off him in waves. “Why the hell do you need to see Aiden?” His question came out demanding and full of fury.

Teresa’s eyebrows shot up in surprise; then fire sparked in her dark eyes. “Don’t you dare speak to me like that, Ryan O’Callaghan.”

Jayce stepped forward, papers in hand. “He’s out to dinner with Kat, but he should be back soon if he’s not already.” At least he’d better be back. It didn’t take that long to have dinner. At that, Jayce said another thanks to Ryan and then hurried out. Whatever was going on with those two, he didn’t want any part of it. He had his own damn problems to worry about.

He made it to December’s house in record time—and broke more than one traffic law—but Kat wasn’t there. The moment he stepped inside, he knew it. Her scent was there but it was too subtle. Not subtle enough for him to ignore, however. That classic rose scent wrapped around him and he instantly got hard thinking about her.

“Just fucking great,” he muttered, hating his body’s reaction to her. Losing control because of someone wasn’t something he was accustomed to.

As he headed for the kitchen, he heard a vehicle pull into the driveway, then two doors shut almost simultaneously. He waited a few beats, then jerked the front door open.

Only to find Kat’s arms wrapped around Aiden in a tight hug. Much too tight and much too close for his inner wolf’s sanity. Without thinking he lunged for Aiden, but Kat stepped out of the other wolf’s embrace and jumped in front of him with a liquid grace.

“What’s the matter with you?” She shoved against his chest, urging him back to the house. Over her shoulder she glanced at Aiden, who had a smirk on his face directed at Jayce.

“Thanks for tonight,” she said quietly to the other wolf.

That only brought Jayce’s beast closer to the surface, but the feel of Kat’s palms against his chest soothed him. Moments later they were inside, but he wasn’t as calm as he wanted to be. Placing his hands over hers and keeping them in place, he took a few steps forward, forcing Kat’s back against the wall by the staircase. “I don’t like seeing you with another male,” he growled, not surprised by his honesty. He’d been bottling this up for too long.

She rolled her eyes—actually rolled them—as she shook her head. “Yeah, I kinda got that, Jayce. You
know
nothing is going on with Aiden and me. He turned me into a shifter and I trust him. I need to have someone in the pack I can go to when I need to talk.”

“You have December.”
And me
, he wanted to say. At one time they’d talked to each other about almost everything.

Her lips pulled into a thin line. “She’s just as new to pack life as I am. But it doesn’t matter either way. Aiden’s my friend and you can’t act like a lunatic just because I went out to dinner with him.”

“You were hugging him.” And had her breasts pressed tight against the bastard.

“Yeah, but I wasn’t kissing him and I sure wasn’t sleeping with him,” she said as if the thought was ludicrous.

Which helped a little, but not much. He growled low in his throat. Even thinking about her with another male made his canines ache for release. He became territorial, possessive, and yes, irrational. Admitting it didn’t bother him at all.

Kat was his.

“You’re mine,” he snarled.

A burst of annoyance popped off her and she shoved him. He let her, but he kept his hands in place and forced her to move with him. Slightly twisting to the side, he sat down on the stairs and tugged her right along with him until she straddled him.

“You’re such an arrogant jerk sometimes.” She pulled against his hands, so he let go but just as quickly grabbed her waist, holding her in place. Feeling the juncture between her thighs over his cock was fucking perfection. Well, it would be if they didn’t have any clothes on. To his surprise, she didn’t move. Just folded her arms over her chest and glared at him.

“I might be an arrogant jerk, but I fucking love you. You’re all I ever think about and you’re driving me fucking crazy. I haven’t even been able to fu—sleep with other women since you left me. And believe me, I’ve tried.”

Her arms dropped from her chest as she stared at him, those pale blue eyes wide with confusion and some other emotion he couldn’t even attempt to define. “You tried to sleep with other women?” Damn it, she sounded hurt, which pierced him far too deep.

He scowled. “I tell you I love you and that’s what you ask?” And why wasn’t she saying anything back to him?

Her cheeks turned pink but she didn’t answer him. “Well?”

“Yes. I tried. More than once. I couldn’t even
kiss
anyone else. Finally I gave up because my cock only wants you.” The thought of other women repelled him in a way he didn’t fully understand. He only knew that thoughts of Kat kept him up at night. While he might not have much experience with love, he knew what he felt for her.

“So romantic.” She pushed at him again, but he didn’t give her a chance to move.

Instead he came at her fast until his mouth covered hers. It was obvious she wasn’t going to audibly respond to his declaration and he wasn’t a masochist. Wasting time waiting for something she might never say wasn’t going to happen. Not when he could be buried inside her.

She didn’t even pause, just met him with a feverish hunger as her tongue danced with his. Shock punched through him, but he didn’t have time to contemplate it. All he cared about was that she was in his arms and willing.

Kat licked and bit and teased him, and when she tugged his bottom lip between her teeth, he groaned.

They needed their clothes off,
now
. Leaning forward until he was almost sitting up, he grappled with the bottom of her sweater, hungry to tear it off. He was fearful that if he broke contact with her mouth, she’d change her mind or come to her senses and realize she was way too good for him.

Luckily, she grabbed his sweater and did the same thing. She tugged at it with a surprising urgency. Lust danced in her pale eyes in a way he’d never seen before. Grasping her butt, he lifted her, leaving both their tops on the floor, and hurried up the stairs.

Wrapping her arms around him, she gently nipped his earlobe before moving lower and licking his neck. When she scraped her teeth over his pulse point, he tripped on the top step and nearly crushed her. Somehow he managed to turn so that he took the brunt of the fall and she wound up splayed against his chest.

Pushing up and straddling him, she let out what he could only describe as a giggle as she stared down at him. Kat did not giggle. But that was what it was. “I forgot what it was like with you,” she breathed out, her voice light as her palms played over his chest.

She actually sounded relaxed. Something he hadn’t heard from her in too damn long. Not bothering to move from their position on the floor, he reached behind her back and unclasped her bra. As the straps slid down her arms, he hissed out a breath once she was bared to him.

Unable to stop himself—not that he wanted to—he cupped her breasts, needing to feel and stroke them. When he flicked his thumbs over her nipples, the pink nubs turned a darker shade to a candy apple red as they hardened.

He glanced up to find her looking at him through heavy-lidded eyes. Those normally pale blue eyes darkened to almost midnight and he knew it wasn’t the light playing tricks on him. Now that she was a shifter, her eyes literally changed with her emotions. And right now, she was turned on beyond belief.

Which was a damn good thing, because he was too. His entire body felt primed. It had been a long time since he’d had sex, and even though he wanted to let all of his pent-up energy and lust out, he knew he couldn’t. Not this time. Not their first time together again.

Though it sliced deep that she hadn’t responded when he’d told her he loved her, he shoved that thought deep inside him. So what if she didn’t return his feelings? She was here with him now. That’s what mattered.

Before he could lean forward and take what he wanted, Kat grabbed him by the back of his neck and brought his mouth to one of her breasts.

“Kiss me like you used to,” she said in a rush.

He growled softly against her breast while he brought her nipple between his teeth. Her back arched into him, giving him more of herself. Palming her back, his fingers dug into her satiny skin as he ran his tongue around her areola.

With each stroke and lick, she shuddered over him, her legs squeezing his hips. He could hardly take it anymore. The need to fill her, to feel her clenching him was about to short-circuit his brain.

Still holding her close, he used his reflexes and agility to switch their positions. She gasped as her back hit the floor. Once she was under him, her dark hair pillowing out on the runner beneath her, her eyes widened a fraction.

For a moment he worried that she was going to change her mind. When she grasped his belt and deftly unhooked it, then started on his button, he reached between them and stilled her.

“Changed your mind?” she murmured, a trace of uncertainty in her voice. She pulled her hands away from him and propped herself up on her elbows. The action pushed her breasts out farther and he almost forgot how to speak as he focused on them.

“No fucking way,” he rasped out, reaching down for one of her legs. He found the zipper to her boot and tugged on it. After quickly discarding her footwear, he found the button of her jeans and barely refrained from just ripping off her clothes. He almost asked her if she was sure, but held the question back.

If she wasn’t ready, she would tell him, but he was a selfish bastard. Right now, he needed her so bad his entire body ached and trembled. His cock strained painfully against his zipper and the only reason he hadn’t let her fully undress him was because he didn’t trust himself not to come in her hands.

He refused to fucking embarrass himself like that. He had no problem with stamina, but being denied Kat’s sweet body for so long had taken a toll. As he pulled her jeans down her legs, he bent down, kissing her inner thighs—and earned a wave of lust so potent it nearly knocked him on his ass. He continued a hot path down her knees, her inner calves, and finally he nipped at her instep.

Her feet had always been sensitive and thankfully that hadn’t changed. She let out a low groan as he followed up by raking his teeth over the delicate arch.

“Are you planning to torture me?” she demanded, her voice husky and slightly teasing.

He couldn’t even respond. He just slowly made his way back up her legs, kissing and raking his teeth over her soft skin until he settled between her open thighs. A perfectly trimmed strip of dark hair covered her mound. He wanted to bury his cock between her folds, but first he needed to taste her. Had been fantasizing about it for too long to deny himself now. The instant his tongue touched her sweetness, she jerked against him and grabbed his head.

In bed she’d always been ready to do anything, so damn giving it floored him. Right now he wanted her to feel all the pleasure she’d ever given him. The need to make her come, to make her shout his name as she did, pulsed through him with a vengeance.

Dragging his tongue along her most sensitive area, he inhaled her sweet scent and barely held back his growl of satisfaction when she whimpered his name. He looked up at her for a moment and his breath caught in his throat.

With her legs bent, her thighs spread, and her body so deliciously naked, she looked like an offering. And she was all his. At least for this moment.

Continuing his teasing, he focused his tongue directly on her clit. He’d been with her enough times that he knew exactly the pressure and teasing she needed to find release. He could tease her for as long as he wanted, but right now he didn’t want to drag it out. Not when the urge to feel her clenching around him was so great.