Slate's Mistake (7 page)

Slate didn’t let the sudden loss of her warmth affect
him. He was flying high with the smile she had shot him, so with a renewed
appetite, he turned to his food and devoured it.

She looked over at him and raised a brow.
“Hungry much?”

Slate let a full smile broaden across his face. “Yes,
I’m a shifter. You should know we are always hungry. So where would you like to
go? Choose any place you want.”

Chapter Four

Katie felt ambiguous as she paced her living room
floor waiting anxiously for him to arrive for their date. Could she really
entertain the idea of letting this hot, beefy, sex on a sugar stick shifter
claim her? Should she encourage it? She didn’t want to let him mate her if it
would put his life in jeopardy. Her feet shuffled over the carpet as she
continued to pace.

Most shifters didn’t know humans could feel the mating
pull, too, but she knew. Oh boy did she know. When she had first left the alpha
house with her dad, she had felt a mix of guilt and longing so intense, it was
one of the hardest things she ever had to do. She had wanted to let Slate hold
her in his big canon sized arms, and her imagination had flashed all sorts of
other blissful things she wanted to let him do. But she
had still been unbalanced from
the severe fright and then
anger
,
and she had wanted to keep some distance because of her suspected illness.

However, her father had taught her, and reminded her,
just how much a shifter pines for his mate, so after her talk with her dad, she
couldn’t stop her guilt from robbing her of her sleep. That was why she
returned later that morning. She didn’t know exactly what she wanted, just that
she wanted to be near him, and yet she was still slightly scared of giving in to
him.
Silly girl
, she admonished
herself.

Her heart jumped into her throat when the chimes from
her doorbell rang into the room.
He’s
here
. A heavy flutter of anticipation crowded her stomach. She knew he
thought she was afraid of him, like he would hurt her, but she knew he wouldn’t.
She was afraid of letting him down, or hurting him or worse.

I mean really, what would
happen if I mated him and it didn’t cure me?
But
when she had accepted his invitation to dinner, he’d lit up like the sun. That
one
smile,
and she was already hooked.

The snit-click of the deadbolt sounded through the
tiny entrance hall as she unlocked the door, and then she cracked the door and
peered through the small slice of light. One look at the man lit by the
apartment hall lighting stole her breath and damn near made her swallow her
tongue. Slate’s black cowboy boots were tucked under the black denim jeans that
bear-hugged his muscle-curved legs. He wore a dark red button up shirt that
perfectly fit his broad shoulders and tapered down his waist as if it was
tailor-made. He kept his hat in his hands, showing his unique short blond hair
that went darker until black at the tips. When she finally settled on the look
he had on his face, she felt her legs go jellied, and a quiver of need pulled
at her lower stomach.

Shitfuckdamn
, what the hell in this
life did I do right? This kind of man-candy would send anyone into a diabetic
coma.

Slate’s rich chuckles, no doubt from the expression on
her face she was sure to have, only added to her panty-soaking dilemma. She
stood there, struck
dumb,
watching as he stepped
closer, pushed the door open further. Then, leaning down, he brushed his
moistened lips against hers. She could smell his natural ginger smell that did
nothing to calm her rapidly beating heart. She felt a warm calloused hand brush
her cheek and felt the heat of his other hand wrap around her curved waist,
tugging her against his hard body. She had no idea when the door had been fully
opened. Once she was flush perfectly against the ribbed planes of his abs, his
lips sealed securely to hers.

Katie’s eyes shut, and all she could do was feel, and
oh what feelings! She completely forgot where they were and could only, barely,
process the sensations he was eliciting through her body.

A slick tongue traced her lips and dove deep into her
mouth once she opened to it. She couldn’t describe what he tasted like because
it was a taste all his own, but it pulled a whimper from her, a sound he seemed
to have fed on because his kiss turned from gentle to feral in that brief
moment.

A pained groan filtered into her lusty daze, and she
opened her eyes as Slate drew his head slightly back and leaned his forehead
against hers, trying to catch his breath while still cupping her face and hip.
She didn’t need to ask him what the matter was. She felt it painfully digging
into her lower stomach.

“You look beautiful, Baby-Kate. You ready to go?” His
voice was low and slightly
strained,
a sound that sent
a shiver of pleasure down her spine. She hadn’t quite caught her breath yet to
voice her answer, so she settled for just a nod. After another few breaths,
Slate engulfed one of his large hands over and around one of hers,
then
started leading her down the hall.

It took her a few steps for her brain to click in.
“Oh!
Wait-wait-wait.”
She tugged him to a stop. Slate
turned and gave her a questioning look. “I forgot my purse, and I need to close
and lock the door.” She felt a bit silly when she remembered.
I mean really, who forgets to close their
front door?
He chuckled as he let go of her hand. Katie rushed through her
door, grabbed her purse, keys, and cell, which all sat on a little table just
inside the door, and rushed back to her date after closing and locking the door
in near record time. All the while, her mate looked on with amused mirth
teasing his lips.

“Shut up,” she said, after they were on their way
again. Only that broke his restraint because he started laughing and she
couldn’t help but join in.

The restaurant she chose was across town. It was right
near a construction site they had to walk past after they had parked down the
street from it. She and Slate were just walking past it when three men stepped
from the shadows, each holding a tool as a weapon. “Hey,
cat,
” one spat as if it was a filthy word to say. “You aren’t
welcome in this territory.”

Slate had placed his body in front of hers so she
couldn’t get a good look at the threat. His body was tense and his muscles
coiled, readying to fight. “All right, how about you let the woman leave and we
can discuss territory rights?” Katie shivered with lust from the cold dangerous
sound his voice held. She suddenly felt like these thugs had just bitten off
more than they could chew.

“Ha! Not
gonna
happen,
she’ll bring you back-up.” The men forced them into the construction lot and
into the partially built building. It was three stories high and many walls
were up, but construction materials and plastic tarps were strung all around,
and everything was dark. Katie’s lust turned into alarm.

They made it just a little ways when Slate pushed her
into a U-shaped corner, with two cement walls and one wall being made of a load
of lumber and bags of cement. She ran to the end and crouched as she listened
to the unmistakable sounds of a shifter shifting. She had heard her dad and
sister do it enough, and being a nurse, the sounds usually didn’t affect her,
but under these strained circumstances, she jerked and cringed with the
snapping and popping sounds. It only took the amount of time it took for her to
reach the wall and crouch for the sounds to stop, replaced by new sounds.
Growls and panicked shouting echoed against the walls.

Katie crept to the end of the aisle and peeked around
the corner. A light from the street reached them enough for her to watch as one
man stumbled as he ran, holding his arm, with the others following. In front of
her was a five-hundred fifty-plus pound lion with his claws extended, facing
the retreating bullies. His black-tipped blond mane hung around his head like a
golden lei. Katie gasped from the slight stab of fear in her gut. She had never
seen a predator shifter shifted before. The sight before her was surreal and
frightening. She momentarily forgot that he was her mate.

At her gasp, the golden eyes of the lion turned around
and pinned her gaze. More fear stabbed at her, and she immediately began to scoot
backward on her butt until she was stopped by the wall.

The lion appeared around the corner and looked at her.
Katie had to recite in her head what she had learned about shifters over the
years.
They are cognizant in their animal
form, and even in animal form, can recognize and would never hurt their mate.
She repeated that in her head several times as the lion slowly padded forward.
He stopped in front of her, and Katie could clearly see in his eyes a look of
imploring. She read that message loud and clear as the mantra in her head
finally settled in.
He’s my mate. He will
never hurt me.

Reaching up with her hands, she threaded her fingers
into his thick mane. The strands were fluffy but rough and wiry. She dug her
fingers in until she could reach skin, and scratched his neck. Slate made a
pleasant sound and squatted down onto his belly, bracketing her hips with his
long, powerful front legs. His paws, claws now retracted, curved around her
backside.

Katie untangled her fingers from the wiry nest and ran
them over his muzzle, around his ears, and under his chin. His giant canines
could be seen through his lips as he lifted his chin up. Katie wondered if he
would like to be scratched like a regular cat, so she hooked her fingers and
rubbed her nails under his chin. A loud growl that echoed through his ribcage
sounded as if he were purring in his own way. His body language certainly
responded as he leaned his head into her scratches and his paws pulled her
forward. However, his claws, though retracted, could still be felt, and she
arched her back and hissed at the sting.

Joints and ligaments popped and snapped as he shifted
back into his human form. Tanned, toned skin wrapped tight around bulging
muscles mesmerized her as he finished the transformation. She was suddenly
engulfed in a warm blanket of flesh as he wrapped his bulging arms securely
around her.

“I’m so sorry. Are you ok?”

Katie felt her core heat up but answered. “Yes, who
were they?”

Slate rubbed her back and didn’t move away, but she
wasn’t going to complain. “I’m pretty sure those were a few of the idiot rogues
that we’ve been looking for.”

Katie turned her head into his neck and inhaled while
he spoke. He stood up and brought her with him on the rise. His heavily
engorged appendage pressed up against her as he held her. He buried his nose in
her neck.
“
Mmm
.”
His deep
rumble vibrated through her chest with his sigh. “Did my claws hurt you?”

It took her a couple seconds to comprehend what he was
talking about. “Oh, no, I don’t even think they broke the skin.” She reached
back and rubbed her butt as she answered.
 

“Good.” Slate leaned back and held her face in one of
his large hands. “Thank you for accepting my lion.”

Katie chuckled. “Your lion likes a little chin
scratching. That is so cute.” His goofy grin let her know his growl he wasn’t
serious.

Katie could faintly see two different tattoos while
Slate salvaged what he could of his clothes. One was some kind of symbol on his
upper right arm, and the other was some kind of saying written on his right
ribs, but it was so dark that she couldn’t make out what they were. Luckily
there wasn’t anyone around to question his “new look” as he led her back to the
car. After they were secure in the car, Slate used his cell. The inside of the
rental car was quiet enough for her to hear the other side of the conversation.

“I didn’t expect getting a call from you this early.
What’s up?” Katie could tell it was Alphy.

“We were attack by three of David’s lackeys. They were
all elk that I didn’t recognize. We’re all right, but I’m cutting our date
short and heading back to the house.”

The other man’s voice went low and serious. “Anything
you need Seamus for? And are there any bodies?”

“No bodies, but I winged one of them after I shifted.
I don’t think they were expecting my cat to be as big as he is. They were
pretty surprised. All three ran like the hounds of hell were chasing them after
that. They didn’t get near Katie, but I’m bringing her back to the house with
me. They’ll target her now they know about her.”

“All right, I’ll have clothes for you at the door when
you get back. How is Katie handling everything?”

Slate looked at her and gave her a smile and a wink.
“She’s doing pretty
good
. She was afraid of my lion at
first but got over that pretty quick. You might want to let her dad know what
happened though. I have a feeling he’s
gonna
want to
know.”

Katie nodded silently to him. Slate grabbed her hand
and brought it to his lips, placing a chaste kiss in her palm while she could
hear the alpha talk.

“Will do.
Now hurry and get back here. We’ll need to talk more when you return.”