Favoriteobsession, p.28
FavoriteObsession, page 28
Micah approached slowly as if he had all the time in the world. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck rose along with her wariness. She scented his excitement. It mixed with the heavy dose of lust oozing off him. He’d done something to support the confident strut he took, something that angered her cats. She didn’t know what, neither did her inner animals, but her instincts raged with the certainty of it.
Her muscles tensed as her tigress shoved her head against Mira’s sternum demanding to be set free so she could kill him. Mira wanted the same but the humans close by prevented her from going furry. Another accidental exposure wouldn’t be so easily forgiven.
She opened her mouth to demand what he’d done. Muffled screams and the sounds of fighting answered her unspoken question. He’d caused a distraction, one that needed the support of others, which clearly broke Kade’s order he not bring any family members into their territory.
What other rules would he violate? She shoved the concern back, focused on why he’d conveniently stumbled upon her.
“You followed me here.” It was the only explanation.
He lifted his lip in a half-smile. The lopsided grin didn’t look endearing or sexy on him. It made him appear feral.
“No, sweet Mira. I knew you’d lied about why you wanted to reschedule our date so I had my…friend,” he grinned, “put a tracking device on your car. As soon as you turned this way, I knew you’d be coming to your human lover and I came to stop it. I won’t share you with him.”
Her heart skipped a beat before she could contain her shock.
Micah laughed. “Did you think I didn’t know you’ve been fucking the human?”
Instead of denying her relationship with Josh—she didn’t feel confident she’d be able to pull off the lie—she took a step forward.
“A tracking device?” She’d thought they were only used in movies or maybe by the government. “Where did you get hold of one of those?”
He offered a half-shrug to match his cocky grin. “I have my sources.”
She feared she knew who’d supplied him with the technical gadget. The Council members who thought to make sure she mated a single-shifter wouldn’t allow her to escape their plan so easily by marrying Josh or mating another royal. Or both if her dream was meant to reflect her future.
“You need to leave, Micah. All I have to do is scream. The humans might not hear me but the shifters inside the bar will.” No way would she admit the secret no single-shifter knew—that she could telepathically connect to any feline royal close to her. The singles hated them enough as it was without sharing all the privileges that came from their tie to the gods.
She considered reaching out to see if any of her pride members were close, but dismissed the thought in the next breath. It felt like a betrayal to Josh to seek protection from another male. Sometimes, her instincts didn’t make sense. For the moment, she’d play this out and see exactly what game Micah had in store for her.
He grinned and continued to close the distance. A couple of feet away, he stopped and swept his heated eyes over her. She inwardly cursed her choice in outfits. She’d dressed to entice Josh in the privacy of his home, not capture Micah’s attention in the empty lot of Josh’s bar.
The short billowy skirt offered easy access to her sex and without panties was an open invitation. Her top dipped low, exposing a healthy dose of unbound breasts and her mate bite. Knee-high fuck-me boots completed her slutty outfit, one she knew Josh would’ve loved seeing her in or getting her out of.
Micah’s eager gaze settled on her heeled boots. “I can’t wait to have those wrapped around my hips, Mira.”
“They never will be. Leave here.”
He dragged his attention from the leather boots and focused on her face. “It won’t take long to find out where you hid the cub. When I do, I’ll take her furry little head myself. And you’ll be in no shape to stop me.” He jerked his chin toward the bar. “You’ll be too busy crying over the loss of your human.”
Her fangs burst free. She uncurled her fingers and took a single step toward him, fully aware of the way his right hand shifted closer to his pocket. The bulge there warned her he wouldn’t play fair. Her cats rose to offer their enhanced senses. With them on alert, she lowered her voice. “Threaten my family and you die, Micah. Right here, right now. I don’t have to shift to take your head. I’m stronger than you ever will be. It’s why you haven’t made a move on me, isn’t it?”
He shrugged, unfazed by her words and obviously unwilling to answer her. “If you don’t come to me by midnight, your beloved male will die and you’ll become mine. I won’t need to overpower you. You’ll be too weak to stop me.”
A roar rang out, shaking the windows of her car. Micah flinched and stepped back. She didn’t need to see Aron to know he was running toward them. A lifetime might’ve separated them but some things never left a person. That enraged sound was one she’d heard him make the day Devin had been returned to them broken in both body and soul.
“Midnight, Mira. I’ll be waiting.” With that Micah took off into the woods behind the bar.
She debated going after him for a split second. Micah posed a threat to Josh. Eliminating him would have to wait. Another one barreled down on her. She turned and ran for the back door of the bar. Her fingers brushed the handle. She failed to escape. The hand on her hip yanked her back against a hard body.
“Did he touch you?”
Aron’s slurred voice boomed around them. The taste of his anger dominated his scent yet lust bled into it to match the hard line of his arousal forming against her back.
“No.” She took a deep breath and choked on bile. “Let go of me. Please.”
His chest rose and fell with his pants. For a long moment where her stomach heaved and the evidence of his desire grew, he didn’t move or speak. A hard nudge of his head and he buried his nose against her neck.
“Gods, you smell good.” He licked her throat and groaned. “Fertile. Baby, you’re fertile.”
Oh gods, it made sense now. The uncontrollable compulsion to fuck. That was why she hadn’t passed out last night after all the bouts of sex. It revved her mate to ride her hard so they didn’t miss the small window of fertility. Shifter sperm didn’t linger in their partners. If they didn’t hit their target, they died.
She shoved at his arm. “Now, Aron.”
Instead, he spun her into his embrace and lifted her, a hand on her ass and the other holding her neck. The brown contacts he wore didn’t hide his lust or his hunger. “We can fulfill the goddess’s prophecy tonight, my Mira. Let me mate you.”
Panic seized her, forcing her to react. She fought him, clawed at his back, snapped at him. He only tightened his grip. She dug her talons deep into his shoulder and bared her fangs to bite. He slammed their bodies together and snarled in her ear. She froze.
“Stop, Mira, just stop. Fighting me makes me want to tame you. I won’t do that to you. Now calm down.”
She did as he ordered. No way did she want him to try to make her submit to him. She’d already given herself to Josh. Anyone else who’d attempt it would suffer. She might not want Aron but she didn’t want to hurt him either. What she’d just done to him was bad enough.
“That’s my good girl.” He kissed her neck.
She growled at his words. “I am not yours nor will I ever fulfill the prophecy with you.”
He used his hold on her head to force her to meet his gaze. “You refuse me?”
The pain in his eyes hurt her. Seeing it pushed some of her fear and anger back. “I have to, Aron.”
“I will worship you, Mira.”
She didn’t doubt he’d try. The knowledge only made this worse. “Will you let me marry Josh?”
“Never. I won’t—”
“Then that’s your answer. I won’t give him up. I can’t. Now,” she shoved at his chest, “let me go.”
The back door flew open. Josh’s rage crashed over her. She flinched even knowing he hadn’t directed it at her. He projected power, strength and confidence. All traits that left her weak inside.
“Get your hands off my mate.”
Aron tensed. Questions and disbelief burned in his eyes. She didn’t have answers he’d want to hear or understand. She couldn’t deny her connection to Josh. She simply couldn’t explain it nor did she truly understand what it meant. Lips pressed together, she met his gaze and let him see the truth.
“Impossible, Mira. It’s impossible.”
Josh stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She heard him inhale deeply. A groan escaped his throat, one that jacked up her desire another notch. The response while in another male’s arms left her feeling dirty. She couldn’t have stopped it. Her instincts didn’t care if Aron hovered close or watched them. As long as she got Josh’s cock inside her, she wouldn’t have cared if the entire pride or the bar patrons cheered them on.
“Josh.”
“Mira.” He buried his face into the fall of her hair. She hadn’t bothered dying it since she’d planned on waiting at his house. The appreciative rumble that shook his chest rewarded her. He’d been telling her for months to stop covering it up. Humans would think it was a funky dye job. At the moment, she wanted to test the theory if only to hear Josh’s approval over seeing it.
Aron loosened his grip, allowing Josh to pull her more firmly against him, but held her captive in his pleading eyes. “Don’t waste tonight, Mira. Josh might’ve claimed your heart but he cannot fulfill the prophecy. You’ll conceive if you take a shifter mate into your body.”
Josh tugged her away. In one quick move, he spun her so they were chest to chest. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, clinging to him and wishing she’d never have to let him go. “Mira will not take another man to her bed. Understand, Aron. She’s mine. I’ve tried to tell you stubborn-ass shifters that for months. I knew it the second I saw her.”
“She can’t be yours. Don’t be foolish,” Aron said.
“Waiting so long to claim her is the only foolish thing I’ve done.”
He gave her mate bite a small lick. She moaned. Sweeping waves of sensation whipped through her body to settle low. Her inner muscles tightened. One more little flick and she’d come. She wiggled against him, silently urging him to meet her needs. He eased away instead. She gripped his shoulders, ready to take what he wouldn’t give. A small pat to her bottom stopped her. She waited on what he’d do and wasn’t disappointed.
Josh nuzzled against her, his adoration clear in the gentle circular caress and something she knew Aron would understand. “I’ll fight anyone who tries to take her away.”
“You’ll lose, human. You know that.”
The rumble of Josh’s laugh reverberated through her chest and zipped straight to her womb. The confident sound slapped Aron’s words back to him and Josh’s deliberate snubbing as he dipped his head to brush his lips over her skin enhanced the rebuff.
Aron’s answering growl would’ve concerned her but Josh demanded her attention. He clamped his mouth over the thumping bite. She stilled, waiting with bated breath for what he’d do to her. With his teeth pressed into the four raised brands, he flicked the tip of his tongue to the center. Time stretched while Aron snarled and Josh’s heart beat steadily.
Finally, he groaned and gave them both what they desired. A rough suck and he sent her careening into a powerful orgasm. Her limbs seized as waves rolled through her body from the bite on her shoulder to the center of her core. The clenching of her inner muscles seemed to last forever. She cried out, not bothering to muffle the sound.
Each pull yanked another crest over her, made her sheath squeeze on air. The emptiness in her core disturbed her. She needed Josh’s cock inside her, stretching her and giving her a hard length to massage. The unfulfilled yearning threatened to ruin her release. She shoved it away knowing he’d see to her desires. Soon. Very, very soon.
She cradled his head. The last of her orgasm flowed over her. She sagged in his embrace for the briefest of moments before the lust returned, stronger than before.
“Josh, need…”
He kissed his way up her neck to her ear. “I know, my Mira. I know.”
She felt the brush of his short hair against her skin as he turned his head to face the male at her back. The stiffening of his body told her he and Aron had resumed their dominance battle.
After a moment, Aron cursed. “When he’s gone, come to me. We’ll finish what we should’ve centuries ago. I will give you the babes prophesized to grow in your womb, no other shifter. That is my vow to you.”
His scent faded and Josh’s familiar one cocooned her. He nibbled over her vein. “God, you smell so good.”
“I’m…I’m fertile.” Her heart ached admitting the truth, knowing it meant nothing for them.
He exhaled a shaky groan that spoke of stark hunger and need. The sound cut at her and made her sadness grow. She pushed it aside before it took root.
“You need me. Don’t you, kitten?”
She licked her dry lips, focused on answering him, not the crazy lust making her burn. “Yes, I want you to fu—” She choked on the word. “I want you to make love to me.”
He skimmed his lips along her jaw, leaving tingling awareness in his wake. With a contented groan, he kissed her. The slow, reverent strokes of his tongue tugged on her heart. His love and devotion filled her up. The fire sensitizing her body eased enough to allow her to enjoy his attentions. The needs didn’t fade. He’d only banked them, setting them to simmer.
On and on, he made love to her mouth. She sifted her fingers through his silky hair and poured her adoration back to him, letting all her worries fade away.
He broke the kiss and blue eyes that looked too bright in the darkness met hers. “If I could father your kids, would you choose me?”
“Yes, yes, Josh. I…I…” She couldn’t get the words out. They stuck in her throat.
He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. With their breaths mixing, he murmured, “I know you do, kitten. I feel the same. Always and forever, just like I said yesterday.”
He started walking toward his car. She squeezed his arm. “Josh, I can’t wait. Need you now.”
“You sure? The only place we can go is my office. Kade’s inside the bar along with many of the wolf shifters trying to contain the mess Micah caused. He paid off a bunch of college students to start a fight. Police will be coming. Kade will handle it but the shifters will know what we’re doing.”
“Don’t care. Need you.”
Josh pressed his lips to hers. “Then you can have me, any way you want.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Fertile.
Josh turned the word around in his head. He knew the meaning of it but couldn’t get passed the implications of what it actually meant. I’m going to be a dad.
Mira skimmed her fingertips along his cheek. “I feel as though I’ve been waiting for you all my life, Josh.”
He grinned. “You have, kitten.”
“I don’t understand.”
He debated telling her about the cats sharing his body but decided against it. They had plenty of time to talk.
“I’m your destiny, Mira. Your choice. That’s all you need to remember.” He pushed the door open and carried her inside before she voiced the questions he saw reflected in her eyes.
The blast of music and laughter assaulted him. The ripe scent of sweat and perfumes churned his gut. He paused and buried his nose in Mira’s colorful hair. A deep breath of spring rain and life pushed the unpleasant smells away.
His woman, his life, his everything.
He pressed his lips to her ear. “I love you, Mira. Always and forever.”
She sucked in a rough breath. Knowing their relationship still scared her, he kissed her so she didn’t have to admit the truth. He didn’t need the words. She did.
She pulled him closer and yanked at his shirt, her intent clear. He broke the kiss and grasped her wrist to stop her from tugging his pants down. Her swollen, moist lips tempted him to continue what they were doing. He couldn’t. Any more of her sweet mouth and he’d fuck her right there. Mira might not care. Shifters didn’t mind public sex but he did. No way would he allow anyone to see her body.
He tucked her closer, pushing her head into the crook of his neck and headed toward his office. A few friends glanced his way and gave him a thumbs up. Bob, one of the workers from Zeb’s farm, stared at him. Josh paused mid-step. The predators inside him raised their heads. Rage pulsed in his veins. They didn’t like him. He posed a threat. Kill. They wanted to rip him apart.
“Please, Josh. I hurt.”
Mira’s desperate voice yanked his focus back to her. Mouth parted, she panted. A flush stained her cheeks. Lines etched the delicate skin by her eyes. His pulse kicked up to match her runaway rhythm.
“What’s wrong?”
She gripped his shirt and pulled herself up so they were eye to eye. “It’s the mating heat. I need to fuck. I need to pull my mate’s seed free.” She cupped his cheeks. “I need you.”
He groaned and took her mouth on a rough kiss. He shoved the concern over Zeb’s employee away. Finding out why Bob had glared at him could wait. Mira couldn’t.
She rubbed her core against him. The heat radiating from her triggered something inside him, a mating urge to match hers. His dick hardened to the point of being painful and the zipper biting into it tortured him. Josh reached for the door handle, twisted it and shoved it open. They stumbled inside and he slammed it closed with his foot.
Without windows, the darkened interior of his office left them in pitch-black. A week ago, he would’ve needed to flick the switch on the wall for the overhead fluorescents. Not anymore. The sliver of light sneaking under the door brightened the room enough. Besides, he didn’t need to see to love Mira. He’d memorized every inch of her body already.
