by Reina Torres
But Tamsin couldn’t move. Couldn’t look away.
She knew deep down inside that everything could change at any moment.
Donal was strong. He was agile.
But David Rikard had something on his side.
A kind of maniacal glee that came from pain. She’d seen it in him before, but at that moment she could see the way his eyes lit up as he landed a solid blow on Donal’s shoulder.
The sickening crack of bone echoed through the clearing, and distressed cries and whines descended from the trees.
A turn in fortune saw Donal beat Rikard back, pushing him away and into the trunk of a tree. Hoots and approving grunts rained down around them, but Tamsin couldn’t look up, couldn’t look away.
She saw the wicked gleam of a knife winking in the moonlight as Rikard staggered forward and dropped to his knees.
Donal must have thought that Rikard was down.
Beaten.
But he didn’t see… he couldn’t see…
And she didn’t know if there was time to tell Donal, to warn him.
No. His eyes were raised up into the trees.
His victorious roar was echoed and multiplied by what sounded like hundreds of gorillas, the noise shaking the trees, raining leaves down from the canopy that was nearly invisible in the dark.
The silverback pounded on his chest, the sound reverberating through her body.
It felt like concussions hitting her body, buffeting her back, pushing her down, but there were more forces at work than Donal’s victorious display.
She saw Rikard struggle to get to his feet, likely suffering the same effects that she was.
“Donal!” Tamsin threw out an arm, reaching out, pointing at Rikard, but no one seemed to hear. No one seemed to notice. Everyone was staring at the massive silverback in the clearing.
No. No. No.
Tamsin fought against the pulses of air, using her fear as a weapon of her own.
Up on her feet. Staggering forward against forces she couldn’t see. Her gaze fixed on the man intent on murder.
That’s what it was.
Eyes gleaming like the blade in his hand, Rikard was almost to his knees.
It was impossible to tell why everything seemed so slow. Why the world around her felt like sludge and yet her mind was racing along with her heartbeat.
Donal. Oh, God. Donal.
Two steps.
Then a third.
Closer.
Closer, but would she close the distance in time?
Would anyone else notice the danger?
And then it was over.
The sound disappeared.
Her ears cleared.
And her voice began again in mid-syllable, making her warning sound like an unintelligible cry.
It wasn’t enough to warn Donal, but it was enough to turn Rikard in her direction.
She leapt and threw herself onto the other man.
She saw his shock.
Saw the gleam of fury turn to surprise as the blade in his hand sank into her belly.
It felt like fire.
White hot, blinding fire.
And for a moment she felt as if his hand had followed the blade into her body.
Her mind told her to push away.
To put any kind of distance between them.
But her heart was stronger.
More determined.
She wrapped her arms around the man’s neck.
Felt the sweat of his neck against her arms.
Felt his heartbeat frantically beat between them as her own stuttered and seized.
“Donal…”
The name fell from her lips as her arms lost their strength and fell away from the other man.
She fell.
Backwards.
Fell and the blade slipped free.
Fell.
And landed in Donal’s arms.
“Tam. Oh, God, Tam!”
She laughed and felt something spray from her lips. Blood.
Pain.
Tamsin opened her mouth to speak and nothing came out.
Hands. Hands pressed against her wound.
Hands struggled to hold her blood inside her body. Blood that squished out between grasping fingers.
“Tam, stay with me.”
So damn tired.
She kept her eyes open with pure determination. She was dying.
She knew it.
And the look in Donal’s eyes said that he did too.
Tamsin wasn’t going to miss a second of time looking at him. It was all that was left to her.
All that she could hold tight, because her arms were useless like the rest of her body.
Donal leaned over her, his eyes a study in determination. In desperation.
He leaned over her and pressed his cheek to hers. Whispered into her ear.
“Tamsin… Tam, I think I can save you. I think I can, but you need to know-”
“Y-yes.”
“It’s not simple, it’s not easy,” his voice, his words, stumbled, “but you need to know-”
“D-do it, Donal. P-please.”
“Tam-”
She opened her mouth to speak… and then the world went black.
Chapter Ten
Tamsin woke up to a dream.
The world around her was brighter, louder, and more… everything.
And then it all came crashing down.
Donal.
Oh God, where was he? “Donal?”
“Hey, hey… I’m here.”
Something shifted under her and she realized it was a mattress.
She was in bed.
And Donal was beside her, his hands smoothing over her arms, taking hold of her hands. “It took you awhile to wake up.”
As the words processed in her head, she saw a flickering succession of images. It seemed like everything was backwards. Donal carrying her into the bedroom.
Lifting her from a vehicle.
The early dawn sky arcing over her head.
The trees.
Gorillas.
The members of the Bandile Patrol looking down at her.
And then Donal.
Donal with his features etched in concern.
Wresting her hand from his, Tamsin reached across her chest and touched the sensitive spot at the base of her neck where it met her shoulder. There was an echo of pain in her mind, but when her fingers traveled over the skin, she could only feel a ridge of flesh where it had been torn and was healing.
Fast.
Too fast.
“H-how long have I been sleeping?”
His smile was a relief.
To both of them.
Bracing a hand on the other side of her body, Donal let out a long pent-up sigh. “Long enough that I was starting to worry.”
She felt her brow furrow and reached out to him. “What happened?”
“What happened,” he shook his head, “was that you put yourself in danger.”
The memories flashed into her thoughts. “You didn’t see him. You didn’t see the knife. I couldn’t just let him kill you.”
“I’m a shapeshifter, Tam. His knife would have hurt me, but I would have ripped him apart long before he could have done any real damage. But if you had…” His eyes closed and a shudder ran through his body. “If you had died, Tam. That would have killed me.”
“But I didn’t.”
“Do you know why?”
She saw the uncertainty in his face, and it was a complete shock. This was a man who could shed his human form and become a…
“Just how big do you get?”
“What?”
She laughed at the look on his face. “When you change. How big do you get?”
The look on his face went from confused to red all the way to his ears. “I’m sorry, what are you asking me?”
She clapped her hands over her mouth to hide the sound of her laughter, but couldn’t hide the way her shoulders shook with mirth. “No! I’m not asking about
…” her gaze dipped down and lifted back up to his face, “I’m asking about the silverback.”
His relief was evident, and he chuckled a little. “I’ve never stepped on a scale.”
Both of them shared a good laugh at that, but Donal’s good mood faltered first.
“There’s something we need to talk about, Tam.”
“Okay.”
Donal shook his head, but he couldn’t help the frisson of worry that moved through his chest at the thought of explaining exactly what had happened to her.
But maybe it was better with her there in bed where he could take care of her.
“Do you remember what I asked you when you were hurt?”
Her forehead pinched in confusion. “When I thought I was dying?”
His gorilla pushed forward, leaning into her space, drawing in a breath so they would know she was alive.
“You were dying, Tam. I felt your blood rushing through my fingers even though I had my hand pressed over your wound. You were so close to dying, we could both feel it.”
Donal saw it in her eyes. She knew what he meant. As if she could feel the truth in his words.
“It wasn’t fair to do it then, when you really couldn’t understand exactly what was happening.”
“I knew I was dying, Donal. I knew what could happen when I put myself between the two of you, and I didn’t care. Not in the way I could have. I knew that Rikard was going to kill someone. He wanted to hurt you, but I couldn’t warn you fast enough.”
He picked up her hand and turned it until he pressed his cheek into her palm. “You had to know that if I lost you, living wasn’t what I wanted.”
Donal felt her fingertips brush against his temple as she spoke to him.
“That’s why I had to do what I could, anything I could, to protect you from him.”
“And that’s why I marked you.” He lifted his hand to her shoulder and traced a fingertip over the scar near her neck “It’s not in the way that shifters normally do.”
“Normal,” she almost hiccuped a laugh at him. “I’m sorry. This is all still so new.”
“That’s why I was waiting to broach the subject.”
“Is it why I’m still alive, this marking?”
How was he really going to explain?
“Yes, but you should understand that I did it to save-”
“Donal?”
Her soft, questioning voice claimed his attention.
“Hmm?”
“Whatever you did, was it because you care for me?”
“Care?” He set his hands on her waist and drew her closer so he could place a kiss on her lips. Donal felt her lips warm to his touch, and he felt his worry settle even more. “I love you, Tam. What I did… marking you? You’re bound to me now.”
“Forever?” Tamsin shifted in the bed, her hands grasping his shoulders as she returned his kiss. “I could handle forever.”
He groaned as he felt her hands warm his skin. “Forever.”
“Forever. I’m good with that.” She sighed and then startled, leaning back. “What happened to Rikard? Is he going to pay?”
Within him, his gorilla huffed and roared with satisfaction. “He paid, Tam. He paid for what he did to you.”
She continued on as if he hadn’t just told her that he’d killed the man. “And your uncle?”
That worried him. “You shouldn’t have to worry about him anymore, Tam.”
Tamsin hung her head, and he heard her swallow as if something was stuck in her throat, something heavy and immovable. “Rikard and your uncle are connected. I can’t be sure, but it seems like some of the men from the attack might be the same men hired by your uncle to pretend to find you. It was dark and I was focused on other things, but if someone were to check-”
“I spoke to the police, Tam. They know what happened and they spoke to the others who were there. You were… asleep for quite some time, healing from your injury and when I wasn’t ready to climb the walls with frustration, I took care of a few things.
“I contacted the law firm contracted to GEI and dismissed them. They were very clear where their loyalties are fixed. I think they were disappointed to hear that they couldn’t declare me dead.
“From there, I contacted a firm that has ties here. They specialize in International Law but they have a great division that handles what I need. It’s their first job to contact the members of the board and inform them that my uncle is being removed from the corporation and they can chose to have me buy them out or continue with us.”
He felt the rush of warmth through Tamsin’s body and he could hear her heart beating furiously against her ribs.
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
She was so beautiful, even when she was worrying over him.
“You, who stepped in front of a killer to save my life, ask me if challenging my uncle is dangerous.” He felt her leaning into his heat and his beast roared with approval. “I have the law on my side, Tam. And I have you. Nothing else matters to me.” Donal pushed all thoughts of his uncle out of his head and leaned forward to place a kiss on his mark. Knowing that Tamsin accepted their bond took a great deal of worry off his shoulders. She couldn’t understand everything that it meant, but there was time for that.
And that bond had saved her, transferring enough of his preternatural healing ability into her body to repair the torn flesh from David Rikard’s blade.
Only time would tell how much the mark had altered Tamsin, but it was time that they had thanks to the power that he carried within him. That was building within her.
“I should have gone back for you earlier, Tam. You deserved better and from now on, that’s what I’m going to give to you, more of myself.”
Tamsin’s fingers trailed down the front of his shirt, bent on distraction. “You don’t need to give me more. If what you said is true, you’ve already saved my life by giving me the world’s best love bite.”
He laughed and smoothed his hands over her hip, sending arousal coursing through his body. “I hurt you because I held myself back, but I know now that what we have makes us stronger. A love like ours was meant to meet challenges, head on. From here on out, we’ll be there for each other, no matter what.”
“And we are stronger together, Sifiso.” She skimmed her palms over his chest, and he could feel more sensations building inside of him.
As her fingers pulled the first button free at the top of his shirt, he lifted his hands and brushed her hair back from her face, because they both liked to see their mate’s beautiful eyes.
And when she lifted her gaze to his, he heard her words again in his head. Words that had stirred him down to the deepest part of his soul.
“Tam?”
“Hmm?” She murmured to herself as she moved from button to button, working her magic on his skin as well as his heart.
“You called me Sifiso.”
“Yes.”
He felt his gorilla just under his skin, leaning into her loving touch. “Why?”
Her smile was entrancing, and as she parted his shirt to fan her fingers across his chest, she pressed a kiss over his heart.
“Because, you are the one I wished for.”
About Reina Torres
Who would have thought that I'd start off as a painfully shy child writing stories and end up as a painfully shy adult writing books and publishing them for others to read? Crazy? That's me!!
When I was a little girl, I read every book I could get my hands on and if I didn't have one available to read, I'd get out my pencils and paper and write down stories and scenes. Waiting for my mom to finish working, I'd duck into the ladies' breakroom and use the typewriter. I'd feel like Jessica Fletcher, happily tap, tap, tapping away until I got to 'The End.' Couldn't quite get the flourish after that and end up tearing the paper, but it was cool and scary to sit down and read the book or give it to my friends to read.
Now my 'typewriter' doesn't clack the same way and the I don't even have paper to pull out of it
with a nod of satisfaction, but I have the joy and excitement of sharing my characters and books with people all around the world!
I hope you'll enjoy reading my books, because I'm going to keep writing as long as the characters are feeling chatty!
Also by Reina Torres
Reina writes a variety of romance books from Heat to Sweet and back again…
**ALL of Reina’s books are available in
KINDLE UNLIMITED**
Shifter Romance that will bring the Heat
The Orsino Security Series – Three Bears who find their fated mates (BBW)
Her UnBearable Protector
He may be the one hired to protect her, but she brought him to life.
His UnBearable Touch
Her music calmed the beast within him and he brought light into her darkness.
Their UnBearable Destiny
He may be the youngest, but he’ s no baby bear, and she’ll make him earn his place at her side… and love every minute of the chase.
Sylvan City Alphas –
The Tiger’s Innocent Bride
When his mate’s life is in danger, Devlin has to make the choice between keeping his animal a secret or saving her life. To him there’s sonly one choice. Love.
Too Much To Bear
A single dad to a whole house of foster shifters, Boone asks for help from a Dating Agency to find his mate. How could he know that the first try would be the only one he’d need?
The Fighter
When Cage has a hard time understanding how to keep his teenage foster’s moods and asks for help. Who knew that the answer to his trouble was also the missing piece of his soul?
Bear His Mark
He’s looking for a mate to have and hold and she’s afraid she’s full of broken pieces. These two opposites might just make the perfect whole.
First Responders & Military Romance with Heat-
San Antonio First Responders Series
Justice for Sloane
When Sloane’s life is in danger, FBI Agent Vicente Bravo steps in to make sure she’s safe, but his heart isn’t safe from falling in love.
