Ian nodded and waited.
“We already knew what they were up to when they got here. They’ve been trying to get the leaders of the other territories to band together to block trade and travel from Connor’s territory. When I basically told them to fuck off, they didn’t even seem surprised, so I’m assuming they only came here to threaten me. They insinuated that there are members higher up in the council involved with their scheme.” Marie Therese sounded seriously pissed. “Those bastards implied that my followers would be in danger if I tried to interfere with their plans.”
“What did you say to that?” Ian asked, sounding almost amused.
“I told them to get the fuck out of my territory,” Marie Therese replied. “Carmen was not happy, but Alistair seemed amused by the whole thing.”
“What do you believe is really going on?” Ian asked.
“My guess is that Connor’s break from the council is an excuse to rally some of the settlements to their cause,” Marie Therese replied. “I think they’re trying to create a bigger rift in the council and use that to gain more power.”
“Why not just tell the others in your council what’s going on?” Cam asked. “Surely, the majority of the council can’t be involved with this or they wouldn’t need to sneak around like they are.”
“You’re right about it not being everyone, but we have no idea who we can trust,” Ian replied thoughtfully. “That’s why they’re probably having success convincing some of the smaller territories to ignore what’s going on.”
Claire decided it might help Cam understand better if he knew what they were up against. “As you may recall, I was sent to meet with the council before.” Cam nodded, so she continued. “You’d think there would be some sort of unity there, but they all have different agendas, and it had me wondering how they manage to get anyone to follow them. It’s almost like there are five or six different councils, all vying to be in control. Granted, there are some members who are more powerful, like Eleanor, and it seems like they try to avoid getting involved with petty intrigues.”
“The territories follow them because the council can cut off access to supplies to many of them,” was Marie Therese’s simple explanation. “That gives them power over people’s very existence. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think having a unified government is a bad thing. We need some sort of structure to maintain order. When we were all starting to set up territories, there was a lot of unnecessary fighting that was ended by a central government.”
Ian snorted.
“Yeah, I’m aware that you don’t agree that they do much good,” Marie Therese told him. “Connor agrees with me on this, and I’ll bet he didn’t take this decision to break from the council lightly.”
“No, he didn’t,” Ian agreed. “This was not how he wanted to handle things, but they left him no other options. The council needs to get its shit together.”
“Connor will do anything to protect his people,” Cam defended Connor. “It’s the only reason the shifters are willing to deal with him. If it were your council in Fangri La, we’d have nothing to do with them. I’m surprised those assholes don’t just kill each other.”
“Oh, they do that from time to time,” Ian drawled.
“How is this going to impact our territory,” Kyleigh asked nervously, and she had good reason to be nervous. While Kyleigh was half-Fae, and pretty damn hard to kill, she’d seen a lot of violent deaths. She knew firsthand how bad things could get if tensions in the area picked up again.
They’d just found some small amount of peace. Roger was dead, and Abram and his followers were keeping to themselves since they’d taken over Treasure Island. While there were still attacks, they were nothing compared to a few months back.
“I don’t know how this will impact your territory,” Marie Therese admitted. “While I was tempted to play along with them to find out what they’re planning, I didn’t want to risk the safety of my people. If what I’ve heard from other territories is true, they’ll only be blocking trade routes, and Connor can work around that if it becomes a problem.”
“Why didn’t you just call Connor?” Ian asked. “Hell, you know as well as I do that there are a few council members you can trust, Eleanor included.”
“We have reason to believe calls and messages sent from this area may not be secure. They knew about a recent call I’d had with Eleanor. It’s possible we just have a spy, but they’d have to be pretty fucking good to have listened to that call,” Marie Therese told them.
“So, they wanted you to know you’re being watched,” Ian deduced, looking thoroughly pissed on his friend’s behalf. “I guess we can wait until we get back to our own territory to discuss this with Connor. We should only be gone a few more days.”
“Why are you traveling that far south?” Marie Therese asked.
“It’s complicated,” Ian grumbled, looking to Kyleigh for help, probably because he wasn’t very good at opening up to others.
“We have reason to believe Ian has a sister living down there,” Kyleigh answered for Ian. “It’s a long story, but we need to check it out.”
“Well, that I did not expect,” Marie Therese said. “Alright, you all look dead on your feet, so I’m going to let you get some sleep. In the morning, I’ll have supplies ready, and before you give me any crap about how I don’t need to do that, I do what I want. You asked for blood, and I agreed, so you’ll take the other stuff I send with you and shut the fuck up about it.”
“Fine,” Ian relented with a laugh.
“Now that we’ve settled that,” Marie Therese began with a wicked grin, “let’s see the pretty kitty strip and change forms.”
Cam let out a bark of laughter. “Pretty kitty?”
“That’s right,” Claire teased. “Drop those shorts and show her that sexy ass of yours before it turns furry.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Cam agreed with a naughty twinkle in his eyes that made her hot and achy.
She had no idea how she was going to keep herself from begging Cam to fuck her tonight.
Chapter Eighteen
Claire was wound so tight, she thought she might go off at any moment by the time Cam walked into the room they were sharing. Of course, that pissed her off. It wasn’t Cam she was pissed at. While Cam flirted with her and said things that made her ache so much she was tempted to jump him, he’d never pressure her into sex. A few stolen kisses that she hadn’t minded in the least were not enough to make her feel like he was being pushy. True, what had happened earlier went beyond a few stolen kisses, but she’d been the one begging him to fuck her, so she didn’t exactly have any moral high-ground to stand on at the moment. Claire was honest enough to admit that her nervousness around Cam had more to do with her than anything else. She was also honest enough to admit she still wanted to beg him to fuck her, even knowing where that would lead. While she could accuse him of withholding sex to get what he wanted, that wasn’t what he was doing. Cam wouldn’t give in on the sex because he was afraid he’d lose control and mark her, even after his promise not to. If Cam had sex with her, it would only be after she agreed to accept him as her mate.
Now, she just needed to remember why that was a bad idea.
“Stupid sex-starved body is obviously making me act crazy,” she grumbled.
“Why are you standing there muttering to yourself?” Cam’s sexy voice cut through her thoughts.
When Claire looked up, she found Cam watching her with an amused grin. That was the most annoying thing about being attracted to a shifter; she couldn’t even pretend she didn’t find him attractive. The irritating lynx smelled her arousal—something the vampires could also do, although not as well as the shifters. It was actually kind of gross, in her opinion, and she often wished for her old human sense of smell back. Noticing when others were turned on was not something she’d gotten used to. That was especially true with her guy friends, since most of them were like brothers to her. At least, that was better than when she had to deal with her guy friends teasing he
r about her reaction to Cam. Nate was such a prick about that sort of thing, and the little sadist seemed to get off on embarrassing her.
“Claire, if you’re worried about me jumping you, don’t be,” Cam assured her, probably because she hadn’t responded to him. “Even though this afternoon got kind of out of hand, I’m not expecting tonight to be the same.”
“I know you won’t jump me or pressure me.” Claire gave a nervous laugh. “You won’t even let me pressure you. At the rate we’re going, the most I’ll ever get is you rubbing against me with your clothes on.”
Cam’s amused grin turned downright predatory as he prowled toward her. “Don’t count on that, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Forcing you is not, nor will it ever be, an option. No, that’s not what I have in mind.” He leaned in closer, cradling her face in one hand like he was about to kiss her. Despite the fact that she knew she needed to push Cam away, Claire’s lips parted in anticipation of his kiss, and her body clenched with pure lust. “I’ve also been doing some thinking about my position regarding us. Would you like to hear what my plans are for you, sweetheart? Do you want me to tell you what I’m going to do to you while I have your tantalizing body at my disposal on this trip?”
“Yes,” she breathed out, knowing it was a mistake. Hearing what Cam wanted from her would not help her self-control in the least.
Cam leaned forward until his chest was almost touching hers and his mouth was close to her throat. “While we’re away, I’m going to strip away your willpower, until all you can think about is how fantastic my cock will feel buried inside of you. Then, when you’re ready to beg me to mark you, I’m going to make you mine, and you are going to love every fucking second of it.”
Claire tried to pull back, but Cam’s hand snaked around her lower back, holding her in place. “I’m not a possession for you to own, Cam.”
Cam chuckled. “Every time you get all sassy like this, I want to fuck your mouth.”
“Ass.” Claire’s voice didn’t hold much heat. It was hard being pissed and this turned on at the same time.
“You may not like me calling you mine, but you are. When you’re ready to admit it, things will be much easier,” Cam rasped out. “See how much easier it is for me now that I’ve admitted to belonging to you completely? No more doubts or trying to hide my feelings. Just give in, and your life will also be much simpler.”
“Things don’t seem that easy for you,” she argued.
“Ah, but they are, because now, I only have to focus on proving it to you,” he insisted.
“How do you plan on doing that?” she asked, trying hard to stop herself from leaning into Cam’s warm body.
“We’re going to start tonight. I’m going to lay you down on that bed and bury my face between your legs. Tonight, I’m going to memorize your taste, and prove to you how good it’s going to be when you have me to pleasure you every fucking day. While I do it, you’re going to think about how good it would feel to have me fuck you until you can’t walk. Here’s my promise to you, sweetheart. Once you let me in your sweet body, you’re going to be mine in every way imaginable, and you’re going to love surrendering to me.”
Try as she might, Claire couldn’t stop the little whimper that escaped her lips, and she was convinced Cam was trying to torture her.
“I can’t get pregnant,” she blurted out. She should have told him months ago, but there was this part of her that didn’t want Cam to stop pursuing her. Still, she wasn’t being fair to either of them by keeping that fact to herself. She should have told him after the first time he’d mentioned wanting her to have his babies.
“Yeah, I figured that out,” Cam told her as he stripped out of his shorts like it was nothing to get naked in front of her. Too bad she couldn’t be as casual about seeing him naked. Then her brain finally caught up with what he was saying.
“That’s all you’re going to say after I told you I can’t have children?” she demanded.
“What did you want me to say?” he asked casually.
“Your whole fantasy about our future involved getting me pregnant,” she snapped.
Cam studied her for a moment, looking confused. “Sure, that was part of my fantasy, but if all I wanted was kittens to call my own, I could’ve had that a long time ago. I could have more every time a female is in heat. As I mentioned before, I’m considered very desirable among the females of my clan.”
“And you’re oh so modest about it,” she grumbled.
Cam laughed. “I’m honest about it, sweetheart. Why pretend it’s not true?” He flopped down on his back on the bed. “Lay down with me, and I’ll tell you a story before I make you come harder than you have in your entire life.”
Claire hesitated for a moment, because it was really hard to stay focused when she got close to Cam, and that only got harder when he was naked. Still, they were going to sleep together tonight, and Cam wasn’t likely to put on any clothes, so she settled on the bed beside him. She’d figure out what she was sleeping in later—some time after she convinced herself she couldn’t let him follow through with his promise to go down on her.
“My father is the leader of my clan, and a very powerful male,” Cam began. “According to him, he truly loved Jase’s mom.”
“Jase has a different mom?” Claire had never heard any of the shifter brothers mention their mom.
“We all do,” Cam answered bitterly. “You see, Jase’s mom was killed shortly after he was born, and that left my father in a very difficult position because he needed to produce more offspring. The clan would be much happier if he got a few more females pregnant, but we’re old enough now that he can pass that responsibility on to the next generation.”
“But none of you have children, right?” Claire asked. Unable to resist the temptation to touch Cam any longer, she allowed her fingers to trail along his arm.
“No, we’ve all managed to avoid it, much to the clan’s disappointment.” His voice sounded strained this time. “None of us wanted to have kittens with multiple females. Zane might have, but between me and Jase, we’ve done a good job of keeping him away from any females in heat. Layla was a close call, since we were all drawn to her near her heat cycle, but Simon made sure none of us could have her by marking her. Good thing, too, because that was the first time I’d ever found myself in the position of considering taking a female anywhere near her heat cycle.”
“Is your mother still alive?” she asked.
“Yes.” Cam didn’t elaborate.
“Then why haven’t you mentioned her before?” Claire asked. Cam had told her all about Max, and she’d even met the scary shifter, but Cam’s mother had never come up in any conversation before today. Even now, he seemed reluctant to talk about her.
“I don’t really know her,” Cam admitted. “I mean, I know who she is, and I see her all the time, but she’s never shown any interest in being part of my life.”
Moving closer, Claire wrapped an arm around Cam’s waist to offer what comfort she could. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not hurt by it or anything,” he assured her, but she wasn’t buying that, and he must have seen the doubt in her eyes. “Okay, maybe it used to hurt me, but now, I get that she had me to move up in the clan. It gave her special privileges and a higher status to give the leader a son. A daughter would have been even better for her, since my father already had one son, but another son was still a good thing.”
“Is Zane’s mom also like that?” she asked.
Cam laughed, and he seemed much less tense now that the subject was off his own mother. Claire suspected it still bothered him more than he wanted to admit, but she understood why he didn’t want to discuss it. “Nah, Zane’s mom is a lot like him. There’s no way she could take a hands-off approach to parenting. Hell, I was full-grown when she had Zane, but she still tries to mother me every chance she gets. It’s been hard keeping her away from you, and you definitely owe me for that.”
“She sounds really nice,” Claire said.
“Yeah, she is,” Cam agreed. “My father really likes her, even though she makes him crazy whenever she’s around. She’s the real reason Zane is so affectionate. That woman is always touching everyone around her. If she likes you, she touches you, and she likes just about everyone she meets, even if they don’t like her. I’m not even sure she realizes anyone might not like her. That’s not from arrogance so much as from her positive nature.”
“What you’re saying is that she’s even more touchy-feely than other shifters?” That was hard for Claire to believe.
“She even has Zane beat,” Cam explained.
“Your father must really want you to get some nice shifter pregnant,” Claire stated because they really needed to discuss this.
“My father wants one of us to get someone pregnant,” Cam clarified. “He already knows it won’t be me, and he seems fine with that.”
“How would he know it won’t be you?” Claire asked. “I get that you’ve avoided it in the past, but that can’t be enough to make him give up hope.”
“He knows I won’t get anyone pregnant because my mate can’t get pregnant, and I won’t even look at another female, let alone fuck her as long as you live,” Cam explained simply. “At first, he was hoping I’d give up on you, but now that he’s seen me with you, he’s accepted the inevitable.”
“What if I’m never ready to be your mate?” she asked, wrapping her arms around her body in an attempt to distance herself from him both physically and emotionally.
Cam rolled to his side to study her as he spoke. “You are my mate. Even if you decide you don’t want to be with me, my commitment to you will be the same. I can’t change that, and neither can you.”
“Way to put pressure on me,” she complained softly.
“I’m not trying to pressure you, sweetheart. I just want to be honest with you about all of this. I get that this isn’t something you understand. Vampires aren’t like shifters, and you don’t feel the same instant pull to your mate like we do, but I knew the moment I saw you that you were my mate. The day I dropped down into that pit and listened to you hurl insults at me while you tried to kill me, I knew I’d die to keep you safe.”
Impulsive Destiny Page 9
