It didn’t, but he was able to breathe easier knowing that his son was safe. He didn’t want his son working for the Sentinels, but it wasn’t his choice to make. His son was a grown man now and…
He couldn’t help worrying about him, Ethan thought, finishing off the bag of blood before tossing it aside and grabbing another one. His arm hurt like hell. The skin was sensitive and the bone felt like it was being grated against a rock as it grew. It would take a few days of overfeeding on blood before it completely grew back and until then, it appeared as though the woman that he couldn’t stay away from was going to take this opportunity to drive him out of his fucking mind.
“They were finally able to get a team up here to transport Eric back to the Manhattan compound. Chris and Nathan gave him blood, but it wasn’t enough. He’s struggling, but Noah thinks that he’ll pull through,” Indie said, making his jaw clench painfully at the mention of the fucking human that had been looking at her in a way that was going to get his fucking throat ripped out. She was-
Not his, Ethan reminded himself as he angrily ripped the empty bag from his mouth and grabbed the last bag, forcing himself to swallow the cold, thick, metallic liquid as Indie’s enticing aroma tormented him. Why the hell was he torturing himself like this? He didn’t need to stay here to see his son. He could buy a house nearby and…find excuses to come see her, Ethan thought, biting back a sigh.
From the moment that he laid eyes on his wife, he’d never thought about another woman, hadn’t wanted to, and since Emily died, he hadn’t wanted anyone else, but now, Ethan couldn’t stop thinking about the small woman curled up on the bed next to him. He wanted her and it was fucking destroying him.
“Marc is sitting with the babies. I think they slept through everything and-”
“Get out,” Ethan bit out, closing his eyes as he struggled to stay in control.
For months, he’d managed to keep his distance, trying to pretend that he wasn’t aware of her every fucking minute of the day. She was completely fucking oblivious to just how badly he wanted her. If she knew…
She wouldn’t be in here driving him out of his fucking mind.
“Are you okay?” Indie asked, sounding concerned as she laid her hand on his shoulder and-
Broke him.
There was no other way to describe it. One minute, he was struggling to stay in control and the next, he had her pinned beneath him, his fangs in her neck and a groan ripped from his throat as he got his first taste of the blood that had been torturing him since the first time he saw her. So fucking good, Ethan thought as he continued pulling at her neck, groaning with every mouthful of the hot, delicious liquid that had his stomach growling for more.
He’d never tasted anything this good before. Even Emily’s blood had never affected him like this. He felt stronger, Ethan realized, groaning as he took a deeper pull on her neck, feeling his arm growing. Seconds later, he felt his hand start to form, followed by fingers as muscle filled his arm and found himself groaning when her blood became richer as the scent of her arousal teased him and he realized that he was moving against her.
So fucking good, Ethan thought, only to groan when she moaned his name as she wrapped her arms around him. He slowed his movements so that she could feel what she did to him. She was so responsive, so fucking soft, and so fucking sweet, Ethan thought as he kept moving while he continued pulling at her neck. There were a thousand reasons why they shouldn’t be doing this, but at the moment, none of them mattered.
He wanted her and-
She wasn’t breathing.
Manhattan, New York
It was just a dream.
It was just a dream.
It was just a…
Dream, Jill told herself as she sat up, struggling to catch her breath as her hands fisted in her sheets and…
Just a dream, she repeated, closing her eyes as she slowly exhaled. She was fine. She was safe and she…was not in her cell, Jill realized as the silk sheets in her hands slowly slipped free as she opened her eyes and took in the large, unfamiliar bedroom. The island? It had to be, Jill told herself as she pushed the covers aside and moved to climb off the bed when she felt it, cold metal wrapped around her ankle.
Definitely had to be the island, Jill told herself even though she knew that the Council wouldn’t bother using chains on her. Not if she was really on the island. There wouldn’t be anywhere for her to go, she thought, licking her lips as she glanced around the room and-
“Good morning, Princess.”
Definitely not a dream, Jill realized as she found herself staring at the man that ruined her life.
Logan.
Chapter 43
Her father’s name was Cade, Kale thought, trying to figure out where he knew that name from. He’d heard it before, but he just couldn’t remember-
“You do nice work,” the little brat that had made him squirm all night to earn her forgiveness for being the biggest prick alive, his own admission, murmured, nodding approvingly as she examined her toenails, which were now baby pink.
“Stop moving. You’re going to wreck them,” Kale said, refusing to let her wreck all of his hard work simply because she couldn’t sit still.
There was an impatient sigh as Ashley tried sitting up again, but he simply glared at her until she dropped back down on the bed between his legs with a grumble. Satisfied that she was going to stop squirming, Kale continued lightly blowing on her toes where they rested on his chest as he scrolled through the forum, looking for any mention of her father.
“Do you forgive me yet?” Kale asked, looking up from his phone to find Ashley thinking it over.
“For telling me that you hated me or for eating the last pancake?”
“Both,” he said, even though he had to admit that he wasn’t sorry about stealing the last pancake.
God, his mate could fucking cook. Last night, after he’d properly groveled and she’d let him know that he wasn’t getting off that easy, she’d climbed off his lap, headed into the kitchen and whipped up a pan of homemade macaroni and cheese along with a batch of chocolate chip cookies to replace the cake that he’d devoured. He ate everything that she put in front of him and when the last cookie was gone, Kale pointed out that he was going to need energy to grovel, which earned him fudge brownies with extra fudge frosting.
“You know? I just don’t feel like you’ve groveled enough to earn my forgiveness,” Ashley said with a sad shake of her head and a long-suffering sigh that had his eyes narrowing on her.
“What else do you want?” Kale bit out, noting the way that her lips twitched as she struggled to keep a straight face.
“Would you let me paint your toenails?” Ashley asked, sending him a hopeful look.
“No.”
“Why not?” she asked, sounding disappointed.
“Because we both know that you would send a picture to Jacob,” Kale said, knowing that he was right when she released a disappointed sigh.
“Fine. Then, will you let me have Cuddles in the house?” she asked as Kale shifted his attention back to the window where the asshole was still fucking pouting.
“No way in hell,” Kale said, absolutely refusing to let the large bastard in his house, knowing that it would end with him sleeping alone so that asshole could curl up on the bed next to his mate.
“He looks so lonely,” Ashley mumbled sadly, which only made the asshole pout more.
“Never going to happen,” Kale said, shifting his attention back to his phone as he continued to blow air over Ashley’s adorable toes.
“Then will you answer some of my questions?”
“Sure,” Kale murmured absently as he-
“When will I finally hit puberty?”
-choked on air.
Dropping his phone, he was forced to swipe Ashley’s Coke off the nightstand and finish it off. Once he stopped coughing, Kale slowly exhaled and looked at the woman that was trying to kill him. “What the hell are you talking about?”
; “Maybe I should ask Jacob instead,” Ashley murmured to herself as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth.
“You can ask me,” Kale snapped with a glare of warning that she immediately ignored.
Brat.
“To be honest, I don’t think you know,” Ashley said, blinking innocently at him.
With a glare, Kale pushed her feet off his chest, reached over and grabbed her hands and pulled her up until she was sitting on his lap so that he could properly glare at her when he said, “I know.”
“Are you sure?” Ashley asked with a pitying look that was going to get her adorable ass spanked.
“I’m sure.”
Nodding, Ashley slowly exhaled as she settled more comfortably on his lap before blurting out, “I haven’t gotten my period yet.”
“You’re not supposed to. You’re a shifter and a Pyte,” he explained, wondering why she had to make everything so damn difficult.
“And they don’t get periods?” she asked, frowning.
“No,” Kale said, chuckling as he leaned forward so that he could kiss the tip of her nose, “they don’t.”
“I’m bald,” came the next announcement that had him frowning as he looked at her beautiful golden blonde hair and-
“Not there,” Ashley said, rolling her eyes as her gaze flickered south, giving him no other choice but to follow her gaze and…
Oh.
“Is that normal?” Ashley asked as he sat there, thinking about the soft, smooth lips between her legs and just how much he’d enjoyed running his tongue over her and just how much he wanted to do it again.
“I…” Kale mumbled, trying to remember what they were talking about.
“I also apparently don’t have to shave, pluck or do any of the hundreds of things that I’ve heard women bitch about over the years,” Ashley said, sounding oddly disappointed.
“No, you don’t,” Kale murmured as he found himself running his hands over her legs, unable to help but notice just how smooth her legs really were.
“And that’s normal?”
“Yes,” Kale said, although to be honest, he wasn’t sure about that.
“How will I know if I go into heat?” she asked, making him bite back a groan because he hadn’t thought about that and now, that’s all he could think about. Shifter females usually started their heat cycles after they turned eighteen. From what he’d heard, for those nine days a year, it was hell for the females and bliss for every male lucky enough to catch her attention.
Once a female shifter was mated…
She would go into her first mating heat within hours, days, or weeks of the mark appearing, making her desperate for sex and fertile for the first time in her life, which would drive every male around her out of his fucking mind. Unlike during a normal heat when a female shifter could satisfy herself in any number of ways, anything but her mate’s release would only make it worse. No matter what she did, how many men she’d fucked, it wouldn’t give her the relief that she needed.
Only her mate would be able to do that. With every release, he would take the edge off of her body’s needs until the heat was over, which usually ended in pregnancy. The first few pregnancies for shifters normally didn’t end well because the female’s hormones needed time to adjust, but Ashley wouldn’t have that problem.
She was also a Pyte, which meant that her body would do everything within its power to protect the child, making it easier for Kale to keep his fucking sanity. He’d never wanted children before, but with Ashley…
He liked the idea of seeing her round with his child probably more than he should. A family would make him vulnerable, giving his enemies something to use against him, and leaving him terrified that he could lose them one day, but…
God, he wanted them.
He wanted all those things that he’d told himself that he could live without and he wanted them with her. They’d fill this house with boys that lived to torment them the way that Aine used to torment him and he’d love every minute of it. As much as he would love a little girl to dote on, he knew that wasn’t possible. They would only ever be able to have boys thanks to her Pyte blood and he would do everything in his power to protect them.
For a moment, he wondered if they’d be able to have girls since she’d managed to survive, but he knew how it worked for Impures. It was the reason why most shifters did everything they could to keep their Packs free of Impures because their children would be weakened hybrids, most of them died young, and more than half of the pregnancies ended in disaster. Ashley had been lucky, more than fucking lucky, and he wasn’t sure that luck was going to extend to their children.
“You’ll know,” Kale promised her as he kissed her forehead while he continued running his hands over her legs even as he couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before she went into heat. If she’d been able to shift when they’d been marked, she would have already gone into heat, but since her shifter side only showed up a few days ago, he had no idea what to expect.
“How?” she asked, wrapping her arms around him as he moved his hands over her thighs.
“Because I won’t be able to keep my hands off you,” Kale said, his cock hardened painfully just thinking about how good it was going to feel when he slid inside her.
“You can’t seem to do that now,” Ashley pointed out as his hands cupped her ass and pulled her closer so that she could feel what she did to him.
“True, but when you’re in heat, you won’t be able to get enough of me,” Kale said, groaning as he turned his head and kissed her throat.
“I already can’t get enough of you,” Ashley admitted on a moan as she shifted on his lap, driving him out of his fucking mind as she moved, rolling her hips against him as the scent of her arousal teased him, making his cock ache, desperate for the release it had been denied yesterday and-
“Wait!” she suddenly said, shaking her head as she stopped moving and pulled back as he struggled to figure out why she’d stopped moving only to groan when she said, “I don’t think this is a good idea. Not after what happened yesterday.”
“I think it’s a very good idea,” Kale said, not sure how much longer he could go without a release before he lost his fucking mind.
“Well, what if-”
“You liked what I did to you yesterday,” Kale reminded her, leaning in to brush his lips against hers.
“This is true,” she mumbled in agreement, only to hesitate before adding, “but I don’t know if I can stay in control.”
It took him a moment to figure out what she was talking about and when he did…
“I really am an asshole,” Kale said, rubbing his hands roughly down his face as he slowly exhaled.
“That’s what I’ve heard,” Ashley said, nodding solemnly as he dropped his hands away to glare at her, noting the way that her beautiful lips twitched.
“Have you really?” Kale murmured as he reached up and cupped her face in his hand as he leaned forward and-
“M-Maybe we should wait,” she mumbled nervously as she leaned back before he could kiss her. “Just until I learn how to control this,” she rambled on nervously as he closed the distance and brushed his lips against hers.
It was the smart thing to do, giving her a chance to forget what happened, especially since he couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t react like that again if she took him by surprise, but…
He would never survive the wait.
Chapter 44
“What exactly am I supposed to do with this?” Ashley asked, blinking down at the strip of cloth that he’d handed her only to follow that with, “And did you really have to rip the sheet?”
“Yes,” Kale said, leaning in to give her a quick kiss as he plucked the cloth from her hand.
Unable to help but frown, Ashley watched as he carefully wrapped the navy-blue cloth around his head like a blindfold and tied it off before settling back against the bed with a satisfied sigh. That led to her continuing to sit there, waiting for him to say o
r do something to clue her into what he was doing. When he just sat there, Ashley bit back a sigh as she asked, “What exactly are you doing?”
“Making it easier for you to finish what you started yesterday,” Kale said, gesturing lazily for her to get on with it.
“I see…” she murmured, shifting to get more comfortable on his lap as she debated pointing out that she hadn’t been the one to start anything, only to decide on settling for reminding him of something that he must have forgotten about. “I have mentioned that I haven’t done this before, right?”
Chuckling, Kale leaned in carefully and brushed his lips against hers before settling back against the bed. “I haven’t forgotten, mo ghrá.”
“Then why are you determined to give me a panic attack?” Ashley asked, shifting her attention over Kale’s body as she nervously worried her bottom lip, taking in golden skin and the large, perfectly sculptured muscles that made up his biceps, chest, and abdomen before finding her gaze moving down that thin trail of black hair that disappeared behind the fly of his pants and-
Found herself nodding in agreement with the panicked thoughts racing through her mind because she was definitely in over her head on this one, Ashley decided when she spotted the large bulge straining against his jeans. “Maybe we should discuss this?” she suggested with a hopeful smile that he had no chance of seeing at the moment.
Yesterday, she thought that she was ready and today…
She couldn’t take her eyes off that bulge.
Did…did it just move?
Yes, yes, it did, Ashley realized, definitely panicking even as she couldn’t help but wonder why she was ready to take the next step yesterday and today…
She was afraid to touch him.
Closing her eyes, Ashley slowly exhaled as she admitted, “I don’t think that I can do this.”
“I think you can, mo ghrá,” Kale said, sliding his hands over her bottom and-
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