Thief (Blood & Bone Enforcers MC Book 2)

by Grace Brennan

  No. She wasn’t going to get herself all worked up, not when he wasn’t there to help her relieve the ache starting to build in her core.

  The scene on his bike had been hot as hell, though. She was so glad he’d given in. She hadn’t even had to put much effort into persuading him. It’d been a little awkward, since neither of them had done it before, but the way he felt inside her, the way she rubbed against him, had made her feel like she was drowning in desire, and the awkwardness hadn’t mattered. She was pretty sure it was the same for him, too. They’d both rushed to their orgasms in record time.

  Okay. Enough. That was the opposite of not getting worked up.

  It was either stress over her work or think about Noah. But thinking about him didn’t mean she had to think about sex. It wasn’t like she was a sex addict.

  Well, she hadn’t been before she met Noah. She was beginning to think she was turning into one now, though. But who could blame her?

  Trying one last time to turn her thoughts away from that topic, before the tingles racing over her body turned to heat, she thought about the night before, when Skylar had been asking about her. She still didn’t know what he’d been about to say, but whenever she’d taken a little break during the day, she’d wondered about it.

  She was going to ask Noah soon, as long as he didn’t distract her. She loved looking at his body, but hopefully he came back with pants and a shirt on, or she’d take one look at him and forget every thought she’d had that day.

  Leaning to the side, she set her brush on the bedside table as she sighed, her heart going all hazy as she thought about Noah. She thanked her lucky stars every minute of every day that she chose to come find him. He’d changed her life in so many ways—more than she could count—and all for the better.

  Glancing over at the table to necklace she used to wear, she gazed at Brandon’s wedding ring. “Thank you for him. I feel like you had something to do with this. Thank you,” she whispered.

  Tears pressed against her eyelids and she inhaled shakily. She had no idea why she was suddenly so emotional, but she wanted to get it under control before Noah came in.

  It was hard, though. So much had happened in such a short time. Finding Noah, becoming suspicious, joining him on the mission. Finding out that shifters existed and he was one of them, learning of the dragons, hacking into the auction.

  The battle on the way home when she watched his lion fight a panther.

  Falling in love.

  It was a lot to take in, but she wouldn’t change one single moment of it. And if Noah would just ask her to stay, she’d never, ever leave.

  Maybe it was stupid, but she felt like Brandon would have wanted this. That, somehow, he’d given her a nudge to go to Nevada and begin the epic journey she was on. She wasn’t sure how Noah felt about it—she hoped he’d let go of some of his guilt and misgivings. She thought maybe he had, because she only saw a shadow of it in his eyes from time to time. But she hoped, one day, he could let all of it go and maybe feel as she did.

  Sniffing, she took a tissue from the table and wiped her nose. She’d forgotten all about the box of Brandon’s stuff she brought for Noah. So much happened, so fast, that it slipped her mind. But when was the right time to give it to him?

  She didn’t want it to bring up his old feelings. Those were much better off in the past, and the last thing she wanted to do was remind him of them. But there was a letter in there for him from Brandon, and she wanted him to have it. She found it when she was going through the stuff Brandon kept from things they’d done together—MMA fights they’d gone to, ballgames they’d seen.

  She just wasn’t sure when the right time to give it to him was.

  “Are you okay, Lily?”

  Jumping, she looked up to see Noah in the doorway, fresh from his shower. She’d been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn’t realized he was back.

  Sniffing again, she nodded. “I’m fine.”

  His eyes narrowed as he closed the door and threw his dirty clothes in the hamper sitting in the corner. “Tears don’t seem like fine to me.”

  “They’re good tears. Promise.”

  “What were you thinking about?”

  She hesitated, eyeing him as he walked over to sit on the bed in front of her. “I was thinking about Brandon. No, don’t look like that. It was a good thing. You said shifters can hear lies, so you should know I’m being honest.”

  He looked doubtful but he finally nodded. “Okay. You’re right, I heard the truth in your voice. I didn’t think good tears were a real thing, but I guess they are.”

  She smiled and decided to change the subject before he started doubting or worrying again. “Last night, when Skylar was here, he started to ask if I was your something, but you cut him off before he could finish. What was he going to say?”

  Noah’s light green eyes widened, surprise in their depths. “You really don’t miss anything, do you?”

  Smirking, she shrugged, resisting the urge to snicker at his confounded look. “I’m sure some stuff gets by me, but I try not to let it. So what was he asking?”

  He exhaled, reaching up like he was going to tug at his hat, but he wasn’t wearing it. Rubbing his shaved head instead, he stood, pacing in front of the bed. “I was actually going to tell you this tonight, but it looks like you beat me to the punch. Again.”

  Smile fading, she studied him closely, taking note of the nerves he was trying to hide. “Okay… what is it? Is it something bad?”

  “No,” he replied, wincing when his voice came out too loud. He lowered his voice as he repeated the word. “No. At least, it’s not to me. You might think differently.”

  Her brow furrowed as she watched him pace. “Okaaaay…”

  “Really wish I had my hat right now.” His words were muttered low, and when he spoke again, his voice was back to normal. “In the shifter world, we each have someone called a mate. The human part of us can love whoever we want, and as many people as we want. But we only have one true mate, and it’s someone our animal picks—someone they know, instinctively, is our best match.

  “Mates are for life. At least for the shifter, in a pairing with a human. It isn’t quite as final for the human. Mates can be rare, which makes them all the more precious to us. A mate is… well, they’re everything to us. Absolutely everything, and nothing matters more than their happiness and safety. We’d lie, cheat, steal—kill or die. Whatever our mate needs, that’s what we give. When I say everything, I mean it literally. They’re more important than anything or anyone else. They’re our world.”

  In that moment, it felt like everything froze. The world stopped spinning, the clock stopped ticking, the air was sucked from the room. And then it all snapped back into focus, and Lily struggled to draw in a breath.

  “That’s what Skylar was asking? If I was your mate?” she whispered. He nodded, wariness in his green eyes, and she inhaled shakily. “You told him yes. So… I’m your mate? All you just said… I’m that for you?”

  “Yes.”

  Her emotions overwhelmed her, and her nose stung with tears as she tried not to get buried underneath the avalanche. Everything he said—it was amazing, and some of the most beautiful words she’d ever heard. And she wasn’t a shifter, but it mirrored her feelings for him exactly.

  Wait—he’d said the animal chose the mate. The human chose to love. Her eyes flew to his, and she tried to blink back the moisture clouding her vision.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, starting to rush forward and then stopping abruptly. “I’m sorry. I know it’s a lot, but please don’t feel any pressure. You don’t have to do anything with what I told you. We can just forget I ever said anything. I knew it was too soon—”

  “Noah. Shut up.” She arched an eyebrow at him and he quieted, his frown worried as he stared at her. “You told me how your animal feels. How do you feel?”

  His frown deepened. “I just told you.”

  “No, you said your animal chose me, and
you have all these instincts toward me. But you never told me how you, the human, feel.” Swallowing hard, she screwed up her courage. She’d been brave the entire time she was there. She wasn’t going to stop now, especially not when it came to something so important. “Do you love me?”

  Eyes softening, he hesitantly walked forward and then sank to his knees beside the bed. She turned to face him and he took her hands, holding them tightly.

  “More than my own life,” he replied quietly, the sincerity and conviction in his eyes and tone washing over her in a dizzying wave.

  Closing her eyes, she whispered, “Say it again.”

  “I love you, Lily. So much that it scares me sometimes. But I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

  Eyes still shut, she breathed deeply, swaying a little as the words flowed over her, overfilling her heart and bringing a wave of warmth with them. Opening her eyes, she locked gazes with him, hoping he could feel her words like she felt his.

  “I love you too, Noah. It blows my mind how much, but as you were describing mates, I realized that I felt the same for you. I never thought I’d ever feel like this again, and it’s more than I imagined I’d have. I love you more than anything.”

  That time, it was him who closed his eyes, and when he opened them, the green was glowing brightly. “I honestly think if I was standing when you said that, it would have brought me to my knees. I hoped you’d be able to accept this, but I never imagined you felt the same way I do.”

  Reaching out, she ran the tips of her fingers down his beard before cupping his face. “I think you underestimate me too much, Noah. But it’s okay. You’ll learn.”

  He chuckled softly, squeezing her hands. “I suspect I will. There’s one more thing I need to tell you, but try to keep the amazing calm you’ve had since you showed up at the clubhouse, okay?”

  “I promise. If nothing else I’ve learned has shaken me, I’m pretty sure nothing will. What is it?”

  Inhaling deeply, he held the breath for a few moments and then blew it back out as he squared his shoulders. “Shifters claim their mates. Different species do it in different ways, but it locks everything in place. Finding a mate is already permanent for my kind, but this binds us in a way that’s hard to explain. Do you feel a bond with me?”

  She nodded. “Deep in my chest. Almost from the very start. It took me by surprise when I first realized it was there.”

  “It happens quickly for shifters—sometimes, faster than human mates, and even some shifters, can accept. Claiming you would lock that bond into place, as well as strengthen it. Nothing can break it.”

  “That actually sounds amazing to me, but I think there’s something you haven’t told me yet. So what’s the catch?”

  He took another deep breath. “Like I said, it’s different for each species. Some mark with a bite or a claw mark. And some even go by scent. For lions, it’s with a bite. But the thing is, biting you—claiming you—would turn you, as well. You’d have a lioness inside you afterward.”

  Blinking a few times in shock, her mouth opened but nothing came out for a long moment. “You can turn people? I could be like you?”

  He squeezed her hands, leaning in closer. “Yes. But only if it’s something you really want. I’d love to claim you, but only if you decide it’s something you want for you, not me. And I want to claim you for the bond—not because I want you to be a shifter. If you stayed a human forever, it wouldn’t change the way I feel about you, or how much I love you. Lion or not, that will never change. But there’s no rush. None, understand? I don’t want you to decide right now at all. Take your time and make sure you’re making the best decision for you. Because once I do it, it can’t be reversed—the turn or the bond.”

  Swallowing hard, she nodded. “I’ll think it over very carefully. But you need to promise that if I decide I want to, you won’t try to fight me over it, or try to convince me I need more time. You’ll just do it.”

  He searched her eyes for a long moment before nodding. “Okay. I promise.”

  She sank her teeth into her lower lip as she looked at him. “What took you so long to tell me? I get the impression you’ve known for a while now.”

  Noah stilled at Lily’s question, searching for a way to avoid answering, not sure he wanted to open that can of worms. “I wouldn’t say it took me long, per se. This has all happened quickly.”

  She pursed her lips as she rolled her beautiful blue eyes. “Stop stalling, Noah. You should know me well enough by now to realize that I won’t let it go until you answer.”

  Didn’t he know it. He glanced around, trying to think of a way to explain, and his eyes landed on the wedding ring on a chain lying on the bedside table. Brandon’s ring. He’d seen it a million times before—only it was on Brandon’s finger then.

  Sadness for his friend washed over him, and he cleared his throat, ordering himself to get it together. It wasn’t the time to grieve for Brandon.

  It was the time for baring his heart and giving Lily the explanation she wanted—that he thought she deserved.

  She deserved everything. He’d spend the rest of his life trying to give her the world if she let him.

  If she stayed.

  He nodded to the ring and she followed his gaze, her brow furrowing when she saw what he was gesturing to. “Because of Brandon? Are you still feeling guilty?”

  Starting to shake his head, he stopped himself as he hesitated. “I don’t want to lie to you, so I won’t pretend I don’t feel it at least a little. It’s much better than it was, and most of the time, I have a handle on it. Sometimes, it reaches out and punches me in the gut, but it’s still better. That wasn’t what I meant, though.”

  “What do you mean, then?”

  “You were still wearing it when you got here.” He rushed to raise his hand when she started to interrupt, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. “That doesn’t bother me, Lily. If we spend the rest of our lives together—even if I claim you—and you want to wear it all the time and never take it off, I’m one hundred percent okay with that. What I meant was, you were still trying to move on from Brandon. Trying to step into the future. Brave and beautiful and standing so strong as you did it on your own. But still holding onto the past.

  “And then there I was. There suddenly we were. And everything moved incredibly fast. That’s how it is for my kind, so it worked for me, even though I had my misgivings because of Brandon. But I worried that at any moment, this would all turn out to be too much for you. I didn’t want to add to that by telling you what you are to me. I didn’t want you to feel any pressure.” He paused, squeezing her hands again. “I didn’t want you to run because everything moved so quickly.”

  “What made you decide to tell me tonight? You said you were planning on it before I asked.”

  “Because the need I feel for you amplifies by the moment. And I didn’t want you to think I don’t want you the way I do and decide to go home. I’ll understand if you think that’s best—at least, I’ll try to understand. But I didn’t want you making a decision either way without the facts. I didn’t want to pressure you in any way, but you’re a woman who knows her own mind, and I know now that you’ll make your decision based on you and not others. And since you’ve handled everything so well, I decided you could probably handle this, too.” Pausing, he smiled wryly. “I honestly don’t know if I made any sense right there. I’m sorry. My mind is spinning in a thousand different directions right now.”

  Lily smiled gently as her thumbs rubbed against his knuckles. “I think I understand what you’re saying. I’m glad you were going to tell me. My curiosity got the better of me when it came to what Skylar was asking, but I wasn’t in a rush to declare ourselves to each other. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t think we needed it to grow even closer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we did.” She shook her head with a smile. “And now I think I’m the one not making sense. It’s just that I feel comfortable here with you—I feel like I’m in m
y element. And I was almost positive you felt the same way for me that I do for you.

  “That being said, I’m so happy you told me. Yes, everything’s moved quickly, but it feels so natural that it hasn’t really bothered me. But there’s something about knowing… I don’t know. I feel like we can talk about the future and lock down plans now. If you want to, that is. And as much as I wasn’t in a rush, that feeling is amazing. I love you, Noah.”

  His heart felt near to bursting as his lion purred deep in his chest. Leaning in, he kissed her gently, her hands still snug in his. “I love you too, Lily. And one day soon, we’ll talk about the future. Trust me, I want to. I know you said this isn’t too much and you’re happy you know, but maybe giving it a couple days to really sink in would be best. I don’t want you to do anything you’ll come to regret.”

  She smiled gently, her eyes soft as she gazed at him. “Silly man. I could never regret staying with you, and I already know what I want. But we’ll give it a couple days if that’s really what you want to do. I know I won’t have doubts, but I don’t want you thinking I might.”

  He smiled, his eyes roving over her face as his heart filled with warmth. Lily was the most extraordinary woman he’d ever met, and that fact that she was his was still hard to comprehend. He didn’t know what he did to get so lucky, but he’d never take her for granted.

  Standing, he walked to the wall and flipped the light switch off. Once he was in bed, Lily turned the lamp off, and the room was bathed in darkness as she cuddled into him. His lion was pacing in his chest, and the missing piece was still there, but it was more like a leisurely walk, and the ache didn’t steal his breath.

  His last thought before he fell asleep was that Lily was so good for him—she was changing him for the better and easing old hurts.

  And for the first time ever, he was completely happy and almost at peace. He’d never felt so calm before, and he knew it was all because of her.