The Shifter's Mail Order Virgin (Stonybrooke Shifters)

by Leela Ash

  Cain situated Kyna in the passenger’s seat and she opened and closed her eyes heavily as he tore out of the parking lot and headed toward his home. He didn’t want to involve the hospital in case they investigated the men and found any of them brutalized to death. Cain knew how to treat bumps and bruises anyway.

  “Hey,” he said, snapping his fingers in front of Kyna’s face as he sped toward the highway. “Don’t go to sleep, now.”

  Kyna’s golden eyes fixed upon him and Cain felt his heart thud despite himself. She sure was something else. He was furious that anyone might want to harm her. Cain felt responsible for her somehow. As if they had a connection that nobody should interfere with. He wanted to protect her, even if he thought she was a little bit out there.

  “Where are we going?” Kyna asked quietly.

  “To my apartment,” Cain said with a heavy sigh. “If that’s all right.”

  “You can just take me home,” she said. She was tired of fighting. “I know you don’t want to be near me. You probably think I’m insane. Or maybe some kind of witch.”

  Cain was surprised by the assumption. The idea of witchcraft hadn’t entered his mind. Though now that she mentioned it, she did have a strange, otherworldliness that being a witch would explain. Still, he couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

  “Well, I don’t think I believe what you believe about me if that’s what you mean. But I don’t hate you for thinking it.”

  They were quiet for a moment as Kyna considered this.

  “What would it take to convince you?” she asked. “I’m kind of lost out here.”

  “You’re pretty far from home,” Cain agreed.

  “You have no idea,” Kyna sighed.

  Cain pursed his lips as he merged into the highway leading into the city. Traffic was bad even this late at night, and they got stuck behind a bus, giving them ample time together in his truck.

  “Can you answer something for me?” Cain asked.

  “That depends,” she answered.

  “What were those lights in the sky? I can’t stop thinking about them.”

  “The lights of Kaldernon,” Kyna said softly. “They are what led me to you.”

  “Ladernon?” he asked, turning down the radio. The mournful country song disappeared and they were left together in silence.

  “Kaldernon,” she said, laying her head back heavily in the seat. “I don’t think you’d believe me, so don’t bother asking about that.”

  “All right,” Cain shrugged. “No skin off my back.”

  He could feel her glaring at him and had to force himself not to meet her eyes. They drove quietly until they finally reached the road his condo was on.

  “I’ve seen that!” Kyna suddenly exclaimed, sitting straight up. The effort was taking a lot out of her, but she kept her eyes fixed on the building, rapt. “It was in my dream.”

  “What, are you some kind of psychic or something?”

  Kyna turned to him then, giving him a deadpan look. She didn’t answer yes or no, just stared at him as if he were stupid. It gave him the creeps a little bit, but at the same time he felt intrigued. If he would believe anybody in the world was a psychic, Kyna would be the top of the list.

  “That’s my apartment building. Maybe you saw it when you were stalking me to get my phone number at work.”

  “I didn’t stalk – “

  Kyna fell back against the seat, overcome by another wave of sudden pain. “you…”

  “Shhh, don’t worry about it right now. We’re gonna get you taken care of.”

  And with that, he parked his truck and helped her to the elevator of the condo. What in the world had he had gotten himself into?

  Chapter Eight

  Kyna sat nervously on the couch as Cain rummaged through his bathroom for medical supplies. When she had fallen she had cut her arm pretty deeply on the jagged rocks along the edges of the stream.

  “Don’t want it to get infected,” Cain had said, disappearing behind the door.

  When he returned, he was surprised to find Kyna digging through the magazines he had beside the end table. She devoured them quietly, her amber-colored eyes wide.

  “See anything you like?” he asked, his lips twitching in a bemused smile.

  “Oh! I’m sorry,” Kyna exclaimed. He laughed at the horrified expression on her face as she slapped the magazine she was looking at closed. It was a travel issue, and she shoved it under the table.

  “It’s all right, that’s why they’re there,” he said, smiling gently at her.

  Kyna stared at him in a daze. Why did she always lose track of her thoughts when he looked at her?

  “What’s wrong?” Cain asked.

  “I…nothing,” she said, sitting up rigidly and trying to smile at him as if they were sharing the most typical experience in the world.

  “Well, that’s a relief,” Cain said with a chuckle, kneeling in front of her. Kyna noticed that he had changed his shirt, stripping off the outer layer and replacing it with a tight tank top that revealed his impressively muscular arms.

  “You’re going to feel this for a second,” he said apologetically, unscrewing the cap off a large clear bottle of rubbing alcohol.

  “Okay,” she said, not fully understanding what he meant.

  He sat the bottle down on the coffee table and held her arm gingerly in his hand, carefully lifting the sleeve of her otherworldly dress to reveal the area where it was bleeding.

  “It’s pretty heavy bleeding,” he said, more to himself than to her. “Does it hurt?”

  She gazed into his soulful, sea-colored eyes. He seemed sad, probably about several things, judging by the depth in them. She sighed. Did he feel guilty for not believing her?

  “It’s not that bad,” she said, mustering all of her strength to help reassure him.

  “Oh, that’s good. What about your head?”

  She couldn’t lie about her head. She had probably gotten a concussion from falling so hard onto the ground, and she had to battle a strong surge of nausea every time she moved too quickly.

  “I don’t know. I feel sick whenever I stand up too fast or move. Sometimes just sitting here.”

  “So it’s kind of like being drunk?” he asked with a laugh.

  “I guess so,” she said, smiling with him. She had only been tipsy once on ceremonial wine, but she knew several of the men enjoyed their ale and suffered from hangovers that made the strong, capable shifters act like surly children.

  “All right, that’s not too good,” he said. “I’ll take care of you.”

  Kyna’s heart thudded when she heard the words, and she watched his lithe, handsome body cross the room. “I’ve got something you should take for the swelling, all right?”

  When Cain was out of the room, she felt a confusing loneliness. Kyna had spent most of her life in isolation because that was the way she was best able to keep in touch with her powers as an oracle. But she had never truly felt the absence of somebody else before. What was going on?

  “Here, take this,” Cain said when he returned, handing her a little round pill. Kyna stared at it skeptically. “What, haven’t you ever taken a pill before?”

  “Do you chew it? This doesn’t look like food.”

  “It’s not. It’s medicine.”

  “Not my kind of medicine.”

  Cain smiled wryly. “I’m sure it’s not,” he said with a short laugh. “But this will help you feel better faster.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course. Just swallow it with the water. Like this.”

  Cain demonstrated with an invisible pill before handing her the water. Kyna sighed, keeping her eye on him as she took the pill.

  “Good,” he said. “Now let me finish bandaging that up. Helping your head feel better is way more important than your arm.”

  She gasped when Cain’s strong fingers wrapped around her again, sending a soft jolt of pleasure through her body. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before and she pul
led her arm away reflexively.

  “Hey, cut it out,” Cain said with a deep frown. “I need to do this. I’m sorry if it hurt.”

  Cain gripped the arm assertively and Kyna closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pounding in her chest. He dabbed the wound gently with a cool cloth.

  “Brace yourself,” he said, his low voice close to her ear. “This is going to hurt.”

  Kyna hissed as he poured the rubbing alcohol over the cut and the stinging traveled up her arm.

  “Here,” Cain said, pushing his broad hand into hers. “Squeeze it if you want.”

  Kyna opened an eye to look at him, gauging whether or not he was serious. Cain’s eyes settled upon her, no humor in them, and she squeezed as he wrapped the bandage snugly around her wound. It was oddly sensual, despite the pain. When Cain was finally finished dressing the wound, he looked up at her with a small grin.

  “There,” Cain said, his beautiful eyes locked on her. “All done.”

  Kyna opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say with his face so near to hers. She wanted to speak, but her heart was hammering in her ears and there were no words for what she really wanted.

  Cain lingered there for a moment. He also seemed conflicted about something, but he stood up and grinned down at her. “Lucky for you I found you on a weekend, so you’ll get to sleep in before I take you home.”

  “Yeah,” Kyna whispered. She didn’t believe in luck, but she didn’t want to tell him that. “Lucky.”

  Cain set to work bringing out sheets and blankets for her, making a comfortable bed on the couch. His condo had a beautiful view overlooking the city’s skyline, and he lay the pillow on the end of the couch so she could gaze at it as she fell asleep.

  “Good night,” Cain said, dimming the lights and heading into his bathroom again.

  Kyna heard the rush of running water as he showered, and stared at the night sky out the window. The lights of the city reminded her of Kaldernon, and she felt a sudden pang of sadness and panic. She was a failure. There was no way she would ever be able to convince Cain that she was telling the truth. He seemed set in his ways, and nobody would ever change that about him.

  In a way, Cain’s firm grasp of who he was and what he believed was sexy. Conviction had always been highly revered by the Lonis. But on the other hand, inflexibility could make Kyna feel more frustrated than she knew what to do with.

  Eventually the sounds from the bathroom ceased and Cain settled down for the night in his bedroom. Kyna sighed and closed her eyes. Maybe things would change for the better in the morning.

  Chapter Nine

  Cain thought he would finally be able to sleep after his hunting trip, but having the strange, bizarrely beautiful woman in his house kept him wide awake. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Kyna, and now that she was so close, he wasn’t sure what to do. He had to fight away thoughts of the things he wanted to do with her, to her maybe. It was hard being a man sometimes.

  But wouldn’t it be a mistake to get involved with a woman who seemed to have something wrong with her? Still, that didn’t change the fact that she seemed to know things. Things most people overlooked. The idea of Kyna being a witch had stuck in Cain’s head ever since she’d brought it up. Was that the strange impression he had of her? Kyna had managed to articulate the level of strangeness that he had experienced when dealing with her. Should Cain be concerned that she was in his home? She seemed perfectly harmless, but what if she had friends? Those weird men that had stopped him in the forest?

  Nothing made sense anymore. Cain groaned softly to himself and buried his head in his pillow. What was he going to do with that girl? Now that Kyna knew where he lived, she probably wouldn’t leave him alone. Should he go to the police? And did he really want to?

  Her biggest crime was believing that Cain was something that he wasn’t. And he was a sucker for the mystique; the strange and beautiful way that Kyna presented herself. There was something that drove him to feel intensely attracted to her, beyond anything that she had ever felt with another woman. That was alarming in itself.

  Cain was used to being cool and aloof, his feelings never on the line. But Kyna made him feel vulnerable. Unsure of himself. Unsure, even, of his own sanity.

  All Cain really knew was that of all the things he had done in the past few weeks, having her climb into his truck so that he could drive her back to the underground tunnels and out of his life was going to be the hardest. Even harder than restraining himself from going back to her in the cover of night to tell her how she made him feel. He cringed as he felt an erection begin to creep against his leg and sighed deeply. It was going to be a long night.

  ***

  Kyna couldn’t sleep. Her mind was scattered and seemed to be jumping all over the place. It went from focusing on the deep burning that she felt in her body whenever Cain was near and the terrifying close encounter she’d had with the men in the woods. Why did he make her feel that way? She was feeling much better after taking the medicine he gave her, but she missed being near him. It was making her anxious.

  Her amber eyes were wide and alert after everything that had happened, and the artificial light from the city outside hurt her eyes. It was nice to look at for a while, but it was so bright compared to the underground burrows back at the Kersh clan’s settlement. It gave her a panicked feeling of claustrophobia. She longed to be able to lay down on her preferred spot on Earth and look up at the comforting lights of Kaldernon. But ever since they had started to pulse, taking on that unearthly hue, she hadn’t been comforted so much as puzzled and concerned.

  Kyna tried hiding her face from the lights underneath her pillow, but that didn’t work. Not only was it still too bright, but it smelled just like Cain. It was driving her crazy to battle her longing. What would she even do with him if she had him? Play cards? Tell him how handsome he was?

  She sighed in frustration, just about the same time she heard a similar sound come from Cain’s bedroom. Were they feeling the same way? She sat up and stared into the darkness in the direction of his bedroom. What was he feeling right that moment?

  Kyna put her bare feet onto the floor, startled once again by the strange padding of carpet that she felt beneath them. She swallowed hard before she crept toward the bedroom. She put her hand on the doorknob and hesitated for a moment. When she heard another frustrated groan come from inside, she quietly turned the doorknob and walked slowly inside.

  “What are you doing in here?” Cain asked, his voice hushed. He didn’t sound angry, just surprised.

  “I can’t sleep alone out there,” she said, looking down at the floor, embarrassed. She was surprised by how immaculately clean he kept his bedroom. It was just like the rest of his home.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting up.

  A gasp caught in her throat as the blanket slid down his torso, revealing his perfect body, half naked in the silver moonlight. He noticed her staring, but said nothing.

  “I’m not sure,” she said. “It’s so bright. And I feel scared. Lonely.”

  “Why do you feel scared? You’re safe here.”

  “You wouldn’t believe me,” she said with a sad smile. He frowned.

  “Maybe not, but I can help you feel safe,” he said, pulling down the corner of his blanket. “Come on.”

  Kyna walked nervously to his bedside and tucked herself under the covers, holding her breath until it burnt in her chest the same way she might have done if she was going to dive into the deep end of the river. Cain smiled kindly at her.

  “Now, whatever you’re worried about, just put it away from your mind. I know you think some interesting things about me, but just for now let’s say we’re both only ourselves and nothing else is going on in the world, huh?”

  Kyna sighed inwardly. Cain would never be able to understand the danger her people were in. Never be willing to believe in their plight.

  All thoughts of Kaldernon vanished suddenly. Kyna inhaled sharply as he wrapped his stro
ng arms around her and her body was surrounded by his warm, masculine scent. It conjured a deep longing within her and she tried to think of anything else. She had no idea what to do with herself as Cain tugged her close to his chest, attempting to soothe her. It was both exhilarating and comforting.

  “I know it’s been a long night. If you want to go to the police in the morning, I will drop you off. Could you try not to tell them I was there, though? I can’t afford to get into trouble.”

  “Why would I go to the po–?”

  The idea was absurd to her. Half the police force were people who had been paid off by the Guardians. The rogue officers had joined their corrupt movement. They would recognize Kyna as a Loni from a mile away and take her into custody. There were surely Guardians left in the world plotting an uprising against the Kersh clan, and there was no doubt that they would love to make an example of her.

  “No, I don’t want to go to the police. I’m sure the men won’t find me again. You seem to have taught them a lesson when you started– “

  She cut herself off. The last thing he would want to hear was the truth. How when Cain was angry, his eyes had turned from the beautiful human blue-green to the lethal reptilian eyes of a dragon shifter. Kyna had been shocked, just as she was sure the men he had attacked were, but he was completely oblivious. The strength Cain’s temporary shifting lent him had been more than enough to wipe out the men who had been messing with her. And yet, she couldn’t truly thank the shifter for what he had done without him thinking she was crazy.

  “I’m sure they won’t do anything like that again,” Kyna said instead, shifting nervously. It felt too good to be so near his body. She wasn’t sure what to do, but Cain didn’t seem to have any expectations.

  “They better hope they don’t,” he said, his voice low and serious.

  “Cain?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why were you out there? Right when I needed you? Like fate.”