by Jenika Snow
Evernight Publishing ®
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2015 Jenika Snow
ISBN: 978-1-77233-206-3
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Karyn White
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
Thank you to the readers for their continued support, and thank you to Evernight for being an incredible publisher!
ANIMAL INSTINCTS
Jenika Snow
Copyright © 2015
Chapter One
2011, Danika’s sixteenth birthday
Sixteen years old might have been a big deal to some, but to Danika Harrison it was just another day. She couldn’t vote, could barely drive, and couldn’t even have any alcohol. Although the latter wasn’t what she aspired to do with her life, it was a bigger milestone than the “Sweet Sixteen” birthday party her father had thrown for her.
The pink and white balloons, the cutout decorations that signaled she was indeed sixteen today, were splattered across the backyard. Her father was over by the barbeque, and the guests that had already arrived were a few of her friends from school, and some of the neighbors. She could have done without the show for her birthday, but although her father was this big, tough, and strong former SEAL, he was also the only person in her life that cared for her. After her mother passed away suddenly when she was only two, it had just been her and her dad. He, at times, went a little above and beyond during celebrations and holidays, but she loved him for it, even if she felt she was too old for those things anymore.
Her dad looked at his watch, and she knew that one of his old Navy SEAL buddies was supposed to be coming in. She had heard a lot about Damien Locke, a lion shifting man that had saved her father’s life when they had been overseas before she was born. It was because of her father getting injured, and Damien saving his life, that her father had gotten a Purple Heart and had been Honorably Discharged.
“Hey, birthday girl,” Hayden, her best friend since she had been five years old, said from beside her.
She elbowed Hayden in the gut, and although he grunted as if in pain, she knew that he was fine.
“Your dad expecting someone?” Hayden asked and brought his can of Sprite to his mouth.
“Yeah, an old SEAL buddy that he hasn’t seen in years. Apparently the guy is moving to Thistledale.” She stared at her dad as he flipped burgers, glanced at the side entrance of their house, then went back to handing out hot dogs and hamburgers. “His name is Damien, and Dad says he’s this badass lion shifter that was this machine in the field, whatever that means.” She took a sip of her root beer.
“That means he’s a badass shifter that can probably kill a man with his bare hands.”
She shook her head at Hayden’s exaggeration, although it probably wasn’t too far off from the truth.
“A shifter, huh?”
She nodded and glanced at Hayden.
“He’ll be like the third shifter in this shitty little town.”
She chuckled, because he was right, on both accounts. Thistledale was shitty, with a small population of humans, and only two shifters that lived inside city limits. Although shifters and humans lived side-by side, in the town she lived in, which was pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, the only two part animal inhabitants were two panther shifters that were also husband and wife.
Hayden made this noncommittal noise, and started looking at Pamela Yern, one of Danika’s non-friend friends. They might have hung out when they were younger, but they hadn’t been “friends” for a long time. But because Pamela lived right next door to her, apparently her father thought that she needed to come to the party.
“Your dad invited her?” Hayden said without any disgust in his voice, and instead sounding a little turned on.
“God, Hayden, please don’t even go there with her. You and I both know that she makes out with the JV football players behind the school.”
He lifted an eyebrow, as if he were intrigued.
“What is it about her that makes anyone with a penis lose their brain?”
That had Hayden spitting out his Sprite as he laughed. “Oh shit, Danika.” He looked over at her. His short brown hair was slightly damp from the swim in her backyard pool, and his light hazel eyes were crinkled in the corners as he tried to contain his laughter.
“If you had a penis you’d know why being easy was such a turn-on for the male population.”
Danika stared at Pamela as she got out of the pool, her string bikini totally inappropriate for a birthday party, and her breasts so big the triangles covering her nipples were barely holding on.
Hayden groaned. “Pamela Yern makes me yearn for some very raunchy things.”
“God, stop it now. If you only give me one thing for my birthday, make it sweet silence when it comes it Pamela.”
Hayden started laughing, but grabbed her upper arm and steered her toward the side of the house. “I have your birthday present right here.” He reached in the front pocket of his shorts and pulled out a joint.
“Holy shit, Hayden.” Danika grabbed his hand that held the joint and pulled it down. Her father looked up, glanced around the backyard, and when he spotted them he lifted his hand and waved. But when she lifted her hand and felt her nervous smile spread across her face, she realized her father hadn’t seen the marijuana. A man walked toward her father, huge, intimidating, and even though she couldn’t see his face, and wasn’t that close, she felt the aura of power leave him. Her dad and the guy embraced in one of those manly hugs, and clapped each other on the back. Danika stared at the guy. His darker blond hair was cut short, military style, and his big muscular body was bigger than even her father’s, and her dad was no creampuff.
The man wore a white t-shirt, one that didn’t do anything to mask the bulging muscles of his back and arms, or hide his tattoos that she could see through the light fabric. And his jeans, although slightly loose, fit him pretty damn good. God, what in the hell was she doing? Clearly that was her dad’s friend by the way her father lit up and became animated. She was sixteen, and the guy had to be in his late thirties, which was her father’s age. But her hormones had come alive when she had seen him, or, more correctly, the back of him.
“Come on, Hayden. I think I need that joint right about now.”
****
Damien was done, finished with fighting, finished with the violence and death, and looked forward to silence of solitude. For the better part of his thirty-five years he had been a SEAL, fought beside some of the most well-respected and brave men—human and shifters alike—that he had the pleasure of calling brothers. But his time was done, and he had the scars and lasting injuries to remind him of his time fighting a war that had taken lives, but also saved them.
He stared at Tyler, his friend, brother, a man he considered family, and took a long drink from his beer. The party that was being thrown was obviously for Tyler’s sixteen-year-old daughter, although Damien hadn’t seen Danika. Hell, he hadn’t even met her. For all these years he had been traveling, fighting, and keeping busy with his missions. But as he looked around the large country backyard with an in-ground pool and a privacy fence blocking off prying eyes for about twenty yards ahead of them, he didn’t see any young female that resembled Tyler, or smelled of his blood.
“You’re finally home, man,” Tyler said and grinned.
“Yeah, and I’m looking forward to doing absolutely nothing.” Damien’s entire life had been nothing but action, combat, and strength. It would be nice to just do … nothing.
They stood in front of each other, each on their second beer. The memories of his time in combat with this man filled Damien’s head. He was a lion shifter, a powerful creature that was stronger than humans, faster, had better senses, and had been used for more dangerous missions. After he had saved Tyler’s life Damien had been reassigned to infiltrate a sex-ring overseas. The assignment had lasted years, and tracking down and taking out the motherfuckers responsible had been a pleasure. Damien wasn’t human, not fully, and because of that he was a lot fiercer than many men. He was also a hell of a lot more dangerous than a lot of other shifters because he was more animal than human.
“Well, brother, I’m glad you’re back, done fighting, and now maybe you can settle down.”
Damien nodded after Tyler spoke. The truth was he wasn’t looking for a woman to have a life with and a family. A few hours between the sheets with a female was all he needed. The isolated and solitary confinement of his own home, a cabin in the mountains he had purchased years ago, was what he craved. Having someone live with him, sleeping beside him in his bed, wasn’t what Damien had ever envisioned for himself. He was a pretty dominant man, hostile and used to having his way in all things. What woman would put up with a male that was possessive and territorial of her? And that was exactly how Damien would be, to the nth degree even.
“I’ll worry about the female population later. Right now a few hours with them at a time is sufficient.”
Tyler chuckled and lifted his beer to his mouth. He finished off the alcohol and nodded. “Well, if you want a churchgoing woman, this town is full of them.” He grinned, and Damien shook his head, feeling amusement.
“I don’t think a religious woman is what I need, unless she wants to be screaming out ‘God’ all night in my bed.”
Tyler burst out laughing, and it was like old times when they were lying in their bunks, trying to focus on other things besides the death they had seen. “I haven’t seen your girl,” Damien said and brought his drink to his mouth. He glanced around the backyard, saw the young girls swimming and the boys splashing each other, but couldn’t smell the blood relation to Tyler from any of them. Tyler’s home was out of town, tucked away on two acres, with a large in-ground pool, thick trees adding privacy to the property, and a beautiful two-story home. It was something maybe Damien would have one day. Right now he would be content just living in his one bedroom cabin in the woods, relying on the wood burning fireplace for heat, and the silence to keep him company.
“I saw her running off with her friend Hayden. I’m sure they’ll be back shortly.” Tyler flipped a few of the burgers. “She’s growing up, man.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe she’s already sixteen. Damn, in just two years she’ll be eighteen, off to college, and starting a life for herself.”
Damien wished he could know what it was like to have a child of his own, one that was of his blood, who looked up to him, and that he protected. But his life had gone in a different direction, and his duty had called. Fighting hard for his country was what fate had planned for him, and a woman and children hadn’t been in his cards. He was older now, knew that he probably would never have the latter in his life, but he was content with how things had played out.
“Listen, I’ve got to take a piss, but maybe when I’m done I can finally meet this daughter of yours.” He had seen pictures of Danika as a little girl, maybe five at the most, but he had been overseas, fighting in the trenches, and mail had been scarce. But she was the light of Tyler’s life, and because Damien thought of the other man like family and a brother, Danika was family, too.
Chapter Two
Danika followed Hayden through the side entrance of the house, into the kitchen, continued moving through the living room, and finally slipped into her bedroom. She shut the door behind them, and although she wasn’t allowed to have boys in the house without adult supervision, let alone in her room, Hayden was the exception. Maybe it because they had known each other for so long, or maybe it was the fact that Hayden lived next door and spent as much time at her house as he did his own? Either way, right now, this worked for them.
He sat on the edge of her bed, grabbed the lighter and joint he had put back in his front pocket, and grinned at her. But then he grabbed a toilet paper roll, minus the toilet paper, and she saw it was filled with lint from a dryer. Although they certainly didn’t get high a lot, they hung out with friends that did, and smoking in their rooms required some kind of ventilation system other than a window. The toilet paper roll and lint would filter out the smoke and smell of the marijuana when they exhaled into the end. It was crafty and makeshift, but got the job done.
After patting the spot next to him she moved away from the door and sat beside him. While he brought the joint to his lips and lit the end, Danika glanced at the window, could see the pool from her bedroom, and also her father and Damien. He was slightly facing the house now, and although she could see his profile, could tell he was gorgeous and had the classic square jaw and masculine features, she was too far away to see specifics like eye color.
“Here,” Hayden handed her the joint, his voice strained as he held in the smoke.
Danika looked away from the window and grabbed the joint. She inhaled, watched the tip light up orange for a second, then handed it back to Hayden. He shook his head and exhaled into the end of the toilet paper roll.
“Take another hit.” He handed her the roll, and she exhaled into it. After taking one more hit off the end of the joint she handed it to Hayden, already feeling the pot work through her body. After exhaling once more, she felt her eyes become “fuzzy”, felt her mouth dry, and glanced at the window again. She couldn’t see Damien, but she saw her dad by the grill again.
“I’m fucking thirsty, Danika,” Hayden said and lay back on the bed, this goofy smile on his face. He took another hit, handed her the joint again, and although she should have said no, she took it. “Thattagirl,” Hayden said and started chuckling. “It’s your birthday, after all.”
After she took another hit and handed it to Hayden, she said, “That’s it for me or my dad will for sure be able to tell I’m high.” And she was stoned, pretty damn stoned actually.
“I’m thirsty as fuck, Danika.”
“Yeah.” She needed to get some Visine for her eyes, too. She got off the bed, left her room and shut the door behind her, and felt her cell vibrate in her shorts pocket. After grabbing it, trying to focus on the keys and chuckling at the fact she was really fucked up, she started to text her friend Madeline back. Madeline texted her saying she was sorry she couldn’t make it to the party, but that they’d get together next weekend. Danika glanced up, saw the corner of the hallway where she would need to turn and go into the bathroom, and looked back at her phone to send the message. But just as she turned the corner she slammed into a very hard wall. For a second, because her brain was moving slower than normal, Danika thought she had literally run into the wall. She’d dropped her phone, and when she went to pick it up she saw the pair of big, black boots in her line of vision.
Slowly Danika started to stand, her head feeling light and dizzy as the blood suddenly rushed away. Then she was staring at her father’s friend, a lion shifting SEAL, big and tall, and looking pretty damn intimidating. He inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring, his pupils dilating, and she swore the air around them became charged. The hair on her arms stood on end, and for some inexplicable reason she felt this protective pull come from this man. She stared into his face, taking in the way his eyes were this strange amber color, and the fact his short blond hair was perfectly styled, almost severe in its perfection. He had one of those square, masculine faces, not beautiful or classically handsome, but sharp, all male in appearance, and lacking any kind of emotion. Bu
t it was the low hum, almost a purring sound, that left his throat that had her taking a step back. He followed, advancing like an animal stalking his prey, and Danika felt like she was the meal he was about to devour. She didn’t know what was happening, why she felt this weird tingle in the base of her spine, or why this man was tracking her like this, but she couldn’t find her voice to try to stop it. And then the wall had her retreat coming to a halt.
Her heart thundered behind her ribs, and although she wouldn’t consider herself a shrinking violet, she felt very small compared to him. “You’re my father’s friend,” she said on a soft voice.
He made that weird purring sound again, a mixture of softness, but also having a hard edge to it. She felt like it was a dangerous sound, like something he might make right before he slit someone’s throat, but despite feeling that she couldn’t find any fear inside of her. He had yet to respond, and this weird intensity slammed into her from him, like a hot poker moving through her belly. It was a strange sensation, not unpleasant, but not exactly comforting either.
“You’re Danika,” Damien said with this growl in his voice. His pupils kept contracting and dilating, and when he looked down, closed his eyes, and shook his head, it was like he was trying to control himself. “You’re Tyler’s daughter.” Again he didn’t say it like a question, but almost like he was speaking to himself. He took a step back, breathed in and out heavily, and she saw the way he clenched his hands at his sides. “You’re Tyler’s daughter,” he said again, this time with a little more determination in his voice.
Danika had no clue what in the hell was going on. She was high, confused, and felt like she was standing on a tightrope, and beneath was a black abyss. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s going on.” Her lips were dry, her mouth feeling like it had a wad of cotton in it, and her pulse felt off the charts fast. When her door opened and she looked over to see Hayden standing there, his expression kind of goofy and his eyes bloodshot, she wished she could be oblivious to the situation right now, too.
