“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” she taunted.
“No, but this cat would like to have your tongue,” he murmured.
Claire let out a burst of laughter. “That is the stupidest line any guy has ever tried using on me.”
A growl rumbled from the back of Cam’s throat at the mention of any male using a line on her. He had less control over this part of himself after the change.
“Why are you following me?” she asked again.
“Why are you avoiding me?” he shot back.
“Avoiding you?” she asked with one raised eyebrow. “I hardly think I’m avoiding you. As you may recall, I have to be careful about what I do. We don’t want Roger to suspect I helped Danny, or that I have any association with you. He’d make me wish I was dead if he found out about either of those things.”
Cam stepped in closer, feeling like an asshole for invading her personal space. He was old enough to have more self-control, but was consumed with the desire to be near her. He wanted to wrap her in his scent, so everyone who came near her would know she was his. It was pure instinct on his part—an insane need he’d never experienced before.
“Are you going to talk?” Claire asked nervously as she tried to back away from him, foolishly trapping herself between him and a large redwood tree.
“Are you going to answer my question, sweetheart?” Cam asked.
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “I don’t like it when you call me that.”
Cam chuckled and leaned into her body, invading her personal space even more. “Liar,” he whispered, his warm breath fanning out across her neck. “Every time I call you sweetheart, the scent of your arousal gets stronger.”
“I don’t like being aroused by you,” she admitted with her head turned to the side so he couldn’t see her expression. Of course, he didn’t need to see her expression to know she was telling the truth. Her reaction to him scared her, and he understood her feelings because it scared him too.
Inhaling her scent one last time, Cam stepped back and tried his best to get himself under control. Naked, she couldn’t miss his arousal. Hell, he was so turned on by her that he’d probably explode if she touched his cock.
“Why did you go to my brother instead of me?” Cam asked, not missing the hurt in his own voice. “And don’t give me any bullshit line about him being the only one you could find. I’m betting you scurried that cute little ass back into your settlement any time you scented me close to the area. Were you even planning to meet me like we agreed? Or, were you going to make up some excuse to avoid me again?”
Her guilty expression was answer enough.
Cam had no control over the growl that rumbled up from his throat.
“Knock it off!” she snapped. “Yes, I’m avoiding you, but can you blame me?”
Not giving her any time to react, Cam’s hand shot out and snaked around her arm. Pulling her against his chest, he drank in her startled gasp with his kiss. For all the time he’d spent stalking her, craving her touch, this was the first time he’d kissed Claire, and it was more intense than he’d ever imagined it would be. His already aching cock throbbed against her belly, and he had to fight the urge to tear his mouth from hers and sink his teeth into her neck. Desperate sounds came from the back of her throat as his tongue ravaged her mouth.
When Claire’s fangs nicked his lip, she jerked back and covered her mouth. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
Cam caught her chin, urging her to look at him. “Never apologize for biting me. If it were up to me, you’d be naked, and we’d both walk away with our share of bite marks.” When she didn’t speak, Cam decided he shouldn’t let her dwell on that too much. The female was skittish enough. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “I should have taken blood before I went out, but Roger’s been a real dick about feeding any of us.”
Cam tilted his head back, baring his throat to his mate. “Take mine,” he said in a voice thick with arousal.
Claire hesitated before shaking her head. “I shouldn’t,” she said.
“Why shouldn’t you?” Cam demanded. She was still trapped against the tree, and he had no intention of releasing her just yet. He was sure the woman would bolt the second she got a chance, and there was no way in hell he was letting that happen just yet.
“I don’t understand what’s going on with us,” she said. “I don’t even know what you want from me.”
“Yes, you do,” he murmured.
Her eyes locked with his. “I already know you want sex. It’s hard to miss with that thing out in the open.”
Cam chuckled. “Sex? That’s too tame a word for what I want with your body. What you don’t understand is that I want a hell of a lot more than that from you. I want to possess you. I want you to belong to me as much as I already belong to you. I want to hold you in my arms every night and see my babes suckle at your breasts.”
Anger flashed in Claire’s eyes. “Give me some damn space!” she snapped, shoving his chest.
Cam hesitated because he didn’t want to give her space. When she was close to him, Claire forgot herself, and she gave in to the desire between them. Still, he wasn’t a male who forced his attentions on a female, so he reluctantly stepped back.
“I suggest you look elsewhere for a broodmare,” she said angrily.
“Broodmare?” he asked with his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.
“Yeah, someone to spread her legs for the sole purpose of giving you children,” she said, her voice practically shaking with anger.
“My father is the leader of my clan,” he bit out. “I am one of the most alpha males there. Do you have any idea how many females have offered their bodies to me during their heat cycle?”
“Why would I care?” Her voice held a hint of jealousy that encouraged Cam to push forward.
“Oh, you care, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Just the thought of me fucking another female is killing you. I turned them all down. Not the sex. I won’t lie and say I’ve been celibate all these years, but I’ve never wanted to take any of them as my mate.”
Claire was edging to the side, getting ready to make a break for it.
“Don’t run,” he pleaded.
“Is this where you threaten to chase me?” she asked.
Cam shook his head. “We’re not like the vampires. I mean, we will chase down our mate for play, but the hunt itself isn’t arousing. If you run, I’ll let you go, but please don’t run, sweetheart. You’re killing me.” There was no hiding the raw need in his voice.
Claire let out a shuddering breath and looked down with a miserable defeated expression on her face. “I can’t give you what you want,” was all she said before giving him one last sad smile and walking away.
True to his word, Cam watched her leave, despite the urge to follow her. He wasn’t giving up. No, that wasn’t likely to happen, but his mate needed space, and he needed to figure out how he’d screwed this conversation up so completely when things had been going so well. Then he realized he’d failed his mate by letting her leave without feeding her first.
Cam waited until Claire’s scent faded before shifting back into lynx form and heading home.
Chapter Twenty-One
So much for his improved sense of smell.
An hour later, Danny still hadn’t located Quinn. Considering there were only about seventy-five shifters in the community, he shouldn’t be having this much trouble finding her. He wasn’t sure if his sense of smell would ever be good enough to track someone. Yeah, he’d spent time around vampires, but they hadn’t given him a list of their abilities and told him how strong each one was. Then again, he’d never asked. Vampires still made him a little uneasy, which was sad since he called so many of them friends.
“Your tracking skills leave something to be desired, Danny,” said a familiar voice from behind him.
Danny turned to find Quinn watching him with an amused grin. He was disappointed to realize she was one of t
he women at the settlement who wore a shirt, but he decided to keep that to himself. “I’m not a shifter.”
“Neither am I, and I still track better than you do,” she retorted, gliding toward him with the same catlike grace her cousins had.
“You move like a shifter,” he observed. “Besides, you’re still too young to know if you’ll change or not.”
“We’ve never had a half-shifter change before. Cord was right about me. I should have accepted him as my mate. No one else will offer.”
Just when Danny was getting ready to comfort her, Quinn laughed. “Okay, that sounded really pathetic. I’m not normally this down about things. It’s just been a shitty day.”
Dropping to the ground, Quinn patted the dirt beside her, indicating Danny should sit. He did and tried to think of something to say. With so many shifters around, it would be a bad idea to bring up Layla and the fact that she was a half-shifter who could change into a lynx. Then it occurred to him that he didn’t know if Quinn was half human or something else. He knew there were a slew of other creatures out there. “Was your father human?”
She gave him a brilliant smile that lit up her face. “You’d be surprised how many people just assume that’s what he was. Max always led me to believe my father was human without actually saying the words. After today, I have to wonder if he was trying to avoid telling me the truth without lying. Max is good at that. Cord trying to claim me as his mate doesn’t make any sense if my father was human.”
“What’s the deal with the guys who tried to grab you today?” Danny asked.
“They’re cougar shifters,” she explained, as if he’d understand what that meant.
“So, they’re like lynx without as much fur?” he asked.
“Never let Max hear you say that,” she warned. “Seriously, it’s not the same thing at all, and we aren’t on friendly terms.”
“I figured that last part out on my own,” Danny said. “What I don’t get is how kidnapping you would benefit them.”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I think it might have something to do with the animosity between the lynx and cougars. The lynx don’t really socialize with any of the other shifter species.”
“How many others are there?” Danny couldn’t keep the excitement from his voice. It really was fascinating. Shapeshifters were something he hadn’t even known existed until recently. Now, he was hearing that there were more than he’d guessed.
She shrugged. “It’s mostly just the lynx and cougars in this area now. There are a handful of wolves who want to live away from their packs, and some bears. I’ve heard that there are Selkies, but they don’t count as shifters.”
“Selkies?” he asked. The word was familiar.
“Seal people,” she replied.
“Why don’t they count?”
“They aren’t shifters,” she explained. “They’re an offshoot of the Fae.”
“So, I should avoid them,” he said because, from everything he’d heard, there weren’t any good Fae.
“I doubt you have to worry about running into one,” she said. “Selkies are very private and don’t stray from the water often.”
“Good to know,” he muttered absently, finding it hard not to stare at Quinn. Christ, she was beautiful. “I need to touch you.”
Quinn’s cheeks heated, and she began to work her lower lip between her teeth.
Leaning in slowly, Danny gave her plenty of time to stop him from kissing her, but she didn’t push him away. Her large eyes widened, and she released her lower lip. Danny ran the tip of his tongue across her lip, satisfied with the way she trembled. Then he tugged that lip between his own and bit down gently. This time, he was rewarded with a soft whimper. Pulling back, Danny studied Quinn. “What is it about you? I barely know you, yet I feel like I’m dying to see you come completely undone in my arms.”
Swallowing hard, Quinn visibly struggled to get her labored breathing under control. “It’s probably the change. Maybe it’s even the shifter blood. Shifters are more sexual than humans or vampires.”
Danny shook his head, rubbing the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip. It was crazy how fascinated he was with her mouth. “It’s you,” he murmured. “Thoughts of you kept me sane when I was locked up.”
Shaking her head, Quinn got to her feet with amazing speed. “It’s not me, Danny. This is all new to you, and you’re still adjusting. I’m nobody.”
“You’re wrong,” he said, still studying her. “I don’t know what it is about you, but every instinct in me says you’re . . .” Danny let his voice trail off because he’d sound crazy if he finished what he was about to say. The voice in the back of his head was screaming Mine, and that should have made him uneasy, but it didn’t.
“I’m what?” she pushed.
“Never mind,” he said, looking away from her. Even though he wasn’t uneasy with that possessive feeling, it would likely freak her out.
“Please tell me,” she said. “I feel strange around you, and I need to know what you’re feeling.”
“Every instinct in me is screaming that you’re mine,” Danny replied.
Quinn’s eyes widened, and Danny might have thought he’d frightened her if it weren’t for the sweet scent of her arousal. Still, her words were at odds with her body’s reaction. “I’m not yours.”
Cocking his head to the side, he studied her. “I know you want to believe that, but your body is betraying you.”
“You were much less annoying when you were human,” she muttered.
Danny’s face sobered, and he ran a hand through his messy hair. “That’s only because you didn’t spend much time around me when I was human.” It was hard talking about his human life, knowing it was over.
“And, I just said the most insensitive thing in the world. You hate what you are,” she said simply.
Danny didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. It was more of a statement than a question anyway. It was obvious he hated what he was. What she couldn’t see was how much he hated himself for feeling that way.
“There are worse things that could have happened to you,” she said, touching his arm.
“That’s true. If I hadn’t been given Cam’s blood, I’d probably be undead by now,” he said. “I’m an ass for wallowing in self-pity. I’ll get past this, but it’s still new.”
“How did it happen?” she asked.
Danny wasn’t ready to talk about that. It felt like such a violation that he couldn’t talk about it yet.
“Forget I asked,” she said. “Based on your reaction, I can see the memory haunts you.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I came out here to help you, and I’m turning this into a pity party for myself.”
She shrugged. “It’s okay. I kind of prefer talking about your problems to my own.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I know how that is. It’s easier to avoid dealing with your own shit if you’re knee deep in someone else’s.”
“Exactly!” she agreed. “I need to go. Max is probably mad about me storming off, and I need to tell him everything that happened when I was out today.”
“I’ll go with you,” Danny offered.
“That would be a bad idea,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Why?”
“My uncle doesn’t need to know what happened between us just now,” she said.
Danny decided not to mention the fact that her uncle already suspected something and didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he nodded. “Fine, but can you meet me afterward?”
“I’ll try,” she said, but he knew she was lying. Lucky for him, he’d spent enough time around her to memorize her scent. With any luck, he wouldn’t have nearly as much trouble tracking her down next time. If he did, he’d just have to enlist the help of her cousins. One thing he planned to do while he stayed with the shifters was figure out what it was about Quinn that was driving him crazy.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Quinn was both nervous and angry when she walked into h
er uncle’s home. Max loved her, and she got away with more than most in their clan. She’d always suspected that was partly because he loved her, but that wasn’t all there was to it. Max had very few expectations for her. Since Quinn wasn’t going to be the mother of any future leaders, Max didn’t need to worry about her choosing an unsuitable mate. Quinn was more of a burden than anything else—a fact no one ever let her forget. That was the biggest reason she was angry with Max for the way he’d talked about her in front of Danny. Danny hadn’t known how insignificant she was in this clan until that moment. For some insane reason, she didn’t want Danny to think of her that way. She didn’t want him to pity her for being an outsider in her own home.
“I was wondering when you’d get over your temper tantrum,” Max said gruffly without turning to face her.
Biting her tongue, Quinn did her best to avoid snapping at her uncle.
Finally, Max turned toward her. “Tell me what happened.”
She shrugged. “Not much to tell. I went out and Cord found me.”
“What did he say?” Max demanded.
“That I should be grateful he’d want me,” she muttered. “He was his usual asshole self. It was crazy. One minute, he was talking about how I’m a treasure that should be guarded, and the next, he was telling me how lucky I am that any man would want to claim me. Maybe he insulted me before calling me a treasure. At the time, I was a little too busy trying to figure out how to get away from him to memorize the conversation.”
Max let out a frustrated sigh. “I get the impression Cord knows more about your heritage than he should, and that may be why he’s suddenly become so determined to claim you. It might be wise to find you a mate immediately.”
Quinn reared back in surprise. “What are you talking about? My father was human, and my mother was a shifter. There’s nothing exciting about my heritage.” Except, she suspected there was something her uncle was keeping from her.
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