by Zoe Chant
Maria bit her lip. “It’s too bad. I know people can say and do some awful things—”
“But that’s not going to solve the problem. And we’ve been given this amazing gift.” He waved a hand, having a hard time expressing what he was thinking. “This truly fantastic ability. We can do things that other people can’t. And I don’t want to just hide away in the middle of nowhere, shifting and running in the woods with my family. I want to use it. I want to help people.”
“Wow,” said Maria. “That’s really—most people wouldn’t do something like that.”
“You would,” he pointed out. “You’re doing it now. I can tell how smart you are, and you kept cool in a crisis like almost no one can, and you’re using your skills to help people. To help shifters like me.”
She was really blushing now. “I didn’t—”
“You did,” he insisted. “Trust me, I see a lot of crises and a lot of people who can’t handle them. You can handle things going wrong, and that’s an incredible skill. And you’ve chosen to use it like this.”
“I do get paid.” She was still blushing.
He tried not to find it cute. He wasn’t sure a capable woman like Maria would appreciate it. “Well, so do I.”
She laughed a little. It was nice to see her smiling and laughing, after how she’d looked when they arrived. “All right, all right, point taken. I’m still impressed, though.”
“I’m not going to argue you out of that.”
She laughed again. “What’s your hometown like? Is it all shifters?” And then she immediately backpedaled—“I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that if it’s too personal—”
“Not at all.” He was beginning to think that Maria had been working for a politician for too long. She kept second-guessing herself about all of the possible implications of what she said. “Yes, it’s pretty much all shifters. Very insular. I’m the only one in my family who left—everyone else just found their mates as soon as possible and settled down.”
“You’re the rebel.” She was smiling a little now, her blush forgotten. Her eyes sparkled.
Levi wanted to make her smile more. A lot more. “That’s me. I also didn’t find my mate at seventeen like most of my siblings.”
“Is it really just like a bolt from the blue?” She bit her lip. “That probably is too personal.”
“Well, it hasn’t happened to me yet, so I can’t say from experience.” Levi shrugged. “But people say different things—some people knew instantly, the second they met, that they were destined for each other, and some other people just felt a really strong attraction that deepened as they got to know each other. So I guess it depends. My siblings mostly ended up mated to locals, people they’d known in school.”
“But that wasn’t for you, huh?”
He shook his head. “I want a woman who’s out there in the world, getting things done, not staying home with the shifter clan. It doesn’t even matter to me whether she’s a shifter or not.” He’d never mentioned that to his parents—his father would probably have a heart attack.
“Can that happen?” she asked.
He nodded. “It’s not common, but it happens. It’s probably good for us not to be marrying each other all the time, anyway.”
“Makes sense.” She turned a bit on the couch, facing more toward him, and their thighs almost brushed. He realized that they were much closer than they’d been when they sat down—they must have been inching toward each other while they talked. He could feel the warmth of her thigh, almost close enough to touch.
To distract himself from how close she was, he said, “Any other questions about shifter life? You must know a lot already, working for the senator.”
“Not about the big predators.” Maria’s mouth quirked. “They tend to be very—insular, like you said. I completely understand, because they’re the ones people are most likely to decide are dangerous, but it means that we hardly ever meet any of them. And Laura didn’t grow up knowing any large predators—apparently sparrows and bears don’t socialize much.”
“Not much,” Levi agreed. “That’s another thing that’s too bad—shifter types tend to keep to themselves. We’re pretty much all bears, back home. It makes running in the woods together really fun, but it keeps us isolated.”
“Do you all have—instincts? Enhanced senses? Is it hard, living on top of each other all together?”
“Sometimes. That’s why we’re way out in the middle of nowhere—I say, ‘my hometown,’ but what I really mean is a bunch of loosely connected clans out in the woods. You’re right—alpha instincts are a pain when you have too many of them in one room. You should see my brothers fight sometime.”
Maria shook her head. “No, thank you.”
“It’s a sight.”
That was another part of why he’d left home—he had never wanted his alpha instincts to overrun him with his family. With non-shifters, or even just with non-predators, he was much more likely to feel protective than combative.
Most humans, anyway. If he found that shooter, for example…
Time to change the subject. “The enhanced senses aren’t really a problem, though—family smells good.”
“Oh.” Maria blushed a little. “I’m always worried around shifters—I know most of them have very good senses of smell and I don’t want to smell bad.”
“You smell great.” Oh. He probably should have thought before he spoke—that was suggestive. “I mean, your—perfume, or whatever it is. It’s very nice.” Was that better, or worse?
“Thanks.” She was blushing more now. “I would’ve thought that after a night of running away from bullets, it would’ve worn off.”
“You don’t smell scared anymore,” he said. “You just smell—like you. It’s nice.”
“Thanks,” she said again, and shifted a tiny bit closer on the couch. Now their thighs really were brushing, and it felt like all he could smell was her.
She leaned in a little closer. Levi reached up and touched her shoulder, and her lips parted.
Before he could apply any rational thoughts to the situation, he was leaning in. She was warm and sweet beneath his mouth, and his hand moved up from her shoulder to cup her cheek and tilt her head so he could taste her more thoroughly.
She sighed into his mouth, her arms coming up around him, pressing herself against him. He could feel her curves, the swell of her breasts. Her scent surrounded him. It was like they were caught in a little bubble of warmth and desire, just the two of them alone in the world.
When he teased her lips with his tongue, she opened her mouth to him. As he kissed her more deeply, she arched her back with a shiver, and that little movement kindled a fire inside him.
He wanted to lay her back down onto the couch, open up her shirt and kiss her breasts, kiss his way down her belly and make her arch up into him again and again—
What was he doing?
He pulled back abruptly.
It felt like he’d jumped into cold water. His body screamed No! His bear was in full agreement.
Mate, it insisted.
Maria was drawing back. “I am so sorry,” she started.
Why was she apologizing? She hadn’t done anything wrong. She hadn’t ended this even though their bodies were calling out for more, and she hadn’t started it even though it was a horrifying breach of ethics. “I’m the one who should be apologizing,” Levi managed.
“No, it was—I shouldn’t have behaved like that, it was absolutely wrong of me—”
“No, you didn’t do anything—”
They were talking over each other, each stumbling to take the blame. Levi took a deep breath and made himself be quiet, and Maria’s voice trailed off in the sudden silence.
“Okay,” he said. “I don’t think you’re to blame here.”
“We both participated in that.” Her jaw was set—she wasn’t taking any argument. “Unless you want to insist that I don’t know what I’m doing. And let me suggest not taking that po
sition.”
He backed down. “All right. We’re both partially responsible.”
Her mouth took on an unhappy twist. “But it’s completely inappropriate for our current circumstances.”
That much he couldn’t argue with at all, as much as he wanted to. He made himself say, “That’s right. So maybe we should…take a step back.”
Maria stood up and took his advice literally, backing away a few steps. “Yes. I should go—take a shower—”
Don’t think about her naked and wet.
Too late.
“I’ll stay here in the front room until the senator arrives.” He hoped she wouldn’t tell him to leave. He doubted anything had changed in her feelings about being alone in an empty house, and he didn’t want her to insist that he go from a sense of right and wrong, leaving her scared and alone after he left.
But she surprised him. “All right. Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” he said truthfully.
Of course, he would have preferred to be in the shower with her—don't think about it.
Maria gave him a tentative smile, then fled back down the hall to the bedrooms. Levi sat back on the sofa and let out a long breath.
Mate?
Mate, his bear thought firmly.
Levi’s first reaction was a rising excitement—this woman, this beautiful, smart, kind, capable woman was his mate. Maria was his.
Then he remembered the circumstances, and his excitement turned into worry. He couldn’t do anything with Maria while he was working on this case.
If he wanted to be a decent man, he shouldn’t even say anything to her until it was over—he’d be pressuring her to give in. He had to stay quiet while she was still in danger from these violent madmen.
And he couldn't not work on the case, not with the lieutenant so skeptical about what she’d seen.
He’d already crossed a big, big ethical line by kissing her. He understood why he’d done it a little better now—mating urges were hard to resist.
But he prided himself on being able to function in fully-human society. He believed that shifters were able to control their instincts just like regular humans could. No matter what his bear thought, he shouldn’t have given in and kissed Maria.
Not while she was a victim and a witness on his case, and definitely not when she was reeling with exhaustion after a sleepless, violent night.
That was the worst part, he thought—he hadn’t just broken the rules, he’d done something that was clearly wrong. He’d taken advantage of Maria when she was vulnerable.
And as her mate, that was just what he was supposed to prevent happening.
Before he could start beating himself up about that, though, the door opened. “Hello the house!” Danny’s familiar voice rang out.
Levi shook off his worries for the moment. “In here,” he called back.
Danny had brought the senator along, and they came into the living room together.
“Where’s Maria?” was the first thing the senator asked, looking around.
Levi had to admire the women’s obvious affection for each other—all night, they’d each been more concerned for the other’s safety than for their own. “In the shower,” he said, trying to keep his voice nonchalant.
Danny gave him suggestive eyebrows behind the senator’s back, but that was nothing new—Danny saw innuendo everywhere, even when he knew nothing was going on.
The senator nodded once. “All right,” she said. “I understand from your earnest but, I think, slightly misguided lieutenant that you, Detective Hale, will be taking point on Maria’s statement about Humans Against Shifters. I also understand that we’ll be staying here until such time as the Springfield Police Department is satisfied that there is no further threat. To that end, I hope you can investigate quickly, Detectives.”
Levi’s spine had somehow become straighter during that speech. “We’ll do our best, ma’am.”
He was surprised that a sparrow shifter could command so much authority over a bear—but then, he was supposed to believe that shifters weren’t under the control of their animal instincts, wasn’t he? She was a commanding woman, shifter or no.
The senator nodded sharply. “I’m glad to hear it. Thank you both very much for your efforts and bravery on our behalf today. I can’t thank you enough, although I will come up with some way to try when this is all over.”
Levi immediately shook his head. “No thank you, ma’am. We’re just doing our jobs, we don’t need any special recognition.”
She gave him a long look. “Hm,” was all she said, after a minute. “All right. It’s been a long night, I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Detectives.”
“Goodnight, ma’am,” said Levi, and Danny echoed him. They waited until she’d left the room, and then headed outside.
Before they separated to head to their cars, Danny said, “I wouldn’t have minded some special recognition.”
Levi smacked him on the shoulder and he went laughing off to his car. Levi opened his own car door and got in, waiting for Danny to pull out from behind him so that he could leave.
Mate, he thought. And despite all of the circumstances, despite everything he’d already done wrong, he couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
* * *
Maria allowed herself five whole minutes, under the shower spray where no one could see her, to relive that gloriously sensual kiss.
How had she known that under his professional demeanor, his neat clothes, his careful questions, Detective Levi Hale was passionate as hell? She’d been certain, when he leaned in, that he was about to knock her socks off—and she hadn’t been wrong.
She caught her hand starting to trail down her body, and firmly reached for the shampoo instead. That was enough. She wasn’t going to complicate an already complicated situation by actively…ahem, fantasizing about Detective Hale.
Because this couldn’t go any further, she knew. He was investigating their case. It would be a huge ethical violation—and a PR nightmare for Laura if it got out. No, no, no.
She didn’t blame him for initiating the kiss. She’d been just as willing as he had—and had been sending plenty of signals, she knew. And she’d participated just as enthusiastically as he had once it started.
Warm lips…strong arms pulling her in…hard muscles underneath her hands…
Stop it.
Maria turned the water temperature down and busied herself with the shampoo. She was exhausted, she’d had the strangest night of her life, and she wasn’t thinking straight. Tomorrow she’d be much more rational about all of this.
Yep, she believed that.
* * *
Maria collapsed in bed, slept for six hours, and woke up from a nightmare about Roger Sutherland and George Lisle coming for her while her feet stuck to the floor and wouldn’t let her run.
Real subtle, brain, she thought, as she rolled over onto her back and waited for her breathing to slow down. Next time maybe use a metaphor or two.
She checked her phone. Almost noon. She knew what she had to do today, before the news got hold of the story, and it was probably better to do it now and get it over with than wait for the axe to fall.
She tapped into her contacts and called her mom.
“Maria! How wonderful to hear from you!” her mom answered in Spanish. “You never call anymore. How are you?”
Maria took a deep breath and said, “Mamá, something happened last night that I think you should know about.”
When she’d finished explaining, in the vaguest and least violent possible terms—just a few shots, the police were right there, I am completely and totally fine, the guy ran off on his own—she waited, phone held slightly away from her ear. She knew what was coming.
She wasn’t disappointed. “You were shot at?” her mother shouted into the phone. “With a gun? Maria, no, this job is too dangerous for you. Come home right now. We’ll find you another job. A better one, where you don’t get shot at with gu
ns.”
Once upon a time, Maria would have reasoned and pleaded and tried to get her mother to come around to her point of view. But she’d learned a long time ago that that wouldn’t work ever, so instead she just said, “No, Mamá. I know you’re worried about me and you want me to be all right, but I’m not quitting my job and I’m not coming home.”
The bombshell dropped, she flopped back down onto her bed and put her arm over her eyes while her mother responded at volume. She wouldn’t run out of breath anytime soon. And then it would be her dad’s turn.
There was a reason she’d grown up so determined to be independent. She loved her family, but given the choice, they wouldn’t ever let her make her own decisions or be her own person.
And Maria needed to be her own person.
* * *
When Maria finally extricated herself from her family’s furious protectiveness, it was after twelve-thirty and she was dying for coffee.
She also didn’t have any clothes but yesterday’s. She regarded the skirt suit with the torn sleeve and bloodstains and sighed.
She’d wear the skirt and the jacket, she decided. Nothing would make her put on the blood-stiff, torn, slightly odorous shirt that she’d worn for twenty-four sweaty hours straight.
She buttoned the jacket over her bra and decided that it was basically all right. Her cleavage was a little bit too visible, and her stomach showed through whenever the jacket gaped at all—which was a lot, since it was only barely sufficient for her curvy body, a common problem for Maria when shopping for work clothes—but she wasn’t going in front of any cameras. She was alone in a house with Laura and no one even knew where they were.
On that logic, she left off the pantyhose and shoes as well, and went in search of coffee and breakfast.
Laura wasn’t awake yet, she discovered, which made sense, since she’d knocked once on Maria’s door to say she’d arrived just as Maria was about to drift off to sleep. Maria hoped she slept as long as she needed.
There was coffee and cereal in the kitchen, and Maria was able to put breakfast together for herself reasonably quickly and get the coffee percolating. She was just finishing her cereal and getting ready to become one with her coffee mug when there was a knock at the front door.
