After a long moment, he eased the tight embrace and skimmed the fingers that had brought her to orgasm a few minutes ago over her body. Up her spine, down her arms. He moved them to match the quicker pace his mouth took, but he didn’t come close to her breasts or her sex. And not touching her intimately heightened her arousal, built the anticipation. She had never wanted to have sex more than right in that moment.
She wasn’t sure how long they kissed but he finally pulled back and stared into her eyes. “Invite me home, Jasmine.”
Oh god, she wanted to. Her boys were already at Mr. Wilkins’. They’d slept over there before but they didn’t have their favorite stuffed animals or their toothbrushes.
She shook her head. “I can’t, not tonight.”
“Because of your boys.” He sighed. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked, but you make me wild. I can’t get enough of you.”
“Me neither, Rafe,” she admitted. “But I can’t. I hadn’t planned for my boys to stay over tonight. That’s not fair to them or Mr. Wilkins.”
“Your neighbor?”
She pillowed her head on his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. “Yes, Mr. Wilkins loves my kids and wouldn’t mind having them stay, but I can’t expect him to do so without talking to him first.”
Rafe tensed and his heartbeat quickened. “Can I meet them? Your boys.”
She opened her mouth to say no, but closed it and worried her bottom lip. If she was considering seeing Rafe, even if it was only for sex, she couldn’t automatically deny him. What if their relationship became more?
“Not right away. I don’t want them to meet guys, maybe get attached to them and be let down when they leave. I won’t do that to them and you’re not from the area, are you?”
He shook his head. “I understand. You must do what’s best for your children. Just know that my job requires I stay here for a while. I don’t plan to up and leave.” He ran a fingertip under the edge of her top, right over the swell of her breasts. “And plans change, Jasmine. I have no one to go home to once my job is done.”
“Oh, well…”
He kissed her before she could finish her sentence. When he pulled back, she couldn’t remember what she was going to say.
“Can I take you out for dinner tomorrow?”
She licked her lips, thought about what they’d shared and nodded. “Dinner. Sure, okay.”
Rafe gave her a satisfied smile, the kind a man got when he knew he’d be getting a woman naked. Confident, assured, irresistible. He took her lips and kissed her deeply and completely. He eased back and rubbed his thumb over her chin. “Maybe you should plan for that sleepover.”
She let out a shaky breath. “We’ll see.”
He chuckled softly and opened the door for her. She got in and tipped her head up for another kiss, this one a soft brush of lips. “Okay, Jasmine. I’ll call you.”
He closed the door and she drove away but glanced back in the rearview mirror before the bend of the road blocked him from view. Gorgeous, strong, mysterious. She smiled and started making plans for dinner and maybe more.
Chapter Five
Rafe ran to his SUV as soon as Jasmine’s car disappeared from view. He threw it in drive and peeled out of the graveled lot. His heart pounded hard. The felines that shared his body paced, their anxiety matching his. Although he was fairly certain Jasmine would be safe, he didn’t want her out of his sight for a minute. The rogue knew adult royals were in town. They hadn’t masked their scent and a royal’s presence was often enough to send the cowardly bastards running with their tails tucked between their legs.
She’ll be fine, he repeated over and over but he didn’t calm until he caught a glimpse of a car ahead of him. At the first sign of red taillights, he slowed. He allowed his cats to rise and offer their increased senses. Just as it had in the bar, the red lights turned to dark gray and the world around him brightened as their night vision became his.
He squinted, not wanting to get too close to the car in front of him, and breathed a sigh. Jasmine. He’d memorized her license, remembered the decals she’d had on her windows—stickers to save big cat habitat and to put an end to animal research. He smiled. They were worthy causes and ones he approved of too.
Relaxed now that he had her in his vision, he put the speakerphone on and called Kade.
“Where are you?” Rafe asked as soon as the call connected.
“In the middle of fucking nowhere,” Kade grumbled. “It’s no wonder these humans got away with hiding our shifter kids so long. They live in the damn boondocks.”
Rafe chuckled, not at Kade’s irritation but at Jasmine. Her head was bopping as if she were singing along to music.
“It’s not funny, Rafe. I stepped in dung! Do you know how bad that shit smells?”
Now Rafe’s laughter was directed at his bother. “It hasn’t been that long since our only mode of transportation was by horses. I remember.” He cleared his throat. “Did you find Jasmine’s children?”
“Not yet. Her property is smack-dab in the middle of two large cow fields. I checked those first, found nothing.”
He closed his eyes briefly and sent a prayer of thanks to the gods before focusing on the car in front of him. Whether her home choice was intentional or not, she couldn’t have picked a safer location. The stench from manure would cover up the scent of her boys and deter other shifters from investigating.
“She said they’re with a Mr. Wilkins,” he said.
Kade grunted. “Figures. He was next on my list. He’s on the opposite side of the bigger farm.”
Up ahead, Jasmine’s car slowed. She turned down a smaller road. He drove past it then did a one-eighty. He waited for her to disappear from view and followed behind with his lights off.
“Looks as if we’re headed there too. Wait until you see headlights then go out to her home and make sure it’s safe.”
“More damn orders. Sure thing, brother,” Kade grumbled and ended the call.
The one-lane macadam turned into a gravel road. He was forced to pull the car off into the bushes so as not to stir up dust. His heart raced. The separation from Jasmine was unavoidable. He didn’t want to alert her to his presence but he hated not knowing where she was, if she was safe.
In all likelihood, the shifter who’d sliced Tony’s throat and spilled his guts was gone, scared off, probably before they’d arrived. Most of the rogues who dealt in shifter trafficking were opportunists. They didn’t tangle with the human authorities often because nearly every county had at least one person in the police system with ties to Shifter Affairs. Those humans fed them information. It was through one such individual that they had come to know about Megan. The little girl’s adoption raised a few flags when Tony moved back home and enrolled her in kindergarten. They were notified immediately but as in any organization, the paper log slowed them down.
Guilt ate at Rafe over their failure. No human should die as a result of shifter issues, but at least they’d secured Megan’s location and her new guardian. Now the difficult decisions came, the ones he didn’t envy his brother of having to make. Since Megan was found in Alexander territory, she would eventually be assimilated into their family unless her birth parents could be found.
But what happened to those humans who loved her? Take the child and let the human family think she’d died? Or bring the human into their fold? Most often, the first choice was best for both sides. But for the first time since he’d been involved in rescuing their lost innocents, Rafe wondered if maybe they could make exceptions, especially for beautiful blondes.
He pushed those thoughts aside for the time being and moved quickly through the woods. At the end of the long gravel road, a small two-story home, surrounded on all sides by thick undergrowth and trees, was nestled near a stream. He crouched behind the bushes near the yard and surveyed the house. The inside was lit up. He saw Jasmine talking animatedly with an older human male who stood off to the side.
The front door ope
ned and hugs were exchanged. Rafe’s eyes landed on Jasmine first. She stepped to the side, revealing the two cubs behind her. His heart stopped. They had chestnut hair with dark highlights and light-brown eyes that looked hazel in the moonlight. The essence of the gods shone through their eyes. He’d bet money that their lineage could be traced back to the goddess who’d birthed his clan. The sense of recognition was strong.
They were Alexanders. Royals. Blood of his blood. His pulse quickened. Possibilities teased his mind. With the number of his family members lost over the years, he couldn’t guess who they belonged to but they were family. Pride members. He sent a prayer to the gods for the blessed finds he’d stumbled upon here in this backwater town.
With his lips parted, he inhaled, needing to memorize their signatures, and had to cover his mouth to stop the gag. They stunk. Not in an offensive way, at least for humans. But they smelled as if they’d rolled around in a meadow. It obscured their animal scent. If he didn’t know who he was looking at, hadn’t seen their eyes, he might not have noticed them for what they were. With a pair of sunglasses, most shifters would walk by them on the street and never know they’d been in the presence of a royal.
Although he couldn’t help wondering where the knowledge came from or why she felt the need to hide their scent, Rafe was thankful for Jasmine’s actions. They most likely had saved the boys from being discovered by those who’d harm them. Before they’d started chemically neutralizing their animal’s smell, it’d been common to mask it with perfumes. He remembered being forced to bathe in scented water as a youth before he’d been allowed to go to the village.
His older cousins had chastised him. Not all shifters could pass for human and therefore couldn’t move through their world easily. Devin and Mira had that problem. In the shifter world, their unusual hair and eye coloring labeled them as prized—the elite amongst the privileged. In the human one, they were viewed as freaks. Thankfully, in this age, contacts and hair dye eliminated their seclusion but in years past they’d lived in the shadows.
Rafe watched as the royal cubs, who were lucky enough to appear human, climbed into the back of the little red car. They drove off and he followed, but by the time he made his way back to his car, they were long gone. His pulse raced and the tightness in his chest didn’t ease until he reached Jasmine’s home and caught sight of her blonde hair in the kitchen window.
He waited until the porch light went off before making his way to the tree line.
Kade stepped up quietly behind him. “I can hear your heart pounding, brother. What’s wrong?”
Rafe licked his lips and muttered, “Nothing.”
“Liar.”
Since he didn’t know why he was acting so oddly, he asked, “Did you get a chance to run the perimeter?”
Kade crouched next to him. “Yeah. There’s no scent on her property from the cubs or any stray shifters.”
“She’s masking it.”
Kade made a noncommittal sound. Rafe turned to look at him and demanded, “Say it.”
“I can’t help wondering why the woman would be so fearful. Most of the humans who’d become unknowing parents of shifter children didn’t even know they were different. So, either Seth and Levi—”
“How did you learn their names?” And why did jealousy rise and heat his blood knowing his brother knew the boys’ names first?
“The old human called them for ice cream.” Kade frowned, studied him a long moment more, then continued. “So, either Seth and Levi shifted due to a threat or she knew beforehand.”
“Or they trusted Jasmine enough to share their secret,” Rafe added.
Kade nodded slowly. “I suppose.”
Kade’s doubtful tone betrayed his disbelief. Most of the innocents they’d rescued were fearful and frightened of humans, but nine out of ten children they’d found had spent time in one of the many human medical facilities that experimented on their species. Or they’d lived as pets to those demented individuals who owned enough money to buy one. But Seth, Levi and Megan didn’t appear to fall into either category. Rafe was grateful and damn curious as to how they ended up deep in this region’s farm country.
“What do you want to do about Jasmine and Josh?” Rafe asked.
One blond brow rose and a smirk spread on Kade’s face. “Oh so now you’re asking your pride leader what should be done instead of giving the orders.”
“Well, you did complain about my lack of respect.”
Kade chuckled softly. “You just don’t want to make the tough decisions.”
No he didn’t, because if the choice were up to him, he’d knock down the door to Jasmine’s house, toss her over his shoulder and take her to bed. His, preferably. But sex wasn’t the right thing to base decisions on. Rafe shrugged. “The gods chose you to lead our hodgepodge family, not me.”
Curses fell from Kade’s lips. “No, Calum damned me to this fate when he beheaded our father and tore our family apart.”
Rafe’s fangs punched out and claws erupted. He breathed through the anger but it didn’t help. The pain was still sharp, even after all these years. One horrible night changed their family forever and he still blamed himself for it.
Kade laid a hand on his shoulder. “I am sorry to remind you of that night, brother.”
Rafe jerked away from him and pressed his palms to his eyes. “It’s not your fault. I mentioned to Jasmine about losing Nina to the bastard. The memory is fresh.”
“It’s not your fault. We loved Calum. We didn’t know—”
“I found her ripped shirt near our garage then stumbled upon Calum smelling of sex.” Rafe growled and slammed his clawed hands into the ground before he lashed out at Kade. “And I fucking let him go. Believed his goddamn lies.”
Kade’s swirling, completely honey-gold eyes stared at him intently for so long Rafe’s anger eased. He wasn’t the only one who’d suffered from the loss.
“Calum has got to be aging by now. He was over a hundred by the time he took Nina. That means he’ll be slower. He’ll start making mistakes and we’ll catch him,” Kade finally said.
Rafe nodded.
They sat in silence and watched over Jasmine’s house. His anger receded and the sounds of the night calmed him. One by one the rooms darkened until only the corner bedroom light remained on. Jasmine came into view and reached for the hem of her top. His mouth watered and his pulse kicked up but excitement fed it this time.
“Turn around, Kade,” he ordered.
Kade chuckled and did as he was told. “So I suppose that’s the sweet Jasmine’s arousal I smell all over you.”
Jasmine dropped the top. He got a glimpse of her full breasts before she turned and bent to pick up a shirt. The loose tee covered her and the lights went out.
Rafe licked his lips. “Yeah, it was damn delicious too.”
“Are you sharing?”
Rafe settled back against a tree to keep watch over Jasmine. “Nope. No threesomes this time. I think I’ll keep this one for myself.”
Chapter Six
Jazz woke to sounds of her boys talking outside her bedroom door. She sat up with a gasp and peered at the clock on her nightstand. Noon. She squeezed her eyes shut. Opened them. Her boys were still arguing and it was five hours past when she normally woke. Great, today of all days she overslept. She jumped from the bed, tugged shorts on and ran out of the room.
Both Seth and Levi turned in unison. They wore their sleep clothes and their hair stood on end.
“Mom, you’re awake,” they said together.
She mumbled, “Yeah, I’m awake. I must’ve been tired.” She cleared her throat. “Did you just wake up?”
They nodded. She wasn’t surprised. They loved to sleep, much like their animal counterparts. She smiled and ruffled their hair. “Let’s go get breakfast.”
After setting them up with bowls of their favorite cereal, she grabbed the phone. Four missed calls, all from Josh. With shaky fingers, she dialed. Got his voicemail. A call to his pare
nts’ house and she learned he was at the bar showing Sara everything she needed to know in order to manage the place. He planned to take a few days off to help Megan adjust.
Most importantly, they hadn’t had any problems last night. Everyone was fine. Josh’s mother even mentioned the police had called and said they’d had a break in the case. Jazz hung up the phone and let out a breath. A break in the case meant it had been an ordinary murder, not a consequence of the shifter world. Thank god.
She turned to get her own breakfast but the phone in her hand rang. She glanced at the caller ID. Rafe Alexander. Her pulse kicked up. Butterflies took flight. She slipped out onto the deck and answered.
“Hello?”
“Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well?”
She grinned and ran a hand over her sleep-tousled hair. Beautiful wasn’t the description she’d use, not first thing in the morning anyway. Good thing he couldn’t see her. He’d run screaming in the opposite direction.
“I did. Actually, I just woke up,” she said in a breathless voice that surprised her.
“Well, you did have a late night. I’m glad I waited to call you. I didn’t want to interrupt your beauty sleep.”
Her smile widened. The man was sweet and considerate. “And how about you? Did you sleep well?”
“Hmmm, not a wink,” he groaned. “Every time I closed my eyes, I saw yours. I’ve missed you.”
She blew out a breath and pushed the heavy weight of her hair off her shoulder. It didn’t help. She felt flushed. “I must admit I did think of you too. Once or twice.”
His deep chuckle filled the line. She reacted to the sound as if he stood behind her and held her close. Arousal sparked along her nerve endings, leaving her sensitized. She shifted the cotton top from her pebbled nipples.
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