by Tami Lund
Still, he couldn’t let himself think that way. It wasn’t fair to Adora. He had to let her go.
Damn it.
“What happened to your shirt?” Shay asked, pulling him out of his depressing thoughts. He glanced down at the haphazardly buttoned shirt, with threads hanging from where buttons had once been intact. Adora’s blush, unfortunately, spoke volumes.
Josh and Rachel came stumbling down the stairs, both thoroughly ruffled. Josh stuffed his shirttail into his pants while Rachel finger combed her hair, leaving no doubt whatsoever what extracurricular activities they’d just indulged in.
Shay lifted her eyebrows as they both came to a breathless halt at the bottom of the staircase.
“I suppose this confirms the rumor is true,” she said by way of greeting.
“What rumor?” Matt asked.
“The one involving an attempt on the pack master’s mate’s life.”
Rachel’s cheeks flamed. Matt knew she wasn’t yet used to shifter ways. While she’d undoubtedly been more than happy to indulge her mate’s need to couple with her after ensuring she was safe, she probably wasn’t quite adjusted to the fact that everyone seemed to expect this type of behavior from them. In the humans’ world, sex wasn’t quite such a significant and public aspect of people’s relationships. While everyone knew everyone else indulged, they weren’t as vocal about it, as open about discussing it as shifters were.
“How did you hear that?” Adora demanded.
Shay gave her a cool look. “You obviously are not familiar with the ways of shifters. There are no secrets within a pack.”
Matt recognized the barb for what it was: a subtle reminder that Adora was not one of their own. Interesting coming from Shay, who professed not to have any issue with other species. However, Matt was well aware of female shifters’ jealous tendencies, so he figured it could be that coming out. After all, Shay undoubtedly had been feeling pretty confident about the possibility of him taking her to mate until now.
“What have you heard?” Josh asked as Jeannine played hostess and led them all into the parlor. He sniffed the air and threw Matt a speculative look, and Adora’s cheeks turned rosy. Apparently, her magic hadn’t entirely eliminated the scent of their lovemaking. Matt stepped up behind her and placed his hand on the small of her back and felt a stab of irritation when she moved away from him. Obviously the woman still didn’t believe his intentions toward her.
Which was just as well, since he wasn’t supposed to have any intentions with regard to the Cupid.
Chapter 8
ADORA deftly stepped out of Matt’s reach, all too conscious of Shay’s gaze, which darted between her and Rachel. She had obviously come to the conclusion that both females had been subject to a shifter’s need to reconnect with his mate after she’d been threatened and almost taken from him.
Except Adora wasn’t a mate, and in fact, had been sent here to push Matt into Shay’s arms. Well, maybe not Shay specifically, at least not when the Assigner had initially given her the assignment. But there had been no other viable prospects since her arrival, and with the exception of Adora’s own jealousy, there was really nothing wrong with the female shifter.
Other than the fact that Adora had slept with her potential mate. Twice. And fates be damned, she wanted to do it again. Which meant she needed to put some distance between herself and Matt, especially right now, while Shay gave her a squinty-eyed glare and balled her fists, clearly upset over the realization of what Adora and Matt had done together.
Adora slipped over to Rachel’s side, silently offering her support. Shay hadn’t exhibited any signs of disliking the pack master’s human mate, yet Adora didn’t like the fact that Shay was the first person to come calling when word began to spread within the pack about the recent attack. She didn’t even belong to this particular pack—at least, not yet.
Matt was irritated by her actions, Adora could tell. She needed to get him and Shay mated, and quickly. That way, he’d be distracted by his new mate, and would forget about Adora. Forget about what it was like when they were alone together, just the two of them with nothing between them but the passion and desire that seemed to grow with each passing minute. Nothing between them but the knowledge that they were perfect together—yet they weren’t. They couldn’t be. That wasn’t how it worked. Cupids didn’t get to take mates, and she would do well to remember that.
She’d been down that road before—remember? With a grimace, Adora tried to focus on whatever Shay was saying, instead of her own miserable mistakes.
“…And I heard there were two of them and they wore masks and—” The doorbell chimed, cutting off whatever Shay had intended to say next.
Jeannine, who had been hovering, providing snacks and drinks and refills as the occupants of the room devoured them, rushed to answer the summons. She was ever the good hostess. Josh was lucky to have her. Especially considering everyone else was too distracted to even think about offering refreshments to their guests.
When the housekeeper returned to the room, another woman trailed behind her, one Adora had not met. She was a shifter and a stunning beauty, with dark hair highlighted by auburn streaks, dark eyes, and lush curves in all the right places. She strutted in on spiked heels and paused to pose in the entryway, and Adora could actually feel the shift in the atmosphere as all gazes locked on the newcomer.
Tossing her thick wave of hair over one shoulder, the woman scanned the room until she spotted Matt, and then zeroed in on him as if she’d come just for him. Maybe she had. Adora’s heart dropped to her feet as she watched recognition mixed with trepidation and a dose of sexual attraction dawn on his face.
So this was the one. Not Shay. Adora had been right to have concerns about Shay. Because she wasn’t Matt’s potential mate. This one was. It couldn’t have been more clear if the Assigner had appeared at that moment and stabbed her finger at each shifter and pronounced, “This is what you came for. Make it happen.”
Make it happen. Make it happen. Make it happen. Adora tried to tell herself to act, to greet the newcomer, to guide her over to Matt, to do what she had come here to do. Yet she could only stand where she was and watch the interaction unfold entirely without her interference.
“Kat?” Matt’s voice was a croak, and he cleared his throat several times after speaking her name. His gaze never left the dark-haired vixen.
At least Adora wouldn’t lose her wings. She may have lost her heart, but Cupids had no need for a heart, anyway. When she was done here, she would head home to Cupid’s Plain and channel all her energy into her scheduled time in the Procreation Chamber. It would be the perfect opportunity to enjoy sex with no emotional attachment.
Perfect.
“What are you doing here?” Matt asked the woman standing in the doorway.
“Matt,” she cooed. “It’s been so-o-o long.” She drew out the word as she strutted across the room with her arms open wide.
Matt stood stock still—clearly in shock—as the woman embraced him, wrapping herself around him like a cat and sending Adora’s blood to boiling. She wanted to grab Kat by that perfect hair and yank her out of his arms.
And her stomach didn’t even protest at the horribly violent thought.
Was she jealous? Adora recognized the emotion. She’d spent the better part of her adult life feeling jealous—jealous of every couple she had ever helped get together, because she knew she could never have what they had. Her job was to find love for others, not for herself.
Adora reminded herself of the assignment that had knocked her from a Cupid Level Four status down to a Level One. Sex, she had learned the hard way, did not necessarily beget love. Especially for Cupids. They weren’t hardwired to fall in love. Cupids were supposed to have sex for short-term pleasure, for the purpose of procreation, and that was it.
What she and Matt had done together had been straight up sex, nothing more. They had both felt a need, they had acted on it, and now…Now it
was time to accept it for what it was, and guide Matt to his future mate.
Some other woman. Not Adora.
Matt extracted himself from Kat’s embrace and held her at arm’s length. Adora noticed he did not release his hold on her person.
“It has been a long time,” he acknowledged. There was no emotion, no inflection in his voice. “So why are you here now?”
Kat looked around the room, summarily analyzing and dismissing each occupant until her gaze alighted upon Adora. “This is why,” she cooed and rushed to stand before Adora.
The woman towered over her, eight inches taller, leaving Adora feeling small and terribly insignificant. She is definitely the one. It was a miserable thought. Matt needed a woman who could handle him, who would be his equal. Who would look good standing next to him. Adora was a foot shorter than him. They probably looked silly standing next to one another.
“I’d heard there was a Cupid in our midst. How fascinating. I’ve never seen a Cupid before. I’ve never even heard of Cupids before.” She reached out and ran a blood red fingernail down the length of Adora’s arm. “You don’t feel any different than we do, although you certainly are small.” She peered down her nose at Adora.
Adora resisted the urge to use her magic to break every one of those talon-like nails. She couldn’t believe all the violent thoughts she was having. And not a lick of nausea.
“And you’re Matt’s Cupid, right?”
Adora wanted to scream, “Yes! Yes! I am his Cupid—his and his alone and you need to stay the hell away from him!” Instead, she nodded mutely.
“As I understand the legend, you’re supposed to help him find his true love, correct?”
Again, she nodded mutely.
“Kat, this is none of your business. And we have more important things going on right now than my love life, so if you don’t mind—”
Kat cut him off. “Oh please, Matt. What could possibly be more important than your love life?” She gave him a look that Adora didn’t understand. A warning, maybe? A knowing look? This woman was setting off so many alarms in Adora’s head, she couldn’t even think straight, let alone decipher what they all meant.
“I can think of a few things,” Josh interjected, drawing Kat and Matt’s attention. “Actually, I can think of a great many things. And he and I have a meeting starting in about four minutes to discuss a few of those things. If you’ll excuse us, ladies?” Josh nodded at Matt, who all but ran from the room behind his cousin.
Josh stopped on the threshold and said, “Rachel, Adora, do not, under any circumstances, leave this house. Do you understand me?”
It was on the tip of Adora’s tongue to make a snippy comment about not being a member of his pack and therefore he couldn’t boss her around, but she caught the look Matt was throwing her way, which told her he knew exactly what she was thinking, so she kept her mouth shut. Rachel, however, deliberately rolled her eyes before turning her back on her mate.
“Would anyone care for a drink?” Rachel asked politely to Kat and Shay. Adora wished she hadn’t offered, but she understood the need for socially acceptable rituals. Still, she was disappointed when both women accepted. Adora would have rather she and Rachel were left alone while Josh and Matt had their meeting. Preferably with a nice bottle of wine.
“Whiskey,” Kat said. “Neat.”
“Beer. Le Tigre pale ale, if you’ve got it,” Shay added. Jeannine had disappeared, presumably to the kitchen, so Rachel excused herself to seek out Shay’s request, leaving Adora alone with the two female shifters.
Shay didn’t bother to hide her glare, while Kat eyed her with more curiosity than fear that she might be stealing the woman’s future mate. Of course, Kat wouldn’t know Adora and Matt had just made love on the very couch upon which she sat. Adora had noticed her nose twitching when she sat down, but she’d probably dismissed the scent of arousal as Josh and Rachel’s, since it was their house.
“I’m fascinated by the concept of a Cupid,” Kat said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had descended.
Adora felt a wave of relief. If she and Matt handled themselves appropriately from this point forward, Kat would have no idea the Cupid had taken her mate for a few test drives before handing him over.
“Apparently they exist to find people’s mates, but they have no qualms about hooking up with them in the meantime,” Shay said, effectively destroying Adora’s hopes that Kat would not hate her.
Kat lifted her severely arched brows and steadily watched Adora. “Really? You’re here to hook him up with his future mate, but you’re sleeping with him in the meantime?”
“Er…That’s not how it’s supposed to happen,” Adora said.
“But it is happening,” Shay said, not bothering to hide her disdain.
Rachel reappeared and handed a frosty mug and a bottle of Le Tigre to Shay, who gave the mug a sour look before placing it on the coffee table and taking a long swig from the bottle. Rachel poured two fingers’ worth of whiskey into a lowball glass and Kat twirled her finger, indicating Rachel should keep pouring, until the glass was nearly full. Finally, Rachel half-filled two wine glasses and handed one to Adora, who gave her a commiserating grimace as she prepared for the next onslaught.
“Yeah, so explain this Cupid gig to me,” Shay said. “The way Matt made it sound, you’re supposed to be able to tell when he finds his mate. Is that right?”
“Really?” Kat interjected. “You—you already know that?”
Adora shook her head and took a fortifying gulp of wine. If she hadn’t slept with her assignment—twice—and hadn’t developed feelings for the man, this situation would be infinitely easier to handle. Shay had obviously determined she and Matt had slept together, and Kat appeared to be trying to decide whether Shay or Adora—or both—were her competition.
It wasn’t unusual to have potential mates competing for her assignment, although rarely was it so unclear which one should be the true mate. Unfortunately, Adora didn’t think either woman was particularly right for Matt, but she knew her own emotions were clouding her opinion. She didn’t want either woman to be right for him.
She wanted to be right for him.
“No,” Adora said. “I cannot literally look at someone and know they are meant to mate with another.” Even though that was exactly what happened when Kat walked into the room. But that had been more of an observation of Matt’s stance, features, body language than a knowing of some sort.
“We have extra sensitive instincts,” she tried to explain. “I can usually tell if someone has less than pure intentions toward my assignment.”
Kat took a swallow of whiskey and chuckled. “I imagine most women have impure intentions toward Matt. He was damn hot in high school, and he’s only gotten steamier with age.”
Matt and Kat had known each other since high school, and Kat had obviously noticed him back then. The signs they should be together kept piling up. While she should be elated, Adora felt only…sadness. A deep, aching sensation that threatened to swamp her. She lifted the glass in her hand and drained the contents, needing the chill of the wine and the buzz of the alcohol to sustain her.
“I mean impure as in interested in mating with him for reasons beyond sex and love,” she forced herself to explain. “Like—like an ulterior motive. Power. Financial gain. Those sorts of reasons.”
Shay stood and walked over to the nearest window, sipping her beer and staring out over the expansive lawns of Josh’s property. “You actually know that stuff?” she asked with her back to the other occupants of the room.
“Not exactly.” It was difficult to try to explain her Cupid senses to other people, especially when she didn’t always understand them herself. If they were cut and dry, she would still be a Cupid Level Four and likely would have never been given this particular assignment. She recalled the Assigner telling her it ought to be an easy one, and she had the ridiculous urge to laugh.
“I have extra sensi
tive senses,” she said. “Humans would refer to it as a sixth sense. I can usually read people, know their intentions, better than most.”
“Huh,” Shay said without turning around. “So you don’t actually know who Matt should be mated to.”
Yes, I do. Unfortunately. And neither you nor I are going to like the answer. “Not exactly. I have a…sense of the best choice. But ultimately, it’s Matt’s decision. My job is to guide him to make the right one, but I cannot make it for him.”
Shay snorted. Adora glanced at Kat, who had a thoughtful look on her face. She wondered what Kat was thinking. Was she plotting, trying to determine the best way to ensure Matt became her mate? Adora suspected if that was the case, Shay didn’t stand a chance.
Of course, neither did Adora.
* * * *
After finishing their drinks, Kat and Shay both finally decided to leave. Rachel saw them to the door. Jeannine appeared and began cleaning up the remains of the earlier gathering. Adora asked her to leave the bottle and wine glasses and the housekeeper hurried from the room just as Rachel returned.
The pack master’s mate refilled the wine glasses and then dropped onto the couch next to Adora.
“I have a new respect for you, Rachel. I don’t know that I could handle such cattiness, day in and day out.”
Rachel sighed and leaned her head against the back of the couch. “I’m not going to lie. If I didn’t love Josh so much, I wouldn’t do it. I’ve even had to go hide in the basement and have a good cry after enduring one of those ridiculous pack meetings, where they all glare at me as if I’m the enemy. Which is so stupid, because it was one of their own who was trying to oust Josh out of his position in the first place.”
“Too bad he isn’t more like Tanner Lyons. Tanner is perfectly content not running a pack, even though that’s what he was born to do.”
