Passion's Prey: The Shadow Shifters

by A. C. Arthur

  “I love the man and the shifter that you are, Xavier,” she told him sincerely.

  “You have no idea,” he started saying.

  Caprise shook her head so hard she knew a headache would soon follow. “Shut up. Just shut up! I know who you are. You’re the man who went to pick Nick up in the middle of the night when he was sixteen because Lisa Drenner had slit all four of his tires. You’re the one who stood at my parents’ funeral right next to me and my brother waiting to catch either of us if we fell to the ground in grief. You went to the Gungi with Rome and his new mate to look for Ary. You helped all those kids who were brought here and sold as sex slaves. You are good, dammit!”

  “You,” he said, moving up until his face was hovering directly over hers. “Have no fucking idea what you’re saying.”

  “I do and I’ll say it again,” she told him. “I love you.”

  X dropped his head, his shoulders slumping just enough that Caprise could lift her head to kiss him there. Then her lips went to his neck, to that damn death tattoo. She kissed his skin slowly, let her tongue move in tiny circles over the tattoo. Then she bit into his skin, let her sharp teeth prick him. He tensed and her pussy creamed. She knew right then she had him.

  His lips took hers with a savage hunger, his tongue swiping along her lips, her tongue, her cheeks in a display of ownership. She wanted to laugh with the sexual excitement that bubbled inside her but he took her mouth again. When he finally pulled away from her, Caprise was breathless.

  X climbed off the bed, headed back to that armoire, and grabbed something from the shelves.

  “Since you refuse to listen to common sense,” he was saying as he climbed back on top of her, “I’ll just have to show you what you’re walking into.”

  “Show me,” she said on a breathy sigh. “Show me everything, Xavier.”

  Without another word he clamped each of her nipples. She couldn’t help the scream that ripped free, couldn’t stop the pinpricks from radiating throughout her breasts, and didn’t want to stop the pleasure spikes shooting right to her clit.

  “This is who I am. More often than not, this is what I want,” he told her as he moved down her torso. His tongue found her tattoo and stayed there for more minutes than Caprise could count.

  Then he tapped the other side of her midriff, directly across from the tattoo of her son’s name. “Right here,” he told her, “that’s where I want the Topètenia insignia. Right fucking here so you’ll know who and what you are.”

  “Fine. Fine. Can you just … just,” she said, trying to squirm, to get some sort of friction going near her clit. It was unsuccessful.

  “Calm down,” he told her, looking up to her with his cat eyes glowing. “I’ve got this.”

  Caprise let her head fall back on the pillow. Her teeth bit into her bottom lip as she reached for patience she knew damn well she didn’t possess. She felt his palms beneath her buttocks and wondered, what now? He had to stop with all this playing and foolishness.

  Instead X lifted her so that her pussy was in his face, being served like a platter. He licked her hungrily, the sound of his tongue moving through her slippery center echoing throughout the room. She jerked at the cuffs holding her arms, wiggled her legs, and stifled a moan. He held her still, using his fingers to spread her open wider, his tongue to lick her deeper. The first ripples of release hit her like a boulder and Caprise fell back, her entire body convulsing.

  X laughed, a deep guttural sound that was masculine and proprietary. “After the Topètenia insignia, X gets inked right here.” He tapped the line of skin just above her juncture, where her hairline would be if she hadn’t shaved completely.

  She could barely speak when she said, “Whatever.”

  He chuckled again before his fingers slid back, back, his thumb touching the tight bud of her anus. She sucked in a breath.

  “No. Breathe. I just need you to keep breathing,” he told her.

  She nodded, tried to do what he told her.

  “Breathe, babygirl,” he whispered as one finger slipped deeper inside her. “You can do it. You can take whatever I give you. Your strength is the sexiest part about you. I love how you can take whatever, deal with it, and throw it right back. I love it,” he said, sighing over her.

  “Xavier,” she whispered.

  Then there was a different feeling, a fullness she hadn’t expected. Opening her eyes she could see him staring down at her, his hands still working between her cheeks. “A little pressure, then pleasure,” he said licking his lips. “So much pleasure, babygirl.”

  Caprise sighed with him, felt him snap the plug deep inside her anus, and licked her lips.

  The second X saw that she’d taken it and the clamps without qualm, he was over her, guiding his thick erection into her center. He watched with pleasure unbound as his dick separated the saturated folds, sinking into her with tender ease. The connection itself was arousing; the sight of her lighter skin wrapped securely around his darker complexion had him gasping. The tightness with which she sucked at him caused his cat to growl. When he began to move they both moaned, and sighed, and hissed with pleasure.

  He closed his eyes, let the feel of her and the scent of their mating engulf him. In that moment he had accepted, had known exactly what the scent was and precisely who this woman was to him. As he pumped deeper and deeper still he called her name, then waited.

  “Yes! Xavier. Yes!” was her loud reply.

  He loved the sound of his name on her lips, loved the tendrils of pleasure that floated down his spine when he heard it.

  “Come for me, baby,” was her next instruction.

  X almost smiled. They were two of kind—both of them scarred, both of them guilty of running from a past they couldn’t change, both of them struggling to find their place in this world that was their own. And finally, both of them falling through the hazy fog of mating as shifters and loving as humans.

  * * *

  Sabar awoke to sweat pouring down his face, his chest heaving, legs aching as if he’d been running for miles and miles. His mouth was dry and his vision was blurry. He tried to speak but words wouldn’t come. Then, just when he thought he was losing his mind and was about to shift just to feel a semblance of normalcy, the lights switched on.

  “You okay, baby?” Bianca asked.

  She was across the room, had turned on the main light using the switch by the door. There were two lamps on either side of the bed; he wondered momentarily why she hadn’t turned on one of those, why she wasn’t in the bed next to him.

  “Get me something to drink,” he told her using the back of his hands to rub against his eyes.

  It took effort to steady his breathing, but he was determined to get it right. Beneath the blankets he moved his legs just to make sure the damn things still took his command.

  In a few minutes she was beside him, extending her arm with a glass. Sabar grabbed her arm because his vision was still a little off and the glass wobbled in front of him. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened them again, looking up at Bianca to see if they’d work right on her.

  She was beyond beautiful, even in the middle of the night. That much could be seen, he figured, even if he were blindfolded with a bag over his head. Her hair was pulled to hang over one shoulder, eyes glittering when she stared down at him, full lips puckered as they spread into a smile.

  “Serve me,” he said to her because he didn’t fully trust his own hands to grab that glass and put it to his lips without making an embarrassing mistake.

  Besides, he had a feeling she needed a reminder. She was looking at him as if she wanted to laugh. There was the air of knowing something he didn’t know as well that hovered over her like a drape. Even the way she smiled down at him was different than it had been before.

  “Of course, Sabar. Did you have a bad dream?” she asked as she leaned forward slightly, putting the glass to his lips.

  “I’m fine,” he told her before taking a long, greedy swallow.r />
  His mouth felt like cotton. It even hurt to swallow. But there was no mistaking the distinct taste as he finally managed to do so. “This isn’t water,” he said looking up at Bianca once more.

  She shook her head. “No. You didn’t ask for water.”

  “What did you give me?” he asked licking his lips and blinking uncontrollably fast.

  “We thought you needed to get more rest so we fixed you some tea,” she told him.

  The glass was gone and Sabar’s hand had dropped from her arm. He’d tasted this tea before, at dinner he thought. Or maybe it was lunch yesterday, he couldn’t remember, but knew it was familiar. He fell back on the pillows as if someone had pushed him. Attempting to turn to look at Bianca again wasn’t easy. His head felt like lead.

  “What did you put in the tea, bitch? Are you trying to kill me?”

  She leaned in closer. He couldn’t really see her clearly, but he smelled her, the rich intoxicating scent of her pussy filling his nostrils as he inhaled slowly.

  “We would never hurt you, Sabar, baby. We’re only trying to take care of you so you can continue to lead us.”

  “We?” he said his voice becoming slurred. “Who the hell is we?”

  He heard her laughing then, a deep-throated chuckle that echoed throughout the room. Then her lips were at his ear, her tongue lapping along his lobe.

  “Sweet dreams,” she whispered in his ear. “Sweet fucking dreams.”

  Chapter 26

  Friday, 10:38 PM

  Rome and Kalina had just finished a hot shower. Their just-dried bodies lay entwined on the cool silk sheets of their king-size bed.

  He wrapped his arms around his wife, loved the feel of her backside pressed firmly into his front. As his palms cupped her breasts—their favorite resting spot each night—he’d kissed her neck and muttered a sleepy, “Good night, my gato inferno.”

  She’d sighed into his embrace. She loved his nickname for her, loved to hear him whisper it while they made love and afterward. He never let her down. Kalina was the other half of him he’d yearned for but hadn’t the good sense to search for, wasting far too much time without her. But now that he had her, Rome was determined to keep her safe. He was determined to keep them all safe.

  And as he slowly drifted into the place just before sleep where he thought about his duties and responsibilities and the conflicts that waited in the distance, his cell phone rang.

  Not letting Kalina go, Rome reached one arm behind him to fumble on the nightstand until the sleek device was in his hand. Sliding his hand across the screen in the security pattern he’d memorized, he accepted the call.

  “Reynolds,” he answered.

  “Sabar’s making a buy tonight. You want to stop this war you need to stop him now! RSE Warehouse in Woodland. Midnight.”

  The call was disconnected before Rome could say another word. At the mention of Sabar’s name he’d shot straight up in the bed. Kalina, light sleeper that she was, sat up beside him. The moment he pulled the phone from his ear she was talking.

  “Who was that? What’s wrong?”

  Rome was already dialing another number. “Got a lead on Sabar, meet me at the door in ten. Get three teams to go with us, and find X.”

  Kalina was throwing back the sheets, climbing out of the bed. She’d already reached for her robe when Rome grabbed her arm.

  “You’re not going,” he told her firmly.

  She opened her mouth to speak and he kissed her lips hard. Resting his forehead against hers for a few seconds after the kiss, he said, “It’s too dangerous. You stay and help Ary get the medical center ready in case there are injuries.”

  “Rome,” she started.

  He shook his head. “No, Kalina. I don’t care how much training you have on these streets. There’s no way I can do this if I’m worried about you getting hurt. I need you to stay here. I need you to do this for me, baby. Please.”

  Rome understood her need to work, to fight beside him; he knew that urge and respected it. But she was his wife, his First Female, and he would not risk her for anything in this world.

  When she nodded her agreement, cupping his face and kissing his cheek, he realized how much he truly loved this amazing woman.

  “I’ll be waiting,” she told him quietly. “I’ll be right here waiting.”

  * * *

  “Caprise is with X,” Nick said the moment he disconnected the call.

  Ary had already gotten out of bed and was slipping into dark blue scrubs and black Alegria nursing clogs.

  “Then she’s safe,” she told him as she pulled her hair back and secured it tightly in a ponytail.

  Nick was already dressed. He reached into his closet, all the way in the back where he kept his personal firearm. Nick was accustomed to carrying his weapon when they were out at public events, and even more so lately. He checked the nine-millimeter for bullets and made sure to put the safety back on before tucking it in the back band of his dark jeans.

  “She should come here to wait with you and Kalina,” he said, moving toward the door, then stopping to wait for Ary.

  She walked slower these days, her stomach protruding a little more each day. Despite the circumstances, as he watched her, Nick’s excitement piqued. He couldn’t wait to see what he and Ary had created.

  “Do you really think Caprise is going to come back here to twiddle her thumbs with us?” she asked, moving by him and looking up with a smile.

  Nick shrugged. “I can only hope.”

  * * *

  X disconnected the call with Nick and instantly got out of bed. Caprise, of course, was right behind him. They hadn’t been asleep, far from it actually. After their lovemaking, which she was intent on calling it no matter what X said, they’d showered together. When he’d had that shower designed, he never imagined he’d enjoy it so much more with a female beside him. But not just any female; it only worked because it was Caprise. He knew that now without any doubt.

  “What’s happening?” she asked, standing in front of him as he tried to make his way to the door.

  She was gloriously naked, not a modest bone in her entire body. God, he was crazy about this woman.

  “Rome got a tip about Sabar making a deal tonight. We’re going to head him off,” he told her honestly. There really wasn’t any other way to be with Caprise. For a woman who hadn’t wanted to tell him about her own past, she’d been like a pit bull trying to get the details of his, and she hadn’t done background checks and phone searches like him. She’d simply gotten in his face and hadn’t backed down. He had to respect a woman for that type of tenacity.

  “Okay, I’ll get dressed,” she said immediately.

  Her bag that Seth had brought over a week ago still sat in the corner of his bedroom. X had a feeling more of her things would soon occupy the space and miraculously wasn’t bothered by that fact.

  “Caprise, this is going to be dangerous,” he told her, reaching for his own jeans out of the closet.

  “I know. I’ll get my gun.”

  X hadn’t been facing her, but he turned quickly at her words. “Your what? You have a gun?”

  She nodded as she pushed her leg into her jeans. Her breasts were still bare and for a minute distracted the hell out of X.

  “Yeah, I carry a Glock 19. I don’t like to carry heavy. This fits my hand like a glove. Don’t worry, I’m good,” she said after pulling the weapon from her purse.

  He was already shaking his head. “No.”

  “No, what?”

  “No. You’re not going. Take my truck and go to Havenway. I’ll get Nick or one of the guards to swing by here and get me.”

  “That’s ridiculous. We’re going together,” she said, pulling a shirt over her head.

  Oh, hell no, she was out of her mind if she thought she was going to this fight with him. And wearing no bra at that. Shit, he’d never keep his mind straight knowing that.

  “Caprise, listen, you’re not a trained guard.”

 
“I’m going with you,” she said simply, pulling her hair back and twisting it into some kind of knot with one of those elastic bands she had a ton of.

  “No, you’re not,” he said adamantly.

  “I am.” She nodded and turned away from him to pull boots out of her bag. She sat down to lace them up, and X moved closer to her.

  “Look, we’re cool on the mating thing now. You’re a part of me that I don’t want to lose just yet. So I’m asking you nicely to go to Havenway and wait for me there.”

  She looked up, a smile spreading quickly over her face. He liked seeing her smile, liked the way her dark eyes lifted with the action, how her teeth were all white and straight, her pert nose spreading only slightly. She was fucking beautiful. But hardheaded as hell.

  She kissed him quickly on the lips. “I’m going. If you’re coming you better hurry up and get dressed.”

  X was still standing there wondering what he was going to do with her when she’d left the bedroom.

  Chapter 27

  Friday, 11:45 PM

  They’d driven through a neighborhood that looked like it had seen better days. Even in the dark of night Sabar could see the remnants of urban decay. He picked up the scent of alcohol and urine and cringed. Sitting in the back of his Hummer he admitted only to himself that this headache he’d been carrying around for the last two days was a bitch. Not to mention the bouts of memory lapse he was suffering. Anything before two days ago was crystal clear. It was the last forty-eight hours that seemed like he’d walked around in a daze. He remembered meals and he remembered Bianca—nothing and nobody else. When he’d climbed into the vehicle tonight he’d caught a glimpse at Darel. The man barely looked at him, and his scent was of pure hatred. That wasn’t out of order for a Rogue, but tonight it seemed more along the offensive lines than ever.

  He’d asked Bianca to come along, but she’d declined. In the back of his mind he knew he should be suspicious about that, but had decided to focus more on closing this deal. On the seat between him and Darel were two suitcases. Both were filled with cash, proceeds from their drug operation that had been growing steadily. Even in the midst of the raid on Athena’s, they were still receiving orders for shipments. Norbert Hanson was still running the lab back at Sabar’s headquarters on the outskirts of the city. Their facility there had been a steady work in progress. Darel had put a lot of time into the structural issues, picking up the security, while Sabar had planned the layout and financed the entire project. Now their lab was fully functional and they were shipping about half a million dollars’ worth of merchandise each week. The savior drug was the drug of the future and Sabar was going to make a fortune as the only supplier.