"What are you going to do with her?"
The human was so close to her, mere inches. She could feel his body heat, smell his subtle cologne, and reveled in the alpha energy he emitted. A human against a shifter, a lion no less, was a losing battle—but she still admired his tenacity. He didn't even emit a tinge of fear, something humans were unable to mask as it carried a unique chemical signature.
"That's my concern, not yours."
She should be playing them against each other, anything to help her gain her freedom. But before she even realized what she was doing, she began to speak to the human beside her. "I'll be fine. Thank you for your concern." Freya didn't want them to fight, and wasn't ready to leave the lion just yet. Gideon has snubbed her, claiming she judged him unfairly. He'd piqued her curiosity, and his control was unwavering. Rather than feel relief for not being an object of obsession, she wanted a chance to win him over. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"Everything okay in here?" Vincent, the cougar shifter, leaned into the partially open doorway. So much male energy in the confined space did wild things to her libido, or was it these three particular men?
Gideon visually relaxed when the bartender appeared. "Yes, Darius was just leaving."
"And the girl?"
"She's staying."
Freya turned around, her eyes beseeching the bartender. Would he help her out of this mess? Would anyone besides a human offer to save her? He must have told Darius she was in trouble, but hadn't come for her himself. It felt foreign to be so disregarded. Normally she'd revel in being invisible, but not with these men.
"Sure thing, boss. Call me if you need anything." The two men left, leaving her very alone with Gideon. Her desire diminished thanks to her growing nerves.
Freya had to do something. Her body nearly vibrated with her need to fight or run. As she filed through all her possible moves and escapes, she continued to watch the shifter's every move.
"Let's cut to the chase. What do you want from me, lion?"
"Testy." He smirked, an adorable tilt of his lips. "But you're the one who stole from me."
"I offered to work it off and the human said he'd pay for my freedom—you refused both. What do you want?" She raised her voice, feigning bravado when all she wanted was her freedom.
He shrugged and she couldn't help but admire the wide expanse of his shoulders in the fitted T-shirt he wore. "I haven't decided yet. And you still didn't answer me. What are you doing so far from home?"
"I'm running away from would-be suitors like yourself. I'd sooner die than be forced to mate." She allowed the full venom of her words to seep into her tone. It helped that what she said wasn't a lie. If he knew she was a princess, he also knew how valuable she was to all races.
Gideon approached her and tilted her chin with a crooked finger. He stared into her eyes with unblinking focus. She prided herself from not flinching or pulling away from the contact. He licked his full lips in a slow drag, mesmerizing her, making her imagine what his tongue would feel like trailing over her beaded nipples.
"I don’t remember saying I wanted you, princess." He tweaked her nose before striding away. Anger bloomed inside her. Why didn't he want her? And why was the fact aggravating her?
Chapter Two
Gideon watched the little blonde firecracker as she ranted, fists clenched. He liked her natural beauty, but her spunk even more. Before Vincent had brought her to him, he'd noticed her in one of his security monitors. Her pale blonde hair was impossible not to spot, like a flash of gold on his screen. Once he had her alone, he knew immediately she was one of royal blood. The sweet scent of her blood covered her like an erotic perfume, permeating her skin and surrounding her in an invisible veil. Was he immune? He liked to believe so, but wasn't so naïve to think he could resist for long.
Being a rare and well-respected race, he prided himself on his strength and self-control. If anyone could resist the tempting little siren, it would be him. Should be him. Especially when he had qualms with the royal family.
"Now, as to your payment…"
"I won't sleep with you!"
He tried to rein back the laughter bubbling to the surface, but wasn't as successful as he'd hoped. Gideon had always enjoyed the fact he could have any woman he desired. Being a lion shifter and owner of Club Frenzy had its perks. He never wanted for female companionship, so being rejected was…comical. It also ignited a new desire to win over what was denied to him.
"Would it really be that bad?" He narrowed his eyes, taunting her. Gideon was going to ask her to have dinner with him, but this new direction was so much more entertaining.
"I'm not a whore. You may be stronger, but I guarantee you my teeth and claws are sharp." Dammit, but he loved her fire. She was more feral than the female shifters that frequented the club. No wonder Vincent brought her to him—his friend knew his flavor well. His cock hardened more each time she cut him down. Gideon usually had steadfast control over that appendage. He blamed her unique blood on how deeply she affected him.
"If I wanted you, I guarantee, I wouldn't need to fight you."
He could hear her heartbeat loud in his ears. Was her heart racing from nerves or something more? Did she have the same connection he felt between them? He enjoyed her discomfort, watching her squirm. No, he had no intention of harming her, or forcing her into his bed, as she'd suggested. But he did like playing with her. She was a beauty, even in her disheveled state. Her long blonde hair hung over one shoulder and down her back. Her eyes were a bright greenish-yellow, beautiful and untamed.
"I need to get out of here. What do you want from me? Hurry and tell me!"
Gideon shrugged. He didn't know what to do with the wolf, but knew he wanted to keep her around for a while longer. His days were long and dreary. After he left at night, he had no mate to go home to, only an empty penthouse condo. His furniture was black, leather, the décor modern and minimalistic—it was the last time he'd allow a decorator free reign. He felt more at home in his office, which he had decorated himself with mementos from his roots. Gideon had a proud heritage, traced back countless generations to the grass plains of Africa. Since he spent most of his days and evenings at Club Frenzy, he needed to feel comfortable, to immortalize a link to the past.
"First things first. What's your name?"
She huffed, then obliged him. "Freya."
"Spend the night with me."
He grabbed her upper arms before she bolted out of range. She snarled at him, her incisors lengthening. Gods, it made him hot seeing those cute little fangs emerging.
"You're just like all the others. Let me go!"
"Kiss me."
The feisty thing struggled like a wild woman, attempting to kick and bite. It was so easy to hold her still, and even easier to rile her. He laughed, something he rarely did these days. He'd have let her go if not for the waves of lust rolling off her, nearly knocking him flat. A woman like her would no doubt be wicked in bed, much more of a challenge than the women eager for his affections. Her breasts were soft and full, pressing against his chest as he held her steady. He'd love to give those fleshy mounds a love bite to remember.
A loud knock at the door stilled them both. "Gideon!" The muffled voice carried a threat even with the barrier separating them.
He growled his disapproval. "Nobody better open that fucking door!"
Darius burst in. Again. "Aha, I knew you were up to no good."
He eased his hold on the wolf and she bound for the human. The other man was quick to pull her into an embrace, a mix of desire and territorial threat seeping from his pores. Even a blind man would know Darius had the hots for the girl, but to a shifter, the chemical signature was unmistakable. If he knew he was getting a hard-on for a wolf-shifter, he'd be running the other way. Freya glared back at Gideon, finding security with the human—security he wanted her to find with him. How had he managed to fuck things up with her already?
He should knock the other man through the wall, but he couldn't st
ay mad at Darius. "You were a difficult child, weren't you?" His friend smirked. He'd taken the human under his wing years ago. When he first spotted him in the club, drunk, and lacking any ambition to live another day—he intervened. Gideon offered him odd jobs around the place, and usually enjoyed his company. Keeping his shifter identity a secret wasn't too difficult. Gideon rarely had the time or space to connect with his beast, something he began to resent over the years. It seemed the décor around him was the only reminder of who he really was.
He'd given up his fight with the royal family when he opened Club Frenzy, but seeing a princess in the flesh brought back all his animosity for the royals. In his opinion, lions were the rightful heirs to the thrown, not the wolves. Yet only select daughters with royal wolf blood were capable of continuing the shifter races.
"I think the isolation gets to your head sometimes, boss. She owes you ten bucks. Worry about your blood pressure and let her off the hook."
"Yeah. You're right." He wouldn’t make matters worse by ordering her to stay. As Darius led the wolf out of his office, he called out. "Offer still stands, sweetheart." Gods he was a jerk.
She only turned back with a heated glare. It would have been fun if she'd stuck around, but Darius was right, he needed to stop being such an asshole. But it hadn't been a power trip, and he wasn't angry. He just felt the need to be close to Freya, and the thought of letting her walk out his door didn't sit well with him. But he couldn’t inspire his own desire into another, so it was good his friend showed up when he did.
****
"You alright?"
"I am now. Thanks for coming to the rescue."
Darius didn't fail to notice she still clung to his shirt even though they were out of the office and past the dance floor.
"You shouldn't have taken off on me in the beginning. I would have been more than happy to buy you a meal." He had money, if only his friends knew how much. Darius just had enough of his father's iron fist, long hours behind a desk, and never being good enough in his family's eyes. He'd never embraced the high society making him an outcast. The night he walked out, resigning as CEO, he came to Club Frenzy to get wasted. He didn't care if he had to live off the streets, it would have been a better life than the deceptive paradise he left behind. A week later, Gideon picked him off the floor and stood him on two feet.
They sat at the bar, facing each other. Freya lowered her eyes to the ground. "It's just hard to know who to trust."
"I can understand that. But, I promise, I'm not a bad guy, Freya." Looks could be misleading. When people thought he had no money, they didn't give him the time of day. He may give off a hardcore image now, but he'd never done anything criminal in his life.
She kept silent, fidgeting, not giving him her full attention.
"Are you in trouble?" He took a section of her shirt between a thumb and finger. She was wearing ill-fitted, dirty clothes and her hair was in tangles. Her beauty radiated through it all, she just needed to be taken care of. Protected? "You can tell me anything. I'm not going to judge you."
She licked her lips and raised her eyes to meet his. After opening her mouth to speak, she shut it. He slanted her chin up to focus on him alone. "It's complicated."
"Life can be sometimes. Now, what's the problem?"
Just before she filled him in, Vincent leaned over the bar. "How's our little dine and dasher doing?" His wide smile carried no hint of resentment.
Vincent was Gideon's right-hand man, the club manager. Sometimes he bar-tendered, other times he watched the doors. Keeping the peace and making life simpler for the boss-man were his top priorities. "Knock it off, Vin."
The demand for more drinks down the bar pulled him away as quickly as he'd arrived.
"I don't have a place to stay," she said, barely audible. "I've never been to this city."
"How'd you get here then?" What was her story? There was a mysterious air about her, and he wanted to know it all. He wanted to help her, as Gideon had helped him once upon a time.
"My sister wanted me to stay with her, but I don't like being a burden to anyone."
"A burden? How could a sweet thing like you be a burden? If you just need a place to stay for a while, I can help you out."
She stared at him for a moment. "Stay with you?"
"I have a place not far from here, but a free room just came up. One of our bouncers, Jacob, just quit. Gideon says I can have the room. It's yours for now, if you need it."
"Oh… Thank you."
"And don't worry about Gideon, either. He's a big softy once you get to know him."
"I'm sure he is," she said with skepticism in her voice. He noticed how she continually scanned the room as if expecting someone to jump her.
He slipped off his stool and scooped her up under the arms, setting her on her feet. "Come on, I'll show you the room. There's a shower you can use, too."
She latched onto his arm as he navigated through the patrons clamoring to get closer to the back bar to watch Vincent and Steve work their magic with the bottles. It was loud. It was always loud. The music, the people, the inhibitions—it was his world now, what he used to drown out the life he left behind.
He pushed open the door to Jacob's old room. He'd been one of the biggest guys working for Gideon and the boss-man wasn't happy to see him go. But he gave no notice, saying he was moving in with his new "mate", and nothing anyone said could convince him otherwise.
"My sister was in here," she said as soon as they entered the small windowless room.
"How do you know?"
She dismissed his question and walked the perimeter, her unease nearly palpable. What had the poor girl gone through?
"There should be fresh towels in the bathroom. I can find you something to wear, too."
She turned around, as if suddenly remembering he was still there. "Thank you."
As Freya showered in the bathroom, he sifted through the lost and found box, hoping to find something suitable for her to wear. The little dress he found looked to be about her size and clean. It wasn't what he wanted to give her, but he had little alternative, and anything would be better than the rags she wore. He intended to leave the pink dress he'd found on the counter and slip out without a sound, but when he opened the bathroom door she was standing there in the cloud of humidity, completely nude.
****
Freya had turned on the shower, stripped, and studied herself in the full length mirror. Gods, how long had if been since she'd seen her reflection? She look pale, tired, nothing like the girl she remembered who used to look back at her. Once upon a time she wore beautiful dresses, handmade by renowned tailors. Her hair was professionally styled, along with her nails. She barely recognized herself now.
Yes, she'd been a spoiled brat, almost unwilling to follow her two sisters hell bent on escaping the royal palace. Before they split up, all she did was complain—the hotels weren't good enough, the food unacceptable, and she was bored to tears. That was the past. After years on the run, and endless hours of inner reflection, the girl she once knew was dead. Freya had reinvented herself, prided herself on her strength of character, her ability to survive.
Still, no matter how strong she'd become, there was always a lingering doubt deep within. It begged her to give up, to run home to safety and security. She didn't have time to nurture that insecure girl locked up inside her, instead stifled what she considered weakness.
As she assessed her body, she noted how emaciated she looked. An irregular diet had lessened all her curves, and her muscles were more toned from a life constantly on the run. Who the fuck would want her? Why did nearly every male shifter want a woman like her as a mate? She shook her head, a look of disgust staring back at her. Steam began to collect on the mirror, distorting her image.
She used to be beautiful. If only Darius, or even Gideon, had seen her then. She dug her nails into her palms, angry for the traitorous lust cramping her stomach when she thought of the two men. And what of the cougar? She'd felt somethi
ng for him, too.
"You're sick," she muttered. "Sick, sick, sick." Or deprived. She wasn't as comfortable with her sexuality as Carna had been, but still knew what her body craved. Just as she'd attempted to blot the illicit thoughts from her head, the door swung open.
Darius froze in the doorway, a shock of pink material hanging precariously from his right hand. His eyes instantly roamed over her body, not leaving an inch untouched by his greedy gaze. She could see the heavy rise and fall of his chest, the glaze settling over his black eyes, and feel the heat of his dark desires. It affected her, he affected her—a human no less. Logic dictated that he was inferior, weak, an unacceptable mate. But her body and mind burst alive with sensation. His toned body, dark features, and dominant aura pulled her in, tempting her to let it all go. What would sex with a human feel like? Could he compare to a shifter? Would he disappoint her?
Chapter Three
"I thought you were in the shower." He paused, still staring, speaking in a whisper. "I brought you clothes."
She couldn’t talk, couldn't move. Her nipples tightened in awareness. She was naked with a man, but didn't attempt to cover herself as she should.
"Water looks ready." Darius took the lead since she was frozen in place. Rather than shielding his eyes and darting from the room, he set the clothing on the counter and held the shower curtain open, urging her to enter. Why were her eyes riveted to the bulging muscles in his arms? Why did she want to run her palm along his jawline to feel the roughness of his goatee? It wasn't even a full moon, yet her wolf howled within in her, desperate to be let loose, to nip and scratch—to fuck.
She followed his instruction, stepping into the shower stall. The humid heat made it hard to breathe when she already gasped for breath due to her rising hormone levels. What could he see in her? She had never been so unattractive, and Darius was a human, unaffected by her royal blood. Right now she wished she looked as healthy and curvy as she had been so many years ago.
Freya's Mates Page 2
