Olivia realized that Sable had stopped talking and his head had grown heavy on her chest. His breathing was deep and even, though his arm still held firmly around her waist, locking her in place beside him. Olivia maneuvered until she was free, sliding silently off the bed and onto the floor.
She padded barefoot into the kitchen and turned on her laptop. Typing quickly, she searched “fated mate,” “tiger-shifter,” and “human.” As she anticipated, there wasn’t much that came up, though there were endless articles about shifters finding their soulmates through announcement dreams. Near the bottom of the search results, there was a short article tucked in among the countless ones covering fated mates.
She clicked the link and began reading, her stomach sinking with each word. Olivia heard sheets rustling in her room, then the door to the bathroom shut quietly. She clicked print, sending the article to her wireless printer in her office down stairs. She shut down her computer and shut the lid as Sable was walking down the hall, his sweet smile crooked as he looked her over.
“Always working, aren’t you?”
“You know me. I can’t go a day without checking my emails, even on vacation.”
Sable moved behind her and held her in his arms.
“Thank you, for being there.”
“You’re welcome. Did you find Egan? How was he?”
“Egan has finally accepted that you’re not right for him. I can see that his heart is still broken, but he’s finally moving beyond his infatuation with you. He’ll get over it, and he’ll find someone who will make him forget he ever thought he loved you.”
“Gee thanks, you really know how to make a girl feel special.” She elbowed him in the ribs playfully.
They chatted easily, but Olivia was distracted by the papers waiting for her in the office. The first paragraph had frightened her enough, but there was more to it than that. Should she tell Sable? She wouldn’t know until she finished reading the article, and it didn’t appear that Sable was in any hurry to leave.
CHAPTER THREE
Sable watched Olivia push her dinner across her plate, her meal untouched.
“What’s wrong, Olivia?”
She looked up, a little startled that she’d been so thoroughly lost in thought.
“I’m just trying to process the last few days. So much has happened in the last week, I feel like I’m spiraling. I hate that feeling. You worked hard on this meal, I’m sorry. It’s delicious, I’m just not in the mood to eat.”
Sable reached across her narrow table and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. She smiled at him, but he could see that she was still struggling. He understood completely. Even for Sable, this week had been trying, he couldn’t imagine how daunting all this would be for a human. She’d been his friend for a very long time, and he’d never met a human who understood and accepted them so easily, but it was still a lot to take in when you were viewing it from the outside.
Sable stood and moved around the table to stand behind her, wrapping her in his strong arms. She leaned against him, the weight of the world heavy on her shoulders.
“Sable, I don’t know if I’m cut out to be a fated mate.” Her voice caught, her emotions heavy on her heart.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to do anything. We don’t even have to act on the dream right now. No one knows about it but you and me, there’s no reason to worry.”
“So you’re not going to tell anyone?”
“Do you want me to?” He kneeled down beside her chair, cupping her chin and looking into her eyes. He saw so much in their depths, but most evident was the fear. He’d laid a heavy burden on her without even considering her feelings. He’d been so desperate to see her, so eager to share, that he hadn’t even taken a moment to think about how the news would impact her. She was scared and it was all his fault. He felt like a complete ass.
“I’m sorry, Sable. But for now, can we just keep it between us?”
“Of course, Olivia. Anything to make you happy.” He kissed her tenderly on the forehead, drawing a shy smile out of her.
Her smile turned wicked for a moment. Sable knew that look, so her next words didn’t surprise him.
“You know what would make me really happy?” She leaned in and kissed him, gently at first, then with increasing urgency. He stood and pulled her into his arms, his lips sealed to hers as he tasted her sweetness.
She wrapped her legs around his hips, her tongue darting into his mouth, kissing him passionately as he walked down the hall to her bedroom.
He laid her gently on the bed, climbing in beside her and pulling her into his arms once more. Olivia placed her hands on his shoulders, pushing him to lay on his back and undoing his pants. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor while she teasingly worked his jeans down his legs. Her smile was mischievous as she pulled his boxers off and began stroking his shaft, her hands working like magic on his skin.
“It’s been a long time,” she purred, her eyes drinking in the sight of him as she teased him. Sable’s eyes locked on hers, holding her gaze while she worked her hand on him, each measured stroke driving him further and further into madness.
“Too long,” he muttered before he grabbed her and rolled her onto the bed beneath him. She giggled, surprised as he began removing her clothes hastily.
“My, my, aren’t we eager, Tiger?”
Sable arched his eyebrow at her, his nimble fingers helping her out of clothes in record time. His breath caught in his throat as he took in the sight of her. Her body was lean, but curvy, her tanned skin and toned muscles reflecting hours spent outdoors. Sable ran a single finger down her body, tracing circles around her navel and skipping past her erogenous zones as he teased her slowly. Olivia reached out, grabbing his hand and attempting to push him towards the hot apex of her thighs, but Sable continued his lazy exploration of her body, delighting in her frustration. He watched her cheeks flush with need as the heat within her began to rise.
Smiling wickedly, he began kissing her body. His tender little kisses drove her mad as he purposely skirted around her breasts, choosing instead to focus his attention on her delicate collarbone and throat. Olivia thrust her hands into his thick hair, her hands clenching almost painfully with the force of her need. Sable teased and licked, delighting in her moans of pleasure and agony. More than once, he dipped his head towards the apex of her thighs, kissing her within inches of her sweetness before moving back towards her neck.
When Olivia began begging him, her voice catching on her arousal, he finally gave in to her cries. His mouth captured her, tasting her sweetness. Olivia grew silent, her hands easing their hold on his hair as he drew passion from her in gentle waves. She writhed and moaned as the pleasure grew stronger, pulling his hair roughly as she moved closer and closer to the edge. With one final push, she spilled over the precipice into the pounding surf below.
Sable held her as she trembled, her body satisfied after too many days of frustration. When her breathing slowed and her eyes grew heavy, Sable brushed his fingers across her face.
“Ready for round two?”
Olivia laughed. “Of course I am.” She rolled over and reached into her nightstand drawer, pulling out a wrapped condom and handing it to him.
She kneeled on the bed and kissed him as he fumbled with the thick wrapper. She pushed him down on the bed and helped him, her hands shaking with the need to feel him inside her. Finally successful, she straddled his hips and eased herself onto him. He moaned as she enveloped him, her soft heat surrounding him. She began to move slowly, languidly, treating him to the same slow torture that she had endured. Sable grabbed her hips and moved with her, crushing the last bit of resolve in her to make him wait for his release.
The heat was building between them, their breath short and labored. Sable pulled Olivia into his arms and held her tight as he took her, his movements deep and insistent. She moaned and twisted, the pleasure growing until it was too much to bear. Sable saw her face, pleasure moments
away.
“Don’t do it,” he growled, wanting her to hold onto control for a few moments until he caught up with her.
Olivia nodded, biting her lip with effort as his speed increased. All at once, they both lost control, Sable driving the passion home as she moaned and laughed above him. He grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her deeply, moving inside of her until he had nothing more to give.
She collapsed onto him, still wrapped around the heat of him, arms and legs tangled in a heap after their frantic coupling. Olivia fell asleep within moments, her head resting on his sweaty chest as he fought to regain his breath.
He rubbed her back and held her, kissing the top of her head gently as she drifted deeper into blissful sleep. She was exhausted, emotionally and physically, so Sable was glad to see a tender smile tugging her lips as she began to dream.
Rolling gently, he laid her on the bed and pulled the covers up around her. Her brow furrowed and then relaxed, her body feeling his absence even in a deep slumber. He moved to the bathroom and turned on the shower, discarding the condom in the bathroom trash and jumping into the shower before the water was completely warm.
He scrubbed himself clean, the cool spray followed by intense heat working the last of the soreness from his recently bruised and battered body. The fight with Egan had taken its toll on him, but he had healed quickly, as all shifters did. The fragrant soap filled the air and mixed with the steam as he soaped his body up several times. Once satisfied that he was completely clean and fresh, he stepped from the shower and toweled off. He glanced into the trash as he opened the medicine cabinet to open a new toothbrush from the stash that Olivia kept.
He did a double take and groaned. A tiny tear seeped fluid. He thought back, certain that he had tied it up and tossed it into the can from a reasonable distance. Maybe it broke then. Sable was sure that wasn’t the case, but there was nothing to be done now if it had broken during their love-making. He tossed the toothbrush package on top of it and walked out of the bathroom. Olivia was under enough stress, no use getting her worked up over the slight chance that anything had happened. If it had, they’d cross that bridge when they got there.
Sable, naked and fresh from the shower, slid into bed and pulled Olivia against him. She snuggled into him, searching for the comfort of his touch, even in her sleep. He closed his eyes and drifted off, pushing all thoughts of the future and his dreams out of his head for now. In this moment, all that mattered was the woman asleep in his arms.
**
Laskin moved through the shadows outside Olivia’s, trying to get a look inside the home. The blinds were closed tight, covered by curtains. Aside from a few shadows, Laskin wasn’t able to see anything of value.
After Aldrich had caught Sable with Olivia at the gala, he’d ordered Laskin to follow the pair and report back. The request irritated Laskin, though he meekly bowed and left to do as he was asked. He’d been following Sable since the evening after the gala. At first, it had been a pretty mundane task, with Sable hardly leaving his house.
A week later, Sable had peeled out of the driveway and driven at break-neck speeds to get to Olivia’s house. Laskin had followed at a safe distance, almost losing Sable’s sleek Jaguar as it wove in and out of the heavy traffic. Laskin was just pulling up in front of Olivia’s house when a disheveled man ran out of the house, his face a mixture of shock and anger. Since that day, Sable had been at Olivia’s house every night. Nearly a month later, Laskin was wondering why Sable didn’t just marry the woman and be done with it. They’d been lovers off and on for years, but Laskin couldn’t explain Sable’s behavior any more than he could explain why a shifter would want to mate with a human in the first place. His nose wrinkled, the thought of tainting his pure shifter blood vile and repulsive. The councilmen were fools. The answer wasn’t regulating human-shifter breeding, it was eradicating it altogether. But the council members were old, behind the times. At some point, they would fall from grace. And when that happened, Laskin and the few that shared his views would be ready to step in. Under their guidance, shifters would be returned to their rightful place; protecting humans secretly, and ruling by strategically placing influential shifters in top political offices.
Until that glorious day, he was simply Laskin, assistant to the elders. Keeper of the tablet. He rolled his eyes and dialed Aldrich, who answered on the first ring.
“Yes?”
“Sable is still with Olivia. He hasn’t left her side for more than a few hours since I started following him a month ago. Olivia goes to work, but that’s about it. Should I—”
Aldrich interrupted him, not even listening to what Laskin had to say. Laskin fumed silently, but remained outwardly calm. He was Aldrich’s most trusted confidante, and the position had some definite perks.
“Keep following him until I ask you not to. I have to consult the others. I have a feeling Sable has not heeded any of our warnings.”
Laskin rolled his eyes again, grateful that Aldrich couldn’t see his expression. He was a dawdling old fool.
Before Laskin could comment, Aldrich hung up in his ear. Tired of watching the outside of Olivia’s house, Laskin left to get some lunch. Aldrich was busy destroying them all, one foolish decision at a time. He wouldn’t notice if Laskin left for a few hours.
He was about to leave when Sable walked out of the house, Olivia close on his heels carrying a briefcase. Sable kissed her goodbye, sliding into his car and pulling away slowly. With one last wave, he rounded the corner. Olivia hopped in her car and left, driving the other direction. Unsure of who to follow, Laskin turned his car around and followed Olivia.
She wound through the streets, heading in the general direction of her work but taking a route he wasn’t familiar with. She stopped briefly in front of a neatly kept house and tapped the horn. Olivia’s friend Grace raced down the steps and jumped into the car.
“Well this is interesting.” Laskin followed them, careful to avoid getting too close. They drove for a few miles before finally pulling into a grocery store parking lot and getting out of the car. Laskin groaned. What a complete waste of time.
He parked the car and sat for a moment, wondering why they hadn’t gone to one of the many stores much closer to both of their houses. Laskin, irritated and getting hungrier by the minute, was about to leave when the two came out. Olivia carried a single bag filled to the brim with several small boxes.
They got back into the car and drove to Grace’s house, closing the door behind them. Laskin wished for the millionth time that he was a spy in one of his favorite movies, with a huge directional mic to help him eavesdrop on the pair.
But he wasn’t, and he really was wasting his time. He had no way of figuring out what the two were up to without knocking on the door and asking. He doubted that Olivia would just answer his questions regardless. She would, of course, call Sable and have him on Laskin’s ass in no time. That was the last thing he needed.
He pulled away from the curb and headed towards his home, searching for a drive-thru on the way to pick up lunch. Laskin looked at his watch and groaned. Scratch that, he was headed to pick up dinner after wasting nearly two hours following the two women and waiting for nothing to happen. He had a bit of time to kill before Aldrich would expect a report from him. Tonight, he was going to send that text from his home, claiming that Sable was where he’d been the entire month; with Olivia. If Aldrich wanted to know his whereabouts so badly, the old fool could follow Sable himself.
CHAPTER FOUR
Olivia stared at the growing pile of tests sitting on Grace’s bed.
“This can’t be happening. We used a condom. We always use a condom.”
Grace rubbed Olivia’s back, trying to comfort her friend. “Maybe they’re wrong. You could try another one.”
Olivia laughed, a desperate sound that was without joy. “I’ve taken fifteen pregnancy tests. I’m pretty sure that fifteen out of fifteen positive means I’m pregnant.”
Grace sighed. “I’
m sorry, Libby. Are you sure Sable is the father? Maybe it’s one of the other guys.”
Olivia shook her head. “No. I hadn’t been with a guy for almost a month before Sable.”
“Well then maybe it’s him and not Sable?”
“No. Dan told me he loved me mid-way through. I kicked him out right then.” A single tear slid down her cheek. She swiped at it with the back of her sleeve. “It’s Sable’s baby, there’s no question.”
She laid down on the bed, tears spilling freely over her cheeks as she choked back sobs.
“Oh Gracie, what am I going to do? If I tell Sable, he’s going to insist we get married. I mean, he had that dream, and he’s so sure that we’re fated mates. He’s been completely different since that dream. He won’t leave my side except when I go to work. The only reason he left today was Egan needed his help with something at their house.” She stopped talking, sobs ripping from her throat as she fought to calm down. “Gracie I can’t get married. I’m not that type of woman. I love Sable, but I love my freedom more.”
“Can you get help from our government? Surely humans can’t be okay with another human being forced to marry a shifter.”
“It’s a mutually supported law. Shifters think it will keep their species from going extinct and humans think it will keep humans from having casual sex with shifters. If I ran to them for help, they would probably turn me over to the shifters without so much as an apology. No. No one is going to help me.”
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