Forbidden Temptation

by R. L. Kenderson

  What an odd question. She was obviously confused.

  “Kenzie, you’re my mate. Why wouldn’t I be nice to you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Um, Sawyer, I hate to break it to you, but you’re not Australian. You can call me your friend.”

  Now, he was the confused one. What does Australia have to do with anything? Then, he put two and two together.

  He laughed. “No, Kenzie, not my mate, as in my friend. My mate, as in my partner.” As a human, maybe she wasn’t used to the term. “You know...you’re my wife.”

  In shock, Kenzie stepped away from Sawyer.

  His words, calling her his wife, stirred something deep inside her.

  A longing she hadn’t known that she had.

  More like, a longing that she had denied since the moment she met him.

  One thing was for sure. She had to shut this down before things went any farther.

  Before they got more complicated.

  Before they got in too deep.

  Before Sawyer regained his memory and broke her heart.

  Her chest ached just from her thinking about it.

  “Sawyer, I’m not your mate,” she gently spoke the words. “You don’t even like me. In fact, I’m pretty sure you hate me.”

  His mouth was set in a grim line, and his eyes were hard. This was how he usually looked at her. “I don’t understand.”

  She sighed. “Honestly, I don’t understand a lot either. All I know is that you don’t really care for humans—me, in particular. I don’t know if it’s because we have this chemistry—which I’m sure you would deny if you were your usual self—and you resent me for it or if it’s something else, but you’ve hated me from the beginning. And since you’re mostly an asshole to me, you’re not my favorite person either. We mostly try to avoid each other.”

  Sawyer stepped forward with determination.

  She didn’t know what he was going to do, and she intuitively took a step back and ran into the counter.

  “What I don’t understand,” he said as he reached up and pulled both sides of her sweatshirt and T-shirt away from her neck, “is, if you’re not my mate, then why the fuck do you wear my mark? Why the fuck do you smell like me?”

  She tried to shrug him off, but he didn’t let go.

  “I don’t know, okay?” She threw her hands up in the air. “I have no idea why you do anything that you do.”

  He stepped closer. “Did I mark you during sex?”

  She purposely shot him an are-you-stupid look. “You’re not listening. You don’t like me. We’ve never had sex.”

  Some of the anger left his face, and he looked off to the side. “Ah...that explains some things.”

  “What? What does it explain?”

  “Why my scent on you is not as strong as it should be.” He met her eyes again. “If we didn’t have sex, then when did I mark you? How many times?”

  “Um...three times.” She hesitated to tell him what had led to him biting her because this new Sawyer wasn’t going to like it. “The first time was when we were at the same nightclub where we had met, and I was hitting on one of your coworkers and friends.”

  Sawyer let go of her shirts and brought his hands down to her hips as the fire returned to his golden eyes.

  “He turned me down,” she quickly added, “but you were still super ticked off. I basically told you that you had no hold over me and that I could fuck whomever I wanted.” As she spoke, she felt his fingers tighten around her. She needed to hurry this story up. “This obviously upset you—which was my goal, I admit—and you dragged me into the restroom where you...you know...got me off and bit me. Then, you told me that nobody would touch me now, and you just turned around and left.”

  Sawyer swallowed. “And the second time?”

  “Naya and Vaughn had a meeting with their parents, so everyone came, including your alpha’s nephew. He basically called me your whore because I smelled like you, I guess.”

  Yikes. If she’d thought that Sawyer was mad before, the anger that crossed his face now almost scared her.

  “I overheard you tell him that I wasn’t your piece of ass and that I belonged to you, so he needed to leave me alone. Then, just to prove it, when he looked at us later, you bit me again. And that was it.”

  Sawyer took a deep breath. “And the third time?”

  “Uh, it was the other day while we were being held captive. I may or may not have said something to piss you off again, and you were about to dump me in the shower and turn the water on me. But since I was supposed to be your pregnant wife and the cameras were on us, you started kissing me instead. Things got a little heated, there was some heavy petting, and you bit me again.”

  She decided to leave out the fact that she had pushed him away before she came. Just like the first time, he had only tried to use her body and an orgasm as a way to control her, and she hadn’t wanted to let him have that power over her.

  “I’m not really sure why you bit me the last time, but you can see that, while two of those times were sexual, it really wasn’t because you wanted me.”

  Sawyer didn’t say anything. He seemed to be deep in thought.

  She put her hands on his chest. “Sawyer?”

  He met her eyes.

  “You okay? Do you understand better now?”

  “Fuck no.” He moved his hands from the outside of her clothes to underneath and rubbed her bare hips. “So far, I’ve discovered that I’m a dick and that I want to kick a couple of people’s asses.”

  She smiled briefly. “Well, if that’s an apology, I’ll accept it. As far as the asses you want to kick, like I said, your friend turned me down, and you already put the alpha’s nephew in his place. Plus, that was months ago. It’s over with.” She drew her hands from his chest and squeezed his arms. “Does that help?”

  “No. But I’ll get over it.”

  “Are we good now? You get where we stand? You understand now that I’m not your mate?”

  Sawyer shook his head and pulled her close. He leaned down and put his mouth next to her ear. “I heard every word you said, and I believe you, but I also know what my nose, my body, and my instincts are telling me. Shifters don’t just go around marking anyone and everyone. They mark their mates. So, while it seems like I might have had my head up my ass, I don’t anymore. You are my mate, Kenzie.”

  She gasped and opened her mouth to protest.

  “And before you go denying it, your body doesn’t lie. My scent is inside you. This means that you opened yourself up and let me in. You accepted me just as much as I claimed you. And if you think I’m going anywhere, you’re fucking crazy. I might not remember anything, but I know this. You are mine, and I am yours.” He leaned down and kissed his mark on her neck. “And before we leave here, I’m going to make sure the whole world knows it. Especially you.”

  Chapter Five

  PHOENIX KAPLAN WOKE up bound, gagged, and really pissed off. She was going to strangle Gerald Llewelyn with her bare hands if it were the last thing she did. The fucker had pistol-whipped her and kidnapped her.

  He had sure picked the wrong she-cat. She was going to make him pay.

  She looked around the back of the SUV. First, she needed to get out of here though.

  She looked through the windows, relieved that she could see lights. They were still in the Cities somewhere. She had no idea what the crazy cat-shifter planned to do with her, but she was going to do her best to stop him.

  Not only had he abducted her, but he had also orchestrated a whole plan to kill their alpha, kidnap his children, and take over the pride. She couldn’t believe that he’d thought he could actually get away with it. He should have never involved the wolf-shifters and the vampires.

  Phoenix’s alpha, Vance Llewelyn, had learned that his cousin, Gerald, had plotted and schemed to take over the Minnesota Pride. Vance and Gerald had never been close, but this news had been a surprise. Vance never said it, but Phoenix thought he might have been hurt that his ow
n flesh and blood had tried to have him murdered.

  Tonight, Vance had confronted Gerald with his discovery. Everything had been going according to plan from what she could detect. Phoenix and Tegan had been stationed on the main floor while everyone else was in the basement. The two female sentinels had been able to hear the conversation below, and it had sounded like it was going well—until the gunshots. The lowlife asshole had chickened out and brought a gun. He was too weak to even use his own claws.

  Tegan and she had been prepared and had met Gerald when he ran up the stairs. Unfortunately, they hadn’t managed to get his gun, and he had shot Tegan before using the butt of the gun on Phoenix.

  She wanted to kill Gerald just for getting the best of her.

  Phoenix was attempting to get free. She tried to shift first and was unsuccessful. He must have silver on her somewhere. Going by the heaviness around her neck, he had some sort of choker on her. Silver was shifters’ kryptonite, leaving them with the inability to shift even a finger.

  Phoenix shivered. The fact that he had come prepared with silver, ropes, and a gag meant he had been planning to kidnap someone all along. She was pretty sure she had been a split-second decision, which left her wondering who his original target was. She had a sick feeling in her stomach that it was supposed to be Lilith, her alphena. Gerald was one sick freak.

  Phoenix was grateful that Gerald had gotten her instead, and it only made her more determined to get away from him alive. Thankfully, the dumbass had the music on, so it would cover up her movements. She worked her gag off with her shoulder and took a couple of deep breaths. Next, she bent her knees and tried to reach the rope tied around her ankles. Her hands were secured behind her back, so it took quite a bit of work and some time, but she slowly managed to get her feet untied.

  She sluggishly maneuvered her body to the back of the seats. It wasn’t easy with all the crap Gerald had lying around his vehicle. The man was a pig. She managed to reach the lever that would lower the backseat on the driver’s side, and she used her shoulder to push back against it. Once she knew the latch was free, she let go of the lever and pushed the seat the rest of the way down.

  She then scooted her butt to the end of the seat, which wasn’t easy with her hands behind her back. She noticed the city lights had dimmed and started to fade, indicating they were no longer on a major road, and she knew that she needed to hurry. She pulled her legs toward her body. Then, using all her momentum, she kicked the back of Gerald’s seat.

  “What the fuck?” he yelled from the front.

  She kicked his chair again. And again and again. The SUV swerved right and then left. She hoped that someone would see the vehicle and call the police. Getting the cops involved in shifter business wasn’t ideal, but if it was going to save her life, she was willing to risk it. She knew her alpha would understand. Plus, they had shifters in the police force to take care of such matters if they arose.

  “You fucking bitch, I’m going to kill you!” Gerald screamed as he tried to keep the SUV on the road.

  “You can try!” she yelled back as she kicked his seat again.

  After a few minutes, when she felt she wasn’t going to get him off the road, she side-kicked him in the head with her right leg and then side-kicked him with her left leg. The vehicle started to veer to the right, so as fast as she could, she dropped onto the floor between the seats and braced for contact.

  Boom!

  She had no idea what they’d hit, but she got up as fast as she could. She really needed to get her hands loose because it seemed to take forever for her to get the door open. She finally found the handle and pulled. Nothing happened.

  She looked behind her. Shit. She’d forgotten to unlock the door. Stupid, stupid.

  Unlocking the door and getting it open felt like it took a year, but once the door swung wide, she was out of there.

  They were in a residential area, but she didn’t want to stop at the first house she saw just in case Gerald awoke, so she ran down the block. She really wanted to cut through some houses, but with the snow on the ground, she was afraid she would fall, and her footprints would be obvious. She was lucky right now that the sidewalks were as shoveled as they were.

  She wanted to look behind her but wouldn’t dare, and with the winter wind and her deep breathing, she couldn’t hear if Gerald was close. She needed to find a house with lights on. She didn’t want to wait for someone to get out of bed to answer—

  “Oof!”

  Gerald had come out of nowhere and tackled her into the nearest front yard. He knocked her on her stomach, and with her hands out of commission, she could barely put up a fight, but it didn’t stop her from trying. The cold snow didn’t help her struggling.

  He pulled on her hair. “You’re a fucking cunt, you know that?”

  “Get off me, asshole.”

  He yanked harder. “I was going to fuck you and then use you as ransom for my freedom, but now, I’m going to fuck you and kill you.”

  The thought alone was enough to scare her, but she couldn’t let him know that he had found her only weakness.

  “You can try. I’m betting you can’t even get your dick up,” she said with a mocking laugh.

  “I always knew you were a dumb bitch,” was the last thing Phoenix heard before she saw Gerald’s fist flying toward her face.

  Saxon Einar really hated getting shot. His shoulder burned where Gerald’s bullet had gone through him.

  Worse than being shot though was his inability to do anything. He was sitting at the shifter infirmary, waiting for one of the doctors to get their butts in gear and stitch him up already. What a waste of time. He should be out there, grabbing that fucker, Gerald, and finding Phoenix.

  Just thinking about Gerald and Phoenix made Saxon antsy. Phoenix was like a sister to him and one of the few women that he’d ever let get close to him. If Gerald hurt her, Saxon was going to do the same thing back to him times ten. Phoenix was one tough chick, but Gerald was a man, and she was a woman. Saxon was pretty sure that was the one thing she couldn’t handle.

  Just when Saxon was ready to get up and find someone to help him, there was a knock on the door, and Vaughn walked into the room. His dark hair was messy, like he’d been running his fingers through it, and his blue eyes were full of worry.

  “How are you doin’?” Vaughn nodded in greeting.

  “Hurts like a bitch.” Saxon nodded toward his shoulder. “But I’ll be better once someone fixes me up.”

  “That’s good.”

  “How’s Zane?”

  “Shot in the chest. Hit his lung. He’s in surgery now.”

  Saxon sat back on the bed. “Aw, man. I hope he’ll be okay.”

  “He will. They think he’ll pull through just fine.”

  “Do his parents know?” Saxon asked.

  “Yeah. My dad called them. They’re on their way.”

  “What are we going to do about your uncle and Phoenix?”

  “We’re going to head out now. Check his house, Brent’s mom’s place, and any other place that we can think of where he might go.”

  Brent was Gerald’s son. Gerald never married Brent’s mom, but it still wouldn’t hurt to see if he was there.

  There was another knock.

  Vaughn opened the door and spoke to the person on the other side without opening it. “Hey, baby, I was just filling Saxon in about what is going on.”

  “You can let Naya in,” Saxon told him.

  Vaughn opened the door all the way to let his mate in.

  Naya, vampire princess and future alphena, entered the hospital room with grace. Despite her expanding belly, it was obvious to Saxon that she was royalty.

  “Hey, Naya.”

  “Hi, Saxon. Are you doing okay?”

  He smiled at her. “I’ll live.”

  She laughed. “That’s good.”

  Vaughn brushed her dark locks off her shoulder. “Did you need something, baby?”

  She looked at her mate. “
I just came to tell you that we’re leaving. Mother and Father don’t feel too comfortable here.”

  Saxon could only imagine. It had only been with the recent mating of Vaughn and Naya that the shifters and vampires were comingling. He imagined the king and queen of the vampires hated being in a place filled with only shifters.

  “Are you going to be okay going with them tonight?” Vaughn asked her.

  “I’ll be fine.” Naya coyly smiled up at Vaughn, her purple eyes full of mischief. “I’ll miss you though.”

  Oh God, barf. Saxon looked away before he threw up on them.

  Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Vaughn bend down and kiss her. “I’ll miss you, too. I’ll come get you before sunrise. Will you be okay? You don’t need to feed, do you?”

  “I’ll be fine. You just find them.” She looked away from Vaughn. “Get well soon, Saxon.”

  He looked back at the couple. “Thanks, Naya.”

  She kissed her mate good-bye and was out the door.

  Vaughn’s question to Naya had triggered a memory in Saxon, so after she’d left, he asked, “Hey, man, can I ask you a question before you take off?”

  “Shoot.”

  “It’s kind of personal.”

  “Well, if you didn’t have my attention before, you do now. What’s up?”

  “When Naya feeds from you, can she sense you or anything like that?”

  Vaughn tilted his head to the side but didn’t tell him to butt out. “She can sense my emotions more than anything, I think. She knows when I’m close, so if we’re in the same room or even building, she can find me. If I’m not blocking my connection to her at all, she can sense me even farther.”

  Saxon nodded his head.

  “Does that answer your question?”

  “Yeah, I think it does.”

  “Why do you ask?”

  Saxon shrugged. “Just curious. Thanks, man.”

  Vaughn paused but seemed to accept Saxon’s answer because he put out his hand. “No problem. I’d better get going.”

  Saxon clasped hands with Vaughn, and the two leaned into each other with a guy hug.

  “Keep me posted,” Saxon said.