Chapter Three
Jazz couldn’t move. Her body lay boneless, sated and so damn relaxed she could’ve drifted off to sleep if not for the heavy weight of the man who’d pleasured her keeping her awake. His head was pillowed on her belly and the roughened edges of his fingers skimmed up her side. The sweeping exploration reached under her shirt to toy with the edge of her bra, but he made no move to unhook it. He hesitated each time as if he were debating whether he wanted to push for more. At the moment, with her body humming and pliant, she wouldn’t have fought him.
Rafe would know it too. With the easy, confident way he touched her, she had no doubt he was well experienced. Not like her. She hadn’t had any sexual relations in… five years. Jeez, she hadn’t realized it’d been so long and that last time had been an awkward joining that lasted five minutes, tops. It had soured her to sex and men. But this…this time with Rafe had been amazing. There was no other way to describe it. She embraced the warm feeling in her heart, but as his fingers glided along her side, embarrassment set in.
She’d just had sex—even if it was only oral—with a stranger. She tensed and his fingers stilled. He lifted his head and peered at her through the mess of hair hanging over his face. It gave him a wild, untamed appearance…a primitive male set on taking down his prey.
“Jasmine?”
The cautious way he said her name added to the nerves suddenly churning in her belly. She squirmed and shoved at his shoulders. He sat up slowly, as if afraid to startle her. Her heart raced and fingers trembled as she righted her top. She scrambled out from under him and grabbed her shorts.
The clock on the wall chimed. She flicked her gaze to it. What the hell was she doing? She didn’t have time for this.
She yanked the shorts up, ran a hand through her tangled hair, gave up trying to fix it and looked around for her keys. They weren’t in her pocket.
“Dammit!” She dropped to her knees and glanced under the desk.
“Looking for these?”
“Yes!” She jumped up and reached for them. He raised his hand, keeping the keychain just out of reach. “Gimme those.”
He slid his other arm around her waist. A tug slammed their bodies together. She was momentarily frozen with the evidence of his desire pressed into her belly. She swallowed hard and tipped her head back. Heavy-lidded eyes met hers.
“Not until you give me your name and number. I want to see you again, Jasmine.”
“Jazz,” she corrected him.
He shook his head and slid a hand over her bottom. He massaged each cheek before resting his palm over her hip. “Only in public. When we’re alone, you will be my Jasmine.”
The possessive edge to his voice confused her. She went lax in his arms as she studied him. He too watched her. She suddenly felt as if she were his prey, the one he meant to capture. He blinked and broke the spell.
“Don’t look so shocked. I didn’t lie when I said you caught my interest. No female ever has before.” He grinned at her. “You should feel special.”
Special? Right. She snorted. “I’m sorry I led you on, Rafe, but I’m not interested in a relationship with you.”
His grip tightened and his nostrils flared. “Not interested…in a relationship.” He bent closer, forcing her to lean backward. “Exactly what does that mean?”
The normal response, at least the one she should’ve had, was fear. Rafe looked at her, anger tightening his features, but she wasn’t afraid. She fought arousal and that worried her. A stranger should not have this kind of power over her.
She huffed. “It means exactly what I said. I am not interested in a relationship with you. This shouldn’t have happened. I got carried away.” She held out her hand. “Now give me my keys.”
A tic developed in his jaw. “And why shouldn’t this have happened?”
“Umm, well for one, you’re a stranger. And two, I’m not interested!”
He made a low, annoyed sound and kissed her, pushing his tongue into her mouth and forcing her to follow his lead. She went limp in his arms, couldn’t help it. After experiencing passion in his arms, she was eager for anything he’d give her. She shouldn’t be, truly didn’t have time for it, but couldn’t resist.
Anticipation sped her pulse. He slipped his hand between her waistband and skin. She shifted her hips, giving him better access. Reaching between her legs, he plunged his fingers into her core. She groaned. The stroking sweeps of his probing ignited her passion as easily as his plundering kiss.
He pulled his hand free and lifted her. Still kissing her, he carried her to the couch and followed her down, blanketing her body with his. A knee between her legs spread her open. She rubbed against it and he pushed harder into her clit. He kept kissing her, arousing her with the subtle pressure on her sensitized nerves. Lust grew and for the first time in five years, she wanted to have sex. Just the thought of having Rafe’s cock inside her had her core clenching, but when the sound of a zipper being undone reached her and her lust-hazed mind registered that it wasn’t hers, she shoved against his shoulders. They both fell to the floor. She scrambled up and backed quickly to the door. Rafe stilled, watched her without following.
She opened her mouth to warn him off, but he tugged the zipper up, ran a hand through his hair and dropped his chin to his chest.
“I’m sorry, Jasmine.”
Her first response was to yell at him. But could she really? He hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d pleasured her and she’d loved it, even if she shouldn’t have given in to the passion he’d ignited, and now he looked upset…with himself.
“Look, it’s nothing personal, Rafe.”
Eyes closed and head still dipped, he mumbled, “Do you have another lover? Am I too late to claim you?”
She frowned at his choice of words but forced herself to tell him the truth. He deserved that for the decent way he’d treated her, not pushing for sex when she’d been sated or seducing her into accepting him.
“No, Rafe. I don’t have a boyfriend or a lover.”
He pushed up, a lithe move that reminded her of a dancer, and walked toward her. He brushed a few strands of hair from her cheek but stepped back and fisted his hands at his side.
“Then why?”
Why indeed? Her reason for keeping him at bay was a good one, but part of her wanted to ignore it and finally take something for herself. She couldn’t though. She’d lost the right to have a normal life five years ago.
“I’m a single mom, Rafe. My boys come first. Always.” She looked imploringly at him. “It’s nothing personal. Really. It’s just the way it has to be.”
He stared at her for so long she squirmed under his scrutiny.
“A mother?”
Sadness weighed on her shoulders. The couple of times she actually showed interest in a guy, right after she’d moved back home and needed a lover, not a boyfriend, they’d looked at her the same way Rafe was now. And after dropping a lame excuse, they’d run in the opposite direction.
She sighed. “Yeah, a mother.”
“Of twin boys.”
It was a statement, not a question, as if he already knew the answer, but he couldn’t. She’d only met him tonight. But if he was Josh’s friend, he might know more than she thought. Josh always talked about her, another reason she’d never included him in her secret world. She couldn’t trust him not to let something slip when he was drunk and his tongue loosened.
She nodded.
“Adopted.”
Another statement. She licked her lips, the lie feeling heavy on her tongue. She shouldn’t feel guilty. Technically, they were hers, or at least that’s what the birth certificates she’d used her saved college money to get said. The forged pieces of paper, the fact that at the time she’d been a good fifty pounds overweight and hadn’t seen her family in months had made the lie hold. Nobody, not even Josh, had ever suspected the truth. In her heart Seth and Levi were her kids.
She lifted her chin and declared, “No, they’re mine.”
His mouth parted as he inhaled. Brows creased, he studied her with narrowed eyes. She watched him just as warily. She’d seen her boys do the same thing more times than she could count. Big cats had special sensory organs in their mouth that allowed them to taste scents. If she didn’t know better she’d say Rafe was doing the same thing…but that wasn’t possible. Shifters were rare. She’d only met a handful in the few years she’d known about them—all bad except for Megan. The odds that Rafe was one…
She moved slowly away from him.
He watched her until her back smacked into the door. He ran a hand through his hair. “Children are precious. Important. I would never think of coming between a mother and her kids, but I don’t want to let this thing between us go.”
Wow. This guy knew exactly what to say to make her feel good. She cleared her throat, the thought she’d just had seeming silly now.
“There is nothing between us.” She motioned from him to her. “This was just a spur of the moment thing. It wasn’t serious.”
Rafe closed the distance between them. He didn’t touch her but he crowded her against the door. Standing in front of him, she was struck by the sheer size of the man. He was huge. She waited for fear to rise. It didn’t.
“If you want to believe that, go ahead.” He tipped up her chin. “But I don’t buy it for a minute. There’s something between us. I don’t know what it is, but it’s real.”
“That’s lust, Rafe. Walk out into that bar and grab another girl. I’m sure you’ll feel the same thing.”
An amused glint lightened his eyes and his mouth lifted in a lopsided grin. He bent his head and kissed her. Slowly. She still tasted herself on him and the memory of what they’d just shared, how it felt to have his tongue inside her core, came rushing back. On her tiptoes, she linked her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss but he pulled back, took her hands and held them in his.
“That’s more than lust, Jasmine.” He pressed their joined hands to his chest, right over his heart. “I feel it here.”
She blinked, wasn’t sure what to say. “I…I…”
“Don’t make up an excuse, Jasmine. I see the rejection in your eyes, but I also see your reluctance.” He lifted her hand, kissed the tips of her fingers. “Give it a chance. We can meet somewhere public. I want to talk to you, kiss you again. It doesn’t have to be more. I’m a patient man.”
He appeared so damn sincere. She nibbled her lip. Making a decision, she slipped under his arm and walked to the desk. With shaky hands, she scribbled her name and number on a piece of paper, folded it and handed it to him. “I’m not promising anything, Rafe.”
He wrapped a hand around hers and tugged her against him. “Okay, my Jasmine.”
Normally she hated when people used her full name, but in Rafe’s unusual accent it sounded good, made her feel beautiful.
She motioned with a tilt of her head in the direction of the attached bathroom. “I’m going to get cleaned up. I need to get home.”
“I’ll wait for you and walk you out to your car.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I have my own selfish reasons.” He rubbed his chin and glanced away before meeting her gaze. “I want to enjoy your company for as long as I can. I’m just grateful you were able to get a babysitter to your house to watch your boys tonight.”
“Actually, they’re at my neighbor’s house.”
“Then I should thank this neighbor for watching your children. I hate to think that our paths would never have crossed.”
“Umm, yeah…me too,” she mumbled and stepped away, a sense of surrealism surrounding her.
She wasn’t quite sure how she went from trying to run from him to agreeing to a date but she knew one thing—Rafe was the most romantic man she’d ever met.
That, or she’d just been played.
* * * * *
Rafe retreated to the hallway while Jasmine made use of the bathroom. He needed a moment to gather his thoughts and separate them from the whirlwind of emotion his cats fed him. Sometimes it was hard to distinguish between them and him. There were days when he wished he’d been born a regular shifter, one who could take a single form, not a royal with multiple entities sharing his body. But he was special. Royal. He held a spark of the gods themselves, shared in their immortality, their favor.
He snorted, let his head fall back against the wall. Special wasn’t the description he’d use. Cursed was more like it. But he had to admit the other abilities that came with the gods’ favor were damn nice, even if he’d never given much thought to them.
A royal’s blood held the essence of the divine, allowing them to heal nearly any injury. They could share that trait…if they were willing to accept the temporary weakness doing so brought on. But most importantly, their link meant male royals could take mates from other species…if they were willing to tie them to their souls.
For eternity.
He let his gaze drift back to the closed door. With the gods, there was always a qualifier. Nothing was free. But if the price paid netted a beautiful female who would worship her mate until the world ended, maybe the sacrifice wasn’t as great as he’d always thought. He shook his head to clear it. It was foolish to entertain such ideas. There were too many unknowns surrounding Jasmine and he hadn’t cleared her of involvement in shifter trafficking yet.
The lie she’d told about her boys fed his doubt. If she’d admitted to adopting them, then he could believe she had been duped the same way Tony had been with Megan. But to insist they were hers… Rafe cursed, didn’t want to entertain the notion she’d stolen them.
He needed answers. And he wanted them now. He dug out his cell and dialed his brother.
Kade answered on the second ring. “Yeah?”
The whispered greeting gave him pause. “Where are you?”
“The woods behind Tony’s house.”
Rafe tensed. “Why are you there and not Zach?”
“I was worried about Devin. He didn’t sound good when he called, kept repeating himself.”
He clenched his free hand and blew out a rough breath but it didn’t help. His anger rose. “Dammit, Kade. Why did you send him in the first place? Devin’s got issues to begin with and dropping him in a situation that reminds him of his past isn’t smart.”
“I was hoping to distract him. The shit with his sister has left him stressed. He’s been picking fights with anyone who even looks at Mira. One of Xander’s wolves stopped by to talk to her and Devin nearly tore his throat out. I’m worried about him.”
Him and everyone else in the family. Devin and his twin, Mira, might not be blood related but they were members of the Alexander pride and their issues became everyone’s. He pinched the bridge of his nose. While he wanted to talk more about Kade’s foolish choices, he had more important issues to address. His gaze strayed to the door blocking him from Jasmine.
“I stumbled upon an unexpected find.” More than one, he added silently.
“And that is?”
“Did Devin mention the scent-marked female we smelled at Tony’s house?”
“Yeah.”
“I found her. She’d come to talk to Josh too.”
“And? Did you recognize the scent? It was too faded by the time I got here to tell much other than she’s owned by a royal.”
Rafe closed his eyes and pictured Jasmine’s face when she’d pleaded with him to understand her rejection. “I think it might be the other way around. She has twin boys. My instincts tell me it’s their scent on her.”
“Shit, we’ve stumbled upon a damn treasure find. That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time. I wonder if she adopted them from the same lawyer Tony used.”
He pressed the heel of his palm to the thump in his temple. “She claims they’re hers.”
A long pause. “Is she mate-marked?”
“No. First thing I checked for.” But he had no problem imagining how sexy a bite would look on her shoulder, or how good it’d be if he had
the right to lick the marked skin, make her writhe in pleasure. He hissed out a strained breath. “And the claim rubbed onto her wrist consisted of two signatures.”
And it was that evidence that made the likelihood of what he suggested true. Felines were possessive. Once they claimed anything—an object or person—they held their treasured item close. They didn’t share and would never tolerate another’s scent mixed with theirs, unless it was important to both of them, like a mother would be.
“Do you have the female’s name?”
Rafe ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth where her taste still lingered. “I have more than that. I have her.”
“Good. So what do you need from me?”
“I’m going to follow her home but I want info on her. Anything I can get but since you’re there, I’ll text Zach instead.”
“I’ll meet you at the woman’s house. Unless I want to wander aimlessly, I’m just wasting my time. There’s no scent from our murdering shifter. He’s masking it. Only thing I found was a couple of lion tracks and a man’s footprints near where a car had been parked. He took off.”
And if the shifter was after their children, Jasmine’s boys were in as much danger as Megan. He pushed the worry back. The male might not even know about them. He had struck at Tony first, which suggested the little girl had been his original target. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that the unknown male wasn’t sane. Only a crazed shifter would leave evidence behind of a kill. Or maybe a suicidal one. Either way, he wouldn’t relax until all the innocents he’d stumbled upon were under his pride’s protection.
“I’ll send you what I have. She mentioned she left her boys with a neighbor. Check the surrounding area first.”
Kade chuckled. “You’re lucky I love you, brother. Otherwise, I wouldn’t stand for you ordering me around.”
“Thirty seconds separated us. You’re only leader because you popped out first. You and I both know I could take the reins from you if I wanted to.”
“Don’t tempt me, Rafe. I might just take you up on that offer and I know you don’t want the damn job any more than I do.”
Unexpected Find Page 4
