by Dana Archer
She blinked backed her tears. It wouldn’t matter if he had children, but she prayed he hadn’t lost one. The thought morphed into another type of sadness, a selfish one. A human female would have the right to bear him a son, never her.
A strong, warm hand covered her bare bottom. She jerked back, nearly toppling backward. Josh stopped her tumble with his confident, familiar embrace.
“Sorry, kitten. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She looked into his sleepy blue eyes and didn’t know what to say. Dreams weren’t supposed to be interactive or feel so real. A rough knock on the door saved her from coming up with a response.
“Let’s go, Mira. Kade is waiting for you.”
Aron’s booming voice twisted the knife in her chest and ripped her heart open.
Josh tugged her closer. “You can’t have her yet. She’s mine for another hour.”
His for another hour? What exactly… A sick thought settled over her. Would they share her? Josh and Kade? Or maybe Aron?
No. Gods, no. That would destroy her.
The scene faded, and she found herself in a small church. Alone. Candles flickered, casting a soft glow over the walls. A cross hung above the altar. Images of saints and biblical scenes decorated the walls. She took it all in and shuffled her clothed and still-pregnant body to the back pew.
She sat and pressed her hands to her eyes. “Take it back. Please, take it back.”
Her words echoed, mocking her. She’d been a pawn from the moment she took her first breath. Begging didn’t change anything. It only delayed the inevitable.
Josh stood in the middle of nowhere. Literally. Blackness surrounded him. The endless nothingness stretched in all directions. He turned slowly and looked around.
“Hello?”
Only his echo answered him.
He cursed inwardly. Another dream, this one worse than any other. He took a deep breath and started walking. Time stretched, and he strode forward. After a few minutes, he picked up the pace. His jog turned into a run. He panted, feet pounding against a floor of dark haze. Light shone in the distance. He moved toward it. Golden and piercing, the brightness emanated from the woman waiting for him.
Blonde hair, gilded skin that shimmered with a yellow glitter, glowing gold eyes, and slender talon-tipped hands made up her image.
The Golden goddess.
He knew who she was with the same certainty he knew his name. But why was he here? She only appeared to pride leaders, and he’d never be one.
She chuckled with a small shake of her head as if she’d heard his thought. With a single finger, she motioned him forward. “Come to me, child. Accept me, and hear what I have to say.”
Her words resonated in his head in a lulling melody tempting him to give her what she wanted. He went to her because, really…who argued with a goddess? She might not be his but that didn’t mean she couldn’t snuff his life out with her bent pinkie.
He knelt, and she rested a hand on his head. Images flashed across his eyes, the pictures rolling by so fast he couldn’t focus on them, but he heard the screams and the gut-wrenching cries. Mira’s sobs. Rage rose within him. He wanted to snarl, lash out at whoever dared touch her. He couldn’t. The goddess’ touch seized his body while she fed him information he couldn’t grasp.
She released him and pain exploded behind his eyes. He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t see. The darkness took everything away and left him in misery. Alone. He couldn’t stay here alone. Mira needed him, only he couldn’t remember why. He was too weak.
“And stubborn, child. Too stubborn to save yourself.”
Chapter 23
Mira woke to Josh’s scent in her lungs and his strong arms banded around her, holding her close. The steady beat of his heart under her ear and the slow rhythmic inhales that pressed his chest to hers confirmed he slept. She held her body still, not wanting to wake him. She needed a few moments to work through her emotions.
The dream she’d had left her more saddened than any other. She couldn’t live like that—torn between a male who’d never be more than a breeding partner and the one she loved. Except…what they’d just shared might’ve changed everything. Yet, it shouldn’t have. Josh couldn’t mate her. Female shifters had been taking mortal lovers for millennia, but the encounter she’d shared with Josh had been different.
She closed her eyes and focused on her body. Her lower belly warmed with thoughts of Josh, but it was the bite on her shoulder that fed her theory. It thumped, echoing her heartbeat…and his. Their hearts beat in a synchronized rhythm. Only mated females experienced the phenomenon.
Impossible, yet undeniable. She turned her psyche inward and reached for her animal spirits. Her cats blinked sleepy, contented eyes at her. She mentally prodded their emotions, needing their instincts to guide her.
Her white tiger bared its fangs at her, but the animal complied with her demands, slamming an image into her mind—Josh sleeping naked next to her very pregnant body with his hand resting over her belly. Her jaguar added another image—Josh licking the scar on her shoulder and making her writhe in pleasure, a feat only a mate could accomplish.
Mira pulled away from her cats’ world more confused than ever. What they showed defied all the rules yet their insistence spurred her hope. According to them, Josh was her mate.
Her mortal and fragile mate.
Her breaths quickened and pulse raced, making the thump in her bite uncomfortable. How was it possible? And what exactly did it mean? Could he give her children, the prophesized ones the goddesses proclaimed she’d have?
Even if he did, she’d still lose him to death when old age claimed his body. Her heart raced as her anxiety mounted. She took shallow breaths, an attempt to calm her rapid pulse, but it didn’t do any good. She needed to put some space between them, think everything through without his distracting body close.
Loosening her tight grip on him, she eased back. Josh locked his arms around her, denying her the distance she sought.
He nuzzled the top of her head. “Mmmm, you smell good, kitten.”
His drowsy, sated voice brought a smile to her lips.
No. Distance. She needed distance. She had to think. She pushed at his arms. She couldn’t budge them.
He pressed his mouth to the spot below her ear. “You’re not getting away, Mira. You’re mine, and I’m not done with you.”
The words slammed into her and triggered every one of her instincts.
“Josh, I…” She didn’t know what to say because she needed him too.
He used one arm to lock her body to his and lazily traced the fingertips of his other over her back. Each pass both aroused and calmed her. The tension in her muscles faded until she lay in his embrace as relaxed as she’d been when she first woke.
He draped a leg over hers and continued to caress her spine, soft strokes that spurred desire, not anxiety.
“Touch me too. I want your hands caressing me.”
Unable to resist his order, she slid her hand over his back, tentatively touching him.
“More, Mira, more.”
She nuzzled against his bare chest and brushed her lips over him. A flick of her tongue and she teased his skin. His low groan spurred her on. She nipped him. He moaned, a sound that was rapidly becoming necessary.
Pleased with his reaction to her, she kissed the spot she’d bitten. “And you taste good.”
A rumble of approval vibrated his chest. With her ear above his heart, the noise was clearer, more primal than a human should make. She jerked back. “Josh.”
“Yeah, kitten?”
Mesmerized by the heat and affection reflected in his hypnotic blue orbs, she couldn’t remember what she was going to say. He smiled, and his dimples made an appearance. Gorgeous. She brushed her thumb over one dip. He turned his head and nipped her fingertip before sucking her finger into his mouth. He swirled his tongue around it.
Love rushed up, mixing with the lust and leaving her in a state of vulnerability she h
adn’t known she could experience.
Josh owned her, always and forever.
Confusion surfaced. She didn’t understand what was happening between her and Josh. The sensation of rightness, of completeness, felt so…real. It couldn’t be, though. The rules made it impossible. Yet… She inwardly groaned. No. Guessing would make matters worse. She needed time to think about everything that had happened. Maybe the answer was right in front of her. Goodness knew she couldn’t focus on anything beyond loving Josh when he was with her.
She pushed against his chest when all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and hold him close. “Stop. We can’t do this again. I need to think.”
He gave her a knowing look, the smile changing into a lopsided smirk. “That so?”
He waited a moment more, probably giving her the chance to answer. How could she? Her brain cells fried every time he looked at her like that.
“That’s what I thought.” He clamped his mouth over her neck. His teeth dented her skin. She whimpered.
Time stretched while the urge to submit beat at her. After a long moment, she went limp beneath him. Her instincts demanded her submission. She couldn’t fight them.
He released her neck and skimmed his lips to the scar on her shoulder. She tensed, but he didn’t give her the chance to decide if she wanted his lips there. He halted his deliberate approach with his mouth hovering over the old bite mark that had lain dormant for three centuries.
Until Josh.
Slowly, as if testing her, he latched on to her shoulder. Tingles ignited along the raised entry points. He flicked the center with his tongue, a quick touch, there and gone.
Sensations whipped through her body. Another flick and she writhed against him, eager to love him again, but he held her immobile with a palm on her belly.
He eased back so only his lips brushed the four seared points. “Well? Should I stop or give us what we both want.”
“Give. Please, give it to me.” She responded the only way she could.
He fitted his mouth to the bite, his teeth seeming to line up with the old wound, and sucked at the same time as he joined their bodies. Josh loved her, taking her to heaven.
Bodiless, she floated on sensations and emotions. Colors faded, blackness spread, and she fell, too sated to fight it, only knowing she’d never be the same again.
Chapter 24
Josh splashed another handful of cold water over his face. It didn’t ease the heat coming from his skin or cool the burn in his muscles. With his palms splayed on the counter, he hung his head and took shallow breaths.
Everything hurt as if he was coming down with the flu yet he’d never felt more alive. Energy hummed within him. He had the urge to pace, run, or maybe love Mira over and over until he worked through the power revving up his system.
If it wasn’t for the simmering agony in his teeth and bones, he’d welcome the surge in his energy levels. He worked his jaw, back and forth, back and forth. The ache in his gums didn’t ease. It thumped. The pounding reverberated in his head until he wondered if it’d actually explode. He stuck his fist in his mouth and bit, the counter-pressure finally easing the pain.
A relieved sigh escaped. He’d never gotten migraines before. If this was the start of one, it sucked. He finished cleaning up, hung the towel up to dry, and paused with his fingers on the rack. Something caught his attention. He narrowed his eyes and focused on his surroundings. No sound besides the dripping faucet came to him. He frowned. A whiff of spring rain drifted to him. He swung his head toward the door a moment before a knock sounded.
“You got a text from Kade,” Mira called out.
“What’s it say?”
He listened to the brush of cloth as Mira no doubt walked back through the tiny bedroom to pick up his phone from where he’d left it in the equally small living room. He could hear her quickened breaths too. She was agitated, had been ever since she’d woken up after the second time they’d made love. He’d been about to ask her why, except the annoying tingling had started in his teeth. He’d retreated to the bathroom before she noticed the way he kept grinding his molars.
Something was seriously wrong with him. On top of his physical symptoms, he couldn’t help wondering if he was losing his mind. The dreams, the crazy urges, and the woman who kept coaxing him to take her hand were nowhere near normal behaviors for him. He was one of those people who knew they had dreams but could never remember them. And now he was suddenly starring in realistic ones? No, not normal at all.
Part of him wondered if the shifters’ goddesses were actually trying to talk to him through his dreams, but that was impossible. According to everything he’d learned, they could only connect with their children—pride leaders, specifically since they held the spirit of their first family ancestor.
Dreams—that was all they were, nothing more, nothing less. But the pain and vision changes? Yeah, he needed to see a doctor or a shrink, possibly both.
His anxiety kicked up with the thought. His pulse raced. Sweat slickened his palms. Maybe he hadn’t healed from the knife wound as well as he thought he had or he really did have something wrong with his blood?
No. He refused to allow his mortal weaknesses to hold him back.
Deep breaths slowed the rapid beat of his heart. Focus. He had to keep his mind together, for Mira’s sake. He refused to lose his woman. She needed him as much as he needed her. Another deep inhale filled his lungs with the scent of springtime. His pent-up air released in a slow hiss.
Calmer, he turned his attention to Mira and what they’d shared. He hoped she didn’t regret it. He didn’t. He couldn’t wait for another chance to be with her.
He was acting as if he was a horny teenager. His every thought revolved around sex…and Mira.
Yeah, he had to talk to her and make sure she was okay. The idea of her being upset agitated him, made his skin tight and his fingertips burn. A red haze slid over his eyes. He shook his head. The world around him undulated, making him feel as if he was hallucinating.
He choked on a groan and gripped the counter’s edge to steady his legs. No. He had to keep it together. Mira needed him. He wouldn’t fail her.
“Kade wants to know if you’ll take Molly tonight, too. He doesn’t think it’s a good idea for her to be around when…” She cleared her throat. “He doesn’t want Micah to see her.”
Micah. Hearing the name of Edmund’s great-great nephew whipped rage through Josh. He growled and had to press a hand against his chest. The vibrations sent a sharp twinge into his lungs. He blew out a rough breath and swallowed past the lump in his throat.
“I’m not leaving you alone to deal with that jerk,” he rasped.
The bed squeaked. In his mind’s eye he could see her sitting demurely on the edge in the dark-blue panties and bra she’d put on after her shower. He fought the groan that accompanied the surge of lust.
“I’m a big girl. I can handle him.”
He shoved the door open and stared at the sight she made. With her arms braced behind her on the rumpled sheets, her full breasts strained against the confines of the bra.
Sheer will forced his gaze from the valley between her breasts lower to the soft swell of her stomach. The tiny swatch of material hiding her bare, smooth sex drew his eye.
He wanted to love her again from the inside out. He reached for the top edge of the doorjamb to steady himself.
She turned her head and the wet strands of her hair slid over her shoulder. Drips of moisture left dark circles on the sheets. A few clung to her creamy skin. He licked his lips. The urge to follow the trail of droplets on her chest with his tongue grew stronger, yet it wasn’t one he could give in to. If he did, they’d end up tangled and sweaty in her bed again. That couldn’t happen despite his desire to keep her there all day and night. He had responsibilities, and she had obligations.
His interlude with Mira was over for today. Tomorrow? Yeah, he’d find every opportunity to get her alone. And naked.
He met her hungry, drowsy eyes and reined in his runaway lust. “I don’t doubt that you can take care of yourself. I’ve seen you train with Devin, but you shouldn’t have to face any threat alone. That’s what Micah is to you.”
Mira flashed a smile before she turned away as if she needed a moment to get her composure. The deep shuddering breath she took confirmed his suspicion. Yeah, that pleased him. So did seeing the way she fisted the sheets as if she too wanted to close the distance between them, but when she faced him, the controlled mask of a predator replaced the aroused one she’d worn.
“I won’t be alone. Kade, Rafe, and a few of Xander’s wolves will be there. Micah doesn’t know Aron is here or that he’s courting me, too. Kade sent the official response to Anton only. Kade suspects Micah will be a tad upset when he finds out, since Aron and I have a history together.”
Josh stepped around the chair blocking him from Mira. Her gaze dropped to his nakedness. Hunger flared in her eyes. He relished the look of carnal lust on her face, but his irritation over her statement wouldn’t be denied.
“The game is over.” He closed the distance between them, tipped her chin up, and captured her gaze with his. “No more suitors. You’re mine.”
She parted her lips, and those eyes he adored bled completely yellow-brown—no white—the streaks of green and blue turning them into a swirling vortex he could get lost in.
“I choose my mate. Those are the rules.”
He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “I mated you. That overrides the rules.”
She tried to shake her head, but he held her chin. No way would he let her deny him. Once Mira sighed and the tension in her body faded, he dropped his hands to her arms, the slight definition of muscles under his palms reminding him she was more than the soft, lush female she appeared to be. She was strength and power. That appealed to him too. He tugged her up so her body pressed to his. With her flush against him, he threaded his fingers into her hair and tipped her head back.
