Josh

by Dana Archer

  “I shocked you. How cute.” Micah laughed. “Did you actually think I didn’t know you’ve been sleeping with the human?”

  Instead of denying her relationship with Josh—she didn’t feel confident she’d be able to pull off the lie—she took a step forward.

  “A tracking device?” She’d thought they were only used in movies or maybe by the government. “Where did you get hold of one of those?”

  He offered a half-shrug to match his cocky grin. “I have my sources.”

  She feared she knew who’d supplied him with the technical gadget. The Council members who thought to make sure she mated a single shifter wouldn’t allow her to escape their plan so easily by marrying Josh or mating another Royal. Or both if her dream was meant to reflect her future.

  “Xander won’t be happy once he learns you drugged two of his pack mates. He’ll have your blood.” And she prayed that had been her second protector’s fate, drugged not killed.

  “Xander isn’t around, and I didn’t drug the second protector. I exposed him to a situation he couldn’t ignore. Once he’s done saving the poor human I accidently hit with my car, I’m sure he’ll return to you.”

  Relief, anger, fear, and frustration whipped through her. The hormones revving her intensified each strong emotion. She trembled. Rage caused the reaction, not fear.

  “You need to leave, Micah. All I have to do is scream. The humans might not hear me, but the shifters inside the bar will.” No way would she admit the secret no single shifter knew—that she could telepathically connect to any feline Royal close to her. The singles hated them enough as it was without sharing all the privileges that came from their tie to the goddesses.

  She considered reaching out to see if any of her pride members were close, but dismissed the thought in the next breath. It’d be a betrayal to Josh to seek protection from another male. She inwardly groaned at her thoughts. Sometimes, her instincts didn’t make sense. For the moment, she’d play this out and see exactly what game Micah had in store for her.

  He grinned and continued to close the distance, stopping a couple of feet away. His heated scrutiny churned her gut. Her choice in clothes was meant to entice Josh in the privacy of his home, not capture Micah’s attention in the empty lot of Josh’s bar.

  Micah’s eager gaze settled on her heeled boots. “I can’t wait to have those wrapped around my hips.”

  “They never will be. Leave here.”

  He dragged his attention from the leather boots to her face. “It won’t take long to find out where you hid the cub. When I do, I’ll take her furry little head myself, and we’ll find out once and for all if the Leon spirit merged with her or floated away, destination unknown.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. The Leon spirit is probably with the Leon pride leader.” Which happened to be Molly. “As for the cub, I don’t know who you’re referring to. Molly isn’t with us. She was recaptured by the bear shifters. Go talk to the Ulgran clan.”

  “Don’t bother denying it. She’s here, and we’ll take her. You’ll be in no shape to stop us, either.” He jerked his chin toward the bar. “You’ll be too busy crying over the loss of your human.”

  Her fangs burst free. She uncurled her fingers, exposing her talons, and took a single step toward him, fully aware of the way his right hand edged closer to his pocket. The bulge there warned her he wouldn’t play fair. No doubt he carried a gun.

  Her cats rose to offer their enhanced senses. The moment he moved his hand, she’d act. She was confident in her speed and strength. With them on alert, she lowered her voice. “Threaten my family and you die, Micah. Right here, right now. I don’t have to shift to take your head. I’m stronger than you ever will be. It’s why you haven’t made a move on me, isn’t it?”

  He shrugged, unfazed by her words and obviously unwilling to answer her. “If you don’t come to me by midnight, your beloved male will die, and you’ll become mine. I won’t need to overpower you. You’ll be too weak to stop me.”

  A roar rang out. Micah flinched and stepped back. She didn’t need to see Aron to know he was running toward them. Several human lifetimes might’ve separated them but some things never left a person. That enraged sound was one she’d heard him make the day Devin had been returned to them broken in both body and soul.

  “Midnight, Mira. I’ll be waiting.” With that Micah took off down the alley behind the bar.

  For a split second, she debated going after him. Micah posed a threat to Josh. Eliminating him would have to wait. Another one barreled down on her. She turned and ran for the back door of the bar. Her fingers brushed the handle, but the hand on her hip yanked her back against a hard body before she could escape.

  “Did he touch you?”

  Aron’s slurred voice boomed around them. Anger dominated his scent yet lust bled in to it.

  “No.” She took a deep breath and choked on bile. “Let go of me. Please.”

  His chest rose and fell with his panting. For a long moment, he didn’t move or speak. With a hard nudge of his head, he buried his nose against her neck.

  “You smell good.” He licked her throat and groaned. “Fertile. Baby, you’re fertile.”

  She didn’t need him to tell her. She shoved at his arm. “Now, Aron. Let me go.”

  Instead, he spun her into his embrace and lifted her, a hand on her bottom and the other holding her neck. The brown contacts he wore didn’t hide his hunger. “We can fulfill the goddesses’ prophecy tonight, my Mira. Let me mate you.”

  Panic seized her, forcing her to react. She fought him, clawing at his back and snapping at him. He only tightened his grip. She dug her talons deep into his shoulder and bared her fangs to bite.

  He slammed their bodies together and snarled in her ear. She froze.

  “Stop, Mira, just stop. Fighting me makes me want to tame you. I won’t do that to you. Now calm down.”

  She did as he ordered. No way did she want him to try to make her submit to him. She’d already given herself to Josh. Anyone else who’d attempt it would suffer. She might not want Aron, but she didn’t want to hurt him either. What she’d just done to him—digging her sharpened nails into his flesh—was bad enough.

  “That’s my good girl.” Aron kissed her neck.

  She growled at his words. “I am not yours nor will I ever fulfill the prophecy with you.”

  He used his hold on her head to urge her to meet his gaze. “You refuse me?”

  The pain in his eyes was clear. Seeing it pushed some of her fear and anger back. “I have to.”

  “I will worship you.”

  She didn’t doubt he’d try. The knowledge only made this worse. “Will you let me marry Josh?”

  “Never. I won’t—”

  “Then that’s your answer. I won’t give him up. I can’t. Now”—she shoved at his chest—“let me go.”

  The back door flew open. Josh’s rage crashed over her. She flinched, even knowing he hadn’t directed it at her. He projected power, strength, and confidence. Traits that left her weak inside.

  “Get your hands off my mate.”

  Aron tensed. Questions and disbelief burned in his eyes. She didn’t have answers he’d want to hear or understand. She couldn’t deny her connection to Josh. He was the mate of her heart, her human mate, her true mate, the one male she’d always long for. Yet none of those terms explained the unusual bond they shared. Without a piece of her soul, without a piece of his, they had no physical or mystical tie. Only love bound their hearts.

  With her lips pressed together, she met Aron’s gaze and let him see what she couldn’t put into words—Josh was her world, her everything.

  “Impossible, Mira. It’s impossible.”

  Josh stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He inhaled deeply. A groan escaped his throat, one that jacked up her desire another notch. The response while in another male’s arms left her feeling dirty. She couldn’t have stopped it. Her instincts didn’t care if
Aron hovered close or watched them. As long as she got Josh inside her, she wouldn’t have cared if the entire pride or the bar patrons cheered them on.

  “Josh.”

  “Mira.” He buried his face into the fall of her hair. She hadn’t bothered dyeing it since she’d planned on waiting at his house. The appreciative rumble that shook his chest rewarded her. He’d been telling her for months to stop covering it up. Humans would think it was a funky dye job. At the moment, she wanted to test the theory, if only to hear Josh’s approval over seeing her natural color.

  Aron loosened his grip, allowing Josh to pull her more firmly against him, but held her captive in his pleading eyes. “Don’t waste tonight. Josh might’ve claimed your heart, but he can’t fulfill the prophecy. You’ll conceive if you take a shifter mate into your body.”

  Josh tugged her away. In one quick move, he spun her so they were chest to chest. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, clinging to him and wishing she’d never have to let him go. “Mira will not take another man to her bed. Understand this, Aron. She’s mine. I’ve tried to tell you stubborn shifters that for months. I knew it the second I saw her.”

  “She can’t be yours. Don’t be foolish,” Aron said.

  “Waiting so long to claim her is the only foolish thing I’ve done.”

  He gave her mate bite a small lick. She moaned. Sweeping waves of sensation whipped through her body to settle low. She wiggled against him, silently urging him to meet her needs. He eased away instead. She gripped his shoulders, ready to take what he wouldn’t give. A small pat to her bottom stopped her.

  Josh nuzzled against her, his adoration clear in the gentle circular caress and something she knew Aron would understand. “Mira is my true mate. I’ll fight anyone who tries to take her away.”

  “True mate or not, you’ll lose her, human. You know that, don’t you? You’re mortal, and the Council won’t wait for your soul to find its way into a shifter body in another lifetime. Let Mira go before you ruin her eternity.”

  The rumble of Josh’s laugh reverberated through her chest. The confident sound slapped Aron’s words back to him, and Josh’s deliberate snubbing as he dipped his head to brush his lips over her skin enhanced the rebuff.

  Aron’s answering growl would’ve concerned her, but Josh demanded her attention. He clamped his mouth over the thumping bite on her shoulder. She stilled, waiting with bated breath for what he’d do to her. With his teeth pressed against the four raised brands, he flicked the tip of his tongue to the center. Time stretched while Aron snarled and Josh’s heart beat steadily.

  Finally, Josh groaned and gave them both what they desired. He sucked on her bite and sent her into instant meltdown.

  “Josh, I need…”

  He kissed his way up her neck to her ear. “I know, kitten. I know.”

  She felt the brush of his short hair against her skin as he turned his head to face the male at her back. The stiffening of his body told her he and Aron had resumed their dominance battle.

  After a moment, Aron cursed. “When he’s gone, come to me. We’ll finish what we should’ve centuries ago. I will give you the babes prophesized to grow in your womb, no other shifter. That is my vow to you.”

  His scent faded as he walked away, and Josh’s familiar one cocooned her. He nibbled over her vein. “You smell so good. Like candy. Something I want to devour.”

  “I’m…I’m in heat. It happens every few years. This one night is the only one I’ll get to conceive until the next time I’m fertile.” Her heart ached admitting the truth, knowing it meant nothing for them.

  He exhaled a shaky groan that spoke of stark hunger and need. The sound cut at her and made her sadness grow. She pushed it aside before it took root.

  “You need me to love you, don’t you?”

  She licked her dry lips, focused on answering him, not the crazy lust making her burn. “Yes, I want you to make love to me. You’re the only male I want to touch me tonight.” Or ever, but she didn’t bother voicing her wants.

  He skimmed his lips along her jaw, leaving tingling awareness in his wake. With a contented sigh, he kissed her. The slow, reverent strokes of his tongue tugged on her heart. His love and devotion filled her up. The fire sensitizing her body eased enough to allow her to enjoy his attentions. Her sexual needs hadn’t faded. He’d only banked them.

  On and on, he made love to her mouth. She cradled the back of his head and returned his adoration, letting all her worries fade away.

  He broke the kiss and blue eyes that looked too bright in the darkness met hers. “If I could father your kids, would you choose me?”

  “Yes, yes, Josh. I…I…” She couldn’t get the words out. They stuck in her throat.

  He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. With their breaths mixing, he murmured, “I know you do, kitten. I feel the same. Always and forever, just like I told you.”

  He started walking toward his car. She squeezed his arm. “Josh, I can’t wait. I need you now.”

  “You sure? The only place we can go is my office. Kade’s inside the bar along with many of the wolf shifters trying to contain the mess Micah caused. He paid off a bunch of college students to start a fight. Police will be coming. Kade will handle it, but the shifters will know what we’re doing.”

  “Don’t care. Need you.” Midnight was too close. She wanted to greet the new day joined with Josh.

  He pressed his lips to hers. “Then you can have me, any way you want.”

  Fertile. Josh turned the word around in his head. He was going to be a dad.

  Mira skimmed her fingertips along his cheek. “I feel as though I’ve been waiting for you all my life.”

  He grinned. “You have.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  He debated telling her about the cats sharing his body but decided against it. Mira’s needs beat at him, demanding he ease her ache. The compulsion was one he couldn’t fight. They had plenty of time to talk…tomorrow.

  “I’m your destiny. Your choice. That’s all you need to remember.” He pushed the door open and carried her inside before she voiced the questions he saw reflected in her eyes.

  The blast of music and laughter assaulted him, messing with his balance, while the ripe scent of sweat and perfumes churned his gut. He paused and buried his nose in Mira’s colorful hair. A deep breath of spring rain chased away the unpleasant smells.

  His woman, his life, his everything.

  He pressed his lips to her ear. “I love you, Mira. Always and forever.”

  She sucked in a rough breath. Knowing their relationship still scared her, he kissed her so she didn’t have to admit the truth. He didn’t need the words. She did.

  Mira pulled him closer and yanked at his shirt, her intent clear. He broke the kiss and grasped her wrist to stop her from tugging his pants down. She gave up trying to get in his pants and bent close, brushing her lips against his.

  He turned his head so her open mouth skimmed over his cheek. Indulging in her sounded wonderful, but he couldn’t. Any more of her kisses and he’d take her right here. Mira might not care. Shifters didn’t mind public sex, but he didn’t want anyone to witness the act they’d commit tonight. That was special. Sacred.

  He tucked her closer, pushing her head into the crook of his neck, and headed toward his office. A few friends glanced his way and gave him a thumbs-up. Bob, one of the workers from Zeb’s farm, stared at him. Josh paused mid-step.

  The predators inside him raised their heads. Rage pulsed in his veins, theirs. They didn’t like Bob’s attention on Josh. Bob posed a threat. The image his inner felines slammed to the forefront of Josh’s mind was easy enough to interpret. Kill. They wanted to rip Bob apart.

  “Please, Josh. I hurt.”

  Mira’s desperate voice yanked his focus back to her. Mouth open slightly, she panted. A flush stained her cheeks. Lines etched the delicate skin by her eyes. His pulse kicked up to match her runaway rhythm.

  “What’s wrong?�
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  She gripped his shirt and pulled herself up so they were eye to eye. “It’s the mating heat. I need to orgasm.” She cupped his cheeks. “I need you.”

  He groaned and took her mouth in a rough kiss. He shoved away the concern over Zeb’s employee. Finding out why Bob had glared at him could wait. Mira couldn’t.

  Josh reached for the door handle of his office, twisted the knob, and shoved the door open. They stumbled inside, and he slammed it closed with his foot.

  Without windows, the darkened interior of his office left them in pitch-black. A week ago, he would’ve needed to flick on the switch for the overhead fluorescents. Not anymore. The sliver of light sneaking under the door brightened the room enough. Besides, he didn’t need to see in order to love Mira. He’d memorized every inch of her body already.

  Urgency beat at him.

  They’d make their triplets tonight. Two boys and a girl, the ones he’d dreamt about.

  He kissed her once more and eased back. Dilated, hungry eyes met his.

  “I’m going to make love to you, kitten. What we’ll create tonight will be a result of our commitment. You understand?” She didn’t. He saw the confusion in her eyes. “Do you trust me?”

  She nodded. No hesitation.

  “Good. Then, let’s fulfill our destiny and accept our blessing.”

  He kissed her. Affection fed the melding of their mouths. Instincts took over. He embraced them. His body knew what to do. So did his heart. He’d love Mira always. And forever.

  Chapter 32

  Mira woke to Josh’s steady heartbeat under her ear. She grinned and snuggled closer, but the first hint of unease slithered through her. Although she didn’t hear or smell anything unusual, her instincts flared. Not wanting to wake Josh, she reached inside herself and prodded her inner cats who’d been dozing too. They’d done it again and given their trust to Josh. She growled at each big predator, reminding them they had to stay on alert to protect Josh.

  Their annoyance resonated along the bond she shared with them, but her tigress raised its head. After a moment, the big cat snarled.