Scent Of A Mate: League Of Gallize Shifters

by Dianna Love

  Gan was different, unique in so many ways and sincere.

  He took up so much real estate in her mind it scared her a little. What would she do when all she had left were memories?

  She shouldn’t blame him for her erotic dreams, but they hadn’t started until she’d met him.

  He inhaled slowly and lost his irritation if the smile curving his mouth was any indication.

  She picked up the corn and tossed it on the counter, trying to diffuse the sizzle of energy buzzing between them.

  The microwave dinged.

  She jumped.

  “What is that?” His attention shifted past her.

  “The microwave. I thawed steaks. We’ll grill those and this corn. Not much for a pair of shifters, but I hate to impose on the owners of this place more than that. If we didn’t need the cash I have, I’d leave them payment now. I’ll send money to them with an anonymous thank-you note later.”

  “That is nice. You are nice.”

  Heat flushed her neck at the simple words that struck chords with her. She had to shut that mouth ... because she liked what came out of it too much. He said things that threw her out of step, because he meant the words.

  She never thought about being happy, just being safe and keeping those she loved safe.

  Right now in this tiny moment in time, she enjoyed feeling good about herself.

  Simple words that tugged her heart. You are nice.

  She couldn’t let this get out of control or lead him on, so she shoved all those tangled emotions back out of the way and changed the subject. “Thank you, but I’m not as nice as the people who loaned this place to us, even if the favor was involuntary. I wouldn’t like anyone using my home without permission. I’m not happy to break into this house, but I’d do much worse to protect someone I care about. I have to get to Fayth.”

  Scarlett didn’t blame Jaz, but she needed to see Fayth and the baby. What would be the point of fighting so hard to survive if she lost the only family she’d ever had? That couldn’t happen. No one was hurting them. No one.

  He walked over to watch the microwave. “Who is this Fayth?”

  “My younger sister.”

  Swinging around, his eyebrows dropped low over his eyes. “Another cougar shifter?”

  “Actually, no. She’s a wolf. Let’s get the steaks cooking and I’ll tell you about her.”

  She put everything on a platter then dug around for a lighter. Toting it all outside where the moon had reached its zenith, she smiled at the romantic setting painted with broad strokes of light over the black lake.

  Romantic? No.

  Time for a subject change in her head. “Do you know how to cook on a grill?”

  He gave the cooker a once over. “Never see grill before, but I cook on fire.”

  What kind of life had Gan led to have not seen a grill? She had to remind herself sometimes of the gaps in his knowledge. Once she had the grill lit, she turned again to find him right behind her.

  He grabbed her arms before she backed up against the grill.

  She had plenty of words to say, sharp words, but not one came to mind with him so close. He smelled of the soap he’d used to wash and a natural wildness that clung to him.

  His touch lightened from holding her in place to gently massaging her arms.

  Why couldn’t she move?

  He wasn’t forcing her to stand here, not unless she blamed the power of his presence. Her heart beat faster and faster. Heat began building where it shouldn’t if she intended to stick to her words and not end up naked.

  With him.

  Slowly this time, he breathed deeply, and exhaled softly.

  It would be impossible to deny her desire when he’d just scented her this close. He’d figured out that scent fast.

  The hunger in his eyes stole her breath. He whispered, “I like you soft. You smell ... like morning when air is fresh and full of life.” He kissed her forehead then her hair.

  Why was she working so hard to deny this feeling?

  Or him.

  Her brain had two halves that normally didn’t argue, but right now the disciplined side chastised her for getting into this position while the pleasure side wanted to play this out.

  Wanted to play.

  She didn’t think Gan had two halves, not based on what she saw churning in those eyes now a deep-sea blue.

  She envied him and the way he made decisions sound so simple. His hands were slowly silencing the crabby voice in her brain and upping the volume of the part telling her to meet him halfway. Her body voted to shut the hell up and just have fun.

  His lips kept up a gentle attack on her skin.

  Nothing would ever come of this. Gan knew he was leaving in three days. He’d even joked about making the most of the first two days.

  Her heart weighed in, drowning out her mental gymnastics and asked if two days would be enough.

  Not really.

  Gan kissed her cheek and chin.

  She lifted her head and stifled a moan.

  He didn’t feel like someone she wanted to remember as a one-night stand, but neither of them had more to offer. After years of no passion, no connection, nothing that felt like this ... she was alive in a way she hadn’t experienced. Her body cried for so much more than mere sex.

  Gan was so much more.

  His fingers worked magic on her arms and shoulders. His lips caressed her cheek and teased her ear.

  She swallowed. She was beginning to have a deeper understanding for Gan’s frustration at not being allowed basic happiness to live as he chose.

  Why couldn’t she have someone who made her feel the way Gan did? Why couldn’t she be a normal person? Not human, because she would not give up Chica, but normal had to be in there somewhere.

  Her logical side pushed in to have a say. You can’t have anyone for the same reason you have to keep your sister far away. She would be collateral damage if you ever lose this deadly game of hide-and-seek.

  All true.

  She couldn’t have forever with anyone, not if she cared for that person and ... she did care for Gan.

  They could steal this night for both of them. She’d save it to replay during the lonely nights ahead.

  Gan lifted a hand and brushed his fingers down her cheek.

  She closed her eyes, committing to memory every second. She’d enjoyed sex in the past, but that had been all physical. Not like this, not intimacy where Gan touched her soul.

  She could lament over what she’d never have or enjoy what she held in her hands now.

  He drew her to him in a way no other man had.

  No seductive games. No word play. No illusion.

  Honesty.

  Everything about Gan spoke to a core honor.

  His lips ended the teasing and smothered hers for a mind-blowing kiss. Heat coiled and spun with the energy inside her. That strange sensation that happened when they were together sizzled across her skin everywhere his fingers caressed.

  She opened up to him, kissing him with her own honesty. She’d busted on him earlier for that first kiss, but that had been her brain always on guard against any connection. She’d clung to her control, convincing herself she was happy having the upper hand, never falling victim to caring for a man.

  Gan kept banging on the foundation of her emotional fortress, battling her control to keep him out.

  Tonight, she would let him in.

  Weary from holding a strong front for so long, she welcomed the safe harbor his arms offered, if only for this moment.

  His hand cupped her cheek while he continued the sweet assault on her body.

  She ran a hand up the thick muscles along his sides that flexed under her fingers, calling her closer. She went all in and slid her hand down across the front of his jeans, stroking along the thick ridge.

  A heavy groan rumbled from deep inside him.

  She loved that sound.

  His big hand reached behind her and cupped her bottom, lifting. She bit his
ear.

  Gan pulled back, hesitation in his tight voice. “That is yes?”

  “Oh, yes, baby. If you don’t mind waiting for dinner.” She smiled at him, touched by the way he asked permission before taking the next step. For all his lack of knowledge when it came to many everyday things of the modern world, this man knew what a woman wanted.

  He let out a long breath of relief. “I have one hunger. You.” Backing away from the grill, he sat on a sturdy lawn chair constructed of wood.

  She bent her knees as her legs dropped to each side of him. Leaning forward, she put her hands on his chest and slid them up to his neck and kissed his lips then his chin. Running her fingers along his beard, she kissed his cheeks.

  His hands clutched her hips and his breathing ruffled her hair that she’d piled on her head. She threaded her fingers through his silky, untamed locks.

  Wild like the man, but who wanted tame?

  He allowed her a moment of doing as she pleased, then he joined the kiss, pushing his tongue gently inside her mouth to play with hers. She’d never known a man to smile so much when he kissed.

  It was as if he reveled in the moment of a simple kiss, enjoying every second.

  She started smiling, too, and pulled back to take in his face. In the little time she’d known him, she’d never seen this man appear so blissful.

  Toying with a lock of hair that fell near his eye, she asked, “Why are you smiling so much?”

  “I am happy. Have not had moment like this before.”

  Her brain screeched to a stop. “Have you not, uh, done this?”

  His eyebrows drew together and he cocked his head as he studied her. Then he laughed. “I understand. Yes, I have been with women. But not like ... this.”

  Relaxing again, she asked, “What do you mean?”

  His hands massaged along her back, under her T-shirt. She needed his hands in other places, but she also wanted to hear his answer.

  He shrugged. “When I look more like man than boy, women come to me. They want sex. No man says no to that, but it was only ... feel good for minute. Had to be fast and secret. Sex with prisoner shame them if anyone know. When I want more back, they laugh at me. I was game for them.”

  Bitches! Her claws tipped out, pricking the skin of his neck where her hands had paused while he spoke.

  He grunted.

  “Sorry, Gan. That pisses me off for a woman to use you that way.”

  His eyes twinkled. “Not hurt. I like claws on sexy cat.”

  She shook her head chuckling. “You’re certifiable, you know that?”

  “What is certify ...”

  “Just a joke. Finish what you were telling me about why this is different.”

  “Because to be with you like this make small freedom for me. I have choice to want this. Want you. Did not want others. Not like this. My hand more nice to me than women.”

  Preferring a hand job over sex with those women was sad, but he continued talking so she kept playing with his hair, encouraging him to go on.

  “That was secret sex only. No one could know. No freedom to choose woman. You are first one I am kissing and feeling skin. You are ...” He looked away while he figured out the word, then his eyes returned to hers with a deep thought. “Special. You are special.”

  She swallowed the ball of emotion in her throat.

  He pulled a hand from her back and pushed his fingers into her hair, pulling it loose to fall around her shoulders. “I am happy for normal. First time. Not prisoner. Not shifter. Just man with pretty woman who wants me.” His voice dropped to a rich baritone. “Scarlett who want me first time we meet. Always Scarlett. Only Scarlett.”

  He wanted only her.

  She had to be careful she didn’t step off a cliff tonight, but tell that to her heart doing a jig at his words.

  “You incredible wild man,” she murmured, her stomach falling away. She held his gaze that didn’t waver until she broke the connection first, leaning forward to bite his lip.

  Hard.

  What did he do?

  Laughed and kissed her as if he intended to keep doing it for hours.

  Be still, my heart, she mused.

  His fingers smoothed over her back, pausing to feel her scar. “Who hurt you?”

  She didn’t want to talk about another shifter when he had been so relaxed.

  Giving her a small pinch, he said, “Tell.”

  “Lincoln did that. When he demanded I be his mate, I said no. He doesn’t accept no from anyone, especially a woman. He carried a titanium knife and cut my back when I ran from him.”

  That hadn’t been the full story. She’d realized quickly he’d been a mistake to date back seven years ago when she was a mere nineteen. As she tried to break off the relationship that never quite got rolling, he’d grabbed her and demanded sex.

  That’s when she found out just how much he hated the word no. She struggled to get away and ran. Never a smart idea to run from a predator, unless that was your only option.

  Lincoln lost his mind. He had the edge of speed and size on her. She’d felt the burn of titanium as the blade slashed the back of her shirt and her skin, then he clamped his hand on her arm, wrenching her around.

  She’d panicked and hit him with her power more out of survival instinct than thought. What she discovered that day was how her power had marked his shoulder with a black claw shape. She’d heard the mark was on the back of his shoulder and looked like it had been burned into the skin.

  Lincoln had been looking for her ever since.

  “Lincoln must die.”

  Gan’s softly spoken threat brought her back to the moment. She placed her palm on his face and his eyes closed, but he wasn’t finished. “I keep you safe.”

  She heard the truth in his words.

  “I don’t want to talk about Lincoln.” She kissed the lips she would dream about for years to come. “I want to forget he exists. I want—”

  Gan yanked her T-shirt up and off so fast her hands barely left him. Was he a mind reader? No, just a man who didn’t need a lot of direction.

  His mouth did his best to keep her busy thinking about nothing but his lips as he worked her shorts off.

  She had no underwear.

  Gan figured that out quickly, running one long finger up the inside of her thigh. A zing of energy buzzed her skin. Her body tightened and ached.

  He finally brushed his fingertip over her folds.

  She clenched her legs and gripped his shoulders, struggling to not beg him. Her breath came out shaky. “What the hell are you waiting for?”

  He whispered, “Look at me.”

  When she did, the heat burning up his gaze should have given her pause, but her heart thudded a crazy beat with longing for all that gaze promised.

  “Do not look away,” he ordered, then brought his fingers back to the center of her heat.

  She gasped and trembled, but her eyes locked with his as he stroked her over and over. Clutching him, she said, “More.”

  He whispered, “Soon.”

  Did soon mean right damn now? Every second had her dancing on an edge where torment lay on one side and ecstasy on the other.

  Her body couldn’t make a damn decision.

  She tried to reach for him to share the fun, but his fingers stopped moving.

  “No, don’t stop,” she breathed out.

  “Put hand back.”

  She lifted her hand immediately.

  “Yes.” He kissed her, a sweet brush of his lips, and resumed driving her crazy. His finger pushed her to the edge then dipped inside her.

  She squeezed out a sound she’d never made.

  Evidently he understood strange sounds of pleasure, because he kept pushing in and out while his thumb stroked her. The energy growing inside her twisted into a tight spring.

  His other hand cupped her breast, worrying the hard tip of her nipple. He had her shaking with need.

  She started riding his fingers and he changed the rhythm to a fas
ter pace. He pushed and pulled, stroking her relentlessly.

  Energy exploded through her. Sizzling frissons raced over her body and lifted the hair on her head. He kissed her as if they’d never kissed and he had to get it right.

  Nailed it.

  Shock waves rolled through her.

  She lost touch with everything except him.

  Slowly, her body realigned with the world. When she opened her eyes, he had her tucked close against his warm chest. His hand slowly moved over her bottom.

  That felt insanely good.

  Reaching for his pants, she found the zipper pull.

  His hand stopped her.

  She looked up. “Why are you stopping me? We don’t have a condom or we could do more.” She paused. “Do you know what a condom is?”

  Snorting, he said, “Yes. Women did not want baby from me.”

  “Then why stop me.”

  “Not stop. I do this. Zipper can hurt.”

  Not that she wasn’t glad those awful women had used condoms, but his voice had been sad as if he’d been told right up front he was worthy of nothing more than servicing them.

  He unzipped his pants and pulled out a prizeworthy dick. By his gloating grin, he knew it. “Is good, yes?”

  That was the sound of confidence, not arrogance. In a world where he’d been a prisoner, he’d found something to be proud of and she couldn’t take that from him.

  “Oh, yes, wild man. That’s impressive.”

  She got a proud smile in reply. He wasn’t gloating, just pleased that she could see something special about him.

  He had no idea.

  Everything about him sent her heart doing backflips.

  With the first stroke of her hand, he acted as if he had reached heaven. “You are most amazing woman ever.”

  She had to laugh.

  He hadn’t come yet and she’d already gotten a gold star. She kissed him and whispered in a husky voice, “Hold on, wild man.”

  Her fingers glided over the smooth skin covering his thick hard-on. She took her time, returning the favor of driving him crazy and turned herself to where she could cradle his firm balls.

  He played with her breasts with mindless intent, because she had a grip on his full attention. Literally.

  When he lifted his hips, meeting her downward stroke, she leaned down and kissed the tip.