Page 9

CHAPTER NINE

T he kiss was demanding, Xav’s hands on her face unyielding. Lindsay rose to return it with a vigorous one of her own, while emotions tore through her and made her shake.

Xav had never kissed her like this before. Possessive, searing, holding her as though he feared she’d yank herself away and flee, never to seek him again.

Lindsay hooked her fingers around the lapels of his jacket and pulled him closer.

She was hot all the way through, her mating need flaring with a vengeance. Xav had to let her go, shove her out of the car, drive away. Or else Lindsay would be all over him, not caring what Shifters wandered by to peer through the quickly fogging windows.

Instead, Xav kept kissing her, drawing her up to him as his mouth commanded hers. Lindsay surrendered, the Shifter in her purring in satisfaction.

When Xav at last eased the kiss to a close, he held her with eyes dark as the night. His breath came fast, as did hers.

“Still want me to come in?” he whispered.

Come in. Yes, into me. To have me in the way the Goddess meant for us to be.

“No,” Lindsay whispered back.

“Want me to go?”

Lindsay closed her hands more tightly on his thick jacket. “No.”

Xav’s grin was feral. He gently disentangled her from his coat, started the SUV, and pulled away from the curb.

Lindsay felt, rather than saw, her mom and dad at the front window, watching them go.

* * *

There was only one place Xav could take Lindsay where they could be completely alone. He drove out of Shiftertown and headed the short distance to his own house.

He’d moved into the place near Sunrise Mountain not long ago, wanting something larger and more permanent than the apartment he’d been living in. DX Security was doing well, and Xav had decided the time was right for his own home.

He was glad he’d made the choice, because now he had someplace private, far from the prying eyes of Shifters and too-close neighbors.

Xav pulled the SUV into the garage beside his Mustang and turned off the vehicle. Lindsay didn’t move. She hadn’t spoken at all since they’d left Shiftertown.

When Xav clicked the switch to lower the garage door, Lindsay finally looked at him. “Are Shifters allowed in this neighborhood?”

Xav forced a smile. “Of course they are. It’s why I bought the house. Besides, I really don’t care what my neighbors think of my houseguests.”

“You should. Shifter Bureau can be relentless.”

“I’m Latino,” Xav returned. “My neighbors didn’t faint from horror about that, and most of them have been pretty friendly. Anyway, when did you become so concerned about what Shifters are or aren’t allowed to do?”

“Since you brought me to your house. It’s different.”

Xav wasn’t certain how it was different, but he didn’t argue. He didn’t want her jumping out and racing off to grab a cab home because he decided to quibble.

“I like showing off the place.” Xav popped open his door and slid out. “Come on.”

They hadn’t mentioned the kiss, and now Xav felt awkward about it. Which was weird, because they’d kissed plenty before. They’d kissed, they’d danced, they’d played—they’d done everything but talk about important things.

This last seemed to be against Lindsay’s rulebook, and Xav hadn’t pushed her, pretending he didn’t care one way or another. He simply sat back and enjoyed being with her.

Lately he’d started wanting something more than their back and forth, but maybe that was something Lindsay wasn’t ready to give to him.

To Xav’s relief, Lindsay hopped out of the SUV and followed him to the back door. He unlocked it and pushed it open, ushering Lindsay inside. He knew Shifter men entered houses first, in case danger awaited, but his rules of courtesy, drilled into him by his mother since he could talk, took over. Lindsay only stepped inside, as though she didn’t mind, and waited for him to shut the door.

Xav led her into the kitchen, which boasted the latest fancy appliances, where he could cook and bake when stress got too much for him. He wasn’t as good a cook as Diego or Mamita, but Xav could hold his own.

“Want coffee?” Xav offered. “Or wine? Beer? Milk?”

Lindsay, who’d been wandering through the kitchen, swung around, her brows climbing. “Milk? Because I’m a cat?”

“No, because it’s all I have in my refrigerator.” Xav gestured to the door he’d opened. “Milk, water, beer, chilled wine. What will it be?”

Lindsay softened into a faint smile. “Wine, please. Doesn’t have to be cold.”

Xav obliged with a chardonnay he’d been saving for a special occasion. Lindsay coming over definitely counted as a special occasion.

He chose a red for himself, and they clinked glasses before drinking.

These uncomfortable silences between them were new. Xav had always been able to flirt and laugh with Lindsay without inhibition, but tonight he was tongue-tied.

He realized with a jolt that he’d been voluble so they’d never have to speak about anything serious. In these past few days, things had grown more serious than he could handle.

They drank more wine, both leaning against the kitchen counter. Not the most romantic spot, but neither seemed to want to move.

Xav cleared his throat. “Should we take this slow?”

Lindsay smiled, and his heart turned inside out. “No.”

Xav set aside his wine and went to her. Lindsay clicked her wine glass down next to his and wrapped her arms around him.

Their first kiss was unhurried, in spite of Lindsay’s words, as though they were getting acquainted. Xav slid fingers through her golden hair, which was gloriously thick and soft, letting it spill over his hands.

She tasted of the cool wine and a spice that was all her own. Xav pulled her closer, his body thrumming at the touch of hers against it. Lindsay was all sexy curves, but she had strength that no other woman in his experience possessed.

The shyness they’d both retreated into in the car began to drop away. Lindsay held on tighter, her kiss turning frenzied.

To hell with it. Xav wanted her, she wanted him, and there was only one reason they’d come to this house. It wasn’t as though they hadn’t played before, even if Lindsay had backed off wanting to complete things.

Xav slid his hands beneath the light sweatshirt she’d donned for tonight’s adventure. Her skin was hot beneath it, the scalding temperature only a Shifter’s body could reach.

Lindsay helped him skim the shirt off over her head, and she dropped it to the countertop. Xav lifted her there, stepping between her thighs to continue to kiss her.

Her bra came off next, Xav having in the past learned the intricate hooks of her lingerie. Lindsay was an athletic woman when she needed to be, but she also liked tiny bits of satin next to her skin. Xav didn’t mind at all.

Lindsay held onto him as she kissed him, her earlier hesitance vanishing. Xav caressed her bare skin, bringing his hands up to cup her full breasts.

There was nothing small about Lindsay. She was a wonderful handful, and she was even better in his mouth.

Lindsay groaned as Xav savored her, tracing her velvety nipple with his tongue, suckling her softly. She cradled his head in her hands, furrowing his hair.

“Xav.” Her hoarse whisper made Xav—reluctantly—release her. He licked her nipple one last time then raised his head.

“You okay, Linds?”

Lindsay rubbed the base of his neck. “I need …” She went silent, desperation in her eyes.

Xav’s breath came faster. “I know. I need it too.”

“Good.”

Lindsay launched herself at him. Xav caught her in his arms, right where he wanted her to be.

They savored each other, hands roving, mouths seeking. Xav heard his sweatshirt tear, and then pieces of it fell to the floor. He wore a long-sleeved T-shirt underneath, layers for warmth. That too, became shreds.

Lindsay slanted a smile at him, the claws she’d sprouted receding.

Xav didn’t mind her bare breasts against his equally bare chest, their heartbeats speeding together. He kissed her mouth, chin, throat, then moved to her shoulder, which he nipped. He felt her teeth along his neck and laughed when she suckled.

The next thing he knew, his belt was open, his jeans unzipped, the fabric sagging down his thighs.

Two could play at that game. Xav popped open the button of the pants Lindsay had donned for the quest, and she wriggled herself free of them.

If they didn’t get to the bedroom soon, they were going to do this standing up in the kitchen. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing, the dim part of Xav’s mind reflected.

Lindsay wriggled again, her last layers of clothing falling away. She tucked her hands under the waistband of Xav’s underwear, and then that was shredded too.

They faced each other, breathing hard, Lindsay’s eyes holding both questions and need.

Xav’s body flamed, his heart pumping furiously. He was hard, wanting her, drinking in her beauty.

No time for the bedroom. Lindsay let out a squeal of delight as Xav lifted her to the counter once more. He stepped between her legs, scooted her to the edge, and positioned his cock directly at her opening.

“Yes?” he whispered. He shook all over, hoping like hell she didn’t reject him, but if she did, he’d be a gentleman about it. It would kill him, but he’d do it.

“Goddess.” Lindsay’s word held vast longing. “Yes, Xav. Please. ”

Xav groaned and thrust himself home.

* * *

Lindsay’s world changed as she and Xav became one. This is what she’d been craving since she’d first seen him, though she hadn’t understood it.

A good-looking man she thought would be fun, she’d decided. But fun wasn’t enough. Lindsay needed more and more. All of him.

She had all of him inside her now, Lindsay mused as her ecstasy soared. She rocked back on the counter, bracing herself with hands on his shoulders, taking him as far as she could.

Xav made a raw noise as he thrust into her, his strong hands keeping her from falling. He was big, hard, opening her in an exquisite way. Joy rushed through her every limb, heat rippling, changing her into a being of blissful flame.

He was beautiful and he felt good. He was Lindsay’s, not only for tonight but for always.

Her love. Her mate .

Xav might not think of himself as a mate—he was human, and they didn’t always comprehend Shifter terms. But it didn’t matter.

Xav had a connection to Lindsay, which her wildcat knew, deep inside herself.

Mate. Mine.

Lindsay drew him down to her as much as she could without jeopardizing their wonderful connection. Xav shuddered at he drove into her, sweat trickling, but his gaze was fixed on Lindsay, his eyes filled with liquid fire.

Lindsay kissed his throat where she’d left her love bite and breathed her warm breath across his skin. Marking him. Hers.

Xav thrust faster, creating lightning heat inside her. Lindsay lifted herself to him, her legs tight around him. They were one, mates, fitting together perfectly. Exactly right.

She heard her own voice shrieking her delight, and Xav’s groans answering. He shuddered once more, his hot seed finding its way home.

In that moment, Lindsay was complete. Her restlessness, her impetuous risks, her need for something she didn’t understand was suddenly sated.

And would be, as long as she could be in Xav’s arms.

Xav slowly but inexorably withdrew, and Lindsay reached for him, not wanting this to end.

“Lindsay.” Xav gathered her to him, his smile as fierce as any Shifter’s in mating frenzy. “Damn.”

Lindsay couldn’t speak. She tried to catch her breath, elated but nowhere near sated. She needed more, and more.

She started to wrap herself around Xav again, but he laughed and backed away. “Not here. Bedroom.”

Before Lindsay could agree and race there, Xav swept her into his arms. He carried her out of the kitchen, across the living room, and down a hall into the last room at the end.

Xav’s bedroom was large and a little cluttered, which was all Lindsay saw before Xav lowered her to the bed.

He stepped back to gaze at her with warm eyes, letting Lindsay take in his tall, strong body, his chest dusted with black curls, his thick cock ready once more. Lindsay bathed him in a wide smile then grabbed him by the hands and pulled him onto the bed. Xav, laughing, came to her.

This time as they fit together, Xav pressing her into the mattress, the spark in Lindsay’s heart began to glow. She ignored it in the madness, twining her legs around him to pull him closer, but when things slowed, the glow strengthened.

After the third time they made love, Lindsay ended up on top of Xav, straddling him while Xav smiled at her with languid need.

The glow inside her became a solid warmth, spreading through Lindsay and scaring the shit out of her. When her current frenzy ended, she’d have to examine what it meant and how it would break her heart.

For now, she enjoyed Xav. Lindsay laughed with him as she took him inside her as far as she could.

They were one. Connected. And if her Shifter cat had her way, they’d stay that way for always.

* * *

Hours later, Lindsay lay on her side, watching Xav sleep. He’d crashed after he’d come inside her the last time, falling into profound slumber.

Lindsay was too exhilarated to relax.

She touched her chest, feeling her heart pounding, and wondered if she’d imagined the sensation that had seeped through her.

Nope, it was real.

Tendrils that Lindsay realized had been there for a while flared as she gazed at Xav. They’d tightened every time she’d seen him laugh, or whenever he’d taken her around a dance floor, or waved to her from Cassidy’s house and jogged across the yard to see her.

It was in his smile, in his eyes, and now in Lindsay.

The mate bond.

The implications of that kept her awake as much as her adrenaline.

Xav was human. Lindsay knew humans could form the mate bond, because she’d seen it in Diego and also in Misty for the impossible-to-love Graham.

But it was rare, and it couldn’t be forced. If only one partner formed the bond, the one who didn’t could walk away, unfazed.

If Xav did that, Lindsay would be left bereft, maybe for the rest of her life.

Mate bonds guaranteed that Shifter mates protected each other against the most dire of perils and also filled the world with cubs. It was an old magic, instilled in Shifters by the Goddess to ensure their survival, but that magic came with a price. The mate bond could tear as much as it tied.

Lindsay’s parents shared the mate bond, a strong and sure one. It had carried them through the hardest times when they’d lived in different parts of northern Canada in the wild, through fear and sorrow, despair and resignation. Their love had endured, outlasting the moves to two Shiftertowns and the huge adjustments they’d had to make.

Lindsay had longed to find the mate bond, more possible now that they lived in a community, but even then, she’d thought herself destined to be alone.

Xavier Escobar had caught and held her attention the day she’d spied him with Diego at the ceremony honoring Cassidy’s fallen mate—another drawback of the mate bond. The grief it caused was intense.

Lindsay had looked Xav over, and her heart had flopped around in a way that had confused her.

Hey, if I provide the handcuffs, do you think Diego’s brother will do me the honor? Lindsay had said to Cassidy. She’d only been half joking.

Tonight had been better than that faraway day had promised. Lindsay had tried to keep things casual with Xav, being her teasing, never-be-nailed-down self, but that had been a facade.

Now, she was baring herself, in more ways than one.

Watching him sleep, Lindsay knew something had changed in her. She’d been running all her life, at first literally, when she and her parents had to do whatever they could to keep themselves alive.

Then evading Shifter Bureau, adjusting to life in two successive Shiftertowns, and now avoiding Graham’s contentious Lupines while everyone in this Shiftertown figured out how to live together.

Lindsay was used to fleeing from anything too difficult, too scary. Lynxes were fast, built for speed, as they were small in the Shifter world, more vulnerable than the lions, leopards, and most especially the few, rare tigers. Lindsay knew that her friendship with Cassidy, Eric’s second-in-command, held helped ease the Cummingses acceptance into the Las Vegas Shiftertown and kept the more powerful Felines from intimidating them.

When they’d lived in the wild, Lindsay’s family had been ready to pick up and move at a moment’s notice. Lindsay had always been happy to go, anticipating the next adventure.

Now, she wanted to stay.

She’d never have guessed her reason for sticking around was a human man with a velvety laugh and touch that drove her wild.

Xav’s chest rose and fell evenly, he sleeping in deep relaxation. Lindsay was restless, wanting to go for a run or a hard hike in the mountains, or better still, have more sex with Xav.

He didn’t look as though he’d be waking anytime soon, though. Lindsay decided to let him sleep—he needed the rest after their almost nonstop night. She wanted him ready for the next night, and the one after that.

Gray light was already peeking through the windows. Lindsay slid quietly from the bed, surprised that her muscles were a little sore, but then, some of the positions they’d tried …

She shook herself, threw on a few garments from a pile on a chair, and made her way out to the kitchen.

Her folks probably guessed where she was—they’d seen Xav kiss Lindsay in the truck and then drive off with her. The windows of the SUV were darkened, but Shifter eyesight was keen.

She’d call them when it got lighter. Leah and Martin liked to sleep in on winter mornings, snuggled together, their mate bond wrapped around them. Without Lindsay in the house, they’d likely have felt the freedom to get caught up in a little mating frenzy of their own. She’d wait before disturbing them.

Lindsay retrieved the clothes they’d dropped to the kitchen floor, along with the tattered remains of Xav’s sweatshirt and T-shirt. She laughed to herself, recalling how her impatient cat had shredded them to get to the man inside.

To her surprise, Lindsay heard the shower go on as she started the coffee maker. Xav must not have been as heavily asleep as she thought.

She considered hurrying back down the hall and jumping into the shower with him, but maybe he’d welcome a moment alone.

Or maybe Lindsay was too afraid to face what she felt for him. She wasn’t certain anymore.

She took two cups out of the cupboard and glared at the coffee maker, willing it to hurry up. Shifters brewed in old-fashioned coffee pots on the stove, which were far less complicated to use. Xav had taught Lindsay about coffee makers, but she found she preferred stovetop pots, which had actually become trendy again with some humans.

The coffee maker’s burbling sounds and the distant pattering of the shower were interrupted by someone knocking firmly on the kitchen’s back door.

Lindsay didn’t hesitate to answer it. It might be Diego or a DX man with news, or it might be a neighbor, who’d need something important to come over this early.

The scent she caught wasn’t Diego’s, though it was familiar. Lindsay realized why when she flung open the door.

A black woman stood on the threshold, one in her thirties as humans counted years, with a perfect face, sleek hair drawn into a bun, and a lithe, athletic body. She wore a pink sweatshirt and gray leggings for running, and stared at Lindsay in surprise before she gave her a wide smile.

“Hello, Lindsay,” Emma Shields said jovially. “Is Xav at home? I’m thinking he is, or else you wouldn’t be here. Can I come in?”