Authors: Aliyah Burke
He lifted his head and looked down at her.
“Sounds good to me.”
She bit back a groan as he backed down the
ladder. “I have some cold drinks set up in the shade as well as
some cookies.”
Dane smiled and wiped some of the sweat off
his face. “Thank you.”
They walked side by side,
and Aida couldn’t stop sneaking sidelong glances at him. His skin
shone with the sweat he’d gotten from working in the sweltering
sun. The drops ran over the defined muscles, and she bit back a
whimper. Never had she felt such a strong attraction to a man
before. And it wasn’t just a sexual one. There was a deeper
connection between them she didn’t fully understand.
Not sure I want to pursue that either.
In the shade, he used his discarded shirt to
wipe the moisture from his face. Aida watched from the corner of
her eye as she poured him a tall glass of water.
“
Thank you,” he said,
taking a long drink. “Oh, that hit the spot.” Dane lowered his
powerful body into a chair and stretched out his jean encased legs.
He reached for a cookie and ate it.
“
Don’t push it. I don’t
need you to collapse on me here,” she said, only partially teasing.
In truth, she couldn’t take her eyes off the way his mouth moved.
Her pussy throbbed.
“
Won’t give me
CPR?”
She shook her head. “That’s not it. There’s
not a hospital within miles of here. And while I know I’m strong,
even I highly doubt I could lift you into my vehicle to get you
there.”
He arched a brow at her.
“So you
would
give me CPR.” A sex-infused grin filled his
features.
Running her tongue over
her top teeth, Aida picked up her glass, took a sip, and nodded.
“Yes, I’d give you CPR.”
Quite
happily.
He toasted her with his own glass. “That’s
good to know.” Dane smiled at her, and she shivered with
longing.
Unable to form a sentence,
Aida just kept the rim up to her lips and allowed a tiny stream of
water to pour into her mouth. This man, this mysterious man, called
to her in ways she didn’t even want to begin to explore.
Liar!
Her brain called
her on her bluff. His intense eyes held hers as she drank. They
flared with concentrated passion when she lowered the empty glass
and licked the remaining moisture off her lips.
“
I should get back to
work,” he uttered before rising to his feet. “I’m almost done with
the roof.”
Almost done? Damn! That
would have taken me a hell of a lot longer.
“Thank you for fixing it. Can I help in any way? I feel bad
bringing you out here and using you like this.”
Her breath caught in the back of her throat
when his gaze pinned her. If she’d thought the passion in them
before had been intense, she was wrong. It was like comparing a
summer breeze to a typhoon. The heat in his eyes seared her from
the inside out, setting her blood boiling. Dane licked his lips as
he continued to stare, and she had to struggle not to squirm under
his gaze.
“
My pleasure,” he purred
in a tone that sounded an awful lot like a promise. Then he
left.
Chapter Three
Dane rolled his head on
his neck as he stood up on the roof.
Done!
He hadn’t lied to Aida; he
loved working with his hands. It was one of the reasons he loved
his cabin so much. He’d built it himself. To him, it was more of a
home than larger dwellings. It was made for him, to his
specifications, and that he’d done it himself added to his comfort.
He liked doing this for her. Aida. And just like that his mind
spiraled back to the woman who was his mate. Regardless if she knew
it or not.
Even the heat of the African sun couldn’t
compare to the heat Aida Roberts created within him. He had to get
away from her before he took her to bed.
Would that really be a bad
thing?
Shaking his head, he ignored his
libido.
He sat on the roof with a low groan. No
matter how attracted he was to her, he couldn’t act on it.
Why not?
his beast demanded.
We
can’t ignore her. She is part of us.
Dane raked a hand through his hair. He
wanted her so bad he could taste it.
Ignore her and you condemn us.
“
But I protect her,” he
muttered. His animal roared in fury and struck out from within. He
winced from the swipes of razor-sharp claws.
Deep inside him, the
darkness began to rise, and Dane battled back. He wasn’t completely
sure what was happening to him. He didn’t understand every bit of
it. However, he was figuring it out, like he did everything,
methodically. All he knew was every time he relied on his powers,
the darkness fed and grew stronger. When he’d come into contact
with Aida for the first time, everything became easier. He wasn’t a
fool; he knew she was his saving grace. The one who could save him.
His
solnyshko moyo
. Not to mention his
mate
. But Dane had already condemned
himself to a life of solitude.
Closing his eyes, he immediately conjured up
the image of Aida Roberts. The huge smile she had on her face as
she interacted with the villagers, the love she had in her eyes as
she looked at her dogs. There was such life within her. He didn’t
want to kill it, and if he instigated the mating bond and tied them
together, there was a very good chance he would be doing just
that.
“
I’m getting tired,” he
admitted to the air.
He’d been an enforcer for centuries, and it
was beginning to take its toll on him. Humans for the most part
angered him, and the other beings he encountered didn’t do much
more for him. Rules he had lived by and enforced for the majority
of his existence almost felt constricting now, and the darkness
pushed him to ignore them and just let rage take over. With each
battle he fought, it was harder and harder not to just destroy
everything.
But Aida was different. She touched a part
of him he thought had been securely locked away. Aida reminded him
of Zora Jameson with her good nature and kind heart. But with Zora,
there was only friendship; he knew Aida was so much more to
him.
Our mate!
The roar exploded within
him with such force he shuddered. He was an alpha shifter. And his
beast
wanted
his
mate.
The pounding of hooves grabbed his
attention, and he looked over to see a figure on horseback riding
up at an easy lope. A low whistle came from the inside of the
house, and Dane watched as Aida and her dogs walked out to meet the
rider.
A near-feral warning hiss left him as the
man reached out and touched Aida with familiarity. Forcing his
emotions back under control, Dane hurried off the roof, skipping
the ladder, opting to leap down to land in an effortless crouch,
and strode around the house to find out who else had come for a
visit.
The pair had moved off to the shade of a
tree, and the horse was drinking from a bucket. Dane narrowed his
eyes as he took in the man’s appearance. He wore cowboy boots,
relaxed fit stonewashed jeans and had a white shirt on that showed
off impressive muscles as well as his chocolaty skin. A brown
well-worn western oilskin outback sat upon his head.
Aida’s laugh tinkled along
Dane’s skin, and he inhaled sharply as his body reacted instantly
to it. He slowed when she lifted her head and smiled at him.
That smile rivals the sun for
brightness.
“
Dane, come meet my
friend, Kees.”
Pleased she didn’t hesitate to include him,
he moved toward them. Stopping beside Aida, Dane watched the horse
stiffen slightly before continuing to drink. He waited for the man
to look at him and was amazed by the pale gray eyes staring back at
him from under the brim of the hat. He hadn’t seen many people with
that particular shade of eye color before.
“
Nice to meet you, I’m
Kees Van Canne.”
“
Dane Sidorov.”
Kees stared at him. Dane held the
inquisitive gaze, shoving his possessiveness of Aida back under
control.
“
How long have you known
Aida?”
“
A few days.” Dane longed
to demand how long Kees had known her. She was very comfortable
around Kees, and Dane wasn’t fond of that. Not at all.
Aida’s husky laugh brought Dane’s attention
back to their conversation. They stood close, smiles present as if
sharing their own private joke. Anger raced to the surface and Dane
felt his animal stir in protectiveness and anger. Ruger and Kamau
snapped their heads to him, and Dane tamped the beast down. Their
sounds were obvious to him, but when Aida didn’t respond, he knew
she didn’t hear. The dogs fell silent the moment he was once again
in control.
“
No problem,” Kees said.
“I should get going.” The man faced him and held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Dane.”
Accepting the offered hand, Dane shook it
and replied, “Likewise.”
Kees winked at Aida, swung easily up on his
horse and tugged the brim of his hat in Aida’s direction before
riding off, disappearing from sight. Aida’s sigh brought Dane’s
gaze to her. There was a slight smile on her face. Dane forcibly
stopped himself from reaching out to her. “What was he doing here?”
he asked.
She looked at him before turning back to the
door. “It’s what he does. Kees cares and checks up on the place.
Ruger and Kamau stayed here last time, and he checked to make sure
all was good.” She opened the door and gestured him inside. “So
he’ll keep an eye on the place when I leave now.”
“
Nice to have good
friends.”
Aida grinned. “I agree. Now, tell me.
Anything special you want for a meal?”
You. Spread out
naked.
“I’m a simple man. Anything is
fine.”
“
I hardly believe you’re a
simple man, Dane Sidorov.”
Her comment was whispered, and Dane fought
to keep the arrogant smirk hidden. He may no longer utilize his
gifts granted him by being who and what he was, but he still
retained much of the tiger even in human shape.
He’d reached the door when he turned and
asked, “Do you mind if I use your shop?”
She held his gaze, causing his body to cry
out for her touch, and shrugged. “Help yourself.”
“
Thanks.”
Dane’s jaw hurt from being clenched hard as
it was, and once alone in the shed, he raked a hand through his
hair. The beast paced within him, snarling low and fierce as it
waited for a chance to be free.
Grabbing a piece of wood, he turned on the
table saw and got to work. As he cut, sanded, stained, and glued,
Dane ran over his situation. The most important thing was gaining
better control over the beast within him. Then, go after the man
who’d eliminated his unit.
Aida.
Longing coursed through his veins. Every inch of her called
to him. She was his mate. The one who had the power to give him the
extra strength to battle back and win against the darkness. But, in
doing so, he’d condemn her to be tied to him for the rest of his
days.
I can’t do that.
You must!
his animal insisted.
Dane was well aware of the
natural order. His kind found their mates and claimed them. Very
simple. But there was something wrong with him. Ever since he’d
given up—and he had so willingly—his
Spiritius Sanctimonia
, Pure Spirit,
to Lady Nahia Freeman, mate to his best friend Aren Van der Ness,
he’d become unbalanced. The darkness was now the stronger force
within him. And every time he gave in to his animal, he longed to
totally give himself over. So far,
somehow
, he’d managed to crawl out
of the pit waiting for him. Calling to him.
He knew some shifted into
animal form to never again return to their human shape. Hell, he’d
hunted and killed some. Some had been friends even. But he’d always
known being an enforcer wasn’t for the faint of heart. And he’d
mastered the art of concealing his feelings a long time ago. One of
the reasons he was known as one of the top enforcers was that
nothing stopped him, and no one
ever
got away from him once he
started chasing them.
Claim her!
his mind screamed.
The air shifted, and her smell wafted to his
nose. His shaft hardened in his jeans, and he could feel the
pounding of his blood as it coursed through his veins. Deep,
shuddering breaths were ingested as he listened to her quiet
footfalls. His nails sliced out and dug into the underside of the
table he gripped.
“
Dane?” Aida asked. Her
soft voice wove around him and stroked him to an even harder
state.
His beast roared and demanded. Dane ignored
the painful slashes and licked his lips before turning to glance at
her over his shoulder. She stood by the door, hands clasped before
her. No shoes still and appearing messily sexy.
“
Time to eat?”
Aida smiled, and his beast settled. Just
that simple. “If you’re ready.”
“
Just about.” He looked
back at his project. “Five minutes?” He tensed as she neared and
her steps stopped. Glancing back at her, Dane saw her back up.
“Where are you going?”
“
I didn’t want to
intrude.”
“
Come over. It’s your
shop, after all.”
She’s very
intuitive.
She didn’t budge, and he arched
a brow. “Aida?”