Authors: Savannah Stuart
family, but especially not with a male. Touching Adam this way brought up all sorts of
feelings she wasn’t sure she was prepared to handle. Sex she could deal with, but the
public displays of affection were weird if not nice.
“I took his fingerprints once he finally fell asleep again. I’m going to have one of
Stephan’s contacts run them and see if his story checks out. In the meantime, in case
he’s unstable, I think it’s best if I keep him at my house where I can keep an eye on him.
Unless you want him here…around your mate?” Thomas lifted a dark eyebrow.
Paz refrained from rolling her eyes. She wasn’t sure why Thomas was practically
goading Adam, but it was childish. If Adam wanted to keep Ethan under his
supervision, it was his right as the enforcer. She knew it wasn’t jealousy on Thomas’
part though. Maybe it was just a stupid thing alpha males did to one another.
Adam’s grip on her tightened a fraction. “That’s fine. As soon as he’s awake, call
me. I want to talk to him.”
“How did your meeting go?” Thomas asked.
“Good. I got the video feeds I needed. Now I just need to view them.”
Paz wasn’t sure what he meant, but it was obvious Thomas did.
Thomas nodded once. “All right. Caro and I are about to head out with Ethan. I’ll
call as soon as I get a hit on the fingerprints or when he wakes up. Whichever happens
first.”
Next to her, she could feel Adam relax. “We’ll be here.”
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Thomas disappeared down the short hallway and into the living room. Paz turned
toward Adam but kept her arm around him. Surprising herself, she found she wanted
to maintain their contact. “I’m going to say goodbye to Caro, okay?”
“I’ll be in my room if you need me.” He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead and
headed back up the stairs.
She felt the loss of touching him as soon as he’d gone and couldn’t help but wonder
if that was something mates naturally experienced or if it was just because she missed
him.
After saying goodbye to Thomas and Caro, she locked the front door and set the
alarm. They’d be able to scent someone coming into the house, but everyone was being
extra careful. No one knew exactly how devious Morales was and if he found a
weakness he’d exploit it, no matter how small.
When she opened the door to her bedroom, she froze. Shopping bags covered her
bed. Most were from stores she didn’t recognize, but two large bags were emblazoned
with the very recognizable Victoria’s Secret logo. She couldn’t even pretend not to be
interested. After shutting the door, she dug into the first pink bag.
Then she just dumped everything onto the bed. Her eyes widened as she took in
everything Adam must have bought for her. It wasn’t just lingerie. There was a plush
robe, a few dozen panties, bras—she wondered how he’d figured out her size—pajamas
and a whole mess of other stuff.
She swallowed when it hit her how much he must have spent. With shaking hands,
she peeked into the other bags and found stacks of jeans, sweaters, sexy tops, summer
dresses and even a couple bathing suits. When she spotted one of the receipts, her eyes
widened. He’d spent almost a grand.
At one store.
Leaving everything on the bed, she headed to Adam’s room. She knocked on the
half-open door as she entered. He wore a pair of jeans—with the top button undone—
and nothing else. She lost her train of thought as her gaze followed the dark thatch of
hair that disappeared under his pants.
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He immediately stood and took a step toward her. “Is everything okay?”
“What? Yes. I, uh, just saw my bed.”
“Oh. Is everything okay? I left the receipts in there in case something didn’t fit.”
“How did you manage to get all that stuff so quickly?”
He shrugged and she didn’t miss the way his neck slightly reddened. “I told the
saleswomen your size and told them to pick stuff they thought a woman would like.”
“Thank you doesn’t seem to cover it. I can’t believe how much…I mean, it feels
weird talking about money with you, but are you sure you didn’t get too much? My
sister and I have some money from before our pack was… Anyway, once I get a job I
can pay you back.”
He snorted and muttered something under his breath before meeting her gaze.
“You’re
not
paying me back. You’re my mate and I wanted to do something nice for
you.”
“We haven’t even bonded yet though.” The words just slipped out and she
immediately wanted to kick herself. She’d been hoping to avoid this conversation for at
least another week and then she went and brought it up.
Way to go!
Adam took a few steps closer and immediately she was hit with the intensity of the
desire he was putting off. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around herself as she
waited for him to respond.
“Do you want to bond with me?” And there it was. Right out in the open.
Her throat closed off for a second and she wondered if she deprived her brain of
oxygen long enough, maybe she’d pass out and wouldn’t have to answer the question.
She’d already hurt him by running away after the first time they made love. How the
hell was she supposed to answer this?
She cleared her throat. “We don’t really know much about each other yet.”
Okay,
that was a safe answer and one he couldn’t argue with.
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His gaze narrowed for a fraction of a second, but then he surprised her by sitting on
the end of the bed and patted the area next to him. “What do you want to know?”
She could listen to that deep voice of his and never get tired. It was liquid sin
rolling over her. Somehow she ordered her feet forward. Instead of answering his
question, she decided to take the plunge and ask something that had been weighing on
her mind. “Do
you
want to bond with me?”
“Yes.” The answer was strong and immediate.
Well, damn. “But…
why
? You barely know me.”
“We’ll get to know each other with time.” He reached out and traced a gentle finger
down her cheek. The small action sent a shiver to her toes.
She didn’t understand how he could be so sure. “But what if I have a deep dark
secret that you can’t live with? Wouldn’t you want to know before we bonded?”
“I want to know anything you want to tell me.”
“That’s not an answer!” She knew she shouldn’t get angry, but she could feel a
bubble of annoyance pushing to the surface. Why wasn’t he more concerned about this?
When mates bonded, it was forever. He should want to ask her a million questions.
Lord knew she wanted to know everything about his past.
He sighed. The sound was long and heavy. “Listen, Paz. I don’t care what you’ve
done in the past. It can’t be any worse than the things I’ve done. I’ve…I’ve been alone
for a long time and I like you.
A lot.
I’m not going to change my mind about bonding,
but take all the time you need to make a decision.”
She bit her bottom lip and eyed him suspiciously. “Fine. How is it that you’re five
hundred years old but you look younger than those half your age?”
His jaw clenched once. “My father was an Immortal.”
A gasp escaped before she could stop herself. “You’re a mixed-blood?” His eyes
darkened and she immediately realized her mistake. Before he could respond, she
grabbed his hand. “I didn’t mean that as an insult, I swear. You just surprised me.”
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Tension still hummed through him, but he didn’t pull away. “No one else knows.”
“I thought Immortals needed sex to stay strong. Or is that a myth?” Immortals had
always fascinated her. And if she was really honest, they’d also terrified her a little too.
Compared to the other supernatural beings on the planet, so little was known about
them.
“It’s a combination of both. Immortals don’t need sex, but it does make them
stronger. I’m…different.”
“What do you mean?” If anyone understood being different, she did.
“It doesn’t matter. Just know that I don’t need sex to survive or to keep up my
strength.”
“Well what about my life span if we bond? And what element do you control?” As
far as she knew, Immortals controlled one of the four elements and when they died,
they reverted back to whatever power they’d possessed when they’d been alive. Adam
scrubbed a hand over his face and she wondered if she should have held back some of
her questions. “You don’t have to answer me if—”
He shook his head and let out another breath. “It’s fine. I should have expected this.
I’d rather not talk about my abilities…yet. If we do bond, you’ll age at the same pace as
me. I guess that’s something I probably should have told you sooner.”
She swallowed hard at his words. “How do you know I’ll become like you?”
“My mother was a full-blooded werewolf and when she became pregnant with me,
her aging process changed to match my father’s. Besides, I wouldn’t be the first mixed-
blood to mate. Nature has a way of working things out.”
The inflection in his voice when he mentioned his parents told her they were likely
dead. Even though she wanted to ask, for once she made herself bite her tongue. If he
wanted to talk about them, he would. She was still holding his hand so she linked her
fingers through his and scooted a few inches closer.
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Maybe if she opened up to him now it would be easier later to tell him the truth
about what she was. As a mixed-blood, he wouldn’t have the prejudices so many others
did. Or she hoped he wouldn’t. “So why do you work for The Council when they
denounce so many different supernatural beings?”
He frowned at her words. “What are you talking about?”
“Their laws are archaic.”
The lines around his mouth and eyes deepened. “Which laws in particular are you
referring to?”
A cold sweat blossomed across her forehead, but she forced herself to answer. “The
law that says any werewolf with other magic in their blood will be put to death.”
“That hasn’t been implemented in centuries. And it was only put in place for those
who had mated with faeries, not Immortals.”
“And you don’t see a problem with that?” Anger more than fear started to boil
inside her as she waited for his answer.
“I’ve never met a faerie who didn’t deserve to die.” His words were laced with
loathing.
Feeling as though she’d been burned, she dropped his hand and stood. “Well, it’s
nice to find this out about you now.” Without waiting for a response, she strode from
the room and slammed her bedroom door with startling force. The frames on the walls
shook dangerously, but nothing fell. She knew she should have contained her anger
better, but it was as if someone had embedded a knife in her chest. Tears stung her eyes,
but she angrily brushed them away. She thought he’d be different.
Her door flew open as she was pushing the bags of clothes off her bed.
“What the hell was that about?” He stood in the doorway, hands balled at his sides,
and his eyes were shooting fire.
“Get out of my room,” she said through clenched teeth.
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“Not until you answer my question. What could I have possibly done to set you
off?”
“Other than supporting The Council’s antiquated laws and judging an entire group
of people based on nothing more than their heritage?” Her hands shook so she shoved
them into her pockets.
“You’re too young, but I was there during the end of the Great War. I saw firsthand
exactly how devious those faeries are. They came under the guise of peace and killed
my parents right in front of me. And they didn’t do it quickly either. So yeah, I fucking
hate them.” His words were a low growl that sent shivers snaking throughout her
entire body.
More tears burned her eyes so she turned away from him and reached into one of
the bags to keep her hands busy. “Please leave my room.”
Maybe it was the please that did it, but a few seconds later, she heard the door click
shut behind him. Letting her tears fall, she collapsed onto the bed. The fact that faeries
had killed Adam’s parents left little room for debate. Some faeries were definitely evil.
But so were some werewolves. As the crazy werewolf they were hunting right now
proved. Once they caught Morales, she was leaving Adam. Hell, she had no choice. She
couldn’t mate with him knowing he hated her kind and she couldn’t hide who she was
for the rest of her life.
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Stephan watched his mate through the sliding glass door that led to the porch of
their rental house. Marisol stared out at the beach but he knew she was aware of his
presence. She was just ignoring him.
He understood her need to protect her sister, but Paz needed room to breathe and
figure things out for herself. Something Marisol couldn’t understand. He did though.
Paz was strong and more than anything, she deserved to get to know her mate without
her little sister interfering or trying to coddle her.
Sighing, he opened the door and stepped outside. The beach in Saint Augustine
looked pretty much like the beach in Miami. Instead of heading too far up the eastern