Treasured Find (Royal Pride Book 1) (3 page)

His full lips, parted slightly, glistened as if he’d licked them. She swiped her tongue across her suddenly dry ones.

“Am I hot enough for you?” He rubbed his thumb over the corner of her mouth. “Because I’m interested. Very, very interested.”

No words would form. Up close, he mesmerized her. She dragged in a steadying breath, and the tempting scent of man filled her lungs. The world tilted, but the hand holding her chin kept her righted, anchored to him.

He brushed his lips over hers, back and forth, coaxing her to accept him. The gentleness of his touch wiped away any thoughts she might’ve had of resisting him. She parted her lips on a sigh.

Sure of his welcome, he twined his tongue with hers, guiding her, urging her to open farther. She bent her head and matched his rolling movements, drawing him deeper.

She swayed, but he didn’t steady her. He released her chin and kissed her harder. A low groan spilled from him to her. He tilted his head, changing the angle of the kiss, and his sweeping exploration quickened.

Her pulse kicked up, and she matched the increased passion. It was impossible not to. A slow burn spread through her the longer they kissed. He fed the fire he’d ignited with each rolling thrust of his tongue. He made her hot. Hungry. Crazed.

She fisted his shirt. Pulled him closer. She didn’t want to let him go. Ever.

Hands on her hips yanked her away. No! She didn’t want the sensations consuming her to end or lose the man who’d awakened her. He was hers.

Her back collided with a wall of muscle before she could take the thought further. She inhaled sharply. Josh’s scent, a mix of cocoa butter soap and his favorite shampoo, filled her lungs. He spun her. His thinned lips and narrowed glare betrayed his mood.

She couldn’t blame him for being pissed. He hadn’t exactly made a secret of his desire to rekindle their romance, and she’d dismissed him every time claiming she didn’t have time for men or sex.
And here I am kissing a stranger.

“Josh, I…” Unsure of what to say, she bit her lip.

After a moment, he exhaled slowly, and the same warm expression he often wore around her returned. He skimmed his finger down her cheek. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Megan.”

“Seems she’s the topic of the day.” Josh grunted. “What about her?”

Jazz glanced from Josh to the stranger and finally to Cindy, who stood off to the side watching the exchange with interest. “Not here. I need to talk to you in private.”

“Not tonight, Jasmine. I’m in no mood.” Josh set her away from him. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Okay?”

She couldn’t let him leave without some words of advice. According to Tony, Megan hadn’t shifted yet. Her boys often did, especially while they slept. She didn’t have a clue if either was normal behavior. It wasn’t as if her babies came with an owner’s manual.

“Wait.”

What was she supposed to say? Her mind went blank. “Umm…Megan is special. She…” Jazz groaned. She was acting like a fool. “Look, I really need to talk to you in private. Give me five minutes.”

Josh frowned. “Why?”

She peeked over her shoulder at the stranger who watched her intently. Another shiver skipped across her skin.

“Because.” She shrugged. “Just trust me.”

“Sure. Let’s go back to—” Josh’s cell rang, stopping his words. He pulled it out and answered.

“Hello?” After a long moment, he sighed. “Tell Megan I’m okay, and I’m coming home now.”

He ended the call and shoved his phone in his rear pocket.

She touched his arm. “Is Megan okay?”

Josh nodded. “Just her nightmares. This time she woke up hysterically crying for me. She said the bad lion was going to get me if I didn’t come home.”

“Bad lion?” the stranger at her back asked.

“Yeah.” Josh crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s got an active imagination.”

Jazz grasped Josh’s wrist. “Which is what I wanted to talk to you about. I—”

“Whatever it is, talk to me about it in the morning.” Josh cupped her cheek and bent to give her a kiss on the forehead. “Okay, love. Megan needs me.”

“Of course. Call me. Night or day. About anything. I understand more than you know, and I can help you with her.” She swallowed hard. “Oh…and Josh?”

He raised a brow.

“I’m sorry about Tony.”

Josh dipped his head in acknowledgement, then slipped out the door. She wanted to go after him. Comfort him somehow. She didn’t have the right. Because of the secret life she’d had to live, she’d cut him out of it. She’d cut everyone out of it.

I made my bed. Now I have to lie in it. Alone.

Dammit. She didn’t want to be alone. It was time to start making amends and rebuilding the friendships she’d ignored. She knew how. In the morning, she’d sit Josh down and tell him everything she’d learned about shifters. If that went well, she’d share the story of how she’d ended up a mother. Once her tale was revealed, maybe, just maybe she wouldn’t feel so guilty about raising kids that weren’t hers.

Or leaving their mother in the hands of monsters.

A lump landed hard in her gut. No. Nothing would erase that particular sin.

Chapter Three

All three predators slammed into Rafe’s chest in an effort to be set free. They wanted Josh’s blood spilling over their tongue, a brutal response, but one Rafe was accustomed to. The laws of the animal world didn’t always mesh with the human one. He was left as the liaison, ensuring both were met when possible. Tonight he couldn’t give his animals what they wanted.

Josh had done nothing to deserve death, unless stubbornness counted. Although Rafe hadn’t come right out and told him the truth, he’d hinted at the fact that Megan wasn’t quite normal. Josh had gone on to deliver a string of curses involving his foot and Rafe’s ass. Amusing, but not the most productive conversation he’d ever had.

Josh had agreed to meet him, though. It was the best Rafe would get unless he was willing to swoop in and take Megan from him by force. For Megan’s sake, that was a last resort. Rafe didn’t want to make her reintroduction to shifter life any more traumatic than it would already be. For the time being, Josh had to stay in the picture.

Rafe’s lion growled, not approving of Rafe’s thoughts. It had labeled Josh as competition for Jasmine, the female his cats had taken an interest in. They wouldn’t share her with another male.

It didn’t seem to matter to the big cat that Jasmine was the feline scent-marked female Rafe had detected at the scene of the fire. His lion liked how
she
smelled. It wanted to get closer to her. Rafe ignored the animal, and its primitive response. He didn’t know the woman. He wasn’t about to fight over her.

Another snarl echoed within him—his jaguar expressing its disagreement—and a swipe of his tiger’s claws raked along his insides. He swallowed a groan. He might be immortal, but being torn apart from the inside wasn’t a pleasant feeling. He snapped his teeth together and pushed against their forceful wills. One by one the animals abated, but he got the impression it wouldn’t take much to stir them.

Ensured of his cats’ obedience, he slipped an arm around the female’s waist, locking her to him. She leaned into his embrace, head tipped back to rest against his chest, as if she’d done so for a lifetime.

The easy way she accepted him pushed him to take more. With a palm on her hip, he tugged her closer, letting her feel how she affected him. She stiffened at the press of his hardened dick against her spine, then spun, her blonde hair whipping with the move.

Beautiful.

Gray eyes, a few freckles on the tip of a slightly crooked nose and a mouth made for kissing. Her rounded face with its finely sloped forehead lent her an angelic quality. The desire stamped on it ensured she’d be the wicked kind of angel, given the proper encouragement.

He had every confidence in his ability to bring out the vixen hidden behind her sweet exterior. He thought about how he could urge the siren out and a grin spread. Oh the unveiling would be fun.

But she’s not mine. And she very well might be a threat to Megan.
The reminder dimmed his enthusiasm, but didn’t kill it. It only made him feel guilty for it.

She shoved at his chest. He loosened his grip but didn’t release her. He couldn’t bring himself to do so. “Let go, buddy. We’re done.”

“But you didn’t answer me.”

“What did you ask?”

“Am I hot enough for you?”

Her jaw dropped, but the evidence of her desire hung heavy in the air around them.

“Good.” He grinned. “I’m glad I fit your needs.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” He took her hand, linking their fingers, and led her away from her human friend and the other males’ appreciative glances. He wanted her alone to talk. The sooner he learned her story, the better. She felt good in his arms. Right. He wanted to uncover the reason why.

She hesitated at the entrance to the employee hallway. “What a sec, buddy. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“The name’s Rafe. Rafe Alexander. Not buddy.”

She licked her lips. “Rafe.”

Damn, his name sounded good in her breathless voice.

“Jasmine.” He tried hers out. It rolled nicely on his tongue. “Walk with me.”

She shook her head but didn’t tear her gaze from his. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He leaned closer and brushed his lips against her cheek. “I think it’s a very good idea. You taste of heaven, Jasmine. I find it’s a flavor I crave. I want more.”
And I hope your answers to my other questions satisfy me so I can enjoy you.

Her exhaled breath wafted over his neck. “Jazz, not Jasmine. I’m not a damn flower.”

“You’re pretty enough to be one.” A breathless laugh met his declaration, no denial. “Tell me, Jazz, am I too late?”

She slid her hands up his chest and started to inch them around his neck but abruptly dropped them. “Too late for what?”

The scent of Royal feline—a mix of predators—drifted to him. He brought her wrist to his nose and inhaled. Then frowned. He sniffed again, openmouthed to taste the pheromones laced into the smell. Two distinct scents were rubbed onto her skin—a temporary claim that was nearly gone. The shifters who’d marked her were male. Of that he was certain, but he couldn’t tell anything else except the males weren’t familiar.

And their claim wasn’t permanent.

He dragged his fingers down her neck and across her shoulder, pulling the edge of her collar back. Unmarred skin showed where a bite mark would’ve identified her as a mated female. She wasn’t taken.

Possessiveness gripped him, stronger than he’d ever known. The sentiment of his inner felines added to it. He wanted to keep her. Simple as that.

He rubbed her wrist against his cheek, removing the other males’ scents and replacing it with his. Her fragrance—sweet, rich and purely Jasmine—seeped into his lungs. His tongue roughened, and the first hint of fangs slipped past his teeth. The physical response to her unique scent was a first for him.

“Too late for what?” She repeated.

He glanced into the face of the female who’d awakened his primal side. The
only
woman who had. For a Royal, that distinction opened up a world of possibilities. All promised to leave him sated. After five hundred years, he’d be a fool to turn his back on a chance at experiencing heaven on earth, even if it only lasted a night.

He stepped closer to her and dragged in another lungful of her scent. His balls grew heavy, and his dick ached. Oh yes, she’d satisfy him, and the sight of his come dripping off her ass would be a memory he’d treasure. Or maybe he’d get her on her knees in front of him. He rubbed his finger over her full mouth. That would work too. Her lips would look damn good wrapped around his cock.

He toyed with the neckline of her shirt and fought the urge to caress her shoulder. Normal human males weren’t fascinated with that spot of a woman’s body, and he prided himself as acting as one whenever possible.

“Am I too late to claim you?”

Her brows scrunched. “Are you asking if I have a boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

“That’s an odd way to say it. Are you European?”

“Originally.” He skimmed his fingers over her forehead, smoothing her creased skin. “Well? Do you have a lover?”
Or two.

“No, no. I’m all alone.” She shook her head. “I mean I have important people in my life, but I’m not involved with anyone.”

What did that make the two males who’d left their scents on her? Friends? Business partners? Whatever they were to her, they were fools to have left her alone.

“That’s good to know.” He took her hand and urged her to follow him. She flicked her gaze to the crowded room but fell in step beside him. He tried the nearest door, found it unlocked and the room empty. An office—Josh’s, going by the scent lingering there. No matter. It was quiet and private. “But I need to know who those important people in your life are before I claim a spot in it.”

“What?” She grabbed the doorjamb. “Wait a minute, buddy—”

“Rafe.”

She rolled her eyes. “I am not going in there with you,
Rafe
.”

He crowded her against the door. “Why not?”

“I don’t know you, and I’m not the type of girl to go off with a man. In fact”—she slipped under his arm—“I shouldn’t have followed you out of the bar. I’ve got to get home.”

He pulled her back. “You can’t leave. Not yet.” He breathed the words against her ear. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Which one was that?”

“About what it’ll take to get into your bed.”
Why the hell did I ask that?

He inwardly cursed. There were more important things he needed to uncover. Who the males were who’d scent-marked her. Why she was at Tony’s house. Who Josh was to her.
But no. I let my instincts rule me.

She turned in his embrace and linked her hands around his neck. “That’s a line I haven’t heard before.”

Well…in for a pound.
“Will it work?”

She pressed her mouth to his ear. “No.” She pushed away from him. “I need to go home.”

Two strides brought him in front of her. He settled his hands on her hips, lifted her and pressed her against the wall. His mouth muffled her gasp. He kissed her, leading her with deep, rolling thrusts of his tongue until she grew pliant in his embrace.

Her essence filled him. Became a part of him. He widened his stance to steady his legs and pressed her more firmly into the wall with his hips.

Instincts rose, ones he had no business feeling, but the need to leave his mark on her grew with each breathy moan he pulled from her. The urge worried him, but he couldn’t deny it, not when his skin tingled with the desire to feel hers rubbing against it, sweat slickened and in the throes of passion. It was lust—plain and simple—but the urgency riding him to lock her to his side wasn’t a normal reaction. It was damn scary one. Didn’t stop him, though.

She curled her fingers around the back of his head and treated him to the same deep, sensual exploration he gave her. He didn’t mind the pinch of her nails in his scalp or the hungry way she kissed him. It pleased him. So did her guttural groan.

The cotton top under his hand made his fingertips itch. He shoved the material up until bare skin met his touch. More. He needed more. He slid his hand to her lower back, then to her bottom. He squeezed her ass, and she moaned, the sound muffled against his mouth.

Noise from the bar behind them reminded him how close they were to others, males who would look upon Jasmine with lust.

He urged her to wrap her legs around him. She did, hooking her ankles at his lower back. He turned into the office.

In the back of his mind, he knew he was making a mistake. The woman kissing him as if she were starved for his taste was an unknown, somehow involved with Royal felines. She might even be associated with the group who ran the trafficking ring that had decimated their species. The possibilities chilled him. He allowed each scenario to surface before pushing them aside to be dealt with later.

Jasmine was the first female to stir his instincts and awaken his primal side. He wanted to savor her. Besides, if she viewed him as a male she desired, she’d be more likely to share the details of her personal life. That was reason enough to touch her. It was necessary.

And when did I start making excuses for my behavior?
Apparently about the same time as a blonde female stood on a chair and waved her arms in his direction.

The door clicked closed with his kick, blocking out the laughter and music. He carried her to the leather couch he’d spied earlier and lowered her without breaking the melding of their mouths. Stretched over her, he slipped his hand into the fall of her hair and cradled the back of her head.

On and on, they kissed until she looped her arms around him and hooked a leg over his, allowing his cock to settle against her groin. The move assured him she felt safe in his arms. It was exactly the sign he wanted.

He broke the kiss and skimmed his lips along her jaw to her ear. He caught the tender lobe between his teeth and nibbled. Another shudder ran through her body. A sensitive spot. Good. Finding each one seemed necessary. He should be worried about why. He wasn’t. The soft moans she rewarded him with outweighed the concern over his instincts.

He slid a hand under her loose skirt. The smoothness of her inner thighs teased the rougher pads of his fingers. A shiver raced down his spine.

“What are you doing?” She tightened her grip on his shirt, balling the material in her fists, but she didn’t push him away.

Or tell him to stop.

“Touching you.”

He waited a moment, giving her a chance to deny him, then inched his fingers higher, dragging the material of her skirt with him. He moved his hand to her cloth-covered sex. Dampness met him.

Primitive instincts swamped him. He wanted to free his cock, rip her underwear off and plunge into her. She’d fit him perfectly. Massage his dick. His dick jerked, and precome dampened his boxers, making the fabric stick to him. He wanted to lose himself in her.

Make her mine before another male steals her away.

Yes, of course. That was the driver behind his intense reaction. The other males’ scent on her triggered his instincts. It didn’t matter who they were or what role they played in her life. She’d stirred Rafe’s primitive side. His possessive nature wouldn’t allow her to escape.