Whisper (9 page)

* * * *

“Hey.”

Whisper started and turned around. She’d thought it was Alec at first, but then she realized the voice had a slightly different inflection. That meant it was Max. Still, she didn’t feel like seeing him either. His face, so like his brother’s, tormented her and made her ache to see Alec.
Stupid woman, even after you caught him moving on like five seconds after we were together.

She couldn’t pin down when it happened, but she was connected to the man on an emotional level, and she never meant it to be that way. They had been on two dates for Pete’s sake and had sex twice. After the other night, there was no way they were sticking to the five date deal. She had no intention of speaking to him again. In fact, when she got the last of his book and had read it, she planned to write up a report of her thoughts and leave it at that. Then he could have sex with as many women as he chose. The lump in her throat and the wetness on her lashes would go away after a while.

“What do you want, Max?” She had come to the park to get away from everything and enjoy the fresh air and quiet. If she’d known Max would be around, she’d have chosen the mall. Not likely those two would be there. Then again, she’d forgotten Max’s love of being in the buff out here. Thinking that, she eyed him from head to toe. He wore a T-shirt and shorts that showed off his muscular well-toned legs. She sighed.

Max grinned like he knew what she was thinking. “What are you doing out here alone? A beautiful woman like yourself should be beating off the men and making my brother jealous.”

She rolled her eyes. “Please. Me and Alec are not a couple. I don’t care if he gets jealous or not.”

“Don’t you?”

She glared at him.

Max took the bench space beside her. She resisted getting up and walking off. No matter how much the man annoyed her, she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. That was stupid, because it didn’t seem that men like them would be easily hurt. Not Alec anyway.

“You’re his mate, Whisper,” Max said. “Whether he wants to admit it to himself or you have no understanding of what our kind are like, it’s still true.”

“Your kind?” She folded her arms over her chest and crossed her legs. That made her look down at them and wonder how much more weight she had to gain before she couldn’t do it anymore. “The crazy kind?”

So much for not hurting his feelings.

Max laughed. “I admit I’m a little off the beaten path in the way I approach things, but I like to think I’m fun.”

She didn’t comment.

“I mean leopard shifter,” he explained.

Whisper blinked.

Max sat forward. He leaned his elbows on his thighs and laced the fingers of both hands together. When he looked at her, his expression showed his earnestness for her to understand. For some reason she wanted to get it, to not think this dude was off his rocker. Max didn’t scare her. Maybe it was because Alec had told her about his girlfriend dying. If she’d found the right one and loved him with everything inside of her, wouldn’t she be a little off for a while if he died?

“I have no problem telling you the truth about us,” Max went on, “because I
know
what you are. There’s not a doubt in my mind, and none of us has ever denied our mate. Leave it to my brother to screw that up though. Alec always did things his way.”

“Funny, that’s the impression I get of you.” She pursed her lips and met his gaze without wavering. Max only grinned.

“Then my brother and I are alike more than he admits.” He stood up and paced in front of her. “Alec isn’t that social. He doesn’t go in for family functions, what we call gatherings. They don’t happen often, of course, but he hates them. Everyone acts like our entire existence is supposed to be taken up with finding our mate and settling down to have cubs.”

Whisper wrinkled her brow at him. “Cubs?”

He sighed. “I’m not doing a good job of explaining, am I?”

“Not really. No.” She stood up, ready to leave. “Look, it doesn’t matter to me, okay? Do what you want to do. Alec can kiss…well, he can live his life any way he wants. It has nothing to do with me. I don’t want to talk about him anymore. And since I’m not going to be dating him, there’s really no reason you and I should be friends. I hope you understand. Have a nice day.”

She started past him, but Max grasped her hand. She tried pulling away, but the pressure increased. The first touch of alarm hit her. Maybe Max was crazier than she thought, and she shouldn’t have dismissed it as him just being depressed at his loss.

“I’m sorry, honey,” Max said in a low, controlled tone. His gaze when he met hers was so intense that she shivered. Still, a little of his humor shimmered behind it, and she tried holding onto that to calm down. “My brother is a fool, but I’m not going to let him lose this one chance.”

“W-What do you mean?”

All she saw was his other hand come up, and then all went black.

* * * *

Whisper opened her eyes and squinted. The décor of the room she was in wasn’t familiar, but the structure was. She recognized the slant of the roof near the window. In her apartment, the slant was on the opposite side of it. Her chest hurt as her heart seemed to want to jump out of it. Less light came in through the blinds indicating time had passed. Memory of Max doing something came back to her, and as soon as she recalled, the door opened, and he stood in it, arms folded over his chest and smiling.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Max?” To her annoyance, her voice shook a little.

The smile disappeared from his face, and his brows creased in concern. “Don’t be afraid, Whisper. I promise I’m not going to hurt you. This is just to get things going in the right direction.”

“What is?” she demanded.

He raised his hands in a calming motion. “Easy. All in good time. Soon my brother will come back, and then it’s show time. However, we have to get you ready.”

She resisted cowering on the bed and instead looked around for a weapon as he approached. Max chuckled.

“You’re feisty, so perfect for him.” He sat down on the side of the bed. Whisper swung at him with all her might, but he caught her wrist with ease. He brought her hand to his lips to kiss, but she jerked away.

“I can’t believe you did this. Did losing your girlfriend send you this far over the edge?” She regretted it as soon as the words were out of her mouth, but Max went very still. His eyes glazed, and the flash of pain she caught went straight to her own heart. “I’m sorry.”

He appeared to force a shrug. “It’s fine. Now about you…” He reached for a glass at the side of the bed, which she hadn’t noticed before. “You’re probably thirsty after your ordeal.”

She rolled her eyes and snatched the glass from him. “Don’t change the subject. What are you planning? I know you think you’re doing the right thing for me and Alec, but what I’m trying to get through your thick head is that there
is
no me and him.”

She was thirsty, so she drained the glass and got back to glaring at him. Max remained silent watching her, and that’s when she figured out he’d drugged the juice.

“Damn it,” she murmured. Something like melted butter descended over her head. The sensation was so strong, she wanted to reach up and touch her hair to see if it wasn’t just her imagination. “Max, don’t…”

He stroked her cheek. “Like I said, I promise I won’t hurt you. Contrary to what it seems like I love my brother very much. I’d die for him.”

“You will die when I’m not drugged, because I’m going to kick your ass.”

He chuckled. “I like you. Too bad you weren’t for me.” He guided her to lie down against the pillows and pulled a comforter over her. Whisper found it hard to struggle out of his grasp. “My plan is to make him think we’re having an affair. He’ll be pissed off and fight for you.”

She blinked a few times trying to focus. “That’s dumb.”

He laughed again. “Why?”

“Because he’s not going to fight for me. He’s more likely to think I’m a dirty slut, sleeping with him first and then his brother. He’ll want nothing more to do with me. Not that he does now anyway.” She turned her head and stared toward the window. She wouldn’t cry over Alec.

Max kissed her forehead. “My brother must have hurt you. Just think how much punishment it will be for him thinking we’re having sex.”

Her attention flew to Max. “We’re not having sex!”

“No.” He sighed as if he regretted it. “You do have a nice ass. Taste good, too.”

“You’ve never—”

“My sweet Whisper, do you remember Max the cat licking your ass?”

A shriek erupted before she could hold it back. “Stop playing games. That’s impossible. I always knew the two of you were crazy. I should never have gotten involved with you or Alec.”

“It was meant to be.”

“Stop saying that!”

He didn’t answer but reached beneath the covers and began pulling her T-shirt up. Whisper slapped at his hands, but her strength had decreased big time. She might as well be a little kitten for all the effect she had on pushing him away. Before long, he’d taken off every stitch of her clothing, including her panties. The only consolation was that he hadn’t looked beneath the comforter, and he’d been careful not to allow his hands to touch her skin too much.

Whisper clutched the cover to her chest when Max stood up. She searched her mind for some way to change his. “If what you’re saying is true about how Alec feels about me, then he’ll be pissed.”

He nodded. “I’m counting on it. He knows the kind of woman you are, that you’re not a whore. He’ll want to protect you from me.”

“That’s what I’m saying. He’ll kill you, Max. Think about what you’re doing.”

“I’ve thought about it.” He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Whisper’s stomach clenched with nerves. “Do you think I have much to live for anyway? My mate is gone.”

Her heart constricted. “Oh, Max.”

“Don’t worry over me. You’ll find happiness with my brother soon enough, and maybe have some kids. I won’t matter.” He sat down on the bed again. Whisper suppressed a yawn, bringing her hand up to her mouth. Max stroked her hair. “Almost.”

The drowsiness was taking more of a hold. She could barely keep her eyes open and forced herself to talk. “S-So this cat shifting delusion…”

“It’s not a delusion, sweetheart.”

She let her lids shut but continued the conversation. “Can you prove it?”

“I could.”

The damn stroking was adding to her tiredness. When his voice came again, it was from somewhere closer. She felt the bed dip down and cried out. He soothed her with soft words.

“Alec will prove it to you. That’s his right to show you, and I won’t take it from him.” Another gentle kiss to her forehead. “He’s coming.”

Whisper didn’t hear anything at first, but a few seconds later, a door opened somewhere else in the apartment. Whisper wanted to protest, but she no longer had the energy to speak. Max shifted on the bed, and it felt like he leaned over her. A heavy leg was slung across hers. He moaned rather loud and murmured, “Oh, baby, you feel so good.”

If she was alert she’d have thought it sounded lame and he wouldn’t win any Oscars with his performance, but it was more than enough for Alec. The door opened and smashed against the wall. Whisper drew in a sharp breath. From the explosion of sound he had to have ripped the thing off its hinges. She coaxed her eyes to open to slits, but Max’s big shoulder blocked her view.

“Tell me I do not smell Whisper in your bed, Max,” Alec growled in a voice she scarcely recognized. Maybe it was the drug.

“Get out, Alec,” Max said without turning away from Whisper. “You’re disturbing us.”

He arched his hips, but he wasn’t directly over her. A sharp pinch to her side made her cry out. To an enraged man, she imagined it sounded like a moan of ecstasy instead of annoyance that the idiot pinched her. Alec roared and leaped across the room. He grabbed his brother by the hair and jerked him off the bed.

“Don’t,” she tried yelling, but it came out feeble and small.

Seeing Max in all his naked glory made her turn her head, but she had no idea when he’d removed the rest of his clothing. At some point, she must have zoned out. The comforter still half covered her, but with one thigh out and her sides bare, it was obvious she was naked as well.

Bile rose in her throat at the sound of Alec punching his brother. “You don’t touch her! Ever!”

“Stop,” she pleaded and managed to roll over. The comforter tangled around her legs and sent her pitching over the side of the bed. She hit the floor in a weakened heap. In seconds, Alec was there and lifted her up into his arms. He crushed her to his chest to the point that she could barely breathe. Well at least she’d gotten him to stop hurting Max.

“Get out,” Alec ordered.

Whisper tried getting her face above the cover and off his chest but failed.

“This is my room,” Max answered, his voice full of his usual humor, although she thought she detected a funny inflection on his words. Maybe his lip was swollen. For some reason she felt guilty, but this was his fault—his dumb ass plan.

“I mean get out of the apartment,” Alec ground out. “I don’t want to see you the rest of the day—maybe never.”

“Alec.” Whisper managed to raise her head. She got her eyes open but was pretty sure she looked drunk as hell.

Alec looked down at her, and the rage in his expression was palpable. “You fucking asshole, you drugged her! You’re dead as soon as I help her. Dead, Max!”

This time his brother seemed to get it. Max dressed in a hurry and was out of the room in moments. She heard the front door slam, and Alec sank down on the bed with her on his lap. He glanced over his shoulder at the rumpled sheets and cringed then stood and carried her out and across the hall to another room. She figured this one was his and didn’t protest when he laid her on the bed. She kept waiting for him to yell at her and call her a whore, but his hold turned gentle as he pushed her hair from her hot face.

“Don’t worry,” he murmured. “I’m going to fix this. He’ll die for hurting you.”

Even though he was angry, she heard the pain in his voice, too, and vowed as soon as she could come out of her stupor, she’d explain everything to him. Max hadn’t done anything to her. The worse she’d suffered was embarrassment and a little pinch. She didn’t want Alec thinking his brother had betrayed him or for him to feel like he had an obligation to hurt the family member closest to him. For some reason, she was pretty sure Alec meant to kill his own brother.