B008IJW70G EBOK (6 page)

      
Chill
. Easy for him to say. He hadn’t just learnt he was a
creature
, not a human. And he didn’t have someone telling him they knew everything there was to know about them and then some. Oh yeah, and that they were
destined
to be together. 

      Riley tried to ignore the crawl of sadness as it trawled her spine. Claudia would have loved this. Would have thrived on every detail. 

      But Claudia was gone. And here she was having fun, laughing,
changing
. 

      It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. 

      Guilt choked her. Just now, with Hunter, she’d been so busy thinking about him and what they were doing that she’d almost forgotten about Claudia. 

      “Change?” 

      Hunter’s question pulled her from her thoughts. “Change,” she whispered. 

      He turned his back and she did the same, taking her mind from Claudia. She stepped nervously out of her clothing, hoping it was going to work and that he wouldn’t look. 

      Because she didn’t want to be stranded naked. 

Up until today, Riley had thought the most exhilarating experience of her life was galloping full speed on her horse down the beach. She’d always loved the wind stripping her hair back off her face, the feel of the powerful animal beneath her. 

      Now she
was
that animal. And it felt better than good. It was
incredible
.

      Her feet hit the sand in a one-two-three rhythm. It was exciting, almost natural, but she knew she hadn’t truly hit her stride yet. She glanced over at Hunter. He was loping beside her, like it took no effort at all for him to run that fast. 

      The only thing that told her it was him, that she knew the cat racing alongside her, was the flash of his green eyes. Hunter’s eyes were ingrained in her memory. And he knew it. Every time he turned to her, when they were in cat form, they both felt it. 

He slowed. Riley did the same. She stopped when he did. 

      She could hear him again. In her mind, like it was the most natural thing in the world. 

      “
Do you like it?” 

      
“Yes.”
 

      She showed him her teeth and flicked her tail. It was just so… natural. So real. Like she knew what to do, as if it was normal.

      He came closer. Slowly. His eyes were focused on hers again. As if asking her a question, but she couldn’t hear him. 

      She could hear everything else though. The break of the sea as it hit the sand was like a waterfall crashing in her eardrums, the smell of salt and seaweed strong in her nostrils. 

      But the pull she felt toward Hunter overpowered all her other senses. Her awareness of him. Was it possible for him to be even more irresistible in leopard form?

      He stood close. Too close to her.       

      She breathed in the smell of him, his scent. She could see from the way he was watching her that he felt it too. But then he hadn’t exactly hidden his interest in her since she’d arrived. 

      He entered her space and butted at her with his head. Just tipped the top of his head into the soft space beneath her ear, against her neck. Riley couldn’t stop the growl as it echoed in her throat. Or was it a purr? She didn’t know. She pressed against him, flicking her tail in his direction, holding her head higher as he touched her again. 

      Then he stopped, stared at her, and invited her. 

      She wasn’t sure what he meant. Then she heard him. 

      “
Race with me.”

      His words were clearer now, and she wanted to. She definitely wanted to. Exercise was exactly what she needed.

      He looked off down the beach, at the endless length of sand, and stretched his legs. Clawed at the ground as if he was sharpening his claws as she watched him. 

      Riley took off, not bothering to limber up. Her legs were burning, thrilling at the speed. All she could think of was going faster,
beating him
, but he was closing in on her. 

      He raced past her, faster than a racehorse.
Challenging her. 

      She wasn’t far behind, but beating him was looking less likely. Besides, he was trying to impress her. He wasn’t going to let her win. 

      
And she didn’t want him to. 

      Riley stretched her legs even further. Then he stopped. Whirled on the spot and halted her with his gaze. Sand flew up around her as she tried to stop fast, not used to slowing down from such speed. She dug her paws in, locked them on the sand, and almost flipped over.

      His nose was tipped to the air. She could smell something different, but she didn’t understand what. 

      Hunter’s eyes scanned the forest that ran along the beach, dense pine trees a prelude to the thickness within its depths. Riley watched too, but she couldn’t see anything. 

      “
Follow me. Now.”

      She could hear his command and the look he gave her made her follow. She knew when to laugh and ignore, when she could disobey, and now wasn’t one of those times. 

      It was an order. 

      He inclined his head then started a slow lope. She matched his stride. The playful mood was gone. Hunter was deadly serious. He increased their speed, often looking over his shoulder or raising his nose to the wind. She didn’t dare slow down.

      They were back to where they’d started within minutes, where they’d changed. He nudged her into the trees, away from the clearing; he shifted back into human form effortlessly. Riley turned away, but her eyes didn’t miss the curve of Hunter’s backside as he took the few steps to reach for the clothes they’d left tucked into the hollow of the tree he’d claimed as his own. His claw marks on the trunk of it told other cats to stay clear. 

      
Or else.

      She appreciated that he was being modest. It wasn’t in his nature, he didn’t care about showing his body, and he’d made that clear. But it was still weird to her. She couldn’t imagine it ever seeming natural, any of it.

      Hunter had pulled on his jeans, feet and torso still bare, when he quickly threw her her own clothes. “Hurry.”

      He turned his back and she changed. It still wasn’t easy for her, took so much concentration it made her brain hurt, but she transformed. The bright red flash of pain and ringing sound in her ears was already becoming easier to deal with. 

      “Done,” she told him. Riley had her light summer dress back on, feet bare.

      “Come close,” he commanded.

      She didn’t argue. He put his arm around her, slung, but still firm. 

      Riley went to protest but his grip wasn’t letting up. 

      “We need to hurry.”

      She gave up and hurried along beside him. Trying to ignore his touch. She’d wondered what his muscles felt like all day, wanted to press her fingers against his skin, smell him, touch him. But now she was tucked under his arm it terrified her. And thrilled her.  

      He was so strong, so powerful. And she felt safe. 

      “What’s going on?” Riley asked him. 

      Riley wanted the light, fun feeling they’d shared on the beach. This was far too serious. She wanted to just enjoy him, to play like before.

      “Leopards. They’re near and they know you’re with me.”

      A shiver sent goose pimples across her skin. “Other shifter leopards?”

      He nodded; the set of his mouth grim. “You need to stay close. I don’t want one of them trying to snatch you.”

      “Snatch me?” Her voice stuttered. If he was trying to scare her, he’d succeeded. 

      He stopped, for a heartbeat, and looked into her eyes. His fingers rose to push the hair from her face, so gently she almost didn’t believe he was touching her. 

      “I don’t have any claim on you yet. They know that.” His breath crossed her skin. Riley felt her body quiver. “You’re beautiful, Riley, and I’m not the only alpha around here.”

      She didn’t know what to say. 

      “Come on, they won’t touch you at Sophia’s house,” he said.

      “Why not?”

      “Because she’s the matriarch of the entire state.”

      Riley stopped abruptly but he just tugged her along. Was he serious?

      “She’s about as powerful as it gets, and you’re her only descendant. Believe me when I say I’ll be fighting for you.”

      Riley leaned into his hold. Suddenly Hunter was no where near as frightening as the rustling in the forest. “Why didn’t we just stay changed?”

      He hurried with her at his side. “They’ll like you as a human, but they’ll fight until the death for you as a cat.”

      She’d had two boys at school fight over her once. As in they argued and there had been a few shoves. But it had never come to anything because she just hadn’t been that interested. Not like she was now. Not with stakes this high. 

      “Would you do that for me?” Her voice was barely a whisper. 

      He didn’t stop. But he did pull her closer, tighter against his hard body. “It’s not a matter of if Riley, it’s when.”

      She didn’t understand. What did he mean
when
?

      “The longer you take to accept me, the more I’ll have to fight.”

      “Why?” she asked.

      “You’re the prize, Riley. There isn’t a single leopard around here who would walk past you without challenging me.”

      “By single you mean unavailable?”

      He nodded. He let his hold go, just an inch. 

      But she didn’t want to pull away. Before, she’d been desperate to put distance between them. To fight what she felt for him. Now, she needed his comfort, the safety of his touch. It was like being surrounded by a pack of fighting dogs who wouldn’t let another touch her. 

      When he’d said he’d fight until the death for her, she believed it. There was something about him that drew her in. A kindness. An openness. But there was also that feeling that he was tough. A fighter. That if he had to kill someone or something, he would do it without hesitation. 

      “Come on, we can talk later.”

      “Are they coming?” she whispered. “Can they see us?”

      “They’re close.” His nostrils flared, eyes darting back and forward. 

      “Should we run?”

      “We’re predators, Riley. I’m trying to avoid a confrontation for your sake, but we don’t run. Not ever.” He reclaimed his hold on her, this time sliding his arm around her waist to enable them to walk faster. “Besides, if we run, it’s game on.”

      Riley didn’t like the sound of that at all. 

CHAPTER SIX

Seeing Sophia’s house was a relief. Her eyes drank in the sight of it. She fought the urge to run. 

      “They’re just behind us. Riley, call out to her,” Hunter told her. 

      “Sophia,” she yelled, trying to keep her voice calm but failing. “Sophia.”

      Sophia was at the door faster than Riley could call her name again. She must have seen the look on her face, seen how fast they were approaching the house.

      Riley didn’t want to think what could happen,
would happen
, if they didn’t make it back in time. 

      Within seconds she was standing at the foot of the porch. “Come here, my dear.”

      Sophia’s sharp eyes roamed the forest behind her as she took her hand. It was the first time Riley had noticed how keen her gaze was, how alert her gran was. 

      Now it all made sense. Sophia was more than just her gran, she was a leader.

      “I’m not expecting visitors.” Sophia said, her voice even, loud. “You two come inside. You’re just in time for dinner.”

      Riley watched as Hunter exchanged a glance with Sophia. She felt safe. Protected. 

      
For now
.

      Maybe knowing that Sophia had chosen this man for her,
this leopard
, as her partner, wasn’t so bad after all. It meant she could unquestionably trust him,
with her life
, without worrying about his intentions, that he might use his strength to overpower her. Or hurt her.

      “Thank you, Hunter.”

      As he stepped onto the porch she paused and looked at him, almost as tall as him on the step above.

      He shrugged. “It’s nothing.”

      “You’re wrong.”

      She watched as Sophia walked off and around the edge of her garden. A stranger would think she was admiring it, but Riley knew better. She was warning off the leopards that had followed them. A current, an alarm, seemed to vibrate through the air. 

      Riley reached out one hand, the other hanging at her side, and traced her fingers up the smooth planes of Hunter’s arm. 

      He stayed still. Deathly still. 

Her eyes followed her fingers, inching slowly up his skin. She stopped at his shoulder, clasping her fingers over it. She leaned forward,
just
. He still didn’t move. She’d never had to make the moves before. Never been the one to initiate contact with any guy.
Let alone Hunter
. Someone she was so drawn to in a way she couldn’t explain.

Riley moved her face closer to him, her lips inches from his. She could feel his breath now, whispering over her skin. 

Then he kissed her. Closed the gap before she could. Touched his mouth over hers, gently, so she almost couldn’t feel it. 

But as fast as he’d kissed her, he pulled away. 

      “Not yet.” His words came out as a whisper.

      She pressed her lips together and stepped back. So much for rebelling against the arranged marriage. She was acting like she was desperate for him. 

      “There’s something I need to tell you.”

      Riley watched him. Saw the pain in his face. 

      “I don’t want you to think I’m joking here, okay? You have to trust me,” Hunter said. 

      She nodded. Riley did trust him. She might not have yesterday, but everything was starting to make sense, as much as it could anyway, and she trusted him now. Absolutely. He didn’t need to ask her.