Dark and Damaged: Eight Tortured Heroes of Paranormal Romance: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (6 page)

But if he didn’t leave, Bree might be hurt, and so could others who depended on him. He didn’t know what the Shifters outside would do to Bree and Nadine if they came storming in to grab Seamus. While Shifters were usually careful with humans, they did so mostly to avoid drawing the attention of the human police and Shifter Bureau. They weren’t necessarily kind.

“I didn’t say I’d give up,” Seamus told Bree, reluctantly lifting his hand away. “I’ll distract them and run. Draw them away from you.”

At the window, Nadine said, “Oh, I’ll give them a distraction.”

Not a bad idea. “Wait until I’m ready,” Seamus said. “I’ll signal, you do your thing, and I’ll go.”

He pushed around Bree and went down the stairs but heard her coming behind him.

“Seamus.”
Bree grabbed the tail of his shirt. Seamus turned back, caught more by her presence than her hold. “You can’t.”

“I can,” Seamus said. “I’m fast. I’ll be gone before they realize.”

“That’s not what I meant. What will they do to you if they catch you?”

“They’re from the Austin Shiftertown,” Seamus said—no reason for her not to know. “They want to put a Collar on me and sequester me. They’ve been chasing me ... us ... for about a month now.”

Bree tightened her hand on the T-shirt’s hem. “Where will you go?”

“Somewhere not here,” Seamus said. “Understand? They’ll chase
me
away from
you
. It’s what I do. You and your mother don’t need a bunch of pain in the ass Shifters giving you grief.”

Bree’s blue eyes took on a bleak look. Without the makeup, waking up from sleep, Seamus saw that she was a little older than he’d first thought—not that he was an expert on human ages. She was old enough to have a mate and cub of her own, old enough to have had life kick at her.

Bree took a step closer to him. “What I mean is, will I ever see you again?”

Seamus studied her for a few beats. In that moment, his body, which had been cooperative up until now, became a massive knot of pain.

He’d been calmer since he’d been in this house, giving him a crumb of hope that he’d conquered the wildness bubbling inside him. He realized as Bree’s body brushed his, that he’d conquered it because of
her
. As soon as he’d found her, her nearness, her touch had started to quiet him down.

If he left her, would the pain, the confusion, come rushing back?

But if Seamus stayed, he’d leave Bree open to danger. No matter what, Seamus had to go.

Seamus peeled Bree’s hold from his shirt, wrapped his arm around her, and dragged her close. Warmth of woman came to him as Bree’s body curved against his, the thin shirt letting him feel her limbs, her full breasts, the supple bend of her spine.

Seamus leaned down and kissed her mouth, a full kiss, not preparing her, not going slowly. He needed to kiss her right now, might never have another chance.

Bree curled her fists on his shoulders but didn’t push away. She opened her lips to him, accepting. Her tongue moved against his, she tasting him, pushing herself up into him.

Seamus deepened the kiss, taking what he could. Bree tasted of spice and the night, heat and everything that was good. He tasted her deep sorrow as well, a sadness she couldn’t shake, and her need. Bree had so much need. She was hungry, this woman, and no one had filled that craving within her.

Pain snatched at him and wouldn’t relent. Seamus could take her with him, keep her next to him, whatever happened. Bound as one, mates.

He tightened his embrace, kissing her harder. Bree answered with as bold a kiss. She needed him, and he her. Primal, basic need.

Bree wrapped her arms around his neck, her unfettered breasts scooping against him. Bree’s back was a pliant line, drawing his hands along it to her buttocks. Soft flesh met his touch, their position rubbing her abdomen right over his cock.

If five and more Shifters hadn’t been ready to charge the house and break down the door, Seamus would have lowered Bree to the stairs and relieved his frenzy then and there. Swift thrusts while she clung to him, the sounds Bree made in her throat escalating to full cries as they reached the breaking point together.

For now, Seamus could only touch her, kiss her, drink in her warmth against the coldness that was to come.

“Any time you’re ready, Seamus.”

Nadine’s quiet voice came from above. Bree abruptly broke the kiss, her eyes wide, face flushed, her breathing rapid.

Nadine peered over the banisters at them, the shotgun held carefully so the barrel pointed upward.

Seamus turned his back and walked away, moving on down the stairs. If he stayed, if he looked at Bree one second longer, he’d never go, and he knew it.

***

Bree had forgotten how to breathe, talk, maybe even stand. She held herself up against the wall, trying to find her balance, while her entire body rejoiced at the kiss.

Seamus had held her like a lover, as though they’d been together for years instead of meeting for the first time last night under dire circumstances. His kiss had been hot, strong, thorough, hinting at what fever could be had from a night in bed with him.

Above him, her mother was watching in disapproval. Bree couldn’t raise her head to look up at Nadine, but the weight of the disapproval was like a blanket dropping on her head.

Worse still was the cold slap of Seamus walking away. He was running from her into danger—no way could he evade that bunch of scary-looking Shifters waiting for him outside.

Bree shoved herself away from the wall and ran on shaking legs after him.

From the kitchen, Seamus yelled, “Nadine ...
now!
”

Her mother must have gotten herself back in position, because the shotgun went off twice—
bang! bang!
Next came a few moments of silence while Nadine reloaded, then the gun went off again.

The Shifters outside were shouting. Bree hit the kitchen in time to see Seamus slip out the back door. Bree ran to the door and sheltered herself behind it while she looked out into the dawn.

Seamus had already vanished. One smudge of dirt on the wooden steps showed he’d passed, but where he’d gone, Bree couldn’t see.

Her heart wrenched, her extremities going numb. When they’d gotten word about Remy, she’d felt a bit like this—the entire world changing while she stood there, unable to stop it. She’d lost Remy, and she was losing Seamus, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

A roar like that of a primeval beast rolled across the field beyond the house. It caught Bree, vibrated the windows, shook the porch. Another roar answered it, this one different, quicker, touched with rage.

A lion came bounding out of the field. It had a black mane, a lithe muscular frame, giant paws, and tawny eyes. Lion eyes. Seamus’s eyes.

Right behind it was the biggest Bengal tiger Bree had ever seen in her life. Not that she’d seen many, but she’d stood by their enclosures in zoos. Those tigers had been big and intimidating enough—this tiger was gigantic.

And furious. His ears were flat on his head, his eyes a wild gold. Within two bounds, it was on the lion—Seamus—who turned and fought for his life.

Another lion raced around the house. This one too had a black mane, but it was larger, older, with massive confidence in his eyes. He ran right between the tiger and Seamus, planting his feet and barking a roar that pounded in Bree’s ears. Seamus roared an answer, but the tiger went deathly silent.

The tiger, his eyes still sparking anger, retreated a few steps, turned in a slow circle, and stood poised, ready to spring. The tiger could have wiped out both lions with one sweep of his big paws, but now he simply waited, watching. Almost like he was being
polite
.

The older lion, on the other hand, was advancing on Seamus, mouth curling with his snarls, the intent in his eyes unmistakable.

Give up, or we kill you
.

“No!”
Bree shouted.

She was out of the house, down the steps, and running to them before she realized what she was doing. She stopped in front of Seamus and faced the other lion, whose growls increased.

“No,” Bree repeated, trying to catch her breath. She was scared shitless—the lion Shifter was gigantic, mean-looking, and could kill her without breaking a sweat. Not only that, but the tiger could come behind him and stamp out whatever bits of her were left.

Seamus was snarling, trying to push her aside with his body, but Bree stayed put.

“You leave him alone,” she yelled at the older lion. “Understand me? You go away, and leave him a
lone
.” Bree took the final step to the second lion and smacked him hard across the nose.

What the holy hell was she doing?

The words flitted through a corner of Seamus’s brain, along with a surge of frustrated rage. A stronger anger and incredulity washed after that, emotions flying so fast the confusion made him blink.

Then his mind cleared, leaving only one sharp, focused idea:
Protect
.

Seamus had already shoved himself between Bree and Dylan, his ears back, snarls unceasing. He’d go for Dylan the moment Dylan put a paw toward Bree, didn’t matter that Dylan was an alpha and one of the most dominant Shifters Seamus had ever encountered.

This was different. This was a
mate
thing.

Seamus saw that acknowledgment in Dylan’s eyes behind the absolute fury. Dylan stood his ground, neither continuing the attack nor backing off.

Bree, damn her, was trying to push herself in front of Seamus again. “He isn’t hurting you,” she yelled at Dylan. “Or me. Or anyone. What the hell do you want from him?”

Seamus turned his growls on her. Bree needed to stay behind him, let him defend her. Dylan had conceded the mate idea, with a flash of surprise, but that didn’t mean he might not swat Bree to the ground to make her shut up.

Bree only drew another breath to continue berating Dylan. At that moment, the tiger shifted smoothly into a huge man with mottled red-orange and black hair and golden eyes. He wrapped giant arms around Bree, lifted her from her feet, and carried her aside, Bree flailing and protesting all the way.

The Lupine, the Guardian, the bear, and the tattooed guy had come around the house, still in their humans forms.

“Stand down,” the Guardian growled at Seamus, his accent as Irish as Dylan’s. “We’re trying to help you, man.”

The Lupine, in a muscle shirt and jeans, folded his arms. “Yeah, we can do this the hard way, or we can do this the
hard
way.” He broke off and chuckled. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

“And all of you can back off!” Bree shouted at them.

She’d stopped fighting—the tiger held her firmly—but she wasn’t about to be quiet. Seamus both admired that and found it worrying.

Nadine burst out of the back door, her shotgun ready. “This might not kill Shifters,” she said in a firm voice. “But I’ve seen the damage it can cause. Anyone want to spend the day getting pellets picked out of them?”

“Mom, go back inside!” Bree cried in alarm.

Nadine cocked the gun, pointing it at the tiger. “And I
really
don’t like naked men trampling my garden. Let my daughter go.”

The tiger-man looked at Dylan then at Nadine. Finally, he focused his all-tiger stare on Seamus. Dylan snarled at him, clearly telling the Bengal to keep hold of Bree.

The tiger waited a few more heartbeats, then he slowly released Bree, setting her on her feet. He turned his back on them all, flowed into his tiger form, and walked away, huffing under his breath.

Seamus had never seen a Shifter so easily change shape before. Seamus had struggled with the shift mightily as a cub, finding it painful until he grew into it. Even now the shift was tough for him. Kendrick was much better at it, able to change nearly as instantaneously as this Bengal. Maybe it was a tiger thing.

Nadine wasn’t finished. “Now, the rest of you, get back into whatever vehicles brought you here and go. I won’t ask you again.”

The Guardian, sunlight catching on his sword’s hilt, took a few cautious steps toward her. “I would, lass, but that big lion is my dad, and he’ll never let me hear the end of it if I don’t finish this. We just want to take
this
Shifter back home with us. He won’t be hurt. He’s one of us.”

Bree rounded on the Guardian, her fists clenched. “How can you say he won’t be hurt? You’ll put a Collar on him and keep him in Shiftertown. Why would you want to do that? He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Oh,” the Lupine said with a low growl. “I like her.”

The bear rumbled next to him. “Me too.”

The Guardian didn’t join their mirth. His eyes were stern as he regarded Bree. “Last night a feral Shifter ripped apart two human hunters. We got word that more hunters were chasing a Shifter they saw at the scene—all evidence we found points to that Shifter being
him
.” He jerked a thumb at Seamus. “We need to contain this before the human police come after him.”

Bree’s mouth dropped open, and Nadine blinked.

Bree recovered. “He didn’t kill anyone,” she said hotly. “Seamus was with us all last night. He had coffee, slept on the couch. The hunters were chasing Seamus, not the other way around.”

“Seamus is his name, is it?” the Guardian asked. “Seamus McGuire?”

Bree looked at him blankly—Seamus had never told her his family name. That the Guardian knew it didn’t surprise Seamus all that much. Guardians had a secret database that listed all Shifters—names, locations, details—accessible only by Guardians.

The Lupine growled at Seamus. “That’s you, right, Feline?”

“What evidence?” Bree interrupted. “It had better be good.”

The Guardian pulled a small object from his pocket. “Seamus at one point had his hand on this. We found it not far from where a truck had been parked. It belongs to you.”

Bree stared in surprise. “That’s my cell phone.”

He didn’t give it to her. “Indeed, it is. Witnesses said a Shifter got himself into your truck, the phone flew out, and the truck stormed away, chased by another full of humans. The phone has Seamus’s scent and a bit of his blood on it, not to mention his fingerprints, and the last call was listed as coming from your mum. Not hard after that to trace you back here.” He showed a hint of smile. “Not for a Guardian, anyway.”