Shifter Magnetism (13 page)

He lightly kissed her lips when she pouted. “I know. Just humor me, mate.”

She was everything to him, and he’d nearly lost her twice. It was one of the reasons he’d fought Manuel so fiercely. He knew Manuel would have killed him, leaving Leila and his mother to the other shifters’ mercies. Manuel wouldn’t have been able to resist Leila. She was an alpha female, and her allure was unmistakable. He’d have tried to take her despite already being mated. Leila would have fought him.

The thought of it caused Nic to press her tightly to his chest.

“What is it, Nic?”

He backed her to the bed, lifted her, and laid her down on its center. Searching her gaze, he was satisfied by the desire in her eyes. He climbed over her and braced his arms on either side of her head. He kissed her lips, swirling his tongue with hers, reassuring himself that they would live to love each other another day.

One of her delicate hands clasped the back of his neck, and he brought his hand over to caress her collarbone. He slid his palm lower and stroked her breast, swallowing the moans she released as he kneaded the soft globe before tugging one turgid nipple. Leila arched into his touch, and he paid attention to each of her responses, lightening and deepening his touch until he coaxed deep sighs from her mouth.

He dragged his lips away from hers and trailed kisses down her neck and across her breast before taking her nipple into his mouth. She opened her legs under him, and he slid his cock along her hot, wet slit. They both moaned in unison, and Nic paused a moment fully pressed against her to gather his senses. He wanted to enter her now and feel her hot sheath pulse around his cock, but he also wanted to worship her a little longer.

When he’d regained control, he slid his cheek lovingly across both breasts, absorbing her scent before sucking her other nipple. He caressed every inch of her from her neck to the crease of her knee. He loved the feel of her, soft and supple in his arms. He loved how they fit together. He loved her scent and that she was soaking his cock with her arousal. He pulled away from her breast and looked down into her face, completely softened by desire. She smiled, and his heart tightened.

He loved this little witch who literally had taken a piece of his soul.

She moved restlessly under him, and he realized he’d been staring at her for what must have been an uncomfortably long time. He gathered her into his arms, clutched her tightly to his chest. He claimed her mouth again as he withdrew and entered her as slowly as he was able, savoring every delicious wet inch and delightful contraction of her pussy.

He cradled her in his arms, one hand behind her head as he leveraged into her, making sure his pelvis stroked her clit with each thrust. He released her mouth as she gasped for air, and pressed his lips to the side of her neck. Her nails scraped his back as her other hand squeezed his ass and urged him deeper inside her.

Her breath caught, and she exhaled near his ear. “I’m coming.”

He could feel her body winding up to her climax. Her inner walls clutched at him, begging him to stay. He eased out as far as he could in order to thrust back into her with more enthusiasm than finesse. His fangs descended, and he tried to control the urge to mark her, but his wolf wouldn’t be denied. He loved the witch too.

Nic sank his fangs into Leila’s shoulder. She froze before she screamed out her orgasm, bucking beneath him. Her nails turned to claws that raked his back, and then he felt her fangs sink deep into his shoulder. His climax was instantaneous and almost vicious in its intensity. He rode her through it, slamming his hips against hers, wringing every last drop of pleasure from the moment.

He barely remembered licking the wound he’d created on her shoulder and feeling her doing the same to his. He held her close until his body stopped shaking and his heart rate returned to normal.

He turned his face to Leila and winced as he felt the claw marks on his back. She never opened her eyes as she kissed his cheek and nuzzled his neck. He heard the steady rhythm of her breathing and realized she’d fallen asleep.

He squeezed her tighter and wondered just how he was going to keep her safe.

* * * *

Two mornings later, Nic was busy making pancakes at the stove with his mate cuddled up behind him, her lush breasts pressed into his back and her hands stuffed deep into his pockets. The knock on the door didn’t surprise him one bit.

Leila lifted her head from his back. “That’s your mom, right?”

He smiled and caught her hand as she tried to move away. “Your sense of smell is sharpening.” He turned so he could wrap an arm around her shoulders and tapped her gently on the nose. “Come in, Mamá.”

“
Buenos días
, my darlings.” His mother was radiant as she kissed them each on the cheek. She stood staring at them with her hands clasped over her heart.

“It’s too early to be thinking about babies already, Mamá.”

“Since you brought it up, it’s never too early. Look how gorgeous you both are. My grandbabies will be the cutest pups ever.”

“Well—” Nic stiffened as he sensed the wolf at his door.

He gently unwound Leila’s arms from his waist and strode across the room to open the door before the person on the other side could knock. One of the sentries stood there. He lowered his eyes, but Nic could clearly see how anxious he was.

“Alpha, there has been a murder.”

Chapter Eight

Nic scanned the trees, looking for anything he may have missed. The body was in the woods directly outside pack lines. There were no scent markers to indicate the woman had been chased through the woods or even walked through them. Her body had been dumped by the bastard who’d attempted to kill his mate.

“He’s leaving me another message.” Leila rubbed her arms as she moved around to get a look at the woman’s face. Her gasp had him moving closer automatically.

“Ametta.” Leila’s voice was barely a whisper. “I just spoke to her the day of the costume party.”

Nic pulled her to him as the sound of sirens in the distance came closer. He’d kept everyone back so as not to contaminate the crime scene more than it had already been. They wouldn’t find anything with their human equipment. This guy was elusive.

Nic said, “We’ve checked almost all the rogues in Coldwell. If this last sorcerer on our list, Findor Stevens, isn’t the killer, then we are dealing with someone hiding that he’s completely gone over to the dark side, or he isn’t from around here.”

Leila hugged Nic tighter. “The other attacks were spaced seven days apart. It has been only six since he attacked me. Has he moved on to other witches, or is this about me?”

“He’s angry you got away. And he’s bat-shit crazy.”

The police cars pulled up just then, and Nic watched as the officers exited their vehicles and walked toward where Nic and Leila stood. He shook hands and introduced himself and Leila.

“Lobo.” The female officer, who’d introduced herself as Officer Johnson and her partner as Officer Boyd, seemed to search her thoughts for where she’d heard his name. “This is your case isn’t it? Word is your fiancée was the only one of his victims to get away.”

“Looks like he’s leaving you gifts now.” Officer Boyd shook his head at the young witch who would never take another breath.

Leila squared her shoulders. “I know who she is.”

The policeman stopped and focused on Leila. Officer Johnson took out her notebook and pen. “Who is she, Ms. Barclay?”

“Her name is Ametta Best. Our parents have known each other since they were kids. She owns a new age crystal shop in downtown Coldwell called Crystal Dreams.”

Nic held on to Leila as she answered questions about Ametta’s phone number and next of kin.

Officer Johnson looked up from her notebook. “Was she seeing anyone?”

“She was going to be married.” Leila turned to Nic and buried her face in his neck. Her shoulders shook as she cried, and he ran his hand over her back in an attempt to soothe her.

Officer Johnson closed her notebook and tapped the pen against the cover. “I think I have enough information from you, Ms. Barclay. We know where to find you if we need anything else.”

Nic nodded his thanks to Officer Johnson.

He heard more cars in the distance and watched as the medical examiner and more homicide detectives showed up. He sent Leila back to the house with a guard. He had work to do, and the humans wouldn’t understand her helping him to process a scene.

* * * *

Nic felt weary down to his bones as he made his way back to the alpha residence. The sorcerer knew where Leila was. Had he been hiding nearby when they’d come to the shifter town? Why hadn’t Nic detected him then? How was the bastard tracking her?

When he walked into the house that still didn’t feel as if it was his, Leila sat on the couch talking on the phone. She hung up as he headed toward her.

“Uncle Kofi has put a warning out to the other Councils about our killer. I’ve been calling the Councils in the surrounding counties. I have a list of rogues here. I’m waiting on a few callbacks. If Stevens isn’t our guy, we have more people to investigate.”

Her eyes were way too bright, and he responded to her distress by gathering her close. “We will catch him, Leila. We won’t leave him to keep hurting others.”

“I talked to my mother and Ametta’s parents.”

When Nic found this guy, he was dead.

“My mother is calling an emergency meeting. She wants you to speak with the Council.”

Nic pushed down his natural aversion to the thought of being trapped in a roomful of mages. “Jake is going to crap kittens trying to figure out how to keep me safe against that many witches and wizards.” There was no way he would disappoint Leila, though.

“I didn’t think of that. This is Coldwell; supernaturals here don’t do meet and greets.”

Nic tried to ignore how good she felt as she tried to snuggle closer to him. It surprised him she hadn’t taken offense at his comment. She surprised him almost constantly.

Leila ran her palm over his abdomen. “How many shifters is Jake going to be comfortable with you taking?”

“In his shoes, I would argue against the alpha going at all. If he insisted, I’d suggest a squad of twenty.”

“My mom will never let twenty shifters in the meeting hall.” She chewed her lower lip, and he struggled to return his mind to the seriousness of the situation and not how sexy it made her look.

He cleared his throat. “Maybe we could meet in neutral territory. A park would be good. Lowen Park allows you to rent pavilions. Everyone can bring a seat who wants one, and Jake can bring as many wolves as he wants to cover the perimeter.”

“I’ll call and see if my mother will agree, and you go and let Jake know what is happening.”

Nic released Leila reluctantly and walked out onto the porch. He didn’t want to talk to Jake; he wanted to continue to hold his mate. Besides, he would tell Jake how it was and let the man figure out the logistics. Once they’d ironed out the new pack structure and he felt more comfortable trusting Jake, he’d discuss more and order less.

Jake was at work, so Nic called him and told him what he wanted. He could almost hear the man’s head exploding. Then he spent a half hour listening to Jake explaining to him why it was the worst idea he’d ever heard. He listened because he would have said all the same things to his alpha.

He ended the call at the same moment he felt Leila’s hand on his back. “She agreed, and even allowed me to call to rent the pavilion. I knew you would feel safer in a neutral meeting place.”

Turning, he captured his mate’s lips. As usual, she started on slow burn and immediately caught fire. Perfect. She was the most perfect woman in the world for him. He needed her right then and began walking her backward toward the front door.

Until he heard the giggles.

Nic and Leila pulled away from each other at the same time and turned to the porch railing. Five pair of eyes peered at them through the wooden slats.

“We have spies.” Leila’s voice was pitched dramatically low.

“Short spies.”

The giggling started again.

Leila put her forefinger against her chin. “You want to know what we do with spies where I’m from?”

He held in a smile. “No, what?”

“We tickle them!” She ran down the steps, and the kids screamed and ran, laughing as they went.

Nic followed slowly. Leila grabbed up a little girl named Shay and cradled her as she tickled her with her other hand. The girl wiggled and laughed in Leila’s arms, and Nic knew if there was any part of his heart that hadn’t belonged to his mate, she’d just snatched it. The other children milled around her, jumping up and down and demanding to be next.

She put Shay down, picked up another child, and tickled him too. Kids started coming out of the woodwork, and Nic was scared for a moment she would be swallowed up.

He walked over to the ever-growing crowd of kids. “You know what we do with spies around here?”

All the kids froze at his stern tone.

Nic picked up Jake’s nephew. “This!” He tossed him in the air and caught him to the boy’s squeal of delight.

The kids went wild, and Nic growled and chased them around the Yard. The smaller ones hid behind Leila, including a cutie of about three who sort of clawed his way up her clothes until she picked him up and held him on her hip. The next time Nic glanced at Leila, she had two toddlers, one in each arm, and she was watching him. The look in her eyes made him stand taller and puff his chest out. He smiled at her, and she grinned.

He couldn’t help strolling over to her and hugging her, kids and all. He kissed her, and the giggling started all over again. He waggled his eyebrows at her and went back to chasing kids around the Yard for a bit longer. Finally he called a halt. He had to use his strictest voice to cut through the chorus of disappointment. Mothers appeared from the sidelines and gathered their children. It seemed they hadn’t wanted to interfere, but it was lunchtime.

He took Leila by the hand and walked back to the house. Going inside, he sat on the sofa and dragged her down onto his lap. It felt amazing to have his arms around her.