Treasured Find (Royal Pride Book 1), page 18
She wasn’t going to ask about Mira? Rafe took in her stiff back and inhaled. Too many different emotions flavored her scent for him to judge her mood. He walked around the counter separating them, took her hand and carefully pulled back her fingers from the ladle. He turned the heat off on the stove and dragged her unyielding body against his.
“This is not the kind of jealousy I like.”
“I’m not jealous.”
Like hell she wasn’t. Her sharp tone, along with the anger darkening her eyes told him the truth.
He kissed from her shoulder to the spot below her ear. She shivered but pressed her lips together. No breathy sigh.
“Liar.” He laved her skin until she swallowed hard. Much better. He nibbled along the length of her throat then soothed his the with his tongue. “There’s no reason to be jealous of Mira. She’s a friend, always has been, even when she shared my bed.”
“Friend with benefits, huh?”
He’d heard of the human expression, but Mira had never quite fit that role either. She had only ever come to him when she needed love and reassurance or when the loneliness had gotten to be too much. He’d never sought her out. He didn’t think the distinction would matter to Jasmine.
“In a way, but we haven’t been intimate in many years.” He turned Jasmine in his arms and ran a hand over her back. “Nor will we ever be again. I don’t want another lover. Only you.”
She rolled her eyes but not before he saw the warmth in them. “Please. Compared to Mira, I’m plain, and you haven’t known me long enough for my personality to have anything to do with it.”
“You’re beautiful. Not plain.” He pressed his lips to hers to stop her denial. “And mine. Mira never captured my attention. You have.”
“Is that true?”
The soft brush of her lips sensitized his mouth. Before he could answer her, she curled her fingers around the back of his neck, holding him in place, and kissed him slowly. The soft stroking of her thumb over his skin skipped energy down his spine, arousing him quicker than he’d thought possible.
Her attention focused on him was welcome, but other needs surfaced the longer they kissed. Those involved Jasmine on her knees, taking him to the brink. The image of her with her ass in the air and his cock glistening with her arousal hardened him instantly.
He swept his hands over her rounded cheeks, squeezing each one. She moaned, and the sound broke his control. He slid his hand under the waistband of her loose shorts. Her warmth lured him closer. He reached between her legs. The amount of arousal already slickening her lower lips pleased him.
He wanted to bend her over the table and take her from behind, but the kitchen wasn’t the right place to fuck her. Too many people might walk in on them.
“Let’s go upstairs. I don’t think I can wait until bedtime. We can be quiet.”
She caught his lower lip between her teeth and tugged. The sharp pain whipped through him. He groaned.
She released him and chuckled. “And whose bed will you be warming tonight? I didn’t invite you into mine.”
She might’ve kissed him, but she hadn’t let go of her jealousy. He pushed his fingers as deep inside her body as their position would allow. He spread them, stretching her, then twisted his wrist so his fingers rolled. Her breath escaped in a rush, and her eyelids drifted closed.
“No, but”—he pulled his fingers from her sex, then laid them against her lips—“you’ll accept me when I come to you. Won’t you?”
“You play dirty. I don’t like it.”
“Yes, you do.” He brought his glistening fingers to his mouth, then licked each one. Slowly. Savoring her flavor. “I have the evidence of your approval right here.”
Half-lidded eyes met his. A small smile graced her face, but it was the wry kind, not one of pleasure. He tensed and waited for her words, knowing they wouldn’t be ones he’d want to hear. The satisfaction in her eyes was bittersweet.
“So I shouldn’t be jealous of Mira because she’s from your past?” She waited until he nodded. “And when I see the two of you together I shouldn’t imagine what you looked like naked and tangled in passion. Is that what you’re telling me? Because it’s over. The past.”
“Yes. Mira and I are over.”
“And you realize I have a past too, right?”
He didn’t want to think of her with other men, but he nodded, knowing she had a point to make.
“And you believe me when I say I’m no longer sexually involved with my old lovers?”
“Yes.”
“And if you see me with one, you’re not going to flip out and tell me I can’t talk to him or remain friends with him, right?” Wide-eyed, she blinked at him. “Because that wouldn’t be fair.”
She led him exactly where she wanted him. No way could he refuse her and not come off as an asshole. He cleared his throat. “I won’t stop you from remaining friends with other men, if that’s what this is about.”
“It is, but only partially.”
“What’s your other reason?”
“Punishment, I suppose.” She pursed her lips. “Every time I see Mira, I’m going to think about the two of you. I’m a big girl, and I’ll get over it, but it’s not fair that you won’t suffer with the same problem.”
Rafe’s cats stirred. They wanted to study Jasmine through his eyes. Something about her words, or maybe her scent, had made them wary. He didn’t think she lied, not exactly, but she wasn’t being completely honest either.
He thought back to her reaction when she’d entered the room. She’d been nervous, slightly afraid even, and she hadn’t even known about Mira then. Something else about him had upset her.
He studied her for some clue. She watched him just as carefully. Trying to read his expression? Yes, that was it. She was testing him.
“I’m assuming you’re still friends with an ex-lover?”
“Yes.” She covered Rafe’s cock with one hand, then slid the other under the waistband of his shorts. He held completely still while she drew a finger down the crack between his butt cheeks. Her exploration stopped at the puckered opening. She pushed her finger into his asshole and squeezed his cock.
His breath escaped on a long exhale. She stimulated him, pumping her finger into his ass and stroking his cock. The sensations doubly assaulted him. His dick hardened more.
“Jasmine.”
“Yes, Rafe?” she purred.
“What are you doing?”
“Just giving you a visual of what I used to do with my very good male friend, the one I refuse to lose.” She moved her hands to his waist and tipped her head back. A challenge shone in her steady gaze. “And just so you know, I only have one male friend.”
Josh.
She slipped from Rafe’s embrace and washed her hands at the sink. Rafe focused on her motions and ignored the angry snarls from his cats echoing in his head.
A door creaked open. Josh’s scent drifted to Rafe, and Rafe’s tiger slammed into his chest, demanding to be released. He fought the animal. No way did he want to do anything to encourage Jasmine to seek out Josh.
Jasmine draped the towel over a shoulder and faced Josh. “Hey, I forgot to tell you. I dug out the old photo albums you asked me for a couple of weeks ago. Found some great pictures of when we went to the prom and all those dances. I thought maybe we could sit out on the swing after dinner and look at them.” She licked her upper lip and dropped her gaze to skim the length of Josh’s body. “You know, remember old times.”
It was too much. Rafe reached for her, but she ducked and scrambled to the other side of the counter. She had the audacity to waggle her finger at him.
“Now, now, I don’t have time for any of that. Dinner is almost ready, then Josh and I are going to reconnect. I’ve had to keep all my friends at arm’s length over the past few years.” She flashed another grin. “That is okay with you, isn’t it?”
He leaned against the counter at his back and crossed his arms. “Sure. It’ll give me time to talk to Seth and Levi about us.”
The color drained from her face. “About us?”
He nodded. “I want to make sure it’s okay with them that we’re involved. You know, get their permission. I don’t want them to be upset when they realize I’m sleeping in their mom’s bed.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. What if this doesn’t work out?”
He cracked his jaw. “Then we part ways gracefully. We’re grownups. We’ve both already proven we can remain friends with an ex-lover, but I don’t think it’ll come to that.”
“You’re pretty confident in yourself, aren’t you?”
He closed the distance between them, but didn’t pull her into his arms. He pressed his lips to hers and just…breathed. A few seconds, that was all, and he eased back, but it was long enough to remind them both they were connected. The hint of lust in her eyes proved she felt their growing bond too.
“No, I’m confident in us. I’ve waited a very long time to find a woman like you. I’ll do what I must to win your heart, and if that means welcoming Josh to our dinner table every damn night, I will.”
It sure didn’t mean he’d be happy about it, but such was life.
He glanced at where Josh stood silently watching the exchange. “I want to talk to you after you’re done reminiscing with Jazz. Evan found out some very interesting things while he was talking to some of the humans in town.”
“About what?”
“Your brother.” And the debt Tony had amassed over the past year gambling on cage fights.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rafe leaned against one of the half-finished cars in Jasmine’s garage. Josh took up a similar position across from him.
“What do you want to talk about?” Josh asked.
“Recognize this?” Rafe held up one of the dozens of bid sheets Evan had found in the storage unit Tony had shared with his neighbor.
“No.” Josh frowned. “What is it?”
Josh’s scent didn’t change nor did Rafe’s cats alert him to any questionable body language. Rafe blew out a relieved breath. Josh hadn’t been a part of Tony’s gambling life.
“A bid sheet.”
“For what?” Josh snatched the paper. “Cage fighting? Where the hell is there cage fighting around here?”
Rafe shrugged. “These operations tend to move from place to place. Sometimes they’ll set up a fight in an abandoned warehouse or a field, other times, they’ll have a makeshift ring in somebody’s basement or barn. The people who watch these fights are there for the violence, not the atmosphere.”
Josh crushed the paper in his fist. “And you’re saying my brother went to these fights?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Evan found that in the storage unit Tony shared with his neighbor, Cindy.”
Josh crossed his arms over his chest. “Then it must belong to that no-good husband of hers. That guy is always in the bar. If I let him, he’ll drink until he passes out.”
“Look at the handwriting on the back.”
Josh smoothed the paper, stared at it for a minute, then cursed.
“Recognize it?”
“Yeah.” Josh shoved the paper back at Rafe. “And so what if Tony was bidding on fights. He had a good job. If he wanted to spend his play money on fights, he could. It wasn’t like he was neglecting Megan or anything.”
Rafe sighed. He too would be protective of his brothers if someone thought to drag their names into an illegal activity. It was possible Tony hadn’t known…at first. Shifters rarely changed forms in front of humans. The instinctual drive to protect their species stopped most accidental shifts, even when faced with danger. At some point, Tony had learned the truth, though.
Rafe handed the pamphlet back to Josh. “Read the back.”
“I did.” Josh cracked his jaw. “A grand on the Hunter’s wolf form beating the Kagan’s.”
“Tony knew what the fighters were. He’s not innocent in this. These men are brought into the ring in chains or if they’re meant to fight as animals, in muzzles.” Rafe paused, letting that sink in.
Josh’s body tensed and a pissed-off look settled over his face. He shifted his gaze to the wrinkled paper in Rafe’s hand, but didn’t speak. No matter. Rafe had made his point.
“Even if Tony didn’t realize they were shifters, he couldn’t have missed the fact they were treated as slaves. I can guarantee you none of those men want to be in there. They’re fighting for their lives,” Rafe added.
“They’re kidnap victims?”
“Or they were raised in cages for the sole purpose of fighting. The Kagan is probably a male from the Kagan wolf pack. Their territory is only twenty or so miles from here. We can contact them and see if they’re missing any members. The Hunter?” Rafe shrugged. “No clue. It might be a title he’s earned. He’s listed as undefeated against other wolves.”
Josh eye’s darkened. “The fuckers who run these fights need to be found.”
“Agreed.” Rafe nodded. “This fight was a week ago. Think back. Did Tony mention if he was going anywhere?”
The chances of finding the operation were slim, but Rafe would pass on whatever information he could to the Shifter Affairs’ agents. Sometimes their tactics of following a financial trail worked better than trying to pick up a scent.
“I don’t know.” Josh held up a hand. “That’s the god’s honest truth. Tony called and said he was bringing Megan over in ten minutes. He needed a break. She’d had him up three nights in a row, and he couldn’t take a fourth night. I assumed he’d stayed home and slept. It wasn’t the first time he’d needed a break.”
“You mentioned before that Megan had nightmares. What about?”
“She won’t always tell us, but she gets worked up and won’t go back to sleep until every single light in the house is turned on. Every light, Rafe. Even the oven light.” Josh shook his head. “Other times it’s because she thinks someone is going to get hurt. Those aren’t as bad because once she sees or hears the person’s voice, she settles down.”
Rafe curled his fists. The worry over losing a loved one was common with rescued shifters, so was the fear of the dark. The knowledge didn’t soothe him, though. “Does she talk about her birth parents?”
“No. Not a word. Whenever we’ve asked her questions about the past, she ignores us or cries. We assumed she just wasn’t ready to talk about it.” Josh motioned toward the house. “You’ve seen her. Other than her nightmares, Megan’s a happy kid. She’s not fearful of strangers, and she isn’t exactly afraid to speak her mind. We didn’t see a reason to push her if she wasn’t ready to talk about her past.”
Rafe wasn’t fond of bringing up the subject either. Upsetting the little girl was the last thing he wanted.
“There’s something else”—Josh scrubbed a hand down his face—“about Megan. It might be nothing.”
Rafe waited a moment, then prompted, “What about her?”
“She talks to herself.”
“As in, she has an imaginary friend?”
“Not exactly.” Josh rolled his shoulders, then blew out a strained breath. “Sometimes when she’s alone, she talks. Well, whispers.”
Devin had mentioned the same thing. It had struck him as odd, but Rafe hadn’t asked him more about it. As Josh had pointed out, Megan seemed to be well-adjusted.
“What does she say?”
“I haven’t been able to tell. She only does it when she thinks nobody is close, and when she does talk, it’s more of a whisper. Her voice is so low it’s tough to make out anything. The moment she senses someone watching her, she clams up.”
“Okay. We’ll keep an eye on her. She might just be trying to talk to her cat.”
Rafe rubbed his aching temples and focused on the other question he had for Josh. “Why would Tony have been sharing a storage unit with Cindy? And why would only her name be on the unit, not her husband’s too?”
Josh tilted his head. “Just hers? That’s odd. I have no clue.”
“Tony and Cindy were friends? Or lovers too?”
“As far as I know, only friends. She’s friendly with everybody, though, so who knows if it was more. I never cared to ask. Not my business.” Josh narrowed his eyes. “What else was in the unit?”
“Random stuff. Books, old furniture, boxes of junk. Nothing that would offer us other clues.”
“So all we can say for sure is that Tony had been bidding on shifter cage fights?”
“And that he’d lost about twenty-grand at it. Tony had kept a log of the fights and his bids. I can’t say whether he was paid up on it, but that’s a lot of play money to be tossing around, especially after just adopting Megan.”
Josh clenched his hands until white-knuckles betrayed his anger. “Why would he get involved in this crap? He knew Megan was a shifter too.”
“Those bid sheets go back a year. He was involved in exploiting shifters long before he ever became a father of one.”
Josh turned and slammed his balled fist against the table. A container of nuts and bolts spilled. The pinging sounds of metal hitting the floor filled the room. He planted his palms on the surface and hung his head.
“He never talked about adopting a kid. One day, he just showed up with Megan. He made a point of complaining about the lawyer fees. He even waved the stacks of paper and bitched about how long it had taken to sign everything. I never looked at any of it. I should’ve. Maybe I would’ve noticed something wrong.”
“And you didn’t think it was strange that he just came home with a kid? That social workers didn’t inspect the house or talk to any of you?”
“Sure, but”—Josh glanced over his shoulder—“he was my brother. A good guy. No matter what he was involved in, he cared about Megan. I guess I just didn’t want to know.”
“Understood.”
And Rafe did. It was easy to ignore inconsistencies when you cared about the person involved. He’d done the same where Jon was concerned.
“I’ll talk to Cindy tomorrow night and see what I can find out.” Josh bent and started picking up the screws that had fallen. “Maybe she knew more than she let on.”
