Beast Denied (3 page)

Chapter Two

The run hadn’t done him much good.

In panther form, Tynan stood at the edge of a rocky crag, surrounded by standing stones and boulders, which provided camouflage against any curious onlooker who might have found their way to this remote part of the moor. His gaze swept over the open, gently curving terrain with its timeless desolate beauty. He loved this place. It was his home.

Every moment he spent away was anathema to his soul. He craved the space, the smell, the feel of the hallowed dusty ground beneath his paws. He didn’t know how the urban packs survived without some vast open terrain within spitting distance.

Basing himself in Bodmin had been a condition of his agreement to remain as an operative for the government. High-tech espionage could be fought as easily from his home office as it could from Whitehall, and being close to his pack meant he could serve it as well as his country.

A win-win.

Throwing his skills in with Nathan, and setting up their own security company had not only provided bona fide cover for his activities for the Agency, but had allowed them to take on both high-profile and covert projects for humans and shifters alike.

Yeah. Win-win. Everything was just damn great.

If he told himself that enough, maybe one of these fucking days he’d start to believe it.

Tynan pawed the ground, eyed the string of derelict farmhouses in the distance, and inhaled deeply. Today he’d push himself a little more. Maybe then his hind legs would stop aching, and his damn back would loosen the way it usually did during a run.

He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. Courtesy of Naomi Flynn.

After he’d dropped her off, he’d parked up on the edge of the moor, shifted and run back to Truro, the keys to her vehicle in his mouth. In the depth of the night, he’d been able to avoid being spotted when he reverted back to human form in the hotel’s parking lot. Naked, he’d driven her car back to Bodmin.

Between his work and hers, their paths seldom crossed. On a professional level, Tynan rarely had need for a doctor. His general health was excellent. On a personal level…well, it hadn’t worked out so well.

Last night, when he’d seen her flying across the reception hall of Seth’s hotel as if the devil was on her tail, his only thought had been to protect her. To keep her safe. The same as he’d do for any woman in that situation.

But then she’d deliberately gotten him all heated up, and he hadn’t been able to resist kissing her. Fucking idiot that he was.

As something elemental moved through him, he pawed the ground again. It was like a dormant need rising in him once more. He didn’t care for it. Didn’t care for the sense of unease, disorientation. It had taken him years to find his footing, to make a new life for himself. He didn’t need some female cocking up everything.

Except Naomi wasn’t just some female. They’d been friends all their lives. He’d waited for her to reach her eighteenth birthday, had guided her through her first solo transition. That should have been the prerogative of her parents, but she had a selfish bully for a father and a feeble excuse for a mother, and neither had been inclined to school her in the rite of passage into adult shifter-hood.

That night they’d run for miles, and over the years he’d cursed himself for pushing her so hard. He’d later learned that it wasn’t good for a young female. But she’d been so excited, thrilled and awestruck by the experience that he’d lost all sense of time and instead embraced the pleasure of being with her.

They’d shifted back and lay looking up at the sky, panting from exertion. What the fuck was he to do? With her lush brown hair tumbling over her shoulders, her golden flesh with its slight sheen, her breasts exactly the right size for his palms, and her pussy…

Shit. He was edgy enough right then without thinking back along those lines.

He inhaled deeply, knowing that he’d had enough and that however far he ran, it wouldn’t push the scent and taste of Naomi from his head. The heat fired through him, his jaw aching as his fangs retracted, limbs creaking as they shortened, flesh tingling as his fur disappeared.

Naked, he walked back to the circle of rocks where he’d parked. Reaching into the SUV, he pulled out his jeans and shirt. While he dressed, he wondered what the hell he was going to do about Naomi.

Because for damn sure, she was back in his system now. And he wasn’t going to get a damn bit of peace again until he laid the ghost of what might have been to rest once and for all.

* * * * *

Tynan strode into the bar and headed toward where Nathan, his friend and business partner, had grabbed a table at the rear.

Nathan looked up from his beer and frowned. “You okay? You look like hell.”

Tynan pulled out a chair. Right then he didn’t feel full of bonhomie. All he could think about was that Nathan had screwed Naomi. He’d been able to park the knowledge before last night, so that it didn’t make him want to land one on Nathan’s jaw every time he saw him. But now, having seen Naomi again, kissed her…

Shit.

His belly fired and his hands curled into fists, but he forced the anger away. None of his business. Nathan didn’t know about what had happened between him and Naomi a decade ago. It wasn’t his friend’s fault that she was still under Tynan’s skin.

“Feel like hell,” he admitted. “Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“It was that bad?”

Yeah. That bad. But Tynan shook his head, knowing Nathan referred to the check he’d been doing at the hotel. “Evidence of an attempted breach. Amateur stuff.” He nodded to the waitress who set down the beer Nathan had obviously preordered for him. “No sign of any problems as a result.”

Nathan scratched his chin. “Seth swore that something seemed off.”

Seth owned several hotels throughout Cornwall. He was, like Tynan and Nathan, a first son, which meant he held warrior status and was a member of the Council of Principals.

“I put a high-grade tracker in the system,” Tynan said, sipping his beer. “If some asshole tries to hack into it again, I’ll be the first to know.”

“That’s good.” Nathan leaned back in his chair, his muscled bulk making it creak. “Sometimes it pays to be paranoid.”

“Maybe we should tell Caleb.”

Nathan shrugged. “No point making a big deal of it until we’re sure it is a big deal. In case you hadn’t noticed, our newly mated leader has other priorities on his mind right now.”

“He won’t appreciate us keeping him out of the loop.”

Nathan laughed. “My friend. You need to get laid. Get yourself out from behind a desk long enough to remind you of the distracting qualities of a warm, willing female.”

Tynan scowled, still simmering from the thought of his friend banging Naomi. “I do okay in that area.”

“Just doing
okay
doesn’t cut it when we’re talking pussy.” Nathan sipped his beer, watching Tynan over the rim of his glass. “It’s been a while since you and me went on the prowl together. How about tonight? Find ourselves a couple of eager females, maybe even do a threesome if the pickings are slim.”

Tynan took a swig of his beer, swallowing down the venom rising in his throat. That Nathan didn’t take his sexual dalliances too seriously made Tynan’s protective instinct flare. He hated the idea of Naomi being used that way. It didn’t matter that she told him it suited her just fine. It wasn’t right.

“Hey.” Nathan laughed and put down his glass. “Remember that time you, me and Caleb hit that bar in London? Shit. That was one crazy night.”

“As if I’d ever forget.” Reminding himself that Naomi’s sex life was none of his business, Tynan allowed himself to enjoy the memory of good times with his closest friends. He kicked back in his chair. “Those females didn’t know what the hell was going on.”

“Check that. But they all left with a smile on their face.”

“Yeah. They did that. Even though we all had to slow things down while Cal went out in search of more condoms.”

Nathan threw his head back and laughed hard. “Thank the gods for twenty-four-hour shopping.”

Tynan hugged his beer. Despite a promise to himself, he couldn’t resist asking the question that burned in his gut. “So, you and Naomi? Anything I should know?”

Nathan’s eyes sobered and narrowed, but he kept them on Tynan. “We’ve got a casual thing going. Suits us both.” He tapped the fingers of one hand on the table. “Problem?”

Tynan lifted a shoulder, trying to ignore the pounding between his ears. He wasn’t sure about mentioning Naomi’s escape from the hotel last night, but since they’d both confirmed their relationship was casual, there seemed no real reason to keep his mouth zipped. “Met her last night coming out of the hotel. Drove her home.”

“She couldn’t drive herself?”

“She’d been drinking.” Again, Tynan let beer slide down his tight throat. “From what I could gather, she didn’t plan on staying any longer than necessary. All but flew across the reception hall to make her escape.”

Nathan’s brows drew together in a scowl. “What the hell happened?”

“Said her evening hadn’t gone as planned. Had her damn dress half undone.”

“Shit.” Nathan scrubbed his hand over his head. “I told her it was a damn fool idea. Woman won’t listen to sense.”

“What was a damn fool idea?” When Nathan grimaced, Tynan barely resisted reaching across the table and grabbing a handful of his friend’s shirtfront. “I swear if you try to stall me, I’m in the mood to take a fucking swing at you right here.”

“She’s got this thing in her head. Ever since Talia… You know, when she was with Joshua? Then Caleb came on the scene…”

“Yeah, I know what happened. How does that affect Naomi?”

“Wants to try it. The whole threesome thing. With humans.”

What?
Tynan wondered if Nathan could have floored him any more right then. Naomi wanted to try a ménage?

Anger flared, burning his chest. He wasn’t sure if it was the thought of another man’s—men’s—hands on her, and, fuck, he had enough trouble knowing Nathan had been there. Or if it was because she’d pushed him back when all he’d done was kiss her. Damn it to hell. She wouldn’t give him the time of day, yet she’d hook up with Nathan for a quick fuck and go cruising for humans to indulge in some triple action?

“Crazy female needs her head examined.” Tynan muttered it almost to himself, but Nathan heard it. Shifters had sharper sensory abilities than the average human. “And why the hell does she want humans?”

Nathan shrugged. “Damned if I know. I told her if that’s what she really wanted, I’d arrange it. But she’s got this whole thing going about making her own choices, her own decisions.” Nathan held Tynan’s gaze. “Is she okay?”

Catching his friend’s meaning, Tynan nodded. “They didn’t hurt her. Although I’m betting they did something she didn’t like, or else why did she come flying out of there like that? Shit. If I’d known, I would have torn their fucking throats out.”

“You still got access to the guest log?”

Tynan was already thinking along those lines. “Yeah. In case something happens with the security system, remember?”

“Then why don’t we take a ride on over there? See if Seth’s had any more of those feelings. We could check out a couple of rooms while we’re there, just to make sure there are no bugs planted. Put Seth’s mind at ease.”

Tynan returned his friend’s grin. “You read my mind.”

* * * * *

“Blood pressure’s normal.” Naomi slid on surgical gloves. “Why don’t you hop on up, and we’ll check everything else is in good working order.”

Talia McLeod laughed, shaking her blonde hair as she hiked up onto the examination table. “Caleb would probably be the best one to ask about that. Seeing as he’s barely let me out of bed since the ceremony.”

Naomi smiled, pulling the privacy screen around her friend so that she could get undressed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man move as fast as Caleb did once your divorce from Joshua came through.”

Talia had been married to Caleb’s half brother when she and Caleb met. They had a ménage arrangement going until Caleb and Talia fell in love, and Joshua left to work overseas. They’d had a lot of problems in the early days when it was the three of them, and Talia had often confided in Naomi. But the seed had been planted, and the inclination to try a threesome for herself had steadily grown, culminating in her disastrous attempt to assuage her curiosity the night before.

The rustle behind the screen signaled Talia had hopped up onto the examination bench. “Ready.”

Naomi pulled back the screen and moved to the end. “This will be a bit cold…”

“Yeah. I know the score.” Talia jerked regardless, then settled. “I’m sorry I never came to you for Pap tests before, but it was better I saw a doctor a few towns away. I couldn’t chance Joshua finding out I was taking birth control pills. He was desperate for me to provide him with an heir.”

Naomi’s stomach did a freefall. “Did he ever find out you were taking them?”

“No. Caleb knew, but he didn’t let on. Caleb always said it suited him that I was taking them. That way, when I stopped, he’d be the one to make me pregnant.”

“Bloody alpha males,” Naomi huffed. “All they think about is heirs. They think they own us and our bodies.”

She knew she was being unfair. It was a male shifter’s duty to procreate as soon as they mated and marked a female as theirs. It was in their DNA to produce, to perpetuate the species. They lived under the constant specter that their kind would die out. It had already happened to some packs that inhabited the vast northern territories.

Naomi didn’t have it in her power to do anything about that, not that she was about to dwell on it. She’d learned to make it enough that she helped maintain the health, and fertility, of the other women in her pack.

It had to be enough.

Which was one reason she preferred sex with humans. Shifter males not only wanted to knock you up at the earliest opportunity, but they had this sense of ownership innate in them. Pretty soon they thought you belonged to them. Then they’d mark you, control you.

It wasn’t going to happen to her.

She noticed the intimate marking on Talia’s labia. Her friend had told her that she’d refused to be marked by Joshua, and it had caused all sorts of problems in her relationship with him, but once she had fallen in love with Caleb, refusing was no longer an option. She’d wanted to be marked by Caleb, had wanted to belong to him. And have him belong to her.