Destined Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #4) (6 page)

When Callen died, she was sad, truly she was. Because even though their marriage was a disaster, she’d believed he cared for her as she cared for him. The past year had been a living hell as his betrayal ran through the ranks of shifters in Catamount and eyes turned to her in suspicion. She wished upon wish she’d told her closest friends how bad things had been between them, so she could make sense of how she felt. But there had been too much happening, and she couldn’t even think clearly.

Phoebe stood from the chair at the table where she sat and wrapped Shana in a hug. “Oh honey, why didn’t you tell me what was going on? I’m so sorry. All this time, I’ve been worried you were trying to come to terms with what he’d done, but it was more than that.” She pulled back, her eyes bright with tears. “Two years? Callen was a fucking asshole. He never deserved you. Never. I was not his biggest fan, but you know that. I had no idea it was as bad as it was though.”

Shana’s tears flowed freely now. She nodded jerkily. “I know you didn’t exactly adore him, but you tried to be good about it. I should have said something, should have divorced him. But I thought my parents wanted me to marry him. They were so excited about the whole founding families joining together thing. It wasn’t so bad at first. I never knew it could get as bad as it did. When he died, I’d been trying to work up the courage to talk to you about it and maybe even divorce him. Then, everything blew up. I’m so tired of hiding it, so I had to say something.”

Shana swiped at her tears. Phoebe swung away and stepped to the kitchen counter. Snagging a napkin, she handed it to Shana. After she wiped her eyes, Shana took a shaky breath.

“So there, that’s all I had to say. It felt huge, but there really wasn’t much to it,” she said. A knot of pain and bitterness that had been coiled tightly in the corner of her heart finally unwound, a sense of relief and openness rushing in its place.

Phoebe watched her carefully. “It was huge. Is it something you want anyone else to know?”

“I don’t know. I’m so tired of Dane tiptoeing around me, maybe it’d be good if he knew. I don’t want to spread it far and wide because it’s embarrassing, but I don’t want to act like I had this amazing marriage with Callen either. Honestly, things were at the end when he died. I feel awful for how he died. Even with everything he did, I hate what happened to him. I really do. It’s just such a mess.”

Shana sat down with a thud in the chair beside Phoebe, twisting the napkin in her hands. Phoebe was silent for a moment.

“Should I make some coffee or tea? Better yet, how about we have an afternoon happy hour?”

Shana couldn’t help but smile. Phoebe would sit right here with her all day and night if that’s what Shana needed.

She glanced at her watch. “It’s already four. It’s safe to have a glass of wine and not call ourselves lushes.”

Phoebe grinned. “Absolutely!” She swung away again and grabbed a bottle of red wine out of the wine rack and brought it, along with two glasses, to the table. After she poured them, she held hers up for a toast.

“Here’s to moving on.”

Shana took a gulp of wine and set her glass on the table. “You have no idea what a relief it is to have that out there!”

Phoebe nodded. “I can guess. The last few years have been hell for you, and I didn’t even know how bad it was until now.”

“I suppose one way to look at it is things can only get better.”

Phoebe shrugged. “Maybe so. You know, I’m calling Jake to ask him to pick me up later. I don’t want to have to worry about how much I’m drinking. Maybe we should call Roxanne and Lily. I’m all about laying this out all at once. What about Chloe too?”

Several hours later, Shana glanced around at her friends. Roxanne was arguing with Chloe over what she should put in the greenhouse, while Lily and Phoebe were cleaning up in the kitchen from the impromptu dinner they’d had. Shana hadn’t wanted to turn this into an event, but she was more than relieved she could stop glossing over the truth of her former marriage with her closest friends.

Dane, Jake, Hayden and Noah Jasper entered the room. Dane was there to collect Chloe. Jake was there to pick up Phoebe as promised. Noah Jasper was there for Lily, Jake’s younger sister. Looking around, Shana giggled when she realized how their small circle just kept pulling more people into its orbit. She was beyond happy for her friends though her heart felt a sharp pang when she considered her own situation.

Roxanne got busy organizing who was riding with whom. Meanwhile, Shana’s eyes wandered to Hayden and her breath caught in her throat. Her pulse quickened when his caramel eyes landed on hers. She was relieved everyone else was busy getting jackets on and not paying the slightest notice to her and Hayden. Because if they had been, she couldn’t imagine they wouldn’t notice the electricity arcing to life between them. Even across the room, she could feel his presence. Her body started to hum. She physically had to resist the urge to walk over to him.

Long moments later, the bustle around them faded. Only Phoebe was left. Jake had carried the sewing machine out to his truck while Phoebe finished putting her jacket on. She looked over at Shana and then to Hayden. Her gaze narrowed, but she didn’t say anything. She walked to Shana’s side where her hips rested against the kitchen table.

Phoebe gave her a quick hug and whispered in her ear. “That man wants you. In case you didn’t notice.” Her eyes held a wicked glint when she pulled away.

Without another look back, Phoebe strode across the room and out the door with a wave to Hayden. Silence fell in the room once the door closed behind Phoebe.

Hayden stood by the kitchen counter, his hands in his pockets, eyes locked on her. The air felt alive, snapping with the heat of their attraction. Only a look from him, and her mouth went dry and she struggled to catch her breath. Her belly fluttered, desire tightening in her center. She felt the moisture between her thighs, instantly craving his touch there, anything to relieve the intense longing.

In slow motion, he pushed away from the counter, his hands sliding out of his pockets. A few long strides and he stood before her, the heat and strength of him almost vibrating. The air around them came to life. Shana’s entire body tingled with need. His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. She could see his pulse beating in his neck, strong and steady.

“We didn’t talk about what’s next. You said there wouldn’t be any expectations. But what if there’s more to this than that?” he asked, his voice gravelly.

Her pulse ran wild. Hope crashed through her. A hope she had long ago written off. If her cat had her say, she already knew there was far more to
this
than something casual with no expectations. But she was unprepared and not quite ready to know what she felt. She knew she was long past any romantic grief over Callen. That had gone years before he died. What she felt with Hayden was on another map entirely—one she hadn’t known existed. She not only had no directions, she didn’t even have a compass to navigate the emotional, sexually charged playing field between them.

She took a breath and tried to gather her thoughts with her pulse pounding and desire surging through her veins. “If there’s more to this than that, we’ll figure it out.” Her voice came out raspy.

***

Hayden watched Shana, wrestling to keep hold of himself. Her honeyed hair fell in disarray around her shoulders, her silvery eyes had gone smoky, and her lips were so pink, so inviting. He heard her words and tried to compute them. He wanted to push, to demand more. Any moment his mind had been free today, his thoughts had wandered to her. On a primal level, he knew she was meant to be his. Yet, the time to push wasn’t now. So, he accepted what she was willing to give.

He closed the distance between them, threading his hands in her hair and fitting his mouth over hers. In a flash, the low burn he’d carried inside all day soared to a wildfire. He slid one palm down her back to cup her bottom, so soft and full, and tugged her against his arousal. Her mouth opened on a gasp, and he swept his tongue inside. Lust pounded through him. Their kiss scorched him through. His cock strained against his jeans. He didn’t know if he’d be able to hold back tonight.

She flexed into him, soft whimpers coming from her throat. He tore his lips away, needing to taste her skin and trailing a hot, wet path down her neck. He savored the shivers that wracked her. He tore at her blouse. It rent against his rough touch, revealing what he supposed was a bra, a concoction of purple lace barely holding in her generous breasts. Glimpses of dusky pink peeked at him through the lace. He closed his mouth over a nipple, right through the lace. She arched into him, gasping. He soaked both of her nipples before flicking his thumb under the tiny clasp that held her bra together. Her breasts tumbled out.

Shana slid her hands under his shirt, shoving it up and over his shoulders. He leaned back just far enough to pull it off his head and fling it across the room. She yanked him to her. The feel of her skin, soft and damp with passion, notched his need higher. Her nails scored his back. Her lips, teeth and tongue mapped his chest, nipped at his neck. Her hands got busy unbuttoning his jeans. When she slipped her hand inside his briefs and curled her palm around his cock, his head fell back on a groan. She pushed him back and knelt before him. In a blur, she shoved his jeans and briefs down around his hips and took him in her mouth.

Hayden nearly came right then and there. He scrambled for control and hung on just barely. The warm, wet heat of her mouth nearly undid him. She was slow and fast, rough and soft at once. She licked up the length of him, cupped his balls lightly in her hands, and teased him to the very edge of his endurance before she drew him fully inside her mouth, taking him to the hilt. He choked out her name and yanked her up. He stroked his hands roughly down her sides, cupping her breasts for a moment on the way down. His hands kept traveling, hooking over her leggings and panties at once to shove them down. Desperate only to be inside of her—
now
—he turned her, fumbling in his pocket for a condom.

***

Shana turned and braced her hands on the kitchen table. She felt the velvety heat of Hayden’s cock brush against her cleft. She was beyond desperate, soaked with want for him. She heard the sound of foil tearing. Her anticipation climbed. She pressed back into his hips, soft pants and gasps breaking from her throat. He slid his knee between her thighs, pushing them apart. He stroked into her folds, roughly delving inside her channel. It wasn’t enough, only drove the need to have him fill her higher.

“Not enough…”

Her words came out between ragged breaths as she arched back into him.

“I need…”

“This.”
He bit out as he surged inside of her, sinking in to the hilt. She cried out, almost sobbing in relief. One of his hands gripped her hip as he began to thrust in and out of her. The other slid up her back in a hot stroke before threading into her hair and pulling her toward him with each surge inside of her. Her channel throbbed around him. She was so close, so near the edge that she raced to the release. His hips pounded into her, rough, deep thrusts. While she arched into him, her hips pushing back to meet his again and again. She tumbled into the chaos of pleasure. It spun loose, sensation barreling through her. He slipped his hand around her front, instantly finding her clit and exerting just enough pressure that she screamed when her orgasm finally hit her. As she clenched and throbbed around him, he drummed his hips into her, his own cry following hers.

The table and Hayden’s strong grip on her hip were the only things holding her up. Bowing her head, she tried to catch her breath. He slowly released his grip on her hair. After several long moments, he slowly eased his hips back. She instantly missed the fullness inside of her. She pushed her weight up on her hands and turned. His touch never left her. He simply followed her turn, his hands sliding around to rest on her hips again as she leaned against the table.

She lifted her eyes to his and blinked at the intensity she found there. She knew it was reflected in her own gaze, but it didn’t change how startled she was. What she’d meant to do was give herself a chance to have something, to feel something, with someone she thought could be easily kept in a compartment. Hayden was anything but that. He was everything she wanted even though she hadn’t even known what she wanted. After Callen, she’d have been perfectly content to have a few flings, but never planned to commit to anyone. That would have suited her. The peace had been something she craved.
This,
this electric, otherworldly, all-encompassing feeling was beyond her understanding.

Her cat nudged at her consciousness, the one part of her that did understand. She took a breath. His warm gaze slid over her before his hands fell away. “Shower?” he asked, his mouth hooking in a small smile.

She nodded, a smile blooming in her heart, her lips following suit. She sensed he may have wanted to say more, but he held back. For that, she was relieved. She knew there would be a point where she couldn’t keep this at bay, and perhaps they’d already passed that point, but for now she wasn’t quite ready to look too closely at what lay between them.

Chapter 6

Hayden turned when the door to Jake’s office opened. Noah Jasper stepped inside. Hayden had met Noah the day before and learned he’d been instrumental in the local investigation into the shifters here. Noah was to bring him to the county jail to meet with his uncle, Theo Jasper. The Jaspers had relatives in Montana, namely Carl Jasper, who’d led Jake to Theo.

Jake was deep into whatever he was doing on his computer and barely nodded at Noah’s entrance. After a long silence, Noah turned to Hayden.

“You’ll get used to this with him,” Noah offered, gesturing to Jake. “He ignores pretty much everything and everyone when he’s working.”

Jake chimed in. “I’m working, I’m not purposefully ignoring everyone.” He turned away from his computer and smiled sheepishly. “In fact, I managed to chase down a few email aliases on some of the new names you brought me from Montana.” He hitched his brows up when he glanced Noah’s way.