Forbidden Call (New Breed Novels, Book 1) (13 page)

Tears rolled down her cheeks. “After everything I’ve done…”

She looked up into his eyes and was met with a golden glow so intense it lit his whole face.

A low growl rumbled in her mate’s chest. “You were raised as a spy, Ana. You were just a little girl.
An innocent.
It’s unthinkable what she did to you. If I ever get my hands on her, I promise you, she will beg for death.”

“But, SE, the Order. There’s no way they’re going to accept this. Accept me.”

“Their loss.”

“What about your calling?”

“My calling to you comes first.
You
come first,
ihkweea
. Always.”

SE leaned down, brushed his lips lightly against hers and then pulled her into his arms. They fell back against the pillows, and she turned over and wrapped herself around her male à la octopus. God, taking care of her the way he did was the most amazing thing anyone had ever done for her, not to mention the sexiest.

Now it was her turn.

SE was half asleep as the warmth of the midday sun spilled through the balcony doors. A shadow came across his face and he opened his eyes just as Ana leaned in and captured his mouth.
Holy fuck.
His female was perched over him like a cat, her bright green eyes staring into his. He sat partway up, wanting more of the heat from her mouth, but without any warning, she took hold of his arousal and ran her tongue all the way from bottom to tip.

SE gasped, his head jacking backward. He landed against the pillows just in time to see his
ihkweea
lean down over his hips and take him fully into her mouth. He nearly came right then. His brain nearly exploded as she drew him further into the back of her throat and found a rhythm, using her mouth at the head and her hand on his shaft.

“Oh, shit, yes,” he moaned, letting himself go completely, until the pressure of release was dangerously poised in his shaft. “Take me, Ana. Take me now. I want to be inside you when I finish.”

She licked the tip of him one last time, and pulled her naked body up along his legs until she hit his cock with her wet heat. She straddled him with her thighs and sat down on him hard, taking all of him in one swift movement. SE’s hips arched right off the bed and he grabbed onto the headboard as he shouted his female’s name. She gave him a moment to calm slightly before she leaned forward on his shoulders to steady herself and slowly started pumping—up, down, and around. Oh, God, she was so tight. Over and over she enveloped him, never breaking eye contact.

Jesus, she was so beautiful sitting above him. Her lithe body was covered in a delicate sheen. Her short hair was a sexy and fierce one-two punch that almost sent him over the edge. He massaged her breasts in his hands and she groaned, arching her back for him. The pace was torture. When he finally came, the force of his release slammed through him. The pulses of Ana’s orgasm hit right after his, as she fell forward onto his chest, her breath coming in gasps.

As they caught their breath, SE put his arms around his mate, lightly stroking her back as she lay on top of him.

“I love you,” she whispered against his chest.

Tears came to his eyes as her words washed over him.
So goddamn lucky
.

Soaring Eagle sat straight up in bed, his senses coming alive as a shitload of
k’ul
hit his radar. He looked down at Ana, who was sleeping soundly next to him. He realized with a start that whoever was registering wasn’t his mate. He slowly turned to face the French doors. There, standing on the terrace with the light of the sunset framing him, stood Dimitri. He was completely still, his hands in the pockets of his duster, his eyes locked on SE’s.

Fuck!

SE grabbed his jeans and gleamed to the patio before Dimitri had a chance to dematerialize.

“Look, it’s not what you’re thinking,” SE said.

Dimitri looked him up and down. “Right now I’m thinking I’m about to get thrown out of the building for having a naked dude on my goddamn terrace.”

“I’m serious,” SE answered, buttoning his jeans.

“And I’m not, motherfucker?” Dimitri’s blue eyes were alight with bright aqua, his right hand clenching and unclenching as though he’d like nothing more than to pop SE.

“I told you,” SE repeated. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“What, I didn’t just find you naked in my bed with the enemy? I just imagined that shit?”

“We’re mated, D.”

“Wha—that’s impossible! There’s no way…” His voice trailed off and he muttered a few things in Russian that SE would bet his life were not PG13.

“Look, give me a chance to explain. Can you just do that? Inside? It’s fucking freezing out here.”

Dimitri followed SE into the living area, just as Ana Mata walked out in a rolled up pair of his jeans and his good freaking fleece.

“Why do I feel like I’ve seen those clothes before?” Dimitri growled.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a quiet voice. “Mine were burned in the fire last night.”

“Fire? At the warehouse?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Ana’s the anonymous caller who gave us the location.”

Dimitri rubbed his temples. Why did he have a feeling that whatever he was about to hear was going to give him the migraine of the century? “You know what? Just start at the goddamn beginning.”

“Like Richard figured out, somehow when I received the calling to the Order, I managed to gleam while still in my Eagle form. Then I phased back to my human form while still in flight. Ana found me lying unconscious in the alley outside Anarchy. She got me to safety… and in the next day or so, before Pax and Diesel found me, she and I were mated.”

“Wait—she got a known New Breed to safety? Why the hell would she do that? ”

Ana spoke up. “Because I remembered him from when I lived at the compound in Mexico as a kid.”

The look that passed between the two of them made Dimitri’s gag reflex threaten to kick in. It also left him with no doubt they were telling the truth. “So, she’s been spying on her own side for you? Is that why she reported the location of the den?”

SE wrapped his arms around Ana from behind. “Actually, no. She did that all on her own. I was too busy being an asshole.”

Dimitri snorted. “There’s a surprise.”

“I got caught in the explosion,” Ana explained, “but somehow I managed to gleam out in time. SE found me and took care of me.”

Holy. Shit. “I’m sorry, did you say
gleam
? How is that possible?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really know. I’m the only non-New Breed shifter that I know of who can.”

Dimitri rubbed his face with his hands. “Jesus Christ.”

“Can you think of any possible way the Order will accept our mating?” SE asked.

“Aw, fuck, SE, I don’t know.”

Ana looked up at her mate. “Richard and Adriana will never go along with it.”

Dimitri couldn’t argue. “She’s probably right.”

“Well, if they want me to stick around, they will. I’m not giving them any choice. I’ve wasted enough time without her.”

Dimitri leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. It wasn’t like SE had a choice. He was a mated male. “Of course, if you’re mated, the Goddess must have intended it.”

“Aw, Christ, D.”

“No, SE, listen. Whatever you believe, that’s fine. But Richard and Adriana know two people who’ve seen her, so their faith in the Goddess is very strong. I’m telling you, my brother, convincing them that Akina wanted this mating is probably your best bet. I can’t say as to whether or not they’ll let her stay at the house, but it might give you a shot at getting them to at least accept the mating.”

“Shit. She has to stay at the mansion, Dimitri! If Toltec finds out she’s deserted, she’ll be their prime target.”

Ana looked at him. “Hey, I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

SE gave his female a squeeze. “I know that,
ihkweea.
But you shouldn’t have to. You’ll be a target because you helped our side. The Order owes you protection.”

Dimitri gave a short nod. “Let’s hope the rest of the brothers see it that way, SE. You’ll be lucky if they don’t expel you just for keeping her a secret.”

Evy walked down the hall of the youth center toward her sorry excuse for an office. She wasn’t usually in on Thursdays, but with Liz out sick, Chris needed her. She was still going back and forth between staying late and doing her classwork at the center or going home when she heard voices coming from Chris’s office.

And then, just as she was rounding the corner, she almost ran right into Troy Thomsen, of all people. With a huge black man.

“Oh, excuse us,” said the big guy.

“No problem,” Evy answered.

The two continued to walk right on by her.
Huh. That was weird.
It wasn’t like she and Troy were ever the best of friends, but he could have at least said hello. Maybe he didn’t recognize her?
Wait a second.
This pretty much confirmed Liz’s theory about the donation. Why else would he be here? Not to be nosy, but…ah, hell, she was totally being nosy.

But she popped her head into Chris’ office anyway. “Hey, Chris?”

“Evy, hey. I thought you left.”

“In a few minutes. I had a couple of seniors who were studying for midterms. Listen, was that Troy Thomsen that just walked out?”

“Yeah, actually. You know him?”

“Not really well. He was a year ahead of me in school. Is he going to start volunteering?”

Chris shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

“He wouldn’t happen to be our anonymous donor by any chance?”

Chris sighed. “Shit, Evy. Come in and close the door.”

She walked in and closed the door behind her. Chris leaned on the corner of his desk. He was a good foot taller than she was and kind of reminded her of the guy who had just left with Troy.

“So, lemme guess. Liz has struck again.”

She nodded. “Yeah, well, she just figured it out.”

“Look, Evy, I don’t want to make a big deal out of this. It’s just that Troy’s funding is totally contingent on anonymity.”

“Funding? I thought there was just the tech lab.”

“For now. We’re working on specifications for other work.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, well…”

“What’s up, Evy?”

She totally hated herself for what she was about to say. This so was none of her business, and she really was grateful for the donation. On the other hand, he’d paid cash and he was walking around with a guy who clearly could be some kind of bodyguard. Not that he needed one. Damn, had he always been that size?

“Look,” she finally said, “I don’t have anything against the guy. He just doesn’t seem the type to be flush with cash, you know, being from near my neighborhood and all. I’d just hate to see you or the Center get in any kind of trouble.”

“Oh, come on, Evy. You know me better than that. You don’t think I’d accept that kind of donation without checking him out, do you?”

Her face grew hot. “No. Of course you wouldn’t. I’m sorry. I just thought it was kinda odd when Liz told me about it.”

Chris smiled that gorgeous smile of his.

There was the heat again.
Damn Irish coloring.

“Honestly, I thought so, too, at first. Turns out the guy didn’t grow up with much. He said he inherited some money and wanted to do some good in the area. I even had his record checked out.”

“Good,” Evy said. “Listen, Chris, I’m sorry. I know you well enough by now.”

“No worries. Listen, are you sure your interest in this guy has to do with his donation?”

“Of course. What else would it be about?”

“You tell me.”

“I told you, I barely know him.”

“Okay, look, it’s late. Are you packed up? Give me a holler and I’ll walk you out.”

“Great. I’ll stop back in ten.” She left his office and started down the hallway again.

Shit
. Now she really did feel like an idiot. She should have known Chris was way too smart to fall for anything illegal. He was super–educated, but more importantly, he was local. He knew what was up. At least she knew she hadn’t embarrassed him. The guy definitely had balls. He’d asked her out just a few months ago and that
was
against policy. She wasn’t interested in him like that, but there had been zero weirdness since. That’s just the kind of guy he was. The kind of guy that should be right for her. He just…wasn’t.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SE and Ana gleamed together to his room at the mansion. This probably wasn’t the best idea he’d ever had, but he had no way of knowing how much Toltec knew about the destruction of the main den. The penthouse offered zero protection. The mansion, on the other hand, was like Fort Knox.

Decision made.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “Just a little nervous.”

He cupped her chin and gave her a gentle kiss. “Hey, you belong with me. And if we can’t stay here, we’ll live somewhere else. But I need to talk to Reyn. There’s a tub the size of a swimming pool in my bathroom if you’re interested.”

“Actually, that sounds really good.”

“Help yourself to my clothes, too. No offense, but you smell like Dimitri.”

Ana laughed and gave him her gorgeous smile. He pretty much had to wait until she went into the bathroom before he could get himself to leave her, Dimitri stank or no.

SE headed down the main staircase and toward Reyn’s office. At least Dimitri had agreed to keep things on the DL until SE could talk to Reyn. But it wasn’t Reyn he was worried about. It was Adriana and Richard. Trixa had pulled so much shit on them in the past. This was going to be hard for them to hear. Really hard. And they were his oldest friends.

When he walked into the study, Richard and Reyn were sitting across the desk with a pile of paperwork between them. Just to add another kick in his ass, Adriana was reading on the couch. SE sighed. Well, he figured they were all going to hear about it anyway. Especially if the yelling got loud enough.

“Hey, could I talk to you guys for a sec? I know you’re busy. It’s important.”

Adriana looked up from her book. “Do you want me to give you some privacy?”