Shifter Magnetism (7 page)

She blinked at him. “I’m on the pill.” She wasn’t sure if she fully understood his little anatomy lesson, but surely even shifter craziness was no match for modern medicine.

He shook his head. She got a sinking sensation, which coincided with the feeling of his knot shrinking inside her. Everything was happening so fast.

“Human medicine won’t work in the face of a true mating. We’d already fully mated somehow before you received my seed.”

Of course. Her luck was not up to par lately. She barely knew the man, and now she had to worry about puppies?

There were some things she needed to know about shifter mating up front. “You bit me.” She wasn’t sure how to feel about that either.

His lopsided grin hit her system hard, forcing her to clench around his cock. “Get used to it. You know you liked it.”

That was hardly the point. “Is it a wolf thing?”

“Yep. How do you feel, by the way?”

“Sweaty, satisfied, and tired.” Just as she should feel after great sex. She wouldn’t add she was a little nauseated at the thought of having puppies.

His eyes widened. “You don’t feel the heat again?”

She was afraid to answer. He kept hitting her with strange shifter-mating facts, and she wasn’t sure she could absorb any more. “No, I feel normal.”

“Oh.” He slid from her body.

She shivered involuntarily. Her pussy really liked him. Her mind didn’t like the look on his face.

“Oh what? Wait. I thought you said the heat would last for a week.”

He stood and headed out the bedroom door. She winced as she rolled out of bed. She steeled herself against the soreness between her legs and followed him. He went into the kitchen, searched for a cup, and poured a glass of water from the pitcher in the refrigerator. He offered it to her.

She shook her head. “Nic?” She knew this conversation wasn’t going to end well.

He set the water pitcher back in the refrigerator. “The only thing that will stop heat before its time is impregnation.”

Her mouth fell open before she shut it quickly. She closed her eyes for a moment, then stared at him. “What!”

“You’re probably pregnant with my pup.”

She tried to sit. He caught her before she fell to the floor. She’d thought earlier he’d meant they would have children in the vague, shadowy future, not nine months from now.

“You don’t mean real wolf puppies, do you?” she whispered.

“No, shifter pups are born in their human form.”

She only felt a little better. “We’re not even married.”

“We’re mated. It is a stronger bond than a few words and a piece of paper.” His features were set in hard lines as he frowned at her.

For some reason tears gathered in her eyes.

“Don’t cry, baby. If you want to be married, we’ll get married.”

She couldn’t speak. It was really all too much. She’d been nearly killed by a sorcerer. She’d swapped a part of her soul with a wolf shifter, then mated him. She’d gone into heat, and now she was very likely pregnant. All within three days.

Guilt ate at her, trying to corrode her acceptance of their bond. She’d done something terrible to him. Something she’d been trained never to do. He would have been within his rights to kill her. Instead, he wanted to start a family.

What would their children be like, anyway? She’d never heard of a shifter mating a witch. Would her children be shifters or witches? For that matter, what was she now that she’d intermingled their souls and magic?

She looked into his eyes. He was obviously worried. He still held her gently by the arms. She needed the support. She was afraid her legs wouldn’t work.

“Are you ready to be a father?”

She saw the pride before he could quickly mask it. For some reason, it settled her nerves a bit. He was a wolf shifter. She was his mate, and she probably carried his child. She would be his first priority. She relaxed her body, and he pulled her in closer. When he wrapped his arms around her, she did the same to him.

Maybe there was some hope they could work out their issues.

He kissed the spot right below her ear. “I am ready to be anything you need. Don’t worry. Maybe the heat went away quickly because you’re not a born shifter.”

She squeezed him tighter. They had one thing to take care of before they faced his pack and her Council. Staying alive was her first priority, and she couldn’t be safe as long as her attacker still roamed the streets. “We have to find that sorcerer.”

Chapter Five

They took showers, dressed, then sat at the kitchen table eating a late lunch.

Leila placed her napkin beside her plate. She enjoyed the quiet moment doing something as simple as sharing a meal with Nic, but they had work to do. “We need to find all the wizards in the area and see if any have gone rogue. Maybe he’s from the county.”

“Your Council is split in half, right?”

“We are one Council. The men and women govern themselves and meet separately. We join each other for major meetings throughout the year and festivals. I need to speak with the men’s historian. He will have the Council count and notes on wizards turned sorcerers.” A sorcerer was a wizard who’d embraced the dark arts.

Nic looked at her strangely. “You keep the men and women separate?”

“No, only for meetings and some ceremonies.” She felt a little defensive. She didn’t get furry and howl at the moon.
At least not yet.
The thought wasn’t making her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

“Can you call him and ask if we can drop by?”

“I don’t have to. My uncle Kofi is the men’s historian. We can stop by now if you’re finished eating.”

He stood and moved her chair back before crowding between her and the table. He leaned over her, bracing his hands on the back of her chair. Her nipples pebbled, and her pussy moistened. She maintained eye contact. She couldn’t do anything else. He mesmerized her, forcing her to focus completely on him. He kissed her, and her lids closed as she melted into it.

Dear One, this couldn’t all be mated magic. He surrounded her, though only his mouth actually touched her. His tongue swirled around hers, and a throbbing began deep in her core. Slowly, he stepped away. She resisted the urge to follow his lips.

He smiled, and she felt the reaction all over her body. She wanted to jump him, shred his clothes, and take him on the kitchen floor.

“Ah-ah, mate.” He held out his hand to help her up. “You have to wait to do whatever it is you’re thinking. We have work to do.”

She could already feel his cock in her mouth. She hadn’t had a chance to taste him yet. She bet she was strong enough now to get him to the floor if he didn’t expect it. He raised an eyebrow. It was difficult, but she wrestled her libido under control. They had time for fellatio later. She giggled and let him pull her up.

“I think my mate has a dirty mind. I can smell her wet pussy.”

She smiled even as she felt her face heat. “We have work to do, remember?”

The thought sobered her, reminding her of the reason they were mated. She’d altered them, stealing his choice as well as her own.

More subdued, Leila left the condo with Nic. She gave him directions to her uncle’s well-kept, white Cape-Cod-style house with welcoming blue shutters. She knew her uncle was home right away. The chimney smoked even in the middle of summer. Some potions just brewed better in a hearth.

“It’s going to be hotter than the devil’s living room in there,” she said.

Nic looked at her from the corner of his eye as he turned into the driveway. “What?”

She shook her head.

He parked, and they climbed out. Leila jerked as he took her hand, but she didn’t protest. She kind of liked the feel of his much larger hand in hers. She knocked on the door and waited. It wasn’t long before the door opened and her uncle stood before them.

He was an impossibly thin man. He wore a pair of loose cotton pants and a matching long-sleeved top in mustard. The color complemented the dark brown of his skin. His long locks were secured at the base of his neck with a band.

“Leila?” Uncle Kofi looked from her to Nic.

“Hi, Uncle Kofi. This is my…mate, Nic.” Would it have been better to call him her fiancé?

Uncle Kofi’s eyes were wide behind his glasses. “He’s a shifter.”

Nic laughed and held out his free hand to shake. “I am a wolf shifter, to be exact. It is a pleasure to meet a relative of Leila.”

Kofi shook his hand. He stared at Nic as if he’d never seen a shifter before.

“May we come in, Uncle Kofi?” His confusion was funny, but she didn’t want to stand on the porch all day.

“Oh, sure, sure.” Uncle Kofi stepped back, allowing Nic and Leila to enter.

The heat in the house hit her square in the face, and her steps faltered. Nic tugged her forward.

Her uncle’s features set into worried lines. “Does your mother know you’re a shifter’s mate?”

Heck no.
“Um, we haven’t told her yet. We need to talk to you first.”

Leila and Nic followed him through the living room to what should have been his den but was instead his potions room. A table and bench occupied one wall. Another wall displayed rows of dried plants and jars of various potion essentials. Through a side archway, the kitchen was clearly visible. In a small nook between the two rooms, her uncle had a computer set up on a shelf. He’d pushed a chair under the makeshift desk.

Uncle Kofi walked to the big black pot over the fire and stirred. Okay, it was a cauldron. She could admit it.

Uncle Kofi glanced over his shoulder at her. “What do you need?”

Nic and Leila looked at each other. Leila raised an eyebrow. It was his case. How much did he want to share with her uncle?

Nic said, “Leila was attacked by a sorcerer two nights ago.”

Her uncle turned and stared at her in horror. “What?”

“I’m fine. Nic and Mama Tui took care of me, but I almost lost my magic. The sorcerer is being called the Brain Surgeon in the local news.”

Uncle Kofi shook his head. “I wondered about the killings. They seemed paranormal.”

Nic took her hand and squeezed. “The guy is still out there. We think he will come after your niece again. We need any information you might have on rogue wizards.”

Uncle Kofi stepped away from the fire. “Rogue wizards? We’ve only had three wizards go rogue in the last ten years. I can only give you information about this county and this Council, mind you.”

“We understand. If we need to widen our search, we’ll contact the surrounding Councils.”

Uncle Kofi went over to his computer and sat. Nic let go of her hand and began to wander the room. She watched him. He was naturally curious. He read the labels on the jars and sniffed hanging herbs. He sneezed, and she smiled at how surprised he looked afterward.

He turned to her. “Do we need a room like this?”

She frowned. “We will if I’m going to be the only witch around. Potions aren’t my specialty, but there will be things I’ll need.” He was thinking way too far ahead. What if it turned out they hated each other after the lust died down?

He crossed to her and rubbed his thumb over the space between her eyebrows. He cupped her jaw and kissed her. Every touch of his lips was perfect. His kisses made her want to climb inside him.

She was so confused. Should her attraction to him be so strong?

“I’ve got it,” Uncle Kofi said.

Nic pulled away slowly. She and Nic stared at each other. She tried to steady her heartbeat and calm her breathing.

“What do you have, Uncle Kofi?” She refused to be embarrassed that her words came out breathy.

Uncle Kofi stood and waved a sheet of printer paper at them. “Here is a list of the rogue wizards. There are four, not three as I thought.”

She crossed to him and took the sheet before hugging him. “Thanks, Uncle Kofi.”

“My pleasure. Just make sure you go and see your mother. She shouldn’t learn about your mating from someone else.”

“We’ll go see her.”
Just not right now.

In the SUV, she turned to Nic. “Where to?”

“We can access the Coldwell PD database back at the station.”

They rode in silence for a while. She looked at his profile. All his features were sharp. He was a handsome man. Certainly the sleek muscles helped. What else could she expect with his shifter genetics?

She wondered what people thought when they saw them together. He was a fine, Latino, leanly muscled man. She was a African-American BBW. Did they match? He looked at her, and the heat in his gaze nearly sizzled her panties off. He took one hand from the wheel and folded it around the inside of her thigh. A wave of longing swept through her and settled in her pussy.

“Mate, you get wet faster than any woman I’ve ever met.”

The embarrassment didn’t stop her folds from releasing more cream. “Isn’t it like this with all mates?”

“No.” His jaw hardened, and he gripped the steering wheel tighter.

“But I thought the mating makes you want each other?”

“The mating makes it easier to have children. There are some mates who can’t stand each other, won’t touch each other unless the female is in heat. The male will protect the female, but if they truly hate each other, heat is the only thing that will force them together.”

She blinked a few times, hoping it would clear her head. “Nic, you’re always touching me.”
And kissing me.

His mouth turned up at the corner, and he spared her a glance full of mischief. “Baby, you’re sexy as hell. Especially those legs and that ass. Whew. Try not to sashay so hard through the squad room this time.”

Her mouth fell open before a startled laugh left her lips. “I don’t sashay.”

“Oh, but you do. We might have to pull the gladiator costume back out. If you walk around in that for a while, I’ll be your love slave.”

“I have one I think you’ll like even more.”

He sat up straighter and adjusted the fabric covering his cock as he pulled into a parking space in front of the precinct. A second after the car was in park, he was reaching for her. She met him halfway, already hungry for his mouth and the feel of him beneath her palms. She couldn’t get enough. She couldn’t imagine not wanting him.