Shifters of Grrr 1 (58 page)

She rose with languorous grace from the armchair and padded to his side. Concern drew her brows tightly together. She bent and stroked his hair back from his forehead. “How are you feeling?”

Her touch sparked something other than comfort through his veins. “I don’t think you want me to answer that.”

Her eyes flashed confusion before her cheeks tinged pink. “Oh.”

He kept his hips tilted down, but if her quickening pulse proved any indication, the arousal he experienced was smeared across his face.

She hovered above him, hugging her arms across her middle.

Shit. He didn’t mean to confuse her. If he wasn’t so bloody perplexed himself, he’d clarify things for her.

The Matchmaker had forbidden him to touch her but, as he gazed at her soft lips, the temptation proved too much.
Have to taste her.
Need overruled reason…and fuck, since when did he play by the rules?

Raising in a push-up, he wrapped his hand behind her neck and brought her mouth straight to his, snaring her lips in a kiss.

She gasped in that sexy, startled fashion of hers, making him even more eager to witness how she’d respond to the other plans he had for her.

Forcing her lips apart, he thrust his tongue inside the warm velvet of her mouth. Lucy’s sweet taste and luscious fragrance made his balls tighten and his shaft stiffen to the point of pain. Breaking away from the temptation of coming like this, he cupped her chin and angled her mouth to bring their kiss under his complete control. He directed the sweeps of his tongue across her lips, tangling with her tongue, beckoning her to open wider.

She moaned against his mouth and pressed her slender hands on his bare chest. The pads of her fingers skimmed upward, slipping around his neck. Her body hedged forward and he shifted to sit back, drawing her to him. Her knees crawled onto the edge of the couch until she straddled him, and there was no hiding his erection as it throbbed between them.

Sheng growled and gripped her ass through the flimsy silk pants she wore. The temptation was too great. With one swipe of Tiger’s claws, he could shred this fabric from her body and plunge inside.

And in doing so, break every one of the Matchmaker’s commands.

***

Lucy moaned against Sheng’s mouth. No need to glance down and confirm the impressive size of his sex because it ground against her stomach, demanding. He hauled her closer, his hands digging into her hips while his mouth continued to plunder for her surrender. Seemed like the most brilliant idea in the world to her lust-fogged brain. If only sleeping with him would get him out of her system.

It wouldn’t. Of that she was certain.

A sigh on his lips, he pulled back, breaking their kiss. “We should take this slow.” The gruff tone of his voice hinted it pained him to say that. His thumb rubbed her swollen lips, his hungry gaze stalking her mouth. “I didn’t mean to take things beyond a kiss, but you’re so damn sexy, I don’t wanna stop.”

His words sent her heart into a pitter-patter. He could’ve taken advantage of her on so many occasions, but this man appeared intent on, well, courting her.

Getting to know her. Understand her.

His sincerity was the worst weapon he could have assailed against her panties.

“Me neither.” She leaned in to nip his lips. “But you’re right.” They were still getting to know each other. If what Sheng claimed was true, they’d be together for a
very
long time.

He blinked, the passion drained from his gaze. She wrenched out of his arms even though he nuzzled her, taking his time in letting her go. She’d always preferred ripping off bandages. No point in dragging out the agony.

Rising, she turned her back to him, giving him privacy even though he didn’t ask for it.

He cleared his throat. “Ah, since my clothes are in the wastebasket, would you mind heading to my apartment and grabbing me some new ones? Your uncle has cameras in the halls. Probably not best if I left here naked.” His chuckle caused a smile to tug at her lips.

“My keycard is right here.” His footsteps padded across the floor and halted as he likely dug through his shredded pants. In between his muttered curses, she caught the words, “leather jacket” and “wastebasket.”

Oops.

An instant later, his balmy heat pressed against her back, making her shiver. “Thank you,” he whispered against her ear and, as his tongue slipped out, he sucked the lobe into his mouth, giving her a gentle nibble.

The temporarily abated hunger struck straight through her core. Damn him. He made even the simplest of instructions incredibly sexy.

She didn’t bother answering, just plucked the card from his hand and left.

Stepping into the hallway, she shot a fake smile at the blinking red light in the top left corner of the corridor.
Keeping an eye on me, Shūshu?
The security cameras posted outside her door weren’t for her benefit, she was certain. That’s what the guards at the lobby doors, elevators, and stairs were for. The two cameras, opposite one another so they’d cover the entire hall, had been placed to spy on her.

She huffed, but decided to save that conversation for another day. Aside from sharing an occasional meal with her uncle, she’d spent most of the past two weeks with Sheng’s friends. Xiaodan claimed to be busy with his enterprises. The excuses worked for both of them. Despite him being her father’s brother, the flares of familial warmth hadn’t sparked further between them. Their lack of fondness for each other didn’t bother her as much as it maybe should have.

The events of last night, mingled with her roller-coaster emotions regarding Sheng, were enough to deal with.

After inserting and removing the card, she swung the door open and stepped inside.

His apartment was a mirror image of hers—maybe how he knew where she kept everything. But the space appeared even less lived-in than her apartment. No personal items graced the magazine-styled décor. Sharp blacks contrasted against bright whites. Entering the bedroom, she wasn’t surprised the bed looked as though it had never been slept in. She’d bet it hadn’t. He lived at the temple, so his accommodations here had been a front to get close to her.

Hmm.
Sounded familiar. Clash as they may, both Sheng and her uncle kept a tight watch on her.

She opened the closet and discovered a large walk-in about half-full. Sheng’s shirts, pants, and other garments hung neatly in rows. The faint hint of his scent drifted over her nostrils. Tempted, she leaned in and rubbed the sleeve of his shirt against her cheek. They’d known each other only a short while, but already her brain recognized his scent, associating that dark spice with comfort and something more intense.

Desire.

Shaking herself, she snatched two sets of everything, stuffed the garments into a duffle bag, and headed back to her apartment.

As she wandered into the living room, searching for him, the ripe, pungent stench of bleach blasted her nostrils, eradicating the last traces of Sheng’s decadent musk.

She wrinkled her nose, scanning the room. He’d cleaned up. The glass doors and white tiles had been scrubbed, revealing no trace of the blood from last night. Everything looked precisely how it had before. As if he hadn’t been bleeding out on her floor.

Water trilled, and her head jerked in the direction of the sound. The bathroom. Sheng was in her bathroom, naked, showering.

A grunting cry echoed down the hall and the duffle bag dropped from her fingers. She sprinted in the direction of the source. Bursting through the door, she scoured the room. “Sheng?” Her gaze settled on the large figure hunched in the shower stall. The room had filled with steam, masking most of his body. His
naked
body.

His head whipped toward her. “Lucy?”

“Are you okay?” She squeaked the question; her cheeks flaming. Clearly he was fine. More than fine. Sexy and naked and wet.

“Stubbed my toe.” His mouth curved in a wicked, beckoning grin, one brow lifting…in invitation?

She nibbled her lip, her brain telling her to walk away, her body refusing to obey the command.

“Want something?” His intense, dark gaze stayed trained on her, unwavering as he straightened.

“I brought your clothes.”
Smooth, Luce.

His chest rumbled as he glanced past her. “Where are they?”

Shoot. Concerned for him, she’d dropped the bag, and now she looked like a complete idiot. She spun, fleeing the bathroom before she made an even bigger fool of herself. Snatching the bag off the floor, she strode straight back to the bathroom and tossed it inside. Without bothering to peek into the room, she snared the handle and slammed the door.

That would teach him.

***

Sheng shook his head and chuckled. The aura of Lucy’s innocence had nothing to do with her virginity. She was different from the flashy, brazen women he usually dealt with. Hell, even Monkey boasted an ego the size of, well, Monkey’s head.

Everything about Lucy was sincere, not fake. Her Rabbit’s nature was timid, but Lucy was strong enough to never back down from him. To call him out on his shit in a way that made him want to be better. For
her
.

No woman had ever had that effect on him.

Maybe that’s what he got for fucking women who were one step up from prostitutes. Women who liked to party hard with rich guys. Who never got where he came from.

Where he still felt he belonged.

Sure, he had plenty of money now, thanks to the
Kongsi
, but he’d never forget the days when he’d gone hungry. When he’d gotten himself beaten up just so he could snatch the thug’s wallet while the asshole was distracted.

Would Lucy understand those things? He sighed into the warm spray. She might not have come from the streets like he did, but she hadn’t lived a pampered life. That was evident in everything about her. The way she carried herself. Her tell-tale awkward shifting as they’d eaten in that posh restaurant. Her total ignorance of the dirt and leaves in her hair after she’d burrowed into the ground while hiding in the Gardens. Even her lack of interest in the luxurious apartment her uncle provided for her. Last night, she’d curled up in the chair beside him, just because he’d asked her to.

Yep, Lucy was the furthest thing from high-maintenance he’d ever encountered.

She’s too good for you.

At the searing truth stinging his chest, he swallowed hard. Too good. Just like this apartment, these clothes, his padded wallet.

Even though he’d had to prove with every punch and kick, every rigorous test they’d put him through, that he belonged, that he was deserving of this great privilege, the truth burned a hole through him. They could strip it away. All of it. Sure, Tiger had chosen him. That didn’t mean fuck to the Council. If he didn’t play by their rules, they might off him and wait for Tiger to choose someone else.

Someone easier to manipulate. More obedient.

More worthy.

Run, lad. Run and never look back. Never tell anyone who you really are.
The old woman’s Mandarin words haunted his mind. After his family had died in the fire, encouraged by that woman, he’d fled. Never to look back.

He forced heated air through his lungs, fighting off the shell of insignificance threatening to choke him. He had nothing to fear so long as he did exactly what the Matchmaker and the other Elders told him to do.
Stay out of Lucy’s pants and focus on testing her. Until she proves to them she, too, is worthy.

He switched off the water, grabbed a towel, and dried off. His throat tightened, but he chugged down his trepidations. No, Lucy would be fine. She wasn’t the same as him. Nothing about her declared she wouldn’t be accepted like Ox, Rat, and Monkey had been.

Just the Rabbit.
No one expected Rabbit to lead the way during a battle. Hell, so long as Lucy didn’t get herself killed, her task was considered signed and complete.

Not so for Tiger. Everyone looked to Sheng to lead. Even more as the days went on and it appeared Dragon would be a no-show. He’d told himself—and Tiger—that Dragon had rejected them because of the host’s personal, shitty issues. But the longer they waited for Dragon’s new host, the harder the excuse became to swallow. In fact, it was fucking lodged in his throat.

After he dressed, he stared at his reflection in the mirror, searching for the mask of confidence he needed to get through today. And every other bloody day.

Stepping into the hall, he sniffed to pick up Lucy’s scent and grimaced at the odor of burnt toast.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Lucy leapt to the toaster in time to snatch the two slices of charred bread. Damn. She waved her hands in the air, hoping to disperse the acrid stench before Sheng detected it.

“
Mmm…
Smells great in here.”

Too late. She stiffened, whirling to spot him leaning against the wall, smirking.

“I can cook.” The argument huffed from her lips. “It’s this darn toaster. I turned my back for one minute and poof.” She held up the two hockey pucks as evidence.

He stalked toward her, grinning. “Might want to adjust the setting first.” He slipped behind her, making no effort to dance around her and, instead, pressed his body against hers as he flicked the switch from dark to light.