Treasured Find (Royal Pride Book 1) (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jazz stretched, and the bed she was lying on squeaked. No, not a bed. She recognized the sound. It belonged to the sofa in her office. Why was she sleeping on it?

She pried open her eyelids and scanned the room. Her gaze settled on the pair of torn jeans lying on the floor.

Rafe.

Memories rushed over her—spending the night with Rafe, hearing the fear in Seth’s voice and the lion peering at her through the car window.

“Real. It’s all real.”

The sound of voices drifted to her before she could take the thought further.

She smoothed her skirt and top, but her ripped panties made her feel naughty. She and Rafe had come together in a rush of desire. It had been an amazing encounter, but she couldn’t go outside where her kids and his family might see her without wearing underwear. It wasn’t that she worried they might see something they shouldn’t. Her skirt was short but not
that
short. It just felt…wrong.

She reached for the phone to call Rafe to see if he’d bring her a pair of panties. The shorts neatly folded on the top edge of the sofa caught her eye. She grinned. Rafe had thought of her. She snagged them and changed.

Obviously his, the shorts hung to her calves. She had to roll the waistband three times for it to stay up, but she was decent. Fashionable? Not even close. Anyone who looked at the outfit and her disheveled, tangled hair would be able to guess exactly what she’d been doing. At least the adults would. Her kids? She often wore mismatched or too-big clothes to work in. She bought whatever she could find at the secondhand store in town.

On her tiptoes, she peered out the top window of the door. The two badass-looking brothers from Rafe’s background picture on his phone stood near an SUV, and the woman from the same photo leaned against a dark blue car. She had to be Mira, Devin’s twin. She was curvy, tall and with the uniquely colored hair, exotic. She also looked incredibly sad. In the throng of men, she stood alone.

Jazz scanned the yard. No sign of her kids or Josh. In the house maybe? She had to make sure. She flung the door open.

Everyone looked in her direction. She froze under their unblinking stares. Rafe’s brothers openly perused her. If their heated gazes were any indicator, they liked what they saw.

She swallowed against the lump in her throat. It took every bit of self control she had not to slink back into the office and hide. She didn’t like being the center of attention. It made her nervous. Her first thought was always—
they know I’m a liar and a coward
.

Silly, of course. How would anyone find out the truth about how she’d gotten her boys? Or that she’d left their mother behind to face those horrible men? Jazz never shared her story with anyone, not even Tony.

Relax. Everything is fine.

She licked her lips and forced her feet to move. Image was everything, especially when the shifters watching her could smell her fear. She could chalk hers up to being around more shifters or the worry over Jon. Nobody needed to know it was guilt that plagued her.

Her attention zeroed in on Rafe. He stood with a raven-haired man in a kilt. She blinked. Nope she wasn’t seeing things. The guy wore a kilt and a leather vest. No shirt.

He was gorgeous, but one glance told her he wasn’t one of Rafe’s brothers. He didn’t have the same up-tilted eyes as Rafe or Kade. His were almond-shaped, deep-set and brown but just as intense. Another predator. Wolf, maybe? Didn’t matter. He was obviously friends with Rafe, so he had to be one of the good guys.

She caught Rafe’s gaze and silently urged him to come over to her. He gave a small shake of his head and held out a hand. Was she supposed to walk across the yard in front of his family? When he didn’t move or drop his hand, she guessed that was exactly what he wanted.

Her hands shook with another wave of nerves, but she tucked her tangled hair behind her ears and went to him. She kept her gaze on Rafe’s face—her anchor—and ignored the ones that tracked her progress.

By the time she reached Rafe, her breath sawed past her lips. Rafe closed his hand around hers and pulled her into his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her ear over his heart. It didn’t race. The beat was steady and strong. Hers slowed to match it, and each of his caresses over her messy hair relaxed her tense muscles.

“Where are the kids?”

“In the house with Josh and Kade.”

She nodded, then tightened her grip on him. “Do not make me do that again.”

“I won’t, but it was necessary to show them that not only do I own you, you’ve accepted me.”

He didn’t just say that. Did he?

She leaned back to look into his eyes. “Own me?”

He traced the column of her neck—the same spot that had tingled after they’d had sex the previous night. “I’ve claimed you as mine. My scent is a part of you.”

He’d claimed her? Like his favorite toy?

“The term is ‘beloved human’,” the kilt-wearing man said. “It’s an honor, little female. It means Rafe will always watch over you. Care for you. It’s a title few humans hold, and you should be proud to be his.”

“Proud?” She glared at the brown-eyed shifter. “He’s my lover, not my owner. Not my boyfriend. Not my anything.”

The words pierced her heart. They were lies. Rafe had become a huge part of her life in the short time she’d known him, but no way did she want to be
owned
.

The guy bent closer. “Do
not
dishonor my friend with your ignorant complaints. You might know about shifters, but you don’t know our customs. And you don’t know how special you are to Rafe. Bite your damn tongue until you get to talk to him more about what his claim actually means.”

He was right. She didn’t know about shifters, not really. She exhaled slowly and focused on his words.
Beloved human.
It didn’t sound offensive. In fact, it did make her feel special, and if Rafe would always watch over her, he’d be close. A part of her life. She wanted that. She simply didn’t want him to rule it. In bed, sure. He could command her sexually all he wanted. It was everywhere else she refused to give up complete control.

She focused on Rafe’s face. “Okay, talk. What does being your beloved human actually mean?”

Rafe didn’t answer her. He took her hand and faced the man next to him. “Watch your tongue, Xander. Jazz will learn about our culture from me, not you.”

Xander inclined his head, but she caught his warning look. She had a feeling the man didn’t take orders well and planned to say what he wanted to her when Rafe wasn’t around. She made a mental note to avoid him. His focused glare wasn’t appreciative like the other men. His held animosity.

She glanced at Rafe to see if he noticed the hard look, but his attention was on Mira. Or maybe he was watching Josh who was headed in her direction. Either way, Rafe’s tense muscles set Jazz on edge.

Rafe’s other brothers turned to watch him too. Josh didn’t meet anybody’s intense stare. His gaze was locked on Mira, and he closed the distance between them with determined strides. Or maybe he had noticed the shifters watching him and didn’t care. That was more like Josh. She’d seen him wade into fights at the bar without worrying about getting hurt. He liked to start them too.

Rafe’s brothers blocked Josh’s approach. A head taller than Josh’s six-foot-one frame, they were huge and chilling with their pale complexions and braided white-blond hair. Tattoos and skull T-shirts completed the look.

“Rafe?”

“I see.” He sighed and led her forward.

Mira glanced between Josh and Rafe’s brothers. A small smile played on her lips. She might be amused by the male posturing, but Jazz wasn’t.

“Back off.” Rafe released Jazz and stepped closer to his brothers. “The human isn’t a threat to Mira.”

The man closest to Jazz pushed his sunglasses up, and her breath caught. Pale-blue eyes, cold and emotionless, focused on Josh.

“He’s male. Devin’s orders were specific. Xander is the only man from outside our family that’s allowed to talk to Mira.”

“Why?” Jazz asked him.

“Because Devin is her guardian and makes the rules.”

“Guardian?” She looked to Rafe for an explanation. If it involved Devin “owning” Mira, Jazz was going to have a serious problem with shifter culture.

“Our women are precious, but there are many who see them as”—Rafe met Mira’s gaze—“breeders. As Mira’s guardian, Devin has vowed to make sure she’s not forced into a mate bond. His way of doing that is to keep all men away from her until he determines if they’re a threat.”

“Forced? As in…” Jazz couldn’t say it. Rafe was taking about rape.

Rafe nodded. “A mate bond lasts for life too.”

“That’s…” Jazz cringed. “That’s barbaric.”

“I know.” Rafe stroked his fingers down her arm in a soothing caress, then faced his brothers. “Let it go. Mira is here to help with the kids, and Megan is Josh’s child…for now.”

“What do you mean?” Josh asked Rafe. “I’m not giving up my rights. Tony had a will listing me as her guardian.”

“Tony didn’t have the right to do so. Megan’s adoption wasn’t legal.”

“Not legal? Tony paid those lawyers an ungodly amount of money to adopt her.”

“I’m sure he did, but shifter parents don’t have kids by accident. Every conception is planned, and they wouldn’t have given her up willingly. Most likely, Megan was stolen.”

“We were told they’d died in a car accident.”

Rafe shrugged. “Maybe they were, but if not, she belongs with her parents.”

Josh glanced toward the house. “I’ll be allowed to see her?”

“That’d be up to them, but I can’t imagine why not.” Rafe faced her, putting an end to the discussion. “I am going to shift and explore. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find Jon. While I’m gone, Xander and my brothers will protect you and the kids.”

She glanced over her shoulder at the other men. Two sets of pale blue eyes focused on her. “What are your brothers’ names?”

“That’s Evan.” Rafe motioned to the blond twin on the right, then to the one on the left. “And that’s Zach.”

Jazz glanced between the two men, looking for some way to tell them apart. They were dressed identically, down to the colored bands used to tie off each braided section of hair that hung over their shoulders. She was never going to be able to tell them apart. How embarrassing would it be if she called them the wrong name?

“Zach is the one who always looks pissed off at the world.” Rafe gave her hand a squeeze as if he sensed her distress. “And Evan’s not staying for long so you don’t have to worry about confusing them. He’s going into town to see what he can find out about Jon.”

“Okay.” She glanced at the new people in her yard—all predators—who watched her intently. She swallowed around the tightness in her throat. “You’ll be back soon?”

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Rafe’s family, but she didn’t want any of them to corner her and start asking questions. They weren’t getting any of the tough answers until she could share them with Rafe, and she didn’t want to have to tell more lies to keep her secrets.

“Yes.” Rafe brushed his lips across her jaw to her mouth and kissed her. The gentle strokes eased her tension. She leaned into him, but he broke the kiss before it consumed them. “And when I return, we have much to talk about.”

“You’re right, and it needs to be done in private.”

He inclined his head, but the lust in his eyes suggested he had other ideas about what they’d do once they were alone. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop her smile. He chuckled then slipped into the woods.

Mira cleared her throat. “Jazz, I’d love to meet your kids.” She turned to Josh. “And Megan too.”

“Sure.” Jazz led the way into the house, introduced Megan and her boys to Mira, then stepped back to watch all three kids’ eyes light up when she sat down in the middle of the floor with them. Mira spoke softly and within minutes, they were giggling. Jazz smiled.

Josh leaned against the doorjamb next to Jazz. “I need to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“Rafe.” Josh headed toward the kitchen.

She followed and sat at the table. “What about him?”

“I thought you weren’t getting involved with him.”

“That was before we were attacked. I told you I overreacted.”

Josh’s brows rose. “Did you?” He held up a hand. “Look, I’m not saying Rafe and his friends mean the kids harm, but there’s more to this whole situation than what they’ve let on. Some guy doesn’t like Rafe so he tries to kill you?”

“I agree, and I plan on getting the rest of the story from Rafe when he gets back.”

Josh bent closer so his breath warmed her cheek. “Rafe came in here earlier asking all sorts of questions about Tony and the lawyer he used to get Megan. He said it wasn’t the first time a shifter child had been sold through a private adoption, and that those who stole shifter kids should be punished. I told him what I knew because I agree, but then he started asking about you.”

When Josh didn’t say anything else, she prompted, “What about me?”

“He thinks you’re lying about finding them. He’s convinced you knew the mother and wants to know how it is you ended up with her babies. According to Rafe, no female shifter would willingly part with her children. They’d kill for them. Nothing was more important.”