“Do you think it will be that easy, Sherra?” Kane’s voice was rough, the fight for control throbbing in his voice. “Do you think for one damned minute I’ll let you get away with this?”
“I really don’t think you have a choice.” She stalked from the room, head held high. She really didn’t give a damn what he thought she could or couldn’t do. She had endured eleven years of physical hell, of emotional pain, of fighting to make sense of why her body was betraying her, why she needed so desperately yet her flesh rebelled at any other man’s touch. Learning the reason why hadn’t helped her emotional strength. To know it was a mating rather than a hunger, a bond that, so far, remained unbroken hadn’t helped. Callan was already furious that she hadn’t told him about the physical problems she had experienced earlier, that she had dared to attempt sterilization to ease the pain. His disappointment in her had shamed her more than she expected. As she left the kitchen, she heard her brother’s voice arguing with Kane, Merinus pleading. The others, of course, were commenting. She didn’t care. They hadn’t lived the past eleven years in her skin. Hadn’t hungered with no idea of why, needed and ached for a touch that was never there. She grabbed the banister of the stairs and began to race up the steps. The need for escape throbbed in her veins, pounded in her heart.
“Sherra.” His voice stopped her at the landing.
She stopped, nostrils flaring as she breathed in roughly, her teeth clenching as she fought to keep from screaming. Turning slowly, she looked down at Kane.
Her body trembled in hunger. Her mouth watered with it as her tongue throbbed, the glands at the side aching to release the hated hormone. It was bad enough it was making her crazy, but she knew damned good and well what would happen if Kane ingested it.
The chemical reaction hadn’t been as strong in Callan and Taber as it had been with their mates. If it held to pattern, it would be worse than super Viagra when it hit Kane’s system. The thought of that had her pu**y weeping in sobbing need. Like an entity with a mind all its own, it seemed to howl silently in protest of her refusal to allow it ease.
Kane was too damned handsome, tall and strong, the perfect male with tight, well-conditioned muscles. He was lean and humming with sexuality. His dark hair was cut short, his lashes shadowing his cheeks as he watched her.
She didn’t answer him, merely stared back at him coldly as his lips quirked with knowing hunger.
“I’ll be up later. Don’t make me come looking for you.”
Her jaw nearly hit the floor as he turned his back on her and re-entered the kitchen. Don’t make him come looking for her? she thought incredulously. The son of a bitch, she was going to kill him. Narrowing her eyes she moved quickly to her room. She changed swiftly into formfitting black pants and a snug sports shirt. She clipped her utility belt and holster around her hips, strapped the dagger to her thigh before tucking her hair under the black baseball cap, and snuck from the house. Let him come looking for her. He might get a hell of a lot more than he bargained for.
* * * * *
“Aren’t you afraid of pushing her too far?” Taber asked politely several minutes after the rest of the
family had left the kitchen and returned to their respective rooms. For once, he wasn’t with his new mate and wife, Roni. Rather, he watched Kane with those eerie green eyes of his, just a hint of censure showing in their depths.
“Aren’t you afraid Roni’s going to find out about your decision to keep her family away from her?”
Kane came back at him, his voice equally polite. “I don’t tell you how to handle your mate, Taber. Don’t try to tell me how to handle mine.”
Taber’s lips lifted in a snarl, showing the dangerous canines at the side of his mouth. Kane smirked mockingly.
“It looks sexier when Sherra does it. Don’t bother trying to intimidate me, cat boy. I only go easy on you because you’re prick enough to take offense and I don’t really want to take the time to scuffle with you.”
Kane moved lazily from the chair, picking up his coffee cup as he headed for the full pot and, hopefully, the patience to deal with Taber. Of all the Breed males, Taber had to be the most temperamental. And Kane figured it was just his luck that this one decided to try to step in and berate him for his behavior with Sherra.
“Scuffle with me?” Taber growled. “You make it sound like a wrestling session. I could take your throat out, Tyler.”
“You could try.” Kane poured his coffee and fought back the weariness dragging at his mind. He had been awake, it seemed, for months. The arousal was growing nightly, leaving him sleep-deprived and patience-worn.
When Taber said nothing else, Kane turned back, lifted a brow in question and waited. The Breed males could be unpredictable on the best of days, and though they did an admirable job of not resorting to violence, he was aware the potential was there.
Taber shifted, staring off for a second, his shaggy black hair falling over his face before he swiped it back carelessly and turned back to face Kane.
“I was there when she realized you weren’t coming back. I was there when she lost that kid and when she nearly died,” Taber snapped. “You weren’t. I’m sick of seeing her hurt because of you, Kane. Lay off her.”
“Go back to your mate and play kitty tricks,” Kane retorted, growing angrier as the other man watched him. “Do you think I can’t imagine the hell she went through, you purring bag of mismatched genetics?
Do you think there’s a chance in hell I’m going to let her continue to torture the hell out of both of us because of her damned stubborn pride? Get a clue, Williams. Not any longer.”
Taber’s body shifted dangerously, his eyes glittering with jade-colored fury as a growl rumbled in his chest.
“You’re a smart-mouthed bastard, Tyler. Count yourself lucky you’re Callan’s brother-in-law and Sherra’s mate, or I’d kill you for that.”
Kane snorted. “Don’t let that stop you from trying. I’m sure Merinus would forgive you pretty quickly.”
He set the cup on the small island counter, gearing for battle. He’d just as soon kick this arrogant panther’s ass than look at him right now.
“Let up on her, Kane,” Taber ordered again. “You don’t have to stay on her ass so much.”