focus on work.”
“But you’re supposed to lose yourself. That’s what sex is about.”
His eyes met mine, and for a moment, I sensed how different he was from other Shifters. It was something I’d noticed my whole life. While Lakota had innate Shifter instincts, he’d also acquired characteristics that were very Chitah-like—the way he would hold a person’s gaze and never look away, the intensity of his stare, how quickly he would defend any woman regardless of Breed. Even the way he could intimidate someone with his body language. It was animalistic yet so different from how a wolf behaved.
“Why?” I dared to ask. “What’s wrong with touch? What’s wrong with feeling good?”
“My mother told me something years ago that—” He grimaced and lowered his head, his hair shielding his face.
I rested my hand on his shoulder. It seemed to give him permission to go on, but he never looked up.
“Do you know about my adoption?” he asked.
“Not really. I figured maybe your mom was too young.”
I had come up with a few theories as to why a Shifter would have given up her baby, but none were as simple as a young woman who just wasn’t ready for motherhood.
“A man raped my mother,” he confessed. “It was someone she trusted—the beta in the pack. That’s why I’m here, walking this earth. People say a child is a blessing, but that would mean celebrating my mother’s rape.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered against his shoulder. “But what does that have to do with dating women?”
He propped his elbows on his knees and looked straight ahead. “A good man raised me, but my true father is a rapist. His is the blood that courses in my veins. His are the eyes that look upon women with lust.”
Then it dawned on me. Lakota had spent most of his adult life believing that he was capable of the barbaric crime his father had committed—that his blood was cursed and would dictate the kind of man he was destined to become, regardless of what values he was raised with. I could only imagine how difficult it must have been when women were suddenly tempting him. He must have rejected them out of fear—fear that he might lose control and hurt them.
“You’re not your father,” I said firmly. “You can’t deny yourself pleasure because of something your father did. There’s no sleeping demon inside you that’s going to suddenly wake up and change the kind of man you are. Not unless you want it to, and that’s always a choice.” With the crook of my finger, I turned his chin and forced him to look at me. “My father was a sex and drug addict for a long time. It’s no secret. Does that mean it’s my destiny too? Does that mean his demons will become mine because we share the same blood?”
“You’re not like that,” he growled.
I stroked his jaw with the tips of my fingers. “And neither are you. I’ll prove it.”
He huffed. “How?”
“Sleep with me.”
He blinked in surprise, and a flame touched his cheeks.
“I’m not asking for sex, Lakota. I’m asking you to sleep with me.”
I held his gaze. Maybe the fates wanted me to heal him. If Lakota didn’t overcome his fear, it would hold him back when searching for an alpha to work under. Any decent Packmaster would be apprehensive of selecting a beta who was afraid of women and, more importantly, afraid of what he might do to them.
“You can’t keep running from this,” I continued, telling him what he already knew. “Lie next to me while I sleep. By morning, you’ll know what kind of man you are.”
“I can’t,” he croaked, attempting to stand.
Gripping his shoulder, I held him down. “You will. Those men outside might come back, and who will protect me?”
That little song was for his wolf. Shifters instinctually responded to threats, and he needed a little coaxing. The men outside posed no threat to me any more than the man inside, but they were a good enough reason for him to stay.
Lakota drew in a deep breath, one of resolve. He finally turned and centered his eyes on mine. “I’ll stay.”
Chapter 7
Something hard and warm pressed against my back, startling me out of sleep. I blinked a few times, focusing on the wall beside the bed. Everything was fuzzy in those waking moments. Dim morning light filtered in from behind me, and a wonderful smell filled my nose.
Where am I? Oh yeah, a motel.
I recalled my brief encounter