Free Linked by Hope Welsh Page A

tiger.” He felt a pang of
guilt with that one still. “Lana, there’s something I need to tell you….”
    “Uh oh, that’s never good. What
did you do?”
    “Last night, while I checked your
apartment, I shifted into a dog. Which reminds me. I found no other scent
besides your own when I searched.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “There should have been another
scent from whoever broke into your apartment.”
    She stood up quickly. “There was
someone else in my apartment, Cole. I’m not making it up.”
    Cole grabbed her arm. “I don’t
think you are. I believe there—I saw the person chasing you. Sit back down,
Lana.”
    “Oh. Well, do you think it could
have been another shifter, then?” she asked as she sat back down.
    “Honestly, I just don’t know—but
I don’t think so. Like I said, I’ve only met a few others, and we didn’t really
hit it off. The first one ran off before I could try to speak to him, and the
second…the second left its mark. He clawed me,” he explained at her questioning
gaze. “I have the scars down my ribcage.”
    “Ouch.”
    “To put it mildly.”
    “Okay, so explain the vanishing
act. How does that play into shapeshifting?”
    “I would love to. Unfortunately,
that’s new to me, too. I’ve never heard of that happening before. At least,
it’s not something I’ve heard of in my family. I don’t think it’s been in any
other, either.” He paused a moment. “Lana?”
    “Yes?”
    “Did you mean what you said at
your mom’s? About not being afraid of me?”
    She took a sip of her drink
before answering. “Yes, I did.”
    “Good,” he said and pulled her
into his arms.
    When his mouth came down on hers,
teasing at first, then hard and hot, she moaned. He needed this. She took the
initiative and opened her mouth for him, inviting him, coaxing him. He tangled
his fingers in her hair and she responded by wrapping her arms around his neck,
trying to get even closer.
    He felt her desire in the way her
body moved against his. He could hear it in her soft moans as his hands moved
over her stomach, lightly skimming her sides as they moved up to cup her
breasts.
    He released her mouth and watched
as she licked her lips. It pleased him when she opened her eyes and he saw the
want in them. “God, you’re beautiful,” he told her huskily.
    Well, Cole thought, at least she
wasn’t afraid to kiss a shapeshifter. He wondered how she’d feel about the idea
of making love with one.
    A flirty smile tugged at her
lips. “I might feel okay with it,” she said in a considering tone.
     
    §§§
     
    The Evil One was pleased with
today’s little outcome. He could have had them out of the picture quickly and
quietly, but tormenting them had served his purpose more—not to mention it had
been so much more entertaining.
    The woman would be no threat, of
that he was sure. The disappointment he felt regarding her lack of knowledge
when it came to him grew deeper when he suspected that she did not know what he
was.
    How could she expect to fight a
power of which she had no knowledge? Perhaps the man could to be useful.
Otherwise, she would never know how to fight the likes of him—not that she
could begin to put up much of a real fight—regardless, he deserved worthier
opponents. If she could not fight him, then she would prove to be no challenge
at all.
    She had already proven once that
she was weak. He had not even done anything to her. She simply stood there,
frozen in terror, waiting for the man to jump to her rescue.
    Millennia of being trapped had
bored him. He required some entertainment. Needed it like he needed the air to
breathe.
    If one could not enjoy the hunt,
where lay the pleasure in being a hunter?
    Now the man might prove
interesting, but still no real challenge. He had not been a expecting the
mortal’s ability to shield her.
    Mortals, he thought with a shake
of his head. Foolish creatures. They always thought good would prevail and evil
would be vanquished.