Free The Alpha Men's Secret Club 4: Intrigue: A Shockingly Hot BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance by Dawn Steele Page B

are shifters. We tend to have experimented sexually on both sides.”
    Of course. She remembered the orgies.
    “So she wants to blackmail me,” Rust said.
    “Yes.”
    “She wants me to be the gateway to the shifter world. She wants me to tell her and the world everything about us.”
    “I believe so.”
    He got off the bed and began to pace, naked.
    “I can’t do that,” he declared. “These are my people. These are not my secrets to divulge.”
    “But Rust . . . she’s going to do it anyway. She’s going to release the video in some publicity stunt. You can’t stop her.”
    She knew from the shift of light in his eyes that he knew there was a way to stop Rita Cunningham. But that he discounted it immediately.
    He was truly not a murderer.
    He stood still and stared at the wall – at the abstract painting on the wall of zigzags and wavy lines.
    He said abruptly, “Unless I confront the murderer.”
    “How?” She furrowed her brow. “Do you know who did it?”
    He looked at her. “Yes.”
    Her stomach clenched, and she knew it to be true.

24
     
    It was something which had to be played very carefully.
    Rust O’Brien walked into the crowded restaurant on 54 th Street. He had chosen this place specifically because of its lunch bustle, so that he would have as many people around him as possible. He was dressed in a sharp suit and tie. Purposefully so.
    The person he was meeting was al ready there at the table he reserved. He had kept the details of the meeting sketchy at the time of invitation.
    “Can we meet? I have something to discuss with you.”
    His lunch companion did not rise as he approached the table.
    “Shamilar,” he acknowledged her.
    “Rust.” She smiled. “Always a pleasure to meet with you. You look handsome, as always.”
    “Thank you. And you’re looking particularly beautiful.”
    She was resplendent in a blue off-shoulder dress which showed off her bare shoulders and cleavage to good effect. He noted that she was wearing a push-up strapless bra beneath the dress. She was always dressed to impress, and today was no different.
    He remembered why they had parted ways. The would-be mother of his children . . . but what sort of children would they be? He did not like being cornered and trapped into marriage. And he did not desire half-breed shifters as his children. They did not turn out well, and those few which had been born were deformed physically or mentally challenged.
    “How goes everything, Rust?” Shamilar said.
    “As well as being accused for murder can.”
    Several people at the other tables looked over to the handsome couple. Rust knew for certain that they recognized him.
    The waiter came with the menus.
    “I heard you took the plunge and burned the demon out of you,” Shamilar said.
    “I did.”
    “And have you burned all the memories as well, as such things are wont to do?” She eyed him intently.
    “Yes. Most of them.”
    “Can you still shift?”
    “I haven’t really tried, but in the attempts I have made to do so . . . I failed.”
    She breathed audibly.
    “So you think you burned your soul out of you?”
    “I don’t know. Perhaps.”
    She reached for his hand on the table. “Rust, I’ve missed you. Remember how we used to talk? We would talk for hours. We could talk about anything and everything. I suppose you would have less to talk about with your new girlfriend.” Her mouth curled into a slight sneer.
    He said lightly, “Don’t assume that just because Kate is young and in college that she has no intellect. She was one of my brightest students.”
    “And you’re a fool to give everything up because of her.”
    “When I can have you?” He smiled. “You want to be associated with a murderer, Shamilar?”
    She paused.
    “How sure are you that you are a murderer, Rust, when most of your recent memories have been burned out of you?”
    “Not all of them have been burned out of me.” He held her eyes steadily. Her hand was still upon his, and