Free Collared for a Night (Crimson Romance) by Susan Arden

between them, even for a moment. She smelled so goddamn good. He ground his back molars to keep from piercing his lips. A low snarl of frustration slipped away. This was simply sensation. Here he was on a mission to teach Diana to control her impulses, and he was two seconds away from crawling between her legs. Again.
    “Come away with me. Away from here. I promise, I’ll get you through your heat but not in a room like this.” He kissed her incredible mouth, wanting to pull her up and carry her downstairs into a waiting car. One call from him to his driver was all that was required. He was about to suggest as much until he saw her tightly-furrowed brows. “What are you thinking?”
    “I’ve told you about my past,” Diana stroked a single finger along the ridges of his chest. “Why aren’t you with another female such as yourself? Obviously, it’s a choice that you’re single.”
    He wanted to dismiss his entire past, except Diana deserved an honest answer. If he demanded that shifters brought before him on charges tell him the painful details of their lives in a roomful of council members, he’d better have the fortitude to share his less than savory past with her.
    Gazing into her eyes, he was mesmerized. Truth serum couldn’t have been stronger. Holy shit, talk about not learning the first time around. In Diana’s orbit it seemed he had yet to learn how to temper himself, even after surviving a fouled-up relationship with another woman whom he had once trusted. His stomach juices turned to battery acid or something equally caustic.
    “I met a shifter, years ago,” he began. “Her name is Mia Velarte.”
    Diana stiffened in his arms. She met his gaze and asked softly, “Is she located in Vegas? A designer, by chance?”
    He sighed. “Yes. She has a firm there. She is partners with Frazier Jenkins. Once, a long time ago, we all worked together. They left town together and now live together in every sense of the word. Nothing they do surprises me.”
    Mia had played him like a drum. She beat him at a game he’d believed he had mastered: love ’em and leave ’em. Only, that little number Mia had performed for his benefit had carved out his chest, leaving him empty when she stole from him. Injury to insult, she had also been sleeping around with Frazier.
    Diana’s eyes had gone round as saucers. “I know of her firm. But not your specific connection.” Her eyes were filled with questions.
    He inhaled a breath, preparing to address why he kept his circle of friends small. And why trust was a hard commodity for him to share. “That tie was severed a long time ago. For years since Mia, I’ve walked around hollow, until tonight. Mia and I were engaged. It wasn’t the type of relationship that was love at first sight. We worked as a team and I didn’t want the hassle of my family’s expectations of choosing the right mate. I hate to admit it, but I just wanted to get past that issue. Mia seemed like as good a choice as any. For all practical purposes, it had made sense to propose to Mia. She was someone I was willing to marry and settle down with, checking that benchmark off my to-do list. I’m not proud of thinking in terms of business. Perhaps I got what I deserved. But I never expected to be blindsided.”
    “Shawn, don’t be so hard on yourself. Things happen in life, and hindsight is always twenty/twenty or better.”
    “I guess.” He tenderly traced the edge of her jaw, and then twirled a strand of her dark hair around his finger.
    Back then he’d been proud, and unprepared for his girlfriend to stick it to him using their engagement as a ruse to get what she wanted before leaving. Back then, he’d allowed himself to trust without looking over his shoulder, thinking he didn’t have much to lose. His mistake was refusing to consider trust had to be earned. Not in some cases. All cases.
    “Does that mean you’ll never consider mating? Are you some type of confirmed bachelor?”
    “Is that