Free Shadow Rising by Cassi Carver Page B

bonded before either knew what had hit them. And after the passion they’d shared, it was hard to go without.
    She couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss in the alley. But if that man wasn’t Julian, then who the hell was he?
    At two a.m., while staring at the ceiling, she heard her door creak and shot up in bed. Before she could reach for her knife or ask who was there, Jaxon entered and quietly closed the door behind him.
    “What’s the matter?” she asked. “How’s Abbey?”
    He walked to her and sat on the edge of the bed. “She’s sleeping soundly.”
    “Good.”
    Clothed only in his gray silk boxers, he was all smooth skin stretched over dense muscle. It was easy to see why he’d been one of Lace’s favorites for more than a century. “Do you have need of me?” he asked softly.
    The look in his eyes simultaneously made her mouth gape and her nipples harden. “Do I have what ?”
    He reached out and moved a lock of brown hair behind her ear. “Do you need me?”
    Jaxon had always been safe and comfortable, one of her only true friends. She turned her nose into his hand and inhaled deeply. “Why are you asking me this?”
    “I am yours. You may think I’ve forgotten my vow, but you are my lady, first above all else. I know I haven’t met your expectations. Let me try again.”
    When he leaned over and pressed his lips gently against hers, the woodsy scent of his skin enthralled her. He tasted like heaven, his tongue silky and moist, but she pulled away. “There was a time I would have considered it, but not now.”
    He sat up, his eyes searching hers. “Because of what you saw tonight with Abbey?”
    “Yes, but not just that.”
    “She gave us her blessing from the first day, mistress. She knows my seed might help you mature. I thought learning resistance would make you more resilient in the face of temptation, but I see now that it’s not good for a Demiáre female to go with her needs unmet.”
    “It sounds like Aiden finally got to you.”
    “Aiden isn’t here now. It’s just you and me.”
    “You mean, you and me…and Abbey. I know you care for her, and I don’t think I’m liberated enough to share you with my best friend.” And she cared about Jaxon too much to use him as a substitute for the man she really wanted.
    “What I have with Abbey is different. She’s not as strong as you. She needs me in ways you never will.”
    “Do you love her?”
    He paused for a long time, his gaze riveted to Kara’s comforter. Finally, he met her eyes. “Even if I did, that wouldn’t change what I feel for you.”
    “What do you feel?”
    “Protectiveness. Warmth. Loyalty. Gratitude.” He smiled. “And I love the way you smell. Especially tonight.” He smoothed a hand down Kara’s thigh. “Let me serve you.”
    Kara’s skin lit up like a Christmas tree, and the valley between her legs pulsed in time with her racing heart. “Go back where you belong. You said yourself, Abbey needs you.”
    His hand tightened on her knee. “I belong with you. You are my lady, and I won’t fail you again.”
    She pulled her gaze away from the hard facets of his abs and the trail of dark hair disappearing under his boxers. He was her friend, her roommate, for Pete’s sake. “ Fail me ? Is that what this is about? Do you think it’s your fault I fell into the black-wing’s arms? That if you’d taken care of my ‘needs’, I wouldn’t have kissed him?”
    His shoulders sank. “It’s possible.”
    “It had nothing to do with you.” How could she explain to him how it felt to touch Julian again after believing he was gone forever? “They tell me it couldn’t be Julian, but you know the crazy thing…I might be willing to take that chance just to hold him one more time.”
    “Do you hear what you’re saying? He threatened your life and took the form of your bondmate! I don’t want you on the same continent as that scheming impostor.”
    “I don’t expect you to understand. I’m not planning