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The mere thought of her name sent another rush of heat through him, and the cat he’d become snarled and pushed harder, lengthening his strides, escaping from the subtle scent of sea and flowers that had surrounded her.
Needed to run. Further and further. Needed to run away from the woman who’d destroyed his equilibrium in sixty seconds flat.
Strip her bare and lick her skin? What the hell had he been thinking? Not two minutes after swearing his protection in front of her brother and the priest, he’d insulted and threatened her. He snorted and drew his lips back from his fangs, snarling again as he ran. Not only was he a damned fool, but he’d probably incited some kind of international incident.
Panting, finally nearing exhaustion, he slowed to a walk, padding on four powerful legs that were trembling faintly from the strain of the run. He looked around and stopped, recognizing the woods behind his house, the big-ass mansion that served as home and headquarters to the alpha of the Big Cypress pride. No wonder he was short of breath and suffering from a little muscle fatigue. He’d never run ten miles in such a short time.
Maybe lust was good for the metabolism.
He called to the magic that infused both halves of his dual natures and lifted his head to receive the transformation. As always, the shift came to him effortlessly, and he stood fully clothed in his human form afterward. Ease of performing the shape change was one of many indicators of shape-shifter strength, and he was alpha. Strongest of all the shape-shifters in Big Cypress. Rumored to be the strongest in all of Florida; perhaps in all of the southeast region.
“Yeah, big, tough alpha cat, running away from a female,” he muttered in disgust.
But some trick of the wind brought the faint scent of the sea to his panther-enhanced senses and—just like that—it was as though she stood before him again. He clenched his jaw as his cock hardened painfully in his suddenly too-tight jeans, and he realized that he’d been fooling himself.
Alpha or not, there was no way he’d be able to run away from this woman. Every fiber of his being was commanding him to turn around and ru
n right back to her, but he refused to surrender to the impulse. Grimly determined to put the insane attraction behind him and get back to the serious business of discovering who or what was stalking his panthers, he strode toward his house.
So she was like some kind of crazy Atlantean
catnip. He could resist catnip.
His cat snarled inside him, then rolled luxuriously, sending Ethan the sensation of warmth and silken fur curled around a blaze of feral hunger. The image of Marie’s creamy skin and dark, drowning blue eyes flashed into his mind, and he nearly stumbled.
Dammit. He was toast.
FOUR
Marie sat in a chair at the kitchen table, hands folded in her lap, still trying to retrieve her usual calm, when Kat entered the cabin a few minutes later. Kat hesitated briefly in the doorway before seeming to come to some internal resolution. She stalked across the cabin’s warm and inviting living space, lush with wooden furniture and yellow and red overstuffed cushions. The sunlight from the window gleamed on Kat’s golden hair, as it had done with Ethan.
Ethan.
Stop thinking of him.
Kat stopped a few paces in front of Marie and took a deep breath. “Okay, here’s the thing,” she blurted out. “If you’re here to tell me I’m not good enough for him, well, I kind of know that. I mean, you guys are Atlantean nobility and all. Denal filled me in on how Bastien is really Lord Bastien and you’re Lady Marie. But I love him, and I’m going to fight for him.”
Marie raised one eyebrow and studied Kat for nearly a full minute before responding. Finally she smiled and stood so she faced Kat, their eyes on a level. “And of course that is all I need to know about you. You love him, and you’re willing to fight for him. From what I have heard, you were willing to die for him.”
Kat’s face reddened, but she didn’t lower her gaze. “He nearly died for me. Do you think I could do less?”
Marie hugged the woman who was truly worthy of her brother. “I thank the Goddess for you, Katherine Fiero, and that my brother has found you. Be welcome to our family.”
Something tense seemed to relax in Kat’s body, and she returned Marie’s hug. “Well…wow. Thanks. And welcome to my family, too. Which mostly consists of my pride, but I’m sure Ethan already welcomed you to that, as well.”
A rush of heat swept through Marie, and she looked down quickly before Kat could see the evidence of it on her face.
“What? What did he say to you?” Kat asked, suspicion heavy in her tone. “I know he can be kind of rough-edged, but he is a good man. I’m sorry if he gave you a bad impression—”
“It was nothing. I am, after all, accustomed to warriors and their arrogance.” Marie lifted her bag. “Perhaps I could settle in, and then we can have a talk?”
“I guess he’s not the only one with rough edges,” Kat said, grinning. “I’m sorry. Let me show you the guest room, and I’ll make some coffee. Then we can have a nice long chat.”
“I look forward to both the coffee and the talk,” Marie said, returning her new sister’s smile. As she followed Marie down the narrow hallway to the guest room, she reminded herself that she had more than three hundred years of practice in self-control. No arrogant alpha shape-shifter would be a match for her. Perhaps she would take him for a lover. He might be amusing for a few days.
A shiver raced down her spine at the thought of bedding all that lean, hard muscle. Staring into those burning golden eyes while he drove his body into hers.
No, she was candid above all things, even to herself. Especially to herself. There was definitely nothing amusing about him.
