Page 3 of Bloodline Unbound

Every time I saw her, I knew the gods had to be laughing, because while I knew with absolute certainty that Logan was my mate, the fact remained that she was Caden’s too. And he had gotten to her first. I had fucked up enough in our past and I knew another misstep would ruin the possibility of my brother ever speaking to me again.

So I’d stepped back.

I had left, trying for years to fight the pull. I always came back and he knew as well as I did why. He knew I wanted her, but I was never quite certain if he knew how deep it went. I couldn’t…wouldn’t hurt him again the way I had done in the past.

I disentangled us and gave Logan a confident smile, though it was the opposite of how I felt.

“Can I come in?”

Islipped back inside my house, tiptoeing and closing the door as quietly as possible behind me. Caden had been asleep when I’d left to help with an emergency kitten rescue, and I’d wanted to avoid waking him.

A low growl sounded behind me. I spun around, pressing my back to the door.

Caden was sitting in his black panther form, his golden gaze freezing me in place.

You went out after midnight without me. Do you want to get eaten? His voice filled my head as clearly as if he’d spoken aloud. He stood, his body of midnight silk slinking towards me.

Heat rose up in me and I shivered. This was a game we played often after Caden realized being a little scared got me revved up. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, but there was no arguing with the jolt of adrenaline when he shifted into this form and looked at me like I was a snack.

“Want is a pretty strong word here.” I squeezed my thighs together, craving the pressure on my clit.

Caden stood on his hind legs, bracing a paw on each side of my head. He growled, low and dangerous, and it reverberated in my chest as if I were standing next to an amp at full volume. Goosebumps covered every inch of me, my skin hot as he growled again.

Foolishness must be punished.

I reached out and buried my hand in his fur. It was velvet soft, inky black, and my fingers disappeared into the thickness of it. I scratched carefully and Caden’s golden eyes closed slowly. His purr rumbled in response.

That’s cheating.

I leaned in, nuzzling the underside of his massive head with my face, getting my other hand involved in the scratches. A ripple wavered his muscles and the purring grew louder. If he was going to punish me for taking unnecessary risks, then I was at least going to get him in a better mood first.

Caden shook his head and glared down at me. This isn’t funny. You have no sense of self-preservation. I’m not letting you get taken out because you stopped to pet a shifter without realizing.

“I’m sorry. We got the call, and they’d have died if I hadn’t gone. You were sleeping so deeply I didn’t want to wake you.”

Caden wasn’t a huge fan of my work with fosters for an animal rescue for the very reason that had saved his life: I couldn’t tell the difference between a shifter and a regular animal, and I was willing to foster just about anything. Five years ago, that had meant I’d happily taken in Caden and his younger brother when they’d shown up injured in my front yard. I hadn’t found out they were shifters until almost two months later.

Now he insisted on sniff-testing any animal that came into the house to make sure I hadn’t hauled in anything dangerous.

“Besides,” I continued, “these are in the baby potato stage. Even if they were shifters, they’re newborns, so I’m not that concerned.”

Newborns have parents, he pointed out. They’d smell me on you.

“Quit being so stanky, then.” I laughed and gave him a squeeze. “I came back in one piece so there’s no need to be so fussy.”

Protective isn’t fussy. Caden shifted position and dropped us both down to the ground, his massive cat form hovering over me. He settled further, his whole weight draped across me. My bones protested with a series of crackles, and inhaling became a chore.

“You’re killing the spicy vibes.”

Magic made him shimmer and his fur slipped away in favor of skin until his human form stretched out on top of me. Butt naked. Shifting didn’t accommodate for clothing, unfortunately.

Or, fortunately, depending on your mood.

It was usually a very fortunate occasion in my house.

I grinned, lifting my wrists over my head and spreading my thighs so he could settle closer to me. He pinned me down, a hand on each of my wrists, his hips tucked firmly against mine. His hazel eyes watched me expectantly. I wanted to trace my fingers over the dark stubble at his jaw, but he only held tighter when I tried to move.

“Better?” he asked.

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