Page 2 of Animal Instincts

“Holy shit, Hayden.” Danika grabbed his hand that held the joint and pulled it down. Her father looked up, glanced around the backyard, and when he spotted them he lifted his hand and waved.

But when she lifted her hand and felt her nervous smile spread across her face, she realized her father hadn’t seen the marijuana. A man walked toward her father, huge, intimidating, and even though she couldn’t see his face, and wasn’t that close, she felt the aura of power leave him.

Her dad and the guy embraced in one of those manly hugs, and clapped each other on the back. Danika stared at the guy. His darker blond hair was cut short, military style, and his big muscular body was bigger than even her father’s, and her dad was no creampuff.

The man wore a white t-shirt, one that didn’t do anything to mask the bulging muscles of his back and arms, or hide his tattoos that she could see through the light fabric.

And his jeans, although slightly loose, fit him pretty damn good. God, what in the hell was she doing? Clearly that was her dad’s friend by the way her father lit up and became animated. She was sixteen, and the guy had to be in his late thirties, which was her father’s age.

But her hormones had come alive when she had seen him, or, more correctly, the back of him.

“Come on, Hayden. I think I need that joint right about now.”

Damien was done,finished with fighting, finished with the violence and death, and looked forward to silence of solitude. For the

better part of his thirty-five years he had been a SEAL, fought beside some of the most well-respected and brave men—human and shifters alike—that he had the pleasure of calling brothers.

But his time was done, and he had the scars and lasting injuries to remind him of his time fighting a war that had taken lives, but also saved them.

He stared at Tyler, his friend, brother, a man he considered family, and took a long drink from his beer. The party that was being thrown was obviously for Tyler’s sixteen-year-old daughter, although Damien hadn’t seen Danika.

Hell, he hadn’t even met her. For all these years he had been traveling, fighting, and keeping busy with his missions. But as he looked around the large country backyard with an in-ground pool and a privacy fence blocking off prying eyes for about twenty yards ahead of them, he didn’t see any young female that resembled Tyler, or smelled of his blood.

“You’re finally home, man,” Tyler said and grinned.

“Yeah, and I’m looking forward to doing absolutely nothing.” Damien’s entire life had been nothing but action, combat, and strength. It would be nice to just do ... nothing.

They stood in front of each other, each on their second beer. The memories of his time in combat with this man filled Damien’s head.

He was a lion shifter, a powerful creature that was stronger than humans, faster, had better senses, and had been used for more dangerous missions.

After he had saved Tyler’s life Damien had been reassigned to infiltrate a sex-ring overseas. The assignment had lasted years, and tracking down and taking out the motherfuckers responsible had been a pleasure.

Damien wasn’t human, not fully, and because of that he was a lot fiercer than many men. He was also a hell of a lot moredangerous than a lot of other shifters because he was more animal than human.

“Well, brother, I’m glad you’re back, done fighting, and now maybe you can settle down.”

Damien nodded after Tyler spoke. The truth was he wasn’t looking for a woman to have a life with and a family. A few hours between the sheets with a female was all he needed.

The isolated and solitary confinement of his own home, a cabin in the mountains he had purchased years ago, was what he craved.

Having someone live with him, sleeping beside him in his bed, wasn’t what Damien had ever envisioned for himself. He was a pretty dominant man, hostile and used to having his way in all things. What woman would put up

with a male that was possessive and territorial of her? And that was exactly how Damien would be, to the nth degree even.

“I’ll worry about the female population later. Right now a few hours with them at a time is sufficient.”

Tyler chuckled and lifted his beer to his mouth. He finished off the alcohol and nodded. “Well, if you want a churchgoing woman, this town is full of them.” He grinned, and Damien shook his head, feeling amusement.

“I don’t think a religious woman is what I need, unless she wants to be screaming out ‘God’ all night in my bed.”

Tyler burst out laughing, and it was like old times when they were lying in their bunks, trying to focus on other things besides the death they had seen. “I haven’t seen your girl,” Damien said and brought his drink to his mouth.

He glanced around the backyard, saw the young girls swimming and the boys splashing each other, but couldn’t smell the blood relation to Tyler from any of them. Tyler’s home was out of town, tucked away on two acres, with a large in- groundpool, thick trees adding privacy to the property, and a beautiful two-story home.

It was something maybe Damien would have one day. Right now he would be content just living in his one bedroom cabin in the woods, relying on the wood burning fireplace for heat, and the silence to keep him company.

“I saw her running off with her friend Hayden. I’m sure they’ll be back shortly.” Tyler flipped a few of the burgers. “She’s growing up, man.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe she’s already sixteen. Damn, in just two years she’ll be eighteen, off to college, and starting a life for herself.”

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