Freakn' Shifters Bundle (3-in-1) (54 page)

“Can you tone it down?” he whispered harshly, and not just because of the attention she drew to him. For some reason, he didn’t like the admiring glances shot her way. Someone needed to step up and keep this she-wolf out of trouble, starting with a wardrobe makeover.

“Oh, pussycat. This is just how I am. Loud, outspoken and hot.”

“It’s not proper for a young lady,” he replied stiffly.

“Maybe where you come from. But around here, I’m pretty normal. You’ll see. It seems you’ve got a lot to learn about me and this family.”

“I’d prefer not.”

“Too bad. Now that you’re part of our community, you will be assimilated.” Gina giggled. “Assimilated? Get it? As in Star Trek and the Borg?”

Lips tight, he didn’t answer.

“Hmm. Not a Trekkie fan? No problem. We can fix that with a sci-fi marathon sometime. But of greater urgency is the need to do something about your uptightness.”

“I am not uptight.”

“Really?” She arched a brow and he wanted to bluster and explain he only acted like this because of necessity, that if given a choice he’d happily live more carefree. Or not.

Sheng’s parents raised him and his sister to act a certain way. The proper way. Sure, it seemed old fashioned to some, but given the decay in morality nowadays, Sheng preferred it. Uptight indeed. He opened his mouth to refute her claim, then stopped. Despite her insult, and his urge to show her the contrary, he didn’t defend himself.
Because I don’t care. Much.

“Wow, pussycat. You really are new. Most shifters around here would take those as fighting words.”

“Some of us have more control.”

“I would have said more, like you’ve got cold blood. Surprising, given most cats I know are hot blooded creatures.”

And just how did she know this? None of his business, and he was most certainly not jealous. Sheng repeated that a few times in his head in an attempt to calm his cat which really took offense at the idea that Gina knew about other felines because of an intimate experience. “Having a grip on my emotions does not make me cold.”

“If you say so.” Her smirk said she thought otherwise. “I know what will help you find your pulse and your balls. A drink.”

“No, thank you. I don’t partake of alcohol.”

As if she’d start paying attention to his wishes now. “What do you mean you don’t drink alcohol? How boring, even if it explains a lot. Well, there’s no time like the present to start.” She pulled him, and short of making a scene to disengage her, Sheng had no choice but to follow. But first chance he got, hard dick or not, giddy internal kitty or not, he would escape and find Jiao. It was time to end this failed experiment in socialization and past time he escaped this woman, who against all odds, made him want to do things. Naked things. Very improper things.
But enjoyable, I’d bet.

His chance to slip her grip arrived when a huge thug of a man swept her off of her feet into a hug of spine cracking proportions. Inside his mind, his cat spit and hissed, demanding he rip her away from the offending giant. Sheng clenched his fists. Nope not jealous. Not one teensy tiny bit. He reminded himself of this as he stalked around the embracing couple and went on the hunt for his sister.

He’d just managed to make it to a door in the kitchen, where Jiao’s perfume faintly lingered, when a plush body scooted in front of him prevent him from going down the stairs.

“And just where do you think you’re going, pussycat? I thought we were getting a drink.”

“No we weren’t.”

“Lighten up. You’re too young to frown all the time.”

“Exactly why do you care?” he snapped back. “Don’t you have better things to do with your boyfriend?” Yeah, he sounded catty.

She laughed. “Kendrick? My boyfriend. Gross. He’s my cousin. You know, family? I don’t know about your family, but in mine, we don’t screw first cousins. We had to stop that centuries ago. Too many three eyed, slack jawed children.”

He didn’t mean to. Truly he didn’t, but a snort of amusement left him.

Surprised, she gaped at him, then grinned, way too pleased with herself. “You should smile more often, pussycat. It suits you.”

The compliment pleased him, which in turn annoyed him. “Maybe some of us don’t have much to smile about.”

“Or, maybe someone just takes everything too seriously.”

“You know nothing of me. Or my reasons.”

“Does anyone?”

He couldn’t reply to her astute query because he feared she’d spot the lie. Feared she’d see too much. Grasping her around the waist, the soft skin he brushed in his attempt to move her, scorched him. She took in a breath too, a sharp one, as he lifted her aside. Despite himself, his fingers lingered, and he spent a moment looking down at Gina, her height just perfect for a man who never went past five foot six. His gazed locked with hers and his heart stuttered to a stop.

What’s happening?
Why did it feel like he stood on the threshold of something momentous? Something life changing that involved the blowsy she-wolf? Flustered, he dropped his hands from her waist, and turned away, but not before seeing the disappointment in her eyes.

He went down the first step. Gina squeezed by him and stood on the next, arms braced across the way, blocking him.

“What are you doing?”

“Annoying the pants off you?” she asked, her lips curved in a mocking smile.

“And succeeding,” he snapped. Just not in the way his body would prefer. An actual removal of pants so he could bury a certain rigid part of himself into her, an easy task with the short skirt she wore, would have worked better.

“Oh, pussycat. You are so easy to rile. It’s making me hot. Wanna screw?”

“No,” he sputtered, only stopping himself at the last moment from saying yes.

A rich chuckle emerged from her and wrapped around him, leaving him harder than before. “Liar.”

“I’m married.”

“I’m open to a threesome,” she said with a wink.

Oh, gross, that was his sister she imagined in a three way. Not that she knew. But still. “Not happening.”

“Don’t tell me you’d prefer another guy in the bedroom? Seems to be happening a lot more often these days,” she mused aloud.

“Like hell. Now would you get out of the way. I need to find my wife.” So he could use Jiao as an excuse to escape the woman who set every nerve tingling and frustrated every ounce of patience he owned.

They did a little dance on the stairs, her sidestepping at the same time as him, before with a growl he made it past her. Hitting the floor of the basement, he saw Jiao’s back to him and in front of her the damned handyman, Chris.

“What are you two doing down here?”

His barked question made Jiao startle and thus she missed the ball Chris threw at her. It smacked her in the face. She reeled only slightly from the impact. Jack hurried to her side, but she waved him away before he could check on her.

“I’m fine. Next time though, mind waiting until after I catch the ball before shouting.” She rubbed her swollen mouth and Jack felt chagrin, but only for a second as he sniffed the air.

“What were you doing?” he asked, already having a suspicious idea.

“I was showing her the gym I built down here to give her an idea of what to expect at your place,” Chris said, jumping in.

“Isn’t it marvelous?” Jiao added a tad too brightly.

“Great. But –”

“Get moving everybody. That’s the dinner bell, and you don’t want to be last in line for food,” Gina exclaimed, hovering nearby. “Coming, cousin?” she asked with a pointed stare at Chris. Brows knit, Chris nodded. The two wolves left, but before Sheng could give his sister hell for coming down here alone with the wolf, she whirled and pointed an accusing finger.

“What is wrong with you?” she snapped.

“I was looking for you.”

“Obviously. Why?”

“Because we’re supposed to be a married couple and yet you’re wandering off with a strange man somewhere alone.”

He didn’t miss the pink flush in her cheeks or the way her eyes wouldn’t meet his. “Jiao!”

“Nothing happened.”

She lied to him. He could tell. “We need to leave. Now.”

Spine straightening, shoulders back, she met his gaze. “No. I want to say for dinner.”

“After what you did?”

“Oh please. And you behaved so appropriately?” She reached forward and pulled a dark hair from his shirt. A long curly one.

“It’s not what you think.”

“Ditto. So, if you’re done being over protective and over bearing, then let’s go eat.”

Short of throwing her over his shoulder, and making a scene Sheng wanted to avoid, Jiao gave him no choice but to follow.

He just hoped he could sit far away from Gina and her melons. Far, far away even if he feared there was no distance far enough.

*

Almost caught kissing the handyman, Jiao found she couldn’t muster enough emotion to care. How could she when her whole being still burned? Wanted to say to hell with her cover as Jill, the married woman. One taste. One touch, and she was ready to risk it all.

Jiao’s thoughts were chaotic. Fragmented. Ever since her kiss with Chris, she couldn’t seem to gather her wits. The arrival of her brother should have thrown an immediate damper on her feelings when the ball in the face as a cover didn’t. Nope. Nothing it seemed could extinguish the fire burning inside her.

Totally, utterly insane. Yet exciting. She could no longer deny Chris was her mate.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
A wonderful revelation, but one she couldn’t act on.

That freakn’ sucked.

Sitting at a table, one of the many set up outside in the backyard under a white tent for the Thanksgiving feast, she locked her feet under her chair and fisted the tablecloth lest she stand up and go to where she belonged. Chris’s lap. Or arms. Or bed. She didn’t seem to care at this point.

Only a thin thread of sanity and self-preservation kept her glued to her seat, that and her glowering brother beside her. Any wrong move on her part and he’d have them packed up and gone before the day was through. It behooved her to behave. Yes, she might have won the battle to stay and enjoy the meal, but she’d hear about it later, and despite the clamor of her cat, she wouldn’t escape Sheng’s sharp eyes or presence any more this day.

It made her want to scream in frustration.

So unfair. I finally find my mate, the man meant for me, but I can’t have him because my brother, who is my husband, says I have to stay a virgin.
It sounded like a topic for Jerry Springer.

Annoyed, she would have eaten in sullen silence, unwilling to talk to her brother unless it was to beg him to end the charade, but Chris didn’t exaggerate about his family. They didn’t have any boundaries when it came to personal space and privacy. They also owned as much curiosity as her cat.

A good looking, long haired brunette sat down across from Jiao flanked by an extremely large man carrying a baby dressed in pink on one side, and a tanned Latino type holding another baby on the other.

Sharp eyes took her in. “Hello. I don’t think we’ve met,” the brunette said. “I’m Naomi. Daughter of the folks hosting this thing and these are my mates, Ethan and Javier. And their precious bundles are Mark and Melanie.”

Two mates? How fascinating. Exactly how did that work? Maybe not the best question to ask of a stranger. “I’m Jill, and this is Jack.” Yeah, Jiao omitted the husband part. She didn’t think she could say it aloud without sounding ready to file for divorce.

“You’re the couple Chris is working for.”

“He spoke of us?” Jack asked sharply as he tuned into the conversation.

“Not exactly. I’m his accountant, so he sends me all his contracts and receipts so I can keep his taxes and business stuff in order.”

“Oh. I see.” The tension in Sheng’s body eased.

“Best money woman around,” Gina announced flouncing into the seat across from Sheng. “I trust her with all my finances.”

“It’s an easy job since Gina doesn’t have any money, just a gift for spending,” Naomi remarked dryly.

“It’s a family trait,” Javier confided with a grin, not even flinching when his mate elbowed him in the ribs.

“Says the man who keeps buying stuffed animals every time he sees one,” Ethan rumbled.

“So shoot me for spoiling my babies.”

“Does anyone have a gun?” Naomi asked, a smile hovering on her lips.

The only one who didn’t laugh was – guess who – Sheng. The look of confusion on his face as he followed the playful banter made something ache inside Jiao. Had their captivity and subsequent hiding damaged him so much that he no longer recalled how families acted with each other? Did he not recognize happiness when he saw it?

“So what brings you to town?” Naomi asked.

Using the answer they’d rehearsed, her brother replied. “We decided on a change of scenery.”

“And weather.” Jiao jumped in, improvising as Sheng’s short answer seemed to leave them with more questions in their eyes. “We used to live out west on the coast where it rarely snows. I can’t wait to experience my first real winter.” A lie. She knew exactly what snow felt like. Loved playing in it. But, having lived in Vancouver for a while where the season went from warm and wet to cold and wet, the lie wasn’t too far from the truth. She had missed the fluffy ice crystals.