“I’m not going to hurt Dana. She knows the score.”
Heather tensed at his words. She stopped dancing and glared at him. “No, Dana doesn’t know the score. She thinks you’re the one. If you’re not going to be serious about this then you need to back off.”
She saw they’d gained some attention. Hating their eyes on her, Heather left him alone on the dance floor. Not all men were like Mark. She needed to remember that.
Walking into the empty house, Heather poured herself a drink of water. She didn’t know how it was possible for her to sense him close, but she did. He stood so close she could almost smell him.
Turning back, she saw Ben frowning down at her. “Dana’s not the one. She’s a leopard shifter and knows the difference in knowing who the one is and not.”
“Dana wants to settle down. She wants to settle down with you.”
“It’s not going to happen with me. Dana will know that.”
“What? Why? She told me.”
He didn’t look away from her. Heather didn’t know if she wanted him to look away or not. Her body was getting hot. He leaned forward, dropping a hand on either side of the sink, trapping her against him.
“Until the moment I met you I was going to give Dana a chance. Now that I’ve seen you, scented you, Dana has to go.”
“What? You can’t do that.”
“Yes, I can,” he said, cutting into her words.
“Why?”
“This is why.”
His lips claimed hers in a searing hot kiss, and Heather was lost to anything else.
****
Ben moaned as her plump lips opened to his. The glass she’d been holding dropped between them, smashing on the floor. The music was too loud outside for anyone to hear. Moving his hands from the sink, he wrapped them around her waist, bringing her flush against him. Her soft curves moulded to his.
She was full and curvy in all the right places.
Growling low in his throat, he picked her up and landed her ass on the counter. She was so small and compared to him, light.
Running his hands up and down her body, Ben allowed himself to learn every inch of her curves. He was never letting her go. Heather was his woman.
“No,” she said, pulling away. “I’m not doing this. You shouldn’t be kissing me. I’m not the kind of woman to do that to her best friend.”
She shoved at him, but Ben didn’t let her go. He couldn’t.
“I’m not asking you to.”
She shook her head. “No, you’re Dana’s. This is not happening. I’ve already gone too far, and that’s not fair.”
Holding her head between his palms, Ben tried to calm her down. “I can never be Dana’s because you’re mine, Heather.”
He’d intended to break the news to Dana later tonight. Instead he was telling Heather, and from the look in her green eyes, she didn’t like the truth.
“What?”
“You’re my mate, Heather. Nothing is going to change, I promise you, but you’re mine, and I can never be with Dana.”
Tears filled her eyes. Her lip wobbled, and the news appeared to have devastated her. “No, that’s not possible. I’m human. This can’t be happening.”
“We can have human mates, Heather. Please, calm down.”
She shoved him away, hitting out at him. “No! This is not happening. I’m not your mate, and you can’t make up.”
Heather jumped off the counter, trying to move away from him. Ben felt his tiger close to the surface. She was pushing him away, and he was panicking. This was the first time his future had felt so right. Heather’s reaction was pushing him over the edge.
Grabbing her arms, he tried to calm her down.
“I can’t control this. You’re mine.”
“No, I’m not yours. I’m no one’s. I’m a free person, a free woman.”
“You’re my mate.”
“No!”
Ben cried out as his beast took over. His woman was trying to get away from him, and he couldn’t contain the tiger within. He shouldn’t have come tonight, and before Ben could gain control, his beast erupted. His hands turned to claws sinking into her flesh.
His woman screamed as he hurt her. Ben scented her blood and the pain coming off her in waves.
The tiger within him lashed out. There was no time to stop it. Even as Ben controlled the movements, the claws had already lashed out. The stripes stood out on Heather’s face seconds before she collapsed to the floor.
Blood was everywhere, and Heather was passed out.
“Fuck, Dad!”
He turned to the door in time to see Felix and Dana stood in the doorway.
“He’s a tiger, Felix.”
Within seconds two leopards were staring at him.
“Come away from her, man. You don’t want to do this.” Felix spoke to him through his mind. All shifters in their animal form could speak to one another.
“I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
Dana’s parents, John and Kathleen, charged through the back door. In the short time it took for them to arrive, Ben was distracted enough for Felix to pull him out of the house.
He was away from Heather. Her blood and scent consumed him along with the guilt of hurting her.
“I hurt her.”
“What the fuck is going on? Why did you hurt Heather? She’s my friend.” Dana’s leopard sounded close to tears.
“You’ve got explaining to do. Change back, Ben. You’re stronger than this. Dana deserves an answer in human form.”
Ben knew it was the truth. He owed Dana the truth, and right now he needed to prove his control.
Concentrating on Heather he forced himself to turn back into a human. Felix and Dana did the same. They were all naked. Shifters didn’t have a problem with being naked around each other. Clothes were more foreign to them that anything else.
“I need a doctor in here,” John said, shouting through the door.
They all went for Malcolm, the doctor for the shifters.
He made to move toward Heather. Felix stopped him.
“You can’t go in there,” he said.
“She’s my mate.”
Dana gasped, bringing his attention back to her. “Heather’s your mate?”
“Yes, she’s my mate. I didn’t plan on this happening. I promise. I never intended to hurt you at all.”
“You’ve hurt my friend, Ben. I don’t care about me. Heather is everything to me, and you’ve hurt her.” Dana stormed away from him, leaving him alone with Felix.
Staring at the other man, Ben groaned. “I need to go to her.”
“No, you don’t. You’ve hurt her, Ben. I can’t let you do that.”
Biting his lip, Ben stared at the door. He’d never hurt a woman before in his life, and now he’d hurt the one woman who meant the world to him.
“What happened in there?” Felix asked, standing by his side. They were both naked, and he didn’t care.
“She fought me. Heather wouldn’t accept me as her mate. Before I knew what was happening my animal was fighting for control.”
“And your tiger won?”
Ben nodded. There was no need for him to voice his thoughts. He’d not been the one in control, his tiger had. For a split second he’d lost control, and this is what he’d done.
“Heather’s a fighter.”
“She shouldn’t have to be.”
“She’s got no choice.” They stood there waiting. He heard Malcolm at work setting up a drip and trying to bring Heather around.
“My dad killed my mom,” Ben said. He’d never spoken about his own family. “Tigers are not complex. Mated men are control freaks. We’re dominant men, and I don’t mean shit with leather and chains and flogs and crap. I’m talking about being the head of the household.”
“Fuck, man, I had no idea.”
“It happened a long time ago. I don’t talk about it. My family are the past.”
He didn’t know how long he was stood there until John and Kathleen came out of the back door. By that time, most of the guests were sat waiting for the news.
John lashed out, punching him in the face. Taking the hit, Ben went down.
“She’s fucking human. You’ll be lucky if she survives the night. Get the fuck out.”
“John?” Kathleen said. “She’s his mate.”
“Not tonight, she’s not. She’s our family, and I’m not letting him anywhere near her. Get the fuck off my property, and you call before you stop by.”
Clothes were thrown at him. Ben held them close, leaving John’s home. He couldn’t believe he was leaving his woman behind, but he didn’t see any other choice. He’d hurt Heather, and he couldn’t even forgive himself, let alone expect others to forgive him.
Chapter Three
Heather felt the pain the instant she woke up. She’d never known anything like it. Her memories charged at her from all angles making it difficult for her to breathe. Then she realised she couldn’t see. Her face was covered in darkness.
“Sh, don’t worry or panic,” Dana said, trying to calm her down.
“I can’t see.”
“I know. It’s some gauze, and you’ve had stitches. You’re not a shifter, Heather. We’re doing everything we can to protect you, honey. I promise.” Someone gripped her hand. The hand was too big to be Dana’s.