Deliciously Mated(19)
Eagan lunged for her, but she was a hair too fast, pushing through to the dining room. With a growl, he ran after her. She was fast, even with her short legs, but he caught her at the edge of the parking lot, just steps away from the trail that would take him to his cabin.
In one motion, he scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder, his steps not faltering as he found the dark trail into the woods.
“Put. Me. Down.” She smacked his back and kicked her feet, but he wasn’t deterred. “Help!” she screamed, and his heart lurched.
She actually thought he was the threat? If she only knew.
He swatted her ass hard enough to make her yelp, but not hurt.
“No one’s going to help you except me. So stop it.”
She went still. “Help me? Is that what this is? Because it doesn’t seem like help. It seems like kidnapping.”
Her judgmental tone left him smirking. “So what. You’re a thief and I’m a kidnapper. Wanna cast the first stone?”
She went limp as he continued down the path, the darkness enveloping them.
“Please. Just let me go and I’ll never come back here, okay? I’ll go far away. Find some other forest to live in. Just… please.”
“No.”
“No? But why not? I promise I won’t steal anymore. I’ll… I’ll…”
“No. I helped you just now, and look what you did. You ran from me.”
The idea both turned him on and infuriated him. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He wasn’t supposed to lay claim to her or hurt his clan or any of this shit. He’d just wanted to feed her and keep her safe and somehow help her make restitution for her crimes so she could be at peace.
“He told me to,” she grumbled low enough she probably thought Eagan hadn’t heard.
“That’s because he thinks I’m going to hurt you.”
She was quiet for a few steps. “Are you?”
“Have I yet?”
Another long silence.
“No. Not exactly. But what was all that back there?”
Eagan climbed the steps to his cabin, jiggling the handle until the door came open and maneuvered them both through the entryway. He turned with her still over his shoulder, and flipped the deadbolt on the door.
There. She couldn’t run now. They’d stay here until he could figure out what to do.
Carefully, he set her on her feet. Immediately, her gaze scanned the area, looking for an out.
“Don’t even think about it,” Eagan warned. He went window to window checking the locks and securing the blinds. “They caught you on camera. Magic decided we needed night patrols until you were found. But I knew you’d come back tonight. You were about to get caught. I had to make it look like we were just fooling around.”
He turned to look at her. She stood stiff as an oak in the middle of his open living/kitchen area. Her hair was wild and messy, hanging low enough to touch her hips. His gaze combed her from head to toe.
Damn, she was beautiful. In the roughest way. An uncut diamond. No makeup, flannel shirt, muddy boots.
She wet her lips, and his eyes settled there.
Those lips. My god, he hadn’t meant for that to be their first kiss, but hell if he’d regret it. She’d tasted sweet as a summer peach. And the way she’d rolled her tongue against his… he burned at the memory.
He took a deep breath and continued. “But Magic recognized you, and I had to change the game a bit.”
“Lie, you mean.”
He lifted one shoulder, looking away. “A little.”
“Are you really a… cat-man.”
Tea. He’d make tea.
He dug in the cabinet for his bags and then set the kettle to boil before he answered her.
“A werecat. A shifter. My animal is a jaguar.”
From the corner of his eye, he watched her. She crossed her arms, uncrossed them, crossed them again.
“But all that stuff you said about mating… that wasn’t real, right?”
He got out two cups, setting them too hard on the counter.
Damn it.
“My turn to ask questions.” He turned to look at her. “What is your name?”
Fuck, this whole ordeal narrowed to a pinpoint of absurdity. He didn’t even know her name. He’d seen her, touched her, fed her, helped her escape, kissed her… but he didn’t even know her goddamn name.
She shifted on her feet. “I shouldn’t tell you.”
“Yes, you fucking should.” Eagan hooked his hands on his hips. “I chose you over my family. The least you can do is tell me your name.”
Her brow furrowed.
“That guy, h-he wasn’t serious, was he? He wouldn’t really kill you over this.”
Eagan rubbed his palm over his jaw, the day’s growth rasping against his skin. “I don’t know,” he murmured. “But one thing’s for sure, I’m out of my clan.”