He put Kenzie on a cot in the corner and covered her with a blanket. “She’ll need to rest before you head back.”
He brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek and sighed with what Diane interpreted as regret. He bent down and kissed Kenzie softly on the lips.
“Watch over her for me.” he ordered Zane, and her mate gave a terse nod.
“You’ve cursed her to spend her life alone,” Zane warned, and Diane gasped.
“No!” she cried before she could stop herself. “Kenzie wants a mate of her own. She wants a family.”
Devastation filled Angel’s eyes before he blinked and the emotion was gone. His shoulders straightened, and he stood tall and emotionless.
“I’ll take care of the bodies then go have a meeting with your alpha. There are things he needs to be aware of.”
“Will you tell him about this?” Zane asked, nodding toward Kenzie.
Angel dropped his glance to Kenzie again. “He should know.” He turned his back on the cot and faced Zane. “I’ll be in touch when I can.” He looked at Diane then back to Zane. “Take care of your mate. She should be taught to defend herself. She’s only as strong as you allow her to be,” he warned.
Diane decided to bite the bullet when Angel didn’t continue. “I opened the door for him.”
A loud growl left Zane’s mouth as he turned to glare at her.
“He made it seem like he knew Tah.” Diane tried to defend herself.
“You should make sure your mate has the ability and the equipment to take care of herself, even when she makes questionable decisions,” Angel told Zane then slipped around them and out the door.
“I’m going to spank your ass, mate,” Zane uttered from between clenched teeth.
Fuck! was all Diane could think, but her sex clenched at the threat.. She was in big trouble, and it excited the hell out of her, which was probably not the response her mate wanted from her.
Chapter Ten
“Tell me what happened,” Zane said, and his voice was low and quiet, sending a shiver up her spine.
“He would have broken it down if I hadn’t.”
“Then let him break the fucking thing down,” Zane snarled. “Don’t open it for him.”
“Shhh,” Diane admonished, pointing toward where Kenzie lay.
Zane lifted his eyebrow, took her arm and pulled her over by the door. “I believe I told you before I left you to keep the door locked and not open it for anyone but me. Did I not?”
She nodded her head. “But—”
“No buts,” he interrupted her. “Except for your lovely one that I’m about to take the palm of my hand to.”
She pressed her backside against the wall as if that would save her. Zane looked really angry. “Angel knew who we were. All of us. He called me by name.”
“And you think a hunter wouldn’t have that information if he needed it? You think he wouldn’t ooze charm and say whatever he needed to get you to open that door?”
She bit her lip and looked up at him, slowly nodding.
“And do you have any idea what they’d do to you?”
She glanced over toward Kenzie. “I have an idea.”
“You have no fucking clue,” he rumbled at her. “Kenzie is a shifter, a dirty, filthy animal. You’re human. One who’s lain with an animal by choice.”
“You’re not an animal,” she scolded.
“Baby, I assure you I’m feeling pretty fucking animalistic where you’re concerned. And never, ever, forget there’s a beast in here with me.”
“How could I?” she whispered and leaned into him. “I love that side of you. I love you. All of you.”
He stilled, cupped her chin and lifted her face to look up at his. “Say it again,” he demanded.
“I love you,” she vowed. “I didn’t realize it until I almost lost you. Not once but twice. I don’t ever want to feel that way again.”
“God, Diane,” he groaned, leaning in and pinning her to the door. “I love you so much, baby. I tried so hard to protect you from me, from what it means to be the mate of a shifter. But the harder I tried to stay away, the more I wanted you until I ached with it.”
“I don’t expect you to have to save me,” she told him. “I just want you with me.”
He dropped his head and kissed her softly. Lips brushed and eased apart for tongues to forage and caress as breathes mingled. For the first time since she’d found him, the lust was tempered and not as overwhelming. She wanted him, but then she suspected she always would.
“Angel’s right about one thing,” Zane admitted.