Sharon nodded. “Her partner, Mary, is Amanda’s sister. It’s hard to keep close family out of the loop. We avoid letting humans know about our abilities, but sometimes it’s necessary. Besides, Jazmine already knew on some level.”
“How’s that possible?”
“She had a friend who was a shifter when she was young. Apparently the girl told her.”
“Lord.” Jackson took deep breaths. His gaze roamed all over Sharon’s face and down toward her chest. “Do you know what you do to me?”
“Yes.” She smiled.
Cooper’s heart beat faster. If Jackson was feeling even half as drawn toward Sharon as he was…
Jackson jumped to his feet, dislodging Sharon and stepping back several paces. He ran his hands over his head. “I can’t deal with this. It’s too much. I don’t want to know any more.”
“I understand,” Sharon said. “If it makes you feel any better, that’s about all there is to know.”
“That’s it?” His voice was sarcastic. “So just a few things.” He waved his hand in front of him. “No biggy. Just that you two, and apparently half the town, can turn into an animal at will. Just that there are weird black smoky spirit thingies demanding attention for their unknown causes. Just that you heal inordinately quickly, leaving no evidence you were ever injured.”
He snapped his fingers. “Oh, and let’s not forget that you’re drawn by Fate to—what did you call it? Mate?—in groups of three, and you share your women between two men. That’s all?”
“Mostly,” Cooper said.
“Good. But here’s the problem—that’s about ten more things than the average human can handle. And I’m an average man, or I was until about an hour ago.” He turned toward Sharon. “I knew this was a bad idea.”
He shook his head. “I knew it the first time I saw you. Something about just watching the way you walked, the sway of your ponytail when you worked, the smile on your face and the way it lights up when you’re excited…” He stepped back farther, putting more distance between him and Sharon and Cooper.
Cooper watched Jackson swallow hard, and then he continued. “I told Jazmine I didn’t want to date you. She kept nagging me, and I tried to stop this from happening. I should have walked away any number of times.” He threw his hands in the air. “Hell, why did I even come here tonight?”
“It’s the mating call, Jackson. It’s out of your control,” Sharon informed him.
Jackson’s face hardened. “Don’t talk to me about some mumbo jumbo about Fate and spirits and destiny. It’s crazy. We control our own destinies. I’m in control of my own destiny.” He poked himself in the chest for emphasis. “And I’m going to exercise that control right now.”
“How?” Sharon asked softly.
“By leaving.” Jackson strode across the room, his long legs needing very few strides to get to the door. “This is over. I won’t tell anyone about you, and I don’t want either of you to come after me. Let me go.” He chuckled. “Hell, no one would believe me if I told them, anyway. Instead of the two of you ending up in a loony bin, I’d probably find myself in a padded white room for life. How’s that for irony?” He whipped the door open, stepped out into the night, and slammed it shut behind him.
Sharon didn’t move except to breathe heavily while staring at the door in the silence of the room.
“You want me to go after him?”
“No.”
“You sure?” Cooper inched toward her, unsure how she would react to his proximity.
“Yeah.” She ducked her head. “He needs to process all this. We threw a lot at him.”
Cooper finally reached her side. He slowly lifted both arms until he could wrap them around her frame and haul her into his chest. For the second time in his life, he buried his face in her hair and inhaled her scent. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled against her head. “For so many things.”
A sob escaped her lips, but she responded to him finally by turning into his chest and wrapping her arms around his middle also. She held on tight. “This is so fucked up,” she whispered against his bare skin.
Chapter Ten
Sharon wanted to scream. How had a perfectly good evening gone so wrong so fast? She had started out imagining a long night of sex and gradual revelation with one mate, Jackson, and ended up in the arms of another man, the very man she’d assumed for two years was her intended mate.
And the bitch of it all? No one was having sex with anyone.