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Eyes wide, she stared at him, not looking like she was breathing. “Kian’s their prince, right? Can’t he put a stop to it?”
“He could, but he took off before Alex had the vision, so he doesn’t know it’s happening. And we’ve tried calling him. No one can get ahold of him. That might have changed since we’ve been in here talking, but I doubt it.”
“Ian,” she whispered, the terror in her voice hitting him like a punch in the gut. “When?”
Hesitating, he finally said softly, “Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” she screeched, causing him to hunch his shoulders defensively around his ears. “There’s a tribe of deadly warriors coming here tomorrow?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe,” he assured her, squeezing her hands. “All of the human mates, Shelby, and Cammie, since she’s pregnant, are leaving town first thing in the morning and staying hidden. I need you to go with them.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about, you idiot,” she snapped. “You’re going to face a bunch of trained warriors with who? Just you, Jax, Seth, and Alex? Hell no, Ian. Everyone talks about what an amazing fighter you are, but even you can’t win against that. You can’t do this. Come with us. We can all run. We can all be safe.”
“I can’t do that, sweetheart. I can’t run from this. And doing so would mean a life on the run, forever looking over our shoulders, until we die. You, me, and Shelby. No, I have to do this. Please try to understand that.”
“It’s like you have a death wish, Ian. I can’t lose you. I can’t. I just barely survived losing Kyle. Losing you would break me for good.”
“You won’t lose me. We’ll figure this out.”
“You can’t promise me that, and what’s to figure out? Four against how many? No, it can’t work.” A pensive expression on her face, she was quiet for a bit before her head snapped up. “You said something earlier. Something about me making a good tigress, and you wanted to see it one day. You said it like it was possible. Is it?”
Dread filled him as he searched her eyes, full of determination. Reluctantly, needing there to be no more lies or omissions of truth between them, he said, “Yes. If I claim you as my mate, I’d bite you. My bite would make you a shifter.”
Nodding, she pulled her shirt down, exposing her shoulder. “Then do it. Make me one of you. If I’m a tiger, I can help you tomorrow. I can stand at your side.”
Staring at her in dismay, he shook his head. “Holly, no. Not like this. And even if I turned you, I wouldn’t let you come tomorrow. Shifters are stronger and have accelerated healing, true, but we can still be killed. I’m not risking you like that.”
“Oh, you just made me feel so much better about tomorrow,” she replied sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. Softening, she leaned in close. “Please, Ian. Make me one of you. Let me help.”
Searching for words, he cleared his throat before speaking gently. “Sweetheart, even if I wanted you there tomorrow—which I don’t, by the way; I want you far away—it wouldn’t be possible. Turning you would heal you, Holly. It would heal your leg. Which is wonderful, but it would be a long and painful process, because of the damage. Hannah, Chase’s mate, had an ankle injury when she was turned. She had screws just like you do. And her animal pushed them out. Right out of her bone, through muscle and skin. She’s completely healed now, but even with shifter healing, it was still several days before her ankle was okay. There’s no way you would be in any condition to help by tomorrow. I’m sorry, but it’s just not possible.”
Shoulders slumping, she whispered, “I’m scared, Ian. I can’t handle anything happening to you. I want to help in any way I can.”
Hooking his finger under her chin, he urged her to lift her face so he could look her in the eye. “The best way you can help me is by going with the other mates and Shelby, and keeping yourself safe. I need to know you’re safe.” Waiting until she nodded, he leaned in and kissed her softly. “Besides, if and when I claim you, I don’t want it to be because you’re scared of losing me, or because you want to help me do something. I want—no, need—it to be because you can’t live without me. I want it to be because you love me, like I love you. I want it to be because we can’t live without each other.”
“I already know I can’t live without you,” she replied shakily. Blue-green eyes wide and glistening with tears, she whispered, “You love me?”
“More than I’ve ever loved anything or anyone, save Shelby. And what’s a very different kind of love,” he said with a quick quirk of his lips that quickly faded. “You’re everything to me. You’re gorgeous, but more than that, you have the most beautiful, kindest heart I’ve ever seen. And I don’t deserve you, but I’ll work hard, and every day, I’ll come a little bit closer, though I might not ever catch up. But I’m damn well going to try. I love you, so damn much, Holly.”
Staring at him in awe, she briefly closed her eyes, a few tears spilling over. Opening them, she raised his hand and kissed his tattooed knuckles while she took a deep breath. “I love you too, Ian. And I never imagined, not in a million years, that I’d love a man again. But you burrowed straight through my walls and defenses and stamped yourself on my heart, piece by piece. I’m not going to say I love you more than Kyle, but what I feel for you is so different, so intense, so—everything. You, and Shelby, give me so much, and I feel complete with you.”
Relief washed over him and he swayed, knowing if he’d been standing, her words would have brought him to his knees. Pulling her close, he kissed her softly, gently, pouring every bit of love he felt for her into it.
Easing back, Holly searched his eyes. “I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I don’t want to think about that tonight. Tonight, we’re here, together, in each other’s arms. And I want to revel in that, to burn this moment in my mind forever. Make love to me, Ian.”
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nbsp; IAN EASED HOLLY DOWN ONTO THE BED, KISSING HER DEEPLY. He was fighting with himself, trying to stay in control. But he feared it was a losing battle. The revelations of the night, the declarations of love, her willingness to become one with him and be his mate, along with the knowledge that tomorrow, this might all be ripped from him, all conspired in him to create a maelstrom, an urge to brand himself on her.
And she wasn’t making it any easier on him, immediately responding and catching fire. When she bit down on his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood and boldly cupped his straining dick through his jeans, he said fuck it. Rearing back, he grasped the edges of her button-down shirt in his hands and ripped it open, uncaring of the buttons flying all over the room.
Laughing breathlessly, she tugged at the hem of his shirt, and he reached a hand over the back of his head, bunching it in his fists and tugging it off. Shoving himself off the bed, he quickly unzipped his jeans and shoved them down, kicking out of them before going back to her, stretching out on top of her.
As he kissed her, his hands roamed, over her breasts, belly, thighs. Letting his finger turn into a claw, he cut her bra open, far too impatient to take the time to unsnap it properly. He’d buy her a new one. He’d buy her a hundred new ones, because something told him this wouldn’t be the last time he did that.
She gasped, and he used it to his advantage, kissing her and thrusting his tongue in her mouth. Moaning, she clutched his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin as she kissed him back. Moving his mouth to her jaw, he nipped her ear as he cupped her breast, more roughly than he normally would if he were in his right mind. But she seemed to enjoy it, arching her back and pressing her breast more firmly into his palm.
Nibbling his way down her neck, he played with her nipples, rolling, twisting and pinching. Reaching the juncture of her neck and shoulder, he put his teeth to her skin, biting gently, teasing her with what she’d asked for. Moaning, she writhed against him, her breath coming in pants. Moving his way down her chest, savoring the taste of her skin, he replaced his fingers with his mouth. Trailing his hand over her stomach, he plunged it inside the waistband of her skirt.
