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His friend grunted. “I’ve gone over everything a million times. What I thought would happen when we confronted Shiya didn’t.”
“I still don’t know what you hoped to gain. You kept asking her why she slept with us, but isn’t it more or less the same as why we did with her? She’s hot as hell, and since I lay between her legs, all I can think about is how much more I want. Her flavor, her scent, the way she walks and talks . . .” He shut his eyes and chuffed with the voice of the bear. “Damn it!”
“None of that matters now,” Birk grumbled. “She’ll leave our little city the second she can arrange a flight out of here, now that she knows her cover’s been blown. And that human with her.” Birk’s nostrils flared, and Kotori figured his friend’s rage boiled to the surface as much as his own.
“We could kill him,” he suggested.
Birk eyed him in annoyance. “We’re not killers, despite what they think of us, Kotori.”
“You can’t tell me you don’t want to claw his throat apart!”
“I didn’t say that.”
Kotori sat down on the hard-packed ground and drew his feet close. He didn’t like putting his feet in his socks and boots wet, but he’d neglected to bring a towel with all the distracting thoughts. Still, he wouldn’t have to go far since he had another pair of boots and more socks at the cabin. After the blowup at Shiya’s, he and Birk decided to come out to the lands farther north, where the temperatures dropped well below freezing at night, and patches of snow could be found even in summer. They preferred it that way and often shut out civilization to get a few weeks of peace. When Birk couldn’t come because of work, Kotori traveled to the spot alone. When he couldn’t, his friend enjoyed the solitude.
“If she leaves Juneau?” Kotori asked, staring out at the water.
Birk swore and ran his fingers through his hair. “We’ve never been this careless. I was a fool not to see how important she became when I talked to her online.”
“We always knew when the one came along, she would likely belong to us both. Maybe it’s just lust. After all, we’ve been consumed with it before and did some dumbass things.”
“When we were boys,” Birk said. “I thought we’d matured enough by now.”
“Guess not.” Kotori stood up and prepared to return to the cabin. His stomach stirred with hunger, and if he wouldn’t hunt, then he needed to cook the human way.
“If we get her,” Birk said, “her family will come.”
“That’s what we want, isn’t it?”
Birk nodded. “We have to make sure they don’t find us just yet.” He grinned. “More time to have a little fun, don’t you think?”
Kotori grinned, his mood lightening for the first time in two days—the last time he’d seen Shiya. “Now you’re talking.”
After they’d had lunch and spent the night at their cabin, Kotori rose in anticipation early in the morning. He gathered up his pack and stuffed it full with supplies he’d brought with him, and a few herbs for his grandmother, chief of which was the devil’s club. Ever since he told her he would not turn Shiya away, they hadn’t spoken much. He knew she would respect him and speak if he insisted, but he wouldn’t push. Let her have her space for now. Eventually, he knew she’d come around, and bringing her back the herbs would go a long way to making that happen.
The moment Kotori entered Juneau, he knew Shiya was still around. He took care of a bit of personal business first, and then met with Birk after he’d done his.
“Are we doing this now?” Kotori asked.
“Not yet. Let’s get a lay of the land first.”
Kotori understood what Birk meant. They wouldn’t knowingly butt in on another man’s woman, but the animal in both of them felt Shiya belonged to them, and going against instinct proved difficult. Kotori had learned that the hard way a long time ago.
They traveled to the downtown area in Birk’s SUV, Kotori in the passenger seat with the window partway down. He breathed in the crisp air and knew when they grew closer to her. Birk spotted her first, wandering from shop to shop as if she had no specific direction. No bags hung from her arms, and no purse. He studied her face as they drove by, Birk looking for a parking spot. Confusion, worry, and other emotions flitted for dominance over her beautiful features. Did she wonder if they would return for her, or was her concern about failing her family because she hadn’t gotten them beneath the hunter’s boot, so to speak? Either way, what Kotori desired was to put her over his lap and spank her sexy ass, and then he wanted to fuck her there.
His cock hardened with those types of thoughts, and he ran a hand over his face. Calm, he needed to be calm to confront her. Birk, the more levelheaded of the two of them, would take the lead, and he could feast his eyes on her and listen.
“We need to get her soon,” he warned Birk.
“I know, but not here. Too public. If she’s afraid . . .” Birk frowned. “I hadn’t considered if she doesn’t want to be with us.”
“We’ve never had to force a woman.”
“No, but then we’ve never been with a human one either.”
“Hm.” Kotori had no more patience. He slipped from the vehicle and started walking even while Birk sat double-parked waiting for someone else to pull out of his or her spot. His friend would catch up when he could.
Kotori met Shiya on Shattuck Way. He figured she was just walking at that point with no particular destination in mind. When she stopped at Gold Town and stared into the window at the display, he moved up beside her and leaned on the wall. “You’re still here.”
