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Hudson smiled. “You have to understand. I’m a sea turtle shifter.”
I blinked. I had no idea what that meant. Except maybe they were rare, because I’d never heard of one before. “What does that mean? I mean, I know what a sea turtle is, but what does that have to do with being my mate?”
Hudson pursed his lips and looked up at the branches of the trees. “A sea turtle mother lays her eggs on shore and she leaves them . . .”
I squeezed his hands to encourage him to go on, not sure what to do.
“My shifter mother treated me the same way.” He sighed. “I was left abandoned at a fire station in a beach town.”
“Abandoned?”
He nodded. “So I thought, well, I just figured, sea turtles must be different. That we must never mate for real . . . but somehow I have.”
“It’s just a spell,” I said, “it will fade.”
“No,” he said. “I haven’t been around Silver Springs long, but I’ve learned that even if a spell jump starts it, the mate bond is forever.”
“But—”
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. They were warm and soft, and for a moment, I forgot everything else. I forgot that my sister was applying primer nearby, and I had just slept with Levi, and that we barely knew each other. All that mattered was the way his tongue slid against mine, and the connection that thrummed between us.
Roman
Levi and I rolled up to the bungalow in Tripp’s old pickup truck. After Levi had told me about his adventures last night, I was furious that I’d locked myself up in my lab and missed the whole thing. She was mine too.
I pushed my sunglasses farther up my nose. The lot was shady, which would be good. Just because we could tolerate sunshine, didn’t mean I was hanging out at the beach anytime soon.
When we parked, I looked over the structure and noticed they seemed to have gotten fairly far already. There was a blonde up a tall ladder applying primer to the siding. She must have been the sister, because Delphine was on the porch kissing Hudson. Jealousy uncurled in my gut like a serpent from its lair. I knew I’d have to share her, and as much as I didn’t like that Levi had gotten there first, I was used to sharing with my brother.
But the turtle shifter? He was a lazy loafer. Just because he’d had one good marketing idea, didn’t mean he did anything around the aquarium. Spots crossed my vision as I jumped out of the vehicle and charged across the yard. Before anyone else could react, I had my hands around Hudson’s throat and was choking the life out of him.
“She’s mine,” I growled, not even recognizing my own voice.
“Brother,” Levi said behind me, but I ignored him.
Hudson glared at me as he pulled on my hands. He kicked out and tried to move me, but he couldn’t. I had more centuries on him than he could probably count. No good. Upstart. Shifter.
A female hand reached out and rested on my arm as Delphine said, “Roman, let him go.”
I glanced at her, and she looked nervous but determined. Her pink lips were set in a firm line.
“You’re mine,” I said. But my grip eased. She was my mate. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.
She stroked my arm. “Let him go. Now.”
With a curse, I let the shifter go. As soon as I released him, he darted across the yard and bent over, gasping. My lip curled.
“Roman,” Delphine said in that oh-so-calm voice you used with mental patients.
I knew I was acting crazy but I couldn’t seem to stop. All my knowledge, and I was helpless against my baser instincts. I grabbed her, zooming us both up the porch and against the door.
“Oh!” she gasped.
I stroked the sides of her face and ran my hand down over her shoulders. Opening her coat, I kissed my way down her neck and her chest. Her heart beat wildly, but she didn’t tell me to stop. I lifted up her t-shirt and sucked her nipples through her bra. She moaned.
“I need you now,” I said.
“Yes,” Delphine said, glancing around. “The door’s unlocked.”
