“He’s still him? He can understand me?” she asked, even though they’d told her that they were still them, just in a different form.
The bear nodded.
Holy hell.
“He can,” Joe reassured her. “Want to pat him?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
She took Joe’s hand, let him draw her over to the giant beast. Her heart raced, her legs felt weak, but she forced herself to reach out and run her hand over his fur. “He’s softer than I thought.”
She grew braver, ran her hand over his head. He made a snuffling noise and she startled.
“Just likes that,” Joe told her, staying at her side. “I know we look scary in this form, but we’d never hurt you, baby. Ever.”
“All we want is you,” Sawyer added, coming up behind her. “In our arms. Bound to us. Forever.”
She leaned back against him. “Me too. Forever.”
Garret pressed his wet nose into the palm of her hand, and she laughed. “No matter how long forever is.”
Joe kissed her cheek. “May it be a long, long time.”
In the shadows, they didn’t notice the creature who watched them, and they definitely didn’t seem him shift into a man. He smiled. His work here was done. He knew she would have a life filled with love and laughter and he would always think of her fondly.
Even if she had had the bad taste to name him Roger.
Excerpt from Mastered by Malone
“What? You both disagree? Tough shit. I’m the one being charged with keeping her alive. She needs to obey me.” He turned his gaze on her. “Mia, come here.”
Her body immediately leaned towards him, but her mind brought her to a stop. She had to be loyal to her cousin. The only person in the world who loved her. Just because this guy had a face that could stop a woman in her stride and a voice that could command an army did not mean that she had to do what he said, right?
“All right, enough,” Jardin said in the firmest voice she’d heard from him. “You’re scaring her.”
“I don’t think she’s scared. I think she’s torn. And this is why he needs to go. There can only be one person in charge here. One person she obeys.”
“And you think that one person is you?” Mike snarled. “Bullshit. Forget it, Mia. I’m not leaving you here with this asshole. Come on.”
“You can take her if you want,” Alec said to Mike. “But you’re going to get her killed.”
“I got her away once.”
“And he found her. He nearly killed her. Murdered someone else he thought was her, isn’t that right?”
She trembled as she recalled the sight of Angel lying on the ground. Pale and still. Nausea bubbled as an anxiety attack loomed. No, not here. Not in front of these alpha males. She couldn’t.
“Mia, you all right?” Jardin asked in a soft voice.
At least someone cared to talk to her instead of speaking about her like she wasn’t even there. Her mind raced, trying to figure out a way to make everyone happy in this scenario. She looked back at Mike then over at Alec.
“She’s exhausted,” Alec said quietly. “And you’re not making this any easier on her. You need to leave. Don’t contact her. Don’t contact me. You have anything urgent to tell us, call Jardin. But make sure you do it from a secure line.”
“I’ve been an NYPD detective for fifteen years. I don’t need you to explain this shit to me.”
“Then let me explain this. You want her kept alive? I’m your best shot at that. But things are done on my terms. I’m putting my life—my brothers’ lives—on the line to keep her safe because we owe a family debt. But that’s all I owe you. I don’t need to give you an explanation about what I do in my private life. I don’t need to listen to your bullshit judgment. I’m not fucking going to force her to submit to me. I have plenty of women eager for me to do perverted shit with them, I don’t need to force anyone. She’s not my type anyway.”
Ouch. Well that didn’t hurt. But it wasn’t anything she didn’t know already. Plain. Boring. Still, people didn’t usually say that stuff to her face.