Chapter Nine
May stared at the gadget vibrating atop her bed, Alkaline’s name clearly flashing against the backdrop. She froze.
“Pick it up,” Sisu coaxed.
“I’m scared.”
“I’m here for you, but you need to hear whatever he has to say. He’ll only keep calling if you don’t.”
May took in a deep breath. She knew Sisu was right. This was Alkaline’s third or fourth missed call. She didn’t quite understand why he was so desperate to speak to her, but she knew she couldn’t postpone it any longer. She grabbed the machine and slid her index across the screen. Sisu’s hand on her waist tightened, and she was glad for his solid strength beneath her.
“Hello,” she said.
Alkaline spoke quickly, his tone harsh and businesslike. Disappointment wormed its way into her gut at his words. She thanked him for his help and hung up, biting her lip to keep the swell of tears away.
“What happened?” Sisu asked, running his fingers through her hair.
“Alkaline said the deal is off.”
“Why?”
“He simply said that after the incident last night, he can’t in good faith help me anymore or take my money.”
“In good faith? The incident last night?” Sisu snarled. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
May shrugged. A tear crawled out of the corner of her eye.
“He wouldn’t explain.”
“Goddamn bastard,” Sisu barked. “I’ll rip him to pieces.”
May jumped, alarmed. “No, don’t. It’s probably best this way. It’s better not to know.”
Sisu tugged her back into his lap and cradled her cheek. “Don’t cry, sunshine. I can help you, too.”
“How?”
“Alkaline is no longer the only shifter, you know, and I’ve got my sources, too, love, but there’s also a way for us to confirm if you’re a shifter or not, right now.”
“There is?”
“Yes, although, you might not like it.” Sisu looked sheepish, increasing her curiosity.
“Tell me.”
He cleared his voice. His piercing gaze found hers. Her breath hitched.
“I mark you.”
May’s brow furrowed. Her heart beat wildly against her rib cage.
“What does that mean exactly?”
“It’s easy, love. We have wild sex and I give you a tiny bite on the shoulder, right about here.” He brushed his fingertips slightly over her collarbone. She shivered.
“It’d be like a hickey,” he said.
“Will it go away?”
“No, but it will fade into something akin to a sexy birthmark. Humans won’t know what it is, and shifters will know you belong to me.”
“Oh.”
“If you’re a shifter,” Sisu continued, “something within you will change and you will bite me back, claiming me as yours. If you’re human, nothing will happen.”
“Nothing?” May winced at the whine in her voice. She didn’t like the idea of Sisu not bearing her mark. “But how will other women know you’re mine if nothing happens?”
Sisu’s blue eyes twinkled and his grin grew devilish until he was beaming. May’s cheeks burned.
“You don’t need to look so pleased. It was just a question,” she mumbled.
His deep rumbling laughter resounded within her, giving her a strange sense of homecoming.
“Sunshine, human or shifter or both, we belong together. You are my mate. I want no other woman, and don’t sweat it, they’ll be perfectly aware that all I want is you,” Sisu said, lightly kissing her cheek.
May leaned into him. His hand curled around her back, holding her close.
“When we’re together I’ll only ever have eyes for you, May.”
May shivered. The depth of his feelings showed through the blazing intensity in his gaze. This was more than lust. This connection ran deeper than blood. Sisu didn’t need to speak for her to see it. It radiated from him.
“When we’re apart, I’ll only be thinking about you. Your taste,” he continued, brushing his lips over hers. She gasped when he nipped her bottom bow, tugging. Pent-up arousal shot through her system.
“Your fragrance.” Sisu buried his face in her hair. A low moan of approval came from him, ricocheting straight to her core.
He twisted and pushed her back against the mattress. Looming over her, he slid his palm down the side of her breast, over the curve of her waist and hips, and rested there. Her legs parted of their own volition and his lips curved into a sinful smile.
“When I’m not at your side, I’ll be remembering the passion in your eyes and the heat between your legs.”
He cupped her sex, one of his digits worming its way beneath the elastic of her underwear.
“The way your body responds to me and only to me,” he rumbled, entering her with two fingers.
“Sisu,” May whispered.
He took possession of her mouth, pressing his tongue and demanding for more like a persistent sledgehammer. May curled her hands over his biceps. Her mind swam with emotions and thoughts, but her body responded to Sisu like a fine-tuned instrument waiting to be played. They broke apart, gasping for air.
“Do you have any idea how hard you make me? How desperate?” he whispered in her ear. “You bring out the wolf in me, May. I’ve yearned to make you mine from the moment I saw you. All I need is your consent.”
May gasped. Sisu’s eyes had shifted. The blue in them deeper, wider, almost taking over the white. She turned her head to the side, aghast at the surge of emotions swirling within her.
You are his.
The words rang in her head, threading with the curling pain which had taken permanent residence in her chest.
“Deny it,” Sisu dared. “Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want me.”
May licked her lips. She gazed up at him. The nerve in his jaw ticked.
“I want you,” she said.
Sisu grinned, and for the first time, she glimpsed his sharp canines. May swallowed. She expected the throbbing to increase, but instead, it changed again, rolling over her like a wave in the ocean on a hot summer’s day. It had the sting of the salt, but the pleasure of the coolness.
“You are mine,” Sisu declared.
Yes.