“No!” Kendrick swung abruptly away, grabbed a shirt out of the dresser drawer, leaving it open and askew, and headed for the door. “Stay away from me, Addison.”
He opened the door and paused a moment, his head turned deliberately away from her. Then he squared his shoulders, dragged in a breath, and went out.
The bang of the door resounded through the house.
Addie flopped back down on the bed, hugging her arms over her chest. Her heart was pounding, her blood hot, her body still feeling his weight, the imprint of his hand, the sensation of his mouth.
I want you every way I can have you, and I don’t want it gentle.
Addie let out a sound between a sigh and a growl. I don’t want it gentle, either, she longed to call after him. I just want it to be with you.
* * *
Addie was up early the next morning, after a night of fitful sleep. She got out of bed at dawn, showered, dressed, and walked out the front door, nearly tripping on a large white tiger who was stretched across the front porch, sound asleep.
The tiger blinked open his eyes when she stopped short, then he gave her a baleful green stare.
Addie pressed her hands to her chest. “So sorry to disturb his majesty. Oh, no, wait, it’s the lion that’s king of the beasts.”
She enjoyed Kendrick’s irritated growl for a few seconds, before her words shot back down her throat. A full-grown male lion with a thick black mane emerged from around the corner of the house and started up the porch steps.
Addie’s mouth went dry, and then she saw his eyes—golden-tawny and full of good humor. “Seamus?”
The lion gave her a little huffing bark, walked well around Kendrick, and butted his head into Addie’s side.
A thrill went through her as the huge, ferocious lion bumped her with affection, and again when her hand stroked his wiry, warm mane. At least not all Shifters were afraid to let her touch them.
Kendrick heaved himself to his feet and faced Seamus, his eyes narrowing. Seamus continued to lean against Addie, rumbling in enjoyment as Addie scratched under his mane.
From Kendrick’s throat came the grating sound of a tiger’s long growl, a noise that would send terror through the jungle. Seamus met Kendrick’s gaze, unimpressed. Leisurely, he stepped away from Addie, shook himself out, yawned, then strolled off the porch again, sauntering away.
Addie found herself smiling in delight, her face aching with it. She wanted to laugh, and when Kendrick turned a look of fury on her, Addie couldn’t help herself. She let the laugh come out.
“The look on your face,” she said, pointing at Kendrick’s great, beautiful tiger visage, with his black stripes on snow white, his eyes luminous green. “It’s priceless.”
The tiger began to distort, and in a few seconds, Addie’s laugh choked off. Before her stood not a man or a tiger, but a half man, half tiger. White tiger’s fur spread over the steel-muscled armature of a man, the face Kendrick’s but with fur, tiger ears, and the teeth of a beast. His hands ended in claws, dark and sharp.
“He defies me.” Kendrick’s voice was guttural.
“He’s giving you a hard time,” Addie said, trying to hide her nervousness. “I heard him on the phone with his girlfriend. It’s painfully obvious how much he loves her.”
The tiger-beast-man rippled, the fur flowing away, Kendrick shrinking down to be Kendrick-sized again. He was completely naked, the morning sun kissing his skin.
“He’s never defied me,” Kendrick said, now sounding confused. “Not even as a joke.”
“People change. Seamus is madly in love with this woman, and he lives with her now, right? Wouldn’t that make him different?”
Addie saw him turn these thoughts over in his head, uncertain. “Yes,” he conceded.
Addie resisted the urge to reach a comforting hand to him. She liked that Kendrick stood here before her, bare and unashamed. If last night were anything to go by, touching him would make him retreat and run.
“Breakfast?” she suggested instead. “I’ll cook this morning and give Charlie a break. I make a mean pancake.”
“Pancakes!” Small voices chorused inside the house.
The three cubs pressed against the front window, not in the least surprised to see their father standing naked on the porch, facing Addie.
Addie gave them a shaky wave. “Probably you should get dressed,” she said to Kendrick, as though every inch of his body didn’t make her hot all over. She gave him an encouraging smile then made herself stroll, as leisurely as Seamus had, into the house.
* * *
Kendrick ate breakfast at the far end of the table, trying not to watch Addison’s warm eyes as she conversed easily with Seamus, Charlie, and the boys.
He burned for her, and nothing was going to be simple. Addison was right that Seamus had been teasing the hell out of him by nuzzling her this morning. Seamus would have sensed Kendrick’s need for Addison and decided to play with him a little—Kendrick hadn’t exactly hidden his interest.
If Kendrick kept Addison at arm’s length and focused on the problems at hand, he’d be fine, he told himself. Yeah, and snakes will sprout wings and fly.
His resolve went out the window as soon as Addison laughed out loud at something Charlie said. She was like sparks from a firework, filling the space with beauty and heat.
Kendrick could easily solve the problem by sending her away. He didn’t believe she’d instantly send the police and Shifter Bureau out here to arrest them all, though his trackers like Jaycee and Francesca would tell him he was thinking with his hormones.
The thought of Addison being out there in the bad world, though, where he couldn’t reach her and protect her, was anathema. She was staying. Kendrick would just have to deal with his mating frenzy.
Like he’d dealt with it so well last night. The only reason Kendrick had come to his senses and gotten away from her was because he’d started to shift while he kissed her. Terrified he’d hurt her, he’d forced himself off the bed and gotten the hell out of there.
He’d spent the night on the porch, as a tiger, too hot and needy. And crabby as hell when he woke up. Seeing Seamus nuzzling her had been too much.
Seamus left after breakfast, though. Kendrick held himself in check to take Seamus aside and talk with him a moment, leader to tracker, laying plans.
Seamus then said good-bye to the cubs and Charlie, and approached Addison, enfolding her in a hug right in front of Kendrick. When Kendrick growled, Seamus released her and shot him a grin.
“Keep it together,” Seamus said to him. “Or go for it. I guarantee, it’s better to give in.”
Kendrick only growled again. Seamus, laughing, walked out to the dusty little pickup he’d driven here. The truck didn’t look like much but its motor hummed with smooth efficiency when Seamus started it up. He raised his hand in farewell, the cubs excitedly waving back to him.
He was gone. Now all Kendrick could do was wait and keep himself away from Addison.
Addison made it easy for him by plunging seriously into her nanny duties. She had the boys washed, helped them clean up their room, then helped Charlie in the rest of the house.
Kendrick followed her example and went around fixing numerous things that needed repair in the basement, barn, and sheds around the property. When he returned, Addison was baking pies.
The smell of warm baking filled the kitchen, fruit pies from the fresh berries Addison had found in town—blueberry, blackberry, strawberry. Odors wafted from the oven and lingered in the house.
They ate the pie after dinner that night, the only time Kendrick allowed himself to sit down with Addie near. The blackberry pie melted on his tongue, the crust crisp and tangy.
“These are better than the pies at the diner,” Brett said. He looked perplexed. “How can that be?”
“Homemade is always better,” Addison
said, her fork loaded with blueberry pie. “That is, when you have a big kitchen and lots of good ingredients.”
And a fine cook, Kendrick thought but didn’t say.
“My mom could cook,” Robbie said.
Kendrick’s gaze shot to him. Robbie rarely mentioned his family, not at all if he could help it. The fact that he volunteered the information meant . . . something, though Kendrick wasn’t sure what. He was a Shifter leader, not a psychologist.
Robbie said nothing more, only went back to eviscerating his pieces of pie.
“More of my friends might be here soon,” Kendrick said to Addison abruptly. If I’m lucky. “Jaycee can be . . . forthright. Go easy on Dimitri—he has a speech impediment and is shy around people he doesn’t know.”
“He stammers a little,” Zane said. “But when you get to know him, you don’t notice. Is Dimitri really coming, Dad? When?”
“I don’t know, son.” Kendrick’s blackberry pie suddenly tasted like dust. “I told Seamus to put the word out. We just have to wait.”
“I hate waiting,” Zane said.
So did Kendrick, but he didn’t have much choice. Waiting was always the price when un-Collared Shifters did anything in the human world. They had to not hurry and keep silence.
Kendrick spent another night walking the bounds and sleeping on the porch to keep himself from Addison. She again busied herself with the cubs, as though doing her best to keep from him. He wasn’t sure he liked that.
He did, however, enjoy being able to sleep out of doors in his tiger form, something he couldn’t do when they lived in the compound. He was starting to truly like this place.
At dawn he was dragged out of sleep by the scent of another Shifter screaming into his brain. Kendrick was on his feet, snarling, even as he recognized the scent.
Jaycee Bordeaux, in human form, sprang from the shadows of shrubs below the porch and landed on the railing with the grace of her leopard.
“Psych!” she said. “Never thought I’d catch you napping, Kendrick.”
Kendrick remained where he was, waiting, as he had done with Seamus, to see whether she had turned against him.
Jaycee, who had plumpness and strength at the same time, leapt down from the railing and threw her arms around his neck without inhibition. “Damn, it’s good to see you, Kendrick. If I didn’t want to just hang on to you and cry, I’d ask you for a shag.”
“Figures,” said another voice. A tall man with short red hair and the dark gray eyes of a wolf, who’d climbed leisurely off a motorcycle, walked up to the porch. He spread his arms. “Dimitri’s here. Time to s-start the . . . party.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Addie heard the rumble of the motorcycle that stopped in front of the house. She grabbed a robe and hurried to the big living room.
On the porch was Kendrick, as a tiger, with a red-haired man and a woman with golden hair and brown eyes hugging him and crooning over him. Kendrick rolled onto his side, not objecting to them holding and petting him. The woman was busy covering his face with kisses.
“Uncle Dimitri!” The shriek came from Zane, who shot out past Addie before she could stop him. Hard on his heels was Brett, and then Robbie.
“There’s my b-boys.” Dimitri rolled to his feet and caught the little tigers in his arms.
For Robbie, Dimitri leaned down and growled at him. Robbie put his hands on his hips and growled right back. Then Robbie broke off and started laughing. Addie hadn’t heard such merriment from him before. He sounded like a normal, delighted little boy.
“I missed you!” Robbie yelled up at him. “Addie, come and meet Uncle Dimitri! And Aunt Jaycee!”
Addie stepped out onto the porch, very aware she was in a robe with her uncombed hair hanging every which way. She smoothed the hair out of her face and found herself pinned by the stares of the new Shifters.
Dimitri gazed at her in open appreciation. “Who’s this b-beautiful thing? Don’t worry, baby, my stutter goes away when I’m wolf, and howlin’.” His words were softened by the warm wink he gave her.
“Goddess, do you have a hose?” Jaycee gave Dimitri a disgusted glance and turned her gaze back to Addie. Jaycee sniffed delicately, then a sharp, jealous light entered her eyes.
Oh, great. She’s in love with Kendrick, Addie realized. Addie might not be Shifter, but she recognized when another woman coveted a man. That makes me her new enemy.
Well, Addie would have to show Jaycee that she had nothing to worry about. Kendrick had made it plain he wanted to keep Addie away from him. Or, she’d have to fight the woman to the death. Looking at the curvaceous but tough body on Jaycee, Addie didn’t have much confidence in her chances.
“All right, who’s hungry?” Addie asked, pretending she was neatly dressed and coiffed. “Charlie and I are making lots of pancakes today.”
“Woo-hoo!” Brett yelled, jumping straight from Dimitri’s arm to the porch floor. “Addie makes great pancakes. Can I have pie too?”
Without waiting for the answer, he raced inside, followed by Zane, who scrambled down from Dimitri, and then Robbie.
Jaycee put her hand on one hip. She wore a tight red tank top, equally tight black bicycle pants, and sneakers, as though she’d been jogging when called to meet up with Kendrick.
Jaycee looked Addie up and down but spoke to Kendrick. “Is she for real? What did you do, Kendrick, hire a Mary Sue human housekeeper? And why?”
Dimitri lost his infectious grin. “Hey now, she looks f-fine to me.”
Addie decided she needed to stand her ground right away. “Watch who you’re calling a Mary Sue, sweetie.”
Kendrick’s reaction was to rise slowly to his feet, face Jaycee, fix her with his green stare, and snarl. His nose wrinkled with the rumbling, his body stiff, eyes full of anger.
Jaycee’s hand came off her hip, her face went pale, and she jerked back as though she’d been slapped. “Kendrick, I was just . . .”
Kendrick let out a full-throated roar, and Jaycee’s tawny-brown eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry.”
“You sh-should be apologizing to her, not him,” Dimitri said.
Jaycee flicked her gaze to Addie, the misery in it so great Addie’s irritation turned to sympathy. “Sorry,” Jaycee said, her voice sharp.
Addie waved her hand and spoke lightly. “Forget it. Come on in and have breakfast.”
Jaycee drew a long breath, which pushed her ample bosom high. “Sure. You have meat?”
“Sausage and bacon. Plenty for carnivores.” Addie turned away and went into the house, breathing a sigh of relief at the cool interior. The porch had heated up in more ways than one.
A touch on her arm stopped her, and Addie looked into Dimitri’s handsome face. He had very nice eyes, dark gray and full of depth.
“D-don’t mind Jaycee. She’s just intense.”
“I see that.” Addie led the way to the big table in the front room. “Since you’re first in, you get to pick where to sit.”
Dimitri’s grin returned. “Next to you, sweet babe.”
No stammering at all that time. His look was warm, his interest apparent.
“I see what she means about a hose,” Addie said. “Sit down over there.” She pointed. “You can make sure the cubs don’t spill anything.”
* * *
Breakfast commenced without much problem. Kendrick disappeared into the bedroom, then reappeared in human form, dressed. He squeezed the shoulders of Jaycee and Dimitri as he passed them, and both Shifters visibly relaxed.
They need him, Addie realized. The way they have to keep looking at him—it’s like they’ve been incomplete without him.
She wasn’t sure how the two new Shifters would view her. Jaycee was already wary, angry that Kendrick had brought Addie into the fold. Dimitri, whose last name was Kashnikov, seemed friendly enough, but even he kept a c
autious eye on Addison and Charlie.
The cubs were oblivious to any tension and ate heartily. Jaycee and Dimitri put away plenty of food, Jaycee making no secret of her vast appetite. As much as Addie knew she’d have problems with Jaycee, it was nice to share a table with a woman who didn’t say, No, I shouldn’t eat that, it goes right to my hips; or Nothing for me, I’ll be fine while staring hungrily at the two bites of lettuce on her plate.
After breakfast, Addie as usual started to help Charlie clean up. She found the plates she’d picked up taken out of her hands by Dimitri.
“We’ll d-do that, sweetie. It’s our job.”
Addie let him take the dishes, surprised. “You do the housework for Kendrick? What are you, his maid?”
Dimitri’s chuckle vibrated in his throat. “Ain’t you c-cute. A tracker’s job is to help the leader, in any way p-possible.”
Jaycee hadn’t said a word but simply started carrying plates and bowls to the sink, moving Charlie out of the way to wash them.
“No offense, you two, but you’re human,” Jaycee said, mostly to Charlie. “We look after Kendrick. We do the stupid shit so he doesn’t have to worry about it. He has more important things on his mind.”
Addie watched them a moment, knowing she should not feel offended that someone else wanted to do the dishes. She should hand them the dirty plates and run. It was the way Jaycee took over that was offensive, she decided.
“I didn’t notice Seamus rushing for kitchen duty,” Addie pointed out.
Dimitri, who seemed to find everything funny, gave another chuckle. “Seamus is high on the d-dominance scale. Not much below Kendrick. He and Kendrick f-focus on large-scale plans. Jaycee and me t-take out the garbage.”
“In more ways than one,” Jaycee said, adding a snicker.
Charlie folded his arms and leaned against the counter. “Fine, but you be careful with them dishes. My wife spent a long time putting together that set.”
“No one’s more adept than a Shifter, old-timer,” Jaycee said. “Don’t you worry.”