Chapter 3

Riker drifted off to sleep before I had last night. He was still asleep and curled into me with his arm and leg over me, holding tight. Like his limbs had been scared I’d leave in the middle of the night, so they’d latched on.

I couldn’t leave, though.

I’d lain awake, asking myself what the fuck was I doing with this guy, but I couldn’t come up with an answer.

Wrong.

All right, I did have an answer. It was simple really. The thought of not seeing Riker was like having an invisible hand wrap around my throat, choking me. It was why I hadn’t kicked him out after his deadly confession.

The way he’d talked, the way his body had locked down and his eyes had darkened when he told me he’d kill anyone who touched me, was clearly the truth.

He really would slaughter anyone who touched me.

I didn’t know how I firmly knew, besides his body language hinting at it, but I did. And I always listened to my instincts since they’d gotten me out of situations before.

He was a tiny ball of viciousness.

I should be disgusted or annoyed by his intense obsession of me.

But I wasn’t. And I didn’t know if feeling satisfied over his possessiveness made me twisted, too, but I’d ended up grinning smugly over the thought of Riker cutting someone who’d screwed with me.

When he’d also told me that after I fucked him, I’d get to keep him forever, I was damn sure that was the truth too. At the time, I hadn’t read into it, but fuck, I’d been up most of the night thinking and concluded that a lot of what he said had to be because he was a shifter.

I would be able to keep him if we fucked.

He would kill if he saw another flirt with me or if I was in trouble.

Holy fucking shit.

This tiny tornado was about to twist my world upside down, and I was ready for the ride.

Another thing I was slowly wrapping my head around was that there weren’t only shifters, but vampires and fae as well.

I wasn’t sure if I’d met or would meet any of them. Didn’t bother me either way. My hands were already full of my little shifter anyway.

Christ, my brothers would think I’d hit my head and had lost my damn mind if I told them any of this.

I glanced down, and my heart skipped a beat seeing how peaceful he looked.

It was better than that other look he’d gotten in my living room. I had seen it when he’d been lost to his past. He’d seemed so broken for a few moments until there was a cheeky smirk on his face. But the broken part had already done its work by grabbing hold of me in a way that I wanted to do anything I could so he’d never have that look on his face again.

There was something about this boy that’d crawled under my skin and was now stuck.

Fuck.

It was his damn fault for saying shit about me fucking him and him protecting me that had called to another part of me that’d craved his actions. Now his fate was sealed to be stuck with me.

Christ, it sounded crazy even to me.

That I was ready to jump into something with a man because the thought of not seeing him was like a kick to the balls.

I’d try and take my time with him. Get to know him. But I only had so much strength, and if he kept offering himself to me, I was going to take him up on the offer.

I’d ruin him for everyone else so I could keep him forever.

Sighing, I ran my gaze over his hair and face. I was close to fearing my own thoughts. I’d become addicted to a person, a man who’d I’d known for less than a day and still barley knew anything about.

What I still wanted an answer to was why his brothers were looking to hurt him in the first place.

A smile tugged at my lips. If I had to guess, I suspected it was from something he’d done to them. I’d ask later.

Goddamn, I didn’t want to look away from him. His head was tipped back as he snored softly, but there was another small noise too. Made me think of his fox.

A strand of his bright hair was close to falling over his eyes. I watched it in fascination as it slowly crept down and down. His nose scrunched up, cute as hell, when his hair tickled it.

I’d never watched anyone like this before. And hell, just the thought of looking away hurt my gut. I couldn’t get enough. My past relationships or hookups had satisfied my baser instincts, but none had captured my attention like Riker did.

They didn’t have me wanting to jump into something more like I did with him.

This really was something else, though.

What was growing, what connected us was different to anything I’d experienced. That Riker was a shifter was the only explanation. Not that I cared if there was some kind of magic at work to get me to notice him. I was hooked.

It didn’t even matter what my brothers would say. They’d give me shit about falling hard for someone. It was what we did to each other. However, I also knew there were some assholes in the club who were bigoted. They’d never done or said anything in front of me, or I would’ve put a stop to it right then, but I’d heard a few brothers make a comment here or there about them.

Guess I’d see how they go when I took Riker in with me.

Although, that wasn’t going to happen soon. I wanted him alone for a while.

First though, I needed coffee. I had a feeling I was going to need it to be on my toes when Riker woke up.

Slowly, I moved out from under him. He rolled away and shivered. I pulled the blanket over him and stood. Grabbing my jeans, I took them from the room to the bathroom. After taking a piss and washing my hands, I slipped them on.

Once in the kitchen, I yawned, scratched at my stomach, and hit the electric kettle. Fuck waiting for a coffee machine or water to boil on the stovetop. I needed that fix sooner. I grabbed two mugs and placed a teaspoon of instant coffee with two sugars in each.

As I waited for it to boil, I stretched and threw my arms up, cracking my back.

Fuck, that felt good.

Not as good as the arms winding around my waist.

“Mornin’,” I said.

Riker hummed under his breath before inhaling loudly with his nose pressed to my skin between my shoulder blades.

Something wet ran over my skin.

“Did you just lick me?”

“Yep. You taste good.” He moved around me, pushing in between the counter and my body. All he wore was his underwear, leaving his stunning body on display.

Fuck me, I wanted to sit him on the counter and just watch him like a creep.

With a grin, he said. “I had the best sleep being in bed with you. I’m going to have to stay again. Or you could come to my place. I’m sure my brothers want to meet you.” He cocked his head to the side. “Though, they could show up here soon to check on me. Unless you want me to call them so they don’t show up and we can have some morning sexy time?”

Snorting, I cupped his cheeks. “Call them. But we ain’t jumpin’ into the sack yet.”

He beamed and wiggled in my hold. “You said yet.”

Rolling my eyes, I pushed him out of the way and toward the phone on the wall. “Call. I’ll make coffee. You want, yeah?”

“No, thanks. If I have coffee, I’m bouncing off the walls. One day Rio gave me an energy drink, and I had to run and run and run to get rid of some of the buzz.” He jumped back at me, kissed my cheek, and skipped over to the phone.

Yeah, I had to remember to never give him coffee since it seemed all he needed to start the day was to wake up.

As soon as the kettle boiled, I poured the water into my mug, leaving enough room for creamer.

“Hey, bro … Yes … No … I don’t know … Yes, he does. He’s amazing and handsome and hot.” He pouts. “No, we haven’t. Even when I’d offered myself up, he didn’t want to … Yes … Okay, I’ll try and be patient … You want to talk to him?” He thinned his lips and eyed me. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I placed my coffee on the counter and stalked toward him, holding out my hand. Riker sighed. “He wants to talk to you too.” When I was close, he hid the cordless phone behind his back. “Ignore anything he tells you about me. It’s all lies. Please want me still after talking to him, and remember he has a bear inside him that makes him grumpy.”

Please want me still.

A heaviness settled into my chest.

He was afraid of rejection.

From everyone or just me?

I threaded my fingers through the back of his hair and tugged him close, until the front of his body collided with mine. I kissed his forehead. “Nothin’ he says will take away my interest in you.”

He bit his bottom lip, smiled around it, and nodded.

“Pass me the phone, Riker,” I ordered. When he did, I told him. “Go get a drink.” I placed the receiver to my ear and watched him jog over to the refrigerator. His body was damn art. “Who’s this?” I asked, even though I remember Riker saying it was Deacon who had the bear inside him.

“Deacon Blackwood. Riker’s oldest brother, and you are Corbin James. President to the Fury MC. Only child. You live at?—”

“Let’s skip all the details I already know.” A growl sounded through the phone. The bear was pissed. “You don’t call me Corbin. Only Riker gets that. Name’s Razor to you and the other brother. Respect me and I’ll do the same in return. Now climb down off your high horse and tell me what you wanted?”

Riker cackled and danced from one foot to another while he drank some milk.

“Respect? Fine. In the most respectful manner, I’ll warn you to be careful with our brother. Don’t take him for granted. He’s the type of person who gets attached to people, and they’ll use that to their advantage. If I find out that is your end game, I’ll make sure you pay. No matter who you are. No one fucks with Riker. Make sure you tread carefully, Razor.”

“Then I’ll say back to you, respectfully, that you have nothin’ to warn me against. So you can shove your threat up your bear’s ass, and if you and the other one ever come at Riker like that again, I will fuckin’ shoot you no matter what he’s done.”

There was nothing but silence for a few beats.

“Did he tell you what he did?”

“No. But for future reference, you come to me before dealing out any punishments. I can already read Riker, so I know he ain’t no saint. He likes to play. But from now on, it’ll be me deciding on his punishment or if he gets any at all. Hear me?”

A low chuckle. “Were you with men before, Riker?”

“No. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Yet you’re willing to take on Riker? Not only that but any situation he gets in, without considering what danger that could put on you? What about your club, Razor?”

“We can take care of ourselves. My brothers will have my back. If I protect Riker, they will too. If they don’t have my back because of Riker in my life, then they’ll have a choice of learning to accept or leave my club. Plus, you don’t know what the brothers and I deal with. The danger we go through. Danger that won’t touch Riker because I’d put a stop to it before anyone even fuckin’ thought of harmin’ him.”

“Your club holds a bunch of vigilantes. You help clean the streets, which is why my brothers and I have left your club alone. Your club may grow and smoke your own pot, but it’s nothing we’re concerned about. I also know the club runs two gyms and five bars.”

Tensing, I clipped, “How the fuck do you know this?”

Who were these shifters?

“We have our resources. Don’t fret, though. You’ll know more about us soon. But the information you learn doesn’t get shared with your club brothers because it could jeopardize Riker’s life.”

“I’d never fuckin’ risk him.”

I wouldn’t. I never wanted to see him hurt in any way, but especially if I was the cause of it.

More damned silence from the other side.

I glanced up from the wooden planks on the floor to see that even Riker had stilled.

Running over what I’d said, I realized we hadn’t even talked over what I’d already decided through the night. That I was ready to jump into this with him.

We were seeing where it went.

He wasn’t backing out of something with me now.

“Ask Riker about fated mates” was all Deacon said before he ended the call.

Riker’s gaze widened.

“You heard?” I asked, placing the phone back in its cradle.

His eyes darted all around me. He placed his glass down and started to back toward the hallway. “I have to go. I think. I don’t know. But I’m suddenly worried.”

“Why?”

Riker shook his head.

“If you move another step, I’ll tan your ass, Riker Blackwood.’

He froze.

All except his lips, which tipped up into a wicked grin.