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  She had to admit she enjoyed the organization of the Crossed Star. They only served drinks and all food had to be provided by the café or the restaurant on either side of them. The music and alcohol were the centrepiece of the Crossroads. Even the locals drifted in to relax and unwind.

  Molly watched those who were as new as she was and counted the men and the women. There was currently a higher level of women but that could change tomorrow.

  Spike paused. “Are you ready to jump in today?”

  “I think one more day of observation to get used to the rhythm might be nice.”

  “Nice nails.”

  Molly grinned. “Thank you.”

  “Well, I think you might have to reassess your solitary plans. That guy who just came in is eyeing you.”

  Surprised, Molly looked over at the newcomer who was indeed focussing on her. “He looks familiar.”

  Spike was casually wiping the counter. “Oh? Maybe an old flame?”

  She blinked and swallowed. “I just remembered where I saw him. This isn’t going to be good.”

  She had never imagined that her family would send their councillor after her. How had they gotten him to agree to retrieve her? There wasn’t a legitimate reason by any stretch of the imagination.

  She sipped cautiously at her drink while he made his way through the clump of females. To her amusement, he jumped a few times as the women got a little grabby.

  Spike tapped her hand. “They seem to have distracted him, so if you wanted to make your strategic retreat, this might be a good time.”

  Molly knew a good idea when she heard one. She left her drink and slipped off the stool, heading for the door. It was time for a meal anyway. That drink had gone straight to her head.

  With one glance back at the grope-a-thon going on in the centre of the bar, she slipped out into the sunset and down to the café. She couldn’t dodge him forever, but tonight was a good start.

  Chapter Three

  Damon looked around and grimaced. She was gone. Platinum hair and eyes so blue they were almost violet. He had felt her gaze on him and been stunned into returning the stare.

  He pried the hands off his body and pushed through the crowd of women gathered around him. He was not sure if it was the striking features that his parents had passed to him or the power, but these women were taking measurements of his body that would have made his doctor blush.

  “Ladies, please! I just arrived. I am sure that it will be easier to get to know you one by one.” He squeezed through the crowd, wincing at the grip one of the women had on his ass. He pried her hand away and moved to the bar.

  The woman tending bar moved over to him and asked him, “What can I get for you?”

  “Do you know where that woman went?”

  The bartender winked, “Which woman? You seem to have your pick.”

  “The woman you were speaking to when I came in. She had pale blonde hair, violet eyes, and she bit her lip twice while you were speaking.”

  “Oh, she left.”

  The bartender moved down to get drinks for some of the new arrivals, and when she returned, she said, “Now, what can I get you?”

  “A beer. Whatever is closest to you.”

  She nodded and pulled him an amber ale.

  He waited until the rush faded and finally the bartender drifted back toward him. She was wearing a silver band that marked her as a married inhabitant of the Crossroads.

  He had put aside his search for the Wexler woman for the search for the woman with violet eyes. She looked familiar but he couldn’t place her name.

  The bartender grinned. “You haven’t moved. I thought you would have been wading through your admirers.”

  “I am not interested in the women who chase me.” He grimaced. “I am never sure of their motivations.”

  “That was frank.”

  “Something tells me that if I hide something from you, it will come to bite me in the ass at a later time.”

  The woman put glasses away with a smile. “You obviously wouldn’t be surprised at how often I am called on to give advice on which men are keepers and which are not quite right. I am Spike, by the way.”

  “Damon. Pleased to meet you.” He shook her hand. She was fine-boned and there was the prickle of power when he touched her hand.

  The notice he had gotten in his email suddenly made sense. “You are a recent permanent addition here.”

  She nodded. “Yup. And you are on the Shifter Council.”

  He jolted. “How did you know that?”

  “A big bird told me. My husband is a swan, and he mentioned you had made urgent arrangements to come here. Who are you looking for again?”

  He blinked. “A young woman ran away from her family, and they wanted me to bring her home before she finds a mate. I haven’t seen her yet.”

  Spike kept tidying things. “What does she look like?”

  “If she looks like the rest of her family, she has dark blonde hair and amber eyes. They didn’t give me a physical description, just a name and a lot of backstory.”

  “And yet you charged in here looking for a woman you couldn’t identify?” Spike raised one brow.

  He grinned. “I was eager to dodge a party at home. Since I have gotten the council position, my family has been putting on the pressure to mate.”

  “So, the woman you saw at the bar?”

  “Was striking and I am eager to find her again.” It went deeper than that. His whole body had rippled with shock and arousal from the moment he saw her. His skin ached, his cock throbbed and then she had disappeared.

  Spike smiled, “Try the café. She looked a little hungry when she left.”

  He grinned. “Thank you for your assistance.”

  “Remember that sentiment. Off you go now.”

  She waved him off and he headed to the café.

  Sure enough, the woman with the platinum hair was just leaving. Her hair swung down over her shoulder and swayed across the centre of her back. It drew his gaze to the curve of her hips and ass.

  He stepped forward and said, “Excuse me.”

  She turned and froze with a prey-meeting-predator expression. “Oh, hell.”

  * * * *

  Molly looked up at the man she had hoped to avoid. He was prettier than he had seemed from across the room. Strong jaw, elegant nose and eyes with lashes so thick she was jealous. His wide shoulders and thick arms weren’t bad either.

  “I mean, hello.”

  He was extending his hand to her, and she shook it. “My name is Damon. I am pleased to meet you. May I walk you somewhere?”

  She paused. “Molly. My name is Molly.”

  His smile extended to the corners of his eyes. He lifted her hand and kissed it. “Definitely pleased to meet you, Molly.”

  Molly didn’t see any intense recognition or hostility, so she considered her options. “I was going for a walk to the shifters’ field. You can come with me if you like.”

  “I just arrived. A tour would be nice.” He offered her his arm.

  She blushed and slipped her hand under his elbow and rested her palm on his forearm. “It’s this way.”

  As they started to walk, he asked her, “Have you been here long?”

  She shook her head. “No. Not long.”

  “Have you met anyone likely?”

  Molly knew what he meant. “There are a few that I have met, but I am not rushing into things.”

  “I thought everyone at the Crossroads was eager to find a mate.” He seemed genuinely curious.

  “I am eager; I am just not stupid. Having decisions made for me is something I have decided I am tired of. I don’t care if a man wants me; I have to want him back.” She said it with as much determination as she could muster.

  She could feel the change in his posture as he stared down at her. Molly pretended that she was focussed on their path, but she was watching him closely.

  “What if a man makes you want him?”

  “Then, he is a
bully or I was fooling myself. It will have to be figured out later.” Molly shrugged. “It is another reason for not rushing into something.”

  They arrived at the field where some wolves were returning from a run, rubbing together and showing obvious intimate affection.

  Molly cleared her throat. “This is where folks come to let their beasts out. For some folk, it is the only place that they have been completely free in years.”

  “Have you already let your beast out?”

  She nodded. “I went out last night.”

  He was hinting around without asking what her inner creature was, but if he hadn’t figured it out, she wasn’t going to tell him.

  Knowing her parents, they had given him her registered name and the fake beast they had assigned to her. She was Agathe Wexler and an Andean condor on her registration. Her family stopped using the family name of Agathe after that first shift. Now, she was Molly, but they wouldn’t have told him that. They were counting on him not asking questions, but they had to give him some clues. It was just Molly’s luck that few folk at the Crossroads bothered with last names. Tony, Teal and Teebie were the only ones with her registration information, and they wouldn’t tell on her unless her life was in danger.

  “So, was the environment welcoming?”

  He was trying not to be rude, but he was skating on the edge of propriety.

  Molly smiled. “It was. The air was much the same as it is tonight. There were less people around though.”

  He nodded.

  Molly sighed. “Would you care to see anything else?”

  “Would you join me for dinner?”

  She blinked. “Um, I have already eaten, but I could have dessert if you want company.”

  “Back to the café?”

  Molly turned him around, and they walked back to the centre of the purpose-built town.

  When they were in a booth at the café, she ordered some pie and coffee, leaning in to ask him, “So, what brings you to the Crossroads? You don’t seem to be in the same mindset as the others.”

  He sighed. “It is work. I am looking for an associate’s daughter. She came here earlier in the week and hasn’t returned to her family yet.”

  Molly sat back, “Perhaps she hasn’t found her mate yet.”

  “That is what I am here to stop. From what I am told, she is too young to seek a mate yet.”

  Molly blinked. “Too young?”

  “Yes, he said that they hadn’t yet introduced her to society and since his other two daughters are married and engaged respectively… If she hasn’t been out in their circles, she must be younger than the twenty-one-year-old.”

  She seethed inwardly before she pasted a bland smile on her face.

  He finally asked her, “What do you do in the outside world?”

  Molly smiled shyly. “I am a baker. I used to work for my family, but when I go back, I am going to have to start over.”

  Damon sat back as his meal arrived. He attacked the food with good appetite. When he came up for air, he asked, “Would you want to live near your family?”

  “My mate would become my family. My parents support that.” She stuck to the truth. Her finding a home far away from them would delight her parents.

  “That is very understanding of them.”

  She smiled weakly and leaned back as the waitress brought her pie.

  “So, Damon, what do you do for a living?”

  He shrugged. “I have recently gotten the job in the council. I live in my family home with my sister and aunt. My parents travel widely and are experiencing the cuisines of the world.”

  She blinked and fought her grin. For vultures, international cuisine meant something else entirely. She kept her head down and ate her lemon pie with a smile playing around her lips.

  Chapter Four

  Damon enjoyed the remainder of their meal together. Molly didn’t speak much, but her eyes were so expressive, she didn’t have to. Everything that she felt was in those eyes and it was amazing to watch.

  “Can I walk you back to where you are staying?”

  She smiled and pushed her second pie plate away. “You may have to carry me.”

  He tried not to shift as blood pulsed in his groin at the image in his mind of her in his arms with nothing between them. He cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t mind that.”

  A wave of red started below her dress and moved up her chest until her face was scarlet. Her eyes wouldn’t meet his gaze as she shifted in her seat. After all the women groping him from neck to knees, her modesty was refreshing.

  He propped his chin on his fist and smiled. “So, where are you staying?”

  “The Open Heart.”

  He grinned. “Me too. Shall we?”

  Her skin had been cooling, but it pinked violently when she looked at him.

  Her voice was a husky whisper. “I suppose we should both call it a day.”

  He got to his feet, and when she slipped her pale hand against his, he felt a surge of power that had everything to do with finding the woman of his dreams. With her hesitancy, how long would it take to convince her to take his word that they were meant for each other?

  He was hoping it would be less than two days, because his brain was going to suffer if it didn’t get blood soon.

  * * * *

  The moment she put her skin against his, the echo of that touch ripped through her body. Her nipples hardened, thighs clenched and her skin actually ached for more of the contact.

  When his fingers tightened around hers, she felt another twinge of the touch inside her sex.

  She stood up and watched as he paid for her desserts and his dinner before he tucked her hand around his arm again and walked with her far more slowly than the night traffic called for. There were a few couples on the street and nothing else.

  It felt like a warm night in the south, without the bugs.

  Molly heard the crunch of the gravel under her shoes, and along with his, it was the only sound she could register. The rest of the world had fallen away. It was just the two of them.

  Teebie had told her that many of the guests found their matches within a matter of hours. Others took days and very few even weeks.

  Why did it seem that Molly was falling for the one man she should really stay away from?

  They meandered back to the Open Heart with a lack of concern for the time of night. It could have been early evening or predawn, it didn’t matter. They were in a world of their own.

  On the porch of the bed and breakfast, Damon pulled her to a halt.

  He turned her to face him, and he asked, “Can I kiss you?”

  She bit her lip and nodded agreement.

  Molly felt the movement of air from his breath, the heat from his lips and then he pressed his mouth to hers in a slow and cautious meeting.

  Kept apart from shifters her entire life, she had no idea of the tide of lust that his kiss woke in her. She shuddered in his grip and held herself still with intense focus and self-control.

  When he stroked her lips with his tongue and slipped inside to taste her, she let her control crack as she slid her hands up his chest to lock behind his head.

  She held his lips to hers as the slow kiss continued until her panties were damp and her nipples ached. He tried to pull back, but she held him for a moment before allowing him to retreat.

  Her hands shook, her body was vibrating with tension and she was sure that her pupils had dilated until her eyes were black. Her tepid relations with humans were nothing compared to Damon’s kiss. She was more aroused than she had ever been, and she still had all of her clothing on.

  When he released her, she staggered back before he caught her.

  “I am fine.”

  She straightened and brushed at her dress before opening the door to their home away from home.

  He moved to hold the door for her, but she was mentally reinforcing her thighs with steel to make it up the stairs to her bedroom.

  At the landing, she turned and said,
“Good night, Damon. May you find what you seek.”

  She held onto her dignity and made into to her bedroom before she collapsed to her knees.

  He was going to find out who she was and he was going to insist on taking her home. She would be nothing and no one again. That was something she couldn’t bear to happen.

  She wasn’t going back.

  Her body refused to calm, so Molly got up at three in the morning, put on the gossamer robe she picked up in her first hour at the Crossroads and she crept out of her bedroom to go in search of hot cocoa or warm milk.

  She had just rounded the landing when she heard the rattle of dishes. Damon was on the lower stairs and climbing toward her.

  He paused when he saw her. “Molly. Can’t sleep?”

  She bit her lip and shook her head.

  “Teebie made me a pot of hot chocolate. She insisted that I take the whole tray, and now, I think I know why. Shall we?”

  He moved past her and into a room beyond hers with an open door. She followed him, and he set the tray on a table near two chairs.

  “Come in, Molly. I will leave the door open if you are nervous.”

  She blushed and closed it. “I don’t want to wake anyone else.”

  “So, what is keeping you awake?” He expertly poured two cups of hot cocoa and handed her one with marshmallows arranged into a happy face.

  She smiled into the grinning cup. “Truth?”

  “Truth is easier.” He blew into his cup, took a seat and looked at her over the porcelain edge.

  “I have never kissed a shifter before. My body is still humming with eager energy.”

  He blinked. “Never?”

  She shook her head and sipped at the melted marshmallow.

  “How is that possible if your family was around? They should have made sure that you met and mingled with shifters of your own age.”

  She shrugged, unsure of how far to go into detail. “Should have. Didn’t. I had no idea that it was such an electrifying experience.”

  His smile was slow. “I thought so, too, and I do have basis for comparison. Our connection is extraordinary. It will grow stronger the longer we are together.”