Favoriteobsession, p.1
FavoriteObsession, page 1
Favorite Obsession
Nancy Corrigan
Royal Pride, Book 3
Centuries after what should have been a blessing from a goddess, Mira has gone from the chosen daughter to a woman shamed. She’s found a tentative peace among her family and the mates they’ve chosen. And despite the potentially fatal consequences, Mira has found the one thing she never thought she’d have—love. Josh is the only male she’s ever wanted, desired and burned for—and he’s the only man she can never hope to keep.
One glance into Mira’s exotic feline eyes and Josh is lost. She’s everything he never knew he wanted and loving her becomes a passion he can’t deny. The obstacles keeping them apart seem insurmountable but Josh knows he’s the man Mira needs. With every passionate encounter, every stolen touch, his certainty that he and Mira belong together grows. He’ll defy every shifter decree and fight to his dying breath to convince those around them of the truth—Mira belongs to him, mind, body and soul.
A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Favorite Obsession
Nancy Corrigan
Chapter One
Josh Conway leaned against the bar counter and watched his obsession fight with her newly mated twin. Mira and Devin had been at each other’s throats for the past week. Josh had no idea why. The shifters didn’t share all their secrets with him, only the stuff that concerned his niece Megan. Even then, the scope of details bordered on the bare minimum.
He forced himself to look away when they started another one of their intense staring contests. They’d hold each other’s unblinking gazes until someone intervened. Josh refused to be that person today. He’d had enough of their asinine politics and playing by their narrow-minded rules. It was about time he made some of his own. First, he needed to know what had all the shifters snapping at each other.
A slow inspection of his bar showed his ex-girlfriend and her shifter mate in the middle of the dance floor, wrapped in each other’s arms. Going by the drowsy expression on her face, they’d soon find somewhere private to give in to their desire.
Josh watched them grind in a suggestive dance that bordered on being inappropriate in public, and felt nothing. Not a twinge of jealousy. Hard to believe he’d been adamant about getting back together with her a couple months ago. Of course that was before he’d met Mira. One look into her exotic feline eyes and his life had done a one-eighty.
His gaze drifted back to her. He couldn’t help it. She acted like a magnet, always pulling his attention back to her.
People talked about love at first sight all the time. He’d always thought it a bullshit excuse to get a woman naked. Yeah, not anymore. Maybe love was the wrong word for what he felt for Mira. Obsession. Stark need. Unquenchable lust. Those fitted his focused attentions better. Didn’t matter what label he slapped on it. She was the girl his dad had warned him about—the one woman who’d grab him by the balls and not let him go. No truer words had been said. Mira owned him.
Knowing he wouldn’t get any answers staring at her like some damn lovesick teenager, he continued his survey of the bar. Among the humans like him, he picked out the few wolf shifters who’d become regulars and dismissed them as potential sources of info. They always gave him the same lame-ass answer when he asked them something—talk to Kade. Sure hard to do when the pride leader hadn’t been to the bar since the night Lena had almost died.
Josh shifted his attention to the tiny woman who’d tamed Devin. Lena sat on one of the stools at the far end of the bar, gazing in the direction of her mate. From the distant expression she wore, her mind wasn’t on the silent battle going down several feet away. Unfortunately, he could guess what put the haunted look on her girl-next-door face—concern over her sisters, Gwen and Molly.
Neither the twenty-one-year-old human nor the five-year-old shifter had a great outlook for the future. Both were lost, one to a group of sick bastards and the other to an early shift she might never return from.
He’d never met Lena’s biological sister, but her adopted sister, Molly, was his niece too in a roundabout way. Megan and Molly were twins but they’d been separated as infants. Whereas Megan found her way into Josh’s family, Molly had lived her short life in a medical facility, tortured and experimented on. After the tragedy that claimed Gwen, Molly had embraced her lion, a death sentence according to shifter’s Council. Thankfully, they hadn’t found out about her early shift. He prayed it stayed that way.
With a bottle of Lena’s favorite beer in hand, he made his way to her, stepping around women who didn’t know what the word ‘no’ meant. A couple of feet away from his destination, fingers hooked around his belt loop and tugged him. He bit back a curse and glanced down at the woman who’d stopped him. Abby, his last drunken mistake, smiled up at him. With dark-red hair and green eyes, she was pretty. She even had a nice body. Too bad the thought of touching her or any girl who wasn’t his favorite obsession turned his stomach.
“Hi, Josh.”
“Abby.” He pointedly glanced from her face to where she gripped his pants. “Need something?”
She stepped closer. “You haven’t answered any of my calls so I thought I’d come down and talk to you in person.”
“About?”
She trailed her fingertips across his stomach. His gut heaved. He stepped back. Undeterred, she followed his retreat. “I heard you’re not seeing anyone and I thought we could hang out.”
“Sorry, Abby. I already told you, I’m not interested in dating. I’ve got my hands full right now with Megan, the bar and stuff.” And Molly but he couldn’t mention Megan’s twin to anyone outside the pride yet, not until she shifted and returned to them.
A grin spread over Abby’s face. “We don’t have to date, Josh.” She cupped his balls. “This is all I want.”
He grasped her wrist and pulled her hand back. Head bent close to hers, he captured her gaze and watched her confident glint fade. “I really don’t want to be rude, Abby, but this shit is getting ridiculous. I don’t want you to text me any more naked pictures, no more dirty phone messages and you can tell your damn brothers to stop harassing me. I’m not interested.”
“But—”
“Look, we had a good time—a year ago, but I’m not looking for another one.”
“Well, if you change your mind—”
“I won’t.” He walked around her and hopped onto the stool next to Lena.
She tipped her chin in the direction of Abby’s retreating back. “You know that’s what happens when you get involved with girls who have ‘looking for my next sugar daddy’ written all over them.”
He grunted. “Suppose so.”
Lena studied his one-night stand a moment more before she turned worried eyes to him. “Devin’s cats don’t like her.”
He chuckled. “Devin’s cats don’t like anyone. That’s not anything new.”
She scrunched her brows as she no doubt tried to sort through the emotions and images her mate’s cats fed her. He couldn’t imagine it’d be easy sharing your mind and body with one, let alone three predators. Of course, he’d never know. Only male royals, the privileged multi-animal shifters, could take human mates.
Despite being the guardian of his lion-shifter niece and a member of the local pride, he’d never be a part of their world, not where it counted. He was just the black sheep, or maybe the odd cousin everyone invited to dinners because it’d be ill-mannered if they didn’t.
After a moment, Lena’s concerned gaze focused on him. “No, I mean they really don’t like her. They think she’s a threat to you.”
He glanced over his shoulder. Abby stood in a circle of her brothers. One of the younger ones pulled her against him and rubbed her back. Zeb, the eldest, shoved his sweaty mop of red hair off of his flushed face. Bloodshot eyes locked onto Josh’s. He inwardly cursed. High or simply shit-faced drunk? Knowing Zeb, Josh would bet both. He’d have to watch him. He didn’t need any trouble tonight.
Finally, Zeb cursed something that was lost in the din of voices and turned away.
Josh faced Lena. “She’s no threat to me but I hate being an asshole to her.”
“How long did you date?”
He snorted. “We didn’t. We hooked up once and I made it clear afterward that it wouldn’t happen again.”
“Obviously, she didn’t take the hint.”
“Guess not.” Hoping to change the subject, he slid the beer toward her. “How’re you holding up?”
She took the bottle, ran a finger around its mouth but didn’t drink. She pushed it aside. “Okay. I’m still having nightmares about the crash but otherwise, I’d say I’m doing great.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
She tilted her head to look at him. The pain reflected in her eyes broke his heart. “I’m worried. Molly hasn’t spoken since she talked to Devin.” She dropped her gaze from him to some interesting spot on the floor. “This mess with Mira isn’t helping either. Everyone is stressed and irritable.”
Bingo. “What mess?”
“Nothing, forget I mentioned it.”
“Dammit, you can’t say something like that and leave me hanging.”
She glanced toward where the silent battle between Devin and Mira was still playing out. “Mira doesn’t want you to know.”
He curled his fingers into a fist but managed to keep his ass on the stool. If he moved, he’d go over to Mira and demand she tell him what she was hiding. Or throw her over his shoulder and carry her to his bed. Either idea appe
Lena nibbled her lip while he silently urged her to talk. Finally, she blew out a breath. “The Council has ordered Mira to take a mate.”
“What?”
She rolled her eyes. “I know, it’s ridiculous but that’s what everyone is strung out about.”
He tensed. “They can’t do that. Arranged matings were banned a century ago.”
Lena’s expression softened. “Apparently they can. The elders have twisted some ancient law around. They’re claiming that since so many shifter women and children have gone missing, they have the right to order unmated females to take breeding partners for the sake of continuing the species.”
He bit back a curse. “But the multi-shifters don’t breed well. There’s no point in forcing Mira into a bond when it might be hundreds of years before she conceives.”
“That’s the argument Kade used. The Council doesn’t care.” She laid a hand over his. “With Molly’s situation hanging over our heads, Kade’s hesitant to argue too much.”
“Tell me the rest.”
“They’ve given her a month to choose a mate.”
Not if he could help it. He refused to lose her to some sick game the Council had decided to play.
He stood, the stool scraping over the tiled floor, and strode toward where Mira stood with Devin. Josh grabbed her hand. With a firm tug, he led her across the room. Although he’d love to take her somewhere private, he knew that would only cause a fight with Devin. Josh settled for crowding her against the far wall away from her brother’s prying eyes.
With one hand next to her hip and the other over her head, he bent close and glared at her. “When were you planning to break the news to me?”
Ugly brown contacts hid Mira’s breathtaking yellow feline eyes. It didn’t dim the lust simmering in them. She held his gaze for a long moment before focusing her attention on his lips. She licked hers.
“What news?”
Her voice with its rich, lulling European accent had the same effect on him it always did. His cock thickened and every damn inch of his body ached to have hers rubbing against it, preferably sweaty and in the throes of passion.
He moved closer so she could feel what she did to him. Her breath escaped in a shaky rush. “Don’t play dumb, Mira. Why didn’t you tell me that they’re going to force you to take a mate?”
She surprised him by laying her cheek over his heart. “Lena told you?”
He rested his chin on the top of her dyed-brown hair. “I should’ve heard it from you.”
“Don’t make this difficult. Haven’t we suffered enough?”
That was the understatement of the century. Heated glances and brushes of fingertips had been all they could get away with. The shifters watched Mira more closely than the other females. They didn’t want her involved with him. Stern lectures delivered to her and fists to his face had kept them apart. For their own good, of course.
He slid his palm around her lower back and tugged her closer so she pressed along the length of his body. Her fresh spring-rain scent enveloped him. “Yeah, we have and it’s about time we stop ignoring this.”
Her weary sigh would’ve irritated him a couple of hours ago and so would’ve the excuse he knew she’d utter next. Not anymore. The rules got tossed out the window tonight. Time to make new ones.
He slipped his hand under the back of her shirt. Smooth, soft skin met his touch. He inched his fingers along the edge of her waistband, tempting and torturing himself.
She pushed against his chest. “Stop. What if one of the others sees us?”
“Fuck ’em. I’m not letting them take you away from me. Not now and not in a month.” He reached lower, settling his hand on her denim-covered bottom. “The only man who’s going to wake up in your bed is me.”
“We can’t, Josh. You know that. Kade ordered me to stay away from you.”
“Dammit, Mira.” He dropped his hands and put space between them. “You want me. I know you do.”
“Yes, but all I can give you is a couple of weeks. That’ll be worse than never getting together.” She rubbed her thumb along the corner of his mouth. “Please don’t torture me—being with you will be worse than anything I’ve had to endure. Eternity. That’s how long I’ll yearn for you. Every day I have to go into my mate’s arms will be a betrayal of you.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes. She blinked rapidly but the droplets collected on her lashes anyway. He brushed them away. “I’ll figure out a way to be with you, Mira.”
She groaned and shoved away from him.
He grasped her wrist and spun her back into his embrace. “We have a connection. I knew it the moment I looked into your eyes. Something clicked, like I’d been waiting for you to walk into my life.” He shook his head. “Jesus, I know it sounds crazy coming from the king of one-night stands, but I don’t want anyone else. Only you, Mira.”
Lena and Devin’s raised voices carried over the din in the bar. Knowing he was most likely the point of their discontent, he released Mira. They held each other’s gazes and a world of hurt and longing passed between them.
“You’re right, Josh. We do have a connection. I feel it. My cats sense it.” She trailed a fingertip across his cheek. “Impossible or not, I am yours but you’re wrong about us being together. That’ll never happen.”
With that she turned her back on him and walked away. He went after her. A hand at her waist, he spun her once more into his arms. “Don’t walk away from me. If your cats feel it too then it’s real. Maybe you can—”
“Kill you?” She glared at a biker who swung his head at her loud retort. The tattooed guy hurriedly looked away. She lowered her voice. “I cannot mate you, Josh. I’ll only end up killing you.”
So he’d been told, over and over. Only male royals could take human mates. “Has anyone ever tried?”
“Yes and they’ve failed.” She jerked away.
He watched her until the crowd at the front entrance swallowed her up before he gave in to litany of curses rolling through his head. If he hadn’t been working tonight, he would’ve followed her.
And what good would it do? He didn’t have an answer to their problems, not when the freaking universe was against them.
“The gods really fucked up with you two.”
Josh peered over his shoulder. Zach, Kade’s younger brother, leaned casually against the wall. His white, buzzed hair and pale-blue eyes stood out starkly against his dark tan. The royal shifter had become a friend in the weeks he’d been here. Josh trusted him with his life. The knowledge didn’t stop the shiver he got whenever he looked at him. Out of all the felines he’d met, Zach struck him as the coldest. He couldn’t shake the feeling the man would snap one day.
Josh shook off the odd thought. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Means you’re Mira’s one, the gods’ gift to her.”
Josh snorted. He knew all about the shifter’s elusive one, a partner whose soul complemented them so damn well they’d never want another. Not a fated mate exactly. No, the devotion to their ones went deeper than some godly pairing. It was fucking mystical. Seeing it left him in awe and jealous as hell.
“Well then, your gods must hate Mira.” It was the only explanation. Why else give her a man who’d only end up dying on her?
“Yeah, I think they do.” Zach rubbed his knuckles under his chin. “Or love her enough to bend the rules. With the gods, you never can tell.”
“You think they’ll listen to me if I talk to them? You know, beg them for a little heavenly intervention?” He’d never been big into going to church but he prayed. Those couple of times in his life he needed a little comfort, he’d found it.
Zach shrugged and pushed from the wall in a lithe move only the feline shifters could pull off. “Think carefully about what you’re planning, my friend. Humans can love again. But a shifter?” Zach closed his eyes. A tic developed on his jaw. “Once our instincts are triggered, nothing will save us. Love is a one-shot deal. Remember that.”
“Maybe, but I’ll never find another Mira.”
Zach shrugged and ambled away without another word.
Josh’s gaze drifted to the door Mira had left through. His mind kept going over all the obstacles keeping them apart. They seemed unsurmountable. Still, he couldn’t let her go without a fight.
