Mate Claimed
Page 28

“Iona!” Nicole was shouting from the limousine. “Come on!”
“Go,” Penny said sternly.
Iona let out her breath and kissed her mother’s cheek, her emotions still swirling, and scurried away to pile into the back of the limo amid satin skirts and too many flowers.
The reception at the Bellagio was in one of the grand ballrooms. The food was good, and Iona caught herself taking helping after helping. Even Clay stared when the tray went by and Iona shoveled another ten canapés onto her plate.
She told herself she was upset by her mother’s revelations, trying to reconcile what she’d learned today by stuffing herself. But she knew that wasn’t quite true. She’d been hungry like this all week.
Nicole should be the one wanting to eat, with the baby. Iona wasn’t anywhere near pregnant, unless Shifters could be impregnated by kissing. And touching. Licking, biting…
She shivered and popped a canapé into her mouth, whole. No, Shifters made babies the usual way. She’d been shown that when she’d held Eric last night, the pulses of his seed spilling over her hands.
Shifters made babies—cubs—with sex. The mating frenzy, Eric had told her, shutting themselves away from the world and making love like crazy, not coming out for days.
Then what was the matter with her? Iona’s metabolism was burning up, and she was so hungry.
She polished off her canapés and grabbed another handful while Clay was giving his best man’s speech. After that was dancing. Iona had a tissue at her eyes for Nicole’s entire first dance with Tyler. Nicole was so beautiful, so happy. She even smelled happy, the scent of her perfume and excitement overlaid with the scent of her pregnancy.
Iona’s skin itched as she cried, and she had to force herself not to scratch. What the hell had Eric done to her?
Dancing helped a little. Iona did her obligatory dance with Clay, then she whirled around the floor with her friends, male and female, working off her restlessness. She hoped to exhaust herself so she could sleep tonight, but it didn’t work. She just got more hungry.
Finally, as twilight darkened the wide desert sky, Nicole and Tyler left for their honeymoon. Iona joined the throng behind the hotel, and Nicole threw her bouquet.
The bouquet of roses and baby’s breath flew up into the air, tumbled end over end, ribbons streaming, and landed right in Iona’s hands. She squeaked, jumped back, and dropped it.
Laughter echoed among her friends. “Don’t be afraid of it, Iona,” they said. “Take it, girl!” “You’re next, you know it.”
Iona picked up the bouquet with trembling hands, smoothing the ribbons. “I’ll keep this for you, Nikki.”
Nicole laughed, kissed Iona’s cheek, and waved good-bye. She was going. Off to Hawaii to lie on a beach, while Iona carried on without her.
One of Iona’s friends grabbed her hand. “Party time. Let’s go out to that Shifter bar, you remember it? The one where the Shifter guy tried to pick you up?”
Iona did remember her utter shock when Eric had sat down next to her that night. His presence had blown her away, and she hadn’t been the same since.
Iona disengaged her hand. “No thanks,” she said, as politely as she could. “I’m tired, and I need to look in on some work. You all have fun.”
They protested and cajoled, but in the end, they gave up. Iona was a pathetic workaholic, in their opinions, but they laughed when they said it. Iona gave the bouquet to the care of her mother, walked away from the celebration, got into her red pickup, and drove to the office.
The gate at the site was locked, but Iona had the keys with her. She unlocked the padlock, being careful about keeping dirt and grease off her pretty satin gown. She drove the truck through the gate, parked, and went back to lock the gate after herself.
The sun had gone, but floodlights lit the back of the site to prevent theft of costly equipment and supplies. The trailer office was dark and looked deserted, but Eric’s motorcycle was parked behind it.
Iona’s heart beat faster as she climbed the steps and opened the door.
Eric looked up from her desk. He’d taken off his coat and hung it on the chair and rolled up his sleeves, baring sinewy forearms. Iona drank in his male scent, fresh like the night.
The blueprints for the new Shifter houses were spread over the desk in front of him. The lack of light didn’t seem to bother him, but Eric was Shifter. He’d be able to see well in the dark.
He got up and came to Iona as she shut the door. Without speaking, Eric put callused hands on her elbows and ran his hands up her bare arms.
The itchiness eased, but a new hunger flared. Eric gathered her to him, tilted her head back, and kissed her. His tongue chased hers, his lips slow, savoring. The frenzy of last night was still there, but not quite the same. Iona tasted something a little different in him, though she wasn’t sure what.
Eric pressed his thumbs to the corners of her mouth, opening her to him. This kiss was warm, loving, taking its time. The Shifter called Ross must have kissed her mother like this—leisurely, confident, knowing he’d wooed a woman to him against her better judgment.
When Eric eased the kiss to its end, Iona nestled against his shirt, closing her eyes to hear the rapid beating of his heart.
“Why were you at the wedding?” she asked. “Someone might have seen you.”
“I didn’t want to miss a family ritual so important to you,” he answered, voice rumbling beneath her ear.
Why did that idea please her so much? “I’m happy for Nicole. Sad for me.”
“I know, sweetheart.” Eric smoothed her hair. “Humans make weddings about families going their separate ways. Shifter weddings are about drawing new family in.”
Drawing family in. That sounded so nice. Throughout Nicole’s childhood, Iona had protected her little sister as much as Nicole had protected her. Saying good-bye to Nicole tonight had been hard. No, not hard. Impossible.
But Nicole would be back, and Iona would surprise her with her remodeled house, and they’d visit each other all the time. All was not lost.
Right now, though, the good-bye felt like finality.
She drew back from Eric, liking the comfort of him too much. “How did you get in here? Everything’s locked up tight.”
“Because I’m good, sweetheart. Let me show you what I want you to do with the plans.”
He led her by the hand to the desk and turned on the light—for her benefit—and spread out the blueprints.