Wild Invitation

breath. It was becoming clear to him that he’d have a far harder road to travel with Annie than he’d initially thought. She’d grown up watching her mother love a man who, quite bluntly, didn’t love her the same way. After only one meeting, Zach knew that Erik Kildaire was devoted to his work, while Kimberly was devoted to him. The insouciance with which Erik had crushed his wife’s heart an hour ago—bussing her on the cheek and telling her he had something important to do at the lab—had angered Zach enough that he’d had to fight the urge to say something.
    Annie would never have to worry about that kind of hurt with him. Once the cat decided on a woman, it didn’t flinch. Devotion was almost obsession with those of his kind, and hewas at peace with that. But words wouldn’t convince Annie—she’d have to be stroked into trusting him, into relying on him. Because not only was she wary of loving, she’d become almost mutinously independent in her desire to avoid opening herself up to pain.
    I like living alone. I intend to keep it that way.
    That, he thought, the cat rising to a hunting crouch, was just too damn bad. But even as the predator in him prepared for the hunt, a vicious vulnerability grew in his heart. He
needed
Annie’s trust, needed the surety of knowing she’d come to him no matter what. If she didn’t…No, he thought, jaw setting, that simply wasn’t an option. Annie was his. End of story.
    •   •   •
    “WHAT magic did you do with my mother?” Annie asked, letting them into her apartment.
    “That’s my secret.” He closed the door and prowled along behind her.
    Her heart went into hyperdrive.
    She was going to go to bed with him, with this man she’d met only yesterday. But it felt as if they’d never been strangers, it was so very easy being with him.
    Careful, Annie.
    Fear rose up in an insidious wave, showing her image after image of Kimberly’s face as she watched Erik walk away. Was that what awaited her? Did the question matter now that she’d decided to take the chance and weather the hurt when it came?
    “Hey.” Zach brought her to a halt, nuzzling at her neck from behind as his hands closed over her hips. “Stop thinking so hard.”
    “I can’t help it,” she whispered. “I’m not…” She bit her lip, trying to think of a way to say this without betraying how incredibly important he’d become to her in such a short time.
    “You’re not the kind to kiss and walk away as if it meant nothing,” he said, running his lips lightly over her skin, inducing a shiver. “Neither am I. This is no one-night stand.”
    “Changelings live by different rules.”
    He licked at her, and she felt her purse slip from her hand to drop to the floor. “Zach.” A whisper, perhaps a plea.
    He hugged her tighter against him. “We might be moretactile than humans, but it’s nothing casual. It’s about friendship, about pleasure, about trust.”
    “It sounds wonderful.”
    “It is.” Another kiss pressed to the sensitive skin of her neck. “Trust me, Annie. I won’t hurt you.”
    At that moment, she almost believed him. Closing her hands over his, she let her body melt into the hard masculine heat of his. “You make me feel beautiful.”
    “You’re more than beautiful,” he whispered, “you’re sexier than sin.”
    “You’re complaining?” She dropped her hands as he moved his to the side of her dress and tugged at the tie that held it up.
    The tie came loose. “I didn’t like the way Markson was undressing you with his eyes.”
    “He was not.” Feeling the dress fall open at the front, she shifted so he could pull the tie out of the inner loop. He did…and the fabric dropped.
    “Mmm.” It was a murmur of utter pleasure as he began to pull the dress down over her arms. “I’m the only one allowed to undress you”—a kiss on her bare shoulder—“to pet you.”
    Pet.
    The word reminded her that he wasn’t human, wasn’t anything tame. “You’re very possessive.” Air hit her back, her breasts. Then the dress was falling over her fingertips to pool on the floor.
    Behind her, he made a sound strikingly close to a growl, one hand caressing the curve of her waist. “You already knew that, Annie.”
    Of course she had. A predatory changeling male, no matter how playful, had possessiveness built into his soul. For as long as she kept his interest, he would demand everything from her. She knew she’d give him what he