Amber Eyes (Amber Eyes #1)(46)

She shook her head vehemently. “No. You know I can’t do that.”

Hunter’s hand tightened on her belly. “We’ll figure something out. We’ll take care of you and our daughter. You have our word.”

“I’m so glad you’re both home,”she whispered. “I missed you so much.”

She went forward, snuggling into both of their bodies. To be happy now after living so many months in fear overwhelmed her. If she closed her eyes, would this all be a dream? Would she wake back in the cage?

Her heart pounded at the thought.

“What’s wrong, honey?”Hunter asked gently.

She didn’t respond at first.

He pulled her onto his lap and carefully framed her face in his hands until she looked him in the eye.

“You know we love you, don’t you?”

She nodded.

“And you also know we’ll never leave you again.”

She hesitated a fraction.

Hunter pulled her down to kiss her lovingly on the lips. “I don’t blame you for not accepting it right away. But we’ll prove it to you. We’re not going anywhere. You have our word.”

Tears trailed down her cheeks, and he wiped them away with his thumbs.

“I love you too. So much. I just want to be with you and Jericho.”

“Then we’ll take it one day at a time. Jericho and I both have some healing to do. Just like you do. We’ll do it together.”

She smiled through her tears and leaned in for another kiss.

“I’ll take very good care of you and Jericho,”she promised.

“And we’re going to love you for a very long time,”Jericho said.

“I’ll start by making dinner,”she said. “Hunter bought supplies in town, and I taught myself to cook while you were gone.”

Hunter smiled. “Let me go out and get the groceries, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Duncan drove toward his cabin after a long-ass day of work. He was tired, the day had been filled with bullshit calls, and what he really wanted was his wife. But she wasn’t due home until the next day.

He pulled up, cut the engine and sat there for a long moment, mustering the energy to get out and go inside.

He had one leg out the door when his cabin door flew open and Aliyah tore out of the house, her golden hair flying behind her.

Suddenly finding a hell of a lot more energy, he stumbled out of the truck about the time his wife hit him square in the chest. She leaped into his arms and wrapped her legs tight around him. Her lips crashed over his in a sweet, honeyed rush that left him breathless.

“God, I’m glad to see you,”he groaned as he cupped her ass in his hands.

She went completely still against him and inhaled deeply. She drew away and frowned and inhaled again, her nostrils flaring.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”he asked in amusement.

“Your scent is different,”she said sharply.

Then she lowered her head, sniffing his neck and his shirt. When she pulled back again, her eyes glowed strangely, and her body quivered, signaling an impending shift.

“Aliyah, get it together. You can’t shift out here, for God’s sake. Anyone could be watching.”

She blinked several times before the feral light in her eyes subsided.

“Who have you been around?”she demanded. Her expression was utterly serious as she slid from his arms.

He frowned. Aliyah wasn’t usually the jealous type. Hell, she’d scented plenty of women on him before. Hazard of the job. But she’d never reacted this way.

“Honey, the only people I’ve been around are Nick and a bunch of crazy-ass hunters who decided to get drunk and go spotlighting.”

She shook her head vehemently. “A woman. Who is she?”

“The only woman I’ve been around I picked up for trying to steal food from Margaret’s. She wouldn’t tell me her name or anything else for that matter so I held her at the station until Hunter came for her. Come to think of it, I still don’t know her name,”he added with a frown.

“Where is she now?”Aliyah demanded. “This is important, Duncan.”

“I suppose she’s with Hunter up at his cabin. He was the only one she’d talk to. Nick and I tried hard enough to get anything out of her. What the hell is going on, Aliyah? It’s not like you to get so freaky about a woman.”

Aliyah’s face was strained and worried, and she’d gone pale underneath the golden sheen of her skin. “Her scent, Duncan. I know it well. I should. It’s Kaya.”

His brow furrowed. “Kaya? Who the hell is Kaya?”

“My sister. Don’t you remember me telling you about her?”

“Yes, honey, but you said she disappeared years ago, when you were just a child.”

“Exactly. And now I smell her on you and you tell me a woman was in your jail, a woman who would tell you nothing of herself. She was probably frightened out of her mind.”

Understanding dawned. “Holy f**k. She’s a shifter? I know you told me she was a cougar, but are you sure this is your sister? I mean, honey, it’s been a lot of years. Are you certain you aren’t mistaken?”

“I’d know her smell anywhere,”Aliyah said quietly. “Take me to her, Duncan. I have to see her. I have to know if she’s my sister. I have to know what happened to her.”