Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound #11)(50)
It was quiet back here, the carnival starting to die down this late, but the lights were still on and stragglers soaked up their evening.
“If they start loading up to leave, they’ll notice us,” Angus said, his voice a rumble.
“They won’t.” Tamsin watched people drifting around the rides, daring to rest her chin on Angus’s shoulder. “The carnival will be here at least the whole weekend, probably moving out Monday morning. We can befriend them and travel with them.”
Angus sent her a skeptical look, and Tamsin flashed him a brief smile.
She hadn’t recovered yet from the shock of his mate-claim. It shouldn’t count if she hadn’t been there, should it? In the old days, it would have. A hundred years and more ago, Shifter males picked out their mates and declared it to the world, whether the female was around to protest or not. The female could say no, but it was in the male’s best interests to get the claim in before another male did.
Mated to Angus. To have him in her life, for always.
She barely knew him. She didn’t know what movies he liked, or if he even liked movies. Or his favorite foods, or if he liked to sleep in on Sundays or if he woke up at dawn and watched the sunrise while offering prayers to the Goddess.
On the other hand—Tamsin knew all the important things about him. He was a loving father who’d do anything for his son. He stood up for the underdog—or in her case, the under-fox. He was protective of those in his care. He bristled and growled but always did the kind thing. He didn’t let other Shifters or the shits in Shifter Bureau intimidate him.
To sum up, Angus was strong, confident, caring, intelligent, and an all-around great guy. And he was hot.
How could she forget hot? He had a well-honed body and was sexy as hell. Tamsin hadn’t averted her gaze back in the bayous when they’d shifted from animal to naked humans—she’d looked her fill.
If she accepted the mate-claim, her fantasies about him—Angus making love to her while covering her mouth in heated kisses—could be real.
The mate-claim did mean no one could legally touch her while Angus was alive. She had the feeling, however, that Haider would simply kill Angus to eliminate that obstacle.
The breath left Tamsin’s body. The trouble with caring for people was that she now had someone to lose.
Refusing the mate-claim and running off into the Texas desert would do away with that problem. So her choice was this: Flee and eat her heart out missing Angus and Ciaran the rest of her life. Or stay and endanger them.
She wanted to cry.
Angus cupped her cheek with his broad hand. “You and Ciaran get into bed and sleep. I’m going to scout around.”
Tamsin kissed his palm, liking its roughness against her lips. “The carnies might tell us to leave. Or toss you in carnival jail. Do they have jails at carnivals?”
“I don’t plan to be seen.” Angus brushed his thumb over her lips. “Go to sleep. Watch over Ciaran.”
Tamsin nodded. If he’d told her not to run away, she wouldn’t have listened and made her own decision. Charging her to take care of Ciaran had the strength of a chain. She’d never disappear and leave Ciaran unguarded.
Angus slid his hand behind her head, pulled her close, and kissed her.
Tamsin’s body tightened to a point of pleasure. She leaned into Angus as he swept his tongue into her mouth, rising need burning her blood. She opened her mouth for his, suckling his tongue, drinking his warmth into her.
Angus drew back, but not hurriedly. He skimmed his fingertip across her lips, the corners of his mouth curving upward as Tamsin caught his finger lightly between her teeth.
“Get some sleep,” Angus whispered.
Tamsin nibbled his finger, then licked it. Angus’s cheeks grew redder in the flash of lights from the midway, but he didn’t pull away. Tamsin kissed his fingertip and sat back, a ball of heat gathering in her chest.
Angus caressed her cheek with his thumb, turned from her to grab his jacket, and slid out of the truck to the ground. He shook himself when he landed, then pulled on the jacket, quietly closed the door, and faded into the darkness.
Tamsin let out a long breath. She gave herself a shake as Angus had, trying to snap out of the hunger that roiled inside her.
A fox and a Lupine. That was never going to work.
She found Ciaran’s eyes open, his look knowing. “You’ll be his mate,” he said with conviction.
“Maybe.” Tamsin pulled him close and kissed the top of his dark head. “Let’s hit the sack. Your dad’s out there taking care of us.”
She believed this without having to reason it out. Angus wouldn’t desert her or Ciaran, nor would he let anyone near them.
Ciaran burrowed under the blankets, and Tamsin lay on top of the bed, pulling a loose cover over herself. Ciaran snuggled down trustingly and soon was asleep.
Tamsin lay awake, staring at the ceiling above her, trying not to listen for every noise, and to sort through the jangled thoughts in her head.
Angus walked quietly but purposefully from the shadows of the trailers toward the carnival. He’d learned to blend into the human world by looking innocuous—as innocuous as a large man in a hoodie with a Collar could.
For this moment, he’d be a silhouette, just another human shape in this field, navigating his way around the vehicles.
The carnival was set up in what looked like a fairground, with rides up and down the length of a very large field, and a grandstand beyond where rodeos must be held. Tents and booths formed aisles, though most were being closed and locked for the night. This carnival was using about half the grounds, probably a small traveling operation that set up where they could get space.