Some higher being obviously had other ideas.
I parked across the street from the run-down old house on the end. I’d seen it before one night when I’d followed Zoe home, curious to know as much as I could about a female that I shouldn’t be at all interested in. She hadn’t even asked why I only needed her key and not for her to give me the address to her place. Maybe because she was in pain, or maybe it was because of our kiss.
That kiss.
I’d kissed a fair share of females. Well, probably not as many as my brothers because entanglements really weren’t my thing, even if they were just physical. I was the proverbial loner, to the fifth power. But I was still a guy, a guy mixed with Shadow Shifter blood that made my libido ten times more active than a normal guy my age—which was saying a lot. I had urges and when they became too strong to ignore, I acted on them. Then I moved on.
Zoe seemed like more than an urge and that worried me.
Her door sitting wide open with light pouring out into the hallway also worried me. But this was a good kind of worry, it meant that Dex was there.
I stepped into the room with thoughts of how I would kill his sorry ass fresh in my mind. The complete disarray of her furniture and other items did not shock me. Rogues were unstable creatures, hence the reason they defected from the tribe in the first place. They had no sense of decency or respect for rules, whether human or shifter. So trashing her place would have been a game to them, a vicious message sent by Dex to the female he planned to use and later kill. That thought had my fists clenching at my sides as I moved from the open area of the room to the small bathroom all the way in the back.
“Dammit!” I cursed and banged a fist into the wall to find the space empty.
I should have known, there was no stench, but sometimes it was masked when my own emotions were taking over. I had my own instabilities due to my half-breed nature, another reason I knew I didn’t belong with the tribes.
Moving back out into the room I went to the dresser where Zoe said her things were and found what personal items I could, throwing them into one of those recyclable grocery bags that was lying on the floor. Just as I was about to walk out the door my phone vibrated.
I had to shift a little to adjust the bags I was carrying with all Zoe’s minor necessities, as she’d called them, inside. When I finally looked at the screen I couldn’t help but smile. It was a text from Zoe. I’d given her my number before leaving the house, instructing her to call me if she needed anything.
Thx for being a good guy & not a serial killer. 
Z
She thought I was a good guy. I had a little trouble with that concept considering how I’d come to be on this earth. The Sanchezes would say that was foolish thinking on my part, that what happened between my biological parents had absolutely nothing to do with me. But, yeah, it sort of did, since I was the one who’d been left here to carry the memories along like bad breath. So seeing these words on my screen from the female I’d been just a little obsessed with over the last few weeks felt damned good.
Walking down the stairs, I left the place where Zoe would never return. She needed, no she deserved, something much better than this run-down spot, and this was before someone had just about destroyed the place. That someone had been Dex and his boys, I knew that without a doubt and wanted to crush the three of them for this infraction alone.
I also wanted to hurry back to my place, to Zoe, who looked way too perfect sitting in my living room. Taking care of her had come naturally, even though I’d never taken care of anyone in my life before. I’d never been overly concerned with anyone, but me. The Sanchezes as an extended family had done their job, but my demons were my own. Even those demons hadn’t allowed me to shy away from her. That fact alone should have told me something.
My heart just about stopped when I entered my apartment and found her gone.
Dropping her bags in the center of the floor I turned in a slow, complete circle looking around at every inch of the living/dining room area for signs of intruders. I inhaled deeply, let it out slowly, reaching for every part of me that was Shadow Shifter for better access to details.
Then I heard water running. My head shot up and turned to the right. The water was coming from the bathroom. Zoe was taking a shower.
Relief washed over me in heavy waves as I walked in that direction, not for one moment thinking that maybe I shouldn’t go in there. I opened the door and felt a clenching in my chest as I stepped into the steam-filled room. Her skirt and shirt were on the floor, along with her underwear—which I could ignore only because I’d already had my hands on the pieces of clothing that had been closest to her body while I was in her room. The urge was still there but I was able to push it aside because the thought of her being naked and just a few feet away from me had taken over.
The water switched off the moment I reached out for the door handle. I don’t know what I was thinking of doing or what I intended to say, “Ah, hey, I would have liked to take a shower with you” didn’t really seem appropriate. By that definition my being in here while she was showering probably wasn’t either, but only an otherworldly event could move me from this spot at this moment.
She pushed the door open and just before I could really take in all her gorgeous nudity, she stumbled. Reflexes on overdrive, I reached out and wrapped my arms around her wet waist to hold her upright.
“Dammit!” she exclaimed trying to push away from me, but the slippery shower stall, plus standing on one foot, didn’t actually equal success. “I was doing so good up until this point.”
“Then my timing is perfect,” I said, bending slightly so I could lift her into my arms.
She stiffened in my arms immediately, dropping her arms in an attempt to cover the good parts, but I’d seen them and my body was reacting, regardless. Still, I kept my eyes on hers now as I moved us out of the bathroom.
“You should have waited for me to get back.”
“I felt icky,” was her reply.
I nodded. Females usually didn’t like to feel “icky” so I understood. I also understood how good she felt in my arms. I cradled her closer, loving the slightness of her weight in my arms, the fresh smell of her skin, and the immediate aroma of her arousal. That just about drove me crazy and I gritted my teeth to try and hold back on my cat’s quick reaction to that scent.
I took her straight to my room and put her on my bed, where she promptly grabbed up the comforter to wrap around her still-wet and very deliciously naked body. The action was pointless as the sight of her naked body with droplets of water clinging to every delectable spot would now and forevermore be permanently emblazoned in my mind.
“Did you get my clothes? Was Dex there?” she asked after she’d tucked the comforter under both of her arms.
Her face looked fresh and pretty even if her eyes were a little bright with worry. She’d pulled her hair back into a loose bun that was now wet around the edges.
“No. He wasn’t,” I replied when I could think past the creamy tone of her skin. My fists clenched at the bruising on her neck and I turned away.
“If you want something to eat, I can fix it or we can order out. There’s a place down the street that has good cheesesteak egg rolls, if you like them.” I was talking a lot which was definitely not like me. I was also offering to cook for this female when I barely liked to cook for myself. Frustration at all these changes pounded against my temples.
“Um, I do like them,” she said. She sounded funny, like she was wondering why I’d turned my back on her.
But I was so filled with all these emotions, sticky and questionable ones ran alongside dangerous and deadly ones and I was afraid of where all of them might lead.