Passion's Prey

understanding. But how could they possibly understand what she was going through? They had no idea what had happened to her in the Gungi all those years ago. Nobody did.

“He’s just a guy that acts like he’s my father. And does everything else like he’s some kind of perfect god,” she said with exasperation.

“He’s a powerful shifter,” Ary said slowly. “He’s one of the commanding officers in the Stateside Assembly.”

“And he’s your brother’s best friend,” Kalina added. “And you knew all this when you slept with him. So what did you think was going to happen?”

Caprise ran a hand over the loose braid she’d put in her hair. “I thought it was just sex,” she answered finally.

Ary seemed to let out a breath before shaking her head. “And now what do you think it is?” she asked.

“I think we’re both too screwed up to think beyond sex. I mean, he’s like got all this stuff going on in his head and it makes him almost crazy. And I’ve got my crap. We’re just a mess.” And when she’d finally said that out loud it didn’t seem totally true.

Kalina nodded. “Wouldn’t it be better if the two of you sorted out your mess together?”

That sounded too logical for it to make sense. Or Caprise simply wasn’t trying to hear the logical explanation and resolution for what was going on between her and X. Besides, there were other important things going on.

“Look, we’ll figure it out. I mean, I guess we’ll do what we need to when the time comes.”

“You’ll have a joining ceremony?” Ary asked.

Caprise was already shaking her head. “I was talking about when it’s time to part ways. I enjoy sex with Xavier but I don’t know about all these shifter rituals.”

“How about the companheiro calor?” Kalina asked. “You don’t know about that one?”

“I know about it, but I’m not trying to get caught up in it. I live in a different world than the two of you,” Caprise told them with a sigh.

Ary reached for Caprise’s hand then. “You’d be surprised how quickly you get caught up, Caprise. Almost even before you realize it you’re mated and then there’s nothing you can do—nothing you want to do—besides have a joining ceremony. Because to be apart from your mate would surely be like dying.”

Been there, done that, Caprise thought with an inward push at her cat, which was slinking along the surface as if it, too, belonged in this conversation.

“It’s not like that with me and X,” she said but wasn’t totally sure that was the truth. Her head was throbbing, matching the rhythmic beat of pain in her chest. “We’re too different.”

It was Kalina’s turn to shake her head. “On the contrary, I think you’re too much alike. He’s just as stubborn as you are. But eventually you’re both going to have no choice but to face the facts.”

Caprise took a deep breath. “The fact is that a young man is dead because of me.”

“You’re talking about Seth?” Kalina asked. “No, honey, he was killed by another shifter. You had nothing to do with that.”

“But I did,” she said. “That shifter is looking for me and he found Seth because Seth was my guard. It’s my fault.” One tear slid free, falling to leave a dark spot on the comforter.

* * *

Nick only wanted what was best for his sister. That was all. When his parents died he’d wanted to take care of her because he knew that was what they’d expect of him. But she’d disappeared. And truth be told, he’d harbored a shitload of guilt over not carrying out his parents’ wishes.

When he first found out about her and X, he was livid. He’d wanted to kill Xavier Santos-Markland and shake some sense into his little sister. But then he’d realized two things: Xavier was one of his best friends, and Caprise wasn’t little any longer. She was an adult and so was X, a healthy male shifter and a beautiful female shifter. Logically it made sense they’d come together. But logic had been clouded by emotion—in Nick’s world, nothing new.

So it had taken him some time to decide confronting his sister was the right thing to do. X wasn’t backing down where Caprise was concerned. Nick didn’t blame him; if someone had tried to take Ary away from him after he’d found her in the Gungi, he would have been ready to do bodily harm. This morning at breakfast, X looked like he was at that point, like he would get physical without a doubt should Nick take a firm stance about him seeing Caprise. Nick wasn’t a fool, he knew that at the end of the day Caprise was going to do what the hell she wanted. She always had. And X, that crazy shifter, hardly ever did what he was told.

He was just about to knock on Caprise’s door when she came out. She looked the same, her dark eyes flanked by long lashes and thick arched eyebrows. She looked like their father.

“Hey,” he said, clearing his throat. “I was just coming to talk to you.”

She sighed as if he was the last person in the world she wanted to talk to. “Nick, I don’t have time for this right now. I have to go see Seth’s parents. Then I’m going into the city.”

Nick took her by the arm, leading her down the hallway and into one of the meeting rooms on this floor.

“Look, give me a minute, Caprise. I’m trying to get some things off my chest.”

“When will you learn everything isn’t about you, Nick? You called me a couple of days ago yelling and screaming about who you thought I should be with and what I should be doing with my life. Now you want to tell me what’s been on your chest. Did it ever occur to you that I have my own life, my own problems?”

She was absolutely right. Nick didn’t mind eating crow if it meant the women in his life would eventually end up happy. He’d watched X this morning, listened to his reaction to Rome’s questioning about him and Caprise being joined. Standing here, in this close proximity to his sister, he could see that even though she looked the same, she’d definitely changed. His first clue was the heavy musky scent that circled her like a cloud. It was the companheiro calor, he knew that without a doubt. What he wondered now was if Caprise and X knew it.

“I apologize,” he said instantly. “You’re right, I’ve been a selfish goof. But here’s the thing: I’m your brother and I just want what’s best for you.”

“What’s best for me is to live the way I want. If I want to dance on a pole I should be able to dance on a pole without anybody giving me the stink eye. And if I want to sleep with your cranky-ass friend, then I’ll do just that.”

Her saying she was sleeping with X still didn’t melt like butter over Nick, but he was trying to accept the facts. “You’re an adult. You sleep with who you want and work where you want. I get it.”

He could tell his easy acceptance of what she’d just said shocked her. She’d actually opened her mouth, prepared to argue with him some more, then snapped it shut.

“Well, I’m glad you came to your senses.”

He smiled. “Yeah, well my wife has a way of bringing me around.”

“She told you to back off, didn’t she?” Caprise asked with a smile of her own.

Nick shrugged. “Yeah, something like that.”

They shared a laugh together. It felt really good, like old times. And for a minute, just this small snatch of time, Caprise looked happy.

“What if he’s your mate?” he asked, because he didn’t want his sister disillusioned about X or the man he was. No matter how loyal to his friend Nick was, he knew there was a darkness to X, a place he went where neither he nor Rome had ever been with him. He wondered if Caprise knew this.

“You know I don’t live by those Gungi laws,” she said flippantly. A little too flippantly for Nick to believe she was sincere.

“There are signs you cannot ignore, Caprise. Telltale signs that a couple has mated.”

“We did not mate, dammit! We had sex!”

“Please,” Nick said, shaking his head. “Don’t keep saying that. I’m getting a visual and its making me nauseous.”

“Then stop bringing it up,” she snapped.

“If it’s true, you can’t hide from it. Mating is a natural part of being a shifter.” Nick held up a hand when she tried to say something else. “I know you want to believe you’re not a shifter, but you are. You can’t run away from