Cipher

and turned her head, offering him the vulnerable spot where her pulse beat with the too-quick tempo of her body’s shuddering release.

He bit her as he hit his peak, a rough caress that would surely leave a bruise, but the pain was nothing compared to the sound he made, completion and pleasure so profound that she couldn’t stop herself from reaching out to him.

Just a little, a tiny crack in her outer layer of shields, but Andrew flooded her with a possessive joy that triggered something primal in response. It tumbled free in breathless words, maybe not the right ones for a dominant shapeshifter, but the right ones for them. “I love that you’re mine. I love being yours.”

He rolled to his back, taking her with him, and wrapped both arms around her. He didn’t say anything at first, only panted for breath as his trembling subsided. “Did I hurt you?”

Exasperated, Kat stretched up and bit his chin. Hard.

“Can’t help it,” he murmured with a smile. “Thought you would’ve figured that out by now.”

“Uh-huh.” She settled her cheek back against his chest, where she could enjoy the way his heart thudded loud and fast. “And you need to figure out that if you hurt me, you’ll be the first to know. I’ve got some pretty scary defenses, even when I’m not feeling lethal.”

“Shh.” His thumb stroked over her neck, over the sensitive spot where he’d bitten her. “I meant this.”

Kat shivered and arched into the gentle touch. “It’s a symbol. Even if I didn’t kind of like it, I’d get off on knowing how much you like it.”

“It’s not about that,” he protested quietly. “It’s about needing it.”

“The symbol?”

“The mark.”

“So that everyone else would know? Or so I would?”

“I don’t know—both?”

She lifted her head so she could meet his eyes. “I do know. I think I’ve always known. Maybe that’s why I never pushed, even when everyone laughed and said my big dumb crush wasn’t a secret. I wasn’t ready for this. It was too…forever.”

His expression had turned grave. “It doesn’t have to be, not if it’s too much for you. I swear, Kat, sometimes I think I’d live with half your heart if that was all I could get.”

If he kept saying things like that, her heart might thud its way out of her chest. “You don’t have to. It’s not in very good shape anymore, but it’s all yours.”

“I want it.” Not a shred of doubt. “I love you.”

She’d known. She’d felt it, seen it in the wild colors that surrounded him. But hearing it… Such certainty. Such quiet passion. It tightened her throat until her words came out in a whisper. “I love you too.”

He closed his eyes for a moment before shifting her to the bed, settling her gently. “I’ll be right back.”

Kat eased under the covers, her limbs shaky, as Andrew headed for the bathroom. Her neck throbbed where he’d bit her, and she’d no doubt have the sort of bruise that people pretended not to see but couldn’t stop staring at.

The shapeshifters would recognize the symbol. Julio would probably ignore it. Sera would smile knowingly, and Miguel… Miguel hadn’t felt the need to mark her. It had been part of why they’d worked so well together, that affection that never crossed the line into possession. Sex had fizzled, but their friendship hadn’t.

Except for the fact that she’d been avoiding him since Andrew had come back into her life.

Kat rolled over on her back and closed her eyes. She could think about navigating ex-lovers and shapeshifter instinct in the morning. Tonight was about her, and the man who crawled back into the bed and gathered her close. With Andrew’s arms around her, the world could be just the two of them. Crazy cults and complicated friendships drifted away, leaving her at peace.

They could do this. Together, they could do anything.

Chapter Fourteen

Andrew dodged Kat’s swing and tumbled her to the mat. “I don’t think you want to hit me, sweetheart.”

She snarled her frustration before baring her teeth at him. “Oh, I do. I really, really do.”

“I don’t believe you.” Not with the punches she’d been landing, and not when he knew she could hit harder. “I can take it, you know.”

“Doesn’t make me like it.” Sighing, she rolled to her feet and shook her hands. “It was easier to hit Alec. He inspired rage.”

“No argument here.” Andrew arched an eyebrow at her. “While I’m really, really glad you like me, liking me too much to hit me might make this sparring thing difficult.”

Behind him, the top stair creaked. Kat’s gaze jumped past him as Zola spoke. “That is why we will teach you to fight as a team.”

It made sense—but, then again, Zola usually did. Andrew rose and faced her. “Like you and Walker?”

“Yes and no. Together, you will fight with body and mind.” Zola pointed to Kat. “She is holding back.

Not fighting as I taught her. Katherine?”

In the mirrors, Andrew saw Kat’s cheeks turn pink. “I didn’t want to hurt him,” she muttered.

If he didn’t know how real her concern was, it would have been mortifying. “Hurt me how?”

Zola leaned back toward the stairs and shouted something in French. Then she gave Kat a stern look.

Kat winced. “Callum taught me a few things… I don’t know, kind of like punching someone with my brain. An empathic jolt that throws them off. But I work with Zola because I have to stay calm enough to do it, and get fast enough to do it before a shapeshifter breaks me in half. Which I’m still working on.”

“So, you don’t want to punch me with your brain.” He blinked. “A surprisingly weird thing to say out loud, actually.”

Her lips pursed, like she was trying to hold back a laugh. “Hey, your brain doesn’t want to hit me either. If you pull those punches any harder, they’ll be going backwards.”

Not admitting it would mean lying to himself as well as her. “I guess we’re even, then.” He’d killed a man with his bare fists, and she’d done the same with her psychic ability, so no wonder they were loath to use those weapons against one another.

“Enough.” Zola gestured to Andrew. “Your instincts will not let you strike at her with strength she cannot meet. So you will watch her with Walker. See what she can do. And then…” The lion smiled, wide and predatory. “You spar against us.”

Walker appeared behind Zola. “What’s up?”

She nodded to Kat. “Andrew must see of what she is capable, so that he may fight at her back.”

“You’re supposed to come kick me around,” Kat said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “I can’t punch Andrew. He’s too pretty.”

The lion laughed. “I should be offended, especially since you look happy enough to smash my ugly face in.”

Kat caught Andrew’s gaze and smiled at him like they were the only ones in the room, wide and open and lopsided. “I’m happy.”

“Uh-huh.” Walker shook his head with a laugh. “Bring it, Gabriel.”

She did fight harder, that much was obvious immediately as she ducked a blow and whirled away.

Walker was moving more slowly than usual, but the fact remained that Kat was human. She would never be as fast as a shifter, no matter how much she trained.

It was easy to see Zola’s influence in her movements, and that she’d been trained in a very different style. Defensive, her focus on evasion, until Walker lunged toward her.

Her left hand fisted as her eyes narrowed, and Walker stiffened. His foot came down too soon, at an awkward angle, and Kat struck fast, slamming into the back of his knee hard enough to send him to the floor before she hopped away.

Next to Andrew, Zola lowered her voice. “She is good, finding the right moment where a small push can