Desirable by Elle Thorne, Shifters Forever Read Free Book Online Page B

should make her happy to be amongst such merriment, amongst shifters finding their enjoyment and even their mates at the event.
    She couldn’t find enjoyment. She was tormented by her thoughts. All she could think of was that Lézare would find a woman who would make him laugh a husky laugh, touch him with lust, kiss him with passion, and who knew what else. And that whoever he found would not be her.
    I’m such a fool.
    So leave then, fool, she rebuked herself.
    But like a moth drawn to a flame, she couldn’t. She wanted to see him again, later, when she’d regained self-control and her emotions wouldn’t get the best of her. She wanted to memorize the way he looked when he laughed, the tilt of his head, the curve of his smile, his broad shoulders and wide chest. That short hair and beautifully-hued skin of his.
    She sighed.
    “Tell me his name and I’ll make him pay,” said a voice close to her ear.
    She half-jumped and half-flinched. Then she put her hand on her chest.
    The words were low, sensual, husky, exactly what she’d wanted, and they were delivered by the very man she wanted.
    Lézare.
    Would he recognize her voice if she spoke? Everything he’d heard her say had been screamed and yelled several months ago. She’d never stopped to talk to him, not really talk; there’d only been yelling, snapping, and even whining.

----
    L ézare had found her : the mystery woman in black trimmed with gold. She was in the gazebo, facing away from him. He could tell from her body language that she was unhappy.
    Then she sighed.
    He heard that sigh from more than a dozen paces away and was grateful for his shifter hearing. With tiger-quick speed he was upon her, unnoticed.
    He leaned in, inhaling her womanly essence, but not picking up any sign of her shifter scent. Of course she was a shifter; who or what else would dare come to a shifter ball?
    “Tell me his name and I’ll make him pay.” He spoke the words close to her ear.
    She jumped and jerked away, still not facing him.
    “I apologize. I didn’ mean to scare you.” He studied the voluptuous body sheathed in the black dress. It showcased her curves, emphasizing a full bust and full hips that tapered in to her waist.
    Something about her figure reminded him…
    No, it can’t be.
    She cleared her throat and turned to face him. Dark green eyes were framed by blonde eyelashes.
    Those eyes.
    He glanced at her lips. Her teeth had captured the bottom one and were worrying it.
    “Keep that up and you’ll make it bleed.” He raised a thumb to her mouth and freed her lip from its captivity.
    He didn’t move his thumb, instead leaving it resting on the slightly swollen pink flesh while his fingers curled under her chin. He felt her pulse as surely as he felt his own throbbing in his body. Her pulse began a race that was matching his own.
    The music coming from the house, the sounds of merriment from the balcony, the sounds of the Louisiana woods just beyond their manicured lawn… all of it faded away. It was as if he were being sucked into a whirlpool, except that she was there with him, and they were standing still.
    This sensation—he knew he’d experienced it before.
    His tiger roared in his head.
    The scent wasn’t there. She was wearing block. But she’d received the invitation.
    And she’d come.
    His tiger chuffed with pleasure.
    Natalya had come.
    He’d hoped that what he felt when he’d had seen her last wasn’t one-sided. But why was she hiding her identity? Why the block? Why not come through the front door and announce herself?
    It doesn’t matter. She’s here. That’s all that matters.

----
    L ézare’s thumb was on her lip. How she wanted to take it in her mouth, to taste it, to feel its texture against her tongue. She closed her eyes, sure that when she opened them he’d be gone.
    “A dance?” His words were a low whisper, so low that only her shifter hearing could pick them up.
    She swallowed. This was the moment. She hoped her voice