Mating Call by Martha Bourke Read Free Book Online Page B

don’t—”
    She walked closer to him and looked up into those brilliant eyes. “Why? Why is that so bad?”
    “Because I can’t say no to you. God, help me, I can’t stay away from you.”
    “Why try?”
    “I’m not human. If we’re together, I won’t ever be able to let you go. I know it. I can feel it.”
    “So, don’t.”
    “I’m afraid for you.”
    “You’ll protect me.”
    He paced and then stood still again. “Not physically. I’m afraid of what it’s gonna do to your life. What about your family? What about Kate? When she gets married. When she has her babies. You’ll miss all that. We aren’t gonna be takin’ our families to church together on Sundays, Ev.”
    “I don’t care about any of that stuff. I never have.”
    “You say that now, but—” Troy suddenly grabbed his head.
    “Troy!”
    She went for him, but he fell against a wing chair and steadied himself.
    “What can I do?”
    He grabbed the back of his neck like he was trying to protect himself. “Nothing. Just go.”
    And then it hit her. This was why he was constantly avoiding her. It had to have something to do with shifters mating. She couldn’t stand to see him in pain, but she couldn’t take the thought of being without him. She was trapped. “Troy, stop this!”
    He moaned. “Ev, please, just go.”
    “I don’t want to leave you.”
    “Evy, please, it hurts!”
    She took a step back and then another. Little by little, she managed to get herself to the door. She could still hear him breathing hard in the silence.
    “I love you,” she said to herself quietly, then closed the door behind her.
     
    X materialized in the Social Sciences section of the Boston Public Library. As he walked into Bates Hall and cast out his senses, he felt this odd sense of hope that she’d be there. There were only two other shifters in the room and the one he was looking for sure as hell wasn’t the male with the comb over. He looked further down the rows of oblong tables until he found her. Rose was sitting at the far end of the room where she seemed to be taking notes. She was probably preparing a lecture for one of the history classes she taught at Harvard.
    X sat down at the table closest to him. With his New Breed sight, he didn’t need to be any closer to…to what exactly? Watch her? Jesus Christ. He was still pissed at Troy for how he was handling the Evy sitch. And now he was taking a page from his boy’s book— Stalker 101 or some shit? Ever since he’d first seen Rose a few days before, he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her. A photographic memory was normally a positive thing, unless of course you were trying to forget the most beautiful face you’d ever seen. Then it was a real bitch.
    All of a sudden, Rose looked up. Holy shit. She was looking right at him. She must have sensed his damn New Breed k’ul . And here he was without so much as a book in front of him. What was he doing? This wasn’t him. This kind of behavior wasn’t only irrational, it was dangerous. He stood and walked out the closest door. Without Troy’s antics, there would be no reason for him to be there again. As he took the stairs down to the first floor, he promised himself this was the last he would see of BPL.

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Richard walked from the living room into the bedroom. “Still up with your books, female? Why aren’t I surprised?”
    He kissed his mate’s forehead and started to get undressed.
    “I can’t help it. It’s so interesting.”
    “I’m afraid I’m lost after Tarot cards.” He grinned and crawled in beside her.
    “I’m serious. Did you know there’s only one true Seer born every thousand years?”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah. I did the calculation and SE isn’t that far off. Maybe a few years. Oh, but the Seer is marked with a symbol.”
    “Ah. You know, I really think it’s probably just a gift he’ll have to learn how to use. Remember what I was like when the telepathy first came on?”
    “Hell,