rogue shifter 05 - caught between by gayle parness Read Free Book Online

at me first?" I sighed.
    Liam spoke soothingly, but his brow was wrinkled with worry. "Jackie, this is not a good idea. You can't make yourself vulnerable to him in that way. One of us should be with you."
    "Too late." I answered, making Liam flatten his mouth in annoyance. "He was going to leave."
    "He said he was going to leave, but he was probably lying."
    "Remember, we said he couldn't lie." So there.
    "He hadn't agreed to the bargain at that point."
    "Oh." Liam had a nice way of making me feel like an idiot. "What do you think?" I asked, looking at Garrett and hoping for a little encouragement.
    "You've put yourself at the mercy of a dangerous being. I'm concerned for your safety, as always." Well that hadn't helped.
    Much to my relief, Kellie piped in. "If you do not like what he is doing, simply send him home. You can do that at any time." She gave me a reassuring smile. "I believe you chose well. Having a power that you cannot control is dangerous for you and Charles." She gave Liam a look . After a few moments of silent conversation, he shrugged and nodded in agreement. Apparently, she knew how to handle her man.
    Garrett frowned, probably not liking that Liam had caved so quickly. Liam stood up and took Kellaine's hand. "Kellie and I will go for a walk along the shore. It's a lovely night."
    They left in a poof, and I gave Garrett a look of my own, daring him to start in with his pregnant and vulnerable and extremely intelligent mate. He tried to look contrite, only managing to appear adorably huggable. "I confess to being overly protective yet again, but in this situation I can't help myself."
    "And?"
    "I agree that If your power is indeed unstable it would be safer for you and Charlie if you learned to control it."
    "Thank you." I squeezed his hand, appreciating the concession he'd made.
    He sighed. "The agreement with Isaiah is sound and it's in his interests to adhere to it. What bothers me is the way he appeared ahead of schedule. He was sent here for a reason, so we have to find out what it is as soon as possible."
    We glanced at the door that led to the upstairs rooms. "He seems to be enjoying himself and probably won't want to go home so soon, no matter what his motives for coming early." I said.
    He moved closer and sweetly kissed my cheek. "A movie? And popcorn? Or ice cream?"
    "I'll pick the movie, you make the popcorn and get the ice cream." He kissed my other cheek and walked in his graceful way toward the kitchen. I watched his body as he moved, happy that the room was as large as it was and that he wasn't using vamp speed. This would never get old.
     
    CHAPTER SEVEN
    The next day, Sondra, a sweet leopard shifter, cleared the table after our lunch. Farrell asked me, having ignored Isaiah the entire meal, "Will you be training with the demon now?"
    Isaiah answered while picking his teeth with a toothpick, annoying us both. "Yes she will, young warrior, so why don't you run along back to freaky fairy land?" He didn't even pretend to hide his disdain for Farrell, and that pissed me off.
    Liam leaned forward, putting a hand on Farrell's arm to keep him in his seat and not up and drawing his dagger. "Isaiah, Jacqueline has agreed to your acting as her trainer..."
    I interrupted him. "But I haven't agreed to you insulting my friends. Keep it up and you're back in scaly demon land faster than a speeding bullet." He'd spent the morning watching an old superman movie starring Christopher Reeves, so I figured he'd understand.
    "They keep glowering at me with acute hostility. I have been behaving."  He allowed his eyes to flash orange as he scanned the fae side of the table and, as if in answer, Farrell's irises grew golden in response.
    Kellie stood quickly and took hold of Liam's hand, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone. "Come Liam, let's go. Jackie will be fine, because if she isn't, Isaiah will regret it for centuries. Farrell, why don't you spend the afternoon with Ashlyn? The last time I was in Faerie she