Surrounded by Secrets by Mandy Harbin Read Free Book Online Page B

behind her, his cock jerking inside her with each spurt of his release. Never had she let a man take her bare before Jack, yet the thought of him allowing a condom between them felt unacceptable to her now.
    That sobered her. No! She was not some whiny little tart. She stiffened, and she heard and felt Jack’s sigh against her shoulder.
    He eased out and away from her, and Lillian scrambled to her feet. She looked at him and growled.
    “Stay the hell away from me.”
    She shifted back into the abomination that was her new alter ego and ran.
    * * * *
    Jack couldn’t explain what had come over him when he’d been in the woods with Lillian. He’d been determined to teach her about hunting and expose her to the new aspect of her life, but the moment she’d come out as a mountain lion, all he could think was mate . It was hard to argue with her at times, but while in his feral form, he just wanted to dominate her.
    So he’d kept his mouth shut and just focused on the tasks. He’d run them all over the place in hopes that the need to take her would ease. He wasn’t that lucky. It was always there, taunting him. He’d barely held it at bay up until she’d charged him. His lion had taken control at that point, and he’d been helpless to stop it. He’d just been thankful he’d mustered enough willpower to shift back into his manly form. Taking her as a lion would’ve been too personal. That was reserved for mates, mates who wanted to conceive.
    After they’d had sex, Lillian had run. He couldn’t blame her. He felt the same need to flee. But the need to stay and make her understand was slowly taking over that desire to stay away from her. So he’d forced himself not to follow her. She’d headed back toward the direction of the cabins and not her father’s house, so there wasn’t an immediate concern she’d escape the estate. No reason to make her understand he was just as tormented as she was. All the reasons weren’t the same, but the struggles were there.
    When he’d gotten back to his cabin, he was pleased to smell her scent was strong there. She was home. She’d run from him, but she’d run back to his cabin. She could’ve sought refuge at the main house or with one of the other ladies, but she hadn’t. Jack had tried not to feel the pride swell up at her choice, but the feelings had bubbled up anyway. When he’d gone inside, he’d found her asleep on the bed. She’d put on one of his T-shirts and was huddled in the corner, but she’d been there.
    He’d showered, slipped on some boxers, and slid into bed beside her, trying not to touch her. His body was so large that there wasn’t much space between them, but he didn’t want to disturb her while he slept.
    But sleep had eluded him most of the night. He’d have tossed and turned more if he hadn’t been worried about waking her. He did sleep in fits, but by dawn, he’d accepted it as a lost cause.
    He gently sat up and pulled open his nightstand drawer to retrieve the photo of his mother. Just a few days ago, this had been the dominating factor of his mind. Now it was just a nagging thought on the sidelines. Granted, his life had changed drastically, but his family history shouldn’t be ignored.
    He needed to talk to Josh about what he’d discovered and the theories it raised. If he was right, his father wasn’t the reason for their existence, as they’d all been led to believe. It had been his mother all along.
    “What’s that?” Lillian asked, her voice roughened with sleep.
    Jack tossed the photo back into the drawer and shut it. He couldn’t share this with her. Not now. Not yet. “Nothing.”
    He looked over his shoulder and stopped breathing. She was truly beautiful, her blonde hair mussed, her big blue eyes soft. She held the blanket against her chest and yawned. So innocent-looking.
    “I’m surprised you came back here last night. I figured you’d run to one of the women.”
    She huffed. “Why would I run to one of the