Unbound by Sara Humphreys Read Free Book Online Page A

she shouldn’t be doing this. Here she was dry-humping a man she’d known for less than twelve hours…and not just any man. An Amoveo shifter who would probably kill her if he knew who she was. But all of that, every shred of doubt, each shaming whisper, was drowned out by the tsunami of sensations her body was experiencing beneath Zachary’s touch.
    However, every thought was driven from her when she found herself staring into a pair of glowing amber eyes. The eyes of the lion.
    â€œThis is who I am, Annabelle.” Zachary’s voice was tight with desire. His hand curled around the crook of her knee, he lifted her leg and rocked his hips against her while his other hand pressed against her back, holding her to him. Annabelle’s body quivered with lust, need, and anticipation, making her feel like a rubber band that was pulled too tight. One wrong move and she would snap. He placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth and whispered, “Now tell me. Who are you running from?”
    Annabelle froze in his embrace, and her body went from hot to cold in a split second as reality came crashing down around her. Shaking her head slowly, she pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him away from her as her leg slid down his. He didn’t try to stop her, but his eyes continued to blaze brightly at her with that predatory stare.
    â€œI can’t do this. I can’t be with you,” she said in a surprisingly steady voice. Annabelle opened her hand, removed the shell, and held it out to him. “And this is not mine to take.”
    Zachary took the shell from her but said nothing as she turned and ran out the sliding glass doors to the beach.

Chapter 5
    Zachary swore under his breath and stuck the shell in his pocket before running after Annabelle. He was cocking this whole situation up in a big fat way because he had no idea what he was doing. All he knew was that he had to stop her before she ran off and got herself lost or worse. She had no money and no identification. Where the hell did she think she was gonna go?
    The heat of the early morning sun fired over him the instant he stepped foot on the sand, and panic filled him when he found the beach empty. He ran past the privacy fences that lined the sides of the property, and as he approached the water’s edge, a wave of relief flooded him when he spotted her. She was about thirty feet down the beach to the left, sitting in the sand with her face buried against her knees. His sense of relief was swiftly replaced with concern when he realized she was crying.
    Shit. He’d made her cry. Nice move, asshole .
    He ran one hand through his hair and approached her cautiously, trying to figure out what the fuck he was supposed to say or do. The woman was obviously in some kind of trouble and on the run from someone or something, and he went and dumped all the shapeshifter and life-mate stuff on her.
    Wait a minute .
    Zachary’s eyes narrowed and he studied her more closely. Running over everything in his mind, it dawned on him that she hadn’t seemed terribly surprised about the revelation that he was a shapeshifter—an Amoveo. Annabelle was more upset—or shocked—about being his mate than anything else. Could she already have known about the Amoveo? No way. The only humans who knew about the Amoveo were the Caedo, and there was no chance she was Caedo. He’d encountered plenty of those jerk-offs over the past year and they were nothing like Annabelle.
    All of his thoughts were swept aside when the sadness edging her energy signature rippled over him in jagged strokes. Her long hair fluttered off her back and the red highlights glinted in the sun as her shoulders shook. Her arms hugged her legs and she kept her face buried against her knees. The woman looked utterly and completely alone, and in that moment, he made himself a promise.
    No matter what happened, regardless of whether or not she wanted to be with him,