Page 91 of Reluctant Rebel

“There’s nothing wrong with a little bestiality. Get on with your bad self.”

Draven’s eyes looked like they might fall out of his head as they looked at the woman he had a crush on. Sabre had told Mikhail all about what she considered to be the ‘grossest thing on the planet’. The banter was enough to get Jinx to move, and she sat up with a disgruntled huff. Her green and blue eyes glinted with annoyance as she looked at the group gathered around them before she opened her mouth and roared.

The sound echoed through the hall, loud and ferocious. It was a formidable roar that Mikhail was sure would strike terror into the hearts of their enemies. But to his consternation, it made him swiftly and incredibly hard.

Mikhail felt a sudden rush of heat flood his body, his face flushing as an unexpected tightness gripped his lower abdomen. His breath caught in his throat as a tingling sensation spread through his groin, blood rushing south with alarming speed. The fabric of his pants grew uncomfortably constricting as his arousal swelled, straining against the zipper.

He shifted awkwardly, trying to adjust his position without drawing attention. But the pressure and friction only intensifiedthe sensation, sending little jolts of pleasure through his body. His heart raced, pulse pounding in his ears as he became hyper-aware of every subtle movement.

His mind reeled, torn between mortification and the intense desire to assuage his lust. Unfortunately, despite what Phaedra thought, bestiality wasn’t in his wheelhouse, so he silently willed his body to calm down. Unfortunately, Jinx chose that moment to thrust her head between his legs. He yelped, scooting backwards on his butt to evade the beast. But she just kept following. “What is going on here?” he yelled, concerned that his manhood was in real danger.

“Stop retreating!” Phaedra ordered sternly. “Jinx’s human side has retreated deeper, and the tiger is in control. She’s acting on instinct. She can smell your arousal. She knows you are mates. It appears the tiger has a thing or two to say about that.”

Mikhail went still. “Oh …” He hadn’t thought about that. This was Jinx's first time around him in her shifted form. Of course, the poor animal was acting on her nature.

He met Jinx's mismatched eyes, seeing the intelligence and emotion swirling in their depths. Slowly, carefully, he reached out a hand, palm up. “Hey there, beautiful,” he said softly, his voice low and soothing. “It's okay. I like you, too.”

The massive tiger cocked her head, regarding him with interest. Her whiskers twitched as she leaned forward, sniffing his outstretched hand. Mikhail remained perfectly still, letting her investigate his scent at her own pace.

“That's it,” Mikhail murmured encouragingly. “You're amazing, you know that? So strong and fierce. Anyone would be proud to have you as their mate. I know this isn’t what you signed up for, but for now, we need to think with our human brains, okay?”

The tiger seemed to ponder his words before she let out another rumble and nuzzled him. Mikhail's heart swelled withaffection. If he had any hope of a future with Jinx, this animal was going to be a part of the package. And he was very okay with that.

36

Jinx stirred beneath her blankets, consciousness slowly seeping back as the first rays of light filtered through the window in her guest room. As the fog of sleep lifted, memories from the previous afternoon came flooding back, causing her cheeks to flush with embarrassment.

She buried her face in her pillow, groaning softly. The events played out in her mind like a vivid dream—or nightmare. Her tiger form, so powerful and graceful, was reduced to a simpering puddle at Mikhail's feet. Her feline side remembered the feel of his skin beneath her tongue, the intoxicating scent of his arousal that had filled her nostrils. She had been utterly captivated. Even now, the animal pined for her mate.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Jinx berated herself.

“What’s stupid?” Eric asked from where he was stretched out on the lounge. He’d spent the night after they’d gossiped into the wee hours.

“Me,” Jinx replied, staring at the ceiling. “I should never have shifted around Mikhail. It’s going to make it all the harder to keep my swiftly crumbling walls erected.”

Eric shuffled around until he was sitting cross-legged. “I thought we agreed last night that you were going to give up—and givein—to fate.”

Jinx hummed before she sat up, ran a hand through her tangled hair and pushed herself out of bed. She dressed quickly inside the walk-in closet in comfortable jeans and a soft shirt, her movements brisk. Shehadsaid that. And it hadn’t been an easy admission. But now, in the light of day, her doubts were returning.

“Jinx, being mated to Mikhail will be less of a cage and more of a blessing,” Eric reminded her quietly when she walked back into the main space.

She dropped down next to him, twirling some hair around her fingers. “I know that. I truly do. One of my concerns was that I would feel like a slave to fate. That my control had been stolen from me again.”

“But you know that’s not true. All you—and Mikhail—have been doing is showing just how in control of your lives you are. I mean, you had sex with the guy and didn’t mate him. If that’s not control or proof that you have the freedom to make your own choices, I don’t know what is,” Eric pointed out.

Jinx knew he was right. And she was at the very edge of the cliff, her body on the brink of plunging off, diving into the unknown of love, and praying that Mikhail would be at the bottom to catch her. But … “But …”

“No buts,” Eric said firmly. He tugged her hair from her hands, where she was making the tangles worse. “Jinx, you’re not even that emotionally damaged anymore. That reason is getting mighty flimsy.”

Jinx gasped. “How do you know how mentally stable I am? I’m one big walking trauma, buddy!” She pointed to her head. “It’s a mess of pain and self-loathing in here!”

Eric snorted at her theatrics. “You were mostly healed before you met Mikhail. Your confidence took a hit when you discovered he was your fated mate and brought your past to the surface. That’s understandable. But you’ve been working through it ever since. Every second you draw breath, you choose to deal, you choose to fight. And you’ve been choosing to fight for Mikhail.”

She stared at her friend, her mind processing his words. “I have, haven’t I?” She hadn’t been fightingagainsther mating. She’s been fightingforit. Every time she thought about Mikhail, saw him, spoke with him, or touched him, she’d been healing and dealing. And she hadn’t even noticed. “Stupid,” she decided once more. Barring receiving anonymous gifts, her intrusive thoughts had been suspiciously quiet since she’d had sex with Mikhail.

Eric leaned in, giving her a one-armed hug. “Nah, you’re not stupid. Buthewill be if he doesn’t come to the same realisation soon.”

“After Z …” Jinx immediately began to defend Mikhail.

---