Jealous And Freakn'

Mitchell kept peering out the bay window. He thought he’d managed to do so unobtrusively until the cuff that caught him upside of the head.



Turning, he glared at his very pregnant baby sister who smirked at him. “Aww, aren’t you so cute acting all eager-beaver like. Don’t worry, big brother. Francine will be here soon.”



“What makes you think I’m watching for her?” It annoyed him that his sister knew whom he searched for, but for the wrong reason.



“Oh, please. You do this every time you know she’s coming over. Hell, the last time, you almost took Mom out in your hurry to dive out the back door. Talk about pathetic. Just give in already. The whole family knows you two are meant for each other. So stop acting like such a pussy. Why not act like the dog you are and claim her?”



“That’s rich coming from, Mrs. I-wanna-marry-a-human,” he mocked in a high-pitched voice. That earned him a scowl and a whack in the arm.



“And look what happened to me. Bitch slapped with two men instead of one.”



“Wait, do you think if I keep holding out, then fate will give me two or three women?” He leered, and then ducked as she swung again. Chuckling, he quite enjoyed his sister’s annoyed red face.



All too soon, her face smoothed into a calm mask, one he knew better than to trust. “From what I hear, Francine is worth two women in bed. Betcha she’d have you begging for mercy and walking funny if you gave her a chance.”



Mitchell spoke through gritted teeth. “Would you stop saying shit like that? Francine is like a sister to me. The idea of doing anything with her is just gross.”



“Blah, blah, blah. You know, I believed that whole sister line you fed us ten years ago when you guys were still kids, but seriously, Mitchell. You haven’t seen or talked to her in at least the last five or six years. She’s changed, so how can you still claim that?”



“Because.” What no one else seemed to recognize, except him, was while he’d always found Francine cute, she didn’t make him want to throw her down and ravish her. If they truly were mates, why hadn’t the mating fever hit him? The wild urge to claim her, growing in intensity until he couldn’t help himself and he fucked her until they both passed out from pleasure. He’d heard enough stories to know that in a true mating, hormones went wild, and while his heart did race when he knew Francine got close, and his palms sweated, it appeared more a recurrence of his childhood fear that she would tackle him and force him into something he didn’t want—like a sloppy kiss tasting of watermelon gum. He didn’t want that for either of them, not when it meant the right person, their true mate, still hadn’t come along.



“Idiot.” His sister cuffed him again before she waddled off, a prime example of a mating done right. Ornery and scary as shit, his baby sister found happiness in the arms of not one, but two shifters. Ethan and Javier, a bear and jaguar, who’d managed to tone down some of Naomi’s wilder impulses, but more remarkably, loved her for her feisty nature. Sick bastards.



A rumble of a motor drew his attention back to the window and he wondered if the time for his departure had arrived, but no, he didn’t spot Francine’s blue Hyundai Accent. Instead, a sleek motorcycle pulled up out front. Then Mitchell blinked because if he weren’t mistaken, the driver held a present out to the side in one hand as he coasted to a stop. Only once he lowered his arm, did Mitchell notice his passenger. Then his heart sped up and his jaw dropped as Francine unhooked her arms from around the guy’s waist and slid off the bike.



Of course, this Francine looked vastly different from the high school one he recalled with pigtails and braces, although she remained just as short. But the rest of her, shit, when had her plumpness turned into curves that gave her an hourglass shape? Since when did she have breasts that strained her blouse, and wild red hair that corkscrewed around her face and brought attention to her full-lipped smile? He’d spent so much time avoiding her, he’d not actually ever seen the grown up version. Not that it changed anything.



The driver slid off the bike, and set the present down before he yanked down the bandanna covering the lower half of his face. He then pulled off his helmet, shaking out shaggy black hair, and even from where he stood shielded by the sheer curtains, Mitchell couldn’t miss the masculine grin he threw Francine. It roused his wolf, who growled with hackles raised. Mitchell didn’t bother to stop and try to figure out what about this guy put his beast on edge –or why—suddenly angry, he just stormed out to confront them.



Stomping down the porch steps, Francine turned his way, delight lighting her expression as she saw him. And damn it all if he didn’t feel an answering tug—in his cock. Totally inappropriate. To ignore her and his reaction, he looked at her companion. The strange dude, who’d pulled off his aviator glasses and tucked them in his pocket, flicked him a disinterested glance before letting his gaze stray downwards to ogle Francine’s jean-clad ass. It made Mitchell, both the man and his beast, growl in annoyance.



Coming to a stop before a little girl who’d grown into a much too pretty woman, Mitchell’s terse words wiped the smile off Francine’s face. “And just what the hell do you think you were doing, young lady, riding a motorcycle without a helmet?”




Ire flashed in her eyes, and she planted her fists on rounded hips before retorting. “Whatever happened to ‘Hi, Francine?’ or “How’s it going, Francine?’ I don’t see you in, what, five years, and you freak out because I rode a few miles on a bike without a helmet? I’m a shapeshifter. Short of decapitation, I’ll heal.”



“A few miles?” he shouted back. “It’s at least thirty clicks from here to your place. Your hotshot boyfriend is lucky the cops didn’t pull you over.”



“He’s not my boyfriend,” she growled. “Although, if he were, what we did together would be none of your business.”



“And might I add, we’d do some very interesting things.” The tanned biker, who this close, Mitchell recognized by scent as some sort of large cat, should have kept his mouth shut. Mitchell’s fist came flying out of nowhere to hit him in the jaw. Not that it rocked the bastard. The big guy took it and grinned wider.



“Is that the best you can do, wolfie? I’ve had human girls give me love taps harder than that.”



A red haze descended over him at that point, and Mitchell couldn’t stop himself from snarling and slamming into the other man, sending them to the ground in a tussling heap, one his wolf entirely approved of.



Damned cat. I’ll teach him...