Scorch: A Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (The Tribe Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

my eyes. How did I end up with the one panther who didn’t know what her responsibility was to her line? I got the one who was a novice when it came to this stuff.
    “Bonding is when we give each other ourselves. And hopefully, you give me a cub.”
    “Shit.” Her eyes watered. “Cub? As in a baby? A baby shifter? Like you and me?”
    “Yep.” I smiled widely. Just talking about it made me want her more. But there was a process to this. If she had been anyone else, if she had been just a Penny, I could have taken her all night, but that was not how the bonding rituals worked. First, we had to have a wedding.
    “No. I don’t think I can do this.” She stood from the couch and stared at me. “I admit I’m attracted to you. And you’re hot. And my God, I want you in my bed. And I want to know what line I’m from, but this is too much. I can’t marry you, Drew.”
    I reached for her arm, but she snatched it to her side. “I’m going to bed alone. I don’t expect to see you here in the morning. I’ll find my answers on my own. I don’t need you. I don’t need family.”
    I heard the door close behind her and the small sound of the lock click into place. That wouldn’t keep me out, nothing would. But she was my mate and no matter what I wanted, I had to fucking wait.
    I sat down. Now what was I going to do?

12

Francesca
    H e had said mate , and marriage. I thought he also said cub, but I shook my head and paced my room. No, that couldn’t be right. I was supposed to have a baby with him? I glared at the bedroom door and the tangled mess we had made of my sheets.
    Now I knew why my body ached for him. Now I knew why the fire raced through my blood when I was close to him. He and I had been betrothed, and even though I was fairly ignorant when it came to my heritage, I knew there was strong magic involved in our relationship.
    Nothing was coincidence. My body was drawn to him because I had been pledged to him before I had a say. I finally sat on the edge of the bed, hugging my pillow to my chest. And yet, could I even deny him? Did I want to?
    My entire life I had looked for my family. I had looked for shifters like me. I had mourned the human parents who hated me. And now everything I had searched for was sitting in my living room, proposing to me.
    But what did I give up to be his wife? I could feel the feathers poke through the seams in the pillow as I clawed at the fabric. I sat there while my body called to him. I sat there while my blood hummed for him. I sat, wanting his jaguar like I wanted air to breathe.
    Damn it.
    I opened the door and walked down the hall.
    “Drew?”
    The living room was dark, but I could see his silhouette on the couch. “Yeah?” He sat forward.
    I walked toward him, stopping in front of him, his knees on either side of my legs. I didn’t know if it was instinct or if he wanted to feel that I was there, but his hands slid to my waist. I sighed. He pressed a kiss into my stomach.
    “I don’t think I could stay away from you if I wanted to.” My hands played with his hair, twirling the strands through my fingers.
    He lifted my tank top enough so his lips could brush against my stomach.
    “I know I couldn’t,” he whispered.
    I dropped to my knees, taking his jaw between my palms. “How soon?” I asked.
    His lips landed on mine, crushing them with sudden force. He lifted me into his lap as my arms wrapped around the warmth of his shoulders. I rocked into his hips.
    “Not soon enough,” he growled.
    My head reeled back as his kisses moved from my neck to my shoulder.
    “And we can’t do this until we’re married?”
    His breathing was erratic. He bit my lower ear lobe. “We can do some things. But I think it might be too hard.”
    I nodded. “Too hard.” He had shoved my tank top over my head, and his mouth sucked one tight nipple between his lips.
    I didn’t know how we were going to do this. We had to get married before we could be together and perform whatever