Midnight Heat by Tamsin Ley

Author:Tamsin Ley [Ley, Tamsin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781950027262
Publisher: Twin Leaf Press

Chapter Thirteen

Elias had never in his life expected to feel as much joy as he did over the next two days. He brought Lana fish, and she scavenged clams and small crabs for them. The rain made it unpleasant to stay on the beach, but they were plenty warm together in their bower beneath the spruce tree. He knew he should go summon help and get her back to Kenai, but Lana never suggested it, and the selfish part of him wanted to keep her all to himself a while longer.

They sat cross-legged on his pelt beneath the tree, the stringent scent of sap filling the area. Lana was putting the finishing touches on a heart she’d carved into the trunk of the tree.

“Ugh, that was dumb. This will never come off.” She rubbed at the sticky splotches darkening her fingers. “But I bet no one has ever made love on this island before. We’re the first and only.”

He took her hand and kissed it, smiling at her with adoration. “This will always be our special spot.”

She smiled back, a matching glow in her eyes.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I can go catch fish.”

“Any chance you could catch me a jelly doughnut?”

He laughed. “Sorry. And I don’t recommend the jellyfish around here.”

She pursed her mouth thoughtfully. “Ashlyn tries to give all her pastries Alaskan names. I should suggest jellyfish doughnuts.”

“Jellyfish doughnuts might not sound very appealing to most Americans.”

“What do you mean? It’s adorable! Cute little fishies filled with raspberry jelly.”

“Won’t people think that looks like blood?”

She bit her lip. “Oh, I didn’t think of that. But now I want a doughnut more than ever. I need to stop talking about pastries.” She covered her eyes with one arm. “Tell me more about your childhood. You said your mom wasn’t around, but if mates are so important to shifters, why’d she leave?”

His mood soured. He hated thinking about his mom, let alone talking about her. But Lana was his mate. She should know everything about him.

“Many shifters marry, have families, and live perfectly contented lives without meeting their mate. We don’t expect to. But when we do, the bond we form is, well, I guess you could call it unbreakable. And undeniable.” He shifted uncomfortably, and when he spoke again, his voice was a raspy whisper. “My mom and dad had been together almost fifteen years when she met her mate.”

Lana flung her arm aside and frowned at him. “You mean your dad wasn’t her mate?”

“No.” He shook his head slowly. “She loved my dad and hated hurting him, but she met her mate during a shopping trip in Anchorage, and that was that. She lives with him in Seattle now.”

Her mouth formed a shocked circle. “How could she abandon her kids like that?”

Elias shrugged. “She wanted to take us with her, but my brothers and I decided we couldn’t do that to Dad. She had someone. Dad only had us.” He sighed. “Problem was, he loved her, even though they weren’t mates.

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