"You're not agreeing to forever, you would just be agreeing to try."

"I'm scared," she whispered.

Coal kissed the side of her head. "Some times you have to face your fears to find the beauty. I think that we could have something beautiful."

"It's too soon. I don't even know you." Her eyes were stinging again and that lump was back.

"You know me, Julie. I know you. Maybe not everything, maybe not even close but well enough. Take a leap of faith. Trust me on this one. Look around you and trust me."

"Okay." Julie smiled. She could feel that it took up her whole face.

"Okay?" Coal didn't sound like he could believe it.

It felt like a weight had lifted off of her. She was sitting on top of the world right now. Literally. "Yes, okay. I'll give us a chance." She giggled, sounding like a school girl. "Let's do this thing, but..." She raised her voice as she felt his arms tighten around her. "I'm not making any promises and..." She practically yelled. Coal was kissing her neck. "Hey...wait!" She squealed when his tongue went into her ear. "We need to take it slow. I'm not rushing into anything."

Coal took a deep breath. "But you'll give us a try?"

She nodded, feeling giddy with excitement.

"Does this mean that you'll let me hold you while you sleep, let me hold your hand, let me kiss you whenever I want, as long as I want and as softly and sweetly as I want?"

Julie pretended to think about it.

Coal tickled her on her ribs just under her arms. Julie burst out laughing, she squirmed and then panicked. "Oh s.h.i.t! We're high up in the freaking sky... no tickling allowed."

"I told you that I'll catch you. I'll never let you fall..." Then he seemed to be thinking about something. "Well, not for very long anyway."

"What the h.e.l.l does that mean?"

He gave her a half smile. "You're safe with me, Julie. I am so glad you're taking a leap of faith."

"Me too." She sighed as Coal kissed her. Julie shoved her fears aside. She tried really hard not to listen to that little voice inside of her. She was going to try. Coal was worth it.

Chapter 16.

Three days later...

"I'll see you in half an hour." Coal kissed her. It was short, sweet and left her wanting more.

"Why does your brother want to see you?" She hooked her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Tell him you're busy. It wouldn't be lying." She touched her lips to his between sentences.

Coal groaned, she could feel him hard against her. "Your scent is killing me. One breath at a time."

"So stay," she whispered against his lips. "We still have half a box of condoms."

"Don't tempt me, sweetheart." He ran his hands up and down her back and then cupped her a.s.s. "I would refuse my brother but not my king and I have been summoned."

"If he misses you so badly, invite him to dinner."

Coal burst out laughing. "You must really love the h.e.l.l out of me if you're willing to..." he let the sentence die. They both just looked at one another.

Love. She waited for the panic to well. The horror to descend. It never did. Julie took a deep breath. "You know I would do anything for you. Invite the guy. He has a stick up his a.s.s but I think it's because he's lonely." Coal had told her that Blaze had been hurt and that he hadn't had lady companionship in over a year. She almost felt sorry for the guy. At least it explained the stick up his a.s.s att.i.tude.

Coal exhaled and the tension left his body. "I'll invite him." He kissed her on the tip of her nose. "At my meeting with him."

"What are you meeting with him about anyway?" She pretended to pout.

Normally Coal would bite her lip or tickle her in a situation like this, instead, he frowned. "I'm not sure." She could sense that he wasn't being entirely honest with her. Coal knew what Blaze wanted. He just didn't want to tell her.

Why? Then the answer hit her. Oh, the meeting was about her. Blaze didn't seem to like her very much. Maybe he was going to try and talk Coal into sending her back. Like the last time. s.h.i.t, now her body reacted. Now? She felt a tightness in her belly. A clamminess on her hands. The air seemed to freeze in her lungs.

"Hey." Coal squeezed her hand. "You look like you're afraid of something. It worries me because I've never seen you afraid before." He smiled at her. "Not when I was hunting you. Not when I caught you. You stabbed me in the back." He chuckled, giving his head a shake. "Yet, you're worried now. Don't be, Julie. You have absolutely nothing to be afraid of. I promise." He gave her hand another squeeze.

She huffed out a breath. "If you say so and for the record, I was petrified on the top of that mountain. If I had fallen, I think I would've shat my pants."

Coal laughed. "I would've caught you. I will always catch you. When you finally realize that, we'll finally be on the right track."

"We're on the right track." It just slipped out of her mouth. Julie licked her lips.

Coal's gaze softened. "Yes, we are." He grabbed her and kissed her like there was no today, like there was no tomorrow. He kissed her like she was it for him and well, she returned the favor. By the time he released her, they were both short of breath.

Coal growled. "Get back into bed. I won't be long."

"I thought we could go out. Maybe..."

Coal shook his head. "You are too close to your heat. We will either spend the next few days in bed together, or I will need to stay in another chamber until you are over it."

"In bed for a few days it is then." She slipped her hand under the elastic of his pants and squeezed his beefy a.s.s.

Coal growled again. It was a loud and terrifying sound. Her panties were wet in an instant. She loved the animalistic sounds he made. Coal sniffed, groaned and pulled himself from her embrace.

"I'll be back. Get in that bed." He glanced over her shoulders, his gaze on the bed.

"If you take too long I'll start the party without you." She bobbed her brows and looked up at him from under her lashes.

His jaw tightened. His eyes darkened. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me." She shouldn't tease him this way but she couldn't help herself.

"You evil female." On a feral snarl, Coal turned and left. The frame of the door shook from the slamming.

Julie covered her mouth to hold back a laugh. Note to self, don't tease a shifter when in heat. She touched her lips. How had this happened? No, she wasn't going to a.n.a.lyze this. She was going to enjoy it. She was falling in love and it was wonderful. Coal was wonderful. He wasn't going to hurt her. He. Was. Not.

Julie took a deep breath and headed for the kitchen where she poured herself a water. She took a long drink. It was fresh mountain water, straight from the source. She smiled as she took another sip. Who knew that drinking the water could be so much fun?

She rinsed the gla.s.s and put it in the rack before looking around her. Julie could get used to this. It wasn't like things could go on as they had been. She would need to find something to do around here. Not a job exactly because they didn't seem to work on a money system but something.

Oh lord!

She couldn't believe that she was actually considering a future here. Julie clutched her stomach but not because of cramps, more because of b.u.t.terflies. She was excited, she couldn't wait...

There was a knock at the door. Who could that be? It wasn't Coal because he wouldn't knock. Duh! He lived here. Maybe Pauline, or Lisa. Had to be.

The apartment was clean even though the bed was still unmade. She had showered and was dressed. Julie walked to the door and opened it.

She almost did a double take. Bright, green eyes narrowed on her. The woman's arms crossed over her chest.

"Scarlet." Julie didn't hide her distaste. "What are you doing here?"

The redhead let out a pent up breath. Her mouth was pursed. Her shoulders square. "Aren't you going to invite me in."

Julie shook her head. "There's nothing you have to say that I want to hear."

"Are you sure about that?" The redhead relaxed her arms, letting them drop at her sides. "Really, really sure?" she added.

Julie nodded. This woman was nothing but trouble. Her nose was bent out of joint because Coal was no longer sleeping with her. Scarlet reeked of jealousy. It was why she had lied to them in the first place. Why she had caused s.h.i.t like she had. "Look, I know that you and Coal used to be lovers. He's not interested anymore, please get over it. I'm not interested in anything you have to say. I know you'll twist things, distort them and add a good dose of negativity. You're obviously trying to cause trouble. Break us up, well that's not going to happen." Julie tried to close the door but Scarlet put a hand out and prevented her from being able to do it.

d.a.m.n these shifters and their superior strength.

"I'm here because Coal is lying to you. He did the same to me."

"Enough. Go away." Julie felt like putting her hands over her ears and humming a tune. This woman was poison. She gave the door a shove.

Scarlet didn't budge. "Did he tell you that he had asked me to mate him? That he requested this not even three weeks ago."

All the air seemed to leave her, all of her energy along with it. She sagged against the door instead of pushing it. That couldn't be true. It couldn't. Coal would've told her.

"I can see that you don't believe me but it's true. Go and ask him for yourself. The reason he's never been on a stag-run is because he can't stand humans. He thinks that you're all beneath him. Like deer or hares."

Thumper.

No! She was lying. "Stop!" There was no real energy behind her appeal. Julie had to force herself to stand tall. "You talk the biggest load of bulls.h.i.t."

"It's true!" Scarlet blurted. Her eyes were wide. "I am angry. I'm very upset. Do I want to hurt that p.r.i.c.k? Yes, I do." Her voice quivered. "Coal asked me to mate him and I agreed. He didn't fight for us. The king declined permission for us to mate and ordered Coal to take part in the hunt."

It felt like she couldn't breathe. Like everything was closing in on her.

"He was ordered to win you and then woo you. To mate you at all cost and despite his feelings, or lack of feelings, for you. Blaze wants you pregnant by the end of your heat"-Scarlet sniffed the air and looked pointedly at Julie's belly-"or you're gone. They will send you back."

No.

Please no.

Her throat felt like it was closing. A small voice inside her told her that it was true. Scarlet wasn't lying.

Scarlet touched her arm. "I'm sorry this happened to you."

"No you're not." Julie felt proud that her voice stayed so even. "You don't give two s.h.i.ts about me. The only reason you told me was to hurt Coal." Whether he would be hurt because of her reaction or because he didn't end up completing his task was unknown to her.

Julie gave the door another hard push and this time Scarlet allowed for it to slam shut.

Julie leaned back against it's cold surface. Coal had feelings for her. He definitely had feelings. This wasn't all because his brother had commanded him.

Her eyes stung and her chest heaved. Her first instinct was to pack her bag and leave. High tail it out of there but that wasn't going to work in this instance. Then again, she didn't want to run. She wanted answers and she was d.a.m.ned if Coal wasn't going to give them to her. He'd made her trust in him. For the third time in her life she'd trusted someone. She clenched her jaw until her head hurt. She fisted her hands so hard that the nails dug into her flesh. Someone had some explaining to do and she was d.a.m.ned if she was going to wait for him to come back.

It was Coal's turn to pace up and down. The woolen rug beneath his feet was soft and yielding. He wished his brother could be the same.

"No." He growled, hoping that his brother would actually hear him this time.

"Don't you dare use that tone with your king." Blaze narrowed his eyes.

"You are being unreasonable." He let his eyes wander across the skyline. The sun was still rising and it was only midway in the sky. He tried to breathe deeply, to get himself to calm down a bit. Blaze didn't respond well to aggression.

"That female is trouble. Your feelings for her are interfering with your judgement." Blaze rubbed his chin. "Torrent has said that he would like to have her."

Coal snarled, flames shot from his mouth and claws erupted from his nail beds. There was a tearing noise as the carpet was torn up beneath the talons that had begun to erupt. His pants pulled tight around his waist. If he'd been wearing human clothing it would be long gone.

"Stop with the boyish tantrums." Blaze gave a bored shake of the head. "Torrent's female left. I'm sure that he's wasting his time with your human but it would be a sign of good faith if we sent her to him anyway. He doesn't know about her qualms about conceiving. Maybe he can do a better job of convincing her to..."

"Don't say another word." His voice was so deep that it was barely recognizable as speech. Coal didn't care. "Julie is mine. No one else gets to go near her. I have claimed her and I'm keeping her. I don't care if she never mates me. I don't care if she never bares me young. She gets to stay here, with me and that's final."

"What the h.e.l.l are you saying? Listen to yourself. Torrent is here on fire territory. I have already told him that he can take the female."

"You had no right," a barely contained growl. "The male would need to come through me first." There were more flames. More smoke, but Coal didn't care. The only thing he was concerned about was Julie... his female.

Blaze rolled his eyes. "Torrent is a king." The higher up the food chain, the stronger. "You got lucky during the hunt."

"I breathe fire." He was also a prince, next in line to the throne and of fire descent.

"You would tear each other to pieces. It would be pretty evenly matched and a stupid undertaking for a female that does not want you."

"Julie does want me."

"I gave you a task and now I'm changing it. Wait for the next hunt and-"

"No!" It came out in a booming snarl that shook the foundations. It shook the whole d.a.m.n mountain.

"You came to me just a few weeks ago for permission to mate Scarlet. You got over her, you will move on from the human."

"I will not move on and I refuse to do so." Coal took a step towards his brother. Blaze took a step towards him. Their eyes were locked, their chests bashed. This was not a fight Coal could ever win but he didn't care. He would gladly give up his life for the human. Julie had become everything to him.