The Sweetest Mercy (Sexy Shifter Shorts) by amanda bonilla Page B

nonetheless. Too bad his centuries of protective instinct didn’t subscribe to the same theories.
    “Carter, your t-shirt fits me like a dress,” Kiera laughed as she bounded down the stairs.
    He suppressed a groan. Of all the shitty timing. Why couldn’t she have stayed in the shower for another hour or so?
    Reece’s gaze dragged from Kiera’s bare legs and up her body. “Didn’t take you long to get busy, did it?” The leer that spread across Reece’s face made Carter want to wipe it off. With his fist. “Bet she jumped on your cock before you could properly introduce yourself. Feisty little bitch, isn’t she? She wanted the same from me, but she’s not my type. Apparently your standards are lower, eh, Carter?”
    “Kiera,” Carter said, not breaking eye contact with Reece. “Get out of here and head for Logan’s. Understand?”

    SEEING HER KIDNAPPER so relaxed in Carter’s kitchen caused Kiera’s blood to run cold. She didn’t want to run, damn it. Carter needed backup and after everything they’d been through, leaving him now wasn’t an option. His gaze was locked on Reece, his jaw clenched tight.
    “No, Kiera,” Reece said with a sneer. “I think you should stay.”
    “Kiera, go .”
    The dark edge to Carter’s voice sent chills chasing across Kiera’s flesh. She sensed the deadly intent and knew a thin veil of control was all that separated Carter and Reece from impending violence. Reece wanted her for some sick revenge, he’d alluded to that much. So she doubted he’d accept her running away as no big deal. Still… Kiera wasn’t completely helpless. Carter might want her out of the path of danger, but she refused to let Carter deal with Reece by himself.
    Like a shot she took off for the front door, throwing it wide and flying down the porch steps in a single leap. From the house, she heard the sound of Reece’s chair scraping against the hardwood floor and her heart leapt up into her throat. Mountain lions were predators. They loved to chase their prey. Kiera assumed a lion shifter wouldn’t be much different and she’d just given Reece exactly what he wanted. Footsteps pounded on the earth behind her but she didn’t dare look back. A glint of silver flashing in the early morning sun caught her eye and Kiera picked up her pace.
    Lungs burning, arms pumping as her bare feet dug into the grass covered ground, Kiera sprinted as fast as her legs would work, which just wasn’t fast enough. A flash of movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention moments before she toppled to the ground, her chin scraping against the rocky earth. The breath rushed out of her chest from the impact and she gasped, desperately fighting for air. Sharp, feral screams mingled with cries of alarm. She rolled to back to in time to see Reece sprawled on the ground, his hands braced against the jaws of a large, tawny mountain lion as he desperately fought to keep the animal’s jaws from locking on his throat. He brought his feet up into the lion’s abdomen and shoved, sending the cat into the air and it rolled several times before it gained its footing. Hackles raised, teeth bared, a menacing hiss issued from the lion’s mouth before it dug its claws into the ground and charged. Reece scrambled on the ground for the discarded Bowie knife and rolled out of the way just as the cat pounced. With inhuman speed, he jumped to his feet and hauled Kiera up by her hair. Struggling against him, he hugged her body tight, one arm wrapped around her torso, while the other held the Bowie knife to her throat.
    “Take another step, Carter, and I won’t hesitate to slit her throat.”
    A cat, too large to be an average mountain lion came to a skidding halt not ten feet from where Kiera stood. Murder flashed in the animal’s golden eyes, death in the set of its fanged jaw, and the promise of torture erupted from its throat in a wild battle cry. Kiera had never seen anything so wildly beautiful in all of her life. The