Hunger's Mate Read Online Free Page A

Tossing his head back he let the spray tickle his face, running down the outside of his throat like a waterfall. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, all the while his dick grew harder with each breath.
    It wasn’t just the normal hard-on that most human men woke to each day. No, this was the result of a hunger that would pound against his very being until it was sated. Behind closed eyes he saw the face of the one he wanted to complete the task. She was about five feet nine inches, not too tall and not too short. Her body was tight, but not thin, perfect, he thought was the best way to describe it. High, heavy breasts, full hips, and a pronounced backside blended seamlessly into a neat and attractive appearance regardless of whether she was wearing spandex leggings and a sports bra or a straight knee-length skirt and button-up blouse—two of the most alluring outfits he’d seen her in to date.
    Ezra groaned as he stepped back and the spray pelted his chest and abs, the warmth of the water and the sting of the pressure from the nozzle giving him a taste of what he hoped to feel in Jewel’s arms. Yes, he was thinking of her that hard—clenching his teeth at the word as it related to his current physical state. He’d been this way all night, ever since seeing her in the gym yesterday. The need had grown to its next stage, he knew that without a doubt.
    Shadow Shifters were carnal beings; they were primal and more alpha than any human male. Ezra and his twin brother, Eli, had up-close and personal knowledge of how true this statement really was. It was also said, even though Ezra was personally incapable of relating to these attributes, that shifters were highly sensitive creatures that loved, whether physically or emotionally, with an intensity matched by no other species on this earth. He had the sexual intensity, fueled by dark memories and deeply buried feelings that burned through his skin like acid when piqued. Once Ezra was aroused, that need had to be satisfied, no matter what the cost. Right now Ezra feared his throbbing headache and tense muscles might keep him from catching something of importance when he made his first official appearance as technical analyst at Comastaz Laboratories.
    With that thought in mind he let out another guttural groan and grabbed his raging erection with just enough force to have him sucking in a breath and his cat chuffing in anticipation. He stroked furiously, determined to get this sick and demented act over with as soon as possible. Not in years, not since the time he’d spent in Sierra Leone, had he needed to resort to these measures. Girls, then women, always seemed to be around and more than ready to avail themselves of him. They were infatuated with his body, the way he dressed, the way he looked. The complete physical package aroused them and opened the door for Ezra. The conquest and the control, the build and release that came afterward was what Ezra craved, what he enjoyed most about the moments. It was all he could allow himself to enjoy.
    As for Eli, he had that allure as well, although his younger brother had chosen another route as they’d entered their adult lives. Lessons learned by both of them back in the rain forests of West Africa had dictated they both do what was necessary to survive.
    The allure was in their eyes, he’d heard someone say before. The volatile green orbs flecked with hazel brown stood out against the tree-bark tone of their skin. Thick eyebrows gave them a fierce appearance that matched the strong cut of their jaws. Mostly everyone discounted their easy smiles. Then again, that side of the twins was rarely shown to anyone other than family or close friends—usually the other shifters they worked with.
    Ezra wondered what Jewel saw when she looked at him. Was it his eyes? The structure of his face? The combative stance he tried to downplay with trendy clothes and an alluring swagger? Could it be possible that she