Twelfth Moon (20 page)

They were interrupted by the sound of the teepee flap opening. Cadence looked up to see Jonah step inside. Her heartbeat sped up at the sight of him, caused not only by the fact that she was hopelessly attracted to him, but by her nervousness about his reaction to the spectacle that had taken place earlier.

Before she could say a word, Sons-ee-ah-ray left them alone.

His hair was still damp, curling around his ears, so he must have washed recently. Her fingers itched to reach out and brush aside a thick lock that had fallen over his forehead. She resisted the urge, however, unsure as she was of his mood.

After finishing off the meal Ba'cho had offered him, Jonah had refused to wait any longer for permission to see Cadence. He’d insisted on being taken to her. She looked beautiful in the soft doeskin dress, more feminine than he’d ever seen her. But instead of telling her so, he blurted, “You lied to me.”

“I didn’t—”

“I asked you if there was anything else I needed to know about your…condition. You came close enough to saying no to make it a lie.”

It was all such a shock. Jonah wasn’t sure if this was something he could live with. Looking at her now, with her wide green eyes, those soft curves, her scent fresh and womanly, it was difficult to remember what she was – what she was capable of. “Tell me the rest – tell me what happened to Robert.”

“I-I don’t know if I can.”

“Tell me!” Jonah shouted.

Cadence’s body jerked and she squeezed her eyes shut. Taking a breath, she met his gaze head on. “There was so much pain. He beat me, he branded me, and then he pushed himself inside me.” Ignoring the strangled sound Jonah made, she continued. “He violated me in the worst possible way, and then he spoke in my ear. He said,
“You’re mine now.”

Jonah’s heart was close to bursting with anguish over what she’d had to endure, what he now forced her to relive in the telling. But he had to hear it. “What did you do?”

“Instinct took over. I was blinded by the fear and pain. I turned into the panther…a-and lashed out at him so quickly he didn’t have a chance.”

“
God
,” Jonah rasped, dragging his fingers through his hair, feeling tormented. He paced in agitation. “If it had been any other man, I wouldn’t care. I would say he deserved it, but
my God
, he was my brother!” It tormented him that he could be so drawn to her and at the same time hate what she’d done. There could be no future for them.

She stood up straight, squaring her shoulders. “You can take me to New Orleans and turn me in. You will have your justice, Jonah. I’m prepared to pay for my crimes.”

Jonah growled, coming at her so fast, he didn’t give her time to step back. He grabbed her arms, pulling her trembling body against him. His mouth hovered over hers, his voice low. You’ve already paid enough, I think, and I’ve no intention of turning you in, Hellcat.” He gave a bitter laugh at the name he’d unwittingly picked for her, and then brushed his lips softly over hers, their breaths mingling. “You must know by now I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” And then he was kissing her fully, taking possession, his tongue invading, tasting.

Cadence slipped her hands to the back of his neck, pulling him closer. His arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly against his hard body. She gasped, her head falling back when his lips moved from her mouth to her jaw, and then onward to the sensitive place at the side of her neck. She could hear his harsh breaths, feel the heat of it brush against her skin.

Jonah seemed to be as much a captive in the same inescapable web of passion as she was. His hands roamed over her body, gliding up her back, sliding up to cup and fondle her breasts, and then skimmed down over her hips. His fingers bunched the soft doeskin until he found the hem of her dress. “Take this off,” he commanded hoarsely.

This was the first moment they’d had to be alone since the night of the full moon and Cadence didn’t hesitate to take advantage of it.

He was going to leave her.

She sensed it in him – could feel how he was trying to work everything out, trying to understand. He was warring with himself over his passion for her and the pain of losing his brother. If this was going to be her last time with him, she wasn’t going to waste it. She helped him slip the dress up and over her head. He tossed it to the floor, and then stared at the leggings she wore.

“I finally get to see you in a dress and you still manage to sneak in a pair of pants,” he said with a breathless laugh. His silver eyes turned dark and hot. “Now take ‘em off.”

He stood back to watch as Cadence untied the fastenings with trembling fingers. Her nipples hardened as he raked her with his burning gaze, her skin tingling as though he were actually touching her. There was no question as to how eager he was, judging by the insistent bulge in the front of his trousers.

She quickly slid the leggings down, kicking them to the side, and stood before him, completely naked while he looked at her with appreciation in his eyes. “This won’t work unless you take your clothes off, too,” she said breathlessly.

It was her turn to watch as he removed his shirt, bent down to pull off his boots, and then slid his trousers off. Her mouth watered over every inch he exposed, his muscles shifting and bunching with his movements.

Cadence could hardly wait to feel his heated skin against hers. Her heart pounded, her blood thickened in her veins, and her limbs grew heavy with anticipation. His body was perfectly proportioned, from his wide shoulders, to his flat stomach and narrow hips, to his long, well-shaped legs. He was all man, his broad chest covered in dark hair that narrowed to a thin line, creating a path from his bellybutton to his glorious arousal. It jutted thickly from the nest of dark curls, aimed in her direction like a divining rod seeking a source of water.

Her chest rose and fell with heavy breaths as if she’d run a long distance. She admired the way the flickering light of the fire gave his skin a burnished glow. He moved toward her, closing the gap between them. And then his arms were around her, his big body flush with hers, engulfing her, her breasts crushed against his hard chest, the rough hair teasing her nipples. His arousal pressed into her stomach, hot and hard and throbbing. She lifted her arms over his shoulders and hung on for dear life when his mouth came down on hers. Groaning deep in his throat, he kissed her with a ferocity that weakened her knees.

Then he was urging her toward the pallet behind her.

Jonah was hard enough to pound nails, growing even harder, if that were possible, when his body came into contact with hers. This was not what he’d intended to happen. He was going to get some answers from her, and then leave. But when he’d entered the teepee, he’d faltered in his purpose. As soon as he’d caught her scent, had seen her standing there, her lush breasts straining against the soft doeskin of that pretty Indian dress, all his blood had rushed to the lower region of his body. He’d gotten his answers, but he was damn sure not going to leave without tasting her one more time.

He lowered her onto the pallet, barely losing any contact with her luscious body on the way down. He covered her, nudging her thighs apart so he could settle himself at her core. With one smooth stroke, he entered her as he kissed her neck, feasting on the satiny-smooth skin there. He worked his way to her collar bone, to the tops of her breasts, and then lower, until he found one diamond-hard nipple. He sucked and licked, swirling his tongue around the rigid peak. She arched her back, crying out as he withdrew and thrust into her again and again.

Consumed with nothing but the need to possess her, to fill her, to let her know that under no uncertain terms, she belonged to him, he lost all sense of reality. Like a fever, he burned for her – lived to please her. They could have been smack-dab in the middle of a stampeding buffalo herd and he wouldn’t have noticed.

Her hands were all over him, touching, stroking, tantalizing every inch of his skin within her reach. It was like being touched by an angel. The sweet sounds she made and the way she cried his name was like ambrosia to his ears. He’d never had such an intense response with any other woman and it shook his very foundations.

He kissed her, devouring her mouth as he increased his rhythm, thrusting harder and deeper and faster.

Cadence was completely lost in him. Her heart –
her soul
– belonged to Jonah. She wanted to crawl inside him and never leave. As he thrust in and out, all rational thought ceased to exist. She functioned only on instinct – on the need to merge with him – to share herself with the man she loved.

He tore his mouth away from hers, dipping his head to her shoulder. He was breathing harshly, straining, she knew, to hold himself back, waiting for her to find her release. “Come for me, Hellcat,” he rasped in her ear.

He reached his hand down to where their bodies were joined, gliding his fingers over the sensitive nub hidden in her woman’s cleft. The contact was so sublime, Cadence immediately fell over the edge, exploding, shattering into a million pieces, blinded by the brilliance of it.

Jonah’s entire body tensed and he gave a muted shout as he thrust one last time, holding himself so deep inside her, Cadence thought she felt him at her belly button. He jerked with spasms, groaning as he emptied himself into her.

It was a moment of pure clarity, as her love for him washed through her, bathing her in its warmth.

When he collapsed on top of her, she cradled him with her body, her arms and legs, holding tightly while their breathing slowed, and their heartbeats resumed a normal pace. After a while, he slid to the side of her, keeping her wrapped in his arms. They fell asleep that way, neither one of them daring to speak for fear of ruining their last moments together.

Cadence knew in her heart what the dawn would bring. She just hoped she had the strength to let him go. The last thing she wanted to do was beg him to stay like some pathetic creature, to tell him the truth about what it would do to her if he left. She wouldn’t use that to control him. She would have him only if it was what he
chose
, not because of what he might feel he must do.

Fifteen

CADENCE DROWSILY WATCHED as Jonah added more wood to the fire. It reminded her of the night she’d experienced the magic of their joining, the moment she’d become bound to him. When he returned to the pallet, he took her in his arms, dragging the blanket over them. He held her snugly to his front, her buttocks pressing intimately against his groin.

Once he was settled, he was quiet for a while before he broke the silence. “Tell me how it is that you’re…what you are.”

Cadence was encouraged by his curiosity. “I was born this way. We’re called Pantera, which means panther in my mother’s Romany language. She was one, as are my two younger sisters.”

“So it’s true…you do have sisters. Well, I know of the one Ba'cho had asked about.”

He was remembering when she’d told him about her sisters back when he still thought she was a boy. “Yes, Jonah,” she said with a sigh. “Everything I’ve told you about me is true – except for…well…you know.”

She was afraid he’d become angry again, but instead he asked, “How did you become this way?”

Relieved, Cadence repeated the story her mother had told her since she was a small child. She told him how her mother had been killed by hunters and what had happened to her father.

“Ba'cho believes Jaelene, who has pale-blond hair and is a rare golden panther, is the key to breaking the spell that keeps them here.”

“Keeps them here?”

Cadence then had to repeat Sons-ee-ah-ray’s story about Itsá and the spell he’d cast that trapped his cousin and his people here. “They’ve been trapped here for a hundred years. They believe my sister can help them return to their world.”

“Stop,” Jonah said with a groan, rolling onto his back. He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I don’t know if I want to hear any more. I’m still trying convince myself I’m not unconscious in the middle of nowhere with a crack in my skull, dreaming all this up.”

Cadence propped herself onto an elbow, leaning over him. She placed her hand on his chest, marveling at its solid expanse, and raked her fingers lightly through the dark, curly hair there. His eyes were closed, giving her a chance to admire his face. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t know how to tell you without—”
Without losing you.
“—without scaring you.”