Black Seduction
Black Jag, Book One
Raul VicMoran and Angela Kalucian
will not tolerate what Colony is doing to their kind, the jaguars. One of the
leaders in the community is making arrangements with the humans to sell their
services as mercenaries. Hired killers. To hunt, capture and eliminate someone
else’s prey. The level of humiliation is too strong to endure.
After fleeing Colony, Raul and his
two male littermates travel through the mountains, south into the desert and
finally the jungle as they work their way to Central America, where the only
other known colony of jaguars live. Raul and Angela’s love for each other
blossoms during their trials and ordeals while traveling. Angela also comes to
respect all three VicMoran males to the point where she feels protective of
them. Raul knows in his heart, without any doubt, Angela is his female. No one
will ever challenge him for her. But for one night, in the complete blackness
of the heart of the jungle, all three VicMoran males will share Angela, truly
bonding the four of them together for life.
An Ellora’s Cave Romantica
Publication
Black Seduction
ISBN 9781419927942
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Black Seduction Copyright 2010 Lorie O’Clare
Edited by Mary Moran
Cover art by Syneca
Electronic book publication May 2010
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons,
living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The
characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Lorie O’Clare
Foreword
To My Beloved Readers,
The first thing I must say is how grateful I am to all of
you for enjoying my world of lunewulfs, Cariboo lunewulfs, Malta werewolves,
leopards and owls. I’m writing this note to you because we’re about to embark
on a new species, one not quite the same as the others we’ve come to love.
For those of you who are just joining us, welcome to a world
so much like our own yet different. Please join me in this world where loyalty
means more than a paycheck, where tradition is valued as much as our laws are,
and where bloodshed resolves a crime instead of a courtroom. This isn’t some
fantasy world existing in a realm we’ve never heard of. This is our world, our
towns, our streets, our neighborhoods.
We’ve run with the lunewulf across Canada to Prince Charles
and we watched them spread out, with some of them settling in Minnesota. We
absolutely drooled over the Cariboo lunewulf when they came down out of the
Canadian Rockies. We were thrilled to watch the Malta werewolf mold the
elements to their liking when they fled the Malta Islands and settled their
dens in Colorado. We met the leopards just outside Seattle and ran with their
litters from Fountain Hills, Arizona, up to Wheeler’s Point, Minnesota. And it
was an incredible journey, flying with the owls in Banff.
Every species has their qualities and their flaws. We’re now
meeting a species, the black jaguar, whose path has been forcibly altered
throughout history. Black jaguars are one of the deadliest species on earth
with the power to latch on to a skull with their teeth and kill their prey with
one swift clamp of the jaw. These deadly black beauties are also known for
their unpredictable tempers. Many have howled that the unusual nature of the
jaguar is because they are naturally unstable. Those cruel enough to voice it
have accused them of inbreeding, but the jaguar’s history predates all others.
They are proof how those will talk when they know little of the truth.
I don’t want to give all the details away before you have a
chance to enter into the black jaguars’ world. What I will say is, due to the
complexity of their bloodline, I found it necessary to take a slight jump back
in history. With every one of my shapeshifter books the time frame has always
been current. If you’ve read from the beginning and through each book, one
series after another, you’ll see how the time line continues, one book after
another. In order to fully understand what brought the jaguars to the
predicament they are in now, we’re going to jump back in time a bit.
Allow me to welcome you into the world of the black jaguar,
a species dealt a tough hand but more than determined to play it out until the
end.
Good hunting!
Lorie O’Clare
Angela Bernard stared at the small town below. From where
she stood on the cliff, Telluride, Colorado, looked like a child’s creation.
Almost-straight roads, crisscrossing each other from one end to the other, and
square houses, lined up neatly on both sides. Tiny cars moved along the roads.
What would it be like to walk among them, witness firsthand
how they lived?
Several pebbles rolled down the incline besides her. She
glanced up the cliff, sniffed the air then returned her attention to the rest
of the view down the mountain. No one should be able to find her here. Arguing
with her littermate put her in a foul mood. Some alone time, a hard run over
the mountain, and possibly she would be able to sort out the nightmare
threatening to explode and destroy her world. In spite of the beautiful
scenery, her fight with Natasha still annoyed her.
“For once I wish you would see the big picture,” her sister
had snarled. “The world is closing in around us. We attack or become extinct.”
“How will buying our meat already dead in a store, instead
of killing it fresh, help us to grow?” Angela wouldn’t buy into the insanity.
“We moved from the jungle to the mountains. Now you would suggest we move from
the mountains into their cities?”
“Humans will help us survive. We don’t have to live among
them, but we will live off them.” Natasha used her condescending tone and it
had made her sound even more annoying than usual. “Humans accepted werewolves.
They will accept us. And we’re better. Not to mention, we’ve got something to
offer them.”
“Why would you want to trust your future to half a person?”
Angela got tired of trying to reason with Natasha. “If they learn about us,
they will panic. You know as well as I do they’ve tried burning out the
werewolves, ostracizing them. Better or worse, nothing we offer them will make
them trust us. They will try killing us as soon as they know we exist.”
“It depends on how they learn about us.” Remembering how
cold Natasha’s tone had sounded still chilled Angela’s blood.
Angela shook her head, wishing she would quit thinking about
how insane her littermate was becoming. Moving to a squatting position, she
inched nearer the edge of the large boulder where she perched. Sometimes she
hated her littermate. Natasha might be older by a few minutes, but somewhere
along the line she lost her ability to smell out the reality of a situation.
Angela got so damn tired of Natasha smelling so angry. Moving to the Rockies
from Central America was supposed to make their litters stronger. Possibly
losing their parents when they were teenagers and relying on each other to grow
up put a dent in Natasha’s rational thought patterns.
As if they would be able to associate with humans. They were
panthera,
apex predators—black jaguars. They were hunters; powerful,
deadly creatures who craved the attack and thrived on the kill.
Humans wouldn’t understand them.
In another ten minutes or so the morning sun would be high
enough to warm the rocks under her feet. It was an ideal spot for sunbathing.
Angela stared at the bustling little town below her. It was a human community.
They were a species who relied on others, on jobs instead of the land to
support themselves. They bought food instead of hunting it. And they relied on
the best talker, instead of the best fighter, to lead their people. They were a
species who were half of a whole. Humans.
Another pebble rolled furiously down the incline next to
her. Several more followed. Angela looked up and spotted Raul VicMoran lifting
himself onto a boulder several yards from her. What was he doing on this side
of the mountain?
She went to her hands and knees, pressing her palms against
the cold, smooth rock underneath her. Her nipples puckered in the cold morning
air and she exhaled, watching her breath form a cloud in front of her face.
Colony, where all jaguar litters lived, was buried on the other side of the
mountain. As many times as she came here, escaping her littermate’s tirades, no
one had ever followed her. But today, when too many outraged emotions already
charged her blood, she didn’t need to be tempted by one of the best-looking
males in Colony. She was pissed off, disturbed by her littermate’s sudden
craving to embrace humans, and raw inside from fighting with her. The simplest
of confrontations right now and she would attack.
And if she tried attacking Raul, she would touch all that
muscle. He would take her on willingly. But fighting him might take her places
she shouldn’t go right now. No—wouldn’t go right now. The last thing she needed
was some male interfering with her life.
Although fucking him sure would release the charged emotions
ripping her insides apart.
If the breeze changed directions just a bit, he would smell
her. He would pick up on her anger, her confusion and other emotions. And it
was those other emotions that he would focus on.
Lately, Raul wasn’t taking the words “go away” very well.
Worse yet, lately she wasn’t minding his advances. Now wasn’t the time to cloud
her mind with sexual cravings. Too much weird shit was going on.
She chewed her lower lip. The longer she watched him, the
more her feelings for her sister dissipated. Angela had run to this part of the
mountain to get their fight out of her head, but not to replace it with
thoughts of Raul’s naked body pressed against hers, his hands on her, his
mouth… Crap!
Her scent changed and she cringed. Convincing Raul she
wasn’t interested would be impossible when he smelled lust on her. But damn it,
Raul didn’t look like he used to. And they weren’t cubs anymore.
Raul put one leg forward, searching the mountainside. Roped
muscle pressed against his jeans. His black hair lifted from the back of his
neck with the breeze, and she focused on his firm jawline as he sniffed the
air.
Angela thanked the breeze for moving in her favor. She
stretched out on the boulder, shifting her attention to the town at the base of
the mountain. Her sister didn’t know what she was talking about. Their life was
perfect at Colony, buried in the Rocky Mountains, with humans not interfering
or interacting in any way. It would be best to keep it that way.
Thinking about Natasha helped curb the sudden arousal that
quickened inside her. Raul’s scent drifted toward her and she looked his
direction then leapt to her hands and knees as she stared into dark green,
probing eyes.
“Do you always lie so unprotected?”
“I’m very well-protected,” she purred, proud of her
relaxed-sounding tone, and brushed long strands of black hair over her
shoulder.
“Really.” Raul leapt from one boulder to another, creating
tiny avalanches as pebbles chased each other farther down the mountain. “And
who protects you, my little cat?”
“I protect myself,” she hissed, moving slowly to her feet.
“And last I checked, I’m not your little cat.”
“I might decide to change that.” He leapt again, landing on
the same boulder where she stood.
Angela stepped backward and felt the edge of the rock under
her foot. She balanced herself quickly, itching to extend her claws and slap
him for being so damn cocky. The corner of his mouth tilted and his lips
parted, revealing slightly sharper teeth than they were a moment before.
“Son of a bitch.” She shifted her weight on the edge of the
boulder. It was a long drop to the next ledge down the mountain, one she didn’t
plan on experiencing. “No female will ever be yours if you try killing them
instead of seducing them.”
“I thought you could protect yourself,” he said, his voice
growing deeper. “Or maybe you like living life dangerously.”
“I like living.” She pushed her hands against his chest, but
she might as well try moving the mountain.
“You shall live and be protected.” Raul grabbed her wrists.
Raul flirted with all the single females in Colony. Most
didn’t fight him. Or, at least according to the howlings, he got a piece of
tail whenever he wanted it. Angela had no intention of being another scratch on
his bedpost. If he thought she’d teeter on the side of a boulder while he
copped a feel, he could just go growl around some other female.
“I think you underestimate me, Raul,” she grumbled, lowering
her voice just enough to make her point.
At the same time, she jerked free of him, hating being at a
disadvantage. The edge of a boulder on the side of a mountain was most
definitely a disadvantage. She twisted her hands, barely managing to slip out
of his grasp before leaping around him. Breathing in his scent, laced with
arousal, fogged her brain momentarily.
She hit the ground, landing in the shadow from the large
cliff above it. The sudden cooler air didn’t ease the heat still tingling in
her hands after touching him or the fire she couldn’t seem to put out,
smoldering deep inside. Damn him for sniffing her out and creating sensations
inside her she didn’t have time for right now.
“I’m not going to just fuck you,” she hissed, bracing herself
and preparing for him to leap. She didn’t have time to turn around though.
Raul landed right behind her. Strong hands gripped her waist
and suddenly the chill from the shady area disappeared. The warmth inside her
swelled and spread, growing hotter until she trembled as his muscular body
pressed against her backside.
“Who said anything about just fucking?”
What kind of feline trembled from heat? No male turned her
on like this. Raul might be good-looking and a distraction at times when she
watched him with his littermates, but Angela wasn’t one of those stupid females
who fell for a line and a smoldering look. If Raul didn’t already know that, he
was about to find out.
“I did. I’m not some feline who will lift her tail and then
not care when you pounce on the next bitch.”
He pressed against her backside, hard and packed with
bulging muscle. His strong arms wrapped around her, not too tight, but with
determination that showed he didn’t plan to let her go easily. “I already know
this.”
“Good. I’m glad we understand each other.” She tried moving
out of his arms, but he didn’t budge. And his scent—damn. He drowned her with
his rich smell of arousal.
“Why are you out here alone, Angela?” he whispered against
her ear.
She grabbed his hands that were clasped against her waist.
Prying him loose didn’t appear an option.
“Why are you?” she countered, unwilling to disclose that she
came here often.
“I followed you.” He didn’t hesitate in admitting it. “I
wanted to be alone with you.”
“If you think for one moment that I’ll put out…”
He flipped her around so quickly that her feet left the
ground. His face was inches from hers when she looked into his eyes. “I know
you will,” he said in a slow, gruff drawl, his eyes burning with fire that fed
the flames inside her. “I can smell how much you want me, how curious you are
about me. Times are changing, and I’m acting now. You, my little cat, won’t be
hunted by any other male.”
“You’ve got it part right.” She relaxed in his arms and even
rested her hands over his forearms. Roped muscle twitched against her fingers,
a reminder of how easily he could overpower her. “I won’t be hunted.”
The corner of his mouth twitched, and the focus of his
attention shifted from her eyes to her mouth. That small window of distraction
would be all the opportunity she would have. Being hunted didn’t appeal to her,
but that didn’t mean she didn’t know how to attack.
Digging her nails into his arms, she felt her fingertips
pierce his flesh. His expression changed, but she didn’t take time to dwell on
what emotion surfaced. Instead she used the strongest muscles in her body, her
legs, and jumped, turning at the same time. She made it up to the next ledge,
scurrying over rocks that tilted under the sudden impact.
“If you don’t want to be hunted, then don’t run.” Raul
pounced on top of her, forcing both of them to crash onto a slanted rock and
then tumble to a rocky path covered with small pebbles and bristly plants.
Angela let out a very unladylike grunt. “Get the hell off
me,” she hissed, more aware of the many places his body pressed against hers
than she was of the tiny pebbles underneath her, threatening to puncture her
skin.
Raul wrapped his arms around her then lifted both of them to
their feet. “If you want me to hunt you, I will, my little cat.”
“I’m not your little cat.”
He grabbed her hair, pulling it and forcing her head back.
There wasn’t time to focus on his face before his mouth claimed hers. His
fingers twisted in her hair, tugging, pinching. His aggression turned her on
and stole her breath. His lips moved over hers, every inch of him demanding she
submit and comply with his nonverbal request.
She opened her mouth, ready to turn her head and cry out
what she thought of his demands. No one would ever make her submit. His hand
clamped down harder behind her head, and his other hand grabbed her arm,
holding her firmly while he dipped deep into her mouth.
He tasted like fresh meat, with a mixture of something
sweet, possibly fruit. Her insides fluttered then tightened while prickles of
desire washed over her. He was hot, aggressive and strong. Qualities she
already knew existed in Raul, but never tasted. And his scent, fresh and alive,
smelling of the outdoors with something more carnal and dark laced through it.
Her insides quickened then ignited in flame.
Angela tried pulling away, this time simply to catch her
breath, but he pulled her even closer, smashing her breasts against his steel
chest. She growled, warning him she would take only so much and then he would
regret it. He growled back, tilting her head farther and impaling her mouth.
She thought to move her hands, once again slice his flesh with her claws to
show him that no one manipulated her. Before she could act, his hand brushed
past her arm and cupped her breast.