On The Prowl (6 page)

He plunged into her, her body ready for him, so quickly that he thought she must have been thinking of this as much as he was. It set his heart beating even faster to know she wanted this as much as he did.

It was fully dark now, but he could still see her, the look of wild abandon on her face as he thrust into her, filling her, his hips crashing against her with each stroke. It amazed him even more when she smiled, eyes closed, a look so incredible it took his breath away.

Her arms came up, winding around his neck, pulling him down, her lips seeking his. She nibbled at his mouth, then thrust her tongue between his lips, teasing him, sucking at him.

Beneath him, she was like holding a live wire. She’d set her feet on the ground, her hips rising to meet his thrusts. She was taking the lead, driving him toward the edge, and as much as he wanted to plunge over it with her, something deeper took over.

The beast inside him rose up, the beast that wanted to dominate her, control her, mark her as his. With a growl he broke the kiss, then pushed up on his hands. Fighting for control, with her and within himself, he pulled away from her, finally coming to rest on his knees between her spread legs.

She looked up at him in surprise, but also in anticipation. Reaching down, he grabbed her around the waist, turning her over onto her stomach. She looked at him over her shoulder, a wicked grin crossing her face. As if she read his mind she rose to her hands and knees, arching her back and spreading her legs, the beautiful curve of her ass before him.

He grabbed her hips, pulling her back against his body. She rubbed against him, the softness of her ass against his heated cock was enough to drive him mad.

Before she could gain control again, he thrust savagely into her, driving her forward, her hands sliding on the grass. She cried out, losing her balance, falling onto her forearms.

Griffin thrust forward again, not letting Addison push herself up on her hands, keeping her off balance. With a desperate cry she turned to look at him over her shoulder, and for a brief moment he thought he’d gone too far, pushed her too hard. But the look on her face, in her eyes, told him differently.

He threw his head back, letting loose a cry that startled the roosting birds overhead into desperate flight. Hips thrusting forward he claimed her, rising from his knees to plant his feet on the ground beside her hips, driving himself home inside her.

Her cries matched his, the surprise melting away, replaced with something that sounded like triumph. Against his strength she fought, pushing herself first to her elbows, then up on her hands. From there she rocked back against him, taking everything he had, and giving just as much in return.

When he came, the beast rose up in him, almost out of his control. The hot rush of his orgasm filled Addison, and as he dug his fingers into her hips, he felt her respond, her body convulsing around him, pulling him—and his seed—deep within her.

It was his turn to fall to the ground beside her, spent, his mind blank. She lay on her side, breathing hard, almost harder than he was. Instinctively he pulled her against him, her back to him, her curves fitting against his body, her ass pressed against his softening cock. He breathed deeply,

They lay like this for a long time, until the moon rose and cast its silver light over the clearing. A soft wind stirred the foliage overhead and he felt Addison shiver as it cooled her. He reached behind him, drawing his cape over their bodies. Gradually her breathing slowed and after a time he thought she’d fallen asleep. It was a well-earned sleep for her, and Griffin closed his eyes, one hand cupping her breast, waiting for sleep to claim him.

He was on the edge of hard-earned rest when she spoke.

“Have you ever had a wife? A mate?”

The softness of her voice did nothing to diminish the weight of her question. Griffin lay still, trying to untangle the raw emotions the question had brought to the surface.

“I have…had a mate. A long time ago.”

Addison was quiet, but he could tell by the tension in her body she was far from sleep, and when she drew a breath to speak, he spoke first. This was not the time to let her have control. Not this time.

“I will tell you the story, only once. You will listen and not ask questions. Do you understand?”

She let out the breath, then nodded.

“She was chosen for me, an arrangement. But from the first time we saw each other, at our marriage ceremony…we knew it was more than an arranged marriage. She was the other half of my soul, and I hers.”

“What was her name?”

“I said not to ask questions. And I will not say her name, not to anyone, ever. And not to you, now.”

Addison struggled to face him, but he wrapped an arm around her, holding her tightly against his chest. She struggled briefly, but then lay still. He lifted his head, rose over her, his lips close to her ear.

“She was killed by humans. By the people who came from the same place you come from, humans who plunder and steal from the ruins. They killed her for no other reason than they could.”

She turned her head, and his lips brushed her cheek before he pulled away. “But it wasn’t the people from the Museum who killed her. The people from the Museum were killed, too. I lost friends, colleagues.”

“But not your family. Not your wife. Not your unborn child.” His voice was stern, a deep rumble of pain hooked on the heels of every word.

This time she struggled hard enough to turn and face him. The moonlight caught her eyes and he saw pain, and compassion. It tugged at his heart but he fought the emotions welling up inside. She’d opened a door he’d closed and sealed a long time ago. He wanted that door closed again, to never revisit those memories. He did not want to feel what was growing inside him. It was weak and this was not the time or place for this.

She reached out, setting her hand on his face. Instinctively he pulled away, but she pressed her hand forward.

“Griffin. I’m sorry. You’ve suffered a loss beyond words. But you have to know it wasn’t the people from the Museum who killed your wife. It was tomb raiders or shifter hunters, the same raiders and hunters who killed
my
friends. We both lost people close to us.”

“Does it matter? She is dead and I cannot bring her back. She did not die an honorable death in battle, or of old age. Or in giving me a son. She died for no reason. It was senseless. And it was at the hands of humans.”

Her hand slid down, resting on his chest, over his thudding heart. “Griffin, I can’t imagine what you feel…I wouldn’t even pretend to understand. But you can’t wall that part of your heart off and pretend it never happened.”

“What I do with my heart is my business…” He wanted to be angry; she’d intruded in his past, in his memories. She’d dragged to the surface emotions and memories he never wanted to think about again.

But with her in his arms, her gentle touch on his skin, he was undone. Roughly he pulled her against him, cradling her head against his chest. She went quiet in his arms and he remained silent. If he spoke he’d lose control, and his beast was close to the surface, pacing and anxious, and he keenly felt the loss…hers, and his own. The loss of the only woman he’d loved.

And even to himself, he refused to say her name.

Chapter Seven

Addison stumbled against Griffin, the rain pelting her face. He took her hand, pulling her up the last few stairs into the ruins. The sudden relief of being out of the rain was immense, and she sagged against him. The rain had started before they’d been awake and she’d been soaked to the skin for hours. Her boots squelched with each step and she cringed, wondering what damage her feet were suffering.

“We made it.” She looked up at him, smiling. But he didn’t return her smile. In fact, he looked angry, staring down the corridor into the shadows.

“Come.” He turned away from her, striding down the passage.

“Wait. What is it?” She struggled to keep up with him, frequently losing sight of him as he negotiated the twists and turns he knew so well.

They burst into a larger room, Griffin coming to a sudden halt, Addison crashing in to him. She peered around him, straining to see what he was looking at.

And then she realized why he was angry. Daniel was at the base of a fresh excavation. The men Griffin had left to guard Daniel were standing above him, clearly torn between their orders to protect Daniel, and tearing him limb from limb.

“What have you done?” Griffin’s voice rang out. Daniel looked up, face and clothes covered in dust. He glanced briefly at Addison and then back to Griffin.

“I’ve been working.” He stared at Griffin, and Addison knew by the set of his shoulders he was trying hard to hold back his anger.

“You cannot disturb these ruins.” Griffin took a step forward, standing at the edge of the shallow excavation.

Daniel set a hand on the edge of the pit and climbed out. He straightened, coming to stand in front of Griffin. They stood, almost eye-to-eye, Daniel with hands on hips, Griffin with arms crossed over his chest. The dynamic was classic, two alpha males fighting for territory and control. Except this wasn’t Daniel’s territory. The tension between the two men grew, even in the few minutes they’d been in each other’s presence.

Addison drew a breath and stepped between them. Neither paid any attention to her.

“Daniel. What have you done?” She was practically standing on his toes. He frowned, looking down as if he’d just realized she was there.

“Addison? My God! You’re a mess!”

“Nice to see you, too, Daniel. But what are you doing here?” She glanced down into the hole he’d dug. It appeared to some kind of room, although it was oddly proportioned, too short for a man to stand, but with a door, and a small window.

“I’m doing what I do best. I’m looking for evidence. And I’ve found it.”

“Found what? Can you just tell us, without the theatrics?”

There was a snort from Griffin, and Daniel’s frown deepened as he glared at Griffin. Addison put her hand on Daniel’s arm. He drew a ragged breath, reluctantly looking back to Addison.

“I found evidence of the shifter culture. That paper you made me read on the plane, by Dukeshire. I’ve found things—bones—that support his theory. And it convinces me that shifters actually exist.”

The sound Griffin made now was louder, an outright snarl. “You are treading on dangerous territory.” Griffin waved his arm over the exposed room.

“You have disturbed a sacred site, and you have disturbed the remains of one of our most revered ancestors. You could—should—be killed. Many before you have been.”

“What has he found, Griffin?” She set her hand on his arm. Griffin flicked his glance toward her, and she saw a change in his expression, a subtle lessening of the tension in his body. She didn’t miss the look Daniel shot her, the raised eyebrow, but she didn’t have time at the moment, to deal with whatever he was thinking.

“He has found the burial chamber of the first of our kind. We have guarded this site for generations, to keep this very thing from happening.”

“I found this as well.” Daniel reached into his pocket, pulling out something on a chain, holding it toward Addison. Griffin reached out and snatched it from Daniel.

“This is the mark of our kind.” He looked down at the pendant in his hand. Addison leaned over and he held it for her to see.

The medallion was dulled with age, but she saw the soft glow of gold. Incised on the surface was a figure, and as she looked closer, she saw it was a creature with a man’s torso, standing upright on jaguar legs, with a long tail behind.

“There’s more down there.”

She glanced up at Daniel. He pointed back into the depression. When he turned he had the rapt look she’d seen before, when he’d made a discovery, the excitement now replacing the alpha-male posturing.

“There are bones, Addison.” He jumped back down, sending up a cloud of amber dust. “Look.”

He carefully lifted a decaying piece of wood, exposing a deeper trench. Despite not wanting to antagonize Griffin, she was drawn to look, and then step down beside Daniel. He crouched down and she joined him.

“See, here and here.” He pointed and she looked. “The bones are the same as on the medallion, a man’s torso and a jaguar’s hind quarters.”

“Could they be a fake? A skeleton constructed for ritual purposes?”

Daniel shook his head. “I can’t be sure without further analysis. But I can’t really see anything in situ that looks like a manufactured skeleton. Here, where the spine changes from human to…well, to feline, it’s seamless. It happens within the vertebrae, not between them. And based on the age of the ruins…” He glanced around. “I think it’s the real thing, Addison.” His voice had dropped to almost a whisper.

“If I can take these back, I can examine them, can know for sure.”

Addison sat back, a trickle of apprehension running down her spine. “No, Daniel. You can’t. Griffin won’t allow it.” She glanced over her shoulder. Griffin stood, as still as a statue, watching. She knew by the look on his face he’d heard everything they’d said.

“You cannot remove these. It’s…it’s not right, Daniel.”

Daniel’s dark brows drew together. “Since when do you stand in the way of research, Addison?”

“Since the people who these things belong to are still alive. It’s not a ruin, Daniel. It’s living for them. This isn’t a site; it’s their home.”

“She is right. There is nothing here you can take. I will not allow it.”

Addison and Daniel turned to look up at Griffin. She knew by the ominous look on his face there would be no argument. But Daniel started to speak. Addison set a hand on his arm.

“Daniel. Let it go. Please. There’s something else, more important than this. I have the orchid.”

Daniel’s expression changed and she saw a flash of guilt. “Oh, my God, Addison. I’m sorry. I got so involved in this…” He waved his hand over the ruins. “I’m sorry. So we can leave, go back to the Museum?”

She felt buoyant for the first time in weeks, hopeful and optimistic. It was amazing that she’d found the orchid, that she and Griffin had brought it back, and now she could get on with finding a cure for Grace.

“Yes, we can.”

“
She
cannot. I forbid her to leave.” Griffin’s voice cut through her elation and she turned on him, her emotions clouded with anger.