Authors: Cyndi Friberg
Ian strode back into the room and her thoughts scattered.
Like embers disturbed by the wind, her body threatened to flame anew. She took
a deep breath, hoping to reactivate the nasal spray. His gaze locked with hers,
hungry and hot, and the rest of the world faded from view.
He crossed the room in silence and placed his hands on her
shoulders. They inhaled together, as if on cue. He bent toward her, lips
parted, ready to plunder. But her body rebelled, the throbbing suddenly painful
rather than evocative.
This was wrong! She wanted Quinn, not just a Therian male.
Her thoughts were clear enough to understand the difference. She shook her
head, thrilled by this new level of control. “I’m not doing this.”
Pushing his hand into her hair, he slowly pulled her head
back. “The longer you fight it, the more demanding it becomes. Do you want to
lose control?”
She shook her head then rushed through her objections. “This
is the twenty-first century. You can’t tell me there isn’t an alternative.
There has to be a pill or an injection that will put out this fire!” She
watched closely for his reaction. Did he know about the nasal spray? Or was he
one of those who preferred his women powerless?
His hold remained constant, yet it only hurt when she tried
to pull away. “Scientists have tried to duplicate the chemical reaction, but
it’s different for each couple.”
That much must have been true. Erin said it wasn’t a cure,
just an aid. A way to manage the unmanageable. “I think it’s too late. My body
is already…”
“Shifting to accommodate Quinn?” He urged her backward, not
stopping until the couch pressed against her calves. “How far did it go? Did he
fuck you?”
Just the mention of Quinn’s name rekindled the heat. “It’s
none of your business!”
“Did he hurt you?” He reached for her face, but she turned
her head.
“No. To both questions.”
“When did he kiss you? In the morning at your shop or after
he took you from your house?”
She glared. “Why do you care? He said it would return, and
it has. Nothing else is important.”
He stepped back with obvious reluctance. “I told him I’d
kill him if he ever used his power again. I need to know if he deserves to
die.”
“I don’t know!” The harder she tried to concentrate, the
more her body rebelled, but it wasn’t like before. She wasn’t aroused. Ian was
still standing too close. She couldn’t think, couldn’t seem to catch her breath
with him so near. “I don’t think so. Please get away from me. I can’t breathe.”
“What did Erin say to you? Did she—”
The musical crash of breaking glass interrupted his
question. Ian pivoted as a massive black cat landed in the middle of his living
room. Carissa gasped and sank to the couch, terrified yet captivated.
“Stay there!” Ian tossed the order over his shoulder as he
turned to confront his uninvited guest.
Cold air gushed in through the broken window pane, rapidly
lowering the temperature in the room. Ian stood with his legs braced, fists
planted on his hips. His back sparkled then glowed as his wings manifested with
a smooth rolling motion.
A sharp feline cry split the silence and she slipped off the
couch, creeping to the left so she could see the intruder. The cat was huge,
his black pelt gleaming in the moonlight. From his massive paws to the compact
power of his hind legs, the cat emanated strength, agility and danger.
Without realizing why, she inhaled deeply, tilting her head
as she scented the air. Ian’s smell reached her first, but her brain quickly
identified the cat’s scent. She’d touched this man, breathed his breath and
tasted his mouth. Even in cat form, her body recognized the intruder.
An odd thrill raced through her system. Hearing Quinn
describe his jaguar and actually seeing him were two very different things. Her
heart fluttered and her fingers tingled. She should be frightened, yet she felt
energized and…excited?
Quinn’s head jerked toward her, eyes glowing gold in the
relative gloom. He made a low rumbling noise, tail high and swishing. Ian took
advantage of Quinn’s distraction and knocked him sideways with a vicious swipe
of his wing. Quinn rolled and regained his balance, teeth bared in a menacing
snarl.
“Stop it! Both of you.” They paused and looked at her,
bodies still tense and ready for battle. “If Quinn wanted to hurt me, he would
have done so before you ‘rescued’ me. Our focus has to be Ava. This isn’t
helping anyone.”
“He’s in my house uninvited,” Ian pointed out. “That’s
reason enough for me to kick his ass.”
With hypnotic grace, Quinn flowed from cat into human form.
His body rose and reshaped, leaving him naked and agitated. “As if you could
take me—in any form!”
Ian swung his wing again, but Quinn was ready this time.
Quinn ducked and spun, kicking Ian in the chest before darting out of reach.
She watched the bunch and flex of their powerful bodies, mesmerized by the
masculine beauty of their aggressive display. Fully dressed, Quinn had been
marvelous. Naked, he took her breath away.
Ian grunted, rubbing his bruised chest as he drew back his
wing for another violent swat.
Shaking away the momentary stupor, she yelled, “Cut it out!”
She rushed forward, glaring at each man in turn.
“Did you trigger her heat, Jenaro?” Ian shouted, obviously
unwilling to end the argument.
Resentment filled Quinn’s dark eyes as he turned and looked
at her. “I didn’t touch you until after the fever rose. You were going crazy by
the time I kissed you.”
She tugged on the hem of her shirt. He was naked, so why did
she feel exposed and vulnerable? “I didn’t accuse you of anything. I told them
I wasn’t sure what happened.”
“Them?” He turned back to Ian, hostility freezing his
features. “Is Erin here? Her son would like to speak with her.”
“I just bet he would,” Ian snickered. “Did Kyle promise you
Carissa if you help him find Ava? That will keep both Seymour sisters in feline
control.”
Quinn moved forward, eyes narrowed on Ian’s face. “She reeks
of you, old man! Did you define her or just—”
“Stop it!” She stepped in front of Quinn again and shoved
him back with both hands. He might be unconcerned with his nudity, but she was
becoming progressively more aware of him. She hadn’t realized how muted the
sensations had been with Ian until Quinn crashed back into her life. “He didn’t
touch me. Not that it’s any of your business.” Why was she provoking him? She knew
it was dangerous even as the words slipped off her tongue. “I don’t belong to
you.”
He grabbed a handful of her shirt and pulled her forward. “I
say we take care of that right now.”
In an instant, Ian was behind Quinn with his arm wrapped
around his throat. “Even I can smell her fear. Get your filthy hands off her.”
His voice was calm and deadly, but Quinn didn’t seem impressed.
“Say the word, Carissa, and I’ll take you out of here. This
raptor’s no match for me.”
Ian’s wing folded sharply, the tip aimed at Quinn’s head.
Carissa leapt to the side, meaning to intercept the blow. The snap of
fracturing glass sent Ian twisting to the side. Quinn lunged for her, but his
reaction was a millisecond too slow. Searing pain drilled into her upper chest
and the bullet’s momentum jerked her sharply to the left. She screamed,
terrified and confused as the fire in her chest burned away her speculation.
Quinn’s lunge drove her to the carpet. Ian crouched over
them, wings spread protectively. She cried out again as her wounded shoulder
slammed against the floor and stars burst behind her eyes.
“She’s hit.” Quinn sounded angry, but fear made his dark
eyes shine. “Get off me! I need to see how bad.”
“Stay down.”
Quinn’s only response was an impatient sneer.
With his wings still fully extended, Ian pivoted to the side
and ran toward the window. His upper body bent low and he leapt through the
gaping hole Quinn had left behind then shifted into an eagle in midair.
Even in her pain-induced daze, Carissa felt a rush of awe.
“Why would someone shoot me? Doesn’t Osric need me alive?” She clenched her
hands and fought back a scream as the agony sank deeper into her chest.
“You weren’t the target.” Quinn ripped her shirt open and
examined the wound, worry etched into his features. “Fucking abolitionists.”
Abolitionists? The old-fashioned word swam through her mind,
but her brain refused to provide a modern context.
“The bullet has to come out,” he said, “but bleeding’s our
enemy right now.” Shooting to his feet, he rushed into the hall bath and
returned with a stack of hand towels. “I’ve got to put pressure on it, and it’s
gonna hurt like hell, so don’t bother trying to be brave.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the worst, but her
startled scream still echoed off the walls. Pain radiated around his hand, and
it felt as if he were shoving the towels clear through her body. “Stop! Oh
God…”
“I can’t, sweetheart.” He kissed her forehead and the
corners of her eyes. “I know it hurts. I’m sorry.”
“What are you doing?” Ian’s angry voice cut through the
pain, but Quinn’s torturous pressure didn’t lessen.
“Get Erin back here. Now!”
The panic in Quinn’s tone sent dread rippling through the
agony. She was dying, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
“Look at me.” She forced her eyes to open and dove into his
velvet-black gaze. “You are not going to die. I won’t allow it. We have
unfinished business, you and I.”
Deep within the throbbing pain a spark of hunger ignited.
The flicker sent soothing heat washing over her body, combating the harsher
sensations.
“That’s right.” He kept his weight centered over the hand
pressing down on the towels, so he could touch her with his other. “Our journey
together has just begun. I have no intention of letting you go.”
She whimpered, tears escaping the corners of her eyes. “I
need a hospital. A doctor, at least.”
“You need a
healer
, and Ian went to find one.”
“Erin is… Why am I…” A moan overtook her voice as a fresh
wave of pain burned reality away. It lapped at her skin and sank into her flesh
until she was a massive stinging flame, surrounded by the stench of death.
* * * * *
Gage stood beside his truck, hands clasped behind his back,
expressionless features masking his fury.
Team Leader made no attempt to hide his anger. “How could
you let this happen?” His booming voice echoed in the empty parking lot and
Gage looked around. There were no surveillance cameras and no residential
buildings nearby, but it wasn’t like Team Leader to be careless even for an
instant. His voice dropped to a menacing whisper as he went on. “Why did you
take the shot when Carissa was so close to the animals?”
He hadn’t been there, he hadn’t seen the look in her eyes
when the jaguar demon transformed into a man. “They meant to defile her. It was
clear. If I hadn’t acted, we would have lost her forever.”
“Instead we get to wait and see if those creatures can save
her life! And they’ll be on guard now. And they’ll still try to defile her, so
how has our situation improved?” Team Leader’s voice rose again, growing louder
with each new point.
“I’ll find a new vantage point and—”
“You will do as you’re ordered.”
Gage clenched his jaw and muttered, “Yes sir.”
The small show of deference seemed to calm Team Leader. He
shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed. “Direct surveillance is too
dangerous right now. They’ll have patrols out combing the woods. We’ll have to
rely on my contact for updates. They can’t defile Carissa until she’s recovered
from this mess. That should buy us a couple of days at least.”
“Yes sir.”
“Go get some sleep. You look like shit.” Gage nodded and
turned toward his truck. “But don’t fool yourself for a minute, if Carissa
dies, Nehema will come after you.”
Chapter Four
Tearing her gaze away from the bank of surveillance
monitors, Dr. Carly Ides glanced over her shoulder and motioned her partner
into the observation room. “You’re late.”
“It was unavoidable,” Osric muttered as he closed the door
behind him. If his haggard appearance was any indication, his tardiness was the
least of his worries.
She’d been an ambitious molecular biologist fresh out of
grad school when Osric approached her at a popular bistro in Boulder. Her
in-depth study of a rare genetic anomaly in the Rocky Mountain cougar
population allowed her to network with a select group of scientists Osric
needed to access. At first she’d thought he’d been hitting on her, but his
frequent requests for technical information and obscure lab tests developed
into a sort of undefined partnership.
Then four years ago their casual partnership became a whole
lot more complicated when he presented her with “the opportunity of a
lifetime”. He promised to make her part of a world beyond her wildest
imagination, but first she had to sign an elaborate nondisclosure contract.
Many of the things Osric brought to her previously had been intriguing and
impressive, so she’d reluctantly agreed to his condition.
Hidden somewhere in the Rocky Mountain wilderness, the
facility she’d been taken to was most easily reached by helicopter so she
wasn’t sure of its exact location. Part high-security prison and part
state-of-the-art laboratory, Carly hadn’t known what to make of her new home.
She headed one of six teams housed within the closed complex. They weren’t
allowed visitors and all their outside communications were monitored. Except
for the scientific personnel, everyone was military. However, the soldiers wore
no rank designation or branch insignia. Carly wasn’t even sure which country or
countries were funding the unusual project.
Osric was treated with deference by the military personnel,
but he frequently referred to the “backers”. Carly didn’t care about the power
structure as long as it didn’t interfere with her research, and the things she
had learned since coming to the complex were staggering.