A Very Jaguar Christmas

by Terry Spear

  “Make a snowman?” Corey asked, half dressed in jeans and socks. “Daddy, can we? They never made a snowman before. They catch caimans in the jungle.”

  Cameron looked at them as if they were deadly predators. He had to know that the jaguars didn’t just catch the caiman. He cleared his throat. “If they want to. I think you wore them out.”

  Both Demetria and Everett got up and raced each other to the cabin, wanting to show the wolf pack leader that three little wolf pups did not wear them out.

  They returned to the guest room where they’d left their clothes.

  Demetria shifted, and as soon as Everett was standing before her naked, she pulled him into her arms and kissed him. “After we make a snowman, we need to leave,” she whispered. “We need to take care of some very important business.”

  Everett wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, smiling down at her. “I never thought I’d see such a pretty sight—you in the snow, with it clinging to your nose and whiskers. We may have to take trips up to snow country every once in a while.”

  “I’d like that. It’s been fun.”

  Once they were bundled up, they went outside. This time, the men were all helping the kids build a snowman. Faith brought out a tray of hot chocolate and cookies.

  Demetria added some snow to the snowman, then joined Faith on the porch. Faith smiled at her. “Thanks for taking care of Corey. He’s told me all the wonderful things you did for him. The trip to the zoo, seeing the Christmas lights, playing with the jaguar cubs at the day care, playing with Everett and Maya, and now you. The birthday party all of you had for him. He said Mary told him he had to share with his brother and sister, and we can’t thank you enough that you searched for us so you could bring him home for Christmas. That couldn’t have been easy when you didn’t even know our kind existed.”

  Faith’s eyes filled with tears, and Demetria hugged her. “He was so good. You’ve raised a great little boy. All of your children are adorable. We were proud to have him with us for the short time that we did.”

  Faith handed her a mug of hot chocolate. “We want you to return again. To see the kids. They were so excited about playing with you. We don’t want this to be the end.”

  “How about if we come up for the kids’ birthdays next year? We can play in the snow again. Everett and I weren’t too sure what to expect. It was the first time for both of us. But we loved it.”

  Faith laughed. “We have plenty of it to play in. Sure, that would be wonderful. You can tell me to mind my own business, but we wondered… Well, are you mated?”

  “Everett has asked me to marry him, and I said yes.” She smiled at Everett as he turned to look at her, and he smiled back.

  Along with the other men, he continued to work hard on building up the base of the snowman.

  “Did you know that when wolves…have intimate relations, we are mated for life?” Faith asked.

  “No.” Demetria drank some of her hot cocoa. “Leidolf told us a lot about wolves, but he missed telling us that part. Though he did say you were mated for life after you were committed to each other. I didn’t realize that meant after you consummated the relationship. He said you don’t divorce.”

  “True. So, are you mated jaguars?”

  Demetria took another sip of her hot cocoa, feeling her face warm. “Umm, yeah, we are.” She glanced in Everett’s direction, and he winked at her. Her face felt even hotter.

  “For life.”

  “Some jaguars aren’t like that. But yes, we’re committed to each other.”

  Faith let out her breath with relief.

  Demetria frowned at her. “Is there a problem? Something troubling you?”

  “I didn’t want to lie to Corey, but he said you were sleeping in the same bed, naked.”

  Demetria’s lower lip dropped as she recalled when Corey had walked into their bedroom wide awake and Everett had gotten up to fix him breakfast.

  Faith smiled. “So no problem. You’re mated jaguars, and that’s all he needs to know. Though he did ask when you’re going to have cubs so he can play with them.”

  Demetria laughed.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get so personal, but he just assumed that since you were shifters, that meant you were like us.”

  Demetria smiled. “Well, we were asleep when Corey came into the bedroom. But we were covered up. I’m not used to having a little one come in to get me up to feed him breakfast.”

  Faith chuckled. “Believe me, with three of them, one or another of them is always coming in for some reason. That’s why we have their grandparents here. They love to help out a lot.”

  “Leidolf mentioned them. He was concerned that they hadn’t contacted him to let him know where they were. Where are they?”

  “Oh, they’re on a vacation. They said they’d come home for Christmas, but they needed some adult alone time. Believe me, I don’t want to hear any of the details from my dad. They’re going to wish they’d been here to meet you both. We’ll be sure to let Leidolf know where we’ve finally settled down.”

  Demetria wished her father felt that way about her mother. “Listen, we have to run after they build the snowman. We need to get home for Christmas. You don’t have any reception out here, and we need to let our families and work know Corey is safely with his family too.”

  “I understand.”

  But she thought Faith understood more than that. She and Everett needed their adult time after having babysat Corey for so long. Not that they hadn’t had their moments.

  “There,” Cameron said, holding Angie up so she could stick the carrot into the snowman’s face for a nose.

  Uncle Gavin helped Nick place blueberries for the snowman’s mouth, and Everett helped Corey place two black buttons for the eyes.

  The kids stuck buttons on the body, Demetria tied a scarf around the snowman’s neck, and Faith stuck a cap on its head.

  For everyone at home, Cameron snapped pictures of the wolf family with the snowman, taking turns while Uncle David took pictures of the kids with Everett and Demetria in front.

  “We should have gotten pictures of everyone in their shifter coats,” Demetria said, annoyed with herself. “Everyone back home would love to see all of you and us together.”

  “Done,” Uncle Owen said. “As soon as I saw the kids and you playing, I had to get a few shots for posterity’s sake. I ran in and shifted, dressed, and returned to take pictures. I’ll forward them to your emails when we’re in town. Or I can send you a disk.”

  “Thank you,” Demetria said. “We’ve had fun, but we need to return home to our families for Christmas. We want to thank you for everything.”

  “We should be thanking you”—Cameron lifted Corey into his arms—“for everything.”

  “Can they stay the night again?” Corey asked.

  “No, Corey, we have to get home. If we don’t, Santa Claus won’t know where we are,” Demetria said.

  That seemed to make more sense to Corey than anything. They exchanged email addresses, phone numbers, and home addresses with the family, though Demetria suspected she and Everett would be finding a house with a yard and moving soon.

  They said good-bye to the Arctic wolves, knowing that one small wolf pup and four-year-old boy had brought their worlds together in an extraordinary and wonderful way. It was a bittersweet moment when Corey got out of his dad’s arms to give them tearful hugs. “I don’t want you to go.”

  “We promise to come see you on your birthdays.” Demetria hugged him to her breast, tears filling her eyes. “We’ll come play with you and make a snowman again. And bring presents. Okay?”

  He nodded. He hugged Everett again, and Everett agreed. “You send us pictures, and my mom will want you and your family to come see us so you’ll be able to play at her day care with all the other kids again.”

  Corey gl
anced back at his mom and dad.

  “During the phase of the new moon,” Faith agreed, smiling.

  “We’ll look forward to seeing you then.” Demetria gave Corey one more hug, and he stood there watching them until his brother hit him with a snowball.

  She and Everett laughed as Corey prepared his own snowball in retaliation.

  “Oh, and we’d love to see the northern lights again. They were just spectacular,” Demetria said.

  “And unpredictable, but that’s what makes them so magical. They say some Native Americans believed that when the northern lights danced across the sky, mystical or divine wolves came down to earth,” Faith said. “We never tire of them. We never know when they’ll appear, but in the dark on a night like last night, they paint the black sky in brushstrokes of extraordinary colors.”

  “You are like the mystical wolves, shape-shifters like us,” Demetria said. “Legends in South America exist about us too. About jaguar gods and goddesses that shape-shifted.”

  Faith smiled. “That means we are all divine.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.”

  “Let us know where you’re staying tonight. The roads can be treacherous this time of year, and we’ll be anxious to know you made it to a hotel,” Faith said.

  “We will,” Demetria agreed and gave her a hug. “And when we arrive home, we’ll let you know.”

  “Thank you.”

  They said their farewells one last time, then Demetria and Everett rode off to their own new adventure, a new life together, in charge of a new specialized team that would deal with all shifters, though Demetria knew Everett had to tell his boss he had decided to take the job first. She and Everett had wanted to wait until they’d officially solved a mixed shifter case. And they had, she thought with glee.

  After reaching the snowmobile rental shop and turning in the snowmobiles and sled, they drove until they reached Wichita, enjoying the lights all over town. A few inches of snow covered everything, giving it that real Christmas feel. When they arrived back in Texas, Demetria would miss the snow.

  Once Everett asked for the honeymoon suite, it felt good settling into the warm room together, just the two of them. No worries about a little tyke catching them together in bed.

  They might not be officially married, but if they lived by the rules of the wolf shifters, they were good and mated, and that meant for life.

  “We need to call everyone and tell them the good news,” Demetria said as Everett turned on the fireplace, and she tossed her heavy coat, scarf, gloves, and hat onto a chair. She sat down on the mattress to take off her boots.

  “I know you and your need for closure on a mission.” He jerked off his coat, hat, and gloves. “So if you have to do this first, we will.”

  She smiled up at him and grabbed on to his belt to pull herself up. “I know that hot look in your eyes. No way do you want to get to business first.”

  He smiled lazily down at her, his eyes darkening with interest. “Yeah, I do.” His voice was already rough with need. He kissed her slowly on the mouth, and she knew damn well he was trying to convince her this was the business she needed to take care of first.

  And she loved him for it. Yes, she normally would have been impatient to let everyone know they’d been successful and to let Faith know where they settled for the night, but a few more minutes wouldn’t matter. Connecting with Everett in this primal way did.

  She kissed him right back, licking his lips, asking for an invitation, and when he smiled a little, she plunged right in and took advantage.

  Their noses and cheeks were chilled, their faces a bit sunburned from the light reflecting off the snow and wind-burned from the bite of the cold. They thought they had bought enough clothes to protect themselves, but what did they know? These two jaguar cats were not used to the cold.

  Everett pulled back from Demetria. “Miss him?”

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I keep thinking he’s close by and we have to be careful about what we do in front of him.”

  “But he isn’t, though he’ll always have a special place in our hearts.” And then she cradled Everett’s face in her hands and kissed him thoroughly with no more thoughts about anything but Everett and how she wanted to make hot, passionate love with him.

  He was gentle and rough and gentle again, the need evident in his compelling, darkened eyes and insistent touch. She was just as needy, wanting, reckless, yanking off his clothes, her clothes, making him smile wickedly.

  He was all muscle and heat and passion, and she loved this part of their relationship. The intimacy, the touching, the kissing, melting against him before he took the plunge. She rubbed her bare body against his like a cat. She loved how she kicked his pheromones into high gear, just as he did hers. Which only strengthened the desire, the craving, the need.

  He lifted her chin to kiss her mouth, his tongue stroking hers, his hands each cupping a breast. Lowering his head, he took a nipple in his mouth and tugged gently, then swirled his tongue around it.

  This was what made her melt. She gripped his hips for support. He moved to the other breast and tongued her nipple, teasing, making her moan.

  She was boneless when he swept her up in his arms. He yanked the bedcovers away and laid her on her back against the cool sheets, the jaguar in him on the prowl, hungry. He settled beside her, taking charge of pleasuring her, his hand sweeping up her inner thigh, his hot mouth kissing her breast.

  She tangled her fingers in his hair, tensing as his fingers caressed her leg, up higher, until he found her nub and began to stroke her.

  Her need roared in her breast, her heart pounding as hard as his, like the beat of drums in the jungle, the wild calling to them both. His cock brushed her thigh as he pressed himself against her, showing her what he had for her next. Wicked, wicked jaguar.

  She clawed at his back, making him stroke harder, faster, and she growled in big cat satisfaction.

  He growled right back in a purely male jaguar way that said he loved pleasuring her. She smelled his sexy, musky arousal and her own and lifted her pelvis to connect more with his fingers when she felt the end draw near. “Ah, yes!” she groaned out as the climax crashed over her with a roar.

  She felt drunk with his touches, his hand sweeping up her belly before he parted her legs with his knee, centered himself, and plunged in.

  The she-cat was all his, body and soul, and he loved making love to her on this cold winter’s night in a state still far from home. He sank fully into her, his body primed, his need for release urging him on.

  He wanted deeper, tugging her leg over his hip, and she quickly obliged by wrapping her legs around him. He dove deeper, pulling out and pushing back into her hot, wet sheath.

  She ran her hands over his shoulders and then reached up to cup his face. He leaned down and kissed her profoundly, drank her in, savored the sweetness that was all Demetria, the taste of his mate, the love of his life.

  He groaned against her mouth, so close, and then he let go, spilled his seed deep inside her, and growled her name in a rough and well-satiated jaguar way.

  “God, you’re good for me,” he said, pulling her into his arms.

  She covered them with the comforter. “I can tell you right now, you are the best Christmas present I’ve ever had.”

  “I feel the same about you, honey. A present that just keeps giving.”

  She laughed and kissed his chest, then yawned. “Remember that when I wake you up in the middle of the night.”

  “If I don’t wake you first.”

  He was thinking that since they didn’t have any other missions right now, they’d take off for a two-week vacation. As soon as they got home, he was putting in for it because, except for planning a wedding and moving in together, he wanted to enjoy Demetria just like this.

  “Aww, darn,” Demetria said. “I knew
we should have gotten the other business over with before we got to more pleasurable business.”

  “I’ll make the calls.”

  “Are you kidding? It would take you half the night. I’ll start with the MacPhersons. You call your boss, and we’ll go from there.”

  Demetria had just finished talking to her mom and Everett had ended the final call to the wolf packs when someone knocked at their hotel room door.

  They both turned to look at it.

  “Wrong room. Has to be,” Demetria said.

  “Room service!” a man called out at the door.

  Demetria and Everett shared a look.

  Everett threw on his jeans and went to the door.

  A smiling waiter said, “Where do you want me to put this?”

  Everett could smell steaks under the metal covers and spied a chilled bottle of champagne.

  “Courtesy of the MacPhersons and friends,” the man said.

  When the waiter left, Everett smiled at Demetria. “They must have known we’d need more energy for later. Certainly is a nice payback.”

  “Open the bubbly. This definitely calls for a celebration.” She called Faith to thank them for the thoughtful gesture. When they ended the call, Demetria said, “Now I know why she put Corey on the phone to talk to me earlier. He asked which room we were staying in, and as soon as I told him, he hung up on me.”

  Everett laughed. “When it’s time”—he popped the cork—“I’d be happy to have a son just like him.”

  “Or daughter.”

  He laughed again. “We’ll probably end up with both.”

  Chapter 21

  “My mother wants to meet you, but she’s not happy with you,” Demetria said, reading her emails on her cell phone as they stopped for gas in Dallas. “So we need to go over there first thing. She wants us to have lunch with her. We’ll see your mom at the day care afterward. Your dad is coming home for Christmas, isn’t he?”

  “Yeah, he will be. And we’ll make sure we see everyone Christmas Day.” Everett smiled at her, rubbing her arm. “About your mother? All mothers like me. Why wouldn’t yours?” Then he frowned. “Because she feels I’m replacing Ma—”