by Celia Kyle
And that reaction scared the fuck outta him. He didn’t have a problem with fucking shit up, but it was the reason that had his breath hitching. It wasn’t about getting into her panties. There was something…more that drove his actions.
“North side of the island. You know, the portion that’s off-limits to guests. You might have seen the eight-foot walls and the security cameras positioned every five feet.”
Cole figured the “every five feet” was an exaggeration, but probably not by much. The most pertinent portion of Grant’s message was the fact that Stella had broken into a restricted area. Was she trying to get their asses killed?
He clenched his jaw and took a deep, calming breath. She probably thought she was “helping.” She didn’t realize that it was more like “scaring the living fuck” out of him. He’d rescued too many shifters from UH, had seen too many shifters broken and beaten. The mere thought of her being in that kind of situation drove his tiger to the edge of insanity.
Cole wasn’t going to examine the level of fear that struck him with Grant’s message. Or the fierce reaction of his cat as it learned Stella’s location. Because acknowledging either would say a little too much. Too much about him. Too much about his feelings for Stella.
The bartender whisked his glass away and asked him if he’d like another. Not just no, but hell no.
With a shake of his head, he turned and made his way toward the exit. He kept his steps slow and loose, no tension filling his body. He couldn’t let his body language betray him. Not when he was desperate to hunt Stella down. “She got any company?”
“Yup.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. His tiger roared and then snarled, batting at his mind with a massive paw. As if it were Cole’s fault she’d wandered into the situation. As if Cole’s human half wasn’t just as panicked as the beast.
“Direct me.” He stepped into the blinding light filling the lobby. He hoped he got there before she blew everything. Even more, he hoped he got there before she got hurt.
“Mr. Turner.” Walters’s clipped voice echoed in the open room, words bouncing off the marble tile walls.
Biting back his annoyed sigh, he turned to face the approaching human. He pulled his lips into a half grin with a touch of a smirk. “Walters. I thought we had dispensed with formality.”
Walters harrumphed and ignored Cole. “It seems your guest has been seen in a restricted area.”
“Has she?” Cole jolted back, opening his eyes wide while also parting his lips. He shook his head, continuing to feign surprise. “I can’t believe it.”
He took a moment to survey the room behind Walters, attention flitting from one person to the next. It didn’t take him long to locate the security guard—a hulking human—lingering in the shadows. His cat allowed him to get a clearer view despite the darkness, and he took stock of the guard’s weapons—shoulder, ankle, and lower back based on the way his pants hung on his hips.
“Do you know why?” Walters’s voice held more than a hint of suspicion.
“Of course not. I admit that Stella is a little flighty and tends to wander, but…Was the gate left unlocked?”
“No.”
“Hmm…I can’t imagine her breaking in anywhere. That’s just not her.”
Liar, liar, liar…But why the hell did the woman have to get caught? Why?
“Right,” Walters drawled.
Cole parted his lips and inhaled, drawing in the scents around him. The disbelief was expected. As was the anger. But there was something else there…Fear? What did Walters fear?
“Will your security personnel lead her to our bungalow, or…?”
“Security reported that she’s been detained. We’ll meet them in the field.” Walters made a sharp turn on his heel and strode toward the exit.
“Of course,” Cole murmured, following. His long strides allowed him to easily catch up to the human.
The crisp clicks of men’s dress shoes announced that they were being followed, and he glanced over his shoulder. A quick count had him mentally groaning—six plus Walters and then whoever else they came across while searching for Stella. Not the greatest odds if they decided to get violent.
Cole remained at Walters’s side for the ten minutes it took them to reach a large, locked gate. Cole let his attention wander, taking in the security measures in place and counting the cameras. A handful of beeps came from Walters’s direction as he disengaged the locks and then the gate swung wide, granting their party entrance.
“Got into some of the cams and found Stella.” Grant’s voice was low. “Shit, Cole, this isn’t pretty.”
A soft beep followed the wolf’s words, one of the human’s own com devices sounding an alert.
A voice followed—muffled by a man’s ear and poor electronic quality. “Intruder outside Building A.” Then a series of huffs and then a groan. “Hurry.”
Grant’s voice came to his ear again. “The kitty just…Ouch. Now she went and…Dayum. I wonder if she’d show me how to do that. Ooh, that had to hurt.” The play-by-play would have been more helpful if it weren’t just announcer commentary.
“Mr. Walters.” One of the security guards behind Cole spoke up. “Just received a notice that an intruder is outside Building A.”
That news earned Cole a dark glare from Walters.
He just grinned in return, pretending he had no reason to be worried about what they’d find when they arrived. Yet inside his stomach churned. Inside his tiger roared and scraped at Cole’s mental bindings. Adrenaline flooded his veins, muscles tense and body preparing to fight his way free of the situation. He hadn’t liked the odds he’d face with so many trained humans around, but that didn’t mean he’d lose in a fight. It’d simply take longer to win than he preferred.
They’d all regret touching Stella.
“I had no idea chicks could bend that way,” Grant murmured. “Shit, she almost got his dick with her teeth.”
Walters took a sharp right at the next intersection, and their group followed. The farther along the path they walked, the louder the sounds of a fight grew. Male shouts were accompanied by the occasional feminine yell and screech.
This time he sighed aloud. That had to be Stella.
When Walters paused to address the guards, Cole broke into a jog toward the battle. He had no doubt the others followed, but he wanted a head start to get the jaguar under control. He hoped.
He rounded the next corner and had to fight the smile that teased his lips. Stella in all her enraged glory stood above a human security guard, the large human bound with a pair of zip-tie cuffs. Him being incapacitated didn’t stop her from kicking a man when he was down. She punctuated each word with a hit.
“I. Can’t. Believe. You. Would. Hit. A. Woman.” The guard tried to crawl away, and she dragged him back. “Oh, hell no. You started this. I get to finish it. I’m not done yet.”
The sound of the approaching guards reached Cole, and he rushed forward. He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her away from the human with ease. She struggled against his hold, legs kicking at the air while she dug pointed nails into his forearm.
She tried to hurt him. All it did was make his dick hard.
He laughed at her struggles, the chuckle so loud it scared a few birds from the trees.
Stella’s wiggles had her ass caressing his dick, and she froze. “Cole?”
“Hello, sweet,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck and nipping at her exposed flesh.
“Gag.” Grant followed that with the sound of dry heaving. Bastard.
“Whatcha doing?” Cole asked.
“Uh…The thing about it is…”
And then Walters and company arrived. “What is the meaning of this?”
Cole looked past Stella’s shoulder and gave the man a fake-as-hell smile. “It seems Stella had a little trouble with a couple of your men.”
Really, she seemed to have had trouble with one of the two guards. The other stood nearby, his hands tucked in his pockets and expre
ssion a combination of fear and awe.
Walters quirked a brow and turned his attention to the guards, nudging the one on the ground with the toe of his shoe. “What happened here?” Then he looked to the other human. “Well?”
The one on the ground, one eye swollen shut and blood dripping from his split lip, spoke first. “Sir—”
“Mr. Walters—” The other guard spoke up at the same time.
“She was trying—”
“She just flipped him over—”
They tripped over themselves to explain.
At the mention of Stella’s strength, she tensed and Cole growled, the sound echoed by Grant in his ear. Dammit. Did they know she was a shifter? Fuck him sideways.
He carefully set her on her feet and tucked her into his side, arm slung over her shoulder. He frowned at her and inserted a hint of chiding in his voice when he spoke. “Sweet, what have I told you about giving people a chance to talk before you pounce?”
Stella shot him a glare that said she wasn’t happy about playing the idiot, but he knew she would. She poked out her lower lip with a small pout and added a delicate sniffle. “I was just so scared and they’re so big.” Her voice wobbled. “I panicked.”
One of the assholes tried to interrupt again. “Sir, she—”
“Enough.” Walters sliced his arm through the air, and the burn of his anger scorched Cole’s nose.
Then the human turned to them, his gaze on Stella. “Miss Moore…”
“Stella,” she purred, shrugging off Cole’s arm. She delicately padded forward. “Please call me Stella.”
Cole didn’t like her getting close to Walters. At all. His tiger prowled just beneath the layer of his skin, the cat’s claws pressing against his nails. He didn’t miss the way Walters’s attention flicked to Stella’s cleavage. He also didn’t miss the way his cat yowled in denial and demanded the human’s blood for touching what was theirs. The beast was ready to burst free and protect her from Walters. It’d kill for her.
He tried to remind the beast that she was a temporary distraction. She might be theirs, but only for this op.
The cat harrumphed and growled at him.
Cole wasn’t sure why he even tried reasoning with the tiger.
“I am so sorry for the trouble I caused.” If he scented any hint of fear or unease from her, Cole would jump into action. The only aroma coming from the jaguar was annoyance. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
Cole almost snorted. Almost.
As for Grant, his snort filled Cole’s head. “She’s kidding, right?”
Cole clenched his teeth, ignoring the wolf.
“I was attacked once, and Cole taught me to protect myself.” Stella wiped away an invisible tear. “So, when your guard came up behind me, I overreacted.” She sobbed. “I’m…so…” She wheezed. “Sorry.”
Then she collapsed against Walters, crocodile tears sliding down her cheeks. She was good. He almost believed her tears were due to fear, but he knew better. Her scent was clouded with annoyance and anger mixed with the smallest dash of distress. Probably from when she’d been caught.
As for Walters…The human’s anger bled away to be replaced by a bland mask, hiding his emotions. Stella clung to him, and he simply stood there, allowing her to lean against him, but he didn’t try to wrap her in a comforting embrace. He didn’t push her away, but he didn’t attempt to console her, either.
Walters turned his head, that blank stare settled on Cole, and the human lifted a single brow. He didn’t say a word, but the question was clear—was Cole going to get his woman under control?
“Come here, sweet.” He reached for Stella, peeling her away from Walters, and shot a dark glare at the two guards. “I’m sure they didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“She…”
“Body slam…”
Cole’s glare darkened, and both men stopped trying to talk and simply shook their heads. At least they weren’t bleeding anymore.
Walters snapped his fingers, and they fell silent. “Of course not. They apologize.” The human lowered his gaze to Stella and Cole, and the burning anger in Walters’s gaze forced him to fight the growl traveling through his chest. “Just make sure you remain on the public paths going forward. This is a restricted area, and I wouldn’t want something unfortunate to happen if you wander over here again.”
There was the threat Cole had expected.
“You’re going to gut him for threatening Stella, right?” Grant’s growl filled Cole’s mind.
Hell yeah he was.
Chapter Eleven
Six hours later—after a dinner that hadn’t garnered any intel or insight—Cole’s heart rate still hadn’t slowed. James’s threat hadn’t been subtle, and Cole’s tiger bounced between wanting to eliminate the danger the human posed and abandoning the op and getting Stella to safety.
Fuck, was this what Declan had felt when Abby was in danger? What the wolf experienced just before he’d told the team to fuck off and gone rogue to keep Abby safe? Because Cole was prepared to do the same. Prepared to snatch her close and run as far and as fast as needed to keep Stella safe.
What the fuck was this? Cole was experiencing feelings that had nothing to do with bombs, sex, or food. A mix of anxiety, need, and possessiveness consumed him. And fear. He’d never reveal his fear to anyone, but he could at least admit it to himself. Stella had scared the hell out of him. From the moment he’d realized she’d gone and broken into somewhere she shouldn’t, he’d been fucking scared.
Not scared of his cover being blown. Fuck that. He couldn’t have cared less. No, it was panic for Stella. His tiger growled, the passing thought bringing the cat forward to hiss at him. The cat blamed his human half for letting Stella stumble into danger.
And Cole…yeah, he blamed himself, too. She was too precious to risk, and he’d left her alone. She wasn’t a SHOC agent. She was…Cole’s chest constricted, while his mind flipped through the different words he could use to describe the jaguar.
Stella was annoying, gorgeous, maddening, sweet, irritating, and beneath all of those conflicting emotions, he figured she was damn near perfect.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Sure, there were things in his life that he liked. He loved his brothers even if they were a group of rowdy assholes. And his parents even though they weren’t fans of his job. But someone else…
Maybe he was getting sick.
He shook his head. Shifters didn’t get sick. Ever. So, what was this? He sighed and leaned forward, forearms braced on the porch’s railing. The sea air ran its invisible fingers through his hair and pulled his clothing tight against his body. He was thankful their responsibilities toward James were done for the night and he’d changed into a worn T-shirt and frayed, equally ragged shorts. The fabric was faded and lived in, not the fitted suits he was forced to wear when schmoozing with Unified Humanity.
Now they could settle in for a calm night before facing the evil humans once again in the morning. He’d planned on sitting on the porch and kicking back with a beer while watching the sunset. He had the chairs and the beer on hand, the cool glass bottle now covered in condensation.
Unfortunately, Stella hadn’t quite agreed with his plans.
Her version of unwinding involved padding across the sand and diving into the waves.
“Cole!” Stella sang his name, drawing his attention. “Come on!” She hopped in place with the two syllables, red hair up in a bouncing ponytail. That wasn’t the only part of her that bounced. Her breasts jiggled as well, teasing him, and the cause of his increased pulse changed. Now his heart thumped because of the curvaceous jaguar asking for his attention.
Stella had also changed when they’d returned to the bungalow. She’d tossed aside the dress she’d worn to dinner, replacing it with a swimsuit and a thin, nearly see-through dress/cover-up thing. Hell, he didn’t know shit about women’s clothes. He just knew that she had a bikini under that lacy fabric and he wanted to see it wit
hout obstruction.
“Daaarrrling!” Her voice reached him once more. She reached for the hem of her cover-up and slowly inched it up, revealing more and more of her thighs. She wiggled her hips side to side, doing a little shimmy.
As if a striptease would get his ass in that ocean.
The tiger told him a striptease from Stella sure as hell would get his ass out there. Now. Besides, just because Cole’s human half didn’t want to get in the water didn’t mean his cat didn’t. The feline loved swimming, and it informed him it’d been too long since it’d gotten to experience water on its fur.
He reminded the feline that they couldn’t shift.
It told him to shut up and move his ass already.
Stella continued to pull that cover-up higher as he mentally argued with the animal. She exposed more of her milky-white thighs and then the curve of her hips and the dip at her waist.
Cole’s body reacted to the sight, cock slowly hardening while arousal thrummed in his veins. Damn she was gorgeous—all lush lines, pale skin, and a hint of wickedness that called to him like nothing before.
In a final rush, she whipped the cover-up over her head and tossed the flimsy fabric aside, revealing all of her.
Damn. His dick throbbed, and he ached for her. Ached. He’d stolen a couple kisses and had felt her body against his, but he never could have imagined her clothes hid so much perfection.
And she was all his for the weekend. Sure, there was danger surrounding them at every turn, but nothing said they couldn’t steal a few moments of joy here and there.
Stella spun in place, giving him a damned good look at the back of her bathing suit. As well as everything it left uncovered. The tiny triangle of fabric on her ass covered so little it might as well have not been there at all. He imagined himself peeling the bit of nothing from her body, leaving her bare for him and…
Stella flashed him a wicked smile, a hint of teasing and desire filling her expression. “You coming?”
He hadn’t yet, but the moment he got inside her…
Cole shook his head. That wasn’t the kind of “coming” she meant. But he couldn’t do that kind without being with her. He pushed away from the railing and placed his beer on one of the deck chairs.