Dark Nights Dangerous Men

by Elisabeth Naughton, Cynthia Eden, Katie Reus, Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright, Joan Swan

  * * *

  “What the hell where you thinking?” Raphael admonished.

  Pacing near the bed in the medical ward, Parish glanced up and flashed his canines at yet another Diplomat. “I did what I was sent to do.”

  “You were supposed to talk to her—”

  “I did talk to her,” Parish cut in. He continued to pace. It bothered him to look at the woman, unconscious and pale behind the white sheet. He hadn’t meant for this to happen. He hadn’t known she would pass out from the burst of speed he’d used to get them out of the crowd and on their way to the Wildlands. “She has quit her job and has no family. She’s broken things off with a bastard male who fucked another female right in front of her.” He growled softly, his cat itching to spring free and hunt down this human called Gary. “Just like a human to go sniffing around when he has something beautiful and perfect in his bed.”

  “Dammit, Parish.” Raphael’s green eyes flashed with irritation. “Gathering personal information was not the assignment. You were supposed to talk with her about Ashe and the child. You were supposed to explain our situation and our offer. Invite her to come here. Instead you snatched her off the street, rendering her unconscious in the process.”

  “I am a Hunter. I do not ask. When you ask, you give your prey the opportunity to say no.”

  Even as he said the words, Parish’s gaze cut to the woman on the bed. As much as he wanted to think of her as prey, as human—as nothing at all to him—there was something inside of him that had already connected to her. She was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. Her smooth, pale skin called to him, as did her full pink mouth. She had to wake. She must. He needed to hear her voice again, see her eyes flash in anger and heat as he held her against him.

  He turned from the bed with a frustrated snarl.

  “This is your fault,” Raphael called to Bayon. The massive blond Hunter leaned against the doorframe, refusing to commit to entering either the medical room or the conversation. “Running off while one of our wildest takes on a human alone.”

  Parish quick-flashed the Suit his puma, then drew it back inside before continuing to pace. He needed air, needed his clothes off and his fur on just for a few hours. But he couldn’t leave the woman.

  Julia.

  Just her name made his body stir.

  “Parish was with Michel,” Bayon said. “The meet, greet and offer with the doctor was all set up. It should’ve gone smoothly.”

  Raphael hissed. “Where the hell were you?”

  “I had something to take care of.”

  “That’s not an answer, Bayon.”

  “It is the only answer I’m willing to give.”

  “Something to take care of – more like someone, right?”

  Bayon’s eyes narrowed. “Cage your cat before I have to.”

  “You were off hunting tail instead of backing up your leader!” Raphael roared.

  “Enough!” Parish growled, coming to stand between the warring shifters. He would not have Julia upset, awakening to a verbal brawl in a strange room. He turned on Raphael, prowling closer to the dark blond male. “You sent the leader of the Hunters to bring back the best female baby doctor in New Orleans.” He cocked his head. “And I did.”

  Nostrils flared, Raphael seemed to be searching for patience. “She’s unconscious, Parish.”

  The words twisted in Parish’s gut. He’d never thought about his reckless, instinctive ways before. Never felt so unsure of himself until now. “It’s only for a short time. She is well. Pulse, breathing, vital signs. Our doctors have said so.”

  “If this gets out, if any of the Diplomats learn of this—”

  “Handle it. Suit business is for you to figure out.”

  “You’re right about that,” Raphael ground out. “Go. You’re done here.” He knocked his chin toward Bayon and the door. “I’ll make sure this doesn’t become a problem.”

  Panic flared within Parish and his gaze cut to the bed. “But the female…”

  Cold authority bled from the Suit’s tone. “I’ll assign someone to take care of the doctor.”

  “No!” The sudden rush of anger and possessiveness toward the woman surprised Parish. And Raphael too by the look on his face.

  “She’s going to need a guard,” he said. “Like you, there are many Pantera who do not welcome humans. They’re tolerant of Ashe because she carries my child, and the hope for our species. But they may not feel we need a human doctor. They might see it as an insult. When she wakes up, after I have spoken to her, explained things, and if she agrees to remain, one of the Nurturer guards will take her—”

  A snarl ripped from Parish’s throat.

  “—Will take her to and from her quarters and make sure no harm comes to her.”

  Parish moved closer to the bed, blocking Julia from Raphael’s view, his stance aggressive, protective.

  “Ease up, Parish.” Bayon stepped inside the room, moved toward his leader. “What is it? Are you losing control of your hatred for humans? We can’t risk her…”

  Parish ground his molars. They didn’t get it. Shit, he barely understood his irrational anger and desperate need himself. But the one thing he did know was that he couldn’t leave Julia.

  He glanced down at the woman. Her color was coming back and beneath her pale lids, he saw movement. His chest expanded with hope. She would awaken soon, and the first face he wanted her to see was his own.

  “I found her,” he said softly. “I took her. She is mine.”

  Bayon cursed behind him.

  “Yours?” Raphael said.

  Parish’s hand inched forward, toward her until his fingers met her elbow. As irrational and impossible as it was, he wanted to claim her, announce to both Raphael and Bayon that something had happened on the street in New Orleans when he’d pulled this woman into his arms and gazed down into her lovely face. A connection, a need, a pull he’d never imagined he’d ever feel for a female, much less a human woman. And the idea of being separated from her made not only him but his cat ache.

  But he pushed back the urge. He knew such a declaration would sound insane. He would do better to claim her as a Hunter, a protector.

  “To guard,” he amended, his gaze moving over her face. “The doctor is mine to guard. She will live with me, have my full protection as she cares for Ashe.”

  Bayon started to laugh, then abruptly stopped when Parish turned and glared at him.

  “You’re serious? Live with you in the caves? A human female?” The blond male tossed a look at Raphael. “Presuming she actually agrees, she won’t last a minute in that dank, uncivilized rock. She’ll be running from us.”

  She won’t get far.

  “I will agree to you guarding her, Parish,” Raphael said slowly. “But it will be somewhere with hot water and clean sheets.”

  There was nothing Parish wanted more in that moment then to scoop her up in his arms and take her home to his caves, but he knew Raphael’s mind, knew how far to push the male when it came to protocol. And perhaps the beautiful doctor deserved a little pampering after what he’d put her through. He nodded at Raphael. “Fine. I’ll bring her to Natty’s.”

  “She may very well be afraid of you. She’s not going to soften around the feline who shut down her mind and abducted her.”

  Parish’s lip curled, but the ire was more for himself than for the Suit. “I won’t be harsh with her. I won’t scare her.”

  The male looked unconvinced. “Can you truly promise that? Your dislike of humans is legendary. And understandably so.”

  “She is different.”

  She is mine.

  “She is special.” Raphael came to stand beside him at the bed, his puma’s face flashing momentarily from its normally controlled cage. “I cannot have this go wrong.”

  Parish knew exactly how important this was, for the both of them. “I give you my word. I will keep her safe and well.”

  Golden green eyes searched his. “All right. If the woman
agrees, she is yours to protect.”

  The cat inside of Parish purred.

  Chapter Three

  JULIA returned to consciousness slowly, her mind still wrapped in a delectable dream. One she wasn’t all that keen on releasing.

  She was on her bed in the hotel. It was night and the windows were open, letting in the glow of moonlight and the balmy New Orleans breeze. Beneath her lay a man with bronze skin and hungry, gold cat eyes. His long black hair kissed his broad shoulders and chest, both of which were beaded with sweat. As she rode him, he growled at her, his hands gripping her hips.

  Beside the bed, watching, his expression strangled and confused, was Gary. Blond, buttoned-up, cheater, liar and all around heel, Gary. He kept whispering the words, “You’re supposed to be at the hospital, Julia,” over and over, but Julia barely spared him a glance. She was close, so close. The one beneath her, the one inside her, the one who growled and snarled at her as he made her come again, was the only thing that mattered.

  “You belong to me!”

  Julia collapsed onto his chest, his possessive roar echoing in her ears as his hot seed filled her sex.

  “Julia?” A voice, female and insistent, was trying to reach her, break in to her wonderful dream.

  “Julia?” the voice said again. “Her breathing’s worrying me, Raphael. And she looks flushed.”

  Julia felt something cold on her face and gasped. Body on fire, limbs shaking, her eyes flickered open. It took her several seconds to focus, but when she did fear gripped her. The dream was gone, and the woman who sat beside her, on what Julia could only guess was a hospital bed, was a complete stranger.

  “I’m Ashe.” Long black hair framed a beautiful, concerned face. “Please don’t be scared.”

  “What’s going on?” Julia demanded, trying to sit up, but failing immediately. “Did I pass out?”

  The woman glanced behind her and Julia followed her line of vision. A man stood several feet away. He was tall and imposing and reminded her of someone. Why couldn’t she remember?

  “The effects will wear off,” Ashe said, her gaze returning to Julia’s. “It just takes a little while.”

  The effects? The effects of what?

  Her heart started to pound.

  “Do you remember anything?” Ashe asked gently. “Where you were before you… Who you were with?”

  Julia’s hands gripped the sheet that covered her. Did she remember? God, she hated this. Her mind felt blank. Fuzzy as hell, but blank. “I was at the hospital,” she said, struggling to see past the white noise in her brain. “I delivered a baby. Garth. It was a really difficult delivery, but everything turned out well.” She squinted. “It was my last day, and I was going back to my hotel. I was walking down Gravier when I thought someone was…”

  She jerked her head up, her gaze crashing into Ashe’s. “Oh my god. The guy…”

  The woman inched forward on the bed, her eyes heavy with concern. “Please. I need you to stay calm.”

  Shit. Her heart was now slamming painfully against her ribs. Calm was the last thing she felt. “Did you see that guy? The one who followed me? Did he bring me here? He has black, long hair and golden eyes...” Her head began to pound and she winced. “That sounds impossible, I know. Was I drugged?”

  “No.” The woman cursed, and once again glanced over her shoulder. “Listen, I’ll tell you. Everything. But I need you to promise me you won’t freak out until after I’m done.”

  How could she promise that? How could she promise anything to a stranger? Someone who might know the man who took her, who brought her here. But desperation to know the truth, get any kind of information, had her agreeing. “Okay.”

  “Have you ever heard of the Pantera?”

  Julia frowned, struggling with the fog weighing down her mind. “No.”

  “They’re a group of…people who live deep in the bayou,” Ashe explained, her expression uneasy. “They’re rumored to have magical powers and an ability to shape-shift.”

  Julia’s head continued to pound, competing for the highest decibel level with her heart. Maybe she was still lost in a dream. Maybe she was in her hotel room. “I don’t know,” she managed, her mouth irritatingly dry. “I may have heard some crazy legend about cat people or something. But what does that have to do with me? With that guy who followed me? Who grabbed me and—” Her chest tightened as she recalled the feel of his body against her own. “This isn’t my hospital, is it?”

  “Ma chère,” called the man at the door, his gaze on Ashe. “Maybe I should talk with her…explain what has happened…”

  “No,” Ashe insisted, her worried gaze locked with Julia’s. “She’s here because of me. She needs to know the truth before anything else.” The woman gave Julia a small smile. “The Pantera, the cat people you’ve heard about, are not a legend. They live in the bayou, in a secret, sacred place called the Wildlands. They are shape shifters.”

  Had she hit her head? Had the gorgeous man dropped her? Was he even real? Or was she imagining him? “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe any of this.” She tried to sit up again, and this time, her brain didn’t balk, didn’t feel like it wanted to explode. God, she needed to get out of here, back to what she knew to be real.

  “You’re in the medical facility in the Wildlands,” Ashe continued quickly. “You were brought here. For me. To help me.”

  Julia inched backward into the pillows. “I’m in the psyc ward, right? I had a breakdown over this shit with Gary?” She cursed again. “Seriously, I can’t believe I’m this weak.”

  “You’re not weak,” Ashe said, reaching out and taking her hand. “And don’t say that guy’s name again. It’s not worthy of crossing your lips.”

  “You know Gary?” Julia asked, stunned. What the hell was this? What had she got mixed up in?

  “Parish told us about him. What he did to you.” Her eyes narrowed. “Sounds like a real jerk.”

  Julia shook her head. “Who the hell is Parish?”

  A low growl sounded, echoed throughout the room. Julia hunched in terror, ready to throw herself off the bed. Find escape. But the voice at the door froze her.

  “I told you to stay out until we spoke with her.” It was the man who’d called Ashe “ma chère”.

  “You spoke with her,” came another male voice from outside the door. “I heard it. I refuse to walk the halls another goddamn second.”

  Julia’s heart dropped into her stomach. She knew that voice, had just dreamt of that voice and the man who owned it. The man who had followed her from the hospital, who’d held her close and gazed down at her like he’d wanted to consume her very breath. Or was that part of her dream, too? She eased her hand from Ashe’s and closed her eyes, trying to sort reality from fiction.

  But that voice resumed its assault on her senses.

  “How are you feeling, Julia?”

  Julia couldn’t help herself. She lifted her lids and her gaze shot to the man walking toward her. Holy shit. He was real. Flesh and blood, and if it were possible, even more gorgeous than she remembered. When he’d pulled her close on Gravier Street his hair had been back off his face, but now it hung loose and wild and sexy around his beautiful, scarred face. Like before, he wore jeans, but instead of a T-shirt, he had on a black tank that revealed heavily muscled shoulders and arms.

  Her mouth dropped open as she stared at him.

  “I’m confused,” she managed. What had happened? How had she ended up here? And where exactly was she?

  His dark eyes, eyes that had once been golden, grew concerned as he approached the bed. “I’m sorry for the way I brought you here. I’m not used to asking or discussing.”

  That she believed. Her gaze ran up his body. He was so tall, such a fierce presence beside her bed. “What did you do to me?”

  He winced, looking guilty, and his gaze cut away for a moment. “The speed at which I move was too disorienting for your mind. And my musk, the one I used to try and calm you, is more potent th
an most Pantera’s. I should’ve known.” His eyes slid back to connect with hers once again. “I apologize.”

  “Musk?” Julia felt suddenly exhausted. It was like they were all speaking another language. “What’s this musk? A drug?”

  “No,” he said, worry etching his expression. “It’s magic we can release—

  “Magic.” There was that word again.

  “—a scent to calm or soothe or arouse. …It’s nothing permanent.”

  She had to be freaking dreaming.

  “You will be able to get up soon, walk—”

  “Walk out of here?” Julia said, her pulse jumping against her neck. “I can leave?”

  His eyes shuttered. “I would not like that.”

  “Okay. Go.” Ashe pointed at Parish, then glanced over her shoulder at the other male. “Leave. Both of you.”

  Parish growled, and the sound penetrated Julia’s skin and vibrated through her. She practically moaned. “God, what was that?”

  “It’s Parish being rude and insensitive,” Ashe said, her tone nearly lethal now. She glared at the man. “You’re scaring her, confusing her. I will explain things, woman to woman.”

  “You heard my female,” said the other man, who continued to remain near the door. “Let’s go, Parish.”

  Parish’s gaze moved down Julia’s body, then back to her face. His nostrils flared. “Fine,” he muttered. “But I’ll be back.”

  He turned and stormed out. The other man gave Ashe a quick, tight smile before turning and walking…

  Julia gasped, her blood suddenly fire hot in her veins. Impossible. She blinked, then stared hard at the empty doorway. The man was now gone, but she swore…No. She shook her head. It was the drugs or the head injury or the story Ashe had just told her. She did not just see the back end of a large cat where the man had been.

  Or a long golden tail.

  She let her head fall back against the pillows and closed her eyes, tried to calm her breathing. After a moment, when she felt in control, she opened them and focused on the nearly empty room. It seemed darker now, colder. Julia frowned at her odd reaction. She should be able to breathe easier with him gone, shouldn’t she?