by Tia Didmon
She put her muzzle to the earth as her mate took her.
They were together for hours. Running and mating before she felt a flutter under her fur. She stopped, attempting to fight the sensation.
Brock shifted. “Honey, you need to let go.”
She hissed.
“Jane. Your animal form is seductive, I know, but you have to take care of both the animal and the woman. Your cat is new. She can’t hold her form long. You will hurt her if you force it.”
Jane shifted instantly. The need to protect her cat outweighing her desire to enjoy the forest. She sat on the forest floor, looking down at the earth. Her hair fell over her head, acting as a mask. She was thankful for the silken barrier.
Brock knelt down. His thick thighs, brushing against her hair. “Baby, are you alright?” he said softly.
Jane looked into the worried eyes of her mate. “I honestly don’t know how to describe what I feel.”
“Free, strong. Like you can take on the world and nothing can stand in your way.”
“Yes, is it like that for you?”
He smiled. “It used to be. My cat has grown, matured. Yours is new and unsure of her place. She hasn’t learned her limitations or her true strengths yet.”
Jane clutched the ground. “I still feel her. She is tired but...”
“She still wants to play.”
“Yes.”
“Your cat is young right now. She is physically mature but mentally she has a lot to learn and so do you.”
“It was amazing. Free. Scary. Liberating. All at the same time.”
“It’s all those things and more.”
Jane looked around. “We are lucky we didn’t run into anybody other than a few rabbits.”
“I had the twins on sentry duty. They kept the larger animals away as well as watching for any human incursion.”
“I didn’t see them.”
“They were in their cat form and they were keeping their distance...”
“Why? Would she have hurt them?”
“No honey. They are her family now. She will recognize them instantly... but you were going through the transformation and your first heat. They wanted to ensure our privacy.”
Jane put her hand over her eyes. “I’m not sure which is more embarrassing, that we had sex as cats or that your brothers watched.”
Brock pulled her hands away from her face. “They didn’t watch and our cats mated. That’s instinct and it will happen whenever you are in heat.”
Jane’s eyes narrowed. “Are you insinuating I could get pregnant?”
Brock looked unabashed. “I’m not insinuating. I’m telling you not only that you could but I hope you do.”
Jane felt fear and excitement. Her cat was thrilled with the idea. She was terrified.
“I think I need a cougar time-out.” Jane exhaled deeply. “I think I have a demanding high maintenance cat.”
Brock laughed. “Cats are simple creatures by nature. She won’t insist on fancy meals or clothes. Only that you attend to her basic needs.”
Jane looked away. “She wants us to have sex again and is sending me images that border on pornographic.”
Brock laughed. “She’s in heat so that’s perfectly normal. I am looking forward to you describing those...”
Jane turned back quickly. “It’s bad enough I have the she-perv in my head. I don’t need your encouragement.”
“She perv?”
Jane smiled. “That’s what Carla used to call women who talked about sex all the time.”
“I like it.”
Jane laughed. “If your cat’s anything like mine. I’m not surprised.”
Brock leaned in with laughter in his voice. “He’s worse.”
“Shocker,” she teased.
Brock pulled her to her feet. “Let’s get dressed and get back to the Ranch. I need to check in with Talen then make arrangements with Racheal and Hunter.”
Jane pulled on her clothes. She was tired and revitalized at the same time. She wondered if she would ever feel normal again. She decided that if freedom, laughter and great sex were her new normal, she was okay with it. They hiked to the truck.
Jane opened the door to Sarah’s bedroom. “I’m going to have a shower and grab some clothes while you report to Talen. I just want some time to freshen up.”
Brock kissed her. “Okay, but don’t be long. My cat senses your need.”
Jane’s face hardened. “I’m not a bitch in heat,” she snapped.
Brock’s eyebrows raised. “A female cat is referred to as a queen not a bitch.”
Jane startled. “Really? I kinda like that.”
“Yes, but you are in heat.”
Jane shooed him away in irritation. “Let me have my shower.”
He smiled then exited the bedroom.
Jane tried not to focus on the fact that Brock had known he would end up with her in his bed. Well, not his bed. It made her wonder what his place was like. Would he really welcome her and Carla into his home? His lair. She had so little to offer. The money was all Kallan’s. She didn’t even have a bank account or a drivers-license. She shook away the feelings of inadequacy. She couldn’t afford doubts. Not anymore.
She let the let the warm water stream down her skin, tickling her senses as it washed away the turmoil if only for a time. Her eyes were closed with the water running over her head and down her breasts when the glass door to the shower opened.
“I asked you to give me a few minutes alone,” She said with mock irritation.
Victor laughed. “I doubt Brock Cascade would listen to you any more than I would.”
Jane’s eyes snapped open as her hands covered her breasts. “Get out of here!”
Orange flickered in his eyes as they roamed her body. “I won’t hurt you, Jane.”
Jane forced steel into her voice. “Get out of here now!”
Victor grabbed a towel from the rack. “Put this on, then get me the files. I don’t have time for your hysterics right now.”
Jane snatched the towel from him and wrapped it around her as she stepped out of the shower. She didn’t look at him as she turned off the water then went to the front room.
She was grabbing the files from the table when Victor put a towel over her hair, proceeding to dry the dripping red strands. “I can do that myself.”
He continued to massage her scalp with the towel. “I like your hair and you should get use to me taking care of you.”
Jane turned, pulling her hair painfully from his grasp. “I can take care of myself. Here are the files.” She held up the manila envelope.
“Has Brock copied them?”
“No, we just found them. He barely glanced over them before we returned.”
“Are there other files in the bunker?”
“Yes, but they are business dealings pertaining to Brian’s legitimate businesses. Kevin asked for any info on him and Gerald. As that’s what I was asked for that’s what I retrieved.”
Victor leaned close. “You always accomplish your mission. You will do anything for that fucked up sister of yours.”
Though Victor usually hid it, his Russian accent filtered through, reminding her, that he, like everything else in her life, was a lie.
“That’s right, Danov,” she said coldly, knowing he hated it when she used his last name.
His lip twitched. “Soon you will learn the true price of that loyalty.”
Jane’s cat hissed. She didn’t like him close though she sensed he wouldn’t hurt her. Her cat couldn’t handle the scent of his arousal. “Kevin won’t hurt me.”
“You are right, Jane. You will live a very long life.”
Jane realized her cat was angry, confused. “How did you get in here?”
Victor smiled. “Kevin’s scent masking serum is quite an asset when your evading shifters.”
She shoved the file into his hands. “Take the file and go.”
Victor leaned into her. His chest brushed against her breasts, ca
using her cat to hiss. “You are not the one in charge.”
Jane stood her ground, feeling water run down the ridge of her back. “I am until this mission is over.”
He smiled. “Until tomorrow then.” He walked out the bedroom door, leaving her newfound sense of security shattered.
She was still dripping on the floor when Brock entered the room. “Jane, is everything okay?”
Her mind raced to save him. Her. “No. Not at all.”
Brock’s senses flared out. Jane was scared, and hers was the only scent in the room. “Jane, what’s wrong.”
She pulled her towel tighter around her chest although water droplets continued to run down her bare legs. “Victor was here,” she said quietly.
Brock’s cat bashed against the confines of his skin, attempting to break free. The instinct to kill the man who had scared his mate was a red haze of fury, blistering Brock’s mind. He clenched his teeth. “When?”
“No more than a minute ago.”
Brock’s claws pierced his fingers, blood dripped from the ends. He saw Jane’s cat rise in response to his. Amber eyes flashed as she crossed the room to him.
She put her hand on his cheek. “I’m okay.”
“You were scared,” he growled.
Jane dropped her hand. “I was more embarrassed.”
Brock’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“He opened the shower door. He’s using the scent blocker.”
Brock’s eyes banded as his cat’s vision burned at the surface. “That fucker saw you naked?”
Jane flinched. “Yes.”
Brock pulled out his phone, punching in a number aggressively. “Luca, Victor Danov just assaulted my woman.”
Luca swore. ““Where?’
“In the house. He left a minute ago and has that scent blocker on him. Get snipers on the roof. Everyone spread out. I want that asshole found.” He hung up.
Jane backed away. “I demand you let him go.”
Brock huffed. “Not a fucking chance.”
“Victor has always been my bodyguard on a mission. He’s under orders to bring those files to Kevin. It’s his job.”
“Has he ever assaulted you before?”
“He didn’t touch me,” she said defiantly.
Brocks eyes flickered. “He had no right to invade your privacy. That is assault. I believe he’s under orders to make sure you complete your mission but that’s doesn’t give him rights to you.”
“I know.”
Brock’s tone dropped. “Has he ever done anything like this before?”
Jane paused. “No. He has always been protective, but this time felt different.”
“How?”
“He seemed to think I was his. Like we are in a relationship but he didn’t specifically say that?”
“He never gave you the impression he was hot for your ass?” Brock said roughly.
Jane’s eyes flashed in anger. “No.”
He needed Jane to understand his world. What the consequences of this kind of action demanded he do. “He’s dead, Jane.”
Jane’s eyes widened. “NO.”
“You would protect that spineless piece of shit?” he said incredulously.
“I’m not protecting him. I’m protecting Carla. Those files getting into Kevin’s hands are part of my assignment.”
Brock hated her determination to please Kevin Kallan as much as he appreciated her loyalty to her sister. “He has to die. My cat won’t allow anything else.”
“My cat agrees with you but you will both have to wait until after I complete this mission.”
Brock was surprised. “You held her back.”
“Yes. I wouldn’t have been able to if he touched me.”
“I will let him live until after we have your sister. Then he dies,” Brock said roughly.
“That’s fair. Victor is a killer. The world will be better off without him.”
Brock’s cat bristled. “And yet you have been working beside him for years.”
She stepped up to him her eyes on fire. “Yes, and if you keep throwing my past in my face, then we are done.”
Brock’s cat roared, as he pulled her aggressively against his body. “WE will never be done.”
Jane’s irritation mixed with her cat’s arousal. Though her cat wanted nothing more than to rub against the hard body pressed against her. She was determined not to give in to the seductive sensations under these circumstances. She placed her hands on his chest, pushing forcefully.
Brock growled low in her ear. “Don’t push me, baby. Another man was in your bedroom. Saw you fucking naked.”
“I’m not pushing you. You are having a tantrum over something I had no control over. I mean really, what’re you going to do?” The moment she felt her cat retreat she knew she had made a mistake.
Brock ripped the towel from her body.
She gasped into his mouth as his tongue swept into hers aggressively. His hands pinched her nipples to the point of pain. When she was about to push him back, he dropped to the floor and hooked one of her legs over his shoulder, stabbing his tongue into her pussy so forcefully she had to grab his shoulders for support.
He licked and sucked her clit so ferociously she was on the verge of coming before she got her balance. Her mind wanted to retreat. To tell him in no uncertain terms that he couldn’t use sex as a means of control. Her body however, was not on board with that plan. Her hips rocked against his mouth as her hands clutched his shoulder, leaving red angry marks.
She’d been able to manipulate the worst criminals in the world in a multitude of situations yet she had zero control over the man ravishing her pussy. Each deep stroke of his tongue wrung the nectar from her body, pushing her into a frenzy of sensation she couldn’t escape. His low growls of satisfaction vibrated against her flesh, driving her higher, making her believe she would touch the heavens before he let her crumple in a pile on the earth.
When she shouted, coming hard, he was up, holding her to him. It felt decadent to be completely naked while he was fully dressed. She panted breathlessly as he unzipped his jeans to allow his erection to spring free.
He backed her up until her legs hit the bed, turning her around without a word and bending her over with his hand on her back. “Widen your legs.”
She didn’t want to obey but her ass raised in the air as her legs widened.
His cock slid through her lips, teasing, touching, without entering her.
“What are you waiting for?” she hissed.
“For you to acknowledge you’re mine,” he growled.
“I already said I was.”
“You say it but you don’t believe it. You don’t believe I will keep you safe. Your sister safe.”
She wanted to deny it. “It isn’t you. I just...”
He slammed into her with such force she had to clutch the sheets for traction. He pumped into her savagely. Anchoring her hips in his hands, pulling them back to meet each vengeful thrust.
Her mouth opened in a silent scream. As he bent over her, biting down on her neck, holding her in place as he increased his overwhelming pace.
He seemed to be inside every part of her. She feared she would never get him out. Never be an individual again. She saw what he saw. It was always him. It always would be. The realization pushed her over the edge as much as the firestorm racking her body.
She came, gripping him viciously, forcing him to groan loudly. He pumped hard several more times before emptying himself inside her.
He let her fall to the bed gently before laying behind her and wrapping his arm around her waist.
She rolled her shoulders indignantly. “Don’t think you are going to use sex to get your own way in the future.”
He nipped her earlobe, causing her to startle. “I will be using any means possible to get my way.”
She pursed her lips. “Call your brothers off... please.”
Brock rolled off the bed and grabbed his phone. He hit a button before placing the pho
ne at his ear. “Luca, where are you?”
He turned to Jane while listening to his brother. “Let him go but make him think he got away from you.” He hung up.
“Thank you,” Jane said.
“Your welcome but don’t think you can use sex to get your way... at least not all the time.” Then he winked.
Jane shook her head as the smile played across her lips. “You’re a mad man.”
Brock knelt on the bed. “Probably but there is nothing I won’t do to make you happy. Saying that, I’ll put your safety above your happiness.”
Jane didn’t know what to say. No one since the accident had put her first. She pulled his head down to hers, kissing him gently. “Thank you.”
Jane turned to Brock as he wound up the gravel road to the warehouse. “You’re sure the serum is ready?”
“Racheal wouldn’t have called us to pick it up if it wasn’t. I can understand your nervousness,” Brock said.
Jane drew a long breath. “It’s just been so long. I can’t believe it’s finally over.”
Brock parked the SUV. “I know it’s been a rough road but your business with Kevin Kallan ends tomorrow.” He got out of the vehicle. She watched in the dark of night as he walked around to open her door.
Racheal and Hunter rose from the table they were sitting at when they entered. A black case sat closed on a side counter.
Jane approached the couple while articulating scenarios in her head that got Kevin his serum and Carla to her in the shortest time frame possible.
Brock hugged his sister-in-law before motioning to the case. “This it?”
Racheal nodded then looked at Jane. “These samples were slightly different from the ones I had from Jordan previously. Do you know when they were taken from him?”
Jane shook her head. “No, why?”
“If I had to guess. I would say they were taken years ago, but that doesn’t make sense.”
Jane glanced at the case. “Honestly, the Kallans’ do a lot of things that didn’t make sense at the time. You will find out that everything they do is to further their agenda and they’re the only ones who know the true scope of that.”