by Tara Rose
“Thank you.” Her voice came out in a breathy whisper and she mentally winced, but really, how could she help it? Over six feet of pure muscled alpha male, Nevada was not only gorgeous, but his aura made her want to drop to her knees and beg to serve him in every possible way.
“Now let’s get the rest of that shampoo out of your hair so it doesn’t happen again. Kneel back over the tub.”
How was she supposed to do that right next to him, without moaning? He had brought a large metal pitcher this time, and each time he poured water over her head, tiny jolts of electricity shot through her body, forcing her to bite her lips to keep from saying anything or making a sound. Her pussy was dripping wet now, and her clit throbbed so hard she was sure she was going to have an orgasm, even without touching herself. She hoped the towel covered enough of her that he wouldn’t see how wet she was, but then realized he could probably smell it. If he could, he would certainly know the effect he had on her.
“Your hair is really thick.” She blinked a few times then focused on the towel he was holding. “If you wrap it up, it might dry faster.” When she didn’t move, he wrapped her hair in it and then she stood, facing him. The corners of his mouth turned up. “Having your hair hidden like that makes your eyes look even bigger.”
“Thank you.” It sounded odd to her ears to thank him for saying it, but she didn’t know what else to say or do right now. Her entire body trembled. She was acutely aware of her nakedness under the towel in a way she hadn’t been earlier. Water still trickled down her neck and thighs from the bath water drying on her skin, or it could have been because the room now seemed too warm.
His gaze roamed over her, and it was impossible not to notice the lust in his eyes. “Saffron…” He said nothing else, merely brushed her face with one finger. His touch burned like fire against her skin, and this time she couldn’t hold back the moan. She didn’t even understand what she was feeling. She only knew that it was exciting and new, and she didn’t want it to stop.
When Nevada bent his head and kissed her, fireworks exploded behind her closed eyelids, and a soft groan escaped the back of her throat. This time, she parted her lips right away and moved closer to his warm body as his lips and tongue moved over hers with practiced precision. Had he, too, kissed a woman before? There was no hesitation in his kiss. Only slow, gentle passion that left her gasping for breath and wanting more than his mouth on her.
She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and sucked in a sharp breath as he pulled her close to his body. When she felt the bulge in his jeans, erotic images danced through her head, just as they’d done when Landon had kissed her. Saffron tried to make sense of them but couldn’t. Both men were in them this time, just as they’d both been in her dream earlier.
Once again, she had the unmistakable feeling that she’d found her mate, but how could that be true? Nevada and Landon couldn’t both be her mates. Neither were leopards. They were cougars. Or at least, Nevada was. But did that really matter?
Nevada released the kiss and took a couple of steps back, his eyes wide. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did that.”
“I’m not sorry you did.”
“Saffron…we can’t.”
“Why not?” She wasn’t even sure why she’d asked. She only knew she wanted him. “Why can’t we?”
He shook his head, but she didn’t miss the confusion or uncertainty on his face. Whatever she felt right now, he did, too. But was he confused and unsure about her, or the act in general. “I’m sorry.” He backed toward the door. “I’ll let you finish in privacy.”
He dropped the pitcher and it clanged against the wooden floor, causing her to startle. Nevada bent down and scooped it up, his face beet red. With one quick glance at her again, he closed the bathroom door.
Saffron sat on the edge of the tub and touched her mouth, wishing she had the confidence to go out into the main room and just throw herself at him. What was she going to do? There was no way now that she could spend the night in this cabin with both men. Not after kissing each of them. Not after that dream, and certainly not after her body had responded in such a way to them. She’d be better off alone, taking her chances on someone finding the cabin and forcing their way inside. Because if Nevada and Landon spent the night, Saffron wasn’t sure she could resist begging them both to fuck her.
Chapter Ten
Landon’s dick had been rock hard for what felt like hours. Why had he kissed her? Why the hell had he done it? He didn’t understand his attraction to her, and that should bother him, but it didn’t. It was as if the moment he’d laid eyes on her, something deep in his soul had stirred. It was a longing he’d always known was there, but never had a label for until he’d looked into her eyes.
But there was a complication. Hell, there were several. It was so obvious that Nevada found her irresistible as well. For all Landon knew, the two were in bed together right now. No. As soon as that thought took shape he pushed it aside. He knew that wasn’t true. Shifters had this thing about saving themselves for their mate, and he had no reason to believe that Nevada felt any differently. But those same ethics didn’t apply to him, because he wasn’t a shifter.
While Landon understood and respected who and what Nevada was, he’d always seen himself as existing in a kind of shifter/human limbo. He’d been born to shifter parents, but had no powers of his own. That was the reason he’d been left in the woods by them to die.
There were names for beings like him that had been passed down through the centuries, and Landon knew what they were, but none of them were kind. No one used them in his presence, and the Ruiz family had never made him feel like a cursed creature or worse. Not even close. They’d taken him in as one of their own and treated him just as if he had all the powers that should have been his birthright. It was Landon who thought of himself as the odd man out.
Nevada was more like a brother to him than anyone, and he was also the only person Landon knew who could fully appreciate and understand how he felt all the time. Landon had no tribe to identify with, and his own parents thought he was dead. If the League of Exitium ever discovered he was still alive, they’d hunt him down and kill him. That Mason and Mancie had been able to keep his existence a secret all this time was a fucking miracle in and of itself, especially considering that it wasn’t unusual for Nevada and Mancie to disappear for months at a time.
But all that might have changed now, simply because Saffron was more than likely running from the same people. Nevada had confided his suspicions about who her uncle might be involved with earlier, just before Landon had gone back to finish his day’s work for Notus. Normally, he didn’t work Saturdays, but it was overtime and he liked having the extra money. And it’s not like he had anything else to do. His life consisted of his job and hanging out with Nevada whenever he was in town. When he wasn’t, Landon watched a lot of TV and daydreamed about finding a woman who would understand his dual nature and not be freaked out by it. If she existed, that was.
Was that woman Saffron? And if she was, how on earth would such a thing work? Landon realized he’d better get a grip on his all-consuming horniness and fast, because Nevada was dead serious about keeping this girl at the cabin for two weeks, minimum. It didn’t matter that she’d kissed him back, or that she’d obviously enjoyed doing so. They were both playing with fire to continue down that road.
If she didn’t know it, Landon certainly did. It was up to him to keep a lid on his feelings and not lead her on, or they might both wind up dead. If he didn’t back off, he risked putting Mancie and Nevada in danger as well, and Landon would cut off his own arm before he’d do that.
After he gathered enough clothes and personal items to easily allow him to be gone from his tiny apartment for at least a month, he swung by the convenience store on the east end of town, just before the long, winding driveway that ran off Apache Street up to the Belle Meade Hotel, and bought some beer for himself and Nevada. As an afterthought, he picked up a bottle of wine as
well, not knowing whether Saffron would like beer. He also bought snack foods, and then he made his way into the hills toward the cabin.
He knew the way, even in the dark, but he lit his lantern anyway. The air felt charged tonight, as though a storm might be brewing. Landon wasn’t sure if that was because they’d had a scare earlier with the two teens who’d been too close for comfort, or whether he was still reeling from that stolen kiss under the table in the cabin. Either way, he felt more alive right now than he had in years, and he liked it. He had no clue what was going to happen in the next two weeks, but the possibility of danger excited him rather than frightened him.
He’d lived his entire life not understanding what or who he was. Even before his parents brought him to these woods in the middle of a snowstorm and left him to die, he hadn’t understood anything in his day-to-day life. He’d never felt like he belonged to his tribe, or even to his own family.
Landon wanted the same thing every man he knew wanted. Someone to love, and love him in return. Was that so much to ask? He hadn’t asked to be born to rare black cougars. He hadn’t asked to be given no shifter powers of his own, despite every reason why he should have been born with them. And he certainly hadn’t asked to be left out in the middle of unfamiliar woods to die from exposure.
But what did Saffron’s presence mean? Was it mere coincidence, or something more, as Nevada had told Landon he believed was true. Landon didn’t know, but he had to agree with Nevada that something was coming. That much was certain. He could sense it in the soft breeze that blew through the pines, and he could hear it in the plaintive howl of the coyotes.
Landon didn’t know exactly what it was, but he knew he was ready for it. He longed for the chance to prove himself a man, as well as pay back the Ruiz family for their extraordinary kindness these past sixteen years. Whatever was in the wind, he would face it head-on, and embrace the challenges it brought.
When he unlocked the door, Nevada was building a fire in the fireplace, which Landon thought was a good idea because it was cold tonight. Landon walked toward the kitchen to put away the food, beer, and wine. “Where is Saffron?”
“Taking a bath.”
At the mention of her in the bathtub, Landon’s cock began to throb. How the hell were they supposed to stay here with her all night? They were only men, after all. This was impossible. He normally trusted Nevada’s judgment, but Landon wondered if he’d actually thought this through. When he returned to the main room, a fire blazed, and Nevada was getting ready to leave.
“I’ll be back soon. Give me about twenty minutes.”
Landon glanced toward the closed bathroom door, but lowered his voice anyway, just in case she was listening. “Where are we sleeping? Have you thought about that?” There was only one bed. It was large, but still. There was no freaking way. “And what if she wakes up in the middle of the night and takes our keys?”
Nevada shook his head. “I don’t know. Let me think about it. I’ll be back soon. Did you bring sleeping bags?”
“No.”
“Then I will. We’ll let her have the bed.”
After Nevada left, Landon went back into the kitchen after to open the wine. He was still shaking his head and muttering when he heard a soft chuckle. He whirled around and nearly dropped the wine glass. Saffron stood there, smiling, wearing a pair of sky blue PJ bottoms and a black tank top. Her nipples were taut and Landon could see them poking against the fabric. Her hair was still damp, and hung down in ringlets, just past her shoulders. He’d never seen a woman look more enchanting or beautiful, and it was all he could do just to keep breathing.
“Topaz always told me that talking to yourself is a sign of creativity.”
“As long as I don’t start answering myself I guess I’m all right.”
She laughed at his lame joke, which made him feel ten feet tall. “I thought you’d like some wine.” He held the glass out and she took it. “I bought beer for me and Nevada, but wasn’t sure you liked it. But I know you had some wine earlier, so…” He stopped talking, feeling the heat rise to his face. Could he sound like any more of an idiot?
“Thank you, Landon. That was thoughtful of you.”
“And I brought junk food.” He waved a hand toward the spread on the counter.
“This is going to sound really backward, but do you know I’ve never eaten stuff like that?”
“Never?”
She shook her head. “We didn’t have store-brought food very often and when we did, it was fruit or vegetables we couldn’t grow, or certain kinds of bread or pasta noodles. Things like that. We grew almost everything ourselves, raised hens for eggs, and had pigs and cows for meat. Occasionally my uncle and some of the other men would hunt for deer or rabbits.”
“I guess you probably avoided people as much as possible.”
“It wasn’t only that. Home-grown food is far less expensive. But we did buy things like shampoo and soap, although some people in the village made their own.”
“They sew most of their own clothes in the village where Nevada lives.”
She nodded, taking a sip of wine. “In our village, too.”
“How’s the wine?”
“It’s pretty good. Tastes about the same as the homemade stuff I’m used to.” She eyed all the food on the counter. “It looks like you brought enough to stay for the entire two weeks.”
“I think that’s Nevada’s plan.”
“And you’re both all right with spending the night here?”
Oh stars. Why had she steered the conversation in this direction? “Nevada went to get sleeping bags. We’re letting you have the bed.”
“That’s generous of you. Thank you.” Her voice was suddenly breathy, and she averted her gaze then turned to walk into the main room. Landon took a beer from where he’d just put them away in the fridge, and followed her, taking a seat on the sofa next to her in front of the fire.
“Won’t the smoke draw attention?” she asked. “What if there are more people out walking in the woods?”
He shook his head. “That was a fluke before, just like Nevada said. This cabin is well hidden. It hasn’t been found in five generations, since it was first sealed. A person would have to be far above the tree line to see the smoke, and that’s assuming it would stand out against the night sky.”
“What does that mean? Sealed?”
“Nevada should tell you this story.”
“Why can’t you?”
Landon took a deep breath, but it was no use. He’d never get her scent out of his head, no matter how long he lived. He tried to keep his gaze on her eyes, which wasn’t much better than staring at her nipples, or the way her feet were tucked under her hips. “You know the Legend of the Sleepy Cat, right?”
She nodded.
“Nevada’s ancestor, whom they simply called One With The Cats, was the first person to see the cat emerge from the mountains. His son, Cheveyo, built this cabin and then sealed it with a spell that prevented a shape-shifter from assuming his or her animal form inside it.”
“Why did he do that?”
Landon averted his gaze and pretended to be fascinated by a loose thread on his shirt. “To keep rivals here until they were… until they figured out how to…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. He couldn’t tell her that people were kept here to die.
“I understand what you mean. They were kept here awaiting execution, right?” He finally raised his gaze back to her face, and his heart skipped a beat or two at the look of sadness in her eyes. “Landon, do you two really intend to keep me here for two weeks?”
“I don’t see what choice we have.” As soon as he said it, he knew that was ridiculous. There was one clear choice. Take her outside and let her shift. But what would they do then, even if she didn’t run? What excuse would they have then to keep her here after she proved her true nature to them?
“Do you really believe I’m a danger to you?”
He shook his head, perhaps a bit too quickly, but whe
n he looked into those green eyes, he couldn’t seem to think straight. “No, but the people hunting you might be.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stopped earlier to watch you.”
“You stopped to watch me?” He hadn’t known that. His pulse raced as she nodded.
“Yes. I heard voices, which turned out to be the people you talked to in the village, including Mancie. But when I saw you, that’s when I slid further under the trees to get a better look. I never even heard Nevada behind me.”
He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t sorry she’d stopped, but if he told her that, it would sound like he didn’t care that he, Nevada, and Mancie might be exposed to the people hunting her. At the same time, though, he didn’t want her to think he regretted having met her.
“I knew you were human, but I sensed something else as well.”
Had Nevada told her about his true nature?
“Nevada told me that your parents left you in these woods to die. That must have been horrible.”
He swallowed hard. “It was.”
“I don’t remember my parents. They were killed by jaguars when I was five. The fight involved more than them, and it’s legend now in our village.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I still had Topaz, at least. She came with me to live in my uncle’s house.”
“From what little you’ve said about your life there, it sounds like you loved each other very much.”
She sighed out loud and shifted her weight slightly, which only served to draw his gaze to her body once again. “I don’t know what would have happened to be me without her around.”
He imagined she had some frightening and painful memories, and wasn’t ready to share them with a man who was, for all intents and purposes, one of her captors. Landon scooted closer and put an arm around her shoulder, as he’d done when they’d been hiding under the table in the dark earlier. When she didn’t flinch or move away, he pulled her closer, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo. She rested her head against him and his dick began to throb, but right now he didn’t care. He’d gladly handle the pain and longing, just to be this near to her, even if only for a few moments until Nevada returned.