Embarrassed and more than a little frightened that Aaron knew her deepest, most closely guarded secret, Reya’s words came out on a rush as her groggy mind suddenly cleared and snapped fully awake. Trying to rise, she found herself eased back down to her stomach.
With more than a hint of panic she blurted, "What are you doing to me?"
"Easy, baby. Dr. Matons is on his way."
The soft sheets under her bare flesh were damp from the cool liquid being dribbled over her raw wounds.
"Does this feel all right?" Aaron’s voice was soft and full of concern. That couldn’t be right. He should be running and screaming, or something. Anything other than being so sweet to her. "Did you hear me, Reya? Is this pressure all right? I don’t want to hurt you."
"Uh-well…" she stammered. Maybe her wits were still out in the jungle. They certainly weren’t anywhere near her head right now.
"Relax, baby. I’m sorry if this hurts, sweetheart, but these scratches are deep. Dr. Matons told me to wash your wounds as well as I could while he went to get a few things."
No censure or hostility in his voice? Was he just being nice until he could make sure she wouldn’t change and bite him in the ass?
"Reya, I doubt you feel like talking about this now, but you were incredible," he said softly but with something that sounded a lot like pride. Man, that rogue must have slapped her in the head harder than she thought—surely she was imagining all of this.
"I mean, hell, I don’t know what to say," Aaron continued. "That big male would have had me if not for you and your friends. Baby, it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen! It was just, like…wow, Reya!"
Wow? Amazing? Was he crazy? Her aunt had always taught her that she must keep her abilities under wraps. Aunt Sulu had always said that it was hard enough being a black female, let alone one who could turn into a jaguar and rip you to shreds. But here was the most handsome man in the universe complimenting her on her abilities.
"Does anyone else know?" he asked softly.
It took her a moment to get her head around his question, too caught up in her disbelief that he wasn’t running out the door.
"Reya, does anyone else know, baby?"
"No, well, yes. Dr. Matons and Bethsaida. No one else outside of my family, which consists of only my Aunt Sulu." She listened to the water trickle into the basin as Aaron dipped the cloth into the water, wrung it out and bathed the ridges on her back again with cool water. She hissed long and loud at the pain, wishing she’d remained knocked out a little while longer. Each cut felt like a hive of bees had landed on the open wounds and started stinging her repeatedly. It took all her concentration not to flinch with each stroke of Aaron’s hands.
"So you’re a black panther, eh?"
She sniffed, throwing her nose up in the air as much as she was able considering her position on her stomach. "There’s no such thing as a black panther."
"Well, you sure looked like…"
"I didn’t say there weren’t black cats, just not black panthers. I’m a jaguar, a melanistic one."
"Mellon-what?" he asked, pausing mid-stroke with the cloth.
"Melanistic, Aaron," she chuckled, then winced before explaining that melanism was a hereditary trait, an abnormality of one of her cat genes associated with coat coloration and markings. He lifted her hair out of the way to run the cloth over the back of her neck and paused. The second her neck was exposed, every muscle in her body went taut.
"Reya, what the hell happened to you?" he asked angrily, pressing a little too hard with the cloth. She yelped.
"I’m sorry, baby. But these scars, what happened?"
She knew exactly what he was looking at—the scars hidden in her hair just above her nape. Something she’d never shown or shared with anyone. Ever.
"Look, Reya, understand me when I say I’m not willing to go another day pretending I can leave you alone. Hell, I can’t even stay mad at you. You are, as of this moment, stuck with me. So your choice, tell me now or tell me later. But you will tell me so I can kill the son of a bitch who did this to you."
Well, damn, wasn’t he pushy? Her heart melted. Even as he growled the words, his touch was gentle and caring. After a few moments of silence and weighing her options, she decided that some of the mysteries she kept were no longer wanted and spilled the whole sordid tale.
"Both my parents were shifters. But unlike lions, jaguars aren’t social creatures. We’re pretty solitary and don’t mate for life."
"Wanna bet?" Aaron snarled, pausing the cloth mid-stroke at the base of her spine.
"Do you want to hear the story or not?" she said firmly, tucking her head into the fold of her arms to hide a grin. His response was a single grunt, which she took as a yes.
"Anyway, after my mother conceived, my father disappeared. It’s what was expected so none of my family was shocked, surprised or even concerned." Another humph from Aaron, but she continued.
"One day, when Reyna…"
"Reyna? Who’s Reyna?"
"My twin sister, my littermate," she whispered, fighting back the tears that threatened every time she thought about her sister. A sister she would never see again until the hereafter.
"We were really young and hadn’t mastered our shifting abilities yet. We’d just slipped into our jaguar forms unexpectedly when my father showed up. My mom tried to run him off, but he was feral, infanticidal actually."
"The man was a baby killer?" Aaron asked incredulously.
"In large cats, it’s not uncommon for adults to kill cubs. My, uh…" she paused and took in a shallow breath. "Reyna didn’t survive. My mom survived long enough to get me to my aunt’s home. My Aunt Sulu raised me. From that day until I was grown enough to take care of myself, she never let me out of her sight. That woman was a stern old biddy, but she loved me and always looked after me, even after I was a grown woman. She raised me to understand the importance of secrets and survival. The keys to any shifter’s survival."
"Secrecy? Don’t you think the world would be amazed at what you can do?"
"Yeah but after they finished being amazed, they’d try to cut me up as this week’s biology project."
She sighed when his hands settled on her backside for a moment, gently stroking and kneading the flesh. She loved when he touched her ass. The man was almost reverential about it. Then he moved lower, bathing the cuts across her hamstrings.
Just then, Dr. Matons came in. Reya was somewhat surprised. The doc knew all she needed was a good wash and a painkiller. Give or take a day or two of rest and she’d be good as new. When he walked in and winked at her, she knew exactly what he was up to. Meddlesome old matchmaker.
"How are you feeling, my dear?"
It was a stupid question. She hurt from the back of her neck to the heels of her feet. The pain accompanied the myriad of slashes covering her body. How did he think she felt?
"A strong narcotic would be nice," she growled, then grinned when he winked at her.
Aaron left the room and returned with a glass of water and a straw. When she raised her head and quirked a brow at him, he said, "Well, it’s not like you can sit up right now with all those cuts everywhere."
"Dr. Matons," she pleaded, "will you please tell him?"
"I already did, my dear. He’s aware that you’ll be fine in a day or two. Already your cuts are beginning to heal, but you’re going to be quite sore until then."
Dr. Matons stuffed a couple of little, white pills into her mouth, and Aaron was right there ready with the water, fitting a straw between her lips.
"What is it?" she asked, hoping he remembered that certain drugs made her queasy.
"Tylenol with codeine. Two now. Two in four hours."
Aaron stroked a large hand through Reya’s hair. "I’ll see to it, doctor."
"Good," he said, his eyes locked with Reya’s drooping ones. "I’ll let Bethsaida know you won’t be down in the morning."
"I’ll be down to help," Aaron said resolutely.
&n
bsp; Now what kind of sense did that make, Reya wondered as the painkiller started to take effect. He would be in Belize City tomorrow morning.
As if he’d read her mind, he looked down at her and said, "I’ll be here, Reya. I’m not going anywhere until I’m sure you’re all right."
"But your brothers are meeting you…"
"They can reroute and meet me here instead. Besides, they’d love to meet their soon-to-be sister-in-law," Aaron said lazily as he took a tube of antibiotic ointment from Dr. Matons’ fingers and began to ease it lovingly into the slashed skin on her calves.
"Sister-in-what?!" she gasped.
"You heard me. Marry me?"
Her mouth dropped open and stayed there. He wanted to marry her? Even after learning she was a shifter? Her eyes went as wide as they were able, given the swift arrival of her latest groggy state. Lord knew she wanted him, but they hadn’t known each other that long. And what about his brothers? What if they didn’t like her? And what if Aunt Sulu didn’t like any of them?
"Aaron…I-I, well…" Her mind was a jumble of questions and muted excitement, but in seconds the codeine won the fight with her head as Aaron’s fingers smoothed the antibiotic up the backs of her thighs, lulling her into deep, healing sleep.
The last thing she remembered was wishing she could stay awake long enough to tell him to linger on her ass. And to say she’d be honored to marry him.
Chapter Nine
He couldn’t decide whether he should be seething mad or deliriously happy. His brothers absolutely adored Reya, doted on her. They’d come down on Cockscomb Jaguar Sanctuary like a pack of flirtatious mother hens. Hell, he couldn’t even wrap his mind around how they managed to baby him, flirt with every woman in sight, including his own, and have everyone still love them like sons. Austin and Anthony James had even managed to thoroughly charm Bethsaida and Dr. Matons was a close second.
Now they were working on Reya. The bastards had stormed right into her bedroom while she was still in bed. Reya, you’re just so beautiful. Oh Reya, we’re so glad you’ve caught yourself a James boy. Reya, we look forward to going scuba diving with you. Reya, it’s so nice and green here, unlike dry-assed Colorado. Reya, your bed-and-breakfast is exquisite. Shit, it was Reya this and Reya that. On and on it went. It didn’t matter that their compliments on Reya’s B&B were warranted. He had to admit, it was a well-designed structure with the best amenities, and if the James boys knew anything, they knew architecture. But they were damned annoying, flirting with his woman like shameless hussies, er, hussie-men!
And Reya loved every minute of it. Had even had the nerve to tell him how good-looking all the James boys were, him included of course. He’d wanted to smack her as she went on about how tall Austin was, how he looked so much like Aaron. Oh and then there was the Ode to Anthony’s Dimples. Damned woman. And she still hadn’t agreed to marry him. Admittedly, he asked her when she was half-delirious with pain and enjoying a nice dose of pain meds. But still!
She’d sat in the damned bed, skinning and grinning up at Austin and Anthony as they brought her anything and everything her little heart desired. Hell, there wasn’t anything left for him to do because his thick-headed brothers had taken care of all of Reya’s needs.
All they cared about was the fact that she was the woman he wanted to marry, and they were busy sinking their claws—that word held new meaning for him—into Reya to secure her as part of the family. And all because he wanted her. As if he couldn’t do it himself. Damned meddlers.
Aaron’s spine stiffened as his head filled with a possible explanation for his ire—he was jealous! Nah, that couldn’t be right, could it? No. Hell no. Absolutely not! He’d never been jealous over a woman in his whole life. But then again, since he’d met Reya, he’d had all kinds of new emotions dancing around his brain.
Right now both Austin and Anthony were downstairs filling in for him and Reya in the dining area, no doubt trying to run the kitchen by now. And here he sat on the side of Reya’s bed, grumbling about all their playboy-laden clucking. A resigned sigh huffed from his chest. May as well get over it. After all, they meant well.
Aaron tensed at the feel of fingertips traipsing down the middle of his back. His breath hitched as warmth spread from his spine, wrapped around his kidneys and dove straight for his heart. Only one touch could do that. Reya’s.
"I thought you were sleeping," he said quietly without turning around. The lid of Reya’s laptop snapped closed as Aaron braced himself. Any second now his brothers would somehow sense his woman was awake and come barging into her apartments to kiss her feet.
"I was asleep, but I like being awake much more when I can wake up to you here with me," she drawled. Her voice was low, sweet, and held him completely in thrall. God, he loved this woman. He set her laptop on the nightstand and turned to face her. She took his breath away, all tousle-headed, and her lips tipped up in a sensual half-smile. Her gray eyes twinkled in the dim early morning light that filtered in through the closed blinds. Oh she looked so ready to be loved.
"How are you feeling, baby?" he asked quietly, a lump in his throat he hadn’t noticed before.
She stretched sensuously, lacing her fingers together. He could see her toes point and flex under the light covers as she tried to cover a very unladylike yawn. He liked that about her. No cutesy eyelash batting or pretense. Just Reya. And what you saw was what you got. Well sort of, he thought as the image of a sleek black jaguar filled his mind. He grinned.
"What are you smiling about, Aaron?"
"Nothing," he mumbled, closing his eyes a second, trying to clear the image of Reya in her shifted body, purring at him as she licked her paws. "Nothing, sweet. Let’s take a look at those wounds."
"I told you I’d be fine in a couple of days. See for yourself." The timbre of her voice was a playful purr as she raised her arms over her head, taking her night shirt off in one move. The shirt was tossed carelessly toward the foot of the bed as she rolled over to her stomach and watched him over a well-formed shoulder. Fingers wrapped around the post of the headboard and her body writhed slowly, sensuously against the soft sheets. Aaron’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down roughly in his throat at the sight of all that smooth skin rubbing against the bedding. Her full breasts pressed into the mattress, and he could see the swells spilling out from underneath her body, peeking at him. His mouth watered, jealous that the bed enjoyed her sweet Hershey’s Kisses nipples instead of him.
Reya raised her head scant inches from the bed, her gray eyes finding him from underneath her lashes. Was that a smile or a smirk gracing her luscious mouth? Then the little hellion wiggled her ass at him. His cock responded, the base warmed and thickened until the ridge pulsed as it pressed against the zipper of his pants.
"See any wounds, lover?" she crooned, just before her tongue left a wet path over her top lip. What had she asked him again? Something about wounds? In truth, he wasn’t looking for any. He was looking at the teasing cleft between her ass cheeks, overwhelmed with the sudden urge to taste it.
"Aaron?" she questioned, a hint of "bad witch" in her words, "you all right?"
Oh, he was plenty all right. It only took a second to determine there wasn’t even a scar on her lovely back. But he had to check to make sure, didn’t he? Hell, yes!
Rising from his side of the bed, he gathered up the laptop, his scheduler and her satellite phone and stalked from the room. A brief stop in the living room and the items were dumped unceremoniously on the couch, the front door deadbolt slid home and the back door secured. He left his clothes next to the laptop in a heap.
Reya’s eyes went wide as they zeroed in on the lengthening, flushed cock jutting out from between his legs. Rain sounded on the roof overhead and Aaron had the sudden urge to let nature in. He raised the blinds and opened the window, letting in the sound of the summer storm and the smell of the surrounding fauna. With eyes closed, he inhaled as it swirled into the room, mixed with Reya’s unique musky scent and filled his lungs.
Easing onto the bed next to her, he felt her muscles bunch and tightened as he fought to control the lust quickly consuming him, but every second spent watching the daylight play over her skin drove his need a notch higher until he practically shook with it.
"Well, I’m all healed up, handsome. Care to take a closer look?" Her thighs spread just enough for him to glimpse the treasure glistening between them.
His fingers itched to sink into that treasure. Instead he decided, forced himself, to savor the beauty of the arousing woman spread out before him. Besides, he knew how much she liked him to play with her ass. So he set his hands on the path from the base of her spine down and across the supple cheeks, causing them to quiver at his touch. Putting his nails into play, he gave her a teasing, barely there caress that set her teeth on edge—he could tell from the audible snap of her teeth coming together on a groan.
Deep breaths became gasps. Gasps became moans as her body writhed under his hands, making him want to make her crazy. Something inside of him wanted her to be so crazy for him she would beg, scream.
Kneeling behind her up on the bed, Aaron gently pulled her up by her hips until her luscious ass was in the air, legs spread wide. Shoulders and chest writhed and rubbed against the soft sheets. When her fingers began to yank and pull at the bedding, the uninhibited response only spurred him on more.
Gently parting her plump folds, he gently licked the crevice at the top of her ass, playing with the sensitive skin just above her tight, puckered hole until she shivered with anticipation. Eyes closed, he imagined what it would feel like sinking his steel-hard cock into that tight hole. One day. One day soon. But tonight was for her pleasure. A single finger sank into her pussy’s wet dewy heat as he tongued her ass, rimming the quivering hole until she cried out.
"Oh! Aaah!" she panted anxiously, almost whimpering with pleasure. But he had a goal to reach—a blistering orgasm, complete with screams from his woman for his cock. Just the thought of her milking him dry made him pick up the pace just a bit. His wet tongue left her ass and traveled down to her soaked pussy, teasing the little space between her asshole and her creaming cunt while his finger worked in and out. The little ripples along her sleek, muscled walls drove further into sensual mayhem, if that were possible.
Captured Boxed Set: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys Who Will Capture Your Heart Page 32