Aaron pulled back and forced himself to wait for her words. Didn’t take long.
"AJ, please!"
AJ? No woman had ever called him by his nickname. No woman had ever gotten close enough to even figure out what it was. It sounded perfect on her lips and made him want to please her even more, made him want to make her scream it, yell it, shout it from the highest mountain.
Raising his head just enough to ask, "Please what, baby?"
"Please lick me. Please…"
The first swipe of the whole length of his tongue against her slippery folds earned a keening growl from deep in her chest. Oh yes, that’s what he was after. Replacing a finger with two, Aaron practically buried his face into her dripping pussy. She was sweet and spicy, like the apples and cinnamon she always munched on. His tongue tasted and teased then sucked furiously on her flesh until her body went taut and rigid. Orgasm number one in the bag.
Loving had never been more fulfilling. And he wasn’t even inside her yet.
* * *
Reya marveled at the fullness of her closely shaved lips, inflamed and swollen as Aaron worked her pussy into a mound of frenzied need. Engorged and achy, she craved the fingers and tormenting tongue playing over her body.
This man never left her unsatisfied, his loving slow and giving, then escalating to wild, frenzied fucking. Long, hard and deep.
The latter is what she needed just now.
"Fuck me, Aaron!" she yelled into his ear. "Oh god, please!"
"Call me AJ again," he hissed between his teeth, the sound urgent, like the sizzle of water splashed into a roaring flame.
With a speed and strength that amazed her, Aaron flipped her onto her back. With a mind of their own, her long, strong thighs automatically fell open as his wide chest settled between them.
Each finger reveled in the slide of luxurious silk locks as she buried her hands in his hair, holding him firm against her burning cunt. Oh such a talented tongue. It lapped, pulled, pressed and sucked until she was mindless with lust.
But he didn’t have enough hands! Reya’s body wanted his touch everywhere at once. Lifting a hand to the tightly drawn buds of her nipples, she matched the rhythm of his mouth, tugging when his lips tugged, pulling when his teeth pulled on her clit, caressing when his tongue caressed her pink slit. Just as one breast began to feel neglected, one of Aaron’s larger hands joined in the play. He squeezed and palmed her full globes, sending sweet sensation through every pore in her body.
When he hummed against her writhing core, orgasm sped through her blood with such force, it skyrocketed into the sun where she melted with the speed and heat of a solar flare. The glowing power of the feline rose up, the change rippling just underneath her skin, fighting for dominance. She’d never experienced this kind of primitive need, the urge to be taken in the change. And by a human? It was beyond her imagination. For the first time in all her young years, Reya found herself battling the animal instinct to mate.
Her mate was over her now, chasing her lips as she battled the change and the need to catch her breath. But Aaron gave no quarter.
"Open for me, baby. I want it all, heart and soul." His mouth locked to her and the flavor of her nectar on his tongue was exotic and heady, like the jungle that surrounded them. The wonder of the intensity of their lovemaking was enough to give her the control she needed to subdue the regal beast within.
"Hold on to me, Reya. I can’t wait another second to sink into that sweet pussy."
"Aah, god, AJ! Give it to me!" she belted to the ceiling.
"Is it all mine?" he asked, gritting his teeth as he plunged.
"Yes!" There was no doubt what was coming. Wrapping her arms around his broad back, she held on for dear life as the heart-shaped head of his cock slipped into her welcoming heat just before the long, veined ridge of pleasure slid home. Arms wrapped around each other, anchoring their bodies together, he rode her into oblivion. Hard. Fast. Slick. Wet. A wild mating frenzy. But the untamed cat stayed just there, right on the edge of her consciousness, watching, waiting to be freed. Aaron’s loud yell exploded from his chest. The knowledge of the meaning of that feral sound triggered her own roar as her clenching channel gloried in the splash of his scalding seed against her cervix, sating her urgent need.
* * *
As he stroked her spine, they lay quietly and listened to the deep boom of the thunderheads passing over. He hoped it wouldn’t delay his flight. The plan was to fly to Belize City, meet with his client briefly then he and his brothers would head out to Ambergris Caye to survey the land they’d purchased for the project. They had to wrap up these final details so they could break ground on time. Luckily his unexpected, unfortunate, very hard landing hadn’t affected the project plan as much as he’d thought. Even if it had, meeting Reya made it all worth it.
Last night Marc had come by to see how Reya was doing and to deliver some information about the jaguar that had attacked her. The whole place was in an uproar over it. The rangers were even thinking about shutting down the sanctuary to visitors until the cat was put down. Marc, after meeting Aaron’s brothers, all huddled around Reya as they were, told them the jag had been spotted by two other rangers, always at night and always in the same spot Aaron and Reya had run into him.
The man promised to look after her for the couple of days Aaron and his brothers were in Ambergris Caye, but the thought of leaving her alone, even with a so-called ‘good friend’ like Marc, made him uneasy. Choice? He had none.
"Promise me you won’t go on patrol alone," he asked quietly, kissing the top of her head.
"Aaron, I’ve been doing this a long time…"
"Yeah, and how many times have you been injured by a male jaguar who happened to be after a human?" His arched brow and tight set of his chin dared her to gainsay him, but he knew she’d try to think of something.
"How many times? Well, uh, never."
He was actually surprised she hadn’t added a few more uh’s or er’s to that statement. Raising his head, he looked down at her like she was someone else, earning a giggle and a slap on the chest. Damn, she was strong. But she wasn’t arguing with him, so he counted his blessings and left it alone. Sort of.
"Promise."
"Fine. I promise," she whined.
"Now was that so hard, baby? And," he said nuzzling her ear, "you have yet to agree to marry me."
"There just hasn’t been time to talk about it, now has there? Not with all the hot lovin’ you’ve been laying down on me." She turned her head and nipped his ribs.
"Laying down on you…I like the sound of that," he drawled, turning quickly and sweeping her underneath him.
"Aaron, it’s already seven a.m., you’re going to make yourself late." Her voice was a blend of highly charged thunder and gentle rain. Just like the storm overhead. What a potent mix she was.
"That’s fine as long as I make you come while I’m making myself late." Oh, did he ever enjoy the tremble working its way down her lush body when he swiped his hot tongue down her neck. Yes, trembling was good, but panting was better.
The unsteady quaver of her husky voice sent what could only be described as pure male pride spreading through his chest. The woman sounded like a horny toad on overload, and it was all his fault. The press of her strong thighs as they wrapped around his hips had him bracing himself against the surge of pleasure as he slipped into heaven.
"But what will your brothers think?" she squeaked out on a pant.
"They’ll think I’m a damned lucky bastard, is what." Then he moved and the ridge of his cock caused just the perfect amount of friction deep inside her heat.
"Ooooh, I think I can live with that."
Chapter Ten
Dangriga Airstrip—Dangriga, Belize
Aaron loved flying. Even when he’d piloted their company jet alone, it had given him a thoroughly enjoyable feeling of freedom and peace while gliding through the air among the clouds. It was the closest to heaven he’d ever been…until Reya. This t
ime flying wasn’t so impressive, or even welcome. As they sat on the jet way in Dangriga awaiting clearance for takeoff to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, his finger circled around the rim of his coffee cup as he stared absently into the steaming dark brew. He wished he was sharing it with Reya.
"Missing Reya already, lil’ bro?"
Aaron’s head popped up at the sound of his tormentor’s voice. When his eyes met Anthony’s, he couldn’t help but grin along with his brother. He still couldn’t get over the fact his brothers had insisted on peeking into her room so they could kiss her goodbye on the cheek as she slept.
"Bethsaida should be looking in on her now…if she’s awake yet," Aaron said, unable to keep the smug, self-satisfied look off his face as he looked down at his watch. Reya was usually up with the chickens. But it was now eleven o’clock in the morning, and he’d be amazed if she was able to move from the bed. He’d left his woman well loved and plenty satisfied.
"She’s a keeper, Aaron. Such a nice mix of feisty and sweet," Anthony said appreciatively as Austin chimed in. "Not to mention beautiful."
"Yep, you picked a good one," Anthony continued, "real good. That woman of yours is as smart as a whip and has a head for money. She even asked about investing in your project in Ambergris Caye, you know, being a private shareholder. She thinks it’s going to take off as soon as the word gets out about what kind of facility it is."
Aaron hadn’t known that. Reya wanted in on his deal? And she hadn’t even seen the blueprints or financial projections? She trusted his judgment that much? He felt like the Grinch when his heart swelled ten times larger than it already was.
"And," Anthony said around a bite of fluffy, butter-smothered biscuit, "she’s got you plenty pussy whipped."
"What?" Aaron gaped, ready to protest. When both his brothers pinned him with an amused but unflappable stare, he snapped his mouth shut. Him? Pussy whipped? Hell, when had that happened?
"So, what about her family?"
"Family?" Aaron lifted a brow in query at Austin. "Well, she’s got an aunt in the States, somewhere in the bayou of Louisiana."
"Not what I meant," Austin said quietly, signaling to the crew member for another cup of coffee. "Are they going to have a problem with the fact that you’re a white boy from Colorado?"
Aaron stared dumbly at the both of them, his face the picture of a total lack of comprehension. Hell, he hadn’t given it a second thought. Did Reya care that he was white? Not likely. If she had, she would have said something or blown him off before he’d gotten much past "hello". He put it out of his head and answered with clear conviction.
"No, Reya doesn’t care, and if she doesn’t care, her aunt won’t either."
"They sound like good people. But you are whipped though." Aaron rolled his eyes. Anthony had always been the philosophical one. A regular male talk show host. "But whipped is not necessarily a bad thing, especially when your woman cares for you."
"Oh, shut up already, Anthony!" Aaron snapped, but there was no heat behind his words. The smile spread across his mouth was too big.
"Congratulations, Aaron," Austin quipped with a grin, raising his mug of coffee in a salute.
After landing safely, the three brothers boarded a boat and headed out to the caye. In the middle of surveying the view of the barrier reef near the new resort site just off Ambergris Caye, Austin turned and asked, "So, I take it you’ll be staying in Belize for awhile?"
Aaron thoughtfully regarded the most perceptive of the bunch. How did Austin always seem to know what he hadn’t figured out yet? They hadn’t discussed where they would go from here. Forget the fact Reya hadn’t said yes to his proposal yet.
"I’m sure we’ll spend some time in the States," Aaron said, noting their coordinates and the angle of the boat. "But Reya has a passion for that jaguar sanctuary. It’s the only one in the world, so she has to be there to do her work. Give me a drafting table, a satellite phone and a computer and I can work anywhere."
"She’s back to her patrolling this afternoon, eh?"
"Yeah. Actually tonight she’ll be…" Just then, the hairs on the back of Aaron’s neck stood at full attention and sent a tingle of dread straight to the pit of his stomach. The second he thought about Reya out in that damned jungle patrolling for poachers, the bottom dropped out of his gut. He shook the feeling off and concentrated on getting the rest of his notes together for their meeting with their customer in less than an hour.
"She’ll be what?" Austin asked.
Serious eyes on both Anthony and Austin, Aaron said, "I told you about the jaguar that tried to attack me, right?" When they both nodded he continued. "Reya saved my ass. She promised she wouldn’t go out into the jungle until the rogue was put down, but…" Shit! There it was again, a damned alarm pounding inside his head that screamed something was wrong. And this time, as much as he tried, he couldn’t push it away.
"Damn it, tell the captain to turn the boat around," Aaron said through clenched teeth as he strode toward the back of the boat for the portable phone in his duffel.
"Aaron," Anthony called, "what the hell is wrong?"
"I don’t know, but I just have this strong feeling that Reya’s in danger. I can’t explain it, but if I don’t get back to that damned wildlife sanctuary and fast, my woman is history."
It was obvious they hadn’t felt the cold chill of warning he had, but his brothers would back his play. They just had to, and Aaron wasn’t disappointed.
"It makes sense, Aaron. If you had it out for her, when would you strike next?" Anthony asked on a growl, eyes flashing with anger as he headed toward the captain, yelling over the din of the yacht’s engines. "Hey, turn this thing around! Get us back to San Pedro. Right now!"
Understanding dawned in Austin’s eyes. His jaw ticked as he answered Anthony’s question. "I’d strike the second she was alone, as soon as her man was out of sight." Seconds later he was on his satellite phone calling the airstrip in San Pedro, giving them an hour to get the jet cleared and ready for takeoff to Dangriga. A car would be waiting to cover the twenty miles from the airstrip to the wildlife sanctuary.
Aaron was on the satellite phone he’d borrowed from Reya. Urging the speed dial to dial faster, he felt his chest tighten as he waited to connect to the spare she promised to carry with her while he was gone. No answer.
* * *
"I can’t wait until the rainy season is over. I like that it’s so green everywhere, but all this water is getting on my nerves," Reya gritted through clenched teeth as her boot landed with a splash in a deep puddle. "Marc, you all right? You’ve been awful quiet."
Reya couldn’t recall a single time during the year they’d been friends when Marc wasn’t open and upbeat, but for the last couple of hours he’d been quiet and reserved. She almost wished they’d run across a poacher just to break the weird silence between them.
"I’m fine. Just have a few things on my mind," he said quietly, looking around as if he expected King Kong to come bursting through the trees. Not afraid but…overly cautious.
She scented jaguars on him again. The aroma was weak, but she was curious why he, a human, smelled like female jaguar all the time, even in the middle of a downpour. Damn it, her senses just weren’t as sharp when she was in her skin. The urge to drop to her knees and transition was so strong she clamped her jaw tight and came to a dead stop. Something was dead wrong.
"You all right, Reya? What is it?" Marc asked with sudden concern.
Now this seemed more like Marc. "No I’m fine. My, uh, my knee is a bit sore. Trudging through all this mud is kind of pulling on it," she lied. Hell, it hadn’t sounded convincing to her own ears, but Marc didn’t seem to notice.
"Oh no," he gasped.
"What?" she asked, grinding her back teeth, willing her body not to grow a pelt.
"I left the radio in the jeep. Maybe we should head back?"
"Head back?" she asked in disbelief, her discomfort momentarily forgotten. They were on a circular route and wou
ld exit the trail in the same area they’d entered. The man’s suggestion didn’t make the least bit of sense. "Marc, we drove an hour into the park and hiked another hour. We’ve only got two hours left before we have to head back and our path is going to take us to the exact spot where we started. Let’s just keep going rather than backtrack."
Just then a series of roars filled the area off to their left. Female jaguars. Extremely agitated female jaguars. The next roar came from behind her. Reya wasn’t afraid, but when she turned to Marc to ask if he had his tranquilizer gun on him the words froze in her throat. His typically smiling eyes were narrowed in menace, golden blond brows snapped together until they met in the middle of his forehead. He was obviously as agitated as the females whose growls and snarls began to encircle them.
"What do you think is wrong with them?" she asked breathlessly as her own hackles rose at the strangeness of the situation. What the hell made a pack of female jaguars coordinate on a hunt? It just wasn’t the norm.
"They should be pretty used to us. I think they’ve scented a poacher," Marc said quickly, backing up toward a copse of trees. His explanation made sense, and if it was a poacher, they had to get to him before he either took a jag down or the jags took him down.
Her hand was on the strap securing her tranq gun over her shoulder. Before she could pop the snap that allowed the piece to fall into her hands, Marc withdrew a pistol from the belt holster obscured by his jacket. Not a tranquilizer gun, but a fucking 9mm handgun! What the hell was going on here?
"Reya, you go take the left trail, I’ll head off to the right."
"But, Marc…" Reya tried to protest, but he just shoved her toward the direction he wanted her to go. "Don’t worry, we’ll be all right." After a quick, supposedly reassuring hug, he gave her a strained-looking wink and headed off into the trees.
Captured Boxed Set: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys Who Will Capture Your Heart Page 33