Lion's Heat

by Lora Leigh

  Perhaps something had melted inside him as well. Never before had he known the words to say, or how to unlock the emotions he had always kept hidden inside his soul.

  Until Rachel. It had happened gradually, he admitted. Slowly. But she had freed something inside him that he hadn't known had been locked away.

  Looking over Harmony's head to the men who had followed her before he had found her again, he finally realized why Dane Vanderale had fought so hard to keep her safe all the years he had.

  The son of a bitch loved her. It was there in his eyes, in the twisted, raging fury of his expression. He was in love with a woman who would never consider his touch, his love or his needs.

  And he'd loved her enough to let her ago. To allow her to have her mate, to allow her to have her happiness. In doing so, he had lost her forever. But he had given Jonas a gift that could never be repaid: his sister. Jonas had his sister back.

  "It's going to be okay, little sister," he promised gently as he stroked his hands down her back and prayed for a way to soothe her. "Ely would have told you if he wasn't going to make it."

  She shook her head.

  "Leo would have never allowed you to leave the estate if Elizabeth thought he would die," he pointed out, and she paused.

  When she pulled back, she stared up at him. And she broke his heart all over again with those tear-drenched eyes, so vivid and filled with pain.

  "You hide," she whispered brokenly. "Like I used to do, don't you, Jonas? You hide it all, so you'll never be hurt."

  He shook his head. "There's no hiding it any longer, Harmony. Maybe I just needed you to see it without proof." He touched her cheek gently.

  She sniffed, like a little girl who didn't know what to do with her tears.

  "Go to your mate," he urged her as he turned her to the house. "I have to collect my Pride leader and his stubborn-assed father now."

  "His stubborn-assed father is having the time of his life cleaning up the carcasses Death left." Dane kicked at the human cowering at his feet, his expression hardening, filling with fury that came from Harmony's pain as well as the knowledge that she could have died when she went after the men who had attacked the estate. "What are we doing with this nasty little piece of shit?" He hunkered down and smiled in cold anticipation as the other man fought to scurry away while crying for mercy.

  There was no mercy. Not in Dane's eyes, nor in Jonas's heart.

  "Transfer him to our holding cells." Jonas looked to Burke. "This man is not to be accounted for. Let his boss think he escaped."

  Burke nodded, grabbed a hunk of bloodstained blond hair and dragged him, screaming, back into the Raider.

  "Lawe, Rule, go with him." He motioned to the two Enforcers before turning back to Dane. "You come with me."

  Jonas jumped into the Raider, waited until Dane and Rye moved into the backseat, then took off for the house.

  Harmony was racing into the entrance as Jonas drove up, her long, slender legs eating the distance as she moved to join her mate. Pulling the vehicle to a stop, he sighed wearily before jumping out and leading the way to Callan's private office.

  Dane. His brother. Hell, sometimes it was too damned easy to admit the tall blond behind him was indeed his relative. They were far too much alike, and yet, too different.

  Dane was a hybrid Breed, born naturally, nurtured and loved, held and given security. He had grown to adulthood knowing his place in life, and knowing the parents who loved and shielded him.

  There had been danger in his life, but there had been no cruelty from those assigned to care for him. Even now, his parents cherished the ground his feet touched.

  "I need a status update on Callan and Leo," he told the other two men as the doors closed behind them and security was engaged in the room.

  The Breed society would suffer from the loss of the three Breeds, Callan, Leo and Jonas, who worked so tirelessly to strengthen it, and Jonas knew it. If Leo and Callan were caught unawares, and killed, the Breed society might never recover.

  "I told you, brother, they're cleaning up Death's mess." Dane's smile was tight and hard. "You know how bloody things can get when she starts playing with her knife."

  Yes, he knew well how bloody she could get. Death preferred a mess. It was her calling card. She was never easy when she killed and she never gave a damn what others thought or how they saw it.

  "What did she learn?" She wasn't a stupid woman; she knew how important information was now.

  "Brandenmore hired them to kidnap David," Dane revealed. "They have more spies here, Jonas. They knew about the training maneuver David was on with Tanner, Harmony and Lance, and exactly how to get into the compound. Brandenmore ordered the kid brought in alive too. No exceptions."

  "Why?" Jonas snapped. That was unusual. They didn't need a live subject for the tests Jonas suspected they needed.

  "It got fuzzy there." Dane shifted his broad shoulders as a frown worked over his brow. "It seems Brandenmore believes the child has mated and that the answer to the problem he's looking for in the decreases of aging can be found with him. What the hell is going on with that?"

  Jonas shook his head. Dane's confusion stemmed from the fact that there were absolutely no variances of mating hormones in the children born to the Breeds. "We don't test the children, Dane. You know that."

  "You can't test children. Hybrid Breeds don't hit puberty until they're near eighteen, and most don't become sexually active until they're in their twenties," Dane snarled, his South African accent slipping with his anger. "The fuckers have lost their minds."

  "That, or do they know about you?" Jonas posed the question.

  Dane snorted. "Not a chance. Brandenmore so loathes Leo that if he knew, the world would know. Trust me."

  "Perhaps he's found himself another hybrid," Jonas thought aloud. "Whatever the answer, we have a more serious problem."

  "Your spy," Dane pointed out. "I know for a fact how secretive David's training is. Whoever knew is close."

  David Lyons was nearly thirteen years old, and despite Elizabeth Vanderale's claims that Breed males hit puberty late, he seemed to be hitting it exceptionally hard. His temper, as well as his animalistic nature, was becoming impossible to hide. The training maneuvers were designed to help ease the primal awareness beginning to grow inside him, as well as to teach self-defense.

  "Or lucky," Jonas bit out. "I want to question the captives myself. Let's see what I can get out of them."

  "The Breed bogeyman." Dane's smile was cold as he referred to the nickname the press had given Jonas. "If what I saw outside is any indication though, your reputation is going to suffer. First Ely calls you a fucking sissy girl pussy; now you're petting your sister. Breeds and humans alike might start believing you're not a robot after all."

  "Fuck off, Dane," he snarled and headed for the door. "And get your father and brother back on the fucking estate. I'll be damned if I need to deal with their deaths. The paperwork alone would make me fucking crazy."

  Jonas made his way from the office directly to the secured rooms below the house. He needed his mate. He couldn't possess her, but the touch of her, her warmth, the gentle sound of her voice was another hunger he craved as well. He'd never considered that with mating heat. None of the other mated Breed Enforcers had mentioned it in their reports: that the need to simply be in the presence of their mates was so overwhelming that it was impossible to stay away.

  Passing security, Jonas paused outside the secured safe room and waited until Merinus opened the door once again.

  Rachel's scent hit him immediately. Her head turned from where she had been watching her child sleep in her arms, then she stood quickly and moved toward him.

  She still wore the evening gown, minus the shoes. Her hair had slipped from its upswept style, and heavy strands fell to her shoulders.

  Her face was pale, tearstained, the baby clutched in her arms. She had never looked more beautiful, or as sexy.

  "Callan, Leo and Kane are cleaning up
," he told Merinus and Sherra as he passed them to meet Rachel in the middle of the room. "They'll be returning soon."

  He felt their relief, felt the love that seemed to fill the room. The children were all here, along with Leo's specially trained Enforcers, Breeds trained in the care and protection of the children should they have to escape with them.

  The children themselves were calm. At eleven, Kane and Sherra's son appeared much more mature as he kept an eye on Leo and Elizabeth's newborns while Dawn talked to two of the Breed guards.

  Tanner and Scheme's twins, ten months old, were playing quietly on a specially designed floor mat that held a variety of activities to entertain them. Merinus's newborn lay sleeping peacefully in one of the cribs set up in the room.

  Only David, Callan and Merinus's thirteen-year-old son, appeared less than peaceful, and who could blame the boy?

  Jonas would have approached the child, and had all intentions of doing so, until Merinus moved closer to him, blocking him from David.

  "David asked to be left alone until he could talk to Callan." Her dark brown eyes were filled with pain. "I don't know what to do, Jonas."

  This wasn't the Prima; this was the mother. She was uncertain, fighting to make sense of the danger this world provided and how best to protect her children.

  "Then I would suggest respecting his wishes," Jonas stated quietly as he glanced to one of the Breed guards closest to David and gave him a silent nod toward the boy.

  The Breed would be available if he felt David was becoming overly distressed.

  "He needs to talk about it," she whispered as she crossed her arms over her breasts and tried to calm herself. "David doesn't do well when he broods over things."

  "Sometimes a man has to brood," Jonas answered her, knowing the boy could overhear their conversation well. "He's being forced to grow up, Merinus, and as sad as that is, it's not something we can halt. David is well-adjusted, and he knows his father is willing to listen to whatever problems he wants to bring to him. Give Callan a chance to help his child the proper way."

  The message was for David as well. He could discuss the issues with Callan, or Jonas would ensure the boy discussed them with his father. And David rarely liked Jonas's forced discussions.

  "Rachel and I will be returning to the cabin now," he told the Prima. "If you need me, you have only to call the sat phone."

  "Is the cabin safe?" Merinus asked worriedly as she glanced at a sleeping Amber. "Stay here, Jonas. One of the lower-level suites can be prepared quickly."

  The lower-level suites were beneath the house, part of the design of the labs and taken for couples in mating heat that were forced to stay at the estate house for safety's sake.

  Jonas shook his head. "I have adequate security, and it seems the danger has passed, for tonight. Besides, I know Rachel will be more comfortable with time alone with her child."

  Rachel remained silent, thankfully. Jonas had no desire to stay there, where he could and would be disturbed at every chance. The animal inside him was already pacing in impatience to, at the very least, be alone with his family.

  His family.

  As they left the house, Jonas couldn't help but be amazed at the thought. He had been created to father children, and had been considered a failure by the scientists. Jonas knew what they didn't: He wasn't a failure, he just hadn't found his mate.

  Now that he had, he feared the results.

  Nothing mattered but protecting his mate and the child he had claimed as his own. The problem with that was, any child he would sire would be in even greater danger. He would be the child who would truly bridge Breed and man, to create a being that both races would ultimately fear.

  CHAPTER 10

  A fire was burning brightly in the fireplace when Jonas escorted Rachel into the cabin. Mordecai sat on his haunches in front of it. The four-legged Coyote that traveled at his side was lying in front of it, black eyes watching as Jonas and Rachel entered the room.

  Amber was sleeping peacefully after the formula Rachel had given her before they left the estate house, yet still, the Coyote Mordecai called "Cote" came to its feet, narrowed his eyes on the child and tilted his head as though attempting to figure out exactly what it was.

  "The perimeter of the cabin is secure." Mordecai came to his feet as he wiped his hands down the front of his jeans, his blue gray gaze meeting Jonas's before he shrugged his broad shoulders.

  There was an edge of discomfort whenever he was around Rachel, which Jonas hadn't yet figured out.

  "Contact me immediately if you so much as sense anything," Jonas ordered him. "I'll be working tonight, then Rachel and I have to fly back to D.C. tomorrow afternoon for a meeting with the House Appropriations Committee concerning satellite usage. I want the heli-jet and Alpha Team One providing security for the trip and the meeting, as well as the return."

  Mordecai gave a sharp nod as Rachel moved toward her and Amber's room. As Rachel's door closed, Mordecai turned back to him.

  "What?" Jonas questioned as Mordecai stared at him silently.

  "Merinus was forced to leave the safe room just after the male mates left. She was in the hall for long moments. While there, David became very agitated. He was pacing the room, and though he was fighting to hold them back, I could hear the tiny growls rumbling in his chest. He had all the appearances of adolescent feral fever, Jonas."

  Jonas's jaw clenched. "I'll talk to Callan and Ely and see what they think."

  Mordecai nodded. "He's a good boy. I'd hate to see his head messed with feral fever."

  As Mordecai left the cabin, Jonas blew out a hard, silent breath. Feral fever had caused the scientists to kill too many young Breeds while they were still in the labs. Jonas had hoped the hybrid Breeds would be immune to it.

  Moving to the kitchen, he quickly pulled a prepared meal from the freezer and shoved it in the oven. He hated damned microwaves.

  Setting the temperature, he moved to the coffeemaker and flipped the switch to start the brewing process for the already measured grounds of coffee, then set out two cups, bowls and spoons.

  Chili was one of the few things he could prepare well. That and coffee.

  Turning at the sound of the bedroom door opening, he watched as Rachel reentered the room. She had taken off the exquisite dress and replaced it with soft cashmere lounging pants and a top. Her feet were covered with pristine white socks, her long red hair brushed until it fell down her back in a soft, satiny ribbon.

  Seeing her dressed more comfortably, her face devoid of makeup, her demeanor softer than it was in the office, gave her an even more delicate, petite appearance.

  She barely cleared his chest at five foot six inches. In heels, she went no taller than his shoulders. She was so damned tiny he was almost scared to touch her.

  Fear was something he wasn't used to feeling either, not in any regard. Confidence was, at times, a fault where he was concerned, and he knew it. When it came to Rachel though, confidence was something he invariably found himself lacking.

  "Is Amber sleeping comfortably?" he asked as she made her way into the kitchen.

  "Like a baby." Her lips tilted up in amusement. "That child could sleep through a bomb, I believe. As long as her diaper is dry and her belly is full."

  She was an unusually peaceful child, Jonas had to admit. Even for her young age, Amber was content to watch everything and everyone when she was awake.

  "I'll have something ready for us to eat in a few minutes," he promised as he poured the coffee. "You have to be hungry."

  "Starved." She leaned against the counter, staring up at him, her gaze quiet, intense.

  Jonas could almost hear trouble brewing in her mind. The woman had more questions than China had rice at times.

  Rachel watched as Jonas moved around the kitchen, still dressed in the mission uniform, a weapon strapped to one thigh, a knife to the other.

  He was the badass he was rumored to be, there was no doubt. But there was a softer part of Jonas that few
people saw, that he took great pains to hide. A part that she had often glimpsed, even when she knew he would prefer no one see.

  It was the same part that had him fixing her coffee, and long minutes later preparing her meal before he set it on the table. She had never had a meal prepared for her, that she could remember, by anyone other than herself or her sister. Even Devon, when they had lived together, had never bothered to fix her so much as a glass of water.

  But here was Jonas, tough, hard, coming down from the surge of adrenaline that she knew came from battle, and he was fixing her coffee, chili, a salad. There were crackers and fruits and bread. Everything laid out on the table for her to tempt her appetite.

  "I'll get fat at this rate." She moved to sit in the chair he pulled out for her, and felt a start of surprise as he helped her adjust it.

  "Your metabolism is too well-adjusted and you're too physically active to get fat anytime soon." He took his own chair and began digging into his own food.

  Breeds consumed vast quantities of food to power those gorgeous, powerful bodies.

  There had actually been a television special concerning Breed eating habits. It had amazed her that producers would even think of such a thing.

  The meal progressed quietly. As she finished, Jonas removed the dishes, stacked the dishwasher, turned it on, then moved to the doorway.

  "I need a shower and I have some papers to go over before the meeting tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning."

  He left her sitting in the kitchen, alone.

  Rachel stared at the doorway incredulously. He had just walked out, moved across the living room and entered his own bedroom as though she were no more than a guest.

  She blinked as she fought to grasp this new attitude.

  She would have expected to be fending him off tonight, not wondering why the hell he hadn't at least given her the chance to do so.

  The knowledge that she wouldn't have minded the chance to do so had her lips quirking in a smile. The arousal that had slammed into her body the second she had seen him in that mission uniform hadn't abated.

  When he had walked into the safe room, his tall, corded body outlined in the protective wear, she had nearly lost her breath. The black material only emphasized the height and breadth of his body, as well as the living mercury of his eyes. He looked more a warrior than she had ever seen him before.

  Jonas's normal attire was silk suits and conservative clothing. She'd never seen him dressed outrageously, as some Breeds were prone to. No skintight leather or combat boots. He was every inch the conservative politician if one cared to ignore the dangerous aura that surrounded him. Or the gorgeous body. Or the sheer sex appeal.

  She breathed, wishing she had better control over her attraction to him. For more than seven months she had fought the heated longing she felt each time she saw him. As she learned more about him, she'd had to fight it even harder.

  And what she had seen tonight had made her see even more of the man he was.

  The monitors in the safe room covered every area outside the safe house. She had seen him when he had met his sister in the entrance to Sanctuary.

  The tenderness he had displayed toward her, the sheer agony on his face as she had cried in his arms had broken Rachel's heart. There were facets to Jonas that would take lifetimes to figure out. And there were others, such as his love for his sister, that were clear to her right now.

  So many saw him as manipulating, calculating: A man who deserved little respect because of the pure power he displayed. But Jonas was so much more than that. He manipulated to ensure the safety of the Breeds. He calculated to ensure the happiness of those close to him. He did what he had to do to provide a measure of safety to Sanctuary as well as to Haven, and to bring the Breeds into a cohesive society that projected the appearance of invincible strength.

  It was the only way to survive, she knew. The Breeds were facing an uncertain future in many ways. Laws could be changed on a whim, and what was theirs now could be taken from them tomorrow. It had happened in the past to other races. Rachel had no doubt that the Breeds too faced that threat.

  Rising to her feet, she paced to the living room, then to her room. She was looking at a long night. Sleep had never seemed so far away, nor had it ever seemed so unwanted.

  The rest of the week seemed to progress much as that night had. The day was filled with meetings, wrapping up projects and completing the move of the main office to Sanctuary. There seemed to be very little time to actually talk to Jonas, or to figure out what the hell they were going to do after the move.

  It wasn't as though they could go back to the same routine that they had had before. Yet Jonas seemed determined to do just that.

  He was more distant that he had ever been, and the time they shared together became few and far between.

  She found that by living in the cabin with Jonas, though, there were benefits. He began slipping into her room and taking Amber for her feedings throughout the night.

  Not once during the week had she woken to her daughter's fretful whimpers for a meal or a dry diaper. Once, she had awakened to see him bending over the crib, returning her daughter to her bed, his expression caught by the light of the lamp next to the small bed.

  It had been a father's face, full of gentleness. The face of a man who had claimed a child--whether by blood or by love--and now carried through with the responsibilities of that job.

  For long moments he had stood watching Amber, dressed in nothing more than a pair of soft cotton pants, his chest and feet bare.

  Rachel had felt such a surge of emotion, such pure arousal, that for a moment her breath caught.

  He had turned then, as though drawn by the power of what she had felt, his gaze locking with hers.

  Not a word had been said. He had turned and walked from the room so quietly that she wondered if he had ever been there. She had never caught him again, though she knew he fed Amber nightly. The bottles were always washed and sterilized, sitting on the counter awaiting her the next morning, and diapers were in the waste each morning.

  It was a routine they had begun to fall into, and it was one that was wearing on her nerves as she felt his hunger growing as well as the arousal beginning to build within her.

  No one coul