Jaguar (The Madison Wolves Book 12)

by Robin Roseau

  And then, slowly, Elisabeth lifted a hand along my back, slipping around my head, and cupping the back of my head. Then she pulled, gently, and I let her pull our mouths together.

  The kiss was tentative at first, brief, really, but then I pulled her back to me, and we kissed, far more passionately. I could taste her hunger, and I shared my own.

  Then she broke the kiss, but we didn’t release each other. “Anna,” she whispered. “I-“

  “Don’t stop now,” I told her.

  She made a little growl in her voice, and then she was pushing me backwards. I banged into the wall, but I barely noticed, as her mouth was over mine again.

  We clutched. We kissed. And then her leg was between mine, pinning me in place -- as if I intended to go anywhere. She unwrapped her arms from me and then slipped them inside my robe, running up and down my skin as we kissed, and kissed, and kissed.

  Then she pulled her mouth from mine, but she kept her leg where it was, her hands where they were...

  “Anna,” she whispered breathlessly.

  Clearly this wasn’t planned, but I didn’t care. I pushed her away from me, keeping my hands on her arms, and then pushed off the wall, turned her towards the bed, and then sent her flying onto the bed.

  I may have surprised her.

  She growled a little as I then landed atop her, and I didn’t fight when she flipped us both over, dropping her body onto mine. I let her pin me in place -- it wasn’t like I couldn’t have thrown her across the room if I wanted to. And then her mouth covered mine again.

  This time she was growling, in the back of her throat, but I thought they were good growls, hungry growls.

  She pressed me into the bed, but I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly; neither of us was going anywhere. Then her hands were between us, and she fumbled at the belt for a moment before pulling apart the simple knot and spreading the robe open widely, squirming around to release it from where it was pinned between us.

  Her hands on my hot skin felt good.

  Then she broke the kiss again, pulling away to loom above me. We searched each other’s eyes.

  “God, we don’t have time for this,” she said. Then she grinned. “In fact, we have just enough time for me to do this.”

  Before I could realize what she intended, she moved down my body, not even kissing her way, but she spread my legs and buried her face between my legs.

  “Oh. My. God!” I said.

  She didn’t waste time. Oh, she definitely didn’t waste time. And given the excitement earlier, I was horny as hell.

  I shifted position as she went to work, offering her all the access she might want. It was only seconds before she had me panting and whispering her name, over and over.

  I wasn’t normally the one to receive this kind of attention, not in what was clearly going to be a quickie. With anyone other than Carissa, I was typically the aggressor. And while receiving this type of attention wasn’t all that unusual for me, I’d typically received it after lavishing quite a bit of attention myself first.

  So in some ways, it was a new experience.

  I didn’t mind at all and was more than willing to let Elisabeth do what she was doing. And from the noises she made as she licked, she didn’t seem to mind, either.

  I tried to make her work for it. I really did. But soon I was clutching the bedding and practically thrusting my crotch at her. And then I cried out, softly, but definitely a cry of passion.

  I came long and hard, shuddering as Elisabeth pressed into me, her tongue continuing to stroke me, firmly at first, and then as I collapsed, she slowed and gentled, finally coming to a stop.

  “Oh, god,” I whispered.

  Elisabeth snorted. I thought she sounded rather pleased with herself. I was certainly pleased with her. A moment later, she worked her way back up my body, coming to a rest nestled against my side, one hand on my further breast as I lay there, panting.

  “That wasn’t planned,” she said.

  “I like how you say ‘thank you’,” I told her.

  “Oh, that’s not at all what this was,” she said. “This was leftover...”

  “Adrenaline,” I finished for her.

  “Yeah.”

  I turned my head and looked at her. She kissed me, a quick peck. “Tell me that’s not all it was, because I fully intend to reciprocate.”

  “Too bad we don’t have time.”

  “Elisabeth,” I said slowly.

  She licked her lips. “You taste different.”

  “I imagine.”

  “Don’t make this more than it was,” she said, rolling away from me.

  Timing. I have to say, timing is everything. There was a knock at the door, and without a pause, before I could say a word, it opened, and Lara poked her head in. “If you’re going to pick up Carissa...” she trailed off, catching a glimpse of Elisabeth, now bolting to her feet, and me, still lounged on the bed with my legs spread. I closed my legs and rolled onto my side, then slowly sat up.

  “Well,” said Lara after a moment. “There are these little things called ‘locks’. Perhaps you’ve heard of them.”

  “Alpha,” Elisabeth said. “Um. This wasn’t exactly planned.”

  “Why, Sister,” said the alpha. “Is that a blush I detect?” She turned her gaze to me. “I meant to thank you, but I believe my Head Enforcer has already accomplished that.”

  “Quite well, thank you,” I said. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  “I should send someone else. You’re going to smell like-“

  “Carissa won’t mind,” I said. “I should go.”

  “We should go,” Elisabeth said. “Fuck.”

  Lara snorted. “Yes, that’s what I thought it was, too. Please hurry.”

  “Lara!” Elisabeth said as the door closed. She set her hand on her hip and then looked to me. “I’m going to kill that little fox. First I’m going to hug her to pieces, then I’m going to shake her within an inch of her life, and then I’m going to kill her.”

  “Well, that’s an interesting sequence,” I said, stepping to the dresser. “Care to explain?”

  “I’m going to hug her because she’s alive. I’m going to shake her for her foolhardy stunt. And I’m going to kill her, because there’s no way she didn’t hear us, and she let Lara poke her head in anyway.”

  “I bet she sent Lara,” I said, pulling on undies. As I continued to dress, I turned to Elisabeth. “Now we know we don’t have to sneak around.”

  “Anna,” Elisabeth said carefully.

  “Right. Don’t make it more than it was. Well, it was pretty good for me. I feel a lot better. Thank you.”

  “I’m happy to serve,” Elisabeth said. “I think I’ll just...” She pointed to the door.

  * * * *

  Once she was gone, I stared at the closed door, then shrugged. It wasn’t the first time I’ve seen an exit like that, but I was usually the one doing it. It felt a little odd from this side. Then I shrugged again. I’d be back in New Orleans soon enough, anyway. Maybe I could catch myself a tourist or three.

  I arrived in the great room a few minutes after Elisabeth.

  “There you are,” Lara said. “Let’s go.”

  “Alpha,” said her head enforcer. “You’re staying here.”

  Lara turned to Elisabeth. The two stared each other down, and then Lara surprised me. She nodded. “Who are you taking?”

  “Deirdre, Anna, any idea who she’s bringing?”

  “You know it’s going to be more vampires,” I replied.

  Lips tightened, but Elisabeth only said, “Can you guess how many?”

  “No, but she can only fit so many in the airplane. Depending upon how many of us are going to meet her, two vehicles would be enough.”

  “We’ll take three,” Elisabeth said. She raised her voice. “Monique!” The girl scurried over, coming to attention facing Elisabeth. Elisabeth turned to her. “Monique, go retrieve Zoe from the safe room, please.”

 
Monique nodded and hurried off. As soon as she was out of hearing, Lara said, “You’re going to bring a human?”

  “Alpha,” Elisabeth said, “I’m not bringing any other enforcers with me. They are staying here.”

  “There are other choices.”

  “Our prisoners have been less than forthcoming,” Elisabeth replied. “We do not know if there is a welcoming committee at the airport.”

  “Which is why you can’t bring a human.”

  “Which is exactly why I have to bring a human,” Elisabeth replied. “If they’re expecting wolves, a human won’t stand out.”

  “It’s the middle of the night. Anyone is going to stand out.”

  “I could go take a look,” Michaela said.

  “No!” Lara and Elisabeth said together.

  “In our new toys!” Michaela explained. Michaela made helicopter noises.

  “No,” Elisabeth said. “That’s not exactly subtle, and I’ll point out it’s now stolen property.”

  “Spoils of war,” Michaela said, putting on a face. “I suppose you’re not going to let me keep them, either.”

  “No, we’re not,” Lara told her.

  “Oh, come on, Elisabeth,” Michaela said. “Don’t you think the pack could use a couple of military helicopters?”

  “Little Fox,” Elisabeth said gently. “I don’t have time for you to mess with me right now.”

  Michaela sulked for about three seconds then turned to Lara. “Zoe has a cool head. She’s a better choice than anyone else we have. None of the parents are up for it. We can’t send any of the teenagers. And frankly, with both Elisabeth and Anna gone, I don’t think either of us want to reduce our forces further. Zoe can’t help in a fight, but she can help with this.”

  Lara tightened for a moment then marginally relaxed. “Did you really want the helicopters?”

  “Of course I do,” Michaela replied. “But I know we can’t keep them. Unless...” She grinned.

  “No,” Elisabeth said.

  I wanted to chuckle, but didn’t think it would be appreciated.

  “Portia’s never going to let you take Zoe,” Lara pointed out.

  “Which is why she’s on patrol. Forgiveness and all that.”

  Just then, Monique reappeared, Zoe following along behind her. They stepped into our circle, and Monique asked, “Did you need me for anything else?”

  “Go report to Karen and do whatever she tells you,” Elisabeth said. “Thank you, Monique.”

  The girl nodded and stepped away. Elisabeth turned to the human, who asked, “Is it over?”

  “For now,” Elisabeth asked. “Did you get updates?”

  “Only that no one was hurt.” She looked around. “Where’s Portia?”

  “Patrolling,” Elisabeth replied. “She’s fine. Zoe, you drove up separately, didn’t you?”

  “Yes. Did you need my car?”

  “Carissa is due shortly. Anna and I are going to meet her.”

  “In my car?”

  “We’re taking three cars,” Elisabeth said.

  Zoe froze, looking up at Elisabeth. “You want me to drive one,” she whispered. “You’re sending a human in.”

  “I want a human to drive a harmless looking vehicle onto the airport and have a little look around from the safety of her car. But if I can’t find a cool-headed human willing to volunteer, I’ll bring Monique.”

  “She’s a kid.”

  “She’s an enforcer,” Elisabeth said.

  “And expendable, like the human,” Zoe said. “Right?”

  “Zoe, I’m leaving everyone else here to defend the alpha family and all these other people. We don’t know there aren’t others out there.”

  “You don’t have to do this, Zoe,” Lara said.

  “Tell me what you want.”

  “We’ll give you one of our headset radios.” Elisabeth explained what she wanted. At the end, Zoe said, “I need my purse. It’s in my room.”

  Five minutes later, we were on the road.

  * * * *

  Elisabeth and I took one route to the Ashland airport. Zoe took another. Elisabeth and I parked a half-mile from the airport and then listened to Zoe.

  “I’m approaching the airport,” she said over the radio. “It looks quiet.”

  “If you see any people, drive past,” Elisabeth said.

  “It looks pretty deserted,” Zoe reported. “Turning in.”

  “You’ve been here before,” Elisabeth reminded her. “Do you see any cars parked in unexpected locations, or any serious looking aircraft?”

  “A few small ones tied up on the ramp,” Zoe responded after a minute.

  “Drive down to the last set of hangars,” Elisabeth said. “Don’t go all the way to the end; it’s a dead end. But turn in.”

  “Nothing,” Zoe said. “Hmm. One car parked at the end of the second to the last hanger, out of the way.”

  “Car or something bigger?”

  “Sedan.”

  “Don’t stop,” Elisabeth said.

  “I didn’t,” Zoe replied. “But now I’m turning between the last hangars.”

  “Take the taxiway back to the main ramp,” Elisabeth ordered.

  “Won’t I get in trouble?”

  “Don’t argue, Zoe.”

  “On the taxiway. I don’t see anyone from the FAA flagging me down.” Then she screamed.

  “Zoe!” Elisabeth said. “Zoe!”

  “God, that scared the shit out of me. The runway lights just turned on.”

  “We’re just in time. They’re controlled from the air. Turn onto the main ramp and then exit the airport property. Right turn, and I’ll guide you to us.”

  A half-minute later we saw her headlights as she approached.

  “I see two SUVs facing me on the side of the road with their parking lights on.”

  “Flicking mine off,” Elisabeth said. Ahead of me, I saw her lights to go out, then come back on.

  “Must be you,” Zoe said.

  “Slow down and turn around. Pull in behind Anna.”

  The car slowed, and then I watched as the little Prius turned around, coming to a stop behind me.

  “How you doing, Zoe?”

  “I’m fine,” Zoe said. “Those lights scared me.”

  “Scared, or startled?”

  “I suppose startled is a better word,” Zoe replied.

  “Are you up to meeting a few vampires?”

  “A few?” Zoe asked. “A few?”

  “We don’t know how many are coming with Carissa.

  “Promise they don’t bite,” Zoe said. “Sure.”

  “They won’t bite,” I assured her. “Or if they do, it’ll be me.”

  “All right,” Elisabeth said. “Me first. Zoe, pass Anna and follow behind me. Three car lengths, no more. Anna take the rear.”

  Elisabeth pulled onto the road carefully. I pulled forward enough that Zoe could easily pull around me, and then Elisabeth led the three of us to the airport. She led us not to the small parking area but out to the main ramp, and soon we came to a stop, our cars now side-by-side.

  “Remain in your cars. Zoe, if I tell you to go, don’t argue with me. Get your ass back to the compound as fast as you can without having an accident. The radio you’re wearing isn’t good this far, but Eric will start to pick you up when you get closer. Raise a stink and don’t stop until you’re parked in front of the lodge. Don’t worry about parking pretty. Get there, jump from your car, and run for the front door. Now tell me ‘Yes, Head Enforcer’.”

  “Yes, Head Enforcer,” said the human.

  “Thank you, Zoe.”

  There was no response to that.

  We weren’t there much longer, perhaps a minute or so, and then I saw the headlights of an airplane approaching for landing.

  “Anna, will you recognize everyone Carissa might bring?”

  “Not necessarily,” I replied.

  “All right. Assuming that’s Carissa’s plane, the moment it turns off the runwa
y, call Carissa.”

  “Right,” I said.

  It was another two minutes before the jet touched down, and another thirty seconds after that I made my call. Carissa answered on the second ring.

  “You have impeccable timing, Anna,” she said in greeting.

  “Please tell me that’s your aircraft that just landed.”

  “It is. Please tell me everyone is okay.”

  “A few dicey moments, but everyone is fine,” I said. “Elisabeth, it’s Carissa.”

  “Is the airport secured?” Carissa asked. “I see three cars but no wolves patrolling around.”

  “No,” I told her. “We kept the compound secured. We have three cars and three drivers. One is human.”

  “Then remain in your vehicles,” Carissa said. “And tell the human to hunker down. Just in case.”

  “Just in case,” I agreed. “Zoe, make sure your car is in park and then get as low as you can while Carissa ensures the airport is safe.”

  “Oh god,” she replied. “All right.”

  I looked over and watched the human disappear from view.

  “She recommends we remain in our cars for now, Elisabeth.” The wolf said nothing.

  The jet pulled into the ramp area and turned sideways to us, showing us the cabin door. It hadn’t even shut down before the door opened, and then, in a blur, two vampires exited the aircraft. They disappeared in opposite directions faster than my eyes could follow. Moving more slowly, several more people appeared, descending the steps and setting up watchful eyes left and right, remaining near the jet.

  We waited perhaps thirty seconds, maybe not that, before the two blurs returned, coming together and stopping right at the end of the aircraft stares. Kristian nodded to Carissa, and then the two turned to face us. Carissa lifted her hand to her ear and said, “Secure. No one else here.”

  “Snipers?” I asked.

  She said something to Kristian, and then he was gone again. “Give him a minute,” Carissa said into the phone.

  Into the radio, I said, “Carissa reports the airport is deserted. Kristian is checking the immediate area. Just another minute.”

  It wasn’t even that before the blur returned. Carissa accepted his report and then said into the phone, “Come give me a hug, Anna.”