Horror struck Deja, and she could find no words to reply. Stovall seemed to think her reaction amounted to sorrow at his failure, and he nodded. She hated him even more.
“He broke free.”
She gasped. “What?”
“He escaped, and took something of mine, something very valuable. I want it back.”
“A formula to mask scent.”
Stovall glanced past her, and Deja turned to look. Jake walked into the room with two guards trailing behind him. Why does he know what they’re looking for? What had been niggling at her for a while came to the forefront of her mind. Jake had no scent. Her heart twisted in her chest, and she stared into the guileless eyes of her friend, but he wasn’t looking at her. He focused on Stovall.
The director stood and walked around the desk. His gaze swung from Jake to Deja and back again, and he grinned, patting Jake’s cheeks. “Good boy.”
No, she wouldn’t believe it. Not Jake. He wouldn’t work for Spiderweb—would he? She thought back to all the times he’d gone with her on her hair-brained forays into Spiderweb territory, risking his life. Maybe it was not so much of a risk after all.
Jake had surprised her in his ability to handle a gun and his bravery. He had gunned down more than one of the guards, but maybe they were expendable, a tool to worm his way into her trust. He had been the one to lead her to Heath after Spiderweb had caught him, when Ward and the others were off on a wild goose chase. She had trusted him even more then when he helped with the rescue. After all, he could have made sure she as well as Heath was captured. Now this? Her mind whirled.
While she thought through the facts over and over, Jake moved closer and reached a hand out. She smacked it and shrank away. “Don’t touch me.”
She steeled herself against the hurt in his expression. “Deja, I’m not involved with them. You have to believe me.”
“I don’t have to do anything, and why are you bothering to cover up who you work for when they’ve called you out? It’s over, because no one is going to trust you after this.”
The stricken expression seemed almost real. He was a great actor. “I never killed those shifters.”
“Really? How did you even know any were killed?”
“I heard.”
She swore. “I should have known better. All that time our people were getting hurt but not you—a human. No one ever went after you. Carter’s dead, Melanie… Not you, Jake.”
“I’m sorry.” He shook his head as if in disbelief. “I’m apologizing for not dying. It doesn’t make sense. But why would they go after me? I’m nobody, not worth studying.”
She spun away from him. “Go tell it to someone who’ll buy your lies.”
The director chuckled at their exchange. “Can’t trust anyone, huh? But you’re right, Deja. I will use anyone to get what I want.”
A shiver raced down her back.
Piercing eyes locked onto her. “Tell me why you risked coming here.”
“Don’t you know? You know everything.”
“Humor me.”
She shifted Maia on her lap. Both girls had fallen asleep, which told her Heath had let up. He must have realized since they didn’t come right away, she wouldn’t give in. He loved his girls as much as she did and didn’t want to hurt them. Looking down into their innocent faces, she came to a decision. Here in the midst of Spiderweb, the organization that had turned her life upside down, she had come too far to turn back. With as few words as possible, she outlined the problem with the girls and the sickle cell trait.
Stovall’s eyes glittered, unfocused. “Intriguing. So much I could learn from this.”
“You don’t need to learn anything! Just make sure they’re fine.”
He sat down on the edge of the desk and folded his arms across his chest. “From what I gather, the sickle cell trait has already bonded with the tiger gene, which might or might not cause a reaction during their first shift. That could occur any time between now and adolescence.”
She gritted her teeth. “I’ve just said that.”
“Bring me Heath Hunter, and I will help them.”
“Take me instead,” she said without hesitation.
“You?” He shook his head, and his nostrils curled as if he smelled something bad. “You’re damaged. You’re the one who caused this problem for your children. While I could enjoy seeing if I can provoke sickle cell in you, it’s pointless—the range of childhood diseases aside. What I am really interested in are the tiger borns, the purebloods.”
Once again, someone managed to make her feel inferior, never mind the outdated reason of the color of her skin. The whole issue seemed ridiculous.
“What I want is a pure tiger born shifter, no defects. If I can get Heath Hunter, he can make more children for me, pure children.” He had been focused on the ceiling when he spoke the offensive words, but at the last, he trained his malevolent gaze on her and grinned. “I hear he has a new mate after all. Maybe she’s purer.”
“You motherfuc—” In the blink of an eye, she had her girls on the chair next to her and sprang at him, claws bared. She got in one swipe, tearing his jacket sleeve and the flesh beneath in one stroke. Then the butt of a rifle landed against her jaw, and she found herself flat on the floor.
“Deja!” Jake dropped to his knees and tried to hug her, but she pushed him away. He shoved her hands out of the way so he could examine her face. From his expression, she gathered a bruise was forming. Jake rounded on Stovall, but he didn’t try going at him. “Leave her alone. Haven’t you hurt her enough taking her children?”
“So you love her, huh, boy? Interesting.”
Jake gritted his teeth. “Stop saying that. This is people’s lives you’re playing with.”
“Have you learned nothing? I will use whatever is at my disposal.”
Stovall towered above them both, and she bet he never felt so tall with them crouched on the ground. Every muscle in her body ached to go at him again and finish the job, but one of the guards had moved to Maia and Neve, just waiting for the signal. Stovall had already said they were no real use other than to do some meaningless experiments on. Why had she thought he would help her cure them? He wanted Heath. She searched for a solution to protect them all.
“Up,” Stovall directed, and a guard dragged Jake to his feet. “You go out and get Heath. Tell him I have his family, and if he wants to see them alive, he will come alone. I don’t need a repeat of what happened at our other facilities.”
Deja curled the side of her lips. “Why? You can’t afford more disposable foot soldiers? That’s what you all are, by the way.”
One of the guards met her gaze with a sneer. “Oh yes, let us side with the science experiments, the monsters that could kill us in our sleep.”
“We can do without the sarcasm,” Jake growled. He looked at Stovall. “I’ll go, but you have to promise to keep Deja safe and unharmed.”
“I don’t need you to do me any favors, Jake. I’ll go.” A panic attack threatened at the thought of leaving her kids. She couldn’t do it.
Stovall interceded when Jake would have argued. “You. Now!”
Jake stooped beside her and touched her arm. This time she didn’t pull away, but she didn’t look at him either. “I promise I’ll be back.”
She remained silent, and guards led him out of the room. A sense of being alone in the world without hope came over her until she panted. Spots danced before her eyes, and she shut them, struggling to get a grip. Stovall’s voice came from a long way away.
“Shall we go?”
She forced her eyes open and tried to focus on him. He waited, patient for her to rise.
“I want you dead,” she spat between pants.
“Maybe tomorrow.” He strode over to the door and raised a hand in invitation like he offered her a room in a cushy hotel and not a prison lab. “Come along. The sooner we get you settled the sooner we can have a look at your daughters.”
“Never mind. I don’t want this.�
�� A sob escaped her, and she rose staggering and pressed a hand to her mouth.
“Too late, isn’t it? Let’s go, Deja.” The voice, dropped low and harsh, brooked no further arguments, and she lifted Maia into her arms and then Neve. All the while plotting an escape, she followed the men out of the room and down hall after hall, deeper into the web.
Chapter Ten
The door shut behind her, and Deja spun to check the knob. She should have known they would lock her in. The buttons on the panel gave it away, and even while she’d known, it didn’t lessen the memories of the experience in Vegas from flooding her mind. She sagged against the cool panels, allowing the cold to lower her temperature. After some time, she managed to examine the room, plain with two twin size beds. At least they had allowed Maia and Neve to stay with her, but then she knew why. The three of them were the draw to get Heath. Stovall cared nothing about curing Maia and Neve. He would use Heath to make more children.
Tears spilling down her cheeks, she strode over to one of the beds and laid the girls down on it. Once she’d covered them with a blanket and placed the pillow from the other bed on the outside so they wouldn’t roll off, she dropped onto the hard mattress against the opposite wall. Weariness descended although not much time had passed. Mental fatigue weighed her down. Maybe with a bit of rest, she could recover and figure a way out of this mess.
He stood in a doorway with his back to her. The light came from the room or whatever it was that lay beyond, but darkness surrounded him and her. Seeing his broad shoulders and breathing in his familiar scent stirred a desperate longing inside, and she moved closer. Her heart ached. She wanted to touch him, to draw him away from the path he appeared to be on. She opened her mouth to call his attention to her, and while she heard no sound from her lips, he turned his head to the side as if he’d heard. Those lips she remembered kissing were pressed tight, and she knew he resisted her. Either that or he fought the tiger’s desires.
Deja moved up behind him and laid her hands on his back. Taut muscle spasmed beneath her palms, and she soothed them, exploring up to his shoulders. “Heath.”
“Deja, don’t. I can’t.”
She squeezed. “You’re mine, damn it!” She flitted around in front of him and stared him in the eyes. Deep inside, the tiger stirred, impatient. “Your human side belongs to me…and your tiger!”
His eyes grew wide at her boldness, and she dared him to deny it. No ancient law some idiot created would keep Heath from her. She moved her hand to his waistband, and he covered it with his own. The pain in his gaze almost brought her to a halt.
“I want you,” he whispered. “It hurts, I want you so much, Deja.”
“I’m here.”
“It’s wrong.”
“I’m your wife. Not her.”
He hesitated and glanced past her. She couldn’t see any more than the light behind her, which illuminated the spot where they stood but no more. Farther into the room where they stood was darkness, and she had the feeling going that way didn’t mean less confusion. She felt his battle. The same sense of belonging and not belonging raged inside her as well, but at that moment, she refused to acknowledge anyone or anything except the two of them.
“There’s no one here but us, Heath. No one matters except you and me.” With the words, she released his waistband and reached up to unbutton her blouse. He opened his mouth as if to say no she shouldn’t do it, but he froze, his gaze locked on her breasts. Desire and need lit his face, and he brought his hands up to her shoulders. At first he squeezed, and she thought he would push her away, but then his hold loosened, and she shoved the blouse off her shoulders to flutter to the floor. Thick fingers caught in the straps of her bra and dragged those down as well.
“Deja,” he moaned when her nipples popped free. Her breathing intensified, causing her breasts to rise and fall at a more rapid pace. She licked her lips as moisture pooled between her legs. He moaned once again and tugged until her bra sat in a tangle around her midsection, leaving her breasts bare. “How can I resist…”
She arched her back in invitation. He plucked a thumb across her nipple, bringing her eyelids to half-mast. “Heath.”
“When you say my name, it does something to me.” The tone of his voice had deepened, but not tiger deep. This was the man, the human side to her husband. He touched his mouth to her throat, and she threw her bead back. A chill raced along her skin, raising goose bumps. “I can feast on you a thousand days in a row and never get enough.”
Her chuckle held a tremor to her own ears. “You sound like a wolf.”
“I am a wolf, and you are my little red riding hood.” He lifted her up, and from nowhere a wall appeared for him to thump her against and trap her between his hard body and the barrier. Lips still at her throat, he stuck out his tongue and took a small taste of her skin. “I will devour you. Is that what you want?”
She swallowed. “Y-yes.”
He ground against her, making her hotter, and she encircled his neck, searching for his lips in the darkness. Their tongues curled together, and she lost herself in the taste of him, the feel of his mouth on hers. She tangled her fingers in his hair and pressed tighter to his chest. He moved his hands to her ass and squeezed before dragging her closer. Through his jeans, his hard cock pressed against her wet pussy. She ached to get her pants and panties off so he could come inside her.
“Heath, I need it.”
“I know, baby,” he mumbled against her lips, but instead of moving, he continued to devour her mouth, kissing so rough and deep, she gasped for breath. This man was going to make her come even before they removed their clothes. All the grinding and the way his hands massaged her ass, she knew she couldn’t hold back much longer.
“Heath,” she pleaded.
He eased off just enough to get a hand between them, and while balancing all her weight with one arm, he started circular movements on her clit through her clothes. A pinched scream escaped between her teeth. No matter how she begged him, he wouldn’t stop.
“You’re going to make me come,” she whined. He massaged faster, ignoring her protests.
“You want me to stop?”
She couldn’t see his face, which was odd since even in dim light, they could still see fine. His forehead touched hers in the darkness.
“I won’t.”
Her mouth fell open.
“You said I’m yours. I’m giving you want you want, what I want. I’m going to make you come, and when you do, I’m going to play with your body until you’re ready again. And I will do it again. And again!”
“Heath.” This time her voice rose scarcely above a whisper. She tried grasping his shirt, but all strength left her body. What he threatened came to pass as an orgasm crashed through her core and expanded through every nook and crevice of her body, down to her toes. She cried out his name and rode his fingers until the wave crested and began to subside.
When he laid her down, she found a king size bed beneath her, and Heath removed the rest of her clothing. She watched his face, lost in the deepest love for this man. Her heart ached, and she tried reining it in for self-preservation. He met her gaze with his, seeming to read her mind. When he stroked her hair away from her face, she gasped, losing hope.
She shouted I love you in her mind, but refused to speak it aloud.
“I know,” he responded like he’d heard anyway.
A tear rose to the corner of her eye, and he brushed it aside. His shirt and pants dissolved, as did his boxers. He stretched above her naked and beautiful. Tracing the taut skin with fingertips, she studied the contours, the plains and valleys of his flesh. She loved how his small nipples grew tight when she touched them, and how his heart beat hammered from her exploration. Going lower, she enjoyed the ripples in his abs, the overwarm temperature of his skin. Silky dark blond curls surrounded a cock extended long and thick. She licked her lips and sighed without meaning to. A thumb found the head before she realized she intended to go there. Heath’s breath hi
ssed between his teeth, and he shut his eyes. For a moment, the brush of his lashes against his cheeks distracted her.
“You’re so sexy.” She panted.
His grin lit up her world.
“Y-you’re reading my mind!”
“Am I?”
“Heath! How?”
“We’re connected.”
“This is a dream.” She stared at him looking for answers, yet happy being ignorant if it meant they could go on this way.
He threaded his fingers between hers and lined her hands on either side of her head. The move exposed her and made her more vulnerable. She didn’t fight him. When he leaned over her, he seemed to take in her full length, his gaze roving at a leisurely pace. He ducked his head so she couldn’t see the fire in his eyes, but she knew it lit up from within. She’d come once, but from his erection pushing against her belly, he was ready for fulfillment.
“Just like you said,” he explained, “we’re here together alone, just you and me.”
A shift of his hips brought his cock flush with her pussy opening. She whimpered and spread her legs a bit wider. He sunk inside an inch at a time, slow and easy. The pleasure rocked her senses.
“No one else exists,” he whispered.
She shut her eyes.
“No, look at me.”
She did and couldn’t look away. She surrendered to his strength and invasion of her body, and he seduced her even more with the movements of his hips as he ground into her heat. His thigh muscles strained between her legs, and each time he withdrew, she got to watch his flat stomach rise to give her a view of his shaft pulling out of her.
“I’m yours.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “No other man is allowed to have you.” A tinge of anger touched his words, but she didn’t know why. She wanted to make the same argument, but bringing up the subject when it must surely be too late anyway would ruin what they shared now, even if it wasn’t real.
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