Special Ops Shifters: Dallas Force: The Complete Series Collection (Shifter Nation)

by Meg Ripley

Jack watched impatiently, looking for a sign that something was happening. Minutes dragged by in silence. Someone went thundering down the hall, but Jack kept his hand on her shoulder and waited. He pressed his forehead into his free hand and thought about the way the two of them had linked just a short time ago in the parking area. Jack’s mind had automatically sought her out when he had something to tell her, and Erica was so receptive that she’d picked it up immediately. Could it possibly work the other way around?

  Still keeping his fingers against her skin, Jack let his human body go. Shivers of concern rippled over his skin as the human side of him wondered if this was a good idea. There were other shifters there, but they could be bears or lions. Ben had suppressed those urges to keep everyone placid, but all hell was about to break loose. Jack didn’t know which of his forms he would need to fight them off. He did, though, know which form would work the best to help Erica.

  What had only a moment ago been the faint sounds of the recruits outside sharpened into intense vibrations as his ears molded and moved. He only had to close his eyes to track each of them as they moved past the outside corner of the building, some of them running toward the cars. The concrete floor was cool to the touch under his paw pads, but still, he kept one black paw on Erica’s shoulder. The room grew bigger as he grew smaller.

  The power of his mind, however, had shifted completely. He was not just a former intelligence officer with the Army who had the training and skills to take down terrorists. He carried with him the knowledge of all the generations that had come before him, all the shifters who had honed their animalistic sides and understood their instincts. His mind reached out, a nebulous energy that sizzled through the air.

  The link took his breath away as Jack was no longer in the computer room, but flying over the treetops. The creature alongside him was Erica, but not in the state he recognized. Her entire form sparked with blue light, a being of energy and not of body, and she was all the more beautiful. Jack could feel the air through his fur as they scoured the road beneath them. His paw still rested on the area of her shoulder, even in this form. Erica’s hand touched his and sent flickers of energy through him.

  There! He heard the word as though she’d said it, but the current configuration of Erica hadn’t moved her lips.

  Jack looked down. He’d hardly even noticed that they’d reached the edge of town. A car, the same convertible Erica had been standing near not so long ago, was racing across city limits. It shot through an intersection, narrowly missing a grain truck before whipping around a corner.

  Erica tilted, flying after it, and Jack automatically went with her. He studied the form in the driver’s seat, wishing he hadn’t just recognized Ted Costello. The shifter was flooring the vehicle, driving hell-bent for leather with that same brilliant grin on his face. Jack gritted his pointed teeth, impatient to see where this man was going. Erica had been destined for a church, the kind of place that was very prevalent in a small town like Hortonburg. Was Ted heading for another one?

  But when Jack looked ahead, he could see that wasn’t the case. The red convertible was zooming straight toward the town square, right where city hall and a big clock tower stood.

  That’s it! He could feel Erica’s words inside his mind more than he could hear them. Tell them, Jack! Tell them! I can’t get back there fast enough!

  Jack had fought between his human and animal side on many occasions, but he’d never had to fight between his spirit and his physical form. Pain bristled through his body as he tore himself away from the scene before his eyes. He staggered against the side of the desk as he fell back into himself. The transformation back into his human form felt like a cross-country trip, a wondrous journey that left him exhausted. He grabbed the transmitter with hands that didn’t even feel like his own. “City hall,” he gasped into the device. “The square!”

  The two seconds of silence that followed was an eternity. “We’ve got it. And I’ve got a unit coming straight up the road to your location.”

  Chopper blades thumped overhead, but this time, they weren’t being operated by Max. Jack didn’t know the pilot who brought them back down to Kentucky, and he wasn’t sure that he cared. He leaned his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes, feeling only Erica’s serene presence next to him.

  “That was an interesting run, you two,” Mr. Worth said by way of greeting when they stood in front of his desk in the main cabin a few minutes later. “I’m still trying to figure out exactly what happened. I brought you here in the hopes of getting a more detailed explanation, but you look like you barely even have the energy to walk.”

  Erica slowly blinked up at Jack before turning to the director. “It’s been a bit of a rough go, even if it was short.”

  “Well, the important thing is that you got in there just in time. I wasn’t completely convinced you’d find any evidence against Ben Jones. He kept everything under wraps, and most of the recruits weren’t even aware of the plan until this morning, from what I’ve been told.” He slapped the desk and reached into a drawer. “The man is in our custody, though. Can I interest either of you in a celebratory cigar?”

  “No, thanks.” Jack figured he’d regret that later, but Mr. Worth hadn’t underestimated his exhaustion. “I just want to get some rest.”

  Mr. Worth waved them off. “Your cabins are still waiting for you. Might as well get a little shuteye before Winston gets back. The man has been talking my head off the entire time.”

  The two of them shuffled back out the door, and Erica’s footsteps fell in next to his. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “I’m not sure how good of a conversationalist I am right now, but sure.” He managed a small smile.

  The sun was sinking behind the giant trees, the pink light illuminating her face as she studied his. “As I told you, all my life, I’ve felt like I’ve been alone. We moved all the time, and I was never in one spot long enough to make any real friends. I’ve never even felt like I’m from any one place. As I’ve gotten older, those feelings stayed with me.”

  Jack listened quietly. He had plenty to say, and he’d thought about sharing it with her a thousand times since leaving Ben’s compound, but he hadn’t been sure when the right time was or if there would ever be one. “I know.”

  “Working with you has been completely different. I resented you. I didn’t trust you. I didn’t even know how to be in the same room as you. But now I feel like I’ve lived an entire lifetime just in the last few days. I’m not the same person I was a week ago.”

  Jack opened the door to his cabin. His body was completely drained from the lengths they’d had to go to in order to successfully complete this mission, yet he felt energy slowly flowing back into him just from being near her. He turned to Erica and ran his palms down her arms. “I understand that, too. I’ve almost always worked alone, and even when I didn’t, I still kept to myself. You and I couldn’t exactly do that, could we?”

  Hope shimmered in her eyes. “I’ve never had anyone get inside my head like that before, Jack. And not even just in my head, but in my heart. In my soul. I don’t know if it’s fate like you mentioned or something else, but I love you. I know I shouldn’t say it, but I’ve spent an entire lifetime covering up what I saw or felt because I didn’t think anyone would understand. But you’ve been inside my mind. I like to think you’ve already seen it.”

  “I have.” Jack ran the back of his fingers down her cheek. She could be so strong and stubborn, yet inside her lived a surreally beautiful creature who just wanted to love and be loved. “I have seen it, and it’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever witnessed. I love you, too.”

  He couldn’t say then if his head bent down to meet hers or if Erica rose to press her lips against his, but the two of them crashed together like two stars that’d been circling the same orbit for eons until their gravity finally pulled them together. His tongue danced with hers as they explored each other, the physical aspect of their relationship merel
y a reflection of everything they already knew about each other spiritually and mentally. Jack pulled her onto the bed with him, refusing to ever let go of this astonishing woman he’d finally found amongst all the other beings in the world.

  His hunger for her couldn’t be satisfied by touch alone and he sank into her with relief, knowing he was finally home. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know every curve of her body, every strand of her hair. As he plunged his thickness deeper and deeper into her, Jack could feel his mate in his mind, a fire that sent cascading heat all throughout his body, making him so hard, he was on the verge of exploding at any moment.

  Erica, he knew, was flying with him to some spiritual plane other than the one on this Earth. She gripped him with her thighs as she pressed her forehead to his. A heady mix of trust, desire, and passion swirled between them as her fingers rippled up his back and through his hair. Trailing his hand down her body as his thrusts intensified, Jack teased her slickness with the pad of his thumb, circling faster and faster, her breath hitching in her throat as the tension spiraled within her. She cried out in sheer ecstasy as his thick length continued to dive deeper inside her, her muscles shuddering around him as they both reached their pinnacles of pleasure. Their breath, their heartbeats, their very spirits were absolutely one.

  10

  Erica slowly opened her eyes. She hadn’t been asleep, but she felt as though she’d gotten far more rest than she had in ages. The candles she’d lit had nearly guttered out, the incense a meager trace of smoke in the air. Meditation had become a part of her daily practice there in Dallas, one that was much easier to fit into her schedule now. It filled her body and her mind with such a pleasant energy, and she could feel her talents growing by the day.

  She smiled as she felt him draw near. The thick door and the soundproof walls were great for keeping noise out of the room, but she couldn’t keep Jack out, even if she tried. Not that she wanted to. Erica stood and stretched, waking her body from the long afternoon of being inert, and opened the door.

  Jack yanked his fist out of the air and put his hand at his side. “I was just about to knock, but I wasn’t sure if I should or not.”

  She slid easily into his arms, inhaling that distinctly male scent of his that she’d come to find just as comforting as his touch. “I’ve told you, Jack. Nothing can hurt me in there. No matter how far I’ve gone, I’m in a peaceful place. If you need me, then you need me.”

  He pressed her body against his, the hard reminder of his need for her evident beneath his clothes. “You shouldn’t say that. I’m supposed to be professional right now.”

  She bit her lip as she recalled just how unprofessional they’d been in Jack’s apartment there at the Dallas Force headquarters the night before. He’d wrapped his arms around her as he’d taken her from behind, savoring her body with his hands and dropping climax-inducing kisses on the back of her neck. She was supposed to be the psychic, but he seemed to read her mind as his fingers roved to just the right places to bring her to her peak. “Don’t worry, we can circle back to this later.”

  “I can try, anyway. I’m not sure if I’ll be any good working alongside you.” He kept his arm around her waist as they walked down the hall of the headquarters together. “You’re very distracting.”

  “I’ll do my best to keep it that way,” she assured him with a smile.

  Just outside the doors to the conference room, Jack paused and turned Erica to face him. Those caramel eyes searched hers, remnants of his wild side seeping through as he searched for truth. “Erica, are you sure you don’t mind leaving the DHS? Don’t get me wrong, I think you’re going to be great here. I just want to make sure you’re happy more than anything.”

  She sighed her content. Even in this form, and even when she wasn’t actively reaching out to find the vibration that was so distinctly him, she could feel the smallest touch of his mind to hers. It was a comfort and a pleasant reminder that she wasn’t alone, like holding someone’s hand without really thinking about it. “I am happy,” she assured him. “I’m excited to see what I can do as a consultant for the SOS Force. There’s so much that I still have to learn about the world and about myself, things I never would’ve figured out if I’d just stayed in the same old rut. And I’m thinking about expanding this little gig into my very own business.”

  “Really? Does that mean…?” He let the question hang in the air.

  “Yes. I’ll fully advertise myself for what I truly am. There are plenty of people who pretend to be psychics just so they can give out common sense relationship advice and make a few bucks on it. Why not charge into the world as the real deal?” She’d considered it a lot after she’d turned in her resignation, knowing she could never go back to the way things were. Erica had changed on a deep level, and even though her work with the DHS was important, she had a feeling there were even bigger and better things in store for her.

  With all thoughts of professionalism out the window for the moment, Jack tucked her in close and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’m proud of you, Erica. I was fortunate enough to find my place in the world with these guys, and you deserve something like that, too. I love you.”

  “I know,” she said with a grin. They’d said it constantly to each other, and it had yet to get old. “I love you, too. Now let’s get in there and see what I can do for you.”

  Jack opened the conference room door. Erica straightened her shoulders and walked in, ready for the next chapter of her life. She knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Her powers would be exposed, and she’d no doubt draw ridicule from those who didn’t believe. She had Jack at her side, though, and that was all she needed.

  THE END

  Baby For The Soldier Cougar

  Special Ops Shifters: Dallas Force

  1

  Vance Morris stepped out of his house and took a deep breath of fresh, Texas air. The sun was starting to sink toward the horizon, and the animals knew what time it was just as much as Vance did. The horses trotted to the edge of their paddock, bobbing their heads over the fence and whickering hungrily at him. The cattle that weren’t currently out to pasture echoed the horses with long, low moans and constant shuffling. “Easy there, girls,” Vance soothed as he stepped up to the fence. “I’ll get you taken care of.”

  He turned from his work as a truck pulled up the driveway. Vance leaned against the fence, his body relaxed and casual, but his eyes and instincts ever vigilant. He hadn’t spent ten years as a Green Beret only to let someone sneak up on him. It wasn’t a vehicle he recognized, and he immediately noticed the out-of-state plates. Even though he was a rancher now, the soldier inside him would always be on alert—just like his inner cougar.

  The truck rolled to a stop, but a glare of light stopped Vance from seeing through the windshield to find the driver’s face. Vance had one arm looped casually around the fence post, but his right hand was still free to snag the pistol from the back of his waistband, should the need arise. He wasn’t expecting company. His ranch hand, Daniel, had the day off, and he drove an old beater he’d dug out of a barn somewhere.

  The driver’s door opened. The man who stepped out was almost unrecognizable with a short beard clinging to his chin and the hair that he swooped back with his hand, but there was no mistaking those piercing eyes.

  “Well I’ll be...” Vance launched himself off the fence and strode forward. “Gabe Vinson, you damn fool. Is that you?”

  “In the flesh.” The man grinned as they shook hands. “I heard you’d retired to the country after your time in the service. I was picturing you’d be living somewhere a little more posh, man.”

  “Not exactly,” Vance chuckled. “I’m covered with mud more often than I’m clean, and I’m always on duty. There’s more work here than you can shake a stick at.”

  “Sounds like nothing’s changed, then,” Gabe chuckled.

  “And I wouldn’t want it any other way. What are you doin’ here, anyway? I thought you re-upped.” Nothing could for
ge a bond between people faster than serving together, and Gabe was one of the soldiers Vance had come to think of as a brother. No matter how bad the situation got, Gabe never complained and always had Vance’s back. He was always ready to charge forward and do what needed to be done, regardless of the consequences.

  “I did. I was going to stay in as long as they’d have me, maybe teach at the JFK Special Warfare Center when they didn’t want to send me overseas anymore. But then this happened.” He lifted the side of his t-shirt to reveal a set of angry red lines that tore across his ribs and abdomen.

  “Shit.” Vance sucked in a breath through his teeth as he studied the scars. “Shrapnel?”

  “You know it. Came out of nowhere, too. We were heading back onto the base; everything was quiet, technically in a safe zone. But no one expected that mortar—God knows I sure didn’t. Ripped right through the hummer and straight into me.”

  “Damn. Is it still in there?”

  “Fuck yeah. You know how those field docs are. They dug around a bit just to make sure I felt it and then decided it wasn’t worth any more effort. I’ll be setting off metal detectors for the rest of my life.” He pulled his shirt back down and leaned against the side of his truck, his eyebrows twitching together for a moment as he glanced off toward the horses.

  “That sucks, man. Really.” Gabe wasn’t just a Special Forces soldier; he, like Vance, secretly identified as a shifter. Their inner animals could sometimes rule their heads and hearts, and it was usually a situation of strong emotions or great need that gave them the urge to shift, but they still had some control. There were thousands of others like them all over the world, yet most people didn’t know a thing about them. Shifters were careful to keep their secrets, and a situation like Gabe’s made it difficult. The soldier would heal quickly and be perfectly fine to return to duty, while an ordinary human would’ve been discharged under the same circumstances.