A Cougar's Kiss (Shadow Shifters Rebellion Book 2)

by A. C. Arthur

  Chapter 14

  Nick wanted to kick down the door. He stood at the end of the hallway with Ary beside him. Jace could see the rage boiling inside him by the way he was staring down the hallway to the door that Decan told them belonged to Keller.

  “It’s late, Nick, and from what we’ve heard and seen on the news, it’s been a really long night for them. Let’s just get some rest and deal with it in the morning.”

  “He was supposed to be watching Cole. His sole purpose in being at Headquarters was because Rome felt he needed direction, like Decan. And now look what’s happened. My baby girl is in there with him,” Nick spat the words out like they were laced with venom and Jace looked to Ary for help.

  “At least we’ve confirmed that Cole is safe and now we know where Shya is and that she’s safe too. And we’re not far away. We can confront them in the morning,” she said wrapping one arm around his waist and rubbing the other hand over his chest.

  Jace hoped her touch would soothe him. He’d heard it worked that way with mates—the sound of their voice, their touch, their scent had a sort of healing property for most physical ailments and the bulk of anything mental or emotional. Of course, he didn’t know from experience but if ever there was a time, he was going to believe in the magic of the companheiro calor, it was now. Otherwise, Nick was going to kill Keller Cross, tonight.

  “I’m gonna kill him,” Nick said as if Jace needed his suspicions verified.

  “Not tonight,” Ary told him. “We’ll go into this bedroom and get settled. First thing tomorrow morning we’ll confront them.”

  Jace watched in astonishment and relief as Ary led Nick through the door of one of the rooms on this top floor. His room was on the floor below and as he boarded the elevator again, he contacted Eli on his comlink.

  “You see what went down out here?”

  “I did,” Eli replied. “On the television and by other means.”

  Jace sighed and stepped off the elevator. “You got any divine way to deal with this mess? Nick wanted to run in that room and kill that cougar. If Ary wasn’t there I don’t know that I could have stopped him.”

  “No, that’s not what I saw. But if this cougar was crazy enough to start messing with Shya in the first place, he should be bold enough to stand in front of her father and explain why.”

  “Is that what you taught Cam about dating shifters?”

  “I taught Cam to look everybody straight in the eye and to tell the truth. If he does that, he’ll be okay, with women and men.”

  Jace chuckled. “But not with shifters, you idiot. You’ve got to get better at giving advice if you and Nivea plan on having any more kids.”

  “Oh no, buddy, that ship has sailed. One is fine with us. Now, you on the other hand can get started any time you want. We may not age like the humans, but time stands still for no man…or shifter,” Eli quipped.

  “And with that I’ll change the subject,” Jace said as he used the code Gold had given him and slipped into the room. “They got the guy who announced Mackey’s death at the auditorium this afternoon. You’re not gonna like this anymore than the rest of them did when they brought him here and figured out who he was.”

  “Who is he?”

  “Rebel Banner, Croesteriia.”

  “Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”

  Jace shrugged even though he knew Eli couldn’t see him. “If you recall that sexy ass cheetah that showed up with Decan and Gold in Houston.”

  “Kyss? What does she have to do with this?”

  “Rebel’s her mate.”

  “What? Kyss has a mate? How is that possible if she’s been at Headquarters with us these past few months? And when she approached Decan and Nisa she was with two other undocumented cheetahs. What the hell is going on?”

  Jace rubbed a hand down the back of his neck. “That’s the same thing I’m trying to figure out. And it gets better, or worse, however you want to look at it. According to Decan and Gold, Kyss was assigned to guard the doors with them tonight, but when the chaos broke out, she got lost in the crowd. She didn’t make it back with them.”

  Eli cursed. “Don’t tell me this was a set-up.”

  “I don’t know. We need to look at the security tapes from the Oasis prison again. Remember we saw a tall guy leaving Mackey’s cell about twenty minutes after Shya walked out. His security clearance said it was Haven but that’s not possible because at that time the two of them were seen by other shifters and on video leaving the dining hall and stopping in the courtyard to chat with some girls before they got the call to head down to the prison for guard duty.”

  “We’ve been infiltrated,” Eli whispered. “Just like the dream predicted.”

  “What dream?” Jace wasn’t versed on how Eli’s seer powers worked, the guy wasn’t normally Mr. Chatty. The only reason he was getting so many words out of him now was because of Shya’s involvement in all this mess. Which reminded Jace, they still needed to talk to her to find out what she’d been doing in Mackey’s cell, because there was no doubt that she’d been there just before the man was butchered.

  “Nevermind,” Eli told him. “I figured out what happened to the security camera in the cell. It was chewed and then burned.”

  “Chewed? Like food.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What the hell are we dealing with here?”

  “I don’t know, but Rome is not happy with what we’ve learned and he’s going to be even less happy when we tell him the rest.”

  Jace nodded. “Yeah, you’ve got a keg about to explode up there in D.C. and I’m sitting down here with another one. Things just keep getting worse for us.”

  Eli didn’t respond to that and they disconnected the call.

  Jace sat on the couch and resisted the urge to call Amelia.

  Early the next morning Shya stepped out of the shower feeling rejuvenated. She had no joint pain, no headaches and she’d slept better than she had in a very long time. It was no wonder she was smiling when she walked into the bedroom. Seeing Keller sitting on the edge of the bed wasn’t a bad good morning either.

  “Hi. I thought you would have gone downstairs by now since you were up and showered before me.”

  He shook his head and stood. “Not making that mistake again,” he said as he crossed the floor to stop in front of her.

  At one point last night when she’d turned and realized she was wrapped in Keller’s arms she’d thought about kissing him. She loved the taste of their kisses and everything that usually happened as a result, but she hadn’t. Instead she’d snuggled close to him, resting her cheek on his chest and letting the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat lull her back to sleep. This morning, however, he looked good in his black jeans and crisp white t-shirt. He hadn’t been wearing his boots when she went into the bathroom, but now they were on and laced, his still damp hair combed neatly at the top, jaw clean-shaven.

  “I’m not that person anymore,” she told him when he looped an arm around her waist. “I can handle being in this room alone without freaking out.”

  He narrowed those gorgeous green eyes at her. “Are you sure? Because I don’t know that I’m okay being away from you now.”

  The words sounded odd coming from him and he acknowledged that by scrunching his forehead the moment they were out.

  “This is new to me,” he admitted. “And to you too. I guess we’re just playing it by ear.”

  He was cute when he wasn’t in charge or boasting that he knew everything about everything. With the towel securely tucked around her, she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck.

  “I can play,” she whispered and came up on the tip of her toes to drop a kiss on his lips.

  Keller returned her kiss, without hesitation or preamble, he tilted his head and slipped his tongue inside her mouth. She leaned into him, accepting the kiss with fervor. When his hands flattened on her back, she moaned at the strength of his arms wrapped tightly around her and the hard body pressed agai
nst her. It was like she’d always read in her books and then some.

  “We have to get downstairs for the debriefing.” He whispered the words over her lips when he’d finally been able to stop the kiss.

  But really it hadn’t stopped because between each word his lips were touching hers, or his tongue was licking them, or his teeth nipping the line of her jaw.

  “Mmmhmmm,” she sighed and flattened her hands on the back of his head.

  “You have to get dressed,” he said as he lifted a hand to ease beneath the top of the towel before pushing it down from her body.

  “Are you going to help me with that?”

  He pulled back far enough to look down at her before repeating her previous, “Mmmhmmm.”

  She couldn’t help it, she chuckled, and he smiled before dipping his head to suck one nipple into his mouth. “Oh,” she sighed and then he grabbed the other nipple between his fingers. “Oh. Yes.”

  Her hands fell to his shoulders, fingers grasping the material of his shirt as passion spiked through her body. He made sounds like he was gorging on her and they turned her on. When he replaced his mouth with his other hand and continued to ease his tongue down her torso, her legs trembled, and she wondered how long she would be able to remain standing.

  That thought immediately fled from her mind when Keller picked her up and turned to drop her onto the bed. Before she could question him or wonder what was happening next, he had her legs up, dropping them over his shoulders as he leaned down to place his mouth on her mound.

  Shya couldn’t accurately explain the sensations rippling her—it was a combination of bliss and beauty, sexy and sensational, and more, she wanted so much more. As if she’d made a verbal request, he thrust his fingers inside of her while his mouth continued to work her clit and suckle her plump folds. She grabbed the comforter between her fingers, holding it tight and pulling it from the bed. Her back arched and she gasped for breath before whispering his name.

  “It’s here, little cat. Right here.”

  He was saying something, but she had no idea what. All she knew was that it felt too good for him to stop, too good for him to worry about speaking. She wanted the release, wanted it to come blindingly fast as it had before, taking her breath away and leaving her body feeling sated and well loved.

  Loved.

  The word echoed in her head as his fingers moved in and out of her, his tongue licking her.

  “It’s right here, little cat. Us, it’s all us.”

  He was still talking and now she was struggling to think straight, to figure out what he was saying and why that one word had suddenly appeared in her mind. She thrust her hips to meet his fingers because it felt too good while they were inside of her. Her body was on fire, the heat threatening to singe her skin and the cat—who’d lay dormant all night long—was wide awake and purring as much as she was moaning.

  Then he pulled his mouth and fingers away and Shya almost wept. Instead she blinked repeatedly and looked up to see Keller’s cat’s eyes glowing down at her.

  “Breathe, little cat. Breathe in deeply and let it out slowly.”

  She didn’t know why he was asking her to do that, especially now when she really wanted him to continue touching and licking her so that her release could finally come. But she did as he said, hoping her acquiescence would speed things along. She inhaled deeply, her nostrils flared and then burned slightly as the scent permeated her pores.

  “That’s it, now tell me what you smell,” he said, eagerness edging his tone.

  “Cinnamon,” was her immediate reply. “You always smell like cinnamon.”

  He nodded, licking his bottom lip.

  “And you taste as sweet as the scent that lines your skin. Breathe again and tell me what you smell.”

  He touched the tip of his finger to her clit and she almost jumped off the bed. If he was teasing her, payback was going to be a curly-head bitch.

  Shya breathed in again, this time there was no burning in her nostrils and the spicy cinnamon scent she’d expected was no more. It had been replaced by a spicy-sweet concoction that sifted through her body with the same shattering intensity as an orgasm. She cried out as it traveled through her veins to settle at her center.

  Keller plunged his fingers inside of her again. “That’s it, little cat. That’s our scent, our companheiro calor.”

  Her head was thrashing over the comforter now as the pleasure of his touch and that scent combined drove her crazy. She couldn’t stop moving against him or inhaling that intoxicating scent. She didn’t want him to stop touching her or saying…that word he’d been saying repeatedly.

  Companheiro.

  Calor.

  The mating scent.

  And it was coming from her and Keller.

  As if her body was ringing the alarm of success her thighs trembled, fingers clenched in the sheet and she screamed his name as the pleasure exploded inside of her.

  Seconds later, Keller’s fingers slipped out of her and he leaned over to touch his lips to hers. “Yes, little cat. It’s our companheiro calor.”

  “Yes,” she whispered with her eyes shut tightly, her body still shaking from the pleasure. “Yes, it is.”

  Chapter 15

  Keller walked into the main room on the first floor a couple steps in front of Shya. Five seconds later something slammed into him knocking him back against the wall with a resounding thump.

  “Dad! What the hell are you doing?”

  Keller heard Shya yell a moment before Nick’s fist slammed into his jaw. Then he was flying once more, this time landing flat on his back. Shya screamed again and just when Nick was coming in for another shot, Keller rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet. Nick roared and Keller held his cat back from responding, but when the Lead Enforcer came for him again Keller extended his arms, using his palms to meet Nick’s chest and send him stumbling back before he could contact Keller again.

  “Sonofabitch!” Nick yelled and charged again.

  This time Bas and Jace stopped him.

  “That’s enough,” Bas said.

  Nick jerked away from them. “You don’t tell me what’s enough! She’s not your daughter!”

  “You haven’t even looked at your daughter,” Shya said from where she was standing next to her mother.

  Nick spun around to face her but pointed his finger back toward Keller. “We’re not finished,” he promised, but took a step toward Shya who was now shaking her head.

  “He didn’t kidnap me and I didn’t need to be rescued,” she said as Nick approached.

  “Good to know. You can tell me all about it when we get back to Oasis,” Nick told her.

  Ary stepped in front of her mate at that point. “Let’s just hear what she has to say, Nick.”

  “Ah, actually, we might have more pressing matters,” Jace added.

  Keller had stood back watching. Gold came to his side and Decan had moved a few steps from where he’d been standing next to Nisa, so that now he was closer to Keller. It was good to know that his friends planned to step in at some point, but Keller wasn’t afraid. He understood Nick’s rage. If he woke up one morning and Shya was gone he was certain he’d feel the same way. Now, that didn’t mean he planned to be a punching bag for the shifter a second time, but he did understand where the guy was coming from.

  “We need to debrief from last night,” he spoke up because this was his place, his territory and under his command, without one of the Assembly’s fancy titles.

  “Actually, we’ve done that,” Decan told him and then held up a hand the moment Keller frowned. “We had no choice. Jace and Nick arrived half an hour after we all finally checked in. You and Shya were already upstairs and Nisa thought it was best that we give you some space.”

  Keller’s gaze flew to Nisa who gave a small smile and a wave which only seemed to piss Nick off further.

  “We’re getting Rome, Eli and Ezra on the conference call now,” Nick said. “And we’ll deal with the rest later.
”

  Keller wanted to counter that statement with a command of his own, but it didn’t make sense to have an unnecessary sparring match. If there was something to be said about their mission, or whatever else was going on, it was best to get that all out now. Besides, he had a feeling the next conversation between him and Nick was going to be just as unpleasant as this last one, especially since Keller planned to tell the jaguar that he had no intention of walking away from his daughter.

  Once Rome and the others were connected via a live feed on Jace’s board, Ary stepped closer to the table.

  “I’ll start. Cole is safe even though his guard seems to have had other plans to attend to.” She cut her gaze to Keller and he stuffed his hands into his front pants pockets.

  So, neither one of his mate’s parents cared for him—that was great.

  “Safe, but still in a coma,” Bas said.

  The shifter appeared saddened by his own words and nobody spoke to comfort him.

  “I’ve assigned Cam and Haven to watch him. They’re going to take turns sleeping on a cot in the room so that Cole is never left alone,” Nick continued.

  Keller watched the guy place a hand on his mate’s shoulder. Ary immediately leaned into the touch, the worry lines that had formed on her brow the moment Shya came into the room going smooth.

  “When do you think he’ll be out of the coma?” Bas asked. “How long do these things usually take, Ary?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know, Bas. I really cannot offer any details on this condition because it’s not anything I’ve seen before. But as soon as I can get back to Oasis, I’ll take a closer look at what’s going on. I promise.”

  Bas nodded and Jace scrubbed his hands over his face as if in some form of relief.

  “About last night,” Decan interjected. “The guy who interrupted your little speech is a shifter, a cheetah and his name is Rebel. He says he’s Kyss’s mate but there’s no calor surrounding him to aid in that claim.”