by Lora Leigh
Reginald’s gaze never left Roni’s. He stared at her the way a snake did an intended meal. Cold, deliberate, unflinching.
“That’s right friendly of you, Callan,” he finally said softly. Taber felt a chill chase down his back as Roni stilled a flinch.
She was frightened. He could feel it, almost smell it radiating from her body. She tensed, holding herself rigidly erect as she stared back at her father.
“Don’t make trouble here, Reginald,” she finally warned him, her voice low, resonating with throttled anger. “I won’t be held responsible for what they do to you if you try to.”
Taber looked down at her, holding back his surprise. He had never heard Roni threaten anyone other than him personally. And certainly never her wayward, mercenary father.
“Why, Roni, shame on you, making these good people think I’d cause trouble.” He hadn’t even blinked at he stared at her. “You know I’m a right social person. They won’t have a peep of trouble out of me.”
Taber tensed at the veiled threat directed at Roni. It pulsed in the air around them and caused the fine hairs on the back of Taber’s neck to lift and bristle in response.
Taber wanted to order the son of a bitch off the estate, cast him out into the streets and tell him to fend for himself. For as long as Roni had been old enough to hold down a part-time job the bastard had leeched every penny she could make. There had been no protecting her from him then, but by God, he could do it now.
“Escort Mr. Andrews to the workers’ bunk shed, Merc,” Callan ordered one of the burly guards.
Mercury was six and a half feet of muscle with a face so closely resembling that of a cat’s that there was no way the man could walk down a public street without inciting riotous panic among the citizens now. He was stern, cold, a killing machine and one of the most loyal, honorable men Taber had ever known.
“He can have the bunk nearest mine.” Thin lips spread into a cold smile as eerie amber eyes glittered with cold knowledge. Merc wasn’t a fool.
“We need to talk soon, Roni.” Reginald smiled thinly as Merc gripped his arm firmly. “Catch up on things, ya know?”
“I think we said enough last week, Reginald,” she answered him firmly, her voice cold enough to chill an iceberg. “Enjoy your stay. But I doubt I’ll have time to visit.”
“You might want to make time.” Reginald tried to pull his arm back from the soldier escorting him from the house. “Think about it, Roni. Think hard.”
The door closed on his parting words.
Taber continued to watch his mate closely, his mind working, turning over possibilities and threats and only coming up with more answers.
“You want to explain that little meeting to me, Roni?” he asked her softly, aware that all eyes had turned to them.
Her gaze lifted to his slowly, but not slow enough for him to miss the flash of fear that she fought to hide.
“Sure, Taber.” He didn’t like that slow, tight smile that crossed her lips. “I’ll be more than happy to, the very minute you answer my earlier question. Turn about, baby.” She nudged his waist with her elbow in a deliberately forced playful mood. “You just let me know when you’re ready to talk.”
She turned then, moving quickly for the stairs again and taking them with quick, almost running steps. She was fighting to escape, to hide, just as she had always done when she was younger and rushed into the night with only her senses to guide her. More often than not Taber found her lost and frightened each time. He wondered what he would find when he followed her this time.
“Taber, we might have a problem.” Callan stepped closer, pulling a small, ultra-sensitive receiver from the pocket of his slacks. “I picked this up from the office when Merc informed me who he had.” The receiver was a handy little bug locator given to them by the U.S. military. “Good old Reginald was wired for sound to hell and back. Our only problem now is figuring out who hired him.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“The best way to figure out what he’s up to is to keep him from Roni as long as possible,” Taber told the men assembled in the large office downstairs early the next morning.
Callan, Tanner, Merc, Kane and several of his brothers were watching him quietly.
“You knew him better than we did.” Callan shrugged. “What do you think he’s up to?”
Taber grunted. “Reginald is low-level sleaze. He doesn’t have the brains to mastermind anything but a good drunk and some petty theft, so I’m going to assume it’s one of two things. He wants to weasel money out of us, or someone has him on a chain. He doesn’t do too badly when he has instructions, but he doesn’t improvise well.”
Taber frowned as he considered the scrapes he knew Reginald had been in throughout the past decade. He had been his most wily, his most dangerous, when working for others.
“It would be my guess he’s on a chain then,” Kane spoke up. “I pulled his record last night after Merc took him to the barracks. After that, I pulled in some favors and got a little added info from my own sources. Mr. Andrews has worked with some very heavy hitters in the past. Men who wouldn’t care a bit to use him to gain access to his daughter. If they got hold of her, I doubt it would be pretty.”
They were all aware of the fact that the Council was now desperate to learn the importance of the mark Merinus carried on her shoulder, and the significance of the tests they had managed to attain from the scientists who had examined the Breeds after their surprising announcement to the world three months before. The hormonal changes that had shown in her blood work and other tests had thrown the scientists into a tailspin. The discovery that she could conceive, despite the small amount of human sperm Callan’s body normally produced, had shocked them further.
The truth their own doctor had found would have astounded them even more. It wasn’t the sperm contained in the ejaculation of his cock that was so potent. It was the sperm contained in the small, thumb-like barb that only became engorged during sex with Merinus that allowed the conception.
“For some reason, he must think he can gain her cooperation.” Merc sat stiffly in his chair and Taber could sense his impatience, his discomfort. Merc had been trained in almost complete isolation. There had been no Pride to sustain him, no friends, no confidants in the lab he had been found in. Being closed up in the office with the other men wasn’t easy for him.
“What makes you say that?” Taber asked him carefully. It was no more than he had sensed himself the night before.
“The man is pretty impatient to get to her. Keeps demanding to see his little girl.” The Breed sneered the last two words. “He’s not her father, by the way.”
Taber stared at him in surprise. “He told you this?”
“He didn’t have to tell me.” He snorted. “You can smell it if you take the time to try. There’s no relationship there. Scents are all off.”
Taber looked at Callan. His leader hadn’t mentioned this ability the newest member of their Pride had. Callan only lifted his shoulders in reply and gave a short shake of his head. Evidently, he hadn’t known either.
“How are the scents off?” Taber asked, watching him curiously.
The other man leaned forward in his chair, a frown crossing his lion-like face. “Anyone born of the same blood shares a unique scented bond with their most immediate family. You just have to be able to detect and separate the varied smells to understand it. Reginald Andrews does not share this with the woman he claims as his daughter. He is no relation to her.”
It made sense. Suddenly, more pieces of Roni’s life were beginning to come together.
“So he’s no relation, which means there’s not a chance in hell of any bond keeping him from harming her,” Kane pointed out.
Taber snorted. “There never was. Reginald would sell his own mother to slavers if it would bring him enough money. His only bond is the one he has with his wallet and the bottom of a liquor bottle.”
He rose from his chair, pacing along the room. He was aware of Callan
’s gaze following him and the concern from the other members of the meeting.
“How is your relationship with her working out?” Callan asked.
Taber shook his head. He wasn’t about to discuss that with any of them. Hell, he wasn’t sure he understood it himself.
“She didn’t seem too pleased with him last night.” Tanner chuckled. “Sounds like he’s holding out on her. Let me guess, you didn’t tell her about the little buddy your cock has.”
Taber shot his younger brother a withering glare.
Tanner wiped the smile quickly off his face but it lingered along the edges of his lips.
Kane chuckled. The damned man was working quickly at getting on his bad side. He was finding too much amusement in this situation.
“Whoever has a leash on Andrews wouldn’t be far away,” Callan spoke up, bringing the conversation back on track. “They would have to be somewhere close.”
“And he’ll have to make contact pretty often without the little bugs that shirt of his carried.” Merc’s voice was hard, lethal. “Those buttons were state of the art, let me tell you. Too bad it got thrown in the wash. Guess he shouldn’t have left such expensive material laying around.”
“Yeah, shit like that happens.” Taber smiled coldly. He would have liked to see Reginald’s reaction to that one. “Keep a close eye on him. I want a report on everyone he talks to, on and off the estate grounds. Let’s see if we can’t figure out who his handlers are.”
“I have some men on it,” Kane spoke up. “One of them we can possibly use to get close to him. Sometimes, my men can come off as real cat-haters.”
Taber sighed deeply. There were times a few of Kane’s men could have convinced him of it.
“Then we just sit back and wait,” he sighed. Waiting had never been difficult for him before—he was considered one of the most patient of the three males that made up his original pride—but he’d be damned if that patience wasn’t wearing thin now.
“Wait and see how far we can push him.” Kane shrugged as he came to his feet. “We have some contractors coming to the estate today to finish up that fence around the grounds. Keep the women in the house and the curtains closed until they’re gone. I don’t want to take any chances with them. I’ll post guards at all the entrances to be certain no one slips in. Other than that, it’s business as usual.”
Business as usual was becoming a fight to stay alive.
“What about our little gun toting friend?” Taber asked him, wondering about the assassin they were still holding. “Has he talked yet?”
“Not yet.” Kane shrugged. “Pretty soon it won’t matter. We’re running background checks on him now and should have answers soon. When the report comes in, I’ll know every dirty little secret he ever thought he could have hidden. He won’t be a problem for long.”
If Taber or Callan got their hands on him, he wouldn’t be alive long either.
“Okay, everyone knows their jobs today…”
Callan was interrupted when the door to the office was rudely jerked open. Taber turned in surprise to see Roni standing there, a short little sundress gracing her slender body, a frown etched on her brow as her eyes blazed furiously.
That dress was going to drive him insane, Taber thought. The soft cream color was a perfect foil for her skin, bringing out the blue in her eyes, the flush on her cheeks. He wanted to jerk it to her hips and take her there in the doorway, pounding into her pussy until she screamed out her pleasure.
“Look at it this way,” Kane muttered behind him. “At least you have a reason for being pussy-whipped. No need to be ashamed.”
Taber eyed him in irritation. “You know, Kane, when Sherra finally decides to show you what you keep daring her to, I’m going to enjoy giving you back every smart-assed remark you’ve ever made. Count on that.”
“Meow.” Kane chuckled. “Good luck, Garfield. Catch ya around.”
“Roni?” Taber questioned her when she didn’t move from the doorway. “Is everything okay?”
It wasn’t. He could smell the desperate heat coming off her body, but mixed with that, he could sense the pain she was fighting so hard to tamp down.
She glanced at the other men. “I’ll come back. I didn’t know you were busy.”
“That’s okay.” He shook his head in response. “We’re pretty much finished up here.”
He moved to her, amazed at the sensitivity of his own flesh as he neared her. As though a part of him longed for nothing more than her touch. It was a strange feeling for a man who had never known such a weakness before.
He watched the way she glanced at the others uncomfortably, her gaze flickering to them before lowering. A light blush stained her cheeks and the soft color only added to the beauty that never failed to amaze him.
“What’s wrong?” He nuzzled her cheek gently as his hand cupped her hip, moving her against him just enough to feel the warmth of her body.
“You know what’s wrong.” Her voice was tight, tense with the heat he knew traveled through her body, through his own. “And don’t think for one minute I’m pleased about it. Now let me talk to Reginald so we can get him the hell out of here. Tell your guard dogs to back down.”
“Cats, Ms. Andrews,” Kane laughed. “Wrong species.”
Various snarls greeted his words, not the least of which was Taber’s. He was running out of patience with his loosely related brother-in-law.
“No.” He finally turned back to her, regretting the anger that flared in her eyes. “Not yet, Roni. Not until I know how dangerous he is. I won’t allow you to see him.”
He watched the fire that snapped in her eyes, his cock thickening in arousal as he felt her preparing to defy him.
“Won’t allow me?” she snapped furiously. “You won’t allow me? Since when, Taber Williams, do you have the right to allow me anything?”
He smiled tightly, tamping down the need to show her, rather than tell her, exactly what gave him that right. She was tempting him. Daring him. Pitting her stubbornness against his own, and he was about to inform her who would win. In no uncertain terms.
“When I took you to the floor and mounted you, I took the right to protect you as well,” he informed her coolly. “Mate.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The office cleared out rather quickly after Taber’s words seemed to echo around the room. His voice pulsed with ire, with lust, setting her nerves on edge, causing the blood to thunder through her veins. She couldn’t figure out how he managed to do it. It had to be that damned hormone he kept infecting her with. To say his kiss was addicting would be an understatement in his case.
“You have no right to tell me what to do, or how to handle my own father,” she snapped, slamming the door behind her. “And you sure as hell don’t own me just because you managed to infect me.”
“Infect you?” he snarled. “Goddammit, Roni, it’s not a disease.”
“Bet me,” she dared him recklessly, her anger and her lust merging. “It’s painful, Taber. And I don’t like the reaction it produces.” The lie nearly seared her lips on its way out. There was nothing she liked more than the results of the searing heat they shared. “And I sure as hell don’t like this possessive attitude you seem to want to take.”
“Too bad.” He crossed his arms over his chest as he stared back at her furiously. “Guess you’re just going to have to live with it, aren’t you?”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously, her lips thinning with her rising anger. Now, if she could just get her breasts to stop swelling and her vagina to dry up, maybe she could really blast into him. It was hard to be pissed when all she wanted was to be fucked.
“Taber, I’m about to lose my patience with you.” She sighed roughly, pushing her fingers through her hair, hating the sensual feel of it sliding along the bare skin of her upper back. She knew better than to let Merinus talk her into wearing this damned dress.
“Why?” He laughed in surprise. “For God’s sake, Roni, all I’m trying to do
is protect you, not lock you up. As soon as we figure out what the hell he’s up to I’ll let you run him off personally.”
She gave him a resentful look. “No you wouldn’t. It might be too dangerous.” She drew the last word out mockingly.
Taber sighed. The sound of it pricked at her conscience.
“Is it so bad, Roni, to need to protect you?” he asked her softly, watching her with a heated, lust-filled gaze.
Her eyes flickered to his hips, then back to his face. She ignored the glimmer of amusement she saw there. His cock filled out the front of those jeans in a way that sent her pulse hammering and silky heat sliding from her vagina.
“In a way, it is,” she finally answered him as she moved closer, drawn to him, her body demanding his touch. “I don’t like it, Taber, not having a choice.”
She saw his grimace as her hands touched his chest. His larger, calloused hands covered hers, his eyes closing briefly before he opened them, allowing her to see the haunted depths of his own fears.
“I know this isn’t easy for you.” His whisper stroked over her nerve endings like sensuous silk.
She allowed her fingers to stroke him in a similar manner. She loved the look on his face when she caressed him, touched him as a lover. His eyes became heavy-lidded, his lips a bit fuller, his high cheekbones flushing darkly.
“Being horny makes me cranky, Taber.” She leaned against him, cushioning the hard ridge of his cock against her lower stomach. “It makes me want to take a bite out of someone.” She leaned forward, her mouth opening over his flat nipple as she allowed her teeth to sink into the muscle there.
His groan shattered the silence of the room as his hands moved to her hips, holding her against him with almost bruising strength.
“Go ahead and bite me all you want to.” He was nearly panting when her tongue peeked out to rub against the hard little nub beneath it. “Damn, Roni. God, yes.”