by Kate Douglas
Suddenly, Jake’s fingers brushed over a hard lump on her left buttock, what felt like an injection site. He blinked, returning immediately to here and now, aware once again of the danger.
They’d drugged her. Bastards.
Anger surged, hot and visceral, beyond any reaction he should have felt. His skin shivered. Jake’s mind filled with the image of the wolf, but instead of taking down the two men, he was ripping their throats, leaving their mangled bodies in the open for all to witness.
With effort, Jake brought himself under control. Logic. He had to act and think logically. Not thinking was a good way to get himself, even the young woman, killed.
She was alive. Obviously drugs, not injury, kept her unconscious.
He’d heard them say they wanted her safe and alive. Jake brushed her hair back from her forehead and gazed at her perfect features. Her beauty tore at him and he clenched his free hand into a fist. He’d have to assume whatever they’d given her wasn’t dangerous.
He had no idea when she might awaken and the night air was cold. After searching for a minute, Jake found a blanket on the floor, tucked under the front seat. He covered her, then tossed his suitcase in the back and quietly shut the trunk. After another quick check to see that the woman was breathing okay, he climbed into the driver’s seat.
Jake grabbed the steering wheel in both hands and took long, steadying breaths, forcing both his libido and suddenly jangled nerves under control.
After a moment, he stuck the key in the ignition and started the engine. The original plan, staying here to protect Ms. Murphy, was not an option. Whoever wanted her knew where she lived. Odds of keeping her safe in Boston weren’t in Jake’s favor, especially since he had no idea who he was dealing with. Slowly, he edged the big sedan down the narrow street, then pulled out onto a wider road.
Jake had no idea why anyone wanted to harm her. No idea, even, why Ulrich had been kidnapped, but according to AJ it was all connected.
It had to be tied to their genetics, the fact each of them carried the genes of the shapeshifting Chanku. The secret, the fact they existed at all, grew harder to contain each year, especially with the number of cases they’d worked since the terrorists hit New York.
If the public at large ever found out they lived side by side with an entire race of beings able to shift from human to wolf and back again—talk about the shit hitting the fan.
Instantaneously, at will. Unlike the werewolves of legend, dependent on the phases of the moon, Chanku never became mindless creatures ruled by bloodlust.
Jake shook his head, almost snarling at the irony within the thought. No, they only became mindless when they were Jacob Trent faced with a wet and ready Chanku bitch. Damn! Would he ever find forgiveness for that one act of stupidity? It never should have happened.
He was a sentient being, a thinking creature. He had powers beyond anything mere humans might imagine, but he couldn’t control his damned dick.
Jake should have known better than to try and mate his alpha’s woman. Luc had every right to go for his throat. Had every right to kill Jake. No one would have judged Luc badly.
The bite itched. Absentmindedly, Jake rubbed it.
The woman in the backseat stirred, then quieted once again. Jake glanced back over his shoulder, then turned his attention back to the road. It was almost midnight. There was hardly any traffic this late at night.
Still, the drug must be wearing off. She needed clothing, but he couldn’t leave her alone in the car until she awakened. If she came to while he was in a store, she’d be terrified, might even try to escape.
He really didn’t want Shannon Murphy to get away. Already Jake felt oddly protective, drawn to her on a gut level, intuitively, instinctually. He’d never reacted quite this way to a woman before.
Except Tia.
Like attracting like? Did he instinctively recognize another of the same species? This one might be Chanku. A woman like Tia. A female who would completely understand the needs and desires of another just like her.
Unawakened. Unaware of her potential, in danger because of her ignorance, entirely dependent, for now, on one Jacob Trent.
Jake glanced into the rearview mirror and grinned. If this was punishment, Jake owed Lucien Stone big time. He rubbed at the healing bite on his throat once again, then pulled around a slow van. Merging into the fast lane, he headed north on the interstate.
Almost an hour passed before Jake noticed any more movement in the back seat. Shannon stirred again. Jake heard her groan, then the sharp intake of breath that told him she must be awake.
“Ms. Murphy? Are you okay?” Jake looked in the rearview mirror, saw that she was wrapping the blanket tightly around her body and trying to sit up.
“I think so. Who are you?” She held up her right arm, stared for a moment at the duct tape still hanging from her wrists, then looked up. Her gaze met Jake’s in the rearview mirror. He couldn’t tell the color of her eyes. Wondered if they were the same green and amber as Tia’s. As his own.
“I’m Jacob Trent. Call me Jake. I’m the one Tia sent to protect you. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”
“Ah.” Shannon closed her eyes and nodded. Her voice sounded slurred. “Tia’s friend.”
Tia’s friend? Would they ever be friends, after what he’d done? “Yeah. Tia said she called you. Explained I’d be coming out here. Are you okay?”
Shannon reached up and brushed her long hair out of her eyes. “I think so. A little woozy. A lot naked.” She readjusted the blanket to wrap it more tightly around her body. “Where are we going?”
“North. I’m taking us up into Maine until we can figure out why those two wanted you. I’ve got a cabin up there. It’s isolated and sort of rough, but it’s a good place to keep you out of sight for a few days, at least until we know what’s going on.”
“About the naked thing…” Her eyes, looking directly at his in the rearview mirror, were steady.
Jake had to give her credit. She didn’t scare easily. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like, waking up out of a drugged sleep in the back of a car, wrapped in nothing but a blanket, traveling through the dark with a complete stranger.
He flashed her a smile. With any luck, it would reassure her, not scare the crap out of her. “Once we get into Maine, I know where there’s an all-night shopping center. They’ve got everything from clothes to groceries. I figured I’d go in and get you something to wear, then once you’re dressed, you can come back with me and we can shop for supplies.”
Jake glanced up again as she nodded. “Why don’t you get some sleep. We’ve got a long night ahead of us. Whatever drug they shot you with is probably still in your system.” He grabbed a water bottle off the front seat and handed it to Shannon. She took it with a grateful smile.
“Thanks. My mouth feels like cotton.”
Jake watched in the mirror as she upended the water bottle and drank almost half of it. Her throat glowed like an ivory column in the light from passing cars. Jake glanced briefly at the road but watching Shannon’s reflection claimed him once again. She smiled, handed the water bottle back to him and once more stretched out on the back seat. She didn’t ask about the men who’d tried to abduct her, or even comment on what had happened. Maybe it all seemed like a bad dream at this point.
Jake took a sip out of the water bottle, imagining the taste of Shannon’s lips on the cool plastic. He turned his attention back to the road ahead, relaxing for the first time in days, as he guided the sedan through the dark night.
She really must be one sick puppy, to feel aroused by a stranger hauling her bare butt through the night to Lord knows where. Shannon wrapped the blanket close around her shoulders and lay down in the wide back seat, scrunching her butt in tight against the soft leather. Whatever drug they’d shot her with must really pack a punch, because she felt as woozy and hungover as if she’d combined drugs and booze and bad sex.
Well, she’d definitely had the bad sex.
Were the two who attacked her still alive? Still a threat to her safety? How had Jake managed to rescue her from two dangerous men?
She had no idea how big a man Jake was, though his shoulders were definitely broad enough to go with a fairly tall frame. It looked as if he’d shoved the driver’s seat as far back as it would go, obviously adjusting to long legs. She hadn’t been able to see him all that well in the pale reflection from the dashboard lights, but she noticed he wore his hair unfashionably long, so that it curled around his collar. His jaw was shadowed with at least a day’s growth of beard and there was something dangerous about him, almost feral, something that appealed to whatever base instincts seemed to rule Shannon’s body and mind.
She heard a rustling in the front seat and blinked, surprised she’d almost fallen asleep again. Jake glanced back in her direction, then he shoved his leather coat over the seat. “Here. It’s pretty soft. Maybe you can use it for a pillow. Get some sleep. We’ve got about an hour until we get to Biddeford. That’s where the store is.”
“Thank you.” Shannon grabbed the coat. Her fingers sank into the soft, creamy leather, still warm from Jake’s body. She folded it over and tucked it beneath her head. It carried his scent, a tantalizing blend of man and forest that reminded her of something, some place just out of memory’s reach.
Inhaling deeply, filling herself with Jake’s heat and scent, Shannon felt herself growing drowsy once again. She should have been frightened, or at least uneasy, traveling through the night with a strange man, her naked body wrapped in nothing but an old blanket, with no idea where they were headed.
She wasn’t. Maybe it was the drugs, but for the first time in ages, Shannon actually felt calm, even relaxed. Snuggling her cheek close against the soft leather coat, Shannon sighed and let her thoughts drift. After so many years in the city, there was something comforting about a man who reminded her of the forest.
Chapter 2
“Ms. Murphy? Shannon, wake up.”
Shannon raised her cheek away from the soft coat, disoriented and confused. She looked up into the dark eyes of the man she’d been dreaming about and blinked.
It hadn’t been a dream. She really was bare-ass naked, wrapped in a scratchy blanket in the back seat of a car headed somewhere away from Boston in the middle of the night. Shannon shoved her hair out of her eyes and focused on Jake’s face. They must be in, or near, a town somewhere, because pale light from an outside source filled the interior of the car, casting dark shadows over the harsh line of his jaw, the high, angular cheekbones, the long nose.
Questions twisted in Shannon’s mind…how, and why, and who, all coiled together into a seething mass impossible to untangle. Then Jake smiled. Just the right side of his full lips quirked up, but he didn’t look like a man who smiled often. The questions melted away, just disappeared like black mist on a night wind.
Shannon felt like an idiot, reclining on the back seat awkwardly supported on one elbow, clutching the blanket to her chest and staring at Jake. The interior of the car sort of closed in around her until all she noticed was her racing heart, her weeping pussy, her taut nipples standing at attention beneath the blanket.
Who was this man? Why did her body react so powerfully to his presence?
“Are you all right?”
She took a deep breath, let it out. “I’m okay. I think I’m awake, though all of this still has the feel of a very strange dream.”
Jake nodded. “I imagine it does. You’re really quite calm, considering what you’ve been through tonight. I hope those two didn’t hurt you.”
Shannon realized she was grinning like a fool. She couldn’t believe her reaction to the man. Even the rumble of his deep voice turned her on. This close in the confines of the car, his scent filled her head, drew her closer. She took a deep breath and had to bite back a moan of pleasure, before shaking her head. “Only my pride. I’ve taken a lot of self-defense classes. Not a bit of it helped.”
“What happened? How’d they get in?”
Shannon frowned. She’d wondered that herself. Ah…Richard. “I had a visitor who took off when I went to shower. He must have left the door unlocked. The men were in my room when I came out of the bathroom. I only saw one at first. The other grabbed me from behind.”
“You left your mark. I heard him grousing about scratches on his arm.”
“Good. How did you…? They’re not dead, are they?”
Jake shook his head. “No, but they’ll probably have really bad headaches come morning. One of them may have a broken arm.” He reached for the door handle and glanced back at Shannon. “I’m going to pick up some clothes for you. What do you want me to get? What size?”
“Sweats would be great. Then I can go in with you and buy what else I need.” The reality of her situation suddenly hit Shannon hard. “I don’t have any money, no ID. I don’t…”
Jake held up his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything and we can settle up later. What size?”
“Medium. Tall if they have it. Something dark.”
“Okay. I’ll lock the doors, but I’m leaving the keys with you. We’re just outside the regular parking lot, hopefully away from any surveillance cameras. You should be fine here. We’re going to have to think about ditching this car at some point. It’s the one your two buddies were driving. I imagine by now they’ve got some sort of bulletin out on it. It might even have a tracer so be real aware of your surroundings, of anyone acting suspicious.”
Shannon was still trying to digest that bit of information when Jake nodded and slipped out of the car. He moved gracefully for such a big man. In fact, he was absolutely beautiful—long, lean, and dangerous looking, he reminded her of an untamed beast, a deadly predator of the night.
Shannon watched him all the way across the parking lot to the brightly lit store. Overhead lights caught him. Shannon realized his hair, which had looked so dark inside the car, was actually light brown, sun-streaked. His jeans hugged the most perfect male ass she’d ever seen, and his stride was long and smooth and surprisingly graceful. Though he didn’t seem to hurry, he covered the distance between the car and the store in mere seconds.
When he disappeared behind the doors, Shannon released the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Leaning back against the soft upholstery, she closed her eyes against this totally unreal new reality. She had no clothing, no credit cards, no identification, not a penny to her name. Without her cell phone she couldn’t even call Tia and find out what was going on. All the info she had was what she’d learned from Tia’s very brief call and what little Jake could tell her.
Something else Jake said flowed back into Shannon’s mind. This car had belonged to her attackers? She rubbed her fingertips over the soft leather upholstery. It was no rental—not something this expensive.
With that thought, Shannon wrapped the blanket tightly around herself and crawled into the front seat. The glove box was locked but she opened it with the keys. No registration, no clue of ownership. Nothing beyond the owner’s manual and a couple of maps—one of Boston, another of the Washington DC area. Still, whoever wanted Shannon probably had money and power, especially if her attack was somehow connected to Tia’s father’s abduction.
What in the hell could she possibly have in common with Ulrich Mason? Shannon hadn’t seen him in ages, though he’d always been perfectly friendly to her. She’d long suspected Mr. Mason knew about Shannon’s intimate relationship with his daughter. Knew and didn’t mind a bit, something that should have surprised Shannon more than it did.
What she’d had with Tia would always hold a special place in Shannon’s heart. Of all the friends and lovers she’d known, only Tia seemed to understand how Shannon perceived the world. Of course, the fa
ct they’d both lost their mothers when they were small, had both been raised by distant, difficult fathers, had a lot to do with the special sisterhood they shared.
Shannon’s mother had died of cancer, but Tia’s mother had been murdered. Had her friend discovered any of the details of her mother’s death? Shannon was almost certain that was Tia’s main reason for returning to San Francisco.
That, and the fact that both of them had recognized something lacking in their relationship. They still loved one another, still had great sex together, but each of them had begun searching for that elusive something missing in their lives.
Shannon wondered if Tia had found what she’d been looking for. She wondered if there was an end somewhere to her own personal quest, a pot of gold at the end of Shannon Murphy’s rainbow?
With that thought, Jacob Trent’s image slammed itself into Shannon’s mind. His stark, unrelenting features, the feral gleam in his eyes, the strength in his lean yet muscular frame. There was nothing gentle about him, nothing soft. Jake was all hard angles and harsh lines, a man who had faced life as a battle to be fought and won.
Shannon lay her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. What was it about Jacob Trent that attracted her so profoundly? Why, when there was nothing welcoming about him, did she feel as if he beckoned her, as if he needed her as much as she needed him?
A dull, pulsing ache spread from Shannon’s womb to her breasts. She wanted to touch herself, to run her fingers through the moisture gathering between her legs, but the thought of Jake catching her masturbating in the front seat kept her fists tightly clenched around the blanket. Her clit throbbed, needy, overly sensitive. Shannon squeezed her legs together and bit back a moan. Hell, she was sitting alone in a car in a shopping center parking lot in the middle of the night. Not the most sensual of settings.
A soft tapping on the window jerked Shannon out of her reverie, yanked her back from the temptation of her fingers settling into the slick heat between her legs.