Black Surrender

by Lorie O'Clare

  Her response was a low growl. With their faces closer, he saw how flushed she was. Her pants were short and quick, and her breasts bounced each time she impaled herself with his cock.

  There wasn’t a better view anywhere. Not even the mountains compared to the soft hue of her skin, the way her eyes were wide now as she stared down at him. Her black hair flowed around her breasts, and her little gasps began turning into moans.

  Rafe knew the moment she hit her climax. Not only did her pussy clamp down on his dick but she stopped breathing, only for a moment, as her mouth took the shape of a small, perfect circle.

  “Oh,” she uttered, looking as if there were more on her lips. Then, as determined as she’d been to ride him at her pace, she stopped. Anna raised herself off him, began her descent, and every muscle in her body started quivering. “Deal,” she grunted then soaked his dick and balls.

  The room filled with the intoxicating aroma of her orgasm. In spite of the darkness providing a natural shroud, Rafe found the blanket twisted underneath her ass and pulled it up. Moving to a sitting position, he kept himself buried inside her as he flipped her to her back and came down on top of her.

  “Lift your legs,” he instructed then slid his arms underneath them and almost folded Anna in half when he sank deeper into her soaked heat.

  Anna scratched at his shoulders, looking as if she might scream. Her mouth remained open but no sound came out. She stared at him, her lids half-closing, then held onto his arms as if her life depended on it. Rafe impaled her again and again, wishing he could hold out longer. He loved the glow of her flesh, the way she took all of him and constricted around his dick each time he sank into her.

  “God, Rafe, I…” Her words faded off.

  He wouldn’t believe any complaint about it being too much. He smelled her pleasure, saw it on her face and felt it wrapped around his cock. If anyone could howl about it being too much, he had that right. Rafe always prided himself in being a master of control. But Anna’s perfect pussy made it impossible to hold on.

  “Anna,” he grumbled, his world shifting into shades of warm dark colors, all of them surrounding her beautiful face as she opened her eyes wider and looked up at him. For a moment, there was more to howl. But he came, hard, and the words he almost uttered, the declaration of his feelings for her were never said.

  The morning sun woke Rafe before anyone came to the door. As much as he hated stirring Anna, who cuddled into him, her smooth, warm skin pressed against his, he wanted them both dressed and coherent when Natasha’s goons returned. Sniffing out Randy Magjulian bothered him. In a matter of months, the jaguar had changed. Randy had always been a cocky male but happy and eager to go on a hunt anytime a group of them felt the need to run. There was no happiness surrounding the male now.

  Rafe stood at the door to their room while Anna dressed, ready to hold up the blanket if anyone were to unlock and open it. They timed it well. Both of them stood, facing the door, when they heard the click in the lock.

  A young male, not yet grown, sniffed the air then stared at both of them wide-eyed. There was another male behind him who glanced at Rafe but then shifted his attention down the hall.

  “Leave the meat,” the male prodded.

  The young male jumped, damn near dropped the containers of meat then grabbed the leftover meat from the day before and backed out of the room.

  “You have an hour to eat and shower before being herded downstairs.”

  “Herded?” Rafe scowled, glaring at the male who gave him a haughty look.

  “Like cattle,” the male sneered.

  “Like hell,” Rafe growled then faked a lunge at the older male who jerked to attention as a roar exploded from deep in his chest.

  Rafe started to laugh. “What is this, jaguar?” he asked, doubting he’d get a serious answer but knowing he’d throw the male off guard by pretending to want to talk instead of fight. “How do you hold on to your honor?”

  “At least I have honor,” the male bellowed.

  There were two other males standing on either side of the older jaguar who’d just called Rafe cattle. Their self-importance stank.

  “How dare you,” Anna snarled, trying to step in front of Rafe.

  He pushed her to the side, and she gripped his arm, not letting go. Rafe tensed when the three males moved closer. He cleared the distance, preferring not to be trapped in the small room if all three decided to attack at once. Anna growled when he released his arm from her grasp. Let her snarl at him later, but he fought better with both hands.

  “Why are you with him, female?” one of the males demanded. All three of them were older than Rafe, but this one appeared to be the oldest, putting him somewhere in his upper forties. Silver streaked his thick black hair and his block-shaped face and body was puckered with scars. “His litter ran from Colony like cowards then produced the laws and traditions only to keep them hidden within their litter. Howl against him and you’ll walk out of here.”

  “Ran like cowards?” Rafe hissed, rage blinding him. The lies that had been spread around Colony about his litter were so thick with bullshit that if these males didn’t stink so badly of their own arrogance they might possibly smell the truth.

  All of which wasn’t his problem. However, no one berated his litter. He lunged at the three males, bulldozing into the one in the middle just as Anna screamed behind him. Rafe would readily admit his little female could hold her own in a fight, but he didn’t plan on allowing any of these males enough time to get to her.

  He didn’t plot out a strategy but took down the male, sending both of them flying into the wall behind them. Rafe leapt off of the male, roaring as he lunged at the one to his right. He sent him toppling down the stairs, letting go just in time to prevent tumbling down right after the bastard. Turning, teeth bared, Rafe flew at the male standing there, unsure if he was the one he’d just lunged into the wall or if he was the other male.

  Rafe was aware of other jaguars behind the males, but his vision narrowed and he only saw the one he attacked. There was yelling, screaming in fact. He wasn’t able to tell if Anna was still howling. Something inside assured him she wasn’t hurt or he would know. He would sense it, and then all hell really would break loose.

  He tasted blood. Rafe sent his fist into the nearest male’s face and heard bones crunch. His teeth pierced his lip and the taste of his own blood simply fueled his fire further.

  “Rafe!” Anna yelled, her tone urgent.

  He roared, instinct demanding he protect Anna, and he couldn’t see her, not with all the brutes in the way. Sending the male in front of him flying, Rafe raced toward Anna. She stood in the doorway, her terrified expression causing his heart to constrict.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked, and felt a piercing pain ransack his back.

  She answered him but Rafe didn’t hear her. His entire body fried. His muscles seized and he tried to arch against the pain, barely able to move as every inch of him became as hard and unyielding as a board.

  “Rafe!”

  Anna’s cry tore into him, searing his brain and forcing him to fight the growing darkness closing in around him.

  “Denounce your mate,” a male roared over Rafe.

  He wasn’t sure how the male was suddenly on top of him, but he knew he smiled when he clearly heard Anna reply.

  “Never,” she hissed.

  * * * * *

  “Let’s go. You and you.”

  Rafe blinked and instinctively growled at the sound of the male voice.

  “Give him a minute,” Anna snapped, and suddenly her soft, warm body was pressing against his.

  Hell, he would need more than a minute.

  “Rafe, are you okay?” Anna asked, her face hovering over his.

  “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, but his arm didn’t want to cooperate when he tried raising his hand to touch the side of her face.

  “Let’s go now,” the male bellowed.

  “He’s just coming to from when you z
apped him with that human gun.” Anna turned and defended him.

  Rafe could only see her back. His vision was clearing and he would much rather see her face. He’d also like it if that male would get the hell out of here.

  This time he got his arms and hands to do what he wanted and pushed to a sitting position. He’d been lying on the couch. This wasn’t his den though. Rafe shifted his attention around the room, knowing he could build furniture much nicer than the crap in this den.

  “Anna,” he said, and his throat hurt as if he’d spent the entire night howling. He ran his hand down the back of her head and stroked her hair that fell to her waist.

  “Are you okay?” She turned around, giving him a concerned once-over as her hands moved from his shoulders over his chest and to his arms.

  “Get up, VicMoran.” The male standing in the middle of the living room had a nasty sneer on his face, and his hatred stenched up the room. “Unless you’re too much of a pussy to function after a mild sedative.”

  “Mild, my ass,” Anna grumbled under her breath.

  Rafe stood, testing his legs while fighting to get the fog out of his brain. He wasn’t completely clear on why he’d been on the couch, but he remembered the male who was insulting him, and once he was pretty sure he wouldn’t topple forward, he assessed the bruises on the male’s face.

  “I’m not too much of a pussy to fight my own battles instead of letting a human weapon do my fighting for me.”

  The male didn’t bat an eye and his foul odor didn’t change. There was so much hatred and bitterness in the imbecile’s head he didn’t have room in there to know when he’d been insulted.

  “Let’s go.” He gestured to the open door.

  Rafe walked alongside Anna, willing to learn where the hell they were going once they were out of that prison of a den. For some reason, it surprised him that it was dark outside, but he welcomed the cold mountain breeze as it slowly cleared his head.

  Once again they were in the back of a pickup, this time without chains. Instead, two males sat on the edge of the truck, each one of them armed with more human weapons. Rafe sat on the cold bed floor, putting his arm around Anna and dragging her closer to him. The truck bounced over the road as it pulled away from in front of the den. Neither male appeared interested in conversation but instead held their weapons as if they were lifelines, which was a damn shame since both males were in their prime.

  He knew both of them, Steve Derosett and Bob DenVenere. Anna probably knew the males too since both were a year or two younger than he was. She didn’t give any indication but pressed against him, her attention shifting over the sides of the truck as they drove through Colony. Rafe was pretty sure she couldn’t see that well since he could barely see the dens as they passed them. They turned a corner and there was a large popping sound followed by a loud hiss and the truck started wobbling.

  “Crap,” Derosett complained, gripping the side of the truck to maintain his balance.

  “Tire’s flat,” DenVenere announced unnecessarily as the truck slowed.

  There was another popping sound and the truck stopped. Rafe looked over his shoulder when the driver climbed out. He glanced at Anna when she looked up at him. There were four males, at least two of them with guns, not good odds for escaping. His brain was still in a fog, but he was with it enough to know they’d be smart to remain where they were and sniff out the situation.

  Another pop grabbed his attention. The driver howled. Rafe barely heard the next pop when DenVenere fell off the side of the truck, hitting the ground with a howl and a loud thud.

  “What the…” Derosett wasn’t able to finish his sentence. The pop sounded almost at the same time that the male fell forward into the truck. His face hit the floor of the bed, facing Anna and Rafe. Blood flowed like black ink out of a hole in his head.

  “Fucking tail!” Anna shrieked, almost climbing backward up the cab of the truck.

  Rafe grabbed her, fighting his human vision to see better in the dark and searching the air for the smell of anything other than fresh blood as it flowed out of Derosett.

  “VicMoran, over here.”

  Someone banged the back of the bed then there were other jaguars standing outside the truck and gesturing frantically at Rafe and Anna.

  “Come on, let’s go.” It was a female, which was obvious by her voice. She wore a ball cap though, and her hair was stuffed underneath it. It was pulled low enough that it was hard to see her face. “Anna, hurry. Come on. We’re getting you out of here.”

  * * * * *

  The moment Rafe, Anna and four other jaguars entered a den several blocks from where the truck had been left with its flat tires and dead jaguars, each of them deposited the human guns they’d used during their attack into a box just inside the door. Three of them were males and they walked farther into the house, stripping off their hats and dark coats as they grinned and slapped each other on the back as if they’d just won the fight of the evening.

  “Remember your duties,” the female snapped, growling at them.

  The males were barely grown, all of them more pups than grown males. They smiled sheepishly at Rafe and Anna.

  “Sorry, Naria,” one of them grumbled as all of them disappeared down a hallway where the smell and sounds of their excitement resumed along with banging noises that sounded like furniture being moved.

  Rafe didn’t smell any hostility among the young males. Unlike Natasha’s suppressed, brainwashed henchmen, this group of jaguars didn’t smell of hatred. Once the males were gone from the living area, Rafe picked up on caution, a deep smell of satisfaction and something that reminded him of human perfume.

  “Naria?” Anna asked.

  The female was already moving with a smooth efficiency from window to window, checking locks, when she turned and removed her ball cap. Long, thick black hair fell down her back as the petite female smiled at Anna.

  “Colony’s changed.”

  “Fucking tail.” Anna’s laugh was stiff as she stepped away from Rafe and opened her arms.

  The females embraced, holding each other for a moment while Rafe watched. He knew this female, or more accurately, knew of her. It appeared they’d just been rescued, but he decided to hold off on his show of appreciation until he heard the terms. Naria Kalusian would have her terms.

  “You are honoring both of us more than you know by opening your den to us,” Anna said as she continued hugging Naria. Both females’ hair shrouded their faces.

  Another time, Rafe would have leaned back and enjoyed the view. Quite possibly he would have made at least one snide remark and even added a few lewd suggestions. Neither crossed his mind. What did enter his thoughts though—other than it smelled as if Anna trusted Naria—was a strong curiosity over why he wasn’t immediately sexually aroused by watching both females embrace.

  Rafe tilted his head, hearing the two females whisper as they remained embraced. His name was mentioned but they were doing a good job of keeping their conversation private. Rafe left them enjoy their moment. He smelled the clean aroma of happiness, and feeling left out for a few moments didn’t harm his ego as he smelled Anna relax.

  Their whispering continued and Rafe took the moment to check out Naria’s den. He didn’t know a lot about Naria, other than she was a widow. Taking a step from the females, he studied the living room, which was identical in layout to the den he and his littermates grew up in. There were two deadbolts above the doorknob on Naria’s front door. He would guess underneath the thick curtain on the wide window next to her front door that matched the window on the back of the house, there would be more locks than what the den came with. Naria had gone to several extreme efforts to make her den as secure as possible. There were poles made of steel over the windows Naria had just checked to ensure they were locked. Even if the glass were broken, the poles would make it damn hard for any normal-sized jaguar to slide between them. She’d created her own cage, except this was a cage she controlled.

  The two f
emales parted and Rafe shot his attention in their direction. Anna’s eyes still glowed with happiness and Naria’s appeared wary yet slightly amused.

  “Rafe, this is Naria Kalusian,” Anna said, her smile sincere as she looked happier than she had since they’d been in Guarida. “Naria, may I present Rafe VicMoran.”

  “Impressive,” Naria mumbled then turned from him, holding Anna’s hand and leading her to the kitchen.

  Rafe would have liked to know what she thought was impressive, him, or Anna and him being together. As he followed the two of them through the living room, he glanced down the hallway where the young males had disappeared. The den wasn’t that large and he didn’t hear or smell them. More so than knowing this female’s thinking, he wanted to know what they were doing here. Something told him this was a den of action, a place used for covert planning against Natasha. If he was right, Naria was not only running against her den, she was managing to present a very calm, laid-back environment to do it. Now that was impressive.

  He wanted in on any conversation that might include their next plan of action but also had no problem letting the females spend time together. Anna had never mentioned who she ran with while living in Colony. He was surprised though that she’d been this close to a Kalusian and hadn’t mentioned it to him. The awareness showed him there were probably many things both of them didn’t know about each other. The month they’d spent together in Guarida had been time spent with idle howling, nothing ever deep or requiring a show of strong emotions.

  “Natasha’s pets won’t come here. You’re safe for a while. If anyone saw or smelled the death of her males, they won’t howl. Colony has become a community of the blind ignoring the ignorant.” Naria still spoke softly, slowly, her tone casual as she uttered the latest howlings with Anna. “With all of her new technology, the bitch and her lazy pets believe they’re invincible and no one can escape their claws.”

  “New technology?” Rafe asked, still remaining at the doorway into the somewhat open kitchen area.