A Lion's Heart

by A. C. Arthur

  “Didn’t you hear?” she asked as she brought one leg up and wrapped it around his waist. “I don’t take warnings.”

  Her other leg was easing around him by then and when they locked at the base of his back, Decan growled.

  Nisa growled in return.

  His fingers tensed, blunt tipped nails digging deep into her skin as his cock hardened to a painful length. It was apparent that not only did the lion want inside of her, the man did too. She held his gaze and Decan swore he could see her begging him to do it in the deep depths of brown eyes. But she didn’t speak. There wasn’t another sound between them.

  Instead, his body tensed because he sensed something else. Rogues.

  “Fuck!” he yelled and released her. “Get dressed now!”

  It took her less than three seconds to figure out what was going on and grab for her clothes the way she was instructed. Decan dressed without looking at her and when she moved to the wall…to the spot her cat had remembered coming out of, he saw the confusion as the palm of her hand did not activate entry.

  Instead of providing the explanation she wanted—the one he had no intention of ever giving—Decan pushed past her, holding his right hand up until his claws broke through the skin of his fingertips. With his claws against the wall moving in a series of circular motions the doorway slid quietly open and he stepped aside. She was angry. He could scent it as well as see it, but she wasn’t stupid.

  Nisa slipped through the opening and Decan followed. It closed behind them and when he turned again it was to a gun pointed at the center of his chest.

  “Stand down!” Keller yelled to the six guards that were now standing in the brightly lit hallway.

  One had Nisa’s back pulled against him, one arm tightly around her waist, the other holding a gun to her temple. Decan pushed the gun pointed at him away from his chest and moved quickly to pull Nisa out of the guard’s grasp.

  “Don’t. Touch. Her.” He growled and the guard immediately backed away.

  “What the hell, Decan?” Keller grumbled as he walked in front of the guards that were now moving to stand across the hall from the doorway. “First, the doorway alarm was tripped, then the sensors picked up activity around the perimeter. Where the hell were you and why didn’t you use the proper exit and entry points?”

  Nisa hadn’t pulled away from him, a fact he was supremely thankful for because he would have hated to grab hold of her the way the guard had been doing. But if that’s what it took to show them that he meant for his warning to be taken with deadly seriousness, then that’s precisely what he would have done. She stood beside him, tucked under his arm as if they were joined…but they weren’t, he reminded himself. She was just his assignment. Nothing more.

  “Not now,” he told Keller, because Nisa did not need to hear this conversation.

  “Decan—” Keller began, his nostrils flaring.

  “Ten minutes,” Decan said interrupting him. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you in the lodge.”

  There was a moment of tense silence as the lion and the cougar refused to break eye contact.

  “Ten minutes and then I’m coming to find you…again,” Keller snapped.

  Decan didn’t reply, but moved away, walking Nisa down the hall to stop in front of the elevators.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, but still remained close to him.

  “Not now,” he said again, his teeth clenching.

  The elevator doors opened and Decan ushered them inside, but the moment they closed Nisa moved to the other end of the car and fired off a round of questions.

  “What the hell is this place? Who is Keller Cross? And why did I just feel like we were being hunted in a place you said was secure?”

  Her t-shirt hung off one shoulder, the baggy pants she wore were twisted and her tennis shoes were untied. But all Decan could see when he looked at her was the endless stretch of soft mocha skin enhanced by the delicious curve of her hips, her ass and her breasts. As his body tightened in response to that thought, the unmistakable stench of rogues still permeated his senses, forcing his lion to react.

  “I told you I would take you out for a run,” Decan replied. “It slipped my mind so I’ll apologize for that. But you had no business going up there on your own. It was reckless and stupid and you should thank me for coming to your rescue.”

  A part of him sensed the words he’d just said were wrong, but they were already out by that time and the low rumbling sound of her cat disagreeing wholeheartedly with what he’d just said, echoed throughout the car.

  “I did not need to be rescued!” she countered. “I picked up the rogue scent out there just like you did. And I’ve never asked permission to leave Oasis—”

  The second her lips clapped shut Decan nodded.

  “Right. You’ve never asked permission but you’ve been leaving regularly. I know because each time in the last six months that you’ve done so, I’ve been there. Watching you. Making sure nothing happened while you were out disobeying one of your father’s staunchest rules. So yes,” he stated evenly. “You need to be rescued, from yourself!”

  Her mouth opened, then closed again as she struggled for words. Decan was fine with that. The less she talked, the easier it was for him to think. Actually, no, that wasn’t right. The elevator door opened and he reached for her. She backed away and he cursed. He wanted to explain, but knew it wasn’t possible, so he grabbed her arm and pulled her off the elevator.

  She yanked free the moment they were in the hallway on the floor where their rooms were. He didn’t try to hold on to her, which he easily could have, instead he let her walk ahead of him. Trailing behind her, even while she was quiet, wasn’t easier. His gaze immediately went to the sway of her ass in those ridiculously huge sweats. He’d seen her wear them before during the training sessions she lead back at the Assembly Headquarters. While most of the other female shifters wore the more form-fitting training gear, Nisa always wore something baggy. In the beginning Decan had thought she was hiding her body, but then he’d seen her in full guard gear and changed his mind. That uniform fit her every curve to perfection. He’d lost count of how many days he’d wished he were the material of her tank top so that he could hug her full breasts in the same way. She could be such a bundle of contradictions.

  He was so deep in that thought that he hadn’t seen her stop in front of her door, so he bumped into her.

  She turned immediately and stared up at him.

  “Now that I know stalking is apparently a part of your assignment, you don’t have to prove that point by literally being on my heels,” she quipped.

  Her brow was furrowed, shoulders set stiffly. Anger was even an alluring scent on her, like something sweet baking. It tickled his senses to the point that Decan was reaching out to touch her when he probably should have been running to get away from her.

  “I’ll apologize for yelling, but not for trying to keep you safe,” he said as his hands closed around her arms.

  His action had been slow, his fingers wrapping gently around the bare skin of her biceps. She didn’t look down at his hands, but he knew she was letting the effects of their contact sink in. He knew because he felt it too. It was similar to the way it had been when they were outside and he’d put his hands on her. Like a lock clicking open they stood still and waited to see what would happen next. He was as powerless to stop it as she was, even though he was certain that a part of both of them knew just how a big a mistake this was going to be.

  She tilted her chin upward as if she’d heard his every thought and Decan sighed as his cat pressed forcefully against him, begging for the extra connection.

  He gave in because in the space of those few moments there was nowhere for him to run. Besides, was not an option when both his body and his cat were in sync. He brushed his lips over hers first, tentatively, trying to test the cat and the man to see if they were both certain. In the next seconds his tongue was pushing past her lips, taking every bit of her taste and
groaning into a kiss that he knew would change everything.

  Her arms went around his neck and she pulled him closer. Decan wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly against him as their tongues continued to duel. His cat was on full alert standing at attention and hearing the low, but undeniable call of hers. Decan stilled because this had never happened before. Not with any other female he’d been with. It was so strange, he had no idea how to react.

  Fortunately, Nisa did. She deepened the kiss, letting her hands slip down to his shoulders where her nails dug through the material of his shirt to prick his skin. Her body moved against his, the curve of her breasts along his torso, in a sensuous motion that had a low growl rumbling in Decan’s chest. He pushed her back against the door and she lifted a leg to glide up the side of his, wrapping it seductively around his waist. His hands moved down to grip her ass, squeezing as he melted into the kiss. Her lips were soft, her tongue hot and wet against his. And her scent, it filled every part of him, enticing him, goading him, forcing him.

  Decan’s hand was moving before he could even consider what he was about to do. His fingers trailed along the elastic waist of her pants, dipping lower when he came between them. She moaned. The sharpened edge of her jaguar’s teeth nipping his lower lip as his pressed lower, moving down to cup her bare mound. Yes, it was bare, free of any hair at all, and Decan wanted to roar his intense pleasure at the thought. She was warm here also and wet, damn it all to hell, she was so fucking wet. His fingers slid easily between her plump folds, grazing the tight bud of her clit before moving further to find the spot he needed. He hadn’t even been aware of the search, but his cat had, and Decan had to tear his lips away from hers to let the deep purr of satisfaction echo throughout the hallway.

  Immediately following were three chimes that pierced the haze of desire that had been about to take Decan to a place he was certain he shouldn’t tread. Wanting to be thankful for the interruption but instantly hating Nisa’s reaction to it, he pulled his hand from her. She had already lifted her head to the sound, flattening her palms on his chest as she prepared to move away. He did it for her and did not say a word when she turned from him and entered her room.

  Gritting his teeth as the door closed, Decan once again let his claws extend and used them to trace a code over the door’s control pad, to lock her inside. She would hate that she could not get out and no doubt let him know about it the moment he returned. But Decan didn’t care. Now, more than ever, he knew that not only did he need to protect her from her own recklessness by going above ground unescorted, but he also had to keep her safe from what was happening around her that she had no clue about.

  CHAPTER 5

  “Are you out of your mind? What the hell were you doing out there with her?”

  Keller didn’t waste a moment, jumping right in and making his feelings absolutely clear.

  Decan had just walked into the small, dark room where he knew they would be meeting. It was the only room in the entire bunker that was not monitored by cameras or audio. He moved slowly, pulling out a chair and taking a seat before responding.

  “I’ve got it under control,” Decan replied and ignored the look of disbelief on the cougar’s face.

  “So you knew that rogues were less than twenty feet away from pouncing on both of you while you—”

  “I said I’ve got this!” Decan interrupted.

  “They’re looking for her,” Gold said, his deep voice breaking through the tension.

  “Rome said the threat was down here,” Decan spoke to his longtime friend. “He was certain they were below ground.”

  “Doesn’t mean they’re working alone,” Gold continued.

  “You need to get her dropped off as quickly as possible. She’s jeopardizing our entire mission,” Keller insisted.

  Decan stared at him directly. “She is the mission,” he said coolly. “For now anyway.”

  Neither Keller nor Gold spoke. They were most likely as confounded by Decan’s words as he was. Decan had known Keller for ten years, since Decan’s return to Oasis. He and the cougar had shared a similar experience above ground and had both vowed the vengeance on the same human. Gold, on the other hand, was the same age as Decan. They were neighbors in Houston, only nine years-old, when Gold’s parents were killed in a train crash. Maura Canter had announced at the double funeral that Gold would be moving in with them and Jalil had known better than to argue. Decan had been cool with the new arrangement, preferring to have a surrogate brother, over his sisters any day. A year later when their home in Houston was almost burned to the ground as the humans hunted a cheetah shifter who had taken refuge in their cul-de-sac, Decan was sent to live with his grandparents and Gold, who had gone into his shift early and attempted to attack one of the human police, was taken underground with rest of the Canter family.

  Now, the three were together, with a job to do. Nisa was interfering with that job.

  “This is not what we planned,” Keller insisted.

  “I don’t need you to tell me about the plan,” Decan told him. “I know what the plan is because we’ve talked about nothing else for I don’t know how long.”

  “It has to be the priority, Decan,” Keller told him. “You know what happens if we don’t succeed.”

  “We will succeed,” Gold interjected again. “We have the best cover now to not only get into the Central Zone headquarters, but to also get above ground.”

  Decan looked at his old friend standing at his full six-feet four-inches. Gold was a big guy, tall and bulky with eyes the bold color of his name. He spoke in a deep voice with a slight southern twang and fought like the vicious white lion he could so quickly shift into.

  “How is that?” Keller asked then, turning his attention to Gold.

  Decan knew why Keller was really pissed at him and if he let himself think long and hard about it, he’d be angry with himself as well. But he wasn’t going to do that. Forward movement was the way he liked to proceed. Looking back never did anybody any good.

  “There’s a big function above ground day after tomorrow. Every member of the Ruling Cabinet will be there, along with some other international players. We can put somebody in position to infiltrate the Cabinet and feed us the information we need for the final leg of our plan,” Gold told them.

  “How do you know about this?” Keller asked.

  “Who do you plan on sending to infiltrate the Cabinet?” Decan spoke simultaneously.

  Gold folded his beefy arms over a massive chest that pressed almost violently against the material of his black shirt.

  “The answer to both questions is Kyss,” he said.

  Keller shook his head. “Who the hell is that? More baggage you’ve picked up?”

  Both of those inquiries were directed at Decan, who was getting tired of Keller’s tone and attitude. The cougar definitely lived up to his reputation of being all smiles and charm with the females, and a perpetual ass with anyone else.

  “She found us,” Gold said. “But I’ve had a chance to check her out a bit since we’ve arrived here. She’s not registered in the database. But there are twin cheetahs who are. Their family goes straight back to Brazil. The mother of the twins had a sister who gave birth twenty-nine years ago. There’s no record of the baby and none of these cheetahs are listed as residents in any of the bunkers here. I suspect they’ve been living in the caves down here for whatever reason. The interesting part—which I was able to get from Kyss—is that they go above ground. A lot.”

  “Without permission like someone else, I’m guessing,” Keller stated.

  Decan didn’t even look at Keller. “We need to know more about her before we include her in any of our plans. For all we know she could already be a mole for someone else,” he said to Gold. “And furthermore, it’s a ridiculous and unrealistic rule to think you can tell shifters where to go and when.”

  This wasn’t the first time he disagreed with one of the Assembly Leader’s rules, but he was careful to ne
ver voice those opinions, outside this circle of three.

  “Containment has been Rome’s answer since the Unveiling,” Keller added.

  “He tried it the other way and more shifters died,” Gold said. “But we shouldn’t have to be friendly with those who refuse to befriend us.”

  “They’re not all like that,” Decan said.

  “No. But we don’t always have the luxury of time to figure out which ones are open to our kind or not,” Keller reminded him.

  “I agree,” Decan replied, before looking pointedly at Keller. “Which is why we should continue on to the Central Zone in the morning.”

  “So you can drop off the Assembly Leader’s daughter and head above ground to continue the surveillance you’ve put on hold for the past six months.” It was a statement. Not an order because Keller knew it was futile to ever speak to Decan in that tone. Still, he hadn’t formed it as a question either, probably because he didn’t want Decan to think he had a choice. Decan knew he didn’t. He’d fully committed himself to their quest. He wasn’t backing down now. Even if his lion was threatening his sanity with the instant heat and draw to a female he should not give a damn about.

  Before Decan could reply his comlink buzzed from its place on his left wrist. He immediately looked down at the screen to see an incoming call. Already carrying the guilt of things he hadn’t shared with Keller and Gold, Decan decided to answer the call using the speaker function. Keller and Gold knew nothing about the Assembly Leader asking Decan to assist Jace Maybon with the search for Cole Linden. Considering the sensitive nature of the search and how many members of the Shadow Shifters had spoken out against using their limited resources on continuing the search, Decan was fairly certain Jace wouldn’t mention it on this line.

  “Good evening, Faction Leader Maybon,” he said as he looked up at a shocked and suspicious Keller and Gold.

  They both knew to remain silent as they listened.

  “Good evening, Decan. I wanted to check on your location and get your ETA for tomorrow,” Jace Maybon stated.