by Eliza Gayle
“What’s wrong, Kane?”
He spun around when she spoke and admired the vision she presented in his bed. Her sleep-tousled hair and mussed clothes looked sexy as hell on her, and he wanted to jump into bed with her and not leave this damned room until he got her out of his system. He doubted, though, that would ever happen. Like it or not, they were mates. They’d tasted each other, and from this point forward no other would be enough, whether they mated completely or not.
Somehow she’d managed to get inside him, and he wanted her a lot more than science explained.
“Nothing.” His answer sounded gruff even to his own ears, but he was no longer a patient man when it came to her safety, and the feelings that swirled inside him created more guilt than he expected. He had family loyalties to consider.
“You suck at lying.” She crawled from the bed and moved next to him, and he automatically folded her in his arms.
“What the hell have you done to me?” he sighed into her hair.
“You? What about me? This is so fucked up I don’t know what to do. I’m even losing sight of myself.”
He looked at the computer screen from the corner of his eyes, but Lara caught him.
“What the hell?” She hurried over to the screen at the image of the idiot struggling against his bonds, grunting to get loose.”
“Holy shit, why didn’t you tell me? We need to get over there, why did you let me sleep?” She rushed around looking for the rest of her clothes. Kane found her enthusiasm for a fight a little scary as well as arousing. One minute she was soft and sexy, begging to come for him, and the next she was back to hell on wheels.
With her next pass in front of him he grabbed her around the waist and yanked her against him. She yelped but the protest died on her lips when he took possession of her mouth with plans to kiss her senseless. She brought her hand up presumably to hit him or something equally annoying and he grabbed it before she could connect.
“Damn, woman, save your aggression for the bed.”
“This is serious, Kane, we have to get over there before he escapes.”
“Hon, he isn’t going anywhere. And you’re right, this attacking me all the time thing is serious and should be reconsidered.” She stilled and looked down to meet his gaze. She cocked her head to one side as if assessing him, then broke out into roaring laughter. Not liking the sense he got of her making fun of him, he let go and she slipped to the floor, landing on her butt.
“Ow, what’d you do that for?” Her hand rubbed her behind.
“You need to learn some respect.”
“Give me a break.” She stood, brushing off her backside, and finished throwing on her clothes. “So, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Pretty obvious, isn’t it? There were three men who invaded my property, now there is one. I doubt he can tell us anything, but I figured it was worth a shot.”
“How long has he been tied up like that? Are you sure it’s okay to leave him alone this long?”
He loved how her mind worked. Methodical and analytical. She was likely processing all the possible scenarios. No wonder she’d been able to live off the grid for so long. Apparently she was a lot smarter than she let on. Now the only question was how do I harness that intelligence for good things?
“Do you have an interrogation plan?”
Now it was his turn to laugh at her but he thought better of it and bit down on his lips to hold it in. He didn’t want to waste anymore time fighting with her. If they did, there would be sex involved. Hot, sweaty, rough sex, to be exact. His cock stirred in his pants and he inwardly groaned as he turned away from her.
He and Lara stood side-by-side, looking at the idiot who invaded his home. In his effort to get loose he’d landed on his side, chair and all. He’d started out by yelling and cussing at them the moment they walked into the room, but after ten seconds with Lara and the guy whimpered like a baby.
They looked at each other and Lara shrugged. He’d managed to keep the dumb one alive. In fact, how the man had even been chosen for a job like this was beyond him. Someone out there was either fucking stupid as hell or just toying with them. He’d vote for the latter if his instincts were correct, which they usually were.
“What would you like to tell us?”
His intruder looked at Kane without saying a word, but he didn’t have to. The scent of his fear was so strong it made Kane somewhat nauseous.
“I ain’t telling you shit.”
“Because you’ve had so much fun being tied up in my house, you want more?”
“Fuck you.”
Lara swung and punched the guy, connecting with his nose. The distinct sound of bone breaking cracked through the room and blood gushed from his face.
“Jeez, woman. What the hell?”
“What? You think he’s gonna just tell you?” The man just sat there wailing in pain. So much for someone’s tough soldiers.
Kane grabbed him by the hair and pulled him and his chair from the ground with one arm. His eyes bugged out when Kane’s teeth lengthened, not to mention he’d let his eyes shift, too. A partial shift could scare the shit out of an unknowing human.
“I’d suggest you tell him what he wants before he gives up on you and just snaps your neck.” Lara sounded irritated and bored.
“I-I don’t know nuthin’.”
“You don’t know who hired you to kill one of us? Oh, and by the way, which one were you trying to kill?”
His eyes quickly averted to Lara before he could stop himself from giving away the target. Kane lost control when the rage surged through him and, without thinking, he hurled the man against the wall.
The chair crushed and splintered into several pieces, loosening the ropes that held the prisoner. Kane started toward him, tired of playing with his prey. The man needed to know the one thing you don’t do is try to hurt a cougar’s mate. Big mistake.
Lara rushed in front of him and placed her hand on his chest, pushing at him to retreat. “Now who’s going overboard?” When he pushed forward she grabbed his head and forced him to look at her. “Stay right there. I can’t have you killing him before I’m done talking to him.”
She approached the intruder and threw the mangled pieces of chair out of the way. In just a few seconds she grabbed up the loose rope and hogtied the man’s wrists to his feet. Clearly she’d done this before.
“You wanted to kill me, huh? Tsk tsk tsk. Should have brought a much bigger gun.” She punched him again, this time to the kidneys in his back. “Now tell us who hired you and why.”
“I have no idea why someone wants you dead, other than the fact that you’re a crazy psycho bitch.”
Kane bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud. This guy was thicker than he’d thought. Ohh boy.
Lara grabbed him by the hair and jerked his head back and up eye level to where she stood. Her face scrunched into an angry snarl. “I’m your only chance at salvation here, so unless you want me to turn you over to the likes of the big growly guy, you’d better start talking.”
To emphasize her words Kane started a deep growl from his chest, showing his teeth again for good measure. The look on they guy’s face was priceless, and under different circumstances Kane would have roared with laughter.
“I’m serious about not knowing why someone hired me; it’s not the kind of thing we ask.” He wheezed out between the blood still trickling from his broken and mangled nose to the death grip Lara maintained on his head.
“Let’s say I believe you, and we move on. Who hired you?”
“Man said his name was Richard Smith. Big guy like your friend there, black hair, dark eyes. Not exactly the friendly or talkative type.”
Lara let go of his hair and his head slammed to the floor where the man howled again in agony. “What do you want to do with him now, Kane?”
He wanted to kill the man. Rip out his throat and throw his carcass in the woods for the wildlife, but reluctantly he admitted it probably wasn’t
the best course of action at this point. He and Lara already had enough negative council attention focused their way, and with two deaths to explain, this one would not be viewed the same. He was tied and beaten. No way to make that look like a decent self defense, home invasion type execution.
“We’ve got people to handle situations like this. Killing humans is always a rather precarious thing to do. I’m going to have to call it in and then we have to leave before the cleaners arrive.”
“He doesn’t deserve your sympathy.”
“I have none.” He realized how cold and angry he sounded, but right now he couldn’t care less. He looked around at the shambles his cabin had become and grappled again with his rage. He walked into the other room and flipped open his cell phone to make the call.
Lara walked to the back of the house to her room. She needed to change out of the clothes that were now spattered with blood. She entered the bathroom and stripped down to her underwear, eager to clean up. She pushed her sore hands under the warm water of the faucet and looked at herself in the mirror.
Her hair stuck up in several places and her eyes still had a wild and hard look to them. She sucked in several deep breaths, searching for her calm center. This situation was out of hand and she didn’t know how to take it back. Never in her life had she been so turned upside down and inside out—at least, not since her mother’s death.
There were many times in her past where she’d gotten a real thrill from sex and danger, but this time it seemed so much more. More at stake than ever before: her life, and if not that, then certainly her heart. She needed to work some magic, without it for so long she felt weak and naked all the time. If they were attacked again she needed to be able to defend herself.
She wiggled into a fresh pair of jeans and a dusky violet tank top that matched the color of her eyes. Digging further into her bag, she pulled out a brush, hair band, and some gloss. The least she could do was make herself feel like a woman, for even a little while, instead of just the cold bitch she had truly become.
“You about ready to leave?” He’d snuck up behind her without a sound, a trick quickly becoming a habit. When his gaze raked over her from head to toe she couldn’t stop the beading of her nipples or the heat that built between her legs.
His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. “You’re killing me, babe. We don’t have much time before the team arrives, we need to get out.”
“Then let’s go.” She gathered up her travel bag and started out the door.
“Anything in particular you would like to do today? We’ve got some time to kill.”
“You mean besides hunt down the attacker? Yeah, actually I do.” She turned back to face him, falling into the warmth she saw in his eyes. “I need my magic, Kane, without it I’m weak and vulnerable. Something I do not know how to handle right now, not here under these circumstances.”
He said nothing right away, but lifted his finger to stroke down her cheek. “You don’t have to be scared. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She jerked from his touch. “I’m not scared. I can take care of myself just fine, but with magic I’m stronger and it’s much easier to control a situation. Please...”
He probably had no idea what it took for her to ask him this, to be at his mercy for something as simple as her birthright.
“What do you need?”
She blinked up at him, unsure if she heard him correctly. As she rattled off the list of various elements required for a variety of amulets, he grabbed her hand and led her through the kitchen to the back door.
“Normally I would say out here in the country you’d be hard pressed to find some of those items, but it just so happens I know someone who might be able to help. She lives about an hour south of here, so it won’t take us long to get there.” He stopped and stared at her car. “Am I driving or are you?”
“I am, of course.”
He laughed and for the first time that day, she truly relaxed. She smiled back at him as he tossed the keys to her. “Fine, but don’t get any ideas.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Chapter Twelve
True to his word, an hour later he directed her off the main road about ten miles outside of a no-name town onto a barely there dirt road. He’d called ahead and told the woman what they needed and she said she’d leave a box out on the porch. He explained she was an intensely private woman and rarely allowed anyone to see her in person.
She pulled her car into an overgrown driveway in front of what could only be described as a shack. Despite her knowledge to the contrary about what to expect from witches, she imagined the stereotypical hunched back old lady living out here alone, probably hideous and afraid to let anyone see her. The kind of things kids’ nightmares are made of.
Kane jumped out of the car and pulled some money out of his pocket and stuffed it through the slot on the door before grabbing up the box and carrying it back to the car.
“All set.”
“This place creeps me out. Reminds me of those stupid childhood tales that adults used to scare kids into staying out of trouble.”
He cocked his brow in question, which she ignored. Not going there.
“She’s really a nice woman, just a complete recluse, afraid to come out of her house. Everything she gave us is either homegrown or homemade. It’s amazing what you can do these days with Amazon delivery.”
“Oh, don’t I know.” Lara threw the car into reverse and whipped the car back around. She couldn’t get away from this bad vibe house fast enough. “Where to now?”
“You hungry?”
“I could eat.”
“How about a picnic.” She stared at him for a second and burst into a fit of giggles. Her laughter came so fast and hard it brought tears to her eyes.
“What’s so damn funny about a picnic?”
“No-nothing.” She managed around the uncontrollable laughter. He directed her to a mom and pop diner where he grabbed some take out, and then led her to a nearby overlook point just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.
They followed a trail in silence to a small waterfall, like many that dotted the area.
“This is nice.” She did love the mountains and always enjoyed every minute she could spend outdoors.
“Oh, this is nothing, follow me.”
He pulled her through the brush where there was no path and dragged her past trees and bushes that scraped at her arms.
“I certainly hope where we’re headed is worth it.” He stepped aside and let her pass as they walked out of the trees and into a small clearing. The load roaring she’d thought was from the fall they’d passed instead came from a humongous and full waterfall in front of her. The heavy water crashed into a crystal clear pool in front of them.
“Wow.”
“I thought you might like it.” She turned around in a slow circle and took in everything. The green trees, blue sky, even the birds she heard in the distance. With the sun shining down on her face, she could temporarily forget about everything else and enjoy some time with Kane.
“Thank you.”
He carefully set the bags of food down on a tree stump and stalked toward her. The look in his eyes told her he wasn’t thinking about the beauty of nature anymore.
“I thought you were hungry.”
“I am. But for something much better than burgers.”
“I don’t know, big juicy burgers are pretty good.” She took a few steps back, unsteady on her feet. His hungry look made her sex squeeze and her breath catch in her throat. His nearly one-track mind matched her own as she thought about sinking down onto his cock, stretched and filled to capacity.
“Again?” she asked.
Kane threw her a wicked grin. “Always.”
“Are all cougars like this? Always looking for more sex?”
“Cougars do have a high sex drive, but not usually for just one person.
We are more likely to choose multiple partners.”
“
You need more than one woman?” She didn’t like the sound of that.
“Right now I need you and only you.” Emotion squeezed in her chest on his statement. What did he mean by that? Right now this minute? Or more... Her own desire had risen off the chart as her panties soaked. When she ran out of backing up room, she waited, barely breathing. “Kane.”
“Take off your clothes, unless you want me to rip them off,” he growled.
Lara didn’t take orders well, yet his demand weakened her and she did exactly as he asked. She jerked her shirt and pants from her body and tossed them to the grass. With her bra and panties still on, Kane cocked his brow. She reached behind her back and unlatched her bra and slowly uncovered full, aching breasts. She loved the way his eyes shone dark and hot, and the breath whooshed from his lungs on a sigh.
Lara hooked her thumbs inside the fabric of her panties and teased him with a quick shot of the trimmed dark hair covering her core. She heard the growl and her head snapped up to meet his gaze. For a minute neither of them spoke and she didn’t even breathe. The look of lust and desire he gave her was like a punch to her heart, not to mention the pulsing of her clit from standing near him, knowing he would soon be inside her.
“You’re beautiful.” He touched her cheek with the pad of his finger and trailed it down her jaw and neck to the bare skin of her shoulders, but when that soft touch traced under and around her breast, she pushed him backwards and rushed the panties down her legs and tossed them to the side.
She needed him now.
Lara launched her body onto his and hooked her feet around his waist. Her sudden move caught him off guard and he pitched forward with nothing to break his fall as they tumbled together into the cool water from the fall.
His arms squeezed around her tight as he pulled her under the water and then back to the surface.
She shook the water from her face and head and giggled at the two of them soaked and sputtering. “You got your clothes wet.”