by Marie Harte
“Touch her, Jules.”
Jules nodded and reached under her. “She's going to go over fast. I can see it.” In her aura, he meant. “Let's pinch that tight bud, sweetheart.”
She sucked harder on Fallon, who came again, painfully hard, and moaned around his cock.
“Oh yeah, so tight. Yes,” Jules hissed and squeezed his eyes shut.
He pushed into her again and held while she bucked and twisted between them, lost in her own rapture.
Their beasts finally sated, both men withdrew from Olivia. Fallon caught her before she landed face-first on the ground. Concerned, he relaxed when she sighed against his chest and fell asleep.
“God, you're lucky,” Jules said with a sigh. “She's good, Fallon. Too good for half measures.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Jules groaned. “That means you'd better propose. Soon as we get back, go get a ring, you dumb bastard, and make it right. She's not the type of woman who'll settle for less.”
“I—Yeah, well, I—” He loved the woman, didn't he? So why did the thought of marriage scare the hell out of him? It wasn't that he hadn't thought about it. But he'd never expected to find a woman who could handle him.
“Your auras are the same.”
“They are?”
“Yeah, both violet, just like the pricks up north in love with their bossy mates.” Jules grinned. He'd never admit it to the Circs in Jersey, but Fallon knew he respected the hell out of them.
“In love with their bossy mates.”
“Christ, I never said anything about love.” Yet as he held his mate, Fallon's heart felt full, warm, and protected by this woman who belonged with him.
“You don't have to say it—well, not to me. But you're going to have to tell her eventually.” Was what he felt love? “The same color, you said?”
“Yep. Both violet, the shade of amour.” Jules grinned. “Now let's get you and the Mrs. to the safe house. She's had a really hard day.” He laughed at his pun. “And God knows I have.”
“Ass.” Fallon grinned back at him. “A ring, huh? I'm not sure she'll say yes.”
“No, she'll make you work for it. The good ones always do.” Fallon carried her with him behind Jules, lost in fantasies of the future. Rings and wives and babies. “I can do all that,” he murmured, content and more than pleased at thoughts of keeping her forever. “But no picket fence. I've got to draw the line somewhere.”
* * *
“Well, what do we do now?” Olivia asked, frustrated, tired, and more than a little pissed off. Jules's and Jesse's assurances had eased her worries. They'd find the safe house and then fly the hell out of Dodge. No such luck.
Apparently mutants and rogue Circs weren't enough for the bad guys. Montaña's men had raided the safe house before they arrived—and how the hell did he know about that?—and organized into search teams to find them. Luckily Kisho and Gunnar had evaded capture. They had all managed to group back together and were now traveling through the thick vegetation of the Amazon.
In the process of avoiding detection in the rain forest, they'd captured one man. Jesse had raided his mind and shared with her the contents of what he'd found. Nothing good, not that she'd suspected otherwise.
According to their captured guard, Colonel Montaña had issued orders to bring her directly to him, unharmed. Jules, Jesse, and the others wouldn't be so lucky. Montaña wanted them brought in dead or alive.
“Now we try to find that damned entrance Gatito wrote about,” Jules rumbled and clutched the papers Gatito had handed Olivia earlier. Thank God, in all the turmoil, they hadn't been lost.
“You said he stashed documents there that can corroborate the participation of not only Colonel Montaña, but the head honcho as well?”
“That's what he told me,” Olivia corroborated. “If he hadn't been so unnerved by all of Montaña's men around town, he would have brought the actual proof with him.”
“Best that he didn't, considering he's dead,” Jules said with a bluntness she appreciated.
They didn't have time to sugarcoat the situation. He walked ahead, his muscles bunching and stretching, calling attention to his darkened skin and thick muscles. Immediately her gaze sought Jesse.
He watched her without blinking. Always keeping an eye on me. So I don't run away or to protect me? she wondered with a burst of surprising humor. Kisho and Gunnar came up behind him and waited for her to follow Jules. She continued walking.
The five of them remained in Circ form, moving faster and quieter with enhanced reflexes in such powerful bodies.
It took some getting used to, but Olivia was starting to appreciate some aspects of her
“beast,” as Jesse called it. The ability to walk for miles without tiring and without suffering from bug bites had its upside. She wasn't yet totally comfortable without clothes on, but the others tried to make her feel less awkward. For the most part, they didn't look at her.
She experienced twinges of self-awareness when she'd catch one of the men staring at her naked form, but otherwise the group moved through the jungle without incident.
The wildness inside Olivia thrived in the hot, humid atmosphere. No laws, no people. Just animals, plants, and her pack.
“Not pack, teammates,” she muttered, trying to find a way to keep that burgeoning, other awareness, from penetrating.
“What's that?” Jesse asked. He loped right next to her and hugged her to him, bringing with him that delicious scent that turned her on like a switch. They slowed, and she huddled into the security of his larger frame. He made her feel so safe, so protected and cared for.
Almost…loved.
God, if this kept up, she'd convince herself it really was love. Nothing like danger to increase the air of intimacy between them. Even knowing the warmth Jesse continually projected toward her couldn't be real, she snuggled closer.
Jules growled, “Not now, you two. We have some distance to close. About a day's worth.
Good work getting Gatito to open up to you, Olivia.”
How Jules knew north when surrounded by huge-ass trees and green as far as the eye could see, Olivia had no idea. But she had no problems following his direction. He radiated leadership and surety. They might as well have been walking through hell; she'd wade through the flames if he said so.
His approval soothed her because it made Jesse happy. Except the need to make Jesse happy should have irked her.
To add to her emotional dilemma concerning the man, his smothering overprotectiveness didn't feel all that bad anymore. Neither did his desire to see to her every need. Man, I could so get used to this.
He kissed her before putting some space between them, not bothering to hide his thick erection. His excitement made her feel both better and worse.
She sensed his feelings, and she knew that Jesse liked seeing her in this stronger form. Her perceived power eased his anxiety.
Unfortunately hers grew.
Olivia felt more than powerful; she felt deadly. That small voice ever growing inside her could and would kill if pressed. She had no doubt that her new instinctive needs would soon triumph over rational thought. And the imagined loss of control bothered the hell out of her.
What if while stroking Jesse's cheek during a passionate encounter, she accidentally clawed his face? What if she hurt one of her friends while trying to help them? And what if, when encountering the enemy, she killed someone?
It was all well and good to wish the enemy gone, but to take a life? This wasn't a game, and Olivia was way out of her league.
I'm an intelligence instructor, a linguist at best, but not a Special Forces expert! Oh wait.
That's right. I'm not even that anymore. Now I'm Circ. The pleasure at that thought further unnerved her, because it was, and it wasn't, her own.
The animalistic sentience inside her continued to grow. Her beast didn't like being ignored, especially when she felt as if she belonged out here, her presence clearly visible for the entir
e world to see.
She stroked her large forearms, bemused at the golden brown flesh there. And so tough.
Olivia dragged a sharp, one-inch nail, as strong as steel, down her skin, expecting to see blood.
Instead her skin deflected the piercing. Upon closer inspection, she swore she saw subtle lines like tiny scales fitted together to make a strong, armored suit of skin.
“It gets easier the more you wear it,” Gunnar rasped right next to her, and she jumped.
For such a large male, he moved with astonishing silence.
So close, his scent overwhelmed her. Familiar, but not…right. She instinctively opened her mouth and tasted him on the air. A hint of cedar, but not the mint she wanted. Stepping away from him, she followed in Jesse's footsteps.
Gunnar chuckled. “Fallon, man, she's into you, big-time.” She turned to glare at the hulking Circ.
“Easy, princess. I just think it's funny the way you keep trying to stay away from him. But you can't help yourself. Circ genes, baby. They trump everything human about you.”
“Whatever.” She licked a large fang, wondering how funny he'd think her if she bit him.
As if he could read her mind, he took a step back and said to Kisho, “Damn, I think she's just as mean as Fallon. Talk about a perfect pair.”
Kisho didn't respond, frozen in place.
Everyone stopped.
“What—” she started.
Jules shook his head. “Hayashi?”
“They're scattering like mice. Everyone's gone. All is lost, except for one box he forgot.
One small cardboard box containing tomorrow's answers.” Kisho's hollow voice and blank expression unnerved her. Her beast didn't like it, and she would have moved away from him if Jesse hadn't latched onto her arms and held her fast.
“Easy. He's seeing what we need to know,” he murmured.
“There's one vial they left behind, though. Not the box, what Dr. Nunes invented to destroy London's new project. He's afraid Montaña will kill him and his daughter if he refuses to help the big boss. But I can't”—Kisho cocked his head, as if trying to hear more—“I can't understand.
The language barrier won't give. Not this time.”
Not this time?
“Gunshots. The girl. Blood all over her silky black hair. Such a waste, now Nunes won't cooperate. Have to kill him too…” He choked on a cry and stopped speaking, his breathing loud in the sudden silence.
Olivia could only imagine what he'd seen.
Kisho blinked, and life returned to his face. “What happened?” Jules grimaced. “We need to find that lab. Double-time now.” Kisho's expression darkened, and Olivia felt his regret as memory of his foresight slowly returned. “Right.”
The group took off running. The beast within Olivia roared to life. Her questions would have to keep, because she started losing herself in the physical exertions her beast demanded.
She ran through the jungle, through twilight, midnight, and into the dawn, and finally began to tire.
The men showed no signs of stopping.
“Jesse, I need to rest.”
Just ahead of her, he slowed. Behind her, Gunnar stopped.
Not winded whatsoever, Jesse called to the others. “Jules, Hayashi, why don't you two go on up ahead and scout? We have to be close. I could use a break, and I'm sure Olivia could as well.”
Jules nodded. “Good idea. You three stay here while we check ahead. If Hayashi's right, there shouldn't be much of a threat left.”
Gunnar growled, “You're not going in without us?”
“No. But I want a look at their security. If we can't tag Montaña or his men, we can at least see what they're working with. And again, whatever's left in the lab will help us track the bastards.”
Gunnar grunted. His idea of a yes, Olivia supposed. In his beastlike form, he towered over her and made Jesse look small. Sexy yet threatening. She liked the combination, but not more than her beast liked the look of her dark-haired, dark-skinned mate.
Jesse's eyes glowed as he studied her, and his body responded.
Gunnar's did as well.
“Ah, I have to… I need privacy.”
Jesse nodded to his left. “I don't hear anything threatening. We'll wait here.”
“Yeah.” Gunnar agreed. “Hear that? A small waterfall about three hundred meters south.
I'll find it. Meet you there.”
After Olivia took care of her needs, she returned and followed Jesse to Gunnar. A waterfall spilled over several large rocks and into a pool of water, where they found Gunnar standing waist-deep.
“Check it out. A bath, and I found some fruit. We're in luck.” He nodded to the bank, where a large cluster of bananas sat.
Olivia glanced with suspicion at the fruit. “Be careful. The banana spider is one of the most venomous in the world. They hide in the dark places of the plant.” Jesse bent down to inspect the fruit and stood with his palm out. “Like this one?”
“Don't move!”
“Relax. He couldn't bite me if he wanted to. Remember, honey, toughened skin.” He put the spider back down.
She watched it scuttle under some leaves and relaxed, and Gunnar grinned.
“Come on, Olivia. Why not get wet?” he asked, the smirk on his face making the question more suggestive than it should have been.
“Back off,” Jesse rumbled, deep in his throat, and Gunnar's smile faded. “My mate, my female.”
Gunnar looked as if he wanted to argue, but to her surprise, he didn't.
Before she could question that possession thing again, her beast took charge. “You're mine.
And he's mine, if and when I say so,” she growled. She tripped Jesse, who fell flat on his back.
Olivia refused to give him quarter. She followed him down and straddled his body. In seconds she spread her knees wider and took him deep inside her pussy.
“Olivia.” Jesse moaned and clutched her hips hard enough to leave bruises, even in changed form. “Yeah, that's it. Ride me.”
She didn't argue, didn't do much more than soothe the ache inside her. The void inside her womb needed to be filled. And as much as she wanted Gunnar to want her, to sink inside her, only Jesse's seed would take root in her belly. Her mate, her conditions.
“Fuck me. She's aggressive and hot as hell,” Gunnar whispered from just behind her.
When he would have approached, she snarled at him to stay back and slammed herself over her lover time and time again.
He groaned and came inside her, but she didn't let up. Hungry for more, she shared her sexual frustration, mixing her needs with his violent climax until his emotions followed whatever she dictated.
“I want you inside me when I come,” she said over her shoulder. “In my ass while my mate fills me again.”
“Yes, ma'am,” Gunnar teased and joined them on the ground.
What should have been awkward worked surprisingly well. Gunnar fit himself inside her, stretching into her flesh with his lubed cock. He worked her, pushing her, using her to fuck Jesse, and the erotic notion fueled her desire.
Jesse pinched her nipples and sucked on any part of her he could reach. His kiss set her ablaze, the promise of so much more than just sex with every swipe of his tongue and hands all over her body.
She arched against him, her clit full and deliciously sensitive while Gunnar and Jesse filled her body.
“Come all over me,” Jesse murmured. “Make me wet with cream, baby.” Gunnar bit down on her shoulder. “Give it to him. Suck him dry, just as I fill up your fine ass. So fucking good, Olivia. So tight, honey.” Gunnar fucked her harder, ramming inside her with a force that would have really hurt a normal woman.
Her beast was in heaven. Two powerfully strong men at her disposal. And she already had her mate's seed.
She stared down at him, losing herself in his gaze as Gunnar continued to pound into her, driving her tighter and harder against her mate.
A burst of love tore from Jesse and f
illed her with joy.
Olivia couldn't stop herself. She let out a breathless cry and clenched Jesse's cock with her tight walls. He swore and gripped her hard as he came again, his painful pleasure a thing of beauty. Then Gunnar stiffened behind her and shuddered, moaning his pleasure.
The emotional catharsis eased the tension that had been building all night and day, and thoroughly wrung out, Olivia slumped down over Jesse.
Gunnar groaned as he withdrew. He left them to clean himself in the water.
“It just keeps getting better,” Jesse murmured and stroked her hair. His long nails scraped against her scalp, his restrained strength incredibly appealing. “Nothing matters but getting inside you. And not just with my cock.” His crudity shocked her out of her floating bliss. “But with my head. When you come, you leave yourself open,” he said quietly. “I can read everything. Your hurts, your angers, your pleasures, and your needs. I can give you what you need, you know.”
She didn't want to talk about anything. Olivia wanted to bask in the afterglow. How the hell had life gotten so complicated? When a man wanted to talk and a woman just wanted to enjoy some physical relief?
She couldn't be sure, but Jesse looked as if he battled a smile.
“Jesse?”
Gunnar joined them, growing in size as Olivia watched. “Much as I wouldn't mind getting it on with you two again, company's coming.”
She scrambled off Jesse, wishing she'd at least had some time to clean up.
Jesse pushed her behind him.
She wanted to argue that she could take care of herself. But then he stretched out those glorious arms, and his claws actually lengthened. Deadly, fierce, and hers.
“No playing around,” Jesse said to Gunnar. “Gut them, and let's move. No dicking around with Olivia's safety.”