Cat's Lair (30 page)

“You’ve seen me, babe, how I’m built, and we don’t just have sex. We have rough sex. I’ve never known condoms to work on a shifter either.”

“What about when you have sex with a woman who isn’t a shifter?”

“Birth control works on humans.” He pushed off the table. “Get dressed, Kitten, let’s start our conditioning.”

She stared up at him for a few more minutes as though she might protest the truth of what he said. But it was truth, and he had no more to give her. He wanted time alone with her, but if a baby came along, he was fine with that. He hoped she would be too.

“You could have warned me,” she pointed out.

“Would it have made any difference when your leopard was close?”

She shook her head. Honest. “No, I guess not.”

He watched her walk away, wishing he could read her mind.

13

S
UNSET
. The sky turned orange and red as they jogged together, turning back toward the house. The wind shifted subtly and Eli instantly scented the males. They were close. Too close. He wanted Catarina to know where the property lines were and to familiarize herself with the way to the neighboring ranch, but he hadn’t expected to meet anyone along the way.

He was too pent up sexually. His leopard prowled too close. He cursed under his breath, knowing he had no choice but to introduce Catarina to Jake’s crew.

“What’s wrong?” she asked softly.

Her voice only added to the increasing frustration. Working out with a permanent hard-on was becoming nearly impossible. He hurt like hell. Every muscle in his body hurt thanks to the hunger crawling through him, raking at him. And now this.

“Come on. They heard us and asked for a meet. You stay close to me, do you hear me?” He growled the words at her, his features set in hard lines.

“Are you angry with me?”

He was totally pissed. Not at her, at the situation. At himself for allowing it to go this far. Hell, he was no teenager. He’d gone weeks without sex before he’d met her. He didn’t have to like it, but he did it. He couldn’t go four fucking days without his temper getting out of hand? What kind of crap was that?

Eli clenched his teeth and made his way slowly to the fence, dropping his arm around Catarina and pulling her into his side. His hand slid down from her waist to the curve of her bottom. He kept his palm there, knowing he was making a show of being proprietary, and uncaring that she might not like it. He didn’t want any other shifter around her, not when the emergence was so close.

“Eli?” she asked again, turning her face up to his, trying to read him.

Day four of their conditioning training was going very well. He couldn’t fault Cat for anything. She did every single thing he demanded of her – and he pushed her. He pushed her hard. They ran together long distances and did wind sprints. He worked self-defense moves with her and sparred with her. He didn’t ever take it easy on her. If anything he was harsh. She never complained.

“Just stay close,” he warned.

She’d climbed her first boulder and her hands were sore, the skin was torn off a couple of her fingers. She didn’t say a word. They spent several hours a day on the gun range, firing a variety of weapons, and she was a very good shot. Still, he refused to let up. He pushed her so hard, that every night she looked exhausted. She fell asleep in the large tub and he took her out, dried her off and carried her to bed.

Right now she looked upset. Hurt. Great. He was going to walk her right up to three men – three single shifters – with her looking vulnerable. His mean temper was getting meaner and becoming a problem.

She kissed him in the morning. She didn’t wrap her lips around his cock. She kissed him. Now, watching the three men staring at her, he was damned sorry he didn’t wear her out another way. He should have spent more time making certain she knew who she belonged to. He should have spent a
lot
more time ensuring
he
was tired out from claiming her every way he could. His leopard was riding him so hard he could barely talk without growling. Now, he could only stand and be gracious when he wanted to snarl and roar.

He walked up to the fence and halted on his side of it, clamping his arm around Catarina, his fingers pressing into her bottom. She trembled. He forced his hand to smooth out and gently rub, trying to convey he wasn’t angry with her, just the situation. She wouldn’t have understood even had he tried to explain it to her.

“Cat, this is Joshua Tregre, Elijah Lospostos and Trey Sinclair. They work security for Jake Bannaconni.” He knew Trey from the rain forest. The man had recently come to work in the States for Bannaconni.

Eli heard the growl in his voice, that warning that came from every male shifter when his woman was close to the Han Vol Dan. Fortunately for all of them, Catarina’s leopard was being very stubborn, hiding away from her, otherwise she would have set off every male in the vicinity.

He felt Catarina’s body jerk. She actually tensed, moved closer to him, her eyes suddenly downcast.

“Catarina and I have met before, haven’t we?” Elijah said, his voice gentle.

Eli narrowed his eyes, his gaze settling on Elijah. When they’d talked a few days earlier, Eli had mentioned Rafe Cordeau, and Elijah had admitted his family had done business with him. Elijah’s family was mired deep in the international drug trade. He wasn’t surprised that Elijah and Cordeau had crossed paths, but he was shocked and not too happy that Elijah and Catarina had already met.

“Funny, you didn’t mention that the other day when I brought up Catarina.” Eli kept his voice neutral. Elijah was a good friend of Drake’s and he’d worked with Drake’s crew for a long time.

“I was at more than one meeting my family had with Cordeau,” Elijah said. “But only once at his home. That’s where I met Catarina.”

Cat didn’t say anything, but again he felt a small shudder run through her body. “He isn’t one of them,” Eli was compelled to say. “His family is part of a cartel, but Elijah is not in that business. He isn’t a friend of Cordeau’s. You’re safe here.”

She didn’t speak. She didn’t look at any of them. Clearly she thought she’d perfected the art of disappearing into her surroundings by simply remaining silent and not looking at any of them. He knew better. She was a beautiful woman. She had lush curves and gleaming silk for hair. It was pulled back and clipped at the nape of her neck, but there it was messy, and sexy and impossible to ignore.

His cat snarled. Raked at his belly. “What’s the word on the street?”

He knew that’s what he’d been called to the fence for. Elijah had heard something and was passing on information.

“Cordeau’s pulled out all stops, called in all favors. He’s hunting, Eli. He’s pushing all the way to the lowest ranking member of his network from those on the streets to favors from other crime bosses. He’s even hitting up the cops on everyone’s payroll. I heard someone in your branch as well; he’s threatening everyone he knows to get information. There’s a hefty reward. I heard it was up around a million. People would kill their own mothers for that kind of money.”

Eli nodded. He’d expected nothing less from Cordeau. He would have done the same thing if he had the money and resources and he’d lost Cat to another man.

Another shudder went through Catarina’s body. He glanced down at her. Her face was utterly still. Frozen. She never once raised her eyes toward the three men. She looked almost as if she was in shock.

“Kitten?” He used a soft, gentle voice. Inquiring. She didn’t blink. Didn’t look at him. “Are you all right?”

She was terrified, and it had something to do with seeing Elijah Lospostos. Clearly she believed he was a friend of Cordeau’s.

“Baby, I’m telling you, Elijah is clean.”

“Not clean,” Elijah denied. His voice held the ring of truth. “I’m a Lospostos. My family goes way back in the crime industry. I’ve worked hard to get out, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have to do a few things that were illegal along the way. Cordeau was in bed with my uncle. My uncle killed my father. I’m no friend of Cordeau’s. You have nothing to fear from me, Catarina.”

Eli liked the way she was tight against him, almost under his shoulder, burrowing close, seeking his protection, but he didn’t like her being afraid. There was no way to salvage the situation, not there with Elijah so close.

“You were, what, fifteen? Sixteen? You fixed the meal that night. It blew my uncle away that you cooked for us all yourself. He asked to meet you. That was unusual, wasn’t it?” Elijah persisted. “It was unusual and it scared you.”

For a long moment, Eli didn’t think Catarina would answer.

“He wanted to scare me. Your uncle. He wanted Rafe to know he knew who I was.” She spoke in a low tone.

Eli frowned. Catarina had grown up in Rafe Cordeau’s home. It stood to reason he’d kept her away from his business. No one really thought, even if they could get her to do it, that she could testify about anything other than April Harp’s murder. Rumor had it Catarina had been there. Something in the way she revealed that she knew Elijah’s uncle’s motivation in asking to meet her made Eli rethink his position on Catarina inside that household.

She’d taught herself to read. She’d learned how to make coffee. Not just make coffee, but became a leading barista, someone who was great at what she did. She was quiet, and she downplayed her looks. She listened. Really listened when others were talking. She looked so young. She’d learned to play to that too. Only when her body betrayed her with its lush curves was it necessary for her to run.

He swore under his breath. He’d been such a fool. They all had. Sweet little Catarina Benoit was not just sweet, fragile and uneducated, she was extremely intelligent. Off the charts intelligent. She probably knew more about Cordeau’s business than Cordeau. She’d been there, a fixture in his household, one he intended to keep, a beautiful trophy he intended to mold into his likeness.

Catarina had been Cordeau’s chosen mate. She’d been a sponge in Cordeau’s house, soaking up everything she heard, learning as much as she could. She’d learned sex education by listening to two of Cordeau’s crew’s girlfriends talking. If there’d been a wall close Eli would have been tempted to smash his head on it. He’d been so obtuse, buying into the image she projected.

He tightened his arm around her, not knowing whether he wanted to shake her, or kiss her. She was damned brilliant. But if he was right and Catarina did know everything there was to know about Cordeau’s business, that meant she knew everyone he was in bed with. His partners wouldn’t like that. They wouldn’t want anyone running around loose out of their control.

Eli understood the million-dollar price tag. This wasn’t all about getting Catarina back, it was also about protecting her. She wasn’t where Cordeau could keep her from his partners and he was letting them know she was still under his shield.

Elijah nodded his head. “Yes, my uncle needed some kind of leverage against Cordeau. Cordeau didn’t have any weaknesses.”

“With the exception of Catarina,” Eli said. “She was the one thing that made him vulnerable in a world of other sharks.”

Beside him she stirred, tension coiling even tighter. He kept his eyes on her but she didn’t look up at him, she was looking at Elijah.

“He made it clear that day I wasn’t anything to him.”

Eli’s belly knotted. Was there hurt in her voice? Of course there was. She’d been a child and back then, she had no one else but Cordeau. If he’d shown in front of company she was nothing to him, she would always feel like nothing.

“He did,” Elijah said.

“How?” Eli asked.

She flinched. Hard. For the first time she tried to pull away from him. His fingers dug into her waist, holding her still, holding her to him. Her hand slid over his, fingers trying to remove the vise-like grip he had on her.

“He insisted she read to us, and when she stumbled through a passage, everyone laughed. He laughed the loudest and said something about Catarina being an empty but decorative head.”

Eli felt the sudden heat in her body as she flushed a deep rose. She was humiliated all over again. He hadn’t expected that either, but it stood to reason. Childhood experiences shaped everyone. Catarina’s childhood had not only been traumatic, but she’d grown up thinking she wasn’t worth anything to anyone.

She was beginning to actively struggle against him, fighting, not him, but her past. Elijah had brought it too close and the dark ugly memories were flooding her mind.

Eli leaned down, his mouth a whisper from her ear. “Settle,” he advised softly. “This is all crap. It’s over. You aren’t with him, and you aren’t what he said you were.”

He transferred one hand to the back of her head, shaping her skull with his palm, pushing her face into his rib cage and holding her there. Was it possible they all had Cordeau wrong and Catarina meant far more to him that he let on? That entire time, when he was convincing everyone around him, Catarina included, that she meant nothing, that he was even embarrassed by her, was Cordeau really protecting her from his associates?

Eli didn’t want to think so. He didn’t want to see Cordeau as having any redeeming qualities, but the truth was that no one was one-dimensional. All that time, Cordeau could have been pretending indifference to protect her. He tried not to think about the incident when she’d fallen out of the tree and Cordeau had nearly lost his mind. Had that been the act of an indifferent man?