Enticing Their Mate (15 page)

“I’ll see you when you get back,” he said.

“Yup.”

Sarah left, a bit confused by Jay’s reaction. Not that she expected him to suggest they have a quickie, but she thought he’d have been a bit more amorous. Perhaps he was as upset as she was about the assistant buyer’s visit.

Right now, the best thing to do was go for her run and clear her head.

*     *     *

Jay was about to burst. Not wanting to overwhelm her when she’d walked in, he’d drawn on his training to appear calm. If his wolf had his way, he would have stripped her naked and devoured her, but he wanted to convince her they were right for each other first. He didn’t care what his inner beast said. Being mated wasn’t all about sex.

When she told him she was going for a run, he refrained from demanding she remain at the hotel where it was safe. She had to be aware that after the less-than-pleased buyer’s agent visit, Statler would out take his aggression on someone, and that person might be her.

At that horrid thought, the hairs on his body began to poke out and his bones cracked. The only solution was to follow her. In his reconnaissance of the area, he’d scoped it out enough to know the location of the National Park. After giving her a few minutes head start, he locked up and hopped in their rental.

Jay had barely turned onto the road when his cell rang. Plucking it from his pocket he glanced at the caller ID. It was Connolly. “Yeah?”

“Seems Trax and Dante have some superior talents.”

Jay huffed out a laugh. He’d not only heard about some of their exploits but had seen a few first hand. “What have they done this time?”

“Seems when they were installing the security system, Statler excused himself from the office and left his phone on the desk.”

“That never happened when I worked for him, but go on.”

“Let’s just say, that was about the time when I came to work for him.”

So, Connolly had caused a distraction. “Nice.”

“Bottom line, because of something they did to his phone, they were able to hack into his phone records.”

Fantastic. “What did they learn?”

“Statler received a call about an hour ago from a phone registered to a Norton Denmark. Since your cousin is on route back to Florida, I called the General who is having Chris look into that name. Most likely Denmark is an alias.”

“I agree.”

“The interesting part is that right after that call, Statler contacted a Dr. Gregory Elkhart.”

He ran the name in his head, but it didn’t sound familiar. “I take it the name means something to you?”

“You weren’t there when the buyer’s agent stopped by, but he was disgusted by the lack of care the women were receiving. I’m betting Statler was told in no uncertain terms that the women needed to be in better shape or the buyer would cancel the deal.”

Jay whistled. “Statler would go crazy if that happened. What do you know about Dr. Elkhart?”

“Chris is working on that, but Ford said Bailey thought that he was one of the doctors who’d been at the clinic. That’s why I’m calling. When you see Sarah tonight, could you ask her?”

Riley must have mentioned that Sarah would be staying with them. “Sure.”

“Let me know what you find out.”

“Will do.”

Once he disconnected, several thoughts raced through his head. One was that if the buyer had forced Statler’s hand by requiring the women to be taken care of, no one would be safe around him—especially Sarah. The second was that if Sarah did spot Jay following her, he could always say he needed some intel on Dr. Elkhart.

When he reached the park entrance and found her car, he smiled. Stepping out, he inhaled, but with the wind blowing, he couldn’t pick up her scent. There was only one path into the forest, so Jay jogged in until he was out of sight from the lot before shifting. Instantly, he caught her delicious signature that seemed to have been woven into the fabric of his being.

His goal was merely to keep her in sight and to make sure none of Statler’s men came after her. Jay wouldn’t be surprised if her boss gave Russ the go ahead to do what he wanted to her. Just the idea of anyone harming his woman caused a growl to almost escape, and the urge to go after Russ almost forced him to turn around. Doing so, though, would derail his mission, which was making sure Sarah remained safe.

As he cut through the forest along a ridge, he saw Sarah below and slowed. Her grace and strength appealed to him on so many levels, which was why he needed to be cautious around her. He was falling for her in part because of her ambition. Unfortunately, that might be the one thing that came between them.

For the next half hour, he kept at a good distance behind her. He could sense from her gait and the way she was always looking down that she was working hard to rid herself of demons.

As she neared a copse of trees, she stopped then planted her hands on her knees, her back heaving. Perhaps it was the rush of running water nearby that caused her to pause at this spot or else all of her worries had caught up with her. Sarah eased her way back up before glancing around.

Jay was a good two hundred feet downwind, so he doubted she would even notice him, especially since his coloring helped him blend in with the surrounding forest. She must not have sensed him or anyone else for she peeled apart the branches on a tall hedge and stepped behind it, blocking her from his view.

Jay didn’t like her being out of sight and moved closer, not caring if he made noise because the water crashing on the rocks would cover his approach. As he nudged his way through the leaves, he was treated to a fantastic sight, but it was immediately ruined when she turned around. Her eyes grew wide and she covered her naked body the best he could.

Oh, shit.

D
on’t move!

A scream was on the tip of Sarah’s lips, but if she gave into her urge, the wolf might attack. She’d always recognized the possibility that Statler might send one of his men to take her out for failing to care for the women, but then she dismissed that idea when she believed he still needed her.

The wolf cocked his head then sat down, almost as if he were mocking her. He was mostly gray with dark patches of brown woven in his hindquarters, a contrast to Russ who was black and gray.

“Go away.” She made a shooing motion, hoping to scare the critter, but he opened his mouth and panted, as if he’d run a long distance.

As she stepped toward him, fur suddenly flew and the animal spun. Seconds later, Jay stood in front of her. Sarah didn’t know whether to cry for joy or beat him for scaring her. “What are you doing here?”

He held up his hands. “Don’t be mad. I need your help.”

“Bullshit.” She bent down, grabbed her clothes, and clasped them to her chest. It didn’t matter that she’d made love with him; being naked in the open didn’t seem right. “Is anyone else here?”

He rushed toward her, and she didn’t back up. “Fuck no. I would have made sure they left. I swear I didn’t mean to scare you.” The man did appear contrite. “To be honest, I was so taken by you that I forgot to shift back. I know our abilities might be amazing to you humans, but if I had one wish, it would be that I could be invisible when I wanted to be.”

Her shoulders relaxed. “Why’s that? So you could sneak up without me noticing?” She chuckled.

“Maybe.” He grinned.

“I forgive you, but what was so important that you had to follow me out here? You could have called.” His eyes turned dark for a moment, and she wondered if that was his body’s way of reacting when he was caught in a lie.

“I do have a question for you, but I also wanted to make sure you were safe.”

Any lingering anger disappeared. “I’m fine.”

“For now, maybe, but Connolly called and gave me some information.” He told her about Statler receiving a call and then him calling a Dr. Elkhart. “What do you know about him?”

“He’s a shifter, but I don’t think he’s enhanced—or rather, I assumed he wasn’t since I didn’t think he’d have a need to be. He used to work at the lab taking care of the women, if doing experiments on them is considered taking care.”

“That’s what we figured. Because Statler is probably pissed about having to shell out more money for these women, I wanted to come here to make sure you were okay.”

A shiver tripped up her spine. “Do you think he’d target me?” She was barely able to say those last few words.

Jay clasped her shoulders and then drew her to his chest, his warmth bringing comfort. “I wish I knew, but I’ll do everything in my power to make certain he doesn’t.”

“Thank you.” Sarah dropped her clothes in order to hug him but then leaned back. “I probably smell. I was just about to take a dip in the cold waterfall. Want to join me?”

Sarah loved to challenge men. Growing up, she’d dare her friends to go swimming in the winter—if only for a few minutes. There must have been something different about her body chemistry because the cold rarely had an effect on her.

“You couldn’t keep me away.”

From the way his smile dimpled his cheeks and his eyes lightened, he appeared interested in something other than getting clean. She wagged a finger at him. “Behave.”

“Don’t I always?”

Sarah laughed and hurried into the water while Jay undressed. If she’d helped take off his clothes, she might never have made it to the eight-foot high falls. Barefoot, she carefully walked across the smooth rocks, scooped up the rushing water in her hands, and splashed it on her face. Brrr. That was colder than she’d anticipated.

“How is it?” he asked.

“Wonderful.” At the moment his cock was pointing upward, but she bet that condition would change as soon as he stepped in with her.

Naked, Jay moved behind her and wove his hands between her arms and her body. He wet them and then plastered his palms on her chest. Whoa. Her nipples stood up straight.

He plucked the hardened crests and then continued to play with her breasts, igniting her passions. “I do love these,” he whispered against her cheek.

She twisted in his arms. “No playing until I’m clean.”

Jay saluted, stepped under the heavy flow, and washed, whistling some cheerful ditty, not seemingly affected by the temperature a bit.

“Come on in.” Jay held out his hand. As soon as she took hold, his tug propelled her under the freezing stream. Yikes. “I’ll rub your body to keep you warm.” He chuckled, acting as if he’d bested her.

“Be my guest.” She lifted her arms.

His cold hands started under her arms, traveled across her chest and then landed between her legs, ticking her when she least expected it. She was laughing too hard to stop him until he slipped a finger into her hot sex. She sobered and clamped down on him to keep him there.

“You ready to get out?” he asked.

He wanted to stop now after he’d heated her up? She wouldn’t let on how much he’d turned her on. “Not yet.”

His eyes lightened as his scruff darkened. The roar of the water disappeared as lust consumed her. She couldn’t stay there forever, nor did she want to, but another minute with Jay would be nice. Besides, she had other activities on her mind. Sarah ran her hands over his muscled chest and down his corded abs. Nice.

He grabbed her wrists. “No fair. It’s too rocky for the type of activity I have in mind.”

Yes!

As she took her first steps across the slippery rocks, Jay swept her up in his arms. She might have been self-conscious about being naked in the open had the trees surrounding them not blocked the view of the trail. Furthermore, werewolves had an amazing sense of hearing, and she was confident he’d let her know if anyone was near—especially another shifter.

He set her down. “Stay right here.” His voice came out low and dripped with promise. Jay snatched her clothes and spread them on a low-lying branch. Aw. That was so considerate of him. He then picked up his clothes and placed his pants on the ground in front of her. “Stand on this.”

She didn’t want to ruin his jeans, but her body couldn’t help but obey his command. It was as if he’d somehow drugged her and had taken over her mind.

Jay then slipped his shirt over her shoulders, perhaps because he thought she was cold. “I can’t stay away from you.”

She couldn’t keep from touching him either. As his hands slid around her waist, his lips descended. While she’d loved being with Riley and Jay together, having this wonderful man to herself was equally alluring. She wanted to stop and tell him that making love in the open where anyone could happen upon them was crazy dangerous, but she couldn’t, not with the way his mouth was possessing her.

Needing him closer, Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her chest against his. His heat seeped into her, and it seemed as if his cock had found its purpose again. Jay’s hands trailed down her back, rubbing and kneading all her sore spots. When his fingers reached her rear, for that split second, she wished Riley had been there.

“I want you,” Jay said after breaking the kiss.

“Me, too. Want you, that is.” The man clouded her mind, making words difficult to form.

Nipping at her lip, his eyes were so close it was as if she could see right down to his soul. Jay was a wonderful man and one who knew exactly where to touch to make her beg for more.