Hunger's Mate (24 page)

Just two hours ago he'd heard from Nick that there were new recruits in the gym waiting for him. In desperate need of the distraction that training new shifter guards always brought him, Eli had left the dining hall and come straight here, only to be stopped short by this striking beauty as she'd lounged in the hallway just outside the gym. She'd been sitting on the floor as if it were the most comfortable lounge chair, her eyes fixed on the hallway from which he'd come. She'd been waiting for him.

That thought made him frown.

“Where are you from?” was his next question after he'd asked who she was. Nick hadn't given names of the new recruits. In truth, the Lead Enforcer had seemed very distracted, which Eli knew could be contributed to the deteriorating health of his daughter.

Still, if she were at Havenway she had to be a shifter, or as of recently, the mate of a shifter, otherwise she wouldn't be allowed inside the facility. She wouldn't even know about the facility, if that were the case.

“The jungle. How about you?” she replied, her head tilting to the side, a smile creeping along her lips as she waited for him to respond.

She had the wrong shifter, because that definitely was not going to happen. Eli was all about business, especially when it came to women.

“Which tribe?” he continued, holding up a hand before she could answer. “Another flippant reply is not a smart move.”

He nodded when he was ready for her to speak and she arched a brow before answering. “I'm
Lormenia.
Why does it matter?”

So she hadn't been flippant but she'd questioned him, her superior. Eli did not like disrespectful shifters, especially strangers. He'd worked long and hard to gain his position as Lead Guard of the East Zone Faction, and he wasn't about to let some flighty female lose sight of that.

Eli took a step toward her, so close he could hear the pounding of her heart, even though her features gave away not an ounce of anxiety. Her hair smelled like orchids, wild West African orchids, the bright pink ones that grew down by the river. He remembered that scent, knew that never in a thousand years would he forget it, despite the shaman Dagar's herbed inhalants. There was no forgetting for some shifters, no going back either.

“It matters because when a commanding officer asks you a question, you answer. No hesitation, no smart remarks, no lies. That, Rayna, is lesson one in your training,” he told her just before moving away from her and reaching to open the door to the gym.

“The next is to always be on time and be prepared. You can't work out in that outfit.”

Eli hadn't even bothered to look back at her. It would be in her best interest to be right behind him. The alert, stop, and stare that several of the guards already inside the gym directed his way said she was. She wore an outfit that was definitely fitting for her species—a black catsuit that hugged every angle of her body. Was she curvy in all the right places? Yes. Did the suit make a man want to fall to his feet and beg her to let him have her? Maybe. Was he affected in any way by her or her outfit? Only to the extent that he didn't trust her. He didn't trust any
Lormenia
from the Sierra Leone and never would.

*   *   *

“I cannot give you her name,” Croy DiLaurent told the very attractive female sitting with her legs spread wide in the chair at his kitchen table.

She'd been here when he'd arrived, already in his house, acting as if she lived here. The throbbing length of his cock pressing along his inner thigh was proof that the idea wasn't such a bad one to his way of thinking. This was no beauty queen, not by a long shot. But she was pretty, in a very basic and earthy kind of way, her wide summer-blue eyes being her most intriguing feature. Her hair was just dark brown, her skin a little on the pale side, her lips plump and kissable. No, her allure was definitely in her body language, the normal yet highly seductive way she sat in the plain old wooden kitchen chair, one arm draped over the back, the other resting on her thigh. Her legs gaped open as if she'd forgotten she wore a dress, or maybe that was her purpose—to seduce him into providing the information she requested. If that was the case, Croy wasn't sure he'd be able to resist. It felt like ages since he'd had a woman, other than the ones he watched on his videos. All his time was spent in that lab trying to get promoted beyond his lowly assistant status.

Today, however, even his depression about his job couldn't dampen the sight of a living, breathing woman sitting in his kitchen. That thought alone made him forget that she'd broken into his place.

“Now, I know you're a smart man, Croy. So you know that answer is just not acceptable to the people I work for,” she told him, the tip of a glossy red-painted nail rubbing along her bottom lip as soon as she finished speaking.

His mouth watered and he'd swear pre-juices were dripping from his dick as he watched that finger moving slowly along her plump lower lip. Coughing a little and slipping his hands into his side pockets to hopefully take the attention away from his growing arousal, Croy shook his head. “He didn't give me a name,” he told her, sad that he couldn't readily comply with her wishes. Damn, he'd give her anything if she'd just tell him to come closer so she could unzip his pants and take him willingly into her mouth. Fuck, he wanted to be buried deep inside her hot little mouth more than he wanted to breathe.

Instead she stood up, closing the distance between them until she was right up in his face, the finger that had just been on her lip now tapping his chin. Croy swallowed hard, blinking fast and trying like hell to keep his breathing as normal as possible.

“Who is he?” she asked, long lashes fanning over her cheeks as she blinked slowly at him.

She smelled like heaven, that was the only word he could come up with to describe the scent. Like sex and heaven and he feared he was going to actually come in his pants while standing this close to her. He swallowed and cleared his throat, trying like hell to think of the name, to hurry up and give her at least a little bit of what she wanted. That's when her other hand slid down between their bodies, cupping his dick in her palm and squeezing.

Croy swallowed once again, then whispered, “Papplin.” The one word came out hoarsely and he licked his lips, touching the tip of her finger that had moved upward. His entire body tensed, his need so significant his brain throbbed like he might actually be having a stroke. “Dr. Frank Papplin,” he continued, sounding a little stronger this time. “I have his cell number and his home address.”

The last made her smile grow broader and warmth melted in the center of Croy's chest. “That's my good boy,” she crooned, letting her finger slip deeper into his mouth, her other hand gripping and releasing his dick in regular intervals now. “Tell me everything you know about Dr. Frank Papplin and I'll see that you're rewarded.”

Croy's next words came out like babbling baby talk but she must have understood just fine because she'd unzipped his pants and freed his raging hard cock, her warm fingers tightly wrapped around him.

And then he came.

Dammit.

 

Chapter 17

Jewel opened her eyes, blinked a few times, and tried to remain calm.

She'd seen him, or it, or whatever, she'd seen it right in front of her. The memory alone had her breath hitching and she fought for control, tried to take in measured gulps of air and to release them slowly. She closed her eyes again but saw eerie green ones staring back at her. Her lids shot open, wide enough that she figured maybe they wouldn't close again and maybe she wouldn't see those eyes again.

Then she heard it.

The muted type of grunt that she knew instinctively could have only come from an animal. Sitting up quickly on the bed, she slid all the way back until she was against the wall, pulling one of the flat pillows in front of her chest, clutching it for dear life. It—the animal—was across the room, near the door, lying on its side as if this cheap motel was the most natural place for it to be. It was big and black, glossy like mink, its eyes like emeralds, glistening, glaring. All around it on the floor the diamonds sparkled as if this were the perfect setting for a gorgeous photo op.

But it wasn't.

She was in a ratty old motel room with a man that could also change into a cat. Jewel had lived at Perryville for three years, she'd heard and seen a lot of things. All of which had been the sole reason she'd gone there in the first place.

The decision had been made that fateful night, three years ago. She'd arrived back at her apartment, heart beating so fast she felt the thumping in her throat, sweat rolling down her back and beading her forehead. She'd locked the door securely and stripped out of the black clothes she'd worn. Balling everything up, she'd stuffed them into a black trash bag.

A shower was next on her list but something else drew her attention. She'd tossed the other plastic bag where she put everything she'd taken from Larry's safe onto her bed. Curiosity wouldn't allow her to turn away. Instead she went to the bed, ripped the bag open, and pulled out the black velvet pouch and two flash drives. Her MacBook was on the nightstand. She turned it on, then plugged in one of the flash drives, watching as a list of files came up under a folder titled “The Genesis Project.” Deciding this was nothing but more about Larry's military work, which he had always been obsessed with, she almost didn't look at the second flash drive. But something a little stronger than curiosity nagged her. She'd opened one folder, and then another where pictures were stored. There were pictures of cats, cougars, jaguars, tigers, lions, and cheetahs. Exiting out of the pictures there were more folders with documents about animal DNA. The final folder contained pictures of a desert and a lovely resort called Perryville.

What better place to hide, she'd thought, than a place that Larry already knew about. He'd always thought she was stupid, had told her on more than one occasion that she wasn't smart enough to figure out a way to take care of herself and her father and that's why she'd ended up with him. That was also why she would never be able to leave him. Well, a part of her had always wanted to prove him wrong. And she knew instinctively that he'd never think to look for her there. He would never believe her smart enough to look on those flash drives she'd stolen and to make any sense of what was on them.

But she had.

And all the time she'd been at Perryville she'd figured out just why Larry had been looking at the place. Last night was the first time she realized that the information on that flash drive was much more dangerous than she'd originally thought, ADAM was so much more than Larry's preliminary research could have predicted.

The cat made a noise, a chuffing sound as it sat up slightly, its huge head angling toward her. She swallowed and took a deep breath.

“I'm not afraid of you,” she lied. It wasn't intentional, she just didn't want to seem like she was ready to be a victim, not again. “I know what you are and where you're from. I've known since I first came to Perryville. But I never said a word, not even when Priya was looking for confirmation. I never told. And I won't tell now. If you let me go, I won't tell anyone. I just need to go. Please, can you just let me go?” She was pleading, once again in her life she was begging a man, or at least a half man, to help her. The mere thought made her stomach churn in disgust.

The cat sat all the way up then. It moved slowly, predatorily across the room until it stood at the end of the bed. Jewel couldn't help it, she tried to move back farther but the wall stopped her. She looked around for a weapon, realizing all she had near were those damned pillows. If the cat decided to jump up on the bed she was trapped and it would kill her. And her father would be left alone. She panicked and rolled to one side, her feet hitting the floor as she quickly stood, prepared to run. The cat moved faster, coming to that side of the bed and butting its head against her thigh.

She gasped, a hand going to her chest even though it was unable to still the rapid beating of her heart.

“Please,” she whispered. “I said I wouldn't tell.”

The cat nudged her again, and again until she looked down at it, stared directly into the intense green eyes, where she could so easily see the man.

“Ezra,” she said softly, something inside her softening as she did. Of course she already knew it was him, she'd watched him fall to the floor, his body contorting until the cat appeared. But another part of her knew that deep inside this cat was him. It was Ezra, the man she'd wanted so desperately she'd broken her three-year celibacy, the one she thought might be more dangerous than anyone she'd ever known. The one that was a Shadow Shifter.

They were half-man, half-jaguars from the rain forest called the Gungi. There were different types of cat shifters from the Gungi, but Ezra was a jaguar, a big, beautiful, black jaguar. He opened his mouth, licking his tongue over short wiry whiskers, and she noticed the big beautiful jaguar also had long, sharp teeth and suddenly, the beauty faded just a bit. She backed away but the cat followed, keeping its eyes on her the entire time, pressure from its body preventing her from moving again.

“I…” she began but clamped her lips shut when the cat came up on its hind legs, its front paws going to her shoulders.

The cat was a lot heavier and bigger than she'd originally thought, as its head was level with hers. She wanted to scream, her brain yelled for her to do just that, but she didn't. Instead, Jewel watched like it was some sort of out-of-body experience as her hand lifted, fingers shaking seconds before touching the cat's nose.

Its tongue came out again, licking the inside of her wrist and part of the palm of her hand. She pulled her hand back instantly, gulping as she kept her gaze on the cat. It fell back to the floor, putting its head down, and shifted once more. A strong hand gripped her left ankle, another her right calf. Her legs almost buckled as his head lifted, his broad and gorgeously naked body following. She inhaled deeply, felt his scent—the fresh earthy smell tinged with a hint of musk that always surrounded him—sifting slowly, irrevocably throughout her body. From one pore to the next she grew warmer and warmer until all she could do was gasp as she stared into eyes, still green, but significantly less intense than those of the cat.