Instinctive (16 page)

“Where are you going?” she asked, hating that she sounded so needy.

“Your reputation, remember.”

“It’s still dark out. What about the bogeyman?”

There wasn’t a trace of humor in his voice when he said, “I am the bogeyman, Jaclyn.” His eyes turned serious as he sat down next to her, the cushiony mattress dipping under his weight.

Jaclyn glanced down at her birthmark, noting the way it had changed color again. As Slyck’s hands stroked her arms, she paused to consider her feelings for him. There was no denying that he’d given her the most satisfying night of her life. And speaking of her life, this was the first time she had felt whole, completely alive. What she was doing before wasn’t living—it was searching. Searching for the one and only man meant for her.

Unsure whether she wanted to know the answer, she cleared
her throat and asked, “Everything you said, about me, about this town and the people in it—it’s true, isn’t it?”

He brushed his thumb over one flame on her birthmark. “Yeah, baby, it’s true.”

“Which means you were telling the truth about my biological father. You actually—”

Sadness washed over Slyck’s eyes and he seemed at a loss for words. “Jaclyn. He . . . I . . .” He swallowed, and rested his forehead against hers.

God, how could she live with that knowledge or even come to terms with the idea that this man she was falling for was the same man who had taken her parents from her?

Pushing that through to the back of her mind for the time being, Jaclyn clasped her hands together and tried to quiet her heart. “What’s going to happen to me?”

She watched his eyes darken, his expression change. Unease crept into his voice when he said, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Her chest tightened. She wanted to believe him, but how could he guarantee that? “Slyck—”

He cut her off, anger flashing in his face. “I’ve spent my whole life searching for you, and I have no intention of losing you now.”

She glanced at her arms, surprised to notice at some point her hair had grown darker, coarser. She got quiet for a moment as she sorted through everything and then asked, “What do we do now? Where do we go from here?”

“For now we pretend nothing has happened. Outside the privacy of our homes, you can’t be seen with me.”

She put her hand over her stomach to ease the ache. “And yet I can’t be without you. Not without it hurting.”

Her words stilled him, and once again he rested his forehead against hers. In a voice that was low and soft, he whispered with conviction, “I got us into this, sweetheart, and I’ll get us out. I won’t let you down. I promise.”

As she watched him wage an internal war, she thought it best not to ask how.

After another five days of intense training, Slyck was pleased to see that Drake was finally starting to gain control over the undisciplined animal inside him. Still, it would take time, practice, and many dedicated hours before he fully mastered the skill. As he watched the younger panther walk circles around him in the basement of the old town hall, Slyck let his mind wander to Jaclyn.

His heart pounded harder in his chest just from thinking about her. If only he hadn’t filled her with his seed that first night, if only he’d been stronger, less selfish. She could have walked out of Serene and back into her old life, and then they wouldn’t be in this mess. Yeah, he thought to himself solemnly, had they not mated, she never would have begun the transformation process and she could have gone on to live and die like any other mortal.

But how could he have stopped himself from doing what was
so natural, what had been pulling at him for centuries, what was meant to be. She was his mate.

His everything.

And now, after mating with him and having been filled with his seed, she couldn’t leave their town without him, or her panther would die because they’d only just bonded, and she hadn’t gained enough strength from him yet. Nor could she stay. And how could Slyck just up and leave with her, abandoning his pack? He’d spent a lifetime taking care of them, keeping order, and protecting them. How could he just walk away from his brethren? They needed him every bit as much as Jaclyn and he needed each other.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t properly prepared himself for Drake’s calculated lunge, and before he knew it, the younger panther had him on the floor, flat on his back, locked down in a submission hold.

Drake flashed perfect white teeth and growled at his victory. “What’s the matter, old man? Can’t keep up with a kitten anymore?”

Slyck let out a sigh and shook his head, conceding defeat to his first-in-command. Maybe it really was time for the younger panther to take his place.

“Well-done, Drake. I take it you’ve been practicing.”

Drake purred with Slyck’s praise and then nodded.

“Good,” Slyck shot out. “Now get the fuck off me before I show you what this
old man
can still do.”

Drake laughed good-naturedly and climbed to his feet. He held his hand out and pulled Slyck up with him. Slyck could feel the young panther’s eyes on him—a knowing look.

“Maybe you should be practicing what you preach,” he shot off casually.

Slyck didn’t bite. Instead he growled and offered Drake his back while he went in search of his clothes. Here Slyck had been teaching Drake to bury his emotions during battle, and all the while he’d been completely caught up in his.

And, Jesus, talk about practicing what you preached. Since finding his mate, he’d been doing nothing but breaking policy and acting with his own best interests at heart. As far as Slyck was concerned, that was completely unacceptable conduct that lumped him in with the likes of Vall. Slyck shivered at that last thought.

Morphing back to his human form, he glanced at the clock and began to pull his clothes on. He had just enough time for a quick bite to rejuvenate himself and a shower before he had to make his way back to the hall for the emergency meeting that had been called earlier that day. A meeting that had everything to do with Jaclyn.

Night had fallen as Slyck made his way down Mulberry Lane. Walking restlessly, he ignored the fierce pull as he strolled past Jaclyn’s house. He saw her inside the bay window, her hands clasping and unclasping as longing flitted across her eyes. It amazed him how much had changed since the first time he’d spied on her through her lace curtains.

Pulled by the sight of him, Jaclyn stepped up to the glass pane and peered out. God, she suddenly looked so small, scared . . . fragile—like a kitten torn from its mother’s loving embrace at birth.

When their gazes collided and locked, his entire world turned upside down. His pulse leapt and his heart crashed against his
chest, and despite the cooler air after last week’s storm, his entire body broke out in a sweat. His physical need to be with her, to soothe away her worries, proved almost unbearable.

His gut clenched with want as he cut across the street and rushed inside his house. He stripped off his clothes in an effort to cool his heated body down. Struggling to keep his raging panther at bay before it took over and demanded to mate with its life partner, he bolted up the stairs and made his way to the shower as he diligently worked to avoid glancing at Jaclyn through his bedroom window. Christ, he needed a clear head before he met up with the other guides. The last thing he wanted to do at the meeting was to react with emotion.

He stepped into the bathroom, turned on the spray and climbed in, all the while worrying about the emergency meeting. He’d heard the rumblings around town, folks fearful of the outsider and all her prying. Slyck fully expected that tonight’s meeting would end with her future decided—with straws drawn to decide who would claim her. And by God, he had to win. It suddenly occurred to him that if he did, that could solve all their problems, but if he didn’t . . .

He quickly brushed that thought aside. The consequences were too horrible to consider. He couldn’t lose.

He wouldn’t lose.

Jaclyn was his—no one would ever take her from him. The thought of her had his cock swelling, and his lust-drunk mind reminiscing about how her sweet body had rocked sensuously against his, how she had felt so right in his arms.

An invisible band tightened around his chest. Even though
he’d spent his whole life waiting for her, he certainly wasn’t prepared for the emotions she pulled from him.

Slyck knew the only way he’d be able to keep his thoughts off Jaclyn and focused during the impending meeting was to release the pent-up tension inside him. With that last thought in mind, he pictured Jaclyn’s gorgeous plump lips wrapped around his hard shaft and let his hand drift downward. A low groan crawled out of his throat as one large palm closed over his throbbing appendage.

“Goddamn it,” he bit out and threw his head back.

As the needlelike spray hit his body, he closed his eyes, letting his imagination take him to the depth of his desires while his fingers worked overtime to take the edge off. Erotic visions of Jaclyn standing before him, his for the taking, rushed through his mind as he stroked his length.

As he recalled the taste of her sweet nectar, he stroked faster, his lips tingling, his mouth aching to press against her beautiful cunt until she cried out his name in heavenly bliss.

“Jesus,” he whispered under his breath, as he remembered her clit hardening in his mouth, the way it felt against his hungry tongue, the ease with which he could bring her to climax.

Senses exploding, he dragged in air. With his orgasm merely a few strokes away, his hands began to work harder over his engorged dick. He began shaking, trembling, and panting. When his dick began to pulse, crying out for release, he swallowed. Hard.

He squeezed his eyes shut, picturing Jaclyn’s tight, creamy sex muscles gripping his rock-hard cock as he pumped in and out of her welcoming pussy.

“Fuck . . .” he groaned out loud as pressure mounted inside
him. He cupped his sack and stroked his dick faster. With his cock thickening to the point of no return, he bit down on his bottom lip, his brain no longer functioning.

He grunted something incoherent, stroked once more, and stilled his movements. A second later, he shot hot come into the cool spray and gave a low growl of contentment.

Hands falling to his sides, he worked to regulate his breathing. A long while later, cock flaccid, he washed up and prepared for the night ahead.

Less than an hour later he walked out into the star-studded night and made his way down Main Street. As he climbed the steps back into the hall, a sense of foreboding overcame him, making his skin tighten and crawl. Putting on his best hard-assed face, he entered and made his way to his chair. As soon as all the seats were filled, and everyone was accounted for, Harmony began the meeting.

“I’m sure you all know why I called this meeting.”

After a round of nods, she opened the floor for discussion. “What is the consensus?”

“I say we change her,” Vall said, placing his big, beefy paws on the table. “My pack is furious after she tried to feed chocolate to one of the pups. Christ, the amount of theobromine in one of those small chocolates could have taken a grown wolf like me out. What’s she going to divvy out next, Tylenol?”

“And let’s face it, after her party, and the way we treated her, she’s still here and ever determined to make friends,” Quinn volunteered, his dark eyes flashing in anticipation at the chance of acquiring a new pack member.

“I think you all know my thoughts,” Devon offered, giving them a devilish grin, his yellow demon eyes flashing in excitement.

Harmony turned to Slyck. “Slyck?”

Slyck kept his face blank and remained emotionless as he looked around the room, disliking his odds. He had a twenty percent chance of winning, which also meant he had an eighty percent chance of losing. Winning could solve Jaclyn’s and his problems, but losing would only multiply the ones they already had. Fuck, he didn’t like this. He didn’t like this at all.

“Will her family be suspicious if she doesn’t return?” Slyck studied the reaction of those before him as he anguished over the odds. He couldn’t risk it. Not with Jaclyn. There had to be a better way. Christ, he really needed to buy time until he figured this mess out. “After all, Jaclyn is a rich, pampered city girl who is here simply to raise cosmetics sales,” he answered, knowing she was anything but. “And it might look suspicious to her family if she suddenly decides to take up permanent residence here.”

As everyone absorbed his statement, the room seemed to grow exceptionally quiet, save for the drone of the fluorescent lights overhead, which suddenly seemed to have grown exceptionally loud in the hall.

“That’s a valid point,” Harmony finally said, breaking the quiet, her knowledgeable violet eyes studying Slyck as she went on to say, “but she certainly doesn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to go home. And she is asking some very insightful questions, don’t you think?”

“It’s not like we haven’t changed rich, pampered city folk before,” Devon pointed out. “And she’s single. Always the perfect
candidate. Besides, once we turn her, she’ll become loyal to her pack—we all know that.”

“What’s the problem, Slyck? She’s just another ordinary girl,” Quinn volunteered.

Slyck bit the inside of his mouth. The circumstances surrounding her were far from ordinary, nor were his feelings for her. Slyck remained silent, cautious as he bartered with Jaclyn’s future. The last thing he needed was for the council to learn she was the offspring of a rogue; otherwise she was as good as dead. Vall would demand her termination, per mandate rules, and then challenge Slyck’s leadership.

Slyck could feel Vall’s suspicious eyes on him, his pewter glare cutting though his shield as easily as Quinn’s razor-sharp incisors sliced through ripe flesh.