Jacob's Ladder (String of Fate) (17 page)

They walked along in silence for a moment, making progress up the wooded trail. Her Guards were with them, of course, but keeping a perimeter that allowed Ria and Jake a sense of privacy. Her people were amazing. Many had been injured in various ways in the battle, but all those who were mobile were already back at their posts—even though she’d told them to take it easy. She’d finally had to ask Master Geir to evaluate everyone personally and order those who needed more healing time to take it.

“Do you have any particular State in mind for your home base?” Jake asked, restarting the conversation a few moments later.

“Not really. Do you?” She looked up at him in the twilight. The moon would rise earlier tonight and she wanted to be in the circle well ahead of time to be sure all was ready.

“Well, my sister went back upstate New York when she married Cade. Since Gina’s folks moved back to Iceland, they might be willing to sell us their place. It’s a fortress, from what I hear, and built to suit cats who like to roam. Plus, Cade and Ellie are already in the area. Maybe more of your Clan could be enticed to join us, considering the tigers did all the heavy lifting creating the place.”

“That’s a brilliant idea!” She felt joy leap in her heart when she thought about his suggestion. It made a lot of sense and the stronghold she’d thought about building over many years was already there. “We’d make our own changes, of course, but the framework is already in place and the area is already clear for shifters. Plus, I think most of the tigers really just wanted to go back to Iceland. Ellie said a lot of the area was empty now. Could be a lot of tigers willing to sell out to us. Oh, I like this.”

Ria leaned in to hug Jake around the waist as they walked along. He really was perfect for her in every way. Thanks be to the Goddess that they’d made it through the battle last night and had hope for a better future.

Ria conducted the new moon ceremony a short while later, surrounded by most of those who were mobile enough to join them. Many messages were delivered to individuals who responded in varying ways—some with tears, some with joy, some with solemn dignity. When the public portion of the evening was over and those who had come to receive messages had taken them and left, Ria had a chance to talk with her mother once more.

“You are safe for now, sweetheart,” her mother confirmed. “But the entire world isn’t safe yet from the Destroyer. The
Venifucus
will continue to look for ways to free Elspeth and return her to the mortal realm. You’re going to have to be vigilant. Your mate’s idea about buying the tiger’s former stronghold in the mountains of New York is a really good one. It will be a good place for the Clan to gather. Strength in numbers, Ria. It’s not a good time to be a loner.”

Her mother imparted a few more words of wisdom before the moon moved on and their time ran out for this month. Ria hoped that by next month, she would be doing the ceremony in her own home. Although…anywhere Jake was, was home. Still, she’d always wanted a stronghold…

They walked back to the fox den and stayed the night. Jake spent an hour or two talking strategy with Ben, Geir, Seth, and Roth, leader of the company of Moore’s soldiers who had stuck around for the mop up. They were planning to evac some of the higher-value prisoners to the Lords’ mountain in Montana and other places where they could be housed and interrogated more completely over time. The conditions were humane, but nobody was sure yet if these men could be released. They would have to be carefully examined by priestesses and other folk who would be able to tell if the men were simple soldiers or something even more dangerous.

While Jake was closeted with the military component, Ria spent her time visiting the injured and talking with her friends among her Royal Guard. It was good to be at ease, for once, with no danger breathing down their necks. The mood among her people had lightened, even though many were injured and several would take a long time to heal.

That the number of deaths on their side was so low was a minor miracle. Then again, they’d had time to prepare and the fox scouts had shared their knowledge of the terrain freely with her people. Though she hadn’t spent much time among their kind before, she had gained new respect for the breed and saw the truth of the old adage about being
clever like a fox
. Some of the hidey holes they’d revealed around the mountain were downright ingenious, and had come in very handy in keeping casualties to a minimum.

Ria headed back to the room they’d been given, deep inside the fox den with only a pair of her Royal Guard keeping her company. She liked having them around, but now that she was mated to Jake, she craved more privacy to share with her lover. Life had changed in a big way and she was still trying to figure out what it would all mean to the way they moved forward.

Would she be able to settle down now? Would they have a home of their own? In one place. Not having to flee all the time and stay on the move. It was quite a concept to a woman who had lived most of her life on the run. She craved the stability of a home of her own.

Now that she was mated, she craved a den. A nest she could feather and prepare for the next generation. She wanted a family. Maybe not right away, but eventually. She wanted to raise her cubs in security and teach the daughter she hoped to have about the responsibility of their lineage.

It was a nice dream. A simple dream. And one she was finally able to believe in. Since Jake had swept into her life, so much had changed. That they might actually have a shot at the fabled
happily ever after
was still something that was a bit like a fantasy to her. A fantasy she wanted to reach out and grab with both hands. And never let go.

It all began and ended with her mate. Jake.

With a smile on her lips, Ria decided to surprise him as she entered their bedroom. Her Guards would remain in the hallway, doing their duty, but inside this room—and the connecting bath…and the little surprise the fox Alpha had finally told her about a couple of hours ago—they were alone. Man and woman. Mates. Forever.

It was time to start their honeymoon. Finally.

Ria shed her clothing and shifted her shape into the other half of her being. The cat who lived within. Feeling rather decadent and daring, she stretched out on the big bed, and waited for her mate to come to her.

Jake scratched his nose as he opened the door to their bedroom. He stopped short, seeing the giant black cat stretched out across the bed, his hand stilling and then dropping to his side. After a beat, he continued into the room and closed the door behind himself, leaving the two Royal Guards on duty on either side of the portal. He’d have to get used to having them around. Just as he’d have to get used to coming back and finding his mate in her fur coat.

Man, she was something. Lethal and slinky. Gorgeous and sexy. Powerful and…his. Just his. When that thought hit, Jake realized all over again how much of a lucky bastard he really was.

He approached the bed, noting the languid golden gaze that followed his every movement. He sat on the side of the bed, lowering one hand to stroke the flank of the silky creature that was his mate. He could feel the rumble and hear the sound as she began to purr and he had to smile.

“You are the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen—in your fur and out of it, Ria.”

In a shimmer of darkness, the cat disappeared to be replaced by a beautiful, very naked woman. Ria. His mate. From stroking the cat’s fur, his fingers went to the softness of her pale skin, his hand pausing at the curve of her hip.

“One of us has too many clothes on and I don’t think it’s me,” she said teasingly as she gazed up at him.

“You know, I think you’re right. But not to worry.” He stood up and reached started tugging at his T-shirt, pulling it off over his head and tossing it across the room. “That problem can be remedied shortly.”

Ria stood and reached for his belt, drawing closer to his body in a way that pushed every one of his buttons. Damn, the woman knew what he liked already and they hadn’t even been together that long. Jake could only imagine how good they would be together in the years to come. He was almost eager to realize that vision, but he didn’t want to miss out on any of the learning it took to get from here to there. He vowed to enjoy the ride, this mating to a shifter queen.

She tugged his belt loose, then started right in on his fly as her lips drifted closer, playing over his collar bones and upper chest. When she licked him, he almost jumped. His cock definitely did, twitching within the confines of the denim she was quickly removing.

When she freed him, she didn’t push his pants down all the way right away. Instead, she paused a moment to take him in her hands, squeezing as she held his gaze. Her golden eyes teased him, her touch tantalized and he grew hard within her hands as she rubbed him just the right way.

But then she let go and turned away. Jake started after her, but had to stop because his pants were hampering his movements. It would look ridiculous if he fell on his ass right in front of her. So he stopped and slid the jeans off, pausing only for a moment to rid himself of his shoes and socks as well. He looked up to find her watching him over her shoulder, her long hair sliding sexily down her back. Damn, she was beautiful.

“Now we’re evenly matched,” he said, hoping to lure her back. He wasn’t sure where she was going, but he was eager to follow.

“It’s a start,” she agreed, flouncing her hair as she turned her head and kept walking. He realized then that she had been moving toward the large bathroom that was attached to their suite.

It was a beautiful room, done in earth tones like the rest of the cave complex, but with all the modern conveniences. There was hot and cold running water and lighting. Electric outlets for hair dryers and all that kind of thing. Everything a modern shifter could want—all underground.

And there was no missing the fact that they were underground. The walls were round. Like a little dome had been dug out of the mountain over time.

Ria stepped into the bathtub, which had been carved out of the rock of the mountain, but there wasn’t any water in it. Jake wondered what she was up to when she reached out to touch not the handles that would bring forth water, but the spigot from which it should run. She lifted the spigot in a way a spigot should not be able to move and the back wall of the tub slid away to reveal another chamber beyond.

“What the heck…?” Jake wondered even as Ria smiled and stepped over the rim and into the small cavern she had just revealed.

“The Alpha told me about this earlier today. Said it was a little gift from him to us for our new mating. This is his private hideaway,” she explained. “I didn’t realize it before, but he gave us his own room to sleep in. His mate is still with the women and children who were evacuated, so he’s been bunking down in a guest room so we’d have the best place in the den. Isn’t that sweet of him?”

“RHIP,” Jake muttered. She looked at him funny so he interpreted. “Rank Has Its Privileges. Something I learned in the Marine Corps.”

Ria laughed and moved farther into the secret room. “He said there’s a hot spring in here as well as a little trickle of fresh, cold water. All the comforts of home and a convenient place to hide should the den be overrun somehow.” She looked around as she walked into the cavern. It was much more cave-looking than the rest of the suite had been. Closer to nature. More primal.

She moved deeper into the room. Her Guard wouldn’t be happy that she had entered a room they hadn’t checked first, but what they didn’t know…

“Ah. There is it.” She turned into a little hollow and sure enough, there was a bit of mist hanging over a small pool of clear water.

It bubbled toward the far end and she could see the steam rising into a small fissure that led upward through the mountain. It was well ventilated, which kept the ambient moisture at a minimum. Ria dipped a toe in and found the temperature to be warm, but not too hot. In fact, it was just about perfect.

“This is man-made,” Jake observed, noting the square shape of the pool by making a square in the air with his fingers.

“The Alpha pair’s secret getaway,” she confirmed. “He built it for his mate as a gift. There was always a hot spring here, but it was smaller. He hollowed out the pool himself over time, expanding it to what you see here now.”

“It drains and recirculates,” Jake added, seeming more interested in the plumbing for the moment than he was in her. Ria would have to change that.

She slid into the hot, clear water, dunking her head and then coming up to let the water stream down her back, pulling her hair back from her face. She stood in the shallow pool, the water only about thigh-deep. She felt the hot water dripping off her pointed breasts, rolling down her skin. She opened her eyes and was gratified to see she had Jake’s full and complete attention once again.

“Care to join me?” She felt the purr in her words, hoping it was something he liked. She couldn’t really control her animal responses to her mate. She only hoped she didn’t scare him away.

“I’d love to,” he growled. She realized then that he wasn’t turned off. Far from it.

He stepped down into the pool, moving straight for her. She didn’t move away. She let him take her into his arms and met his mouth in a fiery kiss that stole her breath. His cock rode hard against her belly and she knew the first time wasn’t going to be a long, drawn out affair. No, this would be primal—just like this place. There would be time for a more delicate joining later. This one had to be hard and fast.