Untouched (25 page)

Now who’s the cheater,
he
said, smiling through heavy breaths.

She
held
him
there
and
touched
her
mind
to
his.
You’re wearing far too many clothes.
She
snarled
softly, carefully took the buttons of his shirt between her razor-sharp teeth, and with one swift yank, tore the shirt wide open, revealing the beautifully crafted torso she’d come to crave.
That’s much better.

Purring, she got off of him as he sat up and gave a cursory glance at his ripped shirt.

It’s a good thing it’s the dream realm. I really liked this shirt
. He removed the tattered garment and tossed it aside. He pulled his knees up and draped his strong arms over them casually as he gave her that sexy smile.
So, Ms. Smithson. What do you plan on doing with me now?

She
crouched
low, her bright yellow eyes stayed locked with his, and her tail switched behind her.
Beating your ass to the jetty.
Her
teasing
tone
touched
his
mind
as
she
took
off
like
a
shot
down
the
beach, laughing as she went. She glanced over her shoulder to see Dante scrambling to his feet and sprinting toward her. As she ran across the sand in her panther form, with the love of her life in hot pursuit, happiness filled her heart, because for the first time in her life she didn’t feel alone.

Kerry and Dante walked out of the hotel into the bright morning sunlight with their arms linked comfortably around each other’s waist. Neither missed the smirk on Pete’s face as he opened the back door of the waiting Mercedes.

“Good morning, Pete,” Kerry said sweetly as she slid into the backseat.

He raised his eyebrows and gave a knowing look to Dante. “So, whatever happened to our motto about not getting involved with the client?” he whispered quietly.

Dante turned to him, intending to remind him of his place as the employee, but the teasing grin on Pete’s amused face diffused any irritation he felt. He opened his mouth, but no witty response came quickly enough.

Pete raised his hands in defeat and shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, you’re the boss.”

Dante cleared his throat and slipped on his aviators. “I won’t argue with you there.”

Pete chuckled softly and shut the car door after him. “Man, oh man, it’s good to be the boss,” he murmured with a smile.

As they drove out to the old house, Dante watched the scenery fly by, and his mind went over the possibilities. He couldn’t get that vicious message out of his mind. They knew it had to be another Amoveo—a Purist. A Caedo would not have been able to slip in and out of their room unnoticed, and the energy signature left behind was far too powerful to have been left by a human. Although Kerry was convinced that two people had been there. The other person could very well have been a human.

He swore silently and rapped his knuckles lightly on the window. He hated feeling so helpless and in the dark. They had to figure out who else had been in league with his father. He made a mental note to himself to reach out to his twin sister, Marianna. Maybe she had found something that would be of use to them. It still remained to be seen whether or not she’d even speak to him.

He glanced at Kerry, and the tension in his neck immediately loosened. He’d done his best to keep his mood light and keep Kerry’s mind off the Punisher and his sick intentions. Even last night in the dream realm, he’d kept things playful. His gaze slid leisurely over his mate. She was absolutely stunning—inside and out. It amazed him that she’d managed to remain so loving after growing up so isolated.

Her jet black hair hung loosely over her shoulders and gleamed almost blue in the morning sunlight. He reached over and rubbed a soft lock between his fingers. It was the same color as her fur when she was in her Panther form.

“Penny for your thoughts,” she whispered softly. Her chocolate brown eyes looked back at him warmly. Her smooth skin with barely a line on it practically glowed. She was luminous.

He smiled and released the silky strands. “I’m just admiring your beauty.”

“Boy, you are full of shit.” Kerry scoffed audibly and smiled.
I
can
feel
the
uncertainty
oozing
off
of
you. It’s one of the perks of being mated, right?

Dante smirked and flicked a glance toward Pete in the front seat. “Whatever you say, princess.”

Kerry made a sound of good-humored disgust. “Men are so difficult. Why are men so difficult?” she shouted to Peter.

“We’re just a little thickheaded, Ms. Smithson.” He winked at her in the rearview mirror. “We’re not as evolved as the females of our species.”

“Of any species,” she mumbled quietly. She playfully stuck her tongue out at Dante before looking back out the window.

Dante chuckled softly.
You
better
not
stick
that
tongue
out
at
me
unless
you
plan
to
use
it.
He touched her mind with his easily and sent wicked images to her.

Kerry’s face reddened visibly, but she kept her gaze fixed on the world outside the car window.
You
really
think
you’re charming, don’t you?

Dante adored the way the teasing notes of Kerry’s voice floated effortlessly in his mind. He said nothing, but didn’t take his eyes off of her. He still couldn’t quite believe that he’d found her, and they were mated. There had been many times when he feared they’d never find one another and that he would die alone. He couldn’t lose her. No one was going to take her from him.

The car turned into the long gravel driveway and traveled swiftly under the canopy of cypress trees. They pulled up in front of the old house, and Dante was relieved to see everything looked as it had yesterday when they left. The trailer sat waiting for Kerry’s numerous clothing changes, camera equipment set up much like yesterday. Layla and Jacqueline were buzzing around, but somehow it felt different. There was an extra ripple of energy that hadn’t been here yesterday.

Dante’s eye was caught by movement near Layla’s van. A young girl hopped out of the van, hustled eagerly over to Layla, and handed her what looked like a camera lens. She had long brown hair and fair skin. She was just a kid, couldn’t have been more than twenty years old.

Suspicion reared its ugly head.

Hadn’t Layla said that her assistant had bailed out on her? Shit. He hated surprises. This whole day was beginning to reek of trouble. So much for keeping the mood light. Dante also remembered that reliable Artie wasn’t here as he’d been yesterday. That reminded him that he hadn’t heard a word from or about the old boy since he’d left.

He turned to Kerry. “Have you heard from Arthur since he left yesterday?”

“No,” she said with a quick shake of her head. “But that’s not unusual when he’s busy putting out one of Natasha’s fires. I’m sure I’ll get a text or voice mail from him at some point today.” She looked at him through narrowed eyes. “What?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged.

Before Dante could get out of the car, Kerry put a hand on his arm to stop him. She gave him a skeptical look. He couldn’t hide anything from her, and he really didn’t want to. He sighed and sat back in his seat. Dante had wanted to keep things as stress-free as possible today. Apparently, that wouldn’t be happening.

“Pete, would you mind giving us a minute?” she asked without taking her sharp, dark eyes off Dante.

“You got it,” he said as he got out and left them alone in the silence of the car. The air rippled subtly as Dante’s concern for her flowed freely.

“I know you’re worried about the Punisher, and don’t get me wrong, I am too. But you can’t honestly be thinking that Arthur has anything to do with all of this,” she asked incredulously. “He doesn’t even know about the Amoveo.”

Dante leaned his elbow on the window and ran a hand over his face. “You’re right,” he said, relenting. “The likelihood of Arthur knowing about any of this is slim to none. But I, never in a million years, thought my own father would be a traitor. So you’ll have to forgive me if I’m suspicious of… well, almost everyone.”

Kerry’s hand slid gently down his arm, and she took his hand in hers with crushing tenderness. “Dante,” she began quietly. “When we’re done with the shoot, we’re going home.” She stopped abruptly and shook her head. “By the way, that’s a whole other discussion. I don’t even know where you live. Where is your home?”

He captured her gaze with his. “I have an apartment in the city and a house in the Catskills, but we can live wherever you want. My home is with you.” Her energy pulsed faster and matched that lovely fluttering spot in her neck that he loved so much. He knew she was doing her best to be brave, to be the tough-as-nails bitch that everyone thought she was. However, he knew better.

“Good,” she licked her lips nervously. “But don’t try and change the subject. The point is I refuse to live the rest of my life in fear. Don’t you get it? Until I met you that was all I had—fear and pain. I will not go back to that,” she said adamantly. “The Punisher, or whoever this crazy bastard is, can kiss my big white ass.”

Dante laughed softly at her bravado. “Your ass is not big. It’s perfect.” He looked down at their fingers tangled together and stroked his thumb along hers. The velvety soft feel of her skin reminded him of butterfly wings. Delicate and beautiful. The resolve in her voice and the determined look on her face made it very clear that she meant every word she said.

“If it will make you feel better, I’ll text Arthur right now and get an update. Okay?” Kerry pulled out her cell phone and texted a message with impressive speed. Within a few seconds the message was sent and the phone back in her bag. “It may not be telepathy, but it’s the next best thing,” she said, smiling as she placed a warm kiss on his cheek. “Come on, Tarzan.” She looked out the window. Layla was tapping her watch impatiently and waved them to hurry. “The natives are getting restless out there. The quicker I finish this job, the quicker we get out of New Orleans.”

When they got out of the car, Dante didn’t feel any better. The unease he’d felt earlier only grew. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but the energy of the bayou definitely had an extra thread in it that wasn’t there yesterday. He watched the young assistant through narrowed eyes. Her energy signature was probably the change that he felt.

He scanned her mind and found it full of the need to please. She most likely just wanted to do a good job, so Layla would hire her again. Why didn’t he feel any better? He scanned the area around them and caught sight of William perched in the exact same spot as yesterday. He sat perfectly still and had his sharp black eyes trained on the three women at the steps of the house.
Thank
you
for
coming
again
today, William. Steven is here as well?

William’s curt voice shot back, but he didn’t take his eyes off of Layla, the kid, and Jacqueline.
You’re late, and no, Steven is not here. I haven’t seen hide nor of hair of him since last evening. He’s probably still trying to get Pasha to go to bed with him.
William puffed his white and brown speckled feathers and adjusted his position in the large tree.

No
need
to
ruffle
your
feathers.
Kerry teased.
I’m sure he’ll turn up.

William’s head turned sharply at the sound of Kerry’s voice interrupting their telepathic conversation. His feathered head bobbed down, and his razor-sharp gaze landed on Kerry. He let out a short squawk, and Dante had to struggle to keep from laughing. William was rarely taken by surprise and very rarely let it show. Dante turned to find her standing next to him and staring up at William. Smiling, she winked at him and took Dante’s hand as she walked toward her trailer. He noticed she had used her telepathy with much more ease and exuded extra confidence. It made her sexier than ever.