Hakan Severin (18 page)

No
, he thought darkly, rolling his hips, giving her what she was crying out for. He wouldn’t take from her, demand anything from her. That was what she’d come from. He would offer…

Oh, but fuck. What did he have to offer? A hole in a tree—

“Séverin.” Her legs were around his waist and her hands were on either side of his face. Her eyes implored him. “Kiss me. Make love to me. Fuck me. Come with me, and stop thinking.”

How had this creature wandered into his life? His sorry life?

Stop. Thinking.

Take.

Give.

Fuck.

Come.

His mouth closed over hers, and he drove his tongue deep. Taylor groaned with approval and sucked on the welcome invader as her sex squeezed around him. Come leaked from the head of Séverin’s cock, and he knew it wouldn’t be long. He slipped his hands beneath her glorious ass and lifted her. As he kissed her, taking every moan, every sigh, he thrust deep. Over and over. Grinding his hips, trying to hold on as she came, bathing his cock with the cream he still tasted on his tongue.

Her hands plunged into his hair, and as they kissed, biting and sucking and showing their hunger, she pulled the too-long strands. It was the quick and hot pain that sent him over the edge. He rode her hard and deep, then drove up inside her and bathed her womb in his seed.

“Taylor,” he groaned, burying his head in her neck. “You don’t know…you can’t know…”

“Tell me,” she said, her voice so soothing it made his throat tight with emotion.

“It was the first time.”
Fuck. Just say it. Tell her
. “I’ve given my seed freely.”

For a moment, everything got quiet. Even Taylor. Then she released a weighty breath and wrapped her body around him so tightly, he could hardly move.

“Mine,” she said. “All mine.”

Séverin didn’t know if she was talking about his seed or him, but it didn’t matter. He rolled them to his back, then when she loosened her hold, he pulled her close again, grinned when she draped a leg over his thigh and still-hard cock. And as she snuggled into him and drifted off to sleep, he allowed himself the same pleasure.

Not as a puma. But as a male.

Taylor’s male.

The dream Taylor was having was so delicious, so perfect, she never wanted it to end. She was in Séverin’s arms and he was carrying her into a house…or was it a tree? A tree inside a house. But they lived there together beside the spot at the shore of the bayou where they’d had their picnic. Taylor hadn’t seen the house before. She believed it was a surprise by the look on Séverin’s face. So proud, so happy. Content for the first time in his life.

It was only when that smile faded, when he shifted abruptly into a snarling, pissed-off puma, that she realized her dream was over. No. It had never existed. Happy endings weren’t in her future. Because the Wildlands wasn’t far enough or magical enough to keep fate away.

She woke to the barrel of a gun pressed to her temple. A Glock 19, to be exact. She knew because she’d felt it before. Several times before. Not on her temple—that was new. But other parts of her body.

“Wake up, you stupid bitch,” Edgar whispered in her ear.

Taylor’s eyes opened, and at first she felt no panic. Edgar’s threats. His ugly, demeaning language. It was almost a normal state of being for her. Or had been before she’d come here and met—

Oh shit
. She sat up, saw Frankie, one of the assholes who worked with Edgar, holding a gun to Séverin’s head. He was in his male form and naked. He sat with his back against the wall, calm as death and looking straight ahead.

“Séverin,” she breathed.

“Shut up!” Edgar spat. He was wearing his customary black jeans and gray sweater. Upscale prick, she’d called it. Not to his face. Never to his face.

“One more word from you, whore of mine,” he said. “And I’ll have Frankie take the kitty cat out.”

“You sure you wanna do that, boss?” Frankie asked. “Mr. Locke would want him alive, wouldn’t he?”

Edgar glared at the man. “Did I tell you to speak?”

The man gulped and shook his head.

“But you have a point…” He cocked his head and regarded Séverin. “He’ll fetch a very nice price. Take him outside. I’ll be right behind you. We want to cross the border before dawn.”

“Get up,” Frankie commanded, poking Séverin in the ribs with the barrel of his gun.

Séverin!
she screamed silently. Why wasn’t he looking at her? Did he blame her? He should. She’d brought Edgar here.

“Don’t take your eyes off him,” Edgar added as Frankie led Séverin outside the treehouse. “And if he shifts, shoot him. We have the other Pantera male now. It’d be nice to have a spare. But not necessary.”

What other Pantera? Utter terror rippled through Taylor. She had to get to Séverin. Find a way…

“Just take me,” Taylor begged as her piece-of-shit ex forced her to stand. “Please, Edgar. You know that’s what you came for.”

He grabbed the pink robe Ashe had given her off the floor and threw it in her face. She nearly ripped through a sleeve in her rush to put it on.

“Yes, I did, my sweet, foolish Taylor. I came to rescue you. From a group of disgusting creatures who had obviously abducted you.” He reached out and ran his thumb down her cheek. She felt bile rise in her throat. “But look what I found. You fucked an animal.”

He’d meant to bruise her with that comment. Unfortunately for him, it only made her smile.

Edgar’s eyes filled with hate. “You like him. You wanted to be fucked by him.” He grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her outside, pushed her to the ground.

She looked up, and this time her gaze met Séverin’s. She didn’t know what was going to happen to them. Torture or death—with Edgar it could go either way. But she knew she loved the male before her. And days, hours even, with him were worth a hundred lifetimes in Edgar’s hellish company.

“Did you know him before, Taylor?” Edgar taunted. “Is that why you never wanted to fuck me? Because the animal had already claimed your worthless cunt?”

The word was barely out of his mouth before a vicious snarl erupted in the pre-dawn air. Taylor screamed as Séverin shifted.
No. Please no!
The puma was on Frankie, teeth buried in the man’s throat.

Stumbling to her feet, Taylor turned to Edgar. He had his gun aimed at the puma, his finger curling around the trigger. Without thinking, she rushed him, smashing her body into his. The gun went off, the bullet hitting the treehouse. Séverin roared and tossed a limp Frankie to the ground.

Pain rippling through her body, Taylor saw shapes coming out of the mist. Three Pantera pumas. Running—teeth bared, snarling and hissing. They were focused on Edgar, who was diving for his gun. It had flown out of his hands when Taylor had hit him.

But he never reached it.

Like a hawk with a rabbit in sight, Séverin leapt through the air and slammed down on Edgar—paws striking gut and chest. As the man hit the earth with a thud and a crack, Taylor rolled to the side and grabbed the gun. She was on her feet with the thing pointing at his face just as the three pumas shifted. But it wasn’t needed.

“Is he dead?” Raphael called, shifting into male form and rushing forward.

“I think he broke his neck,” Taylor said, panting.

One of the Pantera, a woman, kneeled down and touched his throat. “No pulse.”

No pulse. Taylor stared at Edgar. Eyes closed, face still, body crumpled. This man who had once made her feel special, then decided to ruin her. Or try to. She wasn’t ruined. Lost, maybe. But she’d been found.

She glanced up, needing to see Séverin. Know that he was okay. He’d shifted back into his male form. But his gaze wasn’t searching out hers. It was trained on the female Pantera who had attempted to find Edgar’s pulse.

“It’s not possible,” he uttered. “Can’t be…”

Still shaking from Edgar’s death, Taylor looked from one to the other. The female was staring at him too, her face going pale.

“Reny,” Raphael said gently. “Do you know him?”

Know him? Why would she… She remembered Séverin’s words.
The female. Dark hair, green eyes. Beautiful.

“Reny?” Séverin repeated. “Is that your name?”

“Male subject,” she whispered.

He nodded. “Yes, it’s me.”

Horror-struck, Taylor watched as the female cried out, then ran into Séverin’s waiting arms.

***

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. In the flesh. She hadn’t died. She was here. Safe. He pulled her back so he could look at her. “What happened to you? Where did you go? I tried to find you.”

“You escaped,” she uttered, her smile just as he remembered it. “Oh, I’m so glad.”

Too many thoughts, too many questions were running through his head. “How long have you been here?”

“Not long.” Her gaze ran over him. “What about you?”

“Ten years.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Ten years. Why didn’t you tell anyone what happened? Why—”

“I couldn’t leave my puma state,” he explained. “Didn’t want to. Didn’t want anything but freedom. After all that happened…”

“I understand.” She gripped his arms. “After I lost my memory—”

“You lost your memory?” Séverin cut in.

She nodded. “But later, I found my freedom working for the FBI.” She glanced back. “Then with Sebastian.”

Séverin took in the blond male who stepped forward. Who gathered Reny in his arms the moment she came to him. His friend knew love. Just as he did.

“We have truly escaped our bonds,” he told her.

She smiled, her eyes filling with tears.

“You with your Sebastian, and me with my Taylor.”

“Where is she?” Reny asked. “I want to meet her.”

Séverin glanced around. She’d been right there. At his side, fighting with him. For him. And ending the life that had held hers captive.

She must be in the treehouse
, he thought, heading inside his nest. “Taylor?” But she wasn’t.

What the hell?
He stalked back to the other Pantera, his gut tightening with every step. “Raphael?”

“I don’t know,” the male said. “I didn’t see her after you and Reny…” His voice trailed off.

“Fuck,” Séverin ground out. “I need to find her.” He eyed Reny. “We will speak—”

She nodded. “Of course. Go. Find her. Your mate?”

“I hope so,” he said, his heart heavy.

“Do you want us to go with you?” Raphael asked. “Help you find her?”

“No. Stay here. Deal with this.” He took off and was halfway to the bayou’s shoreline when he turned and called back, “That dead bastard said a man named Mr. Locke held another Pantera male. Didn’t give a location, though.”

“Fuck!” Raphael returned hotly. “Did he give a name?”

“No.”

Séverin said nothing more. He was already shifting into his puma and sniffing the air. Following the scent of his woman.

His mate.

The water was sun-dappled this morning, Taylor mused as she swam from one shore to the other. But cold. Cold as her nerves, as her heart. Edgar was dead. And the male she wanted more than life itself had just been reunited with the female who’d saved him from madness.

His best friend.

The beautiful dark-haired Pantera female who’d rushed him like a linebacker—like a woman who’d found the love of her life once again.

Tears pricked her eyes and she dove beneath the surface. Was this really her fate? To lose the one person on earth who truly understood her heart? Her lungs started to ache and she kicked up toward the early morning sunlight. But what greeted her when she surfaced was a golden puma standing stock-still on the shore. Its silver eyes were wide with fear, but when it saw her, relief took over. It growled at her.

“What do you want, Séverin?” she called, moving into shallower water until her feet made contact with the bottom of the bayou. “Everything’s fine here. You can go back to your reunion.”

She sounded like a jealous, insecure bitch. Probably because she was one.

A gasp escaped her throat as the puma quickly shifted into its male counterpart. For five seconds she stared. She couldn’t help herself. He was breath-stealing, heart-wrenching, pulse-jumping.