In Like a Lion (23 page)

A few notes of perfume drifted her way. The ugly lump in her stomach returned as she remembered how she’d felt when he’d sauntered out of the casino with the blonde. “You’d better take the shower first.” Her tone acidic enough to eat through metal sheeting.

He stiffened and turned to her, the black T-shirt stretched over his taut muscles, his hair parting so she could see his eyes. They were blue, but the expression on his face lanced right through her.

“I’m sorry.” She went to him and cupped his cheek.

He stiffened, his gaze locked on the wall past her shoulder.

She laid her cheek on his chest. “I just hated seeing you with that woman.” She swallowed, but the knot in her throat, formed of pain and remorse, refused to budge. “And you didn’t even take the necklace, so I don’t know why I was such a bitch just now.”

A shudder moved Jake’s chest. He slipped his fingers under her chin and guided her head up to meet her gaze. “You don’t have to apologize. I don’t know what would happen if I saw you with another man, but it wouldn’t be pretty.” He kissed her. “You don’t have anything to worry about.
You’re
my mate.”

“Lions have more than one mate.” Hearing the plaintive note in her voice, Anjali winced.

“But we’re not lions. We’re chimeras. And I guarantee you, chimeras have only one mate.”

“You can’t know that.” Anjali’s brow wrinkled and Jake smoothed it with his thumb. She said she didn’t love him, but her jealousy gave him hope.

He smiled. “When you were practicing changing, could you think when you were between forms?”

“Yes . . .”

“How? You said we’re just molecules at that point. There’s nothing there resembling a brain. How can you still think?”

Anjali shook her head. “It will take years of stud—”

He held a finger to her lips. “Shhh. Magic.” He answered his own question. “Chimeras are magic, and that is how I know you are my one and only mate.” He growled low in his throat, but it was more of a purr. “Let’s shower together.”

They took turns shampooing each other’s hair, navigating the tight confines of the shower enclosure.

He gazed down at Anjali. Her eyes were closed as the water sluiced the soap from her hair, streamed over her cheeks, lips, and chin. A streetlight outside the frosted glass window glazed her shoulders and upper back.

He rejoiced in the smile of pleasure lifting the corners of her mouth. The guilt of what he’d almost done returned. “I just can’t steal anymore.”

Anjali stared up at him. Mouth open, she glanced away. “I don’t want you to have to. We’ll figure something out.”

He wiped a crystalline drop of water from the silk of her cheek and filled his nose with the scent of her wet hair. “I’ve never liked using people, stealing.” He stared at the low ceiling. “But this time was worse.”

“Because this time you know you’re not sick?”

“Because of you. You say you won’t love me, but I want to at least be the kind of person you
could
love.”

Anjali grinned wryly. “I’m your mate. You don’t really have a choice, do you?”

Anger flashed hot through Jake. “You said it yourself; it’s all just biology anyway.”

Anjali closed her eyes. “You’re right. I’m just feeling a little confused right now.”

Her words gave him hope, and his anger ebbed. He kissed her temple. Steam swirled around them as if lifting the emotion away.

He smoothed an inky curl back over her shoulder. “You and Neha had quite a chat.

Her cheeks reddened. “I know it was rude to exclude you, but you would’ve been embarrassed anyway. Neha thinks you hung the moon after what you did for her father.”

“They were a couple of scum working for someone else. I spoke to them in a language they could understand.” The hiss of the water highlighted her silence and he knew she realized there hadn’t been ‘speaking’ involved at all.

He damned the impulse that had made him tell her that. Despite the pain she’d had in her life—her losses and her studies had isolated her, making her remarkably sheltered for someone who had been on her own for several years—he had no business exposing her to his seedy world.

“You probably saved her father’s life.” Her eyes were serious and her teeth teased her lip.

He lifted a shoulder, but knowing she was probably wishing there’d been someone there to rescue her mother as he had helped Sanjay Patel, he had no idea what to say.

She slid her hand up his chest. “I guess there’s something to be said about having a mate.”

“There is, huh?” He felt suddenly light.

“Uh-huh.” She stretched up and their lips met. He wrapped his arms around her. She felt so small, so delicate. He was almost afraid to hold her too tight, but her body was soft, warm and slick from the water, and he lifted her against him.

Jake’s touch felt so right, so perfect, Anjali almost cried. He was everything any woman could dream of, and she was letting her fears rob them both of complete happiness. He slid his mouth down to the junction of her neck and shoulder and all her thoughts evaporated.

Nothing mattered except the sweet, hot magic of Jake’s mouth on her skin, the press of his hard body against her softness, and the stroke of his fingers on her flesh.

She gripped his shoulders as he nibbled her neck, fighting to stay upright against the weakness in her knees. “Jake.”

She could feel his eyelashes tickling her collarbone in a butterfly kiss as he closed his eyes at the sound of his name.

“I can hear your heart,” he said. “It’s racing.”

It was, beating so loudly in her ears it nearly masked the sound of the shower and her ragged breathing.

Anjali placed a kiss on the crown of his head and slid her hands down, caressing his smooth back. The sleek power of him made her feel protected and cherished. He took her nipple in his mouth. She shuddered. The electric pull of his tugging lips as he suckled shot straight to the throbbing need between her legs.

Jake stood and shut off the water. Anjali cried out with frustration. He picked her up, grabbing a handful of towels on the way out of the bathroom, tossed the towels on the nightstand, and stripped the bedspread and blanket off the bed with one hand, before dumping her on the bed.

She gasped.

His focused gaze as he dried her wet hair with the towel and wiped the moisture from her skin made her body hum with anticipation.

He turned his attention to himself.

“No!” she said, stopping him with a hand on his wrist. “Lay down. I want lick the water off.”

The heat in his eyes repaid her daring.

She spread a couple towels on the bed, and he lay down. She found a drop of water on his chest and removed it with a slow lick of her tongue, dragging across his budded nipple. He groaned. She peeked up at him.

“How many licks does it take to get the chewy center?” she asked.

He laughed. “You have to try and see.” His beautiful eyes glinted with devilish glee, and something within her crumbled. She swiped at another drop, “One . . .” Her tongue swirled down the bulge of his pectoral muscle and flirted with the groove bisecting his chest. The flavor of his skin, the expression in his blue eyes, the heady scent of his clean male flesh made her quiver. “Two . . .”

She lapped a drop sliding down the ridges of his abdomen and followed it to the ledge below his hip. “Three,” then she gently engulfed him in her mouth.

He arced off the bed, thrusting further into her mouth.

She let him feel her teeth and eased out a moment to tease him. “The world may never know.” She smiled into his eyes as she took him in again.

He groaned as she sucked, the wet sounds of her attention filled the air.

“How did you get so good?” he asked with a growl.

She crawled up his body. “I come from the culture that invented Kama Sutra.” She kissed him. After a moment he moved back. A twinge of fear gripped her. Had she been too bold?

“Seriously,” he said. “Tell me about your boyfriends.”

She might have felt insulted by the assumption she’d had several relationships, but his expression was vulnerable. She shook her head. “There weren’t any. I never wanted to disappoint my family, so I always followed the expectations for Indian girls. No smoking, no alcohol, and no boys.”

“Never?” He raised a brow.

“Well, in college I dated a few guys, but I never really felt that spark. I guess, it was just easier to focus on my studies.”

“Good. I like to think we’re on even ground.” He cupped her face in his hands, thumbing her cheek. “I love the color of your eyes.”

She laughed. “Mud? You like the color of mud?”

He scowled. “Not mud. Mahogany.”

A silly grimace tugged her lips. “Wood, then.”

“Hey.” His blue gaze was intense. “Mahogany isn’t just wood. It’s rich and luxurious. Hell, I’d never even seen mahogany until I followed the call of some jewels into this mansion, a few days after I escaped the police. I’d never seen anything like that. Every chair and table dark and gleaming.” He pressed his lips together and glanced away. “All I’d ever seen was glorified cardboard and plastic made to simulate wood.”

A picture flashed into her mind. She didn’t know if it came from him or her imagination. A much younger Jake stroking his small, grimy hand down the deep mirror-like surface of a table, fascinated by the texture and depth of the wood. An ache pulsed in her throat and she could see he was hurting, too. She rubbed the pad of her fingertip on his lower lip, wanting to erase his pain. “Enough talk. Kiss me.”

He took over, slanting his mouth against hers in a way that curled her toes. His tongue teased hers and retreated, inviting her to return the favor. Anjali had never thought much of kissing, but the tender slide of his mouth, moist and heated on hers, couldn’t go on long enough.

She savored the pitch and roll of his chest as he panted against her mouth, her fingers squeezing his firm buttocks, his large palm wonderfully rough against her tender breasts.

His fingers brushed between their bodies to find her. He moaned when he delved inside her swollen, creamy folds.

“I can’t wait,” he said and lowered himself between her thighs.

The feel of him, damp and warm on her inner thigh, almost sent her over the edge. He rubbed against her for a second, gliding over the sensitive flesh to make sure she was ready for him.

She clutched his corded shoulders, digging her nails into his back. “Yes.”

He filled her and began a frantic rhythm, the delicious friction building between them until Anjali cried out and fire sparked through her, rocking her to her core.

Chapter 28

The phone ripped Gareth Kincaid from a dreamless sleep. He answered it with a brusque, “Yes.”

“They’ve left the Preserve.”

Shit.
Killing Finn would be much easier with fewer witnesses. Even though it seemed the whole world had converged on the area, it was still more than a million acres of wilderness.

He checked his Rolex. Five in the morning. “How far ahead are they?”

“It doesn’t matter. They’re heading into civilization. Las Vegas, probably, so you don’t need me.”

“You’ve tracked them all night? An almost impossible task and you’re just going to give up now?”
First, not a peep from those associates of Anders and now this. Really, no one had any work ethic these days.

There was silence for a moment. “I can’t track them in the city.”

“I’ll send someone who can, but you know what they can do. I need someone who can bring down a large animal.”

Silence again, then, “Fine. Tell your men I’ll meet them at the Bellagio.”

“The Bellagio?”

“They’re probably a few hours ahead of me, but they’ll need rest. So do I. And with the risks of this job, I’m going to get it someplace nice.”

Gareth gritted his teeth. “Whatever. Just kill Finn and bring me the woman.”

Kyle stifled a yawn as he drove slowly down I-15 with the windows of his rental car rolled down. Thank God he’d slept on the plane or, even with every cell in his body pushing him to find Jake, he would be in danger of falling asleep at the wheel.

As soon as he’d landed at McCarran, he’d headed for the Preserve. The hope was he could smell some hint of where his brother might have gone. He wished he dared transform, but the dragon was out of the question and every yahoo from here to LA searched for a lion.

A bunch of cop cars, flashing lights illuminating the pre-dawn desert around them, sat outside a gas station. He pulled in. Maybe the commotion had nothing to do with Jake, but listening in wouldn’t hurt.

Kyle entered the station. The two police officers zeroed in on him. They seemed to weigh him, considering if he was a threat. At six foot five, he often got that reaction from law enforcement. He nodded at the men and went to a refrigerated case full of drinks.

One of the officers turned back to the attendant. Ky could feel the other eyeballing his back for another long second before rejoining the conversation.

The attendant, a scrawny teen with long, black hair, spoke, flailing his skinny arms in emphasis. “I went out to grab something from my car about four-thirty, and it was gone.” He folded his arms, his lip stuck out, making him seem about twelve. “It took you dudes long enough to get here.”

Kyle took a bottle of water to the counter.

The attendant kept on talking as he rang up Kyle’s purchase. “It’s been crazy around here. What with the lion sighting at all.” He shook his shaggy head. “But man, who would take my car? It was a total piece of shit.”

Kyle strode back out to the little parking lot. Aside from his car and the CHPs’, all the spaces were empty. Where would employees park?

Kyle sniffed the air, sorting past the car exhaust and other car-related odors. Then he smelled it. A man and a woman, with a hint of lion. He closed his eyes.
Thank God.

Jake and Dr. Mehta were out of the desert.

He got into his car. If he were on the run he’d head for the largest nearby city. He guided the car to I-15.

Viva Las Vegas.

Anjali rolled over and smiled at Jake. She’d fallen asleep almost immediately after they’d made love and since he was still sleeping, he must have done the same.

The clock glowed on the nightstand. 11:00 a.m. The blackout curtains were worth their weight in gold.

Though she couldn’t imagine how Kincaid’s men could find them here, they’d better get moving. She’d wake Jake in five minutes.

Her lids fluttered shut as she thought about the events of the past night.

To think she was a shapechanger, a chimera. Who would have ever expected that in a million years?

“What are you grinning at?” Jake’s voice, gravelly with sleep, reverberated in her chest, igniting a little shiver of pleasure.

“You should have seen the faces on those men when they realized they hadn’t caught some defenseless female,” she said, her eyes still closed, picturing the scene.

“What men?” Jake’s voice was suddenly right in her ear and her lids flew open. Bands of gold threaded his eyes.

She grimaced. “I guess I forgot to tell you about them after you jumped down my throat in the desert.”

“Tell me now.” He loomed over her, hard and dangerous. Like someone she wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley.

She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at his tone, and quickly ran down the whole story. “You should be proud of me,” she finished lightly, trying to jolly him out of his anger. “I didn’t even have to ‘slip into something more ferocious.’”

Jake flopped back onto his pillow, one hand on his forehead. “God, what did I do to deserve this?”

She poked him in the ribs. “Come on. You were unconscious. I did it to protect you.”

He groaned and turned to her, propping his weight on his elbow. “All right. I’m sorry. You did good.”

Anjali traced his shoulder with her finger. “I was pretty scared at first, but I was more scared you were going to die.” Tears burned behind her eyes, but she blinked them back.

He threaded his hand through her hair, spreading the mass over her bare arm. “You’ve been alone a long time, Anjali. But you don’t have to be anymore.”

She sighed and nodded, knowing life wasn’t that certain, but not wanting to have that fight again.

He prodded the remote welded to the bedside table. “We better find out what’s going on in the rest of the world.”

He flipped through to an all news channel. Her picture was in the corner.

“Aye,
Bhagvan
.” Anjali called to God before flipping the covers over her head. “What does it say?”

A minute later, Jake yanked back the covers. “Apparently you’ve been missing for a couple days. It seems something violent happened to several men in your apartment and you’re feared dead. They’re conducting a massive search.”

She sat up and focused her attention on the television. A reporter turned to interview someone. She perked up. Meena Masi, her elderly neighbor.

“She’s such a pretty girl. I hope she isn’t injured.”

Anjali jerked the covers over her head again, making the spread puff out like a parachute. “Ugh, the poor woman! She must be so worried! How am I going to explain all this?”

Jake patted her through the sheet. “Get dressed. If we don’t get out of here. You may not have to.”

Anjali slipped into the shoes Jake had brought her after he’d gone out for food and supplies and glanced over at him.

He was gazing out the window beside the door. The strong light flooding in turned him into a shadow from behind, and she was struck anew by his size and strength.

He had bought new clothes for himself, and wore a black button-down shirt, untucked, over jeans. The light threw his profile into sharp relief, and she ached at the stark expression on his face.

She went to him and slid her arms around his waist, then laid her cheek against his warm back. “It’s going to be all right.”

His arms came up to hold hers. “I know it is, because I’m going to make it that way. As soon as I can find you someplace safe, I’ll go back for Kincaid.”

Suddenly Jake pushed Anjali toward the bathroom. “Someone’s coming. Get in the tub.”

Anjali stood her ground. “No. I can change now. Let me help.”

His features might have been carved from stone. “You’ve never had to kill anyone, Anjali. I don’t want you to have start now.”

Anjali pressed her lips together, but ducked into the compact bathroom, locked the door, and crouched in the now dry tub, straining to hear any clue of what was going on in the bedroom.

It burned her to have to let him face them on his own, and though she was capable of killing, she wasn’t sure she could, and now wasn’t the time to find out.

A crash sent a shower of glass down on her from the window, followed by an abrupt stinging pain in her arm. Her eyes blurred as she peered down at the object that had caused the pain, a tranquilizer dart. Hands hauled her to her feet. Before she could identify their owner, the world narrowed to a single pinprick, then went black.