Savage Hunger (18 page)

He began to stroke her again, watching her expression and enjoying the way her eyes darkened to midnight, the way her mouth parted to take in small gulps of air, the way she flowered under his touch.

“Harder,” she rasped out. “More.” She groaned. “Faster.”

He wanted to laugh, to shout with joy at the way she was ordering him about. He knew the moment the climax hit her by the ripples of spasms clenching his cock, the way her fingers dug into his flesh, the harsh exhale of breath and the words, “Omigod, Connor,” slipping out of her mouth in a breathy, sexy way.

She was a sultry siren and wickedly all his.

Kat didn’t have a chance to marvel at the ecstasy Connor had made her feel with the first bona fide climax she’d ever experienced because he thrust his broad cock deeper inside her with renewed vigor as if her coming had spurred him on to finish before he exploded.

Some primal urge buried deep inside her took over, and as his chest brushed against her aroused and oh-so-sensitive nipples, she bit his shoulder.

Not hard. A love bite, but it made him pause and stare at her for a moment in surprise. She thought she’d done something wrong, although it had felt so right, so natural and instinctive, but then he smiled down at her as if she was the dearest person in his life. His eyes were clouded with lust, and his blood was beating like the drums the natives had been thumping when she’d been so sick.

He pushed inside her again, long and hard and deeper, then thrust quickly as if he couldn’t hold back any longer.

She raked her nails down his skin, careful not to draw blood, just like she hadn’t when she bit him. But the urge to claw and bite and claim him—to breathe in his masculine, musky cat scent and to wear it on her as he wore hers on him—overwhelmed her.

His hands were on her hips, keeping her locked in place, not allowing her to thrust against him in a frantic need to finish this, and he felt the pleasure rising, intensifying. She was again ready to be set free, like molten lava seeking release.

His hot seed filled her just as she felt the new climax that sent her careening to the sun. She cried out as his mouth sought hers, his tongue pressing inside, their bodies still joined.

“We’re not done,” he promised, and she wrapped her legs around his hips, ready for more.

***

They all slept late, until something disturbed Kat’s sleep as she realized Connor was holding her loosely in his embrace in bed. She wasn’t sure what it had been. Maybe he had twitched in his sleep and awakened her. Embarrassed that she had struck him with her fist the night before, she couldn’t believe that not only had he not minded, but that he had made love to her, not once, but several times during the night and, most of all, had continued to sleep with her. Roger would have gotten angry, acting as though she had done it on purpose. He had even slapped her back once, saying she had been hysterical. Which she hadn’t been.

He’d used that as an excuse to get her back for hitting him and disturbing his sleep, and that was the living end for her.

What a difference there was between the two men. She hadn’t meant to make love to Connor, but she’d wanted the closeness, the tenderness, the heat and raw passion. And he had been all too happy to oblige her.

She couldn’t believe she’d bitten him—twice. Roger would have had her quarantined and tested for rabies if she’d done that to him.

She sighed. Had she fought Connor again in the middle of the night? As hard as she tried, she couldn’t remember. She hoped she hadn’t. But then she smiled, thinking of the comment he had made. If she had slept with him, she wouldn’t be beating on him. And his comment that her hitting him was only a love pat wasn’t nearly the truth. But she loved him for making light of it.

Luxuriating in the feel of his hard muscles pressed against her backside, she basked in the way he kept her close, unlike the way Roger had kept his distance in bed after they’d made love.

Then she thought about all that she had learned about Connor and Maya and herself—as far as being jaguar-shifters went. Now in the light of the day, she couldn’t believe it was true. At least part of her couldn’t get used to the notion. Another part, that half of her that recalled her moonlight run, knew she wasn’t the same as before. Now she had big, dangerous teeth and a furry body when she least expected it.

Connor stirred, pushed the hair at the nape of her neck away, and tenderly kissed her sensitive skin. She purred. Turning to kiss him back, she hoped Maya was sleeping soundly and that she and Connor wouldn’t disturb her. But then she heard men’s voices intruding among the sounds of the jungle. Before she could react, Connor bolted upright.

“They wouldn’t give us any trouble, would they?” Kat whispered, every muscle stiffening in preparation for action. She had an instant flashback of the firefight between Gonzales’s men, her own, and herself. She needed a rifle.

Connor slipped off the bed and pulled on his trousers. “Most of the time, no. Not unless they’re drug runners. Even then they usually leave us alone, and we stay out of their way. But sometimes they push too far into our territory.”

“Then what?” she asked, her voice still hushed.

He looked out the window. “Then we have to do whatever it takes for self-preservation.” He glanced back at Kat and added, “The natives say that a man travels with a jaguar near here, but sometimes they’ve seen a woman with the jaguar.”

“You and Maya?” Kat asked.

“Yeah. The rumors keep the villagers away from our neck of the woods. We believe they’re fearful that we might do something to them if they don’t leave us to ourselves. But others who are not local tromp through here from time to time. They’re ruthless and we have to be just as ruthless back.”

“You have to kill them?”

“It’s either that or they kill us or attempt to take us hostage. They wouldn’t free us for years until someone paid our ransom. And we don’t have anyone who would pay to have us released. Confinement as a jaguar-shifter out here in the jungle isn’t something that we could live with.”

That she could agree with. “But you come here anyway.”

“Most of the time it’s safe enough.”

Maya slipped in through the screen door, her eyes wide. “Four men. They’re looking for the dark-haired American woman by the name of Kathleen McKnight.”

Connor’s mouth gaped, then he turned to stare at Kat. “What is this all about?”

Kat frowned at him. “Manuel… he must have come back for me.” She began to button her shirt. “He must have gotten some men together to try and find me.”

“And if it’s not him?” Maya asked, her eyes narrowed with worry as she tied her hair back into a ponytail.

“Who else would know my name?” Kat asked incredulously.

Connor shook his head. “Gonzales.”

She glowered at him. “I’m no longer in the Army.”

“All right. But you can’t go with this Manuel, if that’s who is with the men, or anyone else. Not now that you are one of us.”

Kat snapped her mouth shut. Intellectually, she had known that. Connor was right. She just hadn’t wrapped her mind around the fact that she wasn’t exactly
normal
any longer.

“I need to speak with them to let Manuel know I’m all right and that I’m returning to the States with you. He’ll go away.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows what their agenda truly is.” Connor got his rifle and handed it to Maya. “Take the lookout post. I’ll stay with Kat.” He looked down at Kat as Maya hurried out of the hut. “You can’t speak with them. We don’t know who they really are or what they’re up to.”

She was glad that he took protecting her from any eventuality seriously, but she still couldn’t believe that they would have to kill anyone to stay alive themselves. Then she instantly tossed that reasoning out. If these men were anything like Gonzales’s men, she knew just what they were capable of.

Would Maya and Connor shift to take care of the menace? Or use Connor’s rifle?

Killing as jaguars seemed barbaric, but she shuddered, realizing the jungle was a beast-eat-beast world. Definitely survival of the fittest.

She’d had firsthand experience with that already—one year ago, in this very jungle.

Chapter 15

His senses on high alert, sniffing the air and listening for any movement, Connor walked with Kat onto the screened porch. He had a bad feeling about the men looking for Kat and didn’t like where this seemed to be headed.

Then to his astonishment, Maya roared. What the hell? She was supposed to be watching from the lookout post with the rifle aimed and ready.

He knew her unexpected behavior meant that the men they had heard talking in the jungle were dangerous. Maya must have overheard more of their conversation and changed tactics.

“Kat, can you shift?” he asked quietly.

She would be safer as a jaguar, he thought. She could climb high into a tree and stay hidden in the canopy while he and Maya took care of the men.

She shook her head, her expression schooled.

“Stay here, then.”

“I can shoot. You know I was in the Army. I had rifle and handgun training. I even qualified as a sharpshooter. I can shoot.”

He knew she must be able to, though he had not seen her actually kill anyone.

“I don’t want them to know where you are or even be able to get close to you.” His heart was pounding furiously, and he realized he didn’t want her anywhere near the men. He could see losing her in a shower of bullets. Yes, he and his sister healed more quickly than humans and could survive injuries a human might not be able to. Although if they bled out too fast, their healing genetics wouldn’t have time to take care of the wounds. But what if that part of the genetic change hadn’t taken effect for Kat? What if she wasn’t
exactly
like them?

“I can’t shift,” she said, her voice urgent, hushed.

He wasn’t sure if she meant she truly couldn’t or she wouldn’t, although he suspected she didn’t have the ability to shift at will like he and his sister could. Hopefully, with time, she would.

“Come on.” He took her to a vine-covered tree trunk that looked as though it was part of the vegetation, a naturally occurring fallen trunk high up in the canopy that butted up against their primitively made lookout post.

It was a heavily concealed spot high in the trees that easily hid the viewer from sight, perfect for observing unwelcome visitors while staying camouflaged from view. He stood with her there now, not wanting to leave her but having no other choice. He didn’t want her to see what he might have to do to the men, and he had to hurry and join Maya before she got herself into a dangerous bind.

He would judge the men while listening to their conversation and learning what they had in mind. If they turned out to be a danger to Kat or his sister or himself, he would take care of them.

Maya was already stalking the men, listening and waiting for him to join her. That’s what her roaring was all about. He hoped she wouldn’t act until he was there to watch her back.

“Maya’s out there,” he warned Kat, as if getting permission from her to take his leave.

Kat looked determined to see this through and scooped up the rifle lying where Maya had left it on the wooden floor of the small lookout platform. Maya’s clothes were sitting in a pile in one corner where she had shifted.

“Go,” Kat urgently whispered. “I’ll be all right. I’ve done this before. Protect Maya.”

Her raw concern for Maya touched him. If he’d had any doubts before about Kat’s loyalty to him and Maya, he now knew Kat was truly one of them. Part of their little jaguar-shifter team.

He cupped her face quickly, kissed her, and hugged her, wanting to hold her forever and protect her from the evils of the world. Beyond a doubt, he knew she would be his. He might have a time convincing her they were meant to be together, but he would do whatever it took.

Then he released her. He was out of his clothes in no time, feeling Kat’s eyes on him the whole time, and then he shifted into his jaguar coat. After giving her one last lingering look, feeling torn by needing to keep both Maya and his sister safe and not being able to be in two places at once, he leaped onto the tree branch above Kat. She gazed up at him and gave him a slight nod, telling him she would be okay.

No matter how much he wanted to believe it would be so, he had his doubts. Anything could go wrong in the rain forest. All he had to do was think back to that day a year ago when Kat had nearly died.

He leaped to another branch and then another, the adrenaline speeding through his blood, propelling him to seek out Maya and the men and determine what they intended to do next.

He didn’t want to kill them if he didn’t have to. But if he needed to kill to save Maya or Kat’s life, or even his own, he would have no qualms about doing it.

***

Maya had been following the men, who were still a distance from the hut. They were walking along one of the paths that Maya and Connor had made, so the trek wasn’t all that difficult for them. She counted five men, all dark haired and bearded, unwashed and armed to the teeth.

“I still don’t know why the hell you left her behind in the jungle, Manuel,” one of the men said in Spanish.