Savage Sanctuary 2: Panther Moon (11 page)

Regina Carlysle

know a warrior of your stature is my sister’s true mate.” A muscle bunched in his jaw and again a steely, hard look appeared in his narrowed eyes. “But I want it said that if you ever fail to protect her or do anything to hurt her, you’ll have to answer to me.”

Hudson nodded, not in the least offended. “I appreciate your honesty. I have a little sister, too, and believe me any man who hurt her would wind up dead in a hurry. I

protect what’s mine and from what I know of you, we might just be kindred spirits. I

hear you’re making quite a name for yourself at the Houston Police Department,

Detective Morgan. Homicide?”

“Yeah. Good, honest work and pays the bills.”

“Any thoughts of transferring here to San Antonio? If not to police work, I could

use a man like you as part of the security force at Declan Technologies.”

Max smiled. “You really mean you’d put me to work as a warrior for our people.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?”

Trea’s brother shook his head, his expression turning grim, hard, and angry. “No.

Not at all. Considering the murder of my parents, I believe more warrior-class panthers are needed.”

Hudson clapped one hand on the other man’s shoulder. “I couldn’t agree more,

Max, and for what it’s worth nothing would please me more than to dole out some

deadly justice to the men who killed your folks. Believe me, once I’ve seen your sister through her change, we’ll hunt them down. Action is called for. And justice.”

“You mean vengeance, don’t you, Hudson? If that’s the case, then count me in.”

Trea appeared before them, her hands fisted at her side. Bright flags of color rode the blades of her cheekbones.

“Justice, honey,” he answered.

Trea shook her head her gaze flashing from him to Max, her lips set in a mutinous

scowl. She shrugged. “Vengeance. Justice. Whatever you want to call it I won’t rest until Tom Hawkins and that other guy are in the grip of my claws.”

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Panther Moon

Inwardly, Hudson sighed. He walked up to his little hellcat and settled his hands

on her shoulders hoping she would relax. Her shoulders remained stiff under his touch.

“Sweetie, you don’t have claws yet. Remember?”

“Don’t patronize me,” she snapped. She shrugged off his hands and faced both men

square on. “You weren’t there when Mom and Dad were gunned down. You didn’t

hear those monsters laughing about it. And
we’re
animals?” She laughed bitterly. “No, they’re the animals. There was no regret. No emotion other than pleasure from those

two and if you think for one second I’ll stay home like a good little girl and wait for the big, bad warriors to deal with them, then you’re dead wrong.”

Max chuckled softly. “Forgot to tell you, Hudson, that your mate is a bit feisty.

Listen up, little sister, and listen good, hunting down these men is too dangerous and you don’t know what the hell you’re doing.”

“Then teach me,” she said, her fierce expression wilting under their scrutiny.

Hudson’s heart tightened with compassion. There was no doubt in his mind that if he’d walked a mile in her shoes, he would share her feelings. But it remained that his

priority was
her
safety.

Reaching for her hand, he gently tugged until she was nestled against his side.

“You make me proud, Trea. Know that?”

“I do?” The whispered question caused him to tighten his hold.

“Yeah.” He settled his cheek against her hair as her soft fragrance filled his head.

“This has been an emotional day. What do you say we head home?”

“Hudson’s right, Trea. There will be plenty of time in the days and weeks ahead to

talk about vengeance and justice. I promise you, we will.”

Trea mustered a smile for her brother. “Will you be staying?”

Max nodded. “Yeah, for awhile. Titus and Mahara have offered their hospitality

and I’ll hang out a bit. I have a hell of a lot to think about.”

* * * * *

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Regina Carlysle

Late the next afternoon, Trea sat curled up with a book from Hudson’s collection of

spy thrillers and absently thumbed the pages. One glance at the clock sitting on the

fireplace mantel told her she’d been staring at the same paragraph for the past thirty minutes. Mentally rolling her eyes, cursing her lack of concentration, she huffed a

breath and set the paperback aside. Hudson had done this to her, zapped her

concentration until she was a shivering, quivering mass of flesh just waiting for him to claim her again. Yep, she was now a happy addict and Hudson, her mate, was her drug

of choice.

Trea closed her eyes, loving the feel of the late afternoon sun bathing her face. Her mind drifted to the hours she’d spent in Hudson’s arms after what had been, no doubt, one of the worst days of her life. The day before had been bittersweet, reconnecting

with Max after their long separation and sad beyond measure saying goodbye to her

folks. But then Hudson, with his strong, quiet ways made things better by taking her

into his arms and loving her until little breath was left in her body and her limbs had turned to Jell-O. Once again, she was beginning to believe she’d finally found the place where she belonged. A home. People who might come to love her.

Feeling restless, Trea unwound her legs from the couch and padded barefoot into

the kitchen for something cold to drink. Seeing the tea pitcher was empty, she put water on to boil. Soon sweet tea was thrown together, and chilling in the fridge. While all that was going on, she went to work on supper. Hudson had called earlier to say he’d be

home early tonight and could she please set out three or four t-bone steaks for supper.

Sprinkling seasoning on the meat, she smiled. The man was typical of most panther

males and had a very healthy appetite. After wrapping several large baking potatoes in aluminum foil, she tossed them in the oven but paused at hearing the sound of

Hudson’s truck roaring up the driveway.

She caught her breath as primal hunger swept her body and she suddenly wished

she wore something a little nicer than her comfiest shorts and a simple tee shirt.

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Panther Moon

Trea paused when Hudson opened the door from the garage and stepped into the

room.

“Hudson,” she said, her breath catching. Sexual anticipation zipped through her

veins. Oh yeah, she was a goner for sure if she couldn’t look at him without creaming her panties. “You’re a little early. I’m just—” When Hudson moved farther into the

room, she realized he wasn’t alone so she instantly squelched the idea of running into his arms and climbing up his big body like a spider monkey. “Oh. Hi.”

Hudson’s companion was a huge, dark Latino and from his scent she knew he was

also panther. They sure grew their men gorgeous in this neck of the woods. Yum. Yum.

Like Hudson, he wore the standard black tee shirt featuring the Declan Technologies

crest over the breast pocket. His indigo denim jeans were belted, like Hudson’s, with black hand-tooled leather and a pounded silver western-style buckle featuring the

Turquoise Moon Tribe’s symbol of a full moon inlaid with turquoise stone. He carried a fistful of white and yellow gerber daisies and had what looked to be a bottle of wine tucked under one arm.

Belatedly Trea realized she recognized him from her parents’ funeral but had yet to

be introduced. Hudson moved to her side, wrapped an arm around her and squeezed

her waist gently. “Trea this is my friend, Rio Santana.”

Rio stepped close and taking her hand, pressed his forehead to the back of it in an

Old World gesture that wasn’t lost on Trea. She suddenly knew why he was here

tonight but stayed silent, waiting for confirmation. When Rio finally looked up and

pierced her with his black gaze, her heart thumped. There could be no other reason for the way he’d greeted her or the way he looked at her now. She must’ve looked like a

scared little bunny because his expression went gentle. “I didn’t have a chance to talk with you last night but you have my condolences for your loss, little one.”

“Thank you. Did you know them?”

“
Si
. I knew your father. He was a good man.”

“He was.”

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Regina Carlysle

Hudson’s hand on her waist was warm and when his fingers flexed, she looked at

him.

“Rio will be having dinner with us tonight. I hope that’s all right.”

“Of course. I just put potatoes in the oven and steaks are ready for the grill.”

Hoping to keep things light, she grinned at their guest. “I assume you like t-bones?”

“Damn straight.” The sexy Latino held out the flowers to her. “For you. And wine.”

When she took the daisies, he winked and held up a dark green bottle. “I know lots of ladies prefer wine over beer.”

Trea laughed. “This lady does. You are so thoughtful.”

Rio shrugged. “What can I say? My mama raised me right.”

When Hudson stepped away, she felt tension radiate from his body in waves. For

the first time, she noted he held the handle of a black bag featuring a gold logo she didn’t recognize. He glanced at Rio and then back at her. “I’ll put this away in the

bedroom and let you two get acquainted. Be right back.”

“Sure,” she said carefully. She wanted to ask what was in the bag but it wasn’t her

business so she stayed quiet. “I’ll just put these flowers in some water.”

After Hudson left the room, she smiled faintly at their guest, more than a little

unsure of herself. “These are so pretty.” Trea held up the lovely flowers. “Better give

’em a drink, huh?”

Turning away she crossed the kitchen and opening a set of cabinet doors went to

her tiptoes as she tried to reach a vase on the top shelf. Suddenly Rio was there and before she could blink, he held the tall glass container out to her. “Allow me.”

“Wow, so fast.”

His grin flashed white and just a little bit wicked. “I can do things slow too.”

“You’d better not be flirting with me, big guy. Hudson might have something to

say about that.”

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Panther Moon

Rio turned suddenly serious. He stroked one finger down the side of her cheek, his

black eyes intense. “I would never, could never, poach on Hudson’s woman. I’d rather

be shot dead. He’s the best man I know and I owe him my loyalty, along with my

friendship. We are closer than brothers.”

Flustered, Trea shook her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything of the

sort. I was just teasing.”

He smiled then shocked the hell out of her by pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

“Come on. Let’s see about getting that grill out back fired up. I’m starving.”

And just like that the mood was lightened. Several hours later, the three of them sat outside under the bright Texas moonlight, the only other illumination coming from a

yellow citronella candle burning atop Hudson’s brightly colored tile-topped table. Trea couldn’t remember a time in recent weeks when she’d felt so utterly comfortable.

Hudson and Rio regaled her with stories of youthful exploits, some humorous and

others downright hair-raising. Their history as friends and warriors unfolded for her as the minutes ticked by and though she was beginning to feel closer to Hudson, now she

felt she knew him. Knowing your mate was a good thing. The two of them drew her

into their tales, answering her questions with an ease that made her feel included,

accepted.

Trea took a sip of her wine and smiled as Hudson carefully worked on peeling the

label from his longneck bottle of beer with the edge of his thumbnail. Rio set his empty on the table and reached into a small, galvanized bucket to pluck a fresh brew from the ice.

“So you two first met fighting in the Civil War?”

Setting the empty bottle aside, Hudson nodded and reached for her hand. He

rubbed his thumb along her palm sending a sexy tingle up her bare arm. “Yep. Damn

awful war. We were both cavalry and in the same unit.”

“You fought for the South?”

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Regina Carlysle

Rio took a swig of his beer. “We’re Texans, so yeah. The way I figure it both sides

lost. Americans fighting Americans. Terrible thing,
querida
. At least slavery was ended when all was finished.”

“And you two were unscathed,” she said softly.

Hudson pressed her fingers to his lips. Pleasure whispered over her flesh and her

heart squeezed. For such a big, tough man he could be so gentle.

“You have a sweet heart, darlin’,” Hudson said. “No wonder your father protected

you.”

Trea rolled her eyes. “Boy, did he ever.”

“Smart man,” Rio added. “We believe in protecting our women.”

She laughed. “Overprotect, you mean. Hmm. Maybe it’s about time some
woman

took care of you big tough guys for a change.”

Hudson grinned. “I have a feeling if any woman could, it would be you, darlin’.”

Tough? Her? No one in her life had ever applied that word to her but his teasing

warmed her to her toes and she had to admit it would be wonderful to come fully into

her beast and test her skills. A shiver swept her as a low roll curled through her belly.

Heat rose at the touch of fur and the feeling of her cat preparing to make her

appearance. Instantly, her panties went wet and her clit pulsed against the silk of her undies. She caught her breath and held it. Beside her Hudson went still and his nostrils flared as she knew he’d caught her scent.

Rio looked down at the table but she caught the tightening of his jaw as a muscle

there bunched in reflex.

“I think it’s time I told you why Rio is here tonight, my sweetheart.”