SavageLust (21 page)

Dante nodded. “We do.”

“I sure won’t get a good night’s sleep after this for a long
time. What’s up with that smell?”

“We think it has something to do with its genetic
combination,” Ben replied.

“Sure is an ugly, scary son of a bitch. I imagine those
fangs are what did all the damage to the bodies.” He shook his head. “What a
hell of a way to die. I wouldn’t even wish that on my worst enemy.” He looked
at Dante. “If you get more of these cases in Texas, the Rangers will work with
you. And we’ll help you hunt down the monster creating them, if he’s inside
this state. I can promise you that.”

“Good to know.”

In a moment, they heard another helicopter approaching. Once
Craig’s men landed, they were more than happy to let them take the lead.

“The Lamars will be a while recovering from this sight,”
Garth said.

Dante nodded. “No kidding. At least they’ll be out of this
nightmare. For us, it just means waiting for the devil to appear again.”

“And keep trying to find the location where some insane
idiot is breeding them,” Ben added. “I’m guessing Ric will be back with some of
the others soon. Let’s help get this place cleaned up as soon as we can and get
the hell out of here.”

* * * * *

“I looked at that thing and I
still
couldn’t believe
it.”

Regan was stripping off her clothes, energy from the shift
still sizzling through her body. Studying Reed’s notes had been one thing, but
seeing the creature for herself? She knew she’d never forget it. All she could
do was hope it didn’t haunt her nightmares for too long.

Tonight she felt as though Reed’s death had been vindicated,
and she appreciated Ric bringing her back to the scene upon the chopper’s
return. Now if they could just find Lisa…

She knew she should have been exhausted. After the cleanup
at the Lamars’, Craig and Ric had insisted on doing a complete debrief. But her
body was on sensory overload, fizzing with energy.

“I think everyone feels that way,” Dante told her. “How are
you?”

“Ramped up and exhausted at the same time. I’m sure the
others are too.”

“I think they’re all just happy to have this episode over
and done with.”

Regan chewed her lower lip. “But the thought that we aren’t
finished yet, that someone is breeding these things…” Her voice trailed off.

“I know.” He cradled her face in his warm palms. “But we’ll
find that place and get them. And we’ll find Lisa too.”

“Do you promise?” she asked, pain lancing through her heart.

“As much as I can promise anything.” He brushed his mouth
over hers. “You know I’d give you whatever you asked for, don’t you?”

“I’m beginning to believe it,” she whispered, just before
his mouth crushed against hers.

With a desperation borne of the high mix of emotions boiling
inside her, she tore at his shirt and dragged it down his arms, frantic to feel
the skin of his body against hers. His crisp chest hairs abraded her nipples,
sending shards of heat through her. Dante’s hands were firm against her body as
he traced her curves. When he bent his head to take one nipple in his mouth,
she drew in a breath, feeling the pull clear to her cunt. A moan slid from her
throat.

“So sweet,” Dante murmured, his lips cruising a trail down
the line of her neck and up to the sensitive spot behind her ear. He nibbled at
the flesh of the lobe, tiny bites that he soothed with his tongue before moving
to the hollow at the base of her throat. Regan had to dig her fingers into his
shoulders to keep her balance.

“Clothes off,” she gasped. “Now.”

“Yours are already off.” His chuckle had a hoarse sound to
it.

“I mean
yours
. Want you. Against me. In me. Now.”

“So impatient.” He lifted her and carried her to the bed.
“Time to repay the favor from the other night.”

Before she could think, he had her lying back on the bed,
legs spread. Kneeling, he opened the lips of her pussy and took a long, slow
lick. Electricity zinged through her, the walls of her cunt spasming from just
that one caress.

“Delicious,” he crooned. “Like peaches and strawberries
mixed together.”

Another lick, this time even more leisurely, with a pause to
swirl the tip of his tongue over and around her aching clit.

For the first time since that initial frantic afternoon, she
felt claimed by him, just as she was claiming him for herself.

He ate at her with such a leisurely pace. Why didn’t he
hurry? Move faster? His tongue caressed every inch of her pussy, dipping into
the well of her vagina then back to tracing her slit. Over and over until she
wanted to scream. When he slid two fingers inside her, she almost wept with
joy, then groaned when he drew them out.

But in the next moment he dragged them down the sensitive
skin to her anus, painting her with her own juices before slowly inching a
finger into her dark, hot tunnel.

Dante!

She wanted to scream his name but he was stealing her
breath.

He worked his finger carefully in and out, the sensation a
combination of icy and hot, while his mouth continued to ply her cunt.
Desperate, she wrapped her legs around his neck and tried to draw him to her
even more tightly, but he was determined to work her at his own pace.

After a while she forgot to demand, to beg, losing herself
in the wash of sensations gripping her. The pulse in her womb beat heavily,
heat crawling over her skin, her blood pounding a steady rhythm.

Her orgasm hit with the force of a cyclone, smashing into
her, shaking her body, every muscle contracting and pulsing. His mouth never
left her cunt and his hot finger never left her ass, both working her until she
thought she’d explode from the force of the climax.

She lay on the bed, gasping for breath, sweaty, heart
pounding, as Dante pulled off the rest of his clothes and grabbed a condom from
the nightstand drawer. Then he was inside her, driving so deep he touched her
womb. She felt him everywhere, her body gripping him with renewed hunger.

“Mine,” he growled. “Now I can say it, Regan. Mine. And I’m
yours. Always, from now on. Say it.”

“Yes,” she cried, arching up to him. “Yours. I’m yours. We
belong to each other.”

He drove into her harder and faster, riding her as if his
life depended on it. A second climax burst through her without warning and
Dante followed at once. His cocked pulsated inside her as he emptied himself
again and again. Bending forward, he crushed his mouth to hers, his tongue
plunging inside, carrying with it her taste. She sucked greedily, locking him
close with her strong legs.

She had no idea how long they stayed that way, his body
pressed to hers, mouths still hungry, hearts beating so frantically it shook
them. Eventually he eased himself from her body. Lifting her from the bed, he
carried her into the bathroom, where he turned on the shower and disposed of the
condom.

They stood together beneath the hot water, her head on his
shoulder, his arms holding her tightly.

This is where I belong. Forever.

As if he could hear her, Dante put his mouth close to her
ear and echoed, “Forever. Mine, forever.”

* * * * *

Dante looked at the people around him. The patio was jammed
with Night Seekers and their mates, and today Garth Myers had joined them. The
celebration was subdued, but only because they were still so fresh from the
recent Chupacabra incident. Craig Stafford had gone out of his way to make sure
Logan and Rebecca’s wedding had both class and meaning. The justice of the
peace who married them was an old friend and had conducted the ceremony with
grace.

Now they all stood around sipping champagne and nibbling on
the expensive hors d’oeuvres Craig had flown in, his gift to them for having to
postpone the wedding.

“No apologies,” Logan told him over and over again. “If not
for this group, the two of us would never have met, so we really owe you.”

“I’m just glad good things have come out of this nightmare,”
he said.

Dante pulled Regan to his side, wrapping his arm around her.
“I know it seems sudden,” he said, “but we need to talk about
us
doing
this before too long.”

“You don’t think we’re moving too fast? I mean—”

He touched a finger to her lips. How could he find the words
to tell her how full his heart was now that she was with him? He had life
again, and could look forward to the future. He’d never get rid of all the pain
but he had something to replace it. And he was sure Felicia would approve.

“I think I’ve finally figured out that life is too short to
waste. What about you?”

She smiled, the warmth in it reaching into his heart. “I
completely agree.”

“Is it too soon for me to ask if you’re thinking of moving
back to your house?”

Regan laughed. “No, not at all.” Her faced sobered. “I’ve
found something here that I never expected to have. Not just a human mate but a
new family, a new pack. You have no idea how special that is to me. To someone
like
me.”

“I’ve watched and listened to the others,” he told her, “so
I have an idea.”

“But mostly I don’t want to be separated from you.”

“And you don’t have to be.”

Neither of them realized Craig had moved up to stand beside
them.

“Sorry for eavesdropping.” He smiled. “I just wanted to tell
you, Dante, how nice it is to see a smile on your face after all this time.” He
chuckled. “I never thought when I put this group together I might end up
running a matchmaking service, but that seems to be what’s happening.”

“I think the common bonds draw us together,” Dante said.
“And keep us together.” He tightened his arm around Regan. “I know I’m keeping
this one.”

“What do you plan to do about your house?” Craig asked
Regan.

“I’ll probably put it up for sale,” she said. “We’ve moved a
lot of my things here already.”

“Why don’t you let me take care of it for you? I think it’s
a foregone conclusion we’d like you to be a part of Night Seekers. You could
provide valuable insight and assistance. Our battle is far from over. And your
friend Lisa is still out there, along with Chloe’s friend, Melinda. What do you
say?”

She looked at Dante. When he smiled at her and nodded, she
said, “Yes. Thank you. It would be an honor to join this team.”

“Good. Okay then. You and Dante pack up whatever you want out
of your place and I’ll get it trucked out here to the ranch. Then I’ll oversee
the sale.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” she protested.

“You’re not asking me. I’m offering. And I really want to
make it easy for you.”

“She says yes,” Dante answered for her. “And we appreciate
everything you’re doing.”

“We’ll be doing more construction around here, so as soon as
you’re ready, let’s get together on plans for what the two of you might want in
the future.”

“I don’t know how to thank you.” Dante’s throat tightened
painfully as emotion swamped him.

“No thanks necessary. I should be thanking this whole team.
Now…let’s give the happy couple our good wishes.”

Craig walked to the center of the patio, picked up a spoon
and tapped it against his crystal champagne flute. “If I can just have everyone’s
attention for a moment. He let his gaze roam over the group. “I want to
officially say congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Logan Tanner.”

He raised his glass in the direction of Logan and Rebecca
and everyone followed suit.

“I’m glad they finally got to have the wedding,” Regan
whispered to Dante. “I really like them. Well, not just them. Everyone.”

Dante kissed her forehead. “I know they feel the same way.”

“This last case was tough on all of us,” Craig went on. “For
one thing, it was close to home and made us realize how vulnerable we all are.
We have no clue as to where the next attack will occur.”

“I hate to say it,” Ric told him, “but I don’t think whoever
is behind this is through with this area yet. Everything I’ve analyzed leads me
to believe the center of this is somewhere in Texas. The incidents keep coming
back here.”

“You still believe whoever’s behind the beasts is located
somewhere in the state?” Craig asked.

“I do. And we’re going to keep analyzing the data. I’d love
to say we’ll find wherever the breeding ground is before we have another
killing but unfortunately, I can’t promise that.”

“Finding that location is going to be a primary focus of
this group,” Craig continued. “Our one failure so far is not being able to find
and rescue Melinda and Lisa.”

Beside him, Dante felt Regan tense at the mention of Lisa’s
name. “I have nightmares thinking about what’s happened to her,” she whispered.

“I know. And I wish I could take some of the pain from you.”

Craig continued. “Randi has given us a very good generic
sketch that blends the physical characteristics of the two women.” He glanced
over at Garth. “Thanks to our Texas Ranger for agreeing to send out bulletins,
asking about disappearances of women with similar physical characteristics.”

“I’ll be checking that on a regular basis,” Garth announced.
“Maybe we can narrow down the search area if we know where others have
disappeared.”

“And I’ll be monitoring it from here, also,” Ric added.
“Regan has volunteered to work with us on the computers, doing research and
running programs. That means three of us will be at it full-time.”

“Keeping secrets?” Dante whispered.

“No.” She leaned into his body. “Just hadn’t had a chance to
tell you. So you see? I’m not going anywhere.”

Dante let happiness wash over him, a feeling he’d never
thought to experience again.

“Let’s hope we’re able to find some clues before another
attack by the devil beast,” Craig told them. “But I promise you this. All of
you. We
will
find them, we
will
find the monsters behind this,
and we
will
destroy all of the beasts.”