Taken By Desire (2 page)

But, while he may have run away from her in the house, and what he knew she was to him, he could not run from her when she was in need. As
asfaleia
, or the appointed protector of the leap, he couldn’t very well leave his own mate out in the cold, especial a mate that was his
vita’s
, the second under the leader, mate’s best friend. Nope, he’d never hear the end of it. So he was pulling up in her driveway, scanning the street and inhaling deeply for any scents of danger before he climbed out the car. Karen, mate to Laius, and
vasilassa
, had always told him he couldn’t run from fate, and it seemed that she had spoken true. Selene, the
vitasa
as Pietr’s mate, just hit him over the head and told him Sasha was strong enough to take it. Perhaps, now they would have no choice to see what would happen between Cirro and Sasha, because no one was going to hurt her. And if he was forced to remain by her side until the threat was removed, there was no way he was going to be able to stop himself from touching her.

He sighed as he stalked to her front door, careful to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. She answered on the third knock, swaying on her feet and crying. He could smell the alcohol on her breath, and the fear she tried desperately to hide as she wiped her tears away with angry hands. His heart clenched as he looked at her. So strong and yet so fragile.

“Did something happen?” he asked instead of taking her in his arms and giving her the comfort he could see she needed. He knew he’d end up taking her, but that didn’t mean he would capitulate in an instant. Touching her would be off-limits until he couldn’t find any other way.

“No, I’m just so…angry. I have to leave my home, my job, my
life
because some asshole wants to run free and do what he wants. I’m a frickin’ judge for God’s sake. This shouldn’t be happening.”

“It will be okay,
énteka
,” he said to her.

“What does that mean?” she asked, frowning.

“Elf,” he answered immediately.

“Elf? Did you just call me an elf? Like the Keebler elf?” she asked, voice rising.

“No, elf, as in ethereal beauty from the woods,” he said with a shrug. She sputtered as he grabbed her bags and hoisted them into the car.

“Thanks,” she murmured when he came back to the house for her.

“Don’t mention it. Have you got everything you need? We won’t be coming back for a while.”

“I may need clothes,” she argued. “I can’t pack my whole life in a couple hours.”

“I can buy you whatever you need. We need to get moving while there’s no one on the street. I can see if someone is coming quicker. Once I have you secured we can plan our next move,” he said as he guided her to the car. He made sure not to touch her, but opened her door for her and closed it after she slid in. He jogged around the front and got in his seat.

“So tell me about the danger you are in,” he said as he drove away from her home.

“It’s a case I was presiding over. Diego ‘Ice’ Rodriguez,” she said then.

“The supposed thug for a drug cartel out of Mexico?” he asked, his mind whirling. He’d heard of him while he’d been scanning the airwaves for any danger coming toward his leap. The katafygio was situated in the center of a few miles of woods and would seem like a prime place for unsavory characters to set up shop here in south Texas. Though the leap had secured the land many years ago and built on it, criminals didn’t care about the law, and could encroach on their territory. Cirro, as a part of his duties, made sure the leap didn’t face any danger from outside forces as well as internal ones, be they human, or the rogues that had been plaguing female wereleopards for some time. He knew that Ice was a vicious killer, he could see all the signs on the man, and had scoffed at the humans’ ineptitude to put the murderer away. Now that his mate was involved with the dangerous man his hackles were raised.

“Yes,” Sasha said quietly. “No one would take the case and he deserves to be in jail.”

“Why would you? You had to know the danger you would be in.”

“He can’t go around hurting people and not pay for it. There are families that deserve justice,” she said with quiet determination. He gritted his teeth, gripping the wheel tightly. He understood her need for justice, and call him chauvinistic, but she couldn’t defend herself from a trained killer. He would have killed her before anyone knew the wiser. The thought of her, hurt, bleeding out, made his leopard roar, and he barely contained it from rumbling out of him and scaring the shit out of the human woman next to him. She didn’t know what he was, what any of them were. But he had to bring her home. She would be safest there. He’d deal with the rest once he got her there.

“Now he’s on you scent. And stepping down from the case won’t stop him,” Cirro said. If the killer had zeroed in on her, there would be nothing she could do to stop him. Ice wouldn’t stop once he got the scent of the hunt in him.

“No,” Sasha agreed. “That’s why a detective told me to get out, to run. He risked his badge giving me the information. I’ve stepped down from the case, but Ice won’t stop until he gets me, I know it. It’s why I didn’t want to call Selene. No offense, since I know that you are the head of security, but Ice is a bona fide killer. Every person in that house could be in jeopardy by my coming there.”

“He can’t have you. I’d kill him first,” Cirro rumbled before he could catch himself. It didn’t matter though, the alcohol had worked its magic and Sasha was already sliding in her seat, asleep between one breath and the next. Cirro sighed. She couldn’t be comfortable like that. He’d taken the truck to come get her so he lifted the armrest between them, so the front seat became a three-seater, and unbuckled her seat belt. That done he pulled her over, one hand on the wheel and his eyes on the road, until she was leaning on his chest. She snuggled up to his side as he groaned.

This close he could smell the vanilla scent of her shampoo, the floral tones of her soap. She smelled good enough to eat. He rubbed his chest, the area suddenly aching as he drove his mate home, where she belonged.

Even if he didn’t think this was going to work out for them in the long run.

Chapter Three

Sasha was floating in the air. Groggily she opened her eyes, the large mansion that her best friends now lived in looming in front of her. She’d always loved the home. It was built in wings, each housing a number of Pietr’s extended family, and around the mansion were houses of other families. The main doors opened and Sasha realized that she was in Cirro’s arms, the thick bands of strength supporting her weight as if she was a feather. His chest was firm under her cheek and hand, his heart thumping steadily in a sure rhythm. This close to him something in her changed. Her heart sped up, her blood quickening as it pooled in her lower extremities. Every breath she took brought his scent deeper into her lungs and made her pussy throb with want. She shifted in his arms, uncomfortable with her reaction when this was the first time that Cirro had ever touched her. She clenched her jean clad thighs, trying to fight the throbbing sensation, but it only made it worse. A low, purring sound vibrated around her and she nearly moaned, the sound finding its way to her clit and sliding over her.

“Sasha!” Selene called breaking the spell, and Sasha felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment as Cirro let her down easy. It took a minute for her to find her balance and he steadied her before stepping back as if she were hot coals. Before she could say anything, Selene, now back to her original size after giving birth to her son, Alexios, pulled Sasha into her arms for a bear hug.

Maddy was close on her heels, wrapping around them both as best she could. Sasha couldn’t fight it anymore and broke down crying in their arms, to her utter amazement. She felt safe, as if she belonged here. Through watery eyes she saw Connor’s dark head over Maddy’s, and Pietr stepping forward, neither man ever too far behind their women. Selene was set to marry Pietr in just a few months, the couple having decided to wait till after the birth of their son to tie the knot. Connor, she knew—secretly of course because Maddy was
not
supposed to know yet—would be proposing to Maddy after the wedding. He wanted her to enjoy her shine in the engagement and at the wedding. Beth, Lauren, Drea, and Adelis, four women that seemed perpetually at Selene’s side once she had moved into the house, came up too.

“I’m sorry,” Sasha whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Don’t you dare,” Selene chastised her. “Let’s get you inside.” The group walked into the house and into the great room in the center of the mansion that was littered with soft white couches in front of several big-screen TVs around the room and interspersed with large banana trees with branches leading to the many floors. Sasha had thought the design odd but beautiful. Selene escorted the group to a circle of couches and they sat, Cirro standing behind Sasha. Though he didn’t touch her she felt the heat of his nearness as if he was right up against her.

“So spill,” Maddy ordered once she was snuggled up against Connor, who wrapped her up in his arms.

What I wouldn’t give to have that
, she thought mournfully. She hadn’t spent much time thinking about dating long term because of her career. Though her girls had enjoyed a multitude of girl’s night outs, they had only been for entertainment. None of them had much time to have a full-time romance, or so Sasha had believed. Somehow, though, Maddy and Selene had done it. Maddy was still a prominent neurosurgeon who worked on referrals only outside of the subdivision that belonged to Pietr’s family. When she wasn’t working out there she was the family’s physician, along with Pietr, Sasha had found out with some surprise. The man wasn’t just a pretty face, he was extremely intelligent to boot. Sasha remembered picking at Selene, saying that Pietr was probably good with his hands until Selene was blushing and running off to find her man. Pietr, too, was curled around Selene as if he never wanted to leave. Sasha shifted, lonely and uncomfortable on the couch, as Drea, Lauren, Beth, and Adelis had taken up different spots on the floor not too far from Selene.

“You know that case I told you I was presiding over?” Sasha started, not wanting to think anymore about the fact that she wished Cirro would take her in his arms again.

“Yes,” Selene answered.

“Well, it seems that the rumors were true that he is unforgiving with anyone who opposes him,” Sasha said. Selene looked at her questioningly but Sasha didn’t want to continue, the cold creeping in as she lost herself in thoughts about the mess she was in. He wanted her dead. He wasn’t just unforgiving. He’d take her away, kill her, and make sure it hurt when he did it. For a woman secure in her life and confident all the time, she didn’t like the fear. Didn’t like the lack of control she had over the entire situation. She didn’t realize she was making sounds of distress until Cirro came around the couch in a flash and lifted her onto his lap. She melted into his embrace as he rubbed her back soothingly.

“He has targeted her,” Cirro said for her as she took in his scent, comforted. She gripped his shirt as he told her friends what she’d told him. When they started asking questions he couldn’t answer, she spoke again.

“Diego, who goes by Ice, is a man that’s been the muscle for the Edrico drug cartel out of south Mexico for the last fifteen years. They have him residing in Texas to keep the drugs protected and moving across the border through some places like Cotulla and the like. The FBI, U.S. Marshals, and local law enforcement have been working for some time to bring cases against him and get him off the streets, but every case falls through for some reason or another.”

“Bribing, violence, and death I would figure,” Pietr said.

“Yes,” Sasha agreed. “Now that they believe he may be coming after me and I had to disappear. Someone else that could win almost hands down would have to take the first case, or he’ll go free again. I don’t know who else has the guts.”

“Sas, I love you, but what an idiot!” Selene yelled. “Why put yourself in that kind of danger and not tell anyone? We could have done something. Hell, we may have even made you safe enough to finish your job and put that asshole away.”

“I appreciate that, but I don’t think you would have been successful, and I didn’t want any of you in danger. With such an airtight case I didn’t think he would be able to go after me. But a cop risked everything to bring some information from an illegal wiretap, so I thought wrong.”

“It’s okay. You are safe here,” Maddy said soothingly.

“I can’t stay here forever. Eventually I will have to go back home and, unless they catch him, I’ll still be in danger. I don’t know what to do,” Sasha said, curling into Cirro.

“You will stay here, where you belong. He won’t hurt you. Not while I’m around. We will think of something. You can’t live the rest of your life in fear,” Cirro said then, and she believed him, for some reason. Some of the tension in her shoulders bled out.

“Damn straight. You can stay here forever for all I care. Alexios will love seeing his auntie every day,” Selene announced.

“Of course. Our house is yours,” Pietr added.

“We can go check her house tomorrow,” Connor said, speaking for the first time. “She says he knows her address so we may be able to pick up a trail.”

“I’ll take you up on that. Let me get Sasha settled and I’ll get back downstairs and we can talk about what our next move will be,” Cirro said.

He stood, picking up Sasha as he went. The others said their good-nights and she waved in return as he carried her upstairs. She hadn’t realized how tired she was until that moment. Safety, she realized, was an amazing feeling. Her whole body relaxed as Cirro carried her up the grand staircase and took a right when they reached the hallway. He passed several doors and then entered one on the right side. Selene was surprised to see stairs leading down, but didn’t get a chance to ask before Cirro closed the door behind them and closed them in complete darkness. She shrieked and clamped her arms around his neck.