Tempting the Jaguar (7 page)

sensitive bundle of nerves to drive

her absolutely insane with pleasure.

Drawing back, she began

nibbling kisses along his jaw as he

continued thrusting inside her in

even strokes. Unable to help

herself, she nipped his earlobe

between her teeth. When he sucked

in a breath and his strokes became

jerkier, the most feminine part of

her smiled.

What she wouldn’t give to make

this man lose absolute control.

Arching up, she rubbed her breasts

against his chest, savoring the feel

of her nipples brushing against the

hard planes of his body.

“Mine,” he growled next to her

ear as one of his hands cupped her

breast in a dominating grip. He

squeezed a little roughly before

tweaking her nipple between his

thumb and forefinger.

The abrupt action made her gasp

then moan. As he pinched the hard

nub, it bordered on pain but

quickly morphed into pure

pleasure. Her inner walls tightened

even more around his cock.

“Mine,” he said again, this time

even more demanding.

Oh yeah, she could definitely get

behind that. Her body could be his

if he kept playing it so expertly. It

was as if all her nerves were on

edge, tingling and ready for release.

She was so close, it practically hurt.

The ache inside her grew until he

cupped her other breast. Part of her

wondered if there was more to his

‘mine’ declaration, but she refused

to allow her thoughts to go there.

Not now. She just wanted to enjoy

herself and not get tangled up in her

own thoughts.

As he rolled both her nipples in

tune with his thrusting, she finally

let go. Her climax slammed into her

like a freight train, running her right

over so that she could barely catch

her breath.

She grabbed his head, tugging his

mouth to hers as her orgasm

exploded, shattering through all her

nerve endings. Hungrily and almost

out of control, she kissed him,

needing that extra connection as she

found her release.

His own release wasn’t far

behind. Tearing away from her

mouth, he let out a shout as he

came inside her. Unlike their first

time, his shout was so primitive it

rocked her to her core. The sound

echoed off the cave, reverberating

and wrapping around them until

she was aware of nothing else but

him.

She wrapped her legs tightly

around him, staying locked in place

even after he’d settled on top of her

and their breathing had evened out.

Eventually he lifted his head and

pinned her with a stare so molten

hot she was surprised she didn’t

catch on fire. It was like she was

caught up in a storm and couldn’t

look away. Hell, she didn’t want to.

She’d gladly be caught by this sexy

man.

“You’re mine, Estrella.”

Her insides practically quivered.

She wanted to demand he say it

again, even if the statement itself

scared her. Those three words

sounded a lot more intense than she

figured he meant and she didn’t

want to read into anything. She’d

been alone for so long, reaching out

only to a few humans. The thought

of letting someone into her heart

and then having it shattered when

things didn’t work out—yeah, she

couldn’t go there right now.

She cupped his cheek, gently

rubbing her thumb against his

smattering of facial hair. “Rainer—”

She was cut off by an unfamiliar

male voice. “Holy shit, Rainer. The

entire forest can probably hear

you.”

Anxiety threatened to take over

as it registered that they weren’t

alone anymore and she was very

naked. Normally she could scent

intruders, but she’d been so

wrapped up in Rainer she hadn’t

noticed. She guessed it was the

same for him because he seemed

surprised. Rainer didn’t seem to

care about nudity but she’d grown

up in the human world and it

mattered to her. She turned her

head toward the opening of the

cave’s mouth at the same time

Rainer did to see the same male

from the night before entering. It

was one of his brothers.

Embarrassed, she tried to cover

up but Rainer beat her to it. “What

the hell!” he shouted, moving off

her and blocking her so that his

entire body shielded hers.

She didn’t like to cower behind

anyone but she huddled against

Rainer, not wanting anyone,

especially Rainer’s brother, to see

her. She was already embarrassed

enough by what he’d just said about

the forest hearing them. It wasn’t

something she’d even thought

about but if his pack mates had

heard them...her face flamed and

she buried it against Rainer’s

muscular back.

“What’s your problem?” his

brother asked, his voice surly.

“I don’t know. Maybe you

barging in here while my female is

naked,” Rainer snapped, sounding

furious. The scent that permeated

off him was so sharp she could

practically taste his anger.

Wait a minute.
His female?
She

wondered if that was just a shifter

term for lovers or if he meant

something more by it.

There was a long pause and she

realized they were talking

telepathically. Popping her head up,

she glared at his brother and

pinched Rainer’s side. “It’s rude to

do that when there are other people

in the room.” Or cave.

Rainer looked over his shoulder

at her and actually looked sheepish.

“Sorry. My brother was telling me

your house is clear. We’ve got two

of my pack mates standing guard,

but there are no vampires anywhere

near there.”

“It’s daytime anyway, right? I

thought they couldn’t walk around

in the day.” Or at least he’d

insinuated it when he’d said they

could return to her house the next

morning.

“Day walkers are rare, though my

Alpha is mated to one.”

Her eyes widened. “Your Alpha

is mated to a vampire?” She’d

assumed that would be impossible.

But here she was sleeping with a

wolf, so what did she know.

Rainer nodded and opened his

mouth to say something, but the

man at the cave opening cut him

off. “So exactly where are you

from? And why are you living so

close to our pack land without

having introduced yourself?

There’s a reason those vamps were

after you and I want to know why.”

His brother’s voice was almost

hostile, his questions close to

shouting.

Estrella felt her throat close up at

the accusatory way he spoke to her.

And the dark look in his eyes made

her extremely uncomfortable.

“Damn it, Conrad. Enough with

the third degree,” Rainer snapped,

his own anger almost palpable.

“I have a right to know. The

entire pack does. Alaric and Knox

are going to be pissed,” he snarled.

Feeling nauseous, Estrella laid

back down and used Rainer’s body

as cover while she snagged the

clothes they’d discarded the night

before. Somehow she managed to

shimmy into them while Rainer and

his brother continued to argue.

She’d heard enough. Once she was

dressed, she sat up and placed her

hand on Rainer’s side. When he

saw her dressed he reached for his

own clothes.

“Listen, I appreciate your help

last night,” she said to Conrad—

who rudely hadn’t bothered to

introduce himself before tossing

questions at her, “but I’m going to

get off your land right now. I’ll talk

to your Alpha or whatever it is I

need to do but it’s early and I don’t

need some rude jerk shouting at

me.”

Rainer’s brother rubbed a hand

over his face and when his gaze

connected with hers again, he

looked slightly apologetic. “I’m

sorry. With the vampire-shifter

treaty taking place right now we

can’t afford any incidents.”

She shrugged, unsure how to

respond. Suddenly she felt very

uncomfortable now that it was

daylight. She’d just spent a night in

a cave with a wolf shifter she was

only just getting to know and he

was involved with this big pack and

a world she knew nothing about.

Estrella wrapped her arms around

herself, wishing she was back in

her home. Rainer’s arm landed

around her shoulders as he pulled

her close. His embrace was

comforting, but she knew she

couldn’t get used to it.

Looking down at her, his

expression was gentle, but also

tense. “Before we go to your place,

let’s go back with my brother. You

can meet some of my pack mates

and my other brother who’s still in

town—he’s much nicer than

Conrad,” he murmured jokingly.

Estrella shook her head and

looked down, feeling totally out of

place. “I just want to go home.”

Rainer’s grip on her tightened.

“Don’t pull away from me,” he said

quietly, almost desperately.

How did he read her so well?

Instead of responding, she took a

step out of his embrace. There was

no way she was having this

conversation with his brother and

who only knew how many of his

pack mates nearby. “Can we just

go?”

Growling low in his throat,

Rainer shot his brother a dirty look

before nodding at her. “Yeah.”

Relief swelled up inside her. Last

night with Rainer had been

amazing, but clearly she’d jumped

into whatever this was too soon.

She just wanted to get back to her

quiet, uncomplicated life.

Chapter 5

Rainer wanted to pummel his

brother for the rude way he’d

behaved to Estrella. They’d driven

back to her place instead of shifting

and running and she’d been quiet

the entire time. Not that he could

blame her. In addition to Conrad,

another pack mate had come with

them, which had probably only

compounded her nervousness.

Rainer wasn’t positive, but

considering his history with females

—or one treacherous female in

particular—he knew his brother

was just concerned about him.

But he didn’t need a babysitter

and he sure as hell didn’t need

someone making his female so

uncomfortable. It was like she’d

completely withdrawn into herself

and he hated it.

Staring out the window, her dark

hair covered most of her face so he

couldn’t even look at her profile.

He ached to reach out and run his

fingers through her hair, to pull her

close. But he figured she wouldn’t

welcome his touch and he didn’t

know her well enough to know the

right thing to do.

As they pulled down her

driveway, her hand was already on

the door handle. The second his

brother parked, she was out of the

car and striding toward the side of

her house, clearly heading to the

back where the door should still be

unlocked. Cursing under his breath

he hurried after her.

“Estrella.” She stopped only

when she reached the back door.

She opened it, but didn’t step

inside.

“What?” Nervousness rolled off

her in potent waves. She placed a

hand on the frame, almost like she

was steadying herself. Either that or

trying to block him from entering.

“Are you going to talk to me?”

“I just...” Her voice cracked and

it ripped open his heart. When her

eyes welled up with tears, it was

like a double whammy. She might

as well have punched him in the

gut.

Gathering her into his arms, he

nudged the door farther open with

his foot and guided them inside. He

then picked her up and didn’t stop

until they were in her kitchen. So

far it didn’t look like there had been

any damage to her home. The two

pack mates he’d seen near the edge

of her property line watching it had

already done a sweep so he knew it

was clear of danger. The vamps had

probably been too busy chasing

after them then getting back to

safety to stick around and tear apart

her home.

Though he didn’t want to let her

go, he set her down on one of the

chairs at what looked like a custom-

made oak kitchen table. He took a

step back then nodded at the

coffeemaker sitting next to her

refrigerator. “Coffee?”

She nodded gratefully so after

searching the cabinet above the pot,

he started making it and let her get

herself together. “I don’t know why

I was crying,” she said softly.