by Amy Sumida
“Ouch,” I whispered. Then I considered it. “Yeah, okay,” I nodded. “So maybe she’s right.”
Kael looked at me in surprise.
“In my agency, there are very few of us who have immediate families,” I explained. “And there’s a reason for that. The work is dangerous, and we’re often gone for long periods without any chance of making contact. Most people couldn’t handle loving someone like that. Plus, loved ones can be used against you.”
“What about parents?” Kael asked. “Siblings?”
“I don’t have anyone.” I swallowed hard, flashes of a crime scene running through my head. “They were murdered by some very bad… people.”
Shifters. A fucking pack of hyena shifters had killed my parents and younger brother. It was the reason I’d joined SCCIT.
“Murdered?” Kael’s hand went to my face and gently angled it back to him. “Tell me what happened. Let me shoulder some of the pain with you. We will dull it together.”
“And let it sharpen our happiness?” I smiled wistfully.
“Yes.”
“I was away at college,” I began. “I may have been named after a Shakespearean character, but I was also born during one of the worst storms to ever hit Florida. So both references are correct. My father said the storm had been a preview of my personality, and they’d named me appropriately.”
“You must have been wild at school.” Kael grinned.
“One of those activist types, always trying to save the world.” I laughed at my own innocence. “I had no idea how bad the world really was.”
Kael frowned but kept silent.
“I was nineteen when I got the call,” I said. “I went home to find a scene out of a horror movie. I remember sitting there in shock while some police officer explained that I couldn’t stay in my own home until it was cleaned by a professional crime scene cleaning crew. I couldn’t process it. My life had been destroyed. The people whom I loved the most were splattered across the walls of our home, and the police were kicking me out because it was unhygienic.”
“Son of a bitch,” Kael swore. “What did you do?”
“I slept in the yard.” I gave a pathetic laugh. “Though there wasn’t much sleep involved. All night I went over it in my head.”
“Over what?”
“The crime.” I set my eyes on him firmly. “The murders. The police had shown me pictures. Walked me through it.”
“Those bastards,” Kael growled.
“No.” I shook my head, “I asked them to.”
“You what? Why?”
“I wanted to know exactly what happened to my family,” I said. “And I spent the night working it through. By morning, I had a list of suspects. The next afternoon, I tracked those suspects down, and found the murderers.”
“You found them?” Kael looked shocked. “A little nineteen-year-old girl found the murderers of her own family?”
“Yeah, that was pretty much the reaction I had from the police.” I chuckled. “Two months later, I was offered a job. Someone had noticed my skill.”
“Who do you work for exactly?” Kael asked casually, but his gaze was sharp.
“I could tell you, but then I’d have to”
“Kill me,” Kael huffed, cutting me off.
“I was going to say ‘use my feminine wiles to ensure your silence’, but sure, I could do that too.” I smirked.
“I think I like your way better.” Kael grabbed the blanket beneath me and used it to pull me closer to him. “More wine?”
“Sure,” I said breathlessly.
He leaned in to refill my glass.
“So you got hired by some secret squirrel government agency,” Kael said. “Then you did lots of secret squirrel things until you wound up on my doorstep?”
“Well, in your brother’s bed, but yes,” I said.
“About that.” Kael’s arm slid around me. “Why Zaire’s? Was it softer? Harder than mine? What? I have to know.”
I laughed and leaned into him, my arm going around his bent knee.
“It was the first one I came to,” I said.
“Oh, I guess that’s okay then.” He nodded.
“I don’t think I would have made it”—I frowned, suddenly remembering the whole of that night—“if not for the grizzlies.”
Kael went still. “The grizzlies?”
“You didn’t know you had grizzlies in your backyard?” I teased. “They attacked the were”—I cleared my throat—“the Wrights. They attacked the Wrights when they tried to chase me up the mountain. I made it away because of the bears.”
“How do you know they were grizzlies?” Kael’s eyes narrowed on me.
“Brown bears wouldn’t have attacked a large group of… men.” I shrugged. “I know this isn’t really grizzly territory, but it had to be grizzlies.”
“I’m impressed that you know so much about bears,” Kael said. “And actually, we do know about the grizzlies. It’s a family of bears, they’ve lived in this area for a long time. Very territorial. You should be honored that they let you pass.”
“Maybe they sensed that I wasn’t a threat.” I grinned. “Not in the state I was in.”
“Or maybe they thought you needed some help.” He shrugged. “Bears are fascinating animals. Did you know a female can conceive from several different males when she’s fertile?”
“Really?” I blinked, surprised at the turn in the conversation. “How many cubs can she have at once?”
“Up to five,” he said. “And all of them can be from different fathers.”
“Kind of like cats.” I nodded.
Kael scowled. “Bears are not like cats.”
“In that they are,” I said, enjoying teasing him. “Cats can give birth to a litter from multiple fathers.”
Kael growled and narrowed his eyes on me.
“Hey, I don’t make the facts, I just report them.” I held up my hands.
He grabbed the hand that had previously been on his leg and put it back to where it was.
“Fine, I won’t shoot the messenger.” Kael took my wine glass and put it aside with his. “I have something better planned for her anyway.”
He angled me back onto the blanket, filling my sight with the sky and his striking face. The view lasted only momentarily, though. Soon I was closing my eyes to his kiss, opening to his questing tongue, and sliding my hands over the planes of his shoulders. I latched onto the thick muscles of his back and pulled him in closer. Kael groaned and rolled over me, giving me only a taste of his weight. The rest he held aloft. His hips pressed into mine, the firm bulge between us making me writhe. My dress slid up, and we connected intimately. I wrapped my legs around him, and selfishly rubbed against him. Just a little more…
“That’s it.” Kael broke away to murmur in my ear. “Take your pleasure, darlin’. Let me hear you scream.”
I couldn’t even speak anymore, I was too lost to sensation and the sensuality of his words. His mouth went to my neck as my hands slid to his ass. I pulled him tighter to me as I ground my way to ecstasy. He kept whispering naughty things to me between savage bites on my neck and rumbling growls that had me trembling. Finally, I reached that elusive apex, quivering my way through a climax that left me panting and weak.
“God, that was one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen.” Kael smoothed the hair back from my face. “You nearly brought me along with you.”
My face flushed as I realized how wanton I’d been, and how I’d left him unsatisfied.
“Oh no, don’t you dare do that.” He eased to the side and smoothed my dress down. “That was beautiful, and I won’t let you ruin it with embarrassment.”
I glanced down at his pants. His erection strained against his jeans impressively… right into a wet patch that I’d left there. I closed my eyes in horror.
“Damn it, Tempest,” Kael growled. “What did I just say?” He grabbed my jaw and kissed me hard. “You aren’t the only one affected. Open your eyes. Look at me.”
I opened my eyes to find that he’d released himself from his jeans. I inhaled sharply to see the perfect length of him out in the bright sunlight proudly. Kael’s hand went to it, and he began to stroke the thick shaft. My eyes shot to his. He was staring at my face, but he lowered his gaze slowly down my body.
“Lift your dress for me, sweetheart,” Kael’s voice had gone deeper, sexier. “Let me see you.”
My breath caught, but I did as he asked, pulling my hem up over my hips. His gaze shot to my white, silk panties, so wet, they were see-through. And I was completely waxed. I might as well have been naked. Kael groaned, his strokes coming faster, and my eyes went to his manhood.
“Higher,” he begged. “Pull it all the way up.”
I arched my back and slipped my dress off completely. Then slowly, as his breath went ragged, I undid my bra. I lay before him, the warm sun soaking into my pale flesh, nearly naked. Yet I felt so safe. It was luxurious, to stretch out there before him, not worrying that he would take it any further than I wanted, or that anyone else would see me.
“Fuck,” Kael groaned. “Tempest, I’m going to…”
I reached down and took over for him. It was all he needed. He came in hot streams on my thigh, shaking through his release. When he was spent, he fell backward, pulling me with him. His passion was still wet between us, but I didn’t care. I lay across him, his spent member beside my belly, my bare breasts pressed to his chest, and fell into the best sleep of my life.
Chapter Fourteen
We didn’t sleep for long, just a half hour or so. Kael woke first, and his sexy shifting brought me awake. I looked up into his smiling face, and smiled back, completely at ease with him. It was strange to have been so intimate with him, and yet not have had sex. It made for a very comfortable feeling. We knew each other’s bodies now, but there was none of that awkwardness that came after rushing into sex with someone. It was perfect.
We dressed, and headed back down the mountain, just in time to see Blaise pulling up in his truck. He gave us a happy wave, then held up packages of fast food. So I guess they didn’t eat healthy all the time. Kael headed over to help Blaise with the bags, and then we went inside to eat. Zaire walked in while we were finishing, and had to make do with some lukewarm burgers, but he seemed fine with it. He took the seat across from mine and started to tell me what he’d discovered.
Derick Wright and his men had been conducting all sorts of criminal activities for years now, but human trafficking was rather new for them. Thus, they weren’t the best at it. And they were cocky. They’d left a lot of trails to find, the biggest being their intermediary. The Wrights were a little too uncouth for their customers, so they’d hired a go-between. Someone who could not only represent them but drum up business for them. And her name was Madeline Hanson.
I was a little shocked that it was a woman, but I guess evil isn’t limited to the male sex. Zaire got her information, including an address, from his acquaintances. Madeline lived in Larchwood, just a few miles away, but her office was in Thompson Falls, which was about half an hour’s drive in the opposite direction. Zaire suggested we break into her home the next day, while she was in her Thompson Falls office. He said it could be part of our date.
I, of course, loved the idea.
Blaise said he was planning something special for the day after that, and I was surprised to find myself anticipating my upcoming dates as much as the hunt for the lost women. The Medvedev brothers were slipping their way past my defenses, and I was loving every second of it. I hadn’t fallen for a man since college, pre-murders, and I knew it had been a conscious choice. I couldn’t let myself get attached. I’d been too fragile after losing my family. The thought of losing someone else I loved was terrifying. But the Medvedevs were strong, capable men. I didn’t worry about them as much as I might have a regular guy. But then, all that strength meant very little when you were faced with something supernatural. Like a werewolf.
And I’d been sending them out against the Pack unprepared. Well fuck.
“There’s also a new guy in town.” Zaire was watching me carefully. “He’s living in the house you were renting.”
“Raptor,” I growled. “Blonde? Like freakishly blonde? Nearly albino?”
“That’s him.” Zaire nodded. “My contact said he’s been asking around town.”
“Yeah, about the women,” I said. “He’s my replacement.”
“No, Tempest,” Zaire said. “He’s asking about you.”
“About me?” I frowned. “I guess Leighton cares after all. Huh,” I made a face. “Who would have thought?”
“They said he seemed very determined to find you,” Zaire added.
“I would have thought he’d be more interested in finding the women.” I tapped my fingers thoughtfully on the kitchen table. “He loves showing people up, and he’s never had a chance to do so with me.”
“Maybe you should give your boss another call,” Blaise suggested.
“No.” Zaire shook his head. “I don’t agree with that. This feels strange, Tempest. Let it ride until we find the women. When that’s handled, you can call your boss.”
“Speaking of which.” I sighed and slid back in my chair. “I need to tell you guys something that’s going to sound crazy. I should have told you before, but I’m kind of sworn to secrecy. It’s just that now we’re getting deeper into this, I feel like you deserve to know the truth of what you’re up against.”
“And what’s that?” Kael asked.
“First, let me tell you about my organization,” I said. “It’s called the Supernatural Community Control and Intelligence, SCCIT for short.”
“SCCIT?” Blaise asked, casting his brothers a look. “Sounds like a lot of letters.”
“I told you about what happened to my family,” I said to Kael. “What I didn’t tell you was that they were killed by werehyenas.”
“Your family was murdered?” Blaise was horrified, but not by what I expected him to be horrified by.
Zaire and Kael just stared at me.
“None of you are going to ask what a werehyena is?” I asked in surprise.
“I’m assuming it’s like a werewolf but a hyena instead,” Zaire said calmly.
“Good guess.” I frowned at his calm.
“You did just say you were part of a group whose name begins with ‘Supernatural’,” Kael pointed out. “It wasn’t a far stretch.”
“You’re all taking this rather well,” I said.
“Still processing.” Zaire glanced at Kael.
“You wanna tell us what this has to do with your assignment?” Kael asked.
“Derick Wright is a werewolf.” I just threw it out there. Why not? They were dealing really well. Either that or they were quietly plotting to stick me in the loony bin. “He’s the Alpha of the Sander’s County Pack, which was at the center of my investigation. We suspected that he was kidnapping women and selling them as sex slaves to other supernaturals.”
“Supernaturals like werehyenas?” Zaire asked.
“You think I’m bonkers.” I sighed.
“No, we don’t.” Kael looked serious. “We believe you.”
“You believe me?” I asked in relief.
“”And we’re glad you trusted us with this,” Zaire added. “Now we can act accordingly.”
“Accordingly?” I laughed. “Do you know what that involves with werewolves?”
“I’ve seen Werewolf in London like four times.” Blaise nodded.
“Cute.” I rolled my eyes.
“Well, tell us then,” Kael said. “You must have some insight on how to deal with supernaturals. So tell us your techniques and we can implement them.”
“Fair enough,” I agreed and stood. “We’ll need to go outside for this.”
Chapter Fifteen
I didn’t have the time to give the brothers a whole course in supernatural warfare. All they needed to know was how to fight werewolves. So I condensed everything I knew and taugh
t them the most important moves. I taught them the areas to target on a werewolf, gave them a rundown on their weaknesses and strengths, and showed them the best way to approach a wolf in a fight. The brothers were fast learners, and by the time we were done, I was confident in their ability to confront the Pack. Their shotguns wouldn’t hurt either.
I was exhausted when I crawled into bed that night but also exhilarated. I felt like I was working again, like I was finally making some progress in finding the missing women. The brothers had walked me to Zaire’s bedroom, and each had kissed me goodnight. I was still getting used to this multiple men thing, but it was getting easier every day. It was actually starting to feel normal. I slept nearly as well as I had in Kael’s arms.
The next morning, I went downstairs and had breakfast with the men. Then Zaire said we could head out to Larchwood, Madeline’s place. I dressed in jeans and a tank top, something casual that would work well for breaking into someone’s house. Zaire asked me to bring along a change of clothes for later, when we had our date. So I packed a plastic shopping bag with a dress and some shoes, then met him at his SUV.
The drive to Larchwood took less time than it had to get down the mountain. It was right outside of Trout Creek. Finding Madeline’s house took a little longer, but not much, and soon, we were pulling up her long drive. One thing that was nice about these little Montana towns; you didn’t have to worry about neighbors. We parked right out front and walked up to the door.
I handled the lock, and we ventured inside carefully. Madeline Hanson’s home was neat and very orderly. It gave me hope for finding information quickly. I wandered down the hallway, until I found her office, and then plopped myself in her desk chair, and turned on her computer.
“You don’t think that will be password protected?” Zaire asked as he headed over to an elegant, wood, filing cabinet.
“I’m sure it will be,” I smiled as I pulled a device out of my pocket. “Which is why I have this.”
I plugged the device in and watched as it whirred through its high-tech operations. Zaire stopped searching to come over and watch with me. The computer screen flashed with code, then we were in. A background picture of a werewolf embracing a petite brunette, made me blink.
