by Lucy Farago
A short time after the emergency landing, Mia’s stomach had made a noise that would’ve been embarrassing if not for the storm masking the sound. Now with the sun rising on a thankfully clear day, all she wanted was food, off this plane…and away from the sleeping dog curled up next to her.
She had to admit, with his mouth closed and not spewing slurs at her, he wasn’t half bad looking. It made her want to slap herself silly. This was Loki, pain-in-her-ass Loki.
What a shame he was such an ass. He truly was beautiful. Asleep, the flecks of gray at his temples gave him a kind of doable-professor vibe. Awake, he was definitely more the slam-me-against-the-wall-and…what the friggin’ hell? Hunger, hunger was making her thoughts goofy. She hated him. Hated his kind. Hated everything about the jerk. And hated him even more for the dirty thoughts. She wasn’t an against-the-wall type. She liked cozy sheets and a sinkable mattress. Although, in Loki’s case, she imagined those sheets would be silk. Shit. Who was she kidding?
She’d started their war for good reason. He was dangerous. But when the jerk decided to stir, knocking his blanket off with a fingertip-to-toe stretch and exposing just enough skin above his belt buckle, which made her bite her lower lip enough to draw blood, she could no longer ignore the obvious. She wanted him. She wanted him, and she couldn’t have him.
Her kind was dying. And it fell upon her and her sisters, and a handful of other women, to ensure that extinction would not befall them. It sucked. The whole thing sucked. She did not want her purpose in life to be pushing out kittens. And she didn’t appreciate being made to feel guilty because she hadn’t already squeezed out a few. She was twenty-five. If her father had had his way, she’d have been on the production line years ago.
Lynx shifters didn’t have a pride or clan or anything. It was an each-cat-for-themselves type of thing. Which was what had gotten them in trouble in the first place. A council had been selected to oversee their dilemma, and that council was led by her father. But the sound of Loki’s waking moan against her ear sent shivers down her spine and brought her to her sudden, perhaps life-altering, decision. Wasn’t she entitled to some fun before she did her duty, as was so grossly pointed out to her? Would it be so wrong to stop pretending she hated the dog and release a little pheromone in his direction? Hmmm…food for thought?
“Good morning, kitty. How’s that hard head of yours?”
“Don’t worry about me, dog. You’re still the biggest pain in my life.” She smiled at him, batting her long lashes. He laughed, but she didn’t miss how his eyes perused the gash on her face. The asshole actually cared.
He’d been very sweet to her, given their mutual disdain. And to be fair, it was a battle she’d started. Men like Loki weren’t the kind a woman could stay friends with. He was the kind you slept with then wished you could take it back and return to being just friends. But was anyone his friend? His garage was a frequent pit stop for the men at the Academy. Then again, no one willingly entered an unwelcoming den. Was he a faker? Had he made everyone promise not to reveal he was a good guy, so as not to ruin his badass reputation? Nah, he had toys, and men liked toys.
“Why are you smiling?”
“You have a nice laugh,” she said, stunned she’d admit to liking anything about him. Then again…. Hadn’t she been considering taking the dog out for a test drive herself?
“Did you just compliment me?” He got on his feet and plucked the blanket off her lap.
“Don’t let it go to your head. I’m just saying not everything about you sucks.”
“I’ll have you know,” he said, leaning down until they were nose to nose, “the part that does suck does it extremely well. Extremely well.”
Mia swallowed, the small aircraft suddenly smaller. Smaller and hotter.
“I know how finicky cats are. So your good opinion would mean a lot…if you’re ever inclined to test my skills. Just let me know,” he said, then proceeded to fold the blanket.
Tongue-tied, all she could do was watch as the asshole watched her back. Was she in trouble? When he crawled over her again, and she got another full view of his…wow…hard-on, she got her answer. Now, if only she could decide if that was a bad thing…or a good thing.
5
Mia regretted every dirty thought she’d ever had about Loki. Each and every lousy…oof…headboard-banging fantasy she’d allowed herself the pleasure of—.
“Dog,” she shouted into Loki’s ear. “My ass can’t take much more of this terrain.” It was less her butt and more her girl parts. But he didn’t need to know that riding behind him—legs parted, crotch saddled up to one very fine ass—was turning her on.
“Stop blowing my eardrums with your whining. If you want a hard ride, just ask.”
Ha, ha. The lock holding the second ATV had been damaged in the emergency landing, so here she was, stuck riding with Loki. “Let me drive this contraption and we’ll see if you say that.” At least then, she’d be the one in front. Then again, she’d seen his hard-on. Given her current state of arousal, even if proximity didn’t turn him on, she didn’t doubt for a second that she’d be imagining herself on all fours and him gloriously….What the hell was wrong with her?
“Not a chance, kitty. It’s my job to test what it can do.”
To be frank, it was a cool ATV. They’d driven on water. And the shocks were impressive. But she took extreme and, yes, perverse pleasure in having to raise her voice in order to be heard over the engine. They’d opted not to wear the headsets, so if she had to stretch her neck to reach his ear, all the better. “Have it your way,” Mia shouted with a wide grin, and when they hit a particularly large bump and her grip tightened around his waist, that grin widened. Annoying him wasn’t the only perverse pleasure she was enjoying.
“You better get us, and this ATV, there in one piece. Cooper is pissed about the plane.”
“I wasn’t the one flying,” he said with an arrogant grin over one shoulder. “Besides, the damage to the left float is minor. And it’s not like we had any control over the storm.”
He was right. Cooper had sounded more worried than mad. “How long until we get to the first sighting?” Not that she was in a rush. Who knew her flexibility would come in this handy? The wider she opened her legs, the closer she came to heaven.
“An hour, maybe. But watch the woods for mysterious masses of fur.” He laughed, clearly not taking their mission seriously.
The mission. That was what she needed to focus on. He might not want to be here, but she took all her assignments seriously. When given a job, she gave it her all. She was a good agent, a great agent. Her skills being far superior to the dog’s, Mia also had a keen sense of smell. And she smelled charred wood. “Stop the ATV.”
Surprisingly, Loki did as she asked.
She jumped off and, with her face tipped upward, drew air over her lips.
“Smoke.” Loki had caught it as well.
She scrunched up her nose, hating the smell that clung to her hair and clothes, like fried fish in a small kitchen. “Long since extinguished. We’re not near the other sightings. This could be new.”
He nodded. “You go north and west. I’ll go south and east.”
They split up, but she didn’t have to go far. A sixty-foot slide down a muddy incline later, she found it. “Loki,” she shouted, “down here.”
Four, no, five trees had been significantly crisped but were now cool to the touch. The fire had long gone out. She brushed the wet soot off her hands and turned at Loki’s approach.
“Lightning?”
“Wishful thinking?” she asked, annoyed that he clung to that theory and was so close-minded. The percentage of wildfires caused by lightning, as opposed to people, was high. But she wanted his head in this game.
After examining the remains of the trees, Loki shook his head. “A lightning strike would have left a scar on the one tree that started this. In the other cases, the fire was severe enough to burn them to match sticks. Here, the storm must’ve put
out the flames, leaving us with enough evidence to know this wasn’t lightning.”
She’d done a good job at avoiding him when she’d thought he was just a pretty face masquerading behind that professor look. Now? A keen intellect was far sexier than a smoking ass. In TV police dramas, it was the nerd who did it for her. He was really starting to piss her off. “Huh.” She made a show of checking his ears.
“What are you doing?”
“Seeing as that’s the first intelligent thing I’ve heard you say, I was wondering if your head was leaking grease. You know…to make room for brain matter.” She had to keep the animosity between them going. It was her only chance.
He scowled and, turning his back on her, stormed off. “I doubt we’ll find any, but I’ll check for footprints.”
For ten minutes, ten…long…minutes, she watched him. She marvelled at the way his eyes tracked every inch of the ground, pathetically wishing those sexy eyes on her. When he bent down to pick up a fallen leaf and bring it to his nose to inhale, closing his eyelids to heighten his sense of smell, she nearly groaned out loud, imagining him breathing her in. Then realizing what she was doing, she began to fill her head with innocuous thoughts, knowing the damn dog would otherwise smell her arousal.
She thought of the plane, how frightened she’d been of killing them. She inhaled the foul hickory-like stench of scorched wood, a reminder of the terrible fire that took her mother. She focused on the clues, or lack thereof. “Should we continue?”
“There’s nothing here, and if there was, the storm took care of any evidence we might have found. Let’s go,” he said, taking her hand and helping her up the incline.
Under normal circumstances, she’d tell him what he could do with his helping hand. But for the sake of cooperation and teamwork, she kept her mouth shut. Grabbing a small protruding branch for extra support, she bit into her lower lip to keep from smiling. She’d have to stop that, or she just might find out if his bite was better than his bark.
At the top of the hill, she glanced down at their muddied boots. “We’re going to get your fancy machine dirty.”
He drew close, his warm breath tickling her neck before she could react. “Like a lot of things…it’s built for dirty. Are you afraid to get dirty?”
The sultry tone in his words sent such a hard shiver down her spine she didn’t dare look up. Instead, she broke contact with his warm hand and started for the ATV. If he said anything, she could blame it on the damp weather. It was starting to get colder. She climbed onto the machine, the stark contrasting, cool leather under her butt an obnoxious reminder of the heat between her legs. She put on her indifferent face and watched him approach with the confident strides of a man who knew he’d gotten to her.
There was no way she was going to win this. She had to take control so he’d lose his upper hand.
“For the record, I’m not afraid of anything. Least of all, you.” And just because two could play the game, she licked her lips. His eyes did that color-change thing she liked. Good. Why should she be the only one sexually frustrated?
Loki stared at Mia a good long while, more to keep her guessing than trying to figure her out. If he thought for one minute she meant her innuendo, he wouldn’t think twice about taking her up on it. But she didn’t. Oh, she wanted him. That scent was undeniable. But just who was she teasing? Him? Or herself? She didn’t like him, and while he had no objection to scratching a woman’s itch, he had to work with this particular woman. And he was stuck with her for the next couple of days. No, as much as he’d like to be her scratching post, that kitty had better retract her claws.
“You, dog?” she said, having the actual balls to press her fingertips into his chest. “What are you afraid of?”
She did not just dare him. If he thought she had balls before…. Wow. Just wow.
For the sake of a little intimidation, he narrowed his eyes on her. What was her game? Because if someone thought poking a bear was dangerous, provoking a Siberian made that look every day. Never dare his kind to take what they wanted. But when she had the audacity to smile, something inside him snapped. And before he could wisely think twice about it, he had her off the ATV and pinned to a tree, every one of his senses alerted to the panting female under his hands.
He considered letting her go. He didn’t manhandle women without clear intent on their part. But when she laughed, the sound taunting and teasing, he got her meaning. He slammed his mouth over hers and took what he’d been dreaming of, and if she’d thought to object, her scent said otherwise. He drew comfort in knowing shifters weren’t like humans. If Mia didn’t want his tongue down her throat, she’d have tried to bite it off.
She tasted sweet, and for a few seconds, it threw him. He imagined kissing her would be akin to spicy burritos, hot, a little messy, and tasty as fuck. And when one of her legs wrapped around his hip, setting off a shit-ton of alarms, he ignored them. He’d been tormenting himself for far too long, wondering how they’d be together, slick with sweat and desire, their bodies mashed into one. And if this were any other woman but Mia, he’d be pounding her already. So why wasn’t he?
She wanted him. If her hand on his ass and her fingers hanging on for the long haul weren’t enough proof, her impatient and very frustrated keens encouraged him to get on with it. But even more, the word he refused to acknowledge as nothing more than lust blasted his ears. Mate. Mate. Mate. And the connection he’d tried so hard to ignore boomed in his head. He felt her blood coursing through her veins as if it were his own. Her heartbeat pounded in his chest. It wasn’t possible. She was a lynx for fuck’s sake. He shouldn’t want her this much. It was lust. It had to be lust. She’d gotten under his skin, with all her I hate you garbage.
He crushed his lips to hers but couldn’t resist opening his eyes. It was Mia, stubborn, pain-in-his-ass Mia, kissing him back. When she ground her hips into his, the zipper on his jeans strained to the point of being painful. So why didn’t he have her pants off? Why wasn’t he doing her? Giving her what she wanted? Because it was Mia. And no way would he disrespect her by screwing her against a tree in the middle of a goddamn forest. Loki pried his mouth off hers and forced himself to take a step back. Hands shaking, he dragged air into his lungs as they faced off.
“I….” What the hell did he say? He was sorry? He wasn’t. But he had to say something. They’d been going at it like horny teenagers. “What the fuck was that?” he asked, trying and failing not to sound pissed. Was he mad she’d fucked with his head…or that he’d been smart about it and pried himself off her?
She said nothing. Good. At least he wasn’t the only one affected.
“You kissed me,” she finally had the nerve to spout.
Kissed her? Like she hadn’t wanted him too?
“You, kitten, kissed me back.”
“Kitten.” She poked an angry finger into his chest. “Who you calling kitten?” Poke. Poke. “Just 'cause you’re bigger doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass…in either form.” Poke. Poke.
An image of Mia’s beautiful ass as she scaled the rock climber in the gymnasium flashed in his mind. The woman had him on agility. Then again, that tail would distract any man stupid.
Poke. Poke. “Wipe that smirk off your face, or I’ll wipe it off for you.”
He cleared his throat and dropped the smile. “I wasn’t…I’m not…” He groaned.
“Can we drop the tough-guy bullshit and talk about what just happened?” What the fuck had he just done? He didn’t want to talk. He wanted to do it—do her—and then maybe, maybe, he could get her out of his head.
Her anger cooled and, with it, the gold in her eyes muted to the brown. He mourned the loss. To a human, she had the kind of eyes that changed color, depending on what she wore. To a shifter, the color was the animal that lay beneath. And when she was irritated with him, when he caught a glimpse of her lynx, he had the weird desire to see her transform. He couldn’t explain it. It was like a…longing. One he needed to seriously get over. Now
more than ever.
“I take it back,” he said, with no room for discussion. “I kissed you. You kissed me. Probably leftover shit from the emergency landing.” The excuse was lame. He knew it, and he suspected so did she. It was a shame his cock didn’t know it. The fucker just wouldn’t go down.
“Right,” she agreed with a nod. “Just a stupid kiss. Get on then. Let’s go find our fire-starter.”
Was that disappointed he heard? Or his hard-on’s wishful thinking? Didn’t matter. He made himself a promise. This ended now. He mounted the ATV, and when she climbed on board and straddled him from behind, he had to question if he’d be able to keep his promise.
After twenty, blue-ball painful minutes, wisps of smoke, in the not-too-far distance, had him shutting down the ATV. “See it?” He pointed to the tree line, a half-mile to their west.
“I see it. How fast can this thing go?”
“Faster than a regular ATV. But at top speed I can’t whisper the engine. If that is man-made, we’ll scare whoever set it off.”
“What do you suggest? We have to move fast.”
“Agreed.” He dismounted and waited for her to do the same. “We have to shift. Our animals can travel a lot faster and quieter than we can.”
Loki removed his windbreaker and dumped it over a fallen log. His shoes and socks were next. It wasn’t until he started to take off his T-shirt that he realized she wasn’t doing the same. “Problem?”
“I’m not getting naked in front of you.”
“Do cats feel the cold more in human form?” His kind didn’t. Fur on, fur off, Siberians were built for the cold. He remembered her dunk in the lake and couldn’t recall her trembling. It wouldn’t have been near as funny.
