by Crissy Smith
With one strong solid plunge, he was finally inside her.
“Kieran!” she shouted to her lover.
“Fuck!” he roared. On the verge of losing control, Kieran rode her hard.
“Please! More!” she urged him on.
The sweat on both their bodies had hands slipping off and legs sliding against each other but that didn’t hold either of them back. They were like animals rutting and devouring. It was honest and remarkable.
It wasn’t very often that she got to see this side of him.
The power that poured from him enveloped her.
Her jaguar surged to the forefront and she had to push the animal back.
“Kieran, I’m—”
He sat back, pulling her up onto his lap. The new angle had him sliding deeper.
Dakota screamed as she was overwhelmed by her desire. She closed her eyes while dropping her head back. Letting him control every inch of her was a release in itself. But her climax was coming and all she could do was hold on for dear life.
Thrusting and cursing, Kieran took her higher and higher until she gasped for breath and orgasmed. It hit her so hard that she felt dizzy for a moment. He lay her back on the mattress, never slowing down.
Dakota clung to him as he chased his own release.
She dug her nails into the solid muscles of his back and arched.
He came with one last bellow.
In the sudden silence and through the ringing in her ears, she could barely hear the words he murmured against her neck.
Sweet and soft expressions of how much he loved her.
With the feeling of safety as well as the solid presence of the man who’d be her mate warming her, Dakota closed her eyes and let herself drift to sleep.
* * * *
This couldn’t be happening.
There was no possible way that her phone ringing was waking her for the second morning in a row. Dakota rolled over and reached for the annoying little device as Kieran began to growl beside her.
“I hate whoever is calling you,” Kieran bitched.
Dakota couldn’t agree more.
“Who is it?” he demanded.
She rubbed her eyes, trying to bring the screen into focus. “It’s the front desk.” Why in the hell would the front desk be calling? Dakota slid her finger over her phone. “Hello.”
“I’m so sorry to bother you, Ms. Reese, but we have someone at the front desk who is demanding access to your floor. In fact, security had to stop her from stealing the elevator pass from another guest.”
Dakota glanced over at Kieran who could hear what was said on both sides of the call.
“Who is it? What does she want?” Dakota demanded.
“That’s the thing,” the receptionist told her. “She won’t answer. Won’t give us a name. I didn’t know if it would be better to call you or get the head of security.”
Alex had been up with them, so he needed his sleep. Dakota didn’t want him bothered. She slung off the covers before throwing her legs over the side of the bed. “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry this person caused you trouble. I’ll be right down.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
The call was disconnected.
“You’re not going alone,” Kieran told her. He was still lying in bed.
“Want me to wake Remy? Or James? They’re in the next suite.”
He growled. “Funny.”
No, what was funny was Kieran sighing and bitching as he climbed out of bed and stomped to the closest. He wasn’t a morning person. Especially when they’d only gotten a few hours’ sleep.
She glanced at the clock. Damn, three hours was all they’d managed. It was only a few minutes before four in the morning.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Dakota said as she pulled on a pair of jeans.
“Because so much in our life is easy?”
Okay, so he had a point there.
“It’s inside one of the busiest hotels and casinos in the city.”
He snorted.
Since there was no way to talk him out of going downstairs with her, Dakota walked to the bathroom. She had a bad feeling that she wasn’t going to back to sleep anytime soon.
They were quiet as they finished getting ready and into the elevator. As the exited onto the main floor, Kieran’s scowl had the few people around scattering out of his path.
The made their way through the maze of table games and slot machines until they had a clear view of the reception area.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Kieran spat.
Dakota stopped. “What?”
“That’s your niece.”
Standing between two large men in black suits was a young girl wearing ripped jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. Dakota narrowed her eyes. “That’s the girl who smiled at me at the scene earlier.”
“Jesus Christ,” he growled.
Well, this hadn’t been how she’d hoped to start her day, but once again the hands of fate gave her no choice but to deal.
Dakota stalked forward, keeping her eye on the teenager who had come to town looking for her. Dakota had once wished to know the family she’d been born into. That had passed as the years had gone by and she’d been working for the Organization.
This girl, who’d had the luck of not being a firstborn, was throwing everything Dakota lived for away but breaking the rules of the Organization. She wanted to know her aunt? Well, Dakota didn’t have anything to say to her. Dakota wasn’t like the rest of her family and never would be. Not only were there rules that she had to abide by, but Dakota felt no connection to this stranger.
She stopped toe to toe with the girl. “I can have them arrest you,” she said. “Is that what you wanted?”
The girl frowned. “I’m Kayla.”
“I don’t need to know your name, although I’m sure the cops would appreciate it.”
Kayla glanced at Kieran. “Didn’t you tell her? You said you would?”
Instead of answering, Kieran crossed his arms over his chest.
Kayla sighed before looking back at Dakota. “I needed to talk to you.”
“At four in the morning?”
“Yes, I had to—”
“You didn’t have to come to my home, try to steal a key card or break into an elevator,” Dakota stated. “Those were choices you made.”
“It was an emergency,” Kayla argued.
Dakota was tired and fed up with this bullshit. “What. Do. You. Want.”
“I told you, I need to talk to you.” She peered around to the security. “In private.”
“No,” Dakota responded. She turned to the security guards. “Call the police.”
“It’s about what happened this morning,” Kayla called out after Dakota had started walking away.
Dakota stopped. She’d been trying not to think about anything, but yeah, that girl had been at the scene of a murder. She’d seemed to know that Dakota would be there. “Shit.” She rubbed her hand over her face. Can this get any uglier?
“I can have her escorted out of here to wait for the police,” Kieran offered.
She shook her head. While she had no trouble turning her back on a spoiled brat, Dakota did need to know what this teenager knew about the murder. “I’m going to have to talk to her. She was at the scene this morning and if she claims to know something—”
“I’ll talk to her or go get James. He’s running the homicide investigation after all,” Kieran said. “It doesn’t have to be you.”
But it did. The ache in her chest as she peered at the girl wasn’t going to go away until she’d dealt with Kayla. Dakota hated that she still felt hurt by the way her family had frozen her out of their loves. She’d been trying to push the feeling down and bury it, but seeing Kayla there brought back the pain. Dakota hadn’t been loved, but this girl surely had been.
Life wasn’t always fair. Dakota hadn’t chosen the path she was on, but if she hadn’t been born into the Organization, she wouldn’t have met K
ieran. She could be mated to another shifter, with children, and working for one of the family companies. That wasn’t how she saw her life playing out, though.
“I’ll talk to her then have Caspar contact the family. They can come pick her up, or we’ll have some agents return her home. No matter what, I want her out of this city,” Dakota demanded.
“I can help with that.”
She turned as Jackson and Alex strode up. “What are you doing here? Don’t you sleep?”
Jackson laughed. “I could ask the same about the two of you. As hard as my staff tries not to bother me with what they consider below my attention, I do know what’s going on in my place.”
Kieran grinned. “I’m sure there are a few things that get by you.” The evil glint in his eyes had Dakota wondering what her mate had planned.
“Trust me. I know more than you think.” Jackson winked. “When’s the mating taking place?”
Kieran’s mouth dropped open as Dakota stepped back.
Chuckling, Jackson nodded.
“Smartass,” Kieran muttered.
“Yes,” Jackson agreed. “But before you compliment me further, why don’t we get this little matter into a more private location?” Jackson waved his security guards forward. “Please take the young lady up to Conference room C. We’ll join you shortly.”
Kayla didn’t argue as she was taken away. She did, however, grin at Dakota, apparently pleased that she’d gotten her way. Dakota didn’t know whether to laugh or strangle the girl. Did her niece have any idea on how badly she was fucking with the system? And what exactly was her involvement with the ritual sacrifices?
Dakota would have known if Kayla had been in the room. Not only would she have smelt another jaguar shifter, but a member of her own clan as well.
“I’m texting Remy. Have him and James meet us,” Kieran said.
“Fine,” Dakota agreed. “No reason anyone else should get any more sleep.”
“How about we grab some coffee from the shop?” Jackson offered. “I’ll escort you to the conference room after.”
Dakota glanced over at her shoulder as Jackson led her away. Alex had a hold of Kieran’s arm, talking softly to him. Either Alex wanted to talk to Kieran or Jackson wished to talk to her.
The coffee shop was empty of any other patrons. The casino was still bustling with people, but nowhere near as many as there would be in a short few hours. The sleepy-looking barista straightened as soon as he spotted Jackson.
“Sir!” the barista said. “Good morning. Your usual?”
Jackson nodded in greeting. “Good morning, Bryan. Yes, I would like my usual, plus can you make an additional six?”
“Yes, sir.”
Jackson turned to her. “Or would you like something other than the house blend?”
“That’s fine,” Dakota agreed. She peered out the entrance at where Kieran was no longer standing.
“Why don’t we sit while Bryan finishes our order?”
Dakota strode over to a table close by and sat. Jackson’s amusement was evident as he joined her.
“What did you want to talk about?” she asked. There was no point in playing games. Plus, she did consider Jackson a friend.
“I’m worried about Kieran,” he stated boldly.
She lifted an eyebrow in response.
“His father is toying with him. Trying to catch Kieran off his game,” Jackson continued.
Dakota nodded.
“If I get the chance, I’m going to take him out. Even if he doesn’t do anything to Kieran.”
Well that was blunt. “Why are you telling me?”
“Because it will be your job to arrest me for killing a Walker when it isn’t in self-defense,” Jackson said.
“You want to get arrested?”
“No,” Jackson said. “I’m sure my lawyers would get me off a murder charge anyway. Or Alex will set the scene to ensure that it does get ruled as self-defense. Either way, I won’t spend a night in one of your cells.”
Dakota splayed out her hands in a gesture for more information.
“You, however, don’t have the same resources as I do,” Jackson told her. “Your Organization would give you up in a second if they had to. We both know that the power and connections that Kieran’s father has could be an issue. He’s a man who’s made friends in some places. He already has some business associates believing Kieran is on board.”
“Well, they’ll be disappointed when Kieran doesn’t join the family, won’t they?”
“More than disappointed. From our research, we’ve found out that Kieran’s father has gotten in over his head with some dangerous people. He needs Kieran’s power.”
“He won’t get Kieran or his power,” Dakota declared.
“No, he won’t,” Jackson agreed.
“Your order is ready sir,” Bryan called.
Jackson lifted a hand in acknowledgment before he leaned across the table toward her. “I’m asking you to let me handle Kieran’s father. Please. I can protect him and you. I know it will be hard—”
“Hard?” Dakota interrupted. “My jaguar wants to hunt him down and rip out his throat.”
“Yeah, I bet,” Jackson said. “But I’m asking, let me do this for my oldest friend.”
It was a lot to ask of her. Dakota understood, though, that it had been Jackson next to Kieran in the hellish cells they’d been held in. If Kieran’s father hadn’t thrown Kieran out into the world with no money, contacts or knowledge of how things worked, Kieran wouldn’t have been captured. But Kieran was hers. The person that completed both her and the animal inside. To give this to Jackson was allowing someone else to protect her mate. Every instinct she had was screaming at her to warn Jackson off.
Even if she went down for killing Kieran’s father, Dakota wouldn’t care as long as her mate was safe.
“If you go to prison or, God forbid, get killed, I’ll lose my best friend,” Jackson whispered. “He’ll go insane and you know it. He’ll never stop revenging you and no one else will be able to reach him.”
Dakota sighed. “I want to talk to him before you kill him.”
Jackson opened his mouth, but Dakota held up her hand.
“If possible,” she added. “If you can and do capture him, I want to see him. Then I’ll let you do whatever it is you have planned.”
Jackson laid his palm over the hand she was resting on the table. He squeezed and nodded. “I swear I’ll try to give that to you.”
“Then let’s get upstairs so we can get this investigation finished and concentrate on protecting Kieran,” Dakota said.
“He won’t like it,” Jackson told her.
“I know.”
They rose and Jackson strode to the counter. He didn’t pay for their coffees—he did own the place—but he slipped a twenty-dollar bill into the tip jar.
“Thank you, Bryan,” Jackson said to the young barista.
“Thank you,” Bryan responded. “If you need another round, just let me know. I get off in thirty minutes and I could drop it off to your office on my way out.”
Jackson nodded, but there was a faint blush on his cheeks.
Dakota waited at the entrance and smirked.
“Shut up,” Jackson told her after handing her one of the carriers.
“Are you sleeping with the barista?” she asked. Dakota didn’t care, but it was cute the way the barista sighed as he watched Jackson’s ass.
“Of course not,” Jackson snapped. “He works for me.”
“Uh-huh.”
“He has a crush on me,” Jackson said.
“I noticed.”
“Can we not talk about it?” Jackson asked.
Dakota shrugged. “It’s funny to see you all flustered.”
“I am not flustered,” Jackson growled. “I am one of the most powerful beings in the world.”
“Who just got flustered because some young twink was checking him out,” Dakota teased.
“You were a lot nicer before Kieran
corrupted you,” Jackson said.
They reached the private elevator that led to the business levels where Jackson worked. Dakota waited as Jackson used the palm of his hand to grant them access.
Once they were enclosed in the privacy of the elevator, Dakota turned to her mate’s best friend. “He’s one of a kind, isn’t he?”
Jackson nodded. “I look at his father and the rest of his family, trying to see some good in them. How could Kieran have come from such an awful clan?”
“I don’t know much about the other Argents,” Dakota admitted. “I’ve been concentrating on his father.”
“I’ll let you read the files,” Jackson offered. “Just don’t show them to Kieran. There’s things in there he doesn’t need to know.”
The doors opened and Dakota followed Jackson out and down the hall. Kieran hadn’t looked into his family, as far as Dakota knew. He’d never gone back home or sought out anyone. When he’d been sent from his home, that had been the end for Kieran.
In one of their late-night talks, Kieran had confessed that when he’d first been taken, he’d believed his father had been behind it. A test. A way for his father to gauge if Kieran was strong enough. Kieran didn’t know how long he’d held that belief, but as the years had passed slowly, he’d turned to hoping that his father would rescue him. Kieran had been wishing for a hero.
Help had come to Kieran after ten years, but it had been Caspar who’d saved him.
Kieran’s father hadn’t cared what had happened until word had gotten back to the Elder Argent that Kieran was powerful—possibly the most powerful Walker in existence.
Maybe Dakota didn’t need to know anything more about Kieran’s family because that wasn’t what they were any longer.
It was the man who held the door to the conference room open for her who was Kieran’s real family. Kieran’s brother. Not by blood, but by choice. She smiled at Jackson as she passed. No, she didn’t need to know more about the Argents. Kieran had taken the last name Smith to cut all ties. She loved Kieran Smith. Kieran Argent didn’t exist any longer.
“There you are,” Kieran greeted as she stepped into the room. He was by her side in an instant, taking the drink carrier from her and placing it on the table.
“What’s wrong?” Dakota murmured as she found herself wrapped in Kieran’s arms.
