“That was stupid, sweetheart,” the look-alike newcomer murmured.
Dakota scoffed and tried to speak again. “Gunnar, I—” But Javier cut her off without glancing away from the threat posed by the family’s alpha. “He is right, ma’am.”
That agreement drew everyone’s gaze, but Javier continued to stare at Axel, whose expression was far from friendly even with the slightly cocked eyebrow. Facing down the alpha, Javier knew he stood —or rather sat—in a losing position. He was in no condition to do battle with the fiercely protective male, even if he weren’t outnumbered. Through peripheral vision, he kept watch on the alpha’s brother, who continued to guard the pair’s mate and offspring.
No, Javier couldn’t win the fight if it came to that, but there was still enough alpha strength in his heart that he refused to submit in any way, whether through a lowered gaze or other gesture.
Axel had yet to move or speak again, but Javier could see why he held the position he did within the family unit. Axel was not impulsive. He was wise, cunning. He knew, as did Javier, that any shifter battle fought in such close confines to innocents could have an undesired outcome. When the collateral damage could be one’s own children, a man had to be sure the reward was worth the risk.
And he admired Axel for that; he was a good alpha, worthy of his duty.
The tension in the room was palpable when Javier finally cracked the silence.
“My name is Javier Montero. I am from Mexico City,” he began, weighing his words carefully and keeping his tone cordial yet formal. “I am here only out of necessity and have urgent business to attend to elsewhere.” He rubbed a palm across the cast on his leg. “Your sister’s kindness and your fathers’ hospitality have earned my sincere gratitude. The Falke family is in no danger of harm at my hand. In truth, I am indebted to you.”
Despite his words of reassurance, Axel remained guarded, unmoved. Javier paused when he sensed Heidi edge closer to him, but he didn’t yet dare look her way.
“I am—was—the alpha of my family. So I understand the dangers one must guard against when bound by love and familial obligation to protect both mate and offspring. I assure you that as soon as I am physically able, I will leave your home and territory in peace, and you will no longer have to concern yourself with my presence.”
Heidi moved closer, stepping partially in front of him. Axel’s gaze shifted to a glare, this time aimed at his sister who deliberately posted herself in harm’s way.
Mujeres estúpidas.
Again Javier approved of Axel’s reaction. He wasn’t keen to the idea of Heidi coming between them either. Shifter blood or not, she had no business putting herself in the middle of a standoff between alphas. He noted a slight tick in Axel’s jaw as Javier slowly, cautiously reached out to cup a hand on Heidi’s hip. With a tug on her denim belt loop, he moved her aside, pulling her back and out of the way.
He’d intended to release her then, but she surprised him by turning into his protective embrace. Her warm hand slid onto his shoulder, and he had to fight the urge to cover it with one of his own.
Axel’s other eyebrow lifted for a heartbeat before the man composed his features once more. Javier was at a loss for words. He hadn’t expected the feisty vet to even allow him to manhandle her out of the way in front of her family, much less favor him with a subtle display of acceptance—or worse, affection. But surprise wasn’t enough to make him drop his hand from Heidi’s sweet curves. He held on as Axel’s gaze dropped to his hand, and Javier couldn’t help but smirk when the man’s gaze met his once more.
He was impressed as hell that Axel hadn’t chosen to attack him then and there. The man was well within his rights. She was his sister, and Javier was not her mate.
Instead of aggression, Axel posed a question. “Your species heals fast?”
“They do. I suspect I’ll be on my feet again within a couple more days at most.”
“Your mate?”
Javier frowned. He hadn’t wished to disclose his failures to Heidi or the others, although he’d already shared his tragic past with their fathers. It had been important they know he was no rogue. So the alpha before him probably already knew the truth. There was no point in lying.
“Dead, along with my twin.” And my unborn sons...
He heard a soft inhalation from one of the other ladies present. Heidi flinched but, to his surprise, stayed by his side. “Now you’re Mr. Talkative,” she muttered under her breath.
The hint of feminine pique made him smile, despite the gravity of his admission and the wound it reopened in his chest.
Axel glanced at Heidi before saying, “See that you leave the instant you are capable.” His gaze returned to Javier to punctuate a tone filled with authority.
Javier nodded and dropped his hand from Heidi’s hip. “You have my word.”
Just then, both fathers appeared in a doorway, one declaring, “I’m starved,” and the other asking, “Is dinner ready yet?”
Though they didn’t say it, Javier suspected the elders had witnessed the whole confrontation. He admired the family unit, the fathers stepping aside to let the eldest take his rightful place as alpha.
Would he have one day passed the legacy to his eldest? Would he have grown old, watching his children protect their mates, their siblings and children?
As Heidi and the ladies jumped into action to finish setting the table and arranging seating, Javier turned his attention away from the painful thoughts to watch the family settle around the table. Axel and Gunnar visibly relaxed as the elders filed into the room followed by four younger males.
Introductions were made. Kelan and Reidar, the two who’d fought with Heidi to gain entrance into the bedroom the night before, Beth’s mates. And the two youngest, Sindre and Torsten. All of the males looked like carbon copies of their fathers, fair of skin, hair and eyes. He wondered what the alpha’s children would look like when they were old enough to shift, their coloring so different from the cougar coloring of their fathers.
Each male took a seat at the table without any signs of opposition to Javier’s presence. Apparently, if the alpha accepted him—for the time being—then he would be allowed to recuperate in peace.
Chapter Eight
Lev moaned in pure ecstasy as the masseuse dug into the muscles of his lower back. This was just what he needed. The last few months had been hell, flying from country to country, making deals that would make him and his partners rich. But it was exhausting. Murder was exhausting.
“Harder,” he groaned when she let up on the pressure of the intense massage. “Hurt me.” His body relaxed for the first time in what seemed like forever.
Just then, the television across the room caught his attention and he lifted his head in time to see grainy photos of... “Montero.” The word left his mouth like a curse. “Son of the bitch!” He sat up, the masseuse yelping in surprise, but he dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
“...a hoax that caught the attention of a local newspaper reporter in Leavenworth, who contacted the town’s veterinarian. Doctor Heidi Falke denied the existence of a black panther, stating that such creatures did not exist...”
Lev frowned at the television. Leavenworth was the town where he’d ditched his rental, the last place he’d seen Montero.
“Handleman has admitted the pictures and video of what appeared to be a large, wounded animal he posted online were a prank that got out of hand. Both he and his brother have since denied the shooting, calling themselves experienced hunters who would never really mistake one kind of animal for another.”
Lev grabbed the remote from the end table and muted the television. Dr. Heidi Falke of Leavenworth, Washington might not have treated a black panther, but she damn sure could have a black jaguar. Of course, if Montero was under her care, she wouldn’t know what she was in possession of, but he did. And if that cat was injured, now was Lev’s chance to get rid of him.
He went to the phone and punched in the number of one of h
is local Seattle contacts. When the ring was answered, he said, “Paul. Lev. Where is the new passport I ordered?”
“I told you I’d deliver it tomorrow morning,” said the nasal voice on the other end. “I’m working as fast as I can. I had to wait for a new order of the chips to come in.”
“I need it now. I must leave town. Do you have my driver’s license finished?”
“First thing in the morning. I can’t work any faster, boss. I can’t.”
The panic in the man’s voice made Lev sneer in disgust. “Bring it as soon as it’s done. I have business to attend.” Too bad the guy was the best in the business. His forged identification was undetectable by authorities.
“Yes, sir.”
He hung up the phone and glanced at the television, but the story had changed from the black panther prank in Leavenworth to gas prices in Seattle.
Finally. Finally! After two years of running from the bastard, he’d finish off the Montero family as he should have done the first time.
* * *
After her brothers and Beth left for work the next morning, Heidi entered her bedroom to find her wounded guest sleeping soundly.
“What are you doing?” The gruff, sleepy question came from Javier, who sat up and blinked at her with a curious smirk.
“I’m not snooping,” she said, a bit defensive. She’d tried to be quiet as she packed the last of Javier’s meager belongings into his duffle bag, but apparently not quiet enough.
“Didn’t say you were.” After a yawn and a stretch, he threw back the sheets and slid his legs off the edge of the bed, moving more easily than she’d seen him do in days, despite the cast.
His bare, broad chest and sexy abs froze the air in her lungs, and she had to force herself to focus on something other than his gorgeous body.
“You look like you’re feeling better.”
He pushed to his feet and grabbed one crutch instead of two. “The ache is more tolerable.”
Damn, the man looked good in nothing but gym shorts and a plaster cast. His sleep-tousled locks softened his hard features and made him appear more approachable, more...adorable.
He glanced at his bag again. “Am I going somewhere?”
“I’m taking you to a hotel.”
He smiled. “Ready to get rid of me already?”
“No,” she said too quickly, then met his gaze and frowned at the humorous glint in his eye. Was he glad to be getting away from here...or her? “I mean, I figure you’d want some privacy and a chance to heal in peace, away from...all of this drama.”
“Ah...the drama.” He nodded and stared at her.
With a shrug, she handed him his toothbrush, zipped the duffle and slid it toward the door. “I left a change of clothes on the chair by the bathroom door. Cereal okay for breakfast?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll have a bowl ready for you when you come out.”
Watching him make his way into the bathroom, she sat on the foot of the bed and wondered if she was doing the right thing.
She wanted to get to know him better, but doing so in her home surrounded by the watchful eyes of her fathers and brothers created more stress than she could deal with.
He was moving with more confidence today. In another day or so, she’d be able to remove the cast, and he’d leave. That thought bothered her in more ways than one.
She didn’t want to see him go, but that neediness made her edgy, angry with herself. Javier was a stranger who’d suffered the loss of his mate. Past hurts that tugged at her heart and helped her better understand his tough façade, the gruff demeanor and volatile explosions of anger.
He was hurting and alone as far as she knew, but he was also a grown man with a life to live in another country. He was not a stray pet she could beg her parents to let her keep.
The night before, his face-off with her brother had worried, surprised and irked her. Javier opened up to Axel with things he’d been unwilling to share with her. A hint of jealousy still burned. She wanted him to herself, to reach beneath that crusty exterior to gain his trust, to rekindle the fire he’d shown for too brief a moment during their first kiss. But he’d been dreaming of another woman. His deceased mate. Isabela...not Heidi.
That reality was the one thing she couldn’t deny, couldn’t get out of her mind.
So when her fathers suggested that perhaps it was time to move him into town and out of her bedroom, she didn’t argue.
But she did fear the move would speed his departure from her life for good—something that would surely please the males of her family, but left her feeling unbalanced and confused.
* * *
“Well, here you go,” she said, dropping his duffle on the luggage stand just inside the room’s closet.
She’d driven him to a hotel on the outskirts of Leavenworth, stood by while he checked in and then helped carry his bag to the room. Although the Bavarian Inn was closer to her clinic, it was also where Ritchie worked—not a good idea to put Javier under the same roof as the man who shot him.
He eased into the room and let the door close behind him.
“I guess I should go.” She had no further reason to stay other than a desperate longing to remain.
His gaze held hers. “You guess?” He moved closer, making her take a few steps backward, farther into the room.
Her heart rate sped, and she fluttered her hand toward the bed. “I mean, you probably want to rest.”
He shook his head, dropped his crutch and closed the space between them. He didn’t even wince as he put weight on his casted leg. “I slept well last night. More rest is the last thing I...want.”
The backs of her knees collided with the edge of the king-sized bed. “What...what do you want?”
“You.” He reached up and cupped her nape, pulled her forward, and his lips covered hers for a breath-stealing kiss that made her skin tingle from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She had to grab hold of his thickly muscled arms to keep from falling as her knees threatened to give way.
When he at last pulled back, he murmured against her mouth, “What do you want, Heidi?”
No question in her mind what she wanted. She fisted his shirt, jerking it from his shorts. “You.”
With a sexy chuckle, he spun her around and fell backward onto the bed, pulling her down over him.
“I am all yours.”
Heidi straddled him as she yanked his shirt off over his head and then bent down for another hard, lust-filled kiss. Their tongues dueled, breaths mingled, and he drank in her moan of pleasure even as he tore at her clothes. In seconds, her blouse and bra were gone. Her sandals dropped to the floor, and his hands were shoving her panties down with the cotton skirt she wore. She continued to kiss him, caress the incredibly hard, rippled planes of his chest and abs, his biceps and shoulders.
God, he smelled wonderful—wild musk, all natural, all male. She buried her nose against his neck and inhaled deeply, wanting to imprint his scent on her brain.
His flesh was smooth dark silk over iron. His kisses, moist and hot, promised ecstasy to come. Her pussy grew slick with anticipation as she clawed at the zipper to his khaki shorts. With an impatient growl that made her giggle, he nudged her hands away to complete the task, freeing an impressive erection. She reached for his cock, but before she could take time to enjoy the feel of him, he lifted her with both hands and slid into her to the hilt with one incredibly hard stroke.
“Oh, God,” she gasped on an inadequate gust of air. He filled her like she’d never been filled. Thick, solid heat penetrated her to the core, and she trembled with erotic ecstasy. She swore if he moved an inch she’d spontaneously combust.
“Chata, tu cuerpo se siente tan bueno.”
“What?” She looked into his eyes. The dark lust she witnessed made breathing impossible. No man had ever gazed at her the way Javier did in that moment, as if she were the one thing he needed to survive.
He shook his head, lifted her by the hips only to pull
her down harder than before, drawing a gasp from her. In a hard voice, he demanded, “Ride me.”
His words were all she needed to let go of the last bit of her self-imposed restraint. She rose up and thrust down, taking him balls deep, making herself cry out at the pleasure-pain of his length striking her so deep.
“Again,” he growled.
She rose up and bounced down onto him, grinding against his groin, taking all of him again and again as heat spread through her, her orgasm building faster than ever before.
“Yesss...” His fingers dug into her skin.
“I don’t...want to...hurt you,” she said amid pants of exertion, though she didn’t slow her pace. She wasn’t sure she was capable of stopping now. The sexy slap, slap, slap of her ass against his thighs pushed her, made her hotter, made her muscles clench around his thick cock.
“You won’t.” He slid his palms up her sides to cup and squeeze her breasts, thumbing her tightened nipples. “Don’t stop.” His hips thrust beneath her in powerful contrast to her downward motions, and she groaned.
“That’s it, chata. Harder.” He popped her on the ass and squeezed her butt cheek, making her shout in surprise, before he drew her head down with his other hand to claim her mouth once more.
Her heart raced, her muscles burned, and damp heat simmered inside her until at last she burst with a climax so strong her body shuddered from its impact. She screamed into his mouth as she rode him hard through the explosive orgasm, gripping his shoulders to keep from flying away on a cloud of ecstasy unlike anything she’d ever experienced.
He wrapped his strong arms around her like unbreakable steel, buried his face in her hair and held her tight as he pulsed inside her, groaning low and long as he too joined her in paradise.
“Wow.”
Heidi’s panted exclamation pulled a groan from Javier, even as his heart tried to hammer out of his chest. Slowly he eased his hold around her and ran his hands over the soft flesh of her back.
“Mmm. That feels good,” she murmured as she snuggled into him, resting her face in the crook of his neck and winding her arms around his shoulders.
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