Gwen pulled out a chair to sit, snickering. “It would have made excellent fertilizer.”
Annie let out a whoop and sat as well. “Amen to that.”
“How are you feeling, Gwen?” Melinda asked as she dished out green beans onto Gwen’s plate.
“Oh, that’s enough. Thank you. I’m alive so I’m doing pretty good.”
“And we’re all very thankful for that. My son took care of you down there?”
Fork midway to her mouth, Gwen froze, staring wideeyed at her boss. A flare of panic tightened in her chest.
Surely she didn’t know. “Pardon?”
Melinda calmly cut into her meat. “Your injuries. He said your back was bruised from your backpack and you received a nasty cut on your leg.”
The muscles in Gwen’s belly loosened at the statement, because for the tiniest second she’d thought Melinda knew more than she needed to know about what happened down in that pit. And remembering just how thoroughly Rome had taken her – ahem, taken care of her – Gwen’s body reacted with disturbing predictability when it came to the ex-ATF agent. Only this time the desire wasn’t a slow burn, it was a firestorm, causing her nipples to bud in taut peaks and her womb to clench with need. She squeezed her thighs together to combat the arousal threatening to dampen her panties.
The physical response was nearly instantaneous, as if her body, once having experienced the intimate pleasure of Rome surrounding her, filling her, was primed for another encounter at the slightest provocation.
“Gwen?”
Gwen sucked in a breath and reached for her glass of iced tea for a cooling gulp. “I’m good.”
Tackling the food on her plate, Gwen ignored the shared look between Melinda and Annie, maneuvering the conversation away from what happened in the collapsed tunnel to the events prior. “Did Rome mention how it all happened?”
“You mean how you were chased by a group of trespassing thugs and climbed into the cabin to hide?”
Gwen would take Melinda’s response as a resounding yes. Her next question was a bit more delicate. “And did he happen to mention anything...strange?’ She picked up her glass again, slowly swirling the contents before raising her eyes to Melinda. “Anything...” Gwen paused, racking her brain for a proper definition of what she’d seen. “Not human?”
Melinda’s head tilted, one beautifully shaped brow arching. “You mean the jaguar or the vampire?”
It was a good thing Gwen still had the glass to her lips, because she spat out the tea she’d attempted to swallow.
As she choked and gasped for air, both women jumped from their seats and ran over to help. They each grabbed an arm and lifted it high over Gwen’s head. “This helps open the lungs and airways.” Melinda explained, her voice pitched to a soothing, steady level. “Don’t force yourself.
Let the air flow naturally.”
Gwen’s coughing fit eased off after a minute and, once reassured she was good, the two older women resumed their seats.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t realize my question would surprise you so.” Melinda said.
Gwen shook her head. “I guess I wasn’t expecting such a...” Unable to think of anything, she shrugged.
“Candid response?” Melinda’s gray-blue eyes twinkled. “No sense beating around the bush. I believe it’s better to know what resides in this vast world than to stick one’s head in the sand.”
Gwen mulled that over. “Forewarned is forearmed?”
Melinda’s lips pursed in thought. “Sometimes yes, but not completely. But it’s important not to jump to any conclusions about what you saw.”
Gwen blinked. “You mean the kind where I thought I saw a vampire with my own eyes and then had that startling discovering backed by several individuals I respect?”
Melinda wagged a fork at Gwen. “No. I mean just because you saw a supposed mythical creature being bad, evil or downright naughty does not mean they are all like that.”
Gwen slumped back in her chair. “All?” Was Melinda about to confirm her suspicions regarding her sons? She didn’t even breath as she waited, flitting her expected eyes from Melinda to a stoic Annie and back again.
“I don’t care what size, shape, gender, nationality, race, color or religious belief, humans have the good and the bad. The lazy to the workaholics, scatterbrained to the brainiacs, and vampires are no different. They’re just a different, uhm, species I guess you could say. And, by the way, they come in all sizes, shapes, genders, nationalities, races …”
Gwen held up a hand. “I get it. Don’t be judgmental about someone because of their outside appearance and don’t base a whole, er, species on the actions of a few.”
Melinda beamed as if Gwen just came up with the answer to end world hunger. “Exactly.”
“So you’ve met many? Vampires I mean?” Gwen still felt weird saying that word to describe reality rather than fiction.
Another nod from Melinda. “One time I treated a very special young girl in the ER when I was in nursing school.
She was maybe six and her parents were frantic. She’d lost a tooth and they couldn’t stop the bleeding. It took awhile, and a tea bag of all things, but we finally got the area to clot.
When I went in close to check her progress, a second set of teeth descended from behind her canines. The poor child was horrified, the parents terrified and I... Well, I have to admit, I was more than taken aback. But once the shock passed, I winked at her and simply continued the exam. A day later I received a dozen yellow roses and the sweetest thank you card with a crayon drawing of a little girl hugging a woman in blue scrubs.”
The glitter of unshed tears in Melinda’s eyes at the memory caused Gwen’s throat to thicken with emotion.
“Wow.” It took several more moments before she could form the words of her next question. “Where you married at that time by any chance?”
Melinda frowned in confusion. “Andreas and I were engaged. Why do you ask?”
Oh no reason, Gwen thought, except she wondered if Melinda would have been so nonplussed at the discovery if she hadn’t already met a werecat. “Just curious. So, if they’re pretty normal, why are they in hiding?” Gwen wasn’t asking just to gain insight into vampires.
“Because they’re observant.” Annie said, her voice gaining heat as she spoke. “They see how humans interact with one another. How judgmental, biased and cruel we can be. My dad was black and my mom white, and they were subjected to a lot of prejudice. Not everyone, mind you, but enough to make their lives uncomfortable at times. But when they had me, we moved to a more racially diverse city so I wouldn’t have to grow up with that kind of crap filling my head every day. Think about it. If humans can’t even handle human differences, we’d be up in arms and pitchforks at the reality of vampires living next door to us.”
Annie’s passion hit home for Gwen. Her own mother, the daughter of a Native American, had suffered the same, and from kids of all colors. It wasn’t until some well-liked boy had gone all kung fu on her tormentors that it stopped.
Her Asian dad. God love him.
As Gwen had been thinking, Annie had risen from the table and was taking something out of the refrigerator.
Something in a big, clear bowl filled to capacity with chunks of strawberries, pound cake and whipped cream in several tongue wagging layers. “Oh, Annie.” Gwen aahed in appreciation as the housekeeper placed the delicious confection on the table. “You don’t plan on retiring any time soon, right?”
Melinda slapped a hand over the one Gwen had on the table. “Bite your tongue, child.”
Annie let out a laugh that was part cackle. “Ha. You sound like my kids, and I’ll tell you the same thing I tell them.
Where am I to retire? On the beach in Florida?” She snickered, spooning up large amounts of the strawberry shortcake into bowls. “I’d still have to cook and clean for Bob and myself. Besides, it’s not like this one,” she nodded at Melinda, “lets me do anything more strenuous then lift a casserole or a
platter of sandwiches.”
“We don’t want you to overdo it, Annie.” Melinda sighed as she picked up a spoon for her dessert. “Besides, I need you healthy and happy so you’ll keep creating these heavenly desserts.”
And heavenly it was. Gwen had two helpings – hey, she’d had a strenuous day – before she pushed back from the table and carried her dishes to the sink. Between the three of them, the cleanup was done in short order. As the men had yet to make an appearance – or even call, not that Gwen was worried or anything – the ladies moved to the library off the foyer and sat around a half-finished jigsaw puzzle depicting a dazzling castle in Ireland.
There was a lot of green.
Still they chatted and laughed and had another helping of shortcake before winding down and separating to their own rooms as the evening wore on. Because of her nap earlier, Gwen wasn’t the least bit sleepy and she knelt in front of the entertainment center, flicking through her movies. According to Melinda, the Orchards was going to cable, but as it wouldn’t be installed until Thursday, Gwen was left with either three whole channels to watch or pick a movie.
She ended up playing solitaire on her computer for twenty minutes before heading back down to the library.
Her brain was spinning, her body restless and she didn’t know what she wanted.
Other than a six-one, darkhaired, dark-eyed, wideshouldered, narrow-hipped, muscle-ripped male with a scar over his right brow that made her libido break into a polka.
Her nerves were bouncing all over the place, she couldn’t focus for long, and she felt needy. Like in the tunnel.
Frustrated, she pulled on her braid, hoping the slight pain would wipe out the naughty thoughts of Rome standing between her open thighs, pumping into her, his thick cock giving her the hard, fast friction right where she needed it until she’d come with such abandon she’d practically screamed with her release.
Remembering the sounds she’d made, Gwen pressed her palms to her heated cheeks. She’d never behaved so wantonly before in her life. It had been beyond liberating. As if something untamed had broken free inside her, and she wanted to experience that feeling again.
As if by habit, her feet led her assuredly through the dimly lit house towards the kitchen, out the back door and toward the garden swing. Telling herself she only needed some fresh air and she most certainly wasn’t hoping to encounter Rome, she turned left at the tall hedges. Her heart kicked into high gear at the man lounging on the thick cushion. His arms were spread out from his torso, a t-shirt covering a smooth chest she knew was roped with sinew and muscle. His legs were splayed wide in a purely masculine stance, a pair of loose shorts displayed the heavy muscles in his thighs that bunched as he gently swayed on the swing.
She almost turned tail and ran before he saw her.
Almost.
“Hey,” Rome’s low voice carried over the soft breeze. “I was hoping you’d come out tonight.” He lifted a hand in invitation. One she accepted after only the slightest of delays. She was only going to sit next to him. Nothing more.
No matter what her hormones wanted.
He stopped the swing until she’d settled herself in, only to find herself cuddled next to his chest seconds later when she apparently sat too far away. One arm draped behind his back, the other rested over the steady cadence of his heart. Her head fit into the hollow of his shoulder with the surprising familiarity. One of his hands stroked down her braid in long, repetitive, soothing motions.
She should pull back. She didn’t want him to get any ideas that what had happened this morning was in any way indicative of a future relationship. No more sex between them. No way, no how. Unfortunately she felt too good to move so much as an inch. Besides, his arm was a heavy band about her waist and she didn’t have the strength to break it.
Uh-huh. Right.
Gwen frowned at the sarcastic voice in her head and closed her eyes, blocking out everything except the peaceful feeling of being in his arms.
Too bad her curiosity, and mouth, didn’t get the memo.
“What were you guys doing all afternoon?”
Rome turned his head and pressed his lips to Gwen’s brow. “Rechecked all the fencing. Strategize on where to place the cameras. Went back down in the tunnel to see if we could figure out which direction it goes and if we can open it up.”
“Ah. So a lazy afternoon.”
Like an aphrodisiac, his soft laugh had her belly clenching in need, her blood to heat and burn under her skin.
It’s just a damn laugh, she chided her body. The dampness between her legs didn’t care.
Above her head, he drew in a deep breath, letting it out on a low sound that was caught between a groan and appreciation. “Gwen...” His hand flexed on her ribcage.
Ah hell. If he was a werejag, able to see in the dark and leap tall buildings in a single bound, did that mean his other senses were just as enhanced? Could he actually smell her arousal?
Her eyes bugged out of her head. “What do you mean you were rechecking the fences?” Redirect. Always the proper answer when freaking out.
His sigh brushed like soft fingers over her face. She kept her eyes forward, not yet ready to see what was in the dark depths of his. “Our trespassers had to gain access somewhere. Dad and Porter asked our employees today if anyone had seen any strangers about, but no one coped to anything. Though we’d checked for any sign of outside access in the fencing around the reserve once already, we did it again. Looking for the smallest cuts, newer looking sections. Anything.”
Gwen struggled to ignore the way his warm, sold hand felt over her tank top, his stroking thumb a scant hairs width away from the underside of her bra-less left breast. “Well, the north fence belongs to the national park and it’s twelve feet high with horizontal, inward facing lengths of barbed wire. The east fence is only five feet high, but you’d need a boat to get to it. So really, that o-only...uhm...” Now he was caressing her breast, making her breath catch and her nipple to poke out in hard demand for attention. The beast.
“...l-leaves the west side, which is still easy enough to climb over.”
“True.” Rome readily agreed, as if he didn’t know he was scrambling all her brain cells. “But it’s near a long, open road and climbing a six-foot high chain-link fence isn’t a quick hop, especially when carrying shovels and guns.
And if you did find treasure, the return trip would be even harder to remain inconspicuous. No. There’s got to be another entrance we just haven’t found yet.”
“Then the east side with a boat would be the most logical.” Her statement ended on a high note as his wondering thumb found her nipple, sending scorching heat straight to her groin.
He made a rumbling sound in his throat and his, “Yes,”
was gruff. “Except Santos said the men took off on the west trail, not the east.”
“Because the jaguar was blocking the east path.” Her response was breathy at best, due to the fingers of his right hand which rested on the inside of her thigh, a hot tease over the thin material of the harem pants she still wore.
“Rome. You need to stop.” Because the point of no return was looming.
Chapter Sixteen
“Stop what?” Such an innocent reply in a voice thick and dark with desire.
“Stop touching me.”
“But I like touching you, and you like it when I touch you.” As if proving his point, his hand slid under her shirt and cupped her bare breast. Her traitorous body arched into him and she couldn’t have stopped the moan from escaping if her mouth had been glued shut.
But she had to put a halt to this before it spun out of control, which meant before she spun out of control. “Wwhat happened in the tunnel was an...an...aberration due to adrenaline and – ”
He laughed. “Oh really? So you’re saying that right at this moment you’re not turned on? That if I slid my fingers inside you right now, you wouldn’t be wet for me?”
Her whole body spasmed at his husky proclama
tion.
“God, Rome. Have you no shame?” Because there he was, shoving their sexual chemistry out in the open again, and cranking her lust up another level with his candidly salacious words.
“Not when it comes to you and me. How’s your back?”
His topic change and motionless hands threw her off guard. “Uh. I’m a little sore but it’s not bad.”
“You’ll probably hurt worse tomorrow. Are all your muscles tight and achy?”
She blinked in confusion. Not for a second had she believed he’d stop his seduction so quickly. It was damn near insulting. Her lips pressed together in petulant frown.
“A bit.”
“So you need something to relax those muscles.”
In the blink of an eye, Rome slipped from under her hand – she might have told him to stop, but hypocrite that she was, she’d never pulled back from his side – and she barely caught herself from tumbling face first onto the cushion. With his arms outspread above her, Rome did something to the back of the swing and then it was falling down. To make a bed.
Convenient.
And oh so bad.
Gwen narrowed her eyes as Rome pushed her over and settled his big frame along hers. She should have known better. “What are you doing?”
His dark eyes gleamed with heat and laughter.
“Proving a point, and making you feel better at the same time. No need to thank me. It will be my pleasure.”
“Your mother should have beat you more as a child.”
Propped up on an elbow, his forearm over her head, he reached out with his other hand to trail his fingers down the curve of her cheek. “So she often says.”
Heat blossomed everywhere they came into contact, and he seemed to be everywhere. Surrounding her, luring her until she wanted nothing more than to touch and be touched. One hand curled at her neck, his thumb caressing the base of her throat, arm resting between her aching breasts. He’d thrown one muscled leg over her right thigh to keep her close. So very close. The scent of clean male with a dash of spice and green moss tantalized her nose in heady appreciation.
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