Burning Wild

by Christine Feehan

  She shampooed her hair, closing her eyes to absorb the sensation of soap and water running in rivulets over her skin. Her skin felt too tight, too sensitive. Everywhere she touched she felt fingers of arousal pulsing through her body. She leaned against the shower wall, frowning, trying to understand what was happening to her. Her breasts felt full and heavy, aching with the need to be touched. She felt empty inside, her body flushed, almost feverish. The water actually hurt her skin.

  Emma stepped out of the tiled stall and wrapped herself in a towel, looking in the mirror and feeling a little dazed. The need to be touched was growing, not lessening, and it had come on slowly, so slowly she hadn't realized what was happening until the last week. Everything seemed different to her, as if all her senses were heightened.

  A thump on the door had her whirling around with a small gasp.

  "Hey! Emma, look alive. The phone repairman is here." Emma took a deep breath and let it out. She had to pull herself together and stop all the silly nonsense that could threaten their very comfortable world. She dressed briskly and once again quickly caught her hair in a barrette, pulling it back away from her face, making a mental note to have it cut soon. She wore it up far more often than down anyway. Running after the two small children made it impossible to style.

  Joshua waited on the stairs for her. "I'm supposed to stay with you."

  "You're supposed to stay in the house." Emma pushed past him, her hand brushing his chest. She felt a shudder of awareness go through him and she turned her head to look at him. Joshua had always--always--acted like an older brother. Now he was looking at her with speculative eyes. She frowned at him. "Go away, Joshua."

  "You smell good."

  "You smell like horses. Where is our guest and why did you leave him alone?" Her voice was tinged with exasperation. Everyone was losing their minds lately, not just her. Joshua stared at her with hot eyes, making her uncomfortable.

  She ran lightly down the stairs into the entryway to find a young man standing awkwardly, staring around him with a slightly awed expression on his face. "Hello, I'm Emma Reynolds, the housekeeper. I'll show you all the phones."

  "Greg Patterson."

  "The housekeeper?" Joshua snorted.

  Emma glared at him. "Thank you so much, Joshua. I'll show him the phones. If you'd like, I made fresh bread. It's in the bread basket on the counter."

  Joshua frowned at her. "Emma . . ."

  She smiled serenely. "It's your favorite. I know you're on a break, so I made fresh coffee for you as well." There. She'd given him a good reason to stay in the house and not make it look like they didn't trust the phone man. She kept her smile, willing Joshua to follow her lead.

  "The kids?"

  "Taken care of," she answered, grimly hanging on to her smile. Did he think she was an idiot? Of course she'd made certain Susan knew to keep Andraya and Kyle locked away in the nursery while they had company in the house. He was almost as bad as Jake. She'd lived with the security for two years, understood it and accepted it, but she didn't need a babysitter. She was not going to be humiliated by having Joshua follow them from room to room. He could sit in the kitchen and listen for screams if he was as paranoid as Jake. Jake had said in the house, not necessarily in the room.

  The scent of fresh-baked bread permeated the house, and after a brief hesitation and quick warning glare at the telecommunications man, Joshua abruptly turned on his heel and headed for the kitchen.

  Emma turned her attention to the workman. He was short and stocky, with wavy brown hair and warm, smiling eyes. He looked so familiar Emma found herself frowning, trying to place him. "Do I know you?"

  "Sort of." He followed her down the hall, staring, a little awed at the massive, beautiful rooms they passed. "We've bumped into each other in the grocery store, in the produce section. You helped me pick up my apples when I dropped them."

  Emma laughed. "I remember, of course. You enjoy juggling."

  His gaze flickered downward to her left hand, noted the absence of a ring as she waved him into a room. "Quite a house you've got here."

  "Thank you." Emma loved the house, and appreciated anyone who recognized its beauty. "It takes quite a bit of care, but I love working here."

  "I always wanted to see this estate. No one can actually get on the property without an escort. The grounds are incredible and the house even more so."

  "It is a working cattle ranch," Emma explained.

  "Is Mr. Bannaconni here much?"

  Emma tossed a small smile over her shoulder, but didn't answer the query. Her loyalty was solidly with Jake, and as such, she never gave information about him to anyone. The smallest remark could end up in a tabloid, and Jake had enough people hounding him. In truth, he flew often out of the country as well as to the many states where he owned properties, but he always returned home to the ranch.

  They passed the long, wide, sweeping staircase and the high ceiling where the bronze leopard sat amid climbing plants. She was pleased at Patterson's swift intake of breath. "This house is amazing. You must love it here."

  "Yes, I do." And she took great pride in making certain it was clean. Jake insisted on cleaners coming twice a week, but she managed every day and it made her feel possessive and proud of their home.

  She gestured toward the phone in the den. "This is where I notice the noise the most. The other phones have just a tinge, but this one is more pronounced."

  Greg set his equipment down and watched as she perched on the arm of a chair across the room from him. "This may take a while."

  "That's fine. I expected it to," she answered, her voice pleasant.

  Greg snuck another quick look at her before returning his gaze to the phone cradled in his hand. "Are you and Mr. Bannaconni together? I didn't notice a ring, but that doesn't seem to make much of a difference these days."

  Emma stiffened. Was he looking for information for the tabloids? She tried to keep her voice light and casual. "I work here."

  Greg shot her a quick, shy smile. "Well, in that case, there's a great movie opening at the theater tomorrow night that I was hoping to see. I don't suppose you'd want to go with me?" He couldn't make himself look at her when he asked her, rubbing at an imaginary fleck of dirt on the telephone instead.

  Emma sucked in her breath. She'd never dated anyone, not really. Not before Andrew. But Jake had just taunted her, made fun of her actually, by telling her she'd never find another man because she didn't pay attention to men. Jake, Greg seemed young and uncomplicated, even tame. He certainly didn't stir her sexually, but she needed something, a change, a way to deal with the way Jake made her feel.

  "If you don't mind me meeting you there, and it would have to be the late show," Emma found herself agreeing. She held her breath, suddenly hoping he would say no.

  "Great!" An enthusiastic smile lit his eyes. "Tomorrow night, then."

  Emma's heart thudded in alarm. What had she done? Jake had hurt her ego, and in a small spurt of defiance she had made a decision she wasn't really ready for. And it wasn't fair to Greg. She had no real interest in him. Her decision was really about being afraid of herself, of the aching needs she couldn't quite get free of. She wasn't herself lately at all, and her dreams were downright humiliating. Every single one of them was about Jake and things she had no real knowledge of and wasn't certain she really wanted to learn.

  "Greg, I'll go with you as a friend. Nothing more. If that's not what you want, then I'll have to back out. I should have made that clear." She kept her voice gentle, low, sorry she might be hurting him, angry with herself for getting into such a position because of pride and fear. It wasn't Greg's fault that he'd happened along at precisely the moment she would agree.

  "I understand. It's all good," he said. "I'd like to go with you."

  He sent her another brief grin, one that was strangely reminiscent of Andy's. Sweet. Not asking for anything. Friendly. Maybe he was just what she needed. Jake's personality was overwhelming, swamping her, chipping away at
her resistance. Everything about Jake tore at her continually. His intense needs. His dark, brooding manner. His pain. His arousal. His orders and flashes of temper. The way he softened when he was with her. The way he lay next to her when he couldn't sleep and idly played with strands of her hair, sometimes touching her soft skin and sliding his fingers over her warmth as if she belonged to him.

  Just thinking about his touch made her slick with damp heat. She took a breath, let it out and forced a smile, trying to understand what Greg was saying to her.

  Greg explained every detail as he worked, his voice droning on and on, until she felt desperate. It was impossible not to think about Jake when she wasn't in the least bit interested in how the phone worked. She heard him call her name and looked up expectantly, embarrassed that she'd drifted off a second time.

  Greg frowned as he looked at the phone. "What exactly are you hearing? Because the line appears clean."

  "I don't hear it until I actually talk, or someone else is talking to me. If I'm quiet, it's not there. I had a couple of the ranch hands listen and only Joshua could hear it, but it really bothers me." It made her uneasy. The phone in Jake's office didn't seem to have the same problem on it. She'd gone into his sanctuary and checked herself, relieved when his private line appeared to be clear. She just had a bad feeling.

  "Do you hear voices?"

  Emma burst out laughing. Greg looked up, a little startled, realized how his question might sound and then joined her.

  "The line appears to be clear. My equipment is showing a strong signal, but if you only hear it when you are actually speaking, we could be dealing with something like spy equipment." His eyes brightened and he grinned at her much like a small boy. "That would be cool. Could someone be spying on you?"

  "I think you've been watching too many movies," Emma said, forcing another laugh, suddenly quite uncomfortable. Even the paparazzi were known to bug houses, and someone like Jake had all kinds of enemies.

  Greg laughed again. "Well, it would certainly be a first if I ran across spy equipment."

  7

  JAKE stood just outside the open door, his heart beating in his throat as he breathed away the need for the leopard to rise. In that moment, with Emma's innocent laughter ringing in his ears and the scent of her arousal filling his senses, he recognized that he was becoming dangerous. Something was very wrong. He should be in his office, locked away from all noise, never overhearing the play between a man and woman. He could hear the male interest in the man's voice, the innocence in Emma's tone. Yet she was definitely aroused, and that maddened him. He felt cruel, capable of viciousness. He hated that ugly part of him, the one that rose when he felt things too deeply, telling him, showing him that he carried the legacy of evil in his blood.

  He knew he needed help. He would have to talk to Drake, find a way to combat the intense jealousy sweeping through him at the mere thought of any man around Emma. She had become an obsession, invading his thoughts every moment of the day, torturing his body with a permanent hard-on, massive and thick and so damned painful he could barely walk at times. Nothing he did helped, no woman sated him--he burned for Emma. Somehow she'd managed to turn the tables on his plan. She was supposed to be obsessed with him, but somehow it hadn't turned out that way.

  He stood, leaning one hip casually against the doorjamb, waiting for her to look up, watching her face, the way her eyes shone, the way her mouth was so expressive. She stayed across the room from the man, which was the only thing allowing Jake to keep his sanity. The leopard was so close. His chest rumbled with growls, his throat ached with the need to roar. His teeth hurt from trying to hold back the change, the need to leap upon his enemy--his rival--and rip him open. And Emma. What he wanted to do to Emma.

  His body, so hard, every muscle taut, skin too hot to touch, his cock so full and sensitive that every step he took was painful. He needed to . . . He just needed.

  Emma looked up and her eyes met his. For a moment time seemed to stand still. Her gaze softened, warmed, and in that moment his heart squeezed hard and his stomach tightened. His fingers curled into his palm. He remained silent, afraid his voice would come out more leopard than human.

  "Greg can't hear that hum I told you about on the phone line."

  Greg? Who the hell was Greg to be called by his first name? Did she know him? The man was staring at him with that slightly awed look people often got in his presence. He showed his teeth without actually smiling. Maybe it came out a snarl. He didn't know and he sure as hell didn't care. Greg froze, so he must have snarled. He felt with his tongue for his canines. Did they feel sharper? He breathed to keep his leopard at bay.

  "Joshua told me he heard it as well," Jake managed. He kept his voice low, but even so, he saw Emma flick him a worried look. He wasn't in any state to reassure her.

  "Greg mentioned if the line was clear and we heard something it could be spy equipment, and you know how the paparazzi are always trying to get into the house."

  "I can check the phone jacks for chips or recorders," Greg offered.

  "Don't bother, my security can take it from here," he said, dismissing the man, and stalking away. He wanted the man the hell out of his house.

  Jake didn't want to go. He had to go. He had to find Drake, to run, let the leopard loose where it couldn't do any harm. Breathing hard, he turned away from them, striding through the kitchen, stopping abruptly when he saw Joshua with his feet up on a chair, drinking coffee and eating a slice of freshly baked bread.

  "I thought I told you to stay with Emma," he snapped.

  Joshua jumped up so fast he knocked the chair over. "You said stay in the house and I'm here."

  "That's bullshit and you know it. You've got some man in my home staring at Emma like she's the candy in a store, while you're fucking feeding your face. Throw the son of a bitch out of here and have security check the phone jacks again, not just with equipment, but visually. If they can't do their job, get rid of them."

  "Fine, it's done," Joshua tried to soothe him.

  Jake was pacing, swinging his head in agitation. His face had gone dark, his eyes clouding, going almost completely gold as his vision shifted from human to animal.

  Grabbing the radio hanging at his side, Joshua spoke into it quickly before moving to put the table between him and his boss, barking out the orders for security to check the phone jacks visually and then calling to Drake for backup.

  "Jake. Listen to me. Concentrate. You're in a thrall. A fit of madness. You have to fight hard against it. Come with me now. Let's get you out of here before it's too late." Joshua's own voice roughened, his vision changing to bands of colored heat. All senses immediately sharpened, heightened.

  Jake heard him as if from a distance, the voice fading in and out. His muscles ached. His back bent. He wanted Emma underneath him, screaming his name. The image filled his vision and then his sight went red as he scented other males.

  "Damn it, Drake. Hurry," Joshua called again into the radio. "I'm not going to be able to hold him by myself." He held his palm out toward Jake. "You brought me to your ranch to help you, Jake. I'm trying to do that. Go run. Let your leopard loose."

  Thunder crashed in Jake's ears. His blood surged hotly, the need to claim his mate so strong he shook with it. The animal consumed him bit by bit.

  "Your other is riding you hard. We don't want a fight in your kitchen." Joshua's own leopard rose to meet the aggression of Jake's. This was going to be a disaster.

  The door burst open and Drake limped in. He hissed a command in the language of their species, one Jake couldn't understand, but the leopard did. "Jake. Go to the truck. We have to go now." His tone left no room for argument. The situation was going to turn ugly fast.

  Jake glanced toward the room where Emma's voice could be heard, still murmuring softly to the repairman.

  "Evan's coming to escort him off the property," Joshua assured.

  Jake recognized he had little control and struggled to rein in the leopard, fi
ghting for supremacy at least until he could make certain Emma and the children were safe. It was going to take both Joshua and Drake to control the snarling cat clawing and fighting for a kill. He tried to speak, but mostly what came out was a rumble of madness. "Emma." He couldn't--wouldn't leave until he knew someone was watching over her.

  As if that one growling word made sense, Drake snapped an order at Joshua. "Get Darrin in here. Tell him to call up two other hands and guard the house with the kids and Emma until one of the three of us gets back." Even as he spoke, he ushered Jake out of the house.

  Jake could barely walk, his body so heavy and throbbing, so aroused that every step was painful. The leopard fought him every inch of the way, trying to get back, to circle around Drake, snarling menacingly, using mock charges to threaten. Drake snarled back, his own leopard shepherding Jake. Joshua helped the moment he was able, careful to keep a distance as Jake paced back and forth, the growls rumbling louder and more ferocious, but, in effect, herding him toward the truck.

  The biggest danger would occur in the close confines of the truck. Drake and Joshua had to rely on Jake to stay focused and hold his leopard at bay until they could get him to the far side of the ranch where they could let him run free.

  Drake slammed the door once they had him caged inside the cab and leapt into the driver's seat. "What the hell is going on, Joshua? I'm not around the house, but this is definitely a thrall. Is there a female close?"

  Joshua shrugged. "Only Emma. I've been around her dozens of times and she's never triggered my leopard. Although . . ." He trailed off, glancing at his boss.

  Jake breathed harshly, his chest rising and falling in an effort to hold back the change. His skin hurt, shrinking, far too small to cover his frame. He tore his shirt off as the itch spread and something alive ran just under the surface. His brain was filled with a red haze, a dark-edged rage and fierce hunger for one woman. He was consumed with Emma, with the desire for her body, with the need to make her his. He hated every male, desperate to destroy them, understanding the cruelties of his parents as the cat enflamed him beyond sanity.