Directly in front of them, a glass supply cabinet reflected the two of them. It was stunning…and hot as hell. He wanted Lynn to see just how amazing they looked together, so he wrapped his hands into her long blonde hair, tugging her head and arching her back. The new position changed the angle of his entry and his speech became rough with impending release. “Look at us, beautiful.”
Her face was turned up, eyes slightly glazed in her pleasure, but he saw the moment the image registered with her. Suddenly, the emerald color took on a heated glow that nearly sucked the air from his lungs. She liked watching them, and that had to be one of the hottest things he’d ever seen.
Picking up the pace, Jag reached around and gave her clit a rough tap, causing her to cry out and jerk in his grasp. Rubbing his fingers over her little nub, he switched to a long, hard rhythm with his hips, but soon, his pace became more and more frantic as his impending release tickled up his spine.
Pressing the palm of his hand over her lower stomach, Jag continued to strum her clit as he met her eyes in the glass before them. “Let go and fly for me. I’ve got you, beautiful.” One more tap from his fingers and she broke, screaming his name as her body gripped his and pulled a roar from his chest that seemed to shake the walls.
There was no longer a question of whether or not anyone knew what he and Lynn had been doing. Hell, he’d just announced it to every shifter in a quarter mile.
Leaning over her back, Jag hugged her to him, breathing in the scent of his mate and feeling a wave of contentment flow over him. She was here, safe, sated and his.
“Are you okay?” He’d been rough with her, and though she seemed to be doing just fine, he still had to ask.
“That was incredible,” she whispered. “I don’t think I’ll ever look at an exam table the same again.”
The woman never ceased to make him smile. “Maybe, I’ll just have to start visiting you at work more often.”
“Or perhaps, I’ll just order one of these for the house.”
“Now that sounds like a fine idea. We have to head back to the main clinic. As much as I’d love to hold you hostage in this room and see just what else we can do with this table, we need to see what Liam has found out about those chocolates.” Kissing her swollen lips once more, Jag pulled away and gathered their clothes. When he turned back, Lynn was still holding on to the edge of the padded surface. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Just waiting for my legs to decide they want to work again,” she laughed, and Jag felt his chest puff out with pride. “Go ahead and preen. You earned it.”
Damn, she was good for his ego. “How about I assist you then?”
After he helped her dress, they made their way back to the main area and found Liam and Dylan deep in conversation. At their approach, both men stopped speaking and looked up, their expressions dark.
Something was clearly wrong.
“What’s going on?” Jag demanded. “You two look pissed as hell.”
“We got back the reports on the candy,” Dylan replied. “They used a paralytic. If she’d eaten one or two, it would have left her incapacitated for a few hours, but if she’d managed to eat more, there would have been enough of the drug in her system to potentially stop her heart.”
Jag snarled, fine tremors racking his body as his jaguar pushed for a shift. He wanted to hunt. Someone was threatening his mate, his very reason for breathing, and his first instinct was to eliminate that threat, but Lynn’s hand squeezing his helped bring back a measure of control.
“Calm down, Jag,” Liam ordered. “At this point, we can’t know for certain if their intent was to kill her. They could have been showing how easily they could get to her. If I hadn’t been there, she wouldn’t have had any way of knowing the candy had been tampered with. They could have tried to take her, but with the office staff all being there, I’m not sure if they would have been successful or not.”
Dylan stepped forward. “I want a shifter with her at all times. She doesn’t eat or drink anything that isn’t brought to her by one of us.” His golden eyes shifted to Lynn. “I sent Samantha home with Eli. She’s very upset. She understands you won’t stay here because you don’t want to put them in danger, but at the same time, she just wants to keep you safe. Will you call her later today? I think if you check in with her regularly, it will help a lot.”
Nodding, she ducked her head, but not soon enough. Tears had gathered in her eyes, and Jag scented the roiling emotions pouring off of her. Fear, sadness, and anger all swirled in the air and caused his agitation to rise. She shouldn’t be subjected to any of this, and he would do his best to ensure none of this ugliness affected her happiness in any way. Her sweet smiles meant so much to him. No, he’d deal with these monsters, just as he would slay anything that threatened what was his.
Sensing her need to leave, Jag pulled Lynn tight to his side. “There’s nothing more we can do here tonight, so why don’t we head home?”
She bobbed her head in the affirmative, and he steered her toward the exit with a promise to call once they were in for the night. Dylan had assured him enforcers would be patrolling the area, so Jag could focus more on Lynn, which he was extremely grateful for.
“I want to go by and check on Kitty first, please.”
Figuring he needed to grab the clothes he’d stripped out of before racing over, Jag agreed. “I’ll see about getting a jeep or something to drive for the evening. I need to get my clothes and phone from there anyway.”
“Just take mine,” Liam called out.
“Thanks, Liam.”
* * * *
The news Dylan and Liam had delivered in regard to the tainted chocolates had the same effect as being doused with ice water. Lynn had gone from warm, sated and happy, to cold, frightened and slightly numb so quickly it was staggering. Just recalling how close she’d come to possibly being kidnapped or even killed was enough to leave her heart pounding.
And Kitty had been foolish enough to take on three of these assholes? She must be insane! Lynn planned to ask her friend exactly what had been going through her head to make her think a car was worth being mauled by three bear shifters. Seriously, who the hell did something like that?
And the real kicker? Everyone knew Kitty was a shifter, but for some reason, she refused to change to her animal form, even if it meant being shredded by the silver-tipped claws one of those goons wielded.
“Are you sure Kitty’s okay?” Lynn knew she’d asked this several times since learning of the attack, but most people didn’t walk away from that kind of altercation. “I hate the idea of anything happening to someone because of me. Actually, what I’d love is for these guys to be wiped off the face of the earth. People this evil need to be destroyed before they spread their hatred any further.”
“Don’t worry. As soon as I find them, they will be,” Jag growled, turning into the parking lot of Mason’s Jar Bar.
For a Thursday night, it was surprisingly busy, and a shiver of unease skated up Lynn’s spine. Jag must have sensed her change in the mood because he placed a comforting squeeze on her thigh.
“You don’t think she’s working, do you?”
Jag’s sudden laughter made Lynn jump but brought a grin to her lips. He didn’t laugh nearly as often as he should.
“I’m pretty sure Mason would tie her down if she tried. That friend of yours is something else,” he replied. “Kitty’s tough, though, and obviously a good fighter, too.”
“You’re not kidding. Some nights, I’ve seen her be more of a bouncer than a bartender. She doesn’t leave the bar often though, since she lives in the apartment upstairs.” When Jag shot her a questioning glance, Lynn explained. “From what I understand, she needed somewhere to live, so Mason gave her a job and part of the pay was to go for rent on the place upstairs. She still gets to keep her tips, though Kitty suspects Mason is dropping extra cash in the jar and renting it to her for little to nothing. He swears it’s just a crash pad/office he used on occasion, but h
e’s taken on more of a big brother or even a fatherly role since they’ve worked together.”
“She knows she can count on him,” Jag surmised.
“And I’m fairly certain that’s not a luxury she’s used to having.”
“What’s that?”
“Someone she can rely on. Kitty has never once mentioned her family to me or Sam. Come to think of it, she doesn’t bring up her past at all. It’s like her life began when she moved here.” Lynn’s imagination took over, conjuring up all sorts of scenarios that could lead to Kitty’s non-disclosure of her history.
Perhaps, she was a wanted felon living under an alias. Maybe, she wouldn’t shift because she’d accidentally killed someone in her animal form? It would explain her reluctance to change.
“Well, have you ever asked her?”
Lynn thought about his question for a moment and was ashamed to realize they hadn’t. Not once had either she or Sam inquired about Kitty’s previous life or where she lived before, and Lynn felt like the worst friend. They hadn’t been buddies for long, but those were the type of icebreakers you went through when getting to know someone. How the hell had they not asked those things?
Hanging her head, Lynn confessed. “No, we didn’t.”
“Hey, don’t sweat it. If she didn’t want to share that information, she more than likely kept the conversation geared toward other topics.” Jag opened his door. “You visit with her while I check with Mason.”
Determined to grill Kitty, Lynn hopped from the truck and headed for the door. Once inside, the familiar smells of beer, smoke and booze assailed her, and she wondered how the others could stand it. With the shifters’ heightened sense of smell, she could only imaging how it must stink.
It didn’t take long to spot Mason’s hulking form behind the bar. For a big man, he moved with surprising grace and fluidity as he flipped bottles and poured drinks for the strangely calm crowd.
“Wow! Usually, it’s kinda rowdy in here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it like this,” Lynn softly pointed out.
Jag chuckled. “Despite the stench, I can still scent the fear and unease in the air, so my guess would be they’re freaked out by the giant serving their drinks. Maybe, it wouldn’t be so bad if he’d smile or speak.”
He had a point. As she watched, Lynn noticed how Mason merely stared at the patrons until they sputtered out their orders. Then he fixed the drink and moved on to the next. “He’s certainly not a chatterbox; that’s for sure.”
Suddenly, Mason’s black eyes locked on them, his brows drew together in a deep frown, and his massive arms crossed over his chest. In front of him, the customers fidgeted on their barstools then jumped almost a foot when he bellowed, “Are you going to bring your asses over here, or do I have to come escort you to a spot like a damn hostess?”
With his dark hair and features, his nearly black eyes and the scar that bisected one of his eyebrows, Mason was an imposing man. Not that he intimidated Lynn at all. She knew he was nothing more than a big teddy bear.
“Aren’t you just a ray of sunshine?” she retorted with a beaming smile.
“You bet your sweet ass! I’ve even got a unicorn in the back farting rainbows and glitter for the drinks.”
Giggling, Lynn sidled up to Mason and gave him a big hug, not missing Jag’s low snarl behind her or Mason’s quiet chuckle. “You certainly know how to keep the place rockin’,” she teased. “Where’s Kitty?”
“My guess would be upstairs, throwing things and cursing me to the farthest depths of hell.” Mason rubbed his hand over his face, and Lynn noticed how tired his eyes were. They weren’t really black but more of an intense deep brown, but with the whites being so bloodshot, he looked a little bit crazed. “She’ll be mad at me for a while I’d wager, but I want her arm to heal properly, and if she’s hauling cases of beer and such, she’s likely to open the wounds again. It’s bad enough she’ll carry around scars from this. I don’t want them to be worse.”
“Because of the silver? It scars you?” Dear God, her friend would forever have a reminder of that night?
“Yes. It’s like a severe allergy. Too much and it can kill us, but being injured by it means a much longer healing time.” He shrugged. “It takes a lot to kill us. As long as it doesn’t pierce something vital, like the heart or brain, we can generally heal from it, though surgery could still be necessary.”
Lynn shook her head. “Nope, I don’t want to know about that. I feel bad enough about what happened. If I start thinking about Kitty needing surgery, I might lose it, so I’m going to visit with her now.” She walked back over to Jag, gave him a quick kiss then made her way to the back of the bar. Once she reached the top of the stairs, Lynn paused outside the apartment door. Everything inside seemed quiet, so obviously Kitty wasn’t throwing things as Mason had originally thought.
Knocking, Lynn waited for a reply. What she didn’t expect was for Kitty to shout, “Piss off, Mason!”
Snickering, Lynn replied, “He’s too busy scaring the crap out of all the people sitting at the bar, but I can go relay the message if you want.” The door swung open, and Kitty hauled Lynn inside without so much as a “Howdy” before slamming and locking the door again.
“That man is going to drive me to drink! Do you have any idea how hard it is for a shifter to get drunk?” Kitty waved her arms around as she spoke, so Lynn had to bob and weave to avoid being smacked in the head.
Deciding it might be best to interrupt and change the topic, Lynn asked, “How’s your arm doing?”
It worked to stop Kitty’s tirade, though her eyes narrowed and focused on Lynn now. “Did he send you up here to ask me that?”
“No. I was curious, since for some strange reason, you figured it would be a good idea to take on three fucking bears over a damn car.”
Kitty sighed before trudging to the couch then plopping down on it. “I told you the SUV would be fine parked here. You trusted me enough to leave it, and I didn’t want anything to happen to it.”
“Kitty, you’re my friend, and that makes you so much more important to me than a car. Do you really think I would have blamed you for what happened?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really have many friends. I mean, I talk to the waitresses and kitchen staff here, but we don’t hang out. You and Samantha have been so great to me and accepted me for who I am. I just wanted to, I don’t know, show you that you could trust me, I guess.”
Sitting beside Kitty, Lynn put her hand on Kitty’s shoulder, mindful of her injured arm. “Girlfriend, you are part of our inner circle, whether or not you want to be. We don’t let people in easily, since some of the people closest to us have betrayed our trust in the past.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you guys,” Kitty vowed. “That’s not to say I can open up and tell you everything right away, but I’ll try. It’s been just me for so long, and Mason is the first person to actually take a vested interest in my wellbeing. Something like that is extremely hard for someone who’s been alone most of her adult life.”
There was a deep sadness in Kitty’s lovely eyes, and it tore at Lynn’s heart. “He cares for you a lot. Mason is down there right now, scaring the shit out of every guy sitting at the bar, because he wants to make sure your arm heals with as little scarring as possible. It’s somewhat amusing to watch.”
Something that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle came from Kitty’s direction. “I’d love to see it. He’d flip if I came down there though. Heaven forbid, I do anything if it could strain my arm. It’s already healing, so I don’t know what his problem is.”
Lynn frowned. “Jag said injuries from silver take awhile to heal.”
“For most shifters they do, but I’m different. My body builds up immunities to things for some reason. Now, silver will have even less of an effect on me, and I can take a hit off a diamond-back rattler with no ill effects at all. I’ll tell you though, getting to that level of immunity was a bitch.”
“But how? You mean to tell
me you have a natural defense against poisons?” As a medical professional, news like this was absolutely stunning. Lynn could only imagine the possibilities if she or Dr. Lewis were allowed to examine Kitty’s blood. They might be able to create a drug to counteract the effect of silver on shifters!
“It has something to do with my breed, I guess,” Kitty replied absently while flipping through a sales paper on her coffee table.
“Jag said you’re a tiger. Is he wrong?”
“Nope, I’m a tiger, just a rare breed. It’s why I’ve been alone for so long.”
Okay, Lynn was getting somewhere now, but it was painfully obvious this would be a slow process. Nevertheless, Kitty was finally opening up, and Lynn would take what she could get. She wouldn’t push too hard…for now. “So you don’t have any family?”
“Oh, I have family, but the dynamics of that particular group are fucked up beyond belief.” Kitty’s whiskey-colored eyes met Lynn’s. “My parents were major hippies. How else do you think a feline shifter would end up with this name?”
Just like that, Lynn fought to remain in control of her facial expressions as the corners of her mouth twitched. “Kitty, I hate to tell you, but having hippies for parents isn’t the end of the world.”
“Oh, my parents were great,” she rushed to clarify. “It’s the rest of the clan who are bat-shit crazy. We didn’t live with them though, mostly because my mom and dad preferred to live off of nature. I guess you could think of us as nomads. Anyway, after my parents died, I lived with my grandfather back at the clan. When I turned seventeen, he and another member of the clan started discussing a possible mate for me.”
“I thought you guys recognized your mates naturally.”
“We do, which is why I ran away. My grandfather informed me the guy they wanted me to mate with was actually my cousin. Can you believe that? They were seriously considering incest to keep our kind from going extinct. Because I was the only female old enough to begin breeding, they wanted to get things started as soon as possible. The sick bastards wanted to use me as nothing more than a brood mare, and I wasn’t having it.”
Guarding His Heart Page 12
