by Devyn Quinn
Something akin to amusement crossed his face, lighting up his chiseled features. “It’s a good odor,” Jesse said, hastening to reassure her. “And it’s practically the only way we have of recognizing a true Tlvdatsi female.”
Dakoda threw up her hands in disbelief. Frustration boiled through her. “But that’s just what I’ve been telling you. I don’t know what my heritage is. I don’t even know my father’s name, much less where he came from.”
Jesse sighed. “I don’t have to guess, Dakoda. One of your parents has some Cherokee blood and is a descendant of the Tlvdatsi clan. Though I’m not really sure how to explain it, people with our bloodline seem to carry some sort of recessive gene that’s been passed down through generations. Most of us live our entire lives not knowing we carry it. It’s why those who know how to shift are almost extinct.”
“But I’m not a shifter,” she protested. “I’ve never had the urge to turn into a cougar and prowl.”
A soft laugh escaped him. “None of us did, Dakoda. When I found out, I thought there was no freaking way on earth that was possible. I may be an Indian, but I wasn’t born on the damn reservation or raised in the—” He raised his hands, fingers making quote marks in the air. “—old ways of our people.”
Dakoda swallowed, remembering the icy prickle she’d felt when she’d first witnessed Jesse shift from cougar to human. “How did you find out?”
Jesse hesitated a beat, then said, “One of the elders of the Tlvdatsi clan tracked me down. Here I am be-bopping along, doing my thing in college, and some ancient shaman shows up telling me it’s time to return to our homeland and reestablish our connection with our ancestors.” He was suddenly restless, pacing the small cell. His muscular legs seemed way too damn long for the small space. With each step he took, the blanket around his narrow hips shifted lower. “And then he springs the whole cougar thing on me…I’m thinking for sure the old man’s been hitting the pipe a little hard, if you know what I mean.”
Watching the blanket creep ever lower, Dakoda felt a tremor of yearning down low in her core. A little bit more of their grim reality faded, and she was grateful for the distraction.
Clearing her throat, she cocked a brow toward his waist. “Ah, Jesse, if you don’t get a grab on that, you’ll be losing your cover.”
A grin split his lips as he shot her a suggestive smile. “Anything I got that you would like to see?” he hinted.
Her pulse raced all over again at the pull of his sheer male power, drawing her like a physical force. “I’ve seen it already,” she deadpanned.
“And?”
Dakoda licked dry lips. She’d like to see it again, in an up-close-and-personal way. His presence was making her body ache. He smelled of heat and musk and yet a third unique odor she couldn’t quite place, one that insisted on teasing her with its mystery. Pheromones. The scent of a male.
She trembled, muscles clenching deep inside at the thought of skin pressed against naked skin. Not now, she warned herself.
“And what else did he tell you?” she countered, reluctant to drag her mind away from lustier pursuits.
Jesse huffed, tucking the blanket tighter. “He didn’t tell me anything. He showed me. The shift.” Eyebrows drawing together in a perplexed furrow, he shook his head. “That was when I considered the weed I’d been smoking must be dusted with some serious hallucinogens.”
She frowned. “You’re joking, I hope.”
He raked his hands through his long hair, skimming the thick strands away from his face. “About the pot. Yeah. About the old man shifting. No. All I can say is that I became a believer that day.”
Dakoda tried to envision herself shifting. She couldn’t. It seemed too damn incredible to even imagine. Seeing Jesse manage the feat still hadn’t made a believer out of her. There was still the possibility she’d lost her mind, and just hadn’t figured it out yet. “I guess anyone would,” she allowed.
Jesse gave a slow, wry smile. “He also told me it was time for the gathering, for the Tlvdatsi to return to the mountains and learn the old ways before they died out. Of the seven clans of Cherokees, ours is the last that remembers how to shift.”
“So you moved to the mountains?” she asked.
He nodded. “Since I was flunking accounting, I went ahead and dropped out.” A scoffing sound escaped him. “Ah, what Indian wants to wear the white man’s costumes and count his money all day, anyway?”
Dakoda nibbled her lower lip in thought. “Must have been hard, leaving one life behind for another.”
He looked at her a long moment, then shrugged. “Not so hard, really. For the last couple of years we’ve been working to reestablish the clan and become recognized by the federal government as a legitimate sanctuary for the cougars.”
Dakoda smiled. “A whole new line of work.”
Jesse rolled his eyes. “A tough one, too. Proving the cougar is no longer extinct in these mountains hasn’t been the most difficult obstacle. Keeping the secret that we are the cougars has proven a little more difficult.”
She folded her arms across her body. “I guess that’s hard to do when outsiders know your secrets.”
Jesse snorted. “Tell me about it. Trying to adapt to living in the wild is tough enough without having poachers on your tail, and I do mean that literally.” His expression turned tight and grim. “You have to remember, their people have been in these mountains a long time, too, and they’re part of the reason we were hunted to the point of extinction. Leaving our homeland was the only way to survive.”
Feeling the chill behind his words, Dakoda rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Now coming back is the only way to survive.”
Jesse cast a look around the small cell before scrubbing both hands over his face. Sweat beaded his dark skin, giving it a shiny, sexy gleam. “I’m afraid we won’t be surviving long under these conditions.”
Dakoda knew she didn’t look half as sexy. The moment humidity struck, her hair turned all frizzy and her skin all greasy.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Though the night outside was cool, the air inside the cramped cell was sultry. Her heavy uniform clung to her skin, perspiration patches pooling under her arms and breasts. “I’m sorry we weren’t more help, Jesse. Once the reports of cougar sightings were confirmed, we redoubled our efforts to catch poachers.”
His hands dropped, dangling uselessly at his sides. “I know.” He exhaled, a long breath. “It’s frustrating, though. We’re all trying to adapt to a new world and there’s all these obstacles to jump. Sometimes I wish I’d never learned about our gift. I think I could have lived the rest of my life without knowing the truth.”
Dakoda sensed the gnawing of desperate frustration behind his demeanor. The more she learned about the Tlvdatsi, the more she wanted to know. Even if his speculation had no grain of truth, he’d still given her something she’d never had before. Hope.
Always a bastard child with no roots and no heritage, Dakoda had never really felt she belonged anywhere. She had no family who wanted to claim her, call her their own. All of a sudden, Jesse Clawfoot had revealed she might have a family, a legitimate heritage. The father she’d never known might have bestowed a most valuable gift on her—a gift she didn’t intend to let slip through her fingers.
“I think everyone should know who they are, where they come from, Jesse.” She lifted a hand, pressing it against her chest. “When you don’t know those things it feels like little pieces of you are missing inside, like they’ve been sliced away. You know who you are, where you come from, and now you know where you’re going in life.” Her vision was blurring; her throat tightened, thickening her words. “Anyone who doesn’t know would envy that. I know I do.”
Jesse stepped toward her, his face intent. “I can see the pain in your eyes. Not knowing your origins has hurt you deeply, Dakoda.” Warm hands cupped her face. “I want to help you find your way, help you find where you belong.”
Feeling his
touch against her needy skin, Dakoda felt oddly comforted. Though his hands were roughened from the hard work of trying to survive in the mountains, his caress was gentle.
She opened her eyes. Her gaze searched his. “You’re not just saying that, are you? Please, don’t feel sorry for me because I’m a bastard.”
Jesse shook his head, his lips just inches away from hers. “I have no reason to lie to you or to deceive you. I only know what my senses are telling me. You do carry the scent of a Tlvdatsi female.”
Without really knowing why, Dakoda stepped into his arms, pressing against the hard planes of his chest. “I wish I could believe that. Desperation can do such strange things to a person’s mind. If you told me you could fly, I think I’d believe it.” She meant the move to be innocent, one human taking comfort from another, but something about the stiffening in his frame said he read something entirely different into it.
His fingers slid into her hair, tugging her head back. His face moved closer to hers. His gaze collided with hers, simmering with predatory heat. “I am desperate, Dakoda,” he murmured. “Whether or not you believe me doesn’t matter at all. I’m trying to make a connection we can hold on to, something positive for both of us to focus on. If we hang on to each other, we might be able to survive.”
There was no way she could answer. The events of the day were still raw wounds etched deeply into her mind and on her heart. His offering was more than a balm, it was a promise things had the potential to get better. His presence, his pledge, offered a sense of peace.
Hope she willingly took and held on to.
Before she could form a coherent answer, Jesse’s mouth covered hers. His kiss wasn’t the ravenous assault of a desperate soul, but a soft tentative pressure. His tongue brushed the seam of her lips, seeking invitation.
Blood racing at the pull of his sex toward hers, Dakoda willingly opened. Something about Jesse drew her like a magnetic force, as if she could draw from his strength and shift into a cougar right then and there. A honeyed warmth pushed against her fear and fatigue, renewing her reserves of determination and strength.
“Promise me you won’t leave me,” she murmured against the pressure of his mouth.
For an answer, Jesse’s hands slipped lower, traveling down her sides. Big warm palms came to rest on her hips. He pulled her body closer to his. With the shift between them, the blanket around his hips dropped to the floor around his feet. The strong length of his torso pressed against her. His throbbing shaft nestled between them. “I won’t leave you, Dakoda,” he promised.
Feeling the pressure, Dakoda pulled back a little. She glanced down, eyeing his erection with appreciation. “That thing doesn’t give up,” she giggled.
A shudder ran though him. “Not when there’s a sexy woman in my arms.”
“Sexy,” she breathed. “You think I’m sexy?”
His grin widened. “Hell, yeah.”
“And you’re not just saying that because I’m the only woman around?” she teased.
Jesse pulled her back into his arms. “I think I’d better let my body do the talking.” He kissed her again, his mouth easily conquering hers.
Allowing him full access to plunder and pillage, Dakoda felt the fine tremble beneath his skin, the quivering sensation filling his entire body as he tried to hold back the full force of his intense passion. A man’s mouth might lie, spinning some good tales to get into a girl’s pants. But his body definitely could not. A bond, a real connection, was forming between them. One going far past the physical, into territory Dakoda had never dared to explore with any man before. For the first time in her life she wanted to find out what it would be like to give herself to a man in every way.
She wanted to belong.
Catching her lower lip between his teeth, Jesse slid one hand up her torso, palm closing over her left breast. Though covered by her clothing, she felt the caress sear all the way through the material. Her nipple instantly came to life, tightening into a hard little peak. God, she was desperate. It had been too damned long since she’d had sex. As though dulled by all lack of sensation, her senses were slowly awakening, blossoming to brilliant life. Her pulse banged in her throat, echoing the need pulsing in her core.
With a moan, Dakoda eased back. “Whoa,” she breathed. “I didn’t see this one coming.”
A low chuckle escaped him. “I think you did.”
Hand leaving her breast, Jesse’s fingers fumbled at the front of her uniform jacket, working open the buttons. About halfway down, he paused, giving her a look as if to ask permission.
A wicked gleam danced in the depths of his dark gaze. “May I continue?”
Dakoda’s heart tripped against her ribcage. “Don’t stop now.” Slowly, she drew in a breath, a tremor of yearning passing through her. She needed this glorious man as much as she needed the air in her lungs. On the trail of the female he desired, he’d stalked her down, relentless in his pursuit of what he wanted, what he needed.
I need it, too, she thought. Something else to concentrate on that would offer a brief solace from the tragedy and tension suddenly consuming her life. For the moment they were simply two people who needed each other.
Desperately.
7
Hands trembling, Jesse fumbled his way through the remaining buttons. He slid the jacket off her shoulders, tugging it down her arms. “Man, they sure do put you rangers in a lot of clothing.”
Dakoda laughed and reached for her shirt. “They want us looking sharp, even when we’re out in the middle of freaking nowhere.” She quickly peeled off the layer of clothing, leaving only her plain white bra on. Fancy lingerie was never her style. She preferred to keep her wardrobe simple. “God, I was sure I was going to burn to a crisp in this thing. Khaki or not, it sure isn’t comfortable in the heat.”
Smiling, Jesse gave a low whistle. “Nice.” Using the tips of his fingers, he outlined the cups snugly hugging her breasts.
Dakoda glanced down and frowned. “Sorry there’s not much there. I barely made a 32A.”
Jesse eyed her breasts. “More than a mouthful is a waste.” His hands skimmed down her flat belly, reaching for the top button of her stained khaki slacks. He snapped it open. “Truth be told, I’m a leg man. I like long, silky legs.” Her zipper crunched down, the grate of metal filling the small cell with an explosive, erotic weight. He began to slip her slacks down her hips.
Dakoda giggled. “I think the boots have to come off before those do.”
Jesse looked down at her boots. He sucked in a breath. “Oh. Guess so.” Pulling out a chair from the nearby table, he guided her toward it. “I think I can handle those.”
Dakoda sat, sticking out a leg. “Here you go.”
Jesse knelt with all the grace of the feline inside him. Pushing up the cuff of her pants, he untied the laces of her heavy hiking boots. “Man, these things must weigh a ton.” He tugged the boot off and set it aside.
Dakoda sighed gratefully, wiggling her toes in relief. “My feet were beginning to feel like lead weights.”
Jesse stripped off her white sock, tucking it inside the boot. He began to work the top of her foot, massaging each of her toes. “Feel better?” Moving from toe to ankle, he continued stroking the sole of her foot, first gently, then with increased pressure.
As she tilted her head back, a low moan broke from her throat. “Oh, my God. I think I’ve just died and gone to heaven.” His strong fingers felt good, filling her with a sense of well-being. Her aching muscles relaxed, a little of the pain draining away as the tension deep inside her gut slowly began to unravel. It was amazing how the simple touch of another human being could calm and soothe.
Jesse slipped off her other boot, repeating the sensual massage. Making circular motions with his thumb and fingers over the sole of her foot, he applied more pressure as he worked every sensitive inch. The man knew his business when it came to touching a woman’s body. “I want to take things slow,” he said, glancing up at her. “I want to make
sure you have what you need.”
Shivers rippling pleasantly across her skin, Dakoda swallowed thickly. Every time his strong fingers caressed the sensitive soles of her foot, she felt the pull all the way to her groin. Burgeoning warmth spread through her. The trickle of desire between her thighs wet the crotch of her panties in the most enticing way. Lust trampled through her, drowning out everything but the enticing man willing to serve her every need. “I–I want to take everything you have to give, Jesse,” she stammered.
Once you cross that line, you’ll never be able to go back, whispered the small voice of sanity in the back of her mind.
Dakoda didn’t care. She had nothing to go back to. No family waited for her to be found and rescued. If she dropped off the face of the earth, never to be seen again, absolutely no one would mourn her passing. In the few brief hours she’d spent with Jesse, she’d found a heritage, a bloodline leading her into a world she could neither dream of nor ever imagine.
Her desire for him surged through her like a hurricane making landfall. Finding Jesse was akin to being lost in the desert and seeing a drink of water in sight. He offered more than a cool oasis of salvation, but an awakening that would take her beyond the physical and into the spiritual. Even though they were in captivity, the world before her was wide and open, as if she’d been blind all her life, and then suddenly given the gift of sight.
She could see what she wanted, clearly and without doubt.
Jesse guided her to her feet. He sat back on his heels, helping slip her pants over the curve of her thighs. An eager tug guided them down her legs.
Touching his shoulder for balance, Dakoda stepped out of the tangled pile. Her pants joined her shirt in the pile on the floor.
Rising to his knees in front of her, Jesse placed his palm on her flat belly. Caressing the line above her panties, he leaned in, pressing his lips against her tingling skin. Nibbling at the softness, he gently eased his fingers into the elastic. A soft tug brought her panties down around her thighs.
