A Lion's Heart

by A. C. Arthur

  Gold was riding in the second Tracer. As the leader of this mission Decan had personally selected who would travel with him on this expedition. He was also well aware of Nisa’s preferences, something he had no idea why he bothered to consider. Still, he’d been sure to add two Topétenia guards who had trained with her. Roman Reynolds and his beautiful mate had produced a spirited and stubborn daughter. One that Decan had spent a good amount of his time watching, when he should have been paying more attention to other matters. Namely, Lial, the rogue cougar shifter.

  Humans were being killed. In all likelihood by shifters. That was not a part of the plan.

  Decan felt his facial features easing into a scowl as he made a quick left turn that took them off the main road.

  Nisa had spent most of this ride reading on her board. No doubt trying to find any information on the Ruling Cabinet and its dead family members that she could. She was not going to let Kyss’ appearance or her words go. Decan knew that as surely as he knew that the well-trained hellcat sitting across from him was not going to react kindly to the place where Decan had planned for them to spend the night.

  “Why are we turning here?” she asked as her head came up and she stared out the window and then over to him. “Where are we going?”

  “We’re going to rest for the night,” Decan told her without any plans to elaborate.

  “These are the unmarked tunnels,” she said. “This territory hasn’t been excavated yet.”

  He knew she would know. Decan had no doubt that Nisa Reynolds had studied everything that had ever been written about Oasis and the Shadow Shifters’ life down here. It made sense, especially since she had never been anywhere else. This was her world and she was the Assembly Leader’s daughter. It was her duty to know everything about this place.

  Just as it was Decan’s duty to keep her inquisitive and attractive ass alive.

  “This location is secure,” Decan said as he killed the lights on the Tracer and slowed the vehicle down to a crawl.

  The wide passageway had quickly turned narrow, just enough so that the vehicle could get through, but not without some concerted effort.

  “Does my father know about this place?” she asked then. “Does he know where you’re taking me?”

  “Do you tell your father everything you do?” he asked and avoided looking at her.

  Their eyes could shift to night vision with one blink. Either the cat’s eyes, or the human ones, they could see through the pitch darkness of this tunnel as easily as if they were above ground in broad daylight.

  His question had silenced her but only for a few seconds.

  “Would you like me to tell my father you’re not following his command?” she snapped back.

  Decan silenced the vehicle’s engine and released the locks on both front doors. He turned slightly in his seat and looked at her, but for a moment was startled from his original purpose. Her cat’s eyes blinked back at him. The smallest black dot surrounded by a green so murky it almost looked translucent, and a yellow outer ring. Her long lashes folded down over them as she blinked and Decan swallowed hard.

  “You can tell your father whatever you like,” he said when he’d finally gotten his thoughts…and his seemingly raging libido together. “But I’ll still be the one in charge at this moment.”

  Before she could reply and while he had at least a semblance of control, Decan climbed out of the vehicle and circled around to her door just as she was about to jump down. He held the door and took her arm. She wanted to pull away, but her pride wouldn’t let her. He was amused and impressed by that fact. She would recognize both their positions in this situation, but she didn’t like it. He figured that was fair. He didn’t like it either.

  CHAPTER 3

  There had been changes since the last time Decan had been here. Both to the physical structure of this bunker, and to the reasons why he was here.

  “Where are we?” Nisa asked the moment they passed through the oval walkway.

  She had already moved by him and was surveying her surroundings no doubt, while she waited for his response.

  “We’re in the Florida territory. The Everglades as you mentioned earlier.”

  Decan watched as she moved.

  At five-feet-five inches she was neither tall nor short. Just right was the way he would put it, as the top of her head came to his chin, causing her to have to look up to him. He didn’t know why that filled him with a gust of dominance as potent as a physical blow. Her booted feet were soundless over the carpeted floor.

  “This location is not on any of the tunnel maps,” she continued. “That means it’s unsanctioned. Why do you know about unsanctioned locations and the Assembly does not?”

  “How do you know they don’t know?” he asked as she moved past two rows of round tables and chairs.

  The eight tables lined one half of the space, while an elaborate white column shot to the ceiling. The top of the column fanned out like the top of a cone and around that cone a metal sphere held egg-shaped LED lights equal distances apart.

  “If they knew, then so would I,” she replied as she stepped over to the other half of the room.

  There were sectional couches on that side, three in an off white color and four in a dark orange hue. The colors matched the striped carpet and worked well with the darker beige paneled walls. They’d come in on the ground level, so the ceiling was lowest in this room, no more than ten feet high at most.

  “You do not have upper level clearance,” he replied and then held up his hand because even from across the room, he knew she would respond quickly to that statement.

  “You’re a Senior Guard,” he told her. “That’s level 3 clearance. As I’m sure you are aware only Lead Enforcers and FLs have level 6 clearance.”

  Her lips were clamped tightly, eyes boring into him like tiny chisels. He almost grinned at how easily he could anger her. He knew all her buttons to push and continued to push them, even when it wasn’t his intent.

  “Then I should not be here at all,” she snapped and folded her arms over her chest.

  The stance might have seemed childish or temperamental to anyone else, but Decan knew it for what it really was. Her shield.

  Nisa Reynolds loved a good puzzle. She’d excelled in tactical training because she could quickly figure out the logistics of the battle and then was able to, just as fast, configure her best odds for survival. It worked for her every time. It was that same need to unravel the mystery and come up with a solution that had led her to the installation of the holodeck—which was a control center much like the humans’ Internet, for the shifter universe. She had been able to migrate all of the databases that had been created for the shifters and generate an entire system that included maps of the tunnels, blueprints of all of the bunkers, plans for the vehicles they used, the weapons that had also been specially enhanced for them, the genetic breakdown of each tribe and so much more. The system was intricate and far more advanced than most of the shifters in Oasis. Along with that accolade, Decan had been especially impressed with the network Nisa had helped Nick Delgado design, called ViceSecure. This was the system that scanned the genetics of each shifter from the moment of their birth so that there was no way an undocumented shifter could enter Oasis because the locks on the doorways were all DNA scan protected.

  “This is where you belong for the moment, Nisa,” Decan replied to her intense gaze.

  He’d lost seconds just staring at her wondering how all of that intellect and ability could be so neatly and attractively stored in one shifter.

  “Before you ask any more questions just remember that your father assigned me to this mission. That means I’m responsible for you. I know you don’t know me that well, but rest assured, I have no intention of letting the Assembly Leader down. So just relax, you’re safe here. Trust me.”

  “I don’t trust anyone who won’t answer simple questions,” she said, but her arms fell to her side as she turned and continued to move about the room
.

  “Well, I see you arrived safely.”

  Decan looked away from Nisa long enough to see that their host had arrived.

  “We did,” Decan said with a nod and then extended his hand for a shake.

  Keller Cross was six-feet two-inches tall and at least two hundred and thirty pounds. He wore dark gray pants and a shirt that barely stretched over his broad chest and large arms. His skin was a deep golden color, his eyebrows thick over imperial green cougar’s eyes. He was probably the only shifter that wore his cat’s eyes all the time.

  Decan noted Keller’s glance going over his shoulder and turned to see that Nisa had come to stand right behind him.

  “Keller Cross, this is Nisa Reynolds. Nisa, this is Keller Cross.”

  “You’re not a rogue,” she said, her eyes keen as she watched Keller lift her hand and bring it to his lips. “We know there are some hiding down here, but your scent is clean.”

  Keller smiled just as Decan reached over and removed Nisa’s hand from his. The cougar’s smile faltered only slightly as he glanced quickly at Decan and then back to Nisa.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nisa. It’s also good to know that my scent pleases you,” Keller said.

  “She didn’t say that,” Decan snapped. “She said you didn’t smell like a rogue. There’s a difference.”

  Keller shrugged. “I guess you’re right.”

  “Where are we?” Nisa asked. “What is this place and why is it not on the maps?”

  Keller was quick and replied without Decan’s assistance. “Ah, yes, you are the lovely brain behind the holodeck and its wealth of information.”

  “I seem to have missed something pretty prominent,” she replied and then looked around the room. “I’m guessing this bunker has eight levels, this one being the lowest. It’s built up instead of out like most of the others down here. The tunnel floor is almost thirty-one thousand feet down. That leaves a lot of space to build up, but it would have taken some time. And approval.”

  “Well,” Keller said with a chuckle. “Now that we’ve gotten the logistics out of the way, can I get you a drink, Nisa? Or something to eat? I’m sure you’re starving after your long ride.”

  She looked at him skeptically and Decan expected her to decline and demand he tell her where they were or take her out of here one more time for good measure. He wasn’t going to do either, but he wouldn’t deny that he liked her tenacity. It almost matched his.

  “Fine,” she said and then accepted the hand that Keller immediately offered her. “I can eat.”

  The moment Nisa’s fingers touched Keller’s, Decan felt it. The immediate and almost painful push of his cat against the wall that he always kept erected. He had to take a step to keep from falling with the force. Nisa looked back over her shoulder at him and when their eyes connected he could have sworn she was smiling. Her cat, that is.

  It was a strange thought, one Decan had never had before. A Shadow Shifter’s sex drive could be insatiable. A full grown white lion could be skating along the human lines of being addicted to any and every sexual act. Decan declared himself somewhere in between. He also, once again, prided himself on his restraint. He chose who, when and how. Every time.

  Nothing a female did could arouse him if he was not in the market for sex. And when he was in the mood, there was usually no female willing to turn him down. Tonight, Decan wasn’t in the mood. Or rather, he knew in his mind that he wasn’t. So why was his cat, and hers, doing some odd type of mating call?

  Nisa was correct, this facility was built up. They took the elevator to the third level where the dining room was located. This circular room had only two tables, fifteen-feet each of dark glossed wood with high-back red cushioned chairs lined along each side like soldiers. These walls were smooth and painted a cool green color that wasn’t too bright or too dark. The carpet here was a tree bark brown and Decan immediately got the vibe that he figured whoever designed this space was going for. He’d never been to the Gungi rainforest where the Shadow Shifters originated and he’d never wanted to go. Tonight, was no exception.

  “Have a seat,” Keller told Nisa.

  She looked up to him and had even smiled before sitting in the chair Keller had pulled out for her. Decan grit his teeth in an effort to hold back the growl that wanted desperately to break free.

  He pulled out the chair across from her and sat down heavily because he felt like he was being pushed.

  “Our chef can make anything. He used to work for some fancy restaurant above ground and he had a television show. Tonight, in honor of where you are traveling to, I had him prepare barbeque.”

  Keller was talking as he sat at the head seat. It was his favored spot, Decan recalled.

  “I’ve had barbeque before,” Nisa told him.

  “I’ll bet you have,” Keller continued. “I’m sure the chefs at Assembly Headquarters are top notch.”

  “I’ve never seen you at any of the quarterly meetings,” she stated.

  Keller glanced at Decan who was still trying to figure out what the hell his cat was up to tonight.

  “I don’t attend them,” Keller answered.

  “Because you’re not a Lead Enforcer? You’re not part of the Shifter Tactical Team at all, are you?” she asked.

  Decan lay his hands flat on the table and drummed his fingers. Nisa immediately stopped talking, her head snapping toward his movement. He stopped. She looked up at him. He inhaled deeply and was just letting out a whispered curse when trays of food were brought out and placed on the table between them.

  He immediately reached for the glass of water that had been placed in front of him. He watched her, watching him, as he drank.

  “Well,” Keller spoke a little louder than he had been before. “I am not part of the STT, but I assure you that it’s perfectly safe for you to be here for the night. Isn’t it, Decan?”

  Hell no! Decan almost roared.

  He had a dreaded feeling that it wasn’t going to be safe for her to be anywhere around Keller. Not for long anyway.

  “So you’re a renegade with enough money and manpower to get this place built. I’m guessing that you probably also have someone in the Assembly helping you keep all of this a secret,” Nisa said to Keller, with her gaze still locked on Decan’s.

  “He’s no renegade,” Decan answered. “He’s a friend, doing me a favor.”

  “Yes, I am,” Keller replied with a deep chuckle.

  Three loud chimes sounded at that moment and their host, who seemed to be enjoying this moment way more than they were, went silent.

  “I have to go,” he said seconds later. “You two enjoy your meal. One of the staff will be along when you’re done to take you to your rooms.”

  “Our rooms?” Nisa said. “So this is like a shifter hotel?”

  Keller was now standing and he looked down at her, giving only a half grin this time. The look had Decan fisting his fingers and Nisa raising a brow in what…was that flirtation? Decan stood then, clapping a hand on Keller’s shoulder.

  “I’ll find our rooms,” he told the host who was definitely doing the most with Nisa right now. “You go and take care of your business.”

  Keller nodded, his grin disappearing as he stared back at Decan. “Yeah, and you should be careful with yours.”

  Their gazes locked for a moment, until Decan turned away and listened to the cougar as he exited the room.

  “Tense,” Nisa stated and lifted a finger to her lips to lick away some sauce.

  The growl was like an earthquake moving through Decan’s body in a trek from the pit of his stomach until his lips peeled back from his teeth, letting the sound break free. Her head jerked up instantly, her eyes shifting from human to cat.

  “Very,” he replied and stepped closer.

  She pulled her finger slowly from her mouth as if her ultimate goal in life was to tease him to the point of distraction. Well, Decan admitted, even if momentarily, she’d done a damn good job of that. Her hand contin
ued to move slowly down until now it rested in her lap. Decan gripped the back of her chair and pulled it out from the table far enough so that he could move to stand in front of her.

  Beneath the zipper of his pants Decan’s cock twitched as her mouth was only a couple of feet away. In his mind, he could already feel her there, licking his length, sucking him deep, drawing everything from him in the blink of an eye.

  “Look at me,” he demanded.

  The man was surprised to see her immediately do as he’d requested. The lion inside was not.

  “What are you doing?” he asked in a last ditch effort to figure out what the hell was happening at this moment.

  She shook her head, her tongue skirting out to touch her lips before replying, “I’m not doing anything.”

  His palms tingled with the thought of feeling her soft hair as he grasped the back of her head and pulled her closer. It would take only seconds to free his now raging erection and put her mouth to its tip. Just a taste. He’d give her only a little and then he’d pull back. He’d forget this ridiculous urging. Even as he thought it, the lion dismissed the notion. Just a taste would not be enough, not for either of them.

  “Liar,” he whispered through clenched teeth. “Sexy, sneaking, liar.”

  “No,” she snapped quickly, her eyes shifting back to human as she abruptly stood to face him. “I’m not the one lying here, Decan. You are. I can smell it. And I don’t like it.”

  Nisa was stuck.

  In this gorgeous suite, closed in her private bathroom, standing beneath the hot spray of water from the massaging showerhead. Her cat was stuck in her human body, because of a world that rejected it. Her desire to be more, to do more, with her life was stuck in the hands of a lion shifter with secrets that carried a distinct stench which should not have permeated her senses the way it had. Yet, it did.

  From the moment he’d approached her, Nisa had scented it. Now, she tried her best to rid her mind, her senses and her cat of its effects. That, however, wasn’t going to be easy. More pertinent and shocking to recently admit was her desire to be sexually satisfied. It was stronger now, had been in the last few months at Assembly Headquarters. She hadn’t understood the overwhelming urge then and she definitely didn’t now.