The conversation made her twitchy. “Both.”
“Get serious with anybody?”
“Does it matter?”
He sighed. “Yes. I don’t want your dating life to matter to me, but it does.”
She blew out a breath. “Is it just me, or was that a, ‘Gee, your ass doesn’t look as big as usual in those jeans,’ kind of compliment?”
He grinned. “Sorry. You know what I mean.”
Actually, she didn’t. Not really. But she nodded anyway. “I dated my History of Warfare professor for quite a while last year.” She’d graduated from the university with a knowledge necessary for her squad. Even if she couldn’t fight like a healthy shifter, the battle plans she created bordered on brilliant, according to Baye.
Jordan quirked a lip. “I hope you got an A.”
“Of course.” They hadn’t started dating until after the class had concluded, but Jordan didn’t need to know the details. “I also took a cooking class.”
Humor flirted with Jordan’s full lips. “Did you ace the cooking class?”
“No.” In fact, she’d been asked to leave after she’d set the kitchen on fire for the third time. She and the professor agreed she’d take a C and never return.
“I’m not, er, surprised.” Jordan glanced at the clouds whirling by outside the small windows.
“Maggie took classes at the same time and majored in philosophy.”
“Does she help fight?” Jordan cracked his neck.
“Not usually.” Someday maybe Maggie would be well enough to fight, but that day hadn’t arrived.
Katie’s head settled against the back of her chair, and she studied Jordan from half-closed lids. Concentrating on his symmetrical face was a lot better than imagining herself dropping a zillion feet to hit concrete. A slight purple bruise from the fight with Brent covered the right side of Jordan’s jaw, emphasizing strength and muscle. The cords of his neck were all male, so masculine she’d imagined running her mouth along the firmness many times. In fact, she’d like to take a bite right where his prominent jaw met the sweet spot under his ear.
As if he could read her mind, his eyes flared with heat. “What are you thinking about?”
“The kiss in my apartment.” The moment hadn’t left her thoughts much. And now she wanted to think about anything but the trail of death she’d left in New Orleans.
He licked his lips in thought. She fought a groan in response. Desire began to shove fear of flying out of her consciousness.
The plane leveled off.
“Yeah. The kiss was probably a mistake.” He met her gaze squarely, his stunning eyes devoid of expression.
She’d known Jordan most of her life. When he lacked expression, it wasn’t lack of interest. He often made a calculated effort to hide his current thoughts or feelings. Interesting. Her fingers found the clasp of the seat belt, and she freed herself.
He lifted his chin. “What are you doing?”
“Relaxing.”
He settled into his chair. “Kate?” His voice held bite this time. “Have you been sleeping with Lance?”
The question jerked her head back. How could he think she’d sleep with someone in her squad? She and Lance were friends—the best of friends. The cat had saved her life numerous times, and she kept him safe, too. Jordan had no right to question her about the tiger. “None of your business.”
“Oh, I think it is,” he said softly. Too softly.
Temper stretched awake inside her. “Well, I wouldn’t call what we do sleeping. Especially when Baye joins in.”
Jordan blinked. Then a slow grin spread across his face. “Into ménage now, are you?”
“Yep.” She lifted her chin. “Especially since Baye always brings bullwhips. I do love a good bullwhip.”
Jordan threw back his head and laughed. “That’s a good one. Okay. You’ve made your point. I’m sorry for questioning you. I shouldn’t have.”
She wished he had the right to question her—that he wanted the right. “What about you? Have you been dating anyone?” Her shoulders stiffened for the blow.
“No.”
“Why not?” Now her voice lowered to a soft tone.
His grin hinted at sin. “Dating isn’t as much fun since you’re not there to sabotage me.”
The breath strangled in her throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Crap. Had he known? She’d messed with his dates the second she became a teenager, once even spilling ice cream down a panther shifter’s silk dress to make her leave a party.
“You weren’t exactly subtle.” Jordan grinned again.
“Well,” Katie sniffed, “you’ve had terrible taste in women, anyway.”
His gaze swept her, head to foot, leaving a flash of awareness along every nerve. “I’d say my taste has improved.”
Heat filled her cheeks. Before she could respond, lightning cracked. The plane bumped, shimmying to the side. Panic prickled the skin on her neck. She clutched her nails into the leather armrests, and the muscles in her legs tightened until becoming painful.
Jordan leaned forward, tugging her hands free. “You’re okay. Turbulence is normal and no big deal.” His thumbs caressed her knuckles in soothing circles.
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head.
The craft lurched again.
Darn it. Many people took sedatives to fly. She should’ve gotten a prescription. Well, she would’ve if she’d had any warning she’d be flying. The plane dipped, quickly righting. A soft whimper escaped her.
Jordan yanked her toward him, settling her on his lap. She tucked her face into his neck.
He held her tight. “Just hold on, kitten. We’ll be through the storm soon.”
Her body coiled. She closed her eyes, breathing in his familiar scent. Minutes passed. His warm hand caressed her spine. More bumps had her panting, tensing as she waited for each lurch. Finally, as the way stayed calm, her body relaxed.
Exhausted, frightened, she dropped into an uneasy sleep.
Hours later, a slight change in cabin pressure filtered through her dreams. Slowly, awareness had her eyes opening. They were descending ... going to land. Then she came fully awake. Her butt perched on incredibly hard thighs. A warm chest cradled her in safety. Jordan’s heart beat steady and strong beneath her palm.
She’d slept on his lap for the entire flight.
Giving in to temptation, she wandered her mouth up his jugular to behind his ear.
He stiffened. “What are you doing?” He sounded sleepy. Maybe he’d slept, too.
For answer, she nipped his jaw.
“Katie—” His voice came out hoarse. The low timber danced down her spine as if he’d traced her vertebrae with his tongue.
She leaned back. “What?” They had so many issues to deal with—from trust to death. Yet she wanted another kiss from the lion. Just one more before all hell broke loose. Before the plane landed and reality slapped her in the face.
Maybe she was still dreaming.
Smooth, slow, she slid her hands up his neck to tangle in his thick hair. The sleep cleared from his eyes. They narrowed, but he didn’t stop her. She tightened her hold. Moving forward, her lips wandered against his.
The lion’s sharp intake of breath made her smile. She flicked her tongue along his lower lip, a soft sigh escaping her.
The tension in his body increased.
“Jordan. Kiss me back. Just one more time.” They had a few minutes until the plane touched down. A few more minutes to pretend.
Denial was blinked away in his eyes. Frustration and a glimmer of anger replaced it. Finally, want. Maybe even need.
His mouth slanted over hers. Taking, giving, his lips firm and demanding.
She’d been kissed before. Jordan didn’t kiss. He consumed. Sliding into arousal wasn’t an option. Her body shot from slow burn to inferno in a heartbeat.
He cupped the back of her head, holding her in place. His talented tongue slid past her lips and he explored her mouth
as if every crevice was his and his alone. As if he had every right to do so ... as if she were his.
The kiss declared possession. Demanded submission. He tangled her hair in his fist, plunging deeper. She whimpered against him. Needing more. Needing everything. Her nipples pebbled to true pain. Her sex softened in absolute demand.
Wheels touched down with a small bump. The brakes engaged with a hiss.
Jordan tore away, his five o’clock shadow scratching her face. Desire burned hot and bright in his eyes. He took a deep breath. “I need you, Kate.”
She nodded. Even after the kiss, she knew what he meant. “I know.”
“Be strong. Help me figure out how to keep the nation together.” Pain and absolute determination settled across his face. “Help me leave you whole. I have to know you’re going to be okay if I—”
“I’m not giving up.” There had to be a way to cure him—to keep him from turning.
Desperation curled his lip. “Okay. But I need you prepared. I need you to be okay.”
She wouldn’t be. No way would she be whole if he died. She forced a smile, trying to keep her lips from trembling. “I’m strong, Jordan. You made sure of it.” For so many years, he’d trained her. “I’ll be fine.” She didn’t bat an eyelash as she told the biggest lie of her life.
Chapter 7
A bulletproof SUV manned by a too silent vampires met them at the airport, squiring them to Realm Headquarters. The area appeared more like an upscale gated community, complete with checkpoints with armed guards along the way. The houses were for peacetime, while the surrounding cliffs and mountains held underground levels of safety.
Arriving at the main building, she smiled at the sprawling ocean extending so far. Even as a lioness, she’d always enjoyed looking at the sea. Upon entering the cedar-sided lodge, she’d been instantly sent to the queen to draw blood.
An hour later, safely being poked by needles in the large lab at the above-ground Realm Headquarters, she awaited the queen’s diagnosis, fidgeting on the examination table and wrinkling the paper. Lemon cleanser and the queen’s strawberry shampoo mingled in the air. The king’s mate worked impossible hours, every day, trying to cure the virus.
While Katie had given more blood during the last ten years than she could count, the above-ground lab was her favorite place to be tested. Wide windows showcased the stunning ocean spreading as far as she could see. “Well? What happened in the alley? I swear, I felt like—”
“Your blood is the same.” Emma Kayrs, looking nothing like pampered royalty, scribbled notes in a file, her black hair clipped at the nape. She leaned back against a granite counter lined with test tubes and humming machines. One blinked green lights, spitting out data. “Your chromosomal pairs are holding steady at twenty-five pairs. Even without medication.” She tapped her pen on the paper. “Maggie’s are back up to twenty-six after a quick dive to twenty-four, which gives me great hope. Male shifters drop to twenty-four pairs, turning them into werewolves. Female shifters seem to stop unraveling at twenty-five, which makes you nearly human but not quite.”
Emma flashed a sympathetic smile. “As far as we know, only Maggie dropped to twenty-four pairs, probably because of the experiments conducted on her by the Kurjans that we don’t really know about. We don’t even know how long they kept her captive. Either way, I just can’t figure out why she’s different from all the other affected female shifters. Why are her chromosomal pairs back up to twenty-six? Is the cure somehow in her blood?”
“What about Cara’s chromosomal pairs?” Emma’s sister Cara had been human with twenty-three chromosomal pairs until she mated Talen Kayrs, shooting her pairs up to twenty-seven. Before she contracted the virus.
“She is back up to twenty-six pairs, which also gives me great hope. But no matter what I do or try, or what Talen tries, we can’t get her pairs back up to the twenty-seven of a mate.”
Katie shook her head. “For the first time in ten years, I felt like me. Like the shifter inside had returned.” Before getting on the plane, she’d tried to shift. Repeatedly and with no luck. But if the lioness had returned, she might beat the virus. Maybe the cure lived in Katie’s blood.
Emma slapped the file closed, her lips pinched. “I don’t know. Maybe being close to Jordan after so long did it— the cougar inside you recognized a potential mate in Jordan and woke up. Or perhaps”—she took a deep breath—“the lioness recognized the virus in Jordan—the same one you have.”
Perhaps she’d returned to say good-bye to the only man Katie would ever love. She shoved the thought away. “What about this antiviral you’ve been working on from Maggie’s blood?”
Emma’s blue eyes darkened. “We’ve had some success in test tubes, but it’s nowhere near ready to use.”
“There isn’t a choice.” Jordan would be a monster within a few days.
“I know.”
“What about,” Katie cleared her throat, rolling her shoulders, “if we, I mean, what if we—”
“Mated?” Amusement lifted the queen’s lips. “I truly don’t know.” She lost her smile. “Mating might work, might halt Jordan’s virus like it is in you ... or might turn you both into werewolves. When a shifter bites a mate, their physiology is altered, as you know. Forever. Who knows what would happen in this case.”
Katie would take the risk.
Voices echoed down the hallway, and Cara Kayrs swept into the room. “I think you’re being ridiculous.”
Her husband and mate, Talen, stalked in behind her, a scowl on his broad face. “She’s too young to date.”
Cara rushed forward and enveloped Katie in a hug. “I’ve missed you.” She leaned back, studying her. “It’s been too long.”
Katie smiled at her friend. “You look well.” Actually, Cara had been unnaturally pale since contracting the virus, but her blue eyes were clear, so that had to be a good thing. As sisters, she and Emma shared the same eye color, but her hair was a much lighter auburn. “What is the cranky vampire growling about now?” Katie gave Talen a grin.
“Hi, monster.” He leaned in and tugged her hair. “It has been way too long.”
Warmth flushed through her. The dangerous soldier had been calling her monster since she dumped a soda on him during a picnic thirty years before. She’d only been four, for goodness sakes. The Kayrs men had been family her entire life. “I’m a grown-up now—you shouldn’t call me names.”
“You look sixteen.” He scowled at his wife. “Too young to date.”
“Nuh-uh,” Katie countered. Geez. She might look twenty, but she’d lived thirty-four years, and after a moment in his presence, she felt four years old again. “I look my age.” Right. If her genes cooperated, she’d always look twenty-five.
Cara sighed, shoving curls off her face. Her dark jeans and simple white T-shirt held splotches of dirt. The woman had probably been gardening, which was a favorite hobby. She gave her husband a glare. “The grumpy vampire is irritated his daughter wants to go to a movie with a panther shifter next week.”
“She’s too young.” Talen crossed his massive arms. His eyes were a deep gold, his features rugged and powerful. Not many people challenged the head of all military strategy for the Realm. “That panther ... he looks at her funny.”
Emma snorted. “You’re such a dork.”
Katie jumped off the table. “I suppose you’d rather Janie dated a vampire?”
“Hell, no.” Talen lifted Cara and set her down gently on the table. “I’d rather she didn’t date at all. In fact, she’s too young. Period.”
Emma grabbed another file. “I think it’s good she wants to go on a date with someone, anyone, instead of pining for that Zane.”
Cara nodded, rolling up her sleeve. “Yeah. I have to admit, I was seriously relieved when he stopped visiting her dreams about five years ago.”
Katie inched toward the door. Something told her Zane hadn’t disappeared for all time ... just while Janie grew up. No need to tell the overprotective parents
, however. “Speaking of Janie, I’m supposed to meet her in the game room. See you all later.” She turned and ran smack into a hard chest.
“Aunt Katie.” Strong hands steadied her, and she looked up an inch into metallic gray eyes.
When had he grown so tall? “Garrett.” She enveloped him in a huge hug. She loved that he’d given her the honorary title of “Aunt.” Very cool. The kid definitely had his father’s size, though gangly was an understatement. “What are you, about twenty years old?”
He returned the hug, large hands patting her shoulder awkwardly. “Funny. You know I just turned ten.” Humungous feet shuffled as he stepped back, a dimple flashing in his already handsome face. Good humor lifted his smile, but a clear predator lumbered beneath the surface of that sharp face. There was no question Garrett was his father’s son. “Dad? The panther called again. Thought you should know.”
Talen growled low. “That kid needs to be relocated somewhere else.”
Garrett nodded. “Yeah. He looks at Janie funny.”
“See?” Talen gestured wildly. “Even he sees it.”
“In fact”—a mischievous light entered Garrett’s odd eyes—“Uncle Dage thinks I should go to the movies with them next week.”
A smile crossed Talen’s rugged face. “Now that’s a fine idea.”
“No,” Cara said.
Talen and his son shared a look.
“We’ll see about that,” Talen said.
Chuckling, Katie maneuvered around Garrett and strolled by windows showcasing a tumultuous Pacific Ocean on her way to the game room. She found Janie chalking a pool stick in front of the only pool table, the balls already racked. Several dartboards adorned the side, while a huge, fully stocked bar lined one entire wall.
“Katie.” Janie hustled past an air hockey game, giving a strong hug.
Katie leaned back, taking a good look at the gorgeous teenager. Intelligent blue eyes set in a heart-shaped face with her mama’s delicate features. Her hair had deepened to a light sable. “You forgot to grow.”
The grin was all imp. “I know, right? Stupid Garrett is almost four inches taller than me already.” She shook her head. “He picks me up just for fun sometimes. But ... I can still kick his butt.”
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