"Generally?"
"Your mother is determined to keep everyone in line to keep her legacy going."
"She built that company."
"Understandable why she'd want to preserve it within the family. You don't want it? Not even a little bit?"
He noticed her hand smoothing along the leather console between them. Their rental wasn't a typical sedan or SUV that most business folk or family vacationers picked up. It was a Jaguar F-Type convertible. He hadn't really thought about it at the time.
Darcy was used to the upper-class living he'd been brought up in. "Maybe a little bit."
"Looks to me that if you really want to be a FUC agent, it's all or nothing."
He knew that. Part of him hadn't quite let go of that lifestyle yet.
Maybe this was why his parents weren't taking him seriously—because he hadn't fully committed to it himself.
His hands gripped the leather steering wheel, reminding him of his Audi, waiting for him back at the airport near the Academy.
He glanced at Corra again. He knew some of her background. Having helped with the investigation to find her when Bryah's insane ex-boyfriend kidnapped her, they'd dug up all kinds of background information on both Corra and Bryah.
"Why don't you tell me about yourself? How was it for you growing up?"
Her head whipped away from her window to his face, her expression a little surprised. She quickly schooled her features and shrugged. "Maybe some other time. Where are you taking us?" she said, clearly changing the subject.
"Just up the road." He nodded toward a brightly lit club with a crowd of people milling about, waiting to go inside. There weren't any parking spaces outside the club, so he drove them around the block and parked on the nearest side street up from the building. Another car pulled up and parked right behind theirs. He frowned at how close it was to his bumper. Knowing he had enough room ahead of his car to pull out without a problem, he dismissed it. Glancing back as he exited the car, he saw the driver was a shadow in the front seat.
"Ready?" Corra asked, slinging her purse over her shoulder.
He'd never seen her look so eager as she did with the dim streetlight smoothing her features and catching the shine of her eyes.
The other car forgotten, he smiled at her. "Yeah, of course, let's go." Without another thought, he reached for her hand as he stepped onto the sidewalk and led her toward the main street and the blare of music spilling onto the sidewalk.
Corra moved toward the left of the crowd, intending to make her way to the back of the line. Darcy tugged her back toward the bouncers at the door.
"Darcy! Hey, my man!"
Both muscle-bound men wore fierce expressions that cracked into smiles as they pulled him into manly shoulder bumps and back claps.
"Where've you been, man?"
"Carlo, Dave," Darcy said, smiling back. "Back up in Canada. Good to see you both. This is Corra."
They both greeted her with curious smiles.
Darcy usually arrived solo and left with company. They chatted a few minutes more before they ushered the pair inside, bypassing the long line of party-goers waiting on the sidewalk.
The pounding bass beat reeled him in. With Corra's hand firmly in his, he pulled her directly into the center of the writhing crowd of dancers. His cares crumbled under the onslaught of the music vibrating through him. Closing his eyes, he laughed, letting the familiar energy infuse him until he was the music. Opening his eyes, he looked directly into Corra's upturned face. She was watching him. Colored lights swept over them, and when the white light illuminated her face, he could see the usual pale cream of her skin was flushed a deep peach. Her eyes glittered as she moved in time to the beat. He could tell that she reacted to the atmosphere the same way he did. Unbuttoning his cuffs, he rolled the sleeves and released a few more buttons at his throat, matching her movements.
After months of focused training at the mountain academy, it was great to be back among the civilized.
It wasn't long before they were both lost in an amp-induced haze, the effects of the vibrations pounding into them like the onslaught of a storming ocean. The club was full, and dance floor space was scarce, bodies bumping and bouncing heedlessly. Darcy and Corra were inches apart, and the energy between them fizzled on a different frequency from the music, pulling them closer and closer until their clothes ground between them.
Darcy knew Corra was there as a pretend fiancée. That she expected him to help her find out about her family as part of their deal for her playing her part this weekend. He also knew, as they moved, pressed together as they were, that there was something more between them. Something more than the animal attraction he already knew existed. He'd been attracted to her since he'd first laid eyes on her. She'd piqued his curiosity unwaveringly, and her apparent disinterest pulled at him. His instinct whispered every time she was near.
It told him now how attuned they were, and it was more than the primal atmosphere of the club. He was stripped raw, and so was she. She danced, eyes closed, arms moving languidly, skin glistening at her throat, the thin fabric of her blouse clinging to her moist body. Her eyes popped open as he slid his hands along her waist to rest on her hips. Her pupils were so black he could barely see the color of her hazel irises.
For a moment, he thought she'd push his hands away. Instead, with her hands on his at her hips, she slid her palms up his wrists and along his bare forearms to his shoulders and chest, pressing her body closer. His hands tightened on her hips as they ground together to the beat of the music, and he couldn't stop the desire flooding through him.
Darcy wanted Corra.
He had from the start.
This was an intense knowing, like nothing before.
He knew she could feel his desire for her. As he looked down into her face, the corner of her mouth quirked. They continued to dance, and it seemed to him that she was coming to a decision as she regarded him in the flash of light and grind of bodies.
His mind said it was unexpected. His body said it was the next logical move as she reached for him and pulled his face down to hers. Her tongue slid over his lower lip, sending a jolt straight to his dick.
His arms went around her, holding them both still in the onslaught of moving dancers around them as her sweet mouth opened under his. His hand gripped her lush ass, pulling her up against him. A moment later, she broke the kiss, her eyes dark as she panted, staring up at him, licking her lips. Reaching up to his face, she ran a thumb across his mouth, wiping away her lipstick as she grinned at him and resumed dancing.
The tenor within him had altered even though the music hadn't changed. He couldn't recalibrate. "Want to get out of here?"
She nodded and placed her hand in his, letting him guide her out of the crush of sweating bodies.
The warm coastal air was cool on their faces as they emerged from the club. Darcy's head still thrummed so that he could barely hear Carlo's voice as he said, "Don't stay away so long next time!"
Darcy exchanged a few more words with the bouncers and led Corra away from the high energy of the club.
"The beach is just this way," he said, pulling her across the street.
They walked a short distance toward salt-heavy air.
11
Corra's body was still thrumming from the loud music and intensity of the club atmosphere. Her head was full of cotton as she let Darcy pull her toward the darkness at the end of the short block.
Part of her was still consumed with the kiss they'd shared on the dance floor, marveling at how she'd given in to her desires, unable to resist. The way he moved, shirt unbuttoned, exposing the tanned skin of his collarbones and strong forearms. His curly hair becoming disheveled from their movements, clinging to his neck. The scent of him surrounding her, blocking out the scents of everyone else around them. She was almost lost to the grind of his hips against hers. The grip of his hands on her bottom had reminded her that they were in public, and she needed to reel it back.
&nb
sp; They paused at the foot of a short side street that ended abruptly at the beach line, where sand and ocean and dark moonlit sky filled the horizon.
In the darkness, her survival instincts kicked in with a sweeping glance and her twitching nose scenting for danger. Not sensing anything nearby, she relaxed again.
The club buzz slowly faded as the ocean air filled her lungs. There was a short wooden staircase that led them down to the sand, and this time it was Corra that tugged Darcy along behind her as she dug her feet into the shifting ground to move toward the rolling surf.
In that instant, she wanted nothing more than to shift and let her canine run free along the wet sand, chasing the froth. At the water's edge, she stood, marveling at the sight and listening to the crash of the waves as they rolled toward her. Her keen hearing picked up on Darcy's breathing next to her. She became aware of his scent mingling with the briny air and the distinct knowledge of his aura, as hers seemed to reach for his after their close and mingled proximity in the club.
Her senses were infused by the winds coming in off the ocean, but Darcy's proximity created a tether of his scent and voice.
The moon was full and bright in the dark sky. The horizon was a rolling sea of cut onyx.
She'd spent the last weeks trying to adjust to all the new changes in her life since she and Bryah had decided to find her family. So much had happened in the last couple of months. And as attracted to Darcy as she was, she'd decided that while a one-night stand was great when you'd likely never see the guy again, she wasn't so sure she wanted that kind of relationship within the confines of the Academy. Clearly he was a ladies' man, and she was still processing how she felt about that.
Here, away from the bubble of cadet life and under the glittering bright lights of this California night, she was on a different facet of this growing friendship with him.
Her instinct had pushed her to step up and claim him when he was threatened by a familial situation. And again, her instinct had impulsively encouraged her to taste him back in the club.
His magnetic energy gently vibrated under her skin, and he was just so damned hot it was getting harder and harder to resist her attraction to him. And he clearly found her desirable.
Where was this going?
In the moment, she decided she didn't really care. The hard thrum of the music had loosened her usually brittle exterior, and she longed to let the ocean scrub it away and let her true self be free. Even if it was just for a few hours.
Releasing her hold on Darcy's hand, she jogged the rest of the way to the water. Corra quickly pulled her necklace over her head. Unslinging her purse, she shoved the pendant into it and let the bag drop to the sand as she began to unbutton her blouse. Her shirt, pants, and shoes dropped on top of the purse in a heap.
With a quick glance at Darcy's wide-eyed expression, she said, "Coming?" and ran off in her bra and thong, letting the warm froth slide around her ankles. Sand oozed around her feet as the sea pushed it to and fro, making her unbalanced.
Darcy appeared next to her, and she laughed, seeing his black form-fitted boxers with little Canadian flags all over the fabric.
"What? I'm patriotic."
Her laughter was whisked away by the winds swirling around them. Exhilarated, she ran deeper into the water and dove into an oncoming wave, feeling the force of the water push her back and surge outward again. She came up for air, and Darcy broke the surface next to her, black hair slicked back from his face. Without the halo of curls, the moonlight caressed the planes of his face, drawing her to him. Her hand lifted from the water and smoothed over the scratchy surface of the stubble covering the sharp lines of his jaw and chin.
Noticing his luminous eyes on her face, she dropped her hand then flung it out to maintain her balance as they bounced rhythmically up from the sandy floor with each wave.
"This place is amazing," she said, grinning. She felt like a pup again, wanting to swim in the water and run along the sandy expanse all at once.
He smiled back at her. There was something in his gaze that unsettled her. He looked at her a little differently than he had that morning and in the days before.
His fingers slid around her waist, pulling her closer to him. They floated as they were, until they were pressed belly to belly, her breath shallow. She shivered as the heat from his body chased away the ocean chill. Her breath hitched when his hand roamed down her flank and lifted a thigh to rest on his hip. She didn't resist when he repositioned her other leg so that her ass would be firmly planted in his supporting palms.
Darcy's lips came down over hers, claiming her mouth. His hands tightened, kneading, pulling her heated core against his arousal. She swallowed a groan as the waves encouraged their bodies to rub against one another. She deepened the kiss, pressing her breasts to his chest as his strong hands held her pelvis against his.
He ignited her. Passion flared.
Her body screamed, Yes! Her brain whispered, Too soon. Her heart was a tightened band between the two.
Hands sliding up to his face, she kissed him deeply, lingering. Then she gently disengaged her legs from him, allowing the sea to rush into the heated space between them.
Staring directly into his eyes, she leaned in, kissed him once more, and backed away.
Corra watched for the next coming wave and dropped below the surface and pushed off as it rolled in, carrying her back toward the deserted beach. Glancing up and down the waterline, she saw they were alone. After a moment of listening for voices, she decided she was going to fulfill at least one of her fantasies during this trip.
Still in the water, she unhooked her bra and slipped her thong off, wadded them together, and threw them hard enough to land in the sand close to her discarded clothes.
Darcy emerged in time to watch the arc of the soggy material. "I had no idea you were so adventurous." He grinned at her.
Moving forward, she relaxed into the water and let her canine free.
Muscle and sinew rippled and tingled as her limbs changed shape. Her snout extended, and her tail emerged from the base of her spine as she floated along the surge.
Her paws touched down, and she trotted up onto the beach and gave her fur a hard shake, spraying water in all directions.
A moment later, a golden caracal with black tufted ears walked out of the surf, carrying a limp pair of soggy boxers sporting Canadian flags. Darcy dropped the underwear next to his clothes and walked up to Corra, brushing his sleek body alongside hers.
She nosed his shoulder and set off at a dead run, claws digging into the wet sand, leaving a trail of prints behind her.
A moment later, Darcy appeared next to her, keeping pace. She pushed harder, and he met her. He could have outstripped her speed, but he didn't. When she grew tired, he slowed next to her, and then they trotted back toward their starting point.
Corra's nose twitched as they faced into the wind.
Shifter. The scent was faint and undefined, crowded by the overpowering ocean air.
A short growl rumbled in her throat, and Darcy's eyes narrowed in the dim light.
Picking up their speed, they ran toward the large shadowy figure lurking around their discarded clothing.
On noticing their return, the figure raced back up the beach toward the steps leading up to the road. Darcy followed, disappearing out of Corra's view. The slam of a car door and accelerating engine told Corra that whoever it was likely had escaped Darcy's attempt to follow.
Moments later his golden fur reappeared in the shadow of the steps and nearly blended with the beach sand as he returned. Unable to see anyone else, she looped the thin bands of her bra and thong over her jaw and retreated into the water to shift back into her human form.
Darcy did the same simply because it was easier to shake the sand out of the fabric in the water.
"The scent was shifter," Corra said, jamming her damp foot into her pants. "Too faint to tell anything more."
"Obviously didn't want to get acquainted."
&
nbsp; Pulling the chain of her necklace over her head, she said, "Could be just a curious local come to see who's in their territory."
"Or could be someone my mother hired."
"What for?" Corra said, her hands suddenly still on the buttons of her blouse. "What would she get out of following us?"
Darcy shrugged into his own shirt. "Who knows, but that's how she works. Find out everything possible and find an angle to work with."
"That's surreal. I'm starting to feel like I've just walked into one of Bree's soap operas." Corra was rummaging through her small purse. Her shoulders dropped in relief. “Nothing’s missing.”
Darcy's laugh was sharp. "Welcome to my world." He approached her, eyes searching her face in the moonlight.
A curl of desire slid up her spine at his proximity.
"Don't let it bother you," he said, reaching for her buttons.
Glancing down, she saw that he was adjusting the crooked job she'd made of dressing herself.
He picked up the pendant that hung loose now. "I haven't noticed this before."
Corra dropped it down the inside of her blouse. "Professor Columba gave it to me recently to record my dreams. Long story."
“Record your dreams, huh?” His grin was lopsided when he turned his gaze back to her face. "Thanks for the run. It was fun."
She smiled at his sparkling eyes. "See, I know fun."
"And you can tell Caleb I wasn't lazy about it."
She laughed, reaching for his hand as they walked back up the beach toward the steps that would lead them back to their car.
"Not lazy. Gentlemanly."
The short journey back to the hotel was full of light chatter about the evening. Riding the elevator back to their suite, Darcy glanced down at Corra by his side.
What a weird set of circumstances to have thrown them together. She seemed determined to help him get out of this mess—if she could.
He appreciated the effort, even if it wasn't completely altruistic. For her, a sort of weekend vacation, and he'd promised to help her gain information about her family—if he could.
Diamond in the Ruff (Pedigree) Page 7
