by Leela Ash
“You’ve got to send that … woman away, right now,” Connor growled.
Theodore looked down at the squeezed picture in his hand and angry resolve hardened in his chest as he looked up at the eight other men gathered in the room. “No. She might already know too much. I will find out what she knows, teach her a lesson she would never forget, and then I will toss her out on her rotten ass.”
“Theodore—” Joshua began in a placating tone.
“No, Joshua. She dared to try to touch the heart of what saves shifters everywhere; she dared to help my enemy while lying to me; and worse, she used my daughter. I’ll get close to her and find out all I can. Then I will destroy her. When I’m through with her, she will never want to so much as see another lab,” he vowed.
Chapter 12
She was almost certain she could smell an ocean close by, Jessica thought, inhaling deeply as she lifted her face and let the morning breeze caress it. She had managed to convince Kal and Arizona to let her get them a babysitter for Saturday mornings, which meant she had this morning entirely to herself. She walked along a sandy stretch of land, her camera dangling from her neck in an idle manner as she ambled along.
She was dressed simply in a long, flowing gypsy skirt with a slit that ran along one silky length of leg and stopped just beneath her hip. She had on a small spaghetti strapped crop top and a wide straw hat. She looked ready for the beach, which was probably why she could have sworn she smelled the ocean.
As she walked, the silence was occasionally broken by the chirping of birds and the caw of crows. The air felt dewy against her exposed skin as though it wanted to rain, and the morning sun was just beginning to hint at its presence on the horizon.
No day could be more beautiful, she decided as she spied a small rock in a corner, overlooking —oh my goodness— a tiny body of water right in the midst of the rows of palm trees and exotic flowers.
Jessica ran in excitement to the rock and gingerly made her way to its small peak. With a contented sigh, she sank onto it and let herself soak in nature as she watched the sun rise.
This was the life, she thought. It didn’t get more peaceful than that.
The sound of running feet behind her made her look over her shoulder and her heart clutched in fear. Six men were running very swiftly up the long stretch of sand, conversing easily and laughing as they ran. Who were they? She was all alone. Was she safe?
As they ran up, she spotted Theodore among them, and her heart clenched in reaction, wetness pooled between her legs, and her lips parted of their own volition as though waiting for his kiss. She wanted him as desperately as it was possible to want a man. She caught herself wishing she could catapult across the space separating them and drag him off into the bushes.
The almost pagan instinct shocked her and as embarrassed color flew to her cheeks, she forced her gaze to cut to the other men with him.
The other men seemed to be hanging on to his words as they ran. She noticed the man from last night and scowled. What was he doing here?
She had been hoping to say hello to Theodore, but not if that man was there with his innuendos, sarcasm and animosity, she thought, whirling back around to continue admiring the sunrise.
Just seeing that other man had probably ruined her morning, she thought waspishly as her small hands became fists while fighting for control.
She was so focused on fighting her feelings that she didn’t notice that the men had come to a halt behind her.
“Hey, Jessica, come say hello,” Theodore called. “Why are you sitting way over there, silent as a mouse?”
Her heart leaped in reaction and she whirled in surprise, her long hair flying with the motion. He had known it was her from behind?
Without stopping to think, she made her way slowly back down the rock. When she was almost at the bottom, her feet slipped on a loose stone and she started to fall with a scream.
Theodore must have moved faster than any human she’d ever met, she thought later, because he reached her, scooping her into his arms, so fast that she was amazed. His body heat melted her; goodness, the man was as hot as a furnace, but he didn’t have a fever. He just seemed to naturally give off a lot of heat.
She made a mental note that he would be good to have around in the cold.
His smile was easy and friendly, though it didn’t seem to reach his eyes as he asked, “You trying to break that pretty neck of yours or something?”
She glared at him, “Put me down.”
He whistled, “I just saved you. Some hero worship would be nice.”
Her glare intensified, “I’ll worship all you want, if you just put me down. You’re sweaty. Ick.”
Quietly, he lowered her to the ground, and as soon as her feet found purchase on the sand, she put some much-needed space between them. There just seemed to be too much of him this morning; too much testosterone, too much male, too much sweat.
“You did save me, just now, Theodore. Thank you,” she said with simple sincerity.
He was smiling back at her, but she realized, for sure, that the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Had she embarrassed him in front of his friends? Was he angry at her for something?
Well, he was the typical billionaire playboy and was probably used to women falling all over themselves to please him. Maybe her less than enchanted response had angered him.
Well, too bad, she thought, putting her chin up. She’d fallen for Patrick and worn her heart on her sleeve, and look what that had gotten her. She wasn’t about to repeat that again. She was responsible for two kids now, and she really couldn’t afford to fall apart.
Her gaze went to the five men gathered around him. They were all tall, strapping young men with devastating degrees of handsomeness. In the morning light, she realized that the tall burly man she had seen the other night was, in fact, handsome, in a brash, rugged manner, with something of a military bearing. He still had his scowl, and suspicion lurked in the dark depths of his eyes. Following her gaze, Theodore began introductions, “That’s Connor Phillips. You already met.”
Jessica gave him a tight nod, which he barely acknowledged.
Beside Connor stood a man with salt-and-pepper hair, slashing dimples in both cheeks and strange-colored, pure liquid gold eyes that seemed to see straight through her. He might seem easygoing, she thought, but in truth, she would bet her last dollar that he was very astute, and sharp as a blade. Not much got past him.
“He’s Michael Bennet,” Theodore continued.
Michael offered a simple smile, “Hi. You must be Jessica Harris.”
She smiled back at him, liking him instantly, “Indeed, I must be.”
Theodore turned her attention toward another man with what almost felt like jealousy. “These three are Darryl, Justin, and Jonathan,” he added, nodding toward the other three men.
Darryl was staring at her intently, as though he was … listening for her inner voice. She stared back at him in surprise, but his face was devoid of emotion. She acknowledged the introduction and looked away from his piercing eyes.
Justin was a tall, slim man with brown hair and kind eyes, while Jonathan was a blonde with a gleam in his green eyes.
Every last one of the men focused on her with such intensity that her heart began to thump in her chest in alarm. She looked uncertainly at Theodore, “Is something wrong?”
He quirked a haughty eyebrow, “You tell me. These men are my best friends for life and you meet them and wanna run for the hills, literally. What’s going on?”
She shrugged, “I was enjoying a quiet morning with the sunrise, and suddenly, I’m in the midst of so much testosterone. I wouldn’t be a normal woman if I wasn’t at least a little bit rattled.”
Something indefinable passed in Theodore’s eyes and then he looked around the sandy stretch of earth. “No Kal and Arizona?”
She shook her head. “They are quite the handful. I decided to leave them at home with a sitter recommended by the daycare.”
He
nodded. “Well, tomorrow is Carla’s birthday. It’s usually low-key but I think she would love to have her friends over. Will you come?”
Jessica bit her lip in indecision. Did she really want to be entangled with him and his daughter so much? She was coming to care for them, and that was the very last thing she wanted. But her kids loved parties, and they already loved Carla; they would be devastated if they missed her party.
She started to say she would bring them over, when an icy glare from Connor’s dark eyes speared her. His eyes were so eloquent that she easily read the warning in them.
Great. He obviously didn’t want them there.
She shook her head, feeling mild regret, “I think it would be best if Carla is surrounded by just you and the rest of her family.”
He lifted one eyebrow, “You haven’t been paying attention, have you? Apart from these five eggheads over here,” he said, flicking a mock disgusted glance at his friends, “There’s no one else Carla and I consider family. She usually spends her birthdays with just the five of us and Kat and Stephen.”
“Kat and Stephen?” she asked.
Darryl grinned, “My little soldiers.”
Jessica stared at how his expression softened completely, and her heart turned over. Maybe Theodore’s friends weren’t so bad, she thought, relaxing a little.
“That’s great. And no other kids, apart from yours, will be there?” she asked Darryl.
“Are you kidding? Stephen Cutler has three kids, and he would kill us if we didn’t take them off his hands that day,” Jonathan chuckled.
“Stephen Cutler?” she asked.
Theodore’s eyes narrowed as though he suspected her of something as he carefully supplied the answer, “The town’s mayor.”
“See?” she continued, looking at Theodore. “Carla will have plenty of company. She won’t miss us. But thanks for the invite.”
With a small smile, and determinedly keeping her gaze away from Connor’s piercing gaze, she turned away and climbed back onto the rock, feeling all their eyes boring into her back every step of the way.
Chapter 13
“What the hell did you do that for?” Darryl growled the moment they were out of sight of Jessica.
Connor frowned at him, “Me? What did I do?”
“I read minds, Connor,” Darryl reminded him. “She wanted to come until you scuttled the plans.”
Theodore was visibly displeased, although he didn’t want to examine his reason too closely. “Darryl is right. We needed her to be at the party so I could get her drunk and try to find out what she knows.”
Connor glared at Darryl, “If you’re such a fantastic mind reader, why couldn’t you just spare us the trouble and pick the information off her damn mind.”
Darryl’s glare intensified. “It doesn’t work that way, and you know it. I can only read what she is thinking at the particular moment.”
“Well, what was she thinking?” Theodore asked.
“She badly wanted to come, though she was nervous about getting too close to you. Then this fool scared her off,” Darryl finished, shooting Connor a look of disgust.
Connor grunted, unperturbed. “You scared her off then. No surprise there. She is probably just some skanky coward who wants a slice of Theodore’s money and nothing else.”
Theodore’s hands balled into fists at his side as anger spread through him.
Connor wasn’t done, “I’m not surprised that the Damaged Pack fingered her as the likely mole in Exotic Rescue. There’s a look about her I didn’t like from the moment I saw her.”
“You never truly liked humans, Connor,” Justin reminded him.
Connor shrugged, “I like Stephen Cutler just fine, and he’s human.”
Theodore sighed as he unclenched his fists, letting his anger dissipate. “I will have her at that party one way or the other,” he declared.
Silence fell as he announced his decision.
Two hours later as he walked into the office, Theodore’s thoughts were in a whirl as he contemplated his problem. He needed to get close to Jessica as many times as possible, and Carla’s party seemed like a good enough opportunity.
“Good morning, Mr. Cooper,” Anita, his secretary, chirped as he walked in.
He acknowledged her with a distracted smile, “Please send in Maria.”
“Sure thing, sir,” she said as she immediately began to dial the extension for Maria. If there was one thing he liked about Maria Henley it was that she was an efficient personal assistant. She seemed to be able to plan anything at any time and she had proven herself, on several occasions, as being able to handle just about any task he assigned to her. Maybe she could help him with this problem.
The small knock sounded at the door and she came in.
“How are the exchange staff settling in?” he enquired.
“They’re doing amazing work,” she replied. “I’m particularly impressed with Jessica Harris. She doesn’t complain when she is posted to different units every two days. She is so willing and eager to learn, and she keeps asking questions.”
Theodore’s head lifted, “Questions?”
“Yes,” Maria continued excitedly, oblivious of his inner disquiet. “She wants to know a lot about you and the rescue and why you started it and our available facilities and she studies the animals a lot. She seems to think some factors could cause animal genes to mutate and she has years of extensive research on it. She said she traced some of the early appearances of animal gene mutation in Angel Springs to over eight hundred years ago. It’s all very exciting work.”
Theodore’s heart hardened in his chest as he heard this report from an unimpeachable source. She was asking a lot of questions then, and tracing animal gene mutations while she was at it. That meant she was really here to spy on him and his rescue. And for what? Money? Fame?
Anger knotted in his chest, and he turned to Maria, “From today on, you will only assign Jessica to work with me and no one else. Is that clear?”
His tone had been harder than he intended, and it wasn’t until he saw the look of consternation in Maria’s eyes that he realized just how hard his tone had been.
With a sigh, he tried to explain, “I’m worried she may be asking so many questions to help our competition. We can’t have our … corporate secrets out there, ya know? Exotic Rescue is the one place where badly mangled animals knocking on death’s door come to be healed as if by miracle. We want to maintain our position.”
Understanding dawned and a determined glint entered Maria’s eyes with such ferocity that he almost felt sorry for poor Jessica.
“You got it, Mr. Cooper,” she said quietly before turning on her heel and leaving the room with purposeful strides.
“One more thing,” he called.
She looked over her shoulder at him, pausing midstride.
“Carla’s birthday is tomorrow. Figure out a way to get that Harris woman there. Make it look official.”
Maria looked confused but nodded again and departed.
He sank onto his seat, still thinking about Jessica. She had looked so pretty in her gypsy skirt and impractical sandals. He had wanted her so desperately that it had been a wonder he hadn’t grabbed her and made love to her right then and there. The wild shifter side of him had been clawing with need, eager to grab her and stake his claim.
With a flick of his wrist, he pressed the button underneath his desk and locked his door. Then, he strode to the middle of the room, loosening his tie as he went, flinging it aside. He wanted to be in his bear form, he decided. He rarely shifted unless he was in a natural habitat, but today, he badly needed to be in his bear form for a while.
His hands began to elongate and his body began to grow fur; his eyes widened and his form lengthened. His shifting was almost complete when a small knock sounded at the door and Jessica’s voice came through the wood panel.
“Mr. Cooper?”
Her voice did strange things to his insides, and unbidden, he let out a mighty gr
owl; the sound animal and alien. The walls seemed to shake with the force of it, and stunned silence fell on the other side of the door.
Then, frantic knocking followed, “What’s going on in there, Mr. Cooper? Are you all right?”
He sighed as he let himself halt his shifting and change back into his human form. The dratted woman wouldn’t even let him enjoy his true form in peace.
“Mr. Cooper! Theodore!” she yelled again through the door.
He distinctly heard Anita’s alarmed voice joining Jessica’s at the door and sighed in disgust as he stalked toward it. If he let her carry on, she would gather half the rescue and maybe the cops at his door.
He flung open the door and stood silhouetted in his doorway. “What’s all the screaming about?” he demanded, directing the question and his furious glare at Jessica.
She fell back a step in surprise at seeing him, and naked relief blazed in her eyes. “You’re all right. I heard a sound—” she began.
“You heard a sound?” he asked.
“Yes. A harsh, guttural growl that sounded … almost animal. It sounded like a bear,” she said.
He opened the door wider and threw his arm out in an inviting gesture, “Well, be my guest, let’s hunt down this bear.”
Her face flamed with embarrassment at the biting sarcasm in his voice. “Theodore—”
“And you got Anita to abandon her position at her desk to help you create a ruckus. Is this a game to you?” he demanded.
Jessica stared in amazement but as she opened her mouth to get a word in, he didn’t let her.
“We have serious work to do this morning, but if you’re already hearing things, maybe you need to take the day off or be reassigned to a less stressful post,” he said.
Jessica sighed. “Fine. Maybe I didn’t know what I heard,” she said. She looked at Anita, her gaze apologetic and chagrined, “I apologize, Anita. It would seem, I made a mistake.”
