Maya.
He turned to look at her. Her blond hair spilled over her bare shoulders and her breasts were naked, her nipples rosy. An ice-white sheet was draped over their waists and legs.
She was sound asleep, her breathing even, her expression peaceful.
His heart was hammering a hundred miles a minute. How, where… what was he doing naked here in bed with… he felt her bare leg touching the back of his… a very nude Maya?
Sunlight pressed against the sheers over the expansive windows in the living room, covering three walls, and he realized it had to be early afternoon. He didn’t want Maya having to explain why he was here, should Connor come pounding on her door. Hell, what was he doing here?
“Maya,” he whispered, wanting to be here with her like this as much as she obviously did with him. But the last memories he had were of tracking Bettinger and his hunter minion in the jungle, hearing they’d taken down the female jaguar, and rushing to her rescue.
Maya opened her eyes, looking sleepy and sexy and cuddly.
“Hmm,” she said, and tried to snuggle closer against him.
“Maya,” he whispered, turning onto his back, pulling her into the crook of his shoulder, and stroking her long, silky hair. Then he recalled having been shot. He vaguely remembered a growly Connor helping him into a pair of sweatpants. After that, nothing.
He wasn’t wearing them now. He suspected he’d removed them sometime during the night, not used to wearing anything in bed. Or… he looked down at Maya… she had removed them.
He leaned over and kissed her, just a sweet brush of his lips against her sexy mouth. Not expecting her to respond, he was startled when she reacted as if she was starved for affection, kissing him back, sliding on top of him, and molding to him.
She was kissing him so frantically that he suspected something was wrong. “Maya.” He tried disengaging from her, pushing her shoulders back gently so that he could see her expression.
Her eyes were filled with tears, and she looked stricken.
“Maya,” he said consolingly and pulled her close against his body. She sobbed against his chest, her tears falling freely on his bare skin. “It’s okay. We’re okay.”
“You could have been killed,” she choked out, her hand clenched in a fist against his waist.
She could have been killed, and he would never have forgiven himself.
“I… would never have seen you again,” she said, swallowing hard.
He drew her clenched hand to his mouth, kissing her fingers until she spread them like a flower opening its petals. Then she cupped his face, her teary eyes gazing into his. She lowered her mouth to his, and this time they kissed slow and hard, her tongue in his mouth, his in hers. Her hands slid over his hair, her body pressed fully against his.
He combed his fingers through her silky tresses as their kissing went back to soft and gentle. He swept his hands down her back and felt her shiver a little, then reached down to spread her legs for him as the hunger for her reared up inside him.
Tears clung to her lashes like dewdrops as she sat up, straddling him, her mouth curving up, her breath coming quickly, her breasts heaving. Her skin was golden all over, her nipples mouthwatering pink rosebuds. The golden curls between her legs pressed against his darker hair, his erection stiff and resting against her belly.
His whole body was tense with need, and he wanted to roar like a jaguar calling for his mate. With her hand, she stroked his cock, making him growl with pent-up desire. His hands slid up her thighs, his thumbs parting her feminine lips, and she groaned as she rubbed her sex against his erection. One of his thumbs flicked against her clit, and she arched back with a gasp. He slid into her with a well-placed thrust.
Seeing their bodies joined together turned his blood into a molten torrent. Guiding her with one hand, he thrust inside her, his free hand rubbing her sweet spot as he drank in her delicious scent of wild cat and citrus.
With her skin flushed, her body toned and tanned, she was beautiful. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a lovelier sight as they made love among the white bed linens. The mesh surrounding the bed created the feel of a screened pleasure dome in the jungle cottage. The monkeys howled in the rainforest as birds twittered, insects buzzed, and a gentle fall of rain pattered on the thatched roof.
Breathing hard, their skin covered in light perspiration, he sped up his thrusts, digging into the soft mattress with his heels. He felt her climax drawing near, the tension in her body, and the shudders of her core clenching around his cock and rocketing with orgasm. She groaned with pleasure, and he reveled in the sound of her passionate response.
Before he came, he quickly rolled her over onto her back and continued to pump into her, kissing that sweet mouth of hers and reveling in the scent and the feel of her. He wanted the sweet ecstasy of joining with her to last forever. For the moment, she was his, body and soul, and he didn’t want to give her up for anything or anyone.
Wade moved Maya’s legs over his shoulders for deeper penetration, and she loved it. Loved him. As their hearts pounded like the steady beat of the rain on the roof, he rubbed his body against hers, covering her with his scent, claiming her. Thrusting into her with his face taut with concentration, he drove into the very core of her.
The heated look in his gaze intensified as he captured her mouth with his, plunging in with his tongue. She was lost to him, despite wanting to keep some semblance of balance. To keep her heart intact. But how could she when this felt so right? So perfect? So damned good?
He ground his body against hers and twisted, the sensation of him buried deep inside of her making her want more… making her need more.
He whispered her name against her lips, a half groan, desperate and resolute. Her hands swept down his back, feeling his muscles hard at work as he pleasured her and pleasured himself.
Her touch seemed to propel him on as he thrust deeper into her. Her lips parted as she tried to catch her breath, the sensation of him rubbing against her clit pushing her to the edge. As if he saw her open mouth as an invitation, he licked her lips, then thrust his tongue into her mouth again with feral abandon.
With primal need, she felt the erotic sensation of his tongue pushing into her mouth, casting her over the edge again, and she cried out his name, her word absorbed by the wild jungle sounds all around them.
His eyes were nearly black as he drove into her again and again. Then with one final plunge, he groaned his satisfaction, his warm seed filling her. He lay there quietly for a moment on top of her, breathing hard, capturing her, not making a move to let her go.
Some part of her reveled in that notion, and for now, she gave herself up freely to the sensation.
Feeling satiated and drowsy, she dropped her legs away from his shoulders, his cock still buried in her as he licked her breast, then took her taut nipple between his teeth and teased it with a gentle nibble, as if he wasn’t quite ready to let her go yet. Then he kissed the top of her head.
“Maya,” he said finally with the utmost tenderness, and she felt the tears collect in her eyes again. Bettinger could have killed him.
Wade gazed into her eyes, saw the tears gathered there, and brushed her cheek with his fingertips. “We’re all right, Maya.” He slid off her and took her into his arms. Together they snuggled in silence.
Maya was annoyed with herself for falling apart over what could have happened. She wanted him to enjoy sex with her and to help relieve some of the tension she’d felt ever since she’d discovered the trouble he was in. The danger all of them had been in.
She hadn’t meant to get all teary-eyed over it when they first began kissing. Or now, all over again. She loved his gentleness when he seemed to understand and hadn’t pushed her away. Ha! He’d conquered her, making her feel desired above all else, forcing her to reconsider seeing anyone other than him. She had to admit he was doing one hell of a
job of convincing her!
***
Wade let out his breath. “I wanted to be close to you again like this, but not at peril to you, Maya, which was why I’d fought staying away from you—unsuccessfully.”
She smiled a little.
“Whenever I couldn’t find the shifters who were trying to capture a jaguar, I slipped off the beaten path to find you and your family.” He stroked her arm. “I told myself I did so to watch your backs, which was true to an extent, but… I loved seeing the three of you as jaguars at play. It reminded me of my brother and me.” He chuckled. “You and Kat would both gang up on Connor as he was nosing around at the scents on the ground and suddenly tackle him, and I had to stifle the urge to laugh out loud.”
She smiled up at him. “You should have joined us.”
Instead, Wade had envisioned himself being the alpha male and deliciously tormented by two female cats. What he wouldn’t have given to be the one Maya was pouncing on, playing with, growling, batting, and biting. But he hadn’t wanted her in danger. He took a deep breath and kissed the top of her head again.
“You never said what happened to your father,” Maya said, her fingers making little circles on his chest.
“He finally came to terms with his grief, realized his sons were gone, then sought to reunite with us. He’s proud of what we do but still regretting that he’d left us to our own devices when our mother was killed.” Wade combed his fingers through Maya’s satiny hair, loving the feel of it, loving the feel of her, loving the way she touched him.
“Hmm, I seem to recall there was some mention of the two of you getting yourselves into hot water,” she murmured.
Wade caressed her shoulder, stroking her soft skin and smiling reminiscently. He chuckled a little.
“So?” she said.
“Nothing that bad. Okay, so one time we took it upon ourselves to leap off a bridge.”
“As humans or jaguars?”
“Humans. As jaguars, we would have gotten into a lot more trouble.”
“I take it you weren’t injured,” she said, looking up at him with those golden eyes that could stop his thoughts as he gazed into their crystal depths.
“No, but the third time, we got caught.”
She shook her head. “You’d think you’d learn.”
“We didn’t get caught the other times.”
“And after you got caught? You didn’t do it again, did you?”
“Not at that bridge.”
She chuckled. “I can see that you and your brother have an incorrigible streak.”
“That’s what our boss said when he took us on, but he said he was still hopeful he’d knock it out of us.”
She laughed. “What else?”
“Are you sure you want to hear any more?”
“Yeah, I’d like to know what I’m getting into.”
Wade chuckled. “I think I could really fall for you.” He already had. Any woman who would come to his rescue without regard for her own safety had to be the one for him. How many jag shifters could claim they had a woman like that in their corner?
She smiled up at him, her eyes gazing into his, and she wasn’t pulling away from him. Maybe she thought he was kidding.
“All right. Then there was the time David and I needed to withdraw some money from the bank, but he wouldn’t come in because one of the bank tellers had the hots for him and he was afraid of her. So he sent me in instead. Guy at the next teller handed a deposit slip to her, and her skin turned pasty. The guy growled under his breath, ‘Do it.’”
“He was attempting to rob the bank?” Maya asked, wide-eyed.
“Yeah. I could have used David’s help. I glanced around to see if anyone else might be with this guy, and sure enough, another man was standing near the door, watching a security guard and looking nervous, his hand tucked in his jacket like Napoleon.”
“You shouldn’t have done anything. All they wanted was the money. Right?”
“Right. And I wouldn’t have done anything heroic, worrying someone might get killed. Me, even. The robber near me growled, ‘Now, lady, or you’re dead.’ About that time, my brother walked into the bank. I thought he believed I was taking too long, but I should have known better.”
“He knew.”
“Yeah, saw the getaway car, called the police, and came in to help me, in case I planned any heroics. I really didn’t.”
She smiled, looked down at his chest, and ran her fingers over his ribs with a featherlight touch. “I can’t imagine that.”
“Well, I thought about it, sure. But with just one of me and two of them, it was too risky. Now there were two of them. And two of us. David was close to the guy by the door. I was close to the one demanding the money. I shouted, ‘Now, David!’ Then I lunged for the guy near me, taking him down. He hit his head hard on the waxed tile floor, knocking himself out. Women screamed. Men yelled. The security guard shouted, ‘Hold it right there!’ He was waving a gun at David and the man he’d tackled, taking the guy to the floor. Police got the getaway driver and the two would-be bank robbers. As soon as David was standing, the teller who had the hots for him was all over him. I almost felt bad for him, considering he’d come in to save my butt.”
Maya laughed. “You’re so bad.”
“Yeah, it was his fault he’d used his charm on her earlier, though. We were given an award for citizens’ heroics and Martin had heard enough. We didn’t know anything about him and his organization or that he’d been following our shenanigans with interest. We were either being taken in by the police or doing police work. He wanted us to work for him, or else. So we agreed.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, just resettled her head against his chest, her fingers tracing a circle around his nipple. “He’s damn lucky to have you.”
“God, Maya,” Wade said, hugging her close, hating that Maya had been in such danger and he couldn’t protect her. “Bettinger could have injured you, killed you. I’m sorry I got you involved in this.”
She shook her head. “You were always there for us… for Kat and Connor and me. Why shouldn’t we have helped you this time?”
He snorted. “Because I was supposed to be doing my job. What did Connor say to you last night about the whole fiasco?” He figured Connor would have said plenty.
“He was angry and told me not to get near you.” She smiled up at Wade with the most sinfully seductive look.
He chuckled, threading his fingers through her hair. “You didn’t listen to him.” He swept his hand over her bare arm.
She ran her fingers over Wade’s chest with a tender touch, making his blood heat. “I don’t always listen to what my brother tells me to do or not to do.”
A rapping at the patio door made Wade’s heart skip a beat. He peered through the gauzy mesh surrounding the bed and saw a shadowy figure at the back door, hidden by the drapes.
Chapter 16
“Connor?” Maya whispered, pulling away from the bed and Wade. The figure was definitely a male as tall as he was, and Wade was instantly on guard. “You stay in bed,” she said, grabbing a white terry-cloth robe off a chair and pulling it on.
Wade wasn’t sitting still, despite what she wanted. He quickly left the bed to protect her in case it wasn’t Connor, watching her move down the stairs and through the living room, ready to shift into his much more protective jaguar form.
She pushed the curtain aside before she opened the door, then turned and, smiling, said to Wade, “It’s your brother. And it looks like he brought us a late breakfast.”
Wearing khakis and a light-blue shirt, David stood grinning at the door.
Relieved to see his brother and not Connor—or one of the bad guys—Wade snagged a towel out of the bathroom and tucked it around his waist, then joined them in the living room. “What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be
getting your half of the bad guys.”
David chuckled as he carried in the tray of food, kissing Maya briefly on the cheek, then setting the tray down on the coffee table. “Compliments of your brother and me, Maya.”
“You spoke to my brother?” Maya asked, her brows furrowed.
“Yeah. I couldn’t find Wade and got worried. Then I figured if he was goofing off again, he might be here.”
Wade smiled a little at his brother and shook his head.
“I ran into your brother and his wife as they were on their way to breakfast. I assumed that the three of you had brought Wade back here.”
“Yeah, not of my own choice,” Wade said as he sat down next to Maya and looked at the food on the tray. An omelet made his stomach rumble with hunger. French toast made of Creole bread had been prepared for Maya.
Shaking his head, David sat down on the couch opposite them and glanced at Maya sitting in her robe. “Coming back here with Maya,” he said, then glanced at the bed and again at Maya, “would have been my choice if I’d been you.”
“Believe me, you would not have wanted to go through what I did to end up here.”
“Thanks, David. What a treat.” Maya smiled warmly at him.
“I was worried when you didn’t rendezvous with me at the appointed hour back at our cabana, Wade,” David said, watching him eat.
“Sorry about that.”
David frowned. “I knew you had to be in trouble.”
Maya looked up from taking another bite of her French toast. “Connor and Kat came to our rescue and we came straight back here.”
David ground his teeth. “Okay… When Mylar and Bettinger didn’t return to the cabana last night, Lion Mane and Smith were pretty shook up about it. Lion Mane knew we had searched the cabana, and he discovered the tranq darts and the scent of the female jaguar in the jungle. No sign of the guns or the men. No sign of the jaguars—you or the female. Lion Mane was sniffing at the scents left behind by Maya—who Lion Mane knew—and Kat and Connor, who none of us knew. He located the scents of Mylar and Bettinger, and the river where their scents ended.”