Lian/Roch

  Her first thought was that she was glad the net had been magically enhanced by her mother to keep any intruder trapped until Sage released them.

  Clearly the man was furious and ready to do some damage.

  But as she snapped on the light to get a good look at her unwelcomed visitor she forgot how to breathe.

  Oh…my.

  His male beauty hit her like a punch to the gut.

  The dark, perfectly chiseled features. The long black hair pulled into a tight braid. And the eyes that smoldered with golden fire in the shadows.

  There was a raw sensuality that shimmered around him, calling to her most feminine needs.

  Without warning the gnawing hunger that had only bothered her at night was suddenly flooding through her body, the strange sensations making her heart race and her palms sweat.

  Good lord. She swallowed, feeling as if her skin was too tight for her body.

  She’d been aroused before. She’d even had sex, although it’d been a colossal disappointment.

  But nothing had prepared her for the blistering awareness that sizzled through her as a rich, intoxicating male musk seeped deep inside her.

  “What the hell?” the man snarled, glaring at her in fury. “Get me out of here.”

  She felt a ridiculous stab of disappointment.

  Why?

  Did she think he was going to be struck with the same tingling, breathless fascination?

  Yeah. Fat chance.

  Holding the letter opener in front of her, she took a hesitant step forward.

  “It’s very rude to trespass,” she informed him.

  His hands gripped the net, his large body tense with outrage.

  “Maybe if you answered your damned door I wouldn’t have had to trespass,” he said between clenched teeth.

  Sage frowned, belatedly recalling the pounding she’d heard when she was in the shower. She’d assumed that it was the wind banging one of her loose shutters.

  Now she shrugged, not about to admit that she didn’t recognize the knock because no one ever came to see her.

  That was just…pathetic.

  “I didn’t answer because I don’t want visitors.”

  “Fine.” The golden eyes narrowed. “I’m not looking for you, anyway.”

  Oh. Another stab of disappointment.

  “Then why are you here?”

  “I’m looking for Dr. Parker.”

  She frowned in confusion. Did he mean her father? Surely not. He’d passed away ten years ago.

  “Why?”

  He gave the net a frustrated shake. “Get me the hell out of here.”

  She clutched the letter opener, trying to ignore her uncontrollable reaction to the stranger.

  Not easy. He really was a magnificent specimen of manhood.

  Tall, muscular, starkly beautiful…

  She shivered, heat licking over her skin.

  Why was it suddenly so hot?

  “Not until you tell me what you want with Dr. Parker,” she forced herself to demand.

  A low growl rumbled in his throat. “Xavier sent me”

  Sage made a sound of shock. “XavierTopGeek?”

  The stranger’s eyes widened, something that might have been amusement shimmering in the golden depths.

  “Top Geek?” He gave a sharp laugh. “Oh hell, I’m going to have to share that sweet nugget with my fellow Hunters.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  All humor was wiped from the intensely male face. “You don’t need to,” he snapped. “Let me out or you’re not going to like the consequences.”

  Sage frowned, turning to study a nearby pile of books. Her mind didn’t work properly when she was looking directly at the intruder.

  “Hush, I’m thinking…” Her inner debate of whether or not to try and contact the man she’d been chatting with online for the past few years was brought to a sharp and painful end as arms wrapped around her and she was tossed onto the nearby bed. “Eek.”

  She slashed the letter opener toward her attacker only to have it knocked out of her hand as the man leaped on top of her, pressing her into the mattress.

  “Not so fun being trapped, is it?” he rasped, his eyes darkening as she struggled beneath him. Heat abruptly sizzled between them as his body hardened. “Although I’m beginning to realize there are a few unexpected benefits.”

  A combination of fear, and anger, and potent arousal exploded through Sage.

  “Get off me.” She slammed her hands against his chest, panic thundering through her.

  Regret softened his harsh expression as he gazed down at her, but he refused to budge.

  “Where is Dr. Parker?” he demanded.

  “Why?”

  “I need to speak with him.”

  “About what?”

  He hissed in frustration. “Do you always answer a question with another question?”

  “No.” Sage grimaced. Even being held hostage by a stranger she found it impossible to lie. “Okay, maybe I do. It’s a habit.”

  “Look, I have no intention of hurting you, but this is important,” he said, an unmistakable sincerity in his voice. “Can you just tell me how to find the scholar?”

  Sage cleared her throat. If Xavier had sent the man, then he couldn’t be looking for her father. And it was obvious she wasn’t going to get rid of him until he’d spoken to ‘Dr. Parker.’

  “You already have.”

  Chapter 2

  Sage watched shock tighten the man’s expression, something in the back of his eyes making her stiffen in alarm.

  What the hell?

  She could have sworn…

  The thought wasn’t allowed to fully form as the stranger pushed himself off the bed, glaring at her in disbelief.

  “Is that supposed to be a joke?”

  Sage pushed herself to a seated position, her body still carrying the heat and scent of him.

  “Why would I joke?”

  He scowled, folding his arms over his chest. “You’re the expert in ancient languages?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re—” He halted, giving a shake of his head.

  “I’m what?”

  “Young.”

  “Not really. I’m thirty-two.” She tilted her chin. This was a familiar argument. “And not to boast, but I had my doctorate by the age of twenty so I’ve had more time than most to concentrate on my own research. Plus, I’ve been an adjunct professor for the past ten years.”

  He glanced around the room that was nearly overrun with books.

  “You live here alone?”

  She absently rubbed her hands over her bare arms. His presence seemed to fill the entire room.

  “I think it’s your turn to answer some questions.”

  He pressed his lips together, impatience crackling around him. Then, with an obvious effort, he leashed his temper.

  “Ask.”

  Her hands gripped the handmade quilt that covered the bed. “Who are you?”

  “Lian.”

  “Just Lian?”

  He shrugged. “Just Lian.”

  She narrowed her eyes. He might be gorgeous, but he was clearly a jackass.

  “You’re a friend of Xavier?”

  “More of a relation.”

  Hmm. There was something in the way he said relation that made her think he wasn’t talking traditional brother or cousin.

  “What do you want from me?”

  “Xavier has several scrolls he wants you to translate.”

  Okay. That didn’t seem so…creepy. She was contacted several times a week by people who wanted her expertise in decoding ancient texts.

  She was, without false modesty, the best in the business.

  Still, most of her potential clients didn’t send someone to break into her house.

  “Why didn’t he just ask me? I would have had him mail them to me.”

  “The scrolls are too fragile,” he said. “They can’t be moved.”

  Sage was prepar
ed for the complication. Her work often dealt with fragile parchment.

  “He could scan them or even take a picture and send me the images in an email.”

  Lian took a step forward, studying her with an alarming intensity.

  “I thought scholars salivated over the opportunity to get their hands on rare artifacts?”

  She lowered her gaze, well aware that her face revealed her every emotion.

  One of many reasons she didn’t play poker.

  “I don’t travel.”

  He heaved a harsh sigh. “Why not?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “Do you have a medical condition?”

  She swallowed a humorless laugh, shoving herself off the bed. A medical condition would almost be preferable.

  “You’ve wasted enough of my day,” she informed her aggravating guest. “You can leave the same way you came.”

  She started to edge past his large body only to be forced to a halt when he deliberately moved to block her path.

  “What’s your name?”

  “You know my name,” she snapped.

  “Your first name.”

  Her gaze moved to the forgotten letter opener on the ground. Not as protection. If this man wanted to hurt her there was nothing she could do to stop him.

  No. But she wouldn’t mind stabbing the annoying creature in the leg.

  His persistence was pissing her off.

  “Sage,” she at last admitted.

  “Sage.” Her name rolled off his tongue with a hint of a Cajun accent. A tiny shiver raced through her.

  Nope, she wasn’t ready for that level of intimacy.

  “You can call me Dr. Parker.”

  His lips twitched. “Fine…Dr. Parker.” His brief amusement faded. “This is important.”

  Excitement fluttered in the pit of her stomach.

  He was close enough she could feel his heat wrap around her, the spicy musk clouding her mind with thoughts of smooth, bronzed skin beneath her tongue.

  Good lord. She needed to get this man out of her house before her brain turned to complete mush.

  “So is my research, plus I have papers to grade and—”

  “This is life or death,” he interrupted sharply.

  “If you say so.”

  A strange growl rumbled in the air. Was that coming from Lian?

  “Did you hear me?”

  “We all believe our work is vital.”

  “No.” He grabbed her chin, tilting back her head so she was forced to meet his fierce gaze. “This is a matter of life and death.”

  Heat blasted through her at his touch.

  “Would you please…” Her words faltered as she once again caught sight of that shadow moving in the back of his eyes. There was something in there. Something that was focused on her with the smoldering hunger of a predator. “Oh…you’re not human.”

  * * *

  Lian cursed at his odd reaction to the female.

  It wasn’t just his astonishment at discovering that she was a she, not a he. Or even that she wasn’t the old, slightly batty professor he’d been expecting.

  It was the intense, blistering awareness that had slammed into him the second she’d stepped into the room.

  Man. He could think of nothing but the overwhelming need to somehow get her beneath him so he could be buried deep inside her.

  It was only because he’d been pissed as hell at being caught sneaking into the cottage—like he was nothing more than an unskilled cub—that had allowed him to leash the animal inside him that was roaring for a taste.

  There would be no ravaging until he had her in the Wildlands, he’d warned himself.

  Now he realized that his intense awareness had allowed him to overlook the obvious.

  There was no way in hell he should have been trapped in that net unless there’d been a magical spell attached to it.

  “I see your cat,” she murmured, looking more curious than frightened.

  Lian gave in to the impulse to run his fingers down her cheek, savoring the warm satin of her skin. This female obviously had magic running through her veins.

  But it was the fact she could detect the animal inside him that made his heart leap.

  Could she be a Shaman?

  The mere potential was a cause for celebration.

  There was an elder Shaman at the Wildlands who had long ago retired, and of course, Chayton, who was now lying unconscious with an evil goddess trapped inside him. Neither had been capable of serving his people for the past thirty years.

  To have a young, clearly healthy Shaman just when the Pantera could once again breed would be nothing less than a miracle.

  Suddenly the need to get her to the Wildlands became even more vital.

  “How do you see my cat?” he asked.

  “I just…do.” She licked her lips, sending a jolt of white-hot excitement searing through Lian. Oh, hell. The things those lips could do to his body. “Is Xavier a cat as well?” she demanded.

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  She wrinkled her brow. “I’m surprised I didn’t suspect.”

  Lian scowled. He didn’t know where the completely irrational stab of jealousy came from, but he sure as hell didn’t like the implication she knew Xavier well enough to suspect he wasn’t human.

  Just how often had the two communicated?

  “What do you know about my people?” he asked in abrupt tones.

  “A great deal, actually.” She glanced toward the stacks of books, offering Lian the opportunity to appreciate the delicate perfection of her profile. “I’ve read a number of books that describe the Wildlands and the puma shifters who live there.”

  “Do you know the legend of our creation?”

  “There were two goddesses, Shakpi and Opela.” She turned back to meet his watchful gaze. “I believe there was some sort of rift between the two.”

  His lips twisted.

  Rift was a mild way of saying that Opela had sacrificed herself to lock her sister, Shakpi, in a prison so the crazy-ass bitch wouldn’t destroy the Pantera.

  “You could say that.”

  She tilted her head to the side, the end of her ponytail sliding over her shoulder.

  Lian instinctively moved his hand to touch the silvery strands. Oh…man. It felt just like silk.

  She stilled, but made no effort to pull away. “Are you a religious scholar?”

  He gave a choked laugh. He fully admired the Geeks, but the thought of being stuck in a library or seated in front of a computer for endless hours gave him a brain cramp.

  Give him open space, fresh air, and cunning prey to pursue and he was a happy cat.

  Or give him a beautiful woman in his bed. Preferably one with silver-blonde hair and fascinating gray eyes rimmed with black.

  “Hell to the no,” he assured her, his fingers sliding around her neck to cup her nape. The crisp scent of lemon teased at his senses, the smell oddly erotic to the cat that stroked against the inside of his skin. It wanted a taste of this female. “I’m a Hunter.”

  “A Hunter?” She cleared her throat, pretending she wasn’t burning up with an arousal that matched his own. A wasted effort. Her need was obvious in the flush that stained her cheeks and darkened her eyes. Even if he wasn’t able to detect the sweet honey that was making her pussy slick and ready for his cock. “What does that mean?”

  Maintaining his hold on her nape, he stroked his free hand down the curve of her spine.

  “The obvious.” He tugged her tight against his stirring arousal, his head lowering to press his face into the curve of her neck. “I track my prey until I have them cornered.” He licked a rough path to the pulse that thundered at the base of her throat. “Then I pounce.”

  She made a strangled sound of shocked pleasure, her hands grabbing his arms as if her knees had suddenly threatened to collapse.

  “You’re in my personal space.”

  He chuckled, rubbing his cheek against her smooth skin with a ge
sture that was pure feline.

  “I’m deciding whether or not I intend to play with you before I pounce.”

  He heard her breath catch, her body instinctively arching closer to the hard thrust of his cock.

  “I’m not your prey,” she breathlessly protested.

  Lian allowed his teeth to press into the flesh of her neck, not breaking the skin, but offering a warning.

  He might be able to convince his cat to take the seduction of Dr. Sage Parker at a slower speed, but it wasn’t going to tolerate any denial of the desire that smoldered between them.

  “Of course you are,” he growled. “I was sent to retrieve you.”

  She shivered, her fingers tightening on his arms even as she gave a shake of her head.

  “I told you,” she rasped. “I don’t travel.”

  Muttering a curse, Lian lifted his head. As much as he wanted to toss this female on the bed and ease his throbbing cock deep inside her, he had to concentrate on fulfilling his duty.

  They had to find some way to translate the newly discovered scrolls.

  And for now, this woman was their only hope.

  “And I told you. The future of the Pantera is depending on you,” he said.

  She pulled from his lingering touch, her hand pressed to her chest as if trying to slow the pounding of her heart.

  “What makes the scrolls so important?”

  He hesitated before giving a small shrug. She’d have to know the truth eventually.

  “We hope it can tell us how to kill Shakpi.”

  Chapter 3

  Sage felt the breath being wrenched from her lungs at the blunt explanation.

  God almighty.

  This was all happening too fast.

  Her life was supposed to be a series of predictable, well-planned days that never varied.

  She worked hard to make sure that there were no surprises.

  Now her house had been invaded by a Pantera male. Her body was burning with an unfamiliar passion. She was being told she had to leave the safety of her house to travel to his homelands.

  Then, to put icing on the crazy cake, he was implying that they needed her to translate a scroll that they hoped would kill a goddess…

  Yeah. That tripped over the edge of what her poor brain could process.