“My sister stays with me when she visits. Three on your sofa bed would be awfully crowded.”
He smiled.
“I need to get a place with a guest room.”
Relieved that was the problem, Huntley took a deep breath and let it out. She smiled up at him.
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” He went back to stroking her arm.
“You want to vacate your place to get a two-bedroom apartment just so my sister can stay with me occasionally?”
“Or get a condo. I have some money saved up. And I had been thinking about it.”
“You have?” She sounded skeptical.
Hell, yeah. Once Genista left and he was enjoying the time with Melissa on and off the mission. Maybe that’s why Genista had wanted to leave. Not enough space. Anyway, he wanted to set down some roots, and even if things didn’t work out between Melissa and him, he wanted a bigger place.
“If you get a condo and I stayed with you, does that mean I don’t have to pay any rent?”
He chuckled. “No rent. I wouldn’t object too greatly if you wanted to make the meals. And I’d take you out to eat whenever you didn’t want to cook.”
“Hmm.”
“Agreed?” He was about to list all the reasons her staying with him could be a good thing. Financially, she could save a lot of money. When one of them was gone, the other would at least be there to watch the place and enjoy it for the mortgage he would be paying. Not to mention that he wasn’t a loner and would love the company. Her company.
“I could live with it, I suppose…for a while,” she said, brushing her fingers over his arm.
He stroked her cheek with his thumb and then began kissing her. He wanted this intimacy between them with the rainforest sounds all around them, despite the Whittaker brothers being so close by with cat’s hearing that would pick up sounds that humans might not. This might be the last chance for Melissa and him to be together—if anything went horribly wrong.
Not that he needed any reason for making love to her, other than she wanted this as much as he did. “You know, you’re getting in a lot deeper with this,” he said, wanting her to know that he wanted more with her. Not just a roommate or a friend with benefits.
She smiled up and said, “Tell me about it.”
“As long as we’re thinking along the same line.” And then he began to kiss her, wanting to show her how much she meant to him.
He started lightly on her mouth, his hand stroking under her chin and down her neck, loving the softness of her skin against his fingertips and the way her mouth sought his in a tender kiss. Not hard and wanting, but gentle and accepting. And he couldn’t help but feel that he was truly falling in love with Melissa—this fun and daredevilish woman and she-cat rolled up in one.
He moved his hand to her breast, cupping, massaging, and feeling the nipple peak between his finger and thumb. She lifted her leg between his, teasing him by gently rubbing her thigh against his balls. He was already hard as steel, as he was any time he began to kiss her or see her naked or touch her—or when she eyed him with interest or touched him. She ramped up a fire inside him way before they got close like this.
The jungle was hot and humid, but kissing and touching her was making his temperature skyrocket as the palm of his hand massaged her breast, and she began to rub her mound against his thigh. Her mouth on his, she sought entrance and forced the kiss to deepen. The passion built, her scent musky and sweet and triggering his need to claim her. He’d never made love to a she-cat in the jungle before, but this felt right—the two of them wild, free, willing, and loving it.
Forget the notion that it would be too hot or buggy or humid to make love there like this. Anywhere with Melissa would be the right place. She became more aggressive, her hands stroking his hair, her body arching to connect with his thigh. He kneaded her sensitive nub to help her reach the pinnacle before he satisfied his own growing need.
He returned his mouth to hers, muffling her whimpers of need, her little growls of pleasure, and his own groans of craving. “Oh, oh, God, I love you, this, everything,” she said, arching against him one last time, and he was shocked to hear her say so. Did she mean she was in love with him for everything that he was, or just how he made her feel right this moment?
He hoped he made her feel as special as she did him. He pushed the tip of his cock into her sheath, looked down into her green eyes swimming with lust, and drove home.
Melissa felt almost embarrassed about the words she’d said to Huntley, afraid he’d pull away, worried that she was getting interested in marriage, a home, the cubs, the whole deal, when all she meant was he was so perfect for her—at this time, in this place, there with her now. He made her feel beautiful and needed. He made her reach for the moon and collide with it and burst into a million stars.
He made her “feel” the rainforest in a different way—truly special, a memory she would hold dear forever.
He was kissing her again, his tongue dancing in a heated way with hers, his cock pumping into her as she moved her legs so he could really penetrate her deeply. Her declaration of love seemed to have encouraged him to take over.
He held his breath for a moment and held himself still—as if he was trying to hold to the end, trying to extend the high—and then he thrust into her again and she felt him come deep inside her, the rush, the tension in his expression easing. And then he kissed her eyes and nose and cheeks, ending in one long, lingering kiss on her mouth before he pulled away from her and encouraged her to sleep against him. Close, hanging on to the memory, keeping the connection.
“Beautiful,” he whispered against her hair as he stroked her back.
“Hmm,” she said, her body boneless and more than satisfied.
She loved the way he made love to her, the way he thrust into her while she was still feeling the afterglow of her own orgasm. The way he kissed her to muffle her sighs and growls and any other noise she couldn’t contain so that no one else would hear them, much. The way he was eager to make love to her like this before another night of trying to offer themselves as cat bait. The way he smiled at her when she told him she loved him—his eyes dark and lust-filled. She didn’t know how she would feel in the long run, but in this moment, she loved him. Just in case, she’d be careful before saying it again.
If they continued to be like this toward each other—then yes! She would love him like this forever.
***
They slept most of the day, after having been up all of yesterday and most of the night. So after they made love, they were out for the count for hours.
Much later that afternoon, Huntley woke as Luke said outside the tent in a hushed voice, “Anyone still alive in there?”
Huntley chuckled. “Yeah,” he said, his voice low so as not to disturb Melissa.
“We’re going to scout the area and search for signs of anyone that we need to look for. Be back in a while.”
“All right. Thanks, man.”
“Sure thing.”
Huntley listened as the two men trudged off into the rainforest. He had every intention of chilling out with Melissa and waiting for dusk to fall. For the last several hours, it hadn’t rained. Tonight, they would be well rested if they ran into Jackson’s men.
Melissa was still dozing on the sleeping bag beside him. Huntley got on the phone to Martin, his arm around Melissa. “Any word that our man met with him?”
He didn’t mention who “he” was just in case Jackson came across them and heard his name being mentioned.
“Not that we know of for certain. We didn’t want to have our man ask for him specifically, afraid that might spook Jackson into thinking this was some kind of a setup,” Martin said. “He could have gotten word of the jaguar pair and be planning to check them out soon. Or maybe he just had to gather up some men to accomplish the job.”
“Wish he’
d hurry it up.”
“Me too. The two of you hanging in there all right?”
Huntley looked down at a sleeping Melissa. She was beautiful, her curls caressing his chest, her breathing light and steady.
“Yeah, boss.”
“You be careful, both of you. Don’t take any unreasonable risks.”
Sometimes Martin had a dark sense of humor.
“You got it. Talk later.” He settled down with Melissa and fell back to sleep, but a couple of hours later he heard movement headed in their direction. Untangling himself from Melissa, he threw on some boxers and left the tent to see who approached.
The Whittaker brothers appeared in the dense foliage and shook their heads.
“No sign of him or anyone else who might look like they’re…them,” said Luke, the slightly taller of the two brothers.
“I hope we don’t have a total no-show on this,” Melissa said, coming out of the tent wearing shorts and a T-shirt. She was brushing the hair out of her eyes and looking sexy, like she’d been well loved. “Even if…You-know-who wasn’t sure about the agent wanting to buy us, you’d think he’d come and take a look.”
Huntley and the other men just stared at her and then smiled.
“What?” she asked, sounding annoyed.
Huntley had to admit that she looked damn good.
The brothers chuckled. “I should have joined the JAG,” Luke said.
“You and me both,” Jason said.
Chapter 15
Right at dusk, Melissa, Huntley, and the Whittaker brothers took the same steps as they had the night before. Melissa and Huntley shifted into their jaguar forms, and the Whittaker brothers packed up the gear and hid it in the same tree. Then Luke and Jason followed the jaguars to the beach and remained hidden in the vegetation.
Since this was the second day of attempting the ruse, Huntley was having a devil of a time feeling casual, afraid that at any moment Jackson and his men would come out of the rainforest and shoot them with darts. It was like taking a test but then having it delayed over and over again, when the test taker had been prepared the first time. Also, the effects of being shot at the last time were still fresh in Huntley’s mind. Most of all, he worried about Melissa and how she would manage the drug and the ordeals they might have to face after that.
She was watching the ocean, her ears, nose, and whiskers twitching as she listened and smelled for any sign of a boat or men headed their way. Huntley was sure that if Jackson and his men did arrive, they’d attempt to shoot them from the screen of trees lining the beach. Something suddenly made a thunking sound behind them near the tree line, and both his and Melissa’s heads whipped around. A coconut rolled to a stop in the sand. They looked up at the coconut tree and saw nothing.
If Huntley hadn’t been worried about what would happen to them if Jackson showed his face, he would have loved being here like this with Melissa. He licked her cheek, and she licked him right back, a glint of the devil in her pretty green eyes. Then she nudged at him playfully, and they began frolicking on the beach like they had last night. Sure, they knew why they were there, but for the moment, they enjoyed themselves, tackling each other, playing, licking, and nipping. Besides, this was part of the show, even if Huntley liked to believe they truly were jaguars in love.
He paused to consider the unbidden feelings coursing through his thoughts.
Not only had he never done this with a female agent on a mission, but he realized he’d never done this with a female jaguar ever. When he and Genista were on missions together, they hadn’t had the time or need to do this. And back home, their dating activities were strictly of the human kind. He realized then that Genista wasn’t a playful sort, and he really liked that in Melissa.
He and Melissa chased each other back and forth along the beach, kicking up the sand, growling playfully, and exploring a bit until they spied a turtle and came to a dead halt. Jaguars ate turtles. Not that he or Melissa intended to bother this one, but she loped over to it as if to pretend an interest, which would be natural for a jaguar. The sound of a motor rumbling as a boat headed to the cove caught their attention. He and Melissa were a long way from the cove. Dense vegetation hid it from their view so they couldn’t see the boat and identify it as the same one that had taken off with the Carringtons.
Still, this was it. Or it could be. He was ready to get this over with—to get to wherever the poachers were holding the Carringtons and free them. Before he could do something to indicate he thought that might be them, and maybe they should head more in that direction, he heard something move in the trees near them. One of the Whittaker brothers?
A shot fired from the rainforest, and Huntley felt the damn solid prick of the dart as it hit his rump. Melissa jumped at the sound of the gunfire. Huntley dropped against the ground, pretending to be completely knocked out before they shot him again. He wished now he’d told Melissa to run if they shot him first, that only he was needed to accomplish this part of the mission. She could have come for him after he was at the compound. Not that she could easily find him. But at least he knew she’d be safer. Though he highly suspected she wouldn’t have gone along with the plan.
She poked at him with her nose. He grunted to let her know that he was alive. Another shot sounded, and she fell next to him. He feared she had dropped too quickly, and he listened hard to hear her heart beating. As the seconds ticked on, her heartbeat that had been thumping wildly was drifting to barely anything.
No one moved from the trees. He kept waiting and waiting and waiting. And no one moved. What the hell?
What if the men who shot them weren’t Jackson’s men, and the Whittaker brothers had taken the new poachers down because of it? That would mean Huntley and Melissa were knocked out for no good reason! Or at least he was nearly knocked out. He couldn’t lift his head or open his eyes, but he could listen for the sounds around him.
Nothing was happening. No sound of human movement. Hell, what had gone wrong?
Huntley’s brain was filled with fog, and he was having a difficult time hearing anything over his own slowed heartbeat and the rainforest noises and the waves hitting the beach.
Forever, the minutes seemed to tick by. Maybe an hour had passed. The Whittaker brothers were supposed to take down any other poachers, but what if Jackson wasn’t with his men this time? What if he’d just sent them to capture the jaguars? On the other hand, Jackson liked the thrill of the hunt too much, and Huntley didn’t believe he would stay away and let his men do this. Not to mention that Huntley suspected Jackson got off on doing something illegal. Unless he was indisposed again.
Huntley must have drifted off until he heard footsteps running through the sand. He played dead—or asleep—for whoever approached.
“Hurry,” a man said.
Jackson. Huntley wanted to rip him to shreds, yet he was relieved the right man had finally come for them so they could get this show on the road and rescue the Carringtons.
“We don’t know how long the cats have been out,” Jackson said, “so move it!”
“Why don’t we just shoot them again?” one of his cohorts said. “Better safe than sorry.”
“We might as well just pump them full of live rounds. Giving them too much of the drug or something different could kill them,” Jackson said, sounding irritated with the man.
“Yeah, but where are the other guys who were here before us?” another man said as Huntley felt his limp body being lifted and carried.
He really wanted to see how Melissa was faring, but he couldn’t open his eyes to look or he’d worry that the poachers might think he was coming to. Actually, he wasn’t certain he could open his eyes anyway.
“Hell if I know what happened to the bastards. They probably heard something and got spooked. Good deal for us all around. After that buyer spouted off that he wanted these two—and for the price he is offering—hell, e
veryone’s going to be out here looking for these cats. We’re just damned lucky we got here in time,” Jackson said.
“Never seen a black one up close,” a fourth man said.
Huntley frowned. Phil Gorsman? The man who shot Timothy Jackson’s sister and nearly killed her? He had come down here after all. Huntley was certain once those in charge realized they’d released him accidentally on bail bond, they’d have to correct the situation pronto. He must have figured he’d be returned to jail while awaiting trial. He wouldn’t have been allowed to leave the country.
Huntley would love to tell Jackson the story if he was unaware of it. Unless Jackson already knew and needed Phil more than he cared about his sister.
The men carried Huntley along the beach because it was easier than trying to walk through the tangle of plants and vines in the rainforest. It was still dark out, so it would be difficult for anyone to see them. The poachers had to be wearing night-vision goggles because Huntley hadn’t seen any sign of artificial light.
“The male is a son of a bitch to carry. Just like that other one,” Phil said.
Avery Carrington?
“Quit your bellyaching and hurry it up,” Jackson said.
Huntley knew the cove was a lot farther away, but all of a sudden they were there, the sound of the ocean breakers no longer nearby but around the bend now. He must have dozed off. He was trying his damnedest to fight the drug slipping through his veins so he could be ready at a moment’s notice.
“Hey, Danny, where are you?” Jackson called out, but his voice was hushed.
Everyone had stopped in place. Huntley heard the boat grinding against the sandy shore, gentler waves rocking it.
“Let’s get the cats loaded in the cages,” Jackson said.
“What about Danny?” Phil asked.
“We can’t hang around here waiting for him to take a leak or whatever,” Jackson said. “You know what happened to my crew the last time.”
“They said jaguars attacked them. But we all know jaguars don’t attack people. They’re not like other big cats—they’ll run away.”