Shadow Shifters: Shifter's Claim Part 15

He took another huge swallow and stepped toward the box. Reaching in with one eye closed-as if that was going to make the s.h.i.+t a little less gross-he picked up the paper, holding it by the tips of two pale-a.s.s fingertips.

"Says, 'come and get me, b.i.t.c.h!'" He read the slip of paper, his voice cracking with nervousness.

Palermo lowered his arm, let the weight of the gun rest in his hand against his thigh as he returned to the window once more. From there he could look to the west, upward toward the sky and see the tips of the mountains where just below a little town buzzed with activity. It buzzed with life, human and s.h.i.+fter. All of which would fall at his command.

"You don't have to ask me twice, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d-a.s.sed Faction Leader. You don't have to f.u.c.king ask twice," he mumbled, lips turning up into a snarl, canines and claws extending.

Chapter 21.

Jewel jumped at the sound of his voice. Her heart hammering against her chest, teeth clenching. A feeling she was all too familiar with encompa.s.sing her, all too quickly. For the years that she'd been in Perryville she'd tried valiantly to tamp down the fear that had just about smothered her before. Last night it had come back in full force. This morning she felt like she was drowning in it, struggling just to keep her head above water and give in to total defeat.

"I asked you a question," Jacques repeated.

He was a formidable man, even if his build was on the slender side. There was strength in his long arms and piano fingers that Jewel knew instinctively could be deadly. Today he was dressed similarly to his usual style, casual but stylish in chocolate-brown khaki pants, which were perfectly creased over leather tie-up, low-cut boots, a soft, beige, knit sweater without wrinkle or lint hanging perfectly over a toned chest. The brown tones should have blended to the point of dullness over his almond-bark skin tone, instead it accentuated the deep hue. He spoke with the faintest hint of an accent that she'd never been able to place and he took a step closer, signaling she still hadn't responded to his question.

She cleared her throat, willed her hands to remain still at her sides while squaring her shoulders.

"I saw you and some of the others chasing a man in the back gated area," she replied, familiar with this scenario.

Jacques's face remained a blank mask, his eyes cool as he surveyed everything about her. It was strange but Jewel figured he could probably see right through the white linen pants and matching sleeveless top she wore.

"And what else?" he prodded.

Jewel lifted a hand to tuck a few wayward curls back behind her ear. She'd used a coral-colored headband to hold the riotous ma.s.s back today. It matched the beads on top of her soft leather mules.

"Nothing. Your men grabbed me and carried me back into the building. I've been here in my room ever since." Which was only a partial truth.

She had no doubt been brought up to her room and ordered to stay inside. But she'd seen plenty before and after the chase. Jewel had seen plenty in the three years she'd been at Perryville, but she knew it was imperative that she keep that knowledge to herself. Another task she was more than used to.

"Why were you and that woman down in the bunkers? You know that is a restricted area," he continued.

Jacques always smelled good. It wasn't a cologne, she knew, but a scent that he and some of the others carried-a musky sort of outdoors scent that Jewel had immediately begun to think was embedded in their skin.

"I caught her heading down there and I tried to bring her back." Which was true enough, she supposed.

Priya Drake was a nice-looking woman, smooth mocha-toned skin, bright inquisitive eyes, high cheekbones, and what men would call a sumptuous mouth. She used that mouth to talk a lot, Jewel had surmised from their first meeting. Question after question, seeking information Jewel was not prepared to give-not that she didn't possess it. If Jewel thought it was strange that Sebastian Perry had a woman locked in his private s.p.a.ce after years of never seeing him anywhere with his dates beyond the guest floors where suites occupied the s.p.a.ce, she was smart enough not to mention it, to Jacques or to Priya.

"That means you had to be in that s.p.a.ce too." Jacques stood directly in front of her now. "Do not attempt to lie to me, Jewel. I will know."

He was a fool, just like most men. The way a person could sometimes pa.s.s a lie detector test was the same way she looked up into his eyes and repeated, "I was on my way back from a late snack and speaking with Mrs. Ramirez in the kitchen when I saw her boarding the elevators. She was heading downstairs and I attempted to stop her. When my words were not enough and she took off into the hallways of the bunker, I followed her in an attempt to steer her back up to Mr. Perry's room. It did not work. She's a very stubborn female."

The story was delivered as Jewel had practiced it all night so that now it was what she firmly believed. And as long as she believed she was telling the truth ...

"You are not telling the truth," Jacques countered.

Dammit. Well, there was always a first time for something not to work and Jewel always had a plan B.

"If you know all then why bother to ask?" No matter how much she feared what might happen next, Jacques did not need to know. No man would ever have that upper hand over her again. They would not scare her into submission or manipulate her into doing their bidding, no questions asked. Never, ever again.

"I know that this is not the first time you have seen something here you should not have."

She didn't even blink. "If you have a problem with my services, then let me go." It was clearly bravado speaking, but h.e.l.l, it sounded good even to her. Jewel had nowhere to go if she was forced to leave Perryville, nowhere else to hide.

"No, my dear," he said, lifting a hand to toy with strands of her hair. "That is precisely why I've let you stay."

He had never touched her, not s.e.xually or casually, even though he made a habit of standing in her personal s.p.a.ce more often than not. He would touch her hair, or a scarf she wore or even a bracelet once, but never her skin, never her person. For that, Jewel was supremely grateful.

"Now, however, our arrangement must change," he finished then stepped away from her heading to the door.

Jewel's heart beat faster, panic soaring through her like a ravaging disease. She took a step toward Jacques, fists clenched at her sides and blurted out before thinking, "What are you going to do with me? Are you sending me away?"

Jacques paused at the door, his hand on the handle. The look he gave her over his shoulder was new, a different expression that she couldn't quite explain, and she gasped.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" was his parting retort before he opened the door, stepped through, and closed it with a resounding click behind him.

It was morning, well past, Bas thought as he lay on his stomach, still in bed. He opened his eyes, felt the annoying itch that said he could probably sleep another hour or so, then closed them again. Next, he inhaled deeply and confirmed the lump of dread that had formed in the center of his chest.

Priya was still here.

Priya knew who and what he was.

d.a.m.n.

With a resigned sigh he was about to roll over, to reach for her but then he felt her touch. The soft inside of her thighs brushed over his b.u.t.tocks as she straddled him. Shaking fingers traced the lines of his tattoo and Bas waited. She would have more questions, she always did. No matter that he'd told her too d.a.m.ned much last night, he knew he would answer her, no matter how much he didn't want to.

"I can see it now," she said softly. "I didn't really see it clearly that first night and then last night, well, I wasn't really paying that much attention to it. But now I see it clearly."

Bas continued to take steady, slow breaths. The warmth of her center resting against his skin was a huge distraction from the sound of her voice. She was wet and hot and he craved her once more. Always, it seemed.

"It's a cat," she continued. "Your cat."

He neither confirmed nor denied. It was weak, he knew. At some point Bas was going to have to make a decision about this new situation he found himself in. He was going to have to decide what to do with Priya now that she knew. But for the moment all he could think about was the sweet scent of her arousal, the soft feel of her body against his.

"It's the s.h.i.+eld of the Topetenia tribe."

"All of you have it?" she continued. "It's beautiful."

She leaned forward, her fingers moving across the blades of his shoulders, down to the center of his spine were he knew the face of his cat began.

"Yes," he murmured just before her lips touched his skin.

Then it was her tongue as she traced an outline around the center of the tattoo. The eyes of the cat. Heat spread from that spot throughout the entire upper portion of his body like spilled water.

"You're beautiful," she whispered, her breath draping over him in warm waves. "Absolutely beautiful."

Bas's teeth clenched, his entire body tightening with her words. He turned easily beneath her, reaching out his hands to hold her in place atop him as he now lay on his back. She was gorgeous, hair sleep-tousled, eyes already dulled with desire, lips still slightly swollen from his hungry kisses only hours before. Her blessedly naked body was before him and Bas didn't hesitate to reach out to touch her. Pert b.r.e.a.s.t.s fit perfectly in the palms of his hands as he cupped them, squeezed, and purred.

Her eyes shot up to him at the sound and he licked his lips in response. "Come to me, Priya. Come to me," he whispered.

With slightly parted lips she leaned forward into him, lifting her chest so that they would be more aligned with his mouth. He took her immediately, one hard nipple and soft curve into his mouth, sucking deeply as if he were a babe at feeding. His other hand held firm to its twin, squeezing even as his tongue flicked over the hard nipple. She sucked in a breath and bowed her body over him. His cat roared inside, pressed closer to the surface, hunger clawing at it.

Giving her other breast the same attention as the first, Bas sucked and licked and groaned as his erection grew harder still, a drop of pre-release dampening its tip. He wanted to be inside her more than he wanted his next breath and by the sound of her whimpers she was in the exact same place. And yet, he couldn't resist another urge tapping against him persistently.

Since the first day he'd been intrigued by Priya's scent, sucked into her endless questions and infinite suspicions from the first second they'd made eye contact. And every time thereafter it was her scent that he always recognized first. It seemed to call to him and try as he might, Bas had never been able to ignore it. Now, he wanted to taste it, to have all of her, claim all of her as his own.

He moved again, this time placing his hands at her hips, looking up into her half-closed eyes. "Come to me. Bring all that sweetness to me," he whispered hoa.r.s.ely.

With the words he lifted her until her knees were now planted on either side of his face.

"Hold on," he instructed her as he tightened his hold on her hips, pulling her center down until it was like a desired dessert only inches away from being devoured.

She was warm to the touch, hot plump v.u.l.v.a lips drenched in her nectar. The sweetest taste to ever touch his tongue, he licked her once again, loving the soft dampness moving over his tongue. Deep in his chest something pulled and swirled like a brewing storm but Bas ignored it and licked her again. Her legs were spread wide as she bucked above him, breath hissing out of her. He licked inside her lips this time, noting the even softer contrast, the warmer center. All the while inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly. It was all over him now, her scent that is, like a heavy blanket covering him, coddling him. Another lick, a suckle that pulled one plump fold into his mouth and Bas dug his fingers into her hips. A growl rumbled in his chest as he released her, licked again, sucked some more. She bucked over him, rocking her hips in encouragement. He speared his tongue into her center, moving in and out as his hips mimicked that same motion. He couldn't get enough of her and hungrily angled his head to take more.

Above him Priya held onto the top of the bed frame, riding his mouth as she'd previously ridden his d.i.c.k. Bas's hands slid back to cup her b.u.t.tocks, spreading her wider. He touched her rim, couldn't resist the urge his cat had to join into this moment. Pressing inside the tight warmth made his mouth water and move quicker over her juncture, her sweetness coating his tongue and slipping in hot rivulets down his throat.

As she came she yelled his name, her thighs clenched, holding his head tightly, a.s.suring he did not stop what he knew had to be a sweet kind of torture. And as Bas's tongue speared inside her, his own release broke free, hips tightening and lifting from the bed, spurts going up then dripping down onto him. He couldn't whisper her name, couldn't thank her for a momentary end to the agony of desiring her. All Bas could do was hold her as her body continued to spasm, lick every drop of her essence as her body released, and he loved every G.o.dd.a.m.ned second of it.

The hot water was a blessing, the big fluffy bubbles that smelled of honey and musk a luscious treat, the man sitting behind her using a loofa sponge to send rivulets of water cascading down her shoulders an unexpected, yet desperately needed distraction.

Priya sighed, letting her head loll back and rest on Bas's shoulder. Closing her eyes, she tried not to think about the cat he'd become, the one he wore on his back and carried deep inside him. She tried not to think about the fact that the cat was a deadly creature and that she should have run like h.e.l.l to get away from it and this place. But what Priya really tried not to think about was how good the night had actually turned out to be.

Each time Bas touched her, licked her, caressed her, Priya felt inches of herself giving over to him, to this power that he had over women. On one level it was degrading as h.e.l.l. Bas was an overconfident, too-slick womanizer, or at least that was what he appeared to be at first glance. Upon a little deeper reflection-and on a purely physical level-he was downright mesmerizing in bed. She couldn't deny that even if she wanted to.

On yet another level Priya felt like something else was going on between her and Bas, something just a little more serious than she figured either of them could have ever imagined. As they lay in the darkness of his room last night each of them had drifted into their own thoughts. She knew full well what her thoughts had entailed but really had no idea about his. Stunningly enough, she wanted to know. If she were being drawn to this man-not the story of his other half or their species and not simply the best s.e.x she'd ever had in her life-but if this man were somehow pulling her closer to him, she wanted to know if her feelings were at least reciprocated.

"Tell me what you're thinking," she whispered without thinking twice about broaching this subject with him.

He remained quiet at first. Priya expected nothing less. In the time she'd known him she'd noticed how he contemplated all of his responses before giving them. Whereas she was the exact opposite, saying what she wanted the moment she wanted, sometimes to her own detriment.

"You don't really want to know what I'm thinking," he replied finally, moving so that the thick rigid length of his erection now rested beneath her b.u.t.tocks.

"That's the obvious, Bas. I know you can do better than that." He was also d.a.m.ned good at attempting to deflect her attention away from what she really wanted to discuss. He'd tried this each time she'd asked about the cat people and for the most part it had worked, up until she'd come face to face with his cat. This time she wasn't going to be swayed, couldn't be because there was still too much at stake.

"So it's not more s.e.x that you want," he continued with a lightness to his tone.

Priya turned then. It was perhaps not the smartest move since water and bubbles sloshed over the lip of the tub, landing with a messy splatter on the marble floor. She didn't care, she wanted Bas to look her right in her eye and deny what was really happening between them. Or at least, she wanted him to try.

"I want to know how you plan to save my brother. I have no idea who they are or why they're holding him, or why they chose me. Lolo, that's my friend from work, the one you saw that day on the street. He's been trying to track the IP address but hasn't been able to do it and-"

He touched two fingers lightly to her mouth. Priya closed her lips after her tongue had swiped quickly over his skin. A jolt of heat speared straight through to her center and she swallowed hard.

"I have equipment here that I'm positive is years beyond what your friend Lolo has. I ran the IP addresses through a thorough search last night before I came up here. As soon as you discontinue the Q-and-A and let me out of this tub I'll go to my office and find out where the e-mails originated."

His fingers had traced a heated path around her lips, over the line of her jaw, down to caress her neck. Tiny p.r.i.c.ks of heat covered the surface of her skin. Priya wanted to s.h.i.+ver even though she wasn't cold. She wanted to lift slightly, adjusting herself so that she was aimed directly over his thick length. She wanted him again. It was crazy and it was intense, like an addiction, she thought with an inner sigh.

"Malik hasn't always made the right decisions," she told him. "He's always been controlled by the drugs. No matter how many rehab programs I convinced him to join. It's always been his crutch. I don't know how to fix that." It was the first time she'd said that aloud, the first time she'd admitted that she could not fix everything that was wrong with her family.

"We are not responsible for our family or the decisions they make," he told her. "It took me years to figure out that my parents' divorce was their own doing, their own decision. We can only hold ourselves responsible for our own actions and decisions. Malik's addiction is not your fault, neither is it your job to cure."

"But if he dies..."

Bas shook his head, reaching up to cup her face with both hands. "I'm not going to let him die. I don't think I could watch you endure that amount of hurt."

She didn't know what to say to that, didn't know how to respond. As it turned out she didn't have to because he was kissing her by then, his mouth working slowly and most a.s.suredly over hers.

His hands moved down to rub over her shoulders, down her bare back to cup her cheeks. Priya let herself drift into the kiss, loving the stroke of his tongue over hers. As his tub was much wider and longer and more sumptuous than the one in her apartment she was able to spread her legs wider, her hands gripping his shoulders as she moved into his touch.

His touch that slowly slipped between her crease, the pad of one finger resting against her tight sphincter.

"You have a great a.s.s," he whispered when he'd moved to kissing her jaw and then her ear. "I watched you that night at the fund-raiser. Every time you got up and walked around I watched you. I wanted you in this position from the first time I saw you."

s.e.x talk had never been high on Priya's list, then again, foreplay had been condensed to kissing, minimal touching, and then the actual act. In these last few days with Bas she'd learned just how much her s.e.x life had been lacking, before the self-imposed celibacy.

"I was celibate," she said without thought.

He pulled back to look at her quizzically. "Celibate?"

"Yeah, long story short, it just wasn't worth the headache."

Bas nodded as if he understood, gripping one cheek with one hand, pressing that other finger inside to breach her. Priya gasped with the pressure and the flow of new sensations.

"Never pain, Priya," he whispered as they locked gazes. "Nothing I do to you will ever hurt you."

She wanted to believe that, desperately needed to have a silver lining to all that had gone wrong in her life, but he was just a man and his reputation ...

Bas's other hand slipped between her legs, finding her c.l.i.t and ma.s.saging until she moaned.

"Never pain," she heard herself say, dropping her forehead to his and biting her lip. The pressure of his finger sinking deeper into her rear while he expertly t.i.tillated her c.l.i.t was intense and overwhelming and deliciously naughty all at once. She lifted her hips, felt her thighs shake, and she moaned.

"Only pleasure, pretty girl," he said and then nipped her chin. "Only pleasure."

"Yes," was Priya's reply, the only one she could manage.

The first o.r.g.a.s.m came with a rush as she tightened like a bow above him. The moment she a.s.sumed she might manage a coherent thought Bas removed both hands, replacing the pleasure they'd evoked with the thick fullness of his d.i.c.k, stretching her, filling her until she mumbled his name.

"I want you like this every day, every night," he told her. "I love you in this position."

She loved her in this position, or rather she loved how deeply he penetrated her from this position. Empowered by his words she lifted until she was sitting up straight, her back arched and she began to ride. Holding onto the sides of the tub for leverage she worked her hips over him, loved the look on his face as she lifted slightly then lowered down onto his length. His face didn't contort like her previous lovers, but stayed in its perfect and gorgeous state. Only his eyes told of the intense pleasure he was receiving. They'd darkened until they were almost black, his lips drawn into a thin line as she continued to move. On impulse Priya planted her toes on the floor of the tub, pus.h.i.+ng upward until only the tip of his d.i.c.k remained at the base of her core. Bas hissed, a deep purr rumbling from his chest.