Читать книгу Tempting the Jaguar - Katie Reus - Страница 6

Chapter 2

Rainer stared into the eyes of the beautiful female jaguar shifter. She was a sleek orange feline with dark black spots. Jagged pain lanced down his left side. One of the vamps had sliced into him, breaking a rib and piercing him with a silver dagger. The rib was already healing and the silver hadn’t gotten into his blood stream so while he hurt, he was almost four hundred and fifty years old and more than capable of compartmentalizing his pain.

For a brief moment he tensed, wondering if the female planned to attack him too. The thought of sparring with this woman, even in self-defense, made something painful well up inside him. Some primal part of him just couldn’t do it. But then she let out a soft whine and nudged him with her nose and he realized she was worried. Or at least concerned about him.

He tried to move then realized he must have been injured worse than he originally thought. More pain ripped through his right shoulder like tiny daggers digging into him. Damn vampire had sliced through him with his claws. Rainer let his head fall back against the pavement. He’d heal soon enough and if those vamps didn’t come back and the woman didn’t try to attack him, he’d be fine.

But she clearly had other ideas. After whining and nudging him again, she turned tail and disappeared around her Jeep. Less than a minute later she came back around in her human form wearing a form-fitting T-shirt and shorts. All shifters he knew carried around multiple changes of clothes so it made sense she had something extra to put on. It was a shame she’d had to destroy that skimpy black dress though. He’d had some wicked fantasies earlier tonight of slowly peeling it off her. Watching her carefully, he relaxed slightly when she opened the back door of her Jeep.

“Come on, big fella. You’re coming home with me so you can heal. Do not make me regret this,” she murmured as she bent down and picked him up.

Rainer was huge and if she’d been human she wouldn’t have been able to lift him. As it was, the petite woman strained and grunted as she slid her arms under his big wolf body and lifted him up. Though it would have hurt like hell, he could have jumped into the back on his own, but he was afraid any sudden movements would scare her.

And he wasn’t above playing the sympathy card if it got her to take him back to her place. She was living in Huntsville, which was his Alpha’s territory and she hadn’t made her presence known to anyone that he knew of. Considering that his oldest brother Alaric was second-in-command to Knox, his Alpha, Rainer would have known if a jaguar shifter had been living in their territory. Then she’d acted as if she didn’t know what an Alpha was. Whatever was going on with this woman and whoever she was, he was damn sure going to find out.

Because those vampires tonight had been hunting her.

After gently sliding him onto a thick quilt, she shut the back door while she muttered to herself about how she was definitely going to regret letting a wolf into her home. If he’d been in human form he would have smiled. Inhaling deeply, he scented her on the quilt and the smell soothed him on a primal level. Most shifters carried quilts or blankets around in their vehicles in case they decided to stop somewhere and sleep out in the woods, on the beach, or wherever.

He didn’t like leaving his truck but there was no identifying information inside and the license plate wasn’t linked to his pack. If someone stole it, well, he’d take care of that later. The gentle hum of her engine would have lulled him to sleep but after only a minute of driving the vehicle shut off again and she got out.

Making a split second decision, he shifted back to his human form. His bones cracked, broke and realigned and skin quickly replaced fur. Rainer wanted to be able to talk to her and he wanted to know why they’d stopped when they were in the middle of nowhere. She definitely hadn’t gone far.

Seconds later the back door opened. The woman’s dark eyes widened and she took a step back. She seemed almost frozen to the spot as her gaze raked over him. He was turned on his side, still covered in blood and aching, but the way she stared at him made another part of his body react. When her eyes landed on his groin area, her olive-hued cheeks tinged bright pink and she quickly averted her gaze.

Looking at a spot over his shoulder, she cleared her throat. “Do you need help getting out?”

No. “Yes.” Yeah, he definitely wasn’t above playing the sympathy card if it got her to touch him. Rainer sat up and winced when he saw the blood he’d left behind. “Sorry about your quilt,” he muttered.

“It’s fine. We need to get you cleaned off.” Still keeping her gaze not quite on his face, she slid an arm under his shoulder and helped him slide out. Her body was stiff and tense as she held on to him, making it clear she didn’t like touching him.

He inhaled deeply, memorizing her jasmine scent. It was so pure and classic he wanted to bury his face against her neck and just breathe her in. “My name’s Rainer,” he said as his feet touched the paved driveway that led to a cottage style one-story home in the middle of the woods. Perfect for privacy, but not for a single female shifter who clearly had no pack for protection. He frowned at the thought of her out here all alone. His inner wolf flexed its claws, wanting to protect her.

She paused for a moment. “I’m Estrella. Now come on. I want to get you inside before those...things come back.”

He let her name roll around in his head as he savored it. But the uncertain way she said “things” made him curious. “You’ve never seen a vampire before?”

Her grip around him tightened as she hissed in a breath. “Those men really were vampires? I’d thought so but I still wasn’t sure if I was right or if they were even real...” She trailed off and put a key in the front door.

The second they stepped inside she let her arm drop, leaving him standing naked and dripping blood in her foyer. He started to call out but she returned a moment later carrying a towel covered in old paint splatters. Keeping her dark brown eyes on his she held the towel out, effectively blocking his lower body from her line of vision. “This is so you can cover yourself.” Her cheeks had turned that delicious shade of pink again.

Despite the residual pain pulsing through him, Rainer wondered what it would be like to nip and kiss her very full lips. “Does my nudity bother you?” Most shifters were immune to nudity, but he still wrapped the towel around his waist.

“Uh, yeah.” She said it as if he was stupid. Her gaze trailed to his shoulder and to his surprise she took a step closer and ran a gentle finger over his almost healed wounds. “You’re almost healed so if you want to take a shower and clean off the blood I think I can find a clean set of clothes that fit. Then I’ll take you back to your truck.”

And get him the hell out of her house, was her unspoken message. That wasn’t happening anytime soon. Not until he got his answers and not until he was certain she wasn’t under threat from those vamps. Eyeing her, he let his gaze trail down her lithe, lean body for the second time that night. Even though she wasn’t wearing that tight dress, her top and shorts showed enough that he could fantasize about running his hands and mouth over all her smooth, olive skin. Her body practically glowed.

She’d had her hair pulled back at the art studio but after her shift to animal then back to human it was free and her tight corkscrew curls framed her face, giving her an almost innocent quality. He couldn’t be sure but he guessed she had some Mediterranean and possibly Hispanic heritage. Wherever she was from, the woman was gorgeous. For the first time in over four hundred years he felt absolutely tongue-tied as he stared at her. As he brought his gaze back up though, something else struck him. “That vampire clawed you, too.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, so?”

“How did you heal before you even put on your clothes?”

“The same way you’re healing now,” she snapped, annoyance and some other foreign note in her voice that he couldn’t define.. Fear, maybe?

That’s when he realized how tired she was. Dark circles ringed under her eyes and she’d just admitted she’d never seen vamps before so he knew she had to be reeling somewhat from the shock of that revelation. “Ah, sorry. Thank you for bringing me back here. I know it wasn’t easy to bring a strange shifter into your home, especially a male of a different species. I’d appreciate a shower but then I’d like to talk to you about some things, namely those vampires.”

She blinked, looking stunned for a moment. Oh yeah, he’d get a lot further with this sexy woman with a bit of politeness. For a fraction of a second her eyes strayed to his bare chest and lust flared in their depths so bright it stunned him. But then it was gone and she nodded sharply at him, her face a mask of confusion. “This way.” She led him down a short hallway and motioned inside the first door on the left. “Since you can stand I’m sure you can take care of...everything else. I’ll see what I can find for you to wear,” she murmured, careful not to touch him as she skirted past him and disappeared down the hallway and into another room.

He wondered if she’d gone into her bedroom. That thought brought up visions of her splayed naked on a giant bed as she waited for him. Rainer scrubbed a hand over his face. What the hell was wrong with him? He was reacting to this female like a randy cub.

During a very quick and cold shower, he washed all the blood and grime off his body and was pleased to see all his skin had knitted back together. After he was done he found a pair of large sweatpants and a T-shirt folded neatly outside the door. They were definitely a man’s because they were too big for her and that thought made an unwanted emotion ripple through him. Jealousy.

By nature he was territorial but he hadn’t felt jealous over a female in centuries.

The shirt was snug but it was dry so once he was dressed he headed back the way she’d led him to find her walking in the front door carrying the bloody quilt. He cringed inwardly at the mess he’d made, but she didn’t seem concerned.

“Are you ready for me to take you back to your truck?” she asked as she dropped the quilt into a bundle next to the door.

“Eager to get rid of me?” When she didn’t respond he continued. “I told you we need to talk about those vamps.”

She shrugged and wrapped her arms around herself as she leaned against the closed front door. “So talk.”

Okay, she wasn’t going to make this easy on him. “Whose clothes am I wearing? Boyfriend’s?” He hoped the question would take her off guard.

She blinked those big dark eyes in confusion, then snorted. But she still didn’t give him an answer.

Damn if that only rankled him even more. “Can we sit somewhere and talk?”

After a pause she said “sure,” and nodded to her right and stepped into a cozy room with a couch, loveseat and giant pillows tossed around an intricate teak coffee table. The bright reds and oranges should have been garish but the splashes of color in the room complimented the many sculptures. Rainer had followed Estrella from the art show and realized she was friends with the artist when he’d seen her in the parking lot. Now he wondered...”Are you an artist?” He sat at one of the couches while she dropped down onto one of the overstuffed pillows.

“I’m a sculptor but I don’t want to talk about that. Were you following me? And what’s the deal with those...vampires?” She still seemed to struggle with the concept.

“You tell me. I’ve been hunting them and they were most definitely hunting you.”

She actually laughed, the sound so rich and vibrant it was like a punch to his senses.

“I’m serious,” he said quietly, injecting the truth into his words.

She froze, her darker skin paling to the point he felt guilty for being the one to scare her. “What?” It was a whisper.

Rainer made a split second decision to tell her everything he knew. There was no point in lying and something told him he’d get a lot further with this woman by being truthful from the start. “My Alpha and oldest brother are away because of the peace treaty being signed between shifters and vampires.”

Estrella stared at him blankly. Either she was the best actress on the planet or she really had no clue what he was talking about.

He continued. “On orders from my Alpha, I’m part of the team patrolling Huntsville and the surrounding area because of issues with a group of vampires who recently descended on the city. I’ve been tracking them and they’ve been tracking you.”

She shook her head, those gorgeous curls swaying around her face. “That’s insane. Why would vampires give a crap about me?”

“Exactly. Why would they care about you? Who are you and where are you from?”

Estrella’s jaw tightened and he didn’t blame her. He was a strange male in her home demanding answers.

But whatever was going on, they needed to figure it out before those vampires came back for her. And he knew they would. They would probably get reinforcements then come back tomorrow night. It was standard operating procedure. “I’ve been honest with you but if you need more, I have three brothers: Alaric, Conrad and Hardwin. We’ve all been part of Knox’s pack for close to three hundred years and—”

Her eyes widened. “Three hundred.... Are shifters immortal?”

Oh, shit. “How old are you?” he asked.

“Twenty-six.”

“Do you not know anything about your kind?”

She visibly bristled at the question. “I’m an artist and a human. That’s all I need to know,” she snapped as a tremor rolled over her.

“You’re not completely human and you know it. Earlier you said you didn’t know what an Alpha was so here’s a quick lesson. Knox recently expanded his territory and now rules all of Alabama. When you crossed into this state you should have told him you were here and by the looks of it, you’re living here on a semipermanent basis.”

She swallowed hard and a wave of fear rolled off her. He could scent it, so potent, and he realized it was because of him. He was leaning forward, his hands on his knees, staring at her hard. He probably looked like an asshole. But he’d wanted to get some things straight with her. Easing back in his seat, he forced himself to relax.

Estrella pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she began to talk. “My parents died when I was five. I got put into the foster system and was eventually adopted by a very nice older human couple who couldn’t have kids. They never knew anything about my shifter abilities. I grew up in Miami, went to college there, and only recently moved here with my best friend. Living here is a lot cheaper, there’s a growing art market and I have no one to return to in Florida anyway. My adoptive father died of a heart attack about two years ago and my adoptive mother died six months later of heart problems. I don’t think she was able to live without him.”

“Miami,” he murmured, her lack of knowledge making sense now. There were no packs living in central or south Florida and vampires never made their homes in the state. Not even day walkers. Living in a place called the Sunshine State just went against their nature. “Have you ever met any of your own kind before?”

She shrugged, the action jerky. “I met a couple wolves in college.” Something else rolled off her then that made his inner wolf still.

“Did someone hurt you?” He knew too well what could happen to an unprotected female shifter in this world. It wasn’t as bad in modern times but centuries ago, you either lived with a pack or you didn’t survive for long.

Her spine straightened. “They tried.” There was a snap of anger in her words that made him smile, even while the thought of anyone attempting to hurt this beautiful woman made him see red.

He started to respond when his senses went on high alert. Without thinking, he turned off the lamp, sending the room into darkness. Light from the moon streamed in through the sheer curtains and with their extrasensory abilities they could see fine.

“What’s going on?” she asked quietly. Estrella had dropped her arms from around her knees and was tense with anticipation.

He held up a finger to his mouth as he listened carefully. With his hearing, he had no problem picking up outside sounds. Normally he tuned everything out but it had suddenly hit him that he didn’t hear anything outside. This time of year crickets in Alabama were bad and he’d heard them when they arrived.

Now, silence.

Which meant there was a predator—or more likely predators—outside. It was a few hours from dawn. The vampires shouldn’t have had time to regroup. Rainer had been battling them long enough to know how they operated. They’d never have a base of operations so close to someone they were targeting. Not to mention if they’d set up shop in the state, he’d know about it. So if they planned to take Estrella—and that would happen over his dead body—they’d be cutting it down to the wire trying to get her back to wherever their base was over the state line.