A Jaguar's Kiss (6 page)

place to get Skyler settled in, Owen had declined, claiming

he had pack business to deal with.

It had been an obvious lie but no one had stopped him

and Gabriela had let him take her rental truck. Now that

darkness had fal en and he wasn’t back at his home—she

knew because she’d asked Skyler to cal him—Gabriela

had a pretty good idea where he’d gone.

Even though the smart part of her brain told her to stay

the heck away from him, it was hard. Especial y since he’d

looked so lost as he’d stared at his younger sister earlier.

Gabriela had never seen him look quite that vulnerable and

even though years had passed, she could stil read his

expressions.

And, she stil cared. Way more than she wanted to admit.

When Owen had taken her brother’s hand and welcomed

him into his family, it had hit her with ful force that he’d

grown up.

There was something about him that had always drawn

her to him and once they’d become sexual y aware of each

other…she shuddered, forcing those memories away. No

one had ever made her feel so needy and out of control and

she didn’t want to think about that now.

Her breath curled out in front of her like white smoke as

she reached the edge of the cave she’d been looking for.

There were many caves in Bear Mountain forest but only

one she and Owen had spent a lot of time at as kids. It was

only a guess that he’d be there, but she had nothing to lose

looking for him there.

The scent of burning wood teased her nostrils as she

approached the opening that was only two feet higher than

her head. A faint orange glow pulsed from deep inside.

There was a big opening in the top of the cave, as if

someone had carved it out intentional y, that was the

perfect ventilation for building a fire.

Her boots were silent as she entered, walking deeper

into the mouth until she spotted Owen’s sprawled form on a

puffy sleeping bag. He was on his back, wearing only jeans,

no shirt—showing off al that muscle and exposed skin that

made her think of sex—and had his head propped up on

his folded arms.

His eyes were closed but she knew he was aware of her.

He’d be able to scent her. Taking off her backpack, she sat

down a couple feet away from him. “You gonna pretend you

don’t know I’m here?”

Ful lips that were the only soft part of his body slightly

curled upward as he opened his eyes and scorched her

with those baby blues. “Why are you here?” he asked softly

as he pushed up to a sitting position, his arm muscles

flexing with the movement.

Lying down he’d seemed so nonthreatening. Not that she

was worried that he’d hurt her, but looking at him now she

was so aware of every part of him. Of how very male he

was.

She shrugged and pul ed out a couple chocolate bars, a

box of graham crackers and a bag of marshmal ows.

“Thought you might like the company.” Plus she’d needed

to see him so badly it scared her.

“I wanted to be alone,” he murmured.

Her finger froze on the marshmal ow bag. Something

tight cinched around her chest. He didn’t want her here.

“No,” he hurried on, probably sensing her distress. “You

don’t count. Okay, that sounds wrong, but I’ve never minded

your company.” He scrubbed a hand over a face with a

dark five o’clock shadow and shook his head. “I sound like

a jackass, but you know what I mean. I want you here.”

Feeling an invisible weight lift off her chest, she grinned

and tossed the bag to him. “How are you dealing with

everything?” She didn’t spel it out because she figured it

was pretty clear.

“I had a very real urge to take your brother’s head off

today.” His voice was only half joking.

Grinning, she pul ed out two long metal roasting sticks

with wooden grips and passed him one. “I think that’s your

right as Skyler’s big brother.” Gabriela paused a moment

then decided to just plunge ahead. “So what does this

mean for your pack and my family? And what’s the deal

with the attacks? You know it’s not my parents or Israel and

I’d stake my life it isn’t Dr. Shahi. And Axel might be a

hothead but so is Ethan. I
know
Axel isn’t a kil er. He

wouldn’t do anything to harm our family, not to mention he

wouldn’t want to hurt Israel and Skyler’s relationship. He

hero worships Israel. The only reason he attacked Daniel

today was because he didn’t want anything to slow down

getting Skyler to the doctor.”

Owen blew out a long breath. “I forgot how much you talk

when you’re nervous.”

Gabriela scowled at him. “I do not.”

His lips pul ed into a thin line as if he was biting back a

smile. Just as quickly he shook his head. “There hasn’t

been an attack in a couple weeks but we’re not letting our

guard down. I don’t think it’s your family, though the rest of

the pack isn’t so sure. Wel , now that everyone knows

Skyler’s mating with Israel the tension has eased a little. I

think they’re al just so happy we’re going to have a cub

running around soon.”

“You know the baby could be a jaguar.” Gabriela watched

his reaction to her statement.

Owen shrugged. “I don’t care and no one in my pack

does, either.”

She narrowed her gaze at him, wanting to believe him.

He sounded so sincere and after the way he’d quickly

welcomed her brother into his family, it was hard not to take

him at his word. But his brother had stil kidnapped her

earlier today. Clearly at least Ethan had issues with

jaguars. “Seriously? No one cares?”

“If it was anyone else having the baby, I honestly don’t

know what the reaction would be but it’s
Skyler
.” Owen

lifted his shoulders again as if he shouldn’t have to explain

further.

In a way, he didn’t. Skyler was adored by the entire pack,

which went a long way in bridging whatever hostility had

developed recently between their families. If it had been a

decade long feud or something Gabriela doubted his pack

would have been so welcoming but clearly these issues

were recent. “So what’s the deal with the attacks?”

“They started out of nowhere, first against a hunter who

wasn’t where he should have been, but stil , no one in my

pack would have attacked him. And he had a gun. Whoever

went after him careful y hunted him and from the way his

body was shredded it wasn’t the way a normal animal hunts

or kil s. It was meticulous, had a purpose—almost like the

bloodier and bigger display made, the better. Body parts

were ripped off and strewn around, but nothing was

dragged away or eaten.” Owen’s jaw clenched tight. “There

have been two almost identical attacks since then and like I

told you before, the last one was closer to town, right on the

outskirts.”

Gabriela was thoughtful as she peeled back the foil

wrapping on the chocolate bar. “Have you or anyone in your

pack pissed someone off recently? Does someone want

your land?” Her family certainly didn’t. After getting Skyler

settled in at Israel’s house she’d final y gone home and

talked to her parents. Her father was angry over the whole

situation and her mother was distraught and worried about

their place in the community—fearful they might have to

move eventual y. Not to mention they hadn’t been able to

run free like normal and that was never good for a shifter.

Owen shook his head. “We keep to ourselves and a lot of

the younger wolves are away at col ege right now, anyway.

There’s no one to cause trouble, even minor mischief. None

of these attacks make sense.”

Staring into the dancing flames, she took a bite of

chocolate before putting one of the marshmal ows over the

smal fire.

“How’d you know I’d be here?” The quiet question

snapped her gaze toward him.

Swal owing hard, she tried to shrug casual y but the

action came off jerky and awkward. “It was only a guess. I

didn’t know if you stil came here, but…” She shrugged

again, feeling stupid because she couldn’t find the words.

His eyes seemed to darken as he watched her.

Mesmerized, she couldn’t force herself to look away. It was

as if he’d captured her and she had no wil power left. Even

though his eyes didn’t move from her face, it was like he

was undressing her, remembering what they’d shared that

morning. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part

because she couldn’t seem to get rid of the deliciously

erotic memory.

The image of his head between her legs kept flashing in

her mind no matter how hard she tried to banish it. Feeling

her cheeks flush she tried to look away. She real y did. But

it was impossible.

His eyes narrowed a fraction, as if he actual y could read

her mind. “What are you thinking about?” His already deep

voice dropped an octave, taking on a wildly seductive

quality and she felt herself drowning.

“This morning,” she breathed out.
No!
Why had she

admitted that out loud?

A flicker of surprise crossed his features, but it quickly

faded as he scooted a few inches closer to her. He placed

his marshmal ow roaster on one of the logs next to the fire.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about it, either. Not the way you

taste…or the way you look when you come.”

Now her face flushed even hotter. Maybe she should feel

embarrassed but the only thing running through her veins

was a hot, burning need that ate her alive from the inside

out. It was like a live thing inside her, growing, building,

scorching
.

And Owen was the only one who could help her.

With shaking hands, she unzipped her dark jacket with

the faux-fur lining around the hood and shrugged it off.

Underneath she wore a simple long-sleeved, green T-

shirt…and no bra.

It didn’t matter that she harbored hurt feelings deep

inside her; the most primal part of her was drawn to him.

She knew it was her jaguar and had a lot to do with biology.

But he was the only person she’d ever loved. Right now she

didn’t want to think about the past or any of that. She just

wanted to spend a night in Owen’s arms. After the hel ish

past few months she’d had, dealing with the deaths of her

entire team on an Op turned so very bad, she wanted to

feel alive again. And damn Owen, he made her feel safe in

a way she didn’t understand. Even while he scared the crap

out of her because of those feelings, she knew she’d be

completely safe in his arms. Anything was better than the

smothering guilt at being the only survivor.

Owen knelt in front of her, the muscles in his arms flexing

as he reached for her leg. He always had an earthy scent

but now it was so much stronger, drawing her to him.

Silently, he unzipped her knee-high boot and slid it off, then

did the same with the other one. Stil kneeling, he braced

his hands on his knees as he stared hard at her.

She wanted to drop her gaze from his hungry stare but

she held it, wondering what he was thinking. In the past

she’d never had much of a problem reading him but now

she’d never had much of a problem reading him but now

she felt a little lost.

Final y he spoke, his words low, guttural. “I never meant

to hurt you. I’d rather cut out my own heart than ever do that

again. Words mean nothing. I know that. I stil want you to

know—”

Gabriela shook her head, silencing him. “I don’t want to

talk about the past. I just want to be with you tonight and not

worry about anything else.”

He sat there with a preternatural stil ness and if she

hadn’t seen the uneven rise and fal of his chest, she’d have

wondered if he’d been breathing at al . “Once I have you…I

don’t know if I can let you go, Gabriela.”

Those words were torn from a very deep part of him. She

knew it as clearly as she knew he had a giant scar on his

upper inner arm from when he was ten and tried to jump

from tree limb to tree limb and got snagged on a sharp

branch, almost losing his arm.

“I can only promise you tonight.” Even though a very dark

part of her had once relished the thought of hurting him and

walking away, that wasn’t her intention anymore. She

couldn’t make promises to him because the thought of lying