Hunter's Prey, A (8 page)

“Well, Mr. Newman, I might know, but if you're not specific, how can I be sure?”

“How do you feel about eagles?” he asked, making her pause, her brain scrambling to discern hidden meanings. Was any of the Hunter brothers an eagle? Were they not all wolves? She'd assumed they were. Maybe they count turn into different animals, given that they weren't truly brothers. Suddenly, Zoe felt stupid for not asking each of them what animal they could morph into. She'd spent hours questioning them about different aspects of their lives, businesses, and the HUNTER Club, but she'd forgotten to ask for the most basic information, such as their respective species and longevity.

“They're beautiful,” she said. “Majestic.”
Is he one?
She assumed he was and decided to take a gamble with that.

“What about wolves?” he continued. There was a knowing twinkle in his eyes that made her shiver.
Does he know something?

“Vicious animals,” she replied, hoping to relay a message.
Damian will take you down if you so much as
breathe
at me.
Or so she hoped.

“Quite the contrary, my dear,” he argued. “Eagles often prey on wolves. Wolves, specialists find, are quite the peaceful creatures. Now an eagle – they have a much better perspective of things, don't you think? They see the larger picture. Your beloved wolves may go about their businesses and suddenly an eagle snatches their prey mid-hunt.”

“That's right, isn't it?” she agreed, smiling calmly. “But then, a wolf has a much larger space to rest, don't you think? An eagle has to nest at high altitudes in weird places, confined and isolated, but not wolves. Yes, their environment is much harder to control, and yes, there are a lot of dangers that can fall from the skies, but they're ultimately freer, I find.”

Smirking, Luke nodded with respect shining in his eyes.

“Touché, Miss Jameson. I can see you are going to be much more of a challenge than Mr. Herrero ever was, but I'm actually looking forward to it. I see you are not kept in the dark and I also see you are entrusted with big secrets, as it should be. In our world, Miss Jameson, you will find that betrayal is often paid for with one's life.”

“If you're trying to scare me, Mr. Newman, you're not doing your job properly.”

A flicker of something evil shined in his eyes and she was tempted to allow herself to lose her poise for a mere second.

“I can assure you, Miss Jameson: I'm not trying to scare you. If I was, you would probably be scarred for life.”

“I don't doubt it, but perhaps you're underestimating my ability to cope with things, as well as my flexibility.”

“Well, well, well. It's good to know that the kitten is sharpening her claws.”

“You like animals a lot, don't you?” she said with a smirk, biting into a plump mushroom she'd brought with a fork to her plump lips, noticing his undivided male attention to the motion. So he wasn't immune.

“I do. I think they're... superior, somehow.”

Lifting an eyebrow, she nodded. “Well, superior species have a much greater responsibility to provide for the lesser species, don't you think?”

Smirking, Newman swallowed a bite of rare venison.

“Are we discussing my work ethics, Miss Jameson?”

“Well, Newman Pharmaceuticals are facing quite a lot of lawsuits for unsafe medical trials performed on improperly informed patients, as far as I know.”

“Let's talk about that then, shall we?”

***

Damian was getting impatient.
Impatient
was actually a light term for the trips he'd been giving himself, picturing all sorts of scenarios that tied Zoe to Newman, his Nemesis. He knew Newman like the back of his hand and he didn't trust him with Zoe. He trusted
her
with him, though, which was exactly why he hadn't had The Forest burnt down with Newman in it before Zoe had arrived to the meeting. Besides, he loved that place – had been the brain behind the design.

The security team he'd assigned to tail her were apparently doing their job brilliantly, informing him about her every move.
They're exceeding my expectations.
And her PA, Marissa, was taking her sweet time announcing the arrival of her boss, as she'd told him she'd do. Not that he needed to be informed of Zoe's proximity. He could scent her from a surprising distance and feel her from even further, his molecules weirdly connected to hers in a way that made it hard for him to not think of her all the time. He desired her completely, still thought about being inside her, about spending every single day in her delicious body. When he should work, all he could do was think about her and stress about her. She would become his obsession, he knew – but he wouldn't transform her into a weakness, a target. She was already too tantalizing a prey for all his business enemies, not to mention his other enemies – the less known enemies of shifters.

His attention moved to the entry to the building, instinctively realizing Zoe was heading inside. Heart suddenly racing, Damian moved on the swiveling chair, facing away from the door. When she entered she would not see him immediately, which would give him a few seconds to cope with the potency of her scent without betraying his lust for her. He had a hunch she knew it, though.

As predicted, the sharp points of her heels hitting marble floor alerted him of her presence. Her scent, though disguised by a thick coat of perfume, made him shiver with unrestrained lust and he wondered how he would be able to refrain from taking her again.

Steeling his shoulders, he decided he would employ all his control to keep himself away from her. The wooden door opened and the creak resounded much louder in his ears than it would have in a human's.

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” she announced before he even faced her. Even tired as she clearly was, her voice was a sweet siren song.

“You stole something from me,” he said, placing the now empty tumbler on the small end table beside the chair before smoothly standing to his feet, turning around to face her. He noted her increase heart rate and the beautiful scent of arousal that seemed to permeate her skin. What he hated was that Newman's stench was also noticeable. The ferocity with which he wanted to wash it away and replace it with his astonished him. Then he realized with full horror that she still smelt faintly of him, of sex and wilderness. Newman must have picked it up and it was clear that she was in much greater danger now.

If he suspects...

“Yes, I did,” she admitted shamelessly, then patted her bag. “I have it right here.”

“Didn't you take a shower?” he asked harshly, his eyes glued to her cleavage, unable to draw away. She noticed it, but the outrage on her face had nothing to do with that.

“Excuse me?!”

Stomping her feet as she walked, she was suddenly in his face, nearly breathing fumes in anger. He had a feeling she wanted to throttle him.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Her eyes turned dark with liquid rage. “I took a long and
pleasurable
shower in
your
bathroom eating
your
strawberries and using
your
things. If you dare saying I stink, then you can go fu-”

Her breath caught when he grabbed her wrist, flicking it expertly to pull her against his muscular body in a whoosh. Her nipples hardened when her chest hit his and she couldn't help but tilt her head backwards, two sets of orbs passionately entangled.

“It drives me crazy,” he said with a gruff voice, “smelling myself on you.
In you.
Newman must have picked it up, too.” Zoe nodded, realizing the purpose of Newman's conversation about wolves and eagles.

“He's an eagle, isn't he?”

Pulling away from her with both eyebrows raised in surprise, he grabbed the desk behind him to keep himself from grabbing
her
.

“What the hell did you two talk about?”

“He asked me what I thought about eagles,” she said cautiously, “and
wolves
.”

“Damn it!”

Turning around, he observed the beautiful night view through the floor-to-ceiling window, his mind reeling with the possibilities, each scenario worse than the previous one.

“He knows.”

“I now realize that,” she said begrudgingly, walking over to him to stand in front of him. When she touched his chest he exhaled loudly, looking her in the eyes.

“I don't want you hurt. I've assigned a level six to you.”

She scowled, not liking the idea of being followed any more than when she had been first informed of it. “You all told me I was going to have level four protection, just like the rest of your CEOs.”

“Yes, but now you're in real danger,” he argued.

“And I wasn't before? Newman can't hurt me.” He got the message.
He
could. Nodding, Damian flipped them around in an instant, pushing everything off the desk to lean her down on it.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, though she didn't stop him. There was so much fire between them. She was a volcano and he was like molten lava inside her.

“I need to be inside you,” he said hotly. “Christ, Zoe. You make me want to crawl out of my skin for you. Nothing can ever happen to you.”

Deciding that was enough of an admission of his need for her, his fear for her safety, she let him pull her dress over her hips, unveiling smooth skin and lacy garters. The soft fabric pooled around her waist, suffusing her belly with warmth. Slowly, she spread her legs for him, displaying the transparent crotch that hid nothing from view, her dripping cleft visible through the soaked material, making him hiss.

“Damn it, Zoe. You went to see Newman like this?”

Smirking, she brought a manicured hand between her legs and pushed the pad of fabric aside, revealing the slickness of her pussy lips. With her middle finger she spread them apart, flicking her own clitoris and moaning at the stimulation.

“I did. I also let him ogle me while I bit into a full, chubby mushroom. It was finger-licking delicious.”

The only warning she got was his sudden growl. Immediately after he was kneeling between her legs, sliding his tongue along her slit from bottom to top before suckling the little nub of pleasure that made her pant.

“Oh God, Damian.”

Pushing two fingers inside her, he pressed a palm to her belly as he tasted her wetness, the sweet cream making him hungry for more. His cock was throbbing painfully, but he the thirst for her juices made him reckless with lust. If it weren't so late, anyone could be barging in on them, catching them in the most compromising of positions.

No – more compromising it would be when he thrust his cock inside her. Already he ached at the thought.

“Please. Oh, God, Damian, please, more,” she begged, head thrashing from side to side. She was so beautiful in the throes of her burning desire, he noticed, keeping his eyes rooted to her face as his fingers pumped inside her and his mouth worked on her hot flesh. His free hand moved from her lower abdomen to her thighs, gliding over one smoothly before coming to pry her lips apart for him to plunge his tongue deeply between them, plunging his fingers more roughly.

Pulling away, he blew on her clit and watched it quiver. Zoe was delirious with arousal. Her scent was making it hard for him to reason, but he had enough sense to bring her to orgasm tenderly, finishing her off with gentle flicks of his tongue against her clit. The heartfelt emotion behind his motions brought tears to his eyes, but he didn't comment on it. Damian was sure she was surprised by this side of him. He was always so sullen and bitter that everyone knew to stay away from his tempers, but somehow, her he wanted to shower with pleasure. He couldn't help it.