Redemption (7 page)

Adriano lay in wait, eyes hooded against the dappled light that cut through the foliage, a slight breeze slipping through his fur like a caress. Lovely spot for a nap, this wide low branch about five miles from the ruins. He’d known about this dirt road, ending at the river well below the site. Yesterday he’d found fresh tire tracks here, heavy prints in the mud leading to the collapsed canal outlets. There was no access through the canals from that direction. He knew that and now, according to the tracks he’d found so far, at least three other shifters knew it too. Already, that was too many for him to take on his own. He wasn’t looking for a fight, just enough information to give him an advantage.

The smell of wolf and jaguar rose from the trampled undergrowth, drifted to him on the faint breeze—shifters all of them, a metallic combination of animal and human. Judging by the various scent traces he’d found, they’d used this path several times and he hoped to at least get a look at them. He could remain still for hours in this form, slow his breathing and heart rate to a near trancelike level. And then even from that state, he could leap into full attack between one heartbeat and the next. He didn’t plan to attack today. He planned to watch and hopefully gain some clue as to who the hell these people were working for and if there was any way to salvage the situation.

His thoughts kept circling back to Sophie. The frustration in her voice when she’d been on the phone, how she’d risen to his challenge when he thought she’d flee into her little tent. The sweet heat of her body. The taste of her. The shiver that always ran over her skin just before she climaxed. It had been hard to leave her to go back to work last night. Too tempting to lie beside her and take her again and again. He’d forced himself to slip out of her tent as soon as she’d fallen asleep, and he’d made some progress moving the stone seal. He could see inside the cavern now into the outer chamber. Rough-hewn walls, carved pillars, no sign of the stone. But he’d expected that.

The labyrinthine tunnel system the humans studied both mimicked the Yaguara temple and attempted to surpass it. Legend said the path to the stone was through a series of interconnected tunnels. The passage was intended as a cleansing ritual for the Yaguara initiate to the priesthood. He’d seen no sign of a gate or tunnel but there would be one somewhere. The sight had actually reassured him. It was unlikely that a mutant would be able to interpret the glyphs, impossible that a wolf would. Grandfather had insisted he learn to read the ancient carvings and he was confident he’d be able to navigate the tunnel system. Find the stone. Leave before the wolves closed in.

Sophie…

A sound came to him and he remained in place, turning his ears to follow the disturbance. A slight reverberation. Padded paw on dry earth, a whisper of leaves moving out of time with the breeze. Adrenaline kicked in and the blood pulsed harder through his veins. His jaw gaped open. His tongue touched the back of curved fangs. In his human form, he’d be grinning.
Closer
, he urged mentally.
Keep coming.
He hadn’t planned to attack but if one fell right into his lap…

The footsteps paused only a dozen feet away and then kept on. A few seconds later, a gray muzzled face poked through the underbrush. A wolf, large for his species. Adriano didn’t move, not even a muscle, despite the adrenaline flooding his system but something made the wolf pause. His head came up and sharp yellow eyes fixed on his position. Adriano leaped, spanning the seven feet that separated them in a second. But damn, the wolf was fast. His reflexes were incredible. He managed to jerk himself back and turn in the tight space. Only Adriano’s claw catching his left hind leg slowed him down enough for Adriano to hurl himself onto the wolf’s back. The wolf might be faster but Adriano knew he was stronger. His jaw was built to split skulls and he had the weight advantage. If it came down to an honest fight in a locked space, he would win.

But the wolf rolled, slamming them both into the trunk of a tree and Adriano lost his grip momentarily. While Adriano rolled to his feet, the wolf ran down the path the way he’d come, fleet-footed and bounding over any obstacle that blocked the trail. Adriano knew he couldn’t keep up. He was made to stalk, attack from the shadows, lunge silently on his prey and kill them instantly. He wasn’t built for the chase. He snarled as step by step he fell further and further behind until, finally, he was forced to give up.

At least, he was certain now that it was a wolf. He spat the blood from his mouth. For all the good that knowledge would do him.

Sophie knew Adriano stood behind her just like she’d been almost painfully aware of his presence all day. She couldn’t get him out of her system and didn’t know why. It had never been this way before. Sex usually cleared her head, not muddled it. She hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to him about the night before but maybe that was a blessing. She didn’t know what she would say. Maybe he was right. Maybe she should just accept the pleasure and not try to slot their relationship into a stupid category. Sex. Just good…okay,
great
sex, mind-blowing and addictive. The best she’d ever had.

Today had been torture. He would pass by, she’d catch his scent and her nipples would peak. She’d look up to catch him watching her from across the room and knew by the glint in his eyes that he was thinking about being inside of her. Almost like he was already there. Lodged deep, impossible for her to shake.

Her body clenched when she felt his warmth at her back and his breath brushed her cheek. “I’m heading out to make the final rounds. I’ll meet you back at your tent.”

She watched him go, avoiding Mia’s worried look which she didn’t understand. Mia had practically pushed her into Adriano’s arms. She couldn’t focus that last half hour and when Sean announced it was time to call it quits, she’d tossed down her gloves and left.

But now standing here staring at her tent, she started to have second thoughts. He was already inside. The lantern’s dim glow cast his silhouette through the nylon. He sat on her cot, his back to her. He wouldn’t be able to stand upright, even though it was a large tent, without bending his head.

She thought about turning around. What the hell was she doing getting involved with someone now? She could tell herself this was only temporary but a part of her knew better than that. Already they were bound together in some inexplicable way that felt as constrictive as a steel cable. Her mother would tell her to come home, back where it was safe. Delia…What would her sister say? Delia, who had never been afraid of anything in her too-short life. She should be the one here with someone as exotic and alive as Adriano. She should have been the one to survive.

Adriano turned his head as if he’d heard her standing there in the still night. Impossible, she knew, but she took a step toward him without thinking about it. One deep breath, two more steps and she unzipped the flap.

He stood when she came inside even though he hit his head on a support pole. He came to her without saying a word. His expression was gentle but the hand that closed over her wrist was not. He drew her forward, smoothing back her hair and lifting her face up to kiss her. His lips were warm, dry and created a delicious friction when he brushed them softly over hers. She touched his hip and rose into the kiss, deepening it. He met her, invited her inside, saying hello with lips and tongue and breath. Slow, playful, erotic. Lazy, as if they had all the time in the world to explore each other. And her doubt disappeared. This was right. Good. Exactly where she needed to be.

“Kick off your boots.” His mouth moved against hers and she obeyed without question.

He didn’t waste any time, shoving her shorts down and nearly ripping the fabric when the narrow waist caught on her hips. She shimmied a little and her shorts and panties dropped to the floor with her boots. Thumbing her nipples through the fabric of her shirt, he skimmed his big hands down her body and reached for the hem but she stopped him just in time. “I prefer to leave it on.”

“I want to feel your breasts.”

She shook her head. “Sorry. Just not this time.” Seeing the determined set of his jaw, she added, “Please.”

She rubbed against him, lifting up on tiptoe to nuzzle his throat, willing him to soften, wanting to distract him—and herself—from the question in his eyes. He hesitated and she hoped he wouldn’t balk. But if he did, well, that was that. Every girl was entitled to her insecurities. He’d have to respect that.

“The light.” She took a step in its direction before he caught her arm and pulled her back.

“Leave it.” He smiled faintly. “I prefer to leave it on.”

She opened her mouth to explain that people would be able to see but realized as soon as her gaze met his that he was well aware of that fact. She couldn’t stop her grin. “That turns you on?”

“Sometimes,” he murmured, his lips trailing a hot path down the column of her neck. “I want them all to know that you’re mine.”

“That’s barbaric.”

“Call it what you want. It doesn’t change how I feel. What turns you on, sweet Sophie?”

She turned in his arms but busied herself with his belt to hide her blush. He wore jeans that fit him perfectly. She’d been admiring his long legs and truly excellent ass all day long. She glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. “You.”

He let her pull the belt loose, hands hanging open at his sides. “You like to be in control?”

She gave a small smile, planning to agree. That would be the correct feminist response wouldn’t it? But he grabbed her wrists and her breath caught in her throat, stealing her answer. When he moved her arms behind her back and bound them there with one big hand, her heart hammered. Reluctantly, she met his gaze and he smiled. “I’d say that’s a no.”

Something in his eyes, dark and speculative, made her whole body tremble. Fear? Excitement? Even
she
wasn’t sure. The moisture between her legs suggested an answer she wasn’t quite ready to accept. But before she could consider it too closely, he caught his hand in her hair and pulled her head to one side so that her neck was bare to him. An explosive mix of panic and anticipation swirled through her, settling low in her belly.

She tested his grip. Firm enough to control her but not tight enough to bruise. He let her struggle for a moment, his erection prodding her belly. Slowly, so she understood his intention, her own helplessness to stop him, he bent his head. She felt his breath first, hot and harsh against her skin and realized her helplessness excited him too.

He placed a gentle kiss right on the spot where her pulse thrummed wildly and she moaned, a lost wanton sound that startled her.

“Like that, do you, Sophie?”

He chuckled when she didn’t answer, scraped his teeth against her neck before releasing her. “I think I like it too.”

He pressed her down to the narrow cot, repositioning her arms above her head. She was bare below the waist and he was still fully dressed except for the belt she’d managed to get off him. He slid his body along hers, the rough denim scraping her delicate skin and making her squirm. She hooked her ankles over the backs of his legs and arched up to feel his cock, hard and straining against the zipper.

“We’ll break the cot.”

He flashed a wide smile. God, she loved when he smiled like that. It lit his whole face and did funny things to her heart. “I’ll buy you another.”

When he slipped his fingers beneath the hem of her shirt, she stiffened and sank slowly back to the mattress. “Don’t.”

Keeping his eyes fixed on hers, he spread his hand and those long, beautiful fingers splayed over the tense muscles of her abdomen. His hand, calloused and warm, rested there in a possessive claim, thumb stroking a slow arc from her hip bone toward her navel. And damn him, it felt so good. It was hard to gather up the will to make him stop. Maybe…maybe she didn’t have to…

But then his hand started to creep up and she panicked. Blood cold, heart hammering, she rolled, nearly falling off the cot and making him jerk back in surprise.

“I said don’t.”

His hand still curved around her hip where he’d caught her before she could fall. He didn’t move but when his gaze met hers, she could see him calculating just how far he could push her. It scared her how far she’d already let this go. This was supposed to be a casual fling and he was breaking the rules, asking for more than she was ready to give. She sat up, sliding her arm across her stomach. Everything inside her went cold. She didn’t want this. She didn’t need it. “You need to go.
Now
.”

He looked startled, concerned and confused. “Sophie—”

“No. Damn it,” she snapped. “You. You pushed too far.”

He looked at her for a long time and she thought he might push even further. Disturbingly, a small part of her wanted that. But finally he left without saying a word.

“No, Nic. I’m not fucking sure about a damn thing. The Yaguara’s a mutant. The other smelled like wet dog but he’d gone to a lot of trouble to disguise the scent.”

“Who the hell would work with a wolf? Even if he was a mutant—” His brother sounded distracted. He was a pilot and from the way he shouted into the phone and the roar of noise in the background, Adriano was pretty sure he was at the airport.

“That’s why I’m calling you,” Adriano snapped and could have bit his own tongue. He needed to keep this casual. He needed information but he didn’t want Nic involved in this mess.

After a brief silence, Nicolas asked with forced ease, “Do you need me there?”

Adriano cursed silently. He shouldn’t have called. He’d thought Nic might know if there was a group operating in the area. Surely one well-funded enough to make a jaguar and wolf work side by side would have provoked more than a few rumors. If the Yaguara had somehow pissed off the wolves, Nic should know about that too.

Nic didn’t know shit but he was worried now and that was the last thing Adriano wanted…needed. He’d caused his family enough trouble. He was lucky Nic was still willing to take his calls at all.

“No,” he said harshly, then moderated his tone. “No. It’s nothing. I was probably mistaken. I only wanted to see if you’d heard anything.”