****
Tucker hadn’t wanted to approach Rios this late.
Not only because he had plans to spend the night with Nicole, but also because he’d fully expected to find his friend busy with one of his various females. Or watching a soccer match. The male jaguar’s two favorite activities. At least when he wasn’t destroying some pathetic opponent on his favorite online computer game.
But even as the door was pulled open to reveal a tall, slender male with short, dark hair, black eyes, and rich golden-brown skin, Tucker could smell his friend’s adrenaline.
“Tucker.” Rios looked surprised, then disappointed. “Shit. I was hoping you were Sinclair.”
“Good to see you, too, Rios,” Tucker drawled, stepping into the cabin as the Feline shifter turned to hurry back toward the bank of computers that were lined against a paneled wall.
There were more computers and various monitors, and stacks of servers that were humming across the room. There was also a large screen TV that was currently tuned in to a soccer match.
Nicole stayed close to Tucker’s side as he watched his friend dart from one computer to another.
“What’s going on?”
“A disaster,” Rios muttered, not bothering to turn around. “That’s what’s going on.”
Tucker wrapped a protective arm around Nicole’s shoulders as he studied his friend with a small frown.
“That’s a little vague, amigo.”
“The SAU are purging their computers,” Rios said.
Tucker stiffened, sending Nicole a troubled glance before returning his attention to his friend.
“Shit. Have our files been compromised?”
“I hope not.” Rios leaned forward, tapping on one of the keyboards before moving to the next computer. “I severed our connection as soon as I realized what was happening, but I can’t be sure whether there was any damage until I reboot and do a thorough system check.”
Tucker could sense Nicole’s agitation as she realized that she might not get the answers she wanted. At least not as soon as she wanted them.
“How long will that take?” he demanded.
“Hours.”
Tucker grimaced. “Damn.”
“Yeah.” Abruptly whirling around, Rios stabbed him with an impatient frown. “Have you seen Sinclair?”
“He’s meeting with his CDC contact,” Tucker shared. The Alpha had called just minutes before he took off for the secret rendezvous. “What do you need?”
His dark eyes glowed gold as Rios’s animal reacted to his agitation.
“We need to find out why the bastards suddenly decided on the purge.”
Tucker gave a slow nod. He was a healer, not a computer expert, but he knew there was no way the agency would have risked a complete purge unless it were an emergency.
Unless…
He wrinkled his brow. “They’ve had a lot of unwelcome attention focused on them over the past few weeks. They might just be getting rid of their nasty secrets before someone comes snooping.”
“True.” Rios continued to look worried. “Or maybe they realized someone hacked into their system.”
Tucker glanced toward the door that he’d left open. This particular Unseen Pack wasn’t large. Less than a hundred total. But it would still take time to efficiently evacuate them to a new location if this location were no longer secure.
“Could they use our computers to trace us?”
Rios gave a sharp shake of his head. “No, I’ve covered my tracks through a dozen different locations. But I want Sinclair to go in and figure out what the hell is going on before I try to reestablish a connection.”
Tucker nodded. Sinclair was the only one with a security badge that would get him into the building at this hour.
“I’ll send him a message,” Tucker promised, abruptly distracted when Nicole tugged away from his protective grasp.
“What about the files I need?” she rasped, her face flushed.
As if noticing the female for the first time, Rios sent her a suspicious glare.
“Who’s this?”
“Get back to your disaster,” Tucker commanded, wrapping a firm arm around Nicole’s waist to hurry her toward the door. “We’ll come back in the morning.”
“Tucker.” She tried to dig in her heels, but despite her shifter strength, she was no match for a full-grown polar bear. With one smooth motion, he had her swept off her feet and cradled against his chest.
“You heard Rios,” he said, leaping off the porch and swiftly jogging through the trees.
He preferred to have this argument in the privacy of his cabin. Shifters were nosy, interfering busybodies. He didn’t need their input.
“Then we can sneak into the SAU headquarters,” she stubbornly insisted. “Your friend Sinclair can use his badge to get us in.”
“Sinclair isn’t here.” He never slowed his pace. As a bear, he didn’t have the same fluid grace as some of his fellow shifters, but he could move with a speed that surprised most people. “And even if he were, he wouldn’t agree to take you in.”
“Why not?”
He glanced down, meeting her fierce glare. “Sinclair has already jeopardized his cover, his ability to not only spy on the SAU, but to also release those helpless shifters who are forced into the fighting pits and help your Pack members escape. There’s no way he’ll allow you to further endanger his cover.” Tucker clenched his jaw. “In fact, if he finds out that I’m asking Rios to help you, he’ll probably have me skinned and made into a rug.”
“Then release me, and I’ll do it on my own.”
“Never.” It was a promise, not a threat.
Tears pooled in her eyes as they reached his cabin. “Please.”
“Tomorrow we’ll find the man who murdered your son.” He used his foot to nudge open the door, and once they were inside, he kicked it shut behind them. Then, lowering his head, he brushed a gentle kiss against her mouth. “Can you trust me?”
Her lips parted, almost as if she were going to pretend that her wolf wasn’t already fully committed. Then she heaved a rueful sigh.
“Yes, I trust you, but-”
He claimed another kiss. This one longer…more demanding.
“There is no ‘but,’” he growled. “We’ll deal with the guard tomorrow.”
Easily sensing he wasn’t going to budge, she visibly struggled to contain her burst of frustration.
“So what do you expect me to do tonight?” she snapped. “Sit around twiddling my thumbs?”
A slow, wicked smile curved his lips as he headed across the floor and into his bedroom.
“I think we can find something to do to pass the time.”
He left the lights off as he crossed directly to the bed. Then, holding her gaze, he lowered her onto the center of the mattress.
For a timeless moment, they gazed at one another, the newness of their bond so fragile that they barely dared to breathe. But when he caught the unmistakable scent of her arousal, his bear was done playing the gentleman.
He wanted to sensually maul his mate.
And he wanted to do it now.
Still holding her gaze, he leaned down to tug off his boots before unfastening his jeans and allowing them to drop to the floor. Her eyes briefly widened at the sight of his fully erect cock that was standing at proud attention. He was a large man, and everything was proportional. He could be…intimidating to some females.
Ah. But not his courageous, reckless Nicole. Her gaze lifted to reveal the glow of her wolf, along with a hunger that pulsed through the air.
Planting his knee on the edge of the mattress, he leaned forward, his hands placed on either side of her shoulders as he dipped his head.
His lips touched her forehead and he paused. Inside, his bear rumbled in approval, savoring the intoxicating, womanly scent that he’d been craving since this female had walked up the trail. At the same time, he needed to mark her with his musk. To make sure that the world knew she belonged to him.
Rubbing his cheek over her tawny hair, he allowed his hands to drift down her soft curves. He shivered at the feel of her silken curls brushing against his skin. Nicole made a sound of pleasure, the wolf in her clearly enjoying the sensation of being petted.
Careful to keep his touch light and teasing, he nuzzled a path of kisses down the side of her neck. He hesitated as his mouth reached the top of her collar, a strange tightness wrapping around his chest.
Christ. He hated the damned thing. But for now, there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it.
Anxious not to spoil the mood, he forced himself to squash his impulse to rip off the tangible sign of her imprisonment, and concentrated on offering her a night of sheer bliss instead.
For the next three hours, there would be no thoughts of the past or the tenuous future.
They would live in the moment.
Focused on the soft stroke of his lips, Nicole made no protest when he grasped the bottom of the sweatshirt she wore and pulled it over her head. He tossed it aside with a flick of his hand.
“I like to see you wearing my clothes,” he murmured, his gaze searing over her slender body revealed by the silver shaft of moonlight that slid through the window. She was exquisite. Her slender curves. The soft mounds of her breasts that were tipped with rosy nipples. The small patch of tawny curls that marked the entrance to her body. “But I prefer you without any at all.”
He heard her breath catch, as his fingers skimmed the narrow curve of her waist, her hands lifting to press her nails into his chest. A beautiful blush stained her cheeks.
“I left my clothes in the woods.”
“Don’t worry.” He allowed his hands to cup the soft swell of her breasts, his mouth watering as the nipples tightened to hard tips of temptation. “You’re not going to need them.”
With a roll of her eyes, she smacked her hand against his chest. “I have to get them before the sun comes up. I’m not going to walk around in just your sweatshirt.”
He chuckled, using the tip of his tongue to trace the prominent line of her collarbone.
“One of the guards on duty will have already found them and disposed of them,” he murmured.
She stiffened. “Why would they destroy them?”
He kissed a path over the upper curve of her breast, barely capable of concentrating on her question. Not surprising. The taste of her on his tongue made his gut clench with savage lust.
He’d enjoyed lovers before. He might be a loner, but he was also a male who needed the enticing diversion of spending time with a female. None of them, however, had ever made him so desperate to have them in his arms that he was willing to kidnap them and hold them virtual hostages in his lair.
“The members of this Pack were specifically chosen because they’re capable of masking their scent,” he husked, his fingers reaching the silken skin of her inner thigh. He groaned, his arousal heavy with painful need. “It was the only way we could live close enough to the SAU headquarters and avoid detection by the dogs they use to sweep the area. Your clothing would have the musk of your wolf all over it.”
Her eyes darkened with the hunger of her wolf, her fingers exploring the tense muscles of his chest. Excitement slammed into him with a potent force.
“You could have warned me earlier,” she murmured. “Now I’m stuck wearing clothes from a bear twice my size.”
Beyond reasonable thought, Tucker continued to stroke his fingers up and down the tender skin of her thigh. He was lost in the beauty of her slender, perfect body and the glorious sense of fate that settled deeply inside his animal.
“I have a pair of sweats that will fit you,” he managed to rasp.
“If they belonged to your lover, then forget it,” she warned, her tone distracted as Tucker slowly lowered himself to the mattress beside her. “I don’t wear hand-me-downs.”
He framed her face with his hands, his lips skimming over her flushed face.
“Feeling a little possessive, my sweet Nicole?”
“Yes.”
His heart missed a beat at her ready response, before melting in utter devotion.
Oh…hell. He was lost. Well and truly lost.
“Good,” he growled, slowly lowering his head. “Because from this night on, I belong to you, and you belong to me.”
Her body arched toward him in unmistakable invitation. “You’re kind of bossy for a bear.”
He chuckled. “Get used to it.”
“I…” Her words broke off with a shuddering sigh as his mouth traveled down the curve of her throat and feathered light kisses ever lower. “Tucker.”
His tongue circled the straining bud of her nipple. “Tell me what you want.”
She cried out, her fingers shoving into his hair as she shifted restlessly beneath him.
“You,” she breathed. “I want you.”
“You admit that you belong to me?”
“Yes.”
Raw relief surged through his body. He might very well have rammed his head into the nearest wall if she’d denied him.
With a driven groan, he suckled her nipple, releasing the last of his restraint. She tasted of soap and sweet temptation, and Tucker wanted to nibble her from head to toe. He was a bear. Which meant he had the patience and skill as a lover to devote hours to a woman’s pleasure.
Wrapping his arms around her, he slid his hands down Nicole’s back, easing her toward his aching body. She readily arched forward, groaning softly at the feel of his erection pressed against her lower stomach. At the same time, she speared her fingers through his hair and urged his mouth toward the tight buds of her breasts.
Never one to miss an opportunity, Tucker tugged her nipple between his lips, using his teeth and tongue until she was squirming against him with pleasure. His hands slid over the curve of her ass and down the back of her thigh. With a small tug, he had her leg draped over his hip, allowing his cock to press against her damp heat.
Raw lust slammed into him as the friction of their skin brushing together created a combustible heat. Restlessly, he turned his attention to her other breast.
Desire sizzled through him, his cock painfully hard, even as he reminded himself that she might be a wolf, but she was still much smaller than him, and more fragile. He had to take care not to be too rough.
“Sweet Nicole,” he groaned, “I need you.”
“Then take me.”
He chuckled at her stark command, his hand softly brushing the back of her leg, edging slowly upward.
“And you call me bossy?”
“I’m supposed to be,” she breathed, hissing in pleasure as his fingers slid between her legs.
Tucker clenched his teeth, staggered by his need to be inside this woman. She was so soft, so delicate, so utterly his…
His.
His gut twisted. The powerful emotions that were tangling themselves around his heart should have been terrifying. Instead, he’d never felt more smugly happy.
Stroking a finger through her tender flesh, he found her clitoris, teasing it softly while he captured her lips in a deep, demanding kiss.
Nicole arched against him, her claws scraping down his back. Her wolf was eager to play.
His bear gave a chuff of laughter, fully on board.
With a smooth motion, he rolled Nicole onto her back, settling between her parted legs and continuing his relentless caresses. He heard her choked moan as he released her lips to trail a path of fevered kisses down her throat, forcing himself to ignore the collar.
Tonight was all about mutual bliss.
His muscles trembled with the effort to not simply plunge into her and ease his craving. He wanted to prolong this precious moment. To capture it in his mind so he would never forget.
His heart was pounding, his breath coming in sharp rasps as his animal prowled beneath his skin.
Pulling back, he studied her face surrounded by the tumble of tawny curls. The pale, creamy skin. The fan of dark lashes that lay against her flushed cheeks
. The soft lips that were parted in invitation.
So beautiful. A flare of raw male possession gripped his heart as he positioned himself at her entrance, and with a slow, steady thrust, sank into her heat. For a brief moment, Nicole tensed, and Tucker forced himself to halt as her body adjusted to his large size. Continuing to pet and tease her, he waited for her muscles to ease around his cock before he at last pushed in until his balls were pressed against her ass.
His breath hissed through his teeth at the electric sensations that jolted through his body. She was magnificent. An alluring, courageous woman who’d suffered for far too long.
“Nicole,” he husked, his hips pulling gently back before sinking back into her welcoming body. “My sweet Nicole.”
“Yes,” she rasped, her claws raking down his back.
The tiny shock of pain was like a spark to his very short fuse. With a groan of surrender, he lost himself in the pagan rhythm that was as ancient and powerful as the magic that ran through their veins.
Chapter 5
Nicole slowly woke to discover herself wrapped in a pair of massive arms with her face pressed against a chest that was rough with hair.
Instantly, she blinked in confusion.
Not just at the fact that she wasn’t in her bed at her lair, but at the realization that she’d actually slept for hours without being tortured by the nightmares that always lurked in her subconscious.
Pushing her tangled hair out of her face, she took a minute to allow the memories to seep through the fog in her mind. She remembered traveling through the woods and being halted by a large man…no, not a man. An Unseen. And then, when she’d tried to slip into the SAU headquarters, that same aggravating male had once again interfered, hauling her back to his lair. And into his bed.
After that…
Well, it’d been hours of supreme, white-knuckled bliss as Tucker taught her just how skilled a bear could be when he set his mind to pleasing his mate.
Mate.
A tiny shiver shook her, her entire body trembling with sated satisfaction.
But even as she felt Tucker’s large hand skimming up the curve of her back, she gave a small gasp at the sunlight that dappled through the trees just outside the window.