“I…decided to return to the hotel.”
He narrowed his gaze. “And Raphael just let you go?”
She tilted her chin. Arrogant ass.
“I didn’t have to ask for his permission.” She met him glare for glare. “Or yours.”
He went rigid, seemingly startled by her words. “You opened the doors?”
“Of course I did. I’m not helpless.”
He studied her with a disturbing intensity. “The locks are specifically designed to respond only to Pantera. They should never have opened for you.”
She frowned, recalling her own amazement that her escape had been so easy.
Was it possible…
No.
God. She was so tired she couldn’t even think straight.
“Then they must have been left unlocked,” she said, her tone warning she was a breath away from snapping.
He hesitated, as if he wanted to press her, but meeting her panicked glare, he at last gave an impatient wave of his hand.
“What happened next?”
“I was trying to get back to the hotel without everyone realizing I was waltzing through town in just a sheet when this…” She waved a hand toward the corpse. “Whack job started shooting arrows at me.” She shook her head. “I mean, who uses a bow and arrow when you have a gun?”
“Someone who wants to kill without attracting unwanted attention.”
Her breath tangled in her throat. Oh. Yeah. Good point.
She shivered, vividly aware of how close she’d come to death.
“I was trying to sneak away when I heard a roar and—” Her words trailed away as she glanced toward the puma staring at her with glowing golden eyes.
“Raphael?” Bayon helpfully supplied, his own gaze trained on the big cat.
“He attacked.”
Bayon shook his head. “Astonishing.”
“Astonishing?” She made a choked sound. “A man is dead.”
He lifted his head to stab her with a fierce glare. “A man trying to kill you. Would you rather Raphael had allowed him to finish his task?”
No. The answer came without hesitation, her hand once again pressing against her belly. To protect her child she would have done anything.
Including killing the man herself.
She shuddered, unthinkingly stepping toward Bayon. She might not trust him, but she desperately needed a hot bath, a warm bed and a return to sanity.
Instantly the puma turned, opening his mouth to display his impressively sharp teeth.
“No,” Bayon snapped. “Stay there.”
She scowled in frustration. “If it’s Raphael then why is he keeping me trapped here?”
“He’s keeping me away from you.”
“I thought you were friends?”
“We are, but his beast is convinced you’re his mate and he won’t willingly allow another male near you.”
Mate.
She pressed her fingers to her throbbing temple. “God…this can’t be happening.”
“You have no idea,” Bayon muttered.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“A Pantera can only shift when we’re in the Wildlands.”
Ashe stared at him in confusion. She was still trying wrap her brain around the whole ‘shifting’ thing.
“This town is part of the Wildlands?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I.” There was a dangerous edge in his voice. “But I intend to find out.”
Keeping his gaze trained on the cat, Bayon began to whisper in an unfamiliar language, the haunting words resonating deep inside her, like a bell being struck.
Ashe bit her lip, ignoring the terrified voice in the back of her head that urged her to flee while Bayon was distracted.
Where would she go?
Certainly nowhere that she wouldn’t be constantly looking over her shoulder for fear there might be an arrow trained at her back.
Besides, she couldn’t avoid the truth any longer.
Raphael was a mythical Pantera and no amount of denial was going to change the fact.
Or the chance that the child she carried was going to be one as well.
She had to find out as much as possible about these mysterious people if she was going to keep her child safe.
Inching away from the body lying lifeless on the ground, she watched with a growing fascination as Bayon lowered himself to his knees and continued to whisper as he looked directly into the eyes of the beast.
Ashe felt a breathtaking surge of electricity dance over her skin, then her eyes widened as she watched a silver mist form around the puma, nearly disguising the sight of the limbs twisting and elongating, the fur seeming to melt as if by magic.
Fascinated, she took several steps closer, unable to tear her gaze away.
It was odd. She would have assumed watching an animal shift into a man would be revolting.
Instead it was…poignantly moving.
How many people could say they witnessed magic with their own eyes?
The mist dissipated, leaving behind an unconscious, and extremely naked, Raphael.
“Oh.” She furtively licked her lips. “Where are his clothes?”
“This wasn’t a natural shift. When I force a Pantera to change from human to cat, or cat to human, my magic strips him down to his most basic form. Clothing, jewelry, sometimes even tattoos are lost in the transition.”
Still caught in a sense of wonder, Ashe watched in silence as Bayon grabbed his friend around the waist and with an unbelievable display of strength heaved his limp body over his shoulder.
Rising to his feet, he spared Ashe an impatient glance. “Let’s go.”
She flipped him off behind his back, but she obediently followed him back to The Cougar’s Den.
Her decision had been made.
She would stay with Raphael until she could be absolutely certain her child was safe.
After that…
She shook her head, hitching up the sheet as she climbed the stairs leading to the back of the bar.
Right now it was enough to take it day by day.
Hell, it was enough to take it minute by minute.
Bayon led them back through the storage area and into the hidden room she’d been in before, but he never paused as he continued through a door at the back that led to a narrow staircase.
She grimaced, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu as they headed to the top floor. A feeling that only intensified as he entered one of the rooms that lined the long hall.
Absently walking toward the double bed in the center of the wood-planked floor, she barely paid attention to Bayon as he slid the still unconscious Raphael off his shoulder and onto the mattress.
This was the room she’d been in over a month ago.
She was certain of it.
There was a foggy memory of the hand-carved headboard that matched the wooden rocking chair in the corner. And the paintings of graceful plantation homes that were framed and hung on the walls. And of course, the patchwork quilt that covered the bed…
Sorting through her vague recollections, Ashe sensed Bayon step toward her, but it wasn’t until she felt something cold snap around her wrist that she realized her danger.
With a gasp, she glanced down to discover that she’d been handcuffed to the sturdy headboard
The jackass.
“What the hell?” she growled, glaring into his impassive face. “I’m not going run again.”
“No, you’re not.”
With those words he headed toward the door.
“Wait.” She tugged at the metal bracelet holding her captive, achieving nothing more than a painful welt on her wrist. “Let me out of this thing.”
He didn’t even bother to acknowledge her plea as he stepped out of the room and closed the door.
“Bastard.”
Cursing the day from hell that refused to end, Ashe awkwardly climbed onto the bed. She was too
weary to work up a proper fury.
Not that she was the forgive-and-forget type.
Next time she crossed paths with Bayon she was going to kick him in the nuts.
Managing to keep the sheet wrapped around her, she moved until the handcuff wasn’t biting into her skin and turned her attention to the man sprawled in the middle of the mattress.
Did they always pass out after shifting back to human?
It didn’t seem very efficient.
Or had he been hurt?
Leaning to the side, she inspected the bronzed perfection spread over the quilt.
Her mouth went dry as she tried to concentrate on searching him for injuries. She’d never seen a man so magnificently…proportioned.
A broad, chiseled chest. Powerful shoulders. Washboard abs. Long, muscular legs. And a huge…
Yeah. Magnificently proportioned.
Her gaze moved back to his chest, lingering on the stylized tattoo that resembled a puma crouched to pounce.
She had a hazy memory of exploring that tattoo with her tongue the first night they’d shared this bed.
Did it have a special meaning?
Raphael made a low sound, his head turning in her direction. Without thought, she reached out to brush the silken golden hair from his face, her fingers tracing the prominent line of his cheekbones before moving to the lush curve of his lips.
She’d tried to fight against the sense of connection that she’d felt from the moment she’d opened her eyes to find him in her hotel room.
Now she simply savored the comfort of having him near.
No one had ever tried to protect her.
Certainly not her mother or deadbeat father.
It made her feel…cherished.
Shuffling through her unfamiliar emotions, Ashe wasn’t prepared when Raphael’s eyes snapped open, something that might have been panic flaring in the golden depths before he was surging up to grab her face between his hands.
“Ashe.”
She barely had a chance to brace herself before he was covering her lips in a kiss of stark need.
“Raphael,” she muttered, when he at last lifted his head so she could breathe.
“I thought I’d lost you.” He spread desperate kisses over her face before he bent down to place his mouth against her lower stomach. “I thought I’d lost you both.”
The heat of his lips seared through the thin sheet, and without thought she combed her fingers through the satin gold of his hair.
There was no mistaking the stark fear that continued to haunt him.
“We’re fine,” she soothed, stroking him in a comforting motion.
“Ashe.” His hands brushed down her shoulders, his lips nibbling a tender path upward. “I couldn’t bear to lose you.”
“Raphael, I—” Whatever she was about to say was lost in a haze of pleasure as his lips reached the edge of the sheet.
“What?” he whispered.
“I don’t remember.”
He chuckled as his hands drifted down her arms, pausing when he reached the handcuff.
With a sound of surprise he lifted his head to meet her darkening gaze.
“What’s this?”
She made a sound of disgust. “Your pain-in-the-ass friend was afraid I might try to escape again.”
“But the locks…” His gaze narrowed as he belatedly remembered she’d escaped before. “How the hell did you get out of here?”
She rolled her eyes. Like she knew?
“I just walked out.” She shook her arm, making the handcuff rattle. “Get this off me.”
A slow, wicked smile curved his lips. “I think we should leave it in place for now.”
A treacherous heat flared through her body. “Don’t tell me you’re kinky?”
“Desperate,” he corrected, his smile fading as his eyes smoldered with a naked hunger. “I need to be inside you, ma chère,” he said with blunt honesty. “My cat needs to know I haven’t lost you. Say yes.”
Ashe shuddered at the simple plea. She found it oddly erotic to know just how much he wanted her. It gave her a sense of power that she rarely experienced.
“Yes.”
He hissed, as if he was caught off guard by her ready capitulation, and then with a slow motion he was pulling open the ends of the sheet.
She forgot how to breathe as the night air hit her skin, her heart pounding as his fingers gently cupped the small firmness of her breasts.
“Beautiful,” he muttered, stroking his thumbs over the hard points of her nipples.
Ashe knew she wasn’t beautiful.
Her own mother had lamented the thick dark hair and prominent nose that Ashe had inherited from her father. And then there was her body that was too skinny, and her skin too pale.
But beneath his predatory gaze she felt beautiful.
Snarling deep in his throat, Raphael turned her until his lips could stroke down the sensitive scratch marks that were nearly healed on her back. His touch sent jolts of shocking arousal through her, but she made no effort to pull away.
In this moment she needed him as much as he needed her.
Turning back to face him, she boldly ran her free hand over his chest, astonished by the satin smoothness of his skin. He was completely furless. A perfect bronze velvet draped over steel.
Enjoying her exploration, Ashe barely noticed when Raphael gently arranged her against the pile of pillows, careful to keep her shackled arm above her head. Not until he bent over her to capture a nipple between his teeth.
She moaned as his tongue teased the sensitized tip, tormenting her until she was moving restlessly beneath him. Good lord. She’d never gotten so hot so quickly.
It was as if his touch had a direct connection to her libido.
“Oh, yes,” she moaned, arching upward as his lips traced the curve between the mounds of her breasts before moving to the other aching nipple.
Her fingers impatiently threaded through his hair. The satin strands brushed her skin, only heightening her pleasure.
“Do you like that, ma chère?” he breathed, his hands skimming over her hips and down her thighs. His touch was searing hot, matching the molten heat flowing through her veins.
Tugging at her nipple with the edge of his teeth, Raphael eased his hand between her legs and sought the moist heat.
She grasped the strong column of his neck, hanging on for dear life as he stroked his fingers over her clit, finding the sweet spot of her pleasure.
She was falling into a whirlpool of sensation that bordered on pain, it was so intense.
“Raphael.”
Easily sensing the raw edge of need in her voice, Raphael lifted his head to nuzzle his lips just below her jaw.
“I have you…ma chère,” he softly soothed. “I will always have you.”
She shivered as her hips instinctively lifted to press more firmly to his caressing finger.
“I know.”
He lifted onto his elbow and peered deep into her wide eyes. “Are you ready for me?”
For a long moment she merely gazed into his beautiful face. With his golden hair tumbled over his shoulders and the muted light playing over his stark features he looked barely civilized.
Feral.
Her lips parted, her breath coming in short pants.
“Yes.”
His mouth covered hers as he rolled to settle between her parted legs and impale her with one smooth thrust. He swallowed her cry of pleasure as her hips left the mattress and her nails scored down his back.
Yes. God, yes.
She grasped the headboard as he plunged in and out of her, always careful to keep his weight off her stomach.
It was swift and raw and exactly what she needed.
She was being consumed by Raphael and she couldn’t make herself care. For this one priceless moment she wanted to be overwhelmed. She wanted to belong to this man on the most basic level.
Thrusting his tongue between her willing lips, Raphael fucked her with an i
ncreasing intensity. Ashe clutched at him as the pressure built to a looming crescendo.
She was perilously close.
“Raphael.”
“I know, ma chère,” he muttered against her mouth, his body pressing deeper.
Her breath came in jagged gasps as the pleasure tightened and spiraled toward a shimmering point. His strokes quickened, sinking him deep in her. At the same time, he angled his head to bite the vulnerable curve of her neck.
The pleasure/pain hit a critical point and her entire body tightened. For a breathless moment she hovered on the edge, then with explosive force the bliss shattered through her and she was soaring through paradise.
They lay in dazed astonishment for a long moment, Raphael groaning as he emptied his seed. Ashe held him tight, savoring the rare moment of absolute peace.
At last Raphael gently pulled out, cradling her face as he spread delicate kisses over her flushed cheeks.
Boneless, Ashe watched in silence as he reached into a side table to grab the key to the handcuffs. Removing the steel bracelet, he gently kissed the red mark that circled her wrist before covering both of them with the quilt.
“That was…” She released a shaky breath. “Amazing.”
He pressed a lingering kiss to her lips before pulling back to regard her with a searching gaze.
“Why did you leave the bar after I told you to stay?”
“Why?” She met his accusing gaze with a frown, her sense of contentment swiftly fading. She might be slowly accepting that her life was now tied with this male, but that didn’t mean she was ever going to follow orders. “Because I don’t appreciate being held captive.”
“I was trying to protect you,” he growled.
The rasp of male possession made her frown deepen. Okay, this was something that needed to be nipped in the bud.
Raphael had the sort of alpha personality that would ride roughshod over her if she didn’t take a stand.
“A protection that wouldn’t have been necessary if you hadn’t gotten me caught in the middle of your gang war.”
He stiffened, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Gang war?”
“That man obviously thought I was with you and wanted to make a point.”
“We are Pantera, not a gang,” he said. “And we certainly aren’t at war.”
“Then why was that lunatic shooting arrows at me?”
He held her gaze. “I don’t know, but it’s you they’re after.”