“Then I heard someone pull up. I was expecting the boat rental guy to come for the money. I had gotten it out of the cubbyhole earlier, not wanting to rush in to remove it with the rattlesnake coiled up in there. The money was in a couple of plastic waterproof sacks. When I saw the vehicle with no sign on it indicating it was from the rental shop, I ran back to the bathroom and hid the money in the toilet tank. Glad you found it and not Wayne or the others. Leidolf said Kira’s in lockup too now.”
“Yeah. Where she belongs. You didn’t tell us you were a famous treasure hunter,” Vaughn said.
“I could use another diver on the next mission, Vaughn.” Douglas smiled at Jillian. “Unless you’d like to go diving with me.”
“Maybe in Hawaii,” she replied. “It’s shallow enough to be perfect for first-time dives. But only if you go too. I think it would be more fun to go with someone who’s not been doing it for years. Vaughn and Miles can be our guides.”
Vaughn rubbed her shoulder. “I was thinking of taking you there for a honeymoon. Four seems like kind of a crowd.”
“They take groups out on the boats, right? So we do the scuba diving for fun together, and the rest will be…more private.”
“I…” Douglas said.
Jillian patted Douglas’s hand. “Agree. He agrees. I’m going to be the newest member of your pack, and your wedding present to me will be to come along for the ride.” After what had happened to Douglas, she wanted to include him. Miles could watch out for him and vice versa.
Douglas chuckled. “I hope you know what you got yourself into, Vaughn.”
“I think I’ll be learning as we go along.”
Jillian reached up and took Vaughn’s hand. He squeezed hers back.
“Doc told me you found the money and secured it in the safe. What about the rattlesnake?”
“Freed in the woods. Miles grabbed it.” Vaughn shook his head. “Hell, man, a booby trap?”
“Yeah, sorry. I never thought anyone but me or Miles would be going in there to get the cash, though I forgot to mention the cubbyhole to Miles.” Douglas frowned. “How did you find it?”
“Miles told you about our father hiding the gun in a cabin.” Jillian smiled. “Good thing he remembered.”
“Yeah, that was it. I’d always just hidden the cash under a mattress before I paid for a boat. When Miles told me about how your SEAL father hid the gun, I thought it was a great way to hide the cash.”
“Did anyone else know?” Jillian asked.
“No. That’s probably why no one found it. Doc told me that Brutus paid me a visit as a jaguar too.”
“Yeah, according to Kira, he wanted to tell you they hadn’t been involved in injuring you,” Jillian said. “Do you believe it?”
“I suspect he had something else in mind. Like asking me where the treasure map was.”
They told him then about Kira and all her dead husbands.
Douglas looked shocked. “I would never have believed it. She talked about Gaston a fair amount, as if she hadn’t quite gotten over his death. Even got teary-eyed once. But she didn’t mention the two other dead husbands. Guess it was all just a show.”
Vaughn got a call from Demetria and took it. “Yeah, we’re visiting with Douglas. He’s looking really good.”
“That’s great. We’re back. We’ll meet you over there,” Demetria said. “And then the club?”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
When they ended the call, Vaughn said to Douglas, “You wouldn’t happen to have known that Wayne Grunsky was Wayne Wells, would you? He and a man who looks like his clone, Simon Wells—”
Douglas swore under his breath. “Were related to Kira’s deceased husband, Gaston.”
“Maybe Simon was a diver too.” Jillian patted Douglas’s hand. “We thought maybe they were after Brutus and Kira, figuring they had murdered Gaston. But then the treasure hunting got their attention, and they put any other plans on hold for the time being. Until someone shot a jaguar.”
“I should have known when I danced with Kira at the club in San Diego, then saw them at the dive shop in Belize, that it was more than coincidence.”
They visited with Douglas for another half hour, and he finally said he was tired. “If you don’t leave, I won’t have quality time to spend with my nurse.”
Everyone smiled.
He was looking much better, and he seemed cheered to know so many genuinely cared about his welfare. But Vaughn knew Douglas wouldn’t rest easy until they caught Wayne—and Simon too. For now, he would have an armed guard, just in case.
* * *
The owners of the Forest Club had completely remodeled it since the last time Vaughn had visited the place. It wasn’t the Clawed and Dangerous Kitty Cat Club by any means—no dancers on platforms—but it had a lot of atmosphere. Real plants decorated it like at the cat club, but they were forest rather than jungle plants: deer fern, maidenhair fern, coastal wood ferns, native Oregon flowers—yellow asters, orange poppies, blue bellflower, roses, and more—and small trees. Skylights and black-painted ceilings arched into a rounded dome covered in sparkling lights that simulated stars, and a misty night sky partially hid the full moon. The dance floor had been expanded, more eating areas were set up, and a live band was playing. Leidolf had called ahead to reserve a special table for the agents so that they’d all be able to sit together, surrounded on the back side by plants and a mirrored wall and with a view of the dance floor. Because of their help with the case, he was giving them complimentary meals and drinks.
After everyone ordered steaks—wolves and jaguars alike loved them rare and juicy—Vaughn slipped his hand around Jillian’s and took her to the dance floor. “I’ve wanted to do this since I saw you with that muscle-bound brute at the Kitty Cat Club,” Vaughn said. “Though I would have loved to dance with you there, it’s really special coming here, a wolf club, for our first time.”
“As mated wolves too,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist and looking up at him with such longing that he was tempted to take her back to the guest house, ravage her, and return after the meal was delivered. That was the problem with not getting well-done steaks. Not a whole lot of time to fool around.
They kissed as he moved her slowly around the floor, two mated wolves completely in love, her body sliding against his, turning his thermostat up to high. He could smell her pheromones kick-starting, the sweet vanilla scent she used to shower, and the sweet and spicy fragrance that was uniquely hers.
“Do you know how much I want to take you right back to the guest house and ravage you?”
She laughed. “Just as much as I want to take you back there. I had planned for a long night of dancing, but I think we might need to leave earlier.”
He smiled down at her. “Yeah, I don’t believe I can handle a whole lot of dancing like this with you without wanting to take it further.”
“I can tell.” She turned her head to see what was happening at the table. Miles was waving at them to join them because the food had been delivered. She sighed. “Dinner, drinks, another dance, and let’s call it a night.”
As soon as they sat down to eat, Miles remarked on the Kitty Cat Club, glad they didn’t have any platform performers here. “I could see Vaughn giving another stellar performance as he rescued a showgirl who was just playing her part.”
No way. The platform chain coming loose couldn’t have been a show, could it? Vaughn glanced at Jillian to see her take on it.
She was glowering at her brother, her cheeks a little rosy. She looked like she could bite him as either a human or wolf.
The jaguars were all quiet, smiling a little. Howard was carving up his steak, his color back to normal. Demetria turned to look at the dancers. Everett took a sip of his wine and wouldn’t look Vaughn in the eye. But they were all still smiling!
Jillian sighed. “Miles is just jealous because of all the attention you got from rescuing the dancer. Over half of the single she-cats must have danced with you after t
hat. Besides, both Miles and I thought it was totally real too. And there you were, risking your neck to save the girl. Every woman in there wished she had a hero in her court just like that.”
“That had to be amazing to see,” Demetria said, chiming in. “If Everett had done that, I would have worshipped him.”
Everett smiled. “All it took for me to win her over was playing with an Arctic wolf cub. She figured I couldn’t be all that bad.”
“You were great.”
Miles shook his head. “I have to admit it took real balls for you to react so quickly. Must be your SEAL training. Leap first and ask questions later.”
“Well, hell. And the thing of it was, there was only one woman who I was interested in dancing with. But she wouldn’t come near me.” Vaughn squeezed Jillian’s knee.
“I was with a date. Not a very fun date, but still, I had my priorities. Besides, I would have had to fight off all those she-cats.”
“It would have been worth it.”
She laughed. “Yeah, it would have been.”
Vaughn had barely eaten any of his steak when he said, “This is so good, but I don’t think I can eat any more of it tonight.”
Jillian smiled. “More dancing then?”
“That last dance did a number on me.”
“I’ll dance with you,” Howard said.
“Nah, that’s all right. I think I’m done for the moment.” Vaughn looked hopefully at Jillian. Of course, if Jillian wanted to dance more, he would twirl her around on the floor until she was ready to call it a night.
Smiling, Jillian shook her head at Vaughn. “Okay, I’ll put you out of your misery. We might be back.”
“When the wolves come home.” Miles saluted them.
“Have a good one.” Howard raised his glass to them too.
“Remember how we were like that?” Demetria asked Everett.
“Well, I’d take you back to the guest house too, but I think this time we’ll let them have the place to themselves for a while.”
Vaughn got takeout boxes, glad Jillian was agreeable to joining him at home. He hadn’t wanted to ruin her evening, but he really wanted to have more alone time with her. They could still join the others later tonight.
As soon as they were in the Land Rover, he asked, “You were okay with this, weren’t you?”
She just laughed. “Now you ask. Of course. We’re like…newlyweds. Everyone understands. And we can still return later after we get some important business out of the way.” She opened her phone and began tapping on it. “You know, I was thinking the news of the accidents involving Kira’s husbands would probably be online. Okay, here’s a statement on Gaston’s death listed in a forum on diving incidents.
“They believe he died of decompression sickness, also known as the bends. The normal gases found in the body didn’t have time to diffuse and caused bubbles to form inside his body. He must have come up too fast. The sheriff’s department concluded it was an accident, even though he’d been diving for eleven years and had made over five hundred dives.”
“Well, accidents can occur, even with veteran divers. What I’m curious about is whether Brutus was there when Gaston had his accident.”
“Says Gaston was survived by his wife. No mention of any other family. I’m going to call Lydia and see if she can give me the names of Kira’s other husbands.” As soon as Jillian had them, she thanked Kira’s mother and started doing a search for the men. “Okay, so eyewitnesses said her first husband, John, had been drinking in a bar while his new wife was working as a clerk at a store that night. He frequented the tavern and was known to drive home drunk. He was with his usual buddies, and they said they all went home without incident that night.”
“One of his buddies was Brutus, right?” Vaughn pulled up to the guest house.
“Yep. John drove through the railing of a bridge and went into the lake and drowned.”
“Any eyewitnesses?”
“Nope. Kira called the police when he didn’t arrive home after she did. They drove the route he normally did, found the bridge railing torn up, and discovered the vehicle in the lake. Divers found he’d died from drowning.”
“Even if both could be dismissed as accidents, the fact remains that Brutus was there for that incident, and who’s to say he was really drinking? Maybe he was plying John with drinks.”
“True. Kira and John had only been married two weeks.”
“And the second case?”
“That to me is the most suspicious.” She showed him a picture of a selfie Kira must have shot of herself and her husband before his untimely death. “It’s kind of hard to tell from the photo, but I swear that’s Brutus wearing sunglasses in the background. He sort of photobombed it.”
“But also incriminated himself.” Vaughn and Jillian got out of the Land Rover and headed into the guest house. “Now we know for sure that Brutus was where her husbands were before they died.”
“How much do you want to bet he was one of the divers when Gaston ran into trouble?” Jillian said. “Do you mind if we head over to the jailhouse and have a talk with her to learn if Brutus was diving that day too?”
Vaughn rubbed Jillian’s shoulders and smiled down at her. “You don’t want to wait until after…?”
She smiled up at him and pulled him close. “Something you should know about me. I might be able to multitask, but when it comes to a job—”
“The job can wait.” Vaughn swept her up in his arms and carried her down the hall to his room this time.
Vaughn’s eyes had darkened, his full, sensual mouth set with determination as he carried her into the room and sat her down on the edge of the bed.
He moved in between her legs and cupped her face. All thoughts of the case vanished when the chemistry between them ignited into pheromone-fed desire. He leaned over and kissed her, tackling her jacket with his large hands. She slid her fingers up his jeans-covered thighs, making a detour to stroke his swelling arousal. She loved how hot he became when he was around her.
He growled a little, the huskiness in his voice revealing just how much she had unbalanced him. She wanted to take control, if only for a moment. The adrenaline rushed through her every vein as he tossed her jacket on the floor and jerked off his own to add it to the collection.
A frenzy of passion swirled between them as they tugged off the rest of their clothes, yet even as she yanked up her shirt, he was leaning down to lick her nipple through her silky bra, while he struggled to unfasten his belt. Once they were completely bare, the air was slightly cool in the bedroom against her naked skin. But Vaughn was hotness personified as he began kissing her mouth, leaning her back against the bed, and crawling up beside her. He began to run his hand over her breast, then down her belly.
He smelled musky, of the woods and wolf. Of sex, all male, and vanilla soap, rich and delicious, mingling with her own sexual arousal and scents. As his tongue stroked hers, she tasted the lemon and pepper steak he’d managed to have, and sweet and spicy wine.
Then he began to stroke her clit, circling over the sensitive nub, and she forgot about anything else but him, the wolf she’d claimed for her own. The man she would love forever. She wanted to stroke him too, but his touching immobilized her as she soaked in the tantalizing sensations. His fingers slipped into her wet sheath and thrust inside, circling until she fell off the edge of the world, crying out with sheer pleasure.
He joined her, filling her, completing her, thrusting as she lifted her pelvis in response. She needed him deeper, wanting every bit of him inside her. And couldn’t believe it when she felt the climax building again.
His beautiful wolf, Vaughn thought as he pushed deeper inside his mate. He had never felt this connected with any other woman, and he loved the way they were in sync. Every thrust brought him closer to the edge. Every beat of her heart, the way her breathing was so unsteady, her spicy pheromones teasing his, and the feel of her hot, silky heat wrapped around him all added to the sexual high.
He leaned down to take his fill of her mouth, stroking her tongue and kissing her, then stepping up the thrusts, unable to hold back any longer. The orgasm hit, and he couldn’t have been more pleased to feel the ripples of her own climax caressing his cock as he continued to thrust to the end. He growled with the final release, rolled off her, and pulled her into his arms.
If he kept the connection, kept kissing her, touching her, listening to her heartbeat, he’d become aroused all over again.
She licked his nipple and caressed the other one with her fingertip. That would do it too.
She kissed his chest and looked up at him with bright eyes, not looking sleepy in the least. Which was a good thing since he fully intended to make love to her again as soon as he could. “We forgot the takeout boxes of food in the car.”
He didn’t move a muscle. Not when he wanted to stay just like this until after they had their next bout of lovemaking.
She smiled. “What if we get hungry and want to eat it later? It needs to be refrigerated. I’ll run out and get it.”
“No. I will.” But he still didn’t make a move to leave the bed. This was just where he wanted to be.
“I want to run as a wolf tonight. Just a fun run. The moon’s out. We haven’t once run as wolves together just for fun.”
He smiled at her, running his hand through her dark hair. He understood her need to share their love as wolves too, and he was game. Then afterward, more loving. “All right, but just around the grounds.”
“Great.” She moved off him.
“But I’ll get the food.” He threw on a pair of boxer briefs, figuring he would be able to withstand the cold better than she would, running out in the chilly night air half dressed.
She shifted, tugged his boxer briefs playfully with her wolf’s teeth, then raced out of the bedroom.
He chuckled, but by the time he reached the hall, she’d already hit the wolf door and headed outside. He was ready for a run with his mate and some fun-loving wolf business too.