CHAPTER EIGHT
They spent the rest of the afternoon touring the site on foot and, where possible, in the Jeep. Mark introduced Shelly to various members of his Clan who were busy clearing space in a very deliberate way so as to keep the canopy of leaves above them intact while making it possible to move freely below and have room to build.
This would be a unique project in that Shelly would have to consider the coverage from above and work much more with existing trees and landscape than usual. She liked the challenge, and ideas blossomed in her mind as she saw each new part of the cleared area. Perhaps there was a way to incorporate some of the larger trees right into the buildings. She’d have to look into how that might work long-term, but she would definitely like to try that in a few places.
The first of the buildings to go up would be a sort of community center they referred to as the Clan home or Clan hall. Not only would it be a place for communal gatherings, but there would be a sort of hotel component with individual suites of rooms for Clan members in need of temporary housing.
“We’ll eventually have several communal buildings, each devoted to different purposes. I envision a school for the children, a training center for martial arts for young and old alike, places where different interest groups could gather to teach and learn various crafts, and each building would have a natural component, incorporating the beauty of our natural surroundings so that Clan members could participate in either of their forms.” Mark was waxing eloquent on his ideas and plans for the space. Shelly just listened, taking it all in, beginning to understand his vision for each area they surveyed. Shelly was taking meticulous measurements and making lots of notes.
Mark had big plans. There was no doubt left in her mind about that. But this was a place of epic beauty and ominous beginnings. She’d never been asked to work in the caldera of a dormant volcano before. She doubted she would ever get this kind of chance again.
She felt almost as if she was building some super villain’s secret lair. It was like something out of a movie—or a comic book. It was so over the top, it was almost funny, but at the same time, she could feel the texture of the earth beneath her feet. She could see the intense life in the greenery all around her. She could even detect the glimmer of obsidian in the few exposed rock faces. Volcanic glass. Black as Mark’s fur and said to have magical properties.
This was a special place. She could feel it in her bones. That instinct she’d never been able to put the proper name to tingled. It told her that this was the right place. A good place. A place where Mark and his people could prosper…if she designed the right home for them.
All her efforts would go toward finding just the right balance between functional design and the natural world around them. She would put all her energy into making this the best set of structures she had ever dreamed into reality. They would stand the test of time and help Mark rebuild his culture, his Clan and their way of life. It was a noble cause, even if nobody on the outside would ever know what she had done here.
She would know. The jaguars would know. It was enough.
She could see it now in her mind’s eye. As Mark continued to speak of his dreams for the location, Shelly’s imagination was sparking into a flame of images that she would put on paper to show him. She couldn’t wait to get sketching. In fact…
Shelly opened the travel case she’d brought with her and started to let the images out onto the paper. These weren’t the detailed drawings she would do later, but rough pencil sketches of what she saw while Mark spoke. It was almost as if she was drawing the images from his words. A collaboration between his dreams and her talent for architecture were coming together on the pad she held in one hand while the other wielded a pencil like a magic wand, flying over the page.
Something unexpected. The outside of the community center had the image of the jaguar climbing down one side. Roof to ground was the back of the jaguar’s spine, his paws extending along the ground to shelter a playground for the smallest children.
“Sweet Mother of All.” The whisper of Mark’s voice came to her over one shoulder. He sounded astonished. “I love this idea.” His arm draped over her shoulder to trace the spine of the jaguar on the paper with something close to awe. “You have captured us.”
She wasn’t sure how exactly to take that last sentence. Did he mean she’d captured the essence of their aesthetic style? If so, great. But he could also have meant that she’d captured his attention in a more intimate way. If so…also great, but kind of scary too.
It was certain Mark Pepard had captivated her in every way, even on such short acquaintance. He was, by far, the most magical man she knew. The most magical she would ever know, she was sure. He’d introduced her to concepts she hadn’t even known were possible. Shapeshifters. Magic. Hidden lairs for an amazing people.
Her life had taken a huge turn the moment she’d decided to share a taxi with a stranger. If not for that tenuous connection with the man who had tried to assassinate Mark, she might never have gotten close enough to meet him. And if they’d never met…
She didn’t like to think about that. He’d altered her perceptions of reality so greatly in just a couple of days. The world was so much bigger now. She hated to think about going back to a time when she wasn’t aware of the magic all around her. It was as if she’d been incomplete until now. Mark, and the discovery of his dual nature and the existence of shifters, had changed her forever. Making her…more than she had ever been before.
And it truly felt like they were only just beginning. Her instinct said there was more coming. More magic. More revelations. More changes. Just…more. She didn’t know whether to be eager or afraid, but some small voice inside her spoke reassurance to her soul. Like this was the way things were always supposed to have been. Like she should trust the universe to put her where she was supposed to be, when she was supposed to be there. Right here, right now.
The way they were standing, she was almost in his arms. In fact, if she leaned back just the tiniest bit, she would feel his warm chest against her back. It took a lot of willpower to resist the temptation.
“You think it’s okay? Not too obvious?” she asked, hearing the breathless note in her own voice.
“It’s perfect. They’re going to love it.” He moved away, taking his warmth with him. A little pang of regret went through her before she made herself focus on his words.
“They? Are you putting my work up for approval before a board or something?” The question came out somewhat inelegantly, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“I may be the Alpha, but the whole Clan is going to have to live here. I’ve got a council of sorts that will have veto power over most things, but I doubt any of them could find any fault with your artistic ideas if that’s the direction you’re going in.” He gestured to the sketch pad, still in her hands. “They’re more interested in functionality and things a human architect—no offense intended—might not factor in for our beast halves.” He looked a bit sheepish but never lost that air of command that came so naturally to him. It was incredibly sexy.
“That makes sense,” she allowed. “I’ve certainly never designed anything with big cats in mind before, so I could definitely use some help there to make sure my ideas are workable.”
At that moment, Mark’s phone rang. He lifted the device from his belt and looked at the number, then looked at her. “I have to take this. Don’t wander too far. I’ll be right back.”
He stepped away, already answering the phone as he walked away. She supposed it was either business or Clan related, and she tried not to take offense that he obviously didn’t want her to hear his side of the conversation. He turned to look at her when he was far enough away that she couldn’t hear anything. His eyes followed her as she moved around the site, taking measurements and making notes.
She had enough to begin with—at least for the community center. He’d given her a detailed description and walked out the boundaries of where he wanted it to be. He was thinking on a grand scale, which made her job much more interesting. She didn’t often get to design large multi-use structures like this. It would be a challenge and a lot of fun at the same time.
Shelly sat on a stack of lumber that had a camouflage tarp over the top of it and set to work. She let her pencil fly once more, referencing the landscape and drawing out the view from the ground at this angle with the building she envisioned center stage. She repeated the process from another vantage point across the way.
Whoever Mark was talking to, the conversation was in-depth. Or perhaps, he had made multiple calls in the time it took her to sketch out her ideas. She wasn’t really sure. She sort of lost track of time when she was in the zone, like this.
She was just finishing up her last drawing, sitting on yet another tarp-covered stack of building supplies, when she became aware of the sound of tiny paws on plastic. If she wasn’t much mistaken, Kensi, or another child about the same size as the little jaguar cub she had met this morning, was trying—not too successfully—to sneak up on Shelly.
She turned her head and came face to face with a curious-eyed jaguar cub. He was a little bigger than Kensi, but still a baby compared to the full-grown jaguars she had seen here and there roaming in the woods around the site.
“Well, hello there,” she said to the child, who jumped back a few steps on being discovered. She tried to inject friendliness into her tone, not wanting to scare the child further. “Did you want to see what I’m drawing?” Slowly, Shelly raised the sketch pad to the youngster’s eye level, and sure enough, the fascinating amber eyes moved to focus on yet another angle of the community center she was planning.
“Miguel!” a man’s voice came from a few yards away, and the cub looked up with a guilty expression on his furry little face. The man saw him and moved closer, smiling at Shelly. “I’m sorry if he’s bothering you.”
“Oh, he’s no bother at all,” Shelly reassured the man. “I’m Shelly, the architect. I’m just sketching a few designs for the new Clan hall.”
“I’m Julio, lead carpenter on this job, and you’ve met my son, Miguel. My mate, Leena, is on the other side of the site, looking for him, but I expect she’ll be along soon.” He didn’t offer to shake hands, but she didn’t take offense. Maybe that was some kind of shifter thing. She was in their world now. She’d have to learn their customs.
“Well, if you’re lead on this job, and the council approves my designs, I suppose we’ll be working together for a bit,” she said, though she really wasn’t sure how involved Mark wanted her to be past the design stage. That was something they had yet to discuss.
Julio didn’t say anything to that. He just nodded. Hmm. Perhaps he was reserving judgment about her. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to prove herself, and her designs, to skeptical tradesmen. She offered him the sketch pad.
“These are just a few rough drawings, but this is the direction I’m thinking of going in for the community center,” she told him.
He took the sketch pad with raised eyebrows and a delicate touch that made her think—nonsensically—that he probably thought the pad would bite him if he grabbed it too hard. She had to stop herself from grinning at her own thoughts.
As Julio paged through her sketches, his expression changed dramatically. He went from skeptical to impressed, if she was reading him right. She felt like crowing as he handed the pad back to her.
“These are really good. The Clan is going to love this,” Julio told her.
Was he getting choked up? This big brute of a man certainly sounded as if he had a big frog in his throat.
“Thank you,” she replied quietly, giving the man a moment to collect himself. “I tried to capture the spirit of this place, and of your people. I hope to do them both justice in a design that will last many lifetimes.”
That, right there, was why she loved architecture. It was her chance to leave something tangible, and hopefully beautiful, in this world for generations to come. Like none of her other projects, this one would do that in a big way. If she got it right. There was a lot riding on her imagination and ability to come up with something both practical and beautiful.
“I think you have the start of something amazing,” Julio went on to say. “The Goddess truly blessed us when She put you in our Alpha’s path.” He paused as she looked at him with surprise.
They believed in the Goddess? Not the Catholic faith that dominated much of South America?
Hmm. That was interesting. Shelly’s father had always insisted that the Howells hailed from a sect of Goddess worshipers, and if that faith had seen their ancestors rise to power, then it was better to stick with the old ways.
As a result, Shelly had been raised in the old ways. They celebrated what most people called pagan holidays, which usually coincided with the more traditional religious festivities that most people in the United States celebrated. They did so quietly, of course. Their faith was their own business, her father had said many times. Nobody else’s.
Shelly hadn’t minded. For some reason, she’d always felt closer to the female deity her father had taught her about than the male deity her friends had talked about on occasion. The Goddess seemed present to her in a way she couldn’t properly explain, but that instinct of hers, once again, told her it was the right way for her.
Shelly found Julio’s reaction to her design interesting. He seemed truly touched by what she had been envisioning, which gratified her to no end.
“What is that area there, by the jaguar’s paw?” Julio asked, peering down at the sketch pad in her hands where she’d been roughing in areas that would be fully detailed later.
“I thought the forearms and paws could act as low safety walls around a play area for the smaller children,” she told him. “I’m just not sure what kinds of gym equipment might be appropriate for your children. I assume things they can climb on, though not too high, of course. Maybe swings and perhaps a sprinkler area considering how hot it must get here at times.”
“That sounds about right, but my sister Helena would know more about exactly what you’ll need for each age level. She’s a teacher. Or you can ask my Leena about what our cub likes. Ah.” He turned, revealing the fact that Mark was walking back to Shelly, a tall brunette woman at his side. “Here she comes now, with my cousin. Mi amor, come see what this talented lady has come up with for our niños.” He directed the last part to his wife.
Introductions were made as Julio leaned over to pick up Miguel, still in kitten form, to hold in his arms. Shelly liked the woman right, off and Leena was very enthusiastic about the planned playground. They started talking particulars about what kinds of equipment and toys each age group might need. Low balance beams for the youngest were sufficient and safe for their four-legged forms. Wider tree trunks a little higher up were good for the toddlers, though nothing taller than five feet or so, for safety.
Older kids climbed higher, and for them, Mark was pushing for an actual climbing wall, though there would have to be two separate courses—one designed for humans, which could be vertical with the standard holds that were employed by many commercial climbing facilities, along with the usual harnesses and safety gear—and one built with big cats in mind. It would have to be more of a natural slope, which Shelly thought could be built right into the side of the building itself.
The afternoon passed in a flurry of ideas and sketches as Shelly firmed up her initial design for the community center. Eventually, Miguel, Julio and Leena said their farewells, promising to see Shelly again at dinner back at the mansion. At which point, Mark took her by the hand and led her to a somewhat secluded area near one of the sheltering walls of rock that had once been the fiery heart of a living volcano.
“What is this?” she asked, the slight tremor in her voice betraying her feelings.
For some reason, this place resonated with her in a special way. The entire site felt like coming home, in an odd way, but this particular place had a magic about it all its own.
“This is the spot where I will build my home,” he told her. “I want you to design this, as well. A place for me and my family. A place where the Alpha can be just another man. Just another jaguar. And his mate can be happy.” He turned to her, and he was a lot closer than she realized.
She reached out to steady herself on the uneven ground, and he put his hands out to catch her. A sudden wave of dizziness had hit her when he looked at her with blazing gold swirling in his eyes. It was the gold of his jaguar. The wildness of his spirit showing through.
She tried to understand his words, but the feel of his warm fingers on her arms and the closeness of his body made thinking difficult. Feeling was easier at the moment, and her desire was peaking in a way that was both unprecedented and a bit frightening. But fear would not hold her back. Not this time. Not with this man. She knew, somehow, that he would not betray her, or belittle her, or make light of her feelings.
No, this was a serious man with grown-up sensibilities. No matter what the tabloids said about him, everything she’d seen to this point indicated a steady, responsible, caring man who did have a playful side but was also loyal to those around him and loving toward those he called his family.
She admired him in a way she had never admired any other man. And she was drawn to him. There was no doubt about his allure. The chemistry between them felt like it would be explosive when they finally combined.
“I want you to design a home here that you could be happy in, querida,” he whispered to her, drawing her ever closer. His eyes bore into hers as his lips descended, and then, he was kissing her in a way that felt very much as if he was staking some sort of claim.
She was all for it. Whatever he wanted. As long as he kept kissing her like this. That was the last coherent thought she had before the ability to think at all disappeared completely.
He took her down to the ground, and she was glad to go with him, loving the way he mastered her and seemed to watch for her slightest response. He was learning what she liked in a methodical way that spoke of experience, but also of care.
Her shirt was pushed up and then it was just gone, and she felt the warm kiss of moist tropical air on her skin, followed by the wetness of Mark’s mouth as he blazed a trail of sucking kisses over her neck and chest. When he teased her nipples with his teeth, she had to bite back a whimper of delight. He certainly did know how to please.
Then, somehow, her pants were gone, as well. She had a lucid thought about the time he slid between her naked thighs, but it was gone in the next moment as his tongue pierced her center in a warm invasion that made her squeal. She might’ve given a thought to all the men and cats she’d seen crawling all over the large building site—if she’d had a coherent thought to give. As it was, she was focused solely on what Mark was doing to her. A little more of that…right…there… And she came like a rocket, a guttural groan of release torn from her throat.
He rose up, claiming her lips with his once more as he then slid into her slick warmth, possessing her utterly. She hadn’t meant to have sex with him just yet, but as she felt him begin to move inside her, she couldn’t really understand why she had wanted to deny herself this amazing pleasure. Mark was magic. His movements were knowing and perfect. His timing impeccable.
And if he got a little out of control there toward the end, she was even more turned on by the fact that she could make him lose it like that. Talk about sexy. Rawr.
Shelly clung to him as he rocked them to the stars and back. Her fingers explored the muscles of his shoulders and chest, loving the feel of him. He was so big and warm, and hard-bodied in a way she hadn’t really expected a multi-billionaire to be. Then again, he was a shifter. She’d seen his cat. She knew the jaguar was a sleek, muscled creature of instinct and cunning. Just like his human side.
She marveled at his gentleness. That was unexpected. He rolled them so that he lay on the ground, and she covered him like a living blanket.
“I’m sorry if I rushed you, mi amor, but I couldn’t wait.” He was still inside her. Less rigid now, after his climax, but still a presence that made her take notice.
She placed nibbling kisses on his collarbone, her head resting on his shoulder. She was perfectly comfortable on top of him, though the thought crossed her mind that maybe she was too heavy for him. She would have moved…if she’d had the energy. But he didn’t seem to mind. She figured a man as sure of himself as Mark would put her where he wanted her, and it sure felt like he wanted her on top of him right now. Thank goodness.
“I don’t mind,” she told him sleepily. “I liked it.”
He chuckled, a low throaty sound that vibrated through his chest. “Just like?” His hand ran down her spine, raising goose bumps of renewed desire in their path. “I’m going to have to try harder then.”
“If you try any harder, I might just faint from the pleasure,” she told him honestly, starting to feel frisky again as his hands continued to run over her body, pausing here and there to tease and tantalize.
She felt his cock stir within her. Impossible, right? It was too soon. But he wasn’t entirely human… Maybe that meant… Oh, yes…it certainly did.
This time, she took the lead. She sat up, impaling herself more fully as his cock hardened to a steel rod within her. Oh, yeah. He felt so good.
She began to move on him, her hands on his shoulders for support, her knees on the ground on either side of his narrow hips. She had never been so brazen before. Making love in broad daylight, knowing there were other people in the area who might happen upon them at any time.
Hell, they were shifters. They probably could hear what was going on, or smell it or something. They had super-senses. But somehow, that didn’t bother her. Miguel and his family had left the site. There were no other children around. Just a bunch of big, burly members of the construction crews and the men who had chosen to prowl around in their big cat forms.
Would she mind if they saw her fucking their boss into the next galaxy?
What kind of thought was that? Shelly had never been into exhibitionism. But there was something tantalizing in that forbidden thought…
Mark’s hands rose to cup her breasts, playing with her nipples, pinching with just the right pressure. Her head fell back as a moan tore through her body. Shit. No way those sensitive shifters hadn’t heard that mating call. Was she trying to draw attention?
The honest truth was that maybe she was. Some instinct inside her wanted the jaguars to witness her claiming of their Alpha, though why her mind phrased it exactly that way, she had no idea. But…her instincts had never steered her wrong so far.
Fire arced through her body as a small climax hit her. She saw sparkles of fiery light before her eyes, but wasn’t sure if they were real or some kind of optical illusion. Probably the latter. Mark was the magic man. He had proved himself capable of making her feel all sorts of new sensations that she’d never experienced before.
She looked up and met the blue eyes of Heinrich, the pilot. He was standing a few yards away. Watching.
A secret thrill shot through her body as she turned her head slightly.
And met the steely gaze of Nick, the bodyguard who had been so mean to her on first acquaintance. He was staring at her now, his eyes filled with the gold of his cat.
More intense vibrations went through her, driving her pleasure higher. Holy shit. She was an exhibitionist!
She turned her head again and found more men watching. Some were naked, as if they’d just shifted from cat to human. And some of those had their hands on their cocks. Hard cocks. Excited by the view.
And that excited her more.
Mark pinched her nipple, drawing her attention back to him.
“Don’t let them trouble you. They are here to bear witness. That’s all,” he told her. She didn’t really understand what he meant but was beyond caring as his other hand went to her clit.
A few delicate strokes and she went higher than she had before, crying out his name as she came and came. She felt his warmth erupting into her, like the volcano in which they lay must have done millennia ago on a much grander scale.
The heat rose in her, scalding her in the most intense pleasure of her life. Sparks flew between them, shooting from her fingers into the volcanic rock beneath the forest floor. Absorbed into it. Welcomed home.
Or maybe it was all an illusion. Shelly couldn’t be sure what was real and what was fantasy anymore. Mark had made the impossible come to life, and the pleasure he gave her as they came together fuzzed the edges of reality too much for her to comprehend exactly what was happening.
She collapsed on top of him, aware of the jaguar eyes on them. She knew they’d been seen, and that knowledge made her feel like a cat herself. A very satisfied cat who had just claimed the cream.