Chapter 13
“Again.”
The husky murmur spurred him on. Jaron couldn’t get enough of the teasing kitten above him. Boneless and sated, she sprawled across his chest as she voiced the demand. He laughed. “I don’t think either of us are up for another round.”
Not that he didn’t want to. With Sasha, Jaron decided he’d never have enough.
“Speak for yourself.” Giving her words credence, she pushed up to a sitting position on his lap and braced her hands on his chest. “I’m up for anything. What do you say?”
One side of her hair lay flat, the curls limp and twisted. Her lashes fluttered around a green gaze drowsy with satiation, the look one of a sleepy kitten. Jaron grinned and stroked a finger down her cheek. Her tongue flickered, catching the tip. He dropped his hands to grip her about the waist, enjoying the view of her swaying breasts, tender nipples swollen from his attention.
“I guess I’m in.” Jaron ran his hands up her sides, going slow on the way down to fully enjoy her smooth skin.
Taking him at his word, Sasha swiveled her hips and the tip of his shaft pierced her soaked entrance. On her next rock, he slid through all the way, her flexing tunnel like a vice about his length. Her pace quickened as she gasped above him.
“Go slow,” he crooned, directing her movement by tightening his hold around her quivering thighs and slowing her frantic pumps.
She trembled in response and leaned in low. Sharp fangs grazed his jaw. When she clamped tight at the base of his throat, Jaron froze. He didn’t struggle, didn’t fight as her teeth broke skin. She moaned and pumped her hips faster. She eased back and Jaron drew a breath.
Too late to prepare. The second time her bite throbbed and sent a shock bomb to his nerve endings along his collarbone. His release slammed into him and he pumped up harder and deeper.
The last stroke triggered Sasha’s climax. Her head fell back as she shouted his name in pleasure. Shaking uncontrollably, Sasha curled into Jaron’s arms, her mouth still resting at the base of his throat. His heart thump thumped beneath her cheek.
“Good?” He smoothed a hand up and down her side. Much more of this and she’d killed him.
Sasha failed to work up the energy for a detailed answer and settled for. “Mmm.”
Jaron grinned. How long—
Three short whistle bursts broke his concentration. Jaron hustled Sasha to her feet, recognizing the call. “We need to go.”
She didn’t hesitate, losing her lethargy on a blink. Jaron waited while she brushed at the dirt on her hips and side, then extended his hand. She entwined her fingers with his as Jaron led them from the shelter of the cave and gazed to the left. Rising tendrils of smoke, a gray husk remained of the main building. Dr. Kirkem wouldn’t be using this place again. He headed for the right.
“Are your friends here?” Sasha slipped him a curious glance, but kept her voice slightly above a whisper.
“Yes.” Jaron studied the ground, finding the signs left behind. “This way.”
He recognized the markings. Team Three was out here and relief left him weak. He just had to reach them at the designated location based on the tracking details they set for him. More than likely because of Sasha they hadn’t contacted him directly. They wouldn’t be sure of her role. Jaron made a subtle hand sign. If someone watched…he broke off the thought. Someone definitely watched and would communicate to the others Sasha’s status as an innocent.
“It’s quieted down. No telling what’s out here.”
Nerves trickled through her voice. Bounty Retriever or not, this had to be a lot different than what she usually experienced. Reaching for his customary ease to calm her, Jaron squeezed her fingers. “Jutak warriors are out here.”
“Your friends, right?”
She sought confirmation again, revealing the small slice of vulnerability that always hooked Jaron in the chest. He inclined his head.
“You’re following some kind of sign or message they left?”
He knew the markings well having used them before. “Yes.”
Self conscious with him for the first time, she let his hand go and smoothed a hand down her hip. “I should shift.”
“You look beautiful.” He stepped closer, thumb going to a spot of dirt on her right cheek.
Her smile flashed a hint of fang. “Jaron, I smell like sweat. Sex, too. And I’m covered in dirt and whatever else we rolled around in.”
He palmed the back of her head and angled it up. Startled eyes stared into his. “Midnight curls framing an oval face, smooth skin like darkest honey. Green eyes flaming with residual pleasure. A body graceful in motion. Sleek, powerful.”
Taking all the time in the world, Jaron lowered his head until their lips touched. “Mouth made to give a man his every desire. Like I said. You look beautiful.”
Then he kissed her. Sasha moaned and he curled around her, running his hands down her back to grip her delectable ass.
A twig snapped. Boots scuffed across the ground. His team mates warning him to hurry. Jaron let his hands fall to his side. Her mouth opened and closed. She swallowed and cleared her throat. “You look nice too.”
His laugh burst out as he jerked her toward him with an arm about her neck. He kissed her forehead. Long used to their nudity at this point, he understood she might not want anyone else seeing her like this. Possessiveness he refused to acknowledge also played a part in his answer. “Shift if it will make you feel better.”
“I will.”
The tiny glare didn’t scare him, but Jaron masked his smile. Sasha’s spine curved as she dropped to all four. He stared, impressed as always with the speed of which she transitioned from one form to the other. When he went to scratch at her tufted ears, she snapped at him and it took everything in him to muffle his humor.
After they traveled a few steps, her head butted against the palm of his hanging arm. Jaron caressed the scruff of her neck, not pausing or slowing his pace. Soft fur rippled beneath his fingertips, Sasha’s head swung side to side as she kept an eye out for danger as well. Being with Sasha made him question the decisions in his life and his future. He would have begged for her to be his Chosen if he thought she’d accept.
The realization sobered him.
***
Sasha decided to allow Jaron to have his moment. She’d get him back later for the laughter he didn’t completely hide from her. Occasionally, she tangled her front paws with his bare feet but he corrected easily and never lost his balance. She wanted to laugh and play. He brought out that side of her. When was the last time she wanted to play with a lover?
And her biting during their last round of sex sharing? Those were the actions of an Argoran marking a mate. What had she been thinking? Or better yet her cat.
Trees cast swaying shadows about the terrain. Without warning, her senses went on alert. Leaves crackled. Sasha slowed, her ears pricked forward. She lowered to the ground in a crouch and growled, coming to a stop.
Armed men dressed in black dropped from the trees and surrounded them. The way they lined up in a single row blocked the path ahead. Same bearing, same tension thrumming through them. Sasha’s hindquarters bunched, prepared to mow them down and kill as many as she could. Her cat refused to be caged again.
“Jutak warriors,” the one in the lead called.
Sasha checked mid motion and looked back at Jaron. He nodded and she shifted. She wanted to be able to talk if necessary. Not by a blink or flicker of a lash did the men seem surprised by her naked appearance.
“It’s good to see you, Jaron.”
Jaron came to stand slightly in front of her. For an instant, one slight second Sasha thought she caught a flicker of regret. Then his gaze shifted from guarded to one of pleasure. He covered the change well and if she blinked, she’d have missed it.
“Toss your shirt, Vee.”
Without hesitation one of the leaner men unbuttoned the uniform top and threw it in their direction. Jaron snatched it from the air and handed it to Sasha. She shrugged it on, gaze locked on them as she did up the buttons. Just because Jaron trusted his men didn’t mean she had to.
Someone else chuckled. “We didn’t bring any pants for you and I’m not taking mine off to preserve your dignity.”
More laughter, but of the relieved variety. Wearing black full head coverage masks with thin eye slits, Sasha sensed their reassurance at finding their teammate.
She glanced at him. “Your friends, your team, I take it?”
Humor glimmered in the look Jaron tossed over his shoulder. She decided the default emotion kept others from realizing the danger he presented. “Yes. Late, but here.”
“Late my ass,” one of them spit out.
The corner of Jaron’s mouth kicked up in a half-smile, transforming his face into the familiar handsome stranger who’d spent his nights talking to her. “There were three more with us. Did you run into them by chance?”
“We have them already strapped and ready for take off on the shuttle. They told us The Collector ran a lab from this site. We’ve been looking for you since they said you were out here somewhere.”
And they wouldn’t leave their friend behind. The message was implied in the explanation. Envy cascaded through Sasha. She wasn’t close to any other Bounty Retriever and here Jaron had a team of men—no friends, she corrected, sensing the restrained camaraderie. He had a team of friends who had risked their lives on his behalf.
“Recap later. We need to get out of here. Torkel is not pleased with you.”
Sasha made out a piercing gray stare and though he didn’t raise his voice, the others all snapped to attention.
“Catch.”
One of the men tossed a laser toward them and Jaron snatched it out of the air, pleasure breaking over his features. “Thanks.”
A small, black circle flew up and he caught that as well, tucking the device in his ear. Had to be a comm of some sort for him to communicate with them. Again, envy stirred, but Sasha squashed it. Soon she and Jaron would go their separate ways. Regret and envy weren’t a part of the deal. What they’d shared was a one-time deal.
The ground shook and rolled beneath their feet. “We need to get out of here. We weren’t even sure if this was the right location. The tracker signal was intermittent.”
Another spoke. “It seems someone had the same idea and beat us to it.”
Below the shell of the compound reignited and flames blazed across the roof.
“Not your work?” Jaron asked.
The one who’d lent her his shirt shook his head. “Started before we landed but provided the perfect distraction. The Collector must have rallied his guards and the fighting has shifted.”
“Let’s go.” The one Sasha identified as the leader made a hand gesture and the men changed their stance and raised their lasers in a ready position.
Sasha curled her toes into the sandy textured dirt. Jaron gripped her elbow. “How far, Rydak?”
Rydak. Sasha stored the name for later.
“Fifteen easy. We didn’t want to land too close in case we met resistance. Can your new friend keep up?”
Sasha spoke for herself not flinching as the storm gray eyes turned in her direction. “I can keep up.”
The Jutaks set a brutal pace. Sasha revised her opinion, remembering all the times she made fun of Jaron when he spoke of his teams. The stories weren’t boastful praise. Muscles strained, taxed after her earlier shifts, the rough sex and fighting, but she refused to complain. Jaron stayed by her side, the others forming a protective barrier around them.
They did it seamlessly, once more impressing Sasha. She didn’t want to be impressed. She wanted to go home where she could deal with the coming loss of Jaron. Better yet, Sasha wanted to find Orland and pay him back for what he’d done to her.
Observant as always, Jaron noticed her lagging but mistook the reason. “Shift, Sasha. You’ll move faster in cat form.”
All the men came to a stop. Heat suffused her face, but she agreed rather than explain and undid the buttons on the shirt quickly. In unspoken agreement, all five tipped their heads toward the ground. Jaron alone watched as she slid the cloth down her arms, eyeing her breasts with a lascivious gaze and took the shirt without question. Sasha rolled her eyes as he winked before handing it off to the shirtless guy.
Then he became serious and raised his weapon, gaze studying the landscape behind them. “Hurry, Sasha.”
Messy blond hair hung about his face yet there was no missing the message in his blue eyes. Bare ass naked, body tense, he was prepared to stand between her and The Collector’s men. Her heart tripped before picking up its normal rhythm. His protective instincts humbled her.
He waited until she completed her shift. A quick rub of her head and her heart fell right at his booted feet though she nipped at his fingers. He pulled his hand back in time and one of the Jutaks laughed, then changed it to a cough when Jaron glared.
“Let’s go,” the gray eyed one commanded and this time the pace increased substantially letting Sasha know they’d held back for her.
If she had the ability to speak, she would have cursed. Deciding to make the best of the situation, she blocked everything from her mind except not exceeding the men. Jaron was right. In this form, she could have left them behind without trying. He maintained his place to the right but slightly ahead of her.
Noise, some sound Sasha couldn’t place caught her attention. She huffed to warn Jaron. He glanced down at her then murmured to his team, “We’re being followed.”
“Enemy closing in,” another announced.
Curses rang out and Jaron slapped her flank. Sasha hissed only to have him grin. For spite, she swiped out with her front paw and he tripped as he dodged her deadly claws.
“Jaron, she’s yours.”
Humor dropped, Jaron exchanged hand signals with the one called Rydak and the stern leader fell back to cover her rear. Normally fear prevented Sasha from allowing another behind her. Especially someone she didn’t know, but she deferred to whatever reason Jaron had for the action and fought her cat’s instinct to lash out.
Jaron’s men ran around them, but she only had eyes for the handsome Jutak who had shared imprisonment with her. Nothing in his demeanor signaled the least bit of awkwardness in running naked. They’d spent all their time together comfortable with their nudity, but she couldn’t help taking in the impressive sight of his body in motion without a stitch of clothing.
Time in The Collector’s lab had left its mark in a thinner frame, but he wasn’t the least bit cowed. Jaron was the perfect lover, the perfect partner.
And damn if Sasha wasn’t in love with him.