Falke’s Captive (17 page)

“Okay, then tell me…What’d you say?”

“I didn’t say anything.” Kelan pulled her into the bathroom, turned on the shower and slipped her robe off her shoulders.

“What’d he say then? What’re you doing?” She grabbed for the robe before it hit the floor.

“Drop it,” Kelan said, his tone serious.

Now that she said she loved them and proved it by letting them destroy the blood and the video of their crime, it was time to celebrate. He’d thank his brother later for giving him this bit of privacy. Only his brother knew, could understand, what was in his head and heart. Possibly better than he could. Reidar knew, as he had before, that Kelan needed more reassurance, more proof, than Reidar did.

“Make me,” Beth said, her eyes sparkling with challenge and what he prayed was happiness.

With a growl, he spun her around and ripped the robe from her body, tossing it out of the bathroom. Then he slapped her on the ass hard enough to sting.

She yelped, started to turn toward him.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and popped her ass again. “That’s for taking a belt to me this morning.”

“Oh, God, I’m sorry,” she said on a moan when he massaged the reddening mark on her butt cheek.

“You’re forgiven…this time. But if you ever—”

“I won’t. I swear. I…ohhh…”

He nipped her earlobe, slid his fingers between her soft ass cheeks and skimmed her anus. “Has anyone been in here before?” he whispered in her ear.

She shook her head.

“I’m going to.”

She whimpered.

He lightly slapped her butt cheek again and stepped back. “Into the tub, woman.”

She scurried into the tub and watched him with expectation on her face as he stepped in and pulled the curtain closed.

Positioning himself between her and the warm spray, he said, “Turn around. Face the wall.”

She did.

“One leg up on the edge of the tub.” He showed her what he wanted by positioning her foot. “Good. Now lean forward just slightly and brace your hands on the wall.” He guided her hands to shoulder height against the tiles and then ran his palms up her damp arms, down her wet sides, then around to cup her beautiful, bountiful breasts.

She hummed her approval and pressed against him when he rubbed his chest along her back. “Are you sure you’re…up to it?” she asked. “I thought a guy who had his nuts squeezed couldn’t…you know…for a while.”

He let go of her right breast and slapped her ass again, making her moan. The woman was so responsive, and she liked a little pain with her pleasure. The perfect woman for him and his brother.

“Another perk to being what we are,” he said. “We can take a lot without permanent injury. But that wasn’t a very nice thing you did.” His cock was already hard, a testament to his claim. It had hurt like a bitch but hadn’t lasted long.

“What are the other perks?” she asked, turning her head to look at him over her shoulder.

He grinned, baring his teeth at her. “You’ll just have to learn those along the way.”

She laughed.

He reached between her legs and rubbed his fingers into her pussy, finding it slick already. The smile faded from her lips, her eyelids drifted shut, and when he rubbed her hard clit, her lips parted on an almost silent moan of pleasure.

“You’re so fucking hot.”

“Then fuck me,” she said, rocking her hips, rubbing her clit over his fingers.

“I will, hon. I will.” He slid his moistened fingers up to her ass and teased the puckered opening. “You have to relax, though.” He massaged her breast with his other hand as he teased the tip of his finger into her.

She moaned and dropped her head forward.

“Tell me if it hurts,” he whispered before he nipped gently at the side of her neck.

She shook her head. “Feels good.”

He nudged his finger in a bit more, and her muscles at first rebelled, then squeezed in acceptance, and she groaned her enjoyment.

He dropped his other hand from her breast to her mound, using his palm to massage her clit and his fingertips to thrum over her pussy lips.

“Oh, that’s good,” she said, rocking her hips again.

His finger slid into her to his second knuckle. She made a mewling sound that had his balls tightening. It took all of his strength to keep from taking her right then, but she was a virgin to this, and he would never hurt her.

After a few strokes in and out, he added his index finger and started the process over.

“Ahhh…Kelan…that’s so…”

“What, hon? Tell me.”

“I want more.”

He slid a third finger into her tight heat, and at the same time two fingers into her pussy, reaching for her G-spot.

“Oh God. Oh God. Oh…”

“Not yet, Beth,” he said stopping all motion, holding her still, his fingers buried inside of her.

“Please,” she cried. “Don’t stop.”

“Shh.”

She was so close. Her inner muscles, both front and back, pulsed around his fingers. A few more moves and she’d come. He wanted to be inside of her when she did. Gently, he withdrew from her ass, and she whimpered at the loss. He lined up his cock and slowly, painfully slowly, he eased the tip inside of her.

She sucked in a breath…and held it.

“Breathe,” he growled in her ear. “Don’t tense up on me now. Just breathe and relax. Let me in.”

She blew out the breath and rocked back against him, taking a bit more of him in. “I can’t…This is…”

“At your pace,” he said, gritting his teeth against the urge to take her deep and hard. “Take me in.”

She rocked back again and again, each time taking him just a fraction deeper. Her cunt creamed against his hand, proving her enjoyment outweighed the pain. She moaned. She whimpered. She sighed. And then she jerked hard, and he was inside of her. All of him, and she cried out.

“Fuck,” he gasped.

“Yes. Fuck me. Please!”

And so he did. He started at a slow pace, but it wasn’t long until she met his thrusts with her own, crying out as he slammed into her. He bent her over until she grabbed the back edge of the tub, and then he rubbed her sexy ass as he watched his cock disappear again and again into her body. Her moans encouraged him to thrust deeper, faster.

He wanted to mark her now, but Reidar would castrate him if he did. Still, the idea of claiming his mate was more than he could take. When he knew he couldn’t last another second, he pinched her clit and nipped her on the nape—not hard enough to mark her, but enough to give her the hint of pain she enjoyed with the pleasure.

She screamed, and her inner muscles tightened on him until he thought he’d die. He came with a shout and fell to his knees, taking her down with him.

She wilted against him, her body limp, still impaled on his cock. “Oh…I never…”

He kissed her neck. “Wait until you have both of us inside you.”

“I don’t think I’ll survive.”

“We know CPR.”

She chuckled. His softening dick slowly slid from her body, causing them both to moan. But then she turned in his arms, wrapped her own around his neck, and kissed him hard.

“I want to know all your secrets,” she said when she pulled back and looked him in the eye.

“And we’ll tell you someday. All of them. I promise. You already know the biggest one of all.”

She grinned and caressed his face. “Thank you for trusting me.”

He dipped forward to kiss her again.

“Come on, you two. It’s getting late,” Reidar said.

Kelan got to his feet and helped Beth quickly wash. As he knew he would be, Reidar stood on the other side of the curtain when Kelan pulled it back, a thick towel in his hands, held out for Beth to walk into. He wrapped her in it and used a second to dry her hair. She smiled at Reidar and then rested her head on his shoulder as he dried her back.

“I do love you,” she said, reaching out to place her palm over his heart. “Both of you.”

“Good.” Reidar kissed the tip of her nose, probably because he feared a real kiss would lead to more. When she lowered her hand to rub her palm against the bulge in his jeans, he gripped her wrist and stared at her with passionate promise in his gaze. “We love you too, but as much as I want to let you continue, I can’t. It’s time for all of us to make appearances at our respective jobs. Do you know what you’re going to tell your boss?”

She made a face and stepped out of his arms. “Yeah. I do. I don’t really have to answer for the blood test yet, since it’ll be at least a couple of days before he hears it hasn’t gotten to the university. As far as he knows, I mailed it, and I’ll swear to that.” She took the second towel from Reidar and rubbed it over her hair as she moved past him into the bedroom. “You got the video deleted?”

“I deleted the hour block that we were in, copied one of the other hours into its place, and renamed it to match the deleted file. I did what I could with the time stamping, but if anyone digs too deep, they’ll figure out it isn’t exactly right. I can work on it again tonight when I’ve got more time. I’d like to get the manipulation right so it can’t be traced back to a fake.”

Kelan, toweling his own hair, followed them out of the bathroom.

“That’s fine,” Beth said. “I don’t think Tim has the ability to dig too deep into computer stuff.” She bent over the open suitcase by the wall, baring her ass very nicely to Kelan and Reidar’s view. “And I’m not sure Whitmore would bother, if I tell…” She stood up straight and turned with a frown. “When he called this morning, he as much as accused me or Tim of being the ones to destroy the computer files.”

“Shit, sweetheart,” Reidar said.

“He didn’t come right out and say it, but I could tell he thought it was possible.” She waved her hand in the air and dropped the towel from around her middle to pull on a rather shapeless sports bra. “I’ll just convince him otherwise. In fact, what I’ll do today is tell him I’ve spoken with you, and you have agreed to try and help convince the others to allow me access to Falke so that I can obtain another sample.”

“Uh, Beth…”

She cut off Reidar. “No, just listen. You’re wilderness guides, right?”

“Yes.”

“And cougars. You could track another quicker than any of us could. What if you guys took Heidi out to get another sample, one we could pass off as Falke’s? I could swear I took it from Falke, and when the results come back differently…”

Both brothers smiled.

“With the data gone, there’s no DNA for comparison. He’d have to conclude that the original sample I took was contaminated. What else could account for the anomalies?”

She bent to put on her underwear. Kelan was entranced by her smooth motions, and the fact that she wasn’t the least bit shy around either of them. She was sexy as hell. And brilliant too.

Fuck, I love her,
he said silently to Reidar.

Gorgeous, isn’t she?
Reidar adjusted himself in his jeans while Beth was distracted buttoning up a sleeveless blouse.
You owe me one. Listening to her with you…

She pulled on a pair of khaki shorts then moved to sit in the chair to put on her socks. “Of course, with Falke’s sample in hand, he’ll probably want to move on to the next spot on the grid. That means I won’t see you guys for a while. The next base camp on the map is fifty miles north of here.”

“What?” Kelan demanded, her words pulling him out of his reverie.

“I told you I had work to do this summer. We’re going to be moving from place to place for two months.” She laced up her hiking boots with quick efficiency while Kelan rushed into his pants. Then she stood, put on her glasses and started packing her laptop into its case.

He knew she had a job and didn’t want to stop her from doing it, but the thought of not seeing her damn near ripped his guts out.

She slung the strap over her shoulder and picked up her purse before coming up to him, going on tiptoe and brushing a kiss over his lips. “It’s not forever, just the summer.”

“And then you’re back in Seattle.” His heart clenched. He didn’t want to move to Seattle. But if Axel and Gunnar had been willing to move to Vegas for Dakota, they couldn’t fault him and Reidar for following their soon-to-be mate to Seattle. At least it was in the same state. Only a few hours’ drive from Leavenworth. They could come back on the weekends.

She ducked her head for a moment then smiled up at him. “After this summer, all I have left is to complete my dissertation. I’m finished with everything else I need to do, and there’s no rule that says I must work on it within the confines of the university’s campus.”

“What does that mean?” Reidar asked, pulling her attention away from Kelan.

“That means,” she said hesitantly, “that if you think—if you want me—if this is really happening…Hell.” She shoved her glasses up her nose. “It means if you want me to, I could maybe move to Leavenworth for a while.”

Relief flowed through Kelan, and Reidar grabbed Beth and kissed her hard. “We want. Definitely want.
Need
.” He kissed her again until she laughed and pushed him away.

“Okay. Make sure the door locks when you leave.” She gave Kelan another quick kiss and touched his cheek. “You are such a contradiction.” With that, she headed out the door.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kelan demanded as he pulled on his shirt.

Beth’s laughter could be heard as the door swung shut behind her.

“What’s that mean?” he asked his brother, who was pulling on his socks.

Reidar shrugged. “How the hell would I know what a woman means?” Then he grinned. “But she’s ours, on our side, and loves us.”

“Fuck yeah.” Everything would be fine.

“Now we just have to tell our big brother we fell for the trigger-happy scientist.”

“Fuck…”

“Yeah.”

Kelan
…Beth smiled as she drove to the lab. Slowly, because she just couldn’t rush this morning. She’d wanted to stay and savor the moment. The day. The miracle that had been given her.
Reidar…

Not just what they were, but that they loved her as much as she loved them. They loved her enough to entrust her with their biggest secret for safekeeping.

Her heart melted into a gooey puddle in her chest every time she remembered Kelan, sitting at her feet as a huge, beautiful cougar but looking at her with eyes as intelligent as her own. Eyes full of trust and love. He’d been so gentle, so tender in his explanation, and then so hard and demanding in the shower. She grinned as a tingle raced down her arms at the memory.

Reidar she adored for his softer side. He liked to cuddle, hold hands. He had an inherent tenderness about him that made her want to snuggle. Only in that brief moment when he wouldn’t let her call the police had he frightened her, but she realized now he’d acted out of his own fear, not anger. He wasn’t truly a threat to her, only to her heart. His smile alone could make her heart palpitate.

Kelan…She could spend the next eighty years with him and probably never know what his next move would be. Sweet and gentle or unmovable like granite. His eyes went from tender and loving to brittle with demand in an instant.

Oh, did that ever turn her on.

No wonder the men had such strong animal magnetism. They took having a wild side to a whole other level.

Almost giddy with excitement, she squealed and then laughed at herself. Whoever would’ve thought it? Beth “Bookworm” Coldwell had two men—two shape-shifting catamount men—who rocked her world.

She grinned as she turned onto the short gravel road and saw the big, white University of Washington trailer sitting in the middle of the clearing. She parked, turned off the Jeep and grabbed her laptop and purse. Schooling her features, hoping she didn’t look like a woman who’d been well and truly fucked, she walked up the steps and reached for the doorknob.

A mountain lion yowl had her pausing only an instant before she shoved the door open. In the cage was a big, angry puma. It hissed, yowled, growled and paced the small confines. And when it saw her, it got louder and took a swipe at her through the bars, missing by more than a foot.

“About damn time you showed up, Elizabeth,” Professor Whitmore said, anger in his tone. “Did you find out who broke in here?”

When she turned toward the desk where Whitmore sat, she saw one of the Falke collars sitting in front of a monitor, and her gut clenched. She glanced at the furious cougar again, then back to Whitmore.

“Well?” The professor’s agitation was obvious.

“Uh…no. No, I didn’t.” She shut the door and forced her voice into casual conversation, but raised it enough to be heard over the growling, spitting cougar. “You captured another cougar. Where was this one?”

Whitmore scowled at her as she approached the desk and ignored her question. “You didn’t find out who did it? It’s been hours since I called you.”

She laid her laptop case on the desk and unzipped it. “Yes, sir. I had to check all the video, hours of it. I’m sorry. But I found nothing.” She pulled the laptop out and opened it. “Are you sure the files weren’t corrupted or something?”

“Don’t be an idiot. One file, maybe, but five files don’t just vanish. Besides, I found evidence of a shredder program being run to record over the data with fucking gibberish. It’s irretrievable, and that doesn’t happen by accident. I told you that.” He grabbed the laptop and turned it toward him. “Show me the video.”

She reached over and clicked on the LabCam icon, hoping Reidar had been more careful this time in covering his tracks. She hadn’t realized the professor knew much about computer software. “Um…there’s every hour since Tim installed the software.”

She glanced at the cat, who now batted at the door latch, and she realized Professor Whitmore hadn’t used the padlock Tim purchased for the cage.
Don’t do it. Don’t do it. I’ll get you out.

He didn’t seem to hear her though. Could they hear thoughts? She hadn’t asked. She could hear theirs, when they wanted her to, but did it go the other way? Wouldn’t they know more about what was in her head if they did?

Professor Whitmore stared at the computer, clicking through the files. Beth opened her desk drawer and pulled out a Sharpie and a yellow legal pad she used to take notes. “So,” she said to Whitmore as she moved a bit behind him and uncapped the marker. “What are the plans for today?”

Still watching the computer screen, Whitmore said, “We’re moving the lab. You and Tim will start the fieldwork in that northern section of the forest.”

As he spoke, she wrote in huge letters,
I’ll get you out.

“Okay. Why are we moving the lab so soon?” she asked, and held the notepad behind her back so the cat could see it. When a growl ended with an uptick that almost sounded like a question mark, she gave a silent sigh of relief. This truly was a Falke brother.

Then it hissed.

“We have this cat from here. We need to move.” He still gazed intently at the computer screen.

She wrote,
Trust me. Your name?
And held it behind her back again.

“When did you get this cougar? He looks an awful lot like the Falke brothers’ pet.”

Sindre. My name’s Sindre, and you’ve got to get out of here. Get help!

“It is,” Whitmore said.

“Have you taken his blood yet?” She scribbled as she spoke,
You’ll be okay. I’ll take care—

“What are you doing?”

She looked up from writing to see Whitmore staring at her. “Nothing.” She flipped the page and began writing again. “Just taking notes on what needs to be done today. We’ll have to check out of the hotel. Give the key to the gate here back to the forestry department—”

Whitmore snatched the legal pad from her hand and flipped back. “What the hell?”

She backed toward the door.

Run! Get out now.
Sindre’s warning was loud enough to make her flinch.

Whitmore lunged out of the chair and grasped her arm. “Where do you think you’re going?”

She shook her head. She didn’t know what to say. “Ow, Professor. You’re hurting me.” His grip loosened, but her attempt to twist free failed. “What’s gotten into you?”

He still held the notepad in one hand and was staring at what she’d written. “Do you think that cat can read?”

She shook her head even harder. “That’s insane, Professor. Cats can’t read.”

He pulled her toward the desk and shoved her into a chair. “Then explain this.”

Her face heated as she read the last words she’d written for the cougar. “Look, I was just doodling.”

“That’s not doodling.”

“It’s starting lines.”

“What?”

Trying to think fast, she rolled her eyes and said, “I’ve been toying with an idea I have to write this…um…fictional story, you know, inspired by some of the things I’ve seen in this forest. I knew you wouldn’t understand, so I lied—about taking notes, I mean.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“You expect me to believe that you honestly think an
animal
can read?”

Then she wondered why she was afraid of the professor. He was angry, yes, but he’d never truly harm her. He was a professional scientist. Perhaps offense was the best defense.

She stood and snatched up the Falke collar from the desk. “Now I want to know what you are going to do with that cat. I thought we were in this together. You gave me the assignment to regain access to Falke, but here he is.”

“Your
efforts
were taking too long.”

“Are you trying to oust me from this project? Did you forget that I found the cat first, that I shared the results with you?
Me
. Why would I jeopardize the project?”

For a split second he studied her face as if he believed her outburst, but then his eyes narrowed. “You know more than you’re telling.” He held the notebook up as evidence.

She cast a glance at the cat that had started to growl again. “You didn’t answer my questions. Where’d you get him?”

Whitmore’s laugh sounded a little off, strained. “People shouldn’t let their
pets
walk around free. I got him the same way you did.”

He shot me with the tranquilizer right outside the store. Drugged me. I woke up here. What the hell is going on? Whose side are you on?

She glanced at Sindre again, then back at the professor. “So, take his blood and let him go. We can conduct the tests again, regain the evidence we lost and move on. Why have me waste time going through surveillance footage if you already had the cat?”

“Because there’s a saboteur here, and I want to know who.”

“Fine, but why keep the cat? All we need are some blood samples.”

You fucking bitch!
She winced at the volume behind the puma’s rage.

“He belongs to someone. We should let it go. He’ll find his way home. The brothers told me he always does.”

“Are you kidding?” Whitmore said. “You think the damn thing can read. And don’t try to convince me otherwise. You’re a terrible liar, Elizabeth. We already know his blood has anomalies enough to change the way people think about evolution. Don’t you see? He’s the fucking missing link!” His face flushed red, and beads of spittle flew from his mouth when he shouted that last statement.

Now she was scared. Terrified. Whitmore was losing it.

“An animal with human patterns of DNA…”

“Professor,” she said, backing up a step. “I spoke with two of the brothers last night. They agreed to give me access to the cat.”

Sindre hissed, attracting the professor’s attention. She also glanced at the cat and gave a tiny shake of her head, then looked back toward Whitmore who watched the aggressive, caged cat.

“They said I could take the blood sample, so if we just take a vial and let it go, there’s no harm done, no reason to move the lab. But they swear there’s nothing different about his blood than any other cougar. He was born in captivity, but he’s as normal as any of the wild ones in the Wenatchee.”

“You’re lying.” Whitmore glared at her again. “I’m not stupid. They wouldn’t let you near him before, and now they’re willing? What changed their minds? I wonder.”

Seeing the look in his eyes, she chose to keep tight-lipped rather than answer that question.

“You’re a liar, Elizabeth Coldwell, and a damned fool. And if I discover that you’re the one behind all of this sabotage, which I suspect you are, I’ll make damn sure you never get your doctorate. Never!”

He’s psycho,
Sindre told her.
You need to get the fuck out of here.

Beth swallowed hard. “I’m not lying. Look. Here.” She reached into her pocket to pull out her cell phone. “We’ll call them right now. Kelan Falke. He said I could have what I needed for the tests. Call him. Ask him. Wouldn’t it be better to have their cooperation than face legal ramifications for stealing their property? It could jeopardize the entire study.”

Professor Whitmore snatched her phone from her hand. “No one ever owns what is inherently wild. Besides it’d be their word against mine. I don’t need their permission anymore. Not when I have the cat. As soon as Tim gets his ass back here, we’re leaving, and once news of this discovery breaks, their claims will be seen as nothing more than small-town yokels trying to get rich off my hard work.”

He gave voice to her worst nightmare. The Falkes would be unable to lay public claim to the cat. To do so would bring too much media scrutiny to their family, and they couldn’t risk that with babies on the way. Trying to fight the battle through legal means would take too long, be too drawn out. And all the while testing would continue. Tears stung her eyes as she thought of what Sindre might have to endure if she failed to help him escape.

The professor turned partially and looked at the cat, and his face broke into a huge smile. “He’s a beauty, isn’t he? I can’t wait to open him up and see what makes him tick.”

Beth’s breathing damn near stopped.

Get out now! He’s gonna kill me if you don’t get help. Is that what you want?

She dashed for the door, but Whitmore caught her around the waist.

“No,” she cried out.

The cougar in the cage yowled and hissed.

“Where are you going, Elizabeth?”

“Let…go!” She struggled against his grip. Just as she’d almost broken free, he grabbed her hair and jerked her head backward. “Ah-oww!”

For a middle-aged fat guy, he was damn strong.

“You’re not going anywhere. I’m not going to let you run to your lover and tattle. This cat is headed straight back to the university. And if you don’t like it, then I guess I’ll have to—oomph!”

Beth elbowed him in the gut, but it wasn’t enough to make him release her. In fact, if anything it pissed him off, and he jerked her back to the desk using her hair and shoved her into the chair again.

Tears burned her eyes from the pain in her head. Strands of her hair dangled from his fingers as he opened the bottom drawer on a cabinet.

“You can’t kill that cat,” she cried when he came up with a vial of potassium chloride.

“Who said this was for the cat?”

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck
, she heard from Sindre.
I have to change. He’ll kill us both if I don’t get out of here and stop him.

“No,” she screamed at Falke as she jumped up and tried shoving Whitmore out of the way. If she could just knock him off balance and make it to the door, she was sure she could outrun him.

Whitmore cursed when he dropped the vial in his effort to prevent her second dash at freedom.

“Don’t do that,” she shouted at the cat. If Sindre changed and stopped Whitmore, the family secret would surely be out. They damn sure didn’t need to let Whitmore witness more than what he already knew. Right now, all he had was speculation and conjecture. She wanted to keep it that way. This man wasn’t going to keep anyone’s secret. Not if he would steal a pet and threaten to kill her over it.

Whitmore obviously thought she was talking to him and laughed, even as he seized her by the damn hair again and stopped her dead in her tracks.