Tempted by the Jaguar #4: Infiltration (Riverford Shifters) (7 page)

When Kylie entered the bedroom again, Hunter was standing at the sole
window in the room wearing only his boxers, his eyes glazed and turned inward.
The room was dark, illuminated only by the lights from the estate far below.
The sky itself was an inky black with only a spattering of stars visible.
Tonight was a new moon. Should tomorrow’s circumstances force them to wait to
make their move until nightfall, the added darkness could prove to be a lucky
boon.

Kylie quietly walked over to him and slipped between him and the
window, wrapping her arms around his bare torso. His entire body was so tense
that it was almost like hugging a warm statue. This wouldn’t do. At this rate,
he would lie awake all night worrying about all the things that could go wrong
tomorrow, fearing because of the things Jack had told him, that his brother was
already dead and they would merely be recovering his body. He needed a
distraction, and if she was being completely honest with herself, she needed a
distraction just as badly.

She placed a deliberate, lingering kiss onto his neck, then another as
he drew in a sharp, startled breath. Her fingertips teased up and down his
spine as she continued to lightly kiss along his neck and shoulder before
dipping both hands down to caress suggestively over the firm muscles of his ass.

If anything, his body became even more rigid, but he made no move to
either embrace or push her away. She could almost sense his turmoil in the
silence that remained over them, broken only by the sound of their accelerating
heartbeats and breathing. The smell of his sudden arousal was potent, making
the muscles throughout her entire body tighten in anticipation and her groin ache
and throb.

He wanted her, but he wasn’t sure he should allow himself the
indulgence. She would have to push even harder.

“Help me forget how scared I am for everybody,” Kylie murmured against
his skin, pressing herself even harder against his body and tightening her arms
around his waist. “Just for tonight.”

She lifted up her head and raised herself on tiptoes to lightly touch
her lips to his own. Then suddenly her back was being slammed against a wall,
and Hunter’s lips crashed against hers, kissing her as though he had been
drowning and needed her mouth to breathe. He pushed his thighs between her legs
until they opened to accommodate him. His hands moved roughly down her sides
and slipped around her waist to grab her ass tightly, urging her to wrap a bare
leg around his thigh as he ground his swollen member against the center of her
pleasure almost desperately.

Kylie pushed back and rubbed herself against him just as aggressively,
his mouth swallowing her moans as bursts of pleasure raced up her spine. Then
suddenly his mouth was gone and her nightgown was being lifted over her head in
one fell swoop before she could even open her eyes, the cool air within the
room making her shiver as it hit her newly-bared skin.

Standing only in her panties, Kylie reached for Hunter’s boxers and
yanked them down his hips until they pooled at his ankles, her eyes fixed on
his cock as it sprang free. The head was already darkened, wet and leaking, and
she felt a surge of arousal in her groin that nearly had her knees buckling at
the thought of it pounding into her until her mind and senses were filled with
nothing but Hunter.

Before she could reach down to grasp his cock, Hunter crushed her
nearly-nude body against him, and his mouth dipped down to suck hungrily on her
neck. Kylie gasped and trembled as Hunter worked one of her erogenous zones
with lips, teeth, and tongue while her hardened nipples rubbed against his
silky, slightly damp skin.

Hunter walked them back towards the bed and tumbled them onto the
comforter. He watched with lust-filled eyes and something she couldn’t quite
identify as he pulled off her panties and she finally lay with her eyes hooded
in lust and her cheeks flushed completely exposed like a sensual meal set out for
his enjoyment.

He reached out a hand and began to caress down her body almost
reverently rather than to inflame. “You’re so beautiful,” he said quietly, his
eyes raising to fix intently on her face. “That you came into my life now of
all times—I can’t bear the thought of something happening to you. I want to
lock you up in this room until all the danger has passed, but…”

Kylie swallowed thickly. “But I’m a Polyshifter, and the danger will
never
pass.”

He nodded, his eyes infinitely sad, and he moved to cover her body with
his own. “I know.”

He kissed her gently, lovingly, with none of his earlier urgency
present, and then for a long moment, he merely lay atop her, pressing his nose
into her neck and inhaling her scent deeply. Kylie wrapped one arm around his
back and up to grasp one shoulder tightly. The other hand, she slid into his
hair, her fingertips cradling his head. Their legs seemed to intertwine
naturally, and for a long moment, she just held him, their earlier, desperate
ardor cooled but not completely gone. Just touching Hunter’s skin was enough to
send her own skin tingling, and his scent was still saturated with arousal, as
evidenced by the hard cock trapped between their bodies.

She had thought to make his mind crazy with lust, but it seemed what
Hunter needed more than to forget their worries, was to simply feel their
connection. If they fell asleep intertwined just like this, then she would have
no complaints. There would be plenty of time for them to make love once their
loved ones were safe, and they would finally be able to explore their newly
formed relationship at their leisure. She refused to believe otherwise.

Kylie listened to Hunter’s soft breathing and the soothing rhythm of
his heartbeat while softly caressing her fingers through his hair and lightly
massaging his scalp. She had found it really soothing the times he had done the
same for her. His weight was a pleasurable heaviness across her body, a warmth
that soon had her drowsy and her eyes drooping.

Then suddenly Hunter shifted, and his hips thrust forward, rubbing his
hardness deliberately against the length of her wet folds. Kylie gasped, her
drowsiness instantly gone, and instinctually tightened her thighs against his
hips. He did it a second time, harder and more prolonged, and a soft moan escaped
her throat as that silky hardness rubbed against her clit this time.

Hunter kissed her neck softly then lifted his head. Their eyes met, and
Kylie could clearly see his love for her shining within them despite the darkness.
It made her chest tighten painfully. None of the men she had dated had ever
looked at her like that, like she was the only thing they could see or wanted
to see.

Kylie raised her head and captured his lips, trying to put everything
she was feeling, the slight fear, the happiness, and yes, even the love, into
that one kiss. No tongue, just a passionate melding and rubbing of lips. When
they broke apart, Kylie’s cheeks felt warm, and her heart was racing to the
point where she was beginning to feel slightly lightheaded.

The smile that stretched Hunter’s lips was beautiful, happy and utterly
belonging within that single moment. Then he lifted his body off hers slightly,
holding himself aloft with one arm beside her head, and lowered his head to
take one of her nipples into his mouth while he used his free hand to palm the
other. Kylie immediately arched up against him, her skin hypersensitive from
the emotions that last kiss had invoked.

Hunter took his time. He slowly lathed attention to one breast with his
teeth, mouth, and tongue while he rolled and pinched the nipple of the other
with varying degrees of pressure between his fingers. His eyes were closed as
he did this, as if savoring the taste of her skin, but at the same time, his
slow, deliberate actions were worshipful. All their previous lovemaking had
been passionate, full of affection, yes, but there had always been something
primal and wild to the way they had practically devoured each other.

Kylie had always thought it was because of their shifter nature, and
maybe that was true, but the way he was caressing her body now was worlds different.
It was deeper, perhaps even more passionate than getting totally lost in each
other’s bodies until all they could feel was the mind-numbing pleasure as they
had before. Because this time she was just as aware of him and his reactions as
she was of her own.

She tugged on his hair a bit and ran her fingernails lightly up and
down his back until he shuddered. He released her breast from his mouth with a
wet
pop
and surged up her body to take her lips again, licking almost
lazily along the seam until she parted them and his tongue thrust forward to
slide eagerly along her own.

His fingers brushed teasingly over her clit a few times, and Kylie
bucked her hips in encouragement. She was already wet and more than ready for
him, the walls of her passage throbbing in anticipation of feeling his thick
cock filling her so completely. She clutched at his buttocks, urging him
forward as she arched her body into the caress.

Then his cock was suddenly pressing into her warmth in one, strong
thrust that had Hunter swallowing her moans. She wrapped her legs around his
hips and pressed him deeper inside with the heels of her feet. His hips began a
slow roll as he pulled out almost completely and thrust into her with long,
powerful strokes that allowed her to feel every inch of that silky hardness
caress along her sensitive tissues.

As when he had been sucking on her breasts, Hunter seemed intent on
savoring every clench of her passage and every cry wrenched from her throat
when he angled his thrusts and rubbed against those most sensitive areas that
drove her wild. There was nothing hurried or frenzied about his movements, no
desperate need to reach the edge of the cliff, just a joy in the intimacy of it
all. The pleasure was just a bonus.

Soon Kylie was thrusting back more forcefully in time to his rhythm,
feeling the pressure in her groin building more keenly than ever before. A few
more thrusts, and that pressure shattered into pure ecstasy, making her
accidentally bite Hunter’s bottom lip at the shock of it. She threw her head
back with a moan as she rode out her climax, unable to keep her eyes open even
though she ached to see his face as he found his own ecstasy.

Hunter allowed the full weight of his body to rest completely onto her
as he gave a series of final deep thrusts, and the first spurts of his
scorching seed began to fill her passage. She clamped her inner muscles down
tightly on his cock, tearing an appreciative moan from his lips as he continued
to thrust shallowly and jerkily into her soft warmth until he had been milked
completely and fell still.

Kylie let her legs slip off his back and fall to either side of his
hips. She playfully squeezed them against his slick flesh before raising her
head for a kiss which he eagerly gave.

They didn’t speak when they broke apart. Hunter withdrew from her and
rolled them onto their sides. Kylie snuggled closer, pressing her face to his
chest as he threw a leg over hers and his arms tightened around her waist.

For a long while, she listened to the steady beat of his heart and her
slightly accelerated one until Hunter’s breaths evened out into the rhythm of
sleep that she had grown accustomed to in the last couple of days. Although
their lovemaking had not been the wild and mind-numbing frenzy she had planned,
she was nevertheless satisfied with the outcome in every way, especially when
Hunter’s face looked so relaxed and peaceful.

Tomorrow they
would
rescue their loved ones from those monsters,
and a large part of their souls could finally begin to heal. It was only the
comfort of that thought that allowed Kylie to finally relax her mind and
worries enough to drift off as well.

For the umpteenth time, Kylie picked at the very uncomfortable swat-like
black vest she was wearing as Hunter, Maxim, and she drove in an Explorer they
borrowed from Lev’s brother up the highway to Amarillo. The sun was barely
peeking over the eastern horizon, but Kylie wasn’t in the least bit sleepy.

Dressed from head-to-toe in black, every piece of her outfit had been
duplicated from the clothes the lioness assassin had been wearing when she had
attacked them at Karen’s house. Hunter had told her about it beforehand, and
she had agreed that it was the best way to be seen when they drove up to the
gates of the ranch, but now that she was actually wearing it, along with the
blonde wig that had been her own idea, she felt as though she was cosplaying
rather than acting as a true decoy.

Her companions were dressed casually in jeans, sweatshirts, and hiking
boots, though Kylie knew that both carried a concealed Glock holstered to their
sides. Kylie prayed that neither man would have to use them. It was no small
comfort that both were just as lethal in their shifted forms.

She and Hunter sat in the back while Maxim drove, and Kylie was
immensely grateful for the comforting hand Hunter had threaded in her own. It
was the anchor she needed to keep her fear and nervousness at bay for the
important part she was about to play. Hunter was staring down at his cell
phone, reading a text that had just come in from one of Maxim’s wolves.

“The geneticist is still at home,” Hunter announced. “We may have to
storm the house and abduct him if he doesn’t plan on going to the ranch today.”

“We’ll give it another couple of hours,” Maxim replied. “That’ll give
all the various groups more than enough time to get into position.”

Kylie’s stomach lurched with renewed nerves. She was
really
beginning to regret eating breakfast.

Hunter squeezed her hand, and she turned to him questionably. “It’s not
too late for you to back out,” he said. “You know that I’d rather you had
stayed back at Lev’s place with Sasha, anyway. Maxim and I could easily create
another kind of distraction.”

Kylie scowled. “You can stop right there. Me going in as a lioness is
the best way to make sure both you and Maxim get into the ranch without having
to run through a rain of bullets.”

“If the bobcats do their part well, then all of us may be able to get inside
without being shot at even once,” Hunter argued.

“Yeah,
if
,” Kylie said dryly. “I’m not willing to make that bet
with either of your lives just because I’m a little nervous.”

Maxim snorted. “A little? I can smell your fear all the way up here.”

“Even so, I’m still doing this,” Kylie retorted stubbornly.

Hunter sighed. “It was worth another shot.”

“We’re almost to Amarillo,” Maxim announced. “We’ll park and wait for
the others to pick us up with the doc’s car at the Westgate Mall as planned.”

Kylie sighed. The next two hours would no doubt be the longest in her
life.

***

“They’re here,” Maxim said abruptly, making Kylie jump.

She had been staring out the window at the sea of cars surrounding them,
thinking about Molly and her mother and what she was going to say to them when
she finally saw them. And she
would
see her mother today. She refused to
believe otherwise.

A silver Audi slowly drove by before parking in a slot at the end of
the lane.

Hunter opened his door and released her hand. “This is it.”

Kylie swallowed hard against the huge knot that had suddenly formed in
her throat and nodded sharply at him. Time to implement the next stage of her
disguise.

She took her mother’s charm bracelet off and snapped open the small
charm with the stylized “L” engraved into the silver on each side. She quickly
rubbed the pad of her index finger along the inside walls of both halves just
to be sure before closing the charm and stuffing the bracelet deep into her
pants pocket.

Once the smell of lion reached her nose, she pulled the thick, leather
hood attached to her vest over her head until half her face was concealed, the
edges of the material touching the tip of her nose. Then with a deep breath to
steady herself, she climbed out of the vehicle where Hunter was already waiting
for her. She saw his nose flare once, but he said nothing as they followed
Maxim down to the silver car.

Maxim exchanged keys with the driver of the Audi, a wolf Kylie didn’t
recognize, but it was the man in the backseat with a split lip and a swollen,
darkening eye trying to glare a hole through the window and into the side of
Maxim’s head that had her complete attention. She felt a wash of hatred flow
through her at the blatant look of outrage on the bastard’s face. She couldn’t
fathom the type of evil a person would have to have inside to experiment on and
torture another living creature without batting an eye and then feel outraged that
someone had dared taken offense to his work and would attack him like this. At
least his mouth was duct taped shut so they wouldn’t be forced to listen to his
vileness the whole way to the ranch.

It was in that moment that Kylie’s fear and nervousness disappeared
completely. It was the first time she was glad that she had been born a
Polyshifter, that because of her unique ability to shift into a lion, she could
contribute to the operation that would bring down the lions’ ranch and all its
horrors, but more importantly, all their loved ones would be saved.

“Be careful back there with that piece of trash,” Kylie told Hunter as
she moved to circle around the front of the car as far away from the three
wolves that had exited it as possible.

They had all been told that Kylie would be wearing the scent of a lioness
curtesy of the assassin they had taken prisoner as part of their deception, but
she didn’t want to get too close and allow them to get a good whiff of her and
realize that the scent of lion was too strong and fresh to just be coming from
her clothing.

“Follow us until you get a quarter of a mile away and then hide the SUV
at the designated spot,” Maxim instructed. “We’ll be counting on you three to
run interference should any of us have a tail once we’ve rescued all the
captives.”

Kylie waited until the three were nearly to Lev’s brother’s SUV before
walking over to the front passenger door and slipping into the front seat.
Hunter was already seated next to the geneticist and was sticking a piece of
tape lightly over his mouth. Kylie winced internally, hoping he wouldn’t have
to rip it off or he would be losing a good portion of his facial hair.

Through the rearview mirror, Kylie saw their lion captive’s eyes widen
in utter shock, then narrow in rage, the word “traitor” practically radiated
from them. Muffled screams that were probably expletives broke the silence, but
none of them paid the geneticist any mind. He finally subsided once they were
back on the highway heading west out of the city.

Kylie kept her eyes looking straight ahead and her body alert, doing
her best to mimic what she remembered of the body language of the lioness
assassin. No one said a word the entire ride to the ranch, the silence only
broken when the geneticist abruptly gasped. Her eyes flickered to the rearview
mirror again in enough time to see him slump over, his seatbelt the only thing
preventing him from falling over completely.

Hunter pushed him back until his back and bound hands rested against
the seat and positioned the lolling head to rest against the man’s own shoulder.
He then tucked the empty syringe in his hand into the pocket of the seat in
front of him and settled into a similar position, playing the part of a
captured and unconscious co-conspirator.

“It’s show time,” Maxim muttered. He turned the car onto a single-lane
dirt road that cut through a mini-forest of mesquite trees.

Kylie suddenly felt the uncanny sensation of dozens of eyes on her, and
she had to fight down a growl, not sure if they were indeed being watched or if
it was just her imagination because she knew their allies were out there
somewhere.

About a half-mile down, a metal gate came into view that stretched
across the road, the gate, according to Jack, connected to an electrified fence
that spanned the entire perimeter of the property.  A small, white building sat
on the side of the road outside the fence about a meter or two out. A guard
station.

Maxim pulled up to it without any hesitation and rolled down his
window. Some of the bobcat sharpshooters had been tasked with taking care of
the guards that had been posted all along the entrance road before they could
alert the guard station of the Audi’s approach, and given that no one had shot
at them yet, they had been successful.

However, the real test was now.

Kylie turned her head towards Maxim’s window just as the guard barked,
“Who the hell are you?”

She knew the exact moment the man saw her because he suddenly went
utterly still and his heart literally stuttered in fear. It was said that even
members of the lion clans feared their assassins, that they lived in constant
fear of pissing off someone in a higher echelon and finding one of the Alpha’s
assassins on their doorstep.

“It appears we have a little problem,” Kylie said casually, staring
intensely at the lion shifter even though her hood kept him from seeing her
eyes.

“I-I—” the security guard stammered, his demeanor screaming how
desperately he wanted to flee.

“Imagine my surprise when our Alpha pulled me from another job in order
to clean up your colossal fuck-up a few days ago. Then I come here and find
that it wasn’t so much as a fuck-up but likely a deliberate act of treason.”
She gestured with her head towards the backseat, and the lion finally noticed
the geneticist and Hunter.

Kylie didn’t think his face could become any paler. “I—I see.”

“A word of warning,” Kylie continued, proud that her voice remained
strong and deadly. “Although I have thus far found you and this station’s other
workers innocent of this man’s treachery, that will change if you alert those
in the compound that I am coming.”