When A Lioness Snarls (A Lion's Pride Book 5) (17 page)

I
can’t fucking believe
that asshole escaped.

The thought had Jeoff stomping back into the club in search of someone to blame. Unfortunately for him, the fight inside appeared to have ended with most of the players flat on the floor. No one left for him to hit. Fuck. Only a handful had been left standing, Charlemagne being one of them, as was Arik. Reba and the big bat dude also seemed unscathed, if glaring at each other.

The limp bodies nagged him. “Are they all dead?” He couldn’t help an appalled note. He’d grown rather fond of the pride’s females—even if they drove him nuts—and would hate to see them gone.

“Simply sleeping.” Charlemagne waggled his fingers. “Sometimes, it’s smarter to avoid a battle.”

Avoid battle when Jeoff needed something to hit? “But I thought you said treason was punishable by death.”

For a moment, the other man’s eyes turned a deep black, and by black, Jeoff meant the entire orb. “Oh, they will be punished. Never fear. There are no second chances for whampyr who betray their master.”

“So you’ll punish these ones. Whoopedy-doo. What of the one who got away? Your mutiny leader is still out there, and we still don’t know where Luna is.”

“She is probably at his lair.”

“Lair?” Arik repeated the word.

It was an odd word to use that evoked images of a dark cave and musty smells.

“Lair. Safe house. Whatever you wish to call it. The whampyr might be created to act as servants, but part of their nature is a need to keep themselves a lair of some sort, a hideout they can scuttle to should the need arise.”

“A need for what?”

“That is not something you need to know.” Charlemagne angled his head. “And while we discuss the whampyr habits, you are allowing him time to change locations. If we make haste, we should find him.”

“You know where this hideout is?”

“Indeed. I am master in more than just name, wolf.”

However, ten minutes later, standing at the base of the condemned building, Jeoff had to wonder if Charlemagne had fucked with him. Not a single scent trace in and around the area belonged to Luna. The various entrances to the building were boarded tight and showed no signs of tampering or entry.

“Are you sure they’re in here?” Jeoff asked. Or was this Charlemagne’s way of stalling them and allowing that monster to harm Luna?

“Such skepticism.”

“Can you blame me?”

“Not a bit. You’re right to be wary. It is, after all, in your nature. Animals always know when they encounter a predator.”

“I should just kill you,” Jeoff snarled, because surely Arik had a law against letting pompous asshats live.

“No killing,” Arik grumbled as he climbed out of his car, phone to his ear. “Apparently, he’s got friends in high places, and they would be most displeased if something happened to him.”

“Who the fuck told you what to do? You’re king,” Jeoff asked with a frown, only to almost immediately mutter an “oh” of understanding. Only one group had the power to order Arik. The High Council, a group of shifters never seen, and yet, from the shadows, they pulled and dangled the puppet strings that kept their civilization safe. Screwing with them meant disappearing in the night, all traces gone, and no one ever mentioning your name again. Or so the whispers said. No one ever spoke of those who disappeared.

“Now that I’ve been vouched for, then perhaps you might wish to hasten things along. The one you seek is within, but you need to stop wasting time. I don’t think he’s thinking too rationally. The girl might suffer if you linger.”

Snarl. The mention of Luna in danger didn’t sit well at all. It also didn’t change the fact that the building was sealed shut. Jeoff traced the edges of the plywood barring his way and frowned. How to get in? Someone wanted to make sure no one entered, given the absurd number of nails used to affix it. “I don’t suppose anyone has a crow bar?”

Apparently, the pride had quite a few in the trunks of their vehicles. Stacey handed him one, and Jeoff fitted it into the crack and pushed. The squeal of nails pulling free mixed with that of wood cracking and popping. From the small gap he created wafted an unbelievable stench.

Death.

Decay.

Delightful.

And his wolf wondered why Jeoff preferred to choose the cologne when he went shopping.

The olfactory evidence of violence didn’t deter Jeoff or the others. In short order, torn plywood littered the ground and the miasma of decaying flesh permeated the air. With so many points of entry, they penetrated the lower level of the building, a sad reminder of the past.

Once, many decades ago, this place had served as an apartment complex built for low-income families. It was based on simple lines. Long hallway with doors off to either side. At one end there was an elevator, at the other, a stairway.

Which way should he go? Then again, given the lack of power, the choice seemed evident. Except…the stairs didn’t reek, and Jeoff was working with curious cats who wanted to see what was in the elevator.

With that stench, Jeoff could almost guarantee it wouldn’t be anything good. Even Hayder, a usually tough lion, blanched at the sight that met their eyes when they hauled the doors open.

No one could be unaffected by the pile of bodies dumped in the shaft, many of them in partially eaten states, ignobly piled atop the cab of the elevator permanently stopped one flow below. Their discovery explained the source of the reek. Of more concern, despite the damage, Jeoff recognized a body close to the top of the pile.

“That’s the missing wolf pack member.”

And Reba pointed out the missing tiger couple. As to the rest… Perhaps DNA and dental records would give their families closure.

A certain amount of relief imbued him as he noted no fresher corpses, more specifically, no Luna corpse. He might have gone nuts if he’d found it.

The faint sound of fighting came to them from up above. High above. The lionesses, some stripping for the second time that evening, went bolting for the stairs, a mini army of gold determined to reach the top of the tower.

But Jeoff noted the metal rungs embedded in the concrete shaft of the elevator. A straight shot up and possibly more solid than the other routes.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he tapped Leo on the shoulder. “I need you to vault me.”

“Vault you where?” the big lion asked.

You had to love friends that didn’t ask why. Jeoff pointed. “Over the bodies. I need to get to that ladder.”

“Done.”

In short order, with Leo’s mighty boost, Jeoff was clambering up the rusted rungs, pushing himself, knowing that each second counted. The trek of several stories was long and, at times, frightening, especially when the grasp of one bar saw it pulling free from the wall. Jeoff dropped it, only to wince as he imagined it landing amidst the corpses.

So long as it’s not me using them as a safety net.

Shudder.

He kept climbing, noting that, past the sound of his harsh pant of exertion, he could hear a struggle happening. A fight as Luna did her best to save herself.

He climbed faster and had just poked his head over the rim of the shaft when he noted a half-naked Luna streaking toward him, and, stalking behind her, the bat dude.

It gave him an idea. “Get on my back,” he shouted, bracing himself against the rungs, hoping they would hold not just his, but now Luna’s weight, as well.

“Are you treating me like a girl and saving me?” she yelled as she dropped to her haunches by the edge.

“Totally. It’s what good boyfriends do.”

“We’re not dating.” She peered over the edge.

“According to you. But, good news, I’m tenacious.”

“I thought that was a characteristic of bull terriers.”

“And wolves,” he quipped, all the while keeping his eye on bat dude, who uttered a cry of rage as Luna wrapped her arms around him and lowered herself into the shaft. Her thighs nudged his hips, clamping onto him, but he still cautioned her to, “Hold on tight.” Because the ride down could get bumpy.

Descents always proved much faster, especially since he could just toe the rung below and drop to it. From overhead the bat dude griped, “You won’t get far. I’ll find you. I have your taste now. You’ll never escape me.”

Jeoff saw no need to chastise Luna for loosening one arm long enough to flash her middle finger and utter a very eloquent, “Fuck you.”

As antagonizing psycho creatures went, it worked rather well. The monster screamed, a wordless invective of sound, but more worrisome was it abruptly cut off. What did that mean? Had the lionesses made it to that top floor using the stairs?

Nope.

“He’s following us,” Luna muttered.

And, by follow, Luna didn’t mean he used the ladder. The monster dropped down and grabbed at Luna as he passed, tearing her from Jeoff’s back.

“Luna!” He screamed her name, the darkness mocking him. He could see nothing looking down, only shadows.

He took the rungs at breakneck speed and almost missed the scent. There, on the third floor, through the partially opened elevator doors, Luna’s scent clung to the edges. Jeoff thrust himself through that opening and caught a glimpse of the bat dude and Luna at the far end. Faint light illuminated the edges of the plywood covering the window to the outside, outlining them clearly.

Jeoff growled and ran, his rage mighty, mighty enough that he managed to drop some claws and his teeth elongated. A fierce primal anger thrummed through him.

The creature held Luna by his side, one-armed, much to her spitting irritation. The wham used its free hand to punch at the plywood covering the window. It splintered under his assault, revealing the outside.

He’s gonna fly.
Fuck no. If the bat dude escaped with Luna now, they might never find her again. Jeoff put on a burst of speed, determined to reach him before that happened. Just as the wham dragged Luna close, Luna reacted, sinking her teeth into its arm, biting hard enough to tear off a chunk. Uttering a cry of rage, the wham released her, dark blood pumping from his wound.

Luna spat. “Tastes like shit.”

“Fucking whore!” the monster screamed. “You will pay for that.”

For a moment, Jeoff thought he’d grab Luna again, but their eyes met, and the bat dude, instead, thrust its head and upper shoulders through the hole it made to the outside.

Perfect. Jeoff leaped the final few feet, his human legs bunching and coiling with bristling power. He extended his hands and caught at the monster’s wings before he could push himself through the window.

The creature bellowed in rage as Jeoff held them and pulled, the disturbing sound of ripping fleshy paper and cracking bone distinctive.

The thrashing by the monster proved mighty and flung Jeoff hard enough that he hit the wall and partially sank into the soggy plaster. He pushed himself away and could only watch as the monster hesitated in front of the open window, probably wondering if he should fly, given his wings were a little bent.

And then it didn’t matter. Luna, with a mighty shove, sent the beast through the open space.

She immediately peeked her head out. “Shit,” she muttered. “He can still use those things.”

Jeoff sprinted to her side, and they both peered out the window, noting the bat dude had extended his wings and sought to soar. He wobbled and wavered. The monster righted itself and rose higher and higher. Out of reach, getting away, and he might have flown off if other shadows, winged ones, hadn’t suddenly converged from several directions.

The wounded bat dude might have stood a chance against a single shifter, or two, but against its own kind and whilst trying to stay aloft on damaged wings?

It was hard to track the action, but they all heard the shrill shriek of triumph, and they all saw the head that came plummeting down, mouth forever open in surprise. It hit the pavement and shattered into dust, followed a moment later by the body.

It’s over.
Luna was safe and the monster dead.

N
ot all of
the monsters are dead. The realization pulled a growl from Luna as she tore herself from Jeoff’s grasp the moment they hit the pavement outside. She dove at the bat dude standing behind Charlemagne.

What she couldn’t understand was why no one else was trying to kill him too.

“Luna, I command you to stop right now.” Arik’s voice rang out loud and clear.

“What?” The mental screeching of brakes halted her feet, and she turned an incredulous glare on her leader. “Why?”

“Stop because you cannot kill Gaston Charlemagne or his servants.”

She turned her head back and looked at the dude in the suit. “I’m pretty sure I can take him.”

“Doesn’t matter if you can or not. You’re not allowed to kill him.”

“What?” She couldn’t stem the plaintive note. “Why can’t I kill him?” Luna heard the order from her king and didn’t want to obey. “He’s in cahoots with those murderous flying mice.”

“Mice?” A chuckle left the suave club owner. “That is quite the amusing comparison, don’t you think, Jean Francois.”

Jean Francois crossed his arms over his massive gray-furred chest. “Perhaps the female needs glasses.”

“Perhaps squeaky toys shouldn’t talk unless I’m biting them,” Luna snapped. “Can someone tell me what the hell is going on? Why aren’t we turning these guys into carrion scraps?” Arik explained because it turned out she’d missed out on a few crucial discoveries during her abduction.

In a nutshell, Charlemagne had come to town for a fresh start in a new city with his crew of whampyrs—although she preferred Hayder’s wham appellation. One of the older whams went nuts. Started to eat folks and covered it up. Apparently, shifters were a delicacy to the winged mice folk.
Blood is like wine.
They drank it usually from a cup unless they went old-school and took it from the vein like the dead dude did.

While no one had said it yet, Luna knew, as soon as they returned to the condo, the rumors would start of the vampires that had come to town. Vampires they were forbidden from killing. How could they allow them to stay? How come they didn’t sharpen their claws and remove them from this world?

They are predators like us.

No, not like us. The lions killed to feed and protect.

Exactly.

Explain then the bodies in the shaft. Except Charlemagne did have an explanation. Basically, his servant had gone nuts. Apparently, it happened with the older ones of their kind, and he’d missed the signs. But the crazy mouse dude and those he’d converted were dead now. Yet, what of the rest? What of the club and its owner and those still alive by his side?

With a theatrical roll of his eyes, and a sigh of, “The things I do to keep the wildlife happy,” Charlemagne agreed to abide by Arik’s city rules out of courtesy, and Luna wondered how long this uneasy truce would last.

As the people who’d come to her rescue piled into vehicles and made plans to go find a place that served breakfast at four a.m., Charlemagne flicked dust from his lapels. “Now that we are done, if you’ll excuse me, I have to make arrangements to hire new staff. Human staff, I think this time.”

As the club owner turned to walk away, Arik growled. “We’re not done. I still have questions.”

“I’m sure you do, and I might decide to answer them. Eventually.”

“You will—” There was no point in Arik finishing his sentence; Charlemagne was gone. Vanished into thin air.

“Fuck me, how does he do that?” Because Luna didn’t believe in magic.

And apparently, Jeoff believed in miracles because she didn’t know how he thought he wouldn’t die when he announced, “Hayder, I’m going to borrow your wheels and take Luna back to my place.”

“Oooh, someone is going to get lucky,” Stacey sang.

“Do you have enough peanut butter?” snickered another of her crew. Luna, the has-no-shame-Luna of the pride, almost blushed as she recalled a conversation one night at the bar about how the only way to get a man to lick a pussy right was to put peanut butter on it and make sure you used a wolf.

“I don’t have any clothes at your place,” she argued.

“Awesome.”

“Or a toothbrush.”

“I have a spare somewhere, I’m sure.”

“I thought I said no more getting involved.”

“Don’t make me cluck in front of your friends.”

Luna noted the sly ladies of her crew eyeballing her and Jeoff. Eyeballing her man.

Not mine. But he could be.

Stacey strutted close, wearing some loose frock that delineated her braless state. Luna felt their close friendship might be coming to an end.

“If Luna doesn’t want to go back with you, I’ll come.” Stacey winked.

Luna lost it. Only Jeoff’s arms wrapped around her kept Luna from going after Stacey, who skipped out of reach with a giggle. “I knew she liked him. Luna likes Jeoff.”

And that was what started “Luna and Jeoff sitting in a tree, Frenching naked as can be.” The lyrics got dirtier from there, and Luna’s cheeks got brighter as Jeoff hauled her off. What embarrassed her wasn’t the song or even Jeoff’s very intriguing manhandling. The thing that ripened her cheeks was it was true. She did like Jeoff.

And it scared the hell out of her.

Since when, though, did she let fear dictate her actions? She saw a high mountain; she climbed it. She saw a cookie jar on top of the fridge; she filched from it. She lusted after a six-footish wolf who seemed determined to become someone important in her life, and she should damn well let him fuck her as many times as he could manage. Because she was not afraid.

But what of tomorrow? What happens then?

She did an about-turn in the hall, only steps from his door, the loose track pants she’d managed to score for the ride over slipping over her ass as she practically jogged back to the elevator.

Jeoff easily caught her, and since she was apparently still under the influence of drugs, she let him carry her back to his place.

“We shouldn’t be doing this. I don’t know if I’m ready for commitment.”

“So don’t commit. Just do me.”

“Do me?” She stopped wiggling on his shoulder, not too hard because, apparently, she wanted to be caught. “Is that supposed to be sexy?”

“I’d think it was sexy if you said it. Hell, I thought it was sexy just the way you repeated it. And, for your information, yes, I’d do you.”

When a man said that to a woman, how could she help melting? Some might balk at the stark crudeness of it, but Luna saw to the core of it. The unvarnished truth. Jeoff wanted her.

She wanted him, and that was why she let him strip her, loving the slow drag of his fingers over her skin as he tugged it free of the fabric concealing it. She couldn’t wait to feel the burning touch of his hands, palm pressed to her skin.

Instead of branding her, he led her to the bathroom. The shower water didn’t take long to become warm, and he got in first, still holding her hand, then tugged her in.

Since speaking would probably ruin the moment, Luna kept quiet. Dirty talk had a time and place. But some moments, some intimate moments, where choices swung over a precipice, those needed no words. Soft touches, intense looks, the burning kiss by lips that devoured.

Jeoff uttered a soft growl when she nipped his lower lip then sucked it.

“You drive me wild.” The words rumbled and shivered against her wet lips.

“Ditto, and not because you have an incontinence problem when you drink.” She laughed, especially when his hands gripped her bare ass cheeks and yanked her close.

“That is the last time you’ll ever compare me to anyone else. Because there will be no one else. Just me. And you.”

He pinned her with words, and she fought the panicked flutter. Jeoff wanted to possess her.

Just like we shall own him.
Remember, a monogamous relationship went two ways. By him claiming her, she could claim him, and no one else would touch.

No touch. No share. No one but her allowed to touch the skin she ran her fingers over, the shiver that went through his frame a heady thing.

“I am going to fuck you,” he said as his hands left the curve of her buttocks to span her waist.

Her breath caught at his words. So filthy. And from Jeoff. “Maybe I’ll fuck you first.” She did so like to ride on top.

He spun her and leaned against her back, pressing her into the cold tile. “It’s okay to let go. To let someone else be in charge.”

“I don’t have power issues.” She shoved against him, only to have him cage her between his arms, his body tucked behind, the evidence of his erection pointing upward and pressed against the crevice of her buttocks. Decadently hot.

She almost missed his next words as she held her breath in anticipation, waiting for his next touch.

“I am going to take you, Luna. I am going to take you. Not just once, not twice, but as many times as it takes until you realize I’m here to stay.”

“That could take a while.”

“I know. Which just proves my point.”

“Can’t you prove your point another way?” She wiggled her ass against him, causing him to lean down and nip at her ear.

Her breath caught. How she loved a good ear nibble. She melted into a puddle against him as his lips and tongue explored the shell and lobe of her ear. She rotated against him, her breathing coming in hot pants, her fingers scrabbling at the tile wall.

The hands at her waist spun her around to face him again, and he raised her with ease. His hard lips met hers in a fiery kiss that stole her breath but ignited every single nerve ending. The cold tile wall pressed against her back when he propped her against it, a stark counter to her burning skin.

Speaking of skin, his touched hers in many spots, and she didn’t want to lose it, so she drew him closer with arms wrapped around his neck while her legs locked around his waist.

Their lips slid and caressed in wet abandon. His tongue slipped into her mouth, and she returned the favor. His grumble of pleasure caused shivers to erupt. Mouths meshed intimately and left his hands free to roam from her waist to the underside of her thighs. It allowed him to manhandle her until his cock bobbed just under her sex.

The head of his prick stroked at her sex, parting her swollen nether lips, pressing into her. She couldn’t help but throw her head back, gasping for air, trying to make a sound as he penetrated her, this second time possibly better than the first. He sheathed himself in her, a long molten steel rod, and she clutched at his shoulders.

He began to move, his hips rotating, slow, circular pushing. Deep inside. She tightened.

A slight withdrawal and then a hard thrust. Gasp and an even tighter fist around his cock.

Over and over, he teased her, claimed her until she begged for relief.

“Please. Oh, yes.”

He swallowed her words. “Come for me,” he whispered.

Yes. Yes. YES!

His fingers dug into her thighs, maintaining his grip as he slammed his shaft deep in her channel. Over and over and over again. She reached the point of no sound, her body taut and ready to snap. Harder he pistoned, slamming in and out of her channel, the slick friction enough to shove her over the edge. And bring him with her.

They did eventually fall into bed, a naked pile of limbs that she totally enjoyed, even if he did ruin it by saying, “This is nice.”

“Nice is for pussies.”

“Guess we’re okay then.”

“Just because I slept with you again doesn’t make us a couple.”

“If you say so.”

“I mean it.”

“I know.”

“Wanna fuck again?”

Hell yeah, she did. They could talk about the fact this was just a two-time thing in the morning.