When A Lioness Snarls (A Lion's Pride Book 5) (3 page)

T
he force
of the explosion lifted Jeoff from his feet and sent him flying. He knew enough to tuck, so he hit the ground partially protected and immediately rolled to his feet.

While the wolf in him immediately wanted to chase after whoever had flung the Molotov cocktail, his first concern was Luna.

Apparently, he wasn’t on her list, though. A snarl ripped through the air, and before he had time to pivot, he noted her golden shape bounding off into the woods. She’d managed to shrug off her coat, but her jeans and shirt were a write-off. Still, he grabbed her shit and ran for the edge of the woods, dropping them in a pile just out of sight of the house, which billowed smoke and lit the dark yard with the orange glow of hungry flames.

He quickly shed his own garments, dropping them on top of hers, urgency firing him. His wolf demanded they go on a hunt, and they would, but the man-half was also practical. They couldn’t exactly go home in the buff.

Naked, he crouched and called forth his beast. Not that it truly needed urging. The animal half of his psyche was never far beneath the surface.

Skin rippled, fur sprouted, limbs twisted and contorted with a pain that would send a regular human into a catatonic state. But he was strong. Fierce.

Wolf…

As his four paws hit the ground, his head lifted and he howled, an eerie ululation that announced, “I’m on the hunt.”

He didn’t need to press his nose to the ground to find a trail. Everything was so clear to him in this shape. Odor practically had a color and shape, the various threads of it visible and easy to follow. While a part of him longed to chase the cat—and perhaps corner it in a tree—he stuck to the discordant flavor in the air, the one that smelled out of place. The same cologne he’d smelled on the front porch.

Fleet of foot in this four-legged shape, he bounded through the forest, the protected parkland stretching acres in all directions, so many places for prey to hide.

In the distance, he could hear the approaching scream of sirens, firefighters on their way to save a hopelessly lost house. Closer, he could hear the crunch as his paws hit the fallen foliage layering the ground. The scattered leaves swirled and rustled, marking his path.

But he wasn’t looking to hide. He was on a hunt.

Whoever he chased proved fleet. Jeoff was fast, but not fast enough, and neither was the lioness. He caught up to Luna at the edge of a road bisecting the forest, pacing the gravel shoulder, the lingering scent of car exhaust still in the air.

It was where the trail ended. Their prey had escaped.

She morphed out of her lion and paced in the flesh. Very nice naked flesh. “Fuck!” She repeated the word a few times as she strutted back and forth in agitation.

He lay down, head on his paws, and listened to her rant.

“I can’t believe he outran me. And on two feet! That’s like unheard of. He mustn’t be human. No human could beat me in a foot race.”

She had a point. But if it wasn’t human, and it didn’t smell like shifter, what did that leave? Jeoff had never heard of anything with two feet being able to outrun a wolf and lioness.

“And what was wrong with his scent? That cologne was rudely overpowering. You’d think he doused himself in it.”

Which begged the question, why? What had the arsonist wanted to hide?

“What I’d like to know is why the hell he torched the house and tried to barbecue us with it. Was he afraid we’d find a clue?”

If the arsonist had left something behind, then they’d missed it. Whatever it was would turn to ash, leaving the case of the missing tigers shrouded in mystery.

She turned her irate gaze on him, five-foot-almost-nothing of blonde irritation. Cute as hell, if deadly. “And why hell are you still in your doggy shape? Is it because you’re afraid I’m going to point and laugh?”

Was she on that again? Time to put her conjecture to rest.

He switched shapes, the reverse process no more pleasant. What he did find fun was the widening of her eyes as she let herself stare unabashedly at his groin.

“Damn. Do you, like, pass out when that thing gets hard?”

I
t was
hard to not giggle as Jeoff, his back ramrod straight, stalked back toward the burning house, bare feet stomping the leaves.

“Oh come on. It was a legitimate question. I mean, you only have so much blood to spare, and that thing is massive.”

“I don’t pass out,” was his terse reply.

“Do you just moan and grunt like Frankenstein?”

“My speech is perfectly fine during sex.”

“Really? I mean, you’ll have to excuse my skepticism. After all, I am taking only your word for it. Feel free to prove it. I’ll sacrifice my virtue for the greater good.”

“Virtue?” He snorted.

“Hey, are you implying something?”

“Boldly stating. We both know you’re far from a virgin.”

“Nothing wrong with a lusty appetite,” she grumbled, but she couldn’t stay mad with the most perfect ass flexing in front of her. “So, what’s the plan when we get to the house? Find some marshmallows? Ooh, maybe a hot fireman. They smell delicious. All smoky and—”

Before she could complete that thought, she found herself caught against a naked body and propelled against a nearby tree trunk. Green eyes, bright and wild, glared down at her.

“Do you ever stop?” Jeoff asked.

“Stop what?”

“Talking.”

“If you’ve got a problem with it, then make me stop. We both know you’ve got the right tool for it.” She couldn’t help an impish grin.

“How many times do I have to say it’s never going to happen? I don’t get involved with lionesses. I doubt my sanity or insurance could handle it.”

For some reason, his adamant stance bothered her. “You say that, and yet you’ve never even given us a chance.” Never given her a chance, and this despite the fact that Luna knew he found her attractive. Just ask the erection trying to poke her.

“I don’t have to give you a chance because I know the outcome.”

“Do you?” Despite his constant rebuffs, she couldn’t help trailing the tips of her fingers down his bare ribcage.

He sucked in a breath, and his eyes shuttered halfway, but even that couldn’t hide the glow. The pattering of his heart stepped up a notch. He dipped his head and whispered, “We have company.”

Whirling away from her, he dropped into a half-crouch, ready to defend her. How cute.

But unnecessary. She sighed. “Your timing sucks, Reba.”

From between the tree trunks stepped her mocha-skinned friend. She dangled Luna’s leather jacket from one hand and had the rest of their clothes tucked under her arm. “I’d say my timing is most impeccable. Really, Luna, playing with a dog at a time like this.”

Luna caught the jacket as it was tossed at her. Wearing it would look kind of odd, though, with nothing else on.

“How did you find us?” Luna asked, letting her hand dart sideways to snatch at Jeoff’s pile of clothes. While his briefs were a little large, they covered her bottom, and his T-shirt did a good job of hiding the rest. It didn’t help with the chill, though. It wasn’t exactly warm enough to be walking around in the buff, especially now that Jeoff had that closed-off look on his face.

So close to getting a taste. Ruined by Reba, who surely had cock-blocking down to a science.

“I was visiting my grandma. She lives just a few streets over. I came to check out the sirens and saw what’s left of your bike.”

“Left?” Forgetting she was still barefoot and wearing only a man’s T-shirt and a coat, Luna went bolting, but she couldn’t run fast enough to save her precious.

When Jeoff reached her, she was kneeling beside her bike, trying to stifle sobs. In the frenzy of the first responders, her precious baby had been knocked to its side and dragged out of the way to make room for the firemen and their hoses.

Ash layered it in a dirty film, hot embers had scored the hand-stitched leather seat, and the tank was scraped and dented from its ignoble abuse. She patted it. “It’s okay, baby. Momma is going to make it all better.”

“Is she all right?” a stranger asked.

Luna heard the whispered query, but didn’t reply. Nothing would be all right until her baby was fixed.

Sob.

“She was very close to her bike,” Jeoff replied.

“I saw you guys pull up on it. Were you the new tenants? Guess you won’t be moving in now.”

Luna half listened as she hugged her bike.

“Actually, we were friends of the couple who used to live here. We popped out to say hi, but noticed they were gone.”

“Yeah, it was strange how quick they moved out. Petunia never said a word about them leaving.”

“So you talked?”

Luna peeked from the corner of her eye and noted Jeoff, dressed in his pants, jacket, and wearing shoes, chatting to a petite redhead dressed in a tiny robe. A very tiny robe.

Grrr.

“I chatted with Petunia a few times. She was a hoot. She and her husband kept trying to get me and my boyfriend to go out with them.”

“Go where?”

“Partying at the clubs. But we didn’t go.”

“Not into the club scene?” he prodded.

“Oh, I like partying, don’t get me wrong, but Petunia wasn’t into regular dance clubs. She and her husband were into kinkier stuff.”

“How kinky?” Jeoff asked, his voice a low, husky whisper, and that little redheaded hussy—who obviously wasn’t a very good girlfriend—sucked it up.

“Like really kinky, as in swinger clubs.”

Goodness, now there was something Luna hadn’t known.

“Really? I didn’t know there were any of those around here.”

“There’s not many. Most are just a few couples getting together. But there was this one place. It’s in the city, down in the warehouse district. She kept telling us we should go.”

“Do you remember the name of this place? I know some friends who might be interested.”

The redhead tapped her chin. “Ugh. I can’t remember it. I do know it’s a weird name. Kind of jungle and zoo-ish at the same time.”

That was the only clue Luna needed. She jumped to her feet and joined the conversation. “Does Rainforest Menagerie ring a bell?” Luna had heard of it through the grapevine, but never gone. She preferred to do her partying within staggering and crawling distance of home. “Do you happen to know if they went there in the days before they disappeared?” Luna asked. But she might have done so a little too aggressively.

The redhead took a step back. “I don’t know. It’s not like I was keeping track of them. And what do you mean disappear? I thought they moved out.”

Jeoff soothed the neighbor. “They did move. Doing great in their new place too.”

“But I thought you said—”

“Can you excuse us? I think I see our friend waving to us from the street.”

Indeed, Reba was waggling a hand at them, and Luna allowed Jeoff to steer her from her bike. She huddled in her coat, its warm interior doing nothing for her bare legs and feet.

“What’s up, pussycat?” she asked.

“The cops want to talk to you and find out what happened.” Reba inclined her head, and Luna couldn’t mask a groan.

“Not the fuzz. They hate me.”

“Gee, I wonder why,” Jeoff remarked.

“Don’t start with me, wolfie. I’m already in a bad mood.”

“Your bike can be fixed. I know a guy. Leave it to me and I’ll have him take care of it.”

“What about the cops, though? What are we supposed to tell them?”

Because they couldn’t exactly hide the fact that they were both only partially dressed and at the scene of a crime. Her bike parked out front being the biggest clue.

“Let me handle this.” He laced his fingers through hers, and they walked over to the pair of cops, one human, one not.

“Hey, Ralph. Clive.” Jeoff gave both officers a nod.

“You know them?” she whispered.

“Of course I do. In my line of work, I sometimes have to collaborate.”

“Jeoff, I meant to give you a shout and say thanks for that tip on the Peeping Tom. We nabbed the guy finally. Now the only thing he’s showing his wang off to is the cameras downtown at the precinct.”

“No problem. Always glad to help.” Jeoff flashed a smile.

Clive, a bear Luna had run into before—usually because someone called the cops about the drunk girl—had a pad and pen out. “Care to tell us what happened here?”

“It was the most fucked-up thing,” Jeoff said. “Luna and I were checking out this rental property, on account we’re thinking of moving in together.”

“You are?” Clive’s brows rose. Hell, Luna’s face probably showed some of the same shock at the smooth lie. “I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”

“Yeah, we’ve been keeping it quiet. But are now thinking of taking the next step, so we were checking out the place and testing the appliances, you know to make sure they worked. As you both know, I like to cook.”

“Yeah, those rum balls you made for the Christmas party were amazing.” Ralph rubbed his rotund belly.

“Anyhow, I guess the valve malfunctioned and the gas didn’t shut off. We didn’t know and took a peek at the backyard. When we went to step back inside, Luna hit the light switch by the back door and whoosh. The whole place lit up.”

“So it was an accident?” Clive scribbled in his notebook.

“Totally. Really sorry about that. I wish I’d smelled the gas before we’d gone out.”

“Well, that seems pretty cut and dried. I’ll file the report. If you can come by and sign off on it at some point in the next day or two, that would be great.” Clive flipped his notebook shut, but Ralph had a crease between his brows.

“Hold on a second, partner. I’ve got a few questions, like, where are the rest of your clothes? And why doesn’t she have any shoes?” He pointed to Luna’s bare toes.

She had an answer for that. “My boyfriend here is trying to protect my reputation. Such a sweetie.” She giggled. “See, the real reason the stove accidentally stayed on is I might have accidentally grabbed and turned a knob when Jeoff was taking me like a wild beast on the counter.”