Tempting the Jaguar (12 page)

are leaving. You will not follow

and you will never harass, touch or

even look at any of my friends

again. If I find out you actually did

hurt Sabrina, I’ll cut off your

head.” When he went to argue, she

shook her head. “I want to sit down

and talk with you and if what

you’re saying is true, I want to meet

my grandfather, but I will not be

bullied or forced into anything. You

have my phone number so text me

your number and I’ll be in touch.

Take my offer or leave it because

I’m leaving
now.
”

The vamp nodded, though his

jaw was clenched tight. It was clear

he wanted to argue, but knew he’d

lose. Looking at his men, he

nodded again and they all carefully

left the storage room.

“Call the boys, tell them to let the

vamp outside go,” Rainer said to

Conrad who immediately pulled out

his phone.

Estrella turned at the sound of

Sabrina standing up. Her friend’s

dark eyes were wide but at least not

glassy anymore. She swayed on her

feet and Estrella immediately

covered the distance to support her

—even though she was terrified of

her friend’s rejection and probable

horror at the knowledge of what

Estrella was.

“You can seriously turn into a

jaguar?” were Sabrina’s first words.

Estrella nodded, unable to find

her voice.

“Holy crap, that’s kind of insane

—and pretty cool. I’ll probably

freak out once these drugs wear off,

but...” Sabrina lunged at her then,

throwing her arms around her neck.

“Thank you for coming for me. I

knew you would,” she whispered,

her voice thick with tears.

Estrella hugged her back, then

glanced at Rainer. The rest of his

pack mates were cleaning up the

storage room, but he was still

standing there in all his naked glory

watching her with a curious but

guarded look.

Did he not want her now? Not

only was she a jaguar, but chances

were she was also part vampire.

How freaky was that? Why would

he want her when he could have a

normal wolf shifter to warm his

bed? Shuddering, she looked away

and moved to slip an arm under

Sabrina’s shoulders. She just

wanted to get her friend out of here

for now. Everything else could

wait.

Chapter 8

Rainer paced along the length of the

tiled foyer in his pack’s mansion.

He’d barely seen Estrella the past

three days because she’d spent them

holed up with her best friend. Not

that he blamed her. Her friend

needed her and he would never

take that away from either of them.

The human, Sabrina, had taken the

knowledge that there were

supernatural creatures alive and

living side by side with her in

stride. Conrad was currently

keeping an eye on her to make sure

she didn’t panic and tell other

humans about them. Most people

probably wouldn’t believe her

anyway, but until the shock of her

newfound knowledge wore off,

they were being cautious.

Right now, however, Rainer just

wanted to hold Estrella in his arms

to convince himself that what

they’d shared was real and she

hadn’t changed her mind about

them. They’d talked on the phone a

few times but the conversations had

been brief. It had been obvious she

wanted time alone to digest what

she’d learned about herself as well

and he hadn’t wanted to smother

her. In a few hours his Alpha,

oldest brother and Estrella’s

vampire grandfather would be

returning to the compound and he’d

never been more nervous in his life.

“You all right?”

Rainer turned at the sound of

Angela’s, Knox’s mate’s, soft voice.

Wearing black leather pants, a black

T-shirt and black boots she’d

paused at the bottom of the winding

staircase, her dark eyebrows raised

in concern. She’d arrived back in

Huntsville a day before her mate to

get the house ready for their guests’

arrival.

Rainer shook his head. No, he

wasn’t all right. “I miss her.” The

words were out before he could

contemplate censoring himself.

Who cared anyway if Angela knew

how he felt? Hell, the entire pack

knew by now. He’d been biting off

the heads of anyone who even

looked at him wrong the past

couple days.

Angela’s gaze softened, which

made him feel pathetic. Before she

could respond, his handheld radio

beeped.

“Rainer, your female is on the

property. I’m escorting her to the

front door.” It was King’s voice,

one of his pack mates.

Rainer’s heart rate tripled and he

jerked open the front door and

strode outside. A nearly full moon

hung low in the sky and the crickets

were out in full force tonight,

creating a symphony of noise. He

barely heard them over the blood

rushing in his ears. Their property

was surrounded by the forest and

thick foliage and the only way on to

it by vehicle was a small two-lane

road. Though he’d wanted to escort

Estrella he’d known he wouldn’t

have been able to keep his hands

off her if he’d picked her up.

They’d have never made it out of

her house if she still accepted his

touch.

And his Alpha had been very

insistent that she be at the mansion

when he and their guests arrived.

He watched as one of their SUVs

pulled up and parked in front of the

mansion. When Estrella stepped out

of the passenger side, his eyes

widened. She wore a knee-length

simple black halter style dress with

strappy heels and her dark curly

hair was wild around her face. She

looked sexy as sin and all he

wanted to do was strip her and bury

himself inside her tight body.

Nervously, she smoothed her

hands down the front of her dress,

looked down then back up at him.

He quickly covered the distance

between them and tugged her

hands, pulling her tight against him.

The moment he did, some of the

fear left her face.

“Do I look all right?” she

whispered as she slid her hands up

to his shoulders.

He nodded and forced himself to

speak. “You look gorgeous. Your

family won’t be here for a few

hours though.”

“I know. I came early because I

wanted to see you.” Her dark eyes

were wide as she watched him.

Almost as if she was nervous about

his reaction.

Rainer decided to lay everything

out there. She might stomp on his

heart, but hell, the woman had

thrown herself in front of him to

take a knife for him. She was worth

it. “I’ve missed you so much,

Estrella. I can’t do anything without

remembering what you taste like,

what you feel like. I swore I’d give

you time before I told you, but

you’re my mate. I knew it the

moment we met. There’s a lot you

still need to learn about pack life

and your history and hell,

everything, but I want you forever.”

She sucked in a deep breath and

instead of responding, lifted up on

her heels and crushed her mouth to

his. Her kisses were needy and

frantic and nearly bowled him over.

Rainer was vaguely aware of King

clearing his throat and saying

something about Estrella’s bags, but

he didn’t care.

Lifting her up, he hurried toward

the house and practically flew up

the stairs. They passed a few of his

pack mates, but he ignored them all.

Getting Estrella to his room and

naked was all he could focus on.

He felt practically possessed until

he slammed his door shut with a

booted foot. After locking his door,

something he rarely did, he let out a

long sigh of relief. “I’ve been

waiting forever to get you alone,”

he growled as he set her on her feet.

Hope flared in Estrella’s eyes.

“Really?”

His head cocked slightly to the

side. “Are you kidding me? It’s

taken all my restraint to give you

space the past three days.”

She looked surprised before

frowning. “You don’t care that I’m

also part vampire? Or at least have

vamp blood in my veins?”

Rainer let out a harsh laugh as he

started taking off his boots. “I don’t

care about any of that.” His own

Alpha was mated to a vampire, but

that wasn’t the reason he truly

didn’t care. She was sweet, sensual,

caring and she’d been willing to

take a blade for him. She’d thrown

her own body over his when that

vampire had tried to attack him.

Estrella wrapped her arms around

herself as a new thread of

nervousness rolled off her. “You’ve

been really short with me on the

phone the past couple days.”

He paused as his second boot hit

the hardwood floor. “I didn’t know

what to say and I didn’t want to

scare you by telling you I want you

as my mate.”

Her arms fell. “You were serious

then? I know you said it to Taran,

but I thought you were just being

territorial or something when you

didn’t bring it up again.”

He growled again, unable to stop

himself. “Of course I’m serious. I’d

never joke about something like

that. No shifter would.” Panic

slammed into his chest as he

realized she’d never actually

responded. She’d just kissed him

and that could mean any number of

things. “Do you not...” He couldn’t

get the words out. Fearful that if he

said the words, they’d become a

reality, they stuck in his throat.

“I want to mate with you too!”

Her heated declaration soothed him

immensely. “You’re the only thing

in my life that makes sense. The

past few days without you only

made it that much clearer and I

don’t want to even imagine a world

without you. I...I’d like to take

some more time to get to know one

another before we actually mate,

but I thought maybe you could

move in with me or—”

“Yes.” Rainer had already talked

to his Alpha about that very thing.

He wanted to teach Estrella about

her history and get to know her

away
from the pack. He’d just

thought it might take a little more

convincing. While he had no doubt

of his own feelings, he hadn’t

realized she felt the same.

She took a tentative seat on the

edge of his bed and his gaze

followed the delicate line of her

neck down to her cleavage. It

remained there until she cleared her

throat, drawing his eyes back to

hers. Her full lips curved up slightly

as she said, “You don’t mind living

away from your pack?”

“Not as long as I’m with you.” He

was already in love with her and his

wolf side was completely in sync

with her jaguar side. “Now take off

your dress, sweetheart.” His hands

were shaking and he didn’t trust

himself not to rip it off.

A burst of lust rolled off her so

potent he couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re very demanding,” she

murmured.

“In the bedroom, yes I am.”

When she went to take off her

shoes first, he shook his head.

“Leave them.” The thought of

making love to her with those on—

his brain short-circuited as she

untied the halter at her neck and the

straps fell to reveal her breasts. She

reached behind herself and he

heard the soft sound of her zipper

being pulled down.

Then her dress pooled around

her feet leaving her standing there

wearing a scrap of lace and straps

that barely covered the juncture

between her thighs.

He swallowed hard before

tugging his shirt and pants off.

Rainer told himself to go slower,

but the thought of getting inside her

nearly consumed him.

Foreplay.

The word sounded so loudly in

his head, he paused before

scooping her up and laying her out

on his bed.

As she spread her legs, he slid

her panties down her smooth, toned

legs. The sweet scent of her arousal

intensified as he blindly tossed the

material aside. “Foreplay,” he

muttered.

She giggled, the sound wrapping

around him like a siren’s song. “Are

you telling yourself that or me?”

“Myself.” He looked up at her,

stretched out on his giant bed as if

she were an offering. Her olive skin

seemed luminescent under the dim

light of the moon streaming through

his open drapes. “I would have

killed all of them for you.” He