Tempting the Jaguar (3 page)

Rainer sat up and winced when he

saw the blood he’d left behind.

“Sorry about your quilt,” he

muttered.

“It’s fine. We need to get you

cleaned off.” Still keeping her gaze

not quite on his face, she slid an

arm under his shoulder and helped

him slide out. Her body was stiff

and tense as she held on to him,

making it clear she didn’t like

touching him.

He inhaled deeply, memorizing

her jasmine scent. It was so pure

and classic he wanted to bury his

face against her neck and just

breathe her in. “My name’s Rainer,”

he said as his feet touched the

paved driveway that led to a cottage

style one-story home in the middle

of the woods. Perfect for privacy,

but not for a single female shifter

who clearly had no pack for

protection. He frowned at the

thought of her out here all alone.

His inner wolf flexed its claws,

wanting to protect her.

She paused for a moment. “I’m

Estrella. Now come on. I want to

get you inside before those...
things

come back.”

He let her name roll around in his

head as he savored it. But the

uncertain way she said “things”

made him curious. “You’ve never

seen a vampire before?”

Her grip around him tightened as

she hissed in a breath. “Those men

really
were
vampires? I’d thought

so but I still wasn’t sure if I was

right or if they were even real...”

She trailed off and put a key in the

front door.

The second they stepped inside

she let her arm drop, leaving him

standing naked and dripping blood

in her foyer. He started to call out

but she returned a moment later

carrying a towel covered in old

paint splatters. Keeping her dark

brown eyes on his she held the

towel out, effectively blocking his

lower body from her line of vision.

“This is so you can cover yourself.”

Her cheeks had turned that

delicious shade of pink again.

Despite the residual pain pulsing

through him, Rainer wondered

what it would be like to nip and

kiss her very full lips. “Does my

nudity bother you?” Most shifters

were immune to nudity, but he still

wrapped the towel around his

waist.

“Uh,
yeah.
” She said it as if he

was stupid. Her gaze trailed to his

shoulder and to his surprise she

took a step closer and ran a gentle

finger over his almost healed

wounds. “You’re almost healed so

if you want to take a shower and

clean off the blood I think I can

find a clean set of clothes that fit.

Then I’ll take you back to your

truck.”

And get him the hell out of her

house, was her unspoken message.

That wasn’t happening anytime

soon. Not until he got his answers

and not until he was certain she

wasn’t under threat from those

vamps. Eyeing her, he let his gaze

trail down her lithe, lean body for

the second time that night. Even

though she wasn’t wearing that tight

dress, her top and shorts showed

enough that he could fantasize

about running his hands and mouth

over all her smooth, olive skin. Her

body practically glowed.

She’d had her hair pulled back at

the art studio but after her shift to

animal then back to human it was

free and her tight corkscrew curls

framed her face, giving her an

almost innocent quality. He couldn’t

be sure but he guessed she had

some Mediterranean and possibly

Hispanic heritage. Wherever she

was from, the woman was

gorgeous. For the first time in over

four hundred years he felt

absolutely tongue-tied as he stared

at her. As he brought his gaze back

up though, something else struck

him. “That vampire clawed you,

too.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, so?”

“How did you heal before you

even put on your clothes?”

“The same way you’re healing

now,” she snapped, annoyance and

some other foreign note in her

voice that he couldn’t define.. Fear,

maybe?

That’s when he realized how

tired she was. Dark circles ringed

under her eyes and she’d just

admitted she’d never seen vamps

before so he knew she had to be

reeling somewhat from the shock of

that revelation. “Ah, sorry. Thank

you for bringing me back here. I

know it wasn’t easy to bring a

strange shifter into your home,

especially a male of a different

species. I’d appreciate a shower but

then I’d like to talk to you about

some things, namely those

vampires.”

She blinked, looking stunned for

a moment. Oh yeah, he’d get a lot

further with this sexy woman with a

bit of politeness. For a fraction of a

second her eyes strayed to his bare

chest and lust flared in their depths

so bright it stunned him. But then it

was gone and she nodded sharply at

him, her face a mask of confusion.

“This way.” She led him down a

short hallway and motioned inside

the first door on the left. “Since you

can stand I’m sure you can take

care of...everything else. I’ll see

what I can find for you to wear,”

she murmured, careful not to touch

him as she skirted past him and

disappeared down the hallway and

into another room.

He wondered if she’d gone into

her bedroom. That thought brought

up visions of her splayed naked on

a giant bed as she waited for him.

Rainer scrubbed a hand over his

face. What the hell was wrong with

him? He was reacting to this female

like a randy cub.

During a very quick and cold

shower, he washed all the blood

and grime off his body and was

pleased to see all his skin had

knitted back together. After he was

done he found a pair of large

sweatpants and a T-shirt folded

neatly outside the door. They were

definitely a man’s because they

were too big for her and that

thought made an unwanted emotion

ripple through him.
Jealousy.

By nature he was territorial but

he hadn’t felt jealous over a female

in centuries.

The shirt was snug but it was dry

so once he was dressed he headed

back the way she’d led him to find

her walking in the front door

carrying the bloody quilt. He

cringed inwardly at the mess he’d

made, but she didn’t seem

concerned.

“Are you ready for me to take

you back to your truck?” she asked

as she dropped the quilt into a

bundle next to the door.

“Eager to get rid of me?” When

she didn’t respond he continued. “I

told you we need to talk about

those vamps.”

She shrugged and wrapped her

arms around herself as she leaned

against the closed front door. “So

talk.”

Okay, she wasn’t going to make

this easy on him. “Whose clothes

am I wearing? Boyfriend’s?” He

hoped the question would take her

off guard.

She blinked those big dark eyes

in confusion, then snorted. But she

still didn’t give him an answer.

Damn if that only rankled him

even more. “Can we sit somewhere

and talk?”

After a pause she said “sure,” and

nodded to her right and stepped

into a cozy room with a couch,

loveseat and giant pillows tossed

around an intricate teak coffee

table. The bright reds and oranges

should have been garish but the

splashes of color in the room

complimented the many sculptures.

Rainer had followed Estrella from

the art show and realized she was

friends with the artist when he’d

seen her in the parking lot. Now he

wondered...”Are you an artist?” He

sat at one of the couches while she

dropped down onto one of the

overstuffed pillows.

“I’m a sculptor but I don’t want

to talk about that. Were you

following me? And what’s the deal

with those...vampires?” She still

seemed to struggle with the

concept.

“You tell me. I’ve been hunting

them and they were most definitely

hunting
you.
”

She actually laughed, the sound

so rich and vibrant it was like a

punch to his senses.

“I’m serious,” he said quietly,

injecting the truth into his words.

She froze, her darker skin paling

to the point he felt guilty for being

the one to scare her. “What?” It was

a whisper.

Rainer made a split second

decision to tell her everything he

knew. There was no point in lying

and something told him he’d get a

lot further with this woman by

being truthful from the start. “My

Alpha and oldest brother are away

because of the peace treaty being

signed between shifters and

vampires.”

Estrella stared at him blankly.

Either she was the best actress on

the planet or she really had no clue

what he was talking about.

He continued. “On orders from

my Alpha, I’m part of the team

patrolling Huntsville and the

surrounding area because of issues

with a group of vampires who

recently descended on the city. I’ve

been tracking them and they’ve

been tracking you.”

She shook her head, those

gorgeous curls swaying around her

face. “That’s insane. Why would

vampires give a crap about me?”

“Exactly.
Why
would they care

about you? Who are you and where

are you from?”

Estrella’s jaw tightened and he

didn’t blame her. He was a strange

male in her home demanding

answers.

But whatever was going on, they

needed to figure it out before those

vampires came back for her. And

he knew they would. They would

probably get reinforcements then

come back tomorrow night. It was

standard operating procedure. “I’ve

been honest with you but if you

need more, I have three brothers:

Alaric, Conrad and Hardwin. We’ve

all been part of Knox’s pack for

close to three hundred years and—”

Her eyes widened. “Three

hundred.... Are shifters immortal?”

Oh, shit. “How old are you?” he

asked.

“Twenty-six.”

“Do you not know anything

about your kind?”

She visibly bristled at the

question. “I’m an artist and a

human. That’s all I need to know,”

she snapped as a tremor rolled over

her.

“You’re not completely human

and you know it. Earlier you said

you didn’t know what an Alpha

was so here’s a quick lesson. Knox

recently expanded his territory and

now rules all of Alabama. When

you crossed into this state you

should have told him you were here

and by the looks of it, you’re living

here on a semipermanent basis.”

She swallowed hard and a wave

of fear rolled off her. He could

scent it, so potent, and he realized it

was because of him. He was leaning

forward, his hands on his knees,

staring at her hard. He probably

looked like an asshole. But he’d

wanted to get some things straight

with her. Easing back in his seat, he

forced himself to relax.

Estrella pulled her knees up to

her chest and wrapped her arms

around them as she began to talk.

“My parents died when I was five. I

got put into the foster system and

was eventually adopted by a very

nice older human couple who

couldn’t have kids. They never

knew anything about my shifter

abilities. I grew up in Miami, went

to college there, and only recently

moved here with my best friend.

Living here is a lot cheaper, there’s

a growing art market and I have no

one to return to in Florida anyway.

My adoptive father died of a heart

attack about two years ago and my

adoptive mother died six months

later of heart problems. I don’t

think she was able to live without

him.”

“Miami,” he murmured, her lack

of knowledge making sense now.

There were no packs living in

central or south Florida and

vampires never made their homes

in the state. Not even day walkers.

Living in a place called the

Sunshine State just went against

their nature. “Have you ever met

any of your own kind before?”

She shrugged, the action jerky. “I

met a couple wolves in college.”

Something else rolled off her then

that made his inner wolf still.

“Did someone hurt you?” He

knew too well what could happen

to an unprotected female shifter in

this world. It wasn’t as bad in

modern times but centuries ago,