Captured Boxed Set: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys Who Will Capture Your Heart (33 page)

Aaron’s eyes narrowed as he
regarded the deadly creature. Something intelligent went on behind the big
cat’s eyes. It was as if he recognized not only the danger of the downed black
but him as a man. The feeling shivered down Aaron’s back and settled behind his
knees. It was the most uncanny thing he’d ever experienced. And he didn’t like
it one bit.

Aaron raised the gun and aimed it
right between the gold male’s eyes. He’d be damned if he missed this time.
Taking a bold step forward, he growled at the crazed jag, prepared to pull the
trigger. At the hard glint in Aaron’s eyes, the male came to a decision and
took off into the deep jungle.

Behind him came a soft growl
followed by…a moan? Jaguars didn’t moan, did they? Turning back to the female
that had more than likely saved his life tonight, he stared down at the ground
in awe and went completely still. The moan was louder now, but the cat’s body
was shivering and shifting, the bones repositioning themselves under the skin.
Shiny fur receded into the pelt, replaced by sleek, smooth skin. The bones of
the shoulders and head made a squishing sound as they shrank and rearranged.
The sucking and popping noises made his stomach dance as he watched the cat
transform.

Kneeling down next to the animal,
Aaron removed the tranq dart from her shoulder and ran his hand through a
tangle of soft, thick hair. Shock was quickly replaced by concern as his eyes
roamed over the tall, muscular, very naked frame. Reya.

Removing
his jacket, he quickly covered her sleeping, bleeding form, threw her over his
shoulder in a fireman’s hold and took off as if her life depended on it. And
judging by the amount of blood oozing through his jacket from the wounds she’d
sustained, her life just might.

* * *

Glancing up at the sky, Aaron
hissed a prayer under the weight of Reya’s body. He hadn’t prayed since he was
a teenager when his father lay at death’s door. Please let Reya be knocked out
from the tranquilizer and not so still because she’s dying, he pleaded out loud
as her warm blood ran thick from the wounds on her back and the backs of her
legs, and over his hands where he held her close to his body.

While they trekked at a speed Aaron
hadn’t known he could move, he listened closely for the sounds of any large,
dangerous animals with canines crashing through the trees behind them. Adrenaline-fueled
legs pumped tirelessly as he weaved through the tangle of trees back to her
B&B near the front entrance of the sanctuary. All was quiet except for the
occasional distant roar that sent chills up his spine and anger coursing
through his heart. Anger that some wild cat had injured his sweet, loving Reya.
His own adorable, precious…whoa! Precious? Adorable? How about dangerous with
claws, literally! His woman was a shifter, and it seemed a very capable one.

It sure explained a lot. Now it
made sense why she usually patrolled alone in the middle of the night with no
night-vision goggles and no weapons. Even when learning biology and evolution
as a child in school, he’d never bought into the idea that plain old humans
were alone on this great big planet. Did he believe in fairies, ghosts or
elves? No. But people with a different genetic makeup that allowed their bodies
to change? Well, sure, why the hell not? And the fact he’d never expected to
meet such a being didn’t change reality—a sleek, lovely and changeable body was
draped over his shoulder, thoroughly unconscious.

He should be more upset at the
discovery, at least amazed by it. He didn’t have time to worry about the fact
that his woman was a different species. She was hurt and it was all his fault.
Now she needed him in the worst way.

Damn, she’s heavy, Aaron thought as
he hitched Reya’s unconscious form higher up on his shoulder and shot up the
steps, thankful he’d left the door to her private veranda unlocked. He ducked
inside, careful of Reya’s dangling arms and legs, and headed for the bedroom.

Easing her down off his shoulder
and onto her stomach, Aaron was out of her apartment in a blink to bang on the
door across the hall.

"Dr. Matons!" he yelled
at the top of his lungs. Who cared it was the middle of the night, or rather
early dark hours of morning? His woman needed help, and right-damned now.
Aaron’s huge fist made contact with the door again.

"Dr. Matons! Open up, it’s
Aaron!"

Seconds later, a frazzled doctor
yanked open the door, dark hair tousled, eyes wide with concern and lips
pressed into a thin line.

"She was attacked in the
jungle. Jaguars. Unconscious," was all he could get out as he yanked the
doctor behind him and down the hall into Reya’s apartment.

Together they slowly and carefully
removed his blood-soaked jacket from her naked form. Some of the blood had
dried and caused the jacket to stick to the wounds. Thankfully she was
unconscious as they removed it.

"What happened?" Matons
asked, clenching his teeth against what Aaron assumed was a mix of concern and
anger. After all, it was apparent both the good doctor, Bethasiada and the
staff all loved Reya.

"I was aiming at a jaguar. He
was about to attack me, so I tried to shoot him with the tranq gun. I shot Reya
by mistake."

"How the hell could you
mistake her for a jaguar, Aaron?" he asked calmly, easing the last of the
jacket plastered to Reya’s ripped and torn flesh.

He didn’t miss the stiffening of
the doctor’s spine as tension set in, nor the tight set of his mouth as the blood
drained from his face. The flicker of concern as it passed over the older man’s
forehead made it clear he saw Aaron as a possible threat.

"Because, doctor," Aaron
growled, lowering his head to look at the man eye to eye, "she was a
damned jaguar when I shot her! She saved my ass. Now do something to help her
instead of just standing there questioning me." Backing off just enough to
give the doc a little bit of breathing room, Aaron let his fingers stray to
Reya’s thick black mass of hair and idly stroked through the softness. He
closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying desperately to get a hold of the
possessiveness, the helplessness suddenly assailing him. What if she never woke
up? What would he do if he lost her? A lump formed in the back of his throat.
He couldn’t get a single word out for the next few moments.

Never taking his eyes off her, he
finally said, "Please, doc. I owe her my life several times over. She
means everything to me." Forcing a bit more grit into his voice, he
followed up with, "Now move your ass. Help her."

After what seemed like endless
moments of sizing each other up, Aaron’s relief was almost palpable when the
doctor turned away from him with a half-cocked smile and began digging in his
bag for supplies.

"Get a soft cloth and water,"
the doc said as he pulled a sterile syringe out of his goody bag. "Clean
the wounds as well as you can, first with warm water, then cool."

"But she’s not moving,"
Aaron said, unable to keep the desperation out of his voice. Hell, he was so
scared for Reya, her chest barely moving and her pulse much too sluggish. It
was all he could do not to yell, scream and rant at the doctor who moved just a
little too slowly.

"She’s not moving because the
tranquilizer is meant for large game animals. It’s obvious you know that Reya
fits into that category, but only when she’s in her shifted form. Once human,
her metabolism changes to fit her body and the drug has a much more potent
affect. She’ll be fine in a few hours. I’m more concerned about infection than
I am about her sleeping."

"But…" Aaron sputtered,
touching firm fingers to her wrist again just to make sure she still had a
pulse.

"Stop worrying. Those wounds
of hers will be all healed in a few days."

"Are you serious?" Aaron
asked incredulously. The wreck on her back would have downed the heartiest man,
but he was supposed to believe Reya could just shake it off in a few days? Then
again, she wasn’t quite human. It would stand to reason that her body might
behave differently than his. But hell, he didn’t feel like being reasonable. He
wanted her awake, telling him he’d been a big jerk, telling him anything for
that matter.

"Trust me. She’ll be fine. You
get a cloth and water, I have to go pick up a few things." With that, Dr.
Matons left the bedroom. A quiet but finite snap of the door told Aaron the
doctor had left the apartment.

With a basin full of clean, warm
water, Aaron moved to the side of the bed. His stomach muscles clenched wildly
as he took in the sight of the damage done to his woman’s body. Her back was a
mass of criss-crossed, angry, open lashes. The oozing pink and white raw flesh
contrasted wildly against her dark skin.

Unable to take the sight of her
ravaged body, Aaron dimmed the lights as he began to work, easing a soft cloth
over the worst of the wounds. He changed the water in the basin three times
before managing to clean all the cuts and dried blood. Where the hell was the
damned doctor? It had been more than an hour since he’d left and there was
still no sign of the man. When Reya awoke she would need something for the
pain.

He wished he could give her
something to forget her ordeal. Hell, he wanted something to help him forget.
To erase the memory of the regal form of the gold and black jaguar squaring up
to pounce on him, fangs bared with a menacing growl in its throat. Then the
beautiful black-furred cat appeared. Almost as large as the male, her smooth
coat reflected the pale moonlight as she barreled into the one meaning to
attack him.

According to what Reya had taught
him about the jaguars in the sanctuary, hunting together was almost unheard of
with these solitary animals. Yet the black cat and two other majestic gold cats
coordinated their efforts in order to protect him, fight for him.

Even when she’d thought he was
leaving her for good, thought he didn’t want her, she’d come to protect him.
Had sacrificed herself for him. God knows he didn’t deserve such a woman.

Closing his eyes, he could still
see the aggressive jag’s claws ripping into Reya’s flanks. His ears couldn’t
seem to push away the anguished roar that escaped her throat as the flesh of
her back was torn open. He’d come so close to losing her. Trying to shake the
memory, Aaron inadvertently dug his fingers into Reya’s tender flesh through
the soft cloth.

A quiet moan rumbled through Reya’s
too still body. Aaron looked down and immediately pulled his hand away.
Flipping the cloth over in his hand, he grimaced. Fresh blood. Her blood.
Rinsing it again, he ran it over her now fevered skin and braced himself when
the sound came again. Something about the low sensual quality of Reya’s moans
wrapped firmly around his balls and gently squeezed. Damn and double damn. The
woman was hurt, and here he was getting horny over the way she moaned as he
cleaned her up. Boy did he need help.

His eyes roamed over her nakedness
in appreciation. She was a beautiful woman. And not just her facial features,
but everything about her was exquisite. A brilliant mind, full of knowledge of
everything from medicine, to big cats, to the latest and most popular anime
movies. Physically, she was perfect—firm, toned, with everything in abundance.
Her arms were cut and well defined, her stomach rippled and ridged. Breasts and
hips were full and ample. Lush. All covered in rich cocoa skin.

Aaron had never really been into
muscular women, but then again, he’d never had the pleasure of undressing one.
Making love to one. Gently, slowly caressing every inch of delectable skin over
solid muscle. And there was no doubt Reya was what he preferred.

As his fingers ran over her skin,
the contrast of his fairer golden skin was sensually beautiful to him against
her darker tones. His mind flitted to the memory of the sight and feel of his
long, tanned fingers sliding into her silky, tight depths, so dark on the
outside but pink as cotton candy on the inside. His unruly cock stirred. Damned
good thing she was injured and unconscious, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been
able to resist dragging her underneath him and burying himself to the hilt in
her hot pussy.

Chapter
Eight

Ooooh, that felt so good.
Something cool and soft traipsed over her back with easy strokes. She wasn’t
sure what it was, but it was so nice she didn’t really care. Before the
coolness touched her skin, her back burned with such ferocity the pain reached
beyond the tranquilizer to penetrate the peaceful darkness of unconsciousness.
Half awake now, the intense fire from the deep claw marks was a dull ache
rather than raw, pulsing pain.

Boy that tranq had really knocked
her on her…oh god! The tranquilizer dart! It had pierced the deep muscle of her
shoulder. A tranq dart shot by Aaron! She remembered hitting the dewy grass in
her jaguar form. Considering she now lay in her human body, there was no doubt
that her secret was out. Aaron knew she was a shifter.

This was definitely not good. He’d
already left her bedroom with his lame excuse of wanting to "do right by
her" but she knew the real reason. It was because he was trying to find a
way to bow out gracefully. Well, if he needed a reason, her being a shifter was
definitely it. Now that he knew who, or rather what, she was, he’d run hell for
leather back to the States.

Embarrassed and more than a little
frightened that Aaron knew her deepest, most closely guarded secret, Reya’s
words came out on a rush as her groggy mind suddenly cleared and snapped fully
awake. Trying to rise, she found herself eased back down to her stomach.

With more than a hint of panic she
blurted, "What are you doing to me?"

"Easy, baby. Dr. Matons is on
his way."

The soft sheets under her bare
flesh were damp from the cool liquid being dribbled over her raw wounds.

"Does this feel all right?"
Aaron’s voice was soft and full of concern. That couldn’t be right. He should
be running and screaming, or something. Anything other than being so sweet to
her. "Did you hear me, Reya? Is this pressure all right? I don’t want to
hurt you."

"Uh-well…" she stammered.
Maybe her wits were still out in the jungle. They certainly weren’t anywhere
near her head right now.

"Relax, baby. I’m sorry if
this hurts, sweetheart, but these scratches are deep. Dr. Matons told me to
wash your wounds as well as I could while he went to get a few things."

No censure or hostility in his
voice? Was he just being nice until he could make sure she wouldn’t change and
bite him in the ass?

"Reya, I doubt you feel like
talking about this now, but you were incredible," he said softly but with
something that sounded a lot like pride. Man, that rogue must have slapped her
in the head harder than she thought—surely she was imagining all of this.

"I mean, hell, I don’t know
what to say," Aaron continued. "That big male would have had me if
not for you and your friends. Baby, it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever
seen! It was just, like…wow, Reya!"

Wow? Amazing? Was he crazy? Her aunt
had always taught her that she must keep her abilities under wraps. Aunt Sulu
had always said that it was hard enough being a black female, let alone one who
could turn into a jaguar and rip you to shreds. But here was the most handsome
man in the universe complimenting her on her abilities.

"Does anyone else know?"
he asked softly.

It took her a moment to get her
head around his question, too caught up in her disbelief that he wasn’t running
out the door.

"Reya, does anyone else know,
baby?"

"No, well, yes. Dr. Matons and
Bethsaida. No one else outside of my family, which consists of only my Aunt
Sulu." She listened to the water trickle into the basin as Aaron dipped
the cloth into the water, wrung it out and bathed the ridges on her back again
with cool water. She hissed long and loud at the pain, wishing she’d remained
knocked out a little while longer. Each cut felt like a hive of bees had landed
on the open wounds and started stinging her repeatedly. It took all her
concentration not to flinch with each stroke of Aaron’s hands.

"So you’re a black panther,
eh?"

She sniffed, throwing her nose up
in the air as much as she was able considering her position on her stomach. "There’s
no such thing as a black panther."

"Well, you sure looked like…"

"I didn’t say there weren’t
black cats, just not black panthers. I’m a jaguar, a melanistic one."

"Mellon-what?" he asked,
pausing mid-stroke with the cloth.

"Melanistic, Aaron," she
chuckled, then winced before explaining that melanism was a hereditary trait,
an abnormality of one of her cat genes associated with coat coloration and
markings. He lifted her hair out of the way to run the cloth over the back of
her neck and paused. The second her neck was exposed, every muscle in her body
went taut.

"Reya, what the hell happened
to you?" he asked angrily, pressing a little too hard with the cloth. She
yelped.

"I’m sorry, baby. But these
scars, what happened?"

She knew exactly what he was
looking at—the scars hidden in her hair just above her nape. Something she’d
never shown or shared with anyone. Ever.

"Look, Reya, understand me
when I say I’m not willing to go another day pretending I can leave you alone.
Hell, I can’t even stay mad at you. You are, as of this moment, stuck with me.
So your choice, tell me now or tell me later. But you will tell me so I can
kill the son of a bitch who did this to you."

Well, damn, wasn’t he pushy? Her
heart melted. Even as he growled the words, his touch was gentle and caring.
After a few moments of silence and weighing her options, she decided that some
of the mysteries she kept were no longer wanted and spilled the whole sordid
tale.

"Both my parents were
shifters. But unlike lions, jaguars aren’t social creatures. We’re pretty
solitary and don’t mate for life."

"Wanna bet?" Aaron snarled,
pausing the cloth mid-stroke at the base of her spine.

"Do you want to hear the story
or not?" she said firmly, tucking her head into the fold of her arms to
hide a grin. His response was a single grunt, which she took as a yes.

"Anyway, after my mother
conceived, my father disappeared. It’s what was expected so none of my family
was shocked, surprised or even concerned." Another humph from Aaron, but
she continued.

"One day, when Reyna…"

"Reyna? Who’s Reyna?"

"My twin sister, my
littermate," she whispered, fighting back the tears that threatened every
time she thought about her sister. A sister she would never see again until the
hereafter.

"We were really young and
hadn’t mastered our shifting abilities yet. We’d just slipped into our jaguar
forms unexpectedly when my father showed up. My mom tried to run him off, but
he was feral, infanticidal actually."

"The man was a baby killer?"
Aaron asked incredulously.

"In large cats, it’s not
uncommon for adults to kill cubs. My, uh…" she paused and took in a shallow
breath. "Reyna didn’t survive. My mom survived long enough to get me to my
aunt’s home. My Aunt Sulu raised me. From that day until I was grown enough to
take care of myself, she never let me out of her sight. That woman was a stern
old biddy, but she loved me and always looked after me, even after I was a
grown woman. She raised me to understand the importance of secrets and
survival. The keys to any shifter’s survival."

"Secrecy? Don’t you think the
world would be amazed at what you can do?"

"Yeah but after they finished
being amazed, they’d try to cut me up as this week’s biology project."

She sighed when his hands settled
on her backside for a moment, gently stroking and kneading the flesh. She loved
when he touched her ass. The man was almost reverential about it. Then he moved
lower, bathing the cuts across her hamstrings.

Just then, Dr. Matons came in. Reya
was somewhat surprised. The doc knew all she needed was a good wash and a
painkiller. Give or take a day or two of rest and she’d be good as new. When he
walked in and winked at her, she knew exactly what he was up to. Meddlesome old
matchmaker.

"How are you feeling, my dear?"

It was a stupid question. She hurt
from the back of her neck to the heels of her feet. The pain accompanied the
myriad of slashes covering her body. How did he think she felt?

"A strong narcotic would be
nice," she growled, then grinned when he winked at her.

Aaron left the room and returned
with a glass of water and a straw. When she raised her head and quirked a brow
at him, he said, "Well, it’s not like you can sit up right now with all
those cuts everywhere."

"Dr. Matons," she
pleaded, "will you please tell him?"

"I already did, my dear. He’s
aware that you’ll be fine in a day or two. Already your cuts are beginning to
heal, but you’re going to be quite sore until then."

Dr. Matons stuffed a couple of
little, white pills into her mouth, and Aaron was right there ready with the
water, fitting a straw between her lips.

"What is it?" she asked,
hoping he remembered that certain drugs made her queasy.

"Tylenol with codeine. Two
now. Two in four hours."

Aaron stroked a large hand through
Reya’s hair. "I’ll see to it, doctor."

"Good," he said, his eyes
locked with Reya’s drooping ones. "I’ll let Bethsaida know you won’t be down
in the morning."

"I’ll be down to help,"
Aaron said resolutely.

Now what kind of sense did that
make, Reya wondered as the painkiller started to take effect. He would be in
Belize City tomorrow morning.

As if he’d read her mind, he looked
down at her and said, "I’ll be here, Reya. I’m not going anywhere until
I’m sure you’re all right."

"But your brothers are meeting
you…"

"They can reroute and meet me
here instead. Besides, they’d love to meet their soon-to-be sister-in-law,"
Aaron said lazily as he took a tube of antibiotic ointment from Dr. Matons’
fingers and began to ease it lovingly into the slashed skin on her calves.

"Sister-in-what?!" she
gasped.

"You heard me. Marry me?"

Her mouth dropped open and stayed
there. He wanted to marry her? Even after learning she was a shifter? Her eyes
went as wide as they were able, given the swift arrival of her latest groggy
state. Lord knew she wanted him, but they hadn’t known each other that long.
And what about his brothers? What if they didn’t like her? And what if Aunt
Sulu didn’t like any of them?

"Aaron…I-I, well…" Her
mind was a jumble of questions and muted excitement, but in seconds the codeine
won the fight with her head as Aaron’s fingers smoothed the antibiotic up the
backs of her thighs, lulling her into deep, healing sleep.

The last thing she remembered was
wishing she could stay awake long enough to tell him to linger on her ass. And
to say she’d be honored to marry him.