Captured Boxed Set: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys Who Will Capture Your Heart (35 page)

* * *

As he stroked her spine, they lay
quietly and listened to the deep boom of the thunderheads passing over. He
hoped it wouldn’t delay his flight. The plan was to fly to Belize City, meet
with his client briefly then he and his brothers would head out to Ambergris
Caye to survey the land they’d purchased for the project. They had to wrap up
these final details so they could break ground on time. Luckily his unexpected,
unfortunate, very hard landing hadn’t affected the project plan as much as he’d
thought. Even if it had, meeting Reya made it all worth it.

Last night Marc had come by to see
how Reya was doing and to deliver some information about the jaguar that had
attacked her. The whole place was in an uproar over it. The rangers were even
thinking about shutting down the sanctuary to visitors until the cat was put
down. Marc, after meeting Aaron’s brothers, all huddled around Reya as they
were, told them the jag had been spotted by two other rangers, always at night
and always in the same spot Aaron and Reya had run into him.

The man promised to look after her
for the couple of days Aaron and his brothers were in Ambergris Caye, but the
thought of leaving her alone, even with a so-called ‘good friend’ like Marc,
made him uneasy. Choice? He had none.

"Promise me you won’t go on
patrol alone," he asked quietly, kissing the top of her head.

"Aaron, I’ve been doing this a
long time…"

"Yeah, and how many times have
you been injured by a male jaguar who happened to be after a human?" His
arched brow and tight set of his chin dared her to gainsay him, but he knew
she’d try to think of something.

"How many times? Well, uh,
never."

He was actually surprised she
hadn’t added a few more uh’s or er’s to that statement. Raising his head, he
looked down at her like she was someone else, earning a giggle and a slap on
the chest. Damn, she was strong. But she wasn’t arguing with him, so he counted
his blessings and left it alone. Sort of.

"Promise."

"Fine. I promise," she
whined.

"Now was that so hard, baby?
And," he said nuzzling her ear, "you have yet to agree to marry me."

"There just hasn’t been time
to talk about it, now has there? Not with all the hot lovin’ you’ve been laying
down on me." She turned her head and nipped his ribs.

"Laying down on you…I like the
sound of that," he drawled, turning quickly and sweeping her underneath
him.

"Aaron, it’s already seven
a.m., you’re going to make yourself late." Her voice was a blend of highly
charged thunder and gentle rain. Just like the storm overhead. What a potent
mix she was.

"That’s fine as long as I make
you come while I’m making myself late." Oh, did he ever enjoy the tremble
working its way down her lush body when he swiped his hot tongue down her neck.
Yes, trembling was good, but panting was better.

The unsteady quaver of her husky
voice sent what could only be described as pure male pride spreading through
his chest. The woman sounded like a horny toad on overload, and it was all his
fault. The press of her strong thighs as they wrapped around his hips had him
bracing himself against the surge of pleasure as he slipped into heaven.

"But what will your brothers
think?" she squeaked out on a pant.

"They’ll think I’m a damned
lucky bastard, is what." Then he moved and the ridge of his cock caused
just the perfect amount of friction deep inside her heat.

"Ooooh, I think I can live
with that."

Chapter
Ten

Dangriga
Airstrip—Dangriga, Belize

Aaron loved flying. Even when
he’d piloted their company jet alone, it had given him a thoroughly enjoyable
feeling of freedom and peace while gliding through the air among the clouds. It
was the closest to heaven he’d ever been…until Reya. This time flying wasn’t so
impressive, or even welcome. As they sat on the jet way in Dangriga awaiting
clearance for takeoff to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, his finger circled around
the rim of his coffee cup as he stared absently into the steaming dark brew. He
wished he was sharing it with Reya.

"Missing Reya already, lil’
bro?"

Aaron’s head popped up at the sound
of his tormentor’s voice. When his eyes met Anthony’s, he couldn’t help but
grin along with his brother. He still couldn’t get over the fact his brothers
had insisted on peeking into her room so they could kiss her goodbye on the cheek
as she slept.

"Bethsaida should be looking
in on her now…if she’s awake yet," Aaron said, unable to keep the smug,
self-satisfied look off his face as he looked down at his watch. Reya was
usually up with the chickens. But it was now eleven o’clock in the morning, and
he’d be amazed if she was able to move from the bed. He’d left his woman well
loved and plenty satisfied.

"She’s a keeper, Aaron. Such a
nice mix of feisty and sweet," Anthony said appreciatively as Austin
chimed in. "Not to mention beautiful."

"Yep, you picked a good one,"
Anthony continued, "real good. That woman of yours is as smart as a whip
and has a head for money. She even asked about investing in your project in
Ambergris Caye, you know, being a private shareholder. She thinks it’s going to
take off as soon as the word gets out about what kind of facility it is."

Aaron hadn’t known that. Reya
wanted in on his deal? And she hadn’t even seen the blueprints or financial
projections? She trusted his judgment that much? He felt like the Grinch when
his heart swelled ten times larger than it already was.

"And," Anthony said
around a bite of fluffy, butter-smothered biscuit, "she’s got you plenty
pussy whipped."

"What?" Aaron gaped,
ready to protest. When both his brothers pinned him with an amused but
unflappable stare, he snapped his mouth shut. Him? Pussy whipped? Hell, when
had that happened?

"So, what about her family?"

"Family?" Aaron lifted a
brow in query at Austin. "Well, she’s got an aunt in the States, somewhere
in the bayou of Louisiana."

"Not what I meant,"
Austin said quietly, signaling to the crew member for another cup of coffee. "Are
they going to have a problem with the fact that you’re a white boy from
Colorado?"

Aaron stared dumbly at the both of
them, his face the picture of a total lack of comprehension. Hell, he hadn’t
given it a second thought. Did Reya care that he was white? Not likely. If she
had, she would have said something or blown him off before he’d gotten much
past "hello". He put it out of his head and answered with clear
conviction.

"No, Reya doesn’t care, and if
she doesn’t care, her aunt won’t either."

"They sound like good people.
But you are whipped though." Aaron rolled his eyes. Anthony had always
been the philosophical one. A regular male talk show host. "But whipped is
not necessarily a bad thing, especially when your woman cares for you."

"Oh, shut up already, Anthony!"
Aaron snapped, but there was no heat behind his words. The smile spread across
his mouth was too big.

"Congratulations, Aaron,"
Austin quipped with a grin, raising his mug of coffee in a salute.

After landing safely, the three
brothers boarded a boat and headed out to the caye. In the middle of surveying
the view of the barrier reef near the new resort site just off Ambergris Caye,
Austin turned and asked, "So, I take it you’ll be staying in Belize for
awhile?"

Aaron thoughtfully regarded the
most perceptive of the bunch. How did Austin always seem to know what he hadn’t
figured out yet? They hadn’t discussed where they would go from here. Forget
the fact Reya hadn’t said yes to his proposal yet.

"I’m sure we’ll spend some
time in the States," Aaron said, noting their coordinates and the angle of
the boat. "But Reya has a passion for that jaguar sanctuary. It’s the only
one in the world, so she has to be there to do her work. Give me a drafting
table, a satellite phone and a computer and I can work anywhere."

"She’s back to her patrolling
this afternoon, eh?"

"Yeah. Actually tonight she’ll
be…" Just then, the hairs on the back of Aaron’s neck stood at full
attention and sent a tingle of dread straight to the pit of his stomach. The
second he thought about Reya out in that damned jungle patrolling for poachers,
the bottom dropped out of his gut. He shook the feeling off and concentrated on
getting the rest of his notes together for their meeting with their customer in
less than an hour.

"She’ll be what?" Austin
asked.

Serious eyes on both Anthony and
Austin, Aaron said, "I told you about the jaguar that tried to attack me,
right?" When they both nodded he continued. "Reya saved my ass. She
promised she wouldn’t go out into the jungle until the rogue was put down, but…"
Shit! There it was again, a damned alarm pounding inside his head that screamed
something was wrong. And this time, as much as he tried, he couldn’t push it
away.

"Damn it, tell the captain to
turn the boat around," Aaron said through clenched teeth as he strode
toward the back of the boat for the portable phone in his duffel.

"Aaron," Anthony called, "what
the hell is wrong?"

"I don’t know, but I just have
this strong feeling that Reya’s in danger. I can’t explain it, but if I don’t
get back to that damned wildlife sanctuary and fast, my woman is history."

It was obvious they hadn’t felt the
cold chill of warning he had, but his brothers would back his play. They just
had to, and Aaron wasn’t disappointed.

"It makes sense, Aaron. If you
had it out for her, when would you strike next?" Anthony asked on a growl,
eyes flashing with anger as he headed toward the captain, yelling over the din
of the yacht’s engines. "Hey, turn this thing around! Get us back to San
Pedro. Right now!"

Understanding dawned in Austin’s
eyes. His jaw ticked as he answered Anthony’s question. "I’d strike the
second she was alone, as soon as her man was out of sight." Seconds later
he was on his satellite phone calling the airstrip in San Pedro, giving them an
hour to get the jet cleared and ready for takeoff to Dangriga. A car would be
waiting to cover the twenty miles from the airstrip to the wildlife sanctuary.

Aaron
was on the satellite phone he’d borrowed from Reya. Urging the speed dial to
dial faster, he felt his chest tighten as he waited to connect to the spare she
promised to carry with her while he was gone. No answer.

* * *

"I can’t wait until the rainy
season is over. I like that it’s so green everywhere, but all this water is
getting on my nerves," Reya gritted through clenched teeth as her boot
landed with a splash in a deep puddle. "Marc, you all right? You’ve been
awful quiet."

Reya couldn’t recall a single time
during the year they’d been friends when Marc wasn’t open and upbeat, but for
the last couple of hours he’d been quiet and reserved. She almost wished they’d
run across a poacher just to break the weird silence between them.

"I’m fine. Just have a few
things on my mind," he said quietly, looking around as if he expected King
Kong to come bursting through the trees. Not afraid but…overly cautious.

She scented jaguars on him again.
The aroma was weak, but she was curious why he, a human, smelled like female
jaguar all the time, even in the middle of a downpour. Damn it, her senses just
weren’t as sharp when she was in her skin. The urge to drop to her knees and
transition was so strong she clamped her jaw tight and came to a dead stop.
Something was dead wrong.

"You all right, Reya? What is
it?" Marc asked with sudden concern.

Now this seemed more like Marc. "No
I’m fine. My, uh, my knee is a bit sore. Trudging through all this mud is kind
of pulling on it," she lied. Hell, it hadn’t sounded convincing to her own
ears, but Marc didn’t seem to notice.

"Oh no," he gasped.

"What?" she asked,
grinding her back teeth, willing her body not to grow a pelt.

"I left the radio in the jeep.
Maybe we should head back?"

"Head back?" she asked in
disbelief, her discomfort momentarily forgotten. They were on a circular route
and would exit the trail in the same area they’d entered. The man’s suggestion
didn’t make the least bit of sense. "Marc, we drove an hour into the park
and hiked another hour. We’ve only got two hours left before we have to head
back and our path is going to take us to the exact spot where we started. Let’s
just keep going rather than backtrack."

Just then a series of roars filled
the area off to their left. Female jaguars. Extremely agitated female jaguars.
The next roar came from behind her. Reya wasn’t afraid, but when she turned to
Marc to ask if he had his tranquilizer gun on him the words froze in her
throat. His typically smiling eyes were narrowed in menace, golden blond brows
snapped together until they met in the middle of his forehead. He was obviously
as agitated as the females whose growls and snarls began to encircle them.

"What do you think is wrong
with them?" she asked breathlessly as her own hackles rose at the
strangeness of the situation. What the hell made a pack of female jaguars
coordinate on a hunt? It just wasn’t the norm.

"They should be pretty used to
us. I think they’ve scented a poacher," Marc said quickly, backing up
toward a copse of trees. His explanation made sense, and if it was a poacher,
they had to get to him before he either took a jag down or the jags took him
down.

Her hand was on the strap securing
her tranq gun over her shoulder. Before she could pop the snap that allowed the
piece to fall into her hands, Marc withdrew a pistol from the belt holster
obscured by his jacket. Not a tranquilizer gun, but a fucking 9mm handgun! What
the hell was going on here?

"Reya, you go take the left
trail, I’ll head off to the right."

"But, Marc…" Reya tried
to protest, but he just shoved her toward the direction he wanted her to go. "Don’t
worry, we’ll be all right." After a quick, supposedly reassuring hug, he
gave her a strained-looking wink and headed off into the trees.

The second she was alone, all the
growling, snarling and roaring ceased. Just stopped, as if it had never
happened. Danger lurked, she could feel it creep up her spine and tighten
around the nerve endings of each vertebra. Forget stripping out of her clothes,
something told her she needed to shift and right-damn-now.

Instinctively dropping to her
knees, her thick pelt exploded out of her pores so quickly, a burning sensation
covered every inch of her skin. Canines exploded into powerful jaws and
muscular arms became stocky forelimbs. Senses sharpened as special sensory
whiskers sprouted around her snout. The smells of the surrounding fauna
exploded as her keen nose picked up even small changes in the air pressure.

Gray eyes glowed in the coming
twilight as she stood completely still, surveying her surroundings. All was
quiet, but the hairs on the back of her powerful neck danced all the same.

Suddenly a blur shot past her right
side. The rogue!

In a flash, she was right behind
him as they became two streaks running with the wind. Wait, where did he go?
One second he was right in front of her, the next, he’d turned a corner and
disappeared. She slammed to a halt, large paws sliding as she dug into the wet
earth.

Zip!

Owww!
What the hell? She looked back at the dart sticking into her flank. Aw, hell,
not again, she thought as her muscles refused to cooperate with her brain. She
heard a faint snuffling sound and realized it was her as she slumped down onto
the cool, muddy floor of the jungle.

* * *

The jet landed without a hitch
and the brothers sped toward the reserve. It was only eight o’clock, and Reya
wasn’t due to go out until almost eleven tonight. Thank God they’d arrived in
time. All three James brothers barreled into a completely empty common dining
area at twilight.

"Bethsaida!" Aaron
bellowed, heading for the kitchen. "Bethsaida!"

Running through the swinging double
doors, a wash rag in one hand and a pineapple in the other, Bethsaida came to a
screeching halt.

"Aaron! Oh, thank God!"
she yelled, dropping the cloth and the fruit to the floor.

"What’s wrong? What’s
happened?" Anthony took the upset older woman into his arms.

"Reya is missing!"

"Missing? How? She’s not even
due out on patrol for several more hours!" Aaron bellowed. His heart sank
into his toes as his heart rate pounded with adrenaline and fear-filled
palpitations. It didn’t even faze him when Bethsaida yelled right back, just as
angry and unsettled as he was.