Primal Law (6 page)
“Fuck you, man,” the redhead responded, but with less rancor than before.
Kira smiled nervously at Jaxon. “Nice.”
Jaxon stared at her, struck speechless for a few seconds. He could see in the dark just fine, and the shadows did little to hide how her smile lit the inside of the SUV, which tightened his groin into a painful knot. She wasn’t just pretty—she was incredible.
“I suppose I can look forward to more intros when we arrive?”
“Um, yeah. You’ll meet our boss and another teammate, as well as a bunch of doctors and scientists who live and work there.”
Her brow furrowed. “All of you live on-site?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Hmm. Your compound is located in Shoshone National Forest,” she said slowly. “That’s government property.”
“Right again.”
“And if your facility is there, and everyone resides there as well . . . You all work for the government, then. Top Secret stuff. Special Ops?”
“Something along those lines.” He grinned at her. “You’re quick, Miss Locke.”
“Kira, please.” She caught his gaze, held it.
The air thickened, the moment stretching taut. To his surprise, he was the first to look away. Even his wolf was overwhelmed, in addition to being aroused to the point of madness. He cleared his throat. “Call me Jaxon, or Jax,” he said. “And before you ask, yes, the ‘Top Secret stuff’ you mentioned includes the abilities you’ve witnessed in us so far.”
“Something tells me what I’ve seen barely scrapes the surface.”
“You’re batting a thousand.”
At that, she went silent and stared pensively out the window at nothing, because there was literally nothing to see other than the blanket of stars crowning the desert sky.
Jaxon had just begun to be lulled to sleep by the darkness and the motion of the vehicle when they arrived at the landing strip. Ryon hit the opener for the wide door, pulled the SUV straight into the hangar, and the overhead lights came on, activated by motion sensors.
Jaxon straightened as a sudden thought hit him. “Our bags are at the hotel.”
“No, they’re back here,” Aric said. “Z-Man must’ve worked his charm on the concierge to get ’em so fast.”
Zan snickered. “She owed me a favor. I collected.”
Ryon parked and Aric handed their bags forward. Jaxon took his and shouldered it as he got out of the SUV, and then headed toward the jet. A cheery blip sounded from behind him as Ryon locked the vehicle, and the clomping of boots on concrete filled the cavernous space.
As they walked, Jaxon noted that Kira stayed close to him. Which pleased him to no end, and confounded him as his every reaction to her had so far. It didn’t make sense, this need to protect, to place himself not only between her and danger, but between her and the men he loved like brothers. He barely restrained himself from snarling at Zan, who took her hand and politely helped her step into the plane before Jaxon thought to offer.
And her scent is still driving me freaking insane. I’m losing it.
Kira’s voice broke into his musings. “Where’s the pilot?”
Aric climbed in and grinned at her. “That would be me, sugar britches. Still feel safe?”
She leveled him with a frosty glare. “I have a name. It’s Kira. And I never said I felt safe—
he
said I should feel safe.” The look was pointed as she glanced at Jaxon.
he
said I should feel safe.” The look was pointed as she glanced at Jaxon.
Aric laughed and headed for the pilot’s chair. “Yep, you’ve got a live one, pal. Have a blast with your new babysitting gig.”
“If anyone needs a babysitter it’s you,” she shot back. “Or a spanking, more like.”
Jaxon winced. She’d walked right into that one.
His friend pounced on the opening. “Don’t threaten me with a good time unless you plan to follow through. Whenever, wherever you want me to drop trou, say the word, sugar britches—oops, Kira.” He winked, completely ignoring the lip she curled at him in disgust, then turned in his seat and fired up the engine.
“Don’t mind him,” Ryon advised her as he and Zan took seats behind her and Jaxon. “He’s so immature he still hikes his leg on the sofa.”
That cracked up everyone. Except Aric, who shot the finger to the passengers in general as he taxied the plane from the hangar.
“Is he always so cranky?” Kira asked in a low voice.
Jaxon shrugged. “Nah, Aric’s a good guy. Don’t know what’s up, except maybe he’s not too happy about our aborted weekend off.”
“Oh.” She grimaced. “Sorry about that.”
“Not a problem.”
As Aric guided the craft into position at the end of the runway and hit the juice, Jaxon was surprised by how sincerely he’d meant what he said. It wasn’t a problem—for him, anyway. He should be at least a little annoyed to be on his way back to their isolated outpost rather than enjoying a two-day romp in Sin City. On the contrary, he just didn’t care.
And that was what really bothered him.
He was hardly aware of the plane lifting off. Instead, he conjured a memory of the last time he’d spent a weekend with Alexa in his bed. The bottle blonde on her hands and knees as he thrust into her heat. How hard he’d been, unable to get enough. The delicious throb as he held off coming, wanting it to last.
But here and now. . . The memory shriveled his dick and filled him with a sense of repugnance. As did thoughts of tonight, when she’d rubbed against him like a cat in heat, and he’d responded. Had allowed the call girl to lead him to a dark corner and suck his cock, with the intention of doing so much more.
Suddenly he needed to take a long, hot shower to rid himself of any trace of Alexa’s scent. If only he could scour his brain as well.
I must be coming down with something.
But he didn’t buy it.
Kira’s going to bring me more trouble than I’ve ever known. I don’t need to be a PreCog like Nicky to know that.
These uneasy thoughts chased around in his mind until he finally gave in to the exhaustion that had plagued him since he’d looked through the eyes of the dead man he’d read.
Kira’s going to bring me more trouble than I’ve ever known. I don’t need to be a PreCog like Nicky to know that.
These uneasy thoughts chased around in his mind until he finally gave in to the exhaustion that had plagued him since he’d looked through the eyes of the dead man he’d read.
Settling in for the flight, he fell into an uneasy sleep.
Kira would have to stand in line, because trouble came first in the form of their boss.
The flight was uneventful and Jaxon awoke just as Aric brought the jet in for a perfect landing. The small, lighted runway was a strip carved into the forest and could be seen only from the air. The compound hunkered nearby, silent and dark, shielded by the thick cover of trees. Jaxon had always thought of this place as magical, mysterious, and more than a little dangerous. A line from a movie frequently popped into his head whenever he came home: The Alpha Pack headquarters could be found only by those who already knew where it was.
And his team made up the warriors enslaved to serve it for eternity.
Putting aside fanciful ideas about doomed pirates and bespelled ships, he grabbed his bag. The second Aric pulled the plane to a stop inside the hangar, Jaxon jumped out, careful to put his weight on his good leg, and offered Kira a hand before anyone else had the chance. As she placed her smaller hand in his, he caught a knowing smirk from Zander and chose to ignore it.
“Now what?” Kira asked, glancing around the vast space. Unlike their hangar outside Las Vegas, this one housed not only the jet, but a big military-style helicopter and a variety of vehicles—all armed to the teeth.
“Now we get you settled into a room, and we’re all going to get some sleep. Everything will be better in the morning after some rest, lots of coffee, and breakfast.”
She shot him a dubious look. “Sure. Nothing like a plate of scrambled eggs to make me forget that I’m homeless, jobless, and on Dr. Jekyll’s hit list. Not to mention that I’m feeling a lot like Red Riding Hood realizing that grandma’s nose is just a bit bigger and hairier than it should be.”
“Ouch.”
The young woman shrugged and crossed her arms. He couldn’t help but notice the nice things the action did to the pert breasts pushing against her blouse. “If the muzzle fits. You can hardly blame me for being . . . hell, I don’t even know the right word.”
“Scared? Out of sorts?”
“To put it mildly.” She sighed. “I doubt I’ll sleep much, but I suppose I should try.”
Jaxon could think of one foolproof way to make certain both of them slept like babies. His cock twitched in agreement and he shook himself out of his dirty thoughts. The last thing either of them needed was a messy complication. Even if she was willing. Which she wouldn’t be, if she knew what was good for her.
“Come on, I’ll show you where our quarters are located.”
If she noticed his now-pronounced limp, she didn’t mention it as she fell into step beside him. The others had gone ahead and disappeared one by one through the door at the back that connected the hangar to the corridor leading to the main building of the compound. When they reached the entrance, Jaxon held the door open and ushered her inside.
“Wow, this is nicer than I imagined,” she said, gesturing to the decor. The hallway was done in dark green carpet, the textured walls painted a warm beige. Tasteful sconces were placed at intervals, the bulbs just bright enough to allow them to see, but not so bright as to glare.
“You were expecting sterile hospital white walls and ugly industrial tile?”
“You called it a compound, not the Hilton.”
“True. But we have to live here, so there’s no reason for the place to look stark and gloomy. Besides, there are several women on staff who enjoy sprucing up the common areas whenever Nick allots them more money. They wouldn’t let us guys get away with plain and ugly even if we wanted to.”
“Nick?”
“Our boss,” he reminded her.
“Oh, right. When will I get to meet him?”
Raised voices ahead—one in particular a deep rumble above the rest—answered the question sooner than he would’ve preferred. “Shit.”
“Guess that answers my question.”
The trepidation on Kira’s pale face made him want to growl at whoever came too close, including Nick. As they reached the end of the corridor and entered the recreation room, Jaxon saw that the head Alpha wolf had met their group and was grilling them intently. He did not appear to be thrilled by what he was hearing as Zander tried to explain why they’d returned mere hours after they’d left.
“We had no choice, Nick. These two assholes were attacking the woman, and Jax had to step in.”
The older man’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “Fine. And you all had to bring her here, why?”
Wasn’t this going to be fun? Jaxon stepped up, angling his body so he was mostly between her and the semicircle of men. “The men had guns, and I had to shift in order to take them down. She saw the whole thing.”
Nick’s stormy blue gaze stabbed him like twin daggers. “Let me get this straight. You let your wolf out in fucking downtown Las Vegas, killed two men, and brought home their intended victim who witnessed the entire fucking episode. That about it?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t do anything different, and I don’t believe you would have, either. They were going to murder her, and I had about two seconds to decide.” He stood unflinching in the face of the man’s formidable anger. His actions had been the right course and he wouldn’t apologize, nor would Nick respect him for doing so.
They stood regarding each other for several long moments. His three friends moved slightly toward Jaxon in unspoken support of what he’d done, even Aric. It was a gesture not to be taken lightly. Jaxon had broken a hardand-fast rule by bringing a civilian into their world, a world precious few could comprehend—or could be trusted to keep quiet about once they knew.
Nick’s stance relaxed, just a little. “No other witnesses?”
“No. We would’ve scented them.”
Their leader studied each of them at length before his expression finally softened, replaced by weary resignation. “All right. Jax, I want to speak with you and our guest in my office. Now.”
After he turned and strode off, Ryon muttered, “Well, at least he’s not going to rip your throat out.”
Jaxon managed a small smile. “Yet.”
“Good luck, bro,” Zan said, wincing in sympathy. The others chimed an agreement, and they took turns butting knuckles with Jaxon before wandering to their own quarters.
Beside him, Kira watched them go, unconsciously biting her lower lip. In his opinion, she’d held up pretty well in spite of everything, resorting to humor-tinged sarcasm when she was afraid or feeling unsure instead of going off the deep end like many would have. Even so, she was quickly reaching the end of her rope for tonight.
“Come on,” he said, placing a palm on her lower back to gently guide her forward. “It won’t take him long to grill us and lay down the law. Then we can hit the sack.”
She was silent for a few moments as they walked. When she spoke, her voice was tired. “I don’t have anything to wear. All my stuff is at my apartment in Vegas.”
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