Silent Hunters (6 page)

Stiffening his tongue he thrust it into her slick pussy, fucking her with it in long, sure strokes. Almost at once she began to shake and, as he pushed harder into her ass, she came with a violent clenching of her body, pouring into his mouth. He drank from her, the cream better than any fine wine or liquor he’d ever tasted. He sucked and lapped, clutching her body tightly until the last shudder subsided.

Rising he pushed her further onto the mattress, climbed between her thighs and, with a need born of raging desire, plunged into her with one swift, hard roll of his hips.

“Look at me,” he commanded. When she opened her eyes, still glazed with passion, he stared into them, hard. “You are mine, Lauren. And no one will ever harm you again.”

He should have taken his time but he was so close to exploding it was all he could do to slow down enough until he felt a climax rising within her again. With a low growl he pumped hard, again, again, and as her pussy clenched around him his balls drew up, his body stiffened and he gave himself over to the blessed release.

He collapsed, breathless, rolling to his side and taking her with him, his cock still lodged inside her.

“I will take care of you, little one. Trust me. I’ll keep you safe.”

SILENT HUNTERS

Desiree Holt

34

Everyone seemed to have made themselves scarce, including Damien, by the time Lauren showered and dressed again and made it out to the living room. But on the coffee table was a book with a folded sheet of paper with her name written on it. She opened it and scanned the message.

Little one,

We have gone out for a bit to give you time to think about our plan. But first I want you to look
through this book. It’s a lot to read in a short time, so just skim chapters one and four. Then, if you still
want The Sentinels to help you, we’ll move forward.

There’s coffee in the kitchen and a plate of fresh muffins.

Damien

No closing endearment, but what did she expect? It was probably just good sex to him.

No. Not true. You connected immediately and what you shared was far deeper. He has
something in mind. Read the book and find out what it is.

The book looked fairly old, with a worn leather binding and gilt letters that read
The
Legend of the Wolf.
She stared at it, frowning, then carried it into the kitchen with her. She filled a mug with coffee and sat down with a muffin and the book. She had just taken a bite of the delicious pastry and was three pages into the first chapter when she stopped chewing and froze in astonishment.

Here in this ancient book was the same information she’d studied in college, the whispered tale of mysterious creatures, wolves who could shift into humans and back again.

Who lived in both worlds. They lived in packs, led by an alpha. Blended into communities but always kept together. There were even some villages that were populated only by shifters. They had jobs, led human lives, but used their special abilities to help themselves and others survive.

SILENT HUNTERS

Desiree Holt

35

The first knowledge of them came from mysterious areas of Europe such as Greece and Romania. Some believe the full moon is connected, others deny its effect. Often the shifters changed to wolf form to travel unharmed through dangerous areas.

Mexico was another country where the legend had grown exponentially. The theory in the book Lauren was reading explained that the wolves had migrated as humans from Europe and carved out places for themselves in the wilds of the Mexican landscape. From there they found their way to the United States.

There were also several items about shifters mating with humans and the children they produced—called changelings or halflings. There didn’t seem to be any information that any of these unions had ended badly.

Rather than being frightened by what she was reading, Lauren was excited. Even aroused. Did that mean Damien was a shifter? And the others? Were they shifters, too? Had she made love with a half-man/half-wolf?

And was she crazy to be so instantly aroused by the thought?

As she read further she found herself squeezing her thighs together and rubbing back and forth on the chair, the pulse in her cunt beating with the insistence of a jungle drum. By the time she finished chapter four her coffee was cold and her muffin forgotten. And she had only one thought.

Holy shit!

She heard a noise on the deck and walked out to the living room to check it. Sierra was standing in the open sliding glass doors. Behind her on the deck were four wolves, the three from the previous night and a smaller one with a reddish brown pelt. Since Kelsey was missing along with the men Lauren had to assume she was the fourth wolf.

Sierra smiled at her. “Since you didn’t run screaming into the woods I have to assume the book didn’t frighten you.”

“Were
you
frightened when you found out?”

The other woman shook her head. “On the contrary. I was strangely intrigued. But Luke and I had already made love and there was a connection there that I couldn’t break.”

Lauren nodded. “I feel the same way.”

She told Sierra about the course she’d taken and how the legend of the shapeshifter had always fascinated her. “Reading this book puts it in even better perspective for me. I want Damien no matter what,” she added, a little shy to admit it.

SILENT HUNTERS

Desiree Holt

36

At that moment the air on the deck shimmered and immediately she was staring at four very naked but unselfconscious people. Three of them walked past her to the master bedroom, followed by Sierra. Damien stood next to her, his hands on her shoulders, so glorious in his nudity she wanted to rip off her own clothes.

“I want to put our plan into place,” he told her in a low voice. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner you and I can move on together.”

“And are we? Together? We’ve hardly known each other more than a few hours.”

“Sometimes that’s all it takes, little one. For me it was instantaneous.”

“Me, too,” she whispered.

“Then let’s get this done.”

Walking back into the huge house perched on the edge of the water was one of the hardest things Lauren had ever done. They’d had her wait until after dinner before driving her there, reminding her that they needed darkness for the plan to work. All day she’d been tied up in knots, fighting the nausea that always accompanied a feeling of dread. She wished there was some way to do this without ever seeing any of these people again but she knew that was impossible. And Damien, bless him, had done his best to keep her occupied and as relaxed as possible. She hadn’t thought it possible to have that much sex in such a short time.

And it seemed the more she had, the more she craved.

But then it was finally time. Damien drove her through the little village and down the long two-lane road, to the mausoleum of a house.

“My car’s gone,” she noted when the passed the place in the road she’d run out of gas.

“I’m sure one of your thoughtful relatives took care of it.” There was no missing the edge of sarcasm in his voice.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” she told him.

“Yes, you can, little one. You’re a strong woman. You can handle anything. And I won’t be far away.”

She was shaking when she got out of the car, steadied only by Damien’s gentle touch at her elbow.

SILENT HUNTERS

Desiree Holt

37

Niema, her half-sister, was the first to spot her as she walked into the living room. She was standing by the big picture window, drinking a glass of wine and staring at something outside. She turned when she heard the front door close and steps sounding on the slate floor of the foyer sitting. She stared at Lauren, her mouth open in shock.

“Lauren. My God! Are you all right? Where have you been? We’ve been so worried about you.” She put down her wine and started forwards, hands outstretched, before she spotted Damien standing there in all his dark brooding splendour. “Who’s this?” Suspicion and shock edged Niema’s voice.

“Lauren?” Before Lauren could answer Niema, Mickey, her half-brother, evidently drawn by the conversation, hurried into the room and moved forwards right on Niema’s heels. “We found your car on the road and had it towed to the house. It’s in the garage.

We’ve been half -crazy with worry about you. Jeffrey’s ready to call the sheriff.” He, too, looked at Damien strangely, his expression decidedly unfriendly.

Lauren stared at him.

Why didn’t he do it last night, then, if he was so worried?

She recited the story Damien had carefully rehearsed her with.

“I ran out of gas. Damien came along and gave me a ride into town. I spent the night at the inn.”

“But you didn’t call,” Niema said. “Why didn’t you have one of us come pick you up?”

She shrugged. “It worked out well because I needed some time to think. Tomorrow’s the hearing on the will and I wanted to get my head straight.”

“And you called this man to bring you back tonight instead of your family?” Mickey sounded increasingly hostile.

“I took him to dinner to thank him for saving me.” She made her voice as even as possible. “It was the polite thing to do. And he offered to drive me home today.”

“What’s going on here?” Her father walked into the room just then, apparently having heard their voices. “My dear, I’m so very glad to see you,” he said smoothly.

He hurried over to her but Lauren stepped back before he could give her a hug. She couldn’t stand for him to touch her. Or for any of the others, either.

“We’ve been very concerned,” he told her in a flat voice.

“Well, you needn’t be. As you can see, I’m just fine, despite being stranded on the road after I left here.”

SILENT HUNTERS

Desiree Holt

38

“And who’s this?” He glared at Damien.

“Some guy she shacked up with last night,” Mickey spat out.

“Watch your mouth,” Lauren told him. “That’s not what happened at all.”
Well, not
exactly.
She swallowed a small grin.

“It was inconsiderate of you not to call,” Niema told her in a petulant voice.

“I hardly think any of you are that concerned about my welfare,” she snapped. “And now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to my room.”

“Are you hurt in any way?” Jeffrey had joined the group, his face arranged in expression of false concern. He, too, tried to put his arms around her and she took another step back.

“I’m fine. Just tired.” She looked at Damien. “I’m sorry my family is so rude. Thank you for your kindness and consideration.”

He smiled at her, his eyes warm and reassuring. “My pleasure. I’ll speak to you soon.”

Lauren watched him leave the house then heard the car pull away but knew he wouldn’t be going far. Still, her stomach suddenly pitched with nerves.

“You know,” Mickey called after her as she headed out of the room, “tomorrow wouldn’t be so stressful if you’d just be reasonable about the whole thing.”

She stopped midway up the stairs. “If by reasonable you mean dividing up the estate equally you can forget about it. If Granddad had wanted it done that way, he’d have stipulated it in his will.”

“Maybe you exerted undue influence,” Niema said in a nasty tone of voice. “We could use that in court, you know.”

“You’d have a hard time proving it.” She wet her lips. “By the way, would any of you happen to know how I ran out of gas when I had a full tank the day before? And hadn’t been anywhere until I left here last night?”

No one answered her. They simply stared at her with a variety of hateful expressions.

Now I know what they mean about being in a nest of vipers.

She continued on to the second floor, feeling every pair of eyes burning holes in her back as she moved, her heart pounding furiously. Whoever was behind the kidnapping would have to make his—or her—move tonight. Maybe it was all of them? That would be even more logical. The thought made her sick to her stomach but she had to trust that The SILENT HUNTERS

Desiree Holt

39

Sentinels would take care of her. In her room she closed the door but left it unlocked, as instructed by Damien.

The waiting was the hardest part. She couldn’t make herself relax, imagining the conversation going on downstairs. She paced then sat then paced again, rubbing her arms as if chilled although the air in the house was a moderate temperature.

Fear will do that to you.

The moment it was dark outside, she stepped out onto the little balcony off her room, straining her eyes to watch for the wolves leaping over the fence around the property. But stealth was in their natures and even though she was looking for them, she saw nothing. Still, she knew they’d be out there. Silent. Hunting. Waiting.

Trust them. Trust Damien. Everything will be all right.

It was time.

She walked slowly down the stairs and into the kitchen. When she heard quiet footsteps on the carpet behind her she turned. Jeffrey and Niema were standing there and Jeffrey was holding a gun in his hand.

“We were afraid we’d have to go drag you out of your room,” he snarled. “Thanks for saving us that inconvenience.”

“So it was you,” she said tiredly, looking at the man with disgust. “The money must be very important to you.”

“As much as there is? No question about it.” His short laugh held no trace of humour.

“You should have married me,” he told her. “It would have been the simplest solution. Then we’d all be happy.”

“And let you raid the company?” She shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She opened the sliding glass door to the patio and stepped out.

“I don’t know where you think you’re going,” Jeffrey said.

She looked at the gun. “Are you planning to shoot me right here?”

“No, not here,” Niema snapped at her, upper lip curled in disdain. “We don’t want anything suspicious for the cops to find.”