Tempting the Jaguar (8 page)

“Vampires that you didn’t even

know existed chased you down,

you were forced to go on the run

with a strange shifter, and last night

between us was intense and

unexpected. At least it was for me.

I’ve never experienced
that
with a

female before. Then you got yelled

at by my own freaking brother.” He

couldn’t even put into words what

“that” was, but he hoped she felt the

same.

She chuckled softly and when he

looked over from where he stood at

the counter, he relaxed. Her arms

were wrapped defensively around

herself like before yet she seemed

more at ease. “I guess you’re right.

Last night was pretty insane. And

what we shared...yeah, intense

seems like the right word.” Her

cheeks flushed crimson and he was

relieved she was clearly still

affected by him.

After pulling two mugs down

from one of the cabinets, he leaned

against the counter and watched her

carefully. The percolating

coffeemaker was the only sound in

the otherwise quiet kitchen. When it

became obvious she didn’t plan to

continue, he said, “One of those

vampires called you princess last

night.”

Her eyebrows furrowed as she

nodded. “I know. It was weird,

right? At first I thought maybe it

was an insult but that doesn’t really

make sense, does it? And why

didn’t they want me hurt?”

He’d wondered the same thing.

The confusion rolling off her at the

moment was so real, he had no

doubt of her sincerity. Rainer had

already told his brothers all of this

and he knew Alaric had definitely

relayed the message to their Alpha,

but Knox and Alaric had more

important things to worry about at

the moment. And nothing was more

important to Rainer than Estrella.

Whatever was going on with the

vampires, he’d be taking care of

her.

Covering the distance between

them, he sat tentatively next to her.

Her legs were crossed and that shirt

his brother had brought for her

showed way too much skin. Not

that he was complaining, but it was

hard to concentrate on talking when

all he wanted to do was strip her

again and bury himself inside her.

“Why did you pull away from me in

the cave?”

She shrugged, the action jerky. “I

was overwhelmed with everything

and your...” She trailed off.

“And my brother didn’t help

things any.”

Estrella shook her head. “It’s

obvious he’s concerned about you.

I shouldn’t have called him a jerk.”

Rainer’s jaw clenched once.

“You were right, he was being a

jerk. But he’s not normally.” In

fact, Conrad was usually the

charming one of them. “When I

told you my parents were murdered

because someone betrayed them—it

was my fault.”

Estrella’s dark eyes widened.

“What?”

He’d held back last night but if he

wanted to take this relationship with

her in the right direction, he had to

be honest. No matter how much it

pained him. Opening up to people

who weren’t his brothers was a

foreign experience. “It was about

three hundred years ago.” But even

thinking about it still killed him

inside. “I was involved with a wolf

shifter from a neighboring pack.

Things were different back then

between supernatural beings. We

fought for land, even the right to

choose a mate. Life was definitely

less civilized.”

Surprise rolled off her and he

knew he’d be explaining a lot about

their different species in the future.

Not that he minded. She deserved

to know everything about

supernatural history and he wanted

to be the one to teach her. “This

female,” he spat the word, unable to

even say her name, “that I thought I

loved—” He froze when he realized

Estrella was growling.

She stopped abruptly as if she’d

surprised herself. Blinking, she

blushed again. “Sorry. Please

continue.”

He held back a smile. Right now

nothing should be easing his

internal pain, but her reaction

touched something inside him he

was glad hadn’t died. “Long story

short, a female shifter led my

parents into a vampire trap. My

brothers and I were also supposed

to be there, but it didn’t work out

that way.” And for decades after

he’d wished he’d died with his

parents. The shame and guilt of

knowing he’d been responsible for

their deaths had been almost too

much to bear. “Once we realized

what had happened, my brothers

and I and a few other pack

members killed them all. Her pack,

the vampires. Everyone who didn’t

flee.”

She sucked in a quick breath and

it hit him that if she’d grown up in

the human world this would all be

new to her, even if her parents had

been killed.

Rainer hadn’t killed his former

lover. Conrad had unfortunately

had to do that. She’d come at

Rainer, ready to kill him and he’d

been unable to strike back no

matter how evil she’d shown

herself to be. It was probably why

Conrad was so leery of Estrella.

“Our world is different than what

you’re used to.”

She nodded slowly and he could

practically see the wheels turning in

her head. Finally she spoke. “Why

did she betray you?”

“Land.” It was a simple answer

for an act that had nearly destroyed

him.

Rage surged off Estrella, the

bitter scent unmistakable. “Is she

dead?”

Rainer nodded.

“Good.” Her one word response

surprised him.

Before he could say anything, he

scented his brother’s presence

nearby at the same time Estrella did.

She stiffened in her seat and

glanced at the entryway of the

kitchen. Moments later when

Conrad stepped inside wearing

cargo pants and a simple black T-

shirt, Rainer tried to see him the

way she did. His brother was just as

big as Rainer and his expression

was fierce and deadly. No wonder

she’d been nervous back in the

cave. Hell, it was a surprise she’d

trusted Rainer as much as she had.

Conrad looked between the two

of them, then focused on him.

Rainer stood, partially blocking

Estrella because he wanted her to

know he’d protect her. Even from

his own brother’s hostility.

Conrad lifted an eyebrow at him,

but didn’t send a telepathic

message. He just said, “We’re

leaving. Brought your truck to her

driveway. Looks like someone went

through the glove box, no doubt the

vamps. You need to have her pack

a bag and bring her back to the

compound as soon as possible.”

Rainer closed his eyes for a brief

moment, resisting the urge to

massage his temple. He’d wanted to

ask Estrella first—or subtly insist.

With his brother ordering her, he

knew she was going to resist out of

pure instinct. He knew because he’d

do the same if some stranger tried

to give him orders.

He felt Estrella move before he

actually heard her jump up from

her seat. “I’m not going anywhere.

This is my home. And if I decide to

leave, it won’t be because you

ordered me to,” she snapped at

Conrad.

This was just perfect. Rainer

turned to face her, completely

blocking Conrad from her view.

Leave now,
he mentally ordered his brother. Though he didn’t hear him

go, his brother’s scent faded

instantly and Rainer knew they

were alone. When he reached out to

cup her face he breathed a silent

sigh of relief that she didn’t pull

away.

She actually leaned her cheek

into his hand as she silently

watched him. Good. It was obvious

she needed his touch as much as he

seemed to need hers. That extra

contact went a long way in soothing

his inner wolf and he could only

hope he had the same effect on her.

He’d always assumed his true mate

would be a wolf, but he had no

doubt that Estrella was it for him.

They had a lot to learn about each

other, but the heat and desire

between them was undeniable and

scorching. Not to mention his wolf

had already accepted her jaguar. “I

would appreciate it if you would

pack a bag and come back to my

place. At least for a week while we

try to figure out who is after you

and why.” They might know it was

vampires but they didn’t know

what coven they were from and

they definitely didn’t know what

their ultimate purpose was.

She bit her bottom lip, her

expression unsure. “A week?”

“Is the thought of spending a

week with me really such a bad

thing?” he asked jokingly, even if it

sliced him that she was unsure

when all he wanted to do was go on

lockdown with her and only come

out for meals.

“No, it’s just that I have to work.

I have a few commissions that I

need to finish and—”

“Whatever you need for your

work, we’ll transport to the pack’s

compound. And if you need money

I’ll—”

Now she cut him off as she held

up a hand. “Don’t even go there.”

Okay.
He could respect that even

if he did want to take care of her in

every way. “We could stay here if

you wanted, but it’s not smart.”

There was no way he’d actually let

her stay here. Not without an army

surrounding them, but he was

trying to be diplomatic.

“I know. I just don’t like anyone

ordering me around. Actually, I had

just planned to stay with my friend,

Sabrina. What does a compound

mean? It sounds scary.” A thread of

fear twined off her.

He chuckled. “It’s what we call

the mansion my pack lives in. It’s

huge enough that we all have a lot

of space. Everyone has their own

rooms, which are basically

apartments. We all take care of each

other and Knox is a fair Alpha.”

“But I’m a jaguar.” Her lips

pulled into a thin line.

“So?”

She swallowed audibly. “Other

than you, the only wolves I’ve

come in contact with before haven’t

been exactly...nice.”

There was something about her

tone that made his inner wolf go on

red alert. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know all these rules and

regulations you guys seem to have

so if I tell you something you have

to promise me it stays between us.”

“You think I’d betray or hurt

you?”

“No. I just don’t know if I can be

punished for what I did. What I

had
to do.” Her body had gone

completely stiff as she watched him

warily.

“What happened?” His inner wolf

was clawing at him as scenarios

raced through his mind.

“In college I met a few wolf

shifters. I’d guessed there had to be

other shifters out in the world, but

none lived in Miami that I knew of.

And I still haven’t met any jaguar

shifters.” There was a note of

sadness in her voice that he might

have missed if he hadn’t been

listening so intently. “Anyway, they

were all dominant and arrogant and

one of them pushed me too far. He

tried to rape me and told me it was

my
fault because I was stupid

enough to be packless.” She gave a

derisive snort, but the pain etched

on her face was deep.

Rainer’s inner wolf flexed its

claws, death and rage the only thing

it saw for one brief moment. Rape?

He wanted to respond, but his

throat tightened almost painfully.

No words would come out as he

imagined her at the mercy of some

asshole.

She continued. “That was my

first lesson on what packless meant

and why I’ve avoided shifters ever

since. I...was forced to kill him.”

She stumbled over the words then

stopped talking and just stared at

Rainer, clearly waiting for his

response.

It took a long moment for him to

get his inner wolf under control.

The thought of her being targeted

because she didn’t belong to a pack

had his claws aching to unleash and

lash out at anyone who’d ever tried

to hurt her. He’d never been so

grateful that someone—a stranger—

was dead. Whoever that wolf was,

he was damn lucky he wasn’t alive.

“Rainer?” Estrella’s soft voice

brought him back to reality. Her

eyes were wide as she stared at him.

His breathing was erratic and he

had to force his inner wolf back

down. Though he couldn’t see