CHAPTER 5

They started with a perilous climb from the bottom of the gorge to the uppermost section of the cliff that rose above it. More than ten feet from the ground, handholds were few and far between; and though a fall wouldn’t kill her, it would sure as hell hurt.

Their destination was the grouping of small, narrow openings into the cliff houses above. Weathered by sand and rain, the openings created dark, shadowed crevices with a narrow ledge running between them.

In the heat of the day, the climb sapped her energy as perspiration poured from her even before they reached the first set of small caves. Megan had been amazed that the large, brawny Coyotes could have existed for more than a few hours inside them, until she flattened herself against the stone floor and scooted in.

“The cave is much larger inside,” she called back as she flipped on the flashlight she carried before moving further inside.

The risk of rattlers was high in the area, not to mention a dozen other poisonous denizens of the desert. The caves were cool in the heat of the day, and warmer in the cold of night—the perfect hidden shelter for wildlife.

There was nothing to be found but a lingering, subtly noxious smell. Her senses detected no danger, no presence of life. Only the cold, evil intent that had filled the Coyotes.

“Those boys stink,” she muttered as she pushed herself farther into the cave and made room for Braden’s larger body.

“Yes, they do at that.” Unfortunately, the distracting scent of the remnants of the Coyote Breeds’ body odor was instantly overshadowed by the smell of manly heat that tempted the senses and made her erogenous zones wake up and howl. She clenched her thighs, feeling the wet proof of her attraction to him dampening the outer curves of her cunt.

And he wasn’t exactly uninterested. She flushed as his gaze touched her; the heavy-lidded, sensual awareness moving over his expression was less than comforting.

Rather than staring at the hard body moving across from her, she moved the light over the cave walls. The cave extended well back into the ridge, easily ten feet wide and perhaps twelve long, with several wide fissures opening into the wall and leading further back into the cliff.

“I had no idea the cliff houses were this large,” she murmured, directing the beam of light to the widest fissure. It looked like a doorway opening into stone.

“That fissure leads to another inner cavern at the base of the cliff. I tracked them that far before I found the tunnel that led to the one they had trapped you inside. I don’t believe they had explored far though; the tunnels are like a maze as you get deeper into the ridge.”

She glanced at him as he spoke, watching the confidence in the way he began to move about the cliff house.

“So what are we looking for?” She rose to her feet, the ceiling barely high enough to allow her to straighten. Braden’s shoulders were stooped, his head lowered as he glanced back at her.

“Jonas and his men didn’t have time to go through the two upper caverns fully,” he said. “I just want to be certain nothing was missed.”

“How did you manage to keep from getting lost in the tunnels?” The thought of an inner maze within the stone was daunting, and she didn’t care to attempt to search one.

“A good sense of direction.” Amusement laced his voice. “Don’t worry; the tunnels shouldn’t pose a problem. They wouldn’t have left their vantage point to search them. They were waiting on you, and knew you weren’t likely to use them.”

She inhaled roughly before moving to the opposite wall and shining the light closely on it. She didn’t want to think about the Coyotes waiting on her, watching for her.

“These haven’t been here long.” She ran her fingers over the stone, marveling at the forces that had created them. “The storms that washed out this gully were horrible. Before it was nothing more than a small chasm. Now it’s almost a secret stone wonderland. I’ll have to let the cavers’ association know about these tunnels so they can explore and map them.”

It was imperative to get the proper GPS trackers within the tunnels and caves in case the unwary became lost within them.

“And another of nature’s secrets becomes unraveled,” Braden murmured.

“But lives are saved.” She shrugged at the faint condemnation. “Especially the children who lose their way so easily.”

How many times had she done exactly that as a child? Too many to count. Her father, even now, told the hair-raising stories of attempting to find her during the times she had disappeared into a cave or an unknown part of the desert.

“Some secrets were meant to stay hidden.” His voice was tight now, tense with a deep-seated anger as he investigated one of the ledges on the other side of the cave.

She assumed he meant the secrets the scientists had unraveled in creating the Breeds. From the news stories she had watched, she knew the controversy over Breed Rights was fueled by the Purists’ beliefs that their animal DNA disqualified them from the description of human. As though the human DNA had no significant value.

It was insanity, the racism and prejudice that was growing against the Breeds. And though she could hear his anger, feel it distantly, it wasn’t beating at her head, raw and painful. It was just there naturally. Allowing her to breathe and to function. The anomaly was comforting—confusing, but comforting.

“Nature does what she believes is right.” She leaned against the rock wall, staring at his broad back curiously. “Do you think you would be here if you weren’t considered a worthy life, Braden?” She tilted her head as he turned back to face her slowly.

His eyes were narrowed in the dim light that filled the cave, his expression pensive.

“I wouldn’t fight for it daily if I didn’t consider it worthy,” he assured her, his lips quirking into a mocking smile before he turned back to whatever he had been investigating. “I just believe some things were not meant to be tampered with, Creation being but one of them.”

He was accepting of who he was, of what he was. But she heard the regret in his voice as well. Perhaps it was the world in general that disappointed him. As it did her.

She cleared her throat, nervous. “Sometimes tampering creates something beautiful,” she finally whispered, staring back at him, licking her lips as his gaze flickered with surprise.

“Back to work,” she muttered, turning away from him before she let her wayward emotions get her into trouble. Hadn’t she learned better more than once?

Shaking her head, she turned back to the job at hand, shining the light deep into the opening that led farther into the land. The light beam caught on a piece of folded paper, tucked beneath the outcropping of a rock.

Moving into the tunnel, she bent and pulled it free before aiming the light on it. The computer-printed schedule was damning.

Fields, Megan.

Patrol Schedule.

Her fingers rubbed over the paper as hatred poured from it. Personal hatred. This wasn’t the impersonal evil of the Coyote Breeds. It was closer. Familiar. She knew the feeling, the psychic imprint left by all creatures once they touched something. She bit her lip, frowning down at the paper as she continued to rub her fingers over it.

The emotion was faint, but vicious. Whoever had printed out this schedule had known what awaited her. Known and enjoyed the feeling of power that came from the knowledge.

“What is it?”

Megan jumped in startled awareness as she heard Braden’s voice at her ear, only then realizing how easily he had slipped up on her.

“This is from the computers at the sheriff ’s office.” She frowned down at the locator numbers at the top of the printout. “The printer automatically sets the locator numbers to display the location of the office printing it.”

“Are they printed out often?” Braden reached out, lifting the paper from her hand as she turned to face him.

Megan shrugged. “Not that often. I get a copy and Lance has his copy. Unless someone prints out more. But you need the password to get into the system.”

“It’s still not a foolproof system.” He shook his head slowly, staring down at the paper a moment longer before refolding it and tucking it into his pocket. “I’ll send it to the labs and see if they can pick up any prints from it. Though I doubt any but those of the Coyote who carried it show up after all this time.”

“From what I’ve heard of the Council, they don’t go after high-profile or well-guarded women,” she said then, remembering the reports she had watched over the years. “They kidnap runaways, or women who are destitute, with no family. And they don’t just mark one for death. Why change their routine now?”

She wasn’t stupid. There had to be something more that they were after.

“You’re right.” He reached up, pushing back the fringes of hair that fell over her face, his golden eyes narrowing as she stared back at him. “There is something more they want. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it is. Until I learn, we’ll fight together. No going off alone, Megan. Trust me to let you fight and to live.”

Her lips parted at his statement while her heart began to race at his nearness. She should be excited about the opportunity to fight, not about the chance to be a part of this man’s life.

His lips quirked, a soft smile softening the features of his face. “You’re surprised?”

“A bit,” she admitted, aware that his hand now cupped the side of her neck, his thumb smoothing over the tender flesh just beneath her ear. The intimacy that wrapped around them seemed to invade every cell of her body.

“Why?” He tilted his head.

She shrugged, uncertain within the morass of arousal and emotions she could feel building within her. Braden, as maddening as he could be, drew her to him in ways she found impossible to fight. She wanted his arms around her, wanted his touch and his kiss; but even more, she wanted the man.

“Why have you stayed here?” he asked her then. “I see the wildness in your eyes, Megan, the need to run free, to fight and to dance within the flames of life. You let Lance give you a Wounder rather than a weapon, and allow yourself to be smothered in this corner you exist within. Why?”

A frown snapped between her brows as the shame of her failure to fight and control her Empathy filled her once again. “This is my home.” She tried to shake off his touch.

“This isn’t your life.” He spoke the words that she shied away from daily.

“This isn’t your business.” She stepped away from him, ignoring the instant chill to her body as she lost his warmth.

“This is a lot of my business,” he assured her, still blocking the exit of the tunnel. “I see a very strong woman. One with enough fire to warm the coldest nights or to fight the bloodiest battle. Yet you’re here, sedated, bored out of your mind.”

His voice was gentle, comforting, and yet at the same time the dark, rich baritone had her blood pressure rising to a heated pitch of arousal. She would have been amused if it didn’t scare her silly. She could love this man, even knowing he couldn’t stay.

“Bored?” She arched her brow mockingly. “Now, Braden, how could you consider this little corner of the desert boring? Surely you aren’t ready to head back to battle so soon?”

He was hitting too close to the mark, bringing to the surface too many things that had been tormenting her with each passing year.

“I found a battle here,” he responded softly, crowding her closer to the stone wall at the side of the tunnel. “Now I just have to figure out why there’s a battle to begin with. Why would a beautiful, seemingly normal young woman suddenly be targeted for death by a Council that shouldn’t give a fuck about her one way or the other. What did you do, Megan? What have you seen?”

She inhaled roughly, staring back at him with a remnant of fear as he asked that question. What had she done? What had she seen? Why had she run back to the safety of her home, her family, and hid within the desert she so loved, when she really wanted nothing more than to live the life she knew she had been destined to live?

Because she was scared. She had learned in the crowded setting of the Law Enforcement Academy that working within a team, dealing with the various emotions, dark, often agonizing emotions, fractured her attention to the point where concentration was impossible.

She had passed the courses with honors. But when it came to training maneuvers, she had often endangered the team as well as herself. And yet that had nothing to do with the Council.

“I haven’t done anything, or seen anything that the Council would be interested in.” Her fists clenched at her sides as she assured him just how wrong he was. “I’m here because it is home. I want to make a difference here.”

“There’s no battle here.” His eyes were deceptively gentle; she could see the cool, calm calculation that rested beneath the purity of the amber color. “There is no fire here, Megan.” He moved closer, his body brushing against hers until she retreated against the cool wall behind her. “There is no excitement, nothing to stimulate your very agile mind and body. You hunger for justice. For adventure and excitement. You hunger and yet you steer clear of the banquet waiting beyond your own borders. Why?”

“Maybe I’m scared?” She arched her brow mockingly as she felt her mouth go dry with nervousness. He was too close, too intent on learning secrets that she revealed to no one. “Broken Butte is safe—”

The rumbled growl of warning that sounded from his chest stopped her words as nothing else could have.

“Have I ever mentioned that lies have a scent?” he asked her, his voice soft as he pressed closer. “Such a shame to mar the smell of sweet, aroused female with the rancid tint of a lie. Don’t piss me off, Megan.”

He flashed those incisors as though she should be frightened of them. She wasn’t frightened of his bite; it was his touch that threw her off guard, that destroyed her equilibrium. That was what she feared. And it made her angry at herself and at him.

“Don’t piss you off?” She pushed against his chest as she wiggled past him, stomping to the main cave as he followed her slowly. “No, Braden.” She turned on him warningly, pointing her finger at him imperiously. “Don’t piss me off, and don’t poke your nose where it doesn’t belong. Concern yourself with the problem at hand and leave me the hell alone.”

Now she remembered why she didn’t want a damned Feline Breed on her heels every damned minute of the day. Arrogance was as much a part of them as the steel-hard muscles and exceptional, savage beauty.

And let’s not forget the strength. Before she could do more than gasp he had gripped her upper arm, turning her and pushing her against the wall again, his larger body holding her in place as his erection pressed against her lower stomach.

Arousal swamped her. It ripped through her; not just her senses, but every cell of her body seemed to open up, begging, pleading for his touch.

Damn, she didn’t need that. She could feel her womb clenching. And he didn’t miss a second of it.

His nostrils flared, his eyes darkening as he held her wrists in one hand, high above her head.

“Do you mind?” She struggled against his grip.

“I don’t mind a bit,” he murmured, lowering his head to her already abused ear as his teeth raked over it.

Okay, she was screwed, and not in a good way.

She shuddered at the caress. That just felt way too good.

Good enough that she couldn’t still the hard exhalation of breath that nearly turned into a whimper of greedy need. Talk about a banquet. A smorgasbord of hard, tight male flesh. And if the erection pressing into her stomach was any indication, he was built like a damned tank and loaded.

Her hands strained against his grip as she arched against him, knowing she should be struggling to be free of the sensations that flooded her at his touch. But she wasn’t. She was straining closer to the power, the heat of him, needing more. She forced back the need, panting for air as the blood raced through her body.

“Why are you doing this?” She tried to shake her head, but her eyelids only fluttered in pleasure as he drew her earlobe between his lips and caressed it.

“Be still.” He growled, pressing his cock tighter against her belly.

“You’re not being fair,” she protested, her nails biting into his shoulders as she fought the attraction pulling her to him. She couldn’t afford to let herself feel this, to need this. “You know this can’t go anywhere.”

“Who said I’m trying to go anywhere?” Amusement and pure male lust thickened his voice. “But if you don’t stop rubbing that hot little body against me, then I’m going to fuck you here, in the middle of this damned cave. Now stay still.”

His other hand locked on her hip as he eased back, his head lowering to allow his lips to graze her neck.

Damn, it had just been too long since she’d been with a man. That had to be all it was, because if it wasn’t, then she was in more trouble than she could have ever imagined.

“Just blame it all on me, why don’t you.” She tried to be snide, she really did. But the smile that trembled on her lips fed to her voice.

“It’s sure as hell a lot easier that way.” He chuckled as he lifted his head, moving farther back until he let go of her wrists and released her from the sensual spell he had been weaving around her.

She should have been thankful.

Instead she wanted to whimper in disappointment.

“I just bet it is.” She rolled her eyes, fighting to balance her equilibrium once again. “Are we finished in here, or was there something else you wanted to check out?”

She stooped down to retrieve the flashlight that had rolled against the wall before flipping it off and re-securing it on her utility belt. Right beside the wicked submachine pistol she had pulled from her closet and holstered there that morning. She’d be damned if she ever carried another Wounder.

“Oh, there are many things I would like to check out.” The heavy-lidded stare had her stomach tightening, her pussy spasming.

“I bet there are.” She hid the spurt of laughter that was building in her chest. “But if we’re finished with these damned caverns I’d really like to head back to town. I do still have some sort of life here. Living it brings me some satisfaction, you know. And I’m getting rather hungry.”

For food, she chastised her aching clit. Just food. No sex. Sex with a Breed was not a good idea. It involved all sorts of complications. Possessiveness, arrogance, and other adjectives she really couldn’t seem to pull out of her head right now. She was certain they weren’t good ones though.

“Hmmm,” he murmured. The rumbling sound wasn’t comforting. “We’ll check the other cave just to be certain before heading out. If they left the schedule here, they could have left something else across the gully.”

“Fine.” Another climb. Just what she needed. This time he was going first. She was not getting downwind of him with that sensitive nose he had. She was so wet she was certain she smelled of nothing but lust. Wild, hot lust.

She was so fucked. And if she wasn’t careful, it was going to be in a too-good way.

She fascinated him.

Braden admitted he could be in some very deep trouble where Megan Fields and her various mysteries were concerned.

It wasn’t just the arousal that concerned him. He had been aroused before, but never had he been this hungry, this intent on one woman outside the drug induced “tests” the scientists had conducted in the labs.

Megan did more than just make him hungry. She made him yearn, and that could be a very dangerous thing. But she also made him curious.

Curiosity killed the cat, he thought mockingly as he searched the next cave, attempting to ignore the sweet heat that flowed from her.

He ached so desperately to taste her that the small, almost unnoticed glands beneath his tongue felt swollen. The scientists had labeled them as advanced taste buds, another of the anomalies of their human/animal genetics. There were quite a few of those.

But the glands had never become inflamed, swollen. And they sure as hell had never spilled the subtle taste of spice into his mouth. And now they were. The very thought of tasting Megan, of pushing his tongue into her mouth and feeling her soft lips surround it, made them throb harder.

Not to mention what the thought did to his cock. The head was pounding like a toothache that refused to ease. He could jack off, but he had learned last night that it brought even less satisfaction than it ever had. He just wasn’t the “jack off ” type, he guessed. He liked sex. He loved women. The taste, the sound, the softness, all the unique qualities that made women what they were.

The feel of their nails piercing his shoulders in climax, or the sweet explosion of earthy lust on his tongue as he licked their cream from between their thighs. Women were softness in a world gone mad. But Megan was making him mad, insane, so desperate for the taste of her that he was on the verge of taking her to the cave floor and covering her like the animal he was.

“There’s nothing here, Braden.” It wasn’t the first time she had made the comment. “No fissures, no tunnels, no hidden little ledges.”

Yeah, he had figured that one out five minutes ago. But she was here, the smell of her trapped between the stone walls, stroking his senses and filling him with a peculiar lust that he needed time to understand. To figure out how to control.

If they left the cave, the winds would dissipate much of the scent, and the surrounding land would diffuse it. He would have no time to revel in it.

In his memory, no woman had ever been so naturally hot for his touch. It was almost humbling. Fuck that, it was arousing as hell. He couldn’t get enough of it, and if she wasn’t careful, he would soon be tasting it.

“Keep looking.” He bent along the wall he was searching, exploring a fissure that ran diagonally across the stone. It was thin, barely wide enough for the tips of his fingers, but enough to pretend interest in.

“Keep looking!” she exclaimed before breathing out in exaggerated patience. “You’re too bossy.”

“And you’re too argumentative, but you don’t see me pointing that out.” She made him smile. It had been a long damned time since anyone had genuinely made him smile. He loved sparring with her, loved to listen to her snap at him and defy him. She was a challenge, both physically and mentally, and she kept him on his toes. And if he hadn’t been mistaken, a definite smile had been edging her lips earlier and echoing in her voice.

“Don’t I?” She was smiling for sure now. She might have her back to him, but he could hear the smile in her voice.

Unobtrusively he shifted the hard length of his cock beneath his jeans, hoping for some relief. The damned thing only seemed to swell further as he closed his eyes and drew the scent of her deeper into his head.

“Whichever one waited in this cavern couldn’t have been here long,” she finally said. “It doesn’t stink like the other one did.”

He had noticed that himself.

“I suspect they both spent some time in the other one.” He shrugged. “Coyotes work better in teams. They challenge each other in their viciousness. It makes them more merciless.”

He watched as she finished checking a shadowed corner and turned back to face him. Her face was flushed, her nipples pressing against her T-shirt as she snapped the flashlight off and clipped it to her belt. “I assume we’re done here?”

“For now.” He glanced around one last time. “Hopefully by this evening Jonas will have some information for us as well as the pictures of the Breeds who were murdered. I want you to look at them closely, see if you recognize them.”

Even their trainers wouldn’t have recognized them the day before.

“That sounds fine.” She nodded. “Since I’m stuck with you at the house, I have to do some grocery shopping though. I bet you eat a lot, don’t you?”

Her gaze roved over him. He knew the minute she spotted his erection and almost laughed out loud as her eyes widened in surprise.

“I have very strong appetites.” He was almost choking on his laughter as heat enveloped her face.

She cleared her throat, a nervous little sound—part arousal, part amusement. “I just bet you do,” she muttered, heading for the entrance of the cave. “Wouldn’t surprise me a bit.”

Damn, she was cute. Tough as hell, with a mouth as mockingly sarcastic as anyone he had ever met, and with more secrets than any woman should have. But she made him laugh and kept him on his toes. A major accomplishment.

“You might want to look into stocking up on plenty of proteins for yourself too.” He kept his voice controlled, no sign of amusement or hidden meanings. “You’ll need your strength.”

She turned back to him, a retort on her lips until she met the deliberately innocent expression he kept on his face.

She narrowed her eyes as she propped her hands on her hips, drawing attention to the ripe curves that had the blood pounding furiously between his thighs.

“You’re not fooling me, Arness.” She arched that perfect little brow as she pursed her lips thoughtfully. “You think you are. You want to.” Then she did smile. A sexy slow curve of her lips that had him gritting his teeth to hold back his groan. “Maybe you’re the one who’s going to need all that energy. I could be too much for you to handle, you know.”

She turned then, and with a twitch of her pretty ass she stepped over the ledge to the first foothold that would lead her back to the floor of the gully.

Too much for him to handle? Doubtful. Not impossible. But very, very doubtful.