The Jaguar's Romance Page 8

  “Whatever kind of bomb that smells of almonds.”

  Thorn remained still, lower lip thrust out. “What the fuck kind of bomb smells like almonds?”

  “Does it matter?”

  The giant’s brow went up and down. “So what do I do?”

  “Carefully hand me your wallet and your cell phone. I need to move them outside the blast radius.”

  “That doesn’t sound particularly helpful,” Thorn said through his teeth.

  “Trust me, it will be very helpful.” Oscar collected the items from Thorn’s careful hands. He moved a good distance away and set them down.

  When he returned, Thorn asked, “Do you think the magnetic strips in my credit cards or the EM field of the phone could set it off?”

  “Not that I know of.” Oscar’s feline eyes assessed the trap.

  “Then how does that help?”

  “At this moment, Sally will be establishing an alibi.” Cat eyes trailed the fishing line through several bolt eyes toward a heap of debris. “Whether I can save you or not, I need to assure that the authorities can identify you.”

  “Say what?”

  Oscar clucked his tongue. “Be still. I can disarm this with no problem.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sally had no memory of going to the general store, or even of waking up in the morning. In a daze, she browsed items she’d seen dozens of times before. She wandered the aisles like a zombie. It wasn’t until a blast shook the ground and smoke rose from the woods that she came to herself. She gasped and raced outside. As she gazed toward the explosion, bark and leaves and smoldering dirt rained down. There was no doubt it came from just a ways behind the Squirrels Nuts bar.

  The sawmill, she thought. She had only seen it once, from far away. At that time she had no idea what it was. But there was nothing else back in those woods to blow up.

  To the sound of sirens, she raced across the street to the parking lot of the bar. What the heck should she do? From the west, the thrum of a helicopter cut through the air. Someone had already called 911. Still, another call couldn’t hurt.

  Hands fished her coat pockets, her jeans, but she couldn’t find her cell phone. Was it still in the apartment? Without warning, guilt deluged her like a flash flood. She was rooted to the spot. Sally didn’t understand it, yet she somehow knew the explosion in the woods was her doing.

  As she stood, shaking and staring, the helicopter made several passes before retreating. The volunteer fire company filled the parking lot. One of the firemen, a Marino brother, she didn’t know his name, talked to her briefly. She didn’t understand what he was saying.

  “Sally!”

  A familiar accent made her turn. Oscar stood by the open door of his Lincoln, gesturing. Even from across the parking lot, she could see the holes burned into his trench coat and hat, smoke rising from his clothing. On leaden feet, she wound around firetrucks to the big car.

  “Oscar, what happened to you?” she managed.

  He got her in the car and ran to the driver side. “Where is your cell phone?”

  “I—”

  Features grim, Oscar spun the car out of the lot. “Did you get it from the phone company?”

  “No, I bought it at a drug store. It was just a temporary one.”

  He drove toward the intersection, making a right up into the hills. “You paid cash?”

  “No, I usually don’t carry cash.”

  “Perfect. Then it can be traced back to you. Still, I suppose not covering your tracks could be used in your defense.”

  She grabbed his arm. “What the heck is going on, Oscar?”

  “That explosion, it was a trap for Thorn. He was led there by a text from your phone.”

  “What?”

  The road turned windy as they headed into the wilderness. “I couldn’t disarm the bomb.”

  Words stunned her. “Oh my gosh.”

  “When was the last time you had your phone?”

  She tried to remember. “I plugged it in to charge it last night.”

  “You were a little tipsy?”

  “No, I didn’t drink that much.”

  “And this morning?”

  She faced out the window. “I can’t remember anything since last night.”

  “There is no point in trying to deceive a cat, carina.”

  Without looking at him, she spoke. “I had a dream about the evil bear.”

  “Tell me.”

  “There was nothing to it, really. He was in my room, telling me to go to sleep.”

  Oscar’s beautiful features twisted in rage until he was nearly unrecognizable. “In your room?”

  “That was it—”

  Through clenched teeth, Oscar asked, “Did he force you to do anything against your will?”

  “No, no, it was just a dream.”

  “He turned you to be his mate. Do you deny it?”

  “Maybe that’s what he wants, but it isn’t what I want.” Sally whirled on him, voice raised. “Besides, who are you to tell me who to—to mate with?”

  Oscar kept his eyes on the winding road, not speaking. The big car raced into the hills, past Thorn’s place. Sally’s sense detected no sign of the bear-shifter. Was it true? Was the giant lumberjack really dead? A memory surfaced. “Oh.”

  “¿Qué es?”

  Sally felt a forge open behind her face. “I uh, I think he asked me for my panties.”

  Through his teeth, Oscar whispered a flurry of Spanish cursing she could not begin to follow. His foot stepped harder on the gas. The Lincoln rocked with its progress.

  Miles later, she finally got the courage to ask. “Where are we going?”

  “The national forest, deep into the woods. You’ll have to go on the lam.”

  She nearly laughed at that, but Oscar’s stern expression dissolved any humor. “On the lam? Oscar, I live in an apartment over a bar. I don’t know how to go on the lam.”

  “Your bear will know. Use your senses. Keep away from everyone. When the heat is off, I’ll come for you.”

  “What if the evil bear comes after me?”

  Oscar shook his head. “Elathan Blood is framing you for this. He needs you alive. You’ll look even more guilty if you are on the run.”

  Elathan Blood. What the heck kind of name was that? It did seem suitably evil. “But I don’t want to look more guilty!”

  They passed a sign welcoming them to the Mt. Hood National Forest, followed by a billboard asking campers to report any strange animal activity to fightrabies.org. The trees closed in. Light rain fell as Oscar took a turn down a dirt road. Untouched forest loomed, moss-covered trunks rising from uneven ground. Scratchy trees gave way to the full cover of deep green needles. The sky disappeared. Soon, the road petered out to an unused path. Oscar stopped the car and met her eyes. “You have to trust me.”

  Sally searched herself. Did she trust Oscar? After all, she trailed him to that club to catch him with another woman. At the same time, he seemed to believe that she did it with the evil bear, Elathan Blood. “Do you trust me?”

  “If you say you have not been compromised by this creature, I do believe you. Panties!” He hissed. For a few heartbeats, he averted his gaze. Finally, he gained a little control. “Can you trust me?”

  “It’s so hard. You’re so beautiful. Women throw themselves at you.” She cast her eyes down. “You seem pretty eager to catch them.”

  He took her hand. “It is because… I fear being confined. The thought of being true to one woman felt like a collar on my neck.”

  A single word caught her attention. “Felt?”

  Oscar closed his eyes. “There have been women, since we’ve met, since we’ve made love. Three women. Two at the club, and one other. I wanted them, and they wanted me more. Yet I turned down each opportunity. ¡Pollas en vinagre! This is not like me! Was not like me. When the time came to seal the deal, as they say, I could think only of you. Your face, your form, these were all I wanted, not the willing, curvaceous beauties
bending to my will, with their full lips, pert breasts, tiny waists—”

  “I get the picture!”

  “You do not. It is you, I want Sally. Only you. Collar me, leash me, I am your creature. Freedom pales in comparison to my desire. I need only you.”

  Sally couldn’t breathe, couldn’t look away from the intense gaze of his bright green eyes. Oscar wasn’t a liar, this she knew. Had he boinked the three women he spoke of, he would tell her—likely with glee. But this? Why would he say such things?

  “You say you need me, but you want me to run away and hide?”

  “So that you will believe me when I say that I will come for you. No matter what, should we exonerate you, or be forced to flee the country, I will be with you always.” He lifted her hand and kissed it. “But for now, you must not fall into the hands of the law.”

  Despite everything, the guilt, the death of Thorn, the fear of hiding out from the police, the light kiss lit a fire deep within her. Her inner bear suffused with Sally’s thoughts. She slid across the Lincoln’s seat aggressively and took Oscar by the tie. “Let me prove that I’m not involved with Elathan Blood. That I’m only into you.”

  “¡Dios mio!—” Oscar started, but Sally silenced him with a kiss. Their lips ground together. Sally lost herself to tactile sensations. The softness of his goatee, the rough of his skin, the velvet of the close-cropped hair at the back of his neck.

  Both of his hands plunged into her hair, drawing her tighter. Sally’s hands began the work of undressing him. The kiss broke as she yanked the trench coat from his shoulders.

  “You have nothing to prove to me, cariña.” He gasped.

  Sally pulled the shirt off him, not pausing for the buttons, and went on to the belt buckle. “Maybe I have something to prove to myself.”

  He was rock hard as she yanked his trousers down, his member looking a little too big to fit. Sally had some big weapons of her own. She ripped off her flannel shirt and bra, letting The Girls bounce free. She pressed her jugs against Oscar’s throbbing cock and slid up and down.

  Oscar’s eyes locked with hers, lidded with lust. His hands ran through her thick hair. Hips rose to meet her titty fuck. Each breath was a light groan. But Sally wasn’t half started.

  Lowering herself, she took him into her mouth. Sucking, licking, making him slick, she swallowed him. Her throat could accommodate only a fraction of his length. But as she bobbed her head, trying to force him deeper, Oscar cried out.

  Sally stopped giving him head, returning to enfolding his dick in her breasts. Maybe Oscar had done it with a ton of women, but she doubted a single one could give him an experience quite this bountiful. If he felt attached to her, Sally decided to make Oscar all hers, whatever it took.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The bad girl had awakened in Sally at a most inopportune time. Oscar still had no desire to curtail her assertiveness. He also knew he had to distance himself, even though it was the last thing he wanted. To keep her, he first had to keep her alive.

  Her soft lips slipped over his dick again. His teeth clamped as she deep throated him. Her hand cupped his balls, gently massaging. Shivers ran through his muscles. Pressure built, threatening to move him over the edge.

  “Ride me, Sally. Ride me with your tight pussy.”

  Breathing heavily, she gazed at him with misty eyes, wet parted lips. He shrugged himself more flat on the car seat. Sally easily slipped the baggy jeans from the perfect curves of her hips. She gripped his throbbing cock with one hand. The other hand grabbed the steering wheel for balance.

  She guided him within her, into the velvet lava of her sex. Sally was so wet, he glided completely inside her in one steady motion. It made his head swim.

  Oscar gazed up at her, breasts swaying as she rode him, head thrown back. Incrementally, she deepened her thrusts, each one more powerful than the last. It was making him crazy. He wanted to throw her to the car seat and mount her. Fuck her like the animal he was, that she was. But no, he needed her more confident if she were to hide out from the law.

  Still, after several more thrusts, he could not contain himself. His palms pressed into the softness of her hips, fingers digging into her perfect ass. Deftly, he rammed his dick into her. Sally whimpered, a shiver running through her. Then, she got ahold of herself and thrust against him with equal force.

  One hand reached for her hair, yanking her roughly into a kiss. Tongues entangled, his hand again encouraged her. They crushed together with ecstatic friction. Finding a rhythm, they let it build together.

  Sally let go of the wheel and fell on top of him. Grunting with the effort, she mashed her pelvis against his. The suspension in the car creaked. He became rapt in the feel of Sally. Her huge tits pressed against his chest, her flaming mouth against his, licks of tongue and flame, the soft of her skin, the firmness of her lunging, the silken grip of her pussy.

  Sally whispered his name, voice sounding of agony. It lit his fuse. Pounding into her with all his might, he sent the car rocking. Sally let out a series of breathless vowels. She clenched his dick. Every muscle in her body was wracked with spasms as she came.

  Oscar was right with her, exploding inside her, heat upon heat. He jammed every last, sweet little noise from her until he was spent. Her head fell against his chest. Oscar could feel her panting breath on his skin.

  Now, the hard part would come.

  Sally caught her breath. “Do you believe me now?”

  “I believed you before.” Oscar put a hand under her chin and lifted her face. “If Blood had come anywhere near you, he wouldn’t be able to pull away again. At least…”

  She gave him quizzical eyes. “What?”

  “Bears are fickle. After some time, he might grow tired of playing with you. As you will no doubt grow tired of me.”

  “Oh, yeah, right. You look like a movie star, you have the coolest job in the world, plus you’re a musician. Not sure how any girl could grow tired of that.”

  Oscar smiled. “It’s the ice cream factory analogy.”

  “Huh?”

  “Do you like ice cream?”

  “Oh, heck to the yeah.” She gestured with her hands. “Can’t you tell?”

  “How you can make such exquisite voluptuousness into a negative is beyond me. However. Say you have a job at an ice cream factory. You can have free ice cream every day. You can take it home, have it for lunch. It is a dream, no? But do you also like chocolate cake?”

  Sally smirked. “My exquisite voluptuousness speaks louder than words.”

  “One day, perhaps it’s cold outside, and you’d rather have chocolate cake. Or pie. Perhaps you might go back to your free and ready source of dessert, but you also want something different. That is the way of a bear’s heart.”

  Her lips made a straight line. “And a cat’s?”

  “Much different. We seek lovers as prey. Like any feline, we play after we pounce. Instinct forces us to stalk and prey again. It is curiosity driving us. I’m surprised Felicity stayed with Thorn as long as she has.”

  “So are you pouncing or playing now?” Her eyes were intense. Oscar could feel her anger growing.

  “I am in a unique position. For the first time in my life, I find myself stalked in turn.”

  She side-eyed him. “I’m hardly stalking you.”

  “Ah, but you are. In my thoughts, in my heart. At first, my curiosity was piqued. You are a sensual woman, seething with sexuality, yet you hid yourself away. My instinct was to find the sexy creature beyond the façade, to stalk you and prey upon your true, wild self.”

  “I’m no one’s prey.” Her voice came out tinged with a bear’s growl.

  Oscar took a long breath. He had revealed his heart to her too soon. That he had discovered that she was the only one he wanted. But now was not the time to prove his devotion. Her ire was up, and he needed to charge her more.

  “Prove it. Elathan Blood is after you. He wants to frame you for murder.” Oscar took her face in both hands. “He h
as control over you, as the one who turned you. Blood has the power to make you do his bidding. You are worse than prey. You are domesticated.”

  “I’m—what?”

  “You are chattel, a pet. Release yourself from him. Unleash the animal inside you. Come to terms with your bear. It is your only hope.”

  “Oh, because you want me to run away and hide as a bear, this is supposed to get me out from under that a-hole’s thumb?”

  “How else? If you are in control of your entire being, no one else can be. Not Elathan Blood, not me, not anyone.” He gazed into her eyes, looking for signs of doubt. “I need time to bring him down. Knowing you are safe will allow me to work. Take the opportunity to explore who you have become. It is your only path to freedom, carina.”

  Her eyes brightened with tears, but she said nothing. Sally slipped from him, opened the passenger door, and ran off into the misty woods. A few moments later, Oscar detected the scent of bear. Would she come back to him? He had no idea.

  Carefully, he folded her clothing and wrapped them in his trench coat. He needed a new one anyway, and this would keep her clothes dry for when she shifted back. Oscar placed the bundle in the crotch of a tree. For a moment, he wondered at his actions. How many panties, single stockings and bras had he tossed in the trash after many one night stands?

  He found his behavior disconcerting. Could he do his job with this paradigm shift in his emotional state? Caring for someone, even such a simple thing as keeping Sally’s things dry, would that hamper his ability to do what needed to be done?

  Perhaps not. He pulled a pair of thin leather cloves from the pocket of his coat and a paper evidence bag. After a quick search of Sally’s clothes, he found what he was looking for. Her burner cell phone. Carefully, he placed it in the bag and got in the car. After a moment’s deliberation, he opened the glove box and fished out a spare burner phone. He programmed his number into the contacts and stepped back out to leave it in his abandoned coat pocket.

  He drove back out of the national forest, plagued by thoughts of doubt, and pointed the car toward Little Crater Lake.