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  “For what?” she cried, the fear building inside her. “What are you going to do with me?”

  He chuckled again. “Why Miss Raines, I’m going to make you a star in my private preserve.”

  Hannah struggled as George attempted to wrap an elastic band around her arm to draw the blood. But the other man was at the bed in an instant, holding her down with his big hands.

  “I don’t want to hit you, Miss Raines,” he said in a flat voice, “but since we can’t give you any more of the drug, that’s what I’m going to do if you don’t stay quiet and cooperate.”

  Hannah tried desperately to shift, but since these men had captured her, every attempt had failed. It had to be the drugs they continued to give her. How long would it take for them to work through her system so she could call forth her wolf? Tears gathered in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as she forced herself to lie quietly.

  Oh, Rand. Wherever you are, please hurry.

  Chapter Five

  Riesa came awake to someone sitting on the edge of the bed and gently shaking her shoulder.

  “Wake up, sleepyhead.” Derek’s warm voice.

  “I’m awake.” She sat up, brushing her long hair back from her face. “Did you find out anything? Do you know who has Hannah?”

  He stroked her cheek, his fingers warm and gentle. “Yes, thanks to you. At least we’ve narrowed it down to two places.”

  “But…that’s not good enough, is it?” Anxiety clutched at her. The inner signals she’d learned to listen to were telling her there was a great urgency here.

  “We have a plan,” he told her. “We’ve zeroed in on the two most likely possible. Charlie’s still trying to get a match on the tire tracks we found. They’re a pretty standard kind on SUVs and both men have them in their fleet. Until we get a match, we have to assume it could be either one. There are enough of us to divide into two groups, so Jesse will take one, Charlie the other. They’ll be our communications team.”

  Again she tried to get out of bed, and again Derek held her in place. “You don’t need to get up yet. We can’t move until dark.”

  Quickly, he outlined the plan they’d come up with.

  “I want to go with you,” she insisted. “Please. Don’t leave me here by myself. I won’t rest until I see that Hannah’s safe.”

  “I won’t be able to protect you. It’s not safe.”

  “I’ll stay with Jesse or Charlie. I promise. Please, Derek. I have to go.”

  He stared at her for a long moment, his dark eyes smoldering, the amber highlights dancing like tiny flames. “All right. But you stay in the vehicle, understood?”

  She nodded. “Understood. And thank you. I’m desperate to see her safely back home.”

  “I know.” He cupped her chin in his warm hand, his gaze still locked with hers.

  Riesa held her breath as he bent his head, a little at a time. Then his mouth touched hers, the feel of his lips smooth as silk. That’s all it was, just a brush, but again need rushed through her as if he’d lit a torch inside her. The situation they were in dictated she break away, but she couldn’t. Not just her dreams had brought her to Derek Sawyer’s door, but an invisible thread bound them as strongly as if made of steel.

  When he raised his head, she wanted to scream No! Don’t stop! Come back!

  But Derek didn’t seem to be in a rush to move away. He still held her chin in the palm of his hand and the look in his eyes said getting up was the last thing on his mind.

  “This is very fast, Riesa.” His voice was intense, riveting. “Before this morning, I didn’t even know you existed. Now, I’m not sure I can let you walk away.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “I feel the same way.”

  “We have some time before dark. The others have gone back to their homes to prepare and will gather here again when it’s time. We’re alone, Riesa, and I want to fuck you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. I want to join with you. Feel my cock inside you.”

  “But….”

  “I need this, Riesa. I don’t know what will happen tonight, and I need the strength I know you can give me. I want you. Now.”

  She let out a slow breath. “All right. I want this, too.”

  “Let me,” he said, when she began to tug her blouse over her head.

  His fingers grasped the edges of the fabric and drew it up slowly, revealing her breasts heavy in the delicate lace and satin she wore. The fire in his irises flared even hotter as he took in every inch of her breasts. Tossing the blouse to the side, he bent his head and, through the flimsy fabric, licked both of her nipples. Wet heat shot through her like a thunderbolt, electrifying her body. She threaded her fingers through his thick hair, letting the strands fall against her like heavy silk.

  His hands traveled up her side, caressing her ribs until he reached her breasts and cupped her with a strong, sure touch. When he lifted his mouth, he pinched each nipple between thumb and forefinger then scraped a fingernail across the pointed surfaces. Moisture flooded her already damp panties, and she arched into his touch.

  She barely noticed when his hands reached around to unfasten the hooks of her bra, but, in the next minute, she felt cool air on her naked breasts and her throbbing nipples. Derek cupped her flesh and kissed first one taut bud then the other. With each touch of his mouth, each flick of his tongue, heat arrowed straight to her pussy, flooding her with a degree of lust she’d never felt before.

  “Beautiful,” he whispered. “Such beautiful breasts. I could spend all night just licking them, nibbling on them, and sucking them into my mouth.”

  Riesa caught her breath. His words sent shivers skittering along her spine, and she clutched his head tighter.

  His hands moved along her body, incredibly gentle but at the same time demanding. He tossed back the covers and in a fluid motion dispensed with her skirt and her panties. As he pushed the fabric away, his fingers did a feathery tap dance on her skin along her thighs and calves. She wondered if it was possible for legs to be considered an erogenous zone.

  With her clothing out of the way, he eased her back onto the pillows and moved up to kneel between her legs. Bending her knees to expose her more completely to him, he blew gently on her drenched pussy. Her inner muscles quivered in response. His fingers tenderly opened her outer lips, and he blew a warm stream of breath again, this time directly into her hungry vagina.

  Oh god! Why was he taking so long? She’d been ready for him the minute he opened the door.

  As if sensing her hunger, Derek chuckled softly.

  “I want to take my time. Enjoy this. You’re much more than a quick fuck, Riesa, despite the fact we just met.” He raised his eyes to hers. “You feel it, too, don’t you.”

  “Yes.” She could barely speak. His fingers were doing wicked things to her wet flesh and her swollen clit. “Yes, I did. I do.”

  He licked the length of her slit, one long, slow glide, then repeated it again. And again. Until Riesa wanted to scream. She pressed her thighs against his head, trying to hold him in position. Her hips lifted to him, trying to increase the pressure, but Derek wanted only to tease and torment. The slow strokes were measured in tempo and drew a line from her clit almost to her anus and back up again.

  Riesa squirmed, little mewling sounds climbing up her throat. One lean finger slid into her waiting cunt then withdrew, rubbing down, down until it reached her puckered hole. The tip of it pressed against her. Then a little more. Then farther until it was past the tight ring of muscle and into her hot, dark tunnel.

  She wrapped her legs around his neck and pulled her buttocks up from the mattress. More, she wanted to tell him. Deeper. Harder. But she was already beyond words, and Derek still had his clothes on.

  As the finger moved inside her, he plunged his tongue into her cunt, keeping the rhythm of tongue and finger in cadence, coaxing her into a dark whirlpool of carnal heat. The muscles low in her belly tightened, signaling the gathering of her body for release.

 
More! Faster! she cried silently.

  But Derek was relentless. Now she truly understood what it meant to be “taken” by someone.

  One of his hands pressed against the top of her mound, his thumb brushing her clit. The other continued its plunder of her ass. And his tongue worked wicked magic inside her.

  Now! Now! Now!

  And then she was there, shuddering all over, spasms rocketing through her as the waves of the orgasm consumed her. She poured into his mouth like an overflowing vessel, his tongue lapping up every bit of her juice, his finger never stopping its predatory foray into her rectum.

  When the climax spun itself out, she lay back, panting and sweaty, feeling as if her entire body had been turned inside out. Her muscles felt like spent elastic, her bones liquid. When she opened her eyes, Derek was leaning over her and grinning at her.

  “You’re a treasure,” he told her. “A hot one.”

  He brushed his lips against hers, and she could taste her own essence.

  Her hands slid over his shoulders, feeling the powerful muscles beneath the fabric of his T-shirt. She reached down and yanked the fabric from the waistband of his jeans, desperate to feel his skin beneath her fingers.

  “You want me as naked as you are, don’t you,” he murmured against her lips.

  “Yes. Now. Please.”

  He swept his tongue over her lips before rising to his knees and ripping his shirt over his head. His chest rippled with hard muscles, and dark hair dusted it like a fine pelt. Riesa reached up and rubbed her fingertips over his nipples, drawing a long, hissing breath from him. He circled her wrists with his fingers and drew them down.

  “Let me get the rest of me uncovered.”

  He swung lithely off the bed with all the grace of a jungle animal, shucked his pants and boxers, and was back at once looming over her.

  “There’s so much I want to do to you.” His voice was low and husky. “Do with you. But we have limited time, and I have to be inside you before I lose my mind.” His dark eyes fixed her with a penetrating stare. “But when this is over, don’t think you’ll be leaving here any time soon.”

  Placing his hands beneath Riesa’s thighs, he lifted them so her legs were draped over his shoulders. He positioned himself at the entrance to her swollen and very wet cunt and, with one roll of his hips, seated himself deep inside her.

  “Jesus,” he breathed. “You’re so damn tight. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You won’t, you won’t,” she assured him, frantic with the need to keep him inside her.

  He braced himself on both hands, locked his gaze onto hers, and began to move in hard, steady strokes. In and out. In and out. Fire bloomed inside of her, spreading everywhere. She locked her ankles behind his neck and moved in rhythm with him. His cock swelled even more inside her pussy, stretching and filling her until she felt him in every inch of her body.

  They moved together as if they’d done this forever, riding the same wave of erotic pleasure. Despite the climax that had nearly wrung her out, a second climax was building rapidly, pushed by the insistent throbbing of the pulse in her womb and the clenching of her vaginal muscles.

  “Look at me,” Derek commanded.

  Riesa opened her eyes and found his staring intently at her.

  “Keep your eyes open,” he commanded “Don’t close them or look away. Look into my soul, Riesa. See my need for you there.”

  The orgasm hit them at the same time, grabbing them and tossing them into a whirlpool of sensation. Shaking them. Whipping them with its frenzy. The spasms went on and on as Derek’s cock pulsed inside her and her muscles gripped him like a fist. She lost all sense of where she was, of anything except this man who took her to a plane of pleasure higher than one she’d ever reached before. She never wanted it to end, this burst after burst of incredible sensation. Her body belonged to him. She did not question it.

  At last he reached for her ankles and eased her legs back onto the bed. He collapsed forward, catching himself on his forearms as he drew in huge, ragged breaths. Riesa was sure her heart would pound itself out of her chest.

  When their breathing had returned to something resembling normal, Derek slid carefully from her body, rolled from the bed, and strode into the bathroom. Riesa heard the sound of water running then he was back, sliding in beside her, pulling her into his arms so her head nestled on his shoulder.

  “More,” he told her. “I want much more. I want to fuck you until you’re senseless. Until you admit no other man can ever satisfy you the way I do. Until you don’t want any other man.”

  She could have told him that now, but she just wanted to cuddle in the warmth of his arms, inhale his scent, and revel in what had just happened.

  “We should get dressed,” she reminded him. “I feel guilty having so much pleasure when we don’t even know what’s happening to Hannah.”

  “We can’t do anything until dark,” he reminded her. “And Hannah is very special to me. Getting her back is my first priority. But I needed this, too, Riesa. We needed it. So we can move ahead tonight with this bond between us. It will give us strength.”

  Riesa frowned, a knot forming in her stomach. “Hannah’s special to you?”

  He bent over her and smoothed his hand over her face. “As a person, not as a lover. Or a mate. We have a connection but not a bond. Not what you and I have.” He kissed her, just a light touch of mouth to mouth. “I’ve been waiting for you. I just didn’t know it until you showed up at my door.”

  The knot unraveled, and she breathed more easily. “All right.”

  “We have one more thing to get out of the way,” he said, rolling from the bed again. “Then we should shower and dress.”

  “What is it?” She frowned, puzzled.

  “This.”

  He stood next to the bed, eyes closed. Riesa felt a shifting in the air, and then, suddenly, a large wolf stood beside the bed. His pelt was a rich cinnamon color with gray-and-black shading along the back and tail. He looked at her with Derek’s eyes, now more amber than dark brown, moved his snout to her leg, and licked the skin with his rough tongue.

  Riesa felt no fear. She reached out to run her fingers through the thick hair on his head.

  “Magnificent,” she said, her voice filled with wonderment. “Absolutely glorious.”

  He licked her leg again then backed away, the air shifted, and Derek was back in all his naked beauty.

  “You didn’t freak,” he commented.

  “Why should I? We each have our special abilities. Mine is of the mind, yours of the body.”

  His mouth curved in a slow, heated smile. “All the more reason we belong together. That’s why you were sent here, Riesa. Not just to save Hannah but to mate with me.” He held out a hand to her. “Come. Let’s shower and dress. We have work to do.”

  ***

  They were all gathered in Derek’s living room again—the pack, Jesse, Charlie, and Riesa. It was after six o’clock, full dark on this February night, although being Florida the weather was still warm. Rand was grateful for both the darkness and the weather. It would increase their chances of a stealthy approach and success in their mission.

  He had been on edge all afternoon, waiting for information, waiting for time to pass, waiting for it all to come together. Trying not to think of what Hannah might be going through. He’d passed a good deal of the time surfing the Internet for information on Rogan Mueller and Frederick Dangler. Nothing he found was good. Both men kept well out of the limelight, burying their activities in a multitude of shell corporations. Both had made their initial fortunes in pharmaceuticals, and both had reputations for being cold-blooded and ruthless.

  Rand’s blood ran cold as he read the articles, his mind conjuring all manner of horrific things being done to Hannah. His Hannah. By the time everyone had returned, he was ready to rip someone’s head off.

  “Okay, everyone listen up.” Charlie stood in the doorway to the kitchen, his little notebooks in one hand, the othe
r one raised for attention. “We finally got information on the tires tracks, but it won’t help us unless we find the actual vehicle. However, we got the people in the weather helicopter to do us a favor. They owed me one. Now we’ve got aerial shots of both the Dangler and Mueller properties.”

  “And?” Rand’s patience had long ago run out.

  “It’s definitely Mueller. I’ve got the photos right here. If we can crowd around the dining room table, I’ll lay it all out for everyone. Then we’ll get going.”

  ***

  About an hour after the lab tech drew her blood, another man arrived in Hannah’s room carrying a tray with food on it. He looked to be in his thirties, his muscular body dressed in a polo shirt and jeans. He gave her an impersonal smile as he set the tray on the desk.

  “I’m not eating anything you give me,” she insisted. “It’s bad enough you all are keeping me here. I can’t take a chance on drugged food.”

  “I assure you the food is fine,” the man told her. “Would you like to watch me taste it?”

  “No. I don’t care. Anyway, you could be choosing where and how you take your samples.” She dredged up what strength she had left, crossed her arms over her chest, and lifted her chin defiantly. “Just take the tray away.”

  “Mr. Mueller will be very upset if you don’t eat,” he pointed out.

  “You tell Mr. Mueller for me he can go straight to hell. If you’re going to kill me, go ahead and do it. Otherwise, get out of my room.”

  Hannah was surprising even herself. She’d never been one to be aggressive or outgoing. But Derek had led her out of the shadows, and Rand claiming her as his mate had given her personality a new edge.

  The man lifted his hands and held them up, palms outward. “Okay. Eat or not. It’s your funeral. But I’m leaving the tray here, and I’ll report your refusal to the boss.”

  He closed the door quietly behind him and locked it from the other side.

  Hannah had been battling cold fear ever since they’d taken her blood. She had no idea what Mueller was up to, but she knew it couldn’t be anything good. Many people dismissed shape-shifters as nothing more than the stuff of legends. Others wanted to take them apart to see what made them tick and crossbreed them with other species. She had a sick feeling Rogan Mueller fell into the latter category.