Catch a Leopard by the Tail

Catch a Leopard by the Tail By Mildred Trent

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Dedication

First to my editor, mentor, sista-in-arms, and new friend, Zena. You gave me the strength and courage to take that leap of faith and held my hand along the way. I can’t say thank you enough. Second, Ms. Wendi for believing in me. Third, and by no means last, Sandra; my ace-booncoon; my right, and sometimes, left hand; my head banger; my kick in the ass deliverer; my writing partner and above all else, my friend. You are my sista and I love you very much.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Catch a Leopard By The Tail by Mildred Trent Red Rose™ Publishing Publishing with a touch of Class! ™ The symbol of the Red Rose and Red Rose is a trademark of Red Rose™ Publishing Red Rose™ Publishing Copyright© 2012 Mildred Trent ISBN: 978-1-4543-0183-7 Cover Artist: Dawné Dominique Editor: Nika Dixon Line Editor: Bernadette Smith All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. Due to copyright laws you cannot trade, sell or give any ebooks away. This is a work of fiction. All references to real places, people, or events are coincidental, and if not coincidental, are used fictitiously. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. Red Rose™ Publishing www.redrosepublishing.com Forestport, NY 13338 Thank you for purchasing a book from Red Rose™ Publishing where publishing comes with a touch of Class!

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Catch a Leopard by the Tail By Mildred Trent

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Chapter One

“What the hell was I thinking?” Gavin thought to himself as he sat in the back corner of the club nursing the same Heineken he ordered almost forty-five minutes earlier. “A shifter on a cruise? A cat shifter at that. Man, I must have lost my damn mind.” Gavin Walker, former SEAL team captain, had allowed himself to be talked into taking a pleasure cruise with his team. Now, as he sat in the back corner watching all the revelry going on in one of the many clubs on one of the many decks of the cruise ship, he wanted to whack himself across the head with his beer bottle. Having been a SEAL for fifteen of the last twenty-five years he’d spent in the Navy hadn’t allowed much time for pleasure in his life. Now that he and the members of his team were retired, they’d felt it was time to make up for lost time. Gavin smiled to himself as he watched each member of his team go from woman to woman, hoping to get a chance at a little extracurricular pleasure before disembarking the ship at port in the morning. He thought briefly he should be out there with them because he sure as shit could use some relief. Instead, he leaned back and continued surveying the room. Some habits were impossible to break.

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His senses were on high alert as always. Being a SEAL and predatory shifter kept his senses sharp and didn’t allow for complete relaxation in any situation. While he sat scanning the crowd, he noted there were three exits. The main exit was lined by three tables with four chairs at each. The exit on the right undoubtedly led to the kitchen as people kept walking in and out with trays of food. The exit on the left, he surmised, led to a storeroom since the only people going in or out of that door were the bartenders. The walls and ceiling were mirrored, and the tables were situated in a manner where getting out would not be hindered if the need became paramount. Gavin mentally shook himself. “You’re here to relax. Stop it, man.” An aroma hit Gavin’s senses and lodged in the back of his throat. His dick, which had been extremely bored until now, was suddenly on high alert. He got so hard, so fast, it was painful. He was grateful for the room’s dim lighting as he attempted to adjust himself into a more comfortable position, or at least away from the damn zipper which was leaving teeth marks. Inhaling again, Gavin had to grab hold as it shot out of the top of his jeans to peak over the table like a child trying to catch Santa leaving presents under the Christmas tree. Putting his beer down, Gavin sat straighter in his chair and slowly gazed around the room. As he turned his head, he breathed deeply through his nose trying to hone in on the scent. There, at his twelve-ten sat the sexiest, caramel-

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colored, curvy woman Gavin had ever seen. She had hazel eyes with super thick lashes, curly brown hair that stopped at her shoulders, legs that went on for days, and a mouth that had Gavin, and his excited little friend, salivating. “Down boy,” Gavin chastised. “You’re going to have to calm down if you want me to find out who she is. I can’t really go over there with you jumping around like a hyper child off their meds.” “The hell with who she is; get her to open her legs.” “Calm the fuck down,” Gavin ordered. “Damn, I can’t believe this shit. I’m sitting here having a conversation with my damn johnson,” Gavin chastised himself now. Taking several deep breaths through his mouth, Gavin finally got his unruly member under control, slightly. After regaining his composure, Gavin sat back and watched the object of ‘their’ desire. He was watching so her intently, he hadn’t noticed Mac’s return to the table until Mac put his hand on Gavin’s shoulder, causing him to damn near jump out his skin. “Whatever, or should I say whoever, has your attention must be one helluva fine piece of ass if I was able to get the drop on you before you even scented I was near,” Mac said as Gavin looked up at him. “Mac, pull that shit again and you’ll be searching for bits and pieces of what use to be your ass all over this ship and not find them all,” Gavin said on a sigh.

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Mac chuckled and took the seat to Gavin’s left. “Yeah, okay. But we all want to know who she is. We could smell the pheromones you’re firing off from across the damn room.” Without saying a word, Gavin turned and returned his attention to the woman. Mac followed Gavin’s line of sight and saw the distraction that had Gavin so out of his element. “Dayum, she’s fine.” Mac heard a low growl and turned to look. Gavin, never taking his eyes off the woman, said, “Mac, leave and do not go near my woman.” Mac chuckled again and slapped Gavin on the back as he stood and made his way back to where the other guys were sitting with a group of women drinking and talking. As Mac was walking away, the object—quickly becoming the obsession— of Gavin’s desire looked straight at him. His unruly little friend climbed back up to peek over the table. With a curse, he shoved it back down under the table and out of sight again.

“Girl, let your hair down. We came on this cruise to have fun, not sit and watch you read the entire cruise,” said Tameka Campbell. “In case you hadn’t noticed, Meka, my hair is down,” Gabrielle shot back.

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“Gabrielle Shanae Dumas, do not get snippy with us because you came on a cruise to lie around in your cabin and read. You could have stayed home and done that. Girl, have some fun,” piped in Staci Gordon. Gabrielle, Gabby to her friends unless they were trying to get a point across, was not in the mood for all this loud music and bodies compacted into the club like sardines in a can. She’d decided to come on the cruise with her best friends because she’d never been to Brazil and thought it would be fun. She’d also wanted a few days to relax her body and even more tired mind. She’d been working at the architectural firm like a dog for the last three years. Making partner in a male dominated company without sleeping her way to the top was taking a toll on her. She kept asking herself if it was even worth it and every time her answer was, “Yes.” Gabby had taken college courses in her junior and senior years of high school so she could get her core classes out of the way early. She’d graduated from high school a year early then went straight to college. By the time Gabby was twenty, she’d graduated college, valedictorian of her class, and was working for one of the most prestigious architectural firms in Atlanta. Now, at thirty, her career was full-grown but her personal life was in the infancy stage. Having lost her mother, father, and brother in a car accident while on their way to her graduation, Gabby had thrown herself into her career, telling

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herself her personal life could wait. It had taken her years of therapy to stop blaming herself for her family’s accident and even now, the pain was raw. This cruise was supposed to be the balm to help heal that seemingly fresh wound, along with the wounds that’d been inflicted upon her by the jerks she worked with; men who felt if you didn’t have a pair of big hairy balls, you couldn’t, and wouldn’t, get very far as an architect. Possessing a nice pair of brass balls, she’d proven them wrong time after time, but had once again been passed over for full partnership. Mentally kicking herself out of her woes, Gabby caught sight of the sexiest man alive, in her book. He was sitting at a back corner table where a humongous, black guy had walked away from. He was of Latin decent with short jet-black hair, and golden pecan tan skin. He was built like a Mac truck too. He had muscles on top of muscles but not to the point of the body builder type. He was tall, if the length of his legs—extended out and crossed at the ankles as he sat sideways in the chair—was any indication, but what struck Gabby the most were his eyes. He had eyes like a cat caught in the beam of a flashlight. They “glowed” a copper so bright; Gabby caught the reflection of them in the mirror off to the right of the man. Oh, and he was staring straight at her.

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“Gabby: earth to Gabby. Damn girl, what has you so distracted?” Tameka asked following Gabby’s line of sight. “Damn girl. He is fine. You should go talk to him.” “What, bitch are you crazy? You don’t go chasing a man. The man comes to you,” Staci said, having spotted the man that’d grabbed Gabby away from their conversation. “Besides, he looks a little strange to me. Why is he sitting in a corner by himself and why does he keep looking down like he is having a conversation with his damn johnson?” All three women burst out laughing.

Above all other noise in the bar, Gavin’s supersensitive hearing caught her laughter. It was like rain falling on a tin roof in the spring. It soothed his ragged nerve endings and calmed not only his soul, but his unruly cock as well. Decision made, Gavin got up, walked over to her table, and without a single word, grabbed her hand and pulled her from her seat to the dance floor. The song playing was a moderate tempo but not slow enough to be a slow song. Never the less, Gavin pulled his obsession close to his body and began swaying with her to a tune only he could hear. “It was very presumptive of you to think I would dance with you,” Gabby said as they swayed to the music. “Not presumptive at all. I wasn’t giving you a choice,” Gavin deadpanned.

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Gabby stiffened and stopped moving. “Relax, sweetness. I didn’t mean any harm by my comment. I was merely trying to say, I wouldn’t have taken no for an answer so I didn’t bother to ask.” “And cocky to boot. How wonderful,” Gabby droned. “No, sweetness, not cocky, confident.” “Stop calling me sweetness. My name is Gabrielle and I would appreciate it if you let go so I can go back to my friends and continue enjoying my evening without having to endure the presence of another walking testosterone factory,” Gabby spit through clenched teeth. “Ouch,” Gavin said sensing men troubles in his obsession’s life. He mentally resigned himself to changing that, starting now. “Hi, Gabrielle, my name is Gavin. Nice to meet you,” Gavin said with a cocky smile flitting the corners of his mouth. “Well, Gavin, it was nice meeting you. I hope you enjoy the rest of the cruise. Maybe I’ll see you around,” Gabrielle said as she dislodged herself from Gavin’s strong arms and began to turn to head back to her table. Before she could take the one step, Gavin pulled her flush to his body, lowered his head, and kissed her until she almost passed out. When he released her from the kiss, he looked deep into Gabby’s eyes and said, “You can count on seeing me again, Gabby.” Gavin let Gabby go then turned and walked out the club, leaving her in the middle of the dance floor, stunned.

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Gabby stood there with her fingers on her swollen lips. Subconsciously she could hear her name but wasn’t sure if it was coming from inside her own head or someone else. Shaking herself out of her temporary stupor, she remembered Tameka and Staci sitting at the table. She made her way through the crowd to the table where she promptly flopped into the chair before the numbness wore off and she wound up on her ass. “What the hell was that all about,” Tameka almost screamed as Gabby took her seat. “You go from being the world’s biggest bookworm to playing tonsil hockey with some stud you just met.” “I hope you at least got his name,” Staci piped in. Slightly reeling from the after effects of the kiss, Gabby said, “His name is Gavin.” “Gabby and Gavin, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Tameka began to croon. “Shut up!” Gabby and Staci chimed at the same time. They look from one to the other and all three broke out in riots of laughter again.

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Chapter Two

Gavin made a beeline for his room. Due to being groped and hit on by every drunken woman between the club and his cabin, the trip took longer than normal. He rode a razor’s edge control-wise, he barely got the door closed before he had his engorged member in his hand and was stroking his way to a massive orgasm. He could feel the telltale tingle start at the base of his spine and quickly shoot down the back of his legs, making the muscles in his thighs quiver. He was going to come and come hard. He could still taste her and her taste was like pouring gasoline onto the raging inferno burning inside him. He slid his other hand down and started squeezing his balls in perfect rhythm to the hand pump of his rock hard cock. Sweat dripped down Gavin’s face as he slammed his eyes closed and pictured Gabrielle on her knees in front of him, taking his member from base to tip, over and over. That was all it took to send him over the edge into oblivion; his orgasm so strong it ripped a primal growl from his throat. When it was over, his legs gave and he slid down the door to the floor in an inelegant heap, his harsh breathing

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was the only sound in the room. He sat there with his eyes closed, limp penis in hand and cum all over his shirt, pants and the floor. Wiped out, Gavin leaned his head back and slept. Gavin was awakened by the ships horn announcing they’d arrived at port. His neck hurt like a sonofabitch from sleeping all night up against the door. As awareness slowly crept into his system, a pounding on his cabin door started an ache in his head he knew he’d feel for the rest of the day. “Who the fuck is it and what do you want?” Gavin barely got out through gritted teeth. “Gavin, we’re at port. Are you ready to go?” Josiah asked. “Give me five. I’ll meet you guys at the landing,” Gavin responded as he rose and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.

Ring, ring, ring. Ring, ring, ring. Ring, ring— “Hello!” Gabby shouted into the receiver. “You don’t have to yell,” Staci replied. “Get your lazy ass up and get ready. We’re in port and Tameka and I are waiting for you. We’ll be at your cabin in fifteen minutes so you’d better be ready.” She hung up the phone in Gabby’s face. “Bitch,” Gabby muttered to herself as she drug herself out of bed and headed to the shower.

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Gabby was showered and dressed, and headed for the door when she heard a knock—well, more like banging—as her friends arrived. “You don’t have to—” The tongue thrust down her throat cut off her words. Shocked, Gabby tensed then relaxed when she realized it was Gavin. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Breaking the kiss to come up for air, Gavin stared into her hazel eyes, smiled, and said, “Good morning, Gabby.” Unable to help herself, Gabby chuckled and said, “Good morning, Gavin.” “I’ll see you a little later.” He kissed her again before quickly walking off. “Was that Mr. Hunk from last night we saw leaving?” Tameka asked with a sheepish grin on her face. “Yes, it was and it is not what you think, Dirty-minded Slut.” Gabby giggled as she gathered her things. “I may be a dirty minded slut, but you’re the one walking around sporting kiss swollen lips this morning,” Tameka shot back. “Let’s go. I do not wish to, nor will I, have this conversation with either of you two heifers,” Gabby said as she stalked past her friends. “Oh, and close your mouths. You may catch a fly.”

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As everyone checked off the ship, Gabby caught sight of Gavin with a lot of guys. They looked as if they were teasing him about something, but he was taking it in stride. His casual acquaintance with them was evident and she made a mental note to ask him who they were when she saw him again. She had no doubt she would see him again. Gabby and her friends shopped until they couldn’t take another step. They had a wonderful lunch at a local restaurant then headed back to the ship to get ready for the festival. They’d come to Brazil at the time of Carnivale so they could participate in an event they knew they would never forget. While dressing, Gabby thought of Gavin. She had expected to run into him somewhere in town but hadn’t seen him since disembarking the ship. The easy way he laughed and joked with his friends all the while their eyes focused on everyone and everything around them reminded her of the men on that popular television show called The Unit about a Special Forces military team always running some type of covert operation. They appeared relaxed and carefree, but with a subtle hint of “I’ll fuck you up if you make a wrong move.” She also wondered why six guys were on a pleasure cruise together anyway. Were they out to score as much leisure pussy as they could get or were they gay or…

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Gabby mentally shook herself. Gavin had introduced himself to her by sticking his tongue down her throat so definitely not gay. And, she was on a cruise with two other females and was by no stretch of the imagination a lesbian. Not that she had anything against lesbians but she was strictly dickly all the way. But it did make her wonder. She knew it was crazy, being she didn’t know any more than his name, but she missed not seeing him. His over-confident swagger and bold assuming nature made things on her body twitch and jitter like no man ever before. His eyes alone had her creaming her panties every time she thought of them. The way his strong arms felt around her, holding her so tight, made her feel safer than a newborn in its mother’s arms. Jeez, what the hell had this man done to her? She shouldn’t be thinking about him like this. Hell, she shouldn’t be thinking of him at all. Mark it up to lack of sex.

Gavin and his men ghosted through the jungle, watching their surroundings. Each of them had shifted to their alternate forms. Gavin, a gold and black spotted panther; Mac, a black Kodiak bear; Josiah, an American bald eagle; Nick, a timber wolf; Tomas, a cougar; and Damien, who was not only the youngest, but also the most gifted, could shift to anything he thought of. Damien’s mother

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was a Fae silver fox shifter and his father was a wizard Jaguar shifter. Damien, his two brothers and two sisters were a menagerie of so many magical beings they had been given the nickname “the melting pot of mixed-up magic.” Damien had no problems with the title and wore it proudly. His philosophy was “The more I can do the better use I can be” and that he was. He was the one member of the team who could get into any situation unnoticed and gather all the Intel needed to do a job. He could turn himself into vapor and breeze into a room. One of the most amazing things about Damien’s ability was the fact that anything he had on his person at the time of the shift would become the same. So, if he had a video camera, that camera would become vapor as well, and Damien could get hard evidence without the target ever knowing he’d been there. This assignment was a favor to the teams ex Commanding Officer, Dwight Johns. Johns had retired but worked for the government gathering Intel on potential threats. Johns had called the team together upon their discharge to discuss one last assignment that would “set them for life” if they pulled it off. They were tracking and gathering Intel on the biggest drug dealing, gunrunning, and human-trafficking scumbag on the entire planet. Juan Diego Garcia had his operation sealed up tighter than a virgin asshole on its first night in lock up. The government had been trying to get something, anything, on him for over twenty years and still had nothing. Every time they thought they had a mole

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planted, he came back in a shoebox—a child’s sized shoebox. Gavin’s team was the government’s last hope of getting any concrete evidence on Garcia to use to shut him down. A high-pitch squeal sounded from high up in the dense rainforest canopy, alerting the team to the success of the mission. Slowly, they backtracked to the rendezvous point and shifted. Damien handed the camera to Gavin and they headed back to town and to the ship. They’d been extra careful to stay downwind and mask their scents as much as possible with those of the jungle. They’d checked their surrounding thoroughly and made sure not to leave anything disturbed. The rendezvous point was over ten miles from the compound for the extra added precaution against prying eyes.

“Don Garcia, I apologize for the disturbance, but I think there is something you need to see in the surveillance room,” Domingo Suarez, Garcia’s head of security stated as he entered the lounge area where Garcia was entertaining. “Domingo, you know I do not like to be disturbed,” Garcia replied in a less than hospitable tone. “Yes, Don. However, I think this is of utmost importance or I would not have disturbed you.” “Well, for your sake Domingo, it better be,” Garcia said as he extricated himself from the many women fawning all over him for his undivided attention.

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Garcia followed Domingo to the surveillance room where Domingo proceeded to play a section of video filmed from a hidden camera in one of the various trees in the forest used for surveillance. The video showed five shape shifters of various species shifting from animal to man. “So, the American government has finally gotten smart. They have recruited shape-shifters to track my activities. They have upped the ante, not knowing the game or the rules. That will be their biggest mistake in this game of winner takes all. Let’s see what they do when they find out shifter’s don’t play well with other shifters.”

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Chapter Three

“Are you ready to go yet? We’re going to miss all the dicks-a-swinging if you don’t hurry the hell up,” Tameka whined at Gabrielle’s cabin door. “Hold on, bitch, I’m coming,” Gabby quipped as she grabbed her bag. “It’s not like your punk ass is going to grab hold of any of those ‘dicks-a-swinging’ when one is swinging in your face. Knowing you, you will probably run to the other side of the street,” Gabby continued to tease as she made her way out of her cabin and closed the door behind her. “Shut up, Gabby. You don’t know. I might walk around stroking every cock I can reach. I’m not afraid of them, you know. I can’t help it if I prefer my sexual escapades behind closed doors and not flashed for everyone to see,” Tameka retorted with an indignant snort. “You two stop it. There will be no grabbing or stroking unless I am the one doing the grabbing. Both of you know if someone swings one in your faces, neither of you can handle it. Tameka, you probably will run to the other side of the street and Gabby, you will look at the thing as if it is an annoying bug you need to step

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on. Leave all the stroking to the pro and you two little dogs, stay on the porch,” Staci laughingly stated to her two friends. “Once a ho… You know the rest,” Gabby playfully stated and handed her bag to the security officer to check off the ship.

The festival was in full swing when Gabby and her friends hit the strip. There were so many people out and about sardines crammed in a can would be laughing at how crowded the people were. The security officer on the ship had advised the passengers to keep their valuables close to them at all times because this time of year, pick pockets were in abundance and they were very skilled. He had also advised the ladies not to hide items in their bras as everyone would be rubbing up against everyone else and pick pockets came in all shapes and colors. Taking items from a bra was a cakewalk. The women blended into the crowd and joined the festivities. As they passed one of many strip malls along the way, they became separated. Gabby was about to climb a light pole to find her friends when a set of strong arms enfolded her and a hot, wet mouth latched onto her neck like a leach and began sucking for dear life. She would have freaked the hell out if that quickly becoming well known scent hadn’t drifted to her nostrils and immediately calmed her nerves and wet her drawers.

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“Gavin,” Gabby said in a breathless whisper that, had he not been so close, he would never have heard in this crowd. Gavin lifted his head long enough to whisper in her ear, “I can smell your wet pussy, Gabby. Is that for me?” Gabby’s knees liquefied and if not for Gavin holding her, she would have slid to the ground and melted into a puddle. “Gavin,” was all Gabby could muster again. Gabby had no idea what Gavin planned when he picked her up and walked to a secluded dark corner in the nearest alley. Once Gavin ensured they were out of direct line of sight of any passersby, he attacked the zipper and button of her jean shorts making short work of both. He turned her to face the wall and placed her hands above her head. “Keep them right there.” He lined the head of his rock hard cock with her entrance and in one solid thrust, he was in her balls deep. Gabby squeezed her pussy muscles, gripping his hard, hot length in a hot silken vice that she knew had his ball screaming for release. “Aaaggghhh,” Gabby got out as Gavin set a pistoning pace in her tight welcoming channel.

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Gavin whispered, “I’ve been dreaming of nothing but getting inside you since I first saw you in the club. Your scent is like an addictive drug and after the first hit, I was hooked.” For all Gabby was worth, she could not come up with one coherent thought. All she could do was feel. She, like Gavin, had dreamed about this. She’d been lost since the kiss Gavin rocked her with on the dance floor at the club the night before. The kiss he’d surprised her with this morning at her cabin door hadn’t helped the situation one iota. Standing with her hands plastered to the brick wall, shorts and panties around her ankles, Gabby shook visibly. Not from the cool breeze blowing across her heated flesh, but from the feeling of having Gavin insider her. She would have never thought she would fuck someone, anyone, in an alley up against a wall, but this was Gavin and the thought made her even hotter. When Gavin slammed into her, her only thoughts were of rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air. In the back of her stunned, addled mind, she knew she would have to look a little closer at that later, but right now, who gives a fuck what thought comes to mind. Gavin pounded into Gabby as if his life depended on getting as far inside her as humanly—or not so humanly in his case—possible. She was close. When he reached down and around her body and found her clit, positioning his middle finger directly over the little bundle of nerves and pushed, hard, that was all it

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took. Gabby exploded like a space shuttle liftoff; the walls of her pussy clamping down like a vise. Gavin followed closely behind. They stayed that way for what seemed like hours but in reality were only a few moments. Gabby, having come back down to earth from her interplanetary orgasm, looked over her shoulder into Gavin’s eyes and began to laugh hysterically. Gavin, taken aback by her reaction, began to laugh with her. Finally reigning in her hysterics, Gabby said, “Hi Gavin.” Gavin chuckled again as he withdrew from her channel and began redressing her then himself as he said, “Hi yourself beautiful.” Fully dressed and walking hand in hand toward the mouth of the alley, Gavin pulled Gabby up short of exiting the alley and turned her toward him. “I didn’t mean for that to happen like this but I’m not going to say I’m sorry it did.” He waited for the explosion. When none came, Gavin continued. “You have the tightest, sweetest pussy I have ever been inside.” “Thanks, I think,” Gabby said blushing from forehead to toes. “Where are your friends?” Gavin asked Gabby as they once again turned toward the mouth of the alley and walked out onto the busy streets. “We got separated right before you grabbed me. That’s why I was on my way up the light pole. Where are yours?” As Gabby answered Gavin’s question something else occurred to her. She abruptly stopped a cold finger of dread

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creeping up her spine. “We didn’t use protection Gavin” she said almost to low to be heard. “They’re around here somewhere,” Gavin said nonchalantly before full comprehension clicked into his brain. “I’m sorry Gabby. I was so caught up, I didn’t even think about protection. I know this won’t make you feel any better but I’m clean”. That gave Gabby some pause but she concluded there was nothing that could be done about it now so there was no sense worrying. They began talking, getting to know each other better and generally enjoying each other’s company. They rounded the bend in the road following the procession, and Gavin froze midstep and mid-sentence startling Gabby. She noticed how he started looking around slowly at everyone in the general vicinity. Suddenly, as if tuned into Gavin’s frequency, his friends were at his side. “You smell it too?” Mac asked as he also looked around the crowd. “Yeah,” Gavin replied. “Gavin, what’s going on?” Gabby asked suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. “Gabby, they’re your friends, right there. Do you see them?” Gavin asked, insistently pushing on Gabby’s lower back herding her in the right direction. “Yeah,” Gabby said wondering why Gavin would mention them and why he was pushing her away as if he’d gotten what he wanted now he didn’t have time for her. She began to get pissed.

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“Gabby,” Gavin took her hands in his as he faced her head on, “go get your friends and head back to the ship. I have a feeling there’s going to be trouble and I do not want you or your friends to get hurt. Please Gabby. Don’t ask questions right now. Just go. Please,” Gavin implored. “All right Gavin but I expect an explanation when you get back to the ship.” Gabby said extracting her hands from his and heading toward her friends. “I promise love. Now go,” Gavin said patting her on the ass as she slipped past.

“What happened to you?” Staci asked as Gabby walked up to them. “One minute we were talking to you and the next, you were nowhere in sight.” “I got lost in the crowd,” Gabby replied. “I was about to climb a light pole to try to find you when Gavin came up behind me. He grabbed me and scared the shit out of me,” Gabby continued while reliving the events in the back of her mind. She had to fight hard to conceal the telling smile that threatened to grace her lips. “Mmm-hmm,” Tameka said with a knowing smile of her own. “Gavin said he thinks there is going to be trouble and we should head back to the ship,” Gabby told her friends while maneuvering the crowd to get to the side street that would lead back to the ship.

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“I’m not ready to go back yet,” Staci said. “How would he know if there is going to be trouble and why do you believe him?” “Yeah,” Tameka piped in. “It was the way he and his friends were acting,” Gabby said. “Look, I don’t know if there will be or not but I have no intention of staying here to see if he is right or wrong. I don’t want you two to stay here and something does happen and you get hurt, but I can’t make you come with me. I trust him on this one and I’m headed back to the ship with or without you two.” Gabby turned to head toward the ship. Grumbling and cursing Gabby under their breaths, Staci and Tameka followed her back to the ship. No sooner had they rounded the corner to the dock did they hear a loud BOOM! and all hell broke loose. They ran to the ship, checked in and went to the Lido deck across from the pool to see if they could see what was going on. People were running around screaming. There was smoke, gunshots, and noises that sounded like animals in a zoo. Gabby stopped a passing ship employee and asked, “Do you know what’s going on?” “Don Juan Diego Garcia and his men found out there was someone snooping around in the forest around his estate and they have come to rectify the situation.”

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“Rectify, meaning?” Gabby asked. “Meaning,” the employee said, “if he finds them, there won’t be enough of them left to fit in a cigar box,” the employee finished. “You ladies should really head back to your cabins. We are getting the remaining passengers checked back on the ship and we’ll be under way very shortly. It isn’t safe up here.” The employee turned and walked off to continue warning passengers of their impending departure. “I wonder who the hell pissed off that man,” Tameka said. “I don’t know, but I would hate to be whoever he is looking for right about now,” Staci said. Gabby stood silently watching the chaos. The last few moments she’d spent with Gavin played over and over in her mind. The look he and his friends had on their faces; the way they kept sniffing the air. The comment his friend made about “smelling that.” Gabby was so wrapped up in thought, she hadn’t heard the captain’s announcement that all passengers return to their cabins to prepare for emergency departure due to the disturbances on shore. Staci shaking the shit out of her brought her back to the here and now and she made her way back to her cabin as instructed. Before she could close the door, Gavin was there. He grabbed her and held on tight.

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“Are you okay?” he said pushing her further inside the cabin and running his hands over every part of her body he could reach then stretching to reach more, trying to check her over for damage. “Gavin, I’m fine. What is wrong with you? What happened out there? One minute we were enjoying getting to know each other, the next you’re throwing me away like yesterday’s spoiled leftovers. To top it all off, you dissed me in front of your friends. I don’t know what the hell—” Gavin cut off her rant with the most sensuously deep, soul-stirring kiss she’d ever had. When they came up for air, she stared Gavin straight in the eyes and punched him in the mouth. Gavin’s head snapped back hard enough to give him whiplash, and righting himself he looked back at Gabby and yelled, “Woman, what the hell was that for?” He placed his hand over his mouth to keep from bleeding all over the floor. “That was for cutting me off when I was in full bitch mode, you ass,” Gabby replied, heading to the bathroom to wet a towel in cold water for him. Gavin chuckled as he accepted the wet towel when she returned to the cabin proper. “My little spitfire. You have one mean-ass right hook on you, sister.” “And don’t you forget it either,” Gabby replied. “Sit down, hellcat, and I’ll try to explain what happened,” he said, taking a seat on her bed.

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Gabby joined Gavin on the bed. She felt bad about his busted lip and took the towel from him to clean up his face. He took the towel from her hand and set it on the side table. “I heal quickly. It’ll be okay,” he said. Taking her hands, Gavin looked her in the eyes and said, “Look, I need to tell you a few more things about me—” “Let me guess. You’re military and your friends are really part of an elite team that’s on a mission for the government,” Gabby joked, waving her hand in the air for emphasis. “Actually, yes, except for the military part,” Gavin said. “We are exmilitary—Navy Seals. We were asked to do one last mission by our ex commanding officer because our team is the only team that could get the job done. We were successful in getting the information. He’s been able to stay three steps ahead everyone for years. Unfortunately, now he knows we’re on to him and I’m afraid you may have been caught up in this shit because of what happened between us in the alley.” Gavin held himself as if waiting for a blow to land. Gabby sat staring into space. After about three minutes, she took a deep breath and said, “So you’re telling me you got me caught up in a military operation gone haywire because you fucked me in an alley?” “Yeah, something like that,” Gavin said sheepishly.

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Gabby sat for a few more minutes, noticing Gavin keeping his body in a defensive position without being obvious. When all she did was let out a deep sigh, the visible tension in him relaxed until her next question came. “So what’s our next move?” “Oh no! You are not getting any more involved in this shit than you already are, Gabby. You don’t know what kind of people we’re dealing with and I will NOT allow you to get hurt because of my fuck up.” Allow? Did he just say allow? Gabby asked herself mentally but what came out was, “Well, Gavin, you should have thought about that before you decided to do the vertical mambo in that alley.” Gavin buried his face in his hands and let out a long, deep sigh. Gabby suddenly noticed the split in Gavin’s lip was completely healed. She jumped off the bed and was across the room before her feet had a chance to touch the floor again. Gavin looked up, on full alert for any threat. He stared at Gabby once he realized there was not eminent danger. “What the hell is going on, Gavin? Your lip,” Gabby pointed to said lip with one hand and wrapped her hand around her neck with the other. “It’s like it was never split. How, how...?” Gabby couldn’t form the right question.

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“That’s the other thing I was sitting here thinking how to tell you,” Gavin said with a bone deep sigh. “Gabby, please, don’t freak out on me.” Gabby reached for her hand mirror on the dresser and wielded it like a baseball bat. “You better start talking quick before I get a nervous twitch and start whipping your ass like I was Lou Gehrig,” she said on the opposite side of the cabin from where Gavin sat on the bed. “I think it will be better to show you. But promise you won’t let loose with the mirror, okay?” Gavin rose from the bed. Gabby stood there getting ready to swing. “Promise me, Gabby,” Gavin said. “Okay. I promise,” she agreed, never loosening her grip on the mirror. Gavin began removing his clothes. When he was finally naked, Gabby forgot all about the mirror in her hands and salivated so much, she had to do a quick slurp and wipe to keep the drool from pooling on the floor. “Damn, you are fine,” she heard herself say. “Glad you like it. Now watch. And remember, no swinging the mirror.” Gabby stood transfixed. Watch, he says. How the hell could I not? Suddenly, her vision blurred and cleared. In the same spot Gavin was standing, now stood the most beautiful black and gold spotted panther she had ever seen, staring up at her with Gavin’s glowing copper eyes.

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Feeling her knees give out, Gabby slowly sank to the floor. Panther Gavin walked—no, stalked—slowly toward her. When he was an inch away from her, he stuck his thick granulated cat tongue out and gave her face a long slow lick. That was the tip of the iceberg for Gabby’s addled mind and blackness overtook her.

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Chapter Four

“Wake up, baby. Come on, Gabby, open those beautiful eyes. Gabby,” Gavin said shaking and patting Gabby’s cheeks. When she’d passed out, his heart sank. She wouldn’t accept him. He knew it, and that would be a worse punishment than anything Garcia or his goons could do to him if they ever caught him. Gavin had known from the first moment he scented Gabby that she was his mate. His cat had demanded instant gratification by trying to force Gavin to claim Gabby. However, the man in Gavin knew it didn’t work that way and he would have to take his time and lure her in. Now, he wasn’t sure what would happen. All he knew was that his life would officially be over if he lost Gabby, so he couldn’t let that happen. Slowly Gabby opened her eyes. She didn’t seem to be fully conscious when she raised her right hand and slapped the cowboy shit out of him. “Ow! What was that for?” Gavin demanded. “That was for scaring the hell out of me, you ass,” Gabby replied, rising to a seated position.

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“Look, woman, I’m not going to be too many more ‘asses’ nor am I going to take too many more licks from you, unless you are using your tongue to do the licking that is,” Gavin said with a smoldering look that should tell Gabby in no uncertain terms he was ready for round two. She raised her hand to deliver yet another smack upside his head but this time he was ready. He grabbed her hand in mid-flight and brought it to his mouth. There, he proceeded to slowly lick each and every finger, thumb and between each digit. By the time he was finished, she was breathing heavy. “As much as I would love to take this farther, right now we need to discuss what I have just shown you.” “You didn’t show me anything. I mean, I was hallucinating,” Gabby tried to rationalize. “You know they told us not to drink the local water. That must be what happened, because one minute you were standing there in all your naked glory…” she shivered, “…and the next, there was a big black and gold panther. It had to be the water because I didn’t have anything else to drink. So—” “Gabby, stop!” Gavin ordered with more force than intended. “You did see exactly what you saw. I am a panther shifter. I did shift from man to panther; and thank you for the naked glory part.” “Okay, let’s say that what you say I saw, I did see. That would mean I had bestial sex with a very large cat. Eeewwww!” Gabby squirmed at the thought.

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“You did not, you crazy woman,” Gavin said, hiding his sudden smile. “You had sex with a very virile man whom, if we don’t get off this floor, you will be having sex with again.” To stress his point, he shifted position so that Gabby could see his very thick, extremely hard cock jutting from between his legs. Gabby’s swallowed hard, licked her lips, then leaned forward, swallowing his engorged length whole before he realized what she was about. Gavin felt his muscles giving way and slowly lowered himself to his knees from his squat so as not to break the contact. No woman had ever been able to take all of him in her mouth, but Gabby didn’t have any trouble at all. His vision blurred and his entire world narrowed to Gabby’s mouth on him. She somehow managed to get him off his knees and onto his back. He was so caught up in the feelings Gabby stirred in him he didn’t realize she’d removed her clothes until she pulled her mouth completely off of him. He opened his eyes in time to watch Gabby crawl over his body to position her pussy over him lining him up. She slowly impaled herself. The sight of her body taking him in was almost too much for him and he felt his ball pull up tight and hard against his body and his cum start to rise. He quickly closed his eyes so he could reign in his rampant emotions. When he was fully seated in the vise-like grip of her pussy, she moved forward and upward in a grinding motion until he was almost all the way out then slammed her ass back into his pelvis.

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He lost control. In a move faster than Gabby could ever imagine, Gavin grabbed her hips, flipped them to where she was on her hands and knees with him behind her, and began fucking with all the strength his body had. Spurred on by the stuttering moan torn from her throat with each hammer-like stroke, he fucked Gabby as if he would die tonight and this would be his parting gift from life. “God, Gabby…I don’t know…how much longer…I’m gonna last. Your pussy…is so…fucking…hot and tight, my balls feel like they’re…trying to lodge…in my throat. What are…you doing…to me, woman?” Gavin gasped between strokes. “No more than you’re doing to me,” Gabby replied. “My pussy is clawing like it’s trying to jump out of my body and permanently wrap itself around you. Gavin, I can’t wait any longer. Make me come. Make me come so hard I see the gates of heaven before I come back down,” Gabby screamed. Gavin reached around Gabby’s body and placed his thumb against her clit. “Yessssss, Gavin. Yes. Do it. Make me…” When Gavin pushed hard against her clit, his lights went out as he imagined Gabby’s did as well as they came together. He swore they stood at the Golden Gates hand in hand before drifting back down to their bodies on earth. He barely had enough energy to move so he stayed in his current positions for a few moments, praying he didn’t fall over and crush her. Gabby slowly stretched out face down on the cabin floor and Gavin thankfully went with her.

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“Are you trying to kill me?” Gavin finally found enough breath in his lungs to ask. “No more than you’re trying to kill me,” Gabby retorted. They laughed together then slowly got up and headed for the shower. Gavin slowly made love to her in the shower then again after they made it to the bed.

When Gabby awoke, she was alone in the bed with no sign of Gavin anywhere in the cabin. She made her way to the bathroom to take a quick shower then dressed and headed to breakfast. On her way there, she ran into her friends who drilled her within an inch of her life as they ate breakfast. Without giving a blow-by-blow, she told them she and Gavin spent the night together. They talked shit about that but Gabby tuned them out. Gavin made her happy and for the first time since losing her family, she felt whole again. Once finished with breakfast, they headed to the pool deck to sit and watched people who should have known better than to step out of their rooms in swim wear. There was a whole lot of “Aw, hell nawl” out in full force. As they sat there, the conversation inevitably led to what’d happened on shore last night but for the most part, no one really knew. They spent most of the afternoon sitting by the pool, watching the children play. By consensus, they headed back to their cabins around four o’clock to get ready for the Captain’s

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Dinner. The elevators were crowded but they managed to snag an unoccupied one and jump in quickly. As the elevator doors were closing, three rather large men stopped the doors and got on the car with them. Gabby felt a little uneasy but said nothing. The way the men looked at her and her friends left a bad taste in her mouth. Dealing with egotistical men everyday of her life, she knew the signs that something was “off” and something was definitely “off” about these men. She subtly scooted closer to Staci and Tameka, crowding them into the corner of the elevator car. Immediately after the doors closed, the men turned to the women. The man closest to her said, “One word, one noise, you’re dead. Got it?” All three women froze. Gabby stared daggers at the man, refusing to look away and received a hard slap to the face for it. “Do not look at me, bitch. Keep your eyes down and do as you’re told and you won’t get hurt,” he growled to her. Gabby mentally cursed herself for trying to be the brave one. She thought of the night she and Gavin had spent together and came to the realization that her thoughts from last night might see fruition. Staci and Tameka hovered in the corner, shivering like lost puppies. Gavin what have you gotten me into? I know this is crazy because I barely know you. I think I am falling in love with you. Now I may never get the chance to tell you. I’m going to die in

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this damn elevator and you’ll never know what happened to me. Gabby refused to cry. She refused to let these gorillas see how scared she was. She had to be strong for her friends, if not for herself. The elevator stopped and right before the doors opened, all three men visibly tensed as if they knew what waited on the other side. The leader, the one who’d slapped her, turned to grab Gabby but Gabby, reacting on instinct, grabbed Staci and Tameka and dropped to the floor. The doors swung open and Gavin and his team were all over the three men. Gabby refused to move, breath, or let her friends move until she heard Gavin call her name. She looked up to see him standing there with open arms. Gabby forgot all about her friends and ran to Gavin, plastering herself to the front of his strong body, feeling his safe arms wrap around her. “I was so scared,” Gabby cried into Gavin’s neck. “How did you know what was happening? How did you know where we were?” Gabby knew she was babbling but couldn’t help herself. “I heard you, baby,” Gavin replied. “You were in my mind. I heard you say you think you are falling in love with me then I heard you say you were going to die in the elevator. I can’t explain it right now but I heard you,” Gavin told her as he checked her over for damage.

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Gabby knew instantly when he saw the hand print on the side of her face because his eyes shifted and she could feel the cat trying to claw its way out. Doing the only thing she could think of do divert a disaster, she kissed Gavin long and hard. She put everything she was and everything she felt into her kiss. Her distraction worked like a charm. She could feel Gavin relax and the cat quiet down. Coming up for air, Gavin laid his forehead to hers and whispered, “Thank you.” A throat cleared behind them. Mac said, “We need to take care of this before people start noticing.” Gavin gave a quick nod of agreement and walking back into the elevator, grabbed Staci and Tameka, who were hunkered down in the corner, and they all headed to Gavin’s suite. “You have a suite,” Gabby said. “You are an ass. You could have told me, but no, you would rather romp on the floor of my teeny tiny cabin…” Gabby began ranting. SWAT. Gavin placed a well-aimed, numbing, swat to Gabby’s ass. “Ow! You a—” Gabby began, turning to glare daggers at Gavin.

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Gavin raised his hand again. “I told you, I’m not going to be too many more asses for you. Say it again. I dare you. I’ll swat that pretty little ass of yours until you can’t sit without a pillow.” “Yeah, yeah; promises, promises,” Gabby quipped back but thought better of testing the theory. Gabby noticed Tameka and Staci finally coming out of their stupor. They looked around at the gathered ensemble of men. Then Tameka leaned closer to Staci and she heard her whisper, “Girl, I think we’ve died and gone to Adonis Heaven.” Staci nodded in agreement. Hearing the snickers all around them, Gabby had to suppress a snicker when her friends looked up to see they were now the focus of everyone’s attention. “Leave them alone. They have already been traumatized enough,” Gabby stated, pushing her way through the men. When she reached her friends, she knelt down in front of them. “How do you two feel?” “Gabby, what the hell is going on?” Tameka demanded, with a bravado Gabby knew she couldn’t be close to feeling. “It’s a long story and you are not going to like it one bit,” Gabby replied.

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Chapter Five

While Gabby explained the situation to her friends, minus the shifter part, Gavin took his men in the other room for a briefing. Running his hands through his hair, Gavin looked each man in the eyes. “What happened? How the hell did they find out who we are and how did they find out about Gabby?” “Well, boss,” Mac began but Gavin held up his hand. “I retract the second part of that question.” Mac snickered and the rest of the guys joined in. “Okay, we know how they know about Gabby, but how did they find out about us?” Gavin asked, running agitated fingers through his hair. “Damien, did you notice anything strange or out of the ordinary? Anything that would make Garcia suspicious?” Gavin asked, looking to Damien. “Nothing; but as you know, in my mist form, I have no senses other than sight and sound. Nothing was said and there was nothing I saw that would cause any suspicion,” Damien answered. “We’re overlooking something. When we surveyed the area, did anyone hear, smell or see anything out of the ordinary?” Gavin asked the team.

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Every man at the table shook his head no. “I mean, I could smell animals all around when I shifted but nothing that would have the fur on the back of my neck standing on end,” Mac added. “Me either,” stated the other four in unison. “Did you hear anything weird?” Gavin asked. “A low humming but I told you about that,” stated Josiah. “Yeah, I remember that. We decided it was coming from the electric fence Garcia had around his complex,” Gavin said. “But, Gavin, what if it wasn’t?” Nick interjected. “We were a good way away from the compound when we all heard the humming. What if Garcia had cameras in the trees?” “That far out?” Gavin asked. “We had to have been at least five miles away. And to top it off, we were in the area of the jungle that only an animal could navigate. What the hell could he expect to come at him from that way?” Gavin finished. Every man in the room seemed to come to the same realization at the same time. “He’s a shifter,” they said in unison. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why didn’t we think of that?” Gavin said, pacing the length of the room. “He has always been five steps ahead of the government. They

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have never been able to get a mole in without discovery. Son of a bitch! Only a shifter would be able to pick up on hidden emotions. Only a shifter would be able to sniff out another shifter. A normal animal would smell us but would go the opposite direction, trying like hell to avoid us.” Gavin stopped pacing and turned to his team. “Nick, you and Tomas get on the wire. Contact the CO and let him know the shit has suddenly taken a turn for the worst. Also let him know we need emergency evac since we now have innocents that need to be stashed. I don’t think we will have a problem with a heilo landing as Garcia, cocky bastard that he is, will want to track our movements. I know he will have someone place a tracking device on the heilo as soon as it lands but I want those ladies locked up so tight it would take a full tanker of Liquid Wrench to pry the lid off their hiding spot and I know of only one place that secure. We need to get our three uninvited guests to the boiler room where we can do a little cleanup of our own before someone comes looking for them. Josiah and Mac, you two take care of that. Damien, you come with me. I have to go explain to those three hellions in there what’s about to happen and might need backup.” The rest of the guys chuckled as they started filling out the room. Damien looked over at Gavin and asked, “Why me?”

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“Because you have that innocent little boy face that all the women seem to swoon over. I’m hoping that will win me some brownie points,” Gavin replied, hitting Damien on the back for good measure.

“What the hell do you mean we have to leave the ship tonight? We’re in the middle of the damn ocean, Gavin, in case you hadn’t noticed. You really are an a—” Gabby stopped mid-statement as the treat of not being able to sit came blowing back into the front of her mind. “Good girl,” Gavin said, standing a little taller, his body tensed to swing. “We saved for months for this cruise. We shouldn’t have to cut our vacation short because you got busy with Gabby in a dark alley and someone saw you. Which, I might add, I am still in shock to hear little miss prude actually did,” Tameka stated snidely. “Besides, how do we know they even know about us?” Staci added. Damien moved a little closer to the three ladies and knelt down in front of Staci, taking her hands in his. “If they didn’t know about you, they would have put you off the elevator and only took Gabby. Trust me, they know,” Damien explained. Staci blanched.

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“See, Gabby, you should have stuck to your mantra of all men are walking testosterone factories that can’t think with their big heads because their little heads always take over. Then we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Staci said, extremely pissed. “Placing blame isn’t going to change anything about this situation. It is what it is and we have to deal with it,” Gavin stated, trying to diffuse a time bomb that was slowly being assembled and could blow at any moment. “Fuck that! I didn’t even get a chance to find a man to get some and now, thanks to Ms. Thang, I guess I won’t.” Staci was livid at this point. Gavin looked over to Damien and slightly nodded his head. Damien pulled Staci up from the chair she sat in and walked her to the bedroom without a single word. “Oh! So that’s the way to handle this? Fuck like rabbits and everyone is happy? This is bullshit!” Now Tameka was on a rampage. “It’s not like that and you know it, Tameka,” Gabby said, knowing exactly what was going through Tameka’s mind. “Everybody else gets to get some so where is mine? I know I’m not normally the type to just drop and roll but if my vacation has been screwed to hell, the least I can get out of it is some well laid pipe,” Tameka asked.

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“The guys will be back shortly. You can take your pick. I’m sure none of them will mind helping you out with your ‘itch,’” Gavin chuckled as he pulled Gabby into his arms. Kissing the top of her head, he stated, “I am so sorry I got you caught up in this. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. But right now, I need to know you’re safe. Do you understand?” Gavin asked. Sighing deeply, Gabby allowed herself to melt into Gavin’s strong embrace and feel the love and security coming off him in waves. Wait. Love? Did she say love? Could it possibly be love after such a short period of time? As though sensing her sudden unease, Gavin leaned down to her ear and whispered, “Yes, Gabby, it is love. You are my mate. I know I haven’t explained anything about mates but once all this is finished, we will take a long vacation, no more cruises, and I will explain everything. I don’t know how, or when, it happened but I wouldn’t have been able to hear your thoughts if you weren’t.” She thought about that for a few moments and realized he was right. It was love. Unbelievable as it seemed, she had fallen in love with Gavin in a matter of forty-eight hours, give or take a few. The door to the suite opened and Mac walked in. “It’s done, boss.” Mac looked around the room. “What happened?”

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Gavin looked up from nuzzling Gabby’s neck. “Damien is ‘taking care’ of Staci and Tameka needs a little ‘itch-relief’. You think you can help her out with that?” Gavin asked with a sheepish grin on his face. Turning slowly toward Tameka with a smile growing broader across his face every second, Mac met Tameka’s eyes and said, “I think I have some ‘anti-itch’ cream in my cabin.” He reached out his hand to Tameka. Slowly she grabbed his hand before standing fully and followed him out the door. “That went better than I expected,” Gavin said returning to nuzzling Gabby’s neck. “Yeah, but all this closeness has me a little itchy myself. Do you have some anti-itch cream you can use to help me with my little problem, Gavin?” Gabby heard an animalistic growl that scared her for a moment until she realized exactly what it was. Gavin. The sound made her pussy clench with anticipation and flood in preparation. “I think I have something better than anti-itch cream that will take care of your ‘problem.’ Let’s go to your cabin since mine is occupied.”

“Has anyone heard from Carlos, Bastien, and Gregor?” Garcia asked as he walked into the security room of his compound. “No, Senor Garcia,” one of his men watching the monitors answered.

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Juan Diego Garcia hadn’t been able to relax since he’d viewed the surveillance footage yesterday afternoon. His operation had been airtight for over twenty years. Both the U.S. and Brazilian governments couldn’t touch him. Hell, he owned at least half the officials in each government. Now, because the U.S. government had gotten a wild hair up their tight asses, his entire life’s work could go up in smoke, literally. Who the hell were these guys and where had they come from? He had spoken with several contacts from both government bodies and no one seemed to know who they were and what they were doing here. He didn’t yet know the identity of these men and that was unacceptable. In his business it paid to know your enemy better than you knew yourself. So they sent shifters into his domain, huh? The skills of a group of shifters such as these would be a very prized possession indeed. With control of this group, he could further extend his reach into the United States. There was much money to be made in the arms’ trade and with the number of terrorist cells, all within his reach, he could have the most powerful nation on the planet firmly under his thumb. All that needed to happen was already in motion. He knew the men he was seeking were posing as passengers on one of the tourist cruises that frequented his island. On a ship in the middle of the ocean meant nowhere to run.

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He laughed at their stupidity. How bountiful for him that the ship they were currently sailing on belonged to him, purchased by one of his many shell companies and used as a way of transporting weapons and drugs around the world. He owned the ship and all of its employees. It wouldn’t take long to have these shifters under his command and with them, domination. It was obvious the panther was the alpha of the group and once he had him, the others would soon follow. He had even been kind enough to give him the leverage he needed to insure his complete compliance, his pretty little mate. Once his men delivered her into his safe keeping, all other plans would fall into place. Deep in thought, Garcia didn’t hear his second-in-command of security, Alejandro Cortez, speaking to him. Slowly coming out of the fog of his revere, Garcia said, “I hope this is good news, Alejandro. I am really not in the mood for any more bad news.” Nervously shifting his weight from foot-to-foot, Alejandro said, barely above a whisper, “I am afraid not, Don Garcia. One of the ships employees reported seeing the men carrying something to the boiler room. A few minutes after they left, the employee went in to see what they had done. He found all three men burning to a crisp in the furnace.” “That is so disappointing, Alejandro. Those were three of my best security men. I guess this moves you to number one security position, eh?” Garcia spoke

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with ice in his voice. “Now I have more fuel added to the fire that is burning in my gut for these men.” With that, Garcia turned and walked out of the room.

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Chapter Six

“I could lay here all day wrapped in your arms and forget about the world around us,” Gavin said into Gabby’s hair. They’d made love for hours. Now that they were lying wrapped in each other’s arms in the afterglow, the realization of exactly how bad the situation was hit Gavin like a ton of bricks. This woman, whom he hadn’t known more than a good forty-eight hours, had turned his entire life upside down without even trying. She had taken his heart and threaded it through her being so tightly, he didn’t know where he started and she ended. All he could think of was what would happen if she were taken away from him before he had a real chance to love her. “Penny for your thoughts,” Gabby said. “Hell, baby, I’ll give them to you for free,” Gavin replied. “I was thinking how you’ve taken my heart and intertwined it so deeply within you I don’t know where I begin and you end. How you’ve lit up my life so brightly the sun has to compete with your love. How you’ve given me something I never thought I wanted or that I’d have and if it were taken away from me—”

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“Shhh, none of that. We’ll work this out. I have the utmost trust that you’ll keep my friends and me safe and everything will turn out okay,” Gabrielle said as she placed her finger over his lip. “You had better anyway or I will have to kick your panther ass all over this ship,” Gabby amended. Laughing like a maniac, Gavin smacked Gabby on the ass and herded her to the shower. He had to meet with his men and plan their next move. An hour later, everyone was again in Gavin’s suite. Tameka and Staci were more relaxed now and Mac and Damien were grinning from ear to ear. Gabby walked over to Tameka and Staci and threw up her hand. “I do not want to hear the sorted details. I can see it all over both your faces and that’s enough information for me.” “Spoiled sport,” Tameka said. “Bitch,” Staci said at the same time. “Okay, everyone, listen up,” Gavin said to start the meeting. He gathered all information from his team concerning their flight off the ship and disposal of their unwanted guest. He then began to explain to the women and his team what he had planned. An hour and a half later, Gavin, his team, Gabby, Staci, and Tameka were boarding a helicopter. “So much for our vacation,” Tameka said as the helicopter lifted off the deck.

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“Nah, think about it like this, that was only the first leg of your vacation. There is much more to come,” Damien said with a smirk. “Much, much more,” Mac added. “Hey, what about the rest of us,” Tomas said. Surprising everyone on the helicopter and pissing Mac off at the same time, Staci said, “I have no problem scratching a few other itches.” Gabby dropped her head and laughed. “You won’t be scratching any itches but mine, young lady,” Mac said with a snarl that should have caused Staci to shit herself. She shrugged it off and said, “Play nice and stop bitching.” Mac didn’t say another word.

It was dark when they finally arrived. Having fallen asleep on the trip, Gabby was pissed when Gavin woke her to tell her they had arrived. She looked out the window and could barely see anything past the glass. “Where the hell are we? It’s as dark as a black hole out there. How can the pilot even see where he’s going?” Gabby asked, suddenly a little afraid. “Relax little one, he’s an Eagle shifter,” Gavin said in Gabby’s ear. “He can see a rat take a dump thirty miles away. As to where we are, I can’t tell you. I know you don’t like being kept in the dark but it is for your own good.”

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The helicopter began to slow its forward progression then suddenly a bright light lit the area below the helicopter. She looked out the window again in time to see a mountain open up like the whale about to swallow Jonah. Gabby jumped back from the window and shrieked, “What the hell?” “Calm down, Gabby. It’s okay. This is an underground compound that my guys and I, and a very few other selected members bought together for emergencies like this one. There are only ten people who know about this place and it’s the only place on earth I’d feel comfortable about leaving you and ensuring your safety. Helicopter is the only way in and from the outside; there is no way anyone can stumble upon this place because we are too far down. Trust me. You will not even know you’re underground once we land,” Gavin said, obviously trying to soothe her raw nerves. Staci and Tameka were waking from the long trip at Gabby’s outburst and had missed everything. Stretching, Staci said, “What the hell are you squealing about, Gabby? Can a sistah get some sleep without waking to your ‘nails-on-the-chalkboard’ screeching?” “If you’d seen what I saw, you would have been doing a lot more than screeching. We’d have had to open the windows after you shit yourself.” “Hey, watch that language, young lady,” Gavin said, lips twitching.

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The helicopter set down on the launch pad and everyone piled out. Gavin took the ladies on a tour of the facility and Gabby was very impressed. It was as he’d said. She wouldn’t have known she was inside of a mountain if she hadn’t seen said mountain open up a swallow them whole. Gavin left the ladies to wander after about thirty minutes and called the team to the conference room for a meeting. They contacted the CO and worked out the logistics of their plan. While the meeting was in full swing, the pilot, Duan, came rushing in. Gavin looked up at him expectantly. “As we thought,” Duan stated. “There was a tracking device on the helicopter.” Once the team had discovered that Garcia owned the cruise line, they had anticipated one of the workers on the ship would put a tracking device on the helicopter the moment it touched down on the ship. “Garcia will have a general direction, but he won’t know exactly where we set down.” “Good,” Gavin stated. “Now we don’t have to go to him because we left him a map to come to us. Now, let’s get the rest of the plan into motion and make absolutely sure, the ladies do not get wind of what is happening. I don’t need to remind any of you we have three very headstrong women in our midst and the last thing we need is for them to get delusions that they are going to be helping us fight this battle.”

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“Don Garcia,” Alejandro said as he tapped lightly on the study door. “Come,” Garcia replied. “We have a general location. The tracking device suddenly dropped off over Stone Mountain in Georgia of the United States.” “That is good news, Alejandro. Who do we have close that we can send up there to scout around?” “Special Agent Dixon of the Georgia FBI is located not far. I can—” “No, I will call him personally. That is all, Alejandro,” Garcia said, effectively dismissing Alejandro. “Yes, Don.” Alejandro exited the room. Picking up the phone while thumbing through his Rolodex, Garcia found Special Agent Dixon’s number and dialed. Dixon answered on the second ring. “Dixon,” Captain Dixon said by way of greeting. “Hello, my friend. Long time no talk to,” Garcia said without preamble. “Garcia. How may I be of assistance to you?” Dixon said with as much sarcasm as he could muster. “What, no pleasantries?” Garcia chided. “None whatsoever,” Dixon replied. “Okay; as you like,” Garcia said. “I have enemies in your area. We tracked their helicopter to Stone Mountain then the signal suddenly dropped.”

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“There is nowhere on Stone Mountain that anyone would be able to hide a helicopter. There are also no electronic devices up there that could scramble a tracking signal,” Dixon said. “Be that as it may,” Garcia said with a snap to his voice, “that is their last location. I need for you to find them and report back to me with their whereabouts. Dixon, need I remind you how I feel about failure?” Garcia asked, the warning unmistakably clear. “By the way, how are the wife and the kids?” Garcia said effectively driving home the point. The line went dead. Garcia chuckled to himself and hung up. “One day, I will no longer need your pompous ass and you will then become expendable.” Pressing the intercom button on his desk, Garcia told Alejandro to ready the helicopters and get the men together. They were going hunting.

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Chapter Seven

Walking into his room, Gavin smiled as he saw the woman who held his heart fast asleep in his bed. He stood there for what seemed like hours thanking The good Lord for sending him a woman that was strong enough to stand up to him without blinking, intelligent enough to know when to step back and let her man be a man, witty enough to make him laugh when there was absolutely no reason to laugh, and sexy enough to keep his cock hard as a steel pole without even trying. “How long are you going to stand there staring at me?” came her sleepy voice from the bed. “Oh, I don’t know. I kind of like the view,” he said. “Really?” Gabby pushed the covers off and revealed her naked body. She then rolled onto her back and spread her legs wide enough for him to see her pussy. “What about the view now?” Gabby teased. The animalistic growl that came out of Gavin was enough to make the hairs all over Gabby’s body stand on end. She blinked and Gavin was no longer standing at the door but knelt between her legs, lowering his head. The first touch of his

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tongue on her clit set her off like a rocket on the Forth of July. His whiskerroughened cheeks abraded her inner thighs enough to set her teeth on edge and she had to bite the inside of her jaw to keep from screaming bloody murder. Sensing her inner struggle, Gavin backed up enough to say, “Scream your pretty little ass off. The walls are sound proofed and no one will hear you.” That was all the encouragement Gabby needed. With the next swipe of his tongue, Gavin slid two fingers into Gabby’s tight, wet pussy. The scream ripped from her toes and came out at such a high pitch it would have shattered glass had there been any around. Her orgasm flooded Gavin’s mouth and nose to the point he had to back up to take a breath, but he didn’t stop fingering her until she passed out. About five minutes later, Gabby regained consciousness to Gavin slowly lapping up her cream. “What happened?” Gabby asked, shock tenting her voice. Chuckling against her pussy, he looked up over her mound and said, “You fainted on me baby.” “Oh God, I’m so sorry, Gavin,” Gabby began in obvious embarrassment. “Don’t you ever be sorry of the pleasure I give you! Do you understand me, Gabby?” Gavin said, a little offended that she would apologize. “I didn’t mean it like that, Gavin,” she started to explain.

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“It doesn’t matter how you meant—” Gavin replied. “Shut the hell up, Gavin and let me finish,” Gabby said, slightly lower than a full-blown yell. “What I was trying to say, before I was so rudely interrupted, is that I wanted to give you the same pleasure you gave me at the same time. Now, it seems I am behind so it is my turn to take the steering wheel.” With a move that shocked the hell out of Gavin, Gabby flipped them over so that she was on top and Gavin sprawled out on the bed. “How the hell…?” Gavin stuttered. “A girl can’t give away all her secrets now can she?” Gabby replied, settling between Gavin’s spread thighs. She stared into his eyes as she slowly rubbed his arms, chest, abs, thighs, legs then moved down to his feet. She massaged each toe and in between. By the time she had finished, Gavin was so relaxed, he was afraid he would drift off to sleep. “You’re going to put me to sleep if you keep that up,” Gavin said in a lazy, relaxed voice. “Then go to sleep. I’m sure I can wake you up when it’s time,” Gabby said with a saucy smirk. “I just bet you can, little spitfire,” Gavin replied.

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Gabby slowly began moving back up his body, continuing her massage. When she reached his cock, it had regained its luster and was begging for attention. “Awww. Does someone need some TLC, too?” Gabby crooned. “I think you hurt his feelings, ignoring him as you have,” Gavin said, trying to sound pouty. “Now we can’t have that, can we?” Gabby said taking his rock hard shaft into hand. Slowly she began to run her tongue up and down and around his shaft. Gavin moaned and began a slow rocking motion with his hips. Gabby picked up on the hint and inch by luscious inch, took him to the back of her throat. Once he was seated as far as he could go, Gabby began humming and stroking his balls at the same time; the vibrations sending shockwaves throughout Gavin’s entire body. “Oh, shit, Gabby. I won’t last long if you keep doing that,” Gavin said, reaching down to grab Gabby’s head. She slapped his hand away. Gavin put both hands at his sides and gripped the sheets in a white-knuckled death grip. Gabby began rising and lowering her mouth on Gavin’s cock while continuing to hum and stroke his balls at the same time. After about five minutes, when Gavin was close to climaxing, she slid her hand to the base of Gavin’s shaft and pressed her thumb firmly against the large vein throbbing along the underside, effectively cutting off his orgasm. Glancing up at him, she looked into those

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beautiful, pleading eyes and started sucking harder, hollowing her cheeks on each upward pull. He was desperate by now to come but that obviously wasn’t happening until she said so and she appeared to be just getting started. His head thrashed back and forth on the pillow and his breathing was labored. “Shit! Baby, I need to cum.” Ignoring him, Gabby moved him in and out of her mouth a little faster. She slid her hand behind his balls and circled his asshole with her middle finger, pausing as a full body shudder racked his frame. He let loose a snarl and once again reached to grab her head. She let him this time. Using the combined saliva and pre-cum that had leaked out as lube, Gabby quickly soaked her finger then slid it into Gavin’s ass to the knuckle. She turned her hand to the left and crooked her finger finding and stroking Gavin’s prostate. Gavin began thrashing avidly now. Only her lying on his lower body prevented him from accidentally kicking her. She sucked him deep into her throat as she removed the thumb she’d used to hold his orgasm at bay, then pressed her finger hard on his prostate and sucked with everything in her. He was about to blow. Slamming his head back onto the pillows, he released a shout that vibrated the walls, yet still had not been allowed to come.

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Gavin couldn’t decide if he wanted to thank the man that Gabby had practiced this move on, or hunt him down and rip his fucking heart out. His entire body vibrated like a tuning fork. Gabby’s mouth felt so damn good he never wanted her to stop. She was turning him inside out and he was helpless to stop her, not that he would anyway. His orgasm seemed to have doubled in intensity and he briefly wondered if he would survive it. Groaning deep in his throat he bent his knees, as much as possible with her lying on his legs, and began fucking her mouth in earnest. His cum seem to boil and his balls had pulled up so tight he vaguely thought he would have to have surgery to bring them back down. Goddamn the pressure of cum preparing for release was a feeling like no other known to man. Lightning seemed to strike him in the base of his spine, sending mind numbing tingles from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. It was the most intense orgasm of his life. So much so he didn’t realize he was shifting until his hands began to burn as claws burst from his fingertips. Snatching his hands from Gabby’s head in an attempt to protect her, Gavin sank his claws into the firm mattress and held on for dear life as the top of his head blew off and he began to cum so hard they sucked the air from his lungs. One hot gushing spurt after another rushed in her mouth and down her throat.

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The tale-tale itch of fur sprouting along his arms worried Gavin and he tried to open his mouth to warn her only to realize that his mouth had shifted and a full set of very sharp teeth now prevented him from speaking, and still he continued to release blazing hot blasts of cum. Gavin decided he couldn’t stop or warn Gabby so he gave in completely to Gabby’s mouth and that magical finger still moving in his ass. His last thought before passing out cold was, “Damn, I love this woman.” Swallowing over and over, Gabby tried to keep up with the amount of cum that Gavin was shooting down her throat but it was impossible. She decided it was best to hold on and continued to suck him and finger his ass as he groaned and shuddered through the longest orgasm she’d ever seen. Hearing a loud ripping sound, Gabby looked to her right and was shocked to see black fur covering Gavin’s arms and a wicked set of claws fucking up the eight hundred thread count sheets of their bed. He was shifting as he orgasmed. Swallowing yet another spurt of cum, Gabby was again shocked when his previously smooth cock now took on an almost sand paper texture, which wasn’t all that unpleasant. Deciding she really liked the texture of his partially shifted shaft on her tongue, she sucked until Gavin convulsed one last time, then fell limp on the bed. Gabby cleaned him up, using tongue only, then rocked back on her haunches and stared. The parts of Gavin’s body that had partially shifted were

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now back in human form. Gabby had been so caught up in the spectacle of Gavin’s transformation, she hadn’t realized she’d come all over herself. Looking down at her drenched thighs, she laughed to herself. “I think that’s a first,” she chuckled to herself. With a deep, satiated sigh, Gabby slid from between Gavin’s legs and crawled up in the bed beside him. She lay as close as possible to Gavin and plastered her tired body to his side. Staring that the glowing LED lights of the clock on bedside table, Gabby lay thinking of all that’d happened since meeting Gavin forty-eight hours ago: making love behind a dumpster in an alley; the explosion; nearly getting kidnapped from the boat; and then a wild helicopter escape that ended with them inside a secret hideout inside a mountain. Geez what the hell was she thinking? Being with Gavin had not only put her life in jeopardy but her best friends’ lives as well. Although with all the dick those bitches were getting, they probably don’t even care right about now. A series of off-the-fucking-chart orgasms tends to screw up the thinking of even the strongest bitch. The smart thing to do would be to get as far away from Gavin and all the danger that came with him, but feeling him nestle her close as if she was a precious treasure even in his sleep, Gabby didn’t know if she was strong enough to let him go.

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Unconsciously, Gavin rolled to his side and nuzzled Gabby’s neck, inhaling deeply. Just before Gabby fell asleep, she could have sworn she heard Gavin say, “My mate.”

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Chapter Eight

Gavin slowly came awake. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so well. The events from the night before began to filter through his still sleep-fogged mind and a smile crept across his face. He turned his head to the side and felt something crack and shatter in his chest near the vicinity of his long forgotten heart. Next to him laid an angel. Her sleep tasseled hair fanning around her face like a halo and a slight smile on her full lips. He bent over and nuzzled her cheek. She moaned then reached up to cup his face. Turning her body further into his, Gabby opened her eyes. “Good morning, Gavin,” she said lazily. “Good morning, sunshine,” Gavin replied never stopping rubbing his nose on her neck. “How did you sleep?” Gabby stretched and yawned then replied, “How did you sleep? After all, you did fall asleep on me.” “After what you did to me, what did you think I would do?” Gavin asked. “I’m surprised my head is still connected to my body.” Gavin chuckled. “Woman, you could have killed me with that wicked mouth and those probing fingers.”

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Gabby, with a sheepish look on her face, stated simply, “Yeah, but what a way to go.”

Juan Diego Garcia and his men settled into a rented cabin on Stone Mountain. He walked outside admiring the fresh, clean, crisp Georgia air while his men set up security around the property and in the surrounding woods. He’d found this cabin while scouting the last coordinates of the copter and the information given to him by his GBI contact. He knew he was within a five-mile radius. He watched as his men worked diligently getting everything together then decided he needed to go for a run and stretch his legs. “I am going for a run. Have everything completed by the time I get back,” Garcia said to Alejandro as he began removing his clothing. Once completely naked, Garcia closed his eyes and let the change take him. After a few moments, the most beautiful spotted leopard stood where Garcia had been. With a base coat the color of caramel, it’s black and milk chocolate brown spots dotted its body in an array of color splotches that shinned in the bright Georgia sunlight. Garcia raised his head and sniffed the air. He looked over his shoulder at Alejandro, smelling his fear, then, with what could only be considered a leopard smile, shot off into the surrounding woods.

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Garcia ran for miles, avoiding any areas where the smell of people was strong. Once he figured he was close to the vicinity of the last know location of the helicopter, he slowed to a trot. He sniffed the air in every direction, trying to pick up a trace of anything that could give him a clue as to where his quarry might be. A faint scent tickled the back of his olfactory sense but he could not lock onto exactly what it was. He crept closer, constantly moving forward, following the faint aroma. Stronger now, it did not smell of animal or people. It reeked of… “Hydraulic oil. They are underground,” Garcia thought to himself as he walked the perimeter, looking for any possible breech that he could use to his advantage. He came across a spot where the ground had been disturbed recently and began to dig. Unfortunately, there was nothing there but soil. He continued to walk the perimeter. He knew there was no way they could be flawless. There had to be a weakness somewhere and he would find it.

“Gavin, I think you should get in here right now,” came through the intercom in his room. Grumbling at the interruption, Gavin climbed out of bed, walked to the intercom, and hit the button. “What is it, Erik? I was about to have breakfast.”

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“Sorry, Gavin, but you’re going to need to put breakfast on hold. We have company of the shifter kind,” Erik replied. That got Gavin moving. “Call the guys. I will be there in two minutes,” Gavin said turning to find his clothes. He began dressing as quickly as possible. “Roger that, chief,” Erik said as he switched off. “Sorry, babe, we’ll have to play later. I need to take care of this,” he said to Gabby as he rushed around the room getting dressed. He looked down at his stubborn cock that was hard enough to hammer steel nails into a steel wall and willed it to go down so he could zip up. He waited about two minutes to see if it would go down enough to zip up but it didn’t. Gabby looked at his plight. “Maybe you should put on sweats for now. I don’t think he’ll be very happy if you get him caught in the zipper, and he doesn’t look as if he’s going to sleep anytime soon.” “You might be right,” Gavin said as he shucked the jeans and opted on a pair of sweat pants and t-shirt. “You do know it’s your fault he’s like this, right?” With a fake show of innocence, Gabby said, “Little ole me?” “Woman, if I didn’t have to go, ‘little ole you’ would be ass in the air assuaging his discomfort right now. However, since I don’t have time, get dressed,” he ordered as he ran out of the room.

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Gavin hated not being able to tell Gabby what was going on. He swore to himself once this was all over, he’d never keep anything from her ever again. Five minutes later, Gavin walked into the security room and everyone was already there. “Two minutes, huh?” Erik smirked as Gavin made his way to the monitors. “Shut up, Erik. What have you got?” Gavin said, ignoring the knowing looks all his team gave him. Erik clicked a few buttons on the panel and brought up the camera that was presently focused on the leopard. They watched as it sniffed and dug around. “He’s a persistent son of a bitch,” Erik said. “He’s been around the compound three times and won’t give up.” “Okay, Erik, let’s go birds eye. If he’s here alone, they have to have camp setup somewhere close.” Erik flipped a few more switches on the panel and the view changed from a close up of the leopard to an aerial view of the surrounding woods. “There,” Gavin said as he pointed to a spot on the screen. “Close up.” A few more buttons pushed and they had a close up of Garcia’s camp. “Run an infrared scan of the compound. Let’s see how many men, shifters, cameras and weapons he has,” Gavin ordered.

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They all watched as the infrared showed the layout of the compound, where the weapons were housed and where the cameras were located. With a few more switches flipped on the panel, they saw the number of men. “It doesn’t look like he has any other shifters with him,” Erik said as they viewed the screen. Shifters give off a different frequency than humans when viewed under infrared scanners. “I don’t believe that,” Gavin stated. “Switch to UV scan.” Erik did as he was told and sure enough, every man in Garcia’s camp lit up like a firefly. “Shit,” came from one of the guys in the background. “You said that right,” Gavin exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair. “This is going to be one hell of a showdown,” Gavin announced. “Okay, get on the horn for all available shifters in close proximity. Let them know we’re going to war and it’s shifter related. Make extra sure the compound is secure. I don’t want a fucking greased up gnat to be able to slide his ass in here,” Gavin said as he looked each man in the eyes. “I’ll call the CO and let him know what’s going on. I know this was supposed to be the last mission but Garcia brought this fight to us on our home territory. I don’t think I need to say it but I will anyway. No one shits on our home and lives.”

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Everyone had their instructions and was about to leave the security room when a noise from the panel made everyone turn back toward it. While they gathering their Intel on Garcia’s setup, Garcia, undoubtedly hearing the movement of the cameras, had made his way up the mountain and now stared into the camera. “Game on,” Gavin said watching the leopard’s paw swipe the camera effectively disabling it.

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Chapter Nine

Gabby had showered and dressed and was seated in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee when Staci and Tameka walked in. They both had the “cat-who-atethe-canary” grins on their faces and were in good spirits. Setting her cup down, Gabby said, “Good morning, sunshine.” Her friends both giggled like little schoolgirls with secret crushes. Gabby shook her head but couldn’t help but join in the laughter. “I take it you two are finding the accommodation to your liking?” Gabby asked. “Oh, most definitely,” Staci said as she sat to Gabby’s right. “Undeniably.” Tameka plopped her butt down in the chair to Gabby’s left. “Girl, I thought I was going to be a mad bitch because of all the money I’d spent for that cruise but, I’m not. I haven’t had this much action in over ten years,” Staci said, squirming a little in her chair as though trying to find a more comfortable position. “Well, I’ve never had this much action so you are one up on me,” Tameka said.

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They all giggled a few more moments then Staci and Tameka got up to go get coffee. Coffee in hand, they returned to the table and the mood became serious. “How long do you think we will have to stay here?” Tameka asked. “You do remember we have jobs to get back to and although we have four days left of our vacation, I’d really like to get some rest before having to go back to work.” “Yeah. I mean all this attention is wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but it’s all part of the vacation and we have to get back to our real lives,” Staci added to the conversation. “You’re both right and I wish I could tell you, but honestly, I have no clue. Gavin was called to an emergency meeting this morning and I haven’t seen him since. I know something is going on but have no idea what it is. I don’t like the fact that Gavin is keeping something from me but I know he’s doing what he feels is best.” Gabby wrapped her hands a little tighter around her coffee mug. She’d gotten the feeling something was up when Gavin dashed out the room and hadn’t even kissed her. Before he’d gotten the page, they’d been making out in between get-to-know-you-better sessions. They knew they were explosive together in bed but were actively trying to work out if they were compatible elsewhere. They seemed to have a lot in common and discovered they were very compatible. He’d apologized for having to leave but Gabby could see there was something in his eyes he wasn’t saying. She knew he was worried, but they were in

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an underground stronghold that no one other than them knew about. For Gavin to be so worried, that must mean… Gabby dropped the cup on the table and dashed out the door. She ran through the halls like a raving lunatic, calling and searching for Gavin. She’d just hit the corner leading to the security area when she ran dead smack into his solid chest. “What is it, Gabby? What’s wrong?” Gavin said running his hands all over her, making sure she was okay. Gabby pushed them away and placed her hands on her hips. “You seem to be awfully concerned about this situation, Gavin. Is there something you aren’t telling me?” Gabby said, not even trying to hide the sarcasm. “Of course I’m worried, Gabby. I told you, this man is dangerous,” Gavin replied already knowing where this conversation was leading. He’d already seen how smart Gabby was. He knew it wouldn’t take long for her to figure out there was more to the story than he’d told her. “Yeah, you did say that, but you also said no one knows about this little hidey hole but the few of you that are here. If we’re so secure, then why all the code words and cryptic pages?” Gabby asked. Gavin knew he had to get Gabby to a place they could talk this out. This conversation was not one to be had in the middle of the hall. He knew for a fact

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that Gabby hadn’t told Staci or Tameka about them being shifters and this discussion could very well reveal that information. Gavin looked Gabby in the eyes. “You’re right, but we can’t have this conversation in the hall. Let’s go back to my room and we’ll talk. I promise.” That seemed to be enough to temporarily satisfy Gabby and they headed for the bedroom. Gabby walked in and crossed to one of the two chairs in the sitting area. Gavin quickly followed after he closed and locked the door. “Garcia is here,” Gavin began. He knew better than to sugarcoat anything with Gabby. She was too sharp for that. “He had a tracking device placed on the helicopter when it touched down on the ship. We knew he would once we found out he owned the cruise line. He got a general area from the tracking device so he and his men came here to hunt. When Erik paged me this morning, it was to show me that Garcia, in his leopard form, had found the hidey-hole, as you call it, and was trying to find a way in.” Gavin paused to let that sink in. Gabby sat there and absorbed all the information Gavin had given her for a few moments then asked, “Did he find a way to get inside?” “No, but now he knows for absolute certainty where we are. There are several shifters in the area. We have put in an ‘All Call’, to every available shifter to head this way,” Gavin continued.

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“Why? It’s only one shifter against all of you. Surely that one shifter can’t take all of you down,” Gabby said. “It’s not only one shifter, Gabby. Every man in Garcia’s camp with the exception of five, are shifters. We really couldn’t tell what kind of shifters with our equipment but we do know that there are more than fifty shifters ready to start a war at Garcia’s command.” Gavin adjusted slightly, preparing for that almighty right hook to come out of nowhere. It never showed its face. “So what happens now?” Gabby asked. “I need to show you, Staci, and Tameka the only escape route out of here in the event anything goes wrong and they manage to breech the facility,” Gavin started. “Are you mad?” Gabby screamed in Gavin’s face. “You just told me there are more than fifty shifters out there and you want us to walk right into their hands, paws, whatever?” Gabby asked. “Listen to me, Gabby,” Gavin began rubbing his hands up and down Gabby’s arms. “The passage leads to a lake. You do know that animals, regardless of the species, have a hard time tracking anything in the water, right?” Gavin paused. When Gabby nodded her head in understanding, Gavin continued. “There is a raft to the right immediately before the exit of the tunnel. Pull the cord to inflate

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the raft; but do not pull it until you are outside the tunnel. If you pull it while you’re inside, you won’t have enough time to get out before it completely inflates. It’s that fast. You’ll have to paddle. A motor will be too loud and attract attention.” Gavin paused again to verify her understanding. When Gabby nodded, Gavin continued. “There are packs right beside the raft. Each one of you grab one. There is enough food and water to last five days in each pack. You won’t need that much because the lake will take you directly to the dock behind the local sheriff’s office. He will recognize the raft—he’s a shifter too—and will know what to do.” Gavin knew the sheriff was on alert because of the all call, but he also knew the sheriff would not be able to leave his post in the event the situation got out of hand. “Where is the opening to the tunnel, passage, whatever it is?” Gabby asked. “It’s behind the stove in the kitchen. When you walk up to the stove, run your hand along the right upper corner. You will feel a little button. Push it. The entire stove, along with the wall behind it, will move. The lights are automatic. When the wall opens, the lights immediately come on. Once you get started, do not stop for anything; do you understand me?” Gavin stressed each word to make absolutely sure to get his point across. “What if something goes wrong and…?” Gabby began.

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“No. You will do what I tell you and not even think about coming back here Gabby,” Gavin effectively cutting off any complaint Gabby was about to make. “I know I don’t have the right to say that to you but I can’t concentrate on what must be done if I’m worried about you. Please promise me you won’t try to come back.” He scooted forward in his chair and took both Gabby’s hands into his. “I have to know you got out and are safe in order to fight this fight. Do you understand?” Sighing in resignation, Gabby said, “I understand but I don’t like it. We were getting started and I’ll be so fucking pissed at you if you die. Do you understand me?” Gabby said. Gavin chuckled and got down on his knees in front of her. “I understand spitfire and I promise to do everything within my power to make absolutely sure not to die.” “You had better, or I will have to find a way to bring your ass back so I can kill you myself.” Gavin leaned forward and kissed Gabby on the forehead. He then rested his forehead against hers and breathed in her scent. He knew he was already in love with this woman but she was so headstrong, he didn’t want to rush her and risk losing her before he even had a chance to claim her. “I love you, Gavin.” She spoke softly. “I know this is fast. I can’t really explain it. You fill a part of my soul I didn’t know was empty. I told you about my

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parents and brother and I guess that hole in me was deeper than I realized. Somehow, in such a short period of time, you came into my life and filled up every nook and cranny of that hole and gave me back the ability to love. If anything happened to you, I don’t think I could bounce back. I’d be lost forever. Don’t make me lose myself, Gavin. Promise me,” Gabby said, tears streaming down her face. Hearing those words left Gavin breathless. Here he was afraid to say them for fear of running Gabby away and just like that, she’d taken all that fear and turned it into a burning love that encompassed him mind, body, and soul. His entire body shook with the intensity of the impact, coupled with the tears of fear running down her face. He cupped Gabby’s face in both hands and held her there so he could look directly in her eyes. “I love you, Gabrielle Shanae Dumas, and once this whole mess is cleared up, I want to officially change that name of yours to Gabrielle Shanae Walker,” Gavin said, eyes stinging from the unshed tears he fought like hell to hold back. “Will you have me?” Gavin implored. Gabby began to cry in earnest then. She’d never thought to get married; never really wanted to. Now she had this big, gorgeous, strong, virile, sexy-as-sin man on his knees in front of her asking her to be his wife. What was she supposed to say to that?

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“Hell yes,” Gabby shouted and launched herself in Gavin’s arms with such force, he ended up flat on his back with Gabby stretched out on top of him. Gavin laughed as Gabby placed kisses on every part of him she could reach. He was happier at that moment than he could ever remember being in his life. This woman, his woman, had agreed to be his wife and he looked forward to standing at the end of the aisle, watching her walk into his life officially forever. He had to do everything, everything, to ensure that day arrived.

“Don Garcia, there has been much activity spotted by radar in the last dos hours,” Alejandro said, tapping on the door to Garcia’s cabin door. “We do not know what is happening.” “Our enemy is gathering reinforcements, Alejandro,” Garcia said as he opened the door and exited the room with the same nonchalant attitude he always portrayed. He knew they would rally as many troops as possible. He also knew some of the troops were shifters. He could smell their mixed scents on the winds. He knew the coming confrontation would be bloodier than any previous and he could, and probably would, lose many of his shifter army. This was a war of superhuman soldiers that would rock this mountain with a force so great it would probably bring the entire mountain down. It was a small price to pay to keep his operations alive and running well. Garcia knew as long as

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these shifters were alive, his way of life, hell, his very life, was threatened. He absolutely could not allow them to live. He was walking along the hall with Alejandro in tow as the front door to the cabin burst open. He knew it was Captain Dixon way before the man ever stepped foot through the cabin door. “What the fuck are you doing?” Dixon shouted as he stormed into the room. “I have calls from offices from Maine to Miami asking me about something big going down in Stone Mountain. Are you trying to get your ass caught and my ass busted right along with you?” Garcia didn’t even blink an eye. One moment Dixon was standing there with smoke coming from his ears and the next Dixon’s eyes were wide as dinner plates and blood was gushing from his carotid artery on the left side of his neck. An expression of utter horror etched on his face as he slumped to the floor, life slowly ebbing away. Garcia bent down and grabbed Dixon’s chin. Forcing Dixon to look into his eyes, Garcia said, “There is a war coming and you, my friend, are the first casualty.” Garcia forcefully pushed Dixon’s head back to the floor, stood and looked over his shoulder at Alejandro. “Clean that up. Leave him somewhere he will be found and tell the men to meet me in the clearing behind the cabin in two minutes. It is time to take out this American trash.”

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Chapter Ten

The team stared at the monitors as Garcia rallied his men. The All Call they’d placed had turned up shifter numbering upwards two hundred. At first Gavin thought it a little excessive but then reconsidered. Something about Garcia’s shifters not showing up on anything but UV puzzled the hell out of him but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He’d taken Gabby, Staci, and Tameka into the kitchen and made sure they were able to open the escape hatch and get out if the need arose. The women had put on comfortable clothes with sensible shoes so they would be ready to go at a moment’s notice. They were sitting in the kitchen eating sandwiches when Gavin entered. He walked to the table and sat in the chair next to Gabby. He looked at Staci and Tameka and said, “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to sit and talk with you two. I’m also sorry you got caught up in this mess in the beginning. I wish there were something I could do to change things but unfortunately, there isn’t.”

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Staci, chewing the bite of sandwich she’d taken, waved her hand at Gavin. Once the food was properly swallowed, she said, “I admit this wasn’t my idea of a fun vacation at first and I was extremely pissed that I’d spent all that money on a cruise and it was cut short. But, in the grand scheme of things, it hasn’t been all that bad.” “Yeah,” Tameka added. “Actually, I think the ‘detour’ may prove to be more ‘eventful’ than the cruise would have been anyway.” Gavin shook his head and chuckled at that. The four of them sat at the table and continued to shoot-the-shit for about an hour. Mac had walked into the kitchen to report to Gavin when what sounded like a bomb going off above their heads shook the walls. Gavin was out his seat and at the stove before anyone saw him move. He had the passage open and was herding the females toward it when he smelled it. Shifter. They’d somehow found the tunnel and were making their way toward the entrance from the escape route. Oh shit! This wasn’t good. Gavin looked over his shoulder and notice Mac’s expression. He knew by that look that Mac had realized how FUBAR this situation had gotten. Gavin slammed the door closed on the entrance and began moving everything conceivable up against the stove. He knew, logically, none of this would hold the shifters out, but for the ladies piece of mind, he had to do it.

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“Ladies, change of plans. It would seem our enemy has found the escape route. It isn’t safe for you to go out.” Finished reinforcing the stove, Gavin reached in the refrigerator and grabbed a couple onions and some garlic spread. He turned and handed the items to Gabby. “You three go into the rec room. Slide the panel open on the bar and climb in. There is more than enough room for all three of you. Before you get in, rub yourselves down with a mixture of the garlic spread and onions. It seriously messes up the sense of smell. I don’t want anyone sniffing you out,” Gavin said, giving Gabby a knowing look. Gabby wasted no time taking the items and heading toward the rec room with Staci and Tameka hot on her heels. “What the hell is the onion and garlic spread for? And what does he mean he doesn’t want anyone sniffing us out?” Staci asked. “What the fuck is going on, Gabby? You don’t argue anything Gavin tells you to do and that’s never been your style. There’s something you aren’t telling us and…” Tameka stopped running and placed her hands on her hips as they entered the rec room, “I’m not taking another goddamn step until you tell me.”

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Another sonic boom shook the walls and Tameka forgot all about explanations. All three were rubbed down and stuffed in the bar cabinet ten seconds after the explosion sounded.

Gavin could smell the onions and garlic spread from the other end of the compound. “Good girl,” he said to himself, realizing that Gabby had followed his directions. Knowing she was relatively safe, Gavin turned his attention to the greater threat. Meeting his team in the surveillance room, Gavin began barking orders. “Damien, we could use a little stratospheric aide right about now.” Damien gave a slight nod and was gone. He didn’t leave the room; he just ‘vaporized.’ Everyone turned back to the monitors to see how close the enemy was. “Gavin, it’s probably none of my business,” Erik began, “but why does the entire compound smell like an Italian deli? “The shifters found the tunnel so I couldn’t send Gabby and her friends out. They are in the rec room inside the bar. I had them cover their scents with onions and garlic in case we get a breech,” Gavin explained for everyone’s benefit. “Well,” Erik continued, “I don’t think you will have to worry about anyone finding them through that stench. I’m about to gag and I’m not anywhere near

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them. I can only imagine what would happen to a shifter if they were in the same room with them,” Erik finished with his hand placed over his nose. “That’s the general idea, Erik,” Gavin said, tears running from the outer corners of his eyes. The onions were kicking his ass but it was a small price to pay to ensure Gabby’s safety. He looked around the room at the other team members and they too were crying from the stench of the onions. “Sorry, guys. I thought I would be able to get them out,” Gavin said feeling really, really bad about the distress and discomfort written all over the men’s faces. Mac hit Gavin on the back. “Don’t sweat it. I don’t want to see anything happen to any of them either. A little suffering is good for the soul.” Another loud rumble sounded, but this time, they knew this rumble was on their side. Damien had reached the atmosphere and caused a Nimbostratus cloud to form. The accompanying thunder and lightning would serve to stun the shifters and provide a much needed distraction so the team and the ally shifters could get the drop on the enemy. The niggling feeling Gavin had been having about Garcia’s shifters continued to bother him. There was something… Hold up! “UV,” Gavin yelled out, banging his fists on the console at the same time, startling the team. “What about it?” Nick asked.

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“We can only see Garcia’s shifters with UV, right?” Gavin asked. “Yeah,” everyone said in unison. “What is emitted that would show up under UV lights that Garcia would have readily available to him?” Gavin asked. No one spoke as the implication set in. Radiation. Garcia must have enhanced his shifters with high doses of radiation. The radiation would have distorted infrared so the shifters would appear human. “Damien,” Gavin screamed toward the ceiling, knowing Damien would hear him. “We need snow, not rain. The rain will only enhance their abilities.” The team turned back to the monitors and watched as the downpour turned white and snow began to fall in blizzard proportions. “Erik, pull up infrared on monitor three and leave UV on the rest,” Gavin ordered. As monitor three adjusted to the new settings, Damien once again became solid and joined the group. They could see the shifters now on infrared and that meant the snowstorm was fucking with their internal chemistry. They were no longer under Garcia’s control. That also meant they were no longer rational and that could cause a whole other set of problems. One dilemma at a time.

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Their allies began to retreat as they saw the enemy shifters become discombobulated and going berserk. Since the snowstorm was localized to the immediate area, they dropped back outside of the radius and waited to make sure none of the, now harmless enemy shifters escaped. All of the enemy shifters had been effectively dealt with except one and that one was once again at the top of the mountain. Gavin began to strip. “Open the hatch enough for him to get in,” he said to Erik. “Secure every door leading into the compound from the hangar. This is my fight and I don’t want any interference. Am I understood?” Gavin asked looking each man in the eyes. “Understood,” came the chorus from the team. “Good,” Gavin said in reply. “Mac, go get the women make them shower to get the stench off them. Whatever you do, do not let Gabby out of your sight once she’s showered. If you have to lock her in the room, do it. Do not let her wander around. That woman is my life and I will lose it if anything happens to her. Got me?” Gavin placed his hand on Mac’s shoulder in a universal sign among soldiers meaning ‘if anything were to happen to me, take care of her.’ Mac gave a curt nod, placing his hand on Gavin’s opposite shoulder, sealing the pledge. Gavin shifted and took off toward the hangar, repeating the mantra, ‘I’ve got to come back to Gabby’ the entire time.

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Garcia was waiting for Gavin when he entered. Not giving Gavin a moment to ready himself, Garcia attacked, raking claws along Gavin’s side, drawing first blood. It was on like popcorn. Gavin and Garcia tore into each other like children on Christmas morning ripped into their presents. It was a bloody mess. They clawed and bit, drawing blood on each contact. They would stop to catch their breaths while circling each other to keep their opponent from getting the upper hand. Gavin was tiring at a much faster pace than normal and couldn’t figure out why. He was watching Garcia cautiously in one of their resting periods when a thought occurred to him. What if Garcia had also enhanced his animal although not at the same rate as he had his shifter army? The radiation would be coursing through his blood stream, thus getting into Gavin with each swipe from Garcia’s nails and each bite from his teeth. Garcia gave that parody of a smile he did so well, as Gavin realized the full implications of his situation. Garcia was poisoning him every time he drew blood. Gavin had the sudden epiphany that this was not going to end well for him and watching Gabby walk down the aisle to officially become Mrs. Gavin Walker wasn’t written in the cards for him.

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On the tail end of that thought, Garcia struck again. Gavin, being momentarily distracted, wasn’t ready for the attack and went down hard. Garcia had him by the throat. He applied pressure. Gavin’s vision began to dim at a rapid pace. His breathing became shallow and right before blackness claimed him, he heard a loud CRACK.

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Chapter Eleven

Gavin slowly regained consciousness. He wasn’t sure where he was but the smells screamed hospital or some other kind of medical facility. He tried to open his eyes but they wouldn’t budge. He tried to lift his hands to his face, but they wouldn’t move either. Panic began to set in. Then he smelled her. Gabby. Gabby was near. The panic ebbed away and peace claimed his mind. He fell back into a contented sleep. The next time Gavin tried to open his eyes, they did. He quickly realized that was a bad idea and closed them again. Inch, by slow inch, Gavin cracked his eyes until they were completely opened and the light wasn’t blinding him. He looked around the room without moving and noticed the top of Gabby’s head off to his right. Turning as slowly as possible, he focused only on Gabby. Having accomplished that feat, he then concentrated on his right hand. He had to feel her; to know she was real and not a dream. Concentrating so hard he broke out in a cold sweat, Gavin willed his hand to move. When his fingers fell upon the silky hair he’d spent hours playing in, the dam burst and tears wet his pillow.

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Startled by the touch, Gabby jumped and sat straight up. When she saw those piercing eyes staring back at her, she screamed, threw herself across Gavin’s chest, and boo-hoo cried. Nurses and doctors came running into the room, alerted by Gabby’s scream, but Gabby refused to move to let the doctor’s check him. Somehow the doctor’s managed to work around a sobbing Gabby and checked Gavin from head to toe. “You are a very luck young man, Mr. Walker,” a light-brown haired doctor said, shining that little light in Gavin’s eyes. Gavin wanted to slap the light away but couldn’t muster up enough energy to lift his hand to do so. “If your fiancée hadn’t gotten you here when she did, you wouldn’t be lying on this table wishing you could slap this light out of my hand right now,” the doctor said with a cheeky, knowing grin. “It looks as if we were able to remove all the radiation poison from your blood stream. Now your body needs rehabilitation to get it functioning properly again. I won’t lie. It is going to be a long hard road, but if you want it bad enough, you can get there. I must warn you, you may never be one hundred percent again but you can come damn close,” the doctor said, finishing his examination. “I’ll leave you two to talk. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask,” the doctor said as he left the room.

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Gavin looked at Gabby as she dried her face. He loved this woman, puffy red eyes, runny nose and all. “Hi,” Gavin croaked out and winced from the pain. His throat felt like he hadn’t used his voice in years. He cleared his throat and tried again. “What happened?” he managed to get out, only fractionally better this time. “You did everything in your power to get out of your promise to me but I wasn’t having that shit,” Gabby said while retrieving a cup of ice from the bedside table. She reached in the cup and placed a few chips on Gavin’s tongue. Gavin let the cool ice melt on his tongue and swallowed the equally cool water. His throat felt somewhat better after about five servings of ice chips, so he tried again. “How long have I been here?” Much better this time. “Little over three months,” Gabby said. A shocked gasp emitted from Gavin’s mouth at that proclamation. Three months? Gavin felt the panic rise again. Gabby’s hand on his chest tamped it back down. “It’s okay, Gavin. Lie back and rest. I’ll explain everything.” Gabby’s soothing voice eased Gavin’s distraught emotions. “Can you raise the bed up a little?” Gavin asked. He knew he needed to be sitting up to hear this.

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Gabby maneuvered the bed to a sitting position and adjusted the pillows behind Gavin’s back and head to make sure he was as comfortable as possible. “You were fighting Garcia in the hangar. Mac had come and gotten us and told us to shower. He was walking me back to your room when I heard you in my head. You were dying…” Gabby paused to take a deep breath as the emotions swamped her mind. “I could ‘hear’ you as you realized you were being poisoned and you were thinking about not watching me walk down the aisle at our wedding. I stopped walking and started to turn toward the hangar. Mac grabbed me and told me your orders were to lock me in the room if he had to but make sure I stayed safe, which I will get you for later. Anyway, Mac reached to take my arms to physically carry me to the room and I… Let’s just say Mac’s deep baritone isn’t as deep anymore,” Gabby said with a slight sideways tilt of the lip. Gavin had to smile at that. He could picture Mac’s surprise when Gabby caught him in the jewels. His spitfire was one hell of a woman. Gabby continued breaking his train of thought. “I headed toward the hangar at an all-out run. I bolted through the door right as Garcia sank his teeth in your neck,” Gabby’s breath hitched at the crystal clear image of that moment, “and instinct kicked in. I knew where the guns were kept and as if on auto pilot, I ran to the cabinet, grabbed one aimed and fired.”

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Gavin stared at Gabby. His mind couldn’t wrap itself around what she was telling him. She’d saved his life. “How did you know which leopard was which,” he asked Gabby, forgetting she’d seen him in his leopard form on the ship. “I knew because the lights dimmed in my mind as you slowly slipped away from this world and from me. Remember I also got a brief glimpse when you shifted on the ship” Gabby said with sadness so profound, Gavin felt his heart would explode in his chest. He’d caused this pain and now he had a long road ahead to make up for it. He wanted to comfort Gabby but he needed to know the rest first. “Garcia,” he asked Gabby. “Your CO, ex-CO, showed up after I shot Garcia. He was taken into custody. Luckily, you’d both shifted back into your human forms before they came in so your secret is still safe. The team and I had one hell of a time explaining why both of you were butt assed naked when they arrived and why there were such high levels of radiation in your blood stream but we finally managed to convince them Garcia had injected you with the stuff. The naked part we simply didn’t even bother to comment on,” Gabby finished. “The other shifters?” Gavin continued. “They were caught and taken to some military research facility. They had to go through pretty much the same thing you did. The doctor’s had to flush the

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excess radiation from their bodies before they could assess the damage caused to their brains. Luckily, you weren’t exposed long enough or with a dosage high enough to cause any brain function loss. The doctors were worried about muscle atrophy but since you’ve been moving and twitching for the last three days, they figured you shouldn’t have much problems getting back to normal, or as close to normal as your body will allow with a little therapy,” Gabby finished. “How long have you been here, Gabby,” Gavin asked, sitting a little straighter in the bed. “Since they brought you here,” Gabby answered matter-of-factly. “What about your job, your life?” Gavin asked. Gabby looked at Gavin with a ‘Duh’ expression. She opened her mouth to speak then closed it without saying a word. Did he really think I would leave him here not knowing whether he lived or died? This selfish, arrogant, pompous— “I am not selfish, arrogant, or pompous. I am concerned about you. I wouldn’t want you stop living because of me and—” “Shut the hell up, Gavin, and stay out my damn head,” Gabby cut Gavin off. “You couldn’t possibly believe I would go on with my life not knowing if you would live or die. You couldn’t possibly think I would walk away from the only thing in my life that matters. You couldn’t possibly think anything could be more important that you.” Gabby had to stop because the tears were flowing freely now.

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“Come here, Gabby,” Gavin said, realizing moving was much easier now than it had been when he’d first awaken. Gabby hitched her hip on the side of the bed and leaned into Gavin. The feel of his strong arms wrapped around her again burst the dam that’d been holding back an emotional outpour for the last three months. Sobs the size of the Titanic wracked her body. She cried for the love she’d almost lost, the life she’d almost taken when she’d shot Garcia, the look of defeat on the team’s faces as they realized Gavin might not walk away from this fight, and the life Gavin had promised her that may not come to be. Through it all, Gavin held her in silent support. He rubbed soothing circles on her back and held her tight as she got it all out. Gavin held Gabby like the precious jewel she’d become to him. She’d cried herself to sleep; now she lay plastered to his side on the bed whimpering every now and then. What had he done to deserve this woman? She was strong, hardheaded, kind, giving, and loving. She was the total package; everything any man would die to have. He wasn’t sure why God chose him, but he looked skyward and said a quick “THANK YOU” in appreciation of the blessing.

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Epilogue

“Hey man, you’d better get a move on it. You don’t want that little hellion of yours to come looking for you,” Mac said, rushing Gavin out the door. It had been three months since Gavin woke in the hospital. Three months of intensive physical therapy and three months of Gabby pushing Gavin to within an inch of his sanity. She’d become his physical therapist when she felt the hired therapist was being too easy on him. Gavin smiled to himself as he remembered the look on the physical therapist’ face when Gabby said, ”You can pack your shit and get out. Gavin is making a fool of you and you’re letting him. He has you eating out the palm of his hand like a puppy and that isn’t going to get him back on his feet.” Once the therapist was gone, Gabby turned back to him like Annie Wilkes from the movie Misery with a sardonic expression that let him know the shit had literally hit the fan and he was covered in it. She’d run him through the drills relentlessly. To her credit, he had to admit, she went through the drills right along with him stating, “If I can do it, so can you.” It had worked, too. Here he was on his wedding day, getting ready to walk up to that dais with no walker, cane, or noticeable limp to marry the woman who

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meant more to him that his next breath. He felt a lump forming in his throat as the emotions began to thicken. He loved Gabby with everything he was and he was about to announce it before God and the world. “You cool, Gav?” Mac asked, seeing Gavin’s eyes misting up. “How did I get so lucky, Mac? All my life has been spent fighting for this thing but I never imagined it would one day be mine to have as well,” Gavin said. “You deserve it and much more, Gavin. I’ll admit, I’m jealous and hope one day you will be standing here giving me the same pep talk I’m now giving you,” Mac said, grasping Gavin’s shoulder. Gavin grabbed Mac’s opposite shoulder as they reconfirmed their brothers-in-arms bond. “Enough of the mushy shit,” Mac said, swiping the moisture from his eyes. “Let’s go get you married.” Gavin and Mac walked out the side door leading to the dais. The setup was open and airy. Gavin and Gabby had decided on an outdoor ceremony. Gavin had been cooped up inside for far too long and wanted to be out in the fresh air as much as possible. The wedding was a simple affair with a flower decorated arch at the beginning of the aisle, and a white paper runner down leading to the gazebo dais on which Gavin stood awaiting Gabby. When the music started and Gabby appeared at the end of the aisle, Mac had to grab hold of Gavin as his knees buckled.

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Gabby was breathtaking. She wore a simple cream-colored gown without all the bells and whistle seen on most wedding dresses. It was fitted from chest to waist then flowed like a timeless ocean down to the ground and trailed slightly behind her. She had her hair up in a loose bun, which allowed several strands to drift free and fall all around her head. She carried a small bouquet of white roses and walked with the grace of a panther as she made her way to the dais. Mac, who was still supporting Gavin, guided Gavin toward the step as Gabby reached them. Gavin’s mushed brain kicked back into gear and he reached out to take Gabby’s hand, ushering her remainder of the way to the preacher. They stood there staring into each other’s eyes as the preacher read the words. No one existed outside of them and the words were almost like background music only they could hear. They responded to the questions the preacher asked as if on auto pilot and it wasn’t until the preacher said, “You may kiss your bride” that Gavin and Gabby once again became aware of their surroundings. Gavin had to tamp down the fever racking his body to deepen the kiss. He was in front of a lot of people and didn’t think his new wife would appreciate being taken in front of everybody. “I know what you’re thinking, Gavin. Forget it,” Gabby said after breaking the kiss. “But, here is something for you to think about until all the festivities are

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over. Not only would I not like being taken in front of all these people, but I don’t think your son or daughter would appreciate being exposed either.” Gabby kissed Gavin again and turned toward the audience who were applauding them. Gavin felt his knees go weak again then felt Mac’s strong arm catch him under his elbow. The entirety of the situation sank in. Gavin was now married to the one woman in the world who could hold his heart, and he was going to be a daddy. Gavin looked skyward and simply said, “Thank You.”

The End

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http://mildredtrent.blogspot.com/

Author Bio:

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to read. Allowing my mind to step into a good story is the best thing in the world. Fantasy is so much better than reality. Surrounded by all those hunky, well-endowed men and rooting for the independent, stand-up-forthemselves women is a rush no drug on the market can compete with.

Red Rose Publishing Beta’s Challenge Lost and Found

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