Jaguar Fever

“If we can’t track them down, we’ll ask Connor to join us.”

She didn’t believe Wade was being honest with her. She was certain he had no intention of asking Connor for his help. Macho guy thing.

“In the meantime, see the caves, take a boat ride, enjoy the jungle, but as humans. All right, Maya?”

She nodded.

Boarding call was announced and they all made their way to their seats on the plane, David taking hers. Maya was sitting beside the window, Wade in the middle, and a nice grandmotherly lady in the aisle seat.

Ever since Wade had told her about the possible danger to Connor and Kat, she’d been fighting the worry. Once she took her seat, she closed her eyes as the flight took off. She couldn’t do anything until she reached the resort. At least the flight was fairly short. The bus ride was nearly as long, though. Connor and Kat would meet her once she arrived, so they wouldn’t be running around as jaguars until after she got there. Tonight.

* * *

When they arrived in Belize City, they took a bus for the three-hour drive to the resort. What was supposed to be strictly a vacation could very well turn into a nightmare.

“We’ll watch you get off and join your brother and Kat,” Wade told her, squeezing her hand. “We’ll be in touch if we stop these guys before your vacation ends. When we have word, we’ll let you know.”

“I wish you could stop and visit, but it’s late and—”

“Connor won’t like seeing us,” Wade finished for her. “We need to get checked into our place.”

When the bus came to a halt, he stood and gave her a hug and a kiss—not sweet in the least, but more of a promise he’d be seeing her again, soon. David gave her a brief kiss and a hug that was just as comforting.

Wade slugged him in the shoulder. “Enough.”

David had the nerve to grin at him and released her.

“Are you going to be okay, Maya?” Wade asked.

“Yeah. Be careful, both of you.” Maya hurried off the bus as the driver unloaded bags.

“She’ll be fine,” David said as they retook their seats.

“Yeah.” Wade watched as Connor greeted Maya, then frowned at her and looked up at the bus. “Her brother smells us on her, and he looks pissed.”

“You know she wants to see other shifters, don’t you?” David asked, his voice sympathetic as the bus continued on its way.

Wade nodded. He wanted to say it didn’t matter to him. That if it was important to her, he’d be happy for her.

“You’re not going to let her if you can help it, are you?” David raised his brows, trying to look serious, but a smile was begging to appear. “I’m serious,” David added.

Wade wanted to protect her from her brother, Connor, who would give her a hard time for having been with so many shifters. He knew she carried their body scents because she’d hugged them all soundly.

Wade looked out the window. “She lives in Texas with her brother and Kat. We live in Florida. Kind of hard to keep her from seeing anyone else.”

“So? You know she really has a thing for you.”

“Yeah, and that’s why she danced with the blond guy.”

“She’s scared.”

Wade frowned. “Of me?”

“Of getting too close, falling in love, and marrying a shifter who would take off like her father. Everett told me that’s what her father did.”

Wade ran his hand through his hair. “I wouldn’t be like that. If I found the right woman…”

“I know that. She’s interested in you. She kissed you like there was no tomorrow. She wants you. Hell, even that woman, Jeanie, that you thought you would marry, never kissed you like that.”

Wade smiled.

“Or danced with you like that. You’re not going to let Maya date a bunch of other shifters and make a mistake with one of them, are you?”

Wade shoved his hands in his pockets.

David folded his arms. “Okay, if you’re not going to stop her from dating other shifters, I will.”

“The hell you will.”

David grinned and slapped Wade on the back. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

Chapter 8

As soon as she got off the bus, Maya saw Connor. His brow was furrowed, but then he smiled a little. Where was Kat?

Trying not to anxiously drum up worst-case scenarios, Maya took a deep breath and hurried to give Connor a hug. “Where’s Kat?”

“Sleeping. She was feeling tired and nauseated.”

“Oh.” Maya wanted to say “good,” only because she was so grateful Kat was safe. But Connor wouldn’t understand. She opened her mouth to tell him right away about the hunters, but as soon as she embraced her brother, his somberly pleasant expression soured. She realized he had to have smelled Wade and David on her… and two other male cats, her cousins, who had given her hugs before they left her for their terminal.

She and Connor were walking along a path that seemed to be taking them straight into the jungle until it opened up to reveal a group of treetop cottages half hidden by jungle vegetation.

“How come I smell four different male cats on you?” Connor asked, his tone accusing as he frowned at Maya. He motioned with his head to one of the cottages as they made their way along the treetop walkway. “That’s our cottage.”

“I’ll tell you when I’m unpacking. I’ve got to warn you and Kat that hunters are in the area. They’re looking for jaguars.”

“That’s always a possibility.” Connor did not sound the least bit concerned.

“It’s a certainty.”

As they continued on their way along the path, she noted that the lush tropical foliage hid each of the cottages from the others, giving them privacy. Maya loved the way the trees surrounded them, reminding her of the hut where they’d stayed in the Amazon.

“How do you know this?” Connor asked while she unlocked her door.

She carried her backpack in while he rolled her large suitcase into the room.

The five-hundred-square-foot cottage was spacious, featuring a living area and a raised bedroom with a king-size bed covered in a white duvet and jungle-print pillows partially hidden by mesh netting. She glanced at the floor-to-ceiling windows that wrapped around three sides of the cottage, offering a view of the bright green jungle. A couple of beige couches and chairs decorated in jungle-print pillows filled the living area, and a tree grew off center through the floor and the ceiling, giving the room its treetop feel. She adored the place.

“Wow.” A wooden railing dividing the living room from the bedroom gave the cottage a more open feeling. She instantly thought of Wade with her in that bed. She shook her head at the notion, but she couldn’t rid herself of the desire—just like Connor sharing his bed with Kat.

“Maya, what makes you so certain the hunters are here? You just got here. And why do I smell four different male cats on you?”

“Cousins,” she said. She mentioned them first so that Connor wouldn’t be too upset with her. “We’ve got family. Huntley and Everett Anderson. And Tammy, their sister, but I didn’t get to meet her this time.” She couldn’t hide her enthusiasm as she grinned at Connor. Her expression quickly changed to concern when Connor folded his arms and looked at her with disbelief.

She sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress was soft and comfy, and again she was thinking of what it would feel like to have Wade naked in her bed.

Connor rested his butt against the dresser, still looking peeved.