true jaguar and word got out that it was frequenting the area, that could bring the hunters down on top of them.
Chapter 11
In the middle of the night, Wade reached the treetop cottages where Maya was staying. He and David hadn’t needed a GPS to locate them. In their jaguar forms, they’d followed Kat and Connor’s scents to the resort. Wade had smelled another jaguar in the area—a female, which didn’t bode well if Bettinger and Lion Mane got wind of her and led the smugglers this way. He wanted to warn Maya and the others that Bettinger and Lion Mane were in on the jaguar-smuggling plans. As jaguar shifters, the men could scent another jaguar and tip off the smugglers who would take the big cat into custody.
While he suspected that Bettinger and Lion Mane wouldn’t lead the smugglers to a shifter, Wade didn’t like the fact that they could make a move on Maya if they learned she was here.
The cottages appeared to be suspended in the trees, a walkway connecting each to the next. Wade and his brother roamed through the trees below, listening for sounds of people up and about. Everyone appeared to be sleeping. No talking or laughing, just silence from the human population.
The jungle noises still cloaked Wade as he searched for the cottage that could be Maya’s. He leaped into a tree next to a deck and smiled his jaguar smile as he smelled that Maya had been sitting in one of the rocking chairs a short while ago. There was no sign of Kat or Connor’s scent on the deck, so he assumed this cottage had to be Maya’s.
He glanced down at David, who motioned with his large spotted head in the direction he planned to go while Wade checked on Maya. David would leave him alone, but he knew his brother would stay close by until Wade left Maya. After that, they’d return together to search for the smugglers and their guides.
His paws muddy, Wade shifted, then turned on the shower on the deck. If she was asleep, she wouldn’t hear him. After he cleaned up, he planned to check on her and tell her about Bettinger and the other men. A bottle of eco-friendly soap was sitting on a table nearby, so he poured some out into his hands and then started to soap himself down, the citrus scent pleasantly natural and sweet. He hoped she wasn’t running through the jungle tonight, though he hadn’t smelled her scent down below. Probably too busy dealing with her brother and explaining why she smelled of four male cats.
As soon as he had rinsed off, he saw a wide-eyed Maya staring through the glass door of her cottage, taking in every inch of him. He couldn’t help his reaction. Her perusal of his body instantly made his other head stir to life. That, and what she was wearing.
A slinky, pink itty-bitty nightie barely covered her crotch. Instantly, the cool water drizzling over his body felt as though it sizzled against his suddenly hot skin. Her rigid nipples pressed against the silky fabric in response… to his arousal? He grinned at her, but she wasn’t looking at his face.
He fought the urge to leave the shower, pull her close, lift that dreamy excuse for nightwear, and take her against the wooden table covered in towels nearby.
What was he doing here? A shiver stole up her spine as she thought of Connor and what he’d do to Wade if her brother found him naked on her deck.
Wade’s hands were rubbing soap all over that kissable, lickable skin, washing away the dirt on his feet and legs, then moving over every inch of the rest of his body. Her body heated so much that she felt that she was having a hot flash, although she was certain she was too young for one. She was standing inside the cottage, the air-conditioning on, so she shouldn’t have been burning up. She continued to peer out the glass door at the incredible hunk, unable to do anything but stare.
Her gaze rose further up his body, only this time she realized she’d been seen, forgetting that she wasn’t hidden from his perusal any more than he was from hers. He was grinning at her, appearing perfectly smug that he’d caught her appraising him so thoroughly. Her body’s heat rose again.
She slid the door open and hurried outside, shutting the door behind her to keep the biting insects out. “What are you doing here?” she whispered, crossing the deck to the shower so that she wouldn’t have to whisper so loud.
Even though Kat and Connor were probably asleep or busy making love, and the jungle was so noisy, she still feared her voice would carry and her brother might hear.
She glanced around, realizing that Wade must have been a jaguar when he arrived because a pile of his clothes wasn’t on the deck anywhere.
“I had to see you,” he said, his voice as hushed as hers.
“Connor will kill you if he finds you here naked on my deck. Did you locate the smugglers?”
“Yes and no.”
“Where’s your brother?”
“Guard duty. Come here,” he said, his blue-green eyes dark with desire as he reached his hand out to her.
His mouth curved up as he noted the hesitation in her expression, but the gleam in his eye said he wasn’t going to be thwarted, not when he had to know how much she wanted to be with him.
She didn’t know exactly what he had in mind. Surely, he didn’t want her to join him in the shower. She didn’t take another step in his direction. But like a jaguar that moved without warning, he snagged her hand and pulled her into the cool, soft spray and his hard, hot embrace. She was still wearing her nightie! That was now wet and plastered to her body, along with him.
Her fingers curled through his hair as his hands molded to her bottom, pulling her tight against him, and she instantly felt the stirring of his cock. They were kissing, the water sluicing down their faces and bodies, and she’d never felt more sexy or alive.
She thought about his brother’s comment at the club that she and Wade could use the brothers’ Houston hotel room if they needed to, and she wanted to move this inside—to the big king-size bed overlooking the living room.
“I want you,” she said, against his mouth, knowing he wanted her just as badly. Jaguar shifters didn’t mate for life. She could do this and still date others, but she had to let him know how she felt.
He stopped kissing her, looked down at her as if he was judging her sincerity, and pulled away from her a little. It was okay if he didn’t want her tonight, she told herself. But she was already afraid he’d leave her alone, and she knew she’d hate it if he left. Yet she had to be honest with him.
He cast her a slow, predatory smile. “Whatever you want, Maya.” He said the words with tenderness, though she suspected he hoped to change her mind.
“I want you,” she repeated, running her hand down his slick naked back, all muscles and silky skin, “in bed with me. Nothing permanent.”
He leaned over her and turned off the water, then looked at her nightie plastered to her skin and smiled. “You’re beautiful.” He tugged off the sopping wet garment and laid it over the table, then wrapped her in one of the towels stacked there. Naked, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the door.
She didn’t know why she was feeling so guilty that she was setting limits with Wade. Maybe because he seemed to want exclusivity, and she wasn’t ready for it. Or maybe because deep down she was afraid he might be the one for her, and he would be turned off by her reluctance to commit to him—even for the short term. Or that she would lose her heart to him, and he, in turn, wouldn’t be able to commit to her.
As they entered the cottage, the cold air blasted them so that their skin instantly wore goose bumps. Maya shivered and reminded herself that Wade had initially wanted to date Kat. So if he could become interested in Maya just as quickly, why not someone else, too?
“You’re thinking too much, Maya,” he said, carrying her up the steps to the bedroom before he took her into the adjoining bathroom. He set her down on the cool tile floor so she could towel-dry her hair while he snagged
