Olivia ached from her toes to the top of her head. The insane thought she'd had when Gunnar had offered to help instruct her had been one of relief. She worked out, and she'd had defensive training. How hard could it be to keep up with a super Circ? Even after witnessing Kisho's incredible karate skills, she'd been prepared for some defensive tutoring, even looked forward to it.
Two days later, she felt so stiff, she could barely move. Her sluggish brain did little more than suggest ways to rest so she'd experience less pain, but she didn't have the energy to turn over.
Gunnar had shown her ways to incapacitate men. From grabbing and twisting testicles to grabbing and twisting thumbs. Wrist locks, knee kicks, and the nose smash. Timing, Kisho had added, was everything. A woman of her size had an advantage, but she couldn't hope to defeat a man as large as the Circs training her. From what she'd read in the folder, Montaña's men would be tough to beat. Most of them had trained in his select mercenary camps, and those who hadn't had done time in South American prisons. Just the people she didn't want to run into in the middle of the jungle.
As if suffering extreme exhaustion weren't enough, she hadn't seen Jesse since his altercation with Jules. It felt as if every time she gained a foothold in her tentative relationship with the man, something else stopped her from seeing him. She'd been playing it cool, wanting him to come to her. And then Jules had put an end to that.
“Probably for the best,” she murmured. This mission demanded her full attention. In just three more days they'd fly south, where she might actually end up running for her life in the heart of the jungle. I am insane for even contemplating going.
But the thought of leaving Jesse and the others in the hands of untrustworthy men, possibly enemies, made her ill.
A knock sounded on her door.
“Come in.” She didn't bother to sit up. Clad in the same workout clothes she'd worn since the afternoon, when Kisho had put her through the wringer, she lay on her bed.
Gunnar poked his head around the door. If she weren't mistaken, he pulsed with disappointment. “Hell, I was hoping to find you naked and in the tub by now.” She grinned. “If I had the energy, I would be.”
“Jules wants to see you.”
“Now?” She groaned and sat up. And suddenly Gunnar was right there.
He knelt next to the bed, almost at eye level with her.
“You are huge.”
He grinned, and she noted how handsome he actually was. Whenever she was near Jesse, everyone else paled by comparison. “You have no idea.” She shouldn't have, but she glanced down at his crotch. To her shock, he looked very happy to see her.
Her cheeks heated. “Um, I'm not sure…”
“Come on.” He stood and picked her up as if she weighed nothing.
“Oh.”
“You're a sexy little thing. No wonder he's so hot for you.”
“Jules?” First Jesse, now Gunnar and Jules? Had she entered a dream state where everything seemed surreal?
“No, Fallon. Guy's had a hard-on for you since you walked into the damned house. He's a pain in the ass about it too. Nearly choked me when I mentioned we should hit it.”
“Hit what?”
He rolled his eyes. “I said we should screw, what else?”
“Good Lord. You talked about me like that?”
“Honey, you're sexy. You could be starring in your own porno. Your smooth skin and bright eyes? That long black hair? You have killer tits, lips made for blowing—”
She clapped a hand over his mouth. He chuckled and licked her palm, and she ripped her hand away.
“Okay, I won't say it. But you can't deny you're hot.”
“Thanks, I think.” Talk about bizarre. She had the odd notion Gunnar's compliments were sincere. As if she should thank the barbarian for likening her to a porn star. “Where are you taking me, exactly?”
“Jules's room. Fallon's waiting there too.”
She settled down at news of Jesse. But this close to Gunnar, she could feel every bit of his excitement. Arousal and anticipation raced through his veins.
Unnerved, she squirmed in his hold. When one of his hands crept too close to her breast, she smacked his chest.
“Then stop moving,” he growled.
The low timbre made her shiver, not with fear, but with a foreign desire.
Alarmed, she wondered what she felt: her emotions or his?
“Do Circs feel with a greater intensity?”
“I don't know. Depends on what you mean by intensity.”
“Do you guys get hornier more than most?” She tried again, going for blunt.
“Oh, that. Sure. We're hard all the time.”
“For God's sake.”
“You asked.” He hefted her in his arms and walked down the hallway and across into the men's wing without incident. To her relief, they didn't pass by anyone. “And here we are.” He pushed through the door and kicked it closed behind him.
Fallon and Jules waited within, both tense and unhappy.
Jules nodded. “Good.”
“Where's Kisho?” she asked, half hoping Gunnar would turn around and take her right out the door. While she secretly delighted in seeing Jesse again, the uncomfortable notion she was the cause of the unrest between the men made her want to flee.
“We don't need Kisho for this,” Jules answered.
“We don't need you either,” Jesse spat back at Jules and clenched his fists.
She couldn't be sure, but it appeared as if his skin had grown darker since she'd last seen him.
“Oh boy. I've been looking forward to this,” Gunnar murmured in her ear. The brute had yet to set her on her feet. He vibrated with amusement, more so when Jesse's gaze lingered on his hand over her belly.
“Let me down,” she whispered.
“No,” he whispered back and kissed her on the mouth.
She heard Jesse's roar, as well as the sound of blows. But Gunnar caught and held her attention. She didn't want him. That is, her affection for Jesse held. Still, an alien part of her clamored for Gunnar's attention, which made little sense.
Perhaps it was his innate wildness. Whatever the case, she leaned into his kiss and caught the scent of cedar. Cedar, not the mint she associated with Jesse. She stiffened and broke from his mouth.
“No.”
“Yes.” He walked to Jules's bed and tossed her onto it. To her shock, he stripped down to nothing. He'd said he was huge, and seeing him now, she couldn't disagree.
Her gaze shot from Gunnar to Jesse, who still fought with Jules.
“You want out of here, fight for it.” Gunnar smiled. His lips curled to reveal two large, sharp canines.
“What the hell?” Despite her aches, Olivia scrambled back on the massive bed. She alternated her gaze from an approaching Gunnar to Jesse, struggling to free himself from Jules.
He caught her panic and swore at Gunnar. “Tersch, you fucking touch her, and I'll rip your head from your body.”
“Promises, promises.” Gunnar gripped his cock and began stroking himself, the sight vaguely upsetting, because instead of horrifying her, Gunnar aroused her. “Come on, Olivia.
Lean closer and put those lips around me. You know you want to. Circ cum can be addictive.”
“Like you'd know,” she rasped.
“Actually I do. Fallon's is sweet, but then, they all are.”
Stunned, she stared from him to Jesse. “You…you and Jesse…?”
“And Jules and Hayashi. We're a real close team. When the mating heat hits, there's not a lot we can do but find satisfaction in a Circ. But if we've finally found a female…” He paused, and she recalled what Jules had asked her the other day.
“I'm not Circ!” she cried. “I'm fully me. Normal. A regular girl.” Who really shouldn't have asked for a break in the cycle of boredom dragging me down. Oh my God. He has fangs! A glance at Jesse and Jules showed them with fangs and claws as well.