“What about me? What if I was living a secret life?”
He kissed her forehead, then rolled her onto her back and straddled her. “Then I’ll have to do a little more digging to satisfy myself that you’re one of the good guys.”
She gave him such a wicked smile as she reached up to tug at his shoulders that he knew she was ready for further exploration.
Chapter 12
Maya was alone. She sensed it before she even opened her eyes. Fingers of early morning sunlight stretched through the glass windows, and like a big cat, Maya extended her arms, yawning and slowly waking.
Wade had left her without a word. She told herself he had to go before her brother discovered him here with her and that his own brother was waiting for him. That he had a job to do. But the gnawing at her gut that he’d left her without saying good-bye wouldn’t quit.
Before she could yank off her covers and head for the bathroom and a thorough shower, a knock at her door and her brother’s voice shook her from her thoughts, startling her. Connor.
“Maya, are you okay? Breakfast is served.”
She groaned. If her brother smelled Wade on her—and he would if she didn’t shower—he’d have a fit.
“Sorry. Overslept. Be right down.”
“Hurry. They won’t serve breakfast for very much longer.”
She jumped into the shower, scrubbed her skin and hair good, then dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved cotton shirt, and a pair of boots and hurried down to the lodge’s dining room. This time the room was filled with guests, all mostly having finished their meals.
Kat smiled brightly at her and stood to hug her. Connor was glowering at her. Maya wanted to ask if he’d slept on the wrong side of the bed. But she knew he figured something was up with her since he had reminded her last night when he dropped her off at her cottage that they would share breakfast this morning and had specifically given her the time.
“I ordered you the tortilla stuffed with egg and cheese, skipping the onions,” Connor said as they all took their seats.
“Thanks, Connor. I appreciate it.”
Waffles smothered with coconut and fruit rested on Connor and Kat’s plates already.
“Sorry I was late.” Maya tucked the napkin onto her lap.
“Bad night’s sleep?” Kat asked, seemingly oblivious to the storm building between Maya and Connor. Or maybe she was trying to defuse the situation.
One heck of a great sleep! Sex could do that for a body. Cuddling against Wade for most of the night had been wonderful. “I guess I just needed more sleep this morning.” Maya avoided looking at Connor. She knew he was watching her, judging her reactions, questioning what she’d been up to.
“We saw that jaguar in the jungle again,” a woman said at another table. “We were so excited, but by the time we got our camera out, he was gone.”
Maya’s heart did a flip. She couldn’t help but look in Connor’s direction. He was observing her.
Had it been Wade, leaving too late from her cottage? Or David?
Her face burned with mortification. Knowing her brother the way she did, she was certain he’d investigate around her place right after breakfast, smell that Wade and David had been there, and learn the truth.
“Are you ready to explore the jungle a bit?” Connor asked.
“Like we are now?” Maya asked. She suspected Connor meant to take them much farther away before they shifted. “I’m ready, but I need to talk to you both.”
“We’ll meet you at your place after breakfast,” Connor said.
“I’ll meet you at your place,” Maya said.
This time Kat and Connor exchanged looks.
Okay, maybe they both already knew about her and Wade, but Kat was trying to be gracious and pretend she was clueless. Maya should have known better.
Wade and David loped in their jaguar forms through the rainforest as they made their way back to their cabana. They could have stayed in the jungle all day, searching for the smugglers and their guides, but Wade wanted to go to the main lodge and send a message to Martin about the latest news and ship off the dagger and T-shirt wrapped around it that had been in Mylar Cranston’s room.
When they reached their cabana, David went in first, shifted, and threw on a pair of boxers as Wade headed for his bedroom.
“I thought you were only going to warn her about Bettinger and Lion Mane,” David said, humor lacing his words.
“Don’t start with me.”
“Hell, Wade, I knew you were going to get caught.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do I mean?” David headed into the bathroom and shut the door. “What I mean is that the day was breaking, and you still hadn’t left Maya’s cottage. Does that mean she’s given up on spending time with other shifters?”
“How would I know?”
“Not a certainty, eh? Maybe you should have stayed longer.”
“What did you do?” Wade asked, taking a seat on one of the floral couches. “Sleep all night?”
“Are you kidding? I went looking for that female jaguar that had been hanging around the treetop cottages. I found her and discovered she was all jaguar and not one iota of a shifter. You know how my luck has been of late. She batted me a couple of times in playful interest and was definitely in heat. She rolled over on her back, displaying her chin and her throat, showing submission and that she was totally receptive to breeding.”
Wade gave a gut-wrenching laugh.
“Yeah, laugh about it, will you? I’m trying to fight off a willing jaguaress, and you’ve got the real thing in a nice soft bed.” The shower came on and the shower curtain rings slid across the rod as David pulled the curtain closed.
“Sorry,” Wade said, still laughing.
“Yeah, sure you are.”
“I’m going to run to the main lodge and tell Martin what we’ve learned. I’ll pick us up something to eat,” Wade said.
When he reached the lodge, he called Martin. “It’s Wade. Any word about who the buyer is?” Wade asked, his voice dark and dangerous. He was ready to kill a couple of shifters and the buyer, too.
The market for rare animals was similar to the drug market—if people didn’t buy them, the market wouldn’t exist. Unfortunately, the exotic animals market was just as profitable as selling drugs. The difference? Smuggling the animals out of their countries was illegal. Selling them was not, with the right permits. And some sellers just didn’t care about the illegality as long as they were paid.
Some of the animals were near extinction. What a screwed-up world they lived in.
“No word here about the buyer. You’ll need to see if you can get the information out of the men down there. Once you discover the buyer’s name, we’ll take it from there. And Wade?”
“Yeah?” He knew what Martin Sullivan, the director of the special elite force, was going to say even before he said it.
“Try not to kill the smugglers this time before we learn who they work for. Okay?”
Try was the operable word.
“Okay.” But his boss knew the score. If the men started shooting, all bets were off.
“Maya,” Connor said, opening the door to his cottage as she joined him and Kat.
She held up her hand to silence her brother. “I told you Wade and David are nearby, searching for the smugglers hunting a jaguar.”
“Closer than nearby,” Connor said, nearly growling as he stood next to the couch where Kat had taken a seat.
“You’re right. Wade came to see me last night. Both brothers came, but only Wade spoke to me.”
“I suspect more than talking was going on.”