Laura Wright - Raphael/Parish

“How dare you kidnap me?” she snapped, covering her seething fear behind rage.

Rafael rubbed his chin. More to give her the satisfaction of believing she’d hurt him than in any true pain.

“I’m going to protect you and my child whether you want me to or not.”

She tugged the sheet until it was wrapped tightly over her breasts, her hair spilling over her bare ivory shoulders like a river of ebony.

“Protect me from what?”

“That’s my question,” Bayon interrupted, stepping into the room and folding his arms over his chest.

Instinctively, Raphael moved to stand protectively at Ashe’s side.

“Ashe, this is Bayon,” he said, his warning gaze never leaving Bayon’s grim expression.

“He’s a—”

She didn’t need to finish the question for Raphael to know what she was asking.

“Pantera. Yes.”

Bayon scowled. “Shit, you told her?”

Feeling Ashe shiver, Raphael wrapped an arm around her shoulder and tugged her close.

“She carries my child.”

Bayon hissed in shock as Ashe’s back was exposed, revealing the rapidly healing scratches.

“And your mark.” Bayon gave a disbelieving shake of his head. “Dammit, Raphael. What the hell is going on?”

“The question is open for debate.”

“Yeah, and until we can find out the truth, you shouldn’t have brought her here. She can’t be trusted.”

“I can’t be trusted? Is that a joke?” Ashe broke into the argument, her eyes flashing fire. “I didn’t emit some sort of lust odor to get an unsuspecting woman pregnant and then mess with her mind before kidnapping her.”

Bayon’s brows snapped together. “Why did you come here that first night?”

Ashe stiffened. “It’s none of your business.”

Bayon took a step forward. “Who sent you?”

“No one sent me.”

“Then why were you here?”

“I was paying my mother’s bar tab. She’s the town drunk,” Ashe snapped, seeming to realize that the stubborn Pantera wasn’t going to let it go. “Satisfied?”

“Not even close.”

Bayon reached out a hand and a red mist clouded Raphael’s mind. He didn’t truly believe his friend meant to harm Ashe, but it didn’t matter.

Between one beat of his heart and the next, he had Bayon pinned to the wall, his forearm pressed against the man’s throat.

“Don’t. Touch. Her,” he warned, the air prickling with the threat of violence. “She’s innocent.”

Bayon stilled, accepting that he’d pressed Raphael too far.

“You can’t be certain.”

“Yes. I can.”

“How?”

Raphael held his friend’s gaze, allowing him to see the truth in his eyes.

“Because she’s mine.”

Bayon scowled, but a hint of uncertainty flashed through leaf green eyes.

“That’s impossible.”

“We can argue about it later.” Raphael forced himself to lower his arm and step back. “For now I need your skills.”

Bayon cast a swift glance toward the tense Ashe before returning his attention to Raphael and offering a slow nod.

“For what?”

“I caught the scent of two men entering the hotel.”

Bayon blinked. “Is that the start of a bad joke?”

“They were armed.”

“Everyone in this godforsaken town carries a gun.”

Raphael shook his head. “Not enough to start World War III.”

“They could have been poachers,” Bayon pointed out with a shrug.

“They smelled…”

“What?”

“Wrong.”

Bayon held Raphael’s gaze as they both recalled the warning from Parish, the leader of the Hunter Faction, that there’d been reports of Pantera running across humans with scents that repelled their inner cats.

Parish had been certain they were attempting to spy on the Wildlands.

Now Bayon gave a sharp nod. “I’ll check them out.”

Waiting for his friend to shut the door behind his retreating form, Raphael moved to stand directly in front of Ashe.

He didn’t for a second believe her momentary silence and stoic expression were a sign of resignation. Unfortunately he had to make a call to the Wildlands to warn them to put extra guards on the borders.

“I need you to stay here,” he said, trying to console his raw nerves with the knowledge that there was no way she could escape even if she wanted to.

The locks were specifically designed to only respond to the touch of a Pantera. They wouldn’t budge for a human.

She frowned, clutching the sheet with a white-knuckled grip. “Where are you going?”

“To call…a friend.”

“And you expect me to wait here?” She glared at him with a seething fury. “Do you think a few bouts of hot sex have given me Stockholm syndrome?”

Lowering his head, he claimed her lips in a kiss of sheer frustration.

All he wanted to do was sweep her into his arms and carry her to his homeland where they could celebrate the new life they’d created.

Instead he was plagued with a growing fear that an unseen danger was lurking just out of sight.

“Just stay here and behave yourself.”

ASHE was still reeling as Raphael left through a narrow door on the far side of the room.

Of course, she’d been reeling since the doctor had called with the shocking news of her pregnancy.

That was one of the reason’s she’d gone to the hotel instead of trying to convince her mother to let her return home.

She’d needed a few hours to consider her options in private.

But instead of a few hours of peace, she’d been accosted by the man who’d impregnated her, discovered he was a creature she’d long believed to be a myth, seduced all over again and kidnapped.

She grimaced as she lifted her fingers to lips that still tingled from his touch.

Okay. Maybe it wasn’t entirely fair to claim he’d seduced her.

She’d all but begged him to ease the desire that had been on a slow simmer for the past six weeks.

And if she were honest, she’d admit that her treacherous body was ready and eager to repeat the performance.

Which was precisely why she needed to get the hell away from the disturbing man.

No…not man.

Pantera.

Beast.

Absently she reached over her shoulder to touch the scratches that had seemed to shock Bayon. They didn’t hurt. In fact, they tingled with a pleasure that was as disturbing as the implication that Raphael had deliberately marked her.

Yeah. She was in dire need of some space to clear her head.

Crossing to where they’d first entered the room, she placed a cautious hand on the silver doorknob.

She didn’t know what she’d expected.

Ringing alarms. A trap door opening to drop her into a pit of alligators. An electric shock.

Something to prevent her from leaving the private rooms.

But stepping into the back storage area, there was nothing to break the silence beyond the thundering beat of her heart.

Still, she remained on edge as she tiptoed to the outer door. It was quite possible a silent alarm had been activated. Or that there would be guards outside that she hadn’t noticed when she’d first arrived with Raphael.

And, of course, there was the mysterious danger that Raphael insisted was stalking him.

Until she was far enough away from the bizarre creatures she would have to take extra care.

Surprised yet again when the door opened easily, Ashe crouched low as she darted down the steep staircase, and headed directly toward the cars that lined the narrow street.

She shivered, feeling a strange chill of premonition. As if unseen eyes were following her every movement.

Damn. She needed to get back to the hotel.

She was going to get dressed, get her car keys and head out of this town as fast as possible.