Junglecat Honeymoon: Manhattan Ten, Book 3.5 Page 3

  Status.

  I almost spat. How ridiculous.

  The hunt was a dance of life and death. A test between self and nature, where the winner took the privilege of survival.

  How could anyone reduce that to a silly play for rank?

  Let them come.

  If rank could be won so easily, I’d be their ruler by sunrise.

  Panthers stalked me through the night as I barreled toward the temple. They came alone or in pairs, never a group larger group than three.

  Men and women. Teenagers eager to prove themselves and seasoned warriors.

  All bent on capturing me.

  I won each battle. They would never defeat me as long as taking a prisoner was the goal.

  But they weren’t gentle, and neither was I.

  Blood slicked the tip of my spear. I’d inflicted more slashes than I’d earned, but I’d managed to stop short of killing, no matter how these idiots seemed to invite death.

  Quan’s scent grew in my nostrils as the sky turned pink. Finally, I picked up a hint of Balam.

  So close.

  Ruins emerged between the trees. A crumbled wall here, a weed-choked foundation there. A perimeter wall taller than me remained standing, though more trees held it up than mortar, and fallen rocks tangled in the roots.

  Everything was on the way down.

  I slunk through an archway, into what must’ve been a sprawling plaza in centuries past. Now trees crowded between the walls, and the tops of buildings fought a losing battle against the growing canopy.

  Space remained around the tallest structure. The stepped temple held its ground against the trees.

  The panthers waited. Perhaps fifty of them stood or sat among the ruins. I hadn’t expected so many, given the ones I’d left behind.

  They came to attention as I stepped into view, revealing their elaborate robes and beaded headdresses. Focused as I was on Balam’s scent, I didn’t care much for the onlookers, but even I noted the cultural mishmash. The jaguar element was the only common theme. Their colors and patterns and tattoos probably represented several thousand years of Mesoamerican cultures.

  Poya stood two levels up on the ruined temple, watching over it all. She dripped gold and beaded bangles and wore a headdress made of animal teeth.

  Quan stood on the level below, bare-chested, wearing an elaborate headdress of feathers and beads that added a foot to his already impressive height. His eyes glowed orange through the carved jaguar faceplate.

  I scented Balam, but I couldn’t see him. I was done with all of them. “Where is he?”

  “Inside.” Poya waved to the torch-lit arch behind her.

  That was all I needed to know. I started for the steps, but the assembled tribesmen drew out their weapons.

  “I will see my husband.” I pointed my spear at Poya. “Or should I defeat all of these so-called warriors as well?”

  The crowd grumbled, but let them. I didn’t need to prove myself, but I certainly had.

  “Only one warrior,” Poya said.

  I hoped it was her.

  Instead, Quan took a step forward.

  “And if I kill your son?” She truly thought this was a game, and she played with her loved ones’ lives.

  “Fight to capture.” Poya folded her arms, making her beads and feathers rattle. “The loser may claim the winner.”

  “Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. The idea of “capture” was so vulgar that my stomach roiled, but so be it. Quan would be the toughest opponent of them all, and I wouldn’t let him stand in the way of my life with Panther, whatever that meant for his family. “I warned you.”

  “You understand that Tequani can claim you?” Poya’s eyes narrowed.

  “He won’t have the chance.” I leveled my spear.

  “So confident?” Quan removed his headdress, setting it on a pile of crumbled stone. “What if I capture you?”

  Exactly my advantage. “My people only fight to kill.”

  He tensed. “This is a trial. No more.”

  “You don’t understand.” None of them did. Our people were so similar and yet so startlingly different. “I don’t have a halfway setting, Tequani.”

  “A bluff,” Poya said from her perch.

  Quan stared into my eyes, and finally nodded. “I understand. I want to test myself against you.”

  I hoped Balam would forgive me if I killed his brother. “Very well.” I’d given reason a chance, and that was that. The shape of his body—broad shoulders, muscled arms, tight abdominals—and the way he held his spear, burned away my remaining control.

  This would be a fight.

  Quan strode toward me with only his spear. We faced each other warily. Would he make the first move, or should I?

  I wanted to see what he could do.

  In a blink, his spear flicked out. I knocked it aside with my own, but my estimation of him rose. Fast.

  If I didn’t give my all, this was a fight I wouldn’t win.

  I smiled. For a breath, Quan’s concentration faltered.

  I stabbed out; he reacted, but too slowly. Instead of piercing his chest, the spear tip deflected across his arm, drawing a red line along his outer bicep.

  Something between awe and horror lit his eyes, but he had asked for this.

  Attack.

  I fell on him, my mind blanking to a series of motions. Dodge and lunge. Kick and spear. He swept my feet from under me, but I rolled away before he could take advantage.

  I landed a slice across his other arm, but he got his spear under mine and yanked it from my grasp.

  It sailed into the grass.

  Tricky.

  Quan pressed the advantage, but losing the weapon only made me faster. I danced away from him. When he lunged, I drew the spear between my arm and body, using my hip to snap the wooden pole.

  Now we were even.

  Quan’s eyes flickered, as he thought moves and moves ahead. That was why I’d beat him. I didn’t think.

  I threw myself at him, bearing us both to the ground. He flipped me over, almost pinning me under his body weight, but I twisted my legs, turning us again. We rolled across the ground, neither gaining advantage.

  I have to end this.

  There.

  The broken spear.

  I grabbed it mid-motion. As we rolled again, I brought the obsidian tip to Quan’s jugular.

  “Yield.” He met my gaze. “I yield.”

  All I could do was stare at his pulse. That delicious, throbbing pulse.

  Moving. His heart beating.

  It would be so easy…

  A drop of blood glided down the spear tip.

  “Ivory!”

  That voice stole my attention. It always would.

  Panther sprinted from the temple. I dropped the spear and he only had to cover half the distance between us.

  I was already on my way to him.

  We crashed together, arms twining each other’s bodies. His heart raced and perspiration slicked his dark skin.

  “I am so sorry,” he whispered against my neck.

  I relaxed into his warmth, letting his presence seep all the way to my soul. “You’re here now.” The adrenaline pumping through my body began to subside as I drank him in.

  Panther pressed me so close I could hardly breathe, but I wouldn’t dare ask him to pull back. He pressed his forehead to mine. “What exactly did they do to you?”

  “Took away my ice and forced me into a panther gauntlet.” It seemed not to matter now that he was here. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. All I got were the knock-out drugs.” His hands ran over me. “God, you’re warm. Are you sure you’re okay? You’re bleeding. Why are you bleeding?”

  “Shh.” I pressed into him, hiding my wounds. “Apparently I’m an easy target when I don’t have my powers.”

  Pan snorted. “I can guess how that went.”

  “They tried.” Not very successfully.

  He kissed me in a lingering press of lips,
but pulled away too soon. “Let me handle some business here?”

  “Please.”

  He kissed my forehead and turned to his brother, muscles cording as his fists bunched. “I’m going to fucking kill you, Quan.”

  “Can you?” Quan cracked his knuckles as a smile spread across his face. “Or would you rather fight me for her?”

  A feral roar ripped from Pan’s throat. In a breath, his form shifted to four paws and he lunged for Quan.

  Quan reacted just as quickly. They collided in a pile of big cat, all tearing claws and fangs and rippling black muscles.

  Somehow, I was content. They would settle this body-to-body, and Panther wouldn’t lose.

  “It was beautiful.” Poya clasped me in a hug, not bothered that I would have killed her son. “You are welcome in our family.”

  She even sounded sincere. What strange people these panthers were.

  I patted her shoulders, trying to be less awkward than I felt after her sudden change in attitude. “Next time you want to test me, please ask. I would have respected your customs.”

  “No. I have seen your warrior’s spirit and you are proven.” She released me and beamed. “All I require now are grandchildren.”

  I cringed. “Perhaps in a few years…” I had never thought of children before; why should I when the mothers kept trying to kill me? Pan and I would have to decide that later. Decades later. Neither of us aged much.

  “At least four.” Poya gazed fondly at her sons, who still clawed and yowled, fighting for advantage. “And you must help me find a good woman for Tequani. He is too old to be alone, and too picky.”

  I doubted Quan had any trouble finding women on his own, but I might know someone… “Wait. Don’t I own him now?”

  Poya nodded. “Although you cannot keep both as husbands. We’ll name you a Jaguar Warrior, if you wish to stay with us…?”

  It was amazing how quickly I’d gone from unworthy to child-breeding member of their warrior family. “We’re both committed in Manhattan.” More than committed, we were happy there.

  “You must visit for the New Year at least.”

  “I’ll ask Balam.” It might be nice to have a place to let loose. Manhattan had so many more buildings and people to break.

  A pack of panthers strode through the trees, all warriors I’d defeated. “Do I have claim on these as well?”

  “If you wish it,” Poya said.

  I considered shipping them off to my homeland for a few lessons in combat, but I doubted they’d thrive in the cold. And I wanted nothing of that responsibility. “I won’t press any claim.”

  There’s only one person I want…

  A roar drew our gazes back to the fight. Panther’s animal form was blacker than Quan’s mottled deep brown, and his jaws closed around his brother’s throat.

  Victories across the board.

  They shifted to human again and Pan strode straight for Poya. Whatever he said was heated.

  Quan hobbled to me, rubbing his shoulder. “I’ll win you next time.”

  “You know I can’t be won.” As beautiful, powerful and mysterious as he may be, he could never entice me away from my Balam.

  “If you could, you wouldn’t be worth fighting for.”

  I shook my head. “You need to leave this jungle. There’s more to the world than the tribe and pointless fighting.” So much more. “You should visit us in New York.”

  “Maybe.” Quan drew me into a hug. pulling me close to whisper. “And I’d never truly come between you two, but Balam fights better when he’s pissed.” He pulled away and winked. “See you again soon, hermana.”

  I might’ve chuckled if his fun wasn’t at my expense.

  Pan traded a few last words with his brother before Quan disappeared into the trees. He grabbed my hand and pulled. “We’re out.”

  Stone-faced, Poya turned back toward the temple.

  “What did you say to her?”

  “Let’s just say she’s not getting a Christmas card.” Panther picked me off my feet, and I pressed against his warmth.

  “I was waiting for you to rescue me.”

  “This was you waiting?” He kissed between my eyes, then casually flipped me onto his back, linking his arms below my knees. “I’d hate to see what happens when you rescue yourself.”

  “At least, I waited until I found out you were captured. Quan said you were trapped somewhere with a horde of naked panther women.” I wrapped my arms tight around his shoulders. Balam wasn’t a man I was willing to share.

  “That asshole.” A growl rumbled in his chest. “If anyone was naked, I didn’t get to see it. I was passed out until my traitor mother woke me up and said you’d kill Quan if I didn’t stop you. I borderline let it happen.”

  “Where to now?” The rest would work itself out. We were together and well.

  “Quan says the old tree house is free.” Panther set off through the brush. “I plan to carry you there, rip that corset off and extend this honeymoon a few days.”

  “I like this plan.” I pulled him tighter, leaning into his muscle movements as he walked. Our bodies fit perfectly, and I felt as content as if none of this had happened. “Although, we should contact the Ten.” We were supposed to be upstate for our honeymoon, not south of the equator.

  “Like they care. They didn’t notice us getting drugged and kidnapped.”

  I clicked my tongue. “It was your mother. Why would anyone suspect her?”

  “I’m thinking about disowning the family.”

  “They were curious.” Lucky these cats hadn’t gotten killed for it.

  Despite everything, part of me was sympathetic toward Quan. He was so similar to Balam, with his intensity and easy smile, but Quan was a wild thing, at home in his own habitat. Like me, not so long ago. “I told Quan to visit. And we’re invited back for New Year.”

  “Like hell.” Panther shifted my weight as he ducked under a low branch. “They’ll probably try to sacrifice you to one of the old gods. I’m not letting you within ten thousand miles of these crazies.”

  I took a deep breath, inhaling his familiar predator’s scent. I’d been too lonely without him.

  “You’ve ruined me for being alone, you know.” The solo hunt had lost its appeal. As much as I loved a fierce chase and a fiercer opponent, everything was more with him at my side.

  “All part of the plan, Ice Queen.” He almost purred.

  “I did say I liked the plan.” All I wanted now were our wedding rings returned. “Can we do something about my ice?”

  “I’ve got it covered.”

  That was enough. I relaxed, resting against him. Running through the night and battling without food or water had taken its toll. Now I dozed, comfortable in the knowledge that he would protect me from anything. He stopped at a hidden spring for water and plied me with juicy tropical fruits.

  Always, he stroked my hair and caressed my skin—confirming that I truly was safe. I did the same to him. Such a short parting had seemed like forever.

  Finally, we arrived at the tree house. He paused. “Should I carry you over the threshold?”

  “Up the rope ladder?”

  “Why not? I’m a superhero and stuff.”

  I smiled against his neck. “I dare you.”

  I shouldn’t doubt him.

  As tall and large as I was, Panther was bigger. He hoisted me up the ladder on his back, kicked away the fallen mosquito net and spread me on the bed like a comforter. “This is what I was waiting for.”

  So much heat in his eyes. “So was I.”

  Balam covered my body with his, all hard muscles. His soft lips moved along my jaw line. “I can’t have you taken again.”

  “Nor you.” I stared into his yellow eyes and sucked in a breath, staggered as always, to see the depth of my love reflected.

  We must have kissed for hours, lying twined together.

  “The dress is coming off now.” Balam eased me seated.

  I’d fantasized about him
ripping the corset away with his teeth, but the reality was so much better.

  He pulled the laces one by one, tantalizingly slow, kissing my neck as he worked and brushing the ends of the ribbon against my bare back.

  I shivered.

  We may have kissed for hours, but undressing took years. I was both languid and frantic. Melting and so very hot. “Pan…”

  “What’s the rush?” He kissed the back of my earlobe, breath heated. “There.” His fingers crept inside my corset, tracing along my rib.

  Something peeled away from my skin and my mind instantly cleared. It was like shedding a thorn I hadn’t noticed.

  Pan held up the purple-soaked cloth, which he promptly tossed across the room. I wrinkled my nose at the cloying floral scent.

  “God, I hate that flower. She knocked each of us out with a different blend of it.”

  “A flower took away my powers?”

  “A flower potion took away your powers.” Pan’s fingers played against my bare ribs and I didn’t care as much about the how of it.

  “It’s fixed now?”

  “You need to sweat out the last of it. I think I can help.”

  “Oh?” I arched into him.

  He pulled the final lace free from the corset and moved the ribbon over the curves of my breasts. “Yes.”

  Pan pushed me back into the pillows, sucking at my bottom lip, gently pressing with his sharp canines.

  He’d set me on fire if my ice didn’t return soon.

  “Lift your arms.”

  I did as he said, and he pulled my remaining hem over my head, easing the dress off. As my breasts popped free, he held the cloth in place, trapping my arms and blocking my eyes with tulle.

  “Are you comfortable?” He toyed with the lacy edge of my panties. The hint of a growl in his low voice was nearly enough to put me over the edge.

  “You could make me more comfortable…”

  Pan chuckled. Just what I wanted to hear.

  “Let’s see.” He licked a slow circle around my nipple. “Better?”

  I bit back a gasp. “Getting there.”

  Kisses trailed down my belly as Pan rubbed his thumbs in circles over my hipbones, slipping over and under lace.

  He lingered at my navel, slipping his hands to my inner thighs, always at the edge of the panties, never touching directly.