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He moved toward her with sinuous grace and Skye panicked. She took a step back and teetered on the edge, feeling the water twirl around her feet as it cascaded below. The man stopped and she noticed his tattoos through the darkness that separated them.
They clawed their way up abs that looked as if they were carved from stone. Black symbols that caressed taut muscle.
He was a jaguar warrior. She had no other choice. Skye inhaled a ragged breath and murmured to herself, “Watch over me, Daddy,” before closing her eyes. And then she jumped.
Chapter 2
The tall, powerful male shook his head aggressively. His skin shimmered as the last remnants of jaguar slipped from his limbs, the soft black fur rippling away in silence. Water sprayed out into a fine mist around his body and settled in a silvery sheen that coated his flesh in an eerie glow.
Jagger Castille had not taken his human form in almost two months. Hell, it could have been six months. He’d lost track of time and quite possibly his grip on reality.
His eyes burned with a fire that lit them with an intensity that seemed frenetic. The scent of the woman lay heavy in his mind, and he felt an unmistakable twinge as his body hardened with a need long denied.
Thin tendrils of fog crept forward from the mouth of the cave he’d called home for the past two months, and lapped at the water that rose up to his thighs. A few drops of moisture fell into his eyes and he impatiently wiped them away as he slowly moved toward the edge of the falls.
His hair had grown since he’d been in the jungle and was now touching the tops of his shoulders. The blue black waves were a far cry from the crisp military cut he normally sported.
He snorted; that seemed like a lifetime ago.
His ears perked and he listened intently, waiting for a splash. He knew the terrain here well, and if the female survived the fall, it would be a miracle. There was not a lot of room from the center of the falls out to the sides and there were large boulders below that would break her body into pieces if she landed on them. The pool at the bottom was deep where the water circled before heading toward yet another waterfall that went straight down the mountain, well over one thousand feet.
If she were to have a chance of living, he’d have to act now.
He moved forward, frustrated because his body seemed sluggish as it took time to adjust to his human form. Jagger was well over six feet in height, and his center of gravity was extremely different from that of his jaguar.
He stood atop the falls, on the precipice of indecision. His mind was at war with his body and he shuddered as images began to assault him, ones he cared not to revisit ever again. Small slivers of his past rippled through his brain and he cursed at his weakness.
He could literally taste hot desert in his mouth, the sand so thick he felt like choking. He once more saw explosions, blood, his brothers; all of it converged and formed a collage of confusion.
And Eden, the one he’d tried to forget the most. Her face, deathly pale as her life fled quickly. Even then, she’d looked at him like he was some kind of hero.
He almost took a step back.
But the woman’s scent triggered something buried inside of him, a protective instinct that was only enhanced by the fact that the two jaguars who had attacked her belonged to the DaCosta clan. Just thinking of them brought a savage snarl to his handsome face. His mouth broke into a smile that not wholly conveyed pleasure, but nonetheless fit his mood.
Without further thought Jagger ran forward and leapt over the edge of the slippery cliff, his body streaking down three hundred feet, until water closed over his head.
The water was chilled but refreshing, and he welcomed the purity of it as it slithered over his long body. He was heavy and went deep, but with a few quick, strong kicks his body rose to the surface seconds later, and he broke through.
The night had become quiet. He noticed the lack of sound immediately and his eyes automatically scanned the perimeter of the large basin, running over the rock face and embankment in quick succession as his arms began to slice through the wetness that surrounded him. There was no moon this evening, but his eyes penetrated the gloom, his enhanced vision moving along quickly as he searched for any sign of the woman.
He was almost to the side when a sliver of something caught at his peripheral vision and he swung closer to where the water gathered and moved quickly toward the second drop.
There! Near the edge!
Long blond hair snaked out, riding the top of the water and drifting toward certain death. Without pause, Jagger accelerated and grabbed the woman’s arm just as the tug of the stream would have lifted her over the edge.
She was unconscious, and his nose inhaled the scent of blood. He gathered her close and began to swim against the current, his eyes seeking out the path he’d used many times before. He could feel her heartbeat against his chest; it was faint but steady, and as he glided through the silent night, his eyes raked over the features he’d not seen clearly before.
Her eyes were closed but he didn’t need to see them open to know she was one hell of a looker. A straight patrician nose was accentuated by high cheekbones, wide-set eyebrows and lush, killer lips.
Her breasts were crushed against him and he could feel their softness and the fact that they were a little more than a handful.
Just the way he liked them.
Even as the thought crossed his brain he could feel her nipples harden against his naked flesh, and his own body, already tense with need, answered in kind.
The animal inside, still so close to the edge, roared in frustration and his skin began to burn as his jaguar railed against being confined. He’d been too long in animal form and the savagery shocked him. He pushed the beast back, cursing the way his body was behaving. Not liking any of the sensations that pulled at him now.
