Bloodhunter

Love lies behind the eyes of a predator.

The longer Dana Mallon studies the magnificent jaguar confined to a nature preserve, the greater her sense that forces beyond her comprehension are at work. Looking into the eyes of the big cat stirs something in her heart and heats the jaguar tattoo on her hip, stimulating visions of a fierce, naked man.

Instead of fleeing the vision’s blatant sexuality, she follows the primal urge of her body into his arms. With his touch, her very existence shifts, and a lifetime of loneliness fades beneath the power of their sexual union.

Nacon is determined to learn how this woman freed him from centuries in limbo. There’s only one way to learn the truth-take her back with him to the past. And force her to embrace the incomprehensible.

Buy it now from Samhain Publishing!

Excerpt

Gripping her camera with practiced hands, Dana Mallon zoomed in on the young gazelle. She’d been waiting for the graceful creature with the luminescent eyes and slender legs to move out of the shadows for so long that her thighs ached from crouching, but her determination to get as many shots as possible of the youngster would be worth it.

The creature suddenly raced toward a mound, leaping onto it with a smooth and controlled move that would put an Olympic gymnast to shame. Unfortunately, the animal was now too far away for more close-ups.

“All right, go be shy on me.” Shaking the cramps out of her legs briefly captured her attention, but once the pain subsided, she again studied her surroundings.

The hundred-acre preserve was a wildlife lover’s dream thanks to the various natural areas ranging from high desert to African plains to a simulated rainforest. At present she was in a hilly oak and pine forest indigenous to gazelles and many other browsers. She’d been hesitant about entering their turf, but Wildlands’ assistant director had assured her that they were used to humans. Except for Wildlands staff, said humans were confined to small, open buses that traveled along the many winding paths. Dana, however, had favored status.

Spotting a small head poking up from a hole in the ground, she started tiptoeing in that direction. As she did, she continued to absorb her surroundings in ways she couldn’t explain, but came to her through her skin and nerve endings.

Being out-of-doors always did this to her. With an endless sky overhead and dirt and rocks beneath her feet, she felt alive here as she never did inside. From early childhood, she’d been happiest in the elements. Houses were for sleeping in, sometimes. Otherwise, they didn’t have much purpose as far as she could see. In fact, if she could be sure no one was around, she’d yank off her cotton T-shirt and canvas shorts so she could feel the breeze on her skin.

The little rodent was playing peek-a-boo, prompting her to slow even more to keep from spooking it. Although “restless” should have been her middle name, she could be infinitely patient when it came to communing with nature. It was just having to abide by society’s rules that drove her insane.

“What do you say?” she asked the rodent. “How about coming all the way out? Let me take a few poses, and you can go back to whatever you were doing.”

The rodent must have bought her offer, because it popped out and regarded her as if she was only marginally interesting. Dropping to her knees, Dana zoomed in on the elongated face, whiskers, impressive teeth and observant eyes.

The ground held remnants of the heavy dew, adding a richness to the air’s earthy scent. As she pulled more of the smell into her, tears blurred her vision. Blinking repeatedly, she didn’t try to pretend she didn’t know what had caused them.

Alone. Always alone.

But reality was, she needed it that way. A parade of boyfriends in her teens and early twenties had taught her that she wasn’t ready to connect with a member of the opposite sex beyond the physical, to give up her private space. Maybe, like her father, she’d never reach that state.

When the critter scampered off, she went back to taking in her surroundings. She’d stopped and was again testing the wind’s scent when cool fingers ran down her spine. Instantly alert, she froze. She’d been assured that there were no meat-eaters in this compound, but something-

A second cold crawling sensation, this one even more intense, caused her to grip her camera with both hands just in case she needed to use it as a weapon. A new smell had been added to the mix of grass and dirt that was elemental and raw. Dangerous somehow.

More intrigued than afraid, she stood on her toes with her legs spread for balance. One of the things that had fascinated her about the gazelles was their innate caution, even distrust of their surroundings. They were prey, fuel for predators, so staying alert was essential. While watching them earlier, she’d pondered which she was. She still didn’t have the answer, but had been content to explore the emotions of hunted and hunter to see where she might fit.

She was being watched. The pressure at the base of her spine and her deep, measured breaths told her that. Most likely, the unseen eyes belonged to a gazelle or another benign resident of this compound, but maybe, maybe something else-

A burning sensation on her right hip nearly made her cry out. Shifting the camera to her left hand, she pressed her fingers against flesh and bone. In her mind’s eye she saw the tattoo she’d had placed there while in her mid teens, but why should it suddenly feel raw?

New heat, this time nipping sharply at her spine, distracted her. Still on her toes, she started turning. She’d completed about half of the circuit when she noted a high cyclone fence beyond a thicket. The longer she looked at the fence, the more convinced she became that whatever was on the other side was responsible for her body’s warning.

Slow, cautious and determined, she started toward the fence. With each step, her conviction about the source of the unseen stare increased, but that wasn’t all. The heat in her back and on her hip was spreading out, or more accurately, down. It rolled over her hips and buttocks and was sliding between her thighs, igniting not just her legs, but her pussy as well.

What was this? Danger was sexy?

Maybe, but danger had never affected her like this.

Her lips became numb, and she had to work at getting enough air into her lungs. Last year an apartment she’d given up on trying to live in had been broken into as she was moving out. When she’d seen that splintered front door, she sure as hell hadn’t walked in like a heroine in a thriller movie. Instead, heeding the warning that had come through loud and clear, she’d locked herself in her car until the cops arrived. In other words, unless basic intelligence had deserted her, she was still walking toward the fence because on some level she knew she wasn’t going to get her throat ripped open.

Good thing since there wasn’t anything sexy about bleeding to death.

Closer. One silent step at a time. Camera ready for either taking shots or to use as a weapon. Heart beating like a hard rock drum. Veins and arteries filled with heat. Wet heat soaking her panties and distracting the hell out of her and her tattoo all but on fire. Alive. Oh yes, alive!

She became Jane looking for Tarzan with the wilderness skimming over, around and through her, everything immediate and pure. Anyone with a survival instinct to her soul would be turning tail and running, but not her because she needed to be doing this one thing as maybe she’d never needed anything else.

There. She was now an arm’s length from the strong, tall fence, leaning forward at the waist and squinting against the sun.

Eyes! Looking back at her. Warning. Challenging and seducing.

Instead of fleeing, she stared open-mouthed at the feline predator staring back at her. The large head with its massive jaws was supported by powerful shoulders and thick legs, the color predominantly brownish-yellow with dark rosette markings all over. The beast’s paws were broad and large and deceptively soft looking, the claws made for climbing and killing. Although it faced her, the big cat’s rear end was at an angle, giving her a clear view of the long, thick tail. What was it the assistant director had told her, that cats’ large tails acted to balance their weight.

But what truly seized her attention were its eyes-probing and intense, an iridescent yellow with shiny black pupils. The ears weren’t particularly large, but the teeth, oh god, the teeth! Through the parted mouth, she clearly saw fangs designed for ripping and tearing, for bringing death.

The high, strong fence is between us. He can’t reach me.

Why she’d determined that this was a male she couldn’t say-except maybe that explained why she felt as if she was in heat. What was this, a human female being seduced by a male four-legged hunter? Kinky.

The cat hadn’t moved, and by her reckoning he was no more than twenty feet away, shadows from the nearby low trees making him appear truly part of his surroundings. She lifted her camera and ran off shot after shot, relieved because the shutter was soundless.

A jaguar.

A fresh fire-wave ran through her, and she struggled to keep from sinking to the ground. A jaguar.

Not a jaguar, but a man, naked and dark, tall, strong, eyes like midnight lightning, standing proud and challenging.

Buy it now from Samhain Publishing!

Review

From Fallen Angel Reviews – A Recommended Read – “The spontaneous chemistry between Dana and Nacon was unbelievably scorching.”