Page 39 of Mated to Team Shadow
"The clothes needed a wash anyway," I said smiling.
"Is that how you do your laundry? In salt water?"
"We're trained to make things work regardless of the situations," I murmured into her ear. She shivered. The water swirled around us, and the sun beat down warmly with a gentle breeze curling through the cove. I had my woman in my arms, and right now I didn't care if I was on a mission. This was right.
Our eyes met, and the electric connection I felt with her magnified a hundred times. I lowered my head and claimed her mouth while pressing our bodies together. I was not a religious man but kissing her was the closest I'd ever been to heaven.
"You're so sexy," I breathed into her ears, and she shivered.
"I have to admit, you are too." But she put her hands to my chest and pushed away. "But, Ryker, as terrific as you are, I can't play. I came to St. Lucia for a reason, and that was to find my friend, Surma. Morgan has her, and I have to do something."
"Doll," I said. "I told you, we saw no one named Surma. And he had lots of people on his ship."
She bit her lip.
"That can't be the answer. I went through all that trouble to get that information. Wait. All the state stuff I stole, which I planned to use to get her back—that's all ruined from the storm, isn't it?"
"Maybe not," I said. "I put them in my backpack, and those are waterproof."
"You must help me get her back, Ryker."
My mate is single-minded. What can I do?This had gone way beyond a blown op. We should hitch a ride out of the Caribbean and go for ground. If we could take a second shot at the mission and achieve our objective no one could complain. But could we traipse through the Caribbean and wreak a trail of destruction without making a shit stain of the op? My reasoning mind said no. One of our mottos was "don't run into your own death." To pursue Morgan now would be that.
"Sorry, doll. That's not the mission."
Her eyes narrowed, and she slapped me hard. She was stronger than she looked. Stars blinded me, and her hand stung like hell.
"Bastard!" she said. Jeanine turned and thrashed through the water toward the shore. Before I knew it, she was out and tearing toward the green jungle line.
"Wait!" I called. "You don't know—"
She turned and flipped me off and then sprinted into the tropical forest.
Fuck.
My cat was angry and itched to come out, but I had to keep kitty shielded from potentially prying eyes.
Hold on. Hold on. We'll catch her.
My feet hit the hot sand.Where did I lose my shoes? Probably the same place I put my head. Jeanine was a danger to all sense and logic, and I kicked myself for not seeing that sooner. I was the team leader. It was my job to keep a cool head and the focus on the mission objective. But what did I do? Toss it all for a cuddle and a kiss? What the hell was wrong with me?
Mate,said the cat.
Fuck you.
Right back at you,the beast said in the most lucid speech I'd ever heard in my head.I've done everything you wanted of me, staying hidden and working when called on. You've pushed our body to the limit and nearly got us killed on multiple occasions. The very least you can do is stop acting like a stupid human male and go after the female who's ours. If you don't, I see no reason to come running when you call.
Wow. I mean, could that happen? Would the beast fail to manifest when I needed it?
You can't do that.
Try me,human.
That part of me sounded angry, and I couldn't believe I was at war with myself. I mean sometimes the cat pulled me back. Later, I'd found that the situation was unsafe. But this was different.
Because I was occupied with my thoughts, I did not notice when my feet hit the forest floor. A musty aroma, filled with wet earth, rain and jungle flowers greeted my nose. Above me, animals chittered in the understory and the canopy layers, and it was at once both cooler and more humid than the beach. I panicked a second when the flood of new sensations overwhelmed me, and I could not pick up her scent.
I stood surrounded by the underbrush and listened, but all I heard were insects, birds, and monkeys, but no Jeanine. What the hell would I do now?
