A Seacat's Love (Oceanan Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  His lips brushed hers once. The warmth within him increased. He touched them again. The heat spread throughout his limbs. His mouth pressed to hers. A snowcap fell away.

  Her lips were soft and plush. Recalling they were split in several places, Rick gently moved his mouth across hers. Leonora’s purring grew louder. Rick moaned since he could not purr. His first question was answered. He opened his mouth to answer the second.

  “What in the blazes are you doing?”

  Bloody hell! Rick placed his tongue back into his mouth and pressed his lips tightly together. I’m beginning to hate that cat. Unexpectedly, Leonora’s small body was snatched from his grasp. Rick felt his heart drop into his stomach. He leapt off the floor and into a crouched position.

  “What in the blazes are you doing?” Tigif yelled in Leonora’s face.

  She looked like a rag doll being shaken by a rabid tiger. The image of his helpless wife being dragged about and used as a shield popped into Rick’s mind. He charged at the cat.

  “Get your bloody hands off her!” Rick had Tigif across the room before his words ended. “Who the bloody hell do you think you are?”

  Tigif inched his face close and bared his teeth. “Her mate,” he answered for Rick’s ears alone.

  Rick took a step back. Tigif’s words sent a freezing wind across the melting ice caps. He immediately sought Leonora for the truth. “Didn’t you say—”

  “I warned you of what I would do if you touched her.” Tigif’s eyes switched on like a light bulb. With a loud roar, he pounced on Rick.

  The sight of a salivating tiger with glowing eyes reaching for his neck made Rick forget his question. Luckily, he was fast enough to throw those extending claws off their mark, which was his jugular. The blow, though not lethal, did cut two inches of his neck.

  The pain was a reality check. He could not get involved with a unique woman like Leonora. Her life was already in danger. He could not risk it further by bringing her into his world. His own list of enemies was endless.

  Old wounds of not being with his wife, or being able to hold his daughter and watch her grow up, reopened. To think Leonora possibly lied to him after he risked his life for her added to his grief. Combined with the fact that he could never have the life he had always dreamt about, helped him respond with astounding vigor, especially when Oceanans were naturally faster and stronger than most species.

  Rick’s open jacket revealed his gun. Tigif gripped the handle, pulled the gun from its holster, and pointed the barrel at Rick’s head. Rick quickly snatched a hold of Tigif’s wrist and twisted hard. The blood flowed faster from his neck as he leveled the gun above their straining bodies. He extracted his gun from the tiger’s grasp and sent it sliding across the wooden floor.

  Leonora dashed after it. She aimed at the ceiling and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Why was it not working? She had learned how to shoot a human weapon. She looked closer at the gun. The safety clip was in place. She removed it and tried again. Both men stopped in the middle of their next move.

  “What has gotten into the two of you?” There was a noticeable hint of hysteria in her voice. “Have you both gone mad and forgotten our situation here?” She turned her attention to Tigif. “You should be concerned with contacting the Seacats, not trying to kill off the only being who can save us!”

  “Is that all that I am to you?”

  Leonora looked at Rick. “What?” She was unable to make sense of black eyes that had grown darker and wilder.

  “Nothing,” Rick snapped, with a disgusted roll of his eyes. “We wasted enough time with this foolishness. Let’s get everything back in order.” He snatched his discarded face from the floor. “Both of you wipe everything down and prepare to leave. The sooner we get to my safe house on the beach, the sooner the two of you can get the bloody hell off my planet!” He slammed the door to his room on the last word.

  Now why would he say that? Leonora wondered. Rick’s anger toward Tigif was understandable, since Tigif deserved no less. But why was he bitter toward her? On legs that trembled, Leonora headed for his bedroom to find out.

  Tigif, on the other hand, did not intend to let her. He grabbed her arm and held her back. “And where do you think you are going?”

  She yanked her arm loose from his grasp. Her tolerance with him was rapidly reaching its end. “I am going to see if he is all right. You could have killed him if he were not an excellent warrior.”

  Rick’s ability to handle himself against an Oceanan impressed her. Then again, she was beginning to expect no less than the best from the Predator.

  “I wish I had,” Tigif grumbled.

  “You just hate losing to someone you consider your inferior,” she snarled. “Face it, Tigif, you are a scientist, not a fighter. Besides, what has he done to you?”

  “He is my rival!”

  Her head jerked backward. “Your rival? Are you insane?”

  His big hands framed her face. In mute horror, she watched his striped head swoop down to capture her lips in a vengeful, slobbery kiss. She told him to back off. Instead, he silenced her with an urgent tongue that made her gag. The cat erased Rick’s scent and touch and replaced it with the feel, smell, and taste of him. Her senses were repulsed—her heart broken.

  To insure she did not escape him, Tigif pinned her between the back of the sofa and his hard body and leaned her over the edge. In her desperation to free herself, Leonora nearly caused them to fall onto the sofa, twice. The thought of lying in such an intimate position with the aroused cat made her stop protesting.

  Leonora always wanted her first kiss to be memorable, not overshadowed by this violation. Tears gathered at how Tigif selfishly destroyed her kittenhood dreams. Unknowingly, he extinguished yet another key ingredient to her personality. How much more could she endure without losing track of who she was?

  Rick examined his injury in the bathroom mirror. I ought to kill that cat. He removed his holster and noticed it was empty. Bloody hell. His face twisted. The last thing he wanted was to reenter the living room and see her.

  Snatching the hand towel from its ring, he pressed it against the two gashes on his neck. I knew they were lovers. Why did I set myself up for that? What was I thinking? I’m going to kill Lance for putting me in this situation. He went in search of his gun.

  The sight of Tigif grinding his mouth against a willing Leonora froze Rick in the doorway. His eagle sights landed on Tigif’s hands and how they traveled over her curves possessively.

  He had risked his life for her, had consciously placed his career on the line for her, and the woman with the entrancing eyes was passionately kissing another man, minutes after she had kissed him. The blade that sliced through him was jagged and sharp. Only one other pain could compare. He had risked his life and lost a woman then, too.

  Rick reentered his bedroom and slammed the door hard. The entire house shuddered. With his back to the door, his mind searched for a reason why seeing Leonora in Tigif’s embrace caused him such anguish. He could not make the feeling go away. It was foolish.

  Closing his eyelids tight, he made two fists and simultaneously banged them and his head on the door. Idiot! Stop it! No more! He cursed the day he laid eyes on the pale-eyed witch.

  The loud slam made Tigif hesitate long enough to give Leonora the opportunity she was waiting for. She pushed at his chest with all her might and rammed her right knee dead center into his groin. With a loud howl, Tigif fell to his knees and then to his side.

  Leonora ran back to her room in a fit of tears and slammed the door just as hard. She fell to her knees beside the bed. The dam was open. Like a kitten, she cried for the loss of her friends, the possibility of never seeing Challen, Karla, or Oceana again, and for all the broken kittenhood dreams of her first kiss.

  Rick exited his room. He noticed Tigif was back in his human form. The cat was scowling ferociously while he stared out the window onto the backyard, rubbing his groin. The corner of Rick’s lip curled. He pulled his
attention from the annoying sight and spotted his gun on the small end table, beside the telephone.

  He placed the backpack he carried on the sofa and glanced at the feline. What’s wrong with him? A scowl would be the last thing on my face. The gun slipped snuggly into its holster. Damn her for trying to make me care again. Damn her for making me jealous! I’ve never been jealous a day in my life. Even Mary never made me jealous. Why the bloody hell am I now? And over who, what, some alien feline?

  He regarded the cat more closely. What do you have that I don’t, besides your excessive drooling problem? Rick sneered. Nothing about the striped tiger impressed him. Well, you can have her, he heatedly concluded. I don’t want, or need, a woman I can’t trust. Having a woman you can’t trust is the same as inviting danger into your home. And Lord knows I have enough of that. I don’t need more. Besides, I don’t want a woman in my life. One night would suffice.

  The phone rang, breaking his train of thought. The cordless black receiver had Rick’s undivided attention. He knows, said a little voice in his head, with the right amount of doom.

  “Well, are you not going to answer it?” asked Tigif.

  Rick ignored him. The wheels in his head spun for a course of action. He heard a door open. He spared a fleeting glance toward the guestroom hallway. Leonora stood at the entryway.

  “He knows,” he said to her after the third ring. He was sure of it.

  Tigif moved to stand beside him. “Who knows?”

  “Blaisdale.”

  “Hello, you have reached 547-5515. I am unavailable at the moment. But if you leave your name, number, and the time you called, I will gladly get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.” Beep.

  “Predator, this is Control. I went by your hotel room, but you had already checked out. I need to speak to you. The moment you get this message, contact me immediately. You know how.” There was a pause. “This is serious,” added Blaisdale in a grave tone. Click.

  The dial tone spurred Rick into motion. “We have to get out of here. He’s on his way.” He rushed into each room of the house and made sure nothing looked out of place. “Did you wipe everything down like I told you?” He picked up his bag.

  “Yes.” Leonora stepped in his path. “What makes you think he is on his way here? He never said anything of the sort.”

  Her red, swollen face caused him concern. “Are you all right? Are you in pain? Do you need me to get you something?” He called himself seven kinds of fool for even asking, after what she forced him to feel.

  She speared Tigif with pale steel. “No. Thank you.”

  Rick’s curiosity was piqued. A lover’s quarrel so soon. He scratched his head. Ridiculous. He went into the den and opened the door that led to the attached garage. “If the two of you are ready, let’s go.” He exited before either of them said a word.

  Parked at the corner of McCall’s block sat a well-groomed man in a red, classic convertible. He turned off his cellular phone and made himself comfortable in the leather seat. Through fashionable dark shades, he focused on Rick’s driveway.

  Okay, McCall, what sort of mess have you gotten yourself into this time? I know you were involved with what happened at the lab. No one else would be crazy enough to pull a stunt like that. I only hope I’m not too late to keep you from flushing your career down the toilet.

  A glimpse at his Rolex revealed it was 7:10 p.m. I say in about two seconds that garage door will open and… Dark shades returned to the white door as it automatically lifted. A shiny, black spider rolled out with three occupants cramped inside. Bingo. Look at what we have here. McCall, you never told me you were having guests over. I’m hurt.

  Lance pulled out of his spot at a leisure pace. He conveniently situated his convertible eight cars behind Rick’s sports car. From this distance, he could not tell if the two passengers were the aliens. He figured who else could they be. Who else showed any concern for the aliens’ safety and was in the position to act upon it?

  McCall was not the sort to follow rules and regulations. He went more around the lines of morals and values. Scruples he called it. He made his own rules and regulations as he went along.

  Lance nodded. Yep. You are the only person who could’ve accomplished it all with no one suspecting you. That is, except me. I know you too well.

  Rick peeked at his Movado sports watch. It was now fifteen past the hour. His sights riveted to the rearview mirror. His eagle eyes spotted the red convertible. They narrowed. “He’s following us.”

  “What! Who?” his passengers chimed in response. Both turned to look out the tinted back window.

  “Don’t look back! We’ll take him for a little spin and then dump him.”

  “Who is he?” asked Tigif.

  “Lance Blaisdale.”

  “Lance Blaisdale? You mean the male I saw you with last night?” asked Leonora from the back seat.

  “That’s right. How did you make the connection?”

  “He has been interrogating us since we have been captured,” she replied.

  Rick looked forward to the highway in front of him.

  “Who is he to you?” she asked.

  “He’s my commanding officer.”

  Leonora remained quiet.

  Tigif pointed to the back window. “What makes you think it is him back there?”

  Rick’s attention switched to Blaisdale’s car as he answered, “Let’s just say I have a hunch.”

  “A hunch?”

  The sarcasm in Tigif’s voice was not lost on either Rick or Leonora. Rick slowly faced the cat. “Yeah, a hunch. You have a problem with that?”

  “Yes. Actually, I do.” Tigif wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I do not like the idea of my life and that of Nora’s having to depend on some human’s hunch.”

  “Yeah, well, the next time I’m stranded on your planet, we’ll play by your rules. Right now, we’ll be playing by mine, okay?”

  “That is enough!” shouted Leonora from her folded position in the back seat. She was not a tall feline at five foot three. It was the reason the overgrown tiger sat beside Rick instead of her. “I am sick and tired of hearing the two of you argue all the time. Both of you seem to have forgotten we are in this together. If we are to survive, we need to stick together, not fight among ourselves and against them as well.” She extended a claw and deliberately poked Tigif on his left shoulder. “And you have forgotten your place.”

  Tigif scowled at her daring. “No, I have not…Leonora.”

  Rick glanced at them and smiled. Good. I hope you’re as miserable as I am.

  He played follow the leader with Lance for fifteen minutes, until he grew bored. He then easily ditched his boss and headed on west to California without a tail.

  “You have a beautiful planet,” said Leonora. “If only your species knew how lucky they truly are. It would surprise you to know how many planets there are where the inhabitants would do anything to have their home half as beautiful or livable as this one.” She met his gaze through the rearview mirror.

  Rick remained silent. He was still fuming from the latest verbal confrontation with Tigif. The cat slept beside him. Rick eyed his shirt. Why does he drool so much? Is he sick? The first chance I get I have to check those logs.

  His stomach swooshed to one side. He returned his attention to the road before he got sick. He sure has a lot of nerve. Doesn’t he realize I’m going out on a limb here? Bloody hell, why am I even bothering? It’s not as if I’m getting anything out of this, other than grief and heartache. Maybe I should do what Blaisdale advised and forget what I saw.

  Rick watched Leonora stare out at the mountainous scene through a well-positioned rearview mirror. I was right. Now that she’s cleaned up, she is pretty.

  He enjoyed how the sun shone off her returning curls. The emotions that danced across her features as she enjoyed the scenery placed a foolish grin on his face. Like a blind man at his first moment of sight, Rick was awed by the brightness of her eyes in the da
ylight.

  His finger traced the scar on his cheek. He must remember his promise. She belonged to Tigif. And she was not human. Rick stared at her full pout. He finally admitted what his gut had known all along. He found Leonora to be utterly attractive.

  It was difficult not to think about how she sat in the back seat with only his shirt on. He could not forget the glimpse he had gotten of her breasts, how shapely her legs were, and of their kiss. His unmerciful imagination created intimate scenes with those sensual legs wrapped around his hips.

  His eyes closed briefly. How would that feel? He continued to daydream while he drove. Within minutes, he shifted in his seat. I better get her some clothes and fast, or I’ll be in a lot of trouble. Not to mention more embarrassed than I’ve ever been.

  Further down the highway, he noticed a service sign. It was time to make a pit stop. Rick jumped out of his car before it came to a complete stop and sprinted to the building. He spotted a gift shop to the left of the entrance and prayed they sold more than just souvenirs. It took him longer to order food than it did to buy each alien several articles of clothing.

  Outside, Leonora and Tigif waited anxiously for his return.

  “Here you go.” He handed each alien a bag.

  “What is this?” Leonora opened the plastic bag and peeked inside.

  “Clothes,” answered Rick. “I also bought food.” She met his gaze. He lifted the third bag he carried for her to see. “Get dressed so you can eat.”

  Leonora nodded. She crawled into the backseat of the black sports car. Rick and Tigif moved a few feet away to give her the privacy she needed to change. A short time later, she called out that she was done. The men retook their seats.

  Rick reached over and gave Leonora a chicken sandwich. “This is yours,” he said with a genuine smile. He took out another sandwich then gave Tigif the bag.

  Leonora’s heart melted. It was the first decent meal she had since her capture. The only food her tormentors had given her were scraps of rotten flesh. Rick turned on the ignition and rolled out of the parking spot. She watched him eat his sandwich while he drove. She no longer cared if he ignored her. He had bought her the food she held. He had bought her the pants she wore. He had sacrificed so much and asked for nothing in return.