Page 7 of Finding His Way (The Protetors #5)

H oly fuck she hurt.

And once again, I’m fucking cold. She cracked her eyes open and tried to get her bearings. Dianna could smell burning. I need a goddamn vacation. Moving slowly, but with icy determination, she pushed up on her hands and knees, blood dripping down her head, she prodded the wound and decided it best she ignore it.

Spots flickered before her eyes and she took several deep breaths before scouting around her once more. Still dressed, check. Still breathing, double check. And fuck yes! A mental fist pump, she retained hold on the Skorpion. As she rested on her knees she felt the small of her back and swore. The pistol was missing.

She was alone but she could hear a fight going on not to far from where she’d landed. Last thing she remembered was a low snarl from Jeremy as he curled around her, like he could protect her from the incoming impact.

Dianna squinted through the increasing darkness and swirling snow. Whatever place this is, I’m not coming back. Not a destination that was giving warm fuzzy vibes. Hell, not giving warm vibes in any way.

“Fucking get off your knees, Levitt and get moving. There are three other men here and as they’re the ones who can shift it’s in your best interest to find and stick with them.”

Yeah, the pep talk sucked big hairy balls but she stumbled to her feet, gasping at the pain in her ribs.

Pain is good. Reminds me I’m not dead yet. If I don’t hurt, I’m most likely dead.

Thank god she was left handed because her right wrist felt broken. So did some ribs and possibly a shoulder. The world shifted and she widened her stance as she sought to get her bearings. Perhaps the head wound was worse than she’d initially tried to convince herself.

Painful step by painful step, she made her way toward the fighting. Doing her best to continue using the trees for both support and cover, she paused, panting at the edge of the battle.

Holy fuck. National Geographic had nothing on this. She grew up watching the animals fight, blood here and there. That was child’s play.

This…this was something unlike anything she’d seen before. And she’d come across some shady and nasty shit during her tenure with a badge. Now, she stood looking at a massacre in the fading light.

Dead bodies of animals lay strew around. Blood and fleshy chunks dotted the frozen ground. Mostly wolves and cats lay there but in the waning light, she spied two birds and what looked like a bear.

Nausea roiled and she shook her head. A roar so powerful it shook her bones and she winced in renewed pain. A squinting, both against the inclement weather and the pain throbbing in her skull, she found a leopard standing over another feline, staring in her direction. Blood dripped from it’s fangs. It’s coloring normal for leopards, and she knew in her gut it wasn’t Jeremy.

She shivered but didn’t move other than flexing her fingers on the Skorpion. It lunged in her direction and the same roar came. While instinctively knowing it was dangerous to take her gaze off the feline bounding through the snow toward her, she didn’t fight what her body was telling her to do. And that was look for the cat making the noise.

There!

Fighting off, another beast was a large cat with the familiar pale cream-colored fur. The rosettes on it’s flanks were widely spaced.

Wait, is he fighting a bear?

The low growl of the racing cat yanked her focus from Jeremy. Gritting her teeth against the pain she whirled and lifted the muzzle, simultaneously squeezing the trigger. The cat hit her and she went down beneath his weight, never once releasing her grip.

The roar was closer and she tugged on the trigger but she’d emptied the magazine in the body pinning her into the frozen ground. Her flickering vision was filled with a blood-stained muzzle as yellow eyes locked onto her face, the oval pupils more round.

Because of the dark. They have vertically oval ones that are round in the dark.

Leave it to her brain to give her that tidbit.

The leopard opened his mouth and bit down on the dead cat that hurt her broken ribs but also provided some warmth so she was torn when he was ripped off. As she watched, a shimmer of fur and flesh left her staring at Jeremy.

His tortured expression lasered on her features. He snarled, fangs exploding from his gums as he twisted toward something he thought was a threat. Dianna released the empty weapon and reached out to touch him, needing to feel him.

It didn’t matter it was freezing out and he was naked. Jeremy still pumped out heat. At her slight touch, he focused back on her.

She tried for a smile, well aware it came out more like a grimace. “Think we could go somewhere warm? I’d do anything for a shower.”

A pair of snow leopards padded into view. Also, bloody but they held a bag and one carried boots. Placing them by them, both glanced at her and walked off.

By the time she opened her eyes again, he had dressed and crouched to lift her.

“I’m sorry, baby.” He lifted her with ease even though his voice was raw and tortured.

Accepting his heat with a grateful groan, she didn’t fight, didn’t struggle, didn’t even complain about the pain pulsing through her at each movement.

He grunted and she almost opened her eyes once more but didn’t have the energy. So she let him do for her she’d never trust another man to do. Protect and care for her.

Stiff she rolled over and winced. Opening her eyes, she slowly moved her gaze around the room, not sure where she was. She lay on a thick pile of furs on the floor in front of a fire. Warmth had sunk into her and she loved that she no longer shivered. Her smell didn’t bother her so she knew she’d been cleaned up a bit. Without moving, she knew she didn’t have a stitch of clothing on and it was a concern. If she had to move, she needed clothing.

“You’re not going anywhere for a while. Neither of us are, therefore you don’t need clothing.”

Sliding her gaze to the left she watched Jeremy as he slipped from the shadows into view. Her heart kicked up and she lazily roamed her hungry stare over him. Bare chested, his tanned skin hugged rippling muscles, highlighting the pectorals, defined abdominals. It wasn’t fair how hot he was.

His jeans, worn and riding low on lean hips distracted her from how sore she truly was. Chiseled features drawn tight in frustration he moved closer until his large frame was all she could see. Nothing but pure, raw power.

And sex.

She didn’t bother attempting to sit up just lay there, watching him. Her heart pounded in her chest as she took one more leisurely look over the impressive specimen standing before her. Nothing soft on him.

I approve.

“Something you want to say?”

She didn’t approve how her voice was far weaker than normal.

He crouched down beside her, bringing his cock all that much closer to her mouth.

If I only had the energy to take him as I’d like.

Jeremy brushed the back of his hand along her cheek. There she saw the softening in his expression.

“I’m sorry, mate. This is my fault.”

Ignoring the fluttering her heart did at his use of ‘mate’ Dianna shook her head. “You had nothing to do with me being kidnapped, Jeremy. You’re a lot of things. Hot. Sexy. Shifter. But, what you’re not, is responsible for this situation I’m in.”

A twitch of his lips. “What situation am I responsible for?”

“One I don’t have the energy for right now.” She bit her lower lip. “Such a shame, that.” Shifting, she scrunched up her nose to keep from crying out in pain.

She wasn’t able to hide it from him. All teasing vanished like smoke as he pulled her furs away and ran his gaze over her. Anger flashed but his touch, oh god, his touch, was gentle.

“I wish I had the power to heal you.”

Pain seared through her but she didn’t care. This wasn’t his fault.

“No,” she rasped. “You don’t get to take the blame for this.”

Stormy eyes locked on her and she read the refusal to accept her statement there.

“Lay with me.” Tugging on his arm, she didn’t attempt to hide the yawn.

“Have to keep you safe.” A sharp perfunctory shake of his head.

Without a word, she gave one more tug and allowed a whimper to slip through her lips. Shitty? Perhaps but she wanted to have his heat and strength around him.

He held her gaze and used two fingers to deftly undo the button on his jeans. Heat surged through her, pushing back every ache and pain that owned her. Her breathing hastened and got shallow.

Jeremy pushed his jeans over his hips and she didn’t even try to stop the whimper this time. He was commando and his cock jutted out from a thatch of dark blond hair, long, thick, and hard. Stepping closer, he fisted his length and stroked it twice. He sank to his knees, and she squeezed her eyes shut as he brushed his lips over her forehead while he climbed in the pile of furs behind her.

Naked.

She lay naked in a bed of furs with the man who knew how to work her body like it was his own personal instrument, to sore to take advantage. Still, it was heaven that she had his hard body curled around her. Skin to skin, his heat pushed into her as he held her tight.

Her heart did this small pattering bit when he nuzzled into her neck. His large hand sprawled along her torso and while she knew it foolish, she believed it felt like a warm pulsing heat pushed through her and made her feel better.

“I’m okay, Jeremy.”

His entire body tensed. She inched backward, embracing—possibly enjoying—the press of his hardness against her ass.

The faintest brush of his claws pulled along her skin and her body, broken and bruised though it was, responded.