His Darkest Embrace (Jaguar Warriors 2)

“You want some water?” he asked roughly, his dislike clearly evident.

She looked up at him. Her large dark eyes narrowed, and Jagger knew there was a lot going on behind them, but then she looked away without answering.

He smiled wickedly and took a long swig of the cool liquid, wiped the sweat from his brow and leaned in close. “Not very smart"—his voice lowered even more and the contempt he felt lined his words thickly—"for a jaguar warrior.” He stepped away. “I won’t offer again.”

She ignored him and he walked over to Nico.

“You get anything from her?”

“No. She wasn’t into polite conversation.” Nico spit into the ground and looked back toward their prisoner. “Too bad, really.”

“What’s that?” Jagger asked.

“A female warrior is rare, worth something, but she’s obviously damaged goods. There’s no reason to keep her around.”

The meaning behind Nico’s words wasn’t hard to miss and Jagger sighed in frustration because he knew the warrior was right. The woman was not needed. She was the enemy.

It really left only one choice.

“Let me talk to her, see if I can get some intel. Maybe it just requires a woman’s touch. It might give me the edge that we need.” Skye walked between the two of them and looked at Nico. “You don’t exactly inspire the warm fuzzies.” She shrugged her shoulders. “No offense.”

Nico grunted and shook his head. “None taken. Have at her, Kamikaze,” he said. “But it wasn’t me who jumped like Superman and clocked her in the head.”

Skye blushed, the color warm against her cheek. Jagger fought the urge to lay his hand there, to feel the heat of her flesh against his.

“Well, she shot at me first.” Skye looked over at the woman. “Give me a can of beans, some water and let me see what I can find out.”

When she turned back, her blue eyes were hard, unyielding. Jagger could tell she wouldn’t take no for an answer. “If she doesn’t cooperate, I’ll take her out myself.”

Jagger retrieved his bag and handed Skye food and water.

“Don’t expect much. If Nico couldn’t convince—” He was shut down by the disgusted look she threw him. “Don’t you dare go there, Castille. I think I’ve more than proven myself.”

Jagger kept a straight face but relaxed into a grin when she turned away from him. He stretched out long muscles, closed his eyes, and opened his senses to the elements.

What he found was troubling.

He could sense discord in the energy that ran along the earth. The natural rhythm of the jungle had been sliced, damaged; harmony was broken. The unnatural quiet was so harsh on his ears that he fought the urge to cover them.

The animals had all but fled, because they could sense it, too: the evil that was slowly seeping into the local landscape.

It left an awful taste in his mouth and Jagger shook his head, fighting the savage urge to bark his anger.

Fucking magicks and their dark arts. Did they honestly think the human realm would benefit from the legions of demons that would escape?

His eyes flew open and he turned toward Skye and the prisoner, watching in silence as she settled down in front of the female warrior.

“I need to hunt,” Nico said quietly, his eyes, too, on the women. “And scout. Could use some help.”

Jagger rotated his shoulders, but it did nothing to alleviate the stress and tense muscles that lined his powerful frame. He needed to shift, to run free as a jaguar.

He knew it was the only way to alleviate, if only briefly, the burning need and want that fired every cell in his body.

“She’ll be fine.”

He looked at the older warrior and nodded. “I’ve no doubt of that whatsoever.”

He could see Nico’s jaguar shifting below the man’s skin, and it only fed his animal’s desire to be set free.