Sebastian/Aristide Read online

  “Shit.”

  ***

  Reny Smith ignored the glances of the local agents who strolled past the small conference room that she’d claimed as her office.

  She’d known she would be the subject of curiosity and even resentment when she’d asked for an opportunity to work on this case.

  She had all the ingredients to piss off the local boys club.

  She was an outsider. She was a woman. And she was barely out of Quantico.

  Still, she’d been oddly convinced that she could help to sort through the mangled stories and hysterical accusations before the situation escalated into public panic. Even after her boss had granted her the top secret clearance and grudgingly confessed that the ancient stories were true. That there were real life puma shifters who lived in the bayous, and that she would have to work with one of them.

  Well, she would work with him if he ever bothered to make an appearance.

  Clicking her tongue with impatience, Reny rose to her feet, smoothing her hands down the black jacket that matched her slacks, and paced toward the window overlooking the majestic Lake Pontchartrain.

  It was a mesmerizing sight with the sunset painting the water in vivid shades of pink and lilac. Of course, everything about New Orleans was mesmerizing.

  No doubt it was because it was a city of such intense contradictions.

  The decadent mixture of old world charm and modern high-rises. The sound of sweet jazz that filled the air, lacing its way among the dark, grinding poverty that lurked just out of sight. The aroma of chicory coffee overlaid with the earthy scent of the bayous.

  It all combined to create a feast for the senses.

  Reny told herself that was the cause for the restlessness that had plagued her since her plane had landed two days ago.

  It didn’t entirely make sense. But it was the best explanation she had for the weird feeling that something inside her was struggling to get out.

  Besides, over the past years she’d become adept at telling herself small lies.

  Her superior speed was just a matter of training. She was stronger than she should be because of genetics. Her unnerving ability to tell when people were lying to her was a god-given talent.

  And that feeling that she was somehow more aware of the world around her? Well, she’d built a shield in her mind that allowed her to lock out her acute awareness so she could pretend to be just like everyone else.

  What else could she do?

  Ever since she’d awakened in a New York hospital eight years ago with complete amnesia, she’d felt like a freak. If she actually accepted she was different on a fundamental level, then…

  Then she wouldn’t just feel like a freak, she’d become one.

  She abruptly shivered, rubbing her arms as electric tingles raced over her skin.

  There was something approaching. No, not something…someone.

  Feeling a ridiculous sense of premonition, Reny slowly turned, her breath wrenched from her lungs.

  Holy…shit.

  The man filling the doorway was drop-dead, heart-stopping, get-him-naked-now gorgeous.

  Her gaze did a lingering inventory, starting with the thick, tawny hair that was pulled into a tail at his nape, moving over the bronzed male features and down the hard, perfectly sculpted body shown to advantage in black chino slacks and white shirt.

  Her dazzled gaze returned to his gorgeous face, her heart slamming against her ribs.

  Those eyes…she’d never seen anything like them. A green as pale as spring grass with yellow swirls that seemed to glow in the fading light.

  Pantera, a voice whispered through her mind.

  It didn’t take the memory of her boss explaining that the age-old stories were true to warn her that this male was one of the elusive puma shifters.

  Or even his inhuman beauty.

  She could physically feel the cat that crawled beneath the surface.

  “You’re Reny Smith?” he murmured, his voice whiskey smooth with a hint of a southern drawl.

  The sound of it wrapped around her like heated honey, warming places that shouldn’t be warmed in public.

  Damn.

  Something stirred deep inside her. Not just the strange restlessness that had been plaguing her, but an aching need that was suddenly ignited in the pit of her stomach.

  She determinedly squared her shoulders. What was wrong with her?

  This was her big opportunity.

  She wasn’t going to blow it because this man was making her squirm with unfamiliar sensations.

  “I am. I assume you’re Mr.—”

  “Sebastian,” he interrupted, prowling across the institutional gray carpet to stand directly in front of her.

  Heat licked over her skin.

  “You’re late.”

  The yellow in his eyes deepened to gold as his gaze skimmed down to where her white blouse was opened just enough to give a hint of her breasts.

  “Actually, I would say I’m just in time,” he murmured.

  Reny should have rolled her eyes. She’d learned to ignore the typical male response to her looks since entering the academy.

  Now, however, she was instantly on the defensive.

  “Look, I’m here to work. If you…” She stiffened as he leaned forward, his nose flaring as if he were dragging in her scent. “What?”

  “They told me you were human,” he growled softly.

  “Human?” She blinked in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I can smell your cat.”

  A cold chill inched down her spine as she met his unnerving gaze. “Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?”

  A tawny brow flicked upward. “Why would it be a joke?”

  “I don’t know what you think you smell, but I can assure you I don’t even own a cat.” The words had barely left her mouth when he’d closed the small space between them and pressed his nose to the curve of her neck. She sucked in a terrified breath. Not because she was frightened of the overtly beautiful man. But because his touch was sending jolts of savage arousal through her trembling body. “Please don’t,” she husked.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, sugar,” he drawled, allowing his lips to trail down her throat, lingering over the frantic beat of her pulse before he slowly straightened, his searching gaze sweeping over her face. “I assume you have a reason for your charade.”

  Attempting to squash her panic, Reny stepped around his large body and headed toward the door. She’d prepared herself for a rough, ill-mannered lout. Someone more animal than man. Not this gorgeous, sophisticated stranger who was making her skin feel as if it was too tight for her body.

  “I don’t think this is going to work.”

  “Stop.”

  The command in his voice had something inside her instantly halting her retreat, slowly turning to face him.

  The fact that she’d obeyed pissed her off. “Don’t give me orders, Mr.—”

  “Sebastian,” he smoothly reminded her, his beautiful face unreadable. “I thought you requested to be the FBI liaison?”

  She scowled. “I asked to be given the opportunity to use my training.”

  “And at the first hurdle you’re willing to walk away?”

  The prickles continued the race through her body, her heart beating way too fast. “You’re a massively large hurdle,” she retorted.

  His smile was filled with sin. “Oh, sugar, you have no idea.”

  “That’s it.”

  She turned back toward the door, but before she could take a step he was standing directly in front of her.

  Holy shit. Just how fast could he move?

  “Let’s start again,” he murmured, holding up his hands as if to convince her he was harmless. Yeah. The very air sizzled with danger. “Please, tell me what you’ve managed to discover.”

  Reny wavered. Common sense told her to walk away. She didn’t precisely understand why being in the same room with this man was making her so edgy, and she sus
pected that it was better not to know.

  But the part that had allowed her to survive waking in a sterile hospital with no name, no family, and no past refused to allow her to quit.

  He was right. If she allowed the first obstacle to send her scuttling back to New York then she might as well give up her career, because she’d never get another opportunity to prove herself.

  Stiffening her spine, Reny crossed toward the long table at the side of the room where she’d spread out her files.

  She’d never been a coward. She wasn’t going to start now.

  “I’ve interviewed the female who claims to have been attacked by the…” She fumbled over the word. “Pantera.”

  Moving in near silence, Sebastian was abruptly standing at her side, his heat wrapping around her with seductive force.

  “Claims?” he demanded.

  Reny clenched her teeth. Dammit. She would not shiver. Or whimper. Or melt into a puddle at his Italian leather shoes.

  “She was lying.”

  “How do you know?”

  Good question.

  She had no intention of sharing the truth.

  “I’m very skilled in reading body language,” she said.

  “I bet,” he drawled, almost as if he knew her little secret. “No wonder you’re an expert in interrogations.”

  “Yes.” She deliberately stepped away from his intoxicating heat.

  Not that it helped.

  Sebastian’s presence consumed every inch of the room.

  “If it wasn’t a Pantera that caused her wounds, then what did?” he asked. “And more importantly, why did she lie?”

  “She was paid.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Sebastian’s cat prowled anxiously beneath his skin.

  What the hell was going on?

  Was Reny Smith pretending to be a human to infiltrate the FBI? Was she one of the traitors?

  Or did she truly not realize she was Pantera?

  The vital questions should have consumed him, but instead he couldn’t think beyond the intense awareness that had punched into him the moment he’d walked through the door.

  God. Damn.

  He didn’t know what was setting him on fire.

  Was it the dark hair streaked with fiery highlights that begged to be freed from her tight ponytail? The pale oval face that was dominated by a pair of moss green eyes? The slender, athletic body she tried to hide beneath the black suit? The rich, exotic scent of her cat?

  All he knew was that he was barely leashing the urge to toss her onto the long table and strip away those starchy clothes and lick her from head to toe.

  His cat purred at the thought of spreading her legs and lapping up her spicy arousal that was already perfuming the air. Her human mind might be wary of the desire that was setting off sparks between them, but her cat was ready and eager.

  The only thing halting him was the knowledge that he couldn’t be sure this female wasn’t a trap.

  “Do you have proof?” he demanded, forcing himself to concentrate on his reason for traveling to New Orleans.

  Eventually he would figure out the puzzle that was Reny Smith.

  And when he did, he’d have his aching cock buried so deeply inside her she’d be screaming in pleasure.

  Perhaps sensing his brutal hunger, Reny inched away to grab a file from the neat stack on the table. Then, sucking in a steadying breath, she flipped it open to reveal a stack of photos.

  “No, but look.”

  Sebastian allowed her the small space. For now.

  “What am I seeing?” He reached to spread out the photos.

  “This is Koni Handler’s apartment.” Reny pointed to the shabby brick building that was squeezed between a laundromat and an abandoned bookstore. She moved her finger to a photo of a cramped living room. “She shared it with three other girls. Her portion of the rent was three-fifty a month.”

  “It’s not the best neighborhood,” he said. “It could have been a local thug who attacked her. That would explain why she tried to make up a wild story. She couldn’t risk the truth.”

  Reny shook her head, shuffling through the photos to reveal one of a pretty, dark-haired woman. She looked to be in her early twenties, although there was a hardness in her dark eyes and a petulant curve to her lips that hinted that she’d seen more than most females her age.

  “Now, this is her at the police station.”

  Sebastian was confused. Reny had shown him the apartment, but not the actual crime scene, and the pictures of the victim didn’t reveal the wounds from her supposed attack.

  “I think it will save us time if you just tell me what I should be looking for.”

  Reny tapped the photo. “This is a Coach bag. Retail it costs five hundred dollars,” she said. “Her jacket is Gucci.” Her finger moved to point at the woman’s diamond earrings. “And those earrings are at least a carat.”

  “They could be knockoffs.”

  “Are you kidding?” She sent him a disbelieving glance. “I’m from New York.”

  “And?”

  “I could spot a fake at a hundred paces.”

  He hid a smile. Sassy. He liked it.

  “I also recognize an original when I see it,” he murmured, allowing his gaze to sweep over her exquisite face before returning his attention to the photo. “Maybe she has a sugar daddy.”

  She cleared her throat, her face flushed with an excitement she was desperately trying to hide.

  “If she does, he has to be new,” she said. “She pawned her laptop last week to pay her share of the rent.”

  Sassy and smart.

  His cat preened with pleasure.

  “Good catch.” He brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek. “I think I should speak with this Koni.”

  She shivered before she was abruptly yanking from his touch, her chin tilting to a militant angle.

  “We.”

  “We.” His cat purred. “I like the sound of that.”

  She rolled her eyes, reaching for her purse on the table. “My car’s in the lot.”

  He followed a step behind her as she headed for the door, enjoying the view of her tight little ass.

  Soon he intended to be cupping that fine booty in his hands as she rode him to paradise.

  Fully erect, he ignored the curious glances as they headed toward the back of the building. So far as he knew, only Reny and the top brass realized that he was a Pantera, but humans instinctively reacted to his power.

  Men hurried to step out of his path, while females did their best to capture his attention.

  His gaze never strayed from Reny’s delectable backside. “What if I want to drive?”

  Reny stepped into the elevator, waiting for the doors to close before shooting him a smoldering glare.

  “I don’t let any man take me for a ride.”

  With a fluid speed, he had her backed against the paneled wall of the elevator, his hands bracketing her shoulders as he leaned down to stroke his lips down the vulnerable curve of her throat.

  “Oh, sugar, don’t ever challenge a Pantera,” he husked, drowning in her spicy scent. “We bite.”

  She shivered, but it wasn’t fear sending tremors through her body.

  Still, she held herself rigid, refusing to acknowledge the heat that simmered in her moss green eyes.

  “Are you trying to frighten me?” she rasped.

  He nipped the skin above her racing pulse. It was nothing more than the smallest taste, but the essence of her exploded on his tongue.

  A growl rumbled in his chest.

  “Just giving you fair warning.”

  He could sense the storm of emotions that battled inside her.

  Fear. Confusion. And a hunger so fierce it dampened her skin in a fine layer of sweat.

  But with a willpower he could only admire, she kept her brittle composure intact.

  “Then let me return the favor. I always carry a Taser in my purse,” she warned, lifting her hands to press them against
his chest. “Move back.”

  Sebastian instantly dropped his arms and stepped away. He would push, but he would never force.

  It was only a matter of time before Reny gave herself freely.

  “Aggressive.” He flashed his most charming smile. “I like it.”

  She muttered a curse beneath her breath. “Do you ever stop?”

  “No.” Not when it came to this female.

  Sebastian pulled his cellphone from his pocket as they left the building and slid into the standard midsize cop car. He not only wanted to update Raphael on Reny’s suspicions, but he intended to discover just what sort of game the female FBI agent was playing.

  With his various texts at last sent, he slid the phone back into his pocket and studied the pure line of Reny’s profile, his cat restlessly stirring beneath his skin. His animal didn’t understand being so close to this delectable female and not being allowed to touch. It was the increasingly dismal homes that lined the narrow street that at last jerked him out of his brooding thoughts. They weren’t far from their destination.

  “Can you park a few blocks from the apartment building?”

  She sent him a startled glance. “Why?”

  “I want to see if I can catch any scent of Pantera in the area.”

  Without hesitation, Reny slowed the car, pulling into a loading zone next to the curb. Sebastian hid a satisfied smile. She instinctively trusted him.

  Even when she wanted to kick him in the nuts.

  He had a premonition that very soon he was going to need that faith.

  “I’ll drop you off here and park around the corner.” She nodded toward the north. “The apartment building is at the end of the next block. I’ll wait in the lobby.”

  He stepped out of the car, sending her a teasing grin. “There won’t be any waiting.”

  “Arrogant ass,” she muttered as he jogged away.

  “I can hear you, sugar,” he called.

  “I know, dumpling,” she called back.

  He chuckled, anticipation sizzling through his body.

  Oh, Special Agent Reny Smith, you are playing with fire…

  ***

  Shakpi had to admit there were unexpected benefits to possessing a human form.

  She’d discovered a passion for the spicy gumbo that she ordered from a local restaurant, as well as an addiction to the sugar-coated beignets that she demanded every morning.