“Faith.” His hands clasped her head as he forced himself back.

He groaned, agonized, grief-stricken as he was forced to ignore her disappointed cry and relinquish the liquid heat that was driving him to the edge of madness.

“Come here.” He dragged her to her feet, lust roaring through his veins, pounding through his body.

He had to be gentle. He restrained the beast that roared out a demand that he take her now, pound into her hard and fast. He kissed her lips as he groaned her name once again, then he turned her, bending her over the table as he positioned his cock for the needed thrust.

“Faith. Baby. You destroy me,” he whispered as he leaned over her, his erection nudging into the tunnel of fire between her thighs.

“Jacob, you tease me with that cock again and I’ll hurt you,” she cried out fiercely, backing into him, shocking him with the explicit need in her voice. “Fuck me, damn you. Before I die from the need…”

The kitchen echoed from their combined cries as he thrust inside her to the hilt. One long, smooth stroke into the very heart of her as her muscles parted, then clenched on his cock like a velvet fist. Control became a fragmented idea as her heat and wet silk poured over him. He held to her hips, steadying her, holding her in place as he began to pound inside her.

The sounds of wet sex, of soaked flesh, and gasping cries wrapped around him until he could hear her sobbing for relief. He felt his own cries ripping through his chest as his cock throbbed, pulsed, swelled so tight and hard inside her that he was locked deep, locked clear to her soul as he poured his seed inside her body.

Chapter Twenty

The next morning, dressed in jeans and a dark T-shirt, Faith watched from the shelter of a low growing tree as Jacob checked the perimeter of the yard once again. He and several of the other Enforcers were going over the alarms and security measures they had placed throughout the compound, making certain they were still in working order.

What they expected, Faith wasn’t certain. From what she could figure out about the present mission, they were at a stalemate. Unless they could get the Council or Lab soldiers to make a move, capture one, and pry out details, then they were screwed.

It was a risky enough business going after the small, independent Labs in this part of the world. South America was largely unpopulated, the jungles dense and capable of providing more places to hide than even the most experienced scout could name. Entire human expeditions had been lost within the mountainous terrain at one time or another.

Here, the jungle grew right up to the tall, stone walls that surrounded the hacienda. In many areas, it had grown over the perimeters and were once again attempting to reclaim its stolen land. Trees grew close to the walls, the smaller ones leaned over it, or their branches sheltered it. It was a security nightmare. But she had a feeling Jacob was aware of that, depending on it, actually.

Grabbing hold of the low branch above her, Faith lifted herself to the sturdy limb before staring around curiously. The Enforcers were busy with the minute details of checking out the equipment and preparing for a siege. She snorted. It would only take a few inventive Coyote Breeds to figure out a way into the house from here.

Moving slowly, her eyes narrowed as she tried to place herself in the enemies’ mind frame, she looked around the back end of the gardens. Next to her, another handy tree afforded her another view. She crossed to it, stopped, then considered her next move. None of the others even realized where she was, or the danger inherent in the ease in which it could be accomplished.

Balancing herself carefully, she moved from branch to branch, tree to tree, feeling more like Tarzan’s sister than Jacob’s mate. Keeping a careful eye on the alarm that had triggered before, she worked herself over, then dropped down on the trigger area. Which was also closest to the house.

A shrill beep sounded instantly, causing the Enforcers to swing around as one, weapons cocked and ready. Faith didn’t bat an eye, though she was more than thankful for the stringent training the Enforcers went through.

“Goddammit, Faith.” Jacob’s voice was furious, enraged and carrying a thread of fear. “Be careful where you step.”

He strode up to her and as he neared, she lifted her weight, allowing the heavy branch she had pulled down with her to pull her back up as she flipped herself back into the sheltering leaves of the tree.

There was complete silence below her as she ignored the Enforcers and began a more thorough check of the tree. She found what she was looking for within minutes.

“There are scuff marks all along the branches, as well as broken bark. Your intruder is using steel points to make his away along the trees,” she informed the men below.

“Not possible,” Jacob bit out. “We would have heard something.”

“Not if he knew what he was doing.” She shrugged then frowned again as she pulled a large eagle feather from where it caught between branches.

She stared up at the tree carefully, looking for a nest, or any sign of a bird that could have been disturbed. There was something different about the feather that she couldn’t entirely place. Shrugging, she tucked it into her back pocket as Jacob swung up into the tree in front of her.

He quickly found the areas where the bark had been skinned back, the evidence of metal prongs having been used.

“I’ll be damned,” he bit out as he raised his eyes slowly to her. “How did you figure it out?”

She arched a single brow coolly. “Liaisons have to think sneaky. Often. Alphas just power in. If you’re dealing with Coyotes here, then they are the smartest ones I’ve ever heard of.”

“Liaisons can be smartasses, too,” he growled.

Faith licked her lips and lowered her eyes as she mimicked a pouty kiss.

“You can kiss my smart ass, Jacob. Your equipment isn’t malfunctioning, your security setup is.”

“And how do you suggest I fix it, Ms. Liaison?” he sniped. “We’re in the middle of a freaking jungle. Besides, I just want advance warning, not a major alarm system.”

“What you’re likely to get is one of your Enforcers killed,” she hissed. “They are using the trees, Jacob. And they’ve breached your defenses once. What if they figure out where the alarms are, now that they know there are alarms?”

“You think I am not considering this?” he asked her impatiently as he stood to his full height, towering over her as he stepped closer. “You think I have fought these bastards for six years without learning anything, Faith?”

“Well, evidently you didn’t learn anything about using the trees for cover, or you would have thought about it,” she retorted. “I’ve been out here half an hour and I figured it out.”

“What does this make you, a damned cat?” he growled, his voice rumbling now.

“What is this thing you have against cats, Jacob?” She rolled her eyes mockingly. “Learn from them. Felines can be your friends, baby.”

She heard a round of snickers below. Evidently Jacob did too, if the volcanic look on his face was anything to go by.

“Styx, he who laughs hardest can spend his night in the damned trees waiting on the bastards,” he bit out coldly. “Get some rest and see if you can’t make like a cat tonight.”

Faith glanced down at the huge redhead. If a wolf could pout, then he was doing a fair imitation of it if his expression was anything to go by.

“Hell, boss. She’s cute. You can’t blame us.” Stygian was openly laughing now. “Has you by your balls and you know it.”

“Want to join Styx tonight, Stygian?” Jacob snapped, his eyes still on Faith.

Faith restrained her own grin as Stygian immediately cleared his expression.

“No way, boss,” he answered quickly. “Never did care much for the feline way. Keep my feet on the ground if it’s all the same to you.”

“What is it with you people and the Felines?” she asked with exaggerated patience. “They are really very nice people, you know.”

“And you would know this how?” Jacob snarled.

Faith’s eyes widened. “I keep telling you, mate.” She spoke clearly, hoping he would understand this time. “I am Liaison to the Pack between all informers. This includes members of the Feline Breeds. I deal directly with their Liaison, Tanner.”

A real growl erupted from his throat now.

“Don’t you start, Jacob,” she warned him firmly. “There is nothing at all wrong with Tanner.”

“He’s a pervert,” he snarled. “His mating affirms this. You have no reason to be around this person.”

“He has a perfectly nice mate. She gave birth to twins last year. Perfectly adorable babies.” She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. “Has a Wolfe Breed sired a child yet? Not that I’ve heard of.

“This is beside the point. When a Wolf Breed does sire a child, he will need no help from others, I can you assure you of this.”

Faith drew in a hard, patience-restoring breath. “You have lost your mind. Is this an Alpha thing that comes with a male’s mating cycle? Thank God all I have to deal with is perpetual horniness. And let me assure you, you are not keeping up today. Perhaps you need help after all.”

Below, Enforcers scattered amid helpless laughter as she faced a more than enraged mate.

“I promise you, mate,” he snarled as he came slowly forward, backing her into the thick trunk of the tree, his body aggressive, his voice dangerously sensual. “I need no help keeping you fucked. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. All I need to do is get rid of the damned coffee that turns you into a nymphomaniac with more attitude than a rabid Coyote.”

Her eyes narrowed on him as his hips pressed into hers, driving his cock against the softness of her lower belly.

“We have a deal,” she reminded him heatedly. “You have to leave my coffee alone and keep me fucked. Not snipe at me, or take it out on me because I figured out something you hadn’t thought of.”

Her hands gripped the limbs above her to steady herself. She watched his eyes heat, his cheeks darkening with sensual awareness as her breasts brushed his chest.

Jacob’s hands went to her waist as he lifted her just enough to grind his cock between her thighs suggestively.

“Mmm.” She licked her lips again as she lifted her legs, allowing them to bend and grip his thighs. “Wild monkey sex. Sounds like fun to me.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“It would serve you right if I fucked you in front of the entire Pack,” he growled as his lips went to her neck, his tongue stroking her skin.

“Exhibitionism? Sounds kinky, Jacob. I’m game if you are.” Her head tilted back, her eyes closing as pleasure washed over her, heating the core of her body further, and leaving her longing for his touch, his taste.

There, in the shade of the huge trees, sheltered by the jungle, the mists of night still clinging to the air around them as the sun blazed in the morning sky, she wanted his touch, his heat.

Her hands tightened on the limbs of the tree as Jacob moved closer to her, his feet braced on two closely spaced limbs, his hips pressing tight against hers as his lips caressed her neck, and one hand delved beneath her shirt to the bare, swollen breasts awaiting him.

At the first touch, Faith felt ripples of sensation streaking through her body, caressing her womb and her vagina. She whispered a needy moan of arousal, desperate for more.

“Oh, you are hot,” he nipped her ear as his fingers tweaked her breast. “Does it turn you on, Faith, sparring with me? Pushing me?”

It did. She knew it did. Pitting herself against him, watching his eyes flame, seeing emotion transform his face, the confused anger, the heated desire. The need to make her submit. It fired her blood as nothing else could, seeing that dominance rising to the surface. She had no desire to best him. Faith fully admitted she wanted to be bested.