Page 21 of The Jaguar's Flower

The jaguar left the dorm room. He trotted down the steps and snuck his way to the laboratory area. The jaguar remembered his previous nights with Violet. It took a while, but he said her name privately. It made her smile. He wasn’t ready to give her his name, but the reasons were because of Avel. If Violet couldn’t tell them apart, it would end terribly for all of them.

The jaguar stopped in front of the laboratory.Tonight, I will give her my name and tell her about Avel.As his hand landed on the door, he heard a soft sound inside.

Renfield demanded results, but Violet had none to give him. Each test she ran resulted in the same answer. The soldiers held only human genetic material. A couple had minor anomalies but nothing to show animal or even nonhuman DNA.

Her eyes flicked to the time on her monitor. Machiavelli was late. If he came to visit her at night, he arrived long before the time displayed on the bottom right corner of her screen.

Exhausted, she stared at an empty steel table. Maybe a nap would give her the answers she needed. She didn’t want to help Renfield, but she needed proof to help the shifters. She slipped her lab coat off and wadded it up as a makeshift pillow. As soon as she lay down, her mind turned to the soldier who visited her each night.

She bit her lip and knew she was wrong for the desire she felt toward him. As a member of the staff, she held power over him. It was unethical to engage in anything that she imagined. He didn’t have an obvious option to say no after his treatment within the facility. It didn’t stop the fantasies that played out as soon as her eyes closed.

When the images wouldn’t stop, she peeked at the closed door to the lab. No one else was in the labs at the late hour. It wouldn’t hurt to give into her own fantasies. Her eyes fell shut again as her hand slipped under her skirt. An image of Machiavelli appeared in her mind. It wasn’t her hand that slid over her skin but his. The idea brought a moan to her lips.

Mac remained outside the door as he listened to the noises inside the lab. His grip tightened around the knob as the doctor’s fragrance increased with a heat that called to him. Another soft noise reached his ears. He opened the door and froze at the sight of Violet on the table with a hand under her skirt. When he shut the door, the shifter made sure there wasn’t a sound from it.

Wrong as it may be, he wanted to watch her. His mouth went dry as the jaguar noted the blonde woman’s activities. When her other hand moved against her stomach into her waistband, Mac stepped forward.

He kept his movement silent and precise to avoid collision with any object around him. It wasn’t until the shifter heard what sounded like his name that his hip connected with a steel desk.Idiot. Now she will report you.

At the abrupt interruption, Violet almost rolled off the table. Her eyes flew open and landed on Machiavelli. “I, uh.” Heat flooded her face as embarrassment twisted her stomach. She never wanted a hole to appear on the floor until that moment.

She pulled her hands free when she realized they were still under her clothes. “I’m sorry.” She bit her lip. “I didn’t think you were coming tonight.” She tried to push herself up on the table and slipped.

He rushed to her side. His arm wrapped around her waist before her feet touched the ground. “Don’t apologize.” Mac swallowed when he realized his voice slipped into a gruffer tone.

“I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” He settled her back on the steel table, mindful of his actions and words. It became a challenge not to ask for her to continue. Even as his hands gripped her hips, the shifter restrained himself. “Are you alright?”

An unfamiliar heat filled her with his proximity. When she looked into his gray eyes, she nodded. “I’m fine. Some wounded pride and wishing for the earth to swallow me.” She wanted to caress his cheek but thought better of it after what he caught her doing.

Then she remembered he was part animal. Her embarrassment deepened. She wondered if his sense of smell was strong enough to realize what she was doing and how she reacted to him.

“Are you sure?” Mac moved closer. He pressed his nose against the side of her head before he trailed it down to her neck. “You seem frightened. Do I scare you?” He swallowed. The shifter pulled her closer to him out of habit. Every night, they tested the boundaries until the alarm rang. He wondered if Violet would push him away after he caught her in a compromising position.

Her hands gripped his biceps as her body pressed to his. She needed to put distance between them. Her ethics warred with her desires until she gave in to what she wanted. “You have never scared me, but I do feel stupid.”

She leaned into him and let her arms wrap around his neck as her voice dropped to a whisper. “What we’re doing is wrong. I don’t want you to feel obligated to come here. I like your company, but you have a choice. You won’t get in trouble if you stay away.”

“Did I give the impression I wanted to leave?” Mac nuzzled her neck. Her fragrance did the opposite of calm. It excited him.It is wrong. You are a beast. An animal.He ignored the words in his head for once.

He rested his hands against her back and lowered her against the table again. “Do you want me to leave? If I’m honest, I wish to see you finish.” His eyes trailed down her body before they glanced back up to meet her blue irises.

Her voice died in her throat when he spoke. She thought she had her blush under control until his admission. “You do?” she croaked. When he nodded, she chewed on her lip.

“Machiavelli, I don’t want to take advantage of my position here.” Was she? If he wanted to watch her, how could that be against her ethics? “Are you sure? I mean. I don’t want you to do something you don’t want to do.”

“From my view, I’m the one taking advantage of your position, doctor.” Mac lowered his nose to her neck again. When he inhaled, he rolled his hips between her thighs. She rewarded him with a moan.

He finally pulled away before the animal in the shifter grew carried away. “Continue, Violet. I wish to see you finish unless you want me to leave. I promise I won’t touch you.” He growled.

What if I want you to touch me?She bit back the words on the tip of her tongue before she nodded. “Alright.” Her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

No one had ever seen her touch herself. Her experience with men was non-existent except in clinical settings. As she pulled her skirt up, her heart threatened to pound out of her chest. She kept her eyes on his hands as she slid her hand between her thighs.

She bit down harder on her lip when her fingers slid over her damp panties. The heat of his gaze felt as though it would burn her at any moment as she pushed the fabric to the side.

With a little more access, her fingers traced along her aching flesh. She squirmed on the table and tried not to make a sound. The longer her gaze remained on his hands, the more she wondered what they would feel like in place of hers.

Mac’s jaw dropped slightly as he watched in admiration. His tongue swept over his teeth while her fingers slid between her glistening folds. Then she slipped a single digit inside herself. The temperature in the room grew insanely hot, but the shifter kept his clothing on.

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