Carpathian 17 - Dark Celebration

Antonietta.
    The female snarled, resisting the order. Byron moved in closer, and at once Antonietta responded, catching his thought. There were much more pleasant ways to distract the cat than fighting it. Byron quickly shifted forms. The male jaguar shouldered the female, rubbing his chin along her back, and the female sprang away from him, throwing an enticing look over her shoulder. They raced back to the house, heat overcoming the need for prey.
    By the time they shifted back to their own forms, their arms were wound tightly around one another, mouths welded together, and his hands were deftly pulling the intricate weave from her hair.

Chapter 11
    Juliette De La Cruz paced restlessly back and forth across the kitchen tiles. Her body felt too tight for her own skin. It was impossible to control her mind as it flipped channels, a chaotic whirl from subject to subject. She couldn't seem to stay focused on anything at all—
    not even the fruit and melon salad she was making for tonight's celebration.
    She missed her sister and cousin. This would be her first holiday without them. She'd invited them, but as always, they'd refused to have anything to do with the De La Cruz men.
    It wasn't as if she blamed them, but Juliette could have used their company. Outside the window, the snowflakes drifted, turning the world around her into a peaceful, quiet realm, but her body and mind were out of control.
    It was hot. Too hot. She unbuttoned her blouse and tied the ends together in a knot beneath her generous breasts. She lifted the heavy fall of hair from her neck and paced around the small kitchen once again. If you don't come home soon, I'm going for a run. I need … She reached out to her lifemate, but she didn't know what she needed. Her body wanted his—but it always did. She just couldn't become calm.
    Deep inside, she felt her cat moving, struggling for supremacy. Juliette was part jaguar and even after the conversion, her cat was strong, but she was always able to control her.
    Now even her cat wanted out—wanted freedom.
    Breathe . The word was whispered in her mind. Soft. Intimate. Warm. You always forget to breathe .
    She knew she was alone in the kitchen. Her beloved lifemate, Riordan, had gone to see his brothers. Riordan and Juliette had traveled from South America and had arrived in the early morning hours. Riordan hadn't had a chance to see his brother, Manolito, who had been injured in a battle.
    I'm breathing. I wish you were here . There was a blatant invitation in her voice. Riordan was very good at putting the heat in her blood with one whisper of his seductive voice. "I'm making this fruit salad. You're supposed to be helping me." Her breasts tingled and seemed heavy and aching. She had the full, curvy figure of a woman. Her waist was small, but her breasts and hips were generous and right now every square inch of her skin burned. She wanted him. Right there. That moment. He had to come back or she was going to have to throw herself in the snow to cool down.
    I am on my way. Let me make my good-byes. It must be the fruit salad you are making. I think fruit turns you on.
    Only what one can do with it . Juliette laughed, but there was little amusement in her. Her body was too edgy. The De La Cruz brothers seemed to be very sexual creatures, and she fit right in, needing Riordan, welcoming the many inventive ways he made love, but she'd never felt so edgy, so desperate.
    She ran some water and dribbled it down the valley between her breasts, glancing out the window as she did so. No one was there. She was completely alone. She scanned often as Riordan had taught her, but she still felt as if someone watched her. Juliette tried to shake off the feeling, fearing it was leftover paranoia from her days kidnapping women back from jaguar males. She would never get over the constant vigilance needed to stay safe in the jungle. Looking out the window, she scanned again, just to be certain, taking great care to track any movement in the area around the cabin—even animals—but there was no one even close to her house.
    Juliette? Jacques sent the word that someone is trying to use the leopards to attack Shea and her unborn child. Whoever is doing this is unaware of the jaguar strain running in some of the women. It is strong in you. Are you having trouble?
    Juliette sighed with relief. She could handle her jaguar if the cat was what was causing her to be so moody and edgy and paranoid. Yes. But I've been