“I don’t hear it until I actually talk, or someone else is talking to me. If I’m quiet, it’s not there. I had a couple of the ranch hands listen and only Joshua could hear it, but it really bothers me.” It made her uneasy. The phone in Jake’s office didn’t seem to have the same problem on it. She’d gone into his sanctuary and checked herself, relieved when his private line appeared to be clear. She just had a bad feeling.
“Do you hear voices?”
Emma burst out laughing. Greg looked up, a little startled, realized how his question might sound and then joined her.
“The line appears to be clear. My equipment is showing a strong signal, but if you only hear it when you are actually speaking, we could be dealing with something like spy equipment.” His eyes brightened and he grinned at her much like a small boy. “That would be cool. Could someone be spying on you?”
“I think you’ve been watching too many movies,” Emma said, forcing another laugh, suddenly quite uncomfortable. Even the paparazzi were known to bug houses, and someone like Jake had all kinds of enemies.
Greg laughed again. “Well, it would certainly be a first if I ran across spy equipment.”
7
JAKE stood just outside the open door, his heart beating in his throat as he breathed away the need for the leopard to rise. In that moment, with Emma’s innocent laughter ringing in his ears and the scent of her arousal filling his senses, he recognized that he was becoming dangerous. Something was very wrong. He should be in his office, locked away from all noise, never overhearing the play between a man and woman. He could hear the male interest in the man’s voice, the innocence in Emma’s tone. Yet she was definitely aroused, and that maddened him. He felt cruel, capable of viciousness. He hated that ugly part of him, the one that rose when he felt things too deeply, telling him, showing him that he carried the legacy of evil in his blood.
He knew he needed help. He would have to talk to Drake, find a way to combat the intense jealousy sweeping through him at the mere thought of any man around Emma. She had become an obsession, invading his thoughts every moment of the day, torturing his body with a permanent hard-on, massive and thick and so damned painful he could barely walk at times. Nothing he did helped, no woman sated him—he burned for Emma. Somehow she’d managed to turn the tables on his plan. She was supposed to be obsessed with him, but somehow it hadn’t turned out that way.
He stood, leaning one hip casually against the doorjamb, waiting for her to look up, watching her face, the way her eyes shone, the way her mouth was so expressive. She stayed across the room from the man, which was the only thing allowing Jake to keep his sanity. The leopard was so close. His chest rumbled with growls, his throat ached with the need to roar. His teeth hurt from trying to hold back the change, the need to leap upon his enemy—his rival—and rip him open. And Emma. What he wanted to do to Emma.
His body, so hard, every muscle taut, skin too hot to touch, his cock so full and sensitive that every step he took was painful. He needed to . . . He just needed.
Emma looked up and her eyes met his. For a moment time seemed to stand still. Her gaze softened, warmed, and in that moment his heart squeezed hard and his stomach tightened. His fingers curled into his palm. He remained silent, afraid his voice would come out more leopard than human.
“Greg can’t hear that hum I told you about on the phone line.”
Greg? Who the hell was Greg to be called by his first name? Did she know him? The man was staring at him with that slightly awed look people often got in his presence. He showed his teeth without actually smiling. Maybe it came out a snarl. He didn’t know and he sure as hell didn’t care. Greg froze, so he must have snarled. He felt with his tongue for his canines. Did they feel sharper? He breathed to keep his leopard at bay.
“Joshua told me he heard it as well,” Jake managed. He kept his voice low, but even so, he saw Emma flick him a worried look. He wasn’t in any state to reassure her.
“Greg mentioned if the line was clear and we heard something it could be spy equipment, and you know how the paparazzi are always trying to get into the house.”
“I can check the phone jacks for chips or recorders,” Greg offered.
“Don’t bother, my security can take it from here,” he said, dismissing the man, and stalking away. He wanted the man the hell out of his house.
Jake didn’t want to go. He had to go. He had to find Drake, to run, let the leopard loose where it couldn’t do any harm. Breathing hard, he turned away from them, striding through the kitchen, stopping abruptly when he saw Joshua with his feet up on a chair, drinking coffee and eating a slice of freshly baked bread.
“I thought I told you to stay with Emma,” he snapped.
Joshua jumped up so fast he knocked the chair over. “You said stay in the house and I’m here.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. You’ve got some man in my home staring at Emma like she’s the candy in a store, while you’re fucking feeding your face. Throw the son of a bitch out of here and have security check the phone jacks again, not just with equipment, but visually. If they can’t do their job, get rid of them.”
“Fine, it’s done,” Joshua tried to soothe him.
Jake was pacing, swinging his head in agitation. His face had gone dark, his eyes clouding, going almost completely gold as his vision shifted from human to animal.
Grabbing the radio hanging at his side, Joshua spoke into it quickly before moving to put the table between him and his boss, barking out the orders for security to check the phone jacks visually and then calling to Drake for backup.
“Jake. Listen to me. Concentrate. You’re in a thrall. A fit of madness. You have to fight hard against it. Come with me now. Let’s get you out of here before it’s too late.” Joshua’s own voice roughened, his vision changing to bands of colored heat. All senses immediately sharpened, heightened.
Jake heard him as if from a distance, the voice fading in and out. His muscles ached. His back bent. He wanted Emma underneath him, screaming his name. The image filled his vision and then his sight went red as he scented other males.
“Damn it, Drake. Hurry,” Joshua called again into the radio. “I’m not going to be able to hold him by myself.” He held his palm out toward Jake. “You brought me to your ranch to help you, Jake. I’m trying to do that. Go run. Let your leopard loose.”
Thunder crashed in Jake’s ears. His blood surged hotly, the need to claim his mate so strong he shook with it. The animal consumed him bit by bit.
“Your other is riding you hard. We don’t want a fight in your kitchen.” Joshua’s own leopard rose to meet the aggression of Jake’s. This was going to be a disaster.