Black Passion (Black Jag, Book Two)

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An Excerpt From: BLACK PASSION

Copyright © LORIE O'CLARE, 2010

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing,
Inc.

Chapter
One

Ran VicMoran slammed his fist on the desktop and shoved his
chair away from the computer. "Fucking signal sucks!"

Unreliable
computer signals were the only thing preventing this place from being
paradise. Well, that and maybe having a few hot and willing females at his
beck and call. The last time he got laid was the night he and his
littermates arrived at the small jaguar community, buried deep in the rain
forest on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. That
was three months ago.

"There's
got to be a better way to get a signal." He stood and paced the length of
the small hut he shared with his littermate. "I've got to move again."

He and
Rafe, his littermate, moved into the small hut
built off the ground almost two months ago. Living here wouldn't be so bad
if Rafe weren't fucking every female willing to
spread her legs, and if Ran could stay online longer than five minutes.

"I was
so close this time." He pulled his cotton shirt over his head as he headed
for the door. Hurrying down the wooden stairs, he adjusted his ponytail at
the base of his neck and let his eyes adjust to the afternoon light
spilling through the thick branches above.

"Hey,
Ran. Are you going on the run tonight?" Juana Ann skipped up to him and
then fell into stride as he walked briskly across center ground, the large
area of hard, flattened dirt that was the middle of Guarida.

Maybe
if he lowered his standards and didn't care what a female smelled like he'd
be getting it as often as Rafe. Not that Ran kept
any type of stroke tally count against his littermate. The type of sex Rafe had was not Ran's
definition of getting lucky. If Ran wanted simply to get his dick wet,
Juana Ann and other single females in Guarida
would do nicely. He glanced down at Juana Ann, who moved alongside him
close enough her bare arm brushed against his more than once.

Most
of the den's huts formed a circle, enclosing the center ground inside. More
dens were built behind the ones closest to center ground and each was built
in one of the large trees. Ran hadn't questioned it when they'd first moved
here. A few of the dens had been there for three generations, since jaguars
first arrived in this part of the world around seventy years ago. There was
enough rain that unless they wanted to haul in materials not indigenous to
the forest to prevent their dens from flooding, they built the huts off the
ground.

"You
should go on the run tonight," Juana Ann encouraged.

"Probably."
He hadn't given it much thought.

Cubs raced
around them, tackling each other and hissing and growling loudly. The
younger ones, either in their fur or skin, tumbled over each other while
their mothers watched them protectively. Many mated females spent parts of
the afternoon at center ground, catching up on any new howlings
and letting their cubs play so they'd be worn out by the time darkness
settled in.

"Why
don't you run with me tonight?" Juana Ann brushed her fingernails down his
bare arm.

Ran
looked down at the obvious invitation in her eyes. "Shouldn't you be
looking for Rafe?" He barely remembered her
leaving their den early that morning, but only because she kept him up half
the night with her howling while she fucked his littermate.

Juana
Ann shrugged lazily. "He's not here and you are."

Ran
almost shook his head with disgust. "You two are made for each other," he
mumbled under his breath.

"What?"

Juana
Ann wasn't the only single female whose sire and mother were dead. She had
no littermates so held on to her single status as she lived alone and did
as she wished. As long as the stench of her promiscuity didn't grab the
attention of a jaguar who decided to howl righteously about her being a
slut, Juana Ann was free to fuck and not demand a mating or growl and throw
a fit about being dishonored. As violent and aggressive as their kind was,
more and more cubs entered into adulthood without parents or anyone to
enforce they hold on to their traditions and run with honor.

"I'll
talk to you later." He reached the stairs to his older littermate's den.

Bounding
up them, and ignoring Juana Ann's parting words, he simply waved over his
shoulder. "Hunt well," he told her then rapped on the door. Maybe he should
lower his standards and take advantage of Juana Ann's invitation. The
physical release would be welcomed if he'd be able to live with himself the
next day as the female left him and pranced on to the next male.

Baritone
voices inside tickled his ear. Instinct had him gripping the door handle,
but his breeding helped him to stop. Footsteps sounded inside and he waited
impatiently for the door to be opened for him. He honored his oldest
littermate by not barging into his den.

"Hi,
Ran." Angela opened the door, grinning, her hair damp and the faint smell
of soap lingering around her.

"Angela,"
he said quietly.

"Don't
track mud in." She pointed to his shoes. "That's the only thing I don't
like about living here," she added, still smiling. Her green eyes glowed
with happiness. "Raul made a mat for me that we're keeping by the door. You
can take your shoes off there."

Ran
obliged and slipped out of his shoes then shut the door behind him. Angela
left him to his business and sat next to Raul on their bamboo couch. He
envied his older brother for having such a perfect mate. Angela cuddled
into Raul, turning her attention to Fred Sancerre, who sat opposite them in
one of the chairs. His daughter Olivia sat cross-legged on the floor next
to him, scribbling something in a ledger book.

Fred
stopped talking, and Raul narrowed his brow as he studied Ran. "What's the
scowl for? Rafe driving you nuts?"

"No,
my computer is."

Angela
scooted to the end of the couch. "I don't know a thing about computers,
Ran. But how about a cup of coffee?"

"Sounds
good. Thanks." Ran shifted, needing to talk to Raul, but not wanting to
interrupt the current conversation.

Angela
hurried into the kitchen and came back carrying a cup of coffee and
dragging a chair. "I'm sorry we don't have adequate furniture to entertain
yet."

"This
furniture is exceptional." Fred twisted in his chair as Ran hurried to take
the chair from Angela.

"Here
you go." She smiled. "Have a seat."

Ran
glanced at the top of Olivia's head while she continued to write numbers in
neat columns in her ledger book. He glanced at Raul, scowling. It wasn't
right to sit with the female on the floor.

Raul
understood his line of thinking and shrugged. "She wants to sit on the
floor."

If Olivia heard them, she didn't acknowledge their
comments. Her slender shoulders were bare and long black hair tapered at
her rear end. She wore jeans and her feet were bare. Pretty feet, he
thought to himself. Not that he could see much else of her. Olivia didn't
say much to anyone but continued working with her numbers. Her lavender
scent, possibly coming from her shampoo, distracted him as he tried to
relax, resigned to hearing out the conversation taking place before talking
to his oldest littermate.

"I'm
afraid I don't know much about computers either." Fred nodded his greeting.

Ran
was used to the comment. Those who said they didn't know much about
computers didn't want to know anything about them.

"It's
just a connection problem." He glanced over at Raul, who stared back at him
and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't mean to interrupt the conversation," he
added, holding his littermate's attention, who gave a very slight nod. They
would discuss his issues later, more privately.

"It's
quite all right," Fred announced. "My daughter Olivia here is determining
how much furniture we can purchase and what funds are available for
building another hut."

"John Ramos
took Margie for a mate." Angela looked so pleased with the news, as if
she'd set the mating up herself. "Obviously they're anxious for their own
den."

"It's
a good mating too." Fred puffed out his chest and nodded solemnly.
"Wouldn't surprise me a bit if my own Olivia finds a mate soon. There are
quite a few good single males in our community now."

Olivia
made a very unappealing grunt that her father ignored. Raul and Angela both
smelled rather amused. Ran glared at his brother, but Raul simply raised
one eyebrow as he nuzzled his mate. When Ran glanced at Fred, the older
male looked at him as if Ran were a prime choice of raw meat. Ran
stiffened, straightening, his instincts immediately demanding he protect
himself. He was all too familiar with the trap being set for him. Fred
stared at him another moment and began grinning then nodded to his
daughter, the look on his face more than a bit obvious.

Fucking
tail! The older leopard was damn near tossing his daughter at Ran to try
out for a possible mate. He ached to pop his older littermate in the face,
especially when Raul gave Angela a knowing wink and she grinned
mischievously.

It
wasn't the first time an overzealous sire or mother sniffed Ran out and propositioned
him, having determined he met with their image of what a good mate would be
for their daughter. Fred wasn't as subtle about it as most were. When Ran
glanced at Olivia, who remained hunched over her ledger, it was impossible
to tell her reaction. If she possibly smelled a bit pissed it was covered
up quickly by her sire's sudden burst of happiness. Apparently he viewed
Ran looking at his daughter as consent to his proposition.

These
were the two extremes Ran lived with, in spite of how it was making him
nuts lately. Due to the status of their dens, some females ran as freely as
the wind, changing their direction just as often. Other females were
considered incredible commodities, set out on display and damn near
bartered off to the most impressive male. Ran wasn't too impressed with
either arrangement. He'd rather hunt a female on his own terms, but when he
caught her, he'd like some assurance she wouldn't sleep with another male,
his littermate for example, the very next day.

"Everything's
in order," Olivia said coolly, looking up at her sire and ignoring the
others in the room. "I'll give the figures to Miguel."

When
she straightened, her straight hair fell like a solid waterfall down her
backside. It didn't hide the narrowness of her waist or how her hips were
nicely rounded, probably leading into a firm, perfectly shaped ass. She
focused on her sire, turning her torso to face him. Although her back was
to Ran, he was able to see her profile, how her nose was straight and
turned up just a hair at the bottom. Her cheekbones were set high in her
face. Her eyebrows were thin and as black as her hair. Her lips were full,
slightly parted, and she licked them as she continued watching her sire.
Olivia was one hot, feisty-looking little female.

Something
tightened inside him Ran didn't usually experience. He considered the
possibility of Fred Sancerre trying to toss his only offspring at any
available male he might consider a good addition to their small den. The
thought of how some of the rogues out there might sink their teeth into
such a perfect, young and sexy female as Olivia didn't set well with him.
If her sire was so desperate to mate his daughter off, or simply clueless
as to how an unmated male might react to the invitation to chase Olivia, she
would have no protection. The only catch to a hot female like Olivia would
be the consequences attached if any male were to catch her. Jaguars took
mating seriously. The commitment was for life. No exceptions.