The Scent of Seduction by Trina Lane Page B

from eating you alive."
    She closed her eyes. Maybe if she didn't have all that delicious male flesh on display for her, it would cool things off between them. She felt something cold bump her hand.
    Her eyes flew open to find, not Jaryn, but a large white, black, and grey wolf with bright silver eyes staring at her. The cold bump had come from his black nose. She stared at the animal in silence. Her hand reached out and the wolf dipped its head. Her fingers skimmed through the fur between his ears. It was soft, softer than she'd anticipated. The wolf took a step closer to her and she moved to kneel on the blanket. Her hands buried themselves in his scruff and she received a lick. Nicole laughed and wiped her cheek with her shoulder, only to get another kiss from the lupine.
    "Stop that!” She looked into the familiar silver eyes. “That's really you in there, isn't it? Can you understand me? Do you know who I am?"
    Jaryn lifted one of his paws and placed it against Nicole's chest.
    "You want to go for a run?"
    Jaryn's ears perked up and his tail wagged high.
    Nicole smiled. “Go on. I'll wait here for you."
    Jaryn looked out across the meadow then back at her. She could see the desire in his eyes to go do whatever it was that wolves do when they run, but it seemed as though he was reluctant to leave her side.
    "It's okay, Jaryn. I'll be fine. There's nobody around. I'll probably just lay here and stargaze till you get back. The blanket is enough to keep me warm."
    With a short yip, Jaryn took off. It was amazing how quickly his four legs ate up the ground. It wasn't long before she lost sight of Jaryn in the darkness. Nicole lay back on the blanket to do exactly as she'd told Jaryn she would. Wrapping the blanket around her, she stared into the night sky.
    * * * *
    "So tell me about these barracks,” Shaun said.
    Nicole glanced down at the satellite map Jaryn and Shaun had brought into the conference room of their office. It was spread out across the table and showed an aerial view of Adam's compound. They'd been able to pinpoint the location with Nicole's directions, and now had in front of them a bird's eye view of Nicole's former prison. It was funny to see it from this vantage point—it actually appeared to be a lovely estate. Large, green grassy areas, a majestic home, ponds and formal gardens—even the coach house was visible. What you couldn't see was the resignation and hopelessness in the eyes of the individuals held captive in the buildings scattered around the picturesque landscape.
    Nicole pointed to group of flat-roofed structures on the back of the property. “There are five of these barracks. I'm pretty sure they all have both video and motion security. I may be off in my approximation, but I think there are around ten to fifteen hostages housed in each building. There's at least two guards assigned at all times."
    She pointed to the coach house. “When not on duty, the guards stay there. I don't know what kind of rotation they keep or exactly how many there are in total. Adam, of course, lives in the main house, and there's a permanent staff of ten tasked with cleaning, cooking and whatever else Adam demands of them. They're all hostages."
    Jaryn pointed to an octagonal structure on the north side of the main house. “What's this?"
    "That's the guard house. It's the main hub for all the security. If you want to successfully breach any aspect of the compound, you'll have to take it out, otherwise all hell will break loose."
    Jaryn's hand rubbed her lower back, and she was grateful for the silent support. “The house uses both updated facial recognition and standard locks. I assume it was too cost prohibitive to retrofit every entrance."
    "Do you remember which points of entry use biometrics?"
    "The main back and front doors, and at least one on either side of the house. The ones that don't I think have them are the French doors leading out onto the patio."
    "Good, sweetheart, those will be our