Then she looked up.
Satisfaction lit her gaze as she met his eyes.
For a brief second, time stopped. He forgot how to breathe. She sat atop him, eyes blazing, blond hair wild and mussed, pink lips swollen from his kiss. “You’re beautiful.”
Those eyes widened. “So are you.”
Then she tightened her hold, lowering her mouth to his. A sigh of contentment whispered along his lips before she increased the pressure, stretching out her lithe body.
A muscle spasmed in his shoulders as he held himself in check. She lay on top of him, her sex cradling his dick, her long legs smooth against his.
Her teeth sunk into his bottom lip.
A roaring filled his ears.
Tucking her knees up, she rubbed against his aching cock. Heat cascaded from her, tempting him. She pressed openmouthed kisses along his jawline.
Nothing could prevent the low groan that shot from his gut. “Katie. You’re making it hard to be gentle, sweetheart.”
“Very hard.” Her canine nicked his ear. “Besides, who says I want gentle?” Then she bit.
The animal inside him roared alive. Grabbing her hips, he lifted her, reversing their positions. Capturing her against the mattress, he ripped the panties off.
Slow. Damnit. Slow.
Two fingers found her wet and swollen. The surprised mewling she gave made him chuckle against her neck. His canines lowered.
He played, testing her. She bucked against him.
Searching, exploring, learning her, his thumb found her clit. She gave a high-pitched hiss of pleasure.
Then he forced his canines back up and slid down her body to stop between her thighs.
“No.” Panic filled her voice. Her legs went rigid. Both hands grabbed his head.
“Yes,” he rumbled against her mound. No way in hell would he miss tasting her. His shoulders forced her thighs wide. She started to struggle, to scoot her butt up the bed.
Smiling, he latched both hands onto her buttocks and enclosed her clit with his mouth.
She made a sound between a moan and a whimper. All need. Her fingers loosened their hold on his head. Those amazing thighs trembled.
Slowly, truly enjoying himself, he ran his tongue along her slit. Sweetness and spice. Perfect. A craving to take her roared through him, and he slammed control around the animal within. He licked her again.
She relaxed into the bed, her body softening, a pretty sound of surrender coming from her.
Then he got down to business. Alternating between licks, kisses, and small bites, he brought her to the edge several times. Her entire body trembled, sweat slicked her thighs, and a desperate mewling came from her before he’d decided she’d had enough.
Plunging two fingers into her, he nipped her sweet spot.
Her back arched. She cried out his name, the orgasm rolling through her, muscles shaking. His worked her clit to prolong it.
Finally, she went limp against the mattress with a small groan.
Pleasure lanced him. Levering up on an elbow, he placed a gentle kiss on her mound. Then he maneuvered up, taking time to nip and lick at both breasts until reaching her mouth.
She spread her legs, making room for his hips. Long fingers clutched his hair, and she kissed him. “Jordan.” The soft sigh held contentment, happiness, and a low demand.
A demand he’d answer. His entire body vibrated with need. A desperate need that should give him pause. But for now, Katie was all that existed. Grabbing her ass, unable to wait any longer, he plunged into her with one strong stroke.
And stilled, shock chilling the air in his lungs.
Wide eyes met his.
He gasped, his hand on her butt, his gaze on hers, his cock gripped tightly in so much heat he had to blink several times to keep control. The woman had been a virgin. “Katie.” Jesus Christ. Why hadn’t she told him?
“I, ah ...” She barely seemed to breathe. Pain scented the air. Both hands pushed against his chest, her lower body struggling.
“God. Stop moving.” With each tiny shift, she gripped his shaft harder. The lion inside howled, desperate with the need to plunge, to pound, to take. “Please.”
Exhaling, she relaxed into the mattress, her palms smoothing out over his flesh. “Okay.”
Thoughts zinged through his mind in disarray. If the woman would stay still, he could concentrate. “Why didn’t you say something?”
Vulnerable, completely at his mercy considering he was inside her, she still allowed defiance to lift her eyebrow. “I didn’t see it was any of your business.”
“You sure about that?” Clutching her butt, he slid out and slammed back in. The raw pleasure of the act had him gasping along with her. She was too tight, too damn hot, for him to keep control long. Her nails bit into his flesh. Too bad he liked the sharp pain. “I know you’ve dated these last ten years.” Baye had reported all her movements.
She shrugged, her nipples scraping along his skin. Jordan bit his lip to keep from snarling. Interest lit her eyes before she lowered her gaze to his mouth. “I’ve been busy fighting werewolves.”
There was more to it than that. The truth, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the words any more than she wanted to say them. Not with this being their only night together—not with his moving on soon. But they both knew—she’d waited for him. His heart filled until his entire body flamed. “I love you, Kate.”
Her gaze flew up, her nails retracting. Emotions raced across her face. Finally, sliding on a saucy smile, she lifted both knees and clasped her ankles at his back. “Then you should do something about that.” She scooted her butt down a fraction, allowing him to go even deeper.
His grip on reality snapped. He reached around and clasped the back of her shoulder, tethering her to him, his other hand sure to leave bruises as he began to pound. Hard, fast, and out of control.
Blood dropped onto his tongue from his canines shooting down. The flesh of her shoulder beckoned him, right where he’d bitten her the other night. Against his will, his head lowered to scrape along that so fragile skin.
She gasped, arching against him, turning her head and exposing the spot.
Still, he pounded.
Fighting the animal within, he scraped up her neck to the soft spot behind her ear. “Come now, Kate.” Low, dominant, his voice gave no quarter.
She cried out, back bowing, the orgasm whipping through her so powerfully her internal muscles clamped down on him. The instant reaction appeased the beast. The fangs retracted without leaving a scratch. His spine tingled, his balls drew tight. Pleasure burst through him so hard he saw stars as he went over the edge with her.
Chapter 15
Janie turned off the massive television screen, sliding off the plush couch, her gaze on the panther shifter replacing pool sticks in the wall rack. “Thanks for helping me clean up.”
Charlie nodded, stifling a yawn. “Sure. It was cool of the king to let us stay up all night watching movies.”
“Yeah.” The quiet of the early morning surrounded them since the rest of the kids had headed off to bed. Janie slid around the sofa and ran her hand along the wide counter holding bowls now emptied of chips. Skirting the air hockey table, she began rolling billiards into the pockets of the pool table. “Uncle Dage feels bad when we have to go underground, so he tries to find some fun for us.”
“Being underground is, ah, uncomfortable for shifters.” Charlie shoved a hand through his dark brown hair. He’d grown it out to his shoulders when he’d turned sixteen a few months ago, and he looked older, more dangerous, just like Uncle Conn. But he laughed a lot more than Conn, which was one of the reasons Janie liked him.
“Yeah, I noticed you guys seemed irritated during training yesterday morning.” Shifter and vampire trainees had worked out on the mats in the underground gym, throwing each other across the room. Many of the males had discarded their shirts, showcasing new and rather impressive muscles. Janie had watched for fun.
While she’d wa
nted to join in, considering she’d been training since kindergarten, the shifters couldn’t go all-out with her. Sometimes it sucked to be human. “I thought you and your cousin were going to kill each other. I mean, being underground isn’t all bad.”
Charlie grinned. “I’m part panther, not gopher, Jane. Being underground makes my skin itch.” He shook his head. “All of us are off having to hold in so much energy. Did you see Todd and Suzy going at it over in the love seat?”
Everyone had seen the two shifters kissing off and on through the movies. They’d been dating for almost a month, and Suzy thought she knew all about guys suddenly. Janie grinned. “They were just kissing. Don’t tell me kissing makes you uncomfortable, too.”
“No. But when I kiss a girl, we’re alone. As far as I’m concerned, kissing isn’t a group sport.” He grabbed a couple of darts from the floor to put in the cups lined along the wall.
A warming filtered through Janie’s cheeks. “Who have you kissed?”
He shrugged, his concentration on the darts. “Nobody special. Yet.”
Was there a hint there? Or maybe she was reading too much into the words. Why couldn’t her psychic visions lead to important stuff like first kisses? Janie fought a yawn. Even the idea of kissing Charlie wasn’t going to keep her awake after an all-night popcorn party. “I’m sorry we didn’t make it to the new movie like we’d planned.”
“Well ... we kind of had a date.” Charlie turned toward her, deep brown eyes twinkling.
Good humor lifted Janie’s spirit. “Yeah. If you call watching old horror flicks with a bunch of wolf shifters a date.”
“We could end it like a date.”
Her face heated. She swallowed. “Um, yeah. We could.”
He reached out to cup her chin. His warm palm seemed strong all of a sudden. She had to tilt her head back since he’d sprouted up so much last year. Then he started to lower his face.
Oh God. It was really going to happen. She fluttered her eyes closed. His lips met hers, increasing in pressure until she opened her mouth. He swept his tongue inside.
Tingles wandered through her, along with the thought of how weird it was to have someone else’s tongue in her mouth. He tasted like chocolate and popcorn. Charlie gave a low hiss and turned to press her into the wall. She kissed him back, tentatively at first, following his lead. Man, she hoped she was good at this.
The idea of Zane zinged through her head, and she raised her hands to push Charlie away.
But she didn’t get the chance.
Charlie was ripped away. She opened her eyes in time to see Charlie fly over the pool table, thrown by Garrett.
“Garrett!” Janie grabbed her brother. “What the heck?”
Charlie landed and rolled, shooting to his feet. Fury lined his face. The air shimmered.
Garrett’s eyes went wide. “Don’t shift!” He grabbed Janie by the shoulders, tucking around her and dropping down against the wall.
An explosion of air shattered the room.
Janie waited two heartbeats and then shoved Garrett away. He landed on his butt. She stood and surveyed the playroom. The light above the pool table swung drunkenly back and forth. The plasma television hung from one nail, the screen shattered. Shards of colored plastic decorated the carpet from the chip bowls exploding.
And a fully grown, snarling, pissed-off panther crouched ready to attack on the other side of the table. Sable brown fur stood up along his back. His eyes had morphed to a catlike hazel. Fangs dropped low from his mouth.
Garrett jumped up. Green ripped through the gray of his eyes. He growled and leaped for the animal. Janie screamed, grabbing the back of his jeans and trying to yank him down.
He slammed onto the pool table, muscles bunching in his arms. “Lets me go.” He stilled, twisting out of her grasp and standing. “Ows.”
Janie gasped. Blood dripped from his lips. “Oh my God. You’re bleeding.”
His eyes widened, returning to metallic gray. Gingerly, he reached up and touched his teeth. “I gots my fangs.” His delighted smile flashed sharp, bloody teeth.
The air shimmered, and Charlie shifted back to human, smoothly stretching from four legs to two. Janie averted her eyes from the naked teenager. Mostly.
Conn ran into the room. “I heard a scream.” He took in the scene with one hard glance. “What the hell?”
Garrett pivoted. “Uncles Conn, I gots my fangs.” He blanched. “Ows.”
Conn frowned. “That’s early. Good for you. Now shove them back up before you rip off a lip.” He yanked off his T-shirt, quickly tugging the material over Charlie’s head to cover him to the thighs. “Someone explain.”
Garrett wiped blood off his chin. “Mom got up early to work in the lab, and Dad went to train, so I came to find Janie. That cat was mauling her.” His fangs dropped low again. “Ows.”
Charlie snorted. “Nice fangs.”
Janie barely grabbed Garrett in time to stop his next lunge. “Knock it off.” She sighed. “Uncle Conn, I kissed Charlie, and then stupid Garrett threw him over the pool table.”
Garrett gave her a wounded look and then turned a glare on Charlie. A glare very much like the one their father used when angry. His biceps visibly vibrated. “He deserved it.”
Conn scrubbed both hands over his face. “Okay. If I were a shifter and someone threw me over a pool table, I’d probably shift.” He eyed Garrett with a look promising there’d be a later discussion. “Which means Garrett gets to clean up the mess. Charlie, go get some sleep.”
Charlie smiled, tugging the T-shirt down farther. “No worries. And Janie, thanks for covering for me, but I kissed you.”
“A fact I’m sure her father will appreciate knowing,” Conn said with an answering smile.
Charlie choked and lost the grin. “Ah, see you later.” Grabbing his destroyed clothing, he fled the room.
Garrett slammed his hands on his hips. “Uncle Conn, I came in here and that jerk had his tongue halfway down my sister’s throat.”
Conn groaned. “Shut up, Garrett.” He shuffled his feet. “Ah, Janie, well—”
“No.” Her blush actually hurt. With as much dignity as she could fake, she stomped around the pool table toward the door. “We don’t need to talk, Uncle Conn. I know all about sex.”
Her uncle emitted a sound like a cat getting its tail caught in a door. “God.”
Janie fought a grin, leaving the room. She touched her lips. Her first kiss.
The wolf arrived at the crack of dawn. Tall, broad across the shoulders, with eyes the color of dark chocolate, and shoulder-length black hair with interesting mahogany streaks, Terrent Vilks looked like a wolf. His nose had been broken, maybe a couple of times, resulting not in the look of a street brawler, but of a predator who had probably retaliated. He sat in the plush leather chair, hands clasped on the conference table, focus solely on Maggie.
She swallowed. For ten years she’d trained to fight. After one moment with the leader of the Bane’s Council, she knew ten years wasn’t enough. Not even close.
The king sat to her right at the head of the table, and she faced the wolf.
Dage cleared his throat. “While I appreciate the Bane’s Council’s desire to see Maggie taken to your headquarters, we won’t force her to go.”
Terrent lifted one dark eyebrow. “She’s ours. If we say she goes, she goes.” Low, arrogant, his voice nevertheless held a hint of humor. A twinkle glimmered in his eyes, but the set of his jaw promised a stubborn nature.
Dage frowned. “You’ve never forced wolves to live anywhere. Your people are as free as ours.”
“True.” Terrent leaned back and his chair creaked in protest. “Maggie, you’ve lived with lions and vampires for a decade. Your memory hasn’t returned. Maybe being among your own people will help you.” A slow, sexy smile spread across his face. “You must be tired of cats. Really.”
Cats and vampires were the closest beings she had to family. His attempt at charm wasn’t lost on her. She�
�d have to be blind and probably in a coma not to recognize the charisma held by the wolf leader. She forced an answering smile. “In the last ten years, with all your contacts, you haven’t found a hint of my past, either.”
He lost the grin. “True.”
She bit the inside of her lip to keep from trembling. “Maybe I was alone. No pack, no family.” What else could it be?
“It’s possible,” Dage said quietly. “There haven’t been any missing persons type inquiries from humans, either.”
Sadness and an odd fear wandered down her spine. How bad of a person had she been not to have anybody looking for her? She settled her face into smooth lines.
Terrent leaned forward. “There are several reasons people who care about you might not have gone public.” His dark gaze pierced her eyes as if trying to see into her memories. Into her past.
She started. The big wolf was trying to reassure her? “Right.” The meeting would be a lot more comfortable if she could find either Katie or Jordan. Both shifters had disappeared, which burned curiosity right through Maggie. In fact, even though the wolf seemed intent on either charming or intimidating her, her mind kept going to her friends. Part of her wanted them to have finally gotten together. The other part of her worried about what would happen next considering the moon would soon rise. If Jordan died, how would Katie survive?
Dage cleared his throat. “I’m in the middle of a couple wars and really don’t have time for games. Why is the head of the Bane’s Council here at my headquarters regarding one little wolf shifter after ten years?”
Terrent’s nostrils flared. “There’s a hit out on her.”
Maggie drew back, a buzzing filling her ears. “Excuse me?”
“The Kurjans have wanted her back since they infected her ten years ago,” Dage said calmly. “Your news isn’t ... news.”
Terrent’s bottom lip turned down, and his gaze remained on her. “Not the Kurjans. My sources in the demon nation confirmed yesterday that the demons want her dead.”
Fire heated in Maggie’s lungs. Calm. She needed to stay calm. “I don’t understand.”