Surrender Her Touch

by Kari Thomas

  She broke the sensual cocoon weaving around them by scooting back and asking, “Where’s Leo? How did you get past him?”

  “He’s outside pacing back and forth on the patio.” Damn cat made him nervous. It wasn’t that he was afraid of him; Slade knew his dragon strength would win in any fight. It was that the cat appeared more-than-naturally intelligent. His over-protectiveness of Summer was unnatural for a wild animal, as was his seemingly domesticated attitude. There was something about the big mountain lion Slade was uneasy with, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

  “Did you throw him out?” Summer asked indignantly.

  “No.” He frowned at her. “Reed did. Leo kept pacing the floor and growling, driving us crazy. Reed opened the patio doors, and the cat went out. He’s been there ever since.” That pacing was still bothering Slade. The cat was upset about something, but what?

  She made a move to get off the bed, and the covers slipped further onto her lap. Slade inhaled sharply. That damn negligee was nearly transparent, showing off every delectable inch of her curvy body. His mouth watered. His hands itched to touch her soft skin, learn all those curves. His mind filled with erotic images of taking off her negligee and laying her beneath him as he slowly took his time and learned every silken inch of her. Damn it! He swallowed back a half growl, half groan. What the hell was he thinking?

  Summer quickly reached for her robe and slipped it on before getting out of bed. He watched her, fascinated with her grace and her lithe body. Hellfire. He knew there was no denying it. He wanted her. He looked away. Wanting her and doing something about it were two different things. Back off. She’s human. She’s just a case.

  Decency warred with lust. He almost told his conscience to shut the hell up and let the lust win.

  * * * *

  Summer knew her face was flushed, along with the rest of her body. The look in Slade’s eyes was dangerous. Heat and desire gleamed in the gold of his gaze. She shivered again, but not from the remnants of the nightmare this time. The space between them was full of hot, sensual arcs bouncing from one to the other. It left her feeling breathless. She knew she had to get away from him, right then, or she’d find herself back in his arms. Would that be so bad? No. Don’t go there.

  “I’m going to check on Leo.” Darn, did her voice have to sound so breathless?

  She was very aware of Slade behind her, his body heat wafting to her as though trying to once again weave a sensual cocoon around them. She wanted to moan. It was going to be a very long few days.

  Leo was still on the patio pacing back and forth. Every now and then he’d chuff out a low growl. Summer opened the door and called to him. He turned his head and looked at her once but continued his pacing. What the heck was wrong with him? She’d never seen him this agitated before. She glanced at the darkness of the woods and suddenly shivered in remembrance of the winged shadow they’d seen. Maybe Leo was still thinking the large bird was in the area and he wanted to hunt it.

  “Is he always this way?” Slade came up to stand beside her.

  She shook her head and closed the patio door. “No. This is a first. I think it has something to do with that big bird shadow we saw last night.”

  She saw Slade stiffen, the hot lust in his eyes instantly disappearing. “Big bird…shadow?”

  Why would he be so concerned? She shrugged her shoulders. “All we saw was a shadow. It flew over so fast I thought I’d imagined it. Leo reacted oddly, though. He lunged upward as though he could catch it and then roared his head off. That was definitely a first for him.”

  Slade’s voice dropped to a deep, serious tone. “What makes you think it was a big bird?”

  She really didn’t want to think about it, but the look in Slade’s his eyes told her he wasn’t going to let it drop. She turned away from him and headed toward the kitchen. He followed close on her heels.

  “Answer me, Summer.”

  She deliberately started fixing breakfast, staying silent for a few minutes. When she heard his soft growl she finally relented. “Fine. The shadow had…large wings. Happy now? Ready to laugh at me because a bird’s shadow scared me to death and made me have a nightmare?”

  She heard Slade curse under his breath. She glanced at him and saw the strange look of anger on his face. What was going on? Did she really want to know?

  Slade pulled out a chair and sat at the breakfast table. He leaned back nonchalantly, but she could tell his body language was tense. Waiting. He caught her gaze and held it, his amber gold eyes gleaming with some unnameable emotion. “Why would a bird give you nightmares, honey?”

  She wanted to melt into a puddle right there. That man had the sexiest voice. Instead, she glared at him. “Don’t call me honey. Only Reed does that.”

  Slade’s grin was slow and oh-so-sexy. “Okay. Sweetheart. Baby. Angel-face. Beauty.” His grin and gaze went predatory. “Pick your favorite.”

  Maybe if I go ahead and melt into that puddle, he’ll go away. “Don’t make me turn Leo on you again.”

  Slade laughed, the sound deep and husky. It made her heart race and sensual shivers race up her spine. She was right; this was a dangerous man. “What would you like for breakfast?” There, that sounded normal enough.

  Slade turned serious again. “An answer.”

  “On the names?” Ha. I’m not answering that one, buddy.

  “Why are you afraid of…birds?”

  My family was slaughtered by dragons. Yeah, that should stop him in his tracks. “I have a…uh…feather phobia?”

  “Ticklish?”

  She turned away from him to hide her blush at the tone in his voice. How could he make one innocent word sound so erotic? “I’m not answering that one. Some secrets are better left alone.”

  Her pulse went into overdrive when she heard him huskily murmur, “Don’t think I’ll forget about it, baby.”

  She thought about those words the rest of the day. She couldn’t get out of her mind that she’d come too close to telling him the real truth, and she didn’t know why. He was a stranger in more ways than one. She knew nothing about him other than he was protective and very serious about his job. She didn’t know if he was married, had a family, or even a girlfriend. Reed was always so close-mouthed about any of his detectives’ personal lives.

  She looked at his ring finger and figured he wasn’t married or he didn’t wear his wedding band. A lot of men didn’t like rings. He was too sexy, too handsome of a man to be without a woman in his life. Women probably flocked to his side with just one encouraging grin from him. He had a body women fantasized about. And that voice. A woman would become wet instantly just hearing him say her name. She had.

  She busied herself cleaning the house while Slade hovered nearby all day. Several times he went outside and walked the perimeters of the property. She’d finally convinced Leo to come inside and eat, and the exhausted cat had eventually gone to sleep near the patio doors. She couldn’t figure out why he kept up a vigil by the doors. Granted, they were the only opening to the back, and were larger than most patio doors. Reed loved the view and had built the glass doors larger than normal. The entire back wall of the house where the living room was situated was made of glass and the two sliding doors.

  Slade came in and cautiously stepped over the sleeping cat. “See how his ears twitched slightly?” He pointed down. “He’s aware I just came in, even though he’s asleep.” He muttered something under his breath but she couldn’t hear it clearly.

  Summer sat down on the sofa. “He’s always been that alert,” she told him. “From day one.”

  Slade sat down next to her. Too close for comfort. She ignored the rush of heat in her body and avoided making eye contact. Slade cleared his throat. “How long have you had him? Where did you get him?”

  “Third degree, or just curious?” She glanced at him and saw him studying Leo intently.

  “Just curious. You have to admit, having a wild mountain lion for a house pet is kind of odd.”


  “I found him injured on the road one evening. I couldn’t leave him there, so I brought him home. He eventually got well. He decided to stay. End of story.”

  She could feel Slade staring at her. She had the feeling he knew she wasn’t telling the full truth. “My turn for questions.” She finally looked at him. “Doesn’t your…uh…family have any pets?” Finding out if he was married was important to her for reasons she didn’t even want to admit.

  Slade looked at her for a long minute. She was trying hard to keep from blushing. He knew she was fishing for personal answers. “I’m not at home long enough to take care of a pet,” he finally answered. “And besides, I don’t believe in keeping animals captive. They deserve freedom as much as anyone else.”

  Okay. She liked that answer, too much. “I’m hoping that means you don’t condone hunting too.”

  He shrugged casually. “Hunting is a necessity in some instances. If it’s done fairly and humanely, then there’s nothing wrong with it.” He stared hard at her. “I do it, occasionally.”

  “No wonder you and Reed get along so well.”

  Slade suddenly grinned, looking too much like a male teasing his woman. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. “That’s because we like hunting nasty birds with tickling feathers. It’s the least we can do for our….”

  She held her breath when he stopped. What had he started to say? For our…women? The comment sounded so…primal male. Her body flushed with heat just thinking about Slade’s protection.

  Leo chose that moment to wake. He stood up with a rumble from his throat and his stomach. Summer laughed. “That’s his way of saying he needs to go out and that he’s hungry again.”

  She let the cat out and then glanced at the darkening sky, hesitating. Slade moved up beside her. She stopped short of leaning against him. She couldn’t explain why she felt so comfortable in his protective attitude. She’d made a point of being as independent as possible.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “I felt your tension. Another shadow out there?”

  She was embarrassed to admit she was reluctant to go to the freezer, after that incident with the unknown, unseen stalker. “Would you mind going to the freezer and getting some meat? We need steaks for dinner, and Leo would love some lamb.” Before he could see the flush on her face, she turned away and hurried to the kitchen. He probably thought she was the most cowardly woman he’d ever met. I’ve got to stop this. I can’t keep living in this shell of fear. It’s time to let go.

  Slade brought in the packs of meat, Leo right on his heels. “Damn, he’s got a good nose. The minute I stepped out of the freezer he came running.” He unwrapped the meat and handed the steaks to Summer. She quickly defrosted the lamb in the microwave and then gave it to Leo.

  “Two more things we have in common,” Slade muttered as he watched the big cat chomp and swallow the meat. “Who would have thought it?”

  “What?” Summer put together a salad while the steaks sizzled on the grill. “You’re admitting you actually like my kitty?”

  “No,” he growled, half serious. “It’s just that we both like our meat rare.” He glanced at the steaks. “So you can take mine off now. We both have high-alert protective instincts when it comes to those we care about.”

  “You both growl when you’re disgruntled, too,” she told him, holding back a smile.

  Slade shot her a heated look. “You don’t want to know what else makes me growl, sweetheart.”

  Okay. Panties wet now. She stepped back a pace when she saw his eyes darken and his lips turn up in a sensual grin as he took a deep inhale. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he knew the affect he was having on her.

  Moments passed as they stared at each other. Summer realized she was holding her breath and took in a much needed inhale. “Fair warned,” she murmured. If he didn’t stop looking at her like that, she was going to throw herself into his arms. Consequences be darned.

  Slade didn’t give her the chance to decide. He covered the space between them in one long stride. He clasped her arms and pulled her into his hard body. She put her hands up against his chest and looked up at him, forgetting to breathe again.

  “Tell the cat to leave the room,” he told her, his voice deep, husky.

  “Why?” She was surprised she could even talk!

  “Because I’m going to kiss you, and I don’t want him interfering.”

  The fact she didn’t even hesitate wasn’t lost on either of them. “Leo, go to the living room.”

  Slade didn’t even wait to see if the cat obeyed. He lowered his head and claimed her lips.

  She was lost. God help her, but she knew in that spiraling out-of-control moment that her life had irrevocably changed forever. She opened her mouth to his insistence and melted into him.

  Chapter Eight

  She tasted so incredibly sweet. Slade pushed his tongue against her soft lips and forced her mouth open. He deepened the kiss, swallowing her little moan. He moved one hand up to tangle in her hair at the nape of her neck and hold her head still as he drank his fill of her sweetness. He moved his other hand down to her curved waist and then around to her lower back. Pressing her closer, he nudged her legs apart with one of his thighs. She stiffened for a brief moment and then sighed into his mouth as she moved slightly against the pressure of his thigh and pushed closer.

  Slade felt like he was drowning in hot need. Fire raced through his body, pooling in his hardened groin. His dragon awoke, bringing to life everything primal inside him. He wanted her, and so did his dragon. He’d never felt this out of control before. Some little voice in his head told him he shouldn’t be doing this, but the need, the fire, was more prominent, and he pushed aside his conscience.

  Her soft hands moved from his chest to his neck, leaving a trail of caressing heat. She pushed her fingers through his hair at his neck and tugged. Slade growled into her mouth, encouraging her. He finally pulled his mouth from hers and buried his face in her neck, sliding his lips across the silky skin of her throat. He inhaled deeply, loving the exotic scent of gardenias and the way her pulse fluttered wildly beneath his lips. His dragon reared its head, seeking more. This unique woman, her beguiling scent, her incredible softness, dared him to want more of her. Take her.

  His whole body hardened with the painful lust, the ferocious need, the fire beginning to burn out of control. Slade groaned. He clasped her waist and lifted her to the counter behind her. Before she could even respond, he pushed her legs apart and moved in to settle hard and demanding against her sweet center. He wrapped her legs around his waist, and started kissing her again. Summer wound her arms around his neck and returned his kiss, causing his dragon to roar with pleasure. Slade pushed against her, his cock hard. She moaned and he groaned back. He was just trying to figure out how to get her out of those tight jeans and still retain possession of her mouth when she suddenly pushed against his chest and tried to break the kiss.

  “Oomph,” she murmured against his mouth. “Slade, stop. I smell smoke.”

  Yeah. Me. I’m on fire. Wait a minute. He was a fire dragon, but that didn’t mean he used his fire talents while in human form. Where the hell was the smoke coming from? Slade released her mouth and lifted his head.

  “Damn. The steaks. Where’s your fire extinguisher?”

  It took fifteen minutes to clean the mess from the burned steaks and the charred grill, not to mention the foam coating the counter and stove. By the time they were done, Slade was calling himself a fool in every foreign language he knew. What had possessed him to kiss her? If those damn steaks hadn’t caught fire he wouldn’t have stopped at a kiss. Fury and derision rode him hard. He knew better. The last thing he wanted right now was to get involved with a human woman.

  He was still hard with the burning lust despite the guilt; could still taste her on his mouth. If he was smart, he’d call in someone else to watch over her, and he’d get the hell away from her as fast as possible. For both their sakes.

  No. He co
uldn’t leave her. She was under his protection, and he’d be damned if he let his conflicting feelings about her cause her to be in any danger. He was still worried about the bird shadow she’d seen last night. When she’d first mentioned it, his reaction had been shock. If he didn’t know better, he’d have sworn the shadow she saw had been a dragon. But that wasn’t possible. None of his clan flew outside the safe limits of the compound. They had learned early that when they flew in dragon form, they had to stay under Air Force radar, so they had made the law no one was allowed to fly beyond the compound, no matter the circumstances.

  Yet, Summer had seen what might have been a dragon. He had to be wrong. Then, there was the way Leo had reacted to it and continued to react for hours after. It was almost as though the cat had known it wasn’t a natural bird.

  Slade stored the empty fire extinguisher in the pantry and turned around to find Summer gone. He didn’t blame her. It had been pretty intense there for a few minutes. His dragon was still simmering, but he resolutely pushed him down and forced himself to get control. Wanting Summer and taking her were two very different things. Just a few days and I’ll be out of close proximity. I can do this.

  He found her sitting on the floor petting Leo as the cat continued to sleep. A flare of jealousy shot through him. He already knew how soft her hands were and couldn’t help but envy the big cat getting the attention. He sat down in the nearest chair and watched her for long minutes. What was she thinking? Was she regretting responding to him, letting him take it as far as he had? Maybe that was for the best. She’d most likely stay away from him for the next few days, and he wouldn’t have to fight his needs so hard.

  Studying her profile, Slade was once again struck by her beauty. Just as quickly came the unbidden thought that there was something so familiar about it. Why couldn’t he put his finger on it? He shook his head. He’d met, and dated, a lot of beautiful women, but none had this strange aura of familiarity like Summer. She reminded him of a fairy princess, fragile, vulnerable, and…not quite human.