by Celia Kyle
With shaking hands she did as he asked, carefully pulling the handguns out along with a few magazines that Lia had left for them. Damn, sometimes he could just kiss the woman who saved his ass.
A low growl came from the passenger seat and he remembered their open link. And…that thought about Lia went right out the window.
When he saw that she’d gathered everything they needed, he kept on with the instructions. “Good girl. Put that stuff in the center console, but I want one of those guns in your hands, okay? If you need to use it, hold on tight with both hands, then point and shoot. I don’t expect you to be perfect, I just want you to hit whatever you can, okay?”
Attention divided between what lay in front of them as well as behind, he didn’t see a response. “Words, Kit. Do you understand?”
“Yeah. I’ve got it. Grab. Point. Shoot.”
“Good girl.” The moment the words left his mouth, they were rammed again, harder this time, and he nearly lost control of their car.
Of course, the fuckers had to be as predictable as fuck and the driver brought the SUV alongside them again. The passenger window was rolled down, revealing a man cloaked in black holding a submachine gun.
And then it was rinse and repeat. He and the gun operated as one, the need to aim no longer necessary after all the time he’d been playing this game.
Pop, pop.
Two down, two to go.
Instead of dropping back, the SUV lurched forward, the large block of metal roaring past them and Ricker went into action.
“Get back down, Madison.” His mate didn’t utter a peep.
As he’d expected, the larger vehicle swerved in front of them and threw up the back hatch, exposing the two remaining males. A driver and one passenger.
And that fucking submachine gun. He wasn’t sure if it was a full or semi-automatic, but he wasn’t keen on finding out.
“It’s going to get rough. Hold on.”
While the male rocked in the SUV, the truck shaking and jerking as it traveled, Ricker took a risk and raced up to the vehicle’s back end. Grip on both the wheel and his gun firm, he shot right through the front windshield.
And then they were assailants no longer.
Four pulls of the trigger, fast and furious, was all it took to end the threat.
The SUV swayed, no one controlling the behemoth any longer, and then hit the ditch, flipping until it finally rested against the trees lining the highway.
Ricker didn’t stop.
“Madison? I need you to grab the phone out of my bag in the back.” As his mate struggled to do as he asked, he kept any eye on their tail. Thankfully they’d been in the middle of God’s nowhere and hadn’t attracted attention. There was no sign of the police and he prayed it’d stay that way. His gun wasn’t registered, the council having manufactured his weapons themselves. No trace. No slug catalogued in IBIS that’d lead them back to shifters.
“I’ll give you the freakin’ phone just as soon as I get all these burning metal thingies off me!” Her voice was high-pitched and shrill.
For the first time, he noticed her squirming and wiggling in the seat. “Kit, it’s called brass and if it’s hit your skin, it’s already done all the damage it’s gonna do. The phone, Madison.”
She grumbled something about setting the phone on fire first, but she did hand it over.
He laid it in his lap and reached for her hand, squeezing her fingers gently. “We’re going to be fine. The brass doesn’t hurt that bad and I’m gonna get you somewhere safe.”
“Says the man who didn’t end up with burning bits of metal down his shirt.”
Ricker almost smiled. At least his mate wasn’t screaming and crying in the face of violence.
“I’ll kiss it all better later. But right now I need you to think about something for me. Did you pass out at some point? Do you have any scrapes you don’t remember? Are you itching anywhere? New bumps? I think they injected a tracker into you at some point; we just have to find it.” He spared a glance for his mate and watched the blood drain from her face. “Easy. The minute I know where it is, I can cut it out. Quick and simple. You just need to find it for me.”
“I…” Her hand slipped from his and got to work, rubbing and pinching her body from head to toe. It wasn’t long before she crowed in victory. “Found it!”
Her hand was beneath her shirt, cupping her breast and Ricker bit back his building growl. “Okay. Give me a minute and I’ll get it out of you.”
Ricker snatched up the phone and, with the press of a button, his call went through, Lia answering on the first ring. “Click To Ship.”
“It’s Jenkins. I’ve had a problem delivering the package. It seems there’s more than what I ordered inside. I’m going to stop and re-box, but it’ll take a little extra time. I also hit a speed bump and have some damage to my car, so I’m going to stop over in Ames, just across the South Carolina border.”
“I see.” The line was quiet for a moment, the click of keyboard keys coming over the line. “I’ve got a friend in the area who does some car work and you can probably crash there for the night if you need to.”
“Sounds good. Let them know I’ll be there in the next few hours.”
The hit of a button cut off anything else Lia might have said and Riker steered their beat up car onto the off-ramp and into a rest area lot. He parked them as far away from others as he could and then grabbed the med bag from the backseat.
“Okay, Kit. Lift your top and we’ll get this over with quick.”
He would have added painless, but that would have been a lie.
Chapter Six
“Anything worth doing should be done slowly. Twice. Or three times. It depends on how good he is.” – Maya Josephs, Prima of the Ridgeville Pride. She has also decided that being pregnant sucked. That is all.
Pain lingered on the underside of Maddy’s breast, but she pushed it aside. Ricker had dug the little tracking-capsule-chippy thing from her breast and crushed it beneath his boot. Then he’d hustled her into the car and they got right back onto the road, traveling as fast as legally possible. Maddy had remained quiet through the journey, unwilling to distract him.
Hours later, the wound had healed, but the ache lingered. She didn’t have much more time to focus on her pity party. Not when they whipped onto a dirt road and trundled through the forest.
Before long, Ricker pulled them up to a log cabin with a wide front porch. Two rocking chairs decorated the space along with a swing and Maddy sighed. This was her picture perfect home. It was a nice little place hidden in the woods where she could relax and just “be” without any worries about the pride, her job or the outside world.
As if the space held magical powers, she felt tension and worry drain from her, the tightness in her chest fading away with every breath.
The moment the car stopped, she leapt from the vehicle and raced around the car, wide smile on her face. “Are we stopping here? It’s gorgeous! Can we stay for a while or is this a layover?”
Feelings not her own slithered into Maddy’s mind, hope, happiness, exhaustion…
Mate…
The word was a whisper, the voice familiar, yet not, and she whirled on her tiger. “Ricker? What the—”
It had to be coming from him, but how?
Worry bombarded her and then the male was striding toward her, fierce thunder in his gaze. “Madison?” In two steps, she was cradled in his arms, one large hand cupping the back of her head, pressing it to his chest, and she listened to the solid beat of his heart. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know. I can feel…you.”
Anxiousness came from him and his pulse stuttered. “I felt you after the fight. I didn’t tell you because I liked knowing how you were doing and I figured that you’d close it off when you were ready.”
“Close it off? I’m not even open.” She pulled back to stare at him, eyes wide.
They gazed at each for what seemed like hours, emotions bouncing back an
d forth like a tennis ball.
This had definitely not been included in the “What to Expect when a Sensitive Mates” instruction manual. At all.
She was totally writing that book when she got home, too. She’d open her own little were bookstore for unsuspecting furballs.
A wide smile split Ricker’s face, mirth twinkling in his eyes. “There’s an instruction manual?”
Maddy stuck out her tongue. “No fair plucking things outta my head.”
Her mate leaned down and brushed his lips over hers, a sweet, gentle touch that she felt all the way to her toes. Arousal, quick and hot, burned through her in a flash and she couldn’t withhold the moan that gathered in her chest.
“I like being in your head. Like that I can feel how hot you get when I touch you.” Ricker nipped her lower lip and a whimper escaped her throat. “How good do you think it’ll be between us? I can sense what you need and give it to you, Kit. Anything you want, it’s yours.”
His cock hardened against her, long, thick and ready and the only thought in her mind was…bed. The tiger’s free hand stroked her back, traveled along her spine and then cupped the abundant curve of her ass, fingers kneading her flesh.
Maddy rocked her hips against him, savored the low hiss that escaped his lips and reveled in the growing arousal between them.
“There’s a bed inside, just say the word.”
She licked her lips, want and need pounding through her veins and the cat focused on its singular desire. “Word.”
That earned her a snort from her mate and then he had them in motion, his fingers twined with hers as he stalked toward the cabin, his long strides eating up the ground. At the door, he paused and gave her his attention, eyes serious, and tingles of apprehension and concern filtered through to her.
“Stay here for a minute? Please? I need to check out the interior. I don’t scent anyone in the yard, but I don’t want to—”
God, the man was tripping over himself while he tried not to offend her or order her to stay put.
Maddy placed her fingers over his lips. “It’s fine. Go make sure we’re safe so we can knock boots and get on with the show.”
“Knock boots?” His lips twitched.
“Shaddup and get moving, mister.” She mock glared and he stiffened to attention, giving her a military salute.
“Sir, yes sir.” With a laugh, he opened the front door and headed inside, leaving Maddy to look over their temporary home. She approached the railing and leaned against the wood.
Had she mentioned perfection? The air was filled with the fresh scents of the forest and the wind carried the soft twitter of the birds that surrounded their space.
Peace. The entire area wrapped her in peace.
Then she was wrapped in pure, unadulterated desire, a desperation for sex that she’d never felt before.
Mate…
The word whispered through her mind, the combined voice of her mate’s human and tiger voices danced across her consciousness and she sensed Ricker moving closer. Relief that the home was safe and empty slithered into his thoughts, but the need for her overpowered anything else he may have been feeling.
And his ache fanned hers.
The squeak of the front door swinging open was followed by the steady thump of her mate’s boots against the solid wood of the porch, his steps purposeful as he neared her. He didn’t hide his approach, nor his thoughts.
Attraction, lust, burning desire and…something more than mere caring. Maddy wouldn’t classify it as love. Mating wasn’t the same as falling madly in love with a person’s other half. It was hormonal, a beast’s drive to procreate.
But, she hoped for an enduring love like her parents…like Maya and Alex or Carly and Neal. There was always hope.
As her mate neared, she turned toward him, her back against the porch railing and she looked her fill.
She had no idea how she’d ended up so lucky. The man was strength and dominance tempered with sensitivity and vulnerability. A brush of his mind revealed his anxiousness, his tiger’s desperate ache for her as well as its acknowledgement that she was nothing like the Sensitives they’d encountered in the past.
Ricker’s body moved with sensuous shifts of muscle beneath skin, his clothing tight enough to reveal the ripple of his body as he approached. His shirt clung to his chest and abdomen, the outline of his washboard stomach easily visible. She still wanted to trace those depressions, travel further south and see if he had deep lines at his hip bones that pointed to his groin.
A glance at his face revealed her desire mirrored in his features. His green eyes had darkened and neared black as he gazed at her. Tension filled him, his strong jaw clenched tight and the tick of a vein easily visible.
It went beyond need now, his body demanding her, his emotions showing her that she had become a necessity to him, to his cat.
Her pussy pulsed at the thought, the idea that he craved her as much as she craved him. An ache built between her legs, moisture gathering and body preparing for his possession. The musky scent of her arousal filled the air between them, and Ricker’s nostrils flared, his chest rising as he took a deep breath.
“Madison…” His voice was a deep growl, the baritone vibrating through her and settling at the juncture of her thighs.
Ricker… She whispered into his mind, needing the connection. She’d been surprised at their presence within each other’s heads at first, but it seemed so natural now. So necessary.
A final step brought him within a foot of her, his sweet chocolate-y scent surrounding her like a blanket and then she was lost. Waves of emotion traveled between them, growing and compounding until she couldn’t differentiate between the two of them.
Ricker cupped her cheek as he gazed at her, eyes intent on her face while they communicated without words. The claiming was imminent, the cats undeniable in their need to bind them together.
She licked her lips, throat suddenly dry, and the movement caught his attention. He traced her mouth, thumb sliding back and forth. She lapped at his digit, pulled it in and suckled him. He pressed against her then, brought his body flush against hers and she could feel his hard length. He was ready for her, thick and solid, and her pussy clenched, leaked more cream and soaked her panties.
His other hand stroked her arm, fingers petting her heated skin and leaving goose bumps in their wake. He caressed her, arousing her further, until he cupped the fullness of her breast, plucked her aching nipple and the touch was reminiscent of their brief shower.
That thought reminded her of her anger and Ricker was quick to soothe her.
“None of that, Kit. This is just me asking. Will you mate with me? Let me discover this sweet body? I’ll make you so happy, Madison. I swear it.” He slid his thumb in and out of her mouth, mimicking what she craved, and he groaned. “I know we’ll probably fight and butt heads, but you’ll always come first. And I’ll try very, very hard not to be an ass.”
Maddy nipped his thumb and giggled, the remnants of anger dissipating with every breath and beat of her heart. “Take me inside, Ricker. I want you to be mine.”
*
Ricker’s dick nearly split his jeans. Her words washed over him, wrapped around his cock and stroked him from root to tip. He throbbed within his pants, the hardness begging to be released, and his tiger roared in approval.
Her sweet, pink tongue laved his thumb, sucked and teased him and he couldn’t wait to have her plump lips wrapped around his cock.
They wanted her, craved her like their next breath and Ricker didn’t want to spare another second.
He abandoned her breast and retraced his path until he snagged her hand and moved toward the door, anxious to sink his teeth into his mate, share a bite and claim her forever.
Ricker didn’t waste time on showing Madison around the cabin. Nope, he kept her moving through the space, past the living room, kitchen and dining room and then down the hall to the bedroom. The place was a nice size, not too small or too big. Perfect f
or a safe hideaway.
The master bedroom was large with a massive king sized bed that would easily fit them, and he had every intention of using each square inch of the soft surface.
A handful of feet into the space and he tugged on Madison’s hand, brought her in front of him. He looked her over, amazed that God would gift him with such a beautiful woman, a female perfect for him in every way.
Her pretty blue eyes sparkled in the dim light and a soft blush stained her cheeks. He wondered if the pink hue covered her from head to toe.
He couldn’t wait to find out.
A rush of embarrassment stroked him and he realized that Madison had caught a hint of his feelings.
“Kit, don’t you know you’re perfect?”
She licked her lips and he ached to kiss them, but he refrained. If he started kissing now, he’d never get to see her peaches and cream skin, never be able to take his time exploring her from head to toe.
“No one’s ever… I’m not… My hips are…” The red intensified on her face and he rushed to reassure her.
“Madison, I love every curve of your body.” He released her hand and cupped her breasts, held their weight in his palms and stroked her nipples until they hardened against his thumb. “Your breasts are gorgeous. Big enough to fill my hands…my mouth.” He abandoned her chest and moved south. “You waist fits me, fits you. It’s got a sweet little dip and it leads me right to your hips and ass. Damn, Kit, don’t you know that I love your ass? It’s got this lush, heart shape and my hands itch to hold it.” He let his gaze bore into hers and his voice lowered to a growly baritone. The cat needed his mate. Now. “I want to bend you over, Madison. Want to stare at your ass as I take you. Grip your hips while I fuck your sweet pussy and spank you until your cheeks are red and you’re screaming in pleasure.”
A shudder wracked her body, traveling through her in tiny twitches and he savored her soft gasp.