He sighed. His voice hushed and low, he said, “You're beautiful.”
He felt her tense in her arms, a split second jolt as her eyes widened a fraction and her cheeks coloured. He remembered the first time he'd told her that and pulled her close to him, wanting to ignite the same fire in her that his words had that night.
Bringing his mouth close to hers, he took a deep breath and then whispered, “So beautiful.”
She leaned into him, her mouth claiming his with as much passion as it had that night but with so much more love. His eyes closed as her tongue met his, sliding along it until all he could taste was her sweetness. He slipped his hands down her shoulders and into her coat, taking hold of her waist and pulling her up against him. She moaned, low in her throat, and he felt the hunger rising inside of her.
Her hands brushed his neck, fingers tickling as they grazed his skin, sending shivers through him. He inhaled sharply through his nose and held back the purr that tried to escape him as she pushed her fingers into the hair at the back of his head.
Her lips danced against his, sensitising them with a touch so light that it almost tickled. Passion surrendered to a sense of peace, lust gave way to love. He tightened his grip, drawing her closer to him until her body was flush against his and he could feel the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.
He sighed into her mouth as he felt her heart beating in his own chest, felt her blood rushing through his veins. He'd missed this feeling so much. This connection was addictive and he'd craved it for these past two years.
She brought her hands up, pressing them into his chest and kissing him at the same leisurely pace. It warmed him through, chasing away the chill of winter and making him feel as though he was basking in the summer sun again.
A beat.
He smiled when she pulled back.
“Did you feel that?” Her eyes were wide again.
He nodded. “Things seem to be moving quicker this time.”
His brow rose as he watched her prodding her chest and then he frowned when she began prodding his. When he gave a slight cough, she stopped and looked sheepish.
“Sorry... I still don't get how this works.”
He opened his coat and took hold of her hand, placing it against his bare chest. She didn't move when he pressed his against hers.
“It's the connection, the bond. This is what you can feel when you can sense me. You can feel me, just as I can feel you. When we're close, we can sense each other easier, deeper,” he whispered, holding her gaze and feeling as though he was drowning in the affection her eyes held.
“So when you're looking at me across a room and I can feel you without looking, that's me sensing you or you sensing me?” She looked confused.
“It's both. The connection makes us aware of each other at all times, subconsciously, but when we focus, that feeling gets stronger.”
“So I can always feel you... but when you're staring at me...” She blushed.
He smiled at how shy she could still be around him, even after everything they'd done together.
“I'm focused. It's like I'm calling to you, only it's not your ears that hear it,” he ran a lone fingertip along her earlobe and she giggled, “it's your heart.”
She swallowed now. “Really?”
He lowered his head and whispered against her lips, “really.”
She kissed him again, a sweet reward that he'd never grow tired of. He loved how she kissed him, so raw and passionate, but tender and loving at the same time. Her fingers traced patterns on his bare chest and he growled as she stirred desire, fanning the flames of his need until he had to fight for restraint. He caught hold of her hands and pulled back, chastising her with a smile.
She grinned.
“Steady... don't want you getting cold.” He slipped his hand into hers and went to walk back to the house with her but she didn't move.
“Cold? I'm not cold... oh.” Her brows rose as she looked at him, clearly understanding what he was insinuating.
He grinned and she blushed. He loved it when she did that, her cheeks tinting a deep rose and her look turning shy. He loved that he had the power to make her do that. Every time she blushed, he wanted to find a reason to make her do it again. He wanted to see the effect he had on her.
She'd certainly blush if he went through with his hinted threat and took her right here in the garden in broad daylight.
Although he didn't think Rose would be able to cope with seeing that.
Maybe when no one was around and the weather was a little warmer, he'd go through with it. His cock stirred at the memory of what their first time had been like, hot and heavy, fast and furious in that little private booth at the nightclub. He groaned internally and told himself to get a grip and think about something else before he had to go through with his threat after all, regardless of the potential audience and the cold.
He frowned when he'd gathered his senses and saw that Kim had walked ahead of him.
Striding to catch up with her, he watched the graceful way she moved and tried to imagine her as a panther. It wouldn't be long now until she was ready to mate. He frowned when the silhouette of that man came back to haunt him. He didn't care what it meant. He wasn't going to let anyone take Kim from him. She was his.
That was final.
He slipped his hand into hers and held it tightly.
“So you don't mind Sean coming down over Christmas?” he said with a false cheeriness that he hoped she wouldn't see through.
“Not at all...” She smiled and swung his hand back and forth. “Should be a blast.”
He didn't want her worrying, not if she didn't have to. Hopefully she wouldn't see this man. Hopefully it was just a glitch, or something like that, and the shadowy figure wouldn't appear again.
* * * *
Kim bit her lip as she focused on the gentle sweep of her fingertips over his bare chest. She loved the satin feel of his skin, the heat of it, and the way her touch was causing goose bumps to erupt in its wake. His muscles twitched and tensed as he moved, but she evaded the grasping hands that tried to take hold of her waist. This was her moment. She was in control now and he was going to have to play by her rules.
She frowned when her fingers traced the ridges of the scars still visible on his chest. They cut across it, from his left shoulder down to his right side. A permanent reminder of his brother's death. It was no wonder he still couldn't get over what he'd done.
She stepped closer to him, so her bare leg brushed his, and dipped her head towards his chest. Tears welled up, hot and heavy in her eyes as she pressed kisses full of gratitude and love to the scars, silently thanking him for what he'd done for her.
Reaching the top of the scars, she kissed across towards his collarbones, tasting his skin and feeling his heat. She didn't stop him when his hands came to settle on her hips, thumbs grazing her overheated flesh and sending her temperature soaring. His caress trailed fire over her skin. The bedroom windows rattled in the winter tempest and the fire roared.
She arched against him, her hips rubbing his as she sought more contact between them. His fingers ran up her back and when he reached her shoulder blades, he pressed his palms into her back, splaying his hands out. She closed her eyes and kissed his neck, mapping the corded muscles as he moaned hotly into her ear. The wind blew down the chimney again, but it didn't chill her as she stood naked with Erik, skin on skin, just how she loved to be.
A gasp escaped her when he wrapped his lips around her neck and sucked. She could almost feel her skin bruising from the none-too-gentle suckling and intense need coiled tight inside her when his hands clasped over her shoulders, fingertips pressing in as he restrained her.
Her head fell back and she stared at the ceiling, giving herself over to the pleasure and feeling desperate for his touch as his mouth explored her neck, suckling one moment and gently biting the next. She dug her nails into his shoulders, eliciting a deep liquid purr from him that turned her insides to jelly and m
ade her knees weak. She clung to him, convinced that she'd fall if he let her go. The pleasure was maddening and with each caress and kiss, she only wanted to feel him more.
Trailing her hands down his back, she focused on the hungry kisses he was pressing to her throat and shoulder. She smiled when she reached the small of his back and applied gentle pressure, coaxing his hips into moving closer to her. He ground his hard cock against her, trapping it between their bodies and igniting an inferno inside her belly. Bringing her leg up, she wrapped it around his and smiled when his hand came down to hold it. He thrust against her again and she moaned, wishing he was closer still. She wanted to feel him moving inside her, exquisitely filling her and making her quiver with pleasure.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and hopped up, encircling his waist with her legs. His hands were immediately on her backside, supporting her as he continued to kiss her throat. She whimpered and pouted when he stopped and then smiled into his eyes when he carried her over to the wall.
Her elbows rested on his shoulders, her hands clasped as they stuck out into mid-air. She waited, anticipation driving her crazy as her mind raced to imagine what it was going to feel like. She tensed her muscles, sending a pulse of pleasure to her clit and feeling how slick with arousal she was. She wanted him back inside where he belonged.
Her breath left her as he did just that, sliding slowly into her and stretching her. He buried his length deep, curling his hips forwards so he could get as far in as possible. She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his neck, savouring the closeness and connection between them. He kissed her ear and whispered words into it, not sweet but sultry and sensual. She pulled back to look at him just as he made his first thrust into her, tearing her breath away and leaving her gasping for more.
She threaded her fingers into his hair and kissed him, her tongue exploring his mouth and tackling his own as he pressed her into the wall. She groaned quietly with each slow deep thrust, wishing he'd quicken the pace but at the same time begging him not to. The slowness of his movements inside her was torture but it was a kind of torture she'd happily submit to. It filled her with feelings of deep desire and hunger as he drew out their coupling and she knew that at the end of it, her climax would be all the more mind blowing.
His fingers tightened against her thighs, holding her as his cock pushed into her over and over again. Silence descended, cut only by their combined breathing as they both sought release together.
He moaned against her lips and started purring, sending vibrations through her body that had her groaning and pressing her back into the wall as she clenched his cock. It was too much. The sensations running through her pushed her in another direction. She roughly grabbed him and kissed him harder, desperate now for him to take her and fuck her, regardless of her own orgasm. She wanted to feel the roughness and the power he held inside, power she'd been shown occasionally. It thrilled her to be at his mercy and she was sure it would be her undoing like it had been many times before.
He didn't rise to the bait. Instead he slowed his thrusts until each meeting of their hips seemed to take forever. She clung to him, kissing his neck and listening to his heavy breathing in her ear. He'd never gone so slow before. With each thrust he drew his cock almost all the way out of her and then slid back in. Her senses scattered a little more each time he buried himself in her, and she tensed her muscles, wanting to heighten the delicious feeling. It was such a different kind of pleasure from what she'd experienced before. She could feel every inch of him as he filled her up and left her empty again. Each inch sent tingles racing to her belly, warming it and tightening it as she clawed her way towards release.
She opened her eyes and stared at the far wall as Erik continued to move, pressing kisses against her neck, holding her to him. She lost herself, her eyes going out of focus as she concentrated on the divine feeling inside of her. Just a few more strokes and she'd be there. She whispered words of encouragement into his ear and felt him begin to tense. He stopped kissing her throat and breathed heavily against her as he began thrusting harder into her, sending her mad with the pleasure.
She moaned loud, not caring if anyone heard her because she knew this was nothing more than a dream, a vision. Here, no one could hear her.
The fire in her belly exploded in a warm rush, sending her thighs quivering as her pussy milked Erik's cock. He growled, making another wave of delight wash over her, and thrust deep into her, spilling his seed.
She held him to her as he breathed hard, his heart pounding against her chest, faster than her own. Kissing his throat, she drew patterns on his sweat slicked back and held him inside her with her legs.
Her eyes darted as something moved out of the corner of her eye and her heart began a different kind of beat.
A slow steady thumping.
She swallowed and held Erik closer to her when she saw it was someone watching them.
It was a man, but she couldn't see his face.
Kim shot into a sitting position on the edge of the chair, her hand pressed against her chest and her mind reeling as she tried to gather her senses. Where was she?
Her eyes came into focus and she saw the fire and the small table beside her. The drawing room. She must have fallen asleep and had a strange dream. She remembered the man. It couldn't be a vision. A vision was only her and Erik.
She realised she wasn't alone and looked across at Erik where he sat in the other armchair. He was watching her. His eyes were dark in the low firelight but she knew it wasn't that which was causing his look.
He knew.
This was why she'd seen fear in his eyes earlier.
He knew that something was wrong. He'd seen the figure too.
“Who is he?” she said, voice trembling with nerves as she remembered the man stepping out of the shadows.
A mating was exclusive. There shouldn't be anyone else involved. That's what Erik had told her two years ago. What if something was wrong, what if there was another mate out there for her? What if that man found her? Would Erik have to kill him too? Her head ached as she thought about it. Before she'd gone to sleep she'd been happy, content that soon they'd mate and they'd be together forever. Now she was scared that something, or rather someone, was about to try and come between them again.
She looked deep into Erik's eyes, hoping to see if he knew more than he was letting on. Maybe he'd only seen the man in the vision. Was that why he wasn't answering her question?
His brows rose into a worried look and her heart clenched to see it. He was as frightened of this as she was. He didn't know who the man was either. Had he only seen a shadow of a man like she had?
“What's happening?” she said, wishing he'd speak and comfort her.
Erik's look shifted, flickering between fear and hope, and he came over to her. He placed his arm around her shoulder as he sat on the arm of her chair and she put her head in his lap. He stroked her hair as she stared at the fire, drawing as much comfort as she could from his presence and touch.
“I don't know,” he said, his voice deep and soft. “But Sean might.”
CHAPTER 4
The garden looked greyer today. The sun had gone in, trapped behind the thick banks of clouds and only peeking through occasionally. The temperature had dropped too, but there still hadn't been a frost. She wrapped her arms about herself, stroking the soft material of her fleece in some subconscious effort to comfort herself. Heaving a sigh, she turned and began to pace back along the length of the patio at the rear of the house.
Her eyes drifted over the shrubs and bushes as she walked, her thoughts drifting over something else. The same thing she'd been thinking about since her vision last night.
That man.
Not even Erik had been able to give her all the comfort and reassurance she needed. Probably because he didn't feel reassured about the situation himself. It wasn't as though she'd never seen him edgy before, but this time it unnerved her. When he'd thought that he was going to lose her
when she'd first discovered his secret, he'd turned himself inside out, holding his heart out to her for her to treasure or smash to pieces. Last night, he'd shown hints of what he'd been like that night. He'd held her close, not letting her get more than an arm's length away from him at all times. He'd told her so many times that he loved her, and each time had made her ache inside because she didn't know how to reassure him that everything was going to be fine. All she'd been able to do was hold him, tell him she loved him, and that she was never going to leave him.
She was thankful she hadn't had a vision when she'd finally fallen asleep, wrapped safely in Erik's arms. Her dreams had been turbulent, haunted by what she'd seen and what it could mean.
Was something wrong? It was clear to her that Erik thought there was. She wished that Sean would get his backside down already and convince them both that this was just a glitch and didn't mean that the mating couldn't take place.
She knew that that was floating around Erik's mind as well as hers. It wasn't just the fear that there could be another mate for her, another man sniffing around and wanting to make her his, that haunted them both. It was also the fear that this could mean they weren't destined for each other and that they weren't meant to mate.
She wasn't about to mate with anyone else. She loved Erik with all her heart. Since falling in love with him, she'd become so dependent on him, needing to feel his arms around her at the end of a long day, wanting to spend her life with him and no one else. There was no one else for her. Erik was her everything.
Muttering a string of obscenities that those words hadn't come to her last night when she'd been trying to wax lyrical to ease Erik's mind, she paced back along the length of the patio.
There was something else that scared her, more than anything.
It was the fact that in all her visions, she'd never felt in control. They had been like dreams, where she was just a player and some higher power decided what happened. She didn't want the man in her dreams, and she certainly didn't want things to happen that could jeopardise her relationship with Erik. She hated the lack of control now, whereas before she'd been happy to accept it.
In Heat: Mating Call (In Heat Shapeshifter Romance Series #2) Page 3