“Well, I never said you were my girlfriend,” Killian said dramatically. For a split second she thought he was serious, but the teasing glint in his eye quickly betrayed his intention.
“Hey.” Sadie poked him in the belly and laughed as Killian put up both hands in surrender. An evil smile curved her lips when he squirmed while she poked him along the waist a few more times. “You’re ticklish?”
“You should stop that,” Killian said through a laugh, playfully attempting to avoid her attack. “I’m warning you.”
“Why? What are you gonna do?” She laughed and stuck the stem of the rose between her teeth so she could torture him with both hands. “Where’s the big, bad alpha now?” she said, the rose clenched in her mouth.
Laughing while trying to avoid the onslaught, Killian grabbed her by the wrists and dragged her body up against his. Sadie gasped, the rose tumbling from her lips as her breasts crushed against the hard planes of his chest. The beat of his heart pounded through his body and throbbed through her seductively as his eyes flickered to a deep shade of orange.
Allowing her body to melt against his, Sadie floated in the rich rush of lust that flared between them. Tangling her fingers in his, she reveled in the magnificent feel of him. This time, when her fangs begged for freedom, Sadie parted her lips and succumbed to the surge of bloodlust, allowing them to break free.
A growl rumbled around her, and she couldn’t stop staring at the devilish smile that played at Killian’s lips. Loosening his hold on her wrists, he slid his hands along her arms. The whisper of flesh along flesh made Sadie moan. As she linked her arms around his neck, her lips parted. She flashed her fangs before flicking her tongue over his lower lip.
“This is going to be complicated,” Sadie murmured as Killian tugged her T-shirt from the edge of her jeans. She let out a contented sigh when his heated palms rushed beneath the thin cotton fabric before cupping her breasts. Letting her head fall back, she closed her eyes and focused on the seductive feel of his talented fingers as they danced over her eager, sensitive nipples. “And it could get messy,” she rasped. “I mean down and dirty, no holds barred. Messy.”
“Look at me, Sadie.” Killian tangled one hand in her long hair and lifted her head, forcing her to meet his hungry stare while his other hand paid thorough attention to her breast. Flicking the lacy fabric aside, he rolled her nipple between his fingers and brought her face just inches from his. The heat of his hardening cock seeped through the fabric of their clothing, an erotic, teasing reminder of what was still to come.
“I don’t want you to hold anything back. Do you understand me? I want you to give me everything you have and take whatever you want, whatever you need. All that I am is yours. My body, my heart…my blood. Everything,” he rasped, “belongs to you.”
Stilling in his arms with the thick pulse of desire throbbing around them in the warm evening air, Sadie felt her chest tighten. Staring into his burning gaze, that odd, fluttery feeling swirled in her belly as the true weight of his words sank in. No one, not one person in all her two hundred years, had ever surrendered to Sadie the way Killian had. He was willing to give up anything and everything…for her. The man was offering himself to her in every way a person could, and he did it with an honest, open heart.
Tears pricked the back of her eyes because up until this moment her entire existence had been about surviving. Until connecting with Killian, she hadn’t really thought much about living. Somehow, even without a heartbeat in her chest or breath in her lungs, he made her feel alive for the first time in centuries.
“Body and soul,” Sadie whispered in a quivering voice filled with restraint. Reaching between them, she curled her fingers around the fabric of his shirt. She slipped the top two buttons open and ran her fingertips over the exposed patch of skin and its thin layer of dark hair. Her gaze skittered over the vein in his neck that throbbed with each beat of his heart, and before she could stop herself, she popped up on her toes and ran her tongue along that swath of skin. Killian shuddered and gripped her tighter, both hands slipping over her ass as Sadie murmured, “And blood.”
“Take it.” His heated stare clapped onto hers as the growl in his throat rumbled and his strong fingers dug into the flesh of her ass. “It’s yours.”
A strangled moan escaped Sadie’s lips at the same instant Killian’s mouth slanted over hers in a demanding, powerful kiss. Tongues tangling, Sadie tugged open his shirt eagerly and sent buttons flying. The sound of tearing fabric only served to heighten the frenzy of need between them. She had to touch him, to run her hands over that gorgeous chest and feel his flesh against hers. The fiery heat of his skin called to her like a siren song luring her in. Killian adjusted his stance and slid one leg between her thighs. He held her to him with one arm and tore her shirt off over her head with the other.
With a growl, he captured her mouth again with his, as though being apart was too much to bear. Carnal lust tinged with desperation permeated the kiss while his talented hands undid her bra and rid her of the flimsy fabric that remained between them. She sighed into his mouth as her breasts pressed against the hot expanse of his chest, allowing herself to feel him in every way possible.
In a frenzy of activity, they divested one another of the rest of their clothing until they stood completely nude, tangled up in each other’s arms beneath the light of the moon.
Kissing her deeply, Killian swept Sadie up in his arms and carried her over to the grassy hill before laying her down on the soft bed of green. He stood over her and Sadie, mourning the loss of the warmth of his body, moaned and reached for him. The massive moon glowed brightly in the sky, and she had the silly thought that he’d hung it there just for her. The luminous disk loomed behind Killian, giving him an unearthly glow that only served to highlight his well-sculpted form.
“Do you know how beautiful you are?” Killian asked in an almost reverent tone.
Dropping to his knees, he nudged her legs apart before settling his long, strong body over hers. Placing both hands on either side of her head, he hovered above her, every taut inch of his body humming against hers with unfulfilled desire. His heated gaze skimmed over her face, and the hunger in his eyes deepened when they trailed over her. “So perfect,” he murmured before dipping his head low and brushing featherlight kisses over her flesh.
Sadie writhed beneath him and let out a whimper of pleasure when he flicked her nipple with his tongue. Delicious waves of warmth rippled through her blood, and she knew that with each touch, with each caress, Killian was doing far more than marking her body as his. Before tonight, he’d made it clear that he was claiming her body. Now, Sadie knew, he was demanding far more. He was asserting his right to her soul, burrowing into her heart and taking what she knew was only his to take.
“I’ve pictured you like this for months.” Settling onto his elbows, Killian rocked his hips against her slowly and deliberately. Sadie wove her fingers through his hair and opened her legs, urging him to put them both out of their misery and to take what she offered. He refrained. The hot length of his cock seared along the outside of her sex, and with each rock of his hips, it slid slowly over her clit. “Naked and spread out beneath me with that lustful look in those dark chocolate eyes.”
“I want you inside me, Killian.” The needy desperate voice that escaped Sadie’s lips was barely recognizable. Arching her back and wiggling her hips, Sadie grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head from her breast, forcing him to look her in the eye. A slow smile lit up her face when she saw the hungry, lustful expression carved into his features. Baring her fangs, she hooked her legs over his and sighed as his sizable erection slipped over the wet flesh of her sex. Sadie brought his face closer and ran her tongue over his lower lip, her mind touching his. Don’t make me wait any longer.
The instant their minds joined, the growl in Killian’s chest rumbled and his mouth crashed over hers. Sadie opened her legs wide a
s he lifted his hips, and with one long, slow stroke, he slipped himself inside her to the hilt. Breaking the kiss, their bodies joined, Killian stared into Sadie’s eyes and started to move. With each slow, deep, languid pump of his hips, she clung to him and reveled in the wicked licks of pleasure that fired through her body. I want this to last, and I want to see the look on your face when you come apart for me.
He thrust into her and filled her time and again as the bloodlust clawed at her, driving her impatience. She lifted her hips, wrapping her legs around him and rising to meet him with every pass. That was all the encouragement he needed. Killian swore as he pumped harder and faster, the friction and heat of his body rushing over her clit with exactly the right amount of pressure. The orgasm coiled deep in Sadie’s belly. Killian’s tempo increased, and she sensed he was close to the edge. That knowledge made her own pleasure surge.
He thrust into her, the hot, steely length of him filling and stretching her to almost impossible limits, and Sadie knew she only needed one more thing. With the thunderous beat of his heart calling to her and with his sweat-slicked skin sliding over hers, Sadie gritted her teeth, fighting the bloodlust. The pull was far beyond any she’d felt before, and as the orgasm built, her resistance crumbled. Killian’s strong masculine body covered her while the sweet, torturous orgasm began to crest and her basest desires erupted.
I need to taste you, Killian. Licking the flesh along his neck while he pumped into her at a frenzied pace, she touched his mind and clung to him. Just one more time…let me in.
“Yes.” Killian’s voice hovered somewhere between human and wolf, and the guttural, animalistic sound of it pushed her beyond the limits. “Take all of me inside.”
Surrounded by his touch, voice, and scent, Sadie’s orgasm exploded as she sank her fangs into his throat and fed. The instant the warm liquid hit her tongue, Sadie came again, the powerful spasms of her orgasm racking her body with brutal force. Killian shouted her name and pounded into her with one final pass as his own pleasure flared and his body shuddered around hers.
Sadie absorbed Killian in every way possible and shivered when his blood memories filled her mind with a newfound familiarity. In a flash of light, however, a new image rose above and drowned out the rest.
Killian in his jet-black wolf pelt, his eyes glowing amber. He was standing in the middle of the Great Lawn, but he wasn’t alone because next to him stood a smaller black wolf with eyes that burned red…blood red. The mournful howl of a wolf tore through her mind, and heat fired through her body as the clear, distinct beat of her own heart pounded in her chest.
With the ripples of their shared orgasm fading and the long-absent heartbeat throbbing strongly inside her once again, Sadie licked the wound on his neck closed. Killian collapsed breathlessly on top of her. Breathing heavily and with Killian’s face buried in the crook of her neck, Sadie took a moment to enjoy the feel of his body on top of hers. Their hearts beat in unison, and she closed her eyes so she could shut out everything else except him.
Her skin hummed with energy and her body throbbed with life. Sadie sucked in a deep shuddering breath. Cool, clean air slowly filled her lungs as she breathed at a slow, deliberate pace. For the first time in centuries, Sadie didn’t just feel alive…she was alive.
“Holy shit,” she whispered. She tapped Killian on the arm and pushed at his chest with both hands, lifting him off her and making him look her in the face. A sleepy, satisfied expression swiftly changed to concern when he saw her distress. Fear, confusion, and excitement swamped her as she tried to decipher the latest development. “I’m alive, Killian. I mean, really alive.”
“I feel the same way,” he said with a cheeky wink. He gently disengaged from her body and stretched out next to her on the grass.
“Killian, I mean I’m actually alive.” She sat up and grabbed his hand before quickly bringing it to her chest. The cocky, satisfied expression on his handsome face shifted to one of awe. “I’m breathing. I’m actually fucking breathing. Can you feel that?”
“How is that possible?” Killian’s voice was quiet and almost reverent. He sat up and scooted closer to her, keeping his hand pressed to her chest. His warm brown eyes searched hers, and a smile played at his lips. “Before, when we were in the storage room, you got a heartbeat, but it wasn’t this strong. And you didn’t breathe like this.” His brow furrowed and concern carved into his features. “Do you think it’s my blood that’s doing this?”
“I don’t know,” Sadie said quietly. “I—I think so. It must be part of the bloodmate connection, but honestly? I don’t care what the reason is…it’s incredible.” She rested her hand over his on her chest, tears filling her eyes as they sat in silence and listened to the beat of Sadie’s heart. A smile lit up her face as the cool, crisp air filled her lungs with refreshingly familiar ease. “It’s like riding a bike, I guess. You never really forget how to do it.”
To her surprise, Killian burst out laughing before grabbing her face with both hands and pulling her in for a long, deep kiss. It didn’t have the hot, passionate, desperate touches of his earlier kisses, but was languid and sweet, reminding Sadie of long, hot summer nights that went on forever. Wrapping his arms around her without breaking the kiss, Killian lay down and pulled her with him. Feeling his cock stirring to life again, she smiled against his lips and straddled him.
She suckled his lower lip and rose up on her knees while trailing her fingertips over his hard, flat stomach. The tip of his cock bounced against the edge of her sex, and a tortured groan escaped his lips as he gripped her hips. A naughty grin played at her lips, and just when she was about to give them what they both wanted—the distinct sound of an intruder put an end to their stolen time together.
Her fangs erupted at the hint of danger and the pace of her breathing picked up, making her feel slightly off balance. Fangs and breathing didn’t really go together. Killian obviously sensed the same thing because he wrapped her in his arms and brought her down to the ground with him, rolling her beneath him protectively.
Someone’s here. Sadie touched Killian’s mind gently. She felt a little silly about allowing him to protect her, but her senses were so screwed up, she didn’t fight it. In the trees behind us.
I know. Killian nodded curtly and a growl began to rumble. It’s a vampire. Both of their survival instincts were on high alert, but at the moment, Killian’s senses seemed to be sharper. Shane or Dakota? he asked, referring to the two sentries.
I can’t tell. Frustration laced her voice. All this breathing and beating-heart crap has my wires crossed.
“Identify yourself!” Killian shouted in that voice that hung between animal and human. Eyes glowing, he tightened his hold on her. “Or are you a coward?”
What happened next seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.
Someone flew down in a rush of icy wind, slammed into them like a Mack truck, and ripped Killian away from her. Through the fog of sensations, she knew it was Dakota, the newest sentry in NYC. He was strong and fast, and from what Sadie had heard, the guy was a ruthless fighter. Struggling to find her voice, Sadie wanted to scream his name, to tell him not to attack, but no sound would come.
In that instant, Sadie knew what pure unadulterated fear combined with white-hot fury felt like as it fired through her with bone-clattering force. Somewhere in the distance she heard Killian growling and snarling and knew he had shifted, but she couldn’t see anything. Her body, the one thing she could always count on for its predictable strengths and weaknesses, was betraying her brutally.
Sweat poured down her face, stinging her eyes, and even though she wanted to run after him, to fly and go to Killian’s aid, she couldn’t. She thought she heard Killian calling her name but he sounded so far away. Her entire body shook like she was being electrocuted, and the next instant her world exploded in a tsunami of heat and a blinding flash of light.
Fighting her way throu
gh the confusion, Sadie caught a glimpse of Killian and scrambled to her feet. He had shifted back into his human form and was standing next to Dakota, and both men had expressions on their face that were nothing short of stunned.
Feeling completely off her game and still horribly dizzy, Sadie shook her head in an effort to clear it, but all that did was make her more off balance. She went to steady herself with her hands, but she didn’t have hands.
She had paws. Four furry paws.
The cold hand of fear grabbed her by the throat, and she shifted nervously on four legs instead of two. She looked up at Killian, who was moving cautiously toward her. She let out a low whine while she tried to wrap her brain around what had just happened. As Killian approached, and the wind whispered over her fur-covered body, Sadie tossed her head back and howled at the moon.
Chapter 14
Sadie’s howl tore through Killian and made his heart ache. Her pain and confusion were evident in the mournful wail, and he fought the urge to shift so he could comfort her in his wolf form. Moving closer, he touched her mind with his as he dragged his jeans over his hips. It’s going to be okay, Sadie.
What’s happening? She whined and backed away from him, her eyes glowing bright red in the darkness of the park. Other than the color of her eyes, she seemed like any other pack member, and the jet-black fur of her coat shimmered in the moonlight. She was absolutely beautiful. Killian?
He was about to answer her when her body shook with what looked like a seizure. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and in a flash of iridescent light, she shifted back before collapsing naked on the grass. Killian went to her and quickly used his discarded shirt to cover her beautiful nude body from Dakota’s curious gaze. He knew nudity wasn’t a big deal, and it was irrational to cover her that way, but he didn’t care. He never wanted another man to see her exposed and vulnerable the way she had been for him.
Gathering her in his arms, after ensuring she was sufficiently covered, he turned around and leveled his burning stare at the sentry who looked appropriately shocked.
Vampires Never Cry Wolf Page 20