Heart's Sentinel

by PJ Schnyder

  Adam set his coffee on a night stand and reached out to cup her chin. “Because, Kitten, if you let Van stop life from moving forward, he wins. You showed me that yourself, leaving the city and coming out here. The way you came for lessons in mixed martial arts and the way you've been learning to be the shapeshifter you've become. So today, of all days, we're going to keep moving forward. What do you say?”

  She studied the earnest look in his face. She looked into those gentle amber eyes and saw a fierceness lurking. He could control this, giving her what lessons he could. He wanted to go on teaching her while he knew he would be there. Neither of them could predict the outcome of the Challenge, or what would come after.

  “You want me to what?”

  Adam looked at her patiently from the safety of the forest floor. He had to be close to twenty feet below her.

  “Jump.”

  “I thought we were going to be going through lessons, not leaping out of trees.”

  She heard Adam's chuckle, definitely sounding like he enjoyedevery moment.

  “This is part of the lesson, Kitten. You're a shapeshifter now. You can do a lot more than you used to be able to and you need to learn to gauge distances accordingly. Jump. This should be an easy drop for you to land on your feet.”

  “Great.” She looked all the way down. It still looked too far to her, even if what he said made sense. After all, he'd managed the distance, against gravity, to carry her extra weight. “Okay, fine. Just…jump.”

  When she hit the ground, her knees bent instinctively, her legs absorbing the impact as if she'd only jumped off a chair or a bench. Of course, her stomach seemed to have hung back up in the aerie, so it took a little longer to settle.

  “See?”Cheerful Adam clapped her on the back. “Not a problem.”

  “Uh huh. I'm down here, what are we doing down here.”

  Adam took her hand and led her to a nearby log.

  “You've been doing minor shifts since I met you.” He pulled her to sit on the log with him, straddling it so they faced each other with a few feet separating them. “But, you do it without control. You need to learn to shift at will and to control how much you shift.”

  She leaned back a little. “Hey now, I thought the shifting to cat form was a bad idea because the heat would turn to blood lust.”

  “True. But we aren't going to shift fully. You are. I'll be able to control you or run with you if you do need to hunt.”

  “I like my steaks rare and all, but I'm not sure I'm ready to take my meat straight from the source.” In fact, her stomach turned at the thought.

  “We're going to take it one step at a time, Kitten, have some faith.”

  She studied him. The cheery Adam had returned, but not overbearing. Positive and taking an inordinate pleasure in the caution with which she approached the whole concept of learning from him. She decided Adam had a perverse way of getting entertainment out of life.

  “So, what's the first step?” She couldn't help being suspicious.

  “We work with what you've already been doing. We make your control over the claws a conscious act.”

  She looked down at her fingertips. “How?”

  “Spread your fingers out on the log.” He instructed, pressing her hands palm side down. His hands covered hers completely in a warm grip. She hadn't realized how much bigger his were.

  “Okay.”

  “Now think. How did you feel whenever they came out? Angry enough to clench your hands into fists, right?”

  “Oh! Gotcha.” Mackenzie looked down at her hands, spread out on the log and pressed her fingertips into the bark as if clenching her hands. Nothing happened the first try, but the second try rewarded her with a slight prick as her claws pierced the skin of her fingertips.

  “Good, try again.” He encouraged her, tugging a stray lock of hair.

  By the end of an hour, she called her claws at will and retracted them as needed. The dead log had been deeply gouged, numerous times, as a result of their practice. Not only did Adam want her able to call her claws at will, he wanted her to feel what it was like to use them and get accustomed to the feel of resistance as they met with something solid.

  The last bit unsettled her because sinking her claws into something solid gave her more gratification than she thought it would, like the satisfaction she got from landing a good hit on a heavy punching bag. Soon, Adam would be using his claws against Van. She knew what Van's felt like. It took effort not to cringe from the memory of rending pain as he’d gouged her muscles, a tightening ball of hate and fear centering in her chest.

  Her worry must have shown in her face because Adam reached out to caress her cheek.

  “You're doing great, stay centered on the lesson. Now, take off your shoes and we'll work on your feet.”

  “My feet?”

  Adam raised an eyebrow at her. “Cats use all four appendages. One of the best advantages you can have over your opponent is if you can get your feet between you, and claw them with the greater strength of your legs behind the claws. Besides, they come in handy for climbing too.”

  “Joy.”

  “It's fun. Once you get the knack of it, you can use the claws for traction too when there's unsure footing. It'll become habit.”

  She tried picturing it, but had trouble. “And all these little shifts are leading to one big shift later?”

  “That's the plan.”

  She couldn't resist returning Adam's smile. His approach built her confidence, slowly desensitizing her to the weirdness of being able to shift into something other than human and giving her time to explore the new her in phases.

  She almost forgot about the impending Challenge and the danger Adam would face. Almost.

  But somehow, even being able to partially shift hands and feet, the ability to fully shift proved too elusive when Adam talked her through it late in the afternoon.

  “Like I told you, Kitten.” He encouraged her after several tries. “Relax and think of your inner cat. The cat isn't a separate entity. It's a different part of you. Most of the time you spend human, you spend exercising control over the cat so you conform to humanoid behaviors. Let yourself relax and let the part of your personality that is cat come to the forefront . You'll shift.”

  She frowned in concentration, breathing hard with the effort. Her inner cat hovered, a presence under her skin and in her mind. Her claws extended for both hands and feet. Her muscles in her back and calves strained with the beginnings of a shift, but her stomach knotted in cold fear. She needed to control herself, had to, or who knew what blood she would spill in cat form.

  He’d reassured her he would be there to stop her, keep her under control. She had done some reading about her other form, the southern peninsula panther. Big cats and powerful predators, the subspecies of cougar could do massive damage. In terms of size, Adam's jaguar form matched her potential but if he stayed in human form, she could inflict serious hurt.

  As if he should risk harm from her, when he would be facing a Challenge in the very near future.

  No matter how he encouraged her, try as she might, she couldn't shift. She tried again and again, pouring every drop of effort she had into commanding her muscles.

  “It's okay,” he stopped her. “Easy, there. You're tired. It's time to call it a day and get you back up for some rest.”

  Even as he spoke, sweat trickled into her eyes and stung. Her vision swam and suddenly his arms were locked around her. The day had been full of concentration and physical exertion with only a short break for lunch. What little mental capacity she had to spare had been tied up in worrying for him and the impending Challenge. She hadn't had time to think about her heat all day, only barely aware of it simmering below her skin.

  The feel of his arms seared through her skin, and Mackenzie dropped her head into his shoulder, breathing deeply of the spicy musk of him after the long day. He smelled of wild things and forest and cinnamon.

  Her hands clutched the fabric of his t-shirt
, and she ached low in her belly.

  He tucked her head under his chin and held her close, rubbing her lower back in slow, circular motions. “Ah, Kitten, it will only get easier from here. This is the worst of it.” He cursed softly. “And, it is the absolute worst timing for it.”

  A laugh bubbled up, not an entirely sane one. “Yeah, timing. I'm not so good with it.”

  “Let's get you up to the aerie. You'll feel better after you take a shower.”

  His words remained clear but his tone turned husky. Tilting her eyes up, she watched Adam's eyes lighten from amber to jaguar gold, a sure sign he didn’t have as much control as his voice indicated. She drew a breath to speak.

  He put his thumb across her lips. “Don't say it. You don't want this yet, not with the heat. You want to come to this on your own. Remember?”

  She swallowed and wondered if she really would regret jumping on him right then and there. And, if the worst happened in the Challenge, would she regret the lost chance?

  “I'm right here, on my own.”

  He stilled, his face unreadable.

  She dipped her head, letting her cheek fall into the cup of his hand. For a moment or two, she let the texture of his palm rub against her hot cheek. Then she made her case.

  “Bad things happen, Adam.” She looked back into his eyes, her face upturned so their lips were a whisper apart. “When there's a chance to enjoy good things, I'm not going to pass on them just because I have the excuse of something like the heat to cover my retreat. I'm right here, on my own, and the heat only makes it more interesting.”

  “You're sure about this.”

  “Unless you can give me a real reason this is a bad idea.”

  “Be sure, Kitten, because in about three seconds, it'll be too late to say no.”

  She narrowed her eyes as she considered Adam’s words. He’d frightened a tiny part of her with the threat, before a quiet pool of calm spread deep inside her heart. He would never hurt her, never push her past what she willingly gave. She knew it with a surety, banishing the fear.

  And in a different aspect, bluffing in another effort to protect her seriously tested her temper. For the moment, she and her inner cat shared a perfect accord.

  Slowly, she lifted her lip from her teeth in a defiant snarl. “One.”

  He growled at her, and she took a perverse pleasure in tweaking his temper.

  “Two.”

  Something blossomed deep in her chest, almost like laughter, exquisitely higher in temperature. Mackenzie nipped his lower lip.

  “Thr…”

  His hand flashed past her cheek to clasp her nape, strong enough to send little thrills through her entire body as he cut off the passing of the last second with a searing kiss.

  She flattened her hands against the hard muscles of his chest and felt the strong beat of his heart as she matched his kiss in a tangle of tongue and teeth. His other arm pulled her tight against him, his hand spread across the curve of her lower back.

  Fire lit between them, dancing on her skin so hot she could barely stand it. Only his touch gave her surcease, cooling and tingling as a sigh escaped from her lips when he let her up for air.

  “We need to get up into the aerie.” His voice, ragged with desire, sent chills down her spine.

  “Why is that, again?” Mackenzie trailed soft kisses along his neck.

  “I dunno about you, Kitten, but I'm a possessive kind of cat.”

  “And?” His hand in her hair excited her as his fingers rubbed ever so slightly into her scalp.

  “And there's Mack and two other Sentinels out here. Minimum.”

  She tore herself from his arms, sucking air into her lungs as she fought for equilibrium.

  He tensed as she glared out into the forest for a moment. She turned to him and let him catch a glimpse of temper. With a wild heart, she flashed her teeth in a feral smile and turned for the aerie.

  “If I make it up there on my own,” she tossed over her shoulder, “I have dibs on the shower.”

  She sensed more than heard him coming up behind her, jaguar fast, and let out an inadvertent squeal when his arm wrapped around her waist as she gathered herself to try the jump. The two of them jumped together, gaining the first level of the aerie easily. He tightened his grip and took them both up to the second level.

  “We'll both use the shower,” he murmured, scooping her up in his arms and striding inside to privacy.

  A few voice commands set the walls of the bedroom to full opacity as he carried her through to the bathroom. Another command turned the shower heads on full. He set her on her feet and palmed the door of the bathroom closed so steam filled the room. He began to strip off his clothing, slowly, watching her as he did with a gaze so intense, her breath caught in her throat.

  His eyes challenged her and the wildness in her heart rushed to meet him. Deliberately, she turned her back to him and bent over to remove her shorts in a long, smooth motion. Lifting her T-shirt, she gave him plenty of time to watch her reveal her behind and back as she gathered courage.

  She'd been with guys before, but none of them ever elicited such an intense response from her. None of them had ever turned her on just by watching her.

  She let her shirt fall to the floor and any vestiges of hesitation with it. Before she could turn to face him, he stepped behind her, intimately close. His hands barely brushed across her back as he undid her bra and then his fingertips slid against skin as he pushed the straps over her shoulders and free of her arms. Only her small, silken panties covered her.

  He pressed himself against her back, his erection smooth and hard between them. She gasped and reached out to the stone tiles of the wall for balance as his hands ran gently over her shoulders and down her arms before sliding back up along the sensitive skin of her sides. His fingers followed the curve of her rib cage, teasing the undersides of her breasts, creating a sweet ache.

  “Adam.” Her whisper part joy, part plea to her ears, almost lost under the sound of running water. The heat burned through her skin, made her throb between her legs.

  He heard her, and kissed a burning trail along her shoulder and up the curve of her neck. He took the weight of her aching breasts in a firm but gentle grasp, such an act of ownership she moaned and let her head fall back against his shoulder.

  The entire length of his muscular body pressed against her, making her feel more feminine than she ever had before. Caught between his hard body and the grip of his hands gently kneading her breasts, her own hands fell away from the wall as she leaned back against him, clutching the sides of his thighs.

  “Easy, Kitten.”

  She twisted her head to look up at him, whimpering with need.

  His eyes reflected a purely male knowing, and he smiled down at her as his thumbs brushed across her tight, sensitive nipples. She cried out, and he caught her cries by covering her mouth with his own. His tongue darted between her lips and she returned his kiss hungrily, tasting deeply of his spicy wildness.

  He continued to kiss her, as if wanting nothing else but that singular pleasure. She writhed under the firm kneading of his hands over her breasts and pressed back against the solid presence of his body. He groaned as her buttocks ground against his erection.

  Sliding his hand down the front of her flat belly before gripping her hips, he hooked his fingers under her panties and slid them down her legs as his mouth licked and kissed its way down her spine.

  “We need to get in the shower.”

  She growled in protest and frustration, but his arms guided her in. Water danced across her sensitized skin from the shower heads above and to the sides, massaging and running along her limbs in a warm, silken slide.

  “Let me take care of you, Kitten.” The deep need in Adam's voice touched her, above and beyond lust. She lost words.

  He kissed her again, holding her in the shelter of his arms as water poured around them, rinsing away the sweat and heat of the day. His mouth released hers, sucking and licking the w
ater from her skin, working its way down her neck and into the deep crease of her cleavage. Those wonderfully big hands covered her breasts, kneaded, and rubbed across her sensitive nipples.

  She desperately held to the solid strength of his shoulders as he played, taking first one and then the other breast into the heat of his mouth, using his tongue to tease at her nipples. The water continued to rain down, and awash in so much pleasure, she could barely see.

  She needed to do more than hold on, wanted to give as much as he did. Blindly, she reached between them and took the silken hardness of his erection into her hands. Wrapping her fingers around the solid length of him, she stroked once, twice. He growled against her breast and sucked hard, forcing her to cry out and grip him tighter.

  Breathing heavily on little whimpers, she let out another soft noise of protest when he gently drew himself out of her hand and dropped lower. Frustrated, she looked down, barely understanding as he gazed up the length of her body for a long second. So much intimacy burned in the one look, and she gulped as her heart skipped a beat. Then, he lifted her knee and draped her leg over his shoulder, his hands sliding up the backs of her thighs to grip her backside firmly.

  “Wha-”

  He dipped his head, and his tongue darted between her legs. She jumped, but he had her in his grip, holding her steady. She leaned back against the stone tiles of the shower, cool in contrast to the heat of the water falling over her and the even hotter burn between her thighs as his breath blew across the sensitive skin of her most intimate place.

  He wasn't going to…oh, but he was.

  He dropped soft kisses all along the outer edge of her until she moaned again, aching for more of his silky touch. She’d never allowed previous lovers to touch her so intimately.

  When his tongue slid into her, she bucked against him. Chuckling, he held her firmly and continued to explore her inner folds with firm strokes of his tongue and gentle kisses. He found the tiny, erect center of her pleasure, teased it with the tip of his tongue before he settled his mouth over it and sucked.

  “Adam!” Wild with need, the heat singing through her blood and the cool contrast of the stone tiles her only anchor with reality. Her hands pressed flat into the tile for balance, afraid she might fly apart in his hands.