by J. C RIMELL
He kissed the fleshy, inner part of her thigh. Nipped and sucked, felt her body tremor with a desire that matched his own, sexual need becoming raw, wild.
With his mouth covering the most intimate part of her, he teased and manipulated her swollen clitoris with his tongue. He felt her body rock against him in a steady rhythm, her short nails biting into the skin of his shoulders. Her moans grew more lusty, frustrated. She was climbing higher and he refused to stop until he took her to the very peak.
“Cade, please. Oh, God.”
He pressed his tongue harder against her, shoved a hand beneath her thigh and slipped a finger inside the core of her. Her body stiffened as she hit the pinnacle. Her breath caught. His hand gripped tighter and after several long heartbeats she began to move slowly. Falling in a slow sated descent.
Kit shuddered as he released her. He moved over her, tugging down his sweats with a hurried impatience until he kicked them free and off his legs. Their naked bodies melted together. Goose bumps danced across their skin. Her chest heaved against him as she caught her breath.
“Are you sure?” Cade asked, his voice feral as his lips brushed against the column of her throat. He was choking his wolf on a short leash with an unforgiving grip. They were close now, his power erupting like a volcano in his veins.
Kit took a deep breath. Let his scent fill her nose as she closed her eyes, dug deep into her soul and asked herself the question. His body was magnificent. Hot and hard and cocooned hers into a shield of safety. She felt protected, wanted, desirable...
She felt like his.
Cade slipped his fingers into hers and joined their hands, brought them above her head. His body pressed against hers. She felt him shake and with his face buried in the curve of her neck, he growled deep and guttural. “I can't, Kit.” He was losing control of his inner beast, the wolf straining against the hold he had on it. “Baby...”
“Look at me,” she whispered in his ear. “Cade, please look at me.”
She heard him suck in a ragged gulp of air and he brought his head up slowly to meet her gaze. His dark hair fell around his face, his scar was suddenly more prominent and his eyes were unrecognizable now. Kit felt as though time stood still. Her eyes drifted down to his long, sharp fangs. The cords of his neck pulled tight and strained against the flesh. To the tribal swirls of his tattoo that seemed to curl and coil around his body.
She was unafraid as he poised over her, almost overtaken by the animal within. He was deadly, dangerous, and she wanted him.
“I'm yours, Cade Grayson. Forever.”
Bringing his arm to his mouth, he bit into his wrist without hesitation. The sharp fang punctured his skin just above his leather band, his warm crimson blood beading to the surface. “Drink from me,” he said, as droplets of blood fell onto her creamy skin, holding his arm over her mouth. He watched her attentively, her eyes grew wide as she took a firm grip of him with her free hand and hesitated. “Kit, please… trust me.” Cade knew the effect his blood would have on her. It would seep into her veins like lava. Ignite and rejuvenate her body. The bond was magical though this was a dream, it was just as special and was only a taste of what was to come.
She covered the wound with her lips, feeling the soft gush of his blood hit her tongue.
“Ah, Jesus. More, take more Kit.” Her moan made his cock throb against the moist entrance of her sex. He bit off a curse when her legs spread farther apart and she bucked against him. She drew deep mouthfuls of his blood now. The liquid an aphrodisiac hitting every one of her nerve endings, rushing into deep dark places.
The wolf snapped its leash. Cade's head whipped up, and he pulled his arm free as gently as he could from her mouth. He arced over her, tilting back his hips, he fisted himself and ran the head of his cock along the core of her. She lifted her hips with a frustrated moan and with one deep thrust he filled her. Kit's body bowed beneath him, a cry ripping from her throat that was fully exposed before him. His lips peeled back off his fangs. “Kit. Ah, damn!” he growled, before the animal in him sank its teeth deep into her soft skin. Her fragrant blood filled his mouth. Slid blissfully over his tongue and down his throat. Pulsed through his veins quenching his deepest desire. He sucked hard, unable to get enough.
Everything he'd ever felt with a woman before was insignificant. Feeling Kit's body wrapped around him, clenching the hard spear of his manhood took him to another plane. Another world entirely and slowly he began to move inside of her.
Cade's warm blood provoked her with a dizzying pleasure. Lightning flashed behind her eyes and a cry left her in a rush as his intimate intrusion shattered her deep inside. Her core was tight around his cock. The first thrust bit sharply, stole her breath and her body tensed as she tried to relax around the thick girth of him. Before Kit could gather any sense of her thoughts, two spikes struck her flesh. Cade's fangs sank deeper sending a hot rush of electrical pulses through her body, making her hips jerk beneath him. He moved inside of her, his tempo slow at first allowing her to adjust, and she could feel his restraint.
Kit pulled her hand free from his and gripped his ass. She couldn't get enough as he took deep pulls of her blood. Growls rumbled like thunder in his chest as he felt her hand encourage him. He moved faster, long, deep strokes in and out, his thrusts relentless. Finally releasing her throat, he took her mouth, the taste of blood lingering on his tongue.
“More. More… please,” she breathed desperation lacing her cries. “Cade… deeper.”
He braced his big body up on his hands either side of her. Gazed down through eyes that were lost to his beast and saw her hazy, blue eyes staring back at him adrift in her own need.
He thrust deeper, harder until he filled her with every last inch of him. Her sweet, erotic moans drove him insane, made his groin tighten and ache for release. She pulled her knees upward and spread herself wider so he could feel her taut little muscles coil and flex around his cock. Goddamn. It was almost his undoing. “That's it, tell me what you want, let me give it to you.”
“Now, Cade. Oh, I need you now.”
Ah, hell! Her orgasm easily persuaded his own from him. He came with a rough curse, stars shot out from behind his eyes as he filled her with his release. He continued to move with slow, deliberate strokes, still erect as another wave crashed over him. Kit shuddered as she wrung every last bit of him dry. Cade embraced her and their bodies meshed into one, perfect fusion as their hearts collided and beat with the same, bonded rhythm.
§
Madeleine placed the detonator back down on the seat and rushed over to Kit. Her heartbeat was irregular, and she had rapid eye movement. Cade's heart rate had skyrocketed off the charts.
“What's going on Madeleine? Talk to me damn it!”
Ryker sounded beyond pissed off, but she ignored it and glanced at her watch, two minutes left before Cade would wake up.
“I'm coming in there. I know you wouldn't jeopardize lives by crazily attaching that cord. And if I'm completely wrong about you, then I guess we're all gonna die!”
Just as Ryker forced open the door, the alarm on Cade's watch went off and Madeleine's heart skipped a beat. Even though she'd known there was no way the explosive would blow, she'd almost managed to convince herself of her own ruse.
It even gave Ryker cause to stop in his tracks and suck in a deep breath before marching across to her, grabbing her by the arm and spinning her around to look at his maddening glare.
“What the fu… what are you playing at?” His eyes were a deep mahogany in the darker part of the room, but they still managed to hold her captivated in their fury.
“I had to help them… you don't understand.” Her voice quivered as his angry scowl narrowed in disbelief making her stomach knot tightly.
“You're right, Madeleine. I don't understand, but what I do understand is that this was some crazy idea of a mad woman. Shit! Fleet is having kittens over this and Warden is going to lock you away and throw away the goddamn key!”
�
�No, he won't.” They both turned to face Cade, who was sitting up and swinging his legs from off the gurney. He yanked the monitor patches off his chest sending the machine haywire. Peering over his shoulder once more, he looked at Kit before he stood up and switched off the machine.
Ryker squared up to him. “Have you got any idea of the kind of shit she's pulled for you, man?”
“I'm sure she was doing everything I told her to.” Cade's gaze swung to meet Madoc's, and he gave her a wink, deeply grateful. “If anyone's to blame, it's me.” He ran a hand through his hair, unable to mask the triumphant curve in the corner of his mouth. “You need to draw my blood, doc and give it to Kit—ASAP.”
Madeleine gasped. “You did it?” Her eyes widened as he nodded in silent affirmation. “Oh, my God, you actually did it!”
Ryker threw his hands on his hips, completely miffed. “Did what?”
“That's something we'd all like to know.” Fleet entered the room with the Overseer by his side.
Feeling the combined power of both shifters, Cade took a moment to deflect the mind burn he could feel inching over his brain. “Once Madoc's taken all the blood she needs,” Cade said, without so much as looking in their direction, “I'll tell you whatever you want to know.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
The Overseer's power was a foreshock before an earthquake. An oscillation that resonated off the walls and rippled in the air as he stood at the head of the oblong table in the Shadow Pack's communication room. The computers, monitors, and other hi-tech equipment had to be shut down temporarily. The energy rolling off of the Society's leader was likely to blow everything into oblivion.
Wary glances darted from one another. Each pack member waited anxiously for the bomb to drop. The tension was thick and uncomfortably heavy. A pin falling to the floor would have shattered the silence in the room like an explosion. Cade watched his comrades twitching beneath the intense scrutiny of their leader, but he no longer felt that kind of fear. Something had changed in him the moment Christopher Warden had come clean about being his grandfather. His own power grew stronger all the time, now it was just waiting for some kind of release.
Fleet cleared his throat to speak, but it was Cade, who broke the silence before his Alpha did. A bold move, possibly even stupid, and an act that would undoubtedly cost him a verbal scolding later.
“No one else is responsible for what went down in the med room―but me.” He paused, fixing his sight on Warden. “And given my recently discovered heritage I know I'm not breaking any precious rules, isn't that right… Sir.” His voice bristled with an edge of hostility. All eyes shot to land on him in disbelief for speaking over his Alpha and having addressed the Overseer in a way that would normally be met with a swift punishment. Before the Overseer could respond Cade continued, well and truly taking his life into his own hands. “Because, if you're my grandfather, then that pretty much puts me on the top rung of the ladder. Which also allows me a mate.”
The window behind him shattered, a thousand tiny shards blew inward. Everyone ducked as splinters flew into the room, leaving the slatted blind swinging against the empty frame.
“Goddamn it!” Fleet cursed. “Cade Grayson, your ass is so deep in shit it'll take a month to claw your way out.”
“No, Fleet, this is between Cade and me.” The Overseer's voice had gone wolf and his glare was one that would cause the bravest shifter to recoil with fear. “You can all leave now.”
The breeze streamed in through the broken window. The blind banging repetitively as Fleet, Ryker and Madeleine cautiously left their seats and vacated the room.
“You can save any pep talk you might have for me. I already know you'll be kicking my ass out of here.” Cade said as he slid his chair back and stood up. His own wolf was unafraid now and surging to the surface.
“You are so very sure of yourself,” the Overseer said with a calm that was so unnerving, Cade felt the cold steel of a knife edge press against his spine. “You are hot-headed and arrogant―just as your father was.” He thrust a hand through his hair, blew out a breath. “We are in the midst of a supernatural war, Cade, every one of us is needed. Are you going to stand there and tell me you want to bring an innocent, human female into it too?”
Cade met the Overseer's deadly scowl. He had reined in his beast, obviously well-disciplined in doing so. “You forget the fact, Kit had been poisoned by a vampire and needed my blood. I sure as hell wasn't about to let an innocent human, let alone my mate turn into one of those things.” He paused, catching the fury ignite in his grandfather's eyes. “I'll fight any goddamn war you want. Kit doesn't have to be involved.”
The Overseer grunted with a shake of his head in irritation. “How very young and naïve you are! Do you honestly think those bloodsucking bastards won't try to use those that we love against us? Kit was taken once, wasn't she?” He edged closer, the two of them standing a fraction apart. “Look, you may not want me as a grandfather, and I understand. It doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, this isn't how I imagined you would take it.” He dropped his gaze momentarily in contemplation before pinning Cade's again. “I won't lie, you have power beyond your wildest dreams and I just don't want to see that wasted. We, the shifting community needs you. One day they will need a new leader, Cade.”
Cade threw his hands on his hips. “And what if I don't want that responsibility?”
“Then you truly are, your father's son.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as if fighting off the stress and regretting the sudden bitterness on his tongue at what he'd just said. “While I loved him with a ferocity, he made a mistake, by turning his back on the Society when they chose him. He was a strong Alpha and would already have stepped into my shoes. There isn't anyone left in my line that could take on such a role, except you, Cade.”
The Overseer had reservations concerning his brother Alex. He wasn't particularly liked within the shifting community for reasons that escaped him. Christopher Warden and his brother were complete opposite sides of the same coin. He knew Alex would not receive a warm welcome if he were to become head of the Society, thus demolishing everything the Overseer and his predecessors had built over many years.
Cade stood in silence. The weight suddenly felt heavy, the expectation, shit, he wasn't prepared for this. He sat back down, resting his elbows on his knees. “Did you love my grandma?” he asked, catching the Overseer's eyes as they reared up to meet his. It was no secret the Overseer's mate had never forgiven him or the Society for the pressure they had bestowed on their only son. She had left him to live in solitude near to the Elders in the Alaskan territory. It wasn't an act that was taken lightly. The bond between them would never be broken and the pain of being separated an unbearable torment.
Christopher Warden accepted this was a well-deserved punishment, one of which he felt the stab of guilt and loss every day. No one would know, of course, his steely façade was worn like a knight's armor, impenetrable. But here in this moment, as he looked upon his own flesh and blood, he felt the burden of that loss. Of the tightness in his chest more so than ever.
“Oh, Maria.” He smiled, a spark of tenderness flickered in the depths of his eyes. “I loved her like there was no tomorrow.”
Cade wondered what his grandmother was like and felt a pang of sympathy for the Overseer and the torture of losing his mate. He knew better than most why Cade couldn't give Kit up.
“Then you understand why I need to be with Kit, and if that means facing judgment from the Society, then so be it.”
The Overseer nodded, to refuse his grandson this would be to lose him forever. “Would you consider staying with Kit by your side?”
“Is that what you're offering?”
“If it means keeping you near, and you can live with the dangers and sacrifices that may come as a result of keeping your mate… Then yes.”
§
Jack Henderson led Valerie from the underground garage down to the holding cells. It didn't sit right with him having to treat her
as a prisoner, but until he knew more about her, he had little choice. He felt awkward in her presence and tried not to touch her as they walked side by side down the corridor. She was being cooperative and had agreed to help them in return for her freedom.
“Is she of great importance to you, the female Leon has taken?” Valerie asked without shifting her gaze from the black tiles stretching out before them.
Jack cleared his throat. “Jo? Yeah. I mean, of course, she's important.” He glanced up to look at her as they turned the corner. God, her beauty was almost too much to behold. He tore his eyes away as they reached the cells and she let out a hiss, her eyes fixed on the figure behind the glass.
“Seth!” Valerie spat out his name like a curse.
“Ah, Jesus,” Jack muttered, realizing his mistake. “I forgot you two were well acquainted.”
Seth moved forward quickly, the venom tasted ripe on his tongue. “Valerie, where's your bastard King!”
Jack took a firm grip of her hand, a vibration traveled through the tips of his fingers and up his arm as he moved her forward hastily. “Come on, we need to make sure you're not too close.” Walking her into the farthest cell, she broke free from his hold on her.
“You should have told me!”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I guess I could have.” An uncomfortable silence followed as he watched her take in her new surroundings. “It's only temporary...”
“From one cage to another,” she whispered. Dropping her bag onto the bed, she turned to him and hit him with a cutting glare, eyes flashing crimson. “How long am I expected to stay here?”
Her accent made his cock twitch. Christ Almighty. He ran a hand over the rough stubble on his chin, thinking he must look like shit and in need of a long hot shower and a shave. “Listen, I appreciate your help back there. What you did, going against your own like that.”
Valerie scoffed, her eyes narrowing as she scowled at him. She couldn't escape the scent of him. It seemed to saturate the small space, clung to every part of her skin, ignited a fire in her belly. “What do you know about my own?”