by Em Ashcroft
He kissed her, held her close, and murmured, “I want you,” against her mouth. He drew away. “We can’t. I have to take care of you.”
She stroked his cheek, rough with morning bristle. “You know what happens when a woman becomes a breedmate?”
He raised a brow in query.
“She takes on some abilities of her mates. She heals quicker, for one thing. Not as fast as a shape-shifter but definitely accelerated. She takes on the full ability to communicate mentally. That is, instead of receiving telepathic messages and being able to respond, she can initiate them. She becomes stronger, too.”
He slid his hand between her thighs. She opened eagerly for him. “Do you mean that you’re not sore?”
She loved the way he got right to the point. She nodded. “You were so careful last night.”
A frown creased his forehead. “Not as much as I should have been. We should have used lube. I kept thinking about that and worrying.” He slid a finger between her folds, working it up her pussy, watching her carefully all the while. “Does this hurt?”
“No.” It felt slightly tender, but that was her arousal, not the lingering effects of having two cocks in her cunt. She couldn’t wait to have them in her again. Right now she had a beautifully thick and meaty cock waiting to do it again. That worked for her.
She took it in hand, as much as she could because Vaughn was built on generous lines. His cock stiffened in her hand, and he pushed a couple of fingers deep inside her. His groan shook her.
“I want you so much. Please tell me you have protection.”
“Why?”
He shuddered and gently moved her hand away. “Much as I love you doing that, I need to think. Before I arrived, you didn’t have any need. Now you have, unless you want to bet pregnant.”
When he began to slide his fingers out of her, she clamped her hand over his wrist. “There are some in the drawer on your side of the bed. We didn’t use them much.” Hardly at all, after their first dates. “Check the use-by dates.” Nathan had used condoms at first out of courtesy. Trinity knew he didn’t have to because shape-shifters couldn’t pass on human diseases or catch them. That was a quick shift got rid of them because few diseases affected cats and humans alike. But she’d never had sex without using a condom before she’d come to Goldclaw, and she preferred to use them. As they became a true couple, they stopped using them. That must have been six months ago when she’d stopped thinking of their relationship as temporary.
Vaughn closed his eyes in relief. “Thank fuck for that.” When he withdrew this time, she didn’t stop him. She knew the next time he’d stay.
He rolled away briefly, opened the drawer, and grabbed a foil packet, pausing to peer at the package. “And it’s in date,” he said with relief. He glanced at her, that grin firmly in place. “Sure about this?”
“Yes!” Lifting up, she took him off balance, pushing him onto his back. Snatching the condom off him, she tore it open impatiently and rolled it into place.
When she looked up, the grin had broadened. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” he said and lifted her. He sent a glance in the direction of her cunt, now wide open and dripping. “I need that.” He lifted his gaze to her face. “I need you.”
He brought her down, astride him. His control was incredible, as if she weighed nothing. That was far from the truth, but he handled her easily, hovering her above his erect cock until the tip had entered her.
Wet though she was, his invasion made her shudder and work to keep the pleasure going. The shock when he touched her reverberated right through her to every hair on her head. Slowly, he brought her down, impaling her completely. When his balls touched her ass, he dragged her down and ravished her mouth in a deep, passionate kiss.
His voice sounded in her head. Fuck, this is amazing. It’s like nothing else.
She knew exactly what he meant. Instead of verbalizing it, she sent him waves of arousal and pleasure. He groaned, and then it was his turn to roll her onto her back.
He came down on her, a marauding force intent on giving her pleasure. Plunging deep, he twisted his hips, working his cock inside her cunt until she sighed and moaned his name. Already he had her on a knife’s edge, ready to give everything up to him.
Bending, he sucked a nipple hard, nipping the very tip before turning to the other breast, delivering small bites and nips before sucking and soothing. At the same time he set up a hard rhythm, fucking her without mercy.
Not that she intended to ask for mercy. She held her body against his and responded to his pounding thrusts, pushing up against him, opening herself to him. He bared his teeth, his great chest heaving as he sucked in a deep breath and watched her.
She didn’t want to miss a moment of this. Keeping her eyes open, Trinity fought back, holding his arms, her hands barely covering a third of his thick biceps. When she dug her fingers in, and her short nails pressed into his skin, he growled, more cat than man, renewing his attack. When he changed his angle of entry slightly, her clit met his groin with every stroke, and she cried out.
Curling her legs around him, she clung, only forcing him deeper and harder, pushing her heels into his buttocks. Welded together, they fucked hard, Trinity giving back everything she got in the wildest ride of her life.
Her senses rose to meet him. Staring into his eyes, she felt closer to Vaughn than to anyone else except Nathan. He understood her. For the first time in her life, she willingly opened, mind, body, and everything else. He swept in like the marauding barbarian he was. He took what she offered, but instead of snatching and leaving, he opened to her in his turn.
While they worked and sweated, they watched and learned.
Vaughn showed her his terrible loneliness, his courage in starting his new life, and then his joy when he’d found her and Nathan. He’d expected to spend his life alone. That was far worse than spending it with a partner, as she and Nathan had expected to do.
Her heart went out to him, even through the fierce orgasm rocking her body. This time she could think and experience what she was feeling. No mindless climax, this. Vaughn watched her, picked up her reactions and worked her. He slowed his thrusts as she headed toward her peak, keeping them steady while she threw herself over and experienced the delirious waves of her orgasm.
Her pussy clenched around his cock, pulling him in, working him as he did the same to her. Vaughn came hard, dropping his head so his chin touched his chest. He gasped as his cock throbbed deep within her, pushing out the climax she’d called from him.
Trinity’s power was absolute, as was his over her.
Vaughn rolled over, withdrawing from her as he went, pulling her to lie in his arms, almost in the same position they’d started. “If I’m not in love with you now, I soon will be,” he growled.
“Oh yes.” That, she knew, was Vaughn opening up to her. He wouldn’t do it all at once. She doubted he could do that because of the way he’d kept himself tightly furled up. But the confession filled her heart with joy.
When he’d opened to her, when she’d swept inside, comprehension filling her, she’d fallen in love with him.
They spent the day in bed, laughing, learning each other. Vaughn raided the kitchen, bringing up crackers, grapes, and bread to eat, with glasses and a carton of juice. “Got to keep up my strength,” he claimed. He fed her grapes one at a time, laughing when she reached up and grabbed the bunch from his hand.
He refused to fuck her again, saying he wanted to take care of her properly. Taking her into the shower, he babied her in the way she loved, patting her dry and taking her back to bed.
They slept then until Vaughn woke her mid-afternoon, kissing her all over, making her laugh helplessly as he tickled and teased. As if they’d been doing it all their lives, she opened her mind to him, and he reciprocated. It was much easier with a bonded breedmate. They would give their lives for her. She didn’t need him to tell her that for her to know it.
He bracketed her, his arms and legs encompassing her.
She was wondering, dreamily, what she’d done to deserve this when he paused, gazing down at her, an arrested expression in his eyes.
“What is it?” She caught his apprehension, realizing something had changed.
“I know why Driscoll wants you so badly.”
“What? Did you pick something up in my mind?”
“Kind of. Everything came together. Lie still. Let me into your mind.”
Leaning over her, he searched her mind, probing deep. Trinity tried not to wince as he touched parts of her memory she wasn’t aware she had. He explored, methodically hunting, but she wasn’t afraid. This man would never betray her.
“Fuck. Driscoll thinks you belong to him, and he wants you back.”
Pushing him away, Trinity sat bolt upright. “How the fuck do you know that?”
“Get dressed,” Vaughn said. “I’m calling the office then Nathan and Chris.”
Chapter Eight
Nathan dragged off his sterile mask and threw it in the trash. He sucked in a deep breath and stretched, lifted his arms skyward, and rolled his neck.
A colleague walked past where he stood in the hallway. “Tough one?”
“Yeah.” Nathan rolled his shoulders. “An emergency, a car crash victim. I didn’t realize the person was a shape-shifter. It happened outside town, and the paramedics scooped and ran. We won, but barely. I thought it was a simple repair, but once we got her in the OR, all hell broke loose. Let’s just say it turned out to be a lot more than that. You know that old song about the anklebone being connected to the leg bone and all that?” He’d never felt less like singing.
“Sure. We all do.” The woman sent him a wry grin.
“It was like that. I touched one thing, something else went wrong. Then the fucking patient shape-shifted. An automatic reaction, I guess, but I really needed her in human form for this procedure.”
“But you saved him.”
“Barely. Everything should work now. I really didn’t want to amputate. Maybe I’m obsessive.”
“Sometimes you have to be.” The woman nodded and passed on in the direction of OR three. At the door, she turned and smiled. “That’s why you’re in charge and I’m not.”
Maybe she was right. Apart from aches and pains all along his neck and back, Nathan felt a sense of relief and deep satisfaction. He’d shut everything off when the first disaster had struck and concentrated on his patient. He was beginning to understand the appeal of a breed partner. Where Trinity was concerned, he could trust Vaughn implicitly. If there were a serious problem, Vaughn would have contacted him. As it was, his head buzzed. Vaughn had been trying to get hold of him, he realized.
He strode straight to his office and picked up his cell, grimacing at the number of unread messages. What the hell had happened? He returned the last call. “Yeah? I was in the OR. Tricky procedure.”
“We’ve had some progress.” Vaughn paused. “It’s not more danger. It’s the reverse, but I’d rather tell you face to face.”
“Why?”
“It’s a personal thing. I worked something out, that’s all.”
“Is Trinity in danger?”
“No more than she was,” Vaughn said. “We’re both safe at home.”
“Will this wait another couple of hours? I have one more procedure scheduled. I had to deal with an emergency.” He bared his teeth in a grin. “Trinity would have loved it.” Relief filled him that she was okay and that there was some kind of breakthrough.
“I guess. We’ll sit tight here.”
“I’ll get this done and come straight home.”
Vaughn grunted. “That’s fine. Chris is here. We’re talking over the plan, but we won’t make any decisions without you.”
“Appreciated.” Wondering what information they had, Nathan cut the call. He didn’t want to rush his last case, but if there were any delay, he’d probably explode. Anything that brought the bastard targeting her closer couldn’t be bad.
Right now he needed air.
He left his office and nodded to the PA, busy, as always, but not too busy to return Nathan’s greeting. “You have another procedure in an hour.”
“I know. I’ll grab a sandwich and coffee and be right back.”
The woman nodded and went back to her keyboard. Rolling his shoulders to ease the stiffness, Nathan went downstairs to the snack bar, where he picked up a coffee and sandwich before leaving the building. He walked around to the small grassed-over area that the hospital optimistically called a park. A bench was set under the spreading branches of an oak tree, but somebody was already sitting there, so he walked on. Maybe he’d sit in his car for a while and listen to some music. But the hospital was too confined for him right now. It had been too long since he’d shape-shifted and taken a run. He promised himself the luxury this weekend. One day he’d run with Vaughn, test his mettle. See if a panther could beat a tiger. He grinned. No way.
His car was parked in its usual space, but as he headed for it, something pierced his arm, punching into the meaty part.
“What the actual fuck…?”
His head swam when he turned it to see who’d done that to him, only to find a syringe dangling from his arm. A small one, easily procured. Nathan tried to force his brain into working, but it wouldn’t operate, wouldn’t do what he wanted. Arms caught him, but when he tried to whirl around and face his attacker, he stumbled, like a cub in long grass. He was standing in treacle, hot tar or something.
Despite his determination to stay awake, his eyes slid closed and lead poured through his veins.
* * * *
Nathan woke up on a hard floor, freezing cold. Dim light filtered through the bars in his cage. His cage? When he moved and tried to roll over, something jangled. He was chained to something. His vision stuttered, as if he was in an old stop-go animation movie, nothing quite right, nothing real. But he wasn’t dreaming.
He didn’t know where he was or why. Somebody had drugged and kidnapped him. His head was still stuffed with cotton, and he was finding it hard to concentrate on anything.
Sitting very still, giving his mind and body a chance to catch up with him, Nathan took in his surroundings. The cement floor underneath him was cracked, and the bars on the front of the small space were rusty but sturdy. Like an old-time jail, something abandoned, but he had no idea if any such thing existed close to Goldclaw. If he was still in Goldclaw, that was. Maybe whoever had taken him had flown him somewhere out of the county. He had no idea how long he’d been under, but he was wearing the same clothes as when he’d collapsed.
He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and saw the tiny red mark where his attacker had injected him. There were no other marks, just the one. But they could have jabbed him with some serious stuff. He hadn’t had time to shape-shift, so the drug had affected him like a human. Some kind of opiate, he guessed, from his sluggish reactions and the side effects. He felt trippy, not quite there.
They must have given him one fuck of a dose. He could have been out for twelve hours or one. There was no way of telling. They’d taken him in the late afternoon after he’d come out of the emergency procedure. It was almost dark now, from the faint light filtering in from somewhere above him.
He hadn’t alerted anyone by rattling the chain when he’d sat up. They were fucking confident, and he didn’t like that. Or not knowing who they were.
The effort of sitting up had drained him. He could barely move. Anger simmered inside him, ready to explode when he was ready. He’d fucking kill whoever had done this. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but…
“Good evening.” The unctuous tone heralded his captor.
Nathan made the effort and opened his mouth. “Driscoll,” he said through rubbery lips, the sound echoing dully in the bare room.
“Well done. I’m surprised you can see straight.” The man appeared far too pleased with himself.
Apprehension tightened Nathan’s stomach. At this rate he’d lose the contents, but he was fighting to keep cal
m and settle his body. “Were you trying to kill me?”
“No. You’re bait.”
Of course he was. What had Vaughn said in that phone call? He remembered talking to his breed partner, but when he tried to recall what they’d said, the words slid away. Furiously he chased them, but they remained just out of reach. “You want Trinity.”
“I want Katrin, yes.”
He used her old name. Of course he wanted her. “She won’t come just because I’m here.”
Their scheme was in ruins. And they’d set it up so carefully, too. A touch of regret pierced the overwhelming sickness invading his mind and body. Nausea took him over, but he refused to give in to it, to give Driscoll the pleasure of watching him helplessly give up.
“Yes she will. She has a soft heart, my girl. She’ll come for you.”
Once he regained his center, he’d send word. But right now he just wanted to curl up in a ball and die. He had to do something, send something. Screwing his eyes close, he forced a connection and worked to connect with his breedmates. The link was stronger and deeper and his only hope. Driscoll didn’t know they had bonded. He’d probably taken Nathan out of range of ordinary communication, but breedmates could do more.
Opening his eyes, he projected a picture, the one he saw. It was the easiest way to link, and it required no thought or words. If they responded, he’d answer.
A sharp pain pierced his concentration, and he turned his attention to his forearm. A green-tipped dart hung grotesquely from the flesh. He pulled it out, but it was too late. The nauseating feeling swept over him, and although he fought, he sank back into unconsciousness.
* * * *
“He’s her father,” Vaughn said bluntly.
Chris blinked and leaned back in his chair. They were sitting around the kitchen table, mugs of coffee steaming before them. Vaughn had waited until Chris arrived because he didn’t want to repeat himself twice, he said. But he’d have to tell Nathan once he arrived. They’d called him, but he was in the OR, so they’d have to wait until he emerged.