“We’ll both find our way.”
His body heat enveloped her, and she felt truly, entirely safe.
Kay rose over him on her palms to see him better. The banked desire in his eyes was only a hint of what she knew he felt, and he was studying her as closely as she was him. The shadows that played around the room liked his features, the broader cheekbones and thick hair, giving him a mysterious aura. It was a stark reminder that there was more to him, to any person, than she’d given him credit for. Replaying the week they’d spent together in forced seclusion and mutual care, she knew she’d done more than shortchanged him. She’d been so intent on running first, far and fast that she’d blinded herself to what was really between them.
God help her, she was falling for him. Stroking his cheek with her palm, the rough bite of his beard shocked her nerves, making her tremble. Holding herself above him, she found his lips, kissing him the way she’d craved since he walked in the door. The sizzle of his fingers in her hair made her nerves stand on end. The masculine strength of his kiss was gentle, accepting, letting her find her way.
Allowing her go at her own pace, she traced his lip, sipping lightly on the full bottom one, loving their heat. A hot burst bathed her lips when she found his flesh between small teeth and nipped down on him.
An appreciative sound filled his throat, urging her for more. Holding his head between her hands, chest to chest, she covered his mouth, claiming him with her kiss, thrusting and dueling with lustful energy against his tongue. The entire length of his body beneath her grew taut, his cock pulsing through two layers of denim to burn her flesh. Instinctively, she rubbed up and down his body, purring with pleasure as her body heated and longing filled her.
The fingers in her hair massaged her while his other slid south to cup her ass. A firm squeeze made her groan. She loved the feeling of his hand cupping her body. Lava began to fill her veins.
Breaking away from her, he dropped kisses along her jaw, licking with abandon. “Sexy,” he breathed.
With the strength of his hand on her ass, he guided her to straddle his hips, seating her directly over his cock.
“Oh.” He groaned, his eyes closing in bliss. “Shit, Kay.”
Harsh breaths made his chest rise and fall in quick patterns.
Trailing her hands down his chest, she purposely dragged her nails over his nipples, feeling the way they formed into hard little bullets. The hand in her hair slipped lose. He was at her mercy.
“I want you to strip for me,” she told him.
Like he was drugged his eyes opened slowly. “And then what?”
“Guess you’ll just have to find out,” she said with a coquettish tilt of her chin and a smile. To tease him, she rocked back and forth over the bulge between her thighs and his head snapped back again. He was completely turned on and letting her run the show. It was a heady feeling. This was more than sex. More than anything she’d ever experienced.
Leaning forward, she flicked his ear. “Or you can just stay like this and I can leave you hurting.”
“N-No,” he gasped, shuddering beneath her weight because she’d captured one of his earlobes and given it a solid tug.
Sliding off his body, he rolled to the side of the bed. She removed her sandals, jeans and blouse, leaving on her underwear and bra, watching him strip with teasing slowness in front of her.
Skin peeked at her, first his abdomen, solid and lightly tan, with the hinted trail of hair diving for his bellybutton and further. Not a lot, just enough hair to lure her body, fingers and tongue. She licked her lips, wanting to taste him.
The t-shirt fell to the floor then he undid his jeans, a button at a time. Her pulse ticked harder. The slow pace was killing her, but she was loving it too much to make him hurry.
Denim dropped with a quiet whoosh and he kicked them off with his sneakers, his socks disappearing at the same time. Unbidden, or maybe uncontrollably, her gaze rose and stuck on the cock before her. She hadn’t really taken the time to appreciate him fully before. The smooth head topped a thick, reddened shaft, a drop of moisture sitting on the tip. Deep black curls covered his balls, and as she watched him, they twitched and tightened, the length of his arousal bobbing as though trying to get her attention. She licked her lips again. He had her attention. All of it.
That is mine, she thought with a giddiness that took her by surprise. She’d never once thought of any guy she’d slept with as hers, had never wanted one like this. She wanted all of Rush. Glancing up, she found his eyes darkened by lowered lids and knew he was thinking the same thing. It was written like large print all over his face. He wanted her and only her.
“Lay down on your back, like you were.”
Leaning over, he dropped a single kiss on her mouth then complied, no argument, no demanding to know why.
His absolute trust in her actions stole into her heart, mending another wound that had been long buried.
Lying like a sacrifice on top of her bed, he was gorgeous. “I’m all yours, baby.”
Kay glided to the end of the bed, one hand curving over his leg. Rough hair slid under her palm as she worked her way upward. Kneeling between his legs, she alternated licking, kissing and caressing up his body. His body hardened and shuddered in intervals, especially as she got closer and closer to the shaft standing proud and hungry for her.
“Remember what you said about taste?” she asked him on a throaty sigh. A single-syllable groan was his answer. “You taste like the outdoors on the wind.” Heated leaves and sweet earth. A musk that was all his. Licking his inner thigh, she decided she couldn’t get enough of it.
Fists bunched the blankets at his waist. “Kay,” he moaned. Leg muscles clenched and loosened with each lap of her tongue.
“What?” she asked him innocently, not lifting from her purpose.
“Want you,” he gasped. She blew her breath across his groin, and he pulsed in answer. He was beautiful, thick and slick as satin with a steel center that created a heated vortex of need, making her pussy flutter with want.
She nipped at his thigh, her teeth grasping but not bruising. “What do I have to do to mark you?” she asked him. It was a leap to assume it went both ways, or that as a non-shifter, she would have the ability. It was also a leap into the unknown, a step of permanency that she hadn’t thought she would want, but when speaking the words, she realized she wanted it all.
When he didn’t answer for a long stretched minute, she wasn’t so confident when she said, “Do I get to?”
He sat up, his expression unreadable. “Kaisha? That’s a big step. I shouldn’t have mark—”
“Never mind,” she mumbled, sorry she’d brought it up. Spontaneity sucked.
“Baby, no. Don’t do that.” He lifted her by the chin to peer into her eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that. I rushed you. I want your mark.” He slashed stiff fingers through his hair. “Fuck, you don’t know how much I want it.”
“Is it something I can do?” She couldn’t meet his gaze, fighting to hide the trembling she felt building. Bad idea; it was just a bad idea.
“Yes,” he said, holding her face in his palm. Leaning forward, he captured her mouth. “Yes, Kay, I want your mark. Find a pressure point and bite down. You don’t have to break the skin, just teeth marks. The rest happens between us naturally.” Cautiously, she met his gaze. “But remember, once you do, you’ve given yourself to me. Right now it’s only half done, giving us both time.”
“What happens if I complete it?” She swallowed, listening.
“We are permanent. You remember how miserable you were without me?” She nodded into his palm. “Multiply it by about twenty. Long separations are next to impossible. I would need at least your voice.”
“So, if I complete it, now, tonight, I have to move in with you?” Her heart stuttered then jolted back to life. The idea terrified her stiff, but the promise of what could come between them gave her just a smidge of strength to not turn away from the idea completely.
He nodded. “Think long and hard on it, baby. I can wait.” Then with the sweetest kiss, he covered her lips, seducing her down to a molten molecule. “Now, please, finish what you started. I’m dying.”
She giggled, the tension of her outburst suggestion dissipating with his wicked grin, showing her how much he desired her.
* * * *
Rush blinked to stop the swirling stars over his eyes. His body was on fire. His heart was racing, pounding to escape his ribs.
Kay wanted to finish the bonding, wanted to mark him. It was killing him to be rational about it. He wanted to scream to the rooftops, Yes! He was in shock that she’d come to the conclusion herself that it was a shared intimacy. The urge to push her into it, to have what was his, was blinding. Fighting it was killing him, but he wouldn’t force her. He’d made a promise to her. He was thankful that she’d come this far. The fear that he’d lost her forever had been stone cold real until he’d come here tonight.
The finger-light stroke of her against his thigh snapped his head back and slammed his thoughts to a dead stop. Every inch of his body ached for her, burned for her touch. Warm breath surrounded his cock, and his spine shot straight. Her tongue twirled over the head like an ice cream cone, and he knew his eyes crossed.
Taking a deep breath, he cracked open his eyes and lifted his head to see her, to watch that succulent mouth devour him. “Oh, God, Kay.” He moaned and hefted himself up on his elbows, clutching at the blanket to restrain his hands. Slim fingers wrapped around him, and his neck went slack with blissful pleasure. Low grunts were all he was capable of as she squeezed and sucked on him in rhythm.
Just as good as he imagined and so much more. Her tongue was a wicked tool, sliding around and over his flesh. He pulsed and thrust with little bumps of his hips, unable not to try to reach for more. When she pulled her hair out of her way, he almost lost it. The way her mouth captured him was erotic as hell.
There was a tentative stroke then her fingers fondled his sac, and he collapsed to the bed, boneless but harder than he’d ever been in his life. “Kay! I’m going to come!”
That seemed to only excite her more, and she doubled the pace of her driving mouth, sliding up and down his shaft like an overheated piston. He couldn’t stop her, and he was helpless, so deliciously helpless.
The burn built, starting at the base of his skull. His body found her rhythm, meeting her with solid thrusts into the cavern of her mouth. Pleasure grew like a fireball, spinning wildly, rolling down his spine for her mouth. Ecstasy he’d never experienced set his nerves ablaze. All he could do was take her sweet punishment.
With a roar, the fireball hit his groin, exploding with bursts of pleasure that stole his breath as he pulsed his seed into her mouth. She took every thrust, every throbbing spurt until she’d licked him clean.
Gasping, he lay like a depleted balloon, empty and limp. Harsh breathing was the only sound in the room as tingles surged then faded down his limbs. With lithe movements, she shimmied up his body, dropping a light kiss on his chest then his cheek.
Turning, he found her mouth and kissed her hard. Thrusting his tongue into her sweetness, finding a hint of salt from his own orgasm, he didn’t care. The only thing he wanted was her. “Amazing,” he told her, his hand finding the will to wrap over her side as she snuggled into him. He nuzzled against her, completely content.
“Don’t worry, baby,” he told her a few moments later when he could formulate complete sentences again. “That is only the beginning. You’re not even naked yet.”
“Oh?” she asked sweetly, turning that coy grin up to him. “You gonna do something about that?”
“Sooner than you think,” he warned. Before she saw it coming, he tossed her off his shoulder and pinned her to the bed. Showing his teeth in a feral grin, he told her, “My turn.”
“Oh, no! The big bad wolf is going to eat me,” she cried in woeful theatrics.
“I think eating you is only going to be the first course,” he replied, heat surging through his frame like an electrical current gone crazy. “Sexy as sin in lace.” He knew he was going to enjoy unwrapping her over and over.
Lowering for a kiss, he said, “I love you, Kay.”
She cupped his face holding him above her. He could see it in her eyes. It was there, but instead of pushing for it, he simply kissed her and loved her. All night long.
Epilogue
Rush walked from the bathroom with a towel slung over his hips, finding the petite beauty waiting for him on the bed. Three months. He didn’t know how he lasted through the waiting without exploding with impatience, but he had and now Kay sat on his bed, completely moved in and taking her place as the fem-alpha. Knowing she had expected contention from the pack because she wasn’t a shifter, her ease of stepping into the roll was amplified when several of the couples welcomed her with open arms.
Sheridan had been her staunchest supporter, paving the way to introduce Kay. She had won over Rush’s sister hands down when she’d stayed by his side while he healed. He had no idea what the two women talked about during those four days, and didn’t want to know how many childhood secrets were divulged. Sheridan had found a new home of her own closer to the college last month, but was still close enough to harass her brother. Having her remain as his second, close, meant the world to him. The tight community of the pack was doing good things for Kay, too. He’d always known their support and always had family on some level. Kay’s experiences had made her wary, but that was slowly changing, for the better, for the both of them.
She hadn’t mentioned the marking again, and he wasn’t going to push her. It wasn’t a small gift or a returnable piece of clothing. The mark was forever. Leaning on his shoulder on the door, he believed he understood his mother better now, too. He’d never connected the strain of loss to the reasoning behind her death. More than likely, her passing hadn’t even been a real choice. He promised to do better with Kay, and with Sheridan in the future, now that he had a better understanding after living through some of this himself. He wouldn’t trade a minute of it, either.
“What are you smiling at?” she asked him, those gray eyes of hers teasing him from beneath a wealth of lashes.
“Just the most beautiful woman in the world,” he replied, meaning it.
“Really?” She whirled on the bed. “Where is she? Maybe I can get some fashion tips.”
He launched from the door and pinned her to the bed amid a cacophony of giggles.
Burying his nose into the creamy softness of her shoulder, he wrapped his arms around her and hung on tight. Rolling, they stopped on their sides facing each other.
“Rush,” she said, with the sound of his name tugging his engrossed gaze up rather than following his meandering fingers on the tips of her breasts. Her nipples poked like pebbles beneath her nightshirt. Tight little pebbles that he wanted to suck and nibble like hard candy.
“Hm?”
“I want to complete it.”
His hand froze as he locked on her gaze. He didn’t pretend that he misunderstood. This was too important for those kinds of games.
“Now?”
Ducking her chin, she answered, “Well, tonight.”
“You’re positive?” His heart had lodged itself in his throat.
Nodding, she said, “I love you, Rush. It’s time I stepped up, too.” She smiled, her heartbreaking smile that made him feel like he was ten feet tall and bulletproof.
He blinked. “Wait. Did you say—”
Pressing light fingers to his lips and with laughter in her voice, she said, “Yes, I love you. I’ve known for a while, I think, but until I made up my mind about the mark, the significance wasn’t concrete. It wasn’t easy for me.”
With a hand tucked through her hair, he drew her forward until her forehead touched his. “I know, baby. I believed in us, and I’m glad to know you do, too. If you’re ready then, God, yes. Please.”
A flicker of unease dampened her gaze. “I guess this means we’re esse
ntially married, then?” Her tongue sneaked out, trailing her lips. It was impossible to miss the hesitation and worry. It was written all over her face. Deep inside, he wanted to take her back to her childhood and remove all the scars she carried. Unable to do that for her, he promised from that day forward to love her in ways she’d always been denied. To love her the way she was meant to be, adored and cherished for the wonderful, beautiful soul that was Kaisha.
“It will be all right. You don’t have to do it yet. I want you to be perfectly okay, perfectly comfortable with what it means, sweetheart.” He stroked her with his thumb, waiting. When she didn’t retreat, he explained with a soothing burred rumble, “If we do complete it then yes, all we need is the legal paper for everyone else, but for you and me and any of our kind, you are taken.”
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