She didn’t say anything, just shifted her gaze away from him and stared off over the cliff toward the water.
“Perci”
“My world hasn’t been right in so long, I can’t even comprehend what right would be like. I don’t know what right feels like.” She sent him a look from the corner of her eye. “I’m messed up, okay? I locked everybody, everything out and I’ve spent the past few centuries hurting Luc because I couldn’t drag myself out of the pit I’d dug for myself. But I don’t love him the way I need to, and I never will. He’s not a part of my life anymore, except for being a friend.” She paused, then opened her mouth. “I…no. You know what? Fuck it. I’m leaving. I’m out of here, Jack.”
She shoved against his chest, but Jack just reached up and caught her wrists. “Not yet,” he muttered. “I don’t want you leaving yet.”
“And what if I want to?” she demanded. She glared at him. “Damn it, I’ve been on a roller coaster ever since I met you and I can’t do this. It hurts too much. I’d rather go back to not feeling anything than to feel like this. Either you want me or you don’t—stop jerking me around.”
“Ah, hell, Perci. That’s the problem.” Still holding her wrists, he dipped his head and gently rubbed his lips over hers. “I’ve always wanted you. Even when you belonged to somebody else and I had no chance in hell of ever having you. I wanted you then. Dying didn’t stop that. All the years between didn’t stop that. And the minute I saw you…I wanted you then. I want you now. I’ll always want you. Want you…need you.”
Her hands, balled into fists, abruptly loosened and curled into his T-shirt. Daring to let go, he cupped her face in one hand, angled it back and slanted his mouth over hers. “You’re my heart, princess,” he whispered. “I must have been sent back to find you. We can’t live, or even rest in peace without a heart, I guess. And you’re mine. Always have been.”
Her lips parted on a sob and he took another chance and eased his tongue inside. Her rigid body went lax and she all but fell against him. Jack groaned and caught her weight in his arms. She wrapped hers around his neck, her mouth moving under his.
And the shields—that solid, cool wall that had come between them, evaporated. As her emotions crashed into him, he sagged, might have fallen, but he didn’t want her on the rough, unkind ground. So he shifted and crashed into the car, keeping her cradled against him as the weight of her emotions washed over him.
Tearing his mouth away from hers, he whispered, “Perci?”
She pressed her brow to his, her narrow shoulders shaking.
“You wanted me to leave,” she rasped.
“No. Hell, no. It was just killing me to think I couldn’t keep you.” His heart clenched in agony as the pain inside her washed over him.
“I don’t want to leave you,” she whispered. “I haven’t felt alive, felt real, until I met you. I…shit, Jack. I think I’m in love with you.”
Shaken, he cradled the back of her head and stared up at the dark gray skies over head. Words he hadn’t thought he’d ever hear…not from her.
“Perci…”
She lifted her head. “Don’t go freaking out,” she said, forcing a smile. “I’m not going to get all clingy and desperate. I just—”
He fisted his hand in her hair and hauled her against him, silencing her words with his mouth. He stopped just long enough to mutter, “Three hundred years. I knew I loved you then. And I know I love you now. If you’re not going to get all desperate, and even a little clingy sometimes, I’m going to get pissed. I waited two lifetimes to hear you say that. I think a little desperation is just fine. I’m sure as hell desperate. And I plan on clinging to you a lot. Starting now.”
“Oh…um. Okay.” Tears gleamed diamond bright in her eyes, but she smiled and a hiccupping laugh escaped her. Her teeth caught her lower lip and she glanced around. “Now? Right now?”
“Yeah.”
Without waiting another second, Jack swept her into his arms, grinning as a surprised giggle escaped her lips. “You know, I’ve never had a chance to do that.”
“You do it really well.” She snuggled against his chest, absently stroking her finger over his chest as he carried her across the uneven ground to his small cabin.
It wasn’t much, and just then, he wished it was. He’d love for it to be a palace, a mansion, something with a wide, luxurious bed, silken sheets that would glow against her skin. But she didn’t seem to even notice, and once he got her inside, Jack didn’t much notice either.
He barely even remembered carrying her to the bed. The cabin had just two rooms. The bathroom was separated from the rest of the cabin and the bed was tucked up under a window that faced out over the water. He lay her down on it and stretched out beside her. As he lifted his hand to her face, he realized his fingers were shaking.
This was real.
A few days ago, he hadn’t even known this woman. And now, his head flooded with memories of another life, and his heart ached with the love he’d had for her then. She stared at him as though she needed this as much as he did.
“You’re really here, right?” he whispered. He stroked a hand down her side, gripped the hem of her shirt and slid it up, baring the smooth, soft skin there. “You’re not going to disappear when I wake up.”
“I’m really here. Really here…” She pressed her lips to his throat, breathed him in. “And so are you. Touch me. Would you please just touch me?”
“I am touching you.” He cupped one small, firm breast in his hand, stroked his thumb over the silk-covered nipple and when she shuddered, he did too. Her pleasure became his and he groaned. “Fuck, this might kill me.”
“No. It won’t—promise.” Her hands dipped into his hair, tugging.
Obliging, he lowered his head and caught the tip of her breast between his teeth, hissing out as the pleasure arced through him as well. Too much, too much, too much.
Swearing, he sat back on his heels, grabbed the hem of her shirt and tore it away. His hands, usually so steady, fumbled with her bra, her jeans and panties. Her jeans and panties tangled around her ankles and for about two seconds, he contemplated just ripping them off—he could—he knew he could, especially now.
But instead, hands shaking, he fought the tangle of clothing off and then closed his hands around her ankles. Sliding his gaze along the long, pale length of her body, he rested his gaze on the tight curls covering her pussy, then along her flat belly, along her torso and higher, until he was staring into her eyes.
“One of these days, I’m going to be able to take my time, make love to you soft and slow, the way you deserve. But right now, I can’t,” he said, his voice harsh and rough. “I need you too much.”
A drowsy smile curled her lips. “Then have me. And I don’t need soft and slow—just need you.”
Pushing upright, he grabbed his shirt and wasn’t quite so patient with it when his hands got clumsy. Fabric ripped and he threw the remains off to the side. He fumbled with his jeans and managed to get them off without tearing the sturdy denim. When he looked back at Perci, she was lying there with a smile curving her lips and a light of amusement dancing in her eyes.
“What?”
“You’re impatient.”
A dull red flush crept up his neck. Levering his body over hers, he fisted his hand in her short, red-gold hair. “Damn straight. Didn’t think I’d ever have this…have you.” Pressing a hard kiss to her mouth, he whispered, “Open for me, Perci…open for me.”
She opened for him, arching her neck and giving him access to her mouth even as she brought up her knees and squeezed his hips.
He pressed against her, groaning as he felt the slick wet heat of her. She slid her tongue along his lower lip and he caught it, bit her gently.
“Want you,” he muttered.
She arched her hips against him. “Stop waiting already, Jack.”
With a harsh growl, he braced his arm on the bed and lifted up, staring in her eyes.
It left him str
ipped bare. Completely bare.
But he needed to see her…needed her to see him.
Somehow, it felt like the first time. And maybe in a way it was. He knew who he was now. Abruptly, that driving, burning need eased and he found some of the gentleness he’d needed, wanted to have for her.
Holding her gaze, he sank slowly inside her. Her breath caught in her chest, and he could feel that, just like he could feel the spirals of heat spreading through her. Her pleasure was his, and it was bliss and agony, heaven and hell… “Killing me,” he whispered. “Fuck, you’re killing me.”
“Hmm. If I am, just make sure you take me with you.” She tugged him down and slanted her mouth over his.
Heaven. Hell.
Cupping her cheek in his hand, he angled her head back and took the kiss deeper. His heart squeezed in his chest as she stroked her hands along his sides, then dipped into his hair. And all the while, she watched him from under her lashes, watched him the way he watched her, like she feared he’d disappear.
Savage, desperate need twisted through him and he drove into her deeper, harder. Perci cried out. Jack stiffened and swore. “Are you okay?”
“Don’t stop,” she whispered. “Fuck, please don’t…please.”
Gathering her close, he braced an arm under her shoulders and drove deep. Her nails raked down his shoulders and neck and each sweet pain had him gritting his teeth, nearly insane from the pleasure.
She tightened around him, the silken muscles of her pussy clenching around him, milking him.
“Fuck, that feels good,” he growled against her mouth. Cupping her ass, he tilted her hips up, rode her deeper, harder.
Perci mewled and started to shudder, his name coming from her in ragged, whimpering cries. And when she squeezed down around him, tighter…tighter…the top of his head felt like it was going to come off. Shifting, he reached between them and stroked her clit. He was going to lose it—going to lose it, and damn it—
She came, shattering under him.
Jack growled, taking her mouth in a savage, rough kiss. Pleasure so sharp it hurt blistered through him and he lost himself in it, fell into it…and she fell with him. He could feel her. Not just her body…but her.
And as they drifted back, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her fingers stroking through his hair, he could still feel her through some tenuous, vague connection. Reaching up, he caught one hand and laced their fingers.
“You’re staying, right?”
A smile, brash and cocky, curled her lips, but he could feel the nerves and pain inside her now as she stared at him. “As long as you want me.”
“Then you’re staying for always, Perci,” he whispered. “Always.”
“I could go for that.” She turned her face into his neck and breathed him in. “Yeah, I can go for that.”
About the Author
To learn more about Shiloh, please visit www.shilohwalker.com. Send an email to Shiloh at [email protected] or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Shiloh. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wicked_writers/
Look for these titles by Shiloh Walker
Now Available:
Always Yours
Legends: Hunters and Heroes
Talking with the Dead
Malachi
Hunter’s Pride
The Huntress
For the Love of Jazz
Beautiful Girl
Hunter’s Edge
Vicious Vixen
Playing for Keeps
My Lady
The Redeeming
No Longer Mine
Grimm’s Circle
Candy Houses
No Prince Charming
Crazed Hearts
I Thought It was You
She thought she had a life—until being hunted shows her she’s never really lived.
Savage Transformation
© 2010 Lexxie Couper
Savage Australia, Book 2
Jacqueline Huddart has spent her entire adult life on the run. Not from the law, or even a jealous lover. From herself—and what she is. That strategy works for her until a funeral demands she return to home ground, and her best friend disappears. Finding Delainie means Jackie must confront the truth…and accept the help of a mysterious, sexy-as-sin Texan.
Marshall Rourke isn’t the only one flying under the radar. He’s on an off-the-grid quest to track down a rogue ex-partner who hunts paranormal beings for the joy of the kill. Convincing the unexpectedly feisty Jackie to trust him isn’t easy, but there’s no better way to lure the hunter into the open than to dangle as unique a target as Jackie—the last Tasmanian Tiger shifter in existence.
Trouble is, Marshall hadn’t counted on Jackie’s brutal right cross. Or the fact that her simmering sexuality calls to his inner wolf on every imaginable level. And that the killer is about to use their desire to add them both to his trophy case…
Warning: This title contains the following: explicit sex out in the bush, wild shifter sex in an abandoned shack, passionate sex in a hotel shower. Plus a Texan hero with a very big secret, an Australian heroine with an even bigger one, a significant amount of violence and as always, Australian sarcasm.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Savage Transformation:
Her thylacine growled, surging though her being with rapid ease. Snatching back control had been hard. She’d shoved the need to transform down into the pit of her existence and half-walked, half-ran down the hotel’s stairs into the car park, scanning the area for any sign of Delanie.
And now here she was, walking around her best friend’s car, breathing shallow for fear of losing herself to her inner animal when she knew she should be breathing deep to detect any hint of Delanie’s location.
Then stop being a chicken shit and do it.
Coming to a standstill, wishing—again—she had her gun, Jackie closed her eyes and pulled in a long, slow breath.
There! Delanie.
Faint, almost dispersed to nothing, but there. To her right. Delanie’s scent tinged with…
She turned, lifting her head slightly and pulling in another breath.
Her heart clenched. Fear. Delanie’s scent was tinged with fear. The acrid kind of a sudden fright.
God, what is going on?
Following the scent, the thylacine inside her itching for release, she moved through the car park. Clapped-out combi-vans stood beside shiny hybrids. Dented station wagons shared the asphalt with lovingly looked-after sedans. Each waited for their owners to return, the setting sun casting their paintwork in a fiery orange glow.
Jackie pulled in another breath, tasting the air. Del had been here.
She narrowed her eyes, approaching a low red convertible. Heat rolled from it in unpleasant waves, the stench of burning motor oil almost choking her. Reaching out, she placed her right palm on the car’s hood. Hot. Hot enough to tell her the engine had only recently been running.
She took another breath, separating the car’s fumes from the delicate scent of her best friend. Delanie’s scent grew stronger here. More concentrated.
Jackie’s chest squeezed tight. It wasn’t just Del’s scent that was more potent here. Her fear tainted the air like a thick mist.
Damnit, Del. What’s going on?
She took another breath. There was more on the air than Delanie’s fear-laced scent. There was something else, something she couldn’t put her finger on. A scent that wasn’t a scent.
That doesn’t make sense, Huddart.
No, it didn’t, but she didn’t know how else to explain it. There was a void to the air, as if something had erased the particles of which it was comprised. Removed them from existence.
Her pulse quickened. Removing something from a crime scene—and worryingly, this is exactly what this seemed to be—meant Delanie wasn’t just missing. She was…
“Taken,” she whispered.
Her stomach rolled and she ran her stare over the red convertible. She could do one of two t
hings. She could call the local police force and report Delanie as missing, and aid them in finding her by following standard police procedure. Or she could track Del herself. Alone.
She straightened, removing her hand from the car and turning into the gentle breeze at her back.
It blew against her face, barely strong enough to move the strands of her hair. Closing her eyes, she drew in another breath, through her mouth as well this time, tasting Delanie on the air. No, it wasn’t just on the air. It was on the ground as well. Whoever had taken Del had left a scent trail on the road.
On purpose?
The question slipped through Jackie’s mind, making her already fast pulse thump faster. Who would do that? Who would take her best friend and leave a scent trail?
She ground her teeth. No one. She was being dramatic. Ridiculous. She had to stop standing here wasting time with stupid notions of malevolent intentions and find Delanie. Find her and then teach the bastard who took her what happens to those who mess with a cop’s best friend.
Heart racing, she began running, nose into the breeze, Del’s scent flowing into her body.
Four blocks passed. Five. Six. The houses flanking her became light industrial buildings and warehouses. And still, Delanie’s scent pulled her forward. Faster. Her inner animal ached for release. Hungered to track, to run…
She ran, her blood roaring in her ears, and skidded to a halt, heels digging into the now gravel road when a man stepped toward her from behind a big black van. A tall man with impossibly broad shoulders and narrow lean hips.
The very man she’d caught looking at her inside the airport terminal yesterday. The same man who’d driven away from the airport car park in a black Audi an hour later.
The same man she’d seen standing under a snow gum at Pyengana’s cemetery.
Cold fury ripped through her. “You’ve been following me.” She bunched her fists by her side and took a step closer to him, fixing him with an unwavering glare. “What the hell have you done with Delanie?”
Tarnished Knight: Grimm's Circle, Book 4 Page 14