by Selena Kitt
“You like it?”
He yanked his tie off and strode toward her, grabbing her to him in a long, hungry kiss. She was breathless when they parted, and Kai’s hands were cupping her ass, pulling her tight against him.
“I take it that’s a yes?”
“Fuck yes.” He lifted her and practically leapt on the bed, landing on top of her. Somehow he kept most of his weight off her, but it still knocked the wind out of her.
Kai’s hands roamed over her body as she worked the buttons on his shirt. Undressing this man—and looking at him undressed—was one of her most favorite things to do. Kai shrugged off his shirt, kneeling up so she could work the buckle on his belt. Apparently, she was too slow, because Kai pushed her hands away, sliding his trousers and boxers off before falling onto her again in a frenzy of mouth and hands.
Jules arched under him, skating her palms over his broad shoulders and down his back as he kissed the top of her breasts. He was completely naked, his cock hard against her hip, and as far as she was concerned, she was wearing too many clothes, but Kai didn’t seem in a hurry to undress her. He rubbed his cheek against the soft material of her bra, teasing her nipples through it. She moaned, raking her fingers over his scalp, pushing him further down her belly.
He kissed his way down her ribcage, licking the indent at her waist, his hands spanning her hips as he settled between her thighs. Jules shivered when he nuzzled her mound and then started to lap at her through her panties. It created a sweet, delicious friction and she moaned, bucking her hips, aching for more. Finally, he slipped his tongue under the elastic band to find her clit, and then she was flying.
“Kai!” she cried, hot waves of pleasure rolling through her as he fastened his mouth on her mound, not letting her go. Her climax shook the whole bed and when Kai came up to kiss her, she could taste herself in his mouth.
Then he undressed her. Her bra came off with one flick of his wrist, her panties were gone in a whisper, and she was left with her thigh highs on as he mounted her. She wrapped her legs around him as he slid into her moist heat. He bottomed out, kissing her, muffling her cry, his tongue stroking the roof of her mouth.
They began to move, a hot, pounding rhythm right from the first. Kai drove her hard against the mattress, and Jules begged him for more, more, digging her nails into his back. She squeezed him between her thighs, with her muscles, feeling him swell inside of her. Kai whispered her name, rutting deep, making her moan and thrust back.
“Fuck me,” he growled, rolling over onto his back, taking her with him. “Ride me, Jules.”
She put her hands on his chest, rolling her hips, and he groaned. Looking up at her with half-closed eyes, he slid his hands over her breasts, tweaking her nipples, then they settled at her hips.
“That’s it,” he urged, his fingers digging into her ass. “Come on, baby. You can do better than that.”
“Oh yeah?” She tensed her thighs and rose up on him, sinking all the way down, like she was posting on a horse. Kai gasped, his eyes flying open. “How’s that?”
“Fuck,” he growled, looking down to see himself sliding into her. “Oh fuck. Jules!”
“Yes,” she gasped, panting, working her pussy up and down on him faster, faster. “Come inside me. Fill me.”
He gave a sudden roar, his whole body tensing. His hips lifted her all the way off the bed and she felt every glorious throb of his cock, every hot, fiery blast of him in her womb as he emptied himself inside of her. Jules collapsed on him and he pulled her into his arms, crushing her, not that she really cared. When she shivered, he pulled the comforter over them, kissing her damp temple, and before she knew it, they’d both fallen asleep.
She didn’t know what time it was when she woke up, but her stomach was growling.
“I’m hungry,” she murmured.
He chuckled. “Guess we should have gone to the Wolf’s Den afterward with everyone else.”
“I wasn’t up to it.” She hadn’t wanted to socialize after the funeral. Besides, she much preferred spending this time alone with Kai. “Too bad you gave Sebastian the day off. We could just have him bring food.”
“Lazy girl.” He laughed, grabbing a handful of her behind. “Fridge is full. Want to go raid it?”
Her head popped up. “Can we go naked?”
“I’d prefer it.” He grinned.
They raced up the back stairs to the kitchen, eschewing the elevator this time. Jules ate salami and cheese out of the deli drawer with the fridge open while Kai made himself a proper sandwich. He put Sriracha on everything. The first time they’d eaten dinner together, he’d made sure the meal was purposely bland, for her sake. But Kai’s taste buds craved heat. In everything, in every way.
She watched him out of the corner of her eye, tracing his dragon winged tattoo with her gaze. She wanted to trace it with her tongue.
“Where are you going?” he called after her as she went down the hallway, still nibbling cheese.
“To put on some music,” she called back.
The sitting room was just as they’d left it and she walked over to the record player, smiling to see the Roberta Flack forty-five still on it. She opened the cabinet beside the stereo and found what she was looking for. A whole collection of vinyl. Flipping through, she settled on an old Doors album, sliding the record out of its case and putting it on.
Jim Morrison sang Light My Fire and Kai called, “You’ve got good taste.”
“I know.” She laughed. “I picked you, didn’t I?”
The view from this room was stunning. She still couldn’t quite get over it. And Kai was right—there was no one around to see her standing in front of the wall of glass, completely exposed. All she could see was the tops of trees stretching out into a seemingly endless forest, the sun just setting over them. They’d slept for hours.
The road in to Kai’s house was a mile long, through trees that overhung it. The house itself was in a clearing, and the grounds around it had been cleared. There was a gorgeous garden down below she wanted to explore, with two fountains and a paved walkway. She would ask Kai to take her down there once they were fed and dressed. Although she kind of liked walking around his house completely naked, knowing he was the only one who could see her.
“Hey Kai,” she called, finishing her cube of cheese.
“Yeah?” His voice was still far away, back in the kitchen.
“Are those fountains of dragons?” She squinted, trying to see them in the dusky light. “You’ve got a thing for dragons, huh?”
He didn’t answer. Maybe he hadn’t heard her. She was about to turn and go back to the kitchen when she caught movement at the edge of the woods out of the corner of her eye. Her heart leapt to her throat, but she told herself she was being silly. Of course there were things in the woods that moved. All sorts of animals.
But animals didn’t walk on two legs.
Her mind went instantly to the first time she’d been here, when she thought she’d seen…
Not possible. You didn’t see your dead parents walking around in Kai’s woods. It was a shadow. A trick of the light. Your imagination.
But that day, she could have sworn it was them. Both of them, hand in hand, standing at the edge of the woods, just before the clearing. Kai had convinced her she’d seen a reflection and—well, she’d convinced herself. Because the alternative was…
Crazy. You’re going crazy.
She saw it again and pressed her nose to the glass, shading her eyes, trying to make out the shape. Probably a deer. Or even a bear. Or…
Stuart.
Jules gasped and stepped away from the glass, hands over her mouth to keep from screaming.
You’re crazy. You’re literally out of your mind right now.
But it was him. And he was wearing the suit they’d just buried him in that day. It was the only suit he owned. He stood at the edge of the woods, looking right up at her, as if he could see her with his dead eyes. And they were dead—she was sure of it. Tho
se bright blue eyes were filmy and dead, but they were seeing her.
You’re dreaming. You’re still in bed with Kai and you’re having a nightmare. Wake up!
Stuart lifted an arm and pointed. Right at her. As if he was showing someone where she was, who she was. But there was no one else there but him. And he couldn’t really be there at all. Could he?
“Kai!” she choked out, trying not to sound hysterical.
If he saw Stuart, then maybe, just maybe…
Maybe what? Maybe you’re both delusional? Because dead people don’t walk around, Jules! He didn’t see your parents last time, and he’s not going to see Stuart this time. You’re fucking losing it, that’s what’s happening. You’re losing your goddamned mind!
“Kai!”
“What is it?” His voice was close, in the doorway, and she turned to see him standing there.
“I saw…” She opened her mouth to tell him and then glanced back, but Stuart was gone. If he’d ever been there in the first place, that is.
Stuart was gone.
Stuart was gone.
It finally hit her, like a tidal wave.
Jules sank to her knees and for the first time since she’d found out he was dead, she began to cry.
CHAPTER SEVEN—Kai
He carried her back to bed and held her in his arms for ages, he didn’t know how long.
It broke him to hear her cry, but he knew better than to stop it. Like any wound, it was better to flush it out than let it fester. Finally, her sobs ebbed to hitching breaths and the occasional shudder. He got her a glass of water and she drank it, wiping hair away from her face.
“I must look awful.” She sniffed, handing the glass back to him.
She was disheveled perfection and he smiled. “You look beautiful.”
He climbed back into bed and pulled her into his arms. Her head fit perfectly underneath his chin. They were simply the perfect fit in every way, and every day he spent with her made him both joyful and afraid. It had been a long time since he’d been scared of losing someone.
“Kai…” She swallowed, the click in her throat audible. He waited but she didn’t go on.
“What is it?” He pulled her hair aside so he could stroke the curve of her neck, dipping toward the slope of her shoulder. “You can tell me, Jules.”
“I’m afraid.”
I know the feeling.
“Of what?” He pressed his lips to the top of her head, wanting to keep her here forever, cocooned safely in his arms.
“I don’t know how to say this.” Another swallow. “But… I think I might be… going crazy.”
Kai looked down to meet her eyes, seeing real fear there, and it puzzled him.
“You’re not crazy, Jules.” He squeezed her gently in his arms. “I mean, you know, you fell for me, and that means you’ve got to be a little bit crazy, but…”
She laughed, punching him in the arm and he feigned hurt.
“Ow, put away the big guns, would ya?” He grinned when she punched him again.
“I’m serious!” She sighed, settling back in his arms. “I’m going to tell you something. I don’t want to but… if I don’t tell someone, I think I might really lose it.”
“Okayyy.”
“Remember the first time I was here? When I told you I saw something outside?”
He nodded. It wasn’t uncommon, that time of day, when the reflections in the glass started becoming more like shadows that could follow you around the room. He’d had to do a double-take a few times himself over the years.
“Well… I saw someone again,” she confessed, her voice coming out choked. “Today.”
“Just now? When we were upstairs?” Kai moved to get his phone, but Jules stopped him.
“No, don’t bother.” She held his wrist, shaking her head. “Security cameras wouldn’t pick it up. Just like last time.”
“What?”
He had security cameras everywhere and heat sensors so sensitive they could detect a chipmunk farting in a tree, so when he’d told Jules before there had been nothing out there, he was pretty damned sure he was telling her the truth.
“Kai… I saw Stuart.” Her eyes searched his, waiting for a reaction.
“Alive?”
He kept his expression impassive, his mind going over this new fact.
“No.” She pressed her lips together then sighed. “I mean, yes. He was… looking at me. But he was dead.”
“So… it was a dream. Or a hallucination…?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I don’t think so. But maybe. If it was a hallucination, then I must be going crazy.”
“That’s not necessarily true.” He smiled. “There are lots of reasons our minds play tricks on us. Sleep deprivation. Stress. Both of which you’ve got going on in spades right now.”
“Yeah but…” She bit her lip, which made him want to kiss her, but he refrained. “Not before. Not the first time.”
“The first time? You mean the first night you were here, when you thought you saw something?”
“I did see something.”
“Maybe, but it was just a reflection or—”
“No.” Jules met his eyes and he saw tears brimming there. “It wasn’t. I saw them.”
“Them?” He hadn’t pushed her that night, but he remembered her saying she’d seen “them” a few times. “Who?”
“My parents.”
“Your… dead parents.”
She nodded again, a tear slipping down her cheek. He cradled her head in his hand, wiping that tear with his thumb.
“Have you ever experienced anything like this before? Visions? Prophetic dreams? Seen ghosts?”
A shake of her head and another tear told him no.
“And now you’re seeing dead people…”
“I know, it sounds crazy. And it is.” Jules sniffed and gave a little laugh. “That’s why I told you… because I think I’m really losing it. Blue Creek might be full of shifters, but I’m not like them. I’m about as down-to-earth-human as you can get.”
“There are plenty of things in the world humans don’t know about or understand. That doesn’t mean those things don’t affect them. Humans have learned to live with shifters, but there was a time when…” Kai’s voice trailed off and he saw her looking at him, curious. “Never mind. Listen Jules, I seriously doubt what you saw was anything ominous. It was probably just your mind playing tricks on you.”
“But I don’t have that kind of mind.” She frowned. “Seriously, Kai. I was never the kid who thought the blankets in the corner were a monster sneaking out of my closet.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. I know you haven’t been sleeping well. Between your fear of losing the ranch, the stress of the tournament, and then losing Stuart… it’s a lot, Jules.” He lifted her chin so she had to meet his eyes. “Maybe too much for your kind of mind.”
“My kind of mind?” she snorted.
“Your very practical mind.” He chuckled. “I’m not a psychologist, but if I were to guess… I’d say your subconscious is trying to send you a message. Maybe it sent you visions of your parents, and now, Stuart, because those are the people you love most.”
“Before you, anyway.” She caught his hand in hers and turned it over, her lips brushing his palm. “I’ve never loved anyone more than I love you. And I understand it even less than I understand those… visions… or hallucinations… or whatever they were. How can I love you so much, when we’ve only known each other for such a short time?”
“Love knows no time.”
He pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin again, this time so she couldn’t see the pain on his face. He knew exactly how she felt—and while he understood it a little better than she did, it still bewildered him. Feelings this strong were usually reserved for people who had spent a lifetime of shared experience together.
Or several lifetimes.
“I love you,” he whispered, his lips pressing against her forehead.
>
Jules had confessed to him and he knew it was time he made his own confession. He had to tell her everything he knew—and what he suspected. Perhaps the visions she’d been having were simply preparations for expanding her mind, which might allow something in that was so strange and incomprehensible, it scared even him.
He’d never be a dragon shifter the way he had been, although in some ways, he always would be—even if he couldn’t ever shift again. There were parts of his history and experience that were permanently lost to him. Until he’d met Jules, he thought sacrificing his heart had meant never really loving again. But he was wrong. Because he loved her, and it was a love beyond time, beyond the world, beyond death. If Jules was who he’d come to believe she was, they were meant to be together, and had been together again and again for centuries, an eternity, before everything in his life had ended in fire and ice.
The last time he’d seen her, she had been Nia, and he had loved her with a fierceness only a dragon could manage.
“I have something to tell you.” He held her close when she wanted to lift her head to look at him. “Please, just… try to listen with an open mind. With the mind that saw your parents and Stuart. With the part of your mind that’s connected to something bigger than humankind.”
“Okay.” She nodded, tracing the lines of his tattoos, mere reminders of the magnificent beast he once had been.
“I’m afraid to tell you this,” he confessed. “But I’m afraid not to. I don’t know if you’ll believe me. And even if you do—if you can ever accept it. But I need you to know who I am. Who I really am.”
“You are Batman!” she exclaimed, giggling. Then she quickly sobered up. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.”
“No, I’m not Batman.” He chuckled. “But… I am a dragon shifter, Jules. Or… I was. Once upon a time, in a world long gone.”
“You’re a shifter?” She slowly lifted her head to stare at him, incredulous.
“I was,” he corrected. “I can’t shift anymore.”
“So… you’re not a shifter?” She cocked her head, looking confused.
“It’s complicated.” He sighed. “I haven’t been able to shift in about a thousand years.”