by Eliza Gayle
“So?” He shucked his clothes and tossed them a few feet to the shore, giving her enough time to swim away from him and underneath the waterfall. On the other side the rushing sound of water echoed against the cliff behind it. She stuck her face into the rush of water and laughed more at the sensation of cold water crashing over her. Lost in the fun of playing, she didn’t see Kane swim over and scoop her up around the legs.
“Hey, I was having fun.”
“I have another idea for having fun.” He laid her out on the ledge that jutted from the cliff, brushing her legs and arms as he moved to lie next to her. Goosebumps erupted all over her body from the combination of cool air and his delectable touch.
His fingers swirled through and curled into the hair above her sex and tugged, just enough for a sting of pain. Wetness coated her lower lips, readying her for more.
“So far I like your ideas.”
“I figured you would.” Kane tipped his head toward one breast and nipped at the skin and exposed nipple.
She jolted at the sensation, and moaned deep in her throat. Her body screamed for her to do something. Lying here waiting might kill her if he didn’t hurry it up. To keep her own sanity, she reached between his legs and cupped his balls, rolling them in her hands and squeezing.
“You are such a bad girl.”
“I think you like that about me.” Her hands moved to grasp the thick cock that rested against his leg. Mmm. The heat. The solid length. Her head lolled to the side as she focused on the ecstasy she held in her hand.
“Please...” He rose over her.
“Please what?”
“Just please.”
“No way, babe. It’s not that easy.” He nudged her legs apart with his thigh and settled between them.
“You aim to torture me?” Her breath came in hard pants now as her whole body buzzed with the ache for him to fuck her.
“Just until you beg.” The sharp point of his shifted teeth scraped against the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, and she thought she would come without him ever touching her center.
Her limbs trembled and jerked with every pass of his rough tongue and sharp teeth until she was on the edge of the cliff, only in need of a small push. Her lungs fought for air under her labored breathing.
“Do you just play with your food, too, instead of eating it?”
“You are too impatient. Are you like this about everything?” His fingers delved between her slick folds to stroke and fondle some more. “You have such a pretty pink pussy.”
“Aahh, please, Kane...you’re driving me crazy.”
Two fingers plunged inside her then, rubbing against all the nerves hidden there. Yes, this is what she wanted. Rough and fast. When his lips closed over her hard little bud she jerked violently but his hand on her thigh steadied her.
Her nerve endings were on fire and she couldn’t control a thing. Not how she felt, not her pleasure, nor his. This helplessness continued to drive her toward madness every time he did this. She writhed against his mouth but pushed against his shoulders. A total contradiction in need.
Kane shifted between her legs. “You’re one stubborn woman.” He pressed into her and she lost focus on everything around her as he stretched and filled her again. Working in and out, he hit every damn spot she had as she rocked her hips in rhythm. Already her orgasm was close, close enough to reach for it, if he would just...
“You’re killing me,” she whimpered. “No one likes a tease.”
He kissed her then, his mouth sucking at her lower lip as he nibbled his way down while the head of his cock bumped against the most sensitive tissues he could find, and he could find a lot. “I’m not teasing you, baby, just pleasuring you. Nice and slow.”
He was right about the pleasure. Her system raced with the overload of sensations, threatening to erupt into an explosive orgasm. The water from the swim still coated their skin, making it easy for Kane to slide across her flesh. His tight abs rocked against her soft, rounded belly. In fact, everything she felt seemed magnified somehow, creating a stupor of unadulterated bliss.
When she really didn’t think she could take it anymore, and when she’d begun peeling thin strips of skin from Kane’s back and arms he picked up the pace, fucking her hard and deep. When her release broke she fell under and let it all take over, her only care for more. The screams that tore from her throat vibrated around them but were muffled by the sound of the water crashing around them. His orgasm rocketed into her then, sending a blast of heat to her womb that reignited her own fire. Out of breath and wrung out from the experience, she collapsed underneath him.
“Kane, we are going to kill each other if we keep this up,” she mumbled.
“You know you like it,” he teased.
She more than liked it. She damn well needed him now. More than she’d ever needed anyone in her life and it scared the hell out of her. What would happen to her when they separated? Would she recover? She didn’t want to end up like the witch they’d visited today, alone and afraid to even leave the house. Is that what happens to people when they let their guard down and depended on someone else?
No one stayed forever, and then what?
A subtle movement in the corner of his eye and a low growl in his head caught Kane’s attention as he sprang from Lara’s warm embrace. “Stay here,” he muttered before diving under the water to find out who or what had him on edge.
Resurfacing, he turned a three-sixty, scanning the area when he went still and sucked in his breath. A cougar stood on the shoreline right next to where they’d left their clothes. Another shifter, he was certain, because it was black like him.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he called out to his brother.
He watched the cougar shift and pangs of regret filled him at the sight of Malcolm. Having both of his brothers shunned from the clan and away all the time bothered him a lot, but at least Lucas had his mate. Malcolm, on the other hand, had no kin to be with and had grown increasingly belligerent. There was talk that he might even turn feral sometime soon.
“I’d ask you the same, brother, aren’t you kind of far away from clan borders?”
“I have my reasons.” Water whooshed and splashed behind him as he heard the distinctive signs of Lara not following his orders, as usual. Damn woman.
“What the fuck is this?” Malcolm’s face turned red with rage at the sight of Lara.
Why couldn’t she listen?
Kane snarled at his brother, which tore his attention away from her and back to him. “What do you want, Malcolm?”
“Well, right now I’m dying to know if that bitch is using sex with my baby brother just like she did with me.”
Kane’s thoughts went cold and still just like his body. “Careful what you say here.” He didn’t know where Malcolm was going with this, but the tingling along his spine told him it wasn’t going to be good. He already knew his mate had a past with his brother, but throwing it in his face was a very bad idea.
“What, you don’t know?” He laughed. “That’s just priceless.”
“Shut up, Malcolm, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lara’s voice had a hard and angry edge to it, chilling him.
“You deserve to be busted, you little witch. Your obsession with revenge has gone too far when you start fucking all of us to get close. You’re not strong enough to take us down, when are you going to face that and move on? It’s time for you to get out of our lives.”
“You son of a bitch!” She moved so fast she startled Kane as she flew by him, launching herself at Malcolm.
Thank God for lightning fast reflexes. He grabbed Lara’s arm and pulled her back, shoving her behind him as he wrestled his brother to the ground. The sound of snarls filled his ears as they rolled onto the ground, shifting as they fell.
Long teeth sank into his fur as Malcolm tried to get a grip on the back of his neck. Kane flipped his brother, swiping his extended claws across the big cat’s jaw. He wouldn’t be taken down
that easy. Lara yelled at them both from somewhere in the distance, but neither of them paid any attention; if they let their guard down there was a good chance one would be bested by the other, and Kane sure as hell wasn’t going to be beat down by his bastard brother.
They flipped and fought and bit at each other before finally rolling away. The brothers circled, each trying to guess what the other would do when Lara jumped in between the two of them. Not a very smart idea when they continued to snarl and swipe at each other every time one of them had a shot.
“Enough. You two are acting like children. So what if I had sex with your brother, I didn’t even know you back then. You knew my agenda; it’s not as if we didn’t talk about it. And you!” She whirled in the direction of Malcolm and he wondered how she knew to tell the two of them apart. “Why are you here? Because of me? Do you want a piece of me, too? If so, you’re going to have to get in line.”
Malcolm shifted, not bothering to cover his nudity. “Spare me the theatrics, we both know better.”
Kane shifted back then, seeing his human legs instead of the cougar’s. Bones moved effortlessly and he stood to his full height. Lara and Malcolm failed to notice him as he walked back to his clothes and put them on. He’d heard enough and tuned them out, not needing to know more. She’d lied to him all along, that seemed apparent.
Dressed, he glanced at Lara to see her yelling at his brother. Her still naked breasts jiggled and Malcolm looked like he wasn’t listening to a word she said. Instead he recognized the look of lust and the feral grin on his face—that of a predator considering his prey, not to mention the hard on he was now sporting. Seemed like with Malcolm, fighting with his mate turned him on, too.
For the first time in his life, Kane didn’t want to share what was his and bitch or not, she was his. At the very least, until the tribunal, so he couldn’t let her run off with Malcolm if that’s what she wanted.
Too busy dressing down his brother, she didn’t hear him come up behind her, and when he grabbed her around the waist and hauled her off her feet she snarled at him.
“Let me go. I don’t need your help.”
“That’s obvious, sugar. But, like it or not, you’re my responsibility until the council decides your fate. So get your clothes on, we’re going home.” He dropped her on her butt at her clothes and stalked back to his brother and the fight he was dying to finish.
“She’s bad news, Kane. If you trust her she’ll turn on you.”
“You think I don’t know that? All that matters right now is that she is not your concern, so if you have a reason for being here then say it. Otherwise, get the hell out of out of my way.”
Malcolm stood still and watched him. Neither broke eye contact until eventually Malcolm shook his head and looked over his shoulder to where Lara was.
“I came here to warn you, but it’s obvious you won’t listen. Mark my words, you’ll be sorry about this.”
“Why is that? You planning something?”
He rolled his eyes and shifted back to cougar. Crouching on his hind legs, he sprang towards a rock outcropping twenty feet away and, with one last look back, disappeared to the other side. Kane fought instincts to go after him, not knowing what Lara would do if he left her alone. Now that she’d been outed would she plan to run? He reluctantly turned away from the direction Malcolm had gone and decided to grab Lara and go.
To his shock she stood right behind him, a feat she’d managed without him hearing her approach. She looked upset, maybe even frightened, which did nothing to diminish her beauty. She was well suited to the backdrop of nature. A breeze from the north side of the waterfall kicked up and blew through her raven hair, carrying her scent to him then. That sweet musk in the outdoors and...his head jerked...her arousal.
What the fuck? Who?
He reeled with the implications that fighting with his brother had not only aroused Malcolm but her as well. White-hot rage rushed through him as she stood looking at him with her sad, probably fake emotion. This possessiveness he felt around her seemed so at odds with his nature. Why not share her? It’s not as if he hadn’t done it plenty in the past. But, the thought of Malcolm ever touching her again made him want to kill something. A low growl rumbled from his chest.
“What?” She looked at him curiously.
“We need to get out of here,” he managed through gritted teeth. Anger seethed through him and he was sorely tempted to show her exactly how animal he could be. But right now he had is animal tethered, although barely. If he took her now, he would complete the mating ritual...and then what? Would he have to accept the possibility of her death sentence or lose everything he’d ever held dear?
He couldn’t think straight like this. He needed to get away from here where all he could smell was her and Malcolm, something he wouldn’t hold in for much longer.
“Where are we going now?” “Home.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lara climbed the steps to Kane’s backdoor, trepidation enveloping her as she walked. Kane hadn’t spoken two words to her the entire trip back and had refused to allow her to drive her own car. She wanted to fight him, boy did she, but something about that last look he raked over her gave her second thoughts. He looked every inch on the edge and she had a feeling she didn’t want to know what the other side looked like.
So when they arrived back at his house, she grabbed the bag from the crazy witch and headed straight for the kitchen. She had to do something, anything to keep herself busy. Seeing Malcolm again had reminded her of everything she’d done and planned to do to the Gunn clan and now her mission was muddled with lies and half truths, none of which seemed to be answered by anyone around here.
She should have known things were going far too easily between her and Kane. She’d even begun to adjust to the fact that they were mates despite knowing they couldn’t act on it. She no longer wanted to kill him, and that was a huge step in her mind.
Leave it to Malcolm to fuck all that up. His accusations could have just as easily been right as wrong if he’d encountered her a couple of weeks ago. She’d always been willing to use any weapon she had to break through to her goals, and if that meant sex then so be it.
Now Kane wasn’t speaking to her, and for some reason that hurt. He’d obviously taken Malcolm’s accusations to heart and parcel without even giving her a chance to explain. She reached into the cabinet below the stove and grabbed several pots and pans. Whatever. If that’s what he wanted to believe then she would do what was best for her, and that was to protect herself against the next attack—and she knew there would be a next one. These big cats were damn vicious when they were crossed and apparently didn’t take well to having the enemy on their own land, no matter the reason.
She dumped the bag contents on the counter and headed for her room for her amulets. She could power up a supply of them and show these people that Lara Monroe could take care of herself against anyone.
Back in the kitchen, she noticed the quiet. She looked around the house for Kane, wondering if he’d even come in with her. All the mess from the gunfight had been cleared and repaired. She looked at the walls where the bastard’s head had been smashed and there wasn’t a single sign of damage. She rubbed the spot and wet paint smeared on her fingers. Well, they were at least thorough if nothing else.
In Kane’s study the big plate glass window had been repaired, and she could see the orange and yellow glow of the setting sun. All the rooms in the house except for the kitchen were shadowed from the coming darkness, and there was no sign of Kane. He must have decided on a run or maybe he was checking out the cave. He probably did need to make sure everything was locked back up and reset to where he’d left it before she’d gotten a little crazy in there, waiting for him. She shrugged. Well, he shouldn’t have locked her in. He may not know about her fears, but what woman relished being locked in a room in the belly of a cave for who knows how long?
She padded along the plush carpeting back to the kitchen, glad that his be
autiful home had been put back to right. It was something, at least, and obviously his clan cared for him a lot to move so fast and thoroughly to clean up the mess. That gave her even more to consider as she began putting ingredients in the pot of boiling water. What would happen to that love and acceptance if she stayed here much longer? She would never be accepted, and the fact that his mate was an outsider would always be a problem.
When the pot on the stove began to bubble and the froth threatened to spill over, she turned off the heat and grabbed her amulets, dipping them in the solution one at a time. Leaving them to energize for a while, she grabbed another saucepan and mixed up a different batch. Nothing like a little back up firepower in a girl’s arsenal to make her feel even more secure.
Hours later, all of her work done and the kitchen set back to the way she found it, she marveled at the time and the fact that Kane had still not returned. She wandered into the living room with a mug of hot tea and took a seat on one of the plush suede chairs, sinking her tired and sore body into the cushions. It’s amazing how sore some good fucking could leave you, and Kane knew how to love a woman right.
The warm liquid felt so good and aided her in releasing some of the pent up stress she’d dealt with all day. Having the magic to use also helped. She wouldn’t be quite so vulnerable. Thanks to Kane.
She noticed the shift in the air of the house the minute he came through the door. Working spells all day left her more in tune with the nature and energy of his house. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth and sucked it in, nervous about facing him and what would likely still be an angry man. Even after considering her options all day long, indecision ate at her when it came to her feelings toward him. He had reasons to be mad; some of what Malcolm accused her of was true. But, he knew that going in, or at least most of it.
When she heard the shower in the back of the house turn on, she relaxed back into her chair.
This is ridiculous. We can’t hide from this.
She hopped up and placed her mug on the table before heading to the master suite. Maybe there was a chance they could still talk this out. She pushed open the cracked door of his room and entered into the dark, masculine bedroom that Kane lived in.