by Reina Torres
Did she want to walk away from the question? Or everything else?
It seemed like she was being offered the world in exchange for one question. Even though fear and disappointment had been a long-time friend, she knew that she wanted more.
Deserve more.
She wasn’t sure of what she’d heard.
Sorry?
Don’t be sorry, Kitten. Just ask.
Tears prickled behind her eyes and that was when she might have left. Turned around on her heel and walked away.
But she wanted more and for the first time in her life she reached out for what she wanted.
Am I enough?
Even as she thought the words, she felt something pinch at the back of her shoulder blades. Katherine had managed to find the courage it took to ask the question. Now, she just had to wait for the answer.
The wait was over before it began.
You, Kitten.
She heard the words as if both voices were speaking in perfect unison. Locke and the lion.
You are everything.
Leaning closer, she pressed a kiss to the lion’s long, sloping nose before she whispered aloud. “Come back to me, Locke. I want to hold you in my arms.”
She heard a soft grumble from the lion in her thoughts, but a moment later, they’d switched places once again.
The man standing before her still bore the intense look of the lion in his eyes, but his form was beautifully human. Arms to hold her. Broad shoulders for her to lean on.
Katherine slipped her arms under his and wrapped them around his waist. Pressed tight against him she could feel the pounding rhythm of his heart inside of his chest. “I don’t know if I can really believe it.”
She felt him place a kiss on the crown of her head.
“I,” he began and then corrected himself, “we don’t mind telling you over and over. As many times as you want.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going to be ‘that girl.’”
“That girl?”
She could hear the confusion in his voice.
Katherine bit the inside of her cheek, fighting off the anger building inside of her. “I don’t want to be needy, Locke.”
Before she could move away, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips with just a hint of heat between them.
She felt his hand move through her hair until his hand settled against the nape of her neck.
“It’s not needy to tell me what you need, Kitten. If I don’t know what you’re thinking, then I can’t give it to you. And if you want to know how I feel about you? I’ll tell you again and again. And one day you’ll believe it without having to think about it and I’ll still tell you.”
Her instinct was to ask why.
Locke lifted her off the ground and covered her lips with his for a stinging kiss. When he slowly lowered her back down to the blanket, he looked into her eyes. “Because I love you, Kitten. And I’m always going to love you.”
He felt the subtle shift in her emotions. The hesitation she felt, her inability to understand her own beauty, was slowly giving way. He couldn’t understand how anyone could hurt her the way they did. How could they hurt someone else like that? It made him seethe with anger, but he wouldn’t let his anger touch her. What Katherine needed from him was love.
And Locke was going to give it to her.
We, his lion reminded him. We are going to love her.
Locke agreed. Yes, we.
She smiled as he laid her down on the blanket, leaning over her. Her eyes were open, and he was humbled by the emotion he saw in their depths.
“Are you sure?” Her voice trembled and her breath caught in her throat.
“I’m sure,” he leaned closer and brushed a kiss across her lips.
She lifted her head, chasing his lips with her own.
He kissed her again, exerting enough pressure to ease her head back to the blanket. He didn’t want her to strain. He was going to give her whatever pleasure she wanted. What she needed.
Locke reached for the closures on the front of her blouse. The woven buttons had a vaguely Asian appearance to them, something that Katherine made herself as part of her designs. He’d become adept at opening them with one hand, something that she’d remarked upon the night before when he’d helped her change for bed.
He caught sight of her watching him, but she looked away with a healthy flush of color riding high on her cheeks.
“Do you want me to stop?”
Katherine’s eyes returned to his in a heartbeat.
“No,” her near breathless answer came out in a rush, “don’t stop.”
He managed all five closures with a single hand, his other hand braced against the blanket. When he parted the halves of her blouse, he let out a shuddering breath. “Green.”
She blushed again. “I like the color.”
He knew she did. His woodland sprite loved all shades of green. And he was discovering the full panoply of lingerie that she owned. He traced a finger along the edge of fabric. “Silk?”
“Yes.” Her indrawn breath lifted her breasts, and he could feel his lion pushing heavily against their link, crowding into his vision.
He watched as her nipples tightened under the silken fabric, making his mouth water and his erection ache where it pressed into the blanket.
“I want,” he licked his lips before finishing his thought, “I want to taste you.”
Her eyes widened slightly, and her breath hitched.
He waited for her answer before pressing on. So far, he’d felt her breasts tease his chest, and he’d held them in his hands, but he had yet to set his mouth on her.
The hunger rode him hard, but he was waiting for her needs, her wants to match his own.
Movement of her hand from the blanket drew his attention. She reached for the clasp at the front of her bra and with one flick of her fingers it opened. The tension in the fabric released and caught on the sumptuous rise of her breast, her breaths slowing as her eyes fixed on his face.
Her skin was creamy perfection, smooth and silken. He’d enjoyed the feel of it against his own.
And he wanted to please her.
“Locke?”
“Hmm?” He lifted his gaze and fixed it on her face. “Do you want me to wait?”
If he hadn’t been watching, he wouldn’t have noticed the quick shake of her head, but he certainly heard her words.
“Now, Locke. Please.”
He braced his hands on either side of her body and leaned forward. He didn’t even bother moving the fabric at first. He covered the tip of her breast with his mouth and drew his tongue over her nipple. He’d been torn at first, wanting to bare her beneath him, but the sensation of the silk between his tongue and her flesh provided a delicious friction.
On his second pass, her back arched and pressed her deeper into his mouth.
His lion roared as she whimpered beneath him.
Another sweep of his tongue and he felt her fingers slip through his hair and grip it tightly in her fingers.
He pulled away and saw the flush of passion across her pale skin.
Before he could speak, she did, and he could tell the effort it took. “Just you,” she panted, and he saw the way her eyes had darkened, “I want to feel you on me.”
“Anything,” he agreed, “anything you want.”
He bent down over her and placed a kiss into the pale valley of skin between her breasts and was rewarded with a shiver that swept through her body. He rubbed his cheek against the full curve of her breast and the fabric of her bra pulled away, catching for a moment on the swollen tip. When it released its hold, he wasted no time, fixing his mouth over her breast the way he had before.
He felt her gasp when the rough texture of his tongue swept over her nipple and when he latched on, drawing her deeper into his mouth her legs moved restlessly on the blanket. Again, he drew her into his mouth, his tongue rasping against her sensitive skin.
He skirted a look at her from the corner of h
is eye and as he let his tongue curl against her skin, his fingers plucked at her other nipple, curling her toes.
Locke loved the taste of her skin on his tongue, he could feed on that sensation for days if she’d let him, but better than the sweet tang of her flavor was the soft murmurs he heard in her voice. Even better, the rush of emotion he felt from their connection.
It felt as if she was sharing herself with him in so many ways.
He loved her, but he also knew the courage she was showing him. He wanted to pay her back with pleasure and when he leaned over and lavished attention to her other breast with his mouth, he used his hand on the other.
Locke felt her sigh and shiver under him. Knowing that he was the one giving her pleasure made him feel ten, no, twenty feet tall.
When he lightly scraped his teeth over her tender flesh, she grabbed onto him with both hands. One, fisted in his hair, holding him in place. The other, pushed against him. He felt her move again, but this time it was her body shifting against the blanket and her knees drew up until her feet were almost flat on the ground.
He looked up, letting her loose with soft pop of sound. “Want more, Kitten?”
Locke heard her groan and smiled.
“Is that a yes?”
She couldn’t seem to focus on his words or maybe it was her own that escaped her, but what she did was communicate in a way that they both understood.
Katherine, his beautiful and oh so responsive mate, lifted her hips from the blanket.
He wasn’t going to make her wait.
Locke’s hands easily found the waistband of her skirt and tugged it down her hips. She lowered herself back down to the blanket with a sigh as he pulled the layered skirt off and dropped it down in the corner.
He moved quickly, kneeling between her legs. Locke put his hands on her knees and then hooked his hands around, parting her legs before him.
Locke wanted to touch her more. To slowly work up to more, let them both enjoy the exploration, but Katherine had other ideas.
“What,” she groaned and fixed her eyes on his, “are you waiting for?”
He smiled at the heated look she gave him. “Do you want my tongue, Kitten?”
Her pupils widened until her eyes were almost black with need. She didn’t bother to mince words.
“I want you, Locke.”
The words, once they were said, took on a life of their own. His skin heated to a fever pitch and his cock, heavy and thick with need, ached and throbbed.
His Katherine, his beautiful mate, opened her legs for him, inviting him in.
He moved closer on his knees, higher on the blanket, a hand gripping his erection as he kept his eyes focused on her face.
Locke saw the naked hunger in her gaze as her eyes followed the movement of his hand.
As much as he loved to see her desire on display in the night-dark center of her eyes, what he wanted was to feel that passion surrounding him.
He kissed his way from her belly to her breasts and then tasted the first breathy gasps of pleasure from her lips as he sank slowly into her body.
The heat of her body did nothing to ease the ache of his erection. Instead, it fanned the flames of his hunger and pulled him deeper and deeper inside of her. Locke had never felt such passion, nor had he ever felt as if the physical aspect of loving a woman had felt more like a spiritual connection, far beyond a sexual hunger.
Leaning forward, Locke grasped her hips and canted his own as he sank into her body on the first easy thrust. As he continued with a second and third, he watched Katherine’s face and saw the way she balled up the blanket in her fists.
He set a steady, driving pace and enjoyed the way she started to move beneath him. Gentle, restless gestures that spoke volumes to him. His fingers gripped her tighter and eased her hips down toward the blanket. It brought him over her as if his larger form was shielding her from the world.
The faster he went the more tension he felt in her body as if the pleasure in her body was coiling tighter and tighter, seeking its release.
Locke wanted to bring her closer to it, filling her, driving into her body.
Katherine didn’t shrink back from it. Or from him. Her hands left the blankets and gripped at his forearms and then his shoulders. She brought him closer to her. She changed the angle of his long trusts until each ended in a rough exhale from her lips and a low grunt from his.
Over and over, he buried himself inside of her, never wanting to leave, but wanting to take her higher until there was nothing else possible but to tumble over the edge.
Her mouth opened but he couldn’t hear a word.
And then he remembered that he didn’t have to.
Locke remembered the connection between them and reached for her the same way he sought out the lion in his soul. When he found her in the dark, she was reaching for him too.
Deeper, harder, she spurred him on.
Higher, faster, they climbed that distance together.
And when she shattered into a thousand pieces, it was Locke’s arms holding her close. His lips feeding from hers until the two sagged back against the blanket, wrapped up in their shared embrace until sleep found them moments later.
Seven
Things were humming… Life was good. And it took a conscious effort for Katherine to avoid admitting that things were almost too good. At least out loud.
And when those thoughts entered her head, she moved on to doing something else. Distraction kept her going at the shop when there weren’t customers in the building. They came and went. Strangers staying at the resort and people from the town. It wasn’t all that steady of a trade, but time would change that.
She was sure it would work out.
It wasn’t as if her down time wasn’t working to her advantage.
Katherine kept busy working on maternity wear for True. Her friend’s figure was already stellar but add to it her glowing complexion and the added size in her breasts and Katherine couldn’t wait to see True wearing the dresses she was making. There were nightgowns too, but aside from the fittings that she had planned, the only other person who would see them was Xavier.
Katherine let out a wistful sigh. Her friend was going to be a wonderful mother and even though Xavier could be a bit gruff and growly, he was always careful of True. He would be a protective father. Everything Katherine could hope for in her own future.
The bell above the front door chimed and Katherine turned around with a smile to greet the new arrival.
The woman was tall and definitely dressed in clothes that said she came from money. Designer from her jewelry to her shoes, handbag included, even her makeup was likely from a top-tier company. Just being in the same room as the woman made Katherine feel dumpy and underdressed. In her own shop, nonetheless!
It was a losing battle to hold her self-confidence together around the woman. She reminded her too much of True’s ‘family.’ All surface, little substance. That didn’t mean the woman couldn’t hurt her with a word or cut her with a look.
Fixing a smile to her face, Katherine stepped out from behind the cutting table and started across the room. “Welcome to Calico. I’m-”
“Ridiculous.”
Katherine pulled up short. “I’m sorry?”
The woman smiled at her. That was the correct name for the gesture, but it was as broad as it was brittle and that was quite a lot. It made her look almost feral in nature.
“Sorry about what, dear?”
Dear. Oh boy. This was going to hurt. Like give me a scoop of butter praline hurt.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite understand what you just said.”
The look in the woman’s eyes said that she wasn’t the patient kind and Katherine was likely testing her.
“Calico? What kind of a name is that for a shop? It’s ridiculous. That’s what I said.”
Resurrecting a smile of her own, Katherine focused on holding it in place. “I like the name. It evokes a certain feeling that I like.”
> “Calico.” She said the name as if it was sour milk on her tongue. “Homespun. Cheap. Looking around, I’d say it’s an apt name.” She sighed as if it was taking a Herculean effort to speak. “If you’re hoping to find trade from the kinds of people who frequent a resort, you might want to rethink your business model.”
“Well, thank you for your advice, I-”
“Advice? Oh no, my dear. I’m not trying to help you, but it might help anyone else like me who has the misfortune to step inside thinking that there might be something worthwhile within these walls.”
Her eyes had swept the room from one side to the other and finally landed on Katherine.
Vitriol. Her words bled with it.
“All I need from you, if you’re able to provide it,” and her tone clearly said she felt this was a fool’s errand, “is the location of my son.”
Katherine felt like she’d walked straight into a wall. “I’m sorry?”
Again, that smile!
“You certainly do seem quite sorry, dear. My son. I need to speak with him.”
The room seemed to lack a decent level of oxygen.
“I’m sor-” Katherine stopped short and started over. “I don’t know you. And I really hope I don’t know your son. So if you’d like to leave, I mean, if you’d like to go and look for him then-”
“Ellen Asher. I’m here looking for my son, Lochlan. I was told by some girl at the resort that he wasn’t… that he wasn’t working there today, and I should try to find him,” her head swiveled back and forth as her eyes swept the room again, “here.”
Katherine’s mind was working a mile a minute.
Locke’s mother?
She just couldn’t see anything of Locke anywhere in this woman, except for the color of his hair. She might very well share her son’s eye color, but the last thing Katherine wanted to do was look the woman in her eyes.
“I don’t know where he is, ma’am. I wasn’t expecting him to come by today.”
Katherine clamped her lips together right there.
She could have continued on to tell her that she was planning to head over to Locke’s house after she closed the shop, but there was nothing about her life that Katherine wanted to share with the woman standing in the middle of her shop as if she was standing in a garbage dump.