But he could barely recall his own name, and somehow his hand was on her other breast now, pinching that nipple into hardness beneath the purple stretchy-thing she wore.
She nipped his lips. “Kiss me.”
Hunger crashed through him. He wanted, no needed, to spend this one last night with her.
Langdon had to be taken out. Marjani would never be safe otherwise. And he’d be damned if he’d let the prince tear Merry from the only family she remembered to raise her in the dark, twisted world of the New Moon Court.
When he left this time, not even his sister would know. Because she’d never let him go alone, and the plan called for one man—a quick, surgical strike. The problem was getting back out again after he’d made the kill. Frankly, he didn’t expect to return.
Then here came Rosana, offering herself to him. And gods, he wanted her. Craved her more than life itself.
She wasn’t just one of his women.
She was the only woman.
He released her to strip off her shirt and bra. The silver charm bracelet got tangled in the shirt sleeve and gave him a slight shock, so she removed it and pulled off the shirt and bra herself, shoving the bracelet into her pants pocket.
Meanwhile, he dragged off his own shirt, and then pressed her to the wall again. Her nipples were hard and aroused against his bare chest.
The knit cap had protected her hair from the rain. Only the ends were damp, curling wildly around her face. He filled his hands with her glossy tresses and brought his mouth to hers.
She made a sexy sound low in her throat and gripped his head. Heat leapt between their bodies, like they were kindling and someone had set a match to them.
They kissed each other, hungry and unrestrained, both their animals awake, greedy. Devouring each other’s mouths. Raining kisses over each other’s faces. Grinding their hips against each other.
His fangs pricked out of his gums. He drew back, wary of hurting her, but she just smiled and pulled him back to run her tongue over the tips.
Her hands were on his waistband, undoing the button and streaking inside. He’d gone commando, and she gave a hum of satisfaction before closing cool fingers around his cock.
His eyes rolled back in his head. He groaned and reveled in the squeeze and slide of her fingers.
She was right, he was a little afraid of how he was with her. Only with Rosana did he forget he was Lord Adric, an alpha with an entire clan depending on him. With her, he was just Ric Savonett. A man with his woman.
Grabbing for the last shreds of his control, he caught her wrist, stopping her.
For the first time, she looked unsure. “You don’t like that?”
“I like it fine.” He crouched to unbuckle her moto boots, tapped the right boot. “Lift your foot.” When she obeyed, he removed first that boot, then the other one, slipping off her socks as well. Rising back up, he swung her into his arms. “But I want to get horizontal with you.”
“Oh.” Wrapping an arm around his neck, she smiled into his eyes. “So now you’re asking.”
“I’m not asking.”
Her chuckle drew an answering smile from him. He realized he did a lot of that around her—smiling. They were still grinning at each other when he set her on her feet in the bedroom.
Their smiles faded, and they stared at each other. He didn’t know what Rosana saw, but he saw a woman coming into her full beauty. Wavy blue-black hair tumbled around a heart-shaped face. Her nipples were a dusky rose, her waist a taut indentation above softly curved hips, and her skin the color of rich, warm cream.
Her chest heaved. “Adric?”
He traced a fingertip around each high, flawless breast. “I like how you say my name. Ah-dreek.”
Her mouth edged up. “Aa-dric,” she said with perfect American pronunciation. “I just like how it sounds in Portuguese better.”
He huffed a laugh. “You’re such a bad girl.”
“Bad girls have more fun.”
“Do they? Let’s see…” Bending his head, he gave each of her nipples a hard suck. Her arms came around him, one on his back, one holding his head to her breasts.
For a few heartbeats, he allowed himself to remain there, cradled against her body. Just breathing her in.
His shifter senses picked up her pounding heart, but that was only fair, because his heart was beating just as hard.
“Definitely more fun,” he managed to murmur.
He undid the button of her jeans, slipped a finger inside. She opened her legs a little as he teased the edge of her panties.
A fine quiver raced over her skin—and something inside him melted. Something so hard and tight and hidden, he hadn’t even known it existed.
He felt sad and angry at the same time, that this was probably the last night they’d ever share. But it was one more night than he’d expected, and he was determined to make it good for her.
The amber sconces had glowed on when they entered the bedroom. He snapped his fingers and they dimmed to a warm, candlelight yellow.
Guiding Rosana to the bed, he pulled down the quilt. She sat on the mattress and he drew off her jeans. Her panties were the same purple as her bra, and damp with her excitement. Sliding them over her hips and down her legs, he dropped them on her jeans and then knelt on the floor before her.
He nudged her thighs apart. Her sex was a slick, rosy pink. Using his thumbs to open her, he swiped his tongue up the center.
Her breath hitched. She gripped the edge of the bed.
He raised a brow. “More?”
A jerky nod.
“Like this?” He licked her again, and again. Swirling his tongue around her clit, then sucking it into his mouth. Feasting on her. Inhaling the wild, musky fragrance that was Rosana.
When she fell back on the quilt, eyes closed and thighs clenching around him, he lifted her feet onto his shoulders and slipped a finger inside her.
“Yes…” Tiny muscles tightened around him. “Oh, Goddess…”
“That’s it,” he said against her clit. “Come for me, bad girl.”
He ruthlessly sucked and tongued her until she was begging and pleading with him to come inside her. “Not yet,” he said against her sex. “I want you to come for me first.”
“Please,” she rasped—and then arched her back and came with a low, animal sound.
He crawled up her body. Her eyes were closed, the lashes thick ebony crescents, her mouth turned up in a replete curve.
“I think I like being bad.”
“You’re very good at it,” he returned, straight-faced.
Her smile increased. “I am, aren’t I?”
Amusement rumbled in his chest. “But I bet you could get even better with practice.” Rolling on a condom, he set his mouth to the tender underside of her throat.
“Oh, yeah,” she said on a moan. “Lots and lots of practice…”
Her arms came around him. Their scents mingled, hot and aroused. She widened her thighs, making space for him.
He settled into that warm, welcoming place. Not entering her, but it still felt like coming home.
Be mine. I want you. Always.
He didn’t say it. Fada mated for life. If he mate-claimed Rosana and then died in Virginia, she’d likely never mate again.
He’d seen how his mom had been after his dad’s death. She’d tried to keep it together for him and Marjani, but she’d stopped caring whether she lived or died.
Rosana was too young to spend the rest of her life alone. At least this way, she had a chance at happiness. Kids.
Even if the thought of her with another male made him want to smash something.
Rosana smiled up at him, her eyes midnight-blue stars, her full lips kiss-swollen.
His throat constricted. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
Her smile increased. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Beautiful…and hot.” Holding her gaze, he reached down and opened her, and then entered her in a slow slide, groaning as she closed around h
im like a hot fist.
He gave her an openmouthed kiss, and then rested his cheek against hers and began to move.
“Yes. Deus, yes.” She wrapped her limbs around him.
Gods, he loved her. It wasn’t just that she was his mate. He loved how she smelled, how she moved. How she was so damn open to him, in a way that had nothing to do with sex. He even loved her stubborn insistence on doing what she thought best.
“More.” Her heels dug into the backs of his thighs, urging him on. “I need more.”
He slowed even more, and she whimpered. “Adric.”
“Trust me,” he murmured against her ear. “This way is better. We don’t want to rush things.”
“No…” Her head moved from side to side against the pillow.
He pulled out.
“No!” Her hands came to his hips, urging him back to her. “Stay. Don’t leave me.”
He nipped her plush lower lip. “You’ll like this, you’ll see.”
He turned her over, helped her up onto her knees. She blinked at him in surprise over her shoulder, so damn cute his heart contracted. Then understanding dawned and she came down on her forearms, her wild raven locks spilling over one silky shoulder.
He smoothed his hands over her ass. It was perfect: round and smooth, a luscious fruit that he wanted to lick, bite.
Own.
He played with her ass for a while, giving her light smacks, slipping his fingers into the slick, warm cove beneath to tease her. He even scraped his teeth over her soft skin until she was begging and pleading with him to come back inside her.
He took her by the hips and entered her with a firm thrust that made her moan his name.
“That’s it,” he told her. “Take it, bad girl. My bad girl.”
He reached around her to play with her heavy breasts as he slid his cock in and out of her. Pleasure gripped him by the scruff of the neck. His nerves were heated, sensitized.
“Touch yourself.”
“Oh.” She gave him another adorably startled look.
He gently bit the turn of her neck. “You heard me.”
Her hand slid down between her thighs. The fingertips grazed the root of his dick and he hissed with the pain/pleasure of it. He put his hand over hers, guided her to tease her plump little clit.
She groaned and pressed her ass into him.
“That’s it. Make yourself come, angel. I want to feel that hot pussy squeezing around me.”
The cougar surfaced, reveling in this most primal of mating positions.
So tight. So wet. So fucking hot.
He wanted to pound into Rosana, lose himself in her slick heat, but he also wanted this to last. For minutes, hours…as long as it took. Until she knew exactly to whom she belonged.
So he gritted his teeth and grasped her hips, setting a firm, steady rhythm until she keened out his name and constricted around him.
“Please, please, please…”
Flames streaked up his spine. His balls drew up, tight and hard.
At some point, she’d stopped touching herself. Reaching around her, he circled her clit with two fingers until she arched her back and with a little scream, went the rest of the way over.
He gave a few hard thrusts and followed her into the fire. Emptying himself into her until he had nothing left.
For a long minute, he stayed inside her, chest heaving, and then he somehow summoned the energy to withdraw from her. Flopping onto his back, he pulled her into his arms. She nestled against him, head on his shoulder. He dragged the quilt over them both and dozed for a few minutes before rousing himself for a quick trip to the bathroom.
After that, he didn’t remember anything else until she left the bed an hour later to use the bathroom herself. When she rejoined him under the covers, she cuddled close, combing her fingers through the crisp dark hair on his chest.
His larynx vibrated in contentment.
She chuckled. “You’re purring.”
His mouth curved. “I’m a cat, love.”
“I like it.” She propped herself on an elbow to smile down at him. “You’ll have to show me your cougar. I’ll bet he’s beautiful.”
The purr increased in volume. Inside, the cat preened itself.
“He thinks so,” Adric said dryly and tucked her into the crook of his elbow. “And yeah, he’d love to show himself to you.”
He didn’t add that it would probably never happen. For these few hours, he didn’t want to think about what lay ahead, just enjoy being with her.
She resumed petting him, and his eyes closed. He hadn’t expected to get much sleep his last night in Baltimore, but the sex had wrung him out in a good way.
He was drifting in that warm, comfortable place between waking and sleep when she murmured his name.
“Mm?” he replied without opening his eyes.
“There’s something I’ve been wondering.”
“Yeah?” he asked warily.
She traced a finger down his sternum. “You don’t have to answer.”
His wariness increased. He opened his eyes. “Just ask.”
“Why did you kill your uncle?”
He went motionless. Even after all these years, the thought of Leron Savonett could still fill him with a murderous rage.
The hand on his chest stilled. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”
He didn’t want to tell her, but he wasn’t surprised she’d asked—only that she’d waited this long.
“Because he needed killing,” he said in a hard voice.
“I see.”
“But what you really want to know is why I didn’t challenge him for alpha in a fair fight.”
A short silence. “Yeah. I guess I do wonder about that.”
His teeth clenched. He put her away from him and sat up. “I know what your brother says. That I have no honor, no respect for tradition. That I murdered my own uncle in cold blood. Well, Dion knows nothing.”
She sat up, too, the quilt clutched to her breasts. “But I’m not my brother. Tell me. Make me understand.”
He eyed her. It occurred to him that this was his chance to push her away for good. To make her leave and never look back.
“Well, everything you heard was true. I lured my uncle Leron into a back alley and slit his throat because I wasn’t sure that if I challenged him, I’d win.”
She flinched. He waited for her to throw off the quilt, announce she would sleep in the other room after all.
But instead, she took his hands. “Oh, Ric. I know that. But that doesn’t tell me why. Because I know you had a good reason. You are honorable, and your clan is so much better off ever since you became alpha.”
He looked down at their clasped hands. So much for scaring her off.
The woman fucking believed in him.
And he found himself explaining further, something he never did.
“He…went after people I loved. He guessed that I’d grow up to challenge him, so he was especially hard on my friends. It got so I was afraid to even talk to someone, because they might end up locked in a cell—or dead. And it wasn’t an easy death.”
She squeezed his fingers. “Oh, Adric. I’m so sorry.”
“So fuck honor. The man needed to die, and I was the only one who could take him out.”
“You did the right thing.”
“Not according to most of the world.”
“Then they’re wrong,” she said fiercely.
“Maybe. But right or wrong, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
He reached for her. He was done talking about his uncle. She had a red abrasion on her jaw—whisker burn.
“I hurt you.” He lightly touched the mark. “If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve shaved.”
“I don’t mind.” She captured his hand, held it against her face. “I kind of like it.”
He leaned in to brush a kiss over the reddened skin. She turned her face so that he kissed her full on the lips instead, her mouth open, welcoming, as
if he hadn’t just admitted to breaking one of the fada’s most sacred traditions.
“Me, too,” he said. “I like seeing my mark on you, having you carry my scent.” And that gave him an idea. He got out of bed and removed the amethyst quartz from her jeans. “I’ll be right back.”
He returned with the amethyst secured by a leather cord. The quilt had slipped lower, exposing her breasts. He dropped the cord over her head and settled the purple chunk of quartz between her cleavage.
“Thank you.” She clutched the pendant with a starry-eyed look that made his heart clenching uncomfortably. “I love it.”
“It’s not much.” Still, he liked seeing his amethyst there, over her heart.
“It is to me.” She tugged on his hand. “C’mere.”
“Is this where you show your gratitude?” He traced those pretty globes with a finger, teased the nipples into points.
A huff of laughter. “I thought it was a gift.”
“Everything has a price.” He crawled over her, pressing her back onto the pillows.
“And if I don’t want to pay?” Sapphire eyes dared him.
He dipped his head to suckle a dusky nipple. “Then I’ll just have to convince you it’s worth it.”
19
Marjani unlaced her combat boots and set them on the floor, frowning.
What was up with Adric? He’d acted odd all day. Calling meetings, visiting all the dens. At supper, he’d been almost sentimental, telling stories about when they were children, and then later, he’d actually pulled her aside to say how happy he was to see things with Fane were working out.
And when she’d boxed up some shrimp étouffée for him, he’d turned it down. Her brother never turned down food. The man hated to cook.
If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was leaving town. But he wouldn’t go anywhere without informing his second, would he?
Fane wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her nape. The jagged gold half-heart that hung from his neck pressed against her spine. She wore the other half—his mate gift to her—on a leather cord along with her quartz.
Long, clever fingers teased her nipples. “Did I tell you how hot you look in this tight little shirt?”
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