ETERNAL SOULS: A Shadow Creek Novel (Shadow Creek Series Book 1)

by J. C RIMELL

  He brought his hands to her face and tilted her head so she'd look at him. “Kit, it wasn't your fault. Not Clara, not your kidnapping, and not Jo. You don't have to let go of Clara, she's in here.” Dropping a hand he placed it to the center of her chest, his palm pressed flat over her heart, “… and nothing will ever take that away. As for the pain, it won't ever leave you completely, but it will get easier to live with, that I can promise you.”

  Warm tears fell without constraint and throwing her arms around his neck Kit surrendered to him. “Maybe we can help each other.” Her words were muffled against his neck as he hugged her closer, grateful he'd managed to penetrate the barriers she'd built around herself.

  Kit pulled away gently and really looked at the man who held her with possessive familiarity. What they shared was special. Nothing had been normal between them. From the minute she'd met him their connection had been implemented, their fates sealed. Even if she was only just realizing it now.

  “I think you'd better explain how your blood can stop me turning into a blood-sucking vampire.”

  He smiled as she settled against him. “The mating ritual is sacred, Kit, and it's not something I can do if you don't want me of your own free will.” He watched her pupils dilate, interest spiking like two flames in their depths. “The bond is unbreakable. There's no turning back once it's done.”

  “What happens during this ritual?” she asked, a slight curve tugging the corner of her mouth.

  Ah, Christ. This was a question he'd like to have avoided. He felt his gums itch, his wolf clipped to attention and his cock sprang to life. “It's where a shifter would mark his or her mate. They take some of each other's blood, which creates the everlasting bond between them.” He swallowed, trying to ignore the erection growing thick and long behind his pants. He fidgeted, but his position was far from comfortable, and standing up was definitely out of the question.

  Her head cocked to one side inadvertently exposing the curve of her slender neck, making his incisors ache as they inched into his mouth.

  “There's something you're not telling me, Cade Grayson.”

  Fuck. He bit off a curse before pinning her with eyes that had gone luminous. “The act takes place during sex… I mean when the couple makes love.” And at that moment that's exactly what he wanted to do. His voice had gone all gravel, his blood coursing faster through his veins. “It's forever, Kit. The bond can only be broken if the other dies, and there's the strong possibility of you turning into a shifter like me.”

  Now it was all up to her, and he prayed to God that she would want him. Sure, Cade knew he had the Society to deal with and wouldn't be able to make Kit officially his until she had his blood running through her body. She also needed to be well enough to consummate their mating in the flesh. But having her accept him now, even like this in their minds would be enough for now.

  Kit took it all in, hung on every word he'd said.

  It was madness. Utter crazy talk.

  And if it hadn't been for her recent experiences, she would have bolted like she had the first time. Kit knew in her heart he wouldn't lie, and that she wanted him more than she'd wanted anything in her entire life. Nothing had ever stirred her like the thought of making love with him did.

  Was she ready for this commitment with him? Was she ready for a lifetime with a shifter? To become one herself?

  She felt unsure, but who would be certain of what he was offering. It wasn't exactly a marriage proposal, and yet it meant binding herself to him forever. Kit had to admit it would be freaking awesome, but her life wouldn't just change from being a single, human woman. It was a lot more than that. Her entire world would become something she was still only just learning about. Something very, very different.

  But she didn't favor the alternative of becoming a vampire.

  What about Jo? Her parents? Her future?

  “Kit?”

  Cade's voice drew her back from her trail of spiraling thoughts. She swallowed the apprehension that had swelled in her chest, panic tightening her throat so she couldn't breathe. “Cade, I… I'm not sure I'm ready.”

  He was silent for a long time before his head dropped, his expression clear with disappointment.

  “Cade, please, won't you look at me?” She tilted her head to try to catch his gaze.

  Avoiding her, he stood up and felt her eyes follow him. She grabbed his hand and the touch instantly calmed his wolf. Cade looked down at her. “You'd rather be a vampire, then?”

  “No. No, of course not!” she cried at him. “And it doesn't mean I don't want you. God, Cade, I want you more than you'll ever know.” She choked out the last few words, laced with a desperation that immediately gained his full attention.

  Pulling her up into his strong arms, he enveloped her in a firm embrace. “Tell me what to do, Kit. Jesus, I'll do whatever it is you want.” His voice verged on a growl. The animal in him frustrated and hungry for her in more ways than one as her chest heaved rapidly against his body. Her breath hot on his skin.

  “It's just, forever is a long time with someone you don't really know,” she said with an air of uncertainty.

  He tugged her even closer. “I know everything I need to.”

  His hand slipped around her nape, his fingers knotting between the feathered ends of her hair. Kit stared into two silver moons. Her mind swimming against a current so strong she just couldn't seem to fight the tide. Her better judgment tried to yank her back, reminding her that she hardly knew this supernatural male. But everything inside of her screamed in a bewildering longing. As though she was already tied to him by an unknown force she was defenseless against.

  “Won't you just give in to me, Kit?” Cade's lips had drawn closer, barely a sheet of air between them as her hands held onto his muscular shoulders. An electrical pulse sparked across her skin, through her hospital gown where his hand rested in the small of her back. She reached up onto her bare toes, still small against his towering frame.

  “I can be a real pain in the arse and I'm as stubborn as hell,” she breathed. Closing her eyes, she moved forward, allowing her lips to brush against his with the faintest of touches.

  Cade grunted but didn't pull back. “Some might say I'm a little hot-headed, and I come with a pretty big, ready-made family of similar hot-headed shifters.” He swept the golden strands of her hair away from her face, trapping those sapphire blue eyes in his and leaving them no room for escape. His lips moving against hers, his voice dipped to a seductive caress. “Think you can handle that?”

  “Guess I'll have plenty of time to get used to it.”

  He stole her mouth in a fierce kiss. His body a roaring fire and his heart expanding tenfold, he absorbed everything she was giving him. And he was going to take it all. Now in this dream and again when she was healed and healthy and belonging to him and only him. Kit McCoy was his, and as her kiss grew hungrier, his hands ventured down to her thighs. Sliding his fingers under the hem of the cotton gown and over silky skin, he cupped her ass and lifted her. He moaned into her mouth when she wrapped her slender legs around his waist, pressing the very core of her sex against him.

  He broke their kiss to lay her down beneath him. Arched over her he pinned her with his molten gaze, held her fast as her legs clamped tight around him like a vise. “I promise to love and protect you, honor you above anything else in this world, if you'll have me, Kit.”

  Her heart swelled with happiness that was almost too much to bear. The guilty pain threatened to suffocate it, but she hung onto the happy feeling and allowed it some room, where in time perhaps it would grow. The invisible twine that joined them pulled her closer to him. She traced the scar on his face with a featherlight touch, bringing his face back to look at her when he tried to hide it. “Don't,” she whispered, “we both have scars, remember? It's part of who you are and you don't need to hide that from me. Not ever.” She smiled warmly. “I'll gladly accept you and your scars if you can accept mine.”

  She'd just snappe
d his heart strings clean in two, firing his up starvation for her even further.

  Kit swallowed hard. This was it, she thought, here and now all she wanted was right at her fingertips. Her skin tingled as the air charged with an invisible vibe that pulsed between them. Everything fell silent but for the thrumming of their hearts. “You're mine now,” she said, the words tumbling happily from her lips as she tugged at his T-shirt.

  He pulled it off over his head, flinging it aside and watched her eyes widen in delight as she drank him in. “Ah, hell,” he sighed. “Yes I am.”

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Madeleine felt Ryker's hidden glare like a brandishing whip against her skin as he stared at her through the small window of the door. She quickly realized he'd seen the detonator sat idly on the chair, the cord, leaving a trail back to the doors.

  He was smart enough to have already solved the equation of detonator, plus the cord and the locked door to account for one thing. All of which he knew everything there was to know. The monitors had returned to their normal rhythm. Madeleine sighed, relieved, but feeling more than a little awkward under Ryker's intense scrutiny as she turned around to face him.

  “What the hell are you doing Madeleine?” His deep, baritone voice was a harsh scolding that held a serrated edge. His gaze narrowed, the peak of his cap keeping his eyes hooded.

  She shrugged. “They need time. I'm giving it to them.”

  “Yeah?” He didn't understand exactly what she was referring to, but his attention was focused on something else. “That's fine and dandy, but why the hell can I smell a slab of C-4?”

  Madeleine thrust her hands into the pockets of her white coat. “I needed to make sure they wouldn't be disturbed. I thought you'd be back in time to help. I heard voices—” her voice trembled and she dropped her gaze to her black ballet pumps, noticing the black scuff marks on the toes. She flinched as she heard him bite off a vicious curse.

  “Please tell me that my gut is right and you haven't actually got that detonator linked up to the explosive.”

  The seconds ticked by and a knot formed in her throat.

  “Madeleine!”

  The boom of his voice made her jerk, her eyes lifted and found his. He'd removed his cap and she could clearly see desperation pooling in his beautiful, tiger stone eyes. But even the sudden shock of the dazzling blaze of his eyes couldn't keep her from looking past his shoulder to the man standing behind him. Her knees knocked together under the Overseer's authoritative scowl.

  Madeleine took a deep breath and steadied her nerves as she picked up the detonator and sat down. “Whatever you do,” she said making her voice as bold and as deadly serious as she possibly could, “don't open those doors.”

  Christopher Warden stood in disbelief, watching the craziest of scenario’s playing out in front of him. He pivoted on his heel. His power vibrated off his skin like a mighty halogen lamp, all of it directed at the Alpha standing behind him, now in the spotlight. “What the devil is going on here, Fleet?”

  Fleet knew at once. Cade. Shit.

  As Alpha, Fleet was well schooled in remaining composed under stressful situations. This was going to take all his years of experience not to lose his cool, calm exterior. “Ryker, stay with the situation. The Overseer and I need to talk.”

  Warden flashed his heated glare between the other two men. “Whatever you have to say, Fleet, you can say it here.”

  Fleet smoothed a hand over his face. “Very well,” he said, taking his chances against the Overseer's power, he moved in a little closer. Taking a quick look through the window of the door for a few seconds he assessed the situation before turning back to face his superior. “Cade has found his mate. She's human and unfortunately, she was bitten by a vampire.” He sighed. “As usual, Cade has gone against my instructions it seems.” He thrust his hands onto his hips and shook his head in disbelief. “Only his blood can stop the venom turning her into one of them. Madoc already ran the tests.”

  The Overseer's eyes were practically flames in his head. “I'll give you ten minutes to talk the doctor into submission or she'll be sorry when the dust settles.” He stormed off, but his powerful force still vibrated around them, like a lingering storm cloud full of lightning yet to strike.

  Ryker felt the probe of his Alpha's authority as he came level with him. He hoped to hell he wouldn't use any mental force on Madeleine. He cleared his throat. “I can talk her round, Fleet,” he said, “she needs to remain coherent. Using your mental brain fry could cause her to detonate the explosive.”

  His Alpha's steely gaze slid sideways to meet his, unable to hold his stare Ryker dropped his eyes. “What makes you think she'll listen to you?” Fleet asked with a disgruntled growl.

  “I don't.” He shrugged, still avoiding Fleet's powerful gaze. “But she sure as shit ain't going to listen to you. No offense, boss.”

  Fleet shook his head. “Goddamn! Has everyone forgotten who the Alpha is around here!” His outburst made the doors to rattle. Ryker sucked in a breath, turning his attention to Madeleine who's face had drained of color.

  “You've got five minutes,” their Alpha bellowed in warning as he marched away.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Her skin was warm and buttery soft against his lips as he pressed a kiss to the curve of her neck. His tongue stroked the slope upward to the shell of her ear, and she tasted fragrant, sweet.

  Damn, so very, very sweet.

  His fangs grazed her skin, and he felt Kit tense beneath him, stopping him at once. “I would never hurt you, Kit.” He pulled back to look at her, his eyes lustrous and glowing with a carnal need he could no longer hide. But if she indicated any hesitation, he would find the strength from somewhere, God only knew where, to back off.

  “I'm not afraid,” she reassured him. And she wasn't, not with him, but the feel of his razor sharp teeth momentarily reminded her of the pain she'd felt with a vampire. Fixing her eyes back onto his, she laced her fingers through his hair. Bringing him back down, she guided his mouth to her own. “Don't stop.”

  Cade crushed her beneath his body, ran a hand down over her covered breast, teasing the taut bud beneath the cotton. She gasped, her tongue slipping into his mouth, tracing his fangs, driving him wild with a desire that was new to him. Never had he felt the hunger, the need to be with a woman more than he did now.

  Lowering his head, he took the ripe pebble between his teeth. The friction of the cotton made her rock and grind against the rigid length of him. He went lower, wanting to see, to touch, to taste her. With her hands gripping his shoulders, he delved between her thighs and tugged at the thin cotton gown until her body lay bare before him.

  Breaking free from her hold, he sat back on his haunches, unable to speak as he drank in every inch of her. From the beauty of her angelic face, down over the swell of her breasts and dark, pink nipples. Across the flat planes of her stomach to the neat, silky curls between her thighs. He could feel her gaze watching with curiosity, waiting for him to make his next move.

  “Jesus, Kit,” he breathed heavily, his voice thick. He told himself this was only a dream. The best damn dream he'd ever had. “You're so damn lovely I'm afraid to touch you.”

  Kit sucked in a gulp of air, her chest heaving with relief. He'd been staring at her for so long, she was beginning to think there was something wrong with her. Pushing all her inhibitions aside, she sat up. Taking his hand, she placed it on her breast, his palm a warm glove against her skin. “I want you to touch me, Cade,” she whispered, her eyes dropping to the loose cord of his sweat pants. Reaching forward, she tugged the knot free, hearing a deep growl rise up from his chest. Letting her eyes drift back up to meet his smoldering gaze, she pulled the waistband down. “And I want to touch you too.”

  His thick erection sprang forth, and he kissed her again. Even more hungry, more urgent, his tongue sweeping every hidden corner of her hot, delicious mouth. She broke away and kissed across his collarbone, over the well-crafted slabs of muscl
e. Her tongue followed the magical, dark inked swirls of his tattoo.

  Kit's exploration of Cade's body was almost too much to bear. His hips rocked forward as she continued her journey further down over the ridges of his tight stomach muscles. Finally, taking his shaft in a firm grip, she put him into her mouth.

  His bestial growl scraped the back of his throat. “Ah, Christ, Kit!”

  She smiled and sucked the clear droplet from the silky, soft head. Her tongue a sensual whip as it coiled around and over his sex.

  Kit had hesitated for a split second. His erection was impressive and not because it was practically the first one she'd seen up close and personal. But because it was huge. Her hand seemed lost against it and she knew there wasn't a chance in hell she could take it all into her mouth. She felt a pang of apprehension. Sex was new to her. She'd never been intimate with anyone other than Cade, but something deep inside of her knew instinctively what to do.

  His guttural moans made her core bloom for him. Made her suck that bit harder until he began to buck and grind and his fingers were lost in her hair.

  “Kit, enough. Ah, Jesus… baby stop.”

  She drew the animal in him to the surface. With an untamed growl he pulled himself free from her mouth, instantly craving the heat again. He laid her back down, opened her legs and exposed the swollen nub and folds of her sex, glistening and wet.

  His wolf surged forward.

  “I want to taste you, Kit,” he said, his voice savage with need. The pads of his thumbs stroked her thighs and she shivered in anticipation. “I'm going to make you come for me, baby until you scream my name and beg me to stop.”