by Cait Miller
She reached up and touched the prickly stubble on his cheek, loving the way the light caught its blond color. “The feeling is very, very mutual.”
He turned his face into her caress. “Ah know…especially now.”
She looked at him, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Ah told you that when we started the Ceangal that our mental connection would get stronger.”
Jayne winced, he had but somehow she had managed to forget that little fact, which made no sense at all. How is it possible that she could put something like that out of her head? Because you trust him. “Um, yes, you did. You said you could hear some of my thoughts.”
“Usually that’s the main effect of the link, it lets us communicate when we change but with it also comes a certain amount of empathy. How strong that empathy is varies with each couple.”
He hesitated but she had already guessed what he was going to say. “It’s very strong between us.”
“Aye.”
She knew he was waiting for fear or anger but surprisingly she felt neither, just a calm acceptance. “You realize you are a woman’s dream come true?” He raised his brows in question. “You can read her mind, know exactly how she feels and are very good in bed.”
He laughed.
A deep, rolling laugh that seemed to take him by surprise as much as her. There he was. This was the man she knew was behind the somber, grouchy exterior. Her eyes stung and she smiled at him. “You should do that more often.”
“I havnae had reason to until now, no’ for a long time.” He tipped her chin up with his fingertips and claimed her mouth in a sweet, soft kiss. She parted her lips and touched her tongue to his, inviting him inside. Desire unfurled within her, warm and heady. They separated, she nipped at his chin and moved to straddle his lap. The robe opened, leaving her naked to his gaze. His cock was hard and ready beneath her, trapped within the confines of his jeans. When he lifted his hands from her waist to cup her breasts, she caught them in her own. “I have plans.”
His eyes were hot, pupils dilated, he squeezed her fingers gently but let her hold on. “You mentioned that.”
“Take off your shirt and lie back.” He complied with a speed that made her grin and she shimmied, allowing the robe to slide from her shoulders. She let her eyes drift over his body for the first time in full light. His hair was loose around his shoulders, his chest broad and well muscled, covered with a fine mat of hair that trailed down over his abdomen and into his jeans. He had scars too, she supposed that was inevitable for someone who had been in the line of work that he had. Apart from the small ones on his chin and eyebrow, there was a thin silvered line across the left side of his ribs and a smaller, rounded mark on his side. Someday she would ask him about all of them and do her best to make him forget whatever pain they had caused him. He reached for her again and she held up a finger. “Not yet.” He rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh but lay back on the blanket. She leaned over him and pulled the picnic basket nearer. Her long hair trailed over his chest and he shivered.
“Close your eyes.”
His brow creased but he did as she asked. “What are you up to, lass?”
“You’ll love it, I promise.” Hmmm…chocolate or honey? No contest really, she picked out the bottle of chocolate sauce.
Cameron lay before her, eyes still closed, hands at his sides, trying to look as though he was relaxed. But Jayne could see the tension of his jaw and feel the heat of his erection through the rough fabric of his jeans. She twisted the top off the bottle and watched Cam’s nose twitch as he caught its scent. His eyes popped open and she raised the bottle and wiggled her eyebrows at him. “This could get messy.”
“Jayne…”
With a wicked grin she poured some of the rich sauce over his flat brown nipples and onto the middle of his chest. He sucked in a breath as the cold, thick liquid made contact with his skin. Jayne set the bottle aside. Keeping her eyes on his, she kneeled over him and swirled her tongue over one chocolate-covered nipple.
“Mmm, delicious.”
She lapped the sauce from him, leaving his skin damp and glistening. With another quick glance at his face, she kissed her way down the middle of his chest until she reached his waistband. Holding his gaze, she opened his jeans, letting his erection spring free. She brushed her cheek along the velvety hard length of him, enjoying the way his breath quickened.
“Lift your hips.” She pulled his jeans off and tossed them away, pausing a moment to enjoy the sight of him spread naked before her, a bad-tempered gift from the goddess. But he wasn’t bad-tempered now, it was lust that heated his eyes and he was all hers. She straddled his legs and grabbed the chocolate sauce, holding it high and letting it trickle onto his cock until it was liberally coated. Cam made a strangled sound, his hands gripping into the plaid blanket beneath him.
“Sorry.” She smiled, unrepentant. “Guess I should have heated it first.”
“Ah hope you’re goin’ to clean up that mess you made.”
In answer, she leaned over him and flicked her tongue over the very tip of him, tasting rich chocolate mingled with the evidence of Cam’s excitement. Then stroked her tongue along the hard length, exploring the veins and ridges of his cock. Cleaning the sauce off every inch but the crown until he was panting.
“Have I told you how much I love chocolate?”
“No kiddin’?” he gasped. “Ah think I love it too, remind me to get you more.”
Jayne tilted her head. “Look at that, I missed a bit.” She bent and took him in her mouth, licking the remainder of the chocolate from him. When she had taken as much of him as she could, she drew back slowly, sucking and caressing the underside of his cock as she did. He groaned and she repeated the action. “Mmmm.”
Cam moaned, his body shaking. “Oh, god, enough!”
She released him and he pulled her up to kiss her hard and fast. Her own body was wet, pulsing with the need to have him inside her. She felt his erection damp against her abdomen. He rolled her beneath him, holding his weight on his elbows so that her pebbled nipples just brushed the coarse hair on his chest.
“My turn.” He drizzled some of the sauce onto her breasts and just as she had done, he bent his head to her nipples. Drawing first one, then the other into his mouth until they were red and glistening. The pull of his mouth on her breast fueled an answering tug of pleasure at her core and she arched her back and threaded her fingers into his long hair.
As though feeling her need, he caressed her labia with his fingertips, dipping one long finger inside her folds, making her shiver.
“God, yes! You’re so wet for me, Jayne.”
He spread her moisture to her clitoris and circled it slowly with a gentle pressure. “Do you like that?” Jayne whimpered, letting her legs fall apart to give him better access. He kissed her again, his tongue plundering her mouth as he slipped two fingers into her, his thumb continuing the glorious assault on her clit. Pleasure flooded her system.
“Come inside me, Cameron.”
He nipped at her lip and withdrew his fingers only to plunge them back inside again. She moaned and grasped his hair, pulling his head back so that she could look into his eyes. “I want you inside me.” His lips quirked in a lopsided smile and he pulled away. Cool air washed over the heated flesh of her body, Jayne almost wept at the loss of his touch. She watched as he reached for the bottle again.
“Tilt your hips.”
She did as he asked and he poured some of the rich, thick chocolate onto her mound. Its coolness raised a wave of goose bumps over her body and her inner muscles clenched. She felt it trickle through her pubic hair, over her labia and down over her perineum. When she raised herself up on her elbows and looked at Cam, she saw him viewing its progress with a lust-filled gaze. He licked his lips and raised his eyes to hers as though asking her permission. The words stuck in her throat but she nodded her acquiescence.
He settled between her legs and she watched in fascination as he
nuzzled her birthmark, placing a gentle kiss over it.
“Mine. Fìorcèile.” His golden-brown eyes blazed at her. “Christ, you’re beautiful.”
He grasped her hips with his big hands and ran the tip of his tongue over the seam of her labia. Jayne hissed a breath in through her teeth and the light, teasing touch was repeated. He parted her sensitive flesh with his tongue and flicked it around, and over her clitoris until she was breathless. “Oh god! Cameron, please! I need you.”
His tongue pushed inside her and her head tipped back. She felt the approach of her orgasm in the tightening of her muscles and the throb of her pulse between her legs. He withdrew and plunged in again, a climax washed over her and she moaned.
She felt Cam’s weight shift and then settle over her again. He kissed her and she opened her eyes. His erection prodded against her labia as though impatient to be inside. She groped behind her for the corner of the blanket and flipped it back to reveal the small stack of condoms. Cameron unwrapped one and quickly sheathed himself.
“Now, will you come inside me?”
He growled at her and she laughed, raising her hips to meet his slow thrust. She was ready but he was big and her body surrendered to his, gradually. His broad length stretching her until he filled her completely.
“You’re so tight.” He buried his face in her neck and she felt him tremble as he fought for control. “Put your legs around my hips.” Jayne gripped his back and did as he asked and the deeper contact made both of them groan. After a moment, he began to move, pulling almost all the way out and thrusting back in again and again, his hands tunneling into her hair, his mouth on hers. She whimpered as his cock rubbed against her G-spot, her breath coming in short pants that mirrored his. Faster, pushing forward and pulling back, making her blood race through her veins in a heady rush of excitement that made her heart pound and her head whirl. She clutched at him, trying to pull him impossibly deeper and felt her body gather itself. Muscles contracting, back arching, she cried out. Her orgasm crashed into her, rolled over her and took Cameron with it. He thrust into her a final time and growled as his release was triggered by her own. He collapsed heavily against her, quivering and gasping, and then shifted his weight to one side.
“Bloody hell.”
Jayne laughed breathlessly and cracked one eye open to look at him. “It was a good plan?”
“Very good. Give me…a minute…and we’ll do it again.”
“My thoughts exactly, I still have the honey.”
He groaned theatrically, clutching his chest. “Christ, you’re killin’ me!” He chuckled and rolled to his feet, padding into the bathroom. She admired his tight backside and decided she needed to investigate those dimples at the next opportunity.
“Cam?” She heard the toilet flush and he came back into the bedroom. His front was just as stunning as his back and the sight of all that masculine nakedness sidetracked her for a moment. As she watched, his cock began to stir. He cleared his throat and her gaze flew to his face, chagrined. He raised a questioning eyebrow. “We could do it right now, the blood thing, I mean.”
“No. Not until you see…” he hesitated and looked away. “Everything.”
She sighed. Stubborn man! “Right.” She wished she had kept her mouth closed. She raked him with her eyes, letting her desire show, and did her best to recapture the playful mood between them. “You have got the most beautiful body, Cameron. One of these days I am going to paint you nude.”
He gave her a look that told her he knew exactly what she was doing and pulled her to her feet. “No, it’s not me who’s beautiful, my fìorcèile, it’s you.” He cupped her chin in his hand. “And Ah’m going to spend the next few hours showin’ you how much Ah want you.”
Gentle hands stroked her back and buttocks and Jayne lifted her head from Cameron’s shoulder. His body was furnace-hot beneath her. She moved cautiously, unwilling to lose the intimacy of the connection, rested her forearm on his chest and looked at his face. His eyes were closed and his lips quirked in a small smile, his long hair was a mess and she lifted her hand and tried to smooth it back into place. She had never been much attracted to men with long hair but Cam’s seemed to suit him and she couldn’t imagine him any other way. He turned his face toward her hand in that endearingly feline way and she obligingly caressed his cheek. As she did so, she became aware of a rumbling sound and an accompanying vibration from his chest. It took her a few seconds to recognize it. She grinned delightedly.
“You’re purring!”
It stopped abruptly and he opened his amber eyes and regarded her warily. “I am?”
“You certainly were. I didn’t think lions purred, do it again.”
“Lions don’t. Ah’m not a lion, Ah just look like one. And I can’t do it to order, Ah didn’t even know Ah was doin’ it the first time.” He looked a little uncomfortable at the admission. She leaned down to kiss him and teased, “I think it’s adorable, there’s a word I never thought I’d use on a man…particularly not you.” He scowled at her and she laughed. “And on that note, I think I’ll go to the little girls’ room.” Reluctantly she disengaged their bodies and stood, grabbing the robe from the floor, feeling the heat of his eyes on her all the way to the bathroom door.
She was cleaning up when she heard him call her, a note in his voice that put her instantly on alert. She pulled on his robe and stepped back into the bedroom cautiously. Cam sat on the foot of the bed, red welts scored the skin on his arms and legs and chest where he was scratching himself, and sweat poured down his face and beaded on his skin. He lifted his gaze to hers and she saw his fear and anxiety and even a little embarrassment. When he spoke his voice was strained. “If you dinnae want to see this then you have to leave now.”
She took a step toward him not even sure what she was going to do, just knowing she wanted to comfort him somehow. “You’re changing?”
“Aye.” He groaned and slid to his knees and she raced to his side. He touched her face with a hand that shook violently. “You need to back off a bit…please…Ah need space.”
Jayne bit her lip and did as he asked, moving a few feet away to sit on the floor. Hating the feelings of helplessness and fear that filled her. She watched, stunned and fascinated as his hair lengthened into his mane and his golden coat began to grow in. Groans became growls as his body shifted and contorted until Cameron Murray was gone and crouching before her, shaking and panting heavily, was the king of the beasts.
He was glorious.
Jayne pressed a trembling hand to her mouth, vaguely aware of the warmth of tears running down her face. Slowly the big cat stood, crept toward her and sat. He towered over her, and for an instant she was afraid. A primal reaction that screamed that he was a predator. Then she caught his familiar scent. Earth and pine trees. She looked in his eyes and the man she loved looked back at her. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his thick mane, relieved and amazed. “Holy shit, Cam! I thought I might pee my pants, I mean if I had been wearing any, which I’m not…aaaand now I’m babbling…but it’s just…wow. Gawd, I’m so sorry, that had to hurt.”
It hurts like hell.
She drew back to look at him. “Remind me to take some painkillers before I—argh!” Jayne grabbed two fistfuls of his mane. “Did you just speak to me mentally?”
Aye.
“Why didn’t you tell me you could do that? Why didn’t you do it the first time? It might have saved a whole lot of angst!”
I didnae think to try it and I didnae realize how strong our mental link was then.
Right, of course. “Lord, I need a drink.”
It only hurts now because my body fights the transformation. It doesn’t hurt after the Ceangal so you wouldnae have to worry.
He nuzzled her and licked her face with his rough tongue. “Ewww! Thanks!”
I thought you enjoyed me licking you.
“Well, yes, but that’s entirely different!”
She stood, noticing that her le
gs still felt a bit unsteady. There was still a half bottle of soda on the bedside table, it was warm, but it would do. Cam watched her as she poured herself a glass. She had just lifted it to her lips when an alarm shrilled through the room.
The effect on Cameron was instantaneous. He jumped to his feet and a bone-chilling growl rolled out of him.
That was the perimeter alarm. Open the doors for me and dinnae turn any lights on!
Pulse beating a nervous tattoo, she complied, following him as he raced downstairs and opening the front door for him too.
“Shouldn’t we call the police?”
No, no police. We cannae afford to get them involved.
Cold air swirled around her ankles and beneath the robe as she stared into the darkness. There was absolute silence, even the alarm had stopped. Cameron stood for a moment on the steps with his nose in the air barely visible in his stillness. She waited, fascinated, as he used all his senses to assess the situation like the predator he was.
Lock the door and go to the secure room, stay there until I come back.
He turned and disappeared around the building. Jayne considered following him, she didn’t like being told to stay like a naughty puppy. But then common sense reared its ugly head, Cam knew what he was doing. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to be ready to help if she had to though. Besides the secure room was a bit too…confining…and anything she could do to put off going there was all to the good. Hitching the robe up, she ran back to her room to dress.
Chapter Twelve
Henry cursed silently, ears straining for any sound in the woods around him. This op was rapidly going to hell. He had been forced to wait too long, giving the subject time to start changing and now they had lost the element of surprise. The situation had been as perfect as it was going to get, the couple was finally alone in the house and were together in one room. Henry had just been leaving the cover of the trees when suddenly the recently transformed Murray had raced for the door. They had to have tripped some kind of alarm. Now he was out here somewhere hunting them. He peered into the shadows under the trees using the night-vision goggles, alert for any movement. His team was spread out, Scott and Grant on either side of him and Hamilton to the rear. Silent and still, watching and listening as he was. He could practically feel their tension vibrating in the air. They knew as well as he did that somewhere out there was a very angry, very dangerous animal.
