“No, you just sit. Or you could take a cue from the kids and rack out on the couch.”
“No, I’m sure they’ll be fine there for a little while.” But she looked over her shoulder anyway, as if to assure herself that the kids were still there. She’d probably never stop doing that. Couldn’t say he blamed her.
When she turned back to him, her expression had softened and he swallowed down the inappropriate surge of lust.
“Thank you for doing this,” she said. “For having those little boys here and for inviting Cat for Amy.” She sighed and he knew exactly what she was thinking. “Though I don’t know that Amy’s going to be making too many friends quickly.”
Amy had a long way to go to trust anyone. Kyle’s daughter, Cat, had tried to engage the girl in conversation because Cat was just that kind of person. But Amy hadn’t said more than a few words the entire night. Instead, she’d studied everyone, as if they were opponents on the battlefield. As if every one of them had been out to get her.
“Sure, it’s gonna take some time for her to get comfortable here,” he said. “She’s gonna be looking over her shoulder for a while. And she’s gonna question everything anyone says to her. Can’t say as I blame her. Besides, she’s Mal. And that’s a whole other battle.”
One he hadn’t been thinking about too carefully because that was one thing he couldn’t fix.
The girl had come into her power. And, if that little example of blowing out the wall at the house had been any indication, her power was huge and deadly.
Grace started to shake her head again, knowing she had to get through to Kaisie. She had to make him understand. “That’s why you know we can’t stay here. Not for long. She’s Mal. Eventually…”
Amy’s true colors would show.
“She seems to be pretty levelheaded. And she seems to be genuinely attached to Alex and Mara.”
Which was an anomaly for a Mal. They typically didn’t form attachments.
It made her hope for something she shouldn’t.
“I never gave it much thought growing up,” she continued. “What it meant to be Mal. I only knew I wasn’t and that made me different. Less. At least in my parents’ and grandmother’s eyes. They’d hoped I’d be born Mal. When I wasn’t, they tried again for years but my mother never got pregnant. The Mal have never been prolific.”
“Thank the Gods for that.”
Her mouth twisted in a wry smile. “Yes, I’m sure you would think that way. Of course my grandmother considered my parents a failure so my father has to work that much harder to prove himself to her in business.”
“When did you figure out you weren’t like them?”
She squashed the smile that wanted to bloom at the certainty in his voice. “Why do you think I did?”
He rolled his eyes. “Because I know you, Grace. You love your kids. You never met Amy but you were ready to trade your life for hers. That makes you a better person than a Mal could ever be.”
He made her want to be that person. The one he thought he saw in her. Not that he wasn’t right. She did love her children. She’d taken one look at Amy and she’d known, no matter what happened, she would love her daughter.
And she certainly felt something for him, more than simple lust. Which she’d never felt before.
“Besides, you have good taste because you definitely have a thing for me.”
His arrogant tone should have made her smile. She knew Kaisie well enough by now to know that’s what he’d been aiming for. She couldn’t do it, though she didn’t bother to contradict him. It’d be a lie.
“Damn. I put that look on your face again.” With a sigh, he put the last dish in the washer and slapped the door shut. He pressed a button and a slight hum filled the air as he held out his hand to her. “Come with me.”
“The kids—”
“Will be fine. We’re only going to the back porch. And I had Margie and Cat put an extra couple of protection spells over the place earlier. No one will get in without me knowing about it.”
Kaisie watched her contemplate taking his hand. As if the act held so much more meaning than simply letting him lead her to the porch.
And she’d be right. He wanted her to take his hand. To reach for him and follow him.
Trust. He wanted her trust. Would she ever be able to give him what he wanted?
When she reached for him with her uninjured hand and let him pull her to her feet, he controlled his victorious smile, but just barely.
Then he took her to the small screened porch at the back of the house.
It was one of the first things he’d renovated when he’d moved into the house when Kaine had been a toddler. He’d wanted somewhere safe for her to play that let her be close to the outdoors.
Since no one installed fences in the den, he’d added this porch. For years, it’d been Kaine’s playroom. Now it was his.
In the summer, the screened walls kept the bugs out but allowed the sounds and smells of the forest in. The porch ran the entire length of the house so there was enough room for a seating area with a couch, two chairs and a table, and a space big enough for a pool table. He, Aule, Frank and Dorian had spent a lot of nights out there shooting pool and shooting the shit.
No one in the neighboring houses could see into the porch because of the way the houses were situated and he had an uninterrupted view of the woods.
This late, the night was mostly silent except for the crickets, though he faintly heard a few deer and rabbit in the underbrush. He could even hear the faint trickle of the small waterfall in the moon god Tivr’s sanctuary not far from here.
One of these nights, he’d take her there.
Tonight, he took her to the comfortable couch along the back wall of the house, so they could look out at the night.
The moon hadn’t yet risen but he could feel its pull in his blood. The full moon was only a few days away and though he was long past the time in his life where the moon ruled his wolf, he still felt its call. The lucani learned to control their change by the time they hit twenty and Kaisie was way beyond twenty.
Apparently, though, he’d never learned how to control his reaction to a woman he desired more than he wanted his next breath.
He felt as if he was eighteen again and chasing after any woman who’d have him. Which was how he’d gotten Kaine. His kid had been one of the best damn things that’d ever happened in his life so he certainly didn’t regret the one night he’d spent with her mother. He just wished Tekeias had let him protect her instead of leaving their child and running off. It’d gotten her killed.
Kaisie learned from his mistakes.
Grace sank into the couch with a sigh, nestling her head into the cushions and staring out at the night. Settling beside her, he sat close enough to feel her body heat but not close enough to touch.
It’d damn near kill him to keep his distance but he needed her to come to him. He couldn’t always be chasing after her. He did have some male pride. Okay, he had more than some, which meant he really wanted her to reach for him this time.
Neither of them spoke, though he knew she hadn’t fallen asleep.
“He’s going to come after them,” she finally said. “It’s not in his nature to let something he considers his be taken from him.”
“If he’s not dead already then I’ll kill him.”
He heard her breath hitch. “It won’t be that easy. And…I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Now they were making progress. “Are you finally going to admit I’m right?”
“And what do you think you’re right about?”
“That you want me and can’t live without me.”
She didn’t contradict him right away and he figured he’d racked up another point in his favor.
When she finally spoke, he wasn’t sure if he was going to have to revise that opinion. “Are you planning to kiss me again or are you going to talk me to sleep?”
“Actually,” he turned to look at her, “I was
kind of waiting for you to kiss me.”
Her teeth lodged in her bottom lip and she didn’t turn to look at him. “Truthfully, I… I’m not sure I know how. I’ve never initiated a kiss in my life. I mean, obviously I know the mechanics involved, but there’s so much more involved than just mechanics, isn’t there?”
He opened his mouth to tell her to just shut up and kiss him already but she moved to lay her head on his shoulder and he snapped his mouth shut.
Yes, they’d had sex but he’d initiated everything up until this point. This was the first time she’d made the move to be close to him.
Now he wanted more.
Greedy? Yeah, and he didn’t care.
Then she sighed and he knew he’d lost her focus. “You have to realize I have to take the children and go. He was able to get in here before. Last time, he didn’t kill anyone. Next time, he won’t be so kind. Ettore is a good Mal. He’s heartless and ruthless and he’ll mow down anyone in his path. I know him, Kaisie. If he’s not dead, he’s already plotting how to retrieve the children. He found a way in before. He’ll find another way in, no matter how you plug the hole.”
“I’d rather you go back to talking about kissing.”
She sighed, exasperation in the sound. “I don’t… You’re not… Why me?”
The genuine confusion in her voice hit him below the belt this time. The damn woman had absolutely no idea how desirable he found her. Obviously, he was doing something wrong.
And he didn’t know if he could explain it well enough to satisfy her. He’d never been good with words. He was much better at communicating without them.
He wanted to turn to her and take her face in his hands so she could see his eyes when he spoke. He didn’t, because he didn’t want her to turn away from him. Not now. “You’re not afraid to fight with me. You’ve got a huge fucking heart and you don’t take shit from anybody, including me.”
After a few seconds, her head lifted and now he turned to see her staring at him, her eyes wide. She didn’t say anything though, so he kept going.
“You’re smart as hell and you carried my injured daughter to the plane when your arm had to hurt like a sonuvabitch and you were practically bleeding out. You’re willing to leave the safety of the den even though you know—”
She cupped his face in her hands and brought her mouth to his, kissing him with a passion that nearly singed his eyebrows.
He didn’t see it coming, hadn’t thought she’d ever take that first step without a lot more coaxing.
But here she was, kissing him. Her lips molded to his as if learning his taste. And maybe she was. He’d been the aggressor before. He’d consumed her, taken her under and taken her over.
He grabbed the couch cushions and locked himself down, let her explore when he all he wanted to do was strip her naked, lift her over his lap and thrust into her willing body.
A groan rumbled low in his throat as she gained confidence and got bolder with every second. Her mouth moved with more surety, her lips parted and her tongue dipped out to play along the seam of his mouth.
He opened for her immediately but she withdrew and began to press kisses along his jaw. As her hands slid into his hair, twining in the short strands and tightening almost to the point pain, he let his head fall back against the cushion.
She only hesitated a second before straddling his thighs and coming after him.
Her mouth dropped over his again and now he didn’t sense any hesitation. She settled her lips against his then slid her tongue into his mouth. Slowly. Feeling her way along. Learning his responses.
He gave them to her freely, let his tongue wind around hers and his cock harden and throb, aching for the feel of her mound rubbing against it. He had his hands cupped around her ass in the next second but resisted the urge to force her down on him.
Instead, he focused on the way she dipped her tongue into his mouth, with delicate, almost tentative strokes that were more arousing than any practiced seduction ever could be. She flicked at his tongue, playing with him, and heat coiled in his gut.
Her fingers tugged on his hair and he answered her silent request by letting his head fall back farther. Her mouth began to press kisses along his jaw and back to his ear, where she nipped the lobe between her teeth.
He shuddered and he felt a smile curve her lips before she nipped his neck just below his ear.
“You make me want to bite you.” Her fingers flexed and her breath brushed against his skin, raising his body temperature another ten degrees. “I don’t understand what you’re doing to me.”
“There’s nothing to understand. Just don’t stop.”
Her hips lowered another inch until he thought he could feel the heat radiating from her core.
“The kids—”
“Are out cold and I’ll hear them if they wake.” He’d make sure he did. “I want you, Grace. And I know you want me. Take me.”
She froze for a few dizzying seconds before she sighed. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Yeah, you do. We did just fine the other night.”
“But…what if I want you to take me?”
He cut off his groan at the images her husky question forced into his brain, one of them involving her bent over the side of this couch while he took her from behind.
“Is that really what you want, Grace? Because I’m more than willing to give you exactly what you want.”
She pulled back far enough for him to see her eyes, to see the heat and the longing in them.
But it was the uncertain smile that trumped everything. He’d wipe that uncertainty out of her if it took him all night and most of his strength.
“That’s what I want.”
“Good thing you wore a skirt. Won’t have to take it off.”
Her eyes widened as she caught his meaning and her pale cheeks flushed bright red. His lips curved in what he made sure was a predatory grin and he took one hand off her ass to cup one of her breasts.
She sucked in a sharp breath as he pinched the hardening nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Her thin green t-shirt and bra did nothing to hide her arousal and the stretchy material of her gray skirt warmed under his hand.
“Come on, babe. Stand up.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to.”
“You won’t be on your feet for long, don’t worry. Go on. Stand up.”
After a second, she eased back so she could use her hands to steady herself as she got to her feet. When she stood looking down at him, he let his gaze drop to her breasts, directly in front of his face. “Take the bra off but leave the shirt.”
Her gaze slid to the doors into the house before it locked onto his again and she worked her hands under her shirt and around her back. He saw her bra gape under the shirt then watched as she slid the straps down her arms so she could draw the bra off from beneath the shirt.
Then she dropped it in his lap.
White lace. Damn thing was see-through. He held it up to his nose and sniffed it. His cock throbbed in his jeans. If he wasn’t careful, he’d come like a teenager, inside his jeans before he ever got inside her.
“Blessed Goddess, Kaisie…”
He put his hands on her lower thighs, just below the hem of that skirt then he pushed up and under it. The skirt followed, caught on his wrists, until it sat around her waist and exposed the white lace panties that matched the bra.
Filling his hands with the firm, smooth globes of her ass again, he let his fingers dig into the flesh. “Did you wear these for me?”
Her breath audibly caught as his brushed across that soft material. He could smell her arousal, hot and sexy, and he brought his face right up to the vee of her legs. Brushing his nose against the lace, he inhaled.
“I fucking love the way you smell.”
Her moan made his hands clench tighter on her ass and he loved the pinch of her fingers when her hands landed on his shoulders to steady herself.
“Hold steady now, because I’m going to ta
ste you.”
“Kaisie!”
He smiled at the scandalized tone of her voice. “You’re gonna wanna keep your voice down, babe. Don’t wanna wake the kids.”
He moved in before she could say anything else or squirm away. He pressed a kiss against her mound, right over her clit just before he hooked his thumbs in the sides of those panties and pulled them off her hips.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he nuzzled his nose into the trimmed hair on her mound. “Widen your legs, Gracie. There you go. Now hold on.”
She stood at the perfect angle for him to get his tongue between her legs and lick at the hardened nub of her clit. With his hands on her ass, he let his tongue part her folds and play with her. Tasting the wetness seeping from her body. She tensed but he didn’t wait for her to catch up. If he let her think too much, she’d freeze. He needed to keep her off balance.
And working her into a short, quick orgasm would do just fine to keep her that way.
He didn’t tease. He went for flat-out arousal, using his tongue and his teeth and his lips to make her sex clench. Licking at her clit, he played with the tiny nub until it hardened then he stiffened his tongue and slid it between the slick lips of her pussy.
He heard the cry she bit her lips to hold back as he alternately nipped at her clit and fucked her with his tongue. So fucking sweet. The scent of her arousal intensified until finally she came, the muscles of her thighs quivering then tightening as she tried to hold herself steady.
When he stood, she lost the battle not to cry out, clutching at his shoulders as if she thought he was trying to get away.
Instead, he pressed his mouth over hers for a short, hard kiss, knowing she’d taste herself on his lips.
Opening his eyes, he saw the startled, dazed look on her face and it made him growl. He wasn’t as careful as he could have been as he spun her around and pushed her over the rolled arm of the couch.
With her skirt still around her waist, he took a moment to stare at her bare ass gleaming in the moonlight. He had the sudden urge to smack that pale skin until it glowed.
Too much, too soon.
Gracie wasn’t ready for anything like that.
Hell, just taking her like this was pushing her limits.
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