Cat's Cradle: String of Fate, Book 1

by Bianca D’Arc

  “Oh, I intend to do a lot more, Cade.”

  She moved lower, tickling his rippling abdomen with her teeth and tongue. He wasn’t sure he could hold it together if she went any lower.

  But his sweet temptation didn’t let up, she moved steadily downward, pausing to tease his navel with her tongue, causing a loud rumble of satisfaction to echo through his chest. She was killing him…with pleasure.

  And she didn’t stop there. His little kitten went for it, circling him first with her delicate hands, then sheathing him in her mouth. Once again, her luscious mouth on his cock was the most delicious sensation he’d ever experienced. If he could freeze time, he’d stop right there to savor every lick, every nibble, every sucking squeeze.

  Ecstasy snuck up on him when she did something with her fingers that made him convulse in pleasure. He was too preoccupied to realize she was still licking him when he came, but he had enough presence of mind to roll away from her.

  “Don’t swallow, Ellie.” His voice was harsh, his breathing erratic. Yet he had to make her understand. This was important. “The enzyme,” he gasped as his climax began to ease.

  She sat up, stroking his shoulder and back with her soft hands, offering comfort when it should be the other way around. He should be the one comforting her. This woman never ceased to amaze him.

  He rolled to his back, seeking her gaze. The gentle smile on her face humbled him and he couldn’t resist pulling her in for a quick kiss. He held her, one of his arms around her neck and shoulders as she settled against his chest.

  “I’m sorry, baby. I should have told you before. That enzyme I was telling you about? Its effects are pretty strong if you take it that way. Hey, I promised you full disclosure right?” He teased, grateful when she chuckled.

  “What about when you come inside me?” she asked in a small voice.

  He was glad to hear a revival of her curiosity. She was still with him. He hadn’t managed to screw this up completely—yet.

  “The oral transfer of enzymes is the key to creating and sealing the mate bond.”

  “That’s probably a good thing,” she tickled his chest with mischievous, roaming fingers. “Otherwise you tomcats would have a string of brokenhearted females following you around wherever you go.”

  He had to laugh at the image.

  Cat's Cradle: String of Fate, Book 1

  Chapter Eleven

  Elaine didn’t know what to make of Cade and the information he’d given her. To be honest, she was feeling overwhelmed with everything she’d learned in such a short time. All she could really do now was hang on and hope everything worked out for the best. She’d thrown in her lot with the shapeshifters, for good or for ill, and had to live with whatever consequences came.

  It was worth it, she thought, for the chance to be with Cade. Nothing in her life to this point could compare with the way she felt with him. He was magic, in more than the obvious way. Sure, seen him as a panther was something she would never forget, but the man himself was a study in contradictions. She thought she could spend the rest of her life trying to figure him out and never be bored. Frustrated at times, maybe, but always fascinated by the big Alpha male who could be so intimidating, yet so tender, so strong, so compassionate.

  “Don’t worry about me,” she assured him. “I didn’t uh…swallow anything.” It was hard to talk about such intimate details without blushing.

  Oddly enough, she’d wanted to taste him. She craved Cade. She craved anything and everything he could give her. She wanted to do it all for him, and she suspected the feeling was mutual judging by their previous encounters.

  “Good.” He sighed and relaxed fractionally, his arm holding her a little more comfortably as his heart rate slowed. She could feel it pounding against her, and the steady thrumming comforted her in a strange way. “Now how about we take care of you? Since you so graciously took care of me.”

  She felt the surprising rise of his ardor against her thigh and looked downward with one raised eyebrow.

  “Isn’t it…um…a little too soon for that?”

  “You obviously aren’t used to shifters, my dear.” Cade gave her a challenging grin. “One of the many benefits of our constitution is that we recover faster—in all ways—than humans.”

  She eyed him suspiciously.

  “What? You still don’t believe me? After all we’ve done together?” He growled and tackled her gently, taking her to the bed beneath him. “I guess I’m just going to have to prove it to you. Believe me, it’ll be a pleasure.”

  His mouth touched the place where he’d bitten her before, and the tenderness in her skin spiked a roar of desire through her body. He was potent, she’d give him that. His merest touch lit her on fire.

  His big body covered hers, boxing her in with his arms and legs while he feasted on her skin. He kissed his way to her breasts, pausing there to bring her excitement level to a fever pitch. But as tempting as it was to just give in and follow his lead, this wasn’t the way she’d had it planned.

  “Cade,” she nipped his shoulder to get his attention and felt him stiffen above her. Good, two can play the biting game after all, she thought.

  “Don’t bite me unless you mean it, baby.” His growling words almost sent her into orbit.

  “What if I do mean it? Will you let me bite you, Cade?” She was proud of the sultry purr in her voice.

  He stilled completely, his rock hard body poised against her.

  “Do you really want to?”

  Cade pulled back to look deep into her eyes.

  “I do.”

  Whoa, she thought, that sounded a lot like wedding vows. She wondered if her subconscious was moving things along despite what her rational mind had to say on the matter. But it would be okay as long as she didn’t bite him hard enough to break the skin, right? She could do this. She could give this to him.

  “I do too,” he answered in a solemn voice that made her wonder if he also recognized the potential significance of their words.

  Had they just made a vow to each other? It sure felt like it. But whether it was for a few days or a lifetime remained to be seen. For now, she’d take the moment and everything they could wring from it.

  “Roll over,” she ordered him gently. In what felt like slow motion, he complied, until she was over him, gazing into his quicksilver eyes.

  This time, they needed no preliminaries. She sank onto him, both ready, both panting for more as she began to ride him with slow, even strokes.

  The loving was languid, slow to rise to a boil and all that much hotter for it. Elaine held his gaze as she moved over him, responding to the need she read in his eyes. She began to move more quickly as their fever rose.

  When his fingers squeezed her breasts, she gave a keening cry and began to lose control. Her hips moved erratically, a tempestuous force riding her, driving her onward. Cade’s hands moved to her hips, guiding her and helping her shaking muscles last through the final few minutes of yearning toward a bliss they would share equally.

  But she’d promised him one more thing. She couldn’t let go until she gave him that final push.

  Leaning forward, crushing her breasts on the solid wall of his muscular chest, she reached for his neck with her mouth. She lingered at the last, while he controlled her hips with his strong grip, pulsing up into her now that she’d changed positions. She licked the strong pulse under his jaw, mouthing the cords of his neck until she found the sweet spot she wanted.

  It was time.

  She bit down hard, being careful not to break skin, but hard enough to show him how much she wanted this. How much she wanted to please him.

  Elaine heard a big cat roar as she came, holding tight to his body everywhere they joined. She didn’t let up the pressure on her mouth. If truth be told, she couldn’t. Her system had gone into a rigor of pleasure that seized every muscle, every joint, while she experienced the most brilliant climax yet.

  Every time with Cade only got better.


  She remembered sighing with the satisfaction of that thought just before losing consciousness.

  “Ellie, wake up.” Cade’s voice was low and urgent, and Elaine sensed immediately that something was wrong. His body vibrated with alarm as he slid from the bed toward the door.

  “What is it?”

  “Someone’s in the house. Shit!” He threw her T-shirt and pants at her, followed by her sneakers. “There’s a small door inside the bathroom closet,” he whispered. “I want you to go through it and lock it behind you. It leads to the basement. Ria is down there.”

  Elaine understood what he didn’t have time to say. He wanted her out of the fighting, away from the danger. His duty as a Royal Guard was to protect the Nyx. If Elaine was with Ria, then Cade could concentrate on his duty and protect them both at the same time.

  “Okay.” She reassured him as best she could, taking only a moment to place a hard, fast kiss on his lips. “Stay safe, Cade.”

  “You too, baby.” He patted her butt as she scurried away, toward the hidden doorway she hadn’t known about. She paused a moment to get Chuck out of the nest of toweling he’d claimed as his bed in the bathroom and opened the door to the big linen closet, looking for the hidden panel.

  It was ingeniously disguised and popped open at her touch. She saw a steel bar and brackets across the back she could use to seal it shut behind her. With one last look into the bedroom, she turned to go.

  Her breath caught when she met the glittering silver eyes of the panther. Cade had already shifted and bared his claws in preparation for battle. She closed the door and barred it, realizing idly why all the doorknobs in the big house were of the lever variety. Big cats could open those, no problem, with their giant paws where old-fashioned knobs might present some difficulties.

  There was a steep set of narrow steps leading down, down, down as far as she could see. Light filtered in from somewhere above, but not enough to illuminate the hidden passageway completely. It was just enough for her to see where she was going, but no more.

  Elaine let Chuck go so he could navigate his own way. He was more surefooted than she, and she didn’t want to fall with him in her arms and hurt them both. She would need her arms for balance, and she knew Chuck would stay with her. He was loyal like that. Cobwebs brushed her face, but Elaine refused to think about the spiders that had spun them and were probably still in residence somewhere in the long passage.

  The stairs looped around in places, and Elaine could just barely make out other doors connecting onto the passageway as she passed them. She realized that everything she’d seen of the house indicated the inside had been recently renovated. If they’d had to secure all new safe houses after Billy Bob’s betrayal, they’d also had to have constructed all of this recently.

  She’d just bet they’d bought an old house and in the guise of renovations had completely redesigned the inside with these neat hidden passageways and expanded the basement beyond all proportion. Idly, she wondered what the neighbors would think if they knew just who—and what—was living next door as she flew down the stairs. She was out of breath when she neared the bottom, but otherwise okay. Chuck waited for her at the bottom, his kitty face looking up at her in concern.

  Fright had kicked her into high gear, but she realized she had no idea what might be lurking on the other side of that final door. It would behoove her to be cautious. Moving as quietly as possible, Elaine crept toward the door that would likely lead her into the basement.

  What she heard on the other side of the door when she pressed her ear to it didn’t sound promising. Animal growls came to her through the door, and she couldn’t tell whether they were friend or foe.

  She debated what to do. Should she storm in and try for surprise? That might be a good strategy if there were bad guys on the other side, but it could get her torn up unnecessarily if they were friends and she didn’t identify herself.

  Then again, they probably wouldn’t be making so much noise if something wasn’t seriously wrong. So jumping into the fray could go either way.

  Regardless, Elaine knew despite her promise to Cade, that she couldn’t run away and leave Ria and the others to fend for themselves. If she could help them in any way, she’d do it. Dealing with Cade’s anger was something she would worry about later.

  She crouched to give Chuck a quick scratch and cuddle. “Stay here,” she breathed, hoping the cat could somehow understand. He had the heart of a lion, and he might leap into the fight if given half a chance. She’d try to leave him in the passageway if she could, but he was quick and a good escape artist when he wanted to go with her.

  Taking a deep breath for courage, and to center herself, Elaine pushed open the hidden door, leaving quickly and letting it shut behind her. Chuck, thankfully, stayed behind. She needn’t have worried about being jumped the moment she emerged. The fight was clear across the room. But it was definitely a fight.

  Molly was on the floor, bleeding and unconscious by the door. That left a small black panther that Elaine assumed was Ria, facing a giant grey wolf in the middle of the garden room Elaine had seen for the first time only the day before. The fountain still gurgled, the plants looked only a little worse for wear, but the peaceful atmosphere had been forever sullied by fighting and bloodshed.

  Billy Bob, if that’s who he was under the shaggy grey wolf coat, had the panther at a disadvantage. Even Elaine could see the giant wolf would rip the little cat apart.

  “You leave her alone!” Elaine shouted to be heard above the growls emanating from both panther and wolf.

  Both creatures looked at her, and Elaine knew a split second of panic. What had she done? Did she really want to be mauled by a wolf?

  “Shift back you scrawny bastard. I want another piece of you,” she taunted him, hoping it would draw him away from Ria.

  Elaine didn’t think she stood much of a chance against a two-hundred-pound wolf, but she might be able to use her martial arts skills to fight a man long enough for help to get to them. There was no doubt in her mind that the rest of the team was working their way here. They would come for the Nyx if nothing else. She was precious to them, and they’d sworn to protect her.

  Elaine hadn’t made any oaths, but she felt protective of the young woman who’d been so kind to her. Ria was a special person who was both humble and sweet despite her position of power. She didn’t deserve some cur like Billy Bob tearing her to shreds. Nobody deserved that. As a matter of fact, Elaine would do her best to avoid it herself.

  The wolf prowled closer, and Elaine tried not to flinch when he barked menacingly at her. She refused to show fear, but she had to get him out of wolf form. She was dead—or at the very least, seriously injured—if he came at her with those huge, sharp teeth.

  “Aren’t you the wimpy fireman who was waiting for me in the dark?” she asked the wolf. If he wanted to answer her taunts, he’d have to change back so he could speak. She prayed he had the kind of foolish pride that would make him take her bait. “I whooped your ass then, you bastard and I’ll do it again. How did it feel to be knocked on your ass by a girl? A human at that? I bet that stung, didn’t it?”

  The wolf faced her, pacing around as she countered his moves. She had to get him to shift. But how? An idea formed.

  “I guess we’ll be smelling smoke any time now, huh?” She tried for nonchalance but knew her eyes glittered with excitement as the confrontation unfolded. Her heart was racing double time, and her reflexes sharpened with adrenaline. “Or is Figueroa not with you today? He’s the firebug, isn’t he? You’re just his minion. The one he sends out to attack people he’s already got running from fires he sets. Is Figueroa—or should I say Fidelio—here, pulling your strings again? Seems like he’s the brains in your operation. You’re just the stooge. Aren’t you, Billy Bob?”

  That did it. The were couldn’t take her trash talk. He shimmered and changed right in front of her while Elaine tried hard to hide her relief and satisfaction.

  “You have
no idea what you’re talking about, human.” He sneered the last word as if being human were something disgusting.

  “Maybe I do, and maybe I don’t,” she admitted. “But I bet you’re wondering how they found out so much about you and your keeper so quickly.”

  “You’ll tell me before you die,” he muttered, stalking forward. He was naked and absolutely huge. And hairy. And clawed!

  Billy Bob had done something when he shifted. It was like he hadn’t shifted back all the way to his man form. He was sort of stuck…between. He stood upright like a man and could talk, though his voice was a low growl. But his hands were tipped with wicked claws, and his frame was way bigger than she remembered.

  He’d been tall as a man, but now he towered over her and Elaine suddenly had a revelation. This was where the legends of werewolves came from. This in-between form was scary as all hell, and she’d be lucky if she could dodge him long enough to get in a few licks of her own before he brought her down.

  It wouldn’t be pretty either. Those claws would rip her apart.

  She had to stay clear of them at all costs.

  Elaine started dancing—jogging around like a boxer to stay focused and on the move. She had to stay alert and try to keep him off balance, but it looked more and more like a losing battle. What could she really hope to do against those freaking, huge claws? She breathed deep, trying to still the threatening panic.

  Fear would take her down faster than anything. She had to master the fear and use the adrenaline rush to her advantage.

  Billy Bob followed her every move, stalking her, playing with her. Elaine didn’t like the feeling. He struck out fast as lighting when she danced a tiny bit too close, and she had to duck to avoid his flashing claws. She felt them graze by her cheek a hairsbreadth away. Too close for comfort.

  “Why’d you do it, Billy Bob?” She tried to stall him as she backed away. “Why betray the friends you’d made here among the cats? Why betray your lover? You killed her, didn’t you?”