Cara rolled her eyes. “Janie thinks Talen hung the moon and the stars. I wouldn’t even try to compete.” She could attest to seeing stars every night clasped in Talen’s arms. There were times she actually thought she might belong there. In fact, her husband showed her a side of herself she’d never dreamed existed; although she worried her heart was mistaking passion for love on this vacation from reality. She pointedly ignored that tiny voice in her head whispering that maybe it was love.
“Don’t blame her.” Katie lunged, knocking Cara to the ground, who rolled to pin the lioness to the thick mat.
Katie tapped out. “Nice job!” Jumping to her feet, she stretched her arms behind her head. “I knew you could do that—you work out regularly and have decent muscle tone.” She shifted in her purple workout clothes, dropping into a crouch. “And, since you’ve mated, you should be seeing physical results as well.”
Heat flooded Cara’s face and she settled into a defensive crouch, inhaling the scent of lemon cleanser.
Katie laughed out loud. “I didn’t mean those kind of physical results.”
Rolling her eyes, Cara moved in with another tackle, knocking the lioness to the ground again. This time Katie pushed Cara to the side, flipping her legs over her head to backflip onto her feet. “Much better. Your strength has improved like crazy the last few nights.”
Cara rolled to her own feet. “Yeah, weird, huh?” It was almost as if Talen’s blood pumped through her veins with ancient strength. “I feel stronger, tougher.” She giggled. “When I was sixteen, my sister Emma took a karate class and within a month, she said she felt like a major bad-ass.”
Katie snorted. “Was she?”
“No. But she sure felt like one.” Cara stretched her hands over her head. “I wonder if I feel so tough just because I think I have Talen’s strength now.” Who could know? She then lifted an eyebrow at her new friend. “What about you? You already have the strength of a cougar; will you become even stronger once you mate?”
Katie shrugged, grabbing a towel off the ground. “Depends who my mate is.”
Cara grinned. “Right. Well, hypothetically speaking, what if your mate is the leader of a mountain lion pride? Just out of curiosity, of course.”
Throwing the towel at Cara, Katie huffed out a breath. “Considering I’ll probably go absolutely freaking crazy waiting for that to happen, I don’t think we need to worry about it.”
“What if?”
Katie shrugged again. “Then yeah, I’d gain strength. And he’d gain my instinctive ability.” She dropped to the mat to stretch. “Though he’ll always see me as that cub he saved from those rotten foster parents.”
“They freaked when you shifted, huh?”
“That’s an understatement. I ran, and old Jim Bob chased me with a shotgun. It was pure luck Jordan hunted nearby.” Kate rolled her neck one way and then the other.
Man, Cara wished she could’ve seen the girl’s face when she shifted for the first time. “You had no idea you could shift?”
“Nope. My dad left the Pride to settle in the city with my mom, who was human. They died in a train wreck, and I was put into the system.” Katie shrugged. “I don’t know what would’ve happened had Jordan not been hunting in the woods that day.”
“So Jordan raised you?” Okay, that may be kind of weird.
Katie giggled. “No, thank God. He paid off the foster assholes, and my mum adopted me. She was widowed with no kids and really wanted me.” Pride and love flowed through each word, and Katie smiled. “Though Jordan was always nearby, especially when I got into trouble.”
Cara grinned back. “Figures. Where’s your mom now?”
Katie snorted. “She’s on a two-month mahjong cruise with a bunch of friends—they love that game.” She lifted an eyebrow. “What was your first husband like?”
Cara sat and stretched her legs out before herself. “Simon and I weren’t married.”
“Oh.” Katie pulled one arm across her chest. “What was Simon like?”
“Nice. He was a good friend. We worked together in the lab with plant viruses.” Tall, serious, clumsy as hell, the guy had a heart of gold. “He approached me one day, all serious, and proposed we date.” Cara smiled. “I figured it a rational, well thought-out plan for some companionship.” No passion, no fear usually associated with being around men. She reminded herself that unlike her father, most men didn’t hit.
Katie giggled. “I see. Sounds different than Talen.”
“Oh yeah. No question there.” Her heart had never been in any danger from Simon. “He died in a car accident, not even knowing about Janie.” If he’d lived, they’d have worked out sensible arrangements regarding their daughter.
“Would you have married him?”
Would she have? “No. I never intended to get married.”
“So, Talen changed your mind?”
“You could say that.” She grinned at her friend, the marking on her hip starting to throb just before Talen poked his head inside the door.
“More female bonding?” he asked, pushing at a dark purple bruise under his left eye, crossing to where she lounged.
Cara stretched her back and groaned. “If you consider me getting my butt kicked bonding.”
Talen pulled her to him, scraping his teeth down her damp neck. “Why don’t you let me train you?”
Heat slammed into her loins. Giving him a two-handed push that failed to move him an inch, Cara sighed. “Because I want to learn to fight, not …” Her face heated as she realized Katie was still in the room.
The young woman cleared her throat, making a beeline for the door. “I’ll go check on Jordan. Later.”
Talen chuckled against the rapidly beating pulse in Cara’s neck. “Smart girl.” He nipped at her collarbone. “You were saying?”
She lifted her head, studying the bruise. “What happened? I thought you guys were making dinner.”
He flashed sharp canines at her. “We disagreed about the amount of hot sauce for the chili and took the argument outside.”
Cara huffed out a laugh. “You got into a fight over hot sauce?”
Talen shrugged. “Consider it training without the mats.” The purple bruise shifted to green then yellow.
“Who won?”
He raised an eyebrow. “It was pretty close, then Baye shouted out the window that he added jalapeños instead.”
“Ah. Baye’s the mediator, huh?” As one of Jordan’s enforcers, he looked more like an assassin to her.
“Nah. He just likes jalapeños.” Talen grinned, his hands lowering to cup her ass. “So, have you learned anything?”
Her body instinctively pressed into his. “I’ve learned that fighting isn’t one of my talents.” She reached up to trace his chest through the thick cotton. “And I’ve learned I’m glad to have Katie as a friend.”
He traced Cara’s ear with his tongue and lowered his voice. “Do you have many friends?”
“No.” Her eyes rolled back into her head. “I haven’t really gotten too close to people before.” Talen drew her earlobe into his mouth and she moaned. “I have acquaintances at work, but no real friends like Katie.” She figured the lack of childhood friends had something to do with her father being a complete bastard and her not wanting to bring other kids over to see him, but she didn’t feel like going into past hurts at the moment. Especially with Talen’s hot mouth on her skin.
Talen lifted his head, green shards emerging from the gold in his eyes. “Have you checked your e-mail account for a return message from Emma today?”
“Yes. She hasn’t replied yet.” Her sister refused to use the computer at whatever safe house she’d set up, instead taking the laptop to public places. Somewhere. “But she’s only checked in twice. Have you heard anything?”
“No. Our contacts inform us that the Kurjans haven’t found her but are actively searching.” The hand on her butt began to knead.
They wouldn’t find Emma. “My sister’s probably one of th
e smartest people on the planet, Talen. And apparently she has some work to do before trusting your people.” Pure pride had Cara lifting her chin even as desire began to speed up her heart rate.
“I think you have a skewed opinion of your superhero older sister.”
Perhaps. Cara had survived childhood because of Emma, no doubt about it. “Maybe. But then again, only a superhero could elude the Kurjans for three weeks.”
Talen nodded, one lip tipping up. “I’m not surprised the Kurjans haven’t found her, but the fact that our scouts have been running in circles alarms me a bit.”
Cara lifted a shoulder, fighting a smile. “Maybe you’re all out of practice. Peace can lead to laziness.” If Emma didn’t want to be found, nobody would find her.
His grin turned his eyes into the color of fresh sunshine. “Laziness. Hmm.” Lowering his mouth to run along Cara’s jaw, his hand roamed around her hip to brush across her core.
Only his other arm around her waist kept her knees from buckling her to the mat. “Talen—” Wasn’t there something they should be doing? White static filled her mind while her body took over.
Just then Katie called down the stairs, “Dinner’s ready.”
Oh yeah. Dinner. With a sigh of regret, Cara stepped back. “Saved by the chili.”
“Slight reprieve, mate. Very slight.” Talen took her hand and led her to the door as the bruise faded completely from his face.
Chapter 15
Cara stretched against Talen’s hard body later that night while grimacing and throwing off the heavy comforter. “You let off a lot of heat,” she murmured, her body liquid putty after several hours of her husband showing her just how much heat he was capable of.
As an answer he tugged her closer into his embrace and ran a thoughtful chin across her forehead. “Cara, it’s time to stop running.”
“Running? From what?” She yawned and burrowed down.
“From yourself.”
She stilled as her heartbeat picked up. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I’m tired, Talen.” She snapped her eyes closed.
“Good. The time between wakefulness and pure sleep is the best time to reach out with your mind. Now, tell me how I’m feeling.”
“Content,” Cara countered.
“You don’t need special abilities to make that determination, mate.” He chuckled against her hair. “Now, tell me what Katie is feeling.”
“I don’t even know where she is, Talen.” She tried to control her anxious breathing.
“Yes, you do. Tell me where.”
“No.” Her breathing turned choppy as she tried to pull away from his inflexible body. He easily held her in place.
“Why are you about to have an anxiety attack?” He did nothing to hide the firmness beneath the concern.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me, mate.” The firmness turned to stone.
“I’m not,” she breathed out and started to struggle against his hold. He smoothly, almost casually, rolled until she lay trapped beneath him. His heavy weight pushed her into the mattress, his eyes direct on hers. Two strong hands pinned hers on either side of her head, his brand rough against her skin. Even on edge, a thrill of desire rushed through her.
“Tell me what Katie is feeling.” He clearly emphasized each word.
“She’s probably asleep, Talen,” Cara said in exasperation. The desire waned.
“We both know she isn’t,” he countered.
“How?” Cara couldn’t help but ask.
“Because those of us not denying our natural abilities can all but feel her frustration and need to hit something.”
“Men do that to us,” Cara said, disgruntled. She pressed up into the solid body above her and hid a satisfied smile as he hardened. She did it again. His eyes narrowed on hers as green started to slide through the gold.
“Don’t distract me, mate.”
For answer, she arched up again. She nipped his collarbone before wrapping both legs around his muscled hips. “What do you mean … mate?” Her breath hitched for an entirely different reason as a dark flush worked its way across his sharp face.
His eyes dropped to her mouth. She ran her wet tongue along her bottom lip.
“You don’t know what you’re inviting, Cara.”
“Don’t I?” She challenged, tightening her thighs around him, her blue eyes filling with dare.
The growl low in his belly vibrated against her and sent liquid heat spilling from her. His heat melted through her pores as her legs surrounded him. With a wicked grin, he placed both of her hands in one of his and stretched her arms above her head. She was trapped, helpless. He tugged and her breasts flattened against his hard chest. His other hand ran down her length to firmly grasp her bottom and lift it off the mattress.
“Talen?” she asked, uncertain.
He didn’t answer as he drove inside her with one powerful stroke. Even as ready as she had been, he startled her and she cried out. He filled her past what she had thought possible. She lost her ability to think. His mouth lowered to brush across her pebbled nipples. He slowly moved in and out of her raging body before he took one pink berry in his mouth and suckled. Hard.
She moaned against him as he tortured first one then the other breast while he continued to glide through her softness. His mouth wandered up her neck to kiss her eyes, cheeks, and finally her mouth. Her body was on fire and she wanted more.
“I get lost in your scent, your passion,” Talen’s breath brushed her neck. “There’s no sweeter taste in the entire history of the world than your skin on fire. For me.” He growled low and deep as he withdrew from her body before plunging in again. “I want all of you, mate. And I’ll get it.”
Her mind reeled at the claim. A hint of threat wove beneath the words but she couldn’t focus on it. For seconds, for minutes, he moved within her—around her. A gentle kiss, a tweak to her nipple that had her seeing stars, then he’d increase his depth, increase his speed until she was so close … Then he’d slow down again. Damn it.
She lost track of time, of how long he had been inside her as he continued his assault. His movements were too slow, too controlled.
Finally, her mind mush, her body vibrating like a plucked guitar string, Cara gave a frustrated sigh and clenched her thighs against his hips. “Move faster.” She didn’t recognize her own voice with its low, desperate edge.
“No.” He continued to take his time, driving her nearly to madness. His mouth took hers in a brutal kiss that shot her blood like electricity through her veins. Then, he quickened his strokes and started to pound. Just as her internal muscles started to clench, he slowed down.
“Talen,” she drew out his name on a moan, her thighs gripping him with a strength that impressed them both.
“What?” He chuckled against the soft spot behind her ear.
“Stop teasing me.”
He lifted his head with a satisfied male grin at her bruised mouth, bemused expression, and flushed skin. “You don’t get what you want until I get what I want, mate.”
“Wh … at?” she asked in confusion, moving against him again. “What do you want?” Jesus. She’d give him anything at this point.
“Open yourself up, Cara.”
“Talen. I’m as open as a girl can get.” She moaned the jest as her hands started to struggle in his.
He chuckled against her mouth. “That’s not what I mean. We’ll start slow. Forget about other people, just concentrate on me.”
“I am,” she hissed in frustration.
He nipped her bottom lip before laving the small wound with his tongue. “I mean, feel what I’m feeling.”
“I am feeling you, damn it.”
He shook his head above her, only the fine dotting of sweat on his brow showing what his control cost him. “No, you’re not. You’re feeling from within your own skin. You don’t get what you want until you feel from inside my skin.” He leaned down
to punish her with a hard kiss. “I promise you’ll like it.”
“I can’t.” She moaned in frustration as she writhed against him.
Talen stilled, his body trapping her while his eyes held hers captive. “You can. And you will.”
Cara ached. Hell, she hurt. The need for release clawed through her with animalistic demand and became sharper, stronger than any anxiety she may have held. Nothing in the world mattered more than giving her body the exploding release it so desperately craved. With a shudder, she gave in. She opened her mind and sought the connection she already had with him. Instantly, strength and power slammed into her. Along with incensed desire and need. He finally started to move. To hammer into her as he felt her within him.
Cara’s eyes flew sightlessly open as her body sailed. As the feelings between them rose, she could no longer tell which feelings, which compulsions, were hers. She couldn’t have imagined the fire welling within him. The blinding need to take, to claim. The basic, primal urge that drove him to assert his dominance—to imprint his very soul on her. In her. She had been blissfully unaware of the incredible strength he had shown in his restraint thus far. In his control.
As she accepted him, it shattered.
His teeth latched onto her neck as he slammed harder, farther into her. Spicy sweet blood teased her own taste buds as he drank. She could feel the strength and light that filled him as he lusted for her blood. As he let it fill him. As she filled him.
With a carnal growl, he twisted his hips and sent her careening somewhere she hadn’t been. Somewhere she couldn’t have imagined. She exploded into a million pieces without a coherent thought of protection, of staying attached to her world. There was only him. And he followed her with a hoarse shout.
Then, as she saw blackness, sleep claimed her with soft arms.
The comfort of a mindless sleep was hers only for a short while. Her mind, maybe her soul, wouldn’t let her off that easy. She had changed something. She had finally accepted a part of herself, and her conscience had a price to pay. Like a gambler paying his bookie, relief could only be found in the repayment.
Fated dp-1 Page 11
