Emma smiled her appreciation, feeling like she’d joined not just one, but two new families. “Thanks, Kaitlyn.”
“You’re welcome.” Kaitlyn stepped around them, tugging Landon off the porch with her. “Come by around ten tomorrow.”
Growling, Landon moved with lightning speed, lifting his mate over his shoulder. Kaitlyn landed with an oomph.
“Put me down!” She pounded on his rear, sounding more embarrassed than angry.
“In case you haven’t noticed, Kaitie, the boys took the truck when they left. I’m going to have to carry you back.” Smacking her denim-covered rear, he grinned at Emma and Caine.
Kaitlyn kicked her feet in annoyance. “I can walk! Put me down.”
Landon’s grin turned downright sinful. “Oh, I will. In a bit.” He turned to walk away and called over his shoulder, “Make that noon, Caine. I have a feeling Kaitlyn’s going to be sleeping in.”
“Landon!” was all they heard as the Alpha shot away in a blur so fast that Emma blinked in surprise.
“Um, wow!”
Caine leaned close. “Never leave a wolf wanting once he’s had a taste. It makes us…antsy.”
Emma’s insides turned to molten liquid. “Have you felt antsy?” she asked in a whisper as she stared into the dark woods, mesmerized by imprint of Landon’s blatant desire for Kaitlyn left behind in her mind.
Caine’s voice was a husky rasp. “I’ve felt more than antsy. Each night I watched you sleep, I’ve burned.”
Emma’s gaze jerked to him. “You watched me sleep?”
Caine’s eyes glowed a much lighter green. Sliding his hand into her hair, he skimmed her features as if he couldn’t get enough of looking at her. “You murmur in your sleep and make the sexiest mewling sounds.” His thumb slid an electric path across her jaw until it reached her lips. “It was very hard not to touch you.”
Caine’s touch, his voice, his intoxicating, musky smell and his mesmerizing gaze…everything about him enthralled her. “Why—why didn’t you touch me? I thought you were just as tired as me and needed your rest. That’s why I didn’t—”
He pressed his thumb against her lips to cut her off. “I didn’t touch you because I knew that when I did, I wouldn’t stop. One night with you wasn’t going to be enough for me, Emma. The next day, I’d resent the hell out of the panthers taking up our time. Call me a selfish bastard, but I want at least three uninterrupted days alone with you.”
Emma swallowed, feeling a twinge of apprehension tighten her stomach. “Three days?” Caine had stamina unlike any she’d ever seen. More than one of the Velius had backed down during a debate with him, due to her wolf’s sheer will. “I won’t be able to move or walk or even think. I’ll be—”
“All mine!” Caine’s lips met hers at the same time he cupped the back of her head and pulled her against him.
Emma’s heart raced from the possessive slant of his mouth moving across hers, his taste and the feel of his hard, muscular chest and strong arms surrounding her in a cocoon of steel. She kissed him back, her tongue sliding against his, loving the pent-up tension in his body, the sensation of his fingers fisting in her hair, while his other hand slid lower to clamp her butt hard through her jeans. Possessive, aggressive and all male.
His heart thumped steadily against her chest, slightly faster than it did each night while she’d fallen asleep in his arms. The fact that she could feel the rhythmic beat through their clothes only made her own heart ramp up even more.
Inside, Caine spoke in her mind right before he lifted Emma and carried her across the porch.
Emma didn’t remember walking inside or Caine closing the door behind them. She was so caught up in kissing the sexy man, nothing else registered in her brain but him. Every single seductive, muscular inch of him.
Caine lifted his mouth from hers and placed his hand on the door behind her. Staring down at her, his breathing shallow, his voice carried raw emotion. “Lupreda don’t often find their true mates, but when we do, the instinct to mark is near impossible to resist. I’ve fought my desire to make you mine for longer than I thought possible.”
He closed his eyes briefly and his jaw tensed. “The thought of you being with someone else, touching another, giving him what I desperately wanted, tore me up inside. You’ll never know how hard it was not to spread your sweet thighs and take everything you offered that night.” Lifting her chin, he slid his fingers down her neck, his gaze following their path before his eyes returned to hers, serious and intense. “I will bite you, Emma, and I can’t guarantee that it won’t hurt. My feelings for you are too raw to deny you fair warning.”
Emma loved this man so much he made her chest hurt. She respected his honor and integrity. She admired how ruthless he could be in the best interests of those he cared for, but more than anything she adored that he admitted he couldn’t continue to hold back from her; that his feelings for her were that explosive.
Elongating her panther claws from the tips of her fingers, she dug them into his waist through his clothes. She didn’t apply enough pressure to tear the material or break his skin, just enough to make him growl at her. “What makes you think I’m not going to bite you again?”
Not that I’m opposed to your bite—far from it, sweetheart, but it’s my turn now. Caine gave her a feral smile and all four of his canines were on full display. Emma didn’t bother holding back her gasp of excitement. Hell, she couldn’t if she’d tried.
When she started to lift his shirt, Caine folded his fingers along the back of her neck and Emma’s hands froze. Her gaze snapped to his, curious as to why he’d lock her in place.
Running his thumb down the side of her neck, Caine used his other hand to unbutton her shirt with slow purposeful determination.
As the cool air hit her, Emma’s skin prickled and her desire rose. “Why are you holding me still?”
When the last button was freed, Caine pushed her shirt and jacket down her arms. Once they fell in a heap on the floor behind her, his eyes were the brightest green she’d ever seen them.
“You make me ache too much. I’m having a hard enough time keeping a rein on myself without your fueling my arousal.”
“I want to touch you,” she whispered, her voice desperate.
Caine gritted his teeth, sucking in a hissing breath before he shook his head. “I smell your desire spiking. It’s like a freakin’ red flag. If I let you touch me, we won’t make it to the bed. I’ll take you against this damned door!”
His ferocity and the obvious tension vibrating within him made Emma’s stomach tighten and her sex throb. He was like a cobra, coiled and ready to strike. She loved him like this. Uncensored and edgy as hell! Her hands itched to slide over his hard back and heated skin. Her fingers tingled, ready to dig deep into his muscles and pull him as close as she could. A sly grin tilted her lips. “What’s wrong with the door?”
Caine’s guttural growl rumbled deep in his chest. “I want a chance to touch you, to make you so wet and needy that you can’t stand it before things get primal and rough between us.”
“I’m already there.” Frustration laced her calm tone.
His gaze narrowed. “You’re still a virgin and I’m not going to hurt you any more than necessary. End of discussion.”
Damn his Alpha hide. Emma opened her mouth to speak, but Caine captured her lips in a head-reeling kiss, obliterating the argument she’d planned to make. What was it again?
Emma unleashed all the emotions that had built inside her over the past few days. She pressed her mouth to his and kissed him deeply, sharing the one part of her she seemed to have some control over. “I’m going to make you pay for holding me captive,” she panted against his mouth, enjoying the feel of his canines brushing against her as he nipped her bottom lip.
Caine lifted his head and lines creased his forehead, his expression turning serious. “I promised you I would never use my power over you to hurt you in any way, but I will use it to keep you safe, Emma. Every damn
time. You can rail on me later, if you wish.”
Running his lips down her throat, he continued. “My job is to love you and protect you at all costs.” He held his lips to the thudding hollow of her throat. I feel how much you want this and the feeling is excruciatingly mutual, love.
“Then, do something about it—” Emma cut herself off with a gasp when her bra suddenly fell away into two pieces, exposing her breasts.
Without pause, Caine dipped his head and captured a nipple between his lips. An electric jolt shot through her when his tongue rolled over the hard tip, then he began to suck.
Emma’s knees went weak and her fingers flexed slightly, but that was all she could do…other than feel. God, she felt every humming sensation shooting through her system. The pleasure radiated from her head to her toes, pulsing to the erratic beat of her heart, landing with a thud in the center of her body. Need clawed with heavy, digging swipes at her sex, making her mewl and squirm under her skin.
When he slid his hand between her thighs, then cupped her denim-covered crotch with an aggressive hold, Emma whimpered, “Ca-can’t take it. I don’t care…just take me to—”
Caine didn’t let her finish. He swiftly lifted her in his arms and strode across the cabin to the bedroom.
Chapter 16
T he moment Caine set Emma back on her feet, she immediately pulled off his shirt. As the cloth fluttered to the floor, Caine unbuttoned her jeans, his hungry gaze lingering on her chest. Emma started to shove her jeans down her hips, but Caine snarled, halting her movements. Yanking hard, he ripped her pants and underwear right down the middle and gave a satisfied grunt as the two pieces slithered uselessly down her legs.
Standing naked in front of him, Emma’s eyebrow shot up. “I still have shoes on, though I think it’d be easier on my clothes budget if you just slid them off instead of gnawing them apart.”
Caine gave a dark smile and pushed on her shoulders, sending her flopping onto the bed. Emma’s heart raced as he picked up her foot and removed her tennis shoe, but what she wasn’t prepared for was the slow, sensual glide of his fingers along her calves as he pulled the torn pants and underwear off her legs. Tiny shocks of electricity mixed with heat.
Setting her foot on his chest, he did the same to the other leg, but didn’t relinquish her foot when he was finished. Instead, Caine planted a soft kiss behind her toes and in the arch of her foot. Humming ensued between them, sending chill bumps scattering across her skin. Emma’s breath caught as her lungs cinched. She was absolutely mesmerized by the site of Caine’s sexy dark head bent over her foot, his big hands holding her gingerly, his warm lips traveling to her ankle where he kissed, then nipped at the fine bones.
All amusement fled, replaced by lightning heat snaking through her body in a swift awakening of passion and yearning that set her skin on fire. When he planted a sensual kiss behind her knee, then ran his warm tongue along the same spot, Emma discovered how erotic such reverent attention to her untapped erogenous zones could be.
Her toes curled on his hard, muscular chest and she stared hungrily at his broad shoulders as he moved his lips farther down her leg and nipped at the ultrasensitive skin along her inner thigh. When Caine pushed her foot up over his shoulder and went down on one knee beside the bed, Emma’s fingers dug into the soft comforter under her. “Don’t you want to—”
But she didn’t get a chance to finish. Caine ran his tongue up her sex in a determined yet leisurely lap. When he went back for more, she set her other foot on his thigh and let her thoughts flit briefly onto a plane of blissful pleasure. Caine’s growl turned into a groan as he thrust his tongue deep inside her, pressing hard against her body. Emma’s heart raced and her pulse thrummed an erratic beat of stair-stepped excitement. Already her body was humming, tightening to a pitch of near orgasm. She didn’t want to come without him this time.
Sliding her foot along his pants, she pushed her toes against his erection and whispered, “Take off your pants.”
Caine shuddered, his intemperate gaze snapping to hers. Demanding woman!
His emphatic thought caused her to take notice and acknowledge his strength and primal urges lurking just below the surface. Emma squirmed from the invigorating power she derived knowing he was barely holding it together and could lose it any moment. The thought made her ache even more. “I’m not telling you anything you don’t already want.”
When Caine pulled away and stood to unbutton his pants, Emma propped up on her elbows and watched his dark, hooded gaze sweep over her naked flesh. She returned the favor, enjoying the play of muscles moving under his skin, the sexy dips and hollows of his chest and abs, down to the very nice line of dark hair that led to his very well-endowed erection that pushed against his abdomen when he stepped out of his pants.
A little apprehension mixed with her excitement, zipping through Emma as Caine placed a knee on the bed. But instead of moving over her, he caught her by surprise when he grasped her hand and pulled her to a seated position in front of him as he positioned himself at the top of the bed. Leaning against the headboard, Caine reached over and gripped her waist, lifting her as if she weighed nothing, and then settled her in front of him with her knees straddling his thighs.
“Hmmm, perfect,” he murmured, his warm hands sliding to her upper back to press her body and therefore her breasts closer.
Not that she didn’t enjoy the skin-to-skin contact. Caine’s warm body felt so good against hers, but in this position she was too high for them to—
Caine bent his head and captured a nipple between his lips, sending her concerns flying. Emma’s pulse raced and her sex contracted at the exquisite pleasure his hard sucking was doing to her. Sliding her fingers through his silky hair, she clutched him close, then moaned even deeper when he clasped her other breast and ran his fingers teasingly across her nipple, barely touching her.
You’re so ready I can smell the difference. Your musky scent is sweeter, his husky voice entered her head, raw and seductive.
Emma rocked against him. Spreading her legs slightly, she tried to lower herself onto his erection, but his arm locked her hips in the position they were, only allowing just the tip of his cock to penetrate her.
Releasing her nipple, he pressed gentle kisses against the inner curve of her breast. “There are other ways to orgasm, Emma. I’d like to show you.”
Emma tried to move downward even more, to slide over him and lock them together in the most intimate way possible, but Caine’s hold on her hips remained firm. “Why won’t you let me go?”
His hazel gaze locked with hers and he slowly drew his thumb back and forth across her nipple, driving her libido through the roof. “Because it’s your first time and I want you to be ready so you don’t feel any pain. That’s why.”
Emma was trembling all over. She ached to the core, she wanted him that bad. “I’m in pain now. I’m beyond sure. I’m ready!”
Caine’s chuckle sounded strained. Good, she wasn’t suffering alone.
“Trust me, you’ll enjoy this.”
“Just let me—” Emma’s demand broke into a moan of pleasure when Caine pinched her nipple. Her hips moved intuitively as shocking waves of desire splintered from her breast and straight to her core. Her muscles clenched tight, wanting more.
Caine captured her other nipple with his lips and began to tug, then nip at the tip. Emma’s insides quickened with sexual excitement. Ecstasy coiled tight within her, tensing her stomach muscles, She rocked against him and the teasing tip of him barely inside her drove her into a frenzy of gnawing need. She pulled him closer and demanded with breathy gusts, “Feels so good. Don’t stop.”
Caine pressed his hips upward just slightly, penetrating then retreating in a tease that made her thigh muscles tremble as he spoke in her mind, his voice rough, aroused. Come, sweetheart. He gripped her hips and groaned, his own body a tense wire, ready to snap.
Emma screamed as wave after wave of pleasure began deep in her sex, swirling inside
her. She rocked against his hard body, pressing herself shamelessly against him, trying to prolong the sensations clamoring through her. Anything to get closer to his magnificent heat and musky scent. Then she felt the slight pinch of him pushing inside her, stretching her walls, but she didn’t care. She continued to move, loving every scent, every tremor, every touch between them. Finally she stilled and the only sound she heard was her harsh breathing and thudding pulse rushing in her ears.
A thin sheen of sweat coated her skin and Caine’s expression was a study of intense concentration. She felt him, heavy and large inside her, his hands clamped bruisingly on her hips as if he couldn’t let her go if he wanted to. “I guess I’m no longer a virgin,” she whispered with a trembling smile.
“Not quite,” Caine bit out, his voice full of gravel, the tendons on his neck and shoulders taut.
“I don’t under—”
A tight, pinching sensation rippled through her walls, making her gasp.
Caine’s gaze came into focus and concern etched his brow. His grip on her shifted, holding her up. “Sorry, Em. I meant to hold you in place.”
Shock slammed through her when she realized the truth. Granted, she knew she wasn’t sitting fully down, but still. Her eyes widened. “You’re not all the way—”
He shook his head, his voice rough. “Not yet.”
Emma’s heart filled with love for his desire to take away her pain. Clasping his jaw, she whispered against his lips, “Distract me and make me want every painful twinge, my sexy mate.”
Caine stared at the waning moonlight shining through the window, highlighting Emma’s arresting eyes and sparkling hair. All he wanted to do was drown in this amazing woman. He loved her for her dedication to those she loved and felt responsible for, respected her steadfast resolve and admired her ability to keep him mentally on his toes, not to mention their amazing physical connection. He wanted to make her scream with sexual fulfillment, to make her his. Forever.
Scions: Revelation Page 23
