by Nalini Singh
Part of her wondered what the hell she was doing.
The rest of her didn’t care.
Smile edged with excitement, she stayed in human form as she headed out of the White Zone, the safe area around the SnowDancer den, and into the huge tract of land beyond. This area wasn’t patrolled, being pincered between the White Zone and the heavily guarded perimeter. It was the zone where the juvenile and adult wolves felt free to hunt, run . . . play.
Her legs jumped over a fallen log without her conscious command, her body moving with a rhythm that could come only from being changeling. She was fast, faster than any other female in DarkRiver. But she could feel him gaining on her. So she pushed and went impossibly faster.
If the wolf wanted her, he’d have to catch her.
Deep in her primal brain, she knew what she was doing. Dominant leopard women never came easily into a lover’s arms. They tested their chosen male, made him prove he was capable of handling all the female had to give. More, that he was willing to fight to get it.
But Mercy wasn’t ready to think about the implications of her challenge. All she knew was that this was the most exhilarating game of her life. She could scent Riley in the breeze as he ran behind her, feel the sheer weight of his intent. The wolf thought he had her. But she wasn’t a leopard for nothing.
Not slowing down, she jumped onto a tree trunk, hooking herself with her claws. Climbing up with the feline grace built into her genes, she pulled herself up onto a branch, and quickly made her way to the end . . . to jump onto the next tree. And the next. There would be no trail below, nothing to tell him where she’d gone.
Well, except for her scent.
But he’d have to be fast to catch it . . . because her cat was cunning. She’d circled back on him, was going toward him as he ran her way. It would confuse the trail, make him head in one direction while she went in the other. And that was exactly what happened a few minutes later as he passed under her.
Disappointment cut through her, a hot, biting wound. She hadn’t actually wanted him to fail. If she made it to the den before him, then she won, and though she might accept him back into her bed again, it would never be the same. Making a face, telling herself she wasn’t that upset—liar, liar—she continued through the trees.
A hundred meters on, she realized she couldn’t make a direct leap from tree to tree. Since Riley was way over in the wrong direction, she jumped off the branch and came to a crouching, catlike landing on the small clearing below.
A familiar hand closed around her throat from behind an instant later and she found herself hauled up against a firm, gorgeously male chest, his free arm clamping across her body to immobilize her own arms. Heat against her ear, the possessive brush of lips that she wanted to feel on every inch of her skin. “Gotcha.”
She reacted on instinct, kicking backward with her legs as she attempted to wrench her body loose. All that got her was a grunt and some rough swearing before she was pressed front-first to a tree trunk, her hands manacled behind her back, her shoulders immobilized by his arm, and her legs held in place by heavy male thighs. He’d left her just enough leeway that she could turn her head.
Both of them were breathing hard, their animals at the forefront, but she was very aware of one thing. Through it all, Riley had taken every care not to hurt her. Even now, he was pressing into her with a fraction less strength than he should’ve done if he really wanted to keep her contained.
Test not only passed, but aced.
Because this was a game. Hurting your partner wasn’t the aim. “Riley?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t break his hold, even as he pressed closer, his erection insistent against her lower back.
The tiny hairs on her body shivered in reaction. “I think you’re sexy.”
Riley narrowed his eyes at Mercy’s teasing comment. “I’m not trusting a word that comes out of that pretty mouth until you acknowledge my dominance.”
“If I do, will you use your pretty mouth to lick me between my legs?”
Christ Almighty! “Mercy, I’m this close to tearing off your pants and just mounting you.”
The lush tang of feminine arousal had flirted with the air since the moment he put his hand on her, but now it blanketed everything around them. The wolf rose to the surface. Lifting his arm off her shoulders, but pressing his chest against her back, he ran his lips over the shell of her ear. “Or is that what you want?”
CHAPTER 18
Her hands were close to his crotch and now one of those hands closed over his erection. “Bite me.”
“Okay.” He sank his teeth into the sensitive zone between neck and shoulder.
She jerked. “Fuck!” Her hand tightened on him and it felt so good, he almost came.
Reaching between them, he pried her fingers off with his free hand as he licked his tongue over the bite marks on her skin. “No playing down there. You might use claws.”
“I won’t.”
“Why not?” He kissed the spot he’d bitten, luxuriating in the clean, sexy, dangerous scent of her. Instead of growling, the wolf in him rolled around in it, demanding more.
Demanding she carry his scent pounded into her skin.
She angled her head slightly, giving him better access. His cock throbbed, his throat grew thick, but he held firm and avoided giving her what she wanted. Instead, he drew back. “Yes.”
“What?”
“Yes, if you acknowledge my dominance, I’ll lick you between your thighs.” And this time, he’d take his time. “I’ll lick and suck and—”
“I yield.”
Everything stilled. He couldn’t believe he’d heard right. He’d expected a grudging acknowledgement of his dominance at most. But this . . . His wolf wanted to nip at her, pet her, make sure she knew he’d take every care of the gift she’d given him.
“Only for this, only now.”
The time limit changed nothing about the value of the gift. And it was a gift. One dominant females very rarely gave. “Accepted.” He released her hands and slammed them palms-down on the tree trunk. “Keep them there.”
“If I don’t?”
He slapped her lightly on the rump. “I don’t think you know what yielding means.”
A snarl lifted up into the air. “Hands off my butt.”
“Yeah?” Spreading his hand, he squeezed in a deliberate tease.
When she shuddered, he moved away and put his hands on her hips. That got him a growl but she stayed in place. Sliding his hands up under her T-shirt, he stroked them over the silky warmth of her skin to close over her breasts. The warm, sexy weight of her filled his palms, her nipples beaded against the fine cotton of her bra.
“Skin,” she ordered. “I want skin.”
Since that was what he wanted, too, he withdrew his hands and used his claws to shred the T-shirt and bra off her. Then he returned his attention to her breasts. She cried out as his hands found her again skin to skin. And he just about came from the tiny, rolling movements of her body.
Trembling with the fury of his desire, he buried his face in her neck. But only for an instant. He had a promise to keep. And it was one he most definitely wanted to keep. Pulling back, he tore off her jeans and panties, leaving her dressed in nothing but a pair of boots and socks. It was so damn erotic, he decided he’d have to lure her into the woods more often. “Spread your legs.”
“Make me.”
His lips curved, even as the stranglehold of sexual hunger grew ever tighter. Putting a hand on the inside of her thigh, he reached up with the other to pinch one beautiful nipple. She cried out, her attention shifting . . . and he used the opportunity to push at her thigh. She spread for him instinctively. Realizing what she’d done, she blew out a breath. “My nipple hurts.”
“Liar.” He’d meant to drop down behind her, but it was so tempting to stroke the taut, muscled curve of her butt that he delayed, indulging himself. “Want me to suck it for you?” He tugged at the aroused nub of flesh. “So pretty and red.
Like my favorite raspberry lollypop.”
A choked-off sound. “Damn, Riley.”
He grinned at the shocked words. “What?” He didn’t wait for an answer, going to his knees behind her and angling his body so his shoulders kept her legs open for his mouth. But he didn’t touch. Not yet.
Keeping one hand on her thigh, he spread her with the fingers of the other . . . and blew a soft, hot breath over her. She cried out, her body clenching to release another rush of exquisite need. His tongue was there to meet it as he licked at her with long, lazy movements. He was determined to learn every little sensitive spot, every scent, every feminine cry.
Mercy closed her eyes, the better to savor the most incredible pleasure she’d ever felt. She was never ever going to accuse Riley of being uncreative again. The man had plenty of imagination. Plenty. His tongue was doing things to her that she knew were illegal somewhere, and—“Riley!” Her body shook under the force of a wickedly powerful orgasm as he closed his mouth over her clit, sucking hard.
He petted her thigh, calming her down . . . then stroked those same fingers over the excruciatingly sensitive flesh of her opening. She tried to squeeze her thighs closed, but his strong, muscular body kept them open while his mouth ravaged her. Those teasing fingers rubbed a little harder, and then one began to slide inside.
She opened her eyes, but saw only a wash of color as her brain tried to process the amount of sensation going through her body. It failed. Color exploded in every direction, and the muscles in her body went taut, her claws slicing out to pierce the tree trunk as she gave in to the wildness and rode the pleasure.
When she surfaced, it was to the feel of a hot, hard, and lusciously naked male body behind her own, one strong hand cupping her between the thighs. Petting her. Easing her down. He might’ve been a wolf, but Riley knew how to deal with a cat.
Smiling, sated, she rolled her bottom against him. His growl was everything she could’ve hoped for. Cool, calm Riley Kincaid had lost control. His hand withdrew from between her legs to clamp over her hips, holding her in place . . . no, he was urging her to bend a little, to change her stance.
She cooperated, and a split second after she’d settled her hands on the trunk again, he slid into her. “Riley!” It was a short, startled scream.
He froze and his voice, when it came, was more wolf than man. “Hurt?”
She shook her head at once. “I—” Her throat was raw, her voice husky. “I’m so sensitive. And you’re so damn thick.”
He chuckled, and the wolf’s arrogance was very much in evidence. “You like it.” He rocked against her.
Moaning, she found that her body was tightening again, readying itself for another wild ride. “Do that again.”
He did. And again. She was just getting into the rhythm of it when he withdrew almost completely and thrust back in slow, oh-so-slow. Sensitized nerve endings went crazy and she found herself making hungry sounds in the bottom of her throat. He growled in response and picked up the pace. Hard and thick, he was a perfect fit. He seemed to touch every single pleasure point as he went in, then again as he came out. Stomach tensing with the need to come, to take him with her, she cried out.
And the world exploded.
Mercy surfaced to the awareness that she was lying on something soft. Touching it, she realized it was what remained of her and Riley’s T-shirts. He’d made her a nest. Aw. Turning, she propped herself on one elbow and looked down at the male lying beside her. He had his eyes closed, and for the first time, she noticed that he had the same rich chocolate brown lashes as his brother, Andrew. Long and lush and curling slightly at the ends. Pretty lashes.
Delighted by the discovery, she leaned over and rubbed her nose gently against his. His lips curved but his eyes remained closed. One hand ran in a slow glide up and down over her back. “How was your nap, kitty?”
She nipped him on the chin. “Don’t push your luck, Kincaid.”
His lashes lifted, to reveal warm brown eyes full of languor. “You’re purring.”
“Yeah, so?” She dared him to make something of it.
Of course, since it was Riley, he did. “So I made you purr.” A smug smile.
She frowned. “This is now officially a two-night stand.”
“It’s not night.” He kept stroking her back.
His big, deliciously callused hand felt so good on her that she almost sighed. “You know what I mean.”
“Why?” The lazy lover was rapidly being replaced by the Riley she knew and . . . lived to irritate.
“Okay,” she said, “maybe you’re not the spawn of Satan as I originally thought—”
“Thanks.”
“But”—she glared at him for the interruption—“you’d be hell to be in a relationship with. HELL. In capital letters.” Part of her own mind vehemently disagreed—sleeping with him last night, it had been something special, an experience that wrapped around her heart and made her want to take the wildest of chances. But that Riley might never again make an appearance, not if the lieutenant decided to contain him using his formidable self-control.
“I do have an ego, Mercy.”
Hearing the warning in his voice, she ran her fingers through his hair. Beautiful and thick, it slid over her hands like water. “Riley, you still try to order Brenna around, and she’s mated, for chrissakes.”
“She’s my baby sister. I’ll try to order her around when she’s eighty and a great-grandmother.”
“See!”
“No, I don’t see. There’s a crucial difference between you and Brenna. You’re not my sister. Thank God.”
Mercy made a sound of frustration and sat up on her haunches. “It’s not about that. It’s about the fact that you’re anal about control. You’d try to handle me.” And she was not a woman who’d take kindly to that. More . . . it would hurt her if she gave him her trust and he abused it by attempting to turn her into something she wasn’t.
Sitting up, Riley looked at her for several long minutes. “How about if I promise not to treat you as anything but my lover?”
“You can’t,” she said, curling her fingers into fists to stop from reaching out to caress him. “You’re a dominant wolf male.” Possession was in his blood.
“Fine.” He scowled. “But the fact is, we burn up together and we both have no one else that we see as a potential partner. What’s wrong with helping each other release the tension until we find our mates?”
Mercy wanted to snap at him for that blithe assumption. But the truth was, he probably would find a mate. His chances were higher than hers—dominant males had no problem mating with less dominant, or submissive, females. And Riley, of course, was looking for exactly that type of woman. “What if I don’t want to be your fuck buddy?”
He kissed her. Slow and wet and openly possessive. “You do.” Another kiss, a quick nip at her lower lip. “Do the words ‘nose,’ ‘spite,’ ‘face,’ have any meaning to you?”
She was not cutting off her nose to spite her face. She wasn’t. Okay, maybe she’d considered it. “If we do this, you have to know—the instant you go ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane’ on me, I’m kicking your wolf ass out of my bed.” Her hands closed over his shoulders, claws kneading. “Understood?”
“I understand you’ll try to kick me out.” A smile that began as a bare curve of his lips, and ended up creasing his cheeks with lean male dimples. “Maybe you’ll win.”
Since when did the sight of his smile tug at things low and deep in her? “Maybe you’re delusional—and I’m undeniably insane for even considering this, but let’s try it.”
Riley’s wolf bared its teeth inside him. He wanted Mercy, craved her until it was a gnawing ache in his gut. It was far more than sex now, even if the stubborn cat wouldn’t admit it. But since it was patently clear that a full-frontal assault wouldn’t work, he’d adopt cat methods and stalk her. And if he had to swipe the competition away with his claws . . . well, they shouldn’t have gotten in his way. Because Mercy was his.
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CHAPTER 19
Midmorning the next day, Riley talked to Judd as they supervised several eight-year-olds in the White Zone while their teachers went on a break. “So, did your contact come through?”
“Says the Council’s downplaying any link between the shooter and the other incidents of violence.” His voice was cool, his eyes intent. “It could be the truth.”
Having learned something of how the PsyNet functioned, Riley took a moment to think. “The rebel activities in the Net have anything to do with that?”
His fellow lieutenant nodded. “Silence didn’t magically happen one day—Psy chose it because we were going insane on a phenomenal level. If that Silence is now starting to fragment . . .”
“Then we’re going to see more of this. Like that murder-suicide Dorian found.” An entire family butchered after the head of the family shattered in the most lethal way.
“Yeah.” Judd’s face was bleak.
Riley could understand why. The Laurens had left the PsyNet, but they still cared about those trapped in emotionless Silence . . . and yet that very Silence might be all that was keeping those others alive. “But say it’s not because of the trouble in the Net,” he said. “How high are the chances of that?”
“High,” Judd said to his surprise. “Apparently, there’s evidence the shooter was acting under a compulsion. It’s possible the others were, too.” He glanced at Riley. “If that guy from yesterday survives, we might find out more.”
Riley thought of the images he’d seen. “His brain was all but leaking out his ears—even if he survives, he might not remember anything.”
“But if he was coerced, the telepath who programmed him might’ve left a psychic fingerprint.” A pause. “I won’t be passing on the info about the survivor to my contact.”
“I think that’s a good call—DarkRiver’s being very close-mouthed about their source.” The SnowDancer lieutenant understood their care, but the man didn’t like the evidence of the continued separation between the two packs, seeing in it a solid barrier to his pursuit of Mercy.
