He pulled her to him, one hand resting on the small of her back, the other reaching down to her skirt. Kiera gasped into his mouth as he reached under the hem, his hand brushing against her core, spreading her as his fingers brushed through her folds. “You’re so wet for me, Aurielle,” Carter moaned against her lips. He circled her clit and Kiera arched into him, pleasure coursing through her body in hot waves. “I can’t wait. I have to have you. Now.”
Gods help her she wanted him, too. But not like this. Not with him injured and confused, and certainly not while he thought she was another woman. She eased his hand away from her, though she didn’t want him to stop. “Carter, it’s Kiera. Not Aurielle. You found me in a cave, remember? You’re supposed to take me to my sister, Erica.”
Carter’s eyes flashed gold and he gave his head a rough shake. “Kiera?”
Unshed tears stung behind Kiera’s eyes, she shouldn’t feel so hurt, but… “Yes,” she said, placing his arm back around her shoulder. “You were caught in a trap and have silver poisoning. We have to climb to the top of the ridge. Can you keep going?”
“Y-yes,” he stammered as he started up the embankment. “I can make it. I… I’m—”
“It’s okay,” Kiera said, cutting him off. “We need to get that trap off of you before you get any sicker. Let me help you, Carter. I’ve got you.”
His brow furrowed as he studied her face, as if seeing her for the first time. He took one faltering step and Kiera braced herself to accept his weight. She refused to let him fall. Damn it, they were going to make it to that damned cabin if it killed her.
Chapter Seven
A FOG SETTLED on Carter’s mind, thick, impossible to penetrate. He dragged his leg behind him, now nearly numb and useless as Kiera supported his weight. The uphill climb was difficult, his footholds were poorly chosen and he grasped at what he thought were bushes or tree limbs only to find that he reached out for nothing but air.
Distance was too complex a concept as he hobbled up the hill. The only thing that mattered was each individual step. Each awkward hop got him closer to his cabin, and if he couldn’t focus on putting one foot in front of the other, he might as well sit down and throw in the towel right here and now.
“Carter, I think I see your cabin!” Kiera said, squeezing his hand in her own. “Just hang on, we’re almost there.”
“Key is in a hollowed out log on the front porch,” he panted. He took one step. And a hop. “C clamps are in a cupboard in the mud room. You’ll need to fasten them to the wings on either side of the trap. That should leverage the jaw open.”
“I can do that.” She took a step up ahead of him and dug her heel into the ground as she helped him up a particularly steep section of hill. “You’re going to be okay, Carter. I’ve got you.”
If she hadn’t been holding him up, Carter would have surely fallen. I’ve got you. No one had ever had his back before, not even his sweet Aurielle who’d been so frail and too weak to protect herself let alone anyone else. And when Kiera said that she had him, he believed her.
“Carter!”
Shit. His mind was so foggy, he wouldn’t have even noticed he’d fallen if Kiera hadn’t called out. His face made nice with the cold, damp earth and he was sorely tempted to just stay there on the ground. “Get up, Carter,” Kiera urged, pulling on his arm. “Please, we’re almost there. Just a little further.”
Nah. He was staying put. He didn’t have another step left in him, let alone the energy to push himself up. “Go, Kiera,” he murmured against the dirt. “Go to Logan’s.”
“Fuck that!” Kiera knelt down beside him until her mouth was close to his ear. “Get up, Carter.” Her voice resonated in his mind as it had earlier in the cave. Spiraling into his consciousness like a precision drill and settling there as though she wasn’t speaking to him, but was with him inside his own head. “I said get up, Carter. Now!”
His beast stirred for the first time since going dormant. The lion wouldn’t be coaxed to the forefront of his mind until this female bade him come. His female. Carter couldn’t deny that his lion had already claimed Kiera. He’d made it clear when his cock was buried deep inside of her and said to her, “You’re mine.” Seventy fucking years of loneliness and one feisty, stubborn woman had brought both him and his lion back from the land of the dead where they’d mourned the loss of Aurielle for so long.
One last burst of strength was all he had left, but Carter gave it his all. He propelled himself to stand and climbed the last several feet with Kiera’s support. His cabin lay a hundred yards ahead; a modest log structure nestled in a small grove of aspen trees. One step. And another. You can do this. Move your fucking ass. Go!
The ground tilted at an odd angle and Carter stumbled into Kiera, nearly knocking her off her feet. Fifty yards to go. Darkness closed in at the periphery of his vision, his single cabin becoming two separate houses in the distance. Thirty yards. Kiera strained under his weight, dragging him more than supporting him at this point. His lion roared in his psyche, the beast no longer able to give them strength. Twenty-five yards. Carter’s leg burned, the silver sapping any power he might have had. Logan had trusted him to get this job done. To protect Kiera and bring Reece to justice. No one else in their pride could be trusted. Twenty yards. Some expert tracker he’d turned out to be. Undone by a fucking bear trap. Awesome.
CARTER COLLAPSED TO the ground like a felled tree. Kiera was actually surprised a cloud of dust didn’t boil up from the impact. She’d forced the last seventy-five yards out of him, afraid that he didn’t have much time left. A rush of adrenaline coursed through her bloodstream, pooling in her stomach. If he’d fallen like a tree, turning Carter to his back was exactly like rolling a massive log. His pallor was ashen, his breathing thin and ragged. She placed her fingers at his throat, his pulse almost too weak to detect.
She took off like a shot, running for the cabin. Clearing the steps in a single leap, she raced to the hollowed-out log where Carter kept his key. Hands shaking, she had to use two hands to steady herself enough to slide the damned thing into the lock. Once inside, she ignored her surroundings as she searched for the mudroom at the rear of the cabin. Kiera fumbled for the light switch, shielding her eyes from the sudden burst of brightness. Cabinet doors flung wide, she tossed their contents this way and that until she found two large clamps. Tearing back through the house and out the door, she skidded to the ground near Carter’s legs, her breath ragged in her chest.
Gods, she didn’t want to hurt him anymore, but she didn’t have time to be gentle. Kiera examined the wings on either side of the trap and unscrewed the clamps to accommodate their girth. She jammed the first clamp over a wing and screwed it down tight, cursing under her breath as it only opened the jaws a few inches. Once she’d tightened the clamp as far as it would go, she set to work on the opposite side, crying out in relief as she watched with each turn of the screw, as the jaw of the trap opened wider and wider.
When the silver-tipped teeth pulled away from Carter’s leg, he groaned as if in relief. Kiera grabbed the awful trap, stained with his blood and gently shimmied it down his leg and tossed it to the side. The eastern sun rose higher in the horizon, streaking the sky with vibrant reds and oranges. Gods, it had been one hell of a night, and they weren’t out of the woods yet.
“Carter?” She couldn’t carry him to the cabin. He’d have to get there on his own steam. The wound on his leg was ugly and raw, still seeping blood, though Kiera had to admit it looked better than it had a few moments ago. “I know you want to rest, but you’ve got to get up. We need to move you to the house so I can take a look at your leg.”
A guttural sound rumbled up from Carter’s chest and with his good leg, he propelled himself over to his stomach. Kiera waited, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder as he took a few cleansing breaths. He pushed himself up on all fours, and then to his knees. Swaying a little like a ship at sea, Kiera steadied him and bore his weight as he stood. “You’re amazing, you kno
w that?” His eyes flashed gold and Kiera smiled. “Let’s get me to the house.”
Together, they walked to Carter’s cabin in silence. Kiera marveled at how quickly he healed, already his limp had become less pronounced and he used her less for support. They took the stairs slowly, Carter wincing as he put weight on his injured leg. Once inside, Kiera helped him to the living room, for the first time actually taking in her surroundings.
A man lived here, no doubt about that. Warm earth tones and leather furniture accented the flagstone and hardwood floors. Rough-hewn logs stood in columns to support the vaulted ceilings and a loft—presumably the location of Carter’s bedroom—looked over a river-rock chimney that stretched from a wide fireplace to the second floor ceiling.
“I don’t think I’m ready to tackle the stairs,” he remarked as he jutted his chin toward one of the couches. “I’ll just crash right here for now.”
Kiera eased him onto the couch and her eyes traveled the length of his sleek form as he stretched himself out. Her cheeks flushed as she recalled what it had felt like to straddle that powerful body, to feel his hard length thrusting inside of her. “I should get you cleaned up,” she murmured. “Where do you keep the washcloths?”
“Top drawer next to the sink.” Carter sighed as he laid his head back on a throw pillow. “You don’t have to, you know. I’ll be fine in an hour or so.”
An hour? Kiera couldn’t believe he’d be as good as new in such a short time after seeing him so close to death only moments before. Truth be told, she didn’t know any shifters and her curiosity got the better of her. “Do you always heal so fast?” She turned on the kitchen faucet and retrieved a couple of washcloths while she waited for the water to heat.
“Faster,” Carter replied. “It’ll take a while for my body to reject any residual silver particles that might have lingered in the wound. Kiera, how did you find me?”
Kiera soaked the cloths under the hot water and wrung them out. “I heard you swearing and shouting,” she said as she walked back to the couch. “You sounded hurt. I couldn’t just leave you there.”
“You ran from me.” His eyes delved into hers as though he wished he could climb right into her thoughts.
“I was afraid.” She focused her attention on his leg, pulling up his shredded, blood stained pant leg so she could clean the wounds. “I thought you were an illusion at first.” This wasn’t exactly a subject she wanted to broach, but it was too late to turn back now. “And then… after we… well, then I realized that I wasn’t crazy and you were real. And you told me you were a shifter. Like Reece. I thought you were playing a cruel trick, convincing me that you were there to help me and I sort of freaked out. I had to run.”
“I’m sorry,” Carter said. He sat up but Kiera refused to look anywhere but his leg. “You threw me off my game. I should have realized you’d be suspicious and scared.”
As if she wasn’t already chagrined over her behavior. “No. I’m sorry. I can only imagine what you must think of me.”
“I think you’re the strongest, bravest, most sensual woman I’ve ever met.”
Kiera turned to look at him, her jaw slack. Definitely not the response she’d expected.
Chapter Eight
CARTER LOST HIMSELF in Kiera’s endless lilac eyes. She seemed so shocked at his confession and it tore at his heart to think that no one had ever uttered words like those to her before. Any man who passed up such a treasure was indeed a fool. Carter had to admit he was glad for the foolishness of those men. Their loss was his gain. And he’d make sure that Kiera knew it.
“Kiera, what happened in the cave, it was the most real moment I’ve experienced in a good many years.”
“I have to have it,” she said, returning her attention to his leg. “Sex. During the week of the full moon my need becomes consuming. It’s mating instinct, I guess. If I abstain during that time…”
“You lose your mind?” Carter ventured.
“Yes.” Kiera cringed. “More or less.”
“And when I showed up in that cave,” Carter said with a rueful laugh, “you thought you’d finally lost your mind entirely.”
“Yes.”
Well, wasn’t that just a kick to the nuts. The most meaningful moment of the past seven decades had been nothing more than a moment of necessity for Kiera. Had another man walked into that cave, he’d have gotten the same treatment. Carter’s beast rumbled in the back of his mind. They’d kill any male cavalier enough to lay a finger on their female. Apparently Carter’s lion hadn’t gotten the memo: Kiera wasn’t theirs.
“Carter…” Kiera rolled her lip between her teeth as she wiped his leg with the cloth. As if steeling herself for something, she turned to look at him. “No matter what I thought at the time, I want you to know that what happened between us was the most real moment I’ve ever experienced.”
His chest swelled with pride and his lion purred in his psyche, content yet smug. He’d given her something no male ever had and that pleased Carter to no end. Her words came back to him, whispered against his skin in the aftermath of their intimate moment: I’m yours. She’d spoken in the heat of passion and he wasn’t such a fool to believe that love and a relationship was as simple as two little words. But maybe this was the start of something and he enjoyed the prospect of this newfound hope.
“Who’s Aurielle?” Kiera asked as she discarded one bloodied washcloth in exchange for a clean one. Carter’s heart sank into his gut. How did she know that name? She gave him a sad smile and returned her focus to his injured leg. “You called me Aurielle earlier tonight. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I was just curious.”
In his fevered state, he’d called Kiera by his dead mate’s name? Gods, if Carter could sink through the floorboards, he’d do it right now. “Aurielle was my mate,” he answered. No use beating around the bush. “I’ve been without her for almost a century. Fragile, even for a human, she fell ill and died in 1943. I apologize if my words hurt you, Kiera. Had I been in my right mind, it never would have happened.”
Her expression brightened and she gave him a sweet smile that made his heart pound against his ribcage. “I guess we’ve both been a little out of it tonight.”
Carter reached out and combed his fingers through the wild tangles of Kiera’s hair. He wondered how she’d react if he took her into the shower and painstakingly washed every inch of her body.
“I’m sure I look awful.” Kiera laughed, and as if she’d read his mind said, “I could probably use a shower.”
His decision made, Carter grabbed her hands and pulled her close. Screw his leg, it was healed enough and he’d be damned if he let something like a bone deep gash get in the way of seeing Kiera naked and wet. He took her face in his hands and traced her bottom lip with his thumb before replacing it with his mouth. As his lips met hers, the moment rang with familiarity, as if he’d done this before. Kiera’s fingers twined in his hair and her tongue met his, tentative at first, but then bolder, deeper, her urgency as great as his.
A memory flashed in his mind, of kissing Kiera, his fingers spreading her silky folds as he found the swollen knot of nerves at her core. A name on his lips: Aurielle. As if he didn’t feel bad enough already, now that he had context, it was even worse. He might have uttered his dead mate’s name while delirious and not in his right mind, but he’d prove to Kiera that she had nothing to fear from a ghost.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE the removal of a bear trap made. Kiera was amazed at how quickly Carter was healing, and even more amazed at how damned good it felt to be in his arms. He kissed her with fervor, his passion matching her own. But this time, Kiera would make sure it was her name on his lips, not Aurielle’s. He swept her up in his arms as though she weighed no more than a feather and wound his way through the living room, taking the stairs to the loft two at a time. Carter carried her through the bedroom and into the bathroom, never breaking their kiss. Teeth nipped at her bottom lip and his tongue darted out to soothe the delicious
sting. He reached out behind her and the sound of water spraying from a shower head piqued her curiosity. She pulled away to find herself inside a luxurious bathroom of slate stone with a shower built for two waiting as steam boiled out from the open glass door.
She arched a brow and Carter whispered against her mouth, “I want to wash every inch of you. Is that all right?’
All right? Just the thought of Carter’s soap-slicked hands on her skin brought her close to orgasm. “Only if I can return the favor,” she murmured.
Carter smiled and gently set Kiera down on her feet. She’d yet to see him smile, and she loved the way it transformed his face, turning his cold, deadly countenance into something light and carefree. She tugged at his t-shirt, lifting it up and off his body. Slowly, she slid her hands down his bare chest acquainting herself with every ridge and swell of his torso before she reached for the button on his jeans and worked the zipper down tooth by tooth. Carter’s dark eyes smoldered as she pushed his jeans down over his ass. Taking her hand in his, he kissed her palm and then swept her shirt off in one fluid motion and tossed it to the floor.
As she pushed her skirt down over her hips, Carter’s eyes followed every movement. Bare to his gaze, his eyes lingered on her thighs, belly, and breasts before dragging up to meet her eyes. “You’re so beautiful,” he said.
Kiera’s stomach fluttered at his words. No man had ever said anything so wonderful to her. Oh, there’d been words like, “Damn, you’ve got a fine ass, girl!” or “Babe, your tits make me so hot.” But never in all of her life had a man called her beautiful and Kiera had to swallow a little more than usual to quell the sweet emotion swelling in her chest. “You’re beautiful, too,” she whispered, her voice unsure. She doubted men liked to be called beautiful, but she had no other word to describe Carter. Everything about him was wondrous and beautiful from his thick hair, to his wide, muscular chest and sculpted thighs. He was every bit as beautiful as a precisely chiseled sculpture.
The Sweetest Mercy (Sexy Shifter Shorts) Page 4
