by Moxie North
“Then take me,” he said, sliding up her body and kissing her. His tongue swept into her mouth sharing the taste of her pussy. She kissed him back and reached between them to find his hard cock. She stroked it a few times as payback for his torment, relishing his groans, before Eden guided him to her pussy.
“Yes?” she asked again.
“Fuck, yes,” he said roughly.
Moving her leg up over his hip, she slid the tip of his cock into her pussy and allowed her muscles to pull him in. Kellan let himself sink into her like an act of worship. Their combined breaths drew in as the moment of becoming one passed over both of them. Her eyes had drifted closed, and Eden forced them open and stared hard at her mate. The tingle that passed over her heart and could only come from him was magnified.
“Eden…” Kellan groaned.
She knew exactly what he was feeling. Everything was said in her name. Lifting her hips, she sunk him a little deeper inside her. “If you’re on top, I want it slow and hard,” she breathed against his ear.
“And if you’re on top?”
“I’m going to ride you so hard and fast I may get whiplash,” she said honestly.
Kellan laughed and sucked one of her nipples into his mouth before releasing it with a smile. “Next time,” he promised. Pulling his hips back, he gave her exactly what she wanted. His cock slid out and slammed deep and hard back into her; the movement made her toes curl and she had to hold her hands back from rubbing her clit to climax. She knew just how to come fast when she wanted to. But now, she wanted to be right where she was for the rest of the day.
Kellan repeated the move and Eden gave over. Letting her man find out just what made her moan, what made her gasp. He was a quick learner and she knew her climax wasn’t going to be like the ones she’d had before. This was something new.
“Baby, I’m on the edge,” Kellan said, the veins in his neck standing out. He was giving her what she wanted even if it was a pleasurable torment for him.
“Then make me yours,” Eden ordered.
The few times she allowed herself to imagine a mate, she always worried she’d be the one that had to be in charge, at least in the bedroom. Her experience seemed to make her believe that.
Now, it didn’t matter. No one was in charge because they both were. Partners that wanted the best for each other. That could only lead to happiness in the future.
Kellan let out a sigh, this time when his cock pushed back into her heat, he didn’t wait. His cock thrust back into her and she wrapped both legs around his waist. Rising to meet his cock each time, her clit was bumping against his stomach. She was so ready she didn’t think she’d even need to touch her clit to come. Teetering on the edge, all she had to do was wait for Kellan. He wasn’t holding back now, their slick bodies slammed together as they both reached for the same thing.
“Eden…” Kellan said as a warning. Eden knew that was the moment. She let the tight hold over her orgasm release and it came over her like a flood.
Her body bucked as she let out a roar, the explosion hit her, and she shook as each wave crashed over her. Kellan was calling out her name as she felt the hot spurt of his cum inside her. It was instantaneous as they mixed on a physical and cosmic level. His eyes came open and he looked shocked even in the midst of his climax.
She couldn’t help it as she dug her nails into his shoulders, she was holding on as the orgasm that wouldn’t end kept hitting her over and over. Every muscle in her body was locked as she waited for it to start lessening.
Kellan was locked over her, his cock deep inside her as his hips moved as if they couldn’t stop. He didn’t realize that he was continuing the mixing of their essence. They were bonded now. He would carry her scent and she would smell like her man. His mark would appear and they would be true mates.
Finally, after what felt like hours Eden felt her muscles try to relax. She loosened her grip on him but didn’t let go. Kellan had collapsed over her, as he placed kisses over her skin. “I’ve never––that was––” he panted between kisses.
Running her fingers over his scalp, she whispered, “That’s what it’ll be like for us,” she said confidently.
His head came up. “Every time?”
She chuckled softly and promised him, “Every time.”
“How are we ever going to leave this bed?” he asked, kissing her mouth softly and sweetly.
“We’ll eventually get hungry,” she reminded him.
“Zion won’t bring us food?”
There was a pause and a loud “No!” was heard from the other room.
Eden broke into a giggle then stopped, slapping a hand over her mouth.
“What?” Kellan asked, confused.
Dropping her hand, she rolled her eyes. “Fuck, now I’m a giggler. I don’t giggle.”
Kellan placed a kiss on her nose. “I bet you only do it with me.”
“Let’s hope.”
Kellan rolled onto his side and pulled her into his arms. “Should we shower?” he asked.
Curling up against his chest, she listened to his heart still pounding in his chest. No.
“No, this is good. I’m happy, my animal is happy.”
“I’m glad you’re happy. I think that might be my only goal now. I feel different, as though something has shifted inside me. I want to make sure you’re happy and I want you to tell me if you’re aren’t, because you deserve to be happy, Eden.”
She squeezed him tight, and for the second time that day Eden felt the tears well up in her eyes. She was happy, and it scared her to death knowing her happiness could be ripped away by someone that wanted to hurt her mate.
Chapter 17
Kellan slept better than he felt like he had in weeks. He didn’t dream, or at least it wasn’t one of the nightmares that he had been getting used to. As he opened his eyes, they went to the pillow beside him. That side of the bed was empty and his eyes caught a movement and he focused on Eden. She was pacing the room in her bra and panties, her phone held tight to her ear.
He laid back and enjoyed the view. His woman was smoking hot and he was a lucky fucker. She probably didn’t realize that her lean muscles did it for him. Her butt was round and her breasts were high and just enough for a handful. He understood those that liked the soft and curvy, that was sexy too. Eden, though, she was exactly perfect for him.
That feeling that was building in his chest was overwhelming now. He couldn’t have imagined what falling in love with someone would feel like. Now, it felt like he’d always been in love with her. If anyone had tried to tell him that when you mated a Kindred, you fall madly in love with them in a matter of hours, he’d have told them they were crazy.
Now he knew. It was like a club he never could have hoped to join. His mate, that word still a little foreign to him, was adorable even as she frowned into the phone.
No matter how he was feeling, there was still the problem that he had a mark against his name. Ritch needed to find who took their money. The Clan wanted someone to pay and they might not think his illness was reason enough to let him off.
He knew that Eden thought it was cut and dry, but Kellan knew Clan Odal. They didn’t fuck around and they didn’t tolerate anyone betraying them.
“Yeah, I’ll check in.” Eden hung up the phone and dropped it to the bed. She stood with one leg cocked out and her hands on her hips. She probably thought she looked tough. Kellan wasn’t going to tell her she looked fiercely fuckable.
“You’re up early,” Kellan said, his voice smooth with sleep. He was also looking over his hard cock tenting the bed sheet. He winked at her meaningfully. The evening had consisted of him throwing on pants while she eventually showered and got the food she’d brought back hours ago. Zion grunted from his place in front of the television and Kellan figured that was all he was going to get from the stoic man.
He showered and they ate picnic style on the bed. Then they’d made love all night with a few hours of sleep thrown in. Kellan couldn’t seem to g
et enough of his mate. She was delicious in every sense.
After his shower, he toweled off in front of the mirror and he saw his mate mark for the first time. He’d felt the heat over his heart, but thought he was just being poetic about love in the dark. There over his pec was a single line design that looked like a compact flower. The tight lines immediately reminded him of Eden. Beauty in the power of the symbol. Now that symbol was his too. He couldn’t think of what it would have meant before. Now, it was his pride. His mate was Kindred and they were in love. He’d proudly display his mark. It would tell anyone who saw it that he was a happy man.
“I woke up thinking that I don’t want my mate under threat any longer than he has to be. So I called the office.”
“Isn’t it early?”
“King doesn’t care. I’m not even sure he sleeps.”
Although Kellan was enjoying the view, he held out a hand. “Come here.”
Eden leaned over the bed and crawled towards him, before placing a minty kiss on his mouth. “I don’t like waking up without you next to me,” he told her.
“That’s something you might have to get used to. I’m a busy lady.”
Kellan let out a sigh. “I know. So what did your boss have to say?”
Eden propped herself on an elbow and started tracing his mate symbol. “That the Clans are taking Ritch’s lead on the situation. He’s stuck between Beau and the Clan. His son loves you, and he also knows you’re innocent and tells anyone he can get to listen to him.”
“So, Ritch thinks I didn’t steal the money but he’s got to keep acting like I did?”
Eden looked him in the eye and he felt a zing that caught him off guard. It was something he was starting to anticipate. “I’m saying it’s politics and if push comes to shove, Ritch will throw you under the bus to save face with the Clan.”
“Great, so I’m still fucked,” Kellan said with finality.
“Not necessarily. I have King looking into the woman from the coffee shop. He’s digging into her background.”
“Woman? Which woman?”
“A blonde named Shelly? I think she may be the one you saw in your dream.”
Kellan shook his head. “Shelly isn’t a thief. She’s sweet, couldn’t hurt a fly.”
Eden pinched the skin on his chest. “Sweet, is she?”
Kellan laughed and swatted her hand away. “I mean, I don’t think she’s got the focus to plan a major theft of Kindred money. She’s kind of flighty.”
“Either way, she didn’t have nice things to say about Kindred. To me that makes her suspect.”
“She’s speciest?”
Eden nodded. “From what I heard her saying when she thought no one was listening. She might have smiled to your face, but she didn’t think much of your job with the Clan.”
Kellan frowned. “That doesn’t seem like her.”
“There’s something else,” Eden said, her voice hesitant.
“Hit me, it can’t be that bad.”
Eden pursed her lips. “The Clan wants an inquiry tonight. They have questions for you.”
“Questions? Ones I don’t have answers to, no doubt. How is that going to work out?”
“I’ll be there, Zion and Beau will be, too. We’ll all be standing with you. Just tell the truth. You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Except give bank account numbers to strangers?” he scoffed. All the wonderful feelings he’d woken up with had been replaced by gut rot. How would Eden feel about being mated to a criminal? Innocent or not, would she visit him in jail?
“We might get some more information on Shelly before tonight. Anything will help your case.”
“And if the Clan wants me dead? You’re just going to jump in the middle?”
“First, they don’t want blood, literally. I mean, some might, but it’s not an option when humans are involved. They want justice, whatever that means to them. They certainly don’t want to be seen as a Clan that was duped by a human. That’s the real problem, their pride has been hurt.”
“Maybe I would be safer under human law, locked up in jail somewhere,” Kellan said, pushing himself up to a sitting position.
“Don’t say that! We’re not going to be apart. I will not let that happen,” Eden said fiercely as she clung to his shoulders.
“You’re going to shift and take on a Clan for me?”
“If I have to.” Her exasperation was evident. “This is non-negotiable. This is the most important thing to me now,” she said gesturing to him and the mark on his chest. “I’d choose you over my own family if I had to. Luckily, that would never happen. But there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.”
Kellan knew she was being honest and it made his stomach hurt worse. There was a good chance that it wasn’t going to work out okay. His memory lapses could be reason enough to convict him.
“I need a shower,” he said gruffly.
Eden let out a huff of breath then placed a kiss on his shoulder. “I’ll see what we have for breakfast.”
She got up off the bed and threw on some clothes from a bag that she’d retrieved from the other room earlier.
As he watched her go, Kellan couldn’t help but feel that he wasn’t an equal part of their relationship. He was an anchor, locking them into a town, and a Clan that wasn’t even his mate’s. What would it be like for Eden in the future if her human mate was locked up? How would people treat her? He could handle a lot, but he didn’t want her to suffer one moment of that loss.
The amazing evening they’d had together was pushed aside by the reality of the day. Last night he’d believed that he was everything she needed. In the morning light, his doubts were back. Eden deserved to be proud of her mate. But how could she when his name was in the mud? Even trying to think about leaving so she wouldn’t have to carry his problems around didn’t stick in his mind. He couldn’t leave her. The connection between them, the love he was already feeling for her, it was too strong, and walking away from something that amazing wasn’t a possibility. The only option left was for him to work his ass off to prove himself innocent. But that also meant he had to remember what had happened, and that was easier said than done.
Chapter 18
Eden closed the door behind her as she entered the living room. Zion was awake with his eyes glued to the television like he hadn’t moved from the previous night, yet he was showered and changed from yesterday. He raised his eyebrow at her when she started towards the kitchen.
“What?”
“I’m guessing there’s a human in the room sporting some new markings?” he said pointing to his own chest.
Eden didn’t like talking about her personal life, but then again, Zion had already heard all about her personal life all night long.
“Yes. We’re bonded. Now I have to take him before a group of angry Kindred that all want him to suffer for something he didn’t do.”
Zion pushed up from his seat and walked over to lean on the kitchen counter. “I got the update from King. Your suspect from yesterday seems like a good lead.”
“A bitch who hates shifters isn’t something new. Kellan probably tipped her well, that’s why she didn’t show her true side.”
Zion let out a grunt.
“What? What’s that sound for?” Eden demanded as she searched for a coffee mug.
“It means normally you’re a bloodhound. You think there is a lead, you hunt it down until there is nothing left to find. Why aren’t you all over this coffee shop girl?”
She poured a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter as she poured sugar from a box into the dark liquid, she didn’t even watch how much was going in. “Because I can’t show up tonight and say, ‘what about the mean girl?’ Ritch isn’t going to back up Kellan if it looks like a weak case, which it is.”
“A weak case is somewhere to start. Something is going to come up on her. Until then, we know that Kellan was poisoned. That has to sway some of them.”
“Only the ones that don’t t
hink he did it to himself. Accidental overdose is an easy explanation. I just need him to be more confident otherwise they’ll shred him tonight.”
Zion frowned. “Does he think he’s guilty?”
“He thinks it doesn’t matter. He’s a good man, proud of his job, he’ll take the hit if he has to,” she said, stirring the sugar into her coffee. Going to the fridge she found her peppermint creamer and poured as much as would fit into the remaining space in the mug.
“That he’s innocent?”
“That he’s even suspected and that they’ll never believe him because he’s human. He’s also doing that stupid human thing where they think leaving the one you love is what’s best for them.”
Zion gave her a sly smile. “Humans should know by now what lengths a Kindred will go to for their mates.”
She raised an eyebrow and took a sip of the heavily sweetened coffee. “It’s one of the charming things about them. That self-sacrifice that no one asks for. I just don’t need my mate doing it right now. I need him strong and confident in front of the Clan. He needs to show them his loyalty and convince them to give us all more time before they act. The DA has got to be itching at this case. Putting a human up on the gallows would only look good for him during election time. He could wrangle a lot of campaign donations if he looked pro-Kindred.”
“Politicians,” Zion said with venom.
“I don’t know how to convince Kellan that tonight is riding on his ability to be strong.”
Zion didn’t answer her, but he didn’t have to. They both knew that tonight was a test, and whether he passed or not would be the make or break point for Kellan.
Kellan stood in the dining room at the end of a long table, the glossy shine picking up the lights in the room. He’d spent the day listening to Eden and Zion as they both tried to convince him that he needed to practice his answers for this evening. They also asked him over and over again whether he remembered anything. He knew that they were trying to jog his memory for any bit of information they thought would help, but it only made him more frustrated.
