“Okay. So, what's our safe word?” she asked him.
His mouth had been open, about to say something else, when he snapped it shut and tilted his head. “Safe word?"
“Yeah. You know, just in case.”
“In case of what?”
She shrugged. “What if you’re taken captive but then you call me telling me you got away? How am I supposed to know it’s not a trick?”
He snorted. “That kind of safe word.”
“Exactly. What did you think I—Oh!” Her face burned and then she laughed. “I think I just had a blonde moment.”
“Red,” he said with a chuckle, his chest shaking, “because that’s the color you’re turning.”
She slapped his arm. “Stop teasing me.”
“I love teasing you,” he said, his voice dropping. He took a step forward, pressing his forehead against hers. He caught her hand and tangled his fingers with hers. “Beth…”
Beth toyed with his fingertips before meeting and locking onto his gaze. “Hmm?”
His green eyes darkened as his pupils dilated and her heart quickened in her chest. It was so tempting so lean up and meet his mouth but she restrained herself, feeling that he was about to say something. Something big. Something important.
“I’m in love with you, Beth.”
The words hit her directly in her chest and she couldn’t help the smile that was unfurling on her face. “You love me,” she murmured, turning the words around in her mind. “You love me?”
“Yeah, I love you.” He twisted one of her curls around his index finger. “I think I fell in love with you that night.”
“What night?”
“That first night when you were downstairs all miserable about…what was his name? Lester? No, no. Chester. Chester the molester. You were so cute, sitting there with the sourest look on your face and all but growling at me.”
Her eyes were watering and a happy little laugh escaped her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him. “I love you, too.”
It had been too easy telling her those precious three words. The truth had fallen from his tongue with no reservations and she’d told him the same, just as freely as he had. He’d heard the truth behind them.
It left him feeling bittersweet. He didn’t know how long they had but he’d be damned if something else happened without him confessing his feelings for her. His fear that afternoon had all but consumed him as they ran. He hadn't worried about himself, only her safety.
“I’ve never said that to any woman before,” he confessed.
She smiled, her face bright. “I haven't either.”
Her response left him satisfied. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he lifted her up against his chest and met her mouth. Her kiss was warm, light. He suckled her bottom lip, encouraging her to open to him. She did and met his tongue in a languid dance.
He responded to her kisses, his cock pulsing with need. He shifted her body in his arms, pressing her sex against him. The scent of her arousal smacked his nose a second later. The growl started in his chest as she clung to him. He crossed the bedroom in two steps, crawling onto the bed with her still wrapped around his body.
He had to be careful, he realized when he broke the kiss. His gums tingled, teeth ready to start sliding down. Already, the need to mark her as his was nearly overwhelming.
He breathed deep, needing to keep control of his beast. Of himself. He focused on her, stripping the still damp shirt from her skin, followed by her jeans. He pulled his own clothing off wanting to feel her warm skin against his.
Kissing the soft mounds of her breasts, he opened the clasp of her bra and tossed it aside. Her nipples were already beaded, the rosy tips beckoning to him. His closed his mouth around one, sucking on the stiff peak until a low moan erupted from the back of her throat.
Beth wriggled beneath him. He squeezed her other breast, loving the way the heavy mound felt in his hand. He trailed light kisses down her belly until he reached the skimpy piece of fabric that covered her sex.
Kaleb shimmied the panties down her legs, tempted to just tear them off her, but restraining himself. The entire experience was turning into an exercise in control.
Pushing her knees up, he opened her to him. She glistened, calling to him. Growling, he rubbed the pad of his thumb over her sensitive nub. Beth jumped at the sensation so he did it again. And again.
He loved watching her reactions. Finally, he took pity on her and leaned down, capturing the tortured nub in his mouth and stroking her with his tongue. Long, low moans filled the air. He pressed a thick digit to her soaked entrance. He pushed inside her and she arched her back in response. Finding that magic spot was easy.
Moving one finger inside her, he continued sucking on her clit until her chest turned bright red and she began bucking her hips against his mouth. He loved how easy she was to read.
He was so hard it hurt but he refused to stop. He wanted her coming, he wanted to see her face contort, and feel that hot gush of fluid on his chin. He lapped at her, savoring her taste on his tongue. He’d never get tired of how she tasted. Of how she felt.
He pulled back from her clit while she sucked in oxygen, her chest heaving. Plucking her nipples, he dove back between her thighs, this time pushing his tongue inside her.
Beth thrashed beneath him. He released her tits to grasp her hips, keeping her in place. Strumming her clit, he fucked her with his tongue. He could've stayed there the rest of the night, just feasting upon her.
He could imagine how she’d look. Sated, her pussy swollen from his attention. Replacing his tongue with his fingers, he latched onto her clit again. He demanded her orgasm and finally, she gave it to him.
“Kaleb,” she cried on a moan.
He growled again, this time pulling back from her. She was still coming when he buried his cock inside her. He stopped when he was fully seated, loving the way her body milked him. Her back arched, her breasts tempting him, he fucked her.
He couldn't get enough of her. He buried himself inside her scorching heat again and again. She was so fucking tight; her body strangled him.
His mouth watered, her taste still on his tongue. Gums tingling, his teeth slid down. She turned her face to the side and it took everything he had not to lean forward and sink his teeth into her delicate flesh. It would be so easy. So natural for him to bind them together permanently.
Forcing himself to close his eyes, Kaleb turned his face away from her lest he turned his fantasy into a reality. Nails scratching his back, he lost himself in her. When she began pulsing around him, he lost it, burying himself to the hilt and coming in hard bursts.
He collapsed, careful not to land on top of her, sucking in deep breaths. She smelled so damn good. He nuzzled his nose against her neck, nipping her skin with his teeth but careful not to break the skin. Beth was stroking his shoulders lightly, her nails grazing his skin.
“I vote we take a shower,” she said after a few minutes, “and then we get right back into this bed and let me return the favor.”
He chuckled, sliding off her and standing up. “Shower, definitely, but I don't know if I trust myself.”
She took his outstretched hand and stood. “We’ll see.”
By the time they were in the shower, he was hard again. Rather than pinning her against the wall, he focused on getting them both clean, only stopping once when his hand dipped between her legs. He’d washed the remnants away but already she was wet again.
She braced herself against the wall as he thrust one and then two fingers into her.
“You're killing me,” she breathed against his shoulder after she came again.
He tugged on her hair, forcing her to look up at him. His teeth were showing and her eyes widened. “Good.”
A shiver wracked her skin as he spoke and he reveled in it. Meeting her mouth, he kissed away any resistance until she melted against him again.
They were back in the bed a short time later. He laid on his back, star
ing up at the ceiling. Beth was on her side next to him. She leaned over his chest, tracing the muscles. It tickled but he allowed her to do it.
“What would happen if we mated?”
He hadn’t anticipated the question. “We can't.”
She shook her head. “I realize that but I’m asking what would happen. What does it feel like? Would I feel different?”
The only information he could give her was what he'd heard spoken about by mated couples, and none of them had mated a human. “I'm not sure exactly. Most talk about it being the best sex they’ve ever had.”
“Like instant orgasm?”
He shrugged. “I guess? Some of the mated males I know have said that after the initial mating they usually want to bite every time.”
Beth shivered. “I don’t know about that. Have you seen your teeth?”
He chuckled. “Yes, I’ve seen my teeth but we're talking in hypotheticals.”
Nodding in agreement, a lazy finger trailed down his stomach to where his cock was resting on his thigh. “Yes, hypotheticals only.”
His dick jerked, aware of her proximity. He sucked in a breath when she wrapped her hand around his quick hardening length.
“It’s hard to imagine sex being any better between us than it already is,” she said softly as she stroked him.
He shifted his hips. Canines slid from his gums and he cursed. It was becoming more and more difficult to control that response.
“I mean, I can't be close to you without getting wet,” she confessed. “I’ve wanted to touch you like this since that first night we made out in your truck.”
“Oh yeah?” He grinned at the thought.
“Mmm…” was the only response he got as she snaked down his chest, replacing her stroking hand with her hot, wanting mouth.
Kaleb almost shot off the bed. Her silky tongue nothing but sheer torment as she suckled him. Clenching the sheets, his nails elongated. His heart pounded, threatening to break through his ribs. There was a heavy, familiar humming in his ears and the vibrations started in his chest.
No, no, no. This couldn’t happen. The little control he still had was threatening to break and then he didn’t know what would happen. “Stop,” he managed to strange out before the beast overtook him.
She pulled back as if she’d been slapped. “Stop? Why?”
Taking a heaving breath, he moved away from her. The vibrations stopped, but he couldn’t silence the constant rumbling growl. He showed her his hands; his nails had transformed into lethal claws and she sat back on her haunches. Huffing, she frowned at him.
“Your teeth have been coming out, too.”
Since after the first time they’d had sex. “Yeah.”
“It’s only going to keep getting worse, isn’t it?”
“It’s always worse when you’re touching me. I relax enough for my beast to start taking over and there’s one thing he wants.” Teeth in her shoulder, pinning her beneath him. That’s the only thing his beast wanted. He wanted it, too, but he wasn’t foolish enough to give into it.
“I want to touch you,” she said flatly.
“I’m sorry, Beth, but short of tying me down, it's going to be impossible.”
Short of tying him down?
Now that was something she could work with. Beth didn't say anything, instead choosing to give him some space to get his body back under control.
“I'll make you dinner tonight,” she said once the claws disappeared and she felt she could kiss him again without gaining a pierced lip.
“Okay.”
She hopped off the bed and went to his dresser, pulling out a thin white undershirt. She couldn't be bothered going into Gabriel's bedroom at that point to get her stuff. Besides, Kaleb seemed to appreciate seeing her in the nearly translucent material. And she loved the way it smelled.
He tossed on a pair of shorts and followed her into the kitchen. Kaleb sat at the table while she moved around the small space, trying to figure out what she was going to make.
She had nothing on him when it came to whipping up a delicious meal but she tried her hand at baked pork chops with a box of stuffing. It tasted mediocre to her but she had to give him credit for scarfing it down as if he'd never tasted anything as excellent in his entire life.
He must have been hungry, she mused with a smile. When she was full, she packed up the leftovers and put it in the fridge. With just leftovers, they had plenty to eat the next day. Kaleb washed the dishes but not before sending her into the living room to find them something to watch with a wet slap on the behind.
“If you don't like chick flicks, then what do you like?” she asked him as she paged through the channels.
He chuckled. “Action, thriller, suspense. Hell, even the occasional drama.”
“I can deal with that,” she told him, handing him the remote. “You pick something.”
He sat next to her, pulling her legs into his lap. She laid back and waited until he finally settled on a movie.
The second part of Braveheart was playing.
“I thought you said you don't like chick flicks?” she asked him, eyeing his movie of choice.
“Braveheart isn't a chick flick.”
“Wanna bet?”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay then, how is Braveheart a chick flick?”
“A chick flick is a romantic movie that usually induces tears at some point. William Wallace starts a revolt because of love and then dies at the end. Boo hoo. Chick flick,” she said defiantly.
“No way. It's about the cost of war and overcoming adversity, not to mention the other ‘F’ word.”
She laughed at his reference to freedom. “Okay, if not a chick flick then it’s a guy-cry.”
“A guy-cry?”
She nodded. “Men have their guy-cries. Shawshank Redemption? Guy-cry. Brian's Song? Serious guy-cry. They're like chick flicks but with sports or more violence and stuff.”
He laughed, the sound filling the room. He put the remote down and wrapped his hands around her calf, massaging the tense muscle. Between the swim and running around Declan’s woods, she was sore. She hummed and relaxed into the couch. She would never argue with him if he kept touching her like that and he knew it.
Two hours later, they called it a night. Mostly because she'd drifted off more than a few times and he probably just took pity on her.
He ushered her into the bedroom and in her zombie-like state, she crawled under his blankets before reaching for him. Kaleb joined her in the bed, laying on his back when she snuggled against his side.
She was unconscious before she could tell him goodnight.
Somehow, she managed to sleep through the night, although she wasn’t entirely sure how. The next morning, she woke up to the drizzle hitting the window pane. She reached for Kaleb but he wasn’t there. Sliding from the bed, she padded into the kitchen to find him on his cell phone.
“No, we’re not opening tonight either.”
She went past him to the coffee pot. It was filled with fresh brew. An empty mug was sitting next to it. Assuming it was set out for her, she filled it and sat down at the table across from him.
Kaleb sipped his own coffee before saying, “I’m okay if you open. That’s fine, but just realize that we’re not supposed to be here. We’ve disappeared and you’re on your own.”
She guessed that he was talking to Alex. Poor guy was desperate for money if he was willing to open without any help, especially with the threat of slayers. When Kaleb disconnected, he set the phone on the table and met her gaze.
“I told him about the slayers,” he said, “but he’s convinced that if he pretends all is normal that no one will peg him as a werewolf. He’s also convinced that he may be able to figure out who it is if they come sniffing around again looking for us.”
“Could he?”
“Could he figure out who it is?”
“Yeah.”
Kaleb shrugged. “Maybe?”
Beth drummed her fingers on the table, tho
ughts racing through her mind.
“What is it?”
“Can you call him back and ask him to write down the name of every human who comes in?”
“Why?”
“Well, I think he has a good idea,” she said, dragging her hand through her tangled curls. “If slayers can track you then we can track them, we just need a place to start. Have him text names and we’ll start looking them up, one by one, until we find someone suspicious.”
Kaleb scratched the stubble on his chin. “Okay, okay. I see where you’re going.”
“I mean if we’re going to be sitting in here all day every day we may as well take some sort of initiative to figure out who is trying to kill us. Maybe then we can put a stop to it.”
Kaleb sent the text to Alex, alerting him to their plan and requesting the names while she fixed them a quick breakfast of warmed-over leftovers. Beef stew for breakfast wasn’t ideal but it was damn good.
They spent the day on the couch watching movies with the volume low. When Alex came in, they heard him moving around. Before long the jukebox was jamming and they were waiting for the phone to chirp with names. It didn’t long before Kaleb’s cell phone started going off.
“First up, Jonathan Bader,” he told her.
She began with google searches, including social media. It didn’t take long to compile a nice little social history.
“Jonathan Bader…goes by Jon…his relationship status is complicated with Addy James. He has three brothers, one sister, and a close relationship with his mother and step-father. Raised in Chelsea, graduated from Cony High School in 2010. Moved to Cantor with his girlfriend in 2014. Works at Piscataquis Millworks. What do you think?”
“I doubt you’d find that much information on a slayer on social media. Not that kind of normal stuff, anyway.”
She shrugged. “Okay. Who’s next?”
He rattled off the next person to her and she repeated the process. This time it was more challenging to find out information about him as he had all his profiles set to private but she figured out enough to cross Connor Hooper off her list.
“He must be busy,” she commented as she finished the tenth search.
Wild and Untamed (Netherworld Series Book 4) Page 18
