Untouched (19 page)

“They blamed the Caedo, of course, and no one had a reason to think otherwise. Don’t you see? They’re very dangerous, and what worries me more is that we don’t know who else might be one of them. That note that you got today really scares me. Whoever sent that knows you’re a hybrid.”

“Yes, but it also sounds like they know something about who my real parents were. If we find the son of a bitch—this sicko the ‘Punisher’—who wrote that note, maybe I can find out where I came from.”

The two women sat in thoughtful silence for a few minutes. Kerry inherently knew deep down that she was in danger. Someone out there did want her dead, and right about now the only people she really trusted were Dante, Samantha, and Malcolm.

“Can we really trust these other guys, William and Steven? What if they’re involved somehow?”

Sam shook her head. “There’s no way they’re involved. They haven’t found their mates yet, and their time is running out. Both are acutely aware that their mate must be either a human or another hybrid that is under the radar like us. They have just as much at stake as we do. More maybe.” She shrugged.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. If their mate were another Amoveo, they would’ve connected in the dream realm a long time ago and completed their mating ceremony.”

Kerry looked at Sam as if she had lost her mind. “Mating ceremony? What the hell are you talking about now?”

Sam smiled and held her hands up in a motion of defeat. “Oh no.” She laughed. “I’m leaving that all up to Dante to explain.”

A knock at the door prevented Kerry from peppering Sam with a litany of questions. She threw her the evil eye before she opened the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s us.” Dante’s voice washed over her deliciously.

Kerry smiled and opened the door, allowing the two men access to the suite. Malcolm wasted no time settling down next to Sam on the couch and gathering her into the crook of his arm. Dante walked past Kerry and delicately brushed one finger along her palm, which instantly sent lovely shivers up her spine. He sat in the large armchair and winked at her wickedly. Kerry swallowed hard and attempted to control the firestorm he ignited with one touch.

She closed the door and eyed him suspiciously. “What’s the deal? If you can blink in and out of places, why walk over and knock? Why not just—you know, poof.” She made a lavish swirling motion with her hand.

Malcolm laughed heartily. “My gorgeous mate had informed me that if I did that while the two of you were talking, I’d be in big trouble.”

Kerry went over and sat on the arm of Dante’s chair. He looked up at her with that disarming smile and wrapped his arm around her waist. She still couldn’t get over how good it felt to be touched by him. Even the simple act of placing his arm around her waist seemed like a bit of a miracle.

“Well, you were smart to heed her advice,” she said to Malcolm. “See, Dante.” She looked into his handsome face. “This guy here has figured out the key to a happy marriage.”

“Oh really,” he replied quietly. His fingers softly stroked her waist, and his eyes remained locked on hers. They stared into one another’s eyes as their energy mingled and crackled in the air between them. The sound of Malcolm clearing his throat brought them back to reality. Kerry’s face reddened, and she quickly hopped up off the arm of Dante’s chair.

“We need to freshen up and unpack before we meet up with the others tonight. I’m sure you two want to do the same… or something.” He smiled and exchanged a knowing look with Samantha. They rose from the couch with their fingers intertwined. Sam turned to Kerry and smiled reassuringly. “We’ll see you downstairs later on this evening.”

Then Malcolm whispered the ancient language, and they vanished into thin air.

Kerry made a sound of disbelief and shook her head. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to that.”

After Sam and Malcolm blinked themselves out of the room, Kerry became highly aware that she was alone again with Dante. She stood there feeling awkward and unsure of what to do or say. Dante said nothing but stared at her intently.

She squirmed under his hot gaze as the energy in the room shifted and rippled around her. It reminded her of being underwater and getting swept up in the current, the kind that turns you upside down and has your head spinning. At the moment, it was all she could do to keep from getting swept up in a tidal wave named Dante.

“What is that I’m feeling in the air? Is that you?” The words came out sounding much huskier than she’d intended, and she swallowed hard, hoping to keep her body under some kind of control. What was the deal? She turned into a horny harlot with one look from him. Was it like this for all women, or were shapeshifters hornier than humans? Yet another question to add to the list for Samantha.

“Yes. We read energy, or emotions, in the air. Like sonar.” His gaze stamped with desire remained fixed on her. “What you’re feeling now,” he whispered, “is my desire for you, Kerry. I want you.”

Kerry sucked in a sharp breath as he stood up slowly from his chair, wanting to move, but her quivering body wouldn’t cooperate. She was a walking contradiction. Her mind told her to slow down, that she was taking things too fast and that she didn’t know what she was doing. However, her body wanted her brain to shut the hell up.
Now.

He closed the distance between them with slow, deliberate steps, and with extreme tenderness removed the wineglass from her hand, gently placing it on the table next to them. He turned back to her and tucked a long dark lock of hair behind her ear. His eyes slowly seared their way down the length of her trembling body and back up again. It was as if he branded her with his gaze, claiming every inch of her as his without actually touching her.

“I have been eager to finish what we started earlier today,” he murmured softly and placed a deliciously erotic kiss on the edge of her ear. “I can’t get you out of my mind.” His breath blew hot and moist against the hollow of her throat.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she allowed herself to float in the seductive sensation of his voice. She tilted her head and opened herself to him as he ran one finger along her jaw and down her throat. She shuddered, full of apprehension and a need that clamored to be satisfied, reveling in the erotic effect of his touch.

“I can still taste you.” He placed a hot kiss on her collarbone and licked and nipped at the soft flesh. Dante trailed his fingers down the heated skin of her arm and brushed his thumb along the inside of her wrist. Jesus. Even that one featherlight brush of his thumb practically brought her to orgasm. Kerry’s eyes tingled and shifted, hard and fast. Her body quaked with lust and anticipation.

“I want you, Kerry. I want to taste every last inch of you,” he said the words slowly as his fingers tangled with hers.

Kerry opened her eyes, locked her glowing gaze with his, swallowed hard, and licked her bottom lip. No one had ever looked at her with such intense emotion. His desire for her was stamped in the devastatingly handsome features of his face, the brilliance of his eyes, and the humming muscles of his rock-hard body.

Lust. Desire. Protection. Love?

She’d been ogled plenty of times for her beauty. She’d been criticized and picked apart for her size. She’d been inspected in every possible way, but no one had ever looked at her like Dante did. He looked at her as if he could see her soul. He was the first man who really saw
her
.

“I trust you,” she whispered.

Gazes locked, he took her hand and placed it against the impressive evidence of his arousal. The air rushed from her lungs, and her heart raced. This was it. No more movies. No more fantasies. No more imagining. This was real. He rubbed her hand against the hot length of him and brushed his lips softly against hers. The material of his jeans felt rough, and hot friction burned enticingly under her fingertips.

“Do you want me?” he whispered into her ear through shuddering breaths. “If you’re not sure, then tell me now, because if we take this any further I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop myself.”

She leaned back, forcing him to look her in the eyes. His gaze burned brightly, desire stamped harshly into all of his features. She almost laughed out loud at the ridiculous nature of the question. Did she want him? She’d never wanted anyone, or anything, more in her life. All she wanted was to be connected to him body, mind, and spirit. She knew that the years of loneliness and isolation were a thing of the past, and she owed it all to the discovery of this brilliantly unusual man.

“I want you,” she breathed. “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my entire life.” She squeezed him through his jeans and nipped his lower lip. “Now stop talking, and take me to bed.”

A slow smile spread across his face as he scooped her up effortlessly into his arms. Impressive. She was no wilting lily, and there weren’t a whole lot of men out there who could pick her up as if she weighed nothing at all. A smile quirked at her lips. Now
that
was a turn on.

For a split second, Kerry had the brief sensation of falling, like that feeling that sometimes happens when falling asleep. The next minute they were in the bedroom of her suite. He cocked one eyebrow, admiring his own cleverness. “Fast enough for you, princess?”

Kerry raised one eyebrow in return. “I hope that not everything will be this fast,” she teased. “I’d hate to blink and miss it.”

A growl rumbled deep in his throat. “I want to be buried inside of you so deep… you’ll never forget how it feels when I touch you.”

Kerry tangled his silky soft hair between her fingers and pulled his face to hers, bringing their lips barely an inch apart. “I thought I told you to stop talking.”

She pulled him to her, capturing his mouth greedily with hers. He opened to her willingly and swept his tongue seductively along hers. Kerry moaned softly, enjoying the vibrations that fluttered along their fused lips. Still holding her cradled in his arms, he knelt on the large soft bed and with the greatest care laid her down.

He stayed there for a moment, keeping his eyes locked with hers. Kerry swallowed hard, and her heart fluttered wildly in her chest. The anticipation was killing her. Her body remained wound so tight that she could very well orgasm from just looking at him. No. She wanted this to last.

Dante pulled his T-shirt over his head in one swift movement and tossed it into the corner of the room. The sight of his broad muscled chest brought a rush of dampness between her legs, and at this particular moment, she was extremely glad the lights were on; she didn’t want to miss a single beautiful inch of him.

Her eye was immediately drawn to the star-shaped scar on his chest, and her heart gave a funny little flutter She nibbled on her bottom lip nervously as she reached up and ran her fingers along the dime-sized area of puckered skin. She knew he’d gotten that the night AJ had attacked her. He almost died for her, and she knew that he’d do it again if he had to.

She murmured softly, placed a tender kiss on his marred flesh, and smiled when he shuddered under her gentle ministrations. There was something powerful about the fact that she could elicit that kind of a reaction from him, that she could make him quiver, shake, and whisper her name.

It was evident that he could drive her into a horny frenzy with practically just a look, so there was a certain level of satisfaction to find that she could evoke the same response from him. Lips curved in a satisfied smile, Kerry rained tender kisses on his chest and lay back again to take in the glorious sight of him perched above her.

Her fingers brushed over the dark hairs on his chest and wandered down his washboard abs. She loved the feel of rough and smooth beneath her fingertips, and he moaned softly as she continued her exploration. Her eyes widened at the sight of the impressive bulge in his pants. It felt enormous beneath her hand, and if it was possible, it looked even bigger.

Her hands fluttered to the button of his jeans, and she fumbled briefly before he took her hands gently in his. A smile curved his lips as he shook his head slowly, and with great care, pushed her back against the pillows. Kerry smiled, but as nervous as she was, she knew she could trust him.

She was his, and he was hers.

Dante reached down, and with great tenderness, peeled the thin sundress from her heated body. As he removed the garment from her hot skin, he trailed delicate kisses along every inch of newly exposed flesh. She kept her eyes closed and focused on the breathtaking pleasure that whipped through her from head to toe. She lay now only in her panties. Her breasts felt full, and her nipples tingled as he showered kisses along her soft belly.

When he stood up, a chill passed over her as the warmth of his body left hers. He tossed the dress aside and swiftly divested himself of the rest of his clothing. Dante looked down at her with stark need stamped in his features. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of his huge shaft, and she watched with fascination as he stroked it slowly. She wondered how on earth she would be able to accommodate his size. Kerry’s tongue flicked nervously over her lips, but the moment her eyes locked with his, any apprehension she had melted away.

“You are spectacularly beautiful,” he whispered. “And you are all mine.”

Smiling, he leaned over her and covered her body with his. She sighed as his hot skin sizzled seductively along hers. He settled himself between her legs and paid thorough attention to her mouth once again. His strong hands tangled in her hair, teeth nibbled, and lips seared delightful kisses down her neck. Kerry’s breath came quickly as he took her nipple into the warm, moist cavern of his mouth. She arched her chest against him and mewled soft sounds of pleasure as he suckled her breast and rolled her other nipple between his fingers. She writhed against him. She had to get closer, needed… more. Something to satisfy the desire that threatened to consume her.